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Biographies
Source: History of Preble County, Ohio -
her people, industries and institutions
by R. E. Lowry
With Biographical Sketches of Representative Citizens and
Genealogical Records of Old Families
Illustrated
1915
B. F. Bowen & Company, Inc.
Indianapolis, Indiana
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JOHN C. BARR.
It is a well-authenticated fact that success comes as a result
of legitimate and well-applied energy, unflagging determination
and perseverance in a course of action one decides upon.
Success was never known to smile upon the idler or dreamer and
never courts the inert man. Only men who have diligently
sought her favor are crowned with her blessing. The
success which John C. Barr, of Jackson township, Preble
county, Ohio, enjoys has been won by the qualities which always
win success. His splendid personal worth has won for him
the high esteem of a large circle of friends.
John C. Barr, a farmer living in
Jackson township, Preble county, Ohio, was born in Jefferson
township, in the same county, Sept. 27, 1864, the son of
Alexander and Achasia (Curry) Barr. Alexander Barr was
born in Preble county, the son of Christopher Barr, whose
father and two brothers came to the United States from Scotland.
Christopher Barr's father settled near New Paris, in
Jefferson township, this county, where he spent the rest of his
life. His son, Christopher Barr, lived and died in
the same township.
Both Alexander Barr and his wife, the latter of
whom was the daughter of Capt. John Curry, grew up in
Preble county, and both lived here all their lives. They
were the parents of twelve children, nine of whom are living:
Alice, the wife of William D. Benner, of Jackson
township; John C., the subject of this sketch;
Clarence o., a farmer of Jefferson township; Frank, a
graduate of the Richmond Business College, who is assistant
superintendent in the office of the Adams Express Company at
Chicago, Illinois; Myrtle, the wife of William Irwin
of Eldorado, Ohio; William A., a graduate of the Richmond
Business College, who is a traveling salesman for Seigle
Brothers, of Chicago; Mary, the wife of Herbert
Harshman, of Washington township; Pearl, the wife of
John Wearley of Manchester, Ohio; and Bruce O., a
graduate of the Richmond Business College, who is a farmer in
Jefferson township. John C. Barr was reared on the
paternal farm in this county, receiving his education in the
common schools, and lived at home until he was married.
John C. Barr was married on June 17, 1896, to
Mattie M. Tobey, who was born in Jackson township, June 2,
1876, the daughter of David and Mary (Kepler) Tobey.
To this union have been born two sons: Byrl T., a
student in the Jackson township high school, born May 15, 1897,
and Azel F., born June 22, 1898, also a student in the
high school.
David Tobey was a son of Henry and Magdalene
C. (Rohrer) Tobey, the former of whom was born on Oct. 14,
1817, and the latter born on Mar. 20, 1818, who were married
Dec. 24, 1835. Mrs. Henry Tobey was a daughter of
Elizabeth Rohrer, who died July 14, 1884. Henry
Tobey was a minister in the United Brethren church. He
and his wife migrated from Baltimore, Maryland, to Montgomery
county, Ohio, in 1836. He began preaching at the age of
forty-one at Lewisburg, Ohio, and was ordained an elder in 1845.
He died on Sept. 15, 1889, and his wife died on Jan. 31, 1900.
John C. Barr is a member of the Presbyterian
church at Gettysburg, Ohio, and Mrs. Barr is a member of
the United Brethren church at New Hope. Mr. Barr is
a Democrat and has been active in the councils of his party and
is now one of the trustees of the township. He owns forty
acres of land on the Richmond and Eaton pike, six miles from
Eaton and ten miles from Richmond. The Barr family
is widely known in the community in which they live and are
popular in that community.
Source: History of Preble County, Ohio - Illustrated -
1915 - B. F. Bowen & Company, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana - Page
718 |
Horace G. Bloom |
HORACE G. BLOOM
Source: History of Preble County, Ohio - Illustrated -
1915 - B. F. Bowen & Company, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana - Page
670 |
George H. Brouse & Family |
GEORGE H. BROUSE
Source: History of Preble County, Ohio - Illustrated -
1915 - B. F. Bowen & Company, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana - Page
848 |
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MICHAEL BROWN.
Of the thousands of occupations listed in the United States
census report, there is hardly more than one which is absolutely
necessary to man's existence. The three things without
which man cannot live are food, clothing and shelter. The
farmer not only controls the food supply, but also the clothing
products of the world. His is the only occupation which
can exist independently of the others. Within recent
years, the business of farming has taken on increased dignity.
The farmer of today has the advantage of working with machinery
which renders his work free from many of its former
disadvantages. Competition, however, requires the very
best efforts in all lines of endeavor and this is especially
true of farming. From the time of the earliest spring
planting until the crops are harvested, the farmer's life is a
busy one and the good wife must toil as unceasingly as her
husband. One of the prosperous farmers of Preble county,
who is now living retired, is Michael Brown, of
Harrison township, a man who has always taken a deep interest in
agriculture and has recognized industry and management as the
basis of success.
Michael Brown was born on Feb. 1, 1844,
in Harrison township, Preble county, Ohio, the son of Eli and
Mary (Cox) Brown, who were the parents of nine children,
Mrs. Martha Hecathorn, deceased; Severe
and Nelson, deceased; Mrs. Sarah Odell,
a resident of Ithaca, Ohio; Michael, the subject of this
sketch; Mrs. Jerusha Banta, a resident of
Castine, Ohio; Mrs. Amanda Bosman, of
Brookville, Ohio; Mrs. Mary Parks, of
Harrison township; and Mrs. Catherine Minich,
of Manchester, Ohio.
Eli Brown, the father of Michael,
was born in 1815, in Harrison township, Preble county, and was a
farmer all of his life. He died in 1898 and his wife died
eleven years before.
Michael Brown was married in 1865 to
Almira Dinwiddie, the daughter of James R. and
Sarah (Niswonger) Dinwiddie. Mrs.
Brown was born Aug. 8, 1842, on the farm where she now
resides. Her father was born in 1817 at Centerville, Ohio,
and came to Preble county, Ohio, with his father, who settled in
section 15, where he spent the remainder of his life.
Mrs. Brown’s mother died when she was only eighteen
months old.
Michael Brown has always been a
hard-working, industrious fanner. He was a renter for many
years, and was very successful in his farming operations.
He is a stockholder in several concerns, and financially, has
accumulated a handsome competence for old age. Mr.
and Mrs. Brown together own two hundred and
sixty acres of land, and have made extensive improvements upon
this property. They have always kept a high grade of
stock. They have now turned the active management of the
farm over to their son, August W., who makes a specialty
of breeding full-blooded Jersey cattle.
To Mr. and Mrs. Brown ten children have been
born: Mrs. Ida Hinea, who is referred to elsewhere in
this volume; Frank, who assists in farming his father’s
land; Myrtle, deceased; Osborne, also deceased;
August, living at home and farming the home place; Mrs.
Carrie Howell, living in Harrison township; Mrs.
Zella Studebaker, deceased; Charles, deceased;
Mrs. Amanda Gebhart, living in Harrison
township; and Goldsmith, unmarried and living at home.
Mr. and Mrs. Brown are
active members of the United Brethren church, in whose welfare
they are interested, and to whose support they are liberal
contributors. They are prominent citizens of the community
where they reside, and are admired and respected by their
neighbors and friends.
Source: History of Preble County, Ohio - Illustrated -
1915 - B. F. Bowen & Company, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana - Page
693 |
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ROBERT
J. BROWN. Beyond
question, no people take a greater interest in the welfare of a
community, or are more anxious to uphold its traditions and
maintain its high standards than are the descendants of those
men and women who so ably molded the life and future of the
nation during its earliest days. The pioneers who laid,
during the early years of the seventeenth century and even
previous to that, the foundations of what were destined to
become the mighty chain of Atlantic coast states accomplished
results far greater than their wildest dreams had ever pictured.
Not only that, but they also left behind them descendants of
their own sturdy and conscientious type who were fully qualified
in every way to carry on the work which their fathers had begun.
Gradually those worthy descendants of the pioneers worked their
way into the interior of the country, becoming pioneers
themselves, and themselves laying the foundations of what were
destined to become states as mighty as those founded by their
ancestors. Every section of the country has been fortunate
in receiving its quota of the pioneers who descended from
pioneers, and Preble county can boast of having had as one of
its founders during the early years of the nineteenth century a
representative of one of the most solid and substantial pioneer
families of both the nation's early and later years. This
man was Nathan Brown, a descendant of South
Carolina pioneers, who settled in Preble county in 1813, and
whose grandson, Robert J. Brown, the subject of this
sketch, is now living close to the spot where his grandfather
first settled in this county.
Robert J. Brown was born in Israel township,
Preble county, Ohio, Feb. 18, 1842, the son of James and
Elizabeth (Scott) Brown. He was the descendant of a
long line of Browns who had for many years more than a
century been prominent in shaping the destinies of the country
previous to his birth. His great-grandfather was Nathan
Brown, who was born in South Carolina in 1731, and who
died in that state on June 28, 1779. His wife, the
subject’s great-grandmother, was Grizzella (Richey) Brown,
who was also born in South Carolina, the date of her birth
having been 1742, and that of her death, May 30, 1810. Nathan
Brown was a farmer who played an important part in the
development of South Carolina during its early days.
Nathan Brown, the second, the grandfather
of the subject of this sketch, was born in South Carolina in
1774, and died on Oct. 5, 1849, in Preble county, Ohio.
His wife was born in 1777, and died on Apr. 9, 1813.
Nathan Brown moved to Preble county in 1813, and
settled on a farm in Israel township, where he lived during the
remainder of his life, having been survived by his son, James.
James Brown was born in South Carolina on
Nov. 21, 1802, and came to Preble county with his father in
1813. He assisted his father during the earlier years of
his life in building the farm which was the foundation of the
Brown homestead, and which is still occupied by his
son, the subject of this sketch. On Jan. 16, 1828,
James Brown married Elizabeth Scott,
who was born on Mar. 20, 1806. They spent their lives on
the farm, which James Brown improved to his utmost
ability. He died on May 18, 1888, and his wife died on
July 7, 1885.
To Mr. and Mrs. James Brown nine children were
born, three of whom served in the Union army during the Civil
War. The children were William S., who was born on
Mar. 11, 1829, and who died in South America; James S.,
born on Nov. 25, 1830, who died on Mar. 9, 1912. He
enlisted in Company A., One Hundred and Fifty-sixth Regiment,
Ohio Volunteer Infantry, during the Civil War and served four
months, the period of his enlistment. Mary
Rebecca was born on Nov. 7, 1832, and died on Feb. 7, 1889.
A child died in infancy. Nathan R., was born on
Oct. 7, 1835. He enlisted in Company B, Twentieth Regiment
Ohio Volunteer Infantry, at the time when the three months’ men
were called, and served through the period of his enlistment.
He then enlisted for three years in Company D, Forty-seventh
Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and died at Memphis,
Tennessee, Oct. 3, 1863. Nancy Maria,
deceased, was born on July 1, 1838. Robert J. is
the subject of this sketch. Elizabeth C. was born
on Nov. 1, 1845, and died on Aug. 17, 1850. Clara J.
was born on Oct. 7, 1851, and is now living in Morning Sun,
Ohio.
Robert J. Brown was born in Israel township, on
the farm where he now lives, Feb. 18, 1842. He received
his early education in the schools of Israel township and in
1862 was graduated from Miami University, at Oxford, Ohio.
Shortly afterward he answered the call for volunteers for the
Union army and enlisted in Company A, One Hundred and
Fifty-sixth Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, for four months,
and served the period of his enlistment.
On Oct. 20, 1875, he married Vinolia A. Shaw, a
daughter of Robert and Marietta (Robertson) Shaw.
Robert Shaw, her father, was born near Washington,
Pennsylvania, and later moved to Washington county, Iowa. Mrs.
Shaw was born in Preble county, near Fairhaven, Ohio.
Later her parents moved to Spring Hill, Indiana, and from there
to Washington county, Iowa, where Mr. and Mrs. Shaw were
married.
To them were born three children, Vinolia, the
wife of the subject of this sketch; David R., whose place
of residence is now unknown, and Lloyd S., who died when
a child and was buried at Brighton, Iowa. At the time of
the Civil War Mr. Shaw enlisted in the Union army
and died at Vicksburg, Mississippi. He was buried in the
national cemetery at Vicksburg. Mrs. Shaw
died in 1900, and was buried in Hopewell cemetery, Israel
township, this county.
Source: History of Preble County, Ohio - Illustrated -
1915 - B. F. Bowen & Company, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana - Page
765 |
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JOHN E. BRUCE.
One of the best-known men in Preble
county is the gentleman whose name appears above, a grandson of
William Bruce, who laid out the town of Eaton,
this county. It is a distinction of no little consequence
to be descended from such a worthy progenitor as William
Bruce, whose name will live as long as Preble county and
the city of Eaton endures, and in every respect the subject of
this sketch merits the distinction conferred upon him by this
worthy ancestor.
John E. Bruce was born in the house where he now
lives on Jan. 5, 1847, the son of Hardin and Susanna (Danford)
Bruce, the former of whom was the son of William
Bruce, the first settler in Eaton.
Reared on the farm where he now lives, just south of
the corporation of Eaton, John E. Bruce received his
education in the public schools of Eaton and took up farming
early in life. On Feb. 20, 1872, he married Ida M.
Mitchell, the daughter of Theodore C. Mitchell, of
Logansport, Indiana. Mrs. Bruce was born in
Preble county, Ohio, but her family moved to Logansport when she
was two years old, living there until 1870 when they returned to
this county. She was educated in the public schools of
Logansport and the Western College for Women at Oxford, Ohio.
After their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Bruce located
on the old Bruce homestead where Mrs.
Bruce died on Aug. 20, 1904. She was a kind and loving
wife and a devoted companion to her family. Mrs.
Bruce was the mother of five children, Robert H., who
was educated in the public schools of Eaton, and is unmarried,
living at Chicago, Illinois; Horace V., a graduate of the
Eaton high school and a student of Ohio State University,
married Jeanette Hallanan and is now secretary of
the Co-operative Market of New York City; William W., who
married Mabel Cail, resides in Eaton; Ethel, who
is a graduate of the Eaton high school, and Frances, both
single and at home.
John E. Bruce owns eighty-eight acres of the old
homestead of sixteen hundred acres entered by William
Bruce. In October, 1890, he entered the dairy business
and has been engaged in this business in connection with farming
since that date. Almost all of his dairy cattle are
thoroughbred and registered. Mr. Bruce finds
a market for all of his products in the city of Eaton.
The Bruce family are all members of the
Presbyterian church at Eaton. Mr. Bruce is a
Republican, but has never taken an active part in the councils
of any party. He is a man who is well and favorably known
and is devoted to his personal and business interests and to the
welfare of his family.
The history of the Bruce family, however,
would be incomplete unless it contained the story of the life
and career of William Bruce and his descendants.
This story, taken from an old history of Preble county, is
here-with appended: “A high type of pioneer life and character
was exemplified in William Bruce, the founder of
Eaton. He was of Scotch descent and in him were preserved
many of the distinguished and admirable traits of the people to
whom he belonged. His father and five brothers,
Highlanders, came to America during the Scottish rebellion of
1746, and located upon the waters of the Potomac in Virginia.
Here the subject of our sketch was born on Sept. 20, 1762.
When he was nine years old, his father removed to Redstore,
Pennsylvania, near Fort Pitt, now Pittsburgh. Young
William Bruce sought employment and was engaged while
a mere boy as a packer of goods across the mountains. In
this vigorous and perilous occupation, he developed that
physical vigor and fearlessness, as well as sturdiness of
character, which fitted him for the life he was to lead.
When of age, Bruce abandoned the toilsome vocation at
which he had served for several years and with a brother-in-law,
immigrated to Kentucky where he settled in the famous Cane Ridge
locality, included in the civil division of the territory now
known as Bourbon county. In Kentucky, William
Bruce married, about 1791, Frances Lewis, born
in 1771. They immigrated in 1793 to Warren county, Ohio,
and for six years lived near Shakertown. They then moved into
Butler county, Ohio, and from there to Montgomery county, from
which locality they moved to Eaton, their permanent place of
residence, in 1806.
"Prior to this time, Mr. Bruce had prospected
for lands along Seven Mile, and, doubtless, had then conceived
the idea of founding a town, for he purchased three sections of
nearly two thousand acres of land, including the site of Eaton,
the "Old Garrison' and all the ground between, being led to this
measure very likely because of the general attractions of the
lands and the particularly fine mill site which the falls of the
creek afforded. Mr. Bruce built a cabin on the hill
south of the site of Eaton, laid out the town and built a saw
and grist mill, which proved of great convenience to the
settlers in the surrounding country.
“The village fast gained population under the
proprietor's generous scheme of management and, in a few years,
almost entirely through his influence, it excelled in good
morals and in true prosperity many of its young rivals which had
better natural advantages. Mr. Bruce made
liberal donations of public land for public buildings, churches
and schools, and also gave lots to numbers of settlers, beside
encouraging the worthy poor by various other methods. It
is related of him that he seldom took ‘toll' for grinding of the
poor man’s grist, quantities of flour, meal and other simple
provisions which were in use among the pioneer settlers.
He was a very humane man, kind-hearted and, if such a thing is
possible, generous to a fault. His life was a long and
constant exercise of a very unusual energy, and his labors were
given as much to the good of the general public as to himself or
immediate family. With all his earnestness of purpose, his
unswerving devotion to the right and scrupulous regard for
morality, he was original in his ideas and refused to be
governed by popular opinion, a trait of independence which
gained for him in some quarters the reputation of being
eccentric and in others created positive ill-will.
“He was once a member of the Christian or ‘New Light'
church, and a very constant one indeed, with the exception that
he could not be persuaded from the idea that it was not wrong to
grind corn on Sunday for the poor and, in some cases, absolutely
destitute settlers. Being remonstrated with by some
members of the church, he withdrew his fellowship. His
creed was that the great practical good to be obtained was
superior to the harm of nominally infringing a law of the
church, and he continued to run his mill down by the Seven Mile
on Sundays as well as week days, when there was a necessity for
so doing and the water was high enough. This circumstance
served well as an illustration of the character of William
Bruce. He was a plain matter-of-fact man, a
utilitarian, very decided in his views, and direct in giving
them expression. He wished to infringe upon the rights of
no man and would allow no man to infringe upon his. He
preferred to do right in his own way and always
unostentatiously. His donations were usually accompanied
by some provision enjoying the recipient to perform some work
for himself though he secured to the community and individuals
the fullest benefit, both directly and indirectly, of his
benevolence.
“Mr. Bruce’s sterling traits of character
gained and maintained for him the universal and unqualified
respect of the people, a fact that he evinced when he was made
first treasurer of Preble county and in later years by the
number of private trusts reposed on him. The subject of
our sketch was a jovial man of high spirits, enjoyed life and
was very fond of association with his fellowmen. He was
good-humored, fond of conversation and a man of far more than
ordinary mind. His personal appearance was prepossessing,
at once commanding and benign. Mr. Bruce died in
1830 and was buried in Mound cemetery, where an appropriate
monument, formed in part of the grinding stones of the old mill,
marks his resting place. Mrs. Bruce’s death
occurred prior to that of her husband, in 1827.
“This pair of pioneers were the parents of nine
children, nearly all of whom grew to maturity and reared
families, whose members have, as a precious legacy, the good
name and fame of the patriarch, William Bruce. George,
who for the past fifty-three years has lived in Indianapolis,
Indiana; Washington, who married Sarah Redmond;
and James, residents of Preble county; Hannah, the
eldest of the family, married Jacob Spacht;
Charles, the second child born Jan. 15, 1796, married
Eliza Lease; Hardin was born July 1, 1798, and
married for his first wife Jane Cook and for his
second wife Susannah Danforth (Swihart).
Mary, familiarly called Polly, was first married
to James Holliday and after his death to Levin
T. McCabe. George, born July 27, 1802, married
Dove Regan; John L., bom in 1809; James
and Alexander, twins, were born Apr. 15, 1815. The
latter died in infancy and the former is now living in
Washington township.”
Charles Bruce was the father of nine
children, George, deceased, formerly a physician in
Winchester, Indiana; Mrs. Jerusha Morgan, of Eaton;
William, deceased; William C., deceased; Mrs.
Melvina Curry, deceased; Mrs. Mary Danford, deceased;
Mrs. Josephine Williams, of Cardington, Ohio; Mrs.
Julia Minor, of Eaton, and John H., of Cardington,
Ohio.
Hardin Bruce had several children by his
first wife, of whom Mrs. Margaret A. Redmond
(deceased), of Cynthiana, Kentucky, is one. By his second
wife there were John Ervin, Mrs. Mary Deem,
Mrs. Frances Deem, deceased; Mrs. Catherine
Brouse, deceased; Emma and Mrs. Laura
Sayre.
Source: History of Preble County, Ohio - Illustrated -
1915 - B. F. Bowen & Company, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana - Page
810 |
Asa Burch |
ASA BURCH
Source: History of Preble County, Ohio - Illustrated -
1915 - B. F. Bowen & Company, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana - Page
688 |
NOTES:
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