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ROSS COUNTY, OHIO
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BIOGRAPHIES

The following biographies are extracted from:
Source: 
A Standard History of Ross County, Ohio
Vol. II.
Published by The Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago & New York
1917

A B C D EF G H IJ K L M N OPQ R S T UV W XYZ

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  HUGH FRANCIS EGAN.  A native son of Ross County, Mr. Egan has for a great many years been known as a editor and newspaper publisher and has made himself and his paper valuable factors in the growth and development of the little city of Adelphi.  In addition to publishing and editing the Adelphi Border News, which is recognized as the home paper for a large number of subscribers not only in Ross but adjacent counties, he is owner, publisher and editor of the Ohio Red Man, the official organ of the Improved Order of Red Men in Ohio.  He also conducts an extensive job printing plant, and has one of the most completely furnished offices in Southern Ohio.
     Born in the City of Chillicothe, Aug. 24, 1856, Hughes Francis Egan is a son of Joseph and Sarah A. (Savage) Egan.  His parents were of humble Irish birth, and like many people who came from that country in the middle years of the last century they had to work hard for all they ever got or enjoyed.  The maternal grandfather of Mr. Egan was quite active in the early days in Chillicothe and held a number of commissions of trust.  The Egan family came by sailing vessel to America and settled in Chillicothe in 1850.  Joseph Egan, who was a native of Limerick, married Miss Sarah Savage in Chillicothe in 1852.  He was for several years a laborer and then became a gas plumber.  He was a man of but moderate education, but was industrious, careful and a man properly honored in his community.  He did his share toward maintaining his church, the Catholic, the parochial schools and other local institutions.  His death occurred at the age of eighty-four.  His wife, who was born in County Cork, Ireland, died in 1869 at the age of thirty-five.
     Hugh Francis Egan, who was one of a family of ten children, had to assume certain serious responsibilities connected with making his way in the world at an early age.  He attended both the parochial and public schools of Chillicothe, and at the age of fifteen entered the office of the old Advertiser to learn the trade of printer.  He remained in that office until 1883, and then removed his family to Adelphi and bought out the Adelphi Border News, a weekly paper which had been founded in 1879.  Mr. Egan confesses to many hard struggles and ups and downs in his early career as a newspaper man.  He finally gave to Adelphi a paper of which that community is proud.  It is a wide circulation not only in Ross County but in Pickaway, Hocking and Fairfield counties.
     In September, 1874, Mr. Egan married Sarah T. Bennett.  They have reared and educated eight children, five sons and three daughters.  All are married now.  The sons all learned the trade of printing with their father, and four of them are now working at the trade.  A brief record of these children is a follows:  Hugh B. Egan who was born in Chillicothe, is a printer by trade, and is married and lives in Columbus; Sarah, born in Chillicothe married, at Adelphi, Elgernon Flannigan, a farmer; Joseph Henry, who is a barber by trade and is married and living in Adelphi; Carolyn Egan, born in Chillicothe,  was married in Adelphi to Hugh L. Reedy, a clerk in the United States mail service, and they live in Columbus; George W., born at Adelphi, is married and lives in Columbus, where he is a salesman; Mary M., born at Adelphia, married William H. Barton, principal of the Adelphi schools; Edward, born in Adelphi, is a printer and is married; Robert, born at Adelphi, is also a printer.  All the children received their education in the public schools.
     Mr. Egan was reared in the faith of the Catholic Church.  While a resident of Chillicothe he was identified with several religious, civil and military organizations, and has always enjoyed the confidence of his fellow men in every position of life.  He served as mayor of Adelphi for twelve years and was clerk of the township board of education and board of trustees for twelve years, and was also for several years a councilman and member of the local board of education.  He was a member of the Board of Trustees of the Ross County Memorial Commission by appointment from James M. Cox, governor of Ohio, Sept. 4, 1914.  Through these positions, as editor of the leading paper, and as a private citizen, he has done much to build up and promote the welfare of his home locality.
     He is particularly well known not only in Ohio but throughout the country for his work in the Improved Order of Red Men.  He joined that order of June, 1895.  In 1897 he represented Corn Planter Tribe in the Great Council of Ohio and continued as representative until 1901.  He was then elected Great Junior Sagamore of the Great Council of Ohio, and in 1902 was elected Great Senior and in 1903 became Great Sachem.  That high post he filled with credit until May, 1904, when he presided over the Great Council at Mansfield.  He has also represented Ohio in the Supreme Great Council of the United States and in the national body has served on several important committees.  Mr. Egan has been a member of Adelphi Lodge of the Knights of Pythias for fifteen years, and formerly held membership in the Modern Woodmen of America.  At Adelphi he superintended the construction of the Knights of Pythias Fair and Carnival, and helped make the local lodge of Knights of Pythias highly successful.  
     Mr. Egan deserved much credit for the establishment of the Adelphi Banking Company, in which he has held the position of secretary to the board of directors since it was founded.  He has a beautiful modern home, and has also employed his taste and experience in supervising various public buildings at Adelphi, including the Opera House.  Though now in his sixtieth year, Mr. Egan is found at work from morning until night and when questioned on that matter he is disposed to ascribe to hard and constant work what measure of success he has attained in the world.
Source:  A Standard History of Ross County, Ohio - Vol. II. - Publ. by The Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago & New York 1917 - Page 532

  JAMES MILTON EVANS, M. D.   A life prolonged beyond ninety years in always an interesting spectacle.  When with long years have been combined splendid service to humanity, a helpful and inspiring character, then such a life commands admiration and respect.
     Ross County has in the person of Dr. James Milton Evans of Clarksburg one of its oldest citizens and most venerable men.  He was born in Highland County, Ohio, Feb. 26, 1824, and is still living in the enjoyment of good health and his mental faculties at the age of ninety-two.  His father was Isaac Evans, and his grandfather was also a native of Ohio and settled in Highland County at a very early day.  The grandfather improved a farm on Clear Creek, where he resided until his death.  Isaac Evans subsequently removed from Highland County and settled in Buckskin Township of Ross County, where he was engaged in farming until death claimed him.  The maiden name of his wife was Jane Norton, who was born in Buckskin Township.  Her six children were Juliet, Cynthia, John B., Samuel R., William D., and James M.  A remarkable part of the family record is that all of these sons except William became successful physicians.
     Dr. James M. Evans grew up on his father's farm.  He attended the rural schools of Buckskin Township and was also a pupil at the noted South Salem Academy.  In his twentieth year he taught a term of school in Highland County, also a term in Ross County and two winter terms in Boone County, Kentucky.  While teaching he carried on his medical studies at Rising Sun, Indiana, under his uncle, Israel Evans.  The winter of 1848-49 he spent in attending lectures in the Cleveland Medical College and the following winter at Starling Medical College in Columbus.  Graduating from Starling in the spring of 1850, Doctor Evans is one of the few physicians of Ohio still living who took their first cases ten years before the war.  He began practice about the time some of the most important aids to modern medicine were discovered.  He began practice in the Clarksburg community, and continued actively for fully sixty-five years, and in that time his name was pronounced as a benediction in hundreds of homes in which he had served so well and faithfully.  In 1885 he retired from active practice, but in the past thirty years he has been frequently called upon in consultation and even now some old friend or neighbor asks his advice and services in a professional capacity.
     During the high tide of his career Doctor Evans states that his cures were usually not malignant cases of this dread disease.
     Doctor Evans was three times married.  In 1852 he married Emily Pryer Yates, who was born in Pickaway County, Ohio, a daughter of John and Elizabeth (Blue) Yates.  At her death in 1860 she left four children named Mary E., John T., Isaac C., and Milton.  For his second wife Doctor Evans married Eliza Caldwell, a popular teacher in the public schools.  At her death she was survived by three children named Eldora C., Edward and Orin C.  For his third wife Doctor Evans married Mrs. Mary Brown, widow of Richard Brown.  Doctor Evans joined the Presbyterian Church when a young man, but there being no church of that denomination in Clarksburg, he subsequently became an active member of the Methodist denomination.
     The doctor's oldest daughter, Mary, married William J. Mossbarger, son of Samuel and Eleanor (Cherrington) Mossbarger.  To Mr. and Mrs. Mossbarger were born seven children who grew up named Arthur T., Emily E., Milton C., Hugh S., Melva E., John S., and Willie L.  Arthur Mossbarger, of these children, married Arlene E. Dawson, and has a son named Owen W.  Milton Mossbarger married Olive Betty and has a daughter named Betty Louise Melva Mossbarager is the wife of John Dawson and their two children are Virginia M. and John Milton.  ~
Source:  A Standard History of Ross County, Ohio - Vol. II. - Publ. by The Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago & New York 1917 - Page
  CAPT. SAMUEL H. FALTER

Source: A Standard History of Ross County, Ohio - Vol. II. - Published by The Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago & New York 1917 - Page 494


Jas. C. Foster
HON. JAMES C. FOSTER.  A gallant soldier, a judicious agriculturist and an honorable citizen are apt terms to use in mentioning one of Ross County's most distinguished men, Maj. James C. Foster Major Foster was born in Franklin Township, Ross County, where he still lives, May 18, 1842.  He comes of old pioneer stock and his parents were Thomas C. and Jane (Davis) Foster.
     John Foster, the great-grandfather, came to Ohio with a large family of motherless children, from near Cumberland, Maryland, in 1796, and settled in Franklin Township, Ross County, where he died in 1800.  His six sons survived: Lewis, Thomas, John, Richard, Joseph and Benjamin.  Of these sons, the third in order of birth, John Foster, married Mary Prather and to one of their sons they gave the name of Thomas C.   Thomas C. Foster married Jane E. Davis, a sister of the late John H. Davis, and they had the following children: Martha, who is the widow of James P. Foster; James C.; Hannah; John C., and William and George. Hannah, William and George are deceased. Thomas C. Foster was one of Franklin Township's worthy men, sturdy in his citizenship and honored and respected by all who knew him.
     James C. Foster attended the district schools, in 1868 attended a commercial college at Cleveland and in 1859 attended a military school at Chillicothe.  He remained on the home farm until the whole country was aroused by the breaking out of the Civil war, and it was on August 24, 1861, that he enlisted as a private in Company C, Thirty-third Ohio Volunteer Infantry.  In the following September he was transferred to the Fifty-third regiment, and on January 1, 1862, he received his first promotion, being made orderly sergeant.  On September 21, 1862, he was promoted to second lieutenant and on that day he was transferred with this rank to Company I, Fifty-third Infantry.  He seemed to be particularly well fitted for military life and thus was entrusted with the duties of a recruiting officer and had the satisfaction of recruiting the first company of colored soldiers in West Tennessee. He was made captain of this company and served as such until June 18, 1864, when he was promoted to the rank of major and in that military office served until the close of the  war. Thus the title by which he has ever since been known was fairly and honorably earned. He took part in many of the great battles of the four-year struggle, and patriotism, courage and efficiency marked his course.
     Major Foster returned then to Ohio and resumed agricultural pursuits, in which he has ever since been interested.  He owns a magnificent farm of 497 acres and extensive farm and stock operations are here parried on.
     In 1868 Major Foster was married to Miss Emma Davis, who was born in Franklin Township and died here in August, 1871.  They had
one daughter, Daisy, who was born June 2, 1870.  She was married to H. J. DuBois on December 20, 1888, and they reside at Houston, Texas.
In October, 1875, Major Foster was married to Mary D. Vause, who was born in Liberty Township, Ross County.  They have the following children: Ada, born March 16, 1877; Vause, born April 29, 1879; Jean M., born July 16, 1881; Harry L., born March 18, 1884; James C, born November 25, 1887; Mary H., born December 19, 1889; and Sallie, born September 13, 1894. Educational and social advantages have been happy
adjuncts in the lives of each. Vause is a graduate of the Ohio State University, and Jean M., Mary and Sallie are graduates of the University at Oxford, Ohio.
     Major Foster has always been sound in his republicanism and is a very influential member of his party in this part of the state.  During 1902 and 1904 when serving as a member of the State Legislature, he had much to do with the formulating and passing of some of the wisest and most just laws ever put upon the statute book.  His acquaintance with other prominent men is wide and his personal friendships are with those who, like himself, have high ideals of citizenship and live up to them.  He belongs to the Grand Army of the Republic and served as commander of Post No. 691, at Omega, Ohio, for seventeen years. He is also a member of Loyal Legion.
Source:  A Standard History of Ross County, Ohio - Vol. II. - Publ. by The Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago & New York 1917 - Page 539

John C. Foster
JOHN C. FOSTER.  Of the families which have contributed to the agricultural welfare and development of Ross County, one of the best known and most highly regarded is that bearing the name of Foster, of whom a worthy representative is found in the person of John C. FosterMr. Foster, who is now nearly seventy years of age, has spent practically his entire life in one community, and by constant devotion to one line of business, farming, has prospered beyond the ordinary.  His home place of 260 acres is on rural route No. 1 from Higby and in Franklin Town ship. He also owns another farm of 260 acres and a three-fourths interest in one of 110 acres, one being located in Franklin Township of Ross County, and the other in Jackson Township of Pike County.
     A substantial quality of human character is persistence and permanence.  This is well illustrated in the fact that two successive generations of the Foster family were born in the same house on the same farm.  John C. Foster was born on the farm where he now resides January 4, 1847, and his father Thomas C. Foster was born in the same house and on the same farm in 1813.  This latter date indicates how early the Foster family came to Ohio. The grandfather John Foster was born and spent his early life on the line between Maryland and Virginia.  He married there, and soon afterward came west to Ohio. Ohio was not a state then and was part of the great Northwest Territory.  John Foster arrived about the year 1795, soon after Gen. Anthony Wayne had completely subdued the Indians of the Northwest and had opened the way for white settlement. John Foster the pioneer was accompanied by his brothers Thomas and Joseph, each of whom took up a quarter section of land in Ross County.  John Foster lived in this county the rest of his useful years, but he died while visiting his sons in Madison County, Ohio.  He was a man of much prominence in his day, and besides the heavy work of farming he was also a local Methodist minister.
     Thomas C. Foster married Jane E. Davis, and he subsequently bought out the heirs of the old homestead and lived there until he was killed in a railroad accident in 1882. His wife was the daughter of John Davis, one of the early settlers of Ross County. They had six children, and the three now living are Martha, widow of J. P. Foster of Franklin Township; James and John C., both of Franklin Township.
     Reared on the old farm, John C. Foster found abundant opportunities for work and improvement of mind and body from an early age.  His district school education was continued by a course in the National Normal College at Lebanon during the years 1866-67.  With the exception of six years spent in Scioto County, he has lived on the old homestead in Franklin Township since his birth.  On August 14, 1867, he married Mary E. Foster, daughter of Joseph Foster of Pike County, Ohio.  Eleven children were born to their union, and the six now living are Jennie, wife of Joe Higby; William, at home; Emma, at home; John, living in Liberty Township; Joseph, in Pike County; Charles, of Marietta, Ohio.  The other children died young with the exception of Herbert W. In politics Mr. Foster is a republican.
Source:  A Standard History of Ross County, Ohio - Vol. II. - Publ. by The Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago & New York 1917 - Page 559
  MRS. MARTHA FOSTER is a member of a family that has been associated with Ross County for more than a century.  Her married name is the same as her maiden name, and it was her grandfather Foster who led the way into the Northwest Territory and established a home in Ross County in the latter part of the eighteenth century.
     Mrs. Foster is a daughter of Thomas Coke and Jane E. (Davis) Foster.  She was born in Franklin Township of Ross County, July 30, 1840, and for a number of years has lived in her attractive home in Franklin Township, and she also owns land in Pike County.
     Her father, Thomas Coke Foster, was born on the same farm where she first saw the light of day, on July 21, 1813.  He was the youngest in the family of John and Martha (Prather) Foster.  Grandfather John Foster and his three brothers, Thomas, Joseph and Richard, came from Cumberland, Maryland, about 1796 and bought tracts of land from the Government in Ross County.  John Foster was a local Methodist preacher and held many meetings in this pioneer district of Ohio and worked for his church while developing and cultivating his land.
     Thomas C. Foster, who was the youngest of a family of thirteen children, grew up on the old homestead in Ross County and eventually bought the interests of the other heirs in the place.  He remained with his mother, and spent a very active and a useful career.  He died as a result of a railway accident in December, 1882.  He married Jane E. Davis, who was born in Franklin Township of Ross County, April 22, 1821, and died, August 12, 1852.  They became the parents of six children: Martha Foster; Major J. C. Foster; Hannah, who was born in 1844 and died in 1893; John, a resident of Franklin Township; William, who died at the age of twenty-four years; and George, born in 1852 and died in 1881.
     Mrs. Martha Foster being a daughter of a substantial and prosperous family was given good educational advantages, attending a private school and finishing her education in the Hillsboro Oakland Female Seminary. In February, 1865, she married James P. Foster. In 1868 they moved out to Kansas, where they were early settlers, and where they lived for eighteen years until the death of Mr. Foster in 1886.  Since her husband's death, Mrs. Foster has returned to Ross County and has made her home in Franklin Township near Higby, the old home stead of her grandfather.  She is an active member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and her family were prominent in organizing Foster's Chapel, of which she is a member.
Source:  A Standard History of Ross County, Ohio - Vol. II. - Published by The Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago & New York 1917 - Page 831
  DR. LEWIS W. FOULKE. Occupying a distinguished position among the early physicians of Ross County was Dr. Lewis W. Foulke, of Chillicothe, who won distinction not only in medical circles, but in the business and social life of the community in which he lived, having been popular as a man and a citizen, and prominent as a financier.  A native of Pennsylvania, he was born in August, 1809, in Carlisle.  His father, George D. Foulke, received a liberal education, having been graduated from the Dickinson College, in Carlisle, and from the Medical University of Maryland.
     Having obtained his early education in the public schools of Carlisle, and by private study, Lewis W. Foulke, following in the footsteps of his father, entered Dickinson College in 1825, and after his graduation from that institution in 1829 entered the Medical University of Maryland, where he was graduated with the degree of doctor of medicine in 1832.  For four years thereafter Doctor Foulke was engaged in the practice of medicine in his native state, gaining valuable experience as a physician, and much skill in the art of healing diseases.  Coming to Ross County, Ohio, in 1836, the doctor met with success from the first, his rise in public confidence and in professional circles being most rapid, and very gratifying to himself.  He continued in active practice in this city until his death, in June, 1887.  Possessing marked ability as a business man, he accumulated a large property, and was prominently identified with various organizations.  He was a member, and president, of the Board of Trustees of the Chillicothe Cemetery; was the first president of the Ross County National Bank, and one of the organizers of the Savings Bank Company; was president of the Ohio Insurance Company; was one of the organizers of the Chillicothe Gas Light & Water Company, and for many years was an influential member of the Chillicothe School Board.
     Doctor Foulke married Elizabeth McCoy, a daughter of John McCoy, and their only child, Mary Steele Foulke, became the wife of Gustavus Scott Franklin, M. D., of whom a sketch may be found on another page of this volume.
Source:  A Standard History of Ross County, Ohio - Vol. II. - Publ. by The Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago & New York 1917 - Page 623

 
CHARLES LOVE FRANKLIN. Prominently identified with the advancement of the financial and commercial prosperity of Ross County, Charles L. Franklin, of Chillicothe, manager of the estate of his maternal grandfather, Dr. L. W. Foulke, is a man of broad affairs, and a contributor, both directly and indirectly, to the material interests of city, county, and state.  A son of Dr. Gustavus S. and Mary S. (Foulke) Franklin, he was born May 1, 1875, in Chillicothe, which has always been his home.
     Finishing the course of instruction in the Chillicothe public schools, he attended the Virginia Military Institute for two years, completing his early education at Marietta College.  On the death of his father, he succeeded to the trusteeship of the Foulke estate, and has since devoted his time and energies to its management, and to his own private interests, his business duties being many and varied.  He is actively associated with one of the more important financial institutions of the city, being one of the directors of the Savings Bank Company.
     Fraternally Mr. Franklin is a member of Scioto Lodge, No. 6, Ancient Free and Accepted Order of Masons; of Chillicothe Chapter, No. 4, Royal Arch Masons; of Chillicothe Council No. 4, Royal and Select Masters; of Chillicothe Commandery, No. 8, Knights Templar; of Syrian Temple; of the Cincinnati Consistory; and of Chillicothe Lodge, No. 52, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
Source:  A Standard History of Ross County, Ohio - Vol. II. - Publ. by The Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago & New York 1917 - Page 623
  GUSTAVUS SCOTT FRANKLIN, A. M., M. D. A man of talent and culture, with the greatest capacity for earnest and diligent labor, the late Gustavus Scott Franklin, M. D., was for many years one of the foremost physicians of Chillicothe, where the major part of his life was spent, his birth having occurred in this city November 22, 1837, and his death in February, 1901.  His father, William B. Franklin, had the family name of "Bussard" changed, in 1831, by the Ohio Legislature, to its present form, "Franklin."  He was a son of Daniel Bussard, Jr., and a grandson of Daniel Boussard, Sr.  There is a well established tradition that the paternal grandfather of Daniel Boussard, Sr., was born in France, having been a Huguenot, and in 1685, after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, fled to Saxony, where he married the daughter of a burgomaster.
     Daniel Boussard, Sr., or Bussard, as the name was afterwards spelled, was born, in 1743, in Saxony, Germany, and when five years of age was
brought by his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Peter Bussard, to America.  He spent the next few years of his life in the eastern part of Pennsylvania, from there moving with the family to the Monocacy Valley, Maryland.  After his marriage he settled in Frederick County, Maryland, and there the birth of his son, Daniel Bussard, Jr., occurred, December 2, 1771.
     William B. Franklin was born, October 29, 1804, in Georgetown, District of Columbia. Scholarly in his tastes and ambitions, he was graduated from Princeton College, now Princeton University, in Princeton, New Jersey, with the degree of bachelor of arts. Deciding to enter the legal profession, he studied law under the preceptorship of Francis Scott Key, author of the Star Spangled Banner.  Going to Virginia, he was tutor in the family of John Caile Scott until 1831, when he came to Ohio to accept the position of a teacher in the Chillicothe Academy.  Becoming active in public affairs, he was elected county auditor in 1841, and was continued in office by successive re-elections until 1857.   He again served in the same office from 1859 until 1863. In 1860 he was appointed registrar at the United States Land Office in Chillicothe, and continued in that capacity for eighteen years. He lived to a ripe old age, dying at his home in Chillicothe.
     William B. Franklin married, August 25, 1827, at Western View, on the Rappahannock River, Culpeper County, Virginia, Marianne Scott, who was born at Rock Hill, Maryland, January 2, 1803, of Scotch ancestry.  Her father, James Caile Scott, was a son of Gustavus Scott, and grandson pf Rev. James Scott, the immigrant ancestor.  His great grandfather, Rev. John Scott, master of arts, was born in Dipple Parish, Morayshire, Scotland, and spent his entire life in his native country.
     Born and reared in Dipple Parish, Elgin, Morayshire, Scotland, Rev. James Scott came to America in 1739, settling in Virginia.  For a few years he resided at Dipple, Virginia, on the estate which he had inherited from his brother Alexander, and then removed to Prince William County, where he served as rector of the church at Dettingen Parish until his death, which occurred thirty-seven years later, in 1782.   He married, at Rock Hill, Charles County, Maryland, Sarah Brown, who was born August 29, 1815, a daughter of Dr. Gustavus and Frances (Fowke) Brown. She survived him two years, passing away in 1784.
     Gustavus Scott, Doctor Franklin's great-grandfather on the maternal side, was born at Westwood, Prince William County, Maryland, in 1753.
Being sent, in 1765, to Scotland to complete his early education, he studied for two years at King's College, in Aberdeen, and in 1771 com
pleted his study of law at Essex Court, Middle Temple, London.  Thus equipped for a professional career, he returned to Maryland, locating in
Somerset County, where he became prominent and successful as a lawyer, and influential in public affairs. He was elected a deputy to the Maryland convention, and served as such from June 22, 1774, until December, 1775, and was a member of the Maryland convention of 1775, which
elected him as a member of a committee to prepare a draft of instructions for the deputies representing that province in Congress. He was also one
of the four delegates from the Maryland convention of 1776 that formed a state constitution. After the adoption of the constitution, he removed
to Dorchester County, which he represented in the Assembly from 1780 until 1784, and was appointed by the state as one of the conferees to meet
those from Virginia at Annapolis, December 22, 1784, to devise some action towards the improvement of the Potomac River. He served as a
delegate from Maryland to the Continental Congress of 1784 and 1785.   He was likewise one of the Maryland Legislative Committee that reported
in favor of James Ramsey, the inventor of the steamboat, who claimed the exclusive right of making and selling his boats in Maryland. Forces'
Archives give many records of Gustavus Scott's work in the Maryland conventions.  On April 11, 1776, he was a member of the committee on
prizes; he was one of the committee to prepare instructions for recruiting sergeants, and a member of the committee on the Potomac ferry.  When
the State of Maryland loaned the United States $150,000, he was one of the three men that endorsed the notes.  His death, at Washington, in
December, 1801, was a loss to the entire country. He married Margaret Hall Caile.
     John Caile Scott, son of Gustavus and Margaret Hall (Caile) Scott, and Doctor Franklin's maternal grandfather, was born in 1782, and lived until 1828 in Culpeper County, Virginia, at Western View, having moved there some several years before from Rock Hill, Maryland.  Coming to Ross County, Ohio, in that year, he remained here permanently, dying in 1840, on the Mechlenburg Farm.  His wife, whose maiden name was Ann Love, was born in 1780, and died in 1832, in Ross County, on the Keys farm.
     Acquiring his rudimentary education in the public schools of Chillicothe, Gustavus Scott Franklin was graduated from the Marietta College with the class of 1859.  He subsequently studied medicine under Drs. David Wills and D. H. Scott, and in 1862 was graduated from the College of Physicians and Surgeons at New York City. Immediately entering the United States navy as a surgeon, Doctor Franklin served on the steamships "Minnesota" and "Onondaga," continuing thus employed until 1868. Returning then to Chillicothe, the doctor was successfully engaged in the practice of his profession until compelled by failing health to retire from active pursuits. A physician of far more than average skill, he was likewise a man of excellent executive and financial ability, and from the time of the death of his father-in-law, Dr. L. W. Foulke, until his own death, he had charge of the Foulke estate, of which he was executor.
     Doctor Franklin married, in 1870, Mary Steele Foulke, the only child of Dr. Lewis W. and Elizabeth (McCoy) Foulke, of whom a brief sketch may be found elsewhere in this volume.  Three children blessed the marriage of Doctor and Mrs. Franklin, namely: Elizabeth N.; Charles Love, of whom a personal sketch appears on another page of this biographical work; and Marianne Scott.  The doctor was a member of the Ross County Medical Society; of the Ohio Sanitary Society; of the American Medical Society; and of the American Academy of Science.  He also belonged to the Sons of the American Revolution, and to the A. L. Brown Post, Grand Army of the Republic.
Source:  A Standard History of Ross County, Ohio - Vol. II. - Publ. by The Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago & New York 1917 - Page 620
  CHARLES H. FREE.  In the person of Charles H. Free, Paint Township has a citizen who has contributed to the development of Ross County a well cultivated farm that has been brought to its present state under his own hands, and which is now yielding him an income that makes him one of the substantial men of the community.  The township has likewise profited by his able discharge of the duties of several offices to which he has been elected by his fellow-citizens who have placed their confidence in his fidelity and integrity and who have had no reason to regret their action in so doing.
     Mr. Free has passed his entire life in Paint Township, where he was born Oct. 27, 1872, a son of Nathaniel and Charity (Parker) Free.  His great-grandfather was a Hessian soldier who came to the United States during the Revolutionary war, to fight for the English, but who subsequently became convinced of the justice of the cause of the colonists and afterwards remained in this country.  The grandfather of Charles H. Free was George Free, who came from Pennsylvania to Ross County among its earliest settlers, located on a farm, developed a well cultivated and productive property, and was known as a farmer in comfortable circumstances and a citizen who merited the respect and esteem of his fellow men.  Nathaniel Free was born near Rapid Forge, at the mouth of Cleft Run, and was only two years old when his mother died, but was well reared and received a good education for his day and locality.  He was brought up on Cleft Run, and after his marriage settled on a farm in the vicinity of his boyhood home.  In 1866, with his wife and children, he moved to Paint Township and purchased the farm on which his son, William A. Free, now lives, and on which he passed the remainder of his life.  Mr. Free was an energetic and industrious agriculturist, practical in his ideas and ready to try new methods.  He started his career with practically nothing, and so well were his efforts directed and so ably his affairs conducted, that at the time of his death he was the owner of about 1,100 acres of good land.  Quiet and unassuming in manner, he did not seek public office, his ambitions being realized in the making of a home and the securing of a good education for his children.  Mr. Free married Charity Parker, also of the Cleft Run community, and they became the parents of eleven children, of whom nine are living at this writing, as follows : Frank, who is a resident of the State of Mississippi ; William A., who has a farm of 213 acres in Paint Township, on the Greenfield turnpike; John M., a resident of the State of Washington; Alice, the wife of Jess Mossberger, of Harpers Station, Ohio ; Lizzie, the wife of George Crutcher, of Paxton Township ; Ed ; Carrie, who is now Mrs. Lydon Smith, of Paint Township; George, who died young; Charles H., of this review; Robert, who died at the age of three years; and Sam, of Paint Township.
     In the district schools of his native township, Charles H. Free received his educational training, following which he supplemented this with a course at Valparaiso University.  He was reared on Paint Creek, and when he was ready to enter upon an independent career he adopted farming for his life work, being fitted for this vocation by predilection, inheritance and training.  Throughout his life he has done general farm ing and stockraising, and has succeeded well in whatever venture he has undertaken.
     Mr. Free married Miss Bessie West, and they have had two children: Charles H., Jr., who attended the public schools and spent two years at Ada (Ohio) University; and Emma M.  Mr. and Mrs. Free are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and Mr. Free is fraternally affiliated with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks at Greenfield, and the Knights of Pythias at Bainbridge.  Politically he is a democrat.  He stands high in the public esteem and belief in his integrity and good judgment have been variously made manifest.  He has been township treasurer, justice of the peace and member of the school board, and takes a lively and intelligent interest in polities.  His home farm consists of 200 acres.
Source: A Standard History of Ross County, Ohio - Vol. II. - Published by The Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago & New York 1917 - Page 905
  CHARLES O. FREE.  Many years of connection with the agricultural interests of Ross County has established for Charles O. Free a reputation for ability, resource and unflagging energy.  He is one of the captains of industry who have piloted their own craft to harbor, and at the present time is the owner of a magnificent property consisting of 910 acres, located on the Rapid Forge and Greenfield Road, in Paint Township.
     Charles O. Free was born on a farm in Paxton Township, Ross County, Ohio, Nov. 1, 1859, and is a son of Isaac and Nancy (Ogle) Free.  His paternal grandfather was George Free, who was born in Pennsylvania, and who as a young man, shortly after 1800, came to Ross County and settled close to old Rapid Forge, where he was manager of the outside part of the Forge farm.  Later he bought a property of his own, and the closing years of his life were passed in farming in Paint Township.  He was one of the substantial pioneers of Ross County and established a reputation for integrity and fair dealing which those who have followed him have substantiated.  Isaac Free was born at Rapid Forge, Paint Township, where he was educated in the public schools, and when still a young man began agricultural operations on his own account.  He commenced his career as a renter, but through industry and perseverance became a farm owner, and his good management and business ability enabled him to accumulate 280 acres of land, which he owned at the time of his death.  He and his wife were the parents of the following children, all of whom grew to maturity:  Charles O., of this review; Julia, who is the wife of Warren Ogle; Joseph who is deceased; Lena, who is the wife of Robert Dill of Jeffersonville, Ohio; Lizzie, a resident of Carmel, Ohio; Ella, who is deceased; John of Carmel, Ohio; Alfred whose home is at Bainbridge; and Mattie the wife of David Jones, of Bourneville, Ohio.
     Charles O. Free received his education in the district schools of Paxton Township and passed his boyhood, youth and young manhood on the homestead.  At the age of twenty-eight years he left the parental roof and entered upon a career of his own as a renter of a part of the Austin Pepple farm in Paxton Township.  He was a renter for four years, but at the end of the third season formed a partnership with his brother, Joseph Free, and A. Clark West the three buying 261 acres of land in Paint Township, adjoining the Pepple place.  Later the Free brothers bought Mr. West's interests, and continued to farm together until the death of Joseph Free in March, 1915.  They had started with but small means and poor equipment, but so successful were their operations that at one time they owned 1,400 acres of highly cultivated land, with the best of machinery and buildings, and when death dissolved the partnership they had in their possession more than 1,000 acres.  Since the death of his brother, Charles O. Free has continued alone, and still is meeting with excellent and deserved success.  His 910-acre property is devoted to the raising of all the standard products of this locality, and he also gives some attention to the growing of a good grade of livestock.  Mr. Free is inherited the industry, tenacity of purpose and acuteness of his worthy progenitors, which are apparent in the success of his operations, while the spirit of modern progress is evidenced in his up-to-date buildings and highly improved machinery.
     In October, 1897, Mr. Free was married to Miss Ida Swindell who was born in Madison County, Indiana, a daughter of Ashley SwindellMr. and Mrs. Free have four bright and interesting children:  Arthur, Herman, Helm and John all of whom are attending school.  Fraternally, Mr. Free is affiliated with Bainbridge Lodge, No. 4, Knights of Pythias.  With the members of his family, he belongs to Bainbridge Methodist Episcopal Church.  A democrat in political matters, he ahs been active in the ranks of his party.  Mr. Free has been one of the prime factors in the advancement of the cause of education in his community, having been a member of the township school board for the past twenty years, and at the present time is a member of the county school board, with three more years to serve to complete his present term.
Source: A Standard History of Ross County, Ohio - Vol. II. - Published by The Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago & New York 1917 - Page 641
  EDWARD FREE.  It has been the fortune of Edward Free to have realized many of his early ambitions, and through the exercise of good judgment, industry and business sagacity, to have wrested from his opportunities financial and general success.  He is now the owner of 400 acres of good land, lying on Bainbridge Rural Route No. 3, in Paint Township, the greater part of which has been self-acquired, and his standing in the community stamps him as a worthy representative of a family that has long contributed to the development and advancement of this part of the county.
     Mr. Free was born on his father's farm in Paint Township, July 30, 1867, and is a son of Nathaniel and Charity (Parker) Free, and a great-grandson of the Hessian soldier who came to America to fight against the colonists during the War of the Revolution, but who remained to became a citizen of the new country.  George Free, the grandfather of Edward Free, was born in Pennsylvania and came to Ross County among the early settlers, here establishing a home and developing a fertile and productive farm.  He was known for his good citizenship and his sterling qualities of character, and had the unreserved respect and confidence of the people among whom he made his home.  His son, Nathaniel Free, was born in 1832, in Paint Township, near Rapid Forge, at the mouth of Cleft Run, and although he lost his mother when he was two years old, was well reared and well educated.  He was brought up on Cleft Run, and in 1866, with his wife and children, moved to the farm in Paint Township which is now occupied by his son, William A. Free where he passed the remainder of his life.  An industrious and energetic agriculturist, he was practical in his views, although always ready to experiment with new ideas, and from practically nothing at the outset of his career, became the owner of nearly 1,100acres of valuable land.  He was a democrat and somewhat active in local politics, but did not seek public office, contenting himself with cultivating his farm, making a good home and educating his children.  He was a faithful member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.  Mr. Free married Charity Parker, who was born in 1842, in North Carolina, and was a girl when she came with her parents to Ross County.  They became the parents of eleven children, of whom nine are living:  Frank, who was a teacher in the local schools for four terms, and now a farmer in Mississippi; William A., who is farming the old homestead of 213 acres, located on the Greenfield Turnpike in Paint Township; John W., who resides in the West; Alice, the wife of Jefferson Mossberger, of Harpers Station, Ohio; Elizabeth, who is the wife of George Kretzer, of Bainbridge, Ohio; Edward, of this notice; Carrie, who is now Mrs. Lyndon Smith, of Paint Township; George, who died in youth; Charles H., who is farming a fine property of 200 acres in Paint Township; Robert, who died at the age of three years; and Samuel, who is farming in Paint Township.
     Edward Free was reared on the hoe farm in Paint Township and received his education in the district schools, which he attended until he was about nineteen years of age.  At that time he began farming for his father, and was employed by the ender man at a salary of $150 per year, feeding cattle.  He continued to be so employed until he was twenty-five years of age, when he decided to start farming on his own account, and Feb. 22, 1894, was married to Miss Alice Michael, who was born in 1876, at Roxabell, Ohio, and there educated.  Mr. and Mrs. Free began married life with but few resources, but were willing and energetic workers, and soon had a comfortable home and a productive farm.  They have continued to add to their property, and at the present time there are 400 acres in the home place, the greater part of which they have accumulated without outside help.  Mr. Free has nice buildings and a good equipment and cultivates his property along modern lines, thus being able to secure a full measure of profit from his labor.  He has an excellent reputation in the community for fair and honorable dealing, and as a citizen takes a leading part in all progressive movements.  He belongs to the Knights of Pythias Lodge at Bainbridge, and politically is a democrat.  His public service includes membership on the township board of trustees, a position which he holds at the present time.
     Mr. and Mrs. Free are consistent members of the Methodist Episcopal Church at Fruitdale, and have been generous in their support of its movements.  They are the parents of three children: Harold E., born in January, 1896: Paul T., born in May, 1902; and Margaret, born in September, 1907.
Source: A Standard History of Ross County, Ohio - Vol. II. - Published by The Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago & New York 1917 - Page 647
  WILLIAM A. FREE.  Of the progressive and energetic exponents of agriculture and stock raising, Paint Township may well place reliance upon such enterprising native sons of Ross County as William A. Free, who, with the exception of several years, has passed his entire career within the limits of this county.  Since 1910 he has been living on his farm of 213 acres on the Greenfield Turnpike, four miles from Bainbridge, where he has developed an excellent property, the ownership of which makes him one of the substantial representatives of the agricultural element in this section.
     Mr. Free was born on Cleft Run, Paint Township, Ross County, Ohio.  Oct. 30, 1862, and is a son of Nat and Charity (Parker) FreeNat
Free was born near Rapid Forge, at the mouth of Cleft Run, a son of George Free, who came to Paint Township from Pennsylvania among
the earliest settlers, located on a farm, developed a well -cultivated and productive property, and was known as a farmer in comfortable circum
stances and a citizen who had the respect and esteem of his fellows.  Nat Free was only two years old when his mother died, but he was well
reared and received a good education for his day and locality.  He was brought up on Cleft Run, and after his marriage settled on a farm in  the vicinity of his boyhood home.  In 1866, with his wife and children, he moved to Paint Township and purchased the farm on which his son now lives, here spending the rest of his life.  Mr. Free was an energetic and industrious agriculturist, practical in his ideas and ready to try new methods.  He started his career with practically nothing, and so well were his efforts directed and so ably were his affairs managed, that at the time of his death he was the owner of about 1,100 acres of good land.  Quiet and unassuming in manner, he did not court publicity nor seek public office, his ambitions being realized in the making of a good home and the securing of a good education for his children.  Mr. Free married Charity Parker, who was born in North Carolina and came to Ross County when 12 years old.  They became the parents of eleven children, of whom nine are now living: Frank, a resident of Mississippi; William A., of this review; John M., a resident of the State of Washington; Alice, the wife of Jess Mossberger, of Harpers Station, Ohio; Lizzie, the wife of George Crutcher, of Paxton Township; Ed; Carrie, who is now Mrs. Lydon Smith, of Paint Township; George, who died young; Charles H., of Paint Township; Robert, who died at the age of three years; and Sam, of Paint Township.
     The district schools of Paint Township furnished William A. Free with his educational training, and until he was twenty-four years of age he was his father's assistant on the home farm.  At that time he entered upon a career of his own, and after three years in Paint Township, went to Jefferson Township, Fayette County, where he rented for two years, was employed by the month for a time, and then rented again.  On his return to Paint Township he located on the farm where Charles Free now resides, and on which he remained for three or four years, or until the spring of 1910, when he came to his present farm.  He has 213 acres under a high state of cultivation, and has substantial buildings and improvements of a modern character.  Mr. Free is a believer in up-to-date methods, and the success which has attended his efforts would seem to indicate that he has the right idea.  He takes an interest in the affairs that affect the community's welfare and the well-being of its people, and has not been backward in volunteering his aid in progressive enterprises.  He exercises his political right of franchise as a democrat.
     Mr. Free was married Apr. 27, 1907, to Miss Leona Pool, daughter of Peter and Hannah Pool.  To this union there were born twin daughters,  Sept. 16, 1908: Hazel, who is attending school, and Ruth, who died July 5, 1909.
Source: A Standard History of Ross County, Ohio - Vol. II. - Published by The Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago & New York 1917 - Page 646
PORTRAIT GOTTFRIED FRICK

Source: A Standard History of Ross County, Ohio - Vol. II. - Published by The Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago & New York 1917 - Page 635

  CHARLES ALBERT FROMM

Source: A Standard History of Ross County, Ohio - Vol. II. - Published by The Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago & New York 1917 - Page 553

  GEORGE W. FRY

Source: A Standard History of Ross County, Ohio - Vol. II. - Published by The Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago & New York 1917 - Page 760

  JOSEPH S. FULLER

Source: A Standard History of Ross County, Ohio - Vol. II. - Published by The Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago & New York 1917 - Page 832

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NOTES:

 

 

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