To Breeders of Sheep

 

Daily Cincinnati Gazette. 28 Sep 1840.

The advertisement above was placed by George Oyler Sr. in the local Cincinnati newspapers, promoting his sheep for breeding. George's prize Kent buck was imported from England in April 1839, and won first at a farm show near Cincinnati in September 1839. His sheep won again in May 1840. The advertisement also included a testimonial from Robert Bowles, a fellow native of Kent, England, and the father of George's neighbor, Samuel P. Bowles.

It is possible George's Kent buck was a Romney Marsh sheep, valued for their "semi-long wool" and meat. I think this helps confirm the source of George's tavern name, the Buck Tavern. The advertisement also provides more color to George's background and farm in Hamilton County, Ohio. The census entries where he is listed between 1850 and 1880 simply say "farmer". Knowing he was a well-regarded sheep breeder and tavern operator gives us much more of a story to his life in Ohio.

There's another aspect of George's life that continues to have an impact today. George used some of the profits from the farm to purchase land that he later transferred to his son George Washington Oyler. This land became a prominent school, and I'll have more on the school in a future post.