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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

CREENVILLE TOWNSHIP.

Our

WILLIAM ALLEN, lawyer, jurist and statesman; was born in Butler Co., Ohio, Aug. 13, 1827. His father, John Allen, was born in Ireland, and emigrated to America in 1812; after residing six years in the State of New York, he moved to Butler Co., Ohio, in 1818; he moved his family into the woods of Darke Co. in 1838. his dwelling being a log cabin with puncheon floors and a mud and stick chimney; in the latter part of his life, he was a preacher in the United Brethren Church. subject was favored with no educational advantages, except those afforded by the common schools of the day, yet by making most of these, he was able to teach at the age of 15, and for several years followed that vocation; at the age of 19, he commenced the study of law, under the late Felix Marsh, of Eaton, Ohio; was admitted to the bar in 1849, and in the following year commenced practice in Greenville; in 1850, he was elected Prosecuting Attorney of Darke Co., and reelected in 1852; in the fall of 1858, he was elected to Congress from the Fourth District, comprising the counties of Darke, Shelby, Mercer, Auglaize and Allen, and re-elected in 1860, thus serving in the Thirty-sixth and Thirty-seventh Congress; in the winter of 1865, he was appointed by Gov. Cox as Judge of the Court of Common Pleas of the first subdivision of the Second Judicial District of Ohio, composed of the counties of Butler, Darke and Preble, to fill a vacancy made by the resignation of Judge D. L. Meeker; in 1878, Judge Allen was nominated for Congress by the Republicans of the Fifth District, but he declined. In 1851, he married Miss Priscilla Wallace, whose father settled in Darke Co. in 1834; the issue of this marriage was four sons and four daughters, of whom only one son survives; four of his children died of diphtheria under the most afflictive circumstances, in the space of as many weeks; this was in the winter of 1861, when he was summoned from Washington City to his despoiled home; Mr. Allen, although he has risen from poverty to affluence by his own unaided exertions, is one of the most charitable of our citizens, and his integrity has never been questioned; his positive character, while it wins friends true as steel, also makes bitter enemies, but even his enemies concede to him great ability and unflinching honesty of purpose; he is at present, Vice President of the Greenville Bank, and President of the Greenville Gas Company.

MATTHEW T. ALLEN, lawyer, Greenville; was born in Butler Township, Darke Co., Ohio, Sept. 17, 1848; he lived on his father's farm, and enjoyed the usual educational privileges of farmers' sons of that period (his father and mother are noticed in the sketch of his brother, Hon. William Allen); in the fall of 1864, he entered Otterbein University, at Westerville, Ohio; after a partial course at that institution, he removed to Winchester, Ind., where he was employed as clerk in a shoe store one year; he next taught school one year; in 1867, he commenced the study of law with D. M. Bradbury, of Winchester; after admission to practice, he was appointed Deputy Prosecuting Attorney, for the Nineteenth Judicial Circuit of Indiana, comprising the counties of Wayne, Randolph, Jay and Blackford;

in the summer of 1872, he came to Greenville, and continued practice as junior member of the firm of Allen, Devor & Allen. In 1878, the firm dissolved, and, subsequently, young Allen formed a partnership with Hon. John Devor, under the style of Allen & Devor. In 1878, Allen was the Republican candidate for Prosecuting Attorney, and, such was his popularity, that he was fairly elected in a county giving 1,200 majority against his party, but was counted out by reason of mistakes in writing his initials on scratched tickets. Mr. Allen has already won an enviable distinction as a counselor and advocate, and his genial social qualities render him immensely popular with all classes. His marriage with Mary V. Whiteside, was celebrated upon the 23d of April, 1879. She was born in Camden, Preble Co., March 17, 1860.

HENRY ALTER, farmer and stock-raiser, Sec. 12; P. O. Greenville; was born in Washington Co., Md., March 18, 1833; he was a son of Jacob Alter, who was born in Pennsylvania in 1799; emigrated to Maryland, and in 1866 came to Darke County; and after residing in Greenville one year, made his home with his son until his decease, which occurred in May, 1875. He was married, in 1819, in Maryland, to Eliza Tice; she was born in Washington Co. in 1806, and is now in her 73d year, and makes her home with her son. Henry Alter went to Clark Co., Ohio, in 1858, and followed farming there until 1866, when he came to Darke Co. and located upon his present place. His marriage with Elizabeth Ilges was celebrated in 1864; she died in 1870; one child was born to them-Mary L., born Aug., 18, 1866; his marriage with Mary Clew was celebrated Dec. 17, 1874; she was born and raised in Darke Co., and is a daughter of D. B. Clew, one of the early pioneers of Darke Co.

JOSEPH AMANN, JR., deceased. The subject of this memoir was born in Dayton, Montgomery Co., Ohio, in 1840, and was a son of Joseph and Francis Amann; in early life he learned the blacksmith trade; in 1853, he came to Darke Co. and followed farming and blacksmithing until the breaking-out of the rebellion, when he enlisted and served four years in the Union army; after being mustered out of service he returned to Greenville, and in 1867 was married to Barbara Caron; six children were the fruits of this union, viz., Nora, Louisa, Joseph, Katie, William and Barbara. He engaged in business in Greenville soon after his return from the army, and in October, 1873, he purchased his brick buildings on Third street, and followed the restaurant and saloon business until his decease, which occurred in October, 1879. The business has since been conducted by his widow.

JOHN ATEN, farmer; P. O. Jaysville. The subject of this memoir was born in Twin Township, Preble Co., Ohio, April 1, 1823, and is a son of Adrian Aten, who was a native of Kentucky but came to Preble Co. in 1822. John Aten was raised to agricultural pursuits upon the home farm, and, upon the 6th of April, 1854, was united in marriage with Lavina Russell, who died Sept. 19, 1875; nine children were the fruits of this union, viz.: Abraham R., born June 30, 1855; Adrian, April 29, 1856; John H., Oct. 3, 1857; James F., Jan. 25, 1859; Theodore C., Oct. 20, 1860 (died Aug. 8, 1863); Emma, July 11, 1862 (died June 29. 1863); William, Jan. 6, 1864; Charles, Oct. 23, 1865, and George W., June 1, 1867; upon the marriage of Mr. Aten, he continued farming upon the old homestead three years, when he purchased a farm in Preble Co., and, in the fall of 1860. purchased property at Arcanum, Darke Co., residing here five years; he then purchased the saw-mill at Jaysville, selling the following year, and, in 1866, purchased his present property where he has since lived; he has 110 acres upon his home farm, a large part of which he has reclaimed from a swamp by means of a ditch and tiling until it is now as productive as any land in the county. He is one of the self-made men of Darke Co., and has by his hard labor and correct business habits placed himself among the large landholders and successful farmers of Darke Co. He was raised to the Sublime Degree of Master Mason in the King Hiram

Lodge, at Alexandria, Sept. 25, 1850, and is now a member of the order of A., F. & A. M. at Greenville.

J. B. AVERY, farmer, Sec. 3; P. O. Woodington; an old settler of Darke Co.; born in New London Co., Conn., Aug. 27, 1826; at 17 years of age, he commenced farming and school teaching until 1847, when he came to Darke Co., and, in the following year, purchased his present place of 80 acres, where he has since lived for a period of thirty-one years; upon locating here, there were some 7 acres only partially cleared; no building, no fences; he first put up a small frame house in which he lived several years, and to which he has since attached a much larger residence; he has cleared some 55 acres of his place and brought the same to a good state of cultivation by his own hard labor. His marriage with Marcella Earhart occurred Nov. 14, 1848. She was born in Darke Co. Jan. 10, 1827, and has always lived within one mile of the place where she was born; she was a daughter of Samuel Earhart, one of the early pioneers, who was born in Warren Co., Ohio, in 1802, and came to Darke Co. in 1820, and located on Sec. 10, Greenville Township; he died January, 1854; he married Elizabeth Scribner; she was a daughter of Azor Scribner, who was the first permanent settler of this county; he established a trading post in Mina Town in 1806; Mrs. Earhart died March, 1873, at the age of 67 years. The children of J. B. and Marcella (Earhart) Avery were five in number-Prudence M., born Sept. 20, 1849; Franklin P., born Jan. 21, 1852 (died May, 1869); Emily M., born Oct. 8, 1858; Lizzie M., born July 28. 1862, and Ira J., born Feb. 28, 1869. Mr. Avery has been a member of the Presbyterian Church for upward of thirty years; his wife, for a period of thirtyeight years, and all the children, save the youngest, also being members of the same church.

ANDREW BAIRD, farmer and stock-raiser; P. O. Greenville; the subject of this memoir was born in Warren Co., Ohio, Oct. 26, 1844, and is a son of Tunis Baird, also a native of Warren Co., Ohio, his father coming from New Jersey, and are of Scotch descent. Andrew was raised in the above county, his early occupation being that of a farmer's son; he obtained the advantages of a common-school education; he remained with his father upon the farm till the spring of 1864, when he enlisted in the 146th O. N. G., and went forward to battle for the Union. He was forwarded to West Virginia, where he served the full term of his enlistment, and received his discharge at Camp Dennison, Ohio, in September, 1864. He then returned to Darke Co., and farmed one year upon the old home farm, and in the latter part of the year 1865, he went to Illinois, where, upon the 22d day of June, 1866, he was united in marriage with Miranda Collett. She was born and raised in Darke Co. In September, 1866, he returned to Darke Co., since which time he has followed farming with the exception of some eighteen months, during which time he was engaged in the coal and wood business in Greenville. The children of Andrew and Miranda (Collett) Baird are five in number, four daughters and one son, viz.: Lula, Ella M., Franklin T., Cora D. and Kittie.

JACOB BAKER, attorney at law, Greenville; born in Butler Township in 1840; practiced law in Greenville since 1864, where he has been connected with some of the most important legal proceedings had in the county; was defeated for the Legislature in 1865, and elected in 1867. He introduced and carried through several important pieces of legislation. He was a delegate from this Congressional District to the St. Louis Convention at which Mr. Tilden was nominated for President.

CHARLES BACHMAN, tailor and clothier, No. 88 Broadway, Greenville, Ohio. There are probably but few of the successful business men of Greenville, who have shown the energy, enterprise, and quick conception of the wants and demands of the public, as the subject of our sketch, who is among the popular clothiers of Greenville. He was born in Prussia June 1, 1836, and emigrated to to America when 18 years of age; in 1861, he located in Eaton, and followed the occupation of merchant tailor, until 1867, at which date he came to Greenville,

where he has since followed the above business, with the exception of two years. As one of the patrons of the above gentleman, we can cheerfully recommend him as educated in his business, and to his honorable dealings, together with his largeand carefully selected stock of seasonable goods and to his personal attention to the details of every branch of his business, may be attributed the secret of his success. A card of his business is to be found in the business directory of Greenville, in another part of this work. His marriage with Julia Marenthall was celebrated in 1861. She was also a native of Prussia. They are the parents of three children, viz., Jennie, Samuel and Maley.

DAVID BEANBLOSSOM (deceased); one of the early pioneers of Darke Co., was born in North Carolina, May 25, 1801; when 16 years of age, he came to Ohio and located in Darke Co., consequently he was one of its very early settlers. He was twice married; his first wife was Susannah Rarick; she died about the year 1834; eleven children were the fruit of this union, of whom one is now living-Joseph, now living in Greenville Township. His marriage with Mary Delk was celebrated Nov. 6, 1836; she was born in Darke Co., a few miles south of Greenville, Sept. 30, 1816; she was a daughter of Etheland Delk, who was born in North Carolina, and came to Darke Co. in a very early day. The children by the last marriage were fourteen in number, of whom two are deceased. The living are Ludena, born May 20, 1840; Enos, Jan. 6, 1842; Ann Eliza, born Oct. 25, 1843; Julia A., born Nov. 24, 1845; William, Jan. 6, 1848; Elizabeth S., born Oct. 22, 1849; Margaret M., born Feb. 9, 1852; David D., Jan. 14, 1854; John C., April 18, 1856; Rachel and Isabell (twins), and Henry A., born Jan. 13. 1859. Of the deceased, Nancy, born Aug. 28, 1838, died Feb. 26, 1854; the other died in infancy. Mr. Beanblossom died Dec. 8, 1861, upon the same place he located, in 1817, and where he lived forty-four years; his old residence, which he built in 1820, is now occupied by his son Enos. Mr. Beanblossom suffered all the privations and hardships of frontier life. He commenced without capital, and split rails at 25 cents per hundred to obtain his wedding ding outfit. He, with the assistance of his wife, fought the battles of life nobly, and at the time of his death, had accumulated upward of 400 acres of land; built his present residence in 1856. He took a deep interest in the cause of religion, and was a Deacon in the Christian Church and was a member of the same for forty years. He died respected and beloved by all who knew him.

ENOS BEANBLOSSOM, Sec. 1; P. O. Pikesville. Another of the old settlers of Darke Co.; born upon Sec. 1, Greenville Township, Jan. 6, 1842, where he has always lived, with the exception of three years that he served in the army; he is a son of David Beanblossom, who was born in North Carolina, and emigrated to Ohio, and located in Darke Co. in 1817; he entered Government land, upon which he lived until his death, which occurred Dec. 8, 1861, aged 63 years. The mother of Enos Beanblossom was Mary Delk, who was born in Ohio, and is now living in this county. Our subject was raised to agricultural pursuits, which he followed until July 10, 1862, when he enlisted in the 45th O. V. I.; he served in the army of Gen. Sherman until the fall of 1864, when he was made prisoner in Tennessee and taken to Belle Island; after remaining there three months. he was taken to Andersonville, where the cruel treatment received here was in keeping with its well-known acts of barbarism; during his imprisonment his weight was reduced from 155 to 94 pounds; he remained in prison some five months, and was released in the spring of 1865, and received his discharge during the summer, at Columbus; thence returned home and engaged in farming, which business he has since followed. He now owns 100 acres of well-improved land. His marriage with Ann E. Sipple was celebrated March 31, 1872; she was born in Darke Co., Feb. 3, 1845; they have four children-Irene M., born May 17, 1873; Daisy V.. born July 31, 1875; Ora E., born July 26, 1877, and an infant, born September 14, 1879. The residence in which Mr. Beanblossom now lives was erected by his father in 1820, and is now a good comfortable home.

JOSEPH BEANBLOSSOM, farmer and stock-raiser; P. O. Greenville ; another of the old settlers; born in Darke Co., Ohio, Feb. 7, 1826, he was the oldest son of David Beanblossom, one of the early pioneers, whose biography appears among the sketches of Greenville Township in this work. The subject of our sketch was raised to agricultural pursuits upon the farm of his father, until he attained his majority, when, upon the 22d of February, 1847, he was married to Rhoda Brandon; she was born March 12, 1823, and died Sept. 3, 1853, leaving three children-Thomas A., born Nov. 7, 1847; Mary A., born Oct. 19, 1849; David W., born Nov. 24, 1851. His marriage with Elizabeth Potter was celebrated Nov. 6, 1855; she was born in Greenville Township, Darke Co., Sept. 26, 1829, and was a daughter of David Potter, one of the early pioneers, who came to Darke Co., in 1812 or 1813, and died in 1869; his widow who survives him, is now living upon the old place, where she has lived for upward of fifty years; her maiden name was Maria Ullery; the children by the union of Joseph Beanblossom and Elizabeth Potter are four in number, viz.: John R., born June 29, 1857; George N., born Aug. 24, 1858; Charles F., born May 26, 1860; Maria, July 27, 1864. Mr. Beanblossom located upon his present place in 1857, where he has since lived for a period of upward of twenty-two years. Upon locating here it was all woods; he has since cleared some 70 acres, and brought the same to a good state of improvement. His home farm contains 140 acres, with good buildings, located two miles northwest from Greenville. Mr. and Mrs. Beanblossom are entitled to a place in the front ranks of the old settlers of Darke Co., having been continuous residents of the county for upward of half a century.

He

JACOB L. BEATTY, farmer and stock-raiser; P. O. Greenville. Among the settlers of Darke Co. in 1850, we mention the name of the above gentleman; he was born in Fayette Co., Penn., April 16, 1816, and was the only son of Thos. Beatty, who was born in New Jersey in 1787, and came to Pennsylvania with his parents in 1797, and to Guernsey Co., Ohio, in 1832, and, in the fall of 1848, came to Darke Co., and located in Neave Township, where he died Jan. 21, 1855. married Mary Roury, in Pennsylvania, in 1815; she was born in Fayette Co., Penn.. April 8, 1798, and is now living with her only son, Jacob, in the 82d year of her age, is in possession of all her faculties, and can read any common print without the use of glasses; there were two children by this union-Jacob L. and Eliza; the latter is now Mrs. Dr. Thomas Duncan Stiles, of Neave Township. The subject of this sketch followed farming in Guernsey Co. until 1850, at which date he came to Darke Co. and located upon his present place, where he has since lived for a period of thirty years; he has 120 acres of land upon Secs. 8 and 5, 80 acres of which are under a good state of cultivation. His marriage with Hester Stiner was celebrated in 1840; they were the parents of six children-Mary E., born Sept. 18, 1841; William H., April 16, 1843; Sarah A., March 7, 1845, died Aug. 30, 1846; Eliza J., born Nov. 20, 1847; Thomas, May 10, 1851, and Reuben L., Dec. 21, 1860.

SAMUEL BECHTOLT, farmer; P. O. Greenville; born in Miami Co., Ohio, Jan. 10, 1819; when an infant, his parents removed to Warren Co., where the subject of our sketch was raised to farm labor until 20 years of age, and, in the fall of 1849, he came to Darke Co., and located in Greenville Township, and, in 1852. purchased his present place, where he has lived for a period of twenty-seven years. He owns 132 acres upon his home farm, with good farm buildings, and one-half of the woolen-mills owned by the firm of Fox & Bechtolt. His marriage with Eleanor Vannote was celebrated in 1840; she was born in Warren Co., Ohio; they have four children now living; lost two by death; the living are Catherine E., Joseph, Mary E. and George; the deceased died in infancy.

LEWIS BECKLER, farmer; P. O. Greenville; another of the old settlers of Darke Co.; born in Montgomery Co., Ohio, Aug. 30, 1837; at 10 years of age, he came to Darke Co., and made his home with Henry Beckler until 23 years of age, and, upon the 20th of December, 1860, was united in marriage with Elizabeth

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