Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1881-09-01
Another Lie Nailed,


paign stories. First the Springfield
Republic charged that Mr.. Bookwslter
raved and swore when asked 70 sub
scribe to the fund for the decoration of
soldiers graves. The Republic was
compelled to publish card from Mr..
Parsons. a Republican, denying the
story. Next the Dayton Journal whose
editor, Bill Bickham, attended the
Cleveland Convention with a well filed
bottle of whisky, charged that Profes-
sor Geiger, of Antioch College, wrote
a book on the Sandwich Islands, which
bears Mr. Bookwalter's name as author.
Professor Geiger promptly wrote card
to the Journal, giving Mr.. Bookwalter
full credit for the authorship. Next
came the Cincinnati Gazette ringing
the changes and charging in childish
manner that Mr. Bookwalter had
changed his name from Buchwalter.
The Gazette has had the fairness to pub.
lish the following correspondence
which explains itself:
CHANGE IN THE NAME OF BoOKwALTER-
THE FAMILY oRTHOGRAPHY.
To the Editor ofthe Cincinnati Gazette;
CINCINNATI, July 27.-Will you be
good enough to publish the accompany
ing letter to me from Jonathan L..
Throcmorton, of Chillicothe, o.? Mr..
T., as we'll as myself, was born in Col
Grain Township, Ross county, o., near
Hallsville, went to school there, and
knew from our infancy most of the
Bookwalter family well. The John
Bookwalter, who died at the age of
elghty-fve, was the father of Levi
Buchwalter, and the grandfather of
Morris Lyons Buchwalter, of the firm
of Tilden, Buchwalter & Campbell.
Johns mother died at Hallsville few
years ago in her Tooth year. l trans
acted business for John Bookwalter,
as attorney, years ago, and remember
that he signed his name Bookwalter.
You were pleased to say in the Gazette
of the 2lst "Judge Yaple forgets, or
never knew, that the Ross county
branch of the family did not change
its name from Buchwalter to Bookwal.
ter. People who change their names
are always weak about the head"
Y ou will now perceive that did know,
and have not forgotten, how the name
has been spelled by the Ross county
branch of the family. The plain infer
ence from your iteration and reitera-
ton of Bookwalter, alias Buchwalter
is that Hon. John w. Bookwalter
changed the spelling of his name by
reason of weakness in the head or from
an antipathy against Germans. Iknow
better, and submit whether it is can
did or fair to continue, without any
ground for so doing, the attempt to
create little and contemplate preju-
dice against Mr.. Bookwalter.
AEFRED YAPLE.
Hon Alfred Yaple Cincinnati, o.: e
Ny DEAR FRIEND-Your letter of
23d inst. received, and in reply have
to say that an inspection Of the public
records of this (Ross) county shows
that the two pioneer brothers, Joseph
and Abraham Bookwalter, from the
time they settled in Colerain township,
this county, always wrote their names
in German, and that the records of the
various instruments of writing to
which their names are signed generally
spelled and wrote their names Buch,
walter, sometimes Buckwalter, and
frequently Bookwalter. That the sons
of Abraham, viz: John. Joseph, Abra-
ham, jr., Samuel, and Henry, spelled
and wrote their names Bookwalter,
and that four of the five sons of Joseph,
viz: David, Abraham, Jonathan, and
John, spelled and wrote their names
the same way-Bookwalter- Isaac
L., the youngest son of Joseph, spelled
and wrote his name Buchwalter.
Of all the defendants of the above
named Bookwalters, I know of none
who spell and write their names Buch-
walter, except Levi and Samuel D.,
grandsons of Abraham, and only sons
of John Bookwalter, who died at Halls
vile, in this county, in 1872, eighty
five years of age, and who always
spelled and wrote his name Bookwalter
up to the time of his death.
Levi and Samuel D., as I have been
told, when they grew up wrote, and
have, with their decendants, since con
tlnued to write, their names Buchwal-
ter, and that they did it so as to pre-
serve the original spelling of the name,
or rather because that orthography
came nearer giving the correct pronun-
citation Of the original name-Boohwalter;
and Levi and Sam. D. were followed
i'll adopting their method Of spelling
the name by two of the three sons of
their uncle, Samuel Bookwalter, and
by Rev. Isaac L. Buchwalter the young
est son of the pioneer, Joseph Book,
walter.
The records here show that David
Bookwalter, the father of Hon. John
w. Bookwalter, as early as 1880, sew
eral years before John W. was born,
and up to 1889 after he had removed
to Indiana, spelled and wrote his name
Bookwalter, and have no doubt that
he always spelled it the same way.
Yours very truly,
j. L. THRocKMoRToN.