INTRODUCTORY.

     This is township two of range one of the Connecticut Western Reserve, and forms the extreme northeastern corner of Mahoning county.  Coitsville is thus bounded: on the north by Hubbard, Trumbull county; on the east by Pennsylvania; on the south by Poland; and on the west by Youngstown.  The township contains a little village of Coitsville Center, which, however, is situated a little south of the geo-

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     *Manly from facts collected by John Shields

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graphic center of the township; also a portion of the little mining village known as Thorn Hill, now in a condition of decline.
     The land .......................................

PURCHASE AND SURVEY.

     Previous to the year 1798 Daniel Coit, of the State of Connecticut, purchased from the Connecticut Land company township number two in the first range, and gave to it the name of Coitsville.  It does not appear that he ever became a resident of the township, but authorized Simon Perkins, of Warren, to act as his general agent.
     In 1798 Mr. Coit sent on a party to survey his land and put it in the market.  John Partridge Bissel was the chief surveyor and also the subagent for the sale of the land.

ORGANIZATION AND FIRST ELECTION.

INTERESTING TOWNSHIP RECORDS.

     The records of the township for a few years following its organization show a number of interesting facts.  Here is one which we copy from Towship Record Book No. 1, page 98:

     At a meeting of William Huston, Joseph Jackson, and William Stewart, trustees for the township of Coitsville, at the dwelling house of Joseph Bissel of said town, on Apr. 27, 1808, ordered, that every person subject to pay a county tax, according to the act passed by the General Assembly of

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TAXES IN 1803.

     From ancient records we learn that the entire amount of taxes assessed upon Coitsville in the year 1803, was $14.95.  A copy of the list is given.

COITSVILLE, RANGE ONE, TOWN ONE.

EARLY SETTLERS.

     To AMOS LOVELAND belongs the honor of having made the first permanent settlement in the township.  He was a Revolutionary soldier and served three years.  He was a Revolutionary soldier and served three years.  He came to Coitsville in the spring of 1798, joined the surveying party and spent the summer assisting them.  In the fall he returned to his home in Chelsea, Orange county, Vermont, having purchased all the land in Coitsville situated on the south side of the Mahoning—a tract of four hundred and twenty-six acres, mostly level, rich, and fertile.   In December, 1798, with his wife and six children, he left Chelsea for his new home.  Mr. Loveland started from Vermont with two sleighs loaded with bedding, furniture, farming utensils, etc., each sleigh being drawn by two horses.  They traveled in this way until they reached the Susquehanna, which they crossed on the ice at Whitestown; the snow disappearing soon after, Mr. Loveland traded his sleighs for a wagon, transferred his goods into it and continued his journey.  Apr. 4, 1799, he arrived with his family upon his farm.  They began housekeeping in a small log cabin which he had erected the previous year.  This cabin was about eighteen feet square; it had no glass windows, and its door was made of clapboards with two sticks across, two of them being hinges fastened by wooden pins.  Not a nail had been used in the construction of this dwelling.  A puncheon or split log floor covered about half the ground included within the log walls.  There was no upper floor, and no chimney except a stone wall built up about five feet to keep the fire from the logs. In this cabin, of course with the addition of some improvements, the family
lived six years, and then erected a larger and more convenient one.
     During the first year the family depended largely upon the results of hunting for their food, with occasional supplies obtained from the few neighboring settlements.  Mr. Loveland cleared up his farm and resided upon it until his death, which occurred at the age of ninety.  Mrs. Love land died when ninety-three.   Her maiden name was Jemima Dickerson.  The Lovelands were the first family in the township, and to them were born the first male, as well as the first female child born in Coitsville.  Cynthia Loveland was born in June, 1799, and died in 1815.  Her brother David, born a year or two later, was the second child born in the township.  He spent the whole of a long life upon the old homestead, and his heirs still own some three hundred acres of the original farm.  Elizabeth Loveland, one of the daughters, became the wife of William McFarlin and the mother of six sons and six daughters.  She died June 16, 1881, aged ninety years, ten months and nine days.  She enjoyed the distinction of being a resident of the Western Reserve longer than any other person, having resided continuously in the Mahoning valley over eighty-two years.

     JOHN P. BISSEL, the surveyor of 1798, purchased a farm including the center of the township, made a clearing, and built a log-cabin.  In 1800 he emigrated from his home in Lebanon, Connecticut, with his family, consisting of three

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sons and six daughters, and settled on his purchase.  The family remained in Coltsville until 1805 or 1806 when they removed to Youngstown in order that the children might have better school advantages.  Mr. Bissel was the first acting justice of the peace in Coltsville.  He died in 1811.  His daughter Mrs. Mary
Kyle resided upon the old homestead from the time of his father's death until her own.  She died in 1880, in the eighty-third year of her age.

     ASA MARINER, then a single man, was one of the surveying party.  In 1798 he purchased a farm a little northwest of the center of the township, upon which he settled in 1800.  He married Sally Beggs and reared a numerous and respectable family.  This couple lived to a good old age, honored and respected.  Mr. Mariner was a member of the Disciple church, his wife of the United Presbyterian.  The old farm is still in the possession of two of the sons, Major James Mariner and his brother Ira.

     REV. WILLIAM WICK was a pioneer of Coitsville.  He was a native of Long Island, New York, but came to this county from Washington county, Pennsylvania. Sept. 1, 1799, he preached a sermon in Youngstown, said to have been the first sermon preached on the Reserve.  About 1801 he purchased a farm on the State line which is now occupied by the Beggs family.  Mr. Wick was ordained a preacher of the gospel by the Presbyterian church and installed pastor of the congregations of Youngstown and Hopewell, now Bedford, Pennsylvania.  All the Coitsville Presbyterians of the old school attended his church.  He continued in his relation as pastor until death called him home in 1815.  He was a very popular preacher and was instrumental in persuading persons of moral and religious character to settle in Coitsville.  During his pastorate he preached fifteen hundred and twenty-two sermons and solemnized sixty-nine marriages.  He was the father of eight sons and five daughters.  Of this family eleven lived to mature age.  Some of his sons attained some eminence in the political world.  William was Secretary of State in Indiana and James a judge of the court of common pleas in Mercer county, Pennsylvania.  The family were noted for being fine singers and proficients in penmanship.

     BARNEY HARRIS, the first blacksmith in Coitsville township, came from Washington county, Pennsylvania, and settled on section eleven previous to 1802.  He brought up ten children, three sons and seven daughters.  George, the only son now living, resides with his family in Iowa.  Three daughters with their families still in this vicinity.  Mrs. Harris was a daughter of Andrew Poe, noted for his encounter with an Indian near Georgetown, on the Ohio river.  Mr. A. B. Wilson, a grandson of Barney Harris, resides on the old Harris farm.  David Wilson came from Washington county, Pennsylvania, in 1803 or 1804.  He had two sons and three daughters.  Of this number only one son, David, is now living--a resident of Bedford, Pennsylvania.  Mr. Wilson was a wheelwright by trade.  In early years the little spinning-wheel was an indispensable article in every household, and Mr. Wilson engaged in its manufacture, and for many years gave employment to several men in his shop, where he made wheels, reels, and coffins.  The improvements made in spinning machinery as time progressed destroyed one branch of this business, but he continued the undertaking business for many years.  Mr. Wilson erected a grist-mill to be run by ox power, but after a few years' trial it was pronounced a failure and abandoned.  He erected a brick house in 1815, which is still occupied by his descendants.

     ALEXANDER McGUFFEY and family moved from Washington county, Pennsylvania, to Coitsville in about the year 1800.  His father and mother, who were natives of Scotland, also came with him.  The family were zealous Presbyterians.  Alexander was a farmer, and settled near Sand Hill.  His son, Rev. William McGuffey, became widely known as the author of a series of school books known as McGuffey's Eclectic Readers.  William was brought to Coitsville in infancy.  His mother—an excellent woman—used to delight in recounting the hardships they endured during the first years of their residence here, and how she used to place William in a sugar trough while she assisted her husband in clearing up the farm.  William received his common school education in Coitsville, the writer of these sketches being one of his school-mates.  Our school-house was a cabin built of round logs, situated at the corners of the farms now occupied by Thomas Brownlee, Rev. H. S. Boyd, Al. Wilson, and Ambrose Shields.  William McGuffey afterwards taught school in the same place.  He

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began the study of the dead languages under John McCready, who taught a select school near Pulaski, Mercer county, Pennsylvania, in 1817; completed his college course and graduated from the college at Oxford, Ohio.  He was licensed as a preacher by the presbytery, but was never the settled pastor of any congregation.  Instead, he devoted his life to the advancement of education.  He died in his seventy-sixth year at the residence of his daughter in Dayton, Ohio.  But his memory will be long perpetuated by his works.  William McGuffey was a man of genial temperament, a pleasant and affable speaker.

     DAVID AND REBECCA (ARMSTRONG) COOPER settled in the township in 1800.  Five of their children still reside in Coitsville.  He was a native of Maryland; his wife of Pennsylvania.  Mr. Cooper was a member of the surveying party of 1798.

     JAMES LYNN settled early on section eleven.  His farm is now the Dalby farm.  About the same time with him John Johnson settled on Section ten.

     SAMPSON MOORE, about 1802, settled on section ten.  He lived and died in this township, and brought up his family here.  None of his sons became settlers of Coitsville.

     WILLIAM, JAMES, JOHN and DAVID STEWART came here at different dates.  All were early settlers.  David settled west of the village.  William, James, and John took up farms in the northwestern quarter of the township.  David Stewart, son of William, lives on his father's old place.  Robert Stewart, son of William, lives on section three.  John and James settled near William.  Mr. Rush owns a part of James' farm, and the Grays a part of John's.

     THOMAS EARLY was among the first settlers in the western part of the township.  The Fitch family, elsewhere mentioned, were among the early settlers on the Mahoning.

     DAVID BROWNLEE, his parents, and his sister Margaret, were early settlers near the south line of the township.  John Brownlee, who lives near the Pennsylvania line, is a son of David.  The family consisted of ten children, of whom three sons and one daughter are still living, John being the oldest.

     MATTHEW ROBB was an early settler on the William Price farm. He afterwards sold this and built where Mr. McCartney lives.

     DANIEL AUGUSTINE, a sober, industrious, honest German, settled in the township in 1802.  His family is still well represented in this township.  It is related of him that he was once offered $15 for a cow which he had for sale.  He refused the price; said that $13 was all that she was worth, and all he was willing to take.

     WILLIAM BELL was an early settler in the north east of the township, lived and died here.  Some of his sons remained for a time, then moved away.  One, John Mason Bell, lived upon the old place until his death.

     A man named THOMPSON was an early settler on Ambrose Sheild's farm.  He sold to Timothy SWAN, who lived and died there.

     JOSEPH and MARY (GOE) BEGGS, natives of Ireland, settled in Coitsville, west of the village, in1802.  Their son, James Beggs, Esq., born June 17, 1799, is still a resident of the township.  Joseph Beggs was a soldier of 1812.

     JOHN JOHNSON, from Mercer county, Pennsylvania, settled in the eastern part of the township in 1803.  He married Jane Caldwell, of Beaver county, Pennsylvania, and brought up a faimly of nine children.  ONly two are now living, Samuel in Iowa, and John in this township.  David Johnson, one of his family, died in April, 1881.

     JAMES SHEILDS, a native of Ireland, came to Coitsville in 1802 and purchased a farm of two hundred and thirty acres east of the village.  The same year he married Margaret Walker.  He died in 1854 aged eighty years.  He reared three sons and five daughters, all of whom settled in Coitsville and had families, except one daughter who died young.  All of the original family are now dead excepting John, the oldest son, and James, the youngest.  The latter resides in Loveland, Colorado.  James Shields, Sr., built and operated the first distillery in the township.  It was erected in 1803.  He operated it for a few years, but not finding the business profitable, sold out and thenceforth devoted himself to employments more useful and beneficial.  Ammi R. and Prudence (Burrows) Bissel settled a little north of the village in 1806.  Their son, Partridge Bissel, born in 1803, is still a resident of the township.  Ammi Bissel was a brother of John

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P., and came from Vermont.  He was the father of five sons and two daughters.  He was the first carpenter in the township, and was energetic and active in his work.  He was a good neighbor and an honest man.

     The WIDOW McFARLIN (nee MARGERY ANDERSON) came to this township from Ireland about the year 1804, with a family of four sons and two daughters, all of whom married after coming here. Isabel, the oldest, married James McGill; Mary married Robert McKean, settled in Ellsworth and died there; Alexander settled south of the center of Coitsville.  He was accidentally killed by the falling of a tree.  He had seven sons and two daughters, most of whom settled in this vicinity.  William settled on the top of the hill on the Hazelton road.  He reared a large family. Eleven children arrived at years of maturity. But one son is living, Anderson, at Coitsville.  Four of his daughters are living, viz:  Mrs. Lydia Mahan, Liberty, Trumbull county; Miss Jemima McFarlin, Niles; Mrs. Matilda Price, Coitsville, and Mrs. Lavina Harris, Youngstown.  Andrew settled in the southern part of the township, but later moved to Indiana and died.  He had a large family.  His sons are all dead. Several daughters are living in Indiana.  James settled on the road leading west from the village and died there.  He had several children, none of whom remain.

     The first shoemaker, STEPHEN ALLERTON, came from New Jersey, and settled south of the center, early in this century.  He was honest and a good neighbor, but intemperate in his habits.

     The first tailor was JOHN POTTER, a very early settler.  He was a good citizen, and a strict Presbyterian.  His farm was on the Hubbard and Lowell road.  He had a large family, but not a branch of it remains here at the present day.

     The oldest man in this township is ALEXANDER BEGGS, born in Ireland about the year 1789.  He settled in Coitsville in 1822.

     The first marriage ceremony was performed about 1803, uniting EBENEZER COREY and POLLY THOMPSON, in the bonds of wedlock.

     The first death was that of an infant son of JOHN P. BISSEL, and occurred in 1801.

HARD TIMES.

HIGHWAYS.

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ENCOUNTER WITH A BEAR.

THE STRUTHERS TRAGEDY.

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RELIGIOUS HISTORY.

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THE FIRST MARRIAGE.

EARLY SCHOOLS.

MILLS.

DISTILLERIES.

MORALS.

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BURIAL PLACES.

     The cemetery near the Methodist church was located in 1836 or 1837.  The first interment was that of a son of John Bissel, a merchant at the village.  This burial was made in 1837.
     The cemetery adjoining the Presbyterian church at the village was gotten up by private enterprise.  Samuel Jackson purchased a piece of ground and donated it to the church for burial purposes in 1878.
     The remains of most of the old settlers of Coitsville are buried in the Deer Creek Church cemetery, New Bedford, Pennsylvania.

THE VILLAGE.

EARLY JUSTICES OF THE PEACE.

POST-OFFICE.

TANNERIES.

INCIDENTS OF THE 1812 WAR.

JAMES MILLIGAN

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RELIGIOUS EXCITEMENT.

NOTES OF SETTLEMENT.

     JAMES MILLIGAN was born in county Tyrone, Ireland, Mar. 15, 1806, and came to this country with his parents, John and Margaret, when a lad of twelve years.  Three brothers, John, Dixon, and Robert, came also at this time.  The oldest brother, William, remained in Ireland with his grandfather Milligan.  He was at length employed by a wealthy shipping company as clerk, and afterwards taken into partnership.  He died Apr. 2, 1882, having amassed a fortune of $2,000,000.  Dixon settled in the western part of Ohio, where he became a successful physician.  He died in February, 1874.  Robert died in 1875.  At the time of

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his death he was prominently connected with the Kentucky university.  He was the author of several works on the Bible, and held a high position as an educator.  John lived a quiet and honorable life on the homestead, and died January, 1876.  Isabel, Thomas, and Samuel were born after the family came to America.  James possessed a great memory, and the recollection of his boyhood days was very vivid. The voyage across the ocean was an intensely interesting event to the keen Irish lad, and many were the anecdotes he could relate in connection with it.  The family settled in the northwest part of Coitsville township about two and one-half miles from the present city of Youngstown.  In 1826 James married Catharine, sister of William McGuffey, author of school readers bearing his name, and afterwards engaged in the dry goods business in Vienna.  He afterward returned to his first place of residence, where he held the office of justice of the peace for three terms.  In 1846 he was elected commissioner of Trumbull county.  He was a Democrat in politics, and an influential member of the party.  He was an active member of the Methodist Episcopal church, which he served in many capacities.  In 1850 his entire family was prostrated by typhoid fever, at which time his wife and two children, Margaret and Alexander, died.  The surviving children were Isabel, John, Sarah, and Mary.  He married again Nancy M. Reed, daughter of William Reed.  By this marriage there were two sons, Dixon and James. He was a public spirited and influential man, and his death, which occurred Mar. 30, 1881, was sincerely and widely lamented.

     JOHN SHIELDS, Coitsville township, was born Sept. 1, 1804. His father, James, a native of Ireland, came to the farm where Mr. Shields now resides in 1802, from Beaver county, Pennsylvania.  He was born Nov. 26, 1773, died Jan. 19, 1854.  His wife, whom he married in 1802, was Margaret Walker, of Mercer county, Pennsylvania.  She was born Oct. 1, 1783, died Feb. 14, 1852.  They brought up a family of eight children, of whom two sons are yet living, John and James.  The latter resides in Loveland, Colorado. A daughter, Mrs. Mary Davidson, of Coltsville, died July 6, 1881, aged seventy-eight years.  John Shields was married in 1829 to Sarah Davidson, of Youngstown, born May 17, 1809. They have had four children, and the three sons are yet living, each of their farms being near the old homestead.  Names of children: James Davidson, born Jan. 24, 1831; Ann Jane, June 5, 1834, John Gailey, June 15, 1843; Ambrose, Aug. 18, 1849.  Ann Jane died Jan. 17, 1868.  Mr. Shields and all of the family are Republicans, temperance men, and members of the United Presbyterian church.  Mr. Shields has been honored by election to the following offices:  county commissioner, coroner, justice of the peace, postmaster, etc.  He has been an elder in his church for over forty years.  His oldest son, one of our leading farmers, was married Dec. 12, 1865, to Mary Gilchrist, of Coitsville.  The other sons are also married.  J. D. Shields has a splendid farm residence, and the best barn in the township.  The Shields family is one of activity and integrity.

     WILLIAM STEWART was born in Coitsville, May 18, 1808.  He is the son of William Stewart, a native of Adams county, Pennsylvania, who came to this county previous to 1804, and settled in the western part of Coitsville township, where he lived and died, bringing up five sons and three daughters.  Four sons are still living, Elijah, Robert, William, and David.  Elijah resides in DeKalb county, Illinois; the others in this township.  William Stewart, Sr., was one of six brothers who came to the Western Reserve in early times and settled in Trumbull and Mahoning counties.  All brought up families and lived to be old.  Mr. Stewart, when eighteen years of age, learned the business of tanning, in which he is still engaged.  He established his tannery at Coitsville in 1832, and is still doing business there.  He married Jane Brownlee in 1833.  Four of their children are living: Mary E. (deceased), Huldah, Morilla, David C., and Florence; all married except Huldah.  Mrs. Stewart died in 1863, aged forty-eight years.  She was a devoted member of the United Presbyterian church for several years.  Mr. Stewart is well and favorably known as a business man; has held several township offices.

     JOHN S. BROWNLEE was born at Turfoot, Lenwickshire, Scotland, Mar. 6, 1806.  He came to America in 1830, and settled in Coitsville township, where he still resides, in 1831.  He has a farm of over two hundred acres and a very

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pleasant and comfortable home.  Mr. Brownlee was married Apr. 19, 1830, to Janet Patterson, who was born in Strathhaven, Scotland, Sept.  11, 1811.  They have had eight children, three of whom are living, Margaret W., Ellen F., Jane F., John A., James P., Randal Scroggs, and William W. The second child, a daughter, died in infancy.  Jane, Randall S., and William W., are yet living.  Mr. and Mrs. Brownlee are members of the Presbyterian church.  They are among the most respected citizens of Coitsville.

     ROBERT DAVIDSON was born in Youngstown in 1807.  His father, James Davidson, a native of Ireland, settled in Youngstown previous to the year 1800.  He was married before coming to the county to Margaret Croskery, a native of Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania.  They brought up eleven children, eight of them still living, Robert Davidson being the fourth child.  Mr. Davidson bought the farm on which he now lives in 1831, and moved there the following year.  He has been twice married—first in 1832 to Anna Shields, daughter of James Shields, one of the first settlers in Coitsville; she died in 1835. In 1839 Mr. Davidson married Catharine Lackey of Lawrence county, Pennsylvania.  They have three children, Anna, Mary, and Frances.  Mary is the wife of James Cowden, of Wheeling, West Virginia, and Frances is the wife of D. C. Stewart of Coitsville.  Mr. and Mrs. Davidson have belonged to the United Presbyterian church for many years.  Mr. Davidson has been an elder in this church for over forty years.  He is a sound Republican and a worthy citizen.

     JOHN H. REED,  farmer, was born in Coitsville township in 1816, and has always resided here.  His parents, William and Martha Reed, were among the early settlers.  They brought up a family of five children, three of whom are living, viz: John, William, and Nancy (widow of James Milligan).  John H. Reed lives upon the farm settled by his father.  The farm contains at present one hundred and seventy-two acres.  Mr. Reed was first married in 1838 to Jane Kimmel, daughter of Philip Kimmel, of Coitsville.  They had seven children, three of whom are living:  Lycurgus S., born Sept. 22, 1839, died Mar. 14, 1864; Martha M., Aug. 12, 1841, died Aug. 28, 1859; Philip K., July 4, 1845, died July 19, 1859; William H., Feb. 24, 1849; Susan W., Apr. 20, 1853; Elizabeth T., Edward F., (twins), June 26, 1856.  Elizabeth died Nov. 14, 1871; Mrs. Reed died Feb. 24, 1862.  In 1863 Mr. Reed married Mrs. Samantha McFarlin, daughter of William McClelland, by whom he has two children: Althea, born Apr. 23, 1865, and Pluma, June 20, 1866.  Mr. Reed is a Republican.  He has held the office of township trustee.  He does an excellent farming business.

     JOHN F. ROBISON was born in Mercer county, (now Lawrence county) Pennsylvania, Feb. 17, 1829.  He came to Mahoning county in 1857, locating in Coitsville township.  He purchased his present farm in 1863; has one hundred and fifteen acres in Coitsville, with good buildings and improvements, and owns also seventy-six acres with buildings, etc., in Poland township.  He raises grain, cattle, sheep, etc.  Mr. Robison was married Mar. 25, 1854, to Hannah McWilliams, of Lawrence county, Pennsylvania.  They have six children, Almina, Ellen, George L., William J., Elmer and Edward Lee (twins), and Audley O.  Mr. and Mrs. Robison are members of the Presbyterian church.  Mr. Robison is a sound Democrat.

     ANDERSON McFARLIN, a descendant of some of the very earliest settlers in the county, was born in Coitsville Apr. 12, 1828, and has always resided here.  He is the owner of a good farm of one hundred and ninety acres situated near the center of the township.  Mr. McFarlin was married Apr. 26, 1849, to Sarah Kirk.  Mrs. McFarlin is the daughter of Andrew and Elizabeth (Baldwin) Kirk.  Andrew Kirk came at an early date from Washington county, Pennsylvania; he was originally from New Jersey.  Elizabeth Baldwin was the daughter of Caleb Baldwin, one of the first settlers in Youngstown.  Mr. McFarlin is one of a family of twelve childreu, and Mrs. McFarlin the youngest of thirteen.  Their children are William E., Alice K., Vina J., Mary E., Bettie B., William K., Frank M., Thomas E., and Charles A.  William E., Alice K., and Charles A. are deceased.  William K. is now engaged on the new through-line railroad in the capacity of civil engineer.  Mr. McFarlin has been a Republican since the party was formed.  He was postmaster at Coitsville for seventeen years.  The family are well known and highly respected in this county.

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     ROBERT LOWRY, Coitsville township, was born in Poland township Aug. 12, 1818.  His parents were William and Mary (Houston) Lowry.  William Lowry was a native of the north of Ireland, who settled in Poland township about the year 1806, and brought up three sons and six daughters; two sons and four daughters are now living.  His wife, Mary Houston, of Scotch parentage, was born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania.  Her father, William Houston, came to this county about the year 1800.  Robert
Lowry was the fifth child of William Lowry.  He settled in Coitsville township in 1842.  He was married Sept. 22, 1842, to Margaret Stewart, daughter of William Stewart, of Coitsville township.  They had four children, all living: Mary Jane, wife of D. C. McBride, Mahoning township, Lawrence county, Pennsylvania; William S., Pulaski township, Lawrence county, Pennsylvania; Theoressa J., wife of J. W. McNabb, Pulaski township, Lawrence county, Pennsylvania; Sarah E., wife of W. S. Allen, Coitsville township.  Mrs. Lowry died July 1, 1873, aged fifty-six years.  Mr. Lowry was mar
ried a second time May 18, 1876, to Miss Anna Madge, daughter of Robert Madge, of Lackawanna township, Mercer county, Pennsylvania.  Mr. and Mrs. Lowry are members of the United Presbyterian church.  Mr. Lowry is a sound Republican.  He has held several offices:  was justice of the peace for twelve consecutive years, commencing in 1856; county commissioner from 1866 to 1872, and has held several township offices.

     J. M. JACKSON was born in New Bedford, Pennsylvania, Aug. 5, 1828.  His father, John Jackson, settled in Coitsville township in 1803.  J. M. Jackson has followed a variety of occupations.  When young he taught school for several years; then was a merchant.  He now owns a saw-mill, which does a good business, and is one of our largest farmers.  Mr. Jackson settled in Coitsville in 1864.  From 1844 to that date he had been in business in Trumbull county.  He owns two hundred and twenty acres in this township.  Mr. Jackson was married Mar. 9, 1852, to Rebecca L. Roberts, daughter of Thomas N. Roberts, Hubbard, Trumbull county.  They have two sons and two daughters—Marietta, Sidney Delamar (a successful attorney in Youngstown), Eliza Jane, and John Calvin.  Mr. Jackson has been quite prominent in local affairs, and has held the offices of justice of the peace, county commissioner, township clerk, trustee, etc.  He is one of our solid and energetic business men.  He served in the army a short time as captain in company C, One Hundred and Seventy-first Ohio volunteers, enlisting Apr. 28, 1864, for the one hundred days' service.

     F. D. KIRK, Coitsville township, was born in that township July 11, 1846.  His parents were Andrew and Sylvina Kirk.  His father is still living.  Mrs. Kirk died eight years ago.  Mr. F. D. Kirk is one of our active farmers; has ninety acres of good land; raises stock, and intends to go into sheep-raising.  In 1880 he received over $150 in premiums at fairs, mostly on pigs.  Mr. Kirk was married, in 1869, to Miss Almira J. Bailey, daughter of C. T. Bailey, of Coitsville township.  They belong to the Methodist Episcopal church.  Mr. Kirk is a Republican, and a strong temperance man.  He was in the army.  He enlisted in January, 1864, serving until the close of the war in company G, Seventy-eighth Pennsylvania volunteers, under General Thomas.

     NICHOLAS JACOBS (deceased) was born near Girard, Mahoning county, Jan. 13, 1810.  His parents were Abraham and Elizabeth (Kimmel) Jacobs, who came here at quite an early date.  After his birth they returned to Washington county, Pennsylvania.  In 1832 Abraham Jacobs and his son Nicholas returned to Mahoning county, and settled near together in the northern part of Coltsville township.  Nicholas Jacobs was married Jan. 19, 1832, to Isabella Brown, of Washington county, Pennsylvania.  They had two children, Lewis J. and Francis P., both now residents of Youngstown.  Mrs. Jacobs died Feb. 18, 1836, aged twenty-two years.  Mr. Jacobs was again married Sept. 12, 1837, to Phoebe Kirk, of Coitsville township.  Six children: Sheldon, Charles, Louisa, Caroline, Alice and Phoebe.  Charles died in the army, at Chattanooga, Sept. 30, 1863, aged twenty-two years. Phoebe died Sept. 9, 1851, aged one year.  The others reside in the county.  Mrs. Phoebe Jacobs died Apr. 11, 1850, aged thirty-one.  His third wife, whom he married Oct. 1, 1850, was Mrs. Juliana Calvin, nee Briggs.  She was born in Dighton, Massachusetts, Sept. 25, 1820.  She was mar-

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ried in 1842 to Robert Calvin, of Beaver county, of his life here.  He Pennsylvania, by whom she had two children, Josephus and Gustavus: the latter a resident of this township, and Josephus of Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania.  Mr. Calvin died Feb. 11, 1845, aged twenty-seven.  Mr. and Mrs. Jacobs had seven children: Mary, Spencer, Myron, Jessie, Clarinda, William, and Charles G.  Jessie died Dec. 2, 1870, aged fourteen; Clarinda Sept. 28, 1861, aged two.  The others reside in Coitsville township.  Mr. Jacobs died Dec. 14, 1880, nearly seventy-one years of age.  He had been an earnest member of the Disciples' church for about forty years of his life.  He was well known in this county, and highly respected.

     ANDREW GARNER FITCH came to this county from Lebanon, Connecticut, and settled in the western part of Coitsville township, on a farm which had been taken up previously and some what improved by a man named Robinson.  His wife was Mary Levenwell.  They had nine children, none of them now living.  Samuel Fitch was the fifth child, and the longest survivor of the family.  He was twelve years of age when he came to the county, having been born in 1789.  Samuel Fitch and his brother Henry were soldiers in the War of 1812.  The wife of Samuel Fitch was Mary T. Simpson, a native of Maysville, Kentucky.  They had five children, Mary Jane, Elizabeth B., Julia A., Joseph T., and Caroline S.   Only Elizabeth and Julia are now living.  They reside at the old homestead. Mrs. Fitch, their mother, died in 1848, aged fifty-two years.  She was for many years a devoted member of the Presbyterian church.  Mr. Fitch died in 1875.  He lived to a ripe old age, and was always an honored and respected citizen.  He was an earnest friend of the Union, and though he had no sons to send to the army, he gave liberally of his means to aid in the cause.

     JOHN COOPER, lumber manufacturer, Coitsville township, was born Sept. 15, 1815.  His parents were David and Rebecca (Armstrong) Cooper, the former a native of Maryland, and the latter of Washington county, Pennsylvania.  David Cooper came to Coitsville in 1798 and helped to survey the Western Reserve.  He then went back to Maryland, and in 1800 returned to Coltsville, took up four hundred acres, and spent the remainder of his life here.  He died in 1855 in the ninety-fifth year of his age.  He was a man of strong constitution, active industry, and business ability.  He was married about the year 1806, and was the father of twelve children: eleven arrived at maturity and five are yet living, viz: John, David, Eliza, William, and Robert, all residents of Coitsville township.  Mrs. Cooper died in 1852 aged sixty six years.  John Cooper lives upon a portion of the original farm.  He is engaged in the lumber business and has been running a saw-mill since 1849.  The Cooper family is one of the oldest in the township, and comprises some of its best citizens.

     JOHN WHITE, farmer, Coitsville township, Mahoning county, was born in county Monaghn, Ireland, in 1820.  He came to America in 1835, and after three or four years settled in Coitsville.  Mr. White is a large farmer; he has at present two hundred and seventy-six acres of land in a good state of cultivation.  He built a large and convenient house in the spring of 1877.  Mr. White is engaged in mixed farming, raises cattle, sheep, and grain.  He was married Nov. 24, 1853, to Eliza Dickson, daughter of George Dickson, of Coltsville township. They have five children, born as follows: Hugh J., Nov. 11, 1854; George D., Nov. 4, 1856; William B., Dec. 22, 1858; John B., Oct. 24, 1860; Robert F., Feb. 22, 1863.  Mr. and Mrs. White are members of the Presbyterian church.  Mr. White is a Democrat.  He has been township trustee and judge of elections, and is a most worthy and respected citizen.

     WILLIAM H. WICK, farmer, Coitsville, Mahoning county, was born in this township in 1827.  His parents, Daniel and Elizabeht (Armitage) Wick, were old residents, having come to the place where Mr. Wick now resides in 1815.  Daniel Wick had previously been a resident of Austintown, having come there from New Jersey about 1796.  He was a soldier in the War of 1812.  He died June 18, 1863, in his seventy-seventh year.  His wife, Elizabeth Armitage, whom he married in 1813, was born in Huntingdon county, Pennsylvania, and came to Jackson township, Mahoning county when a child.  She was a daughter of Benjamin Armitage.  Her mother's name was Drake, a descendant from Sir Francis Drake.  Mrs. Wick died Feb. 5, 1869, aged seventy-six years.  She was the mother of six children, all of whom are living.  Mr. W. H. Wick being the youngest.  William H. Wick, was married Mar. 7, 1855, to Sarah A. Williams, daughter of William Williams, of Wayne county, Ohio.  They have five children; Mary Ella Pearl, born Mar. 7, 1857, wife of Albert Martin of Lawrence county, Pennsylvania; Louie Evangeline, born May 19, 1860; Lizzie Carrie, born Aug. 31, 1865; Grace Gertrude, born Mar. 3, 1869; Vernon Victor, born May 21, 1876.  Mr. Wick has always been a stanch Republican.  He has been township trustee, and has held other local offices.  He does an extensive farming business, owns one hundred eighty acres; and is one of the most active and successful farmers in the township.

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* Mainly from facts collected by John Shields.

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