The history of Montgomery county, Ohio, containing a history of the county, Part 149

Author: W.H. Beers & Co
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Chicago, W. H. Beers & co.
Number of Pages: 1214

USA > Ohio > Montgomery County > The history of Montgomery county, Ohio, containing a history of the county > Part 149

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EASON B. WILLIAMSON, farmer, P. O. Center, Ohio, is a native of Clay Township, Montgomery County, Ohio. He is a son of Joseph Williamson, a pioneer of Clay Township. Joseph was born in Hampshire County, Penn., January 22, 1797. His parents emigrated to Ohio in 1803. They came first to Cincinnati, Hamilton Co., Ohio, and from there they moved to Warren County, Ohio. They moved to Clay Town- ship, Montgomery County, in about 1818. John Williamson, the grandfather of Eason, when he settled in Clay Township in 1818, entered from the United States two quarter sections of land, where he lived until his death in January, 1855, he was ninety years old at the time of his death. He was a soldier in the Revolutionary war. Joseph Williamson, the father of the subject of this sketch was united in marriage December 29, 1819, to Miss Sarah Bower. She was born in Muhlenburg County, Ky., September 13, 1802. She is a daughter of John Bower, who was born in Lebanon County, Penn., in 1763, and emigrated to Kentucky, and in the year 1812 moved with his family to Clay Township, Montgomery County. As a result of this marriage, there have been born to Joseph and Sarah ten children, nine of whom are now living-John B., born October 16, 1821 (now living in Darke County, Ohio), Elisha A. born October 16, 1823 (now of Illinois), Delilah, born June 29, 1825 (now the widow of Henry Pearson, of Kansas), Garrette, born August 22, 1827 (now living in West Balti- more, Preble Co .. Ohio), Nancy, born Mareh 10, 1830 (now the wife of Benjamin Culver, of Illinois), Emeline, born June 25, 1835 (the wife of Josiah Falkner, of Clay Township), Civilla, born May 12, 1839 (now the wife of William Devenport, of Phillipsburg). Eason B. was born June 14, 1843, and Sarah April 24, 1845 (the widow of Lewis Warner, of Clay Township). Joseph is still living in his eighty-fifth year, and his wife Sarah in her seventy-ninth year. They have lived together as man and wife for the last sixty-two years. What wonderful changes have taken place in the development of Clay Township and Montgomery County since they settled in Clay Township. They belong to a generation that has passed away. Joseph owns seventy-nine and a half aeres of one of the quarter sections entered by his father in 1818, where he now lives. His son Eason lives on the old home place, taking care of his venerable father and mother. Eason was united in marriage to Miss Isabel Leedy, daughter of Jaeob Leedy, of Darke County, Ohio, February 21, 1867. As a result of this union, there have been born to them three children now living-Emma A., born December 27, 1867; Alma C., born January 15, 1869, and Sarah G., born July 19, 1871. Eason, as has been stated, lives on the old home place earing for his father and mother. He is the owner of a small farm adjoining the old homestead.

SAMUEL WAGOMAN, farmer, P. O. Brookville. Joel Wagoman was born in Somerset County, Penn., in 1792. He came to Ohio in 1805, and settled in Mont- gomery County, and married Rachel Jacobs about the year 1821 ; settled on the farm now owned by his son Samuel in 1822, on which he continued to live until his death in 1831. He was the father of four children, three of whom still survive-Anna, Catha- rine and Samuel. The subject of our sketch, who was born May 22, 1822, was mar- ried to Sarah Ann Slayback November 30, 1853, and were the parents of ten children,

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seven of whom are now living-Eline, Henry, Anna, Louisa, Virginia, Ollie and Lizza. On the 4th of October, 1880, death came and took from them their youngest son, Am- brose, who was at the time of his death eight years eight months and twenty-nine days old, having been born January 5, 1872. His death was a severe blow to his aged parents, he being the child of their old age, and his little grave will be often moistened with tears until they meet in the bright hereafter. Mr. Wagoman was educated in the common schools of Clay Township, then being supported by subscription, and which were of the most primitive kind.

DAVID WORMAN, farmer, P. O. Center. David Worman, Sr., was born in Frederick County, Md., in 1775. He married Mrs. Mary Slong, a daughter of Mr. Boyer, about the year 1804, and settled in Van Buren Township in 1805. The farm on which they located is about two miles south of the corporation line of Dayton. They were the parents of six children, two sons and four daughters, four of whom are still living-Solomon, Mary, Lida and David. The subject of this memoir was born March 5, 1818, in Dayton Township (now Van Buren). He married Miss Susan Kemp, May 16, 1844. She was born October 20, 1827, in Butler County, Ohio, and was a daughter of John Kemp, who was born in Berks County, Penn., in 1779, and one of the first to scttle in Butler County. Mr. and Mrs. Worman are the parents of eight children, seven of whom still survive-Alwilda, Mary, Elizabeth, Lenia, Rebecca, John, David and Hamilton. Mr. Worman was educated in the common schools of the early day. In politics, Mr. Worman is a Republican.

MIAMI TOWNSHIP.

GEORGE C. BARCALOW, farmer, P. O. Carlisle Station, Warren County, son of John and Nancy (Coon) Barcalow, was born in Madison Township, Butler County, Ohio, August 3, 1841. His grandfather, James B. Barcalow, settled in Butler County about 1800, where our subject's father was born, and his maternal grandparents settled in Warren County, Ohio, in 1795, where his mother was born. Of John and Nancy Barcalow's nine children, six are living, viz .: John C., Dirrick, Matilda, George C., Martha and William E. Our subject spent his boyhood days upon the farm, and when sixteen years old entered a select school, where he studied two years, subsequently spending one year at the Normal School of Lebanon, Ohio, which completed his education. Hc moved to Hull's Prairie, Wood County, Ohio, and engaged in the grain trade one year. Here he was married March 4, 1862, to Miss Olive Jones, daughter of A. and Sophia Jones, of Sandusky City, a native of Steuben County, N. Y. Her parents came to Ohio in 1851, and located on a farm east of Sandusky, thence removed to Put-in Bay Island, where her father superintended the clearing of said island ; thence to Sandusky City, from where he removed to Chicago, Ill .; subsequently to Marengo, in the same State, from whence he went to Emporia, Kan., where he is engaged in cattle dealing, having a ranch of 900 acres. In April, 1862, Mr. Barcalow purchased his present farm, upon which he moved the same year, and which has since been his home, excepting a few months' residence in Chicago. They are the parents of two children, Minnie A. and Effie May, and are members of the Presbyterian Church at Carlisle Station, in which Mr. Barcalow has been Superintendent of the Sabbath school four years. When first settling on their farm they lived in the log cabin which had been built fifty years pre- viously by Andrew Baird, but Mr. Barcalow, with his well-known energy, has erected other buildings and improved the farm generally, which now surrounds his happy home.

REV. W. A. BOWMAN, Lutheran minister, Carrollton, was born on the 29th of September, 1840, one mile south of New Reading, Perry Co., Ohio. His parents, George and Elizabeth Bowman, were devoted members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. The subject of this sketch was baptized on the 30th of November, 1840, and in his youth enjoyed a common school education, extending from the year 1846 to 1856, the first

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two years in Bremen, Fairfield Co., Ohio, and the remainder in Hopewell Township, Perry Co., Ohio. During the years 1857-58, he attended three sessions at the Somer- set Institute, Perry County, Ohio, under charge of C. Nourse, and from April to Sep- tember, 1859, was engaged as teacher in District No. 1, Hopewell Township, Perry Co., Ohio. In the meantime his spiritual wants and desires were not neglected ; at the age of sixteen, he was received into full communion with the Evangelical Lutheran Church. Having an carnest desire to serve the Lord in the Gospel ministry, he entered upon a regular course of instruction at Capitol University, Columbus Ohio, begin- ning on his birthday, in the year 1859, and closing in the summer of 1865. His ad- vancement in the studies of the several departments was in keeping with the other members of the class, excelling in mathematics, and excelled by but few in languages. At the commencement, in the year 1861, he opened the exercises by an address on the " Present Rebellion." At his college graduation in 1863, he delivered the valedic- tory, subject, " Value of Time," and at his graduation in the seminary, he delivered the English valedictory, subject, "The Study of Theology." His ordination to the ministry took place at Germantown, Ohio, on the 23d of August, 1865, and he was installed by Rev. C. Albrecht, as pastor of Zion Church, Miami Township, Montgomery Co., Ohio, on the 1st of October, the same year. In addition to Zion Church, he has been serving other congregations. His present charge is known as the West Carrollton charge, embracing four congregations, all in Miami Township, Montgomery Co., Ohio. The charge is in connection with the English District Synod of the Joint Synod of Ohio. He has been laboring faithfully and unceasingly in this his first charge, during the past sixteen years. On the 28th of September, 1865, he was married to Amelia Ernestine Coutellies, who was born on the 5th of April, 1841, in Paris, France, and came to America in the year 1848; during her sojourn in Spring- field, Ill., formed the acquaintance with a citizen who subsequently became the martyr President. Her father and brother, machinists, accompanied the train bearing the mor- tal remains of Lincoln from Columbus, Ohio, to Springfield, Ill. Three children were born to Rev. Bowman-Alfarctta E., in 1867, Amelia, in 1873, and Emma L., in 1877. The second child departed this life in the year 1877. Three languages are spoken in the family-German, English and French.

M. S. BLOSSOM was born in Monmouth, Kennebec Co., Me., in 1804. The family is of English extraction, three brothers of which settled in Barnstable, on Cape Cod, Mass. Mr. Blossom's grandfather, Josiah Blossom, was a seafaring man, com- manding a whaler, and was a Captain in the continental army, in the war of 1776, sus- taining wounds at the battle of Brandywine that disfigured him for life. In 1817, Mr. Blossom came with his parents to Ohio. The family traveled overland with teams until they reached the Monongahela, where they bought a flatboat and continued the journey by water. On the way, Mr. Blossom, then but thirteen years old, contracted small-pox. The boat was stopped, and the whole family vaccinated. Fifteen miles be- low Wheeling, at " Dille's Bottom," Mr. Blossom and his father, Ansel Blossom, disem- barked, rented a cabin in the mountains, and remained six weeks, while the boat con- tinued down the stream. Alone in the mountains, with this terrible malady, the faithful father watched, and prayed, and ministered to his son. Only once was he visited by a physician, Dr. Stanton, who rode twelve miles through the snow, and found the patient doing well. Father and son joined the family at Point Pleasant, where they remained one winter and then proceeded to Franklin, Warren County, where Mr. Blossom's father taught school, numbering with the subject of this article, as pupils, such prom- inent names as Robert Schenck, James Schenck, Lewis Campbell, and others. MI. Blossom located in Miamisburg in 1827. There were then but two brick houses in the place, while many were built of logs in the primitive fashion of the day. At that time, the citizens of Miamisburg went to Centerville to vote, this being a part of Wash- ington Township, and there were no railroads nor canals here. He engaged in the sad- dle and harness making business, occupying a room jointly with a tailor and a shoe- maker. He served one term as Mayor of the town, and was for many years a member of the Board of Education. Born of a blood that throbbed with the boom of the sea,

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that flowed on Brandywine, toiling o'er the rocky soil, and inured to hardships along the rugged coast of Maine, the life of M. S. Blossom, with many dauntless spirits, is scarred into and inseparably linked forever with the early history of Ohio. It is fit- ting, therefore, ere the mist of years, like the sod, shall hide, that these names and lives be gathered here.

ANTHONY BROWN, farmer, P. O. Miamisburg, was born in Schuylkill County, Penn., June 13, 1820. His parents were George and Elizabeth Brown, both natives of Pennsylvania, who emigrated to Ohio in 1822, settling in Greene County, where they resided till their decease. Our subject was educated in the common schools of that early period, but his principal education was got with the ax and grubbing hoe used in the clearing of the land for agricultural purposes. He married Miss Rebecca Lindenwood, daughter of John and Rosanna Lindenwood, who were natives of Virginia, in 1842, November 8. They resided in Greene County six years, when they removed to Montgomery County in 1848, where they have since resided. Their family consists of six children as follows, viz .: Rosanna E., born November 21, 1843; Rebecca A., April 26, 1845 ; Lydia A., November 13, 1847, died September 13, 1849; William, October 10, 1849 ; Leah F., born January 11, 1856; John A., June 13, 1858. Mr. Brown has a fine farm of 124 acres, finely located and well improved, two and one- quarter miles east of Miamisburg, on the Centerville Pike. Mr. Brown and wife are both members of the Reformed Church of Miamisburg.

GEORGE W. BYERS, farmer, P. O. Carlisle Station, Warren Co., was born December 23, 1832, on the old homestead farm, which lies three miles southeast of Miamisburg, Ohio. His father, Robert Byers, was a native of Ireland, near Belfast, and emigrated to America with his parents, locating in Pittsburgh, Penn. Here he became acquainted with Nancy Laughlin, a native of Belfast, Ireland, to whom he was married. The year prior to his marriage he made a trip to Ohio, and purchased tlie farm now owned by Nancy Byers, widow, and began the erection of a cabin, when he went back to Pittsburgh, was married, and with his young wife returned to Ohio, finished his house, and began clearing his land. They were the parents of seven children, of whom James I .. , Robert, Agnes J. and George W. are now living, and Alexander L., William J. and David B. are deceased. As tlie children grew to maturity, they began life's battles for themselves. Robert is now a miller in Olney, Ill .; James S., a broker in Leavenworth, Kan .; Agnes, now Mrs. David Marques, resides at Olatha, Kan .; George W. received his education in the district school, with the exception of one year he attended the academy at Monroe, Butler Co., Ohio. His occupation so far has been that of a farmer, at which he expects to continue. He was married October 27, 1857, to Miss Mary Ann Johnson, daughter of Jacob and Catherine (Montfort) Johnson. She was born August 17, 1837, in Butler County, Ohio. Her father was a native of Kentucky, and her mother of Warren County, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. George Byers have three children living, viz .: Henry L., William M. and Irene; and three dead, viz., Net- tie May, Adda L. and Annie Belle. Mr. and Mrs. Byers are members of the Presby- terian Church at Carlisle Station ; Mr. B. has been one of the Trustees of said church some nine years. They moved to their present home (which is in the southwestern part of Miami Township, Montgomery Co., Ohio), in 1868, where they own a well-improved farm of 118 acres of excellent land, and a pleasant home. David B. Byers, who died December 16, 1879, was born June 26, 1835. Was married October 17, 1866, to Mary E. Osborn, daughter of David and Eliza E. (Love) Osborn, who was born in Dayton December 28, 1839, where her father was a wholesale merchant for several years. Mrs. Byers had six children by this union, viz., Harriet, Nancy L., Erwin O., Ida R., Ella E. and Walter B.

NELSON CLARK (deceased) was born in New York State in the year 1801, and died at Miamisburg, Ohio, August 8, 1859. His father, with our subject when a child, removed to Indiana, settling on White River, where Nelson's boyhood days were spent, and there he learned the art of basket-making from his Indian playmates. About the age of twenty-one, he came to Lebanon, Warren County, Ohio, and learned the trade of a gunsmith, the entire weapon being then made out of rough iron and

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stcel by the gunmaker. In 1825, Mr. Clark located in Miamisburg, built the briek house at the head of Main street, where he resided and manufactured guns. He inade the N. Clark rifle, an arm well and familiarly known throughout the West. He was a natural botanist, a practical chemist, an inventor, a musician, and a fair Ger- man seholar. In those early days, he had access to few books, but like Curran, " he read them well." In November, 1828, he married Sarah, daughter of Joseph Tapseott, the founder of the Jersey Settlement. Mrs. Clark had born to her two daughters- Anna S., the wife of Col. M. P. Nolan, of' Dayton, and Elizabeth, who married the late John E. Kinder, of Miamisburg. Mrs. Clark died May 13, 1841, and her husband was again married, of which union five children survive.

SYLVANUS E. DERR, farmer, P. O. Alexandersville. was born in Frederick County, Md., June 18, 1842, and is the son of Jacob and Sophia (Gladhill) Derr, natives of Maryland, where his mother died April 15, 1860, and where his father now resides. Our subject is the eldest of eleven children-Sylvanus E., Mary, Ann M. (deceased), Ann R. J., Maria E., Sophia C., Jacob D., Sarah M., Amanda M., Cyrus E., James M. and Martha E., who are seattered in different States of the Union. Sylvanus E. grew up in his native eounty attending the schools of the neighborhood, and, August 13, 1862, enlisted in the Seventh Maryland Volunteer Infantry, serving until the end of the war. He participated in the following battles: Haymarket Virginia, Wilderness, including the fights at Laurel Hill and Po River, Spottsylvania, Todd's Tavern, Spott- sylvania Court House, Harris Farm, North Anna, including the fights at Jericho Mills, and North Anna River, Tolopotomy Creek, Bethseda Church, including the fights at Magnolia Swamp and Bethesda Church, Cold Harbor, Petersburg, including the fights at Norfolk Railroad, Jerusalem Plank Road, Petersburg, Weldon Railroad, Peebles' farm, Chappel House, Hateher's Run, Warren's raid on the Weldon Railroad, and the battle of Five Forks, ending with Lee's surrender at Appomattox, which he witnessed. After the war ended, he was mustered out at Washington, being present at the grand review, and was discharged at Baltimore, Md., May 9, 1865. He was married, Feb- ruary 11, 1866, to Amanda E. Summers, a native of Frederick County, Md., and daughter of Abraham and Catherine Summers of the same State, where her mother yet resides, her father dying many years ago. Of this union six children have been born- Jacob D. (deceased), Charles E., Laura V., Catherine A. M. (deceased), John L. and Ida F. In April, 1878, Mr. Derr came from Maryland to Ohio, and located in Miami Township, where he now resides. In politics, a Republican; he adheres to the new School Lutheran Church, and his wife to the Reformed denomination. Mr. Derr, although a new-comer to Ohio, feels a deep interest in the progress and development of his adopted eounty and State.

JOSEPH H. DRYDEN, JR., farmer, P. O. Alexandersville, was born in Van Buren Township, Montgomery County, February 3, 1837. His parents were Joseph H. and Nancy L. Dryden. Our subject was educated in the public schools of the county, and in 1856 took charge of his father's distillery, and continued in the business until abandonment of the business in 1863, since which time he has been engaged in farming. He married, April 7, 1859, Miss Harriet A. Miller, daughter of John and Elizabeth Miller, both natives of Pennsylvania. Their family consists of seven children, viz .: Nancy Elizabeth, born August 14, 1860, married December 16, 1880, died January 24, 1881 ; Harrict A., April 17, 1862; Eveline J., May 16, 1864; Francis C., June 11, 1868 ; Willie, May 2, 1870, died May 18, 1870 ; Joseph M., September 20, 1871 ; Emma J., October 8, 1874. Mr. Dryden was drafted in the army in the fall of 1862 but was discharged at Camp Dennison October 13, 1862. He enlisted in Company A, Twelfth Regiment, Ohio National Guard, as a private, in July, 1863; was appointed Sergeant and was elected Captain September, 1865, and was discharged May 1, 1866. from the military service of the State of Ohio. They were called out in the one hun- dred days' service, and went to Fort McHenry, ncar Baltimore, serving about two weeks over their time.

JOHN T. DRYDEN, farmer, P. O. Alexandersville, born in Miami Township. Montgomery County, Ohio, May 28, 1849. His parents were Joseph H. and Nancy

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L. Dryden. He was educated in the public schools of the county and the Miami Com- mercial College of Dayton, Ohio. He married Miss Charlotte E. Shuder, daughter of Daniel and Susan Shuder, October 3, 1872. Their family consists of four children, as follows : Susan C., born July 4, 1873; Joseph W., August 21, 1875, died De- cember 21, 1876; Nancy V., born June 9, 1878; John L., January 2, 1881. Mr. Dryden and wife are members of the Zion Reformed Church, in Miami Township.

JOHN EAGLE, farmer, P. O. Alexandersville, was born in Miami Township, Montgomery County, Ohio, December 15, 1815. His parents were Henry and Sarah Eagle, both natives of the State of Virginia, and emigrated to this county at a very early date in the settlement of this part of the country. Our subject received a limited education in the common schools of the township, his time being principally engaged in assisting his father in clearing up the land for farming on which he now resides. In the year 1839, in October, he married Miss Elizabeth Ulrich, daughter of Christian and Mary Ulrich, both natives of Pennsylvania. Their family consists of ten children; only five of whom are living, viz .: Mary, born February 5, 1840; Jacob, April 25, 1841, died February 20, 1842 ; Ephraim B., born August 30, 1842 ; Henry W., Novem- ber 1, 1844, died July 9, 1861 ; Alfred C., born October 12, 1846; John B., December 27, 1848, died May 2, 1849; Louisa, born June 17, 1850, died May 9, 1861 ; Sarah A., born June 23, 1855, died May 22, 1861; John F., born November 9, 1859 ; Amanda, September 10, 1862, died June 14, 1881. Mr. Eagle and wife are members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, known as St. John's Church, of Miami Town- ship. They have a fine farm of 2192 acres, in a good state of cultivation, and are well situated to enjoy the fruits of their labor the remainder of their lives.

ELIAS GEBHART, farmer, P. O. Miamisburg, was born in Miami Township, Montgomery Co., Ohio, August 9, 1817. His father, John Gebhart, and his mother, Christina Gebhart, were natives of Berks Co., Penn., where they grew to manhood and womanhood, and where they were married. In 1805, they moved to Montgomery County, Ohio, and settled on a farm about two miles southeast of Miamisburg. Mr. John Geb- hart was a carpenter by trade, but devoted his time exclusively to farming after his arrival in Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. G. were members of the Lutheran Church, and among the orig- inators of the first organization of said denomination in their neighborhood. He died May 31, 1842, and she August 25, 1870. They were true followers of Christ, and were much respected by all who knew them. Of their nine children, but two survive -- Jonathan and Elias. Elias learned the cooper trade, at which he worked until his marriage, and since then has followed farming. He was married March 22, 1840, to Elizabeth, daughter of Joseph and Christina ( Hubler) Gebhart, who was born in Preble County, Ohio, June 20, 1822. Her mother died in 1850. The father is still living at the advanced age of eighty-four years. Mr. and Mrs. G. have followed the teachings of their parents, and have been consistent members of the Lutheran Church since 1835, Mr. Gebhart serving officially in the church quite a number of years, filling the office of Deacon and Elder. Mr. G. financially is in very easy circumstances, having started a poor boy. He now owns 300 acres of land, besides a considerable amount of per- sonal property.

JACOB A. GEPHART, farmer, P. O. Carrollton Station, was born in Jeffer- son Township, Montgomery County, July 10, 1839, His parents were John I. and Elizabeth Gephart, the father a native of Berks County, Penn., and the mother a native of Jefferson Township, Montgomery Co., Ohio. The great-grandfather of our subject, on his mother's side, was one of the pioneers of this county. His father came to Ohio in 1827, when he was but nine years of age. Our subject was educated in the public schools of the county, but his education was quite limited. He married in the year 1860, April 5, to Miss Rebecca Strunk, of Shelby County, Ohio. She was born in Pickaway County, Ohio, December 23, 1839. The family consists of six children, three sons and three daugh- ters, viz .: Minerva Ellen, born March 9, 1861; Sarah Elizabeth, February 8, 1864; Charles Franklin, September 17, 1866 ; John Calvin, July 25, 1869 ; Clara Aldora, January 23, 1872 ; Robert Marion, November 21, 1874. Mr. and Mrs. Gephart and their eldest daughter are members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Carrollton.

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The history of Montgomery county, Ohio, containing a history of the county, Part 149

Author: W.H. Beers & Co Publication date: 1882 Publisher: Chicago, W. H. Beers & co. Number of Pages: 1214

Author: W.H. Beers & Co
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Chicago, W. H. Beers & co.
Number of Pages: 1214