The History of Miami County, Ohio, Part 80

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

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S. B. GARVEY, EsQ., Justice of the Peace and Notary Public, Piqua. Mr. Garvey is another of the present old residents and natives of Piqua ; he is a son of John Garvey, who came to Piqua at the close of the war of 1812, having been a soldier and served in this vicinity. He married Ann Marshall; was a hatter by trade and followed that business here a number of years ; he had a family of eleven children, only three of whom survive-S. B., William M. and a sister, now a resident of New York State. The subject of this sketch was born in 1821, and has been a resident of Piqua fifty-nine years ; he is emphatically a self-made man ; began life for himself at 19, as a drayman ; afterward was a partner of Mr. Shipply, and owned and operated a livery stable here several years; afterward was elected Marshal of Piqua and Constable of Washington Township, which office he held for twenty years or more; he has been Mayor of Piqua eight years, and is now Justice of the Peace and Notary Public, and a useful, respected citizen. He married, in 1849, Elizabeth, daughter of - Maddux ; they have never had any children, but have raised four, and now have an adopted daughter, a young lady, whom they took when a child.

STEPHEN GENSLINGER, Secretary and Treasurer of the Spiker Wagon Works Co., Piqua. Mr. Genslinger, a native of Germany, born in 1831, came to the . United States in 1841, with his mother, who lived at Troy until her decease, which occurred in 1856; his father's death occurred in Germany in 1831. Mr. Genslinger came to Piqua in 1846, and was employed first as a store boy, afterward became clerk, and clerked for a time in Fort Wayne, Ind., then returned to Troy, where he mar- ried, in 1854, Caroline, daughter of William McNeely ; after his marriage, he returned to Piqua and engaged in the manufacture of turned handles etc., in con- nection with his brother-in-law, David Ryan, in which he continued until 1860, when he became traveling salesman for O'Farrall, Daniels & Co .; in 1867, he

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purchased an interest in the grocery firm of J. Zollinger & Co., and remained a mem- ber of that firm until 1877, when he sold out and became connected with R. P. Spi- ker & Co., carriage manufacturers ; when the new stock company, styled the Spi- ker Wagon Works Co., was organized, Mr. Genslinger was chosen Secretary and Treasurer. Mr. Genslinger has been a useful citizen ; has served the people of Piqua as Councilman one term, is now serving the third year as Trustee of the City Water Works, also the second term as Director of the County Infirmary, and is now, and has been for the past sixteen years, Captain of the Fourth Ward Fire Company, also Treasurer of the Masonic Lodge since 1870. He is a member of the Episcopal Church and one of its Vestrymen. Thus he has risen from a poor, fatherless boy to a useful and respected citizen, and, what seems remarkable, when we consider the numerous official positions he now fills, and has heretofore filled, he never attended school a day in his life. He is the father of nine children-Charles H., Addie, William H., Harry, Wallace, Nellie, Carrie, Kittie and Stephen J. His oldest son is in business in New Orleans; the rest are members of the family household.

MRS. MARTHA GEYER belongs, by birth, to the Manson family ; her grand- father and father were natives of Pennsylvania, and came to Miami Co. at a very early day, settling in Brown Township, on Lost Creek ; in those days David Geyer, the elder, had a large double log house, and to this the settlers came when there was any trouble with the Indians, using it as a block-house. The father of Mrs. Geyer married in 1810, and the subject of this sketch was born in February, 1822; her father died about a year after her birth, but her mother lived until 1854; they were both Methodists. Mrs. Geyer was married in June, 1841, to Frederick Geyer, and there were born to them two children-John C. and William Henry ; Mr. and Mrs. Geyer lived happily together until his death, which took place in September, 1875 ; since that time, Mrs. Geyer has been residing in Piqua.

WILLIAM M. GILLESPIE, farmer ; P. O. Piqua ; born in Warren Co., Ohio, Nov. 16, 1828, is the son of William and Mary (Miskimmers) Gillespie. His father was a native of Pennsylvania, born June 5, 1782, and his mother was born March 5, 1798. The grandfather, George Gillespie, was born in Ireland, and came over to this country at an early day, about the close of the Revolutionary war. Will- iam and Mary, the parents, were united in marriage Dec. 11, 1817, and had eleven children, viz., Jane, born Oct 5, 1818, and died Oct. 10, 1844; John, born March 30, 1820, and died Aug. 17, 1849; David K., born Nov. 29, 1821 ; Martha, born Dec. 24, 1823 ; Mary P., born Jan. 6, 1827, and died Jan. 22, 1833; James, born Nov. 13, 1830, and died Nov. 10, 1865 ; George A., born April 20, 1833, and died Dec. 5, 1865 ; Hamilton S., born Oct. 13, 1835 ; Minerva E., born Jan. 2, 1838, and died Sept. 13, 1849, and Margaret M., born Nov. 30, 1841. William, the father, died, March 5, 1862, and Mary, the mother, died Oct. 3, 1872. Mr. Gillespie, the father, came with his parents to Ohio about 1795 and located first near Cincinnati, where they lived several years, thence to Warren Co., where the parents lived and died. William, the father, lived in Warren Co. till 1838, when he moved to Shelby Co., where he lived and died; was a soldier under Gen. Harrison in the war of 1812, served through the campaign and was at the treaty of peace at Greenville, under the auspices of Gens. Wayne and Harrison ; as a reward for special services rendered, was presented with a land warrant for 160 acres of land. Mr. Gillespie, the subject of our sketch, was united in marriage with Sallie E. Patterson, daughter of James and Martha (Mcknight) Patterson, Nov. 19, 1863; they have had born to them six children .- Martha Dell, born Jan. 27, 1865 ; James H., born Feb. 10, 1867, now deceased ; William L., born July 6, 1869; Mary M., born Dec. 19, 1871; Maggie L., born July 16, 1874, also Allen H., born April 5, 1880. Mr. Gillespie lived with his father till his death, and has followed farming all his life, with the exception of about four years, during which he was in the grain business at Pon- tiac, Shelby Co. He came to the farm where he now resides in 1871; he has 350 acres, of which about 250 acres are in cultivation. Mr. Gillespie is politically a stanch Republican, and is a member of the United Presbyterian Church, of some thirty years' standing.

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FRANCIS GRAY, proprietor of Piqua Woolen Mills, Piqua. Mr. Gray, a native of Pennsylvania, was born in 1821 ; in his youth, he received only a very common-school education ; in 1842, he embarked in the lumber business, rafting down the river to Pittsburgh and Cincinnati, at the same time operating a store in Pittsfield, in which he was quite successful; in the spring of 1850, a sudden and violent flood carried off his logs and lumber and placed him in embarrassing cir- cumstances, making it necessary for him to make an assignment, which he did, making one of his creditors his assignee. The assignee, instead of distributing the proceeds, managed to get away with everything, leaving the other creditors to hold an empty sack. After this misfortune, Mr. Gray placed his family on a raft upon which he was employed, and, very much against his father's wish, went to Covington, Ky., to start anew among strangers ; he landed at Covington in Sep- tember, 1851. having about $150 ; through his acquaintance with the lumber trade and lumber men, he soon succeeded in obtaining employment for the time being, measuring lumber on the wharfs, and gradually worked into trading by selling shingles, etc., for the raftsmen. The first money he made more than was neces- sary to keep up expenses, was by selling a 400,000-lot of shingles, for which he received a commission of 50 cents per thousand ; this transaction was conducted one morning before breakfast, and Mr. Gray has never forgotten his feelings that morning when he sat down to the table with the $200 in his possession. This small capital he kept turning in different trading transactions until he had accu- mulated about $1,000 in cash. In the meantime he had taken a regular commer- cial course at a mercantile college in Cincinnati ; he then formed a partnership with an acquaintance who possessed about the same amount of capital, and they started a lumber-yard at Covington, having first received assurance from a large river lumberman who was acquainted with Mr. Gray and his circumstances, that they could have all the lumber they wanted on credit, which showed great confi- dence by him in Gray's ability and integrity, for the debts from the Pennsylvania failure were still hanging over him. The lumber business proved successful, and, as soon as he began to feel the way open, he went East and arranged with his creditors, giving his notes, with approved security, and receiving a liberal extension of time for payment. In 1859, he was invited by a Mr. J. D. Patch to come to Cynthiana, Ky., and take a half-interest in a flour-mill which he (Patch) was oper- ating or trying to operate; after investigation, Mr. Gray sold out his lumber interests and went to Cynthiana; on account of having used a considerable amount of money to pay debts, he had only about $2,000 to take to the new enter- prise, and still owed about $2,000 on the old debts ; Mr. Patch allowed him a half- interest upon the payment of $1,000 cash and his individual notes for the balance of the $5,000, which was the price of the half-interest. Mr. Gray remained in Cynthiana six years, during which time the old debts were all extinguished, the half-interest in the mill paid, and a woolen-mill established, all of which he sold in the spring of 1865. Although he had been robbed twice by raiding rebels, he returned to Covington July, 1865, out of debt and having $3,000 capital ; he immediately leased a large building and fitted it up with the latest improved machinery for the manufacture of all kinds of woolen goods ; this he operated there until 1869, when, on account of the difficulty of obtaining water in sufficient quantities, he determined on removal, and accordingly visited the Miami Valley, and made arrangements to come to Piqua, Dr. O'Farrell and Thomas L. Daniels being associated with him in the enterprise here ; their business was quite suc- cessful until the depression of 1873, when it became impossible to manufacture woolens without loss ; but here Mr. Gray was equal to the emergency ; having previously had his attention directed to the demand for a really good felt paper mills, he succeeded in obtaining the rudiments for their manufacture from an old Englishman who had worked at the business in England ; he met with unexpected difficulties, his partner, Dr. O'Farrell, opposed the outlay necessary to perfect the arrangement for the manufacturing of the felts as a useless expense which would only result in disaster. So confident was Mr. Gray that, by the help of some

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friends East, he perfected the arrangements, bought out his partner, and although the first year or two witnessed many failures, he succeeded in making felts which are now successfully competing with the foreign manufacturer who formerly occu- pied the field, to the exclusion of all others ; he has associated with him now his son William C. Gray and H. C. Nellis ; they are now, in addition to their trade in blankets, flannels, yarns, etc., filling orders for felts from all parts of the United States and Canada, and have even shipped some across the Atlantic. Their felt cylinder jackets are pronounced by experienced paper-mill men to be the best in the world, and this industry has become one of the most important in Piqua.

S. S. GRAY, M. D., physician and surgeon, Piqua. Among the professional men of Piqua who deserve a more than passing notice is Dr. Gray ; he was born in Montgomery Co. in 1828, and came with his parents to this county in 1839; he commenced practice at Lockington in 1854, where he remained four years, then removed to Piqua, where he has continued to reside ever since, enjoying a very satisfactory practice ; he is widely known in his profession, having been a member of the Ohio Medical Society since 1867; was its treasurer six years, and has been almost continuously a member of some of the important committees ; he was the first to introduce the use of quinine as a remedy in inflammatory cases, especially pneumonia and croup. During the war, and for a time after its close, he was Government Examiner of Pensioners. He married, April 22, 1856, Miss Rachel A., daughter of Thomas R. Bowen, who was a native of New Jersey, and an early resident of Staunton Township.

S. GROSS, of the firm of S. Gross & Co., dealers in dry goods, Piqua; is & native of Ohio; was born in Cincinnati in 1840, and was schooled to business from his early boyhood ; he came to Piqua in 1868 and opened a dry-goods store, which he has successfully conducted ever since ; the style, quantity and quality, as well as the general appearance of this store, indicate that the management is char- acterized by systematic energy and enterprise ; and the fact that the volume of business has increased and is steadily increasing, proves that the wide-awake man- ner of the firm is appreciated by the people ; Gross & Co. are located at 123 Main street, carrying a very complete line of standard and fancy dry goods and notions, the upper floor being used to store and show their elegant line of carpets and house-furnishing goods.

JENNISON HALL, Western traveling agent for the B. & O. R. R., Piqua. Mr. Hall is a native of Vermont, born in Windsor in 1820 ; his parents removed to Champaign Co. in 1833, where Jennison (or "Chief," as he is known in Piqua,) . grew to manhood, and married Miss Rosanna Willard, also a native of Vermont; her decease occurred in 1857 ; Mr. Hall began life for himself as a merchant at Woodstock ; when the building of the C., P. & I. R. R. was in contemplation, he took an active part in securing it, and became the agent at this place, built a grain house there, and operated in grain ; when the railroad from Columbus was com- pleted to Piqua in 1855, he came to Piqua, having been appointed agent here, and also had the supervision of the construction west, and general supervision of the road from Urbana west ; he was also agent of the D. & M., Piqua then being the termination of both roads ; after the completion of the D. & M. to Toledo in 1859, Mr. H. became the General Agent, with headquarters at Dayton; from 1863 to 1865, he was in the South, then returned to Piqua, and, in 1868, became the West- ern traveling agent of the B. & O. R. R. Co., a position he has since filled, as all others, with credit to himself and great acceptance to his employers ; he has always dealt more or less in grain, and is known over the West as a popular railroad man and extensive shipper. In 1879, the Republicans of his district, composed of Darke, Miami and Shelby Counties, nominated him for State Senator ; notwith- standing he did little or nothing in the canvass, in consequence of there being a known Democratic majority of 1,500 to 2,000, and his opponent was the popular Mr. Moore, of Greenville, he came within 400 votes of being elected, his majority in Miami County being 1,560, the largest given a Republican since the election of Gov. Brough. Mr. Hall's residence is situated on Water street, is neat and com-

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modious. He was married to Miss Julia A. Brandon, in 1858, who is the daughter of Armstrong Brandon, the first Postmaster of Piqua.

WILLIAM P. HALL, dentist, Piqua; was born in Montgomery Co., Ohio, in 1822 ; his paternal ancestors were of Scotch and English descent, and among the early colonial settlers of the Carolinas; his Grandfather Hall was a soldier of the Revolution, and emigrated to Ohio in 1806, and permanently located in the northern part of Montgomery Co. in the following year ; his father, James Hall, married Henrietta Siddons, also a native of North Carolina ; he was a Captain in militia days, and served a short term during the war of 1812, and afterward became a leader of the Whig party in his county. William P. grew to manhood on the farm in Montgomery Co., receiving such educational advantages as the local schools afforded ; when of age, he determined to make dentistry his profession, and took a course of instructions under the tutorship of Dr. John Jones, then a leading dentist of Dayton, Ohio ; Dr. Hall located in Piqua in 1847, where he has contin- ued to practice his profession since, and, through his skill and many manly quali- ties, has acquired a well-deserved and somewhat extended reputation ; he is a mem- ber of the Mississippi Valley Dental Association, and.one of Piqua's most respected citizens. He married, in 1849, Miss Ann M., daughter of Jonas Ward ; they have four children-James Ward, Willis, Mary E. and Clifford; James Ward was instructed in dentistry by his father, and afterward practiced in Mt. Vernon, Ill., a short time, then removed to St. Louis, where, in connection with his practice, he took a course and graduated from the Missouri Dental College; in 1876, at the solicitation of a friend, he removed to Shanghai, China, where he is now enjoying a lucrative dental practice ; Willis expects soon to graduate from the St. Louis Medical College and engage in medical practice ; Mary E., a graduate, and Clifford, a student of the Piqua High School, are members of the family household. Mr. and Mrs. Hall have been members of the Green Street M. E. Church for more than a quarter of a century, and are generally esteemed for their many qualities of mind and heart.

M. G. HARTER, physician, Piqua. The subject of this sketch was born in Harrison Co., Ky., in the year 1817 ; he emigrated to Ohio, with his parents, Jacob and Elizabeth (Smizer) Harter, in the year 1821, and located six miles east of Troy, in this county ; our subject spent his younger days with his parents on the farm ; not having the advantages of schooling, he was obliged to resort to his own efforts for his education, and became, so to speak, his own instructor, thereby gaining sufficient learning to fit.him for all practical business ; at the age of 21 years, he began the study of medicine, selecting the eclectic faith, and meanwhile took to himself a wife, Hannah Statler, daughter of Christopher and Fannie Statler, of Miami Co .; his instructor in the science of medicine was Dr. Steinbarger. The fruits of the marriage of our subject were as follows : Har- rison, Fannie, Newton, Daniel and Della, all of whom are in the other world, hav- ing passed from this to that better land in infancy, except Della, who lived to attain her womanhood, was married but a short time, when she passed away, leav- ing one child, who followed its mother in the short space of two years ; soon after Dr. Harter's marriage, he settled in the southern part of Montgomery Co. ; but previously, while pursuing his studies, he worked at blacksmithing, thereby enabling him to support his family ; when the first year had rolled around, he changed his studies to the allopathic school, in which his practice was largely appreciated ; the Doctor was a graduate of the Cleveland Medical College ; from his first location, in the southern portion of Montgomery Co., he moved to Van- dalia, where he settled, and continued the practice of his profession one year ; then moved to Ithaca, Darke Co .; thence to Rush Co., Indiana; and finally removed to Ohio, and formed a partnership with Dr. Darwin, of Gettysburg ; after their part- nership expired, moved again to Marion, Ind., engaging in the drug business, at which place he discovered the ague specific known to all parts of the world as Dr. Harter's Ague Cure ; from Marion he removed to Troy, Ohio, and began the man- ufacture of his specific on quite a large scale ; and, in 1866, moved his business

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interests to St. Louis, Mo., where he added very largely to his prosperous enter- prises, forming a stock company for the purpose of manufacturing the late dis- covery ; the family remained in Troy until 1867, at which time they moved to St. Louis, where they became permanent residents, spending the remainder of the Doctor's life ; his skill and energy, as well as his indomitable will, placed him at the head of his profession, and made him a benefactor of the world ; his fame is as broad as the expanse of our universe, and never to be forgotten ; an excellent financier, leaving a very large estate to his estimable widow, who can only mourn his untimely loss, though Time, the great finisher of all living, will, we hope, bring them together where partings are known no more.

J. BONI. HEMSTEGER, editor Correspondent, Piqua ; was born on the 3d day of September, 1858, in the city of Piqua, being the fifth child in the family. His father removed from West Alexandria, Preble Co., Ohio, to Piqua, about the year 1855, and has since then carried on one of the largest and most prosperous cloth- ing establishments in the county. The subject of this sketch received his first education in the parish schools of Piqua, and then for several terms attended the St. Mary's Institute, near Dayton, Ohio. In December, 1871, his studies were abruptly terminated by a very malignant attack of spinal meningitis, and brain fever, which rendered him utterly helpless for five months, and incapacitated him for any exertions for two years. This sickness also permanently deprived him of the power of hearing. In January, 1875, he accepted a position in a printing estab- lishment of Piqua, where he learned the printing business. In October, 1877, went to Lima, Ohio, working at a German paper in that city ; after six weeks spent in this position, he purchased an interest in the German Stern des Westlichen Ohio, at Minster, Auglaize Co., and assumed the publication of that journal. Finding the business a very unprofitable one, he sold out his share in the same to his partner, in March, 1878, and returned to Piqua, and immediately set about making prepar- ations for the publication of a new German paper. On the 17th day of April, same year, the first number of Der Piqua Correspondent was issued by him, and since that date the paper has been a regular weekly visitor among the numerous Ger- man families of the city and neighborhood. Under his management the enterprise has proven a gratifying success. Mr. Hemsteger was married October 30, 1878, to Miss Minnie E. Brands, of Piqua, and has established for himself a very pleas- ant home in the southern part of the city.

JOHN F. HEMSTEGER, merchant tailor and clothier, Piqua ; Mr. Hemste- ger is a native of Germany, born in Westphalia, in 1824, learned the tailor's trade when a youth, and served two years in the army of the Kingdom of Prussia ; came to the United States in 1847 ; after about two years, during which time he was engaged at his trade in different places, he was married, in Dayton, to Miss Barbara Newman, who was also a native of Germany ; after his marriage, he set- tled at West Alexandria, Preble Co., where he established himself in the tailor- ing business, which he continued until he removed to Piqua, in 1856, where he has since resided, and has been, and still is, one of the leading business men of Piqua ; his establishment is located in the opera house block, where, in addition to a large custom business, he is doing a large trade in ready-made clothing and gents' fur- nishings. Mr. Hemsteger has been, for eight years past, a member of the Council, and is a highly respected citizen ; he is the father of thirteen children, nine of whom are living-J. Al. and Levi (clothing merchants, of Emporia, Kan.), J. Boni (editor Correspondent (German), Piqua), Theresa (now Mrs. F. R. Frigee (a teacher in the school connected with St. Boniface Catholic Church), Anna (now Mrs. Joseph Kipp, of the firm of Gross & Co.), and Antonio, George, Agnes and Joseph (members of the family household).

J. HETHERINGTON, dealer in and burner of lime, Piqua; is a son of William and Mary A. (Mitchell) Hetherington, who were both natives of Pennsyl- vania ; their marriage occurred in Miami Co., about 1839; soon after, they emi- grated to Pennsylvania, where they remained until 1843, when they removed to Piqua ; here he permanently located, and was soon known as a contractor and

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builder ; in connection with this, he directed his supervision to his limekiln ; this he continued until his death, which occurred in 1877. The issue of the above union were nine children, four of whom are now living. Our subject, being the eldest, was born in Pennsylvania in 1842, but was raised in this city ; his educa- tion was acquired in the schools of the same ; in August, 1862, he enlisted in Co. C, 94th O. V. I., and was in service three years ; he participated in the battles of Perryville, Ky., Stone River, Tenn., Chickamauga, and Sherman's campaign from Chattanooga to Atlanta, passing through many of the hardships and privations which to-day ring fresh in his memory; soon after the return from the war, he engaged in the brickmason trade, which he followed until the death of his father, when he took charge of the kiln, where he is now engaged. In December, 1866, his nuptials were celebrated with Mary E. Smith, a native of Hamilton, Butler Co., Ohio; by this union they have one child, Mary E., born March 4, 1868.

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The History of Miami County, Ohio, Part 80

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