W. V. SWISHER was born February 4, 1848, near Versailles, Darke County, Ohio, and is a son of William and Mary (Ward) Swisher. He was reared on his father's farm, which he left in 1869 in order to become a railroad man, starting in 1870 with the old C. C. C.& I., which is now the Big Four Railroad, on the run between Union City, Indiana, to Galion, Ohio, and for five years he lived at the latter place. After that road took over the I .& St. Louis, he was transferred to what is now the St. Louis Division of the Big Four and for fourteen years he was engineer between Indianapolis and St. Louis, living during that period at Mattoon, Illinois. In 1894 he retired from the railroad and moved to his farm two miles northeast of Covington, where he resided until September, 1906, when he came to Covington. Mr. Swisher still retains his farm of sixty-five acres.

Mr. Mikesell was married (first) to Susan Fridley, who died four years later, leaving three children, namely: Andrew F., who lives on a farm north of Covington; Mary, who is the wife of John Rapp, and lives on a farm in Concord Township; and Elizabeth, now deceased, who married Martin Mohler and left three children. Mr. Mikesell was married (second) to Elizabeth Thompson, who is now deceased. There were seven children born to the second union, namely: Thompson, who died when aged four years; Jacob, who died in childhood; Catherine, who is the wife of W. V. Swisher, of Covington; Elnora, who died in childhood; Charles, who died in infancy; Amelia, who married J. L. Miller, of Dayton, Ohio, and has one son, Joseph Mikesell; and Jennie, now deceased, who was the wife of George McGowan and is survived by one son, William Lawson. The mother of these children died December 29, 1900. Mr. Mikesell is the oldest member and a deacon in the German Baptist Church at Covington.