George H. Wike is engaged in the insurance business in Barry, his native city. He was born May 1, 1875 and is a son of Thomas 0. and Elmira (Cochran) Wike. His father was born in Barry township in 1848, and was a son of David J. and Drucilla (Orr) Wike, who were of German descent. The former was born in Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, in 1821, and was the youngest son of George and Mary (Essig) Wike, both of whom were natives of the Keystone state, in which George Wike died in 1825- The grand­father of our subject, reared and educated in the east, settled in Quincy, Illinois, in 1842 and was there engaged in the woolen business for two years, when he removed to Barry township, Pike county, and in connection with his brothers, George and Joseph, and J. P. Grubb erected a factory for the manufacture of woolen goods on section 23. The new enterprise proved profitable and an extensive business was carried on for five years, at the end of which time David J. Wike sold his interest and purchased a farm in New Salem township, devoting the succeeding three years to its cultivation and improvement. He then returned to Barry and in 184? was married to Miss Drucilla, daughter of Thomas Orr and a native of Randolph county, Illinois, born in 1828. Mr. and Mrs. settled upon his farm in the spring of 1853 the place comprising two hundred acres of land valued at seventy-five dollars per acre, and to the further development and cultivation of the place he devoted his energies. He was the first member initiated into the Masonic order at Barry—the year being 1845 and his name is indelibly inscribed upon the pages of Pike county history, because of his active connection with many events contributing to its material progress and permanent improvement. In his family were seven children.

Thomas 0. Wike, one of this number, was reared and educated in Barry township and in his youth performed various duties which were assigned to him in connection with the cultivation of the home farm. He was married in 1872 to Miss Elmira Cochran, who was born in Baylis, in October, 1849 and unto them were born five children: George H., Elizabeth E., Berl H., Charles Owen and Glenn E., all of whom are living in Barry. The father was a farmer, owning and operating forty acres of land. He held membership in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and enjoyed in large measure the respect of his brethren of that fraternity and of the general public as well. He belonged to the pioneer generation of Barry's citizens and was an interested witness of the progress and development of the county through many years. He died in 1900 at the age of fifty-one years, while his wife passed away in July, 1902.

Reared in the county of his nativity and indebted to the public-school system for the educational privileges which have qualified him for life's practical and responsible duties, George H. Wike has for some time conducted a large and growing insurance business in Barry. He is now district agent and also special agent for the Phoenix Fire Insurance Company of Brooklyn, New York, and also for the Insurance Company of North America and the National Fire Insurance Company of Hartford, Connecticut. His territory covers Pike, Adams, Hancock, Morgan, Calhoun and Cass counties. For three years he was in partnership with Perry C. Allen, of Pittsfield, but is now alone in business and has a large clientage.

In 1901 Mr. Wike was married to Miss Gretta E. Greene, who was born in Pike county, near Barry, in September, 1880, and is a daughter of J. M. and Hannah (Tilton) Greene, who are residing near Barry. The father is a breeder of Shetland ponies, also handles cattle and is the owner of one hundred and twelve acres of valuable land. In his family were three daughters! Mrs. Wike, who was educated in music; Mrs. Nora Taylor, who is living in Trinidad, Colorado; and Delia, at home.

Mr. Wike is a member of Barry lodge, No. 3.K A. F. & A. M.; also Barry chapter, No. 88, R. A. M.; Knights of Pythias lodge, No. 567, and the Mutual Protective League. He votes with the democracy and has been alderman of Barry since 1901. but is far from being a politician in the usually accepted sense, and his present office holding comes only from an earnest desire to aid in the promotion of the city's welfare and its progress along substantial lines of improvement.

Contributed by Mavis Turnbaugh Wike - Past and Present of Pike County
Compiler's note: George H. Wike died 1 October 1940;
Gretta E. (Greene) Wike w/o George died 12 Nov 1950. Both are buried at Park Lawn Cemetery, Barry.
George and Gretta Wike were married 20 April 1901.