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1870 – 1889
L. J. Knepp (Levi J. Knepp) — President, North Liberty Manufacturing Co. (1875 atlas; settled 1857); also Knepp & Houser, saw and planing mill, and Knepp, Dreibelbis & Co., flour mill (Polk 1884–85); justice of the peace in the 1880s editions.
Isaac R. Cole — Vice President, North Liberty Manufacturing Co. (1875 atlas; Darke Co., Ohio; settled 1836). His identification as a founding Cole Brother of 1866 is inference, printed as such in the businesses file.
D. C. Cole — Superintendent, North Liberty Manufacturing Co. (1875 atlas; settled 1836). Same inference caveat.
Daniel W. Houser — Secretary and Treasurer, North Liberty Manufacturing Co. (1875 atlas; settled 1858); also of Houser Brothers and of Knepp & Houser.
J. J. Hines — President and Superintendent, Home Manufacturing Co. (1875 atlas; Clinton Co., Indiana; settled 1871).
Israel Irvin — Vice President, Home Manufacturing Co. (1875 atlas; settled 1865); also meat market proprietor (Polk 1882–83, 1884–85), and the Irvin of Irvin & Pommert, meats, in 1916–17 (band 4).
H. H. Hagon [Ragon?] — Secretary and Treasurer, Home Manufacturing Co. (1875 atlas; Crawford Co., Ohio; settled 1872). Surname OCR-garbled; the page image governs — Chapman's "Cole, Ragon & Co." in the businesses file prints the Ragon form in this town's manufacturing circle.
John Whitinger — Director, Home Manufacturing Co., and dealer in groceries and provisions (1875 atlas; settled 1854; grocer again in the c.1886 patrons list).
G. J. Kellogg — Director, Home Manufacturing Co. (1875 atlas; settled-year OCR-garbled).
George Stakestraw [Rakestraw] — Director, Home Manufacturing Co. (1875 atlas; Greene Co., Ohio; settled 1849).
Henry Bowen — North Liberty Mills (arrived 1868; partner from 1874 — McKenzie & Bowen, flour mill; "Bowen Henry, flour mill" stands alone in Polk 1884–85 beside the Knepp, Dreibelbis & Co. line, the doubling printed as a conflict in the register).
Dreibelbis (first name not given) — Knepp, Dreibelbis & Co., flour mill (Polk 1884–85). The surname recurs as butchers in 1916–17; no carrier merges the appearances.
Magdalena Rupert — Empire Hotel (1875 atlas; settled 1855; the nomination's c.1886 patrons list likewise). CONFLICT, printed whole: the nomination's narrative and Polk 1880–81/1882–83/1884–85 print Adam Rupert as the hotel keeper (next line). Both stand.
Adam Rupert — Empire Hotel / hotel (Polk, all three 1880s editions; nomination narrative, 1880). See the conflict on the line above.
N. A. Travis — restaurant and eating house (1875 atlas; c.1886 patrons list) AND saloon (Polk 1880–81, town entry and classified Saloons list). CONFLICT, printed whole: Chapman's 1880 census omits any saloon. One house or successive trades is not stated.
John Braniff — saloon (Polk 1882–83).
Charles Fink — saloon (Polk 1884–85).
T. J. Skiles — saloon (Polk 1884–85).
C. D. Houser — Houser Brothers, general store (with Daniel Houser). CONFLICT on founding, printed whole: nomination 1872 (the store); the Chapman frame 1875; the register carries 1872/1873/1875 — and the people leg's Chapman texts read the 1873/1875 limbs on the brothers' sawmill, a possible two-venture resolution the depth audit takes up, not effected here.
Daniel Houser — Houser Brothers, general store (same entry, same conflict; his Manufacturing Co. offices above are a separate linkage of the same man, not double-counted in this band's firm line).
M. R. Cole — grocery and produce business (1875 atlas; Polk all three editions; patrons list). The fourth Darke County Cole.
S. B. Cullar — grocery, provision and produce store (1875 atlas; settled 1865) → Cullar & Olenger, general store (1880–81, 1882–83) → Cullar & Warner, general store (1884–85). One owner's line, three firm forms.
Olenger (first name not given) — partner, Cullar & Olenger (Polk 1880–81, 1882–83).
Warner (first name not given) — partner, Cullar & Warner (Polk 1884–85).
Greenville P. Cherry — grocer and justice (Polk 1882–83; justice only in 1880–81).
Cleve — grocer, of Cleve & Ceslie (Polk 1884–85 only).
Ceslie — grocer, of Cleve & Ceslie (Polk 1884–85 only).
Flagler — grocer, of Flagler, Teel & Co. (Polk 1884–85 only).
Teel — grocer, of Flagler, Teel & Co. (Polk 1884–85 only).
George A. Bettcher — furniture and undertaking (arrived 1871 to assist his father-in-law's furniture-and-undertaking business — the father-in-law named by no carrier reached; 1875 atlas; patrons list); also of Houser Bros & Bettcher (1884–85) and postmaster by 1884–85.
P. S. Burkhart — furniture and undertaking (1875 atlas; settled 1869; patrons list).
Jeremiah Steel [Steele] — furniture (Polk 1880s); the atlas prints a Jeremiah Steele as farming and saw milling (settled 1864) — same man at two trades or two men, unresolved, printed without merger.
J. F. Johnson — furniture (Polk 1884–85 only).
J. W. Kring — undertaker (Polk 1880–81, 1882–83 — undertaking without furniture, the trade's first specialist listing).
J. C. Anderson — hardware (Polk, all three 1880s editions — the town's hardware name of the decade).
H. C. Baker — blacksmithing (1875 atlas; settled 1870; patrons list).
John N. Fetzer — blacksmithing (1875 atlas; from the Rhineland; settled 1847; patrons list).
John Keesy — blacksmithing (1875 atlas; Schuylkill Co., Pennsylvania; settled 1871; patrons list).
B. F. Berger — blacksmith (Polk 1880–81; gone by 1882–83).
Jacob Ritchie — wagon maker (1875 atlas, settled 1842; Polk 1880–81/1882–83).
Hiram Rowan — wagon maker (1875 atlas, settled 1858; Polk 1880–81).
T. D. Nelson — wagon maker (1875 atlas; settled 1872).
A. Warster [Worster] — wagonmaker (Polk, all three editions). Spelling varies across carriers; not merged with H. B. Worster.
F. M. Lee — wagonmaker (Polk 1884–85 only). Possibly of the Lee smith family, not merged; a F. M. Lee manages the Gem Theatre in 1916–17 (band 4), at name strength only.
William W. Hamilton — carriage painting (1875 atlas; settled 1867; patrons list).
George R. Flood — harness maker (established 1871 on the nomination; Polk 1880–81; Chapman biography: learned the trade at Westville, arrived North Liberty 1876).
Jacob Geiger — saw mill (Polk 1880–81; the atlas prints a Jacob Geiger as farming, settled 1865).
H. W. Betz — saw milling (1875 atlas; Stark Co., Ohio; settled 1855).
Beck Bros (first names not given) — saw mill (Polk 1882–83, new in that edition). One linkage at surname strength.
Henry Geyer — sawmill and farm operator (Chapman's Liberty biographies, via this build's people leg: a German-immigrant operator at 395 acres in two counties). Township trade at biography strength.
Levi Mangus — gunsmith and sewing machines (1875 atlas) AND brickmaker (Polk 1880–81) AND Mangus Brothers & Co., brick manufacturers (Polk 1882–83) — one man, three listed trades across carriers.
William Rupe — broom manufacturer (Polk, all three editions).
U. J. Burkholder — farming and brick and tile making, Teegarden (1875 atlas; settled 1870). Township trade.
S. B. Burkholder — farming and brick and tile making (1875 atlas; settled 1871).
Andrew Hullinger — farming and brick making (1875 atlas; settled 1853).
Ports (first name not given) — Ports & Matz, meat market (Polk 1880–81).
Matz (first name not given) — Ports & Matz, meat market (Polk 1880–81).
W. C. Hale — meat market (Polk 1882–83).
Fred Young — boot and shoe maker (1875 atlas, from Germany, settled 1858; Polk 1880–81). One of Chapman's two boot-and-shoe stores; the second shop is unnamed in carriers reached and stands in the gaps file.
Mrs J. J. Garrard — milliner (Polk 1880–81 — Chapman's one millinery; the name as the directory prints it, under her husband's initials, the period form).
Lydia Swank — milliner (Polk 1882–83).
John F. Irvin — barber (Polk 1880–81, 1882–83).
Elmer Irwin — barber (Polk 1884–85). The Irvin/Irwin spelling variance across editions prints as found; the two barber entries are not merged into one man.
B. L. Keck — tailor (Polk, all 1880s editions; patrons list). The Keck name also gives the town its 1916–17 postmaster — a garbled-header conflict carried in the register.
L. S. Pearse — farmer and stock dealer (1875 atlas; settled 1842) → cattle dealer with N. W. Pearce [sic] (Polk, all three editions). Pearse/Pearce variance in the register. The Pearse Bros store of 1916–17 is band 4; kinship across the generations not stated.
N. W. Pearce [Pearse] — cattle dealer / live stock, with L. S. Pearse (Polk, all three editions).
John N. Rupel — live stock (Polk 1882–83, 1884–85). The Rupel spelling stands apart from the hotel Ruperts, not merged.
Samuel Loring — notary public and attorney at law (1875 atlas; settled 1835); also auctioneer (Polk). The town's earliest professional-services name.
S. Laning — physician and surgeon (1875 atlas; Tompkins Co., New York; settled 1859). Professions print at directory strength; the medical record whole belongs to the people and institutions legs.
A. S. Campbell — physician (Polk 1880–81; one of Chapman's four of 1880).
W. W. Hitchcock — physician (Polk 1880–81; Chapman four).
J. O'Conner — physician (Polk 1880–81; Chapman four; not merged with the later O'Connor electrician family).
J. A. Varier — physician (Polk 1880–81; Chapman four; name as transcribed).
J. C. Miller — insurance and notary (Polk, all three editions).
H. B. Worster [Wooster in the atlas] — contractor and builder (1875 atlas; settled 1854). His general-store linkage stands in the next band.