JOHN JOLIFF.  The oldest living married couple in Claibourne township, Union county, Ohio, is John Joliff and his wife, who have been married for fifty-five years.  Mr. Joliff came to this county with his parents in 1850, and is now living on the next farm east to that which his father settled on in that year.  He has engaged in farming and stock raising all his life, although he is now retired from active work.
     John Joliff, the son of Lewis and Mary Catherine (Swartz) Joliff, was born in Holmes county, Ohio, Aug. 7, 1837.  His father was born in Stark county, Ohio, while his mother was a native of Wayne county, their marriage occurring in the latter county.  Five children were born to Lewis Joliff and wife, two of whom are living: George W., deceased; Eli P., deceased; John, of Claibourne township; Isaac, also living in Leesburg township, and Barbara, who died in infancy.
     Lewis Joliff followed farming in Holmes county, Ohio, until 1850, and in that year moved to Union and located in Claibourne township, on the farm just west of his son, John.  At the time Lewis Joliff came to this county Claibourne township was practically a wilderness and he literally had a carve a home for himself and family out of the virgin forest.  The wife of Lewis Joliff died shortly after the family moved to this county and he later married Hannah Pennypacker, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Pennypacker, old settlers of Union county.  There were no children born to his second marriage.  Lewis Joliff died in 1882, and his widow is now living with J. D. Joliff in York township, this county.
    John Joliff received a good common school education and when the Civil War broke out he enlisted as a member of Company A, One Hundred and Twenty-first Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry.  He was mustered into the service in August, 1862, and served for three years.  He was with Sherman on his famous march through Georgia to the sea, and for a period of one hundred and sixty days was under fire practically all of the time.  He was wounded at Peach Tree Creek and was always ready for duty when duty called.
     After the close of the war Mr. Joliff returned to Union county and resumed farming on the old Sidle homestead.  He later bought a small piece of land and owned two hundred acres when he sold out in 1873, having lived there only eighteen months, then returned and bought his present farm of fifty-six acres and later added to it until he has a farm of one hundred and fifty acres, now one of the best improved in the county.
     Mr. Joliff was  married Dec. 23, 1858, to Mary Sidle, a daughter of Jacob C. and Elizabeth (Hamilton) Sidle.  Her father was born February, 1812, and her mother was born in March of the same year, both being natives of Muskingum county, Ohio.  They were married in that county and arrived in Union county, November 18, 1846, and settled on a farm in Claibourne township.  Mr. Sidle died June 10, 1877, and his widow passed away Nov. 27, 1889.
     Mr. and Mrs. Joliff are the parents of six children, all of whom are still living;  Sarah E., born July 24, 1860, the wife of Isaac N. Gibson, of Claibourne township; John D., born May 23, 1863, a farmer of York township; W. T. S., born July 21, 1866, a resident of Claibourne township; Martha A., born Jan. 31, 1870, the widow of William Cunningham, now living with her parents.  Mr. and Mrs. Cunningham were the parents of five children, Estella, Zella, J. W., Harry and Edward.  Eva C., the fifth child of Mr. and Mrs. Joliff, was born May 8, 1873, while Charles E., the youngest, was born Mar. 13, 1876.
     Mr. Joliff retired from active work in 1907, but still makes his home on the old farm.  He and his wife are not only the oldest living couple in Claibourne township, but one of the oldest in the county.  The 23d of December, 1914, was the fifty-sixth anniversary of their marriage.  They are loyal members of the Methodist Protestant church at Bethlehem and have always been interested in its welfare.  Mr. Joliff has always given his hearty support to the Republican party, but has never taken an active interest in political matters.  Mr. and Mrs. Jolliff are most estimable old people, and are highly esteemed in the community where they have spent so many years together.
Source: History Union County, Ohio - Publ. by B. F. Bowen & Company, Inc., Indianapolis, Ind. - 1915 - Page 853

WILBERT H. JOLLIFF.  The whole career of Wilbert H. Jolliff has been spent in Union County, Ohio, and such has been the charter of his life that he has always maintained the respect of his fellow citizens.  A teacher in the public schools of this county for twelve years, he exerted no little influence upon the rising generation, and the school room lost an excellent instructor when he decided to leave the teaching profession and engage in farming.  In everything which goes to make up the good American citizen, Mr. Jolliff stands high in his county, and his influence has always been cast for those things which make good, substantial citizens.
     Wilbert H. Jolliff, the son of George W. and Isabel (Maskill) Jolliff, was born in Taylor township, Union county, Ohio, Jan. 4, 1877.  His father was born in Holmes county, Ohio, of English parentage, and came to Union county with his parents when four years of age.  He was married in Taylor township to Isabel Maskill, the daughter of John Maskill who had been an early settler in Union county.  George W. Jolliff and wife moved to York township in 1883, and there they have since resided.  To them have been born five children, four of whom are still living:  Perry A., who married Myrta Middlesworth, of Mississippi; Ada M., the wife of Frank Fawley a farmer of York township; Ethel, the wife of Clarence Lindsley, of York township, and Wilbert H.  Chauncey H. was killed by lightning in 1906.
     The education of Wilbert H. Jolliff was received in the schools of York township, and this was supplemented by two terms in the normal school at Bethel and West Mansfield, Ohio.  He always took much interest in educational matters and at an early age of eighteen began to teach in the public schools of Union county.  For twelve years he followed the teaching profession, and with a success which speaks well for his ability as a teacher as well as his sterling character as a man.  In 1907 he decided to devote all of his time and attention to farming, and on his excellent farm of sixty-three acres in Liberty township, he has been laboring successfully for the past eight years.  Under his skilful guidance the farm is yielding a handsome return annually, and by good management he is making it more productive year by year. 
     Mr. Jolliff was married Jan. 15, 1898, to Florence Johnson, who was born in Liberty township, this county.  She is a woman of refinement and culture and has always been very much interested in music.  To this union one son, Victor E. ahs been born, his birth occurring Aug. 31, 1899.  He is now a student in the high school at Raymond.
     Mrs. Jolliff is a daughter of John F. and Arminda (Sodduth) Johnson, natives of Liberty township.  Her paternal great-grandfather, John Skirk, was a very early settler in this county, coming her from Virginia in 1836.  Her grandfather, Daniel Johnson, was also a very early settler of this county, coming from eastern Ohio.  John F. Johnson and wife and two children: Ella, who died at the age of twenty-four years, and Florence the wife of Mr. Jolliff.  Mrs. Jolliff's parents are still living in this township.
     Mr. Jolliff and his wife are members of the Disciple church and are very much interested in all church and Sunday school work.  Mr. Jolliff is a member of the Newton Lodge No. 249, Free and Accepted Masons.  Politically, he is a Republican, and while he has never been a candidate for public offices or taken an active part in political matters.  He favors all measures of good government and gives his hearty support to all movements which have for their end the betterment of the community in which he lives.
Source: History Union County, Ohio - Publ. by B. F. Bowen & Company, Inc., Indianapolis, Ind. - 1915 - Page 1004

CHARLES M. JONES.  The life of the farmer of today is the most independent existence which can be enjoyed and with all the modern inventions to facilitate farming it is rapidly losing those objections which have always been so ominous to the average farmer lad.  The public school has taken cognizance of the subject of farming and today in the schools of Ohio farming is being taught, and our colleges are conferring degrees in agriculture in many of the states of the Union.  The department of the United States government is doing an immense amount of work for the farmers' welfare throughout the country, but it is a lamentable fact that so few farmers know what the department of agriculture is trying to do.  They have issued hundreds of bulletins bearing on every phase of farming and distributed  them free of cost.  These bulletins cover all phases of farming and stock raising and are prepared by experts in every line.  Many farmers of Union county are taking advantage of the assistance afforded by the United States government, and one of these progressive and up-to-date farmers is Charles M. Jones, proprietor of the "Pleasant Valley Stock Farm" adjoining Plain City.
     Charles M. Jones, the son of Thomas and Marion (Newton) Jones, was born in Madison county, Ohio, June 9, 1850.  His father came from Wales to America when a lad with his parents, William and Winifred Jones, William Jones came to America with his family and settled in Columbus, Ohio, and is buried in that city.  Thomas Jones learned the harness maker's trade in his youth and worked in Columbus, Ohio, for some years, later locating in Madison county, Ohio, and following his trade there.  In 1847 Thomas Jones commenced general farming and gradually drifted into the breeding of Percheron horses, and brought the first Percheron horse into that county in 1851.  To Thomas Jones and wife were born six children, Harriett, Charles M., Anne, Albert, Ellsworth and Winifred.  Of these children Anne, Winifred and Harriet are deceased.
     Charles M. Jones was educated in the common schools of this county and later attended the high school in Columbus for one year.  He then entered Ohio Wesleyan University at Delaware and graduated from that excellent institution in the spring of 1873.  He then returned to his father's farm where he has since lived.  He took up his father's business of breeding Percheron horses and has made a reputation which extends throughout the state and even throughout the whole United States.  He is a member of the National Percheron Association and is treasurer of the national organization at the present time.  This is the largest association of horse breeders in the United States and has its local organizations in practically every state in the Union.  The fact that Mr. Jones is one of the national officers shows that he is a man of ability and integrity.
     Mr. Jones was married Oct. 29, 1879, to Ida S. Snider, of Mt. Gillion, Ohio, and to this union has been born one daughter, Bertha, who is the wife of Pearl Crabill and has three children, Ruth, John J., and Marion.
     Mr. Jones gives his hearty support to the Democratic party but has never taken an active part in political matters.  He and his family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church at Plain City and give of their means to its support.  The family home is in the edge of Plain City and was built by the father of Mr. Jones, although he has remodeled the house in recent years.  The farm of Mr. Jones lies in Union and Madison counties and comprises one hundred and fifty acres of excellent land.  Fraternally, Mr. Jones is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons at Plain City.
Source: History Union County, Ohio - Publ. by B. F. Bowen & Company, Inc., Indianapolis, Ind. - 1915 - Page 615

  EVAN T. JONES.  For more than thirty years Evan T. Jones has been a resident of Union county, Ohio.  He is one of the few citizens of the county who were born in Wales, and those sturdy characteristics which have made the people of his race such excellent citizens of this country, have brought to him a large measure of success.  Mr. Jones has not only been a very successful farmer, but he has also taken an active part in every phase of his county's development.  Various official positions have been held by him from time to time, and he has never failed to give his fellow citizens careful and conscientious service.
     Evan T. Jones, the son of Thomas N. and Sophia (Davis) Jones, was born in South Wales, Oct. 25, 1848.  His parents were born, reared and married in Wales and lived there many years before coming to the United States.  In fact, all of their children were born in Wales before the family came to this country in 1869 and located in Newark, Ohio.
     Thomas N. Jones was a mechanic by trade and made anchors for the British government for thirty years before coming to the United States.  After locating in Newark, Ohio, he worked for a year in the rolling mills in that city and then spent the remainder of his active life on a farm near the city.  Six children were born to Thomas Jones and wife, four of whom are still living:  Esther, the deceased wife of Stephen Davis, who came with her parents to this country in 1869 and later returned with her husband to Wales, where she died in 1898; May, the wife of Howell Richards, a farmer living near Newark, Ohio; Evan T., of Union county; David M., a justice of the peace now living in Newark, Ohio; Anna, the wife of John Walters of Columbus, Ohio, and one who died in infancy.  Thomas M. Jones retired from the farm in 1883, and lived near Newark until his death in September, 1893.  His wife died in January, 1879.
     Evan J. Jones learned the blacksmith trade in his native land and was twenty years of age when he came to this country with his parents.  He followed his trade for fifteen years, part of the time working in a country shop, and for two years being employed in the Baltimore & Ohio railroad shops at Newark.  He was a horse shoer in Newark for two years.  He spent eight years in Mt. Vernon, Ohio, and he worked for the C. & G. Cooper Company, manufacturers of traction engines and threshing outfits.  He was assistant foreman of the shop during those eight years.  After his marriage in 1881, Mr. Jones lived three years in Mount Vernon, Ohio.  Then, on account of his health, he retired from the blacksmith business and moved to a farm in Claibourne township, Union county, Ohio, where he now lives.  He owns a fine farm of one hundred and sixty-nine acres four miles west of Richwood.  He has retired from active farm life and his son now operates the farm.
     Mr. Jones was married Dec. 29, 1881, to Sarah D. Jones, a daughter of Edward D. and Mary (Davis) Jones, of Radnor, Ohio.  Her parents were both natives of Wales, but Mrs. Jones was born in Delaware county, Ohio, Sept. 21, 1856.  Her father was a farmer and followed farming until his death in Delaware county in August, 1909.  He was a fine musician, and, on account of his excellent voice, had much more than a local reputation.  Her mother died May 21, 1886.  Mr. and Mrs. Jones are the parents of seven children, six of whom are living: Sophia, the wife of C. S. Stephens, of Richwood; David Isaac, who died Feb. 25, 1900; Mary, the wife of D. L. McCombs, of Toledo, Ohio; Edward T., a farmer living near Prospect, Ohio; Llewelyn M., who manages the old home place in Claibourne township; Anna B., who is still living with her parents, and Howell E., who is now in the high school at Richwood.  Mrs. Jones, the mother of these seven children died Dec. 9, 1899.
     Mr. Jones is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons at Richwood, and is past master of his lodge; he is a member of the Royal Arch and council at Marysville.  He is also a member of the Order of the Eastern Star of Marysville.  He holds his membership in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Mount Vernon, Ohio, as well as in the Encampment, and has filled all of the chairs in both lodges.  He is a charter member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks of Marysville.  He is a stanch member of the Presbyterian church and has been an elder of the church at Richwood since 1890.  In politics he has always given his support to the Republican party, and served as trustee of Claibourne township from 1896 to 1899.  He was elected commissioner of Union county in 1904 and re-elected in 1908.  He has been school director of his township for eighteen years and during that time stood for every measure which he felt would benefit the schools in any way.  He is a stockholder in the National Bank of Richwood, a stockholder in the electric railway running into Richwood, and a stockholder in the Tri-County Fair Association of Richwood.  Mrs. Jones was a graduate of the Dana Musical Institute of Warren, Ohio, class of 1878, and of the Presbyterian Female Seminary of Granville, Ohio, class of 1881.  She was a woman of culture and refinement and greatly beloved by all who knew her.  Mr. Jones is one of the most highly respected citizens of the county and few men within the limits of the county have a wider acquaintance.
Source: History Union County, Ohio - Publ. by B. F. Bowen & Company, Inc., Indianapolis, Ind. - 1915 - Page 828