Obituaries from Butler County, Ohio
Part X

Mrs. Maria Doan, 81 years old, widow, 1105 Hanover Street, died at Mercy Hospital at 8:15 o'clock Tuesday night from a fractured skull sustained at 7:25 o'clock when struck by an automobile at East Avenue and Hanover Street. Mrs. Doan, who was deeply interested in religious meetings was on her way to attend a revival meeting at the Nazarene Church at Thirteenth Street and Grand Boulevard.
Mrs. Doan, who would have been 82 years old on April 19, was born April 19, 1848, in Butler County and had lived the last 40 years in Hamilton. In 1870, Maria Van Ausdall, the daughter of Silas and Rebecca Turner Van Ausdall, married William Doan, who died in 1897.
Surviving relatives are, two daughters, Mrs. Belle Rosson and Dora Baldwin, Hamilton; two sons Ed S. Doan, of Delaware, Indiana; and Charlie Doan, of Milan, Indiana; and two sisters, Amanda Gentry, Hamilton, and Mrs. Charity Tinger, Bath, Indiana; 10 grandchilden and seven great grandchildren.
Furneral services will be held Friday at 10:30 o'clock from C. W. Gath chapel. Friends may call any time at the funeral parlor, South B street after 4 o'clock Thursday afternoon. Interment will be in Greenwood cemetery.

At his home, about 100 yards from the place of his birth, Tunis Selby, one of the original inhabitants and life-long residents of Brown's Run, died this morning. His death from general debility occurred this morning at 4 o'clock. He was 88 years old.
All of his long and useful life had been spent in useful endeavor for the village in which he was born and reared. His residence was never farther removed from the place of his birth than the home in which he died today.
Surviving the aged man are the widow, three daughters, Mrs. Samuel Mears, of Middletown, Mrs. Harry Wilson, Brown's Run, Mrs. Ida McLaughlin, of Dayton, six sons, Albert and Val, of Middletown, Levi, of Kyle, Ohio, Joseph of Germantown, Ben, of Franklin and Ferd, of West Middletown, twenty-nine grandchildren and sixteen great grandchildren.
Funeral services will be held Wednesday at 1 p.m. at the Mt. Pleasant Church, Poastown, with Rev. F. A. Stiles officiating and interment will be made in the Mt. Pleasant Cemetery.

John Hugh Horner was the only son and youngest child of a family of nine children. He was born June 9, 1830, in Butler County, Ohio, in which state he spent his boyhood days.
In his youth he came to Kinderhook, Pike county, Illinois, and made his home with a favorite sister. August 28, 1856, he was married to Mary H. Kenady, to whom were born four children; the first born being a son, July 28 1857. In the spring of 1863 he moved to Hancock county, Illinois, where his first wife died the same fall.
Again he was married, February 21, 1864, to Caroline E. Campbell, in Davis County, Iowa, to whom were born 13 children.
Just after the war he moved to Southwest Missouri, settling in Bates County, where he spent the remainder of his life, having lived about twenty-five years on one farm; hence he was one of the pioneer settlers of this section of the State.
He was the father of seventeen children, seven of whom are still living. His second wife still survives him.
He died at 8:30 p.m., December 31, 1902, being 72 years, 6 months and 22 days old.
Accordingly he had filled out and over ran the Bible measure of "three score and ten." During all his long life he was a model of old-fashioned honesty. In middle life he was baptized by Elder J. W. Randall and united with the Christian church. He had been a deacon in that church for years and was one at the time of his death. He was a kind, indulgent husband; an affectionate and considerate father and a friendly and hospitable neighbor. Many, many welcome friends often partook of the hospitality of his plain and modest home.
Mr. Horner had may friends. He was respected and honored be everybody. Among his last acts he made ample and careful provision for the settlement of all his business, neither did he forget to adjust any and all difficulties that human weakness might have occasion in all his social, moral and religious relations, for he said "I don't want anyone to be mad at me, nor feel hard about anything. I have had a long, hard struggle and I don't want to give up now and lose everything. I want all of you to meet me in a better place than this."
Soon after these words fell into a natural repose from which he never awoke, but sank suddenly into the blessed sleep in Jesus from which none ever wake to weep.
By his request Elder Doyle, of Rockville preached the funeral, January 2, 1903, at the family residence after which his remains were laid to rest in the Meyer's cemetery by the side of Effie, a beloved daughter. We sorrow not without Hope.
-Charles W. Horner

Funeral services for Lawrence Leroy Farquar, son of Clarence Farquar, were held this morning at 10:30 o'clock, the Rev. L. B. Douglas officiating. Burial was made at Woodside cemetery.
Rev. Mr. Douglas pays the following tribute and sympathy to the sorrowing family.
Lawrence Leroy Farquar, son of Carence and Mary E. Farquar was born January 1, 1911. He died March 2, 1921, age 10 years, 2 months and 2 days. On November 29, 1920, his mother preceded him to the spirit world, there being three months and three days between their deaths.
Lawrence was afflicted about all his life and little hope was held that he might grow up into manhood. His afflictions are now over, having gone into the presence of his God before his little life was stained with sin. He leaves his father, his Grandmother Farquar, his Grandmother and Grandfather Wood, with whom he was staying at the time of his death, which came very suddenly. Besides these there were other near friends who all wonder why a young life would be snuffed out so soon.
"It is said that Lawrence never complained as most children do when ailing, but bore his afflictions all to himself.
Brother Farquar has the sympathy of all his friends in this double tragedy in his home in so short a time.
"May the God of all grace sustain you in these hours of bereavement, and look forward to the day of all days, when there will be a reuniting of the loved ones in the home."

Earl Pressler, 62, 405 Young Street, life-long resident of Middletown, died Thursday night in a Cincinnati Hospital, after an illness of two years.
Mr. Pressler was formerly employed by the Barkelew Electric Co., and had many friends in the city.
He leaves his wife, Sylvia; four daughters, Eileen Pressler, Mrs. Bertha McGuire, Mrs. Melva Egleston, and Mrs. Marjorie Zickgraf all of this city; four sons, Earl and Carleton of this city, Charles with the army in the South Pacific, and Russell, who is serving in the navy; five sisters, Mrs. Maude Wagner of Hollywood, Cal., Mrs. Ada Barnett of Middletown, Mrs. Amanda Pressler and Mrs. Nettie Young of Dayton, Mrs. Bertha Snyder, of New Paris; and nine grandchildren.
Wilson Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements, which are not yet complete.

Mrs. Mary Dietz, wife of Daniel Dietz passed away Sunday morning at 12:25 at her home 311 North Charles Street. She was born December 2, 1848 and at the time of her death was 56 years, one month and twenty-two days of age. She is survived by her husband and several grown children.
The funeral of Mrs. Mary Dietz will take place Wednesday, January 27 at 2 p.m. from the residence. Rev. J. L. Buckley will officiate with A. T. Wilson and son the undertakers in charge.

Mrs. Wm. Willis, aged 18 years, 2 months and 28 days, died Friday evening at 6:30 at the City hospital. After a severe illness of several days she was removed from her home on Main street to the home of her parents, Mr. and Mrs. George Colvin on Broadway. With no improvement, blood poison was contracted and she was taken to the City hospital only to live a short time. The deceased leaves a husband, parents, three brothers and two sisters to mourn her death. The funeral services will be held Monday morning at 10:30 Eastern time with Rev. Rittenhouse officiating. Interment in Woodside cemetery. Undertaker J.D. Riggs.

John (Jack) E. Hillman, 39, of 507 Highview Rd., died at 4 p.m. Friday at Middletown Hospital of burns suffered August 26 in a chemical explosion at the General Chemical Division of the Allied Chemical and Dye Corporation here. The blast occurred on the third floor of the building.
Mr. Hillman suffered first and second degree burns over his entire body. His condition had been described as critical from the time of the explosion.
A lifelong resident of Middletown, he is survived by his wife, Bertha Day Hillman; two sons Charles and Richard, and a daughter Patricia Ann, all at home; his parents Mr. and Mrs. James Hillman, and a sister, Mrs. Corrine South, all of Middletown.
Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m Tuesday at McCoy-Leffler Funeral Home. Interment will be in Woodside Cemetery. Friends may call at the funeral home from 2 to 5 and 7 to 10 p.m. Monday.

Jacob Diver, 83 years old, a member of the Diver Milling Company all his life until a few years ago, died yesterday afternoon at two o'clock at his home, 129 South Main Street. Death followed confinement of several years, since the deceased received a broken hip in a fall. His invalidism during four years years due to his injuries, won him the sympathies of his friends who had esteemed the old gentleman all of his life.
Mr. Diver was born in Millville, Ohio, and came here when a boy, connecting himself with the Diver Milling Company and remaining in that position until he became an invalid.
He was a member of the Presbyterian Church many years and his attendance there will be missed. His wife preceded him in death 27 years ago. Surviving Mr. Diver are four sons and one daughter, William, Albert, Charles, Frank and Mrs. Elizabeth Schenck.
Rev. G. H. Simonson will conduct the funeral Thursday at 2 p.m. at the residence, burial to follow in the Woodside cemetery.

Mrs. Elizabeth Shepherd Garrison, a member of a prominent family, who contributed to the upbuilding of Middletown, died this morning at her home, 139 North Broad Street. Her passing at the age of 76 years, is regrettable to the wide representation of friends who knew her as a woman of culture.
Mrs. Garrison has been steadily declining in health some time. She was born near Kyle Station, Ohio, February 13, 1849, and was a girl when she came to Middletown, then nothing but a country settlement. Through her charm of personality, her friends availed themselves of knowledge of the growth of Middletown to which she contributed. She was the widow of James Garrison.
Mrs. Garrison is survived by her daughter, Helen, who has the sympathy of many friends in her loss.

Mrs. Mary Garitson, 78, who died this morning at 3:30 o'clock at her home, 1905 Woodlawn Avenue, was the head of a large family of six children, 25 grandchildren and four great grandchildren. She had been slowly declining in health for months, her passing being expected by her family.
She had been a resident here many years. Funeral services will be held Thursday. Survivors are Mrs. Lee Feltner, of Utah, Perry Garitson, of California, Stanley Garitson and Mrs. Thomas Reese of Middletown, Alfred Ingle of New York and James Ingle, of South Lebanon, 25 grandchildren and four great grandchildren.
Funeral services will be held Thursday at 2 p.m. at the Church of the Brethren, Rev. Clarence Erbaugh officiating. Interment will be made in Woodside Cemetery in charge of W. N. McCoy, undertaker.

Jonathon A. Ashton, 75, passed away Monday morning at one o'clock at his home 105 Shafor Avenue, his death bringing the deepest sadness into the many homes where he has been known for years.
The deceased during several years of illness, has been a patient sufferer until death came to relieve his trouble.
He is survived by four daughters, Rachael, Louella, Amelia, and Mary and one son, George, and to them the sincere sympathy of all is being extended.
Funeral services will be held from his late residence Wednesday morning at ten o'clock, Rev. Faulkenstine officiating and the interment in charge of Undertaker Wilson in Woodside cemetery.

Mrs. Amelia Jane Sharits, 60, of Trenton, wife of Charles M. Sharits, succumbed at her homeSaturday at 11:30 p.m. Although she had been ill for three years, death came suddenly as the result of a heart attack.
Mrs. Sharits had lived at Trenton for many years and was a member of the United Presbyterian Church there. D. of A., of which Mrs. Sharits was a member, will hold services Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the Riggs Funeral Home.
Surviving besides the husband are five daughters, Mrs. Ethel Reynolds, Mrs. Thelma Thompson of Middletown; Mrs. Rachel Cassidy of Springfield, Mrs. Hazel Vandervoort of Dayton, and Mrs. Lucille Funk of Hamilton; two sons, Charles J. of Middletown, and David M., now serving in the navy; one brother, George Ashton of Carlisle; two sisters Mrs. Rachel Ashton of this city, and Mrs. Louella Moore of Williamsburg; 19 grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
The body is at the Riggs Funeral Home, where arrangements are incomplete pending word from the son in the navy. The Rev. James Sturgeon will conduct final rites.

Sanford Adkins, the eight-day-son of Mr. and Mrs. Walter Adkins, passed to his eternal reward yesterday at 3:30. The funeral services were held at 10:30 this morning at the residence. Rev. Von Rague officiating. The remains were buried in the Middletown Cemetery in charge of Walter McCoy.

Franklin, January 2: The news of the sudden death of Brook Taylor caused much sorrow to reign in Franklin. Mr. Taylor spent practically all his life in Franklin and was an aged and highly respected citizen. About a year ago he and his wife went to make their home with a daughter, Mrs. George Colvin of Middletown, and it was here that the end came suddenly on Tuesday night. Heart trouble was given as the cause.
Mr. Taylor was 75 years of age and is survived by the bereaved widow, three daughters, Mrs. Rolla Cook of Urbana, Mrs. Frieda Colvin of Middletown and Mrs. Frank Little of Franklin, and five sons, Arthur, Robert, Clarence, William and Charles, all of Franklin, a number of grandchildren and a host of friends who are mourning his departure.
Funeral services will be held Friday afternoon at 2 o'clock at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Colvin of Middletown, with Rev. Willis S. Webb, pastor of the Franklin Baptist Church officiating. Burial will take place in the Franklin Cemetery.

Mrs. Sadie Grubbs, 86, died at 10:25 a.m. today at Middletown Hospital, where she had been confined since January 8. She had been ill for the last six months.
A native of Morehead, Kentucky, Mrs. Grubbs had resided in this community for the past 35 years. She has resided with her grandaughter, Miss Myrtle Day, 1722 First Ave., for a number of years. Mrs. Grubbs was a member of the First Church of God.
Besides her grandaughter, she is survived by two daughters, Mrs. Margaret Welsh and Mrs. Lena Patrick, both of this city; three sons, Joseph, and David Day, both of Middletown; and John Day, of Fleming County, Kentucky, and one brother Daniel Boone Smedley, of Morehead.
The body is now at the McCoy-Leffler Funeral Home where arrangements are incomplete.

Ralph Butterfield, 57, resident of Middletown until a year ago, passed away Wednesday morning from a heart attack at his home in Harbor City, California.
Mr. Butterfield was the son of the late Wendell Butterfield and of Elizabeth (Bessie) Butterfield of N. Broad St., Middletown.
He was born and raised in Middletown and was employed as an electrician at the American Rolling Mill Co. and by the Middletown Gas and Electric Co. He was a member of the Calvary Methodist Church.
Survivors include his mother; his widow, Zella; one brother, Charles of Arizona; seven sons, one daughter and 19 grandchildren.
Funeral services will be Monday morning from the Gamby Mortuary at Lomita,California.

Died on Wednesday the 9th inst. at the residence of his mother in Rossville, Ohio, Manley N. WHIPPLE, in the 30th year of his age. Mr. Whipple had labored for several months past under a pulmonary infection, which he bore with patience and from which he passed to a state of future existence, with that resignation that becomes a good man. He was a native of Vermont; and like many of her sons, gited with a genius of a high order, and has left behind him many specimens of his skill in painting and sculpture. In the latter department he bid fair to become distinguished, and had his life been spared, would have stood high among the cultivators of the fine arts. It is often the fate of genius that the want of means to develope itself shall "freeze the genial current of the soul." And such a reverse it was Mr. W's misfortune to meet with. He has however left behind him evidences that he possessed the conceptions of genius, and the still more valuable quality, the heart of a friend; and whilst the canvass and the marble may speak the work of his hand, a still more indelible impression of his worth rests in the affections of his relatives and acquaintances.
Addendum: The obituary does not list his family but they were: Mother, Parthina Whipple [wife of Abraham]; Wife, Laura A. Woodworth Whipple Steadman [1818 - 1855]; and infant daughter Ellen Whipple [1842 - 1906].

Thomas Pressler, aged 38 years, who resided on the Franklin Road, (Maple Park) was fatally injured at the East Side Works of The American Rolling Mill Company on Saturday evening, June 1. Pressler had charge of a squad of millwrights who were to change the location of a jib crane. He climbed to the top of crane to take out a couple of bolts. Shortly afterward it was necessary to move this overhead crane through the shop, and the operator not knowing of Pressler's position, struck him with the crane, throwing him to the ground where his head hit a steel forging. His skull was fractured. Trepanning was resorted to in an effort to save his life but death occurred at 4:30 Sunday morning. Pressler is survived by his wife, five children and his father, brother, and two sisters, all of whom resided with him.
Pressler had been employed by The American Rolling Mill Company since the summer of 1915, and his life was consequently insured in the amount of one year's wages under the group insurance plan with the Equitable Life Assurance Society of New York.
The surviving children are Earl, Mary, Velma, William and Dorothy and to them the deepest sympathy of the many friends is extended. Mrs. Pressler, was formerly Miss Effie Martin, daughter of Frank Martin and the tragic death of her husband makes the second son-in-law of Mr. Martin to meet violent death. The first was the death of Ed Tobin killed eight years ago in a traction car accident.
The funeral services will be held from the residence Tuesday afternoon at 3 o'clock, Rev. Rittenhouse officiating. Interment in charge of J. D. Riggs in Woodside Cemetery.

Services for William Apple Goodman, 43, of 403 Glenn St., Trenton, will be held at 11 a.m. Wednesday at the McCoy-Leffler Funeral Home, with the Rev. Richard Bright officiating. Burial will be in Butler County Memorial Park.
Friends may call at the funeral home Tuesday from 6 to 9 p.m. The family suggests memorials be made to the Trenton Public Library.
Mr. Goodman died Monday at Middletown Hospital. He is survived by his wife, Velma; son, William A. Goodman, Jr.; daughter, Vicki Lynn Goodman; all of Trenton, his mother, Margaret A. Goodman; and sister, Peggy Short. He was preceded in death by his father, Layton M. Goodman, Sr.

The Middletown Journal, Wednesday, February 12, 1975

TRENTON - The Trenton branch of the Middletown Public Library will be closed today, in memory of Bill Goodman, chairman of the citizens' library committee, who died early Monday.
Arthur Wolman, library director, announced that a newly opened reading room at the Trenton brach will be named the Bill Goodman Reading Room, in a move that had been planned before Mr. Goodman's "untimely death" at the age of 43.
The naming of the room was an idea initiated by the library committee, and is being carried out cooperatively by the committee and library trustees.
"The board of trustees of the Public Library is planning to introduce at its February board meeting, to be held on the 18th, the naming of the reading room...in honor of Bill Goodman, for his creative leadership in transforming the space offered by the city of Trenton into a vital community cultural asset," Wolman commented.
Before being named chairman of the library committee, Mr. Goodman had for several months coordinated Trenton Lions' work in renovating the frame building at 17 E. State St., though he was ailing. Lions devoted more than 500 man hours to the project.
Mrs. Mark (Louise) Richter, secretary of the citizens' committee, said the reading room was "not part of the original library plan at all" and the plan for it was initiated by Mr. Goodman.
"There was an urgency about his dedication that was contagious. We all felt, because of his dedication and urgency, that we all wanted to contribute that same kind of effort," Mrs. Richter said of the total library project.
"We would not have a library if it had not been for Bill Goodman," she commented.
Ray Weidle and Mrs. Jo Iwig of the citizens' committee are in charge of arranging for a plaque for the formal dedication of the reading room.

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This site was created on August 12, 1998.

This site was updated 15 May 2000.