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BIOGRAPHIES
** Source:
A Twentieth Century History of
Hardin County, Ohio
- Vol. I & II -
Publ. The Lewis Publishing Company - Chicago
1910
898 pgs.
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HON. MOSES B. WALKER,
LL. D. - The late General Moses B.
Walker was one of the strong men produced by the state of
Ohio, the proud mother of stalwart sons who have given such a
splendid account of themselves in the councils of commonwealth
and nation, in the activities of the field, as well as of
statesmanship. General Walker was a typical
representative of the highest citizenship and patriotism of the
Buckeye state. He was eminent as a brave soldier and a
military leader; honored for his ability as a lawyer and a judge
and widely recognized by the Republican party as a man to be
implicitly trusted one of their most gifted and moral
representatives. Wherever there was work to be done,
either on the battlefields of the militia or of polities—work
which required manly stamina and a high grade of courage there
could always be found General Walker in the thick
of the fray.
Moses B. Walker was a native of Fairfield
county, Ohio, born on the 16th of July, 1819, and was a son of
John and Mary (Davis) Walker. His mother was a
native of Frederick county, Maryland, daughter of Ignatius
and Mary (DeLamar) Davis, and was of French ancestry.
John Walker, the father, was also a native of Maryland
(St. Mary's county). He was a planter in that section of
the state—a Catholic and a Whig; and his politics may have had
something to do with his coming to Ohio in 1798. In that
year he settled in the Scioto valley near Chillicothe, where he
prospered as a farmer and a good citizen. With true
southern spirit, he joined the other settlers in that part of
the territory in their determined efforts to repel Indian
attacks and invasion, and was one of the pioneers who erected
the famous Martin blockhouse in the Scioto valley.
Likewise, he gladly left his plow to participate in the war of
1812 and the final settlement of the score against Great
Britain, serving during several campaigns as lieutenant of the
home militia. In his earlier years Mr. Walker was a
Catholic, thereby adhering to the faith of his forefathers in
Maryland; but later he became a member and a leading worker in
the Methodist church. In 1842 Mr. Walker moved with
his wife to Van Buren county, Iowa, locating large tracts of
land along the Des Moines river, some of which he improved and
handled others as investments. He died in this locality
about 1850. His wife was a woman of strong character and
remarkable accomplishments. Through careful study, she gained a
thorough knowledge of medicine and surgery, which she practiced
to some extent — very unusual gifts and an almost unheard-of
career for a woman of her day. Mrs. Mary Davis Walker
died in Iowa in 1857, her son, Moses B., being then at
the height of his standing as a citizen of Dayton, Ohio.
Until he was seventeen years of age the latter attended
the country schools near his father's farm in the Scioto valley,
working at the same time to assist in the maintenance of the
household. When seventeen, he entered the freshman class
of Augusta College, Kentucky, and after remaining in that
institution for two years went to Cincinnati, where he spent a
like period at the Woodward Preparatory School. At the end of
his three years at Yale University he was obliged to return home
on account of ill health. As soon as he was able to resume
work, he commenced the study of law in the office of Judge
Joseph H. Crane, of Dayton, and afterward attended lectures
at the Cincinnati Law School, from which he graduated in 1845.
He then formed a partnership with H. V. R. Lord, opening
offices at Dayton and Germantown, Ohio, with himself in charge
of the former and Mr. Lord, of the latter. Quite
early during the period of his residence in Dayton Mr.
Walker became identified with both the civic and military
affairs of the community, at the breaking out of the Mexican war
holding the commission of major of cavalry in the state troops.
This he resigned to raise a company of infantry, but before an
organization was effected an order came to accept no more
troops; which prevented him from seeing service on Mexican soil.
Continuing his law practice with Mr. Lord until the death
of his partner, he then associated himself with Judge G. B.
Holt, an eminent lawyer of Dayton, under the firm name of
Walker, Holt & Walker, the junior member of which was a
nephew of Moses B. The senior of the firm served as
a member of the Ohio senate in 1850-1, and was an unsuccessful
congressional nominee in 1864 and 1866, although he made a
remarkable run against an overwhelming normal majority for the
Democracy.
At the opening of the Civil war, General
Walker was commissioned captain of the Twelfth United States
Infantry, but through his friend, Salmon P. Chase, he was
appointed colonel of the Thirty-first Ohio Infantry and assigned
to the army of the Cumberland under General Thomas.
He first distinguished himself at the battle of Perryville.
Fully recognizing his high standing at home General Rosecrans
sent him to Ohio to recruit and organize troops. Owing to
the unsettled political situation then prevailing and the bitter
feeling existing between the two parties, these duties were as
trying, and fully as important, as any which could have been
assigned to him at the front. In the forming and practical
organization of public sentiment toward the primary end of
raising troops for the Union cause. General Walker
accomplished a wonderful work, his stirring addresses, oral and
printed, arousing wide-spread sympathy, enthusiasm and action.
He returned to the front in time to participate in the battle of
Stone River, as commander of the first brigade, third division,
fourteenth army corps. He also bore a heroic part in the
battle of Chickamauga, in which he was severely wounded.
As a result he was not only publicly commended for his brave and
skillful handling of troops, but on Mar. 27, 1865, was
commissioned brigadier general of volunteers, by brevet, and
major and brevet lieutenant colonel in the regular army.
Subsequently he participated in various military operations at
Resaca, Dalton, Lookout Mountain, Kenesaw Mountain, Peach Tree
Creek, Atlanta, Jonesboro and Nashville, and at the close of the
war was honorably mustered out of the service as a retired
colonel of the Regular army.
Upon his return to Ohio, General Walker engaged
in the practice of the law at Findlay. but in 1868 was ordered
to Texas on military duty. His professional abilities soon
earned him high preferment at the hands of the administration,
and by successive appointments he served both as district judge
and as a member of the state supreme bench. In then latter
capacity he served until the state was admitted to
representation in Congress, his colleagues of the supreme court
being Judges A. J. Hamilton, Morrell, Lindsay and
Dennison. General Walker then returned north, settled
at Kenton, Ohio, and resumed the practice of his profession in
partnership with his sons, Willis and John.
In 1879 he retired to his farm in the outskirts of thai place,
where he remained until his death. Dec. 17, 1895. In
his religious faith, the deceased was a Methodist, and his
fraternal connections were with the Masons, Odd Fellows and his
comrades of the Grand Army of the Republic.
On May 1, 1855, General Walker married,
as his second wife. Miss Mary M. Hitt, the ceremony
occurring at Vincennes, Indiana. She was a daughter of
Dr. Willis M. and Mary (Reynolds) Hitt, both of Maryland,
the latter being a descendant of Thomas Smith, a
soldier of the Revolution. The second Mrs.
Walker, who died Oct/ 16, 1907, at Kenton, Ohio, was also a
cousin of the late Congressman Robert Hitt, of Illinois.
The children of the second union were as follows: Willis S.,
who was born at Germantown, Ohio, graduated from the Law School
of the Michigan University, and died at Spokane, Washington,
Jan. 10, 1890, being then engaged in practice there; Harriet
R., born at Germantown, educated as a vocalist, married
L. B. Tyson (now a retired druggist of Kenton) and died in
that city, Nov. 25, 1907; Mozelle H., who was born at
Dayton, was educated as an artist, and married Eugene
Rogers, a Kenton druggist; George W., born in Dayton,
educated at Ohio Northern University, West Point and Ohio State
University, and now professor of mathematics at the Pittsburg
high school; Bessie F. was born in Findlay, educated at
Delaware College, Ohio, and now resides in Minneapolis,
Minnesota, and is married to a dry goods merchant of that city;
Frank W., also a student of the Ohio State University (a
native of Findlay), and a traveling salesman residing at Kenton;
Mary L., who was born in Austin, Texas, was educated as a
musician and is now engaged in professional work at Kenton; and
De La Mar E. Walker, born at Findlay, also educated as a
musician, and the wife of Paul K. Strong, an architect of
Kenton.
The American ancestor of the Ohio branch of the
Walker family to which General Walker
belonged was John Walker, who settled in Maryland
with Lord Baltimore, and was killed in the Revolutionary
war at the battle of Entaw Springs.
Source: A Twentieth Century History of Hardin County, Ohio
- Vol. II - Publ. The Lewis Publishing Company - Chicago - 1910.
- Page 585 |
W. I. Witcraft |
WILLIAM I. WITCRAFT
Source: A Twentieth Century History of Hardin County, Ohio - Vol. II
- Publ. The Lewis Publishing Company - Chicago - 1910. - Page 494 |
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DR.
JAMES M. WOOD, a physician and surgeon living in Dudley
township, Hardin county, Ohio, was born in Marion county, Ohio,
Mar. 1, 1853, and is a son of Hampton and Susanna (Marsh)
Wood. Hampton Wood was born at Egg Harbor, New Jersey,
in 1813, and was a son of Isaac and Sarah Wood, of Scotch
and Irish descent. Isaac Wood and his wife moved
from Darke county to Marion county, Ohio, in 1882, when the
country was sparsely settled, and took up one hundred and sixty
acres of land. They made the trip with a team of oxen and
brought the farm implements with them. They spent the
remainder of their lives in Marion County, where they became
prosperous and began making improvements on their farm.
They were the parents of twelve children. They had to bear
the privations and hardships incident to pioneer life, and soon
after settling in Marion county Mr. Wood would split one
hundred rails and trade them for one bushel of corn, which he
carried thirty miles to have ground at the mill. In his
day the children had no chores, and he was a hardy, hardworking
man, who strove constantly to make the most of his land and keep
his family supplied with necessities. He was a Whig
in his younger days and later became a Republican.
Both Hampton Wood and his father were known and
admired for their hardiness and their endurance of all kinds of
hard work. The former was the oldest of the children and
then attended school winters until he was eighteen years of age,
when he began teaching and was the first teacher in Dudley
township, beginning in the old Boynton school. He
continued in his profession and carrying on a farm until his
death. Politically he was a Republican and held the
township offices of treasurer, clerk and justice of the peace.
He was an active worker and member of the Free Will Baptist
church and often served as a deacon. He became prosperous
as a farmer, and was a progressive, enterprising citizen.
His death occurred on May 8, 1889. He was married in 1846
to Susanna Marsh, who died in 1878, at the age of
fifty-five years; she was a daughter of Nalen and Mary A. (Yazell)
Marsh, of Marion county. Mr. Wood and his wife
became the parents of the following children: Isaac,
a farmer in Oregon; John, of Kenton, Ohio; Dr. J. M.;
George, a farmer of Marion county; Scott, a farmer of
Marion county; Pearl, on the old homestead; Lawrence,
a farmer; Eliza Catherine, a wife of A. P. Rhodes,
a farmer; Ollie, wife of Jacob Yauger, and
Merty, Nathan and Henry, who died when young.
Dr. J. M. Wood attended the district school
until sixteen years after which he taught five years, between
his teaching attending the Free Will Baptist College in
Ridgeville two years. In company with his brother John
Mr. Wood bought two hundred acres of land in Dudley
township, where they spent one year, and then James M.
studied medicine a year, after which he purchased an interest in
a mercantile business in Larue, where he remained one year and
then sold out. He spent two years at the Columbus (Ohio)
Medical College, from which he graduated in 1879. He
practiced one year in Yelverton, Hardin county, then worked one
year in Kenton as clerk for Dr. Rodgers, after which he
spent five years as a druggist and practicing physician at
Larue, and while living there was appointed postmaster. He
then removed to Lincoln, Nebraska, and shortly after returned to
Ohio and purchased his present farm in Dudley township. He
carries on general farming and pays special attention to
dairying, which in the present day is attracting so much
attention and returning such large profits. Dr. Wood
also keeps up the practice of his profession, in which he has
been very successful.
Politically Dr. Wood is a stanch supporter of
the interests of the Republican party, and has been an active
worker for the same. He is a public-spirited and useful
citizen, the friend of progress and every cause tending toward
the advancement and betterment of humanity. He stands high
in his profession and is a member of Hardin County Medical
Society. His farm is one mile long, and it faces the
Kenton pike road just east of Hepburn. He has twenty-five
registered Jersey cows in his herd for dairy purposes. His
barn, which is the largest in Dudley township, is ninety feet
long with a silo that will hold a one hundred and fifty-ton crop
and his barn holds one hundred and fifty tons of hay. He
is using modern methods and has made a special study of
scientific farming, so that his judgment is considered very good
on all agricultural matters. He carries on his farm as a
business proposition and recaps from it the maximum of profit.
He is highly respected in the community and well known.
Dr. Wood is a member of Lodge No. 463, Ancient Free and
Accepted Masons, of Larue, also of the Maccabeus of Hepburn.
Dr. Wood married Lucy Potter, who was
born July 13, 1859, on her father's farm, daughter of Josiah
Potter, who died at the age of eighty-three years, Dec. 9,
1891. Mr. Potter was a native of Johnstown, New
York, born in 1807. He was a pioneer of Dudley township,
settling there in 1849; in 1844 he located in Wyandot county,
Ohio, where he lived about five years. He made a trip west
with a horse and wagon, bringing his wife and two children.
He was a tanner by trade and his wife made mittens and gloves
during their trip, in which way they made some money along the
way. The mittens and gloves were made of tanned hide,
which he tanned by hand. Mr. Potter sent his
products to market by way of the lakes for many years, and the
trip required weeks, so that he was some time realizing on his
sales at times. In 1832 he married Mary Ann Mills,
who died in 1868, at the age of fifty-two years. Besides
Mrs. Wood their children who still survive are:
William, a farmer of Minnesota; Sophronia, wife of
W. Kastor, of Washington township; Mary Jane, wife of
Isaac Hoyt, of Kenton; Charles F., a farmer of
Minnesota. Mrs. Wood is the youngest. She is
a member of the United Brethren church and is president of the
Ladies' Aid Society. She is a member of the Maccabees of
Hepburn and the order of Eastern Star at Larue. Dr.
Wood and his wife became the parents of children as follows:
Mamie E., a gifted artist, wife of G. Vanatta, of
Kenton, who has three children, Keith, Rex and Alice;
Aubrey Hampton, a farmer and justice of the peace of
Dudley township, married Bertha Drew and they have two
children, Madison F. and Esther A.; and Anna B.,
who is well educated in music and has been a music teacher, is
now attending school in Ada. Mr. Wood is the only
physician living in Dudley township, and he has a large
practice.
Source: A Twentieth Century History of Hardin County, Ohio - Vol. II
- Publ. The Lewis Publishing
Company - Chicago - 1910. - Page 643 |
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