The History of Miami County, Ohio, Part 82

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

USA > Ohio > Miami County > The History of Miami County, Ohio > Part 82

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DAVID J. JORDAN (deceased), was born in Warren Co., Ohio, in 1804. Was married, in 1824, in Lebanon, Ohio, to Julia A. Cady, and immediately there- after removed to Piqua, having previously selected this as a place of residence. After a time, he purchased property on Main street, where he lived for awhile, when the house he had occupied was torn down, and in its place two brick stores were erected, which are still standing. One of these he proceeded to occupy as & dry-goods store, doing business first on his own account, and subsequently under

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the firm names of Jordan & Kitchen and Jordan & Sons, and in connection therewith, he also, for several years, engaged in the winter seasons in packing pork, to a considerable extent for those times. He was also a large operator in the purchase and sale of real estate, both in town and in the country thereabouts, and at one time was probably the most extensive holder of this kind of property in this section of the country. He was a man of great energy and perseverance, and everything he engaged in was undertaken and carried out earnestly, and with enthusiasm. He was zealous in the promotion of all public improvements in town 'and country ; in fact, active in every enterprise, having a tendency in any way to promote the public good, and for the attainment of which was a liberal contributor of time and money. His extensive acquaintance with the pioneers of Methodism, in this portion of the West, and his early attachments thereto, made his house, for many years, a hospitable retreat and home for the members of this denomination, and many of the far-famed preachers of this church then living, found a frequent and hearty welcome under the shelter of his roof. Mr. Jordan, during his later years, engaged in business operations outside of Piqua, in pork-packing in several towns on the Mississippi River, principally at Keokuk, Iowa, and in the building of railroads in Kentucky, Indiana and Ohio. Mrs. Jordan, dying in 1859, and the family already having become scattered, he gave up Piqua as a place of residence, finding business attractions elsewhere in Chicago and Rock Island, Ill .- until finally, believing that Kansas City, Mo., would, at no distant day, be a great business center, he settled there, going into the business of beef and pork packing, and there remained until the time of his death, Dec. 15, 1869. The surviving members of the family are Collins H. Jordan, formerly a merchant in Piqua, but for the last twenty-five years, a resident of Chicago, Ill. ; John W. Jordan, also, at one time in the mercantile business in Piqua, during the late war, a Lieutenant Colonel of volun- teers, and now representing the Travelers' Insurance Company, of Hartford, Conn., as traveling agent in the Southern States ; Maj. William H. Jordan, a graduate of West Point, an officer in the regular army, and now stationed at Chicago, in the recruiting service ; David C. Jordan, a farmer in California ; Edwin S. Jordan, doing business in Chicago ; Julia A. and Ella M. Jordan, also residing there, and Charles P. Jordan, chief clerk in the employ of the Government, and Postmaster at Rosebud Agency, Dakota Territory. In addition to the above, there were two children, who died in infancy-Reeves McLean Jordan, who died at the age of 17, and Everard C. Jordan, during the war Captain in 11th O. V. I., afterward a Custom House Officer at San Francisco, and later, at St. George's Island, in Alaska ; but who finally died in 1872, at Los Angeles, Cal., from the effects of a wound he received during the war, at the battle of South Mountain, in Maryland.

LA ROY S. JORDAN, Postmaster, Piqua. Mr. Jordan, a native of Piqua, is a son of Dr. David and Matilda (Harbaugh) Jordan, who emigrated from Carroll Co., Md., to this county, in 1834, and remained here until their decease. His father died in 1857, his mother in 1874. Dr. Jordan was a practitioner of good standing, and both he and his wife were worthy members of the Methodist Epis- copal Church. The subject of this sketch was the sixth of a family of nine, six of whom attained majority, of whom LaRoy is the third; he was born in 1840, and has always resided at the place of his birth ; in his youth, he received only such education as the local schools afforded ; when the war broke out, in 1861, he was engaged in an art gallery, but responded to his country's call ; he then, being in Illinois visiting, entered the service under Gen. Fremont, and, at the time of Gen. Fremont's recall, the organization was disbanded; LaRoy S. returned to Piqua, where he soon after enlisted in the 110th O. V. I., with which he served until the surrender of Lee at Appomattox, after which he returned to Piqua and became con- nected with a publishing house of Columbus, with which he remained about seven years ; in 1872, he became Assistant Postmaster, and served as such until Febru- ary of the present year, when he received the appointment of Postmaster ; he is assisted by his brother Dr. W. B. Jordan, Jacob Cropsy, an ex-soldier and pleas- ant gentleman, and Miss Mary L. Mumsell, an intelligent and pleasant lady. Mr.

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Jordan's social, genial nature, makes him peculiarly fitted for the rather trying position which he is now filling. He married, in 1874, Miss Matilda, daughter of John F. and Sophia Compton, who are now very elderly people, residing on Wayne street, opposite the Green street Methodist Episcopal Church.

GIDEON KEYT, farmer ; P. O. Piqua ; born in Piqua March 8, 1828; is the son of James D. and Elizabeth (Widney) Keyt. His father was born in New Jer- sey and his mother in Pennsylvania. He came to this county in 1819, and she m a much earlier date, the time and history of her father's family being fully written in the sketch of Stephen Widney in this work. James and Elizabeth were the parents of nine children, of whom six are living, viz., Sarah B., John W., Rachel W. (deceased), Gideon, James (deceased), William J., Elizabeth (deceased), Mary and Margaret J. James, the father, lived in Piqua till 1830, when he bought the farm upon which Gideon now resides, and moved on to it, where he lived till 1842, thence. to Piqua, where he lived till his death, which occurred in 1849. While on the farm, he made many improvements, and erected the buildings now there; the farm con- sisted of 160 acres, of which he brought 75 acres into cultivation; after his death, his family moved back on to the farm where the son Gideon still resides. Mr. Gideon Keyt was united in marriage in December, 1864, with Elizabeth Ward, daughter of Elijah and Hannah Ward; he was born in Darke Co. Ohio, and she in Pennsylvania; by this union they have five children, viz., James Ward, Gideon E., Hannah Eliza- beth, Laura Rachel (deceased) and Margaret Ellen. The Keyt family were among the early settlers, and, of course, experienced and endured the hardships and depri- vations of such early life. Gideon and his father were both masons by trade, 88 well as farmers, and while in Piqua followed that trade, but since the death of the father Mr. Keyt has followed the occupation of farmer exclusively. During the war of the rebellion, he enlisted in the 100-day service, in the 147th O. N. G., in which he served till the expiration of his time, and received his honorable dis- . charge and returned to his home and family. The Keyts, both father and son, have been great workers in establishing schools and schoolhouses ; the father worked hard and fought down all opposition, which was very great, to establish District No. 5, but finally accomplished it; and later, his son Gideon had his strug- gle to establish District No. 9, but which at last he accomplished ; their successes in this work have caused many families to rejoice, by giving privileges and conven- iences for their children to schools, which before they did not possess. Here in this record, while we have the history of some of the early settlers, by the parents, we also, by the son, have a record of one of the patriots, who, in time of our coun- try's danger, came to its defense.

LEOPOLD KIEFER, tobacconist ; was born in Baden, Germany, Oct. 29, 1841 ; ten years later he with his parents came to America, locating in Philadel- phia, were they remained but one year ; in 1842, they came to Piqua, where they have since chiefly resided ; the mother died in 1876 ; Leopold is one of thirteen children, of whom Charles has for many years been engaged as steward on a ves- sel from Hong Kong, China, to San Francisco, Cal. ; his home for many years was in Australia ; in the late rebellion, Leopold and three brothers entered service, in which two were killed ; one in the battle of Chickamauga ; one in the battle of Lexington, Ky., and one crippled for life; Leopold being the only surviving one uninjured ; he served a period of three years, during which he endured many hard- ships ; soon after his return to Piqua, he went to Vicksburg, where he opened out a grocery ; this was conducted with fair success for three years, when the flames consumed it and all was laid in ashes ; he was obliged to engage in other busi- ness, and soon was employed in rafting logs from the Mississippi Swamp, down the Mississippi River to New Orleans ; after being thus employed a short time, he retired from its duties and took up his abode in Cincinnati, Ohio ; in the winter of 1869-70, he returned to Piqua, and opened his present business ; he has since been favorably known by city consumers and the patronage of surrounding village retailers. Upon Oct. 25, 1877, his nuptials were celebrated with Emma Schmid-

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lapp, who was born in Piqua Nov. 17, 1851, and is a daughter of J. A. and Sophia Schmidlapp ; they were among the early settlers of Piqua.

JOSEPH L. KING, grain broker. Among the business men of Piqua who deserve special attention is Mr. King ; he is a native of Pennsylvania, born in Ches- ter Co. in 1841 ; his home for a number of years was Philadelphia, where he became connected with some of the leading grain merchants of the country ; he came to Miami Co. in 1864, where he has since been operating as broker for a Philadel- phia house, buying by car lots from dealers along the lines of the railroads of Ohio, . Indiana and Illinois. He married in 1868, Miss Mary, daugher of the late W. T. Humfreville, a well-known and influential citizen in his day ; Mr. King's residence is a handsome property, situated at the corner of Water and Downing streets. He has been actively engaged in the grain business since he was 18 years of age ; his business covering so wide a range of territory, and his transactions being on so large a scale, required constant thought and effort, and as a result of over work, he was stricken with paralysis about seven years since, which has necessitated more moderation in labor, and less travel ; but he is still vigorous in mind and as ambitious and industrious as ever, and, although unable to walk a step without crutches, is doing a large business.

A. T. KINGSLEY, restaurant, Piqua; is the son of Samuel and Betsy Kings- ley, and was born in Washington Co., Maine, where his childhood and earliest youth were spent ; in 1858, he went to California, where he remained until 1864 ; previous to this, however, he had been married in 1857 to Miss Abbie L. Bucknan, who died Oct. 7, 1864. That same season, after his return to Miami, he built a schooner and sailed to the West Indies ; returning to New York the following spring-1865-he was in that city at the time of President Lincoln's assassination. Mr. Kingsley came West that season, and started in Detroit, Mich., in the hotel business ; after remaining six months, however, he went to Canada, and engaged in the oil trade, but eventually returned to Detroit and resumed his hotel life ; he remained in Detroit five years, when he came to Piqua in 1875, where he is at pres- ent engaged, and has a fine restaurant on Main street. Politically, Mr. Kingsley is a Republican. In 1875, Mr. Kingsley was married a second time, to Miss Agnes Burley.

MARGARET J. KIRK, Piqua. Mrs. Kirk, a native of Pennsylvania, is a daughter of James Johnston, who came to the vicinity of Piqua about 1812; she was born in 1810, and grew to womanhood here in the pioneer days of the Miami Valley. She was married, in 1836, to Mr. William R. Kirk ; he was also a native of Pennsylvania, was born in 1808, and came to Piqua when a young man ; was prominently connected with the business interests of Piqua until his decease, which occurred in 1849 ; he left a wife, two daughters and a son ; the widow now resides in the residence at the northwest corner of Wayne and Ash streets, and is very comfortably situated, her daughter, Mrs. Dr. Gabriel, residing on the same street, near by.

HENRY KITCHEN, retired farmer ; P. O. Piqua ; born in Adams Co., Penn., Oct. 16, 1797 ; is the son of Richard and Margaret (Voorhis) Kitchen; his father was an early English immigrant to New Jersey, where he married, and finally set- tled in Adams Co., Penn., passing there the remainder of his life. The early edu- cation of our subject was obtained in a pioneer log schoolhouse ; at the age of 17, he was apprenticed to the carpenter's trade, and, having learned it, started for Ohio on horseback, arriving in Butler Co. in January, 1818; in the spring of 1819 he settled at Piqua ; in 1822, he erected a house. In October, 1823, he was married and moved into it, residing there ever since ; his wife was Sarah, daugh- ter of Mathew Caldwell, who settled in Piqua about 1805 ; by this marriage there were three children, two of whom are now living; the son, J. M. Kitchen, is a practicing physician in Indianapolis ; the daughter, Mary Jane, is Mrs. Harvey Clarke, of Piqua ; Mrs. Kitchen died ir August, 1831. Oct. 27, 1835, Mr. Kitchen married Eliza Snevely, of Harrisburg, Penn., who was born April 13, 1815; her father, Jacob Snevely, came to Piqua in 1820, where he died in August, 1842,

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aged 62 ; for many years, he was a leading member of the Presbyterian Church ; this second marriage resulted in the birth of four children, three of whom are liv- ing ; William, the oldest son, resides on a farm near Piqua; Anna is the wife of Capt. Henry Leggett, of the United States Army ; Fanny married Henry Starr, of Elyria, Ohio, and Cornelia, deceased, married Angus Campbell, of Piqua. Mr. Kitchen followed his trade for a number of years and then turned his attention to farming, which he followed till about ten years ago, when his age and state of health warned him that he had better rest and live retired the remainder of his life ; he is truly a self-made man ; when he started in life, he had a limited educa- tion, as, in that early day, the facilities were very limited ; he paid for the lot upon which his house is built and for the material of which it is made by work at his trade when he was 26 years of age, and was able to place his wife, whom he then married, in a good, comfortable home ; from this good beginning in life, by indus- try and economy, backed up constantly by a never-faltering energy, Mr. Kitchen, from year to year, has found his wealth constantly and steadily increasing, till now, in his old age, he is able to rest from the severer toils and cares of life, and to enjoy the fruits of his labors ; his long life has been characterized by the strictest integrity, his means freely used for all laudable and charitable purposes, devoted to Christianity, having been a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church since 1832, and has held the office of Steward for forty-seven years ; Mrs. Kitchen has also been a member since 1833, possessing the attributes of a Christian wife and mother; thus, hand in hand, have they traveled the journey of life, working for and blessed with a competency of this world's goods, and, at the same time, work- ing for and laying up treasures for that better life.

H. C. LANDES, book-keeper, Piqua; is a son of Jacob and Martha Landes; Jacob was a native of Bucks Co., Penn., and Martha of Ohio ; their marriage was celebrated in Piqua soon after the close of the war of 1812; they were among the early settlers of this city, where both passed from the stage of life, Martha in 1829, and Jacob in 1852. H. C. was born in Piqua in 1824, where he has since resided; in his boyhood days he acquired an ordinary education, which has since been im- proved and chiefly been the means of his livelihood ; in the carlier part of life he commenced teaching, which occupation he pursued for a short period, after which he was variously engaged until 1852, when he was appointed as Postmaster in the office of Piqua ; eight months later be offered his resignation, which was accepted, and he engaged as book-keeper for the firm of Lawton, Barnett & Co., dealers in produce and flour, and commission merchants, of Piqua ; this position he filled for a period of twelve years ; in 1865, the Citizen's Bank of Piqua was organized, in which he was elected Cashier; this position he duly and honorably filled for a num- ber of years ; in 1878, he entered the woolen-mills of F. Gray & Co., of this city, as book-keeper, where he is now engaged. Mr. Landes has been twice married ; the nuptials with his present wife, Elizabeth Van Horne, were celebrated in 1864; they are the parents of two children-Robert B. and Mary ; Mrs. Landes is a daughter of Col. Thomas B. Van Horne, of the war of 1812, in which he was a noble and noted patriot.

B. LEHMANN, physician, Piqua ; was born in Switzerland in 1825, where he grew to manhood ; his early education was obtained in the common schools of his native country ; in 1843, he took up the study of medicine at the Medical Univer- sity of Berne, where he remained until the fall of 1849, at which time he graduated from the same ; soon after, he commenced the practice of his profession, and was also, for a time, engaged as military surgeon ; in the spring of 1852, he embarked for the United States, landing in New York City, where he resided but a short time; he made various changes until 1856, at which time he settled in the wilds of Miami ; not seeing fit to make this his permanent location he returned East as far as Vera Cruz, Ind., where he remained until 1865, at which time he located in Piqua ; here he has since been favorably known as a physician. The Doctor has five children-three in America and two in Germany, to whom he paid his respects by a visit in 1878, thereby having crossed the Atlantic three different times.

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AARON T. LEVERING, farmer ; P. O. Piqua ; was born in Pennsylvania Nov. 23, 1829 ; is son of Fleeson and Elizabeth (Smith) Levering who were natives of Pennsylvania; the grandfather, Thomas, was born in the same State ; the parents, Fleeson and Elizabeth, came to Ohio, June, 1835, and located upon the farm where Mr. Levering now lives ; they opened out and cleared up most of the farm, there being but little done before their arrival, and lived and died upon this farm. They were parents of nine children, viz., William S., Thomas C., Amanda, dying in infancy, Aaron T., one without name dying in infancy, Dyer N., living in Darke Co., Benjamin Franklin, Robert C. and Howard. Mr. Levering, our subject, has always remained upon the home place ; he was united in marriage Aug. 10, 1853, with Caroline E., daughter of William and Mary (Wallace) Hunter, who were both born in Pennsylvania ; her parents, William and Mary, came to Ohio in 1811, and located in Washington Township, Miami Co .; here he bought 160 acres of land all in the woods, where he had to commence in pioneer style by cutting out the timber and constructing a log cabin ; in the purchase of the land, he had quite a struggle in obtaining it ; he was short of means to make a complete pay- ment, and was working to make the balance of money sufficient to pay for it, when a man appeared upon the ground wanting the same piece of land ; he had money ready to pay for it and started for the land office on horseback to make the purchase ; Mr. Hunter saw that if he procured the land he must act immedi- ately, so he started out and borrowed enough money to complete the purchase, at once proceeded to the land office (which was then at Chillicothe) on foot, trav- eled night and day, made the distance and purchased before the man on horseback arrived. Thus, through an iron will and constitution he accomplished his object ; he continued to live on the same farm through his life, opening out the forests and making improvements, built a good brick house, fine barn and other buildings for comfort and convenience, finally buying and adding to his first purchase, so that he became owner of 320 acres of as good land as is in this portion of the county, all of which he accomplished by pure industry, diligence and economy ; in April, 1850, he desired to visit California and see something of the world, especially of the mining regions ; he arranged the care of his family and farm, and with James, a younger brother, on above date started for California by the overland route with ox teams ; he remained there about two years working in the mines most of the time, after which he returned to his family and farm, where he remained till his death, Dec. 14, 1879, being 74 years of age. Mr. Levering and wife, by their union, have had six children, viz., William F., married to Mary Multz, and living on the old Hunter farm ; Edward C., Mary Ellen, now Mrs. Marion McMaken; Julia C .. Joseph W. and Ward S.

L. LEONARD, grain buyer, Piqua, of the firms of Orr & Leonard and Orr, Leonard & Daniels. Mr. Leonard, a native of Pennsylvania, was born in Perry Co. in 1825; his parents removed to Miami Co. in 1833, and settled in the vicinity of Covington. When about 16 years of age, he was apprenticed to learn the sad- dler's trade ; after learning which, he was employed in various ways ; he was appointed Postmaster at Covington, by Zachary Taylor, to fill the vacancy occa- sioned by the death of his brother Joseph Leonard ; in 1850, he engaged in a general merchandise store at Covington, with Jacob Lehman, afterward was a partner with A. Routson, and continued merchandising until 1868, when he changed and engaged in the grain trade there. In 1869, the firm of Orr, Kendall & Co., of which he was a member, was formed, and in the following year he removed his family to Piqua. The history of this firm, and that of Orr & Leonard and Orr, Leonard & Daniels, is the history of Mr. Leonard's business career in Piqua, which has been a very successful one ; their business is vast, and their shipments of oil and oil-cake are not confined even to this side of the Atlantic ; Mr. Leonard has not only been one of the principal partners in those important enterprises, but has also been identified with the friends of Piqua in all matters of general interest and benefit ; he is a quiet, but active and thorough business man, a genial, social gentleman, and a useful, respected citizen. His residence, located at the southwest corner of

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Downing street and Park avenue, is a handsome property, elegantly furnished, where his wife presides with womanly grace and dignity. She was Miss Charity Ellen, daughter of William Kendall, of Warren Co. They were married in 1857, and have six children-Milla, now Mrs. J. F. Daniels ; Forest and Lee, now students at the university at Wooster ; Willie, Grace and Lewis, children at home. He also has one son, John H., a resident of Piqua, by a former marriage with Miss Hannah J., daughter of Robert Hamilton, which occurred in 1852, and her decease in 1855. Mr. Leonard is a Director of the Piqua National Bank, Treasurer of the Piqua Straw Board and Paper Co., also a stockholder and Director of the Spiker Wagon Works Co. ; he raised a company of O. N. Guards, in 1864, and was active in support of the war for the suppression of the rebellion.

CONRAD LICKLIDER, farmer ; P. O. Piqua ; was born in Montgomery Co., Ohio, in 1821 ; is the son of Daniel and Elizabeth (Giltner) Licklider, who were born in Virginia and Kentucky respectively ; about 1812, Daniel came to Ohio, and during the same year visited, with his uncle, some relatives in Kentucky, there making the acquaintance of Elizabeth Giltner, who, in the next year (1813), he made his wife, and located with her in Montgomery Co., where they lived till 1833, when they came to Miami Co., settling about one mile north of the farm now owned by Conrad ; they purchased an improved farm (as it was then called), con- sisting of 70 acres, at $7 per acre, there being just a log cabin with a split-pun- cheon floor, etc., everything of the most primitive pioneer kind ; at the same time, many farms could have been bought for $4 per acre, but Mr. Licklider thought he was getting some extra improvements ; he lived on this farm some six years, then sold out and moved into Piqua, where he entered upon the mercantile trade, in which he continued for about thirteen years, when he sold out and again bought a farm of 160 acres, the same upon which Conrad now lives ; here he worked and labored, improving the farm, with Conrad, their only child, till Jan. 6, 1867, when he was taken from labors to reward, his wife living only till the 21st of the next January, when she followed him to that "bourn whence no traveler returns." But now we will digress for a moment to remark that right here, where Mr. Licklider and his neighbors toiled so hard to clear out and make roads, rolling and piling up the logs, and burning them to clear them off the land, they buy wood and coal to burn. Mr. Licklider, the subject of this sketch, an only son, as remarked above, remained with his father till his death. He was united in marriage, Feb. 11, 1841, with Christophen Eckerd, daughter of Christopher and Jane (Bowles) Eckerd ; Mr. Bowles came from Germany when 12 years of age, and she was born in Pennsylvania ; Christophen's father dying when she was only a child, her mother was married again, and they moved to Miami Co. when the daughter was 10 years of age ; the fruits of their marriage are three children, viz., Abraham G. (who is married to Rachel Irvin, have four children, and live on the old home place), Daniel F. (married to Callie Drake, and living one and a half miles west, who have had three children, but only two living), and George W. (married to Louisa Cathcart, who live on the old home farm, and have one child): Mr. Licklider has a fine farm, with a good brick house, and also his sons on the old home, both have good brick houses, with good barns and other buildings for com- fort and convenience ; his health failing, he has retired mostly from hard labor, and rents his farm on shares. Mr. Licklider and wife have been active members of the church for thirty years or more, and are now desirous for the temporal and spiritual welfare of their children, trusting to live in peace and quiet the remainder of their days, looking forward with faith and hope for that better life beyond.

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The History of Miami County, Ohio, Part 82

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