Orange Twp. –
E. ABBOTT, farmer; P. O. Lewis Center.  This gentleman ranks among the self-made men of the township; was born in Licking Co. July 13, 1826; is the oldest of a family of ten children.  His father, Jonathan Abbott, was born in Pennsylvania; his wife (Adah Wright) was born in Maryland; after their marriage, they located in Licking Co., where they lived until his death, about the year 1848; Abram Wright, her father, was one of the early pioneers, and built and ran the first store in Newark.  Ezekiel, in early life, was enabled to get sufficient education to teach school, which he followed for several terms.  At the age of 23, was married to Martha E. Pressley; she died three years afterward, leaving no issue.  Subsequent to his marriage, he clerked in a store at Mt. Vernon; then ran a water-mill about two years, then went on his mother’s farm and worked it until 1857, when he moved to Delhi, where he bought a saw-mill and engaged in the lumber business; bought a large amount of walnut and cut it for the market; continued it about fifteen years doing a large and prosperous business: he then traded his mill for a farm northwest of Delaware, where he lived two years, and in 1875 moved to his present place, where he bought 137 acres of land, which has first class improvements thereon; has been engaged in farming and raising sheep; intends soon to make a specialty of the latter.  In 1855, married Miss Eleanor J. Reed, born in Licking Co. in 1830, daughter of Nelson Reed; they have two children––Albert C., born July 6, 1865; Edward W., Feb. 28, 1868.  Mr. Abbott and wife are both members of the M. E. Church.  Mr. Abbott never has solicited office, yet has filled the office of Justice of the Peace for fifteen years while in Radnor Township.
Source: History of Delaware County and Ohio; Chicago: O. L. Baskin & Co., Historical Publishers, 1880, p. 706
Contributed by a Generous Genealogist.

Harlem Twp. –
JAMES C. ADAMS, farmer; P. O. Harlem; his father, John Adams, was a native of Pennsylvania, where he was born Nov. 13, 1800, and, when 8 years old, came with his father to Ohio; he bought the farm, the present homestead, of James C., which then contained 640 acres; he remained with and worked for his parents until his marriage, Dec. 5, 1835, to Desire Cook, daughter of B. Cook; she was born Nov. 18, 1803, in Preston, Conn., and was 4 years old when her folks came to Ohio. After his marriage, Mr. Adams moved in with his parents, where he worked on the farm and taught school during winters. When a young man, he united with the M. E. Church, and was one of the leading spirits in building the present Harlem Church, and for many years was an official member of the same. Feb. 6, 1872, Mr. Adams died, and six years later, in January, 1878, his wife followed him to the grave; they had eight children. The subject was the second child, and was born June 26, 1827. When 23 years old, he commenced teaching school; taught two terms, and in the fall of 1853, went West, and, during the winter of 1853-54, he taught school in Libertyville, Iowa, and in the spring of 1854, gathered up some young stock and started to drive through to California, and the following spring two of his brothers came to him, and they laid their claims in mines close to Harrison Hill, where the three of them worked for four years; they then sold out, and located on a ranche [sic] in Sierra Valley, where they remained six years. The subject then sold out, and went to Virginia City, where he built a hay barn, and bought hay and grain for about three years; then sold out, and returned to his native county. While on his way across the Plains to California, he dropped a large knife, and when going back after it he was surrounded by some Indians and compelled to pay toll, and among the change he gave them was a counterfeit $2.50 gold piece, and after he got started on his way, one of them caught up with him, and threw the counterfeit piece at him, and said: “White man’s money bad.” After coming home, he, in company with a brother, bought a saw-mill, which they ran in connection with the farm, our subject running the farm and his brother the mill. They worked in that way for six years, and during that time our subject was married to Mary M. Wright, daughter of Joseph and Almira Wright, who were married in Licking Co; they had seven children; five of them are still living. Mrs. Adams was their third child, and was born Sept. 23, 1841; when 21, commenced teaching school, at which she continued until her marriage, Feb. 25, 1868; they had five children––Arthur C., born Jan. 6, 1869; Minnie B. and Willie F. (twins), born July 27, 1870, Willie F. died Jan. 28, 1871; Ida M., born Oct. 8, 1875; Hubert J., born Oct. 30, 1877. Mr. and Mrs. Adams are members of the M. E. Church. While on his trip to California, and shortly after leaving Libertyville, Iowa, Mr. Adams fell in with an emigrant train, with which he traveled to Salt Lake City, and was there taken sick and remained about five weeks boarding with a Mormon family, and in that way he found out the inside workings of the Mormon faith and practice.
Source: History of Delaware County and Ohio; Chicago: O. L. Baskin & Co., Historical Publishers, 1880, p. 837
Contributed by a Generous Genealogist.

Thompson Twp. –
JAMES G. ADAMS, farmer and stock raiser; P. O. Prospect; youngest son of Elijah and Nancy (Cary) Adams; was born in Radnor Township May 7, 1826. In the father’s family, there were eleven children––seven sons and four daughters. The subject of this sketch passed his youth and early manhood on his father’s farm, assisting him in clearing and improving the property that he had secured in Radnor Township. On the 9th of July, 1847, he was united in marriage with Miss Margaret M. Gast; after living one year with his father after his marriage, he moved to Marion Co., Ohio, living there one year, but, not liking his location, he removed to Thompson Township, where he has lived ever since; he is the father of an interesting family of ten children––John Q., Nancy J., Martin L., Margaret E., Elijah I. (deceased), Mary L., Emma A., Arra A., James M. and one that died in infancy without being named; of these, four are married––John, Nancy J., Martin L. and Margaret E. The eldest of Mr. Adams’ sisters was an M. E. Church missionary for two years among the Wyandot Indians of Upper Sandusky. Having a good common-school education, Mr. Adams started out a poor boy, choosing as his religious standard the M. E. Church doctrine, the Republican system in politics, and honesty and integrity in his course in life; he has accumulated 200 acres of No. 1 land in Thompson Township, and fifty acres in Radnor Township; is a man that keeps thoroughly posted with the times; his residence is beautifully situated on the banks of the Scioto River, and easily accessible to several good railroad points.
Source: History of Delaware County and Ohio; Chicago: O. L. Baskin & Co., Historical Publishers, 1880, p. 800
Contributed by a Generous Genealogist.

Harlem Twp. –
SILAS ADAMS, farmer and stock-raiser; P. O. Harlem; son of John and Margery Adams, of Luzerne Co., Penn., where our subject was born May 30, 1814, and, when two weeks old, his parents started for Ohio, and located in Harlem Township, on 80 acres of land; his homestead was bought by his grandfather, David Adams; he was a babe of 8 weeks old when they landed in Delaware Co.; his father and mother went into the timber, and, fixing a bed for their child between the logs, they left him there while they cut down and trimmed up the logs for their first house; camping out until it was done and covered with bark, they doing all the work. Mrs. Adams lived about six years after coming to Ohio; they had five children, one died when a babe––Kellogg, Rolley, Silas and Betsy A. In 1821 Mr. Adams married his second wife, Hannah Smothers, they had six children––George, Lucy, Desire, Margery A., John Q., and Eveline; the father died in 1835. He had for many years been a member of the M. E. Church, and, for twenty-two years, was class-leader, his house being a preaching point, and the home of the ministers; he was one of first school teachers to locate in the township; he was many years township Justice of the Peace and Trustee, Clerk and filled other township offices, and, in his day, was one of the best-educated men in the township. He remained at home until 22 years old, though for some two years before he ran his father’s and grandfather’s farms; when of age, he bought his grandfather’s farm, valued at $400, and for it he was to care for his grandparents until their death; one of them lived one year, and the other twenty-one years. After housekeeping seven years, on May 26, 1842, he married Rhoda Vandruff; they had two children––Lewellen, born May 21, 1843; Fernandez Lee, March 4, 1849; they are now married and living in Harlem Township. Mrs. Adams died in May, 1853, and, in April, 1854, our subject married his second wife, Mahala Fairchilds; she died April 14, 1867, and, Sept. 21, 1867, he married his present wife, Philenia Wright; she was born April 10, 1840; they have three children––Roena D., born Oct. 1, 1868; John Q., Feb. 3, 1873, and Kellogg P., Nov. 20, 1875. The first money our subject ever made was by catching quails, at a cent apiece, until he had $6, which he loaned to his father, and, after many years, he got for his $6, a motherless colt, 3 days old, which he raised by hand, and, when grown, sold it for $60, that being the basis of his present property of 216 acres of land, on which he has two good dwellings, outhouses, etc., with a nice young orchard of 400 trees; his farm is well stocked with hogs, sheep and cattle; on his farm is a stone quarry, out of which he furnished a great amount of curb-building stone, it being of the best grade of sandstone. In addition to what property he now has, he has given his sons each a farm of seventy acres, well stocked with good buildings, etc. With his eldest son, he is now engaged in buying and baling hay, having put up about two thousand tons in the last three years; he owns 250 acres of land, on which he has $9,000 to $10,000 in personal property, in addition to what he has given his children. Mr. and Mrs. Adams are members of the M. E. Church, of which he is Trustee, and is one of only two or three that are now living who paid their subscription directly to the building committee of Harlem M. E. Church, erected in 1838.
Source: History of Delaware County and Ohio; Chicago: O. L. Baskin & Co., Historical Publishers, 1880, pp. 837-838
Contributed by a Generous Genealogist.

Harlem Twp. –
ZIBA ADAMS, farmer; P. O. Galena; is a son of Rolif and Elizabeth (Jones) Adams; his father was born in 1795, in Luzerne Co., Penn., and came to Harlem Township in 1812, on foot; he soon purchased a portion of land, and some time afterward returned to Pennsylvania, and there formed a matrimonial alliance with Elizabeth Jones, and returned to Delaware Co. by ox team; they remained on that farm for about five years, and then bought a portion of the land now owned by our subject. Mr. Adams was one of nine children––William, Lucinda, Clarinda, Ziba, Fisher (deceased), Elizabeth A. and Evi; two died when small––Minor and Addison. Ziba was born May 22, 1826, in Delaware Co., where he has always remained; his younger days were spent in attending school and helping his father. Oct. 29, 1849, he was married to Jane, a daughter of William and Abigail (Vantassel) Sebring. Her father was born in Pennsylvania, and her mother in New York State, and their marriage occurred in Genoa Township, where they raised a family of nine children––Jane, Andrew J., Mary A., Charlotte, Harriet, Linda, Melissa, Angeline and Sarah E.; her mother died in 1851, and her father was again married to Mary Marshall, by whom he had two children––Mary and Kate; her father died Sept. 14, 1874, and was a member of the Presbyterian Church, as was also her mother. The wife of Mr. Adams was born Aug. 16, 1826, in Genoa Township; they had four children––Lovina (deceased in 1862), George W., John Q. and Emma J. (died Sept. 14, 1872); Mr. Adams settled in a log cabin on a portion of his present farm of 400 acres, 23 of which was inherited; they make a specialty of feeding cattle, buying at Chicago and shipping to their farm where they feed and prepare for market; in this they are successful. He has always voted the Republican ticket. His grandfather Jones was in the Revolutionary war.
Source: History of Delaware County and Ohio; Chicago: O. L. Baskin & Co., Historical Publishers, 1880, p. 838
Contributed by a Generous Genealogist.

Delaware Twp. -
GEORGE H. AIGIN, engineer fire department, Delaware. Among the old settlers of Delaware may be mentioned the Aigin family, who came here in 1837; the subject of this sketch was born in Monroe Co., N. Y., in 1829, and is the son of James Aigin, who was born in Baltimore in 1801, and went to Buffalo, N. Y., to learn his trade as a tailor, at 16 years of age, at which he worked in different parts of the country; he was in Boston when the corner-stone of the Bunker Hill Monument was laid, and was married in 1828 in New York, to Miss Martha Angier, of Andover, Mass. In 1837, with family, he moved to Delaware and is recognized as one of its honored citizens; he keeps a news stand, which business he has been in for the last twenty-one years; Mr. Aigin was one of the committee that organized the Ohio Wesleyan University; had one son in the late civil war, Stephen P., enlisted in Co. C, 4th O. V. I., who was lost about 1863, supposed to have been drowned; George H. remained a resident of Delaware until 1847, when he went to Alabama, and was there engaged in helping build the Selma. Rome & Dalton Railroad, of which he was locomotive engineer for a number of years; Mr. Aigin was taken sick with yellow fever, and was dangerously ill with that dreaded disease some five days in 1859; he then returned to Delaware, and has since worked in the flax-mills, and helped to set up the engine in that mill; he also had one-third interest in the city foundry, which business he carried on about one year; Mr. Aigin was for one year engaged in the grocery business. In 1870, on the organization of the paid fire department, he was made engineer of the steamer, which position he has filled ever since with entire satisfaction to all; he is now the oldest in the service of the department; Mr. Aigin has attended church in the present engine-house, which was originally erected for church purposes; he was for a short time engaged in operating a grist-mill in Concord Township, where he was elected Township Clerk, and filled that office with satisfaction.
Source: History of Delaware County and Ohio; Chicago: O. L. Baskin & Co., Historical Publishers, 1880, pp. 613-614
Contributed by a Generous Genealogist.

Delaware Twp. -
H. G. ANDREWS, Delaware, is a native of Franklin Co., this State, where he was born in July, 1813. His parents were Noah and Ruth (Griswold) Andrews; his father was a native of Connecticut, and his mother of Massachusetts; Mr. Andrews came from his native county to this place in 1831, when he entered a store as clerk, and in about two years he engaged in the mercantile business for himself; this he continued for about twenty years, engaging also in the manufacture of paper at Stratford, an account of which business will be found in another part of this work; during this time, Mr. Andrews purchased a farm which he has retained and operated; it has been his fortune to fill several positions of prominence, and his wholesome influence has been felt in the community in which he has moved, serving to mold in no small degree the sentiments of those who were brought in contact with him; Mr. Andrews was for a number of years a director of the S. & D. R. R. In 1835, he was married at Zanesville, Ohio, to Miss Emily Downer, and seven children have been born to them, four now living. Hiram R., a son, served in the late war for three years as a member of the 18th U. S. Regulars.
Source: History of Delaware County and Ohio; Chicago: O. L. Baskin & Co., Historical Publishers, 1880, p. 613
Contributed by a Generous Genealogist.

Trenton Twp. –
THOMAS ANDREWS, farmer; P. O. Sunbury; is a son of Ira and Bethiah (Jenkins) Andrews; his father was born May 30, 1798, and married June 16, 1823; his mother was born Aug. 31, 1804; they came from Connecticut; he bought 100 acres of land where the Columbus depot now stands; both are deceased, the father Oct. 6, 1854, and the mother March 21, 1864; they had two children––Chauncy B., born May 16, 1824, in Berkshire Township, and is now living in Iowa; Thomas Andrews was born April 17, 1831, in Syracuse, N. Y., and was married Feb. 8, 1855, to Alsina, a daughter of Jacob Boyd; she was born May 16, 1833, in this township; they have two children––Medora, married John Longwell, now living in Sunbury; Charles, now attending college in Delaware. Our subject learned the cooper’s trade with his father, and continued the same until 25; he also worked at the hat trade in Mt. Vernon and Trenton Township. After marriage, they settled on their farm, which consists of 200 acres, in addition to which they own sixty-five acres in another lot. He is serving his fifth year as Treasurer of the township. He is a member of Sparrow Lodge, No. 400, A., F. & A. M., in which he was elected Treasurer for six terms in succession; is also Treasurer of the Delaware (Ohio) Fire Insurance Co.
Source: History of Delaware County and Ohio; Chicago: O. L. Baskin & Co., Historical Publishers, 1880, p. 827
Contributed by a Generous Genealogist.

Liberty Twp. –
WELLS S. ANDREWS, farmer; P. O. Powell; was born June 20, 1831, a son of Timothy Andrews, a native of Connecticut; and was one of the early settlers in the county, and came to this State when he was but 20 years of age; Wells’ school advantages were poor, but by dint of perseverance, acquired an education which enabled him to teach school, which he followed for eleven years. Jan. 3, 1855, married Amelia Mercer, born March 12, 1835, in Deavertown, Morgan Co., Ohio; she is a daughter of Dr. N. Z. Mercer; after their marriage, remained on the homestead until 1857, when he moved to his present home, one mile and a half west of the Olentangy; has 100 acres of improved land. Mr. Andrews has never sought office, yet he has been selected by his neighbors to fill every office from the Supervisor down, and has filled the office of County Commissioner; is a member of Powell Lodge, No. 465, I. O. O. F., and is now District Deputy Grand Master of Delaware Co. Mr. and Mrs. Andrews have four children––Blanche, born Aug. 10, 1858; Clarence, Aug. 17, 1862; William H., June 6, 1868; Birdie, Sept. 13, 1871. Mr. Andrews has been a resident of this county for nearly fifty years, and has been closely identified with its interests.
Source: History of Delaware County and Ohio; Chicago: O. L. Baskin & Co., Historical Publishers, 1880, p. 653
Contributed by a Generous Genealogist.

Trenton Twp. –
JOHN ARMSTRONG, farmer; P. O. Van’s Valley; is a son of David and Sarah (Draper) Armstrong; his father was born in Luzerne Co., Penn., Aug. 14, 1780; married Oct. 1, 1805, and emigrated to Ohio by team in 1807, settling near Sunbury, where he began life in the wilderness; his personal property consisted of a cow and six bushels of frost-bitten corn; Mr. Armstrong made his start on the farm now owned by George Peck, where he erected a log cabin 18x18 feet, and there they spent their early married life; they had nine children––Catharine, Charles, Nancy, John, Hannah, John the 2d, Amy, Mary and David. Mr. Armstrong’s mother was a daughter of Nathan and Hannah (Courtright) Draper; she was born May 27, 1787, and died January 12, 1860; John was born Aug. 17, 1820, in Berkshire Township; in 1850, he went to California to seek for gold and found it, clearing about $3,500. Feb. 5, 1851, he was married to Caroline, a daughter of Gilbert and Magdalena (Voorhees) Van Dorn; her parents were early settlers of Delaware Co., making their home in 1817 on the farm now owned by our subject; they had eight children; the father died Aug. 26, 1862, and mother Sept. 7, 1863; Mr. and Mrs. Armstrong have two boys––Charles V., graduated in the Cleveland Commercial College, and was bookkeeper in the Central Bank at Columbus for three years, is now farming with his father; Wilber P. is a teacher of efficient qualifications. Mr. Armstrong was in the mercantile and stock business at Cardington from 1851 to 1856; he owns 264 acres of well-improved land, and makes a specialty in baling and selling hay; is also engaged in the stock business. They are members of the M. E. Church at Van’s Valley, in which he has taken an active interest; he was one of the commissioners for erecting the court house in Delaware Co.
Source: History of Delaware County and Ohio; Chicago: O. L. Baskin & Co., Historical Publishers, 1880, pp. 827-828
Contributed by a Generous Genealogist.

Thompson Twp. –
THOMAS ARMSTRONG, farmer; P. O. Richwood; was born in Licking Co., Ohio, Feb. 20, 1820; came from there to Franklin Co., in 1832, and thence to Delaware Co., in 1863, where he has since resided. Mr. Armstrong is of Irish descent. He was married Jan. 23, 1854, to Miss Jane B. Chadwick, who is also of Irish descent; from this union there were five children––Dora, Thomas E., Carrie M., Frances C. and Jennie M. Mr. Armstrong is a wagon and carriage maker by trade, a business he followed while living in Franklin Co.; since coming to Delaware Co., he has given farming and stock-growing his exclusive attention; he owns a farm of 150 acres of well improved land; spent his youth and early manhood with his father, and received a good common-school education. Is a member of the M. E. Church, and in politics a Republican.
Source: History of Delaware County and Ohio; Chicago: O. L. Baskin & Co., Historical Publishers, 1880, p. 800
Contributed by a Generous Genealogist.

Delaware Twp. -
FREDERICK AVERY (deceased). One by one the old settlers of Delaware Co. are passing away beyond the shores of the dark river, and in a few more short years there will be none of them left to tell of the hardships and trials of their early settlement in this now beautiful region. Frederick Avery was born in Groton, Conn. in 1796; his father died when our subject was very young; Mr. Avery clerked in a store for a number of years. About 1816, he married Lydia Ann Chamberlin, who was born in Berkshire Co., Mass., Feb. 22, 1799; in 1818, they, in company with Justice Chamberlain and family, and Nathan Chester and family, started for Ohio in wagons, and after being on the road thirty-six days, arrived in Delaware Co. and located on the Radnor road; here Mr. Avery and family remained until 1822, when they moved to the present homestead of Mr. Avery; this farm then had but few improvements, no improved farm between them and Scioto. Mr. Avery went to work with a will, and in a few years, he owned a good improved farm; he was Judge of the court for several years, filling that office with honor and credit; he was every way a most estimable man. He died June 13, 1878, nearly 81 years of age, leaving a wife and four children to mourn the loss of a kind and loving husband and father.
Source: History of Delaware County and Ohio; Chicago: O. L. Baskin & Co., Historical Publishers, 1880, p. 613
Contributed by a Generous Genealogist.