PETER
PAINTER, one of the wealthy and successful farmers of Homes
County, Ohio, is a native of the county, born Sept. 23, 1823, a son
of William and Elizabeth (Hinkle) Painter, natives of
Westmoreland County, Penn., his father of Scotch and his mother of
German descent. The grandfather of our subject, George
Painter, settled in Holmes County in 1809, and here his son
William was reared. William Painter was
the miller by occupation, and also engaged in hotel keeping.
His wife died in 1841, aged forty-eight years, and he survived until
1877, dying at the advanced age of seventy-five years. They
reared a family of six children, two of whom are living:
Elizabeth, in Ottawa, Ill., and Peter.
Peter Painter was reared to the occupation of a
miller, working for his father until twenty years of age, and since
then has been engaged in farming, and dealing in stock of all kinds.
He started in life a poor young man, and cut oats for 25 cents per
acre, paying 50 cents per bushel for onions. He eared his
first money splitting rails at 50 cents per hundred. His first
land was obtained in exchange for a two-horse team, and this, which
consisted of 192 acres, was traded for a hotel which he conducted
about twenty-two moths. He then traded this for land, and from
this time continued to deal in land, buying and selling; at one time
he owned over 2,000 acres in Holmes county, and also 800 acres in
the West, being one of the largest landowners in Holmes County.
He laid out the town of Holmesville in the year 1848, and within the
past year he donated seventy-five acres of land near Millersburgh,
worth $100 an acre, for the establishment of an Orphan Children's
Home. He is now living retired from active labor on his
homestead, which is a fine farm of 367 acres adjoining Holmesville.
Mr. Painter has been twice married; first, July 6,
1844, to Sarah Albertson, a native of Holmes County,
born in 1821, a daughter of John and Nancy (Bell)
Albertson. Of her virtues as a wife and helpmeet we can do
no better than to quote a few lines from an article written at her
death: We never new a
woman more devotedly attached to her husband, or more affectionately
interested in the welfare of her children. She was
pre-eminently a "keeper at home" an a "helpmeet." In the
highest scriptural meaning of the term. It may be truthfully
said of her that she lived almost entirely for the good of others.
Her every-day life was a living exemplification of the true and
beautiful religion of Christ, so that when she came to die death had
no terrors for her; she was ready to depart and rest with the Lord
in peace. She enjoyed the love and good-will of a large circle
of friends, which was made manifest by the fact that the funeral was
said to be the largest one ever seen in the county.
To Mr. and Mrs. Painter were born
ten children, seven of whom are living: Amanda J., wife
of William A. Dorland; Martha R., wife of Thomas Everly;
Sarah E., wife of William H. Miller; Nancy C., wife of
Albert W. Miller; Maria M., wife of Albert Close; William A.
and John T. The deceased are Lavina E., George
P. and Mary E. Mrs. Painter died in 1880, and
Mr. Painter afterward married Etta L. Dunlap, a native of
Knox County, Ohio, born Sept. 26, 1842, a daughter of Salathiel
and Anna (Burkholder) Dunlap, who were of Scotch and Irish
descent. Mrs. Painter is a refined and cultured lady,
and for twenty-five years was a school teacher. She is an
active member of the Disciples Church, as is also Mr. Painter.
In politics he is a Republican. After a long, well spent life
Mr. Painter can now with pride view the results of his years
of hardship, and is enjoying the fruits of his labor surrounded with
all the comforts and luxuries of life, and he attributes all his
success to the influence of his mother and wife.
~ Page 644 – Commemorative Biographical Record of the counties of Wayne
and
Holmes,
Ohio, Illustrated –
Publ. Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co. 1889
(Portrait available) |
P. G. PALMER,
"The Horseman," was born two miles northeast of Bloomfield, Mechanic
Township, Holmes Co., Ohio, April 6, 1856. From there he
moved, in 1874, to Sugar Grove farm, one mile northeast of
Bloomfield. Mr. Palmer has always been a fancier of
fine stock, and while on the farm made a business of breeding and
thoroughbred stock, including horses, cattle, sheep and hogs.
Of those engaged in this branch of business few here become more
successful than the subject of this sketch. He has been an
exhibitor at the Sate and county fairs for a number of years, and
has been quite successful in carrying off the first premiums.
He had a very good common education, but deeming it necessary to
procure a business training, so that he might be the better able to
meet the requirements of business life, he went, in 1878, to Mount
Union College, and there took a commercial course. After
completing same he returned to the farm. As he still advanced
in age, he thought one of the requisites most necessary for a young
man to possess was a true and loving wife, and he found same in
person of Miss Lucy A. Robinson. They were united in
marriage, Jan. 1, 1884; went to housekeeping in the early spring,
and remained on the farm until the fall of 1884. During the
summer season they bought very find property on Washington Street
(in which they now live) and moved to same in the fall of that year.
Mr. and Mrs. Palmer are the parents of two children, one
daughter and one son, the names being Pearl and Guy
Robinson. His wife will unite with us in saying that
Mr. Palmer is a very true, loving and obedient father and
husband, and the community known him to be a highly esteemed and
respected citizen.
Mr. Palmer is undoubtedly one of the
best breeders and dealers in standard-bred trotting horses in this
part of the State. He is the son of LANDON and Phebe (Fry)
PALMER, who were the parents of seven children, viz.: Lucinda
Ann (Mrs. J. A. Evans), Rhoda Jane (Mrs. J. C. McKenzie), Phrancinia
(Mrs. Robert Elliott), John Albert, Gabriel Warren, Ellen (Mrs. W.
Farwell) and P. G. Two of these children are dead:
John Albert, who died in the army, Company I, One Hundred and
Sixty-sixth Regiment, Ohio National Guards, at Arlington Heights,
July 24, 1864, at the age of eighteen years, ten months and
twenty-four days, and Rhoda Jane (Mrs. J. C. McKenzie), who
died July 6, 1887.
The father, LANDON PALMER,
and aged and highly-esteemed citizen of Mechanic Township, this
county, died at his home, one mile northeast of Bloomfield, May 20,
1886. Mr. Palmer was born near Washington, Old
Virginia, May 6, 1810, and moved from there to Belmont County, Ohio,
in the year 1813. In 1824 he came to Mechanic Township, near
Bloomfield, and was a citizen of that township up to his death.
He was married Feb. 16, 1837, to Miss Phebe Fry. He
united with the Clark Presbyterian Church in the noon of life, and
was a true and faithful member of the same up to his death.
Mr. Palmer was a very industrious and hard-working man, and true
and honest in all his dealings. He was strictly temperate in
all things, and was always very cheerful, looking on the bright side
of everything, and enjoying life exceedingly well. As the
result of his toil and labor, he accumulated a good proportion of
this world's goods, but the most consoling thing to his children is
the knowledge that he had not only gained for himself and them a
home here on earth, but that he secured for himself a "house not
made with hands," in Heaven, and set an example to his children
worthy of imitation. He expressed a willingness to leave this
earth at different times, during his sickness, and said the only
thing he dreaded was to leave his aged wife, children and friends,
but that he hoped it would be only a matter of time until they would
all meet him in Heaven. He had a very large circle of friends,
and the proof of the same was the large concourse who followed him
to the grave. His widow died at her home April 19, 1889.
She was a very industrious, hard-working woman, true and obedient
wife, kind and loving mother. The most consoling thought is,
to know that she has gone to meet her husband, son and daughter in
Heaven. She had a very large circle of friends, who evinced
their respect for her by attending her funeral in great number, the
procession, which was over one mile in length, being the largest
ever witnessed in the country.
Precious ones from us have gone,
Voices we loved are stilled;
Places are vacant in our homes,
Which never can be filled.
God in His wisdom has recalled
The boon His love had given;
And though their bodies moulder here,
Their souls are safe in Heaven.
~ Page 649
– Commemorative Biographical Record of the counties of Wayne
and
Holmes,
Ohio, Illustrated –
Publ. Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co. 1889 |
C. D.
PARKINSON, merchant, Millersburgh, is a native of Holmes
County, born in Hardy Township, in 1846. His paternal
grandfather, Robert Parkinson, Sr., was with Commodore
Perry at the battle of Lake Erie, and there contracted the cold
from which he ultimately died in Pennsylvania, probably at Carlisle.
On the maternal side Mr. Parkinson descends from German
ancestry, named Uhl.
ROBERT PARKINSON, JR., father
of our subject, was born in Carlisle, Cumberland Co., Penn., and is
a son of Robert, Sr., and Marie (Henderson) Parkinson, also
natives of Pennsylvania, of Scotch-Irish extraction. When
Robert, Jr., was six years old, his parents both died, leaving
three children, Robert, being the second. He learned
wagon making, at which he served a three years' apprenticeship with
his uncle, Robert Scott, with whom he found a home, and
remained until reaching his majority. This trade he has
followed all his life, and still carries on in Millersburgh, where
he and his faithful wife are yet living. Coming to Holmes
County in 1827, he was here married in 1828, to Harriet,
daughter of George Uhl, and a native of Maryland, but who,
when six months old, was brought by her parents to Holmes County.
She became the mother of eleven children, nine of whom are yet
living, seven in this county. Mr. and Mrs. Robert Parkinson
are members of the Lutheran Church of Millersburgh.
C. D. Parkinson whose name heads this biography,
was reared in his native county, receiving a good common-school
education, and learning the trade of carriage painter, at which he
worked several years with his father. From early manhood he
had to rely on his own individual efforts, leaving home at the age
of seventeen to do for himself, and his success in life may be said
to be entirely his own making. Embarking at that early age in
mercantile business in Millersburgh, his stock in trade consisting
of groceries, queensware, etc., Mr. Parkinson has since
met with well-merited success, and is now numbered among the
prominent business men of the place. He is a representative
citizen of the town, and is one of the first to indorse any
enterprise that looks to the upbuilding of the material prosperity
of either town or county. He was married in 1869, to Mary
E., daughter of Capt. Joseph Work (who was killed at the
battle of the Wilderness, during the War of the Rebellion), and they
have two children, Robert (aged sixteen) and Carrie
(aged thirteen). Mr. Parkinson is a member of the
Masonic fraternity. He affiliates with the Democratic party,
and is a member of the Millersburgh school board.
~ Page 812 – Commemorative Biographical Record of the counties of Wayne
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Holmes,
Ohio, Illustrated –
Publ. Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co. 1889 |
JAMES
PARSONS. The Parson family is of Irish descent.
William Parsons was born in Ireland in 1766 and there married
Ann Degman, who was born in 1770. About 1794 he moved
with his family to America and located in New York City, and
afterward in New Brunswick, N. J., where is wife died in 1808, his
death occurring Dec. 19, 1824. He had a family of five
children: Andrew, James, Catharine, Ann and Mary, one
born in Ireland and four in America.
James Parsons was born in 1796, and was twelve
years of age when his mother died. He was then bound out to
learn the trade of a silver plater, serving an apprenticeship of
three years, and then worked at his trade in Philadelphia. On
the 4th of July, 1813, he left that city and walked from there to
Pittsburgh, and was in the latter place at the time of Perry's
Victory. In 1817 he went to Nashville, Tenn., but later
returned again to Pittsburgh, and there met Leonard Everly
who was also a silver plater. He married Ann Everly, a
sister of Leonard, and who was born in 1799, in Washington
County, Penn. In 1823, with his wife and one child, Mr.
Parsons came to Wayne County, Ohio (he walking and his wife
riding on horseback), and there for four years he worked at the
blacksmith's trade. In 1827 he moved to Ripley Township, and
in 1829 bought 160 acres of land, only thirty of which had been
cleared, where he made for himself and family a good home, living
here until his death, which occurred Feb. 11, 1878, when he was aged
eighty-two years. He was a public spirited energetic man, and
was successful in his business operations. In 1842 he joined
the Methodist Episcopal Church, and ever after was a faithful member
of the same: politically he was a Republican. His family
consisted of ten children, nine of whom lived to maturity: Eliza,
Andrew, William, James, John, Joseph, Sarah, Mary and
Finley L. In 1853, in the month of August, Mr. Parsons'
family was stricken with a most malignant type of typhoid fever,
and within seventeen days five of them died, three sons and two
daughters, the eldest aged twenty-six, and the youngest seventeen.
Mrs. Parsons was afflicted with paralysis for twelve years,
being helpless part of the time. One daughter, Eliza,
is now the widow of Joshua Gillam, and since 1885 has been a
resident of Shreve, Wayne Co., Ohio.
JAMES
GILLAM, with family, consisting of his wife, one son (Joshua)
and three daughters (Jane, Elizabeth and Melcena), moved from
Allegheny County, Penn., to Ripley Township, Holmes Co., Ohio, in
1836, where he lived until his death, which occurred Sept. 20, 1853,
when he was aged fifty-six years; his wife died Apr. 9, same year.
Joshua Gillam and Eliza Parsons were married May 1,
1845, and he died Sept. 15, 1853, at the age of thirty-one years,
leaving one daughter who now lives with her mother in Shreve, Ohio.
The daughters of James Gillam are still living, but are not
now residents of the county.
~ Page 799 – Commemorative Biographical Record of the counties of Wayne
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Ohio, Illustrated –
Publ. Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co. 1889 |
AMMIEL
H. PATTERSON is a son of John Patterson, who was born
in Washington County, Penn., Nov. 10, 1820, and came to Holmes
County, Ohio, in 1827, with his parents, Robert and Margaret
(McDowell) Patterson, locating on a farm in Mechanic Township.
His father died in1868, and his mother in 1855. Six of their
children are still living, viz.: John; Mary, wife of
George Leech, of Coshocton County; Margaret, wife of
David Lowe, of Coshocton County; Jane, of Mechanic
Township; Nancy, wife of Andrew Hoxton, of Monroe
Township; and James, of Mechanic Township. John,
the father of our subject, came to Holmes County when seven years of
age. Oct. 14, 1847, he married Miss Esther, daughter of
Jacob Conrad, of Holmes County, and immediately located on a
farm in Mill Creek Township, Coshocton County, where they yet
reside. They have seen children: James M. of Coshocton
County; A. H., our subject; Margaret Ellen, wife of
George Elliot, of Illinois; Clemmensa, wife of Harvy
Gilbert, of Coshocton County; Sarah C., wife of John
M. Casey, of Mechanic Township; Amanda Elizabeth, wife of
Lewis Casey, of Killbuck Township, and Clifton John
E., living at home. Mr. Patterson is an active
supporter of the Democratic party, and has served as justice of the
peace six years, and township treasurer ten years. He and his
wife are members of the Presbyterian Church.
A. H. Patterson was born July 26, 1851, and
received a common school education, attending the schools in his
township when his services were not required on the farm. In
1877 he married Miss Florence Clementina, daughter of
Nathan and Lucinda (Chaney) Shaffer of Mechanic Township.
He first located on a farm in Mill Creek Township, Coshocton County,
but in 1879 purchased a farm in Mechanic Township, where he lived
five years. IN 1884 he left the farm to engage in his present
mercantile and hotel business at Bloomfield, at which they have been
successful, both Mr. Patterson and his wife being adapted to
the business of hotel keeping. They keep a good house, which
is well patronized by the traveling public. Mr. Patterson
was appointed postmaster of Clark's postoffice in 1885. He
takes an active interest in the Democratic party, giving it his
hearty support. Mr. and Mrs. Patterson have four
children, namely: Nellie Almeda, Adelbert Allen, Lucinda
and Myrtle Adelpha. The parents are members of the
Presbyterian Church of Bloomfield.
~ Page 744 – Commemorative Biographical Record of the counties of Wayne
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Ohio, Illustrated –
Publ. Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co. 1889 |
DR. C. PETER, one of the earliest physicians of Winesburgh, Holmes County, was born in Hessen-Cassel, Germany, May
5, 1817, the elders of a family of nine children. His father
was appointed by the Government of Hessia to the court of appeals.
At the early age of twelve years he had passed through all the
grades of the public schools in the city of Cassel, and his father
concluded to send him to the gymnasium (college) at Rindlen, in
order to prepare him for the study of medicine, which was already
his chosen profession. After four years of hard study at
Bindlen he completed the prescribed academical courses, and for his
ardor was adorned a magister artis, without which no one
could enter a German university, as all students in that country are
obliged to have finished the gymnasium as a guarantee of sufficient
equipment for the great professional study to be taken up at a
university. Now our adolescent, at the age of sixteen years,
entered the university at Marburg, and a year later the university
at Wuertzburg, where he completed the third year of his course, when
he went to the university of Erlaugen, where he prosecuted his
studies and graduated with high honors at the age of twenty-one
years, Jan. 15, 1838, his graduating dissertation being presented by
him to the Faculty in Latin, its subject being "De Indicationibus
Amputationis." He also passed a satisfactory State
examination. Notwithstanding his father had a Government
appointment, his income was a very moderate one, when we consider
that he had a family of nine children, and the eldest son attending
the university. With the ambitious son poverty was no
obstacle, as he fully believed in the maxim "where there is a will
there is a way." The Government granted a limit number of
scholarships to those who could pass a rigid competitive
examination, and of this opportunity our young student availed
himself, and the scholarship was stipulated to him year after year,
he being invariably successful.
Everything went on smoothly until toward the end of his
last year, when he became troubled on account of the many outlays
incident to university life, and, not wishing to ask his father for
more money, he was confronted with the problem of how he was to pay
his graduation fees. He confided his troubles to a friendly
butcher, who volunteered to furnish him with the necessary money,
with the privilege of paying it back when he was able. This
obstacle removed, the parchment was obtained and the young "esculap,"
a happy young man, returns on foot to his home in Cassel.
After his return it was determined that he should proceed to
America, where the second son had gone the year before, and that
after the younger children were educated, the parents and the rest
of the family would follow. Hopeful and with bright prospects
before him he cheerfully embarked, and followed the empire star
westward. In the fall of 1838 he reached Pittsburgh, Penn.,
where he met his brother. Being anxious to work he started out
in search of a location. Making his way to Ohio, he first
located at Louisville, Stark County, but being dissatisfied
continued on through Indiana to Illinois, where in the fall of 1839
he had an obstinate attack of malaria, and he concluded to return
east. He then located at Evansville, Ind., where he formed a
partnership with another physician; but not being able to agree with
his partner's tactics of midnight gambling and sprees, he returned
to Ohio, and located at Winesburgh, where he landed in the spring of
1840 with eleven cents in his pocket. Being satisfied there
was no malaria in this part of the country, he decided to make it
his home; thus the people of Paint Township were so fortunate as to
secure the residence of so able a physician and surgeon, and from
that time until his death his career was closely identified with the
town's history.
He possessed a profound knowledge of the profession of
medicine and surgery, a keen perception and memory, and indomitable
energy, and he was not long in gaining a wide reputation as a
practitioner, and his practice soon extended into the surrounding
counties of Tuscarawas, Harrison, Carroll, Stark, Wayne, Knox and
Coshocton. His practice has probably never been equaled by any
physician in this part of the State, and his services would no doubt
have been more extensively sought had he been more extensively
sought had he been more accessible. He performed some very
skillful surgical operations, and successfully treated many most
intricate and almost hopeless cases that were despaired of by other
physicians. He was very honest and an adept in diagnosing a
case; and if he told a patient that there was no help or hope, the
doomed was assured that the prognosis was correct, and felt that
there was no use seeking further aid. He was very modest and
unassuming; in his manner was kind, but short and to the point.
He never refused the poor, was moderate in his charges, but was a
shrewd financier, knowing how to turn the cents into dollars, and
was thus able to accumulate a fortune which he used freely in
assisting those worthy of his aid.
The many hardships of a country practice by day and by
night, through heat and cold, in all kinds of weather, will tell on
the strongest; and after forty years of active practice, he felt
that his iron constitution was weakening, and that his days were
numbered. In April, 1881, he was stricken down, and his
friends feared that death was near. He soon rallied, however,
inspiring his wife and children with the hope that he would be
spared to them many years. This was only a temporary
encouragement, as he again succumbed to an ascending spinal
sclerosis and sugar diabetes, which terminated in his death Jan. 28,
1882. He was the kind but stern father of eleven children:
Ettie, ALFRED, Eugene, EMIL, Charles, THEODORE, Robert, Victor,
Rudolph, Arthur and Mary. Ettie is the widow of
Dr. J. J. Rockwell, and resides now at Millersburgh.
ALFRED, who was born in 1849, is in the saddlery business at
Millersburgh; he was married in 1871 to Mary, daughter of
Philip Spohn, and has two children: Cora and Emma.
Eugene is in the grocery business at Cleveland.
EMIL is a jeweler at Millersburgh; was born in
1853; was married in 1877 to Louisa, daughter of Philip
Spohn, and has two children: Howard C. and Irma E.
Charles is a farmer living near Winesburgh.
THEODORE, who was born in 1857, is a leading merchant at
Canal Dover; he was married in 1878 to Mary, daughter of
John Deis, and has four children: Salome, Julia, Viola
and Deis. Robert, born in 1859, is a physician and
surgeon, married in 1885 to Miss Cora Whitesell, of Three
Rivers, Mich., and is now having the leading practice at Canal
Dover, Ohio. Victor is located at Shelby, Ohio, in the
drug business. Rudolph and Arthur are
pharmacists. Mary is residing with her mother at Canal
Dover.
These are the tracing of a noble, well spent life, and
it is another so fraught with good deeds, and so worthy of record in
the annals of the biographies of its pioneers.
~ Page 608 – Commemorative Biographical Record of the counties of Wayne
and
Holmes,
Ohio, Illustrated –
Publ. Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co. 1889 |
PHILIP
PETRY, one of the representative men of Killbuck Township, is
a son of John Petry, who was born in Germany, in 1813, and
emigrated to America in 1832, when nineteen years of age. He
first located in the eastern part of Pennsylvania, having previously
learned the blacksmith's trade, and afterward went to Philadelphia,
where he followed that occupation for eighteen years. He
married in that city, July 4, 1850, Miss Elizabeth Stuber,
also a native of Germany, and they then located on a farm in
Killbuck Township. Mrs. Petry died Nov. 11, 1887.
Mr. Petry still resides on the homestead and is one of the
well-known farmers of the township. He has always been a
stanch Democrat, and is a prominent member of the German Reformed
church. Their family consisted of six children: Elizabeth,
married to Jacob Herzer, of Millersburgh, Ohio, she died Dec.
28, 1887; Philip; Adam, of Illinois; Edward, of
Killbuck Township; Tillie, wife of Robert McDowell, of
Iowa, and John, of Illinois.
Philip Petry was born in the city of
Philadelphia, Feb. 6, 1840, and came to Holmes County when about ten
years of age. He obtained but little schooling, as he had to
assist his parents with the farm duties. He obtained but
little schooling, as he had to assist his parents with the farm
duties. In 1861 he was united in marriage with Miss Jane,
daughter of William Arnold, of Richland Township, and they
have four children: Ida, the eldest, is the wife of James
T. Baker, of Holmesville, and has one child, Byron L.;
Philip, of Killbuck, married Miss Hattie C. Williamson;
Lizzie, wife of Steward Kimball, of Killbuck Township,
has one child living, Lola (Bessie, their eldest daughter was
scalded to death Sept. 16, 1888); Sandford Van, living at
home. Mr. Petry is one of the active members of the
Democratic party. He was elected county commissioner in 1887,
and is now filling that office; has served as assessor two terms and
trustee three terms. He is a member of Killbuck Lodge, No.
126, F. & A. M., and Millersburgh Chapter, No. 86, R. A. M. He
and his family attend the Killbuck Methodist Episcopal Church.
~ Page 711 – Commemorative Biographical Record of the counties of Wayne
and
Holmes,
Ohio, Illustrated –
Publ. Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co. 1889 |
DAVID
PFOUTS was born in Paint Township Aug. 10, 1818.
George Pfouts, the great grandfather of our subject, a native of
Italy, emigrated to America at an early day, and located in
Pennsylvania, near the present city of Philadelphia. He was
very friendly with the Indians at that period, and spent several
weeks each fall in fishing and hunting with them. As a token
of their friendship, they presented him with a tract of several
thousand acres of land, on which he settled, and which today is
known by the name of the Pfout's Valley. His son,
George Pfouts, the grandfather of our subject, was a surveyor by
profession, and a soldier in the War of the Revolution. He
married Sally Woodrown, and afterward Ann Eagler.
He first located in Stark County, Ohio, where he built a grist-mill
on Sugar Creek, near Wilmot, known as Fox's Mill. He afterward
moved to Paint Township, Wayne County, where he died. He was a
member of the Whig party, and of the Presbyterian Church.
REUBEN PFOUTS, the father of our subject, was
born in Northumberland County, Penn., in 1784, and married Miss
Ann Eagler, a native of Jefferson County, Ohio. About 1815
they moved to Stark County, and afterward to Paint Township, Holmes
County, where he entered six quarter-sections of land, and became
one of the wealthy men of the township. He erected a saw and
grist-mill on Sugar Creek, which is yet known as Pfouts' Mill.
He was a prominent member of the Whig and Republican parties.
He died in 1859, and his widow in 1867. They reared a family
of thirteen children, seven of whom are still living, viz:
Ann, David (our subject), Rebecca (wife of Henry
Parker), Reuben (in Stark County, Ohio), Caroline,
(wife of Mathias Roush, in Akron), Alfred and John.
Our subject received the benefit of
only two months' schooling. He remained on his father's
homestead until 1843, when he was united in marriage with Miss
Nancy, daughter of John Freed, of Paint Township, and
engaged in operating the grist- and saw-mills many years. In
1855 he located on his present farm, where he has since resided.
In 1882 he retired from active work, and put the management of the
mills into the hands of his son. Mr. Pfouts has eleven
children, all of whom are living: Elizabeth, wife of
Cyrus Mizer, of Tuscarawas County (has five children: Ada,
Nora, Jesse, Mary and Martin); Caroline, wife of
Joseph Herrald, of Paint Township (has four children: Maud,
Grace, Lemuel and Howard); Daniel, a farmer of Knox
Township, married Miss Lucy G. Thorn; Mary, wife of George
Bair, of Mansfield, Ohio (has two children: Dwight and Nola);
Julia, Ann and Ellen are living at home; John, a
miller of Paint Township, married Miss Frances Deal (has
three children: Lemen, Nana and Wendle); Reuben, of
Paint Township, married Miss Laura Barkey; David and
Delpha are at home. Mr. Pfouts is a Republican,
politically, and has filled various township offices.
~ Page 801 – Commemorative Biographical Record of the counties of
Wayne and
Holmes, Ohio,
Illustrated – Publ. Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co. 1889 |
JOEL POMERENE, M. D.,
a rising young physician and surgeon of Holmes County, with
residence at Mount Hope, was born in Millersburgh, a son of
Dr. Joel Pomerene, Sr., and Permelia (Meyers) Pomerene,
the former of whom died in 1881. Our subject was
reared in his native city, and was given a collegiate education,
attending the Western Reserve College, Cleveland. He early
chose the calling of his father, and with him began the study of
medicine, attending lectures at the College of Physicians and
Surgeons at Chicago, Ill., and the medical department of Wooster
University. Aug. 1, 1888, he located at Mount Hope, and
began his practice, which has already become a lucrative one,
and he is fast gaining the confidence of the community. He
is a hard student and gives close attention to his profession,
leaving nothing undone that will increase his knowledge of the
treatment of disease. His genial manners make him a
favorite in the sick room, and, although so young in the
practice, he holds a place equal to many older physicians.
His wife was formerly Miss Lura, daughter of H. F.
Watson, of Algona, Iowa.
~ Page 631 – Commemorative Biographical Record of the counties of
Wayne and
Holmes, Ohio,
Illustrated – Publ. Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co. 1889 |
P. P. POMERENE. There are many worthy and able physicians
in Ohio, and among them Dr. Pomerene, of Berlin, Holmes
County, stands in the foremost rank. The confidential
labors of the physician and surgeon, be he ever so successful,
necessarily prevent a complete record of his life, and rob him
of much well-earned repute. One timely act may immortalize
the name of warrior or statesman, while the duties of one who
serves the public to better purpose are performed with such
quiet unselfishness, in darkness, winter and storm, and often so
far away from the busy centers of the world, that they are
rarely noticed and never appreciated.
Dr. Pomerene has the advantage of ancestry of
high character. The grandfathers, Julius
Pomerene, a man of fine education, and of French nativity,
came to America with Gen. La Fayette to fight for the
liberation of a land that had appealed so strongly to the
sympathy of the French. He was a commissioned officer, but
no record has been kept as to the exact position he occupied.
At the conclusion of the war he decided to remain in America,
and located at Lancaster, Penn. He was married to
Martha Heller, a cultivated lady of German descent, and
their children, in order of age, were as follows:
Annie, Henry, Julius and David. In 1797 he
removed with his family to Allegheny County. During their
journey over the mountains they endured great hardship by reason
of a scanty store of provisions and poor accommodations of camp
hospitality. He located on a farm that had just been
reclaimed from the forest. In 1800 while he was assisting
in the erection of a log cabin, one of hi associates, by an
unfortunate glance of an ax, severed Mr. Pomerene's hand
at the wrist. Lockjaw ensued, and death followed in a
short time. The widowed mother with her children was left
in straightened circumstances; she found herself in a new
country, far from friends, with some land, the title to which
was by no means clear of incumbrances. She was compelled
to leave the farm for seven years, under stipulation that the
amount of a lease for that period go for back payments.
She was under the painful necessity of entrusting her children
to the care of strangers, and of subjecting herself to servile
toil.
The son, Julius Pomerene, father of our subject,
was born in Lancaster County, Penn., Feb. 9, 1792. With
his mother and sister he removed to Holmes County, Ohio, in the
spring of 1821, and there, as a farmer, spent the remainder of
his life. Dec. 16, 1823, he was married to Elizabeth
Piersol, then a resident of Holmes County, but a native of
Slippery Rock, Penn. Six children, four sons and two
daughters, were born to them.
Peter P. Pomerene, the subject proper of
this biographical memoir, was born in Holmes County, Ohio, Sept.
18, 1832. He remained at home until seventeen years of
age, giving earnest attention to farm work as the seasons
permitted, while winter found him seeking just as eagerly after
such knowledge as the district school might supply. To
this he now added a winter at the western Star Academy of Summit
County, supplemented by a term at the Fredericksburgh school.
His literary education was ended, and lack of finances had
deprived him of the one desire of his life, a university course.
He turned to teaching, not from the love of the occupation, we
are well assured, and in this last resort for the intelligent
needy passed two years, now and then stealing an hour which was
zealously devoted to medical lessons. He had placed
himself under tuition of his brother, Dr. Joel Pomerene,
of Middletown, Holmes County. In the winter of 1854, we
find him attending lectures at the Western Reserve Medical
College of Cleveland, and with the expiration of his first
course came likewise the last of his funds. Diplomas,
however, in those days, were matters of luxury, not of
necessity, so he located in Berlin, Holmes County, Feb. 27,
1855, and commenced the practice of his profession. In the
fall of 1860, he proceeded to Philadelphia, where he attended a
course of lectures at Jefferson Medical College, from which
institution he graduated in the following spring. Thus
newly equipped the Doctor returned to Berlin, resumed his
practice and has remained there since.
Dr. Pomerene has been eminently successful,
winning for himself a high and honorable position in the medical
profession. Nature admirably prepared him for that form of
work,, and he has ever been a close student and a hard worker.
He is a skillful practitioner and surgeon, and has practiced his
profession in all its branches. A review of his practice
would easily disprove the prevailing opinion that the surgeon
must live in the city. The most important as well as the
minor operations are included in his list of accomplishments.
He is one of the most genial and hospital of men, making
stranger as well as friend feel at home. He is liberal in
his views, and while holding earnestly to the faith that is
within him has respect for the beliefs and opinions of others.
He is generous, and many of the poor and suffering have grateful
cause to remember that fact. Although busy day and night
in his profession, he finds much time for reading general as
well as medical literature. He is thorough and earnest in
all he undertakes, and has the undivided good-will and respect
of the community in which he dwells. Dr. Pomerene
is one of the charter members of the Holmes County Medical
Society, organized in 1858; and was made a member of the Ohio
State Medical Society in 1870, and of the American Medical
Association in 1878; he is also a member of the International
Medical Congress. It is no undue praise, but a simple
acknowledgment of his worth and success, to say that in the
thirty-four years during which he has practiced medicine and
surgery he has done as much business as any other practitioner
in the State.
Dr. Pomerene was twice married. His
first wife was Lorhetta, daughter of Bezaleel and
Annie (Wise) Maxwell, of Holmes County. She died May
17, 1862. One son and two daughters were born to that
union, viz.: Ada Z., wife of Arthur Wilson,
of Philadelphia; Haidee Aldee, who died at the age of two
years, and Da Costa, a minister in the Presbyterian
Church, located at Salem. Jan. 1, 1863, Dr. Pomerene
was married to Elizabeth, daughter of Peter and Esther
Wise, of Berlin Township, and seven sons and two daughters
were born to them, viz.: Atlee, a lawyer at Canton,
Ohio; Harry P., a student at Jefferson Medical College;
Celsus, a law student at Cincinnati; Lister, a
student at the Medical College of Ohio; Ida and Ora,
attending seminary at Nottingham; Lee, at Wooster
University; Melvin and Budge, at home.
~ Page 732 – Commemorative Biographical Record of the counties of
Wayne and
Holmes, Ohio,
Illustrated – Publ. Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co. 1889
SHRON WICK's NOTE: Dr. Peter P. Pomerene is buried at Berlin Cemetery, Berlin, Holmes Co., Ohio. It is
published at
www.findagrave.com Memorial #35819481 He
was b. Sep. 18, 1832 died Nov. 29, 1892. It lists
both wives being Lorhetta M. Wilson Pomerene & Elizabeth Wise
Pomerene. Peter's middle name was Piersol |
REV. R. T. PRICE was
born on a farm near New Hagerstown, Ohio, June 2, 1836. He
remained with his father on the farm, spending the time partly
in farm work, and partly in going to school, until he grew to
young manhood. Having fitted himself in the New Hagerstown
Academy for college, he entered, in the autumn of 1859, the
junior class of Washington College, Pennsylvania, from which he
graduated in June, 1861. He was ran by his
literary-society for contest debater with the other society of
the college, but was defeated by one vote. He was chosen
as the orator of his society on another occasion, and was also
one of twelve of his class appointed by the Faculty to speak on
commencement day. He entered the Western Theological
Seminary at Allegheny City in the autumn of 1861, graduating in
April, 1864, and in the same month was licensed to the gospel
ministry in Steubenville, Ohio, by the presbytery of
Steubenville.
On the 24th of May, 1864, he was married to Miss
Nannie Fulton, of Washington, Penn. He supplied for
eighteen months the churches of Pulaski, Penn., and New Bedford,
Ohio, when he was called to the pastorate of the First Church of
Wellsburgh, W. Va. From this he was called to the
pastorate of the Mount Prospect Church, Pennsylvania, where he
remained four and a half years. From February, 1873, to
December, 1875, he was pastor of the Bellevue Church, in the
presbytery of Allegheny City. From 1875 to 1883 he was
pastor of the church in Dunbar, Penn., and from 1883 to the
present time has been pastor of the Hopewell Church, in the
presbytery of Wooster, Ohio, associating with it, since 1887,
the church of Nashville. Mr. Price's family
consists of his wife, two sons and three daughters, the eldest
of whom is Mrs. John Robison, of Crowley, La.
~ Page 755 – Commemorative Biographical Record of the counties of
Wayne and
Holmes, Ohio,
Illustrated – Publ. Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co. 1889 |
JOHN
PRIEST was born in Crawford County, Penn., on the 25th
day of January, 1807, and died in Loudonville, Ohio, on
the 12th day of June, 1883. He was the son of James
Louden and Paulina Priest, and one of a family of fifteen
children, Alonzo Priest, of Holmes County, who died
Apr. 23, 1889, being the last member of the family. The
father removed from Pennsylvania, and located on the farm now
owned and occupied by Joseph Schauweker, in Washington
Township, Holmes Co., Ohio, on the 10th day of May, 1810, when
he was but little over three years old; and consequently he was
a resident of this vicinity for over seventy-three years, and
had witnessed the wonderful changes that have come over this
region of our country. He has seen it change form the
howling wilderness and abode of wild animals and uncivilized
man. Through industry and cultivation the log hut gave way
to the palatial mansion, and school houses and churches rise
side by side in every community, making it the fit place for the
highest type of civilized and enlightened men. He has seen
the forests recede before the sturdy woodman's ax, and give
place to fertile fields that now at harvest time cheer the
hearts of men with their fullness of bending golden grain.
James Louden Priest entered a large tract of land, and
during the war of 1812 built a block-house on a part of this
place, now owned and occupied by George Lavengood, where
when the Indians were on the war path, he was in the habit of
gathering his family and his few scattering neighbors together
for protection. He was one of the original proprietors of
the town of Loudonville, and, in connection with Mr. Butler,
laid it out in 1814, and christened it Loudonville, after a part
of his name. Being a pioneer and a man of some means at
that early day, as well as a man of a cheerful mood and a
charitable disposition, the weary wayfarer or the tired
frontiersman always found rest and food in welcome waiting at
the house of the elder Priest, and many were the wants that he
cheerfully supplied, but he died comparatively young in 1822,
when the subject of this sketch was only fifteen years old.
Hence, being left an orphan at that early age, the latter had
but limited means of education, through he had a full share of
the labors and hardships of those early times. His mother
being left a widow with a very large family, though a woman of
strong will and determined purpose, found herself so burdened
with cares and responsibilities, that she could do but little
more for her children than to labor to bring them up with
correct, honest and industrious habits, and in this she
succeeded well. In the distribution of the property
John got the old homestead, known for the last fifty years
as the "John Priest Place," and there with his mother he
kept up the old home and rendered kindly favors to their
neighbors, bestowing charity and good cheer in accordance with
his mother's wishes, and much as his father had done at an
earlier period and in a humbler way. The kindness, the
charity and liberal social feelings of the early pioneer times
in this country are pleasing to dwell upon, and in their day did
much to soften the asperities of life; and while all no doubt
did their part, through their early coming, their means and
their generous hearts, the Priests occupied a conspicuous
place.
In 1835 John Priest married Barbara Workman,
daughter of David and Elizabeth Workman; she was born in
Maryland, coming with her parents to Knox County, Ohio, in 1829,
where she lived until her marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Priest
reared a family of two sons and six daughters, of whom one son
and six daughters, and his wife, survive to mourn his death.
His life pursuit was that of a farmer, in which he was very
successful, adding largely to his inheritance, and he led an
active life. He was never a dealer in a small way; he
engaged but little in general traffic, preferring to raise his
crops and stock, and market the same, and to occasionally buy a
farm, which he would improve and sell again, at a profit, or
continue to hold as he deemed best. He was always an
active and industrious man, a shrewd financier, and a man of
good business habits, believing largely in hard work and full
pay. Though in an early day he was generally surrounded by
a number of hired man who were more or less dependent upon him,
he was not oppressive on them, and did not desire to profit
unduly off his help, preferring to make his profits on the
purchase of land, and the growth in value of real estate; and he
was certainly charitable to the poor. Wealthy men are
sometimes berated because they husband their means, but to give
lavishly and indiscriminately to the poor is not charity.
True charity to the poor consists in furnishing the means for
labor, and teaching them how to work and sustain themselves,
rather than to donate to them what other men have earned.
Through a most active and restless man, he was an
unusually kind husband and father. Though on all ordinary
occasions he was much absorbed in his business, when sickness
invaded his family he was remarkably attentive, anticipating
every danger, and neither sparing time nor money to provide for
every care and want; but as soon as health was restored, he at
once betook himself to his usual pursuits, desiring all else to
do the same. He was remarkably liberal in providing for
the education of his children, in which he probably took the
lead among all his surroundings, and for which his family should
hold him in kindly remembrance and esteem. In 1870 he
rented his farms and moved to Loudonville, Ohio, expecting to
lead a retired life, but growing restless without something to
do he went to Wood County, Ohio, where he purchased a large
tract of land, and devoted much time every year to looking after
it and securing the improvements of the same, taking great
interest in it till his health gave way, and he became so feeble
that he could no longer go to look after it.
It politics he was a Whig and then a Republican, acting
no doubt from honest conviction and principle, because true to
his family characteristics he never sought nor accepted
political place or power. In religious matters he allowed
the widest range of belief and full freedom of thought on the
part of the different members of his family, offering no
objection to the observance of any form they chose, but for
himself had no exclusive or fixed belief, nor settled rule of
religious faith. Considered, finally, as a man, he must
always, be remembered as a good and useful citizen, having
fulfilled the mission in life that he undertook, and through
permanent wealth and education contributed his share to human
progress. And we may with unfeigned sorrow regret that
another of the few links that connect the early past of our
community to the present, with its bright hopes and brilliant
prosperity, has been snapped asunder. But he was full of
years, and as it is appointed until man once to die, it was but
right that a mysterious Providence should gather him in, when
like a shock of corn he was fully ripe, and garner him away from
mortal sight.
~ Page 623
– Commemorative Biographical Record of the counties of Wayne
and
Holmes,
Ohio, Illustrated –
Publ. Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co. 1889 |
A. G. PURDY,
superintendent of the Holmes County Infirmary, is a native of
his county, born Feb. 15, 1840, a son of Charles and Mary (Shimplin)
Purdy, natives of Pennsylvania, the former of English and
the latter of German descent. They came to Holmes County
in 1820, and located on Wolf Creek being among the first
settlers of that part of the township. The father died in
1878; the mother is still living on the homestead. They
had a family of twelve children, ten of whom are living.
A. G. Purdy was married in 1867
to Susah J. Lepley, a native of Holmes County, born in
1850, daughter of Solomon and Phoebe Lepley, pioneers of
this county. Mr. and Mrs. Purdy have five children:
Ellsworth, Burtis, Earl, Charles and Iva M. Mr.
Purdy was appointed superintendent of the Holmes County
Infirmary in 1884,and has conducted the affairs of the
institution judiciously and satisfactorily, as is evidenced by
his continued appointment to the place. He is a Democrat
in politics, and he and his wife are members of the Disciples
Church.
~ Page 771
– Commemorative Biographical Record of the counties of Wayne
and
Holmes,
Ohio, Illustrated –
Publ. Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co. 1889 |
|
SQUIRE PURDY is
a son of Sylvanus Purdy, who was born
in Wayne County, Penn., July 17, 1806, and when a young man came to Holmes County,
entering the farm where he now resides.
He married Miss Catherine Fry,
a native of Lancaster County,
Penn., whose parents settled in
Killbuck
Township at an early day. He has served the township as justice
of the peace six years, and has held various other offices, having
been one of
the prominent and influential citizens.
He is a member of Black
Creek Disciples
Church.
Eight of his children are still living:
Delinda (wife of
Jesse Bucey), in
Richland Township;
Mary (wife of
Thomas Bedford), in Shreve, Wayne
County; Elizabeth (wife of G. W. Knowles), in
Richland Township; Loretta (wife of
Milon Johnson), in California;
Dorcas (wife of
John Patterson), in Richland
Township; Jane (wife of
Marion Carpenter), in Monroe Township; Harry, residence not known, and Squire.
The subject
of these lines was born on his present homestead Jan. 13, 1832, and received his
education in the township schools.
He has always followed farming, in which he has met with marked success. In 1880 he was united in marriage
with Miss Amelia, daughter of
Andrew J. Chapman, of
Kilbuck Township,
and they have one child: Miland V. Mr. Purdy has always taken an
active interest in public affairs, and has filled various township offices. He and family are members of the Disciples Church.
~ Page 803 – Commemorative Biographical Record of the counties of Wayne and
Holmes, Ohio,
Illustrated – Publ. Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co. 1889
|
JOSEPH
PYERS. Among the farmers of Holmes County who have by
their own industry, assisted by their worthy wives, made a success
of their chosen occupation, may be classed Joseph Pyers.
He is a native of this county, born in Hardy Township, August 20,
1828, a son of James and Hester (Buckmaster) Pyers. His
father was a native of Pennsylvania, and settled in 1826 in Hardy
Township on a rented farm of 100 acres, which he bought five years
later. He died in 1840, aged forty-four years. The
widowed mother is still living at the advanced age of over
eighty-four years. They had a family of seven children:
Joshua, Joseph, Sarah, Jane, Ruth, John and Harrison, two
of whom are now deceased.
Joseph Pyers was reared in his native county,
which has always been his home. In 1854 he bought 100
acres of his present homestead; in 1870, forty acres; in 1882, 100
acres; and in 1889, twenty-eight acres, having now one of the best
farms in the township; and in addition to this, he now owns sixty
acres in another part of the township. Starting in life a poor
boy (being but twelve years old when his father died), he was
compelled to rely on his own exertions, and being the second of the
family had to assist in the maintenance of the younger children.
He remained on the homestead with his mother until the younger
children were old enough to take care of themselves, and then, in
1852, was married to Jane, daughter of William and Esther
(McKibbens) Robertson, former of whom was an early settler of
Holmes County. Her father died at the age of eighty-two years;
her mother is still living at the age of seventy-eight years.
Mr. and Mrs. Pyers have had a family of seven children
James H., born December 30, 1853; John Wesley,
November 7, 1855; William Smith, September 15, 1858;
Meriby, March 21, 1861; Amos M., September 23, 1863;
Joshua Adolphus, December 2, 1866; and Elmer Franklin,
December 22, 1874. Mr. Pyers is a Republican; Mrs.
Pyers is a member of the Presbyterian Church.
~ Page 771
– Commemorative Biographical Record of the counties of Wayne
and
Holmes,
Ohio, Illustrated –
Publ. Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co. 1889 |
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