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BIOGRAPHIES
Source:
History of Shelby County, Ohio
and
representative citizens
Publ.
Evansville, Ind.
1913
947 pgs.
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WILLIS N. HANCE, one
of Shelby county's well known and highly respected
citizens, resides on his valuable farm of 140 acres,
lying in Perry township, but no longer carries on his
farm industries himself, having been retired for some
years. He was born in Miami county, O., May 1, 1846, and
is a son of Joseph and Patsey ( Wilson) Hance. The father of Mr. Hance was a native of
Kentucky. After his marriage in Miami county, O., he
engaged there in farming until the close of his life,
both he and wife dying on their old homestead not far
from Casstown. Ten children were born to them, namely:
Lydia, who married Larison Huff;
Margaret, who married Chryance Schenck;
William; Lewis; Sarepta, who
married Leyi Hockman; John; Benjamin;
Seymour; Willis N. and Letitia, who
married James Wrigley.
Willis N. Hance attended the district schools
near his father's farm in boyhood and afterward assisted
in carrying on the work on the homestead and well
remembers^ how laborious much of it was, as at that
period much of the labor-saving farm machinery that is
now universally in use, was not yet on the market. After
marriage he settled on the present farm, on which his
wife was born, and has remained here ever since, for
many years being one of the active and successful
farmers and stock raisers of Perry township.
On January 28, 1869, Mr. Hance was married
to Miss Mary Jane Keplinger,
a daughter of Mathias and Rebecca (Heckman) Keplinger,
both now deceased, their burial being at Sidney. Mrs.
Hance had three brothers and one sister:
Sylvester, John H., now deceased,
Charles, A., and Naomi, who is the wife of
Daniel Crumbaugh. To Mr. and Mrs.
Hance the following children were born: Lilly,
who is the wife of Grant Wirick, who is
the mail carrier on the rural route out of Pemberton,
O.; Charles A., who has charge of his father's
farm; married Carrie Cannon and they have
four children; Cleora M., Irma B., Rea
Vivian and Wilda Margaret; Elsie
Love, who is the wife of Charles
Williamson, who is a member of the police, force at
Sidney, O., and they have two children—Leonard
and Lois; and Earl W., who married Mary
Kuhlman and they reside at St. Mary's, where he
is bookkeeper for a business firm. Mr. Hance
and family are members of the United Brethren church. He
has always advocated reforms when they have appealed to
his judgment in both local and outside communities and
in his political views is in accord with the principles
of the prohibition party.
Source: History of Shelby County, Ohio and
representative citizens - Publ. Evansville, Ind. - 1913
- Page 458 |
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GEORGE W. HANSELLMAN,
a leading citizen of Cynthian township, Shelby county,
O., township assessor and a substantial farmer, lives in
section 30, where he owns ninety-nine acres of valuable
land. He was born in this township June 3, 1862, and is
a son of George and Catherine (Yoder) Hansellman.
George Hansellman, the father, was born in
Holland and was seven years old when his parents brought
him to the United States and settled in Darke county,
O., and he was reared and went to school in Patterson
township. He became a farmer in Shelby county and
remained there until he married when he moved to
Cynthian township, where he acquired a farm of 160
acres, situated on the county line, and here all his
children were born and reared. He married Catherine
Yoder, who was born in Germany, and eight
children were born to them, namely: Eli, who
lives at Piqua, O.; John, who lives at Salina,
O.; Barbara, who is deceased, was the wife of
Hiram Pitserburger; George W.;
William, who is deceased; and Margaret,
Lydia and Isabella. The father of the above
family died when aged sixty-eight years. The mother
still lives on the homestead and considering that she is
now in her eighty-first year, enjoys exceptional good
health. She is a member of the German Baptist church but
her husband was a Lutheran.
George W. Hansellman, with his brothers and
sisters, attended school in the Turner special district
and afterward learned the carpenter trade at Versailles,
O. For a number of years he worked at his trade in
Darke, Miami and Shelby counties and during this period,
on March 13, 1886, was married to Miss Mattie B.
Hemelright. She was born in Cynthian township, a
daughter of George and Elizabeth
Hemelright, the latter of whom died when Mrs.
Hansellman was only eight years old. To Mr.
and Mrs. Hansellman six children
have been born: Harvey, Erma, May,
Mabel, George and Cloyde.
After marriage Mr. Hansellman settled first on a
farm of forty acres situated four miles west of
Newport, O., and remained there until March, 1909, when
he came to his present farm. He found this place in
great need of improvement and his skill as a carpenter
was immediately called into play in the building of a
new residence and in making repairs on all the other
farm buildings. He is a republican in politics as was
his late father. and has frequently been called on to
serve in public positions, for three years being a
trustee of the township, four years road supervisor and
at present township assessor. Mr. Hansellman
and family attend the Christian church at Oran, O.
Source: History of Shelby County, Ohio and
representative citizens - Publ. Evansville, Ind. - 1913
- Page 455 |
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ELMER E.
HARBOUR, senior member of the firm
of E. E. Harbour & Son, operating a grain
elevator at Pemberton, O. and dealing also in farm
implements at this place, and additionally the owner of
360 acres of some of the finest land in Perry township,
Shelby county, was born in Perry township, Mar. 18,
1866, and is a son of Henry and Eliabeth (Persinger)
Harbour.
Henry Harbour was
born in Champaign county, O., but lived many years in
Shelby county, where his death occurred in 1906, at the
age of eighty-three years, his burial being in Cedar
Point cemetery. He was a veteran of the Civil war
and was widely known. He married Elizabeth
Persinger who is now a resident of Pemberton, and
they had four children: Charles William Beatty, Elmer
E., Harry P. and Wallace Royal.
Elmer E. Harbour obtained his education in the
public schools, afterward worked on his father's farm
and for a number of years has been connected with the
elevator and implement business. He built his
first elevator in partnership with L. G. Shanley
subsequently selling it to L. G. Shanley & Co.,
and afterward built the one he now owns and operates.
As a business man Mr. Harbour has been successful
and enterprising and, as the handling of farm implements
and grain are among the most important business
activities of Pemberton, he may almost be said to be the
father of the town. He is interested also at
Dayton, O., and at Pemberton, including a number of
dwellings and well-improved lots and his holdings in
association with his wife, in Shelby county, aggregate
about 700 acres. In politics he is a republican,
and, although no office holder, has always taken a
useful part in the affairs of the community and has
given hearty support to all public movements that have
promised to be beneficial in a large way.
In 1889 Mr. Harbour was married to Miss Fay
Wilkinson, who was born in Shelby county and is a
daughter of Isaac T. and Cynthia J. Wilkinson,
this being an old county family. Three children
have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Harbour:
Kenneth W., Florence and Mary. Mr.
Harbour and family attend services at the Methodist
Episcopal church. Mr. Harbour has been for
many years a free contributor to both churches,
Methodist and Baptist. He is a thirty-second
degree Mason and well known to the fraternity all over
the state, and belongs also to the Knights of Pythias,
attending De Graff lodge, in Logan county.
Source: History of Shelby
County, Ohio and representative citizens - Publ.
Evansville, Ind. - 1913 - Page 769 |
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PAUL HARRIS, who is one
of the younger business men of Port Jefferson, junior
member of the firm of Baker & Harris, dealers in
hardware and farm implements, was born on his father's
farm in Logan county, O., Apr. 4, 1888. He is a
son of John W. and Matilda (/Shick) Harris.
The Harris and Shick families are
representative ones of Logan county and the older
members had much to do with the making and carrying out
of laws and statutes for the general welfare. Like
other pioneer families of their day they engaged in road
making and school and church building and made law
abiding communities in which to rear children who now
reflect honor on them. John W. and Matilda
Harrishad the following children born to them:
Emmett, Elizabeth, Iva, Chester and George.
Paul Harris was reared and educated in Logan county
and mainly spent his time on the home farm prior to Mar.
1, 1912, when he came to Port Jefferson and entered into
his present partnership. The firm of Baker
and Harris handles both shelf and heavy hardware
and all the leading makes of agricultural implements,
and their patronage comes from a wide surrounding
territory.
In politics Mr. Harris is a democrat but is no
seeker for office as at present he finds his time
sufficiently employed with his own business problems.
Fraternally he belongs to the Knights of Pythias and he
was reared in the Methodist faith. He is an
enterprising young man in his business relations and
through a pleasing personality has many friends in
social life.
Source: History of Shelby County, Ohio and
representative citizens - Evansville, Ind. - 1913 - Page
724 |
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HENRY F. HARROD, one
of the leading citizens of Cynthian township, treasurer
of the Basinburg special school district, resides on his
well-improved farm of ninety-two acres, located one and
one-half miles northwest of Newport, O. He
was born Nov. 13, 1861, in Miami county, O., and is a
son of John and Elizabeth Harrod, both of whom
died in Miami county.
Henry F. Harrod was reared and received school
and farm training in his native county. When he
came to Shelby county he worked on farms prior to his
marriage and for one year afterward lived in Cynthian
township and then moved to Darke county. After two
years there he returned to Shelby county and located on
his present farm, upon which he lived as a tenant for
twenty-one years and then purchased and now owns
ninety-two acres in one tract and twenty-three in
another. In addition to cultivating all his land
with the exception of fourteen acres, which is one of
the finest timber tracts in the county, he rents 100
acres lying directly across the road from his own
property, for the past six years having also utilized
this land in carrying on his agricultural industries.
For twenty years he has been interested in handling
stock, buying in Darke and Mercer as well as in Shelby
county. Mr. Harrod also operates
profitably a large gravel pit on his land. He has
comfortable surroundings and substantial buildings and
well represents in his practical management of his large
affairs, that class of Ohio farmers who succeed through
industry and thorough knowledge of farming as a
business.
Mr. Harrod married Miss Rachel Short, a
daughter of I. N. Short, now deceased, formerly
of Cynthian township, and they have the following
children: May, Elizabeth, Harry,
Webster, Viola, and Cora and Dora,
twins. All the children have been given
educational advantages, the Basinburg special school
district offering excellent opportunities, Mr.
Harrod being one of its officials for the past three
years and taking much interest in advancing its
efficiency. He has always voted the democratic
ticket and on many occasions has been called to public
office, serving six years as assessor of Cynthian
township, and elected in 1909 treasurer of this school
district. Mr. Harrod and family are
members of the Methodist Episcopal church at Newport, O.
Source: History of Shelby County, Ohio and
representative citizens - Evansville, Ind. - 1913 - Page
640 |
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ISAAC HARSHBARGER. Our
esteemed townsman, Isaac Harshbarger, now
somewhat bowed with the burden of more than four score
of years, was born in Montgomery county, not far from
Dayton, in 1825 and has been a resident of Salem
township and Sidney for seventy-five years. He was the
oldest of ten children in the family of Mr. and Mrs.
Jonas Harshbarger, the former of whom was born in
the year 1800 in Rockingham county, Virginia, the latter
in Franklin county, Pennsylvania. In 1838 the family
left Montgomery county and after three days of
continuous travel settled on a farm of 100 acres, three
miles northeast of Sidney, which he had purchased, in
Salem township,, and which is now owned by. the.
Oliver C. Staley theirs. There :were no bridges
north of Piqua and the streams had to be forded. Of
course most of the land was a virgin forest. Tillable
farms had to be reclaimed from the shadows and Isaac
did what he could to let the sunlight in. At the age of
sixteen he was apprenticed to learn the tailor's trade,
at which lie worked in Port Jefferson and Sidney for
forty years.
Port Jefferson became a booming village and after the
canal was finished, being at the head of navigation, had
a most brilliant prospect. Gerard and Thomas
bought on the site 160 acres and laid out about .120 in
streets and lots; a man by the name of Jackson .laid out
twenty acres and Mr. Wright thirty acres, which
he called North Salem. Three long, streets running east
and west were made and buildings constructed rapidly. In
fact the future for Port Jefferson looked so propitious
that the late Samuel Rice, who went on horseback
from Buffalo to Chicago to make an investment, concluded
that Fort Jefferson had a brighter look and made a
purchase there in preference to the Windy City, now the
metropolis of the West.
Soon after the canal was done, five warehouses were in
operation, cooper and stave-shops employed at least 150
men, there was one grist mill, two asheries for the
manufacture of potash, where seven cents a bushel were
paid for ashes, which was no inconsiderable revenue to
the farmers as forests were burned in clearing the land.
There were five stores, the father of Lot Ogden being
among the first who came from Chambersburg, near Dayton,
with a $400 stock and eventually accumulated $50,000 or
more. Mr. Cromer did about the same and moved
back to Dayton, and Mr. Thirkield and Mr.
Thompson also had general stores. The trade at this
little giant of a town was immense, reaching far to the
north and east. Streets were thronged whenever the roads
would permit. Previous to this grain had to be hauled to
Sandusky on the lake, so that the scope of country
tributary in a business was far reaching.
Two large hotels were built, at one of which Mr.
Harshbarger boarded two years at $1.25 a week and it
makes his mouth water to think of the excellent fare
provided at about six cents a meal with lodging thrown
in.
Peaches and berries were abundant and could be had for
the gathering, game fairly swarmed in the woods and
numerous birds snapped up the coddling moths, so the
luscious apples were not bored and preempted at the
center with a vermiform appendix.
The bugs and flies with which the present generation
has to contend had not rallied their warring forces", so
living was cheap, and well that it was, as even shin
plasters, which were current, did not lie around loose.
Mr. Harshbarger says that there was more and
finer poplar in the forests of. Shelby county at that
time than in any other county in the state, with
abundance of walnut, both of which are now so valuable,
but they were ruthlessly cut or destroyed.
There were three sawmills in the vicinity and as there
was plenty of snow in the winter of 1847, the sawmills
were crowded with poplar logs from three feet to five
feet in diameter.
In January a thaw and rain set in, the water rose to an
almost unprecedented, height and swept them away. He
says he saw logs that would cover ten acres float down
the Miami.
In the campaign of 1840 the whigs got together one day
and cut the monarch- poplar on the south side of the
river, which was over six feet in diameter and sixty
feet to the first branch. The mammoth log was converted
into a canoe in which four or five could sit side by
side. This was drawn to Dayton and sold to a party in
Hamilton and was used in the "Tippecanoe and Tyler too"
stirring campaign.
Two or three canal boats were built in Port Jefferson
when the canal got in operation and the now lonesome
feeder of the Miami and Erie canal was a busy
throughfare for packets and freight boats but the notes
of the horn of the captain have been superseded by the
steam whistle of the railway engine. A dry-dock for the
repair of boats was constructed at the basin near
Philip Smith's foundry.
As soon as the Big Four and C. H. & D. railways
intersected at Sidney, a cloud came over the business
sky of Port Jefferson which has never lifted and the
golden prospect of this pretty; spot, still beautiful in
its decay, went glimmering and Sidney commenced to boom
into consequential importance, sapping the very-life
blood of Port Jefferson, until today there are not as
many inhabitants as there were voters in 1847.
Mr. Harshbarger was a life-long democrat and
held local offices in Port Jefferson for many years. In
1853 he was elected coroner of the county and with
Dr. Park Beeman and Dr. Albert Nelson
was present at the inquest on the body of the murdered
Artis girl. It was held in February with the snow
fifteen inches deep on the ground. He was present at the
hanging of Artis a year later in the county jail
and was deputized to help Sheriff J. C. Dryden.
The African fought so hard when they started from his
cell that he bad to be choked and knocked into
insensibility before they could adjust the noose. He was
four years United States marshal for the counties of
Shelby, Auglaize and Mercer under Gen. Andrew
Hickenlooper, and in 1868 was elected sheriff of
Shelby county, serving six years.
He married Miss Joanna Staley, who was a
schoolmate of his boyhood, and seven children were born
in their household, four of whom are living. Mr.
Harshbarger bought the old home farm of 100 acres
where he lived for many years but since 1902 he has been
living with his daughter, Miss Verdy Harshbarger.
Source: History of Shelby County, Ohio and
representative citizens - Publ. Evansville, Ind. - 1913
- Page 420 |
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WALLACE ROYAL
HARBOUR, one of the excellent farmers of Perry
township, Shelby county, O., where he owns 139 acres of
well improved land, was born in this township, Mar. 19,
1882, and is a son of Henry and Elizabeth (Persinger)
Harbour. The father, who was a veteran of the
Civil war, died in 1906. He was born in Champaign
county but carried on farming in Shelby county for many
years and was widely known. He married
Elizabeth Persinger, who was born in the
latter county and still survives, and they had four
children: Charles, William Beatty, Elmer E., Harry
P., and Wallace Royal.
After his school days were over Wallace Royal
Harbour assisted his father until the latter's
death, when he inherited sixty-eight acres, and on his
land started out for himself. Subsequently he sold
that property and then purchased his present farm of 139
acres and here has ever since carried on general farming
and moderate stock raising, frequently inaugurating
improvements in farm methods and taking the intelligent
interest in all that pertains to his business that is
the real factor in success in any line.
In June, 1902, Mr. Harbour was married to
Miss Edith DeWeese, a daughter of Frank and
Lottie (Barnes) DeWeese. The father of
Mrs. Harbour substantial people of this
county and Mrs. Harbour and her two brothers,
both younger, Hamilton and Grover, were
all born on the home farm. Mr. and Mrs. Harbour
have two very attractive and intelligent daughters,
Velma and Lucile The family belongs
to the Methodist Episcopal church at Pemberton.
Mr. Harbour belongs to the Quincy lodge of Knights
of Pythias, and politically is a republican.
Source: History of Shelby County, Ohio and
representative citizens - Publ. Evansville, Ind. - 1913
- Page 800 |
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JOHN HEISER, senior member
of the firm of John Heiser & Son, dealers
in coal, lime, cement, plastering hair, sewer pipe and
fire clay, at Sidney, O., is one of the stable and
representative business men of this city. He was born
December 1, 1840, on a farm that now lies in Mercer
county, O., but was then in Darke county, and is a son
of Lawrence and Rosena (Link) Heiser.
Lawrence Heiser was born in
Alsace-Loraine and for seven years of early manhood
served in the French army, then married in his own
province and with his wife emigrated to America. After
reaching the United States they settled at Canton, O.,
and lived there for eight years, Mr. Heiser
finding employment on the Ohio canal. In 1833 he entered
eighty acres of land from the government and settled on
the same and both he and his wife died there.
John Heiser
remained on the old home farm until 1858, in the spring
of which year he came to Sidney, where he learned the
blacksmith trade in a building which occupied the site
of the one which stands at No. 201 North Ohio avenue, in
which he has his coal office. The old building burned
down in 1855 or 1856. He learned his trade with Mr.
Kingseed, with whom he formed a partnership after
the Civil war, about 1866, for the manufacture of plows,
and they continued together for eight years, when Mr.
Heiser bought his partner's interest and
continued plow manufacturing until 1893.
On September 21, 1861, Mr. Heiser
enlisted for service in the Civil war, entering Company
M, First Ohio Light Artillery, and remained in the same
company and regiment for three years, seeing service in
Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia,
taking part in such great battles as Shiloh. Stone
River; Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge, Jonesboro, the
Flint River siege and many, many others. In spite of the
almost constant danger of death, Mr. Heiser was
never either injured or captured by the enemy and was
finally honorably discharged and mustered out at Camp
Dennison. He returned then to Ohio and from January to
May i, 1865, worked at his trade at Urbana, and from
June 1, to September 1, at St. Paris, then came back to
Sidney, where he went into business as above related. In
connection with his manufacturing business, Mr.
Heiser had opened another line, becoming a coal
merchant in 1879, and this interest he has continued,
always in the same building, the site being one of the
old business landmarks of the city.
In 1865 Mr. Heiser was married to Miss
Mary Danil, who died in 1889, an estimable
woman who was beloved by all who knew her. She was a
daughter of Gabriel Danil, a farmer in
Shelby county. Six children survived her: William L.,
who is in partnership with his father; Franklin;
George; Rosa, who is the wife of August
Myer; Raymond; and Amelia, who is
the wife of William Ross. Mr.
Heiser was married (second) to Frances
Mons, who died September 19, 1908.
Source: History of Shelby County, Ohio and
representative citizens - Publ. Evansville, Ind. - 1913
- Page 450 |
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FRANK G. HENEISEN,
who is a successful general farmer residing in Dinsmore
township, where he owns 160 acres of very find land,
situated one and one-half miles southeast of Botkins,
O., was born in 1879, in Van Buren township, Shelby
County, and is a son of Martin and Ellen (Gibson)
Heneisen.
Martin Heneisen, like many other well known and
respected men of Shelby county, was born in Germany.
He came to this section a young man and was married to
Ellen Gibson, who was born in Shelby county.
The following children were born to them:
Catherine, who is the wife of George Smith
and they live at Dayton, O.; Joseph, who died
young; Phillip, who died at the age of seventeen
years; Rosa, who is the wife of Henry Sitzman,
and they live at Botkins, O.; Mary, who died at
the age of eight years; Martin, who is a soldier
in the U. S. Army; Nora, who is a Catholic Sister
in Mercer county, O.; and Frank G., who was the
third in order of birth.
Sine his school days, Frank G. Heneisen has
followed farming and stock raising, now owning the old
homestead which he purchased from the other heirs.
He is an enterprising and progressive agriculturist and
understands how to make his industries profitable.
Mr. Heneisen married Miss Louise Jakob,
whose father was born in Germany and whose mother was
born at Minster, O. She was one of the following
family: Caroline, Anna, Edward, Antoinetta, Mayme,
Frank, Louis, Rosa, Vincent, Frances, Urban and
Louise. Mr. and Mrs. Heneisen are
members of the Catholic church. Politically he is
a democrat and possesses the confidence of his party, at
present serving as central committeeman for Dinsmore
township.
Source: History of Shelby County, Ohio and
representative citizens - Publ. Evansville, Ind. - 1913
- Page 744 |
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V. C. HETZLER, whose
extensive agricultural operations are carried on his
farm of 214 acres, situated in Green township, and on a
farm of 121 acres, located one mile further north, which
belongs to himself and sister, is a member of one of the
old and respected county families. He was born October
20, 1877, at Hetzler's Corners, in Orange
township, Shelby county, O., and is a son of George
F. and Orilla F. (Sanders) Hetzler.
George F. Hetzler was born and reared in Orange
township, Shelby county, and lived and died on the place
where his father, Christian Hetzler, had also
been born, whose father, George F. Hetzler, had
come to this place from New Jersey, securing the land
from the government when this locality-was first opened
up for settlement Grandmother Hetzler was
a member of the old Lemon family, which
came early to Shelby county. The great-grandfather's
farm was never out of the Hetzler name until it
was sold in 1912, but the grandfather's farm is still
held by the Hetzlers. George R Hetzler,
father of V. C, followed farming until his health
failed, his death occurring at the early age of
twenty-eight years. He married Orilla F. Sanders,
who died November 21, 1912, their two children being:
V. C. and Harriet, the latter being the wife
of Roscoe Laymaster, who is in business at
St. Mary's. They have three children: Dorothea,
Florence and Harold.
Since his school days, V. C. Hetzler has
been occupied with farming and stock raising and carries
on his large undertakings with very satisfying results.
The death of his mother has increased his ownership of
land, he now having 204 acres in Green township,
eighty-three acres where he lives and 121 acres one mile
north. He married Miss Sylvia Woodmancy
and they have three children: Gladys F., Rachel E.
and Doris L. In his political attitude Mr.
Hetzler prefers to be independent but takes a
good citizen's interest in all local matters and served
three years on the school board. With his family he
belongs to the Christian church. Fraternally he is
identified with the Odd Fellows.
Source: History of Shelby County, Ohio and
representative citizens - Publ. Evansville, Ind. - 1913
- Page 570 |
| |
B. P. HIGGINS,
who carries on general farming and stock raising in
Orange township, owns 110 acres of well cultivated land
that has been in the family since the time of his
grandfather, who erected the residence that still
stands. He was born in 1875, near Kirkwood, O.,
and is a son of J. V. and Sarah Elizabeth (Dunn)
Higgins.
J. V. Higgins was born, reared and educated in
Shelby county, and for thirty-five years carried on
farming north of Sidney and then came to the place his
son now occupies, and here the rest of his life was
passed, his death occurring at the age of seventy-five
years. He married Sarah Elizabeth Dunn who
was born on this farm, seventy-eight years ago, and
resides here with her son, B. P. Higgins who is
the youngest of the family of six children, the others
being: Mrs. Susie Hartshorn, of Miami county;
Charles, of Piqua; Mrs. Minnie Hetzler of
Orange township; and W. H. and T. L., both
of this township.
B. P. Higgins obtained his education in the
Kirkwood schools and afterward went to the west, where
he spent eighteen months. When he returned to
Shelby county he came to this farm, Grandfather Dunn's
old place, and here has followed his agricultural
industries ever since. In 904 he was married to
Miss Ida Baker, who is a daughter of Ephraim and
Anzetta (Cain) Baker They were well known
residents of Shelby county, where the father died in
1908, when aged seventy-one years. Mr. and Mrs.
Higgins have one son Kenneth. In his
political views Mr. Higgins chose to be
independent and the only office he ever accepted was
that of constable. He belongs to the Odd Fellows
at Kirkwood, O.
Source: History of Shelby
County, Ohio and representative citizens - Publ.
Evansville, Ind. - 1913 - Page 519 |
| |
SAMUEL
HIGGINS, one of the well-known
citizens of Shelby county, now living retired on his
valuable farm of 30 acres, which is situated six and
one-half miles southwest of Sidney, in Orange township,
is also entitled to respect and esteem as a surviving
veteran of the great Civil war. He was boron Jan.
8, 1841, on a farm in Shelby county, one mile south of
his present home, and is a son of Francis and Mary (Doak)
Higgins.
Francis Higgins was born in Hamilton county, O.,
and came to Shelby county in 1833, locating on the farm
on which his son was born, from which he removed to the
second farm when Samuel Higgins was one year old.
Here he died at the age of sixty-seven years. He
married Mary Doak who came to Shelby county in
1815 and lived beyond her eighty-first birthday.
They had five children: John V., Elizabeth, Ella,
Samuel and Mary C., the two survivors being
Elizabeth and Samuel.
Samuel Higgins attended the district schools in
Orange township, during the winter seasons, until he was
about nineteen years of age, giving his father help on
the farm in the summer time. In 1852 as a
patriotic young man, he enlisted for service in the
Civil war then in progress entering Company B, Fiftieth
Ohio Vol. .Inf., under the command of Captain
Gellespie, and continued all through the war,
receiving an honorable discharge, and never was
seriously injured although he participated at
Perryville, Knoxville, through the Atlanta campaign
including the taking of the city, Franklin and
Nashville, being ever at the post of duty. When
the war was over he returned to peaceful life and took
up farming on his present property, on which he has
lived ever since. He practically made the place
over, putting up all the buildings now standing and
adding all the other improvements. Since his
retirement from active farm work, the industries are
carried on by his son.
Mr. Higgins was married to Miss Martha E.
Bryan whose father, James Bryan died in
Sidney when she was only one year old, leaving a widow,
formerly Wilma Crumbaugh, and two little
daughters: Sarah E. and Martha E. To
Mr. and Mrs. Higgins eleven children were born
and nine of these survive. Mr. Higgins and
sons are republicans and he belongs to Neil post, G. A.
R., at Sidney. With his family he attends the
United Brethren church at Kirkwood.
Source: History of Shelby County, Ohio and
representative citizens - Publ. Evansville, Ind. - 1913
- Page 502 |
| |
THOMAS L.
HIGGINS, whose excellent farm of
sixty-five acres is situated five and one-half miles
south of Sidney, O., was born Mar. 2, 1873, in the
Russell Settlement, in Turtle Creek township, Shelby
county, O., and is a son of the late J. V. and
Elizabeth (Dunn) Higgins, the former of whom is now
deceased, but the latter lives on the old Dunn
homestead.
Thomas L. Higgins was educated in the public
schools and ever since has devoted himself to farming
and stock raising, remaining on the home place until his
marriage, when he came to his present farm and occupied
it for two years and then moved into Miami county, where
he rented farm land until 1907, when he returned and
bought this place after renting it for five years, it
formerly belonging to his father-in-law. Mr.
Higgins is a careful, intelligent, experienced
farmer and his crops and stock compare very favorably
with any others in this section.
Mr. Higgins married Miss Eva Hauver, who
is a daughter of the late J. C. Hauver, who came
here from Maryland and was a well known farmer in Orange
township. Mr. and Mrs. Higgins have four
children: Bessie, Howard, Wayne and
Catherine. In politics he is an independent
voter and fraternally he is connected with the Odd
Fellows at Kirkwood.
Source: History of Shelby
County, Ohio and representative citizens - Publ.
Evansville, Ind. - 1913 - Page 736 |
| |
W. H. HIGGINS,
who belongs to one of the old families of Shelby county
and is a successful general farmer in Orange township,
was born in the Russell settlement, in Turtle Creek
township, and is a son of J. V. and Sarah Elizabeth
(Dunn) Higgins. For many years the father was
a prosperous farmer in this section and lived to the age
of seventy-one years. The mother still survives
and lives on her old homestead, now aged seventy-eight
years.
W. H. Higgins attended the township schools and
then turned his attention to farming, which has been the
family business. He worked for five years by the
month and afterward rented farm land, living on the home
place until five years after his marriage, when he moved
into Washington township, Miami county, and lived there
for one year. In 1903 he settled on his present
farm of fifty acres, which lies seven miles south of
Sidney, and here has successfully carried on farming and
stock raising ever since. He is identified with
none of the political parties, belonging to a very
independent family, but nevertheless has frequently had
township offices tendered him and has served as road
supervisor.
Mr. Higgins married Miss Lula M. Moore, a
daughter of Jacob Moore, an old resident of the
county, and they have four children: Jessie, Floyd,
Robert and Francis. Mr.
Higgins is an Odd Fellow and belongs to the lower
branch at Kirkwood and the Encampment at Sidney.
Source: History of Shelby County, Ohio and
representative citizens - Publ. Evansville, Ind. - 1913
- Page 532 |
| |
MORRIS HONNELL.—Eighty-four
years ago, December 3, 1908, Morris Honnell,
the third in a family of twelve children enlivened his
parents household in Greene county, Pa., where his
boyhood was spent until about nine years of age when
Mr. and Mrs. Honnell turned
towards Ohio with their .hopeful in a large wagon, the
only means of transportation known in. those times
between the two states. The progress was not swift but
sure and the vehicle not as ease inviting as a Pullman
palace car nor did it run nights. It had a commissary
department for man and beast. The leisurely gait, gave
ample time to take in and enjoy the rugged scenery on
the way. In fact it often became monotonous rendering a
more rapid transit desirable. But that was in the days
when heroic patience characterized people and no one was
in a hurry as now, consequently nervous diseases were
not as fashionable as at present. In due time they
reached the pan handle of Virginia, crossed it to
Wheeling and half forded and half ferried the Belle
Riviere into the Buckeye state and finally brought up in
Dingmansburg on the. east side of the Miami where they
remained, for three years.
One night when Morris was nine years old
Morris' eyes flew open and was amazed and frightened
to see meteors falling like snow flakes, making it as
light as day. He aroused the household and Mr.
Honnell alarmed the neighborhood. The celestial fire
works of meteoric dust was the most awe inspiring
panorama he ever beheld and the end of the world was
thought to be at hand. Those who had clean robes donned
them so as to be as presentable as possible when their
wings should be pinned on to meet the angels in the.
upper air. The woods in the vicinity were all lighted
up. The wonderful pageant lasted from 2 o'clock in the
morning until daylight and extended all over the United
States, the Caribbean islands and Mexico.
The meteors seemed to start from the zenith like sky
rockets or Roman candles and shoot in all directions
athwart the arch of the sky in all directions to the
horizon. While the luminous dust and fire balls
with a train of white or blue light descended in a
shower they seemed to fall at some distance from the
observer and the illusion was as perfect as the
ostensible ends of a rainbow.
In the South the superstitious negroes threw themselves
upon the, ground and rolled in mental agony crying to
God for mercy, deeming the judgment day at hand. No
meteoric stones were found in this vicinity though they
were hunted for. The astounding phenomena has never been
accounted for even by the most astute astronomers and
scientists. It is said that the shower continued for
eight hours but was not noticed by ordinary persons
after the sun arose. In any event nothing like this was
ever observed before or since of which there is any
record.
The Honnell family fanned the old
Fielding place for three years and then moved to the
north part of Sidney where they lived for three years
more when Mr. Honnell bought 100 acres
lying on the Russell pike a mile northwest of Sidney.
In due time a round dozen children made their appearance
in the following order: Archibald, Maria,
Morris, Eli, William, Jesse,
Henry, Catherine, Cynthia,
Thomas, Martha and Francis. Mr.
Honnell did not clamor for the markets of the
world as his home demand was about equal to his supply
until the older ones left the parents' nest and partook
of the provender from some other table.
Morris did farm work until 1848 when he broke
out into the wide, wide world having been hired to take
four horses overland to Vermont for Almon
Hitchcock who had bought them in this county. This
trip was made on horseback at a rate of thirty miles a
day, riding one and leading three. It took the biggest
part of a month to reach his destination but he
delivered the goods all right and after remaining a few
days so that he could occupy a chair without sitting
straddle he took a packet at Whitehall on the Champlain
canal for Albany, and then one on the Erie canal to
Buffalo. Here he engaged passage on Lake Erie for
Sandusky, then came to Bellefontaine by rail and
completed his trip to Sidney on foot as the Big Four
railway was an after consideration. .
In 1850 he was seized with the California fever which
literally took him off to the Golden state, leaving
Sidney for St. Jo, Mo., March 26, in company with the
late N. R. Wyman, Harvey Guthrie
and some others from this city.
At St. Jo an outfit of ox teams, wagons and provisions
were procured and daily, for several months, they
pursued the sun in its course.
The overland Californians of 1856 had to undergo trials
far worse than the forty miners experienced unless they
were in the advance of the immense army of adventurers
as the grass along the trail was consumed faster than it
grew so that the oxen had to subsist frequently by
browsing on the brush. He immediately went to, placer
mining with fair success; then was employed for a time
at seven dollars a day to superintend a gang of miners,
and subsequently he ran a saw mill. He remained in the
Golden state for four years then returned to this county
by the oceans to New York and bought 160 acres in
Washington township which he still owns though at one
time he had over 200 acres.
He did not farm it long until he realized that a wife
was a commodity that a bachelor needed to make a
desirable home, and at this dire juncture Miss
Martha MacDonough, of Lebanon visited a
neighbor in' Washington township. He looked upon her
visit as a providential event as in his eye she filled
the bill, and as his advances were looked upon with
favor by her they were married in Lebanon, May 15, 1855,
when his successful career commenced and a happy married
life set in and continued until about four years ago,
when she was. laid to rest in Graceland, leaving two
daughters, the only children that were born to them,
Emma, now Mrs. I. N. Woodcox, of
Piqua, and Olive, his affectionate stay in his
declining years and the light of his beautiful home. Its
two and one-half acres have given him healthy employment
for the last twenty-one years, furnishing him with the
vegetables and fruits of the soil in abundance and td
spare, while, at the same time, he has enjoyed the
social and church advantages of the city.
Wyandotte chickens lay for him high toned eggs, and are
at hand whenever he feels like a pot pie, fry or roast,
and grapes and pears in profusion garnish his table,
while his early sweet corn has a city distinction which
grocerymen are eager to get for the growing demand, and
the probability is that corn not grown on his estate,
labeled the Honnell corn, is sold to innocent
purchasers, for it seems that in its season the supply
from his acre is as inexhaustible as the widow's cruse
of oil.
Being a whig in politics he had to keep mum on his
California trip for the Missourians, of whom there was a
large number, persisted that no whig should be allowed
in California because of opposition to the Mexican war
by which the golden plum fell into the hands of the
United States.
Of the twelve children only three are living, Morris,
Henry and Thomas, of Brown county, Kansas.
In the fifties the Rev. William Honnell
was employed at the Kickapoo mission, Kansas, and
Henry soon followed to that state and went through
the perilous time when overrun by the border ruffians of
Missouri which, gave the name of Bleeding Kansas, and he
knew old John Brown. Thomas did not
go there until after he returned from the war. Each got
wealthy at cattle raising and the rise in real estate
and became prominent citizens. Henry is a large
stockholder and director in a bank at Horton of which
his son-in-law is president, and Thomas is
president of a bank at Everest and has a farm of 640
acres worth $100 an acre, at one time he had over 2,000
acres.
Francis Honnell went to the army, was
taken prisoner and died in Libby prison in the early
days of the strife; Eli of Port Jefferson, died
within the past year. Morris has voted for
sixteen whig and republican candidates for president,
commencing with Zacharay Taylor and ending
with William H. Taft.
If the temperance question has been left to this strong
and highly moral family to settle, there would have been
no wet and dry agitation in Ohio nor need of the county
local option law nor Beal statute. In religion they were
of the Presbyterian persuasion without any higher
criticism as an appendix.
The eighty-four years which so far have been allotted
thus graciously to Mr. Honnell have been
the most important and eventful in the world's history,
excepting, perhaps, the advent of the Christian era. The
strides upward in the scientific, the mechanical, the
educational, the moral and political world have no
approaching precedent. His recollection, which is
undimmed by years, as he sits in his easy chair and sees
the trolley cars pass and repass his door, views the
trains on the railway near by, converses with friends at
any distance over his telephone engaged his reflective
thought and makes him wonder what the twentieth century
can possibly bring that is new. The uplift of the people
in the different nations, the crumbling of absolute
monarchies and the restriction of oppressive despotisms
everywhere, the marked advances of Christianity and the
growth of republican and democratic sentiments, the
manumission of slaves in this country and the freezing
of serfs in Russia and other parts of the earth, all
furnish with mental food and is a source of gratitude
that he has been permitted to live through such an
eventful era and has "crowned his labor with an age of
ease."
Source: History of Shelby County, Ohio and
representative citizens - Publ. Evansville, Ind. - 1913
- Page 408 |
| |
P. A. HOWELL, one
of the representative men of Orange township, Shelby
county, O., residing on his excellent farm of 135 acres,
named Cedar Hill, situated six miles south of Sidney,
O., was born in Hancock county, Ill., and is a son of
James A. and Ellen (Slaughter) Howell.
James A. Howell was born in Ohio and reared to
manhood here. Prior to his marriage he moved to Illinois
and remained there and in Iowa some six years. After he
returned to his native state, he located in Miami county
and lived there and in Shelby county until 1900, when he
removed to Richmond, Ind., where he now lives retired.
He married Ellen Slaughter, and of their
six children five survive.
P. A. Howell was
educated in the schools of Miami and Shelby counties,
being aged four years when his parents came to Ohio from
Iowa. At the age of sixteen he was granted a certificate
to teach, being at that time the youngest person ever
given a teacher's certificate in his home county. He
however preferred the farm and began life for himself as
a farm hand. Fearing no amount of hard work and never
turning back when encountering difficulties and
adversity, although still a young man, he has succeeded
in establishing himself on one of the most productive
farms of Orange township, being considered one of the
substantial citizens of the community. For a number of
years Mr. Howell has been engaged frequently in
lecture work before Farmers' Institutes, and Cedar Hill
farm, on which he has resided since 1900, is surely an
example of what may be accomplished by modern methods
and systematic effort in increasing the productiveness
of a run down farm. He makes a specialty of breeding
draft horses and raising potatoes and also has for a
number of years been engaged in buying and shipping
potatoes, being the founder in this vicinity of an
industry amounting to many thousands of dollars annually
to the farmers of the county. Mr. Howell is one
of the progressive agriculturists of this section,
undoubtedly is prospering, and is in every sense of the
word a self made man. In politics he. is a democrat but
has never accepted any offices except in connection with
the public schools and has served several years on the
school board, and for five of these was clerk.
Mr. Howell was married to Miss Dora C. Voress,
only daughter of J. F. Voress, one of the well
known residents of Shelby county, and they have four
children: Mabel, Walter, Violet, and Ethel.
Mr. Howell and family belong to the Christian
church.
Source: History of Shelby County, Ohio and
representative citizens - Publ. Evansville, Ind. - 1913
- Page 564 |
| |
FLINT L. HUBBELL, M. D.,
physician and surgeon, has been engaged professionally
at Sidney, O., since 1905, and has built up a very
satisfactory practice, making a specialty of surgery. He
was born at Quincy, O., January 9,1879, and is a son of
Dr. James A. and a grandson of Hezekiah
Hubbell.
It is a long way back to the times of Grandfather
Hubbell as he was one of the earliest pioneers of
Shelby county. He was a shoemaker by trade and for a
short time followed the same when Sidney was but a
village. He was a great hunter and the family tradition
is that in one winter alone he killed a bear and
forty-three deer on the present site of Sidney. His son,
Dr. James A. Hubbell, still resides at Quincy,
where he has practiced medicine continuously for the
past forty years, his father having died there.
Flint L. Hubbell was reared at Quincy and in the
home of his grandfather near by, receiving his
educational training in the Quincy schools and after
completing his course in the high school entered the
Ohio Normal University at Ada, O., where he was
graduated in 1896. For two years afterward he conducted
a drug store at Quincy and in 1898 entered Starling
Medical College at Columbus, where he was graduated with
the class of 1901. He returned to Quincy and engaged in
medical practice there, in the meanwhile continuing his
scientific studies which included several post graduate
courses prior to coming to Sidney, February 22, 1904.
He was an interne for six months at Bellevue Hospital,
New York, and on July 4, 1904, was graduated from the
Chicago Clinical School. Dr. Hubbell's
enthusiasm for his profession induced further study and
he completed a post graduate course in 1912, at the
Chicago Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat Hospital. He is
identified with the leading medical organizations of the
country, belonging to the Shelby County Medical Society,
the Ohio State Medical Society, the American Medical
Association and the International Associations of
Surgeons.
Dr. Hubbell was married at Sidney to a daughter
of John F. Horr, who, at present is a government
official at Jacksonville, Fla. Dr. Hubbell
is a member of the Elks and is a thirty-second degree
Mason.
Source: History of Shelby County, Ohio and
representative citizens - Publ. Evansville, Ind. - 1913
- Page 470 |
| |
JOHN M. HUGHES,
a retired farmer residing in Jackson township, who has
served two years as township trustee, was born in Miami
county, Ohio, Dec. 18, 1850, a son of E. H. and
Elizabeth Hughes. He was five years old when
he accompanied his parents to this township. After
acquiring a fair practical education in the local
schools, he took up agricultural work on the home farm,
where he remained until 20 years of age. He was
subsequently engaged for nine years in farm work in
Salem township. He then returned and settled on a
farm of his own, adjoining that of the parental
homestead, it being located in section 22, about two
miles south of Jackson Center. This farm, which is
known as "Woodland," contains 105 acres of good land,
ten acres of which are still in timber. It is well
improved and drained and the substantial buildings now
standing thereon were all erected by our subject.
Mr. Hughes married Mary Cargill of Port
Jefferson, O., a daughter of John Cargill. They
have had children as follows: Kate, the wife of
W. M. Zimpfer; Clay, who is now operating
the farm; Flossie, wife of John Akers, and
two who are deceased. Mr. Hughes is
a Republican in politics and formerly served as school
director. He is a man highly respected in Jackson
township, of which he is one of the prosperous and
representative citizens.
Source: History of Shelby
County, Ohio and representative citizens - Publ.
Evansville, Ind. - 1913 - Page 862 |
|
