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Mr. & Mrs. Edward E. Cockerill	EDWARD E. COCKERILL.     One of the earliest pioneer families to settle in Fayette county, Ohio, was the Cockerill family, which was first represented in this county by William S. Cockerill, a native of Loudoun county, Virginia, who was born in December, 1790, and came to Ohio in 1812, shortly after his marriage, settling first on the Ohio river just above its union with the Hocking river.  Here he lived until 1821, when he came to Fayette county, and purchased land of John Rowe in Perry township.  Here he lived for one year and then bought land of Mr. Connor on the Little Wabash.  William S. Cockerill was a man of decided literary tastes and more than ordinary intellectual ability.  For several years after coming to this county he followed the profession of teaching in connection with farming.  He served in the War of 1812 in an Ohio regiment.  William S. Cockerill was married four times, his first wife being Anna Lehman, to whom he was married in Virginia in 1809, and whose death occurred in Fayette county, Ohio, in 1821, shortly after the family moved to this county.  Nine children were born to this first marriage, Elizabeth, William, Milly, Samuel, Eldridge, Thomas G. and three who died in infancy.  Thomas G. is the father of Edward E. Cockerill, with whom this narrative subsequently deals.  The second wife of William S. Cockerill was Phoebe Mooney, the daughter of Judge Mooney, and to this second union nint children were born, Mary A., James, Lydia J., Harmanus, Amanda, Eliza, Anna and two who died in infancy.  The second wife died in 1855, and in 1857 Mr. Cockerill married her sister, Eliza Mooney, who died in 1862.  The fourth and last marriage of William S. Cockerill occurred in 1864, when he was united in marriage to Mrs. Doster who died in 1873.  William S. Cockerill lived until Dec. 19, 1879, being nearly ninety years of age at the time of his death.  He was a prosperous farmer and left an estate of four hundred acres of excellent land, which is now held by his descendants.      Thomas G. Cockerill, the son of William S. and Anna (Lehman) Cockerill, was born in 1812, and was married Sept. 29, 1831, to Sylvitha Cochran, the daughter of Barnabas and Charlotte Cochran, natives of New Jersey and early settlers of Ohio, who came to this state in 1806.  To Thomas G. Cockerill and wife were born nine children, William Newton, Martha J., Edward Estell, Jacob, Thomas, Samuel S., James W., Amelia O. and Eldridge W.  Four of these sons were in the Civil War, where they made a distinguished record for themselves.  All of the nine children grew to manhood and womanhood, married and reared families of their own.      Edward Estell Cockerill, named in honor of the Rev. Edward Estell was born Jan. 22, 1837, in the township where he has always lived except ten years in other states.  He is the third child of Thomas G. Cockerill and wife and one of the most highly honored residents of this county.  He was born in a log cabin in Perry township, and spent a few months of his boyhood years in the primitive schools of his home neighborhood, and early in life became sued to hard manual labor.  He married two years before the Civil War opened and left his wife and two small children to serve his country.  He enlisted in the One Hundred and Sixty-eighth Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry and served for four months toward the close of the struggle.  Immediately after being mustered out of the service he returned to his farm and has been following that vocation since.  He bought his present farm of two hundred and thirty acres, six miles from Washington C. H., in 1881, which farm was a part of his grandfather's estate and is now one of the most attractive farms in Perry township.  Mr. Cockerill has always been a heavy stock raiser and has been uniformly successful along this particular line.  He keeps his farm in good repair and has always kept it to a high state of productivity, so that he is able to secure the maximum results from his labors.      Mr. Cockerill was married Oct. 11, 1859, to Heressa Bineger, the daughter of George and Mary Bineger, natives of Virginia, and to this union have been born eleven children, Dennis, Eldridge, Minnie, A. G., Orville, Carrie, Melvin, Almeda, Gilbert, Lurella, Frank Willard.  Dennis and Eldridge died before their father went to the front during the Civil War; Minnie married Eugene Horney and has four children, Fred, Jessie, George and Ralph; A. G. married Naomi Marks and has three children, Cleo (who married James Beatty, and has one son, Russell B.), Clayton and Angeline; Orville is married; Carrie married Mr. Craig and has three children, Genevieve, Otis, and Helen; Melvin married Miss Meeks and has four children, Edward M., Melvin, Russell and Estella; Almeda is single and still living with her parents; Lurella is the wife of Harry Silkot and has two children.  Roland and Edward, deceased; Frank W. married Miss Coffman and has one child; Gilbert is married and has one son, Marcus.      Mr. Cockerill has been a life-long Republican in politics and has always been very much interested in political matters.  He has been trustee of his township, served as member of the school board, while he was commissioner of Fayette county for two terms.  Fraternally, he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Grand Army of the Republic.  He has been a member of the Methodist Episcopal church for more than fifty years and has always been much interested in church work.  He and his wife celebrated their golden wedding anniversary in 1909 and the occasion was observed in a most happy style.  Mr. Cockerill is one of the best beloved men in the township and no one is held in higher esteem and greater affection. Source:  History of Fayette County, Ohio - Indianapolis, Ind. : B.F. Bowen & Co., 1914 ~ Page 704
	LUTHER G. COCKERILL.     Among the enterprising, progressive and successful farmers of Union township, Fayette county, Ohio, is the gentleman whose name appears at the head of this sketch.  This family name is one which is associated with the earliest history of this county and the bearers of this name have ever been among the leading citizens of this locality.  Mr. Cockerill resides on his farm of two hundred and ten acres of land, splendidly located on the Greenfield pike about three miles from Washington C. H.  He also owns one hundred and sixty-one acres located just south of his home place and his entire possessions bear ready witness to his progressive agricultural method and his business ability.      Luther G. Cockerill first saw the light of day on Nov. 20, 1873, in Perry township, this county, being the son of Jacob S. and Hannah (Limes) Cockerill.  Jacob Cockerill and Sylvitha (Cochran) Cockerill.  Thomas was born in 1812 or 1813 and was one of the first white children born in the state of Ohio.  Luther, the immediate subject of this sketch, was one of a family of ten children, being the fifth in the order of birth.  The others are:  Oney, who became the wife of John King; Settie, Mrs. Patton; Augusta, Mrs. Walter; Fletcher, deceased; Laura, Mrs. Rodgers; Daisy, and Ernest, also a resident of Perry township.      Mrs. Cockerill received his elementary education in the district schools near the home in Perry township, later taking a more advanced couse in the university at Ada, Ohio.  From the time he was a small boy, and later on during vacation periods, he assisted the father in the work about the home farm and in this way early acquired a practical knowledge of agriculture.  After finishing his schooling and desiring to start out in life for himself, he rented a tract of land from his father, which he tilled for two years.  About that time he was married and for nine years after marriage he rented land from his father-in-law, Marion Parrott.  His first purchase consisted of one hundred and forty-eight acres, which he so managed a to make it pay for itself in a remarkably short time.  Mr. Cockerill has the reputation of being one of the best farmers of the community and in the conduct of his business he employs only such methods as have been approved by long usage or by experiments along scientific lines.  He has attained a most gratifying degree of success, quite commensurate with the thought and energy he ha brought to bear in his undertaking.      On Nov. 12, 1899, Mr. Cockerill was united in marriage with Maud McVey-Parrott, daughter of Irvin and Alsina (Zimmerman) McVey and legally adopted daughter of Marion and Hulda (Wright) Parrott.  Her own parents were farmers of this county and the father saw active service during the Civil War, being a member of the Ninetieth Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry.  They were the parents of ten children.  Mrs. Cockerill being the youngest of the family.  Ida, the eldest, is dead; Ina, is Mrs. Hyman DeBruin; Turner resides in Cincinnati, Ohio; Minnie is Mrs. Charles Shaw; May is deceased; William resides in St. Joseph, Missouri, as does also Grant; Frank has long been a resident of Iowa and Charles is located in Dallas, Texas.  When Mrs. Cockerill was only one year old the mother of this large and growing family died and one year later the father passed into the great beyond.  This left their large family entirely on their own resources, most of them being of a helpless age, and in this way the children became scattered practically all over the country.  Mrs. Cockerill the baby of the family, found a place in the hearts and home of Marion Parrott and was reared as their own child.      To Mr. and Mrs. Cockerill have been born six children, Anna G., Ruth Irene, Jacob Marion, Irvin Parry, Charles Luther and Walter Herman the oldest of whom and a little son, Irvin Perry, have been removed from the home by death.  Both Mr. and Mrs. Cockerill are members of the Methodist Episcopal church and are among those most actively interested in forwarding the work of that organization.  Politically, Mr. Cockerill gives stanch support to the Republican party and he takes a deep and intelligent interest in all public questions, though not in any sense a seeker after public office.  Mr. Cockerill can honestly claim all the honor accorded him for what he has accomplished, for he has won his own way and is now one of the substantial men of the community as a result of his close application to business and his persistency.  He is well known throughout the county and ha a host of war friends, for his life has been honorable in every respect. Source:  History of Fayette County, Ohio - Indianapolis, Ind. : B.F. Bowen & Co., 1914 ~ Page 638
Charles F.  Coffey	CHARLES FRANKLIN COFFEY   Source:  History of Fayette County, Ohio - Indianapolis, Ind. : B.F. Bowen & Co., 1914 ~ Page 384
	LEWIS CLARK COFFMAN.     That life is the most useful and desirable which results in the greatest good to the greatest number and although all do not reach the heights to which they aspire, yet in some measure each can win success and make life a blessing to his fellow men.  It is not necessary  for one to occupy numerous public positions to do so.  In the humbler walks of life there remains much good to be accomplished and many opportunities for the exercise of talent and influence that will in some way touch the lives of those with whom we come in contact and make them better and brighter.  In the list of Ohio's successful and useful citizens, the late Lewis Clark Coffman, of Washington C. H., Ohio, long occupied a prominent place.  In his record there is much that is commendable and his career forcily illustrates what a life of energy can accomplish, when plans are wisely laid and actions are governed by right principles, noble aims and high ideals.  His career was complete and rounded in its beautiful simplicity.  He did his full duty in all relations of life and he died beloved by those dear to him and respected and esteemed by his fellow citizens.  In offering this interesting history of his career it is believed that it will serve as an incentive to the youths whose careers are yet matters for the future to determine.      Lewis Clark Coffman the son of Nathan and Sarah (Edwards) Coffman, was born in Fayette county, Ohio, Jan. 25, 1840, and died in Washington C. H., Jan. 2, 1902.  His parents were both born in Ohio and spent all of their lives in this county, where they reared a family of eight children to maturity:  William, who died of a fever contracted in the Civil War; Lewis C., whose history is here presented; Charlotte, the deceased wife of John Pritty; Mack, deceased; Benjamin; deceased; Mary Belle the wife of Thomas Parrett; Hester, the wife of Franklin Willard, and Jeannette, the wife of William Marchent, of Octa, Ohio.  The latter two children were twins.  Nathan Coffman was a farmer and trader and an early settler in Fayette county, where he lived in Wayne township.  He owned a large farm and was an influential man in his community.  He and his wife both died late in life.      Lewis C. Coffman, reared in Fayette county as a farmer's boy, attended the district schools and later attended the Wesleyan University at Delaware, Ohio.  After completing his college course, he taught school for a few years and then began farming in Concord township.  His father gave him a small farm, to which he later added one hundred acres and after farming this for a few year, disposed of it and bought four hundred acres on which he lived for a few years.  Later he became interested in the pork packing business in Washington C. H., although he still retained his farm and gave it his personal supervision.  Some years after engaging in the pork packing business, he became interested in the lumber business and during his latter years gave most of his attention to the latter.  His business life was honorable and upright and he always managed his affairs so as to win the approval of all those with whom he had financial transactions.      Mr. Coffman was married Apr. 4, 1861, to Alsina Rodgers, the daughter of Jackson and Nancy (Jones) Rodgers.  To this union ten children were born, five of whom are still living.  Almira Belle, Nathan J., Harvey Grant, Alberta and Elwert, the latter two being twins; Lewis C. and four others died in infancy.  Almira Belle became the wife of Elias Newton Harvout, who died in 1908.  Mr. Harvout and wife had one daughter, Lelia C.  Nathan J. is in the lumber business in Washington C. H.  He married Maude Harlow and has two children, Harlow and Geraldine.  Harvey Grant is one of the firm of H. G. Coffman & Company, lumber dealers in Washington C. H.  Alberta is bookkeeper in her brother's office.  Elwert is single and working the planing mill of his brother.  Lewis C. is a member of the firm of H. G. Coffman & Company.  He married Mable Free and has one child living, Martha Jane.      Mr. Coffman was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, while his wife was a member of the Baptist church.  He was a member of the Free and Accepted masons and had attained to all of the degrees up to and including the Knight Templar degree.  Politically, he was a Republican, but had never taken an active part in political matters.      The widow of Mr. Coffman is still living in Washington C. H.  She was born in Wayne township, Fayette county, Ohio, on Dec. 15, 1839.  Her father was born and reared in Ohio and her mother was born in Vermont.  They were early pioneers in Fayette county.  The paternal grandparents of Mrs. Coffman were Benjamin and ___ (Jackson) Rodgers, natives of Virginia and early settlers in Fayette county.  The maternal grandparents of Mrs. Coffman were Amos and Nancy Janes, natives of Vermont.  Mr. Jones and his wife reared a family of four children, Nancy, Priscilla, Harvey and David.      Mr. Coffman possessed high and varied qualities of mind and heart and had a strong individuality and withal a gentle nature, about which were clustered the fondest memories of those dear to him.  His was, indeed, a union of admirable qualities and he never ceased, even through the physical ills that afflicted him, to manifest the dignity, the courage, the grace and the bearing that came from the heart of a gentleman.  He was a supporter of all measures looking toward the Development of his home city and was one of the foremost Workers for pushing forward all public spirited measures. Source:  History of Fayette County, Ohio - Indianapolis, Ind. : B.F. Bowen & Co., 1914~ Page 426
	JACOB H. COIL.     The gentleman to a brief review of whose life the attention of the reader is directed is among the well known and representative citizens of Union township, Fayette county, Ohio.  He has, by his enterprise and progressive methods, contributed in a material way to the advancement of his locality, and during the course of an honorable career has been fairly successful in his business enterprises, having been a man of energy, sound judgment and honesty of purpose and is thus well deserving of mention in this volume.      Jacob H. Coil was born on Nov. 11, 1853, in this county on what was known as the old Coil farm, being the son of Samuel and Sarah (Fults) Coil, the former of whom was born also on the old Coil farm and was in his day one of the most prominent farmers of the county.  When the subject was six weeks old, his parents moved to Union township to the farm part of which the subject now owns and where he has ever since made his home.  Mr. Coil owns about three hundred acres located on Sabina pike and also owns one hundred acres of the old home place.  Living with him is his brother, Jasper L. Coil, and together the two operate the business of the farm, in which enterprise they are quite successful.  Samuel Coil, father of the immediate subject, was a son of John and Mary Coil the former of whom was born in Virginia and came to Union township about the year 1812.  He was a man of great energy and enterprise and took out government land  to the extent of twelve hundred acres, at the time James Madison was President of the United States.  The land he thus obtained was in a primitive state and through his efforts almost  all of it was placed in a state of cultivation.  He was the father of the following children:  Isaac, Elias, Amos, John, William Abraham, Simon, Jane (who is still living at St. Mary, Ohio) and Samuel, father of the immediate subject.  To each one of his children he gave one hundred acres of land in this county, thus starting them out in life, and it is an interesting fact that not one of the twelve failed, all having made good.      Samuel Coil started on his hundred-acre tract and later moved to the homestead in Union township, where he reared his family.  He chose as his life companion Sarah Fults, the daughter of Peter and Frances (Rankin) Fults  The former was a native of Pendleton county, Virginia, and came to this state when a young man.  He first located in Ross county, near Chillicothe, later coming to Fayette county, where he passed the remainder of his life.  He was the father of eight children, namely:  Jacob, Simon, John, Jerry and Thomas, all deceased.  Phoebe, Sarah (subject's mother) and Jane.  The subject was the eldest of a family of six children the others being Jesse, Mary, Ida and Alice, all deceased.  Jasper L., hereinbefore mentioned, and Jacob H. are the only surviving members of the family.  Those deceased are all buried in the Coil cemetery on the old Coil farm.      When a boy, Jacob H. Coil attended school in district No. 4. known familiarly at that time as "Pop Gun College," later attending Midland school, where he received the balance of his education.  From his early youth he had assisted the father in the work about the homestead and when in his twenty-first year, his father died he had received such careful training in agricultural work that he was able to take up the work where his father left off and assisted the mother in raising the balance of the family.  The mother survived the father a number of years, having passed away only a few years ago.  Mr. Coil has lived an active and well-rounded life.  Politically, he gives his support to the Republican party and has always taken an active interest in politics.  For six years he was a member of the school board and has always been ready and willing to do anything in his power to advance the welfare of the community along educational, social or moral lines.  His religious affiliation is with the Methodist Protestant church, in the work of which organization he takes a commendable interest.  While living a quiet and retired life, devoting himself primarily to his own interests.  Mr. Coil has a keen appreciation of what constitutes good citizenships, being always ready to back up his theories with actual service if necessary.  He is one of the highly respected citizens of his community, having established a firm reputation for honesty of purpose in his dealings with his fellow men and by being the advocate of clean and wholesome principles in the home, society and politics. Source:  History of Fayette County, Ohio - Indianapolis, Ind. : B.F. Bowen & Co.,  1914 ~ Page 594
Samuel M. Corbitt	SAMUEL MORGAN CORBITT.  Though more than a score of years have elapsed since Samuel Morgan Corbitt was transferred from the life militant to the life triumphant, his personality still remains fresh in the memory of his many friends in Fayette county, where for many years he was regarded as one of the leading citizens.  He was well known throughout this county and was a man respected and honored, not because of the vigorous training of his special talents, but because of his daily life.  He set an excellent example to the younger generation, for he was a leader in his locality in all matters pertaining to its upbuilding and in a conservative manner did what good he could in all lines as he labored for his own advancement and that of his family.  While advancing his individual interests he never lost sight of his obligations to the community in general and during his entire life held a high place in the confidence and esteem of all who knew him.      The late Samuel Morgan Corbitt was born in Fayette county, Ohio, Apr. 5, 1844, and died on the farm where he was born, Aug. 30, 1891.  He was the son of Samuel K. and Catherine (Jenkins) Corbitt.  Samuel Corbitt, Sr. was seventeen years of age when he came to Fayette county, his parents having died when he was a mere child.  He grew to manhood in this county, married and reared a family of five children, William Hickling, Mrs. Ruth A. Calhoun, Mattison W., Oliver K., and Samuel Morgan, with whom this narrative deals.      Samuel Morgan Corbitt received his education in the schools of Jefferson township and finished at the high school at Jeffersonville, after which he took a business course in the Miami Commercial College at Dayton, Ohio, when he returned to this county and took up the occupation of farming, which he followed until his death.  He was a man of fine business ability, keenly interested in everything pertaining to the welfare of his community, and was justly regarded as one of the most progressive farmers of the county.  At the time of his death he was the owner of two hundred and sixty-four acres of fine land, on which he had modern buildings of all kinds.      Mr. Corbitt was married, Nov. 13, 1866, to Mary E. Rowand, the daughter of Benijeh and Martha (Correll) Rowand, and to this union were born five children: Jessie Mildred, the wife of P. L. Rodgers; Laura Vivian, who is married to Lewis Bates and has two children, Mary Lucile and Morgan Willard; Minnie Kee, the deceased wife of Charles Wilt; Lola B., deceased, and Roxa LeCare, who is still living with her mother.      Politically, Mr. Corbitt was a Democrat and, while never taking an active part in political matters, always took an intelligent interest in the civic life of his community.  For many years he served on the school board of his township and in that capacity always cast his influence for every measure which he felt would benefit the schools in any way.  He built up a reputation as an honest, upright and fearless business man and left a record which stamps him as a man of high ideals and sound morals principles.  Though never animated by great ambitions for public honors, yet he always gave his aid to the furtherance of the general interests of his community.  His life was a busy one and his every-day affairs made heavy demands upon his time, yet he never shrank from his duties as a citizen and his obligations to his neighbors and friends. * Source:  History of Fayette County, Ohio Indianapolis, Ind. : B.F. Bowen & Co., 1914 - Page 560
	DAVID S. CRAIG - See Eli Craig Source:  History of Fayette County, Ohio - Indianapolis, Ind. : B.F. Bowen & Co., 1914~ Page 370
	ELI CRAIG.     The life history of him whose name heads this biographical review is closely identified with the history of Fayette county, which has been practically his life-long home.  He began his remarkable career in this locality in the pioneer epoch and throughout the subsequent years he has been closely allied with its interests and upbuilding.  His life has been one of untiring activity and has been crowned with a degree of success fully commensurate with his efforts.  He is of the highest type of progressive citizen, and none more than he deserves a fitting recognition among those whose enterprise and ability have achieved definite and commendable results.  The cause of humanity never had a truer friend than Mr. Craig.  In all the relations of life - family, church, state and society - he has displayed that consistent Christian spirit, that natural worth, that has endeared him alike to all classes.  His integrity and fidelity have been manifested in every relation of life, for he early learned that true happiness consisted in ministering to others.  The example of such a life is always an inspiration to others, and his influence has long been felt in Fayette county, whose interests he has always had at heart and which he has done so much to promote during his active life here.      Eli Craig is the scion of a long line of honorable ancestry, his forbears having been identified with the settlement and development of the Buckeye state.  It is a family tradition, and probably correct, that his parental great grandfather was a soldier in the War of the Revolution.  The latter's son, John Craig, the subject's grandfather, was a native of New Jersey, as was his wife, Sarah Ann Cooley.  After their marriage they came to Ohio, settling in the edge of Ross county, where he became a pioneer farmer, but died in young manhood.  His widow passed away in middle life.  They were the parents of the following children:  David S., John, William, Thomas J., Thompson (who is still living, at the age of eighty-seven years) and one who died in infancy.      David S. Craig the subject's father, was but four years of age when brought to Ohio by his parents, the family settling near Greenfield, where he grew to manhood.  When five years old he began attending school and gained a good practical education.  After completing his studies he learned the shoemaker's trade, which vocation he followed for many years.  Eventually he bought a small store in Greenfield and, in connection with his regular employment engaged in general merchandising.  He was a man of versatile abilities and also learned the difficult trade of oil-cloth printing, at which he worked to some extent.  Afterward he moved to Staunton, of which he was one of the first settlers, and there he carried on a successful business for some years. His death occurred there in 1869, in the fifty-ninth year of his age.  From 1851 to January, 1854, he had lived in Indiana, where he ran a shoe shop and general store, but on his return to Ohio he bought out his brothers at Staunton, remaining in the business there during the remainder of his life.  Later he associated with him his sons, Eli and William, under the firm name of D. S. Craig & Sons.  After his death the sons continued the business under the same name until 1871, when it became Craig Brothers with the addition of a younger brother, David H.  David S. Craig married Sarah West, a native of Adams county, Ohio, and the daughter of Eli and Sarah (Guffin) West, natives, respectively, of Delaware and Kentucky.  Eli West came to Fayette county, Ohio, in 1820.  To him and his wife were born seven children, Elizabeth, Wesley, Amos, Sarah, Eli H., Elsie and Spencer.  To David S. and Sarah (West) Craig were born ten children, namely: Eli, the immediate subject of this review; Williams; John W., deceased; Sarah Ann, who married William H. Rowe; David H., of Duncan, Oklahoma; Elizabeth J., wife of Thomas N. Craig of Washington C. H., and four who died in infancy.  The mother of these children lived twenty-five years after the death of her husband, dying at the age of eighty-one years.      Religiously, David S. Craig and his wife were originally members of the Methodist Episcopal church, but later he and others broke away from the mother society and identified themselves with what was then known as the Radical Methodist church, now the Methodist Protestant church, in which he was licensed to preach in 1840.  However, after going to Indiana he reunited with the Methodist Episcopal church, to which faith he remained loyal during the remainder of his life.      Eli Craig was born near Good Hope, Fayette county, on Jan. 10, 1833, and he was reared under the parental roof, his education being secured in the district schools of the neighborhood.  At the age of thirteen years he began clerking in his father's store and remained with him for many years, finally, as stated above, being admitted into partnership in the business.  While living at Staunton he served as township treasurer and as a member of the school board, and also served as postmaster for seventeen years.  Mr. Craig came to Washington C. H. in the fall of 1872 and on the day of his arrival he was appointed county treasurer to fill a vacancy.  He discharged the duties of that office with eminent satisfaction for two years, and at the end of his official term he again engaged in the dry goods business, as a continuation of the partnership with his brothers, Williams and David H.  However, so satisfactory had been his public service, that in 1878 he was, by the suffrages of his fellow citizens, again chosen to the office of county treasurer, and was re-elected in 1880.  Mr. Craig has continued in the dry goods business to the present time, a period of over forty years, his sons, Thomas H. and David S., having been associated with him since 1883.  During the past two years his two grandsons, Walter D. and Clarence E., also have been admitted to the firm, which is still known as Craig Brothers.  This business, which is one of the oldest in Fayette county, is widely and favorably known in all parts of the county, many of the patrons of the store coming from distant parts of the county.  About forty persons are on the company's pay-roll, which is unmistakable evidence of the extent of the business.      Eli Craig is a man of marked public spirit and every movement that has promised to be for the advancement of the public welfare has had his unreserved support.  When the Children's Home was established he was one of its first trustees and took an active and prominent part in the completion of that splendid institution.  After about ten years' service he resigned from the board, though his interest in the home never ceased.  Politically, Eli Craig was originally a Whig, but later became a Republican, which party he has ever since given his support.  Fraternally, he is a member of the Temple Lodge No. 227, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, to which fraternity he has belonged for fifty-seven years.  Religiously he has long been a devoted member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and as a  trustee for over forty years.      On the 17th day of June, 1858, Eli Craig married Mary A. Burnett and they became the parents of two sons, Thomas H. and David S.  Thomas H. married Eliza O. Pine, and they have six children, Walter D., Clarence E., Mary W., Winchell, Harold and Robert.  David S. married Nina Maynard and they have three sons living, Maynard, Paul S. and David S.  The subject also has a great-grandson, Thomas T.  Mrs. Mary Craig, who is a native of Fayette county, is the daughter of Thomas and Rachel (Bush) Burnett, who were natives of Virginia and early settlers in Fayette county.  They were the parents of twelve children, and after the death of his first wife the father married again, having one child by the second union.      Eli Craig has reached the advanced age of more than eight decades, heaven, having lengthened out his life beyond the Psalmist's allotted three score and ten until he has been permitted to witness the vicissitudes of the most remarkable epoch in the world's business and inventive history, in all of which he has been an interested spectator, and, indeed, has played no inconspicuous part in pushing forward the wheels of progress in his own locality.  There is no doubt but that his long life has been due mainly to his sterling character, conservative habits and pure thinking.  Even-tempered, patient, scrupulously honest in all the relations of life, hospitable and charitable, he has deservedly won a high place in the esteem and a warm place in the affections of the people with whom he has lived and mingled for so many years. Source:  History of Fayette County, Ohio - Indianapolis, Ind. : B.F. Bowen & Co., 1914~ Page 370
	JOHN CRAIG.     The life history of John Craig, ex-county auditor of Fayette county and a farmer living on his fine tract of eighty-five acres on the Jeffersonville pike about one mile form Washington C. H., shows what good habits, industry and stanch citizenship will accomplish in the battle for success in life.  His record is one replete with duty well and conscientiously performed in every relation of life and special honor is attached to his career owing to the fact that he was one of those loyal sons of the Union who offered his services and his life if need be for the preservation of the nation during the dark days of the sixties.  Throughout his life, Mr. Craig has been an advocate of wholesome living and cleanness in politics as well and has always stood for the highest and best interests of the community in which so many of his active years have been passed and which has been honored by his citizenship.      John Craig was born on Dec. 25, 1839, in Cincinnati, Ohio, a son of William and Sarah (Van Pelt) Craig, who were the parents of ten children, the immediate subject being the second child in order of birth.  The others are Mary Anna (deceased), Charles W. (deceased), Thomas M., Asbury J., Amanda ED., Russell, Arabella, Susan Jane and Elizabeth.  William Craig, the subject's father, was born in the state of New Jersey and was brought to Cincinnati by his parents when a young boy.  In that city he acquired his trade of a carpenter, at which vocation he worked almost the balance of his life.  He was married upon first coming to this county, where he remained for a comparatively short time, when he returned to Cincinnati, where the  immediate subject of this sketch was born.  While the subject was still a baby his father returned to this county, locating at Staunton, where he engaged in the general merchandise business and where he remained for about fourteen years, when he removed to Marion county Iowa.  It was at Staunton, therefore, that the subject received his earliest schooling ,later attending the schools of Marion county when the parents took up their abode there.  There he passed several years of his younger manhood and he later returned to this county with a sister. It was from this point, in answer to President Lincoln's call to arms, that he enlisted as a private in Company C, Fifty-fourth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, under Col. Thomas Kilby Smith.  For three years he remained in the service and was in many of the most important engagements of the war, among them being the battles of Shiloh, Haines Bluff and important skirmishes enroute to Vicksburg.  He spent a tedious period of three months in the hospital at Milliken's Bend.  After receiving his honorable discharge from service, he returned to this county and for some time he traveled all over the state operating a notion wagon, from which he sold goods and took orders from rural merchants.  Tiring of this unsettled life after a time, he secured a farm in this county, which he rented for some time and later purchased the farm which he now owns and where he has since made his home.  Since obtaining possession of this land he has made many important improvements in it so that today it is considered one of the excellent farms of the community.  Mr. Craig is a man skilled in many lines, as witnessed by the fact that he was in the restaurant and bakery business for a time and the additional fact that by his father he was initiated into the secrets of carpentry and he has followed this trade more or less ever since.      Mr. Craig's fraternal affiliation is with the Knights of Pythias and he is also a member of John M. Bell Post No. 119, Grand Army of the Republic.  Politically, he is a stanch supporter of the principles of the Republican party, in the affairs of which he has been active in many ways.  Mr. Craig is a man who is popular with all classes and when his name appeared on the ticket as a candidate for the office of county auditor, his friends rallied to his support and twice he was elected by a good majority.  With the greatest efficiency he discharged the duties of that office to the satisfaction of all.      Shortly after his return from the army, on Nov .16, 1866, Mr. Craig was united in marriage to Matilda A. Sollars a daughter of Isaac and Hannah (Jones) Sollars, the former of whom was a native of Fayette county.  He was a son of Samuel Sollars, a native of England who emigrated to this country when a young man and secured government land in this state under the administration of President Jackson.  Isaac Sollars was the father of eleven children, four of whom are deceased.  These are Jonathan, Isaac M., Jacob T. and Eliza J.  Those living are Mary E., Matilda (wife of the subject) Wells B., Barton, Ella H., Samuel and Alsina.  Mrs. Craig has been a resident of this county all her life.  Mr. and Mrs. Craig are the parents of two sons, Isaac F., who married Anna Artz and resides in Dayton, this state, is the father of three children, Lucile, Ellen and Emily.  William, the younger son, married Barbara Young and has one son, Malcolb W.      Personally, Mr. Craig is a man of clean character who has ever exerted a handful of influence in the community, giving his support to any movement which promised the advancement of the interests of those about him in any legitimate way.  He has long been regarded as among those men who are interested in the advancement of township and county affairs and through his manner of living and his varied interests here he has won a host of friends who regard him as one of the leading men of the  county. Source:  History of Fayette County, Ohio - Indianapolis, Ind. : B.F. Bowen & Co., 1914~ Page 414
	CHARLES CRUM CREAMER.     More than a century ago George Creamer, a native of Berkeley county, Virginia, came to Fayette county, Ohio, with his four sons, Michael, Joseph, David and George.  George and Michael, the grandfather of the immediate subject of this sketch, were already married when they came to this county.  The others were married soon after arriving here.  Joseph Creamer married Margaret Miller and David married Elizabeth Smith.  The Creamer family settled here in 1810 and three years later the War of 1812 opened.  Immediately after the surrender of General Hull at Detroit in the fall of 1812, Joseph, Michael and David responded to the call for volunteers to  aid in suppressing the anticipated invasion by the British, and served with distinction in that second struggle for American independence.  During the one hundred and four years that this family has been in the county it has taken a prominent part in its development, and the descendants of these four brothers have played a conspicuous part in bringing Fayette county to its present position among the sisterhood of Ohio counties.  The father of these four sons died in 1825; Michael died in 1840; David in 1860; George in 1861 and Joseph in 1872.      Michael Creamer, the grandfather of Charles C., whose history is subsequently related, was married in Berkeley county, Virginia, to Mary Gray and came with his brothers to this county in 1810 and located in Sugar Creek valley.  One of the children of Michael and Mary (Gray) Cramer was Christian C. Creamer who was born Aug. 4, 1818, in this county.  Christian C. Creamer was twice married, his first marriage occurring Apr. 9, 1840, to Rosanna Gray, and to this union one son, Wesley M., a minister of the Methodist Protestant church was born.  Mrs. Rosanna Creamer died Jan. 5, 1843, at the age of twenty-seven.  Shortly afterwards Christian C. Creamer married Elizabeth Higbee, and to this union eleven children were born:  Mrs. Rose Bradley, Victor, Nelson D., Albert J., Mrs. Mrs. Emma Moore, Mrs. Jennie Parrett, Samuel H., Mary A., Alexis H., George H. and Charles C.  Three of these children, Victor, Samuel H. and Mary, are deceased.      Charles Crum Creamer, the youngest of eleven children born to Christian C. Creamer and wife, was born Mar. 5, 1865, on the farm where he is now living, about three miles south of Jeffersonville, in Jefferson township.  He received his education in the Creamer school, and finished at a Washington C. H. business college.  From his earliest boyhood he worked on the farm and after his father's death took charge of the farm.  He now has one hundred and seventy-two acres of finely improved land, on which he raises all the crops of this section of the state.      Mr. Creamer was married Oct. 3, 1889, to Lizzie R. Nisley, the daughter of Joseph and Isabella (Watts) Nisley.  Mrs. Creamer's parents were both born in Highland county, Ohio, near Carmel, and came to Fayette county in 1870, locating in Jasper township.  Joseph Nisley and wife were the parents of ten children, six of whom are living:  Mrs. Ellen Vince, Albert C., Mrs. L., Mary Lynch, J. A., Mrs. Creamer, and Fletcher, who married Mayme Brown and has three sons.  Herbert, James and Joseph.  Mr. and Mrs. Cramer have two sons, Hugh and Charles D., both of whom are living on their father's farm.  Hugh married Lela Wood and has one daughter, Martha Pauline; Charles is still attending the public schools of his township.      Politically, Mr. Creamer is a Republican and has always taken an intelligent interest in the civic life of his community.  Religiously, he and his family are loyal members of the Methodist Protestant church and are deeply interested in all church and Sunday school work.  Mr. Creamer is a steward and trustee of his denomination at the present time.  He is a worthy scion of the Creamer family and his whole life has been such as to reflect credit upon the family name. Source:  History of Fayette County, Ohio - Indianapolis, Ind. : B.F. Bowen & Co., 1914~ Page 472
	MICHAEL C. CREAMER.     The true measure of individual success is determined by what one has accomplished.  In enumeration of the men of the past generation in Fayette county, Ohio, who have succeeded in their special vocation we find that Michael C. Creamer occupies a very important place.  The success which came to him was the direct result of the salient points in his character, for with a mind capable of laying judicious plans and a will strong enough to carry him forward to a position in the front ranks of the successful men of his community.  To accumulate a farm of eleven hundred acres is sufficient evidence that he was a man of keen business ability.  At the time of his death he was one of the largest farmers in the county, and one of the four men who owned more than one thousand acres of land.      The Creamer family has been identified with the history of Fayette county for more than one hundred years.  The family trace their ancestry back to Germany, where George Creamer was born in 1746.  His wife, Barbara Clover, was also a native of Germany and after their marriage in 1774 they came to this country and located in Pennsylvania.  Later they went to Virginia, and from that state migrated with their four sons, Michael, Joseph, David and George, to Fayette county, Ohio.  This county was organized in 1810 and in the summer of that year George Creamer, the great-grandfather of Michael C. Creamer, with whom this narrative deals, arrived in this county with his four sons, two of whom were already married and had families of their own.  The two married sons were George and Michael, the latter being the grandfather of the present Michael C. Creamer.  The whole family settled on Sugar creek, in Jefferson township, and in that township the descendants of the family have now been living for more than a century.  After the surrender of General Hull at Detroit in 1812, Joseph, Michael and David joined the United States regular army and helped to drive the British out of the country.      One of the several children of Michael Creamer was Simeon, the father of Michael C. Creamer.  Simeon married Elizabeth Connor and reared a family of ten children, William, Michael, Rosanna, George, Polly, Jacob, Philip, Christian, Wesley and Isaac.      Michael Connor Creamer, the second of the ten children born to Simeon Creamer and wife, was born Mar. 20, 1830, in this county and died Apr. 19, 1911, on his homestead in Jefferson township.  He was born in a rude log cabin which stood on the site where the present substantial dwelling of the Creamer family now stands.  As a youth he was very studious and, although his education was very limited, yet he was an omnivorous reader and was practically self-educated.  He started to teach school in his early manhood and taught for several years, and during this time he farmed in the summer seasons.  He finally left the school room and devoted all of his attention to his agricultural pursuits and with a success which was indeed remarkable.      Mr. Creamer was married Oct. 14, 1862, to Ruhama Scott, the daughter of Charles C. and Jane (Porter) Scott, natives of Virginia and early settlers of Harding county, Ohio.  To this union were born seven children:  Ethel, deceased; U. G., unmarried, a farmer and stockman; C. L, who farms one hundred acres of the home place; S. C., who married Anna Mertz and has two children, Forrest and Dwight; Gertrude, who married James Coin and has two children, Tully and Lasca, deceased; Celeste, the wife of Frank Zimmerman and the mother of three children, Brenton, Fay and Ruth; Maude, the wife of Lewis B. Creamer, and Ethel, deceased.      Mr. Creamer enlisted for the one-hundred-day service in the Civil War and was mustered in as a member of Company D, One Hundred and Sixty-eighth Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, on May 2, 1864.  He was a member of the Grand Army of the Republic post at Jeffersonville, while, religiously, he and his family were members of the Methodist Episcopal church.  Although a quiet and unassuming man, with no ambition for public position or leadership, yet Mr. Creamer contributed much to the material, civic and moral advancement of his community.  His admirable qualities of head and heart and the straightforward, upright course of his daily life won for him the admiration, esteem and confidence of the circles in which he moved.  To him home life was a sacred trust, friendship was inviolable and nothing could swerve him from the path of rectitude and honor. Source:  History of Fayette County, Ohio - Indianapolis, Ind. : B.F. Bowen & Co., 1914~ Page 488
	NATHAN CREAMER.     The first member of the Creamer family to locate in Fayette county, Ohio, was George Creamer, the grandfather of Nathan Creamer, with whom this narrative deals.  George Creamer and his wife, Elizabeth Barney, came from Rockingham county, Virginia, to this county in 1816, and located on military land.  The county was only seven years old when they located here and consequently they began life under truly pioneer conditions.  They had to clear the land, drain the swamps and endure all the privations incident to life in any new and unsettled country.  The one hundred years which this family have spent in this county has seen more changes in the progress of civilization than all of the previous years of history put together.  Descended from such sterling ancestry, it is not to be wondered at that Nathan Creamer is a man of excellent qualities and a citizen who is highly honored and respected in his community.      Nathan Creamer, the son of Joseph B. and Elizabeth (Life) Creamer, was born about one mile southwest of Jeffersonville, Sept. 18, 1844.  His father, who was born in Rockingham county, Virginia, came to this county with his parents, George and Elizabeth (Barney) Creamer when he was eight years of age, and lived the remainder of his days on the farm where his son, Nathan, is now located.  George Creamer entered the land from the government and put part of it in shape for crops.  Under these pioneer conditions Joseph Creamer grew to manhood, married and reared a family of seven children, Mrs. Mary A. Tobin, Mrs. Emily Armstrong, George, Lewis, Nathan, A. R. and U. G.  Of these seven children, three, George, Mrs. Armstrong and Lewis, are deceased, the latter dying during the Civil War, in which he had enlisted as a member of the Ninetieth Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry.  Two of the brothers, A. R. and U. G., are prominent lawyers and highly respected citizens of the community where they reside.  George Creamer, the grandfather of Nathan, reared a family of five children, David, Joshua, Elizabeth, Mrs. Josiah Huff, and Joseph B., the father of Nathan Creamer.      Nathan Creamer was reared on the farm where he was born.  He received his education in the district schools of his home neighborhood and finished at Jeffersonville in the graded schools.  As a youth he worked on his father's farm during the summer seasons and at the age of twenty-five commenced renting land of his father.  After the latter's death he purchased the interests of the other children in the home farm and has since been operating it with marked success.  He carries on a general system of farming and stock raising and, being a man of progressive ideas, has had the satisfaction of seeing his efforts abundantly rewarded.      Mr. Creamer was married in 1872 to Martha M. Cryder, the daughter of William and Susan (Carr) Cryder of Madison county, Ohio, and to this union have been born three children, Ansel, Minnie and Jesse C.   Ansen, now deceased, who was three years in the State University, died Feb. 22, 1914; he married Susan Horley and has three children, Edith E., Anna and Ansel, Jr.; Minnie is deceased; Jesse C. is a student in the Ohio State University, where he has completed two years of the regular course.      Politically, Mr. Creamer is a Republican and has held various offices at the hands of his party.  He served as supervisor and also as a member of the school board, of which he has been president.  His party, recognizing in him a man of ability and integrity, nominated and subsequently elected him to the responsible position of trustee of his township, and he is filling this office with honor to himself and credit to the citizens of the township.  He and his wife are members of the Methodist Protestant church. Source:  History of Fayette County, Ohio - Indianapolis, Ind. : B.F. Bowen & Co., 1914~ Page 429
Wallace Creamer	WALLACE CREAMER.     To attain the age of ninety-five is an unusual thing and yet Wallace Creamer reached that remarkable age on the 16th day of April, 1914.  He was a babe in arms when James Monroe as President of the United States, voted for William Henry Harrison in the fall of 1840 and had been married twenty years when the battle of Gettysburg was fought.  The Creamer family was one of the first to settle in this county and its members have been prominently identified with its history for more than a hundred years.      Wallace Creamer was born on the farm where he is now living and has spent all of his life in Jefferson township.  He is the son of David and Elizabeth (Smith) Creamer, natives of Berkeley county, Virginia, and early settlers of Fayette county, Ohio.  David Creamer was a soldier of the War of 1812 and was living in this county at the time the war opened.  David Creamer was the son of George Creamer who was the first of the family to come from Virginia to this county.  George Creamer had a family of six children, Michael, George, Joseph, David, Mrs. Rosana Christy and one who died in infancy.  David Creamer and wife were the parents of eight children, Sarah, Wallace, Jaxon, Nancy, Cynthia, Caroline, Kate and Washington.  David Creamer took an important part in the early history of this county and served as surveyor of the county for many years.       Wallace Creamer went to the Creamer school, a little log cabin in the woods, and learned to read, write and cipher in the manner of all the boys of that time.  He is the only living person who attended this school and can relate many interesting stories of his school boy days.  The home farm was largely in woods and his first labor found him swinging the axe, burning logs, and splitting rails and doing all of that heavy work which was the lot of the pioneers of this county.      Mr. Creamer was married in 1843 to Elizabeth Gray and consequently has been married more than seventy-one years.  He started in with a farm of one hundred acres, all of which was covered with woods, and now has a finely cultivated farm of two hundred and fifty acres in Jefferson township.  He has lived to see farming methods completely revolutionized and as a new machinery has come into use he has added it to his equipment, and to the end of his active life was fully abreast of the times along agricultural lines.      Mr. Creamer voted for the Whig candidates from 1840 until the organization of the Republication party in 1854, and has since cast his vote for the party which elected Lincoln in 1860.  He has been a life long member of the Methodist Protestant church and interested in its welfare.  It is no small honor to be known as the oldest man in his county, and when to this is added the fact that his life has been one of usefulness and honor it can readily be seen why Mr. Creamer is called "The Grand Old Man of Fayette County." Source:  History of Fayette County, Ohio - Indianapolis, Ind. : B.F. Bowen & Co., 1914~ Page 496

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