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BIOGRAPHIES
(Transcribed by Sharon Wick)
 Source:
History of Ashland County, Ohio
with Illustrations and Biographical
Sketches,
by George William Hill, M.D. -
Published by Williams Bros.
-1880 -
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1880 BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX >
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HARVEY
SACKET was born in Warren, Connecticut, December 24, 1791.
He came to Tallmadge, Ohio, with his father in 1811. In 1812
he was drafted, and served six months in the army of the
northwest. In 1816 he returned to Connecticut and married
Thalia Eldred, and located in Tallmadge until 1825, when he
removed to Ruggles township, on lot eleven, section three.
He removed with ox teams, and owing to sparseness of settlers, and
the narrow forest paths, was eight days on the way. Mr.
Sacket died August 11, 1875. He was twice married.
His family by his first wife was: Dimmes, wife of Mr.
Sarah; Erastus and Erasmus M.; Irena, wife of
C. Curtiss. His first wife died in 1843, and in 1844 he
married Mrs. Mary Van Vranken, widow of Garrett Van
Vranken. He had one son, Justus H. Sacket, by his
second wife. Justus resides on the homestead.
Mr. Sacket was long a member of the Congregational church,
and was an excellent citizen. He was the first justice of
Ruggles. Most of the family reside in Ruggles township.
Source:
History of Ashland County, Ohio with Illustrations and
Biographical Sketches, by George William Hill, M.D. - Published
by Williams Bros. 1880. - Page 179 |
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JEREMIAH SANBORN was born
in Chichester, New Hampshire, in 1795; and came to Ohio in July,
1837, and settled in Loudonville. By trade he was a
carpenter and joiner. He was a member of the Swedenborgian
church, and in politics was an old line Whig. He married
Clarissa Smith, and died on Sept. 14, 1846. His
wife survived him and died in 1866. To them four children
were born, viz.: Gilman S., and JeremiahL.,
who are living in Colorado; Joseph H., who married
Clara Smith, and lives in Loudonville, and Charles H.,
living in Nevada.
Source:
History of Ashland County, Ohio with Illustrations and
Biographical Sketches, by George William Hill, M.D. - Published
by Williams Bros. 1880. - Page 293 |
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JOSEPH SANBORN was born in
New Hampshire and came to Ohio with his father in 1837.
In 1864 he married Clara Smith, and for some time made
clerking his business. He was in the employ of N.
Haskell, afterwards with Taylor & Larwille, of
Loudonville. He has been ticket agent in Loudonville for
the Pittsburgh, Ft. Wayne & Chicago railroad for the last
twenty-two years, and has held the office of town clerk for two
terms. He is a consistent member of the Presbyterian
church, an exemplary man, honored and respected by all. In
politics he is a Republican. He has had four children:
Haven L., Mary A., Clarissa L. (deceased), and Gilman
S.
Source:
History of Ashland County, Ohio with Illustrations and
Biographical Sketches, by George William Hill, M.D. - Published
by Williams Bros. 1880. - Page 293 |
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DR.
ANDREW J. SCOTT was born in Richland county, Ohio, Nov.
12, 1827. He obtained a liberal education, and upon
reaching manhood became a successful teacher. He was
principal of the Loudonville academy for some years. He
read medicine in the office of Dr. E. B. Fuller, attended
lectures at Starling medical college, Columbus, Ohio, at Buffalo
university, at the medical department of Havard college,
and college of physicians and surgeons. He opened an
office in Loudonville, in 1853, and has been in successful
practice to the present, 1876. Since his graduation he has
become a member of the Ashland county medical society, and also
of the Ohio State medical society. He is also
corresponding member of the gynæcological
society of Boston, and a member of the American medical
association. He takes a deep interest in literary
pursuits, and when a teacher, was regarded as one of the best
mathematicians in the county. He has been three times
married, twice to daughters of Dr. E. B. Fuller. He
is of Scotch-Irish descent, and possesses all the enthusiasm of
both races. Possessed of a strong will, he is resolute in
the prosecution of whatever he deems right. If health
permits, he has the attainments to achieve a fine reputation in
the medical profession. He would acquit himself ably in
any of the medical colleges of this State. He is a fluent
conversationalist, a ready speaker, and a clear thinker.
Source:
History of Ashland County, Ohio with Illustrations and
Biographical Sketches, by George William Hill, M.D. - Published
by Williams Bros. 1880. - Page 167 |
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Vermillion Twp. -
O. H. SCOTT was born in Mifflin county,
Pennsylvania, in 1821, and came with his parents to Jefferson
county, Ohio when he was three years old. Hugh Scott,
his father, died in Jefferson county, soon after, and, at the
age of six years, Mr. Scott came with his mother to
Ashland county, stopping about six months in Green township,
when they moved to Vermillion township, where he now lives, and
located in the woods, in a small log cabin. Mr. Scott
have five brothers, at that time, somewhat older than
himself, who were quite a help to their mother, and from their
willing hands the old forest gradually gave way to waving fields
of grain. At the age of twenty-one Mr. Scott
learned the carriage-making business in Hayesville, and worked
about ten years at the business, when he determined to try his
luck in the gold fields of California. His trip over the
plains was one of interest, though full of perils and hardships.
After an experience of about three years, mostly as a miner, he
returned to his old home in Vermillion township. His
mother died in 1855. Mr. Scott was married to
Miss E. J. Tawney, of Ashland county, in 1858. They
have nine children, three sons and six daughters. Two
little boys died when about a year old.
Source:
History of Ashland County, Ohio with Illustrations and
Biographical Sketches, by George William Hill, M.D. - Published
by Williams Bros. 1880. - Page 310 |
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PROFESSOR
S. Z. SHARP, A. M., first president of Ashland college,
Ohio, was born in Airy Dale, Huntingdon county, State of
Pennsylvania, where his father, Solomon Sharp, also was born. He
began teaching school in the year 1855, and afterwards attended
the Pennsylvania State Normal school at Millersville, where he
graduated in i860. He became principal of Kisha-coquillas seminary
in 1861, assistant professor of languages in the Pennsylvania
State Normal school in 1866, and in 1868 took charge of New
Providence Normal school in the State of Tennessee. In 1875 he
accepted a professorship in. Maryville college, Tennessee, and in
1878 was elected president of Ashland college. His wife, Salome Z.
Sharp,, was the daughter of Shem Zook, a citizen of note and an
extensive contributor to the agricultural department at
Washington. She was born March 31, 1839, at Reedsville, Mifflin
county, Pennsylvania. The children of the above are: Annie L.,
born April 9, 1865; Theodore S., born August 15, 1869; and
Maurice, born March 17, 1874.
Source:
History of Ashland County, Ohio with Illustrations and
Biographical Sketches, by George William Hill, M.D. - Published
by Williams Bros. 1880 - Page 393 |
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JOSEPH SHEETS
was born in New Jersey, about thirty miles below Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, Jan. 21, 1792. He learned, in his native
village, the trade of tailor, which he followed for many years.
When he had completed his trade he went to Philadelphia and
sought employment a short time, and ten, in 1811, passed over
the mountains to Steubenville, Ohio, where he remained at his
trade for about six years. Being a young man of good
habits, he soon began to accumulate money. In the meantime
he formed the acquaintance of Miss Nancy Harper, daughter
of William Harper, of Fairfax county, Virginia, who had
settled in Jefferson county, Ohio, about the year 1806.
They were married. The result of the marriage was, that
Mr. Harper and family concluded to accompany Mr. Sheets
and his wife to, an locate in Richland now Ashland county.
In the spring of 1817 these families started across the country,
through the forest, over rough roads, for their new homes.
After a fatiguing journey of several days they arrived safely at
Uniontown. Mrs. Sheets states they first put
up in a very inferior cabin that stood somewhere near the
northeast corner of what is known as Kellogg square, there being
only three or four other cabins in town, one which was that of
Mr. Montgomery and the other that of Mr. Groff,
the tanner, where the old residence of George
Swineford formerly stood. Early in the spring they
resided for a short time with Mr. Montgomery where the
hardware store of Stull & Charles now stands.
Mr. Sheets put up a house nearly opposite, known now as the
Weisenstine building, for a small store and tailor ship, and
moved into it. This was the first store. Mr.
Harper located about one mile northwest of the present site
of Hayesville, where he lived until 8132, when he was accidently
killed by his team, near Plymouth, Richland county. Mr.
Sheets continued to occupy his new home some years, engaged
at hsi trade, keeping a house of entertainment, and makig
himself useful as a citizen. He finally disposed of his
Ashland property, and purchased of Mr. Montgomery the
ninety acres of land upon said South Ashland was subsequently
laid. About the year 1847 Mr. Sheets sold his tract
of land to a corporation known as the South Ashland company, and
removed to Vermillion township. About the year 1864 he
returned to Ashland to reside on a part of is old property, and
died Mar. 6, 1866, aged seventy-four years. Mrs. Sheets
still survives, aged seventy-nine years. Her memory is
unimpaired, and very few persons of her age possess a more
accurate recollection of the pioneers and their times.
William Sheets, her oldest son, is believed to have been the
first male child born within the limits of Ashland. Mrs.
Sheets states that William was born Jan. 1, 1819.
Mr. Sheets says during the time they resided in
the village it was a very lively place, especially on public
days and Saturday evenings. She states it was not uncommon
in those days to see five or six fights in an evening. The
strong armed pugilist who could "tan two or three dog skins,"
claimed high honors. On one occasion, Mrs. Sheets
states, the clans had gathered for a little settlement, and
prior to opening the ball, visited the distilleries to fit and
prepare them for the task. In their absence, just as dark,
Mrs. Sheets, butcher knife in hand, visited all the
hitching posts, and cut the horses loose. She says that in
fifteen or twenty minutes the village was cleared of roughs.
She died it in a little rough," but a work of
necessity.
Source:
History of Ashland County, Ohio with Illustrations and
Biographical Sketches, by George William Hill, M.D. - Published
by Williams Bros. 1880 - Page 204 |
| |
Vermillion Twp. -
MICHAEL SHEMBERGER was born in York
county, Pennsylvania, Jan. 28, 1823. In 1828 he came to
Ohio with his parents, who located in Vermillion township.
They bought a farm, a short time after they landed in the
township, adjoining the place where their son Michael,
the subject of the sketch, now lives. The old home also
belongs to him. The parents remained here until their
death. His father died Dec. 17, 1870, and his mother Mar.
15, 1879. On Jan. 22, 1850, the subject of this sketch was
married to Miss Rowanah Bennett, daughter of Peter and
Sophia Bennett, who came from Maryland at an early day and
settled on the Black fork, in Mifflin township. They
remained here but a short time, when they bought a farm in
Vermillion township and moved there, and about 1857 sold their
property, and moved to DeWitt county, Illinois, where they died
a few years later. The family of Michael Shemberger
and wife consists of five boys and one daughter, all of whom are
living except Mary Ann, the sixth child who died at the
age of five years, four months and twenty-two days. Those
now living are all single, and are at home with his parents.
In politics he is a Democrat, as also are his three sons.
He and his wife are members of the English Lutheran church at
Petersburgh, Ohio. Mr. Shemberger is not an
office-seeker, though he has served his neighbors as supervisor,
and is held in high esteem by all who know him. The public
welfare of the county gets his share of encouragement at all
times.
Source:
History of Ashland County, Ohio with Illustrations and
Biographical Sketches, by George William Hill, M.D. - Published
by Williams Bros. 1880. - Page 301 |
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JACOB SHOPBELL
was born in Berks county, Pennsylvania, Sept. 29, 1788.
His father, Daniel Shopbell, was a Revolutionary soldier
and served in the army about seven years. He was in the
battles of White Plains, Brandywine, Bunker Hill, and other
struggles. He died in 1806 in Northampton county,
Pennsylvania. His grandfather, Eberhard Shopbell,
was a soldier in the war between France and Germany, in which
the French acquired the territory of Alsace and Loraine He
lost a brother by the guillotine, and many relatives in the war,
and same to America and settled in Berks county, Pennsylvania,
where he died at the age of one hundred and four years.
The people of that county were largely German, and the schools
were entirely in that language. Jacob Shopbell was
educated in the German dialect, and although he speaks the
English tongue, reads only the German language. He
emigrated from Northampton county, Pennsylvania, to Orange
township, Richland, now Ashland county, Ohio, in 1832. He
located near what is now Leidigh's mill. He served
three months in the war of 1812, at Black Rock, near the lake
shore, under Colonel Irwin and Captain Joseph Dean.
He was in no regular battle of small arms. He is now the
oldest soldier of this region. He has always been a
farmer, temperate, industrious and economical, and is yet
remarkably vigorous for a man of his age. He has been
twice married, and is the father of seventeen children, eleven
girls and five boys. There were six children by his first
wife, and eleven by the second. His sons are Andrew,
of Michigan, Daniel, John, Samuel, and David, of
Ashland county. He resides with a son-in-law, George
Shidler.
Source:
History of Ashland County, Ohio with Illustrations and
Biographical Sketches, by George William Hill, M.D. - Published
by Williams Bros. 1880. - Page 166 |
| |
Vermillion Twp. -
ANTHONY R. SIGLER was born in Jeromeville,
Mohican township, Ashland county, Feb. 14, 1821. At a very
early day his parents came from Pennsylvania and may well be
classed among Ashland county's early settlers. The subject
of this sketch remained with his parents until he was married,
July 4, 1848, to Miss Eliza Duncan, daughter of Joseph
and Catharine Duncan, who came to Ashland county at an early
day, and located in what is now Vermillion township. To
this couple have been born three children - all boys. The
oldest, Willard Dexter, died at the age of eight months.
Joseph H. and John Marion are still living, both
married and doing for themselves. Joseph H. married
Miss Julia Ann Vangilder, and John M. married
Miss Zentippa A. Humbert. John lives with his parents,
and Joseph lives on an adjoining farm. Mr.
Sigler, the subject of this sketch, is a man of many
friends. Having spent his whole life in Vermillion
township, he may well be called one of its prominent
farmers. He has many times served as a trustee of the
township, and but for his positive refusal, could at the present
time hold that office or a better one. He is a Democrat in
politics, but in home elections gives his vote for the man he
considers most worthy of the trust of the people, without regard
to politics.
Source:
History of Ashland County, Ohio with Illustrations and
Biographical Sketches, by George William Hill, M.D. - Published
by Williams Bros. 1880. - Page 304 |
| |
ELI
SLOCUM was born in Ashland county, August 26, 1824,
and attended school at Ashland academy until about seventeen years
of age. In 1847 he took a trip to Iowa with John Clark,
with whom he clerked six months in Iowa City, and then went to
Canton, Illinois, and joined the Canton Tea company, and crossed
the plains with T. S. Sutherland, William Sheets, John Charles,
Jacob Myers, Ambrose Drum, J. D. McCAMMON, John Andrews, and
others, and landed at Placerville, California, August 12, 1850,
where two Frenchmen were hung for stealing, and ever since it has
been known as Hangtown. He and his partner bought one
hundred and sixty acres of land where the capital of the State now
stands. The gamblers' and squatters war sprung up November
15, 1850, and he went to mining, which vocation he followed about
one year, when he located his land and followed farming and
dealing in stock. He remained at that business for about one
year, when he went to the Wocolomy river and engaged in the stock
and dry goods business until 1852, when he started for Ohio.
Prior to that time he took a small schooner and went to the mouth
of Columbia river, and took a steamer and went to Portland, where
he bought one hundred head of hogs - the first that had been
shipped down the coast of California to the Sacramento valley -
and also twelve crates of chickens for the same market, probably
the first ever brought to the State. He realized upon his
hogs a fine profit, and upon his chickens a fair profit. He
remembers that the news of their arrival created a great
excitement, and many persons desired to purchase. The
Indians partook of the curiosity, and called to see the little
bantams, and were much amused at hearing them crow, and Captain
John laughed heartily at the performance. Mr. Slocum
sold his stock and fowls and returned to Ohio, and in the spring
of 1853 bought a lot of milch cows and work horses, and returned
by the overland route, losing only one head out of four
hundred and forty-seven. He arrived in Sacramento September
20, 1853. On his second trip the party consisted of John
Charles, Joseph Charles, Martin Gibbs, G. Daulia, John Moody, John
Goodwin, Hiland Carter, Alfred King, John Yule, William Springer,
L. G. Andrews, John Markley and Jacob Myers. Of
this number seven returned. THe others got married and
settled in the State. There were forty-seven in all, but a
great many from other parts of the State and counties.
Mr. Slocum has made three trips across the plains. His
last was for the purchase of sheep. On passing the plains he
overtook Kit Carson at Fort Laramie, with a drove of seven
thousand head of Texan sheep, small of frame, and almost destitute
of wool. Mr. Carson sold his sheep readily in
California at remunerative prices. Slocum found that
the sheep speculation would to pay, and returned to Ohio, and now
resides in a quiet way in Ashland, trading in stock, and dealing
in real estate. His health for the past few years has been
impaired, and requires attention. April 10, 1855, he was
married to Miss Mary A. Hunter. The fruits of this
marriage were Frank F. and William A., who
reside at home.
Source:
History of Ashland County, Ohio with Illustrations and
Biographical Sketches, by George William Hill, M.D. - Published
by Williams Bros. 1880 - Page 367 |
| |
ELIAS
SLOCUM was born in Rodman township, Jefferson county, New
York, August 11, 1784. In June, 1917, he came west to select
a home, and arrived in Uniontown, now Ashland, in July, after a
long and toilsome journey. After examining the country in
and about Montgomery township, he concluded to make the vicinity
of Uniontown his residence. In October he returned east for
his family. In this trip he was accompanied by George W.
Palmer, a Mr. Lucas and a Mr. Butterfield.
In the meantime, the families oaf the foregoing pioneers remained
in the vicinity of Black Rock, somewhat noted in the Indian wars
and the war of 1812, and in January, 1818, after having attempted
to make a passage up the lake, but having been driven back by the
tempestuous storms then prevailing, commenced their journey
overland, and arrived in Uniontown in March, after continuous
travel of near two months, over rugged hills, down narrow valleys,
along winding paths often crossing deep streams. Mr.
Slocum purchased of George Butler, one of the sturdy
pioneers, one hundred and six acres of land, two miles east of
Uniontown, on section sixteen, and also jointly with Alanson
Andrews, and George W. Palmer, who accompanied him with
his family, three acres on Montgomery's run, in Uniontown, and
erected a distillery, an institution prior to that time unknown in
Uniontown. His family resided in a cabin on the farm, to
which Mr. Slocum returned from his daily toils at the
village of Uniontown. At that time there was not a physician
in the present limits of Ashland county; and school-houses were
equally rare. "Old Hopewell," Presbyterian, one mile west of
the village, was the only church in this region. Log cabins
were the order of the day, and Mr. Slocum, like other
pioneers, often spent the whole week at cabin-raisings, and log-rollings,
traveling several miles from home to do so. All were anxious
to increase the number of settlers, and grat exertions were made
to aid in raising cabins and preparing lands for culture.
When Mr. Slocum settled on section sixteen wild animals,
such as deer, bear and wolves, were quite numerous, while the
latter proved quite destructive to sheep and hogs. Wild
turkeys were also very plenty, and an expert hunter could easily
procure an abundance of wild meat.
Mr. Slocum, at a later period, purchased a lot and
house where the town hall now stands, and removed into it, and
kept hotel a number of years. He accumulated property quite
rapidly, and was very shrewd in money matters. At an early
day he became quite expert in legal disputes, and was the
principal attorney in this region, although never regularly
admitted to the bar. Many anecdotes evincing unusual
sharpness in practice, are related of him. At an early day
he had a suit before 'Squire Solomon Sherradden, who
resided where James Newman now lives. It was for the
price of a certain "crow-bar," which had disappeared from a quarry
two and a half miles east of Ashland, and was in possession of a
certain citizen. The ownership was in dispute, and the
question of identity was to be raised by the defendant. On
the morning of the trial Mr. Slocum visited the residence
of the justice, and finding him absent, obtained permission from
Mrs. Sherradden, who was at a spring a short distance from the
cabin engaged in washing, to go to the house and examine the bar,
as he was the attorney for the defendant. Having done so, he
replaced it beneath the bed where he found it, and returned at the
hour of trial. He was confronted by the late Silas
Robbins, jr., as attorney for the plaintiff. The trial
proceeded regularly until proof was made that the bar in question
was new, unmarked, and of the usual style. After
cross-questioning the witnesses sharply, to avoid equivocation,
Mr. Slocum requested the production of the bar in court.
It was drawn from under the bed, and upon examination was found,
not to be smooth and unmarked; but on the contrary, was deeply
indented. Mr. Slocum demanded judgment
for the defendant, and the court readily granted it, to the great
chagrin of Mr. Robbins and the plaintiff. The facts
were, that on the examination in the morning, Mr. Slocum
had taken the bar to the shop of Mr. Sherradden, who was a
blacksmith, and made the indentations that defeated the claimant.
These tricks, then perfectly allowable among country attorneys,
constituted a large proportion of the strategy of litigation.
The relation of these incidents of practice furnished a
good deal of amusement to those outside the quarrel. He
often met Mr. Sterling G. Bushnell, of Hayesville, as a
country, practitioner in legal contests in justices courts.
Mr. Bushell had the reputation of being decidedly sharp - was
fluent, extremely sarcastic, and untiring in his efforts in behalf
of his clients.
Before the establishment of the county of Ashland,
Mr. Slocum often conducted appeals in the courts at Mansfield
with considerable ability and success. In person, he was
commanding in appearance, was about six feet in height, hair light
brown, eyes a bluish gray and very expressive. In
disposition he was kind and rather disposed to conciliate; but
when aroused, exceedingly sarcastic and unyielding. As a
business man he was very shrewd, insinuating, and successful.
He was a good judge of values, and was not easily overreached in
his purchases and exchanges. He arrived in Montgomery when
it was sparsely settled, and lived to see it the most populous and
thrifty township in the county. He passed through all the
struggles from a poor and humble pioneer to that of thrift and
wealth, and at the advanced age of seventy-eight years, April 17,
1862, deceased age of seventy-eight years, April 17, 1862,
deceased at his residence in Ashland, and his remains now rest
amid the tombs of his pioneer neighbors, who passed away before
him.
He was twice married, having lost the wife of his youth
in 1829. He had no children by his second wife. His
family consists of Sarah, married to John Lafferty,
of Stark county, Illinois; Mary, married to Joseph
Palmer, of Galesburgh, Illinois; Elizabeth, married to
Daniel Carter, of Ashland; Lyman, deceased;
Wealthy, married to the late David Bryte, of Ashland;
Ephraim, who resides on the old homestead, near Ashland;
Willard, an attorney, who resides in Ashland; Mahala,
married to Johnson Carson, of Galesburgh, Illinois; Eli,
of Ashland; Alfred, near Ashland; and Cordelia,
deceased. His descendants are all thrifty, intelligent, and
influential people.
Source:
History of Ashland County, Ohio with Illustrations and
Biographical Sketches, by George William Hill, M.D. - Published
by Williams Bros. 1880 - Page 192 |
| |
DR. WILLARD SLOCUM arrived in 1833 from the
State of New York, and succeeded to the practice of Dr.
Davidson. He was a man of strong points, and soon
made an impression, financially and professionally. He had
considerable reputation, and is said to have been a bold operator.
He closed his practice, and emigrated to Michigan, in the spring
of 1846, where he deceased, after a residence of some two or three
years. He was a relative of the late Elias Slocum.
Source:
History of Ashland County, Ohio with Illustrations and
Biographical Sketches, by George William Hill, M.D. - Published
by Williams Bros. 1880 - Page |
| |
GENERAL
WILLARD SLOCUM was born near Ashland, then in Richland
county, State of Ohio, April 8, 1820. He remained on a farm with
his parents until the death of his mother, which occurred in
January, 1828, when he went to live with a married sister, Mrs.
Palmer, with whom he lived, going to school and assisting
Mr. Palmer in fanning pursuits.
After he left his sister he spent
part of his time at home, and a part working for other persons, up
to the spring of 1833, when he was taken by Dr. Willard
Slocum, with whom he lived until the spring of 1838, going
to school winter seasons, and working during the summer months. In
the spring of 1838 he was sent by his father
to Kenyon college. He remained there up to the spring of 1840,
when he was called home. In the winter and spring of 1845 he
taught school in the district where he had been raised.
He took a very active part in the presidential campaign
of 1840, though not a voter. He was active and firmly fixed in the
principles of the Whig party, and devoted the summer and fall to
its interests. In the spring of 1841 he entered the law office of
the late Judge Sherman, as a law student, in company
with his brother John, now Secretary of the Treasury. Passing the
routine duties of a law student for three years, he was regularly
admitted to the bar of Richland county. At the time of his
examination and admission there was a class of seventeen, among
whom were Samuel J. Kirkwood, now United States Senator
from Iowa, and John Sherman, now Secretary of the Treasury. In the
fall of 1844 General Slocum returned to Ashland and
commenced the practice of law, with C. T. and J.
Sherman as his partners. The partnership
continued up to the fall of 1847, when it was dissolved by mutual
consent. The most kindly feeling existed in the Sherman and
Slocum families at that time, and which has never been
disturbed in any particular.
In the fall of 1847 General Slocum
associated himself with the late Judge William
Osborn. They continued the practice of law up to January,
1855. General Slocum was married on the tenth day of
November, 1847, to Caroline A. Carr, of East Union, Wayne
county, Ohio, and is now the father of seven children living and
two dead. Among the living are: R. V. Slocum, C. W.
Slocum, Lida S. Slocum, Willard McK. Slocum, Martin B.
Slocum, Oliver J. Slocum, and Howard E. Slocum, but one
of whom is married. In January, 1855, he continued in his
profession, doing a very lucrative business, principally in the
line of collecting for eastern houses.
In June, i860, he attended the Republican National
convention, which met in the city of Chicago, and nominated
Abraham Lincoln. Though sent there under instructions
to support Governor S. P. Chase, of Ohio, which he did up
to the third ballot, he was among the first of the Ohio delegation
to drop Chase and vote for Abraham Lincoln.
After the nomination was made he
was chosen by the Fourteenth congressional district to represent
it in the Electoral college, the Republicans being successful in
the election, he met with the Electoral college in Columbus, and
cast the vote of the Fourteenth district for Lincoln and
Hamlin for President and Vice-President of the United States.
Prior to the inauguration of President Lincoln, the
country was thrown into intense excitement by the secession of
many of the States of the Union, in which every Union loving man
could not refrain his utter abhorrence of the political condition
of affairs, which soon culminated in open rebellion against the
United States government.
When President Lincoln called for
seventy-five thousand men to suppress the rebellion, General
Slocum was among the first to encourage enlistments.
In the year 1861 the President called for three
hundred thousand more men, for three years' service. The
proclamation was received on Thursday. General Slocum,
though doing a lucrative business and having no one to take care
of it, transferred it to his late partner, William V. Sloan,
and converted his law office into a recruiting station. On Tuesday
he left Ashland with one hundred men, among whom were many of its
best citizens. Arriving at Columbus the same day, they were
escorted to the basement of the State house, where they remained
until the next morning. They were provided with a very fine
article of straw for a bed, and ate their first army meal. The
next morning he marched his men to Camp Chase, four miles west of
the city, and reported to Colonel Rosecrans, who was
then organizing the Twenty-third Ohio volunteer infantry.
General Slocum here received his first military title,
by being unanimously elected captain of company G. On June 7th the
first man was recruited, and on the eleventh of the same month the
company was mustered into service, being the first company
recruited in the State of Ohio for three years' service, and the
first mustered into the service of the United States. Soon after
the complete organization of the company, Colonel
Rosecrans was promoted to brigadier general, and Colonel
Scammon, of Cincinnati, appointed in his place. Soon after
Colonel Scammon assumed command, a serious
difficulty arose between the colonel and Captain Slocum,
growing our of a proposed change of orderly sergeant in company G.
The order of the colonel was disobeyed in every particular.
Captain Slocum was informed by Major R. B. Hayes
that the colonel had prepared charges against him, and was about
to convene a court-martial for the purpose of dismissing him from
the service for disobedience.
To escape being dismissed from the army by order of a
court-martial, he acted upon the advice of Major Hayes
and Lieutenant Colonel Stanley Matthews,
and resigned, thus freeing himself from the power of the colonel.
The order of Colonel Scammon was never enforced,
fearing the demoralizing effect it would have, not only on company
G, but on the entire regiment. Here terminated Captain
Slocum's connection with the men he had recruited and with the
Twenty-third regiment, which to him was a subject matter of great
regret. Having disposed of his law business, and being intent on
giving his time and service to the Government until the close of
the war, his dismissal from the army would forever preclude him
from again entering the military service as an officer. Leaving
Camp Chase on the third of July, 1862, he went immediately to
Washington city and called on the President, to whom he made known
all the circumstances connected with the trouble with Colonel
Scammon, at the same time requesting an appointment in the
military service. The President took the latter under
consideration, and, after consulting Hon. Salmon P. Chase, who was
then Secretary of the Treasury, and Hon. John Sherman, then a
member of Congress, he offered him a captain's commission as
quartermaster in the United States army. In , the meantime he had,
through the personal influence of Mr. Sherman,
received an appointment in the interior department, which he held
up to November 24, 1862, when he again called on the President and
declined his generous offer, preferring active field service to
that of quartermaster in the army, and again requested some
appointment that would place him in the field. The President
replied by saying, "that all appointments below the rank of
brigadiers in the volunteer service were made by the governors of
States," and referred him to Governor Dennison, of
Ohio. Calling on Governor Dennison, and presenting
the letter of President Lincoln, he at once
expressed a willingness to appoint him provost marshal, and assign
him to duty in the city of Columbus.
As soon as David Tod was inaugurated
governor of Ohio he applied to him for a commission which would
send him to the front. With a fair promise from Governor
Tod to do so he returned home, awaiting the results. In April,
1862, he was called home from Columbus to attend the funeral of
his father. Being detained for some time attending to business
pertaining to the estate, he did not return to Columbus until sent
for by Governor Tod. On arriving in Columbus the
governor handed him a commission of first lieutenant, and detailed
him as adjutant to organize the drafted men in Camp Buckingham,
near Mansfield, Ohio, where he reported to Colonel C. G.
Sherman, then in command of the camp, for duty. He at once
entered upon that laborious work. The One Hundred and Second and
One Hundred and Twentieth Ohio volunteer infantry regiments were
then organized. The drafted men were mostly assigned to the older
regiments and sent to the front. On the organization of the One
Hundred and Twentieth he was again commissioned as adjutant, and
assigned to that : regiment, with which he left the State and went
to the front, leaving Camp Buckingham in October, 1862, with
Colonel French in command, and M. M. Speigle
lieutenant colonel, and John Buckman as major. The
regiment joined the main army at Memphis, Tennessee, and was
assigned to the Thirteenth army corps. With the exception of
Colonel French and Lieutenant Colonel
Speigle, the regiment had never seen service. They
participated in the assault on Vicksburgh from the Yazoo river.
After laying in the swamps around Haines' bluff four days,
participating in all the charges and battles of the campaign, he
was ordered to take the regiment out to the front line and lay on
their arms for the night. At two P. M. he received an order to
retire the regiment and cover the retreat of the army to the Yazoo
river, a distance of four miles. On returning back to their
original lines he was surprised to find the entire army had left,
leaving the One Hundred and Twentieth Ohio volunteer infantry to
cover the retreat and guard four batteries of artillery. On
arriving at the Yazoo he found the commanding officers of the
regiment safely on transports, ready to follow the army back to
the Mississippi river.
Before the regiment reached the river the picket of the
army had crossed the bayou in force, and was following the
retreating army. Soon after sunrise they approached near enough to
commence firing. The First division of the Thirteenth corps were
on transports in the Yazoo, and mainly out of sight of the
advancing enemy. General Slocum hurried forward and
informed General Osterhaus of the danger surrounding
him. The artillery was hurried forward and put into position, and
several batteries taken from the transports were put in enfilading
position masked by the One Hundred and Twentieth, and held their
position until the enemy advanced near enough, when the regiment
filed to the rear of the guns, when they opened on the advancing
enemy with grape, canister, solid shot, and shell. They were
driven back with severe loss. Colonel French assumed
command and marched the regiment on to the transport destined for
Arkansas Post.
On the fifth of January, 1863, the
entire army under General Grant, moved on transports
against Arkansas Post, and, on the tenth of January, the fleet
disembarked. On the following night they completely invested the
entire fortification, behind which the enemy had about five
thousand men. The attack was commenced on the morning of the
eleventh, and was stubbornly resisted by the enemy. At four
o'clock in the afternoon a charge was ordered on the left. The One
Hundred and Twentieth occupying the extreme left, charged up the
river bank directly upon the fort. As soon as the charge began the
enemy opened fire on the advancing column. When within fifty yards
of the fort Colonel French ordered
the regiment to lie down. Adjutant Slocum
being on the extreme left of the advancing column, did not hear
the order of the colonel and pushed the left forward until he saw
the right wing of the regiment flat on the ground. The colonel
again commanded "Lie down!" I venture to say that no child ever
embraced a parent with more affection than the officers and men of
the One Hundred and Twentieth embraced mother earth on that
occasion—one soldier (weighing at least two hundred pounds),
literally flattened himself, with his head protected by a mullen
stalk not more than one inch in diameter. While in this position
the bullets of the enemy passed from three to four feet above
them, and as long as they remained there
were comparatively secure, as the sharpshooters on the right kept
the enemy down, so that they dare not compress their guns to fire
into the regiment.
Colonel French ordered Adjutant Slocum
to go to the rear, and ask General Osterhaus to
relieve the One Hundred and Twentieth. The adjutant replied by
saying if he went back he would get shot in the rear, and that the
regiment was safe in their present position, and if they got up to
retire, every man of them would be shot. The order was made
imperative, so the adjutant crossed back along the line of the
men, for some distance, when the cry went up "see the adjutant
craw-fishing." Finally he sprang to his feet, and in a zig-zag
course reached General Osterhaus, who expressed
surprise in seeing him deserting the regiment, and inquired into
the cause of it. Instead of communicating the request of
Colonel French to General Osterhaus, he
informed the general that the rebel sharp-shooters were in the two
wooden buildings inside the fort, shooting through the crevises,
picking off our officers, and if he would order up two sections of
artillery, and knock the buildings down, it would be the means of
saving the lives of many of our officers and men. Four
twenty-pound rifled guns were advanced and opened fire on the
buildings, after a few shots the houses were knocked into
splinters, and fell. Very soon thereafter the fort surrendered
with five thousand prisoners.
At ten P. M. of the same day
Adjutant Slocum received an order from army
headquarters to report in person forthwith on board the transport
Illinois. After reading the order, the Camp Chase difficulty
flashed through his mind. He said to himself: " Here is another
case of disobedience to the orders of a superior officer." Fearing
to take counsel, lest he might commit himself, he started in
company with the orderly for headquarters. On arriving on board he
saw General Sherman with all the corps commanders
sitting around a table. He advanced to General Sherman,
laid down the order, and reported in person. After a number of
questions were answered touching the matter, he was told to report
back to his command. He heard no more of the matter until the
eighteenth day of March, 1863, when he was informed that he had
been promoted to major of the regiment for meritorious conduct in
the field at Arkansas Post, jumping ten captains in one promotion,
Colonel French resigning the same day.
On the eighth day of September, 1863, he was promoted to
lieutenant colonel of the regiment. After the surrender of Fort
Hindman and Arkansas Post the army returned to Young's Point, in
front of Vicksburgh. Here Colonel Slocum was put in
charge of digging out one section of the famous canal, to lead the
waters of the Mississippi across the country in order that the
transports might more safely pass the water batteries defending
the city of Vicksburgh, a work that was never accomplished nor
never intended to be. In March, 1863, the army of the Mississippi
crossed the river below Vicksburgh on transports that had run the
blockade. Colonel Slocum participated in all the
battles in the rear of Vicksburgh—battle of Raymond,
Thompson's Hill, Jackson, Champion Hill and Big Black. He led
the right wing of his regiment in the charge on Vicksburgh on the
eighteenth day of May; again on the twenty-second of May. On the
seventh of June, 1863, he received an order of detail from corps
headquarters, assigning him to duty as inspector general of the
Thirteenth army corps, from which duty he was not relieved until
after the surrender of Vicksburgh on the fourth of July, 1863. On
the morning of the fourth he was left in command, of three
divisions of the Thirteenth corps at Big Black river, twelve miles
in the rear of Vicksburgh, the superior officers all having gone
down to witness the surrender.
At one P. M. of the same day, an order was sent out .
by General Grant to move all the forces at Big Black
river upon Jackson. The order was received by Colonel
Slocum, and at once put into execution by calling the forces
into line. By four p. M. the entire command had crossed the river,
while the advance was four miles on in the direction of Jackson.
At five P. M. the advance column was attacked by General
Breckenridge's command, which was retreating to Jackson,
Mississippi. The engagement lasted but a short time, when the
advancing column bivouacked for the night, the absent officers
rejoining their respective commands before morning. On the sixth
of July, Colonel Slocum's regiment led the advance
of the Thirteenth on Jackson, and formed the base line, directly
in front of the enemy's breastworks, and here he was engaged from
the tenth to the seventeenth of July, the day the rebel
authorities capitulated. Colonel Speigle there
received a very severe, but not dangerous, wound in the hip, which
disabled him until about the month of February, 1864, when he
returned and assumed command of the regiment. After the siege of
Jackson, Colonel Slocum returned to Vicksburgh, with
but one hundred and eight effective men in the regiment.
In August, 1863, Colonel Slocum received
an order from department headquarters, to proceed by transport to
Port Hudson, on the Mississippi river, and there to await further
orders. On the third of September, 1863, they disembarked and went
into camp at Port Hudson, for what purpose no one seemed to know.
After remaining there eight days, their rations and forage were
consumed, and no means of supply. The command consisted of the One
Hundred and Twentieth Ohio volunteer infantry and one battery of
six-pound guns. On the twelfth day of September, Colonel
Slocum ordered the battery to the bank of the river to bring
to the first transport that went down the river. On the evening of
the twelfth a transport was sighted and brought to by the battery.
The regiment and battery were taken on board and landed at
Carlton, ten miles above New Orleans. Colonel Slocum
at once reported to army headquarters in New Orleans his action in
the premises, which was approved by the commanding officer.
The regiment having been reduced to a mere skeleton by sickness
and death, Colonel Slocum was placed on detached
duty at department headquarters, as judge advocate. Soon
thereafter he was ordered to Texas to organize a court martial at
Brownsville and one at another point. While there he received an
order to report to Columbus, Ohio, on recruiting service. He took
an ocean steamer for New Orleans, arriving at Carlton, where he
was joined by the sergeants of the regiment, all of whom reached
Columbus in December, 1863. In April 1864, the colonel and his
sergeants returned with one hundred and seventy-four enlisted men,
and joined the regiment in Louisiana. He then re-organized the
regiment by assignment of officers. The winter months had been
conducive to the health of the men, and many who had been sent
home on sick furlough had returned, besides many who had been in
hospital.
On the first of May, 1864, the regiment was
ordered to join General Banks' army, then operating
up Red river in Louisiana. The regiment embarked on the steamer
"City Belle," with six hundred and eighty effective men,
Colonel M. M. Speigle in command. Arriving at the mouth of Red
river in the evening, they laid over until the next morning to
await a convoy of gunboats. In early morning they steamed up the
river for some distance. Reaching Fort DeRuser, the officers of
the navy reported shallow water, and they could proceed no
further. Colonel Mudd, of the Second Illinois
veteran cavalry, Colonel Blontz, bearer of
dispatches, Colonel Bassett, and Colonel
Slocum were called in council. A majority opposed going
further without the protection of the navy, but Colonel
Speigle, a brave officer, determined otherwise, and steamed up
the river. Colonel Slocum and one hundred and fifty
men took their position on the hurricane deck, not only as a
guard, but to observe, if possible, any signs of the enemy. They
had proceeded but a short distance until a negro woman was seen
running in the direction of the transport, waving a handkerchief,
saying that the rebels were around the bend. Colonel
Speigle's attention was called to this demonstration by
Colonel Slocum. He still persisted, saying there was no
serious danger, but alas for Colonel Speigle and
many brave boys! the warning proved to be more than true.
The river was very narrow but deep, with sharp curves.
As the boat rounded Snaggy Point, a battery of their masked guns
opened a vigorous fire on the frail transport, each shot taking
effect; one killing the pilot, and one going through the
machinery, cutting the steam pipe and on through the cabin.
Scarcely had the sound of the last gun died away, until another
battery opened in front. General Majors, with a
brigade of infantry, emerged from behind a cover, and poured a
murderous fire into the side of the transport. The infantry on the
hurricane deck kept up a continuous fire, but of little effect.
Colonel Speigle was among the first killed; Colonel
Slocum hastened to the cabin, saw Colonel Speigle
with many others, lying on the cabin floor, with pools of blood
surrounding them. Colonel Slocum spoke to him; his
only reply was "I am gone this time." He raised his head up while
Colonel Mudd placed a knapsack under it. As
Colonel Mudd raised up he was shot in the left temple.
Colonels Basset and Blontz were also killed,
and died instantly. The boat was then drifting down with the
current; Colonel Slocum ordered the boat
surrendered, and put fire to the state-room containing the mail
for General Banks army. As soon as the boat was
surrendered Colonel Slocum ordered every man ashore
with his gun. The boat had neared the shore when the men began
jumping and throwing their guns. Taking advantage of the
situation, Colonel Slocum with one hundred and
fifty-five officers and men reached the shore in safety, and
sought shelter in a dense wood. Those who failed to reach the bank
were either drowned or shot in the water attempting to reach
shore. The remainder of the regiment were either killed or
captured. The steam and hot water escaping from the boilers, drove
all who were on the boiler deck into the river, many of them so
badly scalded that they afterward died. This occurred about four
P. M. Colonel Slocum called the men
into line, and marched them some distance back from the river,
where they were organized in squads, with a commissioned officer
at the head of each. On examination it was ascertained that there
were seven rounds of serviceable ammunition to each man. Both
officers and men supposed, from the dangers surrounding them, that
they would be marched down the river under the protection of the
gun-boats, but Colonel Slocum changed the direction
and marched up the river in the direction of Alexandria, where
General Banks had his headquarters.
Many were the complaints and murmurs of the men at this
sudden and unexpected change in their destination—but to no avail.
The march was a hazardous one at best, but Colonel
Slocum best understood the situation, and pushed forward
through an unbroken wilderness of pine, nothing to direct their
course but drift from Red river. At sundown a plantation was
reached. In a field some distance off a man was discovered
unhitching a team from a plow. Lieutenant Vanness
was directed to bring him in. He proved to be a negro man, and a
slave of a man named Grimes. The negro was closely examined by
Colonel Slocum as to distance, routes, and the general
topography of the country. He gave the distance to Alexandria as
twenty-eight miles, and three routes or ways of reaching the
place, one being a mule path through the timber, and three miles
shorter than either of the traveled roads. The negro was put under
charge of Lieutenant Vanness, with a promise that if
he piloted them through safely he would be rewarded, but if he led
them into the enemy's lines, on another route, he would be shot.
They then proceeded to the residence of Mr. Grimes,
who met them with a stern rebuke for appearing on his premises
with his slave in charge. Colonel Slocum placed a
guard around his house, with instructions to let none of the
inmates pass out. The men were nearly exhausted, having had
nothing to eat since an early breakfast, and it became necessary
that Mr. Grimes supply their wants. He became quite angry,
and declared that no provisions could be given the men; he made
severe threats as to what he would do if anyone attempted to enter
his house in search of provisions. Colonel Slocum
stepped on the porch and presented the old man two navy revolvers,
which brought him to submission. In a few minutes the men had
plenty of corn-meal, side pork, and sour milk, and a number of
fires lighted in the yard, cooking their supper—baking their corn
batter on boards, and frying their meat in anything they could
find that would grease. When all were supplied they formed in line
for the long, dark, and tedious march of the night. Mr.
Grimes, unaccustomed to Yankee visitors, failed to bid them
good-night. After marching through a wilderness country all night,
they reached Red river at daybreak, eight miles below Alexandria.
There was a wood station on the river and an old log house.
Colonel Slocum, with a few trusty men, approached the
house and called to the inmates to come out. The first to appear
was the owner of the premises, who appeared surprised to see
Federal soldiers in his locality. A guard was placed around his
house, and Colonel Slocum inquired of him if there
were any Confederate soldiers near. He was informed, after some
hesitation, that one mile back from the river there were two
regiments of rebel cavalry, and, looking across the river, we
could see the rebel out-posts, or their horses.
Colonel Slocum determined to cross the
river at this point, but on inquiry there were no skiffs nor boat
of any kind. A picket line was extended back some distance from
the house. A wood-rack was made into a skiff by laying boards in
the bottom; then twenty or twenty-five men would take off their
clothing, put them on the skiff, with "their guns on top, and the
men in the water started diagonally across the stream. When the
shore was reached the skiff was towed up the river and sent back.
In this way by ten A. M. the entire command crossed in safety.
Major McKinley was among the first to cross, and took
charge of the men as they arrived. Colonel Slocum,
before calling in his pickets, cautioned the old man to remain
quiet, as there was danger in his communicating with the enemy.
They then took possession of the skiff and crossed the river,
leaving the skiff to the mercy of the stream. Before the colonel
was fully dressed, two transports, loaded with infantry,
accompanied by two gunboats, were seen descending the river. The
colonel made every effort to stop them, that he might warn them of
the danger below; but they pushed onward and reached Snaggy Point,
and fell into the same trap, and all were captured. The rebel
pickets still occupied their post. Not knowing the exact force of
the enemy, the colonel determined to put on as bold a front as
possible. He prolonged his line a great distance, with battle flag
in front and regimental colors in the center, and marched upon the
levee—the river and levee bending off in the direction of the
rebel post.
When within a few hundred yards of the rebels' advanced line, they
mounted their horses and galloped off like so many frightened
wolves, thus, allowing the colonel, with his handful of men, to
pass through to Alexandria without firing a gun. On arriving at
Alexandria the colonel reported in person to General
Banks, who at once, ordered all necessary provision to be made
for the comfort of the men. After remaining in Alexandria a few
days the remnant was temporarily consolidated with the
Forty-second Ohio volunteer infantry, Colonel Slocum's
regiment being again reduced by death and capture to less than a
major's command. Owing to severe and permanent injuries received
by Colonel Slocum while making his escape from the
"City Belle," he was rendered unfit for field service. Before
leaving the boat he had his left shoulder strap shot off. He was
put on detached duty as chief of staff and provost marshal of the
Thirteenth army corps, General M. K. Lawler commanding.
Here practically terminated Colonel Slocum's
connection with the One Hundred and Twentieth. The regiment was
reduced by death, disease and capture to a mere skeleton, yet it
kept its distinction up to November 17, 1864, Major John
McKinley in command.
On the thirteenth day of May General Banks
commenced his memorable retreat from Alexandria to the Mississippi
at Chaneyville. The retreating columns of General Banks
were attacked in force by the enemy. Colonel Slocum, with the
Fourth brigade, took an active part in that engagement, as he did
in the battle at Willow bayou, crossing the Atchafalaya, arriving
at Morganza bend on the twenty-first of May, 1864, where the army
went into camp for reorganization.
On the twenty-fifth of May, 1864, Colonel
Slocum was appointed provost marshal of the trans-Mississippi,
with headquarters at Morganza, Louisiana. Much importance was
attached to this new duty. It involved the trade and commerce of
the river for one hundred and eighty miles front and eighty miles
back. All the products of the country, destined for market or
shipment, had to pass through his hands. This duty he continued to
perform as long as the army remained at Morganza, and the entire
country west of the Mississippi had been abandoned by rebel
authority.
The monotony of the military post at Morganza was
broken on the sixteenth day of November, 1864. Prior to this date,
General Lawler spoke of his having a birthday on the
sixteenth, and proposed to celebrate it. Mrs. Breed,
a widow lady from New Hampshire, a visiting friend, was married on
the sixteenth of November. Mrs. Slocum, the wife of
General Slocum, proposed that they all join in celebrating the
event, it being the anniversary of their marriage. Mrs. General
Reynolds wished to join in. General Lawler directed General
Slocum to take the headquarters boat and go to New Orleans,
and lay in a supply for the occasion, and extend an invitation to
a number of officers and citizens of New Orleans to join them and
partake of their hospitality. About sixty invited guests were in
attendance, many of them from New Orleans. An elegant dinner was
prepared for the occasion, and the table, spread in "the cabin of
the headquarter boat. There were old and young, citizens and
soldiers, all commingling together. After dinner they had music
and dancing, in which all engaged. The presents brought up from
New Orleans were quite profuse. The whole affair was enjoyed by
all, and by none more than the citizens present. The next day
General Slocum sent the headquarter boat to the city
with all who desired to go down.
On the tenth day of January, 1865, General
Slocum was honorably mustered out of the service, when he
returned to Ashland. The results of the war had so effectually
revolutionized the business of the country, that the practice of
law was not at all desirable. In the winter of 1865-6, he returned
to Louisiana with the view of purchasing property and making that
State his future home.
After spending some time in different localities, he
saw from the impression left on the minds of the ex-confederates,
that it was unsafe for any northern man to remove to that locality
with his family, so he returned to Ohio in the spring of 1866, and
engaged in civil pursuits.
On the thirteenth day of March, 1865, he received from
the President of the United States a brigadier general's
commission by brevet, "for meritorious service in the field." This
promotion was given him without solicitation on his part. On
the first day of March, 1867, he received a telegram from the
treasury department, wishing to know if he would accept an
appointment as assessor of internal revenue for the Fourteenth
district of Ohio. The general called a few of his Republican
friends together, and made known to them the contents of the
dispatch. Among the number was Captain S. M. Barber, a
one-legged soldier. After some consultation, he offered to decline
the offer himself, if Captain Barber would accept
it. The captain considered the matter until the next morning, when
he declined, for the reason that he was receiving, as
superintendent of the public school, an equal salary. So the
general accepted, and on the sixth of March he was confirmed by
the Senate, and his commission forwarded. He held the office up to
June 22, 1872, when the office of assessor was abolished by law.
Two years thereafter his accounts with the treasury department
were balanced, and a treasury draft for thirty-six dollars and
eighty-five cents sent him, as his due. Since 1872 he has been
actively engaged in the practice of law.
General Slocum from early manhood has taken an
active part in the politics of the country. He was identified with
the old Whig party, and commenced his political career before he
became a voter, in the campaign of 1840. Though always living in a
strong Democratic locality, he would enter each succeeding
campaign to win. He has for years represented his county in State
conventions, and been twice a delegate to Republican National
conventions. In August, 1866, the loyal Union men of the southern
States called a convention in the city of Philadelphia. To give to
their efforts and manifestation of nationality a hearty
recognition, the governors of all the northern States appointed
two delegates from each congressional district to meet their
southern brethren in convention. Hon. Martin Welker, then a
member of Congress from the Fourteenth district, and General
Slocum, were appointed by Governor Brough as
delegates to that convention, which in magnitude and grandeur was
the most imposing convention ever held in America. Up to the
present writing General Slocum is regarded as one of the
leaders of the Republican party in central Ohio.
An incident not particularly connected with this
sketch, though one of peculiar historic account, occurred under
his observation and direction. Nine days after Colonel M. M.
Speigle had been killed, the major of the Second Illinois
cavalry, and General Slocum, sought to recover the remains of
their colonels. On General Banks' retreat down Red river,
General Slocum and the major, (whose name is not
remembered) went down to Snaggy Point in search of the colonels,
and found them both buried in the same grave. General
Slocum mounted his horse and rode seven miles up the river,
where the fleet was tied up, boarded a quartermaster's boat, saw
the officer, and requested him to stop his boat at the place of
disaster, and throw off two coffins, for the purpose stated. When
the fleet moved down the river the coffins were taken ashore, the
major remaining there with his men to place the remains in the
coffins, and ship them to the mouth of the river, or to the
Atchafalaya. Some of the detail reported to General Slocum
that the quartermaster's boat was crowded into the river before
the coffin containing the remains of Colonel Speigle could
be put aboard, and consequently left it on the banks of the river.
General Slocum procured a detail of twenty men and an
ambulance, and sent them down to bring up the coffin, which they
did, under the fire of the enemy on the opposite shore. The detail
reported that they had placed the coffin in the ambulance, and it
had gone forward to join the ambulance corps. On the night of the
battle of Willow Bayou, General Slocum received the
following note:HEADQUARTERS THIRTEENTH ARMY
CORPS.
NEAR SIMSPORT, LOUISIANA, May 18, 1864.
"COLONEL: I have
the honor to request that you will make arrangement with some
transport in the Atchafalaya to convey the body of Colonel
Speigle. It is getting so much decomposed that we
cannot carry it in an ambulance any further, or keep it in the
train. I know your anxiety to preserve it, and will
contribute all in my power toward it.
Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
G. B. DULLEM, Chief Clerk, COLONEL SLOCUM, One
Hundred and Twentieth Ohio volunteer infantry.
On the receipt of the
above note, General Slocum hurried forward, in advance of
the corps, and reached the Atchafalay, where he found the fleet
awaiting the army, to convey it across the stream. He at
once made arrangements with the dispatch boat to carry the
remains of Colonel Speigle to Cairo, and from there
forward them to Millersburgh, Ohio. On making inquiry at
headquarters, where the ambulance could be found containing the
remains of Colonel Speigle, he was informed by the chief
clerk that the surgeon of the department had ordered it to be
taken from the ambulance and run back in the woods. After
getting a suitable box made for the coffin, the general, with a
detail of men, went to bring in the remains, and place the same
on the transport. Finding the wagon a hundred rods or
more back from the road, in the woods, the coffin was taken from
it. It appeared unusually light, and grave suspicions were
aroused that the body had been taken from the coffin. The coffin
was opened in the presence of at least twenty men, and no corpse
had ever been in it. The inside was clean, and contained the
shavings of the undertaker. This fact was communicated to the
officers at headquarters, who appeared incredulous, and thought
they must be mistaken. To satisfy themselves, each examined the
coffin, and could see no mark or evidence that it had ever been
used. In October following,
General Slocum, for the purpose of getting the facts in
the case, went to Burwick bay, in southwest Louisiana, where the
Second Illinois cavalry were on duty, and there saw the major
who had been left in charge at Snaggy Point. He informed
General
Slocum that when the fleet went down the river, the
quartermaster ran his boat to the shore and threw off two
coffins, in one of which they put the remains of Colonel
Mudd, and carried on board the other coffin, which was too
small to receive the remains of Colonel Speigle,
so they placed him back in the grave, and covered him over,
leaving the empty coffin on the bank of the river, where his
remains repose to this day. The medical department at
headquarters even went so far as to say that the stench arising
from the decomposed body of
Colonel Speigle was creating sickness, and thus ordered
out of the ambulance, and sent in an open wagon back in the
woods. It has often been wondered by General Slocum
if this astute medical corps were not yet inhaling the stench
arising from the imaginary decomposed body. They certainly
labored under an extreme hallucination of mind.
Source:
History of Ashland County, Ohio with Illustrations and
Biographical Sketches, by George William Hill, M.D. - Published
by Williams Bros. 1880 - Page 169 |
| |
ADAM SMITH, son of Henry and Leah Smith, was
born in Columbiana county, Ohio, May 3, 1831, and came to
Ashland in the year 1846 with his parents. He has been a
resident of the county ever since, with the exception of about
three years that he spent in California. He was twice
married; first, on July 18, 1859, to Elizabeth Richards,
daughter of Wesley and Jane Richards, who was born in
Wayne county, July 5, 1840. The fruit of this union was
seven children as follows: Loren C., Leah J., Willis
J., Lewis H., John W., Martin R., and Nora E., all of
whom are living. Mrs. Smith died July 9, 1877.
Mr. Smith was married July 30, 1879, the second time to
Miss Jennie Pickard, second child of John and Mary A.
Pickard, born Nov. 16, 1850. Both Mr. and Mrs Smith
are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. When Mr.
Smith came to Ashland county the farm he now owns was all
woods. Mr. Smith served in the office of trustee of
Troy township one term. When Mr. Smith went to
California he went by the way of New York; from New York he went
to Aspinwall; from there crossed the isthmus to Panama; from
there to Gargonia, Mexico; and from there to San Francisco, and
then to Sacramento, and took the steamer up the river to Red
bluff, in Chasta County, and from there to Trinity county, and
footed it forty miles over the mountains to work in the mines.
He remained there three years and four months, and by this time
he had made a good start and returned home.
Source:
History of Ashland County, Ohio with Illustrations and
Biographical Sketches, by George William Hill, M.D. - Published
by Williams Bros. 1880 - Page 336 ~ Troy Twp. |
| |
DAVID SMITH, JR., was born in
Perry township, Wayne county (now Ashland), Ohio, Dec. 4, 1824,
and moved to Orange township about the year 1839, where he has
since resided. He was married to Rosetta, daughter
of John and Anna Bails, who was born in Wayne County,
Apr. 11, 1834. The have had a family of eight children, as
follows: Iva. A., John B., James N., Maggie E., Emmit
H., Stewart S., Etta M., and Emma C., all living but
James N. and Stewart S. Four of the children are
still at home. Mr. Smith and wife are earnest
members of the Presbyterian church.
Source:
History of Ashland County, Ohio with Illustrations and
Biographical Sketches, by George William Hill, M.D. - Published
by Williams Bros. 1880 - Page 344 |
| |
GEORGE B. SMITH
was born in Ashland, Ohio, Dec. 5, 1844. He received his
education at the Ashland union schools, and at Kenyon college,
Gamier, Ohio. He was admitted to the bar at Ashland in
1867, after reading the required time and course in the office
of his father, J. W. Smith, and soon after was taken into
his father's business as partner, which partnership still
exists. He was also admitted to the circuit court of the
United States for the Northern district of Ohio, at Cleveland,
in 1874. In 1879, he was married, at St. Louis, to Miss
Jessie Sutherland, of that city, daughter of Hon. H. W.
Sutherland, a former well known Ashland county boy. In
1878 he was elected to the office of prosecuting attorney of his
county, being elected thereto by the Democratic party, of which
he is an active working member. At the end of his first
term he was again renominated for the same position.
Source:
History of Ashland County, Ohio with Illustrations and
Biographical Sketches, by George William Hill, M.D. - Published
by Williams Bros. 1880 - Page 384 |
| |
HENRY
SMITH was born in Pennsylvania in 1796, and located in
Columbiana with his parents after the war of 1812. He moved thence
to Clearcreek township, where he resided until 1846, when he
purchased a farm and settled in Troy township. He cleared and
improved a valuable homestead. He died in 1865, aged about
sixty-nine years. His family were: John, Adam,
Samuel, Joseph, Elizabeth Biddinger,
Susan Stentz, Mary Ann Beymer, and
Caroline Barrack. The family are considerably
scattered.
Source:
History of Ashland County, Ohio with Illustrations and
Biographical Sketches, by George William Hill, M.D. - Published
by Williams Bros. 1880 - Page 181 |
| |
Vermillion Twp. -
JAMES B. SMITH was born in Trumbull
county, Ohio, Nov. 18, 1815. When a little more than one
year old, his parents moved to Ashland county and located in
Vermillion township, about three miles south of Hayesville, on
land entered by Mr. Smith's grandfather. This
section of the country was unimproved, and they had to endure
the hardships that only these hardy pioneers could.
James, the subject of this sketch, grew up among these
scenes, in which he took part, until he reached manhood.
Mar. 3, 1840, he married Lydia Workman, and at once
emigrated to the State of Illinois where he expected to remain;
but in the fall of the same year his father's death decided him
to return to the scenes of his childhood, and, after closing up
the affairs of his father, he settled down where he now resides,
and determined to remain here. From that time to the
present, Mr. Smith has seen the many changes that have
taken place. Where the old forest trees swayed to and fro,
waving fields of grain and grass now fill the heart of the owner
and passer-by with thankfulness to Him who ruleth the destinies
of mankind. The old log cabins, with their spacious
fire-places, have gone, and in their place are beheld beautiful
and convenient houses, brick and frame, and large barns filled
with the abundant harvest. The ox team, and the ungainly
cart with its wooden wheels, we see no more, but, in its stead,
the prancing steed, in light, but durable harness, moves rapidly
over a smooth road, with a four-wheel vehicle that would have
been a thing of wonder to our venerable forefathers.
Mrs. Smith died Feb. 3, 1845. They had four children.
One child, a daughter, and the first of the family, died at the
age of two years. The others are: Lydia Amanda,
who was the wife of John VanDeren, and died in March,
1874, in Kansas; Ruth Ann, wife of Dr. Cole, of
Crestline, Ohio; and Stephen S., who is married and lives
in Jasper county, Missouri. Apr. 15, 1847, Mr. Smith
married Martha Jane McClure. To them have been born
five children, two sons and three daughters. Wilber F.
died May 29, 1854. Of the remaining four, one son is
married and the three daughters remain with their parents.
Mr. Smith has served as justice of the peace for six
years, and although a Republican since the existence of that
party, he was elected to the office in a township which was
strongly Democratic. Mr. and Mrs. Smith are members
of the Methodist Episcopal church at Hayesville.
Source:
History of Ashland County, Ohio with Illustrations and
Biographical Sketches, by George William Hill, M.D. - Published
by Williams Bros. 1880 - Page 299 |
J. W. Smith |
JAMES
W. SMITH, ESQ., was born Mar. 2, 1818. His father,
John V. Smith, then resided three miles east of Wooster,
Ohio, and owned what was known as Smith's mill, situated
on Apple creek. In 1824 he built a mill in Cedar valley,
six miles northwest of Wooster, where he lived until 1841, after
which he continued to reside in Wooster until his death, Jan.
24, 1852.
James W. was the fourth son, and was one of a
family of thirteen children by the same parents. At an
early age he manifested a strong desire for education, and soon
acquired a knowledge of all the branches then taught in the
common schools. At the age of fifteen he left the paternal
home and engaged in a drug store, with Dr. J. P. Coulter,
of Wooster, but, after an experience of about one year, he was
engaged by his eldest brother, V. C. Smith, as a clerk in
his dry goods store at Congress (then Waynesburgh), where he
remained another year, when his brother sold out and quit
business there. It was then that he fully determined to
engage in literary pursuits, and not being satisfied with a
common school education, he and his brother, William Harrison
Smith, shouldered their bundles of clothing, and, for want
of a better mode of travel, footed it across the country to the
then famous Norwalk academy, in two days, a distance of fifty
miles, where he remained until 1835, when the academy building
burned down. The school was temporarily suspended, and
Mrs. Smith returned to Wooster, and became a clerk in the
store of V. C. Smith & Co., the firm consisting of his
brother and father.
In 1837 he, in company with his friend, the late
Samuel Hemphill esq., of Wooster, took passage on a
canalboat at Canal Fulton, for the Ohio university, at Athens,
Ohio, and, having reached Lancaster, they were compelled to foot
it across to Athens, a distance of forty-five miles, there being
neither stage-coach, or railroad, between the towns at that
time. Hope then boomed, and the prospect was fair for a
classical education, but, after studying the languages and
higher mathematics for a year or more, he was induced to suspend
the collegiate course, and entered the law office of the late
Judge Cox, of Wooster, and, in the month of October, 1841,
was admitted to practice as an attorney and counsellor-at-law,
at Millersburgh, Ohio. He first commenced practice at
Bucyrus, Ohio, but, on the death of Silas Robbins, esq.,
an old lawyer well known to the older settlers of this county,
Mr. Smith located at Ashland, in July, 1842, and opened a
law office with his late preceptor, Judge Cox, as his
partner.
Ashland county had no existence at that time, but was
part of Richland county, and, in this connection, it is worthy
of note, that having experienced the great inconvenience of
practicing law away from the county-seat, and feeling that the
growing demands of the time for a new county must give Ashland
the superiority over all other localities, at the suggestion of
the late I. P. Reznor, Mr. Smith took measures to call
the first new county meeting that was ever held in Ashland, by
giving notice in person to the citizens of the town to meet at
the counting-room of Luther & Crall at a time named, to
consider the question of a new county, with Ashland as the
county-seat. The meeting was accordingly held, and he was
made chairman of the committee, and actually drafted the notice
and petitions to be signed by the citizens, and presented it to
the legislature, fixing the boundaries of the proposed new
county. In the winter of 1845-46, being the second session
of the legislature after the enterprise began, it was
successful, and the county of Ashland began its own independent
existence, and thus became historic.
In the month of October, 1843, James W. Smith
was married to Miss Augusta Burnham, who was then
attending the Ashland academy as a pupil, residing with her
sister, the late Mrs. T. W. B. Hibbard. She was
born at Rumney, New Hampshire, Sept. 29, 1823, where she lived
until she came to Ashland, at the age of eighteen; and having
been born and raised beneath the shade of the granite mountains
of her native state, and possessed of more than an ordinary
share of the graces of her sex, with admirable health and
personal attractions, she found it no hard task to capture the
young Buckeye lawyer, and to this day it is said he still
entertains the opinion that she has lost none of the qualities
that so much ennoble and dignify woman in all the relations of
life.
The children consisted of two sons and two daughters.
The two youngest, Charlie and May, died in
childhood, the former at seven, the latter at two and a-half
years old.
George B. Smith was admitted to the bar as an
attorney at law in the year 1867, and has been his father's law
partner ever since. He was elected prosecuting attorney of
the county in 1878, and was married to Miss Jessie
Sutherland, daughter of the Hon. J. W. Sutherland, of
St. Louis, Missouri, on the 29th day of May, 1879.
Belle H. Smith was married Dec. 1, 1869, to
Frederick S. Hanford, esq., an educated and talented young
lawyer of Akron, Ohio, who died Jan. 29, 1879, of congestion of
the lungs, after a brief illness, leaving two little daughters,
Ethel and Grace Hanford, the fruits of said
marriage.
Mr. Smith has been in the active practice of law
since his settlement in Ashland, and by close application to the
business of the profession, careful and thorough investigation
and preparation of cases confided to him, and a strict regard
for the interests of his clients, prompt attention and honest
and fair dealing in all matters of business, has secured to him
a larger share of public confidence as a lawyer, and a greater
number and variety of cases than fall to the lot of most
lawyers, which, together with his temperance principles and
Christian character, entitles him to the confidence and respect
of all men as a citizen, and place him as a member of the legal
profession in a position worthy of the emulation of the
fraternity. During his long residence he has been
identified more or less with all the enterprises and business
interests of Ashland, has at various times been placed in
nomination by his party for office, in earlier times for
prosecuting attorney and state senator, and later for judge of
the court of common pleas of the sixteenth judicial district,
third sub-division, composed of Ashland, Richland and Morrow
counties; but being a Republican in politics, although in the
latter instance he ran five hundred votes ahead of his ticket,
it was not enough to overcome the Democratic majority of his
judicial district, and therefore was not successful.
Source:
History of Ashland County, Ohio with Illustrations and
Biographical Sketches, by George William Hill, M.D. - Published
by Williams Bros. 1880 - Page 247 |
| |
JOHN
SMITH was born in Columbiana county, Ohio, Oct. 1, 1822.
He learned the trade of a carpenter in Stark county, In 1843-4.
In 1845 he married Rebecca Fettehoff, and in 1849 removed
to Troy township, Ashland county, and purchased a small farm.
He became a farmer-mechanic for some years, and finally
abandoned his trade to become an agriculturalist.
Mr. Smithis of German descent. His father,
Frederick Smith, came from Germany in 1821. He died
in Stark county, Ohio, in 1854, at an advanced age. His
children were: Frederick, who died in Troy
township, Ashland county, in 1864; John, of Troy;
Savilla, wife of Jacob Hipp, of Troy; Mary,
wife of Michael Auer, of Indiana; Christian and Andrew,
of DeKalb, Indiana.
The family of John consists of
Elizabeth, wife of Michael Merkel, of Michigan;
Jacob F., married to Sophrona Fast, of Huron county,
Ohio; James Smith; Hannah, wife of Oran Chapman,
of Lorain county; and Mary, William, Loretta, Pheba, Lydia,
and Emma, unmarried.
Mr. Smith is a good business
man, and noted for his strong common sense and frankness.
He has been elected trustee of Troy township five times,
although the party with which he affiliates is in the minority.
AT the spring election of 1876, he was elected a justice of the
peace. He is very active in propagating his political
ideas, though always courteous to his political opponents.
When he entered Troy township, the
primitive forest, with here and there a small clearing and a few
cabins, covered the township. It is now greatly improved.
Source:
History of Ashland County, Ohio with Illustrations and
Biographical Sketches, by George William Hill, M.D. - Published
by Williams Bros. 1880 - Page 256 |
| |
NATHAN W. SMITH was born in
Wayne county, Ohio, in 1835, and came to Ashland county in 1856
with his father, who settled on the farm now owned by John
Richey, in Vermillion township. In 1866 he married
Maggie E. Lair, of Wilmington, Clinton county, Ohio.
He learned photography in Wooster, Ohio, with Walter Jones,
and has since been located in Hayesville, Monroeville, Fostoria,
and Upper Sandusky, and is now located in Loudonville. In
politics he is a Republican, and is the father of three
children, viz.: Lulu, Olive and Mildred.
Source:
History of Ashland County, Ohio with Illustrations and
Biographical Sketches, by George William Hill, M.D. - Published
by Williams Bros. 1880 - Page 297 |
| |
ROBERT W. SMITH was born
near Sudbury, Vermont, Dec. 1, 1799, and went with his parents,
Elisha and Amy Smith, first to the State of New York, and
afterward moved to Ohio about 1817 or 1818, first settling on
the farm of Major Tyler in what is now Plain Township,
Wayne County, Ohio.
Elisha and Amy Smith were natives of the State
of Massachusetts, and Asa Smith, father of Elisha,
was in the French war and Revolution, at the battle of Bunker
Hill, etc.
Robert W. was the oldest son of a family of
eleven children, and the first winter, on coming to Ohio, his
father being sick, and unable to do anything, the care of the
family and all the heavy labor fell upon him. During the
first fall and winter he and his brother, Asa, a lad of
fourteen, cut off, cleared and fenced twenty acres of heavily
timbered land, and also with a few neighbors' help, built and
covered a double log barn. About this time Elisha,
his father, entered a quarter section of Mohican township,
Ashland county, Ohio, some three miles from their home, and all
extra time was improved to first build a hut where the men could
cook and sleep while clearing, and building a cabin for the
family to move into a few years later. This was the
homestead to which the family moved, and where Elisha and Amy
Smith lived and died; the first in January, in 1851, and the
second in August, 1856.
Elisha Smith, father of Robert W., was
born Feb. 18, 1773, and Amy Smith, his mother, was born
Apr. 7, 1778. They had the following children:
Mary, born Mar. 4, 1796; Electa, born Jan. 17, 1798;
Robert W., born Dec. 1, 1799; Rachel, born Oct.
29, 1801; Asa, born Sept. 21, 1803; Hervey born
Aug. 17, 1805; William R., born July 14, 1807; Willard,
born May 11, 1809; Daniel P., born May 19, 1811;
Elisha F., born Feb. 19, 1815, and Daton, born May
31, 1827.
Robert W. Smith was married to Priscilla
Hatch about January, 1823. She was a native of New
York, born Mar. 25, 1799, and died Mar. 3, 1837. The
family consisted of eight children: Wilbur R., Julia
A., Elisha, Adelia, Lydia, Asa, Edmund P., and Harriet
Smith, all deceased, save Edmund P. Robert
W. Smith's life was full of the hardships, privations and
dangers of pioneer life. At one time returning late to his
hut with provisions, and night overtaking him, he was chased a
long distance by a pack of hungry wolves, and only escaped by
throwing a ham of fresh pork to them as he sprang into the hut
which was opened and quickly closed by a comrade inside.
He was full of energy, and amongst his first successful
enterprises, was buying cattle and oxen, and driving them to
Detroit, Michigan to sell, passing through "Black Swamp" where
there were twenty miles without a habitation, and often
compelled to return to his starting point at night for
accommodations for himself and horse. In later years his
son, Edmund P. often accompanied him to Michigan to buy
cattle to bring home to graze and fatten on his farms. He
bought horses, and travelled them to New York city, to sell and
sold dry goods in the town of Mohicanville. The latter
business proved very unprofitable, but he died worth a handsome
competence, leaving a name of stainless integrity to community,
and a sacred memory of unfailing tenderness and affection for
his family and friends. He died July 16, 1862. About
1844 he married a worthy and estimable lady, Mrs. Isabella
Cliffe, a native of Scotland, who still survives at the ripe
age of eighty years. She passes her declining years with
her son, Dr. D. B. Cliffe, of Franklin, Tennessee, a very
prominent physician, and noted during the civil war for his
unwavering devotion to the Union.
Source:
History of Ashland County, Ohio with Illustrations and
Biographical Sketches, by George William Hill, M.D. - Published
by Williams Bros. 1880 - Page 402 |
| |
ROBERT W. SMITH
was a native of Vermont, and the eldest son of Elisha and Amy
Smith. He was born Dec. 1, 1799, and with his parents
moved to the State of New York, and from there to Ohio, in the
year 18__ and settled first in what is now Plain township, Wayne
county, but shortly afterwards moved to Mohican township,
Ashland county, where he made his permanent residence until his
death. He died at his home, about three miles southeast of
Jeromeville. He married for his first wife Priscilla
Hatch, by whom he had eight children: Wilbur R.,
Julia A., Adelia, Elisha, Lydia, Asa, Edmund P., and
Harriet All are dead except Edmund P. His
first wife died, and for his second wife he married Mrs.
Isabella Cliffs, who still survives, and now resides in Iowa
with her son, Dr. D. B. Cliffs, a prominent physician of
that State. She has reached the advanced age of eighty
years. He suffered from a severe hemorrhage of the lungs
at the age of twenty-five, and was never considered a strong man
physically from that time until the day of his death. He
was, however, a very active, energetic, man, and possessed of a
good mind, and rare business qualifications. He gave his
attention to the buying and selling of stock, which he followed
with good success. The pursuit of this business
necessitated his leading much of his life on horseback, and
this, no doubt, was the means of prolonging his life. He
was a man of good judgment, and careful business habits, and
accumulated a handsome property. Our subject experienced
all the hardships and privations that were common to the
pioneers of that day. He was a resident of Ashland county
when it was a howling wilderness, but one house was to be found
between Jeromeville and Ashland. He made several trips to
the mouth of the Huron river to get a barrel of salt, that being
the nearest point at which it could be procured. He
narrowly escaped with his life, one night, on his way home with
provisions he had procured for the household. The wolves
followed him for a long distance, he keeping them back with a
stick he carried. They followed him even to the door of
his cabin, and by the time he reached his home had become so
bold as to almost defy his frequent attacks upon them with his
club. His father Elisha was born Feb. 18, 1873, and
died Jan. 29, 1851. His mother was born Apr. 7, 1778, and
died Aug 22, 1856. The only surviving member of this
family is Edmund P. Smith, of whom we cannot refrain from
saying just a word. He is a genial, courteous gentleman,
and highly esteemed by the citizens of his native county.
He was born Aug. 31, 1834, and was married Nov. 24, 1857, to
Miss Ellen E. Hoy, who was born Aug. 28, 1835, and is the
daughter of one of the early settlers of Ashland county, a
sketch of whom will be found in another place, of this volume.
To him has been born one child, Julia M., Aug. 10, 1858.
Mr. Smith served a term of nearly three years in the late
war, on General Garfield's staff, as quartermaster seargent.
He is a staunch Republican, and an earnest advocate of his
chosen party's measures and principles. Independent in
thought and action, he is esteemed by members of both parties
alike for his convictions upon all matters of a public nature.
Source:
History of Ashland County, Ohio with Illustrations and
Biographical Sketches, by George William Hill, M.D. - Published
by Williams Bros. 1880 - Page 351 ~ Milton Twp. |
| |
MR. SAMUEL SMITH was born in
New Milford township, Litchfield county, Connecticut, May 23,
1800. At the age of fifteen years he was apprenticed to
learn the trade of carpenter and house joiner, and served six
years. At the expiration of his apprenticeship he married,
and followed his trade for ten years, in his native State.
In 1832 he removed to Lorain county, Ohio, where he again
resumed his trade. While a citizen of Lorain county, he
was elected captain, and subsequently promoted to lieutenant
colonel, and finally colonel of his regiment. In 1837 he
located in Milton township, Richland, now Ashland county.
While a citizen of Milton, he served twelve years as justice of
the peace, and acquitted himself to the satisfaction of his
friends. Milton was largely Democratic, and Colonel
Smith was an old Whig. His integrity and uprightness
elevated him above party bias, rendered him personally popular,
and hence, he was re-elected to the same position twice.
In 1860 he disposed of his farm and removed to Ashland where in
1862 his excellent lady deceased, aged sixty-three years.
He again married. Mr. Smith for many years was an
active and influential member of the Presbyterian church.
His family consisted of Orlow, Riley, Charles,
Nelson, Augustus, Lemon and three
daughters. Orlow served in the late war, and
was promoted to brigadier-general. Nelson fell at
the sanguinary battle of Chickamauga. The rest of the
family, we believe, all survive.
Mr. Smith died Sept. 22, 1876. The funeral
services were conducted by Elder N. P. Lawrence, of the
Disciple or Christian church, at the late residence of
Colonel Smith, South Ashland, at two o'clock p.m., Sabbath,
September 24th, when his remains were conducted to and deposited
in the cemetery of Ashland.
Source:
History of Ashland County, Ohio with Illustrations and
Biographical Sketches, by George William Hill, M.D. - Published
by Williams Bros. 1880 - Page 256 |
| |
THOMAS SMITH was a native of
Sussex county, State of Delaware, and was born Jan. 12, 1780.
His parents being quite poor, he was compelled at an early age
to enter the employ of strangers to procure a living. When
a mere boy he became a sailor, in the coast trade, on the
Delaware bay. For many years he followed a seafaring life,
during which he became well versed in the vocabulary of that
branch of human enterprise, and obtained from "Jack" a wonderful
store of anecdote and song. He was vivacious, brave and
uncommonly active and prided himself on being an experienced
sailor and hardy seaman. In the meantime, he acquired a
fair knowledge of the English branches taught in the schools of
Delaware, wrote a fair hand, and concluded to abandon the sea
and seek a home in the far west. In 1805 he married, and
in 1806, with his wife and father's family emigrated, by the
usual route, to Fairfield county, Ohio. In 1813 he was
drafted to serve in the army in the northwest part of Ohio, and
was out twenty-one days, when peace was declared and he
discharged. In March, 1818, he emigrated to Milton
township, and located for a short time on what was then known as
the Jonathan Markley farm. He
subsequently purchased the farm on which his aged widow now
resides, near Burns' school-house, to which he removed.
Mrs. Smith thinks his nearest neighbors then were:
Nicholas Rutan, John Owens, John Taylor, Jacob Foulks, William
Houston, Benjamin Montgomery, Boston Burgett, John Crabbs, David
Crabbs, Andrew Burns, Robert Nelson, Frederick Sulcer, John
Bryte, and a few others, very much scattered.
At the April election, in 1819, Thomas Smith was
elected a constable for Milton township. At the April
election of 1820 he was elected one of the trustees for Milton
township. In 1821 he was re-elected. In 1823 he was
elected appraiser of property. In 1824 he was re-elected
appraiser of property. In 1825 he was elected lister and
appraiser of property. In 1826 he was elected supervisor
for his quarter of the township. In 1827-8 he was elected
overseer of the poor of the township. In 1829 he was
elected treasurer of Milton township. In 1830 he was
elected justice of the peace, and was re-elected the six
succeeding terms, making a continued service of twenty-one
years. During his official career as justice of the peace
he was repeatedly elected township treasurer, trustee and road
supervisor. Very few officials anywhere had a stronger
hold upon the confidence of the public. In the midst of
his official duties, in 1837, he taught a district school, and
acquitted himself to the satisfaction of his employers.
It may be proper, in this connection, to speak more
fully of the popularity of the squire. He was benevolent
to a fault. He rarely permitted a plaintiff to distress a
debtor, always endeavoring to prevent the accumulation of cost,
by giving the party notice prior to commencing an action.
His docket shows that after judgment had been rendered he often
shows that after judgment had been rendered he often neglected
to exact the full payment of his own costs. This act of
mercy, though it ill rewarded him for his time and worry, made
him many friends among the poor pioneers. Again, he was
free with his money, social and remarkably shrewd. He
could tell a good story, sing a pioneer or sailor song, and was
the central figure at a log rolling, house-raising, corn
husking, or at an election. It was his custom on election
days to treat his friends. For many years saloon keepers
from Ashland were in the habit of sending beer and gingerbread
to the polls in Milton township, at the elections. When
Squire Smith was in his prime he often purchased a keg of
beer and treated his political friends, and to wind up the
sport, took a large roll of gingerbread under each arm, and
passing through the crowd, permitted those who desired to do so,
to pluck off a large slice. This produced much amusement
among the young men, and the mirthful voters joining in, the
scene was decidedly rich. In the meantime the voting
quietly progressed, and Squire Smith was always
elected. In the days of old corn whiskey, he was expected
to treat with a stronger stimulant than beer. In his
familiar moods, he would take the tumbler of whiskey, put in
sugar, and stir it with his finger, and invite his friends to
drink health and prosperity. To abstinence people this may
seem objectionable; but church members, as well as all others,
by the customs of those days, were regarded as uncivil unless
they treated their visiting friends.
The long official services of Mr. Smith show
that he retained the confidence and respect of the people of his
township to the last. He was emphatically an honest man.
As a politician he was frank and firm. He declared he was
a Democrat after the Jeffersonian and Jackson school.
His death occurred July 18, 1851. Being
exceedingly fond of fruit, he climbed upon a rail fence, near
his residence, to gather cherries from a tree, and his foothold
being insecure he fell upon his head and shoulders, dislocating
his neck, and expired before he was discovered. He was
about seventy-two years of age at his decease. His widow,
now (1875) eighty-seven years of age, still survives, and
possesses a clear recollection of the past, though physically
quite frail. Mr. Smith was the father of
eleven children children - seven sons and four daughters:
Robert, Henry, John, Mitchel, Charles, William and
Thomas, and Ardilla, Catharine, Margaret and Malinda,
all of whom are married, and some of whom reside in other parts
of the State.
Source:
History of Ashland County, Ohio with Illustrations and
Biographical Sketches, by George William Hill, M.D. - Published
by Williams Bros. 1880 - Page 201 |
| |
ALONZO
N. STEARNS was born in Perrysville in 1827, and in 1851
married Mary J. Heath, of Loudonville.
He was a carpenter and joiner by trade, having learned
his trade of A. A. Quick. He followed that occupation
twenty-six years, when he bought a saw-mill of Henry
Feese, and has since been engaged in lumbering. During the
late war he enlisted in company C, One Hundred: and Twentieth
regiment Ohio volunteer infantry, under Colonel French.
He is a member of the Methodist; Episcopal church, and in
politics is a Republican. He is the father of five children,
viz.:
Matthias H., Myron N., Robey, Emma and
Eva.
Source:
History of Ashland County, Ohio with Illustrations and
Biographical Sketches, by George William Hill, M.D. - Published
by Williams Bros. 1880 - Page 279 |
| |
HORACE
L. STEARNS, son of Nathan Steams, was born in
Green township, Ashland county, Ohio, in 1821. In 1846 he enlisted
in company A, Third regiment Ohio volunteer infantry, commanded by
Captain William McLaughlin. The regiment was
commanded by Samuel R. Curtiss, in the Mexican war.
He went to Mexico, traveled as far as Matamoras, and was
discharged in consequence of disability. In 1849 he began keeping
the American house in Perrysville, Ohio, having bought out John
Shaffer, and he remained in that business twenty-two years.
In 1866 he went into the dry goods business in company with N.
P. Reed. The partnership lasted but six months, and Mr.
Stearns soon went into the same business alone, and is
still engaged in it. He is a member of the Presbyterian church. In
politics he is a Democratic prohibitionist. He has held the office
of constable, township clerk and township treasurer. In 1844 he
married Barbara N. O'Hara, who died in 1855. She had one
child, Barbara A., who died when fifteen years old.
In 1850 he married Rachel B. Huntsbury, who died in 1851.
She had one child, Myron N., who was drowned in i860, when
nine years old. In 1855 he married Margaret Butteroff,
who died in 1870. In 1871 he married Mary J. Veach,
and by her had two children, Ora V., who died in infancy,
and Mary V.
Source:
History of Ashland County, Ohio with Illustrations and
Biographical Sketches, by George William Hill, M.D. - Published
by Williams Bros. 1880 - Page 279 |
| |
NATHAN
STEARNS, born in Connecticut in 1788, came to Ohio in 1817,
and settled in Green township, Ashland county, on the farm now
owned by the McKinley brothers. It was then a wilderness.
He was a shoemaker, and worked at his trade in connection with
farming. In 1810 he married Mary Morehouse, who died
in 1870. They were both members of the Baptist church. He died in
1851. In politics he was an old-line Whig. He was the father of
seven children, viz.: Lucius S., supposed to have died in
Cochactaw with cholera in 1832; Warren L., who married
Jane McCreaden, and died in the army; Charlotte M., who
married Phillman H. Phuner, and afterward married
Lawrence Omera, of Loudonville; Horace L., who
married Mary J. Veach; Norman L., deceased, who married
Rebecca Smith, and died in Indiana; Milo E., who
married Mary A. Calhoun, and lived in Tipton, Missouri.
Source:
History of Ashland County, Ohio with Illustrations and
Biographical Sketches, by George William Hill, M.D. - Published
by Williams Bros. 1880 - Page 297 |
| |
Vermillion Twp. -
WILLIAM H. STRICKLAND was born Dec. 8,
1824, on a tract of land located by his grandfather as early as
1815. The Stricklands are well known as a pioneer
family of Ashland county, a sketch of whose lives will be found
elsewhere in this work. William H., the subject of
this sketch, when a babe, left his birthplace, his parents
moving to a farm near the northeast corner of Vermillion
township, where he remained until he was a man of twenty-two
years of age, when he married Mary, daughter of Jacob
Eichelbarger. Mrs. Strickland died Mar. 21,
1848. They had one child, a daughter, now the wife of
George Kelley, of Vermillion township. Feb. 19, 1850,
Mr. Strickland again married, Elizabeth, daughter
of Henry Hough, of Montgomery township. They had
two children, one son and one daughter - the son is at home and
is single, and the daughter married David Hostetter, of
Richland county, Ohio. Mrs. Strickland died June
29, 1871. Apr. 1, 1873, he married Catharine E.,
daughter of Jacob Smith, of Vermillion township.
They have one child, a son, now four years old. Mr.
Strickland owns the farm on which he first saw the light,
which he purchased about five years ago. It is a fine
farm, and will, probably, be his home the remainder of his life.
He has acted as supervisor and school director a number of
years; is a good neighbor and a kind husband and father, and a
hard, earnest worker. In politics he is a Democrat, and he
and his wife are members of the English Lutheran church at
Jeromeville, Ohio.
Source:
History of Ashland County, Ohio with Illustrations and
Biographical Sketches, by George William Hill, M.D. - Published
by Williams Bros. 1880. - Page 303 |
| |
BRADFORD STURTEVANT was born in
Litchfield county, Connecticut, March 16, 1786. January 1, 1809,
he married Sarah Carter, and removed to Richfield, now Summit
county, Ohio, in June, 1816. Here he improved a small farm, which
he sold in 1823, and purchased, in company with Daniel
Beach, one section in Ruggles township, then in Huron county.
In August, 1823, he erected a cabin, and removed with his wife and
children in September. He removed with ox teams, taking along
twelve head of cattle and twenty sheep. The following winter he
returned to Richfield and purchased a lot of stock hogs, and drove
them through the woods to Ruggles. July 4, 1824, three of the four
pioneer families of Ruggles celebrated independence at the cabin
of Mr. Sturtevant, They had a dinner, and in the
evening, for fire-works, attempted to blast a white wood tree, but
failed. In 1836 he removed to the village of Milan, Erie county,
to give his children the educational advantages of the place. In
1844 he returned to Ruggles, and deceased in May, 1871, aged about
eighty-five years. He was a man of fixed purposes, highly
conscientious in his moral ideas, and a most successful farmer. He
engaged largely in raising fine stock, and by good management
accumulated a handsome homestead. Like his New England ancestors,
he was a Puritan in his religious opinions, and possessed the
confidence and esteem of all his neighbors and acquaintances. His
children were— Carleton H.; Marcia, married to B.
Ashley, of Milan; Harriet, deceased; Sarah,
married to Dr. Gaipin, of Milan; Isaac G.,
who resides on the homestead; Martha, married to Horace
Taylor, a missionary to India; and William B. Martha
was the first female child born in the township—May 17, 1825.
Isaac G. Sturtevant, from whom we obtained the foregoing
particulars, married Adelaide Carter. Carleton H.
married Lydia Peck, and William B. married Anna
Wolcott. He also states that the first school-house was
built in 1824, half a mile west of the residence of Bradford
Sturtevant, and was taught by Miss Betsy
Sacket, sister of Harvey Sacket. The school was
supported by subscription. The scholars were of the families of
the Beaches, Sturtevants, and from Greenwich
township, adjoining Ruggles. The first church organization was in
1827. It was Congregational, and Rev. E. T. Woodruff
was the first minister. At that time the pioneers attended mill at
Cold creek, in Erie county, some forty miles away. They reached
the mill on pack-horses, by winding paths through a dense forest,
finding but few settlers on the way. Two or three years after the
arrival of Bradford Sturtevant, the little colony
was increased by the arrival of Jacob Roorbach,
Harvey Sacket, Justus Barnes, Taylor
Peck, Solomon Weston, Aldrich
Carver, Norman Carter, James Poag,
Abraham Ferris, Albert Buell, George
W. Curtiss, Reuben Fox, and others. Isaac
G. Sturtevant is a model farmer and stock-grower. He resides
about half a mile west of the corners. Adorned by tasteful
buildings, select fruit orchards, and good fences, his homestead
furnishes proof that the lessons of economy, neatness, and
business tact, enforced by the father, are carefully followed and
adhered to by the son. He is a genial and intelligent gentleman.
Source:
History of Ashland County, Ohio with Illustrations and
Biographical Sketches, by George William Hill, M.D. - Published
by Williams Bros. 1880 - Page 179 |
| |
FREDERICK
SULTZER was born in Green county, Pennsylvania, July 25,
1762. From the time he was ten years old, he was compelled
to handle fire-arms. From the period of his childhood,
until the close of the war of 1812-15, the border settlers of
western Pennsylvania were menaced by Indian raids. He
became very expert as a backwoodsman, and when a deer, a bear,
or any other species of game, came within range of his rifle, it
was sure to fall a victim to his unerring aim. He visited
what is now Milton township, in the fall of 1815, and located
the tract of land upon which he settled. In the spring of
1816, he brought a covered wagon and four good horses, with a
plow and other farming utensils. He slept four months in
the wagon, doing his cooking in a sort of camp hut. In the
fall, after having put up a cabin and secured his crop of corn,
he returned to Pennsylvania and brought on his wife. At
that time, the Indians were quite numerous along the Black fork,
engaged in hunting, through they were harmless. The next
spring they encamped near him and made sugar. Mr.
Sigler, who married Mr. Sultzer's daughter, informs us that the old gentleman retained his
vision and his steadiness of aim to the last. When
he was ninety-two years old, he shot a hawk, offhand, on a very
high tree, near his residence, to convince Mr. Sigler
that his sight and aim were as accurate as in the days of his
prime. He never wore glasses. He was a cousin of the
famous Louis Wetsel, and in his boyhood often hunted with
Wetsel, who tried to teach him how to run and load his
gun. He possessed much admiration for the achievements of
his noted cousin as a border warrior and spy. He was a man
of very even temper, genial, and warm in his attachments.
Mr. Sultzer voted for Washington and the ten succeeding
presidents. In his later years, he became a member of the
denomination known as Christians. He died childless, at
his far, on the Mansfield road, in Milton township, Mar. 30,
1857, aged nearly ninety-six years. His wife died in 1843.
Mr. Sultzer had drawn a pension of ninety-six dollars per
annum, for many years prior to his death, as a compensation for
his border services in western Pennsylvania in his youth.
HE was the last of the border men in this county, and deserved
the esteem of his countrymen.
Source:
History of Ashland County, Ohio with Illustrations and
Biographical Sketches, by George William Hill, M.D. - Published
by Williams Bros. 1880 - Page 204 |
| |
THOMAS SMITH SUTHERLAND was born
in Washington County, Pennsylvania, November 4, 1816, and removed
with his father's family to Richland (now Ashland) county, in
1833. He became a farmer by occupation and married Martha
Sheets, daughter of the late Joseph Sheets, one of the
pioneers of Montgomery township. Mr. Sutherland
purchased from his father's estate part of the homestead one and a
half miles south of Ashland, and more recently the balance of the
home farm, from the heirs.
He was a man of industrious and economical habits, and
noted for his integrity and strict honesty. He possessed an
excellent judgment, and was honored by being selected to fill
several township offices.
On the third day of May, 1876, Mr. Sutherland
was fatally injured while assisting in the removal of a neighbor.
Being in advance of other teams, in a small wagon, one of the
teams became alarmed at a hog who jumped up by the road side, and
commenced to run. Mr. Sutherland turned aside to
permit the team to pass, but was run into, breaking his wagon to
splinters, and in passing over him, the wheels crushed to or three
ribs. He survived until the fifth, and deceased. The
melancholy termination of his life produced a feeling of sadness
throughout the township. He left a widow and one daughter,
the wife of Mr. Jameson. A large concourse of friends
and neighbors followed him to his final resting place in the
cemetery at Ashland.
Source:
History of Ashland County, Ohio with Illustrations and
Biographical Sketches, by George William Hill, M.D. - Published
by Williams Bros. 1880 - Page 178 |
| |
BYRON M.
SWINEFORD was born in this township (Montgomery), this
county, Mar. 6, 1850, and this county has always been his home.
His vocation through life has been that of a salesman in
different stores, and he has been engaged in the furniture
business, as also the bed spring bottom business. He has
also paid some attention to farming, in which business he is now
engaged in. He was married Apr. 8, 1878, to Miss Libbie
Gates, who was also born in this county, Aug. 27, 1856.
They have one child, named Susie May, who was born May 3, 1880.
She is still living.
Source:
History of Ashland County, Ohio with Illustrations and
Biographical Sketches, by George William Hill, M.D. - Published
by Williams Bros. 1880 - Page 399 |
| |
GEORGE SWINEFORD, was born in Northumberland
county, Pennsylvania, September 22, 1797, and came to Ashland
county with his parents in 1819. He married Miss Rosa
Ewing, of Mohican township, in 1820. She was a daughter
of John Ewing, one of the pioneers of that township.
Mr. Swineford was a tanner by trade, and one of the first
mechanics of Ashland. His tan-yard stood where the
agricultural works of David Whiting were built.
Mr. Swineford continued in business until about 1850, when he
removed to his farm in the country, some two miles east of
Ashland, on the Wooster road. Mr. Swineford was for
several years in feeble health, and died in 1866, aged sixty-nine
years. His family consisted of nine living children, and
three deceased, at his death. They were -
Mahala,
Sopharus, Anthony, Harriet, John, Lewis, Ellen, Almira, Rosa;
and the dead, Rosa, George and William.
Mrs. Swineford survived until April 15, 1878, when she
deceased, aged seventy-two years.
Source:
History of Ashland County, Ohio with Illustrations and
Biographical Sketches, by George William Hill, M.D. - Published
by Williams Bros. 1880 - Page 245 |
| |
JOHN
SWINEFORD was born in Northumberland county, Pennsylvania
March 25, 1795. His father, Peter Swineford, located
with his family in Fairfield county, Ohio, in 1807, and remained
there until 1819, when he removed to Montgomery township, then in
Richland, but now in Ashland county, and settled one mile and a
half southeast of Ashland, then Uniontown, In February,
1823, Mr. Swineford, married May, daughter of the
late Joseph Young, and having erected a cabin, commenced
tin improve his farm. He remained on the homestead until
1857, when he moved into Ashland, where he now resides.
Mr. Swineford gives the following statistics:
The first grist-mill in Montgomery
township, one mile north of Ashland, By Thomas Oram, in
spring of 1816.
First saw-mill, two miles from Ashland, in Milton
township, by Allen Lockhart.
First church, Methodist Episcopal, at Eckley's,
now Smith's mills, in Vermillion township, 1819, and Old
Hopewell, in Milton, 1817.
First dry goods store in Uniontown, Joseph Sheets,
succeeded by Francis Graham.
First blacksmith, Ludwick Cline,
on Wooster road, two miles east of Ashland.
First cabinet-maker and undertaker, the late
Alexander Miller.
First carding-machine, stood where Smith's mill
now is in Vermillion township, built by andrw Newman; the
next by the late Andrew and Uriah Drenub, in Ashland.
The first tannery stood where Whitings
agricultural works now stand, built by John Croft, and
subsequently owned by the late George Swinford.
The first wagon-shop, where Barkholder's
saw-mill now stands, and was owned by Henry Wachtell.
The first blacksmith in Ashland was the late
Samuel Urie.
The second cabinet-maker in Ashland, the late
Jacob Grubb. The
family of Peter Swineford, father of John, consisted
of George, John, Anthony, Samuel and A. C. Swineford.
They are all deceased, except John and Abram C., who
reside in Ashland. Peter Swineford, sr. died January
30, 1849, aged seventy-eight years, and Samuel died January
13, 1862, aged sixty-two years. The family of John
Swineford consisted of Abraham (dead), Lib
(dead), Hannan, Mary, Nancy, and Austin. The
family of Samuel Swineford consisted of Luther, Alfred
P., James, Curtis, Sarah, Elsa, Jane and Emily.
Source:
History of Ashland County, Ohio with Illustrations and
Biographical Sketches, by George William Hill, M.D. - Published
by Williams Bros. 1880 - Page 222 |
NOTES:
|
