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Source:
MEMORIAL RECORD
of
BUTLER COUNTY, OHIO
Containing Biographical Sketches of Representative Citizens of
the County
Together with Biographies and Portraits of all the
Presidents of the United States
Publ. Chicago
Record Publishing Company
1894
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REV. EDWARD W. ABBEY,
pastor of the First Presbyterian Church, has been in the
present relation since 1880. He was born in New
York State March 12, 1848, and is a son of Tyler H.
and Julia A. (Whitney) Abbey, the former a native of
Connecticut, and the latter of New York. Our subject
passed his early life in New York State, and was
educated at Watkins Academy and Hamilton College,
graduating with the Class of ’71. He then entered
Lane Seminary at Cincinnati, and graduated in 1874.
Rev. Mr. Abbey was regularly ordained at Terre
Haute, Ind., and had charge of the Central Presbyterian
Church at that place until coming to Hamilton. In
the fall of 1857 he was married to Augusta
Hamill, daughter of Samuel Hamill, who
was a lawyer of Sullivan, Ind. She was born in
Wisconsin, and at the time of marriage was a resident of
Terre Haute, Ind. Two children were born to this union,
Edward and Samuel. I n 1894 Rev.
Mr. Abbey took a trip to Europe, traveling
through Germany, Great Britain and France, being absent
about six weeks. The degree of Master of Arts was
conferred upon him at Hamilton College. The Abbey
family are from a somewhat illustrious ancestry,
and the progenitor, Jonathan Abbey, came
from England in 1622, and settled in Massachusetts.
Source: Memorial Record of Butler County, Ohio
- Publ. 1894 - Page 404 |
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JOHN ADAMS
Source: Memorial Record of
Butler County, Ohio - Publ. 1894- Page 23 |
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JOHN Q. ADAMS
Source: Memorial Record of
Butler County, Ohio - Publ. 1894- Page 39 |
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JOHN AUER,
who resides at No. 18 Clark Street, Middletown*, was
born in Bavaria, Germany, June 7, 1834, and was a lad of
eight years when he accompanied his parents, John and
Cora (Gussner) Auer, to the United States, settling
with them in New Orleans, La., where the father was
employed as a laborer. In 1847 the family came
north to Cincinnati, where the father engaged in the
market business until his death. His wife also
died in that city.
At the age of thirteen the subject of this notice
entered a tobacco factory and learned the trade of a
roller, which he followed until 1862, meantime working
in two factories. During the latter year he became
foreman in Mersman’s factory, having the
supervision of twenty employes. While thus engaged
he was told by Mr. Mersman that a new
factory must be started, in which enterprise he was
offered the position of foreman, sharing equally.
He had saved $700, and this he invested in the new
concern. The factory ran four months, or until
business was slack. Meanwhile he drew out his
$700, and at the expiration of the time he sold his
interest for $4,000.
In 1864 our subject became connected with
Paul J. Sorg,
who was then foreman in a foundry, being a molder by
trade. The firm of Auer & Sorg
started with about twenty-eight hands and a capital of
$6,000, the manufacture of plug chewing tobacco being a
specialty. In this they continued until the fall
of 1869, meeting with a steady, though slow,
advancement. In the fall of the above named year
they consolidated with Wilson & Jacoby,
who owned a factory in Cincinnati, but resided in
Middletown. Under the firm title of Wilson,
Sorg & Co., the new concern erected in Middletown
a plant with a capacity of one thousand pounds daily,
situated at the corner of Sixth and Canal Streets, where
the Wilson & McCalley factory now stands.
About $20,000 was invested in the enterprise. In
1870 Mr. Jacoby sold out to the other
members of the firm, and in 1878 Sorg & Auer
disposed of their interests to Wilson &
McCalley, the business being worth at that time
nearly $100,000. During the existence of the firm,
our subject had charge of the buying and manufacturing,
but after withdrawing from the concern, he and Mr.
Sorg established the present immense plant of
P. J. Sorg, under the style of Auer & Sorg.
The first building erected by the firm was three
stories in height, with basement, and was 40x140 feet in
dimensions. By introducing improved machinery, the
output was increased to about four thousand pounds
daily, and employment was furnished to about one hundred
and fifty hands. At the start $60,000 was invested
in the enterprise. Our subject retained his
connection with the firm until 1884, when the present
business of the P. J. Sorg Company was
established. During his connection with it the
number of employes had been doubled, the capacity
increased to ten thousand pounds daily, and the capital
increased to $350,000. Each year had seen
additions made to the buildings and plant, and the
business had enjoyed uninterrupted prosperity.
The principal manufacture was that of plug tobacco, and
the products were sold throughout the entire land.
At Cincinnati in 1857 occurred the marriage of Mr.
Auer and Miss Amelia Graves, a cultured lady,
who presides over the elegant home with charming grace
and hospitality. Four children were born to Mr.
and Mrs. Auer, but three were lost by death in
childhood. The only surviving child is Anthony,
who lives in Middletown. Besides valuable real
estate in Middletown our subject is a stockholder in the
Merchants’ National Bank. He has invested largely
in business blocks and other property at Gainesville,
Tex., and near that place has a stock ranch of fifteen
hundred acres. A portion of each year is spent in
Texas, and the investment in that state is proving a
fortunate one, satisfactory results having already been
secured therefrom. While not active in politics,
he is always stanch in his allegiance to the Democratic
party, whether in the glory of a victory or in the
shadow of defeat. For some time he has been a
member of the City Council. Socially he is
identified with the Order of Elks. His honorable
and useful life has not only been productive of
prosperity for himself, but has won for him a high place
in the estimation of the people of Middle town.
Source: Memorial Record
of Butler County, Ohio - Publ. 1894- Page 190
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SHARON WICK'S NOTE: No. 18 Clark Street,
Middletown, OH is an empty lot now. (2025) |
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NICHOLAS D.
AYERS is one of the representative
farmers of Reiley Township, and lives near the state
line. He has a good farm, and its appearance
indicates the thrift and good management of the owner.
He was born in Bedford County, Va., Mar. 30, 1854.
His parents were John J. and Adeline (Mitchell) Ayers,
both natives of the same place in Virginia, where the
mother died. The father was born in 1832, and the
mother in 1830. The latter died on the old
Virginia plantation, Apr. 9, 1879, and the former still
lives in his native state. He is a Southern man,
and identified with the interests of that part of the
country. He was loyal to the Confederacy, and
served in the army through the struggle for their
rights. The brothers of his wife were also
soldiers in the Confederate army, where one of them
died.
Our subject was instructed in the private schools of
his native state, where he had but a limited opportunity
for a good education. He removed first to Indiana,
and later to Ohio, settling in Butler County. He
was married Oct. 23, 1881, in Franklin County, Ind., to
Mary Jane Blacker, a daughter of Patrick and
Margaret (McCue) Blacker, and a representative of
one of the pioneer families of Butler County. Her
father was born in Ireland in 1802, and her mother in
Pennsylvania in 1803. They were the parents of one
son and seven daughters. The brother and two of
the sisters are deceased. Mrs. Ayers was
born in Franklin County, Ind., Aug. 9, 1839. Of
Mr. Ayers’ family there were four sons and one
daughter. The first-born, Rufus Bennett,
died when seven months old; William McDaniel is a
farmer in Virginia; John Henry lives in Virginia,
and by trade is a carpenter; and Alice Ann is the
wife of Mr. Johnston, of Virginia. Mr.
and Mrs. Ayers have had no children.
Our subject purchased the excellent farm upon which he
now lives in 1889, and moved his family here the
following year. He had previously owned a farm in
this township, which he sold before making the purchase
of the home place. The farm consists of one
hundred and sixty-six acres of very desirable land, with
all the requirements for successful farming, plenty of
wood, living water and a soil of great fertility.
Politically Mr. Ayers affiliates with the
Democratic party, and though loyal to the cause of the
South is now heartily in sympathy with the Government.
He is a generous, whole-souled gentleman, and a man whom
it is a pleasure to know, dispensing a generous
hospitality and ever ready to lend a helping hand to
those deserving his favor.
Source: Memorial Record of Butler County, Ohio -
Publ. 1894- Page 368 |
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DAVID H. AYERS
is a native of Union Township, and was born Nov. 13,
1867. His parents were James and Loretta Emma (Hulse)
Ayers, both from Union Township. There were
three children born to them, two sons and one daughter:
Weller, David H., and Bertha, the
wife of Walter W. Voorhis, of Liberty Township.
The father of our subject was a farmer, and spent his
entire life in Union Township. He died Jan. 28,
1883, at the age of forty-three years, and his wife
survived him until October, 1893, when she died at the
age of fifty-two years. She died in the faith of
the Universalist Church, of which denomination she was
an ardent supporter.
The paternal grandfather of our subject was Elias
Ayers, who came from the East to Ohio with his
parents when a boy, and lived with them at LeSourdsville
until he was married, when he moved to a farm which his
father gave him, consisting of two hundred and ten acres
on section 18, which he improved, there living until his
death. He was a thrifty, industrious man, and
accumulated considerable property. The maternal
grandfather of our subject was David Hulse, who
was also from the East. He was a farmer, and came
to Ohio when a boy. He lived for a time in Indiana
and Illinois, but afterward returned to Ohio, and now
lives in Union Township, which he has claimed as his
home for seventy-nine years.
David H. Ayers, the subject of this sketch, has
spent his entire life on the farm which he now occupies
and owns. He received a common-school education
and obtained much practical knowledge by observation.
He was united in marriage with Anna Block,
Feb. 23, 1893. She is a lady of refinement and a
member of St. John’s Evangelical Protestant Church of
Hamilton. Politically Mr. Ayers
affiliates with the Democratic party, and fully believes
in the principles enunciated by that organization.
His farm consists of one hundred and sixty-seven acres,
and he has a pleasant home, surrounded with many of the
comforts of life.
Source: Memorial Record
of Butler County, Ohio - Publ. 1894- Page 440 |
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