From Memoirs of the Miami Valley, Vol. III, 1919: Surnames: KRAMER, O'CONNELL, BRITT, HIGGINS, SCOTT, HANSEL, NICHOL, JACKSON, SHIELDS, WALDEN, ELLIOTT, FAIRLEY, ANDREW, HOUGH, GRUVER, STOUT, From Memoirs of the Miami Valley, Vol. III, 1919 on pages 391, 392, 393, 394: Edward KRAMER, superintendent of transportation of the American Rolling Mill plant. His popularity in his native city of Middletown Butler county, was significantly demonstrated in the splendid record he made in his recent campaign for the office of city commissioner. His political allegiance is given to the Democratic party, and he is affiliated with the Knights of Columbus and the Ancient Order of Hibernians, as well as the local organization of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and both he and his wife are communicants of Holy Trinity Catholic church. Mr. and Mrs. KRAMER are popular factors in the social activities of the "younger set" in Middletown and their pleasant home is at 507 E. First street. Edward KRAMER was born at Middletown January 22, 1881, a son of Joseph and Bridget (O'CONNELL) Kramer, who still reside in this city, their home being on East First street. Joseph KRAMER came to Middletown from the city of Cincinnati, in 1870, and ten years he wa! s in the employ of the Hill Paper company. He then assumed the position of foreman for the Sorg Tobacco company, with which concern he was connected until his retirement from active business, about the year 1914. His father represented the old Buckeye state as a valiant soldier of the Union in the Civil war, as a member of Company D, 2d Ohio Heavy Artillery, with which he served two years and nine months. Of the ten children of Joseph and Bridget KRAMER the eldest is Henry, who is now a resident of Franklin, Ohio; William, and Charles remain at Middletown; Sabina, Mayme and Stella are deceased, as is also Frank; and Edward, Nicholas and Charles reside at Middletown. On November 18, 1903, Edward KRAMER was married to Mary BRITT, daughter of John and Mary (HIGGINS) BRITT, of Newport, Ky., and the two children of this union are Mary and Stella, both of whom arc attending the parochial school of Holy Trinity church. Harry L. KRAMER. The early years of the nineteenth century were characterized by the immigration of that pioneer element who made the great Miami valley what it is. These immigrants were sturdy, heroic, upright, sincere people, such as constitute the strength of a commonwealth. It scarcely seems probable that in the future history of the world another such period can occur, or indeed any period when such a solid phalanx of strong-minded men and heroic, self-sacrificing women will take possession of a new country. Descended from these God-fearing people have come strong, self-reliant and worthy descendants, who have continued the work started by their forebears and who now constitute the life of the fertile regions of the Miami valley; and among these worthy representatives of sturdy pioneer families is found Harry L. KRAMER, a substantial agriculturist and property owner of Milford township, Butler county. Mr. KRAMER was born on the old Kramer homestead, upon which he n! ow resides, February 18, 1868, a son of Andrew KRAMER, a native of Maryland who came to Butler county with his parents when one and one-half years old, in the early spring of 1822. He was born in Maryland, June 10, 1820, a son of George and Barbara KRAMER. George KRAMER first came to Butler county, Ohio, in 1821, and bought 320 acres of land, all in heavy timber, in which he cleared a small space and erected a primitive log cabin. He then returned to Maryland, near the Pennsylvania line, where he got his wife and children, the little party traveling in a flatboat down the river to Cincinnati and then making their way overland to their new wilderness home. While he had been a glass blower in the east, George KRAMER adapted himself to his new surroundings and eventually made a success of his operations as a farmer, and at the time of his death was a well-to-do man for his day. He and his worthy wife were faithful members of the Lutheran church and the parents of eight ch! ildren: Frederick, Thomas, Margaret, Christina, Lewis, Elizabeth, Bals er, George and Andrew. Andrew KRAMER grew up amid pioneer surroundings and acquired such educational training as was given in the primitive schoolhouse of his day. He was reared to the hard and unending duties of the home place, and worked with his father until his marriage, October 17, 1844, to Eleanor SCOTT, who was born in Milford township, Butler county, a daughter of Richard and Rebecca SCOTT, natives of Virginia and early settlers of section 19, Milford township, where Mr. Scott followed farming. Mr. and Mrs. SCOTT were the parents of five children: William, John, Richard, Rebecca and Eleanor. After their marriage, Andrew and Eleanor KRAMER lived on the farm now occupied by their son, Harry L., on which the father erected a two-story log cabin and cleared a large amount of land. His first acquirement was 160 acres, but to this he added from time to time until he was a large property owner, and at his death, in 1913, at the age of ninety-three years, was accounted ! one of his community's substantial citizens. He was a Republican in politics, and he and Mrs. Kramer, who died September 23, 1889, were faithful members of the Lutheran church. They were the parents of seven children: George, born June 30, 1846, a farmer west of Oxford, and a soldier during the Civil war, married Elizabeth HANSEL; William, born March 3, 1850, a farmer of Milford township, married Catherine NICHOL, who, since his death in 1900, has resided at Hamilton; Mary Alice, born October 18, 1853, the wife of R. T. NICHOL, of Oxford, Ohio; Lewis SCOTT, who died in infancy; John SCOTT, who also died in infancy; Harry L., of this notice; and LeRoy, born August 16, 1870, a farmer of Oxford township, married Minnie JACKSON. Harry L. KRAMER attended the country schools, the Lebanon university as well as the Miami University of Oxford, doing surveying and map work in Logan and Clermont counties and resided at home with his parents until his marriage in June, 1890, to Eliz! abeth SHIELDS of Darrtown, a daughter of Edward B. and Maria (WALDEN) SHIELDS. Edward B. SHIELDS was born in Ireland and was a young man when he came to the United States. During the Civil war he was first sergeant of Company K, 22d Regiment, New York Volunteer Cavalry, and was honorably discharged from the service in Virginia, August 1, 1865, following which he came to Darrtown and first established himself in business as a merchant, subsequently turning his attention to farming. His wife first married James ELLIOTT, of Kentucky, and was a daughter of James WALDEN, an early settler and farmer near Darrtown. She was one of a family of eight children, as follows: Sarah, Julia, Hannah, Eliza, Maria, Jane, Nancy and David. Mrs. KRAMER was the only child born to her parents who, after their marriage, settled down at Darrtown, where Mr. SHIELDS died in 1880. He was active in politics as a Democrat and served as a justice of the peace for many years, and in religious faith was a Catholic, while his wife was a member of the Methodist church. A! fter their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Harry L. KRAMER located on the place which they have since made their home, and which for ten years was farmed by Mr. KRAMER and his brother Le Roy. At the present time Mr. Kramer has 160 acres of productive and well-cultivated land, and in addition to carrying on farming in association with his son, is a large raiser of Shorthorn cattle, Duroc Jersey hogs and draft horses. He is accounted one of the skilled and thoroughly informed farmers of his locality, and is one who uses modern methods in his work. He has always been a great and loyal friend of the public schools and for eight years was a member of the board of education, and has to some extent been interested in Republican politics. His religious faith is that of the Methodist Episcopal church, which he and the members of his family attend at Darrtown. Mr. and Mrs. KRAMER are the parents of three children: Erma May, born May 22, 1891, a graduate of Miami university, class of 1911! , and now the wife of Howard D. FAIRLEY, of Hillsboro, Ohio, with one child, Richard K.; Fred ANDREW, born July 15, 1892, who attended Oxford college for two years, and is now his father's associate in cultivating the home farm; and Ruth Elizabeth, born December 20, 1909, who is attending the public schools. Le Roy KRAMER. A number of the leading men of Butler county are to be found on well-regulated farms, the appearance and productiveness of which demonstrate the ability, business acumen and progressive spirit of the owners. Among these constructive citizens of real worth is found Le Roy KRAMER, of Oxford, the owner of a well-cultivated and valuable farm. Mr. KRAMER was born in Milford township, Butler county, Ohio, August 16, 1870, a son of Andrew and Ellen (SCOTT) KRAMER, the former a member of a family which settled in Milford township at an early date, and the latter a native of Butler county. The KRAMERs and SCOTTs were real pioneers of this part of the Miami valley, and a brother of Mrs. KRAMER. Richard SCOTT, served as a soldier during the Civil war, in which he was captured by the Confederates and confined in Andersonville prison where he died. After their marriage, Andrew and Ellen Kramer resided for a number of years in the vicinity of Darrtown, where they died,! and where they were laid to rest in the cemetery of that place. They were the parents of the following children: George, Harry, Le Roy, Will, and Alice, who married Robert NICHOL. George and Harry attended Miami university, and the former enlisted at eighteen years of age in the Civil war. Le Roy KRAMER, after attending the country schools, went to Wittenberg college, Springfield, Ohio, where he spent two years, then began work on his father's farm. He was married in 1893 to Minnie, daughter of Samuel and Catherine (GRUVER) JACKSON, and a granddaughter of John and Nancy (HOUGH) JACKSON, who removed from their native Virginia to Pennsylvania and later to Cincinnati, Ohio, where they came at an early day to Butler county, Ohio. Samuel JACKSON, the son, had come to Cincinnati from Morgantown, W. Va., near which place his father had operated a gristmill and smelter, and upon his arrival built a paper mill for J. Graham & Brother at the foot of Western Row, secretly forgin! g parts to preserve the secret of its construction. This was the firs t paper machine west of the Alleghanies, and the mill was later removed to Hamilton, under Mr. Jackson's supervision. Later he purchased a farm near Darrtown, and lived thereon from 1864 for a number of years. He first married Clarissa LEWIS, who died leaving five children, among whom were James and John, who served in the Civil war, in which the former met his death on a southern battlefield. Mr. JACKSON's second union was with Mrs. Catherine (GRUVER) STOUT, who had a son by her first marriage to John STOUT, William H. STOUT, who served in the Civil war. Three children were born to Mr. and Mrs. JACKSON: Joseph, Amos, and Minnie, who became Mrs. KRAMER. Samuel and Catherine (GRUVER) JACKSON later removed to a farm near Brookville, Ind., where both passed away. After their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. KRAMER settled near Brookville, on her old home place, but in 1912 came to their present property in Oxford township, where, in 1919, they erected a handsome country home. Thi! s is now a valuable and attractive estate, with furnace heat, water works and Delco lighting system, and the entire farm shows the presence of good taste and excellent business management. Mr. KRAMER is an excellent example of the live, up-to-date progressive farmer of the twentieth century, who knows how to make his land pay him a good profit, and how to enjoy his life in the midst of the surroundings that have always been his. He and the members of his family belong to the Methodist church. He is a public-spirited citizen, and during the war was a generous contributor to all movements promulgated. He and Mrs. KRAMER are the parents of two children: Paul J., who was born in 1904; and Kathryn Eleanor, who was born in 1905. -----Original Message----- From: ABrickWall To: Kingsk1117 Sent: Wed, 16 Mar 2005 10:30:53 PM Eastern Standard Time Subject: Re: Memoirs of the Miami Valley - Kramer Gary, I'm working on William Kramer born 1850 married Catheirne "Kate", their children Alma b 1874.Gilbert Scott mar. Bertha Belle Shollenbarger, Clark b 1888, Howard 1891, and Helen 1893. Thanks so much for your help. Dora Mae