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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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ARCHIBALD
MONROE CAMPBELL. One of
Preble county's best known and most representative citizens, one
who belongs to two very old families of the county and one who
has performed public duties with conscientious purpose and
personal efficiency, is Archibald M. Campbell, deputy sheriff of
Preble county.
Archibald Monroe Campbell was born in Jackson
township, Preble county, Aug. 29, 1842, the son and Archibald
and Indiana (Larsh) Campbell, natives of Knoxville,
Tennessee, and Kentucky, respectively. They were the
parents of Cornelius deceased; Eldred R., of
Emporia, Kansas; Benjamin F., deceased; George
Washington and Thomas Jeffeson (twins), the first
being deceased and the latter now living at Frankton, Indiana;
J. Vance, deceased; Minerva J., the wife of
Thomas Bulla of Campbellstown, Preble county; Archibald M.,
of Eaton; Mary Ann, the wife of James Shafer of
Campbellstown; and two who died young.
Archibald Campbell Sr., who was born on Jan. 5,
1803, was a boy of twelve or fourteen when he came with his
parents from Tennessee to Jackson township, Preble county, Ohio.
His wife came when she was about twelve and they were married in
Preble county and settled in the woods, which they cleared and
improved. They owned two farms, one of one hundred and
seven acres and the other of one hundred and sixty acres.
They built the third house on the first of these farms.
Mr. Campbell died at the age of seventy and his wife at the
age of ninety-seven.
The paternal grandparents of Archibald M. Campbell
were John and Sarah (Vance) Campbell, pioneers of Preble
county. John Campbell was of Scotch origin, his
paternal ancestors having emigrated to the English colonies on
this side of the Atlantic at an early date. The family
settled in Pennsylvania, where they remained for many years, and
where John Campbell grew to manhood, and where he married
Sarah Vance, soon after which event he moved to
Tennessee, settling near Knoxville, where he was engaged in
farming until 1817, in which year he removed to Ohio, settling
in the wilds of Preble county with his wife and ten children.
He located in Jackson township, about eight miles northwest of
the county seat, where he resided the remainder of his life, his
death occurring in 1847, he then being eighty-seven years of
age. His widow survived him eleven years, she being
eighty-six years of age at the time of her death. John
and Sarah (Vance) Campbell were the parents of eleven
children, Samuel, Jane, Elizabeth, Archibald, Mary, James,
Andrew, Robert, William, Alexander P. and Nancy.
The elder Archibald Campbell
grew to manhood on the parental farm and at the age of
twenty-two married Indiana Larsh, daughter and
only child of Lewis and Anna (Bibby) Larsh, natives of
Kentucky and pioneers of Preble county, they having been early
settlers in Dixon township, where, on a farm six miles west of
Eaton, they spent their last days. Lewis Larsh was
a soldier in the War of 1812 and in the early days built
flatboats on which goods were transported down the river to New
Orleans, the custom then being to float the freight down the
river, the barges necessarily being left at the terminal port,
the owner of the same, after disposing of his cargo, being
compelled to make the return trip on foot, a not uncommon
experience for Lewis Larsh.
Archibald Monroe Campbell was born and reared in
Preble county and has always considered this county his home.
He grew up on his father's farm and remained there until he was
twenty-eight years old. After his marriage he bought a
farm but on account of the panic of 1876 he was compelled to
sell it. He then rented land for several years in Jackson
township. In 1890 he moved to Boston, Indiana, and lived
there seven years. He then spent twelve years in Richmond,
Indiana, doing carpenter work in the shops there. Finally
he returned to Jackson township, this county, and lived there
nearly three years, at the end of which time he was appointed
deputy sheriff and moved to Eaton, the county seat, where he now
resides.
On Nov. 9, 1869, Mr. Campbell was married
to Isabel Smith, the daughter of Stephen A. and
Pierrie (Gregg) Smith, to which union six children were
born, Linetta, Clara, Ora, Archibald,
Sadie and one who died in infancy. Linetta
married Rev. Fred Stovenour, of Portland, Indiana, and
they have one child, Frederick. Clara
married Elmer Warner, of Portland, Indiana, and
they have one daughter, Dorothy; Ora, who married
Bessie Sayman, lives at Belmont, a suburb of
Dayton, Ohio, and has one daughter, Mary Isabel.
Archibald, who married Cora Hershberger,
lives in Richmond, Indiana, and has one daughter, Margaret
Belle. Sadie married Everett Cox,
of Portland/ Indiana, and has adopted two children, twins.
Mrs. Campbell died on Mar. 10, 1884, at
the age of thirty-five. She belonged to the Christian (Newlight)
church. Her parents were natives of Ohio and had eight
children, Sarah, Joseph Marion, Isabel,
Watson, Jeanette, Charles, Eliza and
J. Warren. Stephen A. Smith had been
previously married, his first wife having been a Miss
Lockwood, who died leaving one daughter, Marietta.
Mr. Campbell married, secondly, May 16,
1907, Mrs. Sarah E. Phillips, the widow of David
Phillips, who had two children by her first marriage,
Carrie and one who died young. Carrie married
Ernest Poinier, of Rich- mond, Indiana, and has
four children, Doris, Helen, Kenneth and
Sarah Millison. Mrs. Sarah
Campbell is a native of Ohio.
Mr. Campbell is an honored member of the
Independent Order of Odd Fellows, with which order he became
connected on Mar. 16, 1869, through the lodge at New Paris.
He is a Democrat and for many years has been active in the local
councils of his party. He was assessor of Jackson township
in 1884 and again in 1912, resigning to take the office of
deputy sheriff. Mr. Campbell has proved to
be efficient and conscientious in the discharge of his duties in
his various relations with the public service and is honored by
the citizens of the township and county he has been, and is,
serving.
Source: History of Preble County, Ohio - Illustrated -
1915 - B. F. Bowen & Company, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana - Page
476 |
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ANDREW COFFMAN.
Few young men of Preble county, Ohio, are more favorably known
or more enterprising in business than Andrew Coffman,
funeral director and embalmer, of Eaton. Andrew
Coffman is a wide-awake, enterprising young business man,
and his undertaking establishment is a model of neatness,
arranged after the most modern ideas. His stock of goods
is of the very best and latest in design. Mr.
Coffman is a man of splendid habits and en- joys the respect
and good will of the entire community, where he has lived his
whole life. Rarely does so young a man attain so
remarkable a success in business as has attended his efforts
since locating in Eaton.
Andrew Coffman was born in Eaton, Ohio,
Dec. 25, 1890, and is a son of Joseph W. and Carrie
(Matthews) Coffman, natives of Ohio and Indiana,
respectively. Mr. Coffman is one of two
children born to his parents, having one brother, Edward.
Joseph W. Coffman was born and reared in Preble
county, and was a merchant in Eaton for more than forty years.
He now lives retired in Eaton. His wife died in September,
1910. Mr. Coffman is a devoted and
faithful member of the Methodist Episcopal church, as was his
wife.
The paternal grandfather of Andrew Coffman
was Andrew Coffman, Sr., one of the early
settlers of Eaton, where he conducted a dry-goods store for
forty-five years. Both he and his wife died in Eaton, well
advanced in years. They were the parents of three
daughters and one son, Mollie, Maria, Ella, and Joseph
W.
The maternal grandfather of Mr. Coffman
was Benjamin Wilson Matthews, who was a
cooper at Winchester, this county, in the early forties, going
thence, about the year 1846, to Peru, Indiana, where for a time
he followed the same business, after which he engaged in the
hardware business which he continued to the time of his
retirement a few years before his death at a ripe old age.
His wife died in middle life. They were the parents of ten
children, Elizabeth, Carrie, Benjamin,
John, Samuel, William, Frank, Edward,
Harvey and one daughter who died in infancy.
Andrew Coffman, Jr. was born and reared in
Eaton, attending the public schools of that city. When
fourteen years of age he began learning the undertaking business
with his cousin, Frank Coffman, but after leaving
school was with his mother who was an invalid at Peru, Indiana,
for nearly three years, and during part of that time was
employed in the department store of Seuger & Company. He
then returned to Eaton and has been connected with the
undertaking business since that time. He was associated
with Harry Silver, on Barron street for about
three years, until they sold out to F. O. Girton.
In November, 1914, Mr. Coffman started in business
for himself on the east side of Barron street, where he has
fitted up a beautiful office in solid mahogany furniture.
He carries a large stock of up-to-date undertakers’ merchandise.
He owns a fine hearse, ambulance, teams and cabs, and also a
motor hearse, and is well equipped to take care of his
constantly increasing business. In 1913 Mr.
Coffman was graduated from the Worsham Training School, of
Chicago, Illinois, a school of anatomy, sanitary science and
embalming, and one month after receiving his diploma passed the
state examination at Columbus, Ohio.
Andrew Coffman is a devoted member of the
Methodist Episcopal church. Fraternally, he is a member of
the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Eaton and of Bolivar
Lodge No. 82, Free and Accepted Masons, and also belongs to
Waverly Lodge No. 143, Knights of Pythias, and is master of
finance in the latter lodge. Politically, Mr.
Coffman is a Republican.
Mr. Coffman lives at home with his father
and his aunt Mollie. He is a young man and has a
bright and promising future before him. He has a large
circle of friends and acquaintances in Eaton and vicinity,
having spent nearly all his life here.
Above everything else success in life requires
initiative, and if past performances are to be taken as a
criterion, Andrew Coffman is certain to achieve a
very much larger measure of success than he has yet attained.
Source: History of Preble County, Ohio - Illustrated -
1915 - B. F. Bowen & Company, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana - Page
485 |
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OTTO B. COOPER.
Among the worthy citizens of Preble county, Ohio, whose
residence here has contributed in no small degree to the
prestige of the locality where he lives, is Otto B. Cooper,
a general merchant of Campbellstown. While laboring for
his individual advancement he has not forgotten his obligations
to the public and his support of such measures and movements as
have been made for the general good, has always been depended
upon. Although his life has always been a busy one, his
private affairs making heavy demand upon his time, he has never
allowed it to interfere with his obligations as a citizen and
neighbor. Through the long years of his residence in this
locality, he has ever been true to the trust reposed in him,
whether of a general or specific nature. His reputation in
a business way is unassailable and he is honored by all who know
him, being very properly numbered among the representative
citizens of Jackson township.
Otto B. Cooper was born in Jackson township,
Preble county, Ohio, June 20, 1874, the son of Daniel and
Sarah (Aydelotte) Cooper. Daniel Cooper
was a native of Butler county, Ohio, a son of Jacob
and Harriett (Patton) Cooper.
Jacob Cooper was a native of Pennsylvania, where he
grew to manhood, after which he emigrated to Butler county,
Ohio, and from there to Preble county, locating in Jackson
township, where he spent the remainder of his life.
Daniel Cooper was one of the representative citizens
of Jackson township and a Republican in politics. He was
elected treasurer of Preble county and served in that capacity
from 1880 to 1884. During this time he lived in Eaton and
after his term had expired he continued to reside in Eaton until
1906, in which year he took up his residence with his son,
Otto B., at Campbellstown, where he died. His widow is
still living in Campbellstown. Daniel Cooper
was a prosperous farmer, active in the party with which he was
identified and performed good service for that party. He
served in Company C, Thirty-fifth Ohio Volunteer Infantry,
during the Civil War, enlisting in 1861. He was disabled
by wounds and honorably discharged in 1864. He was a
member of the Grand Army of the Republic, being affiliated with
the post at Eaton, and took a prominent part in the proceedings
of that organization. He and his wife were the parents of
three children: Elma, the wife of Charles H.
Deem, of Washington township; Emma, the wife of C.
V. Walters, of Eaton, and Otto B., the subject of
this sketch.
Otto B. Cooper was reared on a farm in Jackson
township, where he remained until five years old, when the
family moved to Eaton. He attended the public schools
there and was graduated from the Eaton high school. He
moved to a farm in Jackson township, when he began life for
himself, starting at the bottom. In 1894 he began farming
for himself and continued this form of endeavor for twelve
years. He was successful as a farmer, and in 1906 moved to
Campbellstown, where he purchased a general store and has been
in business in that town since that date.
Mr. Cooper was married on July 8, 1914,
to Kate Miller, who was born in central Kentucky
and was educated in the public schools of that state. She
was graduated from the Richmond (Kentucky) schools and was a
teacher for eleven years.
Mr. Cooper is a member of Bolivar Lodge No. 82,
Free and Accepted Masons; of Eaton Chapter No. 22, Royal Arch
Masons, and of the Council of Royal and Select Masters at
Hamilton. Mr. Cooper is a Republican, but
has never taken an active part in the councils of that party.
He is a quiet, unassuming man and an honorable citizen in every
respect, well known and highly regarded throughout Preble
county.
Source: History of Preble County, Ohio - Illustrated -
1915 - B. F. Bowen & Company, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana - Page
726 |
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CHARLES E. COX.
Progressive, wide-awake men of affairs make a real history of a
community. Their influence is a potential factor in the body
politic which is difficult to estimate. The example they
furnish of patient purpose and steadfast integrity illustrates
what each person may accomplish. There is always a measure
of satisfaction in referring to their achievements, the faithful
personal performances upon which the prosperity of the community
so much depends. One of the worthy citizens. of Preble
county who belongs to this class is Charles Elmer
Cox, the manager of the telephone company at Eaton.
Mr. Cox is in every way a representative citizen
in the city in which he lives, the best interests of which he
has done so much to advance.
Charles Elmer Cox was born in Castine, Darke
county, Ohio, Mar. 9, 1868, the son of Meredith and Elizabeth
(Fudge) Cox, the former a native of Virginia and the latter
of Ohio, who were the parents of eleven children, as follow:
Jennie, the wife of J. M. Sawyer, of New Paris, Ohio;
Mary Isabel, deceased, who was the wife of H.
J. Gephart; Susan, the wife of Irvin Kisling,
of Washington township; Wilson, of Richmond, Indiana;
Alice, the widow of Charles McMechan, of
Washington township; Laura, who died in infancy;
Charles E., of Eaton; Frank, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa;
M. Orlando, of Hoopeston, Illinois; Bertha, the
wife of C. R. Chappel, of Whittier, California; and
Edna, who died at the age of seventeen years.
Meredith Cox was reared in Preble county and
operated a saw-mill, living most of the time in Jackson
township. His wife died in 1881 at the age of forty-four.
She was a Universalist. After moving to Carthage,
Missouri, Mr. Cox married again and died there in
1894, at the age of sixty- two.
The paternal grandparents of Charles E. Cox were
natives of Virginia and early settlers in Preble county, where
the grandfather died, the death of the grandmother occurring
later in Missouri. Meredith was the only child born
to this union. The maternal grandparents of Charles E.
Cox were George and Mary (Disher) Fudge, pioneer
farmers of Monroe township, Preble county, where they died well
advanced in years. They had nine children. George,
Joseph, Jane, Elizabeth, Susan,
Wilson and three who died young.
Charles Elmer Cox was reared in Preble county,
received his elementary education in the country schools and was
graduated from the New Paris high school in 1888, after which he
taught school in Jackson township for thirteen years, at the end
of which time he took charge of the Eaton telephone plant of the
Eaton Telephone Company and has been its manager for fourteen
years.
On July 19, 1890, Charles E. Cox was married to
Linnie Zeek, the daughter of John and Jane (Bosworth) Zeek.
She died May 30, 1903, at the age of thirty-seven. There
was but one daughter born to this union, Mary Opal.
Mr. Cox married, secondly, Jan. 29, 1906, Mrs.
Zula May, the widow of William May
and daughter of John and Jerusha Stewart. Three
children were born to this second union, Everett
Franklin, Elizabeth Jerusha and Marjorie
Maxine.
Mr. Cox's first wife. Mrs.
Linnie (Zeek) Cox, was born in Indiana, where
her parents lived, both of whom are now dead. They had two
children, Linnie and James, the latter dying in
infancy. Her paternal grandfather was Isaac Zeek,
among whose children were John, Newton, Rosa
and Mrs. Deacon. Her maternal grandparents
were the parents of Cornelius, Richard, Austin,
Ann, Mary and Jane.
Mrs. Zula (Stewart) Cox was
born near Camden, Ohio, Dec. 5, 1875. Her parents were
natives of Ohio, her mother dying in 1904 while her father is
still living. They had three children, Cinna,
George and Zula. Mrs. Zula Cox
had one daughter, Gladys May, by her former
marriage, who married Raymond Harris and has one
child, Martha.
Mr. and Mrs. Charles E. Cox are active and
devoted members of the Christian church at Eaton, of which he is
clerk and chorister. Mr. Cox is a member of
Waverley Lodge No. 143, Knights of Pythias, and is past
chancellor and present deputy chancellor of that lodge.
Mr. Cox is independent in his politics, preferring to
support particular men rather than particular parties.
Mr. Cox is the patentee
of the Cox multiple lightning arrester for the protection
of telephone equipments from excessive currents. In every
sense he is a representative citizen of Preble county, honored
by the people who know him, respected in business and popular in
social life.
Source: History of Preble County, Ohio - Illustrated -
1915 - B. F. Bowen & Company, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana - Page
474 |
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MARTIN J.
CUNNINGHAM. The United States
is the most cosmopolitan nation of the earth. Her citizens
are drawn from every country and clime, and a residence of a few
years in this country so imbues the newcomers with the American
spirit that they become our best citizens. No nation has
furnished better or more substantial citizens to this country
than has the little island of Ireland. From the Emerald
Isle have come many families who have won honored places in the
communities where they have settled. Among the many
families of Irish descent that have come to Ohio, there is none
more loyal to the adopted country than the Cunningham
family, of New Paris and Preble county.
Martin J. Cunningham, the present head of the
family in the New Paris section of Preble county, and a section
foreman in the service of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, was
born in New Paris, Ohio, Nov. 25, 1868, the son of Simon and
Mary (Maloney) Cunningham, the former born in County Clare,
Ireland, in 1839, and the latter bom in the same county.
They came to the United States early in life and located at
Richmond, Indiana. Simon Cunningham became a
section foreman and for many years had charge of the same
section of tracks now supervised by his son, Martin J.
Simon Cunningham lived at Dayton a short
time, but later located in New Paris, Ohio, where he spent the
remainder of his life, his death occurring in 1878, his wife
surviving him until June 13, 1907. They were the parents
of nine children, five of whom are living: Thomas S., who
is a fireman on the Rock Island & Pacific Railroad and lives in
Chicago, Illinois; John F., who lives in Dayton, Ohio,
and is in the state auditor’s office; Maggie, who is
unmarried and lives in Chicago, Illinois; Martin J., the
subject of this sketch, and Nora, the wife of A. J.
Canny, who lives in New Paris. The deceased children
are Michael, Simon A., Michael the second
and Mary, who was the wife of William Colvin.
Martin J. Cunningham was reared in New Paris,
Ohio, and attended the public schools of the village. He
was first employed as a water boy and in lighting the switch
lamps on the Pennsylvania railroad. Later he was employed
as section hand, and in April, 1888, was promoted to section
foreman, in which capacity he is still serving.
Mr. Cunningham was married Jan. 26, 1898,
to Mary Westendorf, who was born in Aurora,
Indiana, Apr. 10, 1875, and who lived in Richmond until she was
married. Mrs. Cunningham was educated in the
Catholic schools of Richmond, Indiana.
After their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Cunningham
began houskeeping in New Paris, Ohio. They were
only modestly circumstanced when they started in life, but have
managed to acquire a substantial competence and now own a
splendid home in New Paris. They have one child living,
Simon M., who was born Mar. 26, 1900, and who is in his
second year in the New Paris high school.
All of the members of the Cunningham family are members
of the Catholic church at New Paris. Mr.
Cunningham is a member of the Knights of Columbus and the
Ancient Order of Hibernians at Richmond, Indiana.
Politically, he is a Democrat. Mr. and Mrs.
Cunningham are quiet, unassuming people and honorable
citizens of New Paris, where they have spent most of their
lives.
Source: History of Preble County, Ohio - Illustrated -
1915 - B. F. Bowen & Company, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana - Page
518 |
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