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COLUMBIANA COUNTY,
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BIOGRAPHIES
Source:
History of the Upper Ohio Valley
with Historical Account of Columbiana
County, Ohio.
A statement of the Resources, Industrial Growth and
Commercial Advantages. Family History and Biography
Vol. I & II. Illustrated
Publ. Madison, Wis. - Brant & Fuller -
1891
(Transcribed by Sharon Wick)
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HON . JACOB VAN FOSSAN,
ex-commissioner of Columbiana county, was born Aug. 9, 1827,
in Madison township. His parents were John and Mary
(Hull) Van Fossan. The former was born in
Pennsylvania in 1801. Coming to Ohio with his parents
when a small child he passed the rest of his life in that
state, living to the advanced age of eighty-three years.
He was a son of Jacob Van Fossan, a native of
Germany, from which country he emigrated at an early day.
He first settled in Pennsylvania, where he remained until
about 1805, or 1806. At this time he removed with his
family to Madison township, Columbiana county, Ohio, and
entered 160 acres of land which he developed into a fine
farm. Here he lived and died. Jacob, Sr., was
a soldier in the revolutionary war, and his son, Arnold,
served in the war of 1812. John Van Fossan
enlisted in the latter war but the difficulty was settled
before he reached the field of action. The Hon.
Jacob Van Fossan passed his childhood days on the old
Van Fossan farm alternating his farm work with short
attendance at the old log school-house of his boyhood.
Having chosen agriculture as his life vocation he, in 1856,
married Miss Agnes McBane, who was a daughter of
Angus and Nancy (Mckintosh) McBane, of Madison township.
Their children are: Lyman D., Nannie, W. Scott,
Charles G., J. Franklin and Emma. In 1878
Mr. Van Fossan was elected a commissioner of
Columbiana county. His service of six years in this
prominent and responsible position was marked by wise
counsels and a strict regard for the public welfare.
After remaining with his parents until his twenty-fifth year
Mr. Van Fossan started out to do life's battle
without a dollar. His magnificent farm of 506 acres,
with its handsome buildings and modern improvements speaks
more than any words can for the wisdom and enterprise of its
distinguished owner. He has come to be recognized as
one of the principal leaders of the republican party of
Columbiana county and is thoroughly respected and beloved by
all who know him. The family are communicants of the
Presbyterian church.
Source: History of the Upper
Ohio Valley
- Vol. II -
Publ. Madison, Wis. - Brant & Fuller - 1891 - Page 398 |
WILLIAM
VAN FOSSAN was among the earliest settlers of Madison
township, Columbiana Co., Ohio; he was born in 1810, on the
4th of October, the son of Arnold Van Fossan, who was
born in Pennsylvania. He came to Ohio with his parents
about 1784, and settled in Columbiana county, when that
portion of the state was a wilderness. He received his
education in the log schoolhouse of his boyhood, and upon
reaching the years of manhood, married Eleanor Clark,
daughter of Hugh Clark. Shortly after his
marriage he removed to Wayne township, and after remaining
there for a short time, moved to various different places,
until he finally settled in Madison township again, where he
remained until his death, December 10, 1864. His
father was a soldier in the war of 1812. William's
wife is still living at West Point, Madison township, at the
age of seventy-nine years. They had eleven children,
as follows: Amy, wife of J. A. Mick; Joseph,
Mary A., deceased; Jessie was drowned in
the Mississippi river; James is a resident of
Madison township; William, now residing in Iowa;
Mariah, wife of W. G. Patterson; Adaline, wife of
W. S. McClane; Martha, wife of Andrew Binsley;
Daniel, of Cadiz, Ohio, and Henry W., a resident
of Cleveland, Ohio. Mr. Van Fousan served his
township in many different offices. He was a member of
the Presbyterian church, and was held in the highest esteem
by his neighbors. Joseph Van Fossan was born
February 6, 1834, in Elk Run township. Having received
a good common school education, and having attained to the
years of manhood, he married Hester Baugh, daughter
of John and Mariah Baugh, early settlers of
Columbiana county. The former died in 1856 and the
later in 1884. Eight children have been born to this
happy union: William H., Jessie E., wife of
Elva Patterson; Warren C., Edith E., Frank E.,
Lillian H., Charles, deceased, and Bertha C.
Mr. Van Fossan has been treasurer of Madison township
and also a trustee, and has filled many other minor offices,
although he is a staunch democrat and the township largely
republican. He has a farm of 208 acres under the
highest state of cultivation, and is accounted as one of the
most substantial and esteemed residents of the township.
Source: History of the Upper Valley - Vol. I -
Publ. Madison, Wis. - Brant & Fuller - 1891 - Page 177 |
WILLIAM HARVEY VAN FOSSAN,
a prominent educator of eastern Ohio, was born in the
village of Glasgow, Columbiana county, on the fourth day of
November, 1855. He is a son of Thomas J. Van Fossan
who married Jane McBane, a lady of scotch ancestry.
The subject of this sketch is the oldest of a family of five
children, three of whom are living. Professor Van
Fossan, in the face of many difficulties, obtained,
through his own exertion and love of knowledge, a very
thorough classical education, passing rapidly from district
to union school and to Mt. Union college, where, in 1878, he
graduated. He taught his first school in the country,
the winter of 1871, at the age of sixteen, and his work of
instruction has been interrupted only by attendance at
school from that time until the present (1890.) After
graduation, he occupied the position of high school
principal at Millersburg, Ohio, leaving that to take the
superintendency of the Hanover, Ohio, union schools where he
taught three successful years and then took charge of the
East Palestine, Ohio schools. After two years of hard
work here he left the schools (1885) perfectly equipped and
systematically graded and accepted the position of
superintendent at New Lisbon, Ohio, where he is still
engaged. A life certificate granted him by the state
board of examiners at Columbus, Ohio, in 1882, bears the
highest average scholarship in a class of forty professional
teachers. In 1885, Prof. Van Fossan married
Eva S. Morris, of New Lisbon, a lady of remarkable
talent and culture. This union has been blessed with
two children, Elaine and Ernest H. Mr.
Van Fossan is one of the board of examiners of his
county and ranks very high as an institute instructor and
lecturer. An earnest Christian, he superintends the
Presbyterian Sunday school, of which church he is a member
and devotes much time and energy to the work of the young
people. He is a close student, a conscientious
teacher, a man of rare literary tastes, an able and
systematic superintendent thoroughly devoted to his work and
has before him a future full of many possibilities.
Source: History of the Upper
Ohio Valley
- Vol. II -
Publ. Madison, Wis. - Brant & Fuller - 1891 - Page 249 |
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