FRED B. DAVIES.  As a general contractor Mr. Davies has built up a substantial and prosperous enterprise, and is numbered among the progressive and energetic business men of his native county, his residence and executive headquarters being maintained in the City of Ironton, the judicial center of the county, where his circle of friends is limited only by that of his acquaintances.
     Mr. Davies was born at Pine Grove, Elizabeth Township, Lawrence County, Ohio, on the 10th of July, 1875, and is a son of George H. and Rachel (Brammer) Davies, the former of whom was born in England, in 1850, and the latter of whom was born in Lawrence County, Ohio in 1854, the father Elijah Brammer, having been one of the sterling pioneers of this county.  George H. Davies was reared and educated in his native land, whence he came to the United States in the year 1873, making Ironton, Ohio, his destination and here finding employment in the capacity of bookkeeper.  Later he was chosen city clerk, and of this office he continued the efficient and valued incumbent for sixteen consecutive years.  In England he had held the position of railway station agent and he developed fine ability as an accountant and executive.  For a time he held the post of timekeeper for the mines at Pine Grove, Lawrence County, and he now resides in Ironton, his cherished and devoted wife having passed to the life eternal in 1909.  Of the seven children, Fred B., of this review, is the eldest; George L. is deceased; Minnie B. remains at the paternal home; Margaret E. married M. D. Henry and resides in Galesburg, Illinois; and Henry, Bessie and May died in infancy.  The public schools of Ironton afforded Fred B. Davies his early educational advantages, and he continued his scholastic discipline until he had attained to the age of seventeen years, when he entered upon an apprenticeship to the trade of kegmaker, in the works of the Belfort Iron Company, in the employ of which corporation he continued until 1892.  Thereafter he was clerk in a dry-goods store in Ironton until 1898, when he subordinated all other interests to serve in the Spanish-American war.  He served eight months as hospital steward in the hospital of the First Division of the Second Army Corps, at Camp Alger, near Washington, D. C., and after receiving his honorable discharge at Camp Meade, Pennsylvania, he resumed his clerical position in Ironton, where he continued to be thus engaged until 1890.  He then went to Birmingham, Alabama, in which city he assumed the post of engineer for the Tennessee Iron & Coal Company, but eight months later, on account of the death of his brother, George L., he returned to Ironton.  For two years thereafter he was a conductor on the street-railway lines of this city, and he was then appointed assistant to J. R. C. Brown, the chief engineer of the City of Ironton, Ohio.  He retained this position eight years and then, in 1910, engaged in general contracting, to which he has since given his close attention and in connection with which his success has been unequivocal.  In November, 1912, he was elected to the office of county surveyor of Lawrence County for a period of two years, beginning Sept. 1, 1913, and in the August primary of 1914 was nominated for a second term without opposition.
     Mr. Davies accords unwavering allegiance to the republican party, is affiliated with the lodge and encampment of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, as well as with the local lodge of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and both he and his wife are members of the First Baptist Church.  Mr. Davies is a man of fine physique, and this fact has inured to his preferment as drum major of the U. S. W. V. Band, of Ironton.  He is a member of the Ironton Chamber of Commerce, is a loyal and appreciative citizen of Ironton, and is progressive and public spirited.
     On the 2d of July, 1901, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Davies to Miss Enola Bradley, of Catlettsburg, Kentucky, and they have three children - Georgia A., Enola B., and F. Herbert.
Source: A Standard History of The Hanging Rock Iron Region of Ohio, Vol. II - Illustrated - Published by The Lewis Publishing Company, 1916 - Page 692

JUDGE JOHN DAVISSON.   Some important history of early Lawrence County, and of the beginnings of fronton, is illustrated by the career of Judge John Davisson, one of the most prominent pioneers of the Hanging Rock Iron Region, and a man whose memory is gratefully cherished by his many descendants in this section and whose work and influence should not pass unmentioned in any history of the locality.
     Judge John Davisson was born in Maryland in 1777, came to Ohio and about 1801 settled on a tract of land beginning with the south bank of Storms Creek, following the Ohio River south to a point near where the D. T. & I. depot now stands, thence by a due east line out over the "Chronacher Hill" near the tunnel on Park Avenue.  He was one of the pioneers who cleared away the timber and farmed the land on which the lower portion of fronton now stands.  He built his first log cabin about where the "old mill" used to stand, and set out fruit trees around it.  Each year saw more land cleared and brought under cultivation until in 1812 he built a modern hewn log house, which stood about where Buckhorn Street crosses Fourth Street.  Being one of the most prosperous farmers in this neighborhood, in 1822 he built the first brick house ever erected in this part of the country.  For that purpose he brought brickmakers from Columbus, and they made and burned the brick on his own land and laid them in the walls.  This was a two-story residence and marked a new era in home building for the surrounding neighborhood, and attracted no little attention.  It stood just back of the present New Excelsior shoe factory, fronting the river.  It was occupied by his widow and family after his death until 1848, when the farm was sold for a townsite for Ironton, and the first lots were sold in June, 1849. This old house stood as a landmark long after the town started, but was torn down in 1892 to make way for improvements.
     Judge Davisson was one of the most influential men in the public life of the county, serving as squire for many years before Lawrence County was organized, in what was then Upper Township of Scioto County, taking its name from its position as the upper township in that county.  Portsmouth then was the metropolis of this section.  When Lawrence County was organized in 1817, Judge Davisson with two other gentlemen - Miller and Kerr - were made associate judges for the new county, Mr. Davisson being chosen presiding judge.  He held court at Burlington, the new county seat, for a number of years.  Between 1821 and 1826 he served three terms in the State Legislature, first at Chillicothe and last at Columbus.  He made the trips to the capital on horseback, and stayed there all winter or throughout the session.  The year he died - 1831 - he was to have stood for the state senatorship, but a malignant disease cut short his useful life in its prime.  In early life Judge Davisson was a splendid marksman and a great wolf hunter.  His wife was Susanah Lambert, born in New Jersey just twenty days after the Declaration of Independence.  She died in 1848.  They reared a splendid family of twelve children, nine sons and three daughters, who in turn have founded some of the best families of this region and in western states.
Source: A Standard History of The Hanging Rock Iron Region of Ohio, Vol. II - Illustrated - Published by The Lewis Publishing Company, 1916 - Page 802

PERCY W. DEAN.  Among the public officials of the Hanging Rock Region of Ohio who are steadfastly maintaining the excellence of service in their various departments is found Percy W. Dean, city auditor of Ironton, Lawrence County.  Mr. Dean has just entered public life, this being his first official position, but he is well known as an active worker in the ranks of the republican party, and has an honorable record behind him in civic life.  His election came as a result of a desire of the people to secure an energetic, aggressive and stirring man in the city auditor's office, and Mr. Dean has up to date vindicated their confidence in him and there seems to be no reason that he will not continue to do so in the future.
     Percy W. Dean is a native son of Ironton, Ohio, and was born Dec. 31, 1880, his parents being William and Elvira (Silbaugh) Dean.  The family is well known in Lawrence County and has been located here for many years.  William Dean was born here in 1850, and during his career followed a variety of vocations, being at the time of his death a watchman.  He passed away in 1907, a worthy man and good citizen.  Mr. Dean was twice married; first to Elvira Silbaugh, who was born in Lawrence County, Ohio, in 1855, and died in 1893, and then to Olivia Lewis, who survived him and makes her home at Newport, Kentucky.  To the first union there were born four children: Oscar, Percy W., Mary and Anna.  There were no children born to the second union.
     Percy W. Dean was given good educational advantages in his youth, first attending the schools of Hecka Furnace until he reached the age of sixteen years and then becoming a student in the high school at Ironton.  Upon leaving the latter, he began to learn the trade of molder in stoves, and after mastering the details of this calling continued to work as a stove molder in Ironton until 1914.  Through fidelity, energy and good workmanship, he won promotion from time to time, and in the meanwhile interested himself in republican politics, gaining a wider and wider influence among his fellow citizens until in 1913 he became his party's candidate for the office of city auditor.  His popularity was shown by his election to that office in the fall of the same year, and in 1914 he laid aside other matters to take over the management of the city auditor's affairs.  In his first experience as a city official he is living up to his promises made before his election, and the people have no reason to be discontented with his services.
     Mr. Dean was married at Ironton, Aug. 24, 1902, to Miss Maud Thomas, who was born in Logan County, Ohio, daughter of R. W. Thomas, a brick yard man of Ironton.  Three children have been born to this union: Horace, Mary and Ivan.  Mr. and Mrs. Dean attend the Pine Street Methodist Church, are well known in social and religious circles of the city, and have their own attractive residence.  Mr. Dean is active in lodge work, being a member of the Fraternal Order of Eagles, the Knights of the Golden Eagle and the Iron Molders' Union, and finds his chief recreation in out-door sports.  His acquaintance is wide and his friends are numerous among all classes of people.
Source: A Standard History of The Hanging Rock Iron Region of Ohio, Vol. II - Illustrated - Published by The Lewis Publishing Company, 1916 - Page 695

VINCENT F. DILLON.   One of the leading educators in the Hanging Rock Iron Region is the present county school superintendent of Lawrence County, Vincent F. Dillon, who has been an enthusiastic student of school methods and management, is a practical educator, and has done much to elevate the standards of the public schools throughout the county over which he has jurisdiction.  Mr. Dillon is closely identified with the county, not only as his birthplace, but also as a successful farmer and at one time a merchant, and has brought to his work as superintendent of schools the broad vision and executive capacity of the successful business man.
     Vincent F. Dillon was born at Scottown, Windsor Township, Lawrence County, Aug. 26, 1866.  His parents were William and Rachel (Reed) Dillon.  The father was born in Morgan County, Ohio, in 1838, was brought to Lawrence County in 1846, lived the life of a highly respected farmer until his death in 1909.  The mother was born in Monroe County, Ohio, in 1835 and died in 1884.  They were the parents of five children: Effie C., who married B. F. Snyder, a farmer in Mason Township, and has four children - Festus, Belva, Verda and William; Vincent F.; William A.  Who married Ellen Lunsford and is a book-keeper living in Union Township, has eight children - Myrtle (deceased), Hillis, Cesco, Lema, Jennie, John. Bessie and Jessie, twins; Elizabeth L., who married Thomas Dalton, a farmer in West Virginia, and is the mother of nine children; Jennie B., who married John Fulks, a farmer of Windsor Township, and their five children are Hazel, Fleta, Dillon, William and Jewel.
     Vincent F. Dillon was married Sept. 4, 1895, to Mettie Dillon, daughter of William Dillon, a Windsor Township farmer.  Their nine children are Mary A., John W., Berkeley F., Leland S., Howard K., Rachel E., Nettie M., Venus F., and Nellie G.  Mary A. and John W. finished the Coal Grove High School course in 1912, and John graduated from the Ironton High School in 1914, and several of the other children are still in school.
     Mr. Dillon while growing up on a farm managed to acquire a liberal education, attending the Beech Grove school in Windsor Township until lie was twenty years of age, and subsequently, during the intervals of his teaching, was for four terms a student in the National Normal University at Lebanon, and has studied both in university and at home along lines that would give him special training and proficiency in his educational work.  His career for twenty-five years has been that of teacher and farmer.  He owned 160 acres in Lawrence County, but in 1913 traded for a general store at South Point, and conducted that until June, 1914.  At that time he was appointed county superintendent of schools for Lawrence County, and has turned over the management of his store to other parties.  Mr. Dillon still lives in South Point, though his office is in Ironton, and besides his residence at South Point owns eighteen acres of improved farm land.
     He served as school examiner from 1911 to 1914 previous to his induction into his present duties as superintendent.  Mr. Dillon is a member of the Masonic Order and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, is a trustee in the Methodist Episcopal Church, and in politics is a democrat.
Source: A Standard History of The Hanging Rock Iron Region of Ohio, Vol. II - Illustrated - Published by The Lewis Publishing Company, 1916 - Page 725

WILLIAM J. DORAN.  One of the successful business men of Ironton, William J. Doran, secretary, treasurer and manager of the Crystal Ice Company, has illustrated in his career the opportunities that are presenting themselves to the men of today who are possessed of enterprise and initiative, have the ability and are not afraid of hard, persistent labor.  He was given only ordinary advantages in his youth, but made the most of them, and the success which has come to him is but the merited reward of well-directed effort.  Mr. Doran is a native of Ohio, born at Portsmouth, Scioto County, Dec. 27, 1868, his parents being Michael and Erma (Schuh) Doran.
     Michael Doran was born in Pennsylvania, in 1846, and in young manhood came to Ohio, locating at Portsmouth, where he became a puddler in the mills.  He was a quiet, unassuming citizen, spent his life in industrious labor, and died in 1912, at the age of sixty-six years.  Mrs. Doran, who was born in Germany in 1848, came to this country in young womanhood, and still survives her husband, being a resident of Ironton.  There were ten children in the family: William J., Ida, Emma C., Mary, Thomas T., Estella, Frank, Rose, Edward P. and Francis D., of whom Thomas T. and Frank are deceased.
     William J. Doran was educated in the parochial school of St. Lawrence Catholic Church, which he attended until thirteen years of age, and at that time took his place among the world 's workers as an employe of the puddling department at the iron mills.  He was thus engaged for five years and then became a laborer at the ice plant, where, during the following twelve years, he gained much valuable experience in the line of ice-making machinery.  Succeeding this he went to Jackson, Jackson County, Ohio, where he had the supervision of the building of an ice plant, and this he managed for one year, then returning to Ironton to attend Davidson's Business College.  After six months in that school, Mr. Doran went to Cincinnati, Ohio, where he became chief engineer at the Knox Ice Company's plant, but after one and one-half years again came to Ironton.  Here he became manager of the Crystal Ice Company, and in 1907 purchased stock in the business and was elected secretary and treasurer, positions he has continued to hold.  Through Mr. Doran 's good management and ability to make the most of opportunities, the business has enjoyed a steady and healthy growth, and is now justly regarded as one of the substantial enterprises of Ironton.  Mr. Doran is widely experienced in his chosen vocation, is known as an expert operator of ice making machinery and is held in the highest confidence by his associates.  The duties of his business have been such as to demand his attention to the exclusion of other matters, but he has neglected no opportunity to demonstrate his interest in his community's welfare. In political matters he supports the candidates of the democratic party.  He is a member of St. Lawrence Catholic Church, and for some time has been its treasurer.  Mr. Doran is unmarried.
Source: A Standard History of The Hanging Rock Iron Region of Ohio, Vol. II - Illustrated - Published by The Lewis Publishing Company, 1916 - Page 730

DUDUIT, GUILLAUME.   A brief space in these pages should be granted to one of the prominent early French pioneers of Southern Ohio, whose name is still carried and honored by descendants living in Portsmouth and elsewhere in this section of the state.
     Monsieur Gillaume Duduit, a son of Guillaume and Genevieve Lagro Duduit, wealthy land owners, was born in the Province of Bosse, France, June 15, 1770.  He early learned the trade of silversmith in Paris, where after the death of his father he resided at the home of hi grandmother Lagro, and assisted his uncle Louis, a rich broker, in business.  In 1789, when nineteen years of age, with the assembling of the States General and those political and economic movements which inaugurated the French Revolution, Monsieur Duduit joined the revolutionary party, and served as corporal under LaFayette at the storming of the Bastile.  He assisted in planting the cannon that was directed against the lock of that famous prison on the memorable 14th of July, 1789.  He saw the streets of Paris run with blood deep enough to cover horses' hoofs.  To escape the increasing miseries that burdened the unhappy land as the revolution proceeded, Monsieur Duduit and his young wife, formerly Mademoiselle Agnes Desot, sailed from France with a colony to take possession of lands in Ohio.  They had paid a high price for these lands to an American agent, named, rather paradoxically, "Playfair," and who had operated in Paris and represented himself as the agent for an Ohio company called the Scioto Land Company.  At the end of ninety days' rough ocean trip the colonists landed at Alexandria, Virginia, early in 1790.  There they discovered that the entire transaction was fraudulent, and that they had paid for lands to which they could obtain no valid title.  Disappointed, many of the colonists returned to France at once, others went to various American cities and towns, while about one-half of the company resolved to cross the mountains and make for themselves a home in the western wilderness of the Ohio Valley.  They finally located four miles below the mouth of the Kanawha River, and named their settlement Gallipolis.  The settlement and subsequent fortunes of this colony for one of the most interesting chapters in Ohio history.  Here the colonists endured many privations, and eventually by petitioning Congress, through John G. Gervais, a man of fine address, were granted tracts of land that to some degree compensated them for the lands which they had supposedly bought from the American land shark.  This grant of lands is historically known as the "French Grant," and the colonists who, with their families, came to locate upon them from Gallipolis, Mar. 21, 1797, were:  John G. Gervais, Dr. Andrew LaCroix (father of Monsieur Duduit's second wife, Zaire LaCroix), Jean Baptiste Bertrand, Charles Francis Dutiel, Guillaume, Duduit, Claudius Cadot, Peter Serot, M. C. Avaligne, Doctor Duflingy, Peter Chabot, Antoine Claude Vincent.
     Possessing an unusually energetic temperament and a spirit which enabled him to readily adapt himself to circumstances, the young Monsieur Duduit immediately cleared his grant of land, which was lot 6 in the French Grant, and in a few years was able to purchase adjoining land.  He became an expert hunter and excellent woodsman - two qualifications almost absolutely necessary to the pioneer.  He shot the last buffalo ever seen in the grant, according to the Duduit family history.  He was one of four scouts appointed by the Government for the protection of Gallipolis against the Indians.  Maj. Robert Satfford was his companion scout in scouring the country between Marietta and the mouth of the Scioto, and their vigilance saved Gallipolis from serous depredations at the hands of the dreaded Indians.  West of Portsmouth they (and their horses) found ample shelter in an immense hollow tree on the Moore farm - a tree fabulously capacious, and only recently destroyed.  On July 11, 1811, Mme. Agnes Duduit died.  She was the mother of thirteen children, four of whom died in infancy.  The others were:  Agnes, Caroline, Virginie, William, Oyet, Fanny, Frederic, John and Desot.  On July 3, 1817, Monsieur Duduit married Mlle. Zaire LaCroix, daughter of Dr. Andrew LaCroix and Mary Catherine (Avaligne) LaCroix.  The children by that marriage were Mary Catherine, Emily Naomi, Eliza, Adaline, Francis Edward, Nancy Maria, Andrew LaCroix, and Louis Lagro.  Though a catholic when he left Paris, Monsieur Duduit eventually renounced this religion and became a Protestant, and in that faith died, Apr. 5, 1836.  For Government service as scout and as soldier in the War of 1812 his widow received a land warrant, which she sold to the late J. O. Willard of Ironton.  Her death occurred Sept. 12, 1869, at the home of her son-in-law and daughter, Mr. and Mrs. John Peters of Ironton - Mr. Peters being iron magnate and one of the earliest settlers in Ironton.  His brother, Isaac, who married Adaline Duduit, also was an "iron man" of wealth.
Source: A Standard History of The Hanging Rock Iron Region of Ohio, Vol. II - Illustrated - Published by The Lewis Publishing Company, 1916 - Page 1227