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OHIO GENEALOGY EXPRESS
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Welcome to
Highland County,
Ohio BIOGRAPHIES |
Source:
History of Highland
County, Ohio
by Rev. J. W. Klise -
Publ. Madison,
Wis.,
Northwestern Historical Association
1902
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JOSEPH
BAILEY, one of the large land-owners and
representative farmers of Penn township, comes of an
honored old Quaker family which traces its pedigree
far back into the seventeenth century. It was
in 1687, just five years after William Penn
made his historic landing in Pennsylvania, that
Joel Bailey was married to Ann Short and
from this couple have descended all the Baileys
subsequently conspicuous in the various states of
America. Thomas Bailey, a great-great
grandson of Joel, was the founder of the Ohio
branch of the family and he it was who changed the
spelling of the name by introducing the letter "e."
His birth occurred Aug. 4, 1777, in Virginia, and
there he married Elizabeth Timberlake, with
whom and her two children he came to Highland county
in 1808. He settled in Penn township on the
farm now occupied by his grandson, who is the
subject of this sketch, and there he built a small
house in which he lived until his death, which
occurred at Samantha, Nov. 27, 1858. This
worthy progenitor of the Highland county Baileys
was one of those quiet, unostentatious men who exert
great influence by their probity of character,
regard for the rights of others and conformity to
all the requirements of good citizenship. He
and his son John were prominent and respected
members of the Friends' meeting and this influence
was transmitted to and since maintained by their
immediate descendants. The children of
Thomas and Elizabeth (Timberlake) Bailey were
May, John, Christopher, Joseph, Sarah, Ann, Judith,
Ansolum, Elizabeth and Moses. John
Bailey, second in age of the above enumerated
children, was born in Virginia, Jan. 21, 1806, and
was an infant between two and three years of age
when his parents arrived at their new home in Ohio.
He grew up on a farm, and in after life became a man
of influence in his community, especially active in
religious affairs of the denomination to which he
belonged. He married Mary Baker and his
children were William Y., Lydia Ann, who
married George F. Buzzard and died Nov. 20,
1897, Mary E., Hannah J., wife of
Isaac W. Harold, John H., Joseph, David, Sallie C.,
who married Samuel Smithson, and Jesse,
who died in infancy. Joseph Bailey,
sixth of these nine children, was born in Penn
township, Highland county, Ohio, Jan. 6, 1845, and
grew up to be one of the most successful farmers of
his neighborhood. He has well sustained the
reputation of his father and grandfather as good
citizens and industrious agriculturists, and like
them also stands high in his community as one whose
daily walk is along the lines of right conduct and
the fulfillment of all the duties between man and
man. Like all the Baileys for many
generations he is a member of the Society of
Friends, the historic organization which has done so
much to realize the prayer of the Christian founder
for "peace on earth and good will among men."
Mr. Bailey has prospered in worldly affairs
and now owns all told about 583 acres of land,
mostly in Penn township, and including the farm of
153 acres half a mile south of Samantha on which he
resides. July 23, 1869, he was married to
Martha, daughter of Jesse and Ruth
(Davis) Engle, and by her has had the following
named children: Etta, wife of Benjamin
Carey, a farmer of Penn township; Cora Inez;
John Elber, who married Luella Medsker
and is farming near Careytown; Jesse, Elmer,
twin brother of the last mentioned, who died in
infancy; Charles E., died in infancy;
Harlan D., at home, and Walter, who
married Osa Roads.
Source #1 - History of Highland
County, Ohio by Rev. J. W. Klise - Publ. Madison,
Wis., Northwestern Historical Association - 1902 -
Page 232 |
WILLIAM S. BARKER,
prominent in Salem township as a breeder of fine
stock and long connected with Sunday school and
other religious work, is descended from honorable
Virginia ancestry identified with Highland county at
an early period. The grandfather, John
Barker, was a native of Maryland who married at
nineteen years of age and moved to West Virginia.
He became a noted hunter and was called out to help
suppress the "Whisky insurrection" which occurred in
the second administration of President Washington.
In 1828, accompanied by his wife and thirteen
children, he came to Ohio and after a short sojourn
near Hillsboro located in New Market township where
he lived fifteen years. In 1842, he moved to
the farm in Salem township which was subsequently
owned by his son James. The original
thirteen children were increased by one birth after
the parents reached Ohio, but all have long since
passed away. Of all the children, the best
known was the late Rev. James H. Barker,
whose birth occurred in Virginia, Nov. 4, 1827.
May 30, 1846, he was married to Elizabeth,
daughter of Jesse and Nancy (Davidson) Faris,
and occupied the homestead farm for many years
thereafter. In 1882, he purchased the old
Beam farm at Pricetown, where he lived until a
few years before his death, much respected in the
community, as a good and conscientious man.
For many years and until ill health prevented, he
was a minister of the Christian church and
enthusiastic in the discharge of all the duties
connected therewith. Of his eleven children,
Nancy J., Alice, Emrick and two infants are
dead. Those living are Sarah J., wife
of Philip Laniger of Pricetown; Jesse P.,
of Clay township; Dillie, wife of Frank
Chaney; Ella, wife of Charles Barr, of
New Market township; the subject of this sketch; and
Virginia, wife of Robert McLaughlin, of
Salem township. William S. Barker, last
but one of these children, was born in Salem
township, Highland county, Ohio, Jan. 10, 1865, and
remained at home until he was of legal age.
Shortly after that period he was married to
Louisa (Miller) Turner, a native of Highland
county and daughter of William C. and Louisa A.
Miller. He located with his bride on a
farm of 231 acres where he is engaged principally in
stock raising, making a specialty of Shorthorn
cattle and Poland-China hogs. He has been
township assessor and school director and is a
member of the Modern Woodmen of America at
Pricetown. Mr. Barker inherited from
his father deep religious convictions and a fondness
for all kinds of work connected with the church.
For seventeen consecutive years he has been
superintendent of the Sunday school in the Christian
church, which he joined when only twelve years old,
and is quite enthusiastic in attention to his class.
When a boy he studied music and afterward for
several years taught that delightful science, which
since has proved of great assistance to him in
connection with his Sunday school work.
Frank O., the only child of Mr. and Mrs.
Barker, is a bright boy who gives promise of
worthily carrying forward the honorable careers of
his ancestors.
Source: History of Highland
County, Ohio by Rev. J. W. Klise - Publ. Madison,
Wis., Northwestern Historical Association - 1902 -
Page 233 |
NELSON
BARRERE, a veteran of the civil war and
well-known citizen of New Market township, comes of
distinguished pioneer ancestry. His
grandfather, George W. Barrere, became a
settler of Ohio as early as 1802, when he crossed
over the river from his old home in Kentucky and
after a short sojourn in Clinton county located in
New Market township. The new arrival bought
from John Eversole a hewed log house of one
room, to which he soon added another and fixed up a
kind of room in the loft. This structure the
proprietor proceeded to use as a tavern which
eventually became the leading house of entertainment
in those parts and was known far and wide for its
good cheer and generous fare. George W.
Barrere raised a volunteer rifle company for the
war of 1812, of which he was made captain, and
membership in which constitutes a proud genealogical
title for many descendants of the original recruits.
After the war, he engaged in mercantile business at
New Market and continued his store for several
years. He served as state senator in the Ohio
legislature almost continuously form 1808 until 1815
and was associate judge of Highland county fourteen
years from 1816. He was also one of the
first county commissioners and served as such
several terms, being one of the most influential and
popular citizens during this formative period of the
state and county. Morgan Barrere, one
of the sons of the old captain, was born in
Kentucky, Feb. 27, 1802, the year his father
emigrated, and some months before Ohio's admission
into the Union. In after years he became one
of the substantial citizens of New Market, where his
son, Nelson Barrere, was born Feb. 16, 1840.
The latter had scarcely passed his majority when the
opening guns of the civil war stirred the patriotic
blood in the veins and caused him to join the great
hosts then answering the calls of President
Lincoln. Oct. 10, 1861, he enlisted in
Company B, Sixtieth regiment, Ohio volunteer
infantry, which was recruited for the defense of the
border counties of the State and first sent to
Gallipolis. In the spring of 1862, however, it
was ordered to join General Fremont in
Virginia, and under that officer had its first taste
of fighting at Strausburg. Later on it was in
the sharp fighting higher up the valley, at the
battle of Cross Keys, against the forces commanded
by Stonewall Jackson. The Sixtieth
fought bravely in this heated engagement and
suffered considerable loss. Subsequently it
was ordered to Harper's Ferry and was part of the
unfortunates who were forced to surrender to
Jackson's army in September, 1862. This
ended the career of the Sixtieth regiment, as it was
paroled and mustered out of the service in October,
the majority of its members re-enlisting in other
organizations and serving gallantly until the close
of the war. After his release from service at
Chicago, Mr. Barrere returned home and
resumed his operation of farming. In 1863 he
was married to Albertine Washburn, a native
of Adams county and daughter of Dr. Joseph and
Elizabeth Washburn, the former a practicing
physician at New Market for many years.
Shortly after his marriage, Mr. Barrere again
went to the front as a member of Company A, One
Hundred and Sixty-eighth regiment Ohio national
guard. June 11, 1864, this regiment was
engaged in a severe battle near Cynthiana, Ky., in
which it fought well but suffered severe loss in
killed and wounded, besides the capture of two
hundred and eighty of his members. The latter,
however, were only held a short time as prisoners
and later did guard duty at Cincinnati until
discharged from the service in September.
Mr. Barrere again returned home, where he spent
two years and removed to Douglas county, Ill.
He lived in that state seven years and then came
back to Ohio, locating permanently on part of the
old homestead farm where he has since resided.
Mr. Barrere is a member of the Methodist
Episcopal church and a comrade in Hillsboro post,
No. 205, Grand Army of the Republic. Mr.
and Mrs. Barrere have had nine children whose
names are as follows: Elvin V.,
employee of the Hillsboro postoffice; Malissa,
wife of Joseph Miller, county recorder;
Joseph W., of New Market; Willoughby,
guard and teacher at the Mansfield Reformatory;
Edna B., wife of Rev. E. L. Hollingsworth;
Nelson, of New Market; James A.;
Lucretia, deceased, and Charles. James
A. and Charles are at home.
Source #1 - History of Highland
County, Ohio by Rev. J. W. Klise - Publ. Madison,
Wis., Northwestern Historical Association - 1902 -
Page 234 |
CAPT.
DAVID M. BARRETT, commander of a company in
the famous Eighty-ninth Ohio regiment during the
civil war and quite prominent for years in politics
and business, is descended from one of those sturdy
pioneer families which were identified with Highland
in the first years of its existence as a county.
The founder was Richard Barrett who brought
his family in wagons from their old home near
Winchester, Va., to the Ohio and down that river on
flat boats and again overland by team until they
arrived in the confines of Highland county in 1807.
He located in Paint township where he bought 150
acres of land at $8.00 per acre, manufactured the
necessary material and built the brick house which
is still standing on the place as one of the
landmarks of "ye olden times." Richard
Barrett was a member of the Society of Friends,
that historic organization which became famous as
the advocate of peace and brotherly love and the
uncompromising foe of slavery. He was
conspicuous as one of the workers in the Quaker
community of Highland county, helped erected a
building for worship and was one of the most
influential leaders of his people. His death
occurred Mar. 20, 1844, at the age of eighty-three,
and that of his wife June 6, 1833, at the age of
seventy-one years. The names and dates of
birth of their children are thus recorded in the
family Bible: Rebekah, 1778, Eleanora,
1779; Lydia, 1791; Phebe, 1793;
Sarah, 1796; Rachel, 1798; Sydney,
1800; Amy, 1802; Richard L., 1805.
The latter who was born in Virginia, was about two
years old when the family arrived at their Ohio
home. In early manhood he married Sarah D.
Mitchell, a native of Kentucky, whose parents
had settled in the neighborhood of the Barretts
in Paint township. Her father, David
Mitchell, served as a soldier in the war of
1812. Richard L. and Sarah D.
Barrett had seven children, of whom Maria,
Rosana, Eleanora and Sarah J. are
dead. The three living are David M.,
Elizabeth A., widow of Andrew Platter,
and Richard C., who lives in Clinton county,
Ohio. The second wife of Richard J. Barrett
was Mary J. Wiley, by whom he had six
children: Henry C., the eldest, enlisted in
the Twelfth regiment Ohio cavalry and was killed in
the service; Lydia married William Wyer
and died afterward; John is a resident of
Paint township; Emma is the wife of A. B.
Milner; Mary, is now Mrs. Merton
Wallace of Liberty township; Edmund is a
resident of Missouri. The father of these
children died at his home in Paint township Nov. 23,
1877, in his seventy-second year. David M.
Barrett, who was the third of the first family
of children, was born in Paint township, Highland
county, Ohio, Oct. 27, 1829. He was reared on
the old homestead and remained there engaged in
stock-dealing until his marriage to Sally
A. Weyer, which occurred Sept. 25, 1855.
The next three years were devoted to the management
of a store at New Petersburg and in the spring of
1858 he purchased the mill property on the Rocky
fork of Paint creek with which his name was so long
associated. These mills, the first in Highland
county, were built by Jesse Baldwin on
Factory branch of Rocky fork in 1805 or 1806 and
proved to be an extensive and successful
undertaking. The plant comprised not only a
sawmill and grist-mill, but a carding and fulling
mill and, after 1820, a woolen mill. Later,
MR. Baldwin abandoned the old structures and
built another below the mouth of the branch on Rocky
fork, where he present mills are. Subsequently the
property passed into the ownership of Dr. Boyd,
who enlarged and improved the saw- and grist-mills.
Dr. Boyd gave them to his son, J. Milton
Boyd, who sold them to Captain Barrett,
who in the year 1860 tore down the old buildings and
erected much better ones in their place. He
remained in charge of the woolen mills, which
manufactured a superior article of cloth, for more
than thirty-six years. In 1862, he raised a
company of soldiers for the Union army of which he
was elected captain and which subsequently became
part of the Eighty-ninth regiment of Ohio volunteer
infantry. The first great battle in which
Capt. David M. Barrett took part as commander of
Company I, was the famous engagement at Chickamauga,
Sept. 19, 1863. During the afternoon of the
20th, the Eighty-ninth went into the hottest of the
fight; and, with the Twenty-first Ohio and
Twenty-second Michigan, held its position against
fearful odds until dark, when they were surrounded
and all captured. Captain Barrett was
now in for a round of experiences in those awful
dens of starvation and torture called the "Southern
prison pens." He was first taken to the
notorious Libby prison at Richmond, Va., where he
was held about eight months, and subsequently spent
more or less time for several months at Danville,
August, Macon, Charleston and Columbia. While
at Charlotte, N. C., he and two companions bribed a
sentinel and escaped from prison, but after five
weeks were taken sick and recaptured.
Captain Barrett's terms in prison at different
places amounted in all to eighteen months and during
much of the time he was subjected to hunger, filth
and every privation calculated to make life
miserable. At the close of the war he was
released and returned home, where he resumed his
industrious and busy life as miller, manufacturer,
farmer, stockraiser and general man of affairs.
In fact few men had so many "irons in the fire" as
Captain Barrett, but he has managed to keep
everything going and in all his multifarious
activities has discharged the obligations with
credit to himself and satisfaction to others.
In 1865 he was elected representative from Highland
county in the state legislature, was again elected
in 1883 and re-elected in 1885. In 1885 he was
appointed a member of the board of state asylum
trustees at Athens, and served as president of the
board until he resigned. In 1889 he was a
member of the state board of equalization, and
during the following year was superintendent of the
Boys' Industrial school, which position he resumed
in 1893, and held for eight years. He served
three years as township assessor and was member of
the board of education for about twenty years.
He also held the position of township clerk.
Captain Barrett has been connected with the
Masonic fraternity since 1850 and holds membership
in Hillsboro lodge, No. 58. He is a member of
the Loyal Legion and one of the most honored
comrades of Trimble post, Grand Army of the
Republic, of which he is commander. Captain
Barrett has for many years been extensively
engaged in the live stock industry and owns at
present seven hundred acres of land, his holdings
formerly amounting to one thousand acres. He
has eight children: Cora M., wife of J. B.
Davis; Richard B., in the federal service
at Cincinnati, O.; Horace M., in charge of
his father's mill; Morgan, manager of a mill
at Bainbridge; Newton R., in charge of the
farm; Sarah N., wife of J. A. Head of
Hillsboro; Jesse C. and Elizabeth,
wife of Ralph Smith of Denver, Colorado.
Captain Barrett is a member of the Methodist
Episcopal church and has held various official
positions in connection therewith. Sally
A., the wife of Capt. Barrett, died July
21st, 1901.
Source #1 - History of Highland
County, Ohio by Rev. J. W. Klise - Publ. Madison,
Wis., Northwestern Historical Association - 1902 -
Page 235 |
REUBEN
P. BARRETT, quite prominent in the business
affairs and public life of Leesburg, is descended
from one of the pioneers who made the first
beginnings of civilization in Fairfield township.
His great grandfather, Jonathan Barrett, made
his appearance in 1805, the same year in which
Highland county was organized, purchased a place on
Hardin's creek and there proceeded to make a
settlement after the true backwoods style. He
bought the land form Nathaniel Pope, the
first settler of the township, and built his cabin
on the spot which long afterward was occupied as a
residence by Josel Wright, the Quaker
preacher. Along with Jonathan
came his brother Richard and his
brother-in-law, Henry Cowgill, all from
Virginia and later on prominent in the development
of that part of the county. Jonathan
Barrett reared a family of six children,
Benjamin, Jesse, Ellis, Levi, Rachel, and
Lydia, all long since dead, the last survivor
being Rachel, who married J. Ladd and
died in Penn township. Benjamin Barrett,
oldest son of Jonathan, was born in Virginia
and well grown before his father's migration to
Ohio. Like all the family connection he was a
member of the Friends church and became quite
prominent in the affairs of that religious
denomination. He was also successful as a
farmer and influential in the public life and
general development of the township.
Benjamin Barrett married Ruth
Slaughter, also a native of Virginia, and had
fifteen children, many of whom stood around his
bedside at the time of his death in 1880.
Among them was his son, John Barrett,
who was born in Highland county in 1832, and still
resides on his country estate near the old homestead
in Fairfield township. He is the father of
Reuben P. Barrett, who was born in Highland
county in 1859, and during his whole life has been
identified with the business interests of Leesburg.
He has served as supervisor and member of the board
of education and in July, 1897, was appointed
postmaster by President McKinley. He is
interested in the commercial elevator at Leesburg,
and a member of lodge No. 78, Free and Accepted
Masons of that city. His wife is Phoebe,
daughter of Allen Johnson, of Leesburg, and
descendant of a family that emigrated from
Virginia in an early period of the county's history.
The children of Mr. and Mrs. Barrett are
Maude, Augusta, Georgia, Hubert and Louise.
Source #1 - History of Highland
County, Ohio by Rev. J. W. Klise - Publ. Madison,
Wis., Northwestern Historical Association - 1902 -
Page 238 |
HANNIBAL
A. BEESON, M. D., one of the oldest medical
practitioners of Highland county and long prominent
in professional circles, is descended from pioneer
people of the best ancestral stock. His father,
Dr. Ruel Beeson, was born in Highland county in
1811, of North Carolina parentage, and commenced the
practice of medicine at Leesburg in 1833.
Later he engaged in the mercantile business, became
prominent in politics as a Whig and was elected to
the state senate in 1848, but declined a
re-nomination. He was conspicuous as a
temperance advocate, in advocacy of the construction
of the railroad through Leesburg and later was an
uncompromising friend of the Union during the civil
war. After the cessation of the hostilities he
spent much time in traveling and died Apr. 15, 1877.
He married Martha Johnson, who came with her
parents from Virginia to Ohio in the early part of
1800. Their son, Dr. H. A. Beeson, was
born at Leesburg, Highland county, in 1841, and was
given a good education in the common schools, the
Salem academy and the Wesleyan university at
Delaware, Ohio. After a course of study in the
office of a prominent physician he entered the
United States navy in 1862 as surgeon's steward, and
was assigned to duty with the mortar fleet under
Farragut, and later under Admiral Porter.
At the time the surrender at Appomattox put an
end to the war, Dr. Beeson was serving as an
assistant surgeon under Admiral Lee.
Considering his youth and lack of professional
medical training at that time, his record of service
during the civil war is quite remarkable and
decidedly creditable to his efficiency and fitness
for high responsibilities. After the war he
returned home and assisted his father on the
farm until 1876, when he entered Miami college, took
a full course in the medical department, and was
graduated with honor in the class of 1879.
After a year spent in Cincinnati devoted to study in
a post-graduate course, Dr. Beeson located in
his native town of Leesburg where he has since made
his home and headquarters. He is now one of the
oldest physicians in continuous practice at that
point and one of the most popular, standing high
both in his profession and among the people.
He was appointed medical examiner for the United
States pension department, and has served three
terms in that responsible position. He was
influential in the organization of the Southern Ohio
Medical Society, and has had the honor of being
president of that body. Dr. Beeson is
also a conspicuous member of the International
society of Psychic Research, which includes many of
the most eminent and learned people in the world.
Another organization to which he belongs is the Ohio
society for the prevention and cure of tuberculosis.
Altogether the Doctor's life has been one of useful
activities for the benefit of his fellow men by the
spread of mental and social culture and all those
things which, in the language of Matthew Andrew,
"make for righteousness." he enjoys a large
practice in his native town and the general esteem
of the people of his community who have known him
from earliest childhood. In 1865, Dr.
Beeson was married to Elizabeth T. Anderson,
an accomplished lady of Highland county, whose
parents were members of an old Virginia family of
high standing.
Source #1 - History of Highland
County, Ohio by Rev. J. W. Klise - Publ. Madison,
Wis., Northwestern Historical Association - 1902 -
Page 239 |
CHARLES
S. BELL, prominent for over forty-three years
in the manufacturing industries of Hillsboro and one
of the most public-spirited citizens of the
community, is of Maryland ancestry which dates in
that state from a period anterior to the Revolution.
At that early day David Bell had taken up
land in the region around Cumberland where he
pursued the quiet occupation of farming and reared
his family. Among his children was a son named
David R., who married Nancy Bradley
and by her became the father of the subject of this
sketch. Charles S. Bell was born at
Cumberland, Md., Feb. 7, 1829, and at the age of
fifteen years went to Pittsburg to learn the
founder's trade. After mastering the details
of this business, he spent some years working at
various establishments in Cincinnati, Springfield
and Dayton, during which time he perfected his
knowledge of the trade. In January, 1858,
Mr. Bell purchased a small plant which had been
run by other parties in Hillsboro about three years
on Beech street below the present site of the
Baltimore & Ohio railroad depot. He carried it
on there eight years, with many enlargements and
improvements, but eventually bought seven acres of
ground near the Hillsboro depot, on which the large
factory buildings covering about one acre of ground
were erected in 1889-90. The company of which
Mr. Bell is the head, does an extensive
business in the manufacture of bells and various
kinds of farm machinery. More bells, forty
pounds and upwards in weight, mostly for farms and
schools, are said to be turned out here than at any
other factory in America. In 1880 Mr. Bell
employed about twenty hands, but at present gives
work to at least one hundred and fifty people.
Attention is devoted to the manufacture of sugar
cane and feed-grinding machines much in demand
throughout the West, and a machine called the "tortillers,"
used in Mexico for crushing the hominy of which a
popular cake is made, is turned out in large numbers
at the Bell establishment. The plant as
it stands represents the investment of a large
amount of capital and a very extensive business is
done over a wide area of country, both national and
international. It is and long has been one of
the cherished institutions of Hillsboro and the
founder is regarded as one of the city's
benefactors. In 1895 Mr. Bell built the
Bell opera house at a cost of $40,000.
He also erected the building occupied by the
McKeehan-Hiestand Grocery company in 1892 and
became largely interested in the stock of that
company. He is vice-president and one of the
largest stock holders in the Merchants' National
bank and a partner in the hardware firm known as the
John A. McCoppin & Co. Aside from his
regular business, Mr. Bell has had much to do
with the public affairs of the city and has been one
of the factors in its growth and development.
He served for twenty-one years on the Hillsboro
school board and devoted much time and attention to
the important subject of education. As a
member of the city council for many years, the
community had the benefit of his business experience
and ripe judgment in all matters affecting municipal
improvements. Besides these, Mr. Bell
has held numerous other places of trust, and
whatever duty was devolved upon him, in any of the
relations of life, he always discharged the same
with a conscientious fidelity to the public welfare.
In 1851 Mr. Bell was married to Mary L.
Roberts, by whom he has had five children.
Charles E., the eldest, is interested in the
C. S. Bell company; Alice M. is the
wife of L. B. Boyd, another member of the
foundry firm; John died in 1891; Cora E.
and May are at home.
Source #1 - History of Highland
County, Ohio by Rev. J. W. Klise - Publ. Madison,
Wis., Northwestern Historical Association - 1902 -
Page 240 |
JOSEPH
G. BELL, the well known hardware merchant and
implement dealer of Hillsboro, comes of one of the
old families of Highland county. The founder
in this part of Ohio was George Bell, who was
born in Virginia in 1780, located in Brush Creek
township in 1812 and died in 1876 after he had
reached the ninety-sixth year of his age. He
first married a Miss May and to this union
was born one child named Mary, now the widow
of Andrew Milburn, deceased, and about 1820
he espoused Mary Frump, by whom he had a
numerous family of children as follows: John,
who died in Brush Creek in 1900; George, now
a resident of Quenemo, Kas.; Sampson, living
in Illinois; Andrew, formerly a merchant at
Jeffersonville, Ohio, who died in 1878; Ruth,
wife of Andrew Sams, of Rainsborough;
Margaret, wife of William Sylvester, of
Cynthiana, Ohio; and three daughters who married and
moved to the West. Joseph Bell, now a
resident of Brush Creek township and second of the
children, was born in Brush Creek township, Highland
County, Ohio, in 1831, and was married in 1856 to
Susannah, daughter of Peter Gorman.
The latter was son and namesake of a Virginian, born
in 1777, and an emigrant to Brush Creek township in
1803. The second of the name, and father of
Susannah, was born in 1809, married Christina
Hiestand, and died in 1809. The children
of Joseph and Susannah (Gorman) Bell were
Mary C., wife of John Fisher, a farmer
near New Petersburg; Alice D., wife of
Frank Hiser, a farmer residing near Marshall;
George P., a teacher and merchant who died in
1889, aged twenty-eight years; Margaret, who
died in 1883 at the age of twenty; Nanie Ann,
living with her father; the subject of this sketch;
Grant M., who died in 1891 when twenty years
old; Lilly May, wife of Carter Bennett,
a farmer at Quenemo, Kas.; Ida Pearl, at
home; and Foster H. G., who graduated at
Lebanon College in 1901. Joseph G. Bell,
fifth of the above enumerated children, was born in
Highland county, Ohio, Apr. 16, 1868, and grew up
with the determination of fitting himself as a
teacher. With this end in view, he
attended the Normal college at Lebanon, Ohio, and
after a few course was graduated by that institution
in the class of 1885. He then entered the
educational field and followed the profession of
teaching for twelve consecutive years. At the
November election in 1897, Mr. Bell was a
candidate for the office of clerk of courts and
subsequently formed a partnership with his opponent,
J. H. Williams, in the hardware business.
The firm of Williams & Bell continued until
the interest of the senior partner was
purchased by C. F. Underwood, and Jan. 1,
1902, Mr. Bell became sole proprietor of the
Hillsboro implement store at Court and Short
streets. Aug. 25, 1896, he was married to
Lelia, daughter of C. F. Underwood, who
owns a large farm near New Vienna where his parents
were among the early settlers.
Source #1 - History of Highland
County, Ohio by Rev. J. W. Klise - Publ. Madison,
Wis., Northwestern Historical Association - 1902 -
Page 241 |
JOHN BENNETT, infirmary director of Highland
county, besides being a most excellent citizen in
all respects, enjoys the distinction of being one of
four brothers who each served three or more years in
the Union army. Their grandfather, Isaac
Bennett, who took part in the battle of New
Orleans in 1815, was a Pennsylvania farmer of the
olden times, used to run flatboats from Pittsburg to
New Orleans during the navigation season and did a
prosperous business in this line before the days of
steamboating. With an eye to profitable
investments, he made a trip to Highland county,
Ohio, at a very early date, and bought a large
amount of land in Liberty township, which was
subsequently divided between his sons. He
remained in Pennsylvania until about 1850 when he
removed to Missouri and there spent the remainder of
his life. Isaac and Jennie Bennett had
six children, Campbell, Isaac, John, Phebe, Jane,
and Nancy, all long since deceased.
Campbell Bennett was born in Fayette county,
Pa., married Sarah Smith, and about 1840 came
to Highland county, where he settled on land
inherited from his father. In 1847 he
purchased a farm in Hamer township, on which he
lived until 1877, when he removed to Danville and
served as postmaster. At the expiration of his
term he returned to the farm where he passed away at
the age of seventy-eight years, his wife having died
in 1874. Of their seven children, George,
Joseph and Eleanor are deceased, the
living being Jacob, of Lincoln, Neb.;
Francis M., of Kansas; John, the subject
of this sketch; and Henry, of Hamer township.
John Bennett, fifth of the children, was born
in Highland county, Ohio, on the farm now owned by
Ira Hiestand, Jan. 1, 1846, and was
consequently a little over fifteen years of age when
the guns at Sumter electrified the nation.
There was no more patriotic family than that of the
Bennetts, the younger members of which
furnished four recruits for different commands in
the Union army. John Bennett, when
seventeen years old, enlisted in Company G, Eleventh
regiment, Ohio volunteer cavalry, which did valuable
service during its term of service. After a
brief campaign against Morgan, the command
was sent to Fort Leavenworth, Kas., and from there
across the plains to Fort Laramie, Wyo. They
wintered at that point and later had many fierce
skirmishes with the Indian tribes who had been
stirred up to hostility by agents of the
Confederacy. The Federal cavalry was kept very
busy holding the savages in check and in one of the
numerous fights Mr. Bennett had a horse shot
under him, though fortunate enough to escape serious
personal injury. The Eleventh regiment
remained in that wild country for three years, and
in July, 1866, were sent to Leavenworth and thence
to Columbus, Ohio, where they were mustered out.
Jacob Bennett, second of the brothers in
order of birth, served gallantly for three years as
a member of the Eighteenth regiment Iowa volunteer
infantry. Joseph the third of these
patriotic brothers, was among the first to enlist in
the First regiment Indiana volunteer infantry, and
served with it for three years. Francis M.
first enlisted in Company A, Sixtieth regiment Ohio
Infantry, and later became a member of Company G,
Eleventh regiment, Ohio volunteer cavalry, with
which he served three years. After his
retirement from the army in the summer of 1866,
John Bennett returned home and shortly afterward
married Lydia M., daughter of William P.
and Rebecca Webster, of Highland county.
In 1872, he located in Dodson township and remained
there twenty-five years, when he purchased the place
in Hamer township, where he has since made his
residence. In 1897 he was elected infirmary
director of Highland county and was re-elected in
1900, being the only person on the Republican ticket
that was successful that year. He is a member
of the Masonic order, the Ancient Order of United
Workmen and the Grand Army of the Republic at
Lynchburg. Mr. Bennet's wife died
in March, 1900, leaving four children: Etta
J., George E., Myrta B. and Charles R.
Source #1 - History of Highland
County, Ohio by Rev. J. W. Klise - Publ. Madison,
Wis., Northwestern Historical Association - 1902 -
Page 242 |
JOHN
C. BENNINGTON, a prosperous farmer and
veteran of the civil war, residing in White Oak
township, is a son of Campbell Bennington,
before the war in prominent citizen of the township.
Campbell Bennington was born on Eagle creek
in Brown county, and coming to High county to find
employment when a young man, married Lucinda
McQuitty, and settled in White Oak township,
where he engaged in farming and stock raising.
He had six children by this marriage: Lewis
W., deceased; John C.; Mary A., widow of
J. Peggan, of White Oak; Anna, wife of
J. F. Reams, of Hamer; Lucinda, wife
of John Emery, of New Market, and Adeline,
who died in infancy. In 1851 the mother of
these children died, and subsequently the father
married Elizabeth Umsetter, by whom he had
four children, Hester, Charles, Edward and
P. J., and removed to Iowa, where he died about
1879. John C. Bennington was born Oct.
27, 1843, on the farm now owned by Amelius Sauner,
and after the death of his mother, which occurred
when he was eight years old, he lived with his
uncle, Cary McQuitty, two years, and later
with Cary Hicks. Afterward he was in
the employment of Henry Kibler until the
beginning of the war of the rebellion. Then he
enlisted in Company A of the Sixtieth regiment, Ohio
volunteer infantry, and accompanied that command in
its invasion of West Virginia from Parkersburg.
In the spring of 1862 he was with his regiment in
the Kanawha valley, marched to the support of
General Milroy at Franklin, and proceeding into
the valley of Virginia, encountered the forces of
Stonewall Jackson at Strasburg, where
they had a fierce engagement. Here Mr.
Bennington was wounded, but not seriously, and
though he was disabled for a short time he
accompanied his regiment in its marches and
engagements during that famous campaign, including
the noted battle of Cross Keys. Returning with
his command to Harpers Ferry, he and his comrades
were surrendered there to Stonewall Jackson,
just before the famous battle of Antietam.
Being immediately paroled, he returned to the Union
lines, was sent to Annapolis and Baltimore, and
thence to Chicago, where he was mustered out in
November, 1862. In February, 1863, he
re-enlisted in the Twenty-fourth Ohio light
artillery, with which he was on duty guarding
prisoners at Sandusky, Johnson's island, and
Chicago, during the remainder of the war, finally
being mustered out at Camp Dennison, in June, 1865.
In the artillery company he held the rank of
corporal. After the war Mr. Bennington
was married in March, 1866, to Lucinda Winkle,
daughter of Michael and Sarah A. Winkle of
White Oak township, and they began their married
life where they now live. Seven children have
been born to them: Cornelius, deceased;
William, of Concord township; Lewis C.,
in Oklahoma; David C., also in Oklahoma;
Franklin and Newman, at home, and John,
in Hamer township. Mr. Bennington is
the owner of 230 acres of valuable land, which he
has well improved; is a member of the Grand Army
post at Mowrystown and of the Christian church, and
is held in high esteem by his neighbors.
Source #1 - History of Highland
County, Ohio by Rev. J. W. Klise - Publ. Madison,
Wis., Northwestern Historical Association - 1902 -
Page 243 |
WILLIAM N. BERRY
comes of a family long prominent in the public life
of Hamer township, his father having been justice of
he peace for thirty years and he himself being an
incumbent of the same office. His grandfather,
Thomas Berry, native of Rockingham county,
Virginia, and soldier of 1812, came in 1818 from
Baltimore to Greenfield, Ohio, where he bought a
small farm and lived on the same until 1846.
In that year he removed to Delaware county, Ind.,
and settled in the vicinity of Muncie, where he died
at the age of eighty-eight yars. By his first
wife, who died some years before he left Ohio, he
had six children, all now deceased, and by a second
marriage in Indiana he had one child named
Elizabeth. John Berry, the eldest
son, was born in Baltimore, Md., in 1816, and was
consequently an infant when his parents reached
Ohio. At the age of sixteen he began learning
the tanner's trade, which, with occasional
interruptions, he followed until 1867. He
married Mary E., daughter of James and
Elizabeth Stewart, with whom he located on a
place near Leesburg and after remaining there a year
removed to a farm in Concord township. Several
years' residence in that locality was followed by a
removal to Pricetown, where he conducted a tannery
for Joseph Gosset about a year, and then made
his final move to Hamer township. During his
long residence here he became quite prominent in the
public affairs of the township, being trustee and
treasurer at different times and holding the office
of justice of the peace for thirty years. By
his first marriage there were nine children, of whom
Phoebe A., Rachel E. and Sarah J. have
passed away. Those living are James S.,
William N., Margaret, Jessie R., Thomas R.,
principal of he West End high school in Cincinnati,
and Cynthia B. of Tacoma, Wash. The
mother died when she was fifty years old and her
husband married Caroline Kibler, who died
without issue, his own death occurring at the age of
eighty-two. William N. Berry, third of
the children, was born in Concord township, Highland
county, Ohio, Dec. 14, 1846, and remained at home
until he was twenty-three years old. He
mastered the tanner's trade under the efficient
instruction of his father and this he made his mans
of livelihood until his marriage to Nancy K.,
daughter of Marcus and Margaret Hawk of Brown
county, Ohio. After this event Mr. Berry
spent fourteen years as a farmer in White Oak
township and then removed to the old home place in
Hamer township which he had purchased. Here he
passed the seven subsequent years, when he disposed
of the property and bought the farm of 125 acres
where he now lives. Besides his place he owns
another tract of 120 acres in the same neighborhood,
the two farms being cultivated for the usual
standard crops and used for stock-raising purposes.
While living in White Oak, he served three terms as
trustee of that township and he is now holding the
office of justice of the peace in Hamer township.
His only fraternal connection is with the order of
Odd Fellows, in Lodge No. 25, at Hillsboro.
Mr. and Mrs. Berry have had seven children, of
whom three died i infancy. The survivors are
John H., Thomas E., George A. and Amy E.
Source #1 - History of Highland
County, Ohio by Rev. J. W. Klise - Publ. Madison,
Wis., Northwestern Historical Association - 1902 -
Page 244 |
ANDREW
BISHIR, retired farmer of Dodson township, is
not only a descendant of old settlers but may be
regarded as one himself, his birth having occurred
at an early period in the history of Highland
county. When his grandfather, Christopher
Bashir, after tarrying a while in 1810 at the
mouth of Crawfish river, came to Union township
there were comparatively few people there to greet
him. In fact, the township had only been
organized a year or two when this Pennsylvania
pioneer arrived with his wife and children.
Even in 1833, when he built his log cabin in Dodson
township about one mile south of Lynchburg, the
country was still wild and sparsely settled.
Aside from the dangers of Indian hostility, which
had happily passed, the main features and
characteristics of a wilderness were all still
present. Neighbors were few and far between,
few of the comforts of civilization were to be had
and the wolves, still plentiful in the woods, made
night hideous with their dismal howlings.
Deer, turkey, panthers, bear and other wild game
were yet abundant and the main reliance of the
settlers for fresh meat. The pioneer alluded
to had a son named after himself, Christopher
Bishir, who was born in Pennsylvania in 1805,
and after he grew to maturity in Ohio was married to
Susan Hart, a native of North Carolina.
This couple passed away, the mother in 1839 and the
father Dec. 24, 1883, after rearing seven children,
of whom two sons and two daughters are living.
One of the former is Andrew Bishir, the
honored subject of this sketch, who was born in
Union township, Highland County, Ohio, Jan. 10,
1828. A few years after his birth he has taken
by his parents to their new home in Dodson township,
where he grew to manhood, and Oct. 23, 1850, was
married to Piety Ann Turner. This lady
was a daughter of Calvin and Matilda (Wilson)
Turner, Virginians who came to Ohio in 1830, and
she was born Mar. 5, 1832, during their residence in
Preble county. Her parents went to Indiana in
1840, but after remaining there four years returned
to Ohio, where they both died, the father in 1872 at
Martinsville, when sixty-two years old, and the
mother in 1893 at Farmers Station, in the
eighty-fifth year of her age. The grandparents
of Mrs. Bishir, Meader and
Catherine Turner, the former born in Virginia in
1783 and the latter in 1789, also migrated to Ohio
in 1830 and both died in Clinton county, he in 1853
and she is 1872. Andrew Bishir, though
reared on a farm, learned the cooper's trade and did
considerable work in that line, which was also the
calling of his father. He obtained the
position of foreman in the distillery warehouse at
Lynchburg and retained the same for eighteen years.
May 2, 1864, Mr. Bishir enlisted in one of
the Ohio regiments organized for the hundred days'
service and was out with that command four months.
Feb. 10, 1865, he enlisted in Company G, One Hundred
and Ninety-second regiment Ohio volunteer infantry,
under Capt. Joseph Gayman, and went with this
organization to the lower Shenandoah valley in
March. Their service was confined to doing
guard and garrison duty at Halltown and other places
in that portion of Virginia until Sept. 6, 1865,
when they were paid and discharged at Columbus,
Ohio, Mr. Bishir at the time holding the rank
of sergeant. Mr. and Mrs. Bishir have
had seven children, of whom Isadora and Lizzie
are dead, the living being Alonzo D., James W.,
Emma C., Mollie and Arthur A. They
celebrated their golden wedding Oct. 23, 1900, and
the occasion was a memorable one for the large
family connection, as well as the many friends of
this venerable and highly esteemed couple. All
the children were present except James,
accompanied by their wives and offering, the only
notable absence being the wife of Arthur A.,
who was kept away by sickness. Besides these,
Samuel Turner of Sabina, a brother of Mrs.
Bishir, was present, also her two sisters,
Mary Dimmitt, of Marion, and Jennie Moon
of Clinton county, and Mr. Bishir's two
sisters, Mrs. Elizabeth Fenner of Marshaltown,
Iowa, and Sarah Walker of Vienna, Ohio.
Originally a Democrat, Mr. Bishir was
converted to Republicanism by the agitation of the
questions growing out of the civil war. He and
wife are members of the Christian church and are
passing the evening of their days in the quiet and
retired life which fittingly ends so many years of
activity.
Source #1 - History of Highland
County, Ohio by Rev. J. W. Klise - Publ. Madison,
Wis., Northwestern Historical Association - 1902 -
Page 246 |
WASHINGTON
BLACKBURN was born in Chester county,
Pennsylvania, Oct. 24, 1829. His parents were
Ephraim, born 1788, and died 1836, and
Barbara (House) Blackburn. His paternal
grandparents were Ephraim and Prudence (Rich)
Blackburn.. This Ephraim was a
commissioned officer in General Washington's
army and was the son of Ephraim Blackburn,
the Scotch ancestor who emigrated to Pennsylvania
about 1728. After serving an apprenticeship of
four years at the carpenter's trade, Washington
Blackburn worked one season in the Shenandoah
valley, and in the spring of 1851 came to Highland
county, Ohio. Until 1866 he was a builder of
houses and barns that are still a credit to his
handicraft. Since that time he has been a
farmer. For many years, while his children
were growing to man and womanhood, he resided at
what is known as the Blackburn homestead in Penn
township. Recently he removed to a comfortable
home in New Vienna and relinquished the active
management of his real estate to a younger
generation. Feb. 25, 1858, he was married to
Mary Ann, daughter of Charles and Betsey
(Moore) Good, the former being member of a
family belonging to the Society of Friends in
Pennsylvania for generations. Charles Good
achieved high reputation in Penn township for his
modern and progressive methods in agriculture.
He was regarded as one the best farmers in the
county, his life being one of great activity and
made notable by his conscientious performance of
every duty. The children of Washington and
Mary Ann (Good) Blackburn are: Anna,
at home; Charles G., mentioned more fully
below; Ella, a graduate of the Philadelphia
Woman's Medical College, class of 1898, for two
years practicing in Indiana and recently removed to
New Vienna; Howard L., who married Nellie
May Jones of Chillicothe, and is farming in
Clinton County; Irene, a trained nurse
residing in Philadelphia; Frank H.,
superintendent of the Incandescent Lamp factory at
Fostoria, Ohio, and Wilbur, a dentist at
Shelbyville, Ind., who married Nellie Arthur.
Charles G. Blackburn, second of the family in
age, was born in New Vienna, Ohio, in 1863. In
1902 he removed to the Blackburn homestead.
Here his maternal grandfather settled in1854.
For more than twenty years Charles Good
labored to make the farm his ideal of a country
home. Three generations have dwelt there and
as yet the death angel ahs not crossed the portals.
May the peace, the thrift, the quiet, of an old-time
Quaker home long abound there. Dec. 20, 1894,
Charles G. Blackburn was married to
Bertha, daughter of Elwood and Mary D.
(Phillips) Hallowell, of Chester county, Pa.
They came to Fairfield township in 1850, where
Mr. Hallowell died July 9, 1885, aged about
sixty-one years. The children of Charles G.
and Bertha Blackburn are Joseph H.,
born Oct. 15, 1897, and Charles G., Jr., born
Feb. 24, 1900.
Source #1 - History of Highland
County, Ohio by Rev. J. W. Klise - Publ. Madison,
Wis., Northwestern Historical Association - 1902 -
Page 247 |
A. S. BODEN,
member of the milling firm which bears his name, has
been prominently connected with the business affairs
of Greenfield for many years. His father,
Hugh Boden, who is of Irish birth and now ninety
years of age, opened business at Greenfield in 1868
and since then in one form or another has been
identified with the city's interests. His
principal line has been milling and packing and his
establishment has long been one of the industrial
features of Greenfield. This "fine old Irish
gentleman" reared three sons to perpetuate his name
and continue in the line of employment to which he
had devoted the principal part of his life.
John Boden, the eldest, now in the milling
business in Clinton county, has been quite prominent
in politics, being the first and only Democratic
sheriff of Athens county, Ohio. Stewart
Boden is a member of the firm of Le Ferre &
Boden, hardware merchants of Greenfield.
A. S. Boden, the third of these brothers, was
born in Athens county, Ohio, but reared and mainly
educated in Greenfield. He followed general
merchandising for many years and in 1899, in
partnership with his brother, organized the Boden
Milling company, which has since done an extensive
business. In connection with their main line
they deal largely in grain, feed and coal, and
conduct what is recognized as one of the strong
industries of the city. Since his residence in
Greenfield, Mr. Boden has been a conspicuous
figure in the political, fraternal and commercial
life of the city. In 1900 he was elected to
the office of city treasurer, a position which he
still holds. He is quite prominent in free
masonry, having been master in the lodge, high
priest in the Royal Arch chapter, and Knight
Templar. He is also a member of the Royal
Arcanum and the Woodmen of the World. In 1887
he was married to Mary, daughter of J. M.
Murray, deceased, who for sixty years was in the
undertaking and other lines of business at
Greenfield. Mr. and Mrs. Boden have two
sons, Stewart Murray, and Hugh Langdon,
both bright and promising boys.
Source #1 - History of Highland
County, Ohio by Rev. J. W. Klise - Publ. Madison,
Wis., Northwestern Historical Association - 1902 -
Page 248 |
ANDREW M. BOGGESS,
a prominent citizen of Clay township, is of an old
Ohio family, being a grandson of John Boggess,
one of the pioneers of Clermont county.
John Boggess was born in Virginia, of an old
family in that state, in early manhood he married
Lutitia Mifflin, and soon afterward moved with
his wife to South Carolina. Two years later
they came with the tide of emigration from that
state to Ohio, and settled at Denham's town, or
Bethel, in Clermont, where John Boggess
followed his profession as a surveyor, holding the
office of county surveyor a long time, and marking
the lands of many people in the wide area of the
Virginia military reserve. He was also a
member of the legislature and a justice of the
peace, and was held in high esteem in a community
which included such men as Senator Thomas Morris,
Samuel Medary and Gen. Thomas L. Hamer.
Five children were reared by him, all of whom are
deceased: Samuel, John, Elizabeth, Jane
and Ann. Samuel, the father of the
subject of this sketch, was born in South Carolina,
Dec. 2, 1802, in early manhood married Elizabeth
Davis, a native of Kentucky, but reared in
Clermont county, and began his career as a
blacksmith, and gunsmith, his occupation throughout
life. He died at the age of thirty-two years,
and afterward his widow removed with her six
children - Lutitia, Mary, Jane, Eliza, Andrew M,
and Bethana, to Highland county, where
she lived to the age of ninety-three years.
A. M. Boggess, the only son, was born Feb. 12,
1826, near Bethel, Clermont county, Spent his early
manhood there, and moved with his mother to Clay
township when he was twenty-five years of age.
Later he was married to Mary Ellen Roberts, a
native of Highland county and daughter of Abraham
and Mary Roberts, and they went to housekeeping
in a hewed log house on the farm of two hundred
acres owned by his mother. In after years they
built a commodious frame house, and made their farm
one of the most handsomely equipped in the county.
At one time Mr. Boggess was the owner of four
hundred acres, but most of this he has divided among
his children, of whom he has five: Mary A.,
wife of Charles Crawford, of Mount Oreb;
Olive J., wife of Charles Brown, of Clay
township; Edward M., M. D., of Washington
Court House; Eva M., wife of Walter Brown,
of Georgetown, Ohio; and Abe R., residing
near the old home. Mr. Boggess is one
of the influential men of his township, and has been
entrusted with numerous local offices, in all cases
winning the esteem and confidence of his fellow
citizens. In politics he is a Republican.
Source #1 - History of Highland
County, Ohio by Rev. J. W. Klise - Publ. Madison,
Wis., Northwestern Historical Association - 1902 -
Page 249 |
SAMUEL T. BOGGESS,
D. D. S., long and favorably known as a practitioner
of dentistry at Greenfield, Ohio, is a native of
Virginia. In 1858 he came from that state to
Ohio, where he spent fourteen years in a dental
office as preliminary to more elaborate preparations
for the profession of dental surgery. In 1872
he matriculated at the Philadelphia Dental college,
from which he obtained the degree of D. D. S. in the
spring of 1873. Immediately thereafter he
located at Jackson, Ohio, where he spent fourteen
years in the practice of his profession. In
1887 he removed to Greenfield, where he continued
his professional work and thereby achieved both
prominence and prosperity. Dr. Burgess
is popular personally as well as in the line of duty
and is thoroughly informed in the niceties and
intricacies of his useful calling. In 1869 he
was married at Athens, Ohio, to Eliza,
daughter of Rev. H. J. Carr, deceased.
They have a bright and interesting family of four
children. Minnie, the eldest, is the
wife of Dr. E. J. Martin. Dr. John
S. Boggess, at present assistant surgeon in the
Marine hospital at Philadelphia, is an accomplished
and highly educated gentleman. He holds a
diploma with the degree of A. M. from the Ohio State
university and was graduated as M. D. at the Miami
Medical college. Charles Boggess, D. D.
S., received his literary education at
Portsmouth, O., and in 1897 was graduated as D. D.
S. at the Ohio College of Dental Surgery.
Since his graduation he has been associated with his
father in the practice of Greenfield. Miss
Martha Boggess, the youngest of the children, is
at home with her parents.
Source #1 - History of Highland
County, Ohio by Rev. J. W. Klise - Publ. Madison,
Wis., Northwestern Historical Association - 1902 -
Page 250 |
HENRY BOHL,
of White Oak township, well known as a progressive
farmer and stock raiser, was born near Fincastle,
Brown county, Feb. 17, 1861. He is the son of
Henry Bohl, born in Germany in the year 1800,
who came to America in his youth and made his home
near Fincastle, finding employment in working by the
month on a farm until his marriage to Mary
Hennize, also a native of Germany. In his
later years his industry and good management were
rewarded by the accumulation of considerable
property and a comfortable farm and home. The
senior Bohl was an active member of the
Lutheran church, and influential in the community
until his death at the age of sixty-five years.
There were ten children in his family: William,
George, and Christopher, residing now in
Brown county; Henry, Jr., the subject of this
sketch; Mary, of Adams county; Maggie,
of Brown county; Sophia, of Clermont county;
Kate and John, deceased, and one who died in
infancy. Henry Bohl, the younger, whose
name appears at the head of this notice, was reared
at the home in Brown county, and received his
education in the district school. In 1891 he
was married to Ida Helsley, born and reared
in Eagle township, Brown county, daughter of C.
P. and Elizabeth Helsley he bought the farm of
100 acres in White Oak township, where they now
reside. Their home is blessed with three
children: Charles H., Owna M., and
Homer C. Mr. Bohl was for seven years in
business at Mowrystown as a member of the firm of
Bohl & Helsley, undertakers, but he now gives
his time entirely to farming and the raising of
livestock, particularly shorthorn cattle. He
has one of the neatest homes in the township, and a
valuable farm, is a member of the Knights of Pythias
lodge, No. 712, at Mowrystown, and in politics is a
Republican.
Source #1 - History of Highland
County, Ohio by Rev. J. W. Klise - Publ. Madison,
Wis., Northwestern Historical Association - 1902 -
Page 250 |
|
CHARLES G. BROUSE,
one of the prosperous farmers of Liberty
township, still owns part of the place which was settled by his grandfather as
far back as 1818.
Lewis Brouse, first of the name in Ohio, was born in
Virginia
Sept. 29, 1788. In 1811 he came to
Ohio and purchased the land, part of which is now owned by
Charles G. Brouse, and then returning
to Virginia, married Mary Riner Mar. 5, 1812. During the year 1818 they arrived
in Highland county to reside permanently and shortly afterward located four and
a half miles north of Hillsboro on the farm now owned by
William A. West. He lived over half a century
after his settlement in Liberty township, his
death occurring Aug. 4, 1874, and his nine children were
Eliza, Anna, John Andrew, Frederick, Henry, Sarah, James A., Mrs. Rosa Anderson of
Hillsboro, and
Charles W. of Biggsville, Ill., the two last mentioned being the only ones
living.
John Andrew Brouse, the third child,
was born in Virginia Apr. 30, 1816, and consequently was only about two years of age when his
parents made their migration to the West.
Dec. 28, 1843, he was married to
Catharine, daughter of John and
Catharine (Lane) Holmes, with whom he lived thirty-two years and reared a
large family. She was born Nov. 6,
1821, and died Jan. 27, 1875, after which he married
Mrs. Minerva A. (Hixon) James,
who died Apr. 25, 1898. His death followed in the same year,
July 10, 1898. The children of
John A. and Catherine Brouse were
John Andrew, now postmaster of Lone
Oak, Ark.;
Francis T., a resident of Riverside,
Cal.;
Wesley A., of Covina, Cal.;
Maria C., widow of
Thomas M. Whittel of Liberty
township; Emma C. died at the age of
twenty-one years; and Charles G. Brouse. The latter was married Oct. 9, 1889,
to Laura Alice, second child of
John and Rachel (Starr) Kerns, who
were early settlers in the Samantha neighborhood.
The brothers and sisters of Mrs.
Rouse are Beats, at home;
Rachel, widow of
Frank West; Joseph, a merchant at Mannington, W. V.; Martha,
wife of Walter Rogers; Minnie, who died at the age of thirty years; Mary,
who died in childhood; Catharine,
wife of Charles Rosher; Louie, wife of
William Calvert, of
Hillsboro;
Charles M., a merchant at Hillsboro;
and Jessie, wife of
Harry Boatman.
Charles G. Brouse owns 136 acres of
land which is part of the homestead purchased by his father in 1811 and this
place he maintains in a high state 10, 1891.
Source: The County
of Highland – A History of
Highland County, Ohio – by Rev. J. W. Klise – Publ. Madison,
Wis., Northwestern Historical Assn.
- 1902- Page 251
|
THOMAS F. BROWDER,
a soldier of the civil war and popular business man
of Greenfield, Ohio, is best known to fame as the
inventor and manufacturer of the Browder life saving
net. The family is of French origin, the
ancestors have been among those driven out by the
vindictive religious persecutions that disgraced
France after the Reformation, finding an asylum in
England and later emigrating to America. The
Highland county branch takes its rise form Thomas
Y. Browder, who became prominent in Greene
county, Ohio, as a politician, stock speculator and
extensive holder of real estate, dying there in
1875. He married Sarah Hurley, by whom
he had six daughters and four sons, one of the
latter, named Gilbert, dying while serving as
a Union soldier in the civil war. Thomas F.
Browder was born in Greene County, Ohio, June
14, 1847, and besides his usual at Forest Home
college. In 1864, shortly before reaching his
seventeenth year, he enlisted in Company C, sixtieth
regiment Ohio Volunteer infantry, for three years or
the war, and it was not long before he took part
with his command in the bloody and Grant. On
May 9th, at Spottsylvania, he was shot through the
hip and lay in the field hospital for three days,
eventually being taken to Washington city and
furloughed him in the middle of June. Later he
spent some time in the hospital at Columbus, Ohio,
remaining there until he received his final
discharge from the service. Immediately
thereafter he returned home, attended school awhile
and then took up the profession of teaching, which
he followed steadily for nine years. In 1876,
Mr. Browder located at Greenfield, in the 1894
started the first steam industry ever opened in that
place. He pushed this enterprise vigorously,
employing the most expert workmen, as could secure,
did a thriving business for five and a half years
and disposed of the property to advantage in 1899.
It was in 1887 the he did his first work on the
invention which promised to bring him both fame an
fortune. In the same years he took out a
patent for the Browder life save net, adding
two others for improvements in 1900, and later
procuring protection for his invention abroad by
patents covering the European countries. The
invention is highly spoken of by experts and is
welcomed everywhere as a great boon to humanity,
while the inventor is honored with the title of
public benefactor. The net was put to a
practical test during the great fire in New York
city May 7, 1901, when as the result of its
operation twenty people were saved from horrible
deaths. I 1873, Mr. Browder was
married to Laura, daughter of Thomas
O'Dell, one of the most substantial farmers of
Highland county. Three children, Lillian,
Omalee and Charles W., have been the
fruits of this union, all of whom have exhibited a
taste for teaching and spent more or less time in
that employment. Miss Lillian is still
so engaged, but the son now holds the position
of freight agent for about Baltimore & Ohio
Southwestern railroad company. Both parents
and children are highly esteemed in the social
circles of Greenfield, as indeed they are by all
others so fortunate as to form their acquaintance.
Mr. Browder is a member of the Methodist
Episcopal church, the royal Arcanum and the local
post of the Grand army of the Republic.
Source #1 - History of Highland
County, Ohio by Rev. J. W. Klise - Publ. Madison,
Wis., Northwestern Historical Association - 1902 -
Page 252 |
JAMES F. BROWN,
one of the substantial and esteemed farmers of Paint
township, is the descendant of pioneers whose record
reflects great credit upon the founders of the
family in Highland county. As early as 1805
Joel Brown became an enterprising and
industrious settler near Hillsboro on what is now
known a the Trimble farm. he came from
Culpeper county in old Virginia with his family,
accompanied by his two sisters, the widow Pusey,
and her three sons, and Mrs. Daniel Inskeep,
wife of a local Methodist preacher. These
families all located southeast of Hillsboro, on the
Rocky fork, and were considered most desirable
acquisitions by the early settlers in Highland, in
point of morals, industry and refinement. They
were all members of the Society of Friends, usually
known as Quakers, and possessed the frugality,
peacefulness of disposition and industrious habits
so characteristic of that famous band of brothers.
Joshua Brown one of the sons of Joel,
married Janetta Inskeep and had nine
children, of whom five are living: Jennie,
wife of George Barrier, Sr., of Hillsboro;
James F., subject of this sketch; Wiliam E.,
of New Market, served in the heavy
artillery; Sally, wife of W. T. Roush,
near Russell Station; Mary, resident of
Hillsboro. The deceased are Rachel E.,
who married Jonah Britton; Joel H.,
who served as a soldier in the One Hundred and
Sixty-eighth Ohio regiment; Susan, wife of
Marion D. Britton; and John.
James F. Brown, second of the children in age,
was born in New Market township, Highland county,
Ohio, May 15, 1842, and received the usual common
school education as he grew up on his father's farm.
In August, 1862, he enlisted in Company A,
Eighty-ninth regiment Ohio volunteer infantry, and
had as a soldier companion a sixteen year old boy
named Joseph Benson Foraker, who has since
been governor and United States senator. This
regiment was assigned to the Fourteenth army corps
and was in the hottest of the fighting at the great
battle of Chickamauga, Sept. 19 and 20, 1863.
On the second day, after some very severe fighting,
the regiment was surrounded and captured.
Mr. Brown was one of the unfortunates thus taken
in by the "Johnny Rebs" and marched off for a
siege in their villainous prison pens in various
parts of the south. They first took him to
Richmond, then to Danville, and later sent him back
to the Cenfederate capital, where he was
fortunate enough to be exchanged after an
imprisonment of over seven months. Mr.
Brown rejoined his regiment at Goldsboro, N. C.,
and served with it until his discharge in June,
1865. He remained at me until 1868 when
he went to Marion county, Kan., and took up a
homestead, but after three years returned to
Highland county and took charge of the home farm.
In 1879 he married Mary E. Redkey, spent the
eight following years on a farm of 119 acres which
he owns in Hamer township and then settled in
Rainsboro, where he still resides. Mr.
Brown is a member of the Order of Odd Fellows,
Knights of Pythias and the Grand Army of the
Republic.
Source #1 - History of Highland
County, Ohio by Rev. J. W. Klise - Publ. Madison,
Wis., Northwestern Historical Association - 1902 -
Page 253 |
JAMES R. BUCK,
the popular groceryman of Greenfield, is one of
those pushing energetic young men who are the
life of the communities where they reside and
chief factors in their progress and development.
Whether it be in the social circle, the doings
of the fraternities, business projects or
religious movements, such men are relied upon to
lead the van and furnish the fire and energy
without which "the best laid schemes o' mice or
men gang aft agley." The Buck family
are Ohioans with the best social connections on
both sides of the house. Robert Buck,
at present holding an official position in the
Soldiers' Home at Zenia, Ohio, married
Isabella Johnson and located at Greenfield,
where their son, James R. Buck, was born,
reared and educated. In early boyhood he
became ambitious for a business career and had
set his heart on being a merchant when other
children of the same age are content to Thumb
their grammars and "cipher in the rule of
three." It was in 1888, when he had just
reached his thirteenth year, that he saw his
opportunity in the shape of an humble job in a
store. He was offered a position in the
grocery establishment of J. W> Elder and
accepted with the alacrity of a lad who has in
him the material for making a man. For the
nine following years, he worked industriously
and faithfully for his employer, doing whatever
he was told to do and doing it well, until
finally he had an opportunity to become
proprietor. June 13, 1897, Mr.
Buck, whose nine years of apprenticeship had
given him a practical understanding of the
grocery business, purchased the stock and good
will of Mr. Elder and since then has had
sole charge. He has so conducted his
affairs as to become recognized as one of the
leading dealers in fancy groceries in Greenfield
and one of the most progressive of its
merchants. He is prominent in Masonic
circles, holding membership in the Knights
Templar and Royal Arch chapter. His
religious affiliations are with the
Presbyterians and he is a member of the church
of that denomination at Greenfield. Mr.
Buck married Bessie, the accomplished
daughter of J. B. Elliott, postmaster of
Greenfield, and the faily are welcome guests in
the best circles of the city's society.
The mother of Mr. Buck died on the 9th of
July, 1902.
Source #1 - History of Highland
County, Ohio by Rev. J. W. Klise - Publ. Madison,
Wis., Northwestern Historical Association - 1902 -
Page 254 |
SAMUEL J. BUCK,
the popular liveryman of Greenfield, is a native of
Highland and has all his life been connected with
the county's development. His father,
Robert Buck, was long identified with the public
business of Greenfield and quite active in political
affairs. As a reward for his services he was
appointed in 1899 to an official position in
connection with the Soldiers' and Sailors' home at
Xenia, Ohio, which he holds at the present time.
He married Isabella Johnston, by whom he has
two living children, the eldest of whom, J.
R. Buck, is in the grocery business at
Greenfield. S. J. Buck, the other son,
was born, reared and educated in Highland county.
After growing up he engaged in the grocery business
at Greenfield and continued the same for ten years
or more. In October, 1901, he changed to the
livery business, which he has since conducted.
Mr. Buck is a member of the First
Presbyterian church at Greenfield, and is an
enthusiastic Knight of Pythias. July 22, 1896,
he was married to Miss Jessie, daughter of
Jesse Crawford, a prominent farmer of Highland
county residing at Petersburg.
Source #1 - History of Highland
County, Ohio by Rev. J. W. Klise - Publ. Madison,
Wis., Northwestern Historical Association - 1902 -
Page 255 |
ARTHUR N. BUNN,
of Sugartree Ridge, one of hte leading business men
of Concord township, is a member of one of the old
families of Highland county. His
great-grandparents came west from Pennsylvania in
the early years of the last century, and settled
first at Chillicothe, but not long afterward removed
to New Market township, where they farmed and kept
one of the wayside inns famous in the days of old.
Their son, John Bunn, born in Pennsylvania in
1804, was married in early manhood to Jane
Thompson, also a native of Pennsylvania, and
started out in life as a cooper in New Market
township, afterward removing to Sugartree Ridge, of
which he was one of the founders, having helped to
plat the town. There he embarked in the
business as merchant, in addition to cooperage and
farming. He was a man of prominence, well
known and highly esteemed throughout the county, and
frequently honored with township office. He
lived to be over eighty years of age and his wife to
seventy-five years. Their children were:
Eliza, now living at West Union; Thomas A.
deceased; Joseph, of Hillsboro; John,
a physician at Batavia, Ohio; W. H., of
Sugartree Ridge; Dr. James W. of West Union,
and Lewis, deceased. Dr. James W.
Bunn enlisted in the Hundred and Eighty second
regiment Ohio volunteer infantry, was made hospital
steward and served his country well. Thomas
A., born in January, 1825, the father of the
subject of this sketch, learned the trade of his
father as he grew up, obtained his education in the
district school, and on attaining manhood married
Susan Hetherington, a native of Virginia.
Three children were born to them: Arthur N.;
Belle, of Sugartree Ridge, and Eliza,
wife of Newton W. Igo, of Concord township.
After following the trade of a cooper for some years
Thomas A. Bunn engaged in mercantile business at
Sugartree ridge with his son, A. N., and in
this employment and in the performance of the duties
of various township offices with which he was
honored, passed the remainder of his years, until
his death, at the age of sixty-six years. His
wife survives him, and is now seventy-six years of
age. Arthur N. Bunn, eldest child of
these parents, was born at Sugartree Ridge Dec. 3,
1849, and was reared in his native town, attending
the district school and the school at Hillsboro.
After completing his studies he took up the
profession of teaching, and gave it his attention
for fifteen years, making an excellent reputation
for efficient work in this important field of labor.
Meanwhile he was married to Arminda Stout,
daughter of Jacob and Lucinda Stout, members
of an old family in the township, and prominently
associated with the mercantile interests of the
town. In 1883 Mr. Bunn abandoned
teaching to become a merchant, and since then he has
been a active and successful business man at
Sugartree Ridge. He has served his community
several terms as township clerk, and for one term
held the office of coroner of Highland county.
Throughout the county he is held in high esteem.
He is a member of the Odd Fellows lodge at
Mowrystown and in politics is a Democrat. Of
his six children, Belle, the third, is dead;
Roy has his home in Hillsboro, and Lum,
John, Ruth and Walter are at
home.
Source #1 - History of Highland
County, Ohio by Rev. J. W. Klise - Publ. Madison,
Wis., Northwestern Historical Association - 1902 -
Page 255 |
JOHN
W. BURNETT is one of the representative
farmers of Highland county. His ancestry took
part in the hardships and trials incident to the
settlement of Highland county and bore their share
of the burdens which preceded the splendid
civilization now so characteristic of the Scioto
valley. The Ohio branch of the family
originated with John Burnett of Delaware, who
married twice, had one son by his first wife, whom
he named after himself, and by the second, who was a
Miss Snell, the following: Peter,
William, Edward, James, Nellie, and Peggy.
James Burnett, fourth of the second set of
children, was born in Highland county, Jan. 11,
1819, and married Elizabeth, daughter of
Adam Tedrow. From this union resulted six
children: Melvina, wife of J. T. Steele;
Neoma, wife of Rynard Van Zant; the
subject of this sketch; Martha J., wife of
J. W. Noble; James A. and Edward S.,
farmers in Marshall township. J. W. Burnett,
third of the family in age, was born in Highland
county, Ohio, Sept. 1, 1847, and has devoted his
whole life to farming. At present he owns
several hundred acres of farming land in Marshall
township, which he cultivates by modern methods.
May 9, 1878, he was married to Sarah E.,
daughter of James S. and Emily J. (Hill) Carlisle
of Highland county, who are noticed in another part
of this volume. Mrs. Burnett, whose
family is one of the most esteemed in their
community, was born June 6, 1857, and is a lady of
most excellent disposition. She and her
husband have no children of their own but have cared
for and reared several children of other people.
Mr. Bennett is a member of the Knights of
Pythias lodge at Marshall.
Source #1 - History of Highland
County, Ohio by Rev. J. W. Klise - Publ. Madison,
Wis., Northwestern Historical Association - 1902 -
Page 256 |
DANIEL
M. BUTTERS, a well-known farmer of Brush
Creek township, belongs to one of the old families
of the county, and has himself done credit to his
ancestry in the place he has made among the
influential men of the county. His
grandfather, John Butters, a soldier of the
Revolution, was twice married, the second time to a
Miss White, of West Virginia, and with his
wife and his children he made a home in the forests
of Brush Creek township at a very early day in the
settlement. He was a weaver by trade and
followed his occupation in addition to farming.
Like many of the pioneers he lived to a great age
dying at ninety years. Mr. Butters, son
of John, was born Sept. 4, 1816, on a farm
adjoining that which is the residence of Daniel
M. He married Elizabeth Zink, a
native of Adams county, and they began housekeeping
in Marshall township, but soon afterward moved to
Indiana, where he died. His wife returned with
the children to Brush Creek township, where she
reared the family and lived to the age of
sixty-three years. They had two children.
The daughter of Susannah, married Daniel
Rhoads, and to this union there are six children
living. Her second husband was Asa Brown
of Brush creek. Daniel M. Butters,
the second child of Michael and Elizabeth Butters,
was born Apr. 6, 1842, in Fountain county, Indiana,
was reared in Highland county, and in early manhood
married Martha Eubanks, a native of Brush
Creek. They have ever since resided on the old
home farm, where Mr. Butters now owns 201
acres, and they have reared two children: Almetta,
wife of James Slater, of Brush Creek
township, and Ollie, wife of George P.
Murphy, living at home. In his early days
Mr. Butters operated a threshing machine for
some time, but he now gives his whole time to
farming and stock-raising, with much success.
He is highly regarded by his neighbors, and has been
honored with the office of township trustee for six
years. In religious matters he is an earnest
Presbyterian, and in politics he adheres to the
Republican party. Mrs. Butters is a
member of the Methodist Episcopal church.
Source #1 - History of Highland
County, Ohio by Rev. J. W. Klise - Publ. Madison,
Wis., Northwestern Historical Association - 1902 -
Page 257 |
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