|
BIOGRAPHIES
The following biographies are extracted from:
Source:
A Standard History of Ross County, Ohio
Vol. II.
Published by The Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago & New York
1917
< CLICK
HERE to RETURN to 1917 BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX
>
<
CLICK HERE to RETURN to LIST OF BIOGRAPHICAL INDEXES & HISTORIES
>
Joseph M. Hanley, M.D. |
JOSEPH M. HANLEY, M. D.
Source: A Standard History of Ross County, Ohio -
Vol. II. - Published by The Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago &
New York 1917 - Page 685 |
|
|
MRS. SARAH
ELIZABETH HARMOUNT. On account of the
splendid character of the people who have lived there
one of the most interesting homesteads in Ross County is
that occupied by Mrs. Sarah E. Harmount in
Deerfield Township. Mrs. Harmount is a
granddaughter of the original settler there, and she and
her family reside in a commodious two story house,
surrounded by a large lawn shaded with beautiful trees.
It was on this farm that Mrs. Harmount was born
April 24, 1841. She is a daughter of the late
JOHN WESLEY TIMMONS, who was born on part of the
same farm Mar. 4, 1806, a son of Stephen and Milla
(Brown) Timmons.
The founder of the family here was Rev. Stephen
Timmons, who was born in Worcester County, Maryland,
Aug. 6, 1769. His father, Thomas Timmons,
was born in Maryland of English ancestry.
Thomas Timmons was a member of the Episcopal Church,
and was one of the very early opponents of the
institution of slavery. The maiden name of his
wife is thought to have been Mary Clarkson.
Rev. Stephen Timmons was reared in the Episcopal
faith, but in 1791 joined the Methodist Episcopal Church
and was soon appointed leader of two classes. Not
long afterwards he was licensed to preach, joined the
Methodist Conference, and was assigned in 1795 to the
Northumberland Circuit. In 1798 he came to the
Northwest Territory, arriving in Chillicothe in October
of that year. Chillicothe then had one hewed log
house occupied by Dr. Edward Tiffin, who
afterwards became the first governor of the state.
All the other buildings in the town, few in number, were
cabins built of round logs. Rev. Stephen
Timmons as the pioneer circuit rider visited all the
few white settlements then to be found north of the Ohio
River, and even carried his missionary efforts into
Kentucky. Some of the civilized Indians would go
before him and others followed behind to cover up his
tracks. This was in 1803. Meeting an object
of charity on one of his trips he gave her his last
twenty-five cents, and when he alighted from his horse
waiting to cross the river there lay at his feet
fifty-cents. HE made the second trip West in 1799
bringing White Brown with him to prove his
statement about the new country. Rev. Enoch
George came as far as where Lancaster now stands on
his first trip. He returned east. There he
recited in glowing terms the wonderful charms of the
Scioto Valley. Among others who were influenced by
his words of praise of this western country was White
Brown. It is largely on the strength of this
missionary's work that White Brown came to Ross
County with his family. No history of Ross County
has ever been written without honorable mention of
White Brown, since he did much in the early days to
make Ross County what it is. Rev. Stephen
Timmons married a daughter of this pioneer Ross
County settler. On his return east Mr. Timmons
joined the Maryland Conference and preached at different
places until December, 1801. In that year he
returned to Ross County, accompanying a part of White
Brown's family. While he himself rode a horse
other members of the party were in a wagon drown by four
horses driven by a trusted slave. The minister's
belongings were in a wooden chest carried on the wagon.
This chest is now preserved at the home of his
granddaughter Mrs. Harmount. Mr. Timmons'
father had given him $200 and with this he purchased a
tract of land in what is now Deerfield Township.
This land is now a part of the Harmount farm.
In those early days about the only demand for corn was
from the settlers who had not yet had time to raise a
crop. Rev. Stephen Timmons erected as his
first home a cabin 16 by 16 feet of hickory logs.
In that he and his bride commenced housekeeping.
In the year 1804 there arrived in Ross County a colony
of people from Maryland. There were seventy of
them, the poorest of the poor, oppressed Marylanders.
They drew up at the door of Rev. Mr. Timmons.
These Marylanders had brought all their possessions
in a cart drawn by a pony. Mr. Timmons took
it upon himself to assist each of these families to
secure homes in the wilderness. The land had not
yet been surveyed, and much of it was owned by the State
of Virginia. Under his own direction and by his
assistance four cabins were built for the new settlers,
and with his gun he supplied the newcomers with large
quantities of wild meat, and took other steps to assist
them until they could raise a crop. In the
meantime the improvements were continuing on his own
farm, and in a few years he had a large tract under
cultivation. The early settlers of Ross County owe
a great debt of gratitude to this sterling man of
Christ. In spite of the fact that he constantly
gave away great quantities of his yearly produce, he
prospered. What he did not give away outright he
sold on easy terms to the poor. When a stranger
came to him to buy corn he first inquired whether the
purchaser had money to pay. If the man said yes,
Mr. Timmons would then tell him of some one who
had corn to sell. He kept his own corn for such as
did not have the money. Thus he confined his
dealings almost entirely to the poor. While his
own health was not good, and that prevented him from
holding regular pastorates, he found much opportunity to
preach the Gospel. He was unable to endure the
heavy hardships placed upon the circuit rider of the
time. Those early preachers made journeys on
horseback lasting for days and months, encountered all
kinds of bad weather, swam swollen streams, and in his
time he saw much of that very kind of service.
From time to time Rev. Mr.
Timmons added other tracts of land until he was
owner of upwards of 800 acres in Ross County and as much
more in Pickaway County.
His death occurred in 1849, at the age of eighty years.
Thus came to a close one of the most fruitful lives ever
passed in Ross County. In March, 1802, he married
Milla Brown, daughter of White Brown.
She died in 1832. He afterwards married Mrs.
(Cartwright) Comberford, a relative of the famous
pioneer missionary and evangelist, Peter
Cartwright.
John Wesley Timmons, son of Rev. Stephen
Timmons, inherited a part of the old home farm, and
spent his active years engaged in general farming and
stock raising. He owned land in Pickaway County
and 900 acres in Henry County. He died at the age
of seventy-three. He was first married to Sarah
Brown by the Rev. Reuben Rowe on Jan. 13,
1831. She was removed by death about six years
later and he then married Ann Elizabeth Prior.
This marriage was performed by Rev. William S. Morrow
on May 1, 1838. Miss Prior was a student in
the old seminary at Chillicothe about 1834, and while
there she had united with the Methodist Episcopal
Church. At the death of her parents she came into
possession of 500 acres of land. For his third
wife John W. Timmons was married Apr. 30, 1865,
to Margaret Clifford, the ceremony being
performed by Rev. T. J. Phillips.
The three children of his first wife died in their
youth, one of them living to the age of twelve years.
By the second marriage there were nine children.
The three now living are Sarah Elizabeth, Thomas
Jefferson and James Madison. One son,
Samuel Prior died in Andersonville Prison and
something more than passing mention should be made of
him. When eighteen years of age he enlisted in
Company A of the First Ohio Regiment. He was born
Oct. 2, 1842, in Deerfield Township of Ross County, and
enlisted Sept. 1, 1861, at Clarksburg, Ohio. Soon
afterward he was promoted to first sergeant. At
the Battle of Stone River he received a flesh wound on
his arm. Sept. 19, 1863, while in the Battle of
Chickamauga, he was shot through the left leg just above
the knee joint, and subsequently captured. He was
removed to Atlanta, then to Richmond, then to
Andersonville, where he perished of starvation Sept. 16,
1864. He united with the Methodist Episcopal
Church when sixteen years of age, and left home with a
strong faith in God, believing that He would care and
provide for him. As to his life and character as a
man and soldier his colonel wrote of him as follows:
"I recollect your brother very well and his quiet
gentlemanly manner early attracted my notice, and each
day of his two years' service with the regiment gave
perfect satisfaction and fresh proof of his worth as a
man and a soldier. I never knew him to be guilty
of an immoral word or action. As first sergeant of
Company A his books were neat and well kept, and his
reports and accounts prompt and accurate. He was
strict and reliable in the performance of every duty.
In few words, he was a good soldier and good man, brave,
prompt, conscientious, obedient. It affords me
pleasure to bear testimony of his merits." His
remains lie in grave No. 8914 at Andersonville.
His letters home while in prison were always cheery and
hopeful, still trusting the Lord to guide and protect.
He said in one: "I am trying to make the best of my
condition possible and to keep up my spirit," and of
comrades and self he also said: "We are doing as well as
could be expected, yet are longing, looking and praying
for the day of our release."
Another of the sons of John W. Timmons was also
a soldier. He was John Wesley Timmons, Jr.,
who served his country in the One Hundred and
Forty-ninth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, enlisting when but
nineteen years of age. He was also a Christian boy
- and man. He was an excellent soldier, performed
all his duties as a mature man with promptness and
fidelity. He died at Circleville, Ohio, Aug. 26,
1881.
John Wesley Timmons, Sr., was a man of great
influence and excellent judgment, and many people came
to him for help and advice when in trouble. His
house was noted as a home for the afflicted and needy.
He was a firm and active supporter of the church, held
different offices such as class leader, circuit steward,
etc., and gave liberally of his own means to church
causes. At quarterly meetings he was in the habit
of giving a public invitation for entertainment at his
home. As many as fifty guests were entertained
around his dinner table, and usually from twelve to
fifteen spent the night in that hospitable household.
It was said of him while living that "he was a man among
men and esteemed as a man among men." At his
funeral Rev. Zachariah Wharton among other things
said that "his word was as good as the dollar."
John Wesley Timmons lived on a part of the farm
where he was reared until September, 1849, and then
moved to the vicinity of Clarksburg, where he spent the
rest of his days. During a part of his life he
filled the office of justice of the peace. His
second wife Ann was a perfect helpmate. Her
last work was one of unselfish devotion. She went
to the Gettysburg battlefield in order to nurse a half
brother of her husband who had been wounded and who died
on the battlefield, and she brought his body home.
While at Gettysburg she cared for many other wounded
soldiers, and one of them wrote home to his friends that
"no one knew the good she had done while there."
In three short weeks after returning from his mission of
love she was laid away in the family burying ground.
The remains of herself and husband have since been
removed to the township cemetery at Brown's Chapel.
Ann Elizabeth Prior was born near Clarksburg,
though across the line in Pickaway County Mar. 9, 1817.
Her parents were Samuel T. and Emily (Nickols) Pryor.
A daughter of these worthy parents, Mrs. Sarah
Elizabeth Harmount grew up in the old home at
Clarksburg, attended the public schools there and was
also a student in the Female College at Springfield.
In 1861 she married Robert Simpson Harmount, son
of George B. and Anna Mary (Baughman) Harmount.
On May 2, 1864, three years after their marriage,
Mr. Harmount enlisted in the One Hundred and
Forty-ninth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, being in the 100
days services. His father, George Harmount,
was a carriage builder by trade and a pioneer in that
occupation in the City of Chillicothe. It is said
that the first body for a stage coach ever made in that
city was his handiwork. From Chillicothe he
removed to Williamsport, where he spent his last days.
Robert S. Harmount learned the trade of carriage
and wagon builder from his father and as a young man
located at Clarksburg where he conducted a carriage
factory a number of years. After his marriage he
removed to the Harmount homestead in Deerfield
Township, eleven miles from Chillicothe, and was
actively occupied with farming until his death at the
age of sixty-nine.
Mr. and Mrs. Harmount reared six children:
Louetta May, George P., Anna E., Timmons, Robert S.
and Ralph. Louetta by her marriage to
George C. Blue has two children, Samuel Francis
and Charles. George married Martha
Briggs. Anna, now deceased, married Wade J.
Byerly. Timmons married Ida L. Wilkins,
and their six children are Nellie, Harry, Arthur,
Annie, Pryor and Mary. Robert married
Addie Goodbar, and the four children that bless
their union are Marie, Robert, Joseph and
Catherine. Ralph married Rebecca Layton,
and has three children, Gilbert, Harold and
Forrest. Mrs. Harmount has seven
great-grandchildren.
Thus the declining years of Mrs. Harmount are
spent with the solace and comforts supplied by her
children and her many grandchildren. She has
always been a reader, keeps up with current history, and
has many things to occupy her mind at the delightful
home where she lives.
Source: A Standard History of Ross County, Ohio -
Vol. II. - Published by The Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago &
New York 1917 - Page 802 |
|
|
GEORGE F. HATFIELD.
One cannot follow the long career of George F. Hatfield
without renewing appreciation of those homely, sterling
qualities which, when allied with practical business sense, lift
men from poverty to wealth, from obscurity to prominence.
He has been a resident of Ross County since 1913, and since the
year following has lived on his present property, located in the
Vicinity of Vigo, where he owns and operates 240 acres of land.
His career has been a successful one and his fortune and
prestige have been gained solely through his own efforts.
Mr. Hatfield was born Nov. 12, 1865, in Pike
County, Kentucky, and is a son of Judge Basil and Nancy Jane
(Lowe) Hatfield. His paternal grandfather was
George Hatfield, who went from Virginia into Pike County,
Kentucky, as a pioneer settler, and there passed the remaining
years of his life as a farmer. Basil Hatfield was
born on Blackberry Creek, Pike County, Kentucky, Nov. 17, 1839,
and during the greater part of his life has been identified with
public life. Reared as a farmer, in early life he became a
preacher in the Baptist Church, and for fifty years has preached
in various communities of Kentucky, although at this time he is
semi-retired. As a stalwart supporter of republican
principles, he attracted the attention and confidence of his
fellow citizens, who recognized in him good official timber, and
who demonstrated their faith by electing him a magistrate in his
native county. After two terms in that office he was
elected judge of the county court for two terms, or eight years,
and this was followed by his election as sheriff of Pike County,
an office which he held for one term, which at that time
amounted to four years. Judge Hatfield at that time
removed to Lexington, Kentucky, where he lived for two or three
years, then going to Pikesville, where he was again nominated
for public office, being the candidate of the republican party
for the county judgeship. He tied with the democratic
candidate, but after a count-off was counted out by a small
margin. He is now living at Prestonburg, Kentucky, at the
age of seventy-six years, while Mrs. Hatfield is two
years his junior and also survives. Throughout his career
Judge Hatfield has maintained a high standard of honor,
and few men are more deserving of the esteem in which they are
held by their fellows. He and his wife have been the
parents of twelve children, all of whom have grown to maturity,
as follows: Polly, who is the wife of Granville
Smith, of Pike County, Kentucky; Matilda, who is
married and a resident of Muncie, Indiana; Jeremiah, who
is now deceased; George F., of this review; Orrison R.,
of St. Paul, Kentucky; Emily Jane, who is the wife of
Doctor Truggle, of New York City; Nancy, who is the
wife of James H. Ball of Pike County, Kentucky; Lydia
the wife of Sam Nunery also of that county; Hays,
a resident of New York City; Thomas Jefferson, who is
deceased; Emma, the wife of W. H. Blair, of
Prestonburg, Kentucky; and Lundy, who is a resident of
Portsmouth, Ohio. All of the children were given good
educational advantages and reared to lives of industry and
sobriety.
George F. Hatfield received his education in the
district schools and lived at home until he reached the age of
eighteen years. On Dec. 6, 1883, he was united in marriage
with Miss Flores Layne, a daughter of W. H. and Emily
(Smith) Layne. Mr. Layne and his wife were reared near
the mouth of Mud Creek, on Sandy River, in Floyd County,
Kentucky, Mr. Layne being the son of Judge Lindsey
Layne, who was a prominent man in Kentucky during his day.
In the first year of his marriage Mr. Hatfield lived on
the old home place, and then moved to Sandy River, Floyd County,
where he was also engaged in farming for one year.
Returning to Pike County, he assumed the duties of deputy
sheriff, an office which he held for five consecutive years, and
then passed a like period in farming and sawlogging. With
his earnings thus gained he purchased the homestead place on
which he had been born, a tract of 160 acres, from his father,
but after a short time sold this property and moved to Flat Gap,
Johnson County, Kentucky, bought property in town, and embarked
in the mercantile business, which demanded his attention for a
period of twenty years, a part of this time as Hatfield &
Vaugn and later as George F. Hatfield. In 1896
Mr. Hatfield was appointed postmaster at Flat Gap, a
capacity in which he acted for seventeen years, and until he
sold his mercantile business, at which time he resigned from the
Government service. At that time, in 1913, he again
decided to take up farming, and accordingly came to Ross County
and bought a farm of 107 acres of good land near Anderson.
This he sold after about twelve months, when he closed a deal
for his present farm, a property of 240 acres of good bottoms
land, located one mile northeast of Vigo, in Liberty Township.
He has made numerous valuable improvements since his arrival,
and his handsome, well-improved and highly cultivated farm is a
monument to his ability and industry and an illustration of what
may be achieved through individual and determined effort.
Mr. and Mrs. Hatfield are the parents of five
children: Emily Jane, who is the wife of Glen
Walters and resides on the home farm; James Trimble,
who married Miss Shaffer and assists his father in the
cultivation of the Liberty Township farm; Lundy, whose
home is in the State of Washington; Dixie, who is the
wife of W. B. Hall and lives on the home farm; and
Tera, the wife of Isom Salyer, of Flat Gap, Johnson
County, Kentucky. Mr. and Mrs. Hatfield and their
children are members of the New Regular Baptist Church, in the
work of which they have taken a keen interest, Mr. Hatfield
having been clerk of the church at the time he left Johnson
Gap. In political matters he is a republican, and his
public services have included the duties of the office of vice
president of the Herrick Commission, which he now hoods.
Aside from his agricultural labors, he has done some business in
a real estate way and has been the medium through which some
large deals have been consummated.
Source: A Standard History of Ross County, Ohio -
Vol. II. - Published by The Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago &
New York 1917 - Page 864 |
|
|
CHARLES
MARTIN HAYNES. A practical and prosperous business
main of Chillicothe, as a jeweler being associated with its
manufacturing and mercantile interests, Charles Martin Haynes
is in truth of pioneer stock, belonging to a family that has
been well known in Ross County for upwards of 100 years.
He was born June 19, 1866, in Concord Township, while his
father, Col. James Henry Haynes, was born in Ross County,
Jan. 28, 1836, and his grandfather, Martin Haynes, was
likewise a native of this county, his birth having occurred in
1809, in Scioto Township.
John Haynes, son of Nicholas and
Sophia (Sheetz) Haynes, the paternal
great-grandfather of Charles Martin Haynes, was born Oct.
14, 1769, in the State of Pennsylvania, York County, Dover
Township, near the Blue Mountains, and during his earlier life
resided for many years in Charleston, Virginia. Soon after
the first settlements of Ohio were made, he crossed the
intervening country six times, coming and going on three trips,
making the first two prospecting trips on foot, and the third
one on horseback. In 1808, accompanied by his family, he
came to Ross County with teams, bringing all of his worldly
effects with him. He located in the Paint Creek Valley,
near Haynes Creek Ford, which was named in his honor. He
purchased from the Government a tract of heavily timbered land,
and on the clearing which he made erected a log cabin, in the
construction of which not a nail was used. He rived by
hand the clapboards which covered the roof, weighting them in
place with poles. He was a man of undaunted energy and
enterprise, and a one time owned three mills in Ross County, one
being located on the Narrows, one on Paint Creek, and the other
in Scioto Township. He lived to a venerable age, passing
away Mar. 28, 1859. His wife, whose maiden name was
Margaret Sheetz, born Aug. 23, 1775, at Shephards Town on
the Potomac, Virginia, died Sept. 5, 1836. Seven sons and
five daughters were born of this union: Elizabeth,
1791; Julian, 1793, Jacob, 1795; Henry,
1798; Mary, 1800; on died at birth, 1803, not named;
John, 1804; Sarah, 1807; Martin and
Margaret, twins, 1809; Daniel, 1812; Benjamin,
1815.
Martin Haynes was reared and
educated in pioneer days, beginning and ending his school life
in a log house, primitively furnished. The rude slab
benches, with wooden pins for legs, had no desks, but a plank
placed along the wall served as a place for the scholars to
write, the quill pens used being made by the teacher, while the
ink was made at home by boiling the inner bark of young maple
trees in water impregnated with sulphate of iron. The
floor was of puncheon, and the chimney was made of earth and
stocks. Fond of the chase, Martin Haynes was very
skilful as a deer hunter, and his gun, now in the possession of
the subject of this sketch, is said to have killed more deer
than any other gun in Ohio.
After attaining his majority, Martin Haynes
purchased land in Concord Township, on the north fork of Paint
Creek, and there operated a saw mill, and a grist mill which was
equipped with bolts for making flour. People from
many miles around used to go there with their grist. He
built up a fine business, and was there a resident until his
death. He married Caroline Hoover, a daughter of
Jonathan and Elizabeth Kellenberger Hoover, and they became
the parents of six children, as follows: Louisa,
1834; James Jenry, 1836; Elizabeth, 1839; Sarah,
1840; William Martin, 1846; Eliza, 1854.
Col. James Henry Hanes acquired the rudiment of
his education in the district schools, and later attended the
Ohio State University. Enlisting for service during the
Civil war, he was commissioned by Governor Dennison, Aug.
1, 1861, as second lieutenant of Company A, Eighteenth Ohio
Volunteer Infantry. Going with his command to the front,
he participated in many important engagements, including among
others those at Bowling Green, Kentucky; Huntsville, Alabama;
Bridgeport, Alabama; Manchester, Stewart Creek, Tullahoma, and
Dug Gap, in Tennessee; and at Chickamauga, Georgia. In
November, 1862, he resigned on account of ill health, and
returned home to recuperate. On September 26, 1863, he was
commissioned lieutenant-colonel of the Twenty-seventh Regiment,
Ohio Volunteer Militia, by Governor Tod, but was never
called into active service. After leaving the army he
resumed charge of the mill in Concord Township, and operated it
until 1877, when he went to South Bloomfield, Ohio, where he was
engaged in milling two years. The following year he was
similarly employed at Circleville, from there going to Austin,
where he had charged of the Thompson Mill two years. He
then settled in Chillicothe and continued a resident until about
1895. After that time he made his home with his daughter,
Mrs. Abram F. Stults, who lived near DeLand, Illinois,
moving with them to Iowa then to Macon, Missouri, where he died
January, 12, 1908.
Colonel Haynes married Mary Catherine Pontius,
who was born in Green Township, Ross County, a daughter of
Andrew Pontious. Her grandfather, Frederick Pontius,
was born in 1759, of German ancestry, in Pennsylvania, it is
thought. About 1806, accompanied by his family, he came
constituted the only improvements. He place a part of the
land under cultivation, and was there employed in tilling the
soil during the remainder of his life. He was twice
married.
Born in Pennsylvania, Jan. 15, 1803, Andrew Pontius,
the maternal grandfather of Mr. Haynes, was brought up
and educated in Green Township, and succeeded to the ownership
of the parental homestead. Industrious and
enterprising, he added to the improvements previously
inaugurated, and soon after assuming possession of the place
burned brick, and from which he erected a substantial house, and
in addition erected a commodious frame barn. Late in life
he removed to Kingston, but after staying there for years
returned to his farm, where his death occurred, Feb. 16, 1879.
He married, June 25, 1825, Mary Ann Bitzer, who was born
Dec. 31, 1808, in Fairfield County, Ohio, and died Oct. 25,
1878. Of the twelve children born of their union, eleven
grew to years of maturity, Reuben, John R., Frederick
B., Peter, Andrew, William Allen, Barbara Ann, Mary Catharine,
Eliza Jane, Sarah Melissa, and Ellen Belinda.
Caroline Elizabeth, twin sister to Ellen, died at the
age of two years. Colonel and Catharine (Pontius)
Haynes were the parents of three children, namely:
Anna Alma, wife of Abraham F. Stults, of Austin,
Minnesota; Charles Martin, the special subject of this
sketch; and Ella Belinda, who died at the age of fourteen
years.
Beginning life for himself at the age of eighteen
years, Charles Martin Haynes entered the employ of
Schlegel & Loel, jewelers, February 1, 1885, and after
completing his apprenticeship remained with the firm until Aug.
1, 1904, gaining skill and experience at his trade.
Forming then a partnership with Frank Henn, he has since
been actively engaged in the jewelry business on North Paint
Street, being junior member of the firm of Henn &
Haynes.
On Aug. 24, 1893, Mr. Haynes married Carrie
Alice Steele, a daughter of Dr. William Wesley, and
Eliza (Minear) Steele, and grand-daughter of Joseph
Steele, a prominent farmer and a stock raiser of Pickaway
county. Doctor Steele was for many years a well
known druggist in Chillicothe. Mr. and Mrs. Haynes
are members of the Walnut Street Methodist Episcopal Church.
Fraternally Mr. Haynes is a member of Scioto Lodge No. 6,
Ancient Free and Accepted Order of Masons; of Chillicothe
Chapter No. 4, Royal Arch Masons; of Chillicothe Council No. 4,
Royal and Select Masters; of Chillicothe Commandery No. 8,
Knights Templar; of Scioto Consistory, at Columbus; and of
Aladdin Temple, Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic
Shrine at Columbus. He also belongs to Chillicothe Lodge
No. 52, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and to
Chillicothe Camp No. 4111, Modern Woodmen of America.
Source: A Standard History of Ross County, Ohio -
Vol. II. - Published by The Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago &
New York 1917 - Page 928 |
|
|
HENRY HICKLE was
at the time of this writing, in the spring of 1916, one of the
very oldest surviving natives of Ross County. He recently
celebrated his ninetieth birthday. This nonagenarian has
been a witness of almost every important incident of progress in
the remarkable century just passed. The first short line
of railroad track was constructed in America about the time he
was born. The Erie Canal had been open for traffic about a
year before. Thus the barriers which had hitherto
restricted population to the narrow fringe of Atlantic colonies
were just being broken down. His family had already established
themselves in Ross County twelve or thirteen years before his
birth, and his is one of the few names that have been
continuously identified with this section of Southern Ohio more
than a century. His long years have had their toil and service
and he has lived to a green old age, honored and respected by
children, grandchildren, and by hosts of friends.
He was born in Colerain Township of Ross County,
February 26, 1826. His father, Henry Hickle, was
born in Rockingham County, Virginia, and the grandfather was a
native of Germany and settled in Virginia on coming to this
country. Late in life the grandfather came to Ross County
and spent his last days in Colerain Township. Henry
Hickle, Sr., grew up and married in Virginia, and started
for Ohio in 1813, while the War of 1812 was still in progress.
He was accompanied by his wife and four children, and also by
his parents. The trip was made with a wagon drawn by four horses
and carrying all the simple household goods. The members
of the party camped by the wayside at night. For a large
part of the distance the road led through an unbroken
wilderness, and most of Southern Ohio was then Government land
and subject to entry by settlers at a very small price per acre.
A hundred acres in Colerain Township constituted the first tract
of land owned by the Hickle family. There
after a few days of industrious work a log cabin rose among the
trees, and later it was replaced by a two-story hewed log house
with a stone chimney in the middle and a fireplace in the two
lower rooms. With the assistance of his children, the
father cleared up this land and later bought other tracts, so
that at the time of his death his estate comprised 300 acres.
He died on the old home farm in 1841. The maiden name of
his wife was Rebecca Reed, and she died in 1826,
soon after the birth of her youngest son, Henry.
She left nine children: Aaron, Jeremiah, Mary, Christopher,
Melinda, John, Jacob, Samuel and Henry. The father
married a second time and reared children by that union.
Mr. Henry Hinkle grew up among typical pioneer
scenes. When he was a boy all cooking was done by open
fires, and no stoves had yet been introduced. His father
raised flax and kept sheep, and he still has the old spinning
wheel and the flax hackle which his mother and sister used in
the domestic processes of cloth manufacture. All grain was
cut with a sickle, and it was years before the most primitive
threshing machinery was introduced, the straw being spread on
the barn floor and tramped out by horses or beaten out with a
flail. It was one of the early duties of Henry Hickle
to ride the horse in its monotonous circle as it tramped out the
wheat. He was nearly a grown man before the first railroad
came to Ross County, and before the first canal was constructed
the surplus grain was taken to market on flatboats down the
Scioto River. Mr. Hickle recalls the custom of the
harvesting season, when three or more men, with a leader, went
from field to field with sickles to cut the grain.
Though there were no public schools, Mr.
Hickle made the best of his advantages secured in the
subscription schools then maintained, and he grew up
industrious, thrifty and able to make his own way from an early
age. To the vocation in which he was reared, farming, he
applied the best years of his life, and won thereby an honorable
competence sufficient for his needs and the comforts of his
family.
In 1854 Mr. Hickle married for his first
wife Sarah Reedy. She was born in Green
Township of Ross County, a daughter of Michael and Mary
(Davis) Reedy, who were early settlers in that locality.
Mrs. Hickle died in 1860. For his second wife he
married another Sarah Reedy, who was a cousin of his
first wife and a daughter of John Reedy. By
his first union there was one daughter, Altha, who
married Chauncey Faust, and is now living in New
Mexico; they have two children, May and Miner.
By the second marriage there were five children: Mary B.,
Ursinus, Julia, Arthur and Floyd. The daughter
Mary married Robert Overly, living in Columbus,
and her four children are Ralph, Earl, Myrtle
and Minnie. Julia married Frank
Gildersleeve and lives in Denver, Colorado, and they have a
daughter, Hazel. Arthur married Nellie
Housworth.
After nearly fifty years of married companionship,
Mrs. Hickle passed away January 2, 1913. She,
as well as Mr. Hickle, was an active member of the
German Reformed Church, which he has served as a deacon and
elder for many years.
Source: A Standard History of Ross County, Ohio -
Vol. II. - Published by The Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago &
New York 1917 - Page 795 |
. |
