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BIOGRAPHIES
Source:
CENTENNIAL HISTORY
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Troy, Piqua and Miami County, Ohio
And Representative Citizens.
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Edited and Compiled By
Thomas C. Harbaugh
Casstown, Ohio
Literary Journalist, Secretary of Maryland association of Ohio.
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"History is Philosophy Teaching by Examples."
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Published by
Richmond-Arnold Publishing Co.
Chicago.
1909
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JACOB C. KATHERMAN Source: Centennial History - Troy, Piqua and Miami
Co., Ohio - Publ. 1909 - Page 622 |
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NATHANIEL KEISER Source: Centennial History - Troy, Piqua and Miami
Co., Ohio - Publ. 1909 - Page 771 |
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H. I. KELCH Source: Centennial History - Troy, Piqua and Miami
Co., Ohio - Publ. 1909 - Page 833 |
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WILLIAM KELLER Source: Centennial History - Troy, Piqua and Miami
Co., Ohio - Publ. 1909 - Page 760 |
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BENJAMIN F. KEMP Source: Centennial History - Troy, Piqua and Miami
Co., Ohio - Publ. 1909 - Page 617 |
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HIRAM KEMP Source: Centennial History - Troy, Piqua and Miami
Co., Ohio - Publ. 1909 - Page 617 |
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DR. JACOB KENDELL Source: Centennial History - Troy, Piqua and Miami
Co., Ohio - Publ. 1909 - Page 562 |
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R. H. W. KENDELL Source: Centennial History - Troy, Piqua and Miami
Co., Ohio - Publ. 1909 - Page 563 |
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FRANK E. D. KEPLINGER Source: Centennial History - Troy, Piqua and Miami
Co., Ohio - Publ. 1909 - Page 437 |
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ABSOLOM KEPNER Source: Centennial History - Troy, Piqua and Miami
Co., Ohio - Publ. 1909 - Page 530 |
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SAMUEL B. KEPNER Source: Centennial History - Troy, Piqua and Miami
Co., Ohio - Publ. 1909 - Page 530 |
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ALBERT KERR
- See JAMES KERR Source: Centennial History - Troy, Piqua and Miami
Co., Ohio - Publ. 1909 - Page 599 |
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E. H. KERR - SEE
RAYMOND A. KERR Source: Centennial History - Troy, Piqua and Miami
Co., Ohio - Publ. 1909 - Page 565 |
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J. A. KERR who is
a leading member of the Miami County bar—senior member of
the law firm of Kerr & Kerr—is one of the
representative citizens of Tippecanoe City. He was born at
Chambersburg, Montgomery County, Ohio, July 7. 1853, son of
Jonathan T. and Matilda (Westlake) Kerr.
The Kerr family originated in Ireland,
and the great-grandfather of the subject of this sketch was
George Kerr, who was born in County Kerry near
the famous Lakes of Killarney. Prior to crossing the
Atlantic Ocean he married Martha Newel and
they reached the American colonies just before the
Revolutionary War. He joined the patriot army, and
after peace was declared moved to the Western Reserve,
becoming one of the earliest settlers at Marietta.
From there, in 1814, he moved to Lebanon, Ohio. Those
were still dangerous times on the border for pioneers, and
Mr. Kerr had to witness the cruel massacre of
his aged father, who had accompanied him from Ireland.
Jonathan T. Kerr, father of J. A., was a
son of James and a grandson of George Kerr.
He was born in Miami County, Ohio, Mar. 11, 1828, and in
1851 he married Matilda Westlake, who was a
daughter of Colonel Westlake, one of the early
settlers iu this section. J. A. Kerr was the
second-born in their family of five sons and one daughter.
Mr. Kerr's boyhood was passed on the home farm
and he grew up with all the advantages accruing from plenty
of physical exercise and strict parental discipline.
When he was about sixteen years of age he entered the
National Normal School at Lebanon, Ohio, where he passed one
winter, during this period learning the science of surveying
and the art of stenography, which he put to practical use
later on.
He first began the study of law in 1872 and in 1875 he
was admitted to practice in the State of Ohio, and later to
the United States courts. In that year also, he established
his residence at Tippecanoe City, where he has since
remained. The other member of the firm of Kerr
& Kerr is his son Floyd, who was graduated
from the United States University in 1904. Since its
organization the firm has gained well deserved recognition,
having successfully handled some important litigation.
Mr. Kerr's achievements along professional
lines are the more creditable as they are the result of hard
work and perseverance. Although since early manhood he
has been in close sympathy with the purposes and leading
principles of the Democratic party, he has taken an active
part in politics but has never sought office.
In 1874 Mr. Kerr was married to
Elizabeth Jane Coats, a daughter of Lemuel
and Rosa (Pearson) Coats, of an old
pioneer family. In 1881 and 1882 he was owner of the
Troy Democrat, a daily paper of Miami County, and later was
interested in the same and acted as editor for two years,
with George Long, M. K. Gantz and C. M. Davis.
He was also manager of the Piqua Daily Dispatch and
Weekly Journal, and at one time owned and edited the
Troy Chronicle and Daily, at Troy, Ohio.
Source: Centennial History - Troy, Piqua and Miami
Co., Ohio - Publ. 1909 - Page 637 |
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JAMES KERR,
deceased, was in his day one of the most prominent and
successful men of affairs of Monroe Township, Miami County,
Ohio, where the family has been established ever since the
very earliest pioneer days. He was born on the farm
adjoining the one on which his widow and sons now live, the
date being Nov. 6, 1834, and was a son of James,
Sr., and Sally (Thompson) Kerr,
and a grandson of George Kerr.
George Kerr, the grandfather, was born in
Marietta, Ohio, whither his parents had located upon coming
to this country from Ireland. They originally came
from Scotland. George Kerr was a young
man when he came west to Miami County, Ohio, and took up his
residence in the woods of Monroe Township, becoming an
extensive land owner. He was married here and reared a
large family, mostly sons.
James Kerr, Sr., was born and reared in Monroe
Township, Miami County, Ohio, where he always lived and
farmed. He was married to Sally Thompson,
who was lost from her parents in Canada and brought to Ohio
by soldiers who were fighting Indians. She had the
reputation of being a very beautiful woman and lived to the
age of eighty-four years, surviving her husband many years.
He died in 1863, at the age of sixty-five years. They
were parents of the following children: Hamilton;
Hanford; George; Margaret (Sinsman);
Thompson; William; Rebecca Ann,
wife of Harvey Houston; James; John;
Perry; and Sally Ann, who died at six
years.
James Kerr, subject of this record, never
resided over a half mile from the place of his birth.
He began when quite young and did most of the clearing on
the home place; he was a hard worker and always followed
general farming and stock raising, making a specialty of
shorthorn cattle and Poland China hogs. He prospered
beyond the average and at his death owned a farm of 188
acres. He died July 7, 1884, and his many friends and
acquaintances mourned his death as an irreparable loss to
the community. He was much interested in Masonry, and
was an active member of the lodge at Troy.
Mar. 19, 1858, Mr. Kerr was united in
marriage with Miss Mary Elizabeth
McPherson, who was reared in Miami County, Ohio, she
being a daughter of Adam D. and Rachael (Morris)
McPherson. Her father was born in Clark County,
Ohio, and her mother in Miami County. Mrs.
Kerr was born at Logansport, Indiana, Mar. 1, 1838, and
is at present living with her sons on the old home place in
Monroe Township. By her marriage she had four
children, as follows: James M., who was born in
Concord Township, Jan. 15, 1859; William of Oklahoma,
who married Delia Westlake and has two
children, Elsie and Irving; Sherman,
who was born on the present farm, Nov. 13, 1866; and
Albert, who was born on this farm Dec. 31, 1868.
JAMES SHERMAN and ALBERT KERR
live with their mother on the home farm and carry on
operations under the firm name of Kerr Brothers.
They have 355 acres in Monroe and Concord Townships and
follow general farming and stock raising on a large scale,
buying largely in the Chicago markets. They also make
a business of loaning money at interest. The Kerr
brothers were reared on the farm and attended the
district schools. They were reared to hard work, and
having the entire confidence of their father, were taken
into his business deals at an early age. They have
traveled extensively over the United States, and are broad
and liberal-minded men. Sherman and Albert
Kerr are members of Troy Lodge, No. 110, Knights of
Pythias; and West Milton Lodge, No. 577, F. & A. M.
Religiously, they are members of the Christian Church.
Source: Centennial History - Troy, Piqua and Miami
Co., Ohio - Publ. 1909 - Page 598 |
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JAMES KERR, SR.
- See JAMES
KERR Source: Centennial History - Troy, Piqua and Miami
Co., Ohio - Publ. 1909 - Page 598 |
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JAMES SHERMAN KERR -
See
JAMES KERR Source: Centennial History - Troy, Piqua and Miami
Co., Ohio - Publ. 1909 - Page 599 |
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RAYMOND A. KERR,
a prominent attorney of the Miami County bar and a member of
the firm of E. H. & R. A. Kerr, of Tippecanoe City,
was born Nov. 10, 1880, at Tippecanoe City, Miami County,
Ohio, and is a son of E. H. and Etta (Tenney) Kerr.
E. H. KERR, father of Raymond A., was
born near Casstown, in Miami County. His school
attendance covered his youth up to fifteen years and later
he turned his attention to the law, graduating' from the
Cincinnati Law School. He began to practice before his
graduation, in 1885, and is numbered among the successful
members of the Miami County bar. He has been a
resident of Tippecanoe City since 1878. He is a son of
the late Thompson Kerr, who was a prosperous farmer
and popular teacher for a number of years. Thompson
Kerr died in 1887, aged fifty-six years. Of his
four sons, the youngest, Owen, is deceased, and the
other three are all attorneys, namely: Manford;
Asbury, residing at Tippecanoe City; and Ellis H.,
who is the senior member of the law firm of E. H. and
R. A. Kerr. Ellis H. Kerr married
Etta Tenney, who is a daughter of the late Peter
Tenney, a farmer, who died in Montgomery County,
Ohio. To this marriage the following children were
born: Loran, who is a railroad man, residing in South
Carolina; Vera, who is the wife of Lieut. R. W.
Kessler, of the United States Navy, who is stationed at
Cincinnati; and Raymond A.
Raymond A. Kerr attended the public schools of
his native city and the Ohio Wesleyan University at
Delaware, graduating in the class of 1902. He then
entered the University of Michigan, graduating from the law
department of that institution in the class of 1905.
He immediately became his father's associate and the law
business of the firm is very heavy, almost all branches of
the law being covered by one or other of the partners.
Mr. Kerr is a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon
fraternity, and belongs also to Lodge No. 174, F. & A. M.,
Tippecanoe City, and to Coleman Commandery at Troy, Ohio.
On Apr. 18, 1906, Mr. Kerr was married to
Miss Myra Wehrly, who is a daughter of Rev.
W. H. Wehrly, of Troy, Ohio, Mr. and Mrs. Kerr
are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. In politics
he is in sympathy with the Democratic party.
Source: Centennial History - Troy, Piqua and Miami
Co., Ohio - Publ. 1909 - Page 565 |
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A. H. KESSLER Source: Centennial History - Troy, Piqua and Miami
Co., Ohio - Publ. 1909 - Page 785 |
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WILLIAM B. KESSLER Source: Centennial History - Troy, Piqua and Miami
Co., Ohio - Publ. 1909 - Page 803 |
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WIRT KESSLER Source: Centennial History - Troy, Piqua and Miami
Co., Ohio - Publ. 1909 - Page 803 |
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W. S. KESSLER Source: Centennial History - Troy, Piqua and Miami
Co., Ohio - Publ. 1909 - Page 827 |
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GIDEON KEYT Source: Centennial History - Troy, Piqua and Miami
Co., Ohio - Publ. 1909 - Page 843 |
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JAMES KEYT Source: Centennial History - Troy, Piqua and Miami
Co., Ohio - Publ. 1909 - Page 697 |
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JAMES W. KEYT Source: Centennial History - Troy, Piqua and Miami
Co., Ohio - Publ. 1909 - Page 843 |
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EZEKIEL KINDELL Source: Centennial History - Troy, Piqua and Miami
Co., Ohio - Publ. 1909 - Page 837 |
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JAMES B. KINDELL Source: Centennial History - Troy, Piqua and Miami
Co., Ohio - Publ. 1909 - Page 837 |
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ALBERT KINDER Source: Centennial History - Troy, Piqua and Miami
Co., Ohio - Publ. 1909 - Page 502 |
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GEORGE KINNISON Source: Centennial History - Troy, Piqua and Miami
Co., Ohio - Publ. 1909 - Page 700 |
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GEORGE E. KINNISON Source: Centennial History - Troy, Piqua and Miami
Co., Ohio - Publ. 1909 - Page 700 |
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HARRY K. KIRK Source: Centennial History - Troy, Piqua and Miami
Co., Ohio - Publ. 1909 - Page 620 |
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BENJAMIN KISER -
See Dr. I. C. Kiser
Source: Centennial History - Troy, Piqua and Miami
Co., Ohio - Publ. 1909 - Page 717 |
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CHARLES
W. KISER, treasurer of Miami County, Ohio. The
office of county treasurer has had no more popular,
efficient and satisfactory incumbent than the subject of
this sketch. Elected in November, 1905, he took office
in September, 1906. By virtue of a change in the
statute regulating the terms of county officers in this
county, his term was extended one year, and he retired from
office in September, 1909, having served three years instead
of the statutory term of two years, as provided by the old
law. His many friends, regardless of partisan ties,
urged him to be a candidate for a second elective term,
confident that he would have an excellent prospect for
re-election, although making a contest in a county nominally
against his party by 1,200 to 1,800 majority. This
view did not meet with his approval sufficiently to overcome
what he regarded as a sense of propriety in the matter.
He uniformly acknowledged that his first election to the
office was brought about by the help of his many personal
friends, heretofore aligned with the Republican party.
This he fully appreciated and was grateful for, moreover,
the provisions of the new statute extending his term one
year had weight with him in deciding to not ask his friends
again for their suffrage, and he preferred to retire with
the good will of all his friends, regardless of party ties,
and with the sense of duty well performed.
Charles "Walker Kiser is the son of W. I. and
Martha A. Kiser, and was born in Fletcher, Miami County,
Ohio, Dec. 10, 1867, where he received his early education
and training. He comes of worthy pioneer stock. His
grandfather, the late Squire Isaac Kiser, was the
first white male child born in Brown Township.
Charles Kiser 's father, W. I. Kiser, better
known as "Billy Kiser," and who died suddenly a few years
ago, was perhaps one of the best known men in Miami County
and came within six votes of being elected county treasurer
in this county in opposition to a strong man when the normal
vote of the county was about 1,800 Republican. He was
a member of Company E. 110th O. V. I. and a brave and
gallant soldier, as the many wounds received on the field of
battle evidenced.
In 1884 Charles Kiser moved to Piqua with
his parents, where he assisted his father in the
agricultural implement business with the firm of Kiser
& Hall. So successful was the business, due as
much to the enterprise, industry and shrewdness of the
younger Kiser, that the father and father-in-law—
Mr. Kiser in the meantime having married Miss
Sadie Hall, daughter of the junior member of the firm—
decided to reorganize the firm, Mr. Hall retiring and
going to Sidney, where he established a thriving business,
and Charles Kiser taking his place in the new
firm under the name of W. I. Kiser & Son. The
new firm was a most successful enterprise and the father,
having implicit confidence in his son's ability, finally
concluded to retire and turn the business over to Mr.
Kiser, who afterward conducted it under the name of
Charles W. Kiser at the old stand in Piqua.
His successful and honest conduct of his own business
affairs was an assurance to his friends that he would do
likewise in a public office, and the people of this county
in his election secured a model official, fully justifying
their confidence.
No man in the state has the confidence of his fellow
business men to a greater degree than that enjoyed by
Charles Kiser, due wholly to honest dealing.
He is well and favorably known in church and fraternal
circles and is every way competent and is an indefatigable
worker and of a most obliging disposition, attributes which
are sure to make a most popular official.
Source: Centennial History - Troy, Piqua and Miami
Co., Ohio - Publ. 1909 - Page 548 |
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I. C. KISER, M. D.,
who is engaged in the practice of medicine at Fletcher, and
is a representative citizen of the place, is a member of one
of the oldest settled families in Brown Township.
Dr. Kiser was born in 1873, in Brown Township, Miami
County, Ohio, and is a son of Benjamin and a grandson
of Isaac Kiser.
Isaac Kiser was the first white child born in
Brown Township, and the whole of his long and useful life
was spent here, which was prolonged to eighty-seven years.
He was a man of prominence in this section, a leader in all
public movements, the owner of 600 acres of land, and one of
the township's capitalists. For many years he was
justice of the peace, dividing honors with the late
Justice Duncan, and together they handled all the
early litigation.
BENJAMIN KISER, father of Dr.
Kiser, was reared on his father's farm in Brown
Township, and the larger part of his life was devoted to
agricultural pursuits. During the Civil War he served
honorably as a member of Company C, Seventy-first Regt., O.
Vol. Inf. He married Mary A. Hetzler,
and they had four children, namely: Elmer, who is
engaged in the meat business at Sidney, Ohio; Minnie,
who is married and resides in Miami County; I. C., of
Fletcher; and Foster, who is a student of medicine.
Dr. I. C. Kiser was reared on the old homestead
in Brown Township, and from the country schools entered the
Ohio Normal University at Ada, where he completed a literary
course and also graduated in pharmacy, and then entered the
Ohio Medical University of Columbus, where he received his
degree in 1897. Dr. Kiser immediately located
at Fletcher, fitting up a convenient office on Main Street,
and has built up a very satisfactory practice. He
keeps fully abreast of the times, and makes use of the
scientific methods which modern investigation have made
possible and advisable.
Dr. Kiser was married to Miss Rose Saunders.
In his political views he is a Democrat. Fraternally
he is identified with the Masons, the Odd Fellows and the
Knights of Pythias, and for the past eight years has been
treasurer of the latter organization at Fletcher.
Source: Centennial History - Troy, Piqua and Miami
Co., Ohio - Publ. 1909 - Page 717 |
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JOSEPH A. KLOEB Source: Centennial History - Troy, Piqua and Miami
Co., Ohio - Publ. 1909 - Page 557 |
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ISAAC KNICK Source: Centennial History - Troy, Piqua and Miami
Co., Ohio - Publ. 1909 - Page 516 |
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ALBERT KNOOP Source: Centennial History - Troy, Piqua and Miami
Co., Ohio - Publ. 1909 - Page 510 |
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DANIEL KNOOP Source: Centennial History - Troy, Piqua and Miami
Co., Ohio - Publ. 1909 - Page 510 |
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DANIEL C. KNOOP Source: Centennial History - Troy, Piqua and Miami
Co., Ohio - Publ. 1909 - Page 572 |
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GEORGE KNOUFF Source: Centennial History - Troy, Piqua and Miami
Co., Ohio - Publ. 1909 - Page 667 |
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JOHN M. KNOUFF Source: Centennial History - Troy, Piqua and Miami
Co., Ohio - Publ. 1909 - Page 667 |
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JACOB KRAYER Source: Centennial History - Troy, Piqua and Miami
Co., Ohio - Publ. 1909 - Page 394 |
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CHARLES E.
KREITZER Source: Centennial History - Troy, Piqua and Miami
Co., Ohio - Publ. 1909 - Page 534 |
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ISAAC H. KREITZER Source: Centennial History - Troy, Piqua and Miami
Co., Ohio - Publ. 1909 - Page 533 |
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RAY KREITZER Source: Centennial History - Troy, Piqua and Miami
Co., Ohio - Publ. 1909 - Page 533 |
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DR. ROBERT L.
KUNKLE Source: Centennial History - Troy, Piqua and Miami
Co., Ohio - Publ. 1909 - Page 523 |
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