THOMAS HARWARD.     The subject of this sketch was born in Morgan county, Ohio, Dec. 26, 1816.  His parents were George and Ellen Harward, who came to this State from Pennsylvania when quite young and were married in Ohio.  They raised nine children, of whom Thomas was the first in order of birth.  In 1835 the family came to Franklin county, and located in Mifflin township, a mile and a half north of Gahanna, where George Harward purchased ninety acres of land to which he afterward addedd, by purchase one hundred and thirty-four acres.  After his death, Thomas Harward bought the interest of the other heirs in the estate, and, in 1862, built a substantial brick house on the place, in which, with his family, he now lives.  He has been a hard-working and industrious man, economical in his habits, and strongly attached to his home.  He was married, in 1864, to Christine Wilking, and has a family of five children, as follows:  Carrie E., Emma May, Charles, Alvin, and Arthur, all of whom are living at home.  Both MR. and Mrs. Harward are members of the Presbyterian church, with which they have been connected many years.
Page 490 - Source: History of Franklin & Pickaway Counties, Ohio - Published by Williams Bros. - 1880

SAMUEL HEMPY.  Peter and Rebecca Hempy, the parents of the subject of this sketch, were natives of Maryland, whence they emigrated to Lancaster, Fairfield county, Ohio, in the year 1808.  The father, although he resided on a farm, was a millwright by trade.    He died in the year 1840, and the mother about ten years  afterward.
     Samuel was born during the residence of his parents on a farm near Lancaster, on the first day of January, 1817.  He remained on the farm until he was old enough to tend and s aw- and grist-mill of his father, when he was thus employed until he was about twenty-one years of age, at which time his father sold the mills (which ate located on Hockhocking river, west of Lancaster), and removed, in 1838, to a farm in the northwestern part of Fairfield county.  He there commenced the erection of a mill, but shortly afterward Samuel rented his father's farm for two years, during which he married Catharine, daughter of Jacob and Susan Feasel, of Fairfield county, who was born December, 24, 1823.  He lived for two years more on another farm which he rented the same county, when he purchased a farm in Mercer county, Ohio, to which he removed, and which he occupied something over two years, when he returned to Franklin county and rented, of Henry Dildine, a farm about a mile west of where he now lives.  This place he occupied about four years, when, in 1851, he bought the farm on which he now resides.  Soon after the death of his wife, which occurred Aug. 24, 1863, he sold the farm and bought a small place, but about a year afterward he bought back the farm, and has continued to occupy it until the present.
     Aug. 13, 1855, he married Elizabeth Deal, daughter of Elias and Rebecca Deal, of Violet township, Fairfield county, Ohio, who was born Dec. 7, 1838.
     By his first wife Mr. Hempy has had six children, as follows: Infant son, born July 4, 1841, who died soon afterward; William Henry, born Aug. 5, 1842, who died in the army at Nashville, July 16, 1862; Samantha Jane, born Dec. 12, 1844, who died Aug. 24, 1845; Oliver P., born  Sept. 7, 1846, who died Apr. 3, 1864; Sarah Ann, born Oct. 2, 1848, who married G. W. Burman, and died in Hardin county, Ohio, Dec. 28, 1867; and Minerva J., born Oct. 1, 1851, who is the wife of William Ororark, and resides in Hardin county.
     The children of the second marriage are as follows: John C. F., born Sept. 10, 1845; Mary C., born Feb. 22, 1858, who is the wife of Uriah Francisco, and resides on a portioni of the farm; George L., born Apr. 22, 1859; Samuel A., born Dec. 31, 1860; Ida B., born Oct. 2, 1862; Lilly F., born Feb. 2, 1865, who died Mar. 9th, of the same year; Frank E., born Feb. 9, 1866; Maggie Luella, born Mar. 15, 1868, Olive Rebecca, born Mar. 28, 1870; and Nora May, born Aug. 3, 1874.
     Mr. Hempy has followed the business of milling, with more or less regularity, until within the last two years.  He run a mill in Hardin county two years, and has been engaged in milling in the vicinity in which he lives for over twenty years.
Page 456 - Source: History of Franklin & Pickaway Counties, Ohio - Published by Williams Bros. - 1880

S. O. HENDREN.  The father of Samuel O. Hendren was William D. Hendren, born Mar. 21, 1776, in Shenandoah county (now Warren county), Virginia.  He was of Irish descent, his father having been a native of the north of Ireland, who emigrated to the United States, and, during the Revolutionary war, espoused the cause of American independence, and served as an officer in the Continental army.  William D. Hendren passed his early life in Virginia where he married.  His first wife died, as did the only child they had, and, on Jan. 12, 1805, he married Mrs. Nancy Booker, a widow with one daughter.  The maiden name of his second wife was Nancy Cloud, the daughter of a wealthy farmer, who owned several plantations on the Shenandoah river, in Shenandoah county.  She was born Jan. 15, 1787.  A short time after her marriage with Mr. Hendren, they removed to Ohio, arriving in1806, and here they settled on land given her by her father, in Madison township, Franklin county.  They located on section thirty-five, where they built a log cabin, and entered upon pioneer life in the woods.  Both were hard workers, and in time they had a good farm cleared and under cultivation.  As they prospered, other purchases of land were made, until they were possessed of some five hundred acres.  In this home, in the woods, were born ten children, eight of whom grew to manhood and womanhood, while two died in infancy.  Those who livved were; Thomas, Daniel, Samuel O., William, Robert, Louisa, Sarah Ann, and Rebecca.
     William D. Hendren died Feb. 3, 1826.  His wife survived him, and died in January, 1849.
     Samuel O. Hendren, the third son of William D. and Nancy Hendren, was born in Madison township Franklin county, Sept. 29, 1812.  The early part of his life was spent with his father and brothers in cultivating the farm and clearing the land.  During his boyhood he obtained an ordinary education in the common schools of the day, and when he arrived at manhood's estate, having a thirst for more knowledge than could be obtained in his immediate vicinity, he attended Granville college for some time, but did not pursue a collegiate course. He afterwards studied at Blendon academy, and in Columbus.  Though not a graduate from any collegiate institution, by close application and a lifetime spent in acquiring information on various subjects, he is possessed of a more than ordinary education, and is conversant with most subjects of general interest.  He has never been a politician or place-seeker, but has enjoyed the confidence and esteem of his friends and neighbors, who have elected him to a place on the township school board, on which he has served many years.  When quite a young man, and during the time when teachers were examined by a local school board, he was appointed one of the examiners, as one well qualified for the position.  He became one of the original stockholders in the Groveport and Lancaster turnpike, and held the office of director many years, and also for a considerable length of time served as president of the company.
     His brother, William Hendren, studied medicine, and  became a very skilful and distinguished physician.  He practiced his profession in Delaware many years, and was elected to the State legislature from that county, in which he served during the years 1853 and 1854.  He afterwards moved to Arkansas, where he built up an extensive practice.  He was a graduate of one of the Cincinnati medical colleges.
     After the death of William D. Hendren, sr., in1826, his estate was placed in the hands of an administrator, who managed it until the death of his widow, in 1849, when a deed of partition was granted, and the property was divided among the heirs.  Soon after the division, Samuel O. Hendren purchased the rights of the older heirs, and became sole owner of the homestead.
     He was married July 9, 1846, to Helen Morris, who was born in Hamilton county, New York, May 8, 1816.  To them were born five children, but one of whom W. A. Hendren - grew to manhood.  He remains at the old home with his father.
     Mrs. Hendren died Feb. 23, 1876, aged nearly sixty years.  A portrait of Samuel O. Hendren, now in the sixty-eighth year of his age, appears in connection with this sketch of his life.
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