BIOGRAPHIES
Source:
Commemorative
Biographical Record of the Counties of
Harrison and Carroll, Ohio
containing Biographical Sketches of Prominent and
Representative Citizens, and of Many of the Early
Settled Families.
Illustrated
Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co. -
1891
<
CLICK
HERE TO RETURN TO 1891 BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX >
< CLICK HERE TO
RETURN TO LIST OF BIOGRAPHICAL INDEXES >
|
|
ISRAEL RANKIN,
the only representative of one of the oldest families in Harrison County, was
born Nov. 20, 1830, and is a son of James and Hester (Earley) Rankin.
His early life was spent in assisting in the duties of the home farm, and in
attendance at the district schools of his neighborhood. August 18, 1870,
he was married to Sarah, daughter of Adam Dickerson, and settled
on the place where he was born and still resides, and where, until Aug. 29,
1886, his wife share his joys and sorrows. Her remains now rest quietly in
Rankin Cemetery. His children are named Elizabeth Jane, James Jamison
and William Dickerson. From his early youth he has been an earnest
supporter of the democratic party, and has held various offices in the gift of
the people, as trustee, land appraiser, etc. He has always taken an active
part in the political movements of his township, and has never missed an
election since he was of age. Like his ancestry he has been a member of
the Rankin Methodist Episcopal Church and has held all the offices in that
organization, and now occupies a prominent position in its financial and
temporal welfare. He is a member of the F. & A. M. at Flushing, No. 298,
in which he has been worshipful master for the past twenty-five years. He
was high priest of Cadiz, R. A. Chapter, No. 98, and a Sir Knight at St.
Clairsville Hope Commandery, No. 26. He is the only man in the township
who has the order of high priesthood, which was conferred Oct. 11, 1866, at
Toledo. He is also a member of the Masonic Veterans of Ohio, organized at
Columbus, Ohio, in 1870, by John D. Caldwell, of Cincinnati.
Prominent in social, financial, religious and secret organizations, he is one of
Harrison County's representative men. Following is a chronological sketch
of the Rankin family, as represented by it in Harrison County.
William Rankin, the progenitor of the family in
this country, was born in Scotland about the year 1720, and emigrated in the
eighteenth year of his age to try his fortune in the Shenandoah Valley, and was
married to Miss Abigail Tassia; and the fruits of this marriage were
nine sons and two daughters, as follows: William, David, Matthew,
John, James, Zaccha, Thomas, Mary, Abigail, Samuel and Jesse.
From there, with the exception of the son William, they moved to
Washington County, Penn., where the father purchased a tract of 1,800 acres, of
Col. Crawford, and lived in a block house or fort on the waters of The
Raccoon Creek, in what i now known as Mount Pleasant Township. James
was subsequently killed by the Indians on his way to Pennsylvania from Kentucky,
where he had purchased a large tract of land. Thomas, in after
years, moved to Harrison County, Ohio. Jesse Rankin, the youngest
son of William, was also one of the early pioneers of Ohio, but did not
remain here. Thomas Rankin was married to Miss
Nancy Foreman, and by this marriage were born five children, as follows:
James, William, David, Jane and Nancy. Thomas remained
in Washington County, and participated in many battles with the Indians, one of
which was the Poe battle, at the mouth of Tomlinson Run, on the Ohio River, and
in this right there were three Indians to one white man. Mr.
Rankin had taken shelter behind a tree, and an Indian seeing him there, drew
his gun to fire, but in cocking it he broke the main spring; one of his comrades
seeing the situation, fired and killed the Indian, when Mr. Rankin
picked up the Indian's gun and participated in the tight. In 1805 he came
to Ohio and settled in Moorefield Township, Harrison County. The Rankin
Methodist Episcopal Church was the third organization of the kind in eastern
Ohio; located in Moorefield Township, and organized in 1815, on land given as a
donation by Thomas Rankin, by a deed, dated, 1819. This
church was first organized by Rev. James Roberts and Thomas Dickerson
about 1814. Among the names found enrolled at that time were Thomas Rankin,
Sr., Mary Rankin, James Rankin, Hester Rankin, Arthur Barrett, Sr. , Isaac
Barrett, William Jones, Rachel Jones, Sarah Foreman, Martha White, Mary A.
Moffit, Mary Love, John Porter, Samuel Jones, and others. Having no
house in which to worship, this faithful band of pioneer Christians was
compelled to worship in the log cabin of Thomas Rankin. The first trustees
of the church were Thomas Rankin, Leonard Barnes,
Ephraim Sears and Edward Ruby.
James Rankin, the eldest son of Thomas
Rankin, was born in Mount Pleasant Township, Washington Co. , Penn.,
December 22, 1784, and was married to Miss Hester Earley, December 15,
1809. Miss Earley was born May 31, 1793, near Chartiers Creek,
Washington County, Penn. They were surrounded by a family of eight children, as
follows: Jane, Thomas, Margaret, Nancy, Sarah, William, Matilda and
Israel, of whom three are dead, Jane, Thomas and William; they
all became heads of families. During the War of 1812 Mr. James Rankin
served a term as a minute-man, and in 1813 settled in Harrison County, Ohio, on
the farm where Israel Rankin now resides.
Thomas Rankin died May 12, 1832, and his
remains were followed to the cemetery adjoining, and Rankin Church by a large
concourse of mourning relatives and friends, their loss being deeply deplored.
Source:
Commemorative
Biographical Record of the Counties of Harrison and Carroll, Ohio,
Publ. Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co. - 1891 - Page 235 |
|
|
WILLIAM RANKIN.
The Rankin family are of Scotch descent. The first to come to this
country was William Rankin, who settled in Virginia, in the Shenandoah
Valley, married Abigail Tassia, and by her became the father of eleven
children, viz.: William, David, Matthew, John, James, Zaccha, Thomas,
Mary, Abigail, Samuel and Jesse. The father and a portion of
his family subsequently settled in Washington County, Penn., where they lived in
the blockhouse on their plantation of 1,800 acres, on Raccoon Creek. Of
the children named, James was killed by Indians on his way to
Pennsylvania from Kentucky, where he had purchased a large tract of land.
Thomas settled in Harrison County, Ohio, in 1805. Zaccha
died in Pennsylvania from hydrophobia, resulting from the bite of a mad wolf.
Jesse also came to Ohio, but returned and died in Pennsylvania.
James Rankin, the eldest son of Thomas Rankin,
was born in Mount Pleasant Township, Washington Co., Penn., Dec. 22, 1784, and
was married to Hester Earley, Dec. 15, 1809. Miss Earley was
born near Chartiers, Penn., May 31, 1703, and became the mother of eight
children, viz.: Jane, Thoams, Margaret, Nancy, Sarah, William, Matilda
and Israel, of whom three, Jane, Thomas and William, are
deceased. James Rankin, the father of these children, served as a
minute-man in the War of 1812, and in 1813 settled in Harrison County, Ohio, on
the farm where his son, Israel, now resides. Thomas Rankin
the father of James, died May 12, 1832.
William Rankin, the subject proper of this
sketch, son of James and Hester (Earley) Rankin, and great-grandson of
the original pioneer, was born Mar.12, 1822, in Athens Township, Harrison Co.,
Ohio, of which township his father was the earliest settler. Born and
reared on a farm his life differed little from that of the youth of his
neighborhood. His education was received at the common schools, but his
mind received a subsequent training by home study and reading. Nov. 27,
1856, he was married to Mary Dunlap, a daughter of John Dunlap.
Bringing his wife to the home place, he there resided until his death, Jan. 3,
1864. Only one child, Susan Jane, came to cheer their married life,
and she still remains at home with her mother, and, with a daughter's care, is
making the last days of her parent pleasant and comfortable. In his
political beliefs Mr. Rankin took a strong stand, and always advocated
the principles of the Democratic party. A man of strong convictions and
excellent judgment, his advice was often sought in various matters of life.
In early life he united with the Ranking Methodist Episcopal Church, which was
founded by his ancestry, and like them always was a strong and liberal supporter
of it. He held the various offices of the church, all of which he
discharged with conscientiousness. His death was regretted by a large
circle of friends and neighbors, and truly mourned by all who knew him.
His remains now rest in the Rankin Cemetery. Truly may it be said of him
that he was the embodiment of progressiveness, justice, honesty and truth.
Source:
Commemorative
Biographical Record of the Counties of Harrison and Carroll, Ohio,
Publ. Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co. - 1891 - Page 160 |
|
|
ANDREW J. REA. Within a few years of a century ago there
was born in what is now Harrison County one of its most prosperous and
influential citizens, by name Joseph Rea, father of Andrew J. Rea,
the subject proper of this sketch.
John Rea, the father of Joseph, was one
of the pioneer ministers of the Presbyterian faith in this county, and it was he
who organized the churches of that denomination in Cadiz, Beech Spring, Crab
Apple and Nottingham, all of which are still in a prosperous condition. He
was forty-five years pastor of Beech Spring Church. Mr. Rea was a
native of Ireland, having been born in Tullow, County Carlow, to Joseph and
Isabella Rea. At the age of nineteen years he came to America, where
his education was mainly obtained, and in 1793 he married Elizabeth Christie,
of Westmoreland County, Penn., who bore him nine children - seven sons and two
daughters. He died in what is now Green Township, Harrison Co., Ohio,
where for years he had lived and labored, passing from earth at the patriarchal
age of eighty-four years.
Joseph Rea, son of the above, was, as above
narrated, a native of what is now Harrison County, born in that portion now
known as Green Township, September 20, 1796. He remained at home until of
age, when he married, near New Athens, Miss Jane, daughter of John and
Mary McConnell, and also a native of Harrison County, of which her father
was one of the early settlers. For the first five years after their
marriage Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Rea remained in Green Township, and then
moved to Moorefield Township, locating, in 1824, on the farm now owned by
William Pickering, remaining there six years, thence moving to the farm in
Cadiz Township, on which the Widow Kidwell now resides, and, in
1837, came to the farm which he purchased from Joseph Shotwell, and there
spent the remaining days of his life. They were the parents of seven
children, viz.: Elizabeth, widow of John Lafferty, residing in
Cadiz Township; Mary, Mrs. Samuel Dunlap in Nottingham Township; John,
in Kansas; Andrew Jackson; Martha, on the old home place; and
William and Joseph (both deceased). In 1859 the mother died, at
the age of fifty-nine years, and in April, 1862, the father followed her to the
grave. He was one of the prominent and most active Democrats in Harrison
County, and served his district in the House of Representatives two terms - from
1832 to 1838. He and his wife were both members of the Presbyterian
Church.
Andrew J. Rea, the subject proper of this
biographical sketch, was born in Moorefield Township, Harrison Co., Ohio, in
November, 1826, and spent his boyhood days on the farm, sharing in its general
duties. His school advantages were very meager, being limited to
instruction received in the old log school-house of his day. In March,
1856, he was married to Miss Mary, daughter of John and Elsie
(Johnson) Moore, and a native of the same township as her husband. The
Moore family were descended from Irish ancestry, and came to this county
early in the present century. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Rea
came to Cadiz Township and settled on the farm where their home has since been
made, and where were reared their children, whose record is as follows:
Martha Elizabeth is now the wife of George Holliday, of Moorefield
Township; Elsie J. is living at home; Joseph died at the age of
fourteen years; Lenora resides at home; John M. is being educated
at Franklin College. The home of Mr. and Mrs. Rea
is on the "Clay Pike," four and a half miles west of the county seat. They
have for many years been members of the Presbyterian Church of Nottingham;
politically Mr. Rea is a Democrat, zealous in the interests of his party, and,
although he resides in a strong Republican district, has held the office of
county commissioner. Socially the Rea family rank high, and
of them all speak in complimentary terms. Mr. Rea is a
progressive citizen and a pleasant companion, one whose record has never been
tarnished.
Source:
Commemorative
Biographical Record of the Counties of Harrison and
Carroll, Ohio - Publ. Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co. - 1891 - Page 35 |
| |
JOHN G. REA, now a resident of
Freeport, Ohio, was born Jan. 17, 1837, in Athens Township, Harrison County.
He has always been a progressive man of his village. Having but
common-school advantages, his training in his youth was somewhat limited, but,
being a keen observer, a close reasoner and extensive reader, he has largely
made up any deficiencies in his education, and is now one of the well-posted men
of his section. In his youth he began the shoemaker's trade, and has since
followed it, working in various places. In 1862 he was married to Annie,
daughter of Nathan Fisher, a resident of Moorefield Township, Harrison
Co., Ohio, and to this union were born the following named children:
Lulu, George, Laura, Charles, Harry, Mary Etta, Franklin, Maud and Carl.
In politics Mr. Rea exercises his judgment, although he leans toward
Republican principles; he and his family are attendants of the Methodist
Episcopal Church. In April, 1861, Mr. Rea enlisted in the first
company that was raised in Harrison Company - Company I, Thirteenth Regiment
Ohio Volunteers, it being the first company to leave Cadiz. After
campaigning in West Virginia until the fall of 1861, they were assigned to the
Army of the Cumberland, afterward to the Army of the Tennessee. The
battles in which Mr. Rea participated were Carnifax Ferry, Cotton
Mountain, Shiloh, Stone River, Chickamauga, Mission Ridge, Dalton, Resaca and
New Hope Church. He was wounded at the battle of New Hope Church and sent
to field hospital, and after the battle of Kenesaw Mountain he was sent to
Chattanooga, then to Nashville, and finally to Jeffersonville, Ind. In
September he was discharged from the hospital, joined his regiment at Pulaski,
Tenn., and participated in the battles of Franklin and Nashville, remaining with
the old company until the close of the war. His regiment was one of those
sent to Texas, where it remained until December, 1865, when it was discharged,
December 5, at San Antonio, Tex., and marched from there to Indianola, on
Matagorda Bay, and was shipped from there by way of the gulf to New Orleans,
thence by steamboat to Cairo, Ill., and from there by rail to Columbus, where
our subject arrived in January, 1866, concluding a service of four years and
eight months, a record rarely equaled.
Source:
Commemorative
Biographical Record of the Counties of Harrison and Carroll, Ohio
- Publ. Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co. - 1891 - Page 328 |
| |
CHARLES H. REED.
Among the many settlers who left their native State with the intention of making
a home in what was then the Far West, may be mentioned Thomas Reed,
father of Charles H. Reed, so well and favorably known in Green Township,
Harrison County. The father of Thomas emigrated from England about
the commencement of the Revolutionary War, and like many other aliens took up
the cause of his adopted country, and fought valiantly and faithfully through
those long weary years. His family he brought with him, and soon after the
close of the struggle they settled in eastern Pennsylvania. His children
were named John, William, James, Mary, Sarah, Rachel and Thomas.
He was a strong Federalist in his convictions, and an ardent supporter of that
party. A member of the Presbyterian Church in early life, he joined the
Seceder Church upon its organization, and remained a member of the same until
his death. His remains now rest in Pennsylvania.
Thomas Reed's early life was passed in
farming and attending the common schools. In 1799 he was married to
Mary Walker, who bore him the following named children: William
and John. In 1803 this wife died and was buried in Fayette County,
Penn. In 1808 he was united in marriage with Nellie Stone,
of Pennsylvania, a daughter of Rev. Benjamin Stone, a minister of
the Close Communion Baptists. After their marriage they remained a short
time in Pennsylvania, but soon deciding to move westward, they came to Jefferson
County, Ohio, where they purchased a farm. The following named children were
born to them: Mary, Sarah, Rachel, Jeremiah, Charles H., Benjamin,
McNara, Thomas, Eleanor and Nancy Jane. Mr.
Reed and family attended the Presbyterian Church at Bloomfield, Jefferson
County; his wife was a member of the Baptist Church at Pine Run; in politics he
was a Whig. In 1833 they moved to Coshocton County, where he remained; in
1853 the father died and was buried at Keene, Coshocton Co., Ohio; in 1866 his
widow died and was placed by his side.
Charles H. Reed, the subject proper of these
lines, was born April 8, 1818, in Wayne Township, Jefferson Co., Ohio. He passed
his early youth at the home of his parents, and at the early age of fifteen
started out in life for himself. He first sought employment in Coshocton
County, where he remained about a year, returning to Green Township, Harrison
County, where he has since resided. He has never married, but resides on the
farm, his niece being housekeeper. Politically, Mr. Reed was
a Democrat, but finally joined the Prohibition ranks, and now is a strong
supporter of that cause, still holding to the great principles of Democracy—
equal and exact justice to all men; " therefore rum, the great fraud of our
land, must go." The Presbyterian Church at Beech Spring claims him as a member.
He is the sole representative of his family, and retains the respect of his
neighbors and acquaintances, which the Reed family always had.
Source:
Commemorative
Biographical Record of the Counties of Harrison and Carroll, Ohio, Publ. Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co. - 1891 - Page 86 |
| |
R. W. REED, a
retired business man of Jewett, Rumley Township, Harrison County, is a son of
John and Dorcas (Orr) Reed. John Reed was born in Archer Township,
Harrison County, June 6, 1818. Dorcas Orr was born in Green
Township, same county, June 4, 1812, a daughter of Robert Orr, who was
born in County Tyrone, Ireland, in 1769. Robert Orr's wife bore the
maiden name of Ann Huston, and was also a native of Ireland.
Robert Orr migrated to Westmoreland County, Penn., in 1795, remained there
until 1802, and then came to Green Township, Harrison Co., Ohio, where he
entered 100 acres of land. He was the first justice of the peace in Green
Township, and served for twenty-two years. He was father of nine girls,
born and named as follows: Martha, born May 23, 1801; Esther,
Aug. 15, 1802; Jean, Apr. 1, 1804; Mary 'Ann, Sept. 6, 1806;
Miriam, Aug. 13, 1808; Zipporah, Mar. 13, 1809; Bathsheba,
Apr. 2, 1810; Dorcas, Jun. 4, 1812, and Betty, Jul. 7, 1814.
Robert Orr was a son of Andrew Orr, and died Nov. 4, 1857.
John Reed was a son of Arthur Reed, a native of Pennsylvania, and
born in 1791; his forefathers were natives of Germany, and settled in
Pennsylvania in the early days. Arthur Reed was the father of ten
children, by name, John, James, William, Nancy, Ellen, Margaret, Mary
Ann, Catherine, Mrs. Lemuel Hale of Bloomfield, Ohio, and Mrs. Sandy
Dennis of Indiana. He came from Pennsylvania to Archer Township,
Harrison Co., Ohio, in 1810. He was a school-teacher in Pennsylvania and
had to go from house to house to teach his scholars. After he came to Ohio
he followed wool carding. John Reed worked in the carding
mill with his father in his boyhood days, and March 3, 1846, he married and
settled on Robert Orr's farm in Green Township, but in 1853 moved to
Union Port, Jefferson Co., Ohio, where he followed the carpenter's trade,
contracting and building. After some years he returned to Green Township,
Harrison County, bought a small piece of land and built a house, but followed
his trade until 1880. He died at his home March 18, 1884; his wife died
October 8, 1866. They were the parents of two children: Elizabeth Ann,
who was born October 6, 1850, and died January 19, 1853, and R, W. Reed,
born May 17, 1848.
Our subject received a practical business education at
Hopedale Academy. He remained at home until 1872, but May 5, 1869, he
married Miss Elizabeth McClellan, born May 8, 1846, a daughter of
William and Eve (Rinehart) McClellan, former of whom was a son of Robert
McClellan, a native of Ireland, who came to Westmoreland County, Penn., in
an early day, and from there to Jefferson County, Ohio. Mrs.
Reed's grandfather was Rev. John Rinehart, a Lutheran minister of
primitive days, who settled in Jefferson County early in the century. He
was twice married, the father of fifteen children, six of whom are now living,
Mrs. Reed's mother being the eldest. The musical talent seemed to
be largely inherited by the Rinehart family, of which Miss Ella
Russell, the wonderful singer who is creating such a sensation in Europe, is
a descendant; she is a great-granddaughter of Rev. Rinehart. Prof.
M. L. Rinehart is also a son of Rev. Rinehart, and uncle to Mrs.
Reed, and many more of them are professors of vocal and instrumental
music.
R. W. Reed, March 18, 1872, came to Jewett, Ohio,
and worked in the planing mill for his uncle till 1884. In 1884, in
company with Dr. England, he bought a drug store, but same year he
sold his interest to Dr. England, and went to Martin's Ferry where
he embarked in the hardware business; there he remained till 1886, and "then
sold and returned to Jewett, of which place he has served as clerk for two
years. To Mr. Reed was born January 5, 1872, one child,
Willie S., who died February 17, 1878,
of scarlet fever. Mrs. Reed is a member of the Methodist
Episcopal Church, Mr. Reed of the
Presbyterian Church, and he is at present president of a national literary and
social organization
known as the E. H. C.
Source:
Commemorative
Biographical Record of the Counties of Harrison and Carroll, Ohio, Publ. Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co. - 1891 - Page 125 |
| |
AARON ROSS
Source:
Commemorative
Biographical Record of the Counties of Harrison and Carroll, Ohio, Publ. Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co. - 1891 - Page 645 |
. |
