John Charlton Spahr
John Charlton Spahr, proprietor of "Oak Grove Farm," in Ross township, was born on the farm on which he now lives and has resided there all his life. He was born on July 30, 1886, son and only child of John Morgan and Ella (Charlton) Spahr, both of whom also were born in this county, the former in New Jasper township and the latter in Cedarville township, and the latter of whom is still living, now a resident of Jamestown.
John Morgan Spahr, who died at his home in Ross township on June 15, 1898, was a son of John Spahr and a member of one of the pioneer families of this part of the state, the Spahrs having been prominently represented here since the early days of the settlement of Greene county, as is set out elsewhere in this work. Mr. Spahr's widow, who was born Ella Charlton, also is a member of one of the county's old families, a daughter of Samuel Charlton, a pioneer miller of the Cedarville neighborhood.
John Charlton Spahr was reared on the farm on which he was born, the operation of which was maintained by his mother after the death of his father, he having been but twelve years of age at the time of his father's death. He supplemented the schooling received in the home school by a course in the Jamestown high school and was graduated from the latter in 1905. That course he supplemented by a course in the Commercial College at Dayton, from which he also was graduated, and then he entered the agricultural department of Ohio State University, from which he was graduated in 1910. Thus equipped for farm operations along modern lines, Mr. Spahr took charge of the home farm in behalf of his mother and has since maintained his residence there, having established his home there after his marriage in the spring of 1914. "Oak Grove Farm'' is a place of two hundred and fifty-five acres and since taking charge of the same Mr, Spahr has made many improvements, including a new farm house and farm buildings in keeping with the same. Mr. Spahr also is the owner of a farm of one hundred and seventy acres south of Jamestown and in addition to his general farming gives considerable attention to the raising of hogs and Aberdeen-Angus cattle. He also is a stockholder in several corporations.
On April 18, 1914, John Charlton Spahr was united in marriage to Ethel McCallister, who was born in the vicinity of the city of Wilmington, in the neighboring county of Clinton, but was reared at Xenia, her parents having died when she was a small child. Mr. and Mrs. Spahr are members of the Methodist Episcopal church at Jamestown and Mr. Spahr is a member of the local lodge of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks at Xenia. Politically, he is a Republican and has served his party as a delegate to state conventions.
From History of Greene County Ohio, Its People, Industries and Institutions, vol. 2. M.A.Broadstone, editor. B.F.Bowen & Co., Indianapolis. 1918