John E. Koch, Sr.
John E. Koch, Sr., (deceased), was born near Gettysburg, Adams Co., Penn., in 1801, a son of Jacob and Elizabeth (Wright) Koch. He spent his early life in his native county, where for many years he was engaged in teaching school and clerking. In the summer of 1828 he came to Holmes County, Ohio, first locating at Berlin, where for several years he was engaged in mercantile business. In 1835 he removed to Millersburgh, where he continued mercantile life until his retirement from business. He died April 16, 1881.
Starting in life comparatively poor, Mr. Koch, by zeal, prudence and good management, became one of the foremost business men of Holmes County. During the fifty years he was identified with the town of Millersburgh he was one of the most active in promoting its development and the material interest of the place. From 1844 he was connected with the Presbyterian Church, and from 1845 was a ruling elder. In politics he was decidedly an anti-slavery man, and was a stanch supporter of the Republican party. Mr. Koch married Miss Maria S. Neely, who was born in 1807, a daughter of James Neely, a prominent citizen of Adams County, Penn., and nine children were born to them, five of whom are still living: Geroge A., now of San Francisco, Cal.; William H., of Newark, Ohio; John E., Jr., a banker of Millersburgh; Lucy E. and Edward T.
John E. Koch, Jr., a prominent banker of Millersburgh, was born April 2, 1839, and was given good educational advantages, attending the schools of Millersburgh and Kenyon College, Gambier, Ohio. In 1864 he entered mercantile business, buying his father out, and continued therein until 1874, when he became cashier of the Commercial Bank of Millersburgh, of which he is now president. He stands high in the estimation of the public, and has become one of the leading business men of the town, his father's mantle, seemingly, having fallen upon him. He is a public-spirited man, taking an active interest in all movements tending toward the advancement of the town, either materially or socially. He is the treasurer of the school board, and at present is secretary of the Cemetery Association. Mr. Koch was married in 1864 to Jennie L., daughter of Robert Long, and they have two sons. In politics Mr. Koch is a Democrat.
From Commemorative Biographical Record of the Counties of Wayne and Holmes, Ohio, J. H. Beers & Co., Chicago, 1889