In the books' own words, not ours, with obvious scanning errors fixed. The later printing (1898) is folded below the first. Families often supplied these stories to the publisher, so check key dates.
Born 1833
From History of Summit County, with an outline sketch of Ohio (1881), A portrait and biographical record of Portage and Summit counties, Ohio (1898)
CAPT. GEORGE BILLOW, undertaker, Akron, the representative of his line of business, has an eventful history. He was born April 2, 1833, in Hesse Darmstadt, Germany, and is the son of John and Elizabeth (Milljus) Billow, both natives of Hesse-Darmstadt. His parents, with five sons and two daughters, emigrated to the United States about the year 1844, and settled on a farm near Sandusky, Ohio. George remained with his parents till he was 17 3'ears old, and then went to Fremont, Ohio, to learn the trade of a wagon-maker; he spent three years there at learning his trade, and then he went to Cleveland, where he finished in fine workmanship; he then came to Akron, and for a time was employ'ed by E. A. Collins. About this time he was married to Miss Mary, daughter of Conrad and Charlotte (Graff) Fink; their marriage took place on Sept. 19, 1854. His wife, as well as her father and mother, were natives of Germany. After his marriage he returned to Cleveland for a time, and then again came to Akron, when he engaged in the manufacture of spokes for Mr. Collins, and for Oviatt & Sperry, of Tallmadge. About the time he was engaged in this business, the war of the rebellion had grown to a point when President Lincoln issued a call for 300,000 men. Mr. Billow sold out and closed up his interests as best he could, and then entered the army; he enlisted in Co. I, 107th 0. V. I., as a private; this was a German regiment, and was enlisted specially for Sigel's command; he entered the army in July, and in the following November he was promoted to Second Lieutenant; shortly after this he rose to the rank of First Lieutenant, and then was made Captain of his company. Much of his term of enlistment was spent in detail service, though he saw some hard fighting; he was in the Fredericksburg campaign, and was at the battle of Chancellorsville from July 1 to 4; in the first bayonet charge at this battle, the Captain and thirty men of his company were lost. Hagerstown and Boonsboro will also l)e remembered by him as places of battle in which he participated. From Warrenton Junction they embarked for South Carolina; their command had been so cut up that the ist Division of the 11th Corps was united with Gordon's Division, and the command known thereafter as Gordon's Division. They went to Folly Island, under command of Gen. Q. A. Gilraore. Capt. Billow was at the capture of Fort Wagner, and about Christmas, 1863, he was at the battle of James' Island; he was subsequently ordered to the assistance of the troops at Jacksonville, Fla.; there he was stricken with typhoid fever, and, after recovering, he was detailed Brigade Commissary of Subsistence, which position he held for three months, and had the honor of having been complimented by Commissary General Kilbourn on his success. Again he was detailed, and this time on the staff of Gen. Foster, as Post Commissary at Fernandina; he remained there about nine months, and was then sent to Jacksonville as local Provost Marshal, and was there for three months, and then he was returned to Fernandina, where he remained till the close of the war. When he returned from the army he engaged in the grocery business in Akron, with Mr. C. Kolb; thev were in business for about two years, when he took charge of the co-operative grocery; he then, for about one and a half 3'ears, was traveling and selling stoneware. Having seen much of the South during the war, he removed to Huntsville, Ala., where, for four years, he was on a cotton plantation; finding this speculation unprofitable, he returned to Akron, where he arrived the ist of April, 1875. He has now been Notary for five years, and is doing an extensive business as agent for different ocean steamship lines and in foreign exchange; this, in connection with his business as undertaker, makes an extensive trade. He is a member of Akron Commandery, No. 25; and while he was in Alabama, he was a member of Huntsville Commandery No. 7, and held the office of Grand Captain of the Guard of the order in that State. Politically, he is a Republican. His family consists of the following children: Anna, George W., Charles Fernando (named after the Major), Ida, Albert C, Jacob L., Edwin M., and the baby, Claire.
As printed in History of Summit County, with an outline sketch of Ohio (1881). See the original pages. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.
GEORGE BILLOW, the veteran funeral director of Akron, Ohio, is a native of Germany; he was born on the 2d day of April, 1833, in Nordheim, near the cit\' of Worms, on the famous river Rhine, Hessen Darmstadt; he is the fourth son of John and Elizabeth (Millius) Billau. The family, consisting of the parents, five sons and two daughters, immigrated to this country in 1844, settling eight miles northwest of Fremont, Sandusky county, Ohio, in what was then known as the "Black Swamp." At the age of sixteen, George, our subject, was apprenticed to Ambrose Ochs, a wagonmaker in Fremont, for three years, at the following wages: Fifteen dollars for the first year; twenty dollars for the second, and forty dollars for the third, together with board and his washing. Low wages and long days (twelve to thirteen hours) were then the prevailing custom. After learning his trade he wended his way to Cleveland, Ohio, and worked in the carriage factory of Jacob Lowman until he had acquired proficiency as a body-builder, when, in February, 1854, he came to Akron, engaged himself as a body-builder to C. A. Collins in his factory at Middlebury, now the Sixth ward of Akron, and later embarked at the same place in the business for himself until the second year of the war of the southern Rebellion, when, in July, 1862, he assisted in recruiting a company of volunteer infantry for the Union army, enlisting himself as a private, being mustered in with his company, I, One Hundred and Seventh regiment, Ohio volunteer infantry, as orderly sergeant, at Cleveland, Ohio, on September 6, 1862. On November 30, following, he was commissioned second lieutenant, but the name being spelled Billow instead of Billau — the army being under marching orders to Fredericksburg, \*a., in anticipation of meeting the enemy in severe battle, prompted Col. Seraphim Myers, who commanded the regiment, to advise the immediate muster in as second lieutenant under the name given, since which time it has been so retained. Subsequent promotions to first lieutenant and captam followed October i, 1863, and November 3, 1864, respectively. The One Hundred and Seventh regiment, Ohio volunteer infantry, with which the captain cast his lot, was destined to pass through extraordinary hardships, privations and severe battles. Before being fully equipped, it was rushed to the front to resist the advance of the rebel army in Kentucky, under Gen. Bragg, after which it was forwarded to the army of the Potomac and assigned to the command of Gen. Franz Sigel, the Eleventh corps, at Fairfax C. H., Va., sharing with it the cruel hardships of Gen. Burnside's December campaign to Fredericksburg, Va., the humiliating defeat of the battle of Chancellorsville, Va., May 2, 1863, and its glorious victory at the famous battle of Gettysburg, Pa., July i, 2 and 3, 1863, losing heavily in killed and wounded because of the prominent part taken, yet, in all, Capt. Billow escaped the rebel missiles. After the battle of Gettysburg, what remained of the One Hundred and Seventh regiment, Ohio volunteer infantry, was, with Gen. Gordon's division, transferred to Folly Island, S. C., the department South, commanded by Gen. O. A. Giltriore, where, on the several islands in front of Charleston, they were engaged in assaults upon and the final taking of Fort Wagoner, on Morris Island, as also in frequent skirmishes and small battles from August, 1863, to January, 1864, when they were transferred to Jacksonville district of Florida. While on Folly Island, Capt. Billow was taken sick with typhoid fever, and with other hopeless cases, sent to St. Augustine, Fla., returning to his command about four weeks later, not well, but convalescent. He never fully recovered from said sickness; in consequence he was, in February, 1864, detailed on the staff of Col. Noble, of the Seventeenth regiment, Connecticut volunteer infantry, commander of brigade, to act as commissary of subsistence; on May 18, following, he was ordered by Gen. Foster, commanding the department South, to Fernandina, Fla., in charge of the commissary department. December 13, 1864, he was assigned to duty as provost marshal at Jacksonville, Fla., and March 12, 1865, by special request of Commissary Gen. Champlin, at Hilton Head, S. C, he was again returned to his former post at Fernandina, serving until relieved for the purpose of muster-out with his regiment at
Charleston, S. C, July 10, 1865, and finally discharged at Cleveland, Ohio, July 26, 1865, serving his entire term of nearly three years without a single furlough.
The captain is a member of the Episcopal Church of our Savior, and is quite prominent as a Freemason, being Past E. C. of Akron commandery. No. 25, K. T., and its present Prelate; King of Washington chapter. No. 25, R. A. M.; P. M. of Adoniram lodge. No. 517,
As printed in A portrait and biographical record of Portage and Summit counties, Ohio (1898). See the original pages. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.
The printed record stops around 1881. We trace your line from there down to you, with every source cited.