AZOR AND ABRAHAM SCRIBNER. Among the first settlers of Greenville was Azor Scribner. Late in 1806 or early in 1807 he came to Greenville with a small stock of Indian goods, including tobacco and whisky, and began business in a cabin built by a Frenchman who had deserted the same two years before because of the thieving depredations of the Indians. He did not bring his family, consisting of a wife and two daughters, from Middletown until 1808, but what time of the year is not known. It is conceded that the first white man who, with a wife and children, emigrated to the county and settled in Greenville. township was Samuel Boyd, who came in 1807 and built himself a cabin about two and one-half miles north by east of the site of Fort Greenville on the bank of a branch that yet goes by the name of Boyd's creek. Boyd was a native of Maryland, had lived in Kentucky, and was probably married there before he emigrated to Ohio and had, as far as we are able to learn, stopped one or two years near the Miami in Butler county, before emigrating to the wilderness, that, two years afterward, created the county of Darke. Boyd lost his wife about 1816. and she was the first person buried in the old graveyard below the railroad bridge; the early settlers having previously used as a cemetery the lot on which the Catholic church is erected, but during the occupancy of the fort by General Wayne's army his hospital was located on the lot now occupied by Judge George A. Jobes, while his graveyard was located upon the lot now occupied by the dwelling house of R. S. Frizell Boyd died in 1829 or 1830; one of his daughters, the wife of John Carnahan, had died in 1821 or 1822; arid another, the wife of Robert Martin, lived until about thirteen years ago, recognized as the oldest inhabitant of the county at that time. Soon after Boyd came, Azor Scribner removed his family and, abandoning the cabin on the west side of the creek, occupied one of the buildings of the fort that had escaped the fire which in a measure destroyed the fort inside of the pickets. Azor died in 1822 and his widow, in the early part of 1825, married a Yankee adventurer, who in less than a year deserted her, and the last ever heard of him was that he was in jail in Canada, on a charge of treason, having been involved in what was there known as McKenzie's rebellion. Abraham Scribner, brother of Azor, came to Greenville in the summer or early fall of 1811. He had previously been master of one or more vessels engaged in the navigation of: the Hudson river, from New York to Troy, or in the coasting trade from Passammaquoddy bay to the capes of the Chesapeake, and, sometimes, as far south as Cape Hatteras. When he came to Darke county he was about thirty years old. From exposure while commander of a vessel a year or two before he nearly lost the sense of hearing, and this infirmity in connection with some, other peculiarities made him a man singular and exceptional in character and deportment. Part of his time he spent in Greenville, in the family of Mrs. Armstrong, until his death in January, 1812, and part of the time in Montgomery county in the family of John Devor, one of the proprietors of Greenville, whose daughter Rachel he married in 1814. What he did: to make a living for himself for a year or more after he came to this county none now living knows. He appeared to be always busy, and yet no one could tell whether he was doing anything. Being at Dayton in the spring of 1813, he enlisted in Colonel Dick Johnson's mounted regiment and with it went to upper Canada where, in the fall of that year, he participated in the battle of the Fallen Timber, where Proctor was defeated and Tecumseh was killed. After being discharged from the service he married Miss Rachel Devor, and having; entered the prairie quarter-section of land above the mouth of Mud creek, now owned by the' estate of J. W. Sater, deceased, he erected a. log1 house upon it; also brought his wife from Montgomery county, and began housekeeping. In about two years Scribner sold his quarter-section, on which he had paid only his entrance money, eighty dollars, to John Compton, of Dayton, for sixteen hundred dollars, and took his pay in a stock of goods at retail price, and opened out a store. In the summer of 1821 Scribner lost his first wife, and, after an interval of a few weeks, married a second wife, Miss Jane Ireland, of the vicinity of New Paris, who also died in the summer of 1822. After the death of his second wife, he sold out his stock of goods, and having placed his children among friends, went to the Maumee, where he purchased land in Henry county, and squandered his money in half clearing some land, and having several thousand rails made, concerning which, five years afterward, Jacob DeLong wrote to him that they were lying in the woods and getting no better very fast.  In a few months he returned to Greenville  and resumed the mercantile business, in which he continued the residue of his life. In January, 1825, he married his third wife. He died in March, 1847 in the sixty-sixth year of his age. Mr. Scribner was a peculiar character. During ten or twelve years of his life he was the power of the county. He was the autocrat and, ruler of the Democratic party, and discharged all the functions of caucuses, primary elections and nominating conventions. Those he allowed to run for office ran and were elected, and those he forbade had to keep shady and hold their peace. But at last he switched off from Jackson Democracy, although he would be "right inline" now among Democrats, for he was an uncompromising adherent to the resolutions, of 1798. His last wife died several years ago, as did Mrs. S. J. Arnold, who was the last of the children of his first wife, and was the, wife of Henry Arnold, deceased, for many years a successful dry-goods merchant in Greenville.
Source: A Biographical History of Darke County, Ohio, Compendium of National Biography - Illustrated - Publ. Evansville, Ind. - 1900 - Page  228

MRS. ANNA E. SEITZ, D. O., formerly of Greenville, Ohio, and the widow of the late Professor E. B. Seitz, early in life studiously prepared for the profession of teaching and taught in the Greenville School from 1872 until her marriage in June, 1875.  After the death of her husband in 1883 she again entered the profession and taught in the Greenville school at Kirksville, Missouri.  By her industry, energy and ability she raised that department to a high state of usefulness and importance.  After four years' work in this position she resigned and entered the Columbian School of Osteopathy, Medicine and Surgery, in which she was graduated in June, 1899, and is now actively engaged in practicing her profession, having until recently been located in Greenville, Ohio.  Her present location, however, is at Cape Girardeau, Missouri.
     Mrs. Dr. Seitz has three sons:  Ray E., a student in the law department of the University of Cincinnati in Cincinnati, Ohio, Willie Kerlin, a teacher in the science department of the high school of Lancaster, Missouri, and who is especially proficient in science and mathematics; and Enoch Beery, who is a student in the Missouri State Normal School, in Kirksville, Missouri, and leads in all his classes in science and mathematics.  Clarence D., the third son, died June 29, 1886, in his fifth year.
Source: A Biographical History of Darke County, Ohio, Compendium of National Biography - Illustrated - Publ. Evansville, Ind. - 1900 - Page 744

ENOCH BEERY SEITZ , professor of mathematics, was born in Fairfield county, Ohio, August 24, 1846. His father, Daniel Seitz, was born in Rockingham county, Virginia, December 17, 1791, and was twice married. His first wife was Elizabeth Hite, of Fairfield county, Ohio, by whom he had eleven children. His second wife was Catherine Beery, born in the same county, April 11, 1808, whom he married April 15, 1832, and from which marriage four sons and as many daughters were the issue. Mr. Seitz followed the occupation of a farmer and was an industrious and substantial citizen. He died near Lancaster, Ohio, October 14, 1864, in his seventy-third year.
     In the fall of 1866 Mrs. Seitz, with her family, moved to Greenville, Ohio, where she resided for a number of years. Professor Seitz, the third son by his father's second marriage, passed his boyhood on the farm and had the advantages of only the common-school course. Possessing, however, a great thirst for learning, he applied himself very diligently to his books in private, and became a fine scholar in the English branches, especially excelling in that of arithmetic. For quite a number of years he employed himself in teaching, and with gratifying results. He took a mathematical course in the Ohio Wesleyan University at Delaware, Ohio, at which institution he graduated in 1870. In the fall of 1872 he was elected to the chair of mathematics in the Greenville high school, which position he occupied until the fall of 1879.
     On the 24th of June, 1875, he was married to Miss Anna Kerlin, a daughter of W. K. Kerlin, Esq., who was for four years the treasurer of Darke county, Ohio, and for many years president of the Second National Bank of Greenville, Ohio, which institution he assisted in organizing. Professor Seitz possessed very superior mathematical talent and a special fondness for this branch of study, and in a short time took rank as one of the finest mathematicians in the state. He was, moreover, a contributor to the leading mathematical journals of the country, among them the Analyst, the Mathematical Visitor and the Educational Times, of London, England.  Professor Seitz died at Kirksville, Missouri, October 8, 1883.
     While teaching in Greenville, Ohio, he was officially connected with the Darke County Teachers' Association, and at the November meeting of the same following his death, in eulogy of several of its deceased members the following words were spoken and action taken:
     Among this number we also wish to mention one, Enoch B. Seitz, who, though not among us, was still one of us, and is claimed as Ohio's gifted son. We can claim him as our own. Here the intellectual germ grew and strengthened by its growth, and we witnessed the gradual unfolding of a mind, the development of an intellect equal in power, and as original in thought as any the world ever knew.
     He obtained his education by attending a normal school at Greenville, Ohio, and afterward enrolled his name as a student at the Ohio Wesleyan University, and after two years of close application he left that institution with a mind, well trained for future usefulness. In the summer of 1872 he was employed as an assistant teacher in the Greenville Normal School, then held in connection with the public school. It was in this school that his mind seemed to drift to the mathematical channel, and while he was perfectly at home in the sciences mathematics seemed to be. his delight. The more difficult the question, the more determined was he to master it, and from the time mentioned until my association with him ceased, I never knew him to fail in the solution of any problem he undertook. He was a regular contributor to several mathematical journals, using the calculus to assist in his solutions, and was an honored member of the London Mathematical Society. Many of his solutions have been examined by the best mathematicians of Europe and America, and we believe he had no superior in either country. For a number of years he filled the position of principal in the Greenville high school with ability and entire satisfaction. As a member of the board of county school examiners, the teachers will remember him as being consistent, kind and obliging; ever willing to encourage the despondent, assist the needy, and by influence and example lead them to a higher sphere of usefulness. As chairman of the executive committee of our Institute, he was honest, conscientious, and, whether in the discharge of financial duty, or in a demonstration before the Institute, he seemed to possess the same earnest determination to do his whole duty faithfully.
     When he left Greenville for his field of labor in Missouri, nearly a hundred teachers accompanied him to the train, and he was cheered and encouraged by their kind wishes and congratulations. Little thought we then that death would so soon find him in his western home, and that all we could claim of him in the near future was the. casket containing the manly form now moldering to dust.
     If the teachers of Missouri have lost a bright and shining light, a teacher and friend who in the intellectual field made their pathway plain, one who unfolded to them the way to future usefulness, the teachers of Darke county will feel the loss as severely as they.
     But Enoch B. Seitz, although dead to us, still lives, we trust, in the happy home of a blest immortality; he still lives in the affections of his many friends here; and, though we will sadly miss him in the intellectual field, and in the social circle, yet the eye of faith can see him in that eternal home where intellectual development will continue until perfection is reached; and we can but hope that when our time shall come, and when, like him, we shall have passed the river of death, we may enter into that eternal rest now enjoyed by him.
     Our friend's work is done; his mission is accomplished; his directions in wisdom and morality are with us; though stricken down in the full vigor of manhood, he had fulfilled his destiny; he had accomplished the work which was given him to do, and the world was better because of his having lived in it.
     His death admonishes us of the uncertainty of life and teaches us a lesson we should all remember. We can imitate the virtue of our departed friend, profit by his example, persevere in the trials and difficulties of life, secure a victory over all, and finally receive the reward of the virtuous and the good."
     The following preamble and resolutions were adopted at this meeting:
     Whereas, since it has pleased the Great Disposer of events to transfer the labors of our friend and brother, Prof. E. B. Seitz, whose work and worth have been recognized by the educational and mathematical world and whose social qualities made every one whom he met a fast friend;
     Resolved, That we, the teachers of Darke county; in association assembled, do in his death feel that humanity has lost one of its best friends; society, one of its brightest ornaments; and education one of its most enthusiastic workers and strongest advocates.
     Resolved, That we hereby express our deep sympathy for his wife and family in this their sad bereavement.
     Resolved, That a copy of this action of our association be signed by our president and secretary and presented to Mrs. E. B. Seitz.
     In 1879, Professor Seitz was elected to the chair of mathematics in the North Missouri Normal School, at Kirksville, which position he held at the time of his death. J. P. Blanton, the president of that institution of learning, brought the remains and the bereaved family to Greenville, where the burial took place.
     By request of friends, President Blanton hastily sketched the following tribute, which he offered as a part of the funeral services and which is here given to show the high esteem in which Professor Seitz was held at Kirksville, where his instructions were eagerly sought by the students and where he accomplished a great work as instructor.
     Four years ago, on an August day, there was great commotion in your usually quiet village. The man whose dust lies before .us today, with his young wife, was bidding farewell, to the home of their childhood, he to resume the responsibilities of an honorable position in a distant western state; she, with Naomi-like spirit, to be his help meet to kindle the fires upon a new hearthstone. Then, as today, crowds assembled, teachers, pupils and friends of all callings came around him to bid him good speed, to shake his hands, to predict for him a brilliant career in his new sphere of labor, and to con­gratulate him that his great abilities had been recognized in, a fitting manner. If tears were shed then, they were tears min­gled with glad smiles, they were the tears of those who wept with a hope that that manly form would again be a familiar figure on the streets, and that possibly after years of successful labor at his profession he would spend the evening of life here among his earliest friends. Alas! alas! all that Mis­souri can send back of Ohio's gifted son is his poor dust to rest in her bosom until the resurrection morn.
     Did I say all? Nay, it is not all. She sends back to you the record of his life, as pure and unsullied as an angel's wing. She bids me say to you that his work and life have left a lasting impression upon thousands of her noblest youth, that his memory is enshrined in the hearts of her people and that the tears of devoted students, fellow teachers and citizens of all classes have stained his coffin lid. From the beginning of his sickness, which was of unusual severity from the very first, every possible attention has been shown him, physicians gave up their practice and spent their days and nights by his bedside; medical skill exhausted every resource.
     The students, all of whom loved him like a brother, vied with each other in their ministrations. They were the first to be with him and some of them were bending over him when the last feeble breath left his body. Even the little children on the streets would stop me and say, "How is Professor Seitz today?" And when I would some­times cheer them with hopes that I hardly dared to entertain, their brightening faces were eloquent of love and esteem in which :he was held by his fellow townsmen.
     Enoch Beery Seitz was an extraordinary man. He commanded, without effort, the respect of everybody. He was a man of the most singularly blameless life I ever knew. His disposition was amiable, his :manner quiet and unobtrusive, and his decision, when circumstances demanded it, was prompt and firm and immovable as rocks. He did nothing from impulse; he carefully considered his course, and with almost infallible judgment came to conclusions that his conscience approved, and then nothing could move him. While he never made an open profession of religion, he was a profoundly religious man. He rested his hopes of salvation in the sacrifice of the tender and loving .Savior, and I am thoroughly convinced he has entered into that rest which remains for the people of God. What a comfort this must be to the tender, brave, faithful young wife he has left behind him, to his bereaved old mother, and to all his mourning friends assembled around his ashes today. No need, dear partner of my dear friend, no need, bereaved mother, no need, dear mourning friends, for you to ask human sympathy or skill to pluck from your memories a rooted sorrow, to raise out the withering troubles of the brain with some sweet oblivious antidote cleanse the stifled bosom of that perilous grief that now weighs so heavily on your hearts. No need, I say, to sorrow. Why do we weep?  That

"' There is no flock, however watched and tended,
But one dead lamb is there; There is no fireside, howsoe'er defended,
But has one vacant chair; The air is full of farewells to the dying
And mournings to the dead; The heart of Rachel, for her children crying,
Will not be comforted.
" ' Let us be patient! These severe afflictions
Not from the ground arise, But oft times celestial benedictions
Assume this dark disguise. We see but dimly through the mist and vapors;
Amid these earthly damps, What seem to us but sad, funereal tapers
May be heaven's distant lamps.
" ' There is no death! What seems so is transition;
This life of mortal breath Is but a suburb of the life elysian,
Whose portal we call Death. And though, at times, impetuous with emotion
And anguish long suppressed, The swelling heart heaves moaning like the ocean
That cannot be at rest.
"'Will we be patient and assuage the feeling
We may not wholly stay, ' By silence sanctifying, not concealing
The grief that must have way?'

     I have now performed my duty. I have brought the remains of our, dear friend, with his family, to their early home. They were ours, but now they are yours. All I can say is, Farewell'
     Professor Seitz' external life was that of a modest, deep hearted, perfect gentleman. His great ambition was to be good and true, true to himself, true to his family, true to his friends, and true to his country's welfare. He had a thoroughly healthy, well balanced, harmonious nature, accepting life as it came, with its joys and sorrows, and living it beautifully and hopefully, without a murmur. Though the grim monster, Death, removed him from his sphere of action before he fully reached the meridian of his greatness, yet the work he performed during his short but faithful life, will be a lasting monument to his memory, amply sufficient to immortalize his name.
     He left a wife and four sons. Mrs. Seitz, the mother of Professor Seitz, is still living and is now in her ninety-second year. She was born in 1808, is a woman of decision of character, kind and intelligent, a pleasant neighbor and every way worthy of her gifted son.
Source: A Biographical History of Darke County, Ohio, Compendium of National Biography - Illustrated - Publ. Evansville, Ind. - 1900 - Page  740

Source: A Biographical History of Darke County, Ohio, Compendium of National Biography - Illustrated - Publ. Evansville, Ind. - 1900 - Page  520

STEPHEN SHEPHERD.  This progressive and enterprising citizen of Neave township, Darke county, whose home is on section 30, was born near Hamilton, Butler county, Ohio, June 22, 1831, and is a son of Dennis and Hester (Stephenson) Shepherd, both natives of Pennsylvania and of Irish descent, the maternal grandparents of our subject being natives of the Emerald Isle. The paternal grandfather was born in New Jersey, of Irish ancestry. After their marriage the parents of our subject came to Ohio and settled in Butler county, where the father improved a farm and engaged in agricultural pursuits throughout his active business life. In politics he was a stalwart Democrat, and was widely and favorably known. He was about ninety years of age at the time of his death, and his wife lived to be eighty-seven. They had nine children, eight sons and one daughter, and with one exception all grew to manhood or womanhood.
     Stephen Shepherd, who was the eighth child and seventh son in this family, was educated in a log school house, and on lay­ing aside his text books at the age of fourteen served a six years apprenticeship at the blacksmith's trade, after which he engaged in the same line of business on his own account. He opened a shop at a little place called Soccom, in Twin township, Darke county, where lie carried on business until 1862, when he purchased the farm on section 30, Neave township, where he now resides. Here he has lived ever since with the exception of three years spent in Arcanum, but at present he is now actively engaged in agricultural pursuits, renting his farm of one hundred and fifty-seven and a half acres to his son-in-law. He is a good horseman and has always devoted considerable attention to the noble steed and now owns some very good horses, which he is training for the road, having a. half-mile track upon his place.
     In September, 1860, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Shepherd and Miss Adaline Lowry, a native of Neave township, and a daughter of Reuben and Mary Lowry, early settlers "of this county. Mrs. Shepherd is the second in order of birth in their family of five children. To our subject and his wife have been born three children, namely: Clayton T., a practicing physician of Dayton, Ohio; Lizzie C, wife of V. M. Carry, who operates the home farm; and Percy, better known as R. H.
     Since casting his first vote Mr. Shepherd has always affiliated with the Democratic party and taken an active interest in political affairs. He served as a trustee of his township five years and is one of its honored and highly esteemed citizens.
Source: A Biographical History of Darke County, Ohio, Compendium of National Biography - Illustrated - Publ. Evansville, Ind. - 1900 - Page 658

WILLIAM H. SHERRY was born in York township, Darke county, December 12, 1864, and has always been connected with the ag­ricultural interests of his community. His father, Lewis Sherry, was a native of Montgomery county, Ohio, born near Germantown, and throughout his active life was connected with farming, save for two years passed in Versailles as a grain merchant. He obtained a good education and met success in his business endeavors. About 1850 he came to Darke county and performed a prominent part in the work of reclaiming its wild lands. His life was well spent and honorable, and commended him to the uniform regard of those with whom he was associated. His political support was given the Democracy, and upon its ticket he was frequently elected justice of the peace, holding the position for many years. Socially he was connected with the Masonic fraternity at Versailles and was buried with Masonic honors. He was long a devoted member of the Evangelical Lutheran church, and when his life's labors were ended on the 20th of January, 189S, when he was fifty-nine years of age, his remains were interred in the Lutheran cemetery in York township. There a beautiful monument has been erected to his memory. His widow still survives him, and is living in this county with her daughter, Mrs. Oliver. She is a lady of high Christian character, and in the minds of  her children instilled lessons of upright­ness, honesty and industry. In her family were three children: Ahvikla, the wife of Frank Oliver, a farmer of York township; William; and Samuel, who is a merchant of Versailles. He married Minerva Wilson, and resides in that city.
     William H. Sherry remained with his parents until he had attained his majority, and the public school system afforded him his educational privileges. He has always been a tiller of the soil, and is a practical and enterprising agriculturist, whose well directed efforts have brought to him good financial returns. He now owns eighty acres of land, the greater part of which is under a high state of cultivation. The soil is rich and is especially adapted to the rais­ing of corn, wheat and tobacco, of which Mr. Sherry obtains good crops and thus annually adds to his income. He has excellent buildings and other improvements upon this place, and everything about the farm is neat and thrifty in appearance.
     On the 29th of August, 1886, Mr. Sherry  was married to Miss Ellen L. Longcreek, ¦whose birth occurred in Germantown, Montgomery county, November 13, 1864, her par­ents being Lewis and Susan (Zechar) Longcreek, and during her early girlhood she came with them to Darke county, where she has spent the greater part of her life. By her marriage she became the mother of five children, four sons and one daughter, namely: Rilla May, Russell R., Homer, Lawrence and Chelcie O. It is the intention of the parents to give their children good educational privileges and thus lay the foundation for successful careers in later life. Politically Mr. Sherry is a Democrat, and has warmly advocated the party principles since casting his first vote for President Cleveland. He has been elected a delegate to the county conventions, and has served as township treasurer of York township, filling the position in an acceptable and creditable manner. He has also served for seven years as school director and does all in his power to promote the educational interests of his community. He and his wife hold membership in the Christian church at Brock, and have contributed liberally to its support, also aiding largely in the erection of the house of worship. Well known in Darke county, they have a large circle of friends and are classed among the representative farming people of their locality.
Source: A Biographical History of Darke County, Ohio, Compendium of National Biography - Illustrated - Publ. Evansville, Ind. - 1900 - Page  597

GEORGE SHIELDS, a practical and enter­prising agriculturist of Van Buren township, owns and cultivates two hundred and ninety-five acres of land, constituting one of the valuable and highly improved farms of the locality. He was born upon this place, June 1, 1838, and on the paternal side is of Irish descent. His grandfather, Patrick Shields, was born in Ireland about 1776, and was a boy of five years when he came to the United States with his parents, landing in New York. Later the family settled in Kentucky, where his parents are supposed to have died. When a young man he came to Preble county, Ohio, where he entered land, and in the midst of the wilderness made for himself a, home. He enlisted in' the war of 1812 under General Harrison, and carried important dispatches, passing through Cincinnati when that place contained but two log cabins. He married, and his first wife died in Preble county, and he later wedded Salina Smith. While living in Preble county he purchased land in Van Buren township, Darke county, on which be located after his second marriage, and for six years conducted a tavern at what was called Sampson. Later he moved to De Lisle, where he died, and his wife died at the home of a daughter in Darke county. Their children were: Isaac, the father of our subject; Rachel, who married William Neely and died in Arcanum; Abraham, who married Nancy Price and died in Greenville; Sarah, who married John Dyninger and died in Preble county; a daughter, who married Tice Sailor and died in Preble county; Patrick, who married Elizabeth Guilder and died in the same county; and Samuel, who married and also died in Preble county.
     Isaac Shields was born in Preble coun­ty, in 1815, and there he grew to manhood and married Elizabeth Rusk, also a native of Preble county, where they continued to make their home until after the birth of two of their children. They then came to Darke county, Mr. Shields purchasing eighty acres of land in Van Buren township from his father, only two acres of which had been cleared and a rough log cabin and stable erected thereon. To the further improvement and cultivation of his place he at once turned his attention, and as his financial resources increased he added to his landed possessions until he had five hundred acres.  As a citizen he always took an active and commendable interest in public affairs, and supported first the Whig and later the Re­publican parties. He died noon his farm in 1880, at the age of sixty-five years, his wife in 1887, at the age of sixty-seven. In the family of this worthy couple were thirteen children, concerning whom we make the following observations: Abraham married Salina Smith and died in Van Buren township; Patrick married Jane Brown, and lives in Greenville; Mary is the wife of Alfred Townsend, of Van Buren township; Matilda is the wife of John Roll, of the same township; George, our subject, is next in order of birth; William is represented oil another page of this volume; Isaac, a veteran of the civil war, married Ellen Weaver and lives in Van Buren township; Sarah Jane is the wife of Jesse Smith, of Dayton, Ohio; Isabelle is the wife of Isaac Allread, of Van Buren township; Alfred married Amanda Jobes and died in that township; Elizabeth died young; and two died in in­fancy.
     George Shields did not have the advan­tages of an education, much of his early life being devoted to the arduous labors of the farm. He assisted his father in clearing the land, and continued to aid in its operation until he entered the army during the dark days of the Rebellion, At Greenville, in August, 1861, he enlisted in Company G, Forty-fourth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and was under the command of Captain Newkirk, Colonel Wood and Colonel Gilbert. He drove a team a part of the time, handled trains and hunted forage. At Beverly, West Virginia, he was captured and held a prisoner in. the Pemberton House, Richmond, for. thirty-three days, at the end of which time he was paroled and came home on a furlough. He had re-enlisted at Strawberry Plains as a veteran in the Eighth Ohio Cavalry, and remained in the service until the close of the war, being honorably dis­charged in June, 1865.
     For fifteen years Mr. Shields rented the old home farm and after the death of his father purchased it. He has added to his property from time to time until he now has two hundred and ninety-five acres of land in Van Buren township, and has made great improvements upon his place. He is one of the most skillful and thorough farmers of his community, and is a man of good business ability and sound judgment, and to these characteristics may be attributed his success in life. In his political views he is a Republican.
     On the 4th of March, 1859, Mr. Shields was united in marriage with Miss Mary Taylor, daughter of the late William Taylor, of Franklin township, and to them were born three daughters, namely: Eleanora, wife of John Jobes, of Van Buren township; Susan, wife of Joshua Poe, of the same township; and one who died in infancy.
Source: A Biographical History of Darke County, Ohio, Compendium of National Biography - Illustrated - Publ. Evansville, Ind. - 1900 - Page  598

THOMAS A. SHIVES.  The subject of this sketch is one of the progressive agriculturists of Brown township, and his is also the distinction of being an honored veteran of the war of the Rebellion. All praise and gratitude is due the brave men who offered their services, and lives, if need be, in defense of their glorious land of united thought and liberty. Mr. Shives traces his lineage to the sturdy old Pennsylvania German stock, so notable for integrity, industry and frugality. Mr. Shives was born in Bedford county, of the Keystone state, on the 25th of April, 1836, being the only child born to John Shives, who was likewise a Pennsylvanian by birth, the latter's father having been a native of Maryland, where he was educated. The subject of this review has in his possession an old letter which was written with a quill pen, before envelopes were invented, the letter being folded up for mailing like an old-fashioned thumb paper such as the boys and girls used to make in the old-time spelling books to avoid soiling the same. He has also one of the finest collections of Indian relics that the historian has seen in Darke county, the display including stone-darts, arrow-heads, knives, etc. These interesting specimens have been found on his estate, and it is supposed that an Indian battle occurred on the grounds—possibly at the time when "Mad Anthony" Wayne passed over the old Fort Recovery road, which was about one mile west of Mr. Shives' residence. He also has a picture of William Henry Harrison, painted on glass, the work being clone during the campaign of 1840.
     Mr. Shives was but two years of age when he was brought by his mother and grandfather to Perry county, Ohio, the journey being made overland with team and wagon, which were ferried across the Ohio river at Wheeling. On March 20, 1851, our subject made his advent in Darke county, locating in York township, where he remained until the fall of 1854, when he came to Brown township, where he has made his home for nearly half a century, engaged in farming and known as one of the representative citizens of the community. He was reared to the trade of a carpenter and joiner, to, which line of occupation he gave his attention for the period of sixteen years, having received a liberal education for the day in the schools of his native state, the first institution of learning which he attended having been a subscription school, so common in the early, days. The first school he attended in Darke county was in York township, and a description of the same will be appropriate in this connection. The building was about twenty feet square, constructed of unhewed logs, the floor being of puncheon and the seats of split logs, with wooden pins for legs, while the desk for the "big" boys and girls was a broad board supported by wooden pins inserted in the side wall, the boys being placed upon the large, high seats, which had no backs. The mode of punishment was chastisement with the birch or hickory rod, which was wielded vigorously, as occasion demanded, and our subject can personally testify as to the adequacy of this primitive method of correction, while for minor offenses the old-fashioned dunce-block was brought into requisition. Under these primitive advantages Mr. Shives acquired such knowledge as to make him eligi­ble for pedagogic work, and he taught for three terms in the schools of the county.
     Mr. Shives is the architect of his own fortune, having won for himself a marked success in temporal affairs, through his own industry and effective methods. He started out in life upon his own responsibility as soon as he attained his majority, and soon established for himself a home, by choosing a companion for life's journey. March 12, 1863, he was united in marriage to Miss Dona M. Clawson, and four sons and seven daughters blessed this union. Of the seven, who are living at the present time we offer the following brief data: Phoebe Ellen, who was a successful teacher, became the wife of. Augustus Huddle, who is a successful farmer of Brown township; Charles, who is also a farmer of this township, married: Miss Gertrude Poling; Emma is the wife of J. C. Poling, of Allen township, who is a successful teacher, being a graduate of the college at Ada, Ohio, while she herself is a graduate of the Ansonia high school, and did effective work as a teacher for eight year; Etta is the wife of Enos Sipple, a. farmer of Brown township; Iva R., who is at home with her parents, passed the Boxwell examination seven years ago, which entitles her to admission to any high school in the county; Estella, who attended the Ansonia high school, is at home; and Lowell Clawson, the youngest, is in school and making excellent progress in his work.
     Mr. Shives was born in Darke county, August 24, 1845, being the daughter of Aaron and Deziah (Vail) Clawson, the former of whom was born in Boundbrook, Middlesex county, New Jersey, August 23, 1812. Mr. Clawson moved to Washington town­ship, Darke county, in 1837. Politically he. was a Whig, but of strong anti-slavery sentiment, leading off with the Free-soil party and casting the first Free soil vote in the township. He was also among the first to engage in the cause of temperance, beginning with the Washingtonians, advancing with the Sons of Temperance, and lastly was a firm Prohibitionist. For a half century he was prominently identified with the: history of Darke county, and here he died on the 31st of March, 1888. Of his ten children only three are now living—Mrs. Shives; Phoebe, a resident of Jay county, Indiana, is the widow of Benjamin Miller, who served in the civil war, as a member of Company G, Eighth Ohio Cavalry; and Elihu is a prosperous agriculturist of Brown township, this county.
     Mr. Shives did valiant service in the war of the Rebellion, enlisting in Company K, Eleventh Ohio Volunteer Infantry, under Captain Newkirk. At President Lincoln's first call for volunteers he proffered his ser­vices, enlisting for the three-months service at Greenville, this county, and being sent with his regiment to Camp Dennison. lie received his discharge August 17, 1861, and forthwith re-enlisted in the one hundred days service, as a member of the Ohio National Guards, while on the 2d of May, 1864, he again volunteered in the United States service, and received his honorable and final discharge September 2, 1864. He participated in the Lynchburg raid, and was always at the post of duty, ready to respond to any service required of him as a true soldier of the republic.
In politics our subject is a stanch Republican, having cast his first presidential vote for Abraham Lincoln. He has frequently represented his township in the county conventions of his party. He is a member of Ansonia Lodge, No. 488, A. F. & A. M., and of the G. A. R. Post, No. 632. He began life as a poor man, but by industry and perseverance, with the effective aid of his estimable wife, to whom he accords a large quota of credit, he has accumulated a nice estate of eighty acres, well. improved and under a high state of cultivation. When they came into possession of their present homestead it was given over to« the virgin forests, but the ax has laid low the forest monarchs, and the fine fields and meadows bear perpetual testimony to the energy and arduous labor of our subject, who now has one of the fine places of the township. Mr. Shives and his family are devoted members of the Christian church, and our subject has been liberal in his contributions to Christian work, having given financial aid in the erection of six different churches in this vicinity. Mr. and Mrs. Shives are sterling citizens of Brown township, and here are held in the highest esteem by all who know them, and we are glad to accord them this tribute in the genealogical record of their county.
Source: A Biographical History of Darke County, Ohio, Compendium of National Biography - Illustrated - Publ. Evansville, Ind. - 1900 - Page  600

Source: A Biographical History of Darke County, Ohio, Compendium of National Biography - Illustrated - Publ. Evansville, Ind. - 1900 - Page 446

DANIEL W. STOVER.  The substantial and energetic agriculturist residing on section 27, Jackson township, Darke County, Ohio, whose name introduces this review, was born in Montgomery county, Ohio, whose name introduces this review, was born in Montgomery county, this state, Dec. 30, 1859.  His grandfather, Abraham Stover, moved with his father to that county from Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, in 1838, and located eight miles west of Dayton, where he made his home until his removal to Preble county in 1865.  He, too, was a very energetic man and became fairly well-to-do, owning land in Darke county besides his property in Preble county.  As a young man he was unusually strong, but died of heart disease in February, 1875, at the age of seventy-one years.  He was a very just man, upright and honorable in all things, and was a consistent member of the Albright church.  He was very kind to his family and a good neighbor and his death was deeply mourned.  He married Nancy Landis and to them were born four children: John, who died when a young man; Henry, the father of our subject; Elizabeth, who died at the age of twenty-four years; and Mrs. Annie Brubaker. 
     Henry Stover was born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, in 1836, and was only eighteen months old when the family removed to Montgomery Co., Ohio, where he was reared, receiving a fair education in the district schools near his boyhood home.  He assisted his father until twenty years of age and then engaged in clerking in a general store for four years, after which he bought out his employer and carried on the business.  During the war he sold the store and ran the old homestead farm for one year, at the end of which time he sold it and bought another, where he lived two yeas.  On disposing of it he moved to Brookville, Ohio, where he was engaged in the grain and railroad business and also kept books at a distillery until 1868, when he purchased one hundred and eighty acres of land on section 27, Jackson township, Darke county, only thirty acres of which had been cleared.  Renting his farm he located in Union City, where he was engaged in the stock business, his trade being mostly local, though he shipped stock to some extent.  Later he was interested in the grain business and built what is now known as the Lambert warehouse, which he conducted until 1876, when he sold out and lived on his farm eight years, during which time he was still engaged in buying and selling stock.  In 1880 he moved to Union City, Indiana, where he was engaged in the monument and marble business for four years and later in the furniture business. He erected a store building at that place in partnership with William Wright, who had also been a partner of his in the sheep business, and the firm of Stover & Wright continued in active business until 1896, when the father of our subject retired to his farm and built the pretty two-story brick house now occupied by our subject.  Here he died May 22, 1899.  For twenty-eight years he was an active and faithful member of the Union City Methodist Episcopal church, in which he served as a class leader, and when the church was built in Jackson township transferred his membership to that organization, serving as a class leader until his death.  His religion was manifest in his business and private life and he had the confidence and respect of all with whom he came in contact.  Politically he was a Republican, but never south office.  He married Catherine Frantz, a daughter of Daniel Frantz, and born and reared in Montgomery county.
     Our subject was the only child born to this worthy couple.  He came with his parents to Darke county in 1868.  His education was partly obtained in this and Montgomery counties and was completed in the schools of Union City.  During his boyhood he became thoroughly familiar with every department of farm work, and throughout his entire life has devoted his time and attention to agriculture and has met with most gratifying success.  In 1880 he assumed charge of the home farm, which he managed until his father's death.  He had previously purchased one hundred acres and has since acquired one hundred and twenty acres more, on which he is now successfully engaged in general farming and stock raising .  He is also somewhat interested in tobacco culture.
     In 1880 Mr. Stover was united in marriage with Miss Matilda Isenhour, who was born and reared on a farm, a daughter of William Isenhour.  By this union were born six children, namely:  Ira H., who was graduated at the district schools of North Manchester and the Union City high school, and is now taking a business course; Ella M. and Emma C., who are students in the high school of Union City; John H., who died at the age of eight years; Clara E., who is attending school; and William D., deceased.
     Since his father's death Mr. Stover has served as a class leader in the Methodist Episcopal church, of which he is a prominent member.  As a public spirited and progressive citizen he takes an active interest in public affairs; was instrumental in getting free delivery established in his township and has efficiently served as a school director for fifteen years.  Politically he is identified with the Republican party.
Source: A Biographical History of Darke County, Ohio, Compendium of National Biography - Illustrated - Publ. Evansville, Ind. - 1900 - Page 716

WILLIAM Y. STUBBS.  The inevitable law of destiny accords to tireless energy and industry a successful career, and in no field of endeavor is there greater opportunity for advancement than in that of the law—a  profession whose votaries must, if successful, be endowed with native talent, sterling rectitude of character and singleness of purpose, while equally important concomitants are close study, careful application and broad general knowledge, in addition to that of. a more purely technical order.. Well qualified in all these particulars, Mr. Stubbs takes leading rank at the Greenville bar and is one of the eminent men of the profession and it is with pleasure that we present his record to our readers.. He was born upon a farm in Greenville township, Darke county, March 2, 1865, and is the eldest son of S, W, Stubbs, who was born in Eaton, Ohio. His mother bore the maiden name of Minerva Dixon.
     Mr. Stubbs, whose name introduces this review, spent the first eight years of his life upon the home farm and then attended the public schools of Greenville, acquiring a good English education to fit him for the practical duties of life. Subsequently he engaged in clerking in a general store in Greenville, and in his eighteenth year he began teaching, but all this served but. as a stepping stone to something higher. He determined to become a member of the legal fraternity, and to this end he read law with Hon. H. M. Cole, now judge of the common pleas court. He began his reading in June, 1881, and was admitted to the bar by the supreme court at Columbus, Ohio, at the January term of 1886. He then began practice in this city and is now well established in the profession. He was associated for some time with his former preceptor, Judge H. M. Cole. Mr. Stubbs is engaged in general practice and is well versed in the various departments of law. His diligence, energy, careful, preparation of cases, as well as the earnestness, tenacity and courage with which he defends the right, as he understands it, challenges the highest admiration of his associates.
     Mr. Stubbs was married October 19, 1887, to Miss Isabella Bookwalter. They have a fine home in West Fourth street, noted for its hospitality,. and their circle of friends is almost coextensive with their circle of acquaintances. Mr. Stubbs is recognized as a leader in political circles and exerts a potent influence on public thought and opinion.
Source: A Biographical History of Darke County, Ohio, Compendium of National Biography - Illustrated - Publ. Evansville, Ind. - 1900 - Page 751

ABRAHAM STUDABAKER. A pioneer of Darke county, Ohio, Abraham Studabaker was born in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, about the year 1785, and died in Darke county, Ohio, March 16, 1852. He was brought with his father's family to Ohio in the year 1793, and passed his youth in Clinton county, where his parents died. In the spring of 1808 he became one of the first settlers of Darke county, which was then a wilderness, inhabited by wild beasts and Indians. At this time there were but two habitations in the territory that now comprise the county. He erected a third rude log cabin, having a chimney built of sticks cemented with mud, as a home for his family, a wife and one young child. Mr. Studabaker's experience was a good illustration of some of the difficulties that disheartened the early settlers. He brought with him a horse and cow, and after awhile his little stock of domestic animals was increased by the birth of a calf. During the first year he cleared an acre or two of ground, which he planted in corn. He had just gathered his little crop when his faithful horse died of milk-sickness,. and shortly afterward the calf was killed by wolves. Hoping to catch some of these ravenous, beasts, he baited a wolf trap, with the mangled remains of the poor calf, and the cow, in hunting for her lost baby, put her head into the trap which . fell and broke her neck. Soon after the breaking out of the war of 1812, he erected a block house in the vicinity of Gettysburg, as a protection against the Indians. All other families fled the surrounding part of the country, but he remained through the dangers of the struggle. He used to remark that he was too poor to get away. For about two weeks after dangers began to thicken he was housed up in his wooden fort, himself, wife and one young child being the only occupants, threatened with ail manner of barbarities and outrages by the frenzied Indians, against which as a means of defense he had but two rifles and a small amount of ammunition. The second (or garret) story of this structure projected on all sides a few feet over the first or ground story, thus giving its inmates a fair chance to repel parties attempting to break in, or to fire the building from below. For protection against this latter mode of attack on the part of the Indians, he kept constantly ready two hogsheads filled with water. After he had for about two weeks been in this isolated and dangerous condition, the government, greatly to his relief, sent six soldiers with arms and ammunition for the protection of his little family. This block house, which Studabaker had charge of during the war, served as an inn, a port of refuge, official headquarters and other valuable purposes. Upon one occasion he captured five armed Indians and turned them, over to the government officer. They, however, subsequently escaped and killed two United States soldiers near Greenville, named Stoner and Elliott. While Abraham Studabaker and his family escaped the barbarities of this savage conflict, his brother David was murdered by the Indians near the site of Fort Wayne, Indiana. After the war closed Mr. Studabaker was employed by the government to furnish cattle to feed the Indians till the treaty of peace could be consummated. Upon the organization of Darke county in 1817, he was placed on the first board of commissioners and served with it for thirteen years. He was also a captain in early day militia. He was reared and lived amid scenes of pioneer privation and hardships, and as a natural result his education was exceedingly meagre. He was, however, endowed with fine natural business abilities, and had a most successful financial career. He was largely instrumental in securing the first railroad through Darke county, formerly the Greenville and Miami, now the Dayton and Union. He also advanced the money to build the first court house in the county. He was a man of excellent judgment, great sagacity, large hospitality, and of unquestionable integrity. He spoke his mind without reserve, and was very decided in his opinions, and in politics strongly Democratic. His first wife was Mary Townsend, daughter of William Townsend, of Clinton county, Ohio, and she bore him seven children. His second wife was Elizabeth Hardman, of Butler county, Ohio, who bore him five children.  She died in the fall of 1868. David Studabaker, second son of his first wife, was born in the old blockhouse, September 17, 1814. On February 13, 1835, he married Maria, daughter of William Folkerth of Darke county, who bore him five children. Mrs. Studabaker died in April, 1846. On December 13, 1849, he married Jane, daughter of Samuel Culbertson, of the same county. David Studabaker was one of the movers in the organization of the county agricultural society, also a prominent participant in securing the first railroad through the county, and for two years was president of the company. By occupation he was a farmer, and a very active, industrious and a good citizen. He also held the office of county commissioner, being elected on the Democratic ticket. This office he filled with honor; no better financier, and no one more honorable and trustworthy than he, has ever filled the responsible position; he died several years ago.
Source: A Biographical History of Darke County, Ohio, Compendium of National Biography - Illustrated - Publ. Evansville, Ind. - 1900 - Page 230