George Lewis Keppler
(1848-1916)
George Lewis Keppler was born in May 1848 in Germany. George Lewis Keppler lived in Milford [Township - Butler County] Ohio, in 1910. George Lewis Keppler married Margaretha Schmidt in 1877 when he was 29 years old. They had four children during their marriage.
> Son, William F. Keppler was born in July 1882 in Ohio.
> Son, Frank E. Keppler was born in 1886. (Unfortunately, Frank died in a 1930 dynamite explosion.)
> Daughter, Adeline ("Addie") Keppler was born in June 1889 in Ohio.
> Daughter, Pauline Keppler was born on July 2, 1891, in Milford [Township], Ohio.
RIGHT:
George Lewis Keppler and his wife Margaretha (Schmidt) Keppler are both designated as Darrtown pioneers.
Ancestry records show that they were the first members of the Keppler family to reside in Milford Township, near Darrtown.
Margaretha (Schmidt) Keppler
(1847-1927)
The photo at the left was found at Ancestry.com.
The caption to the photo read: "George Louis & Margaretha Keppler - 1910"
The highlighted areas of the following 1914 Milford Township map show the location of the land that George and Margaretha Keppler owned - in Section 22 and Section 27.
Location of Keppler property that spanned the Oxford-Collinsville Rd.
The following map is the same as the one above, except that only Keppler property is identified on this version and a few annotations have been added.
Notice the location of School No. 11 on the south side of Scott Road.
Across the road from the school house, there was a dirt lane (marked by the red arrow on the map) that ran from Scott Road to the Keppler house and out buildings . The yellow dot indicates the approximate location of the Keppler house and barn, which were situated in a hollow or depressed area. The structures were not visible from the road.
BELOW: This former Milford Township No. 11 stands at 2291 Scott Road, opposite the lane to the former Keppler property.
ABOVE: In this 2009 photo, a farm gate blocks access to the lane that leads to the former Keppler farm. The lane is about a half-mile long.
Notice that there is no apparent access to the Keppler property from the SOUTH (Scott Road).
> See 1924 F. E. Keppler farm auction on Oxford-Collinsville Rd. (St. Rt. 73)
> See a 1928 Keppler deed
Part of the Keppler family tree is displayed in this Keppler lineage graphic.
RIGHT: This Google image shows the isolation of the Keppler property.
COUNTRY HIDEOUT
The seclusion of the Keppler property reinforces an tale that some locals have told to younger generations since the 1930's. The legend began during the time that Pauline (Keppler) Wiley and her husband, Bill Wiley, owned and operated the Hitching Post tavern in Darrtown. As the story goes, on several occasions, a nationally-known criminal is said to have purchased items from the Hitching Post. A relationship evolved, between owner and customer, to the point that the Kepplers allowed the "bad guy" to stay at their Scott Road farm.
FAMILIES I-L: KEPPLER ~ George Lewis Keppler
St. Rt. 73 >
< St. Rt. 73
Click the following link to see an earlier photo of Mr. and Mrs. Keppler - found at Miami Valley Memoirs.
That question is answered in a story that has been passed down through generations...
