PERSONAL MEMOIRS
Source:
BIOGRAPHICAL and HISTORICAL
MEMOIRS
Of
MUSKINGUM COUNTY, OHIO
Embracing an
Authentic and Comprehensive Account of the Chief Events in the
History of the County and a Record of the Lives of
Many of the Most Worthy Families and Individuals
ILLUSTRATED
Published
Chicago:
The Goodspeed Publishing Co.
1892
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JAMES
BAKER, Dresden, Ohio, is a descendant of one
of the earliest settlers of Tuscarawas and Coshocton counties, Ohio,
and of Irish ancestry. John Nelson Baker,
his grandfather, came to America from Ireland, and settled in West
Virginia after the Revolutionary war. He married Miss
Williams, of Virginia, and they were the parents of seven
children: William, Thomas, John, Sallie,
James, Joseph and Martha. He afterward
came to Ohio, and first settled in Tuscarawas county, where he lived
but a short time, when he died, while his children were yet small.
The Indians were in possession of the country at that time, and
Mr. Baker had a great deal of trouble to keep them off,
his family being compelled to leave the house for safety. John
Baker, his son, and the father of James, was born in
West Virginia, and was about six years of age when he moved with his
father to the wilderness of Ohio. As there were no schools
here at that time he received but little education, and could read
but not write. His father died, and his mother married again a
man by the name of Beaver, who had two children, George
and Peggy. The family depended largely upon game and
the sale of furs, and John and the elder brother supported
the family by means of hunting. The elder brother, William,
died, and Thomas shot himself through the thigh, which
necessitated the amputation of the limb. He returned to
Virginia, thus leaving the family dependent for four or five years
upon the hunter's skill of John Baker, who supported
the family until his mother married. He then went to Coshocton
county, and married Sally Burl. To them were born
seven children: Joseph, Benjamin, Nancy,
Hester, James, George and Martha. In
1824 Mr. Baker moved to Muskingum county, and lived
here until 1839, when he moved to Illinois, and settled in Lawrence
county, were he spent the remainder of his days. When a young
man he was a soldier in the War of 1812. He died at the age of
sixty-two years in 1842. James Baker, his son,
was born Nov. 18, 1818, in Coshocton county, Ohio, received but
little education, and learned farming and carpentering, and could
turn his hand to almost any kind of work. He started to work
when he was very young, and when twenty-two years of age began for
himself, and married, May 3, 1853, Susannah Cullins,
daughter of George and Mary J. (Muchler) Cullins.
George Cullins was one of the early settlers of this
county, and was wounded by the Indians. [See sketch of Henry
Cullins.] To Mr. and Mrs. James Baker have been
born three children, Sarah J., Cornelius R. and
Marietta. Mr. Baker settled on the river in
Muskingum county, where he lived three years, and in 1860 settled on
his present farm, in a log hut with a stick chimney. The house
was very small, but the family lived there two years, when Mr.
Baker built a farm house. In the fall of 1861 he
enlisted in Company F, Sixty-second Regiment, Ohio Volunteer
infantry, and served one year and seven days, and was present at the
battle of Winchester. He was taken sick, was discharged on
account of disability, and returned home. On account of his
disability he receives a pension from the government. He was a
man who did not hesitate to offer his services to the government,
and risk his life in defense of his country. By hard work and
industry he has accumulated a handsome property, and is well known
as an honorable and upright citizen.
Source: Biographical and Historical Memoirs
of Muskingum County, Ohio, publ. 1892 - Page 381 |
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W. R.
BAKER, a prominent business man and assistant
manager of the business of Stolzenbach Branch United States
Baking company, owes his nativity to Deavertowu, Morgan county,
Ohio, where his birth occurred in 1852. His parents, Jacob
and Phoebe (Diehl) Baker, were natives of Bavaria, Germany, and
came to Ohio when twenty-eight and twelve years of age respectively.
They were married in Zanesville, Ohio, and subsequently moved to
Morgan county of that state, where Mr. Baker embarked in
merchandising. In 1870 they returned to Zanesville,
where the father died in September, 1888, when seventy-four years of
age. Mrs. Baker is still a resident of
Zanesville, and although sixty-eight years of age, is still quite
strong and active. Of the ten children born to this union,
W. R. Baker was third in order of birth. He at tended the
public schools of his native place, and in 1870 came to Zanesville,
where he entered the employ of a wholesale grocery company. He
worked himself up to the position of traveling salesman, and for
about twelve years covered territory in southeast Ohio. In
January, 1885, he engaged in his present business. In 1889 he
was elected on the democratic ticket to the position of trustee of
the waterworks, and ran ahead of his ticket. In September,
1883, he married Miss Louise Stolzenbach, a native of
Zanesville, and daughter of C. Stolzenbach, and the result of
this union is two sons. Mr. Baker is a democrat,
and a hearty supporter of the principles of his party. He is a
member of the English Lutheran church.
Source: Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Muskingum County,
Ohio, publ. 1892 - Page 382 |
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D. J. BROWN.
Among the thousands of brave men who fought desperately in defense
of the old flag was D. J. Brown, merchant, Dillon, Ohio, who
enlisted in the winter of 1863 in Company G, Thirty-first Ohio
Volunteer infantry. He was transferred to the front
immediately and assigned to Gen. Sherman’s army, then
in front of Atlanta. He participated in the battles of Resaca,
Ga., May 14, 1864; Tunnel Hill, May 8, 1864; Dalton, May 12, 1864;
Dallas Gap, May 27, 1864; Pine Mountain, June 19, 1864; Kenesaw
Mountain, June 24, 1864; Chattahoochee River, July 5, 1864; Peach
Tree Creek, July 20, 1864; Atlanta, September, 2, and Jonesboro,
September 4, of that year. He was at Nashville and Savannah in
January, 1865; Bentonville, N. C., Mar. 19, 1865; Goldsboro, Mar.
23, 1865, and Raleigh, Apr. 13, 1865. Mr. Brown
served from the time of enlistment until his discharge on the 20th
of July, 1865. He passed through the battles above mentioned
unscathed, save a mere scratch from a bullet at Atlanta.
Returning to his home he filled the position of salesman in a store
for some time. In 1867 he was wedded to Miss Kate Marshall,
and afterward settled on a farm where he followed agricultural
pursuits for some time. In 1878 he opened a store in Junction
City, Ohio, which he conducted for some time and then removed to
Stovertown, where he established a store and later conducted a
hotel. In 1888 he opened a general store at Cannellville,
where he is now doing a general mercantile business, carrying a
general stock of goods and doing an annual business of from $10,000
to $12,000. He is a gentleman of high social and business
standing, who has won success by honestly deserving it. He was
born in Muskingum county, Ohio, July 18, 1846, his birth occurring
at Roseville. He is a member of Dan Brown Post No. 380,
Duncan’s Falls, Ohio, and he is also a member of the K. of P.,
Cannell lodge No. 437. Politically he is a republican.
Source: Biographical and Historical Memoirs
of Muskingum County, Ohio, publ. 1892 - Page 399 |
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ROBERT BURNS BROWN
was born in New Concord, Ohio, Oct. 2, 1844. His ancesters
were Scotch-Irish and emigrated to America about the beginning of
this century. Robert Brown, his grandfather,
originally settled at Chambersburg, Penn., and here Alexander,
the father of Robert Burns Brown, was born in 1812.
In 1816 the grandfather entered a quarter section of land in
Highland township, Muskingum county, Ohio, and this farm remained in
the possession of the family sixty years. Robert
Burns Brown, who was named after the great Scotch poet by
his patriotic grandmother, who rejoiced in their Scotch origin,
spent his youth in the village schools of his native town and was
preparing to enter Muskingum college when the war’s dread alarm
thrilled the country in the spring of 1861. He enlisted with
two cousins and several classmates, Apr. 17, 1861, in Company A.,
Fifteenth Ohio Volunteers, but was rejected on account of his youth.
Aug. 9, following, he was sworn into the service as a private in
Company A, Fifteenth Ohio infantry, then being organized for “three
years or during the war." He re-enlisted as a veteran
volunteer in February, 1864, and served throughout the war in the
ranks, being mustered out Dec. 27, 1865, after a service of
fifty-three months. He participated in all the battles and
skirmishes in which his regiment was engaged, except the battle of
Nashville, when he was suffering from a wound received in front of
Atlanta, Ga., July 23, 1864. Mr. Brown entered
Eastman’s National Business college at Poughkeepsie, N. Y., in
March, 1866, and after his graduation taught school in Minnesota
four years. He improved his spare hours in fitting himself for
the profession of law, but in 1873 accepted the city editorship of
the Zanesville “Courier,” and has continued in the newspaper
business ever since. He is now secretary and treasurer of the
Courier company, and as business manager conducts the affairs of
that establishment under the direction of the board of directors.
In 1885 at the twentieth annual session of the Department of Ohio,
Grand Army of the Republic, Mr. Brown was elected
department commander of Ohio, and mainly by his efforts the Ohio
Soldiers and Sailors’ Home at Sandusky, Ohio, was established.
He was the first trustee appointed, and is now serving his second
term of five years. In politics Mr. Brown is an earnest
republican. He early imbibed from his father, who was an
original abolitionist, an intense hatred of slavery and the radical
protection doctrine as taught by Henry Clay. In
religion he is a Presbyterian with a more than reverential love for
the stalwart theology of his sturdy ancestry, the Scotch
Covenanters. Robert Burns Brown has lived a
quiet and uneventful life, seeking as far within him lay, the right,
and is content to pursue the even tenor of his way with no thought
of fame, craving only the esteem and good-will of his fellow
citizens.
Source: Biographical and Historical Memoirs
of Muskingum County, Ohio, publ. 1892 - Page 399 |
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DECATUR BUKER,
Otsego, Muskingum county, Ohio. The great-grandfather of our
subject was born in England and came to America, bringing his
family. He settled in the town of Gray, Me. His son, and
the grandfather of Decatur Buker, was born in England,
came to America with his parents when a boy, married and reared a
family. He died when his son, Israel H. Buker, the
father of our subject, was but eighteen months of age.
Therefore but little of his history is found in this branch of the
Buker family. Israel H. Buker was born in
Gray, Me., Apr. 17, 1756. On account of the early death of his
father, he was bound out when but two years of age to a farmer and
tavern keeper. He continued to work for this man until he was
nineteen years of age. When the battles for freedom were
fought at Lexington and Concord, young Israel H. Buker,
working on a farm in far-off Maine, heard the stirring news and
joined the company there drilling in the neighborhood. He was
obliged to be secret about his enrollment, as his employer was a
tory. When his company was ready to march, Israel was with
them. His employer told the captain of the company that he
should not go. The captain ordered his men to halt and destroy
the house of the tory, but the wife of the tory interfered and told
her husband that the soldiers would surely destroy the house.
Seeing this he came out and said: “Well, let him go, and give him
some food.” The company joined Washington’s army, and
Israel was at the battles of Trenton and Princeton, and crossed
the Delaware with Washington through the ice. He was with the
army during the disastrous and awful encampment during the winter at
Valley Forge. He was also present at the surrender of
Burgoyne. He was a member of the famous regiment which the
celebrated French general, LaFayette, armed, equipped and clothed.
Israel Buker was made an orderly sergeant in this
regiment, and frequently saw Gen. La Fayette,
who upon one occasion personally addressed him. He was wounded
during a skirmish, the ball passing through the back of the neck,
which he afterward stated “felt like the burning of a red hot
iron.” At one time a ball passed through his hat. As an
orderly sergeant he carried a sword which was given him by Gen.
La Fayette. After the war he returned to Gray, Me., and
married Sallie Carver, and to them were born ten
children: Israel (who was a collegian and president of a
college), La Fayette, Eleazer, Carver,
Livey, Cyrus, Caleb, Alpha, Edson,
and Sallie, are those remembered. Mr. Buker
taught school in Maine and was also a farmer. In 1808 he came
to Ohio and settled in Coshocton county, near the present town of
Coshocton and here he owned a farm of 200 acres, which he cleared up
from the wilderness. He was one of the first school teachers
in Coshocton county. His wife did not come to Ohio with him,
but died in Maine a few years after. The journey from Maine to
Ohio being great, and at that time through a dense wilderness, was
the reason the family did not join Mr. Buker. After a
few years his son, Caleb, joined him in 1819, and his son,
Alpha, came about 1822. They were school teachers and
farmers. Nearly all of Mr. Buker’s sons were school
teachers. Caleb Buker became the wealthiest man
in Monroe township. In 1816 Mr. Buker married
again, Sallie Black, daughter of John Black,
of Washington county, Penn., who was a farmer and came with some
other farmers to Coshocton county, Ohio. She was the mother of
eight children: John, Xerses, Mary, Sallie,
Marrion, Decatur, Maloney, Emeline, the
youngest, who was born when his father was nearly eighty years of
age. Mr. Buker was the father of eighteen
children. He taught school for forty years, and was well
educated and a fine mathematician. Politically he was an old
line whig. He reached the advanced age of ninety-two years and
six months, and was an active man to the last, walking from
Coshocton to Otsego, a distance of twelve miles, after he was ninety
years old. He was a man of character, honest, faithful and
punctual, and held the respect of the people. He was a tine
example of an old colonial patriot and in his old age, delighted to
relate his life as a soldier in the cause of freedom in
Washington’s army. Decatur Buker, his
youngest son, was born Sept. 11, 1825, on his father’s farm in
Coshocton county, Ohio. His early education was limited to the
common schools, but he began teaching at the early age of seventeen
and continued eighteen years. He gained an excellent education
and became an accurate scholar. He taught in Coshocton county
and Monroe township, Muskingum county, and gained an enviable
reputation. Jan. 3, 1849, he married Lucy M. Barnard,
daughter of Jason Barnard and Jane (Holcomb) Barnard. The
father was from Connecticut, near Hartford, and came to Ohio about
1824, immediately after his marriage. All his children were
born in Monroe township and were here married. There were
eleven in all, named as follows: Julia R., Edwin P.,
Oliver, Lucy M., Mary L., Jason A.,
Harriett A., Louisa M., Electa L., Celia A., and
Fidelia J. Mr. Barnard was a farmer and
lived to the age of seventy-eight years. He was a member of
the Methodist church and class-leader, and was a man of good
character, descending from good English stock. When twenty
years of age Mr. Buker bought a farm of fifty acres
near Otsego, and resided there seven years, then coming to his
present farm of 500 acres. To Mr. and Mrs. Buker seven
children were born: Mary M. (deceased at twenty-five years),
Charles W., Emma L. (deceased), Sarah J., Albert L., Scott
H., now a physician and surgeon, and Rose. Mr.
Buker is a stanch republican in politics and formerly was an
old line whig. He has voted on the prohibition ticket and is a
strict temperance man. He served several years as township
trustee and was elected eleven successive years treasurer of the
township, and served six years as justice of the peace, and was
colonel of the Third regiment of Muskingum County militia.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Buker are members of the Methodist
Protestant church, and Mr. Buker has filled the office
of Sunday-school superintendent, chairman, trustee, class-leader and
steward. He has been school director many years, and is a man
of great general intelligence, has been a wide reader and kept up
well with the times. He has not tasted a glass of liquor in
fifty years and does not know the taste of tobacco.
Source: Biographical and Historical Memoirs
of Muskingum County, Ohio, publ. 1892 - Page 405 |
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MRS. MARY M. BUKER,
Otsego, Ohio, is the widow of John Buker, who was a
soldier in the great civil war. He was the son of Caleb
Buker [See sketch of Decatur
Buker], born on his father’s farm in Monroe township,
reared a farmer, received a limited common-school education and
married Mary M. Riney, daughter of Thomas and Catherine
(Chaney) Riney. Thomas Riney was from Loudoun
county, Va. , and a miller by trade. He married in Virginia
and became the father of ten children: Sarah A., Louisa,
Rachel, John, Samuel, Oscar, Thomas,
Ellen, Mary and Amanda, all of whom are
deceased except Thomas and Mary. His wife,
Catherine Chaney, was of Scotch descent. Mrs.
Mary Buker was born April 16, 1842, in Loudoun county,
Va., received a limited common-school education and was twelve years
old when she came, in 1854, with her parents to Ohio. They
settled on a farm three miles north of Otsego, where the father
lived the remainder of his life. He had been a soldier in the
War of 1812, during which his constitution was shattered, and for
thirty years he was unable to work. John Buker
and Mary Riney were married Sept. 20, 1861, and one year
later when his eldest child, Frank, was an infant, Mr.
Buker enlisted in the service of his country as a private in
Company F, Seventy eighth regiment Ohio Infantry, and served eleven
months, when he was disabled by sickness. He was in several
battles. He owned a farm of 160 acres, given him by his
father, Caleb Buker, who was the wealthiest man in
this township, and here Mr. Buker lived until his
death, July 20, 1887. He was a good citizen, kind husband and
father. To Mr. and Mrs. Buker were born ten children -
all living: Oscar, 'William A., Sarah O., George C., Alice L.,
Amanda M., Richard J., David J. , Rachel M. and Annie R. Mrs.
Buker is a woman of fine business ability, has managed her farm
well, brought up her children creditably and given them all good
common-school educations. Oscar F. married Ruth Lane.
He is a carpenter at Otsego and has three children. William
A. married Dora Cornelius and lives in Zanesville.
They have five children. Sarah C. married
William Waters, a farmer in this township, and has three
children. Alice L. married Logan Smith, a
farmer of Coshocton county. Amanda M. married Thomas
Norman, a carpenter, and resides in Indianapolis, Ind., they
have one child. The rest of the children are at home.
Source: Biographical and Historical Memoirs
of Muskingum County, Ohio, publ. 1892 - Page 406 |
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JAMES F. BURGESS,
commissioner of Muskingum county, Ohio, was born in Hopewell
township, this county, Aug. 26, 1852, to Thomas and Martha
(Bonifield) Burgess, the former of whom was also born in this
county, near Pleasant Valley, May 1, 1800, and died Apr. 28, 1877.
The Burgess family came to the “Buckeye State” from
Maryland. The father was a skillful cabinet-maker, and was
also an undertaker and farmer by occupation, and to know him was to
honor him, for besides being enterprising and of an energetic,
temperament, he was strictly honorable in all his business
transactions and was of a generous and kindly disposition. The
mother was also born in this county, the year 1813 witnessing her
advent into life, her people being early pioneers of this section.
John F. Burgess was one of their eight living children, was
brought up to farm life and received a common-school education.
He followed agricultural pursuits until 1878 with fair success, then
turned his attention to the manufacture of lumber, a calling in
which he is still interested. He does quite a heavy
contracting business and furnishes large quantities of lumber and
ties to different railroads. In the fall of 1887 he purchased
a one-third interest in a planing-mill, the firm being known as
Patterson, Burgess & Co., for two years. Mr.
Burgess is a democrat and a strong supporter of the principles
of that party, and owing to the efficient services he has rendered
it at various times and from the fact that he is a man of far more
than ordinary intelligence, he was elected a commissioner of
Muskingum county in 1889. He was nominated without
solicitation on his part and received a majority of 300 votes.
His term of office will expire in January, 1893. He has proven
himself one of the most faithful and capable officials, and in every
instance has been true to her interests and to his own principles of
what is just and proper. He removed to the city of Zanesville
in August, 1885, and now resides in the seventh ward. As a
business man he is shrewd and far-seeing; as an official,
trustworthy and capable, and as a citizen, enterprising, law-abiding
and upright. Miss Delia Flesher, who was born in Falls
township, this county, Feb. 13, 1853, became his wife in 1875, and
Jan. 8, 1883, bore him a daughter, whom they named Bessie B.
Source: Biographical and Historical
Memoirs of Muskingum County, Ohio, publ. 1892 - Page 407 |
NOTES:
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