WILLIAM DAYTON ALBRIGHT.  To some individuals success appears as an elusive thing, but it will be found that failure generally results from the lack of one of the elements which may be acquired by all - perseverance, energy, industry and resolute purpose.  An analysis of the life records of successful men show that these qualities have been the causation of their prosperity, and such is the case with William Dayton Albright, a leading and successful farmer of Darke county, who owns and occupies a good farm of eighty acres pleasantly situated on the old Palestine turnpike in Greenville township, about three and one-half miles southwest of Greenville.
     Mr. Albright is a native Darke county, having been born April 11, 1857, one-half mile south of Arcanum in Twin township, a son of Henderson and Catherine (Leedy) Albright.
     Henderson Albright was born in the State of North Carolina and shortly after moved with his parents to Tennessee, and on growing to manhood came to Darke county, where he was married.  He located on a farm in Twin township, which he carried on a few years and then sold out and moved to Gordontown, where he bought and successfully conducted a sawmill which he leased in 1864 and enlisted in Company A, One Hundred and Fifty-second regiment, Ohio volunteer infantry.  Three of his brothers, became soldiers at the same time, and in same regiment.  Three other brothers had gone into the army earlier in the service.  Of these seven brothers all lived to come home.  Three of them received wounds.  Adam C., the youngest of the seven, was in from 1861 to the close of the war, having re-enlisted after his first term had expired.  He was one of the three wounded, having received a ball in the foot.  He now lives at Hastings, Neb.  At the battle of Mine Run a ball struck the canteen worn by William K. and after passing through it struck the plate containing the letters "U. S." with such force that the shock made a severe contusion on the abdomen that caused him to think he was severely wounded, but he soon recovered sufficiently to know that what he had mistaken for blood was only the warm water from the canteen.  He is now a retired minister in the United Brethren church and lives in Greenville.
     Phillip was one of the three wounded ones.  After the war he became a farmer in Darke county, where he passed away on Mar. 20, 1908.  All of these men proved faithful and gallant soldiers and their military record was an excellent one of which their descendants may well be proud.
     Henderson Albright's children were all born in Twin township.  May 17, 1865, he moved his family to a farm in Greenville township, which he had bought a short time before.  Here he passed the remainder of his life in tilling the soil.  He was a good and public-spirited citizen and showed himself as constant and persevering in discharging the duties of citizenship, as he had been when he fought in the ranks of the blue.
     Unto Mr. and Mrs. Albright were born five children.  The first died in infancy, John C. Fremont was married, Dec. 20, 1888, to Sarah Harnish.  He passed away June 12, 1906.  His widow lives at 320 West Broadway, Greenville, Ohio.  William D., the subject of this sketch, and Charles Simpson, an undertaker in Greenville, Ohio.
     William D. Albright attended the district schools in Greenville township in the winter months and assisted on the farm in the summer.  After finishing the work in the country schools he attended a more advanced school in city of Greenville two terms.  He thus mastered the elementary branches of English education.  In the summer months his labors were needed upon the home farm, and from the time of early planting in the spring until crops were gathered in the late fall he assisted in the work of the fields and the other departments of farm labor.  Mr. Albright was also inclined to mechanical work, and for some time was engaged at the carpenter trade, but soon returned to tilling the soil, and is now known as one of the substantial agriculturists of Greenville township.  He has a pleasant home, large stock and feed barns and other substantial buildings, uses modern machinery, and makes his land pay him well for all labor expended upon it.  In addition to general farming operations, he ahs been interested in the breeding of various kinds of livestock, and has made a decided success of raising pure bred Duroc hogs.  In politics Mr. Albright is a Republican, but his interest in public matters has been limited to casting his influence with those things which he believes will benefit the community in the greatest degree.  Like all the members of his family, he belongs to the United Brethren church.
     In February, 1893, Mr. Albright was united in marriage with Miss Elizabeth Morris, who died Nov. 25, 1904, and has buried at the Greenville cemetery.  She was a direct descendant of William Morris, one of the signers of the American Declaration of Independence.  Two children were born of Mr. and Mrs. Albright, namely: Paul M., born Apr. 30, 1894, and Catherine Ruth, born Apr. 20, 1896.
     Henderson Albright passed away Oct. 27, 1908, and was buried at Greenville.  His wife is now living with William D. Albright.
Source: History of Darke County, Ohio From its earliest Settlement to the Present Time - Vols. I & II - Milford, Ohio - The Hobart Publ. Co. - 1914 - Page 347
Transcribed by Sharon Wick

Source: History of Darke County, Ohio From its earliest Settlement to the Present Time - Vols. I & II - Milford, Ohio - The Hobart Publ. Co. - 1914 - Page 32

JOHN M. ANDERSON.  To what an old and honorable profession the medical man of the Twentieth century belongs and how infinitely better equipped is he than any of the great army of practitioners of the past to recognize diseases and to apply proper remedies.  A qualified physician of the present day must, of necessity, be a learned man to have standing with his associates in the profession and to assume the responsibilities of often holding the balance between life and death for those who trust him.  In his high profession he is a man justly held in honor and regarded with gratitude, but it must be through knowledge and acquired skill.  No forward movement in any scientific line has been equal to that in medicine and the physician must keep abreast of the tide.  Those who have approached eminence in medicine have recognized this and, in turn, the public has recognized this and, in turn, the public has recognized them.   Among the well qualified and experienced physicians and surgeons of Greenville, Ohio, is Dr. John M. Anderson, with office at No. 118 Washington avenue.  Doctor Anderson was born at Ansonia, Ohio, June 21, 1876, the only child of Dr. L. C. and Ollie (Tullis) Anderson.
     The great-grandparents of Doctor Anderson were James and Ruth (McCahan) Anderson, the former of whom was born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, in April, 1792, a son of Irish parents who lived about twenty miles from Dublin, Ireland, where all their children, except James were born.  They emigrated to America in 1791.  James Anderson married Ruth McCahan, who was born in January, 1800, a daughter of Patrick and Sarah (Greene) McCahan.  He was born in Ireland and his wife in America, she belonging to the same family from which came Gen. Nathaniel Greene, of Revolutionary war fame, who was considered a military officer second only to General Washington.
     John Anderson, the paternal grandfather of Doctor Anderson, was a native of Pennsylvania.  He married Mary Hulse, who was born in Ohio and died in Darke County, in 1864.  After marriage they settled in Montgomery county, Ohio,  where they remained until 1863, removing then to a farm in Darke county, where John Anderson died in 1869.  Industrious men and virtuous women have marked the generations of this family.
     Dr. Lewis C. Anderson, father of Dr. John M. Anderson, was born in Montgomery County, Ohio, Jan. 15, 1850, a son of John and Mary (Hulse) Anderson, and was reared on his father's farm.  His early manhood was spent in farming and in teaching school, the latter effort providing in part for his medical education which he secured at the Miami Medical College at Cincinnati, where he was graduated in the class of 1874.  He entered immediately upon the practice of his profession at Ansonia, in Darke county, where he remained until 1888, when he removed to Greenville,, having been elected to the office of probate judge, on the Democratic ticket.  After serving two terms on the bench he completed a post graduate course in the New York Post-Graduate Medical School.  Returning to Greenville he entered into partnership with Dr. D. Robeson, under the firm name of Robeson & Anderson, engaging in general practice.  He became known as one of the ablest physicians and surgeons of his day in Ohio and his son is proud to bear his professional mantle.  He was a member of all the local medical organizations and of the National Medical Association.  For years he was a Free Mason and belonged to Ansonia Lodge No. 488, A. F. & A. M., and to Greenville Chapter R. A. M.  He was a member also of the Knights of Pythias and of Ansonia Lodge No. 605, Odd Fellows.  Dr. Lewis C. Anderson married Ollie Tullis, who was born in Darke County, Ohio, and they had one child, John M.
     John M. Anderson grew to the age of thirteen years at Ansonia, Ohio, where he attended the public schools.  His father moved then to Greenville and here he was a student in the high school, afterward attending St. Mary's Institute at Dayton, Ohio.  Having determined on a medical career, he took a preparatory course of three years at the Ohio State Medical College, Columbus, and from there entered Rush Medical College, Chicago, Ill., from which great medical school he was graduated June 8, 1902.  He entered into practice at Greenville, and this has continued to be his field, although, at times, he has visited other cities in order to study new developments in his science.  In the Polyclinic Institute, Chicago, he took post graduate work with his end in view, and also took a post graduate course in the Post-Graduate School, New York city, and not yet satisfied, went abroad and attended lectures and clinics at Berlin and in the University of Heidelberg. He values his membership in the county and State medical societies and in the American Medical Association.
     Dr. Anderson was married July 15, 1903, to Miss Isabel Turner, who was born at Greenville, Ohio, and is a daughter of Joseph R. and Hattie (Macy) Turner, both of whom were born in Dayton, Ohio.  Joseph R. Turner served three years as a soldier in the Civil war.  Mrs. Anderson is one of a family of three children: Mabel, who is deceased, was the wife of Carl Jones; Isabel, and Maude, who is the wife of Frank Schwable.  Mrs. Anderson is a member of the Presbyterian church.  In his political sentiment Doctor Anderson has always been a Democrat, as was his father, and on several occasions he has consented to become a member of the Darke county Democratic executive committee and also of the State central committee.  Fraternally, he is identified with the Red Men and the Elks.
Source: History of Darke County, Ohio From its earliest Settlement to the Present Time - Vols. I & II - Milford, Ohio - The Hobart Publ. Co. - 1914.
Transcribed by Sharon Wick

HON. CHRISTIAN APPENZELLER.  It is possible for an inefficient man to secure office through various accidents incident to political life, but it is very seldom that he has returned to that same office by the people whose interests he has been representing.  It is therefore considered that re-election to an office puts the stamp of approval upon the man and his administration.  In these days of incessant activity when so many divergent questions come up for careful and thoughtful consideration on the part of the men in office, it is very necessary that those who make the laws be men of progressive ideas and intelligent capability.  The Hon. Christian Appenzeller, of Greenville, is one of the legislators of Ohio whose efforts have been centered upon accomplishing important things and furthering wise measures.  His business is that of contracting for pike and street paving, although within recent years he has been an agriculturalist of note in the county, and is still the owner of some very valuable farming property in Greenville township.  Mr. Appenzeller was born in Montgomery County, O., Mar. 6, 1861, a son of Christian and Elizabeth (Clemmons) Appenzeller.  The father was born at Baden, Germany, but when twenty years old, he left his native land for the United States.  A miller by trade, he sought work at Cleveland, and later at Cincinnati, but finding no opening in either of those cities he went to Germantown.  As he was still unable to get work as a miller, he learned basket making, and going to Butler county, built up a good trade.  Still later he located at Seven Mile, where he bought property.  This he later sold, and removed to Dayton, from whence he went to Greenville.  Finding conditions in this latter city to his liking, he bought the property, but after the demise of his wife he gave up his own residence to live with his namesake son.
     Christian Appenzeller, the younger, attended the common schools of Dayton, and assisted his father in making baskets.  By the time he was nineteen years of age he was proficient enough to go into business with his father, and they added the handling of the willow for basket weaving, to their stock.  Later he began farming and found in that work congenial employment until he became a paving contractor.  At present he owns twenty-five and one-half acres on the edge of Greenville, and an eighty-acre farm three miles west of the city on West Branch creek.
     The political career of Mr. Appenzeller began with his election to the office of township trustee of Greenville township, to which he was re-elected, but resigned.  In 1892 he was elected county commissioner and served for over six years, in addition to an unexpired term to which he was appointed to fill a vacancy.  Having by his time proved his ability and strength, he was further honored by election to the lower house of the State Assembly, and while in that office he was on some important committees - was chairman of committee of county fairs, was on committee of privilege and election, and was on the committee on waterways.  While he has already accomplished much, he is not yet through, for his constituents have not permitted him to retire to private life.  Men of his calibre are needed in Darke county, and he will doubtless be called upon frequently in the future to give his people what he has in the past, an honorable aid efficient service.
     On Aug. 22, 1880, Christian Appenzeller was married to Matilda Rhoades, whose parents were farming people of Darke county.  Mr. and Mrs. Appenzeller have had four children: Mary C., who married Earl C. Reinheimer, and has two children, Christian, Jr., and Elizabeth; Grace, who married William Micksell and has one son, Byron; Pearl, who married Clyde Moore and has a son, John; and Jessie.  Mr. Appenzeller belongs to the Knights of Pythias and the Masonic order.  For a number of years he has been a member of the German Lutheran Church and attends the services of that denomination in addition to giving it material support.  Mr. Appenzeller is an independent Democrat.  In 1910 Mr. Appenzeller built his modern two-story house of ten rooms and bath room.  Has running water, electric lights; in fact, it is modern in every particular.
Source: History of Darke Co., Ohio - Vols. II - Milford, Ohio - The Hobart Publ. Co. - 1914. - Page 295
Transcribed by Sharon Wick

TOBIAS ARNETT.     Tobias Arnett, now practically retired from active business life, is one of the most substantial and highly respected citizens of Pitsburg.  He and his wife have been a hardworking couple and have well earned the ease and comfort they now enjoy.  They are simple and unpretentious, living a quiet life and helping various worthy movements for the betterment of general conditions in the community.  They belong to old families of Darke county and enjoy the esteem of a large number of Darke county and enjoy the esteem of a large number of friends and acquaintances.  Mr. Arnett was born on his grandfather's farm in Miami county, Ohio, Jan. 27, 1845, and is a son of Abraham and Leah (Friend) Arnett.  The father was born on the same farm Oct. 18, 1825, and the mother was born in Montgomery county, Ohio, Sept. 16, 1825.  He died Apr. 15, 1907, and is buried in Abbottsville cemetery, and Mrs. Arnett died Apr. 16, 1895.
     Abraham Arnett received his education in the country schools and after reaching maturity operated his father's farm for a number of years.  In 1850 he brought his family through the woods to Darke county and settled first in Monroe township, clearing the land for his fields, and a few years later purchased a farm nearby which was in much the same condition but which he thought more desirable.  He cleared this second frame and lived on it some eighteen years, when he purchased an adjoining farm and operated it six or eight years.  This was then traded for a farm just east of Pitsburg.  In 1885 Mr. Hansbarger, from whom Mr. Arnett purchased, the last-named farm, bought a tract of land where the village of Pitsburg now stands, and began laying out a village, but the venture was unsuccessful, so he sold eight acres of this land to Mr. Arnett and the latter built a house, which is still standing, and which is located east of the Hammel & Arnett elevator.  Later he erected a handsome brick residence on South Jefferson street, opposite the home of his son Tobias.  He and Mr. Hansbarger engaged in business together and for several years conducted a grain elevator in the village, which they then sold to a Mr. Smith, who carried it on for several years.  Mr. Arnett was a republican in politics and served in such public offices as Road Supervisor and School Director.  He and his wife were active members of the German Baptist church.  they had three children, viz., Tobias; Margaret, who died at the age of six years; and Sarah Ann, who died at the age of five years, all born in Darke county.
     In boyhood Tobias Arnett, the only child of his parents who reached maturity, attended the country schools near his father's farm, and remained at home until he was twenty-two years of age, when he married and built a comfortable cottage on part of his father's farm.  One year later he purchased seventy-three acres of land in Monroe township, which he sold after four years and bought a farm of one hundred seventy-three acres in the same township.  This last-named places was the family home for ten years and he erected all the buildings upon it in a single year, which meant a great deal of hard work and there were twenty-one persons to sit in the dining room for meals for weeks at a time.  They lived some six years in a log house, then put up a much better dwelling.  The children having left home to make homes of their own he built a nice home in Pitsburg, now occupied by the Metzger family, and in 1894 he erected the pretty home they now occupy on South Jefferson street.  At his father's death he was heir to a share in the elevator business, the firm name being Arnett & Hammel, but is now known as Hammel & Arnett.  Mr. Arnett has now practically retired, leaving the active management of the business to his partner and employes.  His partner is Edward Hammel, a sketch of whose life may be found on another page of this volume.
     After residing about twelve years in his present home, Mr. Arnett and his wife went to live on a claim he had taken up near Norwich, North Dakota, consisting of a half section of land, which they still own.  He also owns an improved farm of eighty acres in Monroe township and forty acres of land just west of the village of Pitsburg.  He is a republican in politics and his first presidential vote was cast for Abraham Lincoln.  He served one term as councilman of Pitsburg.  He is a man of good principles and is upright in all his dealings, being rather quiet in manner and known for his inherent good nature, which endears him to all.
     Mr. Arnett was married May 14, 1868, to Miss Margaret Arnold, who was born in Miami county, Ohio, Mar. 4, 1849, and is a daughter of David and Hester (Alexander) Arnold.  David Arnold was born Aug. 18, 1814, and Hester Alexander was born Aug. 1, 1826.  He died in 1851, but she survives and resides in Armstrong, Iowa, with her third husband, Mr. Smith, whom she married some years after the death of Mr. Crawford.  The latter she married several years after Mr. Arnold's death.  Mr. Arnold is buried in Georgetown, Ohio.  He was a miller and owned a saw-mill near Georgetown, also owned a farm.  They had three daughters: Sarah, born Sept. 14, 1847, widow of William Richardson, lives with her children; Mary, born Dec. 15, 1844, died in infancy; Mrs. Arnett.  By her second marriage to Mr. Crawford, she had two children, only one of whom now survives, Amanda, wife of Charles Churchill, of Armstrong, Iowa.  Mr. Crawford died and some years later his widow married Robert Smith, by whom she had two children.  At the time of her marriage to Mr. Arnold she was of the Dunkard faith, as was he, and his father, Christian Arnold, was a Dunkard preacher.
     Mr. and Mrs. Arnett have two children, both born in Darke county, Orla A. and Charles Albert.  Orla was born July 26, 1868, lives near Battle Creek, Michigan, and married Rosa Minnich, by which union seven children were born, five in Darke county and two of them in North Dakota, namely: Edward O., of Battle Creek, Michigan, married and has one son, Charles O.; Ivy, wife of Russell Kenton, of Michigan, has one daughter, Thelma May; Frank, Myrtle, Elva, Ward and Chester, all at home.  Charles Albert Arnett, who resides near his parents, married Miss Jennie Baker, and they have three daughters: Susie, wife of Raymond Bristley, of Monroe township; Harriet, deceased, buried in Pitsburg cemetery; Mary, at home.
     Mrs. Arnett is known as an excellent housekeeper and possesses a cheerful disposition, which has helped her through the hard work and trials of her early life.  She is a member of the Baptist church and well known in various circles as a woman of fine character and a cordial hostess.
Source: History of Darke Co., Ohio - Vols. II - Milford, Ohio - The Hobart Publ. Co. - 1914. - Page 562