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OHIO GENEALOGY EXPRESS
A Part of Genealogy
Express
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Welcome to
Greene County, Ohio
History & Genealogy |
BIOGRAPHIES
Source:
History of Greene County, Ohio,
its people, industries & institutions
by Hon. M. A. Broadstone, Editor in Chief -
Vol. I. & II.
Publ. B. F. Bowen & Company, Inc.,
Indianapolis, Ind.
1918
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ADDISON D. SMITH.
Addison D. Smith, one of the best-known young farmers
of New Jasper township, was born in that township on a farm
a mile and a half east of the village of New Jasper on Apr.
29, 1871, son of James Marion Smith, a veteran of the
Civil War, who died in 1911, was for years regarded as one
of the most substantial farmers of the New Jasper
neighborhood and elsewhere in this volume there will be
found in detail a history of his family.
Reared on the home farm, Addison D. Smith
received his schooling in the Schooley district school.
After his marriage in 1895 he continued to make his home
there, he and his brother Alva operating the farm in
partnership, the place then consisting of three hundred
acres. There Addison D. Smith continued to make
his home until 1904, in which year he bought the farm of one
hundred acres in New Jasper township that formerly belonged
to his maternal grandfather, William S. Huston, moved
to that place and has ever since resided there. In
addition to his general farming, Mr. Smith has given
considerable attention to the raising of live stock.
He is also the owner of sixty-eight acres of his
father's old place east of New Jasper and of the Griffith
Sutton farm of sixty-seven acres just west of the
village.
On October 23, 1895, Addison D. Smith was united
in marriage to Sadie Fields, who also was born in New
Jasper township, daughter of Samuel and Catherine (Peerman)
Fields, who at the time of her birth were lliving on a
farm in the northeast corner of the township and the former
of whom is now living retired in the village of Jamestown.
Mr. and Mrs. Smith are members of the Methodist
Episcopal church at New Jasper, Mr. Smith being a
member of the present board of stewards of the church.
Source: History of Greene County, Ohio, Vol. II - publ. by
B. F. Bowen & Company, Inc., Indianapolis, Ind.,
1918 - Page 916 |
Alfred Z. Smith |
ALFRED ZINEY SMITH.
Alfred Ziney Smith, superintendent of the plant of
the Hagar Strawboard Company at Cedarville, a member of the
common council of the city of Cedarville, member of the
school board and former president of the local board of
health, was born at Waterlook New York, July 14, 1850, son
of Sidney and Flora (Wilson) Smith, both of whom were
born in that same state.
Sidney Smith was a superintendent of an
extensive dye-works establishment at Waterloo and died at
his home at that place at the age of forty-seven years,
leaving his widow with four small sons. Mr. Smith
kept the family together, presently moving to a farm in
Wayne county, New York, where she remained until after the
Civil War, when she moved with her sons to Illinois and
established her home on a farm of three hundred and fifty
acres south of the town of Marseilles, in LaSalle county.
She died in Marseilles in 1897, she then being eighty-four
years of age. Her sons, of whom the subject of this
sketch is the youngest, are all still living, Leonard,
a paint contractor, making his home at Joliet, Illinois;
Louis, formerly a miner at Leadville, Colorado, now
living in New York state, and Charles continues to
make his home at Marseilles, Illinois, where he is the
proprietor of a barber shop.
Alfred Z. Smith was but little more than two
years of age when his father died and he was about four when
his mother moved onto a farm in her home state, in the
neighborhood of which he received his early schooling.
After the family moved to Illinois he continued work on the
farm until he was eighteen years of age, when, in the spring
of 1871, he began working in a paper-mill at Marseilles and
was thus employed in the plant of the Brown & Norton Paper
Company, for five years, at the end of which time, in 1876,
he went to Milan, Illinois, and was there engaged for three
years working in another paper-mill. He then entered
the employ of the American Paper Company and was for five
years stationed at Quincy, being transferred thence to
Circleville, Ohio, where he installed the machinery for the
papermill there and was made superintendent of the plant, a
position he held until 1893, when he was offered the
position of superintendent of the mill of the Columbia Straw
Paper Company at Xenia and moved to that city, remaining
thus engaged there for three years, or until 1897, when he
entered upon the duties of his present position as
superintendent of the plant of the Hagar Strawboard Company
at Cedarville and has ever since been thus engaged.
Mr. Smith is a Republican and is a member of the
common council of his home town. He served for several
years as a member of the local school board, for some time
president of the same, and also has served as president of
the local board of health.
On June 2, 1874, while living in Illinois, Alfred Z.
Smith was united in marriage to Kate Herlihy,
who was born in southern Illinois, daughter of Daniel and
Margaret (McCarty) Herlihy, both of whom were born in
Ireland, and to this union two children have been born, a
son and a daughter, Sidney Daniel and Louisa,
the latter of whom is living at home with her parents.
Sidney D. Smith, who was trained in the art of
paper-making by his father, is now assistant superintendent
of the plant of the Hagar Strawboard Company at Cedarville.
He married Hetta Crouse and makes his home at
Cedarville.
Source: History of Greene County, Ohio, Vol. II - publ. by
B. F. Bowen & Company, Inc., Indianapolis, Ind.,
1918 - Page 240 |
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ALVA H. SMITH.
Alva Huston Smith, former treasurer of New Jasper
township and proprietor of a farm of about two hundred acres
on the New Jasper pike a mile and a half east of the village
of that name, situated on rural mail route No. 1 out of
Jamestown, was born on the old Smith farm a
mile northeast of New Jasper on Aug. 16. 1868, son of
James Marion and Eliza (Huston) Smith, both of whom also
were born in New Jasper township and the latter of whom is
still living, now a resident of the village of New Jasper.
The late James Marion Smith, a
veteran of the Civil War, who died at his home in New Jasper
township on Dec. 10, 1911, was born in that township on Feb.
14, 1839, son of Daniel and Lucinda (Spahr) Smith,
the latter of whom also was born in this county, in the
vicinity of Xenia, a daughter of Mathias and Susanna (Hagler)
Spahr, both members of pioneer families in this section
of Ohio, who were married on Aug. 8, 1818. Daniel
Smith was born in Virginia and was but a babe in arms
when his parents. Jacob and Elizabeth (Kimble)
Smith, drove through to Ohio in 1814, in company with
Philip Spahr and family, and settled in Greene county,
locating in what is now New Jasper township, the Smiths
and the Spahrs establishing their respective homes on
adjoining tracts of land. Jacob Smith became
the owner of three hundred acres of land and his children in
due time were given a good start in life. He was a
cooper by trade and for years operated a cooper shop on his
farm, his sons looking after the farm affairs. He and
his wife were members of the Methodist church and their
children were reared in that faith. There were ten of
these children of whom Daniel was the third in order of
birth, the others being as follow: Sarah, who
married William Spahr; Susan who married David
Paullin and lived in Silvercreek township; Phoebe,
who married Evan Harris, of Caesarcreek township;
Elizabeth who married James Spahr; William
who became a minister of the Methodist Episcopal church and
made his home in Silvercreek township; James, who
also became a Methodist minister and lived in Silvercreek
township; Nelson, who made his home in New Jasper
township; Catharine, who married Peter Tressler,
and Amanda, who married Stephen Beal, of
Cedarville. Daniel Smith grew up on the pioneer
farm on which his father had settled upon coming to this
county and after his marriage established his home on a farm
east of New Jasper, where he spent the rest of his home on a
farm east of New Jasper, where he spent the rest of his
life, his death occurring there in 1884, he then being
seventy years of age. In addition to his home farm,
Daniel Smith was the owner of two other farms in that
part of the county. He was for years a class leader in
the old Mt. Tabor Methodist Episcopal church. He and
his wife were parents of nine children, seven sons and two
daughters, all of whom lived to maturity, married and reared
families of their own.
Reared on the farm on which he was born, James
Marion Smith grew up there and in due time his father
helped him get a farm. James M. Smith and his
brother David bought a tract of fifty acres in
partnership and for some time operated the same under that
arrangement, but later James M. Smith, bought his
brother's interest in the tract. By that time he had
acquired other land and was thus the owner of a tract of one
hundred and fifty acres northeast of New Jasper, where he
had established his home after his marriage. He added
to his land holdings until he became the owner of five farms
and nearly five hundred acres of excellent land. In
August, 1862, James M. Smith enlisted his services as
a soldier of the Union during the Civil War and went to the
front as a member of Company D, One Hundred and Tenth
Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, with which command he
served for two years and six months, or until he received
his honorable discharge following an accident which befell
him during the campaign in the Wilderness, an ax which flew
off its helve while soldiers were constructing a breastwork
nearly cutting off one of his feet and incapacitating him
for further service. For some time was confined in a
hospital at Washington and when he was in a condition to be
removed his father went East and brought him home.
James M. Smith was a Republican. In addition to
his general farming he was engaged in cattle raising.
He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church at New
Jasper and was a class leader, even as his father had been.
On Oct. 17, 1866, James Marion Smith was united
in marriage to Eliza Huston, who also was born in New
Jasper township, on a farm a miles northwest of the village
of New Jasper, in 1845, and who is still living, now a
resident of the village of New Jasper, to which place she
moved in 1916. Mrs. Smith is a daughter of
William Smith and Sarah (Smith) Huston, the
latter of whom also was born in New Jasper township, in
1822, and who died when thirty-three years of age.
William Smith Huston was born in Knox county, Ohio, Jan.
28, 1821, and was fourteen years of age when his parents,
Robert and Ann (Lyon) Huston, moved from that county to
Greene county in1835 and located on a tract of land now
occupied by the station of New Jasper, Robert Huston
there becoming the possessor of three hundred acres of land.
Originally a Whig, Robert Huston became a Republican
upon the organization of the latter party. He and his
wife were members of the Presbyterian church and their
children were reared in that faith. There were eleven
of these children, of whom William Smith Huston
was the first-born and all of whom save Robert N.,
the sixth in order of birth, grew to maturity, the others
having been George, James, Josiah,
Mary L., Eliza Ann, John, Deborah
Jane, Margaret and Robert Harvey.
All these save Mary L., who married and moved to Mt.
Vernon, Ohio, continued to make their homes in Greene county
and here reared their families.
William Smith Huston grew to manhood on the farm
on which his father had settled upon coming to this county
and after his marriage bought the old Moore farm of
one hundred and fifty acres, nearby his father's place, and
there established his home. He later bought two other
farms. Politically, he was a Republican and by
religious persuasion was a Methodist. His last days
were spent on the farm which he had brought to a high state
of development and there he died on Apr. 29, 1896, he then
being past seventy-five years of age. William
Smith Huston was twice married. His
first wife, Sarah (Smith) Huston, died
in 1855 and he later married Mrs. Emily (Howell) Fawcett,
a widow, who survived him for seven years, her death
occurring in 1903. By his first marriage Mr.
Huston was the father of three children, namely:
Eliza, widow of James Marion Smith;
Sarah Jane, now deceased, who was the wife of
Isaac Files, of Xenia, and Milton,
deceased, who lived on the old home farm in New Jasper
township. By his second marriage he had two sons,
Addison J., a farmer in New Jasper township, and John
C., a hardware merchant at Xenia. To James M.
and Eliza (Huston) Smith were born three children,
namely: Alva H., the immediate subject of this
biographical sketch; Addison D., who is now living on
the old home farm of his grandfather Huston in New
Jasper township and a biographical sketch of whom is
presented elsewhere in this volume, and Jennie, wife
of Dr. George Davis, of Xenia, a biographical sketch
of whom also appears elsewhere in this volume.
Alva Huston Smith was reared on the farm on
which he was born and there grew to manhood. He received his
early schooling in the nearby Schooley district school and
supplemented the same by a course in the Xenia high school.
After his marriage in 1895, he and his brother Addison,
who married about that same time, established their home on
the old homestead place of their grandfather, Daniel
Smith, owned then by their father, and began farming
that place, at the same time taking charge of their father's
adjoining farms of three hundred acres. Thus they
continued in partnership for ten years, at the end of which
time Addison Smith bought the old Huston
place and moved to the same. Alva H. Smith
continued his operation of the Smith farms,
still maintaining his home in the old Daniel Smith
house, and after his father's death came into possession
of that place, a farm of one hundred and forty-eight acres,
on which he still lives. He bought a fifty-acre tract
adjoining and now has about two hundred acres. The
house in which he lives, a substantial brick structure
typical of the period in which it was built, was erected in
1862 by his grandfather, Daniel Smith, and is in an
excellent state of preservation. It stands on a rise
overlooking Caesars creek and among the noble old cedar
trees that adorn the dooryard are two which were grown from
sprouts that were sent by mail to Grandfather
Smith from the latter's birthplace in Hardy county,
Virginia, about the year 1860.
On Dec. 25, 1895, Mr. Smith was united in
marriage to Rosa May Sutton, who also was born
in New Jasper township, daughter of John and Catherine
(Reason) Sutton, both members of pioneer families in
Greene county, for both the Suttons and the
Reasons have been represented here for more than a
hundred years, and to this union has been born one child, a
daughter, Catherine Eliza, born on Aug. 14, 1905. Mr.
and Mrs. Smith are members of the New Jasper Methodist
Episcopal church and Mr. Smith is a class leader, as
were his father and his grandfather before him. For
the past twelve years he has been a member of the board of
trustees of the church and treasurer of the board.
Mr. Smith is a Republican and for six years
served as treasurer of his home township.
Source: History of Greene County, Ohio, Vol. II - publ. by
B. F. Bowen & Company, Inc., Indianapolis, Ind.,
1918 - Page 377 |
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COMMANDER CHARLES EARL SMITH,
U. S. N. In making
up the list of those sons of Greene county who have
represented this county creditably in far fields and whose
actions have added to the luster of the county's fair name,
it is but fitting that some special mention should be made
of one of these sons whose rise in the navy has been the
occasion of much congratulation on the part of his many
friends here and whose service in that arm of the nation's
defense in the present (1918) struggle is contributing
valiantly to the world's common cause. Charles Earl
Smith, commander in the United States navy, now (1918)
in command of the United States destroyer "Nicholson,"
stationed in the submarine zone in British waters, was born
at Xenia in 1881, a son of Judge Horace L. Smith and
wife, a biographical sketch of the former of whom is
presented elsewhere in this volume.
Reared at Xenia, Charles Earl Smith received his
early schooling in the schools of that city and upon
completing the course in the high school received the
appointment from this congressional district as a cadet in
the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, form which he
was graduated as an ensign in 1903. During his term of
study in the Naval Academy he "starred" in athletics,
particularly on the "gridiron," he having played quarterback
on the navy team during the seasons of 1901 and 1902.
Upon receiving his title of ensign he was assigned to the
cruiser "New York," and during the next two seasons helped
to coach the navy football team. During the fleet's
celebrated trip around Cape Horn he was stationed on a
torpedo-boat destroyer, which, though not built for long
trips, got through all right; and after the completion of
that memorable voyage he was assigned to the Pacific fleet
and did duty along the California coast until 1915, when,
meanwhile having been advanced to the grade of first
lieutenant, he was given command of a flotilla of submarines
and was at Honolulu at the time the ill-fated submarine 4
was lost in the harbor there, to him falling the duty of
raising the same. After that tragic experience
Lieutenant Smith obtained shore leave and was
assigned to special service at the Naval Academy, in charge
of athletics, and was thus in service at the time war was
declared against Germany in the spring of 1917, with the
rank of lieutenant-commander, in charge of the training of
marines for petty officers; later was raised to the rank of
commander, and is now (1918) engaged in convoying transports
carrying soldiers and provisions to and from England and
France and on the lookout for German submarines.
Commander Smith has also rendered service in the
army, he having been a member of the First Ohio Cavalry,
doing service during the Spanish-American War, and was
stationed in camp at Chickamauga at the time he received his
appointment as a cadet to tlie Naval Academy at Annapolis,
obtaining a furlough in order that he might take the
examination necessary to qualify for the latter service.
Source: History of Greene County, Ohio, Vol. II - publ. by
B. F. Bowen & Company, Inc., Indianapolis, Ind.,
1918 - Page 95-96 |
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CHARLES N. SMITH.
Charles N. Smith, a veteran of the Civil War and one
of the best-known
citizens of Greene county, a retired farmer and active
trader, now living at Jamestown, is a native son of this
county and has lived here all his life. He was born a
farm in New Jasper township on Nov. 9, 1841, son of
Daniel and Lucinda (Spahr) Smith, the latter of whom
also was born in this county, a member of one of the first
families to settle in Xenia township.
Daniel Smith was born in Virginia in 1803 and
was but three months of age when his parents came to Ohio
with their family and settled in Greene county, where he
grew to manhood and became a successful farmer, the
proprietor of a farm of five hundred or six hundred acres.
Daniel Smith died on the home farm in New
Jasper township about 1873. He and his wife were the
parents of nine children, of whom the subject of this sketch
was the third in order of birth, the others being as follow:
Silas, deceased; James M., deceased; David
S., deceased; Mrs. Mary E. Brown, of New Jasper
township; Daniel B., of Xenia: Jacob N., of
Xenia: Mrs. Alice St. John, deceased, and Mathias,
the present superintendent of the county farm.
Reared on the home farm in New Jasper township. Charles
N. Smith received his schooling in the neighborhood
schools and was early trained in the ways of practical
farming. He was but nineteen years of age when the
Civil War broke out and on Oct. 9, 1861, he enlisted in
Company A, Seventy-fourth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry,
with which command he served until his honorable discharge
in January, 1864. He immediately re-enlisted and
continued serving until the close of the war, receiving his
final discharge on July 25, 1865, after a service of nearly
four years. Mr. Smith participated in
Sherman's memorable march to the sea, was captured by
the enemy and was confined in Libby Prison, having been one
of the last prisoners released from that historic place of
detention. Upon the completion of his military service
Mr. Smith returned home and not long afterward
was married and settled down on his grandfather's old place
in Nev; Jasper township, where he continued successfully
engaged in farming and trading until his retirement from the
farm and removal about 1890 to the village of Jamestown,
where he ever since has made his home. For the past
thirty-five years Mr. Smith has served as
assessor of the township. He is a member of the
Methodist Episcopal church and, fraternally, is affiliated
with the Grand Army of the Republic, the Independent Order
of Odd Fellows and with the Benevolent and Protective Order
of Elks, the oldest member of the latter order in Greene
county. Mr. Smith is an ardent disciple
of Izaak Walton, it being his custom to go
away to Michigan every summer on a fishing trip.
As noted above, it was not long after his return from
the army that Mr. Smith was married. His
wife died at Jamestown on Apr. 15, 1908. She also was
born in this county, Hulda W. Browser, daughter of
Thomas Y. and Sarah (Hurley) Browser. To Mr.
and Mrs. Smith were born three children, Lester A.,
Minnie B. and Sarah L., the latter of whom is
living at home with her father. Lester A. Smith,
who is also living at Jamestown, married Lillian Weed
and has one child, a daughter, Martha.
Minnie B. Smith married Thomas Riggs, of
Dayton, and has one child, a son, Jack Nelson.
Source: History of Greene County, Ohio, Vol. II - publ. by
B. F. Bowen & Company, Inc., Indianapolis, Ind.,
1918 - Page 898 |
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ELMER H. SMITH.
Elmer H. Smith, proprietor of a farm of nearly one
hundred acres in silvercreek township, was born on a farm in
Caesarscreek township on Feb. 18, 1880, son of John B.
and Sarah (Baynard) Smith, both of whom are still
living, now residents of the city of Xenia.
John B. Smith is a Virginian, but has been a
resident of this county since he was seventeen years of age.
His mother died when he was a small child and his father
afterward married and a few years later died. The
stepmother, accompanied by the son John B. and his
two sisters, then came to Ohio, locating south of Xenia, in
this county, where John B. Smith remained until his
marriage to Sarah Baynard, after which he rented a
farm in New Jasper township and later moved to Caesarscreek
township and began farming on his father-in-law's farm.
He later bought a farm in Caesarscreek township and there
resided until failing health compelled his retirement and
removal to xenia, where he and his wife are now living on
North Detroit street. John B. Smith is a
Republican. His wife is a member of the Methodist
Episcopal church. They have six children, of whom the
subject of this sketch was the third in order of birth, the
others being Mary J., wife of William Fudge,
a farmer of New Jasper township; Walter B., a
carpenter; George, who is the manager of the
Walker coal yard at Xenia; Hazel, wife of O.
C. Colvin, a farmer of Caesarscreek township, and
Albertus D., who is now (1918) with the American
expeditionary Force in France, a member of the Sixteenth
Company, Second Motor Mechanics Regiment, national army of
the United States, in the war against Germany.
Elmer H. Smith was reared on the home farm and
received his schooling in the local schools. After his
marriage in 1908 he took charge of the place he now owns and
has since been operating the same, since taking possession
having made numerous improvements, including a new barn.
In addition to his general farming Mr. Smith
gives considerable attention to the raising of registered
big-type Poland China hogs, Shorthorn cattle and horses of a
good strain. In his political affiliation he is a
Republican.
On Dec. 26, 1908, Elmer H. Smith was united in
marriage to Alice Haughey, who was born in Jefferson
township, this county, daughter of David P. and Rose
(Early) Haughey, the Haugheys being one of the
old families in Greene county, and to this union two
children have been born, daughter both, Zora Lucile
and Mary Alice. Mr. and Mrs. Smith are member
of the Methodist Protestant church at Bowersville and Mr.
Smith is a member of the Odd Fellows lodge at Xenia.
Source: History of Greene County, Ohio, Vol. II - publ. by
B. F. Bowen & Company, Inc., Indianapolis, Ind.,
1918 - Page 587 |
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EUGENE D. SMITH.
Eugene D. Smith, yardmaster for the Pennsylvania
Railroad Company, at Xenia, was born in Terre Haute,
Indiana, Dec. 25, 1880, a son of James and Frances (Lowe)
Smith, both now deceased, the former of whom was born
and reared at Xenia and the latter at Marshall, Illinois.
James Smith was a son of Adam L. and Sarah (Gano)
Smith, the latter of whom was a member of one of the
oldest families in Greene county, her mother, Mary
(Williams) Gano, having been the first female white
child born within what is now the precincts of the city of
Xenia and was cradled in a maple-log trough in an old log
house that stood on what is now the Roberts place on
the north edge of the city. Mary Williams was a
daughter of Remembrance Williams, of whom mention is
made in the historical section of this work. Adam
L. Smith was a native of Scotland, born and reared at
Edinburgh, who came to this country as a young man of
nineteen and presently set up a carriage shop at Xenia.
He spent his last days in Xenia and lived to be seventy-two
years of age. He and his wife were the parents of a
considerable family of children, among those still living
being Ed. M. Smith, former chief of police of the
city of Xenia, now living on Church street in that city, and
George H. Smith, also of Xenia, who lives on South
Detroit street.
James Smith was born and reared in Xenia and
early entered the railroad service, presently becoming a
fireman and then a locomotive engineer on the old Terre
Haute & Indianapolis Railroad, now a part of the
Pennsylvania system, during that period of service being
located at Terre Haute. He later became connected with
the Wabash Railroad and during that period of service made
his home at East St. Louis, where he later became engaged in
the hotel and restaurant business. James Smith
was twice married and by his first wife was the father of
two sons, the subject of this sketch having had a brother,
Albert Smith, now deceased, who also became engaged
in the railroad service and was thus engaged to the time of
his death. Following the death of his first wife,
Frances Lowe, Mr. Smith married Sarah Capoe and
by that union was the father of one child, a daughter,
Edna.
Eugene D. Smith was but a child when his mother
died and he was reared by his grandmother Smith at
Xenia, in the schools of which city he received his
schooling. He then rejoined his father at East St.
Louis and there became employed as a messenger boy for the
Wabash Railroad, later becoming a yard clerk and then a
locomotive fireman. In 1902 he returned to Xenia and
there became employed as a pipe-fitter and plumber and was
thus engaged for three years, at the end of which time he
returned to railroad service and became a brakeman in the
Pennsylvania Railroad yards at Xenia, presently being
promoted to the position of yard conductor and served in the
latter capacity for one year, or until 1906, when he was
made night yardmaster. In 1913 Mr. Smith was
promoted to the position of day yardmaster in the Xenia
yards of the Pennsylvania Company and still occupies that
position.
On Jan. 6, 1906, Eugene D. Smith was united in
marriage to Cora C. Weddele, who was born at Dayton
,his state, daughter of George and Mary Weddele the
former of whom is now engineer at the Ohio Soldiers and
Sailors Orphans Home at Xenia. Mr. Smith was
reared in the faith of the Episcopal church.
Source: History of Greene County, Ohio, Vol. II - publ. by
B. F. Bowen & Company, Inc., Indianapolis, Ind.,
1918 - Page 195 |
| |
FLORANCE R. SMITH.
Florence Smith, proprietor of a Ross township farm of
two hundred acres on rural mail route No. 4 out of
Jamestown, was born in that township on Sept. 16, 1851, son
of James W. and Dorcas (Spahr) Smith, both of whom
also were born in this county, members of pioneer families.
James W. Smith was born on a farm in the Jasper
neighborhood in 1821, his parents having been early settlers
there, coming to this county from Virginia. He
grew up there and after his marriage established his home on
a farm in Ross township, the place now owned by his son
Florance, and there died in 1861. He and his wife
were the parents of four children, of whom the subject of
this sketch is now the only survivor, the others having been
Philip, Jacob and Mrs. Arabella Brickel.
Florance Smith was but ten years of age when his
father died. He was reared on the home farm, received
his schooling in the neighborhood schools and in due time
began farming on his own account, a vocation he ever since
has followed. after his marriage in the fall of 1887
he established his home on the place on which he is now
living in Ross township and has continued to make that his
place of residence. In addition to his home place of
two hundred acres he owns a farm of one hundred acres over
in the neighboring county of Fayette.
Mr. Smith has been twice married. On Nov.
26, 1887, he was united in marriage to Margaret Ferguson,
who died on Oct. 9, 1889. To that union was born one
child, a daughter, Margaret E., who died in infancy.
On Feb. 26, 1891, Mr. Smith married Mrs. Elizabeth
Burr, of this county, and to this union two children
have been born, one who died in infancy and Herbert,
who was born on Dec. 20, 1904. Mr. and Mrs. Smith
are members of the Methodist Episcopal church at
Jamestown and Mr. Smith is a Republican.
Source: History of Greene County, Ohio, Vol. II - publ. by
B. F. Bowen & Company, Inc., Indianapolis, Ind.,
1918 - Page 758 |
| |
HARRY D. SMITH.
Harry Dwight Smith, prosecuting attorney for Greene
county, former president of the council of the city of Xenia
and former city solicitor, was born at Xenia, on Apr. 20,
1879, son of Judge Horace L. and Mary A. (Jones) Smith,
the former of whom is still living at Xenia, where for many
years he has been engaged in the practice of the law and
further mention of whom is made elsewhere in this volume,
together with further details relating to the Smith
family in Xenia. Judge Smith has
two sons, the subject of this sketch having a brother.
Commander Charles E. Smith, of the United States
navy, further mention of whom also is made in this volume.
Reared in Xenia, Harry D. Smith was graduated
from the high school there in 1896 and then entered Antioch
College, from which he was graduated in 1900 with the degree
of Bachelor of Philosophy. In the meantime, under the
preceptorship of his father, he had been giving attention to
the preliminary study of law and upon leaving college
entered the law department of the University of Michigan at
Ann Arbor and was graduated from that institution in 1903.
Following his graduation Mr. Smith was
admitted to the bar and straightway opened an office for the
practice of his profession in Xenia, where he since has been
located. He is a Republican and during the year
1906-07 served as president of the city council and in 1908
was elected city solicitor, which latter position he held
until his election to the office of prosecuting attorney for
this judicial district in the fall of 1916. Mr.
Smith entered upon the duties of this latter office on
Jan. 1, 1917, and is now serving in that capacity, his term
of office to expire on Jan. 1, 1919.
On June 23, 1904, Harry D. Smith was united in
marriage to Mae Prugh, of Xenia, daughter of V. H.
and Mary (Conner) Prugh, both now deceased, and to this
union two children have been born, Horace H., born in
October, 1905, and Mary Carolyn, August, 1907.
Mr. and Mrs. Smith are members of the Presbyterian
church.
Source: History of Greene County, Ohio, Vol. II - publ. by
B. F. Bowen & Company, Inc., Indianapolis, Ind.,
1918 - Page 299 |
| |
JUDGE HORACE L. SMITH.
The Hon. Horace Lee Smith, former judge of the court
of common pleas of the third subdivision of the second
judicial district of Ohio and a member of the Greene county
bar, with offices at Xenia since the spring of 1875, is a
native son of Ohio, born at Loganville, in Logan county,
Aug. 28, 1853, a son of Dr. Clinton and Mary (Davidson)
Smith, the former of whom was born in Dublin, in
Franklin county, this state, and the latter at Harrisburg,
Pennsylvania. In 1855 Dr. Clinton Smith moved
with his family from Loganville to Bloomingburg, in the
neighboring county of Fayette, where he continued engaged in
the practice of his profession the rest of his life, his
death occurring there on Nov. 9, 1879. His widow
survived him for twenty-seven years, her death occurring in
1906. They were the parents of three children, the
subject of this review having a brother. Dr. Homer
Smith, of Westerville, and Dr. Eva Smith, of
Middletown.
Having been but two years of age when his parents moved
from Loganville to Bloomingburg, Horace L. Smith was
reared in the latter village and there received his early
schooling, later entering Bloomingburg Academy, where he
prepared for entrance at Wooster University, from which he
was graduated in June, 1872, with the degree of Bachelor of
Arts. He then entered the law department of the
University of Michigan at Ann Arbor and was graduated from
that institution in March, 1875, with the degree of Bachelor
of Laws. In April of that same year he was admitted to
practice by the supreme court of the state of Ohio and
straightway afterward opened an office for the practice of
his profession at Xenia, where he ever since has made his
residence. In the fall of 1888, as the nominee of the
Republican party, Judge Smith was elected judge of
the court of common pleas of the third subdivision of the
second judicial district of the state of Ohio and in the
following February ascended the bench, occupying the same,
by re-election until Feb. 9, 1899, a period of ten years.
Upon the completion of this term of service Judge Smith
resumed practice at Xenia and has so continued, though of
late years he has sought to confine his personal practice
chiefly to taking care of the needs of his old clients, the
general practice of the office being looked after largely by
his son, Harry Smith, who for some time has been
associated with his father in the practice of his profession
at Xenia, under the firm name of Smith & Smith, and
who know occupies the official position of prosecuting
attorney for Greene county.
Judge Smith has been twice married. In
April, 1875, the month in which he was admitted to practice,
he was united in marriage, at Bloomingburg, to Mary A.
Jones, of that place, who died in 1885, leaving two
sons, Harry, mentioned above, who was elected
prosecuting attorney for Greene county in 1916, and
Charles Earl, now a commander in the United States navy
and further and fitting mention of whom is made elsewhere.
Besides these two sons there were born to that union a son
and a daughter who died in infancy. In January, 1887,
Judge Smith married Mrs. May Loughry, a
daughter of John Orr, who for eighteen years was
clerk of the court of common pleas. During the period
of raising the second Liberty Loan in the fall of 1917
Judge Smith had charge of Greene county's participation
in that patriotic "drive."
Source: History of Greene County, Ohio, Vol. II - publ. by
B. F. Bowen & Company, Inc., Indianapolis, Ind.,
1918 - Page 19 |
| |
ISAAC SMITH.
The late Isaac Smith, who died at his home in
Jamestown in the fall of 1914 and whose widow yet lives
there, was a native of the Old Dominion, but had been a
resident of Greene county since the days of his young
manhood. He was torn in Hampshire county, Virginia.
June 20, 1839, a son of John and Maria (Kiter) Smith,
both of whom were born in Virginia, the former on June 6,
1806, and the latter. May 22. 1806, who came to Greene
county after the Civil War and here spent their last days.
John Smith and wife were the parents of seven
children, George, Isaac, Hester,
Mary, Elizabeth, Frederick and
Catherine, of whom but three, Hester, Mary and
Frederick, are not living.
Isaac Smith was about twenty-one years of
age when he left his naive Virginia and came over into Ohio,
arriving in Greene county with seven dollars in his pocket.
That was about the year 1860. Upon his arrival here he
began work as a farm hand and was thus engaged until he was
joined here by his parents some three or four years later,
when the family rented a farm and established a home.
Isaac Smith presently bought that farm, but after his
marriage in 1881 sold the same and bought the farm of one
hundred and fifty-four acres in the immediate vicinity of
Bowersville upon which he and his wife established their
home and which his widow now owns, and there he continued
farming until his retirement in 1890 and removal to
Jamestown, where he spent the rest of his life, his death
occurring there on Oct. 5, 1914, and where his widow is
still living. Mrs. Smith is a member of the
Baptist church and Mr. Smith gave to that church his
financial support during his residence in Jamestown.
It was on Dec. 18, 1881, that Isaac Smith was
united in marriage to Catherine M. Hite, who was born
in Caesarcreek township, this county, a daughter of
Andrew D. and Mary (Meyers) Hite, the former of whom
was born on Dec. 16, 1816, and the latter, Aug. 14, 1814.
Andrew D. Hite and wife were the parents of ten
children, two of whom died in infancy, the others, besides
Mrs. Smith, being James (deceased), William,
George (deceased), John (deceased), Allen,
Cyrus and Elizabeth (deceased). To Mr.
and Mrs. Smith one child was born, a son, Homer Smith,
born on Jan. 4, 1885, who is making his home with his mother
at Jamestown and who is engaged in looking after his farming
interests nearby.
Source: History of Greene County, Ohio, Vol. II - publ. by
B. F. Bowen & Company, Inc., Indianapolis, Ind.,
1918 - Page 328 |
| |
JOHN SMITH.
For many years John Smith, who died at his home in
Ceasarscreek township, this county, Jan. 31, 1883,
eighty-four years of age at the time of his death, had been
a resident of this county since he was eighteen years of age
and in consequence was thoroughly familiar with the main
facts of the development of this region during the long
period covered by that tenure of residence. John
Smith was a Virginian, born in Rappahannock county, in
the Old Dominion, Feb. 14, 1798, and was eighteen years of
age when he came over into Ohio, riding through on
horseback, and located in Greene county. For decades
after taking up his residence here he made it a joint every
ten years to ride back to his old home in Virginia, going
over the ground on horseback he had covered upon coming out
here in 1816. In due time after his arrival here
Mr. Smith got a tract of land in Caesarscreek township,
married Margaret Burrell, a member of one of the
pioneer families of this section, she having been born in
Caesarscreek township on Aug. 16, 1806, and established his
home in that township, continuing to spend the rest of his
life there. Originally a Whig, he became a Republican
upon the organization of the latter party. He was one
of the early assessors of Caesarscreek township and, as is
related elsewhere in this volume in a further reference to
this pioneer, had quite a time convincing some of his
neighbors that it was their duty to return their property
for taxation. He is a member of the Methodist
Episcopal church.
John Smith was twice married. His first
wife, Margaret Burrell, of whom further mention is
made elsewhere in this volume, together wth (sp) something
relating to the history of the Burrells in this
county, died on Jan. 23, 1849, being then in the forty-third
year of her age, and he later married Nancy Wright,
this latter union being without issue. By his first
marriage John Smith was the father of twelve
children, namely: Burrell, William, Eleanor, Henry,
Susan Ann, Eli, Elizabeth, Nancy, Alfred, Mary Jane,
Margaret, born on Feb. 21, 1844, who is now living on
her farm in Jefferson township, this county, widow of
James W. Clark and Emily.
Margaret Smith was married on May 8, 1878, to James
W. Clark, who was born in Rappahannock county, Virginia, and
who haf rendered service as a soldier of the Confederacy
during the Civil War. Not long after the close of the
war James W. Clark came to Ohio and located in this
county, where in the spring of 1878 he married Margaret
Smith. For eight years after his marriage he made
his home on a farm in Jefferson township and then bought the
farm of thirty acres on which his widow is now living in
that same township, rural mail route No. 3 out of Jamestown,
and there he spent the remainder of his life, his death
occurring on July 26, 1904. To Mr. and Mrs. Clark
was born one child, a son, John Edgar, who died in
the days of his childhood. Since the death of her
husband Mrs. Clark has continued to make her
home on the home farm, the place being looked after by
Orville Fawley, who with his family has made his
home there since Mar. 20, 1905. Orville
Fawley was married on Dec. 22, 1909, to Myrtle
Sturgeon and has three children, Helen M., George A.
and Aletha I. Mrs. Fawley was born at
Jamestown, this county, daughter and only child of Albert
and Flora (Tidd) Sturgeon, the latter of whom, a
daughter of Josiah B. Tidd, died in 1902 and the
former of whom is now living in the village of Selma, in the
neighboring county of Clark. Mr. Fawley
was born at Paintersville, a son of George and Laura
Fawley.
Source: History of Greene County, Ohio, Vol. II - publ. by
B. F. Bowen & Company, Inc., Indianapolis, Ind.,
1918 - Page 625 |
| |
JOHN W. SMITH.
John W. Smith, now living practically retired at his
farm home in Sugarcreek township, is a native son of Greene
county, born on a farm in Spring Valley township on Aug. 22,
1846, son of James and Sarah A. (Dill) Smith, both of
whom also were born in Ohio and whose last days were spent
here.
James Smith was a farmer and for several
years after his marriage lived in Spring Valley township,
moving thence in 1847 to Sugarcreek township, where he spent
the remainder of his life, his death occurring on June 30,
1899. His widow died on Sept. 5, 1909. They were
the parents of five children, of whom the subject of this
sketch was the second in order of birth, the others being
William J., now a resident of Detroit, Michigan:
Elizabeth Ellen, now living at Spring Valley,
widow of John D. Haines; Daniel Freeman, who
is still living on the old home place in Sugarcreek
township, and Sarah Jane, widow of Wilson J.
Osborn, of Spring Valley.
John W. Smith was under two years of age when
his parents moved from Spring Valley township to Sugarcreek
township and on the home farm in the latter township he grew
to manhood, receiving his schooling in the local schools.
He was married when twenty-one years of age and then began
farming on his own account. In 1886 he bought the farm
on which he is now living, on rural mail route No. 2 out of
Spring Valley, and has since resided there. Mr.
Smith has a farm of sixty acres, but for the past ten
years has been living practically retired from the active
labors of the farm. He is a Democrat. For
fourteen years he was a member of the board of directors of
the Sugar Creek Cemetery Association.
Mr. Smith has been thrice married.
On Feb. 13, 1868. he was united in marriage to Rebecca J.
Steelman, who died in 1897 leaving one child, a
daughter, Rilla. wife of Carson McCoy, of
Sugarcreek township. Mr. Smtih (sp) later
married Mary E, Lampton, who died on Feb. 1, 1909,
without issue, and on May 29, 1912, he married Martha
Esther Howland, who was born in Highland county, this
state, daughter of the Rev. Ralston and Rebecca Jane
(Gilliland) Howland. The Rev. Ralston Howland
was a minister of the Methodist Episcopal church and further
mention of him is made elsewhere in this volume.
Mrs. Smith is a member of the local branch of the Order
of the Golden Eagle at Dayton.
Source: History of Greene County, Ohio, Vol. II - publ. by
B. F. Bowen & Company, Inc., Indianapolis, Ind.,
1918 - Page 705 |
| |
MILTON A. SMITH.
Milton A. Smith, distributing clerk in the postoffice
at Xenia, was born on a farm one mile south of the village
of New Jasper, in the township of that name, Mar. 7, 1877,
and has been a resident of this county all his life,
formerly and for seven year prior to entering upon service
in the xenia postoffice having been a school teacher in the
county. His parents, William Albert and Keziah
(Thomas) Smith, also were born in this county and the
latter is still living, having made her home at Xenia since
her husband's death in 1908. She was born on Dec. 3,
1855, daughter of Jacob and Eliza (Beason) Thomas,
the former of whom was a son of Benjamin and Elizabeth (Rayliff)
Thomas, Benjamin Thomas having been a son of Jacob
and Ellen Thomas, who settled on Painters run in this
county about the year 1802, Benjamin Thomas there
marrying Elizabeth Bayliff, a neighbor, daughter of
Joshua and Margaret (Fry) Bayliff, who had come here
from Virginia about that same time or shortly prior thereto
and had settled in the Paintersville neighborhood on Paints
run in Caearscreek township, all of which, together with a
comprehensive history of his family, is set out at length
elsewhere in this volume. Eliza Beason Thomas,
mother of Mrs. Smith, was a daughter of Thomas and
Keziah Beason, who had a farm three miles south of New
Jasper on the Paintersville road and who were the parents of
twelve or fourteen children. Mrs. Smith was the
first-born of the eight children born to her parents, the
others being the following: Joshua, born on Aug. 4,
1858, who died on Nov. 18, 1863; Benjamin, Jan. 29,
1860, who died on November 30, 1863; Lydia, June 7,
1862, wife of Jacob R. Jones, of Mt. Tabor, this
county; Alice, Aug. 7, 1864, who married J. C.
Bales and died on Jan. 4, 1892; Loretta, Apr. 10,
1866, who married Frank M. Spahr and who, as well as
her husband, is now deceased, her death having occurred on
June 1, 1915; Francis Marion, Feb. 1, 1868, who
married Alice L. Brown and lives on a farm in New
Jasper township, and Jacob Lewis, May 8, 1870, who
married Ida Hite and is now living in Logan county,
this state.
William Albert Smith was born on a farm in
Caesarcreek township, this county, son of Burrell and
Mary (Bales) Smith, both of whom also were born in this
county, members of pioneer families, and further mention of
whom is made elsewhere in this volume. Burrell
Smith was a son of John and Margaret (Burrell)
Smith, the latter of whom was born in Caesarscreek
township, this county, Aug. 16, 1808. John
Smith was born in Rappahannock county, Virginia, and was
eighteen years of age when he came to Ohio, riding through
on horseback to Greene county, where he eventually
established his home, becoming the owner of a farm of two
hundred acres in Caesarscreek township. He was one of
the early assessors of that township and there is a
tradition that he had a difficult time convincing some of
the settlers that it was their duty to return their property
for taxation. He was a Whig and became one of the
organizers of the Republican party in this county. By
religious persuasion he was a Methodist. His death
occurred on Jan. 31, 1883, he then being eighty- four years
of age, and he was buried in the Baptist graveyard near
Jamestown. On Jan. 16, 1823, John Smith
married Margaret Burrell and to that union
were born twelve children, of whom Burrell Smith,
grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was the
first-born, the others being the following: William,
born on Aug. 3, 1825, who married a Miss Ireland
and lived at Blainetown; Elnora, Sept. 9, 1827, who
married John Ford and moved to Indiana:
Henry, Sept. 12, 1829, who died in childhood; Sarah
Ann, Apr. 9, 1831, who married Lafayette
Lucas and moved to Indiana; Eli, Mar. 21, 1833,
who married Lucy E. Hobbs and moved to
Indiana; Elizabeth, Sept. 21, 1835, who married
William St. John and lived in Caesarscreek township;
Nancy, Oct. 17, 1837, who died unmarried; Alfred,
Dec. 6, 1839, a carpenter, who went to Missouri; Mary
Jane, Dec. 30, 1841, who married Asa Devoe
and moved to Indiana; Margaret, Feb. 11, 1844, who is
still living, making her home in Jefferson township, widow
of James W. Clark, a memorial sketch of whom is
presented elsewhere in this volume, and Emily, Sept.
27, 1848, who married Joseph Bosman and moved
to Indiana.
Burrell Smith was born on Dec. 10, 1823, and was
reared on his father's farm. After his marriage to
Mary Bales, who was a member of one of Greene county's
old families, he established his home on a farm on the line
between New Jasper and Caesarscreek townships and spent the
rest of his life there. He and his wife were Baptists.
They were the parents of four children, one of whom died in
infancy, the others besides the father of the subject of
this sketch being John B. Smith, now living at Xenia,
a member of the firm of Bales & Smith, and
Emma Jane, wife of J. S. Bales, of Xenia.
William Albert Smith grew up on the home farm
and at the age of nineteen years began teaching school, a
profession he followed with slight intermission for many
years, or until his health became so broken that he no
longer could be of service in the school room. He
owned a farm in New Jasper township, devoting his summers to
the cultivation of the same. In 1893 he attended
college at Ada, Ohio, graduating in 1894, and later taught
school at Bellbrook. Then in 1896 he located on his
father's old home place in Caesarscreek township and on the
latter place spent the rest of his life, his death occurring
there on Feb. 19, 1908. During his long service in the
public schools of this county William A. Smith was
for several years the superintendent of the Bowersville
schools, for two years was superintendent of the Bellbrook
schools, for two years head of the schools at New Burlington
and later was returned in charge of the schools at
Bowersville, where he was serving when his health failed and
he was compelled to retire from the school room. He
was a Republican and a member of the Mr.(sp) Tabor
Methodist Episcopal church. Since the death of her
husband Mrs. Smith has been making her home
with the family of John Bales at 33West Third
street, Xenia. It was on Mar. 11, 1875, that
William Albert Smith and Keziah Thomas were
united in marriage. To that union were born four
children, of whom the subject of this sketch was the second
in order of birth, the others being Lucien E. Smith,
who lives on a farm in the vicinity of Mt. Tabor church,
seven miles southeast of Xenia: Prof. Orma J. B. Smith,
now an instructor in the University of Idaho, and William
M. Smith, a farmer, living in Caesarscreek township.
Milton A. Smith spent his youth mainly on the
farm and his early schooling was received in such schools as
his father would be teaching from term to term, his course
being completed by attendance at the high school at Ada and
the high school at Bellbrook. When twenty-one years of
age he began teaching in the schools of this county and was
for seven years thereafter thus engaged, employing his
summers on the farm. In July. 1909, Mr.
Smith accompanied his widowed mother to Xenia and has
ever since made his home in that city. Upon taking up
his residence there he entered a civil service examination
and in the following October was appointed to service in the
postoffice, being put on as a substitute mail carrier.
Not long afterward he was transferred to a position as clerk
and presently was promoted to the position of distributing
clerk in the postoffice, a position he ever since has held.
On May 14, 1913, Milton A. Smith was united in
marriage to Lavina A. Martin, who was born in
Maryland, daughter of John and Amanda Martin, now
living on a farm in the Cumberland valley in Pennsylvania.
Mr. and Mrs. Smith are members of the Reformed church
at Xenia and he is a member of the local lodge of the
Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He and his wife
reside at 410 West Main street.
Source: History of Greene County, Ohio, Vol. II - publ. by
B. F. Bowen & Company, Inc., Indianapolis, Ind.,
1918 - Page 673 |
| |
OSCAR L. SMITH.
Oscar L. Smith, cashier of the Exchange Bank of
Cedarville, this county,
was born near Selma, in the neighboring county of Clark, and
has lived in this part of the state all his life. He
was born on Aug. 23, 1877, son of Seth W. and Hannah L.
(Lewis) Smith, both of whom also were born in Ohio, the
former in the vicinity of Selma and the latter at New
Vienna, in Clinton county, and who are now living at
Whittier, California.
Seth W. Smith was born on a farm in Green
township, Clark county, near the village of Selma, Jan. 24,
1843. son of Seth and Deborah (Wildman) Smith,
earnest Quakers and pioneers of the Selma neighborhood, both
of whom are buried in the Selma cemetery. Seth
Smith was born in eastern Tennessee and his father's
name also as Seth, born in Pennsylvania, a son of
Joseph and Rachel (Bales) Smith, Quakers, the former of
whom also was bornin Pennsylvania, where his father and two
brothers had settled upon coming to this country from
England to join William Penn's colony of Friends.
After his marriage Joseph Smith located in the
vicinity of Bladensburg, Maryland, and there for some time
was a farmer and miller, later disposing of his interests
there with a view of returning to Pennsylvania.
While driving across to what he had designated as his
new place of residence at the point where Brownsville,
Pennsylvania, is now located, he was attacked by highwaymen,
an experience which caused him to change his course.
He settled on a farm in the vicinity of Winchester,
Virginia, and there spent the rest of his life. Among
the sons of this couple was Seth Smith, who married
and moved to eastern Tennessee, where he lived for fourteen
years, or until the year 1800, when he moved into Ohio
Territory and settled in Ross county. Here he remained until
1811, in which year he moved into Clark county and settled
on the farm in Green township mentioned above as the
birthplace of Seth W. Smith. Upon settling in
Clark county, the pioneer Seth Smith purchased the
Fitzhugh survey, a tract supposed to contain one thousand
acres, but which on later survey turned out to contain
eleven hundred and twenty acres. ON that place he
built a log house and in that primitive abode made his home
until 1817, when he erected a substantial two-story brick
house which stood until torn down by Seth W. Smith in
1899, and there he and his wife spent there last days.
They were the parents of six children, the youngest, Seth,
being the grandfather of the subject of this biographical
sketch.
Seth Smith II was born in 1798 and was thus
about thirteen years of age when the family settled in Clark
county in1811. There he grew to manhood and as a young
man became a farmer and stockman on his own account.
He inherited from his pioneer father two hundred and sixty
acres of land and to this made additions from time to time
until he became the owner of no less than two thousand acres
of land. He was a birthright Quaker, an active
Abolitionist and an ardent worker in the cause of temperance
exerting much influence in those directions in his
community. He died in 1876, being then seventy-eight
years of age, and was buried in the Selma cemetery.
His wife, Deborah (Wildman) Smith, died in 1857.
To that union were born three sons and one daughter.
Reared on the home farm in the Selma neighborhood,
Seth W. Smith, son of Seth and Deborah (Wildman)
Smith, received his early schooling in the village
schools and supplemented the same by a two-years course in
Earlham College and a year at the Michigan State
Agricultural Collee at Lansing. He inherited some of
his father's lands and bought more until he became the owner
of about five hundred acres in Clark county, and in addition
to his general farming became a breeder of pure-bred
livestock. In 1905 Seth W. Smith and his son
Oscar bought out the Wildman interest in the
Exchange Bank. He became president and his son,
cashier, the latter being practical manager of the bank.
In 1916 Seth W. Smith retired from active
participation in the affairs of the bank and moved to
Whittier, California, where he and his wife are now living.
Seth W. Smith, in 1877, at
New Vienna, in Clinton county, married Hannah Lewis,
who was born in that village, daughter of Isaac and Mary
(Hoskins) Lewis, also Quakers. Isaac Lewis
was a landowner and also operated a tannery at New Vienna.
He later moved to Sabina, in that same county, and there
became president of the Sabina Bank, a position he was
holding at the time of his death, he then being past
eighty-five years of age. Seth W. Smith and
wife are both birthright members of the Friends church and
their children were reared in the faith of that communion.
There are three of these children, of whom the subject of
this sketch is the eldest, the others being Lewis H.,
who is owner of the old home farm in the vicinity of Selma,
which has been in the possession of the family for more than
one hundred years, and Mary Emma, wife of Dr.
Herbert Tebbetts, a physician and surgeon, of Whittier,
California.
Oscar L. Smith was reared near Selma and upon
completing the course in the high school there took a course
at Earlham College at Richmond, Indiana. In 1898 he
became bookkeeper in the Exchange Bank at Cedarville.
W. J. Wildman at that time being cashier, and was
thus engaged until 1905, when he and his father bought the
Wildman interest in the bank, he became cashier of
the bank, which position he still occupies. In July,
1914, the Exchange Bank of Cedarville secured a new charter
and has since been operated as a state bank. Mr.
Smith is the secretary and treasurer of the Cedarville
Lime Company, one of the leading industries in the village,
and also looks after his farming interests, having a farm of
more than two hundred acres, located in the Rife
neighborhood along the Little Miami river. In 1912,
Mr. Smith erected on West Main street a buff-colored
brick house and he and his familly (sp) are now
residing there.
On Oct. 1, 1903, Oscar L. Smith was united in
marriage to Jean Blanche Ervin, who was born at
Cedarville, daughter of David S. and Belle (Murdock)
Ervin. The former formerly operated the D. S.
Ervin Lime Company's plant at Cedarville, but has now
retired from active business. To this union have born
two children, Isabelle born in 1908, and Elizabeth,
1911. Mr. and Mrs. Smith are members of the
United Presbyterian church at Cedarville.
Source: History of Greene County, Ohio, Vol. II - publ. by
B. F. Bowen & Company, Inc., Indianapolis, Ind.,
1918 - Page 747 |
R. W. Smith |
RAYMOND W. SMITH, M. D.
The late Dr. Raymond W. Smith, of Spring Valley, who
died on Aug. 18, 1916, was a native son of Ohio and had
lived in this state all his life, a resident of Greene
county since the days of his young manhood. He
was born on a farm southeast of Hillsboro, in Highland
county, Nov. 30, 1862, son of Henry B. and Elizabeth C.
(Griffith) Smith, both of whom also were born in
Highland county, who are now living retired at Spring
Valley, in this county, where they have resided since 1905.
Henry B. Smith was born on July 9, 1832, son of
Henry and Lydia (Bane) Smith, the former of whom was
a native of Virginia and the latter of Maryland, who came to
Ohio in 1815, by way of Kentucky, and settled on a farm in
the neighborhood of Hillsboro, where they spent the
remainder of their lives. They were members of the
Methodist Episcopal church and were the parents of ten
children, Aquilla, Parmelia, Elizabeth, John, Richard,
Clinton, Catherine, Russell, Henry B. and Wesley.
Henry B. Smith grew upon on the home farm and remained
there until his marriage in the spring of 1855, after which
he located and there became engaged in farming, the owner of
a fine place of one hundred and three acres, on which he and
his wife resided until their retirement from the farm and
removal to Spring Valley in 1905. He is a Democrat and
he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal
church.
It was on May 11, 1855, that Henry B. Smith was
united in marriage of Elizabeth C. Griffith, who was
born on a farm in the vicinity of Marshall, in Highland
county, this state, daughter of William H. and Margaret
D. (Howe) Griffith, the former of whom was a native of
Kentucky and the latter of Virginia, who were married in
Highland county, where their respective parents had settled
in pioneer days. Of the eleven children born to
William H. Griffith and wife five grew to maturity,
those besides Mrs. Smith being R. H.,
Arminta, Lottie and John F. To Henry B.
and Elizabeth C. (Griffith) Smith were born ten
children, nine of wohm (sp) grew to maturity namely:
Prof. Russell Smith, who married Emma Cluxton
and is now living in Cleveland, a teacher in the high school
in that city: Prof. William Smith, principal of the
high school at Dallas, Texas, who married Lulu McMurry,
of New Jasper; Lettie, who married A. A. Monett
and is now living at Reno, Nevada: Emsley O.,
deceased; Dr. Raymond W. Smith, the immediate subject
of this memorial sketch; Prof. John Smith, who
married Olive Tingle, also a teacher, and is now
teaching in the schools of Brookville. this state; E. D.
Smith, who married Martha Frazer and is engaged
in the practice of law at Xenia; Harley Smith, also
of Xenia, formerly a teacher, who has been twice married,
his first wife having been Emma Shidaker and his
second, Mrs. Snyder; and Carrie, wife of
Allan McLean, a Xenia undertaker.
Raymond W. Smith received an excellent education
in the days of his youth and early began teaching school,
for some years being thus engaged at New Jasper, in this
county. After his marriage in 1888 he continued
teaching, meanwhile giving his attention to the study of
medicine, and presently entered the Louisville Medical
College, from which he was graduated in 1893. Upon
receiving his diploma, Doctor Smith located at
Spring Valley, where he continued successfully engaged in
the practice of his profession until his death in the summer
of 1916, a period of twenty-three years of continuous
practice in the same place. During that long period of
unselfish labor Dr. Smith endeared himself to
the whole community and his passing was sincerely mourned.
The Doctor was ever a helpful force in his community and as
one of the county newspapers, in an appreciation published
after his death, said: "The many things of this community
that he helped to formulate and mold will miss the
forcefulness of his touch." The Doctor was a
successful business man as well as a practitioner and
besides the property he had in Spring Valley was the owner
of some valuable farm lands. He was a member of the
local lodges of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and of
the Junior Order of American Mechanics, and was a faithful
member of the Methodist Episcopal church, as is his widow.
The Doctor's relations with his church were of a peculiarly
close character and, as the newspaper appreciation above
quoted said following his death: "The church of this
community is at this time by his removal facing a peculiar
and awful vacancy, for one of its most interested and
beneficent friends has gone to take his place in the
Infinite Bliss of the Great Beyond."
Since her husband's death Mrs. Smith has
continued to make her home in Spring Valley, where she has
long been very pleasantly situated. Doctor Smith
was much attached to his home and in that connection it is
not regarded as unseemly to quote further from the newspaper
article above mentioned, which said of him that "his going
away from us is to leave a home and a family he most dearly
loved; for the environments give evidence that no sacrifice
was too great for him to make." Mrs. Smith
was married on Aug. 23, 1888. She was born in this
county, Mattie D. Mann, daughter of George and
Rachel (Kearns) Mann, the former of whom also was born
in this county, son of pioneer parents in Spring Valley
township, and the latter in the vicinity of Newark, this
state. George Mann was a successful
farmer in the vicinity of New Burlington. He and his
wife were the parents of four children, as will be noted in
a history of the Mann family in this county set out
elsewhere in this volume. To Doctor and Mrs. Smith
were born two sons, Carl Emsley and
George Henry, the latter of whom received his
schooling in the Spring Valley schools, the Xenia high
school and at Cedarville College and is now living at home.
Carl Emsley Smith, who was educated at Antioch
College and at the Ohio State University, is now (1918)
serving with the National Army, attached to the supply corps
of the Three Hundred and Twenty-second United States Field
Artillery, in the war against Germany.
Source: History of Greene County, Ohio, Vol. II - publ. by
B. F. Bowen & Company, Inc., Indianapolis, Ind.,
1918 - Page 896 |
| |
WILLIAM M. SMITH.
William M. Smith, one of Cedarville township's
substantial farmers, was born on the farm on which he now
lives, on Mar. 22, 1875, son of Samuel and Esther J.
(Cook) Smith, the former of whom was born in that same
vicinity, just over the line in Madison township, in the
neighboring county of Clark, and the latter near the village
of Waynesville, in the county of Warren, neighboring Greene
county to the southwest.
Samuel Smith was born on Dec. 31, 1827, a
son of Seth and Deborah (Wildman) Smith, pioneers of
the Selma neighborhood up in Clark county. Seth
Smith was a Virginian, born in Loudoun county, in the
Old Dominion, July 11, 1798, and was but two years of age
when his parents, Seth Smith and wife, also
Virginians, the former of whom was born on May 19, 1761,
came to the then Territory of Ohio and settled on a tract of
land about a mile from where later came to be established
the village of Selma. The elder Seth Smith
and his wife were earnest Quakers and were among the
original members of the Friends meeting at Selma, and their
descendants even to the present generation ha\e ever
preserved their birthright in that meeting. The elder
Seth Smith created a good piece of farm
property there in pioneer days and spent his last days on
that farm, his death occurring there on Apr. 1, 1837.
On that place his son Seth grew to manhood.
After his marriage to Deborah Wildman, who was
a member of one of the pioneer Quaker families of that
neighborhood, he established his home on a farm in that same
vicinity, bordering on the Greene county line, about a mile
from Selma, and there developed a fine piece of property.
He and his wife were the parents of four children, of whom
Samuel Smith, father of the subject of this sketch,
was the first-born, the others being Ruth, who became
the wife of Samuel Hadley, of Wilmington, county seat
of the neighboring county of Clinton; Oliver, who
moved from his farm on the line between Clark and Greene
counties to Emporia, Kansas, in 1885, and thence, after a
while, to Whittier, California, where he spent his last
days; and Seth, who came into possession of his
grandfather's old home place, but years ago moved to
Whittier, California, where he is now living retired.
Reared on the place on which he was born, Samuel
Smith was early trained in the ways of practical farming
and after his marriage established his home on that portion
of the home farm which extended over the line into
Cedarville township, this county, and where in 1874 he
erected the substantial brick house in which his son William
is now living. After his father's death Samuel
Smith inherited that farm and gradually added to the
same until he became the owner of a tine place of three
hundred and forty-two acres. In addition to his
general farming, he was widely known as one of the most
successful stockmen in that part of the county.
Samuel Smith was a Republican and had rendered
public service as. a director of schools in his home
district. He and his wife were earnest adherents of
the Friends meeting at Selma and he was for years an office
bearer in the same. His death occurred at his home on
Feb. 24, 1901, he then being in the seventy-fourth year of
his age. His wife had preceded him to the grave by
fifteen years, her death having occurred on September 28,
1885. She was born, Esther J. Cook, in the vicinity
of W'aynesville, in Warren county, this state, Jan. 24,
1846, daughter of Marcellus and Harriet (Whittaker) Cook,
the former of whom was reared in the vicinity of Selma, a
birthright member of the Selma meeting of Friends, and whose
last days were spent in the vicinity of Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, where he had made his home upon his retirement
from his Warren county farm. Marcellus Cook was
thrice married and his daughter Esther was one of the
children of his first marriage. Samuel Smith
and Esther Cook were united in marriage on
June 1, 1869, and to that union were born four children,
namely: Howard, a well-to-do farmer of the Selma
neighborhood; Anna Ethel, who died in her
third year; William M., the immediate subject of this
biographical sketch, and Edith, wife of G. W.
Sharpless, a dairyman, living in the vicinity of
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
William M. Smith grew up on the farm on which he
is now living and supplemented the schooling received in the
Selma schools by attendance for two years at Earlham
College, in which institution his brother and his sister
also completed their schooling, and after leaving school
resumed his place on the farm and gave his serious attention
to the further development of the same. Following the
death of his father in 1901 he inherited one hundred acres
of the farm, including the home place in Cedarville
township, and after his marriage in 1904 established his
home there. Since coming into his inheritance Mr.
Smith has bought seventy-two acres adjoining and has
made substantial improvements on his place. In
addition to his general farming he feeds about fifty head of
cattle and one hundred head of hogs each year.
On Sept. 14, 1904, William M. Smith was united
in marriage to Floy McDorman, who also was
born in this county, daughter of Allan and Stella (Paullin)
McDorman, residents of Ross township and members of
the Selma meeting of Friends, and to this union have been
born two children, daughters both, Esther, born on
Jan. 22, 1907, and Virginia, Feb. 12, 1914.
Mr. and Mrs. Smith are both birthright members of the
Selma meeting of Friends and take an interested part in the
good works of the same, Mr. Smith having
served as overseer of the meeting.
Source: History of Greene County, Ohio, Vol. II - publ. by
B. F. Bowen & Company, Inc., Indianapolis, Ind., 1918 - Page 946 |
| |
REV. THEOPHILUS STEWARD and
S. MARIA STEWARD, M. D. In the
varied activities of Wilberforce University there are few
more prominent factor or more popular individuals than the
Rev. Theophilus Gould Steward, chaplain and
vice-president of the university and pastor of the African
Methodist Episcopal church at Wilberforce, or than was his
late wife Dr. S. Maria Steward, formerly and for
years a resident physician and member of the faculty of the
university, lecturer on hygiene and physiology before the
girls' classes, and who also was engaged in general practice
in and about Wilberforce. Dr. Steward, who died
on Mar. 7, 1918, had been a resident of Wilberforce ever
since1898, having located there when her husband went to the
Philippines as chaplain of the regiment which he had served
in that capacity since the days of President Harrison's
administration, and Chaplain Steward has been
stationed at Wilberforce since 1907, when he was made a
member of the faculty, professor of history and languages,
later being elected vice-president of the institution.
Chaplain Steward has a pleasant home, "Oakview," on
the Columbus pike, in the immediate vicinity of the
university.
The Rev. Theophilus Gould Steward, more
familiarly known locally as Chaplain Steward, is a
native of New Jersey, born at Gouldtown, in Cumberland
county, that state, Apr. 17, 1843, son of James and
Rebecca (Gould) Steward, both of whom were born in that
same vicinity and the latter of whom died in 1877 at the age
of fifty-seven years, the former surviving until 1892, he
being past seventy-seven years of age at the time of his
death. James Steward for thirty years
was foreman of the finishing department of the Cumberland
Nail and Iron Works at Bridgeton, New Jersey. Though a
man of small education he recognized the advantages of
schooling and he and his wife, the latter of whom had been a
teacher in the days of her young womanhood, instilled into
the breasts of their children a desire for learning that
inspired all their after lives. The parents were
members of the African Methodist Episcopal church and their
children were reared in that faith. There are six of
these children, all of whom are still living, the youngest
being now sixty-nine years of age, and of whom Chaplain
Steward was the fourth in order of birth, the others
being the following: Margaret, who married Lorenzo
F. Gould, farmer, justice of the peace and veteran of
the Civil War, and lives at Gouldtown, New Jersey;
William, who for years has been engaged in newspaper
work at Bridgeton, New Jersey, a writer of stories and a
correspondent for metropolitan newspapers; Mary, wife
of the Rev. Theodore whose service she draws a
pension from the government, and Stephen S., a
carpenter, also residing at Gouldtown. Chaplain
Steward knows little about his paternal grandparents,
his grandmother, Margaret Steward, having gone
to Santo Domingo and with her what records the family had,
but regarding the Goulds, his mother's family, he has
a long and interesting history, the Goulds having
been represented at Gouldtown, New Jersey, ever since the
founding of the colony.
When the English came into possession of New Amsterdam
in 1664 the colony which the Dutch had settled at Bergan
before 1620 came under the control of the Duke of York, who
finally made over the whole to Sir George Carteret,
from whose native island of Jersey the provinces were named.
Later, John Fenwick, styled knight and baronet,
second son of Sir William Fenwick, baronet,
representative from the county of Northumberland in the last
parliament under the Commonwealth, came into possession of a
considerable tract of this land in the south part of New
Jersey, chartered a ship and with his children and their
families and effects sailed for the colonies.
Fenwick's wife was Elizabeth, daughter of Sir
Walter Covert, of Sussex, and among their children was a
daughter, Elizabeth, who had married John Adams,
a weaver, who with his wife and three children (one, a
daughter Elizabeth) formed a part of the new colony,
which in 1675 settled on the eastern shore of the Delaware
river. Johnson's "History of Fenwick's Colony,"
written in1835, says: "Among the numerous troubles and
vexations which assailed Fenwick, none appears to have
distressed him more than the conduct of his granddaughter,
Elizabeth Adams, who had attached herself to a
citizen of color. By his will he deprived her of any
share in his estate 'unless the Lord open her eyes to see
her abominable transgression against him, me and her good
father, by giving her true repentence and forsaking that
Black which hath been the ruin of her and become penitent
for her sins.' Further on the same historian
says: "Elizabeth Adams had formed a connection
with a Negro man whose name was Gould."
Elizabeth Adams, grand-daughter of Fenwick, had
five children by Gould, one of whom was a son named
Levi. Three died young. All trace of
Levi has been lost. The other son, Benjamin
Gould, was the founder of Gouldtown and the founder of
the family with which Chaplain Steward is connected
through the maternal line. It is quite probable that when
Benjamin Gould grew up there were no women of his own
color in the settlement with whom he could have associated
had he desired to do so. In 1627 Swedes and Finns had
settled on the Delaware, regarding that country as part of
the province of New Sweden, and upon Fenwick's
arrival there were numerously represented in what are now
the counties of Salem and Gloucester, and it was recorded
that Benjamin Gould married a Finn by the name of
Ann. Benjamin and Ann Gould had five
children, Sarah, Anthony, Samuel, Abijah and
Elisha, who, it is recorded, were fair skinned, with
blue eyes and light hair, the force of the mother's Ugrian
blood evidently having been dominant in this progeny.
Abijah Gould, born about 1735, married
Hannah Pierce, who was born in 1756, third
daughter of Richard and Mary Pierce, and the
first-born son of this union, Benjamin Gould,
born in 1779, married Phoebe Bowen, who was
born in 1788, in Salem county, New Jersey. Benjamin
Gould (second) died in1851, at the age of seventy-two
years. His widow survived him until 1877, she being
eighty-nine years of age at the time of her death. They were
the parents of nine children, Oliver, Tamson,
Lydia (who lived to the great age of one hundred and
two years), Jane, Abijah, Sarah,
Rebecca, Phoebe and Prudence. Of
these children, Rebecca Gould, mother of
Chaplain Steward, was born on May 2, 1820.
In 1838 she married James Steward and was the
mother of the children noted in the preceding paragraph,
including Chaplain Steward. James
Steward's parents had gone to Santo Domingo with the
Bowyer expedition in 1824 and it was known that they there
became engaged in coffee growing. James
Steward had been indentured to a man who ill-treated him
so shamefully that before he was nine years of age he ran
away and found shelter in the household of Elijah
Gould at Gouldtown, where he was reared, later marrying
Rebecca Gould, as set out above.
Chaplain Steward received excellent
scholastic training for the ministerial duties he has so
long and so faithfully performed. Upon completing the
course in the local schools at Bridgeton he for two terms
taught school. He early had turned his attention to
the ministry and in due time was ordained as a minister of
the African Methodist Episcopal church and held local
charges. During the reconstruction period following
the Civil War, 1865-71, he labored in Georgia and South
Carolina, and after some further service entered the West
Philadelphia Divinity School, associated with the Protestant
Episcopal church, and was graduated from that institution at
the head of his class in 1880, afterward being given charges
in Brooklyn, Philadelphia and Wilmington, Delaware, and had
charge of a church in Baltimore when, in 1891, he was
appointed by President Harrison chaplain of the Twenty-fifth
Regiment, United States Infantry. For seven years
thereafter Chaplain Steward was stationed with
his regiment in Montana and then, in 1899, went with that
regiment to the Philippines, where he remained for three
years, at the end of which time he returned with the
regiment and for some time thereafter was stationed at
Niobrara, in Nebraska, later being stationed at Laredo,
Texas, in which latter post he was serving when retired in
1907. After a trip to the City of Mexico he returned
to Wilberforce, where his wife had installed her home upon
his departure for the Philippines, and at once was made
instructor in history and languages in the university, two
years later being made vice president of the university,
which latter position he still occupies, as well as serving
as pastor of the local African Methodist Episcopal church.
Chaplain Steward has published several books,
including "The Haitian Revolution, 1791 to 1804."
"Genesis Re-read" and "Death, Hades and the Resurrection."
In 1909 and again in 1911 he and his wife made trips to
Europe, in the latter year both the Chaplain and his wife
being representatives from the African Methodist Church in
America to the Inter-racial Congress held in London in that
year, both having places on the program of the meetings
scheduled for that occasion.
Chaplain Steward has been twice married.
On Jan. 1, 1866, he was united in marriage to Elizabeth
Gadesden, of Charleston, South Carolina, and to that
union were born eight children, five of whom survive,
namely: Dr. Charles Steward, a dentist, now
practicing his profession at Boston; Capt. Frank R.
Steward, who commanded Company G, Forty-ninth Regiment,
United States Infantry, during the Spanish American War and
is now practicing law at Pittsburg; Dr. Benjamin
Steward, who attended the medical department of the
University of Minnesota and is at present employed by the
United States government as assistant inspector in the
Chicago stock yards; Prof. Theophilus B. Steward,
instructor in English in the Lincoln high school at Kansas
City, Missouri, and Gustavus Steward, present
secretary to Archdeacon Russell, of St. Paul's
(Episcopal) School at Lawrenceville, Virginia. The
mother of these children died in 1893. She was a
member of one of the old free families of Charleston and a
woman of exalted character. It is doubtless to her
teaching and example that Chaplain Steward and
her sons now living owe much of their success in life.
Although of a very affectionate nature she was nevertheless
endowed with a large practical intellect and very sound
judgment. Her family furnished one brother alderman of
the city of Charleston, one assistant postmaster, and
another, a prosperous butcher, who at one time commanded a
troop of show cavalry composed of young colored men of the
city who furnished their own horses and equipments.
She is buried in the Gouldtown cemetery and over her grave
stands a beautiful shaft on which is inscribed the just
encomium: "The model wife and mother." On Nov.
27, 1896, Chaplain Steward married Dr.
Susan Maria (Smith) McKinney,
widow of the Rev. William G. McKinney,
an Episcopal minister at Charleston, South Carolina, and the
mother of two children, the Rev. William S. McKinney,
a recently ordained minister of the Episcopal church, now a
resident of Jamaica, Long Island, and Mrs. Anna Maria
Holly, now a teacher in public school No. 109 at
Brooklyn, New York. Mrs. Holly was graduated
from the public schools of Brooklyn and later entered Pratt
Institute in that city, where she took the full course,
being the first colored graduate of the high school
department of that institution.
Dr. S. Maria Steward, who, as noted above, died
at her home at Wilberforce in the spring of 1918, was one of
the best-known women of her race in the United States, and
for years exerted a remarkable influence for good in and
about Wilberforce, where she had been practicing her
profession for the greater part of the time since 1898,
resident physician at the university since 1907 and a member
of the faculty, giving lectures on hygiene and physiology to
the girls. She was born in Brooklyn, New York,
daughter of Sylvanus and Ann Elizabeth (Springsteel)
Smith, the latter of whom also was born in Brooklyn and
the former, at Little Neck, Long Island, and who were the
parents of five daughters. Doctor Steward
having had four sisters, the late Mrs. S. J. S. Garnet,
who for years was a principal of one of the public schools
of Greater New York; the late Mrs. Emma Thomas,
who also was a teacher; Mrs. Clara T. S. Brown, a
successful teacher of music in Brooklyn, and Miss Mary
Smith, who became quite successful in business.
Doctor Steward was given excellent educational
advantages in the days of her girlhood in Brooklyn, and upon
completing a normal course became engaged as a teacher at
Washington, D. C. In the meantime she had been
devoting her leisure to the study of medicine and two years
later entered the New York Medical College, from which she
was graduated in 1870, valedictorian of her class. She
later attended clinics at Bellevue Hospital, in the meantime
engaging in practice in Brooklyn, and in 1878 took a
post-graduate course in the Long Island Hospital and
College. After her first marriage she continued in
practice in Brooklyn, her practice not being limited by
color or creed. She was a member of the Kings County
Homeopathic Society and of the New York State Medical
Society. In addition to her knowledge of medicine.
Doctor Steward was also a musician of skill and for
twenty-eight years served as organist of the Bridge Street
African Methodist Episcopal church and for two years, of the
Bethany Baptist church. Her removal from Brooklyn was
the outcome of her marriage to Chaplain Steward.
After that marriage in 1896 she was for a time stationed
with the Chaplain in the West and in 1898, when it became
known that he would have to go with his regiment to the
Philippines, she located at Wilberforce, where she resumed
the practice of her profession and was thus engaged there
until her husband's return in 1902, when she rejoined him
and was with him in Western army posts, still practicing,
however, until his retirement and return to Wilberforce in
1907. Upon her return to Wilberforce she resumed her
practice and in that same year was made resident physician
and member of the faculty of the university, both she and
her husband thus devoting their energies to that
institution. In addition to her membership in the New
York medical societies noted above. Doctor Steward
was a member of the Ohio State Medical Society.
She took an active interest in the work of the Red Cross
Society and of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union and
proved a strong force for good among the young women of the
university community. She had written and read
numerous papers before the various medical societies with
which she was affiliated; in 1911 read a paper on "Colored
Women in America" before the Inter-racial Congress held in
London in that year, and in 1914 read a paper, "Woman in
Medicine," before the meeting of the National Association of
Colored Women's Clubs at Wilberforce. This latter
paper was published in pamphlet form and has had wide
circulation. She was buried in Greenwood cemetery,
Brooklyn. New York.
Source: History of Greene County, Ohio, Vol. II - publ. by
B. F. Bowen & Company, Inc., Indianapolis, Ind.,
1918 - Page 968 |
|
` |
DANIEL McMILLAN STEWART.
Daniel McMillan Stewart, veteran of the Civil
War, banker, former member of the city council and for many
years actively identified with the various interests of his
home town and of Greene county in general, and who is now
living practically retired from the more active affairs of
life in his pleasant home at Xenia, is one of Greene
county's native sons and has maintained his home here all
his life, though formerly and for some years his business
interests required that he spend much of his time in the
West. He was born on a farm on the Jamestown pike,
just one mile east of the court house in Xenia, Mar. 17,
1840, son of William H. and Esther (McMillan) Stewart,
both of whom were born in South Carolina, members of
families that became pioneers in Greene county.
William H. Stewart was born at York, South
Carolina, in 1809, and was nine years of age when his
parents. Samuel and Elizabeth (Hart) Stewart,
left that section, where they also had been born, and came
over into this section of Ohio in 1818, settling on what is
now known as the Collins farm on the Jamestown
pike in this county. Samuel Stewart and
his wife were members of the old Associate Reformed church,
which after the "union" of 1858 became merged with the
Associate church, the two forming the United Presbyterian
church, and were bitterly opposed to the institution of
slavery which had become fastened upon their native state
and thus they disposed of their interests in South Carolina
and came out into a free state. Upon his arrival here
Samuel Stewart became the owner of two hundred
acres of wood tract and with the assistance of his four
elder sons cleared and developed the same. He was an
ardent Abolitionist and took an active part in the
anti-slavery agitation of his day. The few slaves
which had come to him in his native state he brought out
here with him and gave them their freedom. He lived
for more than twenty-five years after coming to Greene
county, his death occurring in 1846. He and his wife were
active in the work of the Associated Reformed church and
their children were reared in that faith. There were
twelve of these children, all of whom lived to rear families
of their own, except one, who died unmarried.
William H. Stewart grew up here a tall,
raw-boned man of sinewy frame and of great muscular
strength. He received but limited schooling in his
youth, but by self-study in after years became a very
well-informed man. Much of the time during his youth
was spent with his ax in the woods. At that time
the nearest real market was at Cincinnati, sixty-five miles
away, and occasional trips would have to be made there for
supplies. When about twenty-five years of age he
married and located on a farm of one hundred acres on the
Jamestown pike, one mile east of the court house in Xenia,
established his home there and on that place all his
children were born. When the Pennsylvania railroad
came along and cut through his farm he left the place and
bought a tract of one hundred and seventeen acres, the old
Adams place, in the neighborhood of Cedarville, where
he remained until 1870, in which year he retired from the
farm and moved to Xenia, establishing his home in King
street,, where he spent the rest of his life, his death
occurring there on Apr. 23, 18S9, he then being past
seventy-eight years of age. William H. Stewart
had become a Republican upon the formation of that party.
Reared as an adherent of the Associate Reformed church, he
later became a member of the Reformed Presbyterian
(Covenanter) church.
William H. Stewart was twice married, his first
wife, Esther McMillan, having died in 1856, after
which he married Eliza Bradford, who survived him
many years, her death occurring in 1912. That second
union was without issue. Esther McMillan
was born at Chester, South Carolina, Sept. 14, 1814,
daughter of Daniel and Jeannette B. (Chestnut) McMillan,
who became residents of Greene county in 1832 and here spent
the remainder of their lives. Daniel McMillan
was born in County Antrim, Ireland, on Aug. I, 1776, son of
Hugh and Jane (Harvey) McMillan, natives of that same
county, the former born in 1750, who were married there in
1775 and who came to this country in 1786, settling in South
Carolina. Hugh McMillan and his wife were
members of the Covenanter (Reformed Presbyterian) church and
with four other families of that same faith decided to
emigrate to the newly established United States of America.
After an ocean voyage of nine weeks they landed at
Charleston and shortly afterward located in the Chester
district, in South Carolina, where they purchased land and
established a church of their faith. Hugh
McMillan died there on Jan. 5, 1818, at the age of
sixty-six years. His widow survived him until 1825,
she being seventy-five years of age at the time of her
death. They were the parents of seven children,
Daniel, John, Mary, Gavin, David,
James and Hugh.
Daniel McMillan was ten years of age when he
came with his parents to this country and his youth was
spent on the farm on Rocky creek, in the Chester district of
South Carolina, remaining on that farm until 1794, when the
family moved to a farm which the father had bought on Bull
run, in the same neighborhood. When twelve years of
age Daniel McMillan fell and suffered a fracture of
the thigh bone, the accident rendering him a cripple.
When eighteen years of age he suffered a second fracture of
the same bone and thereafter was compelled to use both a
crutch and a staff. He began teaching school and for
eight years thereafter was engaged in teaching. In the
meantime, in the spring of 1806, he married and, having
saved the sum of five hundred dollars, engaged in the
mercantile business in partnership with his wife's brother,
James Chestnut. In 1830 Hugh and
Gavin McMillan, his brothers, came over into Ohio on a
mission in behalf of the Reformed Presbyterian church and
while visiting the church of that faith in Greene county
became greatly impressed by the outlook in this region.
Upon their return home so enthusiastic were their praises
concerning the settlement here that the whole family decided
to come out here, and in 1832 the sons of the elder Hugh
McMillan, with their respective families, came to Greene
county. Daniel McMillan bought an improved farm
a mile and half east of Xenia and there spent the rest of
his life. He was an elder in the Reformed Presbyterian
church and enthusiastic in its service, riding horseback to
Pittsburgh to attend the presbyterial meetings of the same.
An ardent Abolitionist, he had freed the slaves his wife had
inherited, to the number of one hundred, and upon coming
here became one of the active "conductors" on the
"underground railroad," furnishing teams and other means to
aid in the transportation of runaway slaves to free soil.
It was on Mar. 11, 1806 that Daniel McMillan was
united in marriage to Jeannette B. Chestnut, who was
then not sixteen years of age. She was a daughter of
Col. James and Esther (Stormont) Chestnut, who lived
eight miles north of Rocky Creek, in the Chester district of
South Carolina. Col. James Chestnut, who was an
officer of the patriot army during the Revolutionary War,
was at one time captured and was sentenced by the Tories to
be hanged. The place of execution was fixed, but
before the hour for the same came around a party of
General Washington's soldiers appeared on the
scene and rescued him. To Daniel and Jeannette B.
(Chestnut) McMillan were born twelve children, of whom
ten lived to maturity, namely: Jane, who married the
Rev. Ebenezer Cooper, a minister of the Reformed
Presbyterian church, and died in 1888; James C., born
in 1810, who also became an active church worker and who was
thrice married, his first wife having been Margaret
Millen, his second, Christiana Moody, and
his third, Mary Reece; Mary, who
married the Rev. Robert McCoy, a minister of the
Reformed Presbyterian church, and died without issue;
Esther, mother of the subject of this biographical
review; Martha, born in 1817, who married Samuel
Dallas and died on Feb. 27, 1898; Margaret,
who married David Millen, of Xenia, and died
without issue; Nancy S., born in 1822, who married
Joseph Kendall, a farmer of Greene county; the
Rev. John McMillan, born in 1826, who married
Elizabeth Walton, was for years the pastor of the
Reformed Presbyterian church at the corner of Fifteenth and
Lombard streets, Philadelphia, and who died on Aug. 30,
1882; Jeanette, born in 1829, who married James D.
Liggett, a Xenia lawyer and onetime editor of the Xenia
Torchlight, and Daniel, born on May 6, 1832,
who married Elizabeth Bennett and became a farmer and
stockman in this county. William H. Stewart and
Esther McMillan were united in marriage on May 6, 1837,
and to that union were born eight children, of whom
Daniel M. Stewartr is now the only survivor. Four
of these children died in infancy, one died at the age of
twenty years, another died at the age of twenty-one, and the
other, James R. Stewart, who married Rachel Dallas,
spent his last days at Springfield, Missouri, his death
occurring there on Apr. 24, 1912.
Daniel McMillan Stewart spent his early youth on
the home farm on the Cedarville pike and was fourteen yeas
of age when his father moved to the Cedarville neighborhood
in 1854, after which he attended the Cedarville schools,
there coming under the instruction of Professor Orr
and James Turnbull. He later attended a couple
of terms at the Urbana Institute and in 1860 matriculated at
Monmouth College, but was taken ill with diphtheria at the
outset of his college career and was compelled to return
home, where for sometime afterward he was in a poor state of
health. When the Civil war broke out he desired to
enlist, but was unable to do so on account of the state of
his health. He was able, however, later to enter the
service with the hundred-day men and thus served as a member
of Company F, One Hundred and Fifty-fourth Regiment of Ohio
Volunteer Infantry. Upon the completion of his
military service Mr. Stewart returned home and became
engaged in farming, his father giving him the old home place
east of Xenia. He later became engaged in the real
estate and insurance business at Xenia, buying his
grandfather's farms of three hundred and sixty-five acres,
disposed of them and bought a farm in Champaign county and
has ever since been more or less engaged in the real-estate
business in and about Xenia. After his marriage in
1877 he established his home in Xenia, where his wife
planned the erection of the brick house at 114 West Third
street, where he still lives, and that has ever since been
his established home, though for some years afterward much
of his time was spent in the West. It was about the
time of his marriage that Mr. Stewart became
engaged as an agent for the sale of railroad lands along the
line of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad and he was
thus engaged for seven years, or until the lands were closed
out. He then became engaged in the lead-mining
business at Joplin, Missouri, and after operating with more
or less success in that section for fifteen years "struck it
rich" when he opened the "Get There" mine at Webb City,
Missouri, which he developed and operated for three years,
at the end of which time he leased the mine and later, in
1896, sold it. Since that time Mr. Stewart
has devoted his time to his real-estate and other
interests in and about Xenia. For years he has been a
member of the board of directors of the Xenia National Bank,
for the past fifteen years vice-president of the same.
Mr. Stewart is a Republican and for twelve years
served as a member of the board of trustees of the Xenia
Theological Seminary. Mr. Stewart is a member
of the local post of the Grand Army of the Republic.
On Jan. 1, 1877, Daniel M. Stewart was united in
marriage to Harriet Bonner, who was born on a farm on the
lower Bellbrook pike, in Xenia township, this county, and
who died in April, 1908, at her home in Xenia. Mrs.
Stewart was a daughter of the Rev. James R. and
Martha (Gowdy) Bonner, the former of whom at the time of
her birth was pastor of the First Reformed Presbyterian
church at Xenia and the latter of whom was a member of the
numerous Gowdy family which came up here from
Kentucky in 1806. To Mr. and Mrs. Stewart one
child was born, a daughter, Lunette Belle, who was
graduated from the seminary at Washington, Pennsylvania, and
who on Dec. 24, 1906, was united in marriage to Charles
Murdock Kelso, a consulting engineer and contractor, of
Dayton. Mr. and Mrs. Kelso have one child, a
daughter, Mary Stewart Kelso, born on Sept. 5, 1909,
whom Mr. Stewart regards as "the apple of his eye."
Source: History of Greene County, Ohio, Vol. II - publ. by
B. F. Bowen & Company, Inc., Indianapolis, Ind.,
1918 - Page 80 |
P. M. Stewart |
PERRY M. STEWART.
Perry M. Stewart, president of the Miami Deposit Bank
of Yellow Springs, this county, and former treasurer of
Clark county, is a native son of the Buckeye state and has
lived here all his life. He was born on a farm in the
vicinity of the village of Salem, in Greene township, in the
neighboring county of Clark, July 6, 1866, son of the
Hon. Perry and Rhoda (Wheeler) Stewart, both of whom
also were born in that county, the former on June 6, 1818,
and the latter, Dec. 30, 1824, and whose last days were
spent at Springfield, county seat of their home county.
The Hon. Perry Stewart, a veteran of the Civil
War, a former member of the board of county commissioners of
his home county and a one-time representative in the state
Legislature from that district, spent all his life in his
home county. He was born on a pioneer farm in Greene
township and there grew to manhood, becoming in time a
substantial farmer on his own account. On Oct. 15,
1844, he was united in marriage to Rhoda Wheeler,
who also was born in that county, and after his marriage
established his home on the old home farm, where he was
living when the Civil War broke out. He helped to
raise a company and went to the front in 1862 as captain of
Company A, Ninety-fourth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry,
and with that company served until the close of the war in
1865. Upon the completion of his military service
Captain Stewart returned home and resumed his
farming operations, in which he became quite successful.
He was an active Republican and took an interested part in
local public affairs, for six years representing his
district as a member of the board of county commissioners.
He later was elected to represent his legislative district
in the lower house of the Ohio General Assembly and so
satisfactory was his service in that connection that he was
re-elected and thus served for two terms in that important
office. Upon his retirement from the active duties of
the farm Captain Stewart moved to Springfield,
where both he and his wife spent the remainder of their
lives, her death occurring there in July, 1904, and his, in
1907. They were the parents of ten children, namely:
Henrietta E., wife of James Hatfield, of
Greene township, Clark county; Julia A., now living
in California, widow of Robert N. Elder; David W.,
who married Amanda McClintock and is living in
Clark county; John T., who married Anna M. Keifer
and is now living in Houston, Texas; Mary E., who
married Samuel H. Kerr and who, as well as her
husband, is now deceased; Charles F., a member of the
present board of county commissioners of Clark county, who
married Clara Garlough and is living at
Springfield; Jane, who married George
Nicholson and who, as well as her husband, is now
deceased; Jessie, who died at the age of four years;
Perry M., the subject of this biographical sketch, and
E. Wheeler, who married Nettie Shobe and is
living on a farm in the neighborhood of the old home in
Greene township.
Perry M. Stewart was reared on the home farm in
Clark county and upon completing the course in the local
common school entered Antioch College and there studied for
two years. For a few years thereafter he continued his
place on the farm, taking the active management of the same
for his father and then gave up farming and became engaged
in the mercantile business in the neighboring village of
Selma, employed there in a grocery and general merchandise
store, and was thus engaged there for two years, at the end
of which time he accepted a position as deputy in the office
of the county auditor at Springfield, where he remained for
two years, 1893-95, later accepting a position as deputy
county treasurer and thus continued in the court house for
another four years. In 1900 Mr. Stewart
was elected county treasurer, his term of office beginning
in 1901, and this gave him another four-years tenure in the
court house at Springfield. Upon the completion of
that term of service, in 1905, he moved to Yellow Springs,
helped to organize there the Miami Deposit Bank and has ever
since been engaged in the banking business at that place.
The Miami Deposit Bank was organized with a capital stock of
twenty-five thousand dollars and has done well, as will be
noted in a review of that sound financial institution
presented in the historical section of this work.
Mr. Stewart is a thirty-second-degree (Scottish
Rite) Mason, affiliated with the consistory at Dayton, and
is also a member of the local lodge of the Knights of
Pythias. Politically, he is a Republican.
On Oct. 16, 1901, Perry M. Stewart was united in
marriage to Irene B. Black, daughter of Charles R.
and Mary A. Black, of Linden, Ross county, Ohio, and to
this union have been born three children, Mildred,
born in 1903; Russell B., 1905, and Mary E.,
1908. Mr. and Mrs. Stewart are members of the
Presbyterian church.
Source: History of Greene County, Ohio, Vol. II - publ. by
B. F. Bowen & Company, Inc., Indianapolis, Ind.,
1918 - Page 224 |
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