|
|
JOHN
W. HALL.
The efficient and popular clerk of the courts of Scioto
County is a scion of an old and honored pioneer family
of Southern Ohio, both his paternal and maternal
ancestors having settled in the Buckeye State at an
early period of its history.
John Wikoff Hall was born on the old Wikoff
homestead, on the banks of the Ohio River, in
Green Township, Adams County, Ohio, and the date of his
nativity was June 30, 1861. In the same township
his father, Charles N. Hall, was born in the year
1840, a son of James H. Hall, who was born at
Logan's Gap, Brown County, this state, the latter's
father, Benjamin Hall, having been a native of
Wales and having come to America when a young man.
For a short interval after his arrival in this country
Benjamin Hall was a resident of Pennsylvania, and
finally he turned his attention to the building of flat
and keel boats for transportation service on the Ohio
River, down which stream he came to establish his home
at Logan's Gap, where he became one of the first
settlers of Brown County, Ohio. For many years
after his arrival in this state there were no canal or
railroad systems in operation in Ohio and the only
available markets for the products of the pioneer
settlers were the southern cities that could be reached
by means of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers.
Benjamin Hall himself built many flat boats which he
personally used in the transportation of produce down
the two rivers, and he usually made New Orleans his
destination and market. There he also sold his
boats, which could not feasibly be taken back up the
rivers, and his return trips were customarily made on
foot. On one of these return journeys through a
virtual wilderness he disappeared and his family
thereafter found no trace of him, the supposition being
that he was robbed and murdered enroute. His wife,
whose maiden name was Shelton, survived him by a
few years and left three sons and two daughters,
James H., Harry, Benjamin and the
daughters, who eventually became respectively Mrs.
Lewis and Mrs. Wilson Case.
James H. Hall was reared to adult age in Brown
County and finally removed thence to Adams County, where
he purchased a tract of heavily timbered land about one
and one-half miles north of the present Village of Rome.
On this pioneer and embryonic farmstead he erected a log
house of the primitive type common to the locality and
period, and after clearing an appreciable portion of his
land he sold the property at a profit and purchased
another wild tract, in Jefferson Township, that county.
There he erected and placed in operation a sawmill, and
he successfully engaged in the manufacturing of lumber,
in addition to giving due attention to the reclamation
and cultivation of his farm. After the death
of his wife he sold this homestead and removed to Rarden
Township, Scioto County, where he became associated with
his son, James H., Jr., in the purchase of 1,000
acres of land that had been set aside to aid in the
founding and support of the state university. The
father and son gave themselves vigorously to the
reclamation of this land, a large part of which they
cleared and improved, and after there maintaining their
home for a number of years they removed to Atchison
County, Missouri, and purchased land. Five years
later they extended their pioneer activities into Nemaha
County, Nebraska, where they bought a large tract of
land and where James H. Hall, Sr., grandfather of
the subject of this review, died in 1899, in his
ninetieth year. He retained his mental and
physical powers to a wonderful extent and was hale and
active until within a very short time before his demise.
His wife, whose maiden name was Angeline Shelton,
was born in Huntington Township, Brown County, Ohio, and
there her death occurred in 1869, their children having
been Charles N., William S., Elisha P.,
James H., George A., Phoebe,
Susan and Mary. Phoebe first
married Willis Robinson, who sacrificed his life
while serving as a soldier of the Union in the Civil
war, and his widow later became the wife of Benjamin
Johnson. Susan likewise was twice
wedded, and her first husband, named Robinson,
also lost his life in the Civil war, after which she
became the wife of George Shively. Mary
married Newton Robinson.
Charles N. Hall was reared and educated in Adams
County and there continued to be identified with
agricultural pursuits until the Civil war was
precipitated and gave to him the call of higher duty.
On the 9th of August, 1862, he enlisted as a private in
Company I, Ninety-first Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and he
was chosen first sergeant of his company. In 1864
he was promoted second lieutenant and later in the same
year attained to the rank of first lieutenant. He
was with his gallant regiment in all of its marches,
campaigns and battles up to the time he was
incapacitated by wounds, and among the more important
engagements in which he took part may be mentioned the
following Buffalo, West Virginia; Fayetteville,
Blake's Farm, Cloydy's Mountain, New River
Bridge, Cow Pasture River, Lynchburg, Winchester,
Virginia and Martinsburg and Opequan Creek, West
Virginia. In the last named conflict he was
severely wounded and was incapacitated for further
service in the field. He received his honorable
discharge on the 21st of March, 1865, on account of
disability.
After his return to Adams County the valiant young
soldier was elected county clerk, of which office he
continued the efficient incumbent for six years, and
thereafter he served one term as county sheriff.
He then assumed a clerkship in the office of the
secretary of state, at Columbus, and later he had the
distinction of serving as librarian of the state law
library. This position he resigned in 1877, in
which year he returned to his farm in Adams County,
where he continued to reside until his death, on the
28th of January, 1909.
As a young man Charles N. Hall wedded Miss
Calista Wikoff, who was born on the Wikoff
homestead farm, in Green Township, Adams
County, and who was a daughter of John W. and
Nancy (Jones) Wikoff, both of whom were born and
reared in Shelby County, Kentucky, where their marriage
was solemnized. John W. Wikoff was a son of
Peter Wikoff, who was a native of Wales and who
came to America when a young man, his home having soon
afterward been established in Shelby County, Kentucky,
where he resided for a term of years. He then came
to Adams County, Ohio, and purchased land near Cedar
Mills, this homestead continuing to be his place of
abode until his death. Upon coming to Adams
County, Ohio, John W. Wikoff purchased a
tract of land in Green Township, his fine old farmstead
being picturesquely situated on the banks of the Ohio
River, and there he continued to be successfully engaged
in farming until his death, in 1861, as the result of an
accident. His widow long survived him and was
summoned to the life eternal in 1887, the four children
of their union who attained to maturity having been
Allen T., Milton, Owen R. and
Calista. Allen T. Wikoff became
a prominent member of the Ohio bar and was influential
in public affairs. He served as secretary of state
and also as adjutant-general of Ohio, besides having
been a valued member of the Ohio Canal Commission for
several years. Mrs. Calista (Wikoff) Hall,
a woman of most gentle and gracious personality, died on
the 28th of January, 1909, after having reared six
children - John W.; Eldora; Mary,
who died at the age of nineteen years; Margaret,
who died in 1889; William A., who died in 1891;
and Charles N.
John W. Hall acquired his early education in the
public schools of West Union, Adams County, and after
his father assumed a state office and removed to
Columbus, he entered the high school in the capital
city, being there graduated as a member of the class of
1876. He then entered the Ohio Agricultural &
Mechanical College, which is now a part of the
University of Ohio, and in this institution he was
graduated in 1879. Mr. Hall then put his
scholastic attainments to practical test and utilization
by enrolling himself as an active member of the
pedagogic profession. His first term of service as
a teacher was in Liberty District, Jefferson Township,
Adams County; and his second term found him master of
the school in District No. 9, of the same township.
He then assumed a clerical position in the pension
office at Columbus, and after serving two years he was
for eighteen months a clerk in the Columbus offices of
the Hocking Valley Railroad. After the death of
his mother he remained one year on the old homestead
farm, and during the following three years he was in the
West, principally in Missouri and Kansas.
In 1888 Mr. Hall purchased a farm in Nile
Township, Scioto County, Ohio, and there he was actively
and successfully engaged in diversified farming and
stock-growing until 1910, when he rented the farm and
accepted the office of superintendent of the county
infirmary, in Washington Township. There he
remained, as an efficient, considerate and valued
executive, until May, 1914, when he resigned his office,
after having served four years and three months.
He then became the republican candidate for the office
of clerk of the courts of this county, a position to
which he was elected in November of that year, by a
large and gratifying majority that attested his staunch
hold upon the confidence and esteem of the voters of the
county. He has since maintained his residence at
Portsmouth, the judicial center of the county, though he
still retains possession of his well improved and
valuable farm, in Green Township.
Mr. Hall's first presidential vote was cast in
support of Hon. James G. Blaine, and since that
time he has continued a stalwart and effective advocate
of the principles of the republican party. Both he
and his wife are members of the First Christian Church
of Portsmouth, and he is affiliated with the following
named fraternal organizations: Rome Lodge, No. 535, Free
& Accepted Masons; Buena Vista Lodge, No. 842, and
Oriental Encampment, No. 26, of the Independent Order of
Odd Fellows; Portsmouth Court, No. 109, Tribe of Ben Hur;
and Peerless Lodge, Loyal Order of Moose.
In 1885 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Hall
to Miss Elizabeth Kuntz, who was born and reared
in Brown County, a daughter of John J. and Elizabeth
(Glass) Kuntz, representatives of staunch
Pennsylvania German stock. Mr. and Mrs. Hall
have five children, Horace L., Grace,
Bessie, Susan and Lulu.
Horace, the only son, married Miss Elizabeth
Doyle and they now reside in the State of
California.
Source: A Standard History of The Hanging Rock Iron
Region of Ohio, Vol. II - Illustrated - Published by The
Lewis Publishing Company, 1916 - Page 865 |
|
|
ANDREW J. HYLAND.
A native son of Scioto County who holds distinct
prestige as a successful farmer and merchant of the
county, who maintains his residence in the Village of
Franklin Furnace, where he is serving as postmaster,
besides conducting his well-appointed general store.
Mr. Hyland is a popular and representative
citizen who well merits recognition in this History of
the Hanging Rock Iron Region of Ohio.
Mr. Hyland was born on a farm in Green Township,
Scioto County, on the 11th of April, 1864, and is a son
of John and Mary (Doyle) Hyland, both of whom
were born in Ireland, members of staunch old families of
the fair Emerald Isle. The parents were reared and
educated in their native land and within a short time
after their marriage they immigrated to the United
States. They established their home in the City of
Cincinnati, Ohio, where they remained until their
removal to Scioto County, in the pioneer days.
John Hyland here purchased a tract of land
near Franklin Furnace, and there developed a productive
farm, this old homestead continuing to be the abiding
place of both him and his wife until their death, both
having been devout communicants of St. Peter's Catholic
Church, at Franklin Furnace, and Mr. Hyland
having affiliated with the democratic party after
gaining citizenship in his adopted country, ever
afterward continuing a staunch supporter of its cause.
Of the seven children, four are living: Catherine
is the widow of William Glatz, and resides
in the City of Portsmouth, judicial center of Scioto
County; Mary is the wife of Peter
Herbst, of Portsmouth; Ellen is the wife of
William Woods, of the same city; and Andrew J.
is the only surviving son.
The old home farm was the stage on which Andrew J.
Hyland played his role as a child and youth, and in
connection with its work he gained his initial lessons
in practical industry and responsibility, the while he
profited fully by the opportunities afforded him by the
public schools of Green Township. As a youth he
learned the art of telegraphy, and in connection with
his work as a telegraphist he finally was appointed
station agent for the Norfolk & Western Railroad at
Franklin Furnace, a position which he retained for the
long period of fifteen years. Since his
resignation he has been continuously identified with the
general merchandise business, and he has a substantial
and appreciative trade in connection with his
well-equipped store at Franklin Furnace, besides which
he is the owner of a valuable farm of 117 acres near his
home village, seventy-seven acres of the tract being
fertile bottom land, and the remaining forty acres being
devoted to pasture, save for the portion that is still
covered with native timber. Mr. Hyland's
success and independence stand as the result of his own
ability and well-ordered efforts, and he is one of the
progressive citizens of his native county, where he has
so guided and governed his life as to merit and receive
the high esteem of all who know him.
In politics Mr. Hyland gives unequivocal
allegiance to the republican party, and not only has he
held the office of postmaster at Franklin Furnace since
1898, but he has served also as a member of the school
board of Green Township for twenty-two years. Both
he and his wife are earnest communicants of the Catholic
Church, in which they are members of the parish of St.
Peter's Church, at Wheelersburg.
On the 22d of September, 1892, was solemnized the
marriage of Mr. Hyland to Miss
Myrtie Eakins, who likewise was born and
reared in Green Township, a member of one of the well
known families of this part of Scioto County, where she
received her education in the public schools.
Mr. and Mrs. Hyland have four children: Orville
R., who was born on the 8th of July, 1893, was
graduated in the high school of Green Township and in a
commercial college at Portsmouth, and he is now
associated in the management of his father's store;
Stanley and Geraldine are students in the
high school of Green Township; and Lewis L., who
was born Feb. 5, 1908, is attending the local graded
school.
Source: A Standard History of The Hanging
Rock Iron Region of Ohio, Vol. II - Illustrated -
Published by The Lewis Publishing Company, 1916 - Page
986 |
Source: