|
BIOGRAPHIES
Source:
History of Adams County, Ohio
from its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time
by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers
West Union, Ohio
Published by E. B. Stivers
1900
Please note: STRIKETHROUGHS are
errors with corrections next to them.
< CLICK HERE TO RETURN
TO 1900 BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX >
< CLICK HERE to GO to LIST
of BIOGRAPHICAL INDEXES >
| |
VALENTINE
H. HAFER, of Blue Creek, was born in Crawford
County, Pa., June 28, 1832. His father was John Hafer
and his mother Elizabeth Blackburn. Our subject
was reared on a farm, and when twelve years of age came to
Clayton, Adams County, Ohio. July 27, 1853, he married
Miss Nancy Webb, daughter of Thomas and Jane Cook Webb,
to whom has been borne three sons and five daughters:
George F., John W., Mary J., Sarah E., Elatha E. L., Nancy A.,
James A., and Ida D. A.
August 8, 1862, he enlisted for three years at
Buena Vista, Scioto County, and has mustered into the U. S.
Service as a private at Lima, Ohio, Company H, Capt. Henry,
81st Regiment O. V. I. He was promoted to Corporal and
then joined his regiment under Col. Morton, at Corinth,
Miss. He was in many battles of the war among which may
be mentioned Rome Cross Roads, Dallas, Siege of Atlanta,
Jonesboro, Sherman's March to the Sea, Siege of Atlanta,
Jonesboro, Sherman's March to the Sea, Siege of Savannah, and
Kenesaw Mountain. Was honorably discharged at Camp
Dennison, July 13, 1865.
Valentine Hafer is one of the prominent men of
Jefferson Township. He is an ardent Democrat in
politics, and a Universalist in religion. He is now
badly crippled with rheumatism contracted in the service of
his country, for which disability he draws a pension.
Source: History of Adams County, Ohio - by
Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers – West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B.
Stivers - 1900 - Page 756 |
| |
THOMAS L. HAMER. Thomas
Lyon Hamer, who died on the plains of Mexico on Dec. 2,
1846, to-day is the most alive man in Brown County.
The worship of ancestors may be laughed down, or cried
down, yet it exists. Hero worship is decried too, but
all the same it goes on. Thomas L. Hamer lived
in this world forty-six years. He has been dead
forty-eight years and yet no man in Brown County wields such
an influence as he did at the time of his death and which
has extended to the present time. If you visit
Georgetown you will see his lawyer's sign in the lobby of
the court house, a precious souvenir. His picture
hangs over the judge's seat in the court room.
In the village cemetery, his tomb is reverently pointed
out, and in the village itself, his old home is shown, just
as he had left it in the spring of 1846 to go into the
Mexican War. The day when his sacred remains, brought
all the way from Mexico, were laid to their everlasting rest
was the greatest day ever known in the history of Brown
County. No such funeral honors were ever given any man
in Ohio, and none will ever again be given. It seemed
as though the whole population of Brown County had turned
out to honor the great man. The particulars are graven
on the memory of every man present at that funeral in
characters never to be obliterated. Thomas L. Hamer
was a man of middle height, of slender physique, with a head
covered with a shock of bushy red hair, always neat and
cleanly dressed, and with smoothly shaven face, and with a
personal magnetism which could be felt but not described.
No man could inspire greater personal devotion to himself,
and no man of his time ever did. He was everybody's
friend, and his friendship was not seeming but real.
He was a most entertaining conversationalist - brilliant,
engaging, interesting - a delightful companion, and as a
public speaker, he carried his audience the way he wanted it
to go. Time and again he had cavassed his own county
and district and all the people knew him. They seemed
to know him, all at once, on first acquaintance, and they
could not forget him. He moved to Georgetown, Ohio, in
August, 1821, just after the town had been laid out, and
while it was yet in the virgin forest. His manners
were pleasing, his conversation charmed the hearer, and he
won the respect and esteem of every one. The law
business was in its infancy then, and he accepted the office
of justice of the peace of Pleasant Township, and also
edited a newspaper in Georgetown. His written articles
were as happy as his speeches. His oratory was artless
and natural. He carried his hearers with him and had
great success with juries. In 1825, he was elected to
the legislature. In 1828, he was an elector on the
Jackson ticket and was re-elected to the legislature in
1829. In December, 1829, he was elected speaker of the
house in the legislature. Mr. Hamer, as a
speaker, appointed a majority of his political opponents on
seven committees out of eight. In the election of
judges by the legislature, when the Democrats held a caucus
in 1830, Mr. Hamer opposed the motion to be bound by
this caucus and in the subsequent election he voted against
two of the nominees of the Democratic caucus on the ground
that the selection of the judiciary should have no
connection with politics. Mr. Hamer, in
defending his votes against two of his own party, on this
occasion, made a noble speech, which anticipated all the
doctrines of the civil service reformers, and should go down
to the ages. He defined his oath as representative to
vote according to the dictates of his judgment, and that if
his judgment told him that a candidate was not qualified,
and he voted for the man notwithstanding, because of his
political affiliations, that was not honest; it was not a
faithful discharge of the duties he owed to his
constituents, and was a violation of his oath. He
said, "I think so, and if any other man thinks otherwise,
let him act accordingly. I never have and never will
obey the dictates of party principles, or party caucuses,
when by so doing, I must violate my oath as representative,
betray my constituents or injure my country." If
nothing made Hamer great, his sentiments before
expressed, and his acting up to them were sufficient. It
seems that Mr. Hamer's independence of action did not
hurt him with his party, for, in 1832 he was elected to
congress from his district, and, moreover, he was elected as
an independent candidate against Thomas Morris, the
regular Democratic candidate, Owen T. Fishback, the
Whig candidate, and William Russell the anti-Jackson
Democratic candidate. The vote was, Hamer,
2069; Morris, 2028, and Russell, 403.
In Clermont County, where Morris and Fishback lived,
Hamer had only 209 votes and Russell 19, while
Morris had 1,319 and Fishback 1,186.
Hamer swept Adams and Brown counties, simply by his
eloquence. Thomas Morris had been Hamer's
preceptor in the study of law. Two months after this
Thomas Morris was elected United States senator from
Ohio, and the two took their seats at the same time, and
each served six years. Both were Democrats, but
differed widely as to their views on slavery.
General Hamer was re-elected to congress from his
district in 1834 and 1836. In the house Thomas
Corwin and William Allen were among his
colleagues. In the house he voted that petitions for
the abolition of slavery should be laid on the table, and no
further action taken on them. He declined a
re-election to congress in 1838, but did not drop out of
politics. His red hair and Corwin's swarthy
complexion were common objects of remark in political
circles of that time. There was a magic about Hamer
which could be felt, but which could not be described.
Every man who came within the sound of Hamer's voice
could feel the spell of it, and ever afterward remember it,
but could not describe the phenomenon of it. When
Hamer spoke every one listened, and they gave him their
exclusive and undivided attention, no matter how long he
spoke. Old and young alike listened to every word,
entranced by his voice and manner.
Not only was he a speaker, but he was a writer as well,
furnishing many articles for the press of his party, and at
the same time he carried
on an extensive correspondence with the most distinguished
men of
the nation. He remained out of public life until Mar.
4, 1839, simply because he chose to, and not because it was
the wish of his constituents and party friends. On
Oct. 3, 1845, President Polk tendered him the office
of commissioner of Indian affairs, but he declined it.
In the summer of 1846 he was renominated to congress by the
district composed of Clermont, Brown, and Highland counties.
When the president called for 50,000 volunteers for the
Mexican army, Hamer rode over his district, addressed
meetings, and, by his wonderful eloquence aroused the war
spirit. He himself volunteered as a private soldier in
the company of his son-in-law, Captain Johnson.
When the first Ohio regiment was organized at Camp
Washington, he was elected major. On June 29, 1846,
President Polk appointed him a brigadier general of
volunteers, principally at the instigation of Congressman
J. T. McDowell, whom Hamer succeeded. The
appointment did not reach General Hamer until June
24, 1846, and his commission did not reach him until Aug. 1,
1846, at Camp Belknap, Texas. Gen. Taylor, in
preparing for the attack on Monterey, arranged to allow none
but southern volunteers and regular troops to participate.
In a council of war, when this was proposed, Gen. Hamer
protested and insisted that his brigade should have a part
in the storming of Monterey, where, it is said, it performed
prodigies of valor and won immortal renown. On the
second Tuesday of October, 1846, Gen. Hamer was
reelected to congress in his district without opposition.
After Monterey, he commanded a division; but there was one
thing that he could not endure. His constitution could
not stand the trying climate of Mexico. Every northern
soldier had to go through the process of acclimatization and
have a spell of fever. Gen. Hamer was unwell
from the time he landed in Mexico, but he was only
dangerously ill a week previous to his death. He died
on the night of Dec. 21, 1846, near Monterey. He was
interred with all the honors of war in a cemetery near the
place of his death. At the time the Ohio Legislature
met in December, and on Dec. 31, 1846, Andrew Ellison,
a lawyer of Georgetown, and a member of the house from Brown
County, introduced resolutions as to the death of Gen.
Hamer. This was on Wednesday. The
resolutions provided that the speakers of the houses should
procure a suitable person to pronounce a eulogy on the life,
character, and public services of the deceased before the
legislature; that the body of Gen. Hamer should be
brought back and interred in Ohio soil at the expense of the
state, and both houses agreed to the resolutions and
adjourned to the next Saturday out of respect to the memory
of the deceased. On Jan. 6, 1847, the house resolved
that Gen. John J. Higgins, of Brown (a brother-in-law
of Gen. Hamer), James H. Thompson, of
Highland, and James C. Kennedy, of Clermont, be
appointed commissioners to carry the house resolutions into
effect, and they were to draw on the treasury for their
expenses. The senate concurred in the resolution at
once. When Hamer's body reached Georgetown, he
was accorded the grandest funeral ever given to any citizen,
except our martyred president. Hon. David T. Disney
pronounced the oration at the funeral. Hon. James
H. Thompson, of Hillsboro, Ohio, one of the
commissioners, was present at the funeral. He has been
asked to describe it, but does not think he has the
eloquence or the pathos to do the subject justice.
With the weight of his years, he cannot command the
inspiration he thinks the subject demands. In several
visits to Georgetown, I sought to obtain the original
documents, books and writings, which would have shed a
wonderful light on Hamer's career and life, but ever
avenue seemed closed to me, and reluctant as I am to give up
the subject, I am compelled to let oblivion claim and hold
many facts which it would have been well for posterity to
have preserved.
There is a parallel between the lives of General
Hamer and Gen. Franklin Pierce, president of the
United States, that is more than remarkable. Hamer
was born in 1800, Pierce in 1804. Hamer
was a farmer's son and so was Pierce. The
latter, however, secured a good college education, which the
former lacked. At the time, Hamer had been two
years in the Ohio legislature, Pierce was admitted to
the bar. In 1829, Pierce entered the
legislature of New Hampshire as a Jackson Democrat,
and he served in the legislature four years, two of which he
was speaker of the house. In 1825, 1828, and 1829,
Hamer was in the Ohio legislature, the last two years of
which he was speaker. Hamer was in the lower
house of congress from 1833 to 1839. Pierce
entered the lower house in 1833 and served four years.
He spoke and voted against receiving petitions for the
abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia, and so did
Hamer. In 1833, Pierce entered the
United States senate from his state and retired from that in
1842. At this point, there is contrast, and not
comparison between the two. In the National
Legislature, the two stood alike on the slavery question.
When the Mexican war broke out in 1846, the same military
spirit was shown by Pierce as by Hamer.
Pierce enlisted as a private, so did Hamer,
and, like the latter, went about everywhere making war
speeches. Pierce, like Hamer, was soon
after elected to office, being appointed colonel of the
Ninth Regiment of Infantry of his state. Like
Hamer, Pierce was made a brigadier general, dated Mar.
3, 1847. He did not reach Mexico until June 28, 1847,
and in the war displayed the same personal bravery, the same
spirit of self-sacrifice and the same devotion to the men of
his command as did General Hamer. Both Hamer
and Pierce were men of pleasant appearance of
excellent address; both were fond of neat and elegant
apparel; both had a charm in social intercourse, and both
were eloquent advocates. Each had a clear, musical
voice, graceful and impressive gesticulation, and each could
kindle the blood of his hearers, or melt them to tears by
pathos. Each had a natural oratory that had an
inimitable charm of its own, and each had a wonderful
natural kindness of heart. Pierce's oratory had
more of the polish of education while Hamer's had the
fire of nature. Each had an intuitive knowledge of human
nature, but Hamer was a diligent student, while
Pierce was not. Each had a wonderful and
remarkable popularity in his own district and state.
Each could attract, hold, move and sway audiences by the
power of oratory. Hamer's power of oratory had
to be felt to be appreciated. It could not be
described in words, and the same was true of Pierce,
though there was more of nature and less of art in Hamer's
oratory. Had Hamer lived and continued the
promise of his life, as no doubt he
would, in 1852, he would have been the nominee of his party
for president, instead of General Pierce. Every
one who knew Hamer has expressed that thought, and
what every one felt would no doubt have been carried out.
In 1852, the conditions were such that the Democrats were
bound to nominate a northern man and one of a military
reputation. General Pierce barely filled the
military requirements, but had Hamer lived, he would
before then have been governor of the state or United States
senator and would have filled the requirements of his party
better than General Pierce, and would have been the
nominee of his party for president.
Thus death robbed Brown County, Ohio, of the
opportunity of furnishing a president, but by a singular
coincidence, General Grant, whom Hamer had
appointed from Brown County, Ohio, as a cadet to the United
States Military Academy at West Point in 1838, became
president of the United States in 1869. Thus, while
Hamer did not live to become president of the United
States, as surely he would have been, yet he shaped the
career of a boy of his own village, so that this boy
afterward became the president of the United States.
Even in the appointment of the boy Grant, as a cadet,
Hamer showed himself of noble mind.
Jesse R. Grant, young Grant's father, was
not friendly to Hamer so much so that he could not
and would not ask Hamer to make the appointment, but
got Gen. James Loudon father of Col. D. W. C.
Loudon of Georgetown, to obtain the appointment for him,
which General Loudon did. Hamer did not
know young Grant's real name but took it to be
Ulysses Simpson and sent it in that way, when really it
was Hiram Ulysses. When Grant found that
he was appointed as Ulysses Simpson Grant, he adopted
that name and used it ever after.
Source: History of Adams County, Ohio - by
Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers – West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B.
Stivers - 1900 - Page 305 - 309 |
| |
CAPT.
WILLIAM HANNAH. John Hannah, the father
of William Hannah, lived in Virginia. He was
the maternal grandfather of John H. Kincaid, who was
a prominent citizen of Adams County. Little is known
concerning the early history of John Hannah except
that he was a soldier of the Revolution, and the story is
told of his having swam the Brandywine. As the
incident has been mentioned in history, it must have
occurred at a critical time and was to his credit.
William Hannah, one of three sons of John
Hannah, was born Sept. 13, 1770. He came from
Virginia into Kentucky where he remained a short time,
finally coming to Ohio and settling in Liberty Township at
Hannah's Run. During a recent visit to the
place, all that was found to remain of the old home was a
small heap of stones which marks the place where the chimney
stood. He then went to Cabin Creek where he conducted
a ferry. After twelve years, he returned to Liberty
Township and at Hill's Fork purchased 400 acres of land, all
in woods. Here he remained and made his home.
Part of the old homestead is still owned by the family,
having been in the Hannah name eighty-seven years.
Mr. David A. Hannah, of Hill's Fork, is the present
owner or 134 acres, all in a good state of cultivation.
Captain Hannah was a soldier of the War of 1812;
was made a Captain and served with distinction. The
following anecdote concerning him has often been related by
the members of the Hannah family. The incident
occurred while the troops were in camp and mustering at
Manchester, Ohio. One day while at dinner, on the
banks of the Ohio, a deer was seen to come out of the woods
on the Kentucky shore to get a drink. Seeing such a
sight, the idea uppermost in the minds of the men was to
gain the prize. It was next to an impossibility as it
was not thought any one would be able to shoot the deer for
the distance intervening was too great. However,
Captain Hannah being a marksman of note was challenged
to do so and he accepted the challenge with alacrity.
He aimed at a mark across the river at about ten feet above
where the deer was standing, the ball falling broke the
deer's back. The deer was then brought across the
river in a canoe and it was needless to state that
Captain Hannah remembered his friends. It is not
known what became of the gun with which he shot the deer.
The sword carried by Captain Hannah is in the
possession of David A. Hannah, his great-grandson.
Capt. Hannah was twice married. His first
wife was Martha Moore, by whom he was the father of
eleven children. Of these children, none are
surviving, but their descendants are numerous in Adams
County. Joseph and David M. Hannah, of
Hill's Fork, and Aaron Moore, of Winchester, are
grandsons of Captain Hannah. In this familly in
each generation, there has been a William and a
John.
One of Captain Hannah's sons, Aaron
Hannah, was born in 1803. He was a man generous to
a fault, dispensing his means with great magnanimity.
He married Mary Ann Aerl, by whom he was the father
of ten children. Of these children, five are
surviving. William Patterson Hannah, residing
at Boulder, Col.; Isaac Aerl Hannah, at Seaman, Ohio;
Mrs. Rebecca E. Kepperling, at Detroit, Mich.;
Dudley A. Kepperling, a prominent business man, Chicago,
Ill., and Miss Edna Inez Kepperling, Principal of
Custer School, Detroit, Mich., are grandchildren of Aaron
Hannah.
Aaron Hannah died Dec. 11,
1890, and is buried at Mt. Leigh, Adams County, Ohio.
His father, Captain William Hannah, died Sept. 10,
1849, and is buried at Kirker's cemetery, where several of
his children are buried.
Source: History of Adams County, Ohio - by
Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers – West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B.
Stivers - 1900 - Page 565 |
| |
DANIEL
HUSTON HARSHA was born in Washington County, Pa., May
9, 1837. He came with his father to Adams County, in
1846. In 1853 and 1853, Rev. James Arbuthnot, James
Wright and he conducted the North Liberty Academy.
From 1854 to 1857, he attended Jefferson College at
Cannonsburg, Pa., and graduated from the institution in the
latter year. From 1859 to 1860 he again conducted the
North Liberty Academy. Since the latter date he has
carried on farming on the farm originally the property of
his father. Mr. Harsha has shown himself
a successful farmer and business man. He is prudent,
careful and conservative in all business transaction and his
excellent judgment has enabled him at most times to be on
the safe side of the market.
While a Republican in his political sentiments, he has
never sought or held public office. His tastes are
those of a diligent student of literature. While he
has decided views on all the subjects he has studied, he has
been content with the pleasures of rural life and has never
sought to obtrude his views on others.
He has, perhaps, obtained as much enjoyment out of his
life as those who have made it their mission to antagonize
others. Had he lived in the days of the Greek
Philosophers, he would undoubtedly have founded a school
whose teachings would have been for each to do the best for
himself and leave others to their own enjoyment, but as he
did not and does not live in the days in which
every kind of philosophy was in fashion, he simply lives up
to the principles without giving it a name or public
notoriety. The principles he has lived by have made
him a useful, honored and honorable citizen, a valuable unit
of our great country and whose record, when sealed by death,
will demonstrate that the world was better by his ministry
in it and to it.
Source: History of Adams County, Ohio - by
Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers – West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B.
Stivers - 1900 - Page 758 |
| |
PAUL
HOWARD HARSHA was born August 19, 1859, in
Harshaville, Adams County. His father was William
Buchanan Harsha and his mother, Rachel McIntire,
daughter of General William McIntire. He was
the second son of his parents. He attended the
District school in the vicinity of his home and at one time
attended the Normal School at West Union, taught by Prof.
W. A. Clarke. He learned the practical business of
milling from his father. From the time he arrived at
the age of twenty-one years, until 1884, he was employed in
his father's mill at Harshaville, and had charge of the
entire milling operations. In 1884, he took an
interest with his father, under the firm name of W. B.
Harsh & Son, which has continued to the present time.
On January 11, 1884, he was married to Miss Ada
Barnard, of Cincinnati. He resided at Harshaville
from 1884 until 1892, when he removed to the city of
Portsmouth, Ohio. In 1889, he formed a partnership
with John P. Caskey, under the firm name of Harsha
& Caskey, and built a mill in the east end of the city
of Portsmouth, and that business had continued to the
present time. He was a Portsmouth from August, 1889,
but did not remove his family there until April, 1892.
He is the father of four children: Edith Armstrong,
aged fourteen years; Elizabeth Lucille, aged twelve
years; William Howard, aged ten years, and Philip
Barnard, aged eight years.
He and his wife are members of the Second Presbyterian
Church in the city of Portsmouth. He has always been a
Republican. He has never held any pubic office except
that of member of the City Council of Portsmouth, Ohio.
Source: History of Adams County, Ohio - by
Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers – West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B.
Stivers - 1900 - Page 758 |
| |
PAUL
HARSHA was born in Washington County, Pennsylvania,
April 1, 1800. He was the second of a family of nine
children of James Harsha and Jane White, his
wife. James Harsha was a farmer and resided two
miles west of Cannonsburg, from the time of his marriage.
When his family became large, he removed to Westmoreland
County, where he resided until his father's old homestead
came to the divided among his heirs, when he purchased it
and occupied it until his death. He was out in the War
of 1812. Paul, his son, learned the trade of
bricklaying, followed it some time, and while so doing built
eighteen houses in Allegheny City for one person, Squire
Wright.
On May 22, 1831, he was married to Martha, a
daughter of William Buchanan and his wife, Hannah
Houston. Her father William and his brother
John were the only children of a ship owner and
Captain, whose wife was a Lady Campbell, of
Glasgow, Scotland. These two boys were sent to school
in Philadelphia, while their fathers, with a ship, carried
on merchandising between that city and points in the
Mediterranean. He said on one voyage to the
Mediterranean from which he never returned. It is
believed his vessel and crew were captured by Algerian
pirates. William Buchanan carried on paper
making and book binding, in or near Philadelphia, and
manufactured paper on which was printed the currency used by
the United States, which was made from bolts of silk
bandanna handkerchiefs.
He removed to Chambersburg, Pa., where his daughter,
Martha, was born, Mar. 22, 1810. In 1812, he moved
to Washington County, Pa., and engaged in farming, wool and
silk raising. It is related that his daughter,
Martha, at one time, chiefly tended the flock of three
hundred sheep. Paul Harsha, soon after his
marriage, settled on a part of the Harsha homestead,
and gave his whole attention to farming.
In 1846, he came to Adams County, and purchased lands
at Harshaville of Gen. Samuel Wright and son-in-law,
John McCullough. There was a water grist-mill
on the land and Paul Harsha added a saw-mill, both of
which were kept busy while the water supply lasted. A
few years after steam power was placed in the mill. In
1860, the mill was torn down and rebuilt with the best
machinery obtainable at the time. Paul Harsha
carried on farming, milling, and stock raising successfully
up to his death, Apr. 1, 1876.
His wife died Mar. 22, 1884. Paul Harsha
had eight children, two of whom died in infancy. They
were William Buchanna, Jane, Daniel Houston, James
White, Nathan Patterson and Lizzie H.
James W. died at the age of seventeen. Nathan
Patterson enlisted at the age of eighteen, Sept. 15,
1862, in Capt. John T. Wilson's Company E of the 70th
Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and died October 9, 1863,
at Memphis, Tenn. Lizzie H. is the wife of
Carey Patton, of Denver, Colorado and has a son Paul
and two daughters, Mabel of Denver, Colorado and
has a son Paul and two daughters, Mabel and
Myrtle. Paul Harsha was noted for his honesty and
plain dealing. He aimed to keep and control his
business entirely, and in this way was very successful.
He was possessed of a practical mind and had a
wonderful sagacity to predetermine the results from any
business venture. He was not a member of any church,
but was a Presbyterian in his views.
Source: History of Adams
County, Ohio - by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers –
West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B. Stivers - 1900 - Page 764 |
| |
WILLIAM
BUCHANAN HARSHA is the eldest son of Paul Harsha
and Martha Buchanan. Paul Harsha was born April 1,
1800, in Washington County, Pennsylvania. His wife was
born in Chambersburg, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, Mar.
22, 1810. Her parents removed to Washington County,
Pa., in 1812, and there she was married to Paul Harsha
on May 22, 1831. In 1841, they located near
Harshaville in Adams County. The mill at Harshaville
was then owned by Samuel Wright, but was soon after
purchased by Paul Harsha. Our subject was born
in Washington County, Pa., in 1832, and came to Adams County
with his parents. The Harshaville mill was the first
built in Oliver Township, in 1817, by Gen. Samuel Wright,
who, in 1846, sold it to Paul Harsha. Our
subject began work in this mill under his father in 1844,
and has been there ever since. The mill until 1859,
when he reconstructed it and operated it until 1882, when it
was refitted with new machinery. It was destroyed by
fire in the Fall of 1891, and rebuilt the next Spring.
It has continued in successful operation ever since.
Paul Harsha, his father, died on his birthday,
Apr. 1, 1876. Our subject conducted the mill alone
until 1884, when his son, Paul Howard Harsha, became
a partner and has continued as such ever since. The
business is conducted under the name of W. B. Harsha &
Son. At the age of twenty-one, our subject was
married to Rachel, third daughter of Gen. William
McIntire. Of this marriage there were two sons,
Dr. William McIntire, of Chicago, Ills., and P.
Howard Harsha, of Portsmouth, and two daughters,
Mrs. Anna McCalmont and Mrs. Minnie McQuiston,
wife of Rev. J. A. C. McQuiston, of Cherry Fork,
Ohio. Our subject's wife died in 1865, and he was
married in 1871 to Miss Alma McIntire, a daughter of
Capt. William McIntire. "Of this marriage there
was born four children, three sons and a daughter, Carey
McIntire, Oscar, John W. and Florence. Our
subject has been a Republican all his life. At the age
of seventeen, he joined the United Presbyterian Church and
has lived in that faith ever since. Mr. Harsha
is noted for his Christian character and his business
integrity. He is a model citizen and business man and
is useful and helpful in all his relations to society.
Source: History of Adams
County, Ohio - by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers –
West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B. Stivers - 1900 - Page 767 |
| |
JOSEPH
WARREN HAYSLIP, of West Union, Ohio, was born May 17,
1826. His father was John Hayslip, who was born
near Winchester, Virginia, in 1871, and came to West Union,
Adams County, Ohio, in the year 1808. His first wife
was Margaret Lockhart, who bore him five sons:
Isaac N., Thomas J., John J., James L., and
William L., and one daughter, Mary Ann.
After coming to Adams County, John Hayslip married
for his second wife Lettie Campbell, a daughter of
Frank Campbell. She was born at Kenton's Station,
Kentucky, and was married in 1825. John Hayslip
was a tailor by trade and for seven years kept the old
Browning Inn, where Lew Johnson now resides. He
afterwards kept hotel on Main Street, near the old public
well. He was an ardent Whig, and on the day of the
great Whig meeting in West Union, in 1840, he asked to the
raised in his bed so as to get a view of the procession
passing down Main Street, headed by Tom Corwin, the
orator of the day. He died June 9, 1840. He
commanded a company in the War of 1812.
Joseph W., the subject of this sketch, was a son
of John Hayslip and Lettie Campbell. He was
born in West Union, May 17, 1826, and received the rudiments
of a common school education, the most of his teaching
coming from old 'Squire Ralph McClure. He served an
apprenticeship with Peter B. Jones, of
Maysville, at cabinet making, which, together with that of
millwright, ahs been his occupation through life.
On Dec. 25, 18459, he married Lemira E. Montgomery,
daughter of Nathaniel Montgomery and Priscilla Rounsavell.
July 18, 1861, he enlisted in the 24th Regiment, O. V. I.,
Col. Jacob Ammen, as member of the Regimental Band,
for three years. Was at Cheat Mountain, Greenbrier,
Shiloh and Corinth. Organized Second Independent
Battery, Light Artillery, in 1864, and was stationed at
Johnson Island, Ohio. Was charter member of DeKalb
Lodge, No. 138, I. O. O. F., of West Union. First vote
cast for Zachariah Taylor as a Whig. Was a
Republican for organization of that party.
Source: History of Adams
County, Ohio - by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers –
West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B. Stivers - 1900 - Page
757 |
 |
JOHN HOLMES
was born in Adams County, Nov. 30, 1820, the son of
Thomas Holmes and Margaret McClannahan, his wife, and
was one of a large family of sons and daughters. His
father was a stern man with much of the iron bound New
England Puritan in his make up, and hence the son John
was indoctrinated in that school. He was taught
economy and was born with a wonderful energy inherited from
a long line of ancestors and the same trait was also
cultivated in him by his father. He was taught the
dignity and importance of labor, and no man ever lived in
Adams County who worked harder, more hours in the
twenty-four, or with more energy than John Holmes.
He believed for himself and those who worked for him in
securing more results in the same time than any of his
neighbors. He was born with a thirst for knowledge,
which was never quenched in his long life. Whatever
about him, which could be learned, whether from books or
from men, he learned it. In boyhood, he travelled six
miles to a school, morning and evening and thought nothing
of it. He soon qualified himself as a teacher and
taught Winter terms after becoming of age. His salary
was sixteen dollars per month and board. July 22,
1846, he was married to Elizabeth Treber, daughter of
Jacob Treber, one of the pioneers of the county. She
brought into the life partnership the same sterling
qualities he possessed, energy, economy, and a determination
to succeed. They located on a farm on Lick Fork, known
as the "Hilling Place," which he had bought for $1.60 per
acre. Here their two eldest children were born.
In 1851, they moved two miles east of West Union on the
Peebles road, and here Mr. Holmes carried on a saw
mill and a farm. They resided in this home eighteen
years, and here eight more children were born to them.
Mr. Holmes was an ambitions man, not only for himself
but for his children, and he felt there were greater rewards
for him and them in the fertile prairies of Illinois, and in
the Spring of 1869, he removed with his family to a farm in
Mercer County, Illinois. Mr. Holmes and his
wife, while residing in Adams County, were faithful members
of the regular Baptist Church and trained their children in
the same. Mr. Holmes was a citizen respected by
all who knew him and performed every duty he owed society,
or any part of it. He was very fond of argument and
discussion, for the reason that in that way he learned to
look at all sides of a question. If he could add
anything to his store of knowledge, it pleased him just as
much as though he had secured a sum of money.
He was a good conversationalist, and all who spent any
time in his companionship were benefited. He was a
close student of politics and of business and desired to be
completely informed about them. From his majority in
1841 until 1856, he was a Whig and became a Republican when
that party was formed and adhered to in the remainder of his
life. He was anti-slavery from the time he was of age.
He helped fugitives on their way from their bonds in
obedience to the "higher law," and in defiance of human law.
In Illinois, he was a prosperous farmer and stock raiser and
lived the same useful life he had lived in Adams County.
John Holmes was a successful man, made money and
accumulated property. Living according to the
principles he did, it could not have been otherwise.
He never forgot his old friends in Adams County and was
always delighted to visit the home of his childhood, youth
and manhood. He died on the sixth day of January,
1896, beloved and respected by all who knew him. His
wife, born Mar. 12, 1824, died Mar. 24, 1897. The best
commentary on the life of John Holmes and that of his
wife is in their children, eight, of whom five sons and
three daughters survive them. The eldest son, Louis
D., is a distinguished lawyer in Omaha, Neb.; Thomas
J., is an active and prominent lawyer in Chicago, Ill.;
John F., Charles E., and William H., are
prosperous farmers in Mercer County, Ill. The three
daughters are married to excellent husbands and are women of
great force of character.
John Holmes impressed the ideals of his own life
on those of his sons and daughters, and in that way has
conferred great blessings on posterity. At the time of
his death, he had twenty-two grandchildren, all of whom are
being taught the same high principles which actuated and
governed his life and made him a useful and model citizen.
Source: History of Adams
County, Ohio - by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers –
West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B. Stivers - 1900 - Page 763 |
| |
THOMAS JEFFERSON HOLMES
was born in Adams County, Ohio, Feb. 9, 1860, and resided
there until his ninth year when his father removed to Aledo,
Illinois. He acquired a thorough education in
the common schools of Ohio and Illinois and in the
University of Illinois. He began the study of law in
1883 and graduated from the Union Law College of Chicago, in
1885, with high honors. He began the practice of his
profession at once in the city of Chicago, and by his
thorough legal qualifications, honesty and integrity, he has
acquired a lucrative practice and enjoys the respect and
confidence of all those who know him. He was Assistant
Corporaton Counsel of Chicago from May 1, 1895, to
May 1, 1897, and was assigned to the duty of trying special
assessment and condemnation cases, and while so engaged had
many other important cases. He served on the Finance
Committee of the Chicago Law Institute for several years,
and, in 1899, was made its president. He was elected
Treasurer of the Chicago Bar Association in 1896 and since
then has been twice elected to the same office. During
his incumbency of this office, the debt of the association
has been largely reduced, and through his skillful financial
management, the institution is in a prosperous condition.
Mr. Holmes is active in a number of political,
social and fraternal organizations of Chicago, notable among
which are the Hamilton Club and the Midlothian County Club.
He is a thirty-second degree Mason. In politics he is
a staunch Republican, and has always been an active worker
and leader in his party.
In 1892, he was married to Miss Grace Blood, of
Santa Cruz, California. They have one daughter,
Devoe.
Mr. Holmes is a thorough business lawyer
and has a large practice in real estate and chancery cases.
His office are at No. 512 Ashland Block, Chicago.
Source: History of Adams
County, Ohio - by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers –
West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B. Stivers - 1900 - Page 760 |
| |
WILLIAM
HOLMES was born in Liberty Township, in Adams County
on Apr. 29, 1802, and resided there all his life. When
he was a boy and a young man he learned the carpenter's
trade and worked at it in the vicinity of West Union up till
1870. He built many of the residences of West Union.
He was married at the age of twenty, to Nancy N. Chaney,
of Highland County. They located west of West Union on
the hill overlooking the Eagle Creek valley, where they
resided during their joint lives. Their children were
James, Mary J., John, Cyrena, William, George, Margaret
and Nathan. Three died in infancy. There
are two sons, William and Nathan, three
daughters, Mary J., Cyrena and Margaret, still
surviving, all of whom reside in Adams County except
Cyrena, who resides in Highland County. William
Holmes was a man of powerful physique and nerve.
The following instance is related of him.
He was suffering from a felon on the index finger of
the right hand. Dr. Wilson, who was attending
him, advised amputation and the patient consented. The
Doctor was nervous and could not saw the bone steadily.
William Holmes took the same and separated the bone
himself.
He followed his occupation of carpenter until two years
before his death, Sept. 19, 1872, when he died suddenly of
apoplexy. He was a law abiding, useful citizen, who
commanded the respect of every one. His wife, who was
born Oct. 15, 1886, died Feb. 14, 1890. His daughter
Nancy married Alex. McGovney and Cyrena
married John Willit; Margaret married George W.
Crawford and resides at Wrightsville, Adams County.
William Holmes, son of our subject, married
three times: first, to Isabelle Satterfield, daughter
of Wesley Satterfield: Second, to Miss Trefts,
by whom there are two children, Mrs. E. E. Crawford,
of Ashland, Ky., and George Holmes, of Shear Fork,
South Dakota. His last wife was a Miss
Piatt. There are six living children of this
marriage.
Source: History of Adams
County, Ohio - by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers –
West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B. Stivers - 1900 - Page 765 |
| |
ALBERT
CLINTON HOOD, the ninth child of John P. and Sarah
J. Hood, was born in West Union, Adams County, Ohio,
Feb. 28, 1858. He attended the Public schools of West
Union until the age of seventeen, at which time, 1875, he
began teaching in the country schools of Adams County.
He followed this business for several years, teaching in the
Winter and going to school in the Summer. He afterward
attended the National Normal University at Lebanon, Ohio,
and later the Ohio Wesleyan University at Delaware, Ohio,
and besides, he has accomplished much by home study.
He filled the following positions in Adams County:
Superintendent of Rome schools, Principal of Manchester High
School, Superintendent of Bentonville schools of Peebles
schools and of the West Union schools. Besides, within
this period, he taught several Normal schools during the
Summer months. He was County School Examiner from
Sept. 1, 1888, to Aug. 31, 1891, having been appointed to
the position by Judge I. N. Tolle.
Since leaving Adams county in
1892, he has superintended the schools of Aberdeen, Brown,
County, Ohio; Shiloh, Richland County, Ohio; New London,
Huron County, Ohio, and Reynoldsburg, Franklin County, Ohio.
On retiring from the New London Schools in '98 he was
invited back to take charge of the Shiloh schools, but
declined the offer to accept the superintendency of the
schools at Reynoldsburg. At this place he also
conducted a Summer school for the especial training of
teachers. In the year 1900 he accepted an appointment
as teacher in the Central High School, Cleveland, Ohio.
Albert C. Hood was married Nov. 28, 1889, at
Peebles, Adams County, Ohio. The degree of Doctor of
Philosophy, and also that of Master of Arts, was conferred
upon him in 1899, by Mount Hope College.
Mr. Hood is truly a school man. He entered
the profession of teaching when quite young. He began
in the country schools and has adhered to the work, being
gradually promoted until he has held several responsible
positions as Principal and Superintendent. As a
teacher, he is rigid in discipline and thorough in
instruction. He has high ideals and strives to bring
his pupils up to them both in education and in conduct.
He has made a careful study of the art of te4aching, having
given much time to educational associations and is able to
discern the best points of the work. He does not like
sham in any sense nor those who try to practice it.
After leaving the High school as a pupil, he steadily
advanced in education until he was qualified for a degree of
Doctor of Philosophy. In addition to the Public school
work, he has been connected with private Normal schools
where teachers have been trained for examinations and for
better work as teachers. His influence is toward the
elevation of the lives of the pupils who come to his schools
and in this way his work has been especially successful.
He is industrious, painstaking and careful in whatever he
endeavors to do, and this makes him a most useful teacher,
inspiring his pupils to be careful in thought and neat in
execution. Even people who do not like him say that he
is a good teacher. As a man, he is thoroughly honest
and upright and his character is above reproach. He
belongs to the conservative class. Of a nervous,
sanguine temperament, he is quick to judge and strong in his
convictions. He is not the "first to lay down the old
nor the last to take up the new." His strong point is
in counsel and he is a steadfast friend to those whom he
chooses as friends. As a citizen, he takes a quiet but
positive interest in public affairs, makes up his own
opinions on public questions and exercises the right of
franchise in accordance with free convictions.
Source: History of Adams
County, Ohio - by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers –
West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B. Stivers - 1900 - Page 769 |
| |
JAMES
HOOD. Perhaps no one has been more intimately
associated with the history and the people of Adams County
than James Hood. He was born at Connellsville,
Pennsylvania, Dec. 27, 1802, and moved with his parents to
Adams County, Ohio, in the spring of 1806. Ever since
that time, with the exception of about fifteen months in
Clermont county, Ohio, two years in Indiana and one year in
Kansas, Mr. Hood resided in West Union. He
learned the tanner' trade with Mr. Peter Schultz, and
worked a number of years at that business in the yards now
occupied by Jacob Plummer's flour mills. He
then went to Point Pleasant, Clermont County, Ohio, where he
worked nearly two years, at the end of which time he turned
over the business to Jesse Grant, father of
ex-President Ulysses S. Grant. In 1826, Mr.
Hood opened up a general store in West Union, in which
business he continued until his retirement from active
business life in 1868.
In 1831, James Hood was
elected County Treasurer, defeating David Bradford,
who had acted had been as Treasurer for more than thirty years.
It was the boast of Mr. Hood that he was the first
man to defeat David Bradford for Treasurer. He
served for ten years and was succeeded by his son-in-law,
Andrew Smalley. Mr. Hood was elected Treasurer as
an Andrew Jackson Democrat, but fell out
with the President because he vetoed the bill to make a
national road of the Maysville and Zanesville turnpike.
Had the bill become a law it might have made a different
town of West Union. He collected the taxes and kept
the Treasurer's office in his store. His campaign
expenses were, on an average, one dollar a year for
printer's fees.
In 1857, Mr. Hood built the flour mills now
owned by Mr. Pflaummer. He also built the house
on Main Street, opposite the courthouse, for a family
residence, which is now occupied by William Warmsley,
and the large building just west of it, for his store rooms,
now owned by G. N. Crawford. By careful
attention to business, Mr. Hood accumulated a large
sum of money, and was known as one of the wealthy men of
county.
James Hood was twice
married. His first wife was Mary Ellison,
daughter of Robert and Rebecca Ellison, to whom he
was married Dec. 2, 1828. She died May 9, 1838.
The result of this union was John and Rebecca Ann,
twins, Isabella Burgess, James and Hannah.
On Jan. 9, 1840, Mr. Hood
married Isabella Ellison, sister of his first wife,
to whom were born the following children: Mary, Sarah,
Caroline, Minerva and Samuel. She died Jan.
8, 1862, and Mr. Hood never remarried.
When a young man, working at the tanner's trade, Mr.
Hood, while wrestling with a young man, dislocated his
ankle, which made him a cripple all the rest of his life.
Politically, he was a Whig, an Abolitionist and a
Republican. He was a member of the Presbyterian
Church, of which he was the main pillar. His purse was
always open when money was needed for the support of the
church. He was a close Bible student and a writer of
great strength. His writings were mostly of a
religious nature and were printed in the West Union Scio
and read with great appreciation by its readers.
Mr. Hood was a modest man and all his writings were
anonymous under the cognomen, "Ahiezer." If he had had
the opportunity, he would have made his mark as a poet, as
he possessed the faculty of rhyming to an uncommon degree
and often used it against his enemies to their no small
discomfiture.
Mr. Hood had a common school education and was
quite efficient in mathematics. For several years he
served as one of the County School Examiners of Adams
County. He was the first man to introduce the sale of
patent medicines in Adams County, from which fact he derived
the title of Doctor. Mr. Hood departed this
life Jan. 9, 1890, and was laid to rest in the large vault
he had erected for this purpose in his private cemetery in
West Union, Ohio. It may truly be said of him that he
lived in another age and with other people, for in his
biography he says: "I can look back to the time when West
Union, Adams County, and even the State of Ohio, was a dense
forest. I can recollect the stately oaks, tall
poplars, lofty walnuts and sugar trees and the thick
undergrowth of paw-paws that covered the ground over which
West Union is now built. At that time, we could hear
the wolves howling around our cabins at night and see droves
of deer passing through our town by day."
Source: History of Adams
County, Ohio - by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers –
West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B. Stivers - 1900 - Page 567 |
| |
JOHN
HOOD. The Hood Family is among the
oldest families in Adams County, having come to the county
when it was yet a dense forest and when the present county
seat consisted of not more than a dozen houses.
John Hood, the pioneer of this family, was born in
Ireland in the year of 1869, of Scotch parentage.
After coming to the United States, he located at
Connellsville, Pa. Here in October, 1801, he married
Hannah Page, daughter of Joseph and Ann Page,
who was born in Monmouth County, New Jersey, November 24,
1779. In 1806, John Hood, with his family,
moved from Connellsville, Pa., to Adams County, landing at
Manchester, May 5, having floated down the Ohio River in a
flat-boat, then the only method of river navigation.
At Manchester a misfortune befell them in the loss of their
daughter, Hannah, who was a little more than a year
old, leaving them with their eldest child, James.
They located at West Union, where Mr. Hood engaged in
the mercantile business. At this time he bought his
goods in Philadelphia and they were hauled across the
mountains in wagons. He built a two-story stone house
on the corner now occupied by the drug store and dwelling of
C. W. Sutterfield, where he lived and carried on his
business. Four more children were born here, Maria,
Joseph, Angeline and John Page, all of whom
are now dead. Angeline became the wife of
Andrew McClaren, of Brush Creek, Ohio; John Hood
died in West Union, April 17, 1814, and was buried in
Manchester. His wife died in West Union, Nov. 19,
1863, at which place she was buried.
Source: History of Adams
County, Ohio - by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers –
West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B. Stivers - 1900 - Page 567 |
| |
JOHN
PAGE HOOD, the youngest child of John and Hannah
Hood, was born at West Union, Adams County, Ohio, Dec.
6, 1813. His father dying when he was less than one
year old, it became necessary for him to look out for
himself as soon as possible. When about ten years old,
he became connected with the Village Register edited
by Ralph M. Voorhees, where he learned the printing
trade. He afterwards learned the cabinet making trade,
at which he worked for several years. Later he clerked
in the store of his brother, James. Then he
engaged in the mercantile business for himself. He was
postmaster of West Union during Lincoln's administration,
1861 to 1865. A few years after the close of the Civil
War, he sold his store and was employed as book-keeper of
the West Union woolen factory, which was then in a
flourishing condition. He was cashier of the bank of
G. B. Grimes & Company, when death overtook him.
After a short illness, he died from heart failure, Oct. 8,
1879, aged sixty-six years, leaving a widow and nine
children, all of whom except the youngest were grown to
manhood and womanhood, and all are still living.
On Dec. 5, 1837, John P. Hood was married to
Sarah Jane McFarland, at the home of Rev. Dyer
Burgess in West Union, Ohio, where, being a relative of
Mrs. Burgess, she had been making her home for
several years for the purpose of receiving the best
educational advantages of the times. She was the
eldest daughter of Duncan and Nancy McFarland, whose
maiden name was Nancy J. Forsythe. Duncan McFarland,
when eighteen years old, came from Ireland to this country
with his uncle, Andrew Ellison of the Stone House,
and settled in Meigs Township. The issue of the union
of John P. Hood and Sarah J. McFarland was eleven
children . Martha, the eldest, died at the age of
thirteen years; Angeline married Andrew Kohler;
Nancy J. married William H. Wright; Ellen married
George N. Crawford; Anna E. married Dr. J. W. Bunn
and Sarah B. married John M. Willson.
There were five boys, John A., William, Albert C. and
Oscar F. All except two of the children taught
school. In Mrs. Hood's young days, the
teachers of the county were mostly from the New England
States, and it was her ambition to make teachers of her
daughters.
In politics, Mr. Hood in his younger
days, was a Whig. At the organization of the
Republican party, he became a member of it, and so remained
until his death. He was a active member of the United
Presbyterian Church, in which he held the most important
offices.
John P. Hood received a good education for the
times in which he lived. He was a man of more than
ordinary intelligence, possessing strong force of character
and much native ability, and was known far and wide for his
upright dealings and honesty. He was a kind husband
and an indulgent father and found more pleasure in his home
than any where else. Born of Puritan stock and trained
under the rigid discipline of the advocates of this
doctrine, he became very methodical in all his manners and
customs, and had the complete confidence of his fellow men.
Source: History of Adams
County, Ohio - by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers –
West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B. Stivers - 1900 - Page 569 |
| |
OSCAR
E. HOOD, son of John P. and Sarah J. Hood, was
born Sept. 14, 1861, at West Union, Adams County, Ohio.
He received his education in the West Union, Adams County,
Ohio. He received his education in the West Union
Public schools and Normal schools. While in his teens
he learned the printing trade with C. E. Irwin,
editor of the Adams County, New Era. After
working at this trade for several years, he began teaching
in the country schools of Adams County; he afterwards taught
for several years in the graded schools of West Union.
He held a five years' teacher's certificate, the highest
county certificate granted at that time. In the Fall
of 1893, he retired from the teachers' profession to go into
the business of photography in West Union. He has
reached the highest eminence in his chosen profession and is
recognized as being among the best photographers in the
State. He was married at West Union, Adams County,
Ohio, Feb. 19, 1896, to Mrs. Sallie D. Woodworth,
nee Hilebronner, whose father came to this
country from Germany in 1835. One child, Hubert
Harold, has been born to them. Mr. Hood
started a milliner store in September, 1897, in West Union,
and is not engaged in both photography and millinery.
He is quite an active worker in the lodges. He is
a member of Dart Encampment, No. 219, at West Union, of
which order he has passed through all the chairs. He
has been a prominent member of West Union Lodge, I. O. O.
F., for several years and has held all the offices of the
order. He is also a member of Wamsutta Tribe, No. 162,
I. O. R. M., at West Union, Ohio, in which he has held all
the offices. He has been twice elected representative
to the State Great Council of this order. He is a
member of the Christian Union Church, and in this, as in
everything else in which he has been engaged, he is an
active worker.
As a citizen, Mr. Hood takes an active part in
local affairs. He is a man of decided opinions, and
having once made up his mind on any subject, does not change
his opinions for frivolous reasons.
Source: History of Adams County, Ohio - by Nelson W.
Evans and Emmons B. Stivers – West Union, Ohio - Published
by E. B. Stivers - 1900 - Page 761 |
James N. Hook |
JAMES
N. HOOK was born on a farm near the Ebenezer Church
on the line between Adams and Brown Counties, Nov. 22, 1882.
His father's name was William, who, with his father,
James, and two brothers of his father, John
and Zaddock, their families and worldly belongings,
left Snow Hill on the eastern shore of Maryland, in the
Spring of 1809, and crossing the Chesapeake Bay and the
Appalachian Mountains, came to Pittsburg. From that
point, they passed down the Ohio River and landed at
Maysville, where they crossed over to the Ohio side and
settled near the place above mentioned. Here they
purchased land and began the building of houses and barns,
and in time were able to surround themselves with the
comforts and conveniences of the farmers of the country
districts of Southern Ohio. These people could all
read, write and cipher, but knew nothing of the nativity of
their ancestors, and it is probable that they have lived for
generations near the place from whence they emigrated.
William Hook married Elizabeth Neal, and the
subject of this sketch was the eldest of a number of
children born to them. His education was obtained in
the country school of the district where they lived except
for a term or two, when he was a pupil of William McCalla,
who taught a select school at Manchester, and who, in his
day, was one of the leading educators of this part of Ohio.
From Mr. McCalla, he learned surveying, which he
followed, more or less, all his life.
When quite young, he commenced teaching school which
occupied a part of his time for a number of years until his
marriage to Sarah J. Baird, a daughter of Joshua
and Susan Baird, which occurred Nov. 5, 1846, near
Bentonville, Ohio, the Rev. John P. Van Dyke
performing the ceremony. Seven children were born of
this marriage. Joshua B., who died in the
service of his country, in the War of the Rebellion, Dec.
25, 1864; Robert N., William H., Elizabeth Susan, John
W., Benjamin F., and Sarah Jane. But two of
these survive. William H., and John W. Hook.
After his marriage, he followed farming most of the
remainder of his life.
In 1846, he was elected Surveyor of Adams County, which
office he held for three years. In 1851, he was
elected Clerk of the Courts, holding that office for one
term. During this time he was admitted to the bar but
was never an active practitioner. He was a candidate
for re-election on the Democratic ticket but was defeated,
this being the Know-nothing year of 1854, when that party
swept everything before it.
While living on his farm, one mile west of West Union,
on Jan, 19, 1860, his wife died, and on Sept. 3,
1860, he married Martha Jane Brawner, of West Union.
Eight children were born of the marriage, five of whom are
now living, James N., Joseph, May, Sara and Anna
Lou.
In 1864, he was elected County Auditor on the
Republican ticket and re-elected in 1866, after which he
again resumed the business of farming, having purchased the
James Anderson farm, one mile east of West Union.
He died on his farm in Franklin Township, Sept. 15, 1885,
and at the time was a Justice of the Peace of the Township.
His wife survived him three years, having died Sept. 6, 1888.
James N. Hook was a shrewd politician. He
could anticipate what would please the public better than
any man of his time. Had his ambition been equal to
his sagacity and foresight, he might have held some of the
best offices in the land. There was no better judge of
human nature than he, but while he could tell all his
friends what was best to do, he was unwilling to avail
himself of his own knowledge. He was one of the most
sociable and companionable of men, and was universally liked
by his neighbors.
Source: History of Adams
County, Ohio - by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers –
West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B. Stivers - 1900 - Page
762 |
| |
JOHN W. HOOK
was born Aug. 26, 1854, at West Union, Ohio, in what was
then known as the "Dyer Burgess property," now the
Palace Hotel. His father, James N. Hook, was at
that time, clerk of the courts of Adams County. His
mother's maiden name was Sarah Jane Baird, daughter
of Joshua Baird, a native of Washington County,
Pennsylvania, and her mother's name was Susan (Gibson)
Baird. The last named was left a widow early in
life with a large family to care for. She is said to
have been a woman of great natural ability and force of
character. She was able to take care of a farm and
raise and educate a large family of children. She
lived near Bentonville, and it is said of her that nothing
but serious sickness prevented her from attending the
services of the Presbyterian Church at West Union, of which
she was a devoted member, and of bringing her numerous
family with her in an old buggy over the worst roads in the
world, every Sunday, rain or shine, winter as well as
summer.
John W. Hook passed the greater part of his
boyhood on the farm of his father, attending the village
schools of his native town in the winter and assisting with
the farm work in the spring and summer. At the age of
eighteen years, he began teaching school, which occupied him
for a part of the time. During the remainder of the
time, he either attended school or pursued the study of the
law, having determined early in life to make that his
calling.
In September, 1876, at a session of the district court
of his county, he was admitted to the bar, having had the
firm of Bayless & Thompson as his instructors.
After teaching another year, he began the practice of his
profession in his native town and has continued therein for
the greater portion of his time to the present.
In 1881, he was elected a member of the board of
education of the West Union village school district.
He was mayor of his native town in 1884 and was re-elected
again in 1886.
On July 1, 1889, he accepted the position of chief
deputy under the United States Marshal for the southern
district of Ohio, which position he held for four years.
After leaving the marshal's office he returned to the
practice of law at West Union where he has since been
actively engaged in the courts of Adams and adjoining
counties and in the United States Courts.
In 1898, Congress having passed a national bankrupt
law, Hon. George R. Sage, United States District
Judge, appointed him referee in bankruptcy for Adams County,
which position he now holds. In politics, he has
always been a Republican, and being a young man located at
the county seat in a Democratic county, he has been called
upon to act as chairman and secretary of the county
executive committee a number of times, and has thereby been
more or less prominent in the local politics of his party
for a number of years. At the Republican State
Convention of 1880, without his knowledge or solicitation,
he was made an alternate delegate from his congressional
district to the National Convention at Chicago, where
General James A. Garfield was made the Republican
candidate for the presidency. In 1883, he connected
himself, with the Presbyterian Church and has continued a
member of that church to the present time. He is one
of the charter members of Crystal Lodge, No. 114. He
was its first presiding officer and has remained an active
member of that organization to the present time. He is
a member of the uniform rank of Central Division No. 37 and
a present regent of Adams Council, No. 830, Royal Arcanum.
In November, 1884, at West Union, Ohio, he was married
to Miss Rachael, daughter of William and Rebecca
Wilson, and at that time, a member of the corps of
teachers of the West Union schools. They have had five
children, three of whom are living at this time.
A gentleman who knows Mr. Hook well and is
capable of judging says of him: "There is no better
citizen than he; his influence is always for good
citizenship; that on every question of morals, he will be
found advocating that side which is for the best interests
of society. Mr. Hook is a man of excellent
reasoning powers and a good lawyer. He is one of the
most sensitive men and this is against him as a lawyer as
the latter should have no feelings or sensibilities.
He is not aggressive, but that is owing to natural
diffidence born with him. He is a very companionable
man and had he lived in the days of the Greek philosophers,
he would have been the chiefest among them. He is a
born counsellor and adviser, but he lacks just what John
Alden lacked - he does not always speak for himself when
he ought to. He can always do better for a friend than
for himself. He is an estimable citizen and one who is
always ready and willing to do his part in the community.
Source: History of Adams
County, Ohio - by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers –
West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B. Stivers - 1900 - Page
224 - Chapter XV |
| |
PHILLIP MICHAEL HUGHES
was born in Adams County, Franklin Township, Feb. 22, 1844.
His father was Philip L. Hughes and his mother,
Mary Carrigan. His father was born in Ireland in
1790 and came to his country in 1798 at the age of eight
years. His mother was born in Franklin Township, Adams
County. Her father, Andrew Carrigan, was a
native of Ireland. Peter L. Hughes, father of
our subject, had four sons and two daughters who grew to
maturity. His daughter Hannah married John
B. Allison, who has a separate sketch herein. A
son, Frank O., and his wife, a daughter of Hugh
Breslin, are both deceased. Mary Hughes,
the second daughter, married Joshua Hatcher. Tobias
Hughes married Flora Cannon, a daughter of
Eleven Cannon and granddaughter of General Daniel
Cockerill. He died at the early age of thirty-two,
leaving his widow and three children. Another son,
John W. Hughes, died in young manhood.
Our subject obtained his education in the common
schools. He attended a commercial school in Cincinnati
in 1863 and 1864, and directly after that began farming on
his own account. bout 1870, Jacob Weaver and
his sister had a delightful home just south of the Serpent
Mound. Our subject was a visitor there and soon found
out what a good housekeeper and what an attractive young
woman Miss Mary L. Weaver was, and he deliberately
broke up that pleasant home, by marrying Miss Weaver
was, and is deliberately broke up that pleasant home, by
marrying Miss Weaver on the fifth of October, 1871.
Jacob Weaver then went to live with his sister and
brother-in-law for a year, and his observance of married
life was such, that he went and obtained a wife for himself.
Of the children of our subject, Hannah A.,
married John E. Swearingen. They reside at
Clintonburg, Miami County, Ohio. John J. Hughes,
a son, aged twenty-two, resides at home. Our subject's
daughter, Kate Mary, is a young woman at home;
Ferris L., aged fifteen and Rosa Belle and
Mary Grace, younger, are with their parents.
Mr. Hughes has six hundred acres of land in one body in
Bratton Township lying between the Baker Fork and the Middle
Fork of Ohio Brush Creek. A more pleasant location was
never found by man. Mr. Hughes has a large and
commodious residence. the suggestion of thrift shows
everywhere over his broad acres. Talk of the pastoral
lives of the Patriarchs. They weren't in it compared
with Phil Hughes. His farm and home are more
desirable than the whole belongings of the Patriarch
Jacob after he had done up his father-in-law, Laban.
If any one desires to take lessons in thrift and how to care
for farms to make them productive, and a delight to every
one who has any appreciation of nature, and of the
improvements of it by cultivation, let him visit Bratton
Township and call on Phillip M. Hughes, John B. Allison
and Alfred R. Fulton, and if he does not come away
pleased and with a whole swarm of new ideas, then the writer
has not told the truth and is incapable of it. All
three named are model farmers and have the finest of farms,
but, Mr. Hughes has the advantage in situation.
In his political faith, Mr. Hughes is a
Democrat. In his religion he is a communicant of the
Mother Church of all, the Roman Catholic. His wife and
children are Methodists. Mr. Hughes possesses
the confidences of it is, that he was President of the
School Board of the Township for twelve consecutive years.
He was a Commissioner of the county from 1890 to 1893.
He is strictly honest, honorable, and upright. He
attends strictly to his own business, and does unto others
as he wishes to be done by. As a public officer, he
was capable, honest, and efficient. He is an honor to
himself, to his family, and to the community, and his
character estimate was furnished by one of his neighbors who
knows him so well that he could not possibly be mistaken
about him.
The writer regards him as one of those magnetic men
whom it is a pleasure to meet, and would like to live
neighbor to him.
Source: History of Adams
County, Ohio - by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers –
West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B. Stivers - 1900 - Page 767 |
| |
ALLEN
VANE HUTSON of Bentonville, was born July 12, 1848,
in Sprigg Township, on the farm adjoining the one on which
he now resides. His parents were Henry and Margaret
(Vane) Hutson. Major Hutson,
grandfather of our subject, was a native of Ireland.
He located in Kentucky in 1804 on the old Daisy
Plantation near Millersburg. Here he reared a
family of children, five of whom lived to maturity.
They were Henry, father of our subject; Henna,
who married James Bishop, of Falmouth, Kentucky;
Rachel, the wife of Hon. John P. Blomhuff; Elizabeth,
wife of William Stevenson, and the wife of William
Hurd. The last named is the only survivor.
Major Hutson removed to Adams County in 1812.
He located on what is known as the Bloomhuff farm,
and resided there until his death, at the age of ninety, in
the year 1852. Henry Hutson, father of our
subject, married Margaret Vane, who was also a
native of Maryland. His daughter Margaret was
born in 1804 and her father left Maryland for Ohio in
1807. Henry Hutson resided, for the greater
portion of his life, on the farm in Sprigg Township, now
occupied by James Froman. He reared a family of
five sons and two daughters, John, of West Union;
Handy, deceased; Henna, married first to
George Brittingham and afterward to James M. Froman;
Allen V., our subject, and Thomas Hamer, of
Hillsdale, Kansas. Henry Hutson was a man of
the strictest integrity and of more than ordinary ability.
He was a recognized leader in his community in social,
church and public affairs. He was deacon, clerk and
trustee of Union Church at Bentonville, for about forty
years.
Our subject attended the common schools until the age
of nineteen when he became a teacher and followed that
profession for ten years. He studied surveying under
Nathaniel Massie and Jeremiah Bryan. He
has Massie's old compass which belonged to Gen.
Nathaniel Massie. It was brought to this country
by Lord Baltimore. Mr. Hutson has an
extensive knowledge of French and German and is able to
enjoy the best works in each of those tongues. He was
County Surveyor of Adams County from 1877 to 1880, and again
from 1887 to 1893. He made a most efficient officer.
Mr. Hutson is a Democrat in his political views.
Source: History of Adams
County, Ohio - by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers –
West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B. Stivers - 1900 - Page 766 |
NOTES:
|
