Biographies

Source:
The Biographical Record of Knox County, Ohio
To Which is Added an Elaborate Compendium of National Biography
Illustrated
Publ. Chicago : The Lewis Publishing Company
1902
 

	WILLIAM B. ADAMS. One of the able and representative agriculturists and stock-raisers of Knox county is the gentleman whose name introduces this review. He is one of the native sons of the county, his birth having occurred in Monroe township, on the 8th of August, 1857, a son of Allison and Elizabeth E. (Dowds) Adams. His paternal grandfather, James Adams, came from Pennsylvania, his native state, to Knox county, Ohio, on foot at a very early day, and soon after his arrival here he entered one hundred and sixty acres of land, one hundred and eighteen acres of which is still in the possession of the family, while the remaining is known as the Hunt farm. In 1836 he purchased the farm where our subject now resides, and there he spent his remaining days. He became an extensive property owner in this county, and was a leading and highly esteemed citizen. His wife was a native of the Old Dominion, and she, too, made the journey to this state on foot, coming here when a girl with her parents. She bore the maiden name of Newell, and was one of seven children, all of whom lived to be over eighty years of age.      Allison Adams, the father of him whose names forms the caption of this article, was born in Monroe township, Knox county, in 1818. He was bereft of his father's care and advice at the age of nineteen years, and he then purchased the interest of the remaining heirs in the old homestead, also acquiring ninety acres in Putnam county which his father had owned. Mr. Adams continued to make Monroe township his home until his death, which occurred on the 21st of December, 1892. He was a practical and progressive agriculturist, and at the time of his death his landed possessions consisted of four hundred and thirty-seven acres. The Democracy received his political support, and for many years he was a leader in the public affairs of his locality, having served his township as its clerk for a period of twenty-one years, while for thirty years he held the office of justice of the peace, and he has repeatedly solicited to allow his name to be used as a candidate for a county office, but he steadfastly refused. He was a veteran of the Civil war, having served his country as a member of Company H, Sixty-fourth Ohio Volunteer Infantry.      William B. Adams, of this review, began the active battle of life for himself at the early age of sixteen years, at which time he began buying and raising calves, but this occupation not proving as remunerative as he desired, he began purchasing steers when two or three years old and feeding them for the market. At the age of twenty-one years he took charge of the homestead farm, at the same time continuing his stock business, and this he has gradually extended until he is now recognized as one of the leading buyers and shippers of Knox county. He has also added to his realty possessions until he is now the owner of two hundred and eighteen acres of land, all of which is under a high state of cultivation and is supplied with all the improvements and accessories known to the model farm of this period. He enjoys an enviable reputation for business sagacity and uprightness in all his dealings, and all honor and esteem him for his manly and straight-forward course in life.      On the 25th of September, 1880, occurred the marriage of Mr. Adams and Miss Ollie Young. The lady is a daughter of W. R. Young, one of the prominent farmers of Monroe township. Unto this union have been born two children: Harry C., a teacher in the district schools, and Hattie M., who is devoting some attention to music. Of the Democratic party our subject is a stanch supporter, and for two terms he served as a trustee of his township. His life has been well spent, and his activity in business affairs has been rewarded by a well-merited competence. He forms his plans readily, is determined in their execution, is progressive and resolute, and as the result of his capable management he has gained a place among the substantial citizens and most highly esteemed business men of his county. Source: The Biographical Record of Knox County, Ohio - Publ. 1902 - Page 289 (Contributed by Sheryl McClure)
	M. H. ADRIAN. Success comes as the legitimate result of well applied energy, unflagging determination and perseverance in a course of action that has once been decided upon. She smiles not upon the idler or dreamer, and only the man who has won her favor justly and by unflagging effort does she deign to crown with blessings. In tracing the history of Mr. Adrian it is plainly seen that the success he enjoys has been won by the commendable qualities just mentioned, together with many others which have gained him the high esteem of all who know him. He is the largest landholder in Jefferson township, and ranks among the leading agriculturists of this part of Ohio, where his labors have been so well directed that he is now most prosperous.      Mr. Adrian is a native of Knox county, his birth having occurred in Harrison township, on the 14th of August, 1855. His father, Isaac Adrian, was born in Jefferson county, this state, and coming to this county at an early day took up his abode in Harrison township, where throughout his active business career he carried on farming. His death occurred when he was seventy-seven years of age, and thus terminated busy and useful career. He married Cynthia Harrod, who was born in Harrison township upon the farm which is yet her home. She is now eighty-one years of age. She has performed a noble work in the world, having reared a family of ten children, all of whom reached adult age, while nine are yet living and are a credit to their loved and venerated mother.      The sixth child and third son of this family is M. H. Adrian, whose name introduces this sketch. In the usual manner of farmer lads of the period he spent the days of his boyhood and youth, and when the farm work was over in the autumn he entered the public school of his neighborhood and there acquired a good English education. He was married in Union township, November 19, 1879, the lady of his choice being Miss Delia May Parsons, a sister of Dr. Parsons, of Brinkhaven. The young couple began their domestic life at Democracy, Ohio, and he engaged in farming in Pike township for five years, on the expiration of which period he removed to Union township, there remaining for two years. He then purchased the farm upon which he now resides and which comprises two hundred acres of rich and arable land, which when placed under the plow yields excellent harvests in return for his labor. He also owns another tract of eighty acres one mile north of his home place, and one hundred and twenty-six and a half acres in Union township, known as the Parsons farm, so that his landed possessions aggregate four hundred and six and a half acres, making him the most extensive landholder in Jefferson township. Throughout the greater part of his life he has followed stock-raising in connection with the tilling of the soil, and for two years he was engaged in merchandising at Buckeye City, and for one year at Brinkhaven. Energy is one of his marked characteristics, and has been an excellent foundation upon which to rear the super-structure of his success.      The home of Mr. and Mrs. Adrian has been blessed with five children: Lauris N., Lewis I., Ivan L., Virgil H. and Leila O.       Mr. Adrian and his family have a wide acquaintance in the county where they have always resided and their circle of friends is quite extensive. He votes with the Democracy, and socially is connected with the Knights of the Maccabees, with which he has been identified for five years, and in which he has filled all the offices. He is a member of the Baptist church in Tiverton township, Coshocton county, in which he is serving as a deacon, a position he has filled for eight years, and in its work he has taken an active part. He is well known in the county as a respected citizen, whose word is thoroughly reliable, whose business is conducted along lines of the strictest honesty, and whose worth is widely acknowledged by his fellow men. Source: The Biographical Record of Knox County, Ohio - Publ. 1902 - Page 79 (Contributed by Sheryl McClure)
	BENJAMIN AMES. That the plentitude of satiety is seldom attained in the affairs of life is to be considered a most grateful and beneficial deprivation, for where ambition is satisfied and every ultimate aim realized--if such is possible--there must follow individual apathy. Effort will cease, accomplishment be prostrate and creative talent waste its energies in supine inactivity. The men who have pushed forward the wheels of progress have been those to whom satiety lay ever in the future, and they have labored consecutively and have not failed to find in each transition stage incentive for further effort. Although in his youth Mr. Ames did not meet that laborious struggle which falls to the lot of many men who later win success, his energy and resolution has not been less marked than theirs, and in the successful control of various business interests of magnitude he has displayed marked business ability.      Mr. Ames was born in the family home on High street, Mount Vernon, in 1870, a son of the Rev. John G. and Elizabeth (Delano) Ames. The former, a native of Vermont, devoted many years of his life to the work of the ministry as a representative of the Episcopal clergy, but is now living retired in Washington, D. C. He married a daughter of the Hon. Columbus Delano, one of the most distinguished lawyers and citizens that Ohio has produced. Their son, Benjamin Ames, pursued his education in the public schools and in the Columbian Preparatory School in Washington, D. C, and afterward matriculated in Princeton University, in which institution he was graduated in 1892. He then took charge of the estate and affairs of his maternal grandfather, capably controlling the extensive business associated therewith. He is now the president of the Republican Publishing Company and the Mount Vernon Milling Company, and is a director of the First National Bank of Mount Vernon. He is also carrying on extensive farming interests in this county, and he resides at his beautiful country seat, Lakehome, in Clinton township.      In 1896 was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Ames and Miss Isabel Kirk, a daughter of D. B. Kirk, of Mount Vernon, who is treasurer of the C. O. Cooper Company. They now have two children, Kirk Delano and Elizabeth Delano. Fraternally Mr. Ames is a Mason, and has taken all of the degrees of the York rite, while of the Mystic Shrine he is likewise a representative. He holds membership with the Knights of Pythias and in politics he is quite prominent, being a stanch advocate of Republican principles and a member and treasurer of the county committee. He does all in his power to promote the growth and insure the success of his party and actively co-operates in many movements and measures calculated to advance the material and intellectual interests of his native county. In his business affairs he displays marked ability in not only planning but in successfully directing important enterprises, and his unassailable reputation in commercial and industrial circles has gained for him a foremost position among the leading citizens of Knox county, although he is yet a young man. Source: The Biographical Record of Knox County, Ohio - Publ. 1902 - Page 95 (Contributed by Sheryl McClure)
	MRS. ALICE B. ANDERSON, who has been in charge of the Children's Home at Mount Vernon, for the past ten years, is one of the most highly esteemed and honored residents of the city. Many years of her life have been devoted to this noble work, and her untiring efforts have proved very effective.      Rev. Sidney Shontz, pastor of the Congregational church, was largely instrumental in establishing this institution, and previously to that lime the children were confined in the county infirmary. The first trustees elected were Mr. Boner, deceased, Dr. Holbrook, Mr. Montgomery, deceased, and Rev. Charles Cooper; while the present board of trustees consists of Dr. Holbrook, Mr. Sperry and Kirk McKee, The institution was opened with twenty-seven children, and since that time eighty-five children have found homes within its doors. Since the organization of the Children's Home, in 1891, Mrs. Anderson has been in charge of the institution, and the commendable course which she has pursued has gained her the confidence and love of all with whom she has been brought in contact.      Mrs. Alice (Bell) Anderson is a daughter of R. G. and Sarah Bell, and was brought to this city eleven years ago. Her husband is a native of Clinton township, Knox county, a son of David Anderson, who came to this locality from Pennsylvania when a young man. Mr. and Mrs. Anderson are worthy and zealous members of the Presbyterian church, and in the community where they have long made their homes they have many warm friends. Source: The Biographical Record of Knox County, Ohio - Publ. 1902 - Page 372 (Contributed by Sheryl McClure)
	ROBERT C. ANDERSON, a prominent contractor and builder of Mount Vernon, was born in Clinton township, Knox county, Ohio, in 1850, a son of David McCord and Hannah (Hamill) Anderson. Robert Anderson, the grandfather, became a very early settler of Franklin county, Pennsylvania, and there spent the remainder of his life, passing away in 1823. His wife bore the maiden name of Jane Hay. Our subject's paternal great-grandfather married a Miss McCord, in whose honor McCord's Fort, in Pennsylvania was named. Her family was killed by Indians but she was saved by being placed between two ticks. David McCord Anderson, the father of him whose name forms the caption of this article, was born in Franklin county, Pennsylvania, in 1814, and when twenty-eight years of age he left the place of his nativity and came to Knox county, Ohio, locating on a farm in Clinton township. There he made his home until he was called to his final rest, dying in 1897, when nearly eighty-four years of age. He held many positions of honor and trust in his township, and was one of the leading and influential residents of his locality. As a companion on the journey of life he chose Hannah J. Hamill, who was also born in 1814, a daughter of John C. and Nancy (Stewart) Hamill, who removed from near Parkesburg, Chester county, Pennsylvania, to Clinton townships Knox county, about 1820. The maternal grandfather of our subject participated in the war of 1812, and his older brothers took part in the struggle which brought independence to the American colonies. The Hamills were among the first and leading members of the Upper Octorara Presbyterian church in Chester county, Pennsylvania, which was established in 1720 by Scotch-Irish settlers. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Anderson were born five children, namely: Anna Adeline, of Mount Vernon; John H., who, with his wife, has had charge of the children's home in this city since its inception; Thomas M., of Clinton township, Knox county; Robert C., the subject of this review; and Elizabeth, the wife of G. W. Bell, of Bangs, Ohio.      Robert C. Anderson was reared to manhood on his fathers farm in Clinton township, and after taking up the battle of life on his own account he engaged in contracting and building in Mount Vernon, which occupation has claimed his time and attention for thirty-one years. In his chosen line of endeavor he has indeed met with flattering success, and many of the finest buildings of the city and surrounding country stand as monuments to his thrift and ability. For his wife he chose Miss Alice E. Wilkins, of Clinton township, a daughter of Francis and Emeline (Williams) Wilkins, also of this township. Both the Williams and Wilkins families were among the early pioneer settlers of Knox county. The union of Mr. and Mrs. Anderson has been blessed with three children, Walter Stewart, Clarence Hamill and Stella May. Mr. Anderson is recognized as one of the leading contractors and one of the reliable business men of his locality and enjoys the high regard of all with whom he has been brought in contact. Source: The Biographical Record of Knox County, Ohio - Publ. 1902 - Page 173 (Contributed by Sheryl McClure)
	LYMAN W. ARMENTROUT, M. D. Dr. Lyman Wright Armentrout, who is successfully engaged in the practice of medicine in Mount Vernon, where he located in 1887, was born in Pike township, Knox county, September 14, 1844, and traces his ancestry back to Germany, where occurred the birth of Henry Armentrout, his great-grandfather. Leaving Germany he crossed the Atlantic to the new world and took up his abode in Virginia. When the Revolutionary war was inaugurated he espoused the cause of the colonies and fought for the freedom of the American people. Philip Armentrout, the grandfather of the Doctor, was born in the Old Dominion and after arriving at years of maturity wedded Mary Fluke, also a native of that state and of Holland lineage. Emigrating westward they settled upon a farm in Pike township, Knox county, Ohio, where the wife died at the age of fifty years, while Philip Armentrout passed away in 1859, at the advanced age of eighty-five. Among their children was Simon Armentrout. the Doctor's father. He was born in Rockingham county, Virginia, in 1810, and was brought to this county by his parents when only seven years of age. Amid the wild scenes of frontier life he was reared and upon the home farm he early became familiar with all the duties incident to the life of the agriculturist. He married Rachel Phillips, whose paternal grandfather was a native of England and sailed thence to the United States, taking up his abode in Maryland. He married a Miss Frizzel and among their children was William Phillips, the father of Mrs. Armentrout. He was about eleven years of age when with his parents he removed from Maryland to Cadiz, Ohio. He was married in Knox county to Miss Polly Walker, who also came from Maryland.      Unto the Doctor's parents were born the following children: William, a resident of Mansfield, Richland county, Ohio; George W., a resident farmer of Shelbyville, Missouri; Simon, who resides near Valparaiso, Indiana; Olive, wife of Cyrus Hunter, of Pike township, Knox county; Samantha, the wife of George Mahaffy, formerly of Knox county, but now of Shelbyville, Missouri; and Lucinda, the wife of John McGinley, who was at one time a resident of Knox county but is now living near Valparaiso, Indiana.      Dr. Armentrout, the other member of this family, was reared upon his father's farm in the usual manner of farmer lads of the period, his time being devoted to the work of the fields, to the duties of the school room and the pleasures of the playground. After leaving the common schools he determined to make the practice of medicine his life work and continued his education in the University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, for a time, completing his professional preparation in the Detroit Medical College, in which he was graduated in 1871. He then located for practice in Belleville, Richland county, Ohio, where he remained until 1882, when he took up his abode upon a farm in this county, remaining there until 1887, when he removed to Mount Vernon. Since his graduation he has given his attention entirely to his professional duties with the result that he is well qualified for his work and receives a large and lucrative patronage.      The Doctor married Miss Maria Tulloss, a daughter of the Rev. Benjamin Tulloss, of Morgan township, who has devoted much of his life to the work of the ministry as a preacher of the Baptist church. He was born in this county. Dr. and Mrs. Armentrout now have two children, L. Vance and Lina. The son is a graduate of the high school of Mount Vernon and spent two years in the Ohio State University. In 1898 he enlisted for service in the Spanish-American war in Company L, Fourth Ohio Regiment, which company was formed in Mount Vernon, and saw service in Puerto Rico, He is now reading law in the office of Judge Wait, of Mount Vernon.       In his political views the Doctor is a Democrat, but has never aspired to public office. Socially he is connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Masonic fraternity, and his religious faith is indicated by his membership in the Baptist church. Not only in Mount Vernon but in the adjoining country the Doctor is known as a skillful physician and surgeon, one who has given years of thought and painstaking preparation to his profession and who is thoroughly qualified for his practice. Nature endowed him with the qualities necessary for success as a practitioner, for he is sympathetic, patient and thoughtful, and in the hour of extremity cool and courageous. Though his practice engrosses much of his attention he still finds time to keep posted upon the practical details in the improvements of the science and avail himself of every development in remedial agencies, thus maintaining his place among the leading physicians and surgeons of his native county. Source: The Biographical Record of Knox County, Ohio - Publ. 1902 - Page 141 (Contributed by Sheryl McClure)

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