It is to be regretted that the early records of the Township cannot be obtained, but by some carelessness they have been mislaid, and are not to be found. Some of the most important facts are obtainable from the older settlers; but on many points we are unable to speak positively.

There is but little reason to doubt but that Eli Dixon was the first settler in the Township which bears his name.    As early as 1804 he moved to Ohio from Geor­gia, and settled on the farm now owned by Alexander Huffman.    A small creek running through the place is still known as Dixon's branch.    Four brothers came at once—Eli, Samuel, Stephen, and Joseph.   The only one who became identified with the history of the Township is Eli. Samuel was partially insane, and Stephen was killed while still young by some wandering Indians, on the banks of the Wabash River, in Indiana. Of Joseph nothing is known. It is to Eli that our attention is called. He probably came early enough to get his land in readiness for the spring planting. His farm lay in what was called the ''Four Mile" settlement. Along the banks of the stream named "Four Mile" the first settlers located and were known by that name. Few facts can be obtained relative to Dixon's history. He was at one time a captain in the Ohio militia, and after the organization of the Township he was elected a justice of the peace, but farther than that we cannot speak positively. As early as 1818 he moved with his family to Green County, Indiana, and there it is supposed he died. Dixon's whole life seems shrouded in a cloud of uncertainty, and no one now can speak of him from personal knowledge.

The next to come into the Township was a Kentuckian named Kercheval. Indeed some are in doubt as to whether he was not the first man, but the majority of opinions make him arrive later in the year than Dixon, possibly pretty nearly at the same time. Kercheval set­tled farther south on Four Mile creek, in section twenty-eight. He built a mill there, but was probably a resi­dent of this Township for only a short time, as his name does not occur in any of the later papers, nor is he ever mentioned by the present inhabitants. This mill was the first ever built in the Township; it stood on the east bank of Four Mile creek, on the same site where the Niccum mill now stands.

In 1806 Benjamin Harris moved to this State from Kentucky, and settled on the farm now known as the Thomas Huffman estate.

In 1807 Paul Larsh arrived from Pennsylvania, and settled on the present Larsh estate. The first year was spent in a camp, where a son, Newton Larsh, was born. There is a report existing that says he was born beside a large fallen tree, and that during the life of Newton Larsh no one was allowed to disturb that log. Until the time of his death it lay where it fell, a grim and silent landmark.

About this time a Kentuckian, whose name was Ben­jamin Harris, came from the south and located on the farm now owned by Thomas Huffman.

In 1808 the Truaxes settled in the western part of the settlement. This was on the swampy land mentioned in the preceding paragraph on "physical features." By means of drainage this land was reclaimed and made to yield rich harvests. Among the first settlers in this re­gion of swamp and bog were the Lybrooks, who located on what is now the Toney estate owned by Carey Toney. This is now the richest part of the Township. At heavy expense tiling has been laid and the water carried off in undergrouud channels. Mr. Jehu Rhea, of this neigh­borhood, has as much as one thousand five hundred rods of tiling on his farm.

                A settler contemporary with Lybrook was a Dr. DeCoursey, but where he was from and where he went cannot be stated positively.     Perhaps he was one of those .uneasy spirits who cannot endure the sight of civilization, and so kept fleeing before the steady march of progress, or perchance he was among those who fell on the frontier defending their homes against the encroachments of the Indians. In those days every able bodied man was required to serve on the frontier for a certain time. One division would go to the front and the remainder would stay at home to farm the land and also to act as a home guard and reserve force.

                About 1810 or 1812 settlements were made in the southern and eastern parts of the Township.

In 1812 Simeon Gard came from Pennsylvania to Cincinnati by water, and from there moved to Dixon settled on the farm now owned by Little John Gard. He entered four hundred and eighty acres of land in section twenty-five. Simeon Gard was born in Pennsylvania in 1777. He died in 1856. His wife, Anna, who was born in Virginia in 1777, died in the r 1850. Little John Gard was born in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, in 1802, and is still living on the in which his father entered in 1812. He was married to Nancy Wright, who was born in Erie County, Pennsylvania, in 1807, and who died in 1864. Mr. Gard is the father of eleven children, two of whom are deceased.  John was in was in the war of the Rebellion, in the Ninety-third regiment, Ohio volunteer infantry, and died at Nashville 1863.

About the time that the Congers settled in the Township Thomas Woodward located in the northern part the Township on Four Mile creek. The land he entered is now the property of Martin Swisher.

Sections one and two were settled by two brothers, Henry and Peynton Bristow, and the land now owned Levi Wyatt was entered by Phineas Hart.

                    Levi Gard was born in Pennsylvania in 1799. In 1756, he, with his father, Jeremiah Gard, started for Ohio, to look for a suitable locality for settlement. His father le the family mare and he walked the whole distance. They camped out on the way, and one night were greatly disturbed by the wolves, who were attracted to the camp by the savory smell of fresh venison. The Gards arrived at a point on Mill creek, about ten miles notheast of Cincinnati. Then Levi rented some land, and in that same year returned to Pennsylvania and was married to Sophia Barkdall, of that State. She was born in Germany in 1778, and died in 1857. Levi died in 1860. Both of them died on the first day of January. In 1798 Levi Gard and wife removed to Ohio, bringing their household goods in a flat-boat down the Ohio River. They settled a little south of Mt. Pleasant, Hamilton County, where they remained until the last week of December, 1806, when they removed to Union County, Indiana. In passing northward they had to ford the Miami River, which at that time of the year was full of floating ice. 1809 the Gards moved to section thirty-one of Dixon Township, and settled on the farm now owned by John Gard. All was forest around them, and there was no habitation to receive them, save the little log cabin without a floor. During the winter a temporary floor was made of "score" blocks, and soon afterwards a puncheon floor was made. John Gard still has in his possession the original puncheons used. Levi Gard served through the War of 1812, and was obliged to leave his family in the midst of a forest full of wild beasts and Indians, but no harm came to them. To Mr. arid Mrs. Gard were born eight children, of whom five are living; four are in Dixon Township.

John Gard was born in Hamilton County, in Decem­ber, 1806, and was married in 1832, to Nancy Sprout, who died in 1842. They had three children—Levi R. lives in Dixon; Elizabeth, wife of Ira Duvall, lives in Union County, Indiana; and Harvey L. lives in Israel Township. In 1860 Mr. Gard was again married to Dor­cas (Jones) Ammerman, widow of Martin Ammerman. She was born in 1820.

Mr. Gard owns the quarter section upon which his father settled. Mr. Gard moved to Rush County, Indi­ana, in 1833, and remained there six years, when he re­turned to Dixon Township.

Robert, son of Barfoot and Nancy Runyan was born in Rowan County, North Carolina, August 1, 1787. When nine years of age he moved to Madison County, Ken­tucky, with his parents, and two years later to Barren County, where he lived until he reached his twenty-first year, at which time he married Elizabeth Burns. In 1806 he moved to Somers Township, and built a cabin below the iron bridge. He remained here until 1808, and then settled on the farm now owned by Robert Har­ris, near Sugar valley, Dixon Township. While here he lost his first wife, who died in 1823. In the following year, 1824, he married his second wife, Mary, widow of James McAuley, with whom he lived until her death, which oc­curred in the year 1868. During the year 1812, Mr. Runyan took part in the war. After living near Sugar valley for twenty year, he purchased the farm on which he afterwards died.

Samuel Gordon came into Dixon in 1810, and made his location in section twenty. He was born in Guilford County, North Carolina, in 1795, and died in Dixon in 1860. He was in the six months' service in the War of 1812. He was married to Sarah Gard, who was born in 1803, and to them were born ten children, only three of whom survive, viz: Levi, who resides in Henry County, Indiana; Phebe, wife of Taylor W. Nicum, in Jackson Township, this County, and John, who occupies the home farm in Dixon. He was married to Esther Ann Stiffler, in 1865, and has a family of five children living, and one dead. He was in the war of the Rebellion as a member of the Forty-seventh regiment Ohio volunteer infantry.

George Parks emigrated with his parents, Samuel and Charity Parks, from Kentucky, in 1811, and settled on the farm now owned by John Conger, in section twenty-five. George Parks was born in 1801, and in 1825 mar­ried Mary Price, who was born in Butler County, Ohio, in 1805. The issue of this marriage was nine children, eight living, named as follows: Silas, Harriet, Elizabeth, Henry N., Catharine, Mary Jane, Charity, and Leander. Harriet and Henry reside in Grant County, Indiana; Catharine in Eaton, and the rest in this Township. Silas was married to Nancy (Rhea) Gordon in 1877, the widow of S. Gordon. Leander married in 1869, Livice Lewis.          

Among the earliest settlers of the Sugar valley neigh­borhood was Josiah Simonson. His son, Jessie, is now living there. Josiah Simonson was killed by the acci­dental discharge of a gun. He took the piece down, and, thinking it to be unloaded, he pushed the hammer back with his foot, putting his mouth at the same time to the muzzle, for the purpose of blowing the tube clear. The hammer slipped from under his foot, and the gun, which was heavily loaded, went off, sending the entire charge through the lower part of his head. He lived until early morning and then expired. Mr. Simonson was one of the pioneers of his district, and his frightful death cast a deep gloom over the community which had grown up around him.

In 1815 John Pinkerton settled in the township, and in the following year, 1816, Major William Gray, an officer in the Revolutionary war, settled on section fif­teen, on the farm now owned by Robert Gray.

Michael Runyon entered a quarter section in the southeastern part of the township, where the Congers now reside.   He afterwards sold out and went to Illinois. In 1812 Josiah Conger emigrated from Kentucky to Ohio and settled in Dixon Township, in the vicinity of what is now called Sugar valley.    He was a native of the Carolinas.    From there he moved to Tennessee.    He next went to Kentucky, and afterwards to Ohio, where he lived until his death, in 1843.    His death was caused by the accidental discharge of a gun.    Mr. Conger was a minister of the Christian church, having entered upon his sacred office when only twenty-three years of age, and continuing until his death.   The journey from Kentucky, which they were three weeks in accomplishing, was made in a four-horse wagon.    They settled on the farm now owned by Mr. Thompson.  His wife, Catharine (Runyon), was born in 1787, and died in 1871.    They were the parents of eleven children, five sons and six daughters as follows:    Nancy   (Marshall),   deceased;    Aaron R.; Moses; Anna (Hoffman), deceased; Sarah, widow of Alexander Rhea; Mary (McWhinney), deceased; John, deceased; Eli; Melissa, widow of Henry Overholzer; William; and Evelina, wife of Jacob Marshall.    Moses and A. R. Conger are the only members of the family now residing near Sugar valley, who were raised there.

Aaron Ross Conger, the eldest son of Josiah Conger, was born in Tennessee in 1805. He came with his father and mother first to Kentucky, and thence to Ohio, and settled in Dixon Township. In 1827 he was married to Ruth Marshall, by whom six children were born, four of whom are living. His first wife died in 1847, and in 1848 was married to Rhoda A. Robinson, who was born in 1825. She is the daughter of Isaac and Rhoda Robinson, who settled in Monroe Township. Mr. Conger has had no children by his second wife. He owns eighty acres of well improved land in section twenty-four where he resides.

Moses Conger, who emigrated to Ohio from Kentucky in 1812, settled with his parents in section fourteen of Dixon township, this county.    He was born in 1807, and in 1828 married Phoebe Price, who was born in 1807. To them were born nine children, five of whom are living: Sarah J., wife of Meeker S. Morton; Eliza­beth A., wife of Lemuel S. Bennett, William W., living in Dixon township, and John A., who resides in Illinois.

William W. Conger, born in 1814, married Julia Wilkinson in 1860. She was born in 1843, and is the daugh­ter of George Wilkinson. Mr. and Mrs. Conger have four children, all living: Emma, Royal, Edward, and Bertha. Mr. Conger owns forty-seven acres of land in section twenty-four.

In 1810 Jacob Marshall settled in Dixon, on the farm now known as the Marshall estate, in section twenty-four. Marshall was a Marylander, and his wife, Rebecca Mur­ray, was from the same State. Ten children were born to them, five of whom are still living, as follows: Josiah, who is living in this township; Edmund, in Indiana; William, in Butler County, Ohio; Jacob, in Harrison Township, and Ephraim in Kansas. Josiah Marshall married Harriet Price in 1834, the issue of which union was six children, four of whom survive, viz: Mrs. David Wilkinson, resides in Washington township; Mrs. John R. Burson, Mrs. John Brower, and Mrs. John Hickman, in Dixon. Jacob Marshall served six months in the War of 1812.

Daniel Brower was born in Virginia in 1803, and em­igrated to Ohio in 1815. He married Sarah Shively, who was born in Stark County, Ohio, in 1811, and died in 1877. Four of their nine children are living, two in Dixon Township, and two in Indiana. Jacob Brower, the father of Daniel, was born in Virginia in 1772, and settled in Lanier Township in 1815, where he died in 1832. His wife was a native of Maryland, and died in 1876. The old folks were the parents of eleven children.

Thomas Pinkerton came to Dixon in 1815, with his father, John Pinkerton, who entered land in section thir­ty-two. John Pinkerton subsequently represented Preble County in the State legislature two terms. Thomas was born in South Carolina in 1793, and married, in 1816, Margaret McGaw, by whom he had seven children, two of whom survive: Elizabeth, wife of John B. Foster, liv­ing in Illinois, and W. A. Pinkerton, in this township, W. A. was born in 1821; married, in 1843, Maria Sterrett, who was born in 1821. They have had four children, two living. Mr. Pinkerton has held the office of justice of the peace six years, and has been trustee of the town­ship some fifteen years.

Major William Gray settled in Dixon in 1816. He was a native of Pennsylvania, born in 1755, and emigrated to this county from Tennessee. He entered the land in sec­tion fifteen, which Robert Gray no w owns. Major Gray was in the Revolutionary war, and served during almost the entire period of its continuance. He died in 1849. His wife, whose maiden name was Ann Thornberry, was a na­tive of North Carolina, born in 1764, and died in 1854. They had five boys and six girls, three of them now living, viz.: Mrs. Ann Garvis, in Union county, Indiana, Mrs. Elizabeth Shoemaker, in Grant County, Indiana, and Mrs. Cynthia Shoemaker, in Darke County, Ohio. John Gray, father of Robert, now residing in this township, was born in North Carolina in 1797, and came to Ohio with father in 1816. He was married to Nancy Rhea, was born in 1799. Her father was one of the early tiers of Washington Township, having located there early as 1810. Six of the thirteen children born to and Nancy Gray are now living, namely: Robert this township; Mrs. Thomas Reed, near Springfield, Illinois; Mrs. J. W. Cook, in Jay County, Indiana; Clark Logansport, Indiana; James, in Arizona, and Margaret wife of James Paddock, in Kansas. Robert Gray married in 1864, to Rachel Cunningham, widow of H Cunningham, and has two children.

Nancy Cooper, widow of Benjamin Cooper, Sr., emigrated to Preble County from Kentucky with her family in 1816, and settled in section seventeen.    She was in Woodford County, Kentucky, in 1775, her maiden name being De Coursey.    Benjamin Cooper, Sr., died Kentucky, in the year 1803.    There are two children now living—Mrs. Jane   Davis, widow of Jesse Davis living in Carroll county, Indiana,   and   Benjamin in this township.      Benjamin   Cooper, Jr.,   was born in   1804,   and   was   married in    1837,   to   Susannah Flora,   who   was   born   in   Franklin   county,   Virginia in   1819.     Mr. Cooper began in the woods on farm now owned by his daughter, Mrs. Ross.    This he cleared up, having purchased it of William De Coursey in 1835.    By hard work and industry he has accumulated a fine property.    He has given to each of his children as they married and left the old home the sum of five thousand dollars.    His surviving children are Mrs. Smith Railsback, Mrs. David Railsback, and Mrs. F. V. Ross.

Carey Toney moved into Dixon and settled into section six in 1819. He was born in Buckingham County, Virginia about the year 1779, and died in this township. His wife, Elizabeth (Doren), died at the advanced of ninety-seven or ninety-eight years. They had a family of ten children, four now living, namely: James near Logansport, Indiana; Archibald, Jonathan and Harrison, in Dixon. Archibald was born in Franklin County, Virginia, in 1801, and came to this township with his parents in 1819. He has been twice married; His first wife was Dorcas White, born in 1802, died in 1850. In 1851 he was married to Catharine Whitesell who was born in 1821. By his first marriage he had five children, who are all living, and by his second marriage ten children, eight of whom are living.

Harmon Toney emigrated from Virginia to Ohio 1819, and located on the farm now owned by Anderson Toney. His wife was Fanny Kingley.

Carey Toney was born in section eight, Dixon Township, in 1842, and in 1863 married Sarah Moss: who was born in 1846 in Carroll County, Indiana.    Four of their six children are living.    Mr. Toney resides in section seventeen of Dixon Township.

William, son of Harmon Toney, was born in Dixon Township in 1838, and in December, 1859, was married to Margaret E. Witt, who was born in Union County, Indiana, in 1842. Two of their three children are Andrew H. and Orla, L. Minta died in 1880.  Mr. Toney owns one hundred and ninety acres adjoining his residence in section eight, and one hundred and twenty acres in section six, where he is building a new house.  Mr. Toney owns one hundred and ninety acres adjoining his residence in section eight, and one hundred and twenty acres in section six, where he is building a new house.

Joseph Miller was born in North Carolina in 1772 and removed from that State and settled in Somers Township in 1818. In 1820 he moved into this township and set­tled in section thirty-six. Here he died in March, 1859. His wife, who was Ann Hodgens, was born in 1778 and died in 1856. Of their seven children three are now living, viz.: Robert H., Martha C. (Stubbs) and Joseph H., who resides on the old homestead. Joseph H. married for his first wife Margaret Elizabeth McDivitt, who died in 1841, and he subsequently married Hannah S. Booker, born in 1821, and whose parents were early settlers in the county. By his first wife there were born three chil­dren, one of whom is deceased. He had no children by his second marriage.

Samuel Morton was born in Warren County, Ohio, in 1819, and came with his parents, Benjamin and Hannah Morton, who were early settlers of Israel Township. He married Susan Kinney in 1856, who was born in 1832. They have had five children, four of whom are living. Noah is at home, as are also John and Kate. In 1870 Samuel Morton was elected township trustee and served two terms. Mr. Morton has built a large number of houses in Dixon Township.

Ora P. Morton was born in 1857, in Dixon Township, and he is the oldest child of Samuel and Susan Morton, who now reside in section thirty of Dixon Township. Mr. Morton married Miss Anna Honsher, who was born in 1857. He is the owner of one hundred and twenty acres of land located in section thirty-six, Gasper Township.

Samuel Pottenger was born in Kentucky, in 1790. While a child, in 1880, his parents emigrated to Butler county, Ohio. He died in 1859, his death being caused by injuries received from a runaway team of horses. His wife, Jane McCowen, was born in 1799, and is still living. She emigrated to Preble county with her parents from Tennessee, in 1816. Her mother lived to be one hundred and seven years old. To Samuel and Jane Pottenger were born three children, all of whom are still living. Nancy Jane married Cornelius McDivitt and re­sides in Dixon Township. Mary Ellen married Edmund Murphy and lives in Butler County. James H. lives in Dixon Township.

Cornelius McDivitt married Nancy Jane Pottenger in 1860. They have had three children, all of whom are alive. Their farm, consisting of two hundred and forty acres, is under a good state of cultivation. There has not been a death on this farm for fifty years.

William Pottenger came into the township in 1823, and settled in section ten. He was born in Wayne Township, Butler County, Ohio, in 1805, and was married to Mary Monfort in 1834. She was born in 1812, and died in 1879 Mr. Pottenger, although he settled here when the country was still quite new, has ever since resided within a mile of the place on which he first set­tled. He is the father of ten children, eight living and two dead, as follows: Elizabeth, Henry, Thomas (who was killed at Gettysburgh  in  1865), Catharine, Wilson, Ella, John, Margaret, Mary, and William (now deceased).

Samuel Bell, born in Ireland in 1784 emigrated to Ohio from South Carolina, and settled in Israel Township about the year 1817. His wife was Jane Hamilton, born about 1790, She died in 1868, and her husband the same year. Their children were six in number, five of whom survive: Andrew lives on the old place; John lives in Iowa; James lives in Kansas; William and Na­than in this township; William, born in 1822, in Israel Township, married, in 1857, Sarah McCallum, who was born in 1825. They have six children living and three dead.

James Rhea was born in Kentucky in 1800. His wife was Mary Gray. To them were born ten children, seven of whom are still living, as follows: Ann I., wife of Ben­jamin Glessner, is now living in Marion, Indiana; Alex­ander resides in Greenwood County, Kansas; John Rhea, in Eaton, Ohio; Jehu, on the old homestead in Dixon Township; Elizabeth, wife of David R. Dooley, in Grant County, Indiana; George W., in Hanover County, and Nancy, wife of Silas Parks, in Dixon Township, sec­tion nine.

Mrs. Nancy Harris was born in 1812. Her parents, Andrew and Rachel Lytle Lintner, came from Butler to Preble County at an early day, and settled in Dixon Town­ship. Nancy, who was their second child, was born in 1812, and was married in Butler County to Benjamin Harris, in the year 1829. For about five years after their marriage they continued to reside in Butler County, and about the year 1835 they removed to Preble County, and settled on the farm of one hundred and fifty-seven acres, in Dixon Township, where Mrs. Harris now resides. To Mr. and Mrs. Harris were born seven children, of whom two are living, viz.: Judge A. L. Harris, of Eaton, and Eliza J., wife of Levin Murray. Mr. Harris died in 1872, and his widow now has the sole management and care of the farm, which she keeps in good order.

James H. Lewellen was born in Dixon Township in 1830. His parents, Philip and Anna Lewellen came to Preble County from Kentucky at an early day, and set­tled in Dixon Township. They were the parents of eleven children.

In the year 1853 James H. was married to Frances M. Gavin, who was born in 1832. Her parents, John and Elizabeth Gavin, are dead. To Mr. and Mrs. Lewellen have been born three children: James C. lives in Indiana; Lizzie married Samuel C. Weist, lives in Dixon; and Charles Edwin is dead.

William Duggins was born in Preble County, in 1824. His parents, William and Sarah Duggins, came from Kentucky to Ohio at an early day. William, their young­est son, was married in 1849, to Sarah, daughter of Robert and Mary Runyan, who were early settlers of this county. Six children have been born to them, all of whom are living and are married. James H. lives with his mother in Dixon; William T. is in Washington Township; Mary D. is the wife of Finley Kincaid, of Washington; and Elmer E. and Cora A. are at home. Mr. Duggins died in 1875, and his widow lives on the home place of one hundred and sixty-five acres of land in section thirteen, of Dixon township.

Smith Charles was born in Guilford county, North Carolina, in 1784, and in 1805 came to Warren County, Ohio. In 1807 he came to Preble County and settled in Dixon Township. He was in the War of 1812 for six months. For thirty years he was the Dixon township treasurer. His wife, Nancy Kercheval, was born in 1784 and died in 1823. There were seven children by this marriage—James, Elisha, Reuben, John P., Mary, Eliza­beth, wife of Leroy Larsh, living near Richmond, Indiana, and Sarah, residing in Dixon township with her brother William. Smith Charles married for his second wife Elizabeth Hibler, a native of Kentucky. Three of the four children born of this marriage are living, viz.: Thomas W., William H. and Nancy, widow of John Jennings, of Butler County. Thomas W., born in 1825, married, in 1853, Mary Flora who was born in 1834. He occupies a part of the old home place. William H., who also lives on a part of the homestead, was born in 1828, and in 1854 married Sarah E. Leech. She was born in 1836.

John P. Charles was born in Dixon on the old place, June 20, 1815. In 1853 he married Mrs. Sarah E. Jack­son, widow of Dr. William M. Jackson. She was born in New Hampshire in 1823.

During the years 1845-6-7 Mr. Charles was the editor of the Eaton Register, and then bought the Hamilton In­telligencer, which he sold six months afterwards. In 1880 he again assumed editorial control of the Eaton Register, which position he still retains.

John M. Daugherty was born in Butler County, Ohio, in 1823. John M. and Sarah Daugherty were his par­ents. His father died when John was young. In 1832 he came with his grandfather, Samuel Hunt, who settled on the farm now owned by Mr. Daugherty. His mother joined them soon afterwards. In 1845 he was married to Sarah, daughter of John and Lucy R. Truax, who settled in Preble county at an early day, and for many years lived just south of the Daugherty farm. To Mr. and Mrs. Daugherty were born four children, of whom all are living: Mrs. Libbie Reynolds, of Eaton; John S., who married Lizzie Parker; G. W. lives in Eaton; and Lewis C., who married Cora Surface.

Mr. Daugherty owns about two hundred acres of land in sections one and two of Dixon Township. He has for a number of years been president of the Preble County Agricultural board, and has always taken an interest in every laudable enterprise.

Michael Fleisch was born in Germany in 1820, and in 1840 came to this country; stopped for eighteen months in Philadelphia, and then came to Butler County, Ohio, and worked for six years near Somerville. In 1843 he married Catharine Meekly, by whom he has had five children—three girls and two boys: Jacob lives in Kansas; Joseph is in Dixon township; Sarah is the wife of John Shafer; Matilda married Emery Davies, and Nancy is at home. About the year 1850, Mr. Fleisch came to Preble County, and bought one hundred and twenty acres of land in section five of Dixon township. From time to time he added farm to farm until he owned about a thousand acres in Dixon Township. He has given away part of this vast tract of land to his children, and now owns the whole of section five, as good a farm as there is in the county, and undoubtedly the largest. Besides this he owns about five hundred acres in Indiana. Mr. Fleisch keeps his vast farm in perfect order, and in a good state of improvement. He deals extensively in fine stock, and makes the raising of hogs a specialty. His farm presents an attractive appear­ance, and is one of the finest tracts of land for miles around.

Joseph, the second son of Michael Fleisch, was mar­ried in 1865, to Lucinda Laflan, who was born in Union county, Indiana, in 1846. Their seven children are still living: Lottie, Jacob, Lawrence, Ida, Viola, Luella and Varner. Mr. Fleisch owns two hundred and eighty-six acres of well improved land in section seven.

William B. Parker was born in New Jersey in 1818, and came to Preble County about the year 1835, in com­pany with his mother, Sarah Parker. In 1845 he was married to Mary Ann Burley, daughter of David and Jane Burley, who came to Preble County about the year 1848. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Parker settled on Paint Creek, in Gasper Township, and in 1857 moved to their present farm of one hundred and sixty acres of land in Dixon Township. Three of their five children are living: John, near New Paris; Daniel, near Flor­ence Station, and Mary E., the wife of Sylvester Daug­herty, of Dixon township.

Stephen Card was born in Union county, Indiana, in 1836. His parents were Lorenzo and Malinda (Per-kins) Gard. His father died in 1836, and his mother afterwards became the wife of Ebenezer Paddack, and is still living. In 1866 Stephen was married to Sarah Dillman, daughter of David and Hannah Dillman. She was born in 1846. To Mr. and Mrs. Gard have been born four children: Ida L., deceased; Oscar, Emma J. and Clifford.  Mr. Gard owns one hundred and sixty-four acres in section eighteen.

Charles B. Simonson is the tenth child of Jesse and Mary Russell. Jesse Simonson came to Ohio from Es­sex County, New Jersey, about the year 1822, and Mary Russell came from Kentucky. They were married in 1823, and have had eleven children, of whom four are living. Charles B. was born in Dixon Township in 1839, and in 1867 was married to Keziah Osborn, of Cham­paign County, Ohio. After their marriage they settled on the farm of eighty acres in section twenty-five, of Dixon Township, where they now reside. They have no children. Mr. Simonson has just erected a fine new house.

Mrs, Eliza A. McDivitt came to Preble County with her parents in 1825; she was born in Pennsylvania in 1816. She became the wife of Robert McDivitt, her maiden name being Fry. Her husband died in 1863. He was born in North Carolina in 1813. Mrs. McDiv­itt is the mother of eight children, named George W., Cornelius, Catharine, Elizabeth, Joseph, Mary, Ellen, and John A.

Cornelius was born in 1838, and in 1860 married Nancy Jane Pottenger, who was born in 1836. They have had three children.

Charles Larsh moved to this township and settled in sec­tion four in 1830, coming from Brown County, Ohio.    He was born in Kentucky in 1792.    His wife, Ellen Rains, whom he married in 1817, was born in Brown county in; 1798.    They had a family of ten children, all living but one.    John R., the oldest son, came to Preble County with his father in 1830, and in 1844 married Hannah Smith, whose parents were among the earlier settlers of the township, having settled in section twenty-three in 1816 or 1817.

William Silver, Sr., settled in Dixon in 1836. He was born in Salem County, New Jersey, in 1773, and in 1827 settled in Warren County, Ohio. He died in Israel township in 1848; his wife, Rebecca (Bates), born in 1776, died in 1849. Of the family of eight children, only three survive, one son and two daughters: William B. residing in Dixon, and Mrs. Martha Brown, and Mrs. Phebe Brown, in Huntington, Indiana.

William B. Silver was born in 1808, in Salem County, New Jersey. In 1835 he was married to Ann Johnson, and the next year settled in this township, removing from Warren County, Ohio. He has seven children liv­ing and two dead.

Thomas Morrow, who settled in section nineteen, in the year 1837, was a native of Huntingdon county, Penn­sylvania, where he was born in 1783. He was a local magistrate in his native county for seventeen years, being appointed justice of the peace by the governor.  He died in 1867 at Fair Haven, this county. His wife was Elizabeth Barr, born in 1788 and died in 1873, They had six children: David B. (dead), Mary, wife of Peter Tolan; Jane, Richard, Sarah Ann, wife of John Williams; Eliza (dead).

Richard Morrow was born in 1822; married in 1859, Isreldia Jones, who was born in 1836. They have five children living and five dead. Mrs. Morrow is the daughter of Andrew Jones, who was one of the earliest: settlers of Union county, Indiana. He was born in Bowling Green, Tennessee, in 1787, and was a soldier of the War of 1812. Died in 1859.

Silas Hart was born in 1808, and died in Dixon Town­ship in 1869, on the farm occupied by his son. By his wife, Hannah Enlinger, he had nine children, seven, boys and two girls. The boys are all living. Mrs. Hart re­sides with her son Alexander, who is a single man, Mr. Hart is the proprietor of the oldest tile factory in the county, and does a thriving business.

Charles Wilkinson emigrated from Kentucky in 1810 and located in Gratis Township, Preble County, Ohio. By his wife, Elizabeth (Evans), were born twelve children. William H. Wilkinson, the second son, married Anna Davis, in 1849. She was born in 1814, and died in 1878. To them were born eleven children, of whom eight are living, and in Preble County. Mr. Wilkinson, by dint, of industry, has been able to purchase a large quantity of land. His fine home is situated in section twelve.

C. T. Wilkinson was born in Lanier Township, Preble County, Ohio, in 1849, and married Sarah E. Wright, who was born in 1850.    Mrs. Wilkinson's parents reside in Gasper Township, and are old settlers.   To Mr. and Mrs. Wilkinson has been born one child, Nona Delia, in 1872. They reside on a farm of ninety-two acres of land.

James Crothers was born in Ireland in 1839, and in 1854 or 1855, emigrated to Ohio. In 1864 he married Nancy Downey, who was born in Ireland in 1844, and came to Preble County about 1855. They have had six children, all living at home. Robert, the father of Mr. Crothers, resides with his son. Mrs. Crothers' parents died in Ireland.

Elisha Wilkinson settled in section fourteen in 1856. , He was born in Butler County in 1816; married Rebecca Hazelton in 1840, and has had eleven children, five dead and six living.    Three reside at home, and three within a short distance of the old home.

Joshua D. Hickman was born in Maryland in 1810; emigrated to Ohio in 1840, and in 1856 settled in Preble county, Dixon township, section eleven, where he now lives. He married, in 1839, Abigail Wilkinson, who was born in 1820. Mr. Hickman is the only survivor of six children of Abel and Sarah Hickman. His own children are five in number, namely: Abel, Frances Ellen (Mrs. Isaac N. Saul), John D., Minerva Abigail (wife of Will­iam H, Duggins) and George P.  Mr. Hickman's farm consists of two hundred and three acres.

John Gentle was born in Frederick County, Maryland, in 1790, and came to Hamilton County, Ohio, in 1807, and to Preble County in 1813, settling in Eaton. He was a soldier of the War of 1812, serving six months. Be married Julia Hendricks in 1814, who was born in 1798. They had but two children: James B. and Elizabeth M; the latter died in 1833, in her sixteenth year. James B. married Catharine Acton, in 1843; she died in 1873, aged fifty years, having borne her husband six children,, four of whom survive.

John Taylor was born in Ireland, county of Leitrim, in 1812. Margaret Anderson, who afterwards became his wife, was also born in Ireland, in Roscommon, in the year 1809. Both crossed the Atlantic in 1840, and both landed in Quebec, and afterwards came to the vicinity of Oxford. They became acquainted in Butler County, and were married in 1842. They had six children, five of whom are living and four are single, and live with their mother. Eliza Jane is the wife of W. H. Collins, of Union county, Indiana; Margaret Ellen, William Morris, John Draper, and Mary Ann are at home. Mr. and Mrs. Taylor went to housekeeping in Butler County, came to Israel Township in the spring of 1854, and after remaining there four years removed to Dixon Township, where Mr. Taylor soon afterwards bought one hundred and thirty acres of land in section twenty-nine. John Taylor, the father, died in 1877.

John D. McDivitt was born in Ireland, in 1820. He came to Ohio from Pennsylvania. His wife, Elizabeth Pottenger, was born in 1825. They have had the follow­ing children, namely: Nancy Jane, Catharine, Charles Newton,. Ella, Laura, Samuel, Clarence, and William, five are now living.

Abraham Shoemaker was born in Virginia in 1840, and in 1861 emigrated to Indiana. In 1864 he removed to Ohio and settled in Dixon Township, at which time he was married to Miss Mary Kindley, who was born in 1842 on the farm in Dixon Township, where they now reside. Mrs. Shoemaker's parents were Daniel Kindley, born in North Carolina in 1797, and Susan (Weeks) Kindley, born in 1808. Mrs. Kindley, who could not read and write until after her marriage, acquired a fair education by hard study.

To Mr. and Mrs. Shoemaker were born seven children, four of whom are living—Daniel, Levin T., Martha, and Robert F. They own two hundred and forty acres of land in Dixon Township.

William H. Hemp settled in section twenty-two, in 1866 He was born in Maryland, Frederick County, in 1834, and removed from that State to Ohio in 1842. He married Cordelia Shaffer, born in 1846, and has one child, Calvin E.

John Flora was born in Virginia in 1831, and the same year came with his parents to Preble County. He mar­ried, in 1856, Mary Caroline Potterf, granddaughter of the pioneer, Gasper Potterf. Mrs. Flora was born in 1839; they have eight children, viz.: Jacob, Mrs. Royal Harvey, Ida Alice, Anna, Lovina, Minnie, Everett, and Edith.

John Dove, Sr., was born in Lancaster County, Penn­sylvania, in 1783, and emigrated to Butler county in 1814. His wife was Rachel Wetzel, born in Northum­berland County, Pennsylvania, in 1793. From Ohio he moved to Hancock County, Indiana, where he died in 1865. His wife survived him ten years and died in 1875.

John Dove, Jr., son of the above, was born in Butler County, Ohio, in 1815. In 1843 he died, near Trenton, in Butler County, Ohio. His wife, Elizabeth (Collins), was born in 1817, and is now living in Montgomery County, Ohio. Two of their children are still living, William C. and Marcella

William C. Dove was born in 1840. He was in the war of the Rebellion until 1862, when he was discharged for disability. He was enlisted in the Eighth regiment, company B, of the Indiana volunteer infantry In 1866 he married Sarah J., widow of C. W. Morris, who was killed at Atlanta in the War of 1861-65, while serving in the Forty-seventh Ohio, company B. They have had five children, two only of whom are now living.

John W. Cook became a resident of Preble county and Dixon township in 1871, having previously lived in Jay county, Indiana. The same year he married Miss Frances R. Wilkinson.

William Pugh was a native of Georgia, and settled at an early day in Dixon Township. His wife was Lucy Young.  William Pugh died in Illinois in 1864, leaving two children—Alexander, who lives in Indiana, and Sherwood, in Illinois- -who are all who survive of a familv of eight children.

W. D. Pugh, son of John and a grandson of William Hugh, was born in Preble county in 1846, and in 1870 married Josephine A., daughter of Isaac and Jane Dooley, born in 1847. Mr. W. D. Pugh has lived on his present farm of eighty-four acres since his marriage. One child has been born to him. Mr. Pugh served in the war of the Rebellion during the hundred days' ser­vice. He was engaged at Cumberland, Maryland, un­der General Kelly.

Frank O. Dunlap was born in Lanier Township, Preble County, in 1846. In 1872 he was united in marriage to Netta Johnson, born in 1851. She is the daughter of Isaac and Mary Ann Johnson, the latter of whom is now living in West Alexander. Her father died in 1879. Mrs. Dunlap is one of three children now surviving out of a family of seven. To Mr. and Mrs. Dunlap have been born two children.  Mr. Dunlap is now residing in section fifteen of this township.

Vincent Rose was born in. Washington County, Ten­nessee, in 1807, from which State he emigrated to Union county, Indiana, in 1827. In 1873 he moved to Ohio. His first wife, Sarah Bradway, was born in 1807 and died in 1863. Nine children were born by this mar­riage: Matilda Jane, wife of George Brown, resides in Israel Township; Thomas resides in Richmond, Indiana, and George in Liberty, Indiana. The rest are deceased. Mr. Rose's present wife was the widow of George Oxer, whom he married in 1874. Mr. Vincent Rose is the owner of sixty-four acres of land.

Harvy Paddack was born in 1847. In 1872 he mar­ried Frances, daughter of Lewis Paddack, who resides in Jackson Township. One child has been born to them— Ruth, in 1880.

Washington, the seventh child and fifth son of William and Fannie Bruce, of Washington Township, was born at the old home place, south of the present site of Eaton, in the year 1809. In 1852 he married Sarah Readmon, of Harrison Countv, Kentucky. She was born in 1822, and is living. For eighteen years after their marriage they lived in Kentucky and then removed to Marion County, Indiana, where they remained eighteen months, when they removed to their present residence in Preble County, and settled in section three of Dixon Township, just east of West Florence. They have one child, Charles W., who was born in 1858, and resides with his parents. Mr. Bruce, besides the one hundred and eighty-five acres of land adjoining his residence owns land near Eaton, and in Indiana

Thomas B. Thompson settled in section twenty-three in 1877. His father emigrated from New Jersey, and settled in Butler County, Ohio, where Thomas was born in 1823. His first wife was Jane Crawford, who was born the same year and died in 1862. He had by his first wife five children, four of whom are now living. A daughter, Dorcas Jane, is the wife of Daniel Wilkinson. His present wife