OHIO GENEALOGY EXPRESS

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Scioto County, Ohio
History & Genealogy

GEORGE M. SALLADAY.     It may well he understood that more than passing interest attaches to the career of this well known and representative citizen of Portsmouth when it is stated that he is a scion of the fourth generation of a family whose name has been prominently and worthily linked with the history of Scioto County since the opening year of the nineteenth century, long before this and other counties of Southern Ohio had been established and when this entire section was virtually an untrammeled wilderness.  Mr. Salladay himself is now one of the more venerable of native sons of Scioto County who still reside within its borders, and it is most gratifying to enter in this publication a review of his personal and ancestral history.
     On the farm of his father, in Clay Township, Scioto County, George M. Salladay was born on the 6th of February, 1847. His father, John Miller Salladay was born on a pioneer farmstead about one mile south of the present village of Wheelersburg, this county, and the date of his nativity was Feb. 10, 1814.  The latter was a son of George Salladay, who was born in the State of Maryland, in 1785, and who was a son of Philip Salladay, a native of Switzerland.  Prior to or about the time of the War of the Revolution Philip Salladay emigrated from his native land to America and after residing a few years in Maryland he removed to Western Pennsylvania, where he maintained his home until 1800, when he came to the wilds of what was then a vast region designated as the Northwest Territory and established his residence in what is now Scioto County, Ohio, where he passed the residue of his life and where his name merits perpetual honor through his worthy achievement as one of the first settlers in this favored section of the Buckeye State.
     George Salladay, son of Philip, was a lad of about fifteen years at the time of the family removal to the present County of Scioto, and he was present at the time when the first tree was felled on the site of the present thriving City of Portsmouth, the judicial center of the county.  He aided in the burning of the first brush piles assembled in connection with clearing the land now occupied by the county seat, and in later years gave many interesting reminiscences concerning incidents and conditions of the earliest pioneer days, his father having been one of the prominent and influential men of the sturdy little community of settlers in this section of the state.  As a young man George Salladay entered claim to a tract of Government land in Porter Township, a few miles south of the present Town of Wheelersburg, and he lived up to the full tension of life on the frontier, many years having elapsed ere railroads were constructed and the canals having in the meanwhile formed the best means for the transportation of produce, merchandise, etc., though none of these arteries of traffic were in evidence for a long time after he had attained to adult age.  Strong and loyal also were the noble women of the pioneer households, and upon them devolved not only the wonted domestic duties but also the spinning and weaving of the wool used in the making of the homespun cloth from which they fashioned the clothing for all members of their respective families.
     In that age of primitive things the pioneer farmers of this section used to combine their forces and construct flatboats, by means of which their produce was transported down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers to the nearest available market - the City of New Orleans - where the product found ready cash demand and where the boats likewise were sold.  It is a matter of family record that George Salladay made two voyages to New Orleans in charge of these rude transportation boats, the return trips being made by him on foot and several months elapsing on each occasion before he again arrived at his home.  This sturdy pioneer improved a productive farm and on his original homestead he continued to reside until the close of his life, his death having occurred on the 5th of October, 1860.  On the 17th of May, 1812, was solemnized the marriage of George Salladay to Miss Phoebe Chaffin, who was born in Connecticut, Sept. 30, 1794, and whose death occurred July 27, 1855.  They became the parents of ten children, and in their off spring they effectually perpetuated the principles of integrity and the sterling habits of industry and frugality.
     John Miller Salladay was reared to adult age under the conditions and influences of the pioneer farm and early gained appreciation of the dignity and value of honest toil.  As a young man he found employment at various kinds of work, opportunities along this line being limited, and for his services he received at times the princely stipend of fifty cents a day and his dinner, the other two meals of the day having been provided at his own home.  He began his career as an independent farmer by renting land in Porter Township, and through energy and good management he finally accumulated a little sum of money, but ill health caused a cessation of his labors and involved the expenditure of all of his hard-earned savings.  After recuperating his energies he rented a farm in Clay Township, the property having been owned by John Orm.  Within a short time one of the township officials ordered him to leave the township, there having been no expectation that he would obey, but this action having been taken as a precautionary measure, owing to the provisions of the law of the locality and period, to the effect that in case of illness and indigency he could apply to the township authorities for aid unless he had previously been ordered to leave.  The official disquietude proved, however, without cause, for within a few years the industry and good judgment of Mr. Salladay acquired sufficient funds to justify his purchase of the William Oldfield farm, three miles north of the Chillicothe Pike Road.  There he entered vigorously upon his specially successful career as an agriculturist and stock grower, and as circumstances justified such action he purchased other lands and became one of the substantial landholders and representative farmers of his native county.  He was the owner of four good farms at the time of his death, which occurred Aug. 20, 1902, and the closing period of his noble and unassuming life were passed in the homes of his children, who accorded to him and to their mother the deepest filial solicitude.
     May 27, 1840, recorded the marriage of John M. Salladay to Miss Martha Hayward, who was a representative of an old colonial family of New England and of one that sent sterling citizens to Ohio in the early pioneer history of this commonwealth.  Her father, Moses Hayward, was born in Connecticut, in 1766, and was a son of Captain Caleb Hayward, who gained his title through his serving as master of vessels plying the Atlantic Ocean.  Captain Hayward was a native of Scotland and upon immigrating to America established his home in Connecticut.  In 1787 Moses Hayward, whose name has appeared in various records as Howard, removed to Vermont, and there, in January, 1793, he wedded Hannah Smith.  They continued their residence in the old Green Mountain State until 1814, when they set forth for the West.  They passed two years at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and then came to Scioto County, Ohio, and established their home in Vernon Township.  There Mr. Hayward obtained a tract of land and instituted the development of a farm, besides which he owned and operated one of the first distilleries in this section of the state.  He died on the 2d of October, 1860, at the patriarchal age of ninety-four years, his wife having passed away on the 2d of August, 1834; they reared a large family of children.  Mrs. Martha (Hayward) Salladay, mother of him whose name introduces this article, was summoned to eternal rest on the 29th of May, 1892.  John M. Salladay was originally a whig and later a republican in polities, and both he and his wife were earnest members of the Methodist Episcopal Church.  Of their three children Harriet J. died at the age of nineteen years; Lora A. became the wife of Samuel Brierly; and George M. is the immediate subject of this review.
     The boyhood and youth of George Moses Salladay did not lack a due demand upon his attention in connection with the work of the home farm, and in the meanwhile he availed himself of the advantages of the common schools of the locality and period.  A few months after his marriage he located on one of his father's farms, in Washington Township, and eligibly situated on the Galena Turnpike Road, to the ownership of which property he later succeeded.   Like his honored father, he has been a man of energy, enterprise and circumspection, and the tangible evidences of his success are shown in his ownership at the present time of a valuable landed estate of more than 700 acres, the greater part being the fine alluvial soil of the bottom lands of the Scioto Valley.   He has now virtually retired from active labor but still gives his general supervision to his farms and maintains his home in the City of Portsmouth, where he owns his attractive residence, at 816 Waller Street*.  His political allegiance has been unfalteringly given to the republican party, he is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity, and both he and his wife hold membership in the Methodist Episcopal Church.
     On the 18th of February, 1874, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Salladay to Miss Nettie lams Feurt, who likewise was born and reared in Scioto County, as was also her father, John Davidson Feurt, the date of whose nativity was Mar. 2, 1816; his father, Gabriel Feurt, was born in the State of New Jersey, on the 9th of December, 1779, and was a son of Joseph and Mary (Davidson) Feurt.  It is not definitely known at what time the Feurt family was founded in New Jersey, but representatives of the family have been prominent in that and other states of the Union, the original German orthography having in numerous cases been changed to Fort.  Essentially authentic data indicate that Joseph Feurt came to the West as early as 1791 and established his residence near the mouth of the Scioto River, but on account of the menace from the Indians he crossed over the Ohio River and lived for a time at Maysville, Kentucky.  He finally returned to Ohio and settled in what is now Scioto County, where he entered claim to Government land in the present Township of Washington, his pioneer homestead having been traversed by Pond Creek.  There he continued to reside until his death, in 1806, and he was one of the earliest settlers in this section of the Territory of Ohio.  His wife was born Feb. 1, 1765, and was a daughter of George and Mary (Warren) Davidson.  She survived her husband by a few years and the names of their children were as here noted: Benjamin F., Gabriel, Mary, George, Susanna, Merly, Bartholomew, and Thomas.
     As gauged by the standards of the locality and period, Gabriel Feurt received an excellent education, and as a young man he gave effective service in connection with early surveying work in this part of Ohio.  He learned also the trade of cooper and finally he and his brother-in-law, Jacob Noel, entered claim to a large tract of Government land on the Scioto River bottoms, about five miles distant from Portsmouth.  There they reclaimed much of the land from the virgin wilds, and a portion of this large estate is now owned by descendants of Mr. Feurt, the property being one of the most valuable farms of Scioto County.  On this homestead Gabriel Feurt died in 1850.  His wife, whose maiden name was Lydia Hitchcock, was born in Clay Township, this county, and was a daughter of George Hitchcock, her father having been a native of Connecticut and having become one of the pioneer settlers of Scioto County, Ohio, where he owned the land now comprising the Peebles farm and a portion of the site of the Village of New Boston.  After the death of her husband Mrs. Feurt removed to the City of Portsmouth, where her death occurred on the 10th of January, 1864.  The names of the children are here entered in respective order of birth: Isabella, John D., James II. and Lavinia.  The last mentioned became the wife of John T. Flint, a prominent lawyer and influential citizen of Waco, Texas.
     John D. Feurt, the father of Mrs. Salladay, eventually inherited a portion of the fine old homestead farm of his father and to this he added by the purchase of other land, until he became the owner of one of the best farms in Scioto County, his progressiveness having been indicated by his erecting fine buildings on the place and by bringing the farm up to the highest standard in all respects.  He resided on his farm until his death, as did also his wife, Maria, who was a daughter of the late Judge William Oldfield, an honored and influential citizen of Scioto County.  Mr. Feurt was first a whig and thereafter a republican in politics and he commanded inviolable esteem in the community which was his home throughout life.  He held various township offices and served ten years as justice of the peace.  The marriage of John D. Feurt and Maria Oldfield was solemnized in the year 1839, and they became the parents of nine children, and concerning those who attained to maturity the following brief record is given: Caroline C. became the wife of Henry C. Feurt; Lydia married John Lindsey; Harriet E. first wedded William H. Peters and after his death became the wife of Thomas J. Brown; Nettie I. is the wife of Mr. Salladay of this sketch; Frances B. became the wife of John F. Noel; and the two sons are John F. and William.
     Mr. and Mrs. Salladay have one daughter, Martha, who is the wife of Charles F. Tracy, of Scioto County, and whose three children are Lucille, Harold Salladay. and Edna Louise.
Source: A Standard History of The Hanging Rock Iron Region of Ohio, Vol. II - Illustrated - Published by The Lewis Publishing Company, 1916 - Page 707
* NOTE:  The home is no longer standing.