A History and Biographical Cyclopaedia of Butler County, Ohio
Madison Township: Pages 600 - 603
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Biographical Notes

AUGSPURGER, SHLUMEGER, GAUTSCHE (Madison Twp., p. 600)
Moses G. AUGSPURGER was born in Madison Township February 23, 1845, and was married March 19, 1874, to Anna SCHLUMEGER, born the same day as her husband. His parents were Nicholas AUGSPURGER and Magdalena GAUTSCHE, who were born in 1819, and hers were Peter SCHLUMEGER and Jacobina KING. They have three children. Albert was born May 23, 1875; Alma Magdalena, May 25, 1877, and Barda, July 10, 1880. Mr. AUGSPURGER was reared on a farm, working with his father until he was twenty-five years old, when he began to do for himself, renting land of his father. He remained thus until February, 1879, when he bought the place he now occupies, of one hundred and three acres, which is under a good state of cultivation. Mr. AUGSPURGER is a Mennonite, as is also his wife, and their parents before them.

ANDREWS, LONG, HELLEBRECHT, ROGERS, KNEES (Madison Twp., p. 600)
Isaac ANDREWS was born in Wayne Township, Butler County, in 1848. His parents were Henry ANDREWS and Eleanor LONG. He was married in 1873 to Emma HELLEBRECHT, born at Walnut Hills, and has had two children, Harry and Alfred, the former being dead. Joseph ROGERS, a member of his family, was in the Mexican War, and his half brother, Samuel KNEES, served during the late struggle.

AUGSPURGER, SCHULMEISTER, KINSINGER (Madison Twp., pp. 600-601)
In the year 1819 Christian AUGSPURGER and family, and his brother, Joseph AUGSPURGER, and family and his second cousin, Jacob AUGSPURGER, and family, and others, immigrated from near Strasbourg, France, to Butler County, and settled near Collinsville, Milford Township, where Christian AUGSPURGER bought a farm of about three hundred acres of land, of which there was about one hundred acres improved; but as the other AUGSPURGERs were short of means they rented farms. Things looked very gloomy then, however, for farmers, and to make money was almost an impossibility, as the prices for produce were very much depressed, and there was no money scarcely to be had for any thing. Corn was ten cents per bushel; wheat, twenty-five cents; butter three cents per pound, and pork one dollar and a half per hundred pounds, net. Whisky, however, was fifty cents a gallon, but people did not know how to manufacture it then as well as they do now, and beer was scarcely known in Butler County. Whisky, however, was the most profitable product, as it could be transported to the market with less expense, as there were no turnpikes, canals, or railroads, to facilitate travel; in fact, there were nothing but mud-roads. The farm implements, also, were very inferior to those now used, and grain separators, reapers, self-binders, and mowers were not known. Grain was cut with the sickle, and here and there a cradle was used.

The change for the AUGSPURGERs from Europe to America was very great, and especially for Christian AUGSPURGER, as he lived on one of the finest and best improved farms in France, consisting of about five hundred acres of choice land. The farm was leased for a number of years, and belonged to Charles SCHULMEISTER, who served as a spy under Napoleon the First, and was considered to one of the best. His property was very valuable. The farm on which Christian AUGSPURGER lived was so well improved, that princely personages and generals in the army frequently paid their visits there. SCHULMEISTER also lived on the farm. It happened, however, that Marshal Bertrand received a large territory from Napoleon the First, on which he wished to introduce farming according to French style, and sought advice or information in regard to it; for which purpose he requested Christian AUGSPURGER to come to Paris, where Bertrand then lived. Christian AUGSPURGER complied with the request, and, in company with his cousin, Nicholas AUGSPURGER, went there for the purpose, to the satisfaction of the marshal. They were shown through all the parliamentary buildings and saw the throne. Later, Christian AUGSPURGER received the medal of the Legion of Honor, which is now in possession of his children as a memento. The medal consists of a ruby in the form of a star, with gilded points, and a ribbon affixed thereto, with a description, and signed in the name of the emperor.

In 1827, however, Christian AUGSPURGER family had increased to twelve in number, six sons and six daughters. The names of his sons were Joseph, Christian, Jacob, John, Samuel, and Frederick; and the names of his daughters were Catherina, Magdelina, Barbara, Mary, Jacobina, and Anna. In 1829 Christian AUGSPURGER bought another farm, about two and a half miles south of Trenton, in Madison Township, where he moved in 1830; and later the other AUGSPURGERs followed him to the vicinity of Trenton also.

In 1846 Christian AUGSPURGER's wife died, and in 1848 he also died. The property that Christian owned consisted of nineteen hundred and seventy-five acres of choice land in Butler County, besides a large personal estate, which was all divided equally among his children. The number of the descendants of the AUGSPURGERs now living is about one hundred and eighty, of whom about one hundred and fifty are living in Butler County; the others have moved to Illinois and Iowa, and two, C. KINSINGER and P. KINSINGER, are now living in Cincinnati with their families. The amount of land now owned by the descendants of the AUGSPURGERs, in Butler, Warren, and Preble Counties, is about three thousand six hundred and sixty-three acres. The AUGSPURGERs nearly all belong to the Mennonite denomination, as their fathers did.

BAUGHMAN, MATTIX, RUTAN, POGUE (Madison Twp., p. 601)
Mrs. Nancy BAUGHMAN was born in New Jersey, February 23, 1814, and came to this county in 1818. Her parents were Michael MATTIX and Mary RUTAN. She had one son, James, who was born in 1842, and died in 1857. Her grandfather, Samuel MATTIX, was in the Revolutionary War, and her uncle, William MATTIX, was in the War of 1812, dying while in the service, on the shores of Lake Erie. He was a drum major. Mrs. BAUGHMAN came here with her parents when she was a child of four years old, her father beginning a farm from the virgin forest. She worked at spinning when she was only eight years of age, and had but six months' schooling in her life. During the Revolutionary War Mary MATTIX, her grandmother, and her baby had to be carried to the fort on the Delaware River, as the Indians were destroying everything, and killing all they found. Mrs. BAUGHMAN is still living on the same farm her father cleared, and has with her William A. POGUE and Sarah A. MATTIX. Daniel MATTIX is supposed to have killed the last bear in that part of the county. His children saw it, and told him there was a big black dog up a tree. He, knowing what it must be, took his gun, and went out and shot it. It proved to be a very large animal.

BELL, GEBHART, LINGLE (Madison Twp., p. 601)
Samuel BELL was born in Germany, and after arriving in this country was married to Sarah GEBHART, born in Madison Township, August 23, 1843. His parents were John and Elizabeth BELL, and hers Daniel GEBHART and Christina LINGLE. They have seven children. Flora A. was born July 11, 1868; William N., March 31, 1870; David D., February 15, 1872; Christina, February 26, 1874; John L., January 31, 1876; Edward C., February 9, 1848(?); and Elmer E., October 16, 1881. Mr. BELL was in the service three years.

BANKER, MILLS, LUCAS, SELBY, COON, MARSH, CHAMBERLAIN, CONOVER, MCDILL, MCCRAY (Madison Twp., pp. 601-602)
Jacob BANKER, farmer and stock-raiser, was born in Ross County, Ohio, June 13, 1818, and was brought to this county in 1819. His father was David BANKER, and his mother's name was Mary MCDILL. The former was the pioneer of that branch of the family which came to Ohio, and was born in Frederick County, Maryland, March 26, 1778, coming to Ohio in 1800, and settling in Ross County. There he married his wife, coming to Butler County in 1819, where he bought a part of fractional Section 12, Township 2, and Range 4, east, upon which was a mill-site where Elijah MILLS, a soldier of the Revolution, had erected a corn-cracker, called a mill, about 1800, for building which he received a pre-emption right to Section 1 and fractional Section 12, Township 2, Range 4, east, in Madison Township, comprising a tract of about eleven hundred acres of the best land in Butler County. He subsequently transferred his claim to John LUCAS, who received a patent for it from the government soon after the land was thrown open for sale.

David BANKER erected a fine mill on the property where the present Mr. BANKER now resides, that was long known as BANKER's mills, and had at an early day customers from near Richmond, Indiana, and from near Greenville on the north. He continued to reside on this property till his death, which happened on the 25th of January, 1862, at the age of eighty-four. He came into the world the second year of the Revolutionary War, and died in the second year of the great Rebellion. When he first came to Ohio he brought with him, in a large pair of saddle-bags, the metallic part of a set of carpenter's tools, with which to carve out his fortune in this new country, and carried them in that way on horseback over the mountains. Jacob BANKER has now in possession, as a relic of early days on the Miami, the millstone used by Elijah MILLS when he erected the first mill on the Ohio River. It is a curiosity. It is sixteen inches in diameter and four inches thick, and weighs less than one hundred pounds.

Jacob BANKER was married November 8, 1840, to Catherine SELBY, daughter of Middleton SELBY and Rachel COON, who came to this county in 1797 and 1802. They have had ten children. Rachel B. MARSH was born August 23, 1841; David, May 8, 1843; Mary E, May 14, 1845; Ferdinand V., May 27, 1847; Martha J., January 13, 1850; Sarah L. B. CHAMBERLAIN, June 16, 1852; Laura C. CONOVER, March 27, 1854; Emma J.. September 3 1856; James E., March 6, 1859; and Elmer L., July 31, 1862. David BANKER, his son, was in the military service from December 25, 1863, until after the close of the war. He was a member of the Seventh Indiana troop of cavalry, and was detailed on duty as an orderly at the White House at the time of the assassination of President Lincoln. Mr. Jacob BANKER was a justice of the peace in Madison Township from 1847 to 1853, six years.

David W. BANKER was born April 1, 1821, in Madison Township. His parents were David BANKER and Mary MCDILL, who came to this county in 1819. They are now dead. He was married October 9, 1842, to Julia LUCAS, daughter of Samuel LUCAS and Hannah MCCRAY, born in Madison Township, February 3, 1821. They have had three children. Samuel L. was born November 22, 1843; Charles D., November 23, 1859, and Harvey, November 10, 1862. The second of these is now dead. Mr. BANKER is a farmer.

BROOKLEY, HECKLUREY, EBEL, FALLENSTEIN (Madison Twp., p 602)
Matthias BROOKLEY was born October 30, 1836, in Germany. His parents were Matthias BROOKLEY and Mary HECKLUREY. Their son came to this county in 1857, settling in Madison Township. On the 1st of May, 1873, he was married in Trenton to Elizabeth EBEL, born in Cincinnati April 10, 1853. Her parents were Adam EBEL and Elizabeth FALLENSTEIN, who came to this country in 1853. Mr. BROOKLEY was elected supervisor in April, 1879, and held the office one year. He is a boot and shoe manufacturer.

BENNETT, IUTZI, AUGSPURGER, KINTZINGER, HAGERMAN, SNIDER (Madison Twp., p 602)
Peter BENNETT was born in Germany about 1815. His parents were John and Magdalena BENNETT, and they came to this country in 1831, bringing their son with them. He was married in July, 1839, to Susan IUTZI, daughter of Christian and Mary IUTZI, who came to this county in 1832. They have had five children. Amelia AUGSPURGER was born August 9, 1840; Helen KINTZINGER, April 21, 1842; Mary, January 14, 1844; Bertha, June 23, 1848, and Randolph, November 24, 1855. Mr. BENNETT first settled in Milford Township, remaining there but a short time. He then moved to St. Clair Township, and then on what is known as the HAGERMAN farm, where he stayed about fifteen years. He finally moved on the farm called the SNIDER farm, in Madison Township, where he has since resided. He has increased his worldly store until he now owns six hundred acres of as fine land as there is in the county, all lying in Madison Township.

BERRY, GREY, ALLEN, AUGSPURGER, SIMPSON, WALLACE, (Madison Twp., pp. 602-603)
S. B. BERRY, late county auditor, was born November 29, 1838, near Miltonville, and is a son of Thomas G. BERRY, also born near Trenton, March 18, 1808. He lived in the township until his death, September 28, 1848. Thomas G. was the son of Thomas BERRY, who came to Ohio from Virginia about 1793. He was about fourteen years old at the beginning of the Revolution, entered the service while a boy, and continued to the close. Thomas BERRY married Hester GREY in Virginia, coming to Ohio with two children, settled on the east bank of the Miami River, below Middletown, and raised eleven children. The mother of S. B. BERRY (still living) was Susan, daughter of George BENNETT, a New Jersey mill-wright, who together with John ALLEN, whose daughter he afterwards married, built a grist-mill on the east bank of the Miami River, about four miles north of Hamilton, near the present site of AUGSPURGER's bridge. George BENNETT, after marrying Nancy ALLEN, moved to Miltonville, and erected a saw and grist mill, still in operation.

Thomas G. BERRY was chosen to and served with credit in many positions of public trust, and had just closed a term in the Legislature the Winter preceding his death. S. B. BERRY was less than ten years of age at his father's death in 1848, and was compelled to leave the parental roof to earn a living to aid his mother in providing for the other children younger than himself. He attended school a few weeks in the Winter season only until November, 1853, when he was apprenticed to Jacob SIMPSON for four years, a Virginia blacksmith, then working at Lesourdsville, in Lemon Township. In 1858 Mr. SIMPSON retired, leaving his apprentice in charge of the shop, with the good will of his customers his only stock in trade. By energy and industry he retained these until he changed his place of business by moving to Hamilton in 1874.

In October, 1871, Mr. BERRY was elected to the Legislature from Butler County, following in the steps made by his father twenty-four years before. He served two years with honor to himself and credit to the county. The Hamilton _Telegraph_, the opposition paper, near the close of his term, said: "Were Mr. BERRY a candidate for re-election, he would have no opposition from either party." Business and domestic affairs would not permit him to do so, and in the Summer of 1873 he wrote and published a letter of declination. In the year 1874 he was nominated for county auditor; but, owing to the divided condition of the Democracy, caused largely by rival newspapers in the party, was defeated by H. H. WALLACE by a few votes only. Continuing to work at his trade, he was again, in 1876, nominated for and elected to the same position over the same competitor. After serving acceptably in this very important position, he was again, in 1878, re-elected for three years, having a majority of 2,486 votes. The Hamilton _Telegraph_, the Republican paper, said of him near the close of his first term: "Mr. BERRY has announced himself as a candidate for re-election. It is due Mr. BERRY to say that he has proved himself to be an energetic, efficient, and trustworthy official, accommodating to those having business in his office, exact in the discharge of his official duties, and a vigilant opponent to extravagance in every shape. His administration will compare favorably with those of the best auditors who have filled the office in Butler County. His route to a second term will be over a road strewn with roses." His second term has now closed, and the condition of the records of the office reflects credit upon Mr. BERRY and his very efficient corps of clerks.

During the last five years Mr. BERRY has taken an active interest in the "Ancient Order of United Workmen," a beneficial order, serving one term as Grand Master for the State of Ohio, two terms as one of the representatives from Ohio to the Supreme Lodge, and is at this time (1882) a member of the Supreme Lodge Finance Committee, supervising the affairs of the entire order, embracing twenty-three States and 125,000 members. He has now returned to Madison Township, near the place of his birth, and is actively engaged in farming.

CLARK, DEEM, DARR (Madison Twp., p. 603)
Martin CLARK is a native of New Jersey, where he was born March 23, 1833. His father was John CLARK. He is married to Elizabeth DEEM, daughter of John F. DEEM and Elizabeth DARR, and the marriage took place on the farm where they now live, November 1, 1856. She was born January 23, 1836. They have ten children. Mary, the eldest, is dead. Hiram was born December 20, 1858; John, March 23, 1860; Samuel, February 6, 1862; William, August 7, 1864; Charles, March 23, 1866; Jane, October 27, 1867; Laura, October 23, 1871; Harry, October 25, 1873; and Ida May, October 12, 1879. Hiram DEEM was in the army, and died in the service.