Obituaries from Butler County, Ohio
Part III

Mrs. Ruth Edna Davis, 81, of 207 Baltimore St., died at 11:15 yesterday at Middletown Hospital, where she had been a patient since suffering a stroke last Wednesday.
A native Middletonian, she was the widow of Clinton W. Davis, former treasurer of Armco Steel Corp., who died in 1953.
She was a member of Lafayette Lodge 379 of the Pythian Sisters, former member of the Eastern Star and attended the United Presbyterian Church.
There are no immediate survivors.
Services will be held at 2 p.m. Thursday at the Joseph R. Baker and Sons Funeral Home, with the Rev. Jerome C. Schulz officiating. Burial will be in Woodside Cemetery.
Friends may call at the funeral home tomorrow from 2 to 5 and 7 to 9 p.m.

Mrs. Nora Hinkle, 70, died at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday at the residence of her sister, Mrs. Clinton Davis, 207 Baltimore Street, following a lengthy illness with complications of the diseases held responsible for her death.
Funeral services will be conducted at the Davis residence at 2 P.M. Saturday with Christian Science services. Burial will follow in Elk Creek Cemetery.
Mrs. Hinkle, who had been a semi-invalid for the last 10 years, had been bedfast since last November. Her condition had grown serious in recent weeks and her death was not unexpected.
Since the death of her husband 35 years ago, Mrs. Hinkle had made her home with Mr. and Mrs. Davis. She was the daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. R.V. Denny, the former having been familiarly known as "Vic" Denny, who constructed a number of locks in the Miami-Erie canal.
She was a lifelong resident of Middletown and had a large circle of friends who cheered her with kindness during her period of invalidism. In addition to the local Christ Scientist Church, she was a member of the Mother Church at Boston, Mass.
Her survivors are her sister, Mrs. Davis; two nieces, Mrs. D. O. McLaughlin, of Manchester Avenue and Mrs. Ariel Olson, of Racine, Wis., and a nephew, Edward Pritchard of Bellefontaine, O.

The infant son of Edwin and Nora Denny Henkle died yesterday morning. Interment was made in the Middletown Cemetery at 4 p.m.

The body of Mrs. Clara Warrington, who died Saturday night at the home of her brother-in-law, John Pritchard, at Racine, Wis., arrived Monday morning and was taken to the Wilson funeral parlors.
Friends may call there or at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Denny McLaughlin, 1336 Manchester Avenue, where the body will be taken late Tuesday for funeral service Wednesday afternoon at two o'clock.
Rev. I. M. McVey, pastor of Methodist Protestant Church, will officiate and burial will be made in Middletown Cemetery.
Mrs. Warrington had gone to Racine for a visit with her brother-in-law, suffering a stroke of paralysis while there.

Relatives of Mrs. John Pritchard, former resident of Middletown, yesterday received word of her death in Racine, Wisconsin, yesterday morning.
Though Mrs. Pritchard had been in rapidly declining health for several years, the information of her passing was somewhat of a surprise to members of her family here. Three weeks ago her brother-in-law and sister Mr. and Mrs. C.W. Davis visited her noticing then that she was failing but not anticipating that death woud occur so soon.
Mrs. Pritchard was born and reared in Middletown. She was the daughter of R. B. V. Denny. She was married more than fifty years ago to Mr. Pritchard, who was bookkeeper for the Journal at one time and managed by Colonel William Sullivan.
More than twenty years ago the family moved to Racine, Wisconsin, where they resided at the time of her death. Surviving Mrs. Pritchard are her husband and two children, Mrs. Ariel Olson, Racine, Wisconsin. Edward Pritchard, Bellfontaine, Ohio, one grandchild , Jerry Olson, three sisters, Mrs. C.W. Davis, Mrs. Nora Hinkle, and Mrs. Clara Warrington, this city, and a host of other relatives here.
Mr. and Mrs Davis and Mrs. Warrington will leave tonight to attend the funeral on Saturday.

Word was received here yesterday of the death of Miss Lizzie Denny, sister of Charles E. Denny, of this city, at Savannah, Ga., where she had been staying for her health. The body will be buried here.

Mrs. Mary Denny died at her home on Fourth Street last Monday evening after a lingering illness. Mrs. Denny was one of the oldest residents of Butler County. She had been a member of the Presbyterian Church of this city for more than fifty years. She was born in Warren County in 1808 and came to Middletown when a small girl. She lived a long and useful life and was loved by all who knew her. Her dear old face will be missed by the many who loved her on earth, but her spirit has gone to a happier land. She has joined her husband and other loved ones who have gone on before, and are praising their God in that beautiful city beyond the clouds.

Mrs. Mary Schuh, 76, of 625 Hayes Avenue, Hamilton, sister of Mrs. Nellie Russell, of Middletown, was found dead at her home early Saturday morning. Acting Coroner Edward M. Cook said death was due to heart disease.
Surviving are her two daughters, Mrs. Robert Downie and Mrs. William Schramm, Jr., both of Hamilton; a son, John, of Hamilton; her sister and six grandchildren.
Funeral services will be conducted at the residence at 8:30 A.M. Wednesday and at St. Ann's Church at 9 A.M. Burial will be in St. Stephen's cemetery.

John E. Russell, 68, an engineer at the Harding paper mill in Excello, dropped dead at 7:30 this morning in the mill, a victim of heart failure.
Mr. Russell did not complain of illness when he went to work this morning, though he had been failing in recent months. He was seized with illness shortly after arriving at the mill and died a few minutes after the attack.
Surviving Mr. Russell are his widow, one daughter and two grandchildren. He was born in Montgomery County and had lived in this vicinity more than 50 years.
To his associate workmen in the Harding mill where he had been employed many years, his sudden death was a complete shock.
Funeral arrangements will be made later in charge of Undertaker Howard A. Wilson.

Frank Russell, the fifteen year old son of Mr. and Mrs John Russell, was drowned Wednesday afternoon while swimming in the canal at the lock near Tenth street.
The boy with a number of his companions were about to leave the water and dress when young Russell said he would swim across the canal and back before he dressed. When near the berm bank he suddenly sank under the water and did not come up.
His companions fearing something was wrong gave the alarm and soon men were on the scene searching for the body. Within fifteen minutes from the time the boy was last seen above the water his body was recovered and the work of resusitation began on the bank. Drs. Lummis and Bundy were called and for over an hour the work was continued, but without avail and the boy was pronounced dead at about five o'clock.
Undertaker Wilson took the body to his establishment where it was viewed by Coroner Schumacher. It is believed that the boy was seized with cramps and was not able to give his companions warning of his danger.
He was ill in the morning and did not attend school and it is thought his physical condition together with the cold water brought on the cramps.
The body was prepared for burial and taken to his late home on Yankee Road where the anquish of his parents and sister was intensified by its presence to the extent that they were almost prostrated.
The boy's father, is engineer at the American Cigar Plant and was called to the scene of the drowning yesterday where he watched the doctor's efforts at resuitation.
The funeral will be held at Holy Trinity Church Friday morning at eight o'clock. Burial at Woodside.

Oswald C. Warrington, age 75, an employee of the Denny Lumber Company for the last 20 years, passed away Friday afternoon at his home, 116 Clark St. He is survived by a widow and three daughters, Mrs. Charles Donor, of Dayton, Mrs. Maude Hunter also of Dayton, and Mrs. D. O. McGlaughlin, this city.
Funeral services will be held Monday afternoon at 2 o'clock from the residence. Rev. Beck officiating. Interment will take place in Middletown Cemetery. Undertaker Howard A. Wilson is in charge.

The sudden death of Rev. W. B. Warrington this morning at his home on Holbrook Street was a severe shock to his many old friends and acquaintances here.
Mr. Warrington was one of the oldest residents in the city and a respected citizen whose hand has had a great influence in the religious growth of Middletown.
He came here from Cincinnati in the spring of 1855 and organized the Methodist Protestant Church here. In 1856 he received a call from the congregation he had organized and took up residence here as pastor of the new church. During the first year of his pastorate here, the church edifice on Broadway still stands a monument to his endeavors, was built and he remained in charge nearly ten years.
He has been pastor all over the Ohio Conference and in 1872 was called to Lincoln, Nebraska, to take charge of the large mission work there. He afterwards returned to this city to make his home with his only son Oswald Warrington.
Rev. Warrington had been quite sick for the past week, but he arose this morning and after eating breakfast seemed to feel a great deal better. He stepped out into the yard and a few moments later was found by his son lying upon the ground. He was carried into the house and a physician called who found his life extinct.
Coroner McHenry arrived this morning and viewed the remains and pronounced death due to heart failure. Mr. Warrington was in his 80th year and leaves an aged wife and one son, Oswald, besides a host of friends to mourn his death.

One generation of a pioneer family of Middletown was entirely removed Wednesday afternoon by the death of Mrs. Martha N. Lefferson, 88, of Christel Avenue.
Mrs. Lefferson, ill for the last three weeks, died quietly and not unexpectedly at 4:15 o'clock at her home. She had been failing more than a year and during her critical illness of the last three weeks her family has been gathered at her bedside awaiting the end.
Born in Blue Ball on what was known as the Piper farm, just south of the little village, Mrs. Lefferson had spent her entire life in or near Middletown. She was the daughter of Andrew and Eliza Piper whose families came to this locality from Pennsylvania and settled this part of Ohio. She was the last of 11 children of Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Piper.
Martha Piper was married to William Bascum Lefferson, May 24, 1866, at the Piper home. To that union was born four children, Mrs Nettie Bailey, Mrs. Lou Whiteman, Earl Lefferson and Homer Lefferson, all of whom reside in Middletown. Besides these four surviving children are 11 grandchildren, 15 great grandchildren, and one great-great grandchild to mourn the loss of a devoted and loving mother and grandmother. Her husband died three years ago.
Mrs. Lefferson was a lifelong member of the Blue Ball Presbyterian Church and was active in the work of that congregation as long as her health permitted.
Funeral services will be held at the residence Saturday afternoon at 2:30 o'clock. Rev. S. I. Gear of the Blue Ball Presbyterian Church will officiate. Burial will be made at Woodside Cemetery.

Middletown suffered the loss of one of its oldest citizens today and the announcement of the death of Charles Dell, Sr., at his home, 1024 East Third Street, at 6 a.m. was a distinct shock. He was 86 years old. His family nor none of his friends were prepared for the sad news as the venerable old man had been in unusually good health considering his age. This morning he suffered a heart attack and death ensued in less than half an hour. With his death a long and useful career is ended.
While Mr. Dell was well known for the mark he made in his own life, he was frequently referred to as the father of some of the most prominent citizens in Middletown's civic and professional circles. The following eight of his children survive him: Anna, Mrs. E.L. Frisch, Mrs. James Kimball, Harry L., city commissioner, Dr. A. J., and Frank, all of Middletown, and Charles and Otto, of Los Angeles. He also leaves 16 grandchildren and one great grandchild. Mrs. Dell, who was Margaret Yager, of Trenton, before her marriage in 1860, passed away three years ago.
Mr. Dell's career emphasizes the worth of perseverance, good judgement, wise investment and economy, careful of children in ways of painstaking methods, combined with looking on the bright side of things and expecting the best that time and occupation affords. His life is an instance of a man starting out with few visible assets and through wise disposal of his opportunities made his conditions of more than ordinary prosperity and himself one of the most conscientious citizens of the city. He was a man of wide interest in the subjects which concerned his family and community.
Mr. Dell was born in Bad Wildungen, Germany, May 25, 1835, and came to the United States when seventeen years old to seek his fortune. After a short residence in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he went to Dayton, Ohio, later going to Franklin, where he worked for some time as a shoemaker. In 1886 he came to Middletown and was variously employed. In all this time his industry and thrift enabled him to accumulate some capital, which he invested in the hotel business, his first stand being known as the Union House, where Morris the tailor is presently located. He then built the City Hotel, which he conducted for 22 years. Mr. Dell had been retired from active work for several years, turning the management of the hotel over to his son, Frank, who conducted it until 1916. Since his retirement he had enjoyed the fruits of his many years of earnest and unremitting labor. He gained the highest public esteem and at one time held the office of city councilman. Everyone who knew the aged man considered him a man it was a pleasure to know and general regret is expressed over his passing.
Arrangements for the funeral will be made later. Friends are asked to omit flowers.

Thomas J. Galeese, member of the firm of Galeese Bros. Grocery, and one of the oldest at the business in Middletown, died Thursday at 9 p.m. after an illness of several days.
The 77-year old grocer who started in business as a young man with his brother, John Galeese, more than 51 years ago, was a familiar figure to the Manchester Ave. trading area where their store was a service to that section of the city.
Strong attachment for the business and the patrons it served with individual solicitude caused Mr. Galeese to remain at the store though recent weeks of impaired health. He was on the job as late as Tuesday and only was removed to the hospital Wednesday noon.
For 51 years the grocery had been a regular habit with him and a definite part of his life. In return, he became the friend of every customer in all parts of the city -- customers who may have once lived in the neighborhood of the grocery but continued to deal there after they moved away. This was as much because of the personalities of the Galeese brothers as their products.
Coming here as a boy from Brookline, Mass., Mr. Galeese attended Holy Trinity school and was a faithful member of Holy Trinity Parish. He was affiliated with the Knights of Columbus, Holy Name Society and the Ancient Order of Hibernians. Holy Name will meet at 8 p.m. Sunday for its service.
Survivors are two daughters, Mrs. Mary Walburg, who had made her home with her father since the tragic death of her mother in an automobile wreck 30 years ago, Mrs. Irene Miller, this city; three grandchildren, Mary Frances Walburg, Thomas Walburg and Patty Miller, this city; one brother, John, and three sisters, Mrs. William Moran and Mrs. Catherine Halloran, this city, and Mrs. George Daley, Dayton.
Solemn requiem mass will be sung at Holy Trinity Church Monday at 9 a.m. Burial will follow in Calvary Cemetery.

On August 23, Mrs. Lydia Vannatta, died at her home in Bloomington, Illinois. She was a daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth Hinkle and was born in Madison Township, Butler County, Ohio on March 19, 1816. Her parental grandfather was one of the earliest settlers at Cincinnati and was killed by the Indians while at work on his farm near where Camp Denniston was located during the civil war. Her father and one of her uncles narrowly escaped the fate of their father. Her maternal grandmother accompanied St. Clair's army in its campaign against the Indians in 1791, but she died on the march and was buried near where Elk Creek church and school house now stand three miles north of Miltonville and three miles west of Middletown, and from the time of her burial unto this day no man knoweth her sepulcher. Her uncle, Benjamin DeBolt, was the first white child born in Madison Township. In 1836 she was married to Samuel Vannatta, a potter. They took up their residence in Miltonville and remained there until 1873, when they moved to Bloomington, Illinois, where her husband died in 1880. Her family of eight children were all born in Miltonville. Her husband was a member of the Fifth O.V.I., her sons, Squire and Joseph of Co. C , 85th O.V.I. and Sanford of Co E, 167 th O.V.I. in the Civil War. Joseph gave up his life and found a resting place on the bloody field of Chickamauga, and Squire who endured the horrors of Libby and Andersonville fought fifteen months, fills an honored grave in our village cemetery. During the last five years of her life she was nearly blind and her mind was seriously impaired.
Her daughter, Lizzie, her only living child, and whose whole life had been spent with her, tenderly cared for her in her declining years.
Other members of the Hinkle family have lived far beyond their three score and ten, and her father passed away at the great age of 96 years. Her brothers, Joseph Benjamin and William Hinkle, of Madison Township, are the surviving members of a family of seventeen children. Her living descendants are one daughter and three grandchildren. Mrs. Sarah Reppeto, of Miltonville, is her sister-in-law. The interment was in the Bloomington cemetery where rest her husband, her son Sanford and one grandson.

Early Sunday morning ere the dawn had lightened the east, Mrs. Julia A. Banker, the aged mother of Harvey Banker, slept away out of life -- "she had another morn than ours."
On the place she died on, the old Lucas farm north of Poastown, Mrs. Banker was born 87 years ago. She was born Julia A. Lucas and there was joy in that house on February 3, 1821, the day on which she came into this world of ours, which she brightened for all who knew her during the years of her long life. She has passed full of years and honor. In the natural course of life, she is dead. Her only surviving child, Harry, the well known farmer and good citizen of this county, has the great satisfaction of knowing that he did his full filial duty by the mother who bore him and loved him and watched tenderly his earlier and his later years. He has done his part nobly, and it were but fitting to praise a son for keeping so admirably the great Fifth commandment that is so often forgotten by the men of the younger generation in this land of ours. His days should be "long in the land."
For the past five years, or since a year after her husband, D.W. Banker, entered into his rest, Mrs. Banker had been practically helpless from the infirmities, physical and mental, of old age, and all through these years she had been carefully watched and tended by her son and his good wife.
For only one short week were the shadows of death close about her. Even in this country of easy deaths of old people, there have been few such beautiful cases of enthanasia as this. For a week or two she had been merely "wearing awa like snow when it's thaw, wearing awa to the land of leal." Two of her three children were there to greet and welcome her. Such life as Julia Banker's and such an end to it form the materials for a beautiful poem.
The funeral will be tomorrow afternoon, with the last earthly service in the old home of her birth and her death at 2 o'clock conducted by Rev. Mr. Williams of Urbana, Ohio, an old time pastor of Mrs. Banker when he ministered to the church near her home. The burial will be in Mount Pleasant cemetery at Poastown, the "God's Acre" she knew so well where her husband and children have rested.
As said, Julia A. Banker was born on February 3, 1821, on the farm of her father, Samuel L. Lucas, just north of Poastown, where she lived all her life as maiden and wife and mother. Sixty-six years ago she and D. W. Banker were married. Three children were born to them, and of these Harvey alone survives the fond mother. By him and his wife and their young children the memory of his mother will be long green. She did her full duty in life, and none can do more. To the friends not of her immediate family who knew and loved her she was loyal and ever helpful. She is at peace, well won, and the memory of her gentle life will be a benediction to her son and his children.

Mrs. Martha J. Watson, widow of the late John Watson, passed from this life at 11:40 a.m. Sunday. She has been ill for a number of years. She fell asleep Saturday about noon and never regained consciousness, when she died yesterday noon. She was 63 years, 11 months and 18 days old at the time of her death. She leaves to mourn the loss a loving daughter, sister and mother, her mother who is past eighty years of age, and with whom she made her home, two sisters, Mrs. J. Haigh, of this city and Mrs. Phares of Potsdam, Ohio, one brother William Owens of this city, one son, Ed Watson, the local photographer, four daughters, Miss Eva Watson residing at home, Mrs. Beulah Bullock, of Louisville, Ky.; Mrs. Anna Long, and Mrs. Bertha Moser of this city. Mrs. Watson has been a member of the First Baptist church for a number of years and was a good Christian woman.
The funeral will take place Tuesday at 2 P.M., from the residence, 617 East Second Street. Rev. D.F. Rittenhouse will officiate. Interment in charge of A.T. Wilson and son will be made in Middletown cemetery.

This site was created by David J. Endres. Those with questions, comments, or additional information are encouraged to contact the compiler.

� 1998, 1999, 2000 by David J. Endres
This site was created on August 12, 1998.

This site was updated 15 May 2000.