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BIOGRAPHIES
The following biographies are extracted from:
Source:
The County of Ross: a history of Ross County, Ohio
By Henry Holcomb Bennett
Published by S. A. Brant, Madison, Wis.,
1902
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PHELIX BURNS
MACE, a highly esteemed citizen, now deceased,
was born in Twin township, Ross county, on what is known
as the Dunlap farm, Dec. 13, 1832. His
father, Col. John Mace, was born in Ross county
in 1795, and was a son of Jacob Mace. The
latter's father, John Mace, emigrated to America
with the Huguenots from France and settled in North
Carolina. The family were all killed by the
Indians except Jacob, who escaped and was taken
to Virginia, where he was adopted by a family named
Cunningham. He came to Ohio with a party of people
and entered a large tract of government land.
Before leaving Virginia he had married Bettie Fisher,
who accompanied her husband on the somewhat venturesome
trip to the wilds of Ohio. This couple had three
children, whose names were John, Sarah and
Isaac. Jacob's first wife died when quite
young and he married twice afterward, by the three
unions becoming father of eighteen children. He
carried on farming and stockraising on a large scale and
at his death left a very valuable estate, the home place
being well known as the Hiram Mace farm.
Col. John Mace, the son of Jacob, remained
at home until he was seventeen, receiving his education
in what was then known as a subscription school.
At the age of seventeen he enlisted for the war of 1812
and remained in service until the end of hostilities.
Shortly after his return home he married Nancy Dunlap,
who became one of the last pensioners of the war of
1812. She was a daughter of Samuel Dunlap,
one of he members of the first state legislature which
convened in Chillicothe. The colonel and his bride
went to housekeeping on the Dunlap farm and had
three children. Of these, Sarah married
Wilson Augustus, Elizabeth became the wife of
William McCafferty, and John S. was sheriff
of Ross county for two terms. Colonel Mace's
wife died in 1826 and in 1828 he married Margaret
Corbett. Shortly afterward, or in 1835, he
bought the Tiffin property and the house still stands as
one of the oldest landmarks in the country. By
this second union there were five children, of whom
David C. and Sandusky have passed away.
The living children are Phelix Burns; Rebecca,
who married Hiram Richard; and Scioto who
is the wife of John Jones, of Illinois.
Colonel Mace raised stock on an extensive scale,
sold cattle in large herds and shipped his grain by
flatboat via New Orleans. About this period he
often received premiums for the best exhibit at stock
shows which were then held at stated times in the
county. He died in 1858, his second wife surviving
him until 1892. Their son, Phelix Burns,
was educated by a governess and private tutors.
While quite a young man he studied painting under the
celebrated Beard, of Cincinnati, and developed
talent of a high order in that line. In July,
1856, he married Miss Betta Alice, who was a
descendant of colonial stock. Her
great-great-grandfather was given a tract of land
embracing a township in Massachusetts, and her father
came from New York and was a superintendent of
construction of the Ohio & Erie canal. Mr. and
Mrs. Mace had seven children, who turned out to be a
family of school teachers, all but one followingF1870 that
noble profession. Their names are John,
Margaret, Minnie, Fannie, Effie, Harry and Sarah.
The latter died while teaching in an Alabama
college. John is at home and the others are
all teachers. Mr. Mace served two terms as
county sheriff, being elected the first time as a
regular Democrat on the ticket of that party.
Owing to his prohibition sentiments, he was defeated for
a renomination but was put on an independent ticket and
elected by 900 plurality. This was claimed to be
the first Republican victory in Ross county. With
the exception of a very short time, Mr. Mace
lived on the home place. He was a member of the
first Presbyterian church and an exemplary citizen in
the best sense of that term. His death occurred
Dec. 26, 1891, in the fifty-ninth year of his age, much
lamented by a large circle of acquaintances.
Source: The County of Ross: a history of Ross County,
Ohio
by Henry Holcomb Bennett - Published by S. A. Brant, Madison,
Wis., 1902 - Page 574
NOTE:
See
1850 Census
See
1870 Census |
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NELSON C. MADDUX,
veteran of the civil war and long prominent in the
agricultural affairs of Deerfield township, is a
descendant from one of the early settlers of Ross
county. David and Elizabeth Maddux left
their native state of Maryland during the earlier
portion of the eighteenth century and were among the
first to locate in the vicinity of Clarksburg.
Both lived to an advanced age and in the fullness of
years became tenants of the little cemetery near
the village where repose the remains of so many pioneers
of the past. They had a family of ten children,
all now dead, their names being: Benjamin, Collins,
Zachariah, William, Mitchell, John, Smith, Samuel, Sarah
(wife of William Norris), and Mary Smith,
the seventh of these children, was born in Maryland,
Aug. 2, 1800, grew to manhood in Ross county and married
Eleanor Norris. The latter, who was a
daughter of Arnold Norris, a soldier of the
revolution, had recently come from Virginia with her
parents. There were six children by this union:
Harriet (deceased), William, John
and Angeline (deceased), Nelson C., and
Elizabeth, wife of John and Angeline
(deceased), Nelson C., and Elizabeth (wife
of Benjamin Bates, of New Holland, Ohio,
Nelson C. Maddux was born near Clarksburg, Ohio,
Dec. 18, 1838, and when two years old had the misfortune
to lose his father by death. After this event, his
mother became an inmate of the home of her brother
Zachariah, who assisted in rearing the children, and
Nelson C. remained with his uncle until he became
of age. For a while thereafter he was engaged in
farming, but this occupation was interrupted by the
opening of the civil war and his enlistment in Company
K, Eighty-ninth regiment Ohio infantry. This
command was first sent to Kentucky and from there to the
Kanawha valley in West Virginia where the "boys" got
their first taste of fighting in a few small skirmishes.
The next move was to Tennessee and up the Cumberland
river to Carthage, where Mr. Maddux became sick
and had to be taken to the hospital at Gallatin.
He was detained there three months, when he obtained a
furlough of thirty days which was spent at home in
recuperating his strength. He joined his regiment
at Chickamauga, from which point it went with the army
to Atlanta, participating in all the fighting incidental
to that campaign. Mr. Maddux was one of the
great force which made the famous "march to the sea,"
accompanying Sherman in his advance through
Georgia to Savannah, thence into South Carolina and
finally to Raleigh, N. C. From that point his
route was overland to Washington, D. C., thence to
Louisville, Ky., where he was discharged, and lastly up
the river to his home. For four years after his
return from the war, Mr. Maddux was engaged
in farming. Dec. 3, 1868, he was married to
Miss Rhoda Blake, a native of Ross county of English
descent, since which time, with the exception of ten
years spent in Pickaway county, he has made his home in
Deerfield township. Mr. Maddux carries on
general farming and stock raising, has been successful
in his operations and enjoys the esteem of all his
neighbors. Mr. and Mrs. Maddux have had ten
children, of who Mary E. and Eula, the
eldest and youngest are dead. The others in order
of birth are: Melissa, Francis, John N., Elmer D.,
George W., Carson S., Jesse E. and Samuel R.
Source: The County of Ross: a history of Ross County,
Ohio
by Henry Holcomb Bennett - Published by S. A. Brant, Madison,
Wis., 1902 - Page 577 |
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SAMUEL F. MADDUX
was born in Rosabell, Ross county, Apr. 27, 1837.
His father, John Maddux, was born near Frankfort
in 1813 and was a son of David Maddux, a native
of Delaware. The latter, a direct descendant of
one of three brothers who emigrated to this county about
the year 1600, married a Miss Lingo and came with
his bride to direct to Deerfield township, Ross county,
where he engaged in farming and followed that occupation
until his death. He had a family of nine children,
all of whom are now dead. His son John
remained at home until his marriage in 1836 to Susan
Fisher. They went to housekeeping on a rented
farm near Roxabell, where they remained two years and
ten removed to what was then known as the Fisher farm,
which John Maddux subsequently bought. He
died at the early age of thirty-nine, leaving an estate
heavily encumbered, which his wife and only son,
Samuel F., succeeded in freeing from debt by much
hard work and good management. Mrs. Maddux,
who was a woman of great force of character and strong
intellect, passed away in 1887, at the age of
seventy-seven. She had two children, one of whom
died in infancy, and the other was Samuel F., the
subject of this sketch. School advantages were
poor in his youth and he received but a meager
education. He was only fifteen years old when his
father died, leaving the place encumbered with debt, and
only the widow and her boy to face the discouraging
situation. They grappled with it bravely, however,
and he performed a man's part in assisting his mother.
Together they conducted the farm until he was
thirty-seven years old, when, on April 16, 1874, he was
married to Annie Porter. Mr. Maddux
took his bride to the old home place which, under the
industrious management, has been greatly improved and is
now one of the cosiest and neatest places in the
township. Mr. and Mrs. Maddux have six
children: May, Grace, John, Samuel, Bonnie
and Wright; all at home except John, who
lives in Springfield, Ohio. Mr. Maddux is a
member of the Masonic lodge at Frankfort and belongs to
the chapter and commandery at Chillicothe. His
mother's ancestry is deserving of more than passing
notice. She was a daughter of Jacob Fisher,
who first visited "Ross county in 1799 and later brought
his wife from Virginia, built a log cabin and settled in
Ross county in 1800. He owned two hundred acres of
land in Concord township, served in the war of 1812, and
in every way was a fine sample of the earliest and
sturdiest of the pioneers. He married Barbara
Kyle and by her had nine children, who became the
founders of some of the stanchest families in the Scioto
valley. Mrs. Susan Maddux was the sixth of
these children and born in 1810. She had few
equals and no superiors as wife, mother and business
woman, combining strong mental and physical traits so
characteristic of the oldtime matrons.
Source: The County of Ross: a history of Ross County,
Ohio
by Henry Holcomb Bennett - Published by S. A. Brant, Madison,
Wis., 1902 - Page 578 |
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FRED C. MADER,
of the Palace Grande studio, Chillicothe, was born in
that city, Aug. 29, 1867. His parents were
William H. and Anna (Heinline) Mader, natives of the
state of Baden in Germany. They were children at
the period of their emigration to Chillicothe, in which
city they were subsequently married. The father
was a contractor, his work being principally in the
building of roads, from which he retired on account of
poor health and died in 1895; his wife surviving until
1897. They left a family of seven children, whose
names and present status appear below: Barbara,
the eldest, is the wife of Gregory Hagerman;
William J. is a salesman in Cincinnati;
Charles F. is a professional musician who travels;
John is mayor of Marion, Ohio; Jacob F. is
a restaurant-keeper at Bucyrus, Ohio; Miss Lulu D.
is employed in the business of her brother, Fred C.
Mader, who is the subject of this sketch, and sixth
born of the family. He was married Nov. 30, 1898,
to Jessie May Armstrong, who was born in
Chillicothe and is a daughter of Arthur Armstrong,
a merchant of that city. Mr. Mader learned
the photographic art in Chillicothe and engaged in the
business on his own account in 1890. He has the
finest gallery in the city and is fully equipped for all
kinds of business in his line. He employs three
assistants and enjoys a large patronage from Chillicothe
and contiguous territory. His establishment is
up-to-date in every respect, Mr. Mader
being content with none but the latest and most.
approved modern appliances and improvements in
photography. Mr. Mader represents
the fourth ward in the city council, and is president of
that body. He is a member of the lodge of Modern
Woodmen, and the Eintracht singing society, and belongs
to the German Lutheran church, while his wife is a
member of the Methodist Episcopal, and both are usually
attendants at the last mentioned.
Source: The County of Ross: a history of Ross County,
Ohio
by Henry Holcomb Bennett - Published by S. A. Brant, Madison,
Wis., 1902 - Page 575 |
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RUSSELL MAINS, of Lyndon, Ohio,
is a worthy representative of what may be called the
younger generation of Ross county farmers. The
family has long been settled in Buckskin township, the
original founder being among the earliest arrivals in
that part of Ross county. From the beginning the
men of the family owned land and spent their lives in
agricultural pursuits. John W. Mains, the
father of Russell, was a veteran of the civil
war, having served three years as a member of Company I,
Eighty-first Ohio infantry. Before he entered the
army and after his retirement therefrom until his death
in 1877, he followed the occupation of farming and
stockfeeding in which he achieved success and
prosperity. He was a son of Washington Mains,
who, like himself, was a native of Buckskin township and
spent his life as a tiller of the soil. He
established himself as one of the successful farmers and
substantial citizens of the township and enjoyed general
respect. John W. Mains married Nancy E.
Harper, whose father, Robert Harper, was an
early settler and much esteemed citizen of the county.
They had three children, of whom Charles, the
eldest son, is employed by the McClain
Manufacturing company at Greenfield; Hannah is
the wife of Seymour Irvin, and Russell is
the subject of this sketch. The latter was born,
bred and educated in Buckskin township. After the
usual time spent in the district schools he finished his
studies at the popular academy in South Salem. In
1892 Mr. Mains was married to Lula J.,
daughter of Crouthers Templeton, a native of
Fayette county, who later removed to Greenfield, Ohio,
where he now resides. There is no better farmer of
his age in Ross county than Russell Mains, who
has brought to bear on his business intelligent
management and untiring industry. His specialty
has been the raising and breeding of stock, in which
pursuit he has achieved a most creditable success.
Every year, Mr. Mains sends to market at least
five or six carloads of fat stock and he is well known
to all the dealers in that line who buy or sell in Ross
county. Mr. and Mrs. Mains are members of
the Presbyterian church of Greenfield.
Source: The County of Ross: a history of Ross County,
Ohio
by Henry Holcomb Bennett - Published by S. A. Brant, Madison,
Wis., 1902 - Page 578 |
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JESSE B. MALLOW,
an enterprising young farmer of Concord township, is a
scion of one of the most numerous and longest settled of
Ross county families. His local ancestry includes
a great and great-great grandfather, both of whom came
with their families from Virginia in 1806, and from that
time on their descendants have been closely identified
with the agricultural development of the county.
As a detailed story of the early arrivals and their
subsequent fortunes is given in connection with another
sketch in this volume, it will only be necessary here to
present a brief condensation. The patriarchal
progenitor was Adam Mallow, born in Virginia in
1750 and died in Ross county in 1840. His eldest
son, also named Adam, reared a large family,
included in which was Simeon. The latter
was born in 1810 on the farm now owned by his daughter,
Armilda Johnson, besides whom he had three other
children, named respectively Adam G., John and
Lewis. Simeon Mallow was very successful in
his farming operations and had accumulated about 1,800
acres of land at the time of his death. Adam G.
Mallow, his eldest child, was born in Concord
township, Ross county, Apr. 6, 1837. In early
manhood he married Eliza Bush and engaged in
farming on part of the estate of his wife's family which
he afterward purchased. The first wife lived but a
few years and Mr. Mallow married Jennie
Galbraith, by whom he had four children: Eliza
(wife of Salmon Darby), Jessie, Mattie
(deceased) and Edgar, a physician in Dayton,
Ohio. Adam G. Mallow was a man of means and
influence in his township. He held the office of
trustee for twenty consecutive years and was once a
candidate for county commissioner. He was a
member of the company of Captain McGinnis and
rose to the rank of Lieutenant. He was a
successful breeder of Shorthorn cattle and took many
first prizes at the largest stock shows in the country.
His death occurred Aug. 12, 1889, and that of his wife
June 13, 1887. Their second child, Jesse B.
Mallow, was born in Concord township, Ross county,
Ohio, Aug. 12, 1870. He graduated at the Frankfort
high school and spent two years at the Ohio State
university in Columbus, taking the agricultural course.
In 1890, he was married to Nannie James, a
descendant of one of the first settlers of Ross county,
with whom he settled near Austin and engaged in farming.
He deals extensively in stock and is one of the
representative young men of his township. Mr.
Mallow is a member of Frankfort lodge No. 309, Free
and Accepted Masons, and of the Chillicothe Commandery.
Mr. and Mrs. Mallow have two children, Eula J.
and Adam G., and are members of the Presbyterian
church at Frankfort.
Source: The County of Ross: a history of Ross County,
Ohio
by Henry Holcomb Bennett - Published by S. A. Brant, Madison,
Wis., 1902 - Page 579 |
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JOHN E. MALLOW,
residing near New Holland, is a representative farmer of
the younger generation in Concord township, Ross county.
His father, John Mallow, was a native of the same
community, and spent his life in the occupation of
general farming and stock-raising. He served as
justice of the peace and gained general commendation for
the manner in which he discharged the duties of his
office. His first wife was Betsey Porter,
member of a family long resident in Ross county.
By this union there were eight children, four of whom
are living: Anson, of Chillicothe; Bell,
wife of Mack Clifton, of Fayette county, O.;
Phoebe Josephine, wife of a Mr. Smith, of
Lawrence, Kan.; and William L., of New Holland,
Ohio. Mr. Mallow contracted his second
marriage with Maggie McKinzie, by whom he has an
only son, John E. Mallow. The latter was
born in Concord township, Ross county, Ohio, Sept. 11,
1873. Besides the usual attendance at the district
schools, Mr. Mallow spent three years in the high
school at New Holland, and is an unusually well informed
young man. As soon as he reached manhood, he
engaged in the business which he purposed to follow
throughout life, that of farming and stock-raising, in
which he has met with a fair measure of success.
Oct. 3, 1893, he was married to Ida Bryant,
daughter of Gideon Bryant, who has long been a
resident of Deerfield township. The fruits of this
marriage are two children, John Ray
and Phoebe Josephine.
Source: The County of Ross: a history of Ross County,
Ohio
by Henry Holcomb Bennett - Published by S. A. Brant, Madison,
Wis., 1902 - Page 580 |
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WILLIAM
DICE MALLOW, deceased, lately one of the well
known farmers of Concord township, came of pioneer
ancestry dating from a very early period of Ross
county's history. The first of this name known in
the county were two Adam Mallows, father and son,
who came with their families and made a settlement as
far back as 1806. The elder Adam Mallow was
born in Pendleton county, W. Va., of German parentage,
about the year 1750. During the French and
Indian war, was he was six years old, the Indians made
an incursion into Pendleton county, killed sixteen boys
of the neighborhood and retreated with Adam Mallow
and his mother as prisoners. They were kept by the
savages until their subsequent wanderings brought them
to the vicinity of New Orleans, when the mother was
disposed of to the French but the boy remained.
Afterward the mother managed to effect her escape and
make her way back to the home in Virginia, but little
Adam was kept by the Indians for six years. At
the expiration of that time an exchange of prisoners was
effected at Philadelphia, and among those surrendered by
the Indians was Adam Mallow. When released
he had forgotten only his language but his name, having
been completely Indianized by his long residence among
the inhabitants of the wilderness. It so happened
that when the boy was turned over to the whites, one of
his father's neighbors was present and recognized the
lad by certain scars upon his hand and head. The
neighbor mentioned had gone to Philadelphia in search of
his own son who was also a prisoner, and the father of
young Mallow, knowing of his neighbor's intended
visit, described the scars by which his son could be
recognized and asked his neighbor to find his boy if
possible. As a result the boy was found and this
being reported to the parents, the father came and
reclaimed his offspring who was taken back to his home
in Pendleton county. He grew to manhood and fought
with the Virginia troops in the war of the Revolution.
After the cessation of hostilities he became a farmer
in his native county and eventually married Sarah
Bush, member of an old Virginia family, by whom he
had four children that reached maturity. The
eldest was named after the father and known in the
family as Adam Mallow, Jr. He was born in
Pendleton county, W. Va., in 1778, grew to manhood there
and married Phoebe Dice. In 1806, the elder
and junior Adam Mallow, accompanied by their
families, made the then tedious and somewhat perilous
journey across the mountains and rivers to Ross county.
Of the three brothers and sisters of the younger
Adam, Eve married William Dice and remained
in Virginia. Another sister, whose name is not
recorded, married a Mr. Kerr after arriving in
Ross county. Henry, the other brother, came
with the family to Ross county, served as a soldier in
the war of 1812, married Sarah Popejoy and reared
six children to maturity. Eve, the eldest,
married Jacob Bush; Nancy became the wife of
William Bush; and Sarah married Archibald
Pancake. The three sons were William, Adam
and Owen, the two last mentioned being the only
surviving members of the family. Both are
residents of Ross county, Adam in Concord
township and Owen at Bourneville. The elder
Adam Mallow lived until 1840, his wife dying a
few years later at the age of ninety-seven years.
Adam Mallow, Jr., bought land in Ross county and
was engaged in cultivating the same at the time of the
war of 1812, in which he served with credit as a soldier
and rose to the rank of major. After being
discharged, he resumed his old occupation on the farm
and continued in his peaceful vocation until his death,
which occurred Aug. 11, 1834, just a week subsequent to
that of his wife. They had a family of five sons
and four daughters, whose names are given below in order
of birth: John, deceased; Rebecca, married
Solomon Bush, and died subsequently; Catherine
became the wife of Charles Briggs, but she
and also Simeon and Jesse are now dead;
Sarah who married David Coyner, now lives in
Concord township; Delilah married
John Shobe (deceased) and Gilead died in
infancy. William Dice Mallow, youngest of
the children, was born in Concord township, Ross county,
Ohio, Dec. 24, 1828. Being reared on a farm and
taught from boyhood the details of that kind of work, he
adopted the same pursuit on arrival at maturity and
continued in that business all his life. In 1863,
Mr. Mallow was elected to the ministry of the
Dunkard church and devoted himself to the work until
1896, when he was compelled by sickness to retire from
regular duties in that line though he continued to fill
appointments occasionally. Aug. 16, 1852, Mr.
Mallow was married to Sarah J., daughter of
Joseph and Sarah (Mallory) Rodgers of Fayette
county, Ohio. she died Feb. 6, 1875, after
becoming the mother of seven children, four of whom are
living. Cordelia is the wife of Jonathan
Irions, of Fayette county; Mary married
William B. Lucas, of Concord township; Wilmina
is at home; and Bartley R. resides in Frankfort,
Ohio. On Dec. 31, 1901, Mr. Mallow received
a slight stroke of paralysis, but no serious results
followed and he did not even take to his bed. His
health continued to fail, however, and in the early part
of March he took to his bed. A few days later, on
March 12, he received a second paralytic stroke which
resulted fatally, his death occurring on Mar. 18, 1902.
He was buried in the Mallow cemetery in Concord
township.
Source: The County of Ross: a history of Ross County,
Ohio
by Henry Holcomb Bennett - Published by S. A. Brant, Madison,
Wis., 1902 - Page 580 |
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ROBERT W. MANLY,
born in Portsmouth, Ohio, June 19, 1873, graduated from
the law school of the University of Michigan in 1896.
He entered the practice of his profession at
Chillicothe, Ohio, in March, 1897. In 1900 he
entered into partnership with John C. Entrekin,
which partnership still continues.
Source: The County of Ross: a history of Ross County,
Ohio
by Henry Holcomb Bennett - Published by S. A. Brant, Madison,
Wis., 1902 - Page 582 |
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JOHN MARKEL - Click
HERE
Source: The County of Ross: a history of Ross County,
Ohio
by Henry Holcomb Bennett - Published by S. A. Brant, Madison,
Wis., 1902 - Page 233 |
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HERBERT H. MARSH, M. D.,
of Halltown, is a native of Ross county, Ohio, born
Sept. 10, 1870. His parents were William and
Lucy L. (Hallett) Marsh, both natives of Washington
county, Ohio. William was the son of
James B. and Sarah (Matthews) Marsh, and his wife's
father was Zenas Hallett. William Marsh was
born June 6, 1843, and during the civil war became a
federal soldier. He enlisted at Camp Chase in
Colonel Garfield's company of the Forty-second Ohio
regiment, with which he served for three years. In
1865, shortly after the ending of the war, he came to
Ross county but soon went back to Washington county
where he married, and has since resided in Harrison
township, Ross county. He has always been a farmer
and owns 350 acres of land. He has been trustee of
his township and member of the board of education.
His wife died Dec. 13, 1900, leaving four children.
William Marsh's only brother served in the
Twenty-second Ohio volunteers and died soon after the
war. Dr. H. H. Marsh grew up on his
father's farm and was educated in the common schools of
Ross county. He studied medicine with Dr. J. T.
Wills, of Mooresville, and was graduated from the
Ohio Medical university on Mar. 17, 1896. He
entered upon the practice of his profession at home and
has already built up a good patronage. Dr.
Marsh is a member of the Ross County Medical
association and of the alumni association of his
college, and the order of Red Men of Chillicothe.
Source: The County of Ross: a history of Ross County,
Ohio
by Henry Holcomb Bennett - Published by S. A. Brant, Madison,
Wis., 1902 - Page 582 |
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EDGAR J. MARTIN,
M. D., a popular young physician of a family
which for four generations has had representatives in
the medical profession. His father, grandfather
and great-grandfather were all doctors of eminence.
The first mentioned, the late Dr. A. J. Martin,
was for years one of the leading physicians of
Wilmington, Ohio. He was educated at Norwalk and
was graduated as M. D. at the Cleveland Medical college
in 1859. He located without delay in Wilmington,
and, with the exception of one year while he was with
the Seventy-ninth Ohio regiment during the civil war, he
was in continuous practice until his death in 1898.
His son, E. J. Martin, inherited the family
predilection for medicine and lost no time in preparing
himself for the profession. He was born in Clinton
county and educated in the public schools of Wilmington.
With this literary equipment he entered the Medical
college of Ohio and by diligent attendance and close
study received his diploma as M. D. in 1889.
Immediately after graduation, Dr. Martin located
in Cincinnati, where he practiced five years, during
most of that time being assistant surgeon of the
Baltimore & Ohio Southwestern railroad company. In
1894, he took up his residence at Greenfield where he
has since remained with a widening patronage and
increasing prospects of success.
Source: The County of Ross: a history of Ross County,
Ohio
by Henry Holcomb Bennett - Published by S. A. Brant, Madison,
Wis., 1902 - Page 583 |
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WILLIAM H.
MARTIN, M. D., of Chillicothe, was born in
Pickaway county, Ohio, on a farm near Yellowbud, Aug.
25, 1871. His parents were Henry and Isadore
(Harper) Martin. Henry Martin is a native of
New Jersey, who came to Athens county, Ohio, in early
youth, and married there in 1869. His occupation
throughout life has been farming and dairying. He
has been successful in life, as a result of his own
energy and perseverance, and now resides on his farm
just outside the corporation of Athens. His wife
was the daughter of Rev. R. C. Harper, a pioneer
preacher of the Methodist church whose record is
not surpassed by that of any itinerant minister.
The following facts, gleaned from the Northwestern
Christian Advocate of 1897, will give some conception of
the vastness of the work done by his truly remarkable
man. He was born September 16, 1824, on Wolf's
Plains, near Athens, Ohio; joined the Methodist
Episcopal church on probation in 1831, was received into
full membership Sept. 2, 1839, licensed to exhort Sept.
16, 1852; ordained an elder Sept. 11, 1854; engaged in
active ministerial work the same year, and continued
until his fatal sickness in 1900. At the
suggestion of his mother, the Rev. Mr. Harper in
1837 adopted the practice of reading four chapters of
the bible every day. He did this for six years,
thus encompassing 8,760 chapters in that time. At
the age of twenty-one he increased his task to seven
chapters daily and so continued adding on from year to
year until he had reached sixteen chapters for each day
of the year. A simple calculation will show that
at the rate mentioned, Mr. Harper during his
lifetime read 171,550 chapters, which is equivalent to
going through the bibles 144 times. This, of
itself, was a gigantic task, and when added to his other
work, the life's labors of this industrious man seem
colossal. He received on probation in the church
3,483 persons, baptized 2,838, and preached 2,217
funeral sermons. Aside from the latter, he
preached 8,839 times, making a grand total of 11,046
sermons, and he traveled an average of 43 miles per week
for 42 years, which foots up a grand total of 93,932
miles. It is safe to say this record can not be
excelled in the whole experience of the itinerant
ministry in Ohio or any other state.
Notwithstanding all his religious work, Mr. Harper
found time to attend to all his farming interests which
he kept up throughout all his life. The record of
Mr. Harper's busy life, sketched above, does not
include the last three years before his death, and if
the result of those were added to the ones previously
estimated, it is safe to say the figures would be
considerably increased. Thousands of people in
Ross county knew Mr. Harper personally and all of
them sincerely revere his memory. The family of
Dr. Martin comprises six living brothers and sisters
besides himself, whose names are Eleanor M.,
Catherine, Addie, Frederick, Peter, Maria and
Robert Henry, Jr. Catherine is the wife of
John Bull, a druggist of Columbus. The others
are unmarried and residing at home, Eleanor M.
being a teacher. Dr. Martin was educated in
the public schools of Athens county and for a short time
was employed in the Athens postoffice. He began
the study of medicine in 1894 at Starling Medical
college in Columbus, from which he was graduated in
1897. For two years he practiced at Pomeroy, in
Meigs county, and came from there to Chillicothe in
1899. Already he has established a
good general practice and is rapidly forging to the
front as a popular and successful physician. He is
well located in a handsome residence at No. 57 Bridge
street. June 19, 1895, he was married to Vera,
daughter of John T. Hope, a prosperous farmer of
Athens county. The Doctor is a member of the Meigs
County Medical society and the fraternity known as the
Knights of the Ancient Essenic Order. He is
examiner for several insurance companies and fraternal
associations, and member of the board of trustees of the
Disciples church. In politics he is Democratic.
HE is a member of the Chillicothe city council and
chairman of the committee on claims and accounts, the
chairman of the board of health committee.
Source: The County of Ross: a history of Ross County,
Ohio
by Henry Holcomb Bennett - Published by S. A. Brant, Madison,
Wis., 1902 - Page 583 |
|
|
PAUL MARZLUFF,
who died at Chillicothe in the summer of 1901, generally
lamented as one of the most esteemed citizens of the
community, had an adventurous career finally crowned
with financial success. He was born in Baden,
Germany, June 29, 1826, and nine years later was brought
to the United States by his parents, Xavier and
Theressa M. Marzluff. They located in
Chillicothe in 1836, where the father was employed as a
contractor until his death by accidental drowning in the
canal. The mother lived to advanced age, spending
the close of her life with her son Paul.
The latter had a hard struggle in youth on account of
poverty, being compelled to do much hard labor of
different kinds for very slender compensation.
Long afterward, when surrounded by affluence, he used to
tell how he husked corn all day and received in payment
one bushel, which was worth twelve cents in the market.
Beginning in 1844 he devoted three years to learning the
molder's trade, at which he worked considerably in
subsequent years, but he was destined to better fortune
than depending for a living on day wages. In the
spring of 1846, he located at Cincinnati, where he
procured work as a molder, and there he also found a
wife in the person of Mary Anna Reinlein, to whom
he was married Oct. 24, 1848. This lady was a
native of Bavaria and came from there in 1832 with her
parents, who settled in Cincinnati, where the father
pursued the business of contracting and building.
A year or two after marriage, Mr. Marzluff's
health began to fail and in hopes of benefiting the same
as well as his somewhat depleted exchequer, he
determined to join the hosts then settling in from all
directions for the golden shores of California.
Paul Marzluff attached himself to an expedition
which started Apr. 15, 1862, for the distant goal by the
overland route, at that time not only long and tedious
but dangerous. It took his party six months to
complete this journey over the dreary alkaline plains,
beset by savages and wild beasts and the still worse
enemies, hunger and thirst. They reached
California in the middle of one of its coldest winters,
when the snow was waist deep on the mountain sides, and
were at times reduced to the verge of starvation.
Mr. Marzluff liked to talk of those times, and
used to recall the altitudinous prices of provisions due
to scarcity on one hand and the desperate pressure for
eatables by the hungry hordes then surging toward the
gold fields. Tobacco was held at $12 a pound and
the same amount was demanded for salt; black beans
brought $1 a pound, flour 85 cents, and every other
necessary was in proportion, as the demand was far in
excess of the supply. Paul Marzluff, with
the foresight characteristic of his people and the
prudence which never seems to desert them, had brought
with him a good supply of money, the results of his
close saving, and this proved a "friend in need."
With his small capital, he took advantage of the many
opportunities for investment or speculation and in a
year or two had added $7,000 in good California gold to
his previous possessions. With this he set sail in
1855, and after the usual tiresome trip around Cape Horn
arrived in December of the same year at his home in
Cincinnati. In 1856, he returned to Chillicothe
and purchasing property jointly with John Kaiser,
opened a restaurant and cafe. This business he
discontinued in 1863, when he purchased 200 acres of
land overlooking the city, which he converted into one
of the most picturesque places in the county and there
made his permanent home. In 1865, he started the
business which he was conducting at the time of his
death, Aug. 28, 1901. He was universally regarded
as a man of strictest integrity and uprightness of
character, tested and proved under the trying
circumstances of a long and eventful life. One who
had known him long and well thus spoke of him the day
after his largely attended funeral: "There was
never a more honorable man in Chillicothe than old
Paul Marzluff; warm in his friendships and
charitable in his deeds, his loss will be one of the
deep regret to those who know him as I do." Of his
nine children, Charles H., William A., Thomas E.,
Louisa E. and Joseph F. have passed away.
The survivors are Francis D. and John R.,
of Chillicothe, and two married daughters, Mrs.
Charles T. Kellehofer and Mrs. John Duffey,
of St. Louis. Mr. Marzluff was a member of
the Roman Catholic church and the interment took place
at St. Margaret's cemetery, Father Dexter
officiating. Since his death his widow, who is an
excellent business woman, has had the management of the
large estate.
Source: The County of Ross: a history of Ross County,
Ohio
by Henry Holcomb Bennett - Published by S. A. Brant, Madison,
Wis., 1902 - Page 585 |
|
|
RICHARD B. MARZLUFF,
a successful manufacturer, of Kingston, was born in
Chillicothe, Ohio, Mar. 28, 1852. He is of German
lineage on the side of both father and mother, his
parents, Ferdinand and Elizabeth (Armbruster)
Marzluff, having come from the old country in 1836,
and married in Chillicothe. The father worked at
the milling trade in Union township. On this
estate he lived in retirement until his death in
December, 1879, his wife surviving him until about 1891.
The children of this worthy couple were eight in number.
Of these, John, Louise and William are
dead, the others being Tex.; Mary, wife of
Charles Dunlap, of Andersonville, and Richard B.
Marzluff. The latter was brought up partly in
Chillicothe and partly on the farm, during which time he
went through the usual school routine. UPon
reaching maturity he engaged in farming, which
occupation he followed until 1892. In that year he
located at Kingston and embarked in the manufacture of
tile, a business which under his good management has
proved remunerative and entirely satisfactory. He
still retains his interest in farming, though somewhat
subordinated to his manufacturing enterprise. Like
his father, Mr. Marzluff is Democratic in his
political views though conservative in their expression.
He has neither time nor inclination to seek office, but
held the position of city councilman for six years, and
could always be depended upon to favor progressive
measures of all kinds and the city's best interests.
In 1879, he was married to Emma Cruther, a native
of Ross county, who became the mother of six children
and died July 3, 1894. Two of the children,
Ferdinand and Lizzie, are dead; the others in
order of birth, are Claud, Grace, Lawrence and
Emma. On Oct. 17, 1895, Mr. Marzluff
was married to Mrs. Jennie Rose widow of
Ferdinand Rose, late of Kingston. She is the
daughter of Joseph Hosselton, a former resident
of hocking county, and is the mother of two children,
Burton Ferdinand Rose and Blanche Miller Rose.
The family attend the Presbyterian church.
Source: The County of Ross: a history of Ross County,
Ohio
by Henry Holcomb Bennett - Published by S. A. Brant, Madison,
Wis., 1902 - Page 586 |
|
|
NATHANIEL MASSIE,
the leading pioneer of the Virginians in the settlement
of Ohio, was born in Goochland county, Va., December 28,
1763. His father was a highly respected planter of
that state, whose ancestors came originally from
England. Young Massie received a good
education, entered the Revolutionary army at the age3 of
seventeen, and after the close of the war went to
Kentucky, carrying with him valuable letters of
introduction to many of its leading citizens.
During the next few years he followed his profession of
surveyor and land locator, and seems to have built up a
fine reputation for skill in his calling as well as for
courage and honesty. In 1788 he made his first
journey into the Virginia Military District of Ohio,
which was the land lying northwest of the river Ohio and
between the Scioto and Little Miami rivers, and which
had been reserved by Virginia for the purpose of paying
her soldiers a warrant for as much of this land as his
services entitled him to receive. The holders of
these warrants would then employ a surveyor to select a
tract of land and survey it for them. They surveys
were then entered at the land office in Richmond, and
thereupon a patent or deed for the land included in such
survey was issued by the United States to the owner of
the warrants. Nathaniel Massie was a
surveyor duly authorized to make such entries and
surveys, and it was for this purpose that he first
entered Ohio, which at that time was an unbroken
wilderness inhabited only by hostile Indians.
During the winter of 1790 he organized a colony of
thirty families and made a settlement on the north bank
of the Ohio river at the place where Manchester now
stands, which was the first settlement within the
Virginia Military District, and the fourth within the
bounds of Ohio. He continued making surveys until
1794, penetrating far up the rich and beautiful Scioto
valley. These explorations and surveys were made
"in the midst of the most appalling dangers" during the
winter of 1795, and he and his party suffered great
hardships on account of the depth of the snow and
scarcity of wild game, on which they entirely depended
for food. In the spring of that year Mr. Massie
put into operation a long cherished plan.
Organizing a body of men, he went up the Scioto valley
for the purpose of founding a town near the mouth of
Paint creek. They had two serious conflicts with
the Indians, being victorious in both. They
completed their explorations and returned to Manchester
for the winter. About the first of March, 1796,
another party was organized by Mr. Massie, and on
the first day of April he encamped on the present site
of Chillicothe, which Massie already owned and
which he laid out for a town, giving to each settler an
in-lot and an out-lot. Additions have been made to
his original plat of this place, but it has never been
changed, the principal streets and alleys remaining
exactly as he located them. The young town grew
rapidly, attracting to it many families from Virginia
and Kentucky, and soon became an important political
factor in the Northwest Territory. Massie
was elected a member of both the first and second
legislatures of this Territory, and was one of the
leaders of the movement for the admission of Ohio into
the Union, being a bitter opponent of the Territorial
governor, Gen. Arthur St. Clair, against whom he
preferred charges to President Jefferson, which
ultimately led to the removal of St. Clair from the
office. Massie was elected a member of the
convention which framed the first constitution of Ohio,
and was largely instrumental in giving it a strong
Democratic tendency. He was also elected a senator
to the first and second general assemblies. In
1804 and in 1808 Mr. Massie was one of the three
presidential electors selected in Ohio, voting for
Jefferson and Madison respectively. In
1807 he was a candidate for governor, but was defeated
by Return Jonathan Meigs, whose election
Massie contested on the ground "that Meigs
had not been a resident of this State for four years
next proceeding the election, as required by the
constitution;" and the general assembly in joint
convention decided that Meigs was not eligible.
Massie did not claim the office, "being of too
magnanimous a nature to accept any offering that was not
of the free will." For many years Mr. Massie
was major-general of the Ohio militia; and the last act
of his public life was to raise a force of 500 men
for the relief of General Harrison and his army
at Fort Meigs in the spring of 1813. General
Massie accumulated a large landed estate and engaged
in many manufacturing enterprises for the good of the
community. During the later years of his life he
resided on his farm at the falls of Paint Creek, near
Bainbridge, in Ross county. In 1800 he married
Susan Meade, a daughter of Col. David Meade,
of Kentucky, whose magnificent estate, - "Chaumiere,"
near Lexington - was famous through the Southwest for
its social splendor and hospitality. General
Massie died Nov. 3, 1813, leaving, besides his
widow, three sons and two daughters. In June, 1870
the remains of General Massie and his wife were
removed from the old family burial-ground to the
cemetery at Chillicothe,,, where they now rest under a
handsome granite monument erected by his descendants,
and which overlooks for miles the beautiful valley into
which he first brought civilization.
Henry Massie, the youngest child of Gen.
Nathaniel Massie, was born July 11, 1811, and was
but two years of age when his father died. He was
mainly reared by his maternal grandfather, Col. David
Meade, of Kentucky. He graduated at
Transylvania university, at Lexington, Ky., in 1828,
returned to Chillicothe, studied law and was admitted to
the bar. The early death of his father, and bad
management of those having charge of his large landed
estate, had led to almost hopeless confusion in his
affairs, to the disentanglement of which young Massie
studiously devoted himself for many years, recovering
too much property for himself and brothers and sisters,
at the same time acquiring a knowledge of the land laws
in force in the Virginia Military District, which made
him the best real-estate lawyer in all this region.
He also enjoyed an excellent general practice, being for
many years one of the leaders of the bar in southern
Ohio. During the last years of his life he gave
most of his time to the management of the Chillicothe
bank, of which he was president at the time of his
death, which occurred Mar. 10, 1862, at St. Paul, Minn.,
whither he had gone in search of health. HE
married Susan Burton Thompson, daughter of
John B. Thompson, of Harrodsburg, Ky., and by this
marriage there was one child, David Meade Massie.
David Meade Massie was born at Chillicothe, Feb.
26, 1859, was graduated at Princeton, N. J., in 1880,
and at the Cincinnati Law school in 1882, and in the
same year was admitted to the bar of Ohio. During
the next two years he traveled extensively, both in this
country and aboard. In 1883, according to
the example set him by his father and grandfather, he
went to Kentucky for a wife, marrying on Nov. 6th of
that year, Juliet S., the youngest daughter of
the late Major Thomas A. Matthews, of Covington.
Mrs. Massie's eldest brother, Claude Matthews,
was governor of Indiana in 1892-1896. In 1884 he
located permanently at Chillicothe and began the
practice of his profession. In 1887 he was
nominated as the Republican candidate for state senator
from Ross and Highland counties, and elected over
the Hon. Lawrence T. Neal, after a most
vigorous and exciting campaign; and in 1889 he was
reelected, practically with opposition. While in
the senate Mr. Massie was the author of several
important laws, among which may be noted the law
regulating the contest of the election of presidential
electors, and the law prescribing the fees charged in
this state for articles of incorporation. The
latter measure, commonly called the "Massie
incorporation. The latter measure, commonly
called the "Massie law," has added hundreds of thousands
of dollars to the revenues of the state. While in
the senate Mr. Massie also acted as chairman of
the joint committee on taxation, which introduced
many new ideas on that subject, notably the taxation of
collateral inheritances, and the Massachusetts system of
taxing certain corporations, both of which have since
became laws. Most of the tax reform ideas now 1902
being urged in Ohio by the republicans as party measures
were first advocated by Mr. Massie in his report
on the subject of taxation to the Sixty-eighth general
assembly in 1889. In 1888 Mr. Massie was
appointed by Governor Foraker, a trustee of the
Ohio State university; in 1892 was re-appointed to the
same position by Governor McKinley, and in 1901
was re-appointed by Governor Nash. Mr. Massie
has served as a member of the Republican state executive
committee, and in 1896 was a delegate to the national
convention at St. Louis which nominated McKinley
for president. He has for many years been a
director of the First National Bank of Chillicothe, and
also a director in several other business corporations,
and is largely interest in agriculture and agriculture
and all real estate.
Source #1 - The County of Ross: a history of Ross County, Ohio
by Henry Holcomb Bennett - Published by S. A. Brant, Madison,
Wis., 1902 |
|
|
FRANK GRANT MATTOX,
the popular justice of the peace for Scioto township,
with residence at Chillicothe, has had a varied business
experience as lawyer, court clerk and incumbent of
various official positions. His father, Absalom
Mattox, though a native of Greene, has spent most of
his life in Clark county, Ohio, where he rose to
positions of influence. He was one of the first
sheriffs of Clark county and also filled the office of
county clerk. He married Drusilla Ann Heiskell
a native of Romney, W. Va., who came with her parents of
Springfield, Ohio, when but six years old. Both
husband and wife departed this life some years ago.
Their son, Frank Grant Mattox, was born at
Springfield, Ohio, July 15, 1851, and after going
through the city schools was graduated at Wittenburg
college. He assisted his father for a while in the
county clerk's office, read considerably in the
elementary text books of the legal profession and
entered the Cincinnati Law college, where he was
graduated with the class of 1872. Immediately
thereafter he returned to Springfield, practiced law a
short time and accepted a position in the insurance
department of the state government at Columbus.
Later he was appointed superintendent of weights in the
Ohio penitentiary, held that place two years and then
accepted employment in the county auditor’s ofiice at
Cincinnati, which, however, was soon abandoned for the
position of auditor of the carriers’ department in the
Cincinnati postoffice. After occupying this office
for two years, Mr. Mattox was appointed
resident clerk of the United States court at Columbus,
being the first to fill the position in that city.
The duties of this office, which occupied his time over
three years, proved exacting, and the overwork resulted
in a stroke of paralysis which rendered him helpless for
more than a year and necessitated his resignation.
As soon as his strength was sufficiently restored, he
came to Chillicothe and was employed for ten years as a
writer on the Daily News. He also worked for short
periods of time on the Gazette, the Daily Appeal and the
Advertiser, and for years has been a correspondent for
many of the leading papers throughout the country.
In the spring of 1899, Mr. Mattox received
the nomination on the Republican ticket as candidate for
justice of the peace and was elected by a majority of
369, carrying every ward in the city but one and losing
that by only five votes. In 1880 he was married to
Magdalena M. Schuh, of Columbus, by whom he has
three children, Earl, Frank, Jr.,
and Edna. The parents and children are
communicants of the Walnut street Methodist Episcopal
church.
Source: The County of Ross: a history of Ross County,
Ohio
by Henry Holcomb Bennett - Published by S. A. Brant, Madison,
Wis., 1902 - Page 590 |
|
|
FRANK B. MAULLAR,
of Gillespieville, is a native of Perry county, Ohio,
born Feb. 24, 1874. His parents were George W.
and Sarah (Waterhouse) Maullar, and his paternal
grandparents were George W. and Elizabeth (Davis)
Maullar, both of Pennsylvania, who settled in
Belmont county, Ohio. He died in 1844 and his wife
in 1898. The originator of this family in this
country was Morris Maullar, who came from Germany
to Pennsylvania in an early day and spent the rest of
his life in that state. The paternal grandmother
of Frank B. Maullar was a daughter of John and
Elizabeth (Collins) Davis, the former of Scotland
and the latter of Germany, who came to Pennsylvania and
subsequently settled in Belmont county, Ohio, where both
died in the early forties. George W., the
father of Frank B. Maullar, was born in Harrison
county, Ohio, on July 4, 1844. He resided in
Morgan county about eight years, came to Ross county in
1876 and removed to Gillespieville in 1895. At
that point he has since carried on a successful real
estate business. He was married on Feb. 5, 1871,
to Miss Sarah Virginia Waterhouse,
of Morgan county, Ohio, and the union resulted in the
birth of five children. Those living are Frank
B., James A., and Bertha A., while the
dead are Mary O., and John J. The
father enlisted on Dec. 29, 1861, in Company E,
Seventy-eighth, Ohio regiment and served until Sept. 12,
1862, taking part in the battles of Fort Donelson,
Pittsburg Landing and Corinth. His son, battles of
Fort Donelson, Pittsburg Landing and Corinth. His son,
Frank B. Maullar, was educated in the common
schools of Gillespieville and the Ohio university at
Athens. During the last six years he has devoted
his time to teaching in Liberty township and for three
years he has been principal of the high school at
Londonderry, Ohio. He is one of the most
successful teachers in Ross county and his friends
predict that he is destined to become one of the leading
educators of the State. He takes an active
interest in politics and has served three years on the
Republican county committee. Mr. Maullar
served one term as clerk of his township. He is a
member of Garfield lodge, No. 710, I. O. O. F., of
Richmond Dale., was educated in the common schools of
Gillespieville and the Ohio university at Athens.
During the last six years he has devoted his time to
teaching in Liberty township and for three years he has
been principal of the high school at Londonderry, Ohio.
He is one of the most successful teachers in Ross county
and his friends predict that he is destined to become
one of the leading educators of the State. He
takes an active interest in politics and has served
three years on the Republican county committee. Mr.
Maullar served one term as clerk of his township.
He is a member of Garfield lodge, No. 710, I. O. O. F.,
of Richmond Dale.
Source: The County of Ross: a history of Ross County,
Ohio
by Henry Holcomb Bennett - Published by S. A. Brant, Madison,
Wis., 1902 - Page 591 |
|
|
JOHN W. MAXWELL,
M. D., of Chillicothe, is a native of Green
township, Ross county, Ohio, born July 27, 1872.
His father Robert S. Maxwell, a native of
Virginia, came to Ross county when twelve years old, and
spent the balance of his life farming in Green township,
in which he was reasonably successful. He died in
March, 1889, at the age of sixty-eight years. His
wife, whose maiden name was Anna Murray, survives
as a resident on the home farm. They had a family
of three children, of whom Dr. Maxwell is the
youngest. Austin, the eldest son, operates
the home farm for the heirs. The sister, whose
name is Mary, married William Gildersleeve,
son of the late Dr. Gildersleeve, of Ross
county, and they live at Denver, Col., where Mr.
Gildersleeve is engaged in mercantile business.
Dr. John W. Maxwell received his elementary
education in the public schools of his township, and in
1890 entered Heidelberg university at Tiffin, O., where
he completed his classical course and was graduated with
the degree of A. B. He then entered Bellevue
Hospital Medical college of New York city, where he
completed a four years' course in 1900.
Immediately after leaving this school, Dr. Maxwell
began practice in Chillicothe, establishing his office
in the Nipgen block. He has more than
realized his highest hopes as a beginner in the
profession. He is well educated, naturally of
bright mind, and these, combined with good habits and
industry, promise a successful future. He is a
member of the Reformed church and of the Knights of the
Ancient Essenic Order. The Maxwell family
trace their genealogy to Scotch-Irish ancestry, whose
first American establishment was in Virginia at a very
early period.
Source: The County of Ross: a history of Ross County,
Ohio
by Henry Holcomb Bennett - Published by S. A. Brant, Madison,
Wis., 1902 - Page 592 |
|
|
WILLIAM A. MAXWELL,
of Richmond Dale, Ohio, was born in Jefferson township,
Ross county, July 14, 1863. His parents were
Henry W. and Julia A. (Dray) Maxwell, both natives
of Ross county. The grandfather, James Maxwell,
was born in King William county, Va., in 1795, served in
the war of 1812 and came to Ross county in 1830, where
he lived until his death in 1860. He married
Francis Hughes, who was born in Virginia in 1797 and
died in 1867. The mother of W. A. Maxwell
was the daughter of James and Elizabeth (Oleacre)
Dray, the former a Pennsylvanian of a large family,
who settled in Trumbull county, O., and died in 1860, at
the advanced age of ninety-nine years. His wife
died in 1845. Henry W. Maxwell was a brick
mason by trade, has followed farming as a general thing,
but was in the mercantile business for about twelve
years. He has held the offices of trustee an
assessor and is a member of Garfield lodge, No. 710, I.
O. O. F. He and wife sssssssssssssssshave a family of five
children as follows: Alice C., Wesley T.,
William A., Edgar E. and Annie L. William
A. Maxwell went into business with his father.
After less than two years, the latter disposed of his
interests to W. J. Haynes and the new firm of
Maxwell & Haynes ran the business for a year and a
half. At the expiration of that time, Mr.
Haynes sold out to his partner, and since 1891 W.
A. Marshall has carried on a successful, mercantile
business at Richmond Dale, having the largest of its
kind in the place. Though taking an active
interest in politics and influential in his party,
Mr. Maxwell has never desired office and has refused
nominations. For seventeen years past he has been
a member of Garfield lodge of Odd Fellows, No. 710.
In 1887 he was married to Lucy Orr, daughter of
Wesley Orr, a wealthy farmer of Ross county,
Ohio. They have two sons living whose names are
Eugene Orr and Harry Fay. Two other
sons, Howard W. and Walter Orr, were lost
by death.
Source: The County of Ross: a history of Ross County,
Ohio
by Henry Holcomb Bennett - Published by S. A. Brant, Madison,
Wis., 1902 - Page 593 |
|
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J. MYRON MAY,
president of the Scioto Valley bank, at Kingston, and
long prominent in the business and financial circles of
Green township, comes of a family which was identified
at an early period with the history of that portion of
Ross county. Great-grandfather James May
came to the United states from the north of Ireland and
settled in Virginia in 1787. His son, Henry
May, Sr., left Virginia early in the nineteenth
century and settled in Chillicothe, O., where he resided
a number of years and then removed to a farm about three
miles north of the city, now owned by John McRoberts.
Shortly afterward, in 1821, he located in Pickaway
county immediately north of Kingston, where for many
years he was prominent as a farmer and tanner, being
quite influential also both in affairs of church and
state. HE married Susanna McCutcheon, a
native of Kentucky, by whom he had four sons and three
daughters, one of each sex dying in youth. The
surviving sons were Henry, John M. and James,
all of whom married, settled in and around Kingston and
reared large families. Harriet, the eldest
daughter, married Dr. George A. Wilson, one of
the prominent physicians of Kingston at that time, now
residing near Decatur, Ill., and they became the parents
of a large family. Mary A., the other
daughter, married John D. Mundell, of Commercial
Point in Pickaway county, but had no children.
Henry May, Sr., died Dec. 9, 1851, and his wife,
Feb. 2, 1850. James May, the youngest of
their surviving sons, was born Nov. 17, 1821, while his
parents were living on the farm north of Chillicothe.
His life after reaching maturity was almost exclusively
devoted to mercantile affairs. So early as his
seventeenth year he was installed as clerk in the store
of May & Benton, the May of the
firm being his father, and after one year’s service as a
subordinate became a part proprietor by purchasing his
father’s interest. From that time on for
thirty-seven years until his retirement in 1876 he
retained his connection with this establishment under
various partnerships, one of which was composed of
himself and his brother, John M., and continued
for many years. While he gave close attention to
his business affairs, James May always found time
to devote to public affairs and was alert to every
movement calculated to benefit the community in which he
spent his long and useful life. He was an ardent
friend of religion and education, working zealously for
the first as elder in the Presbyterian church and for
the other as trustee for many years of the Mount
Pleasant academy. In 1882 he helped to organize
the Scioto Valley bank, was chosen its first president
and served in that capacity with the devotedness to duty
and scrupulous integrity that had always distinguished
his discharge of a trust. At his own request he
was eventually relieved of the cares incident to the
presidency of such an institution, but remained as one
of the directors until his death, which occurred May 11,
1893. In early manhood he married Eliza A.
Taylor, a woman well deserving of more than a
passing word. She was born in Athens, O., Jan. 29,
1825, being a descendant of Capt. Isaac
and Lydia (Perkins) Taylor,
pioneers of that part of the State. For a number
of years they kept the principal hotel in Athens,
finally losing a lifetime’s accumulations by a fire
which completely destroyed building and contents.
Of their seven children, one son and two daughters died
before reaching maturity. The two surviving sons,
Chauncey P. and Henry Taylor, entered the
Presbyterian ministry and became well known prominent in
Presbyterian ministerial circles, and the other daughter
became the wife of James May. The latter's
children were nine in number and consisted of seven sons
and two daughters, three of the former dying in infancy
and leaving the following six survivors: Chauncey T.,
J. Myron, Clarence E., Willis, Carrie L. and Mary
B. This happy family circle, one of unusual
affection for each other, was sadly broken by the death
of the devoted mother which occurred Sept. 9, 1878.
For his second wife James May selected Hannah
E. Davis, to whom he was married Aug. 24, 1881, the
result of the union being the birth of a daughter who
died in infancy. Chauncey T. and
Clarence E. had taken charge of the mercantile
business in 1876 under the firm name of May
Brothers, and this partnership continued until 1890,
when Clarence’s failing health caused him to sell
his interest to his brother and seek relief in
California. He died in Loss Angeles, Apr. 2, 1891,
leaving a wife, formerly Roberta. S. Shannon; one
son, Robert S., and two daughters, Mary T. and
Ada S. Chauncey T. succeeded his father
as director of the Scioto Valley bank and served as such
until his death, which occurred Feb. 7, 1897, leaving a
wife, formerly Nannie Cordrey, a daughter named
Lida T., and a son, Ralph B. Willis,
fourth son of James and Eliza May, who was
associated with the Scioto Gazette for many years as
local writer, died June 3, 1893. Mary
Belle, one of the daughters, died June 7, 1882, at
the age of seventeen years, and her sister Carrie L.,
who married a Mr. Carpenter, died in
Columbus, Ohio, Sept. 28, 1895. J. Myron May,
second of the sons, was born in Kingston, Ross county,
Nov. 5, 1848. He has spent the most of his life in his
native town, where he received a fair education in the
old Mount Pleasant academy and later spent a year at the
Ohio Wesleyan university at Delaware. He recalls
with interest that here in 1868 he first met Senator
Joseph B. Foraker, and at that early date recognized
in him a born leader of men destined for great eminence.
After leaving Delaware, Mr. May spent the
four years, 1870-74, in Kansas, during the greater part
of that time being in the employment of the Sante Fe
railway company. Returning to Kingston in 1875 he
engaged in farming until the fall of 1879, when he and
Mr. N. P. Rodgers embarked in the hardware, drug
and grocery business, the partnership continuing until
1891. In January, 1892, Mr. May succeeded
his brother Chauncey T. in the old business of
their father and continued the same until December,
1897. He remarks that had he remained until the
spring of 1898 the “corner store,” as it is known, would
have been in the May family unbroken for
sixty years. In 1897 Mr. May was
elected a director of the Scioto Valley bank, and in
January, 1898, was elected president, a position which
he has since held. In 1900 he was the decennial
land appraiser of Green township and in the same year
was made the county’s nominee before the district
convention for membership of the state board of
equalization, but was defeated for the nomination.
Mr. May, like his paternal ancestors, has
always been a zealous advocate of the principles of the
Republican party and takes an eager interest in all the
current political questions. He ranks high as a
business man, his qualifications in that line, added to
his reputation as a man of strict integrity, causing him
to be much sought after in the settlement of estates.
Oct. 26, 1882, he was united in marriage to Lovetta,
daughter of Abraham Holman, a prominent
farmer of Green township. They have three
children: Carroll H., born Sept. 15, 1883, is now
a junior at the Ohio Wesleyan university; James Floyd,
born in March, 1885, is a senior in the Kingston high
school, and Florence E., born in March, 1890, is
attending the preparatory department of the local
schools.
Source: The County of Ross: a history of Ross County,
Ohio
by Henry Holcomb Bennett - Published by S. A. Brant, Madison,
Wis., 1902 - Page 593 |
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ROBERT
H. McCRACKIN was born at Bourneville, Ohio, Nov.
14, 1867. His parents were W. W. and Sarah (Hanawalt)
McCrackin, the former a son of Robert P.
McCrackin, who was born in Virginia in 1815.
Robert P. came with his parents to Bourneville
when a boy and lived at home until his marriage with
Hulda McMillen; then went to housekeeping on a farm
now owned by John Schlagel, lived there and at
other places in Twin township for several years and
finally removing to Illinois. Robert F.
McCrackin was married twice, his first wife dying
before he departed for the west. By her he had
eight children, one of whom died in infancy unnamed, the
others being William (now dead), Robert,
of Illinois; John and James, of Iowa;
Minnesota, of Missouri; and Anna, of 'Ohio.
The second wife was Sarah Roe, by whom
there were five children, of whom Edith, Theodocia,
Nathaniel and Edward live in Illinois and
Susan in Indiana. When W. W.
McCrackin was nineteen years old, he enlisted in
Company I, One Hundred and Forty-nine Ohio infantry and
at the battle of Monocacy, in 1864, was taken prisoner.
He was confined for about eight months, when he obtained
an exchange and returned home. His treatment
during his confinement in the rebel prison was cruel
beyond description and when he got back to Ohio he was
little better than a wreck. After his marriage to
Sarah Hanawalt, he engaged in the general
mercantile business at Bourneville, which was his
occupation during most of his life. In 1879, he
removed to Springfield, where he conducted a grocery
store, and his death occurred there in 1886, after which
the family returned to Bourneville. Mr. and
Mrs. McCrackin became the parents of six children,
of whom Minnesota, Julia, and an unnamed
infant are dead, the living being Robert H.,
William and James. In July, 1898, Robert H.
McCrackin was married to Elizabeth Findley,
of Kirkwood, Ill. Previous to that time he had
been engaged in business with his brother and this has
since continued under the firm name of McCrackin Bros.
They carry on a business as dealers in grain, coal and
merchandise. In 1891 Mr. McCrackin's mother
died at Bourneville, and he engaged in business at
Storms Station in 1897. Mr. and Mrs. McCrackin
are the parents of two children, whose names are
Julia and Mary.
Source: The County of Ross: a history of Ross County, Ohio
by Henry Holcomb Bennett - Published by S. A. Brant, Madison,
Wis., 1902 - Page 596 |
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DAVID
H. McDANIEL is a native of Jackson county, Ohio,
born in 1856. While he was still quite young, his
parents removed to Scioto county, where he grew to
manhood and received his education in the common
schools. In 1876 he came to Franklin township,
Ross county, and worked as a farm hand for a couple of
years. In 1879 he began farming for himself in the
same locality and has followed that occupation ever
since. He has never sought office, but for some
time has been a member of the township board of
education. His fraternal connection is confined to
membership in the order of Odd Fellows. In August,
1878, he was married to Malinda Vanscoy, of Ross
county, by whom he has four children: Charles, Maud,
Jackson and Roxie. Mrs. McDaniel was the
daughter of Jackson and Malinda Vanscoy,
who were natives of Jackson county. They settled
in Ross county in 1854 and spent the remainder of their
lives in Franklin township; were farmers and highly
respected in the community. Mrs. Vanscoy
died in 1882 and her husband in 1897. Five
children survive them, among the number being Mrs.
McDaniel. The families of the Vanscoys
and McDaniels are of that class who go through
the world without much noise or attracting public
notice, but who constitute the very backbone of the
communities where they reside and make up the most
substantial part of its citizenship.
Source: The County of Ross: a history of Ross County, Ohio
by Henry Holcomb Bennett - Published by S. A. Brant, Madison,
Wis., 1902 - Page 596 |
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JOSHUA M.
McKENZIE was born in Twin township, Ross county,
Ohio, where he now resides, Dec. 11, 1848. His
father, Eli McKenzie, was born in Maryland
and was the son of Joshua McKenzie, who
emigrated from Scotland. Eli McKenzie
married Mary Kemper, of Ross county, and
after marriage they settled in Twin township, where they
spent the remainder of their lives, her death occurring
in 1850 and his in 1874. Their three children were
Mary J., Joshua M. and Ada. There
was nothing out of the ordinary in the career of
Joshua M. McKenzie from youth to manhood. He
worked on the farm in season, attended the school in
winter days and otherwise enacted the role usually
assigned to the country boy. On Dec. 16, 1869, he
was married to Mary J. Coover, of Ross county,
who died on Jan. 1, 1876, after giving birth to two
children, named Bertha and Edith, both of
whom died in childhood. Aug. 29, 1882, Mr.
McKenzie took a second wife in the person of
Mattie J. Newman, daughter of the late Howard
Newman, who removed from Virginia to Paxton
township, Ross county. By this marriage there were
five children, whose names are Jessie, Edna,
Florence, Wilbur and James Glenn. During much
the larger portion of his life Mr. McKenzie has
been engaged in farming in Twin township. He has
never been an office seeker, but is not lacking in
interest when important political campaigns are pending
and usually votes with the Democratic party. He
and wife are members of the Methodist. Episcopal
church, the latter being a very active church worker.
Source: The County of Ross: a history of Ross County, Ohio
by Henry Holcomb Bennett - Published by S. A. Brant, Madison,
Wis., 1902 - Page 596 |
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JOHN
McNALLY, late an esteemed citizen of Ross county,
Ohio, was born in Templemoil, Londonderry, Ireland, on
June 20, 1798. Owing to the fact that his father
was a fine scholar and school teacher, young McNally
had fine educational advantages at home, which his
natural tastes and brightness of mind enabled him to
improve to the utmost. Like most Irish families,
however, that of the McNally’s was both large and
poor, a fact which necessitated endless drudgery and
toil to make both ends meet. When John McNally
came of age he turned his eyes, as had thousands of his
fellow compatriots before him, to the land of the free
across the great water. With him to resolve was to
do and the year 1820 found him on board an emigrant ship
bound for North America. He first landed in Canada
and made his way to Quebec, owing to the fact that he
bore a letter of introduction to a prominent citizen (Gen.
Gillespie) of that place. He obtained
precarious employment there for a while, but soon became
dissatisfied and determined to push his way south into
the states. It so happened that three of his
schoolmates by the name of Edwards had preceded
him from the old country and settled in Chillicothe,
Ohio. To them John McNally
determined to come. There is an element of the
pathetic in the spectacle of this Irish boy, poor and
friendless, starting to walk all the weary distance from
Quebec to Ross county. With genuine Irish pluck,
however, which was about all his capital, he set forth
on this toilsome journey and in due time arrived at
Chillicothe weary, foot-sore and “broke.” His last
half-dollar was used up in payment for lodging and
breakfast at the place of his destination, and without a
penny he started out to seek his old schoolmates for
advice and assistance. Both were forthcoming
and, thanks to his previously acquired education,
John was soon installed as master over a school and
afterward taught for years in Concord township, near the
farm which he subsequently owned. With bright,
sober and industrious young men who are willing to work,
one success usually follows another and increases in
value by an ascending ratio. The first money he
saved, amounting to seventy-five dollars, he remitted
with a devotion truly touching to his aged and needy
parents in old Ireland. In time, wearying of the
schoolhouse, young McNally obtained a clerkship
with John Bush and later engaged in the
mercantile business at Frankfort. By 1828, he was
able to purchase the good will and stock of this store,
which stood where Robert Fulton & Sons
were afterward located, and here he enjoyed prosperous
trade for years. Subsequently he was in the
wholesale and retail grocery business at Chillicothe for
twelve years. In 1831, eleven years after he left
Ireland a poor boy he had purchased the 250 acres of
valuable land near Frankfort which afterward became the
home of his declining years. In 1850, he retired
from the mercantile business and went to his farm for
permanent residence. Being unmarried, he lived in
the household of George M. Dexter, his
brother-in-law. This gentleman, and in after years
his son, assisted Mr. McNally in the management
and development of his farm into the valuable estate it
subsequently became. For a while, Mr.
McNally had other and outside business such as
stock-dealing and pork-packing in New York city.
Eventually, however, he gave up all this and spent his
time on the farm with his friends and his books,
enjoying life quietly and helping to confer pleasure on
others. During the latter years of the seventies
his health failed rapidly and on Dec. 27, 1879, he
passed away after a two-weeks illness. He willed
his property to the children of his sister, the
principal heir being his nephew, James A. Dexter,
of whom a sketch appears in this work. Mr.
McNally was a very devout Roman Catholic, and
devoutly attached to the faith of his fathers. He
contributed with munificent liberality to the church, at
one time donating $6,000 to build a fine brick edifice
in Frankfort for the occupancy of the congregation.
He also paid the necessary expense of educating a nephew
for the priesthood and contributed liberally towards the
education of a niece, who spent twenty years of her life
as a Sister of Charity. The esteem in which Mr.
McNally was held needed no stronger proof than that
afforded by the attendance at his funeral, which was one
of the largest ever seen at Frankfort.
Source: The County of Ross: a history of Ross County, Ohio
by Henry Holcomb Bennett - Published by S. A. Brant, Madison,
Wis., 1902 - Page 597 |
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AMBROSE
McNEILL, long identified with the agricultural
interests of Concord township, is descended from one of
the earliest settlers as well as most extensive and
prosperous farmers in that portion of Ross county.
His grandparents were John and Gertrude (Roseboom)
McNeill, West Virginians who came to Ohio in 1809
and purchased about 4,000 acres of wild land in Concord
township. Included in this tract was the site of
the present village of Frankfort, the land for which was
subsequently deeded by Mr. McNeill in sufficient
quantity for the purposes of incorporation.
Besides his large real estate interests, John McNeill
was in the mercantile business at Frankfort and also an
extensive dealer in stock. As life's shadows
lengthened, the old pioneer realized the necessity of
rest and while all his faculties were still sound made a
division of his property and retired from active
business. His wife departed this life in 1855, and
ten years later John McNeill surrendered to the
great conqueror after a long and useful career.
All of his seven children who grew to maturity have long
since died, but their names are preserved in the family
records as follows: John, Rachel (wife of
Osmus Rowe), Strother, Mary (married
William Harvey and after his death Dr. Joseph
Sanford), Andrew R., Rhesy and Gertrude
(wife of Tillman Porter). John McNeill,
eldest son of namesake of his father, was born near
Moorefield, Hardy county, W. Va., in 1807, two years
before his parents started on their journey to the West.
In early manhood he married Rebecca Wiley, a Ross
county girl, with whom he went to housekeeping on one of
his father's places and farmed the same until the time
of his death, which occurred in1873, his wife surviving
him five years. Of their five children, Corbin,
William W. and Henrietta G. are dead, the
living ones being Eliza J., who married Dr.
Mayne, and Ambrose. The latter was born
in Concord township, Ross county, on the farm where he
now resides, January 4, 1835. He remained at home
until his twenty-third year and was married May 27,
1858, to Elizabeth Claypool, of Frankfort, Ohio.
Within a year or two afterward, he located on the place
of 128 acres where he has since made his home, and
engaged in general farming and stock-raising.
During the civil war he was a member of the Home Guards
and joined in the movements to check those bold raiders,
Kirby Smith and John Morgan. Aside
from his own business, Mr. McNeill has often been
called on to fill township offices, such as trustee,
supervisor and member of the school board. Mr.
and Mrs. McNeill have five children, whose names are
thus given in order of birth: Frank, at home;
Ruth, wife of Charles Cox, of Chillicothe;
Mary, at home; Kate, wife of
Ernest Johnson, of Columbus; Maria, wife
of William Edmiston who is connected with the
business college at Columbus.
Source: The County of Ross: a history of Ross County,
Ohio
by Henry Holcomb Bennett - Published by S. A. Brant, Madison,
Wis., 1902 - Page |
| |
EDWARD
MEGGENHOFEN, M. D., of Chillicothe, was born at
Anderson Station, Ross county, Ohio, May 18, 1857.
His parents were Louis and Katherine (Paulus)
Mcggenhofen, both natives of Germany and of pure
German stock. The mother of Dr. Mcggenhofen
came with her parents to Chillicothe in her infancy.
His father was a young man when he came to Ohio.
They were married in Chillicothe. Louis
Meggenhofen was a man of broad culture and public
spirit. He was a teacher in the public schools of
Ross county, having had the benefit of a liberal
education in his native land; was one of the first park
commissioners in Chillicothe and was always interested
in beautifying and improving the city. He was a
botanist of some note, and hence was specially fitted to
serve as a member of the board having charge of parks.
He died in 1885 at the age of sixty-two, but his wife
survives and resides with her son in Columbus.
Charles W., the second son, is a prominent business
man of Columbus, a druggist by profession and unmarried.
Dr. Meggenhofen, the eldest son, received
the ordinary education in Chillicothe schools and was
engaged in the drug business from 1876 to 1891. He
then took up the study of medicine and was graduated
from the Kentucky School of Medicine in 1893.
After leaving college, he formed a partnership in the
drug business with the widow of his former employer, the
business being conducted under the name of Dr.
Meggenhofen. Three years later he disposed of
his interest in this venture and has since devoted
himself entirely to his medical practice. He
enjoys a good patronage in Chillicothe and vicinity and
stands high in his profession. Being a registered
pharmacist, he dispenses his own medicines, of which he
keeps an ample supply on hand. Sept. 8, 1881,
Dr. Maggenhofen was married to Louise
Kirk, a native of Chillicothe and daughter of
Bud Kirk, who died in the army during the
civil war. The Doctor and his wife have three
children, of whom Laura is now Mrs.
William Greenbaum, of Chillicothe; Anna
and Katherine are students in school.
Source: The County of Ross: a history of Ross County, Ohio
by Henry Holcomb Bennett - Published by S. A. Brant, Madison,
Wis., 1902 - Page 600 |
| |
MENDENHALL
FAMILY. The Mendenhall
family, as is well known to all students of United
States history, is one of the most- extensive as well as
one of the most enterprising in the Union.
Probably not one of the forty-five states but has
representatives of this family, whose members have risen
to prominence in the professions, business, politics and
all other avenues to fame or fortune. They go
back, too, to the very fountain source of American “blue
blood,” as the first of the Mendenhalls came over
in the Mayflower in 1620. These were three
brothers named Isaac, Thomas and Joseph;
two of whom settled in South Carolina while all record
of the other was lost subsequent to his arrival. A
descendant of one of these brothers, Joseph by
name, served with distinction as a soldier in the
Revolutionary war and it is said he lived so close to
the battlefield of Brandywine that a cannon ball fired
in that engagement took off a corner of his house. This
veteran left a son named Thomas, who was born in
Fayette county, Pa., in 1760, married Peggie
Jeems and migrated to Washington county, Ohio, where
he died in 1852, aged ninety-two years. Six
children, all long since dead, are accredited to Thomas
and Peggie Mendenhall, appearing thus on the family
register: Joseph, Thomas, John, Pattie, Jane
and Margaret. John Mendenhall, third of these
children married Experience Craft in
Pennsylvania, which was the native state of both of
them, and subsequently settled in Guernsey county, Ohio.
In 1846 he came to Ross county and located in Huntington
township, where he became prosperous and influential as
a farmer and stock-dealer. The memorials in Denver
cemetery, where their remains have long reposed, inform
the inquirer that John Mendenhall reached
the age of ninety-four years before his death and that
his “beloved wife, Experience,” died in her
seventy-third year. Their family consisted of the
following named children: William, Thomas J., Craft,
Israel L, Joseph, John and Delilah. All these
are dead except Craft, who lives in Illinois,
Israel L, of Denver, Ohio, and Joseph, who is
a resident of Iowa. Thomas J. Mendenhall,
second of the foregoing list in order of birth, was a
farmer and merchant by occupation and made a success in
both lines. His real estate holdings amounted to
over 700 acres of land, and for many years he conducted
a general store at Denver which was a source of profit.
He was often called on by his fellow citizens to fill
the various offices, such as justice of the peace, post
master, trustee and others. In addition to his
other cares, he was engaged in the timber business at
the time of his death, which occurred Jan. 24, 1889.
He married Julia Haynes, born in Ross county in
1835, and by her had the following named children:
Anna, deceased; Hannah L., wife of W.
D. Weltner of Summit Hill, Ohio; Josie,
deceased; Hugh B., of Denver; Robert W.,
of Waverly, Ohio; Ida, wife of A. C. Yoakem,
of Vigo, Ohio; Eva, wife of O. W. Guth, of
Waverly, now deceased; John T., of Denver;
Lillian, wife of F. A. Guth, Jr., of Waverly;
Lenore, at home. Since the death of their
father, his sons Hugh B., Robert W. and John
T. have been conducting and managing the business
for their mother, who is administratrix of the estate.
These gentlemen also have a business of their own at
Waverly, which is conducted under the firm name of
Mendenhall Brothers & Guth.
Source: The County of Ross: a history of Ross County, Ohio
by Henry Holcomb Bennett - Published by S. A. Brant, Madison,
Wis., 1902 - Page 601 |
| |
CHARLES METZGER
was born in Chillicothe, Ohio, June 15, 1846. His
father, Frederick Metzger, was born in Germany in
1812 and emigrated to this country in 1839, coming over
in a sailing ship which took three months to cross the
Atlantic. After reaching these shores, he made his
way to St. Louis and from there to northern Ohio,
eventually arriving at Chillicothe in 1842. Being
a poor man, he sought employment as a common laborer and
assisted in the construction of the Marietta railroad.
Before leaving Germany Frederick Metzger married
his wife Christina and by her he had eight
children. Two died in infancy; Christ, and
George (twins) are living, the former in Iowa and
the latter in Pickaway county, Ohio; Mary married
Jack Bookmiller, of Chillicothe; Charles
is in Union township, Ross county; Jacob and
Henry in Chillicothe. The father continued to
reside in Chillicothe until his death, which occurred in
1898, the mother having passed away in 1874. When
the civil war opened in 1861, Charles Metzger was
working peacefully on an Ohio farm. Boy has he
was, being less than fifteen years old, he was impatient
to be a soldier and in the following year enlisted in
Company F, Hundred and Sixth Ohio infantry. The
command was sent from Camp Dennison on gunboats up the
Ohio to Maysville, Ky., with a view to heading off the
notorious General Morgan. After this
maneuver was accomplished, they went to Frankfort and
from there Bowling Green, Ky., later participating in
the battle of Hartsville, Tenn. Mr. Metzger
was sent from there to the hospital. Afterward he
was with his command at various points in Tennessee,
part of the time guarding railroads. He was
discharged at Nashville June 27, 1865, and immediately
returned to Chillicothe. He learned the trade of a
brickmason, which he followed for some time, but
eventually became engaged in farm work. On Sept.
30, 1867, he married Lizzie Ebenour, after which
he rented land and settled down to business for himself.
Industry and close application brought a reasonable
measure of success, until Mr. Metzger
finds himself possessed of 240 acres of good farm land.
His marriage resulted in the birth of six children.
Of these, Barbara married Carrie Short,
of Pickaway county; Anna, the second born, is
dead; Edward lives in Union township and
William is at home; Lizzie became the wife of
Edward Rector, of Pickaway county, and
Ira, the youngest, is still at home. The wife
of Mr. Metzger died March 20, 1887.
He is a member of the G. A. R. post, No. 338, at
Yellowbud.
Source: The County of Ross: a history of Ross County, Ohio
by Henry Holcomb Bennett - Published by S. A. Brant, Madison,
Wis., 1902 - Page 602 |
| |
THERON O.
MIDDLETON, prominent in church work at Fruitdale
and vicinity, comes of a family which furnished three
out of five children as soldiers of the Union during the
civil war. His father, James Middleton, was
a native of Pennsylvania who came to Ross county about
1832 and settled in Paint township, where he rose to
prominence in political and business circles and died in
1874. He married Elizabeth Pemberton,
of Connecticut, by whom he had seven children, of whom
the following are brief biographical sketches: Rev.
John H. Middleton, a minister of the Methodist
Episcopal church, served in Company I, Eighty-first Ohio
volunteer infantry, meeting with an accident while on a
march in Tennessee which crippled him for life and
eventually caused his death May 14, 1900. Arden
P. Middleton, of Greenfield, Ohio, was also a member
of Company I, Eighty-first Ohio volunteer infantry,
spent three years in the service and contracted disease
from which he never recovered. Rev. Homer C.
Middleton, also a Methodist minister, has for six
years had charge of a church at Leesburg, Ohio. Celestia
F., the only daughter, became the wife of Lawson
Smalley, of Fruitdale. Two sons, Edmund
O. and Jonathan, are dead, the former dying
at the age of twenty-two and Jonathan when but
two years old. Theron O. Middleton was born
in Paint township, Ross county, in 1839. He
received his education in the schools of his native
locality and had just reached full manhood at the
outbreak of the civil war. His father and children
were intensely patriotic and, like his two brothers
mentioned, Theron determined to tender his
services in behalf of the Union cause. He
therefore became a member of Company I, One Hundred and
Eighty-fifth regiment of Ohio infantry, which was
mustered into the service at Camp Chase and later
stationed at Owensboro, Ky. Mr.
Middleton received his discharge from the army at
Lexington. Shortly after the close of the war, he
was married to Sarah E. Zink, a school teacher of
Ross county, who lived only five years thereafter and
died without leaving any children. Mr.
Middleton is a member of the post of the Grand Army
of the Republic at Greenfield, Ohio. He has been
connected with the Methodist Episcopal church over
forty-eight years, and has long been one of the most
enthusiastic and efficient in church work. His
main occupation is that of farming but he is influential
in all movements to advance any good cause and improve
the public morals.
Source: The County of Ross: a history of Ross County, Ohio
by Henry Holcomb Bennett - Published by S. A. Brant, Madison,
Wis., 1902 - Page 603 |
| |
HENRY MILLER, an extensive land-owner and
stock-raiser, and regarded as one of the model farmers
of Scioto township, is a worthy representative of Ross
county's German born citizens. From extreme
poverty, without influential friends and with no other
resources than his sturdy industry, endless patience and
sound judgment, he has risen to the influence of which
accompanies the accumulation of property and its
attendant "privilege of being independent.". His
father, Frederick Miller, was a farmer in
Germany, married Magdelina Brust and died of
typhoid fever when forty-three years old. About
fifteen years previous to this event, the parents of his
wife had emigrated to Ohio and settled in Pike county.
Within a year after her husband's death, the widow
decided to cross the ocean and landed in New York in
1855 after a tedious voyage of forty-three days.
She went directly to Ohio, was reunited with her parents
in Pike county, and remained with them until their
deaths, which occurred but a short time after her
arrival. About four years after her parents died,
she married Philip Rickard, with whom she settled
permanently in Pike county and there lived until her
death at the age of seventy-six years. By her
first marriage she had seven children, all of whom that
were living at the time came with her to the United
States, their names in order of birth being as follows:
Frederick, resident of Chicago; Henry,
subject of this sketch; George, died in infancy;
Catherine living in Illinois; Sophia
and Margaret, residents of Portsmouth, Ohio;
Magdelena (deceased). Henry Miller was
born in Germany, near the river Rhine, Oct. 8, 1845, and
was ten years old when brought to America by his mother.
What little education he received in youth was obtained
in Germany as he was compelled to go to work for a
living in Ohio before he had reached his fourteenth
year. He continued farm labor by the month until
his marriage in Pike county to Elizabeth Hammon,
which occurred Jan. 17, 1869, when he was about
twenty-three years old. Shortly after this event,
Mr. Miller located at High Banks in Liberty
township, Ross county, where he spent four years and
then took charge of the Scott Cook farm in Scioto
township which he managed for the ten succeeding years.
At the expiration of that time, he purchased the 243
acres in Scioto township where he has since resided.
This farm, which has been greatly improved by Mr.
Miller since it came into his possession, is now
regarded as one of the best of its size in the county.
In addition to this homestead, Mr. Miller owns
276½ acres of land in
Deerfield township, and for a number of years was
extensively engaged in stock-raising. His methods
are those of the up-to-date farmer, operating on
strictly business principles, and he keeps in touch with
the latest improvements and discoveries affecting the
agricultural industry. Mr. and Mrs. Miller
have had eleven children: George W., of
Deerfield township; Magdelena, wife of George
Fry of Pickaway county; Henry C., of
Frankfort, Ohio; Benjamin F., of Scioto township;
Mary E., John F., Carl E. and Alvah L.,
at home; Philip, Leroy and Laura died in
infancy. Mrs. Miller and her children are
members of the Methodist Episcopal church.
Source: The County of Ross: a history of Ross County,
Ohio
by Henry Holcomb Bennett - Published by S. A. Brant, Madison,
Wis., 1902 - Page 604 |
| |
JOHN MILLER, member of the school board of
Chillicothe, and long identified with the city's
interests in various capacities, is an American Citizen
of German origin. His father, Antone Miller,
was born in Germany in 1831, grew to manhood there, and
when about twenty-one years old set out for America to
seek his fortune. Joining the stream of emigrants
then westward bound in large numbers, he stopped in Ohio
and selected the beautiful county of Ross as his abiding
place. Being well pleased with his new home, he
persuaded his father and other relatives to come over
and participate in the opportunities then offered the
settler in the boundless west. After locating
permanently, Antone Miller, with the thrift and
industry Characteristic of his race, turned his hand to
different kinds of employment as chance or good fortune
brought it his way. After several years'
experience in a distillery, he farmed a short time in
1865 and then worked for three years as a fireman and
engineer. In 1868 he became a cigar-maker, but
later abandoned that to enter the saloon business, which
he followed until his death, Nov. 3, 1878. About
1855 he was married to Katherine Griesheimer,
also a native of Germany, whence she had come with her
parents some years previous.
Antone Miller ad wife had twelve children, of whom
the nine following are living: Emma, wife
of Jacob Wetzel, of Chillicothe; John,
subject of this sketch; Louis cigar manufacturer
at Chillicothe; Jacob, saloonist in Chillicothe;
Lizzie, wife of George Scheeler, of
Chillicothe; William, blacksmith in Chillicothe;
George, an engineer in Chillicothe; Katharina,
wife of Oliver Vonclausburg, of Chillicothe; and
Charles A., of the same city. John
Miller, second of the children, was born in
Chillicothe Oct. 23, 1858. In 1874 he secured
employment as a cigar-maker and worked for three years
with various firms until his father entered that
business when he became one of his employees. In
1886, he embarked in the cigar industry on his own
account and continued it until May, 1891, when he
disposed of his interests and spent the next ten years
in gardening and trucking, in the winter seasons working
at his trade of cigar making. In 1901, he resumed
cigar manufacturing and has since adhered to that
business. In the spring of 1901, Mr. Miller
was elected a member of the school board to represent
the Sixty ward and he was paid considerable attention to
the educational affairs of the city. In 1880 he
was married to Elizabeth, daughter of Jacob
Wetzel, an old resident of Chillicothe, by whom he
has had three sons: Oscar George, Carl Jacob
and Roy Antone (deceased). Mr. Miller
is a member of the German Salem church in Chillicothe.
Source: The County of Ross: a history of Ross County,
Ohio
by Henry Holcomb Bennett - Published by S. A. Brant, Madison,
Wis., 1902 - Page 605 |
| |
JOHN H. MILLER, manager
of the Western Union telegraph company at Chillicothe,
is a native of Pickaway county, Ohio, born May 8, 1852.
His parents were John and Mary (Demuth) Miller,
both natives of Pennsylvania, who came to Pickaway
county, where they subsequently married and spent their
lives. The father was a merchant in Circleville
for many years and was also interested in the
manufacture of hats. The mother died in 1870, at
the age of fifty years, and the father passed away in
1878 when seventy-two years old. They had three
children, of whom John H. Miller is the only
survivor, Otis dying in infancy, and Louisa
at the age of fifteen. By a previous marriage the
father had two children, William and Margaret,
the former now carrying on a business established by his
father, the latter deceased at the age of seventeen.
John H. Miller was educated in the public schools
of Circleville, where he also learned telegraphy and
became an operator at the age of eighteen. For
eight years he served in the office of the train
dispatcher at Chillicothe, fro which he was promoted in
1880 to the managership of the Western Union office, the
position he now holds. Mr. Miller is a good
Republican and has received honors at the hands of his
party. He served two terms as a member of the
Chillicothe city council. Sept. 12, 1901, he was
nominated by the Republicans as their candidate for the
office of auditor of Ross county and, after a hot and
vigorous campaign, he was elected in the November
following. In October, 1902, he will enter into
this office for a term of three years. October 22,
1879, he was married to Lida Scholderer, of
Chillicothe. Her parents were John F. and
Sophia Scholderer. The latter came from
Germany to Chillicothe in early childhood, and the
father, now dead, was a native of Chillicothe, where, in
the last years of his life, he was a member of the firm
of Ireland & Scholderer, dealers in stoves
and tinware. Mr. and Mrs. Miller are
members of the first Presbyterian church, he being a
member of the board of trustees and clerk of the session
and both zealous in religious work. Mr. Miller
is prominently associated with the Masonic
fraternity, having attained the commandery degrees, and
for the last fifteen years has been recorder of
Chillicothe commandery, No. 8.
Source: The County of Ross: a history of Ross County,
Ohio
by Henry Holcomb Bennett - Published by S. A. Brant, Madison,
Wis., 1902 - Page 606 |
| |
LUDLOW D. MILLER
a well known farmer of Buckskin township, Ross county,
comes of a family noted for strength of character
and success in business. His father, Aylett
Miller, a native of Culpeper county, Va., came to
Ohio about 1820 and settled in New Petersburg, Highland
county. After a short stay there he removed to
Greenfield, where he embarked in the mercantile business
and followed that occupation until a few years before
his death in 1860. He left a family of seven
children, five boys and two girls. Robert H.
Miller, the oldest of sons, established the first
bank in Greenfield, Ohio, and was conspicuous in the
city's business affairs until his death in 1900.
His brother, James A. Miller, went to Dubuque,
Iowa, where he rose to prominence in the business world
as an expert accountant and died in 1888.
Edward Hamilton Miller, third son of this bright
family, also exhibited financial talent at an early age,
being one of the incorporators of the Highland County
bank, of Greenfield, in 1867, and its president for many
years. He was a member of the Seventy-third Ohio
regiment during the civil war and was wounded at the
first battle of Bull Run. Maxwell Miller,
youngest of the brothers, was also a soldier and served
in the eighteenth Ohio during the civil war. He
became a farmer in Illinois and died in 1900.
Ellen, the eldest of the two sisters, married
Seth Langdon, who died in the early sixties.
Alice became the wife of H. S. Fullerton,
who joined the First regiment of Ohio artillery and
while in service contracted a disease that caused his
death. Ludlow D. Miller, the subject of
this sketch, was born in Greenfield and was attending
the South Salem academy when the civil war opened in the
spring of 1861. He enlisted in the First regiment
Ohio heavy artillery which was first sent to Kentucky
and afterward located at Johnson's Island as guard for
the prisoners at that place. Mr. Miller has
a distinct recollection of the time spent there, as it
included the famous cold New Years' day of 1864, which
became historic thought the Union on account of the wide
prevalence of an exceedingly severe temperature.
To his exposure on that memorable day Mr. Miller
attributes the severe attack of rheumatism from which he
never entirely recovered. Within a few weeks after
his return from the war, he was married to Mary M.,
daughter of Samuel Hitchcock, a native of
Berkshire county, Mass., who came to Ohio about 1840 and
engaged in farming on the land now occupied by Mr.
Miller. The family of Mrs. Miller can
trace their ancestry back to the early half of the
seventeenth century, when Luke Hitchcock came
from Warwick county, Eng., and founded the American
branch. His descendants include many names
prominent in the history of the colonies and the states,
both in war and peace. Among these may be
mentioned Charles Dudley Warner, the noted
writer; Grover Cleveland, ex-president of the
Union, and Ethan Allen Hitchcock, secretary of
the interior in the present administration.
Luke Hitchcock, great-grandfather of Mrs. Miller,
held a commission as captain in the Continental army
during the Revolutionary War. On her mother's
side, also, Mrs. Miller has every reason
to be proud of her ancestry. Her grandfather,
John Proud, come from his native state of New Jersey
in the latter part of the eighteenth century and bought
government land, the family tradition being that he paid
for most of it in deerskins. However this may be,
his daughter Matilda married Samuel Hitchcock
and became the mother of Mrs. Ludlow D. Miller,
who inherited the homestead of her parents and made it
the subsequent residence of herself and husband.
After his marriage, Mr. Ludlow D. Miller located
in Springfield, Ohio, where he was engaged in the
mercantile business for about ten years. Afterward
he was in business for a while at Cincinnati, but
finally abandoned the mercantile field and settled down
permanently on the old Hitchcock homestead where he
embarked in farming and stock-raising. Mr.
Miller has served as a member of the board of
trustees of Buckskin township. As a veteran of the
civil war, he fraternizes with his old comrades at the
Grand Army post in South Salem, and the religious
connections of the family are with the Presbyterian
church of the same place.
Source: The County of Ross: a history of Ross County,
Ohio
by Henry Holcomb Bennett - Published by S. A. Brant, Madison,
Wis., 1902 - Page 606 |
| |
WILLIAM L. MILLER, who
ranks as Ross county's leading stockman and
agriculturist, was born on the old ancestral homestead,
which he owns and where he now resides, on the 25th of
January, 1837. His parents were Abraham and
Lydia (Herbert) Miller, the former born on this same
homestead Oct. 25, 1805, and the latter in Pickaway
county, Ohio, Apr. 22, 1810. The paternal
grandparents of William L. Miller were Abraham
and Elizabeth (Pigman) Miller who were both natives
of Kentucky, the birth of the former occurring in that
state June 22, 1769, and of the latter Apr. 13, 1772.
It was about the year 1800 and after their marriage that
they emigrated from Kentucky to Ross county. For a
short time they located at what was then known as
Chillicothe Station but subsequently the grandfather
purchased section twenty-six in Green township and
immediately removed his family to this forest home.
He was a man of great force of character and at the time
of his accidental death, which occurred Oct. 22, 1806,
he was actively engaged in constructing a tannery near
his log cabin and was allied with various other
enterprises of a valuable nature to the pioneer.
His widow continued to reside on the homestead and
there, amid the hardships incident to those trying
times, she succeeded in raising her family of eight
children. After a long and useful life she passed
away Sept. 19, 1851. The youngest child in this
family of eight was Abraham, the father of the
subject of this sketch. He was reared and schooled
in conformity to the usages of that day and spent his
entire life at the home of his birth. On Feb. 9,
1834, he was married to Lydia Herbert, and to
this union were born ten children. George W.,
Nov. 19, 1834; Hezekiah, Dec. 17, 1835;
William L., the subject of this sketch, Jan. 25,
1837; Mary E., Aug. 4, 1838; Anna C., Mar.
28, 1840; Isaac B., Aug. 22, 1841; Jesse,
Mar. 11, 1843; James Jan. 30, 1845; Joseph,
Apr. 1, 1848, and Amos B., May 7, 1850, all of
whom grew to maturity except Isaac. The
father continued to reside on the old homestead until
his death, which occurred Jan. 13, 1856. The wife
and mother survived him until July 1, 1872, when she
also passed away. William L. Miller spent
his youth on the farm, attending the district school in
the winter, and thus secured a fair education. He
soon developed an aptitude for handling stock and to
this branch of rural life he has devoted the most of his
attention. Today he is reckoned as one of the most
successful as well as extensive stock dealers in
southern Ohio. The writer of this sketch found him
busily engaged in classifying a heard of 500 hogs, and
was told that he is also an extensive dealer in cattle.
He is also the owner of thousands of acres of real
estate in this and other states, and is apparently in
the prime of his activities, for the years have dealt
lightly with him, and he bids fair to remain an active
factor in the industrial life of Ross county for many
years to come. On April 28, 1860, he was united in
marriage with Rosanna Betz, daughter of John
and Eliza (Baker) Betz, the former born in Union
county, Pa., Dec. 2, 1810, and the latter in the same
county, Sept. 15, 1816. Mrs. Miller was
born in Union county, Pa., Nov. 10, 1834, and emigrated
to Ross county with her parents and later accompanied
them to Woodford county, Ill., where she was residing at
the time of her marriage. To this union were born
two children: William B. Elsworth, who died
in infancy, and Ida May, born Feb. 4, 1864, who
was married to John J. Oliver, Oct. 28, 1880.
Mr. Oliver have four children: Louis M.,
born Jan. 4, 1882; Clem J., born Jan. 4, 1884;
Ola M., born July 23, 1886, and Rosanna J.,
born June 6, 1889. Mrs. Miller, the wife
and mother, died Feb. 27, 1899. She was a lady of
exceptional virtues and a lifelong member of the German
Reformed church. This sketch would not be complete
without due reference to Mr. Miller's private and
public life. After the death of his father he ably
assisted his mother in the management of the large
estate. Later he began to deal extensively in live
stock and his excellent judgment and skill in this line
of work not only brought him wealth but also attracted
attention all over the state and as a result in 1893
Governor McKinley appointed and commissioned him as
one of the three members of the Board of Live Stock
Commissioners of Ohio, for a term of three years, and
his superior services in that official position have
been acknowledged by each succeeding governor down to
and including Governor Nash, all of whom have
reappointed him as his terms of office have expired and
at this writing he is a member of that honorable board.
During the World's Columbian Exposition at Chicago in
1893, he was appointed to represent Ohio as a member of
the Advisory Council of World's Congress Auxiliary on
farm culture. Politically he is a Republican.
In Freemasonry he has taken all the degrees from entered
apprentice up to and including the 32d degree, including
the Knight Templar and Scottish Rite degrees. He
is also a member of the order of Elks. His home
and surroundings are of a substantial character, well
adapted and equipped as a up-to-date stock farm.
As a citizen, Mr. Miller stands high in the
estimation of his friends and neighbors.
Source: The County of Ross: a history of Ross County,
Ohio
by Henry Holcomb Bennett - Published by S. A. Brant, Madison,
Wis., 1902 - Page 608 |
| |
EPHRAIM H. MINEAR was born in Yellowbud, Ross
County, Ohio, Nov. 25, 1840. His parents were
William and Margaret (Hobbs) Minear, the former of
whom was born in Union township in 1815. He was a
farmer by occupation and spent his whole life on the
same place. Besides Ephraim Minear, the
subject of this sketch, there were two other children,
Elizabeth and Pelitha, both of whom died in infancy.
The father died at the early age of twenty-five, his
widow surviving until 1868. Their son Ephraim
lived in Yellowbud for five years and then went to work
in the country at a salary of some twelve or fifteen
dollars a year. August 11, 1862, he enlisted at
Yellowbud in Company K, Eighty-ninth Ohio infantry, as a
musician. After serving one year he was discharged
for disability and returned to his home in Ohio.
He then learned the carpenter's trade, which was his
means of livelihood for many years thereafter. On
March 18, 1868, he was married to Ellen Gamble,
of whose three children two died in infancy and
Fletcher, the only survivor, lives in Chillicothe.
The first wife died March 18, 1881, and Mr. Minear
married Ida Madden September 26, 1885.
Their only child is named Belle and lives at home
with her parents. In place he was appointed
postmaster in 1889. He held this place for two
years and in 1898 was reappointed by President
McKinley. In 1886, he was elected clerk of his
township and has retained that position ever since.
In politics he is a stanch Republican and he has been a
member of the Methodist Episcopal church since 1857.
Source: The County of Ross: a history of Ross County,
Ohio
by Henry Holcomb Bennett - Published by S. A. Brant, Madison,
Wis., 1902 - Page 610 |
|
|
THADDEUS A.
MINSHALL, of Chillicothe, former chief justice of
the supreme court of Ohio and an eminent jurist, was
born in Ross county, Ohio, Jan. 19, 1834. His
ancestors were of English origin and accompanied
William Penn to this country as devout Quakers.
A branch of the family subsequently settled in Virginia,
whence Ellis Minshall, the grandfather, removed
to Ohio about the year 1800, and served through the war
of 1812 as a soldier from this state. After the
death of his mother in 1841 the subject of this sketch
spent about five years working in a woolen factory,
after which he attended Mt. Pleasant Academy as
opportunity afforded until 1854. At the age of
twenty he was a teacher in the public schools and in
this capacity he divided his time by studying law.
His earlier legal training was obtained in the law
office of S. L. Wallace, of Chillicothe, and he
was admitted to the bar by the supreme court in 1861.
Almost immediately thereafter Ft. Sumter was fired upon,
and President Lincoln called for volunteers.
Young Minshall was one of the first to respond
and on April 20, 1861, he enlisted as a private in
Company C, Twenty-second regiment Ohio Volunteers, for
the three months' service, and by the time he was
mustered out on Aug. 29, following he had been promoted
to sergeant-major of the regiment. He immediately
returned home and began raising Company H, Thirty-third
regiment, and on October 14, 1861, re-entered the
service of his country, this time as captain of
infantry, and continued to serve in this capacity for
the full period of his enlistment until mustered out in
Oct, 1864. His regiment was assigned to the
Fourteenth army corps, and he was with his command in
the hotly contested battles of Perryville, Stone River,
Hoover's Gap, Lookout Mountain, Missionary Ridge,
Ringgold, Resaca, Kenesaw Mountain, and Peachtree Creek,
and in many minor engagements of the Atlanta campaign as
well as Jonesboro and the siege of Atlanta,. For
some time prior to the capture of Atlanta he had held
command of his regiment. After the expiration of
his term of service he returned to Chillicothe and
resumed the practice of law, and in the fall of 1864 he
was elected to the office of prosecuting attorney of
Ross county but at the expiration of his term he
declined a renomination in order that he might devote
all his time and energy to civil practice in which he
became very successful. In 1876 he was elected
judge of the court of common pleas in Ross, Highland and
Fayette subdivision of the Fifth judicial circuit to
fill a vacancy caused by the death of Judge Thomas
Gray, and was re-elected for the full term in 1878
and again in 1883. In 1885 he was elete3d to the
supreme bench and in 1890 was again nominated by his
party and elected; and in 1895, the term having been
changed to six years, he was re-elected for the term
ending in 1902, serving the last year of this term as
chief justice. His opinions were of high order and
are to be found in Volumes 44 to 65, inclusive of the
Ohio State Reports. Judge Minshall has now
retired from the more active duties of life and is
taking the rest he has so honorably earned. Few of
Ohio's noble sons have done more to leave their impress
upon the state and the present generation than he.
A man of retiring disposition, unassuming habits and
strict integrity, he has justly earned the esteem of his
fellow men in every effort of his long and useful live.
On the 9th of April, 1873, he was united in marriage
with Julia Ewing Pearson, of Chillicothe, where
he has resided since 1861.
Source: The County of Ross: a history of Ross County,
Ohio
by Henry Holcomb Bennett - Published by S. A. Brant, Madison,
Wis., 1902 - Page |
|
|
JACOB B. MOOMAW,
a veteran of the civil war and substantial farmer, was
born in Ross county, Ohio, near Fruitdale, in 1827.
His father, Henry Moomaw, a native of Virginia,
born in 1791, came to Ross county about the year 1813;
settled in Paint township where he cultivated a farm
until the time of his death, which occurred in 1871; and
reared a family of twelve children, of whom seven were
sons and only two of these are still living. Those
called away were George w., John H., Allen, Henry
and Nelson B. The second of these gave
three sons to the Union army to uphold the cause of the
government during the civil war. Silas Moomaw,
the fourth son in order of birth, is at present
occupying the old homestead place. Jacob B.
Moomaw grew to manhood in Paint township where he
cultivated a farm until the time of his death, which
occurred in 1871; and reared a family of twelve
children, of whom seven were sons and only two of these
are still living. Those called away were George
W., John H., Allen, Henry and Nelson B.
The second of these gave three sons to the Union army to
uphold the cause of the government during the civil war.
Silas Moomaw, the fourth son in order of birth,
is at present occupying the old homestead place.
Jacob B. Moomaw grew to manhood in Paint township
and was educated in the common schools of that locality.
From his earliest boyhood he was accustomed to work on
the farm and that has been his occupation throughout
life. About 1852 he was married to Vashti C.,
daughter of John Morton of Buckskin township.
Mr. and Mrs. Moomaw became the parents of four
children, of whom all are living except William Henry,
the second born. John A. Moomaw, the eldest
son, married Sarah Reighle and is a leading
farmer of Paint township. Anna Eliza is
the wife of Albert Ellenberger, of Fayette
county. Franklin M. married Ida,
daughter of George Curry member of an old family
of Twin township. In 1862, Jacob B. Moomaw
enlisted in Company H. Eighty-ninth regiment Ohio
volunteer infantry. This command was mustered into
the service at Camp Dennison and was sent from there
directly to Kentucky. Later it was ordered into
West Virginia and took part in the campaigns of that
period in the mountainous regions south of the Ohio.
Mr. Moomaw's health broke down as the result of
continued exposure, and in 1863 he was discharged on
account of disability form which he never afterward
entirely recovered. After retiring from the army,
he settled down upon his farm and spent all of the
subsequent years in its care and cultivation.
Mr. Moomaw is a member of the Presbyterian church at
South Salem and J. C. Irwin post of the Grand
Army of the Republic.
Source #1 - The County of Ross: a history of Ross County, Ohio
by Henry Holcomb Bennett - Published by S. A. Brant, Madison,
Wis., 1902 - Page 611 |
|
|
JOHN
A. MOOMAW, trustee of Paint township, has long
been conspicuously identified with the educational
interests of Ross county. He is a son of Jacob
B. Moomaw, a veteran of the civil war and much
esteemed citizen. His mother, whose maiden name was
Vashti C. Morton, was the daughter of natives of
South Carolina, of the noted Morton family of
that state, that took a prominent part on the patriot
side of the Revolutionary war. The family
originally came from Ireland as a result of religious
persecutions, and after the Revolution migrated to the
Northwest Territory to get away from the curse of human
slavery. John A. Moomaw received his
elementary education in the common schools and
subsequently took a course at the Salem academy.
At a very early age he had become interested in the
cause of education and conceived an honorable ambition
to be one of the grand army engaged in its advancement.
In 1873 he took charge of a school which he taught with
success and since then has been in constant touch with
teachers and their work. He is known all over the
county as a successful and enthusiastic educator, having
had charge of schools in many different townships.
Nor have his efforts in this useful calling been
confined to his native county. The neighboring
county of Fayette has had the benefit of Mr. Moomaw's
skill and experience, with the result of extending and
confirming his reputation as a teacher. As the
township trustees in Ohio are intimately connected with
the schools, it was natural that when a vacancy occurred
in this office in Paint township, Mr. Moomaw's
name should be suggested for the place. He was
accordingly appointed and in 1899 was regularly elected
to the position by the popular vote. Since then,
as trustee of his native township, he has been able to
demonstrate his administrative ability and familiarity
with the needs of the school system. Still other
and higher recognition in the same line came to Mr.
Moomaw when he was elected by the Chillicothe
presbytery to membership of the board of education of
the Salem academy. He has also found time to pay
some attention to politics and is regarded as one of the
sensible advisers in all that concerns the local
organization of his party. In 1881, Mr. Moomaw
was married to Sarah Reighle, of Bainbridge,
whose mother was a member of the well known Dewey
family of Pennsylvania origin. Their eldest
son, who gives promise of great future usefulness, is
one of the brightest students at the Salem academy, of
which institution he will soon become a graduate.
Mr. Moomaw is a member of the Royal Arcanum and
Modern Woodmen of America. The entire family are
members of the Presbyterian church, of which Mr.
Moomaw has long been an elder.
Source: The County of Ross: a history of Ross County,
Ohio
by Henry Holcomb Bennett - Published by S. A. Brant, Madison,
Wis., 1902 - Page 612 |
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GEORGE
BERNARD MOORE, of Chillicothe, is one of the
representative business men of that thriving city.
He is a native of Cincinnati, Ohio, born Dec. 3, 1854.
On the paternal side he is of Irish descent. His
grandfather, Moore, a native of the County
Donegal, Ireland, emigrated with ten brothers and one
sister to America in the early part of the last century,
and located in Philadelphia, where he met and married a
young lady who was born and reared in the Shenandoah
valley, Virginia. In the city of Philadelphia, in
March, 1835, there was born to this union a son,
George B. Moore, the father of the subject of this
sketch. He was reared in the city of Philadelphia,
after maturity was married in St. Louis, Mo., and died
at Cincinnati in 1895. His wife, Elizabeth
Warren, was born in Melbourne, Derbyshire,
England, in 1837. Six of their children are
living, namely: Mrs. Emma Webb, of Cincinnati;
Mrs. Annie Price of Cincinnati, and four brothers,
George B., the subject of this sketch,
Charles, Edward are John. George B.
spent his boyhood days in Cincinnati, attended the city
schools, and when quite young entered the firm of J.
R. Mills & Co., and perfected his knowledge of the
printer's trade, serving three years as foreman in that
establishment. This firm going out of business
compelled Mr. Moore to seek employment elsewhere,
and as a result he entered the employ of the well known
firm of A. H. Pugh& Co., of Cincinnati, who
remained with them until 1882, when impaired health
required him to seek a change and he located permanently
in Chillicothe. Here he has met with marked
success in his printing and stationary establishment and
today stands second to none in the estimation of the
people, not only as to the excellent character of his
line of work but also as an estimable citizen. In
1881 he was married to Mary Laurentine Poland,
daughter of Walter and Elizabeth (Rigney) Poland,
old and respected residents of Chillicothe. Her
father was born near Dublin, Ireland, and died some
years ago after a long and useful life as an honored
citizen. Her mother was a native of Zanesville,
Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Moore have four
children: Elizabeth Poland, Mary Agnes, Edgar
Vincent, and Marguerite Mary. Socially
the family stands high, and all are members of the
Catholic church. Mr. Moore is a member of
the order of Elks, Modern Woodman of American, and the
A. O. H. By perseverance and industry he has
achieved success in his chosen profession and a secure
place in the high regard of his friends and neighbors.
Source: The County of Ross: a history of Ross County,
Ohio
by Henry Holcomb Bennett - Published by S. A. Brant, Madison,
Wis., 1902 - Page 613 |
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NOAH B. MOORE,
a popular young railroad employe at Chillicothe, for ten
years with the Baltimore & Ohio, is a native of Ross
county, as were his parents before him. His
grandfather, known as Col. Taylor W. Moore, was
brought to Ross county by his parents in infancy and
subsequently became quite noted in connection with
public affairs. Though a farmer by occupation he
had a natural fondness for politics and participated
vigorously in the local campaigns as manager and
canvasser. Colonel Moore gained
considerable fame in this way and was often urged to
become a candidate but would never accept office.
He married Harriet Kaus, member of an old Ross
county family, by whom he had a family of five sons and
one daughter. Among the former was one named
Joseph who was born, bred and educated in Ross
county and spent his whole life as one of her citizens.
Like his father, his main occupation was that of
farming, but in addition to this he did much work as a
contractor and builder. Joseph Moore
married Mary Wheeler and they became the parents
of four children, of whom Frederick is a railroad
fireman at Chillicothe, Albert resides in Fisher,
Ill., and Anna is the wife of Elersie Dresbach,
of Hallsville, O. Noah B. Moore, the eldest
of these children, was born in Green township, Ross
county, Dec. 4, 1871. He attended the neighborhood
schools and assisted with the farm work until his
twentieth year was reached, when he decided to devote
his life to the railroad service. He obtained
employment in an humble capacity with the Baltimore &
Ohio company, with which he has since continued, working
his way up until he reached the position of freight
conductor. He is regarded as a safe and faithful
employe, enjoying the confidence of those above and the
good will of those below him in the service. That
he has the esteem of his fellow workmen is shown by the
fact that he was elected secretary of lodge No. 243,
Brotherhood of Railway Trainmen. Nov. 29, 1893, he
was married to Ella McKenna, a young lady of
Cincinnati, and their children are Carl, Lucile
and Cecil.
Source: The County of Ross: a history of Ross County,
Ohio
by Henry Holcomb Bennett - Published by S. A. Brant, Madison,
Wis., 1902 - Page 614 |
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HENRY
V. MORRIS, land-owner and dealer in stock on an
extensive scale, with residence at Adelphi, has led an
active and strenuous life from the period of his
boyhood. His efforts have been crowned with
success and few men of his age can point to more
accomplished in the same length of time. He is a
grandson of Henry O. and Charity
(Shelby) Morris, who settled in Pickaway county in
the early part of the nineteenth century. Henry
O. Morris was a farmer and stockraiser and
accumulated a body of land amounting to some eight
hundred acres. He was highly esteemed as a
citizen, held various township offices and exercised an
influence which always attends upon probity of
character. Both he and wife were members of the
United Brethren church, and each lived to an unusually
advanced age, he dying in 1869, when eighty-six years
old, and his wife in 1875 while completing her
ninety-second year. They had seven sons and three
daughters, none of whom are now living with the
exception of Reason Morris. The
latter was born in Pickaway county, Oct. 8, 1827, and
followed in the footsteps of his father as a farmer and
stockraiser. In his youth, before the advancing
railroads destroyed that business in Ohio, he drove
cattle over the mountains to the eastern markets and
later joined the herders in the West. His life of
activity and adventure brought him some accumulations.
He married Harriet, daughter of Daniel and
Mary (Metzger) Pontious, natives of Pennsylvania,
who became pioneers of Pickaway and reared a family of
eight children of whom three are living. By a
coincidence often remarked upon, Reason Morris
had the same number of children as his father and
also divided similarly as to sex. His seven sons
and three daughters are all living and have become
useful men and women in their different spheres of life.
Henry V. was born in the county and township of
Pickaway Jan. 9, 1863. He was eager to meet the
duties and risks of life and began business for himself
at the age of nineteen. From that time on he has
given his attention to farming in all its branches, with
especial care to raising, breeding, buying and selling
of stock. He has been a handler of horses nearly
all his life, not only by purchase and sale but by
utilizing them in livery and transportation.
Mr. Morris was not neglectful of realty as he went
along, but has invested in land from time to time until
his holdings amount to 471 acres, lying partly in Ross
and partly in Pickaway counties. He came to
Adelphi in 1896, where he owns a fine residence and
livery barn, being one of the well-to-do men of the
place, and feeling a justifiable pride in the fact that
he made his own property. His real estate in Ross
county consists of 271 acres of land in different
tracts, lying in Colerain township on the Adelphi and
Hallsville turnpike, and he also has 200 acres in
Pickaway county. Mr. Morris like his
father, and grandfather, is Democratic in politics.
He finds relaxation from business by membership of
Adelphi lodge No. 675, Knights of Pythias. Jan.
22, 1885, he was married to Eva, daughter of
Abraham and Mary (Bartey) Long, of Westerville,
first and fifth in order of birth, and dead, the others
being Clifton H., Fannie E., Henry W., and
Mary E.
Source: The County of Ross: a history of Ross County, Ohio
by Henry Holcomb Bennett - Published by S. A. Brant, Madison,
Wis., 1902 - Page 615 |
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JAMES R. MOTTER,
M. D., of Gillespieville, is a native of Liberty
township, Ross county, born Mar. 18, 1853. His
parents were Austin and Jane (Williamson) Motter,
both natives of Ross county. Austin was a
son of George and Mary K. (Knowls) Motter, both
natives of Virginia, who came to Ross county about the
year 1800 and spent the rest of their lives there.
George Motter dealt in fine horses on an
extensive scale and had a great reputation as a judge of
those animals. He died in Ross county about 1830
and his wife followed him about two years later.
Austin Motter was born in Ross county in 1822,
and became a merchant in Chillicothe and Londonderry,
and died at the latter place in 1879. His wife was
a daughter of John W. and Willie (Hagley) Williamson,
the former of New Jersey and the latter of Greenbrier
county, W. Va., who came to Ross county in 1814 and
ended their days here. John W. Williamson
was a notable and influential man; built the first hotel
at Londonderry, and was very successful in that
business; was shrewd and tactful and accumulated wealth,
and was postmaster under Jackson and other
presidents, holding that office about twenty-two years.
He was intimate with Allen G. Thurman, Governor
Allen and other prominent men of his day.
His wife died in 1874 but he survived until the year
1897. Austin Motter held the office of
deputy sheriff for four years, his chief duty being to
look after a family of six children, of whom four are
living. Dr. Motter was reared in
Londonderry and educated in the Chillicothe high school.
He began the study of medicine with Dr. Thomas
Farabee and, in 1873, was graduated from the Ohio
Medical college in Cincinnati, 1883 he was married to
Ida M., daughter of Joseph and Abigail (Ring)
Faust, the former of Germany and the latter a
descendant of Ross county pioneers. The mother of
Mr. Faust settled at Lancaster, Ohio, and died
at the extreme old age of one hundred and one years.
Dr. Motter and wife have two children, Edwin
Cameron and Jettie M. The Doctor has
taken an active interest in educational matters and has
been a member of the school board for sixteen years,
serving as president most of the time. He now owns
the old homestead of Dr. James Gillespie,
who was an uncle of James G. Blaine. Dr.
Gillespie kept the first postoffice at the place and
it was named in his honor.
Source: The County of Ross: a history of Ross County,
Ohio
by Henry Holcomb Bennett - Published by S. A. Brant, Madison,
Wis., 1902 - Page |
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THOMAS I. MURPHY,
of the wholesale liquor firm of Frank Murphy & Co.
was born in Chillicothe Aug. 15, 1856. His parents
were Patrick and Mary (King) Murphy, both natives
of Ireland. The father came to America in 1846 and
settled in Chillicothe, the mother not arriving until
four years later. They were married in their
native country, where Frank, Mary and Lizzie
were born before the emigration. The other three
children, Kate, Thomas and John, were born
after the arrival in Chillicothe. Patrick
Murphy engage in the grocery business with his
half-brother, Martin O'Neil, on Water street.
All their stock, however, was consumed in the disastrous
fire of 1852, and after this, Patrick was
employed in various ways for ten or twelve years,
working most of the time as a common laborer. He
died May 17, 1874, at the age of sixty-four years, his
wife surviving him until April 7, 1881, when she expired
in her seventy-first year. Of their six children,
four are still living. John died in 1880,
at the age of twenty-two. Frank, in early
youth, engaged as a clerk with the firm of James
Boulger & Co., wholesale grocers and liquor dealers;
remained with this house for twelve years; then
purchased the grocery and liquor business owned by
Hugh McCurry and conducted it until his death, on
Sept. 6, 1901, the day of the assassination of
Prisident McKinley. In 1882, Thomas I.
Murphy, the subject of this sketch, became a partner
in the business, and since Frank's death he has
continued the same. In the spring of 1890, the
firm purchased the building now occupied by their large
stock. Frank married Miss Piatt, of
West Liberty, who only survived about a year after
marriage. Thomas I. Murphy was educated in
the Chillicothe public schools. When fifteen years
old he engaged as a clerk with his brother Frank
and has always followed this line of work. Both he
and his brother Frank were successful business
men, possessing universal confidence and the
esteem of all who knew them. Mr. Murphy
married Miss Annie Hydell, daughter of Anton
and Annie Hydell, both natives of Germany. Her
father, who was a moulder by trade, died in Chillicothe,
but the mother is still living. Mrs. Murphy
only lived a couple of years after her marriage when she
died, leaving one child which lived only about a year
after its mother's death. Mr. Murphy is a
leader of recognized influence in the Democratic party,
ahs held various official positions and served eight
years as a member of the city board of elections.
He is a member of the Roman Catholic church. Of
the sisters of Mr. Murphy, Kate resides in his
own household; Mary is the widow of
William Rusk, a real estate dealer of Cincinnati;
Lizzie is the wife of Thomas Surran, a
machinist of Cincinnati.
Source: The County of Ross: a history of Ross County,
Ohio
by Henry Holcomb Bennett - Published by S. A. Brant, Madison,
Wis., 1902 - Page |
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THOMAS
MURRAY, lately of
Buckskin township, was long and conspicuously identified
with the political and agricultural affairs of that
section of Ross county. His life extended over a
period of seventy-seven years, from the time of his
birth in 1819 until his lamented death in 1896. He
took much interest in the local political contests and
served on the township board of trustees several terms.
Entertaining strong religious convictions he was a
consistent member of the First Presbyterian church at
Greenfield and never failed to inculcate in his children
the precepts of morality. He married a daughter of
George Parrett, the latter being a member of a
numerous and influential family long prominent in the
development of Buckskin township. The progenitors
were of Virginia origin and were numbered among the
earliest arrivals in the Paint Creek valley.
Mr. and Mrs. Murray became the parents of five
children. Of these, George A. is living at
Austin, Ross county;
Anna is the wife of George Cope, of
Missouri; Charles is at home and Frank E.
is in the government service at Omaha, Neb.
T. Arthur Murray, third of the children in order
of birth, grew up on his father's farm and received a
training that fitted him for future work in that line.
He attended the common schools of Buckskin township and
after reaching suitable age engaged in agricultural
pursuits. Though not neglecting the general
features, he has paid special attention to live stock
and deals in the famous breed of cattle known as
Shorthorns. He has achieved a flattering measure
of success as a breeder and feeder and is well known to
those connected with the local live stock industry.
Mr. Murray has a taste for politics and has "had a
hand" in all the township contests of late years, being
recognized by his party associates as a safe counselor.
He is also prominent in fraternal circles, being
connected with several of the most popular orders.
He is a member of the Knights Templar and McClain lodge
Knights of Pythias at Greenfield. Inheriting his
religious conviction of his good father, he is a
communicant in the Presbyterian church.
Source: The County of Ross: a history of Ross County,
Ohio
by Henry Holcomb Bennett - Published by S. A. Brant, Madison,
Wis., 1902 - Page |
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