|
DANIEL ARGERBRIGHT Daniel Argerbright, proprietor of the leading photograph studio of Troy, was born in Rockingham county, Virginia, April 3, 1834, his parents being Abraham and Delilah (Eaton) Argerbright, both of whom were natives of Virginia. His great-grandfather, George Agerbright, served under the personal command of General Washington in the Revolutionary war. The mother's people were of English lineage. In 1840 the parents of our subject came to Ohio, locating at West Alexandria, Preble county, where the father died in 1845. The mother afterward removed to Indiana, where her last days were spent. She was again married, her second husband being a Mr. Anderson. Mr. Argerbright, whose, name begins this sketch, has spent nearly his entire life in Preble and Miami counties, and to the common-school system of the state is indebted for the educational privileges which he enjoyed. In early life he served an apprenticeship as a body-maker in a carriage manufactory, and in 1860 he began business on his own account, conducting a factory in Tippecanoe City until 1872. He then organized the Troy Spring Wagon & Wheel Works, of which he was superintendent for four years, when he resigned to accept a position with the Milburn Wagon Company, at Toledo. Six months afterward the works were burned and he was thus thrown out of employment. Returning to Troy, he purchased property and established a carriage shop, which he conducted for a short time and then closed out. He was the first man in Ohio to introduce and use machinery in the manufacture of light vehicles, establishing this innovation in Tippecanoe in 1870. Since abandoning the business of carriage manufacturing he has engaged in photographic work and conducts an excellent studio in Troy, where he not only takes first class pictures, but also does water-color, crayon and pastel work. He also handles photographic supplies for men in the profession and for amateurs. He has a gallery well equipped for turning out a high grade of work and receives from the public a very liberal patronage, which is well merited. Mr. Argerbright was married March 1, 1855, in Monroe township, Miami county, to Miss Sarah I. Wells, a native of this county and a daughter of Silas Wells, who was born in North Carolina and came to Ohio in pioneer days. They lost one child and have one living, now Mrs. Lucy B. Wagner, of Troy. They own their own home, which is one of the pleasant residences of the city, celebrated for its gracious hospitality. Mr. Argerbright assisted in recruiting a regiment for service in the civil war and was tendered a first lieutenancy, but home interest demanded his attention and he remained in Miami county. He was, however, a loyal Union subject, and to the extent of his means assisted in caring for soldiers' families. In 1855 he joined the Masonic fraternity and has attained the rank of Knight Templar. He served as worshipful master in Tippecanoe Lodge and also filled the same position in the lodge at Troy. He and his family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, with which he has been connected for over forty years. Until 1870 he was a radical Republican, but in that year allied himself with the Prohibition party, which he supported until recently, when he became an adherent of the doctrines of the Uniform Reform party. He is a man firm in the support of his holiest convictions, and at all times has been true to every trust reposed in him. His business success is the result of his commendable efforts, and as the architect of his own fortune he has built wisely and well. Return to the Biography Index Copyright
© 2000 by Computerized Heritage Association. |
