George Bonar, section 29, 162 acres, $182; William Brown, section 23, 81 acres, $92; Shadrach Burton, section 36, 67 acres, $74; Jesse Dennis, section 32, 139 acres, $139; Enoch Enochs, section 26, 79 acres, $99; Matthew Gray, section 26, 157 acres, $216; James Lloyd and Joseph Pickard section 32, 139 acres, $175; Frederick Miller, section 29, 161 acres, $200; Wine Rood, section 35, 146 acres, $182; Isaac Worstel section 21, 80 acres, $100. Number of acres, 1,462; valuation, $1,731.

     Among the owners of personal property in the township in 1833 are found the following names, which do not appear on the foregoing list:  John Brown, David Crum, Jesse Davis, Kinsey Davis, Isaac Davis, Widow Enochs, Hiram Forshey, John Forshey, John Forshey (2d), Wealthy Ingraham, Francis Miller, George Miller, Michael Martin, John Pryor, Samuel Pryor, Seneca Fletcher, John Rake, Jacob Rake, James Sweeny, Moses T. Spencer, Philip Koon, Francis Ferrell, John West, Oliver Ingraham.
     The total tax of the township was as follows:  On real estate, $19.47; on personal property, $21.28; total, $40.75.
     In the same year James Young, on Section 13, of township 6, range 7, was taxed for 161 acres, valued at $227, in Franklin Township.
     Prior to 1812 Jesse Davis and family, from Pennsylvania, settled in this township.  His children were Isaac, Kinsey, Jesse, Nathan, Rebecca (Mrs. James Sweeny), Rachel (Mrs. Francis Miller), Polly (Mrs. Emanuel Hup), Annie (Mrs. Henry Pryor) and Louisa (Mrs. William Enochs).  The family became scattered, and now has but few representatives in the county.
     Frederick Miller was a veritable pioneer - a backwoodsman, and a hunter.  He had served in the Indian War, and had the pioneer's hatred for the red race.  He always wore a hunting-shirt, and carried knives at his belt.  When he became too enfeebled to walk, he procured a mule, which he rode for years.  He was very eccentric, and had an unvarying price for everything he sold, which was not regulated by the market quotations.  He always asked thirty-three and one-third cents per bushel for corn, fifty cents per bushel for wheat and a "fi' penny" bit per pound for meat.  He would sell only to those who needed supplies, and never to a speculator.  He was the father of Francis Miller, who died in this township.

     Samuel Pryor came to this township at an early date.  The Pryors were of German origin and had lived on Captina Creek before coming here.  Samuel was the father of Elijah, John, Henry, William, Mary, Nancy, Sarah and Elizabeth.  Henry is the only survivor.  He lives in Minnesota.  William died in this

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township in 1886 aged sixty-eight years.

     Isaac Pryor settled in this township in 1827, near Harriettsville.  He was the father of Margaret, Jane, Lila, Maria, John and Howard.  John is still living.

     Moses T. Spencer, from Maryland was one of the most prominent of the early settlers.  He and his brother-in-law, Jonas Lovett, lived near Harriettsville and owned the land on which the town is situated.  The town was laid out by Spencer and named for his youngest daughter.  He built a saw-mill on the creek and afterward a grist-mill, the first in the township.  Spencer and Lovett had more means than most of the early settlers.  Both were leading Methodists.

     The Crums of this township are of German descent.  William and David Crum were brothers and pioneer settlers.

     The Rake and Ingraham families were among the early settlers.  None of their descendants of Jesse Dennis still live in Noble and Monroe Counties.

     Enoch Enochs, a brother of Elisha Enochs, the pioneer settler at Carlisle, was among the early settlers of this township.  His father, Enoch Enochs, Sr., served in the Indian wars and the War of 1812.  He came with his son to this township and died here in 1835.  Enoch, Jr., from his eighteenth year to middle age was a keel-boatman and a steamboat hand on the Muskingum and Ohio.  He was a large man physically and a thorough backwoodsman.  He lived in Noble County until 1878, when he removed to Tyler County, W. Va., where he died in 1886, at the age of eighty-five.

     Matthew Gray was the pioneer settler where Harriettsville now is.  The log house which he built is still standing.  An elk was killed near the spot on the day of the raising.  This circumstance is said to have given the township its name.  Matthew Gray sold out to Moses T. Spencer and removed to Pawpaw Creek.  His son Jesse lived in this township several years.

     The first blacksmith shop near Harrietsville was started by Charles Lloyd in 1835.
     James Lloyd, from England, entered land in this township in 1830 and in 1832 moved hither with his family.  His son Charles, of Harriettsville, is among the oldest residents of the township.

     Charles Lloyd was born in Cheshire, England, in 1811.  He came to this country in 1827 and to this township in 1832.  In early life he followed blacksmithing.  He is an expert and ingenious mechanic and has invented several articles, some of which have been patented.  After working at the blacksmith's trade twenty-one years he engaged in the mercantile business, which he still follows.  In 1837 he married Sarah Booth of Belmont County, who died in 1885.  Six of their nine children are living:  John, Thomas, Edward, J. F. M., Hannah and Lydia A.  Thomas was county recorder for one term.  He married a daughter of Hon. W. H. Frazier.  Mr. Lloyd is

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an Odd Fellow and a Mason, also a member of the Methodist Episcopal church.

     Charles Lloyd, of Harriettsville, has in his possession the horns of the last deer killed in the township.  It was shot by his father, James Lloyd.

     James Lloyd kept the first tavern in the neighborhood of Harriettsville.  He also sold goods long before there was any store in the village.  His wife was a woman of good business qualifications, and she attended to the store.

     Joseph Pickard, an Englishman, came to the township in 1830.  His children, Jacob and Ann, are both dead.  Oliver Ingraham lived on the creek above Harriettsville in 1830.  None of his descendants remain.  William Brown and his son John lived on section 23, and were prominent Methodists.  Shadrach Burton, an early pioneer, left the country years ago.  He went to California and it is supposed that he was murdered on his way home.  Isaac Wrostel lived on the place next above the Lovett farm. He removed after several years' residence.

     As an example of how the pioneer justices of the peace transacted legal business, we give a copy of a receipt found in an early justices' docket.  The name of hte justice does not appear on the receipt.  The document is as follows, verbatim et literatim:

"March the 24 - 1828.      "Receeved of Thomas Taylor Eight Dollars and forty Eight cents it being the remaining Ballance of a Judgement against him on my Docket in favor of John Brown. (Signed)  "JOHN BROWN."

     John Forshey was a prominent early settler and for several years served as justice of the peace.

     Peter Crow and Silas M. Bonan are among the oldest residents of the township.

     Adam Crum, a native of Germany, was a soldier in the War of the Revolution; he was wounded at the battle of Bunker Hill.  At the close of the war he settled in Pennsylvania, from whence he immigrated to Monroe County, Ohio, in 1808.  Two of his sons, David and William, were pioneers in what is now Elk Township.  David married Miss Mary, daughter of Martin Crow, a German, who settled near Carlisle; he had five sons and five daughters; the latter were massacred by Indians, an account of which is given in the chapter devoted to Stock Township.  David settled in Elk, and is said to have taught the first school in the township and was one of the early trustees.  He had seven sons:  George, James, Martin, Henry, William, William, Michael, and David.  George married Agatha Roe, and is one of the prosperous farmers of the township; he has a family of four sons and three daughters:  Peter d., J. Martin, William T., George I., Mary E., Louisa J. and Susan V. J. Martin is a prominent young teacher and a very worthy young man.  Henry had four sons:  William, James, Philo, and Henry, Jr.  James is the only one of the family living at Elk.  William

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entered land near Frederickton and for many years was a magistrate.

     David Bonar, a soldier in the War of 1812 and one of the pioneers of this township, was born twelve miles above Wheeling, W. Va., in 1796.  He settled four miles above Harrietsville on land which he entered from government.  The country at this time was almost a wilderness.  Marietta was the nearest trading point until Summerfield became able to supply the demands of the settlers.  He took an active part in the politics of the township, and was one of the judges of the first township election, and held nearly all of the township offices.  He was an earnest Christian and aided largely in the building of the Road Fork Baptist church.  He had a family of five children:  Silas, Isaac, Vincent, Nancy and Jasper.  Silas, the eldest was born in 1823, and married in 1845.  Miss Freelove A. Grey.  He has always resided on the old homestead and is a worthy citizen; his family of eight children are named as follows:  Sarah E., Louisa J., Mary M., Celestial A., Sylvester W., George M., Savannah and Albert M.  Isaac, the second son of David, was born in 1824; was twice married; by his first wife, Miss Ellen Jones, he had four children:  Olive, Florence, Isaac W. and Mary O.  Isaac removed to Kansas.  In 1849 he went to Califonria, "sailing round the horn."  By occupation he is a teacher and farmer.  Vincent Bonar was born in 1825 and died in 1880.  He married Margaret Hardy in 1851; she died in 1857.  Of a family of four, only one, Elizabeth, is now living.  In 1860 he was again married, to Emily Brown, by whom he had eight children: Henry S., Nancy A., Jesse, Charles, Mary, Adoniram J., John M. and Laura B.  Vincent was one of the leading citizens of the township, holding all of the offices in the gift of his fellow citizens.  He built the Road Fork Baptist church.  He was a prosperous farmer and always resided on the homestead farm.  His wife owns the residence and is an excellent Christian lady and an efficient Sabbath-school worker.  She was the daughter of Hon. Jesse Brown and Elizabeth Brown, of Monroe County, Ohio.  Nancy Bonar was born in 1833 and married Albert Rogers in 1856.  She moved to Iowa in 1865, thence to Missouri in 1866, where she now resides.  They have seven children: Francis, Margaret E., Newton R., Otto C., James, Lydia J., and David.  Jasper was born in 1835, and married Mary Leonard, of Marrietta, in 1865, and moved to Fulton County.  Originally he was a teacher, but is now a prosperous farmer.  He has a family of three children:  Albert, Tilla and Belle.  The first and last named are graduates of Granville College.
     There were few settlers in the township in 1830, and of the few families then here, scarcely a half dozen have any representatives now.  The growth of the township was very slow until 1836.  Since that date many Germans have come in, and their enterprise and industry have added largely to the wealth of the township and the development of the country.  Over one-third of

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the inhabitants of Elk are either German or of German descent.

     John Howald is said to have been the first German settler of the township, not including "Pennsylvania Dutch."  He was not properly a German, but a native of Switzerland, as was also Jacob Rohrer, who came soon after.  Howald obtained a title to his land in 1836, buying from William Cantwell.  He lived on L. L. Lovett's present farm.  Howald came to Pittsburgh in 1826; thence to Captina and this township.  He died in 1864.  He was a wagonmaker by trade.  It is said that he brought the first wagon into the township.  The names of his children were Mary (Lindewood), Jeremiah, John, Joseph and Louisa (Lovett), all living except Mary.
     John Howald and Jacob Rohrer have already been mentioned among the first German settlers of the township.  They were followed within a few years by Leonard Schenck, C. Siebach, Adam Helm, Michael Feltner, from Bavaria; Peter Gruber, from Prussia; the Uhlmans, from Alsace; Christian Eppler from Saxony, and John and Henry Weppler, all of whom are now dead.  Nearly all have descendants in the township.  Almost all these early comers were Protestants.  John Smithberger, a Prussian, who came in 1842, was the first German Catholic.  Since 1850 the Catholic population has been largely increased by immigrants from Bavaria, Hesse Cassel and other German provinces.
     The Germans were attracted to this township by the cheap lands, much still remaining unentered at the time of the first arrivals.  Nearly all came from cities, a large number from Pittsburgh, having been in the country long enough to make a little money and learn something of the English language.  They were all  poor at the start, and it was only by the practice of the most rigid economy that they were able to pay for their small farms - generally forty acres each - of unimproved land.  But time and industry soon added to their possessions; all made a living and come became wealthy.
     As an example of German pluck and perseverance, let us take the case of John Smithberger.  He came to America in 1840 and resided for a time in Pittsburgh.  In 1841 he went to Marietta to enter the land on which his son, William Smithberger, Esq., now lives.  Finding that the land office had been moved to Chillicothe, he set off for that place on foot, secured his patent and returned to Pittsburgh.  In 1842 he moved with his family to Elk Township.  He planted his first corn on a small clearing in the woods, preparing the ground with a mattock, as he had no plough.  Many times he carried a half bushel of corn on his shoulders three miles, to have it ground at a neighbor's hand-mill.  Mr. Smithberger died in 1859.  Three sons and three daughters came to this township with him, the sons and one daughter being unmarried.  The names of these children were John, Peter, William, Elizabeth (Long), Catharine (Rothfuchs) and Margaret (Yost).

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     William Smithberger, Esq., is one of the leading business men and most prominent citizens of the township.  He was born in Prussia, in 1825, and came to America with his father's family in 1840.  He came to Elk Township in 1842 and remained one year.  He then went back to Pittsburgh, learned the machinist's trade, and followed it five years.  He next engaged in the mercantile business in Pittsburgh.  In 1853 he returned to this township, where he has since resided.  He has been a successful farmerr, and since 1874 has been in the mercantile business.  In 1861 he began buying and packing tobacco, which business he still follows.  He has held the office of justice of the peace since 1858 - which is sufficient proof of the high esteem in which he is held by the citizens of the township.  He is a leading Catholic and donated the lot and built St. Henry's church.  Mr. Smithberger was married in Pittsburgh, in 1849, to Theresa Fauth.  They have reared a family of eight sons and four daughters, all of whom are still living.

     John W. Evans, a native of West Virginia, removed from Monongalia County, in that State, to what is now Elk Township, Noble County, in 1836.  He was born in 1790 and died in 1874.  His wife, Nancy, born in Maryland, in 1798, died in 1879.  When the family came their neighbors were few and far apart.  It was a common thing for a settler to go five or six miles to assist a newcomer in raising his cabin.  Cornmeal was made y means of a grater or else with a hand-mill, there being few mills of any importance nearer than the Muskingum River.  People were often for weeks without breadstuff of any kind in their houses, living on potatoes, pumpkins and roasted ears.  There was little market for any kind of produce.  Mr. Evans carried his wheat to Marietta on horseback and sold it for fifty cents per bushel.  Wheat was thrashed with a flail and winnowed by hand.  Dressed pork brought only $2.50 per hundred pounds.  Squirrels, wild turkeys and raccoons and sometimes deer, made fearful work in the cornfield, which had to be watched constantly in order to secure a crop.  Flour was only used on rare occasions.  Dudley Evans, still a resident of the township, was born in Marion County, W. Va., Jan. 23, 1834, and has a vivid recollection of pioneer days.  He received his first schooling in a log cabin with greased paper windows, one end of the house entirely occupied by a large fireplace.  In his early years he followed school-teaching.  Mr. Evans has served as township assessor several terms.

     Andrew Holschuh, one of the early German settlers, was born in Hesse Darmstadt, Jan. 3, 1812.  He came to America in 1828, and to Elk Township in 1839.  He died in 1882.  His wife, nee Sophia Schenk, whom he married in 1837, came to this country with her parents in 1833.  When Mr. Holscuh came to the township, the country was still new and very wild.  He sometimes went fifteen or twenty miles to mill, and

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ten miles to a store.  Often he was called to assist in raising cabins five or six miles distant.  Living was very frugal, and at times the family subsisted for several days without bread, eating potatoes, roasting-ears and pumpkins.  Mr. Holschuh was a Lutheran, and one of the founders of that church in this section of the county.  His son, Adam Holschuh, at present one of the township trustees, was born May 7, 1855, and is a farmer and a prominent member of the Lutheran congregation.  In 1883 he married Caroline, daughter of Jacob Ullman, one of the pioneers of the township.  They have two children - a son and a daughter.

     William Masters came from Guernsey County in 1845, and settled on an unimproved farm.  It is said that he drove the first four-horse team that ever came down the East Fork of Duck Creek, from Carlisle to Harriettsville.  The wagon was a covered one, with a Jersey bed, and attracted great attention, many having never seen anything of the kind before.  The settlers, after viewing the wagon to their entire satisfaction, assisted Mr. Masters in opening a road from Harriettsville to Masterton, Monroe County.  This was in the year 1837.  William Masters died in 1853.  His son Richard is still a resident of the township.  Richard is still a resident of the township.  Richard Masters was born in Guernsey County, May 11, 1829, and is a farmer by occupation.  Aug. 15, 1862, he enlisted in Company K, Ninety-second Ohio Volunteer Infantry, in which he served until mustered out June 10, 1865.  He has held the office of class-leader and trustee of the Methodist Episcopal church.

     Isaac Pryor came from Belmont County to this township quite early, and remained here until his decease, in 1866.  John Pryor, born in Belmont County in 1815, came to this township at the same time.  He has been a deacon in the Baptist church.  He married Elizabeth Cousins in 1849, and is the father of nine children, seven of whom are living.

J. C. Wernecke

     J. C. Wernecke is one of the most prominent and successful busienss men of the county.  He came to Harriettsville in 1849.  In the fall of that year he engaged in the mercantile business in which he still continues.  In 1856 he purchased 160 acres of land adjoining the village, on which he has since laid out an addition to Harriettsville, which he has built up quite extensively.  He is one of the largest tobacco merchants in the county and has the leading general store in Harriettsville, carrying a much greater variety and a much larger stock than is usually found in country stores.  Mr. Wernecke has always given a hearty support to educational and religious interests, and is a leading member of the Lutheran church.

     John N. Van Fossen, son of John Van Fossen, was born in Belmont County in 1836, came to this county with his parents in 1844 and has resided here ever since.  His father entered land in Stock Township.  He reared six children, five of whom are now living.  J. N. Van Fossen entered the Thirtieth Ohio Volunteer Infantry in October, 1862, and served

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about eleven months.  Mar. 2, 1865, he enlisted in the One Hundred and Ninety-fourth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and was discharged Oct. 4, 1865.  He participated in the Vicksburg campaign and other noted movements.  He is a thrifty farmer, and has served as township trustee for eleven years.  He married, first, Rebecca Barnes; and,  second, Mrs. Catharine White (nee Morrison).  Two children were born of the first marriage and ten of the second.

     Lloyd L. Lovett, one of the prominent farmers and best citizens of Elk Township, was born in Allegheny County, Md., Feb. 10, 1837, and came to this township in 1854.  He located on the farm of John Howald, the German pioneer, whose daughter, Mary Ann Louisa, he married in 1856.  He has resided on this farm ever since, and has added to the old homestead until he now has 352 acres of good land.  Mr. Lovett is the father of eight children:  Carey E. (Bote), Lola N. (Kirchner), Elmer E., John T. William B., Mary A. Ernest S. and Nellie R.  Mr. Lovett has served as trustee and steward of that organization for twenty years.

     Nelson Lovett, son of John Lovett, was born in Allegheny County, Md., in  1840, and came to this county in 1857.  In 1866 he married Cynthia S. Hallett, of Washington County.  They have one child, a daughter.  Mr. Lovett enlisted in June 1861, in the Twenty-fifth Ohio volunteer Infantry, and was discharged in December, 1862, from disability caused by a wound.  He was in many severe engagements.  After being wounded at the second battle of Bull Run, he was captured and paroled.  He was left on the field two days without food or care and was two days more in the ambulance before reaching the hospital at Alexandria, Va., where he could receive treatment.  He was among the best of the many brave soldiers furnished by Noble county.

     Peter Crow is a son of Martin Crow, a pioneer prominently motioned in the history of Stock Township.  He was born in that township Nov. 6, 1814, and has followed farming.  In 1835 he married Sarah, daughter of Samuel Pryor.  Their children were Sarah, Samuel, George W., William U., John W. and Francis M., of whom only George and William are living, the former in Michigan and the latter in this township.  Peter Crow settled on his present farm when it was entirely unimproved.  He at first brought a piece of land for $100 and afterward entered 160 acres at government price.  He now has a good and well-improved farm.  He has served as township trustee, assessor and land appraiser, and has been a leading member of the Methodist Episcopal church for many years.  He was married the second time in 1868 to Mrs. Mary Dye, nee McPherson.

     John Lee, Sr., was born at "Cassel on the Fulda," Germany, in 1788.  In 1836 the family embarked for

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America and after an uneventful voyage landed in Baltimore Md.; thence they moved by teams to Pittsburgh, Pa., where he and three of his sons found employent in a glass factory.  In 1839 they came to what is now Elk Township, where the elder Lee located a quarter section of land one half mile northeast of the village of Harriettsville, where he resided until his decease in 1871.  He was a thrifty farmer and a valued citizen.  His wife, nee Martha A. Braham, whom he married in 1817, died in 1852, at the age of eighty-three.  Their children were Henry A., John, Christian, Barbara, Benjamin and William.  Henry the elder was born in Bradenburg, Germany, in 1818.  He followed the fortunes of the family, and in 1840 married Miss Elizabeth Enochs, daughter of the pioneer whose history is given elsewhere.  Twelve children were the result of this union:  William, Louisa, John, Martha, Frederick, Mary, Russell, Sarah, Henry H., Hannah E., Edgar Earlwine and Albert S.  He is a prosperous farmer and one of the most extensive tobacco growers in this region.  William, son of Henry Lee, was born in 1841, and married Jane Carmichael in 1864.  Their children are Arminda C., Ellsworth, Columbus, Emerson B., Mary E., Rilla A., Wilbert, Evert, William, Floyd and Clarence.  William is one of the prominent citizens of the township and is a large tobacco grower.  Louisa was born in 1842, married Thomas Pyles, who at the age of sixteen entered the service as a member of the Ninety-second Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry.  Their children are William H., Wesley, Minnie, Mary, Nancy, Martha, George, Thomas, Arthur and Bertha.  They reside in West Virginia.  Martha Lee became Mrs. Frank Shaffer.  He died in 1884.  He was a soldier in the late war.  Frederick Lee is a resident of Ritchie County, W. Va.  He married, in 1879, Miss Mary A. Haught.  They have seven children:  Verne, Henry D., Alverde, Clinton T., George W., Preston and Dessie.  Mary Lee married William, son of the pioneer, Frederick Miller.  Their children are Arthur W., Ada M., Harkass and John.  The children of Russell Lee and his wife, Caroline (Miller) - are Lily, Wesley, Willard, Francis, Alberteen, Martha and Nora B.  He resides on the old homestead.  Sarah Lee became MRs. Phetus Miller.  Their children are Winona, Tunny, Mary, Nellie and Henry W.  Henry H., one of the rising young farmers of Jackson County, W. Va., married Flora A. Thompson.  Their children were Debert, Walter and Henry.  Hannah E. married W. J. Kelby.  They have one child, Shella.  Albert S., youngest child of Henry Lee, is a promising young teacher and bids fair to become a useful citizen.  Martha Lee, daughter of John Lee, Sr., was born in 1829.  She married Charles Huffman and reared a family of eleven:  Margaret (died in 1860), Martha (Williams), Barbara (died, 1850), John W., Frank, James B., Miles S. (died in 1886), Lovina B.

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(Morris), Philo T., Allen (died in 1873) and Ernest.
     Edgar Earlwine Lee was born near Harriettsville, Ohio, in 1861.  He received an academical education, and at the age of eighteen began teaching and is one of the prominent teachers of the county.  He takes an active interest in political matters and is at this time (1887) clerk of the township.  He is an active member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and an efficient Sabbath school worker.  In 1886 he was married to Miss Mannie A., daughter of Vincent and Emily Bonar.  His future is full of bright promises.

     James Carmichael, merchant at Crumtown, was born in Monroe County, Aug. 11, 1833.  His father and grandfather were both early settlers in that county, near Stafford.  The latter, James Carmichael by name, was the son of a Revolutionary soldier; he was a prominent citizen, a justice of the peace and a local preacher of the Methodist Episcopal church.  Samuel L., the father of the subject of this notice was born in Virginia and came to Ohio with his parents about 1820.  He is now a resident of Elk Township, and is eighty-three years of age.  For some years he was engaged in the mercantile business with his son.  James began the mercantile business in Crumtown in 1863, with a capital of $60.  He has since erected a good store and does a prosperous business.  He was married in 1853 to Elizabeth, daughter of Jacob Richey, of this county.

     Solomon and Elizabeth Murrey came to Belmont County, about 1811.  The wife died in that county in 1839.  In 1847 the father removed to Franklin Township, in Monroe County, where he died two years later.  Of the family of four sons and two daughters ,only two sons survive.  One of the sons, James L. Murrey, is a prominent farmer of Elk Township.  He was born in Belmont County in 1826, and was brought up amid the scenes of pioneer life.  In the winter of 1848-9 he taught school, and for twelve successive winters followed the same occupation, excepting in 1853-4 when he was in the West.  In 1855 he married Margaret Sill, and settled on a part of his present farm.  Mr. Murrey served one term as justice of the peace.  He has been class leader of Mt. Tabor Methodist Episcopal church over twenty years.

     W. G. Williams was born in Belmont County in 1836.  He has followed milling and farming.  He enlisted in the Twenty-seventh Ohio Volunteer Infantry, in July, 1861, served three years, then re-enlisted in the same regiment, and was mustered out in July, 1865.  At Atlanta he was wounded in the arm.  He has served as township clerk and trustee.

     Sebastian Shafer, born in Germany in 1824 came to America in 1847, landing in New York Apr. 15.  After working a year at mining in Pennsylvania, he came to Ohio, and thence to Noble County, where he engaged in wagon making, which trade he still follows.  He sent to Germany for his brother's Charles

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and Christian, and his sister, Caroline, who came to this country in 1853.  IN 1849 he married Barbara, daughter of John Lee, of this county.  Their children are William H., Frederick, Martha L. (died in 1878, aged twenty-six).  John, Alexander, Malinda, Lydia, George B. M. and Hammond O.  William H., born in 1850, followed the wagon-maker's trade and carpentry for some time, but for the past twelve years has been engaged in boot and shoe making, and is at present the leading man in Harriettsville in that business.  He married Lucinda Eppler.  They have five children, born as follows:  Arthur L., Sept. 19, 1875; Ora O., Mar. 28, 1878; Augusta C., Dec. 28, 1879; Henry L., Sept. 17, 1881; Myrtle L., Mar. 7, 1883.  Frederick, the second son of Sebastian Shafer, married Mary F. Bowlinger; John married Sarah M. Eppler; Alexander married Margaret Huffman; Melinda is the wife of John Crow; Lydia married W. M. Martin, son of Dr. W. G. Martin.  Sebastian Shafer has served as township trustee, and as trustee and president of the Lutheran church.  He was school director for fifteen eyars, and is an earnest friend of religion and education.
     Fredericktown, or Crumtown, is a village of a few houses in the northern part of the township.  The first store was kept by "Deb" Mott as early as 1854.  Mott was succeeded by a man named Heidleheimer.  Both were tobacco merchants.  James Carmichael is the present merchant.
     The village was laid out on the land of William Crum, a prominent citizen and justice of the peace for many years.  The place was named of Frederick Miller  Elk is the name of the postoffice.
     Fredericktown, or Crumtown, is a village of few houses in the northern part of the township.  The first store was kept by "Deb" Mott as early as 1854.  Mott was succeeded by a man named Heidleheimer.  Both were tobacco merchants.  James Carmichael is the present merchant.
     The village was laid out on the land of William Crum, a prominent citizen and justice of the peace for many years.  The place was named for Frederick Miller.  Elk is the name of the postoffice.
     Fredericktown was laid out as a village May 8, 1854.  The plat, consisting of nineteen lots, was made by Charles Burlingame, county surveyor, for William Crum, the proprietor.  Its location is in the northwest quarter of section 29, of township 5, range 7.
     On the county seat removal question, Elk cast her influence in favor of Caldwell and Virtually decided the contest.  The Sarahsville adherents disputed the vote, and said more ballots were returned than there were voters in the township.  Affidavits were procured from every school district, certifying to the number of qualified electors, and the honor of Elk was triumphantly vindicated.  James Mitchell, now of Jefferson Township, was then justice of the peace and performed effective service in the interests of Caldwell.

HARRIETTSVILLE

     Harriettsville is an old and pleasantly situated village on the East Fork of Duck Creek.  It has long been a trading point of importance and its merchants are still enterprising and progressive.
     The village was laid out by Moses T. Spencer in 1839 and consisted of twenty-three lots upon two streets.  The survey was made by Mitchel Atkinson surveyor of Monroe County.  Nov. 5, 1870, J. C. Wernecke's

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ODD FELLOWS.

 

 

CHURCHES.

     Methodist Episcopal Church -

 

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     Catholic -

 

     Baptist -

 

     St. John's Evangelical Church -

 

BIOGRAPHICAL.

J. C. WERNECKE

WILLIAM SMITHBERGER

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Burkhart, is a farmer of Noble County; Adaline A., Martha M., Edward W., John S., Alexander D. and Gregory are still at home.  In 1853, on account of failing health, Mr. Smithberger was advised to move on a farm; accordingly in 1853 he came to the farm upon which he has since resided, clearing the land and adding fine improvements as circumstances made it possible, until it is now one of the best improved farms in the township.  He began packing tobacco in 1861, and has handled about seventy-five hogsheads a year, and has now on hand some $5,000 worth.  He has nearly six hundred acres of good agricultural lands, mostly in Noble County, on which are three good dwelling-houses, besides barns, tobacco-houses, besides barns, tobacco-houses and numerous other outbuildings necessary to carry on his business and in which to store his grain; he has been engaged in merchandising since 1874; he has a good store-room filled with a fine selection of goods.
     Mr. Smithberger is a member of the Catholic church.  He took an active part in building the Catholic church near Harriettsville, contributing liberally of his means to this purpose and in support of its society.  In politics he is a Democrat.  The esteem in which he is held by the people in Elk Township is evidenced by the numerous positions of trust they have conferred upon him, viz: School director and member of the board of education since 1858, township trustee, twice clerk of the township, treasurer of the township for five years, assessor of personal property for two terms, and land appraiser of the township in 1870, and justice of the peace for thirty years.
     his has been a busy and useful life.  A poor boy, without money and without influential friends, by his energy, industry and perseverance he has overcome the many difficulties to prosperity, and attained not only wealth but the respect and confidence of his fellow-men, and now, seated under his own vine and fig-tree, he dispenses a free-handed hospitality to all.