Otho W. Loofbourrow
Otho W. Loofbourrow is one of the most active members of the farming community of Madison County and, by his progressive spirit, has succeeded in placing his farm in Pleasant Township under excellent cultivation. In addition to raising cereals, he gives considerable time and attention to grazing stock, from which branch of agriculture he reaps a handsome income. His estate is located one mile south of Mt. Sterling, in which place he was born August 30, 1844.
Our subject is the son of James and Jane (Gregory) Loofbourrow, the grandson of Thomas, greatgrandson of John Wade Loofbourrow, and great-great-grandson of Wade Loofbourrow, who emigrated from Scotland to America and settled near Amboy, N. J. The date of emigration we are unable to ascertain. His descendants removed from Amboy to Virginia about 1797, and from that State to Ohio in 1803. Our subject lost both parents, also one sister and brother, by cholera in July, 1852, and afterward made his home with Mrs. Elizabeth Williams until he was fourteen years of age, when he went to the home of M. M. Thomas, his uncle and guardian.
When eighteen years old, Mr. Loofbourrow enlisted as a private in Company G, One Hundred and Thirteenth Ohio Infantry. He participated in the battles of Chickamauga, Kenesaw Mountain, Peach Tree Creek, Wilson's Creek, Bentonville, and was with Gen. Sherman on his memorable march to the sea. After taking part in the Grand Review at Washington, D. C, he returned home in July, 1865, and on November 19th of the same year was married to Miss Malvina Loofbourrow. This lady was born in Madison County, July 13, 1843, and is the daughter of L. P. and Elizabeth (Graham) Loofbourrow.
In addition to the farm above mentioned, Mr. Loofbourrow is the proprietor of a good tract of land in Fayette County, and one two miles northwest of Mt. Sterling. He has been the architect of his own fortune and enjoys an extended reputation as an able financier. He was elected County Commissioner in 1889, and has been active in protecting the interests of the people in the building of the court house, jail and sheriff's residence. Tliree children comprise the family of Mr. and Mrs. Loofbourrow: Rena Helen, who was born in Mt. Sterling, September 24, 1866, is a graduate of the Mt. Sterling schools and also attended the colleges at Oberlin and Lebanon. October 7, 1890, she was married to Harry Fitzgerald and is the mother of one son. Lisle H. Milton Floyd was born in Fayette County, April 17, 1872, and was graduated from the Mt. Sterling schools in 1891. Two years before receiving his diploma he was engaged in the bank at Mt. Sterling and is now studying civil engineering at the Ohio State University at Columbus. Bessie was born in Fayette County, September 9, 1873, and was graduated in 1892 from the Mt. Sterllng schools.
From PORTRAIT & BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF FAYETTE, PICKAWAY AND MADISON COUNTIES, OHIO - Chapman Bros. [Chicago, 1892]