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BIOGRAPHIES
Source:
History of Highland
County, Ohio
by Rev. J. W. Klise -
Publ. Madison,
Wis.,
Northwestern Historical Association
1902
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ANDREW J. SAMS
Source: History of Highland
County, Ohio by Rev. J. W. Klise - Publ. Madison,
Wis., Northwestern Historical Association - 1902 ~
Page 460 |
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GEORGE
SAMS, for many years a well known and highly
esteemed citizen of Brush Creek township, was born
in Pennsylvania, Nov. 18, 1805. He was the son
of Andrew Sams, a Pennsylvanian by birth, who
served his country as a soldier in the war of the
Revolution during two terms of nine months, and the
eldest son of this patriot by his marriage to his
second wife, Margaret. The latter died
in Brush Creek township, at the age of eighty-seven
years. The second son, Abram,
died in early manhood; a daughter, Mary,
married
Isaac
Oakes, of Highland County, and died in Iowa,
and Catherine married and went west.
George Sams married Lydia Milburn,
daughter of Thomas Milburn, whose father was
a Revolutionary soldier, and they reared a large
family of children - Abram, now a farmer near
Dallas postoffice; Sallie, wife of T. G.
Hoggard, of Hillsboro; Andrew J., of
Paint township; George, a farmer in Iowa;
Lydia, wife of Joseph Johnson, of
Chillicothe; James G. of Brush Creek
township; Dr. Samuel Gordon Sams, who died in
Iowa in 1900; Annie, Esther Ann,
Thomas and Emmeline died young.
George Sams was a shoemaker by trade, and with
great industry and devotion to the interests of his
family, followed farming by day and often labored at
his trade by night, and such efforts becoming the
owner of about six hundred acres of land. He
and his family resided in Brush Creek township from
1834, and he lived to the age of fifty-nine years
and his wife to seventy-four. He was a man of
deep religious faith as well as business energy, and
was one of the most devoted embers of the Methodist
church.
Source: History of Highland
County, Ohio by Rev. J. W. Klise - Publ. Madison,
Wis., Northwestern Historical Association - 1902 ~
Page 459 |
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JAMES G.
SAMS, of Brush Creek township, a son of
George Sams, was educated in the district school
and in early manhood married Lucinda Bell Lucas,
who was born and reared in Brush Creek township,
daughter of Elijah and Amanda Lucas, and
connected with a wide spread and prominent Ohio
family. She died Aug. 28, 1890, having been
the mother of four children: Maggie,
deceased; Bessie L., Birches E., and John
O. At a later date Mr. Sams married
Sallie M. Lucas, sister of his deceased wife,
and they have had two children: one who died in
infancy, and Faith W. Mr. Sams is the
owner of a hundred acres of valuable land, and is
quite successful in the pursuits of agriculture and
the raising of live stock. He has rendered
creditable official service as a member of the
school board; is a member of the Odd Fellows lodge,
No. 211, at Petersburg, and in politics is a
Democrat.
Source: History of Highland
County, Ohio by Rev. J. W. Klise - Publ. Madison,
Wis., Northwestern Historical Association - 1902 ~
Page 460 |
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MRS. DAVID SANDERS
Source: History of Highland
County, Ohio by Rev. J. W. Klise - Publ. Madison,
Wis., Northwestern Historical Association - 1902 ~
Page 460 |
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GEORGE W. SANDERS
Source: History of Highland
County, Ohio by Rev. J. W. Klise - Publ. Madison,
Wis., Northwestern Historical Association - 1902 ~
Page 461 |
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SANDS FAMILY
Source: History of Highland
County, Ohio by Rev. J. W. Klise - Publ. Madison,
Wis., Northwestern Historical Association - 1902 ~
Page 462 |
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JOHN SATTERFIELD
Source: History of Highland
County, Ohio by Rev. J. W. Klise - Publ. Madison,
Wis., Northwestern Historical Association - 1902 ~
Page 463 |
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AMELIOUS SAUNER
Source: History of Highland
County, Ohio by Rev. J. W. Klise - Publ. Madison,
Wis., Northwestern Historical Association - 1902 ~
Page 465 |
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LEWIS S. SAUNER
Source: History of Highland
County, Ohio by Rev. J. W. Klise - Publ. Madison,
Wis., Northwestern Historical Association - 1902 ~
Page 466 |
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STEPHEN SAUNER
Source: History of Highland
County, Ohio by Rev. J. W. Klise - Publ. Madison,
Wis., Northwestern Historical Association - 1902 ~
Page 464 |
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THE SCOTT FAMILY:
- The founder of the Highland county branch of this
well known and influential connection was William
Scott, a native of Peterboro, N. H., who when a
small boy came with his mother to Franklinton, Ohio.
David Scott, the husband and father, had
preceded the family to the town mentioned, now a
part of Columbus, where for many years he was a
practicing attorney. William received
a collegiate education, which was supplemented by a
thorough study of the law, and in 1832 located at
Hillsboro. There he practiced his profession
with success and rose rapidly, being elected
prosecuting attorney a year or two after his arrival
and serving through 1834-5 with a decided addition
to his reputation. As business increased,
Mr. Scott engaged in brokerage and money
lending, through which means he accumulated a
comfortable competency which at his death was
bequeathed to his widow and children. He was a
man of unostentatious demeanor, but possessed
excellent qualities which made him beloved by his
family and highly esteemed by his intimate friends.
During the civil war he was noted for the warmth of
his patriotism and conscientious devotion to the
Union cause. In 1862 he was appointed provost
marshal for the district including Hillsboro, but on
account of declining health was compelled to resign
the position after a few months, to be succeeded by
Joseph K. Marley. In many ways he made
a patriotic record, notably in paying for the
equipment of a Hillsboro cavalry company which, in
his honor, was named the Scott Dragoons.
In 1843 he was married to Elizabeth Jane,
daughter of Dr. Samuel Parsons, of Columbus,
which union resulted in the birth of a son and
daughter. Samuel Parsons Scott,
the only son and executor of his father's estate,
was born at Hillsboro, Ohio, and received as he grew
to manhood an excellent education, both academic and
professional. He was graduated with high
honors at the Miami university in 1866, subsequently
applied himself assiduously to the study of law and
was admitted to the bar in 1868. Mr. Scott
is indeed a gentleman of unusual accomplishments,
having traveled extensively in Europe, acquiring a
knowledge of several languages and written a volume
entitled "Through Spain." He looks after the
estate of his father, which includes numerous
holdings of realty and constitutes one of the
factors in the wealth and prosperity of the Highland
city. In 1895 he was married to Elizabeth,
daughter of Robert B. and Mary (Woodbridge) Smart,
of Chillicothe, and granddaughter of John
Woodbridge. The family enjoy high social
rank at Hillsboro.
Source: History of Highland
County, Ohio by Rev. J. W. Klise - Publ. Madison,
Wis., Northwestern Historical Association - 1902 ~
Page 467 |
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THEODORE F. SCOTT,
M. D., one of the popular physicians of
Lynchburg, where he has made many friends during his
period of residence is of Virginia descent and Ohio
birth. His grandparents, John and Mary
Scott, came from Scotland to Virginia in the
early part of the nineteenth century. Their
son, John F. Scott, was born in that state in
1818, migrated to Ohio in early manhood and
subsequently married Catharine Erlougher,
born in 1820 in Muskingum county. She was a
daughter of Frank and Elizabeth Erlougher who
came from London, England, settled near Zanesville
and besides Mrs. Scott reared a son
named John and two daughters, who are now all
dead. The children of John F. and Catharine
(Erlougher) Scott were twelve in number, three
sons and nine daughters. Anthony Scott,
eldest of the family, was the first volunteer
enrolled in the call for 75,000 troops made in
April, 1861. He served three months as major
of the Fourth regiment Ohio volunteer infantry and
upon re-enlistment was transferred to the Eighteenth
regiment United States regular troops. The
second of the children in order of birth was Mary
Elizabeth, who married James Stevens, of
Delaware, Ohio; next came Frances, wife of
Lucien Derthick of Lima; Helen, wife of
Rev. G. W. Burns, minister of the Methodist
Episcopal church at Middleport, Ohio; Theodore F.,
subject of this sketch; Josephine, wife
of Leroy Douglas, of Lima; Belle,
Catharine, and Harry F. died in
childhood, and Minnie M., who resides with
her mother at Lima, Ohio. Theodore F. Scott,
one of the three sons of this interesting family,
was born Nov. 5, 1850, and received his academical
education in the schools of Sunbury and Delaware.
As he grew up he went through a course of medical
study and eventually began practice at Hamler, Ohio,
subsequently following his profession at Fort
Collins, Col. Returning from the west he
spent some time at Lima and then located in
Cincinnati, where he attended lectures and graduated
at the Medical Institute in the class of 1890.
In the following January, Dr. Scott located
at Lynchburg, where he has since remained and become
one of the permanent fixtures of that prosperous
town. His thirteen years' residence has given
him a wide acquaintance, both professional and
personal, and a corresponding degree of popularity
in the country where he does business. Mar. 2,
1871, he was married to Viola J., daughter of
John and Hannah (Truax) Campton, formerly of
Lima. Their only son, Wilmer, graduated
in 1901 from the Lynchburg high school and is now
going through a course of reading preparatory to
becoming a practitioner of medicine.
Source: History of Highland
County, Ohio by Rev. J. W. Klise - Publ. Madison,
Wis., Northwestern Historical Association - 1902 ~
Page 466 |
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JAMES H. SELLERS,
proprietor of the marble works at Greenfield, is a
factor in the religious, fraternal and industrial
life of the city. The family are of Highland
county, where his father, Grover C. Sellers,
son of John H. Sellers, an old settler of
Greenfield, was for a time engaged in the furniture
business. In 1896 he concluded to change the
character of his investment and embarked in the
marble business at Greenfield, which he followed
until the time of his death. He was a study
and reliable citizen, took a lively interest in
public matters, including politics and contributed
his full share toward the city's industrial growth.
Grover C. Sellers married Mary,
daughter of John Fullerton, by whom he reared
a family of six children, who are in business at
various points in Ohio. George C. Sellers
is assistant cashier in the First National bank of
Wellston, and Otis Q. is engaged in the
produce business at the same place. Carrie
Marie Sellers lives in Dayton, Ohio, and her
sister Ola is the wife of Edward J. Pratt,
a farmer residing near Granville, in Licking county.
John F. follows the occupation of
paper-hanging at Greenfield. James H.
Sellers is next to the youngest of the children,
and was born in Highland county and there grew up
and received his education. He was not in
business for himself until after his father's death,
when he took charge of the marble works in
Greenfield and has since conducted the same
successfully. Though he occasionally lends a
hand in the political campaigns, Mr. Sellers
is not an office seeker and does not allow politics
to interfere with business. He holds
membership in the First Baptist church at Greenfield
and is prominent in the Sunday school work.
His influence is always thrown to the right side of
good causes and he aids as far as lies in his power
every movement for the advancement of the moral
welfare of the community. His fraternal
connections are confined to the Odd Fellows and he
is a member of the encampment of that order.
Source: History of Highland
County, Ohio by Rev. J. W. Klise - Publ. Madison,
Wis., Northwestern Historical Association - 1902 ~
Page 468 |
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BEN AMI SELPH
Source: History of Highland
County, Ohio by Rev. J. W. Klise - Publ. Madison,
Wis., Northwestern Historical Association - 1902 ~
Page 469 |
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GILES W. SETTY
has long been favorably known in his county of
Highland as a soldier who did his duty during the
civil war and as an industrious citizen since the
close of the great conflict. His father,
Christopher Setty, was a native of Virginia who
came west in the early part of the last century to
cast his lot with the ever increasing army then
engaged in making the great state of Ohio.
Being a poor man, with little capital aside from his
ability and disposition to work, he had a long and
hard struggle to gain a foothold, but eventually
succeeded in accumulating a creditable competence.
He settled in Brush Creek township Highland county,
bought thirty acres in the woods, built a round log
cabin with one room and set to work hewing and
felling, grubbing and clearing until he had a
habitable abode. By saving and industry he
managed to add to his little place from time to
time, and his holdings amounted to 123 acres when at
the age of eighty-three he closed his earthly
career. Before leaving Virginia he had married
Margaret Shoemaker, who shared the toils and
struggles of his western home and made him the
father of fourteen children. Of these thirteen
grew to maturity, twelve married and reared
families, five are now dead and seven living in
different parts of the country. Levina,
the eldest, is the widow of John Setty, and
resides in Brush Creek township; Amy is the
widowed wife of William Hottinger of Adams
county; Levi resides on the old homestead;
John lives in Jackson township; Elizabeth
is the widow of David Kessler, of Marshall
township; Anthony G. is a resident of Adams
county, and Sanford E. is a farmer in North
Dakota. The children who are dead include
Malinda, who married Thomas Gall; Mary,
wife of N. Glaze; Jemima wife of Adam
Stults; Abraham who was thrown by a horse and
killed at the age of nineteen; and one who died in
infancy. Giles W. Setty, one of the
living children not enumerated above, was born in
Brush Creek township, Highland county, Ohio, Sept.
6, 1843. In those days they still had the old
fashioned subscription schools and to one of these,
a mile from his home, Mr. Setty used to walk
in his boyhood for the purpose of gleaning such
crumbs of knowledge as were dispensed by the
pedagogue in charge. When he was well on
towards manhood the civil war interrupted the even
tenor of his way and like other patriotic boys of
the time he was anxious to take part in the
fighting. As his youth caused parental
objection, he ran away from home one day and,
hunting up a recruiting officer, enrolled his name
on the list of Company D, Sixtieth regiment Ohio
volunteer infantry. Under command of Col.
William H. Trimble this regiment was sent to the
Shenandoah valley in the spring of 1862 to join
Fremont in his pursuit of Stonewall Jackson.
It fought well at Cross Keys and other engagements
of that campaign and was among the unfortunates who
got caught in that "man trap," as Harper's Ferry had
before been called by General Joe Johnston
and were forced after four days' fighting, to
surrender to the redoubtable Jackson.
They were sent to the parole camp at Annapolis, Md.,
and subsequently to Camp Douglas, Chicago, where
they were mustered out of the service. But
Mr. Setty had not had enough of war and July 15,
1863, he enlisted in Company E, First regiment Ohio
heavy artillery, with which he served until the
close of hostilities. This command was sent to
Knoxville, Tenn., in the winter of 1864, and later
accompanied Stonemen on his raid into
southwest Virginia. Mr. Setty was
detailed as a scout in Georgia, North Carolina and
East Tennessee and obtained his discharge in August,
1865. After returning home he was married
September 10th to Ruth A., daughter of
William and Harriet Hiser, of Brush Creek
township. He rented his father's farm for a
year and then spent two years in Fayette county,
after which he put in three years on a farm in
Jackson township, Highland county. His next
move was to Adams county, where he bought a farm and
managed it four years, and this was followed by a
purchase of sixty acres in Paulding county.
This proved a disastrous venture, as he lost all he
had in a two years' trial there, which caused him to
return to Highland county and begin again as a
renter. In 1888 Mr. Setty located on
the sixty-three acres of land, where he has since
resided, engaged in general farming and
stock-raising. By his first marriage he had
six children: George W., a machinist in
Chicago; Evan M., a carpenter also of
Chicago; Albert D., resident of
Highland county; Ora A., in the
quartermaster's department of the regular army,
stationed at New Orleans; Hattie A. and Eva M.,
wife of Walter Brock, of Highland county.
The first wife dying in March, 1897, Mr. SEtty
married Mrs. Lizzie Gordon, widow of
Edward Gordon and daughter of Lewis Eckert.
Mr. Setty has held several offices in the
county and township and has always given
satisfaction. He served three terms as
assessor and two terms as constable of Paint
township. He has been school director for many
years, and in 1898 was elected one of the members of
the board of commissioners of Highland county.
He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church,
the Union Veterans' Union, Odd Fellows lodge at New
Petersburg, and Rainsboro post, Grand Army of the
Republic.
Source: History of Highland
County, Ohio by Rev. J. W. Klise - Publ. Madison,
Wis., Northwestern Historical Association - 1902 ~
Page 469 |
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SHAFFER FAMILY,
one of the oldest, has also long been one of the
most numerous and influential, social connections in
the county of Highland. Its members have been
prominently identified with the political, military
and industrial history of the county since its
organization, nearly one hundred years ago.
Many of them have achieved distinction both in war
and peace, filled various offices of trust and
profit, and in all the relations of life displayed
the qualities of good citizenship. The
founders of this family in America were Theobold
and Catharine (Kissinger) Shaffer, who came from
Germany in the first half of the eighteenth century
and settled in Maryland, on Antietam creek, near
where, over a hundred years later, the terrible
battle was fought between the Union and Confederate
forces. This German couple had twelve
children, and among them Andrew Shaffer,
who was born at the Maryland home about the year
1757, and served in the Continental army, being
wounded in the battles of Bunker Hill and
Brandywine. In 1780 he was married to
Martha Stroup, whose brothers, Anthony
and Michael, afterward figured so
conspicuously in the early settlement of that part
of Highland county included in New Market township.
During the twenty-five years succeeding their
marriage, Andrew and Martha Shaffer had
eleven children, two of whom died in infancy, and
the surviving nine came with their parents to Ohio
in 1805. Owing to the fact that the brothers
of Mrs. Shaffer had located in
Highland county, the family were induced to also
make their investments in that part of Ohio, and
after a tedious journey of five weeks arrived at New
Market in the early part of October. The names
of the nine Shaffer children in this party
were Andrew, Adam, Susie, Jacob,
George, John, Daniel, Jonas, Nancy, and another
son, Samuel, was born after the emigration to
Highland county. With the Shaffers came
Adam Arnold and family, making a colony of
twenty persons, and the newness of the county at
that time may be realized when it is stated that the
incoming Marylanders were obliged to cut their way
between Chillicothe and New Market through the
woods. After remaining in New Market nearly a
year, Andrew Shaffer settled in the
eastern edge of what is now Hamer township, where he
had bought two hundred and fifty acres of land.
Here he died in 1855 at the age of ninety four
years. George Shaffer, fifth of
his above mentioned children, became quite prominent
in the affairs of Highland county, being especially
conspicuous in military affairs as colonel of a
rifle corps. He was born near Hagerstown,
Maryland, June 17, 1792, and in 1815, ten
years after arrival in Ohio, was married to
Elizabeth Mason, whose parents were substantial
people from Virginia, who settled first in Ross and
later came to Highland county. Colonel
George Shaffer and his brother Jacob
started a distillery in 1813, and for a while were
quite prosperous from the business of fattening hogs
and making bacon. It is related that on one
occasion the elder brother took a cargo of their
bacon to the Kanawha region, exchanged it for salt
and on his return sold the latter for a thousand
dollars. Adam Shaffer, another of these
brothers and second in age of the nine children who
came from Maryland, married Catherine Roush,
by whom he had fourteen children, including eleven
boys and three girls. Henry Shaffer,
one of the sons of the last mentioned couple, was
born in Highland county, Ohio, Aug.30, 1824.
In early manhood he sought to better his fortunes by
becoming a citizen of Kansas, but this venture
proving a disappointment he returned to his native
county and purchased a farm of 100 acres in Dodson
township. In addition to his farm work he
embarked in the manufacture of tile and continued in
business until 1901, when he sold all but ten acres
of his land and retired from active agricultural
pursuits. Jan. 11, 1846, Mr. Shaffer
was married to Lydia, daughter of Solomon
Sprinkle, a pioneer of Brush Creek township, who
proved a most faithful and affectionate wife during
the many years they lived together. In after
life, Mr. Shaffer used to enjoy telling of
the rough experiences which followed his wedding;
how they started to open a new home in the unbroken
forest and camped out the first night under the
friendly limbs of a giant oak. The twelve
children of Henry and Lydia Shaffer are thus
recorded: Alexander, the first born,
died in Illinois of the milk sickness at the age of
twenty-two; Noah is farming in Dodson
township; Elmira married L. G. Roads
of Van Buren, Indiana; A. Pierce is a
mechanic at Allensburg; Clinton, a brickmaker,
resides with his father; Samuel S. and
Jerome are farming near Jadden, Indiana;
George W. is a resident of Hillsboro; Cyrus
and Alvin C. both own good farms in Dodson
township; Alice is the wife of R. A.
Davidson, of Columbus, and Albert died in
Kansas at the age of six years. George W.
Shaffer, eighth of the above mentioned children,
was born on the family homestead in Highland county,
Ohio, Oct. 15, 1863, and as he grew up was trained
to all sorts of work of the farm. Being bright
and ambitious he was assiduous in his studies while
attending the district schools and subsequently took
a course in the excellent high school in Hillsboro.
After leaving the latter institution Mr. Shaffer
devoted his time to teaching during fourteen
consecutive winters, finding occupation in the
summer seasons by making brick and doing contract
work. In the fall of 1898 he was elected
auditor of Highland county and discharged the duties
of his office so satisfactorily that he was rewarded
in 1901 by re-election for a second term of three
years. December 29, 1898, Mr. Shaffer
was married to Callie, daughter of Frank
Shaffer, of Clinton county, who, though bearing
the same name as that of her husband, is of an
entirely distinct family.
Source: History of Highland
County, Ohio by Rev. J. W. Klise - Publ. Madison,
Wis., Northwestern Historical Association - 1902 ~
Page 470 |
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JAMES E. SHANNON
Source: History of Highland
County, Ohio by Rev. J. W. Klise - Publ. Madison,
Wis., Northwestern Historical Association - 1902 ~
Page 473 |
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DANIEL SHARP
Source: History of Highland
County, Ohio by Rev. J. W. Klise - Publ. Madison,
Wis., Northwestern Historical Association - 1902 ~
Page 475 |
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WILLIAM SHAWVER
Source: History of Highland
County, Ohio by Rev. J. W. Klise - Publ. Madison,
Wis., Northwestern Historical Association - 1902 ~
Page 476 |
| |
JACOB P. SHIVERS
Source: History of Highland
County, Ohio by Rev. J. W. Klise - Publ. Madison,
Wis., Northwestern Historical Association - 1902 ~
Page 476 |
| |
ISAAC N. SMITH,
M. D., one of the progressive citizens of
Greenfield, Ohio, has long been identified with the
professional life and business development of that
place and of western Ross county. Though a
native of Fayette county, he was educated in
Greenfield and there spent his boyhood and early
manhood. His father, William Smith,
now a venerable man more than eighty-six years old,
goes back in recollection to almost to the very
beginning of Highland county. His birth took
place in Greenfield, July 17, 1815, or about ten
years after the county was created by act of the
legislature. Of later years he has made his
home in Greenfield. Isaac H. Smith,
after receiving such literary education as the
common schools afforded, attended the South Salem
academy, and later matriculated at the Medical
college of Ohio and devoted himself assiduously to
preparation for his chosen profession. In 1874
he finished the course at that excellent institution
and was graduated with the degree of M. D.
From that date up to the present time, with the
exception of one year, Dr. Smith has been in
continuous practice at Greenfield. From that
point he is called in the line of his professional
duties to attend patients over a wide area of
territory in the adjoining counties of Ross, Fayette
and Highland. He is also special examiner for
the Phoenix life insurance company of New York.
But it is not simply as a, physician that Dr. Smith
has been an integral feature of Greenfield’s life.
He has been identified more or less directly with
all the enterprises calculated to advance the
development of the community. He is a
stockholder in the Home Telephone company, whose
organization was a distinct gain to the business and
social life of the city. Mr. Smith
has been a member of the first Presbyterian church
for over thirty-seven years, having attached himself
to that organization in 1864.
Source: History of Highland
County, Ohio by Rev. J. W. Klise - Publ. Madison,
Wis., Northwestern Historical Association - 1902 ~
Page 477 |
| |
ANTHONY SONNER,
notable among the pioneers of Highland county, and a
soldier in the Revolutionary war, was a native of
Virginia, where he married Elizabeth,
daughter of George A. Geeting, one of the
early bishops of the United Brethren church.
They resided in the Shenandoah valley before coming
to Ohio, and had six children - George, William,
David, Jacob, Ann and Sarah - with whom
they came west and settled in the northeastern part
of White Oak township, on White Oak creek.
Anthony Sonner and his sons built the first
substantial grist ill in Highland county, at their
place of residence, which was known for many wards
as Sonner's mill, and was one of the widely
known land marks of the county in early days.
Anthony and his wife were the moving spirits
in the organization of the United Brethren church in
the county, and both lived long and useful lives, he
passing away at the age of eighty-two years, and she
at eighty, mourned by their children and
grandchildren and many friends.
Jacob Sonner, a younger
son of Anthony and Elizabeth Sonner, was a
miller by trade, and carried on the Sonner
mill for many years. He was born in the
Shenandoah valley of Virginia, came to Highland
county with his parents, and was one of the
prominent men among the early settlers. He was
fairly successful in business, owned a farm of three
hundred acres besides the mill property; was honored
with several township offices, and was an active
member of the United Brethren church. He died
at the age of seventy-five years and his wife at
sixty-eight. The latter was Christina
Ambrose, a native of Virginia, and the mother
of eight children: William Sonner, now
a prominent resident of White Oak township;
George, deceased; John Anthony, in
Illinois; Matthias, in Missouri; Isaac,
of Salem; Anthony, in Illinois; Elizabeth,
deceased, and Rachel, in Illinois.
William Sonner was born
Apr. 8, 1823, on the farm now owned by William
Workman in White Oak township, and remained at
his father's home until early manhood, when he
married Priscilla Robinson, a native of Ross
county, and began housekeeping on the old home farm.
Later he removed to Indiana with his family
and remained there four years, but then returned to
White Oak township and bought a farm. Since
then he has increased his land holdings to 294 acres
and has prospered a a farmer and stock raiser.
He is a member of the Christian church and an active
Republican in politics. His seven children
are: Minott, a resident of Taylorsville;
Charles, deceased; Sarah, wife of John
Davidson, of Concord township; William,
of White Oak township; Melissa and James,
at home, and John, deceased.
Minott E. Sonner, grandson
of Jacob Sonner, and son of William,
was born on the farm now owned by A. J. Fender,
in White Oak township, Dec. 30, 1865, and was
educated in the district school and the Hillsboro
high school. The excellent education thus
obtained and enabled him to teach school with much
success for eight years in early manhood. He
married Mary E. Hatcher, a native of the same
township, and daughter of R. J. and Rachel
Hatcher, and they lived for three years on the
Hatcher farm, after which they removed to
Taylorsville, where they still live, with one child,
Floyd H. Mr. Sonner, in 1895, purchased
of E. L. Ruble, a general store at
Taylorsville, which he has since managed with much
success, dealing also in farm implements and
machinery, and owning a small farm. He was
appointed postmaster at his town in 1896, and he
still holds this position. In politics he is a
Republican, and in religious affairs he is a member
of the Christian church.
Source: History of Highland
County, Ohio by Rev. J. W. Klise - Publ. Madison,
Wis., Northwestern Historical Association - 1902 ~
Page 478 |
| |
GEORGE SONNER,
the eldest son of Anthony Sonner, was born
Jan. 1, 1804, and married Hannah Caley,
daughter of Frederick Caley. They began
housekeeping on the farm where their son, George,
now lives. He was an intelligent, industrious
and successful farmer, owning 175 acres of land,
which he cleared and put in good condition.
His death occurred at the age of sixty-two years,
while his wife survived to be seventy-two.
Their children were four in number, of whom
Cynthiana, Samuel and Mary Jane are
deceased, and George, a well-known citizen of
White Oak township, is the only survivor.
George Sonner, the younger, was born where he
now lives, Aug. 26, 1848, was educated in the
district school, and in early manhood married
Edna, daughter of John M. Dorman of
Highland county. He is the owner of
seventy-five acres of well-improved land, and he is
engaged in the management of this, and is one of the
busy men of the township. He is a member of
the United Brethren church, a Republican in
politics, and highly regarded by his neighbors.
Mr. Sonner and wife have two children, both
living at home, Berger C. and James L.
The former is engaged in operating various kinds of
steam farm machinery. The latter is a teacher
in the public schools of Highland county, having
secured his first certificate when he was seventeen
years old.
Source: History of Highland
County, Ohio by Rev. J. W. Klise - Publ. Madison,
Wis., Northwestern Historical Association - 1902 ~
Page 479 |
| |
LEWIS J. SONNER
Source: History of Highland
County, Ohio by Rev. J. W. Klise - Publ. Madison,
Wis., Northwestern Historical Association - 1902 ~
Page 479 |
| |
MINOTT E. SONNER
Source: History of Highland
County, Ohio by Rev. J. W. Klise - Publ. Madison,
Wis., Northwestern Historical Association - 1902 ~
Page 479 |
| |
WILLIAM SONNER
Source: History of Highland
County, Ohio by Rev. J. W. Klise - Publ. Madison,
Wis., Northwestern Historical Association - 1902 ~
Page 478 |
| |
JOSEPH W. SPARGUR,
a noted pioneer of Highland county, was born in
Surrey county, N. C., Mar. 1, 1781, son of John
W. and Christina Spargur, and was there married
to Rachel, daughter of Bowater and Phoebe
(Sumner) Burrows. In the year 1804
Joseph W. and his family, and his brother
Reuben, came to Highland county, and settled on
Fall creek, a mile west of the site of New
Petersburg, and in what is now Paint township.
After some years spent in clearing their farms, they
built in 1810 a grist mill on Fall creek, which is
now owned and operated by Milton Worley,
who has recently remodeled it. In 1815 the brothers
sold their mill and lands and Reuben returned
to North Carolina, while Joseph packed his
goods and moved, cutting a road through the forest
as he went, to the Rocky fork of Paint creek.
There, in partnership with David Reese,
he bought several thousand acres of wild land, built
a log house and within a year built a log dam across
the creek, and began the erection of a saw mill,
grist mill, wool-carding and fulling mills, which he
successfully operated for a few years, a period
during which the country was rapidly taken up by new
settlers. He also built him a substantial
brick dwelling house, which is yet in use.
Then he encountered disaster. Having gone to
Pittsburg, with a lot of flour and other supplies
that he had hauled to the Ohio river from the mills,
he made what seemed a satisfactory sale on sixty
days’ time, but was annoyed by a dream that his
mills had been washed away and John, his
oldest son, drowned. On reaching Portsmouth he
received confirmation of the dream, that a flood in
the creek had swept away his dam and wrecked his
mills, but when he got to Sinking Spring he was told
the glad news that his son was not drowned.
Still later he received advices that the firm to
which he had sold his goods had become bankrupt, so
that the old saying was verified that disasters
never come singly. Within two years, however,
this energetic pioneer had built the new mills that
are yet in operation, and he replaced the old dam
with a permanent stone structure. By his first
wife, Rachel, he was the father of ten
children. After she died, in 1823, he married,
in 1824, Abigail Moore, and they had
eight children. All of the children were
reared to manhood and womanhood. Mr.
Spargur died Mar. 6, 1845, and his second wife
survived to Jan. 23, 1886. About the year 1856
several of his children and their families emigrated
to Iowa, and others have gone west from time to
time, so that the family is represented in nearly
every state west of Pennsylvania, while collateral
branches from North Carolina are found throughout
the south and southwest.
PHILIP SPARGUR, a brother of Joseph, came from
North Carolina in 1809, and settled on a large tract
of land near the present site of New Petersburg,
with his wife and ten children. In 1833 another
brother, Henry, and family, and with them,
the father, John W. Spargur, came and settled
near Sparger’s mills, where the father died
in a few years, and was interred in the Quaker
cemetery in Paint township. Henry had
twelve children, making forty children in all for
the three brothers. In 1846 two sons of
Joseph Spargur, Joseph, Jr., and
Allen, bought of the administrator of their
father’s estate several hundred acres of land,
including the mill privileges. Subsequently a
division was made, and Allen took part of the
lands and the mill, which he operated until his
death, Feb. 4, 1864. Allen was born Oct. 20,
1815, and was married in 1839 to Elizabeth
(daughter of John Wade), who is yet
living in Rainsboro at the age of eighty-two years.
Nine children were born to them, of whom five grew
up - Mary A., wife of Elisha Beaver,
living on a farm near Rainsboro, with four sons and
two daughters living; Henry W., a, lumber
dealer at Bainbridge, who married Elizabeth
Kerns, and has four children: John S.,
a merchant, who married Anna Murdock,
and has four daughters living; Marnida E.,
wife of E. F. Lucas, a farmer of Marshall
township, who has two children and Joseph A. W.
Spargur, a prominent citizen of Brush Creek
township.
JOSEPH
A. W. SPARGUR was born June 9,
1844, was educated in the district school, and in
youth taught school in Iowa. At twenty-one he
leased the
Spargur mills, operated them two and a half
years; then was a retail merchant in New Petersburg
for three years; next was a commercial traveler for
two years. Leasing the Spargur mills
again in 1875, he bought out the interest of the
heirs in 1884, put in the roller system, and since
then has maintained the mill, with constant
improvement, as one of the best in the county.
This historic mill is now in the hands of the third
generation of the family. Mr. Spargur
was married Oct. 19, 1869, to Clara C.,
daughter of Dr. A. A. and Ruth A. (Pearce)
Murdock of New Petersburg. She is a
granddaughter of James and Susannah Murdock,
pioneers of Paint township, and Benjamin and
Catherine Pearce, very early settlers of this
community. The children of Mr. and Mrs.
Spargur are Olive M., born in 1872, who
was educated in the common schools and the female
academy at Hillsboro, taught school two terms, and
in 1892 married J. W. Watts (son of State
Senator Watts, and grandson of Thomas Watts,
who was an Ohio pioneer from Virginia), who is an
attorney at Hillsboro; Ernest, born in 1875,
a graduate of the Northwestern Ohio university at
Ada, and bookkeeper in the Farmers' and Traders bank
at Hillsboro; Leon, born in 1877, and
educated at the university at Ada, and now assisting
in the management of the Spargur mills;
Bessie A., a graduate of the Hillsboro high
school; Roy, born in 1881, educated at the
Hillsboro high school and a machinist at
Springfield; and Herbert, born in 1884, now
taking a three years' course at the Ohio Normal
university at Ada.
On Aug. 19, 1875, the heads of the Spargur
families of the county held a reunion and dinner at
Redkey's grove near Rainsboro, with such success
that a meeting was set for the next year at about
the same date. This was attended by more than
a thousand of the Spargur family and
their friends, and the reunion, which has ever since
been had annually, speedily became one of the most
popular events in the county. A speaker’s
stand was erected, at which many prominent men have
been heard, with music for the entertainment of the
gathering. During the last twenty-four years
it is estimated that the animal attendance has been
as large as five or six thousand people, who meet
for the quiet and whole-souled enjoyment of
fraternal relations.
BERRY
W. SPARGUR, of Paint township,
a successful farmer and worthy citizen, is a
grandson of the pioneer, Joseph W. Spargur,
mentioned on preceding pages. His father,
James Spargur, horn Mar. 31, 1827, was the son
of Joseph W. Spargur by his second marriage
to Abigail Moore, who was born Jan. 15, 1807,
died Jan. 23, 1886. James married
Elizabeth, daughter of Berry Smith.
Her father came to Highland county from Henry
county, Va., in 1807, being at the time but a youth,
and in 1820 married Isa Beavers, daughter of
Thomas Beavers, another Virginian
pioneer. By a second marriage, to Rebecca,
daughter of George W. Butler, James
Spargur had several children: Flora and
George, who died about thirty years of age;
Maggie, wife of J. J. Hughes;
Amanda, wife of Henry Copeland; Fannie,
widow of Werter Rittenhouse; Olive,
wife of Sylvanus Ross; James, of Paint
township, and Charles (deceased), and Rosa.
Berry W. Spargur, son of James and
Elizabeth, was born Dec. 25, 1850, on the farm
where he now resides. He received a good
education, and was engaged for three years in
teaching school. Since then he has given all
his time to farming, in which his industry and good
judgment have been rewarded with a gratifying degree
of remuneration. He bought his present farm of
180 acres, three miles south of Rainsboro, in 1876,
and has recently built a handsome home. His
farm is a model one, and very productive of grain
and livestock, and a good young orchard is coming
into bearing. In June, 1888, he was married to
Flora Countryman, daughter of William and
Mary (Stultz) Countryman, and of one of the old
and influential families of the county. Mr.
Spargur is a member of Rainsboro lodge, no. 453,
Knights of Pythias, and his wife is a member of the
Rathbone sisters. They have three children:
McHenry, born Apr. 13, 1889; Grace, born
June 21, 1890; Charles Horner, born Apr. 19,
1894.
BOWATER
W. SPARGUR trustee of Brush
Creek township, and one of the successful farmers of
the county, is a worthy representative today of the
pioneer family described in the previous sketch.
He is a grandson of the pioneer, Joseph W.
Spargur. His father, Joseph Spargur, born
Mar. 3, 1809, in his youth learned the trade of a
miller at the old Spargur mill, one of the
landmarks of Highland county, and in early manhood
married Haney Beavers, who was born
and reared in Paint township, daughter of Thomas
Beavers, of Virginia, who settled near
Rainsboro in 1820. They had fourteen children:
William, now living in Iowa; Sally,
deceased; John, in Colorado; Rachel,
deceased; Allen, in Iowa; one who died in
infancy; Nancy, Joseph, Icy,
Calvin, deceased; Thomas, of Paint
township; T'enie, of Iowa; Bowater
W., and Mary, of Brush Creek. The
father, Joseph Spargur, operated the
mill for a good many years, and later bought and
occupied part of the farm where Bowater W.
now lives. He acquired 266 acres of land, was
quite successful in the accumulation of property,
and was active and influential in his social and
political relations, serving several terms as
justice of the peace and in other township offices,
and being generally recognized as one of the most
devoted members of the Universalist church at
Rainsboro. He lived to the age of eighty-four
years, and his wife to seventy. Bowater W.
Spargur, subject of this sketch, was born on the
farm where he now lives, June 22, 1856; was educated
in the district school, and in early manhood married
Emma Bales, daughter of Andrew and
Lucinda (Pummill) Bales, of Paint township.
Upon the death of his father he bought the old home
place of 266 acres, where he has ever since been
successfully engaged in farming and stock raising.
He has been active in political and social life,
sustaining the record of his family as influential
in the councils of the old Democratic party, and
becoming a valued member of the lodge of Knights of
Pythias, No. 453, at Rainsboro. He has held
the office of constable one term, and is now serving
his first term as township trustee. Four
children have been born to cheer his home:
Melissa, Edith, Joseph and
Allen.
Source: History of Highland
County, Ohio by Rev. J. W. Klise - Publ. Madison,
Wis., Northwestern Historical Association - 1902 ~
Page 480 |
| |
EARL ALVERN SQUIER
Source: History of Highland
County, Ohio by Rev. J. W. Klise - Publ. Madison,
Wis., Northwestern Historical Association - 1902 ~
Page 484 |
| |
SAMUEL M. STORER
Source: History of Highland
County, Ohio by Rev. J. W. Klise - Publ. Madison,
Wis., Northwestern Historical Association - 1902 ~
Page 485 |
| |
ALEXANDER L. STROUP
Source: History of Highland
County, Ohio by Rev. J. W. Klise - Publ. Madison,
Wis., Northwestern Historical Association - 1902 ~
Page 486 |
| |
JOHN H. STROUP
Source: History of Highland
County, Ohio by Rev. J. W. Klise - Publ. Madison,
Wis., Northwestern Historical Association - 1902 ~
Page 487 |
| |
LEWIS F. STROUP
Source: History of Highland
County, Ohio by Rev. J. W. Klise - Publ. Madison,
Wis., Northwestern Historical Association - 1902 ~
Page 488 |
| |
SIMON KENTON STROUP
Source: History of Highland
County, Ohio by Rev. J. W. Klise - Publ. Madison,
Wis., Northwestern Historical Association - 1902 ~
Page 489 |
| |
WILLIAM A. STYERWALT
Source: History of Highland
County, Ohio by Rev. J. W. Klise - Publ. Madison,
Wis., Northwestern Historical Association - 1902 ~
Page 490 |
| |
ROBERT SUMNER
Source: History of Highland
County, Ohio by Rev. J. W. Klise - Publ. Madison,
Wis., Northwestern Historical Association - 1902 ~
Page 491 |
. |
