John W. Bartel, who is identified with the agricultural interests of Miami county, was born on the 10th of December, 1865, in Auglaize county, Ohio, and when only three years of age was left an orphan. His father, Joseph Bartel, was born in Hamburg, Germany, and when a young man emigrated to the United States, taking up his abode in Piqua, Ohio, where he married Miss Sourbough, who died in Piqua. Later he wedded Miss Annie Swavely and subsequently removed to Auglaize county. During the civil war he enlisted as a private in the Seventy-first Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and for four years loyally defended the Union cause. He died in Auglaize county about 1869, and his second wife passed away in 1866. The children of his first marriage were: Theresa, who became the wife of Charles Hirt; and Lizzie, wife of Joseph Swavely. By his second marriage there were four children: August, who is living in Shelby, county, Ohio; Oliver, a resident, of Newton township, Miami county; Katie, wife of Addison Stafford, of Dodge City, Kansas; and John W., of this review.

After the death of his parents Mr. Bartel, of this sketch, made his home with his uncle, Adam Bartel, until seven years of age, and since that time he has been dependent upon his own resources, so that whatever success he has achieved is the merited reward of his individual labor. Throughout the period of his minority he resided in the home of William Morrin, and after his marriage he went to a home of his own. Throughout his entire life he has carried on agricultural pursuits and is recognized as an enterprising young farmer of Miami county. On the 30th of March, 1892, he was joined in wedlock to Mellie B. Morrin, a daughter of George S. Morrin and a grand-daughter of William Morrin. The latter was born in Ireland and when a young man, in order to avoid service in the English army, he ran away from home, crossing the Atlantic to the United States. He took up his abode in Washington county, Pennsylvania, where he married Elizabeth Snyder, and with his wife and family he afterward came to Miami county, Ohio. He finally settled in Washington township, where his death occurred as the result of injuries sustained from being thrown from a horse. His widow died in Piqua.

His son, George S. Morrin, the father of Mrs. Bartel, was born in Washington county, Pennsylvania, June 30, 1818, and when five years of age was brought by his parents to Miami county, the family residing in Piqua for about five years, when they removed to a farm in Washington township. There George S. Morrin was reared to manhood and in the public schools of the neighborhood he acquired his education. At the age of eighteen he began earning his own livelihood by working as a farm hand, and also followed other occupations that would yield him an honest living. In 1850 he joined a party en route for California, having been attracted by the discovery of gold in that state. In the party was a young man who said that he would kill the first Indian that he met. They had proceeded well into the country inhabited by the red race, when one day they espied a squaw washing clothes in a creek. Members of the party began joking the young man about his promise, whereon he raised his gun and shot the squaw dead. The news reached her tribe and they proceeded and overtook the company, capturing the young man who did the deed. They tied him to a stake and skinned him alive, compelling his comrades to witness his horrible death. At length the party reached California, and Mr. Morrin prospected in the gold fields of that state, meeting with fair success during the seven years which he spent upon the Pacific slope. On the expiration of that period he returned home, and on the 15th of August, 1858, he was united in marriage to Mrs. Rachel Mitchell, nee Parish. Her father, Noah Parish, was a native of North Carolina and with his parents removed to Indiana, where he was reared. He was a son of Edward Parish, who was married, in North Carolina, to Rachel Tucker. They spent their last days in Indiana, dying in Putnam county. Noah Parish married Jerusha Elliott, and in the spring of 1834 he removed to Des Moines county, Iowa. Later he took up his abode in Washington township, Washington county, Iowa, where he died August 15, 1845, his wife's death there occurring in 1850. T hey were the parents of six children, namely: Rachel, who became the mother of Mrs. Bartel; George, who died at the age of sixteen years; Jennie, who became the wife of William Benson, of Nebraska; Noah, of Iowa; Mary, who became the wife of James Lowry, who died in Battle Creek, Michigan; and Elliott, who was a private of the Eleventh Iowa Infantry in the civil war and died in the hospital at Memphis, Tennessee. Rachel Parish, the eldest child, became the wife of Samuel K. Mitchell, a son of Joseph Mitchell, who was a native of Kentucky, in which state he married Sarah McCullough. He afterward came to Miami county and was later twice married. His second wife was Mary Ann Morrin, an aunt of Mrs. Bartel, and his third wife was Mary Preston, who died near Troy.

In the spring of 1860 George S. Morrin removed to his farm in Washington township, where he owns sixty-five acres. That tract of land he operated until his death, which occurred May 27, 1898. The farm is now conducted by Mr. Bartel, of this review. Mr. Morrin was a Baptist in his religious faith and was a stanch Democrat in his political views. His wife was born January 23, 1835, in Des Moines county, Iowa, and was reared in Washington county, that state. There she married Samuel Kyle Mitchell, with whom she came to Washington township, Miami county. Here Mr. Mitchell died May 17, 1852, and their only child, Mary Kyle, died in infancy. The children of George and Rachel (Parish) Morrin were eight in member, namely: Orlando E., who died in Muncie, Indiana, in 1893; Martha Elizabeth, who became the wife of Harrison Hildebrand and died in Shelby county, Ohio, December 8, 1887; Sarah Jane, who died April 20, 1889, at the age of twenty-six years; Mrs. Bartel; James W., of Piqua, Ohio; Elger J., of Troy, Ohio, who married Hattie Gruver, and they have two children, Pearl and Lida; Albert Lee, of Troy; and Franklin G., of Troy, Ohio, who married Miss Nellie Starry, whose death occurred October 2, 1897.

Mrs. Bartel, a member of this family, was born in Washington township, October 18, 1864, and by her marriage has become the mother of three children, Ruth, Paul and Grace. They reside upon a good farm in Washington township, where Mr. Bartel is successfully engaged in the cultivation of his land. His well tilled fields yield to him a golden tribute in return for the care he bestows upon them. He is a young man of high moral character, at all times honorable and upright in his dealings, and is a consistent member of the Baptist church. In politics he is a stanch Republican, but has never sought or desired office, preferring to give his attention to his business affairs, in which he has met with creditable success.