The Pease Families of Montgomery County, Ohio

GEORGE PEASE, deceased, was a native of Suffield, Conn., born November 25, 1798. He received a good education, and in his earlier years, followed the profession of a teacher, and in 1825, emigrated to Ohio, coming over the mountains in a stage to Pittsburgh, Penn., at which point he and a companion purchased a canoe and floated down the river to Cincinnati, arriving there late in October. When he got to Cincinnati, his whole capital was $5, and he there spent the winter with his brother Horace, who was engaged in business at that point. In the early spring of 1826, he came to Miami Township and stopped with his brother Perry, who was running a distillery at a point called Lamme’s Mills. He was married, August 23, 1831, to Ellen Wheatley, to whom were born four children, viz.: Mary D. (deceased), Mindwell (deceased), Gamaliel and Ellen. His wife died November 16, 1839, and he was again married, April 6, 1841, to Mary A. Lamme, daughter of David Lamme, one of the pioneers of the Miami Valley. Of this union three children were born, as follows: Horace L., David W. and Harriet. At the opening of the canal, Perry Pease moved to Carrollton and built a mill, George taking charge of the old distillery, but shortly after he also removed to Carrollton, where he engaged with his brothers, Horace and Perry, and took charge of the office, in which capacity he was employed until 1848, when he retired from the mills, purchased a comfortable home and engaged in outside business. He was for many years Treasurer and General Manager of the Great Miami Turnpike Company, but in 1868, retired from active business to live quietly at his comfortable home, in the enjoyment and companionship of wife and family. Thus some seven years were passed when death again visited his happy fireside, taking from him his loving wife, who died August 30, 1875. He survived her until February 23, 1880. when he too passed away, leaving a name and record bright with good deeds. He became a Mason in April, 1822, joining Appollo Lodge, of Suffield, Conn., in that year, and at the time of his death was an honored member of Minerva Lodge, No. 98, at Miamisburg. by which the funeral services were conducted. He was also one of the organizers of the Presbyterian Church of Carrollton, and at his decease one of its oldest members. Politically, Mr. Pease was always a Whig and Republican, and, although interested in politics and in early life an earnest worker for his party, he never held nor desired official position. Mr. Pease, through all his years of business, was a man of sterling integrity, whose word was ever as good as his bond, and he died respected and.honored by the entire community in which he spent such a long and useful life.

As printed in the source³. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

CHARLES EDWARD PEASE.

Charles Edward Pease, president of the Buckeye Iron & Brass Works of Dayton, occupies a foremost place in the ranks of the representative business men of the city. Possessing an incisive, comprehensive knowledge of all phases of the business, he has also manifested intelligent anticipation of possibilities and thus in his work has ever met the increasing demands of the time. Determined and energetic, he is a dynamic force in business circles of this city and moreover is honored and respected by all, not alone because of the success he has achieved but also owing to the straightforward business principles he has ever followed.

Montgomery county is proud to number Mr. Pease among her native sons. His birth occurred in Carrollton, now West Carrollton, August 20, 1836, his parents being Horace and Sarah L. (Belville) Pease. His grandfather, Joseph Pease, was born, lived and died in Suffield, Connecticut, and was a son of Joseph Pease, Sr., also a native of that state. The ancestral home of the family was at Hull, England, whence representatives of the name came to the new world at an early period in its colonization.

Horace Pease was born in Suffield, Connecticut, February 14, 1791, and held the rank of sergeant at the time of the war of 1812 but saw no active service. Coming to Ohio in 1816, he located first in Cincinnati, where he resided for seven or eight years and then removed to Montgomery county in 1823, taking up his above on Hole’s creek, five miles southwest of Dayton, where in 1839 he established the first fruit distillery of the locality, making each and apple brandy. He continued the business for some years and also carried on farming but subsequently withdrew from those lines of business activity and made his home in Carrollton, where he established a flouring mill, which he conducted until 1851 or 1852 under the firm name of H. & P. Pease. I11 1839 he built a flouring mill in Dayton on East Third at the corner of Canal street, now owned and operated by Joseph R. Gebhart & Son. The mill was conducted by H. & P. Pease until 1866, when Horace Pease retired, spending his last days in honorable retirement in Dayton. For a long period he was recognized as one of the prominent business men of the city, being associated with various enterprises, including the old State Bank, of which he was a director from the time of its organization until it was merged into the Dayton National Bank. lie then continued as a representative of its directorate up to the time of his demise. In all matters relative to the welfare and progress of city, county and state he was actively and helpfully interested and for a number of years represented Montgomery county in the Ohio general assembly, leaving the impress of his individuality upon its legislation and laboring at all times for the public good. He was serving on the board of county commissioners when the old stone courthouse was erected, the designs for which he made and in the building of which he took a deep interest. He held membership in the old-school Presbyterian church and his life was actuated by its principles and teachings. His death occurred in Dayton in 1875, while his wife passed away in 1862. She was born at St. Georges, Delaware, in 1810, and was the daughter of a Presbyterian minister.

They were the parents of six children, of whom Walter Belville Pease, the eldest, served as captain of Company C in the First Ohio Volunteer Infantry during the Civil war. This was the first company to report at Columbus under the first call for troops. Pie participated in the battle of Bull Run and served throughout the period of hostilities, being promoted to a captaincy in the Seventeenth United States Infantry and acting as captain of General George B. Mc- Clellan’s body guard. After the close of the war he remained with the regular army until his retirement with the brevet of lieutenant colonel. He died at Las Vegas, New Mexico, in 1890. The other members of the family of Horace Pease are: Charles E., of this review; Frank, who died in childhood; Josephine, who married James Stockstill, of Dayton; Anna L., the widow of Horace Phillips, of Dayton; and Plattie. the deceased wife of Charles B. Clegg, of Dayton.

Charles E. Pease was about three years of age when his parents removed from Carrollton to Dayton and in the public schools he acquired his preliminary education, while later he attended the University of Wisconsin at Madison, but left that institution in his junior year, in 1859, and returned to this city. In the meantime he had had some business experience, having worked as a machinist in Dayton, but left the shops in order to enter college.

On his return he joined his father, Horace Pease, in the milling business and in 1857 he made his first independent business venture by operating a mill at Fulton, on the Rock river, in Wisconsin, where he continued with varying success for two years. In 1861 he entered the firm of W. B. Pease & Company, of Dayton, and assumed the management of the business when his elder brother, Walter B. Pease, joined the army for service in the Civil war. The following year, however, Charles E. Pease also responded to the call for military aid and in the fall of 1862 became connected with the quartermaster’s department at Nashville, Tennessee, under Captain Charles T. Wing, with whom he was associated until the close of the war. For a time, however, he was at Chattanooga and later returned to Nashville, where he remained until 1865, when he resigned and went to Memphis, Tennessee, where for two years he was engaged in the grocery business. On the expiration of that period he located in Cincinnati and was appointed United States gauge, in which position he was stationed at Covington, Kentucky.

After filling the position for eighteen months Mr. Pease resigned and in January, 1870, returned to his old home in Dayton, purchasing an interest in the firm of Hoglen & Grafflin, becoming successor of the latter. The firm at that time was engaged in the manufacture of tobacco machinery. The style was changed to Hoglen & Pease and so continued until the ist of June, 1876, when Mr. Pease purchased his partner’s interest and incorporated the present business under the name of the Buckeye Iron & Brass Works. He has continuously acted as president of the company, which is engaged in the manufacture of brass goods for engine builders, steam fitters, tobacco cutting machinery and linseed oil and cotton seed oil machinery, all of which are manufactured under patents controlled by the company. As the head of this enterprise, which is one of the most important productive industries of the city, Mr. Pease has long occupied a prominent place in business circles. The business has developed from small proportions until it is one of the largest manufacturing plants of the city, its output being shipped to all sections of the country. The plant is splendidly equipped with the latest improved machinery and the business, expanding year by year, now brings a most substantial income to the stockholders. Mr. Pease is also a director and stockholder of the Dayton Natural Gas Company and has other business interests of importance.

On the 3d of October, 1865, in Cleveland, occurred the marriage of Charles E. Pease and Miss Laura G. Erwin, a daughter of John Erwin, one of the pioneer residents of the Forest city. They have become parents of two sons: Calvin Erwin, who died in 1902 at the age of thirty-five years; and Edward Gardner Pease, now vice president of the Buckeye Iron & Brass Works.

Aside from his business interests Mr. Pease is well known in various connections. He is prominent in the ranks of Masonry, having attained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite and the Knight Templar degree in the York rite. He is also a member of the Mystic Shrine and in his life exemplifies the beneficent spirit of the craft. Moreover he is a faithful member of the Presbyterian church and in politics is an active republican whose efforts in behalf of the party have been far-reaching and beneficial. He served for twelve years as a member of the city council at Dayton, exercising his official prerogatives in support of many measures which have been of inestimable value to municipal development and growth. Many tangible evidences are given of his devotion to the city’s welfare, among which have been his effective efforts to beautify the city with flowers early each spring. His home is a handsome residence at the corner of Second and Wilkinson streets and this is one of the visible evidences of his life of well directed thrift and enterprise. What a man does and what he attains depends largely upon his opportunities but the well balanced man, mentally and physically, is possessed of sufficient courage to venture where favoring opportunity is presented and his judgment and even-placed energy generally carry him forward to the goal of success. Such has been the record of Charles E. Pease, who in his life embodies all the elements of what in this country we term a “square man” — one in whom to have confidence, a dependable man in any relation and any emergency. He is ready to meet any obligation of life with the confidence and courage that come of conscious personal ability, right conception of things and a habitual regard for what is best in the exercise of human activities. He is among those for whom every one has a pleasant smile and a hearty word of greeting because they know that they are sure to be repaid in kind.

As printed in the source¹. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

GAMALIEL PEASE, farmer, P. O. West Carrollton, was born in Miami Township, Montgomery Co., Ohio, May 31, 1837. His parents were George and Ellen, Pease. He was educated in the public schools of this county and the “Miami Valley Institute,” located in Miami City. In the year 1850, he went to Dayton and learned the trade of iron holder, at which business he continued till 1857. From that time to 1861, bre was employed farming and working in the distillery of his uncle, Perry Pease. In 1861, December 14, he enlisted in the Sixty-ninth Regiment Ohio Infantry, participating in the battles at Gallatin, Murfreesboro, Chickamauga and Mission Ridge. In 1864, he was transferred to the recruiting service, in which service he remained till the close of the war. While in this service, he visited nearly all the principal cities of the United States, both East and West. He was discharged February 14, 1865, having been in continuous service over three years. In 1869, March 18, he married Miss Mary Leisz, daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth Leisz, the father being a native of Germany and the mother of Pennsylvania. Their family consists of three children, as follows, viz.: Oscar M., born April 16,1870; Jennie G., August 31,

1871; Gecrge, September 27, 1876. Mr. Pease has made the cultivation of tobacco his principal business for several years.

As printed in the source³. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

DAVID W. PEASE, station agent and operator, West Carrollton, was born September 22, 1846. His parents were George and Mary A. Pease. He was ! educated in the public schools of Montgomery County, and also a graduate of the Miami Commercial College of Dayton, Ohio. He married, July 28, 1870. Miss Annie E. Lecompte, and their family consists of four children, viz.: Harry L., born July 13,

1871; GeorgeS., March 13, 1873; Louis D., December 6, 1875, and William B., July 7, 1880. Mr. Pease is employed by the Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati & Indi- ! anapolis Railroad Co., as station agent and operator at Carrollton, Montgomery County, Ohio, where he has been since the road was built in 1872. He is a member of the Presbyterian Church, also Trustee of the same. He also was Postmaster four years at Carrollton during the first administration of President Grant, which office he resigned to accept the position he now holds. He is a member of Minerva Lodge, No. 98, A., F.

As printed in the source³. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

PERRY R. PEASE, member of the city council of Dayton, Ohio, from the Fifth ward, and also a deputy in the office of the county auditor of Montgomery county, was born in West Carrollton, Montgomery county, August 21, 1855, a son of Joseph and Sarah (Cotterill) Pease, natives of the same county.

Perry Pease, the paternal grandfather of Perry R., was a native of Suffield, Conn., and came to Montgomery county, Ohio, somewhere about the year 1820, locating at West Carrollton, where he leased the water-power of the canal, then in course of construction or just finished, and engaged in the milling and distilling business for many years. Joseph Cotterill, the maternal grandfather of Perry

R. Pease, was also an early settler of Montgomery county, and for many years kept the hotel at Carrollton. Joseph Pease, father of Perry R., was engaged in business with his father until his death in 1861, at the early age of twenty-eight years, leaving his widow, now in her sixty-first year and a resident of Dayton, and three children — Perry R., Harry (deceased), and Carrie, the wife of N. H. Rice, of Dayton.

Perry R. Pease was reared in West Carrollton until fifteen years of age, in the meantime attending the public schools; he then entered the Miami Valley institute, a Quaker college near Springboro, Warren county, Ohio, where he was a student for three years, and then returned to West Carrollton and entered the general store of his step-father, being now fully qualified for the requirements of business. In this store he was soon admitted as a partner, and so continued for the period of twelve years, and then engaged in the cigar trade, in the same town, for two years. In April, 1882, he came to Dayton for the purpose of becoming a traveling salesman for a wholesale grocery, but this house having met with financial difficulties, Mr. Pease engaged with an uncle, William F. Fackler, in the painting and paperhanging business, which proved so satisfactory that he continued to devote his attention to it, and for the past eight years has been a contractor in this particular industry.

February 12, 1878, Mr. Pease was united in marriage with Louella Pease, born in West Carrollton, November 14, 1857, and a daughter of Perry J. and Lucy (Renley) Pease. Perry J. Pease was born in Virginia and came to Montgomery county, Ohio, when a boy, with his father, Edward Pease, and is now a well-known auctioneer of Dayton. Lucy (Renley) Peace was born in Dayton and is a daughter of John Renley. To the happy union of Perry R. Pease and wife have been born three children: Wilbur, born June 1 8, 1879; Frederick, December 29, 1888, and Ruth, September 21, 1892.

In politics Mr. Pease has always been a republican, and has ever been a popular, man with his party, for which he has been an active worker. In April, 1896, he was elected a member of the Dayton city council from the Fifth ward, and October 19, 1896, was appointed a deputy in the office of the county auditor, and has faithfully performed his duties in both capacities. Fraternally Mr. Pease is a Knight of Pythias, and socially enjoys the esteem of a large circle of friends.

As printed in the source². Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

OLIVER W. PEASE (deceased) was born in Henry County, Va., November 4, 1824, and emigrated to Ohio with his parents in 1832, locating in Montgomery County, where they lived continuously until the time ot their decease. Our subject was educated in the common schools of the county, and was engaged in agricultural I pursuits all his life. Mr. Pease was married, October 26, 1852, to Isabella Dodds, daughter of James and Mary Dodds. Mr. Dodds was a native of Ohio, and his wife

: a native of Virginia. Mrs. Pease was born November 8, 1825; Mr. Pease died September 24, 1878. He was a member of the One Hundred and Thirty-first Ohio National Guards, serving four months. Their family consists of three children, two sons and a daughter; J. Edward, the eldest, was born August 31, 1853; Fannie E. was born October 6, 1857; and Harry D., who was born July 6, 1859. Mrs. Pease resides on the old homestead with her children.

As printed in the source³. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.