The History of Miami County, Ohio, Part 122

Author: W. H. Beers & Co.
Publication date: 1880
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1051

USA > Ohio > Miami County > The History of Miami County, Ohio > Part 122

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

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understand the teachings of the Bible in its fullness, the highest of human attain- ments. In like manner thought the great Isaac Newton. In conclusion, during the last sixty years, I have seen the greater part of this county rescued from the wilderness, and covered with fertile fields, with handsome abodes, schoolhouses, churches, and a teeming population. I have seen our country's population increase from eight to nearly fifty millions of people, occupying the highest position among nations. In view of the grand discoveries in art and science, one may well inquire what will, or what will not, be discovered next.

ALLEN KELLY, farmer; P. O. West Milton; born in 1821, in this town- ship ; is a son of Samuel and Mahala Kelly ; his father was born in South Men- don, Mass., about 1796; his mother was born on the Ohio River in 1802, and was a daughter of Frederick Yount. Our subject's grandfather, Kelly, was also a native of Massachusetts, in which he lived and died; his father, when a young man, came to Ohio, and located in Milton, near which he built a factory, being a machinist by trade ; he also built the old brick factory in Milton, which stands near the river, and is the one that William Rutledge occupies as a woolen-mill ; they were the first mills built in Milton, but he had operated one which had been previously built, near where Elam Yount now lives. This was the first cotton-mill erected in this sec- tion of the State, and for thirty years proved a source of profit. The woolen-mill was operated by Allen and John (his sons), who constructed the machinery by which wool, in its natural state, was converted into cloth, yarn, etc. His father oc- cupied much of his time in building mills, erecting one north of Milton, now owned and operated by Harvy Coppock; he also built a mill in Greenville about 1860; he removed to Logan Co., Iowa, and at Iowa Falls built a woolen-mill, which he operated in partnership with his sons, Enos and Leonidas ; Mr. Kelly departed this life in 1870, aged 74 years ; his wife died in 1858, aged about 56 years ; they were the parents of seven children, of whom four are living, viz., Allen, John, Le- onidas, and Mrs. Mary Edwards, widow of Prof. W. N. Edwards, late Principal of the Troy High Schools ; she is teaching the natives in Southern Africa. The de- ceased are Daniel, Seth and Enos. Our subject's early boyhood days were spent in various ways, having worked in factory, saw-mill and machine-shop until 1852, at which time he purchased 100 acres of land, and soon after disposed of it and pur- chased 70 acres adjoining, on which he resides. In 1846, he was married to Jane Rutledge, by whom he has had ten children, six of whom are living, viz., Walter, Samuel, John, Mary, Asa and Jennie ; the deceased are William, Omar J., Anna and one in infancy. He and his estimable wife are members of the Christian Church of West Milton, with which they have been connected since 1859; they take a deep interest, and are zealous, untiring workers in the cause. Mrs. K.'s parents, Richard and Jane Rutledge, were born in England, and emigrated to this country in 1828, and settled in this county in 1836, in which they lived till their decease ; they were the parents of eight children, of whom only two are left, viz., William and Jane ; the deceased are Mary, Anna, Joseph, Richard, John H. and Mary.

KELLOGG & JONES, law firm, West Milton. Edward Payson Kellogg, the senior member, was born Nov. 3, 1830, in Jamaica, Windham Co., Vt .; came to Ohio Dec. 6, 1852, and entered upon the profession of civil engineering, for which he was educated; he commenced, in December, 1859, the practice of law in West Milton, where he has followed his profession ever since. He married Anna Maria Nishwitz Oct. 25, 1854, the daughter of George Nishwitz, then a merchant of West Milton ; their children were Frederick Albertus, born Nov. 12, 1855, died April 1, 1859 ; Mary Emma, March 30, 1858 ; Frances Henrietta, May 20, 1860; Clara E., Nov. 6, 1862; George Nishwitz, Dec. 21, 1864; Charles White, Sept. 23, 1867 ; Willis Arthur, Nov. 3, 1869, and Newton Esta, July 6, 1877. Sam- uel C. Jones, the junior member of the firm of Kellogg & Jones, was born Jan. 21, 1855, in Union Township, Miami Co., Ohio ; his father was a farmer and reared a large family of boys, training them to habits of industry on the farm, but giving to each a liberal education ; among them are one physician, one lawyer and two

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preachers. Samuel married the eldest daughter of his law partner, and has one child, a boy-Victor .W., born Aug. 7, 1879. He was admitted to the bar April 7, 1879.

EUNICE KENDALL ; P. O. West Milton ; she was born in this township in December, 1808, and is a daughter of Joseph and Rachel Mendenhall, who were born in Newberry District, S. C., and removed to this county in a very early day, their trip being made with team and wagon ; they settled on land in this township, on which they lived till Mr. M.'s decease, which occurred in 1850 in the 78th year of his age ; after his death, his wife resided with her daughter, Mrs. Henry Comp- ton, with whom she lived until her death, which occurred several years after her husband's, at an advanced age; they were parents of nine children, of whom only three are left, viz., Rachel, now Mrs. H. Compton ; Anna ,now Mrs. Macey, and our subject; the deceased are Thaddeus, Joseph, Mary, Tamar, Lydia and Ruth. Eunice was united in the holy bonds of matrimony with John Kendall, who was a native of Ohio; after their marriage, they settled on 80 acres in Sec. 25. on which they lived for about fourteen years ; at that time their land was all in the woods, which they cleared in part and improved, then sold out and purchased 80 acres where she now resides ; Mr. K. departed this life aged about 60 years ; they were the parents of eleven children, of whom eight are living, viz., Mary A., now Mrs. R. Pearson James ; Thompson ; Martha, now Mrs. F. Harshbarger ; Isaac, Albert, Cyrus and Warren ; the deceased are Joseph, John T., and Emanual who was killed in a machine shop in Dayton, by the explosion of a boiler ; he left a wife and two children to mourn his untimely death ; Mrs. K. owns 80 acres of land, which is well improved, and is carried on by her youngest son, Warren, and with him she makes her home; she was reared in the good old Quaker Church, in which she has labored faithfully for almost a lifetime, and is a very exemplary Christian woman ; her father was captured by the Indians, during the war of the Revolution, and held a prisoner for six months ; his whereabouts was subsequently ascertained ; his father sold his land, and with the money, $350, bought his freedom ; with them he learned the Indian language, which he never forgot, and would recount to his chil- dren the experience of a captivity that is always revolting to hearers ; he was only a lad at the time he was captured, and at night a blanket was placed on the ground and he was laid upon it, another was spread over him, and on each side a dusky warrior reclined ; thus fastened, escape was impossible.

MATHIAS KERN, farmer ; P. O. West Milton ; born in Baden, Germany, in 1831. Is a son of Joseph and Elizabeth Kern, who were born in the same place in which they lived, died and are buried. Mr. Kern was reared on the farm on which he labored till 1850, the time of his emigration to this country ; he landed in New York, his voyage occupying forty-two days, and located in Lancaster Co., Penn., in which he lived eleven years, engaged in farming. In 1855, he was mar- ried to Susanna Douglass, by whom he has had ten children, eight of whom are living, viz., Elizabeth, Fanny, Joseph D., Anna, John, Charity, Mathias and Susanna ; Eli and Henry, deceased. In 1861, he came to this county and town- ship, in which he has since lived. 'He owns 32 acres of land, which is improved with buildings, orchards, etc .; he previously owned other land, which he sold, and worked much on leased land, having lived nine years on land owned by John Haskett. Mr. Kern is a good farmer, and a gentleman who understands his busi- ness. He and his wife are members of the Evangelical Church, with which they have been connected eleven years, Mr. Kern having previously been a member of the Catholic Church, in which he was raised; he is a gentleman who is well versed in church history, and is fully up to the times on all topics of interest. Mrs. Kern was born in Lancaster Co., Penn., in 1834.

ISRAEL KESSLER, farmer ; P. O. Troy ; born in North Carolina in the year 1808; is a son of John B. and Susanna Kessler ; his father was probably born in Virginia, his mother in the State of North Carolina. His grandfather, Joseph K., moved from Virginia to North Carolina, thence to this State, and settled in Mont- gomery Co. John B., with his family, came at the same time, but remained in the

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above county only a short time, then removed to this county and located on the extreme west side of Monroe Township, where he lived for a number of years, then moved to Troy, in which he lived till his decease, which occurred in September, 1867, aged nearly fourscore years ; his mother departed this life in 1850, aged 63 years ; to them ten children were born, five of whom are living, viz., Israel, Re- becca, Elizabeth, Susan and Rachel ; the deceased are Mary, Henry, Catherine, Anna and Samuel. Our subject was only 3 years of age at the time of his father's removal to Ohio, and, as a matter of fact, young Israel had his full share of the hardships of pioneer life to endure. Indians were plenty but peaceable, and gave the settlers no trouble. He remained with his parents on the farm, assisting them in cultivating it, till he was 22 years of age. On Dec. 2, 1830, he was married to Ruth Jenkins, by whom he had four children, one living, viz., John Q .; the deceased are David J., James H. and Ruth. Mrs. Kessler departed this life in 1837, aged about 24 years. His second marrige was celebrated with Margaret E. Adams, July 24, 1838 ; to them one child was born, viz., Sarah H., deceased. Mrs. K. died Sept. 7, 1844, aged 34 years. His third marriage was celebrated with Eleanor Murry June 24, 1845, by. whom he had one child, viz., Mary A. Mrs. K. died April 1, 1867, aged about 60 years. His fourth and last marriage was celebrated with Anna M. (Smith) Hart March 17, 1870. By her union with Wil- son C. Hart, March 15, 1849, she had four children, one of whom is living, viz., Charles L. ; the deceased are Howard, Augusta and Mary. Mrs. K. is a daughter of Lester and Electa Smith, who were born in Connecticut, emigrated to and settled in Montgomery Co., Ohio, from which they removed to Troy, where Mr. S. died. Mrs. K. was born Jan. 29, 1827. In 1870, Mr. K. came to the place on which he now resides ; he owns 90 acres of land, which is in a high state of cultivation and well improved. He and his amiable wife are members of the Christian Church, with which they have been connected about eight years. Both were formerly mem- bers of the Presbyterian Church, in which he was a Ruling Elder for thirty years. They are every-day Christian people, and take a lively interest in the cause of religion. His paternal great-grandfather, with his brother, emigrated from Germany, and upon their arrival in Philadelphia were sold to Pennsylvania planters to pay their passage, and as Joseph was young, he had to serve three years longer than common, on account of his inability to do manual labor. His maternal great- grandfather, Fess, was also born in Germany, and the probability is that he was sold to pay his passage. Jacob Fess, grandfather to our subject, was a soldier during the Revolutionary war. Grandfather Kessler was robbed of all his prop- erty by the British soldiers.

JOHN W. KESSLER, farmer ; P. O. West Milton; was born in this township in the year 1836 ; and his father, Henry, was born in this county in 1811 ; his mother, Sarene, was born in the State of Virginia in the year 1815 ; they were married in 1835, and were parents of twelve children, nine of whom are living, viz., John W., David A., Mary A., now Mrs. Buffington ; Susan E., now Mrs. Pearson ; Thomas J., Michael N., Martin S., Rebecca E,, now Mrs. Eishart; and Chas. W .; the deceased are James D. and two infants ; his father lived a long and eventful life within a mile of his birthplace, his departure from life occurring Jan. 12, 1878; his grandparents, both on the maternal and paternal sides, came to Ohio in a very early day ; Grandfather John Kessler entered, upon his arrival here, about 1,000 acres of land, and soon after returned to his native South, but the love of freedom and the productive soil of Ohio influenced his return to this county, in which he lived till his decease, which occurred in September, 1866 ; he was a very liberal man, and his vast wealth was generously lavished on worthy institutions, giving to the Methodist Episcopal Church in Troy about $40,000, and to the Delaware College about $15,000, besides giving his children good homes and money ; he was one of the first Justices in the township, and a very prominent man. On March 31, 1858, our subject was married to Harriet Puterbaugh ; to them nine children have been born, six of whom are living, viz., Dora M., Sarah A., George P., Henry C., Charley L. and Ira O .; the deceased are Owen E., aged 19 years ; Lulu M.,

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aged 3 months ; and Anna M., aged 2 years. After his marriage, he settled on 82 acres, where he has since resided ; he is no political aspirant, but has held some of the offices of the township ; he is a member of the Christian Church, with which he has been connected sixteen years, and an exemplary Christian gentleman, taking a lively interest in the church, and a zealous worker in the cause; Mrs. K. is a daughter of George Puterbaugh, of Darke Co.

DAVID A. KESSLER, farmer ; P. O. West Milton ; born in this township in the year 1839 ; is a son of Henry and Sarena Kessler. Our subject was reared on his father's farm, where he labored till his 21st year ; in 1859, he was married to Lydia C. Pearce, by whom he has eight children, all living, viz., Sarah J., now Mrs. Lemuel Younce ; Gainor H., Charley E., Sarena E., Della A., David D., Marcellus and George F .; Mrs. Kessler is a daughter of Gainor and Jane Peirce ; her mother is dead, but her father is living and resides in West Milton, being one of the prom- inent and influential men of the township. After his marriage, Mr. Kessler carried on his father-in-law's farm for eight years; afterward, he purchased 72 acres of land, on which he now resides ; his land is all in a good state of cultivation, and well improved, being the reward of his industry and good management ; in offices, he has held his full share, having served as Trustee for eight years, and is the pres- ent incumbent, and also held the office of School Director for many years. He and his wife are members of the Christian Church, with which they have been con- nected for ten years; both are exemplary Christian people; she was born in 1839.

W. W. KESSLER, teacher and liveryman, West Milton ; born in Randolph Township, Montgomery Co., in the year 1833 ; is a son of Samuel S. and Margaret Kessler ; his father was born in North Carolina in 1804, and, with his parents, came to Ohio in 1811 and settled in Montgomery Co .; our subject's great-grandfather was born in Switzerland, and was sold to pay his passage; Joseph M. Kessler, grand- father to W. W., entered land upon his arrival in Ohio, and lived on it until his decease, which occurred when at an advanced age; he was the father of twelve children, six sons and six daughters, of whom only two are living-Benjamin and Jonathan. In 1836, Samnel, father of W. W., removed to Miami Co., purchased 160 acres of land, and lived upon it till 1849; afterward, he resided in various places in the county, and finally purchased 72 acres just west of West Milton, upon which he lived till his death ; they were the parents of four children, two of whom are living-Wm. W. and Fannie (now Mrs. Axtell) ; the deceased are John and Mary ; Mr. Kessler departed this life in the 68th year of his age. W. W.'s early boyhood days were spent on the farm ; he attended, every year, the usual three- months' school ; in the intervals between terms he was employed on the farm, on which he remained with his father until he attained his majority, when he began life for himself; he had, while in school, improved his time fitting himself for the duties of a teacher, and in 1856 he entered upon the profession which he has since successfully discharged ; in 1878, he stocked a livery barn in West Milton, which contains a number of fine turnouts, and is attended by his son Frank, who knows how to conduct an establishment of this kind. His first marriage was celebrated with Martha Hale in 1857 ; she was a daughter of Tilly and Mary Hale ; to them two children were born-Frank and Clara ; Mrs. Kessler died in 1872, aged 34 years. His second marriage was celebrated in 1874 with Sallie D. McCollough, a daughter of Lysander and Eleanor McCollough, who are natives of Baltimore Co., Md .; in 1842, they came to Ohio and settled near the falls of Ludlow, but, on account of the climate, were obliged to return to Maryland, where they now reside ; they are the parents of eight children, seven of whom are living-Sallie, William, Martha, Maria, Clara, Nellie and Vinton ; the deceased, Frank, spent three years in Milton, and while here was in the employ of Isaac Hale ; in February, 1878, he went to Iowa, where he died very suddenly, the May following, from cerebro-spinal meningitis ; his remains were taken to Maryland for interment ; he was 25 years of age, and universally beloved and respected by all who knew him.

WILLIAM H. KESSLER, M. D., West Milton; born in Monroe Township Jan. 13, 1839 ; was raised to farm labor until 21 years of age, during which time

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he obtained a good common-school education ; he then attended school two years in Tippecanoe City, after which he engaged in teaching and the study of medicine until July, 1862. Then he enlisted in the 94th O. V. I., and went forward to battle for the Union, participating in fourteen hard-fought battles ; he was with Sherman on his march through Georgia to the sea, thence north through the Carolinas and Richmond to Washington ; after the grand review of the army, he returned to Camp Dennison and was mustered out as Sergeant in July, 1865. He then com- menced the study of medicine with Dr. Jennings ; in 1869, he entered the Buffalo Medical College, New York, and in the spring of 1870, graduated from the College of Medicine and Surgery, at Cincinnati ; he at once located at West Milton, where he has built up a large and lucrative practice. He married Lydia A. Crutty in 1860, and has one child, Althea M., now living.

WILLIAM B. KESSLER, farmer ; P. O. West Milton ; born in Montgomery Co., Ohio, in the year 1824 ; is a son of Henry and Elizabeth (Hart) Kessler, his father a native of Virginia, and his mother of Pennsylvania ; they removed to and settled in Montgomery Co., in which they lived a number of years, then came .to this county and took up their abode for awhile ; removed to near Little Rock, Ark., and finally back to Southern Indiana, in which State his mother died, aged about 40 years ; after her death, his father came to this county, and lived till his death, which occurred at the age of 72 or 73 years ; they were parents of six children, three of whom are living, viz., Melinda, Wm. B. and Henry ; the deceased are Joseph, John and Cyrus ; his father's first marriage was with a Miss Fetten, by whom he had four children, three living, viz., Nancy, Lucinda and Sarah; Mary deceased ; his third marriage was celebrated with Elizabeth Rublia, by whom he had one child, Amanda ; his fourth marriage was with Nancy Robinson, by whom he had one child, a son, Franklin. Our subject was reared on the farm, on which he labored until he was 19 years of age, at which time he was in Indiana, but returned to this county and worked as a hand on the farm for about four years, after which he learned the shoemaker's trade, which he followed for several years. In 1846, he was married to Mary Albaugh ; they had eight children, seven of whom are living, viz., Clara, Calvin, Cyrus, Walter, Aaron, William and Samuel ; Susanna, deceased. After his marriage, he continued at his trade, and, in a small way, did something at farming. In 1847, he came to the place on which he now resides ; it was only partly improved but, by dint of hard labor, he has cleared up and sub- dued his land, besides erecting good, comfortable and substantial buildings ; he also owns the old Albaugh homestead, which contains 80 acres ; this, in connec- tion with the other, makes him the possessor of 182,7.5 acres of fine land ; his wife is a daughter of Samuel and Anna Albaugh, who were among the early pioneers of this county ; Mr. Kessler is one of our self-made men, having begun life empty- handed, and, with slight assistance, he has by energy and frugality, combined with good management, amassed a fine property, the fruit of honest toil. Mrs. K. is a member of the Christian Church, and an exemplary Christian woman.

SAMUEL KESSLER, deceased ; was born in South Carolina in 1804, and re- moved with his parents to Miami Co. in 1809 ; his father, Joseph Kessler, was born in Pennsylvania, as was his wife; they emigrated to South Carolina, and soon after to Ohio, as above stated ; they were the parents of eleven children, of whom only two are living, viz, Benjamin and Jonathan. For sixty-six years our subject con- tinuously lived in this county, and, when not actively engaged in manual labor, gave the farm his supervision ; he was not a very robust man, but bore all the ills of the flesh, and the hardships incident to pioneer life, with heroism ; at the ad- vanced age of 68 years he was gathered to his fathers, having lived a well-spent life, and leaving to the surviving members of his family a memory that will ever be cherished. He married, May 21, 1829, Margaret (Porter) Siler, a daughter of James and Anna Porter, natives of Tennessee, who removed to Ohio in 1808 or 1809 ; Mr. Porter died in St. Joe, Mo., aged 63 years ; Mrs. Porter departed this life in Miami Co., aged 51 years ; they were the parents of nine children, who lived to grow up to man's and woman's estate ; of these only five are left, viz., John, Alex-

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ander, Adeline, Martha and Margaret. To the union of Mr. and Mrs. Kessler four children were given, of whom two are living, viz., William and Frances; the de- ceased are Mary (Mrs. Hickman) and John H. Mrs. Kessler was previously mar- ried to Henry Siler in October, 1826; to this marriage one child was given, viz., Maria, now Mrs. William Hall ; Mr. Siler was born in 1804 and died in 1827 ; Mrs Kessler was born in 1806. Frances was united in marriage with Samuel P. Axtell, Aug. 10, 1875 ; to their union two children have been given, viz., Leo Ray, born Dec. 29, 1877, and Thomas Maurice, born March 10, 1879. Mr. Axtell was born July 14, 1846 ; Mrs. Axtell was born Jan. 26, 1848. Mrs. Hickman left an infant child, Mary J., who was adopted by her grandmother, Mrs. Kessler, and has lived with her ever since.

AMOS KLEPINGER, farmer and carpenter ; P. O. West Milton ; born in Mont- gomery Co., Ohio, in the year 1831 ; is a son of John and Elizabeth (Boyer) Klepin- ger; his father was born in Pennsylvania, his mother in Virginia. Mr. John Klepinger with his parents, came to Ohio and settled in the above county in 1808, in which they now reside ; they were parents of nine children, all living, viz., Amos, Frank, New- ton, Samuel, Harvy, Oliver, John, Matilda and Harriet. Amos was reared on the farm, and remained with his father till he was 18 years old, then began learning the carpenter's trade, which he followed extensively for about seven years, then took up farming again. In 1853, he was married to Magdalene Ruse, by whom he has had ten children, nine of whom are living, viz., Charley M., Sarah B., John C., Frank R., Cynthia A., Jesse T., Cora E., Jeannette and Mary ; Clara deceased. In 1864, he purchased 80 acres of land, on which he now resides, and has since added by purchase, till now he owns 95 acres, which is all in a good state of cultivation and fairly improved; he has paid considerable attention to his trade, and many fine buildings bear witness to his skill ; Mr. Klepinger is one of our self-made men, having begun life without capital, and with only slight assistance he has made a good home and is surrounded by all the comforts of life. He and his wife are members of the German Baptist Church, with which they have been connected upward of twenty years ; both are exemplary people, and are much interested in he cause of Christ. The parents of Mrs. Klepinge,r John and Sarah Ruse, are deceased ; they were parents of eight living children viz., Elizabeth, Eve, Lydia, Jesse, Susan, Mary, Phoebe and Magdalene.

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The History of Miami County, Ohio, Part 122

Author: W. H. Beers & Co. Publication date: 1880 Publisher: Number of Pages: 1051

Author: W. H. Beers & Co.
Publication date: 1880
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1051