Louis A. Filgrove
An old and substantial business in Ironton has been conducted by Louis A. Fillgrove for nearly forty years. A tinner and roofer, he has made a reputation of performing skillfully and efficiently all contracts entrusted to his charge, and on this reputation has been based his standing as a business man and citizen.
Born in Pensylvania January 2, 1856, he is a son of George and Henrietta (Reuper) Fillgrove, both of whom were natives of Hanover, Germany. His father was born in 1822 and his mother in 1821. Coming to America and settling in Pennsylvania in 1854, the father lived there a few years, and in 1861 transferred his residence to Lawrence County, Ohio, and quietly followed his vocation there until his death in 1890. The mother died in 1907. Their five children were: Minnie, deceased; William M.; August; Louis A.; and Charles, deceased.
Louis A. Fillgrove was educated in the public schools of Ironton until seventeen and thereafter went to work to learn a trade and make his own way. After an apprenticeship in the tinner's trade, he worked as a journeyman until 1876, and then opened a shop at Ironton, and has conducted it with increasing success ever since. In the meantime his business influence and possessions have increased, and beside the work which constitutes his principal calling he is a stockholder in the First National Bank and in the Home Telephone Company, owns two double residences, five vacant lots and also a business block on North 2nd Street.
On May 11, 1879, at Ironton, Mr. Fillgrove married Sophia Horn, daughter of Henry and Dorothea (Miller) Horn. Her father was one of the early butchers of Ironton. To their union have been born seven children: Henry C.; Clara D.; Edward C.; Howard, deceased; Bertha; Edith; and one that died in infancy. The son Henry, who is employed by his father in the tinning and roofing business, married Rosia Wolff, and their four children are: Mildred; Dorothea, deceased; and Lester and Chester, twins. Clara is the wife of Charles Bester of Ironton, and their two children are Louis and Karl. The son Edward is unmarried and is also a tinner by trade. Bertha and Edith are students in the Ironton high school. Mr. Fillgrove is a republican in politics, a member of the Lutheran Church, and a member of the Chamber of Commerce.
From "A Standing History of the Hanging Rock Iron Region of Ohio" by Eugene B. Willard, Daniel W. Williams, George O. Newman and Charles B. Taylor. Published by Lewis Publishing Company, 1916