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OHIO GENEALOGY EXPRESS

A Part of Genealogy Express
 


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ADAMS COUNTY, OHIO
 HISTORY & GENEALOGY
 


 


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.

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Judge John W. Mason		 JUDGE JOHN WESLEY MASON, West Union, was born on the old Mason farm, four miles east of West Union, Sept. 29, 1845.  His father, Samuel S. Mason, was a farmer and shoemaker, and was a prominent character in political circles in Adams County in his time.  He served for years as Justice of the Peace in Tiffin Township.  Judge Mason worked on the farm in summer and attended the district school in winter until he acquired sufficient education to teach, which occupation he followed with marked success for several years.  Many young people were given financial and professional aid by him that enabled them to make a beginning in the world by teaching school.  While teaching, he married Miss Addie Moore, a daughter of Newton Moore, a pioneer of Adams County, Apr. 16, 1872.  In the meantime he had  been reading law under the tuition of Hon. Thomas J. Mullen, of West Union, and on Apr. 1, 1873, he was admitted to the bar, following the legal profession until 1888, at which time he removed to his farm on East Fork of Ohio Brush Creek, in Bratton Township.  While residing there he was nominated and elected on the Democratic ticket, Probate Judge of Adams County, in the autumn of 1896.  The legislature had enacted that "buncombe" statute that year, known as the "Garfield Law," or "Corrupt Practice Act," and under its provisions political dyspeptics invoked the aid of the courts and had the Judge removed from office for alleged promises of remuneration for aid in the campaign in which he had so gallantly carried the banner of his party to victory.  But the people were in sympathy with the cause of justice, and took up the contest and elected the Judge a second time, after his removal, to the office of Probate Judge, the last time in 1899, the term for which he is now serving.
     In politics the Judge is a Jeffersonian Democrat, having the largest faith in the people.  He is the original silver advocate in Adams County, in the contest since the Civil War, between the money power and the people.  He wrote a pamphlet on the subject in 1878, when a candidate for Congress.  He led the fight on the minions of the money power, and won the contest in the selection of delegates in Adams County by the Democratic party in 1895; and again in 1897, when he delivered before the County Convention of delegates a most remarkable speech on the subject of bi-metallism, in which, with reference to the 16 to 1 resolution of the Chicago platform, he declared: "That resolution is the St. Peter of our political faith, and by the blessing of God and the justice of our cause, we will maintain it."
     The Judge is one of the most companionable of men, and reckons his friends by the score.  As a Judge of the Probate Court, his career has been entirely satisfactory to the people.
 Source: History of Adams County, Ohio - by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers – West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B. Stivers - 1900 - Page 232
  SAMUEL STERLING MASON, (deceased,) of Tiffin Township, was born at Old Kitanning, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, Apr. 30, 1806.  Came with his parents to Adams County in 1814.  Was a farmer and shoemaker.  His father died when Samuel was nine years old, he being the oldest child, and with his mother and five younger children, without any means, raised the family.  He cleared one hundred acres of leases before he ever owned a foot of land.  He married Lucinda Smith, and of this union the following children were born:  Mary Ann, Almira, Samuel Smith, William Henry, George Richardson, Sarah Jane, John Wesley and Lewis Hamer.  The subject of this sketch was of a military turn of mind.  Was for years Captain and Colonel of the Adams County Militia.  Raised a Company for the Mexican War, but did not get in.  Belonged to the home guards in 1862-3 and was Drum Major.  Politically a Jackson Democrat and never voted any other ticket.  Had a general disposition, and was an honest man.  Served the people for twenty-four years as Justice of the Peace and one term as County Commissioner.  Was a War Department, but was defeated by the soldier vote by twenty for a second term as Commissioner, when the county went six hundred Republican.  He died Apr. 28, 1878.
Source: History of Adams County, Ohio - by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers – West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B. Stivers - 1900 - Page 807
  GENERAL NATHANIEL MASSIE, the founder of Manchester and the leader in the third settlement in Ohio was born Dec. 28, 1763, in Goochland County, Virginia.  His grandfather, Charles Massie, with two brothers, had emigrated to Virginia from Chester in England in 1680.  His son, Nathaniel Massie, was married to Elizabeth Watkins in 17670 and our subject was their eldest child.  He had two brothers and a sister.  His brother Henry was the original proprietor and founder of the city of Portsmouth, Scioto County.  When he was eleven years of age, his mother died, and two years later his father married again.  Nathaniel Massie had a good education and learned the science of surveying.  In 1780 and 1781, he served with the Virginia Militia in the War of the Revolution.
     In 1783, at the close of the Revolutionary War, at the age of twenty, young Massie set out for Kentucky.  He was a surveyor.  His father had already located lands in Kentucky and he had excellent letters of introduction.  He adapted himself to the conditions of life he found in Kentucky and made a most expert woodsman, hunter and Indian fighter.  He had courage, endurance, and a happy temperament.  He would endure any hardships incident to his life without complaint.  He was a trader in salt in 1788 and made money in the business.  He established a reputation as a land locator which brought him business and made him money.  He was a tall and uncommonly fine looking young man.  His form was slender and well made.  He was muscular, very active, and his countenance expressed energy and good sense.  During his residence in Kentucky, he made several expeditions into that part of the Northwest Territory now Ohio, and in 1790, formed the determination to establish a settlement at Manchester.  He offered an inlot, an outlot and one hundred acres of land to the first twenty-five who would accompany him.  His offers were accepted by nineteen persons, and a written contract entered into December 1, 1790.  Of those who signed the descendants of the Lindseys, Wades, Clarks Ellisons, Simerals, McCutcheons and Stouts are well known to the present generation.
     In the winter of 1790, in pursuance of this agreement, a settlement, a settlement was made at Manchester, composed of Virginians, the third in Ohio.  A block house and stockade were built.  While the first people of Manchester lived in daily dread of the Indians, and while two of their number were carried off by them, yet they enjoyed themselves more than the present inhabitants.  Massie was not, however, content to remain at the Station at Manchester.  He located the land on Gift Ridge in Monroe Township in order to give each of his settlers the one hundred acres of land he had promised and he located one thousand acres of the finest upland for himself, being the tract afterward known as Buckeye Station.  This he sold to his brother-in-law, Judge Byrd, in 1807.  Massie began his explorations of the Scioto country soon after his location at Manchester and explored Paint Valley.  Here, two miles west of Bainbridge, he located one thousand acres of land on which he afterward made his home.  It is today the finest body of land in Ohio, and the writer would rather own it than any tract of the same quantity in the state.  Massie must have had a wonderful faculty of judging land in the virgin forest, for he never failed to select excellent land.  In 1796, he located in the city of Chillicothe.  In 1799, he represented Adams County in the first Territorial Legislature with Joseph Darlinton as his colleague.
     In December, 1797, though a layman, he was a Common Pleas Judge of Adams County, and a Colonel of the Militia.  He was married to Miss Susan Everad Meade, daughter of Colonel David Meade, of Chaumiere, Kentucky, in 1800, and thereby became the brother-in-law of Charles Willing Byrd, then Secretary of the Northwest Territory, and of William Creighton, the first Secretary of the State of Ohio.  He was a member of the second Territorial Legislature from Ross County, where he had taken up his residence.  He was a member of the first Constitutional Convention from that county.  He was a member of the State Senate from Ross County at its first and second sessions.
     On January 11, 1804, he was commissioned as Major General of the Second Division of the Ohio Militia, having been elected to that office by the Legislature.  It is from this appointment he derived the title of General.  At the same time his friend, David Bradford of Adams County, was commissioned as Quartermaster General of the same division.  He was a member of the House from Ross County in 1806 and 1807, and a candidate for Governor in 1807 and received 4,757 votes to 6,050 votes for Return J. Meigs, who was declared ineligible to the office.  Massie declined to take the office when Meigs was declared ineligible and it was filled by his friend, Thomas Kirker, Speaker of the Senate.  To show how he was estimated among those who knew him best we give the vote for Governor in the following counties:  Ross - Massie, 1032; Meigs, 62; Adams - Massie, 441; Meigs, 114; Franklin - Massie, 332; Meigs, 30.
     On the question of the ineligibility of Meigs for the office of Governor, the vote of the General Assembly stood twenty-four in favor to twenty against.  Thomas Kirker, the Senator from Adams to Scioto and Speaker, did not vote.  Of the representatives from Adams and Scioto, Dr. Alexander Campbell, Andrew Ellison and Phillip Lewis, Jr., voted the ineligibility of Meigs.  That vote made Thomas Kirker Governor from Dec. 8, 1807, for another year.  Massie might have had the honor himself, but preferred that it should go to Thomas Kirker, who was Governor of the State almost two years without having been elected to the office, by filling two successive vacancies.
     General Massie's activity in public affairs largely ceased after his race for Governor.  He had a national reputation and was known as well in Kentucky and Virginia as in Ohio.  He resided in the Virginia Military District and was better acquainted with it both as to the manner of locating lands and the lands in it that any man of his time.  He was employed in locating warrants wherever he could or would accept employment.  Of course he could not serve all and had to refuse many, but his friends were numerous and some he could not deny.  Besides, he had a large private business of his own.  The large tracts of real estate which he owned required most of his time.  He made sales, subdivisions for purchasers, perfected titles, made deeds, paid taxes and made leases.  He built saw and grist mills, paper mills, and, at the time of his death, was making ready to build an iron furnace.
     He was full of the activities of this life, but his career was cut short.  In the fall of 1813, he was attacked by pneumonia, the result of exposure.  The doctors of that day believed in heroic treatment and the result was that he was bled profusely and the disease carried him off.  He died Nov. 3, 1813, at his pleasant home and was buried there in a field in front of the house, between it and Paint Creek.  His wife survived him until 1837, when she died and was buried at his side.  There their remains rested until June, 1870, when, by request of the citizens of Chillicothe, they were removed to the beautiful cemetery of Chillicothe, and reinterred on a lot which overlooks the entire city.
     General Massie was a lover of fine scenery.  He enjoyed the view from Buckeye Station many times, in all its primitive wilderness.  He enjoyed the view from his home in the picturesque Paint Valley, and in life he has stood on the spot where his ashes are laid and viewed the beautiful Scioto Valley, and could his spirit visit the scene of the last resting place of his body, it would o doubt be satisfied with the honor shown his memory by the people of Chillicothe.
     His son, Nathaniel Massie, was for the greater part of his life a citizen of Adams County.  He was born Feb. 16, 1805, in Ross County.  He married a daughter of the Rev. John Collins and reared a large family.  He made his home in Adams County from 1854 until 1874, when his wife died.  He removed to Hillsboro in 1880 and resided there until his death in March, 1894.  He and his wife are interred in the old South Cemetery at West Union in a spot which has a fine an outlook as the spot where his distinguished father reposes.
     We have refrained from giving a more extensive account of General Nathaniel Massie because his life has recently (1896) been published by his distinguished grandson, the Hon. David Meade Massie of Chillicothe, Ohio, and we could only copy from that most interesting work.  To all who desire to read up the founding of our State, we recommend the perusal of this work.  General Massie was the founder of Adams County and of its largest town, Manchester, and his memory should be held in affectionate remembrance by every citizen of the county.
 Source: History of Adams County, Ohio - by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers – West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B. Stivers - 1900 - Page 587
  ENOCH McCALL

Source: History of Adams County, Ohio - by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers – West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B. Stivers - 1900 - Page 814
  HON. THOMAS McCAUSLEN


 NOTE:  CORRECTIONS - P. 268.  The title to this sketch reads "McClauslen."  The name correctly reads "McCauslen."
  JUDGE SAMUEL McCLANAHAN.  Robert McClanahan and Isabelle, his wife, came from Ireland and purchased land on which West Union is now located and while it is still a part of the Northwest Territory, they donated or sold the land for public buildings to the county.  Their son, Samuel, was born on the fifteenth of February, 1797.  He was married to Mary Armstrong, Dec. 14, 1815, and located on the farm west of West Union, where he lived until 1864 when he removed to North Liberty, Ohio, and died Mar. 5, 1882.  Isabelle, his daughter, married William McGovney, May 9, 1839.  He was elected Associate Judge of Adams County in 1831 and served one term.  he was a practical surveyor and did a great deal of work in the way of land surveying.  He was also a school teacher and County Examiner and was one of the first School Examiners in the county.  He died Nov. 5, 1881.
     In politics he was a Whig, an Abolitionist and a Republican.  He was a strong temperance advocate.  He set the example of total abstinence by refusing to use liquor at a barn raising or in harvest, and to show his harvest hands it was not to save money, he offered to pay each one the amount extra for the cost of the whisky they had formerly been furnished.
     He was a Presbyterian, a ruling elder in the church for many years, the Associate Reformed and afterwards the United Presbyterian.  He was liberal in his views and spiritually minded.  In the last few years of his life, there was but one book to him - the Bible.  He read it four times in four years, and said that each time he re-read it there was something new.  His mind was clear to the last.  In his final illness, he spoke calmly of his approaching end, and passed away in the confidence of Christian faith.
     In his personal appearance Judge McClanahan was a remarkable figure, and in his old age he was one of the best types of the patriarch, with his long flowing beard and dignified bearing.  He was a man among men and respected by the entire community for his sterling virtues.
Source: History of Adams County, Ohio - by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers – West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B. Stivers - 1900 - Page 602
NOTE:  CORRECTIONS -  p. 603.  Leave out the phrase "and died March 5, 1882," in line four on this page.
  FRANK C. McCOLM was born Aug. 8, 1863, at Muscatine, Iowa.  His father was John D. McDolm and his mother, Lida Edgington both from Adams County.  His grandfather was James McColm, at one time Probate Jduge of Adams County.  His grandfather, on his mother's side was Oliver Edgington, who resided near Manchester.  His mother died when he was but eleven months old.  He was taken by his grandfather, Oliver Edgington, and reared in Adams County.  He went to school at Manchester.  He engaged in the marble business at Manchester when he was but seventeen years of age, and has been there in the same business ever since.  He has $10,000 invested in it and employs twenty-five men, including salesmen.  He has the largest establishment of the kind between Cincinnati and Pittsburg, and, in his business, he has the latest tools and the most modern and very latest inventions.  He sells monuments in the three States of Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia.
     In 1887, he was married to Ida Varner, of Mason County, Kentucky, and they have three children, two boys and a girl.  In politics he is a Republican.
     He deserves a great deal of credit for having built up the wonderful business he has, and it is demonstrated that he is one of the best business men who ever resided in Adams County.  Mr. McColm has the confidence of all his neighbors and acquaintances.
Source: History of Adams County, Ohio - by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers – West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B. Stivers - 1900 - Page 817
  JOHN M'COLM born in Maryland in 1800; to this county with his parents in 1804.  John married Hannah Beach, Apr. 24, 1823.  He was the son of John and the grandson of John & Elizabeth  (Blair) McColm.  The grandparents and their family came from Scotland to Allegheny Co., Maryland in 1793 and here the grandparents died.
 Source: History of Adams County, Ohio - by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers – West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B. Stivers - 1900 - Page
  WILLIAM McCOLM was born Nov. 18, 1796, in Allegheny County, Maryland, and emigrated to Adams County, Ohio, with his father, John McColm and family, about the year 1800, and settled on Gift Ridge.  His brothers John, Malcolm, Matthew and David were all prosperous farmers, lived to a ripe old age, and have passed to their reward, excepting David, who lives near Bentonville.
     William McColm married Lucy Turner, July 17, 1827, at New Richmond, Ohio.  Their children were John T., Sarah, William S., the latter only of the three surviving and who resides at Portsmouth, Ohio.  Mrs. Lucy McColm died at Clinton Furnace, Dec. 24, 1833.  The subject of our sketch was married again June 24, 1835, at Buckhorn Furnace, to Martha McLaughlin, to whom were born James A., Mary, Henry A., Matthew and Clay F., all of whom are deceased except Henry A., a resident of New Comer, Delaware County, Indiana.
     William McColm was the descendant of Scotch-Irish parents and showed their characteristics in all his walks of life; was a Whig in politics; a Methodist Protestant in religion and a square man in all  his dealings.  He was a clerk and afterwards a store-keeper in West Union from 1824 to 1833, when he was induced by the late William Salter and other owners of Clinton Furnace to take an interest in the furnace and act as store keeper and furnace clerk.  His investment in Clinton Furnace proving unprofitable, he moved to Buckhorn and later to Amanda Furnace, where he was employed in the same capacity as at Clinton.
     On June 1, 1840, he was appointed Treasurer of Scioto County in place of John Waller, woh refused to qualify.  He was elected to that office in 1841 and re-elected in 1843, 1845, 1847 and 1849.  He qualified for his sixth term, June 3, 1850.  He died on his farm in Washington Township, Sept. 7, 1850, while an incumbent of the office of County Treasurer.  His wife died in Portsmouth, Ohio, Apr. 9, 1890, and both are interred at Greenlawn, at that place.
     Mr. McColm was a member of the Methodist Protestant Church of Portsmouth, Ohio, during his entire residence in that city.  His congregation met at the house of Mrs. Sill, on Fourth Street, before the church on Fifth Street in the rear of Connolly's store was erected.  He was always a Whig and anti-slavery.  He was a strong advocate of temperance, being a member of the order of the Sons of Temperance, which flourished in his 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 599
  ADAM McCORMICK, died July 3, 1840, sixty-five years.  His wife, Margaret, daughter of Andrew and Mary Ellison, died Mar. 6, 1845, in the fifty-fifth year of her age.  Their only son, Joseph McCormick, was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1814.
     He was a plain common Irshman, with the strongest emphasis on Irish, as it shone out all about him.  He lived on Brush Creed awhile, then moved to West Union.  He was a member of the Baptist Church in West Union.  He was a strong Whig.  He owned a large tract of land near Jacksonville, in Meigs township.  He purchased the Palace Hotel property of the estate of his sister, Isabella Burgess, and died there.  He lived in Cincinnati a good part of his time.  He was living there in 1814 when his son Joseph was born.  He was also living there in 1831 when his sister married Rev. Dyer Burgess.  He was a strong Baptist.  He donated the ground where the Baptist Church in West Union stands and built the church.  He had considerable improved property in Cincinnati and was at that city to collect his rents in June, 1849, and when he returned to West Union, was taken sick and died.  At the time of his death, he was Superintendent of the Baptist Sunday School in West Union.
     It is said he came from Ireland a lad and worked about the furnaces in Adams County.  He was the architect of his own fortune.  He made money, but how, is now buried in oblivion, but he made it honestly and was highly esteemed as a citizen.  He was a carpenter by trade, and was the contractor and builder of the first bridge built in Adams County where the iron bridge now stands.  James Anderson crossed it with a team and wagon loaded with pig iron from Steam Furnace, and that was the only team which ever crossed it.  There was a sudden rise in Brush Creek which undermined one of the piers and the bridge fell.  Adam McCormick lived on the farm on which George A. Thomas now resides.  He removed to West Union and purchased the Dyer Burgess property and lived there from 1842 until his death, in 1849.
     He was married to Margaret Ellison, Apr. 6, 1813.  Andrew Ellison was running Steam Furnace and Adam McCormick was a patttern maker and made patterns at the furnace while his father-in-law run it.  James Anderson teamed between Steam Furnace and the river, hauling pig iron, supplies, etc.  When the furnace shut down, Adam McCormick went to farming.
 Source: History of Adams County, Ohio - by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers – West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B. Stivers - 1900 - Page 595
  HON. A. FLOYD McCORMICK was born Oct. 5, 1861, in Nile Township, Scioto County, Ohio, son of George S. McCormick, who has a sketch herein.  When old enough to be sent away to school, he spent two years at the National Normal University at Lebanon, Ohio, and afterwards four years at the Ohio Wesleyan University at Delaware, Ohio.  After the completion of his college course, he became a law student of the Hon. Thomas E. Powell, of Delaware, Ohio, and graduated from the Cincinnati Law School in 1886.  While studying in Cincinnati, Ohio, he was in the office of Cowen and Ferris, Attorneys, the Ferris being Judge Howard Ferris, of the Probate Court of Hamilton County.
     Mr. McCormick was admitted to practice in 1886, and removed to Indianapolis, Indiana, where he became manager of the R. G. Dun & Co., Commercial Agency.  He continued his employment and resided there seven years.  He removed to Portsmouth, Scioto County, Ohio, in January, 1895.  He was elected, as a Republican, to represent Scioto County in the House of Representatives in the Fall of 1897,and re-elected in 1899.  In the House, he has served on the Committees on Municipal Affairs, Corporations, Military Affairs, and Public Works.
     He was married to Miss Anne Corrille Scarlett, daughter of Joseph A. Scarlett, manager of R. G. Dun's Commercial Agency in Cincinnati, on the thirty-first of December 1885.  They have one daughter, Corrille, a girl of thirteen years, now a student in Columbus.
     Mr. McCormick had been a Democrat until 1897, but now is a Republican of the stalwart type.  He is a man of liberal views and ideas.  He is an excellent lawyer and his friends think he ought to eschew politics and confine himself to law.  However, as a politician, he has been quite successful, and bids fair to be one of the prominent men of the State, if an ordinary lifetime shall be allotted 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 816

George D. McCormick, M.D.		 DR. GEORGE DUNKIN McCORMICK, of Wamsleyville, is of Scotch-Irish descent, his maternal grandfather having been born in Scotland and his paternal grandfather, Hugh McCormick, in Ireland.  He is a son of Charles McCormick and Rebecca McCall, and was born Oct. 5, 1845, at White Oak, Adams County.  His parents located afterwards at Locust Grove, where our subject attended the Public schools, and ground tanbark at the old tannery there during vacation.  He attended Miami Medical College and afterwards Ohio Medical College, at Cincinnati, and began the practice of medicine at Wamsleyville, where he has since been located, in 1872.  In 1876, March 3, he was united in marriage to Miss Emma F. Wamsley daughter of S. B. And Anna Freeman Wamsley, and there was born to thsi union a son, Edgar E. McCormick Mar. 22, 1878.  He is now one of the bright and active teachers of Adams County.
     Dr. McCormick stands in the foremost ranks among the physicians of Adams County, and as a citizen is held in the highest esteem by all who know him.  He is a member of the Christian Union Church, and of Wamsleyville Lodge, No, 653, I. O. O. F.  In politics, he is a Democrat of the Jeffersonian type, believing in a "government of the people, by the people and for the people."  One who has known the Doctor intimately for years says of him:  "A more refined and courteous gentleman than Dr. McCormick would be hard to find.
 Source: History of Adams County, Ohio - by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers – West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B. Stivers - 1900 - Page 823
  GEORGE S. McCORMICK.  George S. McCormick was born Mar. 27, 1822, near Steam Furnace, in Adams County.  His father, James McCormick, was a native of Pennsylvania, and his mother, whose maiden name was Hannah Hawk, was a Virginian.  They were married in Pennsylvania, and very soon thereafter loaded their household goods upon a flatboat at Pittsburg and floated down the Ohio, landing at some point near Wrightsville in the year 1808.
     James McCormick was a collier and molder, and soon found employment among the furnaces which were then the principal industry in Adams County.  He made his permanent home near Old Steam Furnace, where the subject of thsi sketch was born, never leaving the county except during the War of 1812, when he served with Gen. Wm. H. Harrison at Fort Wayne.
     To him and his wife were born nine children, in the order named:  Mrs. Jane Page, Mrs. Elizabeth Freeman, Mrs. Mary Wamsley, William, James, Charles, Mrs. Hannah Mitchell and George.  Of these only Mrs. Margaret Freeman is living at this time (1898).
     Jams McCormick was a man of magnificent physique, broad-chested, strong of limb and active.  He had a firm set jaw, with a double row of teeth above and below, and soon became known as "Burr" McCormick, a name given him because of the fact that his hair, which was usually cropped close, stuck straight out, and was of a reddish hue, about the color of a ripened chestnut burr.
     His advent among the furnace men of course created considerable speculation as to whether or not he was what they termed a "good man."  He had hardly taken his place in the foundry before he was challenged by the "bully" of the furnace to a test of fisticuffs.  McCormick was a strict Presbyterian, and did not believe in fighting, but when it come to a question of whether he should fight or be whipped, he chose, the former, and soon made short work of his adversary.
     This established his reputation at that furnace, but it did not end his troubles.  Knowledge of his ability soon sped to rival furnaces, each of whom boasted their best man, and since he would not leave his home, pilgrimages were made to the furnace in which he found employment in order that he might be challenged, and the question of which had the best "bully" be thus settled.  It is said that he never met defeat.  He was regarded a strong man, not only physically, but mentally and morally, and many of his good qualities were inherited by the subject of this sketch.
     In the early days of Adams County, the opportunities of securing even a common school education were very meager.  Three months of the year, George Smedley McCormick walked miles through mud and rain to the little log school house, for it was only in the dead of Winter, when all labor was at a standstill, that time could be given to the development of the mind.  By sturdy perseverance and close application, at the first school on the West Fork of Scioto Brush Creek.  He followed this profession for six years, teaching in both Adams and Scioto Counties.  One of his first schools was in Nile Township, Scioto County, and the building is still standing.  It is a log structure about fifteen by twenty feet, with one log left out of the side for a window.  This crevice was closed by means of window glass and greased paper.  Just under it, running the entire length of the building, was a desk, called the writing desk, at which the entire school were obliged to seat themselves when taking instructions in that branch.
     His salary was seldom more than $12.50 per month, from which he saved until he was enabled to attend through two terms of the Ohio Wesleyan University, then in its infancy.  He was a man of frugal habits, and of good business judgment.  He never speculated, but was content to see his worldly store increase through the legitimate profit of trade.  The first piece of money he ever earned was a "fi' penny bit," which he received from his brother-in-law, Moses Freeman, for ploughing corn one day on hillside ground prolific of stones and roots.  As the, value of the coin one day on hillside ground prolific of stones and roots.  As the value of the coin was but six and one-fourth cents, the reader will understand how well it was earned.  With characteristic thrift he placed this money at interest, an elder brother being the borrower, and to the latter's surprise on the day of settlement the piece had doubled itself.
     He began his career as a merchant in 1846 at the little village of Commercial, ane mile and a half below Buena Vista and just within the borders of Adams County.  His capital consisted of one hundred and fifty dollars, saved from his earnings as a school teacher, and five hundred dollars borrowed from his brother-in-law, the Rev. Jesse Wamsley, of "Bill Town," now Wamsleyville.
     In 1848, he built for Mr. Wamsley the first house erected in Buena Vista, after it was platted as a town, and placed in it the first stock of goods ever sold in that village.  The site selected was the spot on which stands the family residence, in which he passed his last days.  this house came into his possession about ten years before his death, though removed to another site, and is still in use for residence purposes.
     In the Spring of 1850, he removed to Rome, this county, where he conducted a successful business for nine years.  His health becoming impaired, he purchased a farm in Nile Township, Scioto County, to which placed he removed his family in 1859.  In '62 and '63, he was engaged in merchandising for the second time in Rome, having for a partner George Lafferty, during which time his family remained on the farm.
     After five years spent in farming he removed to Portsmouth in 1868, where he engaged in the grocery business.  In 1870, he returned to his farm, and in 1875 the second time went to Buena Vista, where he remained constantly engaged in business until within a year of his death.
     He began life with empty hands, a strong will and a clear intellect, and succeeded in leaving behind him ample provision for the wants of those nearest and dearest to him.  He loved an honest man, and if there be added to his honesty intelligence, he always strove to make of such an one a friend.  It was an impossibility for him to be anything but charitable, and the readiness with which he forgave those who dealt with him unjustly was often a source of annoyance to his friends and business associates.  This forgiving spirit cost him many a dollar, but amply were he and his frends repaid when, during his last illness, he rejoiced that he could leave the world bearing malice towards no man.
     He was a man of many strong friendships, and especially did he like at all times the company of the young.
     In those early days Masonry meant much, and he took a very great interest in the work, being at one time an officer in the lodge at West Union, although he lived as far away as Rome.  He was also an Odd Fellow, and a member of the Methodist Church.  In politics, he was an enthusiastic Democrat but was broadminded enough to recognize merit in a number of Township offices as a matter of duty imposed by good citizenship, but declined many honors proffered by his party which would have carried him into the arena of active party politics.
     He was married in 1847 to Nancy Fleak, of Cincinnati.  Seven children were born to them, only two of whom are now living.  Charles A., a merchant at Buena Vista, and A. F. McCormick, an attorney at 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 799
  J. W. McCORMICK, of Wamsleyville, son of Charles McCormick and Rebecca McCall, was born in Lewis County, Kentucky, Nov. 1, 1847, and afterwards came with his parents to Scioto County and resided there until 1874, when he returned to Adams County.
     Our subject taught school in Scioto and Adams Counties from 1869 until 1878, and then clerked for S. B. Wamsley at Wamsleyville, in the building which he now occupies.  In 1881, he formed a partnership with George and Shannon Freeman and carried on a general store.  In 1887, he disposed of his interest and began the same business with his brother, Dr. G. W. McCormick, which they continued until the Summer of 1898.  He is now engaged in the bicycle trade at Wamsleyville.
     He married Miss Mary Weaver, daughter of Henry Weaver, of Scioto County, Apr. 6, 1871, by whom he has had four children: Clarence E., Icie Florence, James C., and Charles, who died Oct. 3, 1891.  Mr. McCormick is an active, prosperous business man with the confidence and respect of patrons and acquaintances.  He is a member of the Christian Union Church, but was reared a Methodist.  He also belongs to Wamsleyville Lodge, No. 653, I. O. O. F.  He has always affiliated with the Democratic 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 794
  JOHN W. McCORMICK of Gallipolis, represented in the forty-eighth congres, the district consisting of Adams, Gallia, Jackson, Lawrence, Scioto and Vinton counties.  He was born in Gallia County on Dec. 20, 1831.  He was brought up on a farm and educated at the Ohio Wesleyan University at Delaware, Ohio, and at the Ohio University at Athens, Ohio.  On leaving school, he engaged in farming and was elected delegate to the Ohio constitutional convention in 1873 and was elected to the forty-eighth congress as a Republican, receiving 15,288 votes against 13,037 votes for John P. Leedom, Democrat.
 Source: History of Adams County, Ohio - by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers – West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B. Stivers - 1900 - Page 324
  JOSEPH McCORMICK, the son of Adam McCormick and Margaret Ellison, the wife, was born in 1841 in Cincinnati.  He was an only child.  As a child, he lived a part of the time in Cincinnati and a part of the time in West Union.  He is said to have attended college at Marietta.   In 1831 and 1832, he was at Pine Grove Furnace, ostensibly as a store-keeper.  He studied law soon after this under Nelson Barrere and was admitted to the bar in about 1835.  Directly after his admission to the bar, he located in Portsmouth, where he remained for only a few months.  He then went to Cincinnati and remained there most of the time until 1838 when he became prosecuting attorney of Adams County.  In 1843 he was again prosecuting attorney of Adams County, first by appointment and afterwards by election, until 1845; On May 20, 1840, he was married to Elizabeth Smith, sister of Jude John M. Smith, of West Union.  They had three children, two sons and a daughter, born in Adams County, but only one survived to maturity, Adam Ellison, born Jan. 31, 1843.  He was a fine looking man, of magnificent physique, an Apollo Belvidere, but the bane of his life was the drink habit.  His father died in July, 1849, of the Asiatic Cholera and left a large estate, which was disposed of by will.  He gave a life estate in it to his son, Joseph, with the remainder over to his grandchildren, Adam and Mary, the latter of whom died at the age of ten years.  He made Judge George Collins trustee of his estate and directed him that in case his son should reform his present unfortunate habit as to drinking, he was to turn the whole estate over to him.  That event, however, never occurred and the estate was held by the trustee until his death, when it was turned over to his son, Adam.  He was elected to the Constitutional Convention in 1850 from Adams County, where he served with much distinction.  On May 5, 1851, he was appointed by Governor Wood, attorney general for the state of Ohio in place of Henry Stansberry, whose term had expired.  He served about seven months, until George E. Pugh, the first attorney general under the new constitution was elected and qualified.  At the time of Mr. McCormick's appointment, the salary of the office was $750.  Henry Stansberry was the first attorney general appointed in 1846, and Mr. McCormick was the second.
     In about 1857, he left Adams County and went to the state of California, where he remained until his death in1879.  His wife and son continued to reside in Manchester from 1857 until 1872 when she died.
 Source: History of Adams County, Ohio - by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers – West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B. Stivers - 1900 - Page 204 - Chapter XV - Courts
  CHARLES FRANKLIN McCOY was born Dec. 5, 1862, at Pond Run, Scioto County, Ohio, where his father, Charles A. McCoy, was then residing.  His mother's maiden name was Annette Thomas.  They had six children; four died in infancy and two survive.  When our subject was two years of age his father moved to near Dunbarton, Ohio, and bought the Moses Buck farm on Brush Creek.  Mr. McCoy had a common school education.  He spent the winter of 1881 at the Manchester high school, and attended the Ohio Wesleyan University at Delaware from 1883 to 1886.  At the close of the year, he left that institution and engaged in work on his father's farm, on account of his father's ill health.  In the fall of 1887, he went to Bethany College, West Virginia, and graduated there in the classical course in June, 1888.  In the fall of 1888, he taught school at Purtee's school house, and two winters at Jacksonville.  In 1891 his health gave way and he went to farming.  He began the study of law in the same year with John W. Hook, and continued it with Chas. C. Swain and Wm. C. Coryell.  He was admitted to the bar in December, 1894.  He located at West Union in March, 1895, and began the practice of law.  He was elected prosecuting attorney on the Republican ticket in the fall of 1896, by a majority of 115.  He was re-elected in 1899 by a majority of 107.  In March, 1900, he entered into a partnership with Hon. F. D. Bayless; under the firm of Bayless & McCoy.  He has always been a Republican, and is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.  On Mar. 9, 1892, he was married to Miss Minnie A. Young, daughter of Leonard Young, a former recorder of Adams County.
     A friend gives this statement as to Mr. McCoy:  "His moral character is above reproach.  He is upright and honest in all his dealings with his fellow men.  His habits are correct and pure.  He maintains a high degree of character in the church of his choice, the Methodist Episcopal, of which he is a prominent and useful member.  As a citizen he looks to the best results for himself and the community.  He is enterprising and eer ready and willing to do his full share of labor for the advancement of the community in which he is a good and successful lawyer.  As such, he is painstaking and thorough; and as a prosecuting attorney, he does his duty thoroughly.  It is believed he has filled that office with as much credit as any predecessor he ever had.  He comes up to the full measure of a good man and 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 228 - Chapter XV
  JAMES HENRY McCOY, farmer was born in Bratton Township, May 17, 1860.  His father, William McCoy, was a soldier of the Civil War.  He enlisted in Co. B. 175th O. V. I., on Aug. 23, 1864, at the age of thirty-four years, and was mustered out of the service June 27, 1865.  He was a native of Pike County.  His wife, Elizabeth A. Hamilton, mother of our subject, was a daughter of Henry Hamilton.  Our subject's grandfather, James McCoy, was from the Green Isle, beyond the seas.
     William A. McCoy married Susannah Jones, from Pike County; and moved to Sinking Springs, Highland County, in the fall of 1860.  Our subject lived in Sinking Springs until 1871, when he moved onto the farm where he now resides.  His mother died Jan. 16, 1898.  He was the eldest of three children.  His brother, George G. McCoy, resides at Bainbridge, in Ross County.  He married Ruth A. Summers, daughter of Daniel Summers, of Locust Grove.  His sister Anna married William W. Dunbar, who died Sept. 4, 1895.  She resides with and makes a home for her brother, our subject, who is unmarried.  He is a Democrat in his political views, and a very strong one at that.
     He is outspoken in all his views, political or otherwise.  He is a Master of the Peebles Masonic Lodge, No. 581; and is also a member of the Knights of Pythias Lodge, No. 203, at Peebles.  He has a common school education, but never taught.   He was elected a Justice of the Peace of Franklin Township, in 1807, and re-elected in 1000.  He is one of those forceful young men who believe in candor; and whose views are an open book; and who are not deterred by policy or caution from expressing their well-considered thoughts.  He is a man of fine physique and physical presence, which at once impress those who meet him.  If he lives and has health, he will be heard from further on.
 Source: History of Adams County, Ohio - by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers – West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B. Stivers - 1900 - Page 916
 NOTE:  CORRECTIONS - p. 916.  Was born "May 27th" instead of "May 17th."  "William McCoy" in second line should read "William A. McCoy."
James McCoy, grandfather of the subject, served in the War of 1812.
The eighth line of this sketch should read, "James McCoy married Susannah Jones of Pike County.
The ninth line should read, "William A. McCoy moved to Sinking Spring" etc.
Subject's father, Wm. A. McCoy, died June 13, 1867, at the age of thirty-seven.
Subject is a Past Master in the Peebles, Ohio, Masonic Lodge.
  JESSE ELLSWORTH McCREIGHT

Source: History of Adams County, Ohio - by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers – West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B. Stivers - 1900 - Page 815
  SAMUEL McCULLOUGH


 NOTE:  CORRECTIONS - Before coming to Adams County, and after leaving Rockbridge County, Virginia, Mr. McCullough did business in what is now Point Pleasant, West Virginia, so he must have come from Point Pleasant, West Virginia, to Adams County.
  GENERAL JOSEPH T. McDOWELL was born in Burke County, North Carolina, Nov. 13, 1800.  He removed to Ohio in 1824 and located on a farm about seven miles north of Hillsboro.  In 1829, he located in Hillsboro and engaged in the mercantile business until 1835, when he was admitted to the bar by a special act of the legislature, and began the practice of his profession.  In 1836, he formed a partnership with col. William O. Collins, and followed the profession until 1843.
     He was a member of the thirty-first general assembly from Highland County.  In the thirty-second general assembly, Dec. 2, 1833, to Mar. 3, 1834, he as a member of the state senate representing Highland and Fayette counties.  He represented the same constituency in the thirty-third general assembly in the senate from Dec. 1, 1834, to Mar. 9, 1835.  He represented the seventh district of Ohio in the twenty-eighth and twenty-ninth congresses.  This district was composed of Adams, Brown, Clermont and Highland counties.  He resumed his law practice after his return from congress, and also engaged in farming.  He died Jan. 17, 1877.
     He was an earnest and eloquent man, true to his instincts, faithful in the discharge of duty, and was honored and respected by the community as a Christian gentleman, and died in the faith of which he was in later life a defender.
 Source: History of Adams County, Ohio - by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers – West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B. Stivers - 1900 - Page 309
 

MAJOR JOHN W. MCFERRAN was born September 15, 1828, in Clermont County, Ohio.  He was the architect of his own fortune - was dependent upon himself from childhood.  He qualified himself to teach school and followed that occupation for several years.  When a young man he ran a threshing machine in times of harvest.  He came to West Union in about 1850, and began the study of law under the late Edward P. Evans.  He maintained himself by teaching while a law student.  He was admitted to the bar May 2, 1853, and began practice in West Union.  That same fall he was a candidate for the nomination for prosecuting attorney before the Democratic primary and defeated J. K. Billings, who had had the office but one term, and by all precedents was entitled to his second term.  McFerran, however, made an active canvass and being very popular secured the nomination.  Before the people, E. M. DeBruin, now of Columbus, Ohio, was his opponent, but McFerran was elected.  He was renominated and reelected for a second term as prosecuting attorney.  In the fall of 1857, he determined to contest with Captain Moses J. Patterson resided near Winchester.  He was highly esteemed by every one and had but one term in the Legislature.  McFerran, however, contested the nomination with him and won.  McFerran had 679 votes and Patterson, 407.  Before the people the Hon. George Collings was the Whig candidate.  McFerran had 1626 votes and Collings, 1282.  Legislature honors did not please McFerran.  He said it was well enough to go to Legislature once, but a man was a fool to go a second time.  He declined a second term and Moses J. Patterson succeeded him.  McFerran then devoted himself to the practice of law and was making a great success when the war broke out.  He could make pleasing and effective arguments before a jury and he carried the old and young farmers of Adams County with him.  He was a of a fiery temper and disposition.  Whatever he undertook, he did with great enthusiasm.  It was just as natural that he should be consumed by the war fever as that a duck should take to water.  When the war broke out, he gave his entire soul to the Union cause.  He aided in organizing the 70th O. V. I., and became its major, Oct. 2, 1861.  He was the idol of the men of his regiment and was willing to do anything for them.  However, he fell a victim to the southern climate and died of a fever at Camp Pickering, near Memphis, Tennessee,  Oct. 6, 1862.  His body was brought to Cairo, Illinois, and afterwards to West Union, and reinterred among the people who admired and lived him.
     He was married to Miss Hannah A. Briggs, June 27, 1858, a most estimable woman, and there were two children of the marriage, Minnie, the wife of Dr. W. K. Coleman, of West Union; John W., who died at the age of four.
     In the public offices, he occupied, he faithfully and capably discharged their duties.  He was public spirited and always ready to aid any worthy and good enterprise.  In his private dealings, he was honest and liberal.  For his soldiers, he always had kind words and pleasant greetings.  There was nothing he would not do for them and they knew it and felt it.  He had a respect and esteem of his fellow officers.  He was always at his post, always cheerful and uncomplaining and ready to die at any time.  He showed his bravery on the bloody field of Shiloh, at Corinth, Chewalla, Holly Springs and Memphis.
     He was worthy of the cause he fought for and his patriotic career will be one which his descendants can look back to with pride and it will grow brighter as the years go by.  It has been thirty-seven years since he gave his life to his country, but to those who knew him and loved him, and who survive, it seems but yesterday.
     There were three officers of the Civil War who lost their lives in the service whom Adams County will Always remember, and they were Major McFerran, Samuel E. Clark and Major McFerran, Samuel E. Clark and Major Philip R. Rothrock.
 Source: History of Adams County, Ohio - by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers – West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B. Stivers - 1900 - Page 216 - Chapter XV
  WILLIAM McGARRY was born in County Down, Ireland, in 1757, and emigrated to Virginia in the Spring of 1777.  He enlisted the same spring as a private in Captain Wood Jones' Company and served afterward in Captain Benjamin Hoomes' Company, Second Regiment, commanded by Col. William Febiger, in the Revolutionary War.  His enlistment was for a period of three years.
     He was in the battles which occurred during the time of his services in New Jersey and about Philadelphia, but a large part of the time his duties consisted in hauling supplies to the army.
     He came to Ohio in 1795, directly after the peace of Greenville, and bought two hundred and twenty-five acres of ground on Poplar Ridge, in Tiffin Township.  This land is now owned by w. J. and B. Grooms, Caleb Malone and Mr. Deitz.  He left the blockhouse at Manchester and located on land in Tiffin Township when there had not been a single tree cut down in the township and none outside of Manchester.  He cleared off a patch of ground and built a pole cabin and moved his family into it.  There were plenty of wolves, bears, wild turkeys and deer in the forest at that time, and a great many roving Indians.
     His daughter has told a lady now living near West Union that she had been at that place many times when all was forest, not a house in the vicinity, and had drank out of the spring where the public well now stands.  When he made a clearing, the first think he did was to plant peach trees and engage in the manufacture of whiskey and brandy.
     The squirrels and wild turkeys were so plenty that when he planted his corn, it was necessary to stand guard over it until it was grown too high for them to disturb.  After it was planted he made paw-paw whistles and had his children march around the corn fields at the edge of the forests during the day, blowing these whistles so that the squirrels and turkeys would not bother the corn.
     Some time after building his pole cabin, be built a log house with large fire-places, and he was considered a rich man for his time.
     He was one of the first members of the Presbyterian Church at West Union.  He was not a pensioner of the Revolutionary War, because he owned considerable land and could not obtain a pension.
     He married his first wife, Elizabeth Walker, in Washington County, Pennsylvania, and she was the mother of five children.
     William McGarry had a second wife, Mary McKee, and she was the mother of three children.  He was esteemed as a useful and valuable citizen.  He did what could not be done in our day; he was a very pious man and a consistent member of the Presbyterian Church, and raised his family in the same manner as himself, and at the same time made and drank whiskey all the time when it was no disgrace either to make it or drink it.
     He died in 1845 and was buried on the farm which he cleared and owned.
Source: History of Adams County, Ohio - by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers – West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B. Stivers - 1900 - Page 603
  ADAM McGOVNEY was born in County Down, Ireland, Dec. 14, 1789, of Protestant Presbyterian parents.  He received a fair education, became a Free mason and was advanced in order to the degrees of Christian Knighthood, before leaving that country.  While there he united with the Presbyterian Church.
     In 1818, he came to this country and located in Adams County.  He was married to Miss Mary McGovney, in Adams County, on the twenty-eighth day of January, 1819.  They had one child, Thomas, and she died Jan. 14, 1820, at the age of 28 years.  Her surviving husband never remarried.  In West Union, Mr. McGovney kept a general store and part of the time conducted a tannery.  In 1840, he became a member of the Methodist Church and from that time until his death there was no more devout or consistent Christian than he.  Always in his place at every church service, and every prayer and class meeting, he was a bright and shining light.  He lived his religion every day of his life, and in his dying hours it was his comfort and solace.  He was always at the Wednesday evening prayer meetings which the writer attended when a small boy.  Uncle Adam, as all the boys knew him, had a fixed and certain prayer and the writer at one time knew it all and could repeat it from memory.  He regards it as his loss that he cannot remember it and repeat it, until this day.  One phase in it was "Knit us, Oh Lord, closer to they bleeding side."  He, Abraham Hollingsworth, Nicholas Burwell, William R. Rape and William Allen could always be depended on to attend and he found at the weekly prayer meetings.
     Next to his religion, Mr. McGovney was attached to Masonry.  He was as faithful a Mason, as he was a church member.  The writer remembered seeing him in many Masonic parades and he usually wore the crossed silver keys of the lodge jewels.  He was treasurer of the lodge many years.  As a neighbor and a friend he was liked by all who knew him.  He published the country of his birth whenever he spoke, as he had the broadest of Irish accent, but it was a pleasure to listen to it.
    He was very fond of the little people, the children.  He knew how to please them, to cater to their pleasures, which he was very fond of doing.  They were always his friends, and he, theirs.
     He promised to bring the writer up to the tanner's trade and took great pleasure in explaining it all to him.  Mr. McGovney as over six feet and slender.  He had a very firm expression when his countenance was in repose, but when animated or in a laughing mood, no one was more agreeable.  He was always ready to sympathize with those who deserved it and to aid those who needed it.  On his death bed he expressed his complete confidence in the religion he professed in life.  He required no religious consolation and, when approached on that subject, said, "I have long placed my confidence in my Savior.
     His funeral was conducted with Masonic honors by the West Union Lodge and members of other lodges in the same county.  The services were at the Presbyterian Church and the interment was in the Kirker Cemetery where he was laid beside his wife who had been buried there forty years before.
     Adam McGovney was a just man and a model citizen.  His activities were confined to his business, Masonry and the church.  In his political views he was a Democrat.  His memory stands as that of a good and true man, a credit to the generation to which he belonged.
     He had no taste for politics and never was a candidate for office, but he believed in doing every duty before him, and lived his  belief.
 Source: History of Adams County, Ohio - by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers – West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B. Stivers - 1900 - Page 605

Crockett McGovney		 CROCKETT McGOVNEY was born June 19, 1825, in Liberty Township, Adams County, Ohio.  His father was Thoams McGovney and his mother's maiden name was Jane Graham.  He attended the common schools in Liberty Township, and near his uncle, John Graham, on Ohio Brush Creek.  He also took a course of bookkeeping at West Union.  His wife was Sarah Holmes, the daughter of Thomas Holmes.  She was born Nov. 28, 1824.  They were married Dec. 20, 1849.  Directly after his marriage, he and his wife went to Olive Furnace in Lawrence County, where he was the furnace storekeeper for two years.  From 1851 to 1854, he was storekeeper for Robert Scott & Company at Mt. Vernon Furnace in Lawrence County.  In September, 1854, he made what now appears as a business mistake.  He left the furnace region and returned to Adams County.  He went into the dry goods business at Bentonville, but only remained in it for six months.  At the end of that time, he built the flour mill in Bentonville in connection with Thomas Foster.  He remained in this business until the Spring of 1857, when he sold out and went to Missouri.  By August, 1857, he tired of that experiment and returned to Adams County.  He established a dry goods business at North Liberty and continued in it six months, when he sold out to William L. McVey.  He bought the flour mill at the same place and operated it until August, 1858, when he sold out.  He removed to Manchester and bought the flour mill on Front Street.  He conducted this business and a coal yard in connection with it until March, 1866, when he disposed of it.
     In 1863, he, David McConaughy and George S. Kirker, went into the pork packing business as Kirker, McGovney & Company.  It proved disastrous and he sunk $4,000.  From 1866 to 1872, he and William Henderson, his son-in-law, conducted the dry goods business at Manchester.  In 1872, he went into the planing mill business in Manchester and continued it until his death.  this business was quite profitable and successful.  He had two children, a son and daughter.  His son, Lafayette, is a farmer near Aberdeen.  His daughter, Caroline, was married to William Henderson, Nov. 16, 1868.
     Mr. McGovney had a natural taste and aptitude for business.  He would have had success in any business he undertook unless he labored against conditions he could not control.  Had he remained in the furnace region, he would have been one of the principal iron masters of the district.  He succeeded in everything he undertook but pork packing, and would have succeeded in that were it not he was subject to conditions he could not control.  The chief features of his character were industry and energy.  When in a given situation where others were ready to give up and die, he began to work.  He was always cheerful.  While he was losing money in the pork packing business, he never complained.  He worked for years under a business adversity which would have discouraged most men and soured them.  He gave no outward sign of his losses, but went right along, just as agreeable to the public as though he were making money.  He carried a mountain of debt and paid it off, principal and interest.  While he lost money in the pork packing business, he made it back in the furniture business.
     In politics, he was a Democrat and acted with that party until the second election of President Lincoln, when he became a Republican and remained such all his life.  He was a very strong Union man and loyal to the Government in the Civil War.  He never held any office but that of a Village Councilman and never belonged to any secret society.  He was never a member of any church, but inclined to the doctrines of the regular Baptist Church.  He was frequently chosen Councilman of Manchester and fulfilled his duties most acceptably.  He dignified the office and was the best one the village ever had.  He had a good judgment of all kinds of property.  He was relentless and untiring in the pursuit of business.  He was the leading spirit among the business men of Manchester for years.  His integrity was as fixed as adamant.  He took sick and died at a time when his life was as full of business caes and responsibilities as it had ever been, but he met the final call with the utmost calmness and philosophy.  He took sick August 27, and died Sept. 2, 1890, of Bright's disease.  Ten men like him would have made a city of Manchester.
 Source: History of Adams County, Ohio - by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers – West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B. Stivers - 1900 - Page 801
  HENRY F. McGOVNEY.     Henry Francis McGovney was, for twenty years a prominent character and moving spirit in the fierce political contests for which Adams County is conspicuously notorious.  He was a Democrat of the Jackson school.  He believed in the principles and party doctrines as laid down and exemplified by that saint of Democracy, and by his works he proved his faith.  The death of Henry F. McGovney lost to the Democracy of Adams County a faithful adherent and one of its safest counsellors.  He served his party as a soldier in the rank and file as faithfully as when a leader of its hosts.  He gave to it, in financial support, more than he ever heceived from it.  His party adherence sprang from love of principle, not from hope of gain.  His party elected him Sheriff of Adams County in 1879, and again in 1882.  In 1891, he received the nomination for the office of County Treasurer, but was defeated with others on the ticket through the efforts of the Populists, a political organization which drew largely from the Democratic party in Adams County.  In 1893, he was endorsed by Senator Calvin S. Brice for the United States Marshalship for the Southern District of Ohio, but through the efforts of Ex. Gov. James E. Campbell, chiefly, it is said, between whom and leaders of Democracy in Adams County there existed great political animosity.  President Cleveland was persuaded to ignore Senator Brice's recommendation, and he appointed another instead.
     Henry F. McGovney was above the average in stature, of good personal appearance, had an open, pleasing countenance, and was social and kind in his intercourse with friends and acquaintances.
     Quiet and unobtrusive in his relations with men, yet he had courage when aroused such as made him no mean antagonist.  An only son, reared to years beyond man's estate under the guidance of a loving but judicious father, surrounded with the comforts, but free from the foibles of life, he began his career as farmer, merchant, and politician, evenly poised and well equipped for the work which afterwards distinguished him in those respective spheres.  He was the son of Scott McGovney and Hannah F_a_, and was born and reared on the old homestead on Brush Creek in Jefferson Township, near the Osman Bridge.  He received the rudiments of an English education in the county schools of that vicinity.
     In his twenty-seventh year, he married Sophia Phillips, a daughter of Henry Phillips, at the time one of the largest landholders in Adams County.  She died in October, 1896, and her loss saddened the remainder of his life.  He had no children.  He was prominent in Masonic circles and  had served as Master of West Union Lodge, F. & A. M., and was at the time of his death a member of Calvary Commandery, at Portsmouth, Ohio.
     On Thursday, Dec. 1, 1898, he died at the Good Samaritan Hospital in Cincinnati, from the effects of an operation performed there for cancer of the stomach.  His remains were brought to his home in West Union and interred in the new Old Fellows Cemetery.   He was in his forty-eighth year at the time of his death, having been born Feb. 10, 1850.
 Source: History of Adams County, Ohio - by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers – West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B. Stivers - 1900 - Page 798
  SILAS DYER McINTIRE was born Dec. 31, 1824, and was reared a farmer's son.  He was married first to Caroline Patton, daughter of John and Phoebe Patton, on the third of March, 1852.  The children of this marriage were Ambrose Patton, now living at Lima, Ohio; Ruth, wife of Henry Brown, of Washington C. H.; Lizzie, wife of J. G. Glasgow; Mary, wife of J. H. Morrison, of Bookwalter, Neb.  His first wife died Oct. 28, 1865, and on Aug. 1, 1867, he was married to Sarah Marlatt, daughter of Silas and Jane (Cane) Marlatt, of Eckmansville.  The children of this second marriage were Pearl, wife of Dr. E. F. Downey, of Peebles; Jane Faye, Anna L. Wilber, and Andrew Homer, residing at home.
     While a young man, S. D. McIntire taught school until his marriage, and after that was a farmer in Wayne Township the remainder of his life.  He was a member of the U. P. Church at Cherry Fork, Ohio, and a ruling elder for many years.  He was Justice of the Peace for Wayne Township, 1867 to 1865, eight years.  In politics, he was a Republican and anti-slavery man.  His father, Col. Andrew McIntire, has a Separate sketch herein, and is also referred to in the article under the title of "The Cholera of 1849."
     'Squire McIntire, as he was familiarly known, was a man of high character, honest and honorable in all his dealings, and highly respected.  He enjoyed the confidence of all who knew him.  His widow survives him and resides with her four younger children on the old farm on which he lived and died.
 Source: History of Adams County, Ohio - by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers – West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B. Stivers - 1900 - Page 802
NOTE:  CORRECTIONS - p. 802. The children of his second marriage were Pearl, aged 28, wife of Dr. E. F. Downing, of Peebles, Ohio; Jennie Fay, aged 26; Anna L., aged 24; Carl Herbert, aged 23; Wilbur Andrew, aged 21; and Homer Marlatte, aged 20.  The last five reside at home.
  MAJOR JOSEPH McKEE was born at McKeesport, Pennsylvania, in the year of 1789 and remained with his parents until 1807, at which time he emigrated to Cabin Creek, Kentucky, where he resided for four years, when he removed near the mouth of Brush Creek in Greene Township in Ohio.  He was in the War of 1812, in which he served until Dec. 24, 1814.  On returning from the war he engaged in keel-boating salt down the Ohio River from the Kanawha saline to Louisville, Ky.  In 1828, he was made Major in the Second Regiment, First Brigade, Eighth Division of the Ohio Militia.  He was married in 1812 to Miss Margaret Eakins, who resided near the mouth of Brush Creek.  There were thirteen children born of this marriage, nine boys and four girls, Elizabeth, Susan, James, Mary, John, Joseph, William Priscilla, David, George, Wilson, Rebecca, and Richard.  Seven of these sons served in the Union army in the late Civil War.  Our subject shouldered his gun in 1864 to assist in resisting General John Morgan's Raid, at which time he was seventy-five years of age.  He served nine years successively as Justice of the Peace in Greene Township, during which time he solemnized numerous marriages.  Mr. McKee was an elder in the Christian Church, and lived up to his profession.  He was regarded as a good neighbor and citizen, and ever ready to help the poor and needy.  He died near Waggoner's Ripple, at the age of ninety-two years and twenty-nine days.  His wife, Margaret McKee, died seven years earlier.  He was the grandfather of the Sheriff, James W. McKee, who was the son of David McKee, now residing at Wichita, Kansas, having removed there from Adams County in 1882.  Joseph McKee was a Jeffersonian Democrat of the strictest sort, and his grandson, Sheriff James W. McKee, is recognized as one of the most reliable leaders of the Democrat party in Adams County.
 Source: History of Adams County, Ohio - by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers – West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B. Stivers - 1900 - Page 599
  GREENLEAF NORTON McMANNIS

Source: History of Adams County, Ohio - by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers – West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B. Stivers - 1900 - Page 817
  WILLIAM H. McSURELY was born Jan. 27, 1865, in Oxford, Ohio.  He went with his parents to Kirkwood, Illinois, in 1867, and returned to Loveland, Ohio, in 1868, and in 1869 went to Hillsboro, Ohio.  His boyhood was passed there.  He attended the Public schools there.  In January, 1880, he attended the south Salem Academy and in the Fall of 1881 entered the Freshman class at Wooster University.  He graduated in 1886.  After that, he read law in Hillsboro for one year under Hon. Frank Steele.  He went to Chicago in 1887 and went into the office of Norton, Burley and Howell, and completed his law studies with them, and was admitted to practice in 1888.  He became a member of the firm of Norton & Burley on January 1, 1893.
     He was married Oct. 18, 1892, to Miss Mary Elizabeth Cadman, whose father, now deceased, had been one of the most brilliant lawyers in Chicago.  On the death of Mr. James S. Norton the senior member of the firm of which Mr. McSurely was the junior member, the firm was and  has since been reorganized and took the firm name of Burley & McSurley.  Mr. and Mrs. McSurely have one daughter, and one deceased.
     Those who know him best say of him, he is a Christian gentleman, a man graced with dignity and elevation of spirit, of clear and quick perceptions, of manners frank and affable, of cheerful spirit and benevolent disposition.  In his profession, he is prompt, decisive, upright and successful.  When but a beginner in the law, he was chosen for merit by the distinguished late James Sage Norton to be a partner with himself  and the talented Mr. Clarence A. Burley, in their firm, and he has won by work and has obtained an honorable standing among that class of lawyers known to be the best in their profession.
Source: History of Adams County, Ohio - by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers – West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B. Stivers - 1900 - Page 820
  HENRY HARRISON MECHLIN, manufacturer and dealer in lumber, of Winchester, Ohio, was born Apr. 13, 1854, at Jasper, Pike County, Ohio, son of H. H. and Nancy (Coulter) Mechlin.  William Mechlin, his grandfather, was one of the early settlers of Pike County, having emigrated from Butler County, Pennsylvania, in the twenties.  His mother was a daughter of James Coulter, of Irish descent.
     Our subject spent his boyhood on a farm in Pike County.  He had such schooling as the District school of his vicinity afforded.  As soon as he became of age, he became a traveler, visiting nearly every state and Territory in the United States.  In 1879, he returned to Pike County, and engaged in the mercantile business for a period of three years and was quite successful.  He then traveled through the South and Southwest until 1885  1882, when he returned to Pike County.
     He was married at Waverly, Ohio, to Miss Anna Burns, daughter of Robert Burns, Apr. 18, 1886  1882.  After this, he settled at Coopersville, Pike County, and engaged in the timber business.  He remained here until 1893, when he removed to Winchester, Adams, County, where he engaged in the same business, and has since continued it.  He owns and controls the most extensive lumber and sawmill business in the county, using more timber than any mill in the county.  Since his location, he has cut and removed more timber than any like plant in the county.  His mills are near the depot and are equipped with the most modern machinery.  He uses electric lights, having a dynamo, which furnishes light to his plant and offices.  He has six children, five boys and one girl, Rexford K., James C., H. Mark, Russell P., Marjory, and Collin N.
     He is a Republican and a member of the Methodist Church.  He is a member of the Knights of Pythias, Lodge No. 484, at Winchester.
 Source: History of Adams County, Ohio - by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers – West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B. Stivers - 1900 - Page 803
 NOTE:  CORRECTIONS - p. 803.  He traveled through the South and Southwest until 1882 instead of "1885."  He was married April 18, 1882,  instead of "1886."
  JUDGE WM. McKENDREE MEEK


 NOTE:  CORRECTIONS - The name "Judge Wm. McKendree," under the portrait opposite page 485, syould be "Judge Wm. McKendree Meek."
  WILLIAM MEHAFFEY was born Apr. 1, 1849, in Liberty Township, Adams County, Ohio, near Fairview, on the farm now owned by Jacob Bissinger.   In 1844, his father removed to near Decatur, but in the same township.
     His father was Andrew Mehaffey and his mother's maiden name was Martha A. Flowers.  She was from Muskingum County, Ohio, The Mehaffeys were originally from Ireland.  The childhood and youth of our subject were spent in his native township.  He attended the District school and the academy at Decatur, in Brown County.  Mr. Mehaffey was Township Clerk from 1875 to 1878, Township Treasurer from 1880 to 1883, and a Trustee of the Township from 1886 to 1891 and again from 1893 to 1896. 
     He has always been a Republican and it would be a strange matter to find a Mehaffey in Adams County who was not one.  He was married Nov. 15, 1877, to Miss Melissa A. Weeks.  Her mother was a McGovney.   The Weeks family came from New Jersey.  He and his wife are both members of the United Presbyterian Church, at Cherry Fork.
 Source: History of Adams County, Ohio - by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers – West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B. Stivers - 1900 - Page
  JAMES G. METZ -  was born August 3, 1846, at Dumbarton, Ohio.  His father was, William Metz, was born in Kentucky, May 6, 1806.   Jacob Metz, the father of William Metz, emigrated first to Kentucky from Germany, and afterwards to the State of Ohio.  Jacob Metz, the emigrant, by his first marriage had four children, William, Thomas, Elizabeth, and Martha; all born in the State of Kentucky.  Elizabeth married David Sprinkle, and Martha married George Killen.  Jacob Metz was married a second time.  There were seven children of this marriage, George, Jacob, Frank, Edward, and Michael, sons; and two daughters, Amanda and Margaret.  William Metz, the father of our subject, was reared in Adams County.  He married Katherine Thomas, February 11, 1826, and she died February 10, 1845.  The children of this marriage were Sarah A., married William Anderson; Susan, married Joseph McFarland; George, married Amanda Warren; Thomas, married Elizabeth Francis; Margaret, married James McGovney; also William J., married Della Gregory; and Samuel, two sons.  The second wife of William J. Metz was Hannah Williams.  She was a grand-daughter of James Williams, a Revolutionary soldier from Washington county, Maryland, born February 22, 1759, in Chester County, Pennsylvania, and served ten months; four months in the Maryland Militia and six months in the Pennsylvania Militia; the last four being under Col. William Crawford, who was afterwards burned at the stake by the Indians June 11, 1792.
     There were seven sons of the marriage of William Metz and Hannah Williams, and no daughters; James G., David H., Jacob F., Lewis T., Edward C., Frank C., and Uriah H., of whom three are living, James G., David H., and Edward C.  Hannah Williams, the second wife of William Metz, died August 25, 1888, at the age of seventy years.  Her father, James Williams, died September 8, 1873, at the great age of ninety-five years.  His wife, Sarah Williams, died March 11, 1862, aged seventy-four years.
     William Metz, father of our subject, was a resident of the vicinity of Dunbarton, Ohio, until 1856, when he removed to Rome, and continued to reside there the remainder of his life.  He held township offices in Meigs and Greene Townships.  He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.  He was a Whig and Republican in his political views.  He was an expert in the buying and selling of live stock.  In Rome, he was engaged in the merchandising business with his son William, but gave no personal attention to the business.   He was a steward in the Methodist Episcopal Church, and a prominent man for years.  He died August 7, 1879.
     Our subject was educated in the common schools and brought up on the farm.  He enlisted in the Civil War in Company D, 173d O. V. I., on September 1, 1804, at the age of eighteen years, and he served with the regiment until the twenty-sixth of June, 1865.  He learned the trade of wagon making with J. W. Pettit, at Rockville, Adams County, Ohio.  He began as an apprentice in 1865, and bought out Pettit and carried on the business at Rockville until 1873.  He then went to Calloway County, Missouri.  He remained there nine months, came back to Rockville, and resumed his former business of wagon making.  He removed to Rome in 1875, and went to farming, and continued that for a period of four years.  In 1879, he went into the butchering business; and in 1881 he engaged as a clerk for W. T. McCormick, and remained in that business until the Fall of 1899, when he was nominated by the Republican party of Adams County for Sheriff and elected.
     He was married November 7, 1865, to Mary Devoss, daughter of David and Rachel Devoss.  They have had eight children, five of whom are living and three deceased.  His living children are Frank C., married Ann Gray, living in Rome and engaged in the timber business.  His daughter, Addie Belle, is the wife of  E. A. Scott, Superintendent of the Schools at Augusta, Ky.   His sons, James F. and George, and his daughter Bertha reside at home.  He was elected Sheriff in 1899 by a majority of ninety-one over J. W. McKee, who had been elected on the Democratic ticket two years before.
     Mr. Metz has been a Republican in his political views all his life.  He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and was Superintendent of the M. E. Sabbath School in Rome for fourteen years prior to his becoming Sheriff.  He is a Mason, Odd Fellow, and Knights of Pythias.  He is a public-spirited citizen, a Christian gentleman, and an able, careful, and painstaking public official.
 Source: History of Adams County, Ohio - by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers – West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B. Stivers - 1900 - pg.812
NOTE:  James Metz is also mentioned on page 147 serving from 1899 - 1901 as Sheriff in Adams County, Ohio.
ALSO NOTE:  Thomas Metz was mentioned on page 155 in Meigs township Qualified as Justice of the Peace on April 12, 1859 and term expired in 1862
  THOMAS METZ -

 


 Source: History of Adams County, Ohio - by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers – West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B. Stivers - 1900 - Page 154

F. J. Miller, M. D.


Residence of
F. J. Miller, M.D.,
West Union, Ohio

 DR. FLAVIUS J. MILLER, physician, Nov. 18, 1824.  He is a son of Hon. William Miller, who represented Highland County in the Ohio Legislature before the Civil War, and who was one of the leaders of the Democratic party in his county for many years.  He died recently at Hillsboro at the age of ninety-one years.  His wife was Mary Igo, of Highland County.
     The subject of the sketch was educated in the Public schools and when a young man taught several terms.  In 1845, he began the study of medicine with Dr. David Noble, of Sugartree Ridge, and attended Ohio Medical College in 1848-9.  He practiced his profession in Scioto county, Ohio, then, then in the State of Ill., and lastly in Adams County, Ohio, for a period of thirty years, since which he has been engaged in pharmacy and the real estate business.  He married Miss Eliza Bunn, Jan. 12, 1851.  She was born at Sugartree Ridge, Oct. 14, 1831.  Mr. and Mrs. Miller have no family. Dr. Miller, while not a member of any church organization, has done much to help the Christian Union Church at West Union, where he has lived many years.  He is a moralist in the fullest and best sense of the term.  In politics, he is an "old fashioned Democrat," following the footsteps of his illustrious father.  He has accumulated a  handsome fortune and is, with his life companion, enjoying in declining years the fruits of early industry and economy.
Source: History of Adams County, Ohio - by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers – West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B. Stivers - 1900 - Page 808
  WILLIAM L. MILLER was born Jan. 19, 1857, at North Liberty, son of John W. and Mary (Foster) Miller.  John Miller, his grandfather, was a native of Washington County, Pennsylvania, and emigrated to this county in 1846, and settled near West Union.  He married Mary Hamilton, of Pennsylvania, of Scotch descent, a sister of the Rev. James Hamilton, a noted Presbyterian Minister.  John W. Miller, the father of our subject, was the second son.   He was born Apr. 23, 1829, in Washington County, Pennsylvania, where he was a playmate of the Hon. James G. Blaine, in his boyhood.  He married Mary A. Foster, daughter of Col. Samuel Foster.  Col. Foster's wife was Elizabeth McNeill, born July, 1829.  He was Colonel of the Militia and Sheriff of Adams County from 1837 to 1841.
     Our subject spent his boyhood on the farm, received a common school education, and pursued his studies further at the Normal school at West Union.  He engaged in teaching for several years, and for four years he traveled as an agent for a publishing house in Cincinnati.  He was appointed School Examiner of Adams County in September, 1895, and served three years during the same period he was a teacher.
     In 1898, he removed to a farm in Wayne Township, and now gives his entire attention to the same, being the Gen. William McIntire farm, a noted "Station" in the days of the Underground Railroad.
     He was married on Sept. 19, 1887, to Kate R. Ellis, daughter of Hon. Jesse Ellis, of Aberdeen, Ohio.  They have two children, Ulric Allen, aged eight, bright beyond his years.  He could read the newspapers and write legibly at the age of four years, and is at present foremost in his classes in the first year of the High school.  Their second child, Jesse Loretus, is aged four years.
     Mr. Miller's public career has been along lines perfectly satisfactory to his many friends throughout the county, although political demagogues tried without avail for a time to rob him of well-earned honors.  He is one of the progressive men of the community in which he resides.
 Source: History of Adams County, Ohio - by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers – West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B. Stivers - 1900 - Page 803
  JOHN CLINTON MILNER


 NOTE:  CORRECTIONS - p.  190.  In the next to the last line of the third paragraph, "fifth district" should read "seventh district."
  ROBERT A. MITCHELL was born Oct. 26, 1833.  His father was Alexander Mitchell and his mother was Eleanor Foster.  They were married in Adams County and had six children.  Of those living beside our subject are Mrs. Margaret Burwell, wife of Samuel Burwell, of West Union; Mrs. Sarah Barber and Mrs. Martha Mackay, of Portsmouth.  Mr. Mitchell was born on Beasley's Fork of Brush Creek, where his father had a saw and grist mill.  His father died on June 4, 1835, of Asiatic cholera, as related in another place in this work.  After his father's death, William Kirker settled the estate and the family moved to the William Kirker farm, where of subject lived until 1852.  At seventeen, he served a two years' apprenticeship at the cabinet making trade with George Lafferty and Joseph Hayslip.  In 1852, he went to Ironton and engaged in pattern making for the Olive Foundry and Machine Works.  In 1854, he returned to Portsmouth and engaged in the same occupation with Ward, Murray & Stephenson, and remained in this business all the time until 1870.  At that time he went into the brick business at Sciotoville under the firm name of McCormick, Porter & Co.  He took the management of it and remained there for two years, when the business was changed into a corporation under the name of the Scioto Fire Brick Company.  He became the manager of that and remained there until July, 1872, when they sold that and built the Star Brick Works below Sciotoville, under the name of McConnell, Towne & Co.  It continued under that for five years, when it became the Scioto Star Fire Brick Works.  He was manager and stockholder.  In 1882, he went to Logan with W. Q. Adams, and built a fire brick works.  He removed from there to Columbus and engaged in pattern making with the Scioto Valley Railroad Company and the Columbus Machine Company.  In 1884, he removed to Portsmouth and was manager of the Portsmouth Fire Brick Company.  In 1886, he went to the Star Brick Works and remained until 1897, and then went into the Portsmouth Planing Mill and was there one year.  Since February, 1899, he has been with the Star, below Sciotoville.
     He was first married in 1886 to Jane Miller.  The children of this marriage were Frank, of Columbus, lately deceased; Mary, married Frank Brown and lives in Clay City, Kentucky, and William C., who lives in Dayton, Ky.  His first wife died Feb. 11, 1866, and on Feb. 11, 1868, he was married in Portsmouth, Ohio, to Miss Maggie Wylie.  The children of this marriage are Wylie T., a physician practicing at Greenfield, Ohio, and married to Miss Minnie Eberhardt, of Portsmouth, Ohio; a daughter, Etta, married to William Mathews; Nellie, Anna Laurie and Robert.  There are three children deceased, Maggie, died at the age of eighteen, and the other two in childhood.  His mother is still living, past ninety-three years of age, and is remarkably well preserved for her years.
     Mr. Mitchell is a man of strict integrity and business honor.  He is a Republican in politics.  He is a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Portsmouth, Ohio, and has been an elder in that church for five or six years past.
Source: History of Adams County, Ohio - by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers – West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B. Stivers - 1900 - Page 804
  BENJAMIN MONTGOMERY, of Seaman, was born Feb. 4, 1829, in Adams County, and has resided at his birthplace ever since.  His father's name was John Montgomery and his mother's maiden name, James Haines.  His maternal grand-parents came from Ireland in about 1790, and settled in Ross County, Ohio.  They were strict Covenanters.  His mother died May 29, 1849, aged sixty-two years, and is interred at Tranquility.  His mother was a very hard worker and a woman of extraordinary industry and energy and an expert spinner and weaver.  In her younger days, she made all the clothing for her father's family, and for her own, after marriage.  His father died June 16, 1862, at the age of seventy-three years, and is also buried at Tranquility.  He was born in Kentucky and removed to Adams County in 1800 with his parents, and settled on the West Fork of Brush Creek.  He was one of five brothers, and four sisters.  When a young man, he purchased a tract of land in the old Peyton survey, cleared it off, built a cabin, and then married.  He resided there until his death.  He raised five children, Hadassah, John Harvey, Andrew H., Benjamin and James B.  Andrew H., and Benjamin are the only ones now living.  His father was one of the foremost men of his neighborhood in the erection of the pioneer log houses and barns, and in the making of rails.  His paternal grandfather came from England at an early date.
     Our subject is a farmer by occupation and resides on the same farm that his father cleared.  His education was received in the log schoolhouse in the district in which he resided.
     Benjamin Montgomery was married to Margaret H. Seaton, Jan. 15, 1859, and to them were born three children, Elmer E., Mary Edith and Charles W.  Elmer E., resides with his father and has charge of the farm.  Mary Edith married H. R. Clarke, a miller employed at Harsha & Caskey's flour mills at Portsmouth, Ohio.  They have one son Frederick Benjamin Clarke.  Charles W., is a physician and is conducting a pharmacy at Bethel, Clermont County, Ohio.  He is married and has one son, Benjamin Brooks Montgomery.
     Our subject's wife died in June 7, 1897.  She was a member of the Mt. Leigh Presbyterian Church for thirty years.  She has a brother, John Seaton, living at King's Creek, Champaign County, Ohio, also, a sister, Eliza Clark, living at Harshaville, Ohio.
     Mr. Montgomery was a Democrat from the time he became of age until General Morgan with his raiders went through Adams County.  He was then converted to the Republican party by that raid and has continued identified with that political organization.  We give this statement in his own language.  He was raised a Covenanter, but for the last twenty-five years he has been a member of the Mt. Leigh Presbyterian Church.  He has a brother, Andrew H., now living in Kansas, a farmer, who, in his younger days, was a tanner and had control of the old tanyard at Rarden, Ohio, with Orville Grant, a brother of Gen. U. S. Grant, as a partner.
     Mr. Montgomery, is regarded as one of the best citizens of the county and a most excellent neighbor.  He is honest and honorable in all his dealings.  He is a model farmer.  He is one of the best judges of horses in the county and a great lover of them.  He is a man of strong sympathies with those in distress and is ever ready to express his sympathies in the manner in which they will be most appreciated.  No man stands higher in his sympathies in the manner in which they will be most appreciated.  No man stands higher in his community in public esteem.
 Source: History of Adams County, Ohio - by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers – West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B. Stivers - 1900 - Page 806
  CAPT. OSCAR F. MOORE

Source: History of Adams County, Ohio - by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers – West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B. Stivers - 1900 - Page

  JONATHAN D. MORRIS began the practice of law in Clermont County, Ohio, in 1828.  In 1831, he was appointed clerk of the courts, which position he held until 1846, and in 1847 he was elected to congress to fill the vacancy caused by the death of General Thomas L. Hamer, and was re-elected in 1849.
     He was a faithful, conscientious and popular official and for a quarter of a century exerted a controlling influence in his country's history, being a leader of political opinion and a man in whom the public reposed great confidence.
Source: History of Adams County, Ohio - by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers – West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B. Stivers - 1900 - Page 310
  DAVID MORRISON was born Sept. 16, 1807, in Pennsylvania.  He was a nephew of John Loughry.  He went from Pennsylvania direct to Rockville to engage in business under Mr. Loughry.  He was married to Martha Mitchell, the daughter of Associate Judge David Mitchell, on the twenty-eighth day of November, 1835, by Rev. Eleazor Brainard, and they went to house-keeping in Rockville.  He remained with John Loughry from about 1831 to 1841 as a superintendent of the business of quarrying and shipping stone.  From 1841 to 1847, he was engaged in boating on the Ohio River.  He owned a tow-boat and a number of barges and engaged in transporting heavy goods on the Ohio River.  He would load them on barges and tow the barges.  From 1851 to 1859, he resided in Covington, Kentucky.  He bought the Judge Mitchell farm, now owned by his sons, Albert R. and James H. Morrison, and removed there in 1850 and resided there until his death, though he never was at any time a farmer, but was always engaged on the river.  He was a large man, weighing over two hundred and fifty pounds and was always active and energetic.  He died suddenly Mar. 23, 1863, from the effects of an operation on his eyes.  His wife survived him until Mar. 18, 1886.  they both rest in the Mitchell Cemetery on the hill overlooking the home of Judge David Mitchell, her father.  They had the following children:  Mary, wife of Loyal Wilcox, residing in Kansas.  She has a large family and a son and daughter married.  Armour Morrison resides in Chicago and is engaged in the life insurance business; Albert R. Morrison married Elizabeth McMasters, and resides in the old home in Nile township, Scioto County; James H. Morrison, the second son, resides in Portsmouth, Ohio; Charles W. Morrison, the youngest son, is a teacher of music in the conservatory of music at Oberlin College, and has been so engaged for twenty-three years.  He went there as a young man to study music and after he had completed his studies there and in Europe, he was engaged to teach there and has remained ever since.  The sons are all like their father - active, energetic and industrious 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 602
  JAMES H. MORRISON, the second son of David and Martha (Mitchell) Morrison, was born at Covington, Kentucky, June 18, 1861.  When he was six years old the family returned to the old Mitchell home in Nile Township, Scioto County.  He attended school at Elm Tree schoolhouse and obtained his education there.  He is a traveling salesman, and began as such in 1880 for J. L. Hibbs & Company, of Portsmouth, Ohio.  He traveled for them two years, then with McFarland, Sanford & Company, of Portsmouth, Ohio; for Vorheis, Miller & Rupel, of Cincinnati, Ohio; for Jacobs & Sachs, of Cincinnati, Ohio, and for Sanford, Storrs & Varner.
     Our subject is a Republican, but takes no active part in political affairs.
     On Nov. 3, 1874, he was married to Miss Ora D. McCall, daughter of Henry McCall, of Nile Township, Scioto County, Ohio.  He has two children living, Louise, aged fourteen and James Hines, aged ten.  His son, Henry McCall, volunteered in the Spanish War in April, 1898, in Company H, Fourth O. V. I.  The regiment was sent to Porto Rico, and when about to return, he was taken sick and died on shipboard Oct. 26, 1898, and was buried at sea.  He was but nineteen years old at the time of his death.
 Source: History of Adams County, Ohio - by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers – West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B. Stivers - 1900 - Page 806
  JOHN WILLIAM MORRISON.  His birth was Nov 12, 1853.  He was the son of James Morrison and Mary J. Cobler, his wife.  His grandfather, William Morrison, married a daughter of Ralph Peterson.  Our subject was educated in the common schools and was a farmer all his life.  His father was a member of Company K, 181st O. V. I.  He enlisted Oct. 7, 1864, and died Mar. 16, 1865, while home on furlough, from the results of the service, when his son, our subject, was but twelve years of age.  he was left the eldest of seven children, with his widowed mother , to face the worked and hold the family together, and right nobly did he bear his burden.  These children ranged from twelve to one year of age, three brothers and three sisters, whose care, support and education devolved almost wholly on him.  That they have taken their places in the world in honorable positions is largely due to the example and force of character of their elder brother.
     Our subject was married Oct. 29, 1884, to Miss Margaret E. Carson, daughter of James Carson and Eleanor Greathouse, his wife, a woman of a most lovely and lovable disposition.  The marriage was a very happy one.  He and his wife located near Peebles.  His domestic happiness was not, however, to last long.  In June, 1896, he was taken with a catarrh of the bowels, and the disease steadily progressed till the sixth of July, 1897, when he passed from Earth to Heaven.
     During the thirteen years of his married life he was blessed with four children; two of these died in infancy and two, a daughter, Mary Ellen, and a son Alfred Alonzo, survive.
     In his political views he was a Democrat.  He was not a member of any fraternal organization.  He was a member of the Christian Disciple Church and lived up to its teachings.  In all his tastes he was domestic.  He felt that he belonged to his wife and children as well as they to him, and for this reason was not a fraternity man.  He believed in doing the duty nearest to him and pursued it.  Dying in the prime of high noon of life, he was not permitted to demonstrate what his energies, his mind and heart could accomplish, but his career to its ending gave promise of a life full of usefulness and honor.  He was reserved in his intercourse with his fellows, unassuming and even tempered.  He was honorable, just and obliging..  He was most sympathetic with those in sickness or affliction, and they could and did most gratefully appreciate his ministrations
     He left a record of human sympathy, of religious feeling and experience, of affection in his family and among his friends, of industry, economy, which will yield a sweet smelling incense so long as it shall remain.  He did not live in vain and his memory is a benediction speaking blessed words to those who feel his loss.
Source: History of Adams County, Ohio - by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers – West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B. Stivers - 1900 - Page 797
  REV. MARION MORRISON, was born in Adams County, Ohio, June 2, 1821.  He received his common school education in a log schoolhouse near his father's home.  He taught school three winters, continuing to work on the farm in the summer.  In 1842, he started to college at Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, graduated in 1846, and was licensed to preach the Gospel by the Chillicothe Presbytery, April, 1849, and was ordained by the same Aug. 21, 1858.  He was Pastor of Tranquility congregation for six years.  He was elected as Professor of Mathematics in Monmouth College, Illinois, in 1856 and served in that capacity until the autumn of 1862.  He was Chaplain of the 9th Illinois Regiment from Aug, 1863, until Aug, 1864.  He published the Western Presbyterian for several years at Monmouth, Illinois; was pastor of Fairfield, Illinois, congregation from Jan. 1, 1866, until Dec., 1870; of Amity, Iowa, from Mar. 1, 1871, until Aug. 30, 1876.  He was appointed general Missionary by the General Assembly of the United Presbyterian Church for Nebraska and Kansas and served in that capacity for one year.  He was pastor of Mission Creek Church from Apr. 1, 1878, until Dec. 1, 1889; was pastor of the U. P. congregation at Starkville, Miss., for about one and a half years.  When there, he broke down with nervous prostration and had to abandon the active work of the ministry.  He returned to Mission Creek, Nebraska, and has made his home with his only daughter, Mrs. Elizabeth Barr, ever since, preaching only occasionally when able. 
     He received the degree of D. D. from Monmouth College.  He is the author of the "Life of the Rev. David MacDill, D. D.," and of the "History of the Ninth Regiment of the Illinois Volunteers."
     Dr. Morrison has been a whole-souled, industrious, active and earnest preacher.
 Source: History of Adams County, Ohio - by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers – West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B. Stivers - 1900 - Page 591
  JUDGE ROBERT MORRISON had quite a checkered career.  He was born in County Antrim, Ireland, Nov. 29, 1782.  His father died while he was an infant, and he was reared by his mother.  She was a Presbyterian and her instructions and prayers followed him all his life.  But she did not only instruct and pray for him.  She was a firm believer in King Solomon's theories as to the rod and she carried them into practice.  One day he an out of school without permission and started home.  The teacher pursued him and Robert Threw a stone and lamed him.  When he reached home, his mother learned of his escapade, and promised him a whipping the next morning.  He lay awake all night thinking about it, but he received it and remembered it all his life.  His education was very meagre, and when a mere boy he was put out to learn the trade of a linen weaver.  Before he was nineteen years of age, he was engaged in manufacturing and selling linen cloth.  Being of a very adventuresome disposition, he joined the United Irishmen, and as result of it was he was compelled to flee from Ireland to save his life.  Lord Fitzgerald smuggled him out of Ireland.  He came to this country accompanied by his mother and an uncle.  He landed at New York in 1801 in the nineteenth year of his age.  He went to South Carolina with his uncle and mother to visit two paternal uncles.  South Carolina did not impress young Morrison, and he went to Kentucky in 1802, and located near Flemingsburg.  While here, he connected himself with the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, and in 1803 married Miss Mary Mitchell, sister of Judge Mitchell, of Preble County, and the day after his marriage, he and his bride set out for Ohio.  They settled on Cherry Fork.  He purchased a tract of land all in forest.  Sometime after his purchase, adverse claims being made, he went to Lexington, Kentucky, and consulted the great Henry Clay as to his title.  Clay advised him that his title was god, but that he had better buy off the advised him that his title was good, but that he had better buy off the claim than to litigate.  Mr. Clay's fee was five dollars for the advice.  Young Morrison dug the first grave in the Cherry Fork burying ground, and was one of those who organized the Cherry Fork A. R. Church in 1805.  The congregation then consisted of twelve or fifteen families.  He was naturalized at the Apirl 534m of 1810 of the Adams Court of Common Pleas.  In 1813, he lost his wife.  She left six children, one only seven days old.  He was almost immediately called into the war, and went with an expedition to Fort Wayne.  In this, he was Captain Morrison, commanding a company of dragoons.  In the general call in 1814, he served as captain of a company of infantry, and was part of the time acting colonel of the regiment.  During the campaign he formed a great friendship for Gen. William Henry Harrison, and the latter offered him a captain's commission in the regular army, but he declined.  On June 28, 1814, he married Miss Phoebe McGowan, who survived him.  In 1816, he was made a ruling elder in the church at North Liberty.  In December, 1817, he was elected to the legislature.  He was re-elected in 1818, 1819 and 1820.  While serving in the legislature, he was elected a brigadier general of the militia.  In the legislature, he defeated a bill to abolish capital punishment.  After serving four terms in the legislature, he declined renomination.  On Feb. 21, 1821, he had his friend, Thomas Kirker, elected as associate judge of Adams County.  Gov. Kirker did not like the place and resigned in October, 1821.  The governor appointed Robert Morrison in his place.  On the fourth of February, 1822, he was elected to the full term of seven years, re-elected in 1829 and served until 1836.  In 1838, he was reelected and served until the new constitution took effect on Sept. 1, 1851.  One who knew him best has written the following comments on his character:
     "His early education was very limited, but in reality he educated himself as a good practical lawyer while occupying the position of Associate Judge in Adams County.  He became remarkably familiar with the principles of the common law.  His friendly advice was frequently sought in disputes likely to go into the courts.  His advice was always against going to law.  Often both parties to a controversy would come to him for advice.  If it were a matter of dollars and cents merely, he would advice a compromise.  If t were a matter of principle, he was as uncompromising as any other hard-headed Irishman.  When it was a matter of right and wrong, he always sought to have the party in the efforts he would make to bring them together."
     In his large family, his word was law, His children all understood that.  It was seldom he had to use Solomon's remedy among his children.  The idea of neglecting or refusing to obey any command of his, never, at any time, entered one of his children's minds.  He had the respect of all who knew him, and as to those who did not know him, he had a natural dignity which commanded their respect.  Most of the associate judges were content to be nobodies, but it was not so with him.  He was a force wherever he was.  He was endowed with a wonderful amount of common sense, possessed great tact, was overflowing with kindly humor and was kind and courteous to all.  As an officer of the church, he kept down all difficulties.  Had he lived in the time of the judges in Israel, he would have been one of them.  In his early days, he was a Jefferson Democrat, but he was anti-slavery, and that took him away from that party, and placed him in opposition to it.
     After retiring from the duties of associate judge in 1851, he resided quietly on his farm till he was called hence on the tenth day of February, 1863.
     The following ar ethe names of his children, with the dates of their births:
     Alexander, born 1804, married Elizabeth Ewing.
     Sarah, born Oct. 25, 1805, married John S. Patton.
     Mitchell, born Oct. 9, 1807, married Jane Wright, second time a Ewing.
     Nancy, born Oct. 21, 1809,  married W. D. Ewing.
     James, born Sept. 21, 1811, married Rebecca Ewing, second wife's name unknown.
     Mary, Jan. 21, 1816, married William Eckman.
     John, Aug. 8, 1817, married Julia Ann Pittinger.  He was the merchant at Eckmansville for many years.
     Robert, Aug. 12, 1819, married Elizabeth Patton.  He and his wife are both living.
     Marion, June 8, 1821, married Elizabeth T. Brown.  He is living at Mission Ridge, Neb.
     Elizabeth, Aug. 3, 1823, married William McMillen.
     William, July 20, 1828, married Emiline Allison.
     Harvey, Mar. 12, 1831, died in childhood.
     Matilda, Apr. 4, 1833, married first Mr. Glass, and second, Mr. Pittinger.
     Robert, July 12, 1813, died an infant. 
Source: History of Adams County, Ohio - by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers – West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B. Stivers - 1900 - Page 280 - Chapter XVI - Politics
  JEREMIAH MORROW was the first congressman from Ohio.  He was born in Gettysburg, Adams County, Pennsylvania, Oct. 6, 1771.  His father was a farmer, and he was brought up on the farm.  He attended a private school at Gettysburg, and was especially bright in mathematics and surveying, which were his favorite studies.  In 1795 he emigrated to the Northwest Territory, and settled at Columbia, near Cincinnati.  At Columbia he taught school, did surveying, and worked on the farm.  Having saved some money, he went to Warren County, bought a large farm and erected a log house.  In the spring of 1799 he married Miss Mary Packhill, of Columbia.
     In 1801 he was elected to the territorial legislature.  He was a delegate to the constitutional convention in 1802,.  In March, 1803, he was elected to congress, and re-elected ten times.  While in congress he was chairman of the committee on public lands.  In 1813 he was elected to the United States senate, and was made chairman of the committee on Public lands.  In 1814 he was appointed Indian commissioner.  At the close of his term he retired to his farm.
     In early life he became a member of the United Presbyterian Church, and devoted himself to its welfare all his life.
     In 1820 he was a candidate for governor, and received 9,476 votes, to 34,836 for Ethan A. Brown, who was elected.  In 1822 he was elected governor by 26,059 votes, to 22,889 for Allen Trimble and 11,150 for William W. Irwin, and re-elected in 1824 by the following vote: 39,526 for him, and 37,108 for Allen Trimble.  During his service as governor, the canal system of Ohio was inaugurated, and Lafayette's visit to the state took place.  On the fourth of July, 1839, he laid the corner stone of the capital at Columbus.  In 1840 he was re-elected to congress to fill a vacancy caused by the death of Thomas Corwin, and was re-elected.  He was a deep thinker, a delightful social companion, had a wonderful retentive memory, boundless kindness of heart and endowed with much vivacity and cheerfulness of spirit.  He died Mar. 22, 1853.
Source: History of Adams County, Ohio - by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers – West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B. Stivers - 1900 - Page 300
  JOHN G. MOSS, of West Union, Ohio, was born Jan. 23, 1864, in Dover, Mason County, Ky.  His father is Charles H. Moss, a native of West Virginia.  His mother was Ellen D. Byant.  His father removed to Kentucky in 1851, and his parents were married there, Dec. 6, 1860.  They resided there until our subject was fourteen years of age, when they removed to Ohio.  He was educated in the common schools.  He was married Sept. 29, 1889, to Miss Sophia M. Woods, daughter of Dr. D. H. Woods.  He has been engaged in business in West Union since 1890, first in dry goods, and since 1893, in the livery business.  He is regarded as a good business man and well esteemed by all who know him.  His wife conducts one of the most fashionable millinery emporiums in Adams County.
 Source: History of Adams County, Ohio - by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers – West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B. Stivers - 1900 - Page 810
  REV. ABRAM K. MURPHY, was born Oct. 2, 1849.  He went to school at Granville from 1879 to 1882.  This included his theological and academical course.  In 1872, he was made a minister in the Baptist Church.  He was ordained at Rome, in Adams County.  He has preached at Winchester, West Union, Hillsboro, New Market, Wheelersburg, and is now in Ashland, Kentucky.
     On Mar. 27, 1883, he was married to Miss Fannie Kirkendall.  They have three children living, Sarah Kelley, Charles F. and Lou W.  He lost one son at the age of eight years, Hered, who was drowned in the Ohio Canal.  He has always been a Republican in his political views.  For the past eleven years, he has been a resident of Rushtown, Scioto County, Ohio.
     He is highly esteemed as a citizen in his community, and as a minister, holds a high and influential position in his church.
     At the time of the writing of this sketch, he is engaged as minister of a Baptist Church in Ashland, Ky.
Source: History of Adams County, Ohio - by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers – West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B. Stivers - 1900 - Page 810
  CHARLES W. MURPHY

Source: History of Adams County, Ohio - by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers – West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B. Stivers - 1900 - Page 149

Capt. David A. Murphy		   CAPT. DAVID ASBURY MURPHY, of Oxford, Ohio, the oldest son of David W. and Cynthia A. Murphy, was born on a farm at Shamrock, Adams County, Ohio, Apr. 3, 1842.  He was married at Portsmouth, Ohio, Sept. 18, 1865, to Miss Jennie M. Ball.
     Army Record: 
     Private, Company H, 81st Ohio Volunteer Infantry, 1862-4;
     184th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, 1865;
     Acting Assistant Adjutant General on Staff of Brevet Brigadier General Henry S. Commager, at Bridgeport, Alabama, 1865.
     Editor:  The Kentucky and Ohio Union, Portsmouth, Ohio, 1861-2;  The Danville, Kentucky, Tribune, 1880-6; The Findlay, Ohio, Tribune, 1887-8.
     Superintendent of Construction of U. S. Public Buildings: Frankfort, Kentucky, 1883-5;  Jefferson, Texas, 1889-90; Clarksville, Tennessee, 1887-8.
     Author of:  "My Mother's Bible,"  "Serenade to McKinley," and "God-given Republic."

The God-Given Republic.
I.

The modern Republic, salubrious its clime,
  Its domain extends from sea unto sea;
Its valleys are fruitful and its mountains sublime,
  As merry song-birds, its children are free.
Happy are the thrifty beneath its flag unfurled.
America, God's land, the garden of the world!

II.

The mighty Republic, intelligence its goal,
     The people their will by ballots decree;
Justice and good laws the masses guard and control,
     Freedom, man's birthright, brooks no tyranny.
Homesteads for the homeless beneath its flag unfurled.
America, God's land, the refuge of the world!

III.

The matchless Republic, fraternity its sun,
  All may worship God as conscience dictates;
Equal rights unto all, special grants unto none,
  The Federal Union holds fort-five States.
Brotherhood and free speech beneath its flag unfurled,
America, God's land, the Canaan of the world!

Source: History of Adams County, Ohio - by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers – West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B. Stivers - 1900 - Page 812
  DAVID WHITTAKER MURPHY, son of Recompense Murphy and Catherine Newkirk his wife, was born in Salem County, New Jersey, in 1800.  He was brought by his parents to Adams County when five years of age.
     This incident occurred when our subject was about twelve years of age.  He and another boy near his own age were crossing the Ohio River in a canoe, one sitting at either end.  When they had gotton far into the current, they noticed a large animal swimming toward them.  It proved to be a bear, nearly grown, and was almost exhausted by its efforts.  Seeing them, it made for their canoe and climbed in.  The boys, of course, where very much frightened, but nevertheless, continued paddling their canoe to the landing.  The moment they touched the shore, bruin sprang out and disappeared.  The boys were as glad to be ride of their shaggy companion as he was of their company.
     Our subject grew to manhood in Sandy Springs, neighborhood, having the advantages of such schools as were there, and having the fun and sports that boys of his time were privileged to have.  His first wife was a Miss Julia Ann Turner, whom he married in Bracken County, Kentucky.  By this marriage there were two sons and a daughter; James, William and Anna Maria.  The sons both went South before the Civil War, and were soldiers in the Confederate Army.  William was Lieutenant of a Mississippi Battery.
     David Murphy's second wife was Cynthia Givens, a widow, whose maiden name was McCall.  The children of this marriage were David A., married to Jennie M. Ball, of Portsmouth, Ohio, now living at Oxford.  Ella M. Evans, wife of Mitchell Evans, a prominent citizens of Scioto County, residing at Friendship, Ohio; Leonidas Hamline, a partner in the well known wholesale she house of C. P. Tracy & Company, of Portsmouth; John Fletcher Murphy, a clerk in the Auditor's Office of the Baltimore & Ohio Southwestern Railway Company, in Cincinnati, and Miss Tillie M. Murphy, residing at Valparaiso, Indiana.  Our subject and his second wife, Cynthia Givens, were earnest members of the Methodist Church all their days.  Until 1848, he was a farmer, residing in Adams County, Ohio.  In that year he left Adams County and removed to Buena Vista, just over the line of Adams County, in Scioto County, where he kept a hotel for awhile.  He was postmaster at Buena Vista from 1868 until 1873.  His home in Buena Vista was a delightful one where it was always pleasant to visit.  After the death of his second wife, in 1873, he made his home with his daughter, Mrs. Evans, of Friendship, Ohio, until his death in 1892.  Mr. Murphy had a great deal of dry humor and could express himself so as to entertain his hearers and amuse them at the same time.  He was always anti-slavery, and once, a long time before the war, being asked if he would help execute the Fugitive Slave Law, he said, "Yes, if called by the United States Marshal to be part of a posse to catch fugitives, I would  help as I must obey the law, but I would be very lame."  He served as a Justice of the Peace in the two counties of Adams and Scioto, for a period of fifty years, and his decisions gave general satisfaction.  He could draw an ordinary deed as well as any lawyer.  In politics, he was a Whig, until the Republican party was organized, when, after 1856, he went into that party and remained a member of it during his life.  However, he voted for Fillmore for President in 1856, because he felt that his election would better preserve the Union.  In 1860, he voted for Lincoln and for every Republican presidential candidate from that time until 1888, his last presidential vote, which was for Benjamin Harrison.  He died in February, 1892.
Source: History of Adams County, Ohio - by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers – West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B. Stivers - 1900 - Page 593
  JAMES ALEXANDER MURPHY was born June 11, 1828, at Buford, in Highland County.  His father was Andrew Murphy and his mother, Mary Chapman.  His father died when he was only two years of age.  At the age of ten years he was apprenticed to a blacksmith, Jack McQuitty, at Buford, and served until he was eighteen years of age.  At that age, he went to High School at Greenfield, Ohio.  He studied medicine with Dr. Higgins, in Buford, and completed his medical course in 1850.  He located in Rarden, Scioto County, and practiced medicine there until 1852.  He then gave up the practice of medicine and began keeping a store at Locust Grove.  Jan. 19, 1854, he married Miss Eliza Ann Crabb, at her father's (Alexander Crabb) home, near Locust Grove.  Her mother's maiden name was Sarah McCutcheon.  Our subject and his wife began housekeeping in the Grove and resided there unto; 1958. when they removed on the Crabb farm now occupied by George Murphy.
     In November, 1861, Mr. Murphy returned to merchandising in Locus Grove and continued it until Aug. 19, 1862, when he became Captain of Company E, 117th O. V. I., afterwards, Company E, First Ohio Heavy Artillery, and served with this company until the twenty-fifth of July, 1865.  Captain Murphy was a brave and a patriotic citizen and he induced his neighbors and friends very generally to enter the service.  He certainly did his full share by influence and example in the suppression of the Rebellion.  When he returned from the army, he resumed the business of merchandising and conducted it until 1872, when he sold out his stock of goods and purchased the Platter farm, to which he removed, and on which he continued to reside until his death.  He conducted his farm from 1872 until 1884.  In the latter year his health gave way and he was unable thereafter to farm or attend to any active business.  From that time until his death on Sept. 2, 1893, he was an invalid.  He died in pulmonary consumption brought on by the hardships and exposures of his service in the Civil War.  His life was undoubtedly shortened many years on account of his army service, and to him it may be truly said his life was a sacrifice to his country.  Captain Murphy was a large man of powerful physique and commanding presence.  His personal appearance would attract attention anywhere.  He was of a pleasant and courteous disposition and very well liked by his neighbors.  In his own business he was a good manager and he was a forceful man in the community.  He was a Whig and a Republican.  At one time he was a Trustee of his Township.  He was a candidate for County Treasurer on the Republican Ticket, in 1869, but was defeated.  He was a member of the Masonic order and was always a good citizen.  His widow still survives.  His eldest daughter, Sarah Ann, is the wife of Dr. James S. Berry of Peebles.  His second daughter, Mary A., is the wife of William Custer, of Peebles.  His son, John Andrew, is at home with his mother.  His son, Canova Vandexter, resides in Clinton County and is a farmer.  His son George Washington, lives on the home farm north of Locust Grove.  His son, William David, is a physician in Fayette, Fulton County, 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 796
  LEONIDAS H. MURPHY was born in Greene Township, Adams County, Oct. 16, 1847, son of David Whittaker Murphy and his wife, Cynthia McCall.  In 1849, his father moved to Buena Vista, in Scioto County.  He attended the District school until he was fifteen years of age, and had the advantage of the township library, kept at his father's home, and all its books be read.  In 1851, he took his first lessons in merchandising in the store of Major W. C. Henry.  In 1862, he worked on a farm for six months.  In 1863, he was employed as a foreman by Calden Brothers for six months.  On Sept. 16, 1863, he came to Portsmouth and entered the house of C. P. Tracy & Company, wholesale shoe merchants, and for thirty-six years, from that time to the present, has been connected, and since 1868, he has been a partner in the same house.
     Mr. Murphy has always been a Republican in his political views, but has steadily declined to be a candidate for any office.  He never served in a public appointment, but that of Jury Commissioner of his county from 1894 to 1897.  He has been a member of Bigelow M. E. Church since his residence in Portsmouth.  He has been a steward of that church for thirty years and Superintendent of its Sunday School for four years.  He was married Feb. 2, 1870, to Mary Katherine, daughter of Daniel McIntire, who in former years was a prominent contractor and builder in Portsmouth.  He has three children, Laura, wife of Louis D. McCall, of Chicago; Dr. Charles T. Murphy, of the same place; Arthur Lee, a student at Pennington Seminary, N. J., and Julia Alice, residing at home.
     Mr. Murphy, while confined closely to his adopted city by his business, yet finds time to read much and keep thoroughly abreast with the times.  He is a steady and hard worker in his business and in the activities of his church, but every Summer he takes a vacation of two to four weeks in which he rests himself by following the pursuit of fishing.  H is an enthusiastic disciple of Isaac Walton.
     Mr. Murphy believes that the highest duty to man is to perform well, every day, and from day to day, the obligations before him in business, in society, in the church and in municipal and State affairs.  In following this guiding principle for over thirty years, he ahs aided in building up one of the most substantial business houses in the State.
     In following up this principle in the church, he has been an important factor in maintaing one of the most flourishing Methodist Episcopal Churches in the country, and for himself has established a character in business circles and in the State of which both he and his associates in business, his friends in the church and his fellow citizens may well be proud.  In all matters, his word is as good as his bond and the latter is equal to the gold standard all the time.
Source: History of Adams County, Ohio - by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers – West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B. Stivers - 1900 - Page 810
  RECOMPENSE MURPHY was born in Pitts' Grove, Salem, County, New Jersey, in 1774.  He emigrated to Ohio in 1805, coming down the river in a flat-boat.  He had been married in New Jersey to Catherine Newkirk.  Her grandfather was David Whittaker, and he and his wife followed Recompense Murphy to Ohio.
     Our subject located the first summer on the Ohio River, at the mouth of Turkey Creek, in Scioto County.  After that, he went to Sandy Springs, Adams County, where he bought land and farmed.  He built a brick house on his land near the river front, which has long since disappeared, having been destroyed by the encroachments of the Ohio River.  He had a brother William who came with him from New Jersey, but removed to Illinois, were he died.  Samuel Murphy, another brother, located near David, was the father of the celebrated Professor Swing, of Chicago.  Another sister, Elizabeth, married a Mr. Ogden and lived at Fairmount, near Cincinnati.
     The children of Recompense Murphy were David Whittaker Murphy, born in 1800, of whom a separate sketch appears, Jacob Murphy, who located in Whiteside County, Illinois, and retaining the Presbyterian faith of his mother, became an elder in the church there; Recompense Sherry Murphy, who lived and died at Sandy Springs; Samuel M. Murphy, of Garrison's, Kentucky, now deceased; John Murphy, who resided near Quincy, Kentucky; William, who emigrated to California; Robert who died at the age of eighteen; Rebecca, wife of Simon Truitt, who resides at Agricola, Coffey County, Kansas, at the age of eighty-seven; Rachel Warring, who removed to Posey County, Indiana; Catherine Cox, widow of Martin Cox, who resides at Rome, Ohio, and is the mother of Mrs. Rev. J. W. Dillon, of Portsmouth, Ohio, and Mary Ann Baird, wife of Harvey Baird, who removed to Illinois.
     Recompense Murphy's first wife was a Presbyterian, a member of the Sandy Springs Church from 1826 until her death, June 30, 1832.  Recompense Murphy was married a second time to Matilda Ives, a widow whose maiden name was Fuller, a native of Broome County, New York.  Her father was at one time a member of the General Assembly of that State....  She was a shrewd, keen Yankee.  Some time in the sixties, she removed to her home in New York and died there.
     Recompense Murphy died Nov. 18, 1844.  He made his will Feb. 25, 1837.  It was witnessed by Socrates Holbrook, Robert W. Robb, Isaac Carr and J. D. Redden.  It was proven Dec. 20, 1844, in Adams County.  He gave his mansion house and one-third of his farm to his wife.  He mentioned all of his children, but having already provided for four of his sons, he provided in the will for the remaining sons, and two daughters.  The document indicates that he was a just man.  He was a member of the Sandy Springs Baptist Church, joining the same after his second marriage, and died in that faith.  He was an excellent citizen and aimed to do his part in Every respect in his place in the world and his cotemporaries have left the record that accomplished what he undertook.  His descendants are living witnesses that his training produced the best results.
 Source: History of Adams County, Ohio - by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers – West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B. Stivers - 1900 - Page 592
  RECOMPENSE SHERRY MURPHY was a son of Recompense and Catherine (Newkirk) Murphy, who came from New Jersey and settled at the mouth of Turkey Creek, Scioto County, Ohio, in 1805, where the subject of this sketch was born May 12, 1806.  Recompense Murphy, Senior, soon after moved to the Irish Bottoms in Adams County, and located on a farm.
     Recompense Sherry Murphy spent his early life working on the farm.  He was married to Rachel Kelley, Aug. 4, 1831.  They lived together in happy wedlock for fifty-three years.  To them were born nine children, four boys and five girls, of whom the following are living: Mary Burwell, Troy, Ohio; Emman McCall, Agricola, Kansas; John R., Wellsville, Kansas; Abram K., of Rushtown, Ohio, and Lucy Givens, of Buena Vista, Ohio.
     He united with the Baptist Church about 1835 and remained a devoted member until his death.  In politics, he was an unwavering Republican.  His wife died May 28, 1883, and he followed her Jan. 5, 1801, aged eighty-five years.
Source: History of Adams County, Ohio - by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers – West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B. Stivers - 1900 - Page 594
  ALFRED B. MYERS, (deceased), a son of James Myers and Salina Howard, his wife, was born in Union Township, Brown County, Ohio, Mar. 25, 1855.  The paternal grandfather of our subject, John Myers, came from Pennsylvania to Brown County in pioneer days and settled on the old McCain farm near Ripley.  Here James Myers was born in August, 1819.  He grew to man's estate and married Salina, a daughter of Abner Howard, a prominent farmer of Union Township.  James Myers was an industrious and frugal husbandman, and became one of the wealthy men of his community.  He died July 2, 1892, his faithful wife having gone before, Apr. 11, 1890.
     On Jan. 24, 1876, Alfred B. Myers was united in marriage to Miss Melissa Tumbleson, daughter of Abel and Mary Higgins, Tumbleson, of Sprigg Township, Adams County.  Mr. and Mrs. Tumbleson were devout and earnest members of the Christian or "New Light" Church, and their home was the stopping place for Elder Matthew Gardner, Rev. William Pangburn, and other fathers of the church.
     To Alfred B. Myers and his wife were born James W., deceased, a son who died in infancy, and Clifton G., a bright young man now at home with his mother, the father having died in Brown County, Nov. 14, 1883.  In 1886, his widow removed to Sprigg Township, Adams County, where she now lives.
Source: History of Adams County, Ohio - by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers – West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B. Stivers - 1900 - Page 794

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