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Centennial Portrait and Biographical Record of the City of Dayton and of Montgomery County, Ohio
Pages 1244-1261 William Duckwall to Daniel Long

WILLIAM DUCKWALL, [pages 1244-1249] a pioneer of Ohio, and one of the most venerable of the citizens of Montgomery county, Ohio, was born in Berkeley county, Va., August 15, 1808. His parents were Henry and Rosanna (Lingerfelter) Duckwall, both of German descent.

Henry Duckwall was a native either of Maryland or Virginia, and was a son of Lewis Duckwall, a local Methodist preacher, who, about 1804, settled in Highland county, Ohio, and died at the advanced age of ninety-seven years, the father of the following children:  Henry, Mary, John, Frederick, Elizabeth, Jacob, Samuel. Lewis and Daniel, to each of whom he, being the owner of a large estate, gave a home. Henry Duckwall came to Ohio in 1812, lived in Clinton county two years, and in 1814 came to Montgomery county and bought 320 acres in the woods in German township, which land, with the assistance of his sons, he cleared and converted into a fertile farm. He was a man of considerable importance in his township, and in the early days his house was a place of entertainment for the pioneer land-seeker. In politics he was first a whig and later a republican, and filled the office of justice of the peace for man years. He died at the age of about seventy-three years, a member of the Methodist church, of which his wife was also a communicant. To his marriage there were born the following children:  William, Mary, Lewis, Elizabeth, Henry, John, Susan, Daniel, Jacob and Sarah.

William Duckwall, the subject, was but four years of age when he was brought to Ohio by his parents. Here he was reared—as were all other backwoods lads in the pioneer days—to the hard work of clearing and developing the primitive farm. He was first married, July 8, 1834, in Middletown, Butler county, Ohio, to Miss Eleanor Bake, who was born January 8, 1813, but died May 25, 1836, the mother of one child—Edwin. The second marriage of Mr. Duckwall was with Miss Caroline Bruner, who was born in Virginia, January 27, 1820, a daughter of Daniel and Ellinor (Custard) Bruner.

Daniel Bruner, whose father came from Bingen on the Rhine, Germany, was born in Virginia, but for some time lived near Frederick, Md., and came to Montgomery county, Ohio, in 1826. He reared a family of five children, viz:  Elizabeth, Caroline, Margaret, Ellen and Mary Jane. His death took place at the age of eighty-six years in the faith of the Methodist church, of which his wife was also a member. He was first a whig in politics and later a republican, an influential and well-to-do farmer, and left to each of his children a comfortable competence.

After marriage Mr. and Mrs. Duckwall first located on a farm of eighty acres, but later moved to a farm of 116 acres near Brookville, which farm Mr. Duckwall improved with good buildings and cultivated until 1893, when he retired to Brookville to pass in comfort his remaining years, but still owns his farm. In politics he was in his early days a whig, and voted for Henry Clay for president, but on the disintegration of that party he assisted in founding the republican party, voted for John C. Fremont, and still adheres to that organization. He and his wife have long been consistent members of the Methodist church, and are the parents of the following children:  Sarah A., John William, Mary J., Laura, Charles, Francis, Clayton, Clara (who died at seven years of age) and Elmer E. Of these Francis is a physician of Dayton; Laura has been a teacher within the county for the past twenty-five years, of which five years were passed in Brookville; John was a soldier for four years during the Civil war in the Sixty-third Ohio volunteer infantry, was a veteran, and served with Sherman through his famous campaigns. The Duckwall family is widely known in Montgomery county, and its venerable head, William Duckwall, who has fourteen grandchildren and one great-grandchild, stands high in the esteem of its citizens.

 

CLARK YOUNT, [pages 1249-1251] one of the old-time farmers and citizens of Butler township, Montgomery county, Ohio, descends from an old pioneer family and is himself a native of the Buckeye state, of remotely German ancestry.

George Yount, his great-grandfather, was a native of Hanover, Germany, and, in company with three brothers and one sister—William Henry, Jacob, John and Catherine—came to America many years prior to the opening of the Revolutionary war, landed in Philadelphia, Pa., and thence went to North Carolina, some years later, where they all founded their homes, close to Deep river. In 1801, however, George Yount brought his family to Ohio and located in Warren county, near Lebanon, but later moved to a farm on the east side of the Stillwater, near Union, Montgomery county, where he passed the remainder of his life, dying April 23, 1810, a Quaker in religion. His wife bore the maiden name of Rosanna Waymire, was born in Germany, and died August 16, 1814. They were the parents of the following children:  John, George, Frederick, Rebecca, Rachel, Polly, Milly and Rosa.

John Yount, grandfather of Clark Yount, was born in Pennsylvania September 23, 1768, and there married Mary Low, who was born March 28, 1771, and to this union were born Henry, Delilah, Rebecca, Solomon and Frederick. John Yount moved with his family to North Carolina, probably about the year 1799. About two years later the family went to Kentucky, and a year afterward, in 1802, came to Montgomery county, Ohio, and settled on a tract of 156 acres in the wild woods, for which Mr. Yount paid $2 per acres. The Younts, Hoovers and Marts, who all came at the same time, are thought to have been the first white men to tread the wilderness of this part of the county. They had to cut a wagon road through the woods to Dayton--the first in this part of the township. Indians were numerous, game abundant, and the hardships and toil unremitting. But industry conquered all things, and Mr.Yount died a wealthy man, at the age of about fifty years, in the faith of the Society of Friends, December 1, 1822. His widow, first a Quakeress and later a Dunkard, died July 22, 1842.

Frederick Yount, father of Clark, was born in North Carolina, July 30, 1799, and was brought to Ohio by his parents in 1802. He grew to manhood on his father’s farm, which, as he grew in years, he aided in clearing, and also worked in his father’s saw-mill on Dry Branch creek. At the age of twenty-two years, in February, 1821, he married Miss Catherine Engle, who was born in February, 1802, a daughter of Michael Engle, a pioneer of Covington, Miami county, Ohio. Mr. Engle was of German descent and had a family of ten children, viz:  John, Michael and Philip (twins), Adam, Henry, Matthew, Catherine, Sallie, Eve and Abraham. The sons were all great hunters, and one, Abraham, accidentally shot himself while engaged in the chase. They were all patriots and served in the war of 1812. To Frederick Yount and wife were born the following children:  Enos, born November 17, 1821; Sarah A., January 16, 1823—died February 7, 1823; Clark, born July 10, 1824; Henry, born February 7, 1826; Eve, July 1, 1827—died April 5, 1850; Solomon, born March 28, 1829; Emily, born September 11, 1830; Elizabeth, March 10, 1832; Johanna, May 12, 1834—died February 7, 1889; Ira, born January 2, 1836—died September 27, 1837; Mary A., born December 17, 1838—died in 1841; Oliver, born March 29, 1837—died March 11, 1838; Eli, born September 24, 1840; Rebecca, born January 4, 1842. Mr. and Mrs. Frederick Yount passed all their days on the old homestead, and no family in the county stood higher in the esteem of their fellow-citizens. They were faithful in their adherence to the Quaker faith and were endowed with all the good qualities for which the Society of Friends are so justly famous.

Clark Yount was reared on the homestead of his parents near Fredericksburg, Ohio, which was named in honor of his father. The original Yount homestead, entered by John Yount, covered the site of that village—extending, as it does, from Montgomery county into Miami county, in the latter of which counties Fredericksburg is situated. Clark received a good education in a select school, and at the age of twenty-one years married, in Dayton, June 8, 1845, Miss Mary Smith, who was born November 12, 1825, a daughter of David and Elizabeth (Whitehead) Smith. David Smith was a pioneer farmer of Montgomery county, and to him and wife were born the following children:  Susan, Jacob, Mary, Esther, John, Solomon, Samuel and Levina. Mr. Smith was the owner of two good farms and he and his wife were members of the German Baptist church. His death took place at the age of forty-eight years.

After marriage Clark Yount lived on his father’s land for a year, then for a year east of Union, and in 1848 moved to his present farm, which consisted of 157 acres and was but partly cleared. He now has a model home of 172 acres, improved with a modern dwelling and giving evidence of thrift and prosperity. To the union of Mr. and Mrs. Yount have been born the following children:  Oliver F., Elizabeth C., Catherine, Emily, Rebecca A., Levina and Eli. Mr. Yount and all the family are members of the German Baptist church, of which Oliver F. was an elder and minister for sixteen years prior to his death in 1888.

David P. Sollenberger, who married Miss Rebecca A. Yount, October 10, 1875, is a son of John W. and Catherine (Peffley) Sollenberger. John W. is a son of Jacob, who was born in Lancaster county, Pa., there married Annie Wenger and came to Montgomery county, Ohio, in 1827. He settled two miles west of Dayton, and died on his farm the same year, leaving two children—John W. and Elizabeth. His widow married John Miller. John W. Sollenberger was born in Pennsylvania March 10, 1823, and came to Ohio with his parents. Here he was reared by his mother and step-father, and March 7, 1843, married Catherine Peffley, who was born November 6, 1824, in Montgomery county. He then moved to Elkhart county, Ind., bought 160 acres of land, lived there eight years, then returned to Montgomery county, Ohio, and settled on 100 acres in Randolph township, and there died March 22, 1892, aged sixty-nine years, his wife having died on February 7, 1876, at the age of fifty-two. Mr. Sollenberger was for many years a minister in the German Baptist church, and was greatly respected. His children are named Jacob, John, David, Aaron, Moses, Elizabeth, William and Henry.

David P. Sollenberger was born November 14, 1851, in St. Joseph county, Ind., and his wife was born on the Yount homestead January 13, 1854; they are now the parents of six children—John J., Mary E., Phebe C., Oliver C., Isaac J. and David Laurel. Mr. Sollenberger has been a deacon in the German Baptist church for nineteen years, and for two years a minister. He is the owner of a fine farm of 117 acres in Miami county, and is an esteemed and useful member of society.

 

JOHN R. BRUMBAUGH, [pages1251-1252] Union post-office, Ohio, a farmer of Randolph township, Montgomery county, is a grandson of one of the original pioneers of the county. His remote ancestor came from Germany, four or five brothers of the family coming across the sea together, and settling in Pennsylvania. They were among the first of the German Baptist pioneers that came to this country on account of religious persecutions in their native land.

Henry Brumbaugh, the grandfather of John R., was a son of Jacob Brumbaugh and was a farmer in Woodcock valley, Pa. While still living in Pennsylvania he married Elizabeth Fulk, who was reared at Morrison’s Cove, in that state. He and his wife had the following children: Jacob, Samuel, Daniel, George, Henry, Esther, Nancy, Susan, Elizabeth, Catherine and Mary. In 1814 Mr. Brumbaugh moved to Montgomery county with his family, floating down the Ohio river in a boat and thence coming by wagon across the country to Dayton. Entering land in Randolph township, 160 acres covered with timber, he built a log cabin on it, and proceeded as rapidly as possible to clear up the land. In the course of time he added other acres and became a prosperous farmer. He was one of the hardy and successful pioneers, a man of great strength, and lived to a good old age. He assisted in the founding of the German Baptist church in Randolph township.

Samuel Brumbaugh, son of Henry, and father of John R., was born April 12, 1806, in Huntingdon county, Pa., and was a boy of eight years of age when he came to Montgomery county. Reared on a farm he became a farmer, and, in Preble county, Ohio, married Elizabeth Rhinehart, who was born in Virginia, and was a daughter of Jacob and Susan (Brower) Rhinehart. Mr. and Mrs. Brumbaugh settled on 100 acres of land in Clay township, which was then in the woods, and this tract Mr. Brumbaugh cleared of its timber and made productive. Afterward he removed one mile south of where his son, John R., now lives, settling on a good farm of 240 acres, upon which he lived the remainder of his days. He was in religious belief a German Baptist and for many years a deacon of his church. His children were as follows:  John R., Hannah, Mary, deceased; Lydia, Sarah, Jacob and one that died in infancy. Mr. Brumbaugh lived to be eighty-nine years of age, was well known to all the old settlers, and enjoyed the well-earned esteem of the community.

John R. Brumbaugh, the subject of this sketch, was born in Clay township, December 24, 1829. Reared on the farm, he early became inured to hard work. On August 21, 1852, he married Elizabeth Heckman, who was born October 6, 1832, in Clay township, Montgomery county, and who was a daughter of William and Mary A. (Brandenburgh) Beckman. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Brumbaugh settled on his present farm of 112 acres. Their children were born as follows:  Clara, Mary A. and Simon, the latter of whom died at the age of nine years. Mrs. Brumbaugh died April 21, 1860, a woman of many excellent qualities of character and disposition and a member of the German Baptist church. Mr. Brumbaugh was married the second time, in October, 1861, to Nancy J. Heckman, who was born September 6, 1837, and is a sister of his first wife. The children by this second marriage are Harriet, Amanda, Martha, Enos and Jessie. Mr. Brumbaugh has continuously lived on the same farm, and by his thrift and toil has added thereto until at the present time he owns 350 acres, and has also given 139 acres to his children. He has been a life-long member of the German Baptist church and is one of the most prominent citizens of his township. Politically he is a republican.

 

‘SQUIRE HENRY CUPPY, [pages 1252-1254] a native of Wayne township, Montgomery county, Ohio, was born on the farm on which he still lives, July 4, 1825, and descends from ancestors who came to America prior to the Revolutionary war.

John Cuppy, his grandfather, was a native of Prussia, came to America a young man and landed in New York in 1750. He went to Canada as a soldier in the French and Indian war of 1754, and after his return married Elizabeth Devore. He then settled in New Jersey, near Morristown, where he combined his trade of stonemason with the vocation of farming. His children were named Abraham, Benjamin, Elizabeth, Catherine, John and Ann. From New Jersey Mr. Cuppy moved to Hampshire county, then in Virginia, but now in West Virginia, and settled near Romney, where he died at the age of eighty-six years, and where he had been a substantial farmer and, for a number of years, served as a justice of the peace.

John Cuppy, his son, and father of ‘Squire Cuppy, was born in New Jersey March 11, 1761. He received as good an education as the common schools of that early day afforded, and was reared a farmer. He grew to manhood in Virginia and there married, in Hampshire county, Rachel Caxton, the union resulting in the birth of Abraham, Benjamin, Daniel, Elizabeth, Catherine and Hannah. The mother of these children died in Virginia in 1820, and Mr. Cuppy again married, his second wife being Miss Lydia Oilar, whom he married in Montgomery county, Ohio, in October, 1823. She was born in Greenbrier county, Va., February 8, 1798, a daughter of Henry and Elizabeth (Hanks) Oilar, her maternal grandmother being a relative of the mother of Abraham Lincoln. Henry Oilar was of German descent, was a carpenter and farmer, came to Montgomery county, Ohio, in 1808, and settled on Mud creek, but died at the age of seventy-eight years, in Lafayette, Ind. To the second marriage of Mr. Cuppy were born three children—Henry, Fletcher and John A.

John Cuppy, father of ‘Squire Cuppy, when a young man, was a soldier in the Revolutionary war and served under Gen. Greene; also fought at the battle of the Brandywine and afterward was a scout for Gen. Wayne on the Ohio river, and had many encounters with the Indians. He was later captain of a Virginia militia company, and took part in the famous whisky rebellion in Pennsylvania in 1794. The same year he passed the spot where Dayton now stands, being at that time a bearer of dispatches from Cincinnati to Gen.Wayne, who was encamped on Mad river, near where the town of Osborn now stands. Simon Kenton, the famous Indian fighter, scout and backwoodsman, was a frequent visitor to Mr. Cuppy in his old age in Ohio. On coming to the Buckeye state, Mr. Cuppy bought 320 acres of land from Daniel Sunderland, in Wayne township, Montgomery county, a small spot only being cleared; but he brought eighty acres under cultivation and made a comfortable pioneer home, and this land now belongs to Henry Cuppy. Mr. Cuppy also bought tracts of land in Tippecanoe, Wabash and Dearborn counties, Ind., and at his death was converted and baptized by the eccentric pioneer preacher, Lorenzo Dow. In politics he was successively a Jackson democrat, a whig and a republican. He voted for Washington for president, and thereafter voted at each presidential election until the time of Fremont, in 1856. He was awarded a section of land for his services as scout, which he located in Virginia, on the Ohio river, and in his old age he received a land warrant for his services in the Revolution, which he located in Wapello county, Iowa. He reached the patriarchal age of 100 years, three months and seventeen days, dying June 8, 1861.

Henry Cuppy received the usual instruction to be obtained in the pioneer schools of Ohio, and was reared a farmer. While still young he taught school in Wayne township for seven months, and among his pupils were the now famous Gen. Geo. W. Crook and his brothers, Capt. Walter Crook and Chas. Crook. He married in Dayton, in 1878, Sarah A. Cuppy, a very distant relative, who was born near Mount Pleasant, Jefferson county, Ohio, a daughter of Abraham and Susan (Perrin) Cuppy. Abraham was a farmer and coal miner on his own land; he was a son of Abraham Cuppy, who was a son of John, the founder of the family in America. To the parents of Mrs. Henry Cuppy were born seven children, viz:  John, William, Caroline, Mary, Sarah A., Elthiza and Margaret. To “Squire Cuppy and wife were born three children, the only survivor being Emma, a teacher in the public schools. Mrs. Cuppy died June 18, 1887, a member of the Protestant Methodist church, and Mr. Cuppy married for his second wife Mary Griffin. In politics Mr. Cuppy is an independent democrat and was elected a justice of the peace three years ago. This office he has administered to the entire satisfaction of the public and with much credit to himself. He is hale and hearty at the age of seventy-two years, has lived an honorable, upright and useful life, and stands to-day among the most respected of the citizens of Wayne township.

 

JOSEPH M. HENDRIX, [pages 1254-1255] a well-known farmer of Madison township, Montgomery county, is of Pennsylvania-Dutch ancestry. The founder of the family in this country was Adam Hendrix, his great-great-grandfather, who came from Germany and settled in York county, Pa., where for many years he followed farming. His sons were William and Joseph. The eminent statesman, Thomas Hendricks, of Indiana, was a member of this family, different branches thereof spelling the name in different ways. Several members of the family served the cause of the patriots in the Revolutionary war.

William Hendrix, eldest son of Adam, settled in South Carolina, and from him sprang the southern branch of the family. Joseph Hendrix, who was the great-grandfather of Joseph M., was, like his father before him, a farmer of York county, Pa. In that county he lived and died, leaving two children, Joseph and Isaac. The elder of these two sons, Joseph, was the grandfather of the subject. A native of York county, Pa., and a farmer, he married Miss Agnes McDonald, by whom he had the following children:  Adam, Isaac, John, Daniel, Washington, Sarah A., and Joseph, the latter of whom was a physician of Oxford, Pa. The father of these children was a man of wonderful constitution and health, and lived to be eighty-three years of age. He was a member of the Wesleyan Methodist church, and a man of great strength of character as well as of body.

The third son of Joseph Hendrix, John, was the father of Joseph M. Hendrix. He was born in York county January 4, 1814. His wife, whose maiden name was Rebecca Murray, was born in Carroll county, Md., near Baltimore, and was a daughter of John Murray, who was of Scotch descent. Mr. and Mrs. Hendrix came from Pennsylvania to Montgomery county, Ohio, in 1841, lived there a year and then removed to Preble county, Ohio, locating near Winchester. By continuous labor and thrift Mr. Hendrix increased his landed possessions until he owned some 400 acres, and became a most prosperous man. He and his wife had the following children:  Joseph M., Sarah A., Agnes J., Virginia R., John E., Delos F., Franklin D., Edwin and Clara. In politics Mr. Hendrix was a democrat, as such serving as township trustee several terms.

Joseph M. Hendrix was born in 1842 in Montgomery county, near Farmersville. While yet an infant he was taken to Preble county, Ohio, where he received a common-school education and was reared on a farm. On January 24, 1874, he was married in Harrison township, Montgomery county, Ohio, to Rebecca A. Wampler, who is a daughter of William and Mary (Roop) Wampler, and was born in Harrison township. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Hendrix settled on their present farm, and to them were born the following children:  Elmer D., Edith R. and Nora A. Mr. Hendrix has always been a successful farmer and a man of principle and sterling character. Politically he is a democrat, and religiously a devoted member of the German Baptist church.

David Wampler, great-grandfather of Mrs. Hendrix, was of German ancestry, and came to Ohio from Carroll county, Md. He married in Maryland, and upon arriving in Montgomery county, settled on Wolf creek and cleared up a farm. His children were Philip and David. Philip was the grandfather of Mrs. Hendrix, was a native of Maryland, and married Catherine Royer, by whom he had the following children:  Mary A., Edwin, Jesse, David, William, Maria, Elizabeth, Catherine, Samuel, Annie, John and Joseph. Philip Wampler settled in Harrison township, cleared up a farm of 162 acres, was a valued member of the community, and lived to be seventy-nine years old. He was a member of the German Baptist church.

William Wampler, the father of Mrs. Hendrix, was born in Carroll county, Md., on Sunday, February 29, 1824. When three years of age he was brought by his parents to Montgomery county. Receiving the usual common-school education of the times, he grew to manhood upon the farm, and upon attaining his majority married Mary Roop, daughter of David and Rebecca (Grimm) Roop. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Wampler settled on a farm in Harrison townhip consisting of 162 acres of land, to which he added until he ultimately owned 459 acres in Ohio, besides 1,000 acres in Missouri. He was know f or his probity of character no less than for his thrift and success in business. He and his wife had the following children:  Rebecca A., Catherine, Elizabeth, David and William. Politically he was a republican, religiously a member of the German Baptist church, and in every respect a useful and most worthy citizen.

 

AARON KIMMEL, [pages 1255-1256] one of the oldest settlers of Montgomery county, sprang from Pennsylvania-Dutch stock. His grandfather was Daniel Kimmel, from Berks county, Pa., a farmer and a member of the German Baptist church. He married Barbara Kroner, by whom he had the following children:  Susan, John, Daniel, Jonas, Lewis, Michael, Mattie and Hannah. He made several journeys to Montgomery county, Ohio, on horseback and one trip to southern Illinois, in the same manner. This was at a very early day, and on his journeys he was accustomed to camp out wherever night overtook him. About 1810 he removed his family to Montgomery county, settling five miles west of Dayton in the woods, on 160 acres of land. Clearing this land of its timber, he made of it a fine farm, and in course of time bought more land. He lived to be about sixty years old.

Michael Kimmel, son of Daniel and father of Aaron Kimmel, was born in Berks county, Pa., in January, 1810. He received the usual common-school education of the times, and was reared a farmer’s boy. He married Catherine Armantropt, who was born in Ohio, March 15, 1815, and was a daughter of Peter Armantropt, of Maryland. Peter Armantropt was one of the pioneers of Warren county, Ohio, settling there at a very early day. In religion he was a Lutheran. His children were as follows:  Volumtin, Jeremiah, Philip, Jesse, Elias, Catherine and Elizabeth. Mr. Armantropt died in Warren county at a comparatively early age, though his wife lived to be over ninety years old.

After his marriage, Michael Kimmel settled in Jackson township, in the woods, on 172 acres of land. This farm he cleared and improved and set out upon it one of the finest orchards in that part of the country. In 1855 he sold this farm and removed to Jefferson township, where he bought 196 acres, upon which he died in 1889 at the age of sixty-eight. He and his wife are members of the German Baptist church. They reared the following children:  Henry S., Aaron, Mary, George W., Michael C., Sarah, David O. and Susan.

Aaron Kimmel was born May 2, 1835, in Jackson township, Montgomery county, and was fairly well educated in the district schools. On June 1, 1858, he married Elizabeth Wallace, who was born May 18, 1839, in Montgomery county, Ohio. She is a daughter of William and Margaret (Brown) Wallace. Mr. Wallace was of sterling Scotch ancestry, a son of Andrew and Elizabeth (Brough) Wallace, and was of an old Virginia family.

William Wallace was a merchant of Liberty, coming to Ohio directly after his marriage. By trade he was a hatter, but became a merchant. He died in 1849 of cholera, when he was thirty-nine years of age, his wife having died seven years before. They left the following children:  Sarah, Eli, John, Elizabeth and Mary A. After the death of his first wife Mr. Wallace married Mary Beck. To this marriage there were born three children, viz:  James A., Samuel and Margaret. Mr. Wallace was a member of the United Brethren church, and a man of strong character, and stood high in the community in which he lived.

After their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Kimmel settled a short distance north of Liberty, and lived on the Kimmel homestead five years, moving thence to Jackson township, where they settled on fifty-three acres of land. In 1865 Mr. Kimmel sold this farm and moved to Crawford county, Ill., where he bought a farm of ninety acres. Returning to Montgomery county in the same year, he bought his present farm of eighty-one acres, when he has greatly improved by judicious cultivation, by the planning of orchards, and by the erection of good buildings. To him and his wife there have been born the following children:  Jonathan P., Althea, Emma, Harvey M., Mary A., Leslie B., Jessie D. and Carl W. Mr. and Mrs. Kimmel have been members of the United Brethren church for twenty years. Politically Mr. Kimmel is a prohibitionist. He is an unaffiliated member of the Odd Fellows fraternity, Randolph lodge, and is in all ways an excellent man and citizen.

 

WILLIAM N. KINSEY, [pages 1256-1258] whose post-office is Kinsey, is the proprietor of the oldest and one of the largest of the nurseries of Montgomery county, it having been established by his father in 1852. He springs from Virginia ancestry, his great-grandfather having come from Virginia to Montgomery county, Ohio, by horses and wagons, in the early days. He was a brother of the grandfather of Jesse Kinsey, a German Baptist minister, whose biography is published elsewhere in this volume. The maiden name of his wife was Miss Beckener, and by her he had the following children:  Levi, Mathias, Joel, Levina and Judah. Mr. Kinsey, upon arriving in Montgomery county, settled in the woods, on what is now the Truxel farm, one and a half miles east of Salem. This farm he cleared of its timber, lived upon it until he reached old age, and then removed to Whitley county, Ind., where he died at the age of seventy years. He was a member of the German Baptist church, and a deacon thereof for many years and a man of fine mind and high moral character.

Joel Kinsey, grandfather of William N., was born in Virginia, and came with his parents to Ohio when a boy. He was the eldest child, was reared on the farm and married, in Randolph township, Elizabeth Brumbaugh, who was from Morrison’s Cove, Pa. After their marriage Joel and Mrs. Kinsey settled near Covington , Miami county, Ohio, and he there died when but thirty-three years of age. He was a member of the German Baptist church, and his children were Samuel. Lydia, Noah and David, the latter of whom died where quite young.

Samuel Kinsey, father of the subject, was born near Covington, Ohio, May 26, 1832, received a good common-school education, and learned the carpenter’s trade. He married at the age of twenty years, on the farm on which William N. Kinsey now lives, on April 23, 1852, Barbara Nead, who was born December 19, 1832, and was a daughter of Peter and Elizabeth (Yount) Nead. Peter Nead was born in Maryland in 1796, near Hagerstown, and was a son of Daniel Nead, a farmer and slaveowner, who also owned a large tannery. He was a member of the Lutheran church. Peter Nead married in Virginia, managed a tannery near Broadway, Rockingham county, Va., moving later in life to Augusta county, where he engaged in farming. In 1846 he came to Ohio, when his daughter Barbara was fourteen years old. Settling near Trotwood on ninety acres of land partially cleared, he cleared the remainder of the farm, improved it and made of it an excellent home for his family. He and his wife were parents of the following children:  Samuel, Daniel, Mary and Barbara.  Mr. Nead was first a Lutheran, then a Methodist, and later a member of the German Baptist church. He was an elder and a minister of the last-named church for many years, and was distinguished by being among the first ministers of that church to preach in English. He lived to the great age of eighty-one years, and died on his farm. His wife died when she was seventy-seven years old.

Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Kinsey lived on Indian lands in Indiana for a year or two after their marriage, and then settled on the farm adjoining the Nead farm. Of this Mr. Kinsey cleared up fifty acres, and by degrees added to it until he had 185 acres of good land in one body, besides seventy-five acres in Indiana and eighty acres in Kansas. Mr. Kinsey established his nursery in 1852, and was exceedingly prosperous in the business, being a practical and skillful nurseryman. Both he and his wife were members of the German Baptist church, in which he was an elder and a minister for many years. They had born to them the following children:  Almira J., Mary E., Cynthia A., Clarinda, William N., Lydia L., Sallie C., Ellen B., Charles P., Jesse E., Allen V. and two that died young. Mr. Kinsey was a man of great industry and attended to his business with the closest application. He was a man of sterling integrity of character, and died in 1883, at the age of fifty-one years.

William N. Kinsey was born July 17, 1859, on the old homestead, on which he now lives. Receiving a good common-school education, he afterward attended the Northwestern Normal academy at Ada, Ohio, and also the Miami Commercial college, at Dayton, Ohio. When thirty years of age he married, July 30, 1889.  Nettie B. Seiber, who was born July 25, 1872, in Montgomery county, Ohio, and is a daughter of Ephraim and Sarah J. (Leighton) Seiber. Ephraim Seiber came from Pennsylvania, and is of Pennsylvania-Dutch stock. Marrying in Ohio, his children are Susan, Amanda, William, John (who died a young man), Aldebal, Nettie B. and Lottie. To Mr. and Mrs. Kinsey have been born two children, Roy H. and Isabel, the latter of whom died at the age of four years and seven months.

Mr. Kinsey is a deacon in the German Baptist church, a man of ability, and has all his life been engaged in the nursery business. He was thus employed with his father for many years, which thoroughly qualified him for the successful management of the enterprise, and at his father’s death he took it up and has since carried it on. Mr. Kinsey was a member of the County Agricultural society for several years, and thus became widely and well known in this part of the state. His nursery contains about 100 acres, and in it he grows all kinds of fruit trees, shrubbery, and small fruits of many leading varieties.

 

WILLIAM KREITZER, [pages 1258-1260] farmer of Jefferson township, Montgomery county, Ohio, was born in Berks county, Pa., May 24, 1836, and is of German descent.

Peter Kreitzer, his grandfather, was born, reared and married in Berks county, became the father of four children—Jacob, John, Elizabeth and Catherine—and died in his native county. Jacob Kreitzer, son of Peter and father of William, was also born in Berks county, and there married Catherine Deckler; he was the owner of two farms in Pennsylvania, one of which he sold in 1838, when he came to Ohio, and settled in Perry township, Montgomery county, on a tract of 120 acres. Here he resided the remainder of his days, dying at the age of sixty-seven years, the father of the following children:  Jacob, Catherine, Mary, Henry, Kate, John, Rebecca, Isaac, William, Sarah and Lydia. Mr. Kreitzer was a member of the Lutheran church, in politics a democrat, and a citizen of good repute.

William Kreitzer, whose name opens this biographical memoir, was aged but two years, when brought by his parents to Montgomery county, Ohio, in the spring of 1838. Opportunities for schooling were somewhat meager in his boyhood days, but he made the most of them. At the age of thirty-three years, he married in Madison township, Miss Martha Heeter, a native of the township, born August 12, 1847, a daughter of Samuel and Ruhama (Nation) Heeter. Her paternal grandfather, Sebastian Heeter, was born in Pennsylvania, of German descent, and married Elizabeth Rarick, who was born in Philadelphia county, Pa., February 25, 1777, and was eighteen years of age when she was married to Mr. Heeter, August 11, 1795. She was a daughter of Henry and Katie Rarick. The children born to Sebastian Heeter and wife were born in the following order:  Henry, Frederick, Catherine, Abraham, Daniel, Polly, Jacob, Samuel, Sarah, Sebastian and David.

Sebastian Heeter was an early settler of Madison township, Montgomery county, Ohio, and made his home on the farm on which his daughter-in-law, Ruhama Heeter, now lives—the widow of his son, Samuel. For this farm of 160 acres he traded four horses and a wagon, the land being located in a dense forest, through which ran an old Indian trail. Forest and trail were soon annihilated, yet with a great expenditure of labor, and a productive farm substituted in their place. Sebastian Heeter was an ardent Lutheran, and contributed liberally toward the erection of the first edifice devoted to worship by that denomination in Gettysburg.

Samuel Heeter married Ruhama Nation, and by her became the father of the following named children—Mary M., Jacob, Paulina and Catherine—who grew to maturity. There were two others who died in infancy. Mr. Heeter was a democrat in politics; in religion he was a Lutheran, and died in that faith at the age of sixty-six years. His widow is now eighty-three years old.

After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Kreitzer settled for the time being on a farm of eighty-eight acres which he had purchased in Jackson township, but three years later Mr. Kreitzer bought his present farm in Jefferson township, comprising 160 acres. He has added materially to his lands since residing here, and now owns three good farms, comprising, in all, 389 ½  acres. The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Kreitzer were named Samuel J.; William A., who died at the age of nine months; John D.; Ruhama C.; Jacob H., who died at the age of six years; Mary M., who died when three years old; and Noah, who died in infancy. Mr. and Mrs. Kreitzer are members of the Lutheran church, in which Mr. Kreitzer is a trustee, having taken the place of Samuel Heeter at the death of the latter; in politics he is a democrat. He is a self-made man, and all he possesses he has made through his own good management, assisted only by his wife and elder children.

Elizabeth (Rarick) Heeter, maternal grandmother of Mr. Kreitzer, lived to be ninety years, eleven months and twenty-two days of age. Catherine Rarick, great-grandmother of Mrs. Kreitzer, died in September, 1829, aged seventy-four, and her remains are interred at Allerton, in Montgomery county. Henry Rarick died January 18, 1817, aged sixty-two years. Ruhama (Nation) Heeter was born April 8, 1813, in Campbell county, Tenn., a daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth (Moser) Nation; Thomas Nation was a son of Joseph and Jeretta (Vickroy) Nation; Joseph Nation was a native of North Carolina, of English parentage, and was a soldier of the Revolutionary war. Mrs. Jeretta (Vickroy) Nation was a daughter of Marmaduke Vickroy, also a Revolutionary soldier and, with his wife, a native of England. The children born to Joseph Nation and wife were named Isaac, Labar, Samson, Girten, Joe, Elizabeth, Rebecca and Charity. Joseph Nation eventually settled in Tennessee, where he bought a farm of 160 acres, on which he passed the remainder of his useful life.

Thomas Nation was born in North Carolina, and on moving to Tennessee married Elizabeth Moser, daughter of Jacob and Dorcas (Hunnicut) Moser, of Germany. Thomas Nation and wife, prior to 1813, came from Tennessee to Montgomery, now Preble county, Ohio, but later returned to Tennessee; finally, in 1828, Mr. Nation came back to Montgomery county, Ohio, bringing a four-horse wagon and settling in Eaton, where he became a teamster. Mr. Nation was twice married, and to his first union were born six children, viz:  Ruhama, Elizabeth, Joseph, Hamilton, Rebecca and Jacob. The mother of this family died in Tennessee, and Mr. Nation next married, in the same state, Annie Lay. This second union resulted in the birth of thirteen children, who were born in the following order:  Isaac, Charlotte, Emeline, Franklin, Freeland, Tabitha, Celie, Paulina, Alfred, Emily, Pliny, Henry and Marks. The father of this large family died in Eaton, Ohio, at the age of sixty-six years, a life-long member of the Methodist church. The children born to Ruhama Heeter were named in the following order:  Mary Martha, married to William Kreitzer; Jacob, who married Mary A. Bowman, and has three sons—John, Joseph and Charles; Pauline, who was married to Charles Watson, but is now deceased, having left two children—Samuel and Joseph; Catherine, who was married to Adam Krull, and is the mother of the following children:  Silas F., Esta C. and Ada C.

Jeretta (Vickroy) Nation, the wife of Joseph Nation, came to Ohio when a child, her father having been a soldier of the war of the Revolution and having lived to he 105 years old. Joseph Nation took a valiant part in the battle of the Horseshoe.

 

DANIEL LONG, [pages 1260-1261] a grandson of one of the original pioneers of Montgomery county, sprang from Pennsylvania-Dutch ancestors. Lewis Long, his grandfather, was born in Pennsylvania, and was the son of Lewis Long, who came from Germany and settled in that state. Lewis Long followed farming in his native state, and married Miss Mary Hestand, afterward removing to Montgomery county, Ohio, and settling in Madison township. He was among the very earliest of the pioneers of this county, to which it is certain that he came previous to 1806, though the precise year is now known. Lewis Long and his wife were the parents of the following children:  Reuben, Elizabeth, Christina, Barbara, Isaac, John, David and Jacob, twins, and Catherine. After residing for one year on the farm upon which he first located, Mr. Long purchased a tract in Jefferson township containing 200 acres of woods, which he cleared and converted into a good farm. Upon this land he lived and remainder of his life, dying when ninety years of age. He was a man of vigorous constitution, was widely known as a sturdy pioneer, as a man of great kindness of heart, and had many friends among both whites and Indians, the latter being then still quite numerous in the southern part of the state.

Isaac Long, son of Lewis and the father of Daniel Long, was born on the farm May 1, 1806, was reared a farmer among the pioneers, and received as good an education as it was possible to secure in those early days. Upon arriving at mature years he married Esther Miller, who was born in Huntingdon county, Pa., in 1803 or 1804, was a daughter of Daniel and Susan (Bowman) Miller, and was but six months old when brought to Montgomery county by her parents.

Mr. and Mrs. Long, after their marriage, settled on a farm of 166 acres in Harrison township, land given them by her father, which he had entered from the government. Her father, Daniel Miller, and her husband cleared the farm, cutting up the timber into cord wood and selling it in Dayton. Sufficient clearing having been done, Mr. Long then occupied himself in improving the farm, and buying other lands. He had one farm in Madison township containing 160 acres; one in Perry township consisting of 160 acres; one in Miami county of eighty-two acres; and one in Jefferson township containing 104 acres, beside a lot in Taylorsburg containing seven acres, making his entire landed possessions aggregate 683 acres, or thereabouts. From all this it will be seen that he was a most successful manager. During his whole life he lived on his home farm, dying April 1, 1886, aged seventy-nine years and eleven months. His estimable wife died May 29, 1888, aged eighty-five years.

Mr. Long and his wife were members of the German Baptist church. Mr. Long was many times honored by his fellow-citizens by election to office. In politics he was a democrat, and was much interested in all public questions, and always ready to perform his duty either in public or private station. He and his wife had the following children:  Daniel, John, Elizabeth, Susan, Samuel, Isaac, Mary, Henry, Joseph and Hattie.

Daniel Long, the subject of this sketch, was born in Harrison township, December 26, 1829, received the customary common-school education of the times, and was brought up to farm labor. When yet young he went to Dayton and there attended market for some time. He was married in Wayne county, Ind., February 19, 1857, to Miss Salome Crull, who was born May 8, 1836, in that county, and is a daughter of Henry and Nancy (Bowser) Crull, now deceased.

Henry Crull was born in Huntingdon county, Pa., December 26, 1804, and was a son of John and Salome Crull, the maiden name of Mrs. Crull being Booker. John Crull moved to Montgomery county, Ohio, in 1805, and settled in Jefferson township, on 160 acres of wooded land, which he cleared and improved. He and his wife reared the following children:  Mary, John, Jacob, Christina, Henry, Samuel, Elizabeth and Margaret. John Crull lived to a good old age, was a prominent member of the German Baptist church, and a most excellent citizen.

Henry Crull, father of Mrs. Long, was married to Nancy Bowser, who was born October 6, 1808, in Montgomery county, and was a daughter of George Bowser, a prominent pioneer of that county. After living here until 1832 he removed to Wayne county, Ind., and there cleared a farm of eighty acres, to which he later added eighty acres more. Here he lived many years, a consistent member of the German Baptist church. He and his wife reared the following children:  Mary, William, Salome, Elizabeth, Susannah, George and David. Mr. Crull lived to be seventy-nine years of age, dying August 17, 1883, on his farm in Wayne county, Ind.

Mr. and Mrs. Long, after their marriage, settled on the paternal homestead, purchasing half of the Miller estate, consisting of 104½ acres of land, which they greatly improved by cultivation and by the erection of modern buildings. Their children were as follows:  George, who died at the age of eighteen years; Dr. Webster D., dentist of Dayton, a graduate of the Ohio Normal university; Joseph F.; Hettie and Sylvester. Hettie is a graduate of Mount Morris college, Ill., Sylvester also being a graduate of that institution. Politically Mr. Long is a republican and religiously a member of the German Baptist church. He takes great interest in the schools of his neighborhood and has served as school director for several years. He is a thoroughly practical farmer and a public-spirited and useful member of society.

 
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