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The Becker-Hemmerich Families

Information taken from “The Becker-Hemmerich Families” a Genealogical Collection by Arthur M. Schumann and W. H. Beers, History of Montgomery County, 1882

Randolph Township history recognizes the contributions of many different Becker (Baker) families through the years. Most are probably related to John I who was born on the Atlantic Ocean in 1737 when his parents moved to America from S. W. Germany (the palatinate region west of the Rhine). He had a son John II born in Bedford Co., PA. Later the family moved to Lancaster Co. PA. John II and his wife whose maiden name was Snowberger had 9 children who lived to adulthood, i.e., John III, Jacob, Samuel, Andrew, Marie, Henry, David, Elizabeth and Nancy. John II brought his family to Randolph Twp., Montgomery County, OH in 1815. He was accompanied by the William Hart family and they settled on adjoining farms in sections 4 and 5. John III soon married Rebecca Hart with whom he had five children, Henry (1816), David, Rebecca, Abraham and Annie. John III worked with his father John II to clear about 103 acres in Section 4. The two men working together made many improvements on the land including a saw mill along Pigeye Creek, a subsidiary of the West Branch. Both were millers and John III also served as a township trustee for a number of years. Rebecca Hart Becker died in November 1856. Her husband, John III, died a year later at about the age of 66. While growing up, young Henry and probably some of his brothers and sisters attended a nearby subscription school. This most probably was a log school run by Quakers at West Branch. Henry married Sarah Shiltz of Darke County in 1840. His father gave him the saw mill and 24 acres around it where he continued to ply his milling trade. In 1865, Henry built a new saw mill and shipped large quantities of black walnut to distant points on the C.H. & D. Railroad which stopped at Becker Station. Sarah and Henry had six children: Sarah A. (died age 22), Catherine (m. Fred Hemmerich), Thomas J. (m. Martha Hickman), John S. (m. Elizabeth Weybright), Clement and Isaac. Children of some of these later Beckers may have attended No. 19 school in 1906, i.e., Raleigh, Clifford and Ralph Becker and perhaps even Clarence and Ethel Baker.

Our readers may recall that an early hotel in Harrisburg stood at the SW corner of Rt. 48 and Rt. 40. This hotel went by several names but in 1880 it was called the National Hotel and was owned by Jacob E. Becker born in Lancaster Co., PA in 1833. His father was Henry Becker who may have been John III’s younger brother who bought a farm of 160 acres in Montgomery County, OH near Liberty (Madison Twp.). When Henry died in 1851, Jacob ran the farm for three years but after his marriage to Nancy Cox in 1857 tried various pursuits before settling into the restaurant and hotel business. He and Nancy had four children three of whom survived to adulthood: Charles E., Clara and Emma. Sometime later, Charles E. was running the local hotel under the name of Harrisburg Hotel. The sign in front of the hotel building shows up in many of Edwin Sink’s photos of Englewood ca. 1915.

The Berk Families, by Sue Cummings

Recently, Bob Frantz donated an original photo of the Louis (Lewis) Berk family to the historical society. Bob identified the people in the photo, including his grandmother Alice Berk Frantz, wife of Marion Frantz, his grandfather. I have sorted out the information for this column from Bob’s notes, biography of Henry V. Berk of Randolph Twp. from Beer’s 1882 History of Montgomery Co., and from phone conversations with Louis Berk (Brookville) and Margaret Berk Hough (Dayton), whose fathers were brothers and sons of Louis Franklin Berk. (Just for the record, Margaret Hough was my fourth grade teacher at Ft. McKinley School in Harrison Twp. and she is a current member of our society!)

Henry Berk, Sr. was a native of Hesse Darmstadt, Germany. He and his wife Margaret Abt had three sons. Both Henry, Sr. and his wife died at age 39 and only two sons were still alive in 1882, i.e., Lewis and Henry V., Jr. Henry V., Jr. was born in Germany in 1816 and trained as a cabinetmaker. He came to America in 1836, landing at Baltimore. Shortly thereafter, he traveled to Fredericks-town, MD, then Vienna Crossroads, Clark Co., Ohio and then to Dayton. NOTE: Henry V., Jr. undoubtedly came west over the newly built National Road! By 1857, Henry V. Jr. had purchased 28 acres in Randolph Twp. He had acquired 400 acres in Randolph Twp. by 1882.

In 1840, Henry V., Jr. married Anna Glass and they had eight children: Amelia, Anna, Enna, Ellen, Henry, Louis and Theodore. Henry V., Jr. saw that all of his children received some of his land. The Montgomery County Atlas of 1895 shows Henry Berk (the son) owning 160 acres (NE Qtr of Sec. 28) and Louis owning about 100 acres (NW Qtr of Sec. 27). The two farms were separated by Union Rd. and each was south of Wenger Rd. Their neighbors were Moists, Engles and Manns. The photo, ca. 1902, shows the Berk farmhouse, and Louis Franklin, his wife Mary and children Frank W., Clara F., Mary Alice, Harry Albert and Earl Ralph born between 1878 and 1893. Clara married Melvin Bennet and her daughter Ruth also is in the photo. Bob Frantz’s grandmother Mary Alice was the wife of Marion Frantz and their son Harry was Bob’s father. Margaret Berk Hough’s father was Harry Berk who married Martha Black. Louis’ father was the youngest son, Earl Berk, and he married Ethel Black, sister of Martha. The Blacks were from Covington, OH. More details on these families can be found in the society’s genealogy archives.

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Jim Oren relates that his grandparents, Harvey and Minnie Denlinger Engle (m. 1896) first owned a 50 acre farm on land on Rt. 48 now occupied by the Stillwater Center. They sold that farm when the county expanded the Stillwater TB Sanitorium and Harvey built a new house south of Little York. Before the family could move, the 1913 flood wreaked its havoc and even though the new house was not damaged, Minnie refused to move there in fear of another flood! Harvey then bought about 37 acres on the south edge of Englewood and built a frame and stone farmhouse and outbuildings. The family moved there about 1915 and continued to farm the land and stand market in Dayton for many years. The house is gone now but the Villas of Englewood Apts. (previously Canterbury Runn) now occupy the site at 507 S. Main St.

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Garwood - My Family Story

The following information was shared by lifetime member Roger Garwood at our “Show and Tell” program last March. Excerpts have been taken from a report written by Steven Garwood, his son, entitled “My Family Heritage.”

Three GARWOOD brothers came to America from Evesham, England in 1690. Their names were Richard, Thomas and Samuel. They settled in Garwood, New Jersey a town named after them. Roger’s grandfather, George (1895-1980) married Mary Edith BURKETT (1898-1950) and they settled in Pyrmont, OH. In later years they lived on Garland Rd. in West Milton. They had six children: Edward, Everett Eugene, Maryella, Rozanne, E. Dwain and Myron. E. Eugene “Red” Garwood, Roger’s father, was born on Dec. 4, 1917. He served in the Navy in W W II and returned home. Over the years he worked many jobs including running a bread truck in Union, selling Fuller Brush products and also working at Aero Products and later Wright Patterson AFB where he retired in 1980. Roger was born in Union, OH in 1939 on Martindale Rd. Roger has a brother Tom. The family lived for several years in the first brick schoolhouse in Union that had been remodeled into a residence. Roger graduated from Randolph and Tom graduated from Northmont.

Red’s wife was Bertha Elsie MAGGERT (1918-1954). Her parents were Forrest Independence (born on 4th of July) Maggert (1894-1944) and Alice HOOVER (1895-1981). Alice’s parents were Marion Samuel Hoover (1870-1964) and Amanda HOKE (1869-1944) and her grandparents were Jeremiah S. Hoke (1834-1907) and Mary E. Dohner (1834-1925).

Forrest’s parents were Pierce Riley Maggert and Rosetta Amelia FUNDERBURG. The Hokes, Hoovers and Maggerts all had large families so many descendants still live in the Union area. Ancestors are buried in many local cemeteries.

What makes genealogy lines most interesting is when facts about their everyday lives have been recorded. Some of the stories from the Garwood family include the following:

• Pierce Riley Maggert was a blacksmith
• Rosetta Funderberg Maggert was part Indian
• Son Forrest Maggert drove a gravel truck and was a carpenter
• Forrest and his wife Alice had ten children.
• Alice was one of 14 siblings
• Marion Hoover was a millwright and later worked out of his home on N.
• Main St. in Union sharpening saws.

Roger married Judy Ann KNAUS who grew up in Clayton and attended Clayton Consolidated School. The Knaus family has strong ties to Greene Co. Ohio and counts among their ancestors the COYS, BRANNUMS, SIDENSTICKS and ANKENEYS.

The complete Garwood genealogy is on file in the archives room. We welcome the donation of all family genealogies.

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Heck Family History

The following information was submitted by Sandy Gustin.

One of the long-time residents of Randolph Township was Jacob Heck, who at death owned a tract of land of about five acres, that being in the Southwest Quarter of Section 19, commencing in the center of State and Range Line roads where they cross each other. He also owned land in Section 5 and a part of Section 30 (which included a mill and distillery) –all three tracts located in Town 5, Range 5 East in Randolph Township, Montgomery Co., Ohio.

Jacob Heck (1807-1875) was born in Ohio and he married Marianna Stilwell (1812-1888) who was born in Maryland. They were married in Montgomery County, Ohio on 24 May 1832. They had the following six children: Julia Ann, Oliver, Elizabeth, James H., John, and Leonidas.

Julia Ann (1833-1910) married Dr. John W. Pence on 17 July 1864 and they had two children: Alvalston (1868-1868) and Luella (1866- ). They continued to live in Randolph Township. Luella married Samuel Gable and they inherited the land in 1902.

Oliver (1835-abt 1901) married Sarah Hyre on 7 June 1857. They had at least four children: William, Jennie, Cory, and Mary. Oliver and his family lived in Butler Township.

Elizabeth (1838-1902) apparently never married

James (1840-1922) married Mary Schreck (1841-1912) on 14 June 1866. They had a child, Clennnent (1862- ).

John (1842- after 1902) apparently never married.

Leonidas (1845-1905) married Martha Fox (1851-1919) on 28 September 1876

**This information was obtained from Montgomery County Deeds, Wills, Marriage Records, Federal Census and Clayton Cemetery inscriptions.

Herr - Continuing Story

A second story of Samuel Herr intrigues me. I had to get more information from Paul Herr about the family’s “cattle drive” along the National Road which he recorded on our “reminiscences tape” in June. I quote: “Hello, this is Paul Herr. My g-g-grandfather, whose name was Samuel Herr, moved to Montgomery Co. from PA in the early 1830s when my g-grandfather was three years old. Ten years after moving here and buying land, they became interested in getting more livestock. Livestock was much more scarce in the West than in the area in central PA where they had come from, so, they made arrangements to buy a large herd of cattle from their home area and drive them, on foot, all the way to Montgomery Co., OH. So, one summer I think they went by some means of public transportation, or whatever, to PA and bought the cattle and drove them West on foot all the way. They would stay overnight at various way stations or way houses where the cattle could be penned up. Each day they would take them on the drive further West to the next stopping place. My g-grandfather, who by this time was 13 years old, was a great help rounding up the cattle, keeping them moving and keeping them on the path. One night, when they stayed at a way house which was by no means fancy , they were permitted to sleep in a loft of the house . The loft was not full height, it was only about 2/3 as tall as a person when they stood up. I guess when you are sleeping you didn’t mind the low ceiling, but anyhow, during the night, g-grandpa got to dreaming about his day’s activities of chasing cattle. Not only was he dreaming but he was sleep walking and he raised up quickly to hit a cow with a stick to chase it back into line and bumped his head hard on the ceiling and that woke him up. And that is the story that has come down through these generations, of driving cattle all the way from central PA to northern Montgomery County.

My commentary: Walking all the way back to Ohio some 500 miles, driving cattle 400 miles over the National Rd. which was a dirt, gravel, crushed stone roadway, seems almost unimaginable in this day and age. We park our cars nearest to the entrance of a store, to save a few extra steps, and this is common place. The route they traveled: Annville to Harrisburg PA, 20 mi; Harrisburg to Hagerstown, MD, 74 mi; Hagerstown to Cumberland, MD, 81 mi; Cumberland to Uniontown, PA, 68 mi; Uniontown to Washington, PA, 44 mi; Washington PA to Wheeling, W.Va, 33 mi; Wheeling, W. Va. to Harrisburg (Englewood), OH, 200 mi.

Toll gates along the National Road were approximately every 11 miles in PA and 10 miles in MD and OH. Few of us today are very familiar with the temperament or the needs of cattle, some are docile and others can be quite headstrong and trying. Livestock was being driven over the National Road in great numbers, enterprising farmers built drovers’ stands where livestock could be fed and drivers were given a place to sleep. The Herr family story does not tell how many days the return trip took, surely it was from sunup to sundown every day. Did they drive cattle on Sunday? Probably not. How many miles on a good day did they travel? Was it just the two of them?

The expense: the tolls were paid in cash. The toll in PA was 16 cents for a score of cattle for every 10 miles of passage and higher in OH. Toll houses were about 11 miles apart in PA and 10 miles apart in OH. If anyone was on horseback it cost 4 cents for each 10 miles of passage. When they arrived at the Ohio River at Wheeling, there was no bridge. It wasn’t built until after 1849.

Did they have to ferry across or were they able to drive the herd across? How many head of cattle could be carried across the river at a time on the ferry? How much would it have cost? Did oxen pull the ferry back and forth? At Columbus-can you imagine cattle being driven on the National Road right past the Ohio statehouse?

NOTE: An 1844 poster stated the cost of traveling by stagecoach from Cumberland, MD to Indianapolis, IN, a distance of about 450 miles, cost $18.25. They traveled at 8 mph.

NOTE: To get a sense of time - some stagecoach companies in 1844 promised to deliver passengers from Zanesville to Columbus in eight hours for $2.00. From 1836 to 1838, the pony express traveled over the National Road and it took five hours to travel from Zanesville to Columbus. Farmers along the National Road sold grain and hay to travelers with livestock.

NOTE: The railroad reached Wheeling in 1853. By 1863 the railroads had captured all the crosscountry passengers and freight traffic to the Mississippi River. No longer did the shouts of drovers and clatter of six-horse teams echo from the National Road. Ohio had a tavern about every five miles along the road.

To learn more about the National Road read The National Road, Main Street of America by Norris F. Schneider or visit www.connerprairie.org/history online and www.route40.net/history/index.

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The only motel known to exist along old Rt. 40 in Randolph Township stood at the NE corner of Fox Rd. and Rt. 40. The farm was purchased in about 1948 by Joseph and Hazel Kern from Dayton. The house that stood on the corner was moved to the east and a chicken house on the farm was relocated to the corner and remodeled into a small frame motel with rooms for about eight overnight guests. The house kitchen served as the rental office when the motel opened in about 1950. Joseph died in 1959 and Hazel continued to run the motel for awhile. In later years, the motel rooms were rented out to boarders. In 1965, Hazel sold the property to the Clayton EUB Church and the motel eventually was torn down. Thanks to Bill Weist for getting the photo from Betty Kern, thanks to Betty for family history and to Janet Hamilton for deed information.

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On September 17th, I selected a photo of the John F. Moist homestead to use for the “History Photo of the Month” in our local paper, The Englewood Independent.

I thought that you, our members, might enjoy learning more about this family who resided on Union Rd. in Randolph Township for many generations. First, I want to thank Verna Moist Dohner for sharing her family photos with the society and letting us copy them for our genealogy archives. Part of their family history appears in the “Centennial Portrait and Biographical Record of the City of Dayton and Montgomery County” published in 1897 by A. W. Bowen & Co., Edit. by Frank Conover.

The Moist ancestors immigrated from Switzerland and Henry Moist, John F.’s grandfather settled and died in Juniata County. PA. He had ten children including Jacob, father of John F., who was born in 1820. Jacob came to Montgomery County, Ohio in 1845 and married Annie Hocker in 1821. She was the daughter of John and Catherine (Sterling) Hocker also of Montgomery County.

John and his wife settled on a farm near Harrisburg and lived there one year, when, in 1848 he bought a 62-acre farm on the east side of Union Road, between Wenger and Old Salem Roads. Children born to Jacob and Annie were John F., Almira J., Frances C., and three that died in infancy. Mrs. Moist died in 1879.

John F. was born January 16, 1847 and received an education in the district school (probably Happy Corner). He attended the National Normal Institute at Lebanon, Ohio and trained to become a teacher. He taught five years in Randolph, Clay and Madison Townships. At age 30 he married Sarah E. Ralston on April 17, 1877. After their marriage they settled on the old Moist farm which he purchased in 1887. John F. and Sarah had six children: Ianthe M., Harvey C., Jacob F., Albert R., Arthur G. and Annie M. The house photo, taken in 1902, shows all members of this family except son Jacob. Daughter Ianthe graduated from Randolph Township H.S. in 1895 and also became a teacher. The family were members of the River Brethren Church.

Verna Moist’s father was John F.’s youngest son, Arthur Moist, who married Edith Stoner in 1910. They lived in Dayton for a few years but had moved to the homeplace by the time Verna was born. By 1926, Verna and her parents were living in Englewood on the corner of Elm St. and Rt. 48 and the homeplace had been sold to Albert Hoke and then Howard Hoke. The two story brick house and outbuildings were destroyed in the early 1960s to make way for the construction of Interstate 70. The farm was located on Union Rd. where the I-70 overpass is now. The 1902 photo of the Moist homestead including house and barn and many other Moist family photos are on file in the society archives. We’ll hear more about their neighbors, the Mann family and Berk family in other columns.

After the photo of the Morgan House appeared in the June 2nd issue of the Englewood Independent, your editor received numerous phone calls about discrepancies in the story. Many of the individuals that I have talked with since then have given more information about this famous restaurant and I would like to pass this on to all of you in this column.

The photo article referred to Leon “Bud” Wirth and his wife Eleanor who “operated” the restaurant from 1950 until 1965. Many readers thought this implied that the Wirth’s owned the building when in fact they were leasing it or that they were the first to run the restaurant. I’ll try to set the record straight with information received since the photo appeared.

From Geneva Bragg: The Morgan House was built originally by Whitey and Elsie Ellis (or some say Elsass). It probably opened in 1948 (Eva Woolery recalls having her wedding reception in late 1947 in the unfinished building). The Ellises lived upstairs in an apartment above the restaurant with their son Bobby. Geneva Bragg worked for Ellises during 1951 and 1952. Later she worked for Bud and Eleanor Wirth who leased the business from the Ellises around 1954. (The Ellises wintered in Florida and first Bobby, and then his father, drowned within a two year period.) Geneva became manager in 1965, after the Wirth’s left and opened a restaurant in the ThunderBowl bowling alley across the street. Geneva continued as manager into 1969 when the property was sold to Joanne White. After the sale, the restaurant never reopened and was boarded up. Sometime later, the Boy Scouts used the building for a “Haunted House” fund raising project. Finally, it was deemed unsafe and torn down. The exact date of its demolition is not known.

Geneva has promised more photos and she even has a “Moron” Badge that was awarded to customers who could eat three “Moron” Burgers!

Photos were donated to the society by Rita (Wirth) and Ted Dyke along with photos of her parents “Bud” and Eleanor, a snapshot of the original drive-thru menu board and an original menu. For those interested, a “Moron” Burger and fries was 99 cents!

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Oren Family Stories

Excerpts taken from “Oren Family Stories” by Rev. Ira A. Oren, Ruth E. Oren and Virginia E. (Oren) Groves

Who has not stopped at the intersection of Old Salem Rd. and Union Rd. and enjoyed looking at the old white frame Happy Corner Church of the Brethren (originally the Lower Stillwater Church) on the SW corner or the modern church complex built in 1979 on the NW corner? Our eyes also would stray off the road to a brick house on the opposite side of the road which for many years had a sign hanging from the porch saying “Happy Corner - Oren House.” Did you ever wonder about the story behind this sign?

A recent family history donated by James and Betty Oren provides the Oren family tree and, through personal recollections of relatives and friends, helps clarify the impact the Oren Family had on the development of Happy Corner Church. Only the highlights of some of the stories will be given here. Much more information along with photos can be studied in the society’s genealogy archives.

The Oren family can trace their ancestors to England, Ireland and even Russia. Later generations settled in Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Indiana and Clinton and Highland Counties in Ohio. Our interest will focus on Alva Warren Oren born to Quaker parents Ira and Mary Ann Oren in Indiana. After attending the public schools and completing 3 years of Normal School, Alva and the rest of his family moved to Carrol Co. TN where he taught school and engaged in the sawmill and shingle business. Alva united with the Church of the Brethren in the New Hope Church in Carrol Co. and was called to the ministry. In 1899 he married Alma May Mummert, whose parents were Aaron and Minnie Mummert of Phillipsburg, OH. After spending some years in Tennessee, Alva and Alma moved to Trotwood ca. 1904. By 1906 they owned a small house just east of Happy Corner School. Alva and Alma had five boys: John David, Ira Aaron, Samuel Byron, Jesse Myron and Harold Alva. The older boys went to Happy Corner School, the younger ones to Clayton and all but Harold (Parker Co-op) graduated from Randolph. From 1906 to 1941, Alva took an active part in the free ministry program of Happy Corner Church.

When the subdistrict schools were consolidated in 1921, Alva bought the old Happy Corner School building and remodeled it into a “big brick house.” John David Oren, described by Rev. Ivan Gascho of Happy Corner Church as a pillar of the community, came into possession of the house in 1937. He and his first wife Naomi cared for 33 local “foster” children until she passed away. Later, after the children were grown, he married Kathryn Conklin and they lived in the house until John’s death. Oren family members had lived in this house for all but 4 years between 1923 and 1987. In September 1987, Kathryn Oren donated the Oren House at 7038 Union Rd. to Happy Corner Church according to the wishes of her late husband. In later years the house was used as a church parsonage.

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The Smith Family of Section 3, Randolph Township

(REF. W. H. Beers, 1882 History of Montgomery Co., tax records, atlases and early maps of Randolph Township)

Section 3 is the most northeastern section in Randolph Township.  Its
eastern boundary is the Stillwater River and it is bisected by the
Dayton-Covington Pike (Ohio Route 48).  Because of its proximity to the
river, it was one of the first sections populated by the early
settlers.  Those owning land in this section in 1802 were David Mast,
Daniel Hoover and David Hoover.  By 1826 David Sheets owned the David Hoover farm.  This article will discuss the relationships between the
Sheets and Smith families, all of whom operated mills in Section 3 along
a mill race that had been developed along the Stillwater River.

Thomas J. Smith (b. 16 Aug 1815) of Lexington, Rockbridge Co. VA, lost his father at a very young age.  He apprenticed himself to a harness and saddle maker for five years and then, in 1838, left VA with his widowed mother and sister to come to Montgomery Co., OH.  He began manufacturing harness and keeping a hotel.  On July 1, 1841, he married Nancy E. Sheets (b. 1 Jul 1823 in Montgomery Co., OH), daughter of riflemaker Martin Sheets of Union.  They had a son, Emor E. (b. 11 May 1842) and a daughter Lora A. (b. 9 Aug 1850), now Mrs. Guye.

Thomas Smith tired of harness making embarked in the distilling
business to make a living for his young family.  The Smith distillery is
shown on the mill race along the Stillwater River in Section 3 in the
1851 Atlas of Montgomery County, just south of Martin Sheets rifle
boring mill.  Smith went back to farming when the price of wines
declined. By 1869 his son, E. E. Smith, is shown as the owner of 82.25
acres of land in Section 3.  The elder Smith died in 1879. In 1882,
Beers reports that widow Smith was living in the house Thomas had built
on the northeast corner of Main St. (Dayton-Covington Pike) and First
St. (?) in Union.  Early plat maps of Union do not show a First St. The
1869 map of Union does show a Mrs. Smith living on the SW corner of Main and Martindale Rd. (which was called Cross St. on all the early maps).

Young Emor Smith was put in charge of his father’s distillery at the
age of 15 years.  Even with only a common school education, he showed
remarkable skills as a business man and got the distillery back on a
sound financial basis.  In 1862 it is reported (in Beer’s history book)
that he made $22,000 in 7-months time, paid $10,000 in taxes, donated
$800 to the war effort and bought his way out of military service by
hiring a substitute to take his place.  We are not sure  when  the
distillery  and  other mills ceased operations.

Emor married Amanda Smith (b. 21 Dec. 1839 in Montgomery Co.), daughter of Samuel Smith, on May 12, 1864.  Their only child was a daughter named Wealthy (b. 11 Feb. 1868 - d. 11 Nov. 1870).  After the death of their daughter, they adopted another girl, Minnie M. Schanck (b. 5 Mar 1868) who was still residing in the Smith household in 1882.
Emor was active in community affairs.  He was one of seven men who
proposed the Toledo, Delphos & Burlington R. R. (later became the C.H. & D.) In 1882 he was serving as Township Clerk and representing the county at the congressional convention.

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The Industrious Wagoner Family

Taken from the “Biography and Family History of Floyd R. Wagoner” by Gerald C. Wagoner and conversations with Carl Wagoner.

Three Wagoner brothers have led fruitful lives along the National Road. Their names are very familiar to residents of this area. Carl Wagoner, the eldest, owns and operates Wagoners Store at 324 S. Union Rd. which will celebrate 50 years of service in 2006. Middle son Gerald helped Carl with the store in the early years but later ran a shoe repair business in the rear of 14 W. National Rd. The youngest son, Glen, operated Wagoners Landscaping and Nursery on Rt. 40 for decades - now the business concentrates on power equipment. But what about the family behind these good German Baptist Brethren entrepreneurs?
The family traces its origins to Pyrmont, Germany where a possible ancestor, Phillip Waggoner may have lived. Family tradition says that he immigrated to Pyrmont, PA and then some family members came to Pyrmont, OH. When others moved to Carroll County, IN, they set up a new community which they promptly named “Pyrmont.” Somewhere along the way, the second “g” was dropped in the surname and the family became known as the Wagoners.

Floyd Raymond Wagoner, the father of Carl, Gerald and Glen, was born in Pyrmont, IN near the middle fork of Wildcat Creek on Sept. 30, 1898 to Emanuel and Eva Hufford Wagoner. Floyd had two brothers, Artus and Alva. Their grandfather Leonard also lived nearby. Leonard’s father, John, Jr. had emigrated from Dayton, Montgomery County, OH in about 1828. Before that John’s family had lived in Huntington Co. PA.
Floyd married Mary Cecil Denlinger on December 17, 1921. Cecil, as she was called, was born one mile south of Englewood on November 11, 1900. After her marriage, her father Allen purchased an 87-acre farm 2-1/2 miles west of Englewood on the National Rd. (some may remember this in later years as the Caylor farm). They made this their first home. In order to supplement their farm income, Floyd and Cecil sold produce in Dayton. They would load their wagon with meat, butter, chickens, eggs, vegetables and fruits and sell it at their stand, first on St. Clair St. and then on Jefferson St. They continued this for about fifteen years until the markets closed during W W II.

In 1929, Cecil and Floyd bought the 80-acre farm on Union Rd. originally owned by Samuel L. Herr. The large brick house had been built in 1868 and the barn about ten years later. Floyd and his sons farmed while daughter Mildred helped her mother. They survived the Depression by working hard, selling at market and living frugally. Beginning in the 1940s, Floyd and his sons also farmed for Jesse Lowe, Howard Evans, Harry Motter, Ezra Cassell, Elwood Nolan and Charles Wenger. All these farms now are housing developments or shopping centers. Carl built the Brethren clothing store in front of the barn in April 1956 and he and his wife Hazel continued to live in the old brick house after the parents moved to a new house just south of Fairview Cemetery. By 1967 the store had been expanded and the barn was being used as a factory to sew suits and trousers. Today, hats are the only items made on site.

The Waymire Families, by Sue Cummings

Since R. Lynn Binkley recently donated a Sheets rifle owned by his great-great grandfather Daniel Waymire to the Society, I thought it would be interesting to inform our membership about this settler and his family. Some of the earliest emigrants into Randolph and Butler townships in Montgomery County were members of several Waymire families, who were Quakers from Randolph County, North Carolina. The records can be quite confusing since first names repeated over several generations. The account here was put together from information from Beers 1882 History of Montgomery County, Dora Brentlinger's book, Beside the Stillwater, genealogical information provided by R Lynn Binkley, and other information that I could glean from records on Ancestry.com.

One thing for certain, the lands on both sides of the Stillwater River proved to be very attractive to at least two Waymires who took out land patents in the early 1800s. Most of those who came to this part of Ohio were sons of John Rudolph Waymire who was born in Hanover, Germany in 1725. He had fifteen children (possibly by three wives) while in North Carolina. Among them were sons Daniel (b. 1776) and Solomon (b. 23 Feb 1791). Daniel and his line are covered in Beers history and will not be discussed here. Solomon settled in Randolph Twp. (later became Butler) and married either Mary Coppock or more likely Sarah Mast He had nine children including Daniel (b. 8 Jan 1825-d. 18 Jan 1898). It is this Daniel Waymire whose Sheets rifle was donated to the Society. This rifle, which was made about 1850 by Henry Sheets in Union, OH, has never left our area since its purchase and is a very important part of local history. We are fortunate to have it!

Daniel Waymire married Catherine Hoover (b. 12 act 1821-d. 10 Apr 1876) and they had five children, among them John Henry Waymire (b. 16 Mar 1853-d 1 Aug 1926). John Henry married Sarah Minerva Cassel (b. 28 Feb 1854- d. 25 Oct 1937) and they had seven children. The eldest, Lela May Waymire (b. 16 Oct 1880-d. 19 Jan 1950), married John J. Nill in abt 1898. The Nills lived at 29 N. Main St. in Englewood (site of today's Dairy Queen). They had ten children, the eldest being Edith Marie Nill (b. 28 Nov 1899- d. 25 May 1976). Edith married Enos Emerson Binkley and they had two children, twins Robert Lynn and Leona. Thus, we can trace the lineage of our Sheets rifle from the time it was made through all its owners up to Lynn Binkley who has so kindly passed it on to the Society.

EDITOR'S. NOTE: Residents of Englewood from the late 1940s until 1971 may recall shopping at Wolf’s Hardware and Variety Store and finding all kinds of items they needed. Bill Weist, Jr. grew up in Englewood and holds fond memories of this store. He decided to talk with Virginia Wolf who owned the store with her husband Douglas to learn more about the Wolf family store and its operations. The following paragraphs summarize some of the material gathered by Bill as it was related to him by Virginia Wolf. Thanks to these two members for sharing this history.

Carl Wolf purchased his first store in Englewood from Lon Karns. Karns store had been located in the rear of the large brick building on the NW corner of Rt. 40 and Rt. 48 that housed the Farmers and Merchants Bank. Carl operated this store until the end of WW II. When his son Douglas returned from the service, the father and son operated the store jointly until 1952. (The bank building burned down later but visitors to Englewood today will see a brick plaza and large wall mural on the site that used to be the original Wolf’s Store.)

Carl and Doug next purchased a lot from Sam Berger on the south side of Rt. 40 west of the Pure Oil Station. Two small houses on this site were moved to N. Walnut St. and then Wolf’s put up a new brick and concrete block store at this location. The new building was 55 x 79 feet. The formal opening of the new Wolf’s Variety Store took place during the latter part of October 1952. (In later years, Milton Federal Bank bought the building and used it for their Englewood branch office. Disher’s Bicycle Shop was located there and another bike shop is there now.)

By the late 1950s, Wolf’s had moved from the new building because of a lack of good customer parking. The third and final site for Wolf’s Store was on the north side of National Rd. at the NE corner of Walnut St. and Rt. 40.

This building had off-street parking on three sides and front and back entrances. Whistler’s Garage, Palace Auto Sales and Engle’s SOHIO gas station occupied this location during other periods. Wolf’s operated out of this site until they closed for good in 1971. During this period of time, they were a great asset to Englewood.

Wolf’s Store on NE corner of Rt. 40 and Walnut St. in Englewood.
Douglas and Virginia Wolf operated from this location until 1971.

Taken from information supplied by members Joyce (Woolery) Martin and Jane (Woolery) Schumacher.

William Henry Woolery (b. 17 Nov 1852 - d. 19 Apr 1939) came to Randolph Township, Montgomery Co., Ohio from Baltimore, Carroll Co., Maryland. His parents were Christopher John Woolery and Matilda Beaver. William married a Randolph Township girl, Anna Catherine Betz (b. 6 May 1853 - d. 14 Dec 1934) on 14 Jan 1877. Anna’s parents were John Frederick Betz and Christina Barbara Geiger. William was a farmer and owned a farm situated along the Dayton-Covington Pike (a.k.a. N. Main Street, Ohio Route 48). [NOTE: A photo showing the husband and wife sitting in front of their farmhouse at 8146 N. Main Street, taken ca. 1930, was used as the “History Photo of the Month” in the Englewood Independent on September 5, 2007. The house no longer stands, but the driveway back to the farmhouse is called Woolery Lane and a large apartment complex occupies most of the farmland today.]

William and Anna had eleven children. Luetta B. (b. 31 Mar 1880-d. 5 Mar 1888), John Henry (b. 14 Aug 1882-d. 7 Feb 1962), Mary Catherine (b. 5 May 1884-d. 28 May 1954), Ellsworth William (b. 26 Jan 1886-d. 3 Apr 1963), Charles Russell (b. 23 Jan 1888-d. 6 Aug 1959), George Jacob (b. 9 Jan 1890-d. 11 Feb 1963), Chester Berlan (b. 29 Aug 1892-d. 11 Oct 1932), Mina Pearl (b. 29 Oct 1894-d. 4 Mar 1989), Dewey Jerome (b. 19 Nov 1897-d. 18 Dec 1975), Benjamin Franklin (b. 31 Jan 1900-d. 30 Nov 1964) and Nellie E. (b. 23 Mar-1901-d. 17 Sep 1917). The parents and seven children are buried in Shiloh Park Cemetery in Harrison Township. Mary (m. Weztendorf) and Charles are buried in Dayton Memorial Park Cemetery and Benjamin is buried in Polk Grove Cemetery, Butler Township.

John Henry Woolery, the eldest son, married his first wife Anna C. Smith (b. 14 Feb 1888 - d. 14 Apr 1912), daughter of Peter and Mary C. Smith,  on 19 Dec 1907. Two children were born of this union: Lawrence William (1908-1994) and Floyd Russell (1910-1985). After his first wife’s death, John took a Champaign Co. girl, Bertha Etta Grubbs (b. 5 Dec 1884 - d. 10 Jun 1972), as his second wife. They had six children: Thomas Sargent (1915-1999), Anna Catherine (1917-1924), Robert Truman (1919-1972), John Henry, Jr. (1921-1927), Paul Eugene (1922-1992) and Wayne Eldon (b. 1928). Robert and his wife Dorothy Alice Younce were the parents of Jane and Joyce who shared this family genealogy of their grandparents and g-grandparents.

John Henry inherited the Woolery farm on the Dayton- Covington Pike after his father died in 1939. He lived there until his death in 1962. During those twenty-three years, he farmed, operated a truck garden and raised his children. John also was active in local government. He served on the Randolph Township board of trustees continuously from 1929 until 1962, serving as President and lastly as Vice President. He was a member of Concord Methodist Church and Just-a Mere Grange in Clayton. During his service to the community, he saw hundreds of acres of township farmland become residential sites. When interviewed shortly before his death from a heart attack at age 79, he said he took special pride in the growth of the township’s fire and protection services. It is only fitting that the old township fire station at the end of Woolery Lane is still in use by the City of Clayton.

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