Skip to main content

Full text of "Centennial history of Coshocton County, Ohio;"

See other formats 


This  is  a  digital  copy  of  a  book  that  was  preserved  for  generations  on  library  shelves  before  it  was  carefully  scanned  by  Google  as  part  of  a  project 
to  make  the  world's  books  discoverable  online. 

It  has  survived  long  enough  for  the  copyright  to  expire  and  the  book  to  enter  the  public  domain.  A  public  domain  book  is  one  that  was  never  subject 
to  copyright  or  whose  legal  copyright  term  has  expired.  Whether  a  book  is  in  the  public  domain  may  vary  country  to  country.  Public  domain  books 
are  our  gateways  to  the  past,  representing  a  wealth  of  history,  culture  and  knowledge  that's  often  difficult  to  discover. 

Marks,  notations  and  other  marginalia  present  in  the  original  volume  will  appear  in  this  file  -  a  reminder  of  this  book's  long  journey  from  the 
publisher  to  a  library  and  finally  to  you. 

Usage  guidelines 

Google  is  proud  to  partner  with  libraries  to  digitize  public  domain  materials  and  make  them  widely  accessible.  Public  domain  books  belong  to  the 
public  and  we  are  merely  their  custodians.  Nevertheless,  this  work  is  expensive,  so  in  order  to  keep  providing  this  resource,  we  have  taken  steps  to 
prevent  abuse  by  commercial  parties,  including  placing  technical  restrictions  on  automated  querying. 

We  also  ask  that  you: 

+  Make  non-commercial  use  of  the  files  We  designed  Google  Book  Search  for  use  by  individuals,  and  we  request  that  you  use  these  files  for 
personal,  non-commercial  purposes. 

+  Refrain  from  automated  querying  Do  not  send  automated  queries  of  any  sort  to  Google's  system:  If  you  are  conducting  research  on  machine 
translation,  optical  character  recognition  or  other  areas  where  access  to  a  large  amount  of  text  is  helpful,  please  contact  us.  We  encourage  the 
use  of  public  domain  materials  for  these  purposes  and  may  be  able  to  help. 

+  Maintain  attribution  The  Google  "watermark"  you  see  on  each  file  is  essential  for  informing  people  about  this  project  and  helping  them  find 
additional  materials  through  Google  Book  Search.  Please  do  not  remove  it. 

+  Keep  it  legal  Whatever  your  use,  remember  that  you  are  responsible  for  ensuring  that  what  you  are  doing  is  legal.  Do  not  assume  that  just 
because  we  believe  a  book  is  in  the  public  domain  for  users  in  the  United  States,  that  the  work  is  also  in  the  public  domain  for  users  in  other 
countries.  Whether  a  book  is  still  in  copyright  varies  from  country  to  country,  and  we  can't  offer  guidance  on  whether  any  specific  use  of 
any  specific  book  is  allowed.  Please  do  not  assume  that  a  book's  appearance  in  Google  Book  Search  means  it  can  be  used  in  any  manner 
anywhere  in  the  world.  Copyright  infringement  liability  can  be  quite  severe. 

About  Google  Book  Search 

Google's  mission  is  to  organize  the  world's  information  and  to  make  it  universally  accessible  and  useful.  Google  Book  Search  helps  readers 
discover  the  world's  books  while  helping  authors  and  publishers  reach  new  audiences.  You  can  search  through  the  full  text  of  this  book  on  the  web 


at|http  :  //books  .  google  .  com/ 


f 


Digitized  by 


Google 


Digitized  by 


Google 


Digitized  by 


Google 


Digitized  by 


Google 


Digitized  by 


Google 


Digitized  by 


Google 


Digitized  by 


Google 


Digitized  by 


Google 


Digitized  by 


Google 


r-Jii,:. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


Digitized  by 


Google 


CENTENNIAL  HISTORY 


OF 


Coshocton  County, 

Ohio 


BY  WILLIAM  J.  BAHMER 


Illustrated 


Vol.  I 


j^  CHICAGO 

THE  S.  J.  CLARKB  PUBLISHING  CO. 
1909 


\ 


Digitized  by 


Google 


V 


THE  NEW  YORK 

PUBLIC  LIBRARY 

531943 

A'TOR.  LSNOX  AND 
TlLO'w!^  rcU^'OAllONS. 

R  1C11 J- 


Digitized  by 


Google 


/ 


^ 


\ 


COSHOCTON 


Life  by  life,  and  race  by  race, 

You  pass  through  ages  strange; 
Breath  by  breath,  and  death  by  death, 

You  run  the  links  of  change. 
Your  tribes  have  come,  your  tribes  have  gone. 

And  those  today  will  go; 
What  Time  may  bring,  as  cycles  swing. 

No  man  of  us  can  know. 

Your  years  are  old,  your  work  is  old. 
Since  Man  first  named  you  Home; 
His  trail  is  o'er  your  glacial  shore. 

And  where  the  Mammoth  roamed. 
He  has  left  his  bones  in  your  ice-drift  stones, 
P  And  Mounds  of  ancient  earth; 

UJ  While  forests  reared,  and  forests  seared, 

^  Before  the  Red  Man's  birth. 


He  lived  by  blood,  and  right  of  might, 

And  flaked  his  flint  to  slay; 
Through  moonlit  waste  he  howled  his  hate. 


H  And  danced  to  crimson  fray. 

Then  sJtadows  broke,  new  life  awoke — 
Coshocton,  Hearth  of  Men! 

Our  Home  and  Sun,  till  we  are  done — 
:^^  O  Lord  of  hosts,  what  then? 


Digitized  by 


Google 


Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 

i 

I 


FOREWORD 


In  apportioning  the  pages  of  Coshocton  County  history  it  has 
been  necessary  to  keep  ever  in  view  a  vital  Present  as  well  as  a  vivid 
Past;  to  dwell  not  unduly  on  the  Old,  and  to  treat  justly  of  the  New; 
to  sketch  the  antiquity  that  was  Moundbuilder  and  the  barbarity  that 
was  Indian  into  the  civilization  which  is  Coshocton. 

There  are  many  books  affording  means  for  scientific  study  of  this 
region  and  its  antiquity.  A  heap  of  biology,  paleontology,  anthro- 
pology, archaeology,  geology,  ethnology  and  other  ologies  could  be 
piled  higher  than  our  mounds.  Should  this  rough  penciling  take 
the  reader  to  the  library  that  will  be  better  than  bringing  the  library 
into  these  pages. 

The  county's  most  impressive  development  is  in  the  last  fifty 
years,  particularly  the  last  quarter  century.  For  valuable  informa- 
tion grateful  acknowledgment  is  due  the  press  and  the  citizens  who 
have  so  fully  contributed  to  the  record.  In  touching  upop  the  social, 
industrial,  economic  and  political  features  the  cardinal  purpose  has 
been  to  speak  true,  to  judge  tolerantly,  and  above  all  to  keep  in  mind 
that  wealth  is  no  corollary  of  worth  and  success  no  evidence  of 
character.  W.  J.  Bahmer. 

Coshocton,  February  i,  1909. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


Digitized  by 


Google 


COSHOCTON   COUNTY   HISTORY 


CHAPTER  I. 


RECENT  ARCHAEOLOGICAL  DISCOVERIES  RELATING 
TO  THE  ANTIQUITY  OF  HUMAN  LIFE  IN  THIS 
REGION. 

The  beginning  of  everything  is  the  object  of  a  deal  of  investiga- 
tion all  over  the  world.  Whole  libraries  are  filled  with  opinions  of 
many  scholars  in  as  many  diflferent  languages  giving  as  many  vary- 
ing notions  regarding  the  antiquity  of  human  life.  In  such  a  discus- 
sion our  particular  spot  on  the  earth  cannot  very  well  be  overlooked. 
Much  as  we  may  be  interested  in  the  pioneer  life  and  the  modern 
Coshocton  County  there  is  something  in  the  mystery  of  the  ages  that 
holds  us  in  awe  before  these  hills  and  valleys  where  a  wonderful  pro- 
cession of  mankind  issued  from  Cimmerian  night  and  vanished  into 
pathetic  and  fathomless  silence. 

As  everyone  knows  from  the  pages  of  geology,  there  was  once 
upon  a  time  whirling  through  space  a  ball  of  fire  whose  surface  in 
course  of  ages  gradually  crusted,  cooling  the  air  until  moisture 
formed  and  the  first  rain  washed  our  young  world.  The  waters  tore 
their  way  through.  Explosions  and  earthquakes  shook  the  new  earth 
in  frightful  convulsion,  while  the  wild-flaming,  wild-thundering  train 
of  heaven's  artillery  swept  across  inky  skies.  Upheavals  of  rock 
clung  into  continents.  Receding  waters  became  seas.  And  to  this 
sublime  dawn  of  the  earth's  creation  the  geologist  has  given  a  name — 
the  Eozoic  age — a  million  years  ago,  what  matter  if  more  or  less,  a 
time  that  no  man  knows. 

The  world  turned  on  in  the  wheel  of  time  and  passed  through 
its  Palaeozoic  age,  when  life  appeared  in  a  tadpole  stage,  and  if  you 
believe  in  evolution  (which  you  can  if  you  want  to)  we  were  those 
self-same  tadpoles  along  this  one-time  seashore  where 


Digitized  by 


Google 


8  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON  COUNTY 

We  sprawled  through  the  ooze  and  slime, 
Or  skittered  with  many  a  caudal  flip. 

For  it  is  written  in  geology  that  the  sea  covered  what  is  now 
Coshocton  County  long  enough  to  form  the  stratifications,  including 
the  shale  with  its  fossil  remains  of  the  fish  age,  and  eons  later  the 
coal  and  limestone  imprinted  with  the  plant  tracery  of  the  carbo- 
niferous age.  Then  the  hot  lands  heaved  amain  and  in  Langdon 
Smith's  lines  on  the  Darwinian  theory 

We  were  Amphibians,  scaled  and  tailed. 

And  drab  as  a  dead  man's  hand; 
We  coiled  at  ease  'neath  the  dripping  trees. 

Or  trailed  through  the  mud  and  sand. 
Croaking  and  blind,  with  our  three-clawed  feet. 

Writing  a  language  dumb. 
With  never  a  spark  in  the  empty  dark 
:y  To  hint  at  a  life  to  come. 

In  time  came  the  Mammoth.  Remains  of  huge  elephants  and 
mastodons  have  been  found  in  peat  marshes  of  these  valleys,  accord- 
ing to  C.  H.  Mitchener,  of  the  New  Philadelphia  bar,  thirty-three 
years  ago  in  his  history  of  our  Coshocton  valleys,  a  rare  work  even  in 
this  day. 

As  the  eons  came  and  the  eons  went  more  snow  accumulated  in 
the  North  than  summer  suns  could  melt.  Then  formed  that  vast 
mass  of  slowly  moving  ice  which  geologists  have  decided  pressed 
down  from  the  north  pole  toward  this  latitude,  similar  to  the  present 
ice-covered  waste  of  Northern  Greenland.  In  Europe  the  ancient 
glacial  covering  spread  over  Britain  and  the  Scandinavian  peninsula. 
Western  Russia,  Northern  Germany  and  the  whole  valley  of  Switzer- 
land, and  in  America  as  far  south  as  our  region  and  thence  south- 
westerly in  a  direction  of  some  variableness. 

The  signs  of  this  ice  sheet  are  traced  in  glacial  scratches  on 
stones.  The  geologist  reasons  that  the  grinding  ice  leveled  the  land, 
and  that  boulders,  drift  and  rocks  carried  from  the  North  in  the  ice- 
sheet's  freezing  embrace  were  left  here  when  the  ice  finally  melted. 
There  are  some,  however,  who  reject  the  ice  evidence  that  persuades 
others,  and  who  hold  that  a  flood  instead  produced  all  the  phenomena. 

Digitized  by  LjOOQIC 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  9 

Coshocton  County  valleys  are  lined  with  gravel  terraces,  the 
drift  deposit  laid  down  by  the  swollen  streams  of  the  melting  glacial 
years.  Much  of  the  city  of  Coshocton  is  built  upon  a  glacial  terrace. 
Granitic  pebbles  from  Northern  Canada  are  massed  here  with  local 
pebbles.  Verily,  "sermons  in  stones/'  and  cyclopedias  in  pebbles. 

H.  J.  Lewis,  of  Pittsburg,  and  one-time  president  of  the  Society 
of  Engineers  of  Western  Pennsylvania,  has  an  interesting  theory 
regarding  the  gravel  terrace  or  bench  that  lines  the  Tuscarawas  val- 
ley. He  has  traced  its  entire  length,  and  from  pebbles  found  in  it 
near  his  home  town  of  West  Lafayette  he  is  convinced  that  the  waters 
of  the  St.  Lawrence  River  once  followed  this  course.  These  pebbles, 
he  avers,  are  seen  nowhere  else  except  along  the  shores  of  the  St. 
Lawrence.  According  to  Professor  George  Frederick  Wright,  of 
Oberlin,  among  America's  eminent  archaeologists,  there  were  no 
Niagara  Falls  and  no  Lake  Erie  before  the  glacial  period,  while  north- 
ern rivers  found  new  beds  with  the  retreat  of  the  ice. 

It  is  in  such  gravel  terraces  as  ours  that  archaeologists  are 
searching  today  for  evidence  that  man  inhabited  the  earth  during  the 
glacial  period  ten  thousand  years  ago  or  more,  according  to  various 
estimates.  The  attention  of  the  scientific  world  was  drawn  to  the 
first  discovery  of  human  implements  in  the  gravel  terraces  near  Ab- 
beville, in  Northern  France,  seventy  years  ago.  Later,  more  imple- 
ments of  a  similar  type  were  found  in  England.  In  recent  years  a 
most  important  archaeological  discovery  made  in  America  was  the 
finding  of  paleolithic  implements  by  Dr.  C.  C.  Abbott  at  a  depth  of 
five  to  twenty  feet  in  the  gravel  bluflf  overlooking  the  Delaware  River 
at  Trenton. 

These  hatchet-like  implements  and  fish-spears  are  accepted  as 
paleolithic  because  found  in  undisturbed  deposits  of  the  glacial  age. 
They  are  now  in  the  Peabody  Museum  at  Cambridge,  Massachusetts. 

Indians  fashioned  similar  objects  of  flint,  but  Dr.  Abbott,  who  is 
well  known  as  an  investigator  of  Indian  antiquities,  describes  the 
paleolithic  implements  as  of  argillite  or  slate,  resembling  closely 
what  European  archaeologists  call  stone  axes  of  the  Chellean  type. 

More  recent  discoveries  of  these  paleolithic  implements  have 
been  made  in  the  gravel  terraces  at  Madisonville  and  Loveland,  show- 
ing that  glacial  man  was  in  Ohio.  Wherefore  Professor  Wright  en- 
joins that  wherever  excavations    are    being   made    in  these  glacial 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


10  HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

drifts  someone  should  be  on  the  lookout  for  paleoliths,  the  discovery 
of  which  would  interest  scientists  the  world  over.  Nor  should  the 
observer  be  too  easily  discouraged,  says  the  professor,  because  hunt- 
ing a  chipped  stone  in  a  great  bank  of  pebbles  and  gravel  is  like  look- 
ing for  a  needle  in  a  haystack.  The  writer  cheerfully  attests  to  the 
difficulty  after  personally  satisfying  himself  by  a  feverish  scramble 
along  the  walls  of  Coshocton's  gravel  pit,  with  clawing  hands  and 
an  archaeological  stare. 

Having  evidence  that  man  existed  as  early  as  the  glacial  age, 
what  manner  of  being  was  he?  Dr.  Abbott  argues  he  was  the  an- 
cestor of  the  Eskimo,  driven  northward  by  the  invading  Indian,  but 
the  paleolithic  man's  implements  no  more  resemble  those  of  the  Es- 
kimo than  those  of  people  in  the  later  stone  age.  Some  yet  consider 
glacial  man  of  the  same  blood  as  the  ancient  cave-dwellers  of  France. 

If  we  accept  the  view  of  Henry  W.  Haynes  of  the  Archaeological 
Institute  of  America,  as  set  forth  in  the  Narrative  and  Critical  History 
of  America,  whatever  primitive  people  may  have  occupied  this  region 
they  were  at  least  no  mysterious,  superior  race,  and  they  did  not  even 
reach  a  stage  of  culture  that  could  properly  be  calkd  civilization. 

This  may  restrain  any  ardent  local  archaeologist  from  assert- 
ing this  to  be  the  seat  of  the  vanished  empire  of  Atlantis,  though 
several  writers  have  declared  their  belief  it  was  somewhere  in  Am- 
erica as  an  offset  to  learned  commentators  who  have  variously  and 
wildly  supported  the  claims  of  Sweden,  Africa,  Spitzbergen,  and 
Palestine. 

At  any  rate  it  is  an  interesting  tale  of  Plato's,  whether  or  not 
we  endorse  the  conservative  opinion  of  Longinus  as  expressed  to  his 
pupils  in  Alexandria  that  Plato  designed  the  tradition  merely  as  a 
literary  ornament.  As  Plato's  story  runs,  when  Solon  was  in  Egypt 
an  aged  priest  said  to  him,  "Solon,  you  Greeks  are  all  children.  You 
know  of  but  one  deluge,  whereas  there  have  been  many  destructions 
of  mankind,  both  by  flood  and  fire ;  in  Egypt  alone  is  ancient  history 
recorded."  And  the  dialogue  goes  on  to  describe  the  island  of  At- 
lantis somewhere  off  the  Spanish  coast  where  a  mighty  power  held 
sway  about  as  many  thousand  years  ago  as  when  glacial  man  hunted 
the  mammoth  in  Coshocton  valleys.  This  power  pressed  hard  upon 
other  nations  of  the  known  w^orld  to  subjugate  them  all.    'Then  came 

Digitized  by  LjOOQLC 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON    COUNTY  11 

a  day  and  night  of  great   floods    and    earthquakes;  Atlantis  disap- 
peared, swallowed  by  the  waves." 

So  much  for  the  visions  of  poets  and  the  theories  of  philosophers 
in  their  ancient  guessing  at  the  possibility  of  such  a  land,  as  some 
today  imagine  an  antarctic  continent  or  an  open  polar  sea.  Enough 
that  archaeologists  generally  have  settled  it  in  books  if  not  by  the 
spade  that  glacial  man  perished  before  a  foreign  invasion  from  Asia 
or  the  Pacific  islands.  How  far  this  theory  of  an  Oriental  invasion 
has  gone  and  to  what  extent  it  has  fostered  the  belief  that  from  such 
early  Asiatics  were  descended  the  tribes  which  for  ages  dwelt  in  Co- 
shocton County,  we  will  now  look  into,  even  if  we  don't  sanction. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


Digitized  by  VjOOQlC 

I 


I:.— J 


Digitized  by 


Google 


YESTERDAY'S    MOUNDBUILDER— TODAY'S    MOTORIST: 
THE    MEETING    OF    THE    CENTURIES    IN    COSHOCTON    LIFE. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


CHAPTER  II 

NEW  DISCOVERIES  TOUCHING  THE  MOUNDBUILDERS, 
THE  VANISHED  RACE  VIEW,  THE  INDIAN 
THEORY,  THE  INCA,  TOLTEC,  ASIATIC,  EGYP- 
TIAN, IRISH,  WELSH  AND  "LOST  TRIBE"  SPECU- 
LATIONS. 

Like  a  Ood-created.  fire- breathing  wirlt  host,  we  emerge  tcoxn  the  inane,  haste  stormfuUy  across  the  astonished  earth, 
then  plunge  again  into  the  inane.  On  the  hardest  adamant  some  footprint  of  us  is  stamiped  In;  the 
last  rear  of  the  host  will  read  traces  of  the  earliest  van.  But  whence?  O  heaven,  whither?  Sense 
knows  not,   faith   knows   not,    only    that   it   U  through  mystery  to  mystery,  from  God  to  God. 

— Carlyle's    "Sartor   Resartus." 

All  the  wisdom  of  the  Orient,  of  Egypt,  of  Greece  and  Rome 
tells  us  naught  of  our  land  or  its  people  in  those  dim  and  shadowy 
ages  when  the  Chinese,  Chaldeans,  Egyptians  and  Persians  com- 
prised the  known  population  of  the  world.  The  secret  of  those  thou- 
sands of  years  is  locked  in  the  breast  of  Nature.  Forest  after  forest 
has  come  and  gone,  rivers  have  left  their  ancient  shores,  plains  have 
come  and  bottom  lands.  Against  the  blue  dusk  of  summer  skies  and 
the  gray  cold  of  winter  clouds,  the  eyes  of  Unknown  Man  lifted 
to  the  same  old  rolling  line  of  hills,  those  heights  eternal,  dumb 
watches  of  fathomless  time  looking  down  on  human  ages  in  storm- 
ful  passage  to  oblivion. 

The  vast  rivers  of  melting  ice  spreading  from  hillside  to  hillside 
in  glacial  man's  day  slowly  receded  in  course  of  ages  to  their  present 
beds,  leaving  exposed  broad  plains  and  valleys  for  the  use  of  that 
Other  Man  who  has  baffled  our  understanding.  In  his  earthworks 
and  stoneworks  lies  hidden  the  mystery  of  ages.  What  story  of 
human  activity,  of  weird  ceremonies,  perhaps  sacrificial  terrors,  may 
belong  to  these  mute  symbols  of  a  voiceless  past.  Weed-grown  and 
brush-covered,  some  today  are  but  faintly  traced  in  brier-tangled 
field  and  wood,  while  the  plow  has  worn  down  others  until  there  is 
left  only  a  dim  outline  where  not  many  years  ago  there  circled  in  bold 
relief  a  breast-high  wall  of  earth. 

From  the  variety  and  extent  of  these  earthworks  within  our 
county's  borders,  ranging  from  circles  and  huge  enclosures  to  mounds 
large  and  small,  and  from  the  vast  labor  necessarily  involved,  whether 

13 


Digitized  by 


Google 


14  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON  COUNTY 

the  earth  was  carried  in  baskets  or  otherwise,  we  have  sufficient  evi- 
dence that  this  was  a  populous  center  of  that  ancient  race  engaging- 
the  attention  of  the  archaeological  world.  Whether  or  not  it  was  a 
mighty  power  that  held  sway  in  the  primeval  forest,  a  people  skilled 
in  arts  of  peace  as  well  as  war,  we  can  only  conjecture  from  the 
inscrutable  character  of  the  ruins  that  mark  the  passing  of  this  lost 
race. 

For  most  of  us  the  vanished  race  view  is  still  the  more  plausible 
despite  the  weight  of  testimony  adduced  by  archaeological  authority 
in  support  of  the  Indian  theory  of  our  Moundbuilders'  origin.  All 
local  knowledge  which  has  come  down  to  us  regarding  the  red  men 
who  existed  here  absolves  them  readily  from  the  suspicion  of  undertak- 
ing anything  so  nearly  approaching  real  work  as  the  building  of  these 
mounds.  Whatever  else  may  be  charged  to  our  noble  red  men  during 
their  residence  in  this  region,  we  hesitate  about  accusing  them  of 
overcoming  their  haughty  disdain  for  labor  to  the  extent  of  digging 
up  tons  and  tons  of  earth  and  heaping  it  into  walls  and  mounds.  The 
Coshocton  Indian's  popular  idea  of  a  wall  was  a  tepee  skin  or  bark  of 
a  tree,  and  for  a  fortification  it  was  far  less  troublesome  and  vastly 
more  to  his  liking  to  simply  dodge  behind  a  rock. 

Of  course,  any  discussion  of  the  Moundbuilder  problem  is  ex- 
pected to  be  characterized  by  reserve.  We  can  only  approach  the  sub- 
ject by  cautiously  venturing  to  inquire  without  presuming  to  decide, 
especially  where  eminent  authorities  in  the  scientific  world  have  so 
hopelessly  disagreed.  There  are  those,  we  are  told,  who  have  written 
much  but  added  little  to  real  knowledge  of  the  subject;  more  who 
have  only  borrowed  from  others ;  some  who  have  made  sober  observa- 
tions ;  some  far  from  sober ;  and  some  who  have  compiled  descriptions 
with  worthless  comment. 

In  this  region,  doubly  important  among  American  localities  as 
a  prehistoric  and  historic  center,  the  student  has  the  advantage  of 
personal  contact  with  such  evidence  as  remains.  To  that  extent  at 
least  what  views  are  formed  may  deal  with  facts,  not  surmise. 

Special  attention  is  drawn  to  the  extensive  earthwork  on  a  pre- 
cipitous ridge  of  the  Winfield  Miller  estate  along  the  Walhonding 
near  Coshocton.  A  circle  swings  around  the  whole  summit  of  the 
hill.  Through  the  fringe  of  woods  the  view  sweeps  the  valley  of  the 
Walhonding.     Down  the  steep  hillside  is  a  drop  of  two  hundred  feet 

Digitized  by  LjOOQIC 


HISTORY    OP   COSHOCTON    COUNTY  15 

to  the  road.  There  are  only  a  few  of  these  high  hilltop  enclosures 
i:eported  in  Ohio. 

W.  K.  Moorehead,  curator  of  the  Ohio  State  Archaeological  and 
Historical  Society,  reporting  a  visit  to  the  circle  on  this  hill  a  dozen 
years  ago,  described  it  as  "some  two  acres  in  extent,  the  embankment 
low  and  broad ;  where  preserved  by  woods  it  appears  to  have  origin- 
ally been  five  feet  high." 

Continuing  the  description  of  the  circle  the  report  refers  to  "a 
long  passage  way  from  the  valley  leading  up  to  it,  and  in  this  respect 
the  place  is  peculiar.  The  passage  is  some  fifteen  feet  wide  on  the 
average  and  walled  on  either  side  by  natural  ledges.  We  think  the 
enclosure  merits  future  investigation." 

Subsequent  examination  of  the  road  or  passage  way  from  the 
valley  leading  up  to  the  earthwork  convinced  local  investigators  that 
this  rock-walled  path  is  a  split  in  the  huge  boulders,  the  split  widen- 
ing to  several  feet  with  the  slipping  of  the  detached  rock  from  the 
bulk  imbedded  in  the  hillside. 

The  State  survey  mentions  the  hilltop  circle  as  a  fortification, 
and  the  statement  is  made  that  "many  citizens  of  Coshocton  claim  it 
to  be  a  French  fort,  but  we  would  call  it  decidedly  Indian  in  form." 
What  local  supposition  may  have  existed  ascribing  this  earthwork  to 
Frenchmen  it  is  difficult  to  discern.  Certain  it  is  that  history  is  silent 
regarding  the  erection  of  any  French  fortification  in  this  locality. 
There  has  been  discussion  relating  to  the  Miller  hill  as  the  site  of 
Colonel  Bouquet's  camp  when  the  Indian  treaty  was  made,  though 
the  most  recent  investigation  attaches  the  older  and  much  greater 
importance  to  the  hilltop  circle  as  the  work  of  more  ancient  hands 
than  British  soldiers.  On  the  spot  chosen  for  their  camp  the  troops 
threw  up  four  redoubts,  according  to  Colonel  Bouquet's  own  account 
of  it,  and  between  such  angular  embankments  and  the  circle  on  the 
Miller  hill  there  can  be  no  analogy. 

On  the  plowed  ground  within  the  circle  are  many  flint  chips, 
while  local  arrowhead  collections  include  numerous  specimens  from 
this  hilltop.  The  presence  of  Indian  relics  is  a  matter  of  course  in  a 
region  so  long  occupied  by  the  red  men,  but  that  the  hand  which  drew 
yesterday's  arrow  is  related  to  the  earthwork  any  more  than  the  hand 
on  today's  plow  is  not  viewed  as  probable  in  the  light  of  local  evidence. 

Digitized  by  LjOOQIC 


16  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON  COUNTY 

The  earliest  accounts  speak  of  our  mounds  being  regarded  even 
in  the  Indian's  day  as  structures  of  remote  antiquity.  The  mission- 
ary, Zeisberger,  noted  a  hundred  and  thirty-three  years  ago  the  nu- 
merous signs  of  an  ancient  race  here.  He  referred  particularly  to  the 
cemetery  containing  thousands  of  graves  near  the  mound  three  miles 
south  of  Coshocton. 

The  skeletons,  reduced  to  chalky  ashes,  were  three  feet  to  four 
and  a  half  feet  long,  smaller  than  Indian  or  mound  skeletons.  These 
pygmies  have  led  to  much  conjecture.  Thus  far  no  definite  conclu- 
sion is  recorded  in  any  of  the  notices  of  this  ancient  city  of  the  dead. 
The  bibliography  of  Ohio  earthworks,  prepared  for  the  Smithsonian 
Institution,  includes  the  notice  in  Howe's  Historical  Collections, 
quoted  from  Dr.  Hildreth's  description  in  Silliman's  Journal,  1835. 
This  also  mentions  an  ancient  cemetery  of  pygmies  near  St.  Louis. 
There  the  skeletons  were  found  in  stone  sepulchres,  while  those  here 
seemed  to  have  been  in  wooden  coffins.  A  discovery  of  pygmy  graves 
on  the  Keene-Bethlehem  township  line  is  credited  to  J.  C.  Milligan. 

Hildreth  relates  that  in  one  of  the  Coshocton  graves  was  found  a 
skeleton  five  and  a  half  feet  long,  with  decayed  pieces  of  oak  and  iron 
nails.  The  skull  was  triangular  in  shape,  much  flattened  at  the  sides 
and  back,  though  not  with  the  slant-brow  of  flat-head  Indians  seen 
in  the  West.  A  hole  pierced  the  back  of  the  skull.  The  bones  were 
displaced,  the  skull  being  found  with  the  pelvis,  from  which  it  is  in- 
ferred that  the  body  was  dismembered  before  burial.  In  the  St.  Louis 
cemetery  was  found  among  the  pygmies  one  skeleton  of  rather  large 
development  though  not  taller  than  the  rest.  The  legs  were  cut  oflF 
at  the  knees  and  placed  alongside  the  thigh  bones. 

Mitchener  tells  of  the  Nanticoke  Indians  in  Maryland  drying 
the  bones  of  their  dead  and  carrying  them  in  wrappings  from  place 
to  place  as  generation  after  generation  sought  new  hunting  grounds, 
and  that  eventually  these  ancestral  bones  found  a  final  resting  place 
in  the  valley  at  Coshocton  when  the  last  of  the  tribe  became  too  weak- 
ened by  war  to  move  farther.  This  tradition  is  credited  to  a  Nanti- 
coke convert  who  was  with  Zeisberger,  but  it  meets  with  that  skepti- 
cism which  has  observed  the  uncertainty  of  Indian  memory  and  how 
commonly  Indian  traditions  die  out,  as  for  instance  those  southern 
tribes  who  retained  no  recollection  whatever  of  De  Soto's  expedi- 
tion.   In  this  connection  also  we  are  reminded  of  the  Coshocton  In- 

Digitized  by  LjOOQLC 


HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  17 

dian  tradition  related  to  John  Heckewelder,  the  other  Moravian  mis- 
sionary here  with  Zeisberger.  The  Delawares,  accounting  for  the 
ancient  earthworks  in  this  region,  professed  to  him  that  their  ances- 
tors once  occupied  the  country,  but  as  Justin  Winsor,  Hbrarian  of 
Harvard  University,  said,  it  has  been  suspected  that  the  worthy  mis- 
sionary was  imposed  upon. 

The  long  rows  of  graves  of  the  pygmy  race  at  Coshocton  were 
regularly  arranged  with  heads  to  the  west,  a  circumstance  which  has 
given  rise  to  the  theory  that  these  people  were  sun-worshippers,  facing 
the  daily  approach  of  the  sun  god  over  the  eastern  hills.  In  this  re- 
spect, however,  there  is  no  resemblance  to  the  various  positions  of 
skeletons  found  in  our  mounds.  Acceptance  of  the  sun-worship  sur- 
mise does  not  necessarily  imply  a  deduction  that  this  pygmy  race  may 
have  descended  from  the  river-people  of  Hindostan  or  Egypt.  Prim- 
eval man,  wherever  found,  seems  to  have  been  a  sun-worshiper. 

The  iron  nails  mentioned  by  Hildreth  as  found  in  this  ancient 
cemetery  take  on  added  interest  in  view  of  the  discovery  in  a  mound 
near  Cincinnati,  reported  by  Frederick  W.  Putnam,  curator  of  th6 
Peabody  Museum.  Masses  of  meteoric  iron  were  found  on  an  altar, 
with  bars  of  iron  and  other  objects  made  from  the  metal. 

A  statement  appears  in  Graham's  History  of  Coshocton  County 
that  a  Moravian  minister  from  Pennsylvania  visited  the  ancient  cem- 
etery here  and  remarked  a  custom  among  Moravians  of  burying  the 
old  in  separate  rows  from  the  young.  While  this  would  explain  the 
uniform  smallness  of  some  Moravian  graves,  it  does  not  explain  the 
absence  from  the  missionaries'  records  of  any  considerable  mortality 
among  the  younger  or  even  for  that  matter  the  elder  members  of  the 
Moravian  mission.  Moreover,  the  mission  in  this  valley  comprised 
but  eight  families,  and  they  dwelt  here  only  a  few  years.  And  finally, 
the  Moravians  themselves  first  spoke  of  the  discovery  here  of  the 
many  pygmy  graves. 

The  plow  has  long  since  turned  these  acres  of  mystery  into  corn- 
fields, and  obliterated  this  last  vestige  of  a  human  population  that 
once  flourished  within  our  borders.  According  to  the  view  form- 
ulated from  the  missionary  observations,  unfortunately  not  accom- 
panied by  details  covering  excavations,  this  primitive  people  under- 
stood the  use  of  the  stone  ax,  the  making  of  pottery,  and  the  division 
of  land  areas  into  squares.    Nothing  has  been  found  to  show  whether 

Digitized  by  LjOOQIC 


18  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON  COUNTY 

it  was  their  labor  or  that  of  others  that  erected  the  chain  of  earth- 
works within  our  county.  The  thousands  of  graves  point  only  to 
the  conclusion  that  the  country  around  was  the  seat  of  a  large  popula- 
tion. The  activities  of  that  strange  race  which  peopled  the  wilder- 
ness, the  story  of  elemental  life  in  the  shadows  of  the  forest  and  along 
the  shores  of  the  rivers,  until  the  end  in  that  valley  of  eternal  rest, 
remains  untold. 

Near  the  ancient  cemetery  is  a  small  mound  less  than  a  quarter 
of  a  mile  from  the  large  one,  on  the  Porteus  farm.  At  one  time  this 
sand  heap  was  eight  feet  high,  with  a  base  of  thirty-five  feet.  A  few 
years  ago  it  was  less  than  five  feet  in  height,  and  the  base  had  spread 
to  fifty  feet.  The  excavation  by  the  State  archaeologists  in  1896  re- 
vealed seven  skeletons  of  modern  size  and  lying  in  various  directions. 
Several  arrowheads,  many  flint  chips,  and  three  bear  teeth  were 
found.  It  is  recorded  that  Indians  sometimes  buried  their  dead  in  the 
monuments  of  their  mysterious  predecessors  whom  they  held  appar- 
ently in  awe  and  reverence.  The  presence  of  flaked  flints  in  mounds 
has  also  furnished  the  theory  that  the  Moundbuilder  knew  the  use  of 
the  arrowhead,  and  that  the  Indian  learned  it  from  him. 

The  State  survey  of  the  large  mound  along  the  river  road  on 
the  Porteus  farm  revealed  charcoal  traces,  a  few  pottery  fragments, 
flint  chips,  small  bones,  a  trinket  or  ceremonial  of  lead,  and  a  finely 
chipped  spear-head  six  inches  long.  This  was  the  extent  of  the  dis- 
covery, "to  our  chagrin,"  as  the  archaeologist  reports,  "after  exceed- 
ingly laborious  and  dangerous  excavation."  The  report  states  that 
no  larger  force  of  workmen  was  ever  put  on  a  mound  in  the  Ohio 
Valley.  "Sixteen  men  were  employed  day  and  night  for  four  days 
in  sinking  a  trench  thirty-five  feet  wide  and  seventy  feet  long.  The 
sides  were  loose  and  dangerous,  and  heavy  bracing  was  necessary. 
No  burials  were  discovered,  although  tunnels  were  run  several  yards 
on  the  base  line  in  various  directions.  This  was  disappointing,  espe- 
cially after  the  expenditure  of  a  large  sum  of  money.  However,  we 
learn  again  that  it  is  not  always  the  largest  and  most  imposing  mon- 
ument which  contains  the  greatest  treasure.  Failure  to  find  anything 
cannot  be  charged  to  imperfect  or  hasty  examination — the  whole 
center  of  the  mound  was  exposed  by  the  trench  and  tunnels  for  a  dis- 
tance of  thirty  by  twenty-five  feet.    As  it  was  desirable  to  restore  the 

Digitized  by  LjOOQLC 


HISTORY    OF    COSHOCTON  COUNTY  19 

monument  to  its  former  shape,  we  engaged  Mr.  Porteus  to  fill  our 
trench/' 

Composed  entirely  of  earth  and  unstratified  this  mound  suggests 
the  question  of  how  much  the  rains  of  ages  may  have  reduced  the 
height,  possibly  from  a  towering  structure  to  the  present  pile  of 
twenty-three  feet.  There  is  also  a  query,  in  connection  with  mound 
excavating  in  general,  as  to  whether  or  not  the  practice  of  digging 
to  the  present  base  line  may  be  stopping  short  of  discoveries  farther 
down. 

The  Porteus  mound  crowds  the  Muskingum  bank  so  closely  that 
the  riverside  drive  has  cut  the  side  of  the  mound.  It  is  one  of  the 
very  few  earthworks  found  on  the  last  of  the  river  terraces  to  be  re- 
claimed from  the  stream,  suggesting  that  it  was  among  the  last  con- 
structions of  the  Moundbuilders.  Whether  intended  as  a  monument 
in  connection  with  the  ancient  cemetery  it  overlooks,  or  possibly  as 
a  signal  station,  is  another  Moundbuilder  mystery. 

As  to  age,  the  trees  growing  upon  mounds  cannot  carry  esti- 
mates back  much  beyond  six  hundred  years,  while  there  is  never  ab- 
sent the  uncertainty  of  prior  growths,  whether  or  not  we  assume  as 
the  scholarly  Brinton  does  that  the  Moundbuilders  planted  trees  on 
their  earthworks.  However,  Judge  M.  F.  Force,  of  Cincinnati,  has 
pointed  out  the  absence  from  mounds  of  any  little  hillocks  indicating 
the  uprooting  of  an  older  growth  of  trees,  and  the  inference  is  drawn 
that  the  Moundbuilders  flourished  till  about  a  thousand  years  ago. 

A  sacrificial  significance  is  attached  to  the  charcoal  traces  of 
burnt  wood  or  calcined  ashes  of  bones  found  in  our  mounds,  implying 
that  a  religion  of  fire-worship  prevailed  here  in  which  human  sacrifice 
and  the  burning  of  prisoners  may  not  have  been  unknown. 

So  far  the  attempts  to  disclose  the  ethnological  relations  of  the 
Moundbuilders  on  cranial  evidence  lack  sufficient  data,  and  have  also 
been  em*barrassed  by  inadequate  care  in  distinguishing  intrusive  bur- 
ials of  a  later  date.  The  wide  divergence  of  views  is  shown  in  the 
theory  of  some  connecting  the  Moundbuilders'  skulls  with  the  Pueb- 
los, and  the  contention  of  others  for  similarity  to  those  of  Mexico  and 
Peru.  A  favorite  view  is  that  the  Moundbuilders  north  of  this  region 
were  long  heads,  with  receding  foreheads,  and  those  south  were  short 
heads,  with  high  foreheads  and  more  brains.  The  southern  Mound- 
builders, it  is  contended,  were  the  most  ingenious  and  industrious, 

Digitized  by  LjOOQIC 


20  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

and  made  the  best  implements  and  greatest  earthworks,  notably  that 
huge  effigy,  the  Serpent  Mound;  also  Fort  Ancient,  the  Alligator 
Mound,  and  the  elaborate  works  at  Newark.     The  theory  continues 
that  there  was  war  between    the   north    and    south  Moundbuilders, 
which  would  suggest  that  the  opposing  forces  may  have  met  on  this 
middle    ground    in    our    county.      But    the    whole    theory    is    well 
summed  up  by  Professor  E.  O.  Randall,  secretary  of  the  Ohio  State 
Archaeological  and  Historical  Society,  when  he  terms  it  '^largely  skull 
speculation  and  fanciful  imagination."     The  professor,  commenting 
on  the  burials  of  these  people,  observes  the  evidence  therein  that  "they 
^        had  their  great  chiefs  or  'big  men/  and  the  extent  and  character  of 
\     their  'buildings'  certainly  prove  that  they  understood  organization 
^  and  subordination  in  their  social  system;  that  there  were  'bosses'  in 

^^  those  prehistoric  days  who  directed  and  controlled  the  workmen. 
They  may  not  have  been  troubled  with  the  question  of  combined  cap- 
ital, but  they  surely  wrestled  with  the  great  question  of  labor." 

A  skull  pierced  in  the  crown  was  found  in  the  mound  on  Frank 
Maxwell's  land  up  the  Walhonding  three  miles  from  Coshocton.  This 
recalls  the  pierced  skull  reported  in  the  ancient  cemetery.  The 
Maxwell  mound  is  described  as  five  feet  high  and  sixty  feet 
in  diameter,  and  located  on  the  second  terrace  two  hundred 
yards  from  the  river.  The  State  survey  removed  about  all  the 
area  originally  covered  by  the  mound,  and  found  ten  skeletons, 
some  well  preserved.  Previous  digging  had  disturbed  two  skeletons 
in  the  center,  cutting  one  at  the  hips,  and  destroying  all  of  another 
save  the  skull.  In  the  eight  years  since  the  prior  excavation,  the 
bodies  near  the  opening  had  decayed  more  than  those  farther  away. 
All  the  skeletons  were  extended  upon  the  base  line  and  lay  in  various 
directions.  Pottery,  arrowheads,  and  a  bone  smoothed  and  sharpened 
at  the  edge  were  found  in  addition  to  the  skull  with  the  hole  in  the 
crown. 

The  report  of  field  work  by  the  State  Archaeological  Society  in 
1896  speaks  of  Walhonding  as  built  over  several  mounds  and  a  vil- 
lage site,  and  refers  to  mounds  north  on  the  Johnson  farm  and  the 
Workman  farm.  Human  teeth  were  found  near  the  center  of  the 
Johnson  mound.  A  few  feet  lower  and  on  the  base  line  were  traces 
of  burnt  earth  and  charcoal.  There  were  a  few  broken  arrowheads 
and  one  whole  specimen  scattered  through  the  soil,  and  near  the  teeth 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


Digitized  by 


Google 


CAVALLO  ON   THE   MOHICAN. 

A   FAMED    SHIPPING   POINT   WHICH   VANISHED   WITH    THE 

PASSING  OF  THE   PIONEERS,  THEN  ROSE  AGAIN. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


HISTORY    OF    COSHOCTON  COUNTY        .  21 

a  cx)ne-shaped  stone.  The  mound  measured  nine  feet  in  heig"ht  and 
sixty-nine  feet  across  the  base. 

The  smaller  Workman  mound  contributed  more  to  the  State 
museum.  From  a  five-foot  height  the  plow  had  worn  it  down  to  two 
feet,  barely  high  enough  to  trace  its  outline.  Near  the  bones  of  a 
deer  was  found  a  stone  tube.  Resting  on  slight  traces  of  bone  and 
with  edges  overlapping  was  a  layer  of  sixty-seven  arrowheads  of 
clear  quartz,  or  chalcedony,  all  more  leaf-shaped  than  the  usual  arrow- 
head. Near  these  was  a  pocket  of  chips  that  apparently  were  struck 
off  in  flaking  the  implements.  This  is  the  only  burial  of  the  kind  re- 
corded in  this  country. 

On  Colonel  Pren  Metham's  farm  a  few  miles  away  in  Jefferson 
Township  is  a  deposit  of  chalcedony,  and  it  is  presumed  that  this 
quarry  furnished  the  material  for  the  ancient  implements  found  in 
the  Workman  mound.  On  the  Metham  hill  were  found  battered- 
looking  rocks,  presumably  carried  up  from  the  river  to  be  hurled 
against  the  wall  of  flint.  Likely  under  the  blows  of  such  primitive 
sledge-hammers  the  fragments  flew.  Heaps  of  flint  chips  marked 
the  spot  as  the  workshop  of  the  professional  arrowmaker.  Nicked 
stones  lay  among  the  chips,  left  by  the  workers  who  returned  no 
more.  In  a  sandstone  crevice  near  the  Colonel's  house  was  found  a 
cache  of  flints,  some  finely  finished,  and  at  the  spring  a  fragment  of 
ancient  pottery  and  a  layer  of  broken  sandstone.  Similar  layers  in  the 
earth  have  been  noticed  elsewhere  in  the  county,  always  adjacent  to 
springs. 

Fifty-four  years  ago  a  stone  mound  was  opened  on  a  hilltop  near 
the  Colonel's  house.  A  rock  pile,  eighteen  feet  square  and  five  feet 
deep,  composed  of  sandstone  layers,  was  removed,  revealing  a  sepul- 
chre floored  with  a  large,  flat  sandstone,  and  ^walled  with  sandstone 
slabs.  On  the  floor  lay  part  of  a  skull,  a  thigh  bone,  teeth  and  a  few 
other  fragments  of  a  skeleton.  The  thigh  bone  indicated  the  dead  to 
have  been  of  unusual  heig'ht,  more  than  seven  feet.  In  addition  to  a 
few  flint  darts  several  stone  pendants  were  found  in  the  sepulchre. 
These  "plum  bob"  or  shuttle  shaped  stones  recall  those  found  in  Sci- 
oto Valley  earthworks  which  have  been  variously  regarded  as  cere- 
monial, or  ornamental,  or  mayhap  used  as  charm  stones,  or  as  weights 
to  keep  the  thread  taut  in  weaving. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


22 


HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 


Crowning  a  hilltop  on  the  Darling  farm  across  the  river,  a  cres- 
cent-shaped wall  of  stone  attracted  attention  in  the  early  days  as  the 
work  of  ancient  people.  The  wall,  breast-high,  extended  thirty  feet. 
It  was  built  of  large  flat  stones. 

At  best  we  have  but  a  meagre  record  of  ruins  in  this  region, 
ruins  found  under  circumstances  which  seemingly  assign  to  them 
very  remote  antiquity  belonging  not  only  to  a  moundbuilding  period 
but  to  a  stone  age  also.  It  is  much  regretted  that  more  information 
has  not  come  to  us  from  early  observers  of  earthworks  and  stone- 
works which  afterward  perished  under  the  march  of  agriculture. 
Something  about  plowing  up  ashes  and  charcoal  would  have  added 
fully  as  much  mound  testimony  as  careful  measurements  of  feet  high 
and  feet  wide,  and  done  archaeologic  science  just  as  immeasureable 
service. 

In  addition  to  the  detailed  report  of  Coshocton  County  mound 
exploration  by  the  State,  as  mentioned  herein,  the  survey  tabulates 
half  a  hundred  or  so  prehistoric  earth  and  stone  remains  according 
to  townships.    Following  is  a  revised  exhibit: 

COSHOCTON  COUNTY. 

ANCIENT   EARTHWORKS   AND   STONEWORKS. 


TowNSHirs 

Earth 

Mounds 

Bethlehem 

Clark 

4 
1 
2 

1 
3 

2 
5 

I 
1 

1 
2 
2 

1 

Franklin 

Jackson  

Jefferson 

Keene 

Lafayette 

Newcastle 

Oxford 

Perry 

Pike 

Tiverton 

Tuscarawas 

Virginia 

Totals 

26 

Stone 
Mounds 


Village 
Sites 


Enclos- 
ure 


Circle 


Cres- 
cent 


Stone'  I  ^J^"^^ 


1 


Glacial 

Kamr 

Burial 


The  foregoing  does  not  include  several  vanished  earthworks  re- 
ported years  ago  in  various  parts  of  the  county.     On  the  plains  of 
Linton  Township,  at  the  cross  roads  half  a  mile  southwest  of  Plain- 
Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON  COUNTY  23 

field,  there  was  once  a  square  of  several  acres  which,  it  is  related,  was 
enclosed  by  four  embankments  six  feet  high,  now  plowed  down.  There 
was  an  entrance  at  each  corner.  Several  miles  down  Wills  Creek 
there  was  a  circle.  About  seventy  years  ago  a  small  mound  near 
Plainfield  was  opened  by  J.  D.  Workman,  who  found  stone  relics. 
Another  mound  two  miles  below  was  reported  opened  by  Wesley  Pat- 
rick, who  found  a  skull  and  thigh  exceptionally  large. 

Other  vanished  earthworks  were  mounds  of  Virginia  Township 
near  the  Muskingum;  a  circle  in  White  Eyes  Township,  breast-high 
and  enclosing  an  acre  on  a  bluff  overlooking  White  Eyes  Creek,  half 
a  mile  south  of  Chili.  Stone  axes  and  flints  were  reported  found  in 
this  circle.  West  of  Roscoe  a  dozen  years  ago,  according  to  Andrew 
Fisher,  surveyor,  traces  of  a  belt  of  red  soil  were  still  seen,  thirty  feet 
wide,  circling  a  hilltop.  The  circle  was  three  hundred  feet  in  diam- 
eter. 

Among  the  mounds  plowed  down  years  ago  was  one  in  Oxford 
Township  thirty  feet  wide.  A  circle  enclosing  three  acres  north  of 
West  Lafayette  and  several  mounds  of  Lafayette  Township  were  ob- 
literated by  the  plow,  one  on  the  Shaw  estate,  one  cut  away  by  the 
railroad  on  the  Ferguson  farm,  and  another  leveled  on  the  Higbee 
place.  Seventy  years  ago  the  river  road  in  Franklin  Township  lev- 
eled a  mound  containing  half  a  dozen  skeletons  arranged  like  the 
radii  of  a  circle,  with  heads  toward  the  center. 

In  Coshocton,  where  Fourth  and  Locust  streets  cross,  the  finding 
of  skeletons  was  associated  with  early  reports  regarding  a  mound 
there,  though  later  identified  as  an  Indian  burying  ground.  In  Tiver- 
ton Township  it  is  told  there  was  a  circle  enclosing  three  acres,  while 
excavation  along  the  Walhonding  Canal  revealed  scattered  skeletons 
and  sitting  skeletons,  ashes,  stone  axes,  flint  and  pestles;  and  on  a 
hilltop  overlooking  the  Mohican  a  stone  wall,  breast-high,  extended 
one  hundred  and  thirty-two  feet.  In  Keene  Township  the  stone  was 
hauled  away  from  a  hilltop  stone  mound,  but  the  only  record  that  sur- 
vives is  the  inevitable  measurement  of  twelve  feet  across  and  three 
feet  high. 

On  Howard  Miller's  farm  in  Keene  Township,  a  few  miles  from 
Coshocton,  is  a  circle  that  has  excited  much  interest  in  recent  exam- 
ination of  this  county's  ancient  earthworks.  Although  cut  down  by 
the  plow  in  earlier  years,  its  location  in  an  orchard  has  somewhat 

Digitized  by  LjOOQLC 


24  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

preserved  its  outline.  There  is  an  opening  in  the  circle,  and  the  plow, 
usually  the  mound  destroyer,  was  in  this  instance  a  discoverer;  for 
it  came  upon  a  path  of  red  stone  leading  from  this  opening  in  the 
circle  down  to  the  spring  now  used  by  the  Avon  kennels. 

The  blood-red  path-  has  the  appearance  of  burnt  stone,  according 
to  some  observers,  but  it  is  not  unlike  the  red  sandstone  found  else- 
where in  the  county.  There  have  been  no  skeletons  found  in  this 
circle  to  indicate  the  sepulchral  function  belonging  to  the  burial 
mounds  of  this  region,  neither  does  its  size  classify  this  circle  among 
our  ancient  works  of  military  significance,  nor  can  it  be  even  faintly 
likened  to  an  effigy  mound,  of  which  none  for  that  matter  is  recorded 
in  this  county. 

It  is  related  that  a  ''race-track''  fad  prevailed  among  some  pio- 
neer settlers,  and  that  here  a  ring  may  have  been  laid  out,  but  the 
wild  impossibility  of  putting  speed  into  horses  within  this  garden  ring 
is  equaled  only  by  the  desperate  hopelessness  of  getting  any  speed 
out  of  them.  On  this  farm  in  1816  Nicholas  Miller  erected  a  mill 
which  was  burned,  but  no  connection  is  shown  between  that  and  to- 
day's ruin. 

The  layer  of  broken  sandstone  found  in  the  earth  here  is  similar 
to  layers  discovered  near  springs  in  New  Castle  Township  and  Jeffer- 
son Township.  Whether  or  not  the  red  path  from  the  circle  to  the 
spring  illustrates  some  rite  or  custom  of  the  ancient  people  who  dwelt 
here  only  the  future  archaeology  may  chronicle. 

A  short  distance  from  this  circle,  across  the  road,  is  a  knob  of 
earth  standing  in  the  valley  like  an  island  hill.  On  top  is  a  chain  of 
pits,  variously  associated  with  reported  finding  of  mica,  also  with 
ancient  smelting,  and  even  an  Indian  tradition  of  gold.  An  explana- 
tion has  been  advanced  that  the  uprooting  of  trees  left  these  holes  as 
well  as  several  others  on  a  nearby  hillside,  but  in  each  place  the  num- 
ber of  pits  in  such  close  proximity  is  submitted  in  contradiction  of 
the  tree  belief. 

All  the  exploration  of  earthworks  and  stoneworks  in  our  county 
has  revealed  no  clue  to  the  language  which  the  Moundbuilders  spoke 
— a  mere  mumbling  perhaps,  or  such  picturesque  speech  as  the  Indian 
':hat  survives  in  our  local  nomenclature  of  Walhonding,  Tuscarawas, 
Muskingum,  Coshocton,  Mohican,  and  so  on. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON  COUNTY  25 

Much  has  been  written  by  prominent  supporters  of  the  theory 
that  Indians  built  the  mounds,  and  this  belief  has  been  strengthened 
by  the  conclusions  reached  by  field  workers  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnol- 
ogy. Cyrus  Thomas  maintains  that  the  defensive  enclosures  are  the 
work  of  Iroquois-Huron  tribes,  and  he  affirms  that  the  habits  of 
Moundbuilders  correspond  to  historic  habits  of  the  Cherokees.  Not- 
withstanding, evidence  is  still  lacking  that  any  Indians  in  this  region 
ever  possessed  the  military  energy  to  construct  the  works  'here. 

There  is  the  theory  that  the  Moundbuilders  were  in  some  way 
connected  with  the  Pueblo  Indians,  or  the  Aztecs,  or  the  Peruvians, 
either  coming  from  them  or  migrating  south  and  erecting  works 
there.  This  is  questioned,  however,  by  the  wide  dissimilarity  between 
the  mounds  here  and  the  works  in  southern  lands.  There  is  nothing 
about  the  ancient  remains  in  our  county  that  even  remotely  suggests 
the  Pueblo  cliff  dwellings,  or  the  majestic  ruins  of  the  Aztecs  and 
Toltecs  of  Mexico,  or  the  Inca  temples  of  Peru. 

Inquiry  into  the  origin  of  our  Moundbuilders  has  led  many  into 
the  Asiatic  belief,  although  a  people  like  the  Chinese  or  Japanese  wlio 
might  have  populated  this  land  would  presumably  have  left  as  charac- 
teristic records  here  as  those  Which  stamp  their  own  Orient.  As  for 
the  much-discussed  Chinese  account  of  Buddhist  priests  discovering 
the  strange  land  of  Fusang,  whatever  part  of  America  that  may  have 
or  may  not  have  been,  we  get  nothing  in  that  description  to  explain 
the  ancestry  of  our  Moundbuilders. 

The  elaborate  expositions  of  the  belief  that  the  American  ab- 
origines were  descendants  of  the  lost  tribes  of  Israel  relate  principally 
to  linguistic  resemblances  between  the  Hebrew  and  the  Indian,  and 
this  throws  no  light  on  the  Moundbuilder  question.  While  the  Jew- 
ish migration  theory  is  recognized  in  the  Mormon  bible,  and  even 
western  mounds  have  been  made  to  yield  Hebrew  inscriptions,  this 
belief  is  not  corroborated  by  collateral  proofs  from  the  mounds  of 
Coshocton  County. 

Similarly  the  theory  has  been  advanced  that  our  early  inhab- 
itants came  from  Wales  in  view  of  reported  traces  of  Welsh  in  the 
speech  of  the  Tuscaroras  and  other  Indians,  and  someone  has  pointed 
out  that  our  mounds  resemble  mounds  in  Wales.  However,  with  due 
regard  to  the  discussions  of  the  learned  men  in  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury and  others  since  then,  the  opinion  most  generally  accepted  today 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


26  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

is  that  the  Welsh  view,  while  possible,  is  by  no  means  probable.  We 
are  reminded  that  nothing  is  slenderer  than  incautious  linguistic 
inferences  carried  to  fanciful  extent  by  confident  enthusiasm. 

Contentions  that  the  mounds  were  built  by  Egyptians  and  by 
Finns  and  by  the  Irish  and  by  descendants  of  the  Canaanites  expelled 
by  Joshua  show  a  tendency  to  a  facility  rather  than  felicity  in  pre- 
senting theories  on  the  subject.  In  seeing  a  resemblance  between 
our  mounds  and  the  ancient  monumental  architecture  of  Egypt  and 
other  lands  tfiere  is  danger  of  seeing  overmuch. 

The  attempt  to  prove  by  similarity  of  remains  that  our  Mound- 
builders  came  from  an  early  race  in  Europe,  possibly  the  white- 
bearded  men  spoken  of  in  Mexican  tradition,  is  met  by  E.  G.  Squier's 
comment  that  the  monumental  resemblances  referred  to  indicate  sim- 
ilar conditions  of  life  rather  than  ethnic  connections. 

The  historical  verity  of  pre-Columbian  visits  to  this  land  by  Irish 
colonists  or  by  Norsemen  depends  upon  accepting  as  genuine  chroni- 
cles the  romantic  sagas  of  unbridled  fancy,  the  embellished  stories  of 
the  fireside  variously  re-told  for  centuries  by  mouth  and  finally  told  on 
skin.  The  sagas  bear  the  general  character  of  popular  traditions  to 
such  a  degree  that  much  more  trustworthy  evidence  is  needed  in  de- 
termining the  origin  of  our  Moundbuilders. 

As  for  considering  him  a  distinct  product  of  America,  unrelated 
to  the  old  world,  this  view  is  ably  upheld  by  Louis  Agassiz,  but  at- 
tacked both  by  theologians  holding  fast  to  orthodox  interpretation  of 
Genesis,  and  by  evolutionists  including  Darwin.  However,  those 
holding  the  autochthonous  view  are  at  least  on  an  equal  footing  with 
other  theorists  in  the  one  particular  that  it  is  not  safe  for  any  of  them 
to  dogmatize. 

Out  of  the  silence  of  centuries  this  primitive  life  came;  into 
silence  it  has  gone.  What  wonderful  drama  may  have  developed  in 
these  forest  wilds,  what  weird  scenes  may  have  been  enacted  in 
strange  worship  of  strange  gods,  what  dreaded  spirits  were  appeased 
by  blazing  fires,  only  these  ruins  and  ashes  remain  to  tell.  And  in 
them,  too,  rests  the  everyday  story  of  this  ancient  life,  its  habits,  in- 
dustries, arts,  customs,  migrations,  and  physical  characterizations. 
It  is  assumed  our  Moundbuilders  knew  agriculture,  and  turned  hunt- 
ers with  the  coming  of  game  into  these  valleys.  Their  pottery  is  evi- 
dence that,  while  the  potter's  wheel  may  have  been  unknown  to  them. 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  27 

they  at  least  understood  some  sort  of  mechanical  process,  giving  a 
revolving  motion  to  their  clay.  Their  implements  and  ornaments 
disclose  their  art  in  stone,  and  by  the  same  token  illustrate  their 
migrations  and  intertribal  traffic. 

Theirs  was  a  life  of  peace  and  war  until  the  climax  was  reached 
and  the  tragedy  culminated  in  devastation  and  ruin.  After  that,  an 
appalling  stillness  with  the  fall  of  the  curtain,  to  rise  again  on  this 
stage  where  the  tragedies  of  the  red  man  awakened  the  forest  echoes 
once  more  with  terrifying  voice. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


Digitized  by 


Google 


r      /3.\>  ■ 


Digitized  by 


Google 


TURN   BASIN   IN   OHIO   CANAL   NEAR   BVANSBURG,  WHERE   THE 
BAREFOOT    GARFIELD    DROVE    THE  TOW-PATH    MULE 


Digitized  by 


Google 


CHAPTER  III 

THE  INDIAN  LIFE  AND  CHARACTER:  SCENES  ILLUS- 
TRATING TRIBAL  SOCIETY,  CUSTOMS,  AMUSE- 
MENTS, INDUSTRIES,  LINGUISTICS,  WARFARE, 
AND  SOMETHING  OF  SAVAGE  ROMANCE  WITH- 
IN OUR  BORDERS. 

The  red  man's  hour  on  this  stage  is  traced  in  something  more 
than  his  flaked  flints  and  stone  implements.  His  real  story  lives  in 
the  notebooks  of  those  missionaries  and  travelers  who  came  to  this 
region  in  the  twilight  of  Indian  power.  It  is  these  Coshocton  records 
that  are  spread  upon  pages  of  American  history. 

They  give  us  an  Indian  picture  that  is  part  savage,  part  human, 
a  glimpse  of  the  primitive  life  in  its  real  colors:  the  sensual  dance; 
the  fiendish  scalp  song,  aw-oh,  aw-oh,  in  mockery  of  shrieking  vic- 
tims ;  the  warriors'  chant,  he-uh,  he-uh,  in  the  hideous  war  dance  with 
brandishing  tomahawks  and  spears;  the  practical  labor  of  the  corn- 
field ;  the  feasting  from  kettles  crusted  with  former  banquets.  It  is  no 
idealized  myth  of  romance ;  only  naked  truth  with  a  dash  of  dramatic 
interest  in  the  scenes  that  marked  the  gradual  retreat  of  the  red  men 
before  the  advancing  hosts  of  whites. 

Of  the  half  dozen  Indian  villages  scattered  through  this  wilder- 
ness in  the  eighteenth  century  the  largest  extended  along  the  river- 
side, now  Water  Street,  Coshocton.  There  were  the  typical  surround- 
ings pictured  in  Longfellow's  lines — 

Round  about  the  Indian  village 
Spread  the  meadows  and  the  cornfields, 
And  beyond  them  stood  the  forest. 

The  brown  hands  of  the  squaws  and  their  daughters  built  the 
double  row  of  huts  and  wigwams,  wove  the  mats  of  grass  upon  which 
their  lordly  braves  reclined,  dressed  the  skins  of  deer  and  buffalo,  and 
toiled  over  the  cornfields.  To  woman  also  fell  the  lot  of  "blessing" 
the  corn  after  planting;  and  on  a  dark  night  when  sleep  hung  over  the 
village  some  "Laughing  Water,"  unclad  and  unabashed,  stole  from 
her  lodge  to  walk  around  the  cornfield — 


Digitized  by 


Google 


,50  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

No  one  but  the  Midnight  only 
Saw  her  beauty  in  the  darkness, 
No  one  but  the  Wawonaissa 
Heard  the  panting  of  her  bosom; 
Guskewau,  the  darkness,  wrapped  her 
Closely  in  his  sacred  mantle. 
So  that  none  might  see  her  beauty, 
So  that  none  might  boast,  '1  saw  her!' 


9f 


And  thus  her  footprints  marked  a  charmed  line  over  which  neither 
insect  nor  worm  was  supposed  to  creep,  thereby  insuring  a  good  crop 
— eloquent  proof  that  in  our  ancient  agriculture  there  was  at  least 
more  poetry  if  less  overalls  than  in  our  modern  art. 

Madam  of  the  Indian  home  led  the  busy  life  within  the  village 
while  her  lord  and  master  went  hunting  and  fishing.  Nor  did  she 
complain ;  rather  was  it  her  pride  to  labor  thus  for  him  who  provided 
meat  and  clothed  her  in  fur  by  the  chase,  and  defended  their  home 
against  their  enemies. 

So  she  went  on  devotedly  pounding  the  corn  into  flour,  and  baking 
the  dough  on  ashes,  and  serving  it  for  bread.  She  rose  to  banquet 
heights  with  a  boiled  dinner  of  corn,  pumpkins,  beans,  chestnuts  and 
meat,  sweetened  with  maple  sugar,  and  all  cooked  together  in  one 
pot,  with  its  deposits  and  incrustations  from  previous  banquets.  There 
was  one  merciful  feature  about  it:  they  had  only  two  meals  a  day. 
The  menu  was  varied  with  fish,  game,  potatoes,  cabbage,  turnips, 
cucumbers,  squash,  melons,  roots,  fruits  and  berries — ^not  bad  for 
light  housekeeping  with  one  pot. 

Madam's  accomplishments  did  not  stop  there.  With  thread  from 
the  rind  of  the  wild  hemp  and  nettles  she  wove  the  feathers  of  turkeys 
and  geese  into  blankets.  She  also  made  blankets  of  beaver  and  coon 
skin,  and  shirts  and  petticoats,  leggings  and  moccasins  of  deer  and 
bear  skin,  the  fur  being  worn  next  to  the  body  in  winter,  and  outside 
in  summer.  Sometimes  the  fur  was  scraped  off  with  rib  bones  of  the 
elk  and  buffalo. 

So  in  the  peaceful  days  the  Indian  life  tolled  along:  some  easy 
tramping  over  mossy  trails,  some  drifting  in  canoes,  some  village 
handiwork,  and  much  squatting  around  on  blankets,  with  the  ever- 
present  pipe  of  uppowoc,  the  while  many  voices  filled  the  camp;  for 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


HISTORY    OF    COSHOCTON   COUNTY  31 

among  themselves  the  Indians  were  talkative  enough.  And  theirs 
was  a  marvelously  picturesque  talk,  a  language  of  nature,  of  the  for- 
est, the  clouds,  the  sun,  the  moon,  the  water.  If  talking  of  swiftness 
their  word  for  it  was  the  deer;  strength  to  them  was  symbolized  by 
the  bear;  fury  they  likened  unto  the  wind;  and  thus  throughout  a 
vocabulary  of  wonderful  expressiveness. 

They  were  polite  in  their  way,  not  offering  to  speak  until  another 
had  finished.  They  gave  few  compliments  and  fewer  titles  of  honor. 
Some  war  exploit  or  some  eminent  wisdom  raised  a  brave  to  the  place 
of  chief,  with  his  own  town,  his  hunting  and  fishing  grounds. 

Great  respect  was  shown  to  age.  Children  were  disciplined  by 
ducking.  Of  sickness  and  its  treatment  among  the  Indians  in  this 
region  little  has  been  recorded.  When  death  came  to  a  chief's  wife 
the  moans  and  cries  of  the  women  filled  the  village.  The  dead  was 
painted  with  vermillion.  In  the  head  of  the  coffin  was  a  hole  for  her 
soul  to  pass  out  to  the  kingdom  of  Ponemah.  At  the  grave  they  en- 
treated her  to  rise  and  stay  with  the  living.  A  red  pole  was  erected  as 
a  monument.  For  three  weeks  a  kettle  of  food  was  carried  every 
evening  to  the  g^ave. 

The  painting  practice  was  always  in  evidence.  Wives  painted 
themselves  with  vermillion,  the  scarlet  women  deeply  scarlet.  Men, 
after  plucking  whiskers  with  tweezers  of  shells,  put  in  hours  painting 
the  face,  breast  and  legs  for  a  night  frolic. 

In  courtship  the  girl  usually  made  the  advances,  although  the 
man  was  not  always  lacking  in  that  particular.  This  was  seen  in  their 
courtship  dance.  It  started  with  some  one  shaking  a  gourd  or  dry 
shell  of  a  squash  in  which  pebbles  rattled  a  sort  of  measured  beat, 
and  the  dancing  line  of  painted  braves  and  the  dancing  line  of  painted 
belles  smilingly  advanced  to  amorous  meeting,  singing, 

"Ya  ne  no  hoo  wa  ne"  — 
much  like  our  fa  sol  la,  with  a  deal  of  Indian  coquetry,  while  the 
dancers  stooped  until  their  heads  touched,  then  straightened  with  a 
wild  "Lullik)o!''  and  retreated  to  do  it  all  over  again  and  again,  for 
hours  of  passionate  abandonment.  Through  the  singing,  as  their 
heads  touched,  they  exchanged  what  confidences  they  pleased,  and 
the  stooping  maid  who  smiled  "y^s''  over  her  coaxing  suitor's  two 
fingers,  suggestively  placed  together  to  look  like  one,  completed  all 
there  was  to  the  marriage  ceremony. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


32  HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

Nor  had  they  any  feeHng  of  something  horribly  illegal  some- 
where. No  doubt  they  considered  it  vastly  fin^,  a  ceremony  that  held 
just  as  thoroughly  as  the  "long  as  ye  both  shall  live"  from  the  altar 
rails  centuries  later,  with  the  bridesmaids  giggling  behind,  and  "The 
Voice  that  breathed  o'er  Eden''  lifting  the  roof  off,  as  Kipling  says. 

And  about  as  fatally  easy  as  Indian  marriage  was  Indian  separa- 
tion. The  trial  marriage  was  their  cult.  If  dissatisfied  they  simply 
looked  around  for  a  new  mate  and  let  the  other  go. 

This  is  told  in  the  journal  of  Christopher  Gist,  the  friend  whom 
George  Washington  sent  to  look  into  Coshocton  lands.  As  the  In- 
dians danced  into  matrimony,  so  they  danced  out  of  it — then  into  it 
again.  It  was  made  the  occasion  of  a  regular  feast.  For  three  days, 
from  early  breakfast  they  danced  till  evening,  feasted,  then  danced 
into  the  night.  The  men  danced  while  the  women  watchfully  judged ; 
then  the  women  in  their  turn  danced  around  the  fires,  as  many  as  three 
score  of  them,  moving  in  the  figure  8,  singing  defiance  to  their  former 
husbands  and  chanting  their  intention  to  choose  what  man  they 
pleased.  And  the  prospective  benedicts  critically  observed  the  graces 
in  the  dancing  line  that  passed  before  them  in  this  Indian  world  of 
beauty  and  fashion. 

In  the  evening  of  the  third  day  the  men,  a  hundred  in  all,  danced 
in  a  long  string,  sometimes  in  the  figure  8,  around  the  whole  place, 
and  in  and  out  of  the  council  house.  The  squaws  stood  in  line  for  a 
final  scrutiny  of  the  matrimonial  eligibles  dancing  by.  When  some 
favored  one  came  along,  she  who  preferred  him  glided  in  and  joined 
in  the  step,  talking  hold  of  the  man's  blanket,  and  continuing  in  the 
dance  until  the  rest  of  the  waiting  charmers  made  their  choice,  and 
the  dance  ended.  Thus  a  new  assortment  of  marriages  was  made,  if 
not  in  heaven,  at  least  in  Indian  style. 

Into  this  primitive  life  in  the  cycle  of  time  came  the  first  paleface, 
a  trader  from  the  Allegheny  frontier  to  which  the  white  settlements 
of  the  East  had  already  extended.  His  packhorse  was  loaded  with 
metal  kettles,  knives,  hatchets,  blankets,  firearms,  ribbons,  beads, 
spangles,  and  *'fire  water."  These  were  welcomed  by  the  natives, 
while  the  trader  returned  East  with  a  precious  load  of  fur. 

He  came  again.  Other  traders  came.  Some  were  English; 
others  wer^  French,  who  by  friendly  temperament  and  tolerant  pol- 
icy, fraternized  the  more  easily  with  the  natives.    The  rivalry  between 


Digitized  by 


Google 


HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON  COUNTY  33 

Frenchmen  and  Englishmen  for  the  Indian  fur  trade  was  an  incident 
in  the  chronic  hostility  between  France  and  England.  The  tempting 
and  fluctuating  offers  for  pelts  made  by  the  traders  started  dissen- 
sions which  were  the  first  mutterings  of  the  stormy  years  to  come 
when  the  English  were  to  fight  the  French  and  Indians  for  the  land. 

The  French  would  threaten  the  Indians  with  the  loss  of  thcif 
favor  if  they  continued  trading  with  the  English.  When  Christopher 
Gist  was  sent  to  check  the  French  scheme,  he  complained  strongly 
that  some  traders  and  their  British  convict  attendants  were  demoral-^ 
ized  and  demoralizing.  Of  a  different  sort,  however,  was  the  English 
officer^  George  Croghan,  acting  as  messenger  and  interpreter  in  con- 
stant travels  through  the  wilderness  to  win  the  savages  to  the  English 
side. 

Croghan  was  early  on  the  scene  in  this  region.  He  was  espe- 
cially qualified  for  the  dangerous  diplomacy  of  the  day.  He  exerted 
personal  influence  over  the  Indian  mind,  won  their  confidence  by  fair 
and  generous  treatment,  by  hospitality,  by  assimilating  with  their 
habits  even  in  dress,  and  by  mastering  Indian  oratory.  In  this  Eng- 
lishman the  red  men  saw  none  of  the  customary  contemptuous 
hauteur. 

Cro^an  had  the  English  colors  flying  from  the  house  of  the  In- 
dian chief  as  well  as  from  his  own  when  on  that  December  day,  1750, 
Christopher  Gist  arrived  here.  The  surveyor  represented  the  newly- 
formed  Ohio  Company  organized  by  a  dozen  Virginians,  including 
George  Washington.  They  had  a  grant  from  the  King  of  England 
for  half  a  million  acres  along  the  Ohio.  The  King  had  acquired  pos- 
session under  a  deed  obtained  by  Pennsylvania,  Virginia  and  Mary- 
land from  some  Iroquois  chiefs  for  all  the  land  beyond  the  mountains 
— one  of  those  characteristic  deeds  which  for  terms  that  were  dark 
and  tricks  that  were  vain  showed  the  heathen  mind  as  somewhat 
peculiar.  The  Indian  idea  of  a  deed  was  not  a  surrender  of  territory, 
but  an  agreement  to  occupy  jointly  with  the  white  man. 

But  to  go  on  with  Gist  and  Croghan;  The  Friday  of  the  sur- 
veyor's arrival  in  Coshocton  he  found  that,  notwithstanding  the  Eng- 
lish flag  hoisted  on  the  chief's  house,  the  several  hundred  Indians 
of  the  village  were  divided  in  their  preference,  some  siding  with  the 
English,  some  with  the  French. 

Several  English  traders  had  been  seized  by  Frenchmen  as  tres- 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


34  HISTORY   OF  COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

passers  and  taken  to  Canada  as  prisoners.  Croghan  dispatched  run- 
ners to  warn  English  traders  in  towns  farther  down  the  Mus- 
kingum, and  to  summon  them  to  a  meeting  in  Coshocton.  The 
Indians  talked  of  holding  a  general  council. 

Two  English  traders  appeared  and  reported  that  ten  others  had 
been  captured  by  forty  Frenchmen  and  half  as  many  Indians;  that 
the  English  captives  along  with  their  horses  and  loads  of  fur  were 
taken  to  a  French  fort  near  Lake  Erie. 

The  week  passed  in  Coshocton  with  Gist  "talking  much  of  a 
regulation  of  trade"  and  his  business  with  the  Indians.  On  Christ- 
mas day  he  intended  to  read  prayers.  A  few  whites,  disinclined  and 
of  various  persuasions,  refused  to  attend,  though  urged  to  do  so  by 
Thomas  Burney,  a  blacksmith.  Several  Indians  came,  invited  by 
Andrew  Montour,  a  noted  guide  whose  mother  was  the  attractive 
wife  of  an  Indian  chief  in  the  East.  The  red  men  of  Coshocton, 
hearkening  to  Gist,  seemed  impressed  with  the  white  man's  religious 
belief,  his  explanation  of  the  Christian  marriage,  and  baptism  of 
children.  And,  the  chronicle  quaintly  continues,  they  said  they  would 
never  desire  to  return  to  the  French,  or  suffer  them  to  come  near; 
for  they  loved  the  English,  but  had  seen  little  religion  among  them. 

This  Christmas  there  was  an  incident  vividly  calculated  to  em- 
phasize the  need  for  missionary  work.  A  squaw,  long  held  as  a 
prisoner,  had  escaped,  been  retaken,  and  submitted  to  the  typically 
refined  cruelty  of  these  red  savages.  They  turned  her  loose  and  when 
she  started  running  for  her  life  she  was  pursued  and  struck  down 
with  a  blow  on  the  head  and  an  arrow  that  pierced  her  to  the  heart. 
Her  scalp  was  thrown  into  the  river,  and  then  her  head  cut  off.  As 
that  seemed  about  as  far  as  heathen  hatred  could  go,  Barney  Curran, 
a  trader  who  later  was  with  George  Washington,  obtained  from  the 
sullen  savages  their  permission  to  give  the  dead  a  decent  burial, 
which  he,  his  men,  and — be  it  recorded — some  Indians,  did  as  dark- 
ness mercifully  blotted  out  a  day  of  horror. 

Nothing  was  recorded  for  a  while  in  Gist's  journal.  Then  ap- 
peared this  significant  entry: 

"Saturday,  Jan.  12. — ^Proposed  a  council;  postponed;  Indians 
drunk." 

The  noble  red  men  apparently  survived  the  effects  of  French 
brandy  and  British  rum;  for  a  couple  days  later  a  meeting  is  finally 

Digitized  by  LjOOQLC 


HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON    COUNTY  35 

recorded.  Little  remains  to  us  descriptive  of  the  picturesque  assem- 
bly in  the  council  house  of  Coshocton,  and  that  little  is  in  Gist's  note- 
book. He  says  Croghan  and  Montour  as  interpreters  presented  four 
strings  of  wampum  to  the  chief  and  council,  and  informed  them  that 
their  father  had  sent  under  the  care  of  their  brother,  the  governor  of 
Virginia,  a  large  present  of  goods  now  landed  safe  in  Virginia,  and 
that  the  governor  had  sent  Gist  to  invite  them  to  come  and  see  him 
and  partake  of  their  father's  charity  to  all  his  children. 

A  chief  laid  aside  his  pipe  and  slowly  rising  drew  himself  erect 
with  the  dignity  that  was  purely  Indian.  He  said  they  thanked  their 
brother,  the  governor  of  Virginia,  for  his  care,  and  Gist  for  bringing 
the  news,  but  that  they  could  not  give  an  answer  until  they  had  a 
general  council  of  the  several  Indian  nations  next  Spring.  The  chief 
and  council  shook  hands  with  Gist,  and  the  next  day  the  surveyor  went 
five  miles  to  a  small  town  on  the  Walhonding,  which  is  Indian  for 
White  Woman. 

There  Gist  met  the  white  woman.  She  was  the  squaw  of  Eagle 
Feather,  and  mother  of  several  children.  She  remembered  her  name 
as  Mary  Harris,  and  that  she  was  stolen  from  her  home  in  New  Eng- 
land by  Indians  when  she  was  little.  So  much  had  she  become  a 
part  of  Indian  life  that  nothing  of  her  civilized  childhood  remained 
save  a  recollection  that  man  in  New  England  seemed  religious,  while 
out  here  she  wondefed  at  the  wickedness  of  white  men  that  she  saw 
in  these  woods. 

Her  wanderings  had  been  those  of  the  tribe  of  Custaloga,  re- 
treating before  white  frontiersmen  until  they  found  new  hunting 
grounds  here.  She  would  follow  Eagle  Feather  to  buffalo,  elk  and 
bear  hunts,  and  when  he  went  off  with  a  war  party  she  mixed  his 
paint  and  laid  it  on  and  plumed  him,  and  put  up  dried  venison  and 
parched  corn  for  his  journey.  As  one  narrative  relates,  she  was 
especially  careful  to  polish  with  soapstone  Eagle  Feather's  little 
hatchet,  admonishing  him  not  to  return  without  some  good  long- 
haired scalps  for  wigwam  parlor  ornaments. 

In  after  years  it  is  told  that  Eagle  Feather  returned  from  afar 
one  day,  bringing  with  him  another  white  woman,  the  "newcomer," 
as  the  jealous  Mary  named  her.  In  the  night  the  sleeping  Eagle 
Feather  was  tomahawked.  Mary  screamed  the  newcomer  did  it,  and 
the  newcomer  fled,  with  warriors  in  hot  pursuit.     Miles  away  they 


Digitized  by 


Google 


36  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

overtook  her  and  tomahawked  her,  and  the  scene  of  the  tragedy  has 
been  memorialized  in  the  name  of  Newcomerstown  to  this  day.  Mary 
Harris  took  the  trail  to  Sandusky  and  was  heard  from  no  more. 

There  is  a  legend  of  the  Walhonding,  the  tradition  of  White 
Woman  Rock,  and  the  heroine  of  it  may  have  been  some  captive 
maiden  among  the  hundreds  of  eastern  prisoners  in  the  hands  of  sav- 
ages passing  through  this  region  on  their  way  to  the  West.  Held  in 
a  red  beast's  arms  the  struggling  beauty  suddenly  broke  from  him 
and  flew  like  an  arrow  through  the  forest,  tearing  through  thickets, 
and  leaping  over  fallen  timber,  the  yelping  pursuer  fast  gaining  upon 
her.  Just  before  her  through  the  trees  she  saw  the  river.  An  in- 
stant she  hesitated.  Better  death  in  the  water  than  a  living  death 
in  horrible  captivity.  She  could  hear  him  coming  nearer.  If  she 
could  only  find  a  hiding  place!  She  did  not  want  to  die.  There, 
looming  high  on  the  river's  edge,  her  frantic  eyes  sighted  a  huge 
rock.  Its  great  wall  seemed  to  beckon  her  to  safety-  With  all  her 
remaining  strength  she  drew  herself  from  ledge  to  ledge  to  the  top- 
most height,  and  lay  there  prone,  panting,  trembling,  exhausted. 
The  protecting  arm  of  a  tree  spread  its  foliage  overhead.  Beneath 
flowed  the  silent  river.  A  stillness  suddenly  hung  over  everything. 
The  listening  girl,  straining  to  hear  the  least  sound,  fearful  lest  she 
might  be  tracked  to  her  refuge,  held  her  hand  to  her  breast  to  still 
the  wild  beating  of  her  heart.  Silently  the  moccasined  feet  drew 
nearer,  stealthily  they  crept  toward  the  rock,  and  the  painted  face 
looking  upward  saw  the  quarry  only  partly  concealed  by  the  over- 
hanging branches.  He  dashed  up  with  a  yell.  Hunter  and  hunted 
faced  each  other  for  a  terrible  instant,  the  prayer  froz€  on  her  lips, 
and  then  before  his  outstretched  hand  could  seize  her  she  threw  her- 
self from  the  brink  into  the  waters  that  closed  over  her  forever. 

But  we  left  Gist  on  his  tour  of  this  region  to  locate  the  best 
lands  and  pave  the  way  toward  establishing  his  company's  claims  to 
them  by  following  the  line  of  least  resistance  on  the  part  of  the  red 
occupants.  From  the  White  Woman  his  tour  extended  southward 
to  the  Ohio.  His  effort  to  get  lands  for  the  Ohio  Company  aroused 
the  French,  and  thus  his  trip  through  these  Coshocton  valleys  was  a 
forerunner  of  the  war  that  a  few  years  later  lost  France  her  principal 
possessions  in  America — the  whole  Ohio  and  Mississippi  wilderness 
that  she  had  claimed  a  hundred  years  since  La  Salle's  explorations; 


Digitized  by 


Google 


HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON  COUNTY  37 

aye,  in  all  the  years  since  these  forest  wilds  of  **New  France"  were 
roamed  over  by  the  Jesuit  priests,  winning  Indians  to  their  faith. 

The  Ohio  Company's  claim  to  this  region  rested  on  a  deed  from 
the  Iroquois,  but  Gist  found  other  Indians  here  to  reckon  with — the 
Delawares,  once  the  powerful  tribe  of  Wa-be-nugh-ka  that  had  dwelt 
on  the  shores  of  the  Delaware  and  welcomed  William  Penn  to  the 
new  world.  For  that  hospitality  to  the  white  man  the  Delawares 
were  to  suffer  at  the  hands  of  their  red  brothers.  While  Penn 
breathed  grateful  prayer  at  sight  of  the  Delawares  burying  the 
hatchet,  and  while  the  peace  belt  was  scarcely  laid  across  the 
shoulders  of  the  peacemakers,  the  Iroquois  warriors  sneered  at  the 
Delawares,  contemptuously  called  them  "women,"  and  tomahawks 
became  red  with  Delaware  blood.  The  sight  of  ships  bringing  in 
more  and  more  white  men,  premonitions  of  the  coming  of  the  Great 
Spirit,  distracted  the  Delawares  from  wreaking  vengeance  on  the 
Iroquois.  The  haughty  Iroquois  posed  as  the  superior  nation,  and 
the  Atlantic  colonies  believed.  The  Delawares  were  forbidden  by 
the  Iroquois  to  sell  land.  Soured  and  embittered  against  their  con- 
querors the  Delawares  left  their  old  htmting  grounds  and  drifted 
westward  through  the  wilderness  until  they  came  here. 

Even  then,  deep  down  in  some  of  those  savage  hearts,  there  was 
likely  a  growing  bitterness  toward  the  English  whose  colonies  were 
overrunning  htmting  grounds  from  the  coast  to  the  AUeghenies,  a 
bitterness  masked  by  stolid,  impassive  countenance  in  the  council  at 
Coshocton  a»  they  listened  to  Gist  talk  of  presents  from  the  white 
brother  in  Virginia — ^presents  of  the  white  man  who  wanted  their 
land. 

Something  like  suspicion  in  their  mind  is  indicated  in  the  play 
for  time  when  they  told  Gist  there  would  be  no  answer  until  a  gen- 
eral council  in  the  Spring.  They  held  this  as  their  land.  The  chiefs 
had  in  their  possession  documents  and  vouchers  in  writing,  and 
strings  and  belts  of  wampum,  of  all  transactions  that  had  taken  place 
between  their  ancestors  and  the  government  of  Pennsylvania  from 
the  time  of  William  Penn.  Once  a  year  had  they  met  in  the  forest 
to  refresh  their  memories  and  to  instruct  the  most  promising  of  their 
young  men  in  memorizing  those  records.  There  would  be  no  sur- 
render of  this  land  without  a  struggle.  And  the  struggle  came  with 
the  outbreak  of  the  smouldering  fire  of  hatred  toward  the  English 


Digitized  by 


v^oogle 


38  HISTORY   OF  COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

colonists  that  claimed  this  land  by  virtue  of  cession  from  the  Iroquois 
who  on  their  part  had  gained  it  by  conquest.  The  Delawares  and  the 
neighboring  Shawanees,  having  at  last  recuperated  their  courage  and 
vigor,  denied  that  the  hated  Iroquois  had  any  right  by  conquest  or 
otherwise  to  deed  the  land  to  the  English. 

So  in  the  end  the  Delawares  joined  the  tribes  that  allied  with 
the  French  in  the  fight  against  the  English.  The  prize  at  stake  was 
the  continent,  but  little  the  savages  at  first  knew  how  hopeless  to 
them  was  the  war  of  the  white  men  whose  conflicting  schemes,  jeal- 
ousies, intrigues,  passions  and  religious  hatreds  of  the  old  world 
burned  in  the  wilderness  warfare  of  the  new.  For  the  red  men  it 
was  to  be  but  a  question  of  under  which  king. 

Through  the  Indian  world  in  this  forest  wild  the  music  of  the 
war  dance  beat  like  a  muffled  drum,  the  weird  "he-uh,  he-uh"  of 
chanting  savages  timed  to  the  tatto  of  the  drum-stick.  The  warriors 
crouched  a  few  paces,  straightened  with  a  hideous  yell,  stretched 
their  tomahawks  towards  Virginia,  shrieked  their  hate  again,  the 
lust  of  blood  in  their  painted  faces,  then  wheeled  and  danced  back. 

One  at  a  time,  with  brandishing  tomahawk,  howled  and  writhed 
through  his  war  song  to  the  weird  chant  of  the  others — "He-uh, 
he-uh."  As  the  warrior  ended  his  song  he  crashed  his  tomahawk 
into  a  post,  shouted  his  war  exploits  and  what  he  would  now  do, 
while  the  rest  howled  approval.  When  they  filed  away,  trailing  be- 
hind the  leader,  his  traveling  song  came  faintly  to  the  listening 
squaws,  maids  and  old  men  long  after  the  breech-clouted  figures  had 
disappeared  in  the  forest — 

"Hoo  kaw  tainte  heegana!     Hoo  kaw  tainte  heegana!" 


Digitized  by 


Google 


Digitized  by 


Google 


SIX  MILE  DAM  W^TH  HEAD  GATES  AT  LEFT  TO  TURN  THE  WATER  OF 
THE    WALHONDING    INTO  THE    CANAL 


Digitized  by 


Google 


CHAPTER  IV. 

IMPORTANT  INCIDENTS  IN  COSHOCTON  INDIAN  LIFE 
WHICH  HAVE  MADE  THIS  REGION  FAMOUS  IN 
THE  COUNTRY'S  INDIAN  HISTORY. 

From  the  raids  and  midnight  attacks  on  settlers'  log  cabins  along 
the  Virginia,  Pennsylvania  and  Kentucky  border  the  murderous  sav- 
ages brought  back  to  these  valleys  the  scalps  of  English  colonists  by 
scores.  The  crude  sign  of  fagots  or  the  hatchet  pictured  on  each 
reeking  scalp  grimly  told  the  victim's  death  at  the  stake  or  by  the 
tomahawk. 

Sometimes  the  Indians  lost,  and  the  home-coming  of  the  baffled, 
flying  remnant  brought  only  howls  and  lamentations  from  the  squaws 
and  old  men.  Then  again  a  successful  war  party,  heralded  in  advance 
by  runners,  would  be  greeted  with  yelping  joy  for  its  rich  plunder, 
scalps  and  prisoners. 

In  the  orgies  that  followed  it  is  curious  to  note  how  the  squaws 
were  the  most  hideous  in  their  demonstrations,  their  taunts,  and  their 
tormentings  of  the  prisoners.  The  victims  one  by  one  were  forced 
to  run  the  gauntlet  between  lines  of  yelping  fiends  who  stoned  them, 
tripped  them,  clubbed  them,  and  tomahawked  them. 

Sometimes  a  mere  caprice  decided  that  a  prisoner  be  spared  for 
adoption.  There  was  a  young  man  eighteen  years  old  captured  in 
Braddock's  defeat  in  1755  near  Pittsburg.  He  was  brought  to  the 
Indian  village  of  Tulhillas,  where  today  stands  the  town  of  Walhond- 
ing,  this  county,  and  here  the  Delawares  and  the  Mohicans  adopted 
him.  Colonel  James  Smith  was  the  prisoner,  and  his  account  is  de- 
scribed as  most  graphic  and  picturesque  by  Dr.  George  E.  Ellis, 
president  of  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society. 

The  day  after  his  arrival  in  the  Indian  town  on  the  Walhonding, 
young  Smithes  thoughts  as  to  what  his  captors  meant  to  do  with  him 
were  soon  answered.  From  the  group  of  savages  that  gathered 
round  the  prisoner  who  was  bound  hand  and  foot,  one  came  forward 
and  began  to  pull  the  hair  out  of  the  captive's  head. 

39 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


40  HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON    COUNTY 

"He  frequently  dipped  his  fingers  in  ashes  on  a  piece  of  bark, 
in  order  to  take  a  firmer  hold/'  said  the  colonel.  Only  a  tuft  was 
left  on  his  crown,  and  a  lock  which  they  wrapped  with  a  narrow 
beaded  garter,  and  another  that  they  plaited.  They  bored  his  nose 
and  ears  to  insert  jewels.  He  was  ordered  to  strip  and  put  on  a 
breechclout.  They  painted  his  head,  face  and  body,  hung  a  wampum 
belt  on  his  neck,  circled  his  arm  and  wrists  with  silver  bands,  and 
an  old  chief  led  him  toward  the  village  center,  hallooing: 

"Coo  wee,  coo  wee,  coo  wee.*' 

The  populace  poured  out  of  wigwams  and  crowded  around  the 
chief,  who,  holding  the  captive  by  the  hand,  delivered  a  long  speech. 

Three  Indian  maids  led  the  young  man  into  the  river,  waist 
deep. 

"They  made  signs  for  me  to  plunge  myself,"  he  related,  "but 
thinking  these  young  ladies  wanted  to  drown  me  I  did  not.  All  three 
grasped  me,  and  I  opposed  them,  while  the  multitude  on  the  bank 
roared.'*  One  of  the  struggling,  almost  breathless  creatures  holding 
him  protested  with  earnest  eyes,  "No  hurt  you,'*  and  the  captive 
gracefully  surrendered  to  their  washing  and  rubbing  "to  remove  the 
white  blood  from  his  veins."  They  led  him  dripping  to  the  council 
house,  where  ruffled  shirt,  ribboned  and  beaded  leggings,  moccasins 
and  beaded  garters  awaited  him.  Again  his  head  and  face  were 
painted.  A  bunch  of  red  feathers  fastened  to  his  crown  with  a  lock 
that  was  spared  completed  his  Indian  make-up.  They  seated  him  on 
a  bear  rug,  gave  him  a  tomahawk,  a  pipe  and  pouch  of  tobacco  with 
punk,  flint  and  steel. 

"The  Indians  came  in,"  continues  the  narrative,  "all  dressed  and 
painted  grandly,  and  sat  in  long,  profound  silence,  smoking.  The 
chief  finally  welcomed  me  in  a  speech  as  one  of  them.  At  the  even- 
ing feast  they  gave  me  a  bowl  and  wooden  spoon  which  I  carried 
with  me  to  large  brass  kettles  full  of  boiled  venison  and  green  corn. 
The  chief  made  a  short  speech,  and  all  ate.  One  chief  was  Tecanya- 
terighto  or  Pluggy,  another  Asallecoa  or  Mohawk  Solomon." 

The  young  man  shared  the  life  of  the  tribe  for  five  years  be- 
fore he  reached  his  home  in  Pennsylvania,  and  when  we  hear  of  him 
again  it  is  as  guide  to  Colonel  Bouquet's  expedition  to  Coshocton. 
Afterward  Smith  was  colonel  in  the  Revolution,  and  subsequently  a 
member  of  the  Kentucky  legislature. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON  COUNTY  41 

The  treaty  which  closed  the  French  and  Indian  war  was  a  paper 
agreement  on  the  other  side  of  the  ocean.  France  surrendered  to 
Britain  the  territory  here,  but  in  this  wilderness  the  French,  still 
holding  their  posts,  inflamed  the  Indians  more  than  ever  against 
the  English.  The  French  always  were  the  more  liberal  with  whisky 
and  powder. 

So  war  parties  of  Delawares  and  Shawanees  from  this  region 
continued  ravaging  the  Virginia  and  Pennsylvania  border  settle- 
ments. These  tribes  were  active  agents  in  the  Pontiac  conspiracy  to 
annihilate  the  whites.  Colonel  Henry  Bouquet  drove  back  the  tribes 
in  a  fight  of  two  days  and  nights  at  Bushy  Run  in  western  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  the  next  year  pushed  on  to  Coshocton  with  the  first  Eng- 
lish military  expedition  to  this  region.  It  was  a  resolute  stroke  to 
overawe  the  Indians  at  this  central  point,  a  campaign  which  has 
made  this  region  famous  in  the  Indian  history  of  the  United  States. 

The  sight  which  met  the  startled  eyes  of  natives  crouching  in 
forest  shadows  was  well  calculated  to  strike  consternation.  White 
men  fairly  swarmed  into  the  heart  of  this  wilderness — so  many  that 
they  did  not  move  singly  over  the  narrow  trail  in  "Indian  file,"  but 
marched  two  and  four  abreast,  the  path  widened  for  the  cavalcade  by 
companies  of  axemen  that  hacked  away  the  bordering  thickets  and 
undergrowth  and  overhanging  branches  of  trees. 

As  far  as  the  eye  could  reach  it  was  an  unbroken  column  of 
English  fighters  with  death-dealing  firearms  aslant  their  shoulders. 
First  came  the  scouting  parties  and  a  corps  of  Virginia  volunteers, 
followed  by  the  axe  companies,  guarded  by  companies  of  light  infan- 
try. Following  a  column  of  Highlanders  came  the  corps  of  reserve 
and  the  second  battalion  of  Pennsylvania  militia;  then  the  officers, 
several  women,  and  the  long  train  of  pack-horses  and  the  longer 
droves  of  bawling  cattle  and  bleating  sheep,  with  a  company  of  light 
horse  following.  Altogether  Bouquet's  force  was  fifteen  hundred 
strong. 

Indians  began  coming  to  Bouquet,  oflFering  excuses  for  recent 
border  massacres,  as  usual  blaming  their  young  men  as  the  hot- 
tempered,  impetuous  ones,  and  abjectly  suing  for  peace,  promising 
to  deliver  white  prisoners.  Bouquet  insisted  upon  deliveries,  not 
promises,  and  pushed  on.  Nearing  Coshocton  the  caravan  detoured 
from  the  Tuscarawas  valley  in  order,  apparently,  to  avoid  an  Indian 

Digitized  by  LjOOQIC 


42  HISTORY   OF  COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

ambuscade  along  the  river,  and  marched  past  what  is  now  Ragers- 
ville  in  Tuscarawas  County,  down  the  valley  past  Fiat  in  Bucks 
Township,  and  down  White  Eyes  Creek  to  south  of  Chili,  in  Coshoc- 
ton County.    Bouquet's  journal,  from  this  point,  runs  as  follows : 

"Thursday,  Oct.  25,  1764 — Marched  six  and  a  half  miles  to 
camp  in  the  forks  of  the  Muskingum,  as  the  most  central  place  to 
receive  the  prisoners,  the  principal  Indian  towns  lying  around  there 
from  seven  to  twenty  miles  distant.  Four  redoubts  were  built  here 
opposite  the  four  angles  of  the  camp.  Ground  in  front  cleared,  pro- 
vision storehouse  erected,  council  house  built.'' 

The  colonel's  journal  does  not  go  into  particulars  regarding 
highland  location  of  his  camp,  but  his  specific  record  that  it  was  "in" 
the  forks  of  the  Muskingum  has  directed  observation  to  the  nearby 
Johnson  hill,  rising  above  the  Basin  in  the  forks  to  a  height  which 
commands  today  a  magnificent  view  of  the  three  valleys,  a  scenic 
panorama  that  is  among  the  most  beautiful  pictures  in  all  Ohio.  To 
the  south  extends  for  miles  the  broad  valley  of  the  Muskingum. 
Eastward  the  eye  looks  upon  the  vast  distance  of  the  Tuscarawas, 
and  westward  is  the  far-reaching  vista  of  the  Walhonding.  Thick 
timber  growth  in  early  days  would  have  obstructed  the  view  from 
this  hilltop,  but  its  military  value  as  a  strategic  point  is  easily  recog- 
nized. It  is  stated  that  traces  of  earthwork  fortification  could  still 
be  seen  here  by  pioneer  settlers,  and  that  a  spring  at  the  foot  of  the 
hill  on  the  eastern  side  supplied  water  enough  for  a  camp. 

Camp  Bouquet  rising  like  a  tented  city  in  the  wilderness,  with  a 
population  of  nearly  two  thousand,  well  protected  and  well  supplied, 
struck  dismay  to  the  hearts  of  the  red  men.  They  counciled  anxiously 
among  themselves  around  their  campfire  on  the  banks  of  the 
Muskingum. 

One  went  as  messenger  from  Chief  Custaloga  to  inform  Bouquet 
that  the  chief  would  soon  deliver  prisoners.  The  colonel  fixed  the 
time,  and  stared  stonily  at  the  red  hand  held  out  to  him. 

*The  English,"  he  said  coolly,  "never  take  the  enemy  by  the 
hand  before  peace." 

The  eyes  blazed  in  the  copper  skin  as  the  savage  stalked  away. 
Then  he  remembered  Bushy  Run  and  this  fighter.  Subdued  and  awed 
he  went  back  dully  enough  to  his  people. 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON  COUNTY  43 

So  steadily  did  Bouquet  adhere  to  his  purpose  of  having  every 
prisoner  delivered  without  ransom  before  entering  upon  a  truce  that 
he  even  refused  to  talk  with  the  Delaware  chiefs,  Custaloga  and 
Beaver,  while  a  single  captive  remained  among  them.  Within  a  fort- 
night they  had  brought  in  all  theirs  except  a  dozen,  as  indicated  by 
twelve  small  sticks.    These  they  promised  to  bring  within  a  few  days. 

The  man  whose  decision  and  courage  compelled  the  delivery  of 
two  hundred  and  six  prisoners  was  also  absolute  in  his  demand  for 
all  captives,  young  or  old,  whom  the  Indians  avowed  had  been  adopted 
or  married  among  the  tribes.  The  delivery  of  these  captives  was  a 
most  dramatic  scene,  a  startling  manifestation  of  white  people  strug- 
gling against  a  return  to  civilization.  They  clung  to  their  Indian 
friends,  repelling  the  relatives  who  had  come  with  Bouquet  to  rescue 
them.  Young  women  would  not  give  up  their  Indian  husbands. 
Little  ones,  remembering  nothing  of  parents  and  home,  drew  back  ' 
from  anguished  mothers  and  fathers,  and  held  to  their  red  friends 
who  wept  over  them.  It  was  necessary  to  bind  some  captives  hand 
and  foot. 

There  were  still  a  hundred  prisoners  that  the  sullen  and  haughty 
Shawanees  had  not  delivered.  The  excuse  was  that  they  were  with 
chiefs  absent  on  distant  hunts.  Forty  SUawanese  warriors  counciled 
with  Bouquet  in  the  presence  of  Delaware,  Seneca  and  Caughnawaga 
chiefs  and  sixty  warriors.  Red  Hawk  spoke  for  the  Shawanees.  A 
translation  follows: 

''Brother,  listen  to  us,  your  younger  brother.  We  see  something 
in  your  eyes  that  looks  like  dissatisfaction  with  us.  We  now  wipe 
away  everything  bad  between  us  that  you  may  clearly  see." 

Bouquet's  steady  gaze  fixed  itself  upon  the  speaker  who  went  on 
with  the  same  mixture  of  fierce  pride  and  humble  submission,  while 
the  hundred  warriors  squatting  on  the  floor  regarded  them  both 
intently. 

"You  have  heard  many  bad  stories  of  us,"  Red  Hawk  continued. 
'We  clean  your  ears  that  you  may  hear.  We  remove  everything  bad 
from  your  heart  that  it  may  be  like  the  heart  of  your  ancestors  when 
they  thought  of  nothing  but  good." 

As  he  spoke  Red  Hawk  held  out  to  Bouquet  a  string  of  wampum. 
Near  him  from  the  peace  pipe  the  smoke  of  the  calumet  floated  away 
in  a  gauze-like  film.    The  speaker  was  still  talking: 


Digitized  by 


Google 


44  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

"Brother,  when  we  saw  you  coming  this  road  you  advanced  to- 
ward us  with  tomahawk  in  hand;  but  we,  your  younger  brothers, 
take  it  out  of  your  hands  and  throw  it  up  to  the  Great  Spirit  to  dis- 
pose of  as  he  pleases,  by  which  we  hope  never  to  see  it  more." 

As  the  buried  hatchet  of  previous  peace  compacts  had  been  dug 
up  again  it  is  likely  Red  Hawk's  variation  of  the  figure  on  this  occa- 
sion was  to  signify  a  lasting  treaty. 

"And  now,  brother,"  he  finished,  extending  the  string  of  wam- 
pum toward  Bouquet,  "we  beg  that  you  who  are  a  warrior  will  take 
hold  of  this  chain  of  friendship,  and  receive  it  from  us,  who  are  also 
warriors,  and  let  us  think  no  more  of  war,  in  pity  to  our  .old  men, 
women  and  children." 

It  was  better  so.  Outside  the  chill  November  blast  warned 
Bouquet  against  winter  hardship  in  the  wilderness.  The  Shawanees 
had  promised  to  bring  the  rest  of  their  prisoners  to  Fort  Pitt  in  the 
Spring,  the  Delawares,  Senecas  and  Caughnawagas  added  their  ex- 
hortations to  the  Shawanees  to  keep  faith,  and  Bouquet  took  with 
him  Shawanese  warriors  to  hold  as  hostages.  November  i8  he  broke 
camp  and  left  the  forks  of  the  Muskingum  to  return  to  Fort  Pitt. 

In  the  years  that  followed  there  was  no  white  man  disturbing 
the  Indian  life  of  this  regibn  until  the  first  faint  mutterings  of  the 
Revolution  were  borne  to  the  red  man's  ears.  The  question  rose 
whether  the  Indian  would  stand  neutral  or  fight  for  the  British.  In 
1775,  the  year  of  the  shot  fired  at  Lexington  that  was  heard  round 
the  world,  the  Colonial  Congress  sent  commissioners  to  Pittsburg  to 
explain  to  Indian  chiefs  convened  there  the  dispute  between  the  British 
and  the  Americans,  and  to  enlist  the  Indians  on  the  colonists'  side. 

There  were  Delaware  chiefs  from  this  region  who  hearkened  to 
the  tax-burdened  colonies'  grievance  told  them  in  this  parable: 

"Suppose  a  father  had  a  little  son  whom  he  loved  and  indulged 
while  young,  but  growing  up  to  be  a  youth  began  to  think  of  having 
some  help  from  him ;  and  making  up  a  small  pack  he  bade  him  carry 
it  for  him.  The  boy  cheerfully  takes  this  pack  up.  As  the  boy  grows 
stronger  the  father' makes  the  pack  larger.  A  hard-hearted  adviser 
tells  the  father  to  make  the  pack  heavier  still,  and  the  son  says, 
'Lighten  the  pack;  I  am  unable  to  carry  this  load.'  The  father  threat- 
ens to  beat  him.  The  son  has  no  other  choice  than  striking  back  to 
learn  who  is  the  stronger." 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON  COUNTY  45 

Delaware  chiefs  in  the  name  of  their  nation  declared  they  would 
remain  neutral  in  the  contest  between  "parent  and  son."  One  who 
particularly  urged  that  the  hatchet  be  not  lifted  against  the  colonists 
was  the  mighty  and  courageous  White  Eyes. 

A  haughty  Seneca  hinted  that  the  Iroquois,  the  Six  Nations, 
would  talk  for  the  Delawares  who  "had  no  will  of  their  own.'*  Stung 
by  the  sneer,  White  Eyes  rose,  while  a  hush  fell  on  the  assembly.  The 
insult  stirred  every  drop  of  fighting  blood  in  him.  He  was  facing 
the  Seneca. 

"You  say  that  you  had  conquered  me,  that  you  had  cut  off  my 
legs,  had  put  a  petticoat  on  me,  giving  me  a  hoe  and  corn  pounder  in 
my  hands  saying:  'Now,  woman,  plant  and  hoe  corn  and  pound  it  for 
bread  for  us  men  and  warriors.'  "  The  chief's  face  was  like  a  thunder 
cloud,  his  eyes  blazing  lightning,  both  arms  raised.  "Look  at  my 
legs!  If  as  you  say  you  had  cut  them  off  they  have  grown  again! 
The  petticoat  I  have  thrown  away.  The  corn  hoe  and  pounder  I  have 
exchanged  for  these  firearms,  and  I  declare  that  I  am  a  man!"  He 
waved  his  hand  to  the  west :  "And  all  the  country  on  the  other  side 
of  the  Allegheny  is  mine!" 

Such  defiance  of  the  Iroquois  by  a  Delaware  was  never  heard  be- 
fore in  an  Indian  council.  The  speech  was  followed  by  a  division  in 
the  Delaware  nation.  That  scheming,  crafty  chief  of  the  Wolf  tribe. 
Captain  Pipe,  who  craved  power,  poisoned  some  Delaware  minds 
with  the  lie  that  White  Eyes  was  plotting  with  the  colonists  to  enslave 
young  Indians  and  enrich  himself.  Captain  Pipe,  as  cheerful  a  liar 
as  a  modern  captain  of  politics,  sneaked  about  this  country  with  his 
lie,  and  when  he  quit  attending  councils  at  the  forks,  conducted  his 
lying  campaign  from  his  village,  the  present  Walhonding. 

Hostile  Delawares  from  here  joined  Shawanees,  Wyandots  and 
Senecas  in  murdering  and  robbing  settlers  along  the  Ohio.  The  rela- 
tions of  Logan,  the  Mingo  chief,  were  killed,  and  savages  wreaked 
swift  vengeance.  The  war  of  Lord  Dunmore  and  the  Virginians 
began  against  the  Indians.  William  Robinson  was  captured  by 
Logan.  The  chief  formed  a  liking  for  his  young  prisoner.  Three 
times  murderous  savages  tied  the  captive  to  a  stake,  but  no  time  was 
the  fire  lighted;  for  Logan,  protesting  with  a  power  and  vigor  of 
speech  that  foamed  the  sides  of  his  mouth,  had  his  way,  and  finally 
placed  the  wampum  belt  on  Robinson  as  the  token  of  adoption. 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


46  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

Robinson  was  led  captive  through  here  in  1774,  little  dreaming 
then  that  twenty-seven  years  later  he  would  return  to  make  this  his 
home.  The  Mingoes  took  him  to  their  town  up  the  Tuscarawas.  In 
a  few  days  Logan  asked  him  to  write  a  message  which  was  tied  to  a 
war  club  and  left  to  be  found  with  the  body  of  a  murdered  settler  near 
the  Ohio.  The  message  was  addressed  to  Captain  Cresap,  and  voiced 
the  feelings  of  Logan  with  the  eloquence  which  breathed  through  his 
celebrated  speech  later  to  Dunmore  that  has  been  characterized  as 
challenging  whole  orations  of  Demosthenes  and  Cicero: 

'What  did  you  kill  my  people  on  Yellow  Creek  for  ?  The  white 
people  killed  my  kin  at  Conestoga  a  great  while  ago,  and  I  thought 
nothing  of  that.  But  you  killed  my  kin  again  on  Yellow  Creek,  and 
took  my  cousin  prisoner.  Then  I  thought  I  must  kill  too.  And  I 
have  been  three  times  to  war  since.  But  the  Indians  are  not  angry; 
only  myself." 

Months  afterward  Robinson  reached  his  Virginia  home. 

Meanwhile  Netawatwes,  as  the  head  of  the  Turtle  tribe  of  Dela- 
wares,  abandoned  his  capital  on  the  Stillwater  and  with  such  of  his 
people  as  remained  faithful  to  him  he  established  the  new  Delaware 
capital  at  Coshocton,  or  Cush-og-wenk  as  the  Indians  called  it,  Gos- 
hochking  as  the  missionary  Heckewelder  spelled  it,  and  Goschachgunk 
according  to  De  Schweinetz. 

Netawatwes  and  his  grandson,  Killbuck,  hater  of  whisky,  were 
like  White  Eyes  in  their  friendship  for  the  colonists  and  their  efforts 
to  keep  the  Indians  off  the  war  path.  Apparently  years  of  carnage 
had  wearied  these  three.  They  were  drawn  to  the  religion  of  the 
missionaries. 

Back  in  the  days  on  the  Allegheny  Netawatwes  had  heard  David 
Zeisberger,  the  Moravian  missionary.  The  chief  liked  the  pious  Ger- 
man's preaching  so  well  that  he  granted  him  the  land  on  the  Mus- 
kingum for  a  mission.  Hither  Zeisberger  came  in  1776  with  eight 
families,  thirty-five  souls  in  all,  including  the  Rev.  John  Heckewelder. 
Two  miles  south  of  Coshocton  they  laid  out  a  town  along  the  river, 
in  the  form  of  a  cross  with  a  chapel  in  the  center,  and  called  it  Lichte- 
nau,  "The  Pasture  of  Light.'' 

Here  Netawatwes  and  Killbuck  and  a  few  more  Indians  came  to 
listen  to  the  gospel  of  Peace,  while  off  in  the  forest  the  smouldering 
fire  of  hate  burned  yet  in  savage  breasts.    The  missionaries  had  need 

Digitized  by  LjOOQIC 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON  COUNTY  47 

for  caution  in  all  things.  Heckewelder  hid  his  papers  to  prevent  In- 
dians seeing  him  write;  for  there  was  the  ever-present  suspicion  that 
the  white  man's  writing  meant  the  taking  of  the  land. 

The  British  were  whispering  in  the  ears  of  such  willing  listeners 
as  Captain  Pipe  that  the  colonists  were  land  thieves  who  would  steal 
all  the  Indian  had.  Against  this  insidious  attack  the  missionary  Zeis- 
berger  labored  hard  and  desperately  for  peace. 

The  day  came  that  a  Wyandot  warrior  arrived  in  Coshocton  bear- 
ing a  message  from  the  British  governor  of  Detroit.  The  message 
was  a  hatchet  wrapped  in  a  belt  of  red  and  white  beads.  Any  tribe 
refusing  to  accept  it  would  suffer  as  an  enemy.  This  was  the  ulti- 
matum of  the  British  governor  conveyed  by  the  Wyandot. 

The  reds  that  were  squatted  in  the  Coshocton  council  house 
smoked  in  silence.  Then  Cornstalk  rose,  noble  and  commanding.  The 
celebrated  Shawanese  chief  had  not  long  since  come  from  Chillicothe. 
He  said  in  brief  that,  while  all  the  Shawanese  nation  had  accepted  the 
hatchet,  his  tribe  had  settled  at  Coshocton  in  peace,  and  he  advised 
the  Delawares  to  hold  fast  to  the  colonists'  chain  of  friendship. 

Three  times  the  Wyandot  offered  the  war  belt  to  the  Delawares, 
and  thrice  they  refused  it.  Again  it  was  proffered;  and  to  rid  them- 
selves of  the  insistent  Wyandot  they  accepted  it  at  last.  He  had 
hardly  disappeared  in  the  forest,  however,  when  a  Delaware  messen- 
ger left  Coshocton  on  the  Sandusky  trail  to  take  back  the  belt. 
The  messenger  was  White  Eyes. 

The  British  governor  at  Detroit  scowled  when  the  war  belt  was 
handed  back  to  him.  Then  White  Eyes  took  from  his  pouch  a  peace 
belt  which  he  offered  to  the  governor.  The  Briton  in  a  rage  slashed 
the  belt  with  his  sword.  The  pieces  fell  at  White  Eyes'  feet.  Sorrow- 
fully the  Indian  came  back  to  Coshocton. 

Squads  of  hostile  warriors  began  coming  down  the  Mohican  and 
the  Walhonding  in  canoes,  and  hurrying  over  the  eastern  trails  to 
scourge  the  settlements.  Word  came  that  Wyandots  were  on  their 
way  to  destroy  the  Moravian  mission  at  Coshocton,  and  carry  to  De- 
troit the  scalps  of  White  Eyes,  Killbuck  and  Zeisberger.  The  Mun- 
sey  chief,  Newalike,  had  hastened  from  Sandusky  to  this  region, 
stealthily  keeping  out  of  sight  of  hostile  warriors  and  brought  the 
warning. 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


48  HISTORY   OF  COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

Worse  still  the  deviltry  of  renegades  was  afoot.  The  disap- 
pointed Simon  Girty,  unable  to  get  a  captain's  commission  in  the  col- 
onial service,  with  Elliott  and  McKee,  deserters  of  the  American 
cause,  had  come  from  Fort  Pitt  to  Coshocton,  followed  by  a  score  of 
other  deserters,  and  these  spread  terror  here  with  an  infamous  lie. 
Washington,  they  said,  had  been  killed,  his  army  routed,  and  the  col- 
onists, thirsting  for  revenge,  were  on  their  way  to  massacre  the  In- 
dians. 

It  was  the  bloodthirsty  Captain  Pipe's  opportunity.  There  was 
demoralization  among  the  Delawares.  Even  converts  at  Lichtenau 
were  wavering. 

He  called  the  Delawares  to  the  council  house.  Addressing  them 
with  all  the  fiery  eloquence  of  his  impassioned  oratory  the  fighting 
chief  swayed  them  to  his  will.    Some  were  even  moved  to  tears. 

In  this  imminent  crisis  White  Eyes  rose  to  reply,  to  make  one 
last  supreme  effort  to  stay  his  people  from  the  madness  of  war.  What 
a  battle  of  orators  that  was  in  the  wilderness,  a  mighty  plea  of  peace 
against  the  blood  lust  of  war !  White  Eyes  denounced  the  stories  of 
the  renegades  as  lies  and  the  renegades  as  liars.  Time  was  all  he 
asked,  time  to  expose  the  lie.  Only  a  few  days,  ten  at  the  most,  and  if 
word  did  not  come  showing  those  renegades  were  liars  he  would  him- 
self go  to  war  with  his  nation. 

His  eloquence  stayed  them — but  only  for  the  ten  days,  while  the 
warriors  of  Coshocton  and  the  whole  country  round  sharpened  their 
tomahawks  and  overhauled  their  guns. 

Fort  Pitt  heard  of  the  threatened  uprising.  There  was  no  time 
to  be  lost.  Heckewelder,  who  had  been  away  from  Lichtenau  and 
gone  east  a  short  time,  was  on  his  way  back.  At  Fort  Pitt  they  told 
him  of  the  crisis  in  Coshocton.  General  Hand  gave  him  peace  mes- 
sages and  letters  to  take  at  once  to  the  Delawares.  Though  jaded  and 
worn,  Heckewelder  flung  himself  on  his  horse  and  was  off,  followed 
by  an  attendant. 

It  was  midnight  of  the  second  day  when  their  foam-flecked  horses 
galloped  into  Gnadenhutten.  There  they  learned  the  ten  days  had  all 
but  expired.  Only  a  night  remained.  Again  they  mounted  and 
dashed  through  the  night  in  the  race  against  time. 

The  morning  sun  reddened  the  eastern  hills  as  Heckewelder 
neared  the  end  of  his  wild  ride.    When  he  galloped  into  Coshocton 


Digitized  by 


v^oogle 


HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON  COUNTY  49 

and  reined  in  his  steaming  horse,  the  warriors  who  faced  him  were 
painted  and  ready  for  the  warpath. 

None  touched  the  hand  that  he  held  out — none  of  his  old  friends 
of  Lichtenau,  not  even  White  Eyes,  standing  grimly  by  with  folded 
arms. 

Heckewelder,  bareheaded,  the  wind  blowing  his  hair,  stood  in 
the  stirrups,  holding  the  peace  letters  on  high. 

"Washington  lives!"  His  voice  swept  over  the  town.  "The 
Americans  have  taken  Burgoyne  and  his  British  army!  The  Amer- 
icans are  your  friends/' 

With  a  flash  of  the  old  friendly  spirit  White  Eyes  took  the  hand 
he  had  refused  a  moment  before.  There  was  an  immediate  paw-waw 
to  accept  the  peace  message.  The  war  paint  came  off.  There  was 
no  sign  of  Captain  Pipe  or  the  renegades.  They  had  vanished  the 
moment  the  truth  arrived  to  confront  their  lies.  Pipe  and  his  Mun- 
sey  band  took  the  Sandusky  trail,  later  to  war  against  colonists  for 
British  pay. 

The  renegade  Girty  prowled  about  Coshocton.  He  had  heard  of 
a  British  price  put  on  the  capture  of  Zeisberger.  Girty  plotted  with 
eight  murderous  Mingoes.  The  plot  was  overheard  by  a  friend  of 
the  missionary.  Zeisberger  with  two  guards  started  from  Lichtenau 
for  the  Schoenbrunn  mission  up  the  Tuscarawas. 

They  had  gone  about  seven  miles  when  Girty  and  his  Mingoes 
leaped  at  them  in  the  forest. 

"That's  the  man!  Get  him!"  yelled  Girty,  then  stopped  with  a 
smothered  oath. 

Two  Delaware  hunters  had  suddenly  sprung  into  view,  their 
guns  leveled  at  Girty  and  his  band.  The  Mingoes,  startled  and  cowed, 
fled  panic-stricken,  followed  by  Girty. 

The  missionary  reached  Schoenbrunn.  Later  his  associate,  Heck- 
ewelder, and  other  workers  with  Indian  converts  left  Lichtenau  to 
the  hostile  Wyandots  and  Mingoes,  and  went  up  the  Tuscarawas.  So 
ended  the  three  years'  life  of  the  only  Moravian  mission  in  Coshocton 
County.  Netawatwes,  its  first  red  friend,  lived  to  see  the  "Pasture  of 
Light"  abandoned  to  heathenism. 

White  Eyes  at  Fort  Pitt  enlisted  in  the  colonial  army.  The  cham- 
pion of  peace  had  resolved  at  last  to  go  on  the  warpath  as  the  only 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


50  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

effective  means  of  compelling  peace.  On  General  Lachlan  Mcintosh's 
march  from  Fort  Pitt  to  this  region  White  Eyes  died  from  smallpox. 
He  had  guided  the  white  men  here  to  crush  those  warriors  who  still 
gave  willing  ear  to  Captain  Pipe's  bloody  intrigues. 

Pipe,  at  Sandusky,  heard  of  White  Eyes'  death. 

''White  Eyes,"  moralized  Pipe,  "was  a  great  man.  But  his  ways 
meant  the  country's  ruin,  so  the  Great  Spirit  took  him,  in  order  that 
the  Indian  nations  might  be  saved." 

While  Pipe  in  Coshocton  history  figures  mostly  as.  a  bad  Indian, 
there  was  another  side  of  him  seen  in  Detroit  when  Zeisberger,  Heck- 
ewelder  and  other  missionaries  were  taken  there  to  be  tried  on  the 
charge  of  befriending  colonists  and  opposing  the  British.  Their  ac- 
cusers were  Pipe  and  other  Indians.  Some  of  these  had  once  known 
the  Christian  kindness  and  good  will  of  the  missionaries,  and  the  mem- 
ory of  those  days  came  back  as  the  red  men  gazed  into  their  old  friends' 
faces.    Mute  and  dejected,  the  Indians  hung  their  heads. 

The  British  governor  became  impatient  Again  he  demanded, 
were  the  stories  against  these  men  true?  There  was  no  answer.  At 
last  Pipe  spoke.  He  exonerated  the  missionaries,  and  took  the  blame 
on  himself.  The  men  were  acquitted.  They  owed  it  to  their  Indian 
friends;  for  it  was  true  that  the  missionaries  sympathized  with  the 
Americans.  Colonel  Brodhead  had  written  to  General  Washington 
and  General  Gates  that  news  of  British  movements  at  Detroit  reached 
hiai  through  Indian  friends  of  the  missionaries,  including  Joshua  the 
Mohican  spy. 

Colonel  Daniel  Brodhead  conducted  the  colonial  military  expedi- 
tion to  Coshocton  from  Fort  Pitt,  arriving  here  April  19,  1781.  His 
force  of  three  hundred  took  the  Delaware  capital  by  surprise.  Only 
two  score  Indians  were  found  here,  and  these  were  captured  without 
a  shot.  Fifteen  of  the  prisoners  were  taken  out  of  sight  of  terrified 
squaws  and  children,  and  tomahawked  and  scalped. 

Other  Indians  had  gone  across  the  river  and  could  not  be  fol- 
lowed because  of  high  water.  In  the  morning  an  Indian  on  the  oppo- 
site shore  hallooed  to  join  his  people  in  peace.  They  told  him  to  come, 
and  as  the  anxious  brave  drew  himself  up  the  bank  he  saw  too  late 
that  relentless  foe  of  his  race,  Lewis  Wetzel.  In  an  instant  Wetzel 
crashed  his  tomahawk  through  the  Indian's  skull. 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


HISTORY    OF    COSHOCTON  COUNTY  51 

When  Brodhead  turned  back  to  Pittsburg  naught  but  dreary 
waste  was  left  of  Coshocton,  a  few  desolate  huts,  the  ruins  of  the  Del- 
aware seat  of  empire,  deserted  forever  by  the  red  man. 

There  was  desolation  throughout  this  region.  Wolves,  bears  and 
panthers  roamed  the  lone  wilderness.  The  fruit  trees,  blooming  in 
the  spring,  told  of  the  missionary  planters  who  had  passed  this  way. 
The  wild  beasts  and  hissing  snakes  were  the  only  life  save  an  occa- 
sional raiding  warrior  hurrying  along  the  river  trail  with  reeking 
scalp. 

Although  Cornwallis  had  surrendered  at  Yorktown  the  British 
were  yet  bent  upon  gaining  the  upper  hand  by  inciting  the  Indians 
to  further  ravages  of  Ohio  settlers.  The  march  of  colonization  had 
crossed  the  Alleghanies ;  settlers'  cabins  began  dotting  the  Tuscarawas 
Valley;  and  soon  civilization  flung  its  outpost  at  Coshocton.  The 
prized  hunting  grounds  of  the  red  men  were  fast  slipping  away. 

Captain  Pipe,  Black  Hoof,  Red  Hawk,  Little  Turtle,  Blue  Jacket 
and  other  chiefs  rushed  through  on  fleet  horses,  blood-stained  hatch- 
ets in  hand,  to  hold  tomahawk  title  to  the  land. 

Virginia  ceded  the  Ohio  territory  to  the  United  States  in  1784, 
and  the  next  year  there  was  a  treaty  with  the  Delawares  and  Wyan- 
dots  moving  the  Indian  boundary  from  the  Ohio  River  farther  back 
into  the  wilderness  to  Coshocton  along  the  Tuscarawas  and  the 
Cuyahoga.  This  surrender  of  the  Ohio  River  boundary  brought  a 
warwhoop  from  the  Shawanees  who  protested  they  were  cheated  and 
defrauded  out  of  the  Muskingum  Valley.  The  Muskingum,  which 
means  Moose-Eye,  was  the  favorite  elk  hunting  ground.  Oft  through 
the  snows  of  winter  had  the  Shawanees  tracked  the  swift-footed 
moose,  and  followed  his  roaring  rush  through  the  forest. 

The  upshot  was  that  all  the  Indians  renewed  their  border  war- 
fare. Settlers  built  block  houses  and  surrounded  their  cabins  with  the 
picket  stockade,  tree  trunks  set  close  together  and  rising  fourteen 
feet  high. 

After  the  rout  of  General  St.  Clair  in  Darke  County,  1791,  the 
Delawares  rushed  down  from  the  black  forest,  yelling  the  warwhoop 
along  the  Mohican  and  Walhonding  and  past  Coshocton,  breech- 
clouted  and  with  buffalo  heads  drawn  over  their  own,  giving  them  the 
appearance  of  horned  devils,  with  the  scalps  of  slaughtered  soldiers 
dangling  at  their  heels.    As  the  red  demons  urged  their  horses  on- 

Digitized  by  LjOOQIC 


52  HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

ward  to  the  South,  they  shook  their  stained  hatchets  at  arm's  length, 
screaming,  "No  white  man  plant  corn  in  Ohio !'' 

But  "Mad  Anthony''  Wayne  was  yet  to  be  heard  from.  In  the 
last  desperate  struggle  of  the  red  men  to  resist  him  in  the  Miami 
country  the  Delawares  were  in  the  forefront,  Girty  with  them^  and 
British  aid  in  the  background.  In  the  end  the  Indians  were  driven 
still  farther  westward,  forced  to  retreat  more  and  more.  They  had 
made  their  last  stand  here.  These  hunting  grounds  were  lost  to  them 
forever. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


Digitized  by 


Google 


BOUQUET    HILL,    A  MATCHLESS    LANDSCAPE    NEAR   COSHOCTON 


Digitized  by 


Google 


CHAPTER  V 

PIONEER  COSHOCTON,  FROM  "KING  CHARLEY'S"  TAV- 
ERN WHERE  LOUIS  PHILIPPE  OF  FRANCE 
CLASHED  WITH  AMERICAN  SOVEREIGNTY, 
DOWN  TO  THE  FORTIES. 

In  the  evening  of  the  Indian  life  in  this  region  the  horseman  rid- 
ing over  the  lone  trail  through  the  woods  watched  with  gun  in  hand 
to  guard  against  attack  from  wild  beast  or  lurking  savage  skulking  be- 
hind trees ;  for  Indians  were  slow  to  go  when  new  traders  and  settlers 
and  travelers  began  arriving.  Some  natives  with  human  heart  and 
human  emotion  could  not  bring  themselves  to  leave  forever  the  graves 
of  those  they  mourned.  Others  simply  were  not  yet  disposed  to  aban- 
don their  old  hunting  ground. 

In  this  contact  with  savagery  the  vanguard  of  civilization  had 
need  for  men  of  forceful  character,  of  daring  and  resolution,  with  a 
dash  of  adventure.  This  frontier,  with  all  its  wealth  of  timbered  soil, 
still  had  its  perils;  a  frontier  life  near  hostile  Indians;  a  hardy,  well- 
scarred,  pioneer  life  under  stern  conditions ;  not,  however,  without  its 
fascination  of  forest  haunt  and  rough  cabin,  and  dread  of  savage  at- 
tack. 

Dr.  Joseph  Doddridge  vividly  pictured  it.  Speaking  of  ''Indian 
summer,"  for  instance,  he  assigned  to  those  beautiful  days  in  autumn 
a  terrible  significance  instead  of  the  romantic  suggestion  conveyed  by 
the  term.  The  frontier  settlers,  explained  the  doctor,  had  no  peace 
from  Indian  alarms  and  attacks  except  in  winter.  During  spring  and 
summer  there  was  constant  need  for  watching.  It  was  only  with  win- 
ter's approach  that  relief  came.  But  after  the  first  days  of  cold  there 
came  warm,  smoky,  hazy  weather  to  tempt  the  Indians  to  renewed 
incursions  on  the  frontier — an  'Indian  summer"  for  blood  and  mis- 
chief. 

Foremost  among  the  frontiersmen  and  recorded  as  the  first  white 

53 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


54  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

settler  in  what  is  now  Coshocton  County  was  the  bluff,  hearty,  hail- 
fellow-well-met  Charley  Williams,  roving  from  Virginia  and  locating 
here  in  1799.  The  date  is  from  his  autobiographical  sketch,  the  orig- 
inal manuscript  of  which  passed  into  the  possession  of  Joseph  Miser 
of  Keene.  Mr.  Williams'  writing  and  his  private  ideas  of  spelling 
were  deciphered  by  Mr.  James  R.  Johnston.  The  document  by  Mr. 
Williams  is  dated  August  25,  183 1,  and  his  notation  therein  regarding 
thirty-two  years'  residence  in  Coshocton  would  indicate  his  arrival 
here  in  1799.  This  incident  of  the  date  has  its  bearing  on  a  subsequent 
historical  experience  of  a  French  king  in  Coshocton. 

**I  ben  a  man  of  strong  mind  but  no  larnen  and  fought  it  to  the 
last,"  Williams  declared  with  engaging  frankness.  According  to  his 
own  account  early  life  on  the  border  was  a  round  of  "injin"  killing, 
whisky  trading,  fur-selling,  and  high  living,  dancing,  card-playing, 
horse-racing  and  spending  money  as  fast  as  it  was  made.  Speaking 
of  his  fiancee,  Miss  Susanna  Carpenter,  he  wrote: 

"I  had  to  steel  hur  a  way  and  wee  was  poor  onable  to  get  lisens 
for  want  of  mony  but  all  Cam  right  thar  was  a  jestes  of  the  pes  in 
virginy  and  hee  agread  to  mary  mee  for  a  buckskin  and  wee  went  over 
the  river  in  Ohio  thar  wee  got  mared  on  a  big  rock  in  the  woodes." 
The  narrative  continues  that  some'  of  the  wedding  guests  went  bare- 
footed, and  that  at  the  dance  afterward  "som  bar  footed." 

When  at  thirty-five  Williams  came  up  the  Muskingum  with  his 
wife  and  two  children,  they  camped  for  a  season  in  an  open  spot  in  the 
wilderness,  named  after  its  eastern  owner,  Denman's  prairie,  a  few 
miles  up  the  Walhonding.  The  following  year  they  came  down  to  the 
forks,  selecting  the  same  bank  of  the  Muskingum  where  the  Delaware 
capital  had  stood.    Williams  started  a  salt  works. 

Other  settlers  were  coming.  The  woodman's  ax  rang  through 
the  forest.  Log  cabins  rose  in  little  clearings  here  and  there  over  this 
region.  The  bear-killing,  deer-killing,  pone-eating  life  of  the  white 
man  had  begun,  mixed  with  much  corn  planting,  cattle  raising,  whisky 
trading,  and  some  Indian  killing. 

For  travelers  passing  this  way  there  were  tavern  accommoda- 
tions in  the  rambling  log  cabin  of  Charley  Williams,  under  whose  hos- 
pitable roof  the  lively-spirited  made  merry  over  cup  and  song,  while 
the  dancing  few  shuflfled  over  the  rough  floor  to  the  tremulous  strains 
of  the  fiddle  and 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON    COUNTY  55 

''First  couple  right;  ladies  swing  out; 
Gents  swing  in,  swing  out  and  promenade. 
Doe,  doe,  gents,  slow; 
Doe,  ce,  ladies,  don't  you  know !" 

Shuffle-shuffle  went  the  feet.  The  back-woodsmen  put  in  all  their 
fancy  steps,  Charley  Williams  most  frolicsome  of  all.  The  pace  was 
hot.  The  skirts  of  the  pioneer  daughters  swished  through  the  air  to 
the  vibrant  music  and 

''Balance  the  next;  three  hands  round; 
Ladies  swing  out ;  and  gents  swing  in ; 
Three  hands  out  and  go  it  ag'in ; 
Gents  swing  out  and  go  it  ag'in." 

In  the  breathing  spell  one  night  while  the  "gents''  smiled  and 
breathed  hard  and  the  ladies  looked  moist  and  happy  the  tavern  door 
was  flung  open.  All  eyes  turned  to  the  stranger  on  the  threshold. 

He  was  dressed  in  black  from  head  to  foot.  A  fold  of  his  long 
cloak  was  held  back  by  the  gauntleted  hand  resting  on  his  hip.  Though 
he  had  but  one  attendant  the  man  in  black  wore  an  air  of  consequence 
as  though  he  boasted  a  train  of  courtly  followers.  His  manner  jarred 
on  the  democratic  simplicty  of  the  landlord. 

"Supper,"  the  stranger  ordered  curtly. 

While  the  guest  was  served,  the  landlord's  aversion,  formed  in- 
stinctively, did  not  diminish.  Nor  was  the  dislike  one-sided.  The 
stranger,  haughtily  disdaining  any  condescension  to  commonplace 
conversation,  steadfastly  held  aloof.  But  soon  his  caustic  comment 
on  the  accommodations  of  the  tavern  reached  Williams,  and  the  blood 
of  the  southerner  rose.  There  was  a  short,  sharp  exchange  of  hot 
words.   The  man  in  black  rose  abruptly,  nearly  overturning  the  table. 

"Plebian!"  he  sneered.    "I'll  not  bandy  words  with  you." 

"This  is  my  house,"  bristled  Williams.  "If  you  don't  like  it  thar's 
the  door." 

The  stranger  looked  him  over,  head  to  foot,  and  shrugged  his 
contempt. 

"Bah !"  was  his  only  comment. 

Williams  came  closer. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


56  HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

'*I  don't  care  what  devilish  trash  you  are/'  and  the  knuckles  of 
his  fist  whitened.  '*ril  not  be  attacked  by  every  stinkin'  upstart  that 
comes  to  our  country !" 

The  onlookers  were  expectant.  The  stranger  rested  his  con- 
temptuous gaze  on  the  landlord,  then  shifted  it  to  the  guests  as  he 
announced  coolly: 

**I  am  Louis  Philippe — the  heir  to  the  French  throne." 

Whatever  of  surprise  the  exiled  prince  of  singular  vicissitudes 
may  have  expected  to  follow  his  announcement  there  was  one  hearer 
who  refused  to  be  nonplussed  or  impressed. 

'*King  of  France — what  of  it?''  Williams  retorted.  "We're  all 
kings  here!     And  I'll  show  you.'' 

With  that  he  threw  open  the  door.  There  was  no  mistaking  the 
hint.  The  royal  visitor  from  France  saw  there  was  no  alternative. 
With  another  shrug  he  passed  out  of  the  tavern.  It  is  even  said,  in 
the  brief  chronicle  from  which  this  account  has  been  somewhat  embel- 
lished, that  the  royal  exit  was  assisted  by  the  toe  of  '*King  Charley's" 
boot,  while  the  sovereigns  looking  on  cheered. 

There  has  been  some  skepticism  over  the  visit  of  Louis  Philippe 
to  Coshocton.  It  is  known  that  the  prince  sailed  from  New  York  for 
England  just  before  i8ck),  the  year  which  some  have  recorded  as  the 
date  of  Charley  Williams'  arrival  in  this  region.  However,  accepting 
the  earlier  date  of  1799  as  the  year  of  **King  Charley's"  coming,  it 
requires  no  stretch  of  the  imagination  to  view  his  tavern  in  full  blast 
on  the  banks  of  the  Muskingum  at  the  time  of  the  titled  Frenchman's 
travels  through  the  American  wilderness. 

Whether  or  not  the  prince's  Coshocton  experience  with  demo- 
cratic sovereignty  instilled  any  of  those  ideas  of  advanced  political 
liberalism  which  he  afterward  took  with  him  to  the  throne  is  perhaps 
open  to  speculation.  But  that  the  king  cherished  some  resentment 
toward  the  keeper  of  a  tavern  at  the  forks  was  told  in  after  years  by 
George  W.  Silliman,  one-time  lawyer  of  Coshocton,  who  went  abroad 
as  the  bearer  of  dispatches  when  his  grandfather,  Major  Cass,  was 
in  the  diplomatic  service.  Silliman  said  that,  in  conversation  with 
Louis  Philippe,  the  king  recalled  that  he  had  been  "shabbily  treated" 
at  the  tavern  which  from  the  description  given  was  believed  to  be 
Williams'  inn  at  Coshocton. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


HISTORY    OF    COSHOCTON   COUNTY  57 

No  more  picturesque  stage  setting  presents  itself  in  all  the  drama 
of  pioneer  Coshocton  than  the  inns  which  greeted  travelers  in  those 
early  years.  It  was  not  long  until  houses  of  public  entertainment  ap- 
peared every  few  miles  along  the  new  highways  and  at  river  ferries. 
One  was  "The  Blue  Ball"  on  the  Cadiz  road  in  what  is  now  Oxford 
Township.  Another  in  that  direction  held  forth  at  the  sign  of  George 
Washington  on  a  white  charger.  "The  Black  Horse"  inn  was  in 
Franklin  Township  on  the  road  from  Zanesville.  There  were  several 
on  the  road  along  the  Walhonding. 

"King  Charley's"  tavern  at  the  forks  was  the  social  and  political 
center,  and  the  nearest  approach  to  a  newspaper.  Genial,  whole-souled 
Charley  Williams  was  popular,  even  more  so  after  the  episode  of  the 
French  king.  Conscious  always  of  his  own  deficiencies  he  learned 
what  reading  and  writing  he  could  from  William  Whitten.  This 
blacksmith-tutor  was  elected  the  first  justice  of  the  peace.  The  elec- 
tion was  characteristic.  The  settlement  here  had  risen  to  the  need  of 
some  government.  A  dozen  men  met  in  the  tavern  at  "King  Char- 
ley's" invitation.  Nobody  could  buy.  It  was  the  "king's"  treat.  They 
toasted  him  and  severally  toasted  one  another.  When  all  were  in  a 
highly  receptive  mood  for  the  consideration  of  candidates  the  host 
nominated  his  choice  and  the  guests  whooped  unanimous  approval. 

"You  call  that  an  election!''  exclaimed  Richard  Fowler,  who  had 
been  looking  on. 

"It's  good  enough  for  them,"  grinned  Williams. 

This  region  was  originally  included  in  Washington  County, 
which  embraced  eastern  Ohio  in  the  territorial  days.  Later  Wash- 
ington was  divided  into  numerous  counties.  One  was  Muskingum 
which  included  this. 

April  I,  1811,  Coshocton  County  was  organized  by  the  Legisla- 
ture then  in  session  at  Zanesville.  It  included  a  part  of  what  is  now 
Holmes  until  that  county  organized  thirteen  years  afterward. 

Concerning  the  meaning  of  the  name  Coshocton  this  interesting 
contribution  is  oflFered  by  Thomas  H.  Johnson,  chief  consulting  engi- 
neer of  the  Pennsylvania  Lines :  In  the  Delaware  tongue  "Cush"  is 
bear;  "Cush-og"  black  bear  and  "Wenk"  is  town.  In  Central  Penn- 
sylvania the  word  survives  in  the  names  of  several  streams  in  the  fol- 
lowing forms:  Cush  Creek,  Bear  Creek;  Cushian  Creek,  Cub  Creek; 
Cush-Cushian,  Bear  and  Cub  Creek.   The  terminal  "Wenk"  was  An- 

Digitized  by  LjOOQIC 


58  HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON    COUNTY 

glicized  by  the  early  settlers,  and  the  place  became  known  as  Cush-og- 
town,  from  which  is  derived  the  later  form,  Coshocton. 

The  United  States  government  awarded  tracts  of  land  in  Ohio 
to  soldiers  of  the  Revolution.  Some  tracts  remaining  were  ordered 
sold  by  Congress.  Coshocton  County  was  in  the  military  land  district. 
Among  the  earliest  settlers  were  soldiers  of  the  Revolution. 

Title  to  the  land  here  is  traced  back  three  hundred  years,  through 
copies  of  the  earliest  documents  on  record,  by  Solomon  Mercer,  ab- 
stractor, whose  desk  incidentally  with  a  separate  drawer  for  each  town- 
ship is  a  map  of  Coshocton  County.  Mr.  Mercer's  records  covering  this 
county  begin  with  the  first  charter  of  Virginia,  1606,  and  continue 
through  the  treaty  between  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States,  1783, 
with  George  Ill's  relinquishment  of  all  claims  to  the  States;  the  ces- 
sion from  Virginia  to  the  United  States,  1784;  the  Land  Ordinance; 
the  act  of  Congress,  1796,  regulating  the  granting  of  land  for  military 
service  and  for  the  Society  of  the  United  Brethren  "for  propagating 
the  gospel  among  the  heathen." 

Four  thousand  acres  at  the  forks  were  granted  in  1800  to  Elijah 
Backus  of  Marietta.  President  John  Adams  signed  the  deed.  Backus 
sold  the  tract  in  1801  to  those  well-known  surveyors,  John  Matthews 
and  Ebenezer  Buckingham,  Jr.,  for  $10,000.  These  early  residents, 
April  30,  1802,  laid  out  on  paper  the  town  lots  and  streets  for  the 
place  growing  around  '*King  Charley's''  tavern.  They  named  it  Tus- 
carawa.  The  Legislature  changed  the  name  to  Coshocton,  January 
30,  181 1,  when  the  plan  of  the  town  was  estabHshed. 

Williams'  tavern  stood  in  what  is  now  Water  Street,  at  the  north- 
east corner  of  Chestnut.  It  faced  the  river,  its  friendly  light  guid- 
ing the  ferryman  in  the  night.  In  time  a  two-story  frame  addition 
was  built  to  the  log  house,  and  the  long,  rambling  structure  was  still 
standing  until  twenty  years  ago. 

Williams  was  accompanied  here  by  his  brothers-in-law,  the  Car- 
penters, and  William  and  Samuel  Morrison  who  went  to  Holmes 
County.  A  brother  of  Williams  was  also  early  on  the  ground,  along 
with  Isaac  and  Henry  Hoagland,  with  their  families;  Buckingham's 
father  and  sister;  William  Scritchfield  and  daughter  who  married 
George  McCullough,  probably  the  first  pioneer  wedding  here. 

Primitive  Coshocton  started  bravely  to  justify  the  faith  of  its 
founders.    Back  in  Philadelphia  at  the  time  of  the  military  land  rush 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  59 

when  Elijah  Backus  drew  this  prize  the  surveyors  bought  it  from  him 
as  the  best  town  site  in  the  district. 

A  flourishing  town  rose  on  this  flourishing  frontier,  instinct  with 
the  spirit  of  Americanism,  the  new  life  challenging  the  old,  the  new 
land  of  men  and  women  who  could  dare  and  do,  the  new  Coshocton 
with  no  Yesterday,  only  Today  and  the  promise  of  Tomorrow.  The 
game  of  civilization  was  on.  The  optimism  of  the  hour  rang  from 
the  anvil  and  blazed  from  the  iron  under  every  swing  of  Asher  Hart's 
strong  arm.  It  echoed  in  Tom  Evans'  shoe  shop,  Zebedee  Baker's 
saddler  shop,  Abe  Sells'  furniture  shop,  and  Joe  NefT's  tailor  shop.  It 
bustled  in  Jim  Calder's  store,  hummed  in  J.  Fulton's  mill,  and  smelled 
to  high  heaven  in  Andy  Lybarger's  tannery.  It  paraded  in  Wilson 
McGowan's  gold-headed  cane  and  pig-tailed  wig,  and  rustled  in  the 
law  papers  of  Aaron  Church  and  Wright  Warner.  It  quick-stepped 
in  Adam  Johnston,  that  hustler  of  them  all,  the  storekeeper  and  post- 
master who  married  "King  Charley's"  daughter,  became  the  county's 
first  recorder  and  clerk  of  courts,  and  served  as  all-round  official;  his 
son,  William  A.  Johnston,  saw  marvelous  changes  in  eighty-five  years 
until  the  end  in  1908;  his  grandson,  Paul  B.  Johnston,  is  lieutenant 
of  police  in  Coshocton. 

A  thing  unknown  today  was  early  Coshocton's  experience  with 
a  malarial  condition.  There  was  an  ague  epidemic,  and  half  the  town 
had  chills  and  fever.  Wherefore  the  arrival  of  Dr.  Samuel  Lee  in 
181 1  was  welcomed. 

The  country  round  began  changing  from  howling  wilderness  to 
cultivated  acres.  The  story  of  first  families  was  the  story  of  log-cabin 
life.  Amoi'g  those  near  town  were  the  Cantwells,  Pultons,  Moores, 
J.  Workman,  and  the  ferrymen  John  Noble  and  Benjamin  Pry.  Be- 
fore them  Isaac  and  Henry  Evans,  Charles  and  Esaias  Baker  were 
the  first  white  men  to  plant  corn  along  the  Tuscarawas  about  1801, 
at  what  is  now  Orange.  Seth  and  Thomas  McClain  were  in  Lafayette 
Township,  1804,  also  Thomas  Wiggins,  and  in.  1806  George  Miller. 

On  what  is  now  the  Haight  farm  near  Roscoe,  Henry  Miller,  a 
soldier  of  the  Revolution,  located  with  six  sons  in  1806. 

In  nearby  Franklin  Township  was  a  dash  of  the  Virginia  spirit 
which  radiated  southern  hospitality  and  good  cheer.  That  was  in  the 
home  of  Major  William  Robinson,  who  had  been  led  captive  through 
here  by  Logan  twenty-seven  years  before.  When  he  came  to  Franklin 

Digitized  by  LjOOQIC 


60  HISTORY    OF    COSHOCTON    COUNTY 

Township  in  1801  his  son  Benjamin  accompanied  him.  Later  came 
three  other  sons  and  six  daughters.  More  1801  pioneers  in  the  neigh- 
borhood were  Michael  Miller  and  his  family. 

On  Denman's  ''prairie''  in  Bethlehem  Township  were  James  Craig 
and  Ira  Kimberly  in  1801.  John  Bantham,  a  Marylander  in  the  Rev- 
olution, and  Henry  Carr  reached  that  section  in  1806.  Other  early 
settlers  were  William  Speaks  who  served  in  the  Revolution,  Samuel 
Rea  and  Andrew  Wilson  in  the  War  of  181 2,  Joseph  Burrell  and 
Adam  Markley. 

Virginia's  representation  among  first  families  included  the  Dar- 
lings in  the  Walhonding  Valley,  1806,  whose  neighbors  were  the  But- 
lers, the  Merediths,  the  GiflFens,  Duncans,  Elys,  Pigmans,  Johns,^ 
Coxes  and  John  Elder. 

Two  Virginians,  Garrett  Moore  and  James  Oglesby,  were  early 
in  Keene  Township,  preceding  the  New  Englanders.  East  of  Canal 
Lewisville  was  the  home  of  the  McGuires. 

Along  Wills  Creek  in  1806  were  the  Miskimens,  the  McCunes  of 
Revolutionary  stock,  and  the  Addys,  contemporaneous  with  the  Oxford 
Township  pioneers:  the  Wolfes,  the  Leighningers,  the  Vv^aggoners, 
Mulvains  and  Loos  family. 

About  the  same  time  the  McCoys,  Wrights,  Norrises  and  Tiltons 
were  in  Virginia  Township ;  the  Ashcraf ts,  Hardestys,  Chalf ants  and 
Croys  in  the  vSouthwest ;  and  the  Drapers  of  Virginia  in  the  northwest. 

Early  in  the  nineteenth  century  the  W'olfords,  the  Haines  and 
James  families  arrived  in  Bedford  Township;  while  in  Adams  Town- 
ship, then  a  part  of  Oxford,  were  Robert  Corbit,  William  Norris,  Rob- 
ert McFarland  and  John  Baker,  founder  of  Bakersville. 

But  it  means  pages  to  name  the  county's  early  settlers,  so  else- 
where between  these  covers  the  ancestral  roll  has  a  place  of  its  own. 
They  were  the  earliest  of  the  wilderness  conquerors,  men  in  a  world 
of  new-found  freedom.  Theirs  was  the  fighting  chance:  the  chains 
of  British  lK)ndage  had  been  broken;  here  as  freemen  they  were  to 
prove  themselves  empire-builders  in  the  heart  of  the  forest,  by  sheer 
strength  of  might. 

The  militant  spirit  found  vent  in  militia  organization.  Very  soon 
after  their  arrival  they  formed  companies.  Colonel  Charles  Williams 
was  in  command.  In  1809  there  were  first  and  second  battalions  of 
the  second  regiment,  fourth  brigade,  third  division  of  the  Ohio  militia. 

Digitized  by  LjOOQIC 


HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON    COUNTY  61 

When  these  were  on  parade  we  may  well  believe  all  Coshocton  and  his 
Wife  and  his  Daughter  were  there  to  see  and  admire  the  lines  "For- 
ward right— Quick  MARCH— Oblique  left— Halt— Dress !"  and  to 
applaud  as  the  battalion  wheeled,  right-about  faced,  and  chargred  the 
mimic  enemy  on  the  run.  Of  course,  as  there  always  has  been  in  mil 
itary  drill  and  ever  will  be,  they  had  their  awkward  squads  and  the 
raw  recruit  who  would  stare  straight  ahead  at  a  pretty  face  while  a 
purple-faced  commander  shrieked  **Eyes  left!"  Something  of  a  de- 
spairing pang  that  he  never  could  master  the  intricacies  of  the  back 
step,  side  step,  change  step,  or  support — ARMS!  runs  through  the 
statement  of  David  Wolgamot  in  the  record:  **I  do  hereby  resign  my 
commission  as  lieutenant  because  I  am  too  big  a  fool  in  the  military.'' 

Generally  speaking  our  early  Coshoctonian  was  a  good  shot, 
liked  the  dance,  had  his  social  glass,  and  relished  sport.  They  went 
in  for  horse  racing,  and  over  a  straightaway  course,  now  Fifth  Street, 
Peter  Casey's  ^'Whistle  Jacket"  and  "Highflyer"  and  Colonel  Wil- 
liams' *'Medley"  made  the  dirt  fly. 

The  first  court  in  the  county  was  held  in  1811  on  the  second  floor 
of  ''King  Charley's"  tavern.  Doubtless,  after  the  court  had  **taken 
in"  evidence  at  the  bar  below,  the  judicial  ascent  up  the  outdoor  stairs 
w^as  attended  with  becoming  gravity.  By  grace  of  the  Legislature 
and  the  old  constitution,  three  citizens  served  as  associate  judges  on 
the  common  pleas  bench  in  those  days,  along  with  the  president  judge 
who  was  the  only  one  expected  to  know  the  law.  He  was  absent  the 
first  session  in  Coshocton.  The  three  associates  were  there — Peter 
Casey,  Isaac  Evans  and  William  Mitchell.  Their  commissions  from 
the  Legislature  were  there,  bedizened  with  all  the  impressive  verbiage 
of  legal  ponderosity.  Adam  Johnston  was  there,  and  they  forthwith 
appointed  him  clerk.  Notwithstanding  all  the  machinery  of  the  law 
there,  the  temple  of  justice  was  without  a  case.  Some  one  discovered 
the  court  could  order  elections  for  justices  of  the  peace,  which  solemn 
duty  was  painstakingly  performed,  and  court  adjourned. 

Later  that  year,  at  the  second  term,  the  docket  swelled  with  three 
cases.  Two  were  dismissed.  One  was  continued,  proof  that  even  in 
those  times  justice  was  initiated  into  the  law's  delays.  Thomas  L. 
Rue  was  appointed  temporary  clerk.  The  first  grand  jury  was  im- 
paneled as  follows:  James  Tanner,  foreman,  James  Craig,  Benjamin 
Fry,  Samuel  Clark,  Samuel  Hardesty,  John  Hanson,  Isaac  W^orkman, 

Digitized  by  LjOOQIC 


62  HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

Charles  Miller,  Michael  Miller,  Philip  W  aggoner,  W\  Miller,  Francis 
McGuire,  Henry  Miller  and  John  Mills.  These  fourteen  men  good 
and  true  reported  '*No  business."  Court  appointed  William  Lockard 
county  surveyor,  and  adjourned. 

At  the  December  term  there  was  a  suit  for  $9.56  by  Charles 
Williams  against  Adam  Markley.  **King  Charley"  retained  Zanes- 
ville  counsel,  Lewis  Cass,  who  won  the  verdict  of  the  county's  first 
petit  jury — ^John  D.  Moore,  Frederick  Wolford,  William  Beard,  John 
Hanson,  John  G.  Pigman,  H.  Ballentine,  Philip  Wolfe,  George  Smith, 
John  Bantham,  W.  Miller,  John  McKearn  and  Elijah  Moore.  Court 
appointed  Wright  Warner  prosecuting  attorney  for  the  coimty. 
Fights  and  slander  suits  were  filling  the  docket. 

The  whipping-post  was  here.  Passing  counterfeit  money  cost 
one  man  thirty-nine  lashes  across  his  bare  back,  besides  $20  fine  and 
thirty  days  in  jail.  This  jail  of  oak  logs  was  built  by  Adam  Johnston 
where  the  present  courthouse  stands.  Cornelius  P.  Van  Kirk  was 
the  first  sheriflF. 

Whatever  of  religious  observance  there  was  in  those  first  years 
little  survived  in  the  public  memory  and  nothing  at  all  in  current 
chronicles,  save  that  an  occasional  travehng  minister  gave  a  talk  at 
a  home  meeting.  "There  was  not  a  praying  family  in  the  town  in 
1810,''  wrote  the  Rev.  Mr.  Calhoun.  For  a  while  after  that,  the 
Rev.  Timothy  Harris,  a  Congregationalist,  held  occasional  meetings 
in  people's  cabins. 

The  schoolmaster  arrived  early.  Israel  H.  Baker  taught  in 
Franklin  Township  in  1806.  About  that  time  boys  and  girls  up  the 
Walhonding  were  writing  with  a  quill  and  spelling  through  a  reader. 
Joseph  Harris  was  teaching  near  the  Evans  settlement  up  the  Tus- 
carawas. "King  Charley"  sent  his  daughter  up  there.  She  was  a 
girl  of  dash  and  spirit  who  liked  a  swift  gallop  over  the  Indian  trail 
through  the  forest.  She  knew  the  saddle  before  she  was  in  her  teens. 
It  was  her  mission,  before  Coshocton  had  a  mill,  to  ride  six  miles 
into  the  country  for  a  sack  of  grain  and  take  it  to  Zanesville.  When 
Adam  Johnston  won  her  for  his  bride,  her  schoolmaster  came  here 
from  the  country  to  sharpen  the  quills  and  intellect  of  young  Co- 
shocton. 

A  benevolent  joke  wandered  into  town  from  the  East  one  day, 
his  head  topped  with  a  tin  can,  Happy  Hooligan  style,  his  eager  desire 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


BASS    FISHING    IN    MIDDLE    BASIN,    COSHOCTON 


Digitized  by 


Google 


Digitized  by 


Google 


HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  G3 

to  help  humanity  beaming  large  as  the  patch  on  his  knee.  As  Happy 
would  express  it  he  ''wouldn't  hoit  a  fly."  He  carried  apple  seeds 
found  around  Pennsylvania  cider  presses,  and  planted  them  here  and 
there  along  his  route  through  the  wilderness.  He  planted  a  nursery 
in  New  Castle  Township  and  Tiverton  Township,  returning  at  inter- 
vals from  long  trips  to  care  for  the  young  trees  and  sell  them  to  set- 
tlers. "Johnny  Appleseed"  they  called  him.  But  back  in  the  East 
he  had  been  John  Chapman,  which  was  a  time  he  wanted  to  forget 
along  with  a  romance  and  a  disappointment. 

And  the  pioneer  life  moved  on,  the  new  country  in  the  making — 
a  victory  of  peace  wrested  from  the  forest  by  stout  hands  that  cracked 
and  crinkled  and  brave  hearts  that  knew  no  despair.  Then  a  shadow 
darkened  the  cabin  homes.  Grave-faced  men  gathered  at  **King 
Charley's"  tavern  and  counciled  over  news  of  war. 

Their  old  enemy's  hand  was  raised  against  them.  British  in- 
trigues among  the  Indians  to  strangle  the  young  republic  and  yoke 
it  again  to  the  king's  dominion  were  aggravated  by  British  searching 
of  ships  to  capture  American  citizens.  The  war  of  1812  found  vol- 
unteers in  plenty  from  Coshocton  County: 

At  that  day  hostile  Dela wares  and  Shawanees  had  gone  westward 
to  the  Maumee  country  where  Tecumseh  was  inciting  them  to  recover 
lands  lost  by  the  Wayne  treaty,  but  Harrison  dealt  them  a  finishing 
stroke  in  the  battle  of  Tippecanoe  on  the  Wabash. 

A  camp  of  Delawares  and  Mohawks  near  Mansfield  was  ordered 
to  move.  The  Indians  protested  against  leaving  their  home.  Colonel 
Williams  and  his  Coshocton  troops  were  on  their  way  to  the  front. 
An  Indian  was  killed.  A  few  days  afterward  eight  settlers  were 
tomahawked. 

"Johnny  Appleseed"  rushed  from  Mansfield  down  the  Wal- 
honding  Valley  through  Coshocton  County  to  warn  the  settlers.  The 
tin  can  fell  of¥  his  head  unheeded.  A  bareheaded,  barefooted  Paul 
Revere  he  was  now,  on  a  day  and  night  run.  He  pounded  on  cabin 
doors,  panting  and  almost  breathless,  calling  out  with  gasping  pauses 
between  words,  "Fly! — Fly  for  your  lives! — Indians  are  murdering 
and  scalping — at  Mansfield!"  Then  away  he  dashed.  Yet  the  inci- 
dent had  its  grotesque  features,  painfully  serious  as  it  was.  Families 
fled   precipitately   from    cabins   to   block-houses,   peering   cautiously 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


64  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

around  corners  and  waiting  with  leveled  guns  for  the  enemy  that 
never  came. 

Colonel  Williams'  command  was  detailed  to  protect  the  Mansfield 
frontier.  The  "Washingtonian  Yellow  Jacket  Riflemen"  they  were 
called,  and  in  their  white-fringed,  yellow  hunting  shirts,  with  knap- 
sacks and  rifles  slung  over  shoulders,  and  |X)wder  horns  filled  from 
the  saltpetre  caves  near  Roscoe,  they  marched  to  the  music  of  fife  and 
drum.  Captain  Isaac  Meredith  commanded  a  company.  Captain 
Tanner  another,  Captain  Beard  a  third,  and  the  fourth  mustered  as 
follows— the  only  roll  preserved: 

ADAM  JOHNSTON,  CAPTAIN. 

WILLIAM  MORRISON,  Lieutenant 

ABRAHAM  MILLER,  Ensign 

THOMAS  FOSTER,  First  Sergeant 

JOHN  M.  MILLER,  Second  Sergeant 

FREDERICK  MARKLEY,  Third  Sergeant 

ROBERT  CULBERTSON,  Fourth  Sergeant 

JOHN  H.  MILLER,  First  Corporal 

ZEBEDEE  BAKER,  Second  Corporal 

JOHN  M.  BANTHAM,  Third  Corporal 

JOHN  D.  MOORE,  Fourth  Corporal 

PRIVATES 

SAMUEL  MORRISON  JAMES  WINDERS 

EDWARD  MILLER  JOHN  McKEARN 

ISAAC  M.  MILLER  WINDLE  MILLER 

MICHAEL  MILLER  JOHN  MILLER 

ISAAC  HOAGLAND  ISAAC  MILLER 

GEORGE  ARNOLD  GEORGE  McCULLOUGH 

JAMES  BUCKLEW  DANIEL  MILLER 

JOHN  BAKER  JOSEPH  McFARLAND 

MATTHEW  BONAR  ANDREW  LYBARGER 

JOSEPH  NEFF  HENRY  CARR 

ALLEN  MOORE  MATTHEW  WILLIAMS 

BENJAMIN  WORKMAN        JOHN  STEERMAN 
THOMAS  L.  RUE,  Sutler 
DR.  S.  LEE,  Mustering-in  Surgeon 
Fragmentary  information  regarding  men  who  served  from  this 
county  supplies  the  following  names  of 

Digitized  by  VjQOQlC 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 


65 


OTHER  SOLDIERS  IN  THE  WAR  OF  l8l2 


RICHARD  FOWLER 
PETER  MOORE 
CHARLES  MILLER 
THOMAS  JOHNSON 
RICHARD  JOHNSON 
ANDREW  McCLAIN 
SAMUEL  ELSON 
FRANCIS  SMITH 
W.  R.  CLARK 
BASIL  BAKER 
SAMUEL  BANKS 
ELI  O.  H.  SHYHOCK 
JAMES  WILEY 
ROBERT  CORBIT 
JAMES  BIGGS 
JOHN  G.  PIGMAN 
ANDREW  WILSON 
JAMES  LAURIE 
ROBERT  PLATT 


JOHN  GLENN 
JAMES  WILLIAMS 
LEVI  MAGNESS 
GEORGE  MAGNESS 
JOHN  PORTMESS 
DUGAN  PATTERSON 
REASON  BAKER 
RICHARD  HAWK 
ISAAC  SHAMBAUGH 
JAMES  OGLESBY 
ELIJAH  NEWCOMB 
PETER  RAMBO 
ABRAHAM  MARLATT 
JAMES  BUTLER 
JOSEPH  SEVERNS 
SAMUEL  REA 
LAKEN  WELLS 
WILLIAM  HUDSON 
ROBERT  HARBISON,  SR. 


JAMES  McCUNE 

At  the  outset  a  Coshocton  County  company  had  joined  General 
Hull's  forces  that  marched  to  defeat  on  the  Maumee.  Following 
Hull's  surrender  there  to  the  British  the  Coshocton  company  was 
permitted  to  come  home  on  parole. 

A  company  that  Isaac  Evans  organized  had  reported  to  General 
Harrison,  and  worked  on  the  construction  of  Fort  Meigs  on  the 
Maumee.  There  in  1813  the  Americans  were  attacked  by  the  British 
and  Indians,  and  the  result  added  one  more  victory  to  the  chain  of 
victories  on  land  and  water  which  finally  vanquished  the  British.  The 
Coshocton  company  at  Fort  Meigs  had  seen  six  months'  service  when 
it  came  home.  Colonel  Williams'  command  returned  from  Mansfield 
after  serving  a  month.  Again  the  ax  of  the  pioneer  rang  through 
the  forest. 

In  1814  Colonel  Williams  was  sent  to  the  State  Legislature  from 
this  county.  To  quote  his  original  orthography:  "I  was  elected  to 
lagater  and  my  elexon  was  countested  and  sent  hom  cam  hom  and 
was  sent  back." 

Digitized  by  VjQOQlC 


6G  HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON    COUNTY 

There  were  about  three  hundred  voters,  and  most  of  them  ever 
ready  to  argue  politics.  Colonel  Williams  fervently  led  the  partisans 
of  Jefferson  and  stoutly  upheld  the  simplicity  of  the  sage  of  Mon- 
ticello  who  preferred  pantaloons  to  knee  breeches,  hated  even  the  title 
of  ]\Iister,  and  was  opposed  to  taxing  whisky.  The  declining  Fed- 
eralist party,  with  its  national  leaders  that  stood  aloof  and  made  no 
attempt  to  gain  the  people's  confidence,  had  its  followers  in  Coshocton 
County  who  were  of  the  elements  that  subsequently  formed  the  Whig 
party.  These  congregated  at  a  tavern  conducted  by  the  quietly  per- 
suasive Wilson  McGowan  in  Second  Street,  now  the  Farmers'  Hotel. 
Here  the  talk  was  directed  against  the  incipient  doctrine  of  **State 
sovereignty,"  the  thing  which  had  been  growing  ever  since  men 
wanted  each  State  to  take  care  of  its  own  war  debt  instead  of  being 
called  upon  to  help  pay  other  States.  The  company  in  McGowan's 
tavern  listened  approvingly  to  the  argument  that  the  colonies  had  not 
fought  each  for  its  own  independence,  but  each  for  the  independence 
of  all,  and  that  the  sovereignty  acquired  in  that  struggle  was  a  na- 
tional sovereignty  raised  by  the  common  fight  for  liberty. 

Colonel  Williams,  well  aware  of  his  limitations  in  statecraft  and 
speechmaking,  maintained  his  political  prestige  by  giving  picnics  and 
dances,  a  practice  which  has  its  modern  counterpart  in  Tammany 
Hall  clambakes  and  free  outings  provided  by  metropolitan  politicians. 
The  colonel  by  this  time  rejoiced  in  the  affectionate  designation  of 
"Old"  Charley  Williams,  the  usual  mark  of  social  esteem. 

At  times  there  were  political  discussions  in  which  the  argument 
of  the  fist  altered  some  face  if  it  didn't  change  any  opinion.  Although 
dueling  was  never  in  fashion  here  there  were  numerous  fistic  meetings 
Ijy  agreement  to  settle  differences,  or  prove  who  was  the  ''best"  man 
by  beating  the  other  fellow  to  a  palpitating  pulp. 

Election  day,  1816,  was  stained  with  murder.  John  Markley  was 
stabbed  to  death  in  Coshocton  by  George  Arnold,  who  escaped. 

After  the  war  of  181 2  the  steady  growth,  which  ever  since  has 
been  a  distinguishing  feature  of  Coshocton,  advanced  the  riverside 
hamlet  to  a  fair-sized  village.  Abraham  Wisecarver,  hatter,  was 
there.  John  Crowley,  carpenter,  came  in  1815;  for  a  while  he  ferried, 
and  eight  years  later  was  elected  sheriff.  John  Darnes,  carpenter,  and 
Richard  Stafford,  wagon-maker  and  later  justice  of  the  peace,  arrived 
from  Virginia.     Albert  Torry,  blacksmith,  came  from  Maine.    James 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  67 

Renfrew,  Sr.,  started  a  new  store  here.  Samuel  Burns,  hatter  and 
justice  of  the  peace,  came  from  Philadelphia,  1816.  More  newcomers 
included  Otho  and  Daniel  Cresap,  Hezekiah  Robinson,  William  Car- 
hart,  John  McCullough,  Sanford  Madden,  John  Forrest,  John 
Smeltzer,  and  members  of  the  houses  of  Boyd,  Gault,  Thompson, 
Squires,  Roderick,  Slaughter,  Neldon,  Borden,  Luke,  Heslip,  Powel- 
son,  Ravenscraft,  Winklepleck,  McNabb,  Lemert,  Mulford 

But  why  extend  the  list  when  the  pioneer  story  of  our  county  is 
the  story  of  all  who  came  in  the  earliest  decades  of  its  first  century; 
and  these  are  listed  elsewhere  as  the  honored  grandsires  in  whose 
names  their  descendants  today  find  ancestral  pride — the  colonists  who 
blazed  the  path  for  civilization  through  this  wilderness. 

Coshocton  was  yet  the  only  town  in  the  county,  but  in  its  early 
stage  there  was  much  the  same  color  which  after  villages  took  on. 
There  was  Benjamin  Ricketts'  store  in  Second  Street,  nearly  a  hun- 
<lred  years  ago,  and  the  store  of  Robert  Hay  and  James  Renfrew, 
with  the  atmosphere  of  tobacco,  groceries,  powder,  lead,  crockery, 
scythes,  china,  tinware,  chains,  bridles,  whips,  hats,  flints,  knives, 
cambric,  bombazet  and  iron.  The  goods  came  by  boat  from  Pittsburg 
down  the  Ohio  and  up  the  Muskingum  to  Coshocton. 

Daybook  and  ledger  accounts  of  Benjamin  Ricketts  have  been 
preserved  and  are  in  the  possession  of  W.  S.  Hutchinson,  whose  wife 
is  a  granddaughter  of  Coshocton's  early  storekeeper.  From  the  books 
comes  a  story  of  prices.  The  farmer's  wife  bringing  eggs  to  the  store 
got  eight  cents  a  dozen,  and  for  her  butter  twelve  and  a  half  cents  a 
pound.  She  paid  for  cofifee  fifty  cents  a  pound,  sugar  twelve  and  a 
half  cents,  calico  fifty  cents  a  yard,  a  paper  of  pins  twenty-five  cents. 
Tea  cost  two  dollars  a  pound. 

Wheat  in  1818  sold  at  seventy-five  cents  a  bushel  in  this  county, 
dropped  to  fifty  cents  in  the  next  few  years,  and  in  1823  fell  as  low  as 
thirty  cents.  At  the  same  time  corn  went  from  thirty-three  cents 
down  to  twenty.    Oats  was  thirty-three  a  bushel. 

Whisky  cost  thirty-seven  cents  a  gallon.  One  hundred  cigars, 
thirty-seven  and  a  half  cents — the  book  calls  them  cigars.  What  local- 
tanned  leather  could  do  toward  cheapening  footwear  is  shown  in  the 
price  of  shoes,  ranging  from  a  dollar  and  a  quarter  to  two  dollars 
thirty-seven  and  a  half  cents  a  pair. 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


68  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

Accounts  were  settled  frequently  in  grain,  maple  sugar  and  live- 
stock. Occasionally  there  was  an  entry  of  ferriage  for  wagon,  twenty- 
five  cents — not  an  inconsiderable  item  of  expense  which  stared  the 
shopper  in  the  face  every  time  he  would  cross  the  river  to  trade 
within  our  gates. 

There  is  an  entry  of  "a  half-gallon  of  whisky  when  fishing," 
which  indicates  that  a  fisherman  in  those  days  went  into  action  with 
what  Grover  Cleveland  has  since  called  a  properly  stimulated  mental 
equipment. 

A  farmer  on  the  Tuscarawas — "up  the  Skarwas,"  as  some  styled 
it — came  to  town  on  a  December  day  in  1 821  with  a  drove  of  eleven 
hogs  for  which  he  got  $3.75  a  head. 

Mail  came  by  horseback.  A  letter  from  Philadelphia  was  twenty- 
five  days  on  the  road ;  postage,  twenty-five  cents. 

While  riding  through  the  woods  on  the  road  to  Coshocton  the 
postboy,  William  Cartwell,  was  shot,  and  the  mailbag  rifled.  Farmer 
Johnson  happened  near  and  caught  a  glimpse  of  the  murderer.  When 
Johnson  reported  the  crime  at  New  Philadelphia,  the  law  held  the 
witness  until  three  hundred  men  had  been  summoned  and  lined  up  in 
the  street.  Johnson  looked  searchingly  into  the  faces.  Suddenly  he 
pointed  an  accusing  finger  at  John  Funston,  with  "That's  the  man !" 
Funston,  white  to  the  lips,  retorted  "You're  a  liar !''  but  he  was  jailed, 
and  afterward  he  confessed.  In  the  close  of  1825,  four  months  after 
the  murder,  people  from  Coshocton  County  joined  a  throng  of 
thousands  in  Tuscarawas  that  saw  the  murderer  swing  from  the 
gallows. 

Wild  beasts  were  killing  so  many  sheep,  hogs  and  calves  that  the 
State  put  a  premium  of  $2.40  on  every  wolf  scalp,  and  $1.50  on  panther 
and  wildcat  scalps,  which  resulted  in  some  lessening  of  the  forest 
terrors. 

Travel  in  the  north  was  saved  the  dangerous  fording  of  the 
Killbuck  by  Adam  Johnston  building  a  toll-bridge  in  1818.  A  toll- 
bridge  was  thrown  across  Wills  Creek  by  Thomas  Johnston,  asso- 
ciated with  others. 

There  was  scheming  to  draw  new  county  boundary  lines.  A 
county  seat  was  elaborately  laid  out  on  paper  by  Jonathan  Clark  in 
the  southwestern  corner  of  Coshocton  County.  Clarksville  had  two 
lots  for  a  courthouse,  one  for  a  stone  market  house,  two  for  an 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  69 

academy,  and  ninety-five  private  lots — all  on  paper.  Wide  avenues 
rejoiced  in  such  names  as  Main,  Pearl,  Walnut,  Market,  Cedar  and 
Broad. 

Another  lost  town  was  Millsville,  mapped  out  by  John  Mills  on 
the  banks  of  the  Tuscarawas  "at  the  great  bend"  near  the  present 
Orange.  It  also  had  its  pubHc  square  and  Main  and  Walnut  streets — 
on  paper. 

While  the  county  still  included  part  of  Holmes,  there  was  agita- 
tion to  locate  the  capital  where  Keene  now  is  because  it  was  more 
central.  The  separation  of  the  Holmes  portion  from  the  county  ended 
courthouse  expectations  at  Keene. 

Those  who  know  the  average  American  farm  of  today  may  have 
some  faint  conception  of  the  pioneer  life  and  its  struggles  to  clear  the 
way  througli  the  wilderness  here,  to  cut  down  forests,  to  *'grub"  over 
hills  of  tangled  brush,  and  to  heave  out  great  heaps  of  rocks.  Pioneers 
worked  hard — too  hard.  Theirs  was  the  hardship  and  privation  of  the 
farm,  theirs  the  years  of  struggle,  toiling  from  sunrise  to  sunset. 
Dreary  enough  had  been  the  trip  into  the  forest,  but  drearier  and 
more  appalling  still  was  the  prospect  which  faced  the  pioneer's  family 
upon  reaching  the  lone  spot  in  the  wilderness  that  was  to  be  their 
home.  The  nearest  neighbor  was  miles  away.  The  dismal  silence  of 
night  was  broken  only  by  the  hoot  of  an  owl  or  the  howl  of  a  wolf. 

Theirs  was  the  courage,  the  strength,  the  faith  and  the  will  that 
filled  hearts  in  the  making  of  the  country.  While  they  were  not 
readers  of  Shakespeare,  they  had  the  soul  to  appreciate  the  beautiful 
in  nature,  hanging  finer  landscapes  before  their  eyes  than  any  paint- 
ings on  palace  walls,  but  they  were  also  conscious  of  other  things  than 
poetry.  This  was  usually  at  such  God-forsaken  season  when  the  heel 
of  winter  stuck  in  muddy  hills  and  bottoms,  and  spring  was  nowhere 
except  in  the  green-covered  almanac  hanging  on  the  wall. 

There  was  no  poetry  in  being  routed  out  of  a  warm  feather-bed 
before  daylight  on  a  raw,  chilly  morning  to  go  out  into  the  cold  world 
and  a  colder  kitchen.  Many  a  winter  morning  the  pioneer  cracked 
the  ice  in  the  w^ater  bucket  to  fill  the  washpan  and  went  outdoors  to 
do  his  spluttering.  It  seemed  warmer  there  with  the  faint  dawn  just 
streaking  the  darkness  over  the  hills. 

Not  the  least  pinch  in  those  pinching  times  was  the  kind  of  morn- 
ing when  the  frost  was  just  out  of  the  ground,  and  he  reckoned  while 

Digitized  by  V^OOQIC 


70  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

grinding  his  face  with  the  towel  that  he'd  plow  the  clearing  that  day 
soon  as  they  were  through  milking,  though  there  was  snow  on  the 
ground  and  he  would  walk  in  a  cold,  wet  furrow  and  in  a  mighty  hard 
row  of  stumps. 

He  could  see  his  wife  coaxing  the  flint  spark  to  light  the  kindling, 
and  then  hover  over  the  feebly  burning  flicker,  the  while  she  wrapped 
her  cold  hands  in  her  apron,  and  pranced  a  queer  little  warming-up 
prance,  and  tried  to  smile  while  her  teeth  chattered. 

There  is  a  cherished  picture  of  the  pioneer's  pretty  daughter  at 
her  spinning  wheel  which  we  would  a  deal  rather  hang  on  memory's 
wall  than  the  one  painted  here,  but  simple  candor  compels  closer  in- 
spection. Those  candlestick,  tallow-dip  days  appear  decorative  only 
when  drawn  by  an  artist.  Grim  reality  saw  them  as  part  of  a  life 
that  was  a  bare  existence,  deprived  of  reasonable  comforts  and  con- 
veniences, and  reduced  to  the  elemental  necessities  of  food  and  shelter. 
The  wife  and  the  daughter  often  worked  in  the  field. 

Nor  did  such  days  pass  with  the  passing  of  the  pioneer.  They 
came  to  succeeding  generations,  and  much  of  the  hardness  has  never 
yet  quite  left  the  farm,  even  in  the  comforts  of  later  times,  bought 
with  years  of  rigorous  self-denial.  Those  who  know  farming  know 
the  farmer's  story.  Dreamers  never  can;  they  dream  the  dream  of 
independence  on  the  farm ;  they  sing  the  song  of  statistical  prosperity ; 
their  pet  theory  is  that  all  the  farmer  needs  is  the  scientific  wisdom 
handed  down  by  the  silk-hat  agriculturists  who  compose  crop  reports. 

Aye,  give  the  farmer  the  scientific  wisdom  to  harness  the  clouds 
and  hold  back  floods;  scientific  wisdom  to  sprinkle  gentle,  growing 
showers  in  time  of  parching  drought;  scientific  wisdom  to  compre- 
hend the  joyous  independence  of  those  years  when  he  has  gotten  less 
for  his  grain  than  it  cost  to  raise.  Not  to  digress  too  far,  but  talking 
with  Thad  Haight  about  book  farming: 

"Those  fellows  make  me  mad  sometimes,"  the  **Granger"  said. 
"A  paper  farmer  tells  how  to  take  care  of  hay  when  it's  cut,  saying 
not  to  leave  it  lay  in  the  field  but  go  around  with  a  fork  and  turn  it 
over  and  over  to  get  it  nice  and  dry  and  have  a  pretty  crop  of  hay. 
He  never  thinks  when  a  thundering  big  rain's  coming  a  man's  got  to 
hurry  in  his  hay  almighty  sudden.  But  every  fellow  thinks  he  knows 
how  to  make  a  farm  pay.    A  fellow  bangs  out  agricultural  ideas  on  a 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


HISTORY   OF  COSHOCTON   COUNTY  71 

typewriter  and  makes  more  money  selling  them  to  the  papers  than  I 
can  carrying  out  his  farm  hints." 

As  our  pioneers  gradually  chopped  out  a  destiny  in  the  forest, 
and  figuratively  as  well  as  literally  were  able  to  come  out  of  the 
woods,  the  log  church  was  built.  Besides  the  regular  religious 
services  there  were  camp  meetings  attended  by  the  whole  countryside. 

Chalfant's  meeting-house,  built  by  the  Methodists  in  Washington 
Township,  1811,  is  recorded  as  the  oldest  in  the  county.  The  Meth- 
odist church  at  West  Bedford  was  organized  several  years  later. 
Presbyterian  ministers  preached  in  Coshocton  as  early  as  18 12.  The 
Elliotts  and  others  in  Millcreek  Township,  1821,  "deeply  sensible  of 
the  importance  and  necessity  of  true  religion,  and  earnestly  desirous 
of  promoting  its  influence,"  organized  the  congregation  of  St.  Mark's 
parish  in  communion  with  the  Protestant  Episcopal  church.  Baptist 
preachers  were  heard  in  the  county  in  its  earliest  years,  and  in  1825  a 
Baptist  congregation  met  in  homes  and  schoolhouses  in  Oxford  and 
Lafayette  townships.  These  were  the  forerunners  of  organized  re- 
ligious work  in  the  county.  What  grew  from  them  and  what  crowned 
the  labors  of  denominations  that  came  afterward  will  be  considered 
in  a  separate  chapter. 

After  James  Calder  went  to  the  wall  in  Coshocton  he  crossed  the 
river  to  start  a  new  town,  18 16,  and  called  it  Caldersburg.  Later  it 
was  named  Roscoe,  after  an  English  author.  There  was  a  tavern,  a 
long,  rambling  log  structure,  and  mine  host  was  William  Barcus. 
Occasionally  a  traveling  preacher  would  hold  a  meeting  in  the  dining 
room  of  this  roadhouse.  The  hymn,  prayer  and  sermon  heard  here 
offered  a  new  feature  in  tavern  life  by  way  of  contrast  to  that  at  the 
other  end  of  the  ferry  where  "King  Charley's"  roadhouse  reveled  in 
dance,  court  and  election. 

With  the  capital  acquired  by  making  salt  at  three  dollars  a  bushel 
James  LeRetilley  started  a  store  in  Roscoe  in  1825  in  partnership 
with  William  Wood  and  afterward  George  Bagnall.  At  this  time  a 
new  era  dawned  in  pioneer  life — the  building  of  the  Ohio  Canal. 

The  engineers  brought  the  $5,000,000  waterway  along  the  west 
shore  of  the  Muskingum  to  reduce  the  expense.  This  was  Coshocton's 
disadvantage  and  Roscoe's  opportunity.  Much  of  the  enormous  wheat 
crop  from  the  cleared  forest  land  that  was  shipped  by  canal  was  loaded 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


72  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

at  Roscoe,  and  the  town  bounded  to  the  front,  one  of  the  leading  ship- 
ping points  along  the  whole  canal  from  Portsmouth  to  Cleveland. 

It  had  been  a  brave  undertaking  to  dig  the  waterway  of  com- 
merce through  the  wilderness  and  around  towering  hills.  Those  were 
the  times  when  the  country  had  no  outlet  for  its  produce  except  by 
few  river  floats  and  jolting,  corkscrew  mires  called  wagon  roads. 
With  the  coming  of  the  canal,  wheat  climbed  to  a  dollar  a  bushel,  and 
potatoes  for  the  first  time  began  to  have  a  price — forty  cents  a  bushel. 
There  were  farmers  who  had  opposed  giving  right  of  way  through  the 
land — the  usual  opposition  to  progress;  but  canal  prosperity  converted 
them. 

Crops  were  finding  markets  and  dollars.  The  peopling  of  the 
wilderness  began  in  earnest.  The  canal  was  making  Ohio  famous. 
The  country  was  awakened  to  new  commercial  importance,  and  Roscoe 
w^as  a  booming  center. 

The  town  stirred  with  shipping  life  and  scenes.  There  were  the 
fleets  of  freighters  that  moved  commerce  between  the  Ohio  River  and 
Lake  Erie.  There  was  the  passenger  packet,  the  sight  of  which  in- 
volved uneasy  speculations  concerning  the  disposal  of  passengers  in 
the  fiddle-case  cabin.  There  was  the  confusion  of  the  towpath,  the 
tangle  of  long  ropes,  the  teams — and  their  drivers,  puflFy-faced  with 
mule  talk,  picturesque  profanity,  how-de-do  and  whistling  the  balance. 
Here,  too,  the  barefoot  Garfield  drove  the  towpath  mule,  the  canal-boy 
stage  of  that  historic  life  which  ended  in  the  White  House. 

Roscoe  doors  opened  as  near  to  the  water's  edge  as  they  could, 
in  hospitable  welcome  to  canal  travelers.  A  center  of  grain  traffic 
was  LeRetilley's  big  warehouse  towering  above  the  canal  boats.  At 
night  the  tavern  lights  beamed  cheerfully  upon  the  scene. 

*The  Renfrew,''  one  of  the  first  boats  on  the  canal,  was  built 
in  the  Roscoe  yard.  There  were  half  a  dozen  stores,  several  mills, 
and  the  tamous  distillery  begun  by  William  Renfrew  and  Robert  Hay 
and  continued  by  Love  &  Hay;  this  was  lost  by  fire  and  afterward 
established  in  Coshocton  where  its  product  attained  such  reputation 
that  forty  thousand  gallons  once  went  in  a  single  shipment  to 
California. 

The  water  power  of  the  rivers  harnessed  at  Roscue  turned  the 
wheels  of  her  mills.  Altogether  the  outlook  for  a  flourishing  town 
seemed  propitious.     Early  investors  in  Roscoe's  real  estate  future 

Digitized  by  LjOOQLC 


THE    WALHONDING— OLD    HUNTING    GROUNDS   OF    THE    INDIAN 
CHIEF,    CAPTAIN    PIPE. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


Digitized  by 


Google 


HISTORY    OF    COSHOCTON    COUNTY  73 

were  Leander  Ransom,  engineer  on  the  canal  construction,  and  Noah 
H.  Swayne,  then  practicing  law  in  Coshocton  and  afterward  justice 
in  the  supreme  court  of  the  United  States. 

The  Walhonding  Canal,  feeding  the  main  waterway  at  Roscoe 
with  enormous  wheat  shipments  from  the  Walhonding  valley  and 
adjacent  territory,  was  building  a  busy  town  in  Tiverton  Township- 
Rochester.  The  roads  leading  to  the  canal  terminal  were  covered  for 
miles  with  wagons  bringing  wheat  from  as  far  as  Mt.  Vernon.  But 
with  the  passing  of  canal  transportation  Rochester  vanished — and  to- 
day has  risen  again  in  Cavallo  on  the  Mohican. 

Looking  back  upon  the  picture  of  our  county  in  the  canal  era  the 
landscape  for  the  most  part  was  just  emerging  from  forest  solitude 
with  signs  of  civilization.  At  lengthened  intervals  the  log  cabin,  with 
its  space  of  cleared  land  about  it,  sending  its  thread  of  blue  smoke 
curling  up  into  the  sky ;  stumps  everywhere ;  sometimes  the  felled  trees 
lying  yet  upon  the  soil ;  saw  mills  and  corn-crackers  along  the  creeks, 
with  little  whisky  mills  grinding  corn ;  and  pigs  in  all  directions. 

Townships  had  then  begun  their  story  of  early  settlers,  and  sev- 
eral towns  had  their  first  doctors,  teachers,  preachers,  storekeepers, 
blacksmiths,  wagonmakers,  shoemakers,  postmasters — a  marvelous 
transformation  from  the  wilderness  which  *'01d  Charley"  Williams 
could  remember.  He  lived  to  see  the  canal  era  and  the  dawn  of  **the 
roaring  forties." 

**As.I  remember,"  he  commented,  and  the  spelling  is  his,  "wee 
was  the  hapest  pepel  in  the  world  ontill  our  countery  was  fild  with 
spahlen  davels — thay  get  between  the  pepel — then  it  was  a  grat  thout 
to  get  every  man  what  hee  could — oppose  one  another — geten  werse — 
tha  plarsh  thar  fais  with  religen  now  makes  them  werse."  He  died 
in  1840  and  was  laid  beside  his  wife,  the  first  grave  to  the  left  as  you 
enter  Oak  Ridge  Cemetery. 

In  the  picture  of  those  days  was  the  mail  coach  with  puflfy  sides 
of  shining  red,  rolling  joyfully  past  corn  fields  and  fields  of  wheat 
and  stumps,  past  rail  fences  and  through  woods,  stopping  to  water  at 
the  sign  of  'The  Blue  Ball"  or  'The  Black  Horse,''  and  rattling  gaily 
into  town  scattering  pigs  before  it. 

The  press  had  arrived  in  Coshocton,  where  Dr.  William  Max- 
well began  in  1827  the  publication  of  'The  Republican"  at  uncertain 

Digitized  by  LjOOQIC 


■  ^K  Digitized  by  LrrOiPQl 

Li      f 


ffiffouy 


75 


U»nder  K^nti^t,,, 


»'   hff  , 


*'*/'//. 


/// 


if 


r 


-'^  ^^'*"A///  ,,,, 


^,^ 


n 


Digitized  by 


74  HISTORY    OF    COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

intervals.  This  sheet  of  handbill  size  and  others  that  came  later  have 
their  story  in  the  newspaper  chapter. 

Over  the  western  hills  where  Eli  Nichols  owned  much  of  New 
Castle  Township  the  hamlet  of  New  Castle,  planned  by  Robert  Giffen, 
advanced  from  its  solitary  log-cabin  and  tavern  state  into  a  merger 
with  its  rival,  West  Liberty,  affluent  with  half  a  dozen  houses  in- 
cluding one  of  brick.  A  few  miles  away,  on  the  old  site  of  Captain 
Pipe's  Indian  village,  Walhonding  was  just  springing  up  with  the 
canal,  and  coming  so  fast  that  a  bill  was  introduced  into  the  legis- 
lature to  form  a  new  county,  making  Walhonding  the  seat,  but  the 
bill  lost  by  one  vote.  Mount  Airy  was  on  a  ridge  with  some  cabins, 
a  blacksmith  forge  and  a  log  school  with  a  schoolmarm,  wife  of  Parson 
Alsach ;  but  the  place  rose  only  to  vanish  with  other  lost  towns  of  the 
county. 

Southward,  in  Pike  Township,  there  was  the  flourishing  village 
of  West  Carlisle  with  its  two  churches,  three  stores,  tavern,  tannery 
and  the  shops  of  blacksmiths,  wheelwrights,  carpenters,  shoemakers, 
tailor  and  hatter.  There  also  was  the  home  of  William  Brown  who 
kept  store,  served  as  postmaster  under  Monroe,  J.  Q.  Adams,  Jackson 
and  Van  Buren,  was  a  sure  shot,  a  good  horseman,  and  a  Christian 
gentleman. 

In  Perry  Township  rose  Dr.  E.  G.  Lee's  New  Guilford,  and 
nearby  John  Conway's  Claysville,  afterward  consolidating  as  East 
Union,  with  two-score  houses  and  several  shops  where  the  sound  of 
hammer  and  saw  and  anvil  swelled  the  chorus  of  peace. 

West  Bedford,  or  Heaton's  Town  in  those  days,  had  grown  from 
a  road  house  of  1817  to  log-house  stores,  blacksmith  shop  and  tannery. 
Washington  Township  was  clearing  her  fine  farms.  In  Virginia  the 
Scotts,  of  good  old  stock  and  well  esteemed,  were  developing  much 
land;  a  store  was  beginning  the  future  New  Moscow. 

Franklin  Township  had  Frew's  Mill,  now  Wills  Creek.  Linton 
Township,  when  it  couldn't  ford  the  creek,  ferried  at  Jacobsport,  now 
Plainfield,  then  the  home  of  a  tannery.  A  toll  bridge  succeeded  the 
ferry.  There  was  a  ferry  at  Linton  Mills.  A  mill  was  the  beginning 
of  Bacon  Run.  Maysville  flickered  about  a  blacksmith's  forge,  then 
flickered  out.  Folks  in  that  section  were  digging  deep  wells,  and  from 
every  sixty  gallons  of  water  pumped  up  they  extracted  a  bushel  of  salt. 

In  the  north  Monroe  Township  went  to  the  tavern  and  store 

Digitized  by  LjOOQLC 


HISTORY   OF  COSHOCTON   COUNTY  75 

called  Van  Buren,  which  has  grown  since  into  Spring  Mountain. 
Millcreek  Township,  then  as  now,  had  no  town  lot,  and  was  farming; 
likewise  Bethlehem,  rafting  logs  of  oak,  walnut,  poplar  and  sycamore 
down  the  Killbuck  to  Roscoe  and  Coshocton. 

In  Clark  Township  Eli  Fox's  mill  was  grinding  at  Helmick. 
Blissfield  was  unknown  yet,  and  where  Bloomfield  stands  today,  partly 
in  this  county  and  partly  in  Holmes,  there  were  in  the  forties  a  few 
log  cabins  with  the  county  line  running  between  them. 

A  tavern  and  straggling  cabins  in  the  wilderness  started  New 
Bedford  in  Crawford  Township,  with  Chili  growing  later  out  of  a 
blacksmith  shop. 

In  Adams  Township  Bakersville  was  in  a  grist-mill  stage;  in 
White  Eyes  William  M.  Boyd's  mill  was  the  forerunner  of  Jacktown, 
afterward  Avondale,  now  Fresno. 

Keene  had  emerged  from  Jesse  Beal's  forest  as  a  little  leaky  log- 
cabin  school,  and  advanced  to  tavern  and  stores.  West  Lafayette  was 
in  its  roadhouse  cradle.  On  the  Walhonding  Canal  Warsaw  grew 
into  a  flourishing  grain  center  where  shortly  before  only  a  tavern  had 
stood.  Along  the  Ohio  Canal  the  immense  grain  shipping  started 
Canal  Lewisville  with  three  warehouses,  while  struggling  young  New- 
port, nearby  was  lost.  Evansburg,  afterward  Orange,  flourished  as  a 
canal  port  with  warehouse,  tannery,  tavern  and  store. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


PIONEERS  OF  COSHOCTON  COUNTY 


THE  COLONISTS  OF  THE  EARLIEST  DECADES  IN  THE 
COUNTY'S  FIRST  CENTURY,  INCLUDING  THOSE 
WHO  CUT  THE  PATH  FOR  CIVILIZATION  THROUGH 
THE  WILDERNESS,  WHO  HEARD  THE  HISS  OF  THE . 
SNAKE  ON  THE  CABIN  FLOOR,  AND  THE  HOWL  OF 
THE  WOLF  AT  THE  DOOR;  THEIR'S  WAS  THE  COUR- 
AGE, THE  STRENGTH,  THE  FAITH,  AND  THE  WILL 
THAT  FILLED  HEARTS  IN  THE  MAKING  OF  THE 
COUNTRY. 


Ackline,  Alexander 
Adams,  Beall 
Adams,  Calvin 
Adams,  Seth 
Adams,  William 
Addy,  Hugh 
Addy,  James 
Addy,  Robert 
Addy,  Thomas 
Albert,  Catherine 
Albert,  John 
Allison,  William 
Ammon,  Jacob 
Amory,  Elizabeth 
Amory,  George 
Anderson,  WilHam 
Andrews,  John 
Anspaugh,  George 
Arbuckle,  John 
Archer,  William 


76 


Arnold,  Samuel 
Arnold,  William 
Ash,  David 
Ashcraft,  Daniel 
Ashcraft,  Jonathan 
Ault,  Peter 

Babcock,  Labina 
Babcock,  Richard 
Babcock,  Ruannah 
Babcock,  Zebina 
Bagnall,  George 
Bahmer,  Valentine 
Bailey,  George 
Baker,  Basil 
Baker,  Benjamin 
Baker,  Charles 
Baker,  Edward 
Baker,  James 
Baker,  Esaias 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


/ 


HISTORY   OF  COSHOCTON   COUNTY 


77 


Baker,  John 
Baker,  Lake 
Baker,  Nathan 
Baker,  Reason 
Baker,  Zebedee 
Ballentine,  Hugh 
Bamfield,  William 
Bantham,  John 
Bantham,  John  M. 
Bantham,  Morgan 
Bantham,  Perry 
Barcus,  William 
Barker,  Lyman 
Barkhurst,  William 
Barnes,  Henry 
Barr,  Eleazer 
Barrett,  Hugh 
Bartoe,  Hannah 
Bartoe,  John 
Bassett,  Nicholas 
Bates,  Nicholas 
Beach,  Joseph 
Beal,  Jesse 
Beam,  David 
Beard,  George 
Beard,  William 
Beatty,  Robert 
Beatty,  Seavy 
Beaver,  George 
Beck  with,  Joseph 
Bell,  Samuel 
Bell,  William 
Bennington,  Oliver 
Berry,  John 
Bible,  George 
Biggs,  John 
Biggs,  William 
Billman,  Anderson 


Billman,  Edward 
Bird,  William 
Blair,  John 
Boggs,  William 
Bonar,  Matthew 
Booklas,  David 
Booklas,  William 
Booth,  Daniel 
Borden,  Thomas 
Bowen,  Constant 
Boyd,  John 
Boyd,  Robert 
Bradford,  Peter 
Bradley,  Elijah  S. 
Brewer,  Elias 
Brillhart,  Samuel 
Brown,  Jonas 
Brown,  Joseph 
Brown,  Samuel 
Brown,  William 
Browner,  Bennett 
Browner,  Ignatius 
Bryson,  Benjamin 
Buckalew,  James 
Buckalew,  John 
Buckalew,  Parker 
Buckalew,  Samuel 
Buckingham,  Garret 
Buckingham,  Joseph 
Buckingham,  Jr.,  Ebenezer 
Buckmaster,  Peter 
Buker,  Caleb 
Buker,  Israel  H. 
Burger,  David 
Burns,  John 
Burns,  Joseph 
Burns,  Samuel 
Burrell,  Sr.,  Archibald 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


78 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 


Burrell,  Jr.,  Archibald 
Burrell,  Benjamin 
Burrell,  Sr.,  Joseph 
Burrell,  Samuel 
Burris,  Elisha 
Burris,  John 
Burt,  John  G. 
Burton,  John 
Butler,  Isaac 
Butler,  Jonathan 
Butler,  Joseph 
Butler,  Thomas 
Byers,  Samuel 
Byron,  Moses 

Cain,  Abel 
Cain,  Arnold 
Cain,  Joshua 
Cain,  Kitty 
Cain,  Polly 
Cain,  Susan 
Calder,  James 
Calder,  John 
Calhoun,  George 
Campbell,  David 
Campbell,  James 
Campbell,  William 
Cannon,  Robert 
Cantwell,  Barney 
Cantwell,  James 
Cantwell,  Samuel 
Cantwell,  Sr.,  Thomas 
Cantwell,  Jr.,  Thomas 
Carhartt,  John 
Carhartt,  WilHam  G. 
Carnahan,  Adam 
Carnahan,  Andrew 
Carnahan,  Eleanor 


Carnahan,  Eliza 
Carnahan,  Hugh 
Carnahan,  James 
Carnahan,  John 
.  Carnahan,  Nancy 
Carnahan,  Thompson 
Carnahan,  William 
Carnes,  John 
Carpenter,  George 
Carpenter,  Thomas 
Carpenter,  Sr.,  William 
Carpenter,  Jr.,  William 
Carr,  Henry 
Carroll,  Joseph 
Cartwell,  John 
Cartwell,  Nathaniel 
Casey,  Archibald 
Casey,  Peter 
Cass,  George 
Cassingham,  George  F. 
Castor,  John 
Clark,  Archibald 
Clark,  Gabriel 
Clark,  James 
Clark,  John 
Clark,  Payne 
Clark,  Richard 
Clark,  Sr.,  William 
Clark,  Jr.,  William 
Clark,  Samuel 
Crawford,  John 
Crawford,  Robert 
Cox,  David 
Cox,  Martin 
Cox,  Michael 
Cox,  Thomas 
Craig,  Andrew 
Craig,  Jacob 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 


79 


Craig,  John 
Cresap,  Daniel 
Cresap,  Otho 
Cresap,  Thomas 
Courtright,  Abraham 
Courtright,  Fanny 
Courtright,  Jacob 
Crowley,  John 
Crager,  David 
Crager,  Jacob 
Crager,  John 
Culbertson,  Robert 
Cotton,  James 
Cleonple,  William 
Chalfant,  Mordecai 
Corbin,  Robert 
Corbit,  Robert 
Cessna,  Charles 
Conner,  James 
Conner,  John 
Crowe,  William 
Cochran,  Edward 
Cochran,  Joshua 

Chance,  Benjamin 

Chance,  Joshua 

Cline,  George 

Cline,  John 

Cline,  Philip 

Coulter,  William 

Coleman,  Ebenezer 

Coleman,  Niles 

Cullison,  Elijah 

Cunningham,  Arthur 

Cunningham,  Jesse 

Cosner,  David 

Cosner,  Philip 

Cosner,  Henry 

Caton,  Robert 


Corson,  Thomas 
Cosier,  William 
Courtney,  John 
Coulter,  William 
Cordray,  Isaac 
Church,  Aaron  M. 
Conkle,  John 
Cook,  Henry 
Chaney,  James 
Chaney,  Seth 
Chambers,  Matthew 
Collins,  Elizabeth 
Crosier,  Martin 
Critchfield,  William 
Cutbush,  William 
Craft,  Jesse 
Colver,  John 
Crissman,  Henry 
Cypher,  Isaac 
Cofifin,  James 
Conway,  John 

Daniel,  George 
Darling,  Abraham 
Darling,  Isaac 
Darling,  Jonathan 
Darling,  Patience 
Darling,  Robert 
Darling,  Thomas 
Darling,  William 
Darnes,  John 
Darnes,  Peter  H. 
Davids,  James 
Davidson,  Elias 
Davidson,  George 
Davidson,  Lewis 
Davidson,  Obadiah 
Davidson,  Robert 


Digitized  by 


Googl( 


80 


HISTORY   OF  COSHOCTON   COUNTY 


Davidson,  William 
Davis,  Abner 
Davis,  Matthew 
Davis,  Robert 
Davis,  Sarah 
Davis,  William 
Dayton,  James 
Dayton,  John 
Dayton,  William 
Dean,  Enos 
Dean,  James 
Dean,  John 
Dean,  Samuel 
Deed,  Jacob 
Deed,  John 
DeLong,  Edward 
Demoss,  John 
Devore,  Daniel 
DeWitt,  Paul 
Dial,  George 
Dickerson,  Isaac 
Dickerson,  John 
Dickerson,  William 
Dillon,  Peter 
Dillon,  William 
Doak,  William 
Dorland,  Cornelius 
Daugherty,  Andrew 
Daugherty,  S.  M. 
Douglas,  David 
Douglas,  James 
Downing,  Benjamin 
Downs,  George  H. 
Draper,  Isaac 
Draper,  Isaias 
Dubbs,  John 
Duling,  Collin 
DuHng,  Edmund 


Duling,  John 
Duncan,  John 
Duncan,  Matthew 
Durbin,  William 

Eager,  James 
Earlewine,  Adam 
Edgar,  James 
Edgar,  Joseph 
Edwards,  Jacob 
Elder,  John 
Elder,  Robert 
Elliott,  Andrew 
Elliott,  Elisha 
Elliott,  Finlay 
Elliott,  Moses 
Elliott,  John 
Elliott,  George 
Elliott,  Thomas 
Elliott,  William 
Elliott,  James 
Elliott,  Charles 
Ellis,  Elias 
Elson,  Archibald 
Elson,  John 
Elson,  Samuel 
Emerson,  Brown 
Emerson,  Jacob 
Emerson,  Timothy 
Emery,  George 
Emery,  Van 
Emery,  William 
Endsley,  Thomas 
Estap,  William 
Evans,  Gabriel 
Evans,  Henry 
Evans,  Isaac 
Evans,  Robert 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


STANDING    ROCK  ON    HIGH    CREST    AT    JUNC- 
TION   OF    TWO  TOWNSHIPS    NEAR  CHILI. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


TK£  h'  l-.Vv  YORK 

I-JdLICLIIjRARY 


A3TOR,  LnNOX  AND 
TILLLn  POU.i:)ATIONS. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 


81 


Evans,  Thomas 
Evans,  William 
Everhart,  David 

Facenbaker,  John 
Farquhar,  Benjamin 
Farquhar,  Daniel 
Farquhar,  Enoch 
Farquhar,  William 
Farwell,  Robert 
Farver,  William 
Ferguson,  Andrew 
Ferguson,  Matthew 
Fernsler,  John 
Fernsler,  Philip 
Fetrow,  Daniel 
Fetrow,  Jeremiah 
Finley,  Josiah 
Fletcher,  Thomas 
Forby,  Benjamin 
Forrest,  John 
Foster,  Andrew 
Foster,  Benjamin 
Foster,  David 
Foster,  James 
Foster,  Moses 
Foster,  Samuel 
Foster,  Thomas 
Foster,  William 
Fowler,  Richard 
Fox,  Eli 
Frazer,  John 
Frazer,  Thomas 
Frew,  John 
Freshwater,  George 
Fry,  Abraham 
Fry,  Christian 
Frv,  Gabriel 


Fry,  Sr.,  Isaac 
Fry,  Jr.,  Isaac 
Fry,  Rachel 
Frock,  Michael 
Fulton,  Jesse 
Fulton,  John 
Fulton,  William 
Fuller,  John 
Futhey,  Isaac 

Gain,  Sr.,  John 
Gain,  Jr.,  John 
Gault,  Adam 
Glover,  Joel 
Glover,  William  B. 
Giffen,  Robert 
Griffith,  William 
Graham,  James 
Graham,  William 
Graham,  John 
Graham,  Alexander 
Graham,  Thomas 
Glassford,  Samuel 
Glassner,  John 
Gibson,  Alexander 
Gruwell,  John 
Graves,  Daniel 
Graves,  John 
Gilloway,  Thomas 
Gay,  Dr. 
Gilliam,  Samuel 
Gross,  John 
Good,  Isaac 
Grimes,  John 
Ginn,  Charles 
Gugery,  William 
Glassby,  Henry 
Gilliland,  John 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


82 


HISTORY   OF  COSHOCTON   COUNTY 


Gillam,  Samuel 
Gregor,  Jacob 
Gonnar,  David 
Gow,  William 
Gurwell,  Jacob  L. 
Guiberson,  Samuel 
Grimm,  David 
Grimm,  Henry 
Gotshall,  George 
Gotshall,  William 

Haines,  Daniel 
Haines,  David 
Haines,  Elizabeth 
Haines,  Henry 
Haines,  John 
Hoagland,  George 
Hoagland,  Isaac 
Heaton,  Machijah 
Hoagland,  John 
Hall,  Reuben  S. 
Hay,  Robert 
Higby,  Joseph  C. 
Hershman,  John 
Hershman,  Jacob 
Hershman,  Philip 
Hart,  Asher 
Hutchinson,  John 
Hunt,  Austin 
Harcum,  Thomas 
Hill,  Calvin 
Hill,  John 
Hill,  Samuel 
Hays,  Nancy 
Hartman,  Joseph 
Holmes,  Jacob 
Heter,  John 
Harris,  Joseph 


Humrickhouse,  Peter 
Hammond,  Samuel 
Harmon,  John 
Haney,  Frederick 
Hoagland,  Michael 
Hankins,  William 
Henderson,  Andrew 
Hunter,  James 
Hankins,  John 
Hankins,  Sr.,  Daniel 
Hankins,  Jr.,  Daniel 
Hankins,  T. 
Hankins,  Betsy 
Hankins,  G.  W. 
Hebbel,  John 
Hook,  Henry 
Humphrey,  William 
Humphrey,  Squire 
Haskins,  Thomas 
Haskins,  William 
High,  Jacob 
Hook,  John 
Havill,  John 
Henderson,  George 
Henderson,  John 
Harper,  Joseph 
Horton,  David 
Hootman,  Henry 
Harding,  James 
Hawkins,  General 
Hardesty,  John 
Hardesty,  Thomas 
Hardesty,  Samuel 
Higar,  Martin 
Henderson,  James 
Heslip,  Joseph 
Halsey,  Silas 
Helms,  Nicholas 

Digitized  by  LjOOQIC 


HISTORY   OF  COSHOCTON   COUNTY 


83 


Hare,  Joseph 
Hedley,  Gabriel 
Henderson,  William 
Hedley,  Benjamin 
Hahn,  John 
Hays,  William 
Hanson,  David 
Hibbits,  John 
Henry,  Enoch  F. 
Hedge,  Aaron 
Hedge,  Hiram 
Hull,  Edith    - 
Hull,  William  ,. 
Hawk,  Leonard 
Hawk,  Richard 
Hawk,  Robert 
Highshoe,  Jacob  — 
Harris,  Rev.  Timothy 
Havens,  Benjamin 
Havens,  James 
Hostler,  John 
Holloway,  Isaac 
Horton,  Thomas 
Henlion,  John 
Hartley,  John 
Hide,  Thomas 
Hollinback,  Clark 
Houston,  Alexander 
Houston,  John  A.  L. 
Henry,  Aaron 
Henry,  Daniel 
Hang,  Frederick 
Holt,  John 
Highgo,  Martin 
Heighart,  Samuel 
Harkins,  Jonathan 
Hayney,  Frederick 
Huffman,  Joseph 


Hirt,  Matthew 
Hirt,  William 

Ireland,  William 

James,  Elias 
"James,  Ann 
James,  Thomas  P. 
Johnston,  Adam 
Jones,  Thomas 
Jones,  Elias 
Jones,  Malchia 
Jones,  James 
Jones,  Jesse 
Jones,  Joseph 
Jones,  William 
Jewett,  Henry 
Jennings,  Benjamin 
Jennings,  Nathaniel 
Johnston,  William 
Johnston,  Robert 
Jackson,  Jacob 
Juel,  Gilbert 
Jeffries,  William 
Jeffries,  James 
Johnson,  Adam 
Johnson,  Thomas 
Johnston,  Andrew 
Jeffries,  Mary 
Jeffries,  Betsy 
Johnston,  David 
Johnston,  Valentine 
Junkins,  David 
Junkins,  John 
Johnson,  Richard 
Johnson,  John 
Jenkins,  John 
Jolly,  William 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


84 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON  COUNTY 


John,  David 
John,  Thomas 

Kilborn,  Benjamin 
Kelly,  Eli 
King,  James 
Kay,  John 
Kinner,  Hannah 
Kimberley,  Ira 
Knoff,  John 
Kerr,  Polly 
Kelly,  John 
Kinney,  John 
Knight,  Nicholas 
Keg,  John 
Knowles,  Sr.,  James 
Knowles,  Jr.,  James 
Kesler,  John 
Kerr,  William 
Knowles,  John 
Kerr,  Peter 
Kerr,  Joseph 
Knight,  Michael 
Kugar,  Jacob 
Korn,  Jacob 
Keith,  Francis 
Kimball,  Abner 

Lee,  Dr.  Samuel 
Livingston,  William 
Littic,  George 
Leighninger,  George 
Loos,  Jacob 
L-emasters,  Isaac 
Lee,  Elial  J. 
Lemasters,  Benjamin 
Loos,  George 
Lynch,  William 


Little,  George  P. 
Lane,  Mathias 
Lemert,  Joshua 
Loos,  Christian 
Lewis,  Thomas  B. 
Lyons,  Robert 
Loos,  John 
Lesk,  James 
Livingston,  John 
Litchfield,  Chauncey 
Lybarger,  Andrew 
LeRetilley,  James 
Lee,  Dr.  E.  G. 
Lockard,  William 
Lockard,  John 
Lugus,  William 
Laylin,  William 
Lawrence,  John 
Lennon,  John 
Luke,  John 
Luke,  George 
Luke,  Jacob 
Leavengood,  John 
Lockard,  Andrew 
Lash,  Peter 
Loveless,  S.  H. 
Leach,  Archibald 
Lower,  Benjamin 
Lower,  Daniel 
Lutz,  Jacob 

Miller,  Sr.,  John 

Miller,  Jr.,  John 

Miller,  George 

Miller,  Michael 

Miller,  Thomas  H. 

Miller,  Daniel 

Miller,  Patrick 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


HISTORY   OF  COSHOCTON   COUNTY 


85 


Miller,  Jr.,  Thomas 
Magness,  Levi 
McMillen,  James 
McGowan,  Wilson 
Miller,  Michael  H. 
Morris,  Jacob 
Madden,  James  W. 
Miller,  Charles 
Miller,  Edward 
Miller,  Abraham 
Marsh,  Cyrus 
Musgrove,  John 
Musgrove,  Moses 
Metzler,  Peter 
Majors,  William 
Miller,  Nicholas 
Monroe,  Barnabas 
Markley,  David 
Madden,  Sanford 
Moore,  Allen 
McBride,  Walter 
McCullough,  George 
Montour,  Montgomery 
Marsh,  Lemuel 
Miller,  Sr.,  James 
McHenry,  David 
McCaskey,  George 
McPherson,  John 
Myser,  Jacob 
Myser,  John 
Myser,  Philip 
Mizer,  Jacob 
Miller,  Michael  P. 
Miller,  John 
McDonald,  William 
Mc Arthur,  Dr. 
Moore,  Elijah 
Marlatt,  Abraham 


Markley,  Adam 
Markley,  William 
Markley,  John 
Means,  Thomas 
McDonald,  Stephen 
Morris,  Jacob  T. 
Miller,  Sr.,  Henry 
McCune,  Seth 
McCune,  James 
McCune,  George 
McCune,  Sr.,  John 
McCune,  Jr.,  John 
Miller,  Christian 
Moore,  Charles 
McFarland,  Andrew 
Miller,  Isaac 
Macaulay,  Alexander 
Moreat,  John 
Miller,  John  M. 
Mills,  John 
Morgetto,  John 
Mulford,  James 
Munchel,  Enoch 
Mattox,  David 
Mattox,  Jacob 
Meredith,  Isaac 
Meredith,  Job 
McCormick,  Richard 
Meredith,  Stephen 
Meredith,  Abner 
Meredith,  Obed 
Mcllvain,  Robert 
Morgan,  Moses 
Morgan,  John 
Morgan,  Stryker 
McCullough,  Catherine 
Morrison,  Samuel 
Moore,  John  D. 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


86 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON  COUNTY 


Moore,  Peter 
McCIain,  Samuel 
McCIain,  Thomas 
McClain,  Andrew 
McCIain,  David 
McCIain,  Daniel 
Merrihew,  John 
McFarland,  Samuel 
Miller,  Sr.,  Thomas 
Morrison,  William 
Madden,  Thomas 
Meek,  Ann 
Meek,  David 
Meek,  George 
McNeal,  Archibald 
Moore,  Thomas 
Marshall,  Ira 
Mast,  David 
McCarey,  Anthony 
McKee,  Abner 
Mitchell,  Joseph 
McCormick,  Samuel  W. 
Metzler,  Peter 
Munson,  Jr.,  Isaac 
Munson,  Henry 
Moore,  Gabriel 
McCoy,  Edmund 
McCoy,  Joseph 
McCurdy,  Daniel 
McCurdy,  James 
McCurdy,  William 
Mitchell,  John 
Medberry,  Arnold 
McQuestion,  Thomas 
McGuire,  Francis 
Miller,  John  G. 
Mossman,  Robert  C. 
Markley,  Benjamin 


Markley,  Frederick 
Markley,  Martin 
McCullough,  J6hn 
McCoy,  William 
Markley,  Abraham 
Magness,  George 
Maple,  David 
Maple,  Jacob 
Monroe,  Joseph  F. 
Mervin,  Henry 
McBride,  William 
Miller,  Wendell 
Miller,  John  G. 
Miller,  John  H. 
Miller,  John  W. 
Miller,  David 
Miller,  Thomas  G. 
Miller,  Thomas  H. 
Murphy,  William 
Mizer,  Frederick 
Mowery,  Henry 
McCleary,  George 
McNabb,  John 
Mulholland,  John 
Madden,  James  W. 
Miller,  Edward 
Minton,  William 
Matthews,  John 
Marshall,  Thomas 
McKearn,  John 
Mitchell,  William 
Meredith,  David 
Mason,  George 
Miller,  Stephen 
Miskimen,  James 
Miskimen,  William 
McFarland,  Ezekiel 
McFarland,  Samuel 

Digitized  by  LjOOQIC 


HISTORY   OF  COSHOCTON  COUNTY 


87 


Mills,  Stephen 
Mulvain,  John 
Mulvain,  Joseph 
Mulvain,  William 
Moore,  Jared 
McBride,  John 
McFarland,  Robert 
McVey,  Henry 
Middleton,  Nathaniel 
Miller,  Jacob 

Norris,  Daniel 
Norris,  Joseph 
Norris,  Samuel 
Norris,  William 
Neff,  Joseph 
Newcomb,  Elijah 
Nelson,  Nathaniel 
Neighbor,  John 
Nelson,  John 
Nelson,  Elijah 
Norris,  John 
Norman,  Benjamin 
Norman,  George 
Noble,  John 
Norman,  Daniel 
Norman,  Icleus 
Newcomb,  Charity 
Neal,  Andrew 
Neldon,  John 
Neldon,  Henry 
Nichols,  Eli 
Nichols,  Thomas 
Newcomb,  Moses 
Nelson,  Benjamin 
Norman,  Jabus 
Norman,  John 
Nolan,  Pierre 


Northrup,  Henry 
Newell,  Thomas 
Nash,  David 
Nash,  Uriah 
Nighart,  Jacob 

O'Donald,  James 
O'Donald,  William 
Ogg,  Richard 
Ogle,  Joseph 
Ogle,  Thomas 
Oglesby,  James 
Oliver,  Robert 
Orr,  Josiah 
Orr,  Matthew 
Osier,  John 
Overholt,  Joseph 

Pain,  Solomon 
Piatt,  Peter 
Pingree,  John 
Putman,  David 
Parks,  David 
Parks,  Joseph 
Pigman,  John  G. 
Pigman,  John  P. 
Parue,  John 
Pigman,  Joseph  W. 
Philips,  Theophilus 
Price,  Geoffrey 
Pinkerton,  Benjamin 
Pinkerton,  Thomas 
Pierce,  Isaac 
Preston,  Henry 
Pritchard,  John 
Powelson,  Lewis 
Powelson,  William 
Pew,  James 


Digitized  by 


Googl( 


88 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON  COUNTY 


Parker,  Ezekiel 
Parker,  George 
Parker,  John 
Parker,  Joshua 
Parker,  Zebulan 
Pitzer,  Anthony 
Powelson,  Conrad 
Pingree,  Oliver 
Partalow,  William 
Poland,  Andrew 
Pilar,  John 
Parkinson,  Jonathan 
Pigman,  John 
Priest,  James  L. 
Peterson,  John 
Peterson,  John  G. 
Pigman,  Rev.  William 
Pigman,  Daniel  C. 
Perry,  Dr.  Samuel  I. 
Payall,  Peter 
Pearson,  James 
Parker,  Elijah 
Peachey,  Moses 
Pigman,  Rev.  Joseph  W. 
Pierce,  Daniel 
Parkinson,  Grant 
Pancake,  William 
Perkins,  Samuel 
Pierpont,  William 
Pritc^hard,  Rev.  John 
Powell,  Thomas 
Parrish,  Joseph 
Patterson,  Benjamin 
Purdy,  Isaac 

Robinson,  Benjamin 
Robinson,  John     . 
Richards,  William 


Roberts,  Elizabeth 
Robinson,  James 
Ravenscraft,  Sarah 
Ravenscraft,  John 
Ravenscraft,  William 
Ravenscraft,  James 
Renfrew,  Alexander 
Renfrew,  James 
Renfrew,  William 
Rue,  Thomas  L. 
Rue,  Joseph  W. 
Reed,  Jacob 
Roderick,  Levi 
Rader,  John 
Randies,  Abraham 
Robinson,  William  J. 
Robinson,  Hezekiah 
Robey,  M. 
Ricketts,  Benjamin 
Ricketts,  Joshua 
Roderick,  Lewis 
Roderick,  Benjamin 
Riley,  Nicholas 
Russell,  Thomas 
Richcreek,  Jasper 
Ridgely,  Westall 
Russell,  Cornelius 
Roberts,  Eli 
Roberts,  William 
Robinson,  John  M. 
Robinson,  Major  William 
Richards,  Jacob 
Reasoner,  Peter 
Rees,  Jonathan 
Rice,  Andrew 
Robertson,  William 
Rollins,  William 
Rea,  Nicholas 


Digitized  by 


Google 


HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 


89 


Rea,  Samuel 
Rowley,  Samuel 
Roof,  Jacob 
Remington,  Peter 
Reikle,  Henry 
Rambo,  Peter 
Russell,  John 
Raiff,  Dr.  Alexander  A. 
Randall,  Beal  A. 
Ryan,  Charles 
Rine,  Henry 
Rine,  John 
Rose,  Samuel 
Rinehart,  Jacob 

Seward,  Ebenezer 
Seward,  Eli 
Seward,  James 
Steerman,  John 
Steerman,  Richard 
Simpson,  Henry 
Simpson,  Josia'h 
Stafford,  Richard  A. 
Smith,  Sr.,  John 
Smith,  Jr.,  John 
Smith,  Francis 
Smith,  William 
Smith,  Reuben 
Smith,  Silas 
Smith,  Thomas 
Smith,  Daniel 
Sells,  Abraham 
Sells,  David 
Sells,  Franklin 
Sells,  Jonathan 
Shaw,  Elijah 
Shaw,  Levi 
Shaw,  Ann 


Shaw,  Enos 
Shaw,  John 
Shaw,  Robert 
Shaw,  James 
Spencer,  Nathan 
Stowe,  Abijah 
Spencer,  Phineas 
Spencer,  William 
Speaks,  William 
Sheperd,  William 
Saunders,  Edward 
Sible,  Peter 
Shane,  Abraham 
Stafford,  Francis  A. 
Shambaugh,  Isaac 
Stogdon,  John  C. 
Starker,  George 
Severns,  I.  John 
Severns,  Joseph 
Shannon,  John 
Simmons,  Casper 
Simmons,  Jasper 
Simmons,  William 
Smith,  Joseph  B. 
Smith,  James 
Stonehocker,  Jacob 
Stonehocker,  Michael 
Shults,  Content 
Stephenson,  Samuel 
Shitton,  Richard 
Shamblin,  T.  S. 
Stootzman,  Jonas 
Stootzman,  Powell 
Sweitzer,  Jacob 
Sweitzer,.  Samuel 
Shea,  John 
Shipley,  James 
Shrimplin,  A. 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


90 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON  COUNTY 


Shrimplin,  Samuel 
Shealy,  Joseph 
Stout,  George 
Spiker,  Samuel 
Spangler,  David 
Smeltzer,  John 
Shaffer,  John 
Silliman,  G.  W. 
Silliman,  Willis 
Silliman,  L.  S. 
Scales,  William 
Stillwell,  Stephen 
Shauweker, 
Slaughter,  Alexander 
Slaughter,  Henry 
Slagle,  John 
Shuck,  John 
Squires,  Bradley 
Squires,  Samuel 
Severns,  John  S. 
Severns,  Absolom 
Severns,  Samuel 
Stephens,  Matthew 
Stover,  Michael 
Stover,  Matthias 
Sloane,  Joseph 
Sheldon,  Richard 
Scott,  Alexander 
Scott,  Joseph 
Scott,  Matthew 
Scott,  James 
Scott,  John 
Strait,  Isaac  C. 
Stringer,  George 
Stringer,  Moses  H. 
Skinner,  George 
Springer,  Amos 
Sampson,  Henry 


Stanberry,  Jonas 
Stall,  William 
Salisbury,  Daniel 
Stackhouse,  Amos 
Snow,  Darius 
Starkey,  William 
Stone,  Samuel 

Thompson,  Patience 
Thomson,  Moses 
Thompson,  Jonathan 
Thompson,  Samuel 
Thompson,  William 
Thompson,  James 
Thompson,  Joshua 
Thompson,  John 
Thompson,  Isaac 
Titus,  George 
Torry,  Albert 
Thayer,  Ephraim 
Thayer,  Bartholomew 
Tipton,  Samuel 
Tipton,  Solomon 
Tipton,  Thomas 
Treadway,  Thomas 
Taylor,  Samuel 
Taylor,  John 
Taylor,  William 
Troyer,  David 
Troyer,  Jacob 
Truit,  Walter 
Truit,  Solomon 
Tanner,  James 
Tilton,  Elijah 
Timmons,  Peter 
Tush,  John 
Titus,  Francis 
Trimble,  Josiah 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


HISTORY   OF  COSHOCTON   COUNTY 


91 


Trimble,  Matthew 
Thatcher,  Isaac 
Thomas,  John 

Uhill,  Charles 
Underhill,  Isaac 
Upson,  Jesse 
Usher,  John 

Vankirk,  Cornelius  P. 
Vanderwert,  Elizabeth 
Vail,  Lewis 
Vail,  Samuel 
Vail,  Solomon 
Vail,  Joseph 
Vail,  Jefferson 
Vail,  Jonathan 
Vail,  John 
\"ulgamore,  Jacob 
Vansky,  Moses 
Vickers,  Taliafero 

Winders,  James  M. 
Whitten,  William 
Williams,  Colonel  Charles 
Williams,  Matthew 
Williams,  John 
WilHams,  James 
Williams,  Clark 
Williams,  Richard 
Williams,  Sharon 
Williams,  Abraham 
Williams,  William  G. 
Wamsley,  Catherine 
Wamsley,  Robinson 
Wood,  Joshua 
Wood,  Peter 
Wood,  Jonathan 


Wood,  Solomon 
Wood,  Richard 
Wood,  William 
Whealan,  John 
Wog^an,  Daniel 
Williamson,  Piatt 
Waggoner,  John 
Waggoner,  David 
Waggoner,  Philip 
Waggoner,  Edward 
Waggoner,  Jacob 
Weaver,  Samuel 
Workman,  Benjamin 
Witherow,  James 
Witherow,  Charles 
West,  Jonathan 
Wright,  John 
Wiggins,  Charity 
Wiggins,  Thomas 
Wiggins,  Edward 
Wayman,  John 
\\'amsley,  Mary 
Wolfe,  John 
Wolfe,  Philip 
Walters,  Joseph 
Wilson,  John 
Wilson,  John  P. 
Wilson,  Samuel 
Wilson,  William 
Wilson,  Thomas 
Wilson,  James 
Wheeling,   George 
Workman,  Rebecca 
Wolford,  Jeremiah 
Wolford,  Moses 
Wilson,  Potter 
Wilson,  Andrew 
Whittaker,  Reuben  B. 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


92 


HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON  COUNTY 


Whittaker,  James 
Wright,  Dr.  Hiram 
Wiley,  Samuel 
Winklepleck,  A. 
Welch,  James 
Wells,  John 
Willis,  Richard 
Workman,  Thomas 
Wynn,  Richard 
Whitesell,  John 
Wiggins,  prancis 
Wells,  Benjamin 
Willis,  William 
Willis,  James 
Wolford,  John 
Wright,  Joseph 
Welker,  Abraham 
Workman,  Isaac 
Wells,  William 
Williams,  William 
Williams,  Benjamin 


Wynn,  James 
Wise,  Christopher 
Warner,  Wright 
Wisecarver,  Abraham 
Wolgamot,  David 
Wolgamot,  Edward 
Wolgamot,  Joseph 
Wolgamot,  Jacob 
Wolgamot,  Henry 
Worth,  Richard 
Walker,  Joseph 
Warden,  Benjamin 
Wallace,  Thomas 
Ware,  Joseph 
Wilier,  James 
White,  Augustine 
White,  John 
Weatherwax,  Andrew 
Young,  Cornelius 
Young,  Ephraim 
Youther,  Christian 


Digitized  by 


Google 


:JuL:C  LIBRARY 


AGTOn,  LCNOX  AND 
T\LbUi   FOUNDATIONS, 


Digitized  by 


Google 


STATION    ON    THE    UNDERGROUND    RAILROAD    BUILT    ABOUT    1851     AND 
OCCUPIED   BY  THOMAS    POWELL. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


CHAPTER   VI 

THE  SICKLE  AND  CRADLE  DAYS— BARREL  AND  TIN 
CUP  TEMPERANCE— THE  COSHOCTON  COUNTY  LINE 
OF  THE  "UNDERGROUND  RAILROAD"  FROM  SLAV- 
ERY TO  FREEDOM— "ALL  ABOARD  FOR  MEXICO!" 

In  those  days  when  Coshocton  County  was  compelled  to  harvest 
wheat  by  main  strength  instead  of  by  machinery  the  workers  were 
stimulated  by  the  ever-present  beverage  from  the  bottle  on  the  table, 
the  jug  in  the  field,  or  the  barrel  in  the  cellar.  Nor  is  there  any 
evidence  that  drunkenness  cursed  the  community  when  whisky  was 
plenty  and  pure  and  not  paying  millions  of  taxes  to  the  government. 
That  the  privilege  was  abused  is  probable,  as  all  privileges  have  been 
abused  from  time  immemorial.  But  condemnation  was  directed 
toward  the  abuse,  not  toward  temperate  drinking,  and  there  are  those 
who  retain  the  belief  that  the  barrel  and  tin  cup  hospitality  of  our 
pioneers  was  nearer  true  temperance  than  the  sneaking,  hypocritical 
drinking  behind  the  door. 

The  farmers  in  those  early  times  started  from  home  before  day- 
light to  help  a  neighbor  cut  his  wheat.  They  toiled  under  burning 
skies,  reaping  their  slow  way  with  the  hand  sickle,  their  stooped  fig- 
ures bowed  by  the  weight  of  drudging  years.  And  to  thrash  the  grain 
they  pounded  it  with  a  flail  on  the  barn  floor. 

In  time  came  the  cradle,  and  the  first  step  in  harvest  progress. 
The  strong-armed  pioneer  swung  the  cradle  with  mighty  sweep,  cut- 
ting in  one  day  acres  of  grain  where  the  sickle  had  cut  sheaves. 

Meanwhile  there  was  a  cloud  growing,  at  first  "no  bigger  than  a 
man's  hand,''  but  it  spread  until  it  darkened  the  land  to  break  in  the 
storm  of  '6i.  Through  the  canal  years  slaves  were  escaping  from  the 
South,  and  friendly  abolitionists  were  helping  them  along  the  way 
through  Ohio  to  Canada.  Coshocton  County  was  on  one  of  Ohio's 
many  lines  of  the  "underground  railroad"  from  slavery  to  freedom. 

While  there  was  on  the  part  of  some  people  here  a  certain  tacit 


^.^  Digitized  by 


v^oogle 


94  HISTORY    OF    COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

tolerance  of  slavery,  many  having  brought  with  them  the  Virginia 
notion  of  the  South's  peculiar  institution,  there  were  others  in  Co- 
shocton County  with  whom  New  England  ideas  prevailed.  Their 
aggressive  stand  against  slavery  promoted  a  sentiment  ready  to  sup- 
port the  fleeing  slave. 

There  has  been  a  list  compiled  by  Professor  Siebert  in  Ohio  State 
University  naming  the  Coshocton  County  operators  of  the  *'under- 
ground  railroad" — abolitionists  who  threw  open  their  doors  to  the 
fleeing  black  man  and  braved  the  existing  laws  protecting  the  slave- 
holder's claim  of  ownership.  These  were  the  conductors  who  helped 
along,  the  fugitives  passing  through  this  county,  providing  them  with 
food,  shelter  and  raiment: 

Boyd,  James  Nichols,  Eli 

Boyd,  Luther  '  Powell,  Thomas 

Boyd,  William  Miller  Seward,  Ebenezer 

Campbell,  Alexander  Shannon,  Isaac 

Elliott,  William  Shannon,  J.  P. 

Foster,  Prior  White,  Benjamin 

Lawrence,  Solon  Wier,  Samuel 

Despite  the  efforts  of  the  Whigs  to  keep  the  slavery  question  out 
of  politics,  it  rose  persistently.  Some,  who  were  not  inclined  to  go 
the  full  limit  of  abolitionists,  gave  up  the  idea  of  abolishing  slavery 
in  southern  states,  but  would  "draw  a  ring  of  fire  around  them." 
These  Free-Soilers  had  their  followers  in  Coshocton  County. 

The  South  was  scheming  to  maintain  its  system  of  slavery  by  con- 
trolling Congress.  To  offset  the  creation  of  free  States  in  the  North, 
the  South  worked  to  extend  slave  territory  in  the  Southwest.  There 
was  emigration  to  the  Rio  Grande  country,  then  part  of  Mexico,  and 
they  called  it  Texas.  The  day  came  that  General  Sam  Houston  and 
his  seven  hundred  Texans  routed  Santa  Anna  and  his  five  thousand 
Mexicans  on  the  San  Jacinto,  and  Texas  was  freed  from  Mexico. 
When  the  young  Republic  of  Texas  with  her  slave-holding  tendency 
applied  to  Congress  for  annexation,  the  (juestion  whether  or  not  to 
admit  her  became  the  burning  issue  in  the  presidential  campaign  of 
1844 — an  issue  that  was  stormily  debated  in  taverns  and  stores  of 
Coshocton  County. 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  95 

Here  as  elsewhere  men's  hats  were  thrown  high  for  the  peerless 
Henry  Clay,  that  prince  of  compromisers  whom  the  Whigs  nominated 
for  president,  and  who  was  supposed  to  be  against  the  annexation  o£ 
Texas.  But  Polk,  the  Democratic  candidate  who  favored  annexation, 
w  as  elected,  partly  by  reason  of  the  votes  thrown  away  on  the  Free 
Soil  nominee.  Polk's  election  was  taken  as  a  sign  of  popular  approval 
of  annexation,  and  Congress  admitted  Texas. 

Mexico  claimed  the  rich  valley  of  the  Rio  Grande  and  insisted  on 
a  boundary  farther  east.  General  Zachary  Taylor  advanced  to  the 
Rio  Grande,  and  on  a  spring  day  in  1846  the  news  came  to  Coshocton 
County  that  the  Mexicans  had  fired  upon  our  flag. 

At  the  call  for  troops  Coshocton  sons  came  to  the  front  as  the 
county's  fathers  did  in  181 2  with  a  full  quota  of  defenders,  and  more. 
They  exceeded  a  hundred  and  ten,  those  young  volunteers,  among 
them  several  who  were  destined  yet  to  serve  their  country  in  another 
war,  including  the  corporal,  B.  F.  Sells,  who  as  captain  led  a  valiant 
company  in  the  Rebellion,  and  for  years  was  one  of  only  two  Coshoc- 
ton survivors  of  the  Mexican  War.    The  last  is  Joseph  Sawyer. 

In  June,  1846,  the  Coshocton  County  volunteers  started  south. 
There  was  a  throng  to  see  them  off,  such  a  throng  as  had  never  as- 
sembled here  before :  people  from  the  homes  that  the  boys  were  leav- 
ing; women  and  girls  forcing  a  cheerful  goodby  through  tears.  They 
crowded  down  the  Roscoe  shore  to  the  canal  boats  to  keep  the  boys 
in  sight  to  the  last  minute.  "All  aboard  for  Mexico!"  The  boats 
drew  away,  the  crowd  cheered,  there  was  an  answering  roar  from 
the  troops,  and  they  were  off.  This  is  the  official  roster  of  the 
volunteers : 

Company  B 
Jesse  Meredith,  Captain. 
J.  M.Love,  First  Lieutenant,  after-  B.  F.  Sells,  Corporal 

ward  Captain  John  Patterson,  Corporal 

S.  B.  Crowley,  Second  Lieutenant  James  Dickson,  Corporal 

J.  D.  Workman,  Lieutenant  Robert  Harrison,  Musician 

Corbin  Darnes,  Sergeant  Charles  Conley,  Sergeant 

Rolla  Banks,  Lieutenant  A.  J.  Darling,  Corporal 

J.  B.  Crowley,  Sergeant  John  Hubert,  Corporal 

Peter  Shuck,  Sergeant  Gresham  Davis,  Musician 

Richard  McClain,  Sergeant  Obed  Meredith,  Musician 

Digitized  by  LjOOQIC 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON  COUNTY 


Alexander,  Samuel 
Aunspaugfh,  Moses 
Bartraim,  Charles 
Bartraim,  Frederick 
Brown,  Henry 
Burns,  Samuel 
Burt,  Richard  W. 
Burt,  Benjamin 
Butler,  Robert 
Cooper,  James 
Cressup,  Van  Orin 
Day,  Lewis 
Darnes,  John 
Deviney,  Jacob 
Dillon,  John 
Felver,  Lyman 
Fenton,  Richard 
Fisk,  Jonathan 
Foster,  Crispen 
Fulks,  James  M. 
Gardner,  Adam  B. 
Goodwin,  Samuel  M. 
Griffith,  James 
Harbison,  Robert 
Hattery,  Charles 
Hazlett,  William 
Hoover,  Jonas  S. 
Hunt,  Jacob  S. 
Jennings,  Robert 
Johnson,  Edward  D. 
Jones,  Levi 
Kitchen,  George 
Kitchen,  Armstead  M. 


Privates. 

Kline,  Frederick  A. 
Kline,  Julius  J. 
Lowry,  John 
McKee,  Shakespeare 
McClain,  Thomas 
McMichael,  Jacob 
Madden,  Thomas 
Miller,  Cannon 
Miller,  H.  W. 
Miller,  Samuel 
Moore,  Edward 
Morrow,  Elisha  W. 
Morgan,  Absalom  L. 
Neff,  J.  Franklin 
O'Harra,  Francis  W. 
Osterhould,  D.  F. 
Parker,  Joseph 
Ross,  Absalom  P.  C. 
Sawyer,  Joseph 
Scott,  James 
Shannon,  Thomas 
Shaw,  Albert 
Shaw,  John 
Shaw,  Daniel 
Smith,  Henry 
Stizer,  David 
Taylor,  William 
Van  Dusen,  Nathaniel 
Van  Horn,  Robert 
Williams,  James  H. 
Woods,  William  M. 
Wright,  William 
Wright,  Charles 


Going  to  war  by  canal  boat  was  not  quick  business.  It  took  two 
days  to  reach  Zanesville.  There  the  Coshocton  boys  boarded  a 
steamer  and  within  a  week  were  camped  near  Cincinnati.  A  month 
after  leaving  home  they  were  on  a  New  Orleans  steamer,  equipped 


Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  97 

with  arms  and  ammunition  as  Company  B  of  the  Third  Regiment, 
Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry.  They  camped  on  the  memorable  battlefield 
of  "Old  Hickory"  Jackson  near  New  Orleans.  A  stormy  voyage  of 
a  week  took  them  to  Brazos,  Santiago,  where  they  started  on  the 
march  to  the  Rio  Grande.  Three  deaths  had  occurred:  George 
Kitchens,  John  Darnes  and  Samuel  Miller. 

In  August  the  Third  Ohio  garrisoned  the  city  of  Matamoras.  In 
In  the  fall  and  winter  the  Coshocton  company  lost  by  sickness :  A.  J. 
Darling,  William  Gardner,  Henry  Brown,  Charles  Wright  and 
Joseph  Parker.    Captain  Meredith  resigned  to  return  home. 

The  sunny  days  of  the  Mexico  February  saw  our  boys  at  Fort 
Camargo  on  the  San  Juan  where  the  government  supplies  were  kept 
for  General  Taylor's  army.  In  March  came  the  order  to  go  to 
Monterey.  Their  route  lay  under  the  skirmish  fire  of  General  Urea's 
Mexicans.  March  i6th  our  troops  routed  the  enemy  and  gave  hot 
chase  as  far  as  Caderaeda.  A  week  later  they  joined  General  Taylor's 
forces  and  camped  on  the  battlefield  of  Buena  Vista  until  May,  when 
the  regiment  was  ordered  to  the  gulf.  Robert  Harbison,  another  of 
our  Coshocton  soldiers,  rests  in  a  grave  at  Mear.  His  company, 
mustered  out  upon  the  return  to  New  Orleans,  had  seen  a  year's  serv- 
ice, and  Coshocton  welcomed  back  her  sons. 

While  they  were  returning  home  another  company,  partly 
recruited  from  this  county  and  led  by  James  Irvine,  a  Coshocton 
lawyer,  was  on  its  way  to  Mexico  as  Company  G  of  the  Fourth  Ohio. 
These  troops  did  garrison  duty  at  Matamoras  until  ordered  in  Sep- 
tember to  Vera  Cruz  Which  had  surrendered  to  Scott  earlier  in  the 
year. 

At  this  point  the  Fourth  Ohio  was  assigned  to  General  Joe  Lane's 
brigade  in  the  division  under  command  of  General  Robert  Patterson. 
On  the  march  to  the  City  of  Mexico  the  Coshocton  volunteers  went 
through  the  "baptism  of  fire"  at  the  National  Bridge.  They  came  upon 
Major  Lally  and  his  plucky  four  hundred  holding  the  position  against 
Mexican  thousands.  The  Fourth  Ohio,  as  advance  guard,  went  to 
the  major's  assistance.  When  the  Mexicans  were  driven  back  it  was 
found  that  Coshocton  boys  had  been  severely  wounded. 

In  an  engagement  at  Huamantla  the  Fourth  Ohio  had  charge  of 
prisoners,  much  to  the  relief  of  Iturbide.  The  son  of  the  Mexican 
emperor,  when  brought  with  a  troop  of  prisoners  to  the  rear  guard, 

Digitized  by  LjOOQIC 


98  HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

asked  Captain  Irvine  what  troops  guarded  the  prisoners.  He  looked 
his  gratitude  when  he  learned  who  they  were  and  that  he  was  safe 
from  the  vengeance  of  the  Texas  rangers  whose  gallant,  daredevil 
leader,  the  famous  Captain  Walker,  had  fallen  that  day. 

Continuing  the  march.  General  Lane's  brigade  consigned  super- 
fluous baggage  to  flames  at  Jalapa,  and  by  forced  march  hurried  to 
Pueblo,  arriving  at  the  crucial  moment  to  rescue  from  Mexican  ven- 
geance eighteen  hundred  sick  and  wounded  American  soldiers  lying 
in  Pueblo  hospitals.  These  had  become  the  object  of  Santa  Ana's 
hatred  in  the  maddening  hour  when  one  after  another  of  Mexico's 
strongholds  had  fallen — when  in  a  few  minutes  six  thousand  Mex- 
icans were  routed  from  the  Contreras  gateway  to  the  capital  city — 
when  San  Antonio  fell — when  the  citadel  of  Chapultepec  itself  was 
carried  by  storm  and  the  conquering  forces  swept  into  the  city.  No 
Mexicans  could  stand  before  the  tumultous  onslaught  of  the  Amer- 
icans rushing  upon  batteries  and  breastworks,  and  hacking  their  way 
through  in  hand  to  hand  fighting,  swinging  rifles  like  clubs  and  mow- 
ing down  resistance  with  bayonet  and  sword.  Santa  Ana  fled  in 
the  night  and  with  a  force  stole  upon  the  Pueblo  hospitals  to  wreak 
vengeance. 

It  was  then  that  Lane's  troops  with  the  Coshocton  boys  among 
them  hurled  themselves  upon  Santa  Ana.  The  brigade  was  in  three 
attacking  columns,  one  headed  by  the  Fourth  Ohio.  Up  the  streets 
of  Pueblo  they  fought  their  way,  driving  back  the  Mexicans  who  made 
their  last  stand  in  the  plaza,  the  public  square  in  the  heart  of  the  town. 

The  firing,  the  clashing  of  swords,  the  cursing,  the  groans  of  the 
wounded  and  dying  reached  the  sickbeds  in  the  hospitals  where  hearts 
beat  high  with  fever  of  anxiety.  In  the  plaza,  men  flung  themselves 
panting  against  the  walls;  some  toppled  over  the  shrubbery  at  the 
fountain,  and  the  water  reddened.  Santa  Ana's  force  was  finally 
overcome.  The  struggle  left  Coshocton  boys  in  the  hospitals.  When 
the  Fourth  Ohio  finally  marched  from  Pueblo  it  was  to  return  home. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


■  f "  r_   h 


(    A  MO 

^1  .^r  s. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


JOE    SAWYER,    LAST    MEXICAN    WAR    SUR- 
VIVOR   IN    COSHOCTON    COUNTY. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE  FASTER  PACE  SET  BY  THE  RAILROAD  —  LAST 
OF  THE  STAGE  COACH— COUNTY  POLITICS  BOIL- 
ING—MEDILL  AND  HIS  "HUNKER"  EDITORIALS— 
FROM  COSHOCTON  PUBLISHER  TO  CHICAGO  MIL- 
LIONAIRE. 

It  was  the  time  when  people  here  were  marveling  over  stories  of 
the  railroad  built  in  the  East.  The  road  destined  to  run  through  this 
region  was  still  in  a  pigeon-hole  in  a  city  desk.  Life  moved  leisurely 
with  the  canal  and  the  stage  coach.  No  one  was  in  a  rush  then. 
James  K.  Johnston  recalls  that  in  the  presidential  campaign  of  1848 
the  news  of  Taylor's  election  was  imknown  in  Coshocton  for  two 
weeks. 

About  the  liveliest  thing  was  county  politics,  and  it  was  boiling. 
It  boiled  in  the  Republican  which  was  then  edited  by  J.  Medill  who 
years  afterward  owned  the  Chicago  Tribune  and  became  a  million- 
aire ten  times  over. 

Mr.  Medill  called  the  opposition  a  party  of  ''hunkers,"  and  af- 
fectionately referred  to  his  esteemed  contemporary  as  "the  brazen- 
faced runt^"  He  denounced  the  caucus  system  as  rotten,  and  advo- 
cated the  popular  vote,  giving  to  every  man  an  equal  voice  in  selecting 
the  ticket.  He  was  applauded  in  the  county  by  those  who  opposed 
an  ''invisible  purgatory  established  by  the  wire  pullers  about  Co- 
shocton, through  which  a  man  was  compelled  to  pass  if  he  would 
aspire  to  the  honors  of  a  candidate." 

Those  were  days  too  when  a  candidate's  knowledge  of  German 
especially  recommended  him  because  of  the  difficulty  under  which 
Germans  labored  in  transacting  business  at  the  courthouse.  There 
was  a  courthouse,  two  stories  high,  which  supplanted  the  old  tavern 
arrangement.  It  rose  in  1824,  and  for  half  a  century  was  a  general 
meeting  place.  The  bell  which  rang  to  pioneer  Coshocton  is  the  same 
that  tolls  the  hours  in  today's  courthouse. 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 

531913 


100  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

A  considerable  part  of  the  county  was  settled  by  Germans,  par- 
ticularly the  northeastern  townships,  and  they  were  among  the 
thriftiest,  most  industrious  citizens.  Their  ministers  preached  to 
them  in  their  native  language,  and  their  boys  and  girls  studied  the 
German  testament  in  school.  The  "Pennsylvania  Dutch"  dialect  was 
spoken;  all  their  thinking  was  in  it;  all  life  outside  the  schoolroom 
was  discussed  in  that  German  dialect,  so  it  could  scarcely  be  otherwise 
than  that  generations  grew  up  almost  as  thoroughly  German  as  those 
who  first  came  to  the  county  in  the  early  thirties. 

In  the  fifties  Coshocton  wheat  was  down  to  sixty-two  cents  and 

flour  $4.50  a  barrel,  but  there  dwelt  in  the  land  a  spirit  of  peace  and 

plenty.     Rollicking  young  blades  went  forth  New  Year's  nights  to 

shoot  a  thundering  blunderbuss  near  the  window  of  ye  lady  fair  until 

she  opened  the  door  and  welcomed  them  to  the  midnight  glass  and 

cake.     Those  were  the  joyful  young  days  of  our  grandfathers  and 

grandmothers,  when  they  laughed  and  drank  to  -the  toast : 

Corn  in  the  big  crib  and  money  in  the  pocket. 
Baby  in  the  cradle  and  pretty  wife  to  rock  it. 

The  bridging  of  the  Tuscarawas  and  the  Walhonding  between 
Coshocton  and  Roscoe  marked  the  passing  of  the  picturesque  ferry. 
In  time  came  a  curious  caravan  over  the  wagon-road  across  coun- 
try— the  pioneer  circus,  whose  resplendent  features  even  in  that  prim- 
itive stage  were  much  like  the  familiar  sight  of  after  days.  There, 
in  the  grand  parade  which  marked  the  entree  into  Coshocton,  were 
the  elephants,  advertised  to  stand  on  their  heads;  the  girl  bareback 
*ider  in  all  the  stern-faced  glory  of  her  "youth,  beauty  and  talent;" 
the  wonderful  "Human  Fly"  who  would  walk  a  plank  with  head 
hanging  down;  the  festive  clowns  with  donkey  and  trained- zebra; 
and  the  free  show  of  tight-wire  balancing  by  Mademoiselle  Tsabelle. 
It  was  dazzling  and  thrilling — a  pulse-quickening  change  from  such 
amusements  as  the  singing  school,  the  spelling  bee,  the  quilting,  the 
corn  husking,  the  house  warming,  the  shooting  match,  the  fox  hunt, 
and  the  wax-figure  show. 

And  as  the  amusement  side  of  life  was  undergoing  a  subtle 
change,  the  whole  scheme  of  civilization  was  about  to  be  revolution- 
ized by  the  great  engine  of  progress,  the  railroad.  There  was  to  be 
a  new  pace,  a  faster  pace  set  in  life.  And  that  was  little  more  than 
fifty  years  ago. 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  101 

The  railroad  route  straight  through  the  middle  of  the  valley 
touched  Coshocton,  and  marvelous  was  the  transformation  from  a 
trading  center  around  Second  Street  to  the  beginning  of  today's  city. 

In  that  time  of  railroad  building  is  when  those  scenes  were  enacted 
which  Robert  Louis  Stevenson  vividly  pictures — the  roaring  camp 
life  springing  up  at  each  stage  of  construction  and  then  dying  away 
again,  an  epical  turmoil  conducted  by  amiable  gentlemen  in  frock  coats, 
with  a  view  to  a  fortune  and  a  subsequent  visit  to  Paris.  And  after 
the  line  was  surveyed,  and  every  foot  of  grading,  cutting  and  bridge- 
building  had  been  done  through  every  section,  hilly  and  level,  and  the 
first  train  went  shrieking  on  its  way,  the  speed  of  the  thing  excited 
the  breathless  wonder  of  the  multitude.  Mother  Robinson,  whose 
home  is  with  her  daughter,  Mrs.  McCabe,  in  Walnut  Street,  was 
among  those  that  saw  the  first  train  here. 

Money  to  help  build  the  road  had  been  raised  by  the  county  and 
the  townships  along  the  route,  in  response  to  pleasing  and  persuasive 
speakers  sent  through  the  country  by  the  promoters  to  interest  the 
farmers.  The  county  took  $100,000  of  the  railroad  stock,  Lafayette 
Township  $20,000,  Tuscarawas  $30,000,  Franklin  $15,000,  and  Vir- 
ginia $15,000.  To  raise  the  money,  bonds  were  sold  bearing  seven 
per  cent  interest.  **This  debt,"  Charles  Robinson  says,  speaking  of 
Virginia  Township,  *'being  as  a  millstone  about  the  neck  of  the 
farmers  for  years.  Then  land  in  the  hills  was  valued  higher  than 
the  bottom  land.  Land  that  today  on  the  bottoms  near  Adams  Mills 
would  bring  $75  an  acre,  in  1850  to  i860  was  considered  valueless. 
It  was  covered  with  drift  and  frog  ponds,  a  vast  amount  of  clearing 
was  going  on,  and  at  every  freshet  the  river  became  loaded  with  logs 
and  drift,  which  was  deposited  on  all  low  lands.  But  with  time  con- 
ditions greatly  change.  This  waste  land  has  been  cleared  and  in 
the  last  decade  has  become  very  productive  and  valuable;  and  on  the 
other  hand  the  hill  land  with  extensive  farming  and  washing  has  de- 
preciated in  productiveness  and  in  value.  Fifty-five  years  ago  the 
farmers  in  the  hills  paid  the  bulk  of  the  taxes  and  hence  the  bulk  of 
this  bonded  indebtedness." 

The  Coshocton  holdings  in  the  road  were  subsequently  swallowed 
in  receivership  proceedings.  The  Steubenville  &  Indiana  in  course 
of  time  became  the  Pittsburg,  Cincinnati,  Chicago  &  St.  Louis  Rail- 
road, more  familiarly  the  'Tanhandle"  of  the  Pennsylvania  Lines. 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


102  HISTORY    OF    COSHOCTON  COUNTY 

For  years  William  K.  Johnson  and  later  his  brother,  Joseph  K.  John- 
son, served  from  this  county  on  the  board  of  directors. 

The  railroad  brought  Coshocton  into  direct  touch  with  the  in- 
dustrial centers  of  America.  Busy  Main  Street  presented  a  sharp 
contrast  to  the  village  roadway  of  the  long  ago.  The  business  center 
had  shifted  from  Second  Street  toward  the  railroad.  The  last  of  the 
stage  coach  was  seen. 

In  a  newspaper  time-table  it  was  advertised  that  "The  Lightning 
Express  runs  through  from  Coshocton  to  Columbus  in  two  hours  and 
eighty-five  minutes.**  Those  eighty-five  minutes  must  have  sounded 
quicker.  - 

The  early  railroad  days,  strangely  enough,  saw  little  mining  de- 
velopment. The  Coshocton  County  hills  past  which  the  S.  &  I.  spiked 
its  rails  had  not  yet  begun  to  yield  their  coal  riches.  As  late  as  1856 
the  Coshocton  Democrat  deplored  the  lack  of  attention  given  to  coal 
development. 

That  paper  then  reveled  in  type  that  was  fringed  with  whiskers, 
shrieking  about  the  Age's  personal  abuse,  meanness  and  slander,  and 
defending  Democratic  commissioners  against  charges  of  extrava- 
gance. Reporting  a  slavery  debate  in  a  New  Castle  church  the  paper 
said  "Farmer  Waters  of  Tiverton  and  of  plain,  blunt  speech  enriched 
by  a  Scotch  brogue,  talked  for  an  hour  about  the  black  Republican 
party.  Eli  Nichols  and  his  four  sons  sung  out  for  proofs,  and  a  red- 
headed skeezic  got  up  and  kicked  around,  making  an  awful  noise,  all 
to  confuse  the  eloquent  farmer  who  made  old  Eli  grunt  at  every  lick. 
Eli  then  got  up  and  howled.** 

The  newspapers  of  that  period  were  marred  by  a  vulgarity  that 
will  not  be  repeated  here.  As  a  slight  indication,  toned  down  for 
today's  reader,  the  Democrat  said  of  a  speaker  at  a  Canal  Lewisville 
meeting  that  he  made  use  of  the  words  "constitution**  and  "consti- 
tutional** just  three  hundred  and  sixty-five  times,  scratched  his  head 
with  one  hand,  and  the  seat  of  his  pants  with  the  other,  and  caved  in, 
evidently  out  of  material. 

The  paper  charged  ballot-box  frauds,  declaring  that  non-resident 
railroad  workers  and  other  transients  voted  in  the  county,  all  of  which 
reminds  us  that  in  the  frauds  and  tricks  that  go  to  make  up  the  worst 
form  of  practical  politics,  the  "good  old  days**  were  always  the  equal 
of  ours  politically  and  often  superior. 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


Digitized  by 


Google 


GOTHIC  ARCHITECTURE  IN  STONE,  THE  OLD  HOME  OF  ELI  NICHOLS, 
ERECTED  IN  THE  FOREST  NEAR  NEW  CASTLE. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

BREAKING  OF  OLD  PARTY  LINES— PASSING  OF  THE 
WHIG— BRIEF  SUPREMACY  OF  THE  "KNOW-NOTH- 
INGS'—THE COUNTY  TREASURY  ROBBERY.  — THE 
CRISIS  OF  '6i. 

Changing  politics  throughout  the  land  had  sounded  the  knell  of 
the  Whig  in  the  fifties,  but  here  and  there  he  still  held  on.  This  was 
the  case  in  Coshocton  County.  The  party  no  longer  had  its  local 
orga^,  the  Democratic  Whig  being  supplanted  by  the  Republican 
under  Medill.  The  Whigs  were  slipping  fast  when  they  reached  for 
the  last  chance  thoughtfully  held  out  by  the  publisher  of  the  Demo- 
crat, who  let  them  have  a  column  or  two  in  his  paper  to  talk  to  the 
people. 

The  Whigs  in  the  end  had  been  powerless  to  keep  the  question 
of  slavery  out  of  politics.  All  along  the  Whigs  of  the  North  had 
known  that  opposition  to  slavery  meant  breaking  with  the  Whigs 
of  the  South  who  were  for  slavery  above  everything  else.  The  an- 
nexation of  Texas  foreshadowed  the  importance  that  slavery  was 
soon  to  assume.  With  the  passing  of  the  Whig,  those  elements  in  this 
county  that  still  avoided  the  subject  of  slavery  joined  a  movement 
which  grew  out  of  a  secret,  oath-bound  organization,  said  to  have 
been  called  "The  Sons  of  '76,"  or  *The  Order  of  the  Star-Spangled 
Banner." 

Members  that  had  not  been  admitted  to  the  higher  degrees  were 
for  a  while  kept  in  ignorance  of  the  name  and  purpose  of  the  organ- 
ization, and  their  answer  of  '*I  don't  know''  to  questions  regarding 
the  society  gave  them  the  title  of  '*Know-Nothings."  The  party  held 
secret  meetings.  It  drew  voters  tired  of  slavery  agitation,  and 
ultimately  revealed  itself  as  opposed  to  foreigners  and  the  Catholic 
church.  What  fleeting  power  it  attained  in  Coshocton  County  is  told 
in  the  memoir  of  Captain  B.  F.  Sells. 

j^  Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


104  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON  COUNTY 

By  way  of  preliminary  the  captain's  brief  portrayal  of  his  early 
years  gives  an  insight  into  the  life  of  the  times :  young  Coshocton  then 
had  little  time  for  play;  a  round  of  wood-chopping,  corn  planting, 
hoeing,  driving  cows,  picking  brush  in  clearings,  raking  after  the 
cradle  in  the  harvest  field,  and  getting  three  months'  tuition  in  school 
at  two  dollars.  The  girls  helped  pick  brush  in  the  clearing,  milked 
and  churned,  ran  the  spinning  wheel,  worked  at  quilting  and  sewing, 
while  the  mothers  managed  the  loom,  making  linsey  for  coats  and 
trousers,  and  flannel  for  dresses. 

It  was  after  young  Sells  returned  from  the  Mexican  War  that 
the  Democrats  nominated  him  for  county  auditor,  and  he  went  from 
the  furniture  store  to  the  courthouse.  Two  years  later,  1854,  he  was 
renominated. 

**By  that  time,''  the  captain  relates,  "a  new  political  party,  known 
as  the  Know-Nothing  party,  had  secretly  sprung  into  existence,  and 
at  the  election  defeated  the  whole  Democratic  ticket,  not  only  in  Ohio 
but  throughout  the  country.  Our  whole  county  ticket  went  down  in 
the  landslide." 

The  son  of  Coshocton's  first  cabinetmaker  went  back  to  the  furni- 
ture shop  and  undertaking  business.  Gradually  the  "Know-Nothing" 
or  American  party  lost  its  identity  in  the  general  drift  of  northern 
Whigs,  Free-Soilers,  Abolitionists  and  others  toward  the  new  or- 
ganization rallying  round  the  campaign  cry,  "Free  Soil,  Free  Speech, 
Free  Men  and  Fremont" — the  cradle  of  the  Republican  party  which 
was  rocked  by  many  a  hand  in  Coshocton  County ;  the  party  destined 
thenceforth  to  oppose  the  Democratic  party  that  now  included  the 
southern  Whigs. 

In  this  year,  1856,  the  Rev.  William  E.  Hunt  came  to  the  Presby- 
terian church  in  Coshocton.  The  frame  building,  almost  hidden  by 
the  foliage  on  the  Public  Square,  stood  opposite  the  present  Park 
Hotel,  and  was  the  first  church  building  erected  here.  The  parsonage 
faced  it,  across  the  street. 

The  pastor,  witnessing  the  scenes  in  the  swiftly-moving  panorama 
then  just  unfolding  in  Coshocton  life,  conferred  a  public  service  a 
score  of  years  later  by  writing  his  ''Historical  Collections  of  Coshoc- 
ton County."  Most  of  those  interesting  pages  were  reproduced  in 
the  compilation  by  N.  N.  Hill,  Jr.,  for  Graham's  history  of  the  county. 
Mr.    Hunt's   work  appeared   in   Howe's   ''Historical   Collections   of 


Digitized  by 


v^oogle 


HISTORY   OF  COSHOCTON   COUNTY  105 

Ohio"  and  the  "Magazine  of  Western  History."  To  his  record  of  the 
county  special  appreciation  is  due  for  data  included  in  the  Centennial 
History. 

Annals  of  the  county's  achievements  may  well  forego  extended 
reference  to  criminal  records.  Murder  trials  and  other  court  pro- 
ceedings, while  important  as  news  in  the  day's  paper  and  living  in 
public  memory  as  noted  achievements  of  the  local  bar,  are  not  within 
the  scope  of  general  history,  excepting  incidents  bearing  upon  official 
and  political  conditions. 

On  a  January  day  in  1859  the  county  was  startled  by  the  robbery 
of  the  treasury.  It  was  after  midnight  when  Hiram  Taylor,  passing 
through  Court  Square,  heard  a  muffled  call  of  "Help!"  from  the 
treasurer's  office.  There  was  a  general  alarm,  the  sheriff  and  others 
forced  open  the  door,  and  came  upon  Treasurer  Ketchum,  bound  hand 
and  foot  and  with  a  gag  partly  covering  his  mouth. 

To  the  roomful  which  hurriedly  gathered  at  the  call  of  the  court- 
house bell  he  told  this  story:  He  had  stayed  in  the  office  to  accom- 
modate witnesses  with  their  fees  before  they  left  for  home  after  a 
trial  that  evening.  Two  strangers  came  into  the  office  and  asked 
about  a  delinquent  tax.  He  was  examining  the  books  when  suddenly 
a  shawl  enveloped  his  head,  and  he  was  bound  and  gagged.  About 
eighteen  thousand  dollars  was  taken  from  the  safe. 

It  was  not  until  years  afterward  that  the  real  story  came  out. 
As  Shakespeare  hath  it — 

Foul  deeds  will  rise, 
Though  all  the  earth  overwhelm  them,  to  men's  eyes. 

In  a  country  home  along  Riverside  Drive,  with  a  fine  lawn  and  a 
grove  of  pines,  lived  a  principal  actor  in  this  rather  melodramatic 
episode.  James  M.  Brown  had  money.  Men  who  had  gone  to  him 
to  borrow  told  about  it  to  others  that  needed  money.  Dire  extremity 
pays  dearly.  Brown  quietly  added  to  his  fortune.  Had  he  chosen 
to  run  for  office,  he  might  have  posed  as  a  benefactor  of  the  com- 
munity, and  found  men  who  paid  him  well  ready  to  declare  no  office 
too  good  for  him. 

Though  not  himself  in  politics  there  came  a  day  when  a  politician 
turned  to  him.    Samuel  Ketchum,  county  treasurer,  had  been  privately 


Digitized  by 


v^oogle 


106  HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON  COUNTY 

speculating  and  losing.  His  accounts  were  heavily  overdrawn.  He 
wanted  a  loan  from  Brown  to  tide  him  over.  He  got  it.  While  the 
treasurer  put  the  money  into  the  county  strong  box  with  something 
of  relief,  Brown  carefully  folded  away  a  note  for  eighteen  thousand 
dollars  and  thought  unutterable  things. 

From  time  to  time  the  treasurer  made  payments  on  the  note. 
Where  the  money  came  from  was  not  apparently  of  particular  mo- 
ment. Brown  may  have  known,  or  he  may  have  suspected.  Nothing 
in  any  of  his  recorded  financial  transactions  ever  indicated  any  ques- 
tion on  that  score.  Tainted  money  aroused  no  delicate  compunction. 
Just  so  it  was  money. 

Knowing  the  county  treasurer  and  his  affairs  as  intimately  as 
he  did  Brown  called  at  intervals  for  money — and  got  it  from  the 
nervous  hand  of  the  treasurer,  becoming  more  nervous  with  repeated 
helping  from  county  funds.  The  strain  was  beginning  to  tell  on 
Ketchum.  He  could  not  nerve  himself  to  defy  the  other.  Yet  to  go 
on  meant  ruin  and  worse. 

The  situation  was  made  acute  by  the  approaching  examination 
of  the  treasurer's  accounts  by  the  commissioners.  Oin  the  eve  of  the 
examination  Brown  came  to  the  office  of  the  troubled  official.  There 
was  a  way  out  of  the  mess,  simple  and  easy :  a  sham  robbery  to  cover 
the  whole  thing. 

The  treasurer  thought  it  all  over.  As  things  were,  he  knew  he 
stood  in  the  shadow  of  the  penitentiary;  that  certain  exposure  stared 
him  in  the  face  tomorrow  unless  he  adopted  the  expedient  that  was 
offered.  Before  assenting  to  the  plot  there  was  one  thing  he  de- 
manded: Brown  must  give  back  the  notes  that  he  held  against  him, 
including  one  secured  by  the  mortgaged  home  in  West  Lafayette. 
But  Brown  hadn't  the  paper  with  him ;  he  would  give  it  all  back  later, 
along  with  a  share  of  the  night's  loot  from  the  treasury. 

And  so  Ketchum  handed  over  the  keys,  and  Brown  bound  and 
gagged  him  in  the  most  approved  burglar  style;  then  carried  away 
every  dollar.  Following  the  mysterious  robbery  people  sympathized 
with  the  treasurer,  and  there  was  much  hunting  by  old  sleuth  and 
young  sleuth,  but  no  one  looked  in  the  courthouse. 

By  degrees  suspicion  was  directed  toward  the  man  on  the  river 
road.  He  had  presented  a  package  of  stained  and  musty  currency 
to  a  Cadiz  bank  for  redemption.     He  was  seen  with  unusually  large 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


HISTORY   OF  COSHOCTON   COUNTY  107 

rolls  of  money  and  told  of  getting  it  from  Kentucky  people,  but  inquiry 
revealed  none  such. 

The  net  was  tightening.  Action  was  brought  against  him. 
Whether  or  not  he  suspected  betrayal,  he  turned  on  Ketchum  with  a 
suit  for  four  thousand  dollars  which  was  alleged  to  be  due  on  a  note. 
Then  Ketchum  told  the  story ''as  outlined  here,  and  he  and  Brown 
were  tried. 

The  celebrated  case  was  fought  two  years  and  carried  to  the  Su- 
preme Court.  Ketchum's  attorneys  were  Voorhees  and  Campbell, 
Brown's  were  Nicholas  and  James,  and  the  State  counsel  included 
Spangler,  Dimmock  and  Sample.  It  was  a  decade  after  the  robbery 
when  the  prisoners  were  sentenced  to  five  years.  Ketchum's  health 
broke,  he  was  pardoned  and  came  to  his  home  in  West  Lafayette  to 
die.  Brown  was  pardoned  later..  His  property  was  sold,  but  court 
expenses  swallowed  the  proceeds,  and  the  treasury  never  got  back 
its  own. 

Meanwhile  the  mind  and  heart  of  the  county  knew  deeper  trouble. 
The  shadow  of  the  black  slave  was  clouding  the  destiny  of  men. 
Fremont  had  lost,  but  the  cause  lived  and  grew  and  elected  Abraham 
Lincoln  president  on  the  Republican  platform  against  slavery,  and 
for  a  protective  tariflF,  and  condemning  threats  of  secession.  The 
South  seceded,  and  the  nation  f^ured  the  crisis  of  '6i. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


CHAPTER    IX. 

COSHOCTON  COUNTY  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR  — TWO 
THOUSAND  FIVE  HUNDRED  WHO  SERVED  THE 
COUNTRY— HONORS  WON  ON  THE  BATTLEFIELD- 
WOMAN'S  PART  IN  THE  STRUGGLE. 

Strike — for  your  altars  and  your  fires; 
Strike — for  the  green  graves  of  your  sires, 
God  and  your  native  land. 

In  all  the  land  no  hearts  responded  quicker  to  this  stirring  appeal 
of  Fitz-Greene  Halleck's  lines  than  did  our  boys  of  Coshocton  County. 
Two  thousand  five  hundred  strong — that  is  the  impressive  showing 
of  troops  enlisted  from  here  in  defense  of  the  Union.  At  this  writing, 
1909,  forty-four  years  since  Lee  surrendered  at  Appomattox,  there 
are  four  hundred  of  the  boys  in  our  county,  the  last  of  the  two  thou- 
.sand  five  hundred  who  wore  the  good  old  blue. 

Every  Memorial  Day,  from  farm,  shop,  store  and  office,  come 
those  of  the  four  hundred,  strong  enough  to  march  to  the  graves  of 
their  comrades.  Every  year  is  thinning  the  ranks  of  the  survivors 
of  the  world's  greatest  tragedy.  The  wavering  line  is  a  reminder 
of  all  that  was  done  for  this  country.  For  the  boys  in  blue  the  Nation 
can  never  do  too  much. 

And  may  our  people  never  forget  the  graves  in  our  cemeteries 
marked  by  the  shield  and  flag — "On  Fame's  eternal  camping  ground 
their  silent  tents  are  spread;  and  glory  guards  with  every  round  the 
bivouac  of  the  dead." 

In  the  ranks  of  the  living  are  those  who  knew  torturing  marches, 
the  fever  camps,  the  swarming  hospitals,  the  screeching  shells,  the 
roaring  cannon,  the  racking  agony  of  a  thousand  ordeals,  and  some 
even  who  survived  the  horrors  of  Andersonville  and  other  rebel 
prisons  where  thousands  starved  and  rotted. 

Within  forty-eight  hours  from  President  Lincoln's  call  for  troops 
men  met  in  Coshocton  to  summon  volunteers  of  the  county  to  the 

'^  Digitized  by  V^OOgle 


MUSKINGUM    BRIDGE,    CONESVILLE,    A    TYPE    OF    BY-GONE    DAYS. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


i  -^u. 


.v...:i 


A5T0R,   LCNOX   AND 
TILDEN    F-OUNDATtONS, 


Digitized  by 


Google 


HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  109 

courthouse.  And  the  volunteers  came — a  historic  assembly  that  sent 
up  mighty  cheer  on  cheer  for  the  earnest  eloquence  of  John  D. 
Nicholas  and  Josiah  Given  and  Richard  Lanning. 

Enrolling  was  quick  work.  Judge  R.  M.  Voorhees  of  the  Circuit 
Court,  who  is  among  the  few  in  the  county  today  that  went  through 
those  memorable  hours  when  history  was  warm  in  the  making,  was 
first  to  sign.  N.  R.  Tidball  was  already  commissioned  to  raise  a  com- 
pany. A.  M.  Williams  headed  a  paper  with  a  hundred  dollars  for 
the  maintenance  of  volunteers'  families,  and  two  thousand  dollars 
was  subscribed.  In  the  homes  needles  were  flying  to  make  clothing 
for  the  volunteers.  The  daughters  of  Roscoe  gave  their  soldiers 
blankets. 

Coshocton  resounded  with  martial  music.  An  unprecedented 
gathering  in  Main  Street  saw  the  first  volunteers  march  from  Court 
Square  to  the  station.  A  silk  flag,  the  gift  of  women,  was  presented 
to  the  boys.  The  band  struck  up  as  the  train  rolled  in.  Roaring,  * 
thundering  cheers  rose  from  the  crowd  surging  round.  The  boys 
reached  down  from  the  car  steps  for  the  last  clasp  of  hands  raised 
to  them.  Women's  handkerchiefs  fluttered  as  the  train  drew  out,  and 
then  hid  eyes  that  no  longer  held  back  the  tears. 

Coshocton's  first  troops  became  part  of  the  Sixteenth  Ohio  Volun- 
teer Infantry — the  ''Carrington  Guards"  as  they  were  called  after 
the  Adjutant  General.  They  preceded  the  other  Sixteenth  Ohio  that 
enlisted  for  three  years'  service.  The  roll  here  is  from  the  official 
roster  of  Ohio  soldiers  given  by  the  State  Commission. 

Among  those  first  to  respond  to  their  country's  call  and  who  won 
honor  on  the  battlefield  is  Dr.  Jesse  McClain's  father,  Richard  W. 
McClain,  who  served  in  the  Mexican  War.  From  Captain  of  Co.  D 
in  the  Sixteenth  he  became  Major,  then  Lieutenant  Colonel,  and  in 
1863  Colonel  of  the  fighting  Fifty-first.  In  the  battle  of  Chickamauga 
he  was  taken  prisoner  fighting  on  the  line  with  a  musket.  His  captors 
demanded  that  he  surrender  his  sword.  The  Colonel  flatly  refused  to 
give  it  up  except  to  an  officer  of  his  own  rank.  They  threatened  to 
shoot  him,  but  his  iron  will  was  unshaken  by  the  sight  of  the  rebel 
guns  leveled  at  him.  The  prisoner's  admirable  courage  triumphed. 
His  life  was  spared,  and  they  held  him  in  Libby  prison  until  an 
exchange  was  effected.    He  returned  to  his  regiment  and  conducted 

Digitized  by  LjOOQIC 


110  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON  COUNTY 

it  through  the  Atlanta  campaign.    When  his  commission  expired  in 
1864  he  came  home  to  his  farm. 

The  Sixteenth  Ohio,  as  part  of  McClellan's  army,  was  moved 
across  the  Ohio  to  guard  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  Railroad  in  West  Vir- 
ginia, where  the  enemy  burned  bridges  and  killed  citizens  at  Farm- 
ington  and  Fairmount.  The  Coshocton  boys  were  actively  engaged 
before  Phillippi  in  June,  1861,  and  a  week  later  in  the  expedition  of 
Romney,  engagements  making  for  the  successful  issue  of  the  West 
Virginia  campaign.  Colonel  James  Irvine  of  Coshocton  commanded 
the  regiment. 

SIXTEENTH  REGIMENT,  O.  V.  I. 

Three  Months*  Service. 

Company  A. 

Mustered  in  April  2y,  1861.    Mustered  out  August  18,  1861. 

In  this  company  were  volunteers  who  afterward  re-enlisted  in 
other  companies,  which  see : 

John  D.  Nicholas,  Captain. 

David  W.  Marshall,  First  Lieutenant — ^Appointed  Adjutant. 

James  M.  McClintock,  First  Lieutenant — Promoted  from  Second 
Lieutenant. 

Nicholas  R.  Tidball,  Second  Lieutenant — Promoted  from  First 
Sergeant. 

Richard  M.  Voorhees,  First  Sergeant — Promoted  from  Corporal 
appointed  First  Lieutenant,  Company  F,  Sixty-fifth  O.  V.  L,  promoted 
to  Captain;  wounded  in  battle  of  Stone  River,  1862;  transferred  to 
Veteran  Reserve  Corps;  detailed  as  judge  advocate  and  member  of 
court  martial. 

Charles  Donley,  Sergeant 

Luther  L.  Cantwell,  Sergeant 

William  H.  Coe,  Sergeant 

William  Torrey,  Sergeant 

John  M.  Carhartt,  Sergeant — ^Appointed  Lieutenant  Company  M, 
Ninth  O.  V.  C 

Thomas  J.  Roney,  Corporal 

Alonzo  Barton,  Corporal 

Lester  P.  Emerson,  Corporal 

Carl  Mosher,  Corporal 

George  W.  Smailes,  Musician 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 


111 


Privates 


Akeroyd,  Joseph  B. 
Bamford,  James 
Bassett,  Warren  W. 
Beardsley,  Robert  B. 
Brelsford,  Hiram  W. 
Broas,  Richard  M.  C. 
Camahan,  James  C. 
Carnahan,  John 
Carnes,  Thomas  J. 
Catherwood,  David  W. 
Compton,  Samuel 
Cooper,  James  P. 
Cooper,  Joseph 
Cowee,  Merrel  E. 
Cox,  George  W. 
Davis,  Singleton  W. 
Davis,  William 
Decker,  Harrison  H. 
Dimmock,  John  H.  P. 
Dougherty,  Patrick  S. 
Doyle,  William 
Easton,  James 
Edwards,  Thomas  J. 
Ellis,  Sylvester  A. 
Farmer,  Francis  H. 
Gadden,  Josiah 
Grundish,  George 
Hackinson,  Robert 
Hagelbarger,  Henry 
Harper,  Sidney 
Hay,  James  H. 
Hay,  William 
Humphrey,  Christopher 
Hutchinson,  Thomas  C. 
Jack,  George  F. 
Lawbaugh,  Alfred  P. 
Whalen,  John  Wier,  John 


H. 


Loder,  John  W. 

Longshore,  Jonathan  S. 

Lynch,  John 

McClure,  James 

McMath,  Adonis 

McMichael,  Charles 

McNabb,  Solomon 

McPherson,  Jesse 

Madden,  Simon  B. 

Miller,  Peter 

Mills,  John 

Moffatt,  George 

Morris,  Amos 

Newell,  Thomas 

Nicholas,  William 

Norris,  Harmon 

North,  John 

Patton,  John 

Patton,  William 

Pike,  Charles 

Porter,  John 

Raymond,  Marvin  P. 

Richards,  William  H.  H. 

Richardson,  Robert  S. 

Robinson,  W.  H. 

Roney,  Hamilton 

Ross,  John  D. 

Shaffer,  George 

Simmons,  John  M. 

Stallard,  David  W. 

Stevenson,  Benjamin  A. 

Stonehocker,  James 

Suitt,  Julian 

Sykes,  George 

Vanhorn,  George 

Welling,  James 

Winn,  Isaac  N.  Wrey,  James 

Digitized  by  LjOOQIC 


112 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 


Company    D 
Mustered  in  April  27,  1861.    Mustered  out  August  18,  1861. 
In  this  company  were  volunteers  who  afterward  re-enlisted  in 
other  companies,  which  see. 

Richard  W.  McClain,  Captain 
Willis  C.  Workman,  First  Lieutenant 
Albert  Shaw,  Second  Lieutenant 
William  Moore,  First  Sergeant 
John  Humphrey,  Sergeant 
Sampson  McNeal,  Sergeant 
James  R.  Johnson,  Sergeant 
Thomas  B.  Ferren,  Corporal 
William  Ringwalt,  Corporal 
Thomas  J.  Cook,  Corporal 
Henry  Forest,  Corporal 
Benjamin  F.  Ingraham,  Musician 


Privates 


Baird,  George  W. 
Baker,  Isaiah 
Barth,  Frederick  C. 
Bassett,  Jesse 
Bassett,  Nicholas  H. 
Bible,  Harrison 
Bird,  Henry 
Bird,  Thomas  B. 
Blaser,  Frederick 
Bonts,  John 
Brown,  Robert 
Bryant,  William  H. 
Campbell,  Edward  N. 
Carnahan,  Nathan  S. 
Clark,  Charles 
Cochran,  James  M. 
Cochran,  Joseph  P. 
Cochran,  Matthew  D. 
Cochran,  Washington  L. 
Copeland,  John 


Coterel,  Franklin 
Cox,  Richard 
Coy,  William  H. 
Crooks,  James  M. 
Crooks,  John 
Crooks,  Lewis 
Davis,  James 
Davis,  John 
Derr,  William 
Dobson,  Thomas 
Ellis,  Leroy 
Ellis,  Simeon  H. 
Ely,  Abraham 
Ely,  Isaac 
Evans,  Jacob  H. 
Foster,  John 
Goff,  Thomas 
Haynes,  Francis  D. 
Henderson,  J.  Nelson 
Hoobler,  Samuel 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


HISTORY    OF    COSHOCTON   COUNTY 


113 


House,  William  R. 
Johnson,  George  W. 
Jones,  Benjamin 
Lahr,  Jacob 
Lamma,  Andrew  J. 
Latham,  George  W. 
McConnell,  John 
McCune,  James  M. 
McElfresh,  Zachariah 
McFadden,  Simpson 
Mack,  Reuben  A. 
Martin,  John  H. 
Matheny,  Henry 
Matson,  George 
Miller,  John 
Miller,  Joseph  T. 
Miller,  William  T. 
Milligan,  John  C. 
Morgan,  Marcellus 
Myers,  John 
Newel,  Franklin 
Ogle,  John 
Parrish,  John 
Phillips,  Joseph 
Pierce,  Robert 
Piatt,  Allen  H. 
Plummer,  John  W. 


Poland,  Ezekiel 
Porter,  Levi 
Richardson,  Osborn 
Richardson,  Thomas 
Rogers,  Thomas 
Seres,  James 
Sherer,  Anthony  W. 
Shuck,  William 
Sipes,  James  M. 
Snell,  Michael 
Snyder,  Alfred 
Snyder,  Morgan 
Steel,  Basil 
Stephens,  Samuel 
Sternburgh,  Jacob 
Strieker,  Jacob 
Sturtiss,  Dennison 
Thacker,  Palestine 
Thomas,  Eli  W. 
Tislen,  Charles  W. 
Wiggins,  Edward 
Williams,  Alexander 
Wilson,  Adias  N. 
Wilson,  James  B. 
Wilson,  John  W. 
Zimmerman,  Harvey 
Zook,  James  A. 


With  the  expiration  of  their  ninety  days'  enlistment  the  volunteers 
came  back  to  Coshocton  and  were  welcomed  by  many  at  the  station. 
Everything  was  given  up  to  war.  The  country  had  come  to  realize 
this  rebellion  was  not  to  be  put  down  in  three  months.  Trainload 
after  trainload  of  troops  were  on  their  way  through  Coshocton  to  the 
front.  More  volunteers  were  enlisting  in  the  county.  Young  women 
proclaimed  through  the  local  press  that  they  would  marry  no  home 
guard. 

Josiah  Given  began  organizing  a  company  while  the  first  Coshoc- 
ton volunteers  were  fighting  in  the  enemy's  country.  His  dis- 
tinguished service  at  the  front  in  after  years  won  the  high  appreciation 

Digitized  by  LjOOQIC 


114  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

of  General  Johnson.  From  Captain  of  Company  K,  Twenty-fourth 
Ohio,  he  ranked  as  Lieutenant-Colonel  of  the  Eighteenth  Ohio,  and 
was  promoted  to  Colonel  of  the  Seventy-fourth  Ohio,  the  regiment 
which  he  commanded  in  the  historic  battles  of  Chickamauga,  Lookout 
Mountain  and  Missionary  Ridge.  For  more  than  three  months  in  the 
Atlanta  campaign  his  regiment  was  under  fire  almost  daily.  The 
Seventy-fourth  stormed  the  rebel  strongholds  at  Buzzard  Roost  and 
Resaca,  and  took  part  in  the  engagements  at  Kenesaw  Mountain, 
Chattahoochie  River,  Peach  Tree  Creek,  and  in  front  of  Atlanta. 
The  Colonel  led  the  regiment  in  charge  after  charge  on  the  strongly 
intrenched  double  line  at  Jonesboro,  breaking  through  swamp  and 
thicket  under  the  murderous  fire  of  troops  celebrated  as  most  obstinate 
fighters  in  the  rebel  army.  But  the  enemy  was  driven  out  of  his 
works.    After  the  war  Colonel  Given  went  to  Iowa. 

The  Twenty-fourth   Ohio,   assigned   to   Tenth  Brigade,   Fourth 
Division,  Army  of  the  Ohio,  was  in  these  battles: 

Cheat  Mountain,  W.  Va.,  September  12  and  13,  1861. 

Greenbrier,  W.  Va.,  October  3,  1861. 

Shiloh,  Tenn.,  April  6  and  7,  1862. 

Occupation  of  Corinth,  Miss.,  May  30,  1862. 

Perrysville,  Ky.,  October  8,  1862. 

Stone  River,  Tenn.,  December  31,  1862;  January  i  and  2,  1863. 

Woodbury,  Tenn.,  January  24,   1863. 

TuUahoma  Campaign,  Tenn.,  June  23-30,  1863. 

Chickamauga,  Ga.,  September  19-20,  1863. 

Lookout  Mountain,  Tenn.,  November  24,  1863. 

Mission  Ridge,  Tenn.,  November  25,  1863. 

Ringgold,  Ga.  (Taylor's  Ridge),  November  2y,  1863. 

Buzzard  Roost,  Ga.  (Rocky  Face  Ridge),  February  25-27,  1864. 

TWENTY-FOURTH  REGIMENT,  O.  V.  L 

Three  Years'  Service. 

Company  K 

Mustered  in  June  13,   1861.     Mustered  out  June  23,   1864. 
Josiah  Given,  Captain — Promoted  to  Lieutenant  Colonel,  Eight- 
eenth Ohio,  and  to  Colonel  Seventy-fourth  Ohio. 
James  R.  Inskeep,  First  Lieutenant. 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  115 

A.  J.  Garrison,  First  Lieutenant — Promoted  from  Sergeant  and 
Second  Lieutenant. 

Gabriel  B.  Stitt,  Second  Lieutenant. 

Andrew  Davis,  Sergeant. 

George  McConnell,  Sergeant — Died  at  Manchester,  Tenn.,  i863. 

George  B.  Johnson,  Sergeant. 

William  B.  Knowldon,  Sergeant. 

Robert  A.  Campbell,  Sergeant — Promoted  from  Corporal;  trans- 
ferred to  Signal  Corps. 

John  Cox,  Sergeant — Promoted  from  Corporal. 

William  Darnes,  Sergeant — Promoted  from  Private. 

Jacob  Evans,  Sergeant — Promoted  from  Private  and  Corporal. 

Edward  Wells,  Sergeant — Promoted  from  Private  and  Corporal. 

David  Horton,  Corporal — Died  at  Nashville,  Tenn.,  1862. 

Jacob  Strieker,  Corporal — Died  at  Camp  Dennison,  Ohio,  from 
wounds  received  in  battle  of  Shiloh,  Tenn. ;  interred  in  Spring  Grove 
Cemetery,  Cincinnati. 

Joseph  Wier,  Corporal — Killed  in  battle,  of  Chickamauga,  Ga. 

Edward  Sterman,  Corporal. 

Robert  H.  Chapman,  Corporal. 

A.  D.  Green,  Corporal. 

James  G.  Butler,  Corporal — Transferred  to  Veteran  Reserve 
Corps,  1864. 

Alonzo  C.  Pocock,  Corporal — Promoted  to  Sergeant. 

John  C.  Almack,  Corporal — ^Transferred  to  Veteran  Reserve 
Corps,  1863. 

David  Hagans,  Corporal — Promoted  from  Private. 

John  N.  Johnson,  Corporal — Promoted  from  Private. 

John  C.  Jennings,  Corporal — Promoted  from  Private;  captured  in 
battle  of  Chickamauga,  Ga. ;  died  in  Rebel  Prison  at  Anderson- 
ville,  Ga. 

Martin  S.  Neighbor,  Corporal — ^Promoted  from  Private. 

David  R.  Norris,  Musician. 

John  Wier,  Wagoner. 

Privates. 

Adams,  Michael — ^Wounded  in  battle  of  Rocky  Face  Ridge,  Ga.,. 
1864. 

Almack,  Joseph  P. — Transferred  to  Veteran  Reserve  Corps.        t 

•^         ^  Digitized  by  Vc^OOgie 


116  HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

Babcock,  John — Captured  in  battle  of  Chickamauga,  Ga. 

Bigelow,  Francis. 

Boggs,  Thomas 

Baker,  Charles — Died  from  wounds  received  in  battle  of  Shiloh, 
Tenn.,  1862. 

Barnes,  Daniel  B. 

Bryan,  Edward  E. 

Campbell,  Matthew — Died  at  Nashville,  Tenn.,  1865. 

Campbell,  Albert  B. 

Clark,  George  G. — Detached  1864  in  band,  Third  Brigade,  First 
Division,  Fourth  Army  Corps. 

Clute,  William  H. 

Cunning,  Thomas  J. 

Carpenter,  Joseph — Died  at  Nashville,  Tenn.,  1863. 

Carpenter,  Reuben — Died  at  Nashville,  Tenn.,  1862. 

Cochran,  Jacob — Fatally  wounded  in  railroad  accident,  1862. 

Carpenter,  George — ^Wounded  in  battle  of  Cheat  Mountain,  W. 
Va.,  1861. 

Corbit,  John. 

Curtis,  Archibald — Transferred  to  Fourth  U.  S.  Calvary. 

Cooper,  P.  L. — Promoted  to  Quartermaster  Sergeant. 

Dunlap,  John  W. 

Douglass,  William — ^Wounded  in  battle  of  Shiloh,  Tenn.,  1862. 

DeCamp,  Samuel — Wounded  in  battle  of  Shiloh,  Tenn. 

Endermshley,  John — Captured  in  battle  of  Chickamauga;  died  in 
Rebel  Prison  at  Andersonville,  Ga. 

Fox,  Robert  R. — Detailed  in  hospital  at  Nashville,  1862. 
Farquhar,  Samuel. 

Fessenden,  Linneus 

Gardner,  Robert  C. 

Gunder,  Conrad. 

Guenther,  Philip — Transferred  to  Fourth  U.  S.  Cavalry. 

Hooker,  John  H. 

Hagans,  Joseph  K. 

House,  Samuel — Promoted  to  Hospital  Steward. 

Johnson,  Leroy. 

Johnson,  William  A. — ^Wounded  in  battle  of  Chickamauga,  Ga., 
1863. 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON    COUNTY  117 

Johnson,  Charles. 

Johnson,  Robert  L. 

Kiggins,  Francis — Died  1863  from  wounds  received  in  battle  of 
Stone  River,  Tenn.,  1862. 

King,  John  B. 

Lovitt,  Reason. 

Leavitt,  Gideon. 

Lent,  Lewis. 

Mardis,  Robinson. 

Martter,  Francis. 

Miller,  John — Wounded  in  battle  of  Stone  River. 

Mayhew,  George. 

Mang,  Michael — Died  at  Nashville,  1862. 

Musgrove,  Adolphus — Died  at  Nashville,  1862. 

Mordis,  Amos. 

Powell,  Joseph  F. 

Plummer,  Griffith. 

Rose,  Thomas  B. 

Richard,  William  R. 

Sills,  William  H. 

Schorth,  Barnhart — Died  1863  from  wounds  received  in  battle 
of  Stone  River,  Tennessee,  1862. 

Strieker,*  Joseph — Died  at  Camp  Wickliff,  Kentucky,  1862. 

Smith,  Hamilton. 

Schoonover,  Isaac. 

Schoonover,  William  F. 

Shaw,  Joseph  H. 

Salyards,  Samuel  H. 

Trott,  John  A. 

Trimble,  Chauncey — Detached  in  Pioneer  Corps. 

Timmons,  Rolla. 

Thompson,  John  N. 

Tumblin,  Reuben  G. — Died  at  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  1862. 

Trott,  James. 

Trainer,  Daniel. 

Vankirk,  John — Died  at  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  1862. 

Vansickle,  Andrew. 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


118  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

White,  William  A. — ^Wounded  in  battle  of  Stone  River,  Ten- 
nessee. 

Watson,  William. 

Wiggins,  John  E. 

Wackerly,  Joseph. 

Zook,  John. 

In  the  foregoing  appears  the  first  of  our  Chickamauga  loss,  met 
all  too  often  in  succeeding  pages  of  the  Coshocton  County  roster.  Our 
greatest  loss  is  recorded  at  Stone  River,  the  victory  that  cost  heavily. 
Next  to  that  in  the  record  of  Coshocton  boys  who  fought  their  last 
fight  comes  Kenesaw  Mountain;  then  Mission  Ridge. 

As  soon  as  Company  K  of  the  Twenty-fourth  left  Coshocton  an- 
other was  organized  by  Wilson  M.  Stanley  of  Newcastle  Township, 
which  became  Company  K  of  the  Thirty-second  Ohio,  and  served 
under  Fremont  in  the  Shenandoah  Valley.  It  assisted  in  the  defense 
of  Harper's  Ferry.  There  the  whole  command  was  unaccountably 
surrendered,  for  which  Colonel  Thomas  H.  Ford  was  arrested  and 
dismissed.  Many  of  the  regiment,  paroled  at  Camp  Douglas,  Chi- 
cago, left  for  home.  Colonel  Potts  brought  the  men  together,  sum- 
marily dismissed  officers  for  inciting  revolt,  and  the  regiment  reported 
to  General  Grant  who  assigned  it  to  Third  Division,  Seventeenth  Army 
Corps,  in  Sherman's  advance  against  Atlanta.  The  splendid  courage 
of  the  soldiers  in  this  regiment  won  exceptional  praise  from 
Brigadier-General  Leggett.  Only  half  the  regiment  was  left  at  the 
muster  out. 

The  Thirty-second  Ohio  was  in  the  following  engagements: 

Greenbrier,  W.  Va,,  Oct.  3,  1861. 

Camp  Allegheny,  W.  Va.,  Dec.  13,  1861. 

McDowell,  Va.,  May  8,  1862. 

Cross  Keys,  Va.,  June  8,  1862. 

Port  Republic,  Va.,  June  9,  1862. 

Harper's  Ferry,  Va.,  Sept.  12-15,  1862. 

Port  Gibson,  Miss.,  May  i,  1863. 

Raymond,  Miss.,  May  12,  1863. 

Jackson,  Miss.,  May  14,  1863. 

Champion  Hills,  Miss.,  May  16,  1863. 

Siege  of  Vicksburg,  Miss.,  May  18  to  July  4,  1863. 

Baker's  Creek,  Miss.,  Feb.  4,  1864. 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON    COUNTY  119 

Clinton,  Miss.,  Feb.  5,  1864. 
Kenesaw  Mountain,  Ga.,  June  9  to  30,  1864. 
Nickajack  Creek,  Ga.,  July  6-10,  1864. 
Peach  Tree  Creek,  Ga.,  July  20,  1864. 

Atlanta,  Ga.,  Hood's  first  sortie  and  through  the  siege,  July  22 
to  Sept.  4,  1864. 

Siege  of  Savannah,  Ga.,  Dec.  10  to  21,  1864. 
Fayetteville,  N.  C,  March  13,  1865. 
Bentonville,  N.  C,  March  19-21,  1865. 

•      THIRTY-SECO'ND  REGIMENT,  O.  V.  I. 
Company    K 

Mustered  in  August  31,  1861.     Mustered  out  July  20,  1865. 

Wilson  M.  Stanley,  Captain — Resigned  at  Beverly,  W.  Va.,  18^. 

E.  W.  James,  Captain — Promoted  from  Sergeant,  Second  Lieu- 
tenant and  First  Lieutenant;  resigned  1864. 

E.  Z.  Hays,  Captain — Promoted  from  Private,  Second  and  First 
Lieutenant;  captured  at  Cross  Keys,  Va. 

Clarkson  C.  Nichols,  First  Lieutenant — Resigned  at  Beverly, 
W.  Va.,  1862. 

John  W.  Stanton,  First  Lieutenant — Promoted  from  Corporal; 
appointed  Adjutant,  1863;  captured  at  Harper's  Ferry;  paroled  and 
sent  to  Camp  Douglas,  Chicago. 

George  Jack,  Second  Lieutenant — Resigned  at  Beverly,  W.  Va., 
1862. 

John  Thompson,  Second  Lieutenant — Appointed  from  Private 
and  Sergeant;  promoted  to  First  Lieutenant,  Co.  C. 

John  Porter,  Second  Lieutenant — Promoted  from  Private  and 
Sergeant. 

James  H.  Pigman,  First  Sergeant — Promoted  from  Private; 
wounded  at  McDowell,  Va. ;  captured  at  Harper's  Ferry ;  paroled. 

William  H.  H.  Jennings,  First  Sergeant — Promoted  from  Private ; 
captured  at  Harper's  Ferry;  paroled. 

Cornelius  P.  Vankirk,  Sergeant — Appointed  from  Corporal. 

James  W.  Sipes,  Sergeant — Appointed  from  Corporal. 

C.  P.  Crawford,  Sergeant — Appointed  from  Corporal. 

R.  Marshman,  Sergeant — Appointed  from  Corporal. 

Adam   Morgan,   Sergeant — Appointed  from   Corporal. 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


120  HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

John  N.   Beall,   Sergeant — Promoted  from  Private;  died  from 
wounds  received  in  action  near  Atlanta,   1864. 

John  McDonald,  Sergeant — Promoted  to  Second  Lieutenant. 

Jacob  A,  Matticks,  Corporal — Promoted  from  Private. 

John  D.  Cooper,  Corporal — Promoted  from  Private. 

Piatt  Williamson,  Corporal — Promoted  from  Private 

Levi  Porter,  Corporal — Promoted  from  Private. 

Joshua  Musser,  Corporal — Promoted  from  Private. 

Robert  Leavitt,  Corporal — Promoted  from  Private. 

William  Wise,  Corporal — Promoted  from  Private. 

Cornelius  Austin,  Corporal — Promoted  from  Private. 

Edward  Campbell,  Corporal — Promoted  from  Private;  detached 
in  recruiting  service,  1863. 

William  McNabb,  Corporal — Appointed  from  Fifer. 

Samuel  Campbell,  Corporal — Appointed  from  Private. 

Zachariah  McElfresh,  Corporal — Promoted  from  Private;  killed 
on  picket  near  Atlanta,  1864. 

William  Coggins,  Corporal. 

Edward  N.  Campbell,  Musician. 

Joseph  C.  Taylor,  Musician. 

Privates 

Arney,  John — Died  at  Cheat  Mountain,  W.  Va.,  1861. 

Bassett,  W.  W. — Detailed  in  Quartermaster  Department. 

Barrett,  Edward. 

Barcroft,  R.  L. 

Bailey,  Alfred — Died  at  Cheat  Mountain,  W.  Va.,  1861. 

Bassett,  Henry  G. — Died  at  Vicksburg,  Miss.,  1863,  from  wounds 
received  in  action  at  Harper's  Ferry. 

Berry,  Joseph  R. 

Carnes,  T.  J. — Transferred  to  Signal  Corps. 

Crawford,  Samuel — Killed  in  battle  of  Atlanta,  1864. 

Carnes,  Adam — Detached  as  Scout ;  piloted  the  steamer  Moderator 
past  the  blockade  of  Vicksburg,  Miss.,  and  Grand  Gulf. 

Conley,  John  W. — Detailed  in  Quartermaster's  Department  as 
teamster. 

Courtright,  Richard — Detailed  in  Division  Quartermaster's  De- 
partment. 

Croft,  Hiram. 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


CHILI. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


LIEU    F-OUNHA'  '0^'3 


Digitized  by 


Google 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  121 

Carnes,  James. 

Cochran,  Matthew  D. — Wounded  in  action  at  Harper's  Ferry. 

Crago,  William — Wounded  in  action  at  Harper's  Ferry. 

Crago,  Jesse  D. — ^Wounded  in  battle  of  McDowell,  Va.,  1862. 

Cochran,  Thomas  J. — Promoted  in  9th  O.  V.  Cavalry. 

Cox,  William — Died  1862  from  wounds  received  in  battle  of 
McDowell,  Va. 

Carr,  Nelson  C. 

Clark,  Samuel. 

Dusenberry,  William. 

Davis,  James. 

Derringer,  David. 

Derringer,  William  C. 

Ellis,  Alexander  C. — ^Wounded  in  battle  of  McDowell,  Va.,  1862. 

Felver,  Morgan. 

Fisher,  Henry. 

Gonder,  John  C. — Died  at  Dresden,  O.,  1862. 

Gonder,  Daniel  A. 

Hays,  John  T. — Detailed  in  Quartermaster's  Department. 

Hess,  Thomas  K. — ^Wounded  in  battle  of  Camp  Allegheny,  W.  Va., 
1861. 

Hogle,  Webster. 

Jack,  Andrew. 

Jones,  Benjamin — Died  at  Mohawk,  O.,  1863.    ' 

Kitchen,  Joseph — Died  at  Chattanooga,  Tenn.,  1864,  from  wounds 
received  in  action  near  Atlanta. 

Lynch,  John  J. — Killed  in  action  in  rear  of  Vicksburg,  Miss.,  1863. 

Lindsey,  Jerome  B. — Died  from  wounds  received  in  action  on 
Maryland  Heights,  1862. 

Matheny,  Henry. 

McQuiston,  John  W. 

McClain,  Sylvester  H. — Detailed  in  artillery  service. 

Mathias,  William — Detailed  in  Quartermaster's  Department. 

Murray,  Charles. 

McComber,  John  B. — Transferred  to  Signal  Corps. 

Nor r is,  Francis — ^Transferred  to  Veteran  Reserve  Corps. 

O'Brien,  Patrick. 

Porter,  James. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


122  HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

Pierce,  George  W.  Schoonover,  Daniel. 

Robertson,  James.  Shulty,  Martin. 

Rirrie,  John.  Smith,  Washington. 

Smith,  Hamilton.  Strieker,  Absalom  B. 

Sondles,  John.  Shaw,  Warren  W. 

Seward,  Thomas  C. — Drowned  in  the  Mississippi  at  Grand  Gulf, 

1863. 

Seward,  George  W. — Transferred  to  Signal  Corps. 

Solinger,  James  H. — Transferred  to  Veteran  Reserve  Corps. 

Tracy,  David  W. — Died  1864  from  wounds  received  in  action. 

Tubbs,  James. 

Tompkins,  Johnson — Transferred  to  Veteran  Reserve  Corps. 

Tuttle,  George — Died  at  Vicksburg,  Miss.,  1863,  from  typhoid 
fever. 

Utter,  William. 

Wells,  Wilson. 

Welling,  William  D. 

Woods,  Edward — Died  at  Keene,  O.,  1864,  from  smallpox. 

Welling,  Samuel  D.  Welling,  David. 

All  the  summer  of  '61  Coshocton  County  was  astir  with  organiza- 
tion of  troops.  There  were  meetings  attended  by  thousands.  The 
daughters  of  Keene,  Columbia  gowned  with  waists  of  starry  blue  and 
striped  skirts  in  red  and  white,  gave  color  to  a  great  Union  meeting 
in  Chili  grove. 

The  county  organized  five  companies  for  the  Fifty-first  Ohio. 
This  regiment,  the  half  of  it  Coshocton,  won  high  honor  for  its  cour- 
ageous part  in  famous  battles.  A  look  through  the  roster  shows  where 
pur  boys  fought — shows  who  fell  on  the  bloody  field  of  Stone  River, 
in  the  terrible  fight  at  Chickamauga,  the  gallant  charge  on  Mission 
Ridge. 

When  Colonel  McClain  was  captured,  the  command  devolved  upon 
Second  Lieutenant  E.  J.  Pocock  of  Company  F,  who  had  been  pro- 
moted from  Sergeant  of  Company  H.  He  commanded  at  Lookout 
Mountain  and  Mission  Ridge,  was  wounded  at  Resaca,  and  was  ap- 
pointed Brigade  Quartermaster  in  1865. 

The  story  of  the  battles  in  which  oilr  boys  fought  fills  intensely  in- 
teresting pages  of  general  history.  It  is  not  within  the  scope  of  this 
local  work  to  go  into  fields  so  fully  covered  by  Whitelaw  Reid's 


Digitized  by 


v^oogle 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  123 

"Ohio  in  the  War,"  the  ''Military  History  of  Ohio/'  and  countless 
other  chronicles  of  the  years  from  Sumter  to  Appomattox.  To  give 
complete  individual  representation  by  naming  the  soldiers  of  Coshoc- 
ton County  is  the  most  that  can  be  undertaken  within  the  allotted 
space;  and  the  compilation  herein  is  the  result  of  the  combined  con- 
tributions of  men  who  went  through  those  historic  days — John  M. 
Compton,  W.  H.  King,  A.  H.  Thomson,  Joseph  Love,  T.  H.  Glover — 
amplified  by  the  records  of  the  State  Roster  Commission  and  the  last 
county  returns  canvassed  by  Auditor  C.  R.  Randies.  A  few  enlist- 
ments from  Tuscarawas  and  other  adjoining  counties  are  retained  in 
the  company  rosters. 

The  Fifty-first  Ohio  bore  honorable  part  in  these  engagements: 

Dobson's  Ferry,  Tenn.,  Dec.  9,  1862  (Cos.  D,  F  and  I.) 

Stone  River,  Tenn.,  Dec.  31,  1862,  to  Jan.  2,  1863. 

Rosecrans'  Campaign  from  Murfreesboro  to  Tullahoma,  Tenn., 
June  2S  to  30,  1863. 

Ringgold,  Ga.,  Sept.  11,  1863. 

Chickamauga,  Ga.,  Sept.   19-20,  1863. 

Lookout  Mountain,  Tenn.,  Nov.  24,  1863. 

Mission  Ridge,  Tenn.,  Nov.  25,  1863. 

Rocky  Face  Ridge,  Ga.,  May  7,  1864. 

Resaca,  Ga.,  May  13  to  16,  1864. 

New  Hope  Church,  Ga.,  June  2,  1864. 

Big  Shanty,  Ga.,  June  11,  1864. 

Kenesaw  Mountain,  Ga.,  June  9  to  30,  1864. 

Smyrna  Camp  Ground,  Ga.,  July  2  to  5,  1864. 

Peach  Tree  Creek,  Ga.,  July  20,  1864. 

Jonesboro,  Ga.,  Aug.  31  to  Sept.  i,  1864. 

Franklin,  Tenn.,  Nov.  30,  1864. 

Nashville,  Tenn.,  Dec.  15-16,  1864. 

On  the  Atlanta  campaign  from  Resaca  to  Jonesboro  the  Fifty- 
first  was  almost  daily  under  fire.  One  of  the  regiments  sent  back  to 
drive  Hood  out  of  Tennessee  it  fought  at  Spring  Hill,  was  in  reserve 
at  Franklin,  engaged  in  both  days'  fighting  at  Nashville,  and  pursued 
Hood's  retreat,  knee  deep  in  mud  and  water,  to  Lexington,  Ala.,  then 
camped  at  Huntsville,  Ala.,  went  by  rail  to  Strawberry  Plains,  and 
returned  to  Nashville.  The  regiment  was  assigned  to  duty  at  Vic- 
toria, Tex.,  until  mustered  out.  Digitized  by  ^^OOgle 


124  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

FIFTY-FIRST  REGIMENT,  O.  V.  I. 

Company    C 

Mustered  in  Sept.  17,  1861.    Mustered  out  Oct.  3,  1865. 

Benjamin  F.  Heskett,  Captain — Died  from  wounds  received  in 
battle  of  Stone  River,  Tenn.,  1863;  grave  in  Murfreesboro,  Tenn. 

Philip  Everhart,  Captain — Promoted  from  Sergeant,  Second  and 
First  Lieutenant. 

Sampson  McNeal,  First  Lieutenant — Transferred  from  Co.  I; 
promoted  from  Second  Lieutenant ;  captured  in  battle  of  Chickamauga; 
escaped  from  Rebel  Prison,  Andersonville. 

Allen  Gaskill,  First  Lieutenant — Promoted  to  Captain  Co.  I. 

Benjamin  F.  Jones,  Second  Lieutenant — Promoted  from  First 
Sergeant,  Co.  D. 

James  Stonehocker,  Second  Lieutenant — Promoted  to  First  Lieu- 
tenant, Co.  G. 

Albert  Dent,  Second  Lieutenant — Promoted  from  Private  and 
Sergeant. 

John  Winklepleck,  First  Sergeant — Died  from  wounds  received  in 
battle  of  Stone  River,  Tenn.,  1863;  grave  in  Nashville. 

John  Carruthers,  First  Sergeant — Appointed  from  Private;  pro- 
moted to  Second  Lieutenant,  Co.  K. 

Francis  H.  Wolfe,  First  Sergeant — Appointed  from  Private  and 
Corporal. 

Lester  P.  Emerson,  Sergeant — Died  at  Nashville,  1862. 

William  H.  Lyons,  Sergeant. 

Thomas  Rogers,  Sergeant — Captured  in  battle  of  Chickamauga, 
Ga,,  and  died  in  Rebel  Prison,  Andersonville,  1864;  grave  3,400. 

William  C.  Hawk,  Sergeant — Appointed  from  Corporal ;  wounded 
at  Stone  River. 

Charles  W.  Birch,  Sergeant — Promoted  from  Private;  missing  in 
battle  of  Chickamauga. 

John  B.  Ginther,  Sergeant — Appointed  from  Corporal. 

Lemuel  J.  Simmers,  Sergeant — Promoted  from  Private  and 
Corporal. 

Jesse  Riggle,  Sergeant — Promoted  from  Corporal;  wounded  at 
Chickamauga. 

William  Stonebrook,  Corporal. 

William  J.  Norris,  Corporal.  Digitized  by  GoOglc 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  125 

Wesley  Barge,  Corporal. 

Isaac  W.  Sayers,  Corporal — Died  at  Cleveland,  Tenn.,  1864;  grave 
in  Chattanooga. 

Moses  Whittemore,  Corporal — Promoted  from  Private. 

Ezekiel  Grewell,  Corporal — Promoted  from  Private. 

Joseph  A.  Carr,  Corporal — Promoted  from  Private. 

William  Engle,  Corporal — Promoted  from  Private. 

Peter  Dickey,  Corporal — Promoted  from  Private. 

Chapman  Burr,  Musician — Transferred  to  Veteran  Reserve  Corps. 

James  M.  Emerson,  Musician. 

Privates 

Babcock,  Arnold — Wounded  and  captured  at  Stone  River;  three 
months  in  Libby  Prison. 

Berkshire,  Thomas. 

Bremer,  John  W. 

Burr,  Milton. 

Carnahan,  Alexander. 

Carnahan,  David — Died  at  Camp  Wickliffe,  Ky.,  1862;  grave  in 
London,  Ky. 

Carr,  J.  P. 

Caton,  Everhart — Died  at  Camp  Wickliffe,  Ky.,  1862;  grave  in 
London,  Ky. 

Chandler,  D.  J. 

Childs,  S.  M.— Enlisted  in  5th  U.  S.  Artillery,  1862. 

Cosgrave,  Thomas. 

Cosgrave,  Andrew  H. 

Croghan,  William. 

Cutshall,  Emanuel. 

Davis,  William  H. — Wounded  in  action. 

De  Walt,  Robert— Died  at  Nashville,  1862. 

Emerson,  Sewell  S. 

Ferrell,  Joseph. 

Ferrell,  Isaac. 

Ford,  Robert  B. 

Ford,  Harvey. 

Goodhue,  James. 

Graham,  Abner. 

Gray,  Joseph  M.  r^  \ 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


126  HISTORY    OF    COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

Grewell,  Daniel. 

Hahn,  John  J. 

Hahn,  James  H. 

Hardy,  William  H. — Transferred  to  Veteran  Reserve  Corps. 

Harbold,  Jacob. 

Higbee,  Lewis  M. 

Holliday,  Milton. 

Hevalow,  Benjamin — Missing  in  battle  of  Chickamauga,  1863. 

Honald,  Jesse  A. 

Hursey,  George — Died  at  Nashville,  1862. 

Huston,  George — Died  at  Murfreesboro,  Tenn.,  1862. 

Landers,  Nicholas — Killed  in  action  near  Kenesaw  Mountain,  Ga., 
1864;  grave  351,  Sec.  G,  Marietta,  Ga. 

Long,  John — Wounded  in  battle  of  Stone  River,  Tenn.,  1863. 

Long,  George  W. — Transferred  to  Co.  F. 

McFee,  William. 

Miller,  Jacob — Transferred  to  Veteran  Reserve  Corps. 

Miller,  Samuel. 

Mouder,  Isaac — Transferred  to  Veteran  Reserve  Corps. 

Nargney,  Martin  V. — Died  at  Nashville,   1862. 

Neighbor,  Jacob  W. — Transferred  to  Veteran  Reserve  Corps. 

Norris,  Marquis — Transferred  to  Veteran  Reserve  Corps.. 

Norris,  Joseph  B. 

Norris,  William  C. 

Norris,  Isaiah — Died  at  Coshocton,  1864. 

Norris,  Isaac — Detailed  teamster  and  blacksmith. 

dinger,  David — Captured  in  battle  of  Chickamauga ;  died  in  Rebel 
Prison,  Andersonville,  Ga.,  1864;  grave  1,569. 

Powders,  Henry. 

Ripley,  James  A. 

Robinson,  Alexander  M. — Transferrel  to  Veteran  Reserve  Corps. 

Rosenbaugh,  J.  G. — Transferred  to  Veteran  Reserve  Corps. 

Scott,  Absalom — Killed  in  battle  of  Stone  River,  Tenn.,  1863; 
grave  13,  Sec.   D,  Murfreesboro,  Tenn. 

Scott,  Robert — Transferred  to  Veteran  Reserve  Corps. 

Sells,  George  W. — Transferred  to  Co.  K. 

Shannon,  Thomas. 

Smith,  Moses — Died  at  Nashville,  1862;  grave  321. 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  127 

Simmers,  John  T. — Transferred  to  Veteran  Reserve  Corps. 

Snyder,  George. 

Sondles,  David. 

Sourbrey,  Charles. 

Spalding,  Thomas — Died  at  Nashville,  1862. 

Spalding,  Freeman — Died  at  Nashville,  1862. 

Spears,  Samuel  H. — Killed  in  action  near  Kenesaw  Mountain, 
1864,  grave  352,  Sec.  G,  Marietta,  Ga. 

Steffy,  Leonard — Enlisted  in  5th  U.  S.  Artillery. 

Stewart,  Clark — Died  from  wounds  received  in  battle  of  Stone 
River,  Tenn.,  1863. 

Stonehocker,  Jacob  D. — Transferred  to  Co.  F. 

Stonehocker,  William. 

Stonehocker,  Robert. 

Timmerman,  Clark — Transferred  to  Signal  Corps. 

Williamson,  E. 

Wise,  George. 

Wolfe,  W.  H. 

Wolfe,  John. 

Wood,  David  L.  C. — Wounded  at  Kenesaw  Mountain. 

COMPANY  C  RECRUITS,  51st  O.  V.  I. 
With  Date  of  Entering  Service. 

John  Corbitt,  Corporal — 1864,  missing  in  action  near  Resaca,  Ga. 

George  W.  Bradshaw,  Corporal — 1864,  killed  in  action  near 
Dallas,  Ga.,  1864;  grave  at  Marietta,  Ga. 

Philip  Hawk,  Musician — 1864. 

Beas,  Philip — 1865. 

Beatenhead,  Peter — 1864. 

Beavers,  Isaac — 1864. 

Benedick,  Levi — 1864. 

Cain,  David — 1864. 

Carruthers,  Robert — 1862. 

Carruthers,  Lemuel — 1862,  died  at  Murfreesboro,  Tenn.,  1863; 
grave  315,  Sec.  E. 

Chance,  Jonathan — 1864. 

Corbit,  William — 1864. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


128  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON  COUNTY 

Crawford,  Hillary — 1864,  died  in  ist  Division  Hospital,  Central 
District  of  Texas,  1865,  grave  at  Galveston. 

Cutshall,  Jacob — 1864. 

Elson,  David  M.— 1864. 

Fisher,  Isaiah — 1864. 

Frew,  Robert  J. — 1864. 

Gorsline,  Samuel — 1864. 

Hedge,  Aaron  G. — 1865. 

Hedge,  Porter — 1865. 

Heffling,  John  W.— 1865. 

Hinds,  Elisha — 1864. 

Hols  worth,  Ernst — 1864. 

Hothem,  John — 1864. 

Howard,  John  L. — 1864,  died  at  Chattanooga  from  wounds  re- 
ceived in  action. 

Huff,  Benjamin — 1865. 

Kist,  Thomas  J.— 1864. 

Knowles,  John  S. — 1864. 

Kughler,  John — 1864. 

Lawson,  Samuel  S. — 1864. 

Lee,  William  M.— 1864. 

Lembel,  Jacob — 1864. 

Long,  Albert — 1864. 

McClain,  William  C. — 1864,  died  on  Hospital  Train  near  Chatta- 
nooga, grave  257,  Sec.  L. 

McCormick,  Frederick — 1864,  died  at  Chattanooga,  grave  224, 
Sec.  E. 

McFarland,  David — 1864. 

McFee,  William,  No.  2 — 1864. 

McPeek,  William — 1864,  transferred  to  Co.  E  and  A. 

Mardis,  Francis — 1864. 

Maugherman,  Adam — 1864. 

Meadly,  Elisha — 1864,  transferred  from  Co.  E. 

Miller,  Samuel,  No.  2 — 1864. 

Milligan,  Thomas — 1864. 

Moore,  Isaiah — 1864,  from  Co.  E. 

Neighbor,  Richard — 1864. 

Neighbor,  Jacob — 1864. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  129 

Newton,  Charles  R. — 1864. 

Palmer,  Leander — 1864. 

Philabaum,  George — 1864. 

Pinkerton,  Lafayette — 1864,  died  at  Nashville;  grave  314,  Sec.  J. 

Richmond,  James  J. — 1865,  died  at  Green  Lake,  Tex.,  grave  at 
Victoria,  Tex. 

Ringer,  James — 1862. 

Robinson,  James  D. — 1864. 

Roller,  Jacob — 1862. 

Schoonover,  John — 1864,  wounded  at  Peach  Tree  Creek. 

Schwab,  Daniel — 1864. 

Shafer,  George — 1864. 

Shanks,  Ezra — 1865. 

Shannon,  Samuel — 1864,  died  from  wounds  received  in  action 
near  Kenesaw  Mountain,  Ga.,  grave  1,034,  Sec.  A,  Marietta,  Ga. 

Shepperd,  John  C. — 1864. 

Shultz,  William — 1864,  from  Co.  E,  died  at  Huntsville,  Ala.,  1865, 
grave  612,  Sec.  L,  Chattanooga. 

Smith,  Alexander — 1864,  transferred  to  Veteran  Reserve  Corps. 

Simmers,  Daniel  W. — 1864. 

Sondles,  Freeman — 1864. 

Spalding,  Lyman — 1864,  died  at  Chattanooga,  grave  423,  Sec.  F. 

Stevenson,  Isaac — 1864. 

Stewart,  Perry — 1864. 

Stitt,  Gabriel — 1864,  died  at  Nashville,  grave  200,  Sec.  E,  Chatta- 
nooga. 

Stonehocker,  Thompson — 1864,  died  at  Tullahoma,  Tenn.,  grave 
at  Murfreesboro. 

Straits,  John — 1864. 

Sullivan,  George  L. — 1864,  from  Co.  E. 

Suydam,  George  L. — 1864. 

Tulford,  David — 1864,  died  at  Nashville,  1865. 

Wier,  Mathias — 1864. 

Wilson,  James — 1864. 

Wolfe,  David — 1864,  died  at  Nashville,  grave  336. 

Wolfe,  Philip  H. — 1864,  died  in  hospital  at  Chattanooga,  Tenn.; 
grave  342,  Sec.  N,  Stone  River  Cemetery,  Murfreesboro,  Tenn.         t 

Digitized  by  LjOOQIC 


130  HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON    COUNTY 

COMPANY    D 
Mustered  in  Sept.  17,  1861.     Mustered  out  Oct.  3,  1865. 

William  Patton,  Captain — Died  at  Nashville,  1862. 

John  North,  Captain — Promoted  from  First  Lieutenant. 

John   E.    Smith,   Captain — Promoted   from   Corporal,    Sergeant, 
Second  and  First  Lieutenant;  appointed  Adjutant. 

Samuel  Stephens,  Second  Lieutenant — Promoted  to  First  Lieu- 
tenant, Co.  H. 

Edmund  C.  Conn,  First  Sergeant — Died  at  Nashville  from  wounds 
received  in  battle  of  Stone  River,  Tenn.,  1863. 

William  C.  Thomas,  First  Sergeant — Promoted  from  Corporal. 

Benjamin  F.  Jones,  First  Sergeant — Appointed  from  Corporal; 
promoted  to  Second  Lieutenant,  Co.  C. 

E.  Randies,  First  Sergeant — Promoted  from  Corporal. 

Thomas  A.  Reed,  Sergeant — Died  1865  from  wounds  received  in 
battle  of  Nashville,  1864. 

Clark  M.  Bell,  Sergeant — Promoted  from  Corporal. 

William  W.  Griffee,  Sergeant — Promoted  from  Corporal ;  died  at 
Nashville,  1864. 

John  C.  Norris,  Sergeant — Promoted  from  Corporal. 

John  Q.  Ogan,  Sergeant — Promoted  from  Corporal. 

Thomas  Wright,  Sergeant — Promoted  from  Private  and  Corporal. 

John  W.  Graves,  Corporal. 

Jonathan  Phillips,  Corporal — Enlisted  in  5th  U.  S.  Artillery. 

Samuel  Bagnall,  Corporal — Promoted  from  Private;  died  at  Camp 
Wickliffe,  Ky.,  1862. 

Joseph  W.  Stanford,  Corporal — Promoted  from  Private;  wounded 
in  battle  of  Stone  River,  Tenn.,  1863. 

Laban  Ogle,  Corporal — Promoted  from  Private ;  died  at  McMinn- 
ville,  Tenn.,  1863;  grave  458,  Sec.  I,  Murfreesboro. 

Martin    Roberts,    Corporal — Promoted    from    Private;    died    at 
Nashville,  1862. 

Sidney  M.  Brown,  Corporal — Promoted  from  Private;  killed  in 
battle  of  Stone  River,  Tenn.,  1863. 

Nathaniel  Everson,  Corporal — Promoted  from  Private. 

Van  Buren  Fulks,  Corporal — Promoted  from  Private. 

John  W.  Chalfant,  Corporal — Promoted  from  Private. 

Martin  Randies,  Corporal — Promoted  from  Private. 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


BANCROFT  SCHOOL,  COSHOCTON. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


Digitized  by 


Google 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  131 

Privates 

Burkhart,  John  W.  R — Reduced  from  Corporal  at  his  own  re- 
quest; wounded  in  action  at  Kenesaw  Mountain,  Ga.,  1864;  trans- 
ferred to  Veteran  Reserve  Corps. 

Bell,  George  W. — Promoted  to  Hospital  Steward. 

Blackford,  James. 

Blackford,  William  R.— Died  at  Columbus,  O.,  1863. 

Brown,  John  T. — Died  at  Camp  Rosecrans,  Tenn.,  1862. 

Bryant,  W.  H. 

Carter,  Sanford — Died  at  Nelson's  Furnace,  Ky.,  1862;  grave  in 
Cave  Hill  Cemetery,  Louisville,  Ky. 

Corder,  Joseph  N. — Died  in  Rebel  Prison,  Richmond,  Va.,  1864. 

Corder,  Joseph — Died  at  Nashville,  1863. 

De  Moss,  John — Captured  at  battle  of  Chickamauga,  Ga.,  1863; 
prisoner  at  Belle  Isle,  Danville  and  Andersonville ;  exchanged,  1865; 
was  on  board  steamer  Sultana  at  time  of  explosion  near  Memphis, 
1865;  escaped  unhurt,  reaching  shore  on  a  plank. 

Dickerson,  Thomas. 

Dickerson,  Joshua  C. 

Dickerson,  William  H. — Killed  at  battle  of  Chickamauga;  grave 
in  Chattanooga,  Tenn. 

Dougherty,  John  T. 

Dusenberry,  L. — Injured  at  Lookout  Mountain. 

Dusenberry,  J. — ^Wounded  in  battle  of  Stone  River,  Tenn.,  1863; 
left  arm  amputated. 

Evans,  David — ^Wounded  in  action  near  Kenesaw  Mountain,  Ga., 
1864;  left  arm  amputated. 

Fulks,  Jacob — Died  at  Nashville,  1862. 

Gibson,  Robert. 

Giffin,  Asa  H. 

Guilliams,  Laban. 

Howell,  William  H. 

Irwin,  William. 

Jones,  William. 

Kimble,  William — Died  in  camp  near  Murfreesboro,  Tenn.,  1863; 
grave  in  Stone  River  Cemetery. 

Kincaid,  Gabriel — Accidentally  killed  near  Perryville,  Ky.,  1862; 
grave  at  Camp  Nelson,  Ky. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


132  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

Lash,  David  L. — Died  at  Nashville,  1862. 

Latier,  Martin. 

McCoy,  Samuel — Transferred  to  Veteran  Reserve  Corps. 

McCoy,  John. 

McGuinn,  Philip. 

Mclver,  Arthur. 

Mack,  Daniel  F. 

Mains,  Stanton. 

Mansfield,  Jacob. 

Markley,  Frederick  A. — Enlisted  in  5th  U.  S.  Artillery. 

Middleton,  Isaac. 

Mills,  Jolin. 

Nixon,  John  W. — Transferred  to  Veteran  Reserve  Corps. 

Norris,  John  W. — Died  at  Nashville,  1862. 

Ogle,  William — Died  at  Nashville,  1862;  grave  292. 

Ott,  Christopher — Captured  in  battle  of  Chickamauga ;  died  in 
Rebel  Prison,  Andersonville,  1864;  grave  2,422. 

Owen,  Evan — Transferred  to  Veteran  Reserve  Corps. 

Parrish,  John — Wounded  at  Pumpkinvine  Creek,  Ga. ;  detailed 
in  artillery. 

Patton,  John — EnHsted  in  5th  U.  S.  Artillery. 

Passmore,  Anderson — Died  at  Nashville,  1863,  from  wounds  re- 
ceived in  battle  of  Stone  River. 

Passmore,  Josiah. 

Payne,  Samuel — Died  at  Nashville,   1863. 

Phillips,  William — Captured  in  battle  of  Chickamauga;  exchanged 
1865;  ^^s  on  board  steamer  Sultana  at  time  of  explosion  near  Mem- 
phis, 1865;  escaped  unhurt. 

Phillips,  Peter  L. 

Pierce,  James — Died  at  Nashville,  1862;  grave  76,  section  J. 

Peoples,  James  M. — Transferred  to  ist  U.  S.  Volunteer  Engineer 
Corps. 

Pomeroy,  Madison. 

Reed,  John — Transferred  to  Veteran  Reserve  Corps. 

Rice,  Charles — Died  at  Louisville,  Ky.,  1862;  interred  in  grave 
26,  Cave  Hill  Cemetery. 

Richards,  Eli. 

Richcreek,  John. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON    COUNTY  133 

Rosan,  Benjamin. 

Settles,  Gaton  A. 

Smailes,  Thomas — Transferred  to  Veteran  Reserve  Corps. 

Smith,  WilHam  S. — Transferred  to  Veteran  Reserve  Corps. 

Smith,  WilHam  R. — Captured  in  battle  of  Chickamauga;  paroled 
1865 ;  perished  by  explosion  of  steamer  Sultana  near  Memphis,  1865. 

Stephens,  Jamets — Died  at  Nashville,  1862. 

Thacker,  Martin. 

Thacker,  Palestine  M. 

Titus,  Thomas. 

Weaver,  David — Died  at  Nashville,  1862. 

Williams,  Levi — Killed  in  action  near  Kenesaw  Mountain,  1864; 
grave  240,  Sec.  E,  Chattanooga. 

Young,  John  A. 

COMPANY  D  RECRUITS,  51st  O.  V.  I. 
With  Date  of  Entering  Service. 

Allen,  Robert  B. — 1864,  from  Co.  I. 

Aten,  George — 1864,  from  Co.  I,  drafted. 

Baker,   Alfred — 1864,  drafted.  • 

Barnes,  Israel — 1864,  from  Co.  I,  died  at  Shield's  Mills,  Tenn., 
1865,  grave  at  Knoxville. 

Boroflf,  Kewis — 1864,  drafted. 

Brooks,  John — 1864,  from  Co.  I,  drafted. 

Burns,  John — 1864,  drafted. 

Crooks,  Andrew — 1864,  died  in  Coshocton  County,  1865,  grave  at 
Spring  Mountain. 

Cunningham,  James — 1864,  from  Co.  I,  drafted. 

Deberry,  William — 1862,  drafted. 

Fox,  James — 1864. 

Greenbank,  William — 1864,  from  Co.   I,  drafted. 

Crumley,  Frank — 1864,  drafted,  died  at  Louisville,  Ky.,  1865. 

Haas,  John — 1864,  drafted. 

Hardesty,  Archibald — 1864,  drafted,  died  at  Nashville,  grave  18, 
Sec.  G. 

Harker,  Daniel — 1864,  drafted. 

Harper,  William — 1864,  drafted. 

Haught,  Samuel — 1864,  from  Co.  I,  drafted. 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


134  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

Herbert;  Joseph  K. — 1864,  drafted. 
Hohenstott,  John — 1864,  drafted. 
Hood,  Alexander — 1864,  drafted. 
Hood,  David — 1864,  drafted. 
Kelly,  Patrick— 1864,  drafted. 
Knapp,  Wilson  L. — 1864,  from  Co.  I,  drafted. 
Loder,  John — 1864. 
Lutes,  Jacob  B. — 1864,  from  Co.  I. 
McFadden,  Harrison — 1864,  from  Co.  I. 
Maranda,  John — 1864,  drafted. 
Reed,  Alonzo  L. — 1864. 
Robbins,  Charles — 1864,  from  Co.  I. 
Robert,  Henry  C. — 1864,  drafted. 
Robertson,  Joseph  R. — 1864,  from  Co.  I. 
Rowell,  Wilson— 1863,  from  Co.  B,  6th  O.  V.  I. 
Sissons,  John — 1864,  from  Co.  I. 
Snider,  George  W. — 1864,  from  Co.  I. 
Stockstill,  Henry  I. — 1864,  drafted. 
Stone,  James  L. — 1864,  from  Co.  I. 
Tealing,  Nathaniel — 1864,  from  Co.  I. 
Thompson,  Arthur — 1864,  drafted. 
TuUis,  Jasper — 1864,  drafted. 

Turner,  George  W. — 1864,  from  Co.  I,  drafted,  wounded  in  action. 
Wagers,  John — 1864,  drafted,  died  at  Victoria,  Tex.,  1865,  grave 
at  Galveston. 

Webb,  Jonathan  L. — 1864,  died  at  Chattanooga,  grave  273,  Sec.  F. 

Woodburn,  John  T. — 1864,  from  Co.  I,  drafted. 

Yarger,  Henry — 1864,  drafted,  died  at  Nashville,  grave  2,937. 

•  COMPANY   F 

Mustered  in  Oct.  3,  1861.     Mustered  out  Oct.  3,  1865. 

David  W.  Marshall,  Captain — Promoted  to  Major  and  Lieutenant 
Colonel,  51st  O.  V.  I. 

John  M.  Frew,  Captain — Appointed  from  Second  and  First  Lieu- 
tenant: promoted  to  Major. 

James  M.  McClintock,  First  Lieutenant — Detailed  in  U.  S.  Signal 
Service ;  promoted  to  Captain  Co.  E. ;  transferred  to  Co.  H,  G  and  K. 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  135 

William  Le  Retilley,  First  Lieutenant — Promoted  from  Corporal, 
Sergeant  and  Second  Lieutenant;  wounded  in  battle  of  Stone  River, 
1863;  promoted  to  First  Lieutenant  Co.  H;  captured  in  battle  of 
Chickamauga;  escaped,  1864;  promoted  to  Captain,  1865. 

Isaiah  D.  Luke,  First  Lieutenant — Promoted  from  Private,  Ser- 
g-eant  Major  and  Second  Lieutenant;  transferred  to  Co.  H. 

Charles  C.  Welty,  First  Lieutenant — Promoted  from  Sergeant  and 
Second  Lieutenant;  detailed  as  Acting  Regt.  Quartermaster. 

Edgar  J.  Pocock,  Second  Lieutenant — Appointed  from  First  Ser- 
geant Co.  H;  promoted  to  First  Lieutenant  Co.  C;  wounded  at 
Resaca,  Ga. 

Israel  A.  Correll,  Second    Lieutenant — Promoted  from  Sergeant. 

Robert  Hackinson,  First  Sergeant — Promoted  to  Second  Lieu- 
tenant, Co.  D. 

\\'illiam  H.  King,  First  Sergeant — Promoted  from  Private. 

Charles  McMichael,  Sergeant — Promoted  from  Private. 

James  H.  Hay,  Sergeant — Promoted  from  Private. 

Charles  M.  Belknap,  Sergeant — Promoted  from  Corporal;  cap- 
tured in  battle  of  Chickamauga;  paroled;  perished  by  explosion  of 
steamer  Sultana,  1865. 

George  V.  Ferguson,  Sergeant — Promoted  from  Corporal. 

Allen  H.  Piatt,  Sergeant — Promoted  from  Corporal. 

Samuel  Barclay,  Sergeant — Appointed  from  Corporal;  promoted 
to  Sergeant  Major. 

Abraham  S.  Hoagland,  Sergeant — Promoted  from  Private ;  trans- 
ferred from  Co.  I. 

Marcellus  Morgan,  Sergeant  —  Promoted  from  Private  and 
Corporal. 

Frederick  Barth,  Sergeant — Promoted  from  Private  and  Cor- 
poral; wounded  in  battle  of  Stone  River. 

David  W.  Stallard,  Corporal — Killed  in  action  near  Kenesaw 
Mountain;  grave  353,  Marietta,  Ga. 

John  W.  Wilson,  Corporal — Died  at  Murfreesboro,  Tenn.,  1863; 
grave  in  Stone  River  Cemetery. 

Sidney  S.  Harper,  Corporal. 

Nicholas  H.  Bassett,  Corporal. 

George  Murphy,  Corporal — Promoted  from  Private;  killed  in 
battle  of  Stone  River. 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


136  HISTORY    OF    COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

William  F.  Batty,  Corporal — Promoted  from  Private. 

George  Matson,  Corporal — Promoted  from  Private;  died,  1863, 
from  wounds  received  in  battle  of  Chickamauga;  grave  at  Chatta- 
nooga. 

Oliver  Browning,  Corporal — Promoted  from  Private;  captured  at 
Stone  River. 

James  Banford,  Corporal — Promoted  from  Private. 

Frederick  Blaser,  Corporal — Promoted  from  Private. 

Ralph  McClintock,  Musician — Promoted  to  Principal  Musician. 

Noah  Van  Horn,  Musician. 

Privates 

Agnew,  James  M. — Enlisted  in  5th  U.  S.  Artillery. 

Arnold,  Jesse  P. — Transferred  to  U.  S.  Engineer  Corps. 

Beardsley,  Robert  B. 

Bell,  Edwin  M. 

Bible,  Harrison — Transferred  to  Veteran  Reserve  Corps. 

Blaser,  Franklin — Died  from  wounds  received  in  battle  of  Dob- 
son's  Ferry,  Tenn.,  1862;  grave  in  Nashville. 

Brown,  John  E. 

Bryan,  William  B. 

Carr,  William. 

Courtright,  Leander — Captured  in  battle  of  Chickamauga :  died  in 
Rebel  Prison,  Andersonville. 

Crater,  Mathias. 

Davis,  Presley — Died  at  Camp  Wickliffe,  Ky.,  1862;  grave  at 
London,  Ky. 

Davis,  Walter  E. — Killed  in  battle  of  Stone  River;  grave  6,  Sec. 
D,  Murfreesboro,  Tenn. 

Davis,  James  H. 

Duling,  David. 

Duling,  Joab — Died  at  Camp  Wickliffe,  Ky.,  1862;  grave  at  Lon- 
don, Ky. 

Eckert,  Charles. 

Ellis,  Sylvester  A. 

Finney,  Isaac  B. — Transferred  to  U.  S.  Engineer  Corps. 

Flynn,  Robert — Killed  in  battle  of  Stone  River;  grave  9,  Sec.  E, 
Murfreesboro,  Tenn. 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  187 

Flynn,  John. 

Foster,  John. 

Fox,  John  G. — Died  from  wounds  received  in  battle  of  Stone  River ; 
grave  i8o.  Sec.  B,  Murfreesboro,  Tenn. 

Gertsch,  Samuel. 

Hart,  Martin — Missing  in  battle  of  Chickamauga. 

Harbaugh,  Lucien. 

Heslip,  Thomas — Killed  in  battle  of  Stone  River. 

Hilliker,  John. 

Hopp,  Charles — Died  at  Bardstovvn,  Ky.,  1862;  grave  at  Leb- 
anon, Ky. 

Huston,  David — Transferred  to  Veteran  Reserve  Corps. 

Johnson,  Peter. 

Lahr,  Jacob — Captured  in  battle  of  CHickamauga;  paroled  at 
Vicksburg;  perished  in  explosion  of  steamer  Sultana  on  the  Mississippi. 

Layton,  Albert — Enlisted  in  5th  U.  S.  Artillery. 

Lenhart,  Jacob. 

Loringo,  Euphemio. 

McMichael,  Levi. 

McMichael,  James  H. — Died  at  Camp  Wickliffe,  Ky.,  1862;  grave 
at  London,  Ky. 

Meek,  Christian  S. — Killed  in  battle  of  Stone  River. 

Meek,  Thomas. 

Miller,  George  W. 

Montgomery,  John. 

Morrison,  Isaac. 

Mosher,  Carl — Enlisted  in  5th  U.  S.  Artillery. 

Mowry,  John  W. — Died  at  Camp  Wickliffe,  Ky.,  1862;  grave  at 
I^ndon,  Ky. 

Minick,  David — Transferred  to  Veteran  Reserve  Corps. 

Minick,  Ezra — Died  at  Camp  Wickliffe,  Ky.,  1862;  grave  at 
London,  Ky. 

Rhineman,  Lloyd. 

Rossiter,  Martin. 

Sellers,  AsA  M. 

Sibley,  Ryan  L. 

Sipes,  George  M. 

Smailes,  John. 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


138  HISTORY    OF    COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

Smith,  Nathaniel  H. 

Smith,  William. 

Southwell,  Thomas  A. 

Starkey,  William  H. — Died  at  Nashville,  1862;  grave  250. 

Stonehocker,  Jacob  D. — Captured  in  battle  of  Chickamauga;  im- 
prisoned at  Libby;  died  in  Rebel  Prison,  Andersonville ;  grave  10,576. 

Stucker,  Samuel — Died  at  Nashville,  1862. 

Thomas,  Eli  W. 

Ury,  James. 

Vance,  Hiram  J. 

Van  Horn,  George. 

Wales,  William  A. — Died  from  wounds  received  in  battle  of 
Stone  River. 

Welch,  William — Died  at  Covington,  Ky.,  from  wounds  received 
in  battle  of  Stone  River. 

Weir,  Robert. 

Weir,  John — Wounded  in  action  at  Kenesaw  Mountain. 

Williams,  Alexander  M. — Transferred  to  Veteran  Reserve  Corps. . 

Wilson,  Dias  N. 

Wilson,  Charles  W. 

Wright,  Reuben  D. 

COMPANY  F  RECRUITS,  51st  O.  V.  I. 
With  date  of  entering  service. 

Bates,  Joseph — 1864. 

Beebe,  James  E. — 1865. 

Brannan,  Henry. 

Bumbarger,  Jacob — 1864,  drafted,  transferred  from  Co.  E. 

Carr,  John — 1864,  transferred  from  loist  O.  V.  I. 

Cashbaugh,  Philip — 1864,  died  from  wounds  received  in  action  at 
Kenesaw  Mountain;  grave  296,  Sec.  E,  Chattanooga. 

Chamberlin,  Peter — 1864,  transferred  to  Veteran  Reserve  Corps. 

Cullison,  Benvah — 1864,  died  at  Victoria,  Tex.,  grave  at  Gal- 
veston. 

Cutshaw,  Thomas  B. — 1864,  transferred  to  Veteran  Reserve 
Corps. 

Davis,  Daniel — 1864,  transferred  from  Co.  E  to  Veteran  Reserve 
Corps. 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


THE    PATH    OF    SIGHS    TO  THE    COURTHOUSE— CORNER    OF    JAIL    IN 

LEFT    FOREGROUND. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


Digitized  by 


Google 


HISTORY    OF    COSHOCTON    COUNTY  139 

Davis,  David  (Plainfield)— 1864. 

Dole,  George — 1864. 

Grundish,  George  H. — 1864. 

Harris,   George — 1864. 

Johnson,  Richard — 1864,  drafted,  transferred  from  Co.  E,  died 
at  Huntsville,  Ala.,  1865,  grave  at  Chattanooga. 

King,  Amos — 1864,  drafted,  transferred  from  Co.  K. 

Lanning,  David — 1863. 

Leavengood,  Andrew — 1864. 

Littick,  Samuel — 1864. 

Miller,  Peter  J.— 1864. 

Miller,  Samuel — 1864. 

Miller,  John — 1864. 

Mitchell,  Benjamin — 1864. 

Murray,  Marion  L. — 1864,  drafted,  transferred  from  Co.  E. 

Newell,  Gilbert — 1864. 

Philabaum,  John — 1864,  drafted. 

Rannels,  Charles  S. — 1864,  drafted,  transferred  from  Co,  E. 

Reinbolt,  Joseph — 1864,  transferred  from  loist  O.  V.  I. 

Schmeeser,  Henry — 1864,  transferred  from  Co.  K. 

Skinner,  Joseph — 1864. 

Smith,  Thomas — 1864,  transferred  to  Veteran  Reserve  Corps. 

Smith,  John — 1864,  drafted,  transferred  from  Co.  E,  died  at 
Shield's  Mills,  Tenn.,  grave  64,  Sec.  10,  Chattanooga. 

Spencer,  William — 1864,  died  from  wounds  received  in  action  near 
Kenesaw  Mountain,  re-interred  in  Franklin  church  cemetery,  Co- 
shocton County. 

Stallings,  William — 1864,  drafted,   transferred  from   Co.   E. 

Starkey,  Henry — 1864,  transferred  from  Co.  E. 

Waltz,  Jacob  F. — 1864,  drafted. 

Weasel,   Conrad — 1864,   drafted. 

Wells,  Edward — 1865. 

Welsch,  William  F.— 1864,  drafted. 

Werts,  Jacob — 1864. 

Werts,  Samuel — 1864,  drafted. 

Wheeler,  Willard — 1864,  drafted,  transferred  from  Co.  E. 

Whitacre,  Preston  B. — 1864,  drafted,  died  1865  on  board  U.  S. 
hospital  steamer  Jennie  Hopkins. 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


140  HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

Whitman,  Daniel — 1863,  transferred  from  loist  O.  V.  I. 
Williams,  Flavius  J. — 1864,  drafted. 

Wilson,  Samuel  J. — 1864,  drafted,  transferred  from  Co.  E. 
Wilson,  William — 1864,  drafted,  transferred  from  Co.  E. 
Wilson,  Charles  W.,  2d — 1864,  drafted. 
Wilson,  Fletcher — 1864,  drafted,  transferred  from  Co.  E. 
Wilson,  Samuel  W. — 1864,  drafted. 
Winters,  Samuel — 1864,  drafted. 

Wright,  John  C. — 1864,  drafted,  transferred  from  Co.  K,  died  at 
Louisville,  Ky.,  grave  in  Cave  Hill  cemetery. 

COMPANY    H 
Mustered  in  Oct.  4,  1861.     Mustered  out  Oct.  3,  1865. 

John  D.  Nicholas,  Captain — Promoted  to  Lieutenant  Colonel 
143d  O.  V.  L 

Samuel  Stephens,  Captain — Promoted  from  Second  Lieutenant 
Co.  D  and  First  Lieutenant;  killed  in  action  at  Kenesaw  Mountain. 

William  Nicholas,  Captain — Promoted  from  Second  and  First 
Lieutenant ;  appointed  Adjutant ;  detailed  as  Commissary  of  Musters, 
Central  District  of  Texas. 

Charles  Donley,  First  Lieutenant. 

Willis  C.  Workman,  First  Lieutenant — Promoted  from  Private 
and  Second  Lieutenant;  killed  in  action  at  Kenesaw  Mountain. 

Reuben  B.  Whitaker,  Second  Lieutenant — Promoted  from 
Private,  Corporal  and  Sergeant. 

David  L.  Barton,  First  Sergeant — Promoted  from  Private. 

Charles  Craig,  First  Sergeant — Promoted  from  Corporal. 

Benjamin  D.  Day,  Sergeant — Died  at  Murfreesboro,  Tenn., 
1862,  grave  127,  Section  D,  Stone  River  Cemetery. 

Samuel  K.  Sayer,  Sergeant — Appointed  from  Private;  captured 
in  battle  of  Chickamauga ;  escaped  from  exploded  steamer  Sultana. 

Nelson  Buck,  Sergeant — Promoted  from  Private. 

Samuel  Holderbaum,  Sergeant — Promoted  from  Corporal;  de- 
tailed to  Signal  Corps. 

Charles  Belser,  Sergeant — Promoted  from  Corporal. 

William  G.  Adams,  Sergeant — Promoted  from  Private. 

John  Leavengood,  Sergeant — Promoted  from  Private  and  Cor- 
poral ;  twice  wounded  at  Stone  River. 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  141 

Charles  M.  Pike,  Corporal. 

Joseph  Shook,  Corporal. 

Washington  Cain,  Corporal. 

Simpson  McFadden,  Corporal. 

Solomon  Duncan,  Corporal — Promoted  to  Color  Sergeant. 

Nathan  Shannon,  Corporal — Promoted  from  Private;  wounded 
in  battle  of  Stone  River. 

Edward  B.  Crawford,  Corporal — Promoted  from  Private;  trans- 
ferred to  Veteran  Reserve  Corps. 

David  Nicodemus,  Corporal — Promoted  from  Private. 

Henry  Davidson,  Corporal — Promoted  from  Private. 

Theophilus  Phillips — Musician. 

Privates 

Addy,  John — Wounded  in  action. 

Albert,  Aaron — Wounded  in  battle  of  Stone  River;  transferred 
to  Veteran  Reserve  Corps. 

Armstrong,  John — Died  at  Nashville,  1862. 

Barnes,  William — Appointed  Sergeant;  reduced  by  his  own 
request. 

Bash,  Philip 

Beatonhead,  Conrad. 

Bird,  Henry 

Brink,  A.  C. 

Brister,  James — Died  at  Nashville,   1862. 

Buck,  Franklin  B. — Died  from  wounds  received  in  battle  of 
Stone  River. 

Buck,  Henry  F. 

Cain,  Jackson — Died  at  Orange,  O.,  1865. 

Carnahan,  George 

Collins,  Samuel  P. 

Cooper,  James  P. — ^Wounded  and  captured  in  battle  of  Chicka- 
mauga;  died  1863  at  Annapolis,  Md. 

Crelly,  James — Enlisted  in  Fifth  U.  S.  Artillery. 

Cunning,  Albert 

Darnes,  John  W. 

Davidson,  John — Killed  in  battle  of  Stone  River. 

Davidson,  William  J. — ^Transferred  to  Veteran  Reserve  Corps. 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


142  HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

Davis,  Nathaniel  C. 

Dewalt,  John  B. 

Dougherty,  Patrick  S. 

Dougherty,  James  G. — ;Died  in  General  Field  Hospital;  grave  at 

Murfreesboro,  Tenn. 

Dougherty,  William  I. — Captured  in  battle  of  Chickamauga;  died 
in  Rebel  Prison,  Danville,  Va. 

Edwards,  George 

Edwards,  Thomas  J. 

Ewing,  Daniel  H. 
•  Fleming,  Isaiah  D. 

Gibson,  David — Died  at  Cincinnati,  1863;  grave  at  Nashville. 

Hogle,  Thomas 

Hoobler,  Samuel 

Hutchinson,  Thomas  C. — Died  at  Roscoe,  O.,  1864. 

Jennings,  William  R. — Wounded  in  battle  of  Stone  River;  trans- 
ferred to  Veteran  Reserve  Corps. 

Jones,  Jacob 

Jones,  David 

Jones,  Nathaniel — Died  at  Nashville,  1863,  from  wounds  received 
in  battle  of  Stone  River. 

Karr,  Robert  E. 

"Kugler,  Mathias — Died  at  Nelson's  Furnace,  Ky.,  1862;  grave  in 
Cave  Hill  Cemetery,  Louisville,  Ky. 

Leavengood,  Levi 

Lennon,  James — Transferred  to  Co.  K.,  99th  O.  V.  I.,  detailed 
Inspecting  Orderly  at  Brigade  Headquarters. 

Linn,  Joseph — Died  at  New  Haven,  Ky.,   1863;  grave  at  Nash- 
ville, Tenn. 

Locklin,  Philo 

Loos,    Levi — Died   at   New   Haven,    Ky.,    1862;   grave   at   New 
Albany,  Ind. 

Luke,  Samuel 

Martin,  Joseph — Died  at  Nashville,  1862. 

Miles,  William — Died  at  Nashville,  1862. 

Miller,  Lewis 

Moore,  Jacob 

Morrow,  George — Killed  in  battle  of  Stone  River. 

Digitized  by  VnOOQlC 


HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  143 

Murphy,  James 

Nelson,  James — Captured  at  Stone  River;  prisoner  in  Libby; 
wounded  at  Lovejoy  Station,  Ga. 

Parry,  John — Enlisted  in  Fifth  U.  S.  Artillery. 

Phillips,  Ralph — Transferred  to  Veteran  Reserve  Corps. 

Richardson,  Cyrus — Died  at  Shell  Mound,  Tenn.,  1864;  grave 
179,  Section  C,  Chatanooga,  Tenn. 

Row,  Lewis — Enlisted  in  Fifth  U.  S.  Artillery. 

Rutherford,  Thomas — Died  at  Nashville,  1862. 

Scott,  Alexander — Died  at  Nashville,  1863;  grave  770. 

Shannon,  William  B. — Killed  in  action  near  Kenesaw  Mountain; 
grave  117,  Sec.  H,  Marietta,  Ga. 

Skellinger,  Sylvanus 

Smith,  Nathaniel 

Smith,  Richard  M. 

Steffy,  Eli — Died  at  Camp  Wickliffe,  Ky.,  1862;  grave  137, 
Soldiers'  Burial  Lot,  New  Albany,  Ind. 

Thompson,  Robert  V. 

Undine,  Henry 

Walker,  John 

Wier,  John — Wounded  in  battle  of  Stone  River. 

Wicken,  William — Wounded  in  battle  of  Stone  River. 

Wilson,  Montraville — Died  1863;  grave  in  Jefferson  Barracks 
cemetery,  St.  Louis. 

Wise,  Lewis — Died  1862;  grave  123,  Nashville. 

Wolf,  Jacob 

Wolf,  John  G. 

COMPANY  H,  RECRUITS  51st  O.  V.  I. 
With  date  of  entering  service. 
Addy,  Samuel — 1864. 

Addy,  Robert — 1864,  killed  in  action  at  Kenesaw  Mountain,  Ga., 
grave  at  Marietta,  Ga. 
Addy,  James — 1864. 
Baker,  Francis — 1864. 
Baker,  John  D. — 1864. 
Baker,  Isaiah  D. — 1865. 
Bash,  Philip— 1864. 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


144  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

Briggs,  John — 1864,  drafted. 

Brink,  Alanson  C,  Second — 1864. 

Bryan,  Wrightson — 1865. 

Buckmaster,  John  R. — 1864,  from  Co.  I. 

Butt,  Daniel— 1864.  drafted. 

Chance,  Joshua  M. — 1864. 

Clark,  Or  in — 1864. 

Corwin,  John — 1864. 

Cronkwright,  George — 1864,  drafted. 

Dougherty,  Patrick  S.,  Second — 1865. 

Dougherty,  William  I. — 1862,  captured  in  battle  of  Chickamauga, 
1863,  died  in  Rebel  Prison,  Danville,  Va.,  1865. 

Dougherty,  Nelson — 1864,  from  Co.  E. 

Durban,  Lawrence — 1864,  drafted. 

Easton,  Daniel — 1864,  died  at  Green  Lake,  Tex.,  1865,  grave  at 
Galveston. 

Elson,  John — 1865. 

Fellows,  James — 1864,  drafted. 

Fleming,  John  L. — 1862,  drafted. 

Foster,  John  W. — 1864,  from  Co.  E.,  killed  in  battle  of  Nashville. 

Fulton,  James  H. — 1864,  drafted. 

Garrett,  Henry — 1864. 

Geiogue,  Frederick — 1862,  drafted,  died  at  Murfreesboro,  Tenn., 
1863. 

Good,  Michael — 1864. 

Green,  William — 1864,  from  Co.  E. 

Hohenshell,  Wesley — 1864. 

Holder baum,  Henry  J. — 1862,  drafted. 

Horner,  Samuel — 1862,  drafted. 

Hoffman,  Dallas — 1864,  from  Co.  E. 

Hull,  Abraham — 1865. 

Jones,  Jabez — 1864,  from  Co.  E. 

Johnson,  John — 1864,  accidentally  wounded  near  Cassville,  Ga. 
transferred  to  Veteran  Reserve  Corps. 

Keesey,  Christopher — 1864. 

Lawrence,  John  B. — 1864. 

Lawson,  William — 1864,  drafted. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  145 

Luke,  George  W. — 1864,  died  at  Atlanta,  grave  14,  Sec.  L,  Mar- 
ietta, Ga. 

Luke,  John  B. — 1862,  drafted. 

McElfresh,  John — 1864,  drafted. 

McKee,  John  L. — 1864. 

Malatt,  John  L.— 1865. 

Maple,  John — 1862,  drafted. 

Michael,  Solomon — 1865. 

Miller,  Peter — 1864,  from  Co.  L 

Moore,  Martin — 1864. 

Myers,  Theodore — 1864,  from  Co.  E.- 
Nichols, Truman — 1864. 

Nirote,  Christian — 1864. 

Norris,  Charles — 1864. 

Nor r is,  William  C. — 1864. 

Oron,  Daniel  B. — 1864,  died  at  Nashville,  grave  348. 

Phillips,  Hamilton— 1865.  Phillips,  William  H.— 1865. 

Phillips,  David  B.— 1865.  Reed,  Thomas— 1864,  drafted. 

Richmond,  John  R. — 1864,  died  at  Camp  Stanley,  Tex.,  1865,  grave 
at  Galveston. 

Roberts,  John  K.— 1865. 

Snider,  Jacob — 1862,  died  at  Murfreesboro,  Tenn,  1863,  grave  137, 
Sec.  N. 

Stephens,  Robert — 1862,  drafted. 

Sybole,  Isaiah  M. — 1864. 

Tourney,  Wilson — 1864. 

Trenor,  Daniel — 1864. 

Tucker,  Tillman — 1864,  substitute. 

Tyson,  McKinsey — 1864. 

Vansickle,  George — 1864. 

Vance,  G.  W.— 1862,  drafted. 

Wiggins,  Sr.,  Edward — 1864. 

Wiggins,  Jr.,  Edward — 1864. 

Williams,  Charles  J. — 1864,  substitute. 

Winner,  Thomas  F. — 1864,  killed  in  action  near  Kenesaw  Moun- 
tain, grave  307,  Sec.  H,  Marietta,  Ga. 

Wires,  Elias — 1864. 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


146  HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON    COUNTY 

COMPANY    I 
Mustered  in  Oct.  3,  1861.     Mustered  out  Oct.  3,  1865. 

James  M.  Crooks,  Captain — Resigned,  1862. 

Allen  Gaskill,  Captain — Promoted  from  First  Lieutenant  Co.  C; 
resigned,  1862. 

William  Moore,  Captain — Promoted  from  First  Lieutenant;  re- 
signed, 1864. 

Lewis  Crooks,  Captain — Promoted  from  Second  and  First  Lieu- 
tenant; resigned,  1864. 

Sampson  McNeal,  Second  Lieutenant — Promoted  from  Private  and 
Sergeant ;  transferred  to  Co,  C  and  promoted  to  First  Lieutenant. 

Ulysses  B.  Kinsey,  First  Sergeant — Promoted  to  Quartermaster 
Sergeant. 

William  McCoy,  Sergeant — Died  at  Camp  Wickliffe,  Ky.,  1862. 

Henry  Hagelbarger,  Sergeant — Enlisted  in  U.  S.  Artillery. 

James  McFarlin,  Sergeant — Killed  in  battle  of  Stone  River. 

John  A.  Weatherwax,  Sergeant. 

Jonathan  H.  Mullett,  Sergeant — Promoted  from  Private  and  Cor- 
poral. 

John  Crooks,  Sergeant — Promoted  from  Corporal;  transferred  to 
Co.C. 

Andrew  J.  Stover,  Corporal. 

Hiram  Sapp,  Corporal — Wounded  and  captured  in  battle  of  Chick- 
amauga;  died  in  Rebel  Prison,  Atlanta,  Ga.,  1863. 

Lsaac  McXeal,  Corporal — Killed  in  Battle  of  Chickamauga;  grave 
at  Chattanooga. 

John  Willis,  Corporal. 

Harrison  Bible,  Corporal — Transferred  to  Co.  F. 

Andrew  J.  Holmes,  Corporal — Missing  in  battle  of  Chickamauga. 

Lyman  B.  Church,  Corporal — Transferred  to  Co.  F. 

Stewart  Oxley,  Corporal — Appointed  from  Private ;  transferred  to 
Co.  D. 

Samuel  Mullett,  Corporal — Appointed  from  Private:  transferred 
to  Co.  H. 

Abraham  S.  Hoagland,  Corporal — Appointed  from  Private ;  trans- 
ferred to  Co.  F. 

John  M.  White,  Musician — Died  near  Murfreesboro,  Tenn.,  1863. 

John  M.  Cochran,  Wagoner — Transferred  to  Co.  D. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  147 

Privates 

Amnions,  Abraham — Transferred  to  Co.  D. 

Ammons,  John — Transferred  to  Co.  D. 

Anderson,  Samuel. 

Arnold,  James  G. 

Baker,  Orin  M. 

Barnes,  John — Died  at  Camp  Wickliffe,  Ky.,  1862;  grave  at  Le- 
banon, Ky. 

Barnes,  William. 

Barr,  Charles  W. 

Bible,  Lewis — Died  at  Chattanooga,  Tenn.,  1864;  grave  410, 
Sec.  D. 

Bricker,  Lorenzo  D. 

Buckalew,  William — Died,  date  and  place  unknown. 

Buckalew,  Nathan — Transferred  to  Co.  D;  wounded  at  Kenesaw 
Mountain ;  detailed  to  Pioneer  Corps. 

Calkglesser,  William. 

Comstock,  Cyrus — Transferred  to  Co.  H. 

Carpenter,  Nathan  D. — Killed  in  Battle  near  Atlanta,  1864;  grave 
30,  Sec.  F,  Marietta,  Ga. 

Crooks,  Henry — Transferred  to  Co.  C. 

Dahler,  Jacob — Died  at  Nashville,  1862. 

Dewitt,  John. 

Dial,  Lorenzo  D. — Killed  in  battle  of  Stone  River,  1863. 

Dial,  Lyman — Died  from  wounds  received  in  battle  of  Chicka- 
mauga,  1863;  grave  20,  Sec.  F,  Chattanooga. 

Elliott,  Thomas — Wounded  in  battle  of  Stone  River. 

Evans,  William — Captured  in  battle  of  Chickamauga ;  died  in  Rebel 
Prison,  Danville,  Va.,  1863;  grave  145,  lot  2,  Sec.  B. 

Fivecoat,  David — Wounded  in  battle  of  Rocky  Face  Ridge,  Ga., 
1864;  transferred  to  Co.  D. 

Fox,  John — Died  from  wounds  received  in  battle  of  Chickamauga, 
1863;  grave  342,  Sec.  A,  Chattanooga. 

Haines,  Francis  D. — Transferred  to  Co.  H. 

Hagelbarger,  Gottlieb — Died  at  Nashville,  1863. 

Hardsock,  Isaac — Killed  in  battle  of  Stone  River. 

Hess,  George  W. — Transferred  to  Veteran  Reserve  Corps. 

Hoagland,  Josiah. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


148  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

Hostetler,  Jacob — Killed  in  action  near  Dallas,  Ga.,  1864;  grave 
517,  Sec.  G,  Marietta,  Ga. 

Hunter,  John. 

Kelsey,  John — Died  in  Rebel  Prison,  Andersonville,  1864. 

Kinsey,  L.  B. 

Kline,  George — Transferred  to  Co.  H. 

Landers,  Francis  M. — Killed  in  battle  of  Stone  River ;  grave  22, 
Sec.  F,  Murfreesboro,  Tenn. 

Livingston,  Isaac. 

Livingston,  John — Died  at  Nashville,  1862. 

McG)y,  Samuel — Died  at  Camp  Wickliffe,  Ky.,  1862. 

McConnell,  Thomas. 

McFarlin,  Robert — Killed  in  battle  of  Chickamauga. 

Matticks,  Leander — Enlisted  in  U.  S.  Artillery. 

Miller,  Jacob. 

Miller,  Peter  M.— Died  at  Camp  Wickliffe,  Ky.,  1862. 

Miller,  William — Died  at  Nashville,  1862. 

Mohler,  William — Transferred  to  Co.  F. 

Oglevie,  Francis. 

Richison,  Orrimilt — Killed  in  battle  of  Stone  River. 

Robbins,  Joseph  M. — Transferred  to  Co.  H. 

Sickles,  Isaac  C. — Died  in  Rebel  Prison,    Andersonville,    1864; 
grave  8752. 

Sigman,  Joseph — Transferred  to  Co.  F. 

Smith,  John. 

Stone,  Calvin  A. 

Stone,  James. 

Sullivan,  Cranson  W. — EnHsted  in  U.  S.  Artillery. 

Sullivan,  J.  Oscar. 

Teters,  Washington. 

Thompson,  Charles  C. 

Thomas,  Reese. 

Trump,  Daniel — Died  at  Nashville,  1864. 

Uhlman,  Albert — Transferred  to  Co.  F. 

Vanscoder,  Israel — Transferred  to  Co.  C. 

Walton,  Harrison — Died  at  Stevenson,  Ala.,  1863;  grave  30,  Sec. 
F,  Chattanooga. 


.Google 


Digitized  by  ^ 


PLAINFIELD. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


Digitized  by 


Google 


HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  149 

Walton,  Jesse  T. — Transferred  to  34th  Co.,  2d  Battalion,  Veteran 
Reserve  Corps. 

Williams,  Jackson — Transferred  to  Veteran  Reserve  Corps. 
Wilson,  John  J. — Died  at  Nashville,  1863;  grave  1051. 

COMPANY  I  RECRUITS,  51st  O.  V.  I. 
With  date  of  entering  service. 

Robert  Shiver,  Corporal — 1864,  transferred  to  Co.  D. 

Bartlett,  Abraham — 1864,  transferred  to  Co.  D. 

Boyd,  Maro — 1864,  died  at  Blue  Springs,  Tenn. 

Brillhart,  George  H. — 1864,  transferred  to  Co.  D. 

Buckalew,  Nathan — Transferred  to  Co.  D. 

Burklew,  Benjamin  F. — 1864,  transferred  to  Co.  D,  wounded  in 
action  at  Tunnel  Hill,  Ga.,  left  arm  taken  off  by  cannon  ball  at  Nash- 
ville battle. 

Donaldson,  Joseph  W. — 1864,  transferred  to  Co.  D. 

Drummond,  James  H. — 1864,  transferred  to  Co.  D. 

Fortune,  Jacob — 1864,  transferred  to  Co.  D. 

Hammer,  Conrad — 1864,  transferred  to  Co.  D. 

Miller,  Peter — 1864,  transferred  to  Co.  H. 

Mohler,  George  W. — 1864,  transferred  to  Co.  D. 

Mullett,  George  W. — 1864,  transferred  to  Co.  D. 

Myer,  Henry — 1864,  drafted,  transferred  to  Co.  D. 

Myers,  John — 1864,  transferred  to  Co.  D. 

Pearle,  Thomas — 1864,  transferred  to  Co.  D. 

Renfrew,  Alexander — 1864,  transferred  to  Co.  D. 

Speckman,  John — 1864,  transferred  to  Co.  D. 

Stanton,  William  N. — 1864,  missing  in  battle  of  Resaca,  Ga. 

Wilson,  Lucius — 1864,  transferred  to  Co.  D. 

In  1862,  after  a  year  of  war,  the  ardor  of  first  enlistments  belonged  ' 
to  the  past;  volunteering  now  went  on  with  the  horror  of  war  over- 
shadowing all.    The  Coshocton  ranks  had  been  decimated  by  battle, 
disease  and  capture. 

Three  companies  were  organized  here  for  the  Eightieth  Ohio,  the 
courageous  regiment  commanded  by  the  courageous  Major  Richard 
Lanning  who  fell  at  Corinth.  Dying  on  the  battlefield,  in  the  arms  of 
a  friend,  his  last  thoughts,  spoken  gaspingly  as  the  life  stream  crim- 
soned his  throat,  were  of  country,  wife  and  children. 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


150  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

The  hard-marching  Eightieth  it  was  from  the  beginning.  Ripley, 
Miss.,  meant  a  forced  march  of  forty-six  miles  in  dust  and  heat,  a 
grueling  tramp  that  disabled  many.  After  our  stores  at  Holly  Springs 
were  destroyed,  the  Eightieth,  in  Quimby's  division,  guarded  a  pro- 
vision train  to  Memphis,  repairing  the  railroad  line  as  it  marched. 
From  the  siege  of  Vicksburg  the  Eightieth  went  as  far  as  Helena, 
under  orders  to  join  Steele's  forces,  then  by  countermanding  order 
went  to  Memphis  and  marched  from  that  point  for  Chattanooga,  a 
march  of  four  hundred  miles. 

The  battles  of  the  Eightieth  Ohio: 

Siege  of  Corinth,  Miss.,  April  30  to  May  30,  1862. 

Farmington,  Miss.,  May  9,  1862. 

luka.  Miss.,  September  19-20,  1862. 

Corinth,  Miss.,  October  4,  1862. 

Raymond,  Miss.,  May  12,  1863. 

Jackson,  Miss.,  May  14,  1863. 

Siege  of  Vicksburg,  Miss.,  May  18  to  July  4,  1863. 

Mission  Ridge,  Tenn.,  November  25,  1863. 

Salkahatchie,  S.  C,  February  3  to  9,  1865. 

Bentonville,  N.  C,  March  19  to  21,  1865. 

Sherman's  March  to  the  Sea. 

The  Eightieth  led  the  advance  of  Sherman's  whole  army  toward 
Raleigh  in  the  campaign  of  the  Carolinas,  and  one  day  made  a  forced 
march  of  seventeen  miles  in  four  hours  to  save  a  bridge  over  the  Neuse 
for  the  army  to  cross.  When  the  bridge  was  sighted  one  end  was 
already  fired  and  the  retreating  enemy  still  in  view,  but  the  flames  were 
checked  and  Sherman's  army  moved  on  undelayed.  After  the  grand 
review  at  Washington  the  Eightieth  did  garrison  duty  at  Little  Rock, 
Ark.,  till  mustered  out. 

From  the  siege  of  Vicksburg  Colonel  Pren  Metham  was  in  com- 
mand of  the  Eightieth,  an  honored  officer,  and  today  a  highly-respected 
citizen,  the  soul  of  hospitality  in  his  country  home  near  Nellie.  His 
military  record  is  one  of  rapid  promotion.  From  Captain  of  Co.  F 
he  was  promoted  to  Major  in  less  than  a  year,  then  to  Lieutenant 
Colonel  a  few  months  afterward,  and  to  Colonel  in  1864.  His  courage 
was  unfaltering  through  all  the  fighting  of  the  Eightieth,  and  his  qual- 
ities as  commander  won  the  hearts  of  the  men. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  151 

EIGHTIETH  REGIMENT  O.  V.  I. 
Company  F 
Mustered  in  1862.     Mustered  out  Aug.  13,  1865. 

Pren  Metham,  Captain — Promoted  to  Major,  Lieutenant  Colonel 
and  Colonel. 

Peter  Hack,  Captain — Promoted  from  First  Lieutenant;  resigned 
from  Co.  G. 

James  Carnes,  First  Lieutenant — Promoted  to  Captain  Co.  B. 

Francis  H.  Farmer,  First  Lieutenant — Appointed  from  Second 
Lieutenant ;  promoted  to  Captain  Co.  D. 

Samuel  Clark,  First  Lieutenant — Promoted  from  Corporal  and 
Sergeant. 

T.  W.  Collier,  Second  Lieutenant — Appointed  Sergeant  from 
Private;  wounded  in  battle  of  Corinth,  Miss.,  1862;  promoted  to  Sec- 
ond and  First  Lieutenant  and  Adjutant. 

James  M.  Cochran,  Second  Lieutenant — Appointed  from  First 
Sergeant ;  Promoted  to  First  Lieutenant  Co.  A  and  to  Captain  Co.  E. 

George  B.  Wilson,  First  Sergeant — Appointed  from  Corporal;  pro-, 
moted  to  Sergeant  Major. 

George  W.  Cox,  First  Sergeant — Promoted  from  Corporal. 

John  Humphrey,  Sergeant — Detailed  in  Contraband  Camp. 

Solomon  McNabb,  Sergeant. 

John  N.  Henderson,  Sergeant — Died  in  hospital  near  Clear  Creek, 
Miss.,  1862;  grave  at  Corinth,  Miss. 

Wesley  S.  Welling,  Sergeant — Promoted  from  Corporal. 

Andrew  J.  Lamma,  Sergeant — Promoted  from  Corporal;  wounded 
in  battle  of  Corinth,  1862. 

Nathaniel  E.  Clendenning,  Sergeant — Wounded  in  battle  of  luka. 
Miss.,  1862,  and  battle  of  Corinth ;  promoted  from  Corporal. 

Thomas  Kanavel,  Corporal. 

•Fernando  C.  Wright,  Corporal. 

Samuel  Compton,  Corporal — Died  at  Paducah,  Ky.,  1862;  grave 
at  Roscoe,  O. 

William  McCumber,  Corporal — Promoted  from  Private. 

Osborne  Richardson,  Corporal — Promoted  from  Private. 

William  A.  Giffen,  Corporal — Promoted  from  Private. 

George  W.  Kanavel,  Corporal — Promoted  from  Private. 

John  Wilson,  Corporal — Promoted  from  Private. 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


152  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

Benjamin  Vial,  Corporal — Wounded  in  battle  of  luka  and  Mission 
Ridge ;  promoted  from  Private. 

Thomas  Clark,  Corporal — Promoted  from  Private. 

Burris  M.  Noland,  Corporal — Wounded  in  battle  of  Corinth ;  pro- 
moted from  Private. 

James   Bair,    Corporal — Appointed   from   Private;   promoted  to 
Sergeant  Major. 

R.  M.  Decker,  Musician. 

Privates 

Arm,  Samuel. 

Ault,  Andrew. 

Bailey,  Madison. 

Bassett,  Jesse  A. — Died  near  Corinth,  Miss.,  1862;  grave  11,  Sec. 
Bi. 

Bills,  William — Died  in  hospital  near  Columbus,  O.,  1863;  grave 
in  Green  Lawn  cemetery. 

Boes,  John. 

Branagan,  Matthew. 

Brannan,  Bernard. 

Brannan,  Dennis. 

Campbell,  Matthew. 

Carr,  Lorenzo. 

Clark,  John. 

Clark,  Lemote. 

Cochran,  Washington  L. — Died  at  Hamburg,  Tenn.,  1862;  grave 
at  Shiloh. 

Cochran,  Joshua — Killed  in  battle  of  Corinth. 

Coe,  Isaac  R. 

Cook,  John — Transferred  from  Co.  L 

Copelen,  John. 

Cox,  Richard. 

Cray,  Richard. 

Cross,  Robert.  ,, 

Culter,  Coan — Died  at  Paducah,  Ky.,  1862;  grave  at  Cairo,  111. 

Cunning,   Daniel   G. — Captured  at  Henderson,   Ky.,    1862;   ex- 
changed. 

Dalier,  Levi — Killed  in  battle  of  Mission  Ridge;  grave  923,  Sec.  D, 
Chattanooga. 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  153 

Daniels,  Isaac. 

Daniels,  Nathan. 

De  Coursey,  David. 

Downes,  William. 

Drummond,  Turner — Killed  in  battle  of  luka,  Aliss.,  grave  at 
Corinth. 

Eceeley,  James. 

Eckert,  John. 

Flickly,  Bartholomew — Died  from  wounds  received  in  battle  of 
Corinth,  Miss.,  1862. 

Fortune,  Isaac— ^Wounded  in  battle  of  Corinth  and  Jackson. 

Fortune,  Thomas — Wounded  in  battle  of  Corinth ;  killed  in  battle 
of  Jackson,  Miss.,  1863;  grave  at  Vicksburg. 

Fricker,  August. 

Gault,  John — Detailed  in  Pioneer  Corps. 

Gault,  Stuart. 

Gonder,  Jacob. 

Gonder,  Michael  R. — Died  at  Louisville,  Ky.,  1865;  grave  147, 
Sec.  C,  row  3. 

Good,  Peter. 

Gordon,  James  S. 

Graybill,  John  S. 

Haines,  Henry. 

Hardenbrook,  Alfred. 

Harmon,  Jacob. 

Hinds,  Thomas — From  Co.  B;  transferred  to  Veteran  Reserve 
Corps. 

Holbrook,  Isaac. 

Hyde,  John — Died,  1862  at  Paducah;  grave  at  Cairo,  111. 

Johnson,  John  G. 

Jones,  George  B. 

Keys,  Charles  P. 

Keyser,  Philip  G. 

Kitchen,  Edward  J. 

Leavengood,  Daniel — Died  at  Hamburg,  Tenn.,  1862  grave  at 
Shiloh. 

McCuUough,  Alexander — Transferred  to  Co.  I,  23d  Regiment, 
Veteran  Reserve  Corps. 

McCullough,  Dan  «el  Digitized  by  Google 


154  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

Meredith,  Ambrose  B. 

Meredith,  Isaac. 

Metham,  Pren  (Eng.) 

Nargney,  Wilson. 

Nash,  James — Died,  1862;  grave  at  Corinth,  Miss. 

Orbison,  Ephraim — Died  on  the  march  to  Corinth,  1862. 

Parker,  John — Died  on  the  march  to  Corinth,  1862. 

Phillips,  Samuel. 

Richardson,  Thomas — Died,  1862;  grave  at  Corinth,  Miss. 

Richcreek,  Jonas. 

Richmond,  James. 

Robertson,  James — Missing  from  steamer  Ed.  Walsh  at  Helena, 
Ark.,  1863. 

Shook,  John — Died  at  Corinth,  1862;  grave  8,  Sec.  B  i. 

Staley,  John — Drafted. 

Taylor,  John. 

Tharp,  Caleb  B. 

Thatcher,  Jones. 

Thompson,  James  V. 

Turner,  Thomas. 

Willis,  Wilson — ^Wounded  in  battle  of  Corinth. 

Woods,  Arthur — ^Wounded  and  captured  in  battle  of  Forest  Hill, 
Tenn.,  1863. 

Yuhker,  Silas — Captured  in  battle  of  Mission  Ridge;  died  in  An- 
dersonville  Rebel  Prison;  grave  5,477. 

Zimmerman,  H.  H. — Missing  in  battle  of  Forest  Hill. 

COMPANY  F  RECRUITS,  80th  O.  V.  L 
With  date  of  entering  service. 

Black,  Leverett  O.— 1863. 

Buckmaster,  William — 1864. 

Cullison,  John  S. — 1864,  died  in  hospital  at  Resaca,  Ga.,  grave  at 
Chattanooga. 

Decker,  William  T. — 1864,  injured  near  Cartersville,  Ga.,  detailed 
in  Signal  Corps ;  took  Capt.  Duncan,  chief  of  scouts,  nine  miles  down 
the  Savannah  River  to  the  bay  through  the  enemy's  country. 

Fowler,  Zadock — 1864. 

Haney,  John — 1864. 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  155 

Hardsock,  Charles — 1864. 
Hyde,  Joseph — 1864. 
Hyde,  Andrew  J. — 1864, 
Johnson,  Philander — 1864. 
Kinney,  Patrick — 1864. 
Kling,  John — 1864. 
Michael,  John — 1864. 
Murphy,  Daniel — 1864. 
Myers,  George — 1864. 
Myers,  Henry — 1864. 
Norris,  William  H.  H.— 1864. 

Pickerel,  Martin — ^1864,  died  in  hospital  at  Resaca,  Ga. ;  grave 
463,  Sec.  K,  Chattanooga,  Tenn. 
Porter,  Rudolph — 1864. 
Potter,  William  H.— 1863. 
Randies,  William — 1864. 
Rose,  Jackson — 1864. 
Singer,  George — 1864. 
Starkey,  Timothy — 1864. 
Tracy,  Abraham — 1864. 
Westlake,  George — 1864. 
Whirl,  John— 1864. 
Williams,  Richard — 1864. 

COMPANY    G 
Mustered  in  1862.     Mustered  out  Aug.  13,  1865. 

William  Marshall,  Captain — Promoted  to  Lieutenant  Colonel. 

Milton  B.  Coulter,  Captain — Promoted  from  Sergeant,  Second  and 
First  Lieutenant  and  Regt.  Quartermaster. 

John  W.  Simmons,  First  Lieutenant — Promoted  from  First  Ser- 
geant; resigned,  1864. 

John  Isenogle,  First  Lieutenant — Promoted  from  Corporal  and 
Sergeant. 

John  D.  Ross,  Second  Lieutenant — Resigned,  1862. 

Benjamin  A.  Stevenson,  First  Sergeant. 

John    C.    Miller,    First    Sergeant — Promoted    from    Corporal; 
woimded  at  Jackson  and  Vicksburg. 

William  P.  Hay,  Sergeant — Promoted  to  Second  Lieutenant,  Co.  L 

Digitized  by  LjOOQIC 


156  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

George  Summers,  Sergeant — Promoted  from  Private  and  Corporal. 

John  Ryans,  Sergeant — Appointed  from  Private. 

Sylvester   Van   Dusen,   Sergeant — Promoted   from   Private   and 
Corporal. 

John  Ross,  Sergeant — Promoted  from  Private  and  Corporal. 

Michael  Gosser,  Sergeant — Promoted  from  Private  and  Corporal. 

Augustus  Erman,  Sergeant — Promoted  from  Private  and  Corporal. 

Henry  L.  Fribley,  Corporal — Died  at  Paducah,  Ky.,  1862;  grave  at 
Cairo,  111. 

Joseph  N.  Wood,  Corporal — Captured  in  battle  of  Mission  Ridge; 
escaped  from  Andersonville,  retaken  and  exchanged. 

John  Berton,  Corporal — Promoted  from  Private. 

Theodore  Snell,  Corporal— :Promoted  from  Private. 

Noah  Houston,  Corporal — Promoted  from  Private. 

Videlius  D.  Fuller,  Corporal — Promoted  from  Private. 

Nicholas  Wise,  Corporal — Promoted  from  Private. 

James  W.  Laughead,  Musician — Died  at  Vicksburg,  1863. 

Robert  F.  Lockard,  Wagoner — Died  at  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  1863;  grave 
15,  Sec.  65,  JeflFerson  Barracks  cemetery. 

Privates 

Akeroyd,  Abraham  B. 

Ashbaker,  David. 

Ashbaker,  Jacob. 

Bailey,  James  J. 

Barber,  Hugh  M. 

Bird,  Patrick — Detailed  in  Pioneer  Corps. 

Bordenkircher,  George — Died  at  Camp  Clear  Creek,  Miss.,  1862; 
grave  at  Corinth,  Miss. 

Boyer,  John. 

Broas,  Richard  M.  C. 

Cain,  James. 
^  Carnahan,  John — From  Co.  H. 

Carr,  William. 

Clendenning,  William. 

Creely,   Patrick — Captured   in   battle  of   Corinth;   paroled  near 
Vicksburg. 

Davis,  John. 

Davis,  John  H. 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  157 

Dawson,  Joshua. 

Easton,  James. 

Ewing,  John — Transferred  to  Veteran  Reserve  Corps. 

Fisher,  Simon. 

Ford,  George  W. — Died  at  Savannah,  Tenn.,  1862;  grave  at 
Shiloh. 

Forrest,  William  H. 

Fribley,  Edward — Died  at  La  Grange,  Tenn.,  1863;  grave  in 
Mississippi  River  cemetery,  Memphis. 

Gadden,  Josiali. 

Gray,  David  J. — Died  at  Young's  Point,  La.,  1863;  grave  at 
Vicksburg. 

Hartigan,  Patrick — Transferred  to  Veteran  Reserve  Corps, 

Henderson,  Jacob. 

Himebaugh,  Milton — Killed  in  battle  of  Jackson,  Miss.,  1863; 
grave  at  Vicksburg. 

Huflf,  Lewis  W. 

Humphrey,  Christopher. 

Hutchinson,  Wilson. 

Jones,  William — Died  in  Coshocton  County,  1863. 

Kobel,  John  W. 

Lemmon,  Robert — ^Wounded  in  battle  of  Mission  Ridge. 

Lillibridge,  Moses. 

Lloyd,  Daniel — Died  in  hospital  at  Allatoona,  Ga.,  1864;  grave 
at  Chattanooga. 

longshore,  Jonathan — Killed  in  battle  of  Mission  Ridge;  grave 
927,  Sec.  D,  Chattanooga. 

McCormick,  Robert  S. — Captured  in  battle  of  Mission  Ridge;  ex- 
changed. 

Mason,  Samuel. 

Messerley,  Gottlieb — Died  from  wounds  received  in  battle  of  Mis- 
sion Ridge;  grave  at  Chattanooga. 

Miser,  John  E. — Detailed  in  Pioneer  Corps. 

Nash,  George  H. 

Nash,  William — Accidentally  killed  at  Jacinto,  Miss.,  1862;  grave 
104,  Sec.  B,  Corinth. 

Nihart,  William  A. — Died  in  Corinth  hospital,  1862. 

Reed,  John. 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


158  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

Reed,  Thomas  B. 

Robinson,  John. 

Roderick,  John  W. 

Roe,  George — Died  at  Corinth,  1862. 

Roney,  Nelson. 

Ross,  Henry — Killed  in  battle  of  Mission  Ridge,  1863;  grave  928, 
Sec.  D,  Chattanooga. 

Rutencheir,  George — Died  from  sunstroke  at  Corinth,  Miss. 

Sampsel,  Henry — Captured  in  battle  of  Mission  Ridge;  transferred 
to  Co.  E,  4th  Reigt.,  Veteran  Reserve  Corps. 

Sampsel,  John — ^Transferred  to  Veteran  Reserve  Corps. 

Shultz,  Alexander. 

Smith,  William. 

Snell,  Michael — Captured  in  battle  of  Corinth;  exchanged;  enlisted 
in  Mississippi  Marine  Brigade. 

Switzer,  David. 

Traxler,  George  W. — Died  at  Paducah,  Ky.,  1862;  grave  at 
Cairo,  111. 

Tye,  Peter.  Weber,  Theodore. 

Van  Sickle,  Levi.  Williams,  David. 

Wise,  John — Died  near  Vicksburg  from  wounds  received  in  action, 
1863. 

Wise,  Samuel — Transferred  to  Veteran  Reserve  Corps. 

Wood,  John — Died  at  Camp  Clear  Creek,  Miss.,  1862;  grave  7, 
Sec.  B  I,  Corinth. 

COMPANY  G  RECRUITS,  80th  O.  V.  I. 
With  date  of  entering  service. 
Lewis  Bar  rick.  Corporal — 1864,  promoted  from  Private. 
Fisher,  Adam — 1865. 
Gosser,  John — 1865. 
Miser,  Jacob  S. — 1864. 
Miser,  John  W. — 1864. 
Miser,  Simon  P. — 1865. 

Shaw,  Isaac — 1864,  died  at  Washington,  D.  C,  1865;  grave  in 
Arlington  cemetery. 

Swigert,  John  P. — 1864. 

Henry  Harris,  colored  cook — 1864. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


PARK    AVENUE,    COSHOCTON. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


Digitized  by 


Google 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  159 

COMPANY    H 
Mustered  in  1862.     Mustered  out  Aug.  13,  1865. 

George  W.  Pepper,  Captain — Resigned,  1862;  appointed  Chaplain. 

John  Kinney,  Captain — Appointed  First  Lieutenant;  promoted  to 
Captain  Co.  G ;  transferred  to  Co.  H ;  killed  in  battle  of  Mission  Ridge ; 
grave  R,  Sec.  D,  Chattanooga. 

Henry  C.  Robinson,  Captain — Promoted  from  First  Lieutenant 
and  Regt.  Quartermaster,  and  to  Major. 

William  H.  Anderson,  First  Lieutenant — Promoted  from  Corporal 
and  Sergeant. 

Jacob  W.  Doyle,  Second  Lieutenant — Died  at  Jacinto,  Miss.,  1862; 
grave  2,  Sec.  B  i,  Corinth. 

Nicholas  R.  Tidball,  Second  Lieutenant — Promoted  from  First 
Sergeant;  resigned,  1863. 

Sylvester  M.  Baldwin,  Second  Lieutenant — Promoted  from  First 
Sergeant;  First  Lieutenant  Co.  B. 

Alexander  Teas,  First  Sergeant — Promoted  from  Corporal; 
drowmed  at  Helena,  Ark.,  1863;  grave  at  Memphis. 

Ezra  D.  Swan,  First  Sergeant — Promoted  from  Corporal. 

Joseph  J.  Finlay,  First  Sergeant — Promoted  from  Private  and 
Corporal. 

Hiram  W.  Brelsford,  Sergeant — Wounded  in  battle  of  Jackson, 
Miss. 

Robert  Dickey,  Sergeant. 

Francis  A.  Norman,  Sergeant. 

John  H.  P.  Dimock,  Sergeant — Appointed  from  Corporal;  pro- 
moted to  Principal  Musician. 

James  B.  Wilson,  Sergeant — Promoted  from  Corporal. 

Philip  H.  Moore,  Sergeant — Appointed  from  Corporal;  wounded 
in  battle. of  Mission  Ridge. 

Albert  Spelman,  Sergeant — Promoted  from  Corporal;  accidentally 
killed  at  AUatoona,  Ga.,  1864,- on  railroad  while  in  line  of  duty;  grave 
635,  Sec.  C,  Marietta,  Ga. 

Harrison  H.  Decker,  Sergeant — Promoted  from  Corporal;  de- 
tailed at  brigade  headquarters;  wounded  at  Jackson,  Miss. 

Robert  H.  Willis,  Sergeant — Promoted  from  Corporal. 

William  H.  H.  Richards,  Sergeant — Promoted  from  Corporal. 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


160  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

Reuben  E.  Hull,  Sergeant — Promoted  from  Private  and  Corporal. 

John  T.  Crawford,  Corporal. 

Thomas  Dobson,  Corporal — Promoted  from  Private;  wounded  at 
Vicksburg. 

Elisha  W.  Morrow,  Corporal — Transferred  to  Veteran  Reserve 
Corps. 

William  H.  Robinson,  Corporal — Promoted  from  Private. 

William  H.  Hout,  Corporal — Captured  in  battle  of  Jackson;  ex- 
changed; promoted  from  Private. 

Simon  B.  Madden,  Corporal — Appointed  from  Private  . 

Mathias  Laughead,  Corporal — Appointed  from  Private. 

Jeremiah  Vankirk,  Corporal — Appointed  from  Private. 

George  W.  Miller,  Corporal — Appointed  from  Private. 

Thomas  H.  Wilson,  Corporal — Appointed  from  Private. 

David  Reidenbach,  Corporal — Appointed  from  Private. 

Joel  W.  Duling,  Corporal — Appointed  from  Private. 

Patrick  S.  Campbell,  Musician — Promoted  to  Principal  Musician. 

Privates 

Bailey,  Jonathan. 

Beall,  Hezekiah  G. — Died  on  board  steamer  near  Memphis,  1863. 

Bechtol,  John  W. — Died  in  hospital  at  Farmington,  Miss.,  1863; 
grave  at  Vicksburg. 

Boyd,  George  B. — Died  near  Vicksburg,  1863. 

Brown,  Robert  E. 

Carnahan,  John — Transferred  to  Co.  G. 

Chubb,  John — Transferred  to  Veteran  Reserve  Corps. 

Clark,  John  D. 

Cook,  Thomas  J. — Appointed  First  Lieutenant  Co.  A,  194th  O.  V.  I. 

Cross,  Eli — Died  in  hospital  at  Keokuk,  la.,  1863. 

Cross,  James  B. — Died  at  La  Grange,  Tenn.,  1863;  grave  14,  Sec. 
I,  Memphis. 

Cross,  Harmon  P. 

CulHson,  Fletcher. 

Davis,  James  P. 

Derr,  Jacob  N. — Wounded  and  captured  in  battle  of  Jackson, 
Miss.;  exchanged. 

Derr,  William. 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


HISTORY   OF  COSHOCTON   COUNTY  161 

Donley,  James. 

Duffy,  James. 

Ellis,  John  F. 

Failing,  Morris. 

Geren,  Samuel  P. 

Goodhue,  George  W. 

House,  James  E. 

Hout,  John — Died  in  hospital  at  Keokuk,  la.,  1863. 

Hoyle,  Jacob — Died  in  hospital  at  Evansville,  Ind.,  1862. 

Huff,  George  W. — Transferred  to  Co.  C,  23d  Regt.  Veteran  Re- 
serve Corps. 

Infield,  Charles — Died  at  Savannah,  Tenn.,  1862;  grave  60,  Sec. 
F,  Shiloh. 

Infield,  Phineas. 

Infield,  Perry. 

Johnson,  William  A. — Wounded  and  captured  in  battle  of  Jackson, 
Miss.,  1863;  exchanged;  transferred  to  Veteran  Reserve  Corps. 

Jones,  Asbury. 

Kinner,  James  W. 

Kinney,  Leander — Killed  in  battle  of  Mission  Ridge,  1863 ;  grave 
922,  Sec.  D,  Chattanooga. 

Lockhart,  Thomas. 

McClure,  John  A. — Promoted  to  Principal  Musician. 

McKee,  William — ^Transferred  to  Veteran  Reserve  Corps. 

Madden,  William — ^Wounded  in  battle  of  Mission  Ridge. 

Magness,  Heslip  W. — Died  in  hospital  near  Vicksburg,  1863. 

Marks,  James  L. — Transferred  to  Veteran  Reserve  Corps. 

Masten,  James  E. — Wounded  in  siege  of  Vicksburg. 

Mills,  John — Killed  in  battle  of  Jackson,  Miss.,  1863;  grave  at 
Vicksburg. 

Mulford,  Daniel. 

Mulford,  Samuel — Died  in  Corinth  hospital,  1862. 

Murrell,  John  T. 

Oakleaf,  Jacob 

Ogle,  Jacob. 

Ogle,  John  J. 

Poland,  Bruce. 

Ricketts,  Abner  C. 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


162  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

Ross,  Isaac. 

Rutherford,  Anthony. 

Shearn,  Henry — Transferred  to  Veteran  Reserve  Corps. 

Sickles,  Daniel  P. 

Steele,  Abraham — Captured  in  battle  of  Corinth ;  exchanged ;  cap- 
tured in  battle  of  Mission  Ridge;  died  in  Andersonville  Rebel  Prison; 
grave  481. 

Stewart,  John. 

Stewart,  William  A. — Wounded  in  battle  of  Corinth. 

Syphert,  William  A. 

Van  Eman,  Martin  D. 

Warner,  William — Enlisted  in  Mississippi  Marine  Brigade. 

Watson,  John — Captured  on  the  march  in  Mississippi;  exchanged. 

Willis,  William. 

Zook,  Jacob  B. 

COMPANY  H  RECRUITS,  80th  O.  V.  I. 
With  date  of  entering  service. 

Adams,  George  C. — 1864,  died  at  Resaca,  Ga.,  grave  547,  Sec.  K, 
Chattanooga,  Tenn. 

Akins,  William — 1864,  died  a  month  after  enlistment. 

Beall,  Abram — 1864. 

Bryan,  Edwin  E. — 1864,  drowned  in  Oostanaula  River,  Ga.,  grave 
476,  Sec.  K,  Chattanooga. 

Burt,  William  W.— 1864. 

Carroll,  John — 1864. 

Gather  wood,  David — 1864. 

Cornell,  P.  W.— 1864. 

Cross,  William  G. — 1864. 

Cross,  John — 1864. 

Engle,  John  W. — 1864. 

Fulkerson,  James  M. — 1864,  enlisted  in  Mississippi  Marine 
Brigade. 

Huff,  Charles  E. — 1864,  detailed  forager  on  March  to  the  Sea. 

Infield,  John — 1863,  drafted. 

Kinner,  Willis  M.— 1864. 

Kinney,  Park — 1864. 

Langley,  Edwin  A. — 1864. 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  163 

Leavitt,  John — 1864. 

Lint,  Conrad — 1864. 

McDonald,  John — 1864. 

Ririe,  Alexander-r— 1864. 

Spelman,  Francis  M. — 1864. 

Sturtz,  Jesse — 1864. 

Styre,  Christian — 1864. 

TumbHn,  James — 1864. 

Waters,  Elijah — 1864,  died  at  Resaca,  Ga. ;  grave  at  Chattanooga. 

Wiggins,  John — 1864. 

Wiggins,  Samuel — 1864. 

Wilson,  Van  B.— 1864. 

Wright,  Joseph — 1864. 

Zetty,  Noah— 1864. 

More  volunteers  from  Coshocton  County  formed  companies  in  the 
Ninety-seventh  Ohio,  whose  bravery  won  the  hearts  of  the  people. 
Women  of  Coshocton  sent  them  a  flag  in  '63  with  the  message,  "Be 
assured  that  from  the  trenches  of  Covington  Heights  to  the  mountain 
passes  of  the  Cumberland,  our  hearts  have  followed  you."  Nor  did 
those  at  home  forget  the  sufferings  of  the  boys  in  the  terrible  march 
to  Perryville,  how  without  tents  or  knapsacks  they  met  uncomplain- 
ingly the  winter  cold,  and  how  at  Stone  River  they  helped  win  that 
day  of  immortal  glory. 

The  Ninety-seventh  was  in  the  brigade  that  drove  John  Morgan's 
guerrillas  over  the  Cumberland  Mountains.  It  was  in  Sheridan's  divi- 
sion in  the  grand  assault  on  the  entrenched  enemy  at  Missionary 
Ridge;  gallantly  clearing  the  rifle  pits  at  the  foot  of  the  hill;  rushing 
up  the  crest  through  musketry  fire;  clambering  higher  and  higher 
while  the  enemy's  battery  swung  from  a  front  to  a  flanking  fire ;  storm- 
ing on,  breathless  and  with  comrades  falling  on  all  sides  under  the 
raking  of  grape,  canister  and  musketry;  but  never  faltering  in  the 
onward  sweep  to  the  summit,  to  the  driven,  demoralized  flying  enemy, 
to  glorious  victory! 

The  battle  record  of  the  Ninety-seventh : 

Perrysville,  Ky.,  October  8,  1862. 

Stone  River,  Tenn.,  December  31,  1862,  to  January  2,  1863. 

Chattanooga,  Tenn.,  November  23  to  25,  1863. 

Mission  Ridge,  Tenn.,  November  25,  1863. 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


164  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

Salisbury,  Tenn.,  December  3,  1863. 

Charleston,  Tenn.,  December  28,  1863. 

Rocky  Face  Ridge,  Ga.,  May  5  to  9,  1864. 

Buzzard  Roost,  Ga.,  May  8,  1864. 

Dal  ton,  Ga.,  May  9,  1864. 

Resaca,  Ga.,  May  13  to  16,  1864. 

Adairsville,  Ga.,  May  17  to  18,  1864. 

Dallas,  Ga.,  May  25  to  June  4,  1864. 

New  Hope  Church,  Ga.,  May  27,  1864. 

Kenesaw  Mountain,  Ga.,  Jtme  9  to  30,  1864. 

Peach  Tree  Creek,  Ga.,  July  20,  1864. 

Siege  of  Atlanta,  Ga.,  July  28  to  September  2,  1864. 

Jonesboro,  Ga.,  August  31  to  September  i,  1864. 

Love  joy  Station,  Ga.,  September  2  to  6,  1864. 

Spring  Hill,  Tenn.,  November  29,  1864. 

Franklin,  Tenn.,  November  30,  1864. 

Nashville,  Tenn.,  Dec.  15-16,  1864. 

NINETY-SEVENTH  REGIMENT,  O.  V.  I. 

Company    H 

Mustered  in  Sept.  i,  1862.     Mustered  out  June  10,  1865. 

Clarkson  C.  Nichols,  Captain. 

Noah  H.  McClain,  First  Lieutenant — Resigned,  1863. 

Charles  H.  Matthews,  First  Lieutenant — Promoted  from  Second 
Lieutenant;  appointed  Regt.  Quartermaster. 

Charles  H.  Jones,  First  Lieutenant — Promoted  from  Second  Lieu- 
tenant Co.  G. 

Milton  H.  Lakin,  Second  Lieutenant — Promoted  from  First  Ser- 
geant; captured  in  battle  of  Franklin,  Tenn.,  1864;  exchanged;  pro- 
moted to  First  Lieutenant. 

Nathaniel  B.  Mills,  First  Sergeant — ^Wounded  in  battle  of  Mis- 
sion Ridge,  Tenn.,  1863;  promoted  to  First  Lieutenant. 

Elisha  P.  Potter,  Sergeant — Promoted  to  Sergeant  Major. 

Jesse  S.  Lake,  Sergeant — Appointed  from  Corporal;  died  from 
wounds  received  in  action  at  Kenesaw  Mountain,  1864;  grave  440, 
Sec.  G,  Nashville. 

William  F.  Buxton,  Sergeant — Appointed  from  Corporal;  trans- 
ferred to  Co.  K,  17th  Regt.,  Veteran  Reserve  Corps. 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


LAFAYETTE  COLLEGE. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


Digitized  by 


Google 


HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  165 

Jeremiah  Peart,  Sergeant — Appointed  from  Corporal. 

Stephen  Zuck,  Sergeant — Appointed  from  Corporal;  wounded  in 
action  near  Atlanta,  1864. 

Daniel  Elliott,  Sergeant — Promoted  from  Private  and  Corporal. 

Alfred  B.  Wolford,  Sergeant — Promoted  from  Private  and  Cor- 
poral; promoted  to  Sergeant  Major. 

George  W.  Coggins,  Sergeant — Transferred  to  Co.  A,  2d  Bat- 
talion, Veteran  Reserve  Corps. 

Sylvester  Norman,  Sergeant — Promoted  from  Private  and  Cor- 
poral. 

Jesse  G.  Devinny,  Corporal — Died  at  Louisville,  Ky.,  1862;  grave 
in  Cave  Hill  cemetery. 

George  W.  Smith,  Corporal — Died  at  Gallatin,  Tenn.,  1863;  grave 
at  Nashville. 

David  E.  Almack,  Corporal — Promoted  from  Private ;  wounded  in 
action  at  Kenesaw  Mountain,  1864. 

William  Collins,  Corporal — Promoted  from  Private;  killed  in 
action  at  Kenesaw  Mountain,  1864;  grave  171,  Sec.  H,  Marietta,  Ga. 

Newton  G.  Dunn,  Corporal — Promoted  from  Private;  wounded 
in  battle  of  Mission  Ridge,  1863. 

Christopher  Hall,  Corporal — Promoted  from  Private. 

George  W.  Hinkin,  Corporal — Promoted  from  Private. 

Joseph  Turnbull,  Corporal — Promoted  from  Private;  killed  in 
action  at  Kenesaw  Mountain,  1864;  grave  280,  Sec.  I,  Marietta,  Ga. 

Daniel  WilHams,  Corporal — Promoted  from  Private. 

Sylvester  C.  Wolford,  Corporal — Promoted  from  Private. 

John  F.  Hummer,  Corporal — Promoted  from  Private ;  wounded  in 
action  at  Kenesaw  Mountain;  transferred  to  Co.  F.  15th  Regt.,  Vet- 
eran Reserve  Corps. 

Levi  Harmon,  Corporal — Wounded  in  battle  of  Mission  Ridge; 
promoted  from  Private. 

Spencer  H.  Fry,  Musician. 

Kichard  S.  Hall,  Wagoner. 

Privates 
Balo,  Abram — Wounded  in  battle  of  Rocky  Face  Ridge,  and  diecj 
therefrom  at  Tunnel  Hill,  Ga.,  1864;  grave  at  Chattanooga,  Tenn. 
Balo,  David. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


166  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

Balo,  Stephen — Wounded  in  battle  of  Mission  Ridge  and  in  action 
near  Kenesaw  Mountain. 

Barrett,  John — ^Wounded  in  battle  of  Mission  Ridge  and  Frank- 
lin, Tenn. 

Benning,  William — Died  at  Louisville,  Ky.,  1862;  grave  in  Cave 
Hill  cemetery. 

Blackburn,  John — Killed  in  battle  of  Franklin,  Tenn.,  1864;  grave 
in  Franklin  section.  Stone  River  cemetery,  Murfreesboro,  Tenn. 

Boring,  George  W. 

Bricker,  George  W. — Transferred  to  Co.  G. 

Bush,  Benjamin — ^Wounded  in  battle  of  Dallas,  Ga.,  1864. 

Bush,  John. 

Butler,  William — ^Transferred  to  Co.  G. 

Cattrell,  Franklin — Wounded  in  battle  of  Mission  Ridge,  Tenn. 

Chicken,  John — ^Wounded  in  battle  of  Rocky  Face  Ridge,  Ga. 

Clark,  Joseph. 

Clough,  William— Transferred  to  Co.  K,  ist  Regt.  U.  S.  Veteran 
Volunteer  Engineers. 

Compton,  John  M. — Detailed  as  provost  guard  at  Brigade  Head- 
quarters. 

Doolittle,  Jared. 

Emerson,  Charles  H. — Died  at  Chattanooga  from  wounds  received 
in  action  at  Kenesaw  Mountain,  1864. 

Evans,  David. 

Farquhar,  Abram. 

Foster,  Henry — Died  at  Nashville,  1863;  grave  567,  Sec.  B. 

Fry,  John  D.— Died  at  Nashville,  1863. 

Gould,  Robert  H. — Wounded  in  battle  of  Mission  Ridge. 

Guilliams,  Lewis. 

Hagans,  George  W. 

Haines,  Samuel — ^Wounded  in  action  at  Kenesaw  Mountain. 

Haines,  William — Wounded  in  action  near  Kenesaw  Mountain; 
transferred  to  Veteran  Reserve  Corps. 

Hauser,  David — Died  at  Louisville,  Ky.,  1863;  grave  in  Cave  Hill 
cemetery. 

Hogle,  Adam — ^Wounded  in  battle  of  Franklin,  Tenn. 

Holdsworth,  George — Wounded  in  action  at  Kenesaw  Mountain. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


HISTORY   OF  COSHOCTON  COUNTY  167 

Hook,  William — Died  at  Bardstown,  Ky.,  1862;  grave  at  Leb-       , 
anon,  Ky. 

House,  Joseph. 

Hults,  Alfred — Transferred  to  Co.  K,  ist  Regt.,  U.  S.  Veteran 
Volunteer  Engineers. 

Ishmael,  William — Died  at  Bowling  Green,  Ky.,  1863;  grave  108, 
Sec.  O,  Nashville. 

James,  William. 

Jarvis,  James. 

Jenkins,  David. 

Johnston,  George  W. 

Jones,  Benjamin  F. 

Krauss,  Christian  K. 

Layton,  Joseph — Wounded  in  battle  of  Mission  Ridge;  transferred 
to  Co.  B,  23d  Regt.,  Veteran  Reserve  Corps. 

Lee,  John  M. — Transferred  to  Co.  G,  26th  O.  V.  I. 

Lovett,  Reason — Transferred  to  Co.  G,  26th  O.  V.  I. 

Lynch,  Samuel  H. 

McGuire,  Oliver — Transferred  to  Co.  D,  5th  Regt.,  Veteran  Re- 
serve Corps. 

McNabb,  Isaac. 

Mackey,  John  G. — ^Transferred  to  Co.  G,  26th  O.  V.  L 

Maston,  John — ^Wounded  in  battle  of  Mission  Ridge. 

Moore,  John. 

Moore,  Joseph  H. — Died  at  Bowling  Green,  Ky.,  1863;  grave  319, 
Sec.  N,  Nashville. 

Morgan,  Thomas. 

Newell,  Franklin. 

Nichols,  George  R. — Transferred  to  Veteran  Reserve  Corps. 

Nixon,  George. 

Oden,  Elias — ^Wounded  in  action  at  Kenesaw  Mountain. 

Owens,  David — Killed  in  battle  of  Mission  Ridge,  1863;  grave 
at  Chattanooga. 

Owens,  William — Transferred  to  Co.  C,  8th  Regt.,  Veteran  Re- 
serve Corps. 

Page,  George  W. 

Pierce,  Robert. 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


168  HISTORY    OF    COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

Pope,  Jeremiah — Transferred  to  Co.  G,  26th  O.  V.   I. 

Price,  Nathan — Wounded  in  battle  of  Stone  River,  Missionary 
Ridge,  Kenesaw  Mountain  and  Franklin. 

Randies,  William  A. — Struck  by  falling  tree  at  Knoxville. 

Richards,  Elijah  C. — Killed  in  action  at  Kenesaw  Mountain,  1864; 
grave  279,  Sec.  J. 

Richards,  John  W. — Transferred  to  Signal  Corps. 

Ricketts,  Baxter. 

Rodgers,  William — Died  at  Chattanooga  from  wounds  received 
in  battle  of  Mission  Ridge;  grave  279,  Sec.  D. 

Sears,  James — Killed  in  battle  of  Mission  Ridge;  grave  640,  Sec. 
D,  Chattanooga. 

Skillman,  William. 

Smith,  Albert — Died  at  Bowling  Green,  Ky.,   1862;  grave  644, 
Sec.  X,  Nashville. 

Turnbull,  Mark — Died  at  Gallatin,  Tenn.,  1863. 

Westmoreland,  Thomas — Wounded  in  battle  of  Peach  Tree  Creek, 
Ga.,  1864. 

Wiggins,  Isaac  J. — Transferred  to  Veteran  Reserve  Corps. 

Wiggins,  John. 

Wiker,  Jacob — Killed  in  battle  of  Kenesaw  Mountain;  grave  at 
Marietta,  Ga. 

Williams,  Morgan — Wounded  in  action. 

Wilson,  Hiram — Wounded  in  battle  of  Franklin,  Tenn. 

Wood,  William. 

Young,   Thomas — Died  at   Nashville,    1863;  grave   in   National 
Cemetery,  Nashville. 

COMPANY    I 
Mustered  in  Sept.   i,  1862.     Mustered  out  June  10,   1865. 

Emanuel  Shaffer,  Captain. 

Martin    Weisser,    Captain — Promoted    from    First    Lieutenant; 
wounded  in  battle  of  Mission  Ridge,  Tenn.,  1863. 

George  W.   Smailes,   First   Lieutenant — Promoted  from   Second 
Lieutenant;  to  Co.  E. 

John  W.  Sidle,  First  Lieutenant — Promoted  from  First  Sergeant 
Co.  G. 

James  McClure,  Second  Lieutenant — Appointed  from  Sergeant; 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON    COUNTY  169 

promoted  to  First  Lieutenant  Co.  K;  wounded  at  Missionary  Ridge. 

Alonzo  D.  Barton,  First  Sergeant — Died  at  Danville,  Ky.,  1862; 
grave  38,  Sec.  I. 

George  F.  Jack,  First  Sergeant — ^W^ounded  in  battle  of  Mission 
Ridge;  promoted  to  First  Lieutenant. 

William  Davis,  Sergeant. 

William  C.  Harrison,  Sergeant — Wounded  in  battle  of  Mission 
Ridge. 

Joseph  Cooper,  Sergeant — Appointed  from  Corporal;  wounded  in 
battle  of  Mission  Ridge  and  Franklin,  Tenn. 

Albert  P.  Taylor,  Sergeant — Appointed  from  Corporal ;  died  from 
wounds  received  in  action  at  Kenesaw  Mountain,  Ga.,  1864;  grave 
178,  Sec.  H,  Marietta,  Ga. 

Peter  Miller,  Sergeant — Appointed  from  Corporal. 

Joseph  J.  Emerson,  Sergeant — Appointed  Color  Guard;  promoted 
from  Corporal;  captured  in  battle  of  Franklin,  Tenn.;  exchange ; 
was  on  board  steamer  Sultana  which  was  blown  up,  1865,  on  the  Mis- 
sissippi near  Memphis. 

David  King,  Sergeant — Promoted  from  Private  and  Corporal. 

Jule  Suitt,  Corporal — Died  at  Silver  Springs,  Tenn.,  1862;  grave 
in  Stone  River  cemetery,  Murfreesboro,  Tenn. 

Daniel  W.  Simons,  Corporal — Died  in  hospital  at  Murfreesboro, 
Tenn.,  1863;  grave  300,  Sec.  D. 

Charles  Funk,  Corporal — Promoted  from  Private ;  died  in  hospital 
at  Pulaski,  Tenn.,  1863;  grave  at  Murfreesboro. 

Daniel  Felton,  Corporal — Promoted  from  Private. 

Clinton  J.  Gardner,  Corporal — Promoted  from  Private. 

Christopher  Hottinger,  Corporal — Wounded  in  battle  of  Mission 
Ridge;  promoted  from  Private. 

Martin  C.  Sauer,  Corporal — Promoted  from  Private. 

George  W.  Starkey,  Corporal — Promoted  from  Private ;  wounded 
in  battle  of  Mission  Ridge. 

Adam  K.  Vincel,  Corporal — Promoted  from  Private. 

John  Worthington,  Corporal — Promoted  from  Private;  captured 
in  battle  of  Franklin,  Tenn.,  1864. 

William  Porter,  Corporal— Promoted  from  Private. 

John  West,  Wagoner — Appointed  from  Private. 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


170  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

Privates 

Babcock,  Henry — Died  in  hospital  at  Nashville,  1862;  grave  41, 
Sec.  C. 

Baker,  John  E. 

Boyd,  William  J. — ^Wounded  in  battle  of  Mission  Ridge;  trans- 
ferred to  Veteran  Reserve  Corps. 

Brown,  Tunis  S. — Wounded  in  battle  of  Franklin,  Tenn. 

Browning,  Samuel — Killed  in  battle  of  Stone  River,  1862;  grave 
265,  Sec.  D,  Murfreesboro,  Tenn. 

Burchfield,  Edwin — Wounded  at  Kenesaw  Mountain. 

Casner,  Richard — Killed  in  action  near  Nashville,  1862. 

Clark,  Charles. 

Clemmens,  Warren — Wounded  in  action  at  Kenesaw  Mountain. 

Colter,  William  J. 

Coy,  William — ^Wounded  in  battle  of  Mission  Ridge. 

Day,  John  S. 

Dickerson,  Eli — Died  at  Nashville,  1863. 

Dickerson,  Samuel  C. 

Dillon,  James  T. — Killed  in  action  at  Kenesaw  Mountain,  Ga., 
1864;  grave,  278,  Sec.  I,  Marietta,  Ga. 

Dusenberry,  Isaac. 

Dwyer,  James. 

Ellis,  Charles  P. — Captured  in  battle  of  Stone  River,  Tenn.,  1862; 
exchanged. 

Emerson,  Albert  B. — Wounded  in  action. 

Felton,  James  A. 

Flagg,  John  W. — Died  at  Gallatin,  Tenn.,  1862 ;  grave  at  Nashville. 

Fortune,  Daniel — ^Wounded  in  action. 

Foster,  Crispin — ^Wounded  in  action. 

Graves,  James  W. 

Hamilton,  Thomas — ^Wounded  at  Missionary  Ridge. 

Harbaugh,  Frederick. 

Hawk,  Charles. 

Howell,  Benjamin — Stunned  by  exploding  shell  in  battle  of  Mis- 
sion Ridge. 

Howell,  Martin — Died  in  hospital  at  Nashville,  1864;  grave  496, 
Sec.  J. 

Hughes,  Adoniram  J. 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON  COUNTY  171 

Infield,  Henry. 

Keiser,  John. 

Kennedy,  Willis  W. — Transferred  to  Veteran  Reserve  Corps. 

Kepler,  John  J. — Transferred  to  Co.  G,  i6th  Regt.,  Veteran  Re- 
serve Corps. 

Lacy,  Joseph  T. — Killed  in  battle  of  Mission  Ridge,  1863;  grave 
779,  Sec.  D,  Chattanooga,  Tenn. 

Leech,  Jacob — Killed  in  battle  of  Mission  Ridge,  1863;  grave 
626,  Sec.  D,  Chattanooga,  Tenn. 

McBride,  Thomas  J. 

McClain,  Thomas — Mustered  as  wagoner. 

McClure,  Alexander — Transferred  to  Co.  B,  ist  Regt.,  U.  S.  Vet- 
eran Volunteer  Engineers. 

McCreary,  George  D. — Died  at  Nashville,  1863;  grave  402, 
Sec,  B. 

McEnery,  William — Wounded  in  battle  of  Mission  Ridge. 

Marshall,  William  S. 

Mobley,  Amon  F. — Died  in  hospital  at  Gallatin,  Tenn.,  1863; 
grave  at  Nashville. 

Murphy,  James  P. — Detailed  as  provost  guard  at  Corps  Head- 
quarters. 

Musgrove,  William — Wounded  in  battle  of  Mission  Ridge. 

Norman,  Charles. 

Norman,  Jabez — Died  at  Nashville,  1863;  grave  42,  Sec.  A. 

Patcher,  James  W. — Transferred  to  35th  Co.,  2d  Battalion 
V.  R.  C. 

Reay,  Peter — Killed  in  battle  of  Mission  Ridge;  grave  661,  Sec. 
D,  Chattanooga. 

Reay,  William  T. — Died  in  hospital  at  Murfreesboro,  Tenn.,  1863; 
grave  22,  Sec.  L 

Rich,  Henry. 

Ririe,  James. 

Robinson,  John  H. 

Seward,  Edmund  C. — Transferred  to  Veteran  Reserve  Corps. 

ShaeflFer,  George. 

Shannon,  Samuel. 

Smailes,  Samuel — Mustered  as  musician. 

Stockman,  Harrison — Wounded  in  battle  of  Franklin,  Tenn.,  1864. 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


172  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

Tapner,  Mathias — Died  from  wounds  received  in  battle  of  Stone 
River;  grave  8ii,  Sec.  B,  Nashville. 

Thomas,  James  P. — Died  at  Nashville,  1863 ;  grave  453,  Sec.  E>. 

Thomas,  WilHam  D. — Killed  in  action  at  Kenesaw  Mountain, 
1864;  grave  277,  Sec.  I,  Marietta,  Ga. 

Thornsley,  Joseph — Died  from  wounds  received  in  battle  of  Mis- 
sion Ridge;  grave  799,  Sec.  D,  Chattanooga. 

Thornsley,  Robert. 

Toland,  George  D. 

Treanor,  James. 

Watson,  John — Died  from  wounds  received  in  battle  of  Mission 
Ridge;  grave  in  Oak  Ridge  cemetery,  Coshocton. 

Weisser,  Adam — Died  at  Nashville,  1863 !  grave  in  National  cem- 
etery, Nashville. 

Weisser,  William — Died  at  Louisville,  Ky.,  1863;  grave  in  Oak 
Ridge  cemetery,  Coshocton. 

Westlake,  George. 

Wicken,  George. 

Williams,  Henry — Transferred  to  Co.  H,  Sixth  Regiment,  Vet- 
eran Reserve  Corps. 

Williams,  Philip  W. 

Wilson,  James  S. — Died  at  Jeffersonville,  Ind.,  1864;  grave  561, 
Sec.  B,  New  Albany,  Ind. 

Wilson,  Joseph  A. — Captured  in  battle  of  Stone  River;  wounded 
in  battle  of  Franklin,  Tenn. 

Wilson,  William  R. 

Wolf,  James — Mustered  as  Musician. 

Wright,  John  W. — Wounded  in  battle  of  Mission  Ridge. 

Wright,  Salathiel — Died  at  Nashville,  1862;  grave  323,  Sec.  B. 

Throughout  the  early  period  of  enlistment  from  this  county  none 
passed  through  a  more  trying  ordeal  between  duty  to  country  and 
devotion  to  family  than  Captain  B.  F.  Sells.  At  length  no  further 
remonstrance  came.  She  whose  frail  health  had  held  him  back  was 
resigned  to  the  inevitable,  the  natural  course  of  her  whose  ancestry 
was  liberty-loving  American  stock  that  signed  the  Declaration  of 
Independence.  Today  the  widow  of  this  soldier  of  the  Mexican  and 
Civil  war  bears  her  part  with  the  silent  fortitude  of  the  invalid  Ufe 

Digitized  by  LjOOQLC 


^^VVM>ft^^^^^^^^^H 

-    *    * 

T^^^'^^'^^^^^^H 

^-^ 

HAULING    MILK    TO    THE    CHEESE    FACTORY. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


ASTOR,  LFMOX  AND 
TILDEN  fOUN''vATION8. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


HISTORY   OF  COSHOCTON   COUNTY  173 

which  has  been  hers,  a  sorrowful  rebuke  to  unseeing  eyes  at  Wash- 
ington. 

Captain  Sells  was  only  a  few  days  among  the  hills  and  in  by-ways, 
enrolling  his  company,  "the  premier  of  the  One  Hundred  and  Twenty- 
second  Ohio,  stalwart  young  men  off  farms,  well  reared  and  edu- 
cated," the  Captain  described  with  the  pride  which  he  always  had  in 
Co.  D,  a  pride  akin  to  his  whole-souled  affection  for  Colonel 
W.  H.  Ball. 

The  One  Hundred  and  Twenty-second  Ohio,  which  included  two 
Coshocton  companies,  was  praised  for  bravery  on  the  battlefield.  At 
the  wavering  battle  of  Winchester,  when  part  of  the  regiment  escaped 
capture  by  retreat  to  Harper's  Ferry,  the  larger  number  reached 
Bloody  Run,  where  Captain  Sells,  senior  officer,  assumed  command  as 
Brevet  Colonel.  The  detachment,  then  in  General  Kelly's  depart- 
ment, headquarters  at  Cumberland,  Md.,  was  ordered  to  join  the 
One  Hundred  and  Twenty-second  in  the  Third  Division,  Sixth  Corps, 
Army  of  the  Potomac,  1863.  From  winter  quarters  near  Brandy 
Station  the  One  Hundred  and  Twenty-second  moved  with  the  corps 
across  the  Rappahannock  and  the  Rapidan.  Near  Mine  Run,  recorded 
Captain  Sells,  "for  two  days  the  Southern  army  and  the  Union  army 
were  drawn  up  in  line  of  battle  in  sight  of  each  other,  but  for  some 
unaccountable  reason  of  which  I  never  was  apprised  our  army 
retreated  under  cover  of  darkness.  The  following  day  our  Division 
met  a  part  of  General  Lee's  army  in  the  battle  of  Locust  Grove.  Many 
were  killed  and  wounded  on  both  sides  in  this  engagement  which  only 
ended  when  darkness  covered  the  bloody  field  along  Mine  Run.  In 
1864  the  One  Hundred  and  Twenty-second  was  almost  daily  under 
fire  while  advancing  with  Grant  and  taking  part  in  the  battles  of  the 
Wilderness,  Tolopotomy,  in  the  trenches  before  Petersburg,  and 
pursuing  Early  in  the  Shenandoah  Valley. 

The  battles  of  the  One  Hundred  and  Twenty-second  Ohio : 

Union  Mills,  Va.  (Winchester),  June  13,  1863. 

Winchester  Heights,  Va.,  June  14,  1863. 

Stevenson's  Depot,  Va.,  June  15,  1863. 

Brandy  Station,  Va.,  November  8,  1863. 

Mine  Run  or  Orange  Grove,  Va.,  November  26-28,  1863. 

Wilderness,  Va.,  May  5-7,  1864. 

Spottsylvania  C.  H.,  Va.,  May  9-18,  1864. 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


174  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON  COUNTY 

Tolopotomy  Creek,  Va.,  May  29-31,  1864. 

Cold  Harbor,  Va.,  June  1-12,  1864. 

Petersburg,  Va.  (Weldon  Railroad),  June  22-23,  1^64. 

Ream's  Station,  Va.,  June  29,  1864. 

Monocacy,  Md.,  July  9,  1864. 

Snicker's  Ferry,  Va.,  July  18,  1864. 

Charleston,  Va.,  August  21,  1864. 

Halltown  and  Smithfield,  Va.,  August  24-25,  1864. 

Opequan,  Va.,  September  19,  1864. 

Fisher's  Hill,  Va.,  September  22,  1864. 

Cedar  Creek,  Va.,  October  19,  1864. 

Petersburg,  Va.,  March  25  and  April  2,  1865. 

Sailor's  Creek,  Va.,  April  6,  1865. 

Appomattox,  Va.,  April  9,  1865. 

i22d  REGIMENT  O.  V.  I. 
Company  D 
Mustered  in  Sept.  30,  1862.    Mustered  out  June  26,  1865. 

Benjamin  F.  Sells,  Captain — As  Brevet  Colonel  commanded  de- 
tachment of  regiment,  1863. 

Joseph  Work,  Captain — Promoted  from  First  Lieutenant,  1864; 
killed  in  battle  of  the  Wilderness ;  grave  at  Fredericksburg,  Va. 

William  A.  Magruder,  Captain — Promoted  from  Sergeant  and 
First  Lieutenant,  Co.  K. 

James  M.  Sells,  First  Lieutenant — Promoted  from  Second  Lieu- 
tenant. 

Christian  A.  Shroyer,  First  Sergeant — Promoted  from  Private  and 
Corporal;  captured  in  battle  of  Winchester,  Va. ;  prisoner  in  Libby 
and  Belle  Isle;  wounded  in  battle  of  the  Wilderness  and  Opequan 
Creek. 

Henry  Forrest,  Sergeant — Mortally  wounded  in  battle  of  the 
Wilderness,  Va.,  1864;  grave  14,  row  A,  Sec.  A,  Fredericksburg,  Va. 

Jacob  M.  Rodgers,  Sergeant — Wounded  in  battle  of  the  Wilder- 
ness. 

David  G.  Cooper,  Sergeant. 

George  W.  Hughes,  Sergeant — Promoted  from  Private  and  Cor- 
poral ;  wounded  before  Petersburg. 

Joseph  Cross,  Sergeant — Promoted  from  Private  and  Corporal. 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  175 

John  H.  Ravir,  Sergeant — Promoted  from  Corporal;  captured  in 
battle  of  Winchester ;  mortally  wounded  in  battle  of  Cedar  Creek,  Va., 
1864;  grave  at  Winchester,  Va. 

John  W.  Watson,  Corporal. 

John  W.  Phillips,  Corporal. 

Andrew  D.  Keefer,  Corporal — Died  at  Cumberland,  Md.,  1862; 
grave  at  Antietam,  Md. 

Hugh  Lynch,  Corporal — From  Co.  I;  promoted  from  Private. 

Martin  Vance,  Corporal — Promoted  from  Private;  wounded  in 
battle  of  Mine  Run,  Va. ;  killed  in  battle  of  Tolopotomy  Creek,  Va., 
1864. 

William  H.  Fry,  Corporal — Promoted  from  Private;  mortally 
wounded  in  battle  of  the  Wilderness;  grave  at  Fredericksburg,  Va. 

Oilman  B.  Stephens,  Corporal — Mortally  wounded  in  battle  of 
Winchester,  Va. 

John  Cochran,  Corporal — Promoted  from  Private. 

William  Camp,  Corporal — Promoted  from  Private. 

John  W.  Magruder,  Corporal — Promoted  from  Private. 

William  H.  Diven,  Corporal — Promoted  from  Private. 

John  C.  Speck,  Corporal — Promoted  from  Private. 

George  Loders,  Corporal — Captured  in  battle  of  Winchester; 
promoted  from  Private. 

John  H.  Way,  Corporal — Promoted  from  Private;  transferred  to 
Twenty-third  Co.,  Second  Battalion,  Veteran  Reserve  Corps. 

Solomon  Werts,  Corporal. 

Robert  Brink — Corporal — Promoted  from  Private;  killed  in  battle 
of  Opequan,  Va. ;  grave  at  Winchester. 

Charles  White,  Musician — Enlisted  1864. 

George  Hiler,  Musician — Enlisted  1864. 

Privates 

Adams,  George  W. — Died  on  Governor's  Island,  New  York,  1863; 
grave  826,  Cypress  Hill  cemetery.  Long  Island. 

Bertho,  Charles. 

Biechler,  Lewis. 

Billman,  Ira  C. — Captured  in  battle  of  Winchester ;  transferred  to 
\>teran  Reserve  Corps. 

Binger,  Samuel. 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


176  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON  COUNTY 

Blackford,  Noah. 

Bodine,  Adam — Captured  in  battle  of  Winchester;  transferred  to 
Co.  F,  Eighteenth  Regiment,  V.  R.  C. 

Bryan,  Ambrose. 

Bryant,  George  W. — EnHsted  1863. 

Buckmaster,  James — From  Co.  G;  captured  in  battle  of  Win- 
chester. 

Calentine,  William  H. 

Carnahan,  Findlay. 

Carter,  James. 

Casebier,  John — Died  at  New  Creek,  W.  Va.,  1862. 

Clark,  Vincent — Mortally  wounded  in  battle  of  Mine  Run,  Va. ; 
grave  at  Alexandria,  Va. 

Cly,  John  P. — Captured  in  battle  of  Winchester. 

Cochran,  James  O. 

Cooper,  James  B. — Wounded  in  action. 

Cox,  Augustus. 

Cross,  Elisha. 

Darr,  John — Died  at  Winchester,  Va.,  1863. 

Davis,  John  M.  P. — Died  at  Brandy  Station,  Va.,  1863;  grave  at 
Culpeper  C.  H.,  Va. 

Donnelly,  Thomas  J. — Drafted,  1864. 

Ducker,  William — From  Co.  B ;  captured  in  battle  of  Winchester. 

Elliott,  Samuel  H. — Transferred  to  Veteran  Reserve  Corps. 

Feas,  Gottlieb — From  Co.  G. 

Fortner,  Eli — Wounded  in  battle  of  Mine  Run,  Va.,  1863. 

Fortner,  Peter — Captured  in  battle  of  Winchester. 

Fretague,  Henry. 

Gilbert,  Joseph — Mortally  wounded  in  battle  of  the  Wilderness, 
Va.,  1864;  grave  at  Fredericksburg,  Va. 

Goodman,  James  H. 

Gribler,  Jacob — Killed  in  battle  of  the  Wilderness,  1864;  grave  at 
Fredericksburg,  Va. 

Hamersley,  Thomas  J. — Transferred  to  Co.  B. 

Hankinson,  Robert  M. — From  Co.  I;  transferred  to  Veteran 
Reserve  Corps. 

Harper,  Samuel  A. 

Higgins,  John — Captured  in  battle  of  Windhester. 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  177 

Hoagland,  Henry — From  Co.  G;  captured  in  battle  of  the  Wilder- 
ness; exchanged. 

Hahn,  David, 

Hunter,  Thomas — Captured  in  battle  of  the  Wilderness ;  wounded 
in  battle  of  Mine  Run. 

Huston,  Richard. 

Jewell,  Zachariah  M. — Captured  in  battle  of  Winchester;  wounded 
in  battle  of  Mine  Run;  transferred  to  Co.  F.,  Eighteenth  Regiment, 
V.  R.  C. 

Keiser,  George — Prisoner  of  war.  ' 

Kincaid,  William  W.  ^ 

King,  George — Transferred  to  V.  R.  C. 

King,  William — Wounded  in  action.  \ 

Laflin,  John. 

Layland,  James — Died  at  Winchester,  Va.,  1863. 

McFee,  William — Captured  in  battle  of  Winchester. 

Marshman,  Robert — Mortally  wounded  in  battle  of  Mine  Run,  Va., 
1863;  grave  1223,  Alexandria,  Va. 

Martin,  Alexander — Died  at  Annapolis,  Md.,  1863. 

Miller,  James — Transferred  to  124th  Co.,  2d  Battalion,  V.  R.  C 

Moore,  John — Transferred  to  Co.  C,  12th  Regiment,  V.  R.  C. 

Morton,  Frank — From  Co.  I. 

Mullen,  Thomas. 

Murphy,  Patrick. 

Murray,  Adam.  ■ 

Myers,  John. 

Nelson,  John  T. — Mortally  wounded  in  battle  of  Tolopotomy 
Creek,  Va.  1864;  grave  at  Arlington,  Va. 

Neptune,  Samuel — Captured  in  battle  of  Winchester. 

Norris,  Aaron. 

O'Donnell,  Joseph — From  Co.  I ;  captured  in  battle  of  Winchester. 

Phillips,  Samuel — From  Co.  I. 

Powelson,  John  G. — Died  in  Rebel  Prison  at  Florence,  S.  C,  1865. 

Reay,  William — From  Co.  I;  captured  in  battle  of  Winchester; 
transferred  to  V.  R.  C. 

Ridenbaugh,  John  W. 

Roderick,  William — Died  at  Winchester,  Va.,  1863. 

Ronev,  William. 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


178  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

Ross,  Levi — Captured  in  battle  of  Winchester ;  died  at  Wash- 
ington, D.  C,  1864;  grave  at  Arlington. 

Saxton,  James  H. — Wounded  in  battle  of  Mine  Run,  Va.;  died  in 
Rebel  Prison,  Florence,  S.  C,  1864. 

Settlemyer,  Ferdinand. 

Stringfellow,  James  C. — Transferred  to  V.  R.  C,  76th  Co.,  2d 
Battalion. 

Tipton,  Francis  M. — Died  at  Washington,  D.  C,  1864;  grave  in 
Harmony  cemetery. 

Totten,  William — Captured  in  battle  of  Winchester;  missing  in 
battle  of  the  Wilderness. 

Tumblin,  Charles. 

Wheeler,  Caleb  C. — Captured  in  battle  of  Winchested  and  the 
Wilderness;  died  at  Andersonville,  1864. 

Wright,  Lewis  C. 

Wright,  William  R. 

COMPANY    G 
Mustered  in  Oct.  5,  1862.    Mustered  out  June  26,  1865. 

Orlando  C.  Farquhar,  Captain. 

Gilbert  H.  Bargar,  Captain — Promoted  from  First  Lieutenant, 
1864;  resigned. 

Charles  J.  Gibson,  Captain — Brevet  Major,  1865;  promoted  from 
Second  Lieutenant  Co.  A.  and  First  Lieutenant  Co.  D. 

Benjamin  F.  Power,  First  Lieutenant — Appointed  from  First  Ser- 
geant Co.  C. ;  promoted  to  Captain  Co.  C. 

William  Gorseline,  First  Lieutenant — Promoted  from  Sergeant. 

John  W.  Anderson,  Second  Lieutenant — Resigned,  1863. 

Asbury  W.  Webster,  Second  Lieutenant — Promoted  from  First 
Sergeant  Co.  H  and  to  First  Lieutenant  Co.  D. 

James  E.  Bradfield,  Second  Lieutenant — Promoted  from  Sergeant, 
Co.  D. 

Josiah  Norman,  Second  Lieutenant — Promoted  from  First  Ser- 
geant;'died  in  Coshocton  County,  1864. 

Calvin  C.  Myser,  First  Sergeant. 

Daniel  Shook,  Sergeant — Captured  in  battle  of  Winchester,  Va., 
1863. 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  179 

Samuel  W.  Daugherty,  Sergeant — Captured  in  battle  of  Win- 
chester. 

Thomas  P.  Chance,  Sergeant — Appointed  from  Corporal. 

Edwin  Powell,  Sergeant — Captured  in  battle  of  Winchester; 
appointed  from  Corporal. 

George  Graham,  Corporal — Transferred  to  105th  Co.,  2d  Bat- 
talion, Veteran  Reserve  Corps. 

James  S.  Anderson,  Corporal. 

William  C.  Gribben,  Corporal — From  Co.  I. 

Ezekiel  Polan,  Corporal — Promoted  from  Private;  killed  in  battle 
of  Cold  Harbor,  Va.,  1864. 

Amos  Winklepleck,  Corporal — Promoted  from  Private. 

Lewis  D.  Barge,  Corporal — Captured  in  battle  of  Winchester, 
Va.,  1863;  appointed  from  Private. 

Robert  Axline,  Corporal — Captured  in  action  near  Brandy 
Station,  Va.,  1863;  promoted  from  Private. 

Alexander  Fenton,  Corporal — Promoted  frorm  Private. 

Levi  Brown,  Corporal. 

James  H.  Polan,  Corporal — From  Co.  I. 

John  H.  Loveless,  Musician. 

John  W.  Law,  Musician. 

Privates 

Arnold,  Thomas  G. 

Bailey,  Levi. 

Barr,  Daniel — Captured  in  battle  of  Winchester. 

Berry,  Caleb. 

Boyd,  George — Captured  in  battle  of  Winchester ;  wounded  in  bat- 
tle of  Opequan,  Va.,  1864;  transferred  to  Co.  F,  loth  Regiment,  Vet- 
eran Reserve  Corps. 

Brillhart,  William  R. — Wounded  in  battle  of  Petersburg,  Va., 
1865. 

Buckmaster,  Amos — Transferred  to  Co.  D  as  James  Buckmaster ; 
captured  in  battle  of  Winchester. 

Carr,  George  W. — Captured  in  battle  of  Winchester. 

Cassiday,  George — ^Wounded  in  battle  of  Winchester. 

Cassiday,  William. 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


180  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

Clay,  Oliver — Captured  in  battle  of  the  Wilderness ;  died  in  Rebel 
Prison  at  Andersonville,  Ga.,  1864. 

Collins,  Washington — Captured  in  battle  of  Winchester. 

Daugherty,  Nathan  A. — Captured  in  battle  of  Winchester. 

Donovan,  William. 

Dwyer,  Richard — Captured  in  battle  of  Winchester;  transferred 
to  V.  R.*  C. 

Emerson,  Benjamin  B. — Died  at  Wheeling,  W.  Va.,  1863. 

Flickinger,  Andrew  J. 

Fortune,  McConnell — Died  at  Winchester,  Va.,  1863. 

Fretague,  John  H. — Wounded  in  battle  of  Cedar  Creek,  Va.,  1864. 

Garber,  David — Died  in  Coshocton  County,  1862. 

Gephart,  Peter — Captured  in  action  near  Brandy  Station,  Va., 
1863. 

Goodhue,  Seth. 

Hamby,  James — Captured  in  battle  of  Winchester. 

Hamby,  Samuel  M. — Transferred  to  Veteran  Reserve  Corps. 

Harmon,  David  M. — Killed  in  battle  of  Mine  Run,  Va.,  1863; 
grave  at  Fredericksburg,  Va. 

Harmon,  George  W. 

Hawk,  John. 

Hawkins,  John — Killed  in  battle  of  Mine  Run;  grave  at  Freder- 
icksburg, Va. 

Hinds,  Lewis. 

Huff,  Zebulon. 

Huston,  Archibald — Transferred  to  Co.  A. 

Jones,  George  B. — Captured  in  action  near  Brandy  Station. 

Kinney,  Porter  B. 

Kost,  David  W. 

Lewis,  Samuel. 

Lower,  Enos  J. — Captured  in  battle  of  Mine  Run;  died  in  Rebel 
Prison,  Richmond,  Va.,  1864. 

McClain,  Nathaniel  C.  C. — Captured  in  battle  of  the  Wilderness. 

McPherson,  George  W. 

McPherson,  Thomas — Died  at  Winchester,  Va.,  1863. 

Martin,  Archibald. 

Martin,  Luther  B. 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


FRESNO. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


Digitized  by 


Google 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON  COUNTY  181 

Maxfield,  Emery — Captured  in  battle  of  Winchester ;  died  in  Rebel 
Prison,  Richmond,  Va.,  1863;  grave  175,  row  i,  Sec.  C. 

Maxfield,  James  E. 

Miller,  John  T. — Captured  in  battle  of  Winchester. 

Milligan,  Benjamin — Transferred  to  Veteran  Reserve  Corps. 

Milligan,  John  A. 

Minor,  John — Captured  in  battle  of  Winchester;  died  at  Annap- 
olis, Md.,  1865. 

Mizer,  David  B. — Mortally  wounded  in  battle  of  Cold  Harbor, 
Va.,  1864. 

Moore,  Charles — From  Co.  F;  captured  in  battle  of  Winchester. 

]\Ioore,  Henry — Killed  in  action  at  Spottsylvania,  Va.,  1864;  grave 
at  Fredericksburg,  Va. 

Murphy,  Thomas  J. — Wounded  in  battle  of  the  Wilderness;  cap- 
tured in  action  near  Brandy  Station;  prisoner  in  Libby  and  Ander- 
sonville. 

Norman,  Andrew  B. 

Philabaum,  Christopher — Captured  in  battle  of  Winchester. 

Putt,  George  W. 

Pyles,  William — Captured  in  battle  of  Winchester ;  transferred  to 
Veteran  Reserve  Corps. 

Reed,  David — From  Co.  I,  died  in  New  York;  grave  at  Cypress 
Hill,  Long  Island. 

Reed,  Nathaniel  C. — Wounded  in  battle  of  Sailor's  Creek,  Va. 

Riggle*  Edward — From  Co.  I. 

Riggle,  Thomas — Died  at  Frederick,  Md.,  1863;  grave  327,  row 
F,  Sec.  I,  Antietam,  Md. 

Rinehart,  Joel  W. 

Spaulding,  Lyman. 

Stafford,  Sr.,  Isaac — Transferred  to  Veteran  Reserve  Corps. 

Stultz,  Andrew  P. — Promoted  to  Quartermaster  Sergeant. 

Thacker,  Palestine — Captured  in  action  at  Brandy  Station. 

Thomas,  David  W. 

Ward,  William — Captured  in  battle  of  Winchester. 

Wirts,  Samuel  A. — Captured  in  battle  of  Winchester. 

Worley,  Peter. 

Yunker,  George  W. — Captured  in  battle  of  Winchester;  died  at 
Annapolis,  Md.,  1863. 

Digitized  bV  VjOOQIC 


182  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

COMPANY  G  RECRUITS,  i22d  O.  V.  I.  • 
With  Date  of  Entering  Service. 

Baker,  John — 1864,  drafted. 

Ball,  Henry  C. — Substitute. 

Barrett,  Allen — 1864,  substitute. 

Betts,  John  J. — 1864,  drafted. 

Bowman,  John  H. — 1864,  substitute. 

Brannigan,  Michael — 1864,  substitute. 

Buckalew,  William — 1864,  substitute,  transferred  to  Department 
of  the  Northwest. 

Burk,  John  S. — 1864,  drafted. 

Fenney,  John — 1864,  substitute. 

Fillinger,  Christopher — 1864,  drafted. 

Ford,  Daniel — 1864,  substitute. 

Geltz,  Anton — 1864,  substitute. 

Geng,  George — 1864,  drafted. 

Graf,  Charles — 1864,  substitute. 

Groves,  Jacob. — 1864,  substitute. 

Haines,  Charles — 1864,  substitute. 

Hauser,  John — 1864,  substitute. 

Kelly,  Bernard — 1864,  substitute. 

King,  William — 1864,  substitute. 

Kinney,  John  E. — 1864,  substitute. 

Lepper,  Stephen — 1864,  substitute;  captured  in  battle  of  Snicker's 
Ferry,  Va. ;  died  in  Rebel  Prison,  Danville,  Va.,  1865. 

Lindsay,  Jacob  S. — 1864,  drafted. 

Loyd,  William  P.— 1864,  drafted. 

McDonald,  John — 1864,  drafted,  captured  in  battle  of  Snicker's 
Ferry,  Va.,  1864. 

McGaha,  George  W. — 1864,  substitute. 

McKay,  William  E.— 1864,  drafted. 

Metzer,  Sebastian — 1864,  substitute. 

Miller,  Ira  A. — 1864,  drafted. 

Nicholson,  Gabriel — 1864,  drafted. 

O'Neill,  Nicholas — 1864,  substitute. 

Pew,  William — 1864,  drafted;  died  at  Frederick,  Md. ;  grave  114, 
row  C,  Sec.  i,  Antietam,  Md. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON  COUNTY  183 

Rutherford,  Nathan — 1864,  drafted. 

Sparks,  Alexander  R. — 1864,  drafted. 

Starr,  Manley — 1864,  substitute. 

Strock,  Martin — 1864,  drafted. 

Taylor,  Isaac — 1864,  drafted. 

Van  Fleet,  Felix — 1864,  drafted. 

Will,  Anthony — 1864;  substitute,  transferred  to  Department  of 
the  Northwest. 

Woodruff,  Eleazer — 1864,  drafted. 

Ziegler,  Levi  B. — 1864,  drafted. 

A  part  of  the  Sixty-ninth  Battalion,  Ohio  National  Guard,  formed 
two  companies  from  Coshocton  County  in  the  I42d  Ohio  Regiment. 
From  the  national  capital  the  I42d  marched  to  Fort  Lyon,  thence 
moved  by  steamer  to  White  House  Landing,  where  it  was  sent  to 
guard  a  supply  train  through  the  Wilderness  to  Grant's  front  near 
Cold  Harbor.  The  sixteen-mile  march  was  made  in  the  day.  General 
Meade  ordered  the  regiment  to  report  to  General  B.  F.  Butler  at  Ber- 
muda Hundred  but  without  landing  there  it  was  assigned  to  Point  of 
Rocks,  below  Petersburg.  Guard,  picket  and  fatigue  duty  before 
Petersburg  and  along  the  James  filled  the  remaining  days  of  the 
regiment's  service.  A  fort  at  Turkey  Bend,  on  the  James,  was  built 
within  shell  range  of  the  enemy.  At  one  time  while  destroying  a 
line  of  earthworks  near  Petersburg  our  boys  were  attacked  but  held 
their  ground  steadily  under  fire,  and  with  help  of  reinforcements 
drove  the  enemy. 

142D  REGIMENT  O.  V.  L 

Hundred  Days'  Service. 

Company  E 

Mustered  in  May  13,  1864.  Mustered  out  Sept.  2,  1864. 

Lambert  B.  Wolfe,  Captain  Milton  Brelsford,  Corporal 

Benjamin  F.  Leighninger,  Sec-  B.  F.  Chamberlain,  Corporal 

ond  Lieutenant  Milton  N.  Wolfe,  Corporal 

Ralph  L.  Barcroft,  Sergeant  Alonzo  Sibley,  Musician 

WilHam  McLaughlin,  Sergeant  Joh,n   A.    Weatherwax,    First 
Hiram  Phillips,  Corporal  Lieutenant 

Aaron  G.  Hedge,  Corporal  Joseph  Fletcher,  First  Sergeant 

Oren  Jennings,  Corporal  Anderson  Hedge,  Sergeant 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


184 


HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON    COUNTY 


Charles  Conley,  Sergeant 
T.  W.  Culbertson,  Corporal 
George  Leighninger,  Corporal — 

Died   in   Salter  lee   Hospital,    Philadelphia,  1864 


Joseph  Love,  Fifer 
Asa  H.  Loos,  Corporal 


Privates 


Aronholt,  Adam 

Aunspaugh,  Lewis  F. 

Babcock,  Truesdale 

Baker,  Esaias  D. 

Barcroft,  David 

Bible,  Josiah 

Bowers,  Chris 

Brewer,  Jacob 

Brillhart,  Samuel  J. 

Buckmaster,  Judson 

Casebeer,  Isaac 

Chauvront,  Samuel  G. 

Duling,  Hiram 

Duling,  Martin 

Fowler,    William   H. — Died   on 

board  steamer  Monitor,  1864; 

grave  47,   row   19,   Sec.   E, 

Hampton,  Va. 
Fox,  Eli 
Frazee,  James 
Fuller,  Jr.,  Benjamin 
Green,  Josiah 
Hedge,  Porter 
Holser,  Peter 
Jennings,  Hiram  W. 
Johnson,  James  H. 
Jones,  Joseph 
Jones,  Oliver  P. 
Jones,  Samuel 
Kelley,  Dean 
Leighninger,  Levi 
Lewis,  Abraham 


Loos,  Adam 

McCoy,  Andrew  J. 

McGuire,  Francis  —  Died  on 
steamer  Andrew  Harder, 
1864;  grave  at  Arlington. 

McKee,  Samuel 

McClain,  James  A. 

Magness,  Walter  S. — Died  near 
Camp  Hatcher's,  Va.,  1864. 

Matheney,  Charles  H. 

Matheney,  John  M. 

Meek,  Sedorus 

Moffet,  Asa  W. 

Morrison,  John 

Mulvane,  David  B. 

Norman,  David 

Owens,  Richard 

Phillips,  David  B. 

Phillips,  John 

Phillips,  Philemon 

Poland,  James  A. 

Potter,  Adam 

Price,  Washington  J. 

Rehard,  Joel 

Rehard,  Lemuel 

Richmond,  James  J. 

Vanolinda,  Henry 

Vanolinda,  James 

Vansickle,  Levi 

Vansickle,  William 

Walton,  Jasper  L. 

Weatherwax,  James  E. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 


185 


Wells,  Elias  B. 

West,  Harrison — Died  in  camp 

near    Hatcher's    Run,    Va., 

1864. 
Williams,  William  M. — Died  in 


Monroe,  Va.,  1864;  grave  at 

Hampton,  Va. 
Williamson,  Johnson 
Williamson,  William 
Wolfe,  William 


General    Hospital,    Fortress     Woodward,  Stephen  P. 

COMPANY     G 
Mustered  in  May  13,  1864.    Mustered  out  Sept.  2,  1864. 


Caleb  Wheeler,  Captain 
Solomon  McNabb,  Second  Lieu- 
tenant 
Joseph  J.  Maggs,  Sergeant 
Leander  H.  Hoyle,  Sergeant 
Aaron  Clark,  Corporal 
John  W.  Moore,  Corporal 
John  W.  Thompson,  Corporal 
Adam  Trimble,  Corporal 


David  Lawson,  First  Lieutenant 
Joseph  J.  Barrett,  First  Sergeant 
John  Johnson,  Sergeant 
John  J.  Given,  Sergeant 
John  W.  Edwards,  Corporal 
William  H.  Cullison,  Corporal 
Cyrus  Elder,  Corporal 
George  W.  Cullison,  Corporal 


Ammons,  Joshua 

Barcroft,  John  H. 

Barrett,  Alexander 

Barrett,  James 

Barrett,  John 

Bateman,  Matthew 

Bonnett,  John  H. 

Brillhart,  Henry  H. 

Calhoun,  Newton 

Campbell,  Daniel 

Carter,  Thomas 

Churchill,  John  S. 

Clark,  Alonzo 

Clark,  John  W. — Died  in  Gen- 
eral Hospital,  Hampton,  Va., 
1864 

Crooks,  George 

Cullison,  Daniel 

Cullison,  John 


Privates 

Cullison,  Moses 
Cullison,  Thomas  H. 
Daniels,  David 
Darr,  John 

Dehuff,  Charles — Died    in    hos- 
pital,    Washington,    D.     C, 
1864;  grave  at  Arlington 
Deviney,  Samuel 
Dorsey,  Alfred 
Downs,  Jesse 
Finck,  Charles  C. 
Fry,  Stanton 
Gilbert,  Silas 
Gwin,  Noah  C. 
Haines,  Henry 
Hubenthal,  William 
Jones,  Thomas  G. 
Knoff,  Samuel 
Kyle,  Robert 


Digitized  by 


Google 


186 


HISTORY   OF  COSHOCTON   COUNTY 


Lamma,  William  M. 
Landers,  Joseph 
Lanning,  Silas 
Little,  John 
Little,  Thomas 
Long,  Robert 
McCoy,  Corwin 
McCoy,  Joseph 
Mackey,  Andrew  J. 
Masterson,  William  F. 
Miller,  Daniel 


Schooley,  Thomas  O. 

Smith,  George  W. 

Smith,  Joseph 

Smith,  Ransom 

Speaks,  John 

Stanton,  John  W. — Promoted  to 

Commissary  Sergeant 
Stewart,  William 
Stover,  George  W. 
Taylor,  John 
Terry,  Hiram 


Ogan,  Levi  —  Died     in     Depot     Thompson,  Newton  G. 
Hospital  near  Point  of  Rocks,     Tredway,  Garrett  S. 
Md.,  1864;  grave  155,  row  2,     Tredway,  Joseph 


Ullman,  Franklin 
Willis,  Richard 
Willson,  Charles  W. 
Wolford,  Henry    A. 
Younker,  John 


Sec.  A,  City  Point,  Va. 
Phillips,  Reuben 
Plummer,  Harvey 
Pomeroy,  Madison 
Pool,  William  R. 
Richcreek,    David 

Of  the  Sixty-ninth  Battalion,  Ohio  National  Guard,  there  were 
three  companies  from  Coshocton  County  that  became  part  of  the  143d 
Ohio  Regiment.  At  Washington  the  regiment  was  assigned  to  Gen- 
eral Haskin's  Division  of  the  Twenty-second  Army  Corps,  and  placed 
on  duty  in  Forts  Slemmer,  Slocum,  Stevens  and  Totten,  north  of 
the  Potomac  and  defending  the  national  capital.  June  8th  the  143d 
moved  to  Bermuda  Hundred,  was  assigned  to  the  Tenth  Army  Corps, 
and  placed  in  the  entrenchments  at  City  Point,  around  Richmond 
and  Petersburg.  The  regiment  completed  its  service  at  Fort 
Pocahontas. 

143d  REGIMENT,  O.  V.  L 
Hundred  Days  Service. 
Company    E 
Mustered  in  May  12,  1864.     Mustered  out  Sept.  13,  1864. 


Nicholas  R.  Tidball,  Captain. 
John  Willis,  Second  Lieutenant. 
Charles  C.  Thompson,  Sergeant. 


Reuben  Jennings,  Sergeant — 
Died  at  Wilson's  Landing, 
Va.,  1864;  grave  119,  Sec.  C, 
Glendale,  Va. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


COSHOCTON  HIGH    SCHOOL. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


1  .   ..  .  :.^.;^K 

^'0  L^Li  J  Lii^R ARY 


'C^OP.   LENOV  AND 


^(iDLN    FOUNC.A/IONS 


J 


Digitized  by 


Google 


HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON    COUNTY 


187 


John  S.  Day,  Corporal. 
David  S.  Waggoner,  Corporal. 
George  Moffitt,  Corporal. 
Danforth  W.  Horton,  Corporal. 
Lonzo  McClure,  Musician. 
Jacob  Vincel,  Wagoner. 
David  F.  Denman,  First  Lieut. 
Moses  L.  Norris,  First  Sergeant. 
Jeremiah  D.  Evans,  Sergeant. 


James  Hay,  Sergeant  —  Ap- 
pointed from  Private. 

David  Laffer,  Sergeant — Ap- 
pointed from  Corporal. 

Ferdinand  Sedelmyer,  Corporal. 

William  Watson,  Corporal. 

William  H.  Maberry,  Corporal. 

Francis  J.  Guenther,  Corporal. 

Matthew  S.  Beebe,  Musician. 


Privates 


Anderson,  Samuel. 

Bricker,  Andrew  J. 

Butler,  William  E.— Died  at 
Hampton  Hospital,  Va.,  1864. 

Cass,  Howard. 

Church,  Hiram. 

Dennis,  John — Died  at  Wilson's 
Landing,  Va.,  1864;  grave 
123,  Sec.  C,  Glendale,  Va. 

Donohew,  James  A. 

Elliott,  John  B. 

Engle,  Jackson. 

Ewing,  Daniel  H. 

Fortune,  John. 

Fortune,  William  H.  H. 

Frew,  William  C 

Gilbert,  George  W. 

Glover,  Joel  C. — Died  at  Fort 
Pocahontas,  Va.,  1864;  grave 
at  Glendale,  Va. 

Hammontree,  Franklin. 

Hart,  Harrison. 

Hastings,  Enos  W. 

Hay,  Addison  C. — Died  at  Hamp- 
ton Hospital,  Va.,  1864. 

Hay,  John  P. 

Jennings,  Alexander. 


LeClare,  Oliver. 

Linzey,  Martin  L. 

Lonzer,  William. 

Love,  Robert  H. 

Lutes,  William  F. 

McMichael,  Edward — Died  at 
Hampton,  Va.,  1864. 

Marlatt,  Lemuel. 

Marlatt,  Wesley. 

Milner,  John  E. 

Mohler,  Reuben  A. 

Murphy,  Edwin  H. 

Myers,  David  T. 

Norman,  John  W. 

Oxley,  John  E. 

Parson,  Thomas. 

Perkins,  Alfred  P.' 

Randies,  James  P. 

Richards,  Alexander. 

Richards,  Joseph. 

R'cketts,  Samuel  L. 

Ringler,  Emanuel. 

Sands,  Robert. 

Scott,  Thomas  C. — Died  at  Wil- 
son's Landing,  Va.,  1864. 

Scott,  William. 

Sherrard,  John  W. 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


188 


HISTOID Y    OF   COSHOCTON    COUNTY 


Smith,  Lewis  S. 
Stierheim,  Michael. 
Stewart,  Andrew. 
Stone,  James  R. 
Strickland,  Francis  J. 
Swartz,  Nicholas. 
Taylor,  Samuel. 
Tidball,  Wilson  S. 
Tish,  John. 
Vensel,  George  M. 
Vensel,  Joseph  H. 


V/aggoner,  Harrison. 

Wait,  John  T. 

Webb,  William. 

Wells,  Aaron  D. 

Wells,  Thomas  J. 

West,  Elias — Died  at  Point  of 
Rocks,  Md.,  1864;  grave  93, 
row  I,  Sec.  F,  City  Point,  Va. 

Whinery,  Lindley  H. 

Williamson,  Jacob  A. 

Williamson,  William  H. 


COMPANY    G 


Mustered  in  May  13,  1864. 

John  L.  Daugherty,  Captain. 
Daniel  Rose,  Second  Lieutenant. 
Leander  Bryant,  Color  Sergeant. 
John  W.  Graves,  Sergeant. 
Thomas  Le  Retilley,  Sergeant — 

Promoted  from  Corporal. 
William  Austin,  Corporal. 
Joseph  Graves,  Corporal. 
Samuel  S.  Waddell,  Corporal. 
Lewis  H.  Reed,  Musician. 
Samuel  Squires,  Wagoner. 


Mustered  out  Sept.  13,  1864. 

Andrew  J.  Stover,  First  Lieut. 
Lewis  Carhartt,  First  Sergeant. 
B.  R.  Shaw,  Sergeant — Promoted 

to  Quartermaster  Sergeant. 
James  W.  Reed,  Sergeant. 
Alexander  McCuUough,  Corporal. 
William  Hall,  Corporal. 
Albert  Wright,  Corporal. 
Philip  Bible,  Corporal. 
Nathaniel  Graves,  Corporal. 
Martin  G.  Hack,  Musician. 


Akeroyd,  Henry. 
Allen,  John. 
Barcroft,  Jeremiah. 
Blackburn,  Joseph. 
Bradfield,  Henry. 
Bradfield,  William. 
Brenemen,  James. 
Cain,  Lewis. 
Catterell,  Franklin. 
Chaney,  Moses. 
Cook,  Thomas. 


Privates 

Cox,  William  H. 
Cullison,  William. 
Dawson,  Jeremiah. 
Dawson,  William. 
Dodd,    William— Died    at   Wil- 
son's Landing,  Va.,  1864. 
Doolittle,  Jared. 
Dunfee,  John. 
Dunfee,  William. 
Edwards,  Thomas  J. 
Finnell,  Robert. 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON    COUNTY 


189 


Finnell,  Thomas  A. 

Fortune,  Jesse. 

Gooden,  Samuel. 

Graham,  James. 

Graves,  Wesley. 

Hill,  George. 

Hughes,  Samuel. 

Huffman,  Joseph — Died  at  For- 
tress Monroe,  Va.,  1864; 
grave  17,  row  8,  Sec.  E, 
Hampton,  Va. 

Huston,  John. 

Kern,  Daniel. 

Keys,  Samuel. 

Larr,  Daniel  R. 

Lowery,  James. 

Lowery,  Thomas. 

McCullough,  James. 

McCullough,  William. 

Miller,  Franklin  D. 

Moffit,  William  J. 

Mulford,  Henry. 

North,  Joshua. 

Ogle,  Albert. 

Owen,  Lamar. 


Peart,  Joshua. 

Peoples,  William. 

Piatt,  Robert. 

Phillips,  William  H 

Randies,  Andrew  J. 

Reed,  John  H. 

Reed,  Josephus. 

Robinson,  George  C. 

Roney,  George. 

Ross,  William  J. 

Shearon,  George. 

Shrigley,  James. 

Smith,  Thomas. 

Squires,  J.  S. 

Stephens,  John. 

Stone,  John. 

Taylor,  Joseph  W. 

Turner,  James  W. 

Vaneman,  Martin  D. 

Vansickle,  Henry. 

Vansickle,  John  W. 

Wright,    George   W. — Died    at 

Hampton,  Va.,   1864;  grave 

22,  row  8,  Sec.  E. 
Wright,  Henry. 


COMPANY    H 
Mustered  in  May  13,  1864.     Mustered  out  Sept.  13,  1864. 


James  Ririe,  Captain. 
Nathan  Elliott,  Second  Lieut. 
Eli  Seward,  Sergeant — Died  at 

Wilson's  Landing,  Va.,  1864; 

grave  125,  Sec.  C,  Glendale, 

Va. 
John  Wier,  Sergeant — Appointed 

from  Corporal. 
John  Waters,  Corporal — Died  in 


Balfour  Hospital,  Portsmouth, 

Va.,  1864;  grave  i,  row  19, 

Sec.  B,  Hampton,  Va. 
Robert  M.  Karr,  Corporal. 
William   B.   Finlay,  Corporal — 

Promoted  from  Private. 
Aaron     Fitzwater,     Corporal — 

Promoted  from  Private. 
Al^ram  Shafer,  Wagoner. 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


190 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON  COUNTY 


John  T.  Crawford,  First  Lieut.     Robert  Magee,  Corporal. 
William  H.  Park,  First  Sergeant.    John  S..  Duncan,  Corporal. 


Nathan  L.  Glover,  Sergeant. 
Andrew  Jack,  Sergeant. 
Thomas  Love,  Sergeant. 
John  Darr,  Corporal — Promoted 

from  Private. 
John  E.  Baker,  Corporal. 
Harvey  Ford,  Corporal. 

Privates 


Daniel  Overholt,  Corporal — Died 
in   Balfour  Hospital,   Ports- 
mouth, Va.,  1864;  grave  i, 
row  10,  Sec.  A,  Hampton,  Va. 

James  P.  Lanning,  Musician. 

William  F.  Sands,  Musician. 


Adams,  John  M. 

Andrews,  Gabriel  G. 

Andrews,  John. 

Bechtol,  Samuel  E. — Died  in  hos- 
pital. Fortress  Monroe,  1864; 
grave  7,  row  2,  Sec.  C,  Hamp- 
ton, Va. 

Boyd,  Henry. 

Boyd,  James  H. 

Boyd,  John  C. 

Boyd,  Ramsey  W. 

Boyd,  Robert  D. 

Buckle w,  Francis  M. 

Carnahan,  Hammond. 

Carnahan,  William  A. 

Catterell,  Leander. 

Darr,  George. 

Darr,  William. 

Davis,  Joseph. 

Duncan,  Jonas  H. 

Duncan,  Joseph  R. 

Elliott,  George  W. 

Elliott,  James. 

Ellis,  Simeon  H. 

Endsley,  Thomas  L. 

Endsley,  William  A. 

Farwell,  Washington. 

Finley,  Robert  B. 


Jack,  William  G. 

Karr,  Andrew. 

Karr,  John  W. 

Karr,  Thomas  L. 

Kuhn,  George. 

Lawrence,  Milon  A. 

Leavett,  Sylvester — Died  in  Mc- 
Dougall  Hospital,  New  York ; 
grave  in  Cypress  Hill  ceme- 
tery, Long  Island. 

Ling,  Harrison. 

Ling,  Joseph. 

Linn,  John  B. 

Lower,  Benjamin  J. 

McConnell,  Alexander. 

Morehead,  James  L. 

Overholt,  James  A. 

Reed,  James  E. 

Ririe,  Cyrus. 

Robertson,  John  J. 

Sayers,  Thomas  C. — Died  in  hos- 
pital. Fortress  Monroe,  1864, 
grave  2,  row  7,  Sec.  A,  Hamp- 
ton, Va. 

Shannon,  Harvey  E. 

Shannon,  Thomas. 

Shannon,  William. 

Smith,  Isaac  M. 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 


191 


Spangler,  Emanuel. 

StaflFord,  Isaac. 

Stewart,  David. 

Stewart,  William — Died  at  Wil- 
son's Landing,  Va.,  1864; 
grave  115,  Sec.  C,  Glendale, 
Va. 

Stonehocker,  Joseph. 


Stonehocker,  Samuel. 
Thompson,  Robert  W. 
Turbet,  Robert  G. 
Waters,  Richard. 
Whittemore,  John. 
Williamson,  John  A. 
Williamson,  Ebenezer. 
Winklepleck,  Emanuel. 


In  Sherman's  march  to  the  sea  the  cavalry  included  the  Ninth 
Ohio  of  which  Company  M  from  Coshocton  County  was  accorded 
special  praise.  Our  mounted  troops  saw  service  in  Kentucky  and 
Tennessee  during  1863,  ^^d  the  following  year  in  Alabama  until  at- 
tached to  General  Sherman's  army  in  Georgia.  The  Ninth  Ohio 
Volunteer  Cavalry  also  took  part  in  the  campaign  of  the  Carolinas, 
1865.  When  these  troops  rode  through  Nashville  the  Times  of  that 
city  described  them  as  making  an  admirable  showing.  The  musicians 
were  moimted  on  cream-colored  horses,  the  first  company  on  black 
horses,  the  second  on  white  horses,  and  the  third  on  bays. 

NINTH  OHIO  VOLUNTEER  CAVALRY 
Company   M 
James  Irvine,  Captain.  Samuel  P.  Mingus,  Sergeant. 

Joseph  McCuUough,  First  Lieut.  Stephen  Knowles,  Corporal. 
James  Stonehocker,  Second  Lieut.  Martin  W.  Griffin,-  Corporal. 
John  M.  Carhartt,  First  Sergeant    Caleb  S.  Ely,  Corporal. 

— Promoted  to  Lieutenant.       Robert  E.  Tavener,  Corporal. 
Sylvester  A.  Ellis,  Quartermaster.  Alexander  Carnahan,  Corporal. 
Thomas  Carnahan,  Commissary.    J.  A.  Williamson,  Corporal. 


James  M.  Humphrey,  Sergeant. 
William  Wicken,  Sergeant. 
Charles  M.  Pike,  Sergeant. 
John  E.  Snyder,  Sergeant. 


Thomas  Richards,  Corporal. 
Frank  H.  Penn,  Corporal. 
John    Glass,    Saddler — Died 
Athens,  Ala.,  1864. 


at 


Privates 
Allen,  J.  Ala.,  1864. 

Allen,  William.  Bible,  J. 

Barton,  L.  W.— Died  at  Athens,     Black,  S.  H. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


192 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON  COUNTY 


Borden,  S. 

Butler,  T. 

Carnahan,  N.  S. 

Collier,  S. 

Comstock,  M. 

Critchfield,  C.  H. 

Davis,  J.  W. 

Deems,      Robert  —  Killed      by 

guerrillas,  1865. 
Dickerson,  T. 
Dusenberry,  G. 
Donough,  P. 
Edwards,  T.  J. 
Enright,  W. 
Evans,  A. 
Felton,  Franklin — Died  at  Vin- 

ing  Station,  Ga.,  1864. 
Fisher,  G. 
Fivecoat,  H. 
Farquhar,  F.  D. 
Frazee,  J.  T. 
Green,  A. 
Green,  G. 
Grier,  J. 
Hazle,  P. 
Hardesty,  T.  J. 
Harrington,  M. 
Harrington.  C.  W. 
Hibbetts,  G. 
Hoagland,  S. 
Hoagland,  J. 
Hook,  S. 
Infelt,  M. 
Jennings,  Joseph. 
Joy,  A.  S. 
Keever,  L. 
Lear,  M. 


Leclair,  A. 

Leech,  D. 

Longbaugh,     Lewis — Killed   by 
guerrillas,  1865. 

Loos,  J.  H. 

Mankin,  J.  S. 

McCoy,  Francis. 

McLaughlin,  William. 

Michael,  S. 

Oden,  Levan. 

Perry,  Israel. 

Porter,  J. 

Rider,  J. 

Schneid,  C.  F.    ' 

Senter,  Daniel — Died  at  Moores- 
ville,  Ala.,  1864. 

Slusser,  G.  W. 

Smith,  C. 

Smith,  W. 

Smith,  J. 

Smith  2d,  J. 

Starkey,  W.  C. 

Stonehocker,  J.  T. 

Stokes,  L. 

Sykes,  George. 

Taylor,  A. 

Thacker,  D.  H. 

Thomas,  J. 

Thomas,  William. 

Tinsman,  J. 

Wells,  Albert — Killed  by  guerril- 
las, 1865. 

Wicken,  John. 

Wines,  J. 

Wright,    B.    F.  — Perished    in 
steamer    Sultana    explosion, 

1865. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  193 

COSHOCTON  COUNTY  SOLDIERS 
Enlisted  with  Other  Troops  in  the  Civil  War. 

Abbott,  E.  G.,  Co.  E,  4th  Indiana  Artillery,  wounded  at  Stone 
River,  promoted  from  Private  to  Corporal. 
Adams,  Thomas,  Co.  K,  210th  Pa.  V.  I. 

Adams,  Henry,  Co.  C,  67th  O.  V.  I.  and  Co.  C,  184th  O.  V.  I. 
Angle,  Malachi,  Co.  H,  157th  O.  V.  I. 
Allen,  John  W.,  Co.  G,  198th  O.  V.  I. 
Aunspaugh,  Levi,  Co.  B,  I42d  O.  V.  I. 
Andrews,  James,  Co.  D,  121  st  and  65th  N.  Y.  V.  I. 
Atkinson,  Perry,  Co.  A,  88th  O.  V.  I. 
Ammons,  Cornelius,  Co.  G,  20th  O.  V.  I. 
Ammons,  Benjamin,  Co.  C,  52d  O.  V.  I. 
Anderson,  Isaac  C,  Co.  H,  159th  O.  V.  I. 
Anderson,  W.  T.,  Co.  H,  159th  O.  V.  I. 
Barcroft,  R.  L.,  Co.  H,  32d  O.  V.  I. 
Black,  Ramon  B.,  Co.  C,  65th  O.  V.  I. 
Babcock,  Arnold,  Co.  E,  109th  O.  V.  I. 
Benpenin,  John,  Co.  E,  29th  O.  V.  I. 
Bahmer,  V.  E.,  Co.  K,  51st  O.  V.  I. 
Babcock,  D.  W.,  Co.  F,  15th  O.  V.  I. 
Baker,  C.  P.,  Co.  A,  194th  O.  V.  I. 
Baker,  HesHp  W.,  Co.  F,  47th  O.  V.  I. 
Balo,  Stephen,  Co.  K,  i6th  O.  V.  I. 
Boyd,  Nicholas,  Co.  C,  78th  O.  V.  I. 
Barnes,  Francis,  Co.  D,  164th  O.  V.  I. 
Bassett,  John  D.,  Co.  B,  80th  O.  V.  I. 
Bell,  Alexander,  Co.  E,  45th  O.  V.  I. 
Berkshire,  Anson,  Co.  H,  178th  O.  V.  I. 
Bible,  George,  Co.  B,  38th  O.  V.  I. 
Blackledge,  J.  B.,  Co.  F,  65th  O.  V.  I. 
Bluck,  Edward,  Co.  A,  194th  O.  V.  I. 
Bonnell,  L.  I.,  Co.  E,  47th  O.  V.  I. 
Bostwick,  William,  Co.  K,  I42d  O.  V.  I. 
Brown,  A.  G.,  Acting  Assistant  Surgeon  U.  S.  A, 
Brownfield,  Robert,  Co.  I,  69th  O.  V.  I.,  detailed  in  Pioneer  Corps. 
Buckmaster,  Richard,  Co.  K,  195th  O.  V.  I. 

Digitized  by  VjQOQlC 


194  HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

Bussard,  Peter,  Co.  K,  26th  O.  V.  I.  and  Co.  K,  45th  O.  V.  I. 

Brannon,  W.  A.,  Co.  I,  1226  O.  V.  I. 

Barclay,  George  M.,  Co.  A,  194th  O.  V.  I. 

Berlein,  John,  Co.  C,  29th  O.  V.  I. 

Bates,  Joseph,  Co.  F,  57th  O.  V.  I. 

Baker,  John  D.,  Co.  H,  57th  O.  V.  I. 

Bulz,  Johnson,  Co.  G,  78th  O.  V.  I. 

Beall,  Benjamin,  Co.  F,  ist  O.  S.  S. 

Beall,  Michael,  Co,  K,  43d  O'.  V.  I. 

Butler,  John,  Co.  A,  9th  O.  V.  C. 

Benell,  James,  Co.  G,  126th  O.  V.  I. 

Burt,  R.  W.,  Captain  Co.  H,  76th  O.  V.  I.,  promoted  from  Second 
Lieutenant  Co.  G  and  First  Lieutenant  Co.  I;  wounded  in  battle  of 
Resaca. 

Baldwin,  C.  O.,  Co.  G,  115th  O.  V.  l' 

Brophy,  Frank,  Co.  B,  196th  O.  V.  L 

Baringer,  Jacob,  Co.  E,  194th  O.  V.  L 

Bowers,  John,  Co.  A,  27th  O.  V.  L 

Buchanan,  John,  Corporal  Co.  E,  191st  O.  V.  L 

Beall,  W.  H.,  Co.  A,  22d  O.  V.  L 

Burris,  John  A.,  Co.  B,  80th  O.  V.  L 

Bush,  N.  C,  Sergeant  Co.  A,  —  O.  V.  I. 

Carhart,  Lewis,  leader  Regimental  Band,  51st  O.  V.  I. 

Collier,  Zachariah,  12th  O.  V.  C. 

Cain,  David,  Co.  B,  80th  O.  V.  L 

Carnahan,  John,  Co.  H,  i6th  O.  V.  L 

Carr,  Dr.  J.  G.,  First  Lieutenant  and  Acting  Assistant  Surgeon, 
i66th  O.  V.  L ;  Assistant  Surgeon,  26th  O.  V.  V.  L 

Carroll,  Richard,  Co.  F,  15th  O.  V.  V.  L 

Casebeer,  Isaac,  Co.  B,  I42d  O.  V.  I. 

Chamberlain,  O.  P.,  Corporal  Co.  K,  80th  O.  V.  I.,  promoted 
from  Private. 

Cline,  Henry,  Co.  K,  98th  O.  V.  I. 

Cochran,  French  W.,  Corporal  Battery  F,  2d  Ohio  Volunteer 
Heavy  Artillery,  promoted  from  Private. 

Campbell,  J.  C,  Captain  Co.  A,  76th  Pa.  V.  L 

Conrad,  B.  R,  Co.  F,  62d  O.  V.  L 

Clark,  Henry,  Co.  A,  9th  O.  V.  C. 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON    COUNTY  195 

Coles,  John,  Co.  A,  88th  O.  V.  I. 

Collier,  James  N.,  Co.  H,  178th  O.  V.  I. 

Crist,  C  E.,  Co.  D,  126th  O.  V.  I. 

Cross,  W.  A.,  Co.  I,  69th  O.  V.  I. 

Cross,  James,  Co.  B,  80th  O.  V.  I.,  promoted  to  Sergeant. 

Crossley,  Moses,  Co.  F,  I22d  O.  V.  I.,  wounded  in  Virginia. 

Crow,  T.  H.,  Co.  G,  133d  O.  V.  I. 

Culbertson,  D.  R.,  Co.  A,  88th  O.  V.  I. 

Curran,  Daniel,  Co.  F,  143d  O.  V.  I.,  Co.  F,  65th  O.  V.  L,  wounded 
at  Franklin. 

Cline,  John,  Co.  K,  19th  O.  V.  I. 

Cutshall,  Samuel,  Co.  B,  51st  O.  V.  I. 

Collins,  G.  H.,  Co.  F,  62d  O.  V.  I. 

Chalfant,  H.  M.,  Battery  F,  2d  O.  V.  H.  A. 

Camp,  Henry,  Co.  H,  13th  O.  V.  I. 

Clark,  S.  R.,  Second  Lieutenant,  Co.  G,  86th  O.  V.  I. 

Crisswell,  John,  194th  O.  V.  I. 

Clark,  Thomas,  Co.  C,  32d  O.  V.  I. 

Cox,  Samuel,  Co.  F,  78th  O.  V.  I. 

Cooper,  George  W.,  Sergeant  Co.  D,  i6th  O.  V.  I. 

Cox,  Henry,  Co.  F,  78th  O.  V.  I. 

Clarman,  Jacob,  Co.  C,  76th  O.  V.  I. 

Clark,  James  M.,  Corporal  Co.  G,  97th  O.  V.  L,  transferred  to 
Co.  G,  26th  O.  V.  I. 

Caton,  Hamilton,  Co.  E,  78th  O.  V.  I. 

Cain,  Lewis,  Co.  D,  ist  U.  S.  C. 

Cochran,  J.  A.,  Co.  D,  i6th  O.  V.  L 

Darr,  George,  Co.  H,  143d  O.  V.  L 

Davis,  David  (Conesville),  Co.  D,  76th  O.  V.  L,  in  a  charge  to 
retake  battery  before  Atlanta,  1864,  surprised  and  captured  alone 
six  rebels  in  charge  of  three  Union  prisoners,  and  took  them  all  to 
headquarters. 

Davis,  Joseph,  Co.  H,  143d  O.  V.  L 

Davis,  Samuel,  Co.  I,  14th  O.  V.  I. 

Dawson,  Levi,  Co.  H.,  40th  O.  V.  L 

Decker,  Harrison,  Sergeant  Co.  H,  i6th  O.  V.  L 

De  Witt,  Jonathan,  Co.  B,  51st  O.  V.  L 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


196  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON  COUNTY 

Divan,  W.  H.,  Co.   B,   1226  O.  V.   L,  promoted  to  Corporal, 
wounded  in  battle  of  the  Wilderness. 

Dixon,  Thomas,  Co.  K,  19th  O.  V.  I.,  wounded  at  Chickamauga 
and  Kenesaw  Mountain,  promoted  to  Corporal  and  Sergeant. 

Dougherty,  Ross,  Co.  A,  88th  O.  V.  I. 

Dillon,  F.  W.,  Co.  A,  194th  O.  V.  I. 

Dunfee,  Henry,  Co.  D,  76th  O.  V.  I. 

Duling,  Fletcher,  Co.  D,  33d  O.  V.  I. 

Denman,  Mathias,  Co.  A,  52d  O.  V.  L,  detailed  adjutant  clerk, 
died  at  Nashville,  1863. 

Davidson,  William,  Co.  H,  97th  Ind. 

Duling,  David,  Co.  F,  57th  O.  V.  I. 

Drummond,  J.  H.,  Co.  K,  139th  O.  V.  I. 

Donaker,  Charles,  Co.  A,  33d  O.  V.  I. 

Douglas,  James,  Co.  D,  52d  O.  V.  I. 

Deal,  Rollin,  Co.  C,  185th  O.  V.  I. 

Elben,  Levi,  Co.  C,  66th  O.  V.  I. 

Elson,  William  M.,  Co.  I,  69th  O.  V.  L,  mortally  wounded  in  battle 
of  Mission  Ridge. 

Elson,  Tunis,  Co.  I,  69th  O.  V.  I.,  died  at  Nashville,  1862,  grave 
84,  row  8,  Sec.  A. 

Elson,  John  D.,  Co.  A,  loth  O.  V.  C 

Evans,  James  D.,  ist  Ohio  Artillery,  died  at  Camp  Nelson,  1862. 

Edwards,  J.  T.,  Surgeon  97th  O.  V.  I. 

Emerson,   C.   H.,  Co.   C,  97th  O.   V.   I.,  wounded  and  died  at 
Chattanooga. 

Elhs,  D.  W.,  Co.  K,  i42d  O.  V.  I. 

Endsley,  James  C,  Co.  I,   i66th  O.  V.  I. 

Erwin,  Thomas  J.,  Co.  B,  24th  O.  V.  L,  wounded  in  Kentucky. 

Evans,  Alexander,  Co.  K,  19th  O.  V.  I. 

Frichler,  T.  D.,  Co.  I,  141st  O.  V..L 

Ferguson,  S.  T.,  Co.  I,  185th  O.  V.  I. 

Felton,  John,  Co  H,  15th  Mich.  V.  I. 

Ford,  John,  Co.  G,  15th  O.  V.  I. 

Fry,  Samuel,  Co.  K,  43d  O.  V.  I. 

Fry,  Henry  O.,  Co.  K,  43d  O.  V.  I. 

Fay,  Charles. v.,  Co.  B,  i66th  O.  V.  I. 

Fowler,  John  W.,  Co.  A,  194th  O.  V.  I. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


^Bm^' 

.^ 

^^^E^^P^^ 

1.  ^ 

2JTr.iii.. 


r.  ini 


-PiSI-  '^ 


WEST    LAFAYETTE. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


Digitized  by 


Google 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON    COUNTY  197 

Ferrell,  George,  Pennsylvania. 

Fender,  Lewis,  Co.  F,  15th  O.  V.  I. 

Fisher,  Freeman,  Co.  F,  88th  O.  V.  L,  Co.  C,  51st  O.  V.  V.  I. 

Fitzgerald,  William,  Co.  K,  38th  la.  V.  I.,  missing  from  hospital 
boat  at  Vicksburg. 

Fleming,  I.  D.,  Co.  F,  19th  O.  V.  I. 

Frew,  Robert,  Co.  C,  51st  O.  V.  V.  I. 

Frost,  Moses,  Co.  K,  4th  la.  V.  C. 

Glover,  T.  H.,  Co.  F,  97th  Indiana  V.  I. 

Goodnough,  Elmer,  Co.  F,  97th  Indiana  V.  I. 

Gaskill,  H.  W.,  Co.  A,  194th  O.  V.  I. 

Gosser,  Martin,  Co.  A,  194th  O.  V.  I. 

Giffen,  Warren,  Co.  C,  32d  O.  V.  I. 

Graham,  Thomas,  Corporal  Co.  B,  i6th  O.  V.  I.,  killed  in 
Arkansas  Post  battle. 

Grant,  Parkison,  Co.  K,  i66th  O.  V.  I. 

Grassbaugh,  Jacob,  Co.  G,  32d  O.  V.  V.  I. 

Gould,  Joseph  H.,  Battery  D,  loth  Artillery. 

Gibson,  W.  D.,  Co.  K,  138th  O.  V.  I. 

Giffen,  Robert,  Co.  G,  198th  O.  V.  I. 

Geese,  Chris,  Co.  D,  2d  O.  V.  C. 

Gouser,  Henry,  Co.  A,  38th  O.  V.  V.  I. 

Grave,  Frederick,  Co.  G,  51st  O.  V.  I. 

Gaskill,  John  B.,  Co.  I,  195th  O.  V.  I. 

Gardner,  Alvin,  Co.  H,  178th  O.  V.  I. 

Gill,  Joseph,  Co.  H,  78th  O.  V.  I. 

Gard,  John,  Co.  A,  I02d  O.  V.  I. 

Gray,  T.  D.,  Co.  B,  ist  W.  Va.  V.  I. 

Hay,  Alexander,  Musician,  Co.  D,  15th  U.  S.  I. 

Hummel,  Henry,  Co.  F,  19th  O.  V.  I.,  wounded  at  Dallas,  Ga. 

Hootman,  W.  J.,  Sergeant  Co.  H,  194th  O.  V.  I. 

Hood,  E.  B.,  Co.  K,  nth  Pa. 

Holcomb,  James,  Co.  F,  78th  O.  V.  I. 

Hoagland,  G.  W.,  Co.  H,  20th  O.  V.  I. 

Hecker,  John,  Co.  E,  194th  O.  V.  I. 

Heslip,  John  V.,  Captain  Co.  I,  69th  O.  V.  I. 

Henderson,  Thomas,  Co.  K,  19th  O.  V.  I. 

Heft,  Joseph,  Co.  H,  78th  O.  V.  I. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


198  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON  COUNTY 

Hickman,  Daniel,  Co.  A,  3d  Pa.  V.  C. 

Hull,  William  R.,  Co.  G,  163d  O.  V.  I. 

Haxton,  Alexander  C,  Co.  F,  97th  Ind. 

Harris,  Robert,  Battery  H,  ist  Va.  Light  Artillery,  promoted  to 
Corporal,  captured  at  New  Creek,  Va.,  prisoner  in  Libby. 

Hart,  Harrison,  Co.  D,  143d  O.  V.  I. 

Hawk,  Isaac,  Co.  E,  47th  O.  V.  V.  I. 

Henderson,  F.  M.,  Corporal  Co.  H,  i62d  O.  V.  I. 

Henry,  Charles  P.,  Co.  K,  42d  U.  S.  C.  T.,  promoted  to  Q.  M. 
Sergeant. 

Home,  George  W.,  Battery  F,  2d  O.  V.  Heavy  Artillery. 

Home,  John,  Co.  I,  85th  Ind.  V.  I. 

Howe,  George  H.,  Co.  D,  157th  N.  V.  V.  I.,  promoted  to  Corporal. 

Hostetler,  A.  J.,  Co.  B,  i6th  O.  V.  I 

Hartley,  Anthony,  Co.  G,  52d  O.  V.  I. 

Haas,  Michael,  Co.  F,  88th  O.  V.  I. 

Holland,  Patrick,  Co.  C,  4th  W.  Va. 

Hughes,  Jackson,  76th  O.  V.  I.,  died  at  Nashville. 

Hicks,  Thomas,  40th  O.  V.  I.,  died  at  Andersonville. 

Harbaugh,  Joseph,  Co.  I,  19th  O.  V.  I. 

Jones,  Smith,  Co.  B,  129th  O.  V.  I.,  Co.  H,  178th  O.  V.  I.,  pro- 
moted to  Sergeant. 

Johnston,  William  A.,  musician  regimental  band,  51st  O.  V.  I. 

Jackson,  Robert,  Co.  F,  ist  W.  Va.  V.  I.,  prisoner  in  Libby. 

Jewell,  Lewis,  Co.  C,  4th  O.  V.  I. 

Jobe,  Henry,  Co.  H,  20th  O.  V.  I.,  Co.  H,  195th  O.  V.  I.  ' 

Johnson,  James  R.,  Co.  I,  69th  O.  V.  I. 

Johnson,  John  J.,  Co.  I,  69th  O.  V.  I. 

Jones,  David,  Co.  I,  15th  O.  V.  I. 

Johnson,  John,  Co.  F,  97th  O.  V.  I. 

Jennings,  Leander,  Co.  G,  76th  O.  V.  L,  promoted  to  Corporal 
and  Sergeant,  wounded  at  Atlanta. 

Jones,  Daniel,  Corporal  Co.  E,  191st  O.  V.  I. 

Jones,  John,  Co.  F,  88th  O.  V.  I. 

Kimble,  Charles  C,  Co.  F,  97th  O.  V.  I.,  wounded  in  battle  of 
Franklin,  Tenn. 

Kleineknecht,  Jacob,  Co.  I,  7th  U.  S.  I. 

Kreider,  Franklin,  Co.  F,  97th  O.  V.  I. 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  199 

Keefer,  Samuel,  Co.  C,  86tli  O.  V.  I.,  died  at  Cumberland  Gap, 
Tenn. 

Keiser,  Michael,  Co.  E,  126th  O.  V.  I. 

Kirk,  Thomas,  Co.  K,  43d  Ind.  V.  V.  I. 

Kiste,  J.  H.,  Co.  A,  88th  O.  V.  I. 

Kohman,  Daniel,  Co.  E,  3d  N.  Y.  V.  C.  and  Co.  G,  8th  Regt., 
U.  S.  V.  V.  I. 

Knowles,  John  S.,  Co.  B,  80th  O.  V.  I. 

Kersteter,  S.  B.,  Co.  C,  78th  O.  V.  I. 

Kutscher,  Jacob,  Co.  E,  194th  O.  V.  I. 

Kirk,  John,  Sergeant  Co.  A,  27th  O.  V.  I. 

Kiger,  Richard,  Co.  K,  43d  O.  V.  I. 

Lanning,  Richard,  Major  80th  O.  V.  I.,  killed  in  battle  of  Corinth, 
Miss.,  1862;  grave  in  Oak  Ridge  cemetery,  Coshocton. 

Love,  Joseph,  Co.  E,  I42d  O.  V.  I.,  musician  Co.  C,  43d  O.  V.  I., 
drafted;  detailed  in  commissary  department  at  Goldsboro,  N.  C. ; 
company  clerk  at  Washington,  D.  C. 

Lybarger,  E.  L.,  promoted  from  Private,  Second  Lieutenant  and 
First  Lieutenant  Co.  K  to  Regimental  Quartermaster  43d  O.  V.  L 

Landers,  Joseph,  Co.  H,  I42d  O.  V.  I. 

Lawrence,  Robert,  Co.  D,  191st,  O.  V.  L 

Leighninger,  Daniel,  Co.  A,  88th  O.  V.  V.  L 

Leinedecker,  Christian,  Co.  D,  47th  O.  V.  V.  L 

Lenhart,  Jacob  J.,  Co.  E,  191st  O.  V.  L 

Leavengood,  Michael,  Co.  E,  191st  O.  V.  L 

Linch,  John  W.,  Co.  E,  23d  O.  V.  L,  died  at  Frederick  City,  Md., 
1864. 

Lower,  Jacob  P.,  Co.  D,  62d  O.  V.  V.  L,  captured  at  Appomattox 
C.  H. 

Loos,  Martin  H.,  Co.  H,  194th  O.  V.  L 

Lehman,  Noah,  Co.  I,  107th  O.  V.  L 

Luke,  John  G.,  Co.  M,  5th  O.  V.  C. 

Lee,  S.  H.,  Surgeon,  143d  O.  V.  L 

Lee,  George,  Co.  A,  159th  O.  V.  L 

Lepley,  D.  V.,  Co.  D,  3d  Md. 

Landerman,  W.,  Co.  E,  78th  O.  V.  L 

Lint,  Jacob  J.,  Co.  E,  i6th  O.  V.  L 

Loos,  George  D.,  Co.  H,  88th  O.  V.  L 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


200  HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

Lighten,  Joseph  M.,  Co.  H,  65th  O.  V.  I. 

Lamma,  John,  Co.  H,  88th  O.  V.  I. 

Lidrick,  George,  Co.  A,  194th  O.  V.  I. 

Lahna,  Jacob,  Co.  I,  195th  O.  V.  I. 

Mapel,  Johnson,  Co.  D,  191st  O.  V.  I. 

McCullum,  James  M.,  Corporal  Co.  H,  40th  O.  V.  I. 

McGee,  William,  Co.  C,  i6th  O.  V.  I. 

McCrea,  Robert  J.,  Sergeant,  Co.  D,  206th  O.  V.  I. 

Metzler,  A.  S.,  Co.  I,  i66th  O.  V.  I. 

Mercer,  Geo.  W.,  Co.  G,  78th  O.  V.  I. 

Maple,  David,  Co.  K,  19th  O.  V.  I. 

Miller,  Orloff,  Co.  C,  47th  O.  V.  I. 

Masters.  Frank,  Co.  K,  loth  V.  I. 

Mason,  Samuel,  Co.  G,  80th  O.  V.  I. 

McCoy,  A.  J.,  19th  O.  V.  I. 

Means,  W.  P.,  Co.  K,  128th  O.  V.  I. 

Mackey,  John  G.,  Co.  G,  26th  O.  V.  I  . 

Miller,  Jacob,  Co.  K,  198th  O.  V.  I. 

Mullet,  Jonas,  Co.  G,  51st  O.  V.  I. 

Mullet,  Jacob,  Co.  C,  28th  la.  V.  I.,  captured  at  Helena,  Ark. 

Milligan,  J.  C,  Co.  I,  19th  O.  V.  I. 

Milligan,  William,  Co.  I,  19th  O.  V.  V.  I. 

Mizer,  Moses,  Co.  C,  78th  O.  V.  V.  I.,  drafted. 

Murphy,  James,  Co.  K,  i6th  O.  V.  I. 

Murphy,  William  E.,  Co.  K,  62d  O.  V.  V.  I.,  drafted. 

Murphy,  Thomas,  Indiana  Indp. 

Myers,  Azariah,  Co.  F,  178th  O.  V.  I. 

Myers,  Henry,  Co.  G,  19th  O.  V.  I. 

Magaw,  James  G.,  Co.  A,  96th  O.  V.  I. 

Mossholder,  Noah,  3d  Ohio  Indp. 

Markley,  Fred,  Co.  D,  e^yHh  O.  V.  I.,  promoted  to  Corporal  and 
Sergeant. 

Miller,  Irvin,  Co.  B,  80th  O.  V.  I.,  detached  as  Clerk  at  Head- 
quarters Army  of  Tennessee. 

McCall,  J.  H.,  Co.  F,  78th  O.  V.  I. 

McFarland,  John,  Co.  B,  99th  O.  V.  I. 

Morrow,  Elisha  W.,  Corporal  Co.  C,  4th  V.  R,  C. 

Magness,  Thomas  F.,  Corporal  Co.  B,  123d  O.  V.  I. 

Digitized  by  CjOOQIC 


HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  201 

McDaniels,  Wm.  A.,  Co.  G,  31st  O.  V.  I. 
McKee,  H.  S.,  Co.  F,  62d  O.  V.  I. 
Magness,  F.  H.,  Co.  F,  i6th  O.  V.  I. 
McCartney,  Thomas  J.,  Corporal  Co.  I,  69th  O.  V.  I. 
Middleton,  William  A.,  Co.  B,  80th  O.  V.  I. 
Middleton,  Joseph  C,  Co.  H,  126th  O.  V.  I. 
McCoy,  James,  Commissary  Sergeant,  Co.  I,  9th  la.  V.  C. 
McCay,  James,  Co.  G,  loth  la.  V.  I. 
McMichael,  Manuel,  Sergeant,  Co.  D,  8th  HI.  V.  I. 
Meredith,  Isaac,  Co.  F,  89th  O.  V.  L 
Murphy,  Abram,  Corporal  Co.  F,  97th  O.  V.  I. 
Marquand,  William,   Promoted  from  Private  to  Corporal,   Co. 
F,  97th  O.  V.  I. 

Mossman,  John  T.,  Promoted  from  Private  to  Corporal,  Co.  F, 
97th  O.  V.  I. 

Murphy,  James,  Co.  F,  97th  O.  V.  I. 

Mirise,  John,  Brigade  Wagon  Master,   loth  Brigade;  Corporal 
Co.  I,  O.  V.  L.  A. 

McClintock,  J.  C,  12th  O.  V.  C. 
Moore,  William  F.,  Sergeant,  Co.  F,  97th  Ind. 
McClaughry,  George  H.,  Co.  A,  194th  O.  V.  I. 
McFarland,  Thomas,  Co.  D,  i6th  O.  V.  I.,  wounded  in  bayonet 
charge  at  Chickasaw  Bayou. 

McLarren,  James,  Co.  C,  Ind.  S.  S. 

McLeese,  John,  Co.  F,  62d  O.  V.  I.,  Co.  I,  i86th  O.  V.  I. 

McNeely,  William,  Co.  G,  ist  Regt.,  U.  S.  V.  V. 

Madison,  Joseph  R.,  Co.  D,  38th  O.  V.  V.  I. 

Magness,  Fielding,  Co.  F,  15th  O.  V.  V.  I.,  detailed  in  commis- 
sary department. 

Mills,  Joseph,  Co.  A,  194th  O.  V.  I. 

Miller,  John,  Co.  F,  15th  U.  S.  I. 

Naragon,  James,  Co.  F,  19th  O.  V.  I.,  captured  at  Stone  River, 
prisoner  in  Libby,  promoted  to  Sergeant  Major. 

Nelson,  Samuel,  Co.  D,  55th  O.  V.  I. 

Newcome,  Joseph,  Co.  C,  15th  W.  Va.  V.  T. 

Nonnaker,  John  J.,  Co.  G,  57th  O.  V.  I. 

Neptune,  Absalom,  Co.  B,  80th  O.  V.  I. 

Norman,  George  F.,  Co.  G,  24th  O.  V.  I. 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


202  HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON    COUNTY 

Nyhart,  Martin,  Co.  B,  i86th  O.  V.  I. 

Oden,  John  D.,  wagoner,  Co.  F,  97th  O.  V.  I. 

Oden,  Elias  F.,  Co.  F,  97th  O.  V.  L,  transferred  to  Co.  I,  26th 
O.  V.  I. 

Owens,  Edward,  Co.  I,  195th  O.  V.  I. 

Oxley,  Jeremiah,  Co.  B,  96th  O.  V.  I.,  died  at  Vicksburg,  1864, 
grave  940,  Sec.  G. 

Perkins,  James,  Co.  C,  3d  V.  I. 

Parker,  Isaac,  Co.  B,  77th  O.  V.  I.,  promoted  to  regiment  com- 
missary. 

Parkhurst,  Elisha  P.,  Co.  H,  7th  111.  V.  C,  promoted  Corporal  for 
carrying  his  wounded  Captain  off  Corinth  battlefield  under  fire; 
detailed  under  "Chickasaw,  the  Scout;''  captured  at  Clifton,  Tenn. ; 
jumped  from  moving  train  and  escaped ;  wounded  at  Eastport,  Miss. 

Parsons,  H.  S.,  Co.  G,  23d  O.  V.  I.,  captured  in  Shenandoah  Val- 
ley, escaped. 

Pascoe,  Charles,  Co.  A,  65th  O.  V.  I. 

Patterson,  John,  Co.  A,  4th  W.  Va.  V.  C. 

Piatt,  Robert,  Co.  I,  69th  O.  V.  I.,  detailed  in  Pioneer  Corps. 

Piatt,  T.  J.,  Corporal  Co.  F,  17th  O.  V.  I.,  promoted  to  Sergeant, 
Lieutenant  and  Captain  Co.  D,  62d  O.  V.  I.,  and  to  Major  and  Lieu- 
tenant Colonel. 

Piatt,  Thomas,  Corporal  Co.  I,  69th  O.  V.  I.,  transferred  to  Vet- 
eran Reserve  Corps. 

Poland,  R.  M.,  Co.  K,  8th  Pa. 

Parker,  J.  D.,  Co.  B,  71st  O.  V.  I. 

Postel,  James,  Co.  G,  43d  O.  V.  I. 

Pool,  Wm.,  Co.  G,  146th  O.  V.  I. 

Pool,  Thos.,  Co.  D,  76th  O.  V.  I. 

Potter,  Adam,  Co.  F,  8th  Cav. 

Peck,  Alfred,  Co.  D,  52d  O.  V.  I. 

Rahn,  Casper.  Musician,  19th  O.  V.  I. 

Randolph,  C.  D.,  Co.  C,  76th  O.  V.  I. 

Rice,  Irwin,  Co.  H,  40th  O.  V.  I. 

Rees,  Henry,  Co.  K,  195th  O.  V.  I. 

Reppart,  David,  Co.  H,  43d  O.  V.  I. 

Roberts,  Nathan,  Co.  A,  80th  O.  V.  I. 

Roberts,  William,  Sergeant,  Co.  H,  99th  O.  V.  I. 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  203 

Richmond,  John  E.,  Co.  K,  85th  O.  V.  I. 

Robinson,  John,  Co.  G,  80th  O.  V.  I. 

Rogers,  J.  L.,  Co.  F,  98th  O.  V.  I.,  promoted  from  Corporal  to 
First  Sergeant. 

Riggle,  Charles,  Co.  F,  194th  O.  V.  I. 

Ruby,  Johnson,  Co.  G,  78th  O.  V.  I. 

Roderick,  Lewis,  19th  O.  V.  V.  I. 

Rose,  Sanford,  Co.  A,  135th  O.  V.  I.,  captured  at  North  Moun- 
tain, Va.,  prisoner  at  Andersonville  and  Florence,  S.  C. 

Ross,  Leander  N.,  Co.  E,  191st  O.  V.  I. 

Rowe,  Michael,  Co.  C,  78th  O.  V.  V.  I. 

Smith,  G.  W..,  Co.  D,  191st  O.  V.  I. 

Smith,  Maro,  Musician,  Co.  F,  59th  Ind.  V.  I. 

Scheerer,  Joseph,  Co.  K,  195th  O.  V.  I. 

Schrock,  Andrew,  Co.  G,  51st  O.  V.  V.  I. 

Schumaker,  Adam,  Co.  E,  194th  O.  V.  I. 

Scott,  James  M.,  Co.  C,  ist  Del.  V.  C. 

Sewett,  S.,  under  name  of  A.  Davis  in  Co.  A,  4th  Md.  C,  wounded 
at  James  River  and  Deep  Bottom. 

Shuhzman,  William,  Co.  B,  i86th  O.  V.  I. 

Shultz,  Jacob,  Co.  C,  77th  Pa.  V.  I. 

Slaughter,  James,  7th  Ind.  Indp.  Battery,  promoted  to  Corporal. 

Slaughter,  Mathias,  Co.  F,  97th  O.  V.  I. 

Smith,  Alexander,  Co.  E,  51st  O.  V.  V.  I.,  transferred  to  Veteran 
Reserve  Corps. 

Smith,  David,  Co.  E,  183d  O.  V.  I. 

Smith,  Lewis,  Co.  E,  43d  O.  V.  L 

Strain,  John,  Co.  C,  67th  O.  V.  I. 

Sprenkle,  S.  P.,  Co.  E,  126th  O.  V.  I. 

Swigert,  L.  W.,  Co.  G,  30th  O.  V.  I. 

Smith,  John  L.,  Co.  K,  139th  O.  V.  I. 

Smith,  John  S.,  Co.  I,  I22d  O.  V.  I. 

Smith,  Nathan,  Co.  G,  170th  O.  V.  L 

Smith,  Edgar,  Co.  A,  75th  O.  V.  L 

Smith,  Peter,  Co.  E,  76th  O.  V.  L 

Snee,  G.  K.,  Co.  F,  98th  O.  V.  L,  detailed  at  Franklin,  Tenn.,  as 
division  teamster. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


204  HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

Snider,  Frederick,  Co.  K,  43d  O.  V.  I. 

Souders,  Jesse,  Co.  I,  136th  O.  V.  I. 

Sowers,  Mathias,  Co.  C,  67th  O.  W  W  I.,  wounded  at  Deep  Bot- 
tom, Va. 

Spurgeon,  Alonzo,  Co.  A,  194th  O.  V.  I. 

Stanton,  Xewton,  Co.  I,  51st  O.  V.  \\  I.,  killed  at  Resaca,  Ga. 

Stinebaugh,  Jacob,  6th  Ohio  Independent  Battery. 

Stone,  F.  A.,  Sergeant,  Co.  I,  69th  O.  W  I.,  wounded  at  Dallas,  Ga. 

Stone,  James  F.,  Co.  I,  69th  O.  \\  I. 

Stonebrook,  Hiram  J.,  Sergeant,  Co.  G,  126th  O.  V.  I.,  promoted 
to  Second  Lieutenant  and  assigned  to  command  of  Co.  C. 

Swan,  D.,  Co.  E,  161  st  O.  V.  I. 

Sauerbrey,  Charles,  Co.  E,  194th  O.  V.  I. 

Shear,  John  \\ .,  Co.  A,  ist  D.  C.  \\  Cav. 

Shafer,  D.  W.,  Co.  F,  78th  O.  V.  I. 

Struble,  John,  Co.  E,  I22d  O.  Y.  I. 

Steed,  Abraham,  Co.  P,  9th  O.  W  C. 

Sturtz,  S.  D.,  Co.  E,  i6oth  O.  V.  I. 

Schoonover,  W.  H.,  Co.  H,  78th  O.  V.  I. 

Shrigley,  George  J.,  Co.  E,  i6oth  O.  \\  I. 

Schmuser,  John  G.,  Co.  G,  197th  O.  V.  I. 

Steel,  William,  Co.  C,  43d  O.  V.  I. 

Sondles,  Casper,  Co.  H,  I02d  O.  V.  I. 

Seymour,  E.,  Co.  G,  21st  O.  V.  I. 

Shafer,  G.  W.,  Co.  H,  88th  O.  V.  I. 

Shannon,  John,  Co.  E,  loth  O.  V.  I. 

Sherrer,  John,  Co.  G,  51st  O.  V.  I. 

Switzer,  Noah,  Co.  E,  191st  O.  V.  I. 

Sayre,  David  A.,  Co.  I,  69th  O.  W  I.,  promoted  to  Corporal  and 
Sergeant. 

Shaw,  B.  R.,  Quartermaster  Sergeant  143d  O.  V.  I. 

Seward,  James  E.,  Co.  I,  i66th  O.  V.  I. 

Stacer,  Frederick,  Co.  C,  67th  O.  V.  I. 

Sondles,  Jacob,  Co.  A,  196th  O.  V.  I. 

Sondles,  Lafayette,  Co.  B,  i86th  O.  V.  I. 

Tyler,  William  E.,  Co.  D,  52d  O.  V,  I. 

Tarrh,  A.  \V.,  Co.  H,  198th  O.  Y.  I. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON    COUNTY  205 

Taylor,  Hiram  A.,  Co.  E,  51st  O.  V.  I. 

Thomas,  John  A,,  Co.  A,  27th  O.  V.  I.,  promoted  to  Sergeant. 

Thrapp,  Joseph  A.,  First  Lieutenant,  Co.  F,  95th  O.  V.  L,  promoted 
from  Second  Lieutenant. 

Thomson,  A.  H.,  19th  O.  V.  L,  promoted  from  Private  to  Ser- 
geant, 2d  O.  V.  Cav.,  and  Second  Lieutenant  12th  O.  V.  C. 

Tilton,  Thomas,  promoted  from  Private  to  Corporal  Co.  F,  97th 
O.  V.  L 

Timmons,  Sanford  F.,  Captain,  Co.  C  and  G,  43d  O.  V.  L,  pro- 
moted from  First  Lieutenant. 

Tranor,  William,  Co.  F,  15th  O.  V.  V.  L,  promoted  to  Corporal. 

Tredway,  Garrett  S.,  Co.  F,  I42d  O.  V.  L 

Tredway,  R.  H.,  Co.  I,  123d  111.  V.  L 

Trott,  Samuel,  Co.  H,  I42d  O.  V.  L,  promoted  to  Corporal. 

Uffner,  George,  Co.  G,  85th  O.  V.  L;  Co.  H,  31st  O.  V.  V.  L 

Underwood,  D.  C,  Co.  C,  32d  O.  V.  L,  promoted  to  Corporal; 
lost  speech  at  Cheat  Mountain,  Va. ;  captured  at  Harpers  Ferry; 
paroled. 

Underwood,  Eh,  Co.  C,  32d  O.  V.  L,  captured  at  Harpers  Ferry; 
paroled. 

V^oorhees,  Marquis,  Co.  C,  51st  O.  V.  L 

Voorhees,  Eli,  Co.  A,  89th  Ind.  V.  L 

Vannostran,  B.  F.,  Co.  E,  194th  O.  V.  L 

Voorhees,  George  W.,  Major,  126th  O.  V.  L,  promoted  from  Cap- 
tain, Co.  A. 

Vannostran,  Samuel,  Co.  C,  80th  O.  V.  L,  detailed  in  Pioneer 
Corps. 

Vickers,  George,  No.  i,  Co.  F,  97th  O.  V.  L,  wounded  at  Gallatin, 
Tenn. ;  Co.  F,  78th  O.  V.  V.  L 

Vaughn,  Samuel,  Co.  F,  64th  O.  V.  L 

Voltz,  Dr.  Ernest,  Co.  C,  184th  O.  V.  L 

Voorhees,  Levi,  Co.  A,  89th  Ind.  V.  L 

Workman,  Isaac,  Co.  F,  97th  Ind. 

Watson,  James  B.,  Co.  H,  31st  O.  V.  I.,  twice  wounded  in  arm. 

Welden,  John,  Co.  K,  197th  O.  V.  I. 

Weller,  Samuel  M.,  Co.  H,  203d  Pa.  V.  I. 

Wells,  Aaron  D.,  Co.  B,  47th  O.  V.  I. 

Weatherwax,  Abram,  Co.  B,  i6th  O.  V.  1. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


206  HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON    COUNTY 

Wiggins,  Warren,  Co.  E,  20th  O.  V.  I. 

Wiggins,  William,  Co.  E,  51st  O.  V.  I. 

Williams,  Olrloff  J,  Co.  C,  47th  O.  V.  V.  I. 

Wilson,  William  R.,  Co.  C,  67th  O.  V.  V.  I. 

Winslow,  David,  Co.  E,  47th  O.  V.  V.  I. 

Wolfe,  H.  P.,  Co.  H,  178th  O.  V.  I.,  First  Sergeant. 

Wolfe,  J.  G.,  Co.  K,  85th  O.  V.  I. 

Wolfe,  L.  B.,  Co.  K,  4th  U.  S.  C,  detailed  company  saddler. 

Wilson,  George,  Co.  E,  52d  O.  V.  I. 

Wolfe,  W.,  Co.  G,  85th  O.  V.  I. 

Wells,  Rufus  R.,  Sergeant,  Co.  I,  69th  O.  V.  I.,  promoted  from 
Private  and  Corporal. 

Woodson,  William,  Co.  A,  123d  U.  S.  C.  T.,  wounded. 

Wright,  Rev.  John,  Co.  G,  4th  Mich.  V.  C,  Chaplain,  detailed 
special  messenger  at  General  Thomas'  headquarters. 

Williams,  James  M.,  Co.  C,  3d  U.  S.  C. 

Williams,  Ebenezer,  Co.  H,  i6th  O.  V.  I. 

Wiggins,  Riley,  Co.  I,  69th  O.  V.  I.,  Corporal. 

Warman,  G.  W.,  Co.  G,  24th  O.  V.  I. 

Warren,  Charles,  Sergeant,  N.  Y.  V.  I. 

Watson,  Richard,  Co.  K,  43d  O.  V.  I. 

Walker,  Richard,  Co.  H,  97th  O.  V.  I. 

Warren,  Andrew  C,  Co.  C,  loth  O.  V.  C. 

Waltman,  Richard,  Co.  K,  43d  O.  V.  I. 

West,  George  W.,  Co.  G,  85th  O.  V.  I. 

Wilson,  George,  ist  Ohio  Artillery,  died  1863. 

Yana,  John,  Co.  C,  67th  O.  V.  V.  I. 

Young,  William  J.,  Co.  P,  I72d  O.  V.  I. 

Major-General  William  Burns,  of  the  U.  S.  Army,  and  Lieutenant 
Poe,  of  the  U.  S.  Navy,  were  from  Coshocton  county. 

William  Webb,  a  Confederate  soldier,  of  the  61  st  Tennessee,  who 
died  on  the  train  near  Coshocton  while  being  transported  as  a  prisoner 
of  war,  is  interred  in  Oak  Ridge  cemetery. 

During  the  war  a  military  committee  for  this  county,  appointed  by 
the  governor  to  promote  enlistments,  consisted  of  Houston  Hay,  Seth 
McClain,  J.  D.  Nicholas,  A.  L.  Cass  and  D.  Rodehaver. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON    COUNTY  207 

In  Morgan's  Ohio  raid  the  banks  of  Cadiz  hurried  their  deposits 
to  Joseph  K.  Johnson  &  Co/s  bank  in  Coshocton. 

Resistance  to  the  draft  in  1863  by  a  few  in  Crawford  Township 
caused  much  local  excitement.  Men  who  hid  in  a  barn  were  discov- 
ered, and  in  the  firing  that  ensued  three  were  shot.  Draft  rioting  in 
Holmes  County  started  an  armed  force  from  here  on  the  march  to 
Napoleon,  where  eflfective  service  was  given. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


CHAPTER  X 

LARGER  EPOCHS  IN  THE  LAST  QUARTER  CENTURY — 
RAILROAD  EXPANSION— DEVELOPMENT  OF  COAL 
RICHES— THE  GREATER  COSHOCTON— ORGANIZED 
LABOR— THE  NEW  FARM  LIFE. 

Coshocton  County's  impressive  development  in  the  last  quarter  cen- 
tury along  industrial  lines  has  accompanied  the  extension  here  of  rail- 
road facilities,  the  uncovering  of  coal  riches  in  our  hills,  the  growth 
of  manufactures,  the  building  of  a  city,  the  organization  of  labor, 
and  the  advanced  features  of  modern  country  life. 

After  the  Pennsylvania  main  line  three  more  roads  spiked  their 
rails  through  our  county  where  the  hills  began  yielding  their  riches  of 
bituminous  coal. 

In  the  early  eighties  the  north  and  south  line  of  the  Wheeling  & 
Lake  Erie,  which  has  become  part  of  the  Wabash  System,  was  in  its 
narrows-gauge  stage  of  development.  At  one  time  in  later  years  the 
road  south  of  Coshocton  consisted  of  two  streaks  of  rust  and  a  right- 
of-way.  It  was  staggering  under  first  and  second  mortgages  and 
equipment  mortgage  which  piled  up  a  debt  as  high  as  its  water  tank. 
The  transformation  came  with  the  extension  of  coal  fields — enough 
Coshocton  coal  to  burn  mortgages. 

The  only  railroad  in  the  county  which  does  not  reach  Coshocton, 
and  the  one  which  covers  the  longest  distance  within  our  borders,  by 
a  fraction,  is  the  Dresden  branch  of  the  Cleveland,  Akron  &  Columbus 
Railway,  part  of  the  Pennsylvania  Lines.  Its  construction  was  long 
interrupted.  The  tunnel  in  Bedford  Township — the  only  railroad 
tunnel  in  the  county — had  been  started,  and  bridge  approaches 
begun,  when  everything  went  down  in  the  Panic  of  'y2>'  The  road 
was  completed  at  the  close  of  the  eighties. 

The  Toledo,  Walhonding  Valley  &  Ohio  Railroad,  of  the  Penn- 
sylvania Lines,  was  built  in  the  early  nineties.  This  capillary  in  the 
system  which  covers  the  industrial  heart  of  the  country  contributes 
its  share  to  the  enormous  coal  traffic  moved  over  the  Pennsylvania. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


SOUTH    LAWN    AVENUE    SCHOOL,    COSHOCTON,   WITH    FIRE    ESCAPE 
SUDDENLY    ADDED    AFTER    THE    CLEVELAND    DISASTER. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


Digitized  by 


Google 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  209 

Herewith  is  tabulated  the  valuation  of  railroad  property  within 
the  county,  as  presented  by  the  railroads  to  the  meeting  of  county 
auditors  in  Columbus,  hospitably  regaled  by  the  railroads.  The  taxes 
paid  by  the  railroads  to  the  county  in  1908  are  also  shown. 

RAILROADS  IN  COSHOCTON  COUNTY— 1908. 

— Mileage — 

Road                          Valuation.    Main  Line.  Siding.  Taxes. 

23.08 

P.,  C,  C.  &  St.  L $1,081,866      *23.o8        21.68  $24,886.32 

\V.  &  L.  E 378,100        27.68          9.49  7,293.84 

T.,  W.  V.  &  0 329,239        25.06          6.84  7,111.24 

C,  A.  &  C 141,106        27.85          3.45  3,109.70 

Prominent  in  the  development  of  Coshocton  County's  extensive 
coal  interests  is  J.  W.  Cassingham.  From  researches  by  him  it  is 
ascertained  that  coal  was  mined  as  early  as  1834  by  Morris  Burt  just 
east  of  Coshocton  on  land  now  owned  by  W.  G.  Hay.  Soon  afterward 
mines  were  opened  by  Jack  Robson,  Elisha  Turner  and  Thomas 
Thornsley  near  what  is  now  called  **Hardscrabble."  The  coal  was 
used  mostly  by  the  distillery  here.  The  stoves  of  Coshocton  were  then 
burning  wood,  and,  besides,  Madam  was  prejudiced  against  coal  on 
account  of  its  soot.  The  ax  and  sawbuck  were  among  the  household 
gods  of  that  period. 

The  largest  mines  in  the  county  about  1850  were  in  the  hills  north- 
west of  Franklin  Station,  the  coal  going  to  Newark  by  canal.  H. 
Goodale  controlled  the  property.  There  is  still  considerable  output  in 
that  locality.  The  Columbus  Coal  &  Mining  Company  is  in  the  field. 
A  track  to  the  Panhandle  was  built  after  the  canal  days. 

About  1856  mines  were  opened  by  Foght  Burt  on  the  farm  south- 
east of  Coshocton  now  owned  by  the  heirs  of  W.  K.  Johnson.  A 
standard  gauge  track  was  built  to  the  Panhandle,  then  called  the 
Steubenville  &  Indiana,  over  which  the  railroad's  cars  were  hauled 
by  horse  power  and  later  by  small  engine  to  the  mine  opening  for 
loading.  This  was  before  the  day  of  the  tipple.  Inadequate  supply  of 
cars  was  followed  by  the  closing  of  the  mines.     Since  then  Thomas 


*  Second  track. 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


210  HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

Williams  has  conducted   the  mining  there,   marketing  the  coal    in 
Coshocton  for  steam  and  domestic  purposes. 

Coke  burning  in  this  county  was  known  just  before  the  Civil  war 
when  Johrt  McCleary  operated  a  mine  at  Rock  Run,  and  converted 
part  of  the  output  into  coke.  Six  years  afterward  the  Rock  Run  Coal 
Company  acquired  the  property,  but  a  year  or  so  later  discontinued 
operations.  Subsequently  there  were  limited  developments  by  others 
in  that  locality. 

The  first  mine  in  the  Coshocton  territory  producing  coal  to  any 
considerable  extent  with  the  coming  of  the  railroad  was  the  Beech 
Hollow  mine  on  Joseph  K.  Johnson's  farm  in  1861,  opened  by  Edward 
Prosser,  who  knew  mining  from  his  boyhood  back  in  Wales.  After 
four  profitable  years  he  sold  to  the  Coshocton  Coal  Company.  Colonel 
J.  C.  Campbell,  the  superintendent,  conducted  the  business  profitably. 
Beech  Hollow  coaled  the  railroad  engines,  and  the  rest  of  the  product 
went  to  western  markets.  This  mine  became  the  property  of  Prosser 
&  Cassingham  about  1880,  and  was  operated  until  the  vein  of  coal 
under  the  farm  was  exhausted. 

Mr.  Prosser  opened  the  '*Blaen  Nanf  (Welsh  for  bottom  of  the 
hill),  along  the  Ohio  Canal  near  Franklin,  but  lost  heavily  when  he 
sold  the  mine  for  stock  in  the  Newark  rolling  mill,  which  failed. 

Mathias  Shoemaker  opened  a  mine  on  B.  F.  Ricketts'  farm,  east 
of  Coshocton,  which  gave  a  moderate  yield  several  years  until  aban- 
doned for  want  of  drainage  facilities.  Afterward  the  Miami  Coal 
Company  renewed  operations  there  for  a  short  time,  and  then  Prosser 
&  Cassingham  conducted  the  mine  successfully  until  the  coal  was 
exhausted.  The  mine  named  *Ten  Twyn"  by  Mr.  Prosser,  the  Welsh 
for  top  of  the  hill,  was  an  important  factor  in  the  coal  production  of 
this  locality  until  worked  out  in  1883.  Of  all  the  men  connected  with 
the  mining  industry  of  Coshocton  County,  no  one  was  held  in  higher 
esteem  than  Edward  Prosser.  He  was  actuated  by  liberal  motives 
in  his  relations  with  employees,  and  he  sought  to  contribute  to  their 
advancement.  The  miners  at  Pen  Twyn  were  largely  men  of  his  own 
nationality.  Welsh  religious  services  and  singing  school  were  held 
by  them  at  Mr.  Prosser's  home. 

The  Home  Coal  Company  mine  at  Hardscrabble  was  opened  in 
1868  by  N.  E.  Barney,  D.  L.  Triplett,  John  A.  Barney,  S.  H.  Lee, 
G.  W.  Ricketts  and  Edward  Prosser.    In  1876  the  property  was  sold 

Digitized  by  LjOOQLC 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  211 

to  Edward  Prosser,  E.  T.  Dudley  and  J.  W.  Cassingham,  and  a  few 
years  later  bought  by  G.  W.  Ricketts  and  David  Waggoner,  who  con- 
ducted it  until  the  vein  was  exhausted.  The  output  of  this  mine  was 
probably  the  largest  in  the  Coshocton  district,  and  contributed  ma- 
terially to  the  commercial  expansion  of  the  city. 

Near  the  home  of  John  Porteus,  south  of  Coshocton,  a  mine  was 
operated  about  the  close  of  the  Civil  war  by  the  Union  Coal  &  Mining 
Company.  The  superintendent  was  Colonel  Robert  Youart,  succeeded 
several  years  later  by  Colonel  Wood,  and  afterward  L.  W.  Robinson, 
a  son-in-law  of  Lewis  Demoss  and  now  associated  with  one  of  the 
largest  coal  companies  near  Dubois,  Pa.  When  the  Porteus  mine  was 
abandoned  the  equipment  was  sold  to  Mr.  Cassingham,  who  opened 
and  developed  a  mine  in  1887  on  the  Vance  &  McCleary  land. 

The  building  in  1882  of  the  Connotton  Valley,  now  the  Wheeling 
&  Lake  Erie,  gave  an  impetus  to  the  coal  business  here  by  furnishing 
an  outlet  to  Lake  Erie  at  Cleveland.  The  Morgan  Run  Coal  &  Mining 
Company  built  a  branch  railroad  three  miles  up  Morgan  Run,  and  the 
output  has  been  heavy  for  years.  The  Wade  Coal  Company  is  also 
an  extensive  producer  from  a  mine  on  Morgan  Run.  H.  D.  Dennis, 
of  Cleveland,  is  the  principal  owner  of  both  mines,  which  ship  to  his 
yards  in  the  lake  city.  The  present  Wade  mine  is  to  be  abandoned 
this  year,  and  a  large  new  development  begun  in  a  field  east  of  the  old. 

John  Conly  conducted  a  mine  south  of  Rock  Run  on  what  is  now 
the  Wheeling  &  Lake  Erie,  and  afterward  it  was  transferred  to  H.  D. 
Dennis.     It  has  since  been  abandoned. 

What  has  become  one  of  the  largest  and  most  profitable  mines  in 
the  county  was  opened  in  1884  near  the  Panhandle  west  of  Cones ville 
by  David  Davis,  J.  W.  Cassingham  and  D.  M.  Moore.  It  is  related 
that  when  Mr.  Davis  was  earning  his  dollar  a  day  as  a  miner  he  showed 
one  day  the  hills  in  that  part  of  Franklin  Township  to  the  young 
woman  who  is  now  Mrs.  Davis.  *Those  hills  are  full  of  coal,''  he  told 
her,  "and  some  day  Fm  going  to  own  them.'' 

In  1885  Mr.  Davis  bought  the  interest  of  Mr.  Cassingham  and  Mr. 
Moore.  The  Pennsylvania  Lines  are  large  users  of  the  Davis  coal. 
From  the  days  that  David  Davis  worked  with  a  pick  he  was  a  close 
observer  and  familiarized  himself  with  the  most  minute  details  of 
conducting  a  mine.    His  first  experience  as  an  operator  was  'H  ^^SJiiaJJT^ 

igi  ize     y  g 


212  HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

mine  near  his  present  field,  hauling  the  coal  by  wagon  to  the  canal. 
He  still  gives  constant  personal  attention  to  his  business. 

After  filling  the  office  of  County  Auditor,  Mr.  Cassingham  in  1887 
opened  a  mine  on  the  McCleary  &  Vance  land,  and  shipments  went 
over  the  Wheeling  &  Lake  Erie  to  Canton,  Cleveland  and  other  points 
on  that  line.  This  mine  continued  one  of  the  largest  producers  in  the 
Coshocton  field  under  the  ownership  of  Mr.  Cassingham  until  1895, 
when  the  property  was  transferred  by  him  to  the  Coshocton  Coal 
Company,  composed  of  Captain  J.  M.  Drake,  J.  W.  Warwick  and 
Charles  Zettelmyer,  of  Cleveland,  and  C.  L.  Cassingham,  of  Coshoc- 
ton, by  whom  it  has  since  been  operated  extensively. 

In  1894  the  Oden  Valley  Coal  Company  acquired  a  large  acreage 
of  coal  northwest  of  Conesville  and  opened  mines  thereon  that  year, 
connecting  with  the  Panhandle  by  using  part  of  the  Davis  track  to  the 
railroad.  G.  W.  Cassingham  is  the  principal  stockholder  in  the  com- 
pany and  superintendent  of  the  mine. 

Within  the  last  four  years  the  Arnold  Coal  Company  and  the  Burt 
Coal  Company  have  opened  mines  along  the  Wheeling  &  Lake  Erie 
southeast  of  Conesville,  both  of  which  properties  are  now  owned  by 
the  Barnes  Coal  Company,  of  Coshocton. 

When  David  Davis  started  coal  development  near  Conesville  there 
were  not  more  than  three  houses  in  the  hamlet  which  now  has  grown 
to  a  village  of  four  hundred.  The  wage-earners  are  mine  workers. 
A  large  suni  is  disbursed  monthly  by  the  Davis,  Oden  Valley  and 
Barnes  mines. 

One  of  the  most  important  mineral  developments  in  the  Coshocton 
district  is  the  opening  of  twelve  hundred  acres  of  coal  land  in  Franklin 
Township  by  the  Warwick  Coal  Company,  of  Cleveland.  The  acreage 
extends  into  Tuscarawas  and  Linton  Townships.  The  company  is 
comjx^sed  of  C.  L.  Cassingham,  J.  W.  Warwick  and  Charles  Zettel- 
myer, all  of  whom  are  practical  coal  men.  The  equipment  of  these 
mines  is  of  the  most  improved  character,  with  electric  mining  machin- 
ery and  motor  haulage  to  facilitate  extensive  production. 

Within  a  radius  of  two  and  a  half  miles  of  Coshocton  are  a  dozen 
country  mines,  not  connected  with  railroads,  and  producing  consid- 
erable coal  for  steam  and  domestic  use  in  Coshocton. 

According  to  the  report  of  the  Department  of  the  Interior  on  the 
production  of  coal,  Coshocton  County  has  been  steadily  increasing  her 

Digitized  by  LjOOQLC 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  213 

output  in  recent  years  until  in  1907  it  exceeded  400,000  tons,  valued 
at  half  a  million  dollars. 

A  picture  which  has  gone  with  the  passing  of  Coshocton's  early 
raining  life  was  that  of  good-natured,  whole-souled  Margaret  Rob- 
son  whose  husband  was  a  miner  at  Hardscrabble.  The  mati:on  of  the 
miners'  boarding  house  would  walk  the  mile  and  a  half  from  Co- 
shocton to  Beech  Hollow,  both  hands  loaded  with  baskets  of  groceries, 
and  a  sack  of  flour  balanced  on  her  head.  Her  cheerful  smile  of  greet- 
ing never  left  her,  even  in  the  years  when  she  lived  in  darkness  and 
recognized  friendly  voices  that  she  had  known  in  the  old  days. 

In  the  ranks  of  the  miners  was  first  promoted  the  organization  of 
labor  within  Coshocton  County  which  has  grown  to  a  movement  of 
the  highest  importance  in  the  last  score  of  years.  That  was  a  field 
day  in  industrial  history  twenty-three  years  ago  when  labor  united  its 
demand  for  protection  and  higher  wages  by  the  organization  of  the 
first  local  union  here  under  the  Ohio  Miners'  Amalgamated  Associa- 
tion headed  by  the  popular  John  McBride.  Sam  Nicholas,  the  lawyer 
and  now  judge,  went  to  the  mines  to  urge  that  organization,  and  to 
this  day  he  is  remembered  by  the  miners.  Morgan  Run  Local  379, 
Wade  Mine  Local  7,  and  Coalport  Local  628,  were  the  first  to  orgaxiize. 

The  miners'  organization  has  made  progress.  It  needs  but  a  look 
at  1896  and  1909  to  comprehend  this.  The  conditions  then  and  the 
improvements  today  aflFord  a  striking  comparison,  as  described  by 
E.  P.  Miller  whom  the  miners  hold  in  the  highest  regard.  When  he 
came  here  in  '96  the  miners  were  getting  fifty-six  cents  a  ton  for  picked 
coal;  now  they  are  paid  ninety-six  cents  a  ton  for  screen  lump  coal. 
Drivers  then  got  $1.65  for  a  nine-hour  day;  now  $2.56  for  an  eight- 
hour  day.  Outside  men  were  paid  from  $1.35  to  $1.50  a  day;  their 
wages  now  are  $2  to  $2.25.  Trapper  boys  who  open  and  shut  the 
doors  through  which  the  coal  cars  pass  in  the  mines  got  fifty  cents  a 
day  in  '96,  and  now  are  paid  $1.13. 

Mr.  Miller  is  secretary  and  treasurer  of  Subdistrict  No.  6,  United 
Mine  Workers  of  America,  covering  the  counties  of  Coshocton, 
Guernsey,  Noble,  Muskingum,  Morgan,  and  the  Crooksville  district 
of  Perry,  embracing  a  membership  of  8,200. 

Important  state  offices  of  the  Ohio  organization  of  miners  have 
been  creditably  filled  for  years  by  Coshocton  men.  .William  Green, 
President  of  District  6  (Ohio)  U.  M.  W.  A.,  is  strongly  favored  for 

Digitized  by  LjOOQIC 


214  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

president  of  the  national  organization.  Dennis  H.  Sullivan,  Vice- 
President  of  District  6,  exerts  much  influence  in  behalf  of  the  miners* 
interests.  In  preceding  years  the  State  organization  came  to  Co- 
shocton for  its  president,  W.  M.  Haskins. 

Machine  mining  was  successfully  demonstrated  in  this  county  by 
the  Coshocton  Coal  Company,  which  installed  electric  machines,  1901, 
after  an  unsatisfactory  experiment  at  the  Morgan  Run  mines.  The 
puncher,  a  machine  operated  by  compressed  air,  is  in  use  in  the  Davis 
mine,  Conesville. 

Much  headway  has  followed  the  policy  of  miners  and  operators 
acting  jointly  to  regularly  reach  agreements  in  the  last  decade.  Prior 
to  that  the  conditions  were  unsatisfactory  to  both.  As  an  instance, 
when  a  salesman  succeeded  in  getting  an  order  and  the  company  called 
for  the  miners  to  dig  the  coal,  there  would  come  a  question  at  times 
among  the  men  whether  their  wages  shared  in  the  increased  price  for 
the  product  of  their  labor,  and  the  upshot  would  be  a  refusal  to  work, 
resulting  in  loss  of  the  order  to  the  operator  and  loss  of  wages  to  the 
miner.  Under  the  present  system  of  joint  agreement  covering  a 
stated  period  the  operators  are  enabled  to  sell  according  to  fixed  cost 
of  production,  and  the  miners'  pay  is  definitely  determined. 

The  miners'  local  unions  in  the  county  in  the  beginning  of  1909 
included  the  following  membership:  members 

Conesville,  Local  No.  515  (Davis  mine) 98 

Conesville,  Local  No.  976  (Oden  Valley  mine) 'jj 

Conesville,  Local  No.  i  (Barnes  &  Hudson  mine) 84 

Conesville,  Local  No.  2  (Barnes  &  Hudson) 67 

Cassingham,  Local  No.  215   (Pleasant  Valley) 125 

Morgan  Run,  Local  No.  379  (H.  D.  Dennis,  Cleveland) 125 

Coalport,  Local  No.  628  (Barnes  mine) 72 

Wade  Mine,  Local  No.  7 32 

New  Cassingham  Mine,  Local  No.  1803 46 

John  Williams,  Local  No.  1852  (South  of  Rock  Run) 19 

Retail  Mine,  Local  No.  741 20 

Rock  Run,  Local  No.  1980  (Nichols) 8 

Drake,  Local  No.  93  (East  Coshocton) 6 

To  the  total  of  779  union  miners  is  expected  to  be  added  nearly 
a  hundred  more  with  the  organization  of  Roscoe  Local,  prospective 
membership  of  60,  and  West  Lafayette  Local  with  30  members. 

Digitized  by  LjOOQIC 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  215 

In  the  progress  of  organized  labor  a  step  of  far-reaching  impor- 
tance was  the  establishment  of  the  Central  Trades  and  Labor  Council 
of  Coshocton.  Ten  years  ago  a  few  crafts  were  represented  in  the 
local  of  the  American  Federation  of  Labor  established  here.  Now 
there  are  represented  fifteen  crafts  in  the  Council  with  the  following 
membership:  Miners,  779;  Potters,  41;  Glassblowers,  120,  last  fire; 
Printers,  32;  Pressmen,  19;  Bartenders,  11;  Painters,  30;  Barbers, 
16;  Carpenters,  62;'Tailors,  18;  Lithographers,  19;  Electrotypers,  7; 
Federal  Union,  65;  Railroad  Trackmen,  200;  Bricklayers,  75;  Hod 
Carriers,  15. 

The  pioneer  local  of  the  American  Federation  of  Labor,  with 
Edward  McCabe  as  President,  and  workers  of  the  industrious,  thor- 
ough-going union  spirit  of  Secretary  Al  Tyler  giving  a  willing  hand 
to  help  along,  built  up  a  membership  of  five  hundred.  Out  of  this 
grew  the  Central  Trades  and  Labor  Council,  whose  present  officers 
are:  Charles  Eddleman,  President;  Daniel  Bowers,  Charles 
VV.  Brownfield,  John  Poulton,  Thomas  Furnell,  Jr.,  Vice-Presidents; 
John  Lane,  Secretary;  Gus  Ogle,  Financial  Secretary;  Johnson  Mc- 
Dowell, Treasurer;  E.  A.  Mueller,  Sergeant-at-Arms.  The  trustees 
are  E.  P.  Miller,  J.  T.  Hart  and  George  C.  Ordway. 

In  the  organization  of  the  Labor  Day  celebration,  with  the  multi- 
tudinous details  involved  in  effective  advertising  and  arranging  a 
day's  entertainment  for  an  assembly  of  thousands  of  people.  Chair- 
man Ordway's  administrative  qualities  have  been  admirably  demon- 
strated. 

The  advance  of  the  city  of  Coshocton  is  a  foremost  achievement 
in  the  county  history,  an  imperishable  monument  to  those  who  have 
developed  resources,  expanded  manufactures  and  commerce,  fostered 
improvements  for  the  general  good,  and  promoted  the  social  welfare. 
Running  through  it  all  is  the  spirit  of  that  creative  energy  which  has 
wrought  in  this  county  such  a  marvelous  transformation  within  the 
span  of  a  single  lifetime,  and  of  the  dauntless  vigor  and  enterprise 
which  typify  Coshocton  citizenship. 

Two-score  years  ago  that  pioneer  industry,  the  steel  works,  was 
founded,  and  the  name  of  Houston  Hay  became  known  in  markets  of 
America  and  abroad  as  the  axle  manufacturer.  It  was  Mr.  Hay  who 
blazed  the  way  for  those  civic  improvements  and  public  utilities  which 
lifted  Coshocton  into  modern  city  life.    He  lighted  the  city  with  gas 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


216  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

from  1872  to  1888,  and  then  with  electricity,  and  in  1899  incandescents 
made  radiant  the  stores,  offices,  shops  and  homes.  From  a  quarter 
that  hankered  to  gain  control  of  the  electric  light  there  emanated 
charges  about  high  rates.  The  truth  was  there  were  no  large  profits, 
no  dividends  to  stockholders  for  thirteen  years,  all  earnings  over  the 
requirements  for  running  expenses  going  into  repairs  and  extensions 
of  the  plant  to  provide  improved  service.  The  company  was  willing 
to  sell,  and  those  who  raised  the  dust  of  rate  agitation  got  the  busi- 
ness. October  29,  1901,  a  franchise  was  obtained  from  the  city  coun- 
cil, against  the  protest  of  Councilmen  C.  D.  Brooke  and  E.  C.  Rinner, 
paying  the  electric  light  company  $70  a  year  for  each  street  light, 
with  all-night  lighting  except  moonlight  nights.  This  nine-year  fran- 
chise expires  in  October,  191  o.  The  company  furnishes  incandescent 
lighting  and  steam  heat. 

In  1899  Contractor  John  Kissner  began  brick-laying  in  Main 
Street,  transforming  it  from  a  dirt  road  to  a  paved  thoroughfare. 
Then  in  quick  succession  came  more  brick-paved  and  asphalted  streets, 
smooth  and  broad  as  boulevards.  Extension  of  sewerage  over  the 
city  marked  a  great  stride  in  Coshocton's  advancement  along  sanitary 
lines.     Miles  of  cement  sidewalks  have  beautified  the  town. 

The  Coshocton  Board  of  Trade  was  organized  1899.  Lots  are 
sold  to  raise  funds  for  bringing  new  industries  here.  To  the  public- 
spirited  citizens  who  have  subscribed  for  such  building  lots  all  credit 
is  given.  It  is  they  who  sounded  the  keynote  for  the  new  Coshocton. 
Theirs  is  the  work  that  lives  in  the  fires  of  new  industries  lighting 
the  skies  of  Coshocton,  theirs  the  honor  that  endures  in  the  prosperity 
of  a  thriving  city,  the  growing  center  of  a  rich  farming  community 
reaping  the  benefit  of  a  city  market  offered  by  a  population  exceeding 
ten  thousand. 

Today  Coshocton  is  a  city  of  advertising,  the  metal-sign  industry 
which  has  sent  the  city's  name  over  the  world.  The  first  of  these* 
metal  signs  came  from  the  presses  of  H.  D.  Beach,  and  represents 
the  important  outgrowth  of  the  novelty-advertising  industry  devel- 
oped from  the  printing  on  burlap  schoolbags  and  yardsticks  by  J.  F. 
Meek  in  the  days  when  Will  Shaw  showed  the  way  to  possibilities 
in  this  business. 

With  its  advertising  institutions,  its  glass  works,  its  pottery,  paper 
mill,  brick  works,  axle  and  machine  shops,  linotype,  printing  houses, 

Digitized  by  LjOOQIC 


CARNEGIE    LIBRARY,  COSHOCTON. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


'■>'  VCR  I. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  217 

corrugated-paper  plants,  glove  factory,  piano  works,  furniture  fac- 
tory, foundry,  packing  plant,  carriage  shops,  enameling  works,  plan- 
ing mills,  flour  mills,  and  retail  establishme(nts  of  the  finest,  Coshocton 
compels  attention  among  industrial  centers  of  Ohio.  Lots  were  sold 
last  year  to  bring  the  Clow  Pipe  Works  to  this  city.  When  this  plant 
is  erected  it  is  expected  to  employ  more  than  a  thousand  men. 

The  year  which  saw  many  beginnings  in  the  new  life  of  Coshoc- 
ton— 1899 — also  witnessed  the  extension  of  the  telephone  from  the 
city  to  the  country  when  the  Citizens  Company  began  wiring  homes 
in  the  county.  Since  that  the  Bell  system  has  extended  into  the  coun- 
try, and  local  telephone  lines  have  been  installed  by  farmers. 

Natural  gas  came  to  Coshocton  as  a  Christmas  gift,  1902.  It  is 
piped  from  the  Homer  field  near  Utica,  Knox  County,  thirty-two  miles 
away.  West  Bedford  and  Warsaw  are  also  supplied  by  the  same  line. 
This  winter  there  was  a  daily  flow  of  two  and  a  half  million  cubic 
feet  of  gas  into  Coshocton  worth  at  the  current  rate  of  twenty-eight 
cents  a  thousand,  with  ten  per  cent  discount,  $630  a  day. 

The  earlier  waterworks  system  of  twenty-two  wells  has  been  sup- 
planted by  one  large  well  thirty-two  feet  deep  and  thirty  feet  wide, 
sunk  in  the  field  near  the  Canal  Lewisville  road  beyond  the  Tus- 
carawas River  bridge.  The  water,  purified  by  natural  sand  filtration, 
is  pumped  to  the  top  of  Reservoir  Hill  in  East  Coshocton.  The  reser- 
voir has  a  capacity  of  324,000  gallons.  The  purity  of  Coshocton  water 
is  a  most  important  advantage  of  this  municipality,  and  owned  and 
managed  by  the  city  it  strikingly  demonstrates  the  benefit  of  govern- 
ment ownership  of  a  class  of  public  utilities. 

In  1903  the  city  council  accepted  the  $15,000  library  gift  of  An- 
drew Carnegie  made  through  his  secretary  who  directs  library  dona- 
tions and  with  whom  F.  E.  Pomerene  corresponded.  Several  avail- 
able sites  in  the  heart  of  the  town  were  oflfered,  in  the  territory  of 
four  of  the  city's  five  school  buildings,  east  of  the  Panhandle,  but  the 
west  end  was  astir.  There  was  pulling  and  hauling  in  council,  and 
the  city  was  led  into  strange  ways.  Coshocton  started  out  to  locate 
a  librarv,  and  three  diflFerent  sites  east  of  the  railroad  were  officiallv 
chosen.  One  contract  was  not  altogether  to  be  kicked  under  the  table, 
and  the  city  paid  a  forfeit  of  $i,5CX)  for  a  five-foot  sidewalk  from  Main 
Street  to  the  Sixth  Street  Theatre,  before  the  owner  of  the  lot  along- 
side agreed  to  tear  up  his  library  contract. 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


218  HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON    COUNTY 

Affairs  were  reaching  a  crisis.  Before  a  large  crowd  the  council 
went  through  a  stormy  session — one  of  those  scenes  which  have  made 
the  old  city  hall  memorable  in  the  electric  light  and  paving  conflicts 
between  public  and  private  interests. 

There  was  the  customary  edifying  process  of  browbeating  and 
bulldozing  some  councilmen.  Then  it  was  proposed  that  council  re- 
tire with  the  library  board  to  a  room  upstairs,  to  talk  it  over  in  private. 

Councilman  John  Wisenburg,  whose  integrity  and  public  spirit 
have  won  him  the  esteem  of  the  people,  protested  long  and  vigorously 
against  binding  the  council  by  admitting  the  vote  of  another  body, 
the  library  board.  The  meeting  waxed  warm.  A  majority  of  the 
councilmen  voted  for  a  site  east  of  the  railroad,  but  the  others,  talked 
to  and  talked  at  a  great  deal,  voted  with  library  board  members  for 
the  site  at  Chestnut  and  Fourth  streets.  This  was  supposed  to  settle  it. 

"We're  not  bound  to  vote  for  it,"  said  Wisenburg  to  Craig  as  they 
all  filed  downstairs  to  the  council  chamber. 

"They'll  not  hold  me  to  it,''  answered  Craig,  who  was  once  sheriff. 

"Vote  no,"  said  Wisenburg. 

"I  will,"  but  Craig  'found  parliamentary  machinery  a  different 
thing  to  master  from  the  engines  in  the  Coshocton  Novelty. 

It  was  moved  to  adopt  the  site  at  Chestnut  and  Fourth,  and  the 
clerk  was  ready  to  call  the  roll. 

"Craig,"  he  began. 

"Yes,"  answered  the  engineer. 

Wisenburg  called  across  the  table,  "Change  it,  Charley;  recall 
your  vote."  But  it  was  not  recalled.  Somewhere  there  was  a  mis- 
understanding.   And  thus  was  the  library  storm  laid  by  a  vote. 

Joseph  Love's  years  of  service  as  librarian,  dating  back  to  the 
days  of  the  public  library  in  the  Burns  Building,  have  been  most  use- 
ful and  valuable  to  the  community.  An  incident  in  his  work  has  been 
the  saving  of  thousands  of  dollars  in  the  preservation  of  books  by  his 
own  binding  when  the  original  covers  have  become  too  worn  to  hold 
a  volume. 

Miss  Lucy  Beach,  assistant  librarian,  brings  to  the  work  a  lively 
interest  in  literature  and  a  ready  disposition  to  serve  inquirers.  The 
library  is  held  close  to  the  people,  an  institution  prized  by  all,  in  school 
and  out.  From  the  collection  of  Coshocton's  daughters  who  started 
the  first  library  the  list  has  grown  in  the  Carnegie  institution  to  7,500 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


HISTORY    OF   COSHCCTON   COUNTY  219 

volumes — and  most  of  these  are  not  long  on  the  shelves,  a  tribute  to 
the  popular  endorsement  of  selections  made  by  the  trustees.  Refer- 
ence works  of  special  value  are  in  the  collection,  covering  a  wide  range 
of  history,  biography,  travels,  and  scientific  subjects.  Standard  liter- 
ature is  well  represented.  Fiction,  which  is  most  in  demand,  includes 
the  work  of  the  best  writers.  Leading  periodicals  are  on  file  in  the 
reading  rooms.  There  are  many  government  reports,  but  these  are 
not  listed,  and  remain  in  the  basement,  patiently  and  dustily  awaiting 
someone  to  come  along  and  ask  for  them.  The  top  floor  and  base- 
ment are  given  over  to  assembly  rooms,  where  literary,  educational, 
musical  and  religious  meetings  are  held.  A  museum  collection  of 
historical  and  ge)neral  character  has  been  *  started.  Every  summer 
Coshocton  stops  business  for  a  day  to  go  on  a  railroad  excursion,  part 
of  the  proceeds  from  ticket  sales  being  devoted  to  the  library. 

Life  in  the  country  has  come  into  closer  touch  with  the  city  as 
a  result  of  the  telephone  and  that  great  institution  of  a  more  recent 
date,  the  rural  free  delivery  of  mail.  It  was  in  1899  that  H.  H. 
Milligan  conferred  with  the  writer  about  bringing  this  service  to  Co- 
shocton County,  and  shortly  afterward  Coshocton  R.  D.  No.  i  was 
established  through  Keene  and  Bethlehem  townships.  Today  nearly 
two-score  rural  delivery  routes  are  in  operation  in  Coshocton  County, 
including  several  extending  from  adjoining  counties. 

The  piano  is  in  the  home,  and  the  spinning  wheel  is  no  more,  ex- 
cept as  a  decorative  accessory.  Even  the  feather-beds  became  repre- 
sented years  ago  by  a  vast  progeny  of  plump  and  fluflfy  pillows,  and 
something  more  modern  and  less  overwhelmingly  luxurious  took  the 
feather  tick's  place.  The  land  is  filled  with  spacious  country  homes 
with  wide  verandas  and  their  air  of  homelike  comfort.  Lawns  are 
studded  with  trees  that  have  shaded  the  pioneer  planters. 

The  self-binder  harvests  the  wheat  of  Coshocton  County,  and  corn 
is  cut  by  machine,  while  some  have  experimented  with  milking  cows 
by  machinery.  The  phonograph  is  heard,  and  the  bicycle  long  ago 
came  into  the  country,  and  automobiles  honk-honk  all  over  the  county 
in  verification  of  the  ancient  prophecy  that  men  would  some  day  ride 
in  horseless  carriages,  and  fly  through  the  clouds — for  airship  ex- 
periments have  been  made  in  Coshocton. 

Ever  since  the  sixties  the  Grange  has  been  a  growing  factor  in 
the  thought  of  our  farming  community  until  now  the  farmers'  in- 


Digitized  by 


v^oogle 


220  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

stitutes  are  principal  conventions  in  various  parts  of  the  county. 
These  organizations  are  designed  to  exert  an  educational  influence 
along  the  line  of  improved  farming,  how  to  raise  thirty  bushels  of 
wheat  where  the  yield  was  fifteen  to  the  acre,  what  kind  of  sheep  to 
raise  with  the  most  wool,  how  to  restore  soil  that  has  been  tropped 
over  and  over,  and  saving  what  is  possible  of  the  timber  before  the 
sun  bakes  the  life  out  of  the  land.  The  Grange  is  accomplishing  that 
much  needed  thing  for  the  agricultural  interest — organization,  the 
thing  which  has  benefited  every  other  interest,  and  the  lack  of  which 
has  been  the  one  great  drawback  to  the  farmers  in  exerting  the  united 
influence  that  would  be  a  power  in  accomplishing  favorable  results 
to  themselves. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


LABOR  DAY  PARADE  IN  COSHOCTON. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


ASTOn,  LC^^OX  AND 
TILD£N  FOUN0ATION3. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


CHAPTER    XI 

^THE  PRESS  — PARTISAN,  COMMERCIAL  AND  OTHER- 
WISE—THE PASSING  OF  THE  HIDEBOUND  PARTY 
ORGAN  —  OBSERVATIONS  TOUCHING  EDITORIAL 
POLICY. 

Among  the  most  important  signs  of  the  times  is  the  politi&l  policy 
of  leading  newspapers  in  the  largest  cities  to  publish  the  news  of  all 
parties,  leaving  the  people  to  form  their  own  conclusions  from  what 
they  read  in  the  news  columns,  or  to  adopt  the  views  expressed  on 
the  editorial  page. 

In  politics  as  in  all  things  it  has  come  to  be  the  day  of  independent 
thinking.  The  newspaper  in  greatest  demand  is  the  one  that  prints 
the  new.<5  impartially.  This  advance  of  the  independent  press,  how- 
ever, is  mostly  in  metropolitan  centers.  In  the  smaller  field  where 
county  printing  is  given  to  the  party  organ  there  is  less  independence, 
though  in  recent  years  the  item  of  county  printing  in  Ohio  has  been 
considerably  reduced. 

Coshocton  County  is  making  tremendous  progress  in  independent 
voting,  while  her  party  press  continues.  True  the  present-day  par- 
tisanship of  the  local  organs  is  not  the  intense,  furious  prejudice  of 
the  past,  and  to  this  extent  reflects  the  change  which  is  manifested 
the  country  over.  The  voters,  however^  have  made  such  headway  in 
the  last  decade  that  three- fourths  of  the  ballots  cast  in  local  elections 
represent  independent  selection  of  candidates  on  various  tickets.  In 
many  instances  the  voter's  party  affiliations  cannot  be  detected  from 
his  marking  of  the  ballot. 

Of  Coshocton's  early  press  something  is  recorded  in  preceding 
chapters.  To  this  is  added  an  incident  touching  on  the  work  here 
of  Joseph  Medill,  as  related  by  Ernest  E.  Johnson,  well  known  in  New 
York  newspaper  work  and  who  was  one-time  editor  of  the  Coshocton 
Age :  In  the  garret  of  one  of  Coshocton's  homes  a  bundle  of  musty 
newspapers,  long  since  forgotten,  came  to  light  in  1889.    They  were 


,,j  Digitized  by 


v^oogle 


222  HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

yellow  and  crumbling  with  age.  Those  primitive  looking  little  news- 
papers were  the  product  of  MedilFs  pen.  The  man  who  found  them 
was  a  Whig,  and  in  the  dingy  little  newspaper  office,  where  boxes 
served  for  chairs,  quills  for  pens,  and  pokeberry  juice  for  ink,  they 
spent  many  hours  debating  the  infant  Whig  planks  that  grew  to 
giants  within  a  decade. 

This  friend  who  perhaps  sowed  the  seed  of  some  of  Joseph  Medill's 
greatness  was  Thomas  Humrickhouse.  That  musty  old  bundle  of 
newspapers  of  another  generation  had  more  than  a  passing  interest 
for  him.  He  preserved  them  with  jealous  care  until  his  death.  There 
was  history  wrapped  up  in  that  nearly  forgotten  bundle.  It  recalled 
stirring  times  of  half  a  century  ago.  Lincoln's  greatness  dawned  only 
a  little  later.  Medill  had  heard  of  the  tall  **rail-splitter."  He  and  this 
friend  whose  counsel  he  so  often  sought  discussed  the  views  taken 
by  this  man  in  Illinois.  They  read  and  re-read  an  anti-slavery  speech 
which  the  **Man  of  Destiny"  made  at  Springfield. 

''Who  is  this  man  Lincoln?"  inquired  Medill  editorially.  That 
copy  of  the  Coshocton  Republican  should  have  had  a  place  in  historical 
records.  Thomas  Humrickhouse  never  forgot  it.  He  pointed  out  the 
paragraph  to  the  narrator  of  this  incident  in  1889.  There  was  his- 
tory— there  was  prophesy  in  every  line  of  it! 

Medill  was  essentially  a  man  of 'action.  He  saw  a  wider  field  for 
the  principles    of  which  he  was  so  ardent  an  advocate. 

He  was  one  of  the  very  first  to  discover  the  genius  of  Lincoln, 
concludes  Mr.  Johnson.  Medill  wrote  to  Horace  Greeley^  saying: 
'This  man  Lincoln  will  bear  watching;  there's  good  timber  in  him." 
What  a  prophet  he  was ! 

Coshocton's  first  newspaper  led  a  precarious  existence.  After  Dr. 
Maxwell  founded  the  Republican  it  was  continued  by  John  Frew  as 
the  Coshocton  Spy,  then  Burket  E.  Drone  published  it  as  the  Demo- 
cratic Whig,  and  after  a  year's  suspension  the  name  of  Coshocton  Re- 
publican was  restored  with  the  coming  of  Joseph  Medill  as  editor. 
When  he  went  to  Cleveland  the  paper  was  acquired  by  H.  Guild,  but 
it  again  suspended  until  the  office  was  sold  to  R.  W.  Burt  who  changed 
the  name  to  the  Progressive  Age.  James  Matthews  and  Thomas  W. 
Flagg  were  associate  editors,  and  William  A.  Johnston  was  foreman. 
Several  years  later  the  paper  was  sold  to  A.  R.  Hillyer,  and  soon  after- 
ward to  Joseph  W.   Dwyer   who   received   an   appointment   in   the 

Digitized  by  LjOOQLC 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  223 

Treasury  Department.  The  paper  passed  to  Asa  L.  Harris  in  1861, 
and  the  name  changed  to  the  Coshocton  Age.  At  the  close  of  the 
war  Harris  was  appointed  postmaster  at  Atlanta,  Ga.,  and  T.  W. 
Collier  became  editor  of  the  Age.  A  dozen  years  later  it  was  pur- 
chased by  A.  W.  Search  and  J.  F.  Meek,  and  subsequently,  the  last- 
named  conducted  it  alone.  Mr.  Parrish  was  identified  with  the  paper, 
and  Ernest  E.  Johnson  was  in  editorial  charge  until  C.  B.  McCoy 
obtained  the  property.  James  Collier,  foreman,  retained  a  proprietary 
interest.  In  after  years  the  Age  Publishing  Company  was  formed 
with  $12,000  capital  stx)ck,  and  the  paper  issued  daily.  T.  W.  Morris, 
now  of  Pittsburg,  was  the  first  city  editor.  The  present  editor  is 
R.  C.  Snyder,  and  the  business  manager  E.  H.  Mack.  They  own  the 
majority  of  stock.  Other  shares  went  to  W.  A.  Himebaugh,  C.  B. 
McCoy,  E.  L.  Lybarger,  J.  F.  Meek,  S.  M.  Snyder,  Iva  A. 
McCoy,  Mrs.  R.  C.  Snyder,  Mrs.  P.  P.  De  Hart,  E.  O.  Selby,  George 
M.  Gray,  J.  M.  Compton,  W.  H.  Crawford,  Dr.  W.  B.  Litten,  George 
A.  Hay,  Matthew  Crawford,  M.  A.  McConnell,  R.  A.  Crawford. 
E.  C.  Compton  is  city  editor. 

The  Castle  of  Liberty  and  the  Battle  Ax  of  Freedom  was  the  mil- 
itant name  of  a  paper  begun  in  183 1  at  East  Union  by  John  Meredith 
and  ended  in  Coshocton  next  year. 

The  Western  Horizon  was  started  in  Coshocton  in  1835  as  a 
Democratic  paper  by  County  Treasurer  William  G.  Williams.  Rus- 
sell C.  Bryan  and  Joseph  F.  Oliver  were  successively  editors.  When 
T.  W.  Flagg  and  Chauncey  Bassett  became  the  publishers  the  name 
was  changed  to  the  Coshocton  Democrat.  Following  came  Avery  & 
Johnson,  James  F.  Weeks,  Dr.  A.  T.  Walling,  Rich  &  Wheaton,  Asa 
G.  Dimmock,  A.  McNeal,  Wash.  C.  Wolfe,  Dimmock  &  McGonagle. 
In  1866  John  C.  Fisher  of  Licking  County  assumed  the  editorial  man- 
agement C.  E.  Cottom  was  for  years  identified  with  the  Democrat 
before  going  to  the  Standard.  Ed  Shepler  succeeded  him  as  foreman 
of  the  Democrat.  While  Mr.  Fisher  served  in  the  State  Senate  the 
editorial  work  was  done  by  the  Rev.  William  E.  Hunt,  W.  R.  Gault 
and  others. 

For  a  year  or  so  after  the  Mexican  War  a  religious  publication 
called  the  Practical  Preacher  was  issued  at  Coshocton  by  the  Rev. 
C.  E.  Wirick  of  Plainfield,  and  historical  sketches  of  Coshocton 
County  were  contributed  by  the  Rev.  H.  Calhoun. 

Digitized  by  LjOOQIC 


22-i  HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON    COUNTY 

A  literary  periodical  styled  Young  America,  published  by  S.  M. 
Rich  and  J.  V.  Wheaton,  had  a  brief  life  here  in  the  early  fifties. 

Nearly  a  score  of  years  later  a  literary  and  local  paper  called  the 
Saturday  Visitor  was  published  by  H.  D.  Beach,  who  came  from  the 
Democrat  and  was  associated  with  L.  L.  Cantwell.  This  was  fol- 
lowed here  in  1874  by  an  independent  newspaper  named  the  Coshocton 
People,  published  by  H.  D.  Beach.  It  lived  a  year  or  so.  L.  L.  Cant- 
well  published  the  Farmers  Home  Journal  monthly  for  a  while. 

With  the  beginning  of  the  eighties  the  Coshocton  County  Com- 
monwealth was  issued  by  the  Ferguson  Brothers  as  an  independent 
newspaper  for  a  few  years.  A  leading  newspaper  founded  in  1879 
was  the  Democratic  Standard,  and  the  vigorous  campaign  conducted 
by  the  owner  H.  D.  Beach,  for  a  division  of  the  Democratic  share 
of  county  printing  between  his  paper  and  Mr.  Fisher's  Democrat  led 
Mr.  Beach  into  political  activities  memorable  in  the  annals  of  the 
county.  The  only  way  to  obtain  recognition  from  the  county  officials 
was  to  elect  officials  who  would  accord  recognition.  Mr.  Beach  made 
a  personal  canvass  which  resulted  in  an  organization  of  young  Dem- 
ocrats throughout  the  county  who  formed  a  power.  They  were 
known  as  the  "Kids,"  while  the  opposition  Democrats  were  termed 
"Mossbacks."  The  ''Kids"  triumphed  in  the  election  of  Casimir 
Lorenz  from  Adams  Township  as  County  Commissioner,  and  there- 
after the  Democratic  portion  of  public  printing  was  divided  between 
the  Standard  and  the  Democrat.  It  was  not  until  years  afterward 
that  the  Kid-Mossback  differences  in  the  local  Democratic  party  dis- 
appeared. 

Linked  with  indelible  memories  of  the  Democratic  Standard  is 
W.  H.  McCabe,  widely  known,  witty,  humorous,  always  a  fund  of 
anecdote.  His  death  marked  the  passing  of  the  Standard.  It  was  con- 
solidated with  the  Democrat,  a  stock  company  was  formed,  1901,  and 
a  daily  started,  edited  at  different  times  by  C.  Scherer  and  D.  H. 
Harnley.  A  controlling  interest  was  sold  to  W.  T.  Alberson  who  is 
the  present  editor  of  the  Times,  as  the  paper  has  been  known  since 
1905.    John  Moist,  formerly  of  the  Columbus  Dispatch,  is  city  editor. 

The  law  formerly  required  the  county  official  reports  to  be  printed 
also  in  German  papers,  and  the  Coshocton  Wochenblatt  was  estab- 
lished in  1880  by  H.  D.  Beach  and  L.  L.  Cantwell.  Henry  Minig  was 
identified  with  the  paper.    It  was  later  edited  by  Otto  Cummerow  until 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON  COUNTY  225 

sold  in  1887  to  Jacob  Werner  who  has  widely  extended  the  influence 
of  the  paper. 

Fourteen  years  ago  the  Coshocton  Herald  was  published  as  an 
independent  newspaper  for  a  few  months  by  Clem  Pollock,  who  came 
from  the  New  York  World  and  who  in  recent  years  has  been  prom- 
inently connected  with  the  Hearst  newspaper  interests  in  Boston  and 
elsewhere. 

In  1899  S.  O.  Riggs  issued  the  Coshocton  Republican  a  short 
time. 

The  same  year  the  Coshocton  Bulletin  began  its  four  years'  life. 
T.  F.  Smiley,  who  today  is  well  known  in  Pittsburg  newspaper  work 
as  night  manager  of  the  Tri-State  Press  Bureau,  was  associated  with 
the  writer  in  the  editing  and  publishing  of  the  Bulletin.  R.  A.  Craw- 
ford, State  Building  and  Loan  Inspector,  was  at  one  time  a  partner. 
The  Bulletin  was  Republican — intensely  Republican — 365  days  in  the 
year.  The  principle  of  refusing  to  advertise  medical  quacks  turned 
away  dollars  that  were  sadly  needed. 

A  few  years  ago  the  Democratic  Review  was  published  for  a  short 
time  by  C.  E.  Cottom. 

The  United  Laborer  was  established,  1908,  by  Charles  McCort 
and  Rufus  Wolfe. 

At  Bakersville  the  Press  was  published  by  A.  Rippl,  now  a  manu- 
facturer in  West  Lafayette. 

In  Warsaw  the  Clipper  was  printed  first  by  Mr.  Crom,  then  by 
G.  S.  Bassett,  on  a  press  of  heavy  beams,  old  iron  and  things.  When 
this  mixture  was  agitated  at  one  end,  the  cylinder  started  on  a  dizzy 
flight  to  the  other  end  of  the  press,  and  you  waited  expectantly  for 
something  to  go  oflF.  The  catastrophe  which  followed  each  time  was 
a  copy  of  the  Clipper.  Afterward  came  the  Neutral,  edited  by  E.  E. 
Hays,  author  of  the  official  report  of  "Ohio  at  Vicksburg"  and  the 
"History  of  the  32d  Ohio.''  In  Plainfield  Charles  A.  Piatt  issued  the 
Sentinel.  The  Press  appeared  at  West  Lafayette,  succeeded  by  the 
Indicator,  the  only  paper  now  issued  in  the  county  outside  the  city. 

Harry  Ferguson's  humorous  writing  has  made  the  Indicator 
known  a  long  way  from  West  Lafayette.  A  specimen  at  random  is 
his  skit  on  the  Vanderbilt-Szechenyi  wedding,  in  which  he  mentioned 
the  bridal  trousseau  worth  two  or  three  Tuscarawas  valley  farms,  the 
honeymoon  in  a  Newport  villa,  the  light  housekeeping  on  a  yacht. 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


226  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

then  the  usual  misunderstanding  about  some  actress,  after  which  the 
two  family  residences  farthest  apart  that  would  be  used  most.  This 
is  contrasted  with  another  wedding — ^John  Jones  and  Mary  Brown — 
the  bride  jeweled  with  a  fifty-cent  breastpin  and  wearing  her  hair 
frizzed,  while  John  has  a  $i6  tweed  and  new  shoes  that  hurt  his 
feet  and  squeak.  Their  honeymoon  is  in  a  little  house  on  the  hillside 
where  John's  call  of  the  pigs  is  sweet  melody  to  Mary,  and  his  glad- 
some *Tooy,  pooy"  is  accompanied  by  the  soft,  gentle  strains  of  the 
dishpan.  Fifty  years  hence,  observes  the  philosopher,  just  look  around 
for  the  Joneses,  in  the  trades  and  professions,  in  high  places — men  of 
character  and  usefulness.     Then  look  up  the  Szechenyis. 

As  previously  noted  the  day  of  the  hidebound  party  organ  is  passed, 
and  newspaper-making  is  now  so  much  a  matter  solely  of  accu- 
mulating money  that  there  is  danger  of  a  commercial  thralldom,  in- 
sidious to  the  welfare  of  society.  A  press  under  venal  control  sup- 
presses news  or  alters  it  at  the  dictation  of  private  interest;  reports 
are  garbled  and  biased  through  sinister  or  mercenary  motives,  and  to 
advance  personal  schemes. 

Newspapers  conducted  only  with  an  eye  to  money-making,  regard- 
less of  principle,  may  win  the  applause  of  the  shallow-minded  always 
impressed  with  the  sight  of  dollars,  but  such  a  press  conspicuously 
fails  in  its  pretended  public  service. 

In  its  highest  and  broadest  sense  the  press  should  champion  the 
rights  and  liberties  of  the  people;  it  should  serve  the  whole  com- 
munity; nothing  should  stand  in  the  way  of  devoted  service  to  the 
common  interests.  Of  necessity,  this  means  an  editorial  policy  that 
must  beware  of  all  entangling  alliances,  'political,  social,  commercial, 
which  may  limit  or  embarrass  such  service. 

The  wrongdoer  fears  nothing  so  much  as  he  fears  publicity.  A 
vigorous,  impartial  press  is  a  blazing  sun,  blighting  workers  of 
iniquity.  Turn  on  the  light.  Let  us  walk  in  it  rather  than  in  dark- 
ness. And  let  the  people  realize  in  time,  and  not  when  it  is  too  late, 
their  own  responsibility  of  extending  full  support  to  an  honest  press, 
the  advocate  of  industrious  peace  for  the  highest  and  best  develop- 
ment oi  this  citv  and  county,  and  the  advancement  of  justices. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


THE  NEW  ^    J/'A 

PUBLIC  LIBRARY 


A8T0R,  LENOX  AND 
TILOfiN  FOUNDATIONS. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


WALNUT    STREET    SCHOOL,    COSHOCTON. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


CHAPTER   XII 

VOLUNTEERS  IN  THE  SPANISH  WAR  — AT  FEVER 
STRICKEN  CAMP  ALGER  —  COSHOCTON  SOLDIERS 
IN  THE  PHILIPPINES— PRESENT  REPRESENTATION 
IN  BOTH  ARMS  OF  THE  SERVICE. 

When  the  Spanish  mine  under  the  waters  of  Havana  harbor  sank 
the  United  States  battleship  Maine  on  the  night  of  February  15,  1898, 
sending  266  souls  into  eternity,  and  war  began  for  the  freeing  of 
Cuba  from  the  oppressive  rule  of  Spain,  Coshocton  County  was  ready 
again  as  she  always  was  in  the  defense  of  the  country. 

Here  the  American  spirit  was  as  strong  as  in  the  days  of  old. 
Nearly  two-score  years  had  passed  since  the  last  war — a  commercial 
era  in  which  every  energy  of  the  community  was  directed  toward  the 
arts  of  peace.  But  when. the  country  again  called  upon  her  young 
men  the  sons  of  Coshocton  responded  with  all  the  patriotism  which 
actuated  the  boys  of  the  sixties. 

Th^y  w^nt  out  to  endure  hardships  and  they  did  it  like  Americans. 
True  they  traveled  better,  while  their  predecessors  rode  in  anything 
in  the  shape  of  a  car  that  could  be  found.  But  when  the  boys  of  '98 
reached  camp  they  endured  ^8-mile  practice  marching,  slender  fare, 
and  sleeping  on  the  ground  in  Tain.  About  the  only  complaint  from 
our  volunteers  was  that  they  were  not  permitted  to  go  where  the 
.fighting  was.  • 

The  Coshocton  volunteers  went  from  Camp  Bushnell,  Columbus, 
to  -Camp  Alger  at  Washington,  D.  C.  In  that  fever-stricken  camp  ' 
where  troops  of  the  United  States  suffered  much  from  the  scourge 
of  typhoid  there  were  eighty  cases'  in  the  Coshocton  company.  In 
August  Company  F  went  to  Camp  Meade  near  Harrisburg,  Pa.,  and 
remained  on  duty  there  a  month,  when  peace  followed  the  short, 
sharp  and  decisive  victory  of  the  United  States  over  Spain  whose 
navy  had  been  sunk  at  Santiago  and  Manila. 

-^  '  Digitized  by  Google 


228 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 


SEVENTH  REGIMENT,  O.  V.  I. 

Company    F 

Mustered  in  May  13,  1898.     Mustered  out  November,  1898. 

George  Callentine,  Corporal. 


Baxter  D.  McClain,  Captain. 
Charles  A.  McClure,  ist  Lieut. 
Charles  B.  Compton,  2d  Lieut. 
S.  B.  Hays,  ist  Sergeant. 
John   H.   Lang,   Quartermaster 

Sergeant. 
Harvey  B.  Davis,  Sergeant. 
Charles  Carpenter,  Sergeant. 
Roy  Carnes,  Sergeant. 
Harry  Hack,  Sergeant. 
Harry  D.  Moore,  Corporal. 
David  Jackson,  Corporal. 
Robert  M.  Temple,  Corporal. 


Franklin  Linn,  Corporal. 
Asa  Williams,  Corporal. 
Grafton  Carnes,  Corporal. 
Harry  Culbertson,  Corporal. 
Carl  Herbig,  Corporal. 
William  Milligan,  Corporal. 
John  Richards,  Corporal. 
Noah  McClain,  Musician. 
Albert  Piatt,  Musician. 
Thomas  Spahn,  Artificer. 
George  Ferrell,  Wagoner. 


Albert,  John. 
Arnold,  Robert. 
Bible,  Adam. 
Bible,  Howard. 
Burchfield,  David. 
Bruminger,  Clarence. 
Bock,  Jr.,  George  J. 
Collins,  Bert. 
Callentine,  Charles. 
Carpenter,  Adolph. 
Clark,  James. 
Cochran,  Bert. 
Courtwright,  Harvey. 
Crawford,  John. 
Compton,  William. 
Collins,  Benjamin. 
Carter,  Charles. 
Dawson,  Carlos. 
Dawson,  William. 
Dunmead,  Archie  C. 


Privates 

Dunmead,  John. 
Elson,  Harrison. 
English,  Oburn. 
Fortune,  James. 
Freeman,  Edward. 
Guild,  Thomas. 
Gardner,  John. 
Groh,  John. 
Groh,   Robert. 
Henderson,  Charles. 
Howard,  Harry. 
House,  Florus. 
Huffman,  James. 
Hook,  George. 
Hamilton,  William. 
Hankins,  Samuel. 
Jones,  Edward. 
Jones,  Lloyd. 
Kunnemund,  William. 
Koehler,  Malcolm. 

Digitized  by 


Google 


HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON    COUNTY 


229 


Koehler,  William. 
Kastettar,  Jacob — Chef. 
Longstreeth,  Stephen. 
Lamma,  Andrew. 
Lane,  Walter. 
Lazelle,  John. 
Latham,  Lemuel. 
Lynch,  William. 
McMannis,  Charles. 
Miller,  Claude. 
Miller,  Earnest. 
Mills,  Earl. 
Monahan,  William. 
Manning,  William. 
McCarton,  Arthur. 
McKenna,  Huey. 
Mayer,  Ralph. 
Poole,  Charles. 
Phillips,  William. 
Patton,  Roy. 
Povvelson,  John. 
Richards,  John. 


Richards,  Thomas. 

Rudolph,  Charles. 

Remer,  Harry. 

Savrey,  Eugene. 

Shepard,  Clarence. 

Shumate,  Guy. 

Smith,  George. 

Squire,  William. 

Shaw,  George. 

Stafford,  William. 

Scherrer,  John. 

Senft,  Charles. 

Snell,  Eugene — Died,  1898. 

Talmadge,  Grey. 

Trippy,  John. 

Trucks,  Albert  S. 

Tish,  Fred. 

Weller,  Samuel  A. 

Wells,  James. 

Woods,  Melville. 

West,  George. 

West,  Thomas. 


COSHOCTON   COUNTY    SOLDIERS 
Enlisted  with  Other  Troops  in  the  Spanish  War. 

Allen,  Thomas,  Co.  K,  7th  O.  V.  I. 

Bahmer,  Charles  V.,  Orderly  at  headquarters.  Point  Montauk, 
Long  Island;  detailed  messenger  to  General  Wheeler;  attached  to 
Hospital  Corps,  Fort  Wadsworth,  N.  Y, 

Bible,  Joseph  L.,  Sergeant  Co.  M,  15th  O.  V.  L 

Connelly,  F.  E.,  Co.  M,  8th  O.  V.  I. 

Caldwell,  R.  B.,  Corporal  Co.  C,  ist  Pa.  V.  I. 

Coleman, .  Charles,  Co.  K,  7th  O.  V.  I. 

Darr,  L.  S.,  Co.  B,  8th  O.  V.  I. 

Duggan,  Charles,  U.  S.  Navy,  in  battle  of  Manila. 

Everhart,  James,  Co.  B,  7th  O.  V.  I. 

Fry,  Edward  D.,  Co.  F,  226  Kan.  V.  I. 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


230  HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

Holland,  James  J.,  U.  S.  Navy,  the  Nashville. 

Kleineknecht,  Henry  M.,  Co.  I,  6th  Artillery. 

Lynch,  William  H.,  Corporal  Co.  A,  4th  Col. 

Milligan,  W.  Ernest,  Musician,  29th  O.  V.  I. 

McClain,  Robert,  Co.  G,  5th  O.  V.  I. 

Norman,  Frank,  7th  O.  V.  I. 

Park,  W.  H.  L.,  Co.  A,  ist  HI.  V.  I. 

Ralston,  Karl,  Corporal  Co.  M,  6th  O.  V.  I. 

Smith,  George  F.,  Co.  B,  8th  O.  V.  I. 

Stanbaugh,  Charles  L.,  3d  Col. 

Weller,  Erwin,  Co.  C,  ist  O.  V.  I. 

Wills,  W.  M.,  Corporal  Co.  K,  7th  Cavalry. 

Wasseau,  Bert,  Co.  M,  7th  Cavalry. 

Dr.  George  W.  Crile,  the  eminent  surgeon  of  Cleveland,  who  is 
a  Coshocton  County  product,  was  in  the  Porto  Rican  campaign,  com- 
missioned as  Major. 

In  the  Philippine  service  during  the  period  following  the  Spanish- 
American  War  when  American  troops  were  engaged  in  suppressing 
the  native  insurrection  against  the  United  States  government,  Cosh- 
octon County  was  creditably  represented. 

COSHOCTON  SOLDIERS 
In  the  Philippine  Service. 

Allen,  Philip,  Co.  H,  6th  Regt. 

Brown,  George,  13th  Battery. 

Carpenter,  Simon  J.,  Co.  M,  28th  Regt. 

Compton,  Charles  B.,  promoted  from  Sergeant  in  Signal  Corps  to 
Lieutenant  and  Captain  in  Regular  Army.     ' 

Carter,  Charles,  Co.  F,  17th  Regt. 

Lower,  Dr.  W.  E.,  Surgeon  45th  Regt.,  ranking  as  Lieutenant. 

Osier,  Harry,  Co.  G,  7th  Regt.  •  '  • 

Potter,  Isaac,  Co.  C,  41st  Regt. 

Peairs,  John,  Regular  Army. 

Riggle,  Frank  H.,  Corporal,  Co.  A,  41st  Regt.  U.  S.  A. 
•  Talmadge,  Grey,  Co.  A,  41st  Regt'.  U.  S.  A. 

West,  Thomas,  Co.  A,  41st  Regt.  U.  S.  A. 

In  the  army  and  navy  at  present  are  the  following  from  Coshoc- 
ton County: 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  231 

Charles  Burt,  First  Lieutenant,  Heavy  Artillery,  Fort  Worden, 
Puget  Sound;  served  in  the  Philippines. 

Frank  Smoots,  Corporal  Co.  L,  19th  Regulars. 

Walter  Kitchen,  Sergeant,  U.  S.  Navy. 

Norris  B.  Rippl,  20th  Co.,  Coast  Artillery  Corps,  Fort  Barran- 
cas, Fla. 

Hugo  Rippl,  Second  Lieutenant  Philippine  Constabulary;  trans- 
ferred to  California. 

Edward  Thornsley,  U.  S.  Navy. 

Ed  Hack,  U.  S.  Cavalry,  stationed  in  Texas. 

Earl  Clark,  U.  S.  Navy,  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

Ray  Hack,  Coast  Artillery,  Fort  Monroe,  Va. 

Harvey  Davis,  Sergeant,  2d  Regt.,  Fort  Thomas,  Ky. 

Walter  Lane,  Regular  Army. 

Walter  Carpenter,  Coast  Artillery,  Fort  Flagler,  Wash. 

Harry  Eyster,  Co.  F,  17th  Regt. 

James  Clark,  Regular  Army. 

Clifford  Jackson,  Sergt.  5th  Cavalry,  Fort  Apache,  Ariz. 

Washington  AIcKee,  U.  S,  A.,  Alaska. 

Forest  Wintermuth,  13th  Regt.,  Fort  Leavenworth,  Kan. 

Lewis,  U.  S.  Navy. 

Several  from  Coshocton  County  who  were  formerly  in  the  serv- 
ice include:      •  -       . 

Carl  Doney,  Regular  Arriiy. 

Samuel  Felver,  U.  S.  Navy. 

Charles  Rippl,  Sergeant,  Coast  Artillery  Corps;  transferred  to 
Recruiting  Service  and  to  19th  Company,  Regular  Army,  Fort  Mac- 
Kenzie,  Wyoming. 

Bert  C.  Wilson,  Sergt.,  19th  Co.,  Coast  Artillery  Corps. 

Rollo  Harris,  13th  Cavalry. 

J.  C.  Shaffer,  Troop  I,  8th  Cavalry. 

Lester  Hack,  Hospital  Corps,  Philippines — Died  at  Hong  Kong, 
China,  1908. 

Earl  Funk,  Co.  E,  nth  U.  S.  Infantry. 

Isaac  Miller,  28th  U.  S.  Infantrv. 


t)igitized  by  Google 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

THE  BENCH  AND  THE  BAR— THE  ADVOCATE  OF  YES- 
TERDAY AND  THE  BUSINESS  LAWYER  OF  TODAY- 
ADVANCE  IN  JURY  INTELLIGENCE— DISAPPEAR- 
ANCE OF  EMOTIONAL  PLEADING. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  go  outside  Coshocton  County  courts  to  note 
the  emphatic  distinction  between  modern  methods  at  the  bar  and  those 
that  prevailed  in  earlier  times. 

The  advocate  of  yesterday  and  the  business  lawyer  of  today 
present  widely  different  types  in  the  professional  pages  of  Coshocton 
life.  For  one  thing  emotional  pleading  belongs  to  the  past.  The 
change  to  the  more  matter-of-fact  address  may  be  attributed  to  the 
advance  in  jury  intelligence. 

Under  the  present  mode  of  criminal  practice,  giving  the  prosecu- 
tion the  closing  argument,  much  is  detracted  from  the  commercial 
value  of  counsel's  emotions,  whether  real  or  artificial,  and  in  conse- 
quence the  safeguards  of  society  have  been  strengthened. 

Only  once  in  recent  years  did  a  member  of  the  Coshocton  bar 
indulge  in  emotional  pleading  to  the  extent  of  calling  on  God  to 
strike  him  down  then  and  there  if  he  were  not  telling  the  truth,  and 
as  the  speech  frothed  from  his  lips  he  sank  to  the  floor,  and  soon  after 
went  to  his  grave. 

That  most  trying  feature  in  litigation — the  law's  delays,  against 
which  the  centuries  have  protested  as  far  back  even  as  in  Shakes- 
peare's day — may  discourage  the  citizen  seeking  justice,  but  even  a 
more  grave  condition  confronts  the  people  in  the  affirmation  by  a 
Justice  of  the  Ohio  Supreme  Court  at  the  banquet  this  year  of  the 
Coshocton  Bar  Association,  that  the  rule  in  the  State  Supreme  Court 
at  times  may  set  aside  a  just  verdict  or  sustain  an  unjust  decision 
because  of  technical  considerations !  In  other  words,  the  bench  gives 
us,  not  justice,  but  technicalities.  Such  things  do  not  deepen  venera- 
tion for  our  modern  judicial  system. 

m  Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON  COUNTY  233 

The  bar  of  this  county  has  a  creditable  record  in  its  representa- 
tion on  the  bench,  among  the  most  creditable  in  Ohio.  High  ideals 
maintained  in  the  profession  have  conferred  the  ermine  on  very  able 
members.  Judge  J.  C.  Pomerene  and  Judge  R.  M.  Voorhees  of  the 
Circuit  Court  rank  among  the  most  distinguished  in  the  service. 
Judge  Voorhees,  now  on  the  Circuit  bench,  by  temperament  and  vig- 
orous mental  organism  is  described  as  among  the  best  qualified  judges 
in  the  State.  Neither  abrupt  nor  impetuous  in  manner,  but  uni- 
formly gracious,  moderate  and  equitable,  he  is  esteemed  by  the  bar 
for  his  personal  qualities  and  admired  for  his  abilities.  As  lawyer, 
facing  the  strain  of  an  uphill  fight  in  court,  he  has  always  had  in  re- 
serve an  indomitable  quality  of  endurance  and  firmness,  the  staunch 
character  that  endured  in  the  defense  of  his  country  through  her 
darkest  years.  Judge  Voorhees  served  from  1899  to  1905,  and  is 
now  entering  his  second  term. 

Judge  Pomerene,  who  served  from  1893  until  his  death  in  1898, 
is  remembered  for  his  devotion  to  his  profession,  his  careful  address, 
his  pleasant  demeanor.    The  law  was  his  life-work. 

Striking  individuality  is  noted  in  members  of  the  Coshocton  bar 
who  have  attained  the  Common  Pleas  bench.  Puritanical  sedate- 
ness  characterized  the  first,  William  Sample,  who  served  from  1857 
to  1867,  and  was  a  member  of  the  Constitutional  Convention  in  1874. 
Emphatic  personality  distinguished  John  D.  Nicholas  who  went  on 
the  bench  in  1887,  serving  ten  years.  A  tribute  to  his  character  is 
the  statement  that  he  had  not  an  iota  of  sycophancy.  He  was  eloquent 
and  forceful  as  a  speaker. 

As  pronounced  a  personality  is  that  of  Judge  S.  H.  Nicholas,  who 
won  his  spurs  as  lawyer  in  association  with  Attorney  W.  S.  Merrell. 
He  began  his  present  term  on  the  Common  Pleas  bench  in  1907. 
Thoroughly  sensible  of  the  popular  attitude  toward  defects  in  the 
present-day  judicial  system.  Judge  Nicholas  is  not  given  to  regard- 
ing judges  as  any  more  than  human;  nor  does  he  aver  that  infalli- 
bility comes  to  judges  elevated  higher  in  courts  that  repeatedly  re- 
verse themselves,  and  then  again  reverse  their  reversals. 

The  fact  that  such  discussion  may  strike  some  with  a  sort  of 
horror,  as  though  it  sounded  of  sacrilege,  only  indicates  that  there 
are  too  many  who  have  fallen  into  a  habit  of  thought  more  becoming 
to  subjects  than  to  citizens.     They  have   come   to   look   upon   their 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


234  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

courts  as  far  apart  and  above  them — which  is  a  state  of  mind  that 
some  one  has  well  said  is  not  to  be  encouraged  in  a  government  whose 
safety  depends  upon  the  intelHgence  and  character  of  its  citizens. 
The  intelligence  that  is  prone  to  slavishness  and  the  character  that 
bends  its  knees  too  reverently  in  the  presence  of  power  are  the  re- 
verse of  democratic.  Respect  for  the  courts  is  praiseworthy — ^pro- 
vided the  courts  deserve  it.  But  when  the  courts  cease  to  be  just 
tribunals  and  sacrifice  truth  on  the  altar  of  technicalities,  the  day  has 
arrived  that,  in  the  words  of  Charles  Sumner,  the  blood  of  martyrs 
crying  from  the  ground  summons  them  to  judgment. 

Elsewhere  within  these  pages  is  noted  the  distinction  won  by 
Coshocton  lawyers  in  political  and  other  fields. 

The  Common  Pleas  Court  of  this  county  is  in  the  Sixth  District, 
Third  Subdivision,  with  Holmes  and  Wayne. 

The  Circuit  is  the  Fifth,  embracing  the  fifteen  counties  of  Ash- 
land, Coshocton,  Delaware,  Fairfield,  Holmes,  Knox,  Licking,  Mor- 
gan, Morrow,  Muskingum,  Perry,  Richland,  Stark,  Tuscarawas  and 
Wayne. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


thf:  new  \ o:-M 


A8T0R,  LEf'Ov   A^ 
TILDEN  FOUNfj,^    -o 


Digitized  by 


Google 


THE     PALISADES     OF    THE    WALHONDING     NEAR    BLUFF. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

COUNTY  OFFICIALS  —  REPRESENTATIVES  IN  CON- 
GRESS AND  STATE  LEGISLATURE— COSHOCTON 
MEN  IN  VARIOUS  PUBLIC  OFFICES— POSTMASTERS 
AND  MAYORS  OF  COSHOCTON. 

In  the  seventies  Warsaw  presented  arguments  in  favor  of  making 
it  the  seat  of  county  government.  There  was  talk  of  building  a  new 
courthouse  in  Coshocton.  Opposition  to  this  came  from  Warsaw, 
and  the  county  voted  against  a  new  building.  Representative  Black- 
burn, from  this  county,  fathered  a  bill  in  the  Legislature,  providing 
for  the  collection  of  taxes  to  pay  for  the  $90,000  courthouse  which 
was  finally  erected  in  Coshocton  in  1875,  but  it  cost  Mr.  Blackburn 
his  re-election. 

Within  the  last  year  there  have  been  alterations  in  the  courthouse 
which,  with  fire-proof  file  cases,  cost  about  $19,000. 

About  the  time  the  courthouse  was  erected  the  jail  and  sheriflf's 
home  were  built  for  approximately  $25,000. 

The  County  Infirmary,  two  miles  east  of  Coshocton,  was  provided 
in  the  forties.  Four  hundred  acres  were  bought  for  $5,500,  and  tlie 
buildings  erected  thereon  cost  several  thousand  dollars.  There  are 
fifty  inmates  at  present. 

The  list  of  county  officials,  together  with  the  present  yearly  sal- 
aries, follows: 

COMMISSIONERS. 
$1,035,  With  Two- Year  Term. 
Charles  Williams,  1811-13.  John  G.  Pigman,  1824-26. 

Mordecai  Chalfant,  1811-18.  Benjamin  Ricketts,  1825-28. 

James  Miskimen,  1811-21.  Gabriel  Evans,  1826-33. 

James  Calder,  1813-17.  Richard  Moore,  1828-31. 

Squire  Humphrey,  181 7-19.  John  Mitchell,  1829-32. 

Samuel  Clark,  1818-29.  Samuel  Clark,  1831-33. 

Robert  Darling,  1819-25.  John  Quigley,  1832-34. 

Robert  Boyd,  1821-24.  Andrew  Ferguson,  1833-38. 

235  Digitized  by  GOOglC 


236 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON  COUNTY 


Joseph  Neff,  1833-36. 
Daniel  Farquhar,  1834-43. 
Eli  Fox,  1836-39. 
Arnold  Medberry,  1838-44. 
Samuel  Winklepleck,  1839-42. 
J.  D.  Workman,  1842-45. 
Isaac  Darling,  1843-49. 
James  Ravenscraft,  1844-47. 
Samuel  Lamberson,  1845-48. 
Alexander  Matthews,  1847-50. 
George  Wolf,  1848-51. 
Francis  Buxton,  1849-52. 
Henry  Schmueser,  1850-56. 
Thomas  Darling,  1851-54. 
Lewis  Swigert,  1852-55. 
Owen  Evans,  1854-57. 
Abraham  Shaffer,  1855-58. 
James  E.  Robinson,  1856-59. 
William  Doak,  1857-63. 
William  Hanlon,  1858-64. 
James  M.  Smith,  1859-65. 
Thomas  Darling,  1863-69. 
Joseph  Keim,  1864-70. 
Thomas  McKee,  1865-71. 
Joseph  S.  McVey,  1869-75. 
John  Taylor,  1870-76. 
Samuel  Moore,  1871-77. 
William  Forney,  1875-78. 


John  C.  McBane,  1876-86. 
William  Berry,  1877-87. 
S.  M.  Daugherty,  1878-81. 
Casimir  Lorenz,  1880-88. 
Vincent  Ferguson,  1883-89. 
Samuel  Neldon,  1884-89. 
Abner  McCoy,  1888-94. 
A.  M.  Dinsmore,  1889-95. 
Daniel  Fair,  1890-94. 
John  A.  Hanlon,  1894-95. 
(Appointed  to  fill  vacancy  caused 

by  death  of  Mr.  Fair.) 
Thomas  McConnell,  1894- 1900. 
E.  G.  Abbott,  1895-98. 
A.  M.  Marshall,  1896-99. 
Calvin  G.  Simmons. 
(Appointed  for  two  months, 

1895.) 
Daniel  Barrick. 
(Appointed  for  eight  months, 

1896.) 
Lewis  Fisher,  1898- 1904. 
John  T.  Funk,  1899- 1902. 
Jacob  Balo,  1900-06. 
Benton  Davis,  1902-09. 
McNulty  Dixon,  1906-11. 
Fred  Rinehart,  1 907-11. 


John  Smith,  1 909-11. 

In  the  beginning  the  commissioners  appointed  as  their  clerk, 
Thomas  L.  Rue,  and  soon  afterward  Adam  Johnston,  who  served  as 
auditor  at  $40  a  year  until  1821.     The  list  continues: 

AUDITORS. 
■    $2,410,  With  Two- Year  Term  and  Deputy  Allowance  of  $2,000. 

Alexander  McGowan,  1821-25.       Wilson  McGowan. 

Joseph  Burns,  1825-38.  (Served  temporarily,  1843.) 

J.  W.  Rue,  1838-48.  H.  Cantwell,  1848-50. 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON  COUNTY 


237 


B.  F.  Sells,  1850-52. 
William  Himebaugh,  1854-58. 
Samuel  Farquhar,  1858-62. 

C.  H.  Johnson,  1862-66. 
W.  R.  Farquhar,  1866-71. 
William  Walker,  1871-75. 


John  W.  Cassingham,  1880-87. 
Joseph  Burr  ell,  1887-93. 
Newton  Speckman,  1893-99. 
C.  A.  Lamberson,  1899-1905. 
C  R.  Randies,  1905- 1909. 
Walter  J.  Winters,  1909-1911. 


William  Wolf,  1875-80. 

At  first  the  treasurer  received  five  per  cent,  of  the  taxes  collected, 
then  three  per  cent.,  amounting  to  about  $60  a  year  before  18 18.  It 
was  customary  then  for  county  funds  to  be  loaned  to  responsible  citi- 

^^^^'  TREASURERS. 

$2,410,  With  Two- Year  Term  and  Deputy  Allowance  of  $1,610. 


William  Whitten,  1811-17. 
Dr.  Samuel  Lee,  1818-24. 
James  Renfrew,  1825-26. 
John  B.  Turner,  1827-28 
Alexander  McGowan,  1829-30. 
Samuel  Rea,  1831. 
Robert  Hay,  1832-34. 
William  G.  Williams,  1835-46. 


Samuel  Ketchum,  1857-59. 
Samuel  Lamberson,  1859-64. 
Samuel  Burrell,  1864-68. 
Thomas  Jones,  1868-72. 
Richard  W.  McClain,  1872-76. 
John  Waggoner,  1876-80. 
John  Beaver,  1880-84. 
William  Walker,  1884-88. 


Benjamin  Bonnett,  1847-49  (re-     George  C.  Rinner,  1888-92. 


signed.) 

J.  W.  Rue  (appointed  to  fill  un- 
expired term,  1850.) 

William  P.  Wheeler,  1851-52. 

Lewis  Demoss,  1853-56. 


S.  F.  Dawson,  1892-96. 
J.  D.  Severns,  1896- 1900. 
W.  H.  Williams,  1900-04. 
Richard  Clark,  1904-09. 
G.  W.  Stillinger,  1 909-11. 


PROBATE   JUDGES 
$2,410,  With  Four- Year  Term  and  Deputy  Allowance  of  $1,100. 


Thomas  Campbell,  1852-55. 
C  S.  Barnes,  1855-58. 
John  T.  Simmons,  1858-64. 
M.  C.  McFarland,  1864-70. 
Joseph  Burns,  1870-75.     (Died 

in  office. ) 
W.  F.  Thornhill,  1875-76.  Filled 

unexpired  term.) 


Alexander  Hanlon,  1876-82. 
H.  Blackman,  1882-88. 
W.  R.  Gault,  1888-94. 
C.  B.  Hunt,  1894-1900. 
T.  C.  Roche,  1900-03. 
R.  L.  Donley,  1903-09. 
Frank  Ashman,  1909-13. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


238 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON  COUNTY 


SHERIFFS. 
$1,745,  With  Fees,  Two- Year  Term,  and  Deputy  Allowance  of  $720. 


C.  Vankirk,  1811-15. 
Charles  Williams,  181 5-19. 
Charles  Miller,  181 9-21. 
John  Smeltzer,  1821-23. 
John  Crowley,  1823-27. 
T.  Butler  Lewis,  1827-29. 
John  Crowley,  1829-33. 
J.  H.  Hutchinson,  1833-37. 
Samuel  Morrison,  1837-41. 
Joseph  C.  Maginity,  1841-45. 
Samuel  Morrison,  1845-49. 
Samuel  B.  Crowley,  1849-53. 
John  Hesket,  1861-65. 
James  Sells,  1865-68. 
Thomas  Piatt,  1868-69. 


Joshua  H.  Carr,  1869-73. 
John  Lennon,  1873-77. 
Jacob  Sever ns,  1877-82. 
Andrew  Miller,  1882-86. 
J.  B.  Manner,  1886-1890. 
Charles  Craig,  1890-94. 
Daniel  Hogan,  1894,  died  in 

office. 
Henry  Clark,  1894- 1900. 
Richard  Lanning,  1853-55. 
W.  H.  H.  Price,  1855-57. 
David  Rodehaver,  1857-61. 
A.  C.  Hedge,  1900-04. 
Hamilton  Browning,  1904-09. 
A.  C.  McDonald,  1909-11. 


PROSECUTING  ATTORNEYS. 
$1,600  With  Two- Year  Term. 


Wright  Warner,  1811-17. 
Alexander  Harper,  1817-23. 
Charles  B.  Goddard,  1823-27. 

Served  during  terms  of  court 
until  1830. 
W.  Silliman. 
David  Spangler. 
Richard  Stilwell. 
Noah  H.  Swayne,  1830-33. 
Josephus  Ricketts,  1833-34. 
G.  W.  Silliman,  1834-41. 
T.  S.  Humrickhouse,  1841-43. 
Thomas  Campbell,  1843-49. 
William  Sample,  1849-51. 
John  T.  Simmons,  1851-55. 


John  D.  Nicholas,  1855-57. 
Charles  Hoy,  1857-60. 
Richard  Lanning,  1860-61. 
Thomas  Campbell,  1861-62. 
Asa  G.  Dimmock,  1862-68. 
R.  M.  Voorhees,  1868-72. 
William  S.  Crowell,  1872-76. 
A.  H.  Stilwell,  1876-78. 
T.  H.  Ricketts,  1878-80. 
Albinus  H.  Stilwell,  1880-86. 
S.  H.  Nicholas,  1886-92. 
W.  R.  Pomerene,  1892-98. 
T.  H.  Wheeler,  1898-1904. 
James  Glenn,  1904-07. 
Joseph  L.  McDowell,  1907-11. 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 


239 


CLERKS  OF  COURT. 
$2,115,  With  Two- Year  Term  and  Deputy  Allowance  of  $1,000. 


Adam  Johnston,  181 1-29. 
John  Frew,  1829-38. 
Alexander  McGk)wan,  1838-43. 
Joseph  Burns,  1843-51. 
B.  R.  Shaw,  1851-54. 
A.  M.  Williams,  1854-57. 
Lemuel  Kinsey,  1857-63. 
Charles  K.  Remick,  1863-69. 


G.  H.  Bargar,  1869-75. 
Israel  Dillon,  1875-81. 
Samuel  Gamble,  1881-88. 
A.  J.  Hill,  1888-94. 
R.  B.  McDermott,  1894- 1900. 
W.  A.  Mizer,  1900-06. 
Jesse  McBane,  1906-11. 


RECORDERS. 
$1,600,  With  Two- Year  Term  and  Deputy  Allowance  of  $725. 


Adam  Johnston,  181 1-29. 
Joseph  Burns,  1829-36. 
George  W.  Price,  1836-40. 
Russell  C.  Bryan,  1840-46. 
G.  F.  Cassingham,  1846-55. 
John.F.  Williams,  1855-57  (Re- 
signed. ) 
R.  M.  Hackenson,  1857-58. 
A.  McNeal,  1858-61. 
C.  W.  Stanford,  1861-64. 
L.  L.  Root,  1864-70. 


M.  W.  Wimmer,  1870-76. 
John  M.  Crawford,  1876-82. 
W.  H.  Coe,  1882-89. 
Gilbert  Copeland,  1889-95. 
T.  H.  Glover,  1895-98. 
E.  M.  Mortley,  1898- 1904. 
(Died  in  office.) 
Carl  A.  Manner,  1904. 
(Filled  unexpired  term.) 
C.  M.  Bible,  1904-09. 
Charles  H.  Stipes,  1909-11. 


SURVEYORS. 

Two- Year  Term ;  $5  a  day  and  Expenses  for  County  work ;  $4  a  day 

and  Horse  Hire  on  Good-Roads  Work. 


William  Lockard,  1812-17. 
James  Ravenscraft,  181 7-1 9. 
William  Coulter,  1819-24. 
William  G.  Williams,  1824-30. 
James  Ravenscraft,  1830-36. 
John  M.  Sweeney,  1836-42. 
John  M.  Fulks,  1842-48. 
Henry  Seevers,  1848-52. 


Lemuel  Kinsey,  1852-55. 
C.  W.  McMorris,  1855-58. 
R.  L.  Baker,  1858-61. 
T.  P.  Latham,  1861-64. 
Levi  Gamble,  1864-71. 
John  A.  Hanlon,  1871-74. 
George  Moore,  1874-80. 
Samuel  M.  Moore,  1880-8 

Digitized  by  V 


ioogle 


240 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 


James  Long,  1889-92. 
A.  M.  Fisher,  1892-95. 
C.  L.  Reamer,  1895-98. 
(Served  for  Howard  E.  Culbert- 
son.) 


Samuel  Moore,  1898-1904. 
George  J.  Bock,  Jr.,  1904-09. 
Ross  E.  Hamilton,  1909-11. 


Two 
David  Bookless. 
George  Leighninger. 
James  Ravens^raft. 
Abraham  Sells 
Benjamin  Coc. 
Thomas  McNally. 
Addison  Syphert. 
James  T.  McCleary. 
Joseph  Hitchens. 
William  Jeffries. 
Thomas  Piatt. 


CORONERS. 
•Year  Term;  Paid  in  Fees. 
Nicholas  Schott. 
John  Richeson. 
Joseph  Burns,  1879-83. 
Isaac  Vance,  1883-87. 
Nathan  Buckle w,  1887-91. 
S.  H.  Miller,  1891-95. 
Dr.  J.  G.  Carr,  1895-1897. 
Dr.  M.  H.  Hennel,  1897-99. 
Dr.  F.  M.  Marshall,  1899- 1905. 
Dr.  T.  W.  Lear,  1905-09. 
Dr.  J.  D.  Lx)wer,  1909-11. 


Two- Year  Term; 

Lewis  Row. 
James  Jones. 
Henry  Wheeler. 
Isaac  W.  Miller. 
John  M.  Johnson. 
Stephen  D.  Sayer. 
Thomas  Dwyer. 
D.  E.  Laughlin. 
George  McCune. 
J.  C.  Frederick. 
William  Simons. 
James  McBriar. 
John  Chambers. 
Nathan  Buckalew. 
John  Hawley. 


INFIRMARY  DIRECTORS. 
$2.50  a  Day  and  Expenses  While  Officially  En- 
gaged. 

William  McCoy. 

C.  F.  Sangster. 

Samuel  Gardiner. 

Thomas  Wiggins. 

R.  C.  Warren. 

Daniel  Fry. 

Jacob  Bretzius,  18&1-87. 

Calvin  S.  Skinner,  1882-89. 

Daniel  Valentine,  1883-90. 

Joseph  A.  Cochran,  1888-94. 

William  Hunt,  1889-95. 

Philip  Thomas,  1890-95.  , 

Gabriel  Lorenz,  1894- 1900. 

Daniel  J.  Dickey,  1895-98. 

William  Graham,  1895-98. 

Digitized  by  LjOOQIC 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON  COUNTY  241 

John  F.  Norman,  1898-1904.  G.  W.  Meek,  1905-09. 

I.  J.  Baker,  1899-1902.  John  Q.  Dawson,  1909-11. 

A.  S.  Hoagland,  1900-06.  Martin  Carroll,  1909-11. 

Thomas  Adams,  1902-09.  Howard  Parrish,  1909-11. 

Henry  Ehrich,  1904-09. 

CONGRESSMEN. 

Coshocton  County  has  been  in  various  Congressional  districts,  and 
at  present  is  in  the  Seventeenth  with  Tuscarawas,  Wayne,  Holmes 
and  Licking.  Five  Coshocton  representatives  have  been  sent  to 
Washington:  David  Spangler,  1833-37;  James  Matthews,  1841-45; 
John  Johnson,  1851-53;  Joseph  Burns,  1857-59;  and  John  W.  Cass- 
ingham,  1901-04. 

STATE  SENATORS. 

The  county  is  in  the  joint  1 8th- 19th  Senatorial  district,  with  Tus- 
carawas, Guernsey,  Monroe,  except  part  of  Benton  and  Bethel  town- 
ships, and  Rinard's  Mills  precinct,  and  Noble  County,  except  part  of 
Beaver,  Buffalo,  Enoch,  Marion,  Seneca,  Stock,  Wayne,  Center,  Elk 
and  Jefferson  townships,  East  Union  and  part  of  Dexter  precinct. 

These  have  served  from  Coshocton  County  in  the  State  Senate : 
Wilson  McGowan,  1821-22.  William  Stanton,  1864-65. 

Dr.  Samuel  Lee,  1826-27.  James   M.    Burt,    1866-67,   and 

Charles  Miller,  1828-29.  1870-71. 

James  Ravenscraft,  1834-36.  John    C.    Fisher,    1873-74    and 

James  Matthews,  1838-39.  1878-79. 

John  Johnson,  1842-43.  W.  S.  Crowell,  1884-85. 

W.  F.  Thornhill,  1845-46.  D.  H.  Mortley,  1888-89. 

Andrew  Ferguson,  1850-51.  J.  P.  Forbes,  1892-93. 

Heslip  Williams,  1854-55.  Joseph  L.  Myers,  1900-01. 

A.  L.  Cass,  1858-59. 

The  salary  of  members  in  the  State  Legislature  is  $1,000  a  ytai, 
with  allowance  of  twelve  cents  a  mile,  limited  to  two  trips  a  month. 
The  term  is  two  years. 

STATE  REPRESENTATIVES. 
Robert  Giffen,  181 2.  Squire  Humphrey,  181 7. 

Charles  Williams,  1814-15.  Joseph  W.  Pigman,  1818-20. 

Joseph  W.  Pigman,  18 16.  James  Robinson,  1820-24. 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


242 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 


Charles  Williams,  1825. 
John  Smeltzer,  1827-28. 
N.  H.  Swayne,  1829. 
James  Robinson,  1830. 
Charles  W.  Simmons,  1831. 
James  Matthews,  1832. 
John  Crowley,  1833-35. 
Samuel  Whittemore,  1836. 
James    Matthews    and    F. 

Thornhill,  1837. 
Joseph  Burns,  1838-40. 
Jesse  Meredith,  1841-42. 
George  A.  McCleary,  1843. 
Jesse  Meredith,  1844. 
Heslip  Williams,  1845. 
Joseph  Williams,  1846-47. 
James  M.  Burt,  1848-50. 
Timothy  C.  Condit,  185 1. 
George  McKee,  1852-54. 
John  Pier  son,  1854-56. 
Patrick  Thompson,  1856-58. 
C.  F.  Sangster,  1858-60. 


James  Gamble  and  J.  N.  Fellows, 

1860-62. 
W.  F.  Thornhill,  1864-70. 
(Speaker  of  the  House,  session 

of  1868-69.) 
James  M.  Burt,  1866-67. 
John  Baker,  1870-72. 
B.  C.  Blackburn,  1872-74. 
W.     John  Baker,  1874-76. 

E.  L.  Lybarger,  1876-78. 
John  Hardy,  1878-82. 
G.  H.  Bargar,  1882-85. 
James  M.  Williams,  1886-87. 
J.  P.  Forbes,  1888-91. 
B.  C.  Blackburn,  1892-93. 
John  L.  McKee,  1894-95. 
James  Glenn,  1896-97. 
J.  C.  Adams,   1 898-1 901. 
J.  Ab.  Finly,  1902-03. 
M.  A.  McConnell,  1904-05. 
E.  L.  Lybarger,  1906-08 
L.  D.  Schott,  1909-10. 


Andrew  J.  Wilkin,  1862-64. 

Coshocton  County  citizens  filling  State  offices  include  R.  A.  Craw* 
ford.  Building  and  Loan  Inspector;  C.  H.  Geidel,  Canal  Superin- 
tendent; C.  L.  Cassingham,  of  State  Mining  Commission;  Miss  Mary 
McClure,  Workshop  Inspector;  E.  L.  Lybarger,  of  Commission  in- 
vestigating election  of  U.  S.  Senators  by  vote  of  the  people — was  for- 
merly member  of  the  State  Board  of  Public  Works,  State  House 
Building  Commission,  Sheridan  Monument  Commission.  J.  E„  Aron- 
holt  is  U.  S.  ganger  and  storekeeper. 

Attorney  F.  E.  Pomerene  is  President  of  the  Board  of  Trustees, 
Ohio  State  University. 

George  A.  Hay  was  a  merrtber  of  the  State  Board  of  Penitentiary 
Managers  during  Governor  McKinley's  administration,  a  member  of 
the  commission  investigating  convict  labor  conditions,  and  at  present 
on  the  Board  of  Review  adjusting  tax  valuations  in  this  county.  W. 
M.  Smith  and  George  Ayres  are  members  of  this  Board.    J.  M.  Comp- 

Digitized  by  LjOOQIC 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  243 

ton  served  for  years  as  United  States  Commissioner.    G.  H.  Bargar 
was  U.  S.  Pension  Agent  at  Columbus. 

Captain  E.  Z.  Hays  was  a  member  of  the  Vicksburg  Monument 
Commission ;  J.  P.  Forbes  of  the  Ohio  Centennial  Commission ;  L.  K. 
Anderson  of  Governor  Bushnell's  staff;  James  Gamble  of  the  Board 
of  Public  Works,  1863,  James  Moore,  1864-69,  Leander  Ransom, 
1836-45;  John  C.  Fisher  of  the  Fish  Commission,  1875;  J.  W.  Dwyer, 
Superintendent  of  Internal  Revenue  for  the  Northern  District  of  Ohio, 
and  afterward  Pension  Agent  at  Columbus ;  W.  A.  Johnston,  Deputy 
U.  S.  Internal  Revenue  Assessor;  John  Frew,  James  Dryden,  Dr. 
J.  H.  Lee  and  C.  A.  Lamberson,  Deputy  Collectors  of  Internal  Rev- 
enue; William  E.  Mead  and  George  Hill,  Canal  Superintendents; 
Joseph  L.  Morris,  State  Inspector  of  Mines,  1886-89;  C.  A.  Marden, 
Electrician  of  Penitentiary. 

For  anyone  with  the  inclination  or  leisure  to  go  into  the  details  of 
modern  Coshocton  County  politics  there  is  much  to  interest,  to  amuse, 
to  edify,  and  to  mystify.  It  would  fill  a  separate  volume  to  tell  the 
story  of  Democratic  and  Republican  politicians,  the  county  conven- 
tions and  the  caucus  methods  now  abandoned  for  the  later  system  of 
nominating  candidates  and  party  committeemen  by  whole  vote  of  the 
people,  a  nominating  system  which  like  others  may  develop  unforeseen 
defects,  but  which  is  hailed  as  an  advance  over  the  caucus-stuffing, 
convention-packing  and  vote-buying  of  corrupt  politicians. 

From  the  time  that  Senator  Foraker  knew  the  usefulness  of  a 
subservient  press  and  included  Coshocton  among  the  newspaper  rivets 
in  his  State  machine,  he  has  filled  the  Coshocton  postoffice  with  his 
creatures.  To  their  pie-counter  vision  the  Standard  Oil  Senator  ap- 
peared always  white  as  the  driven  snow.  The  climax  came  when  tHe 
oil  and  railroad  statesman  could  not  resist  having  his  name  come  be- 
fore the  Chicago  convention  for  President  in  1908.  No  one  apparently 
wanted  the  job  of  naming  him,  and  the  Coshocton  delegate  who  made 
the  attempt  may  yet  live  it  down.  The  vote  for  Foraker  was  too 
small  to  remember. 

Afterward  the  Standard  Oil  statesman's  hopes  for  reelection  to 
the  Senate  were  blasted.  His  expected  leader  in  the  fight  for  him  on 
the  floor  of  the  Legislature  did  not  go  back  to  Columbus.  The  Co- 
shocton County  Republican  convention  decided  that  he  had  better 
stay  at  home. 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


244 


HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 


The  business  of  the  Coshocton  postoffice  is  an  index  to  the  increas- 
ing importance  of  this  city  in  the  commercial  world.  From  annual 
receipts  of  $i  1,000  in  round  numbers  a  dozen  years  ago  the  office  now^ 
receives  $25,000  in  a  year,  while  the  money-order  business  amounts 
annually  to  $80,000.  Nearly  four  million  pieces  of  mail  pass  through 
the  office  yearly.  The  present  force  besides  the  postmaster  includes 
assistant  postmaster,  two  dispatchers,  two  general  delivery  and  stamp- 
window  clerks,  one  money-order  and  register  clerk,  five  city  carriers, 
seven  rural  carriers,  one  substitute  clerk,  two  substitute  carriers,  and 
one  special  delivery  messenger. 

COSHOCTON   POSTMASTERS 


Adam  Johnston,  181 1-29. 
Wilson  McGowan,  1829-30. 
William  K.  Johnson,  1830-45. 
C.  H.  Johnson,  1845-49. 
R.  F.  Baker,  1849-53. 
Samuel  Rich,  1853-54 
H.  N.  Shaw,  1854-61. 
Asa  L.  Harris,  1861-64. 
A.  H.  Fritchey,  1864. 


W.  A.  Johnston,  1864-65. 
R.  M.  Voorhees,  1865-69. 
T.  W.  Collier,  1869-81. 
John  G.  Magaw,  1881-85. 
H.  D.  Beach,  1885-89. 
Joseph  K.  Johnson,  1890-94. 
W.  H.  McCabe,  1894-98. 
C.  B.  McCoy,  1898-1907.    , 
S.  M.  Snyder,  1 907 — 


Among  Coshocton's  mayors  George  A.  Hay,  Republican  leader 
who  for  many  years  actively  devoted  his  energies  to  the  party's  in- 
terest, holds  the  record  for  longest  service.  Nominated  each  time  by 
acclamation  he  was  elected  four  times.  The  village  incorporation  dates 
back  to  1833,  but  the  loss  of  early  records  deprives  us  of  the  names 
of  the  early  mayors. 


COSHOCTON    MAYORS 


Thomas  Campbell,  1847-51. 
John  C.  Tidball,  1851-52. 
James  Irvine,  1852-54. 
John  C.  Tidball,  1854-56. 
Welcome  Wells,  1856-58. 
A.  J.  Wilkin,  1858-59. 
John  C.  Winn,  1859-60. 
C.  H.  Johnston,  1860-63. 


G.  F.  Wilcoxon,  1863-64. 
J.  C.  Pomerene,  1864-65. 
W.  R.  Farquhar,  1865-66. 
William  Ward,  1866-67. 
J.  S.  Elliott,  1867-68. 
L.  L.  Cantwell,  1868-69. 
J.  S.  Elliott,  1869-70. 
Hiram  Beall,  1870-72. 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 


245 


J.  M.  Compton,  1872-76. 
L.  L.  Cantwell,  1876-78. 
T.  H.  Ricketts,  1878-80. 
George  A.  Hay,  1880-84. 
John  T.  Simmons,  1884-86. 
George  A.  Hay,  1886-90. 
R.  M.  Elliott,  1890-92. 


A.  N.  Compton,  1892-94. 

James  B.  Manner,  1894-96. 

T.  B.  Hack,  1896-98. 

G.  W.  Cassingham,  1898-1902. 

E.  C.  Rinner,  1902-06. 

W.  A.  Smith,   1906-08. 

Gail  Hamilton,  1908-10. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


CHAPTER   XV 

A  LOOK  AT  LOCAL  TAXES  — HEAVY  TOLL  TAKEN 
FROM  THE  LAND  OWNERS  WHILE  OTHERS  PAY 
LESS  BY  GRACE  OF  LEGISLATION  —  CONDITIONS 
THAT  INVITE  A  PUBLIC  UPHEAVAL. 

While  much  progress  has  been  made  along  many  lines  in  Co- 
shocton County  there  is  one  thing  which,  under  the  laws  of  Ohio, 
hangs  as  a  millstone  to  the  necks  of  the  people,  and  that  is  our  anti- 
quated tax  system.  Courthouse  officials  have  declared  that  if  the 
people  knew  the  truth  there  would  be  an  upheaval.  Certain  it  is  that 
the  conditions  are  not  any  too  well  known. 

In  a  general  way  the  average  taxpayer  feels  that  he  is  unjustly 
burdened.  Beyond  that  few  have  looked  into  the  trouble  deep  enough 
to  detect  the  elements  that  manage  to  shift  most  of  the  heavy  burden 
to  the  shoulders  of  the  land  owner. 

A  man's  all  may  be  his  home  in  town  or  it  may  be  a  farm,  and 
the  law  empowers  the  county  to  tax  him  for  everything  in  sight,  at  a 
rate  of  two  to  three  per  cent  and  more.  But  an  express  company  or 
telegraph  company,  gas,  electric  light  or  other  corporation,  earning 
vastly  more  from  the  business  done  in  the  county,  pays  one  per  cent 
of  its  earnings  to  the  State,  and  one-tenth  of  one  per  cent  of  its  capital 
stock,  while  the  county  must  stop  at  a  tax  on  the  property  of  the  cor- 
poration without  being  allowed  to  touch  the  business  earnings.  The 
farmer  is  taxed  on  his  crop  earnings,  however,  and  altogether  the 
heavy  toll  is  taken  from  the  land  owner  while  others  are  called  on  for 
less  by  grace  of  the  voters  and  the  kind  of  men  they  send  to  the  Legis- 
lature of  Ohio. 

The  man  that  has  money  to  earn  interest  for  him  by  investing  it 
in  bonds  is  not  taxed  under  the  law.  Were  this  injustice  corrected 
and  moneyed  interests  compelled  to  assume  their  fair  share  of  the 
county  expense,  the  load  on  land  owners  would  be  lightened,  and  the 
community  at  last  would  have  a  fair  deal  in  the  matter  of  taxes. 


246 

Digitized  by 


v^oogle 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON  COUNTY  247 

Under  the  present  system  where  is  the  justice  in  taxing  every- 
thing the  farmer  has  and  his  crop  earnings,  while  the  county  levies 
only  on  a  gas  corporation's  pipe  line  and  leaves  untouched  the  enor- 
mous earnings  from  the  product  passing  through  that  pipe?  And 
the  same  is  true  of  the  electric  light  and  various  other  corporations. 
They  arranged  it  very  profitably  by  having  the  State  collect  one  per 
cent  of  their  earnings  instead  of  letting  the  county  levy  on  their 
business  for  three  per  cent. 

An  investigation  into  Coshocton  County's  taxing  machinery  re- 
veals the  mass  of  multifarious  detail  and  horse-blanket  sheets  of  fig- 
ures in  the  work  of  the  county  auditor.  From  access  to  the  records 
by  courtesy  of  Auditor  Randies,  and  from  the  experience  and  knowl- 
edge of  Newton  Speckman  in  his  service  as  auditor,  the  workings  of 
our  tax  system  are  outlined  herewith. 

As  already  indicated  the  land  is  the  particular  object  of  taxation 
under  the  existing  arrangement,  and  to  insure  getting  every  dollar 
that  can  be  taxed  out  of  real  estate,  equitably  of  course,  farm  values 
are  looked  over  twice,  and  city  property  three  times.  First,  there  are 
the  land  appraisers  who  report  every  tenth  year  on  land  values  in 
their  townships.  Then  the  county  commissioners,  auditor  and  sur- 
veyor, as  a  board  of  equalization,  review  the  figures;  and  for  city 
valuations  their  work  in  turn  is  examined  by  the  board  of  review  ap- 
pointed by  the  State  auditor.  Reductions  or  additions  which  the  State 
board  may  make  on  city  valuations  are  reported  to  the  county  auditor, 
and  the  figures  go  on  the  auditor's  tax  duplicate,  to  stand  for  the  next 
ten  years.  If  buildings  are  erected  after  the  property  has  been  ap- 
praised, the  personal  property  assessors  place  a  value  upon  the  same, 
and  the  personal  equation  is  a  mighty  factor  in  this  proceeding,  as 
men  have  discovered  who  find  themselves  paying  more  tax  than  a 
neighbor  with  a  costlier  building.  The  belief  is  prevalent  that  build- 
ings should  be  valued  on  the  tax  duplicate  at  sixty  per  cent  of  the 
cost,  but  Mr.  Speckman  points  out  that  buildings  should  be  listed  at 
what  they  add  to  the  value  of  the  property.     He  continues: 

"If  a  person  is  on  the  tax  duplicate  at  a  too  high  valuation,  appli- 
cation can  be  made  to  the  board  of  equalization  at  the  annual  meeting, 
and  if  the  valuation  is  found  to  be  too  high  it  may  be  reduced,  but 
the  amount  of  the  reduction  must  be  added  to  other  property  that  is 


Digitized  by 


v^oogle 


248  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

valued  too  low.  The  grand  tax  duplicate  of  real  estate  cannot  be 
reduced  below  what  it  was  the  preceding  year/' 

The  assessors  report  personal  property  in  the  various  townships, 
including  buildings  and  other  property  except  land.  The  county 
auditor  and  commissioners  go  over  these  returns,  and  may  reduce  or 
increase  the  valuations. 

Referring  to  the  appraisement  of  railroads  by  the  county  auditor 
Mr.  Speckman  attests  that  the  method  is  not  altogether  satisfactory. 
The  railroad  company,  he  states,  submits  its  figures  to  the  county 
auditor,  and  the  auditor  has  no  means  of  knowing  much  about  the 
valuation  submitted.  In  Indiana  it  is  cited  that  they  do  things  dif- 
ferently, where  a  State  board  makes  a  thorough  investigation  into 
railroad  property,  putting  the  P.,  C,  C.  &  St.  L.  on  the  tax  duplicate 
for  about  twice  as  much  a  mile  as  in  Ohio.  In  some  States  the  ap- 
praisement is  based  upon  the  gross  earnings  of  railroads. 

Merchants  and  manufacturers  are  required  to  report  their  average 
monthly  business.  In  the  case  of  banks  three  items  are  reported  to 
the  county  auditor  on  which  tax  valuations  are  fixed:  The  amount 
of  capital  stock  paid  in,  undivided  profits,  and  surplus.  The  tax  valu- 
ation in  Coshocton  County  has  been  fixed  at  66  2-3  per  cent  of  these 
amounts.  It  has  been  increased  at  times,  but  the  State  Board  of 
Appraisers  has  reduced  it  in  each  case. 

Telegraph,  express  and  telephone  companies  make  their  returns 
direct  to  the  State  Board  of  Appraisers.  The  State  Board  fixes  the 
valuation  for  taxation  and  returns  the  amounts  so  fixed  to  the  county 
auditor. 

Building  and  Loan  Association  stockholders  are  required  to  report 
individually  their  stock  to  the  assessor  for  taxation,  instead  of  the 
Association  being  called  upon  to  report  as  in  the  case  of  a  bank.  A 
few  years  ago  a  bill  was  introduced  in  the  Legislature  requiring  the 
Association  to  pay  the  taxes.  The  bill  was  defeated.  An  inquiry 
was  made  at  that  time  regarding  the  amount  reported  for  taxation 
in  Coshocton  County.  It  was  found  that  about  five  per  cent  of  the 
amount  of  stock  found  its  way  upon  the  tax  duplicate. 

In  the  county's  present  taxation  of  coal  lands  the  purpose  of  the 
appraisers  is  the  separation  of  surface  value  and  mineral  value.  The 
coal  operator  pays  tax  on  one-third  of  the  valuation  of  the  land.    The 

Digitized  by  LjOOQLC 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  249 

present  tax  paid  on  coal  lands  is  $2  per  workable  acre.  The  output 
of  coal  has  never  been  taxed. 

Insurance  companies  have  never  paid  local  taxes  here.  They  re- 
port to  the  State. 

What  Coshocton  County  taxpayers  paid  in  1883  and  what  they 
paid  in  1908  is  an  interesting  comparison  showing  the  changes  in  the 
last  quarter  century. 

1883  1908 

Acres  of  land 352,249  352,398 

Land  valuation $  8,131,510  $  6,317,380 

City  and  village  real  estate  valuation 949,160  2,938,890 

Chattel  or  personal  valuation 4,341,470  5,648,100 

Total  valuation   $13,422,140  $14,904,370 

1883  1908 

Total  State  taxes   $  38,924.19  $  20,036.22 

County  fund 18,790.98  43,222.33 

Poor  fund  5,368.85  1 1,923.40 

Bridge  fund 32,213.12  32,789.36 

Building  tax 2,980.85 

Road  tax 8,053.04  40,060.01 

Township  road  tax  to  be  worked  out 15,658.29  None 

Township  tax   19,046.48  52,015.20 

School 50,257.07  132,426.26 

Indigent  soldier    2,980.85 

Special    1,910.95  16,079.13 

City  or  village 9,997.66  42,602.54 

Dog   2,605.00  3736.00 


Total  County  and  Local  Tax  less  dog. $161, 299.44  $377,079.93 
In  accounting  for  the  falling  off  in  land  valuation,  that  of  1883 
was  from  the  decennial  appraisement  of  1880  when  land  priced  here 
had  been  going  up  steadily.  The  1908  valuation  was  from  the  ap- 
praisement of  1900  when  the  country  had  not  fully  recovered  from 
the  decline  in  prices  attending  the  general  business  depression. 

The  great  bulk  of  the  increase  in  city  and  village  real  estate  valu- 
ation came  with  the  increase  in  the  city  of  Coshocton. 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


2r,0  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

The  increase  of  more  than  a  million  dollars  in  the  valuation  of 
personal  property  came  largely  with  the  Wheeling  &  Lake  Erie,  the 
Toledo.  W'alhonding  \^alley  &  Ohio,  and  the  Cleveland,  Akron  & 
Columbus  railroads,  built  since  1883.  There  was  a  considerable  in- 
crease in  manufacturing  establishments. 

Fewer  moneys  and  credits  were  returned  in  1908  than  twenty-five 
years  ago.  A  large  amount  of  Coshocton  County  money  has  been 
invested  in  non-taxable  securities  within  the  last  ten  years,  including 
county,  township,  municipal  and  school  bonds. 

With  all  these  changes  there  has  been  an  increase  of  only 
$1,582,230  in  the  valuation  on  the  duplicate  in  twenty-five  years. 

In  1883  there  was  a  total  State  levy  of  29  cents  on  every  $100, 
taking  $38,924.19  from  the  county.  In  1908  the  State  levy  was  a 
fraction  more  than  13  cents  a  hundred  dollars,  less  than  half  the  rate 
of  1883,  and  the  county  paid  the  State  $20,036.22.  Several  years  ago 
the  Legislature  passed  the  bills  imposing  excise  taxes  on  corporations, 
whereby  the  State  levy  was  reduced.  There  are  those  who  have  ad- 
vocated collecting  all  State  taxes  from  corporations,  but  the  real  benefit 
to  the  county  would  be  to  levy  its  own  tax  on  the  local  business  of 
corporations,  which  would  increase  the  receipts  enough  to  easily  pay 
the  State  and  lighten  the  burden  of  other  taxpayers  in  the  county. 

The  fund  raised  for  county  purposes,  including  election  expenses, 
salaries,  supplies,  etc.,  was  much  less  in  1883  even  though  it  also  em- 
braced the  building  and  judicial  funds  which  are  now  separate  expense 
accounts  on  the  auditor's  books. 

The  increase  in  the  Poor  fund  has  accompanied  the  sending  of  our 
children  to  the  Tuscarawas  County  Home,  and  caring  for  the  blind, 
which  was  not  done  twenty-five  years  ago. 

Since  the  enactment  of  the  law  for  the  collection  in  money  of  the 
road  tax,  instead  of  citizens  working  it  out  on  the  road,  there  has  been 
much  dissatisfaction  in  Coshocton  County.  Under  the  law  the  road 
tax  paid  by  the  townships  is  returned  by  the  county  to  the  township 
trustees  and  road  superintendents  to  expend  in  improving  the  roads. 
But  there  are  districts  where  road  improvement  is  not  seen,  at  least 
no  one  notices  it,  and  the  taxpayers  of  that  district  bump  along  while 
their  money  is  making  good  roads  in  other  parts  of  the  township.    The 


Digitized  by 


Google 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  251 

demand  has  risen  /or  a  restoration  of  the  district  road-making  system, 
and  with  effective  methods  to  insure  the  building  of  good  highways 
we  may  yet  see  all  over  the  county  such  fine  roads  as  have  been  built 
by  Commissioners  McConnell,  Marshall,  Abbott  and  others. 

In  connection  with  the  home-rule  sentiment  favoring  road-building 
by  each  district  is  the  demand  to  restore  the  management  of  schools 
to  district  directors.  The  township  school  board  method  is  opposed 
because  the  people  of  a  district  consider  they  understand  their  local 
conditions  better  than  a  township  board,  and  are  therefore  qualified 
to  select  their  own  teacher.  Furthermore,  on  this  subject  of  teachers, 
a  reform  for  which  there  is  imperative  need  is  to  abolish  the  appoint- 
ment by  the  probate  judge  of  the  county  board  of  teachers'  examiners. 
For  years  these  appointments  have  been  a  political  asset  of  the  probate 
office.  There  have  been  probate  judges  who  held  out  the  examiner 
olum  to  whoever  delivered  the  most  votes.  The  office  has  been  cor- 
rupted by  probate  judges  arranging  with  examiners  to  issue  teachers' 
certificates  as  political  favors  to  applicants  not  qualified  to  pass  an 
honest  examination. 

There  is  a  noticeably  large  increase  in  the  school  tax  over  that  of 
twenty-five  years  ago.  While  in  1883  there  were  the  Bedford  Special^ 
the  West  Carlisle  Special,  Roscoe  Union,  West  Lafayette  Special, 
New  Castle  Special  and  Coshocton  Union  school  districts,  today  the 
county  includes  the  Coshocton  City  school  districts,  West  Lafayette 
Village,  Warsaw  Village,  Plainfield  Village,  Nellie  Village,  Roscoe 
Village,  Walhonding  Special,  New  Castle  Special,  West  Bedford  Spe- 
cial, West  Carlisle  Special,  Tiverton  Special,  Conesville  Special.  In 
1883  young  Coshocton  went  to  school  in  the  Sycamore  and  the  Walnut 
Street  buildings;  now,  besides  these  two,  there  are  the  High  School, 
the  Bancroft  and  the  South  Lawn  schools. 

The  dog  tax  has  paid  claims  for  killed  sheep  and  left  a  balance 
to  transfer  to  the  school  fund.  The  law  that  made  the  dog  tax  a  lien 
upon  the  real  estate  has  been  declared  unconstitutional,  and  it  is  an- 
ticipated here  that  there  will  be  less  dog  tax  collected  in  the  future 
unless  legislative  provision  be  made  along  that  line. 

The  rate  paid  by  taxpayers  on  every  hundred  dollars  in  each  town- 
ship twenty-five  years  ago  and  in  1908  is  compared  as  follows: 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


252  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON  COUNTY 

WHOLE  RATES  OF  TAXATION   PER  ON-E  HUNDRED 

DOLLARS 

Covering  State,  County,  Township  and  School  Levies 

Townships  and  Districts.  1883  1908 

Adams  $1,583^  $2.32 

Bedford    1.32  2.00 

Bedford  Special i-36>4  2.32 

Bethlehem 1.29  1.94 

Clark i.48>^  2.32 

Crawford   1.61  2.62 

Baltic  Special    1.92 

Franklin 1.28  2.14 

Conesville  Special  2.02 

Jackson  1.54  2.24 

Roscoe  Corporation  2.84 

Roscoe  Union   1.76  2.54 

Jefferson i  .34  2.36 

Mohawk  Special   2.38 

Nellie  Special   2.23 

Nellie  Corporation    2.18 

Warsaw  Corporation 1.59  3.08 

Warsaw    School   District 2.38 

Keene 1.25  2.06 

Lafayette 1.41  1.84 

Lafayette  Special   1.51  2.44 

West  Lafayette  Corporation  2.60 

Linton 1.70  2.64 

Plainfield  Special 2.94 

Plainfield    Corporation  3.10 

Millcreek 1.14  1.84 

Monroe   1.77  2.32 

New    Castle  1.51  2.68 

New   Castle   Special 1.57  2.28 

Walhonding    Special   2.18 

Oxford   1-235^  1.80 

Pike   1. 16  2.00 

West    Carlisle   1.36  2.16 

Digitized  by  VjOOQiC 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON  COUNTY  253 

Perry 1.16  2.10 

New   Guilford   Special 2.24 

Tiverton   1.52  2.38 

Tiverton    Special   2.58 

Tuscarawas    1.48  2.54 

Coshocton     Union    1.50  2.76 

Coshocton   City 2.04  3.48 

Virginia 1.45  2.62 

Adams    Mills    Special   1.82 

Washington i-30^  2.00 

White    Eyes I43/^  2.48 

Entirely  separate  from  the  county  tax  was  the  liquor  tax  of  $1,000 
collected  from  each  saloon.  When  the  county  voted  in  1908  to  close 
the  saloons,  $26,000  in  tax  receipts  were  cut  off.  During  the  collec- 
tion of  the  liquor  tax  the  auditor  got  three  per  cent  of  the  first  $20,000, 
and  one  and  a  half  per  cent  of  the  balance,  while  the  treasurer  got  a 
half  per  cent.  There  remained  about  $25,000,  of  which  the  half  went 
to  the  city,  two-tenths  to  the  county  infirmary,  and  three-tenths  to  the 
State. 

About  $150  a  year  is  collected  from  the  $15  cigarette  tax.  The 
auditor  and  treasurer  get  the  same  percentage  of  fees  as  in  the  liquor 
tax,  and  the  fund  is  then  apportioned  as  follows:  City,  one-fourth; 
County  infirmary,  one- fourth;  State,  one-half. 

There  is  an  auctioneer's  license ;  and  peddlers  are  taxed  $28  a  year 
for  a  two-horse  wagon,  $18  for  one-horse  wagon,  $12  horseback  or  on 
foot.    A  circus  is  taxed  $40  a  day.    The  treasurer's  fee  is  six  per  cent. 

In  1907  the  county  defeated  at  the  polls  the  proposition  to  build 
the  Main  Street  bridge  from  Coshocton  to  Roscoe,  and  the  Twelfth 
Street  bridge.  In  every  flood  of  the  Coshocton  rivers  much  of  the 
county  has  been  cut  off  from  the  city.  When  the  bridges  lost  in  the 
1907  election  Representative  Lybarger  fathered  a  bill  in  the  Legis- 
lature in  1908  providing  for  a  special  election  on  the  petition  of  a 
hundred  voters.  The  same  month  the  election  was  held  and  both 
bridges  carried.  In  June,  1908,  the  first  tax  for  these  bridges  was 
levied — ten  cents  on  a  hundred  dollars.  At  this  writing  a  remon- 
strance has  been  started  on  the  ground  that  the  cost  of  the  bridges 
was  understated  when  the  election  w-as  held,  and  that  the  figures  will 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


254  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

go  as  high  as  half  a  million  dollars  by  the  time  damage  claims  of  prop- 
erty owners  along  the  bridge  approaches  are  settled. 

The  question  of  building  the  bridges  to  carry  electric  cars  is  in- 
volved in  the  discussion,  some  contending  that  the  proposed  trolley 
line  should  bear  a  proportion  of  the  cost.  For  years  the  county  has 
waited  for  an  electric  railroad.  The  latest  projected  route  parallels 
the  Pennsylvania  Lines  from  Newcomerstown  to  Coshocton  and 
strikes  southwesterly  across  the  county  through  Virginia  Township 
coal  fields. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


CHAPTER    XVI 

ECCLESIASTICAL  AND  EDUCATIONAL  —  FRATERNAL 
AND  SOCIAL  — THE  MINISTER  IN  POLITICS  — THE 
TEMPERANCE  MOVEMENT  FROM  THE  CRUSADERS 
TO  THE  ROSE  LAW. 


Within  the  secular  scope  of  these  chronicles,  having  more  par- 
ticular reference  to  temporal  rather  than  spiritual  or  religious  affairs, 
it  is  not  feasible  to  go  into  the  story  of  each  church  in  every  township. 
To  do  that  means  a  chapter  for  every  one,  and  in  this  year  of  our 
Lord,  nineteen  hundred  nine,  the  church  has  grown  to  so  great  an 
institution  over  what  it  was  in  the  county's  early  days  that  a  separate 
volume  would  be  required  to  record  denominational  and  congregational 
progress. 

In  the  pages  on  the  pioneer  life  are  related  the  first  efforts  here 
in  organized  religious  work.  Today  there  are  a  hundred  congrega- 
tions in  Coshocton  County. 

The  Methodist  membership  is  especially  large.  There  are  thirty- 
four  M.  E.  church  buildings  in  the  county,  and  every  township  is  in- 
cluded in  that  list  of  houses  of  worship  except  Tiverton.  Almost 
every  town  here  has  its  Methodist  church.  The  following  places  are 
represented,  the  congregations  not  in  towns  being  listed  in  townships : 


Coshocton  Franklin 

Canal  Lewisville  Roscoe 

Adams  Township  (2)  Warsaw 


Bakersville 

Bedford  Township 

West  Bedford 

Bethlehem  Township 

Bloomfield 

Chili 

Franklin  Township 

Conesville 


Mohawk  Village 
Keene 

West  Lafayette 
Linton  Township 
Plainfield 

Millcreek  Township 
Spring  Mountain 
New  Castle 


Walhonding 
Orange 

Perry  Township  (2) 
New  Guilford 
West  Carlisle 
Virginia  Township  (2) 
New  Moscow 
Washington  Township 
Fresno 


255 


Digitized  by 


Google 


256  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

Nine  Presbyterian  congregations  in  Coshocton  County  have 
church  buildings,  the  largest  of  which  is  the  Coshocton  edifice  of  white 
stone,  among  the  most  beautiful  examples  of  ecclesiastical  architecture 
in  this  section  of  the  State.  The  other  churches  are  in  the  northern 
and  eastern  parts  of  the  county,  also  in  JeflFerson  Township  in  the 
west.  In  the  southern  portion  Virginia  Township  is  well  represented 
in  the  church  at  Adams  Mills  on  the  county  line.  Following  is  the  lo- 
cation of  Presbyterian  congregations,  all  in  towns  except  two: 
Coshocton  Jefferson  Township       West  Lafayette 

Bakersville  Warsaw  West  Carlisle 

Clark  Township  Keene  Adams  Mills 

Since  the  days  of  the  courthouse  services  eighty  years  ago  the 
Methodist  Protestant  membership  has  grown  here  to  the  extent  of 
eleven  congregations.  About  half  the  townships  of  the  county  have 
M.  P.  churches.  The  Rev.  Stokely  S.  Fisher,  present  pastor  in  Co- 
shocton, is  known  in  literary  work  as  a  contributor  of  magazine  poetry. 
The  M.  P.  churches  are  located  as  follows: 
Coshocton  Franklin  Township    Plainfield 

Bethlehem  Township  (2)  Roscoe  Monroe  Township 

Blissfield  W'est  Lafayette  New  Castle  Township 

Oxford  Township 

Among  the  earliest  churches  established  in  the  county  is  the  Bap- 
tist, whose  strength  today  is  represented  by  fourteen  congregations. 
Early  in  the  nineteenth  century  the  meetings  at  Coshocton  were  held 
in  Wilson  McGowan's  tavern,  and  later  in  the  courthouse.  Services 
are  now  held  in  Baptist  churches  at  the  following  places : 
Coshocton  West  Lafayette  Oxford  Township 

Canal  Lewnsville  Linton  Township  Perry  Township 

Clark  Tojvnship  Monroe  Township  (2)  Tiverton  Township 

Jackson  Township         New  Castle  Township  Virginia  Township 

Wakatomika 

Among  the  churches  established  in  this  county  in  later  years  is  the 
Disciple,  which  now  numbers  five  congregations  holding  services  in 
their  own  houses  of  worship.  Formerly,  in  Coshocton,  meetings  were 
held  in  City  Hall,  then  in  the  modest  frame  building  in  Eleventh  Street, 
which  has  been  succeeded  by  the  Main  Street  church  edifice.  The 
Disciple  churches  of  the  county  at  present  include: 


Digitized  by 


Google 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  257 

Coshocton  Walhonding  Tiverton 

Spring  Mountain  Isleta 

There  are  five  Lutheran  churches  within  our  county  borders  at 
this  writing.  For  years  there  was  no  work  of  organization  in  Co- 
shocton where  a  considerable  number  of  Lutherans  came  to  live,  and 
finding  no  church  of  their  faith  they  gradually  affiliated  with  other 
denominations.  The  Lutheran  churches  are  located  in 
Coshocton  Chili  Franklin  Township 

Adams  Township  New  Bedford 

Four  German  Evangelical  churches  are  in  the  county,  principally 
in  northern  townships  in  regions  populated  mainly  by  descendants  of 
early  German  settlers.    The  churches  are  situated  in 
Coshocton  Chili  New  Castle  Township 

Tiverton  Township 

Eight  congregations  of  the  Evangelical  Association  church  are 
organized  in  Coshocton  County.    All  are  in  the  country  north  of  the 
county  seat,  and  largely  in  the  northern  tier  of  townships.    Following 
are  the  places  having  Evangelical  churches: 
Blissfield  Jefferson  Township       Millcreek  Township 

Clark  Township  Nellie  Monroe  Township  (2) 

Tiverton 

The  growth  of  the  Catholic  church  is  a  feature  in  ecclesiastical 
history  of  the  county.  Even  since  the  comparatively  recent  days  of 
Father  Jacquet,  who  as  a  missionary  priest  attended  Chattanooga  and 
Little  Rock,  there  has  been  such  advance  that  besides  the  new  building 
of  Sacred  Heart  church  in  Coshocton,  a  school  has  been  erected  during 
Father  Synan's  charge.  The  school  contains  four  rooms.  There  are 
125  pupils  taught  by  five  Dominican  sisters.  All  grades  are  taught  in- 
cluding a  high  school  course.  The  advent  of  the  French  marked  the 
beginning  of  the  Catholic  church  in  Franklin  Township,  more  than 
half  a  century  ago,  and  prominent  among  the  organizers  was  Anthony 
VVimmer,  Sr.  At  the  same  time  a  congregation  met  in  the  Killbuck 
log  church,  Monroe  Township,  and  descendants  of  the  early  organizers 
are  represented  in  today's  church  at  Spring  Mountain  whose  trustees 
include  Joseph  Krownapple,  W.  J.  Krownapple  and  Joseph  Haverick. 
In  1886  the  Catholic  congregations  of  Linton  and  Franklin  townships 
consolidated,  and  a  new  church  building,  Our  Lady  of  Lourdes,  was 
erected  in  the  southwestern  part  of  Linton  Township. 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


258  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

The  United  Brethren  church  of  Coshocton  advanced  from  meetings 
in  City  Hall  fifteen  years  ago  to  the  house  of  worship  in  Park  Avenue. 
The  membership  grew  to  two  hundred  during  the  pastorate  of  the 
Rev.  A.  E.  Fair.  The  church  recently  lost  an  earnest  worker  in  the 
death  of  Charles  W.  Smith. 

The  United  Presbyterian  church  appears  in  the  earliest  records  of 
organized  religious  work  in  Coshocton  County.  Robert 3oyd,  pioneer 
member,  assembled  meetings  in  Keene  Township  when  the  county  was 
only  half  a  dozen  years  organized.  Today  the  United  Presbyterian 
congregations  meet  in  Amity  church  in  Keene  Township,  and  in  the 
Fresno  church. 

The  home  of  the  Christian  Church  in  Coshocton  was  erected  in 
1905.    Virginia  Township  also  has  a  Christian  Church. 

The  Christian  Union  Church  in  Coshocton  advanced  to  the  present 
building  in  1904  through  the  constant  labor  of  the  Rev.  I.  B.  Dillin, 
pastor. 

The  Episcopalian  church  service  was  among  the  oldest  held  in  this 
region,  as  previously  recorded  herein.  There  is  an  Episcopal  church 
at  "The  Knob,"  not  far  from  Keene.  The  Episcopal  congregation  in 
Coshocton,  now  holding  services  in  Carnegie  Library,  is  arranging  for 
the  erection  of  a  church  building  in  Main  Street. 

The  Seventh  Day  Adventists  have  organized  in  recent  years  in 
the  city,  and  are  holding  services  in  the  Selby  building. 

The  Christian  Scientists  are  represented  in  Coshocton.  Services 
are  held  in  the  Gray  building. 

Spiritualistic  meetings  have  been  held  in  homes  of  Coshocton  for 
years. 

The  congregation  of  the  Colored  Baptist  Church  meets  in  the 
G.  A.  R.  hall. 

For  five  years  the  local  corps  of  Salvation  Army  workers  have  held 
street  services  in  Coshocton. 

In  the  care  of  her  two  cemeteries — Oak  Ridge  and  South  Lawn — 
Coshocton  is  fortunate  in  having  the  services  of  Superintendent 
Thomas  Page  whose  work  of  beautifying  our  last  resting  place  justifies 
all  commendation. 

In  the  educational  work  of  the  county  the  young  teacher  has  been 
largely  in  evidence  in  the  last  quarter  century.    Young  men  and  misses 

Digitized  by  LjOOQLC 


HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  259 

in  their  teens  hold  certificates  to  teach  geography,  history,  physiology 
and  other  studies  unheard  of  years  ago. 

The  country  school  is  still  at  a  disadvantage  in  having  all  pupils 
from  the  A-B-C  tot  to  the  sixth-reader  class  mixed  in  one  room  under 
the  one  teacher's  charge;  and  this  condition  may  never  be  improved 
unless  an  economical  system  be  devised  for  the  transportation  of  pupils 
from  country  homes  to  graded  schools,-  giving  them  the  same  ad- 
vantages now  enjoyed  by  town  pupils.  Thorough  work  has  produced 
results  highly  creditable  to  the  teaching  profession  of  Coshocton 
County. 

A  tendency  toward  crowding  new  studies  upon  pupils  who  are  not 
sufficiently  drilled  in  fundamental  acquirements  of  correct  overy-day 
speech,  creditable  letter  writing,  and  a  general  knowledge  of  business 
and  government'  is  the  serious  defect  of  modern  educational  methods  in 
some  local  quarters.  There  is  also  a  question  regarding  the  wisdom 
of  the  Coshocton  High  School  curriculum  conforming  to  university 
entrance  requirements.  Under  that  system  the  study  of  dead  lan- 
guages is  a  preparatory  course  for  the  two  per  cent  of  our  high  school 
graduates  who  go  to  college,  but  for  the  ninety-eight  per  cent  it  is 
regarded  a  waste  of  time  which  were  much  better  utilized  along  the 
line  of  broad,  general  education.  The  present  educational  unrest  in 
the  nation  may  yet  abolish  the  dead  languages  from  the  universities, 
when  they  will  no  longer  be  retained  in  a  high-school  course  out  of 
dubious  regard  for  antiquated  prestige.  Any  change  in  the  direction 
of  specialization,  however,  is  subject  to  criticism;  for  which  reason 
the  expansion  of  manual  training  is  viewed  with  disfavor.  Valuable 
school  hours  consumed  by  boys  in  planing  l.oards,  and  by  girls  in  sew- 
ing on  buttons,  are  needed  for  more  important  work  in  such  limited  pe- 
riod of  mental  training.  The  use  of  the  hammer  and  saw  and  needle  is 
something  that  may  be  learned  in  their  place  out  of  school  just  as  much 
as  the  use  of  any  implement — miner's  pick,  farmer's  plow,  potter's 
wheel,  or  any  other.  And  when  we  discard  a  dead  language  it  is  not 
necessary  to  consume  the  student's  time  with  furniture-making.  That 
accomplishment  may  enable  him  to  undertake  light  house-keeping  with 
home-made  chairs  and  tables,  but  the  same  scliool  hours  devoted  to 
a  study  of  life-problems  would  benefit  him  much  more  in  the  days  of 
exercising  his  vote  to  eflfect  needed  improvements  in  economic  condi- 
tions, as,  for  instance,  our  taxing  system.    There  is  vital  need  for  the 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


260  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

voters  of  tomorrow  learning  more  of  citizenship,  its  powers  and  its 
duties.  The  political  unrest  in  the  country  is  strikingly  shown  in  the 
increase  in  the  Socialist  vote  of  Coshocton. 

Within  the  last  year  a  night  school  has  been  supported  by  the  tax- 
payers of  the  GDshocton  Union  School  district.  Eighty  pupils,  repre- 
senting both  sexes  and  ranging  in  age  from  fourteen  to  forty-five, 
came  to  the  four  teachers  to  be  taught  in  fundamental  studies,  the 
general  value  of  which  was  proved  to  these  pupils  by  experience  in 
the  world  of  bread-winning. 

Socially  the  city  of  Coshocton  is  free  from  elements  of  exclusive- 
ness  which  open  the  door  only  to  the  golden  key  or  the  ancestral 
knocker.  Were  W.  D.  Howells  to  rise  superior  to  his  Fifth  Avenue 
surroundings  which  give  him  an  exaggerated  idea  of  the  influence  of 
riches,  and  come  instead  into  the  greater  world  of  the  American  com- 
moner he  would  see  the  worker  an  honored  member  of  society;  he 
would  find  in  Coshocton  that  the  worker  is  not  excluded  from  fash- 
ionable functions,  the  dance,  the  reception,  the  card  party,  and  other 
diversions  of  society.  Literary  and  historical  clubs  and  lectures  are 
popular,  while  roller  polo,  the  theatre  and  moving-picture  shows  are 
the  amuements  of  the  hour,  with  baseball,  football  and  basketball 
in  season. 

Fraternal  organizations  are  widely  represented,  including  the 
Masons,  Elks,  Knights  of  Pythias,  Odd  Fellows,  Modern  Woodmen, 
Forresters  of  America,  United  American  Mechanics,  Maccabees, 
Catholic  Mutual  Benefit  Association,  Pathfinders,  National  Union, 
Protected  Home  Circle,  American  Insurance  Union,  Woman's  Relief 
Corps,  King's  Daughters,  and  women's  auxiliary  orders  in  various 
lodges.  The  Greek  letter  societies,  Phi  Sigma  Chi  and  Alpha  Pi,  were 
organized  by  Coshocton  High  School  graduates  in  recent  years. 

Religion  and  politics  have  been  wisely  kept  apart  by  public  senti- 
ment in  Coshocton  County,  exerting  a  certain  restraint  upon  elements 
which  would  convert  a  minister  of  the  gospel  into  a  political  wire- 
puller. But  occasionally  there  have  been  exceptions  when  a  misguided 
individual  has  imagined  his  position  in  the  pulpit  vested  in  him  a  polit- 
ical authority.  Such  a  one  made  an  assertion  to  the  writer  which 
shows  to  what  extent  personal  vanity  or  blind  egotism  is  excited  in 
one  become  drunk  with  power.  It  was  in  the  November  political  cam- 
paign of  1908,  after  the  clergyman  in  cjuestion  had  been  through  the 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON    COUNTY  261 

county  local  option  fight  the  previous  month  which  for  him  was  replete 
with  novel  experience.  There  were  days  in  succession,  he  related  im- 
pressively, when  his  clothes  were  never  off.  With  an  air  of  supreme 
confidence  he  declared  that  he  could  elect  or  defeat  any  man.  He  wrote 
letters  over  the  county  calling  on  voters  who  opposed  the  saloon  to 
support  candidates  whom  he  named  as  men  after  their  own  hearts. 
People  knew  how  ridiculously  the  facts  were  misrepresented  by  the 
amateur  politician  in  the  pulpit,  and  the  county  repudiated  his  selec- 
tions at  the  polls.  Soon  afterward  he  was  asked  to  resign  his  charge, 
and  he  left  the  church.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  any  future  political 
activity  in  which  he  may  enlist  will  be  freed  from  an  unholy  alliance 
with  a  probate  judge  who  treats  children's  snowballing  as  a  crime. 

Temperance  movements  in  Coshocton  County  are  described  in  Rev. 
William  E.  Hunt's. historical  writings  as  dating  back  to  the  days  of 
the  Washingtonians,  the  Sons  of  Temperance,  Cadets  of  Temperance, 
Good  Templars,  and  Women's  Leagues.  About  forty  years  ago  the 
saloon  issue  was  before  the  people  of  Coshocton  in  the  election  of  mayor 
and  council.  The  Citizens  ticket  which  represented  anti-saloon  forces 
was  elected  by  a  vote  of  143.  The  total  vote  for  all  tickets  was  350. 
The  new  council  passed  the  McConnellsville  ordinance  and  Mayor 
Hiram  Beall  vigorously  enforced  the  law,  closing  four  saloons  while 
others  were  placed  under  much  restraint.  The  historian  continues 
that  "The  taxpayers  grew  restive  under  the  expenses  of  trials,  and 
public  sentiment  failed  to  support  the  movement,  and  in  due  course 
put  into  the  controlling  municipal  places  those  who,  while  preserving 
the  form  of  the  ordinance,  had  no  sympathy  with  its  spirit." 

Four  years  later  women  in  Coshocton  organized  a  crusade,  visit- 
ing saloons,  praying  on  the  sidewalk  in  front  in  rain  and  snow,  ex- 
horting saloonkeepers  to  close  their  business.  Mass  meetings  were  held 
nightly,  and  prayer  meetings  in  the  mornings.  Men  were  asked  to 
sign  pledges  not  to  drink,  and  women  sat  near  saloons  as  pickets, 
blanketed  and  with  warm  bricks  at  their  feet.  Finally  saloons  sur- 
rendered their  stock,  with  the  understanding  that  they  would  be  paid 
for  it.  Barrel  heads  were  knocked  in  and  the  gutters  ran  with  liquor, 
while  the  bands  played,  the  church  and  courthouse  bells  rang,  men 
shouted,  and  women  sang  and  cried  and  prayed. 

Hunt's  Historical  Collections  continue:  "Then  came  a  lull. 
Prosecutions,  under  the  temperance  ordinance,  were  now  tried.  Money 

Digitized  by  LjOOQIC 


252  HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

was  wanted,  and  came  in  slowly.  Somehow  a  great  deal  of  liquor  was 
still  drunk.  With  little  observable  signs  of  trade — none  when  the 
pickets  were  around — the  breath  of  many  still  had  the  odor  of  beer, 
or  what  even  seemed  more  discouraging,  whisky;  because  indicating- 
a  readiness  to  take  stimulant  in  even  more  concentrated  and  damaging 
form." 

The  change  in  public  sentiment  appeared  in  the  next  election,  and 
soon  thereafter  the  ordinance  of  1870  underwent  changes.  Within 
six  months  after  the  beginning  of  the  crusade  Coshocton  had  more 
saloons  than  before. 

In  after  years  came  the  Beal  local  option  law,  and  under  it  town- 
ships in  this  county  ^noted  out  saloons. 

Last  October  22,  under  the  new  Rose  law,  an  election  was  held  by 
the  county  on  the  question  of  voting  out  the  saloons.  The  petition 
for  the  election  was  circulated  by  men  and  women  over  the  county. 
Church  bells  were  rung  before  the  election.  There  had  been  twenty- 
six  saloons,  all  in  the  city  of  Coshocton,  and  four  were  closed  several 
weeks  before  election.  The  county  option  fight  overshadowed  every 
other  issue  in  the  political  campaign  that  fall.  People  scarcely  gave  a 
thought  to  any  other  question,  even  of  such  national  importance  as 
the  election  of  a  President,  while  the  one  consideration  regarding  the 
public  policy  and  fitness  of  candidates  for  local  offices  was  the  ques- 
tion *'Are  you  wet  or  dry?'' 

The  county  option  election  drew  out  the  heaviest  vote  ever  polled 
in  the  county,  7,774.  It  resulted  in  an  anti-saloon  majority,  rolled  up 
by  the  townships  outside  Coshocton,  excepting  Crawford,  the  only  one 
in  the  country  that  voted  *\vet."  The  city  of  Coshocton  gave  a  wet 
majority  of  877,  but  so  large  was  the  dry  majority  in  the  county  that 
the  anti-saloon  vote  carried  the  county  by  5(S4. 

A  month  afterward  no  bar  in  the  city  sold  liquor.  A  few  dispensed 
near-l)eer  and  soda  water.  The  rest  were  succeeded  by  other  lines 
of  business. 

Coshocton  has  experienced  a  few  months  as  a  dry  town  as  this 
record  goes  to  press.  Much  liquor  is  bought  elsewhere  by  mail  and 
received  here  by  express  and  freight,  while  suitcases  are  known  to 
leave  Coshocton  empty  and  return  loaded  with  wet  goods.  Beer  drink- 
ing gave  way  to  the  whisky  bottle  in  the  hip  pocket. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


CHAPTER  XVII 

OUR  SOIL,  CLAY,  TIMBER  AND  CROPS  AS  VIEWED  BY 
GOVERNMENT  OBSERVERS  —  OIL  AND  NATURAL 
GAS  DEVELOPMENT— MARKET  CONDITIONS— FISH 
AND  GAME. 

In  the  U.  S.  Geological  Survey  of  clay  deposits  in  Ohio,  1903,  the 
government  expert  reports  that  the  best  clays  in  the  State  are  found 
in  the  coal  measures,  and  the  counties  which  these  underlie  include 
Coshocton.  The  report  adds  that  the  clay  deposit  known  as  the  Put- 
nam Hill  limestone  horizon  covers  a  coal  seam  called  the  Brookville 
coal,  and  a  valuable  clay  deposit  is  found  in  the  central  coal  measure 
counties  at  this  level.  This'  which  is  largely  worked  in  Muskingum 
County,  continues  in  good  volume  and  of  good  character  through  Co- 
shocton County,  where  it  forms  the  basis  of  the  important  building- 
brick  industry.  By  the  advanced  method  employed  here  there  is  a 
superior  product  manufactured,  impervious  to  moisture  and  of  a  va- 
riety of  attractive  buflf,  cream-colored  and  darker  terra-cotta  tints. 

Just  before  the  Civil  War  there  was  oil  extracted  from  the  cannel 
coal  in  the  hills  of  Bedford  Township  where  the  C,  A.  &  C.  now  runs 
to  Warsaw.  Colonel  Metham  and  William  Stanton  acquired  coal 
lands,  and  on  these  there  burned  the  fires  of  many  retorts  built  by 
companies  from  elsewhere.  The  upright  boiler-shaped  retorts  of  cast 
iron  were  filled  with  coal  and  heated  outside.  The  vapors  were  con- 
veyed through  the  worm,  and  about  forty  gallons  of  crude  oil  were  dis- 
tilled from  a  ton  of  coal. 

Then  came  the  great  strike  of  petroleum  oil  in  Pennsylvania,  and 
the  manufacture  of  oil  here  was  doomed. 

In  after  years  oil  prospecting  in  this  county  engaged  considerable 
capital.  There  was  drilling  in  various  sections,  but  few  wells  were 
located,  and  these  were  limited  producers.  Many  Coshocton  dollars 
went  into  a  hole  in  the  ground. 

263  Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


2<54  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

There  was  oil  prospecting  in  the  New  Castle  region  nearly  half  a 
century  ago,  and  gas  began  flowing. 

Drilling  on  W.  H.  Crawford's  land  in  Jackson  Township,  and  in 
the  Warsaw  region  took  place  in  earlier  stages  of  local  prospecting. 

Nine  years  ago  when  the  Scio  oil  boom  was  at  its  height  John  N. 
Kissner  prospected  in  Coshocton  County,  drilling  in  the  townships 
of  Tuscarawas,  Lafayette,  Franklin  and  White  Eyes.  On  the  Burt, 
Rogers  and  Miller  lands  along  the  Panhandle  a  flow  of  natural  gas 
is  still  supplying  part  of  West  Lafayette.  There  is  a  limited  produc- 
tion of  oil  on  John  Hall's  land  near  Coshocton. 

The  oil  production  in  the  Bloomfield  region  is  limited. 

The  most  recent  oil  prospecting  in  the  county  includes  the 
drilling  on  the  Wolfe  farm  half  a  mile  south  of  Isleta,  the  wells  sunk 
at  Helmick  and  Buckalew  Run,  and  the  developing  in  Linton  Town- 
ship near  Birds  Run  where  four  gas  w^ells  are  flowing  and  good  oil 
prospects  are  reported. 

The  topography  of  Coshocton  County  is  described  in  the  U.  S. 
Government  survey  as  belonging  partly  to  the  great  plateau  of  eastern 
Ohio.  The  surface  is  sharply  rolling  and  in  places  rough  and  hilly, 
the  hills  maintaining  a  general  summit  level  of  eleven  hundred  to 
twelve  hundred  feet  above  the  sea,  and  no  point  of  land  rising  to 
any  mountainous  height  above  the  surrounding  upland  country.  Our 
hills,  says  the  government  observer,  have  a  domelike  slope,  character- 
istic of  the  weathering  of  the  sandy  shales  of  the  region,  and  there 
are  no  ridges  of  any  considerable  extent. 

The  whole  county  is  drained  by  the  Muskingum  River,  which  is 
formed  near  the  county  center  by  the  confluence  of  the  Walhonding 
and  the  Tuscarawas.  From  this  point  three  beautiful  and  fertile  val- 
leys radiate  to  the  county  borders — the  Muskingum  to  the  south,  the 
Tuscarawas  to  the  east,  and  the  Walhonding  to  the  w^est. 

In  addition  to  the  alluvial  lands  of  these  valleys  there  are  areas 
along  Killbuck  Creek,  a  tributary  of  the  Walhonding,  where  a  broad 
valley  extends  northward'  and  along  Wills  Creek,  skirting  the  southern 
border  of  the  county,  while  a  strip  of  such  land  connects  the  valley 
of  Wills  Creek  and  the  Tuscarawas  valley — probably  a  former  channel 
of  the  Tuscarawas.  It  is  west  of  the  town  of  West  Lafayette,  parallel- 
ing the  present  valley  of  the  Tuscarawas,  from  which  it  is  separated 
by  a  broken  range  of  hills.     It  extends  southward,  merging  into  the 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


1 


PRESENT  OIL  DEVELOPMENT  NEAR  BLOOMFIELD. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


A8T0H     uL-  OV      ■' 
TILDEN   fOlJN.'  '     ■'" 


Digitized  by 


Google 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  265 

valley  of  Wills  Creek  near  Plainfield.  The  slopes  of  this  valley  are 
several  miles  in  width,  and  the  alluvial  land  ranges  in  width  from 
one-fourth  mile  to  a  mile. 

The  bottoms  along  the  rivers  average  almost  a  mile  in  width. 
The  sedimentary  materials  of  which  they  have  been  built  are  ar- 
ranged in  terraces,  five  of  which  may  be  counted  in  some  places,  but 
usually  only  three  are  well  marked.  The  lower  bottoms  are  so  little 
elevated  above  the  streams  that  they  are  subject  to  overflow  in  periods 
of  high  water.  The  surface  of  the  land  may  be  w^ashed  away  or  added 
to  by  the  floods.  Such  variations  may  amount  to  three  or  four  inches 
in  a  single  flood.  The  average  deposit  is  a  silty  loam,  but  quite  near 
the  river  beds  of  sand  or  gravel  may  be  thrown  down.  The  higher 
terraces,  standing  forty  to  sixty  feet  above  the  level  of  the  river, 
have  a  gently  rolling  surface  composed  of  gravelly  loam. 

The  hills,  with  their  covering  of  residual  material,  rise  abruptly 
above  the  valleys.  In  some  places,  as  in  the  upper  valley  of  the 
Walhonding,  the  rocks  rear  aloft  in  palisades  above  the  stream. 

Over  the  greater  part  of  the  county  the  prevailing  rock  is  a  sand- 
stone, a  specimen  of  which  is  exhibited  in  the  Museum  of  Natural 
History,  New  York. 

While  coal  may  be  seen  in  nearly  every  hill,  the  thickness  is  variable 
and  the  extent  of  the  bed  uncertain.  In  some  places  the  bed  attains 
a  thickness  of  more  than  three  feet;  in  others  it  pinches  out  entirely. 
The  easily  mined  deposits  on  nearly  every  farm  have  given  the  farmers 
an  abundant  supply  of  fuel  for  home  use,  and  many  of  them  derive 
an  income  by  mining  coal  for  the  market  when  the  farm  work  is  not 
pressing. 

The  DeKalb  silt  loam  occupies  the  whole  of  Coshocton  County, 
with  the  exception  of  the  stream  valleys.  The  original  rocks  that  made 
up  the  DeKalb  silt  loam  areas  contained  some  iron,  and  this  is  mani- 
fested in  the  soil  by  occasional  iron  concretions. 

Where  the  land  is  still  in  forests  of  hardwood  in  the  northern 
part  of  the  county  lumbermen  are  getting  out  ties  and  posts,  while 
considerable  Coshocton  County  timber  has  gone  into  ships  on  the 
Great  Lakes. 

The  Miami  loam  occurs  as  strips  along  the  Muskingum,  the  Tus- 
carawas, Walhonding  and  other  streams  which  have  developed  flood 
plains.    This  loam  is  pronounced  the  best  corn  land  of  the  area,  and 

Digitized  by  LjOOQIC 


266  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

the  valleys  of  the  principal  streams  have  long  been  famous  for  their 
production  of  corn. 

The  yield  of  corn  is  sometimes  as  much  as  sixty  to  eighty  bushels 
an  acre.     Timothy  hay  is  largely  produced  from  this  soil. 

The  Miami  gravelly  loam  occupies  the  higher  terraces  along  the 
larger  streams.  The  type  is  extensively  developed  near  West  Lafay- 
ette on  White  Eyes  Plain,  the  ancient  bed  of  a  vanished  river.  The 
other  extensive  development  is  around  Coshocton,  where  the  broad, 
level  terrace  of  this  material  forms  a  beautiful  location  for  the  town. 

The  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture  reports  that  "A  most  pleas- 
ing feature  of  the  economic  conditions  which  prevail  in  Coshocton 
County  is  the  comparatively  equal  distribution  of  wealth  among  the 
farmers.  As  a  general  rule  they  own  the  land  they  cultivate.  The 
barns  and  other  farm  buildings  are  well  constructed  and  suitable  for 
the  needs  of  the  present  system  of  agriculture.  The  dwellings  are 
usually  comfortable  two-storied  frame  buildings,  and  occasionally 
structures  of  brick.  Slate  is  invariably  used  for  roofing.''  In  recent 
years  houses  in  Coshocton  and  West  Lafayette  have  been  constructed 
of  cement  blocks. 

The  most  important  crops  of  Coshocton  County's  area  are  corn, 
hay,  and  wheat,  in  the  order  named.  The  average  annual  production 
of  corn  exceeds  a  million  bushels'  mostly  grown  on  the  river  lands. 
The  county's  average  yield  is  thirty-two  bushels  to  the  acre. 

Although  the  wheat  acreage  is  still  about  equal  to  that  of  corn, 
the  average  yield  is  only  twelve  bushels  an  acre.    Oats  yield  well. 

The  county  has  ranked  first  among  the  sheep-raising  counties  of 
Ohio,  and  is  still  among  the  leaders  in  fine-wool  breeds. 

Cattle  are  raised  chiefly  for  home  consumption  of  beef,  milk  and 
butter.  It  is  remarkable  that,  in  a  country  so  admirably  adapted  to 
grazing,  the  dairy  products  should  be  barely  sufficient  to  supply  the 
needs  of  the  local  markets,  and  sometimes  inadequate  even  for  this 
purpose.  In  the  last  winter  Coshocton  paid  thirty-two  cents  a  pound 
for  butter.  Eggs  were  forty  cents  a  dozen.  In  northeastern  town- 
ships for  years  much  milk  has  been  hauled  to  factories  making  Ohio 
Swiss  cheese. 

Coshocton  offers  a  profitable  market  for  all  kinds  of  country 
produce.    A  few  years  ago  Wednesday  and  Saturday  mornings  were 


Digitized  by 


Google 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  267 

designated  market  days  on  which   farmers   and   local   dealers   sell 
produce  from  wagons  on  the  curb  along  Courthouse  Square. 

A  State  improvement  to  develop  the  water  power  of  the  canals 
and  maintain  the  water  supply  between  Roscoe  and  Dresden  has  re- 
cently been  completed.  The  Walhonding  canal  has  been  widened  to 
forty  feet,  with  a  depth  of  six  and  a  half  feet. 

In  the  Six-Mile  dam,  where  the  water  of  the  Walhonding  is 
diverted  into  the  canal'  the  chute  for  'fish  to  flop  their  way  up  the 
center  of  the  dam  has  been  built  according  to  direction  of  the  State 
Fish  Commission. 

Our  rivers  are  the  home  of  the  pike,  that  tyrant  of  fresh  waters, 
as  our  salmon  is  the  king.  Large  and  small  mouthed  bass,  speckled 
bass  and  catfish  are  caught  here.  That  game  member  of  the  pike  fam- 
ily, the  muskellonge,  attains  considerable  size  here.  M.  G.  Hack, 
who  is  associated  with  C.  E.  Ransom  in  the  extensive  dry  goods  house 
of  Coshocton,  is  a  local  expert  with  rod  and  reel  who  won  the  Blue 
Hole  Fishing  Club  prize  with  a  24-pound  muskellonge  caught  in  the 
Tuscarawas  above  the  bridge  near  West  Lafayette.  There  is  much 
fishing  in  the  Walhonding  between  Coshocton  and  Warsaw,  and  also 
in  the  Muskingum.  A  41-pound  muskellonge  is  among  the  record 
catches  in  the  county. 

Quail,  duck,  rabbit  and  coon  are  favorite  game  here  for  hunters, 
and  the  man  with  the  gun  has  been  known  to  come  miles  from  cities 
to  shoot  Coshocton  game.  Fox  hunters  of  this  county  are  represented 
in  the  Central  Ohio  Sportsmen's  Association.  The  Game  Protective 
Association  to  prevent  poaching  and  to  uphold  the  game  laws  has  been 
organized  here.  The  county  is  noted  for  fine  bird  dogs  which  have 
won  prizes  in  leading  kennel  shows  of  the  country. 

Poultry  fanciers  in  the  county  have  exceptionally  high-class  rep- 
resentatives of  the  feathered  aristocracy. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


CHAPTER   XVIII 

THE  MEDICAL  PROFESSION— CHANGES  IN  A  CENTURY 
—  PROGRESS  AGAINST  QUACKERY  — THE  LOCAL 
NEED  FOR  A  HOSPITAL. 

In  all  its  hundred  years  the  community  was  never  without  those 
members  of  the  medical  profession  maintaining  always  the  highest 
ethical  standard.  The  enlightened  public  understanding  in  later  years 
has  aided  materially  in  discountenancing  methods  intolerable  to  the 
legitimate  practitioner.  The  physician  or  surgeon  giving  first  con- 
sideration to  the  welfare  of  the  community  is  unrelenting  in  opposing 
the  unscrupulous  element  which  exploits  healing  qualities  that  do 
not  heal. 

What  progress  there  has  been  here  against  quackery  may  be  in- 
ferred from  such  circumstances  as  that  eye-glass  humbug  who  paid 
for  local  newspaper  endorsements  of  his  treatment  of  eye  troubles  and 
who,  when  he  happened  to  call  at  a  home  where  a  victim  was  absent, 
cheerfully  asked  for  a  photograph  on  which  he  could  fit  the  glasses 
just  as  well.  At  least  that  particular  fraud  would  not  find  Coshocton 
money  quite  so  easy  in  these  times. 

The  fraudulent  use  of  the  title  of  doctor  has  misled  victims  in  the 
county  whose  health  as  a  result  has  suflfered  untold  misery ;  and  cases 
are  known  where  lives  were  sacrificed.  But  people  are  coming  to 
learn  that  no  honorable  physician  need  travel  over  the  land,  inviting 
the  sick,  the  lame  and  the  halt  to  come  to  a  hotel  for  free  consulta- 
tion. That  word  free  is  the  luscious  bait  at  which  ignorance  was  ever 
wont  to  nibble. 

The  hardships  of  long  drives  through  winter  and  storm  at  all 
hours  of  the  day  or  night  are  incidents  in  country  practice  known  to 
the  profession  of  the  county  today  as  they  were  known  to  physicians 
in  the  past.  For  the  public  the  coming  of  the  telephone  has  brought 
with  it  the  added  feeling  of  security  that  in  sudden  illness  the  doctor 

Digitized  by  LjOOQIC 


HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  289 

can  be  reached  at  once  instead  of  risking  dangerous  delay  by  driving 
miles  to  call  him. 

All  systems  of  medical  treatment  are  represented  here.  The  reg- 
ular practice'  or  allopathy,  prevails.  The  eclectic  system  is  followed 
by  some  physicians,  and  the  homeopathic  school  ranks  next  in 
number. 

The  city  needs  of  Coshocton  include  especially  a  hospital,  the  in- 
stitution which  the  community  at  large  would  find  advantageous, 
while  particularly  serviceable  in  the  accident  cases  attending  the 
present  extent  of  manufacturing  and  other  industrial  operations  in 
the  county.  Dr.  Jesse  McClain,  with  all  the  facihties  for  surgical 
cases  which  can  be  handled  under  existing  conditions,  impresses  the 
advantage  that  would  come  with  hospital  appliances  and  equipment 
for  treatment  of  cases  compelled  to  undertake  dangerous  trips  in  en- 
feebled condition  to  distant  hospitals. 

One  of  the  most  wholesome  changes  in  public  sentiment  is  the  dis- 
appearance of  the  oldtime  prejudice  against  going  to  a  hospital.  Peo- 
ple have  come  to  realize  that  the  suflferer's  welfare  is  to  be  trusted 
to  the  care  of  an  institution  where  everything  is  especially  provided 
for  the  sick,  and  where  trained  nurses  prove  an  efficient  auxiliary  to 
the  doctor's  care. 

The  Coshocton  County  Medical  Society,  organized  in  recent  years, 
meets  quarterly  in  the  Carnegie  Library.  Dr.  E.  C.  Carr  is  Presi- 
dent. His  is  a  medical  family.  His  son  is  practicing  in  Chicago,  and 
his  father,  Dr.  J.  G.  Carr,  has  been  longest  in  the  practice  of  any  of 
the  present  physicians  in  the  county. 

Local  members  of  the  profession  have  been  called  to  fill  various 
public  offices,  as  told  elsewhere.  The  office  of  coroner,  now  filled  by 
Dr.  J.  D.  Lower,  has  been  assigned  to  doctors  for  years. 

The  U.  S.  Board  of  Examining  Surgeons,  passing  on  cases  of  ap- 
plicants for  soldiers'  pensions  in  this  county  consists  at  present  of 
Dr.  J.  G.  Carr  of  Coshocton,  Dr.  F.  H.  Yarnell  of  West  Lafayette, 
and  Dr.  A.  M.  Henderson  of  Roscoe. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


CHAPTER  XIX 

COSHOCTON  NOTES— BANKING— COUNTY  FAIR— WORK 
OF  BRUSH  AND  PEN— OUR  SUCCESSES  ABROAD— 
*^AND  THE  WITCHERY  NE'ER  LEAVES  YOU  ONCE 
YOU  CALL  COSHOCTON  HOME." 

Half  a  century  ago  the  sign  of  a  bank  marked  a  5x16  room  in 
Second  Street,  Coshocton,  where  notes  were  shaved  by  James  M. 
Brown,  afterward  implicated  in  the  county  treasury  robbery.  The 
county's  strong-box  was  endangered  a  subsequent  time  when  entrance 
was  effected  through  a  basement  window  in  the  courthouse.  Marks 
of  the  jimmy  may  be  seen  today  on  the  hall  door  of  the  treasurer's 
office,  and  in  the  door  of  the  vault  is  a  hole  made  by  a  drill,  but  the 
cracksman  became  alarmed  and  fled. 

The  beginning  of  general  banking  here  was  by  \V.  K.  Johnson 
&  Co.  about  1852,  and  twenty  years  later  the  business  was  conducted 
by  John  G.  Stewart.  The  assignment  by  the  Stewart  bank  in  1885 
caused  serious  losses. 

The  Farmers'  Bank  was  started  by  J.  P.  and  Alfred  Peck  and 
Samuel  Irvine  who  later  was  succeeded  by  Charles  E.  Spangler.  In 
i8c)7  the  bank  went  into  the  hands  of  a  receiver,  George  A.  Hay,  who 
was  enabled  to  pav  eighty-five  per  cent  to  creditors.  The  settlement 
of  other  accounts  was  in  charge  of  Alfred  Peck. 

Thomas  C.  Ricketts  established  a  banking  house  in  Coshocton  in 
1855,  and  in  1872  organized  the  First  National  Bank  in  association 
with  Houston,  Jackson  and  F.  C.  Hay,  and  Henry  C.  Herbig,  cashier. 
This  institution,  the  Commercial  National  Bank  of  today,  has  reached 
a  record  of  more  than  a  million  dollars  in  deposits.  The  present  of- 
ficers include  J.  W.  Cassingham,  President;  E.  L.  Lybarger,  Vice- 
President;  R.  B.  Caldwell,  Cashier;  W.  J.  Winters,  Assistant  Cashier. 
The  first  three  are  associated  with  the  following  as  directors :  George 
A.  Hay,  John  H.  Hay,  David  Davis,  B.  Worth  Ricketts,  Charles  B. 
Hunt,  John  Lorenz. 

^^^  Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  271 

In  1898  the  Coshocton  National  Bank  began  business,  advancing 
in  a  few  years  to  a  strong  position  in  financial  affairs  of  the  commun- 
ity. The  officers  are:  M.  Q.  Baker,  President;  W.  R.  Pomerene, 
Vice-President;  T.  L.  Montgomery,  Cashier;  Merrel  B.  Smith,  As- 
sistant Cashier.  With  the  first  three  the  following  serve  as  directors : 
H.  C.  Strong,  F.  E.  Pomerene,  E.  O.  Selby,  Ed.  H.  Wilson, 
Dr.  H.  R.  McCurdy,  W.  A.  Himebaugh. 

In  1903  the  People's  Banking  and  Trust  Company  was  established 
in  Coshocton,  and  in  the  six  years  to  date  the  deposits  have  been  in- 
creasing toward  the  half-million  mark.  The  officers  consist  of  J.  L. 
Rue,  President;  E.  W.  Adams,  George  M.  Gray  and  T.  H.  Wheeler, 
Vice-Presidents;  R.  H.  Mills,  Cashier;  L.  E.  Baughman,  Assistant 
Cashier ;  C.  H.  Magruder,  Teller.  Besides  the  first  four  the  directors 
include:  L.  P.  Gallagher,  F.  M.  Marshall,  P.  C.  Shipps,  M.  T.  Moore- 
head,  W.  B.  Litten,  O.  P.  McGinnis,  A.  P.  Stewart,  J.  A.  Hesket 
James  Scott,  D.  G.  Whittemore,  H.  M.  Ewing. 

In  Warsaw  the  Farmers  and  Merchants  Bank  Company  was  es- 
tablished 1901.  The  officers  are  Adam  Strome,  President;  James  L. 
Beck,  Vice-President;  Frank  E.  Whittemore,  Cashier.  The  five 
directors  include  the  first  two  officers  and  W.  W.  Frederick,  Eugene 
Laughlin  and  James  H.  Elder. 

In  West  Lafayette,  1902,  the  West  Lafayette  Bank  Company  be- 
gan business.  The  officers  include  William  Gorseline,  President;  T. 
J.  Piatt,  Vice-President;  H.  A.  Sicker,  Cashier;  E.  A.  Leighninger, 
Assistant  Cashier.  In  addition  to  the  president  and  vice-president 
the  directory  comprises  J.  L.  Rogers,  F.  R.  Klein,  I.  B.  Mizer,  Henry 
Rehard  and  Robert  Porteus. 

Among  Coshocton's  financial  institutions  are  the  Home  Building, 
Loan  and  Savings  Company,  organized  1882.  John  C.  Fisher  is 
President;  W.  A.  Himebaugh,  Secretary;  T.  L.  Montgomery, 
Treasurer. 

The  Citizens  Building  and  Loan  Association  began  operations  in 
Coshocton  1892.  The  officers  are  W.  A.  Mizer,  President;  G.  F. 
Schauweker,  Vice-President;  C.  B.  Hunt,  Secretary  and  Treasurer. 

From  the  first  county  fair  held  in  1850  at  Plainfield  and  the  sub- 
sequent fairs  held  in  the  Court  Square,  and  in  Hickory  Street,  with 
the  racing  on  the  Canal  Lewisville  road,  and  the  fairs  of  the  sixties   ^ 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


272  HISTORY    OF    COSHOCTON    COUNTY 

held  between  Orange  and  Main  streets  and  then  along  Chestnut  Street- 
there  has  been  much  progress  to  the  present  annual  October  gather- 
ings on  the  beautiful  fairgrounds  along  South  Seventh  Street.  The 
fine  grove  of  oaks,  the  exhibit  buildings,  including  the  auditorium  seat- 
ing three  thousand,  where  the  annual  Chautauqua  is  held,  and  the 
half-mile  race  track  altogether  constitute  one  of  the  best  fairgrounds 
in  the  State. 

The  vast  throng  that  attends  is  an  impressive  feature  of  the  show. 
Sometimes  thirty  thousand  people  are  there.  They  see  the  exhibits 
typical  of  the  new  era  that  came  in  with  the  harvesting  machine  and 
the  newer  day  of  the  automobile  that  rolls  by  the  mound  of  a  perished 
race.  The  thousands  today  see  greater  speed  and  more  pure-bred 
horses  of  various  strains,  and  cattle  and  sheep  of  finer  quality  than 
the  visitors  of  pioneer  days  saw. 

The  medley  of  the  county  fair  is  a  Noah's  ark  of  sights  and  sounds 
set  in  a  surging  sea  of  humanity.  The  stentorian  notes  of  the  pop- 
corn vender ;  the  music  of  the  merry-go-rouhd ;  the  cries  of  the  balloon 
man;  the  bellowing  of  cattle;  the  strident  ''Yip-ee!"  of  the  driver  lean- 
ing forward  in  his  sulky  and  urging  his  horse  to  strain  still  harder ; 
a  medley  of  squeals,  toots,  bleats,  whoops,  and  cackles — these  are  the 
sounds  of  the  fair. 

In  the  faster  pace  of  modern  Coshocton  life  has  come  the  new  fire 
protection  succeeding  the  old  hose-cart  volunteer  days  and  the  older 
bucket  brigade.  A  combination  truck — hose,  chemical  and  ladder — 
is  installed  in  the  Fire  Department  building  in  the  heart  of  the  city, 
at  Walnut  and  Eighth  streets.  Harry  Fink  is  chief;  J.  I.  Tracewell, 
captain;  Isaac  Ralston,  driver;  Thomas  McDermott,  assistant;  these 
firemen  work  in  conjunction  with  the  volunteer  service  of  forty  mem- 
bers of  whom  Frank  Lightell  is  the  Chief.  There  are  three  horses. 
An  improved  alarm  system  has  been  installed  with  electric  call-boxes 
distributed  over  the  city.    This  is  tested  daily. 

The  speed  in  starting  to  a  fire  is  shown  by  the  test  when,  on  the 
stroke  of  the  gong,  the  men  upstairs  slide  down  on  the  pole  and  jump 
to  their  places  on  the  truck,  while  the  horses,  already  released  by  the 
^larm  which  has  automatically  opened  the  stall  doors,  place  themselves 
under  the  harness  which  drops  on  them  with  a  snap,  and  the  street 
doors  fly  open,  ready  for  the  start — and  all  this  in  ten  seconds.     A 

Digitized  by  LjOOQLC 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  273 

mile  run  in  the  summer  uphill  through  Cambridge  Street  to  the  city 
limits  was  covered  in  three  minutes  and  forty  seconds  from  the  mo- 
ment the  alarm  was  turned  in. 

With  the  development  of  pictorial  advertising  in  the  metal-sign 
industry  of  Coshocton  the  city  has  welcomed  the  advent  of  decoratve 
artists,  painters  and  lithographers.  That  there  is  talent  here  in  other 
than  the  commercial  field  is  show^n  in  beautiful  studies  that  belong  to 
pure  art,  which  after  all  is  in  nowise  diflferent  from  the  experience 
of  Royal  Academy  painters  whose  work  has  been  used  to  advertise 
soap,  illustrate  books  and  magazines,  and  for  wall-paper  designing. 

The  mural  painting  by  Arthur  Wm.  Woelfle  in  the  courthouse 
perpetuates  the  historic  scene  of  Bouquet's  treaty  with  the  Indians. 
In  this  oil  the  painter  lives  permanently  in  Coshocton  memory.  He 
has  chosen  his  subject — a  primeval  expression  of  justice  in  this  region 
— with  a  fine  instinct  for  its  historical  value  and  fitness  in  the  modern 
temple  of  justice.  The  work  is  a  departure  from  the  familiar  style 
of  decorative  design  wherein  an  artist's  motive  is  traced  in  fair  women 
and  diaphanous  draperies. 

In  the  list  of  Coshocton  men  who  have  won  distinction  elsewhere 
are  names  widely  known  over  the  country.  Three  states  have  chosen 
Coshocton  governors — Governor  Stone  of  Iowa,  Governor  Eaton  of 
Colorado  who  attended  the  West  Bedford  school,  and  Governor 
Coe  Crawford  of  South  Dakota,  now  U.  S.  Senator,  who  taught  school 
in  Coshocton  County 

Iowa  has  honored  several  citizens  from  our  county,  including 
Josiah  Given,  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court ;  James  Matthews,  Chan- 
cellor of  the  Iowa  State  University;  Cato  Sells,  U.  S.  District 
Attorney. 

Other  Coshoctonians  w^ho  have  attained  prominence  include  Jo- 
seph Burns  Crowley,  Congressman  from  Illinois;  Lester  Still,  judge 
in  the  Superior  Court,  State  of  Washington;  W.  S.  Crowell,  consul 
to  Amoy,  China;  the  Rev.  Dr.  Ezra  Fisk,  lecturer  and  writer. 

A  year  ago  Charles  F.  La  Serre  was  accredited  United  States 
V'ice-Consul  General  to  the  Kingdom  of  Portugal,  an  appointment 
purely  on  merit,  in  keeping  with  the  principle  of  the  State  Department 
to  lift  this  branch  of  the  government  above  politics.  Mr.  La  Serre 
is  a  representative  of  a  distinguished  family  that  traces  its  ancestry 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


274  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

back  to  the  eighth  century,  through  genealogical  history  of  the  peers 
of  France,  and  thirteen  hundred  years  ago  to  Spanish  ancestry  asso- 
ciated with  the  fortunes  of  the  Princes  of  the  House  of  Anjou. 

Erman  J.  Ridgway,  publisher  of  Everybody's  Magazine,  New 
York,  is  from  this  section,  and  holds  a  Coshocton  County  teacher's 
certificate.  Throughout  the  land  Coshocton  is  heard  from.  Her  rep- 
resentatives are  on  the  bench,  the  rostrum,  the  stage,  in  the  music 
world — prominent  in  the  professions  and  in  the  business  affairs  of 
larger  fields.  In  Columbus  a  Coshocton  County  Society  organized  a 
few  years  ago,  and  in  Pittsburg  a  Coshocton  colony  has  assembled  in 
social  functions  at  the  home  of  Vice-President  Marsh  of  the  Standard 
Underground  Cable  Company  who  came  to  this  county  for  his  bride. 
Among  these  is  cherished  the  "ola  nome  feeling''  for  Coshocton,  the 
sentiment  that  endures  in  loyal  hearts,  as  expressed  in  the  lines  of  C. 
D.  Brooke  whose  ability  to  furnish  gems  does  not  stop  at  his  jewelry 
counter — 

Where  the  rivers  meet  and  mingle 

In  a  long  and  fond  embrace, 
And  the  rugged  hills  are  wrinkled 
Like  an  ancient  warrior's  face, 
Looking  out  upon  fair  valleys 

With  their  yellow  tasseled  corn. 
Here  in  days  agone  and  misty 
Was  an  infant  city  born. 

In  the  silent  leafy  forest 

Rang  the  ax  notes  loud  and  clear; 
From  the  willows  by  the  river 

Peeps  the  wond'ring  startled  deer, 
As  the  crashing  forest  monarchs 

Strike  the  earth  with  sullen  roar; 
And  the  Red  Man  turns  with  sorrow 

From  the  land  he'll  know  no  more. 

Like  the  slug  in  heart  of  roses 

Leaves  destruction  in  its  train. 
On  this  battlefield  of  nature 

Are  the  blackened  trunks  of  slain; 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  275 

And  the  plowshare  hides  forever 

From  the  skulking  Indian  gaze 
Well-known  spots  of  trail  and  campfire 

In  the  waving  fields  of  maize. 

Silent,  swiftly,  as  the  river. 

Years  glide  on  with  steady  pace. 
And  a  village  named  Coshocton, 

Christened  by  an  alien  race 
In  the  language  of  that  other 

Vanished  toward  the  setting  sun, 
Leaving  but  this  foster  mother 

To  the  stronger,  mightier  one. 

Old  the  settlers  grew  and  feeble. 

Drooping  forms  and  hair  snow-white, 
One  by  one  laid  down  their  burden. 

Passed  from  twilight  into  night, 
Leaving  sturdy  sons  and  daughters 

To  perpetuate  the  name 
Of  the  city  founded  by  them. 

And  to  bring  Coshocton  fame. 

When  the  war  clouds  gathered  thickly 

In  the  distant,  sunny  South, 
And  brave  men  were  called  to  battle. 

Face  the  sword  and  cannon's  mouth, 
Then  this  Indian  foster  mother 

Showed  her  foes  that  hearts  of  steel 
Dwelt  within  her  sons'  blue  jackets 

On  those  bloody  battlefields. 


Now  throughout  this  grand  old  nation 

And  afar  on  foreign  soil 
You  will  see  the  name  Coshocton 

On  the  products  of  her  toil ; 
And  from  stacks  so  tall  and  stately 

Out  upon  the  morning  air 


Digitized  by 


Google 


276  HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

Flow  the  tangled  smoky  tresses 
Like  an  Indian  maiden's  hair. 

And  the  witchery  never  leaves  you 

Once  you  call  Coshocton  home; 
Ever  there  remains  a  longing 

Clinging  closely  while  you  roam, 
To  her  absent  sons  and  daughters 

Seems  to  whisper  **Come  to  me;" 
And  while  memory  doth  linger 

Hearts  will  ever  turn  to  thee. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


CHARLES  F.  GOSSER. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


ASTOh       t..  ov         ^ 

■LDEN^.UN- 


Digitized  by 


Google 


BIOGRAPHICAL 


CHARLES    F.    GOSSER. 

There  is  perhaps  in  Coshocton  no  better  representative  of  the  spirit  of 
the  age  than  Charles  F.  Gosser,  a  young  man  of  broad  outlook,  of  keen 
disc*ernraent  and  of  sound  judgment,  who  realizes  that  one  must  be  thorough 
and  efficient  and  at  the  same  time  must  x)Ossess  a  progressiveness  that  enables 
him  to  keep  i>ace  with  the  onward  march  that  is  manifest  in  the  business 
world.  While  meeting  with  well  earned  and  well  merited  succes?,  he  has 
at  the  same  time  contributed  in  substantial  measure  to  Coshocton's  com- 
mercial and  industrial  development  and  not  the  least  of  his  important  acts 
in  this  connection  was  in  securing  the  astablishment  in  the  city  of  what  is 
now  one  of  its  most  important  productive  concerns — the  Pope-Ciosser  China 
Company.  A  native  of  Ca-hocton,  he  is  a  son  of  (leorge  and  Anna  Gosser, 
the  former  born  in  Alsa<*e-Loraine,  France,  and  the  latter  in  Carroll  county, 
Ohio,  in  1833.  The  father  wi\s  eight  years  of  age  when  in  1840  he  came 
to  the  United  States  with  his  parents  and  for  many  yeai-s  he  remained  a  resi- 
dent of  Coshocton.  In  the  public  schools  of  this  city  Charles  F.  Ga«ser  pur- 
sued his  studies  until  he  com|)leted  the  course  by  graduation  in  the  class  of 
1885,  being  at  that  time  seventeen  years  of  age.  Immediately  afterward 
he  made  his  initial  step  in  the  business  world  as  an  apprentice  to  the  watch- 
maker's  trade  under  William  Burns,  the  jeweler.  He  could  never  be  con- 
tent with  mediocrity  in  any  line  nor  with  superficial  knowledge  of  any  busi- 
ness to  which  he  directed  his  attention.  This  quality  prompted  him  to  gain 
a  thorough  knowledge  of  watchmaking  and  to  this  end  he  attended  the 
Horological  Institute,  where  he  completed  a  course  in  practical  and  theoret- 
ical horology  in  1892.  The  following  year  he  purchased  a  half  interest  in 
the  jewelry  business,  in  which  he  still  continues,  being  now  junior  partner 
of  the  well  known  firm  of  Burns  &  Gosser.  They  carry  a  large  and  well 
selected  line  of  watches,  diamonds  and  jewelry  and  in  this  department  re- 
ceive a  liberal  support  from  the  public.  They  also  have  an  optical  goods 
department  and  their  increasing  trade  in  this  connection  again  aroused  Mr. 

^'  Digitized  by  V^OOgle 


280  HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON    COUNTY 

(ioK-^crV  (IL^jHKsition  to  be  thorough  in  his  knowledge  of  the  subject.  He 
therefore  went  to  New  York,  where  he  pursued  a  complete  course  in  two 
(»l)tifal  ."^ehools,  receiving  diplonia.s  from  both.  He  also  took  a  course  in 
metal  engraving  under  the  uu\4  proficient  iiu^tructors  in  the  country. 

The  great  majority  of  men  feel  that  it  i<  enough  to  attain  a  fair  measure 
'  of  8ucce.s<  in  one  line  but  Mr.  (i(xsser,  although  yet  hardly  in  the  prime  of 
life,  Inis  manife.-ted  his  ability  and  demonstrated  his  power  in  several  fields 
of  busine***'^  activity.  As  a  member  of  the  advisory  board  of  the  Merchants' 
Electric  Light  and  Power  Company  he  was  i)rominently  identified  with  the 
establishment  and  constniction  of  Coshocton's  system  of  hot  water  heating 
from  a  central  station, — an  enterprise  which  was  regarded  by  the  public 
as  a  mo-t  hazardous  one  but  which  time  has  |)roven  to  be  one  of  the  city's 
greatest  and  most  ai)preciated  public  utilities,  while  to  its  owners  it  yields 
a  fair  remuneration.  Mr.  (fOs-;er  wits  actively  associated  with  the  installa- 
tion and  management  of  the  municipal  electric  light  plant  and  later  added 
the  central  heat  plant.  However,  he  retired  from  the  electric  light  com- 
pany in  190.'i  to  i)romote  and  establish  the  Pope-(fosser  China  Company,  of 
which  he  is  now  the  secretary  and  treasurer  and  one  of  the  principal  stock- 
holders, devoting  his  attention  largely  to  the  management  of  its  interests. 
Since  the  organization  of  the  board  of  trade  of  Coshocton  he  has  been  most 
active  in  its  work,  serving  from  the  beginning  as  director  and  vice  presi- 
dent, while  later  he  wa-?  honored  with  the  presidency.  In  all  of  his  oflicial 
capacities  he  has  labored  indefatigably  to  secure  new  industries  for  Coshoc- 
ton and  it  was  through  his  efforts  that  the  present  china  manufacturing 
company  was  formed.  It  has  only  been  since  a  comparatively  recent  dat^ 
that  the  ceramic  art  ha*^  been  develoj)ed  in  the  United  State-,  prior  to  which 
time  the  finest  articles  of  this  character  came  from  Fnuice.  Germany,  England 
and  other  old  world  countries.  In  more  recent  years,  however,  the  skill  of 
American  artisans  and  artists  has  brought  the  product  of  their  own  kilns  to 
such  a  high  degree  that  it  is  now  no  longer  necessary  to  go  abroad  for  wares 
of  the  finest  texture  and  of  the  most  artistic  mold  and  decoration.  Evi- 
dence of  this  is  seen  in  the  output  of  the  Pope-Gosser  China  Company,  con- 
sisting of  plain  and  decorated  semiporcelain  dinner  and  toilet  ware.  Al- 
ready the  new  company  has  won  for  it-elf  a  prominent  place  in  industrial 
circles  and  the  business  has  become  one  of  the  most  important  industries  of 
the  city.  The  plant  was  constructed  for  its  present  use.  The  building  is  of 
brick,  three  hundred  and  fifteen  by  ninety  feet,  and  three  stories  and  base- 
ment in  height  in  the  main  portion  and  two  stories  in  the  other  part.  The 
plant  is  thoroughly  equipped  with  the  ma*t  improved  modern  machinery  for 
manufacture  of  this  character.  The  oflicers  of  the  company  are:  I.  Bentley 
Pope,  president;  William  Burns,  vice  president;  and  C.  F.  Gosser,  secretary 
and  treasurer.  This  constitutes  a  strong  combination,  for  the  president  is  a 
man  of  world-wide  reputation  as  a  practical  potter  and  decorator,  while  Mr. 
Gov-ser  is  recognized  as  a  man  of  marked  executive  ability  and  enterprise 
in  business  circles. 

Politically  he  is  a  democrat  but  without  desire  for  office.  He  was  reared 
in  the  faith  of  the  Pre-byterian  church  and  his  fraternal  relations  are  with 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  281 

the  Masoiu-,  the  Knights  of  Pythias  and  the  Elk:<.  Coshocton  is  proud  to 
number  him  among  her  native  sons,  for  he  has  made  for  himself  a  prom- 
inent place  in  business  circles  as  one  whose  force  of  character  and  keen  in- 
sight into  complex  situations  enables  him  to  bring  to  successful  completion 
whatever  he  undertakes. 


A.    RIPPL. 


A.  Rippl  is  an  enterprising  and  progressive  citizen,  well  know^n  in  bus- 
iness circles  in  West  Lafayette  and  Coshocton  county  as  a  manufacturer  of 
wood,  iron  and  steel  novelties  for  advertising  purposas,  and  although  he  has 
thus  been  identified  only  since  the  summer  of  1906  he  has  already  built  up 
an  extensive  patronage  and  gained  a  wide  reputation. 

Mr.  Rippl  is  a  native  son  of  the  county,  born  in  Bakersville,  October 
18,  1867,  a  son  of  Joseph  and  Maria  (Busier)  Rippl,  both  natives  of  Ger- 
many, the  latter  of  Wurtemberg.  The  father  emigrated  to  the  United  States 
in  1847,  at  which  time  he  located  in  Coshocton,  where  he  worked  at  the 
wagonmaker's  trade,  having  learned  the  same  in  his  native  land.  After 
spending  three  years  in  that  city  he  took  up  his  abode  in  Bakersville,  con- 
tinuing to  work  at  his  trade  until  the  time  of  his  death.  He  was  killed  in 
1893  by  a  tree  falling  on  him  and  had  reached  the  advanced  age  of  seventy- 
five  years.  The  mother  pa-^^sed  to  her  final  rest  two  years  previous  or  in 
1891,  when  she  was  sixty-five  years  of  age.  Their  family  numbered  five  chil- 
dren, as  follows:  George,  a  resident  of  Black  Band,  Ohio;  F.  J.,  of  Coshoc- 
ton; Mrs.  Elizabeth  Krantz,  who  makes  her  home  in  Canal  Dover,  this  state; 
A.,  of  this  review;  and  Clara,  of  Alliance,  Ohio. 

Mr.  Rippl  acquired  his  education  in  the  common  schools  and  spent  the 
period  of  his  boyhood  and  youth  under  the  parental  roof,  during  which  time 
he  worked  in  his  father's  establishment.  In  1884  he  took  up  the  study  of 
telegraphy  and  when  he  became  proficient  in  that  line  secured  the  position 
of  operator  with  the  Cleveland,  Lorain  &  Wheeling  Railroad  Company  at 
Massillon,  and  later  at  Canal  Dover.  After  a  period  of  eight  years,  however, 
he  abandoned  that  business  and  returned  to  Bakersville  and  eniered  his 
father's  wagon  shop.  He  soon  installed  machinery  and  in  1893  began  the 
manufacture  of  wooden  novelties.  His  business  grew  and  Mr.  Rippl  event- 
ually decided  to  locate  in  a  larger  place,  where  he  might  enjoy  better  rail- 
road facilities.  The  West  Lafayette  Manufacturing  Company  hearing  of 
Mr.  Rippl's  intentions  pnrcha.<ed  his  plant  and  made  him  manager  of  the 
concern.  However,  owing  to  dissatisfaction  in  regard  to  the  agreement  made, 
Mr.  Rippl  resigned.  He  then  entered  the  employ  of  the  IT.  D.  Beach  Com- 
pany but  after  a  brief  period  thus  spent  he  returned  to  his  old  home  in  West 
Lafayette  and  in  the  summer  of  1006  built  his  present  factory  at  a  cost  of 
about  four  thousand  dollars.  He  then  began  the  manufacture  of  wood,  iron 
and  steel  novelties  for  advertising  purposes  and  has  now  built  up  a  large 
trade,  having  cleared  his  plant  of  all  indebtedness.     He  has  based  his  busi- 

f  Google 


Digitized  by  ^ 


282  HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON    COUNTY 

ne.s.^  principle^i  and  action.^  upon  strict  adherciur  to  the  rule^?  which  govern 
economy,  indiustry  and  unswerving  integrity,  and  has  reached  a  prominent 
pa^ition  in  the  busincf^s  circles  of  Coshocton  county. 

Mr.  Rippl  was  married  on  the  19th  of  November,  1893,  the  lady  of  hLs 
choice  being  Miss  Jennie  Taylor,  who  was  born  in  Tuscarawa.^  county,  this 
state,  June  2,  1809,  the  only  child  of  Richard  and  Rebecca  (Phillips)  Tay- 
lor, who  are  now  living  retired  in  Bakersville,  the  father  having  attained  the 
age  of  sixty-five  years,  while  his  wife  is  one  year  hi^  junior.  The  marriage  of 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Rippl  has  been  blessed  with  six  children:  Mary,  Joseph,  Waive, 
(Jeorge,  Ruth  and  Harold. 

Mr.  Ripj)l  Ls  a  democrat  in  his  political  views,  while  his  religious  faith  is 
indicated  by  lii^  membership  in  the  German  Reformed  church,  and  his  wife 
holds  membership  in  the  United  Brethren  church.  His  fraternal  relatione 
are  with  the  Masonic  lodge.  No.  17r),  at  New  Comerstown,  the  Knight^!  of 
Pythias  at  Bakersville:  and  Bakersville  Camp,  No.  521B.  M.  W.  A.  His  life 
has  been  one  of  contiiuioiL<  activity,  in  which  has  been  accorded  due  recog- 
nition of  lalmr,  and  today  he  stands  among  the  successful  business  men  of 
West  Lafavette  and  Coshocton  countv. 


S.  R.  McCORMICK. 

S.  R.  AfcCormick,  a  prosperous  and  well  known  agriculturist  of  Keene 
township,  was  born  on  the  farm  where  he  now  resides  on  the  28th  of  Febru- 
ary, 1865,  his  parents  being  William  and  Mary  Ann  (Lockard)  McCormick. 
The  father's  birth  occurred  in  Ireland  in  1830  and  in  1842  ho  accompanied 
hi^  parents  on  their  emigration  to  the  Ignited  States,  making  his  home  here 
until  the  time  of  his  demise  in  1884.  The  mother  of  our  subje^'t  is  a  native 
of  Coshocton  county  and  Ls  still  living,  having  no\V  attained  the  age  of  seventy 
years.  Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  William  McCormick  were  born  five  children, 
namely:  Melville,  a  re.sident  of  Keene  township;  S.  R.,  of  this  review; 
M.  H.,  who  is  living  in  Coshocton;  and  Robert  and  Lloyd,  who  have  passed 
away. 

S.  R.  McCormick  supplemented  his  preliminary  education  by  a  high- 
school  course  and  when  seventeen  yeai^  of  age  entered  a.  store  in  the  capacity 
of  clerk,  being  thus  engaged  for  two  years.  He  then  erected  an  elevator  at 
Fresno  and  was  succes.-?fully  engaged  in  it^  operation  for  three  years,  on  the 
expiration  of  which  period  he  sold  out  and  bought  the  farm  of  two  himdred 
and  foi'ty  acres  in  Keene  township  on  which  he  has  since  resided.  He  has 
placed  many  substantial  improvements  on  the  property  and  in  addition  to 
the  work  of  general  farming  makes  a  specialty  of  handling  registered  stock, 
principally  delaine  sheep.  Alert,  energetic  and  enterprising,  he  has  met  with 
prasperity  in  his  undertakings  and  is  widely  recognized  as  one  of  the  repre- 
sentative and  progressive  agriculturists  of  the  community. 

In  1882  Mr.  McCormick  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Columbia 
Daugherty.  wha«e  birth   occurred   in   Adams  township.  May  13,   18G4,  her 

Digitized  by  LjOOQIC 


HISTORY   OF    COSHOCTON   COUNTY  283 

parents  being  Nathan  and  Elizabeth  (Powell)  Daugherty.  The  father,  born 
in  Jeiferson  county,  Ohio,  February  28,  1830,  parsed  away  on  the  1st  of 
May,  1908,  while  the  mother,  whose  birth  occurred  in  Adams  township, 
January  7,  1832,  was  called  to  her  final  rest  in  1864.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Daugherty 
had  three  children,  two  of  whom  died  in  infancy.  Unto  our  subject  and  his 
wife  were  born  six  children:  Clyde.  E.,  at  home;  Nellie,  who  is  a  graduate 
of  the  Keene  high  school  and  is  still  at  home;  French,  a  resident  of  Bureau 
county,  Illinois;  Stacy;  Walter,  deceased;  and  Rollin. 

Mr.  McCormick  gives  stalwart  allegiance  to  the  men  and  measures  of 
the  republican  party,  has  served  on  the  board  of  education  for  two  terms  and 
has  also  held  the  office  of  assessor.  He  is  identified  with  the  Grange,  No. 
1602,  at  Keene,  while  his  religious  faith  is  indicated  by  his  membership  in 
the  United  Presbyterian  church,  with  which  his  wdfe  is  also  affiliated.  Both 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  McCormick  are  widely  and  favorably  known  throughout  the 
county  in  which  they  have  spent  their  entire  lives,  the  circle  of  their  friends 
being  almost  coextensive  with  the  circle  of  their  acquintances. 


MRS.    OLIVE    (MAXWELL)    WOLFE. 

Mrs.  Olive  (Maxwell)  Wolfe  is  a  representative  of  the  farming  interests 
of  Co.'^hocton  county  and  one  of  its  native  daughters,  for  her  birth  occurred 
within  its  borders,  September  23,  1857.  Her  parents  were  William  and 
Mary  (Higby)  Maxw^ell.  Her  father  was  born  in  Heath,  Massachusetts,  while 
her  mother^s  birth  occurred  in  this  county.  William  Maxwell  arrived  in 
Coshocton  county  when  about  seven  or  eight  years  of  age  and  was  here  reared 
amid  the  wild  scenes  and  environments  of  pioneer  life.  For  many  years  he 
continued  to  carry  on  farming  in  this  locality,  remaining  an  active  factor  in 
the  work  of  the  fields  until  his  life\s  labors  were  ended  in  death  in  March, 
1803.  His  widow  survived  him  for  about  twelve  years  and  passed  away  in 
August,  1905.  They  were  the  parents  of  seven  children,  namely:  Mrs.  Max- 
well; Montgomery,  who  is  living  in  this  county;  Lucy,  the  wife  of  Everett 
Boyd,  also  of  this  county;  George,  who  likewise  makes  his  home  in  Coshocton 
county;  and  three  who  are  deceased. 

In  her  father's  home  Olive  Maxwell  was  reared  and  was  trained  to  the 
duties  of  the  household,  while  in  the  public  schools  she  acquired  her  educa- 
tion. In  1879  she  became  the  wife  of  George  L.  Wolfe,  who  was  born  in  Ox- 
ford township  in  1836.  His  parents  were  Jacob  and  Elizabeth  (Leighninger) 
Wolfe.  The  father  was  born  in  Cumberland  county,  Pennsylvania,  in  1802 
and  was  brought  to  Ohio  by  his  parents  in  1806  when  the  state  sheltered 
many  more  red  men  than  white  inhabitant*.  Its  forests  w^ere  uncut,  its  land 
uncultivated,  and  it  seemed  that  the  w^ork  of  civilization  had  scarcely  been 
begun  in  its  borders.  Here  Jacob  Wolfe  was  roared  and  aided  in  the  arduous 
task  of  developing  a  new  farm.  Having  attained  his  majority  he  married 
Miss  Elizabeth  Leighninger,  a  representative  of  one  of  the  old  families  of 
Oxford  township  and  they  became  the  parents  of  four  children:  Margaret, 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


284  HISTORY    OF    COSHOCTON    COUNTY 

Sarah.  Hiram  and  George.  The  mother  died  in  August.  1879.  The  father, 
Jacob  Wolfe,  was  a  member  of  the  Bai)ti?t  church  and  an  earnest  consistent 
Chri.stian  gentleman  whose  honesty  was  never  questioned.  He  was  more- 
over a  most  inda-trious  citizen  and  in  his  old  age  worked  as  though  he  was 
still  in  the  prime  of  life.  He  was  one  of  the  oldest  residents  in  Oxford  town- 
ship at  the  time  of  his  demise. 

His  son,  George  Wolfe,  was  reared  in  this  county,  attended  the  public 
schools  and  early  became  familiar  with  the  task  of  tilling  the  soil  and  caring 
for  the  crops.  Throughout  his  entire  life  he  carried  on  farming  and  he  met 
with  good  success  in  that  undertaking.  In  early  manhood  he  married  Anna 
Foster,  a  native  of  England,  and  unto  them  were  born  three  children :  Elmer 
J.,  Aurelia  D.,  and  one  w^ho  died  in  infancy.  The  deiith  of  Mrs.  Anna  Wolfe 
occurred  in  1877  and  her  remains  were  laid  to  rest  in  White  Eyes  cemetery. 
Later  Mr.  Wolfe  wedded  Olive  Maxwell,  as  previously  stated,  and  unto  them 
was  born  a  son,  Ir\nn  M.,  who  is  yet  at  home.  He  is  a  graduate  of  the  West 
Lafayette  College,  where  he  pursued  a  scientific  course  and  is  now  operating 
the  home  farm.  Everything  about  the  place  is  indicative  of  his  careful 
supervision  and  practical  methods.  The  father,  George  Wolfe,  was  a  most 
energetic  agriculturist  and  owned  a  beautiful  farm  in  the  midst  of  which 
he  erected  a  fine  residence.  He  also  placed  thereon  the  various  bams  and 
outbuildings  necessary  for  the  shelter  of  grain  and  stock  and  he  kept  good 
grades  of  cattle  and  horses,  while  in  the  w^ork  of  the  fields  he  won  success 
by  his  practical  methods.  His  political  allegiance  was  given  to  the  democ- 
racy, but  he  preferred  to  enjoy  the  pleasures  of  home  rather  than  to  partici- 
pate actively  in  the  work,  of  office  holding.  He  died  July  17,  1908,  leaving 
a  widow  and  one  son  to  mourn  his  loss,  his  remains  being  interred  in  Wag- 
ner cemetery.  Mrs.  Wolfe  and  her  son  still  reside  upon  the  home  farm, 
w^hich  is  a  valuable  and  attractive  property  and  constitutes  one  of  the  pleas- 
ing features  of  the  landscape. 


S.    HILTON   BUKER,   M.D. 

Having  carefully  prepared  for  the  practice  of  medicine  and  surgerj% 
Dr.  S.  Hilton  Buker  located  in  Spring  Mountain  in  1887  and  since  that 
time  has  continually  demonstrated  his  ability  and  skill  as  is  manifest  by  the 
large,  and  lucrative  practice  which  he  today  enjoys.  He  was  born  near 
Otsego,  Muskingum  county,  Ohio,  February  11,  1865,  a  son  of  Decatur  and 
Lucy  (Barnard)  Buker.  The  family  history  dates  back  to  1492,  in  which 
year  representatives  of  the  name  removed  from  Turkey  to  England,  whence 
they  emigrated  to  America  about  1700.  The  paternal  grandfather,  Israel 
Hilton  Buker,  was  born  in  Maine,  in  1756,  and  enlisted  for  service  in  the 
Revolutionary  war  at  the  age  of  eighteen  years  and  was  associated  with  Lafay- 
ette, by  whom  he  w^as  presented  with  a  sword.  He  was  discharged  in  1783 
as  sergeant  of  the  Third  Massachusetts  Regiment,  his  discharge  papers  being 
signed  by  George  Washington  and  now  on  file  in  the  national  capital.     The 

Digitized  by  LjOOQIC 


S.  HILTON  BUKER,  M.  D. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


vsro  - 

-DEN 


^--i 


Digitized  by 


Google 


HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON    COUNTY  287 

grandfather  came  to  Coshocton  county  about  1810  and  in  the  early  part 
of  the  nineteenth  century  engaged  in  teaching,  which  profe^ion  he  followed 
for  aljout  forty  years.  He  died  about  1850  and  is  buried  in  the  cemetery  at 
Otiicgo. 

The  father,  Decatur  Buker,  was  born  near  Franklin  Station,  Coshocton 
count\\  September  11,  1825,  and  spent  his  early  boyhood  and  youth  in 
Franklin  township.  He  was  a  self-educated  man  and  for  seventeen  years 
was  engaged  in  teaching,  most  of  thi»s  time  being  spent  in  Muskingum  county. 
About  1845  he  took  up  farming  and  stock-raising.  The  last  thirty  years  of 
bL<  life,  however,  were  devoted  to  the  settling  of  estates  and  other  notarial 
business.  He  was  a  gifted  orator  and  was  in  great  demand  to  render  cam- 
paign speeches.  In  politics  he  was  a  stanch  republican  and  held  various 
township  and  county  offices.  His  religious  faith  w^as  that  of  the  Methodist 
Protestant  church.  He  was  a  man  among  men  and  was  justly  accorded  a 
place  among  the  prominent  and  representative  citizens  of  Co.^hocton  and 
Mu^skingum  counties,  for  he  belonged  to  that  class  of  men  whose  enterpris- 
ing spirit  is  used  not  alone  for  their  own  individual  good  but  for  the  pro- 
motion of  public  pros{>erity.  He  was  revered  and  honored  wherever  known 
and  his  death,  which  was  occasioned  by  a  runaway  on  August  3,  1899,  was 
deeply  regretted  by  many  friends  and  acquaintances  as  well  as  by  the  mem- 
bers of  his  own  household.  The  wife  and  mother  was  l>orn  near  Otsego  and 
her  people  were  among  the  pioneer  settlers  of  this  section  of  the  state.  Her 
death  occurred  in  1904  and  her  remains  were  buried  by  the  side  of  her  hus- 
band in  the  cemetery  at  Otsego.  Their  family  numbered  six  children, 
namely:  Mary,  who  became  the  wife  of  J.  D.  Phillips  and  died  at  the  age 
of  twenty-four  years;  Charles  W.,  who  wedded  Mrs.  J.  Sprague,  of  Warsaw, 
and  is  on  the  homa^^tead;  Sanih,  the  wife  of  J.  D.  Phillips,  of  Beaver  City, 
Nebraska;  Albert  L.,  who  is  a  traveling  salesman  of  Ogden,  Utah:  S.  Hilton, 
of  this  review;  and  Rose,  who  makes  her  home  in  Coshocton. 

Dr.  Buker  of  this  review  acquired  his  education  in  the  district  and 
graded  schools  of  Otsego  and  pursued  a  collegiate  course  in  Adrian,  Mich- 
igan, graduating  from  that  institution  in  1884.  He  was  then  engaged  in 
teaching  for  one  year  in  Muskingum  county.  At  the  same  time  he  took  up 
the  study  of  medicine  under  Dr.  Walker,  of  Plainfield,  after  which  he  en- 
tered the  Ohio  Medical  College,  at  Cincinnati,  graduating  in  1887.  In  April 
of  that  year,  just  after  he  had  celebrated  the  twenty-second  anniversary  of 
his  birth,  he  located  for  practice  in  Spring  Mountain,  succeeding  to  the  prac- 
tice of  Dr.  Winslow.  His  practice  is  already  large  and  Ls  constantly  increas- 
ing, for  he  keeps  in  touch  with  the  most  modern  and  advanced  ideas  of  the 
medical  profession  and  is  now  the  beloved  family  physician  in  many  a  house- 
hold. He  was  formerly  identified  with  realty  interest-^  but  on  account  of 
the  demands  of  his  profession  had  to  abandon  that  field  of  labor.  He  still, 
however,  owns  considerable  real  estate  in  Jefferson  township,  Coshocton  and 
Spring  Mountain. 

It  was  in  1888  that  Dr.  Buker  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Linnie 
E.  Dawson,  who  was  born  in  Mount  Vernon.  During  the  time  that  the' 
Doctor  was  pursuing  his  studies  in  Cincinnati,  Mrs.  Buker  was  attending  an 

Digitized  by  LjOOQIC 


288  HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

art  i^chool  in  that  city  and  it  wa>;  there  that  they  became  acquainted.  Their 
Tnarriage  has  been  bles>ed  with  four  children,  two  sons  and  two  daughters, 
Emerson  Dawson,  Wallace  Hilton,  Helen  Lucy  and  Mary  Evelyn.  The  hi5t 
named  died  October  16,  1908.  The  elde;?t  .-^on  has  been  given  excellent  edu- 
cational advantages.  He  ha<  pursued  a  high-school  course  in  both  Co.-hocton 
and  Warsaw  and  has  si)ent  one  year  in  the  college  at  Hiram,  Ohio,  and  after 
comi)leting  his  course  in  the  latter  institution  he  expects  to  take  up  the  study 
of  medicine. 

The  Doctor  gives  his  political  support  to  the  republican  party.  He  has 
taken  a  deep  and  active  interest  in  many  public  enteipri.^e.s.  He  was  one 
of  the  organizers  and  is  the  heaviest  stockholder  in  the  Coshocton  Telephone 
Company,  was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  Warsaw  Bank  and  was  a  member 
of  its  first  directorate  and  is  also  financially  interested  in  the  Otsego  Oil  & 
Gas  Company.  At  the  age  of  twenty-one  years  he  became  identified  with 
the  Masonic  fraternity,  joining  the  blue  lodge  at  Plainfield.  After  locating 
in  Spring  Mountain  he  was  elected  master  of  the  lodge  here.  He  belonged 
to  the  chapter  in  Coshocton  and  has  attained  the  Scottish  Rite  degree  in 
the  lodge  at  Columbus.  He  was  one  of  the  organizers  and  a  charter  member 
of  the  Knights  Templars  in  Coshocton.  He  likewise  belongs  to  the  Inde- 
pendent Order  of  Odd  Fellows  at  Killbuck  and  to  the  Maccabees  tent  at 
Walhonding,  while  in  the  line  of  his  profession  he  organized  and  became 
a  member  of  the  American  Society  of  Physicians  &  Surgeons.  He  was  for- 
merly an  active  participant  in  political  circles,  acting  as  township  treasurer 
for  fourteen  years  and  he  ako  served  for  several  years  as  committeeman  of 
the  township  and  member  of  the.  school  board.  He  was  reared  in  the  faith 
of  the  Methodist  Protestant  church  but  on  account  of  his  wife^s  relations 
with  the  Disciples  church,  he  has  since  become  identified  with  that  denomina- 
tion and  is  now  serving  as  deacon  and  treasurer  of  the  church  and  he  also 
rendered  valuable  assistance  in  the  erection  of  the  new  house  of  worship  at 
a  cost  of  four  thousand  dollars.  The  address  and  declaration  of  principles  of 
the  Disciples  church  were  written  in  the  home  of  Mrs.  Buker's  grandmother, 
Mary  Dawson,  and  her  father  was  one  of  the  first  ministers  of  that  denomina- 
tion. The  Doctor  is  a  man  of  charming  personality,  well  liked  in  both  pro- 
fessional and  social  circles,  and  he  and  his  estimable  wife  are.  held  in  high 
regard  by  their  numerous  friends  and  acquaintanci'S. 


ARTHUR  SMITH  MOORE. 

Arthur  Smith  Moore,  vice  president  of  the  Fountain  Dry  Goods  Com- 
pany, belongs  to  that  class  of  men  who  seem  to  regard  difficulties  and  ob-^tacles 
as  an  impetus  for  renewed  effort,  for  he  allows  nothing  to  brook  his  path  if  it 
can  be  overcome  by  persistence  and  determination.  Moreover  he  possesses 
the  modern  spirit  of  enterprise  as  manifest  in  connnercial  circles  at  the  present 
time.  Mr.  Moore  is  a  native  of  Roscoe,  his  birth  having  occurred  there  July 
23,  1879.     He  was  reared  in  the  home  of  his  father,  James  W.  Moore,  in 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  289 

Coshocton,  and  pursuing  a  public-school  education  left  the  high  school  to 
enter  the  Ohio  Wesleyan  College.  He  was  also  for  a  time  a  student  in  the 
Oberlin  (Ohio)  College,  but  ceased  his  efforts  in  the  educational  field  in  his 
jisnior  year  in  order  to  enter  business  in  Coshocton.  He  has  been  identified 
with  the  mercantile  pui'suits  of  the  city  sinec  1904.  He  had,  however,  worked 
in  the  business  from  his  boyhood  days,  during  the  periods  of  vacation  and 
at  other  times,  and  his  training  was  a  thorough  and  practical  one.  In  1904 
he  was  chosen  vice  president  of  the  Fountain  Dry  Goods  Company  and  has 
since  remained  as  the  second  officer,  taking  an  active  part  in  the  executive 
management  and  control. 

Mr.  Moore  is  a  valued  member  of  Coshocton  Lodge,  No.  376,  B.  P.  0.  E., 
and  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  Since  age  conferred  upon  him  the 
right  of  franchise  he  has  voted  with  the  republican  party.  He  is  an  alert, 
energetic  young  man,  who  keeps  in  touch  with  the  city's  interest  along  lines 
of  material,  social  and  moral  advancement,  and  at  the  same  lime  in  his  busi- 
ness cai'eer  he  is  making  that  steady  progress  which  results  from  close  appli- 
cation and  the  best  utilization  of  opportunities. 


ALONZO  MILLS  HENDERSON,  M.D. 

The  practice  of  medicine  and  surgery  in  accordance  with  modern  methods 
and  advanc*ed  ideas  finds  a  worthy  exponent  in  Dr.  Henderson,  of  Rascoe. 
He  was  born  in  CarroUton,  Carroll  county,  Ohio,  March  4,  1837,  his  parents 
being  William  H.  and  Mary  (Storey)  Henderson,  the  former  a  native  of 
Ireland  and  the  latter  of  New  Derry,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania. 
The  father  came  to  the  United  States  in  his  boyhood  days  with  his  parents, 
v;ho  settled  near  Millersburg,  in  Holmes  county,  Ohio,  and  in  early  manhood 
learned  the  stonemason ^s  trade,  which  he  followed  throughout  his  active 
life.  He  removed  from  Carroll  county  to  Tiverton  township,  Coshocton 
county,  and  subsequejitly  to  New  Castle  township,  where  his  death  occurred. 
John  Nelson  Henderson,  a  brother  of  our  subject,  served  in  the  Civil  war 
as  one  of  the  boys  in  blue  of  the  Eightieth  Ohio  Regiment  and  died  in  the 
battle  at  Corinth,  Mississippi. 

Private  schools  afforded  Dr.  Henderson  his  educational  privileges. 
When  thirteen  years  of  age  he  was  permanently  crippled  through  an  attack 
of  typhoid  fever.  When  about  sixteen  or  seventeen  years  of  age  he  began 
clerking  in  a  general  store  in  Walhonding,  and  in  July,  1864,  came  to 
Coshocton,  where  he  secured  a  position  in  a  store.  His  leisure  hours  were 
devoted  to  the  reading  of  medicine  under  the  direction  of  Dr.  J.  B.  Inghram, 
of  Coshocton,  and  Dr.  M.  Johnston,  of  Roscoe,  and  in  1SQ7  he  entered  Starling 
Medical  College,  from  which  he  was  graduated  with  the  class  of  1869. 

Dr.  Henderson  located  for  practice  in  Wills  Creek  in  this  county  and 
there  remained  for  nineteen  years,  at  the  end  of  which  time  he  took  up  his 
abode  in  Roscoe,  arriving  here  January  1,  1887.    With  the  professional  intcr- 


Digitized  by  ^ 


290  HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON    COUNTY 

e.<ts  of  tlie  town  lu*  has  since  leen  identified,  and  a  large  general  praetiee  has 
brought  him  a  goodly  measure  of  success. 

Dr.  Henderson  has  given  his  political  .support  lo  the  republican  party 
since  its  organization,  and  at  the  pre»sent  time  is  serving  as  township  treasurer 
and  also  tis  pension  examiner,  while  for  sixteen  yetirs  he  was  a  member  of  the 
school  bocord,  the  cause  of  education  finding  in  him  a  stalwart  champion. 
At  the  present  writing  in  1908,  he  is  the  candidate  of  his  party  for  county 
coroner. 

On  the  3d  of  July,  1867,  Dr.  Henderson  was  married  to  Miss 
Henrietta  Lynch,  of  Coshocton,  and  unto  them  were  bom  three  children, 
of  whom  two  are  living:  Hattie  A.,  the  wife  of  Archie  Clark,  who  is  en- 
gaged in  the  liver^^  business  in  Coshocton ;  and  Nellie,  at  home.  Dr.  Hender- 
son and  his  family  attend  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  and  for  nineteen  • 
years  he  was  a  member  of  the  official  board.  HLs  progressive  citizenship,  his 
political  activity,  his  professional  ability  and  his  social  qualities  have  gained 
him  a  foremost  place  in  public  regard,  and  he  now  has  a  very  wide  and 
favorable  acquaintance. 


J.  T.  ORR. 


J.  T.  Orr,  a  successful  agriculturist  residing  in  Bedford  township,  is  a 
native  of  this  townshij),  his  birth  having  occurred  on  the  30th  of  September, 
18G0.  His  parent-,  William  and  Elizabeth  (Treadway)  Orr,  were  also 
natives  of  Coshocton  county.  The  grandfather,  Alexander  Orr,  at  an  early 
day  took  up  his  abode  on  the  farm  on  which  our  subject  now  resides,  there 
making  his  home  until  the  time  of  his  demise.  William  Orr  spent  his  entire 
life  in  thL^  county  and  after  attaining  man's  estate  took  up  blacksmithing 
and  fanning.  At  one  time  he  conducted  a  shop  at  Warsaw  but  in  later  years 
resided  on  his  farm,  and  met  with  a  highly  gratifying  and  well  merited 
measure  of  pros])erity  in  all  his  undertakings.  He  started  out  in  life  empty- 
handed  and  through  his  unaided  efforts  won  the  competence  that  enables  him 
to  give  each  of  his  children  a  good  farm  or  its  equivalent  in  cash.  A  re- 
publican in  his  political  views,  he  held  a  number  of  township  offices  and 
was  recognized  throughout  the  community  as  a  public-spirited,  upright  and 
honorable  citizen.  He  died  in  the  faith  of  the  Me.thodist  Episcopal  church 
and  his  remains  were  interred  at  Bedford,  while  his  wife  also  passed  away  in 
this  county.  Their  family  numbered  eight  children,  as  follows:  Two  who 
died  in  infancy;  Elizabeth,  who  is  also  deceased;  Olive,  the  wife  of  John  G. 
Johnson,  an  agriculturist  of  Bedford  township;  Frank,  a  merchant  of  Craw- 
ford county,  Kansas;  J.  T.,  of  this  review;  W^.  E.,  who  follows  farming  on 
the  old  home  place  in  Bedford  township;  and  J.  J.,  an  agriculturist  of  Jack- 
son township,  Coshocton  county. 

J.  T.  Orr  was  educated  in  the  district  schools  of  his  native  township  and 
remained  on  the  home  farm  until  twenty-four  years  of  age,  assisting  his 
father  in  the  work  of  the  fields.     His  present  place  comprises  one  hundred 


Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON    COUNTY  291 

and  s'ixty  acres  of  valuable  and  well  improved  land  and  in  connection  with  the 
work  of  general  fanning  he  also  breeds  draft  hor^scs,  both  branches  of  his 
business  returning  to  him  a  gratifying  annual  income.  He  has  erected  a 
commodious  and  substantial  residence  and  all  necessary  outbuildings  for  the 
shelter  of  grain  and  stock,  and  is  recognized  throughout  the  comnmnity 
as  a  progressive  and  enterprising  agriculturist.  He  is  also  the  owner  of  a 
coal  mine  which  is  proving  a  good  source  of  revenue. 

In  1886  Mr.  Orr  \\i\.<  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Pauline  McCurdy.  of 
Cashocton  county,  who  has  two  brothers  practicing  medicine  in  Coshocton 
Unto  this  union  has  been  born  one  child,  Nellie,  who  attended  school  at 
A\^ooster  and  Oberlin  and  is  now  a  music  teacher. 

Mr.  Orr  gives  stalwart  allegiance  to  the  men  and  measures  of  the  re- 
publican party  and  has  served  as  trustee  for  six  years  and  as  a  member  of  the 
school  board  for  fifteen  years,  the  cause  of  education  ever  finding  in  him  a 
stanch  champion.  His  religious  faith  is  indicated  by  his  membership  in 
the  Presbyterian  church,  with  which  his  wnfe  and  daughter  are  also  identi- 
fied. Having  resided  in  this  county  throughout  his  entire  life,  or  for  almost 
half  a  century,  Mr.  Orr  is  widely  and  favorably  known  here  and  moreover 
has  gained  the  regard  and  esteem  of  all  with  whom  he  has  come  in  contact 
by  reason  of  his  genuine  personal  worth  and  unfaltering  integrity. 


JOHN   ED.    ARONHALT. 

In  the  front  rank  of  the  columns  w^hich  have  advanced  the  civilization 
of  Coshocton  county  the  Aronhalt  family  has  led  the  way  to  the  substantial 
development,  progress  and  upbuilding  of  the  section  in  which  they  have 
so  long  made  their  home,  and  John  E.  Aronhalt  is  a  worthy  representative 
of  the  name.  He  was  born  on  a  farm  in  Lafayette  township,  Januarj^  2,  1854, 
a  son  of  William  S.  and  Rebecca  (Roadnick)  Aronhalt,  both  of  German 
descent  and  numbered  among  the  very  earliest  settlers  of  this  part  of  the 
Buckeye  state. 

John  Ed.  Aronhalt  is  one  of  a  family  of  eight  children,  five  sons  and 
three  daughters,  he  being  the  third  in  order  of  birth.  He  w^as  reared  to  farm 
life  and  acquired  his  education  in  the  district  schools.  After  reaching  years 
of  maturity,  he  engaged  in  farming  on  his  own  account,  first  in  Virginia 
township,  while  later  he  spent  one  year  in  Jackson  township,  prior  to  his 
removal  to  Lafayette  township.  He  eventually  took  up  his  abode  in  Coshoc- 
ton in  what  is  known  a«  the  Aronhalt  and  Trovinger  addition  to  that  city, 
and  here  he  has  l)ecome  a  prominent  factor  in  the  life  and  work  of  this 
enterprising  little  city.  He  installed  and  operated  for  two  years  the  first  elec- 
tric motor  mining  machine  for  the  Morgan  Run  Coal  Company,  and  for 
four  years  was  weighmaster  for  the  Wade  Coal  Company.  During  the  five 
succeeding  years  he  was  traveling  salesman  for  the  Ringer  Sewing  Machine 
Company  and  has  to  his  credit  the  sale  of  ninety-six  machines  in  eleven 
months.    Accompanied  by  Mr?.  Aronhalt  and  their  youngest  daughter  he  went 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


292  HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON    COUNTY 

to  Olympia,  Washington,  in  October,  1902,  and  was  engaged  in  the  con- 
struction of  electric  railwavi^  in  that  city  and  for  a  few  months  was  prospect- 
ing in  California,  but  in  the  fall  of  1903  he  returned  to  Coshocton  county 
and  engaged  in  farming  on  what  i^  known  as  the  Denman  farm  near  the  city 
of  Coshocton,  while  one  year  later  he  took  up  his  abode  in  hi^  present  home 
on  Cambridge  road,  and  is  the  owner  of  some  fine  hor.^ei?.  Among  his  stock 
may  be  seen  the  well  known  animal,  Maizie  V.,  with  a  track  record  of  2:20. 

Mr.  Aronhalt  was  married  in  1877  to  Miss  Minnie  E.  Miller,  a  daughter 
of  Isaac  W.  and  Sarah  (Morgan)  Miller,  of  Lafayette  township,  by  whom  he 
has  two  daughters:     Mertie,  the  wife  of  George  Conley;  and  Vernal,  at  home. 

Mr.  Aronhalt  served  as  assessor  of  Tuscarawas  township  for  nine  years 
and  on  the  1st  of  August,  1907,  was  appointed  United  States  ganger.  He  is 
a  republican  in  his  political  views  and  takes  an  active  interest  in  all  public 
matters,  his  aid  and  cooperation  being  sought  in  every  movement  calculated 
to  better  community  interests.  His  fraternal  relations  are  with  Fidelity 
Lodge,  No.  185,  K.  P.,  while  his  religious  faith  is  indicated  by  his  member- 
ship in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  Widely  known,  his  life  history 
cannot  fail  to  prove  of  interest  to  his  many  friends  and  it  is  therefore  with 
pleasure  that  we  present  this  record  of  his  career  to  our  readers. 


JAMES    L.    ROGERS. 


The  list  of  the  leading  citizens  of  West  Lafayette  contains  the  name  of 
James  L.  Rogers,  one  of  the  representative  and  honored  citizens  of  Coshocton 
county.  His  record  as  a  soldier  and  as  a  business  man  has  been  so  honor- 
able that  he  has  gained  the  confidence  and  good  will  of  all  with  whom  he 
ha<  been  brought  in  contact,  and  now  in  the  evening  of  his  days  he  can  look 
back  over  a  life  well  spent,  for  he  is  now  living  retired,  deriving  a  good 
financial  income  from  three  hundred  and  fifteen  acres  of  rich  and  valuable 
land  in  Lafayette  township. 

Mr.  Rogers  was  born  in  Harrison  county,  Ohio,  February  19,  1840,  a 
son  of  Joseph  and  Mary  (Burkhcad)  Rogers,  both  of  whom  were  natives 
of  ilaryland,  the  former  born  in  1806  of  English  descent,  and  the  latter  born 
August  28,  1807,  of  S(H)tch  descent.  The  parents  took  up  their  abode  in 
Harrison  county  at  an  early  day,  removing  to  this  state  from  Maryland  in  a 
covered  wagon.  The  father  was  a  miller  by  trade  but  after  coming  to  Ohio 
he  engaged  in  farming  and  began  life  here  in  tnie  pioneer  style,  living  for 
some  years  in  a  log  cabin.  Both  are  now  deceased,  the  father  passing  away 
in  1882,  when  he  had  reached  the  age  of  seventy-six  years,  while,  the  mother 
died  in  1864,  at  the  comparatively  early  age  of  fifty-seven.  Their  family 
numbered  ten  children :  Actie,  deceased ;  Maria  Jane,  the  wife  of  Robert  Bell, 
of  West  Lafayette;  Wesley  M.,  who  was  wounded  during  his  service  in  the 
Civil  war  and  died  in  1893;  Elizabeth,  who  has  departed  this  life;  Parmelia, 
the  wife  of  William  Finney,  of  Ohio;  James  L.,  of  this  review;  Nancy,  who 
wedded  George  Sproul  and  died  in  1906;  John  B.,  of  Uhrichsville,  this  state; 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


> 


GO 


C 


Digitized  by 


Google 


.  bhti 


Digitized  by 


Google 


HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON    COUNTY  295 

William  N.,  a  resident  of  TiL^carawa^Sj  Ohio;  and  Hannah,  the  wife  of  John 
Milliken,-  of  Kansas. 

Jame.s  L.  Rogers,  the  subject  of  this  review,  was  reared  on  the  home 
farm  and  remained  under  the.  parental  roof  until  he  attained  his  majority, 
when  lie  offered  his  services  to  the  government  during  the  Civil  war,  becom- 
ing a  member  of  Company  F,  Ninety-eighth  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry,  which 
\\m  organized  in  Harrison  county  in  August,  1862.  He  served  for  two  years 
and  ten  montlis,  and  took  part  in  many  of  the  hotly  contested  engagements 
of  the  war,  these  including  the  battles  of  Perryville,  Chickamauga,  Mission- 
ary Ridge,  Kenesaw  Mountain,  Atlanta,  Jonesboro,  Peach  Tree  Creek,  Rome, 
"Georgia,  Bentonville,  North  Carolina  and  many  others  of  minor  importance 
He  was  also  with  Sherman  on  his  celebrated  march  to  the  sea  and  after 
traveling  over  five  thousand  miles  he  participated  in  the  grand  review^ 
at  Washington.  He  was  commissioned  second  lieutenant  and  mustered  out 
at  Cleveland,  Ohio,  having  made  a  most  honorable  and  creditable  military 
record. 

Following  his  return  from  the  war  James  L.  Rogers  resumed  agricultural 
pursuits  in  Coshocton  county,  operating  rented  land  for  a  few  years.  He, 
with  his  wife,  then  purchased  the  farm  which  he  still  owns,  this  comprLsing 
three  hundred  and  fifteen  acres  of  rich  and  improved  land  situated  in  Lafay- 
ette township.  For  many  years  he  followed  farming  and  made  a  specialty 
of  raising  and  feeding  stock  but  his  energy,  economy  and  careful  manage- 
ment in  former  years  now  enable  him  to  put  aside  business  cares  and  he  is 
living  retired  in  a  pleasant  and  modern  home  in  West  Lafayette,  deriving 
a  good  income  from  his  landed  possessions. 

Mr.  Rogers  was  married  April  15,  1867,  the  lady  of  his  choice  being 
Mu^  Harriet  Burt,  who  was  born  in  Lafayett<?  township,  June  14,  1845,  a 
daughter  of  James  M.  and  Mary  A.  (Bradner)  Burt,  both  of  whom  were 
natives  of  Orange  county,  New  York,  and  made  the  overland  journey  from 
that  state  to  Coshocton  county  in  1836.  Here  the  father  entered  a  tract  of 
land  from  the  government  and  engaged  in  farming.  He  also  took  a  prom- 
inent and  active  part  in  political  circles,  serv^ing  for  two  terms  in  the  legis- 
lature and  for  a  similar  period  in  the  senate.  The  family  of  Mr.  and  Mi's. 
Burt  numbered  twelve  children,  seven  daughters  and  five  sons,  but  the  latter 
are  now  deceased.  Both  the  father  and  mother  have  also  passed  to  their  final 
reward,  the  former  ptissing  away  March  7,  1893,  and  the  latter  on  the  25th 
of  October,  1899. 

The  marriage  of  ilr.  and  Mrs.  Rogers  has  been  blessed  with  four  chil- 
dren, two  sons  and  two  daughters,  namely:  Joseph  B.,  who  graduated  from 
the  Ohio  Wesleyan  College  and  died  October  25,  1901;  Margaret,  the  wife 
of  Rev.  S.  L.  Stewart,  of  Mansfield,  Ohio;  Anna  M.,  at  home:  and  Louis  B., 
who  died  when  four  years  of  age. 

Mr.  Rogers  is  inde[)endent  in  his  political  views,  voting  for  men  and 
mea-ures  rather  than  adhering  to  i)arty  ties.  He  and  his  wife  are  devoted 
and  faithful  members  of  the  ^lethodist  Episcopal  church,  in  which  he  has 
filled  all  the  oflices,  while  his  fraternal  relations  are  with  the  Grand  Army 
of  the  Republic.     Mr.  Rogers  has  ever  been  ready  to  lend  his  aid  and  in- 


Digitized  by 


v^oogle 


290  HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON    COUNTY 

fluence  in  the  oausi'  of  every  pjood  movement  for  the  progre^ss  and 
advancement  of  the  ecmnmniity,  and  now  at  the  age  of  sixty-eight  years  he  is 
enjoying  in  retirement  the  aceunniliition  of  a  profitable,  successful  and  honor- 
able career. 


JOSEPH  TREDAVAY. 

Joseph  Tredway,  who  follows  farming  in  Jefferson  towiuship.  owning 
a  tract  of  land  comprising  two  hundred  and  ninety-five  acres,  has  now  passed 
the  seventy-second  milestone  on  life's  journey,  and  his  entire  life  has  been 
]>assed  in  Coshocton  county,  so  that  he  is  thoroughly  familiar  with  it^  history. 
He  was  born  on  the  farm  which  is  still  his  home,  July  23,  1836,  a  son  of 
Thomas  and  Ollie  (Severans)  Tredway,  the  former  born  in  Harford 
county,  Maryland,  August  18,  1799,  while  the  latter  was  born  in  Monongalia 
county,  \'irginia.  The  paternal  grandfather  of  our  subject  was  born  in 
England  and  emigrated  to  the  new  world  with  hi^  father,  who  died  at  sea. 
The  son  then  continued  the  journey  to  this  country  alone.  He  had  before 
leaving  his  native  land  learned  the  whitesmith  or  edged  tool  trade. 

Thomas  Tredway,  the  father  of  our  subject,  was  reared  to  farm  life  in 
Maryland  and  came  to  Coshocton  county  in  1817  wheji  a  youth  of  eighteen 
years.  He  eventually  located  on  a  farm  on  the  Walhonding  river,  which  is 
now  known  as  the  Joseph  Warren  place.  Later  he  took  up  his  abode  on 
the  farm  which  the  son  now  owns.  This  was  at  that  time  covered  with  timber 
but  with  characteristic  energy  the  father  undertook  the  work  of  clearing  the 
land  and  he  also  erected  a  small  log  cabin,  having  neither  doors  nor  windows 
during  the.  first  winter  that  it  was  occupied  by  the  family.  The  father  also 
took  a  deep  interest  in  the  improvement  of  the  country,  and  despite  the  fact 
that  he  had  much  work  to  do  on  his  home  place  he  assisted  in  the  erection 
of  the  church,  which  is  still  standing  near  the  village  of  Mohawk.  He  was  a 
very  devoted  member  of  this  church  for  forty-two  years,  and  each  Sunday 
was  found  in  his  place  at  the  service  and  also  at  the  weekly  prayer  meeting. 
He  spent  almost  his  entire  life  on  his  home  farm  and  for  a  long  period 
was  engaged  in  general  agricultural  pursuits.  He  replaced  the  log  cabin 
with  a  brick  residence,  which  was  one  of  the  first  to  be  built  in  the  neighbor- 
hood. He^was  an  old-time  whig  and  upon  the  organization  of  the  new  re- 
publican party  gave  his  support  to  its  men  and  measures.  He  was  highly 
respected  in  the  community  and  at  his  death,  which  occurred  ilay  15,  1881. 
the  community  mourned  the  loss  of  one  who  was  much  beloved  and  respi^cted. 
The  mother  preceded  him  to  the  home  beyond  many  years  previously,  her 
death  occurring  in  1840,  and  their  remains  lie  buried  in  Blooming  Grove 
cemetery.  Their  family  numbered  nine  children :  MahaJa,  Elizabeth,  Mary 
and  Sarah,  all  of  whom  are  now  deceased:  R.  H.,  a  retired  farmer;  Crispen, 
who  has  departed  this  life;  Joseph,  of  this  review;  and  John  and  James  H., 
also  deceased.  After  the  death  of  the  wife  and  mother  the  father  married  a 
second  time,  this  union  being  with  Mrs.  Mary  (Dennis)  Clarke,  by  whom  he 


Digitized  by 


v^oogle 


HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  297 

had  three  children:  G.  S.,  of  Coshocton;  Frank,  a  resident  of  Springfield, 
Ohio;  and  William  Harvey,  deceased. 

Joseph  Tredway  was  educated  in  a  log  schoolhouse  in  Jefferson  township 
and  was  reared  to  farm  life.  He  shared  with  the  other  members  of  the 
family  in  the  hardships  and  privations  which  had  to  be  endured,  owdng  to 
the  unsettled  condition  of  the  country.  He  a^^isted  in  the  development  and 
improvement  of  the  home  farm  until  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  war,  when 
he  enlisted  as  a  member  of  Company  G,  One  Hundred  and  Forty-second 
Regiment,  and  going  to  the  front  did  valiant  and  loyal  service  but  was  dis- 
charged on  account  of  disability. 

Following  his  return  from  the  war  he  resumed  farming  pursuits  and  in 
due  course  of  time  was  numbered  among  the  substantial  farmers  of  this 
section  of  the  state.  He  is  now  the  ownier  of  the  homestead  property,  this 
place  comprising  two  hundred  and  ninety-five  acres  of  rich  and  arable  land 
situated  in  Jefferson  township.  He  is  here  engaged  in  general  agricultural 
pursuits  and  in  his  undertakings  is  meeting  with  excellent  success.  He  also 
owns  realty  in  Portland,  Oregon,  and  in  Rapid  City,  Dakota. 

Mr.  Tredway  was  married  in  1870  to  Miss  Mary  W.  Clarke,  of  Co- 
shocton, and  to  this  union  five  children  have  been  bom,  namely:  Bertha  A., 
the  w^ife  of  Claud  Clarke,  of  East  Union,  Ohio;  Edward,  who  is  on  the  home 
farm ;  Wilber,  who  has  departed  this  life;  Wilma,  the  wife  of  James  S.  Clarke, 
of  Warsaw;  and  Laura  O.,  who  is  engaged  in  teaching  and  is  at  home. 

Mr.  Tredway  gives  his  political  support  to  the  men  and  measures  of  the 
republican  party  and  is  a  member  of  Newton  Stanton  Post,  G.  A.  R.,  while 
his  wife  is  identified  with  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  Over  the  record 
of  his  life  there  falls  no  shadow  of  wrong,  for  he  has  ever  been  most  loyal  to 
the  ties  of  friendship  and  citizenship  and  his  history  well  deserves  mention 
in  the  annals  of  his  native  state. 


JOHN  E.  RICHMOND. 

John  E.  Richmond,  w^ho  resides  on  his  valuable  and  well  improved 
farm  of  eighty-nine  acres  in  Oxford  township,  wa*^  born  in  this  county, 
Auga^t  24,  1842,  the  son  of  John  and  Elizabeth  (Reed)  Richmond.  His 
paternal  grandfather  came  to  Coshocton  county  from  Onondaga  county.  New 
York,  in  1828,  and  located  at  Roscoe.  He  was  a  stone-cutter  by  tnuie  and 
helped  to  build  the  Ra-^coe  aqueduct.  Afterward  he  conducted  a  hotel  at 
Evansburg  and  a.  canal  station,  where  he  contracted  to  haul  canal  boats 
between  Evansburg  and  Rascoe. 

John  Richmond,  the  father  of  our  subject,  wa^  born  in  Onondaga  county. 
New  York,  March  1,  1817,  and  was  therefore  but  eleven  years  of  age  when 
bis  father  settled  in  this  county.  In  early  manhood  he  wedded  Elizabeth 
Reed,  who  was  bom  in  this  township,  April  10,  1817,  and  the  young  couple 
settled  on  a  farm.  Later  he  bought  a  canal  boat,  which  he  ran  for  a  number  of 
yeaTS.     Five  children  were  born  to  this  union,  of  whom  our  subject  is  now 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


298  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

the  only  one  living.  On  April  1,  1850,  the  father,  in  company  with  a  party 
of  others,  started  for  the  gold  fields  of  California  by  the  overland  route,  ar- 
riving there  September  15.  He  returned  home  July  15,  1852,  by  way  of  the 
water  route,  stopping  in  New  York  for  two  weeks  and  sending  his  gold  nuggets 
to  the  mint  at  Philadelphia,  where  they  were  assayed  and  nm  into  fifty  dollar 
slugs.  He  evidently  considered  it  unwL-e  to  inform  hU  young  children  as 
to  the  amount  he  thus  acquired,  although  they  were  not  without  curiosity  in 
the  matter,  and  our  subject,  then  ten  years  of  age,  recalls  conducting  a  quiet 
investigation  in  his  own  behalf  on  one  occasion  when  his  father  was  asleep, 
when  he  went  into  his  bedroom  and  found  the  bucL-skin  belt  in  which  he  car- 
ried his  gold,  and  it  was  so  heavy  he  could  not  lift  it.  The  mother  of  our 
subject  died  in  February,  1852,  while  the  father  was  away.  On  his  return  from 
California  he  bought  a  farm  of  one  hundred  and  twenty-one  acres,  which  is 
now  owned  by  his  son  Frank,  a  sketch  of  whose  life  appears  elsewhere  in  this 
edition.  Later  in  partnership  with  John  Peck,  of  Coshocton,  the  father  bought 
from  a  Mr.  Davis  a  general  merchandL^ing  store  which  they  conducted  for  a 
number  of  years  and  which  Mr.  Richmond  conducted  alone  for  a  long  time 
after  the  death  of  his  partner.  He  also  ran  a  hotel  at  Orange  and  engaged  in  the 
grain  business.  Politically,  he  was  a  stanch  republican.  His  second  wife  was 
Miss  Elizabeth  Higby,  who  was  born  in  this  county.  Five  children  were  born 
to  this  union,  of  whom  but  two  are  now  living,  Frank  A.,  and  Lottie,  the  wife 
of  John  Goudy,  of  Bisbee,  Arizona.  The  mother  died  on  May  22,  1864,  and 
the  father  was  again  married,  his  third  union  being  with  Mary  McClain,  a 
native  of  this  county,  who  died  in  1890,  having  survived  her  husband,  who 
passed  away  in  1887,  for  three  years. 

The  educational  advantages  fifty  and  sixty  years  ago  were  not  what  they 
are  to-day  and  our  subject  received  but  little  schooling.  He  early  engaged 
in  active  industrial  pursuits,  aiding  his  father  in  his  extensive  business  inter- 
ests. In  1870  he  entered  into  partnership  with  his  father  in  general  merchan- 
dising at  Orange  and  maintained  his  interest  in  this  business  up  to  about  ten 
years  ago,  being  in  partnership  with  his  brother  for  a  number  of  years. 
In  1870  he  bought  seventy-five  acres  of  land,  which  is  now  a  part  of  his 
present  farm  of  eighty-nine  acres.  .  All  the  improvements  on  the  place  are 
due  to  his  energy  and  efforts  and  in  them  he  feels  justifiable  pride.  In  1851 
he  enlisted  in  the  Fifty-first  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry  and  went  into  camp 
at  Camp  Chase,  Ohio,  where  he  remained  for  three  weeks,  but  owing  to  his 
father's  opposition  he  was  not  mustered  into  ser\'ice  and  returned  home.  On 
June  10,  1862,  he  enlisted  in  Company  F,  Eighty-eighth  Ohio  Volunteer  In- 
fantry, but  after  serving  for  four  months  he  contracted  typhoid  fever  and  was 
discharged  September  26,  1862. 

On  June  18,  1863,  Mr.  Richmond  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Mary 
Wood,  who  was  born  in  Harrison  county,  Ohio,  January  2,  1844,  and  died 
October  13,  1885.  Five  children  were  born  to  this  union,  namely:  Charles 
M.,  of  Akron,  Ohio;  James  C,  who  died  in  infancy;  Harry  M.,  who  resides 
in  South  Dakota;  Mary  E.,  the  wife  of  Edward  Geese,  of  Oxford  township; 
and  Noah  M.,  a  resident  of  New  Comerstown,  Ohio.  On  August  12,  1886. 
Mr.   Richmond  was  again   married,   his  second   union   being  with   Maggie 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COU.NTY  299 

Harstine,  who  was  born  in  this  county,  November  28,  1863.  Unto  this 
union  have  been  bom  five  children,  the  firstborn  dying  in  infancy.  The 
others  are  Nina  P.,  Emma  M.,  Helen  M.  and  Raymond  J.,  all  of  whom  reside 
at  home  with  their  parents. 

Since  age  conferred  upon  him  the  right  of  franchise  Mr.  Richmond  has 
voted  the  republican  ticket.  He  is  actively  interested  in  community  affairs 
and  served  as  township  trustee  for  nine  years  in  succession.  He  has  also 
held  the  office  of  school  director  and  several  times  has  served  as  president  of 
the  board  of  education.  Fraternally,  he  is  a  member  of  the  local  Grange  and 
of  West  Lafayette  Post,  G.  A.  R.  For  over  fifty  years  he  has  been  a  faithful 
and  consistent  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church. 


WILLIAM  B.  EVANS. 


William  B.  Evans,  a  well  known,  progressive  and  prosperous  agriculturist 
of  Bethlehem  township,  was  born  on  the  old  homestead  farm  in  this  county 
on  the  27th  of  December,  1867,  his  parents  being  Alexander  and  Mahala  A. 
(Cochrell)  Evans.  Daniel  Evans,  the  paternal  grandfather,  settled  in  Monroe 
township,  Coshocton  county,  Ohio,  in  1842.  His  family  numbered  nine 
children,  as  follows:  Elizabeth,  Mary,  Martha,  Matthew,  Alexander,  Albert, 
Alfred,  William  and  John.  The  year  1838  witnessed  the  arrival  of  the 
Cochrell  family  in  this  county,  the  grandmother  of  our  subject  walking  the 
entire  distance  from  Woodsfield,  Ohio.  She  carried  in  her  arms  her  little 
daughter,  Mahala  A.,  and  on  the  journey  she  stopped  and  rested  for  a  while 
among  the  Indians  at  Gnadenhutten.  Aft^r  arriving  in  Coshocton  county 
she  settled  at  Roscoe,  where  she  made  her  home  until  the  marriage  of  her 
daughter,  Mahala  A.,  to  Alexander  Evans  on  the  16th  of  March,  1858. 

Alexander  Evans,  the  father  of  our  subject,  was  born  in  Beaver  county, 
Pennsylvania,  December  24,  1835,  and  took  up  his  abode  on  a  farm  in 
Bethlehem  township,  Coshocton  county,  in  1868,  residing  on  that  place  until 
called  to  his  final  rest  on  the  10th  of  July,  1894.  He  carried  on  farming 
and  stock-raising  throughout  his  active  business  career  and  met  with  a  gratify- 
ing measure  of  success  in  his  undertakings,  being  widely  recognized  as  a  sub- 
stantial and  enterprising  agriculturist  of  his  community.  A  loyal  supporter 
of  the  Union,  he  enlisted  in  1862  as  a  member  of  Company  K,  Nineteenth 
Regiment  of  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry,  and  went  with  General  Sherman  on 
the  march  to  the  sea.  He  received  his  discharge  at  Nashville,  Tennessee,  in 
1865,  returning  home  with  a  most  creditable  military  record.  His  brother, 
William  Evans,  who  was  a  member  of  the  Fifty-first  Regiment  of  Ohio  Volun- 
teer Infantry,  was  captured  at  Chickamauga  and  incarcerated  in  Libby  and 
Anderaonville  prisons,  his  death  occurring  at  the  latter  place.  Alexander 
Evans  upheld  the  candidates  of  the  republican  party  where  national  issues 
were  involved  but  at  local  elections  cast  an  independent  ballot,  supporting 
the  man  whom  he  believed  best  fitted  for  the  office  in  question.  He  capably 
served  his  fellow  townsmen  in  the  position  of  assessor  and  was  a  member  of  the 

Digitized  by  LjOOQIC 


300  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

school  botird  for  fifteen  years,  the  caiLse  of  education  ever  finding  in  him  a 
stalwart  champion.  Though  not  a  member  of  any  religious  denomination, 
he  usually  attended  the  services  of  the  Methodist  church  and  was  a  man  whose 
upright,  honorable  career  commanded  the  regard  and  esteem  of  all  w4th  whom 
he  was  associated.  His  wife,  whose  birth  occurred  in  Monroe  county,  Ohio, 
March  16,  1835,  passed  away  on  the  10th  of  June,  1904. 

William  B.  Evans,  whase  name  initiates  this  review,  attended  the  schools 
of  his  home  locality  until  sixteen  years  of  age  and  received  a  certificate  to 
teach  school,  which  he  held  for  eight  succe^ssive  years.  He  never  followed  the 
profession,  however,  as  his  assistance  was  needed  in  the  work  of  the  home  farm. 
His  entire  life  has  been  spent  on  the  old  homestead  w^here  he  was  bom  and  in 
its  cultivation  and  development  he  is  still  successfully  engaged,  the  fields 
annually  yielding  golden  harvests  as  a  regard  for  the.  care  and  labor  which 
he  bestows  upon  them. 

On  the  Sth  of  October,  1893,  Mr.  Evans  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss 
Emma  Mullet,  a  daughter  of  N.  J.  and  Marv  Ann  (Mullet)  Mullet,  who  are 
mentioned  on  another  page  of  this  work.  Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Evans  have 
been  bom  seven  children,  namely:  Katie  Oka,  Mary  Ellie,  Mona  Belle, 
Russell  Otis,  Charlotte  Goldie  and  William  Owen,  all  at  home;  and  Harold 
Orlando,  who  died  in  infancy. 

Since  age  conferred  upon  him  the  right  of  franchise  Mr.  Evans  has 
given  his  political  allegiance  to  the  men  and  measures  of  the  democracy  and 
has  been  the  efficient  incumbent  in  the  offices  of  township  clerk  and  assessor, 
while  for  twelve  successive  years  he  acted  as  a  member  of  the  school  board. 
He  and  his  family  are  all  devoted  members  of  the  Methodist  church,  in  the 
work  of  which  they  take  an  active  and  helpful  interest.  He  was  early  trained 
to  habits  of  industry,  enterprise  and  integrity,  and  these  have  proven  strong 
elements  in  the  success  which  has  come  to  him  and  which  entitles  him  to 
representation  among  the  prasperous  and  well  known  citizens  of  his  native 
county. 


JAMES  F.  AND  JOHN  A.  FORNEY. 

James  F.  and  John  A.  Forney,  who  are  successfully  carrying  on  agri- 
cultural pursuits  in  Linton  township,  are  the  largest  importers  of  French 
Percheron  horses  in  this  part  of  the  state.  James  F.  Forney  was  born  in  Lin- 
ton township  on  the  4th  of  September,  1859.  His  paternal  grandfather,  who 
was  the  first  white  child  born  in  Guernsey  county,  Ohio,  removed  to  Linton 
township,  Coshocton  county,  where  he  entered  more  than  a  thousand  acres 
of  land.  The  grandmother  of  our  subject  had  the  honor  of  naming  Linton 
township  when  it  was  organized.  A.  Z.  Forney,  father  of  James  F.  Forney, 
was  bom  in  Linton  township,  April  14,  1828,  and  became  very  successful  in 
his  business  undertakings,  being  one  of  the  earliest  stock-raisers.  He  wedded 
Miss  Hulda  Doty,  whose  birth  occurred  in  New  Jersey,  July  6,  1825,  and  who 
passed  away  on  the  29th  of  June,  1896.     A.  Z.  Forney  survived  her  for  a 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  301 

number  of  years,  his  demise  occurring  in  Linton  township  on  the  4th  of 
April,  1904.  Unto  this  worthy  couple  were  born  seven  children:  Harriett, 
the  wife  of  Frank  McAllister;  Joseph,  of  Texas;  James  F.  and  John  A.,  who 
are  the  subjects  of  this  sketch;  Sarah,  the  wife  of  T.  K.  Swan,  of  Guernsey 
county,  Ohio;  Rachel,  who  is  the  wife  of  Isaac  McAllister  and  resides  in 
Linton  township ;  and  one  w^ho  is  deceased. 

James  F.  Forney  remained  under  the  parental  roof  and  worked  for  his 
fathers  until  he  was  twenty-three  years  of  age,  when  the  latter  decided  to  turn 
the  farm  over  to  his  two  sons,  James  F.  and  John  A.  On  the  day  that  John 
A.  Forney  attained  his  majority  he  and  his  brother  formed  a  partnership, 
which  has  been  successfully  continued  to  the  present  time.  They  own  seven 
hundred  acres  of  rich  and  valuable  land  in  Linton  tow^nship,  John  A.  residing 
on  his  farm  of  four  hundred  acres,  while  James  F.  has  lived  on  his  tract  of 
three  hundred  acres  since  1893.  They  are  the  largest  importers  of  Jrench 
Percheron  horses  in  this  part  of  Ohio,  having  commenced  in  this  business 
twenty  years  ago.  They  have  made  three  voyages  to  France  and  on  return- 
ing from  the  last  trip  to  that  country,  brought  back  with  them  sixty  thousand 
dollars'  worth  of  Percheron  stallions  and  mares.  They  have  also  handled 
Clydesdale,  French  ooach  and  Hambletonian  horses,  and  are  widely  recog- 
nized as  prosperous  and  enterprising  citizens  of  their  native  county.  Since 
1905  John  A.  Forney  has  been  secretary  of  the  American  Breeders  &  Impor- 
ters Percheron  Registry  Company  of  the  United  States  and  Canada. 

In  1882  James  F.  Forney  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Charlotte 
Hamersley,  whose  birth  occurred  in  Linton  township  in  1861,  her  parents 
being  T.  J.  and  Mary  L.  (Adams)  Hamersley.  Her  father  was  born  in 
Linton  township  in  1823  and  passed  away  in  1905,  while  the  mother,  whose 
birth  occurred  in  Medina  county,  Ohio,  in  1835,  still  survives.  Their  family 
numbered  four  children,  namely:  Mrs.  Forney;  Lydia  B.,  who  makes  her 
home  in  New  York ;  Mrs.  Lizzie  Culberson,  of  New  Comerstown;  and  Francis, 
at  home.  Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Forney  have  be3n  born  six  children :  Eldridge, 
who  wedded  Edith  Wilson  and  lives  near  home;  Thomas  G.,  Mary,  Rose, 
Helen  and  Hulda,  at  home. 

John  A.  Forney  was  born  on  the  11th  of  March,  1862,  on  the  farm  in 
Linton  township  on  which  he  still  resides.  On  the  15th  of  September,  1892, 
he  was  joined  in  wedlock  to  Miss  Ella  Phillips,  whase  birth  occurred  in 
Guernsey  county,  Ohio,  January  29,  1871,  her  parents  being  George  W.  and 
Eliza  (Mitchell)  Phillips,  both  natives  of  Guernsey  county.  The  father, 
who  was  born  in  1821,  passed  away  in  1904.  The  mother,  whose  natal  day 
was  January  15,  1830,  makes  her  home  in  Plainfield,  Ohio,  having  now  at- 
tained the  age  of  seventy-eight  years.  Of  her  family  of  thirteen  children, 
eight  still  survive,  as  follows:  George  L.,  of  Cleveland,  Ohio;  J.  A.  D., 
residing  in  Nebraska;  T.  J.,  of  Kansas;  G.  F.,  who  makes  his  home  in  Iowa; 
Mis.  Josephine  Dull,  of  Guernsey  county;  Howard,  living  in  Plainfield; 
Mrs.  Charlotte  Cosby,  of  Guernsey  county;  and  ^Irs.  Forney. 

James  F.  and  John  A.  Forney  are  both  republicans  in  their  political  views, 
while  their  religious  faith  is  indicated  by  their  membership  in  the  Methodist 

Episcopal  church.    They  are  well  known  and  highly  esteemed  throughout  thej 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


302  HISTORY    OF    COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

county  in  which  they  have  spent  their  entire  lives,  having  won  the  friendship 
and  regard  of  all  with  whom  they  have  come  in  contact  in  business  or  social 
relations. 


WILLIAM    GREEN. 


William  Green,  who  since  1906,  ha^s  served  as  president  of  the  Ohio 
Mine  Workers  Organization,  is  at  the  head  of  an  association  that  is  of 
marked  value  in  the  industrial  department  of  the  state.  He  was  born  in 
Franklin  township,  March  3,  1870,  a  son  of  Hugh  and  Jane  (Oram)  Green, 
who  came  from  Wales  to  Coshocton  county  in  1868  and  settled  in  Franklin 
township.  The  father  was  engaged  in  mining  in  his  native  country  and  fol- 
lowed that  occupation  after  his  arrival  in  Ohio.  His  family  numbered  two 
sons  and  four  daughters,  of  whom  one  daughter  is  deceased. 

William  Green,  the  eldest  in  his  father's  family,  was  a  youth  of  sixteen 
years  when  he  entered  the  mines  with  his  father.  In  his  early  youth  he 
attended  the  district  schools  but  as  his  aid  was  needed  in  the  support  of  the 
family  his  advantages  in  this  direction  were  somewhat  limited.  He  later 
added  to  his  fund  of  knowledge  by  reading  good  literature  during  his  leisure 
hours  and  in  this  way  acquired  a  good  English  education  and  a  broad  knowl- 
edge of  public  affairs.  He  made  a  close  study  of  mining  interests  and  was 
a  student  of  character,  for  his  close  contact  with  miners  gave  him  ample 
opportunity  for  study  along  this  line.  In  his  early  manhood  he  showed 
a  talent  for  leadership,  which  soon  brought  him  into  prominence  and  in 
1900,  when  but  thirty  years  of  age,  he  was  elected  to  the  presidency  of  Sub- 
district  No.  6  of  the  Ohio  Mine  Workers  Organization,  comprising  the 
counties  of  Coshocton,  Muskingum,  Guernsey,  Perry,  Noble  and  Holmes. 
He  thus  served  for  five  years  when,  having  proved  a  capable  incumbent,  he 
was  called  to  still  higher  honors,  being  elected  in  1906  to  the  presidency  of 
the  Ohio  Mine  Workers  Organization,  and  he  has  filled  the  office  wnth  such 
general  satisfaction  that  he  has  twice  been  reelected  without  opposition. 
This  organization  embraces  the  entire  state  of  Ohio,  and  is  composed  of  a 
membership  of  more  than  forty-six  thousand  men.  Heavy  responsibility 
rests  upon  Mr.  Green  in  this  connection  and  it  is  seldom  that  so  young  a 
man  is  found  in  such  an  important  position  and  this  fact  is  an  indication 
of  his  high  standing  in  mining  circles  and  of  his  capability  for  organizing 
and  directing  forces,  and  thus  he  has  become  a  power  in  mining  circles  in 
the  Buckeye  state. 

Mr.  Green  was  married  April  14,  1892,  to  Mks  Jennie  Mobley.  a 
daughter  of  Frank  and  Mary  Mobley,  of  Coshocton  county.  Four  intercepting 
daughters  grace  their  home:  Flora  E.,  Rather,  Nellie  and  Clara.  The  family 
home  is  a  beautiful  cottage,  near  the  eastern  border  of  Coshocton,  where  the 
children  can  enjoy  good  educational  advantages. 

Mr.  Green's  study  of  the  political  que.-tions  and  issues  of  the  day  has 
led  him  to  give  stalwart  support  to  the  democratic  party.    He  is  a  member 

Digitized  by  LjOOQIC 


WILLIAM  GREEN. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


XtN 


Digitized  by 


Google 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  305 

of  the  Baptist  church  and  hi«  fraternal  relations  are  with  Coshocton  lodge, 
I.  0.  0.  F.,  of  which  he  has  been  a  member  since  1900,  and  also  with  the 
Foresters  of  America.  He  is  an  advocate  of  every  public  measure  or  move- 
ment that  has  for  its  object  the  betterment  of  public  conditions  and  the  ele- 
vation of  mankind.  He  is  a  splendid  type  of  a  self-made  man,  showing  to 
what  position  of  honor  and  influence  a  young  man  may  rise  when  he  ad- 
heres to  strict  honesty,  integrity  and  correct  living.  The  true  measure  of 
success  is  determined  by  what  one  has  accomplished  and,  as  taken  in  contra- 
distinction to  the  old  adage  that  a  prophet  Ls  not  without  honor  save  in  his 
own  country,  there  is  particular  interest  attaching  to  the  career  of  the  subject 
of  this  review,  since  he  is  a  native  son  of  Coshocton  county,  where  he  has 
passed  his  entire  life  and  so  directed  his  ability  and  efforts  as  to  gain  wide 
recognition  as  one  of  the  representative  citizens  of  this  state. 


PETER   PERRINE   DE   HART. 

Peter  Perrine  De  Hart  was  at  one  time  president  of  the  Coshocton  Manu- 
facturing Company  and  a  man  of  well  balanced  powers,  whose  business  and 
social  qualities  gained  for  him  a  creditable  place  in  public  regard.  He  was 
boni  in  Kimbolton,  Guernsey  county,  Ohio,  May  29,  1853.  His  father. 
AVilliam  De  Hart,  was  a  native  of  Trenton,  New  Jersey,  and  on  his  arrival 
in  Ohio  in  1832  became  a  resident  of  Guernsey  county,  where  he  secured 
land  and  followed  farming,  becoming  one  of  the  enterprising  agriculturists 
of  that  locality.  He  was  well  known  and  highly  respected  there.  His 
birth  occurred  in  1800,  his  death  on  the  9th  of  January,  1890,  so  that  he 
lived  to  be  about  ninety  years  of  age.  His  political  support  was  given  to 
the  republican  party.  From  pioneer  times  he  was  active  in  the  development 
of  his  comnumity,  bearing  his  full  share  in  the  work  of  general  progress  and 
improvement  as  wild  lands  were  converted  into  rich  fields  and  log  cabins 
were  supplanted  by  modern  farm  residences.  His  wife^  who  bore  the  maiden 
name  of  Elizabeth  Powers,  was  a  native  of  Pennsylvania  and,  surviving  her 
husband  about  three  yeai^s,  passed  away  in  1893. 

Peter  P.  De  Hart  was  a  pupil  in  the  district  schools  near  his  father's 
home  and  alternated  his  i^chool  work  with  the  labors  of  the  farm.  After  leav- 
ing home  he  went  to  the  west  and  was  variously  employed  for  two  years.  He 
then  returned  to  Guernsey  county  and  became  a  manufacturer  and  sales- 
man, remaining  an  active  factor  in  the  businass  circles  of  that  locality  until 
about  thirty  years  of  age,  when  in  1882  he  removed  to  Coshocton.  Here  he 
entered  into  a  business  agreement  with  E.  C.  Renner,  for  whom  he  became  a 
traveling  salesman  and  later  they  formed  a  partnership  under  the  name  of 
the  Ca^hocton  Manufacturing  Company,  conducting  a  novelty  advertising 
business.  A  year  or  two  later  they  merged  their  interests  with  the  Premiimi 
Manufacturing  Company  and  from  that  time  until  his  death  Mr.  De  Hart  was 
not  active  in  business  management.  He  had  through  former  years  of  activity 
acquired  a  goodly  competence  and  it  supplied  him  throughout  his  remaining 

Digitized  by  LjOOQIC 


306  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

days  with  all  of  the  comforts  and  some  of  the  luxuries  of  life  and  enabled 
him  to  leave  his  family  in  good  circumstances. 

In  1880  Mr.  De  Hart  was  married  to  Mie?s  Ella  Thompson,  of  New 
Comerstown,  Ohio,  and  unto  them  were  born  a  daughter  and  son:  Bemice, 
Mrho  was  born  in  1883  and  is  the  wife  of  Harry  Hunt;  and  Frank,  who  was 
born  in  1888  and  is  still  in  school. 

Mr.  De  Hart  belonged  to  the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks, 
the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  and  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church, 
associations  which  indicated  much  concerning  his  characteristics  and  the 
principles  which  governed  his  actions.  In  community  affairs  he  was  deeply 
interested  and  at  the  time  of  his  death  was  serving  as  a  member  of  the  county 
election  board  and  also  of  the  board  of  public  safety.  He  passed  away  Au- 
gust 28,  1905,  at  the  age  of  fifty-two  years.  He  was  yet  in  the  prime  of  life, 
had  many  friends  and  was  filling  a  position  in  public  affairs  that  made  him 
a  valued  citizen.  Friendship  was  to  him  no  mere  idle  word,  for  he  was  loyal 
to  all  tho?e  to  whom  he  gave  his  confidence  and  good  will.  He  was  also  de- 
voted to  the  welfare  of  his  family  and  his  salient  characteristics  were  such  as 
make  his  example  well  worthy  of  emulation. 


GEORGE  BRANSTOOL. 

George  Branstool,  who  is  extensively  engaged  in  farming  in  New  Castle 
township,  was  born  in  this  township  on  the  24th  of  May,  1869,  his  parents 
being  Lewis  and  Margaret  (Breightenbucher)  Branstool,  both  natives  of 
Holmes  county.  AVhen  still  in  his  boyhood  the  father  came  to  Coshocton 
county  and  has  here  successfully  followed  agricultural  pursuits  throughout 
his  active  business  career,  now  making  his  home  in  Jefferson  township.  His 
wife  also  still  suiTives  and  the  record  of  their  eleven  children  is  as  follows: 
Josephine,  the  wife  of  John  Fox,  of  Tiverton  township;  George,  of  this  re- 
view; one  who  died  in  infancy;  Emanuel  and  Maggie,  both  at  home;  Henry, 
a  resident  of  Pittsburg;  Lydia  and  Levi,  who  have  passed  away;  Bertha  and 
Gusta,  twins,  at  home ;  and  Clarence,  who  is  also  yet  under  the  parental  roof. 

George  Branstool  was  educated  in  the  common  schools  of  his  native  town- 
ship and  remained  on  the  home  farm  until  twenty-one  years  of  age.  He 
then  began  the  operation  of  a  sawmill  and  threshing  machine  and  was  thus 
engaged  for  five  years,  on  the  expiration  of  which  period  he  removed  to 
Loudonville,  Ohio,  where  he  conducted  a  lumberyard  and  planing-mill  for 
ton  years.  Subsequently  he  took  up  his  abode  on  his  present  farm  of  three 
hundred  acres  in  New  Ctistle  township  and  his  since  given  his  time  and 
energies  to  general  agricultural  pursuits.  He  has  placed  many  substantial 
improvements  on  the  property,  which  in  its  neat  and  thrifty  appearance  indi- 
cates the  supervision  of  a  practical  and  progressive  owner.  At  the  outset  of 
his  career  he  had  neither  money  nor  influential  friends  to  aid  him  in  gaining 
a  foothold  but  possessed  the  inherent  force  of  character  and  unabating  energy 

Digitized  by  LjOOQLC 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  307 

which  proved  the  basis  of  his  subsequent  success  and  enabled  him  to  steadily 
advance  toward  the  goal  of  prosperity. 

On  the  16th  of  April,  1896,  Mr.  Branstool  was  united  in  marriage  to 
Miss  Dora  Draper,  of  Tiverton  township,  by  whom  he  has  three  children, 
Nellie,  Lewis  and  Charles,  all  at  home. 

Mr.  Branstool  gives  his  political  allegiance  to  the  men  and  measures  of 
the  democracy  where  national  questions  and  issues  are  involved  but  at  local 
elections  casts  an  independent  ballot.  He  has  served  as  councilman  while 
living  in  Loudonville,  and  has  ever  given  his  active  aid  and  cooperation  to 
movements  instituted  for  the  general  w^elfare.  Fraternally  he  is  connected 
with  the  Knights  of  Pythias  and  the  Modern  Woodmen  of  America  at  Lou- 
donville, and  is  also  affiliated  with  the  Knights  &  Ladies  of  Security.  His  wife 
is  a  devoted  member  of  the  Disciple  church  and  is  highly  esteemed  for  her 
many  good  traits  of  heart  and  mind.  Mr.  Branstool  has  also  gained  an 
extensive  circle  of  friends  here  and  is  widely  recognized  as  a  substantial  and 
public-spirited  citizen  of  his  native  county. 


GEORGE  BALCH. 


George  Balch  who  is  engaged  in  general  farming  and  sheep-raising  in 
White  Eyes  township,  where  he  owns  and  operates  a  good  farm  of  one  hundred 
and  sixty  acres,  was  born  in  Clay  township,  Knox  county,  Ohio,  May  4,  1838. 
His  parents  were  John  W.  and  Malinda  (Hull)  Balch,  the  former  a  native 
of  the  state  of  New  York  and  the  latter  of  Ohio.  His  death  occurred  in  the 
year  1873,  while  his  wife,  who  survived  him  for  twenty  years,  died  in  1893. 

George  Balch  wa?j  reared  under  the  parental  roof  and  was  early  trained 
to  habits  of  industy  and  economy.  His  mental  discipline  was  received  in 
the  public  schools  and  when  he  started  out  in  life  on  his  own  account  he 
was  employed  as  a  sawyer,  but  has  since  been  successful  as  a  carpenter,  mill- 
wright and  farmer.  He  arrived  in  Coshocton  county  in  1852  and  has  re- 
mained here  continuously  since,  with  the  exception  of  the  years  1885,  1866 
and  1867,  spending  that  period  in  Mis^souri.  Upon  his  return  to  this  county 
he  engaged  in  the  lumber  business  for  a  short  time  and  then  bought  a  Tarm 
of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  in  White  Eyes  township,  making  his  home 
thereon  for  two  years.  On  the  expiration  of  that  period  he  sold  the  property 
and  removed  to  Coshocton,  where  he  lived  for  six  months,  after  which  he 
bought  the  farm  upon  which  he  now  resides.  It  is  an  excellent  tract  of  land 
of  one  hundred  and  twelve  acres  located  not  far  from  Fresno  in  White  Eyes 
township.  It  is  well  adapted  to  the  raising  of  the  various  cereals  and  the 
fields  annually  bring  forth  good  crops  for  the  plowing,  planting  and  cultivat- 
ing are  carried  on  in  a  progres.*ive  manner  in  harmony  with  the  ma«Jt  modern 
methods  of  farm  work.  In  addition  to  tilling  the  soil  Mr.  Balch  also  raises 
sheep  and  derivas  considerable  income  from  this  branch  of  the  business. 

In  September,  1865,  occurred  the  marriage  of  Mr.  Balch  and  Miss  Xancy 
J.  Boyd,  who  was  born  in  Keene  township,  this  county,  in  1887,  a  daughter 

Digitized  by  LnOOQlC 


WH  HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

of  John  and  Ba-^ie  (Tony)  Boyd,  who  were  natives  of  Irehmd.  Their  family 
numbered  five  children,  while  unto  Mr.  and  Mr^.  Baleh  have  teen  born  eight 
children,  the  .-^econd  of  whom  ditxi  in  infancy.  The  elde^st  child,  Charle.-,  Is 
ako  decea:5ed.  Emma  L.  and  Eva  M.  were  twiiLs.  The  former  Ls  now  the 
wife  of  E.  E.  Reama-^,  while  the  latter  has  passed  away.  Nannie  E.  is  at  home. 
The  next  three  cliildren  were  trii)lets — John.  Laura  M.  and  Leola  Jane.  The 
first  two  named  are  upon  the  old  home  farm,  which  John  is  engaged  in 
operating,  and  Leola  Jane  ii?  now  the  wife  of  J.  R.  McClary,  of  West  Lafayette, 
Ohio.  The  death  of  Mrs.  Balch  occurred  in  December,  1907,  her  husband 
and  five  children  being  left  to  mourn  her  loss.  Her  remains  were  laid  to 
resst  in  the  Lewi^ville  cemetery  and  her  death  was  deeply  regretted  by  many 
friends  who  knew  her  as  a  most  estimable  lady  and  a  loving  and  devoted  wife 
end  mother.  She  was  a  faithful  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  to  which 
Mr.  Balch  also  belongs.  He  ii^  a  member  of  the  Grange,  and  in  politics  is  an 
earnest  republican,  with  firm  faith  in  the  principles  of  the  party.  He  has 
served  as  township  trustee  and  for  several  terms  has  been  a  member  of  the 
school  board,  in  which  connection  he  has  rendered  valuable  service  to  the 
cause  of  public  e<iucation.  For  more  than  half  a  century  he  has  lived  in 
this  county  and  has  witnessed  many  changes  here,  as  the  old  habits  of  life 
and  work  have  been  replaced  by  the  evidences  of  a  modem  civilization.  He 
has  always  kept  in  touch  with  the  trend  of  the  times  in  agricultural  progress 
and  has  ever  been  interested  in  what  the  county  has  accomplished  in  other 
lines.  He  is  recognized  as  a  man  of  genuine  worth,  in  whom  any  one  may 
safely  trust,  for  his  life  has  been  guided  by  high  principles  and  characterized 
bv  manlv  conduct. 


C.  O.  MERCER. 


C.  O.  Mercer,  a  successful  auctioneer  and  farmer  residing  in  Perry  town- 
ship, was  born  near  Bladensburg,  Knox  county,  Ohio,  October  10,  1867,  his 
parents  being  Levi  and  Jane  (Houck)  Mercer.  The  grandfather,  Levi  Mercer, 
w^ho  was  a  cabinetmaker  by  trade,  journeyed  from  Washington  county,  Penn- 
sylvania, to  Knox  county,  Ohio,  being  among  the  early  settlers  there.  He 
spent  the  remainder  of  his  life  in  that  county  and  carried  on  agricultural  pur- 
suits as  a  life  work.  Levi  Mercer,  the  father  of  C.  O.  Mercer,  was  born  in  Knox 
county  and  there  resided  until  the  year  1875,  when  he  removed  to  Licking 
county,  where  he  made  his  home  until  called  to  his  final  rest  in  1898.  He  wa« 
a  graduate  of  Kenyon  College  and  a  classmate  of  President  Hayes.  In  connec- 
tion with  auctioneering,  in  which  line  of  activity  he  was  very  successful,  he 
also  carried  on  farming  and  blacksmithing.  Politically  he  was  a  democrat, 
fraternally  a  Mason  and  in  religious  faith  was  a  Methodist.  He  was  moreover  a 
public-spirited  citizen  and  his  aid  and  influence  could  always  be  counted  upon 
to  further  any  movement  or  measure  instituted  for  the  general  welfare.  His 
wife,  a  native  of  Bladen.sburg,  Knox  county,  was  there  reared  and  married 

Digitized  by  LjOOQIC 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON    COUNTY  309 

and  still  survives,  now  making  her  home  in  Licking  county.  Unto  this 
worthy  couple  were  born  nine  children,  namely:  Wilmette,  deceased;  Luna, 
the  wife  of  G.  F.  Van  Winkle,  a  farmer  of  Knox  county;  Evalina,  the  de- 
ceased wife  of  Robert  Gardner;  Josephine,  the  wife  of  W.  O.  Bickem,  who  is 
engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits  near  Bladensburg,  Knox  county;  Daisy,  the 
wife  of  W.  O.  Wright,  of  Coshocton  county;  Clarence,  who  has  passed  away; 
C.  O.,  of  this  review;  John,  who  Ls  also  decea.-ed;  and  George,  who  is  manager 
of  the  Des  Moines  branch  of  the  Negal  Clothing  Company. 

C.  0.  Mercer  was  educated  in  the  district  schools  of  his  native  county 
and  started  to  cry  sales  w^hen  only  fourteen  years  of  age,  having  since  been 
successfully  connected  with  the  auctioneering  business.  He  has  sold  more 
goods  than  any  other  auctioneer  in  the  state  of  Ohio  and  has  also  done 
work  along  this  line  in  the  adjoining  states.  Though  he  has  confined  his 
operations  principally  to  Ohio  and  Pennsylvania,  he  has  also  done  some  work 
in  Iowa,  Illinois  and  Indiana.  He  owns  one  hundred  acres  of  valuable  and 
well  improved  land  in  Perry  township  and  in  his  farming  operations  has 
also  gained  a  gratifying  measure  of  prosperity,  the  fields  annually  returning 
golden  harvests  in  return  for  the  care  and  labor  which  he  bestows  upon  them. 

In  1889  Mr.  Mercer  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Ella  Rine,  a  daughter 
of  J.  C.  Rine,  who  resides  near  New  Guilford,  Coshocton  county.  They  now 
have  three  children,  Han^%  Lewis  and  Forrest,  all  at  home. 

In  politics  Mr.  Mercer  is  a  democrat  and  fraternally  is  connected  with 
the  Knights  of  Pythias  lodge  at  New  Guilford,  in  which  he  has  passed  through 
all  the  chairs.  His  life  has  been  one  of  continuous  activity,  in  which  has 
been  accorded  due  recognition  of  labor  and  today  he  is  numbered  among  the 
substantial  citizens  of  hi^  countv. 


JOSEPH  WORKMAN. 
Joseph  Workman  is  engaged  in  general  agricultural  pursuits  and  owns 
seventy-four  aeres  of  rich  and  well  improved  land  in  Tiverton  township.  He 
was  born  on  a  farm  in  Tiverton  township.  May  14,  1851,  a  son  of  Jesse  and 
Nancy  (Conner)  Workman.  The  father  was  born  in  Belmont  county,  Ohio, 
in  1810,  and  was  a  lad  of  ten  years  when  he  came  to  Co.shocton  county,  where 
he  was  reared.  He  followed  farming  as  a  life  work,  ma<tly  in  this  county. 
In  1837,  however,  he  went  to  Sullivan  county,  Indiana,  and  there  remained 
imtil  1845,  when  he  returned  to  Coshocton  county,  where  he  was  engaged  in 
farming  until  just  before  his  death,  when  he  removed  to  Holmes  county  and 
there  passed  away  in  1873,  his  remains  being  interred  in  Tiverton.  His  first 
wife,  who  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Nancy  Conner,  was  born  in  Pennsylvania, 
and  died  in  1863.  She  became  the  mother  of  ten  children,  namely:  Nealy 
and  Grace,  who  are  decea=^ed;  Solomon,  who  follows  farming  in  Sullivan 
county,  Indiana;  James  R.,  Lewis,  Maria,  John  and  Ruey,  all  of  whom  have 
departed  this  life;  and  Mary  and  Joseph,  twins,  but  the  former  is  deceased. 
Following  the  death  of  his  wife,  Jesse  Workman  was  again  married,  his 
second  union  being  with   Maria  Parsons,   by   whom  he  had  two  children: 


Digitized  by 


v^oogle 


310  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON  COUNTY 

Alvie  J.,  a  telegraph  operator  in  Marshallville,  Ohio;  and  Willis  T.,  who  fol- 
lows farming  in  Tiverton  township. 

Joseph  Workman,  the  immediate  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  educated  iii 
the  district  schools  of  Tiverton  township  and  remained  under  the  parental 
roof  until  he  had  reached  the  age  of  twenty-two  years.  During  this  time  he 
had  been  trained  in  the  duties  of  the  home  farm,  so  that  at  that  age  he  was 
well  prepared  to  carry  on  farming  on  his  own  account.  He  owns  seventy- 
four  acres  of  land  in  Tiverton  township,  twenty-four  acres  in  one  tract  and 
fifty  acres  in  another,  the  latter  tract  being  well  adapted  to  the  raising  of 
wheat.  Mr.  Workman  is  successful  in  his  work  and  Is  numbered  among  the 
substantial  citizens  of  his  locality. 

Mr.  Workman  was  married  in  1895  to  Miss  Lizzie  A.  Lonon,  a  resident 
of  Coshocton  county.  In  politics  he  is  a  democrat  and  in  1902-03  served  as 
assessor  of  his  township.  He  and  his  wife  are  members  of  the  Baptist  church 
and  are  people  of  the  highest  respectability,  commanding  the  confidence  and 
esteem  of  a  large  circle  of  friends. 


MAJOR    THOMAS    J.    PLATT. 

For  sixteen  yeare  Major  Thomas  J.  Piatt  has  been  numbered  among  the 
prominent  and  progressive  citizens  of  West  Lafayette  as  president  of  the 
West  Lafayette  Bank.  He  has  also  taken  an  active  interest  in  other  public 
enterprises  and  may  therefore  be  termed  one  of  the  builders  of  this  village, 
for  his  connection  with  any  undertaking  insures  a  prosperous  outcome  of 
the  same. 

Mr.  Piatt  is  a  native  of  the  Buckeye  state,  born  in  Linton  township, 
Coshocton  county,  December  16,  1840,  a  son  of  Thomas  and  Eliza  (Harbi- 
son) Piatt.  Both  the  Piatt  and  the  Harbison  families  were  early  settlers  of 
this  section  of  the  state,  the  paternal  grandfather  having  settled  here  in  1816, 
at  which  time  he  entered  land  from  the  government.  He  served  in  the  war 
of  1812.  The  maternal  grandfather  came  from  Baltimore,  Maryland,  to 
Linton  township,  Coshocton  county,  in  1830,  and  was  therefore  classed 
among  its  pioneer  settlers. 

The  father,  Thomas  Piatt,  was  born  in  New  Jersey,  while  the  birth  of 
the  mother  occurred  in  Baltimore,  Maryland.  The  father  was  a  carpenter 
by  trade  but  abandoned  that  pursuit  at  the  time  of  the  Civil  war  to  become 
a  member  of  Company  I,  Sixty-ninth  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry,  with  which 
he  sensed  for  two  years.  He  participated  in  the  battle  of  Stone  River  and  in 
many  other  hotly  contested  engagements  during  the  struggle  between  the 
north  and  the  south.  He  was  a  democrat  in  his  political  views  and  allegiance 
and  took  a  prominent  and  active  part  in  the  political  life  of  this  section  of 
the  state.  He  served  as  coroner  and  as  sheriff  of  Coshocton  county.  His 
death  occurred  May  12,  1897,  while  his  ^-ife  was  called  to  her  final  rest  many 
years  before,  her  death  occurring  May  12,  1861.  just  thirty-six  years  pre- 
vious.    Their  union   was  blessed  with   the  following  children:    Thomas  J., 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


Digitized  by 


Google 


' 

1 

1    - 

i 

^    U  1^^ 

-    >-  t  -  < 

T 

ASTOR 

TILDLN 

FOUNOA 

ANO 

Digitized  by 


Google 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON    COUNTY  313 

of  this  review;  Alten  H.,  a  resident  of  Coshocton;  Mary  J.,  the  widow 
of  William  Smith;  John  P.,  who  makes  his  home  in  Cameron,  Missouri; 
Robert  V.,  who  has  departed  this  life;  Agnes,  the  widow  of  Victor  Vickers; 
Emmett,  deceased;  Bell,  the  w^fe  of  Henry  Norris  and  a  resident  of  Coshoc- 
ton county;  Joseph  11.,  of  Plainfield,  Ohio;  and  one  who  died  in  infancy. 
Not  only  the  father  but  four  of  his  sons,  Allen  H.,  Thomas  J.,  John  Parker 
and  Robert  V.,  manifested  their  loyalty  and  patriotism  by  serving  in  the 
Civil  war  and  fortunately  all  returned  home  uninjured,  none  being  wounded 
in  battle.. 

Thomas  J.  Piatt  w'as  reared  to  agricultural  pursuits  and  acquired  his 
education  in  the  common  schools.  At  the  age  of  seventeen  years  he  began 
business  life  as  a  clerk  in  the  employ  of  a  cousin  in  Perry  county,  Ohio,  with 
whom  he  remained  for  four  years.  He  then  put  aside  all  business  and  per- 
sonal considerations  and  offered  his  services  to  the  government  at  the  time 
of  the  Civil  war,  becoming  a  member  of  Company  F,  Seventeenth  Ohio 
Volunteer  Infantry,  which  he.  joined  April  21,  1861,  for  three  months' 
service,  the  company  being  organized  at  Lancaster,  this  state.  At  the  end 
of  that  period  he  reenlisted  for  three  years,  October  11,  1861,  as  a  member 
of  Company  D,  Sixty-second  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry.  On  the  16th  of 
November  of  that  year  he  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  sergeant  and  was  with 
his  regiment  at  the  battle  of  Winchester,  Virginia,  March  23,  1862;  and  at 
Harrison's  Landing,  July  10,  1862.  On  account  of  a  vacancy  caused  by 
death  of  the  first  lieutenant  he  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  second  lieu- 
tenant, July  13,  1863,  while  still  later  he  was  commissioned  first  lieutenant 
at  Morris  Island,  South  Carolina.  His  regiment  took  an  active  part  in  the 
assault  on  Fort  Wagner,  where  they  lost  in  killed  and  wounded  seventy-five 
men.  On  the  24th  of  October,  1863,  he  was  promoted  to  the  captaincy  of 
his  company,  which  took  F6rt  Gregg,  and  he  was  also  in  the  siege  at  Charles- 
ton. At  Richmond,  Virginia,  on  the  26th  of  December,  1864,  he  w^as  com- 
missioned major  of  his  regiment  and  saw  active  service  during  the  campaign 
before  Richmond  and  Petersburg.  On  the  16th  of  June  of  the  same  year 
he  was  commissioned  lieutenant  colonel  but  as  there  was  not  a  vacancy  it 
was  a  complimentary  commission  and  he  was  never  mustered  into  the  office. 
On  the  1st  of  August,  1865,  the  Sixty^econd  and  Sixty-seventh  Ohio  Regi- 
ments were  consolidated  and  the  surplus  officers  of  both  were  mustered  out 
of  service.  Major  Piatt  being  retained  in  that  povsition  with  the  Sixty-seventh 
Ohio  Regiment  and  was  mustered  out  with  that  rank  on  the  7th  of  Decem- 
ber, 1865.  He  displayed  marked  bravery  during  his  entire  service  as  is 
indicated  by  the  fact  of  his  promotion  to  the  rank  of  major.  While  located 
at  Port  Royal  or  Hilton  Head,  his  regiment  reenlisted  for  three  years  or 
until  the  close  of  the  w^ar  and  were  granted  a  thirty  days^  furlough.  After 
boarding  a  ship  to  return  home.  Major  Piatt  was  ordered  back  to  land  to  take 
charge  of  a  part  of  the  Thirty-ninth  Illinois  Infantry  who  w^ere  without  an 
officer  and  he  remained  with  them  from  the  first  of  January,  1864,  until 
the  latter  part  of  the  follow^ing  April,  when  he  returned  north  with  the  regi- 
ment and  me^t  his  old  Ohio  comrades.  The  transfer  was  made  at  Gloucester 
Point,  Virginia,  but  before  leaving  for  home  the  Illinois  boys  presented  the 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


314  HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

Major  with  a  beautiful  sword,  scabbard  and  sash,  as  a  token  of  their  love  and 
respect  for  him  and  what  he  had  done  for  them. 

Returning  to  his  home,  at  the  close  of  the  war,  Major  Piatt  formed  a 
partnership  with  David  Brelsford  in  the  conduct  of  a  mercantile  est«,blish- 
ment  at  Plainfield,  Ohio,  but  in  1868  he  retired  from  the  firm  and  for  one 
year  was  employed  as  traveling  salesman  by  Jewe.tt  &  Company,  of  Newark, 
Ohio.  He  then  purchased  a  stock  of  merchandise  of  Jonathan  Wiggins  and 
carried  on  businerf^  successfully  until  1892,  when  he  retired  and  removed  to 
West  Lafayette,  since  which  time  he  has  made  his  home  in  this  village. 
He  was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  West  Lafayette  Bank,  of  w^hich  he  is 
now  acting  as  president.  He  is  a  careful  man  of  business  and  it  is  largely 
through  his  individual  efforts  that  the  bank  has  been  classed  among  the  solid 
and  safe  banking  institutions  of  this  section  of  the  state. 

Major  Piatt  was  married  June  20,  1867,  to  Miss  Ella  C.  Sangster,  who 
was  born  in  Virginia,  July  16,  1848,  a  daughter  of  Charles  F.  and  Sarah 
(Gore)  Sangster,  both  of  whom  were  natives  of  Loudoun  county,  that  state, 
coming  to  Ohio  in  1850,  at  which  time  they  made  a  settlement  in  Muskin- 
gum county,  while  later  they  took  up  their  abode  in  Coshocton  county, 
where  they  purchased  a  tract  of  land.  Their  family  numbered  nine  chil- 
dren, of  whom  Mrs.  Piatt  was  the  second  in  order  of  birth  By  her  marriage 
she  has  become  the  mother  of  four  children,  a  son  and  three  daughten^,  as 
follows:  Harry,  w^ho  is  a  traveling  salesman  and  makes  hLs  home  in  Cashoc- 
ton ;  Anna  S.,  the  wife  of  F.  E.  Karr,  who  is  engaged  in  the  insurance?  busi- 
ness in  Coshocton;  Nellie  Lee,  who  was  graduated  from  the  AVest  liafayette 
liigh  school  and  is  at  home;  and  Carrie  M.,  the  wife  of  Charles  W^alter.-,  who 
i.s  engaged  in  the  hardware  business  in  connection  with  his  father  and 
brothers  under  the  firm  name  of  John  A.  Walters  &  Sons,  in  West  Lafayette. 

Major  Piatt  maintains  pleasant  relations  with  his  old  army  comrades 
through  his  membership  with  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic  at  Plain- 
field,  while  both  he  and  his  wife  are  devoted  and  consistent  members  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church.  He  has  been  watchful  of  all  the  details  of  his 
busines^s  and  of  ull  indications  pointing  to  prosperity  and  from  the  beginning 
has  had  an  abiding  faith  in  the  ultimate  success  of  the  bank.  He  has  gained 
wealth,  yet  it  has  not  been  alone  the  goal  for  which  he  has  striven,  for  he 
belongs  to  that  class  of  representative  American  citizens  who  promote  the 
general  prosperity  w^hile  advancing  individual  interasts. 


JOHN  C.  MISKIMEN. 

The  list  of  the  leading  citizens  of  Coshocton  county  contains  the  name 
of  John  C.  Miskimen,  one  of  the  wealthy  landowners  of  Linton  township, 
where  he  possesses  four  hundred  acres.  He  was  born  in  Coshocton  county, 
September  27,  1857,  a  son  of  John  and  Rachel  (Burt)  Miskimen.  The 
family  was  established  in  this  section  of  the  state  when  the  paternal  grapd- 
father  came  here  and  entered  a  large  tract  of  land  from  the  government  in 

Digitized  by  LjOOQLC 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  315 

1806.  The  father  of  our  subject,  John  Miskimen,  was  bom  in  this  county, 
July  21,  1815,  while  the  mother  was  born  in  Orange  county,  New  York,  and 
came  to  this  county  with  her  parents  when  a  young  lady  of  sixteen  years. 
The  father  followed  farming  as  a  life  work  and  at  the  time  of  his  death 
owned  fourteen  hundred  acres.  He  made  a  special  study  of  agriculture  and 
was  very  successful  in  his  undertakings.  He  was  a  republican  in  his  po- 
litical belief  but  was  not  active  as  an  office  seeker.  He  followed  farming  in 
Oxford  township  from  the  time  of  his  marriage  until  1869,  when  he  removed 
to  New  Comerstown  but  enjoyed  his  new  home  for  only  a  short  period,  passing 
away  there  July  10,  1870,  while  his  wife  survived  for  a  few  years  and  died 
April  5,  1876.  Their  family  numbered  twelve  children,  of  w^hom  only  five 
survive:  Daniel;  Frank;  George;  John  C,  of  this  review;  Mary,  the  wife  of 
George  W.  Miskimen,  who,  though  of  the  same  name,  was  no  relation. 


JOHN   CROUL. 


The  name  Croul  is  an  old  and  prominent  one  in  agricultural  circles  in 
Coshocton  county,  for  from  the  time  of  its  earliest  pioneer  settlement  mem- 
bers of  the  family  have  been  actively  connected  with  its  development  and 
improvement.  John  Croul  is  a  worthy  representative  of  this  family,  his 
birth  having  occurred  on  the  farm  which  is  now  his  home,  June  12,  1850, 
being  the  youngest  of  three  children  bom  of  the  marriage  of  Louis  and 
Elizabeth  (Miller)  Croul,  both  of  whom  were  natives  of  Germany.  The 
father  emigrated  to  the  United  States  when  a  boy  and  located  in  this  county. 
The  Ohio  canal  was  at  that  time  under  course  of  construction  and  the  father 
secured  work  in  this  connection,  being  thus  employed  for  some  time.  After 
the  completion  of  the  canal  he  engaged  in  farming.  He  bore  many  hard- 
ships and  trials  incident  to  life  in  a  new  country,  for  the  methods  of  farming 
were  very  crude  as  compared  to  those  of  the  present  day.  He  tilled  his  fields 
with  the  use  of  oxen  and  had  to  go  long  distances  to  mill  and  market.  At 
one  time  he  split  nine  hundred  rails  and  carried  them  on  his  back  to  the  place 
where  he  built  a  fence.  He  was  highly  esteemed  in  this  section  of  the  state 
as  one  of  its  pioneer  settlers  and  his  death,  which  occurred  in  1898,  was  the 
occasion  of  deep  regret  to  his  many  friends.  The  wife  and  mother  died  many 
year?  before,  her  demise  occurring  in  1880.  Their  family  numbered  three 
children:  William,  a  farmer  of  Clark  township;  Dora  Elizabeth,  deceased; 
and  John,  of  this  review. 

John  Croul  acquired  his  education  in  the  district  schools  of  Jefferson 
township  and  remained  on  the  home  farm  until  he  reached  the  age  of  twenty- 
seven  years.  During  this  time  he  assisted  his  father  in  the  work  of  plowing, 
planting  and  har\Tsting.  After  establishing  a  home  of  his  own  he  lived  near 
his  parents  and  continued  to  render  assistance  to  his  father  until  the  latter's 
death.  Mr.  Croul  now  owns  eighty  acres  of  rich  and  arable  land,  forty  acres 
of  which  is  located  in  Jefferson  township  and  forty  acres  in  Monroe  town- 
ship.    He  has  developed    and    improved  the  land,  having  erected  a  good 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


316  HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

iiiodern  home  and  many  »suhstantial  outbuildings  for  the  shelter  of  grain  and 
stock,  and  everything  about  the  place  is  kept  in  a  neat  and  thrifty  appeju*- 
II nee.  In  addition  to  carrying  on  general  farming  he  also  raises  good  grades 
of  stock  and  this  branch  of  his  business  is  proving  profitable  to  him. 

It  was  in  1886  that  Mr.  Croul  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Jo-ephine 
Filler,  a  resident  of  Monroe  township,  who  by  her  marriage  becanie  the 
mother  of  one  daughter,  Dora  Elizabeth,  now  deceased.  Mr.  Croul  gives  his 
political  support  to  the  men  and  measures  of  democracy  and  his  fraternal 
relations  are  with  the  Patrons  of  Industry.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Lutheran 
church  and  has  been  superintendent  of  the  Sunday  school,  while  his  wife  is  a 
member  of  the  Evangelical  church.  He  displays  splendid  judgment  in  carry- 
ing on  his  business  affairs  and  to  those  whose  good  fortune  it  is  to  know  him 
intimately,  his  companionship  and  friendship  are  appreciated  and  helpful. 


STOKELY  S.  FISHER,  D.D.,  Sc.D. 

Stokely  S.  Fisher,  pastor  of  the  Methodist  Protestant  church  at  Coshoc- 
ton, was  born  on  a  farm  near  Woodsfield,  Monroe  county,  Ohio,  August  8, 
1865.  The  same  locality  was  the  birthplace  of  his  father,  Simon  A.  Fisher, 
whose  natal  day  was  September  18,  1845.  The  father  was  educated  for  the 
niinistry  of  the  Methodist  Protestant  church  and  filled  several  different 
charges,  being  pastor  at  New  Comerstown,  Steubenville  and  other  places.  Ho 
engaged  in  preaching  for  nearly  forty  years  and  in  1898  accepted  the  pastorate 
of  the  Methodist  Protestant  church  of  Coshocton,  where  he  continued  in  the 
active  work  of  the  denomination  until  1903,  when  he  was  stricken  with 
paralysis  and  passed  away.  For  two  years  he  was  president  of  the  Muskingum 
conference  and  served  on  all  the  principal  church  boards  under  the  direction 
of  the  general  conference.  For  sixteen  years  he  was  president  of  the  Home 
Mission  church  and  was  the  first  president  of  the  board  of  trustees  of  the 
West  Lafayette  College.  He  acted  as  a  delegate  to  all  the  conferences  of  his 
church  during  his  ministerial  career  with  the  exception  of  two,  and  many 
honors  came  to  him  in  recognition  of  his  ability  and  his  consecration  and 
zeal  in  his  holy  calling.  The  degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity  was  conferred 
upon  him  by  the  Kansas  City  University,  which  is  the  principal  educational 
institution  of  his  church.  He  was  instrumental  in  erecting  several  houses  of 
worship,  including  one  at  Cambridge  and  one  at  Coshocton,  and  from  the 
period  of  his  earliest  identification  with  the  ministry  he  was  unfaltering  in 
his  efforts  to  promote  the  growth  of  the  denomination  with  which  he  wa« 
identified.  He  was  widely  recognized  as  one  of  the  most  prominent  divines 
of  the  Methodist  Protestant  faith  and  the  church  met  a  distinct  loss  in  hi^ 
death,  which  occurred  September  22,  1905.  His  memory,  however,  remains 
as  a  blessed  benediction  to  all  who  knew  him,  while  his  words  linger  a-  a 
source  of  inspiration  and  encouragement  to  tha^e  who  came  under  his  teach- 
ing. He  married  Maria  Westbrook,  a  native  of  Woodsfield,  Monroe  county, 
Ohio,  who  is  still  living  at  the  age  of  sixty-two  years.  Her  father  was  a 
veteran  of  the  Civil  war,  v«erving  a«i  captain  of  a  cavalry  company. 

.Google 


Digitized  by  ^ 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  317 

Dr.  Fisher,  whose  name  introduces  this  record,  attended  the  public 
schools  of  the  various  towns  to  which  the  itinerant  customs  of  the  Methodist 
ministry  took  the  family.  He  was  graduated  from  the  Cambridge  (Ohio) 
high  .-chool  in  1882  and  afterward  attended  the  Adrian  (Mich.)  College, 
the  principal  institution  of  learning  of  his  denomination.  However,  he  had 
entered  the  ministry  at  the  age  of  seventeen  years  and  was  regularly  ordained 
at  the  age  of  nineteen,  before  he  had  completed  his  college  course.  His  first 
charge  was  at  Wellsville,  Columbiana  county,  Ohio,  and  later  he  served  the 
churches  at  Byesville,  Empire,  Attica,  Cambridge,  West  Lafayette  and  Co- 
shocton. In  1895  he  accepted  the  presidency  of  the  West  Lafayette  College, 
continuing  at  the  head  of  that  institution  until  he  came  to  Coshocton  in  1897. 

In  all  the  intervening  years  Dr.  FLsher  had  been  a  close  student  of  litera- 
ture and  science  and  pursued  non-resident  work  under  the  direction  of  various 
colleges.  In  1883  he  brought  forth  his  first  volume  of  poems,  published  by 
G.  L.  Manchester,  of  Columbus,  and  this  was  followed  by  other  editions  in 
1884  and  1886.  From  that  period  on  he  did  little  work  in  that  direction 
until  a  recent  date,  when  he  has  resumed  his  literary  interests  and  is  a  regular 
contributor  to  various  standard  magazines  and  religious  publications.  His 
early  poem  of  greatest  note  is  Lelia  Lee.  He  is  also  the  author  of  a  number 
of  essays  on  scientific  subjects,  treating  of  microscopical  biology.  His  superior 
scholarship  has  won  recognition  from  different  schools,  the  Kansas  City 
University  conferring  upon  him  the  Doctor  of  Divinity  degree  in  1904,  while 
from  West  Lafayette  College,  in  1905,  he  received  the  degree  of  Doctor  of 
Science. 

On  the  1st  of  July,  1886,  Dr.  Fisher  was  married  to  Miss  Alwilda  Adelee 
Smith,  of  Fairview%  Ohio,  and  they  became  the  parents  of  seven  children,  but 
Charier?  W.,  born  December  11,  1887,  died  on  the  17th  of  October,  1905.  The 
others  are:  Stokely  M.,  born  February  6,  1890;  Mary  Lillian,  whose  birth 
occurred  December  26,  1891;  Ruth  Gertrude,  whose  natal  day  was  July  4, 
1894;  Edith  Adelee,  born  December  13,  1896;  Thomas  Smith,  who  was  born 
March  19,  1899;  and  Melville  Eugene,  born  September  25,  1907. 

Dr.  Fisher  is  a  member  of  the  American  Microscopical  Society,  the 
American  Geographical  Society  and  several  other  organizations  for  scientific 
research.  He  is  independent  in  his  political  views,  nor  is  he  a  man  of  biased 
opinions  in  any  line.  Broad  thought,  wide  research  and  careful  consideration 
<haracterize  his  ideas  upon  all  subjects  of  importance.  He  has  gone  beyond 
the  point  where  vision  is  limited  by  a  narrow  sectarianism,  having  reached 
the  higher  plane  which  recognizes  the  universal  brotherhood  and  the  need  of 
humanity  for  something  that  will  lead  to  the  unfolding  of  character  in  accord- 
ance with  the  highest  ideals  of  Christian  living.  He  preaches  a  doctrine  of 
faith  and  hope  rather  than  of  criticism  and  since  called  to  the  pastorate  of 
the  Methodist  Protestant  church  of  Ca^hocton  in  September,  1906,  has  been 
regarded  as  one  of  the  ablest  ministers  of  this  city.  Although  the  church  is 
young  in  years,  it  is  now  the  third  largest  in  Coshocton  and  its  attendance  is 
greater  than  that  of  any  other  in  proportion  to  its  membership.  He  is  a 
popular  pastor,  honored  and  respected  alike  by  people  of  all  denominations, 
and  under  his  guidance  the  church  is  making  rapid  progress  and  proving  a   j 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


318  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON  COUNTY 

potent  influence  for  good  in  the  community.  Dr.  Fisher  ha^  filled  almost 
all  the  positions  of  honor  in  his  church,  his  history  being,  in  this  respect, 
practically  identical  with  that  of  his  father. 


MATTHEW   T.   MOOREHEAD,  M.  D. 

Dr.  Matthew  T.  Moorehead,  a  successful  medical  practitioner  of  Plain- 
field,  was  born  in  Muskingum  county,  Ohio,  December  14,  1860,  his  parents 
being  Samuel  and  Elizabeth  (Graham)  Moorehead,  the  former  a  native  of 
Jefferson  county,  Pennsylvania.  Samuel  Moorehead  was  a  lad  of  eight  years 
when  he  accompanied  his  parents  on  their  removal  to  Muskingum  county, 
Ohio,  where  he  was  reared  and  married.  He  was  a  carpenter  by  occupation 
and  built  the  first  gristmill  in  Muskingum  county.  His  death  occurred  in 
1893  when  he  was  eighty-four  years  of  age,  and  his  wife  passed  away  in  1881, 
when  sixty  years  of  age.  Unto  this  worthy  couple  were  born  four  children, 
namely :  John  G.,  of  Seattle,  Washington ;  James  C,  who  resides  in  StaflFord. 
Kansas ;  Samuel  L.,  who  is  in  the  United  States  secret  service  at  San  Francisot*. 
California;  and  Matthew  T.,  of  this  review. 

The  last  named  acquired  a  common-school  education  in  Bloomfield,  and 
subsequently  pursued  his  studies  in  the  McCorkle  College  at  Bloomfield,  con- 
ducted under  the  auspices  of  the  Social  Reform  Presbyterian  church.  Deter- 
mining upon  the  practice  of  medicine  as  a  life  work,  he  entered  the  Cincinnati 
(Ohio)  Medical  School  in  1883  and  was  graduated  from  that  institution  in 
1889.  He  had  been  compelled  to  work  his  way  through  college,  thus  early 
manifesting  the  strong  purpose  and  laudable  ambition  which  have  ever  spurred 
him  onward  and  upward.  On  the  8th  of  August,  1889,  he  arrived  in  Plain- 
field  with  but  sixty  cents  in  his  pocket,  and  that  he  has  since  gained  standing 
and  prominence  in  the  ranks  of  the  medical  fraternity  here  is  indicat<?d  by 
his  large  and  profitable  patronage.  Among  the  young  men  who  have  read 
medicine  under  his  supervision  and  who  are  now  practicing  successfully  may 
be  mentioned  Dr.  Hahn,  who  is  located  at  Tiverton  Center.  W.  C.  Kinner, 
who  studied  in  his  office  for  two  years,  was  graduated  from  the  Ohio  Medical 
College  at  Cincinnati,  and  is  now  practicing  at  Adamsville,  Ohio.  Dr.  Moore- 
head owns  two  hundred  and  twenty-seven  acres  of  rich  and  valuable  land  in 
Linton  township,  and  likewise  has  a  beautiful  residence  in  Plainfield.  He  is 
a  stockholder  and  director  in  the  People's  Bank  of  Coshocton,  and  is  well 
known  and  highly  esteemed  as  one  of  the  substantial  and  enterprising  citizens 
of  the  county,  his  success  being  all  the  more  creditable  by  reason  of  the  fact 
that  it  has  been  achieved  entirely  through  his  owti  efforts. 

In  1897  Dr.  Moorehead  was  joined  in  wedlock  to  Miss  Mary  S.  Talmage, 
a  native  of  Coshocton  county,  her  parents  being  Henrv^  and  Mary  (Williams) 
Talmage.  By  this  union  there  are  four  children:  Laura  Lenora,  Matthew 
Talmage,  James  Raymond  and  Helen  Ros^e. 

In  hLs  political  views  Dr.  Moorehead  is  a  stalwart  republican,  while 
fraternally  he  is  connected  with  Plainfield  Lodge,  No.  224,  A.  F.  &  A.  M., 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON  COUNTY  319 

and  Plainfield  Lodge,  No.  776,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  both  of  Plainfield.  His  religious 
faith  is  indicated  by  his  membership  in  the  United  Presbyterian  church, 
while  his  wife  is  identified  with  the  Methodist  Episcopal  denomination. 


ANDREW  J.  HENDERSON. 

Andrew  J.  Henderson  is  a  retired  farmer  who  for  many  years  was 
actively  engaged  in  general  agricultural  pursuits  and  by  reason  of  his  energy 
and  careful  management  gained  the  competence  that  now  enables  him  to 
rest  from  further  labor  and  yet  enjoy  the  comforts  of  life.  He  was  born 
in  White  Eyes  township,  March  28,  1843,  and  is  a  son  of  John  and  Nancy 
(Stonehocker)  Henderson.  The  father's  birth  occurred  in  this  state  in 
1811  although  he  was  of  Irish  descent.  The  mother  was  born  in  White 
Eyes  township  in  1812,  representing  one  of  the  old  pioneer  families  who 
aided  largely  in  converting  the  district  from  a  frontier  region  into  a  place 
possessing  all  of  the  advantages  incident  to  modern  civilization.  The  death 
of  Mr.  Henderson  occurred  January  21,  1870,  while  his  wife  passed  away 
many  years  before,  dying  September  20,  1847.  They  were  the  parents  of 
four  children:  Jacob  and  Mary,  both  of  whom  are  deceased;  Andrew  J., 
of  this  review;  and  Elizabeth,  who  has  departed  this  life. 

Andrew  J.  Henderson  remained  upon  the  home  farm  through  the 
period  of  his  boyhood  and  youth,  working  on  the  place  in  the  summer 
months,  while  in  the  winter  seasons  he  attended  the  public  schools.  His 
early  thorough  training  in  farm  work  well  qualified  him  to  take  charge 
of  a  fanrj  of  his  own  when  he  started  out  upon  an  independent  business 
career.  He  left  the  old  homestead  and  rented  land  for  six  years  and  dur- 
ing that  time  his  careful  expenditures  and  unfaltering  industry  brought 
him  a  sum  of  money  sufficient  to  justify  his  purchasing  a  tract  of  land 
in  White  Eyes  township.  Here  he  lived  until  1900  and  became  recognized 
as  one  of  the  leading  and  progressive  agriculturists  of  the  community.  At 
one  time  he  owned  two  hundred  and  sixty-six  acres  of  rich  and  valuable 
land  but  later  sold  the  entire  amount  with  the  exception  of  fifty  acres, 
not  wishing  to  be  burdened  with  the  great  responsibility  of  this  property. 
While  engaged  in  the  raising  of  cereals  best  adapted  to  the  soil  and  climate 
he  also  made  a  specialty  of  raising  horses  and  cattle,  and  worked  on  per- 
sistently and  energetically  for  many  years  until  his  capable  business  man- 
agement had  brought  him  a  gratifying  measure  of  success.  He  then  retired 
from  the  more  active  and  onerous  duties  of  the  farm  and  is  now  enjoying  a 
well  earned  rest. 

Mr.  Henderson  was  married  January  21,  1872,  to  Miss  Mary  L.  Mc- 
Guire,  who  was  bom  in  Lafayette  township,  July  1,  1836,  a  daughter  of 
William  and  Mary  (Stonehocker)  McGuire.  Her  father  was  born  in  Co 
shocton,  March  15,  1807,  which  fact  indicates  that  the  McGuira?  were 
among  the  earliest  families  of  this  portion  of  the  state.  Her  paternal  grand- 
father had  arrived  here  in  1806  and  built  a  log  cabin,  which  he  covered 

Digitized  by  V^OOQIC 


320  HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

with  a  clapboard  roof.  On  one  side  of  the  room  was  a  large  fireplace  and 
the  smoke  made  it*s  egress  through  a  nmd  and  stick  chimney.  The  floor 
and  door  were  made  of  puncheons  and  the  latter  was  hung  upon  wooden 
hinges  and  had  a  wooden  latch.  Indians  still  vL>ited  the  neighborhood  but 
were  usually  peaceable  and  in  due  course  of  time  passed  on  to  hunting 
grounds  farther  west.  Wild  animals  roamed  in  the  forests  and  every  evi- 
dence of  pioneer  life  was  here  found,  but  time  and  man  wrought  many 
changas  and  the  McGuires  bore  their  full  share  in  improving  and  build- 
ing up  the  county.  The  death  of  William  McGuire  ocx^urred  January  17, 
1890,  when  he  had  reached  the  venerable  ago  of  eighty-two  years.  At  the  time 
of  his  death  he  w\as  the  owner  of  seven  hundred  acres  of  good  land.  He 
had  long  survived  his  wife,  who  parsed  away  January  5,  1843.  They  were 
the  parent^  of  two  children,  the  elder  being  now  deceased.  Unto  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Henderson  were  born  two  sons:  William  J.,  who  was  born  March 
22,  1873,  and  died  in  February,  1882;  and  Francis  J.,  who  was  born  Au- 
gust 28.  1875,  and  njarried  Nellie  Norris,  of  Cashocton. 

Mr.  Henderson  has  never  been  neglectful  of  the  duties  of  citizenship 
but  on  the  contrary  has  always  given  loyal  support  to  the  improvements 
and  measures  which  he  deemed  would  prove  of  general  benefit.  He  votes 
with  the  republican  party  and  for  twenty-one  ye^irs  he  did  faithful  serWce 
as  a  school  director,  the  caa^e  of  education  finding  in  him  a  stalwart  friend. 
He  belongs  to  the  Odd  Fellows  lodge  at  C(v;hocton  and  the  Grange  at  Oak 
Grove  and  both  organizations  count  him  as  a  valued  member.  He  is  widely 
known  in  this  county,  where  his  entire  life  has  been  passed,  and  some  of 
his  wannest  friends  are  those  with  whom  he  ha«!  been  acquainted  from 
boyhood.  A  life  of  unremitting  and  well  directed  activity  has  brought 
him  prosperity  and  he  is  now  numbered  among  the  respected,  a«?  well  as 
the  mo5t  substantial  citizens  of  his  communitv. 


SAMUEL    HAGANS. 


Samuel  Hagans,  who  for  the  pa<t  forty  years  has  been  engaged  in  buy- 
ing and  feeding  stock,  being  one  of  the  most  prominent  stock  buyers  in 
Oo.-hocton  county,  is  also  the  ow^ner  of  extensive  farm  lands,  owning  four 
hundred  and  forty  acres  situated  in  New  Ciistle  township.  Mr.  Hagans  was 
born  in  I>ancaster  county,  Pennsylvania,  January  4,  1836,  and  in  the  paternal 
line  comes  of  IrL-^h  and  Welsh  descent,  w^hile  in  the  maternal  line  he  is  of 
Scotch  descent. 

The  father,  Sanuiel  Hagans,  Sr.,  was  likewise  born  in  Lancaster  county. 
Pennsylvania,  and  came  to  the  Buckeye  state  in  1851.  Locating  in  Coshocton 
county,  he  engaged  in  farming  in  New  Castle  township  and  dealing  in 
Pennsylvania  timber  and  became  a  very  successful  and  prosperous  man.  He 
died  in  1876  and  his  remains  were  interred  in  New  Castle  cemetery.  The 
mother,  who  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Mary  Campbell,  was  also  a  native  of 
Lanc^istor  c^ounty  and  passed  away  in   1876.     Both  the  father  and  mother 


Digitized  by 


v^oogle 


SAMUEL  HAGANS. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


AST04.   LE-'OY    *^'f> 
TILDLN    ^01J^DA  ■  O'-'^ 


Digitized  by 


Google 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  323 

were  devoted  and  faithful  members  of  the  Presbyterian  church.  Their 
family  numbered  thirt-een  children,  as  follows:  Barbara,  James  and  John, 
all  now  deceased ;  Alexander,  who  is  now  living  retired  in  Dutch  Run ;  Jacob 
and  Isaac,  who  have  departed  this  life;  Margaret,  the  widow  of  Allen 
Wheeler,  now  residing  near  Walhonding;  Samuel,  of  this  review;  Joseph, 
who  died  of  consumption  soon  after  his  return  from  the  Civil  war;  David, 
who  is  an  inmate  of  the  Soldiers'  Home  in  Dayton,  Ohio;  Mary,  a  twin  of 
David,  and  now  the  wife  of  JeflFerson  Sperow,  of  New  Castle  township; 
Martha,  deceased;  and  George  Washington,  who  after  his  return  from  the 
army  engaged  in  preaching,  being  a  gifted  and  fluent  speaker  and  who  died 
in  Indiana.  Five  members  of  the  family,  David,  Joseph,  Isaac,  John  and 
George,  gave  loyal  and  valiant  service  to  their  country  during  the  Civil  war. 

Samuel  Hagans  acquired  his  early  education  in  the  common  schools  of 
his  native  state  and  was  reared  in  Lancaster  county*  to  the  age  of  fourteen 
yeare,  when  he  accompanied  his  parents  on  their  removal  to  Coshocton 
county.  After  coming  to  this  section  of  the  state  he  earned  the  money  vnih 
which  to  pursue  a  course  in  Spring  Mountain  Academy,  where  he  completed 
his  education  and  started  out  in  life  well  fitted  for  the  arduous  and  responsi- 
ble duties  which  he  would  necessarily  have  to  meet.  His  first  position  was 
in  the  capacity  of  clerk  in  his  uncle's  store,  where  he  was  employed  for  four 
yean^.  Subsequent  to  that  time  he  purchased  the  business,  which  he  carried 
on  successfully  for  three  years,  carrying  a  stock  of  general  merchandise. 
DL-^posing  of  his  stock  of  goods  he  then  removed  to  a  farm  three  miles  east  of 
New  Castle  and,  with  the  exception  of  a  year  and  a  half  spent  in  this  village, 
he  has  lived  on  his  farm  to  the  present  time,  owning  four  hundred  and  forty 
acres  of  rich  and  well  improved  land.  For  the  past  forty  years  he  has  given 
his  time  and  attention  to  buying  and  shipping  stock  and  is  one  of  the  most 
successful  stockmen  in  Coshocton  county,  his  shipments  reaching  a  va«it 
amount  annually.  Mr.  Hagans  owns  a  nice  residence  property  in  New  Castle 
and  is  a  stockholder  in  the  Warsaw  Bank  and  in  the  Coshocton  Telephone 
Company. 

In  1860  Mr.  Hagans  established  a  home  of  his  own  by  his  marriage  to 
Miss  Mercy  A.  Nichols,  by  whom  he  had  three  children:  Delia  G.,  the  wife 
of  Samuel  E.  Bell,  a  farmer  of  New  Ca^le  township;  Rachel  C,  the  wife  of 
John  B.  Foster,  a  resident  farmer  of  Jefferson  township ;  and  one  who  died  in 
infancy.  Mrs.  Hagans'  father  was  a  very  wealthy  landowner  of  Coshocton 
county,  owning  at  the  time  of  his  death  thirty-three  hundred  acres  in  New 
Castle  township.  Mr.  Hagans  was  appointed  by  the  court  administrator  of 
the  estate  and  he  divided  the  land  into  twenty-six  different  farms  which  were 
sold  and  the  proceeds  divided  between  the  heirs,  to  the  entire  satisfaction  of 
all  concerned,  while  in  this  manner  he  contributed  to  the  improvement  of 
this  section  of  the  county. 

Mr.  Hagans  was  reared  in  the  faith  of  the  democracy  but  cast  his  first 
pre;<idential  ballot  for  Abraham  Lincoln  and  has  supported  each  candidate 
of  the  party  since  that  time.  He  has  filled  several  public  offices,  having 
served  for  two  terms  as  justice  of  the  peace,  while  he  has  also  been  trastee 
and  treasurer  of  the  township.     He  is  a  Mason,  belonging  to  the  lodge  at 

Digitized  by  LjOOQIC 


324  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

West  Carlisle,  and  he  attends  arid  supports  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church. 
Mr.  Hagans  may  well  be  numbered  among  the  prominent  pioneers  of  Coshoc- 
ton county,  for  he  has  spent  almost  his  entire  life  here,  covering  a  period  of 
fifty-seven  years,  and  in  the  work  of  development  and  improvement  which 
has  been  carried  on  during  the  past  half  century  he  has  borne  his  full  share 
and  he  takes  a  just  pride  in  what  has  been  accomplished,  as  this  district  has 
taken  on  all  the  evidences  of  an  advanced  civilization.  He  is  prominent  in 
business  circles  and  is  classed  among  the  wealthy  and  substantial  citizens 
of  New  Castle  and  Coshocton  county. 


JAMES    ALBERT   KING. 

James  Albert  King,  formerly  engaged  in  the  grocery  business  at  No. 
601  Main  street,  Coshocton,  his  native  city,  was  born  January  22,  1872. 
He  is  a  son  of  William  H.  King,  of  whom  mention  is  made  in  connection 
with  the  sketch  of  M.  H.  King  on  another  page  of  this  work.  HLs  mother, 
Mrs,  Margaret  King,  was  born  in  Chili,  Ohio,  and  is  still  living. 

The  fourth  in  order  of  birth  in  a  family  of  eleven  children  James  A. 
King  spent  his  boyhood  in  Coshocton  as  a  public-school  student,  devoting 
one  year  to  study  in  the  high  school.  He  put  aside  his  text-books,  ho\Y- 
ever,  at  the  age  of  fourteen  and  began  earning  his  own  livelihood  as  an 
employe  of  the  firm  of  Snyder  &  Son,  grocers,  with  whom  he  remained 
until  eighteen  years  of  age.  He  first  served  them  as  a  delivery  boy,  but 
worked  his  way  upward  and  gained  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  business. 
He  afterward  went  to  Zanesville,  Ohio,  where  for  two  years  and  nine  months 
he  was  employed  in  the  grocery  establishment  of  W.  H.  Harris  &  Sons. 
During  this  time  he  thoroughly  learned  the  grocery  trade  in  principle 
and  detail,  and  on  the  expiration  of  that  period  he  returned  to  Coshocton 
where  he  entered  the  employ  of  W.  F.  Ferguson  &  Son,  also  in  the  grocery 
line.  He  was  with  that  house  for  two  years,  at  the  end  of  which  time 
Snyder  &  Son  bought  back  the  business  and  Mr.  King  remained  in  their 
employ  for  three  years.  He  next  entered  the  employ  of  S.  F.  Simmons 
&  Son,  grocers,  with  whom  he  was  associated  for  fifteen  months,  when  for 
the  third  time  he  entered  the  service  of  Snj^er  &  Son,  with  whom  he  con- 
tinued for  seven  years.  That  the  firm  took  him  again  into  their  ser\dce 
wa-j  indicative  of  the  fact  that  they  regarded  him  as  a  valuable  addition  to 
their  working  force  and  placed  in  him  implicit  trust  and  confidence. 

Prompted  by  a  laudable  ambition  to  engage  in  business  on  his  own  ac- 
count Mr.  King  saved  his  earnings  until  his  diligence  and  economy  had 
brought  him  sufficient  capital  to  enable  him  to  engage  in  business  for  him- 
self on  the  20th  of  July,  1904,  as  a  member  of  the  firm  of  King  &  Whitens. 
When  they  dissolved  partnership  George  King  became  the  successor  of  the 
junior  member,  and  the  firm  of  King  Brothers  was  then  formed  and  so 
existed  for  nine  months.  In  May,  1906,  James  A.  King  bought  out  his 
brother  nnd  continues  alone  to  the  present  time.     Tie  carries  a  large  line 

Digitized  by  LjOOQIC 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  325 

of  staple  and  fancy  groceries,  handling  high  grade  goods  and  has  gradu- 
ally built  up  a  business  which  yields  him  a  return  that  clashes  him  with 
the  men  of  affluence  in  Coshocton. 

On  the  3d  of  June,  1896,  Mr.  King  was  married  to  Miss  Rose  E. 
Shroyer,  of  Franklin  township,  Coshocton  county.  They  have  one  son, 
Harry  Allen,  bom  March  3,  1899.  Mr.  King  is  connected  through  mem- 
bership relations  with  the  fraternal  order  of  Eagles  and  the  National  In- 
suance  Company.  The  republican  party  finds  in  him  an  active  and  helpful 
supporter,  and  for  two  terms  he  filled  the  office  of  township  trustee.  He 
belongs  to  the  Business  Men's  Association  and^s  in  hearty  sympathy  with 
its  object  of  promoting  the  trade  relations  of  Coshocton  and  extending 
the  scope  of  its  manufaoturing  and  industrial  activity.  He  deserves  much 
credit  for  what  he  has  accomplished  in  his  own  business  career  for,  start- 
ing out  at  the  age  of  fourteen  years,  he  has  made  gradual  advancement, 
depending  entirely  upon  industry,  integrity  and  energy  to  secure  him  pro- 
motion. His  record  commends  him  to  the  trust  of  his  fellowmen,  and  he 
deserve?  the  success  which  makes  him  a  leading  grocer  of  his  city. 


JOSEPH    HAVERICK. 

Tn  the  field  of  educational  and  agricultural  activity  Jaseph  Haverick 
has  gained  prominence,  for  he  is  today  numbered  among  the  inttuential 
and  honored  citizens  of  Coshocton  county.  A  young  man,  he  posses^^s 
the  enterprising  spirit  of  the  west,  which  has  been  the  dominant  factor  in 
producing  the  wonderful  development  of  this  section  of  the  country.  Mr. 
Haverick  was  born  on  a  farm  in  Monroe  township,  Coshocton  county,  Sep- 
tember 30,  1873,  a  son  of  Vincent  and  Aecy  (Foster)  Haverick. 

The  father  was  born  in  Bavaria,  Germany,  and  came  with  his  parv^nts, 
whose  remains  lie  at  Danville,  Ohio,  to  the  United  States  in  1831,  Ix^ing 
at  that  time  a  lad  of  fourteen  years.  The  family  located  near  Mohawk, 
where  the  father  worked  at  his  trade  of  a  shoemaker,  having  learned  the 
same  of  his  father  prior  to  his  emigration  to  the  new  world.  He  was  first 
wedded  to  Miss  Hester  A.  Majors,  their  marriage  being  celebrated  in  1847. 
She  was  a  resident  of  Knox  county,  Ohio,  and  following  their  marriage  they 
began  their  domestic  life  in  Knox  county,  where  they  remained  until  18r)3, 
when  they  removed  to  Warsaw,  Coshocton  county,  and  here  the  father  fol- 
lowed his  trade  until  1867.  The  wife  and  mother  died  in  1863,  leaving 
eight  children  to  mourn  her  loss,  namely;  James  L.,  who  was  born  in 
1848,  and  now  a  resident  of  Cre^^ton,  Union  county.  Towa,  where  he  is 
engaged  in  the  real-estate  business;  William,  who  was  born  in  1850,  and 
died  in  Creston,  Iowa,  in  1903;  Mary  A.,  who  was  born  in  1852,  and  is 
now  the  widow  of  James  Daugherty,  a  farmer  of  Tiverton  township ;  George 
H.,  who  was  bom  in  1854,  and  is  now  a  watchman  in  the  railroad  shops 
at  Omaha,  Nebra.ska;  Margaret,  who  wa^  born  in  1850,  and  is  the  wife 
of  John  Zimmerman,  of  Akron,  Ohio;  Allio,  who  wa<  born  in  1858,  and  is 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


326  HISTORY    OF   COSHOiBTON   COUNTY 

the  wife  of  William  Myers,  a  farmer  and  thresher  of  Bethlehem  town- 
ship; Lewis,  who  was  bom  in  1860  and  died  the  following  year;  and 
Amanda,  who  was  bom  in  1862  and  died  in  1873.  The  father  was  again 
married,  April  14,  1864,  this  union  being  with  Accy  Foster,  by  whom 
he  had  four  children:  Elizabeth,  who  was  born  in  1865,  and  died  in 
1873;  Cornelius,  who  was  born  in  1867  and  also  passed  away  in  1873; 
Joseph,  of  this  review;  and  Clara,  who  was  bom  in  1875,  and  is  the  wife 
of  James  McGready,  a  farmer  of  Monroe  township.  In  1867,  when  the 
father  abandoned  his  trade  at  shoemaking,  he  took  up  his  abode  in  Monroe 
township  and  engaged  in  farming,  which  he  followed  until  the  time  of 
his  death,  which  occurred  in  February,  1895,  when  he  had  reached  an  ad- 
vanced age.  The  mother  still  survives  and  makes  her  home  on  the  farm 
which  was  left  her  by  her  husband. 

Joseph  Haverick  acquired  his  early  education  in  the  district  schools 
of  Jefferson  township,  this  being  supplemented  by  study  in  the  normal 
school  at  Danville,  which  he  attended  until  1892,  after  which  he  engaged 
in  teaching  in  Monroe  township  and  has  taught  in  four  districts  of  the 
township,  continuing  the  profession  to  the, present  time.  During  the  sum- 
mer months  he  gives  his  time  and  attention  to  farming  and  is  now  the 
owner  of  forty  acres  of  the  homestead  property,  but  operates  altogether 
one  hundred  and  forty-seven  acres.  He  occupies  a  nice  country  residence, 
which  was  erected  by  his  father,  and  Mr.  Haverick  built  a  substantial  barn 
in  1908,  so  that  his  place  is  well  improved. 

Mr.  Haverick  was  married  in  1897  to  Miss  Agnes  Krownapple,  of 
Monroe  township,  and  this  union  has  been  blessed  with  three  children: 
Ruth,  who  was  bom  in  1897;  Anna,  born  in  1901;  and  Dorothy,  whose 
birth  occurred  in  1908.  Mr.  Haverick  gives  his  political  support  to  the 
democratic  party.  His  fraternal  relations  are  with  the  Knights  of  Columbus 
and  both  he  and  his  wife  are  communicants  of  the  Catholic  church. 

Mr.  Haverick  is  deeply  and  actively  interested  in  the  schools  and  in 
this  connection  is  doing  splendid  work  in  this  section  of  the  state,  and  he 
belongs  to  that  class  of  representative  American  citizens  who  promote  the 
general  prosperity  while  advancing  individual  interest^. 


J.    E.    HAMILTON. 


J.  E.  Hamilton  was  born  in  White  Eyes  township  on  the  farm  which 
is  still  his  place  of  residence,  his  birth  occurring  January  22,  1859.  His 
father,  John,  is  mentioned  on  another  page  of  this  volume.  The  son  was 
reared  as  a  farm  boy,  that  is,  taught  that  industry  and  perseverance  consti- 
tute success,  and  was  trained  toi  appreciate  the  true  value  of  earnest  and 
honorable  labor.  He  mastered  the  common  branches  of  English  learning 
in  the  public  schools  and  when  he  left  home  he  determined  to  follow  as  a 
life  work  the  occupation  to  which  he  had  been  reared.  He  therefore  bought 
a  farm  of  forty  acres  and  later  added  to  this  from  time  to  time  until  he 

Digitized  by  LjOOQLC 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  327 

now  owns  two  hundred  and  forty-three  acres,  constituting  the  old  home 
place.  He  makes  a  specialty  of  raising  and  breeding  horses  and  cattle  and 
both  branches  of  his  business  are  proving  profitable.  He  keeps  only  high 
grades  of  stock  and  in  all  of  his  busine&s  he  follows  progressive  methods, 
keeping  in  touch  with  the  spirit  of  enterprise,  which  is  as  evident  in  com- 
mercial lines  as  in  other  departments  of  business  activity. 

On  the  8th  of  October,  1885,  Mr.  Hamilton  was  united  in  marriage 
to  Miss  Zelma  A.  Boyd,  who  was  bom  August  18,  1861,  in  Coshocton 
county,  a  daughter  of  Robert  R.  and  Mary  Ann  (Johnson)  Boyd.  Her 
father's  birth  occurred  in  County  Donegal,  Ireland,  in  August,  1811,  and 
his  parents  were  Robert  and  Jane  (Ramsey)  Boyd,  who,  about  the  year 
1825,  brought  their  family  to  America  and  settled  in  Coshocton  county, 
Ohio.  It  was  a  wild  pioneer  district,  in  which  the  work  of  civilization  and 
development  seemed  scarcely  begun.  Robert  Boyd  entered  land  from  the 
government  and  upon  his  claim  built  a  log  cabin,  while  he  cleared  and 
improved  his  farm,  bringing  the  place  under  a  high  state  of  cultivation 
and  making  this  a  valuable  property.  It  is  still  Jn  possession  of  the  Boyd 
family.  Robert  R.  Boyd,  father  of  Mrs.  Hamilton,  gave  his  entire  life 
to  general  agricultural  pursuit^,  carrying  on  diversified  farming,  and  through 
his  well  directed  labors  and  unfaltering  perseverance  gained  a  handsome 
competency.  He  was  marired  May  23,  1839,  to  Miss  Mary  Ann  Johnson, 
a  daughter  of  Robert  and  Jane  (Stephenson)  Johnson,  who  were  of  Irish 
descent.  They  settled  in  Coshocton  at  an  early  day  and  here  Mrs.  Mary 
Ann  Boyd  was  bom  and  reared. 

In  hi-  political  views  Mr.  Boyd  was  a  rei)ublican.  Both  he  and  his 
wife  enjoyed  the  high  regard  of  all  who  knew  them  and  in  the  community 
where  they  lived  they  had  many  friends.  Their  family  numbered  fourteen 
children:  William  J.,  who  married  Elmira  Elliott  and  resides  in  Mis- 
souri; Jane,  the  wife  of  Thomas  Hamilton,  who  is  living  in  White  Eyes 
township;  Richard,  deceased;  Samuel  F.,  who  married  Elizabeth  Brown  and 
is  living  in  W^hite  Eyes  township:  Robert  A.,  who  wedded  Marj^  Jane  Mc- 
Murray  and  makes  his  home  in  Marion  county,  Ohio;  Mary  Ann,  the  wife 
of  Alexander  Adams,  of  Keene  township,  this  county;  Caroline,  deceased; 
Hester  Ellen,  the  wife  of  James  B.  Elliott,  of  Coshocton;  Elizabeth,  the  wife 
of  John  Clark,  of  this  county;  Daniel,  who  married  as  his  first  wife  Matilda 
Compton,  and  after  her  death  married  Augusta  Crawford  and  resides  in 
Coshocton ;  Erastus,  who  Ynarried  Mary  Elizabeth  Hamilton,  of  Keene  town- 
ship, this  county;  Zelma,  the  wife  of  J.  E.  Hamilton;  Carvetta,  the  wife  of 
Samuel  Crawford,  of  Coshocton  county;  and  Everett,  who  married  Lucy 
Maxwell  and  makes  his  home  in  White  Eyes  township.  The  marriage  of 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hamilton  has  been  blessed  with  five  children,  but  they  lost 
their  firstborn,  Clarence  R.  The  others  are:  Bernice  C,  a  graduate  of 
the  Fresno  high  school;  Mar\'  Gladys,  who  is  a  student  in  the  Fresno  high 
school;  Thomas  Herbert  and  Guida  Augusta,  who  are  also  in  school. 

The  parents  hold  membership  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  of 
Fresno  and  are  people  of  general  worth,  enjoying  in  large  measure  the 
confidence,  respect  and  friendship  of  those  with  whom  they  have  been  as- 
Digitized  by  LjOOQIC 


328  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

sociated.  Mr.  Hannltoii  also  belongs  to  the  Modern  Woodmen  camp  of 
Fresno.  The  rei)ublican  party  finds  in  him  a  stalwart  supporter.  He  has 
been  an  intercepted  witness  of  the  growth  and  development  of  the  county  for 
almost  half  a  century  and  rejoice.«i  in  what  has  been  accomplished  here, 
while  throughout  his  entire  life  he  has  borne  his  full  share  in  the  work 
of  development. 


JACOB   C.    BALO. 


Energy,  persevenuice  and  determination  (K)nstitute  the  basis  of  success 
in  the  life  of  Jacob  C.  Balo,  who  now  owns  and  operates  one  hundred  and 
fifty  acres  of  valuable  land  in  Mrginia  township.  He  was  born  in  Canton 
Berne,  Switzerland,  and  is  one  of  seven  children,  whose  parents  were  Francis 
and  Elizabeth  (Strom)  Balo.  The  French  way  of  spelling  the  name  is  Belot. 
The  father  was  of  French  and  the  mother  of  G<?rman  ancestry,  the  family 
speaking  the  latter  language.  The  family  emigrated  to  the  new  world  in 
August,  1853,  and  landing  in  New  York  city,  they  made  their  way  by  rail 
to  Buffalo,  thence  by  boat  to  Cleveland,  and  from  the  latter  city  by  canal 
boat,  landing  near  Adams  Mills,  in  same  school  district  where  our  subject 
now  live,s.  They  were  in  limited  financial  circumstances  and,  although  the 
father  and  his  two  oldest  sons  secured  work  on  the  construction  of  the  Penn- 
sylvania railroad  soon  after  arriving  here,  they  w^ere  never  paid  for  their 
labor.  Soon  sickness  came  into  the  home,  ague  being  prevalent  in  the  com- 
munity at  that  time,  and  the  father,  mother  and  five  of  the  seven  children, 
were  ill  at  one  time,  and  the  youngest  daughter,  Annie,  died  from 
the  disease.  The  family  could  not  speak  a  word  of  English  and  during  their 
siege  of  illness  their  funds  were  entirely  exhausted,  so  that  the  members 
of  the  household  were  reduced  to  want  but  the  public  authorities  came  to 
their  relief  and  they  were  then  supplied  with  the  necessities  of  life.  The 
family,  however,  worked  w^ith  a  purpose  to  succeed  and  as  soon  as 
their  health  was  recuperated  the  father  and  two  oldest  sons  secured  work  at 
farm  labor  for  Samuel  Rice.  They  w^orked  on  undeterred  by  the  obstacles 
in  their  path  and  in  due  course  of  time  through  their  economy  and  dili- 
gence they  saved  a  sum  sufficient  to  enable  them  to  engage  in  farming  on 
their  own  account  and  this  was  the  beginning  of  a  prasperous  career  for 
Jacob  C.  Balo.  However,  at  the  time  of  the  Civil  war  the  sons  put  aside  all 
business  and  personal  considerations  and  enlisted  for  service.  Abraham  was 
killed  during  the  war  but  David  and  Stephen  returned  and  settled  in  Vir- 
ginia tow^nship,  where  they  became  prosperous  farmers.  David  still  sur- 
vives but  Stephen  has  passed  away. 

Jacob  C.  Balo  was  the  fifth  child  in  the  family.  He  was  but  nine 
years  of  age  when  he  began  work  at  farm  labor  for  Samuel  Rice.  He  com- 
menced at  the  time  of  corn  planting  and  worked  until  the  harvest,  re- 
ceiving as  compensation  his  dinner  each  day  and  at  the  end  of  the  season 
was  given  a  suit  of  clothes,  which  cost  about  seven  dollars.     Later  he  was 

Digitized  by  LjOOQLC 


> 


02 

> 
o 


> 

O 


g 

W 


^ 
O 


H 

w 

o 


w 


^ 
^ 


o 


o 


o 

> 
o 


Digitized  by 


Google 


p  .' 


Digitized  by 


Google 


HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  331 

employed  by  John  Marquand,  receiving  for  his  services  his  board  and  seven 
dollars  in  money  |>er  month.  When  his  father  engaged  in  farming,  the 
son  returned  home  and  assisted  in  the  operation  of  the  homestead 
farm.  During  all  this  time  he  attended  school  for  a  few  weeks  during  the 
winter  months  and  after  reaching  mature  ye.ars  he  added  to  his  knowledge 
through  observation,  experience  and  reading,  so  that  he  is  today  a  well  in- 
formed man.  He  has  prospered  in  his  work  as  the  years  have  passed  by  and 
today  owns  and  operates  one  hundred  and  fifty  acres,  situated  in  Virginia 
township,  which  has  been  his  home  since  1869,  or  almost  a  half  century.  It 
is  supplied  with  a  nice  home  and  substantial  outbuildings  for  the  shelter  of 
grain  and  stock,  and  each  year  he  adds  greatly  to  his  financial  resources 
through  the  sale  of  his  stock  and  the  abundant  harvests  which  he  gathers. 

Mr.  Balo  established  a  home  of  his  own  on  the  25th  of  October,  1866, 
when  he  wedded  Miss  Marinda  Tilton,  a  daughter  of  Joseph  and  Susan 
(Miller)  Tilton.  Their  union  has  been  blessed  with  eleven  children,  of  whom 
twQ  are  deceased,  the  record  being  as  follows :  William  F. ;  Edwin  M. ;  Ida 
M.,  now  the  wife  of  William  Frost;  Emraa,  the  wife  of  Benjamin  0.  Taylor; 
Harry  P.;  Nellie;  Jesse;  Stacy;  Susan  and  Roe,  who  have  departed  this  life; 
and  Ray. 

Mr.  Balo  gives  his  political  support  to  the  democratic  party  and  takes 
a  deep  and  active  interest  in  public  affairs.  For  twenty-seven  years  he  served 
as  a  member  of  the.  school  board  and  refused  to  serve  longer.  In  1899  he 
was  elected  a  member  of  the  board  of  county  commissioners,  serving  for  two 
terms,  or  six  years.  His  religious  faith  is  indicated  by  his  membership  in 
the  Presbyterian  church  at  Adams  Mills,  of  which  he  has  been  an  elder  foi 
the  past  twenty  years.  He  has  always  been  a  robust  man  and  the  longest 
time  he  was  ever  incapacitated  for  labor  was  when  in  October,  1872,  he  ac- 
cidentally injured  his  knee  when  cutting  com.  For  a  time  he  continued 
work  but  later  the  injury  grew  more  serious  and  he  was  confined  to  his  bed 
until  the  following  February.  At  one  time  it  was  thought  amputation  would 
be  necessary  but  Mr.  Balo  strongly  objected,  and  although  he  still  feels  the 
ill  effect^?,  he  can  get  around  and  is  able  to  perform  much  arduous  labor. 
Since  he  left  the  fatherland  to  identify  himself  with  American  life  and  in- 
stitutions, he  has  pushed  his  way  to  the  front  and  is  a  credit  alike  to  the 
land  of  his  birth  and  that  of  his  adoption,  being  numbered  among  the  sub- 
stantial citizens  of  Coshocton  countv. 


HENRY  F.    HAINS. 


Henry  F.  Hains  is  a  worthy  representative  of  one  of  the  oldest  pioneer 
families  of  Coshocton  county  and  Bedford  township,  representatives  of  the 
name  having  lived  here  since  1811,  in  which  year  the  farm  which  is  now 
owned  by  our  subject  was  entered  from  the  government  by  the  paternal 
grandfather,  Henry  Hains,  who  came  here  from  Licking  county,  this  state, 
whence  he  had  removed  the  year  previous  from  Bedford  county,  Pennsyl- 

Digitized  by  LjOOQIC 


332  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

vania.  The  pcirents  of  our  subject,  Levi  and  Lucinda  (Troutman)  Hains, 
were  farming  people,  highly  respected  in  the  community  in  which  they 
so  long  made  their  home.  In  their  family  were  the  following  children: 
Norman,  a  farmer  of  Texas;  Leonard  and  Sarah,  deceased;  Mary  E.,  the 
wife  of  Nathan  Price,  who  follows  farming  in  Bedford  township ;  J.  T.,  who 
is  engaged  in  farming  in  Cherokee  county,  Kansas;  J.  R.,  a  resident  of 
Bedford  township;  Benjamin,  a  farmer  of  this  township;  Leander,  who 
also  follows  farming  here;  Henry  F.,  of  this  review;  Charles,  who  is  men- 
tioned elsewhere  in  this  work;  and  Isabel,  the  wife  of  A.  G.  Reed,  a  farmer  of 
Bedford  township.  Both  the  parents  are  now  deceased,  the  mother  passing 
away  October  24,  1892,  at  the  age  of  seventy-four  years,  while  the  father, 
surviving  for  about  ten  years,  died  June  29,  1902,  at  the  very  advanced 
age  of  eighty-five  years.  More  extended  mention  of  the  family  is  made  in 
connection  with  the  sketches  of  C.  N.  and  Benjamin  Hains,  elsewhere  in 
this  work. 

Henry  F.  Hains,  the  seventh  son  and  ninth  in  order  of  birth  in  the 
father's  family,  was  born  on  the  farm  which  is  now  his  home,  July  11, 
1860.  He  was  educated  in  the  district  schools  near  his  father's  home  and 
was  early  trained  to  the  duties  of  the  home  farm,  assisting  his  father  from 
the  time  of  early  spring  planting  until  the  crops  were  harvested  in  the 
late  autumn.  When  starting  out  in  life  on  his  own  acount  he  chose  the 
occupation  to  which  he  had  been  reared  and  has  made  this  his  life  work. 
He  now  owns  the  homestead  property,  comprising  one  hundred  and  seven 
acres  of  well  improved  land,  and  devotes  his  time  and  attention  to  general 
farming,  in  which  he  is  meeting  with  a  gratifying  measure  of  success. 

The  estimable  wife  of  Mr.  Hains,  whom  he  wedded  in  1892,  bore  the 
maiden  name  of  Miss  Rose  McCurdy,  who  has  become  the  mother  of  two 
sons  and  a  daughter:  Emmet  0.,  Beulah  R.  and  Raymond  D.,  all  at  home. 
Mr.  Hains  supports  the  men  and  measures  of  the  republican  party,  and  for 
three  years  capably  served  as  trustee  of  Bedford  township.  His  wife  holds 
membership  relations  with  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  Mr.  Hains 
through  his  honorable  and  straightforward  dealing  fully  merits  the  high 
regard  in  which  the  family  has  always  been  held,  and  he  has  worked  his 
way  upward  in  the  business  world,  until  today  he  is  classed  among  Bedford 
township's  substantial  agriculturists. 


VALENTINE    HOTHEM. 

Valentine  Hothem,  who  successfully  follows  agricultural  pursuits  in 
Adams  township,  was  bom  in  Germany,  October  30,  1843,  his  parents  being 
Frederick  and  Margaret  Hothem.  In  the  year  1850  the  father  emigrated 
to  the  United  States,  locating  in  White  Eyes  township,  Coshocton  county. 
Ohio,  where  he  purchased  fifty  acres  of  land. 

Valentine  Hothem  acquired  his  education  in  an  old  log  schoolhouse 
and  remained  under  the  parental  roof  until  he  had  attained  hL«  majority. 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  333 

On  reaching  man's  estate  he  bought  a  tract  of  fifty  acres  here,  and  later 
added  to  his  original  purchase  until  his  holdings  now  comprise  one  hun- 
dred and  four  acres  of  rich  and  productive  farming  land  in  Adams  town* 
ship,  in  the  cultivation  of  which  he  has  met  with  well  merited  prosperity. 
He  likewise  makes  a  specialty  of  raising  horses  and  is  the  owner  of  a  horse 
of  the  Percheron  breed.  In  the  conduct  of  his  agricultural  interests  he  has 
ever  displayed  unremitting  industry  and  unfaltering  perseverance,  and  he 
is  numbered  among  the  enterprising  and  progressive  citizens  of  the  com- 
munity. 

Mr.  Hothem  has  been  married  twice.  When  twenty-one  years  of  age 
he  wedded  Miss  Phebe  Bahmer,  a  native  of  Tuscarawas  county.  She  was 
one  of  a  family  of  eight  children  that  reached  maturity,  and  was  called 
to  her  final  rest  in  1878,  leaving  seven  children  to  mourn  her  loss,  namely: 
Fred  V.,  a  resident  of  this  county;  Adam  V.,  at  home;  William  V.,  of 
Adams  township;  Albert  and  Andrew,  who  are  also  at  home;  Clara,  the 
wife  of  Ed  Petcher,  of  Canton,  Ohio;  and  Phebe,  who  is  living  with  her 
father.  For  his  second  wife  Mr.  Ilothem  chose  Miss  Elizabeth  Reif,  whose 
birth  oc*curred  in  Tuscarawas  county  in  1859,  her  parents  being  Fred  and 
Susan  (Yuugi)  Reif,  natives  of  Switzerland,  who  emigrated  to  America  in 
an  early  day.  The  father  passed  away  in  1892  but  the  mother  is  still  liv- 
ing, having  attained  the  age  of  eighty-one  years.  Mrs.  Hothem  was  one  of 
a  family  of  six  children  and  by  her  marriage  has  become  the  mother  of 
eight:  Bertha  M.,  Pearl,  Ruth  E.,  Walter  H.,  Clayton  W.,  Susan,  Olive  L. 
and  Ruth  C. 

In  his  political  views  Mr.  Hothem  is  a  stalwart  democrat  but  has  no 
desire  for  the  honors  nor  emoluments  of  office.  Both  he  and  his  wife  are 
devoted  and  faithful  members  of  the  German  Reform  church  and  have 
gained  the  warm  regard  and  esteem  of  all  with  whom  they  have  come 
in  contact.  For  fifty-eight  years  he  has  been  a  resident  of  this  county  and 
is  therefore  largely  familiar  with  its  annals  from  a  pioneer  period  down 
to  the  present,  having  been  an  interested  witness  and  a<^tive  participant 
in  the  work  of  development  and  improvement. 


NICHOLAS    BARRICK. 

Nicholas  Barrick,  successfully  engaged  in  farming  and  stock-raising  in 
White  Eyes  township,  was  born  in  Crawford  township,  Coshocton  county, 
Ohio,  March  13,  1842,  his  parents  being  Frederick  and  Catherine  (Storm) 
Barrick,  the  former  a  native  of  Harrison  county,  Ohio,  and  the  latter  of 
Pennsylvania.  The  father,  who  carried  on  agricultural  pursuits  through- 
out his  active  business  career,  came  to  Crawford  township  in  1840  and  here 
made  his  home  until  called  to  his  final  rest  in  1886,  when  he  had  attained 
the  age  of  eighty  years.  His  wife  passed  away  in  1895  at  the  age  of  eighty- 
three  years.  Their  family  numbered  nine  children,  four  of  whom  still 
survive,    namely:     Lewis,   of  Bakersville,   Ohio;    Nicholas,   of  this   review; 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


334  HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

Israel,  a  resident  of  Brazil,  Indiana;  and  Elizabeth,  the  wife  of  John  Berger, 
of  Crawford  township. 

Nicholas  Barrick  was  reared  on  the  home  farm  and  attended  the  district 
schools  as  opportunity  oflfered.  On  the  21st  of  October,  1864,  he  enlisted 
for  service  in  the  Union  army  as  a  member  of  Company  C,  Seventy-eighth 
Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry,  and  was  honorably  discharged  on  the  11th  of 
July,  1865.  Subsequent  to  his  marriage  he  began  farming,  operating  a 
tract  of  rented  land  in  Mill  Creek  township  for  nineteen  years.  On  the 
expiration  of  that  period  he  was  engaged  m  agricultural  pursuits  in  Jef- 
ferson township  for  four  years,  making  his  home  near  Warsaw.  Subse- 
quently he  purchased  a  small  farm  of  fifty  acres  in  Knox  county,  Ohio, 
but  after  four  years  sold  the  property  and  returned  to  Coshocton  county, 
where  he  bou^t  a  place  of  one  hundred  and  fifty-six  acres  in  New  Castle 
township.  This  he  successfully  cultivated  until  the  spring  of  1906,  when  he 
sold  the  land  and  purchased  his  present  farm  of  seventy  acres  in  White 
Eyes  township.  In  addition  to  the  work  of  general  farming  he  also  carries 
on  stock-raising,  and  is  widely  recognized  as  a  prosperous  and  enterprising 
agriculturist  of  the  community. 

In  August,  1867,  Mr.  Barrick  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Susannah 
Ames,  whose  birth  occurred  April  3,  1850,  her  parents  being  Henry  and 
Malinda  (Smith)  Ames.  She  was  one  of  a  family  of  ten  children,  nine  of 
whom  are  still  living.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Barrick  have  four  children:  Mary  J., 
the  widow  of  Harland  Bower,  by  whom  she  had  one  son,  Harland,  who  is 
at  home;  Henry,  of  Jefferson  township;  Malinda,  the  wife  of  Homer  Turner, 
of  Keene  township;  and  George  E.,  likewise  a  resident  of  Keene  township. 

In  his  political  views  Mr.  Barrick  is  a  stanch  republican,  while  his  re- 
ligious faith  is  indicated  by  his  membership  in  St.  John's  Episcopal  church, 
with  which  his  wife  is  also  identified.  He  is  likewise  affiliated  with  the 
Grand  Army  of  the  Republic  at  Keene,  thus  maintaining  pleasant  relations 
with  his  old  army  comrades. 


Z.    T.    HUMPHREY. 


Z.  T.  Humphrey  owns  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  land  in  Tiver- 
ton township  and  follows  farming,  which  has  always  been  his  life  work. 
He  was  born  in  Coshocton  county,  November  10,  1846,  a  son  of  William 
and  Elizabeth  (McMan)  Humphrey.  The  paternal  grandfather,  William 
Humphrey,  was  a  major  in  the  Revolutionary  war  and  lived  in  the  east 
near  Narraganset  Bay.  His  son,  William,  Jr.,  was  born  near  Providence, 
Rhode  Island,  and  was  a  sailor  on  the  ocean  between  Narraganset  Bay  and 
the  West  Indies  for  twelve  years.  After  leaving  the  sea  he  came  to  Co- 
shocton county  and  engaged  in  farming  until  the  time  of  his  death,  Janu- 
ary 28,  1865.  He  had  three  sons  who  served  in  the  Civil  war:  John,  who 
served  three  years  and  five  months,  being  a  member  of  Company  F,  Eightieth 
Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry;  George  W.,  who  was  a  member  of  Company  G, 
One  Hundred  and  Twenty-second  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry,  and  served  two 

Digitized  by  LjOOQIC 


HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON  COUNTY  335 

years  and  nine  months;  and  J.  M.,  who  served  more  than  two  years,  first 
enlisting  in  the  Fifth  Illinois  Cavalry  and  later  in  Company  M,  Ninth  Ohio 
Cavalry.  The  mother  of  our  subject  was  bom  in  Butler  county,  Ohio,  but 
was  married  in  Coshocton  county.  She  became  the  mother  of  four  children, 
two  sons  and  two  daughters:  Sarah,  the  wife  of  H.  P.  Russel,  now  living 
retired  in  Iowa;  Z.  T.,  of  this  review;  Mary,  the  wife  of  Alonzo  Spurgeon, 
a  farmer  of  Tiverton  township;  and  Thomas,  who  has  departed  this  life. 
The  mother  passed  away  in  1903,  having  reached  an  advanced  age,  and  her 
remains  were  buried  in  Tiverton  cemetery. 

Z.  T.  Humphrey,  the  eldest  son  and  second  member  of  the  family, 
acquired  his  early  education  in  the  district  schools  of  Tiverton  township 
and  afterward  attended  a  select  school  at  Spring  Mountain.  He  assisted  his 
father  in  the  operation  of  the  home  farm  until  the  latter's  death,  after  which 
he  assumed  the  management  of  the  farm  for  his  mother,  remaining  with 
her  until  he  was  thirty-six  years  old.  He  then  engaged  in  farming  on  his 
own  account,  first  in  Perry  township,  operating  rented  land  for  four  years. 
He  then  purchased  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  in  Tiverton  township,  which 
constitutes  his  present  place  of  residence.  He  has  made  all  the  improve- 
ments here  and  has  erected  all  of  the  buildings  on  the  place,  making  it  a 
valuable  property,  while  its  neat  appearance  indicates  his  progressive  and 
enterprising  methods.  He  is  practical  in  his  work  and  is  meeting  with  a 
splendid  measure  of  success. 

Mr.  Humphrey  established  a  home  of  his  own  in  1873,  when  he  wedded 
Miss  Eliza  J.  Cooper,  a  resident  of  Coshocton  county.  They  have  become 
the  parents  of  six  children  but  one  of  the  number  is  deceased :  Hattie,  the 
wife  of  Willis  Worthman,  who  follows  farming  in  Tiverton  township;  Carl 
and  Edna,  twins,  the  former  a  farmer  of  this  township,  and  the  latter  de- 
ceased; W.  C,  a  farmer  of  Orrville.  Ohio;  and  Blanch  and  Bernice,  twins, 
at  home. 

Mr.  Humphrey  gives  his  political  support  to  the  men  and  measures  of 
the  republican  party,  while  his  religious  faith  is  indicated  by  his  member- 
ship in  the  Disciples  church,  of  which  his  wife  and  family  are  also  mem- 
bers, and  of  which  he  is  an  elder.  He  thoroughly  enjoys  home  life  and 
takes  great  pleasure  in  the  society  of  his  family  and  friends.  He  is  always 
courteous,  kindly  and  affable,  and  those  who  know  him  personally  have  for 
him  warm  regard.  His  life  is  exemplary  in  all  respects  and  the  people  of 
Coshocton  county  are  proud  to  call  him  their  own. 


LEWIS   BIBLE. 


Lewis  Bible,  a  successful  and  well  known  agriculturist  of  Keene  town- 
ship, was  born  in  Coshocton  county,  Ohio,  September  15,  1864,  his  parents 
being  Adam  and  Elizabeth  (Clark)  Bible,  also  natives  of  this  county.  The 
father  passed  away  in  1875  but  the  mother  is  still  living  on  the  home  farm. 
Their  family  numbered  four  children:    Mary  J.,  the  wife  of  George  Morris, 

Digitized  by  LjOOQIC 


[VMy  HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

of  Ccx^hocton  oounty;  Benton,  a  n.-ident  of  (Georgia;  Lewis,  of  this  review; 
and  Edith  F.,  the  wife  of  George  Hall,  of  this  county. 

Lewir^  Bible  acquired  a  common-school  education  and  remained  at  home 
until  he  had  attained  his  majority.  He  then  rented  his  mother's  farm  for 
two  year.-  and  on  the  expiration  of  that  period  purchased  a  part  of  the  old 
home  farm,  on  which  he  livod  for  five  year.s.  Subsequently  he  operated  the 
M.  (J.  Hack  farm  for  four  years  and  then  bought  the  place  where  he  now 
lives,  comprising  one  hundred  and  fifty-si.x  acres  of  rich  and  productive  land. 
His  landed  holdings  now  include  two  hundred  and  nine  acres  in  Keene  and 
Jackson  townshijDS,  and  in  the  conduct  of  his  farming  interests  he  displays 
untiring  energy  and  good  management,  the  fields  annually  yielding  golden 
harvests  in  return  for  the  care  and  labor  which  he  bestows  upon  them. 

In  1885  Mr.  Bible  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Mary  L.  Harris,  whose 
birth  occurred  in  Roanoke,  Indiana,  February  21,  1869,  her  parents  being 
Robert  H.  and  Elizabeth  (Jones)  Harris,  the  former  bom  in  Holmes  county, 
September  22,  1844,  and  the  latter  in  Coshocton  county  in  1848.  Robert 
H.  Harris,  who  had  a  family  of  ten  children,  now  makes  his  home  in  this 
county.  Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bibb  have  been  born  five  children:  Etta  A., 
Benton,  Robert  C,  Bernice  M.  and  James  Adam. 

In  his  political  views  Mr.  Bible  Is  a  stalwart  republican  and  is  highly 
esteemed  as  a  prosperous  and  public-spirited  citizen  of  his  native  county. 
His  interests  are  thoroughly  identified  with  those  of  Coshocton  county  and 
at  all  times  he  is  ready  to  lend  his  aid  and  cooperation  to  any  movement 
calculated  to  benefit  his  section  of  the  country  or  advance  its  wonderful 
development. 


PROSSER    T.    BLUCK. 

Prosser  T.  Bluck  belongs  to  that  class  of  representative  men  w^ho  rapidly 
discern  opportunities  of  advancement  and  w^ho  are  rapidly  forging  to  the 
front.  He  was  bom  in  Linton  township,  Coshocton  county,  and  in  his  youth 
accompanied  his  parents  on  their  removal  to  Jefferson  county,  this  state,  this 
being  in  the  year  1869.  He  later  took  up  his  abode  in  Coshocton  county  and 
operated  rented  land  for  nineteen  years,  while  in  1905  he  removed  tx)  his 
present  farm  in  Oxford  township,  having  purchjised  the  same  in  1901.  Thus 
tract  consists  of  two  hundred  and  forty-one  acres,  all  of  which  has  been  placed 
inider  a  high  state  of  cultivation.  He  carries  on  general  agricultural  pur- 
suits and  makes  a  specialty  of  breeding  horses  and  other  stock,  keeping  only 
high  grades.  In  this  connection  he  has  become  widely  knowm  not  only  in 
his  homo  locality  but  in  various  sections  of  Coshocton  county  and  the  state. 
He  deserves  great  success  for  what  he  has  accomplished  in  a  business  way, 
for  all  that  he  today  possesses  has  been  acquired  through  his  own  well 
directed  labors,  careful  management  and  honorable  and  straightforward 
methods. 

Mr.  Bluck  established  a  home  of  his  own  by  his  marriage  in  1889  to 
Mk>  Charlotte  Marlatt,  who  was  born  in  Linton  township  in  18f)4,  a  daugh- 

Digitized  by  LjOOQIC 


Digitized  by 


Google 


Digitized  by 


Google 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON  COUNTY  339 

ter  of  AVilliam  and  Lemigia  (Starks)  Marlatt,  both  of  whom  are  now  de- 
ceased. Mrs.  Bluck  is  one  of  a  family  of  ten  children  and  by  her  marriage 
has  become  the  mother  of  three,  children,  of  whom  two  died  in  infancy.  The 
surviving  member  of  the  family  is  Asa,  who  was  bom  October  4,  1890,  and 
is  now  a  youth  of  eighteen  years  living  with  his  parents. 

Mr.  Bluck's  study  of  th€  political  questions  and  issues  of  the  day  has 
led  him  to  give»  stalwart  support  to  the  men  and  measures  of  democracy  ?jince 
age  conferred  upon  him  the  right  of  franchise.  His  fraternal  relations  are 
with  the  K.  P.  lodge,  No.  102,  at  New  Comerstown  and  with  the  Modern 
Woodmen  of  America.  He  is  also  identified  with  the  Grange.  He  has  pros- 
pered from  year  to  year,  and  has  conducted  all  business  matters  carefully 
and  successfully,  and  in  all  his  acts  displays  an  aptitude  for  successful  man- 
agement. He  has  not  pemnitted  the  accumulation  of  wealth  to  affect  in  any 
way  his  actions  toward  those  less  fortunate,  and  he  has  always  a  cheerful 
word  and  a  pleasant  smile  for  all  with  whom  he  comes  in  contact. 


CHARLES    W.    LOOS. 

The  road  of  opportunity  is  always  open  to  the  individual  who  will  but 
recognize  it,  and  it  has  been  in  following  this  path  that  Charles  W.  Loos 
has  advanced  from  a  humble  position  in  the  business  world  to  a  place 
where  he  now  ranks  among  the  leading  and  prosperous  residents  of  Co- 
shocton. He  is  conducting  a  real-estate  and  insurance  office  here  and  has 
a  large  clientage  in  both  lines,  building  up  a  business  which  has  come  as 
the  result  of  his  close  appli-cation,  earnest  purpose  and  unfaltering  diligence. 

He  was  bom  in  Plainfield,  this  county,  February  28,  1868,  his  parents 
being  Martin  H.  and  Anna  J.  (Wiggins)  Loos.  The  father  was  bom  in 
the  old  log  house  in  which  his  son  Charles  was  reared.  The  structure  is 
still  standing  but  has  since  been  weatherboarded.  The  paternal  grandfather 
was  a  native  of  Germany  and  was  one  of  the  first  settlers  in  Plainfield  on 
that  section  of  the  county,  aiding  in  transforming  a  wild  and  unimproved 
region  into  a  district  of  rich  fertility.  Martin  H.  Loos  continued  to  culti- 
vate the  old  home  farm  for  many  years  or  until  his  retirement  from  active 
business  life,  when  he  removed  to  Coshocton,  where  both  he  and  his  wife 
passed  away.  Mrs.  Loos  was  aJso  bom  in  the  vicinity  of  Plainfield  and  repre- 
sented one  of  the  early  families  there. 

Charles  W.  Loos  spent  his  boyhood  under  the  parental  roof  and  at- 
tended the  public  schools,  but  as  early  as  his  fourteenth  year  entered  upon 
an  apprenticeship  to  the  house  painter's  trade.  After  completing  his  term 
of  indenture  he  was  connected  with  the  business  in  Coshocton  for  eighteen 
years  and  for  fifteen  years  of  that  time  was  a  contracting  painter,  employ- 
ing at  times  as  many  as  fifteen  men.  He  built  up  a  business  of  large  magni- 
tude, becoming  one  of  the  most  prominent  contracting  painters  of  the  county. 
He  also  executed  many  contracts  in  Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania,  and  other  cities, 
for  his  ability  and  business  enterprise  made  him  widely  known  and  brought  to 

Digitized  by  LjOOQIC 


340  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

him  a  most  gratifying  biisiness.  In  1901,  however,  he  withdrew  from  the 
field  of  activity  in  which  he  had  i^pent  so  many  years  imd  has  since  given  his 
attention  to  the  real-estate  and  insurance  business.  He  is  known  to  some 
extent  as  a  speculative  builder,  having  erected  many  residence  properties 
for  sale  in  this  city,  his  operations  in  this  line  being  more  extensive  during 
the  past  five  years  than  those  of  any  other  one  man. 

In  1890  Mr.  Loos  was  married  to  Miss  Ella  Marshall,  of  Coshocton, 
and  they  have  two  sons,  Walter  and  Arthur,  both  at  home.  Mr.  Ix)os  be- 
longs to  Coshocton  I^ge,  No.  376,  B.  P.  O.  E.,  Fidelity  Lodge,  No.  135, 
K.  P.,  and  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church — associations  which  indicate 
much  of  his  character  and  the  rules  which  govern  his  life.  His  political 
allegiance  L<  given  to  the  republican  party,  yet  he  has  never  been  an  office 
seeker.  His  patrimony  when  he  started  in  life  was  sixty  dollars  and  he  is 
truly  a  self-made  man,  who  has  worked  for  opportunities  which  other  boys 
secure  through  inheritance.  He  has  always  been  a  man  of  action  rather 
than  theory,  forms  his  plans  readily  and  is  determined  in  their  execution. 
Honored  and  respected  by  all,  he  occupies  an  enviable  position  in  busi- 
ness circles,  not  only  by  reason  of  the  success  he  has  achieved  but  also  owing 
to  the  honorable,  straightforward  business  policy  he  has  ever  followed. 
Perhaps  no  biography  given  in  this  volume  illustrates  more  clearly  the  value 
of  character  and  the  ready  utilization  of  opportunity  than  does  this  of 
Charles  W.  Loos. 


ISAAC    LOOS. 


No  history  of  Coshocton  county  would  be  complete  without  mention  of 
the  Loos  family,  for  through  more  than  three-quarters  of  a  century  the 
farm  upon  which  our  subject  now  resides  has  been  owned  by  them.  It  w^as 
here  that  Isaac  Loos  was  born  October  6,  1830,  the  only  living  child  of  John 
and  Catherine  (Hager)  Loos,  both  of  whom  were  natives  of  Pennsylvania. 
His  boyhood  and  youth  were  spent  under  the  parental  roof,  and  through 
the  summer  months  he  assisted  in  the  work  of  the  fields,  early  becoming 
familiar  with  the  arduous  task  of  tilling  the  soil  until  crops  were  harvested 
in  the  late  autumn.  He  acquired  his  education  in  a  little  log  cabin  school- 
house  with  the  puncheon  floor  and  primitive  furnishing,  and  the  methods 
of  instruction  were  very  crude  as  compared  with  those  of  the  present  day. 
When  twenty-five  years  of  age  he  began  farming  for  himself  on  a  part  of 
his  father's  land,  and  he  still  owns  thirty  acres  of  the  old  homestead  which 
is  now  being  operated  by  his  son.  For  years  he  continued  active  in  the 
work  of  the  farm,  bringing  his  fields  under  a  high  state  of  cultivation  and 
adding  various  important  improvements  to  the  place.  But,  now,  at  the  age 
of  seventy-eight  years  he  is  living  retired,  enjoying  that  rest  which  should 
always  crown  a  long  [>eriod  of  faithful  and  well  directed  labor. 

Mr.  Loos  was  married  in  1856  to  Miss  Sarah  Magness,  who  was  born 
in     Linton     township.     November     11,     1836,     a     daughter     of     George 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON  COUNTY  341 

and  Marj'^  (Evans)  Magness,  'w^ho  were  natives  of  Pennsylvania.  The  father 
was  a  soldier  of  the  war  of  1812  and,  being  wounded  in  battle,  his  leg  was 
amputated  at  the  knee.  Notwithstanding  this  handicap  in  a  business  career, 
he  came  to  Coshocton  at  an  early  day  and  met  withi  good  success  in  his  under- 
takings. As  he  prospered  from  year  to  year  he  added  to  his  holdings,  until 
he  became  the  owner  of  an  extensive  and  valuable  tract  of  land.  Unto  him 
and  his  wife  were  born  a  daughter  and  son,  the  latter  being  Fielding,  a  re.si- 
dent  of  California.  The  daughter  is  Mrs.  Loos,  who  is  now  a  most  estimable 
old  lady  and  one  with  whom  it  is  a  pleasure  to  meet.  Hers  is  an  interesting 
history,  for  in  her  life  there  has  been  performed  a  remarkable  cure.  She 
was  at  one  time  a  great  suflferer  from  nervous  trouble,  and,  in  fact,  her  nerves 
were  in  such  condition  that  she  could  not  stand  to  hear  anyone  chop  wood  in 
the  yard,  while  the  crowing  of  a  rooster  near  the  house  would  cause  her  to 
scream,  nor  could  she  endure  to  have  anyone  walk  in  the  house  with  their 
shoes  on.  She  was  cured  by  faith,  through  her  prayers  to  and  belief  in  God, 
and  her  cure  was  instantaneous.  Again  she  experienced  a  remarkable  re- 
covery from  physical  ailment.  Two  years  ago  she  fell  and  broke  her  limb 
in  three  places  and  is  now  entirely  well.  She  is  one  to  whom  the  name 
mother  seems  a  fitting  title,  owing  to  the  care  and  kindliness  which  mark 
her  management  of  the  household.  Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Loos  there  were  born 
four  children:  Miss  Alice  Gardner,  who  is  now  living  in  Newark,  Ohio; 
Fielding,  of  Coshocton;  Samuel,  at  home;  and  Clayton,  also  of  Coshocton. 
Both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Loos  are  members  of  the  Methodist  Protestant  church 
and  are  consistent  church  people,  whose  well  spent  lives  have  won  for  them 
high  regard.  He  has  always  voted  with  the  republican  party,  but  has  never 
sought  nor  desired  office,  preferring  to  give  his  attention  to  his  business  affairs. 
He  has  led  a  useful  and  active  life,  and  now  is  one  of  the  most  respected 
among  the  venerable  citizens  of  the  community. 


PROSPER   C.    ROYER. 

Prosper  C.  Rover,  manager  for  the  Postal  Telegraph  Company  at  Coshoc- 
ton, where  he  is  also  engaged  in  the  real-estate  and  insurance  busine.-^s,  was 
bom  in  Franklin  township,  Coshocton  county,  October  10,  1875,  a  son  of 
Prosper  and  Mary  (Trenor)  Rover,  who  was  mentioned  elsewhere  in  this 
volume.  The  interests  of  the  home  farm  were  his  until  he  reached  his  seven- 
teenth year.  He  had  in  the  meantime  been  trained  in  the  work  of  the  fields 
and  had  received  his  mental  discipline  in  the  countrj^  schools.  He  came  to 
Coshocton  at  the  age  of  sixteen  and  from  that  time  on  has  been  dependent 
entirely  upon  his  own  resources,  so  that  whatever  success  he  has  achieved  is 
attributable  to  his  persistent  and  earnest  labor.  He  was  first  employed  as 
messenger  boy  in  the  office  of  the  Western  Union  Telegraph  Company  and 
he  also  took  up  the  study  of  telegraphy,  mastering  the  key  sufficiently  in  the 
short  period  of  six  months  to  enable  him  to  accept  a  position  at  the  end  of 
that  time  with  the  railroad  company  at  Walhor.ding.    He  remained  there  for 

Digitized  by  LjOOQIC 


342  HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

a  little  less  than  a  year,  after  which  he  returned  to  Coshocton  to  take  charge 
of  the  Western  Union  office,  which  he  had  entered  as  a  messenger  boy  less 
than  a  year  and  a  half  before.  This  position  was  given  him  on  trial  and  his 
work  was  so  satisfactory  that  he  remained  in  charge  of  the  Coshocton  office 
for  six  years.  He  then  resigned  and  went  to  Cleveland  in  the  employ  of  the 
Postal  Telegraph  Cable  Company,  but  after  a  year  spent  in  that  city  again 
came  to  Coshocton,  where  for  two  or  three  years  he  was  engaged  in  the  grocery 
business  on  his  own  account.  He  had  so  ably  represented  the  Postal  Tele- 
graph Cable  Company,  however,  that  the  corporation  again  sought  his  serv- 
ices, soliciting  him  to  take  charge  of  the  Coshocton  office.  Late  in  1900  he 
entered  upon  his  duties  in  that  position  and  has  since  thus  served.  During 
these  years  he  has  also  been  prominently  connected  with  the  real-estate  and 
insurance  business  in  Coshocton,  employing  an  assistant  to  aid  him  in  the 
conduct  of  his  interests  in  this  regard.  He  has  negotiated  many  important 
realty  transfers,  has  written  a  large  amount  of  insurance  and  in  fact  has  con- 
trolled a  successful  business  of  this  character. 

In  1897  occurred  the  marriage  of  Mr.  Royer  and  Miss  Mary  Baehmann, 
whose  father  was  formerly  a  contractor  and  stonemason  of  Coshocton,  but 
is  now  deceased.  Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Royer  were  bom  four  children,  of  whom 
three  are  living:    Joseph  P.,  Albert  and  Leo  E. 

In  his  political  views  Mr.  Royer  is  a  democrat  where  national  issues  are 
involved  but  casts  an  independent  local  ballot.  He  is  a  communicant  of  the 
Catholic  church  and  of  the  Knights  of  Columbus.  His  business  career  has 
been  marked  by  steady  progress  as  the  result  of  the  thoroughness  with  which 
he  accomplishes  anything  that  he  undertakes.  His  views  are  sound  in  rela- 
tion to  insurance  and  real-estate  business  and  few  men  are  better  informed  con- 
cerning the  properties  on  the  market  or  their  correct  values. 


P.    J.    FOX. 


Few  men  are  more  prominent  or  more  widely  known  in  the  enterprising 
little  city  of  Walhonding  than  Mr.  Fox.  He  is  an  important  factor  in  its 
business  circles,  conducting  a  hardware  and  implement  business,  which  is  now 
one  of  the  chief  concerns  of  this  place.  Mr.  Fox  was  bom  in  Tiverton  town- 
ship, Coshocton  county,  December  17,  1865,  and  is  the  youngest  of  six  chil- 
dren born  of  the  marriage  of  Phillip  F.  and  Philopena  (Heck)  Foy.  The 
father  was  bom  in  Rhine,  Bavaria,  Germany,  and  the  mother  was  also  born 
in  that  country.  They  were  there  reared  and  married,  emigrating  to  the 
United  States  in  the  early  '40s.  Upon  reaching  American  shores  they  estab- 
lished their  home  in  New  York  city,  where  for  six  years  the  father  followed 
his  trade  of  a  cabinetmaker.  He  then  removed  to  Dutch  Run,  Tiverton  town- 
ship, Coshocton  county,  and  in  connection  with  the  trade  of  cabinetmaker  fol- 
lowed carpentering  and  also  manufactured  coffins.  He  was  numbered  among 
the  prominent  pioneer  settlers  of  this  section  of  the  state  and  died  here  Sep- 
tember 16,  1905,  his  remains  being  interred  in  Dutch  Run  cemetery.     The 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  .     343 

mother  preceded  him  to  her  final  rest,  her  death  occurring  December  27, 
1889.  Their  family  numbered  six  children,  as  follows:  Phillip  F.,  who  died 
when  a  youth  of  eight  years  eight  months  and  twenty-eight  days;  Phoebe, 
who  departed  this  life  November  27,  1905,  and  was  buried  at  Canal  Dover, 
Ohio;  Daniel  H.  and  John,  who  follow  farming  in  Tiverton  township;  Bar- 
bara, the  wife  of  Charles  Petry,  a  resident  of  Dutch  Run ;  and  P.  J.,  of  this 
review. 

P.  J.  Fox,  whose  name  introduces  this  record,  was  educated  in  the  dis- 
trict schools  of  Tiverton  township  and  was  reared  on  the  home  farm  to  the 
age  of  thirteen  years.  He  then  engaged  in  the  hardware  and  implement 
business  and  in  the  years  which  have  come  and  gone  he  has  built  up  an 
extensive  enterprise.  He  has  since  added  a  line  of  buggies  and  wagons  and 
now  carries  a  complete  stock  of  hardw^are,  agricultural  implements  and  heavy 
machinery,  his  patronage  being  drawn  not  only  from  Walhonding  but  from 
the  surroimding  territory  as  well.  He  owns  the  building  in  which  he  con- 
ducts business  and  also  owns  two  houses  and  eight  lots  in  the  village.  His 
success  is  well  merited,  for  it  has  come  as  the  result  of  honorable  eflfort  and 
sound  judgment. 

Mr.  Fox  established  a  home  of  his  own  by  his  marriage  in  1893  to  Miss 
Loui:?a  C.  Van  Kennel,  a  resident  of  Monroe  township,  Coshocton  county. 
Their  marriage  has  been  blessed  with  three  children:  Alvan  B.,  Opal  Pearl 
and  Willis,  all  under  the  parental  roof.  Mr.  Fox  gives  his  political  support 
to  the  democratic  party  and  has  served  as  a  member  of  the  school  board  for 
two  and  a  half  years.  His  fraternal  relations  are  with  the  Modern  Wood- 
men of  America,  and  he  and  his  wife  are  members  of  the  German  Evangelical 
church.  He  has  ever  been  watchful  of  all  the  details  of  his  business  and 
of  all  indications  pointing  to  success,  and  today  he  has  gained  a  success  that 
classes  him  among  the  prominent  and  substantial  business  men  of  this  sec- 
tion of  the  state. 


WILLIAM   E.    RICHCREEK. 

William  E.  Richcreek  is  classed  among  the  wealthy  landholders  of 
Coshocton  county,  owning  four  hundred  acres  of  the  rich  land  for  which 
this  section  of  the  state  is  noted.  His  possessions  lie  in  Jackson  township 
and  here  he  gives  his  time  and  attention  to  general  farming  and  stock-rais- 
ing. Mr.  Richcreek  was  born  in  Bedford  township,  December  20,  1861,  a 
son  of  David  W.  and  Nancy  (Tidball)  Richcreek.  The  father  was  born  in 
Virginia  and  was  a  farmer  by  occupation,  while  the  birth  of  the  mother  oc- 
curred in  the  Keystone  state.  Both  reached  advanced  years,  the  father  pass- 
ing away  May  29,  1880,  when  seventy-nine  years  of  age,  while  the  mother 
died  May  3,  1907,  at  the  very  advanced  age  of  eighty-five  years. 

William  E.  Richcreek  pursued  his  studies  in  the  district  schools,  wherein 
he  gained  a  good  knowledge  of  the  English  branches,  and  his  employment 
during  the  period  of  his  boyhood  and  youth  was  farm  labor  on  the  home- 
Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


344     .  HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

stead  property  He  has  always  made  this  his  life  work,  being  engaged  in 
farming  on  his  own  account  in  Bedford  township  for  a  nun)ber  of  years, 
while  in  1907  ho  took  up  his  abode  on  his  present  tract  of  land  in  Jackson 
township,  his  pa-ses.sions  embracing  four  hundred  acres.  This  is  a  well 
improved  property,  supplied  with  all  modern  conveniences  and  accessories, 
and  Mr.  Richcreek  follows  modern  methods  of  agriculture,  so  that  his  efforts 
are  attended  with  good  results. 

Mr.  Richcreek  was  married  September  19,  1887,  to  Miss  Sarah  M. 
McCoy,  a  daughter  of  Henry  and  Martha  (Roberts)  McCoy.  The  home  of 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Richcreek  has  been  blessed  with  eight  children:  Henry  G., 
Harrison  D.,  Nannie  B.,  Ralph  DeWitt,  deceased;  Welcome  E.,  Lester  E., 
Spencer,  Willard  and  Delia. 

Mr.  Richcreek  is  a  republican,  stanch  in  his  advocacy  of  the  principles 
of  the  party.  For  several  terms  he  has  served  as  a  member  of  the  district 
board  of  education  but  otherwise  has  neither  sought  nor  desired  political 
prefennent.  He  manifesto  a  deep  interest  in  the  educational,  moral  and 
substantial  improvement  of  his  home  locality  and,  while  in  his  private  busi- 
ness intercMs  he  has  prospered,  he  has  not  allowed  the  accumulation  of  a 
competence  to  affect  in  any  way  his  actions  toward  those  less  successful  than 
he  and  he  has  always  a  hearty  greeting  for  thase  with  whom  he  comes  in 
contact. 


WHJJAM    S.    MERRELL. 

The  legal  profession  demands  not  only  a  high  order  of  ability  but  also 
a  rare  combination  of  talents,  learning,  tact,  patience  and  industry.  The 
successful  lawyer  must  be  a  man  of  well  balanced  intellect,  thoroughly 
familiar  with  the  law  and  practice  and  of  comprehensive  general  informa- 
tion. Possessing  all  the  requisite  qualities  necessary  for  advancement  at  the 
bar,  W.  S.  Morrell  has  worked  his  way  steadily  upward  since  becoming  a 
representative  of  the  legal  fraternity  in  Coshocton  and  is  today  numbered 
among  its  most  di.stinguished  members. 

William  S.  Merrell  was  born  in  Millersburg,  Holmes  county,  Ohio, 
October  17,  1869,  and  is  one  of  a  family  of  eight  children,  seven  of  whom 
survive,  whose  parents  were  John  C.  and  Jane  (Patterson)  Merrell.  The 
father,  whose  birth  occurred  in  Mill  Creek  township,  this  county,  March  13, 
1844,  was  a  son  of  David  and  Elizabeth  (Aultman)  Merrell,  the  former  a 
native  of  Maryland  and  the  latter  of  western  Pennsylvania.  The  grand- 
parents came  to  Coshocton  county  in  pioneer  times  with  their  respective 
parents,  the  family  homes  being  established  in  Mill  Creek  towiVship,  where 
David  Merrell  and  Elizabeth  Aultman  grew  to  adult  age  and  were  married. 
He  devoted  his  attention  to  farming  and  also  to  dealing  in  timber  and  lum- 
ber. 

In  the  county  of  his  nativity  John  C.  Merrell  spent  the  days  of  his  boy- 
hood and  youth  and  in  early  life  learned  the  carpenters  trade.     After  being 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


W.  S.  MERRELL. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


';ln 


Digitized  by 


Google 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON  COUNTY  347 

employed  by  others  for  some  time  he.  engaged  in  contracting  on  his  own 
account  and  for  a  long  period  was  identified  with  building  operations.  For 
ten  years  prior  to  his  death,  however,  he  ejigaged  in  the  lumber  business 
in  Coshocton.  His  political  support  was  given  to  the  democratic  party.  For 
some  time  he  served  as  a  member  of  the  city  council,  taking  an  active,  part 
in  promoting  the  measures  whieh  he  deemed  beneficial  in  furthering  the 
interests  of  the  city.  He  was  also  a  very  active  and  helpful  member  of  the 
Presbyterian  church  and  for  many  years  served  as  one  of  its  deacons.  While 
he  was  a  representative  and  successful  business  man  and  thus  contributed 
in  su)>stantial  measure  to  the  material  development  of  the  county  he  always 
found  time  for  active  cooperation  in  the  movements  for  the  political,  social 
and  moral  progress.  His  life  was  guided  by  manly  principles  and  lofty  pur- 
poses and  when  he  was  called  to  his  final  rest  on  the  11th  of  August,  1901, 
his  death  was  the  occasion  of  deep  and  widespread  regret.  His  wife,  who 
was  born  in  Mill  Creek  township,  April  25,  1849,  was  a  daughter  of  Benja- 
min and  Hannah  (Leach)  Patterson,  the  former  a  native  of  western  Penn- 
sylvania, and  the  latter  of  Washington  county,  Ohio.  Several  of  the  Patterson 
brothers  came  to  Coshocton  to  establish  homes,  their  father  having  pre- 
ceded them  and  selected  and  entered  the  land  which  became  the  property 
of  his  sons.  The  Pattersons  are  a  very  numerous  family  and  their  annual 
reunions  bring  together  about  eight  or  ten  hundred  representatives  of  the 
name.  Mrs.  Jane  (Patterson)  Merre.ll  still  survives  her  husband  and  is  yet 
a  resident  of  Coshocton.  Her  living  children  are:  Harvey  E.,  who  is 
employed  in  the  Piano  Works  of  Coshocton ;  William  S. ;  Lewis  W. ;  a  black- 
smith of  Coshocton;  Delbert  W.,  a  Methodist  Episcopal  minister  now  at 
Quaker  City,  Ohio;  John  C,  a  telephone  inspector,  residing  at  Canton,  Ohio; 
Florence  A.,  a  teacher  in  the  schools  of  Coshocton ;  and  Lucy  E.,  who  is  also 
employed  as  a  teachex  here. 

William  S.  Merrell  spent  his  boyhood  days  in  his  parents^  home  and 
acquired  a  public-school  education,  which  he  completed  on  his  graduation 
from  the  Coshocton  high  school  with  the  class  of  1890.  He  then  began 
teaching  in  Mill  Creek  township  and  boarded  with  his  grandparents.  Within 
eighteen  months  he  had  saved  enough  to  pay  his  way  for  one  year  in  thci 
Ohio  State  University  at  Columbus,  and  devoted  the  succeeding  twelve 
months  to  study  in  that  institution.  As  his  funds  were  then  exhausted  he 
secured  the  principalship  of  the  Walnut  Street  school  in  Coshocton  and 
remained  in  that  position  for  two  years.  In  the  meantime,  however,  he 
determined  upon  the  practice  of  law  as  his  life  work  and  to  this  end  began 
reading  in  the  office  of  W.  R.  Pomerene,  de\"oting  his  evening  hours  and 
Saturday  holidays  to  the  mastery  of  the  principles  of  jurisprudence.  Dili- 
gent as  a  student  and  thorough  in  his  preparation,  he  occupied  his  time  so 
well  that  in  the  fall  of  1904  he  was  qualified  to  enter  the  law  department  of 
the  Ohio  State  University  and,  after  three  months'  study,  successfully  passed 
the  examination  that  secured  his  admission  to  the  bar  on  the  6th  of  Decem- 
ber of  that  year.  However,  he  continued  his  study  in  the  law  school  until 
the  following  March,  when  he  returned  to  Coshocton  and  entered  upon  the 
practice  of  his  chosen  profession,  remaining  alone  until  March,  1898,  when 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


348  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

he.  formed  a  partnership  with  Judge  Samuel  H.  Nicholas.  For  eight  and 
one-half  years  the  firm  of  Nicholas  &  Merrell  occupied  a  prominent  posi- 
tion at  the  Coshocton  bar,  but  in  November,  1906,  the  relation  was  term- 
inated because  of  the.  election  of  Judge  Nicholas  to  the  common  pleas  bench. 
Since  that  time  Mr.  Merrell  has  practiced  alone  and  for  the  past  ten  years 
has  been  employed  by  either  the  prosecution  or  defense  in  almost  every  case 
heard  in  the  Coshocton  courts.  He  also  has  a  large  clientage  in  Holmes, 
Guernsey,  Tuscarawas,  Licking  and  other  nearby  counties  and  the  con- 
sensus of  public  opinion  places  him  today  with  the  most  prominent  attor- 
neys of  this  section  of  the  state. 

Mr.  Merrell  is  a  man  of  strong  intellectuality,  always  interested  in  any- 
thing pertaining  to  educational  progress.  He  is  now  president  of  the 
Wranglers  Club,  the.  leading  literary  organization  of  the  town,  and  has 
worked  earnestly  for  some  time  in  an  attempt  to  organize  an  association  to 
preserve  the  historical  mound  of  Coshocton  as  well  as  to  mark  the  histori- 
cal spots  in  this  vicinity  with  monuments.  He  is  the  secretary  of  the  Co- 
shocton Chautauqua  Company,  which  holds  one  of  the  most  successful  Chau- 
tauquas  of  the  state,  and  his  assistance  can  always  be  counted  upon  in  fur- 
thering the  municipal,  intellectual  and  moral  progress  of  this  city. 

On  the  25th  of  May,  1898,  Mr.  Merrell  was  married  to  Miss  Letitia 
Smith,  a  daughter  of  I.  T.  Smith,  of  this  city.  By  this  marriage  there  is 
one  daughter,  Virginia  Jane.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Merrell  are  prominent  soci- 
ally and  are  valued  members  of  the  Methodist  Episox)pal  church,  taking  an 
active  and  helpful  part  in  the  church  work,  Mr.  Merrell  serving  as  teacher 
of  a  class  of  men  in  the  Sunday  school.  His  political  views  are  in  accord 
with  the  democratic  principles  and  realizing  the  duties  and  obligations  as 
well  as  the  privileges  of  citizenship  he  keeps  well  informed  on  the  questions 
and  issues  of  the  day  and  addresses  the  public  in  each  political  campaign. 
A  vigilant  and  attentive  observer  of  men  and  measures  he  discusses  from 
the  platform  those  questions  which  agitate  the  times  and  which  form  a 
feature  in  the  upbuilding  of  our  great  republic.  An  excellent  presence,  an 
earnest  manner,  marked  strength  of  character,  a  thorough  grasp  of  the  law 
and  the  ability  to  accurately  apply  its  principles,  make  him  an  effective- and 
successful  advocate. 


WILBUR   F.    PARK. 


Wilbur  F.  Park,  who  since  1892  has  been  engaged  in  the  grain  and 
implement  business  in  Fresno,  was  bom  in  White  Eyes  township,  Coshocton 
county.  Ohio,  February  29,  1860,  a  son  of  William  H.  and  Nancy  J.  (Ross) 
Park.  His  father,  who  was  bom  in  Canada,  December  27,  1835,  came  to 
White  Eyes  township  in  1853,  and  here  bought  a  farm  which  became  the 
family  home.  On  April  19,  1859,  he  wedded  Nancy  J.  Ross,  who  was  born 
in  Homer  county,  this  state,  in  1832.  They  became  the  parents  of  five  sons, 
namely:    Wilbur  F.,  of  this  review;  James  R.,  a  resident  of  Adams  township; 

Digitized  by  LjOOQLC 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  349 

Samuel  H.,  deceased;  George  J.,  who  lives  in  Chicago,  Illinois;  and  John 
B.,  who  resides  in  Belmont  county,  this  state.  The  father  retired  from  farm 
life  in  1896,  and  for  the  past  three  years  has  been  serving  as  postmaster  at 
Fresno.     The  mother  was  called  to  her  eternal  home,  June  6,  1898. 

Wilbur  F.  Park  remained  under  the  parental  roof  until  of  age  and 
received  a  high-school  education.  At  the  age  of  sixteen  years  he  began  teach- 
ing, a  vocation  which  he  followed  for  fourteen  years.  He  ihen  engaged  in 
farming  for  nine  years,  or  until  in  1892,  when  he  moved  to  Fresno  and  went 
into  the  grain  and  implement  business,  an  occupation  which  he  has  since 
followed.  He  has  been  quite  successful  in  his  work  and  handles  about  four 
thousand  bushels  of  grain  annually. 

In  1883  Mr.  Park  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Mary  E.  Hamilton, 
daughter  of  John  and  Mary  (Fair)  Hamilton,  who  was  born  in  White  Eyes 
township,  July  4,  1857.  Both  parents  are  deceased,  the  father^s  death  occur- 
ring in  1884,  and  the  mother's  in  1885.  Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Park  have 
been  bom  five  children,  of  whom  the  firstborn  died  in  infancy;  Nellie,  the 
second  child,  was  bom  in  1885  and  died  in  January  of  1886;  Mabel  M., 
bom  in  Augiost,  1886,  is  the  wife  of  Porter  McCrea,  of  Fresno ;  Fred  H.,  born 
August  12,  1888,  resides  at  home  with  his  parents;  and  the  youngest  child 
died  in  infancy. 

In  his  political  views  Mr.  Park  is  a  republican,  but  he  has  never  been 
an  office  seeker,  preferring  to  give  his  undivided  attention  to  his  business 
interests.  Fraternally,  he  is  a  member  of  Coshocton  Lodge,  No.  96,  A.  F. 
&  A.  M. ;  also  of  Fresno  Lodge,  No.  11688,  M.  W.  A.  Religiously,  both  he 
and  his  astimable  wife  are  faithful  and  consistent  members  of  the  United 
Presbyterian  church. 


LEWIS   E.    BAHMER. 

Lewis  E.  Bahmer,  who  lives  in  New  Philadelphia,  was  born  in  Bakers- 
ville,  this  county,  March  1,  1875,  a  son  of  Valentine  and  Elizabeth 
(Schweitzer)  Bahmer.  He  is  of  German  lineage,  his  grandparents  on  both 
sides  of  the  family  having  come  to  America  direct  from  the  fatherland,  the 
two  families  settling  in  Bucks  township,  Tuscarawas  county,  Ohio.  Here 
Valentine  Bahmer,  the  father  of  our  subject,  was  born  June  11,  1841,  while 
the  birth  of  the  mother  occurred  May  16,  1844.  The  father  was  a  shoe- 
maker by  trade,  an  occupation  which  he  followed  in  his  youth  in  various 
cities  of  Ohio,  Kentucky  and  Tennessee.  He  was  also  a  veteran  of  the  Civil 
war,  having  served  in  Company  K,  Fifty-first  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry  from 
October  13,  1862,  until  September,  1863,  when  he  received  his  discharge. 
On  January  3,  1866,  he  wedded  Elizabeth  Schweitzer,  and  in  1869  the  young 
couple  took  up  their  residence  in  Bakersville,  where  they  continued  to  reside 
thereafter.  The  father  passed  away  July  1,  1908,  highly  esteemed  and  re- 
spected by  all  who  knew  him.  They  became  the  parents  of  eight  children, 
namely:    Phoebe,  the  wife  of  Dr.  J.  D.  Low^er,  of  Coshocton;  Charlie  V.,  a 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


850  HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

resident  of  Baltimore;  William,  deceased;  Lewis  E.,  a  resident  of  Adams 
township;  Alfred  F.,  deceased;  Harry  J.,  who  resides  in  Columbus;  Carrie 
B.,  who  is  a  twin  sister  of  Harry  J.,  and  the  wife  of  Rev.  D.  S.  Carpenter, 
of  Conesville;  and  Mayme,  who  re»<ides  at  home  with  her  mother. 

Lewis  E.  Bahmer  received  his  education  in  the  district  schools,  which 
he  attended  regularly  throughout  the  school  year  while  in  the  primary  grades, 
but  when  he  reached  an  age  sufficient  to  be  of  assistance  to  the  father  on 
his  farm  his  attendance  was  necessarily  somewhat  irregular,  being  confined 
to  those  months  of  the  year  when  farming  operations  were  suspended.  When 
he  became  of  age  he  worked  for  his  father  for  two  years  on  the  farm,  after 
which  he  began  farming  for  himself,  renting  from  his  father  the  place  which 
he  now  owns.  He  engaged  in  a  general  farming  and  met  with  marked  suc- 
cess, so  that  ultimately  he  was  able  to  secure  title  to  his  present  home,  in 
addition  to  which  he  owns  eleven  acres  of  land  in  Tascarawas  county. 

On  October  7,  1900,  Mr.  Bahmer  was  married  to  Miss  Clara  Partz,  who 
was  born  in  Bucks  township,  Tuscarawas  county,  Ohio,  October  10,  1879. 
She  is  a  daughter  of  Andrew  and  Margaret  (Regula)  Partz,  both  of  whom 
were  natives  of  Tuscarawas  county,  where  the  father  was  born  September  3, 
1848,  and  the  mother  July  4,  1851.  They  still  reside  there  on  a  fine  farm 
of  one  hundred  and  twenty  atres  which  they  own.  Six  children  were  bom 
to  their  union,  namely:  C.  A.,  a  medical  practitioner  of  Baltic,  Ohio;  Clara, 
the  wife  of  our  subject;  Milton  F.,  who  is  attending  school  at  Springfield, 
Ohio;  Edwin  D.  and  Adela  A.,  both  of  whom  are  engaged  in  teaching  school 
and  reside  at  home  with  their  parents;  and  Edward,  who  is  deceased.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Bahmer  now  have  three  children.  Starling  P.,  w^ho  w^s  born  No- 
vember 13,  1901;  Margaret,  who  was  born  March  7,  1904;  and  Leonora  J., 
who  w^as  born  August  8,  1906. 

In  politics  Mr.  Bahmer  is  a  stalwart  democrat,  never  swer\'ing  in  hi.s 
allegiance  to  the  party,  for  he  believes  that  the  principles  of  the  organization 
contain  the  best  elements  of  good  government.  Fraternally,  he  is  a  member 
of  Bakersville  Camp,  No.  5216,  M.  W.  A.,  and  religiously,  both  he  and  his 
estimable  wife  are  members  of  the  English  Lutheran  church.  Mr.  Bahmer 
occupies  a  leading  position  in  the  ranks  of  Coshocton  county's  younger  cit- 
izens and  is  popular  with  a  host  of  friends. 


MRS.    ALMEDA    J.    LOWER. 

Mrs.  Almeda  J.  Lower  owns  and  occupies  a  good  farm  of  eighty  acres 
in  White  Eyes  township.  She  was  born  in  Coshocton  county,  Ohio,  October 
8,  1862,  and  is  the  widow  of  W.  B.  Lower,  who  was  born  in  this  county 
January  21,  1862.  She  is  a  daughter  of  Ben  and  Christina  (Turner) 
Leavengood.  Her  father  was  also  a  native  of  this  county,  but  her  mother 
was  born  in  Virginia  and  <*ame  to  this  county  in  her  girlhood  days.  Both 
are  still  living  and  are  well  known  people  here,  enjoying  the  respect  and 
good  will  of  all  w^ith  whom  they  have  come  in  contact. 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  351 

Th€dr  family  numbered  ten  children,  including  Mrs.  Lower,  who  spent 
her  girlhood  days  under  the  parental  roof  and  was  early  trained  to  the  work 
of  the  household,  forming  habits  of  industry  and  economy,  which  well  quali- 
fied her  to  take  charge  of  a  home  of  her  own  at  the  time  of  her  marriage. 
She  pursued  her  education  in  public  schools  and  her  husband  was  educated 
in  a  similar  manner.  On  the  9th  of  April,  1885,  she  became  the  wife  of 
W.  B.  Lower,  a  farmer  of  this  county,  who  devoted  his  entire  life  to  general 
agricultural  pursuits.  At  the  time  of  his  death  he  owned  eighty  acres  of  land 
which  he  had  brought  under  a  high  state  of  cultivation.  He  had  also  added 
many  modem  improvements  to  his  farm  and  everything  about  the  place 
indicated  his  careful  supervision  and  progressive  methods.  The  death  of 
Mr.  Lower  occurred  in  November,  1903. 

In  tlie  family  were  four  children:  Myrtle  M.,  now  the  wife  of  Clayton 
Parlhill;  Ethel  V.,  Olive  B.  and  Clenette  P.,  all  at  home.  Mrs.  Lower  and 
her  children  are  all  members  of  the  Episcopal  church,  attending  its  services 
and  contributing  to  its  support.  Mrs.  Lower  still  owns  the  farm  of  eighty 
acres  in  White  Eyes  township  which  was  formerly  the  property  of  her  hus- 
band. It  is  in  an  attractive  place  and  the  land  is  also  rich  and  productive 
and  annually  returns  good  harvests  for  the  care  and  cultivation  which  are 
bestewed  upon  the  place.  Having  spent  her  entire  life  in  this  county  Mrs. 
Lower  is  well  known  here  and  enjoys  the  friendship  and  regard  of  the  many 
with  whom  she  has  been  brought  in  contact. 


GEORGE    W.    SMITH. 

A  well  improved  and  highly  developed  farm  of  one  hundred  and  sixty-  , 
nine  acres  situated  in  Linton  township  has  been  the  home  of  George  W. 
Smith  for  the  past  forty-three  years.  He  w^as  born  in  Guernsey  county,  this 
state,  October  16,  1833,  and  is  the  eldest  of  two  children  (of  whom  the  sisier, 
Elizabeth  Ann,  is  deceased)  born  of  the  marriage  of  William  W.  and  Nancy 
(Morlatt)  Smith.  The  father  was  a  native  of  England,  while  the  mother's 
birth  occurred  in  Virginia.  They  came  to  Ohio  at  an  early  date  and  located 
in  Guernsey  county,  where  the  father  died.  The  mother,  however,  passed 
away  in  Coshocton  county. 

George  W.  Smith  pursued  his  studies  in  the  common  schools  and  at  the 
age  of  fifteen  years  learned  the  harness  trade,  at  which  he  worked  for  a  time. 
He  then  resumed  farming,  working  as  a  farm  hand  for  two  years.  In  1865 
he  put  aside  all  business  and  personal  considerations  and  gave  his  services  to 
the  government,  during  the  latter  part  of  the  Civil  war,  remaining  at  the 
front  for  seven  months.  He  then  returned  to  Coshocten  county  and  is  now 
the  owner  of  one  hundred  and  sixty-nine  acres  situated  in  Linton  township, 
which  has  been  his  place  of  residence  for  the  past  forty-three  years.  In  con- 
nection with  general  farming  he  raises  stock,  making  a  specialty  of  the  latter 
branch  of  business,  in  which  he  is  meeting  with  excellent  success. 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


352  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

Mr.  Smith  has  been  twice  married.  He  first  wedded  Sarah  J.  Johnson, 
who  was  bom  in  Coshocton  county.  Their  marriage  was  blessed  with  two 
sons  but  both  are  now  deceased.  The  wife  and  mother  was  also  called  to  her 
final  rest,  and  Mt.  Smith  then  married  Mary  E.  Johnson,  a  sister  of  his  first 
wife.  This  union  has  been  blessed  with  a  son  and  daughter:  Johnson,  of 
Coshocton ;  and  Laura,  the  wife  of  Johnson  Hammond,  of  Muskingum  county. 

Mr.  Smith  gives  his  political  support  to  the  men  and  measures  of  the 
democratic  party  and  has  been  called  by  his  fellow  townsmen  to  fill  a  number 
of  public  offices,  ha\dng  served  for  five  years  as  trustee  of  the  township,  while 
he  has  also  filled  the  office  of  supervisor  on  several  different  occasions.  He  is 
also  a  school  director.  There  is  particular  satisfaction  in  reverting  to  the  life 
history  of  the  honored  and  venerable  gentleman  whose  name  initiates  this 
review,  since  his  mind  bears  the  impress  of  the  historical  annals  of  the  state 
of  Ohio  from  the  early  pioneer  days,  and  from  the  fact  that  he  has  been  a 
loyal  son  of  the  republic.  He  has  now  passed  the  seventy-fifth  milestone  on 
life's  journey  and  commands  the  respect  and  reverence  which  should  ever  be 
accorded  to  one  who  has  advanced  thus  far  on  the  journey  of  life. 


LEWIS   J.   FOSTER. 


The  gentleman  whose  name  introduces  this  record  needs  no  introduction 
to  the  readers  of  this  volume  for  the  Fosters  are  one  of  the  prominenfe*  pioneer 
families  of  Coshocton  county  and  he  of  whom  w^e  write  is  a  worthy  repre- 
sentative of  the  name,  owning  a  large  tract  of  land  comprising  three  hun- 
dred and  ninety-seven  acres  in  the  rich  bottoms  of  the  Tuscarawas  river, 
near  Canal  Lewisville..  Lewis  J.  Foster  was  born  in  Jackson  township, 
Coshocton  county,  August  30,  1861,  a  son  of  Ebenezer  and  Maria  (Markley) 
Foster,  who  w^re  likew^ise  natives  of  this  county.  The  father  was  a  pioneer 
settler  of  this  locality  and  became  a  wealthy  landowner,  at  one  time  possess- 
ing fourteen  hundred  acres  in  Coshocton  county.  He  engaged  in  general 
farming  throughout  a  long  period  but  the  last  twenty  years  of  his  life  were 
spent  in  honorable  retirement.  His  death  occurred  February  9,  1907,  when 
he  had  reached  the  very  advanced  age  of  eighty-five,  years,  and  thus  the  com- 
munity mourned  the  loss  of  one  of  its  oldest  and  most  highly  honored 
citizens. 

Lewis  J.  Foster  was  reared  to  agricultural  pursuits,  giving  his  father 
the  benefit  of  his  services  on  the  home  farm  from  the  time  of  early  spring 
planting  until  crops  were  harvested  in  the  late  autumn,  while  during  the 
winter  seasons  he  pursued  his  studies  in  the  district  schools.  Upon  entering 
into  business  on  his  own  account  he  chose  the  occupation  to  w^hich  he  had 
been  reared  and  has  made  this  his  life  work.  He  is  now  the  owner  of  three 
hundred  and  ninety-seven  acres  of  land  near  Canal  Lewisville,  which  has 
been  made  valuable  and  productive  through  his  own  labors.  He  is  progress- 
ive and  practical  in  his  methods  of  labor  and  thus  his  labors  are  rewarded 
with  excellent  success. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


MR.  AND  MRS.  EBENEZER  FOSTER. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


r 


Digitized  by 


Google 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  355 

Mr.  Foster  was  married  December  14,  1881,  to  Miss  Carrie  R.  Lennon, 
whose  home  was  in  the  same,  locality  in  which  Mr.  Foster  was  reared.  They 
have  become  the  parents  of  the  following  children:  Archie  A.,  who  was 
born  November  12,  1882,  and  married  Mary  McCabe;  Harry  E.,  born  Au- 
gust 5,  1884;  Nellie  E.,  who  was  born  April  28,  1886,  and  is  now  the  wife 
of  Thomas  Wilson;  Gladys  M.,  who  was  born  December  25,  1888,  and  died 
July  3,  1896;  Lewis  Wade,  born  May  26,  1891;  Clifford  O.,  born  October 
26,  1893;  Ethel  Lou,  bom  April  29,  1896;  James  L.,  born  August  7,  1898; 
Carrie  R.,  who  was  born  November  23,  1900,  and  died  September  29,  1901; 
and  one  son  who  died  in  infancy. 

Mr.  Foster  gives  his  political  support  to  the  men  and  measures  of  the 
democratic  party  but  has  never  been  active  in  political  circles.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Grange  and  of  the  Odd  Fellows  lodge  at  Coshocton.  In  every- 
thing he  has  been  eminently  practical  and  this  has  been  manifest  not  only 
in  his  business  undertakings  but  also  in  social  and  private  life.  His  activity 
has  not  only  contributed  to  his  individual  success  but  has  also  been  a  factor 
in  the  development  of  his  home  locality,  of  which  he  is  today  accounted  one 
of  the  honored  citizens. 


BENJAMIN    HAINS. 


A  highly  cultivated  farm  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  acres,  situated  in 
Bedford  township,  is  the  place  of  residence  of  Benjamin  Hains,  who  was 
born  in  this  township,  March  19,  1854,  a  son  of  Levi  and  Lucinda  (Trout- 
man)  Hains.  The  Hains  family  was  founded  in  Ohio  in  1810  by  the  paternal 
grandfather,  Henry  Hains,  who  was  born  in  Bedford  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania, in  1782,  whence  he  removed  to  Licking  county.  The  following  year 
he  came  to  Coshocton  county  and  entered  land  from  the  government,  and 
this  tract  has  since  been  in  possession  of  the  family  and  is  now  owned  by  a 
grandson,  Henry  F.  Hains,  who  is  mentioned  elsewhere  in  this  volume.  The 
grandfather  was  twice  married  and  by  the  first  union  had  eight  children, 
all  of  whom  have  departed  this  life. 

*  Levi  Hains,  the  father  of  our  subject,  was  born  on  the  old  family  home- 
stead in  Bedford  township,  February  7,  1817,  and  was  there  reared  and  spent 
his  entire  life.  He  followed  farming  as  a  life  work  and  at  the  time  of  his 
death,  which  occun-ed  Jumi  29,  1002,  when  he  had  reached  the  advanced 
age  of  eiglity-five  ypur^,  ho  owiU'tl  five  hundred  acras  of  valuable  land.  He 
was  a  republican  in  politic iil  failli  i\ud  was  a  public-spirited  citizen,  prominent 
in  the  public  life  of  Utia  section  of  the  state.  His  wife,  w^ho  bore  the  maiden 
name  nf  Lucinda^  whs  born  in  Gambier,  Knox  county,  Ohio,  in 

liiiiL-iuul  dml  ^  lunty,  October  24,  1892,  at  the  age  of  eighty- 

ler  of  the  following  children:    Norman,  who 
Tard  and  Sarah,  deceased;  Mary  E,,  the  wife 
'd  in  farming  in  Bedford  township;  J.  T.,  an 
\\  Kansas;  J.  R.,  of  Bedford  township;  Ben- 
Digitized  by  LjOOQLC 


356  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

jamin,  of  this  review;  Leander,  a  farmer  of  Bedford  township;  Henry  F., 
who  is  mentioned  on  another  page  of  this  work;  Charlee,  who  is  also  men- 
tioned elsewhere  in  this  volume ;  and  Isabel,  the  wife  of  A.  G.  Reed,  a  farmer 
of  Bedford  township. 

Benjamin  Hains,  the  immediate  subject  of  this  review,  acquired  his  edu- 
cation in  the  Hains  district  school  and  was  reared  to  the  pursuits  of  farm 
life,  early  being  trained  in  the  duties  of  the  home  farm.  He  remained  under 
the  parental  roof  until  he  had  reached  the  age  of  twenty-four  years,  when  he 
began  farming  on  his  own  account  and,  with  the  exception  of  one  year  spent 
in  Kansas,  he  has  always  lived  in  Bedford  township.  He  now  owns  one 
hundred  and  twenty  acres  of  land  situated  in  this  township,  all  of  which  is 
under  a  high  state  of  cultivation,  each  year  yielding  abundant  harvests.  In 
1902  Mr.  Hains  erected  a  nice  barn  and  in  1906  built  a  fine  modern  residence, 
supplied  with  all  the  conveniences  and  accessories  that  add  to  the  comfort 
of  the  inmates.  The  house  stands  in  the  midst  of  a  well  kept  lawn,  and 
everything  about  the  place  is  kept  in  a  good  state  of  repair.  Mr.  Hains 
keeps  good  grades  of  stock,  raising  thoroughbred  cattle  and  sheep.  He  is  a 
man  of  enterprise  and  progress,  keeping  in  touch  with  modern  ideas  of  farm- 
ing, so  that  his  labors  are  attended  with  excellent  results. 

Mr.  Hains  was  married  in  1877  to  Miss  Sarah  C.  Parrish,  a  resident  of 
Coshocton  county,  and  they  have  one  daughter,  Lizzie,  the  wife  of  T.  0. 
Clarke,  w^ho  is  engaged  in  teaching  in  Bedford.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Clarke  are 
the  parents  of  three  daughters:  Estella,  Ethel  May  and  Sarah  Bessie.  Mr. 
Hains  is  an  ardent  republican  and  his  wafe  is  a  member  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church.  They  are  people  of  high  moral  worth,  esteemed  by  a  large 
circle  of  friends. 


PROSPER   ROYER. 


Prosper  Royer,  who  since  1901  has  lived  retired  in  Coshocton,  was 
formerly  identified  for  a  long  period  with  the  agricultural  interests  of  the 
county,  owning  and  cultivating  an  excellent  tract  of  land  which  constituted 
one  of  the  fine  farms  of  the  locality.  Although  born  across  the  water,  Co- 
shocton has  no  citizen  more  loyal  to  its  interests  and  welfare  than  Prosper 
Royer,  whose  birth  occurred  in  France,  January  29,  1835.  His  parents  were 
Nicholas  and  Ann  (Yergo)  Royer,  who  came  to  the  United  States  in  1844, 
settling  on  a  farm  in  Muskingum  county,  Ohio,  near  Sonora.  There  the 
father  purchased  a  farm  on  which  he  and  his  family  lived  for  six  years,  when 
he  disposed  of  that  property  and  in  1850  came  to  Coshocton,  investing  here 
in  a  tract  of  land  of  eighty  acres  in  Franklin  township  near  Frews  Mill. 
Subsequently  he  bought  an  adjoining  tract  of  eighty  acres  and  upon  the 
farm  which  he  there  cultivated  and  improved  he  and  his  wife  spent  their 
remaining  days  and  when  called  from  this  life  were  laid  to  rest  in  the  old 
cemetery  of  the  neighl>orhood,  a  part  of  the  land  for  this  cemetery  having 
been  donated  by  Mr.  Royer. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  357 

As  a  farm  boy  Prosper  Royer  was  reared,  working  in  the  summer  months 
at  the  labors  of  the  farm,  while  in  the  winter  seiisons  he  attended  the  district 
schools.  In  early  manhood  he  was  married  and  for  two  years  thereafter 
resided  on  the  old  homestead  but  on  the  expiration  of  that  period  removed  to 
the  old  John  Hershman  farm,  which  he  cultivated  as  a  renter  for  three  years. 
In  the  meantime  he  carefully  saved  his  earnings  until  his  diligence  and 
forty  acres  adjoining  the  Hershman  farm.  He  lived  there  for  three  years 
industry  brought  him  sufficient  capital  to  enable  him  to  purchase  a  farm  of 
and  then  purchased  a  farm  of  one  hundred  and  sixty-nine  acres,  on  which 
he  made  his  home  for  three  decades.  As  time  passed  he  converted  the  soil 
into  rich  and  productive  fields  that  annually  yielded  him  large  harv^asts.  He 
also  added  good  buildings  and  modern  improvements  to  his  place,  using  the 
latent  machinery  to  facilitate  the  work  of  the  fields  and  employing  such 
progressive  methods  as  have  made  the  work  of  the  farm  much  more  remuner- 
ative than  it  was  even  a  quarter  of  a  century  ago.  As  time  passed  his  labors 
secured  for  him  a  hand.^ome  competence  and  in  1901  he  removed  to  Coshoc- 
ton, where  he  has  since  resided,  the  fruit  of  his  foniier  toil  being  sufficient 
to  enable  him  to  enjoy  a  well  earned  rest  without  further  recourse  to  busi- 
ness cares. 

On  the  2d  of  July,  1861,  Mr.  Royer  was  married  to  Miss  Mary  Trenor, 
of  West  Lafayette,  a  daughter  of  Maurice  Trenor,  w^ho  came  to  Coshocton 
county  from  Ireland,  his  native  country.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Royer  were  the 
parents  of  seven  children,  of  whom  three  are  living:  Mary,  the  wife  of 
Samuel  Siegrist,  of  Coshocton;  William  H.,  of  Coshocton,  Ohio;  and  Prosper 
C,  manager  of  the  Postal  Telegraph  Company  of  Coshocton. 

In  his  political  views  Mr.  Royer  is  a  democrat,  thoroughly  in  sympathy 
with  the  principles  and  purposes  of  the  party.  Both  he  and  his  wife  are 
communicants  of  the  Catholic  church.  He  has  now  passed  the  Psalmist's 
span  of  three  score  years  and  ten  and  in  fact  has  reached  the  seventy-third 
milestone  on  life's  journey.  His  business  activity  through  many  years  well 
entitles  him  to  the  rest  which  he  is  now  enjoying  and  he  deserves  mention 
among  the  representative  residents  of  his  adopted  county. 


MATTHEW    S.    BEEBE. 

Death  often  removes  from  our  midst  one  whom  we  can  ill  afford  to  lose. 
The  news  of  the  demise  of  Matthew  S.  Beebe  brought  a  feeling  of  widespread 
sorrow  to  Coshocton  and  the  surrounding  country,  for  through  a  long  period 
he  had  stood  as  one  of  the  foremost  merchants  of  this  part  of  the  state  and 
as  a  man  whom  to  know  was  to  respect  and  honor.  The  memory  which  he 
left  behind  him,  however,  is  cherished  by  family  and  friends  and  his  example 
is  one  well  worthy  of  emulation,  for  it  stands  in  proof  of  the  fact  that  pros- 
perity and  an  honorable  name  may  be  won  simultaneously. 

Mr.  Beebe  was  born  in  Cadiz,  Ohio,  October  3,  1845.  His  father,  James 
W.  Beebe,  was  connected  with  operations  in  the  coal  fields  of  Ohio  during  the 

Digitized  by  LjOOQIC 


858  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

early  mining  days  here,  being  one  of  the  first  men  to  develop  the  mines  at 
Conesville.  He  gave  to  his  son  liberal  educational  privileges,  the  latter  sup- 
plementing his  early  public-school  course  by  study  in  the  Hopedale  College 
at  Hopedale,  Ohio.  For  several  years  during  his  early  manhood  he  was 
identified  with  his  father  in  his  mining  operations  but  thinking  to  find 
mercantile  pursuits  more  congenial,  he  engaged  with  an  eastern  shoe  house 
as  commercial  salesman.  This  gave  him  an  intimate  and  comprehensive 
knowledge  of  the  trade  and  for  twenty-five  years  he  engaged  in  the  shoe 
business  as  a  wholesale  dealer.  He  thoroughly  acquainted  himself  with  the 
trade  and  its  possibilities  and  by  progressive  business  methods  and  honorable 
dealing  secured  a  most  liberal  patmnage.  The  integrity  of  his  business 
methods  was  never  called  into  question  and  on  the  contrary  he  was  widely 
known  for  his  unassailable  reputation,  resulting  from  straightforward  dealing. 

Pleasantly  situated  in  his  home  life,  Mr.  Beebe  was  devoted  to  the  wel- 
fare of  his  wife  and  son.  On  the  2d  of  January,  1890,  he  married  Miss  Lois 
Mayes,  a  daughter  of  Calvin  Mayes,  who  was  a  banker  and  extensive  land- 
owner of  Peabody,  Kansas,  but  is  now  deceased.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Beebe  had 
one  child,  Junius  M.,  who  was  born  February  16,  1892,  and  is  now  being 
educated  at  the  Randolph-Macon  Academy  at  Front  Royal,  Virginia.  Mr. 
Beebe  regarded  no  personal  sacrifiee  on  his  part  too  great  if  it  would  promote 
the  welfare  or  enhance  the  happiness  of  his  little  family  and  they  found 
him  a  most  devoted  and  loving  husband  and  father. 

His  political  support  was  given  to  the  republican  party  and  he  always 
kept  well  informed  on  the  questions  and  issues  of  the  day,  although  he  never 
sought  nor  desired  office.  He  ranked  very  high  in  Masonry  and  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Presbyterian  church — associations  which  indicate  much  of  his 
character  and  the  principles  that  governed  his  conduct.  All  who  knew  him 
respected  him  and  he  occupied  a  prominent  place  in  the  foremost  ranks  of 
Coshocton's  business  men.  Mrs.  Beebe  now  occupies  the  home  residence  at 
No.  304  Chestnut  street,  spending  the  summer  months  in  Coshocton,  while 
in  the  winter  seasons  she  resides  in  Washington,  D.  C.  Like  Mr.  Beebe,  she 
has  many  friends  here  and  the  hospitality  of  the  best  homes  is  most  cordially 
extended  to  her. 


CHRISTOPHER    C.    MHXER. 

Enterprise,  energy  and  determination  constitute  the  labors  of  Christo- 
pher C.  Miller,  who  is  engaged  in  farming  on  a  well  improved  tract  of  land 
of  one  hundred  and  one  acres,  situated  in  Jackson  township.  He  is  a  native 
son  of  the  township,  born  May  12,  1865,  a  son  of  John  and  Nancy  (Lyons) 
Miller,  natives  of  Coshocton  county.  The  father  died  December  27,  1891, 
at  the  age  of  sixty-seven  years,  while  the  mother  preceded  him  to  the  home 
beyond,  her  death  occurring  January  12,  1879,  at  the  comparatively  early 
age  of  fifty-two  years. 

Christopher  C.  Miller,  whose  name  heads  this  review,  spent  the  period 
of  his  boyhood  and  youth  upon  the  homestead  farm,  acquiring  his  education 

Digitized  by  LjOOQLC 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  359 

through  the  medium  of  the  district  schools.  He  remained  under  the  parental 
roof  until  he  started  out  to  make  his  own  way  in  the  world,  following  general 
agricultural  pursuits  in  Jackson  and  Bedford  townships  until  1902,  when 
he  removed  to  Allegheny  county,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  was  engaged  in  sim- 
ilar pursuits  until  1905,  when  he  purchased  his  present  farm  of  one  hundred 
aci'es  in  Jackson  township  and  returned  once  more  to  Coshocton  county  to 
make  his  home.  He  foUow^s  farming  and  stock-raising  and  also  gives  much 
of  his  time  to  raising  fruit,  in  which  he  is  meeting  with  success.  He  has  an 
attractive  country  home,  fitted  out  with  all  modern  conveniences,  and  his 
farm  is  otherwise  well  improved. 

Mr.  Miller  was  married  October  20,  1886,  to  Miss  Mary  A.  Miarshall,  a 
daughter  of  Thomas  and  Susan  (Slaughter)  Marshall,  representatives  of  two 
prominent  pioneer  families  of  this  county.  The  union  of  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Miller  has  been  blessed  with  a  son  and  daughter,  Ernest  E.  and  Susan  A. 
Mr.  Miller  is  a  democrat  in  his  political  views  and  affiliations  but  has  never 
been  active  as  an  office  seeker,  the  only  public  position  he  has  ever  held  being 
that  of  school  director.  By  perseverance,  determination  and  honorable  effort 
he  has  overthrown  the  obstacles  which  barred  his  path  to  success  and  reached 
the  goal  of  prosperity,  while  his  genuine  worth  and  pubblic  spirit  have  made 
him  a  director  of  public  thought  and  action. 


JACOB    ZIMMERMAN. 

Jacob  Zimmerman  is  the  owner  of  an  excellent  farm  of  one  hundred 
and  fourteen  acres  situated  in  Adams  township.  The  land  is  rich  and  pro- 
ductive and  the  place  in  its  neat  and  well  kept  appearance  indicates  the  care- 
ful supervision  of  a  practical  and  painstaking  owner.  Mr.  Zimmerman  is 
one  of  the  respected  citizens  of  this  community  and  has  been  a  resident  of 
Ohio  for  more  than  a  half  century.  He  claims  Switzerland  as  the  place  of 
his  nativity,  his  birth  having  there  occurred  January  28,  1838. 

His  parents,  Christ  and  Margaret  Zimmerman,  were  also  natives  of  the 
same  country  and,  crassing  the  Atlantic  to  America  in  1854,  they  located 
in  Tuscarawas  county,  Ohio,  w^here  the  father  purchased  and  improved  land. 
He  was  a  school  teacher  by  profession  and  was  actively  connected  with  the 
educational  interests  of  this  state  for  thirty-eight  years.  He  died  in  October, 
1862,  when  about  seventy-one  years  of  age,  for  his  birth  occurred  in  1791. 
His  Avife  survived  him  only  about  a  year,  passing  away  in  1863. 

Jacob  Zimmerman  is  the  only  survivor  in  a  family  of  thirteen  children. 
He  remained  with  his  father  until  he  attained  his  majority  and  worked  upon 
the  home  farm,  early  becoming  familiar  with  all  the  duties  and  labors  that 
fall  to  the  lot  of  the  agriculturist.  When  he  had  reached  an  adult  age  he 
bought  a  farm  of  seventy  acres  in  Tuscarawas  county,  took  up  his  abode 
there  and  continued  for  nineteen  years,  bringing  the  place  into  a  high  state 
of  cultivation.  He  then  sold  that  property  and  removed  to  Coshocton  county, 
where  he  bought  the  farm  of  one  hundred  and  fourteen  acres  on  which  he 

f  Google 


Digitized  by  ^ 


360  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

now  re^idoi?.  His  per.sevcring  efforts,  his  diligence  and  thorough  knowledge 
of  farming  methods  have  enabled  him  to  make  this  a  valuable  property  and 
from  his  fields  he  annually  gathers  rich  han-ests,  which  return  to  him  a 
gratifying  income. 

In  1859  Mr.  Zinnnerman  was  unittni  in  marriage  to  Miss  Sarah  Yoiniger, 
who  was  bom  in  Tuscarawas  county,  August  16,  1840.  She  was  one  of 
twelve  children  and  her  parents  are  now  deceased.  Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Zim- 
mennan  were  bom:  Ira,  wha<e  birth  occurred  August  13,  1880;  Christ,  born 
June  10,  1862;  John  F.,  in  1863;  David,  in  1865;  Imeno,  in  1867;  Susan, 
who  was  born  in  1869,  and  is  the  wife  of  Herbert  Shlagle;  Daniel,  bom  in 
1871;  Abraham,  who  was  born  in  1873  and  died  in  1902;  and  Anna  E.,  who 
was  bom  in  1873  and  is  the  wife  of  Adam  Young.  The  living  members  of  the 
family  are  all  residents  of  Coshocton  county  and  ^Ir.  and  Mrs.  Zimmerman 
have  reared  a  family  of  sons  and  daughters  Avho  are  a  credit  and  honor  to 
their  name. 

The  parents  are  members  of  the  German  Reformed  church  and  have 
lived  earnest,  consistent  Christian  lives.  Mr.  Zimmerman  gives  his  political 
support  to  the  democratic  party  and  was  a^ssessor  and  tmstee  of  his  township, 
while  for  over  twenty-one  years  he  sen^d  as  a  member  of  the  school  board. 
In  his  official  duties  he  has  been  found  prompt  and  reliable  and  in  all  busi- 
ness affairs  honorable  and  straightforward,  so  that  he  enjoys  the  full  confi- 
dence and  trust  of  those  who  know  him.  He  has  never  had  occasion  to  regret 
his  determination  to  seek  a  home  in  America,  for  here  he  has  found  good 
opportunities  and  by  his  earnest  work  and  unfaltering  perseverance  has  gained 
a  creditable  measure  of  success. 


HENRY    SHAW 


Henry  Shaw,  a  succas.sful  business  man  and  agriculturalist  of  Lafayette 
township,  was  born  in  the  locality  where  he  now  re>sides,  February  21,  1848, 
the  son  of  Velzer  and  Margaret  (Maple)  Shaw.  The  family  is  among  the 
pioneer  settlers  of  Coshocton  county,  the  paternal  great-grandfather  of  our 
subject  having  purchased  in  1833  a  large  tract  of  whait  was  then  wild  land, 
on  which  he  erected  a  log  cabin  and  with  a  resolution  which  is  now  evidenced 
in  his  posterity,  proceeded  to  bring  it  under  a  state  of  subjection.  He  was 
ably  assisted  in  his  efforts  by  five  stalw^art.  sons,  namely:  Elijah,  who  served 
in  the  war  of  1812;  Albert,  who  served  in  both  the  Mexican  and  Civil  wars; 
Robert,  Enos  and  Levi. 

Velzer  Shaw%  father  of  our  subject,  was  bom  in  Orange  county,  New 
Jersey,  May  4,  1824,  and  was  therefore  but  nine  years  of  age  w^hen  brought 
by  his  parents  to  Coshocton  county.  He  grew  to  manhood  on  the  old  farm 
and  was  his  father's  mainstay  in  the  work  of  the  place,  to  the  possession  of 
which  he  succeeded.  As  a  democrat  he  took  an  active  interest  in  political 
affairs,  and  while  he  would  never  consent  to  hold  office  himself,  yet  he 
always  worked  hard  for  the  success  of  his  party.     Although  a  member  of  no 

Digitized  by  LjOOQLC 


CO 


> 


Digitized  by 


Google 


Digitized  by 


Google 


HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  363 

church  he  was  noted  for  his  charity  and  his  pocketbook  was  always  open  for 
those  who  were  in  trouble  or  in.  need.  He  wedded  Margaret  Maple,  who  was 
born  in  Portsmouth,  Ohio,  in  1825,  and  they  became  the  parents  of  six  chil- 
dren, namely:  Jerome,  who  enlisted  in  the  army  when  fifteen  years  of  age, 
as  a  result  of  which  his  health  was  wrecked  by  the  hardships  he  suffered 
during  service,  and  he  passed  away  at  the  early  age  of  twenty-two  years. 
Henry,  of  this  review.  Simeon,  who  died  at  the  age  of  seventeen  years; 
Icuth  Ann,  who  died  at  the  age  of  two  years;  Seth,  who  resides  in  West 
Lafayette,  Ohio;  and  Edward,  who  died  when  forty-eight  years  of  age.  The 
father  passed  away  in  1904,  having  survived  his  wife  a  few  years,  her  death 
occurring  in  1900. 

Henry  Shaw  was  reared  on  the  fann  and  received  a  district-school  edu- 
cation. At  the  age  of  eighteen  years  he  began  teaching,  an  occupation  whidi 
he  followed  for  nine  years  during  the  winter  months,  devoting  the  months 
of  summer  to  his  farming  interests.  In  1873  he  purchased  one  hundred 
acres  of  land,  which  is  now  a  part  of  his  present  farm  of  one  hundred  and 
fifty  acres  adjoining  the  corporation  limits  of  the  town  of  West  Lafayette  on 
the  north.  This  constitutes  his  residence  property  and  in  addition  to  this 
place  he  also  owns  a  farm  of  two  hundred  and  six  acres  in  Wilson  and  Lafay- 
ette townships  and  has  recently  sold  two  other  farms  which  he  owned. 

On  September  29,  1868,  Henry  Shaw  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss 
Mary  Ellen  Masterson,  who  was  bom  in  Gallia  county,  Ohio,  June  22,  1851, 
the  daughter  of  William  F.  and  Bethsama  (Wood)  Masterson.  Her  father 
was  born  in  Virginia  in  1816,  and  was  educated  as  a  physician,  having 
graduated  from  the  Cincinnati  Medical  College.  He  was  well  known  as  a 
physician  of  unusual  ability  throughout  Gallia  county  and  later  in  Coshoc- 
ton county,  where  his  services  were  greatly  in  demand  on  account  of  his 
proficiency.  He  died  in  1885.  The  mother  was  born  in  Coshocton  county 
and  passed  away  in  1872  at  the  age  of  forty-three  years.  They  were  the 
parents  of  six  children,  namely:  Mary  Ellen,  the  wife  of  our  subject;  Pauline, 
who  resides  in  West  Lafayette;  Joseph  W.,  a  resident  of  South  Bend,  Wash- 
ington; Margaret,  who  is  employed  in  the  United  States  treasury  department 
at  Washington,  D.  C. ;  Caroline,  the  wife  of  R.  C.  Hardesty,  of  Colorado; 
and  William  L.,  a  physician,  who  resides  in  Washington,  D.  C.  Unto  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Shaw  have  been  born  six  children,  as  follows:  Pauline,  the  wife  of 
L.  L.  Catherday,  who  resides  in  Dresden,  Ohio;  Cornelia,  the  wife  of  S.  W. 
Moore,  of  Lafayette  township;  Romania,  the  wife  of  P.  S.  Miller,  of  Denver, 
Colorado;  George  N.,  who  wedded  Bessie  Duncan  and  Ls  a  telegraph  operator 
at  West  Lafayette;  Joseph,  a  practicing  physician,  of  Columbus;  and  Thomas 
C,  who  married  Alta  McCusky  and  resides  in  Lafayette  township. 

Politically,  Mr.  Shaw  is  identified  with  the  democratic  party.  Fra- 
ternally, he  has  been  a  member  of  the  Masonic  order  since  he  was  twenty-one 
years  of  age  and  now  belongs  to  lodge  No.  96  of  Coshocton.  Mr.  Shaw  is 
not  a  stem  judge  when  called  upon  to  view  the  weaknesses  or  failings  of  his 
fellowmen  who  are  less  fortunate  than  himself  in  the  endowment  of  strength 
of  mind  and  character,  but  believes  in  ever  extending  a  helping  hand  and  in 
aiding  them  to  maintain  their  self-respect  for  the  pre>sent  with  high  hopes 

Digitized  by  LjOOQIC 


364  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

for  future  success,  rather  than  in  chiding  them  for  their  mistakes  of  the 
past.  He  has  personally  attained  to  an  unusual  degree  of  success  and  no 
one  knows  so  well  as  himself  that  it  has  been  accomplished  by  hard  work  and 
self-denial  in  camming  out  his  plans,  as  a  result  of  which  he  is  charitably 
inclined  toward  those  who  have  not  been  so  successful  as  himself. 


A.    W.    TARRH. 


A.  AV.  Tarrh,  who  is  a  contractor  and  builder  of  Tiverton,  owns  a  nice 
home,  surrounded  by  thirty  acres  of  land,  this  baing  one  of  the  attractive  and 
valuable  properties  of  this  village.  Mr.  Tarrh  was  born  in  Knox  township, 
Holmes  county,  Ohio,  March  17,  1847,  a  son  of  Frederick  and  Sarah  (Par- 
sons) Tarrh.  The  father  was  a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  whence  he  removed 
to  Holmes  county,  this  state,  but  later  took  up  his  abode  in  Illinois,  where  he 
passed  away.  He  was  a  farmer  by  occupation.  The  mother  was  a  native 
of  Holmes  county,  where  she  was  reared  and  married  to  Mr.  Tarrh.  They 
became  the  parents  of  five  children:  Rachel,  the  wife  of  H.  B.  Gray,  a 
farmer  of  Holmes  county;  Marion,  deceased;  Paloma  W.,  a  resident  of  Cali- 
fornia; Maria  M.,  the  wife  of  Bently  Liggett,  who  resides  in  Ashtabula 
county,  Ohio;  and  A.  W.,  of  this  review.  Following  the  father^s  death,  the 
mother  was  again  married,  her  second  union  being  with  a  Mr.  Welker,  by 
whom  she  had  one  child,  who  died  in  infancy.  The  mother  departed  this 
life  in  1854. 

A.  W.  Tarrh  was  a  little  lad  of  but  four  years  when  he  lost  his  father 
and  was  but  seven  years  of  age  w^hen  he  was  left  an  orphan.  He  acquired  a 
limited  education  in  the  district  schools,  but  from  an  early  age  was  dependent 
upon  his  own  resources  for  a  livelihood.  He  worked  at  anything  that  would 
yield  him  an  honest  living  until  1865,  when  he  enlisted  as  a  member  of 
Company  H,  One  Hundred  and  Ninety-eighth  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry, 
for  one  year's  service  in  the  Civil  war.  At  the  close  of  hostilities  he  received 
an  honorable  discharge,  having  made  a  creditable  military  record. 

When  the  country  no  longer  needed  his  services,  Mr.  Tarrh  returned  to 
Coshocton  county  and,  with  the  exception  of  one  year  spent  in  Knox  county, 
has  lived  here  since.  In  early  life  he  learned  the  carpenter's  trade  and  has 
made  this  his  life  work,  although  for  six  months  he  conducted  a  mercantile 
establishment,  and  the  year  spent  in  Knox  county  was  devoted  to  the  butcher- 
ing business.  He  is  today  considered  the  oldest  contractor  and  builder  in 
his  community,  having  erected  many  of  the  finest  homes  in  this  section  of 
the  statue.  He  now  owns  thirty  acres  of  land  near  the  village  of  Tiverton, 
and  his  is  one  of  the  most  modern  and  attractive  homes  of  this  part  of  the 
county. 

Mr.  Tarrh  was  married  in  1870  to  Miss  Angeline  Thatcher,  and  their 
marriage  has  been  blessed  with  seven  children:  Bertha,  the  wife  of  Orville 
Smith,  a  barber  of  Brinkhaven ;  Arminta,  the  wife  of  Samuel  Hess,  a  farmer 
of  Monroe  township;  C.  E.,  who  wedded  May  Barnes  and  is  with  our  subject; 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON  COUNTY  365 

M.  C,  who  wedded  Lou  Mullet  and  resides  in  Tiverton;  Salina,  the  wife  of 
Raymond  Miller,  who  resides  in  Cavall,  Ohio;  Steward,  who  wedded  Mable 
Lautenschleger  and  follows  farming  in  Tiverton  township;  and  William  F., 
at  home. 

Politically  Mr.  Tarrh  is  a  democrat,  and  both  he  and  his  wife  are  mem- 
bers of  the  Disciples  church,  while  his  fraternal  relations  are  with  the  Odd 
Fellows  at  Brinkhaven  and  he  is  also  a  member  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the 
Republic.  He  is  largely  a  self-educated  as  well  as  self-made  man,  one  who 
through  the  inherent  force  of  his  nature  has  worked  his  way  upward  in  the^ 
business  world  until  he  has  gained  prominence  as  a  contractor  and  builder. 
He  is  always  found  straightforward  in  his  business  dealings,  is  prompt  and 
faithful  in  the  performance  of  his  duties,  true  to  the  terms  of  a  contract, 
and  has  thereby  gained  the  confidence  and  good  will  of  all  wnth  whom 
business  or  social  relations  bring  him  in  contact. 


N.    D.    BUXTON. 


N.  D.  Buxton,  who  devotes  his  time  and  energies  to  agricultural  pur- 
suits, was  born  in  Bedford  township,  Coshocton  county,  Ohio,  September  8, 
1867,  his  parents  being  Noah  Washington  and  Hannah  (Mikcvsell)  Buxton. 
The  father,  whose  birth  occurred  on  the  old  Buxton  homestead  in  Perry  town- 
ship, wa-  reared  in  thL<  county  and  throughout  his  active  business  career 
carried  on  farming  in  Perry  and  Bedford  townships.  The  success  which 
crowned  hi.-  efforts  was  attributable  entirely  to  his  untiring  industry  and 
sound  judgment  and  at  the  time  of  his  demise  he  owned  one  hundred  and 
eighty-seven'  acres  of  rich  and  productive  land,  while  his  estate  was  valued 
approximately  at  ten  thousand  dollars.  In  politics  he  was  a  democrat,  while 
his  religious  faith  was  indicated  by  his  membership  in  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal church,  in  the  work  of  w^hich  he  took  an  active  and  helpful  interest. 
He  was  highly  respected  and  esteemed  by  all  who  knew  him  and  when  he 
was  called  to  his  final  rest  the  county  mourned  the  lass  of  one  of  its  Avorthy 
and  honored  native  sons.  His  marriage  was  celebrated  in  Perry  township, 
Coshocton  county,  his  wife  being  a  native  of  that  place. 

Unto  Noah  Washington  and  Hannah  (Mikesell)  Buxton  were  born 
seven  children,  namely:  Jacob  W.,  who  follows  farming  in  Perry  township; 
George  McClelland,  deceased;  N.  D.,  of  this  review;  W.  W.,  residing  on  the 
old  homestead;  Mary  Venora,  who  has  also  passed  away;  Francis  Marion,  an 
agriculturist  of  Bedford  town.«hip;  and  Sarah  Ann,  the  wife  of  G.  O.  Hains, 
who  follows  farming  near  Coshocton.  Following  the  death  of  her  first  hus- 
band Mrs.  Buxton  was  again  married,  her  second  union  being  with  William 
Teal,  and  subsequent  to  his  demise  she  wedded  William  Clark,  a  farmer  of 
Perry  township,  Coshocton  county.  She  is  still  living  here  and  the  circle 
of  her  friends  is  almost  coextensive  with  the  circle  of  her  acquaintances. 

N.  D.  Buxton  obtained  his  education  in  the  district  schools  of  PeiTy 
township  and  remained  under  the  parental  roof  until  1889,  when  he  began 

Digitized  by  V^OOQIC 


m]  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

farming  on  his  own  account  in  Perry  township,  being  thus  sueces:5fully  en- 
piged  until  1901.  He  then  located  on  a  farm  of  eighty-four  acree  ju;?t  across 
the  line  in  Bedford  township,  in  which  he  owns  a  two-thirds  interest.  His 
landed  holdings  likewi.«e  incllide  ninety  acre.<  in  Perry  township  and  in  the 
conduct  of  his  agricultural  interests  has  gained  that  measure  of  success  which 
Ls  ever  the  reward  of  earnest,  persistent  and  well  directed  labor.  The  many 
substantial  imi>rovement»s  which  are  found  on  the  property  stand  as  monu- 
ments to  his  thrift  and  enterprise  and  he  is  well  entitled  to  representation 
among  the  progressive  and  {)ra*perous  farmers  of  the  community. 

On  the  28th  of  April,  1888,  Mr.  Buxton  wa-*  united  in  marriage  to  Miss 
Mina  May  Stewart,  a  native  of  P(  rry  township,  by  whom  he  had  six  children : 
Howard  Glen,  deccjised;  a  twin  of  Howard  Glen  who  died  in  infancy;  Leo 
Ross  and  Bessie  Vernon,  at  home;  another  child  who  died  in  infancy;  and 
Rolla  Raymond,  who  has  also  passed  away. 

Mr.  Buxton  gives  his  political  allegiance  to  the  men  and  measures  of  the 
democracy,  acted  as  assessor  of  Perry  township  for  two  yoars  and  did  valuable 
servi(*e  a^  a  member  of  the  school  board.  He  belongs  to  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal church,  in  which  he  is  serving  as  trustee  and  class  leader,  and  hi<  wife 
is  also  a  helpful  member  of  the  church.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Buxton  are  well  known 
and  highly  esteemed  throughout  the  county  in  which  they  have  spent  their 
entire  lives,  having  ever  dis{)layed  tha-e  sterling  traits  of  character  which  in 
every  land  and  clime  win  admiration  and  regard. 


PRESTON    C.    SHIPPS. 

Preston  C.  Shipps,  who  is  engaged  in  gardening  on  a  tract  (►f  land  one 
mile  south  of  Coshocton,  has  on  his  place  one  of  the  finest  country  homes  in 
Tuscaraw^as  township.  He  was  born  in  Licking  county,  Ohio,  March  7.  1859, 
a  son  of  Uriah  and  Rachel  (Coulter)  Shipps.  The  latter's  father  voted  the 
first  abolition  ticket  in  Licking  county  and  for  this  received  severe  criticism. 
The  father  was  a  farmer  and  also  engaged  in  dealing  in  stock  and  in  buying 
wool,  doing  quite  an  extensive  business  along  these  various  lines. 

Preston  C.  Shipps  wa*«  reared  under  the  parental  roof  and  early  became 
familiar  with  the  duties  of  the  home  farm,  assisting  his  father  in  the  work 
of  plowing,  planting  and  harvesting  during  the  spring  and  summer  months, 
while  in  the  winter  seasons  he  pursued  his  studies  in  the  schools  of  Duncan 
Falls.  His  first  business  exi)erience  wa«  as  a  traveling  salesman,  working  in 
this  capacity  for  one  year.  Sub-^equently  he  engaged  in  the  general  mer- 
cantile business  for  three  years  at  Conesville,  after  which  he  engaged  in  farm- 
ing for  two  years.  He  then  went  to  Allegheny,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  was 
engaged  for  one  year  in  shipping  produce.  He  then  returned  to  Conesville 
and  farmed  for  one  year  near  that  city,  after  which  he  conducted  a  dair\' 
farm  near  Coshocton  for  three  years.  In  1808,  having  saved  a  sum  of  money 
suflFicient  to  enable  him  to  purchase  a  farm,  he  invested  in  his  present  tract 
of  land,  situated  one  mile  south  of  Coshoeton,  and  here  he  is  engaged  in 

Digitized  by  LjOOQLC 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  367 

gardening.  His  products  have  gained  a  wide  reputation  and  find  a  ready 
sale  on  the  market,  for  they  are  noted  for  their  excellence  of  size,  quality  and 
flavor.  He  has  gained  success  in  his  chosen  field  of  labor  but  also  finds  time 
for  other  business  interests.  He  is  a  stockholder  and  director  in  the  People's 
Banking  &  Trust  Company  of  Coshocton ;  is  vice  president  of  the  Coshocton 
Provision  Company  and  is  a  director  in  the  Glass  Undertaking  Company  of 
Coshocton.  In  all  these  various  enterprises  he  is  a  prominent  factor  and  is 
ever  interested  in  anything  that  tends  to  advance  the  best  interests  of  the 
community. 

On  the  22d  of  October,  1886,  Mr.  Shipps  was  married  to  Miss  Alice 
Marquand,  a  daughter  of  James  and  Mary  (Cave)  Marquand,  of  Conesville. 
The  marriage  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Shipps  has  been  blessed  with  five  children: 
Herman,  Flavilla,  Fred,  John  and  Ruth,  the  two  last  named  being  twins. 
Herman  and  Flavilla  graduated  from  the  Coshocton  high  school  and  are 
now  attending  college. 

Mr.  Shipps  is  a  member  of  Coshocton  Lodge,  No.  44,  I.  0.  0.  F.,  while 
his  political  allegiance  is  given  to  the  republican  party,  although  he  is  some- 
what independent  in  his  views.  He  is  a  man  of  high  ideals,  is  active  in  club 
and  social  life  and  is  highly  esteemed  in  the  community  in  which  he  makes 
his  home. 


DANIEL    GRIBBLE. 


Daniel  Gribblc,  a  successful  agriculturist  and  stock-raiser  of  White  Eyes 
township,  was  born  in  Tuscarawas  county,  Ohio,  April  1,  1858,  his  parents 
being  Daniel  and  Catharine  (Deeds)  Gribble,  both  natives  of  Germany.  The 
father's  birth  occurred  in  1826  and,  emigrating  to  the  United  States,  he 
located  in  Tuscarawas  county,  Ohio,  where  he  was  engaged  in  general  agri- 
cultural pursuits  until  his  retirement,  since  which  time  he  has  made  his  home 
in  Ragersville.  His  wife  was  eighteen  years  of  age  at  the  time  she  crossed 
the  Atlantic  to  the  new  world.  They  became  the  parents  of  nine  children, 
eight  of  whom  still  survive:  Henry,  a  resident  of  Tuscarawas  county,  Ohio; 
William  and  John,  both  of  Tuscarawas  county,  Ohio;  Phoebe,  the  wife  of 
Philip  Kate,  living  in  Tuscarawas  county,  Ohio;  Rosa,  the  wife  of  Albert 
Zohmer,  of  Sugar  Creek,  Ohio;  Daniel,  of  this  review;  George,  who  makes 
his  home  in  Tuscarawas  county,  Ohio;  Catherine,  the  wife  of  Charles  Miller, 
of  Sugar  Creek,  Ohio. 

Daniel  Gribble  was  reared  on  the  home  farm  and  mastered  the  branches 
of  learning  taught  in  the  common  schools.  When  twenty-one  years  of  age 
he  started  out  in  business  life  for  himself  by  renting  his  father's  farm,  in  the 
cultivation  of  which  he  w^as  successfully  engaged  for  six  years.  On  the 
expiration  of  that  period  he  purchased  a  tract  of  fifty  acres,  on  which  he 
made  his  home  for  three  years,  and  subsequently  he  farmed  his  father-in- 
law's  place  for  twelve  years.  He  then  sold  his  fifty-acre  tract  and  in  April, 
1902,  bought  his  present  farm  of  one  hundred  and  ninety  acres  in  White 

Digitized  by  V^OOQIC 


368   ,  HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON  COUNTY 

Eyes  township,  which  when  it  came  into  his  possession  wa^  in  a  generally 
run-down  condition.  The  buildings  were  dihipidated,  the  fences  had  broken 
down  and  the  land  was  covered  with  brambles.  With  resolute  energy  he 
set  to  work  and  gradually  transformed  the  place  into  a  model  farming  prop- 
erty, hi^  improvements  including  the  erection  of  a  fine  house,  large  barn  and 
fences.  He  is  quite  extensively  engaged  in  stock-raising,  being  particularly 
interested  in  sheep,  and  in  both  his  fanning  and  live-stock  interests  has 
gained  a  measure  of  t-uccess  which  entitles  him  to  representation  with  the 
prosperous  and  enterprising  agriculturL^ts  of  the  community. 

On  the  3d  of  March,  1881,  Mr.  (cribble  wjis  united  in  marriage  to  Miss 
Rosetta  Angel,  whose  birth  occurred  in  Tuscarawas  county,  Ohio,  August  10, 
1856,  her  parents  being  Hiram  and  Caroline  (Hahn)  Angel.  The  father, 
who  was  born  in  Harrison  county,  Ohio,  December  23,  1827,  followed  general 
agricultural  pursuits  throughout  his  business  career  but  retired  from  active 
life  in  1890,  since  which  time  both  he  and  his  wife  have  made  their  home  in 
Stone  Creek.  Mrs.  Angel,  a  native  of  Germany,  was  born  in  183f)  and  was 
eighteen  years  of  age  when  she  came  to  the  United  States  and  located  in 
Tuscarawas  county,  Ohio.  She  has  seven  children,  namely:  Mrs.  Gribble; 
Elizabeth,  the  wife  of  Simon  Linbach,  of  New  Philadelphia,  Ohio;  Nancy, 
who  is  the  wife  of  William  Schaad  and  resides  in  Ragersville,  Ohio;  Mary, 
the  wife  of  Daniel  Gruber,  also  of  New  Philadelphia,  Ohio;  Amelia,  the  wife 
of  Fred  Andregg,  of  Tuscarawas  county,  Ohio;  William  H.,  who  is  super- 
intendent of  schools  at  DennLson,  Ohio;  and  Charles  F.,  a  resident  of  Stras- 
burg,  Ohio.  Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gribble  have  been  born  two  children: 
Charles  D.  and  Amelia  C,  who  are  at  home. 

In  his  political  views  Mr.  Gribble  is  a  democrat,  while  his  religious  faith 
is  indicated  by  liLs  membership  in  the  (German  Reform  church  at  Stone 
Creek,  with  which  his  wife  is  also  identified.  He  is  a  hard  worker  in  the 
Sunday  school  and  does  all  in  his  power  to  promote  the  growth  and  extend 
the  influence  of  his  church,  having  always  held  some  official  position  therein. 
His  life  hi^  been  one  of  continuous  activity,  in  which  has  been  accorded  due 
recognition  of  labor  and  today  he  is  numbered  among  the  substantial  citizens 
of  his  county. 


ANDREW    JACKSON    HILL. 

Andrew  Jackson  Hill,  in  former  years  a  factor  in  business  interests  in 
Coshocton,  is  now  living  retired  in  the  enjoyment  of  well  earned  and  well 
merited  rest.  His  birth  occurred  in  New  Birmingham,  Guernsey  county,  Ohio, 
July  4, 1834.  His  father,  David  M.  Hill,  wa^  a  native  of  Ireland,  born  October 
24,  1788,  and  came  to  the  United  States  when  about  twenty-one  or  twenty-two 
years  of  age,  settling  in  Guernsey  county.  There  he  took  up  land  from  the  gov- 
ernment and  began  the  development  of  a  farm.  He  became  the  owner  of 
two  farming  properties  and  in  addition  conducted  a  store  and  hotel,  being 
one  of  the  mo.st  active,  energetic  and  i)rogressive  business  men  of  the  corn- 
Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


A.  .1.  IirLL. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


Digitized  by 


Google 


HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  371 

munity.  He  gained  a  position  of  affluence  through  hivS  carefully  directed 
labors  and  as  the  years  passed  enjoyed  the  fruits  of  his  former  toil.  He 
was  married  December  23,  1819,  to  Elizabeth  Gordon,  who  was  born 
in  Washington  county,  Pennsylvania,  February  5,  1801,  and  with  her  hus- 
band shared  in  all  of  the  hardships  and  privations  of  pioneer  life  in  Guernsey 
county.  She  lived  there  at  a  time  when  the  forests  were  infested  with  wild 
animals  and  when  the  Indians  shared  with  the  white  men  the  claim  to  the 
land.  On  one  occasion  she  rescued  a  hired  man  from  wolves  by  u*ing  hot 
embers  to  prevent  their  approach.  She  posses.-ed  the  courage  and  resolu- 
tion so  necessary  to  the  pioneer  women  of  that  day  and  was  a  most  able  a*=^- 
sistant  and  helpmate  to  her  hu^sband.  Her  death  occurred  in  1874,  while 
David  M.  Hill  passed  away  at  the  age  of  seventy-two  years. 

Andrew  J.  Hill  was  reared  on  the  backwoods  farm  and  in  his  fathers 
hotel  at  New  Birmingham.  His  education  was  acquired  in  the  district 
schools  and  he  afterward  took  charge  of  one  of  his  father's  farms  in  con- 
nection with  an  elder  brother,  who,  however,  left  the  following  year.  Mr. 
Hill  was  married  at  the  age  of  nineteen  years  and  continued  to  remain  upon 
liis  father's  place  until  he  reached  the  age  of  twenty-tljree  years,  Avhen  he 
removed  to  hLs  birthplace  at  New  Birmingham.  There  he  secured  two  mail 
contracts  through  the  influence  of  his  friend,  Joseph  AVhite,  then  a  con- 
gressman. He  carried  the  mail  for  four  years,  making  the  round  trip  of 
forty-two  miles  from  New  Birmingham  to  Cariibridgc  and  Port  AVashington. 
He  aftenvard  went  to  Cam\)ridge,  Guernsey  county,  where  he  engaged  in 
the  wholesale  grocery  business  as  junior  partner  of  the  firm  of  McCleary  & 
Hill,  carrying  on  the  business  from  January,  1868,  until  1873,  Avhen  he  sold 
his  interest  and  removed  to  Ma^sillon  to  conduct  the  Tremont  House  at  that 
point.  In  1876  he  made  his  Avay  to  New  Comerstown  on  a  canal  boat  and 
there  engaged  in  the  marble  business  until  1877,  when  he  became  a  resident 
of  Coshocton.  Here  he  continued  in  the  marble  business  for  some  time  and 
also  started  his  eldest  son  in  the  harness  business.  Mr.  Hill  put  a-ide  in- 
dustrial interests  in  order  to  perform  official  duties,  having  been  elected  clerk 
of  the  courts  on  the  democratic  ticket  by  a  large  majority  in  1887.  On  the 
expiration  of  his  three  years'  term  he  was  reelected  in  1890  by  a  still  larger 
majority,  running  far  ahead  of  his  ticket — a  fact  which  indicated  his  per- 
sonal popularity  and  the  confidence  reposed  in  him.  He  later  served  as 
deputy  clerk  from  1900  until  1903  under  W.  A.  Mizer,  so  that  his  connec- 
tion with  the  office  covered  twelve  years  and  six  months.  Since  that  time 
he  has  devoted  himself  to  his  personal  interests,  which  are  quite  extensive, 
but  a-ide  from  his  control  of  his  investments  he  is  living  retired  from  active 
business  life. 

On  the  2d  of  June,  1852,  at  New  Birmingham,  Ohio,  Mr.  Hill  was  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Ann  Eliza  Kimball,  who  died  at  New  Comerstown,  Ohio,  No- 
vember 2,  1876.  By  this  marriage  there  were  born  eight  children:  Kay 
T.,  born  March  23,  1854;  Austin  I).,  whose  birth  occurred  March  20,  1858, 
and  who  passed  away  October  4,  1883;  Mary  Elizabeth,  born  February  23, 
1881;  Ernest,  who  wa<  born  May  1,  1862,  and  wa^  called  to  his  final  rest  on 
the  6th  of  October,  1881;  George  Franklin,  born   May  1,  1865,  who  died 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


372  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

January  6,  1908;  Jennie  Arizona,  who  wa^  born  April  9,  1868,  and  is  the 
wife  of  L.  I).  KSehott,  candidate  for  representative;  Ann  Eliza  Byron,  who 
was  born  October  24,  1873,  and  is  the  wife  of  C.  S.  Wolford,  of  Coshocton; 
and  one  who  died  in  infancy.  On  the  I'oth  of  February,  1881,  Andrew  J. 
Hill  wa.-^  married  to  Nancy  Lenora  Rass,  of  Uhrichsville,  Ohio,  and  to  them 
were  born  two  children. 

Since  18G8  Mr.  Hill  has  been  a  member  of  the  Masonic  fraternity  and 
has  taken  the  degrees  of  the  lodge  and  chapter.  From  the  age  of  .sixtwn 
years  ho  has  been  a  devoted  and  faithful  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church  and  was  superintendent  of  the  Sunday  school  at  New  Birmingham. 
The  work  of  the  church  has  been  a  matter  of  deej)  interest  to  him  and  to  it 
he  has  given  active  and  generous  support.  His  life  has  been  in  harmony 
with  his  professions,  so  that  he  can  look  back  over  the  past  without  regret 
and  forward  to  the  future  Avithout  fear.  His  record  has  commended  him  to 
the  confidence  and  friendship  of  all  who  know  him  and  he  is  numbered 
among  the  honored  and  este.enuKi  citizens  of  Coshocton. 


ISAAC  McAllister. 

Isaac  McAllister,  a  successful  agriculturist  and  extensive  stock-raiser  of 
Linton  township,  wtis  born  in  this  townshij)  on  the  28th  of  December,  1853, 
his  parents  being  John  and  Margaret  (McMorran)  McAllister,  both  of  whom 
were  natives  of  Ireland.  They  were  married  in  that  country  and  in  1849 
emigrated  to  America,  locating  in  Coshocton,  Ohio,  where  they  remained 
for  a  short  time.  Subsequently  the  father  purchased  a  farm  in  Linton  town- 
ship, where  he  made  his  home  for  a  time  but  later  removed  to  Guernsey 
county,  there  residing  until  called  to  his  final  rest.  He  owned  land  in  both 
Coshocton  and  (nicrnsey  counties  and  met  with  a  creditable  degree  of  success 
in  his  undertakings.  His  death  occurred  in  (iuernsey  county,  Ohio,  Avhen  he 
had  attained  the  age  of  eighty-three  years. 

Isaac  McAllister  acquired  a  common-school  education,  and  remained 
with  his  parents  until  their  demise.  He  lived  for  a  time  on  his  father's  farm 
in  Guernsey  county,  but  now  makes  his  home  in  Coshocton  county,  being 
here  extensively  engaged  in  the  raising  of  sheep,  cattle,  hogs  and  horses.  At 
one  time  he  owned  five  hundred  and  fifty  acres  of  land  but  recently  sold  two 
hundred  acres,  and  hLs  holdings  now  comprise  four  hundred  and  seventeen 
acres  of  rich  and  productive  farming  property,  all  of  which  he  operates.  The 
place  is  finely  improved,  being  equipped  with  all  the  accessories  and  con- 
veniences of  a  model  property  of  the  twentieth  century.  Mr.  McAllister  has 
a  beautiful  home  and  is  acknowledged  to  be  the  wealthiest  man  in  Linton 
township. 

In  February,  1887,  occurred  the  marriage  of  Mr.  McAllister  and  Miss 
Rachel  Forney,  who  Wiis  born  in  Linton  township  in  1864,  her  parents  being 
A.  Z.  and  Hulda  (Doty)  Forney.  Her  father,  whose  birth  occurred  in  Linton 
township,  April  14,  1828,  became  very  successful  in  his  business  undertak- 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  373 

ings  and  was  one  of  the  earliest  stock-raisers.  His  wife,  who  was  born  in 
New  Jersey,  July  6,  1825,  passed  away  on  the  29th  of  June,  1893,  while  his 
demise  occurred  in  Linton  township  on  the  4th  of  April,  1904.  Unto  this 
worthy  couple  were  born  nine  children,  namely:  Harriette,  the  wife  of  Frank 
McAllister;  Joseph,  of  Iowa;  James  F.  and  John  A.,  who  are  successfully 
carrying  on  agricultural  pursuits  in  Linton  township;  Sarah,  the  wife  of  T. 
K.  Swan,  of  Guernsey  county,  Ohio;  Mrs.  McAllister;  and  three  who  are 
deceased.  Unto  our  subject  and  his  wife  have  been  born  four  children, 
namely:  Florence  E.,  the  wafe  of  G.  C.  Sprague,  of  Linton  township;  and 
Laura  E.,  Clara  E.  and  John  F.,  who  are  at  home. 

Mr.  McAllister  cast^  his  ballot  in  support  of  the  men  and  measures  of 
the  republican  party,  while  his  religious  faith  is  indicated  by  his  membership 
in  the  Methodist  Protestant  church,  w^ith  which  his  wife  is  also  identified. 
They  are  well  known  and  highly  esteemed  throughout  the  county  of  their 
nativity,  having  gained  the  regard  and  friendship  of  all  with  whom  they 
have  come  in  contact  by  reason  of  their  genuine  personal  worth  and  upright, 
honorable  lives. 


JOSEPH    E.    SMITH. 


Joseph  E.  Smith  was  born  on  the  farm  on  which  he  still  resides,  in 
Oxford  township,  Coshocton  county,  Ohio,  on  the  16th  of  March,  1850,  his 
parents  being  George  and  Elizabeth  (Tudor)  Smith,  natives  of  England. 
The  father  was  born  in  1810,  and  after  attaining  mature  years  followed  the 
machinist's  trade  in  England  until  1844,  when  he  emigrated  to  the  United 
States,  landing  in  New  York.  There  he  boarded  a  steamboat  for  Albany, 
thence  went  by  way  of  the  Erie  canal  to  Buffalo,  New  York,  across  Lake 
Erie  to  Cleveland  and  down  the  Ohio  canal  to  Evansburg,  Coshocton  county, 
Ohio.  He  purchased  a  large  tract  of  land  in  Oxford  township,  in  the  culti- 
vation of  which  he  "was  successfully  engaged  until  called  to  his  final  rest  in 
1873.  His  wife,  whose  birth  had  occurred  in  1806,  passed  away  in  1880. 
Unto  this  worthy  couple  were  born  seven  children,  namely:  Thomas  T., 
of  Oxford  township,  who  is  mentioned  on  another  page  of  this  volume;  Wil- 
liam, likewise  a  resident  of  Oxford  township;  Elizabeth,  decea^^d;  George, 
residing  in  Illinois ;  Harriet,  who  has  also  passed  aw^ay ;  Hannah,  the  wife  of 
David  Wood,  of  Beach  City,  Ohio;  and  Joseph  E.,  of  this  review. 

The  last  named  was  reared  on  the  home  farm,  early  becoming  familiar 
with  all  the  duties  and  labors  that  fall  to  the  lot  of  the  agriculturist.  At  the 
time  of  his  marriage  he  began  operating  the  farm  which  he  now  owns,  com- 
prising one  hundred  and  sixty-eight  acres  of  rich  and  productive  land  in 
Oxford  township.  Here  he  has  a  beautiful  and  commodious  residence  and 
his  place  is  equipped  w^th  all  the  modern  accessories  and  conveniences  of  a 
model  farming  property  of  the  twentieth  century.  All  of  the  improvements 
stand  as  monuments  to  his  own  labor  and  enterprise,  and  he  is  widely  recog- 
nized as  one  of  the  prasperous   and  progressive   agriculturists   of  the  com- 

Digitized  by  V^OOQIC 


374  HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

munity.  He  is  now  renting  the  farm  to  his  son-in-law,  with  whom  he  makes 
his  home. 

On  the  2d  of  February,  1875,  Mr.  Smith  was  united  in  marriage  to 
Mis.s  Eliza  J.  Fenton,  a  native  of  Ireland,  who  passed  away  on  the  12th  of 
December,  1907,  when  sixty-two  years  of  age.  Her  parents,  Samuel  and 
Jane  Fenton,  emigrated  to  the  United  States  in  1848,  and  after  spending  five 
years  in  Washington  county,  Pennsylvmiia,  located  in  Adams  township, 
Coshocton  county,  Ohio,  where  they  passed  away.  Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Smith 
were  born  two  children:  Nora,  whase  birth  occurred  April  29,  1876,  gave 
her  hand  in  marriage  to  Guy  Powell  on  the  29th  of  September,  1898,  and 
they  have  a  daughter,  Vera  Dale.  Mr.  Powell  is  a  native  of  White  Eyes 
township,  Coshocton  county,  his  natal  day  being  March  6,  1876.  Archie  V. 
Smith  is  deceased. 

Mr.  Smith  is  a  stalwart  democrat  in  his  political  views,  and  is  a  devoted 
member  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  with  which  his  wife  was  also  identified. 
A  native  son  of  this  county,  the  period  of  his  residence  here  now  covers  fifty- 
eight  years,  and  throughout  the  entire  time  he  has  so  lived  as  to  win  the 
respect  and  confidence  of  all  with  whom  he  has  been  associated. 


WILLIAM   CLARK. 


AVilliam  Clark,  a  retired  agriculturist  residing  in  Perry  township,  w^as 
born  in  New  Castle  township,  Coshocton  county,  Ohio,  October  22,  1828, 
his  parents  being  Joshua  and  Marj'  (Gifi^en)  Clark.  The  grandfather,  John 
Clark,  located  in  Coshocton  county  and  passed  away  in  Champaign  county. 
The  father,  who  was  probably  a  native  of  Harrison  county,  came  to  New 
Castle  township,  Coshocton  county,  in  early  manhood,  being  numbered  among 
the  early  settlers  here.  He  spent  a  summer  in  Knox  county,  which  was  then 
a  wild  and  unsettled  region — the  abode  of  Indians  and  the  haunt  of  many 
kinds  of  wild  animals.  Subsequently  returning  to  this  county,  he  took  up 
his  abode  in  New  Castle  township  and  here  made  his  home  until  called  to 
his  final  rest  in  1897.  Starting  out  in  life  empty  handed,  he  w^orked  per- 
sistently and  energetically  and  at  length  his  labors  were  crowned  with  a  well 
merited  measure  of  success.  His  early  political  allegiance  was  given  to  the 
democracy  but  later  he  became  an  enthusiastic  prohibitionist  and  an  aboli- 
tionist. The  mother  of  our  subject,  a  native  of  Coshocton  county,  was  reared 
and  married  in  New  Castle  township,  where  her  death  also  occurred.  She 
had  four  children,  namely:  William,  of  this  review;  Lovey,  the  wife  of  Wil- 
liam Wharton,  a  retired  bhxcksmith  and  farmer  of  Coshocton  county;  Allen, 
who  follows  agricultural  pursuits  in  Knox  county,  Ohio;  and  Elizabeth,  de- 
ceased. Following  the  death  of  his  first  wife  Joshua  Clark  was  again  mar- 
ried, his  second  union  being  with  Miss  Ellen  Wilson,  by  whom  he  had  nine 
children. 

William  Clark  was  educated  in  a  district  school,  the  "temple  of  learning'' 
being  a  little  log  structure  characteristic  of  those  pioneer  timas.  He  re- 
Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  375 

mained  at  home  with  his  father  until  thirty-two  years  of  ag2  and  through- 
out his  active  business  career  has  followed  farming  in  New  Castle  and  Perry 
townships,  with  the  exception  of  fifteen  years  spent  in  Knox  county.  At  one 
time  he  owned  five  hundred  acres  of  land  but  sold  two  hundred  acres  and 
now  has  three  hundred  and  forty  acres  of  rich  and  Avell  improved  land  in 
Perry  township.  He  started  out  in  life  without  any  financial  assistance  and 
the  success  which  has  attended  his  efforts  is  indicated  somewhat  by  the  fact 
that  he  paid  twenty  thousand  dollars  cash  for  his  present  farm.  He  at- 
tributes his  success  in  large  measure  to  his  operations  in  the  sheep  industry. 
The  many  substantial  improvements  on  his  proj^rty,  with  the  exception  of 
the  residence,  stand  as  monuments  to  his  thrift  and  enterprise  and  he  is 
widely  recognized  as  one  of  the  prosperous  and  influential  citizens  of  the 
county.  He  made  a  contribution  of  five  hundred  dollars  to  the  war  fund 
which  obviated  the  necessity  of  the  draft  in  his  township. 

Mr.  Clark  has  been  married  twice.  In  1878  he  wedded  Miss  Hannah 
Veatch,  by  whom  he  had  sev^n  children,  as  follows:  Elmer,  a  farmer  of 
Perry  township;  Walter,  who  follows  agricultural  pursuits  in  New  Castle 
township;  Harriett  Ellen,  deceased;  MoUie,  the  wufe  of  George  McClelland 
Oxley,  who  is  engaged  in  farming  in  New  Castle  township;  Sylvia,  the  wife 
of  Gilbert  Bryan,  a  fanner  of  Washington  township;  Charles  F.,  who  re- 
sides near  M^artinsburg,  Ohio;  and  Bertha,  at  home.  Subsequent  to  the 
death  of  his  first  wife  Mr.  Clark  married  Mrs.  Hannah  Teale,  a  native  of 
Coshocton  county. 

In  politics  Mr.  Clark  is  a  stalwart  republican  but  has  never  sought  the 
honors  or  emoluments  of  office,  preferring  to  give  his  time  and  energies  to 
his  private  business  interests.  Throughout  his  entire  life,  covering  a  period 
of  eighty  years,  Mr.  Clark  has  made  his  home  in  this  county  and  has  been 
an  important  factor  in  its  agricultural  development.  Widely  known,  his  life 
history  cannot  fail  to  prove  of  interest  to  his  many  friends,  and  it  is  there- 
fore with  pleasure  that  we  present  this  record  of  his  career  to  our  readers. 


DAVID    A.    CULLISON. 

A  glance  at  the  well  improved  farm  of  two  hundred  acres  belonging 
to  David  A.  Cullison  is  the  best  evidence  of  what  can  be  accomplished  through 
determined  purpose,  laudable  ambition  and  capable  management.  Mr.  Culli- 
son was  born  in  Holmes  county,  May  25,  1857,  a  son  of  Alexander  and  Sarah 
(Watts)  Cullison.  The  father  was  a  soldier  of  the  Civil  war  and  was  killed 
in  battle,  leaving  the  mother  to  support  four  small  children.  She  re- 
moved with  her  little  family  to  Dresden,  Muskingum  county,  and  as  soon 
as  old  enough  David  A.  began  to  provide  for  his  own  support,  so  that  his 
educational  advantages  were  necessarily  very  limited.  He  secured  work  at 
farm  labor  and  for  several  years  was  employed  in  this  way  by  John  Haines 
of  Bedford  township.  Through  economy  and  energy  he  managed  to  save 
a  sum  of  money  that  justified  him  in  starting  in  business  on  his  own  account 


Digitized  by  ^ 


376  HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON    COUNTY 

and  after  investing  in  a  team  and  implements  for  carrying  on  farm  work  he 
operated  rented  land  in  Bethlehem  township  for  one  year.  In  March,  1885, 
he  removed  to  his  present  fartn  which  comprises  two  hundred  acres  situated 
in  Jackson  township.  It  is  improved  with  a  good  country  residence,  sub- 
stantial barns  and  outbuildings  for  the  shelter  of  grain  and  stock,  and  in 
addition  to  raising  the  cereals  best  adapted  to  soil  and  climate  he  also  raises 
good  grades  of  stock.  Mr.  Cullison  deserves  great  credit  for  what  he  has 
accomplished  and  is  classed  among  the  substantial  citizens  of  this  section 
of  the  state. 

Mr.  Cullison  was  married  November  29,  1883,  the  lady  of  his  choice 
being  Miss  Alice  L.  Milligan,  a  daughter  of  William  and  Lena  (Haines) 
Milligan,  of  Coshocton  county,  both  of  whom  have  passed  away.  The  mar- 
riage of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Cullison  has  been  blessed  with  seven  children  but  the 
youngest,  Iva  M.,  is  now  deceased.  Those  living  are:  Pearl  M.,  the  wife 
of  Joseph  Sowers;  Minnie  E.,  the  wife  of  Denman  Sowers;  Roy  J.;  Bertha 
B. ;  Bulah  J.;  and  Bessie  M. 

Mr.  Cullison  gives  his  political  support  to  the  democratic  party  and  aside 
from  acting  as  school  director  for  several  years  has  filled  no  public  office. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  Character  and  ability 
will  come  to  the  front  anywhere.  As  boy  and  man,  many  a  man  has  been 
buffeted  by  fortune  and  had  almost  insurmountable  obstacles  thrust  in  his 
path  but  perseverance  has  cleared  them  away  and  he  has  gone  on  to  success, 
and  this  is  what  Mr.  Cullison  has  done. 


WILLIAM    SMITH. 


AVilliam  Smith,  a  retired  agriculturist  of  Oxford  towiL^hip,  was  born  in 
England,  July  31,  1834,  his  parents  being  George  and  Elizabeth  (Tudor) 
Smith,  also  natives  of  England,  the  father  born  in  1810  and  the  mother  in 
1808.  In  the  year  1846  George  Smith  emigrated  to  the  United  States  and 
took  up  his  abode  in  Coshocton  county,  Ohio,  being  here  engaged  in  the  op- 
eration of  rented  land  for  four  or  five  years.  On  the  expiration  of  that  period 
he  purchased  a  farm  and  that  he  met  with  a  gratifying  measure  of  success 
in  his  undertakings  is  indicated  by  the  fact  that  at  the  time  of  his  death  his 
holdings  comprised  four  hundred  acres  of  rich  and  productive  land.  He  was 
called  to  his  final  rest  on  the  16th  of  July,  1873,  while  his  wife  pa«?sed  away 
in  1880.  Unto  this  worthy  couple  were  born  six  children,  namely:  T.  T.,  of 
Oxford  township;  William,  of  this  review;  Elizabeth,  deceased;  George,  a 
resident  of  Johnson  county,  Illinois;  Anna,  the  wife  of  David  C.  Wood,  of 
Tuscarawas  county;  and  Joseph,  living  in  Coshocton  county. 

William  Smith  acquired  a  common  school  education  and  remained  un- 
der the  parental  roof  until  he  had  attained  the  age  of  twenty-three  years, 
when  he  was  married  and  located  on  the  farm  in  Oxford  township,  on  which 
he  still  resides.  Throughout  his  active  business  career  he  has  been  con- 
nected with  farming  interests  and  by  dint  of  untiring  industry  and  capable 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


s: 

^ 


> 
TJl 


Digitized  by 


Google 


ASTOR,   LENOX  AND 
Tt^DEN   FOUNDATIONS. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  379 

management  won  the  measure  of  prosperity  that  now  enables  him  to  live 
retired.  In  addition  to  the  work  of  the  fields  he  made  a  specialty  of  stock- 
raising,  both  branches  of  his  business  returning  to  him  a  gratifying  annual 
income.  He  now  owns  three  hundred  and  thirty-six  acres  of  highly  culti- 
vated land  in  this  county  and  is  well  known  and  highly  esteemed  as  a  pros- 
perous and  enterprising  citizen. 

Mr.  Smith  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Ann  Taylor,  a  native  of  Co- 
shocton county  and  a  daughter  of  Joseph  and  Barbara  (McFarland)  Taylor, 
both  of  whom  are  now  deceased,  the  father  having  passed  away  in  1866.  Mrs. 
Smith  was  one  of  a  family  of  six  children  and  by  her  murriage  has  become 
the  mother  of  ten,  as  follows:  J.  W.  and  Clifford,  both  residents  of  Adams 
township;  Joseph  and  William  T.,  who  are  deceased;  Emma  D.,  the  wifo 
of  .Vquilla  Dossie,  of  New  Comerstown,  Ohio;  Cassie,  the  wife  of  Byron 
Barge,  of  Indianapolis,  Indiana;  Frank,  living  in  Oxford  township;  Burt, 
of  Barberton,  Ohio;  Lula,  the  wife  of  Mart  Swagaxt,  of  Licking  county; 
and  Richard. 

Mr.  Smith  is  a  democrat  in  his  political  views  and  for  one  year  served 
as  township  supervisor.  Both  he  and  his  wife  are  devoted  and  faithful  mem- 
bers of  the  Methodist  Protestant  church  at  Orange,  and  have  won  the  warm 
regard  and  friendship  of  all  with  whom  they  have  come  in  contact  during 
the  long  period  of  their  residence  here. 


WILLIAM    A.    DOUGHERTY,    M.D. 

Dr.  William  A.  Dougherty,  a  successful  medical  practitioner  of  Fresno, 
was  born  in  White  Eyes  township,  Coshocton  county,  Ohio,  his  parents  being 
John  and  Elizabeth  (Dickey)  Dougherty.  The  father,  whose  birth  occurred 
in  Belmont  county,  Ohio,  in  February,  1830,  accompanied  his  parents  on 
their  removal  to  Coshocton  county  in  1840,  the  family  home  being  estab- 
lished upon  a  farm  in  White  Eyes  township.  There  John  Dougherty  was 
reared  and  married,  and  carried  on  general  agricultural  pursuits  until  the 
time  of  his  retirement  from  active  business  life,  having  since  resided  in 
Fresno.  His  wife,  a  native  of  Scotland,  was  only  two  months  old  when  brought 
by  her  parents  to  the  new  world.  They  took  up  their  abode  in  White  Eyes 
township,  Coshocton  county,  where  her  father  carried  on  farming  until  the 
time  of  his  demise.  Mrs.  Dougherty  passed  away  in  1903,  when  she  had 
attained  the  age  of  sixty-seven  years.  She  had  become  the  mother  of  five 
children,  namely:  William  A.,  of  this  review;  Margaret,  the  wife  of  Milton 
Elliott,  of  W^hite  Eyes  township;  G.  A.,  who  is  attorney  for  the  Southern 
Pacific  Railroad  at  Berkeley,  California;  May,  deceased;  and  Cornea,  who  is 
a  music  teacher  and  resides  at  home. 

William  A.  Dougherty  was  reared  on  the  home  farm  and  supplemented 
his  district-school  education  by  attending  the  high  school  at  Coshocton  for 
one  year,  while  for  a  similar  period  he  was  a  student  at  Hopedale.  For  one 
year  he  attended  Muskingum  College  and  then  spent  two  years  in  the  Ohio 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


380  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

State  University  at  Columbus,  after  which  he  entered  the  Chicago  Veterinary 
College,  being  graduated  from  that  institution  in  1890.  He  then  practiced 
his  profession  at  Bucyrus,  Ohio,  for  eight  years,  meeting  with  a  gratifying 
measure  of  success.  Subsequently  he  took  up  the  study  of  medicine  in  the 
Kentucky  School  of  Medicine  at  Louisville,  from  which  he  was  graduated 
in  1904,  and  since  that  time  has  practiced  in  Fresno.  His  labors  in  the  line 
of  his  chosen  profession  have  won  him  a  large  and  well  merited  degree  of 
prosperity  and  he  is  well  known  and  highly  esteemed  as  a  worthy  repre- 
sentative of  his  calling.  For  eight  years  he  was  health  officer  at  Bucyrus, 
while  he  served  as  government  meat  inspector  at  Cleveland  for  one  year 
and  also  at  Chicago  for  a  similar  period. 

In  his  political  views  Dr.  Dougherty  is  independent,  w^hile  his  religious 
faith  is  indicated  by  his  membership  in  the  Presbyterian  church.  Fraternally 
he  is  connected  with  the  Masonic  lodge  at  Coshocton,  the  Knights  of  Pythias, 
No.  108,  of  Bucyrus,  Ohio,  and  the  Modern  AVoodmen  of  America,  No.  11688, 
of  Fresno. 


DAVID    MARKLEY,    JR. 

Untiring  energy  and  determined  purpose  have  characterized  the  labors 
of  David  Markley,  Jr.,  who  is  now  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits  in 
Tuscarawas  township,  operating  the  old  homestead  property.  He  was  born 
October  1,  1868,  a  son  of  David  and  Salina  (Payne)  Markley,  w^hose  paternal 
ancestors  came  to  Coshocton  county  from  Maryland  and  maternal  ancestors 
from  Massachusetts  and  are  of  German  descent. 

David  Markley,  Jr.,  whose  name  introduces  this  review,  was  reared  on 
the  home  farm,  early  becoming  familiar  with  all  the  duties  and  labors  that 
fall  to  the  lot  of  the  agriculturist.  lie  began  his  education  in  the  common 
schools,  this  being  supplemented  by  study  in  the  Ohio  AVesleyan  University, 
at  Delaware,  Ohio.  After  attending  for  a  time  at  Delaware  he  returned  to 
the  home  farn)  and  became  an  active  factor  in  its  management.  Thi?  is  a 
well  iniprov(Hl  tract,  comprising  one  hundred  and  sixty-five  acres  situated  in 
Tuscaraw^as  township.  Mr.  Markley  is  engaged  in  raising  the  various  cereals 
best  adapted  to  soil  and  climate  and  each  year  adds  to  his  financial  income 
through  the  abundant  crops  which  he  harvests. 

Mr.  Markley  was  married  October  4,  1896,  to  MLss  Minnie  G.  Mohler, 
a  daughter  of  George  W.  and  Clara  B.  Mohler.  This  union  was  blessed  with 
a  son  and  daughter,  David  and  Ruth.  After  a  brief  married  life,  covering 
little  njore  than  four  years,  Mrs.  Markley  was  called  from  this  life,  her  death 
occurring  December  18,  1900,  since  which  time  Mr.  Markley's  sister.  Miss 
Annie  E.  Markley,  has  resided  with  him,  their  home  being  on  the  old  home- 
stead property  at  Canal  Lewisville. 

Mr.  Markley  gives  hi?  political  support  to  the  republican  party  and  has 
twice  been  elected  to  fill  the  office  of  justice  of  the  peace  of  Tuscarawas 
township,   which   usually  gives   a  strong  democratic   majority.     He  is   also 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  381 

a  ineiuber  of  the  Grange.  Hirf  progressive  methods  are  such  as  win  for 
him  excellent  success  in  his  business  undertakings,  wthile  his  public  spirit 
is  manifest-ed  in  the  support  of  ever}''  movement  or  measure  calculated  to 
better  the  material  welfare  of  the  community  in  which  he  makes  his  home. 


L.    T.    CHURCH. 


L.  T.  Church,  who  is  -engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits  on  a  tract  of  two 
hundred  acres,  situated  in  Tiverton  township,  was  born  on  the  farm  which 
is  now  his  home,  September  18,  1858,  a  son  of  Benjamin  Simmons  and 
Margaret  Elizabeth  (Cox)  Church.  In  the  paternal  line  he  traces  his  an- 
cestry back  for  eight  generations.  The  family  was  founded  in  Coshocton 
county  by  .the  paternal  grandfather.  Colonel  Lemuel  Church,  who  was  born 
in  Massachusetts  and  came  to  Coshocton  county  in  the  early  '20s.  He  was 
a  shoemaker  by  trade  and  also  followed  farming.  His  son,  Benjamin  S. 
Church,  was  born  in  Coshocton  county  and  after  completing  his  education 
engaged  in  teaching  and  also  clerked  in  a  store.  He  later  engaged  in  the 
mercantile  business,  being  at  various  times,  in  Brinkhaven  and  Spring 
Mountain.  Later  in  life  he  studied  law  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in 
1865.  He  practiced  in  Coshocton,  Holmes  and  Knox  counties,  and  at  the 
time  of  his  death  was  associated  in  practice  with  Charles  Vorhees,  at  Millers' 
burg.  He  was  admitted  to  practice  before  th^  United  States  courts  and  prac- 
ticed in  several  states.  In  politics  he  was  a  republican  and  was  twice  nom- 
inated for  congressman  but  was  defeated.  His  death  occurred  in  1900  and 
his  remains  were  interred  in  Borden  cemeter}'^  in  Tiverton  township.  His 
wife,  who  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Margaret  E.  Cox,  was  a  relative  of  Henry 
Clay  and  Sunset  Cox.  She  was  a  native  of  Virginia  and  was  left  an  orphan 
when  quite  young.  She  became  the  mother  of  six  children:  John  R.,  who 
follows  fanning  at  New  Philadelphia;  Emma  C,  the  wife  of  T.  T.  Finney, 
a  nurseryman  of  Millersburg,  Ohio;  Robert  L.,  a  retired  merchant  of  Glen- 
wood,  this  state;  L.  T.,  of  this  review;  Eugenie,  deceased,  who  was  the  wife 
of  B.  A.  Simmons;  and  Kittie,  who  taught  school  in  Delaware  prior  to  her 
marriage  and  is  now  the  wife  of  A.  G.  Duer,  a  very  successful  attorney  of 
Toledo,  Ohio. 

L.  T.  Church  pursued  his  studie<  in  the  schools  of  Millersburg  and 
Danville,  subsequent  to  which  time  he  engaged  in  teaching  for  two  years 
in  Hohnes  county.  At  the  end  of  that  time  he  returned  to  the  homestead 
farm  in  Coshocton  county  and  has  since  made  his  home  here,  owning  at 
the  pre-^ent  time  two  hundred  acres  of  well  improved  and  valuable  land. 
He  carries  on  general  farming  and  everything  about  his  place  is  kept  in 
a  neat  and  thrifty  appearance,  indicating  the  progressive  methods  of  the 
owner. 

Mr.  Church  was  married  October  25,  1898,  the  lady  of  his  choice  being 
Miss  Ida  Wilson,  a  resident  of  Warsaw.  A  little  daughter  and  son  grace 
the  home,  Mildred  Lea  and  Wilson  C.     Mr.  Church  is  a  republican  in  his 


Digitized  by  ^ 


382  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

political  views  and  affiliations,  having  supported  the  party  since  age  con- 
ferred upon  him  the  right  of  franchise.  Both  he  and  his  wife  are  members 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  They  are  highly  esteemed  in  the  com- 
munity in  which  they  make  their  home,  their  many  good  traits  of  char- 
acter having  gained  them  favor  with  their  many  friends. 


MRS.  MARY  C.  LAURENCE. 

Mrs.  Mary  C.  Laurence,  the  wife  of  Casimer  Laurence,  was  born  in  Ger- 
many, June  2,  1845.  She  came  to  America  in  the  early  '60©  and  located 
in  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania,  where  in  1866  she  gave  her  hand  in  mar- 
riage to  Casimer  Laurence.  Immediately  after  their  marriage  they  started 
for  Ohio,  settling  at  Stone  Creek,  Tuscarawas  county,  where  they  resided  un- 
til 1869.  In  that  year  they  became  residents  of  Crawford  township,  Coshoc- 
ton county,  where  they  remained  for  a  few  years  and  then  came  to  Adams 
township,  where  Mr.  Laurence  purchased  a  farm  of  two  hundred  and  fifty 
acres  about  a  mile  north  of  the  village  of  Bakersville.  With  characteristic 
energy  he  began  the  further  development  and  improvement  of  this  place 
and  soon  the  fields  responded  with  rich  harvests  and  his  crops  found  a  ready 
sale  on  the  market.  He  w^orked  earnestly  and  diligently  to  make  hi*  farm 
one  of  the  model  properties  of  the  community  and  his  eflforts  w^ere  noticeable 
in  the  excellent  appeai*ance  of  his  fields,  w^hile  the  buildings  upon  the  place 
were  always  kept  in  a  state  of  good  repair. 

Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Laurence  were  born  ten  children:  Maggie,  now  the 
wife  of  W.  C.  Fritz,  a  resident  of  Ottawa,  Ohio;  Emma  E.,  the  wife  of  Con- 
rad Stine,  of  this  county;  Anna  C,  the  wife  of  Christ  Zimmerman,  also  of 
this  county;  Ella,  the  wife  of  Glenn  Davis,  of  Coshocton  county;  Charles 
H.,  who  was  born  January  8,  1877,  and  married  Esther  Jane  Davis,  by  whom 
he  has  four  children,  Raymond  P.,  Florence  E.,  Charles  C.  and  Terra  May; 
Frederick  G.,  who  is  living  in  Tuscarawas  county;  Harry  E.,  whose  home 
is  in  Iowa;  W.  C,  also  of  Tuscarawas  county;  Catharine,  the  wife  of  Henry 
Thomas,  now  deceased;  and  Sadie,  who  married  and  at  her  death  left  one 
child. 

The  death  of  the  husband  and  father  occurred  May  22,  1903,  and  a 
widow  and  eight  children  w^ere  left  to  mourn  his  demise.  He  was  a  leading 
and  influential  resident  of  his  community  and  enjoyed  to  the  fullest  extent 
the  confidence  and  good  will  of  all  who  knew  him.  His  political  views  were 
in  harmony  with  the  principles  of  the  democratic  party  and  he  did  all  in 
his  power  to  further  the  interests  of  the  party  along  legitimate  lines.  He 
served  as  county  commissioner  for  six  years  and  was  also  justice  of  the  peace 
for  several  years.  The  duties  that  devolved  upon  him  in  this  connection 
were  discharged  in  a  very  prompt  and  capable  manner  and  won  for  him  the 
high  commendation  of  all  concerned.  His  death,  therefore,  was  a  distinct 
loss  to  the  community,  as  well  as  to  his  family,  to  w^hom  he  was  a  devoted 
husband  and  father. 

.Google 


Digitized  by  ^ 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  383 

Mrs.  Laurence  still  owns  and  occupies  the  old  homestead  property  of  two 
hundred  and  fifty  acres  in  AdanLs  township.  It  is  a  valuable  and  well  im- 
proved farm  and  is  now  being  carried  on  by  her  son  Charles  H.,  who  is  a 
progressive  and  wide-awake  agriculturist.  Mrs.  Laurence  is  a  member  of 
the  German  Reformed  church  and  is  a  lady  of  many  good  qualities,  of 
kindly  spirit  and  friendly  disposition,  w'ho  enjoys  the  esteem  and  good  will 
of  all  who  know  her. 


LEWIS  McFARLAND. 

Lewis  McFarland  owns  and  cultivates  a  farm  in  White  Eyes  township, 
comprising  one  hundred  and  fifty-five  acres,  and  the  improvements  seen 
thereon  indicate  his  progressive  spirit  and  the  practical  methods  which  he 
employs  in  his  work.  He  is  numbered  among  the  native  sons  of  Illinoia, 
his  birth  having  occurred  in  that  state  November  3,  1857.  His  parents  were 
Andrew  and  Rosanna  (Norman)  McFarland,  both  of  whom  are  natives  of 
Ohio,  the  latter  being  a  daughter  of  Abraham  Norman,  one  of  the  prominent 
pioneer  residents  here.  Following  their  marriage  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Andrew  Mc- 
Farland removed  to  Illinois,  where  they  lived  for  several  years.  They  then 
sold  that  property  and  returned  to  Coshocton  county,  where  they  spent  their 
remaining  days,  the  death  of  the  father  here  occurring  in  1872,  while  the 
mother  survived  until  1890.  Their  family  numbered  fifteen  children,  of 
whom  eight  are  yet  living. 

No  event  of  special  importance  occurred  to  vary  the  routine  of  farm  life 
for  L^wis  McFarland  in  his  boyhood  and  youth.  He  performed  his  tasks 
as  his  age  and  strength  permitted,  and  in  the  district  schools  he  obtained 
his  education.  He  was  twenty  years  of  age  at  the  time  of  his  marriage  to 
Miss  Lizzie  McClary,  who  was  born  in  Coshocton  county  March  13,  1860, 
and  is  a  daughter  of  Johh  and  Sarah  Ann  (Norman)  McClary,  both  of 
whom  are  now  deceased.  The  mother  passed  away  in  1878,  while  the  father's 
death  occurred  in  1900.  They  had  fourteen  children,  including  their  daugh- 
ter Lizzie,  who  in  1877  gave  her  hand  in  marriage  to  Lewis  McFarland.  The 
young  couple  began  their  domestic  life  upon  a  rented  farm,  where  they  lived 
for  a  few  years  until  their  careful  expenditure  and  diligence  afforded  them 
sufficient  capital  to  enable  them  to  purchase  a  farm.  Mr.  McFarland  then 
bought  a  tract  of  land  in  Adams  township  and  continued  its  further  cultiva- 
tion and  improvement  until  1898,  when  he  sold  that  property  and  boujght  the 
place  upon  which  he  now  resides,  which  is  a  tract  of  one  hundred  and  fifty- 
five  acres  in  White  Eyes  township.  He  has  improved  this  and  made  it  a 
good  property,  equipped  with  all  modern  accessories  and  conveniences.  It 
presents  an  attractive  appearance  and  constitutes  one  of  the  pleasing  views 
in  the  landscape. 

Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  McFarland  have  been  born  fifteen  children:  Alver- 
ton,  deceased;  Mary  E.,  the  wife  of  Frank  Geese,  of  Lafayette  township; 
Nettie  Ann,  the  wife  of  P.  Gaskill,  of  this  county;  Sigle  R.,  who  is  living  ^ 

Digitized  by  LjOOQIC 


384  HISTORY   OF  COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

in  Canton,  Ohio;  Charles  C,  at  home;  Geneva  M.,  the  wife  of  Lewis  Miller, 
of  Fresno;  Clara  B.,  the  wife  of  William  Harbolt,  of  Linton  township;  Min- 
nie P.,  Bertha  G.  and  Timothy  E.,  all  yet  at  home;  Clarence,  deceased; 
Laura  M.  and  Helen  G.,  who  are  also  with  their  parents;  Grace,  deceased; 
and  one  who  died  in  infancy.  The  parents  attend  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church  and  contribute  to  its  support.  Mr.  McFarland  votes  with  the  repub-* 
lican  party  and  has  filled  the  office  of  school  director,  but  does  not  seek  pub- 
lic notoriety,  preferring  to  concentrate  his  attention  upon  his  business  inter- 
ests, which  are  now  bringing  to  him  substantial  success,  so  that  he  is  today 
numbered  among  the  prosperous  farmers  of  the  county. 


RALPH    S.    PHH^LIPS. 

Ralph  S.  Phillips,  who  is  a  well-to-do  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  owning 
two  hundred  and  eighty  acres  of  land  in  his  home  place  and  seventy  acres  in 
another  tract,  was  until  recent  years  actively  identified  with  the  educational 
life  of  thb*  section  of  the  state.  He  is  now  numbered  among  the  substantial 
agriculturists  of  Franklin  and  Virginia  townships.  Mr.  Phillips  was  bom 
November  21,  1853,  in  Lafayette  township,  a  son  of  Simeon  and  Phoebe 
(Shaw)  Phillips,  the  former  a  native  of  New  York,  and  the  latter  of  New 
Jersey,  coming  to  Coshocton  county  with  their  respective  parents  at  an  early 
day. 

Ralph  S.  Phillips  was  reared  on  the  homestead  farm  and  acquired  his 
education  in  the  district  schools  and  in  the  public  schools  of  West  Lafay- 
ette. In  the  fall  of  1876,  having  completed  his  own  education  and  fitted 
himself  for  teaching,  he  became  a  member  of  the  profession,  being  thus  em- 
ployed for  two  years  in  the  schools  of  Crawford  county,  Illinois.  It  was 
soon  aftel*  his  arrival  in  Crawford  county  that  ^  he  was  married  to  Miss 
Louisa  Baker,  their  marriage  being  celebrated  on  Christmas  day  of  1876. 
She  is  a  daughter  of  Edward  and  Sarah  (Paddock)  Baker,  who  were  former 
residents  of  Ca^hocton  county.  Following  his  marriage  Mr.  Phillips  re- 
mained in  Craw^ford  county  for  two  years,  or  until  1878,  when  he  returned 
once  more  to  his  native  county  and  was  employed  in  the  West  Lafayette 
schools  for  one  year.  Subsequently  he  taught  in  Lafayette,  Franklin  and 
Virginia  townships,  teaching  alma^t  continuously  until  1904.  He  was  con- 
sidered one  of  the  progressive  and  up-to-date  educators  of  this  section  of  the 
state,  always  giving  entire  satisfaction  in  the  various  districts  in  which  he 
was  employed. 

It  was  in  the  fall  of  1879  that  Mr.  Phillips  took  up  his  abode  upon  his 
present  farm,  this  being  located  near  Conesville,  and  while  he  still  gave  his 
attention  to  teaching  during  the  winter  months  he  followed  general  farming 
during  the  spring  and  sunmier  seasons.  His  home  place  comprises  two  hun- 
dred and  eighty  acres  of  land  in  Franklin  township,  and  he  also  owois  a 
tract  of  seventy  acres  near  West  Lafayette.  Both  farms  are  well  improved 
and  well  stocked  and  return  to  him  a  gratifying  annual  income.     As  above 

Digitized  by  LjOOQIC 


1^ 

«i 

•s^^fB, 

w 

00 

> 
O 

5 

4k< 
Ik 

F* 

ri 

^^C_ri 

r 

« 

Digitized  by 


Google 


i  r-  . ,'.:.!: BR '\ P. Y 


1  ASTOR,  LEKOX   ^^'0 

1        T.LDEN  FOUN  DAT  IONS. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON  COUNTY  387 

stated,  Mr.  Phillips  abandoned  the  profession  of  teaching  in  1904,  and  in 
the  fall  of  th^  same  year  was  appointed  carrier  on  the  first  rural  mail  route 
out  of  Conesville.  He  continued  in  the  position  until  January,  1907,  when 
he  resigned  and  has  since  given  his  entire  time  and  attention  to  his  farming 
interests. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Phillips  has  been  blessed  with  the  follow- 
ing children:  William  H. ;  John  E. ;  Clyde;  Bessie,  the  wife  of  Jesse  Holds- 
^^rorth;  and  Anna  L.     They  also  lost  one  child  in  infancy. 

Mr.  Phillips  is  a  republican  in  his  political  views,  giving  stalwart  sup- 
port to  the  party.  He  has  been  called  by  his  fellow  townsmen  to  fill  a  num- 
ber of  public  offices,  having  sensed  for  three  terms  as  township  trustee  and 
he  was  also  land  appraiser  for  Franklin  township  in  1900.  He  has  also 
served  for  several  years  as  a  member  of  the  Conesville  district  school  board 
and  was  instrumental  in  securing  for  the  district  its  fine,  modem  brick 
school  building.  His  religious  faith  is  indicated  by  his  membership  in  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church.  He  is  well  known  in  all  public  and  political 
circles  and  has  often  represented  his  party  as  a  delegate  to  conventions.  He 
is  a  public-spirited  citizen  and  has  always  taken  a  deep  and  active  interest 
in  schools  in  order  that  his  own  and  other  children  might  receive  an  educa- 
tion suited  to  the  demands  of  the  time  and  that  they  might  start  out  in  life 
well  equipped  for  the  eager,  strenuous  life  of  this  exacting  age.  He  is  also 
known  for  his  honor  and  integrity,  for  in  his  relations  with  his  fellowmen, 
and  in  his  treatment  of  his  neighbor  he  has  never  lost  sight  of  the  principle 
of  the  Golden  Rule. 


HOWARD    M.    HOOK. 

Howard  M.  Hook,  who  follows  farming  in  Keene  township,  was  born 
in  Bethlehem  township,  Coshocton  county,  Ohio,  July  4,  1855,  his  parents 
being  Isaac  and  Kissie  (Skillman)  Hook,  who  were  also  natives  of  Bethlehem 
township.  The  father  passed  away  in  this  county  at  the  age  of  seventy- 
four  years  but  the  mother,  who  is  now  in  her  eightieth  year,  still  survives 
and  makes  her  home  with  her  children.  Unto  this  worthy  couple  were  bom 
eight  children,  namely:  Newton  N.,  a  resident  of  Coshocton;  Etha,  the  wife 
of  Harrison  Courtwright,  of  Coshocton,  Ohio;  Howard  M.,  of  this  review; 
Susan,  deceased;  Jane,  the  wife  of  Frank  West,  of  this  county;  Minney,  the 
ydte  of  George  Webb,  of  Coshocton,  Ohio;  Mildred,  the  wife  of  Ira  Hoglen, 
of  Indiana;  and  George. 

Howard  M.  Hook  acquired  a  common-school  education  and  remained 
under  the  parental  roof  until  he  had  attained  the  age  of  twenty-four  years, 
when  he  was  married.  Subsequently  he  was  engaged  in  the  operation  of  a 
rented  farm  for  twelve  years  and  then  purchased  a  tract  of  land  of  forty 
acres,  on  which  he  made  his  home  for  three  years.  On  the  expiration  of 
that  period  he  sold  out  and  bought  some  property  in  Coshocton,  where  he 
also  resided  for  three  years.     He  then  once  more  rented  a  farm,  which  he 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


388  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

successfully  cultivated  for  three  years,  when  he  purchased  his  present  place, 
comprising  thirty-one  acres  of  well  improved  and  valuable  land  in  Keene 
township.  In  the  conduct  of  his  agricultural  interests  he  has  met  with  a  well 
merited  measure  of  success  by  reason  of  his  unremitting  industry  and  dili- 
gence and  is  a  well  known  and  respected  resident  of  the  community. 

Mr.  Hook  was  joined  in  wedlock  to  Miss  Mary  C.  Bible,  a  daughter  of 
Philip  R.  Bible,  who  is  mentioned  on  another  page  of  this  work.  Their  two 
children  were  as  follows:  Wilbert,  who  is  now  deceased;  and  Frank,  living 
in  Jackson  township. 

In  his  political  views  Mr.  Hook  is  a  republican  and  has  served  as  school 
director,  the  cause  of  education  ever  finding  in  him  a  stalwart  champion. 
Having  resided  here  throughout  his  entire  life,  or  for  more  than  a  half 
century,  his  interests  are  thoroughly  identified  with  those  of  Coshocton 
county  and  at  all  times  he  is  ready  to  lend  his  aid  and  cooperation  to  any 
movement  instituted  to  advance  the  general  welfare. 


LAKIN   E.    BLUCK. 


Few  men  of  Lakiii  E.  Bluck's  age  have  won  the  degree  of  success  which 
he  today  enjoys.  He  is  now  the  owner  of  two  hundred  and  thirt\^-five  acres 
of  rich  and  valuable  land  situated  in  Oxford  township,  and  is  numbered 
among  the  young  and  enterprising  farmers  and  stock-raisers  of  this  section 
of  the  state.  He  was  born  in  Coshocton  county,  August  6,  1867,  the  only 
child  of  Edwin  and  Mary  C.   (Whiteside)  Bluck. 

The  father  was  born  in  England,  January  24,  1843,  and  came  with  his 
parents  to  America  when  a  little  lad  of  ten  years,  the  family  home  being  es- 
ta-blished  in  Coshocton  county  where  the  father  followed  farming.  He  was 
also  a  soldier  of  the  Civil  war,  enlisting  as  a  member  of  Company  A,  One 
Hundred  and  Seventy-fourth  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry,  at  Newark,  wath 
which  he  served  until  the  close  of  hostilities.  His  marriage  to  Miss  White- 
side was  celebrated  in  1866  soon  after  his  return  from  the  war.  She  was 
born  in  Coshocton  county  March  3,  1847,  and  became  the  mother  of  only 
one  child,  Lakin  E.,  whose  name  introduces  this  review.  The  parents  are 
both  now  deceased.  The  father  died  October  9,  1907,  and  the  mother 
passed  away  November  26,  1900.  They  were  numbered  among  the  worthy 
pioneers  of  this  section  of  the  state  and  their  loss  was  deeply  felt  by  many 
friends  and  neighbors  as  well  as  by  the  members  of  their  own  immediate 
household. 

Lakin  E.  Bluck  acquired  his  education  in  the  common  schools,  wherein 
he  mastered  the  branches  of  learning  that  well  fitted  him  for  the  arduous 
and  responsible  duties  of  life.  He  spent  his  youth  and  early  manhood  in 
much  the  usual  manner  of  farmers,  and  remained  under  the  parental  roof 
until  the  time  of  his  marriage,  which  occurred  in  1892,  the  lady  of  his  choice 
being  Miss  Lizzie  A.  Smith,  who  was  born  in  Coshocton  county,  June  25, 
1870,  one  of  a  family  of  eight  children,  born  of  the  marriage  of  Thomas 

Digitized  by  LjOOQLC 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON  COUNTY  389 

and  Elizabeth  (Everal)  Smith,  natives  of  this  county.  The  father  still  sur- 
vives and  makes  his  home  in  this  county.  The  mother  died  October  23, 
1891. 

Following  his  marriage  Mr.  Bluck  took  up  his  abode  upon  a  farm  and 
has  carried  on  agricultural  pursuits  to  the  present  time.  He  is  now  the 
owner  of  two  hundred  and  thirty-five  acre^  of  rich  and  well  improved  land 
situated  in  Oxford  tow^nship,  and  in  addition  to  raising  the  various  cereals  best 
adapted  to  soil  and  climate  he  makes  a  specialty  of  raising  stock,  both 
branches  of  his  business  proving  a  profitable  source  of  revenue  to  him. 

The  home  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bluck  has  been  blessed  with  two  sons:.  Rus- 
sell M.,  who  was  born  February  18,  1893,  and  who  at  the  death  of  his  grand- 
father inherited  one  hundred  and  thirty-three  and  a  third  acres  of  land  in 
Lafayette  township;  and  Walter  L.,  who  was  born  on  Christmas  day  of  1902, 
and  is  now  a  little  lad  of  six  years.  Mr.  Bluck  gives  his  political  support  to  the 
men  and  measures  of  the  democratic  party.  Both  he  and  his  wife  are  members 
of  the  Methodist  Protestant  church.  He  belongs  to  that  class  of  representa- 
tive young  men  who  rapidly  discern  opportunities  of  improvement  and  who 
are  rapidly  forging  to  the  front.  He  always  adheres  to  honorable  methods 
in  his  dealings  with  his  fellowmen  and  is  therefore  highly  esteemed  by  all 
with  whom  he  comas  in  contact. 


JOHN  J.   CROFT. 


John  J.  Croft  was  bom  on  the  farm  in  Mill  Creek  township,  Coshocton 
county,  which  Ls  still  his  home,  his  natal  day  being  April  18,  1841.  His 
parents,  John  and  Catharine  (Conrad)  Croft,  natives  of  Germany  and  West- 
moreland county,  Pennsylvania,  respectively,  are  deceased.  When  eleven 
years  of  age  the  father  accompanied  his  parents  on  their  emigration  to  the 
United  States  and,  after  residing  in  Philadelphia  for  a  short  time,  came  to 
Coshocton  county,  Ohio,  in  the  early  *30.s.  Unto  John  Croft  and  his  w^ife 
were  born  sixteen  children,  namely:  John  J.,  of  this  review;  Solomon,  a 
resident  of  Mill  Creek  township;  Leonard,  living  in  Holmes  county,  Ohio; 
Catharine,  the  wife  of  Francis  Bender,  of  Mill  Creek  township;  Christina,  the 
wife  of  William  Farver,  of  Holmes  county,  Ohio;  Henry,  also  residing  in 
Mill  Creek  township;  and  ten  who  have  parsed  away. 

John  J.  Croft  acquired  a  common-school  education  and  remained  un- 
der the  parental  roof  until  he  had  attained  his  majority.  He  then  purchased 
a  farm  and  later  bought  the  old  homestead  place  of  on©  hundred  and  thir- 
ten  acres,  in  the  cultivation  of  which  he  has  since  been  successfully  engaged. 
At  one  time,  however,  he  was  also  identified  with  the  hardware  business  as 
a  member  of  the  firm  of  Brown  &  Croft  at  New  Bedford.  In  the  conduct  of 
his  agricultural  interests  he  has  met  with  a  gratifying  and  well  merited  meas- 
ure of  prosperity,  the  fields  annually  yielding  golden  harvests  as  a  reward 
for  the  care  and  labor  he  bestows  upon  them. 

On  the  16th  of  April,  1872,  Mr.  Croft  was  joined  in  wedlock  to  Miss 
Mary  Ann  Brown,  whoso  birth  occurred  in  this  county  in  1848,  her  parents 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


390  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

being  Henry  and  Rebecca  (Snyder)  Brown,  who  are  now  deceased.  Mrs. 
Croft  w^as  one  of  a  family  of  eight  children  and  by  her  marriage  has  become^ 
the  mother  of  five,  as  follows:  Milton  H.  and  Percy,  both  living  in  Mill  Creek 
township;  Claudius  O.,  a  resident  of  Baltic,  Ohio;  Victor  F.,  of  Kansas  City; 
Alto  Rebecca,  the  wife  of  G.  D.  Whittaker,  of  Kansas  City.  Our  subject  and 
his  wife  also  have  eight  grandchildren. 

In  his  political  views  Mr.  Croft  is  a  democrat  and  has  held  several  town- 
ship offices,  ever  discharging  his  public  duties  in  a  creditable  and  satisfac- 
tory manner.  Both  he  and  his  wife  are  faithful  members  of  the  Reformed 
church  and  are  well  known  and  highly  esteemed  throughout  the  county  in 
w^hich  they  have  spent  their  entire  lives. 


THOMAS  T.   SMITH. 

Thomas  T.  Smith,  who  is  residing  on  his  valuable  farm  of  three  hun- 
dred acres  in  Oxford  township,  was  born  in  Gloucestershire,  England,  De- 
cember 18,  1831,  his  parents  being  George  and  Elizabeth  (Tudor)  Smith, 
also  natives  of  that  country.  The  father  was  born  in  1810,  and  after  attain- 
ing mature  years  followed  the  machinist's  trade  in  England  until  1844,  when 
he  emigrated  to  the  United  States,  landing  in  New  York.  There  he  boarded 
a  steamboat  for  Albany,  thence  went  by  way  of  the  Erie  canal  to  Buffalo,  New 
York,  across  Lake  Erie  to  Cleveland  and  down  the  Ohio  canal  to  Evansburg, 
Coshocton  county,  Ohio.  He  purchased  a  large  tract  of  land  in  Oxford  town- 
ship, in  the  cultivation  of  which  he  was  successfully  engaged  until  called  to 
his  final  rest  in  1873.  His  wife,  whose  birth  had  occurred  in  1806,  passed 
away  in  1880.  Unto  this  worthy  couple  were  born  seven  children,  namely: 
Thomas  T.,  of  this  review;  William,  of  Oxford  township;  Elizabeth,  de- 
ceased; George,  residing  in  Illinois;  Harriet,  who  has  also  passed  away; 
Hannah,  the  wife  of  David  Wood,  of  Beach  City,  Ohio;  and  Joseph  E.,  of 
Oxford  township. 

Thomas  T.  Smith  attended  the  schools  of  his  native  land,  and  was  thir- 
teen years  of  age  when  he  accompanied  his  parents  on  their  emigration  to 
the  new  world.  He  remained  at  home  until  the  time  of  his  marriage  and 
then  began  the  operation  of  a  rented  farm.  Subsequently  he  and  a  brother 
purchased  a  tract  of  land  and  later,  buying  his  brother^s  interest,  he  became 
the  owner  of  three  hundred  acres  of  rich  and  productive  farming  property 
in  Oxford  township,  which  is  still  in  his  possession.  The  place  is  now  being 
farmed  by  his  son  and  sons-in-law  and  returns  to  him  a  gratifying  annual 
income.  He  has  met  with  success  in  his  undertakings  and  in  former  years 
gave  considerable  attention  to  the  raising  of  stock,  principally  sheep. 

Mr.  Smith  has  been  twice  married.  On  the  22d  of  September,  1857,  he 
wedded  Miss  Elizabeth  Everall,  whose  birth  occurred  in  Oxford  township, 
September  5,  1835,  and  who  passed  away  on  the  23d  of  October,  1891.  Her 
father,  John  Everall,  a  native  of  England,  crossed  the  Atlantic  to  the  United 
States  and  took  up  his  abode  in  Oxford  township,  Coshocton  county,  in 

Digitized  by  LjOOQLC 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON  COUNTY  391 

1830.  By  his  first  wife  our  subject  had  the  following  children,  namely: 
Lawrence  W.,  of  New  Comerstown,  Ohio;  Mary  A.,  deceased;  Laura  V.,  the 
wife  of  Samuel  Huflford,  of  Oxford  township;  Harriet  E.,  who  is  the  wife 
of  James  H.  Norris  and  resides  in  Adams  township;  John  T.,  living  in  Adams 
township;  Martha  Ann,  the  wife  of  Lakin  Bluck,  of  Lafayette  township; 
George  W.  W.,  who  makes  his  home  in  Seattle,  Washington;  and  Lottie 
Maude,  the  wife  of  Frank  Wise,  of  New  Comerstown,  Ohio.  On  the  23d  of 
October,  1896,  Mr.  Smith  was  united  in  marriage  to  Mrs.  Eveline  Coots,  the 
widow  of  Charles  Coots.  She  was  born  in  Bedford  county,  Pennsylvania, 
December  5,  1831,  her  parents  being  Thomas  and  Elizabeth  (Blair)  Grow- 
den,  the  former  a  native  of  England  and  the  latter  of  Bedford  county,  Penn- 
sylvania. Thomas  Growden  was  nineteen  years  of  age  when  he  came  to 
America,  and  both  he  and  his  wife  passed  away  in  Bedford  county,  Penn- 
sylvania. 

In  his  political  views  Mr.  Smith  is  a  democrat  and  has  taken  an  active 
interest  in  the  local  work  of  the  party,  having  served  as  township  trustee  for 
three  terms,  also  as  road  supervisor  and  in  a  number  of  school  offices.  His 
religious  faith  is  indicated  by  his  membership  in  the  United  Brethren 
church,  and  he  is  widely  and  favorably  known  as  a  substantial  and  worthy 
citizen  of  this  county,  where  he  has  now  made  his  home  for  almost  two- 
thirds  of  a  century. 


MRS.   MARY   HACKENBRACHT. 

Mrs.  Mary  Hackenbracht  was  born  in  Lafayette  township,  Coshocton 
county,  Ohio,  August  24,  1845,  her  parents  being  Simeon  and  Phoebe 
(Shaw)  Phillips.  Her  father,  a  native  of  New  Jersey,  who  was  bom  March 
13,  1798,  came  west  at  a  very  early  day,  locating  in  Roscoe,  Coshocton  county, 
Ohio,  where  he  followed  blacksmithing.  His  brother  was  one  of  the  first 
settlers  in  Roscoe  and  was  a  cabinetmaker  by  trade.  Coming  to  Lafayette 
township,  Simeon  Phillips  purchased  ninety-eight  acres  of  land,  which  is 
now  in  possession  of  Mrs.  Hackenbracht.  It  was  covered  with  brush  and  is 
believed  to  have  been  a  camping  ground  for  the  Indians,  as  hundreds  of 
arrow-heads  were  found  on  the  place.  The  father  of  our  subject  was  a  success- 
ful man  and  a  prominent  citizen  of  his  community,  holding  various  town- 
ship offices.  His  death  occurred  when  he  had  attained  the  age  of  sixty-one 
years.  He  was  twice  married,  his  first  union  being  with  Sarah  Hart,  by 
whom  he  had  two  children,  both  of  whom  are  deceased.  For  his  second  wife 
he  chose  Miss  Phoebe  Shaw,  whose  birth  occurred  in  Sussex  county.  New  Jer- 
sey, and  who  was  eleven  years  of  age  when  she  accompanied  her  parents  on 
their  removal  to  Coshocton  county.  She  passed  away  in  May,  1891,  when 
sixty-five  years  of  age.  Unto  Simeon  and  Phoebe  (Shaw)  Phillips  were  born 
nine  children,  three  of  whom  still  survive:  Mrs.  Mary  Hackenbracht;  Ralph, 
residing  in  Conesville,  Ohio;  and  James,  of  Converse,  Indiana. 

.Google 


Digitized  by  ^ 


392  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON  COUNTY 

On  the  27th  of  December,  187'o,  Mary  Phillips  became  the  wife  of 
George  Hackenbracht,  whose  birth  occurred  on  Stone  Creek,  Tuscarawas 
county,  Ohio,  August  24,  1849.  By  this  union  there  were  seven  children, 
namely:  Frank  W.,  who  is  a  telegraph  operator  for  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio 
Railroad  Company;  Henry  and  Sarah,  both  at  home;  Lillian,  the  wife  of 
Grant  Woodmansee,  of  Converse,  Indiana;  Ralph,  a  telegraph  operator  for 
the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Company;  Oscar,  deceased;  and  Clyde,  at  home. 
All  of  the  children  have  received  a  good  education  in  the  West  Lafayette 
high  school  and  four  have  teacher's  certificates,  the  two  eldest  having  taught 
school. 

For  nine  years  following  their  marriage  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hackenbracht 
lived  on  a  farm  which  they  owned  north  of  New  Comerstown  in  Tuscarawas 
county.  Since  1891,  however,  Mrs.  Hackenbracht  has  made  her  home  on 
her  finely  improved  farm  of  one  hundred  and  ten  acres  in  Lafayette  town- 
ship, which  she  has  successfully  managed.  She  and  her  children  are  all 
members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  and  enjoy  the  hospitality  of 
the  best  homes  of  the  community  in  which  they  reside. 


GEORGF  ^V.  MOHLER. 

Perhaps  no  man  has  done  luore  for  the  intellectual  development  of 
Coshocton  county  than  George  W.  Mohler,  who  throughout  a  long  period 
was  identified  with  the  teacher's  profession.  Mr.  Mohler  was  born  April  6, 
1841,  at  Wast  Carlisle,  Coshocton  county,  a  son  of  Peter  and  Rosanna  (Fred- 
erick) Mohler,  who  came  to  the  Buckeye  state  from  Maryland,  the  family 
home  being  established  in  Zanesville.  The  year  1839  witnessed  their  arrival 
in  Ohio,  and  they  came  to  Coshocton  county  in  1848.  The  father  here  en- 
gaged in  farming. 

George  W.  Mohler  was  reared  on  the  home  farm  and  was  early  trained 
to  the  duties  of  the  agriculturist,  assisting  his  father  in  the  fields  from  the 
time  of  early  spring  planting  until  the  crops  were  harvested  in  the  late 
autumn.  He  began  his  education  in  the  schools  of  Zanesville,  where  he 
studied  two  years,  prior  to  the  removal  of  the  family  to  Coshocton  county, 
after  which  he  attended  the  country  schools  for  a  few  years  and  subsequently 
spent  one  year  in  Spring  Mountain  Academy. 

In  February,  1864,  however,  he  put  aside  all  business  and  personal  con- 
siderations and  offered  his  services  to  the  government,  enlisting  as  a  member 
of  Company  I,  Fifty-first  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry,  and  he  served  under 
Generals  Thomas  and  Sherman  until  mustered  out  October  3,  1865.  Return- 
ing home  with  a  most  creditable  military  record  and  successfully  passing  the 
examination  necessary  to  secure  to  him  a  teacher's  certificate,  he  then  engaged 
in  teaching,  being  thus  employed  in  Coshocton  county  for  thirty-two  years, 
beginning  in  1865.  It  will  thus  be  seen  that  he  has  been  an  important  fac- 
tor in  the  educational  and  moral  development  of  this  county  and  in  his 
work  of  instruction  he  met  with  desirable  success.    Since  1897,  however,  Mr. 

Digitized  by  LjOOQLC 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  393 

Mohler  has  engaged  in  farming  and  is  also  a  road  contractor,  doing  much 
for  the  improvement  of  the  highways  in  his  section  of  the  county. 

On  the  16th  of  September,  1869,  Mr.  Mohler  led  to  the  marriage  altar 
Miss  Clara  A.  Belzer,  a  daughter  of  Christian  F.  and  Olive  F.  Belzer,  of 
Canal  Ijcwisville.  Their  marriage  has  been  blessed  with  two  sons  and  nine 
daughters.  The  sons  are  Horace  P.  and  George  W.,  Jr.  The  daughters 
are:  Edna  C.  and  Maud  F.,  who  are  engaged  in  teaching  in  the  Coshocton 
schools;  Gladys  V.,  Madge  F.  and  Lillian  B. ;  all  under  the  parental  roof; 
Minnie  G.,  who  became  the  wife  of  David  Markley  and  died  in  1900;  Rose 
D.,  who  died  in  infancy;  Blanche  E.,  now  the  wife  of  William  Struble,  of 
Coshocton ;  and  Eugenia,  the  wife  of  Howard  B.  Shrigley,  of  Canton,  Ohio. 

Mr.  Mohler's  study  of  the  political  questions  and  issues  of  the  day  has 
led  him  to  give  stalwart  support  to  the  democratic  party.  He  was  the  only 
man  in  his  regiment  who  voted  for  General  Morgan  when  he  ran  against 
General  Cox  for  governor  of  Ohio  in  1865,  the  regiment  being  then  in  Texas. 
He  also  wrote  his  own  ticket  in  1864,  having  no  ticket  given  him  at  that 
time.  One  of  his  comrades  also  voted  with  him  then  in  the  presidential  elec- 
tion, there  being  ninety-seven  votes  cast  for  General  McClelland,  at  Pulaski, 
Tennessee,  where  they  were  then  located.  He  maintains  pleasant  relations 
with  his  old  army  comrades  through  his  membership  in  Richard  Lanning 
host,  G.  A.  R.  Such  in  brief  is  the  life  history  of  George  W.  Mohler.  In 
whatever  relation  of  life  we  find  him — in  the  government  service,  in  profes- 
sional circles,  in  business  or  in  social  relations — he  is  always  the  same  honor- 
c.]>le  and  honored  gentleman,  whose  worth  well  merits  the  high  regard  which 
is  uniformly  given  him. 


JOHN   PORTEUS. 


John  Porteus  is  one  of  the  wealthy  landowners  of  Coshocton  county, 
his  possessions  comprising  five  hundred  and  sixty-four  acres  of  rich  and  valu- 
able land,  a  part  of  which  comprises  the  old  homestead  property.  Mr. 
Porteus  possesses  the  enterprise  so  characteristic  of  the  Irish  race,  for  his 
birth  occurred  in  County  Sligo,  Ireland,  March  17,  1849.  His  parents,  Wil- 
liam and  Jane  Porteus,  settled  in  Coshocton  county  in  1849  during  the  in- 
fancy of  the  son  John.  The  father  became  an  extensive  landowner  and  died 
October  3,  1883,  while  the  mother  survived  for  a  few  years  and  passed  away 
April  9,  1893. 

John  Porteus  was  reared  to  the  pursuits  of  the  home  farm  early  becom- 
ing trained  to  the  habits  of  industry,  thrift  and  economy,  and  in  his  I'^ter 
manhood  these  qualities  have  predominated  and  he  has  become  a  prosperous 
man  He  acquired  a  fair  education  in  the  district  schools  near  his  father's 
hoiae  but  in  later  years  he  has  greatly  added  to  his  fund  of  knowledge 
through  the  reading  of  good  literature,  as  well  as  through  experience  and 
observation.  Farming  has  constituted  his  life  w^ork  and  as  he  has  prospered 
from  year  to  year  he  has  increased  his  landed  holdings  until  he  is  now  the 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


394  HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

owner  of  five  hundred  and  sixty-four  acres  situated  in  Tuscarawas,  Jackson 
and  Franklin  townships.  This  land  is  all  improved  and  tillable.  Mr. 
Porteus  gives  his  time  and  attention  to  general  farming  and  stock-raising 
and  through  the  study  he  has  made  of  the  soil,  adaptation  and  rotation  of 
crops  has  became  a  successful  man,  his  labors  being  rewarded  with  excellent 
results. 

Mr.  Porteus  is  a  democrat  in  his  political  views  and  while  he  keeps  well 
informed  on  the  current  events  of  the  day  and  the  progress  that  is  being 
made  along  political  lines  he  has  never  been  active  as  an  office  seeker.  He 
is  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Protestant  church.  He  is  public-spirited,  giv- 
ing his  aid  and  cooperation  to  every  movement  which  tends  to  promote 
the  moral,  intellectual  and  material  welfare  of  the  community. 

The  estimable  wife  of  Mr.  Porteus  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Miss  Susan 
F.  Irwin,  their  marriage  being  celebrated  March  21,  1877.  Her  parents  were 
John  and  Fanny  (Martin)  Irwin,  the  former  a  prominent  grain  and  real- 
estate  dealer  of  Detroit,  Michigan.  The  marriage  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Porteus 
has  been  blessed  with  two  sons  and  a  daughter:  Irwin,  Fanny  and  Leslie,  all 
under  the  parental  roof.  The  beautiful  country  home  of  the  family  is  made 
more  attractive  through  the  hospitality  that  reigns  therein,  while  the  mem- 
bers of  the  household  enjoy  the  good  will  and  friendship  of  a  host  of  warm 
and  admiring  friends. 


HENRY   SPECKMAN. 

One  of  the  most  picturesque  country  homes  in  New  Castle  township  is 
the  residence  of  Henr^^  Speckman,  his  farm  comprising  one  hundred  and 
sixty-four  and  a  half  acres  of  land,  and  he  also  owns  one  hundred  and  fifty- 
two  and  a  half  acres  in  another  tract  in  Perrv  township.  Mr.  Speckman  is 
a  native  son  of  Coshocton  county,  his  birth  haA^ng  occurred  in  Jefferson 
township,  Febniary  15,  1854.  His  parents,  John  and  Roeanna  (Frederick) 
Speckman,  were  of  German  birth  and  came  to  the  United  States  at  an  early 
day,  being  numbered  among  the  pioneer  settlers  of  Coshocton  county.  The 
family  home  was  established  in  Jefferson  towns^hip,  where  the  father  worked 
at  the  carpenter's  trade,  following  the  same  until  the  time  of  his  death,  which 
occurred  in  1868,  his  remains  being  interred  in  Gamesfelder  cemetery.  The 
mother  w^ho,  a-^  above  stated,  was  also  a  native  of  Germany,  was  brought  to 
America  at  the  age  of  seven  years  and  wa?  here  reiared  and  married.  She 
survived  the  father's  death  for  more  than  thirty  yeare,  dying  in  1896.  The 
family  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  John  Speckman  mimbered  eight  children,  as  follows: 
Louisa,  the  wife  of  John  Bender,  of  Jefferson  township;  Tiny  and  John,  both 
of  whom  have  passed  away;  Caroline,  the  wife  of  Cornelius  Foster,  also  of 
Jeffereon  township;  Henry,  of  this  review;  Newton,  who  makes  his  home  in 
Coshocton:  Angeline,  deceased;  and  William,  who  is  engaged  in  the  livery 
business  in  Warsaw. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


IIEXKY  SPECKMAN. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


AS  ""OR,   LLt'0>    '-  '0 


Digitized  by 


Google 


I 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  397 

Henry  Speckman,  the  immediate  subject  of  this  review,  acquired  his 
education  in  the  district  schools  of  Jefferson  township  and  remained  under 
the  parental  roof  to  the  age  of  eighteen  years,  when  he  started  out  in  life 
on  his  own  account,  being  employed  at  farm  labor.  He  worked  in 
this  way  until  he  had  reached  the  age  of  twenty-six  years,  when  he  be- 
gan farming  on  his  own  account.  Although  he  started  out  with  very 
limited  means  he  is  today  the  owner  of  one  hundred  and  sixty-four  ajid  a 
half  acres  of  rich  and  improved  land  in  New^  Castle  tow^nsliip,  and  he  also 
owns  a  tract  of  one  himdred  and  fifty-two  and  a  half  acras  in  Perry  town- 
ship. On  his  home  farm  stands  a  fine  country  residence,  surrounded  by  a 
well  kept  lawn,  in  the  rear  of  which  are  substantial  bams  and  outbuildingp. 
His  fields,  too,  have  been  placed  under  a  high  state  of  cultivation  and  his 
farm  on  the  whole  presents  one  of  the  prettie^^t  pictures  in  New  Castle  town- 
ship. He  carries  on  general  agricultural  pursuits  and  in  his  labors  is  meet- 
ing with  unbounded  success. 

It  was  on  the  26th  of  August,  1880,  that  Mr.  Speckman  was  united  in 
marriage  to  MLss  Lizzie  Rodock,  a  rasident  of  Tiverton  township.  Their 
home  has  been  graced  with  two  children:  Cordia  W.,  who  married  Stella 
McCrowther  and  now  lives  on  his  f ather^s  farm  in  Perry  township ;  and  Doug- 
las, who  married  Nona  McCrowther  and  is  on  the  hom»  farm. 

A  democrat  in  principle  and  practice  Mr.  Speckman  believes  in  a  faith 
bom  of  conviction,  in  the  equality  and  brotherhood  of  man.  He  deserves 
great  credit  for  what  he  has  iiccomplished  in  the  business  world,  for  starting 
out  when  a  youth  of  eighteen  years  to  make  hLs  ow^n  way  in  the  worid  he  has 
steadily  pursued  his  way,  undeterred  by  the  obstacles  which  have  barred  his 
path,  and  today  he  stands  among  the  prosperous  and  progressive  agricultur- 
ists of  Coshocton  county. 


SMITH    JONES. 


By  sheer  force  of  will  and  untiring  effort  Smith  Jones  has  worked  his 
way  upward  from  a  humble  beginning  until  he  is  numbered  among  the  lead- 
ing business  men  of  Isleta,  where  he  is  carrying  on  a  grain  and  implement 
business.  Mr.  Jones  was  born  in  Coshocton  county,  November  25,  1841,  a  son 
of  Wesley  and  Millie  A.  (Medley)  Jones,  who  were  likewise  natives  of  the 
Buckeye  state,  and  who  died  when  our  subject  was  a  little  lad  of  but  six 
years.  Their  union  was  bles^^ed  with  seven  children:  Amelia,  Jane  and 
Susan,  who  are  deceased;  John,  a  resident  of  Oxford  township;  Smith,  of 
this  review;  Nathaniel,  who  served  in  the  Civil  war  and  was  killed  in  the 
battle  of  Murfreesboro ;  and  Wesley,  who  has  departed  this  life. 

As  stated,  Smith  Jones  was  left  an  orphan  when  a  little  lad  of  six  years, 
and  at  the  age  of  nine  years  he  began  making  his  own  way  in  the  world.  He 
was  first  employed  as  a  farm  hand  until  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  war,  when 
in  1863  he  enlisted  as  a  member  of  Company  H,  One  Hundred  and  Twenty- 
ninth  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry,  with  which  he  served  for  three  vears.     He 


Digitized  by 


v^oogle 


398  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

enlisted  as  a  private  and  through  his  valor  and  loyalty  won  promotion  to  the 
rank  of  sergeant,  being  thus  discharged  at  North  Carolina,  after  having  par- 
ticipated in  many  of  the  most  important  battles  of  the  war. 

Following  the  close  of  hostilities  Smith  Jones  returned  to  Coshocton 
county,  where  for  two  years  he  w^orked  as  a  farm  hand.  During  this  time 
he  carefully  saved  his  earnings  and  then  established  a  home  of  his  own  by 
his  marriage  to  Miss  Margaret  A.  Wolfe,  who  was  born  in  Oxford  township, 
a  daughter  of  Samuel  and  Christina  Wolfe,  who  came  to  this  county  at  an 
early  day.  Both  are  now  deceased,  the  mother  passing  away  in  1871,  while 
the  father  surviving  for  only  a  few  years  departed  this  life  in  1875.  Their 
family  numbered  five  children. 

After  his  marriage  Mr.  Jones  purchased  a  farm,  whereon  he  took  up  his 
abode  and  made  his  home  for  twenty-one  yeare.  He  then  removed  to  Isleta 
and  engaged  in  the  grain  and  implement  business,  in  which  he  has  con- 
tinued with  success  to  the  present  time.  He  buys  and  sells  a  large  amount  of 
grain  each  year,  while  his  patronage  in  the  implement  business  has  reached 
large  and  extensive  proportions.  Mr.  Jones  has  disposed  of  his  farming 
property  but  now  owns  a  fine  residence  in  the  village  of  Isleta,  this  being  sur- 
rounded by  seventeen  acres  of  ground.  As  a  business  man  he  has  a  talent 
for  leading,  which  is  a  necessity  in  these  days  of  close  competition  to  the 
man  in  the  business  world. 

Mr.  Jones  has  always  supported  the  men  and  measures  of  the  republican 
party  since  age  conferred  upon  him  the  right  of  franchise.  He  has  filled 
several  township  offices,  having  served  for  three  terms  as  assessor,  while  he 
has  also  filled  the  office  of  township  trustee  and  county  land  appraiser.  Both 
he  and  his  wife  are  devoted  members  of  the  Methodist  Protestant  church. 

Mr.  Jones  is  truly  a  self-made  man.  Drawing  the  lessons  which  we  do 
from  his  life  we  learn  that  the  qualifications  necessary  for  success  are  a  high 
ambition  and  a  resolute,  honorable  purpose  to  reach  the  exalted  standard  that 
has  been  set  up.  From  the  early  age  of  nine  years  he  has  depended  upon  his 
own  resources  and  has  won  the  proud  American  title  of  self-made  man. 


HENRY   NORRIS. 


Henry  Norris  is  an  enterprising  and  prosperous  farmer,  owning  and 
operating  the  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  land  which  has  been  his  home 
since  1880.  His  farm  is  situated  in  Jaekj^on  township  and  he  is  thus  num- 
bered among  its  substantial  citizens.  He  was  born  in  Virginia  township, 
October  23,  1842,  a  son  of  George  W.  and  Susanna  (Croy)  Norris,  of  Vir- 
ginia township.  The  paternal  grandfather,  Daniel  Norris,  came  to  Coshocton 
county  in  1809  from  Virginia  with  his  father,  William  Norris,  who  sensed 
as  a  soldier  in  the  Revolutionary  war.  Daniel  Norris  settled  in  Virginia 
township  and  entered  land  from  the  government,  to  which  he  later  added  by 
purchase  until  he  became  a  large  landowner.  Farming  has  been  the  occupa- 
tion of  the  family  through  several  generations. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  399 

Henry  Norris,  whose  name  introduces  this  review,  was  educated  in  the 
district  schools  and  was  also  reared  to  farm  life.  When  he  started  out  to 
make  his  own  way  in  the  world  he  choose  the  occupation  to  which  he  had 
been  reared,  and  was  engaged  in  farming  in  Virginia  township  until  1880, 
when  he  took  up  his  abode  on  his  present  tract  of  land,  this  consisting  of 
one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  in  Jackson  township.  It  is  a  well  improved 
tract,  supplied  with  all  conveniences  and  accessories,  and  Mr.  Norris  follows 
the  most  progressive  ideas  of  agriculture,  so  that  his  labors  are  attended  with 
good  results.    He  also  raises  stock  to  some  extent. 

Mr.  Norris  chose  as  a  companion  and  helpmate  Miss  Isabelle  Piatt,  whom 
he  wedded  on  the  31st  of  December,  1875.  Their  union  has  been  blessed 
with  eleven  children,  of  whom  ten  are  living:  Jay  T. ;  Clara,  who  has  passed 
away;  Theodocia,  the  wife  of  Oliver  McCuUough;  Flay  A.;  Mary,  now  the 
wife  of  Martin  Reed;  Thomas;  Ray;  Pearl,  the  wife  of  Floyd  Johnson; 
Joseph  C. ;  Emmett  O. ;  and  Clarence. 

Mr.  Norris  gives  his  political  support  to  the  man  and  measures  of 
democracy  but  aside  from  serving  as  a  school  director  has  never  been  active 
as  an  office  seeker.  His  religious  views  accord  with  the  principles  and  doc- 
trine of  the  Baptist  church,  of  which  he  is  a  member.  He  possesses  all  the 
elements  of  what  in  this  country  we  term  a  "square"  man — one  in  whom  to 
have  confidence,  a  dependable  man  in  any  relation  and  any  emergency.  He 
is  ever  ready  to  meet  any  obligation  of  life  with  the  confidence  and  courage 
that  come  of  conscious  personal  ability  and  all  with  whom  he  is  associated 
have  for  him  high  commendation  and  praise. 


H.   C.    MILLER. 


H.  C.  Miller  is  a  member  of  the  firm  of  H.  C.  &  E.  W.  Miller,  dealers 
in  farm  implements,  products,  coal,  furniture,  fertilizers,  oil  meal  and  seeds, 
and  at  the  present  writing  is  serving  as  justice  of  the  peace  of  Tiverton  town- 
ship. He  is  a  native  son  of  Coshocton  county,  born  at  Spring  Mountain, 
March  19,  1864,  a  son  of  Lawrence  and  Magdalene  (Rahn)  Miller,  both  of 
whom  were  natives  of  Germany. 

The  father  was  born  in  Bavaria,  and  emigrating  to  the  new  world  in 
1855  located  in  Tiverton  township.  He  was  a  shoemaker  by  trade  and  also 
followed  farming.  Although  he  came  to  the  United  States  a  poor  boy  he 
became  a  very  successful  man  and  was  a  leader  in  political  circles.  He  was 
a  man  of  great  energy  and  ambition  and  at  one  time  served  as  justice  of  the 
peace  of  his  locality.  He  was  a  devoted  and  loyal  member  of  the  Evangelical 
church  at  Dutch  Run,  in  which  he  took  a  very  active  and  helpful  part.  His 
death  occurred  February  23,  1906,  when  he  had  attained  the  age  of  sixty- 
seven  years.  The  mother,  who  was  likewise  a  native  of  Bavaria,  was  born  in 
August,  1842,  and  came  with  her  parents,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Henry  J.  Rahn,  to 
the  United  States  in  1849.  They  landed  at  Castle  Garden,  New  York,  on 
New  Years  day  of  that  year,  and  going  to  Buffalo,  waited  for  canal  navigation 

Digitized  by  V^OOQIC 


400  HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

to  open  that  they  might  continue  their  journey  to  Ohio.  It  was  on  the  28th 
of  December,  1862,  that  she  gave  her  hand  in  marriage  to  Lawrence  ^Miller, 
and  they  became  the  parents  of  three  sons:  H.  C,  of  this  review;  George  M., 
a  railroad  man  of  Kent,  Ohio;  and  Ed  W.,  who  is  associated  in  business  with 
our  subject.  The  mother  departed  this  life  May  13,  1906,  when  she  had 
reached  the  age  of  sixty-four  years. 

H.  C.  Miller  acquired  his  early  education  in  the  district  school^,  this 
being  supplemented  by  study  in  Dearborn  school  at  Detroit,  Michigan.  He 
remained  under  the  parental  roof  until  the  death  of  both  parents,  after  w^hich 
he  took  up  the  work  of  his  father  and  now  in  connection  with  his  brother 
he  conducts  the  old  homestead  farm,  consisting  of  two  hundred  and  ^ixty- 
six  acres  of  w^ell  improved  land  in  Tiverton  township.  In  1902,  in  connec- 
tion with  his  brother,  he  established  a  mercantile  enterprise  near  Tiverton. 
They  ^'arry  a  line  of  farm  implements,  products,  coal,  furniture,  fertilizers,  oil 
n'cal  seeds,  books,  stationery,  wall  paper  and  paints  and  their  patronage  ha< 
grown  to  large  proportions.  Both  are  men  of  push  and  enterprise  and  are 
meeting  with  excellent  success  in  their  undertakings.  Mr.  Miller  is  also  a 
stockholder  in  the  Farmers  &  Merchants  Telephone  Company  and  owui^  realty 
interests  in  Coshocton. 

Mr.  Miller  gives  his  political  support  to  the  democratic  party,  and  is  a 
member  of  the  Evangelical  church,  of  which  he  is  now  serving  as  secretary. 
He  is  also  a  member  and  the  secretary  of  Tiverton  Grange,  No.  1515.  Both 
the  brothers  are  well  known  in  Tiverton  township,  w^here  their  entire  lives 
have  been  passed,  and  in  business  circles  they  are  known  for  their  honesty 
and  integrity,  which  is  no  doubt  the  foundation  of  their  success. 


ANNA   M.    LANG. 


Anna  M.  Lang,  who  is  engaged  in  the  millinery  business  at  No.  416 
Main  street,  has  always  resided  in  Coshocton,  to  which  city  her  parents  re- 
moved in  1873.  Her  father,  Henry  C.  Lang,  was  born  near  Berlin,  Germany, 
and  on  crossing  the  Atlantic  to  the  United  States,  settled  in  Cincinnati,  Ohio, 
whence  he  came  to  Coshocton  in  1873  and  here  engaged  in  the  bakery  busi- 
ness. He  w*as  for  many  years  an  active  representative  of  commercial  enter- 
prise here  but  in  1904  withdrew  from  active  business  and  is  now  enjoying  an 
honorable  retirement  from  labor  after  acquiring  a  competence  sufficient  to 
supply  him  with  all  of  the  comforts  and  some  of  the  luxuries  of  life.  He  is 
a  veteran  of  the  Civil  war,  having  rendered  valuable  aid  to  his  adopted  coun- 
try during  the  darkest  hour  in  her  history.  He  married  Christina  Lorenz,  a 
sister  of  John  Lorenz.  She  was  a  native  of  Germany  and  died  December  4, 
1905. 

Entering  the  public  schools  Anna  M.  Lang  pursued  her  education 
through  consecutive  grades  until  she  had  taken  up  the  high-school  work. 
Entering  the  business  life  she  served  an  apprenticeship  in  a  millinery  estab- 
lishment and  her  natural  taste  and  talents  soon  enabled  her  to  become  an 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  401 

expert  in  this  line.  She  has  filled  positions  as  a  trimmer  in  various  cities  in 
the  states  of  New  York  and  Pennsylvania  and  on  the  1st  of  August,  1903,  she 
established  her  present  business,  which  has  enjoyed  a  steady  and  healthful 
growth.  She  draws  her  patrons  from  among  the  best  people  of  the  city  and 
her  millinery  house  is  recognized  as  the  leading  establishment  of  this  kind  in 
Coshocton.  She  possesses  excellent  business  ability  and  executive  force,  com- 
bined with  natural  taste  for  artistic  selection  in  the  matter  of  colors  and  mate- 
rials, and  has  in  her  store  always  the  latest  styles  and  most  attractive  millinery 
goods.  From  the  beginning  her  business  has  steadily  increased  and  has  now 
reached  large  and  profitable  proportions.  Miss  Lang  is  a  member  of  the 
Rathbone  Sisters  and  has  many  friends  both  within  and  without  that  organ- 
ization. 


DAVID    EWING. 


David  Ewing  is  the  owner  of  a  farm  of  one  hundred  and  twenty-six 
acres  in  White  Eyes  township,  constituting  the  old  homestead  property  on 
which  he  has  lived  from  the  age  of  eight  years.  He  arrived  here  in  1834  and 
is  therefore  one  of  the  oldest  settlers  of  the  county,  being  "a  witness  of  its 
growth  and  development  through  more  than  the  Psalmist^s  alloted  span  of 
life  of  three  score  years  and  ten.  His  memory  goes  back  to  the  time  when 
the  early  homes  were  largely  log  cabins  that  stood  in  the  midst  of  little  clear- 
ings made  by  the  first  settlers.  These  cabins  were  heated  with  fireplace,  while 
tallow  candles  were  used  for  lighting  purposes.  All  of  the  furnishings  were 
primitive  and  the  farm  machinery  was  very  crude  compared  with  that  in 
use  at  the  present  time.  The  farm  implements  of  today  greatly  lighten  labor 
but  the  farmers  of  a  few  decades  ago  knew  what  it  was  to  work  hard  and  per- 
fieveringly  in  tilling  the  soil  and  raising  their  crops. 

Mr.  Ewing  was  born  in  Washington  county,  Pennsylvania,  June  24, 
1826,  a  son  of  James  and  Nancy  (Lyons)  Ewing,  who  were  natives  of  Ireland 
but  came  to  America  in  early  life.  The  father,  who  was  a  millwright  by  trade, 
lived  for  some  time  in  Pennsylvania  and  then  brought  his  family  to  Coshoc- 
ton county  in  1834.  The  same  year  he  i)urehascd  a  farm  and  lived  in  a  little 
log  cabin  with  clapboard  roof  which  was  weighted  down  by  poles.  The  floor 
was  constructed  of  puncheons  and  in  one  side  of  the  room  was  an  immense 
fireplace  in  which  large  logs  could  be  burned.  There  were  no  luxuries  in 
thase  days  and  comparatively  few  comforts,  while  it  required  earnest,  persist- 
ent effort  on  the  part  of  the  pioneers  to  secure  the  necessities  of  life.  The 
Ewing  family  lived  for  several  years  in  a  pioneer  log  cabin  but  eventually  a 
more  commodious  dwelling  was  erected.  The  father  died  on  the  old  home- 
stead farm  in  1852  and  the  mother's  death  there  occurred  in  1868.  Their 
family  numbered  six  children,  of  whom  Martha,  the  wife  of  William  Winkle- 
pleck,  now  of  Nebraska,  and  David,  of  this  review,  are  the  only  ones  living. 

Mr.  Ewing  was  but  eight  years  of  age  when  he  came  with  his  parents  to 
Coshocton  comity  and  since  that  time  he  has  lived  on  the  old  homestead  farm. 


Digitized  by  ^ 


402  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

assisting  in  the  arduous  task  of  developing  the  new  fields  and  planting  the 
first  crops.  After  his  father's  death  he  purchased  the  property,  comprising 
one  hundred  and  twenty-six  acres  of  land,  and  as  the  years  have  passed  he 
has  added  many  improvements  thereto.  As  farm  machinery  has  been  im- 
proved by  modern  inventions  he  has  secured  the  better  implements  that  are 
today  seen  in  the  fields  and  in  all  of  his  farm  work  has  met  with  that  success 
which  follows  earnest,  untiring  labor.  He  makes  a  specialty  of  raising  stock 
and  this  has  added  materially  to  his  income. 

In  1852  Mr.  Ewing  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Nancy  J.  Doak,  who 
was  born  in  Washington  county,  Pennsylvania,  and  was  brought  to  this 
county  when  but  eight  weeks  old,  her  parents  making  an  overland  trip  with 
a  team  and  covered  wagon.  Her  father  purchased  land  here  and  soon  in- 
stalled his  family  in  a  little  log  cabin.  There  he  reared  his  seven  children 
but  as  the  years  passed  by  he  prospered  and  in  the  course  of  time  the  family 
were  not  only  able  to  have  the  necessities  of  life  but  also  to  enjoy  many  of 
its  comforts.  The  death  of  Mr.  Doak  occurred  in  February,  1896,  while  his 
wife  died  in  1882.  Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ewing  were  born  nine  children: 
Rebecca  A.,  born  April  15,  1853,  who  is  deceased;  Althea,  the  wife  of  E.  A. 
Swigart,  deceased;  William  D.,  whose  birth  occurred  in  1856  and  who  is  a 
resident  of  Guernsey  county;  Mar\'  E.,  the  wife  of  F.  R.  Norman,  of  Chi- 
cago, Illinois;  Emma  F.,  bom  in  1860,  who  has  also  passed  away;  Clara  L., 
whose  birth  occurred  in  18'63  and  who  is  deceased;  Estella  O.,  bom  in  1865, 
who  is  the  wife  of  Dr.  William  B.  Litton,  of  Coshocton  county;  Howard  M., 
who  was  bom  in  1871  and  now  resides  in  Coshocton,  Ohio;  and  Clarence  M., 
born  in  1874,  who  is  also  deceased. 

Mr.  Ewing  and  his  family  are  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church  and  their  Christian  faith  has  done  much  to  guide  their  lives.  In  his 
political  views  Mr.  Ewing  is  a  democrat  and  has  served  as  school  director 
and  supervisor.  He  has  now  reached  the  eighty-second  milestone  on  life's 
journey  and  receives  the  respect  of  all  his  fellowmen  because  he  has  ever 
been  honorable  and  straightforward  in  his  business  relations  and  loyal  to 
every  trust  reposed  in  him. 


HARRY    F.    RUSSELL. 

Harry  F.  Rusc^ell,  who  is  actively  engaged  in  general  farming  and  stock- 
raising  in  Lafayette  township,  was  born  in  that  township,  January  25,  1867, 
the  .-on  of  W.  A.  and  Elizabeth  (Foster)  Rassell.  His  paternal  grandfather, 
John  N.  Russell,  wt\s  born  in  Jefferson  county,  Ohio,  in  1817,  and  at  the  age 
of  twenty-one  years  wedded  Harriett  Williams,  a  native  of  Carroll  county, 
Ohio.  He  took  up  his  residence  in  that  county  on  a  farm  which  was  given 
him  as  a  wedding  gift  by  his  father,  and  resided  there  for  fifteen  years,  when 
he  sold  his  place  and  returned  to  Jefferson  county,  where  he  lived  for  tw^elve 
years.    In  1865  he  purchased  two  hundred  and  forty  acres  of  land  in  Coshoc- 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


HISTORY   OF  COSHOCTON   COUNTY  403 

ton  county,  where  he  lived  continuously  up  to  the  time  of  his  death,  which 
occurred  in  1888.  In  his  family  were  six  children,  all  of  whom  are  yet  liv- 
ing, namely:  Emily,  the  widow  of  John  Edmundson,  residing  in  Jefferson 
county;  W.  A.,  the  father  of  our  subject;  Smilda,  the  wife  of  William  Watt, 
a  resident  of  Jefferson  county ;  Susan  J.,  the  wife  of  Francis  McGuire,  living 
in  West  Lafayette;  Freeman,  a  resident  of  Guernsey  county;  and  Mrs.  Ada 
Pritchard,  who  resides  in  West  Lafayette.  In  politics  John  N.  Russell  was  a 
democrat.  Religiously  he  was  originally  a  Presbyterian,  but  at  the  time  of 
his  death  was  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church. 

W.  A.  Russell,  the  father  of  our  subject,  was  born  in  Carroll  county, 
Ohio,  December  16,  1842.  He  was  reared  on  his  father^s  farm  and  received 
a  common-school  education.  At  the  age  of  twenty-three  he  engaged  in 
farming  on  his  own  account,  renting  land  from  his  father.  This  he  con- 
tinued to  operate  for  two  and  a  half  years,  or  until  1869,  in  the  spring  of 
which  year  he  went  to  Caldwell  county,  Mi&souri,  to  investigate  the  agri- 
cultural resources  of  that  section.  He  remained  there  four  and  a  half  years, 
renting  land,  at  the  expiration  of  which  time  he  returned  to  Ohio  and  rented 
land  of  his  father  for  one  year.  He  then  bought  one  hundred  and  forty-two 
acres  of  land,  which  one  and  one-half  years  later  he  sold  for  five  thousand 
dollars.  He  next  purchased  fifty  acres  of  land  near  West  Lafayette,  Ohio, 
a  part  of  which  he  subdivided  and  sold  off  in  town  lots.  Russell  avenue, 
running  through  this  section  of  the  city,  was  named  in  honor  of  John  N. 
Russell.  He  now  owns  one  hundred  and  thirty-three  acres  of  land,  and  he 
has  given  a  farm  of  seventy-five  acres  to  our  subject. 

.  On  April  5,  1868,  W.  A.  Russell  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Eliza- 
beth Foster,  who  was  born  in  New  Comerstown,  Tuscarawas  county,  Ohio, 
June  4,  1844,  the  daughter  of  Hervey  and  Sarah  Foster.  Her  father  died 
when  she  was  an  infant  and  her  mother  was  again  married,  her  second  union 
being  with  John  Coles.  Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Russell  were  born  four  children, 
namely:  Hattie,  who  is  the  wife  of  Frank  Powell,  of  West  Lafayette,  and 
has  two  children,  Russell  and  Eugene;  Harry  F.,  of  this  review:  Anna,  who 
resides  at  home;  and  Pearl,  who  is  the  wife  of  William  Reed,  of  Coshocton, 
and  has  two  children,  William  and  Evelyn.  Mr.  Russell  casts  hw  ballot 
with  the  democratic  party  and  has  been  elected  township  clerk  for  three  terms 
and  justice  of  the  peace  for  two  terms.  He  has  been  a  member  of  the  school 
board.  Religiously,  both  he  and  his  estimable  wife  are  members  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church. 

Harry  F.  Russell  received  his  education  in  the  district  schools  of  the 
county,  which  he  attended  regularly  throughout  the  school  year  while  in  the 
primary  grades,  though  his  attendance  as  he  grew  older  was  largely  limited 
to  those  months  of  the  year  in  which  farming  operations  were  suspeoided. 
He  resided  under  the  parental  roof  with  exception  of  a  few  years  up  to  the 
time  of  his  marriage,  aiding  his  father  in  the  labors  of  the  farm.  He  went 
to  Iowa  in  1890,  spending  several  years  prospecting  in  that  state  and  in  Col- 
orado. He  now  owns  one  hundred  and  twenty-two  acres  of  land,  the  intelli- 
gent cultivation  of  which  calls  for  the  exercise  of  considerable  skill  and 
energy. 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


404  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

On  June  12,  1907,  was  celebrated  the  marriage  of  Harry  F.  Russell  and 
Miss  Lillis  Blanche  Bates,  who  wa^  born  in  Linton  township,  this  county, 
July  26,  1883,  the  daughter  of  James  and  Mary  (Burrell)  Bates.  Her  father 
is  deceased  but  her  mother  is  living  in  We^t  Lafayette  at  the  age  of  fifty-one 
years.  She  has  one  brother,  Vernon,  who  resides  at  home  with  his  mother. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Russell  are  both  members  of  the  Methodist  church.  Politically 
he  is  a  democrat. 


GEORGE    R.    CATON. 

George  R.  Caton,  residing  on  his  valuable  and  well  improved  farm  in 
White  Eyes  township,  is  a  native  of  this  towns-hip,  his  birth  having  here 
occurred  on  the  18th  of  December,  1831.  His  parents,  Thomas  and  Mary 
(Ringer)  Caton,  who  were  both  natives  of  Greene  county,  Pennsylvania,  were 
among  the  earliest  settlers  of  White  Eyes  township.  They  passed  away  in 
the  year  1845.  Of  their  family  of  nine  children,  only  three  survive,  namely: 
George  R.,  of  this  review;  Catherine,,  the  wife  of  Calvin  Ferrell,  of  Fresno, 
Ohio ;  and  Perry,  of  White  Eye.^  township. 

George  R.  Caton  was  reared  on  a  farm  in  his  native  township  and 
attended  tha  district  schools  during  the  winter  months.  When  twenty-four 
years  of  age  he  began  farming  on  his  own  account  by  renting  a  tract  of  land 
in  White  Eyes  township,  being  engaged  in  its  operation  for  six  years.  On 
the  e;cpiration  of  that  period  ho  purchased  a  farm  of  one  hundred  and  fifteen 
acres,  on  which  he  lived  for  sixteen  years,  bringing  the  land  under  a  high 
state  of  cultivation.  He  built  thereon  a  commodious  and  substantial  resi- 
dence and  good  barns  and  otherwise  improved  the.  place.  In  1876  he  pur- 
chased his  present  farm  of  one  hundred  and  twenty-four  acres  in  AVhite 
Eyes  township,  giving  considerable  attention  to  the  raising  of  cattle,  horses 
and  hogi?  in  addition  to  the  work  of  the  fields.  He  also  has  a  drove  of  two 
hundred  sheep,  and  in  both  his  farming  and  stock-raising  interests  has  met 
with  a  gratifying  and  well  merited  measure  of  success.  At  one  time  his  hold- 
ings comprised  two  hundred  and  forty  acres  of  land,  but  he  has  since  sold  a 
portion  of  this  and  now  owns  one  hundred  and  ninety  acres.  In  1902  he 
rented  his  place  and  removed  to  Fresno,  but  as  life,  on  the  farm  was  more 
congenial  to  him  and  also  ownng  to  the  fact  that  his  son  Gmnt  wished  to 
engage  in  agricultural  pursuit*,  he  returned  to  hLs  farm  in  the  spring  of 
1908.     The  place  is  now  being  conducted  by  the.  son. 

On  the  2d  of  Februar\%  1855,  Mr.  Caton  was  united  in  marriage  to 
Mi.s;s  Luoinda  McCollum,  a  native  of  Crawford  township,  Coshocton  county, 
who  passed  away  in  1905,  when  seventy-five  years  of  age.  Her  parents, 
Thomas  and  Sarah  (Hughes)  McCollum,  who  were  natives  of  Pennsylvania, 
were  early  settlers  of  Crawford  township  and  reared  a  family  of  twelve  chil- 
dren. Unto  our  subject  and  his  wife  were  born  nine  children,  namely: 
Lafayette,  of  West  Lafayette,  Ohio;  Alice,  the  wife  of  William  Patterson,  of 
Columbus,  Ohio;  Jane,  the  wife  of  John  Thomas,  of  Idaho;  Thomas,  of  the 

Digitized  by  LjOOQLC 


2 


o 
o 

p 
o 

!2! 


Digitized  by 


Google 


.-     OK  'O, 

.  jLti   ,  O       . 


Digitized  by 


Google 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  407 

Caton  Business  College,  who  makes  his  home  in  Minneapohs,  Minnesota; 
Elsworth,  residing  in  Strasburg,  Ohio;  James,  of  Parkersburg,  West  Vir- 
ginia; George,  living  in  Detroit;  Saloma,  deceased;  and  Grant,  at  home. 

In  his  political  views  Mr.  Caton  is  a  republican,  and  has  served  as  town- 
ship trustee  and  in  fact  in  all  local  township  office.-^,  ever  discharging  his 
public  duties  in  prompt  and  capable  manner.  He  is  also  acting  as  trustee 
in  the  Mejihodist  Episcopal  church,  with  which  he  has  held  membership 
relations  for  the  past  forty  years.  Having  resided  in  this  county  throughout 
his  entire  life,  or  for  a  period  of  seventy-seven  years,  he  is  well  and  favorably 
known  here  and  is  a  highly  re.-^pected  and  worthy  citizen. 


JOHN  CHRISTIAN  SPECK. 

John  Christian  Speck,  residing  on  his  valuable  and  well  improved  farm 
of  one  hundred  and  thirty-five  acres  in  Bethlehem  township,  was  born  in 
Coshocton  county,  Ohio,  March  4,  1839,  his  parent.'^  bpiii^  Jospph  and  Caro- 
line (GameiiBff'der)  Speck,  who  were  nati%'cs  of  Gen  nan  y.  When  .seventeen 
ycajs  of  age  the  father  bocaine  coiincftixl  with  the  black^rnith;^.  tnule.  which 
he  followed  for  three  yean:?,  while  subsequently  he  worked  as  a  journeyman 
for  one  3^ear.  For  six  yeurs  he  ser%'cd  in  the  German  army  and  i^iibsoquently 
was  engaged  in  selling  clocks  far  two  yean^,  but  in  183;-J  embarked  for  the 
United  States,  landing  in  New  York  after  a  voyage  of  eight  months.  From 
the  Empire  atott*  he  made  hi-i  way  to  Jefferson  lowiu^hij^  Coi^hoeton  eountyj 
and  waif  finst  employed  on  the  Ohio  state  eanaU  Later  he  entered  land  in 
Jefferson  township  and  erected  thereon  a  log  cabin  with  elapboarfl  roof, 
puncheon  floor  and  u  door  with  wooden  hiiigej^.  In  thi<  primitive  pioneer 
stmcture  he  lived  until  the  time  of  his  demise,  being  called  to  Ins  final  rest 
when  eighty -ei^ht  year^?  of  age.  Ui.s  wife  pojssed  away  in  1846.  Unto  thla 
worthy  couple  were  born  four  children:  John  ChrL-^tian  Speek  acquired  a 
oonimon%'?chool  education  and  remaiiied  under  the  parental  roof  until  he  had 
attained  his  majority.  Suli^equently  he  learn k1  the  nja^on\s  trade,  at  which 
he  worked  for  several  years  and  then  pureha.-^ed  a  steam  sawmill,  being  sue- 
ca^-^fully  engaged  in  its  uperatiun  for  twenty-five  or  thirty  yearj^.  Buying-  a 
farm  of  forty  aeri^  in  Jefferson  toivnship,  he  made  liii^  home  thereon  for  some 
time  and  on  selling  tlie  property,  purchased  a  tract  of  land  in  Monroe  town- 
ship, where  he  lived  for  four  yeai^.  On  dii^posi ng  of  that  farm  he  bought 
eighty  aere^  in  Handiusky  county,  Ohio,  but  after  two  year.s  a\^  nild  that 
place  and  removed  to  Newark,  Licking  county,  where  he  operated  a  sawmill 
for  one  year*  Duriiifj  the  following  five  year«  he  K*i^ided  on  a  farm  of  thirty 
acres  in  Belhlehoui  tovvikHhip,  and  on  selling  out  removed  to  AVarsaw,  where 
he  conducted  a  planing  mill  for  a  year.  After  deposing  of  the  milt  he 
bought  eiglity  acres  of  land  in  Tiverton  townshipj  Ca-^hocton  county*  whieh 
he  sold  after  a  residence  thereon  of  five  yeaiis.  He  then  purchased  hia 
present  place  of  one  liundrod  and  thirty-five  acres  in  Bethlehem  township, 
on  whieh  he  hii^  made  many  substantial  improvements,  including  the  erec- 


Digitized  by 


Google 


408  HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

tion  of  a  fine  holl^^e  and  barn.  In  all  of  his  undertakings  he  has  met  with  a 
gratifying  and  well  merited  measure  of  prosperity  and  is  well  known  and 
highly  esteemed  as  one  of  the  substantial  and  enterprising  citizens  of  the 
community. 

In  1859  Mr.  Speck  was  united  in  marriage  to  Mi^ss  Rosanna  Bowers, 
whose  birth  occurred  in  Coshocton  county  in  1840,  she  being  one  of  the 
seven  children  of  Christian  and  Miirgaret  Bowers,  both  of  whom  are  now  de- 
ceased. Unto  our  subject  and  his  wife  were  l)orn  ten  children,  as  follows: 
Chri;;tian  R.,  a  resident  of  Coshocton,  Ohio;  William  H.,  of  Bethlehem  town- 
ship; John,  who  has  passed  away;  Samuel  N.,  living  in  Bethlehem  township; 
Elizabeth  C,  the  wife  of  I).  F.  Xoscer,  of  Coshwton,  Ohio;  Jennie  D.,  the 
wife  of  L.  Mirote,  likewise  of  Coshoctcm;  Joseph  R.»  Tilden  O.  and  Daniel 
M.,  all  of  whom  reside  in  Coshocton;  and  Edna  L.,  the  wife  of  Guy  Leach, 
of  Coshocton.  Mrs.  Sj)eck  wtis  called  to  her  final  rest  on  the  25th  of  April, 
1908,  leaving  her  hasband  and  nine  children,  as  well  as  a  large  circle  of 
friends,  to  mourn  her  los<.  Her  remaias  were  interred  in  Blissfield  cem- 
etery. 

In  hi.s  politic*al  views  Mr.  SjK^ck  Is  a  democrat  and  his  aid  and  influence 
can  ever  be  counted  upon  to  further-  any  movement  or  measure  instituted 
for  the  general  welfare.  A  resident  of  this  county  for  more  than  two-thirds 
of  a  century,  he  has  not  only  seen  it  grow  from  a  wild  region,  with  only  a 
few  white  inhabitants,  to  a  rich  agricultural  district,  containing  thousands 
of  good  homes  and  acres  of  growing  towns,  inhabited  by  an  industrious, 
prosperous,  enlightened  and  progressive  people  but  he  has  participated  in  the 
slow,  prsistent  work  of  development  which  was  necessary  to  produce  a  change 
which  is  so  complete  that  it  has  come  to  be  popularly  referred  to  as  magical. 


STEPHEN    F.    DAWSON. 

Stephen  F.  Dawson,  who  follows  farming  on  a  finely  improved  tract  of 
land  comprising  three  hundred  and  twenty-five  acres,  situated  in  Franklin 
township,  occupies  one  of  the  finest  country  homes  in  the  ^luskingum  valley. 
Ho  is  a  native  son  of  Coshocton  county,  born  November  29,  1856,  in  Virginia 
township,  a  son  of  Moses  and  Sarah  (Wright)  Dawson,  who  were  likewise 
natives  of  this  county,  where  the  father  engaged  in  general  agricultural  pur- 
suit<. 

Stephen  F.  Dawson  acquired  hLs  education  in  the  district  schools  near 
his  fathers  home,  attending  these  during  the  winter  months,  while  in  the 
summer  seasons  he  as-isted  in  the  cultivation  and  care  of  the  crops.  AVhen 
he  began  life  on  hLs  own  account  he  engaged  in  farming  near  the  old  home- 
stead property  and  in  1888  purchased  the  farm  on  which  he  now  makes  his 
home.  This  tract  is  well  improved  with  substantial  outbuildings  for  the 
shelter  of  grain  and  stock,  while  the  home  Is  one  of  the  mast  beautiful  of 
modern  residences  in  the  entire  Muskingum  valley.     Mr.  Dawson  gives  his 

Digitized  by  LjOOQLC 


HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  409 

time  and  attention  to  general  farming  and  in  his  work  is  meeting  with-  un- 
bounded success. 

Mr.  Dawson  established  a  home  of  his  own  when,  on  the  31st  of  October, 
1879,  he  led  to  the  marriage  altar  Miss  Alice  Miller,  a  daughter  of  Charles 
and  Margaret  (Miller)  Miller.  She  has  proved  to  her  husband  a  faithful 
companion  and  helpmate  and  by  her  marriage  has  become  the  mother  of 
four  children:  Ch€irles;  Lina,  now  the  wife  of  William  Ehrich,  associate 
editor  of  the  Zanesville  Times-Recorder;  Grace;  and  Earl. 

Mr.  Dawson  is  a  democrat  in  his  political  views  and  affiliations  and  he 
takes  a  very  active  interest  in  public  affairs.  In  November,  1891,  he  was 
elected  treasurer  of  Coshocton  county  and  through  reelection  served  four 
years.  He  then  served  for  one  year  as  deputy  county  treasurer  and  during  this 
term  resided  in  Coshocton.  He  has  also  filled  the  office  of  township  trustee, 
justice  of  the  peace  and  has  served  on  the  Conesville  district  school  board.  His 
record  in  public  service  has  been  one  of  unremitting  and  tireless  toil  and  has 
been  in  the  interest  of  the  people.  His  religious  faith  is  indicated  by  his 
membership  in  the  Christian  church.  He  is  numbered  among  the  leading, 
influential  and  honored  citizena  of  Coshocton  county.  In  every  official 
capacity  in  which  he  has  ser\'ed  he  has  been  faithful  to  the  trust  reposed  in 
him  and  this  is  the  best  recommendation  any  man  can  have  for  future  refer- 
ence. 


JOHN   R.    MAPEL. 


John  R.  Mapel,  chief  of  police  of  Coshocton,  was  born  in  Wheeling 
township,  Guernsey  county,  Ohio,  October  18,  1859,  a  son  of  David  and 
Sarah  E.  (Ross)  Mapel,  the  former  born  in  Jefferson  county,  January  12, 
1830,  and  the  latter  in  Guernsey  county,  Ohio.  David  Mapel  was  but  two 
years  old  when  his  parents  removed  to  Coshocton  county,  settling  on  the 
farm  at  Linton  township,  where  he  was  reared  amid  the  wild  scenes  and  con- 
ditions of  pioneer  life.  He  aided  in  the  arduous  task  of  opening  up  the  home 
farm,  and  when  he  was  married  in  1878  he  continued  to  engage  in  farming 
in  Linton  township.  At  the  time  of  the  Civil  war  he  joined  the  Union  army 
and  served  for  nine  months.  He  is  now  living  retired  in  the  city  of  Coshoc- 
ton, enjoying  a  rest  which  he  has  truly  earned  and  richly  deserves. 

John  R.  Mapel  was  reared  at  home,  acquiring  his  education  in  the  dis- 
trict schools,  and  on  reaching  manhood  he  began  farming  on  his  own  ac- 
count, being  identified  with  that  pursuit  until  March,  1894,  when  he  came  to 
Coshocton.  For  four  years  after  his  arrival  in  the  city  he  was  connected 
with  various  lines  of  business,  and  on  April  16,  1898,  he  was  appointed  a 
member  of  the  city  police  force.  After  two  years  as  a  patrolman  he  was 
elected  marshal,  and  two  years  later  was  reelected  to  the  office.  During  his 
last  term  the  village  was  incorporated  as  a  city,  and  with  its  advance,  in 
1903,  Mr.  Mapel  was  made  chief  of  police,  in  which  position  he  has  ably 
served.  He  stands  fearlessly  for  law  and  order,  and  his  efforts  in  this  con- 
nection have  been  far-reaching  and  beneficial. 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


410  HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

0»i  the  ritli  of  September,  1878,  Mr.  Mapel  was  married  to  Miss  Lucinda 
A.  Klee,  of  Guerii^sey  eouiUy,  Ohio.  They  became  the  parents  of  five  chil- 
dren, of  whom  four  are  yet  living,  namely:  Neva  Caroline,  the  wife  of  Roy 
Carnas,  of  Coshocton;  Carrie  M.,  the  wife  of  Charkvs  Campbell,  a  machinist 
of  Columbus,  Ohio;  (leorge  W.,  who  is  living  in  Coshocton  and  John  Ralph 
at  home.  The  wife  and  mother  died  June  25,  1900,  and  October  14,  1-907, 
Mr.  Ma{)el  was  married  to  Mrs.  Eva  Cluff,  nee  HarrLs. 

Mr.  Mapel  is  a  member  of  the  Cosh(K*ton  lodge,  A.  F.  &  A.  M.;  Samar- 
itan Chapter,  No.  50,  R.  A.  M.;  Coshocton  Connnandery,  No.  63,  K.  T.;  the 
Consistory  at  Columbus;  the  Order  of  the  Eastern  Star,  Aladin  Temple,  A. 
A.  O.  N.  M.  S.  at  Columbius.  He  is  likewise  connected  with  the  Modern 
Woodmen  of  America,  and  the  Ohio  Police  A.ssociation  and  is  a  member  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  He  is  true  and  loyal  to  the  teachings  of 
the  craft  and  to  his  professions  in  other  relations  of  life,  and  as  an  officer  he 
has  made  an  excellent  record,  his  sen'ices  a-  chief  of  police  being  creditable 
to  hims<4f  and  highly  satisfactory  to  his  fellow  townsmen.  At  Dayton  at 
the  meeting  of  Police  Association  he  was  voted  as  the  banner  horse  thief 
catcher  of  Ohio. 


W.    H.    PARK. 


\V.  H.  Park,  now  postmaster  at  Fresno,  was  born  near  Ottawa  City, 
Canada,  December  27,  1885,  and  is  a  son  of  William  and  Mary  Ann  (Boyd) 
Park,  natives  of  County  Tyrone,  Irehuid,  and  of  Scotch-Irish  descent.  They 
were  reared  and  married  on  the  Emerald  island  and  it  was  about  1826  that 
they  crossed  the  Atlantic  and  settled  in  Canada.  The  father,  who  was  a 
farmer  by  occupation,  died  during  the  infancy  of  our  subject,  and  in  1858 
the  mother  brought  her  family  to  Coshocton  county.  Here  she  passed  away 
in  1878  and  wa-^  laid  to  rest  in  Keene  township.  There  were  four  children 
but  only  two  of  the  number  are  now  living,  the  other  being  Samuel,  a  resi- 
dent of  White  Eyes  townshi[). 

W.  H.  Park,  the  younger  son,  receivinl  a  connnon-school  education  and 
remained  at  home  with  hi>  mother  until  reaching  manhood.  For  twelve 
years  he  engaged  in  teaching  school  during  the  winter  months,  working  at 
the  carpenter's  trade  during  the  sununer.  In  1853  he  became  a  resident  of 
this  c^)unty  as  [)reviously  stated  and  imrchased  a  farm  in  White  Eyes  town- 
ship, to  the  improvement  and  cultivation  of  which  he  devoted  his  energies 
until  1808,  when  he  removed  to  Fre>no.  During  the  Civil  war  he  entered 
the  one-hundred  day  service,  enlisting  in  June,  18G4,  as  a  member  of  Com- 
pany II,  One  Hundred  and  Forty-third  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry,  and  he 
was  appointed  first  sergeant  of  his  company.  He  was  sent  to  General  Grant's 
headquarters,  then  holding  the  brea.stworks  in  Virginia,  and  was  also  at  Fort 
Pocahontas  for  a  time.  His  term  of  enlistment  having  expired,  he  was 
mustered  out  at  Columbus,  Ohio,  and  returned  to  his  home  in  this  county, 
where  he  ha-:  resided  continuouslv  since. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  411 

On  the  19th  of  April,  1859,  Mr.  Park  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss 
Nancy  J.  Ro.s.s,  who  was  born  in  Holmes  county,  Ohio,  in  1832,  and  was  a 
daughter  of  Randall  and  Eliza  (Boone)  Ross,  the  mother  being  a  relative  of 
Daniel  Boone.  In  the  Ross  family  were  eleven  children.  Unto  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Park  were  born  five  sons,  namely:  Wilber  F.  and  James  R.,  both  of 
whom  reside  in  this  county;  Samuel  H.,  deceased;  George  J.,  who  makes  his 
home  in  Chicago,  Illinois;  and  John  B.,  a  resident  of  Belmont  county,  Ohio. 
The  mother  of  these  children  died  June  6,  1898,  and  Mr.  Park  was  again 
married  December- 18,  1901,  his  second  union  being  with  Mrs.  Margaret 
(Phillabaum)  Cutchall,  a  daughter  of  George  Phillabaum.  She  was  born 
in  white  Eyes  township  in  1853  and  is  one  of  a  family  of  ten  children. 

In  politics  Mr.  Park  is  a  republican,  and  for  the  past  three  years  he  has 
served  as  postma^^ter  of  Fresno,  an  office  he  is  most  creditably  and  satisfac- 
torily filling.  Religiously  he  is  a  member  of  the  United  Presbyterian  church 
of  Fresno,  while  his  wife  is  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church. 


CHARLES    ASH    LAMBERSON. 

Charles  Ash  Lambercsou,  prominent  because  of  his  activity  in  business 
and  political  circles,  is  a  representative  of  one  of  the  old  families  of  Coshoc- 
ton county.  He  was  born  at  Canal  Lewisville,  September  7,  1861.  His 
father,  Sanmel  Lamberson,  a  native  of  Virginia,  came  to  Coshocton  county 
with  his  parents  in  his  childhood  days  and  for  over  forty  years  figured  prom- 
inently in  the  commercial  life  of  the  community  as  proprietor  of  a  general 
mercantile  establishment.  At  one  time  he  was  also  owner  of  the  Empire  mill 
at  Ro-coe  and  his  business  affairs  were  of  a  character  that  contributed  to  the 
material  upbuilding  of  the  community  as  well  as  to  his  individual  success. 
He  died  February  14,  1892,  having  for  more  than  three  decades  survived 
his  wife,  who  pa^^sed  away  September  7,  1861.  She  bore  the  maiden  name  of 
Cornelia  Ash  and  was  a  native  of  Delaware  City,  Delaware,  and  a  represent- 
ative of  a  prominent  family  of  that  section. 

Charles  A.  Lamberson  as  a  student  in  the  public  schools  of  Coshocton 
prosecuted  his  studies  until  he  completed  the  high-school  course  by  graduation 
as  a  member  of  the  class  of  1879.  His  initial  step  in  the  business  world  was 
made  as  deputy  county  auditor,  entering  upon  the  duties  of  that  position 
May  1,  1881.  He  thus  served  until  September  20,  1891,  and  in  the  office 
gained  a  thorough  understanding  of  the  necessity  for  systematic,  well  regu- 
lated work.  His  training  in  that  regard  proved  of  much  assistance  to  him  in 
the  discharge  of  his  duties  as  a  general  bookkeeper  in  the  Commercial  Bank, 
wliich  [>a-ition  he  filled  for  three  years,  or  until  1894.  He  was  then  again 
called  to  public  office,  being  appointed  United  States  deputy  internal  revenue 
collector,  with  headquarters  at  Springfield,  Ohio,  where  he  remained  until 
1898.  In  that  year  he  was  a  candidate  for  the  office  of  county  auditor  on 
the  democratic  ticket  and  was  elected  and  served  from  October,  1899,  until 
October,  1905.  his  reelections  coming  to  him  as  the  expression  of  popular  ap- 

Digitized  by  LjOOQIC 


412  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON  COUNTY 

proval,  trust  and  good  will.  In  October,  1906,  he  bought  out  the  well  known 
insurance  agency  of  Robert  Boyd  and  conducted  *the  business  under  the  name 
of  the  C.  A.  Lamberson  Insurance  Agency  until  May,  1907,  when  he  sold  a 
half  interest  to  Carl  R.  Herbig,  and  the  present  firm  of  Lamberson  &  Herbig 
was  then  formed.  Their  business  is  represented  by  a  large  figure  annually 
and  in  addition  to  this  Mr.  Lamberson  is  largely  interested  in  the  develop- 
ment of  the  Guernsey  county  coal  fields,  which  show  great  promise.  He  is 
not  unknown  in  political  circles  and  in  fact  is  regarded  as  a  democratic 
leader  in  his  county  and  district.  His  labors  in  behalf  of  the  party  have  been 
far-reaching  and  effective  and  he  is  unfaltering  in  his  support  of  those  prin- 
ciples which  he  believes  are  most  conducive  to  good  government. 

On  the  5th  of  August,  1889,  was  celebrated  the  marriage  of  Mr.  Lam- 
berson and  Miss  Nannie  D.  Hay,  a  daughter  of  Jackson  Hay,  a  former  presi- 
dent of  the  Commercial  Bank  of  Coshocton.  They  have  three  children :  Cor- 
nelia, Helen  and  Ruth.  The  family  are  prominent  socially  and  their  own 
home  is  most  attractive  by  reason  of  its  warm-hearted  hospitality.  Mr.  Lam- 
berson is  an  interested  and  active  member  of  Coshocton  Lodge,  No.  376,  B. 
P.  0.  E.,  in  which  he  has  served  as  exalted  ruler.  With  the  exception  of  a  brief 
period  his  entire  life  has  been  passed  in  Coshocton  county  and  his  own  rec- 
ord has  fully  sustained  the  honorable  reputation  which  has  always  been  asso- 
ciated with  the  family  name  since  his  grandparents  came  to  this  county 
in  pioneer  times. 


GEORGE  S.  HASKINS. 

Since  1904  George  S.  Haskins  has  made  his  home  on  a  well  improved 
and  highly  developed  farm,  comprising  one  hundred  acre?*  situated  in  Ta^^- 
carawas  township.  He  was  born  in  Gallia  county,  Ohio,  March  16,  1847, 
a  son  of  Joseph  and  Rachel  (Austin)  Haskins,  both  of  whom  were  natives 
of  the  eastern  part  of  Virginia.  The  father  followed  varioas  occupa- 
tions. The  son  acquired  his  education  in  the  district  schools,  which,  how- 
ever, was  somewhat  limited,  partly  owing  to  the  unsettled  condition  of  the 
country  and  partly  because  from  an  early  age  he  had  to  provide  for  his  own 
support.  At  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  war  he  offered  his  services  to  the 
government  and  on  the  23d  of  September,  1863,  became  a  member  of  Com- 
pany D,  Fifth  West  Virginia  Infantry,  which  was  later  consolidated  with  an- 
other regiment  and  called  the  First  West  Virginia  Veterans.  He  was  in  many 
important  engagements  and  on  the  18th  of  October,  1864,  was  wounded  in 
the  battle  of  Winchester.  He  served  until  the  close  of  hostilities  and  wa« 
mustered  out  on  the  21st  of  July,  1865,  having  made  a  most  creditable  mili- 
tary record. 

When  the  country  no  longer  needed  his  services,  Mr.  Haskins  returned 
to  Crown  City,  Ohio,  and  engaged  in  farming.  He  there  remained  until 
1888,  when  he  removed  to  Arkansas,  where  he  farmed  and  praspected  for 
gold,  but  not  meeting  with  success  in  this  undertaking  he  once  more  returned 

Digitized  by  LjOOQIC 


.\ 


HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON  COUNTY  413 

to  Ohio,  locating  in  La^vTence  county,  where  he  spent  several  years  at  work 
in  the  mines  and  mills.  In  October,  1898,  he  took  up  his  abode  in  Cashoc- 
ton  county,  working  in  the  mines  near  Coshocton  until  1904,  in  which  year 
he  resumed  farming  pursuits.  He  today  owns  and  operates  a  well  improved 
farm  of  one  hundred  acres,  situated  in  Tuscarawas  township,  which  is  now  un- 
der a  high  state  of  cultivation.  He  is  carrying  on  general  farming  and  in 
his  work  follows  modern  methods  of  agriculture,  so  that  his  efforts  are  re- 
warded with  excellent  success. 

Mr.  Haskins  was  married  October  5,  1873,  to  Miss  Eliza  Rowe,  a  daugh- 
ter of  Lloyd  and  Warena  (Adkins)  Rowe,  of  Lawrence  county,  this  state. 
The  marriage  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Haskins  has  been  blessed  with  ten  children, 
as  follows:  William  H.,  who  for  several  years  was  president  of  the  United 
Mine  Workers  of  Ohio;  Charles  E. ;  Manford;  Lewis;  Bertha;  Edward;  Cora, 
who  has  departed  this  life ;  Frederick ;  Carl ;  and  Lowell,  who  is  also  deceased. 

Mr.  Haskins  is  a  republican  in  his  political  views  and  affiliations  and  at 
various  times  has  served  as  school  director,  but  otherwise  has  filled  no  public 
office.  He  is  a  well  informed  man,  keeping  in  close  touch  with  the  current 
events  of  the  day,  while  in  his  business  aflfairs  he  displays  that  enterprising 
and  progressive  spirit  whi<jh  everywhere  wins  success. 


JOHN  L.  SMITH. 


John  L.  Smith,  who  is  a  prosperous  agriculturist  of  Tiverton  township, 
was  also  a  veteran  in  the  Civil  war,  and  the  loyalty  which  he  displayed  in 
defense  of  his  country  is  still  manifest  by  the  interest  which  he  displays 
in  the  affairs  of  his  community.  Mr.  Smith  was  bom  in  Holmes  county, 
September  9,  1847,  a  son  of  William  and  Elizabeth  (Lepley)  Smith.  The 
former  was  a  native  of  New  Jersey  and  in  early  life  followed  the  shoemaker's 
trade  in  connection  with  farming.  He  came  to  Ohio  at  a  very  early  day  and 
as  the  state  and  township  developed  became  a  wealthy  man.  The  mother 
was  bom  in  Pennsylvania  and  both  she  and  the  father  are  now  deceased. 
Their  family  numbered  ten  children:  Jacob,  a  farmer  of  Adams  county, 
Iowa;  Adam,  William,  Margaret,  Barbara,  Laban  and  Simon,  all  of  whom 
have  departed  this  life;  Peter,  a  gardener  of  Andrews,  Indiana;  Jasper,  who 
makes  his  home  in  Tiverton  township;  and  John  L.,  of  this  review. 

John  L.  Smith  spent  his  boyhood  and  youth  in  much  the  usual  manner 
of  farm  lads  of  that  early  period,  working  in  the  fields  during  the  spring 
and  summer  months,  while  in  the  winter  seasons,  when  his  servicas  were 
not  required  on  the  farm,  he  pursued  his  studies  in  the  district  schools.  He 
remained  at  home  until  he  was  almost  seventeen  years  of  age  when,  his  pat- 
riotic spirit  being  aroused  by  the  continued  attempt  of  the  south  to  over- 
throw the  Union,  he  offered  his  services  to  the  government.  He  enlisted  at 
Fort  Wayne,  becoming  a  member  of  the  Tenth  Indiana  Regiment  and  when 
his  term  of  service  had  expired  he  reenlisted,  becoming  a  member  of  Com- 
pany K,   One  Hundred  and  Thirty-ninth   Indiana  Regiment.     He  partici-^ 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


414  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

pated  in  the  battles  of  Nashville,  and  followed  the  rebel  general  Hood  on  his 
raid  through  east  Tennessee.  He  also  took  part  in  the  battles  of  Mobile  and 
Peter:5burg.  He  was  never  wounded  but  was  ill,  spending  four  days  in  the 
hospital  in  Louisville,  Kentucky,  in  1864.  He  was  at  the  front  altogether 
thirty-two  months,  and  during  this  time  displayed  the  valor  and  loyalty  of 
many  a  veteran  of  older  years. 

When  his  services  were  no  longer  needed  at  the  front,  Mr.  Smith  re- 
turned to  Coshocton  county  and  after  spending  a  brief  period  here  started 
west  in  the  hope  of  benefiting  his  health.  He  walked  through  Indiana,  Illi- 
nois and  Iowa,  and  after  spending  a  year  in  various  sections  of  the  west  he 
returned  once  more  to  Coshocton  county  and  began  farming  in  Tiverton 
township.  He  now  owns  seventy-five  acres  of  well  improved  land  and  in 
addition  to  raising  the  various  cereals  adapted  to  soil  and  climate  he  follows 
carpentering.  He  erected  a  nice  house  on  his  farm  and  has  built  barns  and 
sheds  to  protect  his  grain  and  stock  and  thus  has  made  many  needed  improve- 
ments. He  keeps  Jersey  cows  and  raises  draft  horses,  and  this  branch  of  his 
business  is  proving  a  profitable  undertaking. 

Mr.  Smith  has  been  twice  married.  His  first  union  was  with  Miss 
Mollie  Workman,  by  whom  he  had  a  son,  but  both  are  now  deceased.  He 
later  chose  as  a  companion  and  helpmate  Delilah  Parsons  and  this  union 
was  blessed  with  three  children:  Libbie,  the  wife  of  C.  E.  Day,  a  general 
merchant  of  Tiverton;  Mollie,  who  is  deceased;  and  Ollie  V.,  the  wife  of 
Pefry  A.  Barnes,  who  is  on  the  farm  with  Mr.  Smith. 

Politically,  Mr.  Smith  is  a  democrat  and  for  three  years  served  as  jus- 
tice of  the  peace.  He  has  served  at  various  times  as  land  appraiser,  has  twice 
been  elected  township  assessor,  and  was  recently  elected  county  commis- 
sioner on  the  democratic  ticket.  Mr.  Smith  and  his  family  hold  member- 
ship in  the  Christian  church,  with  which  he  has  been  affiliated  for  about 
forty-five  years.  His  fraternal  relations  are  with  the  Independent  Order  of 
Odd  Fellows  at  Brinkhaven.  Not  only  has  the  subject  of  this  sketch  seen 
Coshocton  county  grow  from  an  unimproved  region,  with  only  a  few  scat- 
tered settlers,  to  a  rich  agricultural  district,  but  he  has  been  an  active  partici- 
pant in  the  work  of  improvement  and  progress  that  has  been  carried  forward 
and  today  rejoices  in  what  has  been  accomplished.  He  is  one  of  the  sub- 
stantial citisjens  of  this  part  of  the  county  and  is  held  in  high  esteem  by  all 
with  whom  he  is  brought  in  contact. 


PETER    HARBOLD. 


In  an  analyzation  of  the  character  and  life  work  of  Peter  Harbold  we 
note  many  of  the  characteristics  which  have  marked  the  German  nation 
for  many  centuries, — the  perseverance,  reliability,  energy  and  unconquerable 
determination  to  pursue  a  course  that  has  been  marked  out.  It  is  these  sterling 
qualities  which  have  gained  to  Peter  Harbold  success  in  life  and  made  him 
one  of  the  .substantial  and  valued  citizens  of  Coshocton  county.     He  was 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


> 

O 


Digitized  by 


Google 


'^^ 


Digitized  by 


Google 


HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  417 

boru  in  Prussia,  February  28,  1852,  a  son  of  John  and  Elizabeth  (Beer) 
Harbold,  who  were  likewise  natives  of  Prussia,  whence  they  came  to  Amer- 
ica in  1856,  at  which  time  they  located  in  Tuscarawas  county,  Ohio,  where 
they  made  their  home  for  a  time  but  later  came  to  Coshocton  county,  where 
the  father  passed  away.  The  mother,  however,  died  in  Missouri.  Their 
union  was  blessed  with  eight  children:  Jacob,  of  Tuscaraw^as  county;  Fred- 
erick and  Elizabeth,  who  have  departed  this  life;  Catharine,  who  makes  her 
home  in  Muskingum  county;  Peter,  of  this  review;  Adam  and  Caroline,  who 
have  passed  away;  and  one  who  died  in  infancy. 

Peter  Harbold  was  a  little  lad  of  four  years  when  he  was  brought  by 
his  parents  from  his  native  country  to  the  Buckeye  state.  He  acquired  a 
common-school  education  and  remained  at  home  until  he  reached  man^s 
estate,  when  he  was  married  to  Miss  Josephine  Rhodenstine,  who  was  born 
in  this  state,  a  daughter  of  Charles  and  Gertrude  Rhodenstine,  whose  family 
numbered  eight  children.  The  marriage  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Harbold  w^as 
blessed  with  six  children,  as  follows:  Charles;  Peter,  Jr.;  Fred;  August, 
deet^iised:  Williiiiu,  nf  Gnera'^L^y  euunty,  Ohio;  und  George,  who  ha^  nho  de- 
parted this  lift'.  The  wife  and  mother  dipd  in  1884  iind  Mr.  Harbold  was 
agaifi  married,  hi.-  .second  union  bein^  with  El  ma  He^lip,  who  Wits  born  in 
Cochoeton  f^onnty,  Mareh  21,  18H7,  a  daughter  of  Ja^eph  nnd  Halter  (Lov- 
i;'ll)  Ifej^lip,  wlio  are  mentioned  below.  Mrs.  Harbold  hiu^  become  the 
mother  of  eight  children,  of  whom  two  died  in  infancy,  thos*»  *ur\nving 
being  Henry  T.,  Clarence  A.,  Sarah  E.,  Laura  E.  and  Walter  L.,  Martha 
E.  ii=  al-so  deceased. 

Following  his  fir^tt  marriage  Mr.  Harbold  engaged  in  farming  and 
thrnngh  liard  work,  Mconnrny  and  detennint-Hl  pnr|r<"»^e  has  [tro^^pored  until 
he  m  today  the  owner  of  two  hundred  and  ten  acras^  ?iituated  in  Linton  town- 
ship. He  i^  engaged  in  genera!  farming  and  follows  the  most  practical  and 
modern  method^  in  hl^  work*  ^^o  that  ho  \^  meeting  with  excellent  success, 
each  year  adding  to  h\i<  financial  re^^oyrcT.^. 

ifr.  Ilarhold  gives  his  political  support  to  the  republican  party  bnt  hti.^ 
never  a^^pired  to  public  office,  feeling  that  his  time  h  needed  in  his  private 
affair.-.  FFe  and  his  wife  are  devoted  menibei^  of  the  Methndi:=t  Prote??tant 
church.  They  am  estimable  people  who  lead  honest,  upright  lives  and  coni- 
ninnd  niiiform  ra^^peet  and  regard  in  the  community  in  wbieh  they  make 
their  home. 


JOSEPTT    TTE8LTR 


Jopieph  TTe-^lip,  now  dtTea.^c<l,  wa*^  a  native  of  Linton  town^'liifj.  rrv-^lioc- 
ton  eouTity,  wlterc  for  n  long  period  lie  wa.<  identified  with  agricnlhiral  in- 
tei'egts^.  The  family  originated  in  Tonnly  Durham.  England,  where  they 
owned  an  ei^tate  railed  Ecrryhill  and  spelled  the  name  Haf^lop.  The  pater- 
nal ^rcat*i;raiidfather  nf  uur  snbji^  t  wa,^  John  TTa-lo[K  while  tlir  y»a!eriial 
grandfather    wa^    Jo.^epli     TFa-'^lojj,     wbo    ^va.-*    born     in     County     Dnrliain, 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


'.V  ^  '    ''        ' 


o.  -  \ 


Digitiz 


Sr^^r^-- ^-t?  ^,^^- J^S' ;f ^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 

ship   '"^theT'^'  ^ooJ;'''-'«^e  ju^    ,  ^  ^-  >UuJ  \\;  /'>as,.  ;'"'"    r/,., 


418  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

England,  in  the  month  of  March,  sometime  between  the  years  1697  and 
1700.  His  father  died  when  he  wa.<  quite  young,  after  which  the  mother 
married  again  and  had  two  or  three  daught-ers  by  her  second  union.  After 
the  mother  married  a  second  time  the  son  Joseph  left  home  and  at  the  age 
of  eighteen  years  enlisted  as  a  soldier  in  the  English  army.  He  was  in  the 
battle  of  Fontenoy  and  many  others  on  the  European  continent.  He  was 
later  with  the  army  in  Ireland  and  was  discharged  upon  the  establishment 
of  Belfast  in  County  Down,  having  served  altogether  for  about  fifty  years. 
Joseph  Haslop  was  once  married,  his  first  union  being  in  1814  with  Ellen 
Wolgeaumott,  a  resident  of  Wayne  county,  Ohio.  He  then  settled  in  Ferry- 
ville,  this  state.  His  children  w^ere  as  follows:  John;  Thomas,  who  died  at 
the  age  of  sixteen  years;  Joseph;  Betsey;  Nancy;  Susan;  Ellen;  Sarah; 
Jane;  and  William,  w^ho  died  May  9,  1852. 

John  Heslip,  the  father  of  our  subject,  at  the  age  of  nine  years  was 
bound  out  to  learn  the  shoemaker^s  trade.  He  later  went  to  Belfast  to  better 
prepare  himself  in  his  work.  He  was  married  in  County  Antrim,  Ireland,  at 
the  age  of  twenty-tw^o  years,  to  Elizabeth  McKuwn,  after  which  he  emi- 
grated with  his  brothers  Thomas  and  Joseph  to  the  United  States,  the  year 
1782  witnessing  their  arrival  on  American  shores.  The  brother  Joseph 
sailed  from  Baltimore  and  was  never  after  heard  from.  Thomas  was  mar- 
ried to  a  lady  in  Philadelphia  and  there  engaged  in  the  shoe  basiness  in 
partnership  with  a  Mr.  Miller  but  died  soon  after,  leaving  a  daughter  Susan. 
John  Haslip  established  his  home  in  Baltimore,  Maryland,  and  there  worked 
as  a  tanner  and  shoemaker  for  many  years,  being  employed  by  a  Mr.  Wil- 
son. At  the  end  of  tw^elve  years'  service  he  formed  a  partnership  with  Rob- 
ert Buchanan  and  conducted  a  shoe  business  for  several  yeara,  when  the 
partnership  was  dissolved  and  his  son  John  was  admitted  to  the  firm.  He 
retired  from  business  in  1812,  after  which  the  son  John,  in  connection  wnth 
his  brother-in-law%  William  Jefferson,  carried  on  a  successful  business  until 
1833,  so  that  altogether  the  family  was  connected  with  the  shoe  trade  in 
Baltimore  for  a  half  century.  The  father  became  a  very  successful  man, 
being  worth  at  the  time  of  his  death  fifty  thousand  dollars.  His  children 
were  as  follow\s:  Joseph  w^as  the  oldest.  Thomas  studied  medicine  and  was 
graduated  from  the  University  of  Maryland,  after  which  he  engaged  in 
practice  in  Ohio  for  two  years.  He  died  here  and  was  buried  at  Ferrjnnlle. 
Nancy  married  William  Vance,  a  native  of  Scotland  and  a  resident  of  Bal- 
timore, by  whom  she  had  two  sons  and  one  daughter  but  the  sons  are  now 
deceased.  Mr.  Vance  bought  a  tract  of  land  in  Belmont  county,  to  which 
he  removed  in  1883.  Betsey  msirried  William  Jefferson,  a  native  of  Mary- 
land, by  whom  she  had  three  sons  and  four  daughters.  He  is  a  wealthy 
landholder,  owing  nine  hundred  acres  in  Illinois.  John  is  the  owner  of 
five  hundred  acres  of  land  in  Illinois.  Mary  married  Robert  Harbison,  a 
native  of  Ireland,  by  whom  she  ha*'  four  sons  and  four  daughters.  They 
have  lived  in  Ohio  since  1829. 

Joc^eph  Heslip,  the  immediate  subject  of  this  review,  was  born  in  Lin- 
ton tow^nship,  where  he  spent  his  entire  life.  He  was  married  to  Miss 
Hester  Lovell,  who  was  born  in  the  Buckeye  state.     Their  family  numbered 


Digitized  by 


Google 


HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON    COUNTY  '     419 

eight  children:  Lydia,  William  and  Lizzie,  all  at  home;  Elma,  now  Mrs. 
Harbold;  Matilda,  the  wife  of  Jamas  Whorten,  of  Guernsey  county,  Ohio; 
and  three  who  have  passed  away.  The  father  died  in  1883  but  the  mother 
is  still  living.  Mr.  Heslip  was  numbered  among  the  old  and  honored  citi- 
zens of  this  section  of  the  state  and  though  a  quarter  of  a  century  has  passed 
since  he  was  called  from  this  life,  his  memory  is  yet  cherished  in  the  hearts 
of  many. 


SAM  E.   VAIL. 


Sam  E.  Vail,  of  Coshocton,  was  one  of  the  promoters  and  is  the  president 
of  The  Vail  Company,  his  associate  officers  being:  J.  B.  Ballon,  secretary 
and  treasurer,  with  offices  in  New  York  city;  R.  S.  Thompson,  assistant  sec- 
retary and  superintendent,  who  with  W.  A.  Himebaugh  and  E.  0.  Selby 
constitute  the  board  of  directors.  Mr.  Vail  was  born  in  Findlay,  Ohio,  May 
3,  1863,  and  has  been  a  resident  of  this  state  all  his  life.  At  the  age  of 
fifteen  years  he  entered  a  newspaper  officr*  as  ii  printer?*  **deviF*  and  has  h<>on 
COILS  tan  tlv  engaged  in  tijo  snni^  1j  ranch  nf  the  iK^Wi^paper  or  printing  lia-^i- 
ness,  either  in  the  meehanieaL  busint^s  or  tnlitorial  dt^fmrtniiaits,  to  the  pres- 
ent time.  He  is  married  and  has  one  son.  Merl  P.,  uow  iu^ocialed  with  him 
in  the  Vail  Cominiiiy. 

The  Vail  Comjiany  ii<  one  of  the  newi^r  iiidustries  of  Co^hoc^ton,  having 
moved  its  plant  to  this  cit}"  Imm  Cleveland  on  May  1,  1905.  Itj3  line  is  a 
specialized  industry,  it  beting  the  only  coneeni  in  the  connty  en  gained  exclu- 
sively in  machine  bonk  cinnfiosition  and  electroplating.  The  company  was 
attracted  to  Coshocton  because  of  it«  location,  being  central  to  trade  in  the 
territory  lying  east  of  the  ML^iss^ippi  river;  becaui?e  of  it^  fine  freight,  oxpreA^ 
and  mail  facilities;  because  of  it^  cheap  gas  and  electric  power,  its  excellent 
banks,  the  progra^^ive  spirit  of  its  citizens,  and  its  general  advantages  as  a 
place  of  residence  for  intelligent  and  expert  workmen.  The  move  ha^  more 
than  met  every  expectation  of  the  conipany. 

In  the  old  days  books  were  put  into  tyyie  by  hand  with  movable  nrnl  in- 
dividual types,  and  a  very  <]u\\  und  expensive  method,  but  the  only  one, 
hmvever,  till  Olt  Mergentlinlcr  [pcrfecterl  the  linotype  machine  some  fifteen 
years  ago.  NoWj  not  only  nearly  all  of  the  tyj^esetting  for  books,  but  prac- 
tically all  of  the  typesetting  for  newspaper::  [e  performed  upon  this  machine, 
one  operator  of  which  will  turn  out  :is  much  matter  ready  for  the  pn\ss  a'^ 
can  a  half  doxen  hfmd  compa^itors  in  the  old  way. 

This  compfljiy's  typesetting  h  done  on  the  linotype  machines,  and  in- 
stead of  individual  ty|>es,  the  profluct  as  it  comcis  frnin  the  machine  is  a  solid 
line  of  type, — hence  the  name  ^'lin-o-lype.''  The  setting  of  this  tyfie,  or 
lines  of  type,  constituta^  one  depailment  of  the  company's  bui?inej?s,  the  otlier 
department  being  the  electrotype  fonndnt'.  After  the  type  is  proofread,  anti 
corrected,  it  L?  made  into  farm^  identical  in  sijie  with  the  hwk  p^igc  to  be 
printed.     These  forms  ijre  then  sent  to  the  foundry  and  from  thein  a  mold. 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


420  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

is  taken.  From  this  mold  a  thin  copper  shell  is  cast  by  an  electric  process. 
This  shell  is  backed  up  with  metal  to  a  thickness  of  about  a  twelfth  of  an 
inch,  and  when  properly  finished  is  called  a  book  plate.  It  is  this  book 
plate  which  constitutes  the  product  of  the  Vail  Company,  and  which  it  fur- 
nishes its  customers,  who  complete  the  manufacture  of  the  book  in  the  or- 
dinary way  by  printing  and  binding. 

The  company's  progress  since  its  removal  to  Coshocton  has  been  marked. 
Its  business  for  1907  was  fifty  per  cent  greater  than  that  of  1905,  and  the 
year  1908  exceeded  1907  by  about  twenty-five  per  cent.  Its  trade 
is  not  restricted  to  any  one  section  of  the  United  States,  its  business 
coming  from  all  sections  between  San  Francisco  and  Boston,  Little  Rock 
and  Minneapolis.  Some  of  its  product  is  manufactured  into  books  in  Eng- 
land, and  even  Spanish  school  text-book  plates  have  gone  to  Porto  Rico.  Its 
customers  consist  of  the  larger  and  best  known  publishers  of  the  United 
States,  the  names  of  whom  are  familiar  household  words  to  the  owners  of 
every  library  of  books. 

The  character  of  books  taken  on  by  this  company  is  varied,  including 
cyclopedias  and  similar  reference  works,  school  text-books,  law  text-books, 
religious  books,  standard  subscription  books,  novels  and  in  fact  library  books 
of  every  description.  The  Coshocton  Library,  as  well  as  the  local  book  sell- 
ers, have  on  their  shelves  many  volumes  of  books,  the  composition  and  plates 
for  which  are  made  by  The  Vail  Company. 

The  company  occupies  a  brick  and  stone  building  on  South  Fifth 
street,  fronting  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  tracks.  It  was  built  especially 
to  accommodate  the  company's  business,  and  its  interior  arrangement  is  a 
model  of  conveniences  for  the  purposes  for  which  it  was  erected.  Usually 
an  electrotype  foundry  is  tucked  away  in  a  dark  portion  of  the  topmost  floor 
of  the  building,  but  in  this  case  the  foundry  is  on  the  ground  floor,  encased 
in  stone  walls,  with  ample  light  on  three  sides,  and  a  cement  floor.  This 
makes  ideal  electrotype  foundry  surroundings. 

The  company  employs  a  high  grade  of  skilled  workmen  and  the  aver- 
age wages  paid  are  as  high  as  the  best  paid  workmen  in  Coshocton.  Few 
cities,  and  they  are  only  the  biggest,  pay  higher  wages  for  the  same  class 
of  work. 


WILLIAM    H.    HASKINS. 

It  is  fitting  that  the  biographical  record  of  Coshocton  county's  eminent 
and  distinguished  men  should  find  a  place  in  this  volume,  and  as  a  conspic- 
uous figure  in  mining  circles  of  the  state,  Mr.  Haskins  well  deserves  mention 
among  the  leaders  of  public  thought  and  action.  He  is  now  serving  as  in- 
spector of  coal  for  the  Northwestern  Fuel  Company  of  St.  Paul,  his  territory 
extending  from  Toledo  to  Ashtabula.  Mr.  Haskins  was  born  in  Lawrence 
county,  Ohio,  October  29,  1874,  a  son  of  George  S.  and  Eliza  (Rowe)  Has- 
kins. The  father  was  a  miner  and  became  well  known  in  Coshocton 
county. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  421 

William  H.  Haskins  spent  the  period  of  his  boyhood  and. youth  under 
the  parental  roof  and  attended  the  common  schools  until  he  had  reached 
the  age  of  eleven  years,  but  at  that  period  in  his  life  he  entered  the  mines 
as  a  workman,  and  from  that  time  until  he  was  eighteen  years  of  age  he 
attended  school  only  at  times  when  the  mines  were  idle,  but  such  was  his 
ambition  that  instead  of  idling  away  his  time  as  many  of  his  associates  did, 
he  availed  himself  of  every  opportunity  for  adding  to  his  fund  of  knowledge. 
Later  in  life  he  attended  night  schools  at  Orbiston  and  Murray  in  the  Hock- 
ing Valley  mining  district  and  thus  became  well  informed. 

Early  in  life  Mr.  Haskins'  ability  for  leadership  was  noted  among  his 
fellow  workers,  and  having  made  a  close  study  of  conditions  and  relations 
existing  between  employer  and  employe,  in  1894  he  was  elected  secretary  of 
the  Hocking  Valley,  District  Ohio,  Miners  Union.  He  filled  the  position 
with  such  efficiency  that  in  1896  he  was  elected  to  the  vice  presidency  of 
the  Ohio  Miners  Union,  a  state  organization  of  the  mine  workers.  Here  his 
ready  grasp  of  intricate  labor  problems  was  again  manifest  and  in  1898  he 
was  chosen  to  the  presidency  of  the  state  organization,  which  position  he 
filled  until  1906,  when  he  declined  a  reelection  and  retired  from  this  respon- 
sible position  as  he  had  entered  it — with  the  full  confidence  of  the  membership 
and  with  credit  to  himself.  During  his  term  of  service  he  saw  the  or- 
ganization grow  from  a  membership  of  six  thousand  to  forty  thousand  mem- 
bers. When  he  entered  upon  his  responsible  duties  in  this  connection  there 
was  no  agreement  in  writing  existing  between  miner  and  operator,  but  at 
the  time  of  Mr.  Haskins'  retirement  from  the  office  there  wxs  a  written  agree- 
ment existing  between  the  miners  and  the  operators,  while  the  treasury  of 
the  association  had  grown  from  sixteen  hundred  dollars  to  one  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  dollars,  despite  the  fact  that  more  money  had  been  expended 
for  administration  purposes.  Early  in  life  he  began  to  study  the  question  of 
labor  organization  and  at  the  age  of  sixteen  years  became  identified  with  the 
Knights  of  Labor  and  in  the  years  that  have  come  and  gone  has  grown 
stronger  in  his  advocacy  of  organization.  To  quote  his  own  words  Mr.  Has- 
kins  says :  "As  I  grow  older  I  become  more  and  more  convinced  that  in  the 
more  thorough  education  of  the  people  lies  the  true  and  permanent  solution 
of  the  question  of  the  reJationship  of  labor  to  capital,  and  vice  versa.  I  am 
of  the  opinion  that  if  by  enactment  or  by  the  interpretation  of  the  laws 
labor  organizations  s-hould  be  made  impossible  or  rendered  inoperative  that 
the  condition  of  the  laboring  classes  in  this  country  would  become  intoler- 
able because  of  the  increased  opportunities  of  those  who  control  the  indus- 
tries of  the  country  to  become  more  oppressive.  After  twelve  years  of  life  in 
close  touch  with  both  laborer  and  employer  and  with  politicians  of  all 
schools  and  classes  I  am  led  to  this  conclusion." 

Upon  his  retirement  from  the  presidency  of  the  state  organization,  Mr. 
Haskins  wa^  made  coal  inspector  for  the  Northwestern  Fuel  Company  of  St. 
Paul,  inspecting  all  coal  in  the  lake  harbors  from  Toledo  to  Ashtabula.  Dur- 
ing his  work  in  thi^  connection  he  has  gained  the  entire  trust  and  confi- 
dence of  his  employers,  and  although  his  time  and  attention  are  well 
occupied  with  his  arduous  duties,  he  is  nevertheless  deeply  intere^sted  in  his 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


422  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

former  work  and  a^sociatec.  He  is  quick,  positive,  exacting  and  comprehen- 
sive of  every  detail  of  affairs  that  comes  within  the  scope  of  his  action. 

Mr.  Haskins  was  married  May  6,  1898,  the  lady  of  his  choice  being 
Miss  Ella  M.  Hill,  a  daughter  of  Philip  and  Martha  (Sanger)  Hill,  of  Vin- 
ton county,  Ohio.    Her  father  came  to  Coshocton  county  in  September,  1899. 

In  politics  Mr.  Haskins  is  independent,  voting  for  the  men  and  meas- 
ures which  he  deems  conducive  to  good  government,  regardless  of  parfy  ties 
or  affiliations.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  In 
Mavsonry,  he  has  attained  the  degree  of  the  Mystic  Shrine  and  is  also  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Knights  of  Pythias  and  of  the  United  Mine  Workers  of  America. 
With  his  estimable  wdfe  he  occupies  a  beautiful  home  in  the  eastern  part  of 
Coshocton,  in  which  is  found  a  library,  containing  works  of  history,  biqg- 
raphy  and  science,  with  the  contents  of  which  he  is  thoroughly  familiar,  for 
he  spends  much  of  his  leisure  time  among  his  books.  In  his  life  are  the 
elements  of  greatness  because  of  the  use  he  has  made  of  his  talents  and  his 
opportunities,  because  his  thoughts  are  not  self-centered  but  are  given  to  the 
mastery  of  life  problems  and  the  fulfillment  of  his  duty  as  a  man  in  hLs  re- 
lations to  his  fellowmen  and  as  a  citizen  in  his  relations  to  his  city,  state  and 
country. 


JOHN   F.   LAPP. 


John  F.  Lapp  is  one  of  the  substantial  citizens  of  Coshocton  county  who 
follow  farming  in  Franklin  township,  and  also  givers  part  of  his  time  to  vari- 
ous other  interests.  He  is  a  native  of  the  county,  born  in  Linton  township, 
June  14,  1857,  a  son  of  Michael  and  Wilhelmina  (Suite)  Lapp.  The  father 
was  a  native  of  Germany,  born  in  September,  1830,  and  was  a  little  lad  of 
four  years  when  he  came  with  his  parents  to  Ohio,  the  family  home  being 
established  in  Adams  township,  Muskingum  county.  He  became  an  exten- 
sive farmer  and  also  operated  a  sawmill.  He  became  a  prominent  and  influ- 
ential factor  in  both  this  and  Muskingum  counties.  He  w^as  twice  married. 
He  was  first  married  in  1855  to  Miss  Wilhelmina  Suite,  a  daughter  of  John 
and  Madaline  Snite,  and  this  union  was  blessed  with  ten  children.  He  was 
married  a  second  time,  this  union  being  with  Lucinda  I.  Miller,  their  mar- 
riage being  celebrated  in  November,  1876.  She  was  a  daughter  of  Stephen 
and  Barbara  Miller,  and  by  her  marriage  became  the  mother  of  ten  chil- 
dren. Of  the  two  families  of  children,  eighteen  are  living.  Mr.  Lapp  died 
June  3,  1904,  at  the  age  of  seventy-four  years. 

John  F.  Lapp,  the  second  in  order  of  birth  of  his  father's  first  marriage, 
was  reared  on  the  home  farm  and  while  this  has  always  been  his  chief  occu- 
pation, he  is  interested  and  active  in  several  other  enterprises.  He  brings  to 
bear  sound  judgment  in  any  undertaking  and  is  a  man  of  wide  influence  in 
his  home  locality.  On  his  farm  of  two  hundred  and  eighty  acres  in  Frank- 
lin township,  stands  a  nice  country  residence  and  substantial  barns  and  out- 
buildings, while  his  fields  are  all  under  a  high  state  of  cultivation. 

.Google 


Digitized  by  ^ 


HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  423 

Mr.  Lapp  was  married  March  3,  1887,  to  Miss  Martha  E.  Sandles,  who 
wa^  born  in  1866  and  is  a  daughter  of  Jacob  and  Elizabeth  (Grels)  Sandles. 
Two  children  blessed  this  union,  but  the  daughter  died  in  infancy.  The  son. 
Archibald  C,  is  now  thirteen  years  of  age  and  is  attending  school. 

Mr.  Lapp  is  a  democrat  in  his  political  views  and  affiliations  and  while 
he  is  busily  engaged  with  his  own  private  business  interests  he  yet  finds  time 
for  public  affairs,  having  served  as  tnistee  of  Franklin  township.  He  is  a 
member  of  Plainfield  Grange  and  is  also  a  member  of  St.  Paurs  Evangelical 
English  Lutheran  church.  On  all  public  quastions  where  the  best  interests 
of  the  community  are  involved  he  is  found  on  the  right  side,  and  is  classed 
among  the  substantial  citizens  of  this  section  of  the  state. 


HIPPOLYT  LIEWER. 

Coshocton  is  making  rapid  progress  in  its  industrial  development.  In 
recent  years  various  business  enterprises  have  been  established  and  i)romoted 
here  and  among  the  more  important  of  these  is  the  industrial  concern  now 
oi)erating  under  the  name  of  the  Cashoct^n  Glass  Company.  Of  this  Hip- 
polyt  Liewer  is  the  president  and,  with  broad  experience  in  glass  manufac- 
ture, he  has  placed  the  enterprise  upon  a  safe  and  substantial  basis  and  at  the 
same  time  is  greatly  enlarging  its  scope  and  trade  relations. 

Mr.  Liewer  was  born  August  26,  1868,  in  the  province  of  Alsace,  which 
was  then  a  part  of  France,  but  now  belongs  to  Germany.  His  father  was 
Raphael  Liewer  and  the  family  for  many  generations  were  connected  with 
glass  manufacture.  The  son  was  reared  at  home,  attending  the  Lyceum  at 
Strassburg,  Alsace,  where  he  was  graduated  with  baccalaureate  honors.  He  . 
aftenvard  learned  the  bottle  manufacturing  business  at  Ingweiler,  Alsace, 
and  in  different  bottle  factories  in  the  Sarre  River  territory.  Thinking  that 
the  new  world  offered  better  business  facilities,  he  crassed  the  Atlantic  in 
1908  and  for  a  time  was  identified  with  glavs  interests  in  New  York  city, 
whence  he  came  to  Coshocton  in  January,  1906,  and  has  since  been  presi- 
dent and  general  manager  of  the  Coshocton  Gla<s  Company. 

This  is  one  of  the  more  recent  acquisitions  to  the  city's  industrial  inter- 
ests, yet  it  ranks  with  the  foremost  and  is  perhaps  the  most  important  when 
judged  by  the  extent  of  its  payroll  and  its  connections  with  the  outside 
world.  The  business  had  its  origin  in  May,  1902,  as  a  partnership  concern 
owned  by  E.  R.  Sober,  E.  G.  Van  Horn,  and  the  well  known  late  T.  J. 
Gainor,  who  employed  about  sixty  workmen  in  the  manufacture  of  amber 
bottles,  the  factory  having  a  capacity  of  about  one  hundred  gross  bottles  per 
day.  Under  the  original  management  the  business  grew  until  employment 
wa«  furnished  to  about  two  hundred.  The  product  of  the  house  was  sent  to 
the  firm  of  Liewer  Brothers,  having  offices  in  Xew  York,  but  the  local  con- 
cern lacked  the  resources  to  carry  a  plant  that  would  meet  the  demands  of 
their  selling  agents  and  therefore  H.  and  C.  A.  Liewer,  of  the  Xew  York 
house,  came  to  Coshocton  and  took  over  a  controlling  interest  in  the  busi- 


Digitized  by  ^ 


424  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

nea*.  With  ample  capital  at  their  command  they  have  enlarged  and  ex- 
panded the  plant  and  developed  the  trade  until  their  business  now  justifies 
the  employment  of  four  hundred  workmen.  They  began  the  manufacture  of 
both  green  and  amber  bottles,  which  are  sold  to  the  leading  breweries  and 
bottling  works  of  the  country.  Each  year  they  arrange  for  the  sale  of  almost 
their  entire  production  for  the  ensuing  year  and  yet  they  are  increasing  their 
facilities  from  time  to  time,  while  their  plant  is  equipped  with  every  modem 
convenience  known  to  the  trade.  The  company  follows  the  most  modern 
methods  of  manufacture  and  utilizes  the  most  modern  ideas  in  the  develop- 
ment of  their  business.  The  officers  are:  H.  Liewer,  president  and  general 
manager;  Charier?  A.  Liewer,  secretary  and  trea^^urer;  and  K.  L.  Almack, 
vice  president. 

Since  coming  to  the  new  world  Mr.  Liewer  of  this  review  has  supported 
the  republican  party,  believing  in  its  policy  and  its  principles,  yet  without 
desire  to  become  an  active  factor  in  claims  for  its  official  honors.  He  is  a 
gentleman  of  strong  purpose  and  marked  individuality,  who  impresses  all 
with  whom  he  comes  in  contact  by  his  spirit  of  alertness  and  determination. 


JAMES   O.    WARING. 

James  O.  Waring,  a  practical,  progressive  and  enterprising  farmer  liv- 
ing in  Bethlehem  township,  where  he  owns  one  hundred  and  seventy  acres 
of  rich  and  productive  land,  was  born  in  this  township,  November  15,  1861. 
His  j)arunts  were  David  and  Mary  (Blyler)  Waring,  the  former  a  native 
of  A'irginia  and  the  latter  of  Pennsylvania.  In  the  year  1832  David  War- 
ing came  to  Coshocton  county  with  his  father,  purchased  a  farm  and  carried 
on  general  agricultural  pursuits  throughout  his  remaining  days,  becoming 
one  of  the  leading  and  progressive  agriculturists  of  the  community.  He 
died  in  the  year  1904,  having  for  about  twenty  years  survived  his  wife,  who 
passed  away  in  1884.  They  were  the  parents  of  the  following  children: 
D.  L.,  of  this  township;  J.  Owen  and  Oscar  M.,  ret?idents  of  Indiana;  Arthur, 
deceased;  Edgar  A.,  of  Akron,  Ohio;  Dr.  Leander,  residing  at  Danville, 
Illinois;  Anna,  the  wife  of  John  Arnold,  deceased;  Hattie,  the  wife  of  C.  B. 
ITershman,  of  Ca^hocton;  and  Adie,  the  wife  of  Ed  Schoonover,  also  a  resi- 
dent of  Coshocton. 

The  boyhood  days  of  James  O.  Waring  were  quietly  passed  in  the 
pursuits  of  the  home  farm,  where  he  remained  assisting  his  father  until  he 
had  attained  his  majority.  He  then  rented  the  old  home  place  and  to  its 
further  development  and  improvement  directed  his  energies  for  twenty  years. 
As  success  has  attended  him  he  has  made  investment  in  property  and  is 
now  the  owner  of  one  hundred  and  seventy  acres  of  rich  and  productive 
land  in  Bethlehem  township.  Everything  about  his  place  is  indicative  oj 
the  careful  supervision  of  a  painstaking  and  progressive  owner,  for  the 
buildings  are  kept  in  good  repair  and  he  uses  the  latest  improved  machin- 
ery to  facilitate  the  work  of  the  fields.     In  addition  to  raising  the  cereals 

Digitized  by  LjOOQLC 


1)A\'J1)  WAlUN(.i. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


I 


1  .'v  :■: 


Digitized  by 


Google 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  427 

beet  adapted  to  soil  and  climate  he  has  made  a  specialty  of  raising  sheep 
and  has  a  large  and  valuable  flock. 

At  the  time  of  his  father^s  death  Mr.  Waring  was  made  administrator 
of  the  estate.  While  he  has  lived  a  somewhat  uneventful  life,  he  had  one 
thrilling  experience  which  few  would  care  to  go  through  with.  In  1894  he 
was  robbed  by  three  masked  men,  who  shot  him  in  the  ear,  knocked  him 
down  and  took  from  him  forty  dollars.  They  gagged  him  and  one  of  his 
aunts,  but  spared  the  other  aunt  this  indignity,  for  she  appealed  ia  their 
sympathy  when  she  asked  them  if  they  had  a  mother  and  promised  that  she 
would  say  nothing  of  the  affair.  Pity  for  her  caused  them  to  leave  her 
without  gagging  her.  The  robbers,  however,  took  possession  of  the  house, 
secured  a  good  supper  from  the  pantry  and  then  left  with  their  booty. 

Mr.  Waring  has  never  married  and  lives  with  his  brother,  D.  L.  War- 
ing. He  has  held  several  township  offices,  the  duties  of  which  he  has  dis- 
charged with  promptness  and  fidelity,  while  his  political  support  is  given  to 
the  republican  party  that  finds  in  him  an  earnest  advocate,  because  he  is 
in  thorough  sympathy  wdth  its  principles. 


REV.  JOHN  WESLEY  WRIGHT. 

Rev.  John  Wesley  Wright  is  a  force  in  the  moral  development  of  Dan- 
ville and  Coshocton  county  and  in  those  departments  of  activity  which 
uplift  humanity  and  work  for  the  betterment  of  various  classes.  He  is  a 
native  son  of  this  county,  born  in  Virginia  township,  December  1,  1842. 
His  parents,  Albert  and  Eveline  (Graves)  Wright,  were  farming  people  of 
this  locality. 

The  son  was  reared  on  the  home  farm,  early  becoming  familiar  with 
the  duties  and  labore  that  fall  to  the  lot  of  the  agriculturist.  His  elementary 
education  was  acquired  in  the  district  schools  and,  deciding  upon  the  min- 
istry as  a  life  work,  he  became  a  student  in  Starkey's  Seminary  at  Eddy- 
town,  New  York,  later  attending  the  Christian  Biblical  Institute  at  Stanford- 
ville.  New  York.  Graduating  from  the  latter  institution,  he  returned  to 
Ohio  and  supplied  various  pulpits,  maintaining  his  residence  in  Willow- 
brook,  where  his  parents  still  resided. 

During  the  progress  of  the  Civil  war,  on  the  5th  of  August,  1862,  Mr. 
Wright  enlisted  as  a  member  of  Company  I,  Ninety-seventh  Ohio  Volunteer 
Infantry,  and  served  until  the  close  of  hostilities.  He  was  in  the  Army  of 
the  Cumberland  and  at  the  battle  of  Missionary  Ridge,  November  25,  1863, 
was  severely  wounded.  The  hospital  being  crowded,  he  was  sent  home  on 
a  furlough  gind  after  recuperating  his  health  returned  to  his  regiment  and 
again  saw  active  service.  He  was  mustered  out  June  10,  1865,  at  Nash- 
ville, having  made  a  creditable  military  record. 

When  his  services  were  no  longer  needed  by  the  government,  Mr. 
Wright  returned  to  Coshocton  county  and  took  up  his  pastoral  duties.  His 
first  call  was  at  Rosebud,  Ohio,  and  for  sixteen  years  he  preached  five  miles  ^ 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


428  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON  COUNTY 

west  of  West  Carlisle.  He  then  came  to  Danville,  where  for  a  number  of 
years  he  has  been  pastor  of  the  Christian  church.  He  ifi  a  man  of  high  ideals 
and  has  always  exerted  a  wide  influence  for  good  wherever  he  has  labored 
as  a  minister  and  in  the  community  in  which  he  has  so  long  made  his  home. 

It  was  in  June,  1866,  that  Mr.  Wright  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss 
Esther  M.  Crown,  a  daughter  of  Joseph  and  Margaret  Crown,  of  Jackson 
township.  Their  union  has  been  blessed  with  four  children,  as  follows: 
Charles  E. ;  Othelia  M.,  now  the  wife  of  John  L.  Shaw,  a  prominent  con- 
tractor of  Coshocton;  Mary  C,  the  wife  of  John  McCann;  and  John  C,  who 
has  departed  this  life. 

Mr.  Wright  gives  his  political  support  to  the  republican  party  and  for 
a  number  of  years  has  been  a  member  of  the  schoolboard,  while  for  two 
years  he  served  as  assessor  of  Virginia  township.  He  is  a  man  of  scholarly 
attainments  and  one  who  throughout  his  entire  life  has  been  actuated  by 
high  principles  and  purposes.  He  has  ever  used  practical  methods  in  work- 
ing toward  the  ideal,  which  have  found  their  proof  in  his  effective  work  in 
connection  with  the  Danville  Christian  church. 


C.  HOMER  DURAND. 

Among  the  recent  additions  to  Coshocton^s  bar,  C.  Homer  Durand  is 
numbered,  but  has  already  won  for  himself  favorable  criticism  by  the  work 
which  he  has  done  in  the  courts  and  as  representative  of  the  profession.  He 
was  bom  January  27,  1882,  in  Toledo,  Ohio.  His  father,  Homer  Durand, 
also  a  native  of  this  state,  became  a  lake  and  sea  captain.  The  family  is  of 
French  extraction,  Francis  Joseph  Durand  being  among  the  French  Huguenot 
refugees  who  settled  in  Essex  county.  New  York,  on  coming  to  this  country. 
The  first  representative  of  the  family  in  Ohio  was  Lyman  Durand,  an  uncle, 
who  took  up  his  abode  in  the  northern  part  of  the  state.  Captain  Homer 
Durand  always  remained  a  resident  of  Ohio  and  was  here  married  to  Clara 
L.  Stauflf,  a  daughter  of  Charles  E.  A.  Stauff,  who  was  a  jurist  prominent  in 
the  courts  of  his  native  country,  Germany.  He  was  also  a  member  of  the 
medical  fraternity  and  figured  in  professional  life  in  Germany  until  he  left 
that  country  because  of  persecution,  and  came  to  America,  establishing  his 
home  in  Minnesota.  Here  he  practiced  medicine  in  pioneer  times  and  his 
son,  Frederick  Stauff,  was  the  first  white  child  born  in  that  state. 

C.  Homer  Durand  pursued  his  education  in  the  public  schools  of  Toledo 
until  he  completed  his  course  by  graduation  from  the  high  school,  after  which 
he  entered  the  law  department  of  the  Ohio  State  University  at  Columbus, 
and  was  graduated  in  June,  1904.  The  same  year  he  was  admitted  to  the 
bar  and  has  since  been  identified  with  the  profession.  While  in  college 
and  for  some  time  afterward  he  was  connected  with  theatrical  interest^  n«  a 
moans  of  raising  money,  writing,  staging,  and  presenting  his  own  plays, 
among  which  are  "Her  Last  Chance,"  "Nine  Points  of  the  Law,"  and  "Time 
Limit."     When   only   twenty-two  years   of  age  he  wrote  his  first  four-act 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  429 

play,  *The  Trifler,"  which  for  lack  of  money  and  opportunity  he  did  not 
present  until  January,  1908,  when  it  was  staged  in  the  Coshocton  Theater 
and  became  very  popular  with  playgoers. 

Following  his  admission  to  the  bar,  Mr.  Durand  entered  upon  active 
practice  in  Toledo,  where  he  remained  for  three  years  or  until  June,  1907, 
when  he  came  to  Coshocton  with  a  theatrical  venture.  Pleased  with  the  city 
and  its  people,  he  decided  to  remain  permanently  and  practice  law.  He  has 
his  oflSce  with  the  Hon.  James  Glenn,  and  has  been  quite  successful  in 
winning  a  large,  growing  and  representative  clientage.  He  was  recently 
unanimously  nominated  by  the  republicans  of  Coshocton  county  as  their 
candidate  for  prosecuting  attorney.  He  is  a  man  of  scholarly  attainments 
and  well  read,  not  only  in  the  law,  but  along  general  lines.  He  writes,  reads 
and  speaks  German  fluently  and  possesses  much  more  than  ordinary  orator- 
ical power,  being  an  eloquent  and  forceful  speaker.  He  belongs  to  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  church  and  is  a  man  of  culture  and  refined  taste,  of 
well  disciplined  mind  and  of  high  ideals. 


SPENCER  L.  HOWELL. 

Horticultural  pursuits  have  occupied  the  time  and  attention  of  the  Howell 
family  through  three  generations;  and  Spencer  L.  Howell  of  this  review  is 
a  worthy  representative  of  those  pursuits  in  Washington  township.  Mr. 
Howell  was  bom  in  Coshocton  county,  June  12,  1855,  a  son  of  John  and 
Phoebe  (Seward)  Howell,  and  in  the  paternal  line  comes  of  Welsh  descent. 
The  paternal  grandfather,  who  also  bore  the  name  of  John  Howell,  came 
here  in  1826  from  Belmont  county,  Ohio.  The  father  of  our  subject  also 
raised  fruit  on  an  extensive  scale  and  was  the  first  man  to  engage  in  horti- 
cultural pursuit  in  Washington  township. 

Spencer  L.  Howell  was  educated  in  the  district  schools  near  his  father's 
home  and  was  reared  upon  his  father's  fruit  farm,  assisting  in  the  care  and 
cultivation  of  the  orchards,  during  which  time  he  gained  a  thorough  knowl- 
edge of  the  best  methods  of  horticulture.  He  now  has  a  well  improved  farm 
of  one  hundred  and  seventy  acres  situated  in  Washington  township  and 
makes  a  specialty  of  raising  apples,  peaches,  cherries  and  plums.  His 
products  find  a  ready  market,  owing  to  their  quality,  size  and  flavor,  and 
thus  he  adds  materially  to  his  financial  income  each  year. 

Mr.  Howell  was  married  December  3,  1881,  the  lady  of  his  choice  being 
Miss  Rose  B.  Blizzard,  a  daughter  of  Martin  and  Sarah  Ann  (Bryan)  Bliz- 
zard. Two  children,  a  son  and  daughter,  grace  the  home  of  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Howell:  Fred  M.,  who  assists  his  father  in  his  work;  and  Zona  B.,  who  is 
engaged  in  teaching. 

Mr.  Howell  gives  his  political  support  to  the  republican  party  and  has 
frequently  served  as  a  delegate  to  the  conventions  of  his  party.  He  has  also 
served  as  trustee  of  the  township  and  as  a  member  of  the  school  board.  Fra- 
ternally he  is  a  member  of  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  w^hile  his  relicjious  faith 

Digitized  by  LjOOQIC 


430  HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

is  indicated  by  his  membership  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  The 
work  instituted  by  the  grandfather  and  carried  on  by  the  father  is  still  con- 
tinued by  Spencer  L.  Howell  and  he  is  today  numbered  among  the  suc- 
cessful and  substantial  citizens  of  this  section  of  the  state,  where  his  entire 
life  has  been  passed  and  where  he  is  held  in  uniform  respect  and  esteem. 


REV.  WILLIAM  E.  HUNT,  D.D. 

There  are  few  instances  in  the  history  of  any  denomination  where  one 
of  the  clergy  has  continued  in  single  pastorate  for  forty-five  years  but  for 
that  length  of  time  the  Rev.  William  E.  Hunt  was  connected  with  the 
Presbyterian  church  in  Coshocton.  HLs  contagious  enthusiasm,  his  untiring 
zeal  and  his  consecrated  work  made  him  a  power  for  good  in  the  community, 
nor  will  his  influence  cease  to  be  felt  for  years  to  come.  It  is  the  echo 
which  "rolls  from  soul  to  soul  and  grows  forever  and  forever."  While  his 
ministerial  powers  wero  constantly  expanding  from  study  and  research  he 
has  been  equally  strong  in  his  sympathy  and  abiding  charity  and  in  his 
life  the  spirit  of  criticism  has  had  little  place  while  that  of  helpfulness  has 
been  a  dominant  factor.  No  citizen  of  Coshocton  county  occupies  a  more 
enviable  place  in  the  honor  and  esteem  of  the  general  public  than  does  the 
Rev.  William  E.  Hunt,  D.D. 

He  was  bom  in  Pedricktown,  Salem  county,  New  Jersey,  February  24, 
1833,  and  pursued  his  education  in  Jefferson  College  at  Canonburg,  Penn- 
sylvania, where  he  was  graduated  in  1853.  His  theological  studies  were 
pursued  at  the  Western  Theological  Seminary,  at  Allegheny,  Pennsylvania, 
and  following  his  graduation  in  1856  he  came  to  Coshocton  in  July  of 
that  year  to  preach  a  trial  sermon  and  in  October  following  was  regularly 
installed  as  a  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  church.  He  gave  to  this  congrega- 
tion one-half  of  his  time  and  on  the  alternate  Sundays  preached  at  Keene 
until  the  spring  of  1857,  when  the  congregation  at  Coshocton,  having  in- 
creased largely  in  meimbership,  desired  that  he  give  his  entire  time  to  the 
work  at  this  place,  and  for  forty-five  years  he  remained  as  pastor.  This  long 
and  uninterrupted  service  evidenced  the  strong  attachment  existing  between 
pastor  and  people  and  he  enjoyed  the  fullest  respect  of  members  of  other 
denominations  as  well.  His  alma  mater  conferred  upon  him  the  degree  of 
B.A.  and  M.A.,  and  in  June,  1905,  the  Western  University  of  Pennsylvania 
conferred  upon  him  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity. 

While  laboring  untiringly  for  the  moral  progress  of  the  community  Mr. 
Hunt  has  also  taken  a  deep  and  helpful  interest  in  questions  affecting  the 
welfare  of  the  county  along  other  lines.  He  was  for  fourteen  years  a  mem- 
ber of  the  board  of  county  school  examiners  and  for  one  term  a  member 
of  the  village  council  to  which  he  was  elected  on  a  reform  or  citizens'  ticket. 
Whatever  tends  to  promote  the  interests  of  the  city  is  sure  to  receive  his 
hearty  endorsement  and,  as  far  as  time  will  permit,  his  active  cooperation. 
He  has  also  figured  in  Coshocton's  material  development  through  his  asso- 

Digitized  by  LjOOQIC 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  431 

dation  with  business  interests,  assisting  in  the  organization  of  the  Coshocton 
Gas  Company,  of  which  he  became  a  director,  while  he  was  also  active  in 
organizing  Coshocton's  first  Building  &  Loan  Company,  of  which  he  was 
likewise  chosen  a  director.  He  was  a  director  of  the  Western  Theological 
Seminary  and  of  the  University  of  Wooster  for  several  years  and  the  cause 
of  education  has  ever  found  in  him  a  stalwart  champion.  In  1876  he  wrote 
and  published  a  history  of  the  county  under  the  title  of  Historical  Collections 
of  Coshocton  County — a  valuable  addition  to  the  historical  literature  of  the 
state.  He  has  been  a  frequent  contributor  to  church  papers  and  the  local 
press  and  has  also  written  various  articles  for  magazines.  His  reputation  in 
connection  with  the  church  is  by  no  means  a  local  one.  He  has  served 
on  several  occasions  as  a  delegate  to  the  general  assembly  and  also  as  mod- 
erator of  the  Synod  and  Presbytery.  The  church  in  Coshocton  under  his 
guidance  made  substantial  growth  and  proved  an  influential  factor  in  up^ 
holding  the  moral  status  of  the  community. 

In  1855  the  Rev.  W.  E.  Hunt  was  married  to  Miss  Caroline  A.  Totten, 
of  Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania,  and  unto  them  were  bom  seven  children,  of 
whom  Charles  B.,  Robert  T.,  Mary  M,,  Carrie  E.,  and  Harry  B.,  all  reside 
in  this  city.  A  daughter,  Mrs.  Charles  E.  Williams,  makes  her  home  in 
Franklin,  Ohio,  while  another  daughter,  Mrs.  A.  W.  Boyd,  is  living  in 
Pittsburg,   Pennsylvania. 

It  would  be  tautological  in  this  connection  to  enter  into  any  series  of 
statements  as  showing  him  to  be  a  man  of  strong  intellectual  and  scholarly 
attainments  for  this  has  been  shadowed  forth  between  the  lines  of  this  review. 
It  is,  however,  a  matter  of  justice  to  say  that  added  to  his  intellectual  strength 
is  a  deep  and  abiding  human  sympathy  and  a  most  kindly  and  helpful 
spirit. 


R.  D.  KEESEY. 


.  R.  D.  Keesey,  a  progressive  and  enterprising  business  man  of  Fresno,  is 
one  of  Cashocton  county's  native  sons,  and  a  natural  product  of  the  solid^ 
substantial  character  of  his  environments.  He  was  bom  in  White  Eyes  town- 
ship, November  4,  1873,  a  son  of  Christopher  and  Catherine  (Raymer) 
Keesey.  His  father  was  born  in  Maryland  in  1812  and  came  to  Coshocton 
county  with  his  parents  in  1830.  In  early  manhood  he  wedded  Catherine 
Raymer,  who  was  born  in  Keene  township,  this  county,  in  1833.  They  be- 
came the  parents  of  six  children,  of  whom  two  are  now  living,  namely: 
Frank,  a  resident  of  West  Lafayette;  and  R.  D.,  of  this  review.  In  1871  Mr. 
Keesey  purchased  a  farm  of  one  hundred  and  four  acres  in  White  Eyes 
township,  on  which  he  made  his  home  for  the  remainder  of  his  days.  He 
was  a  successful  man  and  besides  this  place  owned  two  other  farms  at  the 
time  of  his  death,  which  occiured  in  1886.  In  politics  he  was  a  democrat 
and  was  an  active  worker  for  his  party's  interests,  having  been  elected  to 
various  offices.  He  was  aLso  active  in  church  work.  His  wife  survived  him 
for  a  number  of  years,  her  death  occurring  in  1905.  ^ 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


432  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

R.  D.  Keesey  was  reared  to  agricultural  pursuits  and  received  a  common- 
school  education.  At  the  age  of  fifteen  years  he  began  workmg  on  the  farm 
by  the  month,  and  for  a  number  of  years  had  full  control  of  his  father's 
place.  In  1904  he  and  a  number  of  others  formed  a  stock  company,  known 
as  the  Avondale  Glove  Company,  for  the  manufacture  of  cotton  and  canvas 
gloves.  They  incorporated  under  the  laws  of  the  state  of  Ohio  and  issued  ten 
thousand  dollars  worth  of  stock.  The  plant  is  fitted  up  with  twenty  power 
machines  and  has  an  output  of  three  hundred  dozen  gloves  per  day,  thirty- 
five  people  being  engaged  in  the  work.  Since  the  time  of  its  organization 
Mr.  Keesey  has  been  superintendent  of  the  factor}'  and  a  director  of  the 
company.  The  business  was  the  outgrowth  of  the  demand  for  a  concern  of 
this  character,  and  from  the  fir^  has  enjoyed  a  liberal  patronage  which  has 
insured  its  success. 

Since  age  conferred  upon  him  the  right  of  franchise,  Mr.  Keesey  has 
given  his  political  allegiance  to  the  democracy.  He  has  taken  a  leading 
part  in  the  work  of  his  party  and  has  served  for  four  years  as  central  com- 
mitteeman. Fraternally,  he  is  a  member  of  Fresno  Camp,  No.  11688, 
M.  W.  A. 


GEORGE  D.  KLEIN. 


George  D.  Klein,  engaged  in  the  active  practice  of  law,  yvixs  bom  in 
Chili,  Crawford  township,  Coshocton  county,  March  19,  1872.  His  parents, 
Charles  and  Elizabeth  (Miller)  Klein,  were  both  natives  of  Germany  and 
came  to  the  United  States  in  early  manhood  and  womanhood,  their  marriage 
being  celebrated  in  Crawford  township.  The  father  was  a  shoemaker  by 
trade  and  was  connected  with  that  line  of  business  until  1882  when  he  en- 
gaged in  farming.  He  was  killed  in  a  runaway  in  the  spring  of  1907,  when 
sixty-four  years  of  age,  and  his  death  was  the  occasion  of  deep  regret  to  his 
many  friends  who  esteemed  him  for  his  sterling  characteristics.  His  widow 
still  survives  and  is  now  a  resident  of  Fresno,  Ohio. 

Careful  home  training  qualified  Mr.  Klein  to  meet  the  demands  of  the 
world  when  he  started  out  for  himself.  He  was  afforded  good  educational 
privileges,  supplementing  his  public-school  course  by  study  in  the  Scio  (Ohio) 
College  and  in  the  Ohio  State  Normal  at  Ada.  He  began  teaching  at  the  age 
of  twenty  years  and  successfully  followed  the  profession  for  fifteen  years, 
during  which  time  he  was  principal  of  the  Chili  school  for  two  years  and 
also  taught  the  grammar  department  in  the  Baltic  and  Roscoe  schools.  He 
was  an  able  educator,  imparting  readily  and  clearly  to  others  the  knowledge 
he  had  acquired,  but  believing  that  he  would  find  a  more  congenial  arid 
profitable  field  in  connection  with  other  professions,  he  took  up  the  study  of 
law  while  still  engaged  in  teaching,  Judge  Roche  acting  as  his  preceptor  and 
directing  his  reading  until  he  entered  the  law  department  of  the  Ohio  State 
University  at  Columbus,  in  September,  1907.  So  thorough  had  been  his  pre- 
liminary reading  and  research  that  he  wa«5  admitted  to  the  bar  on  the  4th 
of  December,  of  the  same  year. 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  433 

Mr.  Klein  then  returned  to  Coshocton  and  entered  into  partnership  with 
George  E.  Roche,  a  business  relation  between  them  continuing  until  the 
1.4  of  September,  1908,  when  Mr.  Klein  entered  upon  an  independent  prac- 
tice. He  is  one  of  the  younger  members  of  the  bar  but  his  friends  predict 
for  him  a  successful  future,  as  he  is  thorough  and  painstaking  in  all  that 
he  undertakes  and  is  well  versed  in  the  law.  Moreover,  he  has  broad  gen- 
eral knowledge  and  is  a  fluent  German  scholar. 

Mr.  Klein  numbers  many  friends  among  his  fellow  members  of  Fidelity 
Lodge,  No.  135,  K.  P.  He  belongs  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  and  to 
the  Coshocton  Bar  Association.  He  is  pleasantly  situated  in  his  home  rela- 
tions and  the  Klein  household  is  a  most  attractive  one.  He  w^as  first  married 
in  May,  1899,  to  Miss  Ella  Barth,  of  Chili,  who  died  in  January,  1902, 
leaving  one  son,  Carl  F.  In  October,  1903,  Mr.  Klein  was  again  married, 
his  second  union  being  with  Miss  Loretta  M.  Deeds,  a  daughter  of  Solomon 
Deeds,  a  prominent  factor  in  democratic  circles,  in  this  county.  To  this 
union  a  daughter  was  bom  August  3,  1908,  Thelma  Loretta  Klein.  Mr. 
Klein  is  also  an  ardent  advocate  of  democratic  principles  but  has  never  been 
an  aspirant  for  office.  He  prefers  to  concentrate  his  energies  upon  his  busi- 
ness affairs  and  possessing  laudable  and  firm  determination  he  will  undoubt- 
edly earn  for  himself  a  prominent  place  in  the  ranks  of  the  legal  fraternity, 
being  already  numbered  as  a  leader  among  the  younger  members  of  the  bar. 


WILLIAM  L.  ROBINSON. 

William  L.  Robinson,  who  is  engaged  in  farming  and  stock-raising  in 
Franklin  township,  Coshocton  county,  is  numbered  among  the  substantial 
citizens  of  this  section  of  the  state.  He  was  born  in  Franklin  township,  De- 
cember 26,  1851,  and  son  of  James  E.  and  Anna  E.  (Frew)  Robinson.  The 
family  was  one  among  the  first  settlers  of  Coshocton  county  and  were  large 
landowners  in  the  Muskingum  valley,  being  extensively  engaged  in  farming 
and  stock-raising.  In  1837,  James  E.  Robinson  removed  with  his  family 
to  Delaware,  Ohio,  where  they  remained  for  four  years,  the  purpose  of  their 
removal  being  to  afford  their  children  good  educational  advantages.  In  1871. 
however,  they  returned  to  the  home  farm,  the  father  having  died  during 
their  residence  in  Delaware.  The  mother  still  survives.  The  family  numbered 
four  children:  Mary  J.,  the  deceased  wnfe  of  James  S.  Stocking,  a  resident  of 
Washington,  Pennsylvania;  William  L. ;  Charlas  F.,  who  is  deceased;  and 
Ella  R.,  the  wife  of  W.  H.  McCabe,  of  Coshocton. 

William  L.  Robinson,  whase  name  introduces  this  review,  spent  his 
boyhood  and  youth  in  much  the  usual  manner  of  farm  lads,  assisting  in  the 
work  of  the  fields  during  the  summer  seasons,  while  in  the  winter  months  he 
pursued  his  studies  in  a  private  school  and  later  enjoyed  the  advantages  of 
the  high  school  at  Delaware,  Ohio,  and  the  Ohio  Wesleyan  University.  After 
the  death  of  his  father  he  took  charge  of  the  home  farm  and  this  occupation 
has  claimed  his  time  and  attention  to  the  present  day.     He  is  extensivelv 

Digitized  by  V^OO^iC 


434  HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

engaged  in  general  farming  and  is  numbered  among  the  county's  most  pro- 
gressive citizens. 

Mr.  Robinson  was  married  April  28,  1881,  to  Miss  EInora  Lee,  a  daughter 
of  Dr.  Samuel  H.  and  Anna  (Triplet)  Lee,  of  Coshocton.  Their  union  was 
blessed  with  a  son  and  daughter,  James  L.  and  Elizabeth  L.  The  wife  and 
mother  was  called  to  her  final  rest  June  25,  1887.  On  the  6th  of  August, 
1890,  Mr.  Robinson  was  again  married,  his  second  union  being  with  Helen 
E.  Kyle,  a  daughter  of  Rev.  John  and  Sarah  (Gordon)  Kyle,  who  were  former 
residents  of  Granville,  Ohio,  but  now  make  their  home  in  Riverside,  Cali- 
fornia. The  Kyles  established  their  home  in  the  Buckeye  state  in  1858, 
coming  thence  from  Vershire,  Vermont. 

Mr.  Robinson  is  a  republican  in  his  political  views.  He  is  interested 
in  the  welfare  of  the  country  at  large  and  is  ever  found  on  the  side  of  right, 
reform  and  progress.  He  is  highly  esteemed  in  the  community  in  which  he 
has  so  long  made  his  home,  numbering  his  friends  by  the  score. 


MILTON   N.   WOLFE. 

Milton  N.  Wolfe,  who  is  now  living  retired  in  West  Lafayette,  Ohio, 
has  been  identified  with  both  the  mercantile  and  agriculture  interests  of  this 
section  of  the  state.  He  was  born  in  Evansburg,  Oxford  township,  Coshoc- 
ton county,  August  24,  1837,  the  third  son  and  third  in  order  of  birth  in  a 
family  of  seven  children  born  unto  Philip  and  Elizabeth  (Meek)  Wolfe. 
The  father  was  bom  in  Pennsylvania  in  1808,  and  the  mother  in  Jefferson 
county,  Ohio,  in  1808,  being  the  daughter  of  Jacob  Meek,  an  old  time 
Methodist  Episcopal  minister  and  a  soldier  of  the  war  of  1812.  Philip 
Wolfe  was  a  tanner  and  harnessmaker  by  trade,  following  those  occupations 
in  Evansburg,  Coshocton  county,  until  death,  which  occurred  October  7, 
1854.  The  mother  of  our  subject  died  April  16,  1847.  In  their  family  were 
seven  children:  Lambert  B.,  a  resident  of  Ness  City,  Kansas;  Jacob,  who 
died  August  21,  1836;  Milton  N.,  of  this  review;  Mrs.  Jemima  Fletcher, 
of  Isleta,  Coshocton  county;  Mrs.  Margaret  E.  Thompson,  of  West  Lafay- 
ette; Joseph  G.,  of  Almira,  Washington;  and  Philip  H.,  who  was  a  member 
of  Company  E,  Fifty-fir.-^t  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry'  and  who  died  and  wa« 
buried  in  Murfreesboro,  Tennessee,  National  Cemetery,  May  8,  1864.  His 
brother,  Milton,  placed  a  tablet  in  his  family  bronze  monument  which  stands 
in  Fairview  cemetery,  Wast  Lafayette,  Ohio,  to  the  memory  of  his  brother 
Philip  IL  Wolfe.  After  the  death  of  his  firi^t  wife,  the  father  of  these  chil- 
dren married  Mrs.  Caroline  (Powell)  Spalding.  By  Mr.  Spalding  she  had 
three  children,  Thomas,  Freeman  and  Lyman.  By  Philip  Wolfe  she  had 
three  children,  half-sisters  to  the  three  boys  mentioned  above;  Mrs.  Harriet 
Dana,  a  resident  of  Fairfield,  Iowa;  Mrs.  Henrietta  CrLswell,  of  Hastings, 
Nebraska;  and  Mrs.  Sarah  Jane  Huff,  of  New  Comerstown,  Ohio.  Not  only 
our  subject  but  also  his  three  brothers  and  his  three  step-brothers  were 
soldiers  of  the  Civil  war,  and  one  of  the  former  and  all  of  the  latter  laid 

Digitized  by  LjOOQIC 


Digitized  by 


Google 


Digitized  by 


Google 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  437 

down  their  lives  on  the  altar  ot  their  country.  Philip  Wolfe  and  his  second 
wife  both  died  of  typhoid  fever  and  were  buried  on  the  same  day,  October 
9,  1854,  in  Evansburg  cemetery,  and  in  October,  1907,  their  remains  were 
removed  to  Fairview  cemetery.  West  Lafayette,  Ohio,  and  interred  by  Milton 
N.  Wolfe  in  his  cemetery  lot. 

Milton  N.  Wolfe  acquired  his  education  in  the  common  schools  but 
labored  mostly  with  his  father  in  his  tanyard  until  he  was  sixteen  years  old, 
and  then  at  the  harness  trade  with  his  father  until  his  demise.  Following 
his  father's  death,  however,  he  took  up  the  shoemaker's  trade  and  after  com- 
pleting his  term  of  indenture  worked  at  the  same  in  Orange,  Coshocton 
county,  for  two  years.  He  then  engaged  in  the  same  business  on  his  own 
fujcount  for  several  years.  Having  heard  favorable  reports  concerning  the 
western  country,  he  started  for  Kansas  in  1860,  at  the  age  of  twenty-three 
years,  and  there  entered  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  government  land, 
to  which  he  added  a  tract  of  similar  size  by  purchase.  In  the  fall  of  that 
year  he  returned  to  Coshocton  county  and  resumed  work  at  his  trade  in 
Orange.  On  landing  home  from  his  1860  tour  he  had  just  three  shillings 
left  with  which  to  commence  business  again. 

On  the  2d  of  March,  1861,  Mr.  Wolfe  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss 
Harriet  A.  Emerson,  one  of  four  children  born  of  the  marriage  of  Timothy 
and  Annora  A.  Emerson.  Five  children  blessed  this  union,  namely:  Nora 
E.,  the  wife  of  H.  C.  Davis,  a  resident  of  Great  Bend,  Kansas;  Lulu  L.,  the 
wife  of  George  Peacock,  of  Coshocton ;  Claridon  C,  who  died  April  22, 
1881,  at  the  age  of  sixteen  years;  Minnie  L.,  the  wife  of  George  Walters,  of 
West  Lafayette;  and  Ina  M.,  the  wife  of  Bert  Leighninger,  now  operating 
a  lumber  and  planing-mill  in  West  Lafayette. 

Following  his  marriage  Mr.  Wolfe  worked  at  shoemaking  in  Orange 
for  nine  years,  with  exception  of  four  months  in  1864,  while  serving  as 
fourth  corporal  in  Company  E,  One  Hundred  and  Forty-second  Ohio  Vol- 
unteer Infantry.  In  the  spring  of  1870  he  went  to  Chase  county,  Kansas, 
where  he  owned  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres  of  land  as  previously  stated, 
and  it  was  his  intention  to  remove  his  family  to  that  locality  the  following 
fall,  but  w^hile  making  arrangement  to  erect  a  house  and  other  buildings 
upon  his  farm  he  received  a  telegram  saying  that  his  wife  was  dangerously 
ill,  and  he  left  everything  and  returned  home.  His  wife  recovered  but  was 
unwilling  to  give  her  coiLsent  to  their  removal  west,  and  they  located  on  a 
farm  of  one  hundred  and  fifty-nine  acres  in  Oxford  township,  which  land 
her  father  gave  them.  Here  Mr.  Wolfe  erected  a  fine  residence  and  for  a 
number  of  years  he  engaged  in  the  cultivation  and  improvement  of  the 
place,  but  owing  to  ill  health,  he  finally  rented  the  farm  and  removed  to 
Emerson  Mills,  where  he  engaged  in  the  boot  and  shoe  and  general  grocery 
business  foi;  four  years.  After  closing  out  this  business  at  Emerson  Mill?, 
he  rented  his  farm  for  three  years,  cash  rent,  and  with  Ina,  his  youngest 
daughter  removed  to  Coshocton,  where  he  bought  a  fine  ra'sidence  property, 
residing  here  until  his  daughter  Ina  married  and  left  him  alone.  He  then 
batched  it  for  three  months,  when  he  rented  hl«  property  and  moved  his 
effects  to  his  daughter  Ina  s  at  West  Lafayett<^,  Ohio.     Since  then  he  ha«^ 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


438  HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

practically  lived  a  retired  life,  being  in  ill  health,  leaving  the  management 
of  his  farm  to  his  daughters  and  their  husbandi?,  who  now  receive  the  income 
from  the  farm,  and  he  still  lives  with  his  daughter  Mrs.  Leighninger  in 
West  Lafayette.  His  wife  died  January  20,  1881,  and  was  laid  to  rest  in 
"West  Lafayette  eemeterj'. 

Mr.  Wolfe  has  traveled  quite  extensively  over  this  countrj%  spending 
four  months  in  Kansas  and  Nebraska  in  1860,  when  Indians  and  buflFaloes 
were  still  numerous  in  that  section.  Later  he  again  vLsited  Kansas  as  previ- 
ously stated,  and  in  the  spring  of  1888  he  and  his  daughter  Ina  left  home 
€uid  for  two  years  and  forty-three  days  traveled  throughout  the  west,  spend- 
ing some  time  in  various  states  and  territories  and  going  as  far  north  as 
British  Columbia.  In  1906,  he  again  went  west  and  .spent  eleven  months 
in  Kansas,  Nebraska,  Missouri  and  Iowa. 

Mr.  Wolfe  gives  stanch  su{>port  to  the  republican  party  but  never  sought 
nor  desired  office.  He  is  a  member  of  the  blue  lodge  of  Masons,  No.  175,  at 
New  Comerstown,  Ohio,  in  w^hich  he  has  filled  all  of  the  chairs  save  that 
of  worshipful  master,  and  he  has  been  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church  for  thirty-eight  years,  now  connected  with  the  church  at  Coshocton. 
Seventy-one  years  have  come  and  gone  since  Mr.  Wolfe  first  opened  his  eyes 
to  the  light  of  day  in  Coshocton  county  and  in  the  intervening  period  he 
has  been  a  prominent  factor  in  the  advancement  of  commercial  and  agri- 
cultural life  of  the  section  of  the  state  in  which  he  has  always  made  his 
home.  He  Ls  widely  and  favorably  known  and  his  history  cannot  fail  to 
prove  of  interest  to  his  many  friends,  and  it  is  therefore  with  pleasure  that 
we  present  his  record  to  our  readers. 


GEORGE  ALVIN  HAY. 

George  Alvin  Hay  finds  an  appropriate  place  in  the  history  of  those 
men  of  business  and  enterprise  in  Ohio,  whose  force  of  character,  whose 
sterling  integrity,  whose  good  sense  in  the  management  of  complicated  af- 
fairs and  marked  success  in  the  establishment  of  industries,  have  contributed 
in  an  eminent  degree  to  the  development  of  the  resources  of  Coshocton.  His 
name  is  inseparably  interwoven  with  the  commercial  and  industrial  progress 
of  the  city  and  in  political  service  he  has  donp  that  for  his  city  which  has 
caused  him  to  be  designated  as  one  of  the  best  mayors  Coshocton  has  ever 
had.  He  is  now  the  president  of  The  Houston  Hay  Axle  Company  and  is 
associated  with  various  other  business  concerns. 

Mr.  Hay  is  one  of  Ca'^^hoeton's  native  sons,  his  birth  having  here  occurred 
November  16,  1855.  His  parents  w^re  Houston  and  Delia  Cook  (Roberts) 
Hay,  the  former  of  whom  died  March  28,  1900,  and  the  latter  February  22, 
1896.  After  attending  the  public  schools  of  this  city,  George  A.  Hay  spent 
two  years  as  a  student  in  Denison  University  at  Granville,  and  then  became 
a  junior  in  Princeton  College,  where  he  completed  the  classical  course  in 
1879,  winning  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts.     Following  his  return  to 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  439 

Coshocton  he  took  up  the  study  of  law  in  the  office  of  Spangler  &  Pomerene 
and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  December,  1881.  He  then  began  the  active 
practice  of  law,  in  which  he  continued  for  two  years  wdth  good  success,  but 
owing  to  the  fact  that  the  plant  which  was  owned  by  his  father  was  de- 
stroyed by  fire,  Mr.  Hay  gave  up  his  law  practice  to  assist  his  father  in 
rebuilding  and  remodeling  the  factory  and  establishing  the  business  on  the 
basis  on  which  it  is  now  conducted.  The  factory,  under  the  name  of  Houston 
Hay,  manufactured  carriage,  wagon  and  buggy  axles.  In  1885  the  firm  of 
Houston  Hay  &  Sons  was  organized  and  the  business  continued  under  that 
name  until  1895,  when  it  w^as  taken  over  by  The  Houston  Hay  Axle  Com- 
pany. It  is  today  one  of  the  important  productive  industries  of  the  city, 
employing  eighty-five  men  during  the  busy  season.  The  fact  that  the  com- 
pany specializes  in  the  manufacture  of  axles  gives  it  prestige  and  wide 
reputation  in  the  manufacturing  field  and  its  product  is  sent  to  all  parts 
of  the  country. 

While  Mr.  Hay  has  met  with  success  in  this  undertaking  he  has  not 
confined  his  attention  solely  to  one  line  but  has  extended  his  efforts  into 
other  fields  whereby  the  city  has  profited  while  his  individual  prosperity  has 
been  enhanced.  In  1893  he  formed  the  Havana  Cigar  Company  and  that 
the  business  proved  a  growing  one  is  indicated  by  the  fact  that  while  he 
started  with  ten  cigarmakers,  in  1898  he  was  employing  one  hundred  and 
twenty-five  people.  In  1904,  however,  he  closed  out  the  business  after  a 
prasperous  career  in  that  line.  Mr.  Hay  was  also  at  one  time  president  and 
a  director  of  The  Buckeye  Pipe  Line  Company,  organized  for  the  purpose  of 
piping  gas  to  Coshocton.  The  company  was  organized  in  1893  and  ere  Mr. 
Hay  resigned  in  1907  the  business  had  been  established  on  a  safe  foundation 
and  was  supplying  the  city  with  a  good  quality  of  gas  at  a  low"  price.  He  is 
also  a  director  of  The  H.  D.  Beach  Company  and  a  director  of  The  Com- 
mercial National  Bank,  both  of  Coshocton. 

On  the  8th  of  June,  1882,  Mr.  Hay  was  married  to  Miss  Nellie  Hingeley. 
They  had  five  children :  Edna  Lenore ;  Houston  Hingeley,  who  died  January 
17,  1892;  Ruth  Warwick;  George  Roberts,  who  was  born  in  1896;  and 
Walter  Guilbert,  bom  in  1902. 

Mr.  Hay  is  a  member  of  the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks. 
He  is  an  enthusiast  on  the  subject  of  baseball  and  fishing,  finding  great  delight 
in  witnessing  a  good  game  of  ball  or  with  rod  enticing  the  finny  tribe  from 
favorite  haunts.  He  is  also  well  known  in  musical  circles,  was  leader  of  the 
local  band  for  fifteen  years  and  for  three  years  was  bandmaster  of  the  Seven- 
teenth Regiment,  Ohio  National  Guard,  during  which  time  he  succeeded 
in  making  his  band  the  best  in  the  state.  Mr.  Hay  has  been  equally  well 
known  in  political  circles.  In  1879  he  became  an  active  factor  in  republican 
politics  and  was  made  a  member  of  the  Coshocton  County  Executive  Com- 
mittee. The  following  year  he  was  made  chairman  of  that  committee  and 
continued  to  fill  the  pasition  for  twenty-five  years  or  imtil  1905,  taking  a 
most  active  and  helpful  part  in  shaping  the  policy  of  the  party  in  this 
county.  In  1880  he  was  elected  mayor  of  the  city  on  the  republican  ticket 
although  Coshocton  was  at  that  time  a  democratic  stronghold.     Two  years 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


440  HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON  COUNTY 

later  he  wa^  reelected  and  in  1884  refused  the  nomination.  In  1886  at  the 
urgent  solicitation  of  his  fellow  townsmen,  including  representatives  of  both 
parties,  he  once  more  became  a  candidate  and  was  elected  in  that  year  and 
in  1888,  so  that  his  services  as  chief  executive  covered  eight  years  and  was 
characterized  by  the  utmast  dispatch  of  the  city^s  business  and  by  unfaltering 
loyalty  to  the  municipal  welfare.  He  has  been  appointed  three  times  by  the 
state  auditor  to  check  up  the  books  of  the  Society  for  Savings  in  Cleveland — 
one  of  the  greatest  banking  institutions  in  the  world.  He  has  served  as  trus- 
tee of  the  Girls'  Industrial  Home,  a  state  institution,  having  been  appointed 
by  Governor  Foraker,  his  term  extending  from  1885  to  1889.  By  appoint- 
ment of  Governor  McKinley  he  was  one  of  the  managers  of  the  Ohio  peni- 
tentiary from  1892  until  1896  and  was  appointed  by  Governor  Nash,  a  member 
of  the  Ohio  convict  lal>or  commission  to  investigate  methods  of  employ- 
ing convict  labor  in  other  states  and  to  recommend,  if  possible,  a  better  system 
for  Ohio.  He  is  now  president  of  the  board  of  review  of  Coshocton.  He 
has  been  a  member  of  the  republican  state  central  committee  and  the  repub- 
lican state  executive  committee.  He  has  now  practically  retired  from  active 
participation  in  politics  but  could  never  cease  to  feel  a  deep  interest  in  the 
questions  and  issues  of  the  day  because  of  his  patriotic  and  progressive  citi- 
zenship. His  life  has  been  one  of  signal  usefulness  to  his  city  and  state, 
and  that  he  has  wrought  along  the  lines  of  the  greatest  good  to  the  greatest 
number  is  a  uniformly  acknowledged  fact. 


CHRISTIAN  NORMAN. 

Christian  Norman,  owning  three  hundred  and  fifteen  acres  of  valuable 
land  in  White  Eyes  township,  was  bom  in  Oxford  township,  Coshocton 
county,  Ohio,  September  28,  1828,  his  parents  being  Isaac  and  Isabelle 
(Wise)  Norman.  The  father  was  bom  on  the  Walhonding  river,  and  when 
a  boy  of  ten  years  accompanied  his  parent^  on  their  removal  to  Oxford  town- 
ship, where  they  purchased  two  hundred  aeres  of  land.  In  this  pioneer 
district  Isaac  Norman  was  reared  and  when  he  had  attained  mature  years 
began  farming  by  taking  a  lease  on  a  tract  of  land  in  Oxford  township.  Sub- 
sequently he  took  another  lease  on  some  land  in  Adams  township,  and  after- 
ward bought  one  hundred  acres  in  Lafayette  township,  only  seven  acres  of 
the  tract  having  been  cleared.  After  improving  the  property  he  sold  the 
same,  and  bought  a  farm  in  White  Eyes  township,  on  which  he  made  his 
home  until  called  to  his  final  rest.  For  fifty  years  he  was  a  faithful  member 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  but  at  the  time  of  their  demise  both  he 
and  his  wife  were  affiliated  with  the  United  Brethren  denomination,  there 
being  no  Methodist  Episcopal  church  in  the  locality.  Isaac  Norman  had 
been  married  twice  and  by  his  first  union  had  twelve  children,  of  whom  our 
subject  is  the  only  one  now  living.  The  first  wife,  who  was  bom  in  Oxford 
township,  passed  away  about  1868,  and  Mr.  Norman  afterward  wedded  her 
sister,  Sarah  Wise. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  ^  441 

Christian  Norman  was  reared  to  the  pursuits  of  the  farm,  early  becom- 
ing familiar  with  the  duties  and  labors  that  fall  to  the  lot  of  the  agriculturist. 
He  had  but  little  opportunity  for  attending  school  and  never  even  saw  a 
''temple  of  learning''  for  five  whole  years.  At  the  end  of  that  time  he  was 
sixteen  years  old,  and  owing  to  the  fact  that  other  young  men  of  his  age 
were  far  in  advance  of  him  in  their  studies,  he  did  not  wish  to  enter  school 
again.  However,  in  the  school  of  experience  he  has  learned  many  valuable 
lessons  and  through  residing  and  observation  has  become  a  well  informed 
man.  When  twenty  years  of  age  he  began  farming  a  tract  of  rented  land 
in  Lafayette  township  and  was  thus  engaged  for  three  years,  on  the  expira- 
tion of  which  period  he  rented  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  his  present 
farm  from  liLs  father.  Subsequently  he  purchased  eighty  acres  of  the  place 
and  as  the  years  paH<5ed  and  success  crowned  his  efforts,  he  added  to  his  hold- 
ings from  time  to  time  until  he  now  owns  three  hundred  and  fifteen  acres  of 
rich  and  productive  land  in  White  Eyes  township.  His  original  home,  in  which 
he  lived  for  several  years,  was  a  log  cabin,  the  dimensions  of  which  were 
sixteen  by  eighteen  feet.  He  attributes  his  prcvsent  prosperity  in  large  measure 
to  his  stock-raising  interests,  having  now  two  hundred  head  of  sheep  and 
also  mining  cattle,  hogs  and  horses.  Tliough  he  now  rents  his  hirni,  he 
still  gives  suptTvisifMi  there  to,  and  is  well  kncjwn  and  highly  esttxnned  as  one 
of  the  jironiinenl  and  progrosive  agricviUurists  of  the  county. 

Mr.  Nf>nnan  ha^  been  mflrried  twice.  On  the  28th  nf  September*  1H48, 
he  wedded  Miss  ^Inrv  Ann  Felven  whose  birth  iKTurred  in  A  darns  township 
and  who  p^issrd  away  in  1855,  when  twenty-^'^even  \\nivs  of  ^jge.  The  five 
cliildren  of  this  union  were  as  follows:  Macy,  the  wife  of  Smnuel  Deleaver, 
of  Mercer  cnunly,  Oliio;  Malinda,  Ah>sis  rmd  Sarsili  Ann.  all  of  whom  an* 
deceased:  and  Margnret.  liie  wife  fif  Frank  Emerson,  of  White  Eyes  town- 
ship. On  the  KKli  oT  April,  18r)(^,  Mr  Nonnan  wiis  a^mu  Tnarripd,  his 
second  union  he  in  fp  with  nininnli  ^IcCleary,  who  was  horn  near  Now  Comers- 
town,  Ohio,  Novemlfcr  12,  18*^(>.  Her  parents,  Ahrahanj  and  Sarah  (Miller) 
MeCleary,  were  hoth  njitives  of  N<^w  .KTsey.  in  which  ^late  they  were  married. 
At  an  early  day  they  remaned  to  Tusearawns  ciamty,  Ohio,  locating  rm  n 
farm  and  tlien^  resitiinj^  until  called  to  their  final  rest,  Tln-ir  family  nuin- 
r>ered  nini^  ciiiklren,  two  af  whnni  ^^urvive.  namely:  Husan,  tlie  vvid^iw  of 
Jolm  Norman,  of  Fresno,  Ohio;  and  Mrs.  Hannah  Norman.  Unto  our  esnh- 
ject  artr]  his  secnnd  wife  luive  been  horn  ten  cVnUhvn,  natiu'ly;  8u-^ni,  the 
wife  nf  Wiluait]  Hill,  (»f  New  Oonierstnwn,  Ohio:  John  1).,  a  resident  of 
Straslairg,  Ohio;  Fnink^  of  New  Cnmerstown,  Ohio;  Haltie,  the  wife  of  David 
Oih^on,  of  Wheeling,  West  V!rq;inia:  Oiayton,  living  in  New  Oornerstown ; 
Etta,  wIjo  makes  her  tionie  in  Okiihuma ;  Be.^ir,  at  home:  Adii.  the  wife  of 
Theodin*e  Ncij^hhor.  of  Oklahoma:  Hophia.  at  home:  and  one  who  died  in 
infancy. 

In  hif3  pulilieal  views  Mr.  Nnrnian  It^  a  blanch  rqajlilican  initl  hii^  sen*^tl 
as  road  !^ai>ervis<jr  and  in  a  nnniher  (>f  ^;<JMHll  uthees,  the  canH'^e  of  edneaHon 
ever  findiuLi  it^  him  a  ^^tnlwiol  ehanjjiion.  For  fiftv  years  he  wa^  identified 
with  tlir  Tniti^d  IVrethrcn  church  hut  tlie  conLTcpUion  l^eeame  sn  diminished 
that  it  wa-  di^^handcd.  and  since  that   time  he  Ikis  heen  i\  menik^:  (tf  (he 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


442  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

Methodist  Episcopal  church  at  Fresno,  having  ever  contributed  liberally  of 
his  time  and  means  to  the  cause  of  religion.  Having  resided  in  this  county 
throughout  his  entire  life,  he  is  well  and  favorably  known  here  and  is  widely 
recognized  as  one  of  its  public-spirited,  prasperous  and  enterprising  citizens. 


JAMES  T.  EDWARDS,  M.D. 

Dr.  James  T.  Edwards  was  born  near  East  Union,  in  Perry  township, 
Coshocton  county,  Ohio,  in  1830,  and  was  therefore  in  his  seventy-fifth  year 
at  the  time  of  his  death.  He  attended  school  at  the  academy  at  West  Bedford 
and  at  Hayesville,  Ohio.  He  read  medicine  in  the  office  of  Dr.  John  Russell, 
of  Mt.  Vernon,  and  was  graduated  in  1856  from  the  medical  department  of 
the  University  of  New  York  city.  Immediately  after  his  graduation.  Dr. 
Edwards  entered  upon  the  practice  of  medicine  at  West  Carlisle,  where  he 
practiced  continuously  for  forty-six  years. 

Shortly  after  beginning  the  practice  of  medicine.  Dr.  Edwards  was 
married  to  Miss  Sarah  S.  Marquand.  Mrs.  Edwards  was  a  woman  of  unusual 
strength  of  mind  and  character,  and  was  a  useful  companion  and  helpmate. 
Mrs.  Edwards  died  in  1889.  Their  four  children  who  survive  are,  Mrs.  Belle 
Cochran,  Russell  C,  Edwin  S.  and  Grace. 

Dr.  Edwards  served  in  the  Civil  war  as  assistant  surgeon  in  the  ninety- 
rJeventh  Ohio  Regiment.  His  services  continued  for  one  year,  when  he  was 
obliged  to  return  home  on  account  of  disability.  Coshocton  city  has  had 
no  man  of  more  distinct  character  than  Dr.  Edwards.  He  was  at  all  tim-es 
a  model  country  gentleman,  of  broad  culture  and  a  range  of  information 
befitting  the  man  of  affairs  that  he  w^as.  He  took  a  keen  interest  in  all  that 
was  going  on  in  the  world's  theater  of  human  affairs  and  had  deep  vseated 
convictions  on  all  great  questions  at  issue  and  was  never  lacking  in  courage  or 
ability  to  assort  them  in  w^ays  that  were  well  understood.  Although  he  took 
a  deep  interest  in  politics,  Dr.  Edwards  never  held  public  office  in  his  life, 
being  obliged  many  times  to  refiLse  the  importunities  of  his  many  friends  to 
tender  him  nominations.  He  was  a  consistent  member  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church  at  West  Carlisle.  As  a  physician,  Dr.  Edwards  stood  among 
the  first  and  foremost  and  in  his  long  years  of  practice,  covering  a  period 
of  almost  a  half  century,  he  enjoyed  the  implicit  confidence  of  the  w^hole 
people  of  the  large  scope  of  country  over  which  his  practice  extended.  He 
was  above  all,  a  man  among  men  and  was  always  deeply  solicitous  for  the 
welfare  of  his  neighbors  and  friends.  He  shared  with  them  in  all  matters 
with  his  counsel  and  advice  and  was  helpful  in  all  such  ways  as  are  embodied 
in  the  ties  and  impulses  of  friendship.  In  all  relations  wath  men  the  first 
and  foremost  thought  was  rugged  honesty,  fair  dealing  and  strict  observance 
of  the  common  laws  that  emanate  from  a  sensitive  and  discriminating  con- 
science. These  sturdy  traits  that  v.ere  ever  present  in  his  character  endeared 
him  to  all  of  the  people  of  a  lofty  mind.  His  demise  was  sorely  felt  in  the 
community  of  which  he  was  so  important  a  part,  and  the  memories  of  his 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


HISTORY  OF  COSHOCTON  COUNTY  443 

precept  and  example  will  live  long  after  him,  an  inscription  upon  the  im- 
perishable rock  of  time.  No  greater  tribute  can  be  paid  to  the  life  and  char- 
acter of  Dr.  Edwards  than  a  simple  narrative  of  his  works  without  embel- 
plishments  of  extravagant  phrase,  for  the  naked  truth  speaks  more  eloquently 
in  his  praise.  He  was  a  man  of  deeds  rather  than  of  words  or  pretense  and 
when  the  Book  of  Records  is  closed  the  summary  reads  "Well  done.'' 


HARRY  FERGUSON. 

By  the  purchase  of  this  book  Harry  Ferguson,  of  West  Lafayette,  is 
permitted  to  have  his  obituary  appear  in  this  long  list  of  the  distinguished 
citizens  of  Coshocton  county.  Mr.  Fergiison  was  bom  some  years  ago,  but, 
being  single,  no  one  around  West  Lafayette  is  so  unkind  as  to  tell  the  date. 
Hence  this  item  will  have  to  be  omitted.  He  is  a  son  of  Vincent  and  Rachel 
Ferguson,  the  former  deceased.  His  birthplace  is  just  east  of  West  Lafayette, 
on  "The  Experiment  Farm,"  where  he  now  resides. 

Mr.  Ferguson  is  a  self-made  man,  except  the  first  twenty-five  or  thirty 
years  of  his  life,  during  which  time  his  parents  very  kindly  assisted  in 
supporting  him.  As  above  indicated,  he  is  single,  but  not  by  his  own  choos- 
ing, and  is  doing  all  he  can  at  this  writing  to  obey  the  injunction:  "It  is 
not  well  for  man,  etc." 

Mr.  Ferguson  is  editor  and  proprietor  of  The  Indicator,  an  eight-page 
periodical  circulating  among  the  folks  pretty  generally  between  Turkey 
Lock  and  Po^um  Hollow,  and  now  and  then  turning  up  most  anywhere 
between  the  Androscoggin  and  the  Sandwich  Islands.  The  paper  is  a  high 
class  publication,  printed  on  a  perplex  press  just  behind  the  stove.  Every 
Thursday  Dan,  the  foreman,  and  Mr.  Ferguson  alternate  their  number  nines 
at  the  power  plant. 

On  the  side,  Mr.  Ferguson  looks  after  "The  Experiment  Farm,"  a  broad 
expanse  of  hard  work  and  hoi^e  sorrel.  This  farm  produces  some  of  the 
finest  elderberries  in  America,  and  blackberries  and  taxes  grow  in  riotous 
profusion.  And  it  has  some  old  fence  rows  that  produce  as  fine  and  com- 
plete a  collection  of  natural  history  as  can  be  found  anywhere  in  America. 

Mr.  Fergu^n  belong?  to  the  Methodist  Protestant  church  and  the  Blue 
Hole  Fishing  Club,  two  local  organizations  working  side  by  side  for  the 
betterment  of  mankind.  Politically  he  is  a  democrat,  into  which  belief  he 
came  by  a  long  line  of  inheritance,  without  much  effort  on  his  part.  It 
wasn't  a  stniggle  for  the  rights  of  the  common  people  or  anything  of  that 
kind — just  bom  that  way.  He  doesn't  take  politics  to  heart  in  a  violent 
manner  and  have  spasms  when  he  hears  the  warwhoop.  However,  he  is  now 
serving  his  countr>^  very  creditably  in  a  township  office,  the  emoluments  of 
which  are  about  fifty  dollars  per  year,  which,  much  to  his  embarrassment, 
is  not  payable  in  time  for  the  Coshocton  County  Fair. 

Further  than  this,  there  isn't  much  to  be  said  about  the  defendant.  He 
never  wont  to  war,   never  served  in  high  office,  never  married  an  heiress. 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


444  HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON    COUNTY 

He  never  invented  anything  for  the  good  of  humanity,  never  broke  any 
rec^ords.  He  is  not  a  son  of  the  RevoUition,  nor  the  father  of  a  celebrated 
halfback.  He  irf  only  the  .^cion  of  a  son  of  Erin  who  didn't  get  over  here 
in  time  to  whip  the  English.  But  had  the  latter  arrived  a  few  years  .sooner 
the  war  would  liave  been  much  shorter  and  the  subject  of  this  sketch  would 
now  have  some  intercvsting  heirlooms  in  the  garret.  Mr.  Ferguson  Is  simply 
a  plain  citizen,  with  two  changes  of  shirt-^,  a  splendid  digestion  three  times 
a  day  and  just  enough  debts  to  keep  him  from  cavorting  around  over 
Europe  every  sunnner.  His  only  distinction  is  a  gladness  that  he's  .living 
and  a  hope  that  when  his  sunnnons  comes  for  the  next  historv^  he'll  be  a 
millionaire,  with  his  wife  traveling  in  Italy,  and  will  get  into  the  book  with 
two  columas  and  a  halftone  on  one  of  the  front  pages,  and  at  a  greatly 
reduced  price,  such  as  not  to  embarrass  him  financially. 


LEVI    N.    NORRIS. 


Jjevi  N.  Norris  has  gained  di-^tinction  as  being  the  largest  landowner  in 
Coshocton  county,  owning  seven  hundred  and  twenty-five  acres  in  Pike 
township,  where  he  follows  farming  and  stock-raising.  He  is  a  native  of 
Greene  county,  Pennsylvania,  born  May  17,  1889,  of  the*  marriage  of  Thomas 
and  Maria  (PhilliiKs)  Norris.  The  father  died  in  the  Keystone  state  in  1854, 
.«jub.sequent  to  which  time  the  mother  with  her  five  children,  of  whom  Levi 
w^as  the  eldest,  came  to  Ca^hocton  county,  arriving  in  the  winter  of  18o5-B. 

Levi  N.  Norris  was  a  youth  of  sixteen  years  at  the  time  the  family  re- 
moved to  Coshocton  county  and  all  the  educational  advantages  lie  enjoyed 
was  prior  to  coming  to  this  state,  for  he  was  permitted  to  attend  school  but 
two  days  in  this  county,  his  services  being  needed  in  the  supi)ort  of  the  fam- 
ily. He  was  employed  at  farm  labor  for  .-everal  years,  during  which  time  he 
carefully  saved  hL<  earnings,  which  he  used  to  purduise  a  team  and  a  few 
farm  imi)lements  to  begin  life  on  his  own  responsibility.  He  rented  land 
for  a  few  years  but  in  1802  had  saved  a  sum  sutticient  to  enable  him  to  in- 
vest in  fifty  acres,  which  constitutes  a  portion  of  his  present  homestead 
property.  As  the  years  have  gone  by  he  has  i)rospered  in  his  undertakings 
and  as  his  financial  resourc^es  have  j)ermitted  he  has  added  to  his  original 
holdings  until  his  }K>.s<es^ions  now  embrace  seven  hundred  and  twenty-five 
acres  and  he  is  accounted  the  largest  landowner  in  the  county.  All  of  liLs 
land  is  well  improved  and  has  been  placed  under  a  high  state  of  cultiva- 
tion, so  that  he  meel-^  with  more  than  fair  success  in  his  operations  as  a  gen- 
eral farmer  and  stock-raiser.  He  makes  a  specialty  of  sheep,  cattle  and 
horses  and  this  branch  of  his  business  is  proving  profitable.  He  has  njever 
taken  advantage  of  another  in  any  trade  transaction,  so  that  his  success  has 
been  worthily  and  honorably  won. 

Mr.  Norris  was  married  June  4,  1884,  to  Miss  Adaline  Chancy,  a 
daughter  of  Lewis  and  Catherine  (Ashcraft)  Chancy,  and  she  has  proved 
to  him  a  valuable  assistant  on  the  journey  of  life.     Mr.  Norris  is  a  democrat 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


MI{.  AND  MRS.  LEVI  X.  NORKIS. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


Digitized  by 


Google 


HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  447 

in  his  political  views  and  affiliations  and  has  served  as  township  trustee  and 
school  director  for  several  years.  While  not  accepting  some  of  the  dogmas 
of  religious  bodies  and  uniting  with  no  church,  he  nevertheless  is  deeply 
interested  in  the  moral  progress  of  the  community  and  is  a  liberal  con- 
tributor to  religious  work.  He  and  his  estimable  wife  occupy  a  beautiful 
modem  home  and  enjoy  all  of  the  comforts  and  many  of  the  luxuries  of 
life.  Mr.  Norris  is  a  splendid  example  of  a  self-made  man,  for  he  started 
out  in  life  without  any  extraordinary  family  or  pecuniary  advantages  and 
by  indomitable  courage  and  integrity  has  achieved  both  character  and 
fortune. 


CLARENCE  THOMAS. 

Clarence  Thomas,  shipping  ckrk  with  the  Meek  Company,  in  which 
connection  he  has  large  responsibilities  and  arduous  duties,  was  bom  in 
Roscoe,  October  14,  1851.  His  father,  William  Thomas,  a  native  of  Penn- 
sylvania, came  to  Coshocton  in  1821  and  settled  in  Tonica  Creek  in  Bedford 
township,  where  his  father  entered  land  from  the  government.  William 
Thomas  was  then  but  a  boy  and  in  the  early  years  of  his  residence  here  he 
assisted  in  the  arduous  task  of  developing  new  land,  transforming  the  wild 
tract  into  productive  fields.  When  a  young  man,  however,  he  learned  the 
blacksmith's  trade  and  followed  that  pursuit  in  Coshocton  during  the  grater 
part  of  his  life,  although  he  worked  for  two  seasons  on  the  construction  of 
the  Ohio  state  canal.    His  political  support  was  given  the  democracy. 

As  a  student  in  the  public  schools  Clarence  Thomas  mastered  the 
branches  of  learning  that  qualified  him  for  life's  practical  duties.  A^  the 
age  of  seventeen  years  he  apprenticed  himself  to  the  molder's  trade,  at 
which  he  worked  for  ten  years  and  then,  on  account  of  his  health,  he  aban- 
doned that  pursuit  and  for  some  years  was  employed  in  various  ways.  In 
1895  he  entered  the  service  of  the  Standard  Advertising  Company  and  after 
the  merging  of  that  company  with  the  Meek  Company  he  continued  with 
the  new  organization,  which  conducted  its  business  under  the  firm  style  of 
the  Beach  &  Meek  Company.  At  length  the  interests  were  separated  and 
Mr.  Thomas  remained  with  the  Meek  Company,  which  he  has  now  repre- 
sented as  shipping  clerk  for  more  than  thirteen  years.  In  this  connection 
he  has  entire  charge  of  shipments  and  the  position  is  one  of  large  responsibility 
and  importance,  as  upon  him  depends  the  quick  delivery  of  goods  to  patrons 
— a  feature  in  the  success  of  the  house. 

Mr.  Thomas  gives  his  political  allegiance  to  the  democratic  party  and 
keeps  well  informed  on  the  questions  and  issues  of  the  day.  He  is  a  broad 
reader  and  while  his  early  school  privileges  were  somewhat  limited,  he  is 
today  a  well  informed  man  who  keeps  in  touch  with  all  questions  of  general 
moment.  He  belongs  to  Coshocton  Lodge,  No.  96,  A.  F.  &  A.  M.,  Samar- 
itan Chapter,  No.  50,  R.  A.  M.,  and  became  a  charter  member  of  Coshocton 
Commandery,  No.  63,  K.  T.     He  is  a  worthy  exemplar  of  the  craft  and  is 

Digitized  by  LjOOQIC 


448  HISTORY    OF    COSHOCTON    COUNTY 

alx)  a  faithful  nieinber  of  the  Maoeahees  tent  in  Co<hoeton.  Strong  pur- 
pose, laudable  ambition  and  fidelity  to  the  intere.-ts  entra<t<^d  to  hi^  care 
have  constituted  the  strong  features  in  \w  business  career  and  have  brought 
to  him  a  remunerative  [Kx-^ition. 


PROFESSOR    ALEXANDER   C.    Mc  DONALD. 

riofe>sor  Alexander  C.  McDonald  holds  high  rank  with  the  educators 
of  this  section  of  Ohio  who  are  connected  with  the  public-school  syv4em. 
For  the  past  five  years  he  has  been  superintendent  of  the  schools  of  Rascoe, 
which  under  his  direction  have  made  substantial  advance  along  lines  which 
have  kept  them  in  touch  with  the  most  j)rogi'essive  educational  methods  of 
the  })resent  day.  With  deep  interest  in  his  work,  Professor  McDonald  haa 
lalmred  earnestly  for  the  improvement  of  the  schools  with  which  he  has 
been  connected  and  has  inspired  pupils  and  teachei-s  with  much  of  his  own 
zeal  and  interest. 

Professor  McDonald  is  numbered  among  the  native  sons  of  Cashocton 
(K)unty,  his  birth  having  occurred  in  New  Moscow,  April  14,  1858.  His 
parents  were  William  and  Jane  (McClannahan)  McDonald,  both  natives  of 
Muskingum  county,  Ohio,  and  both  of  Scotch  descent.  William  McDonald 
removed  to  Coshocton  county  soon  after  his  marriage,  which  was  celebrated 
about  1845,  settling  in  Virginia  township,  where  he  engaged  in  farming, 
an(f  with  the  exception  of  a  short  period  of  two  years  he  spent  the  remainder 
of  his  life  in  that  township,  there  passing  away  September  23,  1903.  He  was 
a  republican  in  politics  and,  while  never  an  office  seeker,  he  served  for  thirty- 
six  years  as  justice  of  the  peace,  being  elected  again  and  again  by  those  who 
recognized  his  unfalt<»ring  fidelity  to  duty,  knowing  that  his  opinions  were 
ever  free  from  judicial  bias  or  personal  prejudice.  Ho  was  an  active  and 
devoted  member  of  the  Christian  church  and  his  life,  ever  upright  and 
honorable,  connn^nded  for  him  the  unqualified  respect  of  thase  with  whom 
he  came  in  contact.  Thase  who  knew  him  were  glad  to  be  numbered  among 
his  friends  ^^nd  one  could  always  win  his  friendship  by  a  straightforward 
life  and  upright  character.  His  wife,  a  most  estimable  lady,  died  July  26, 
1895,  at  the  age  of  sixty-nine  years. 

The  environments  and  conditions  of  farm*  life  were  known  to  Alexander 
C.  McDonald  in  his  boyhood  days.  Having  mastered  the  branches  of  learn- 
ing taught  in  the  village  school  of  New  Moscow,  he  afterward  attended 
Antioch  College  at  Yellow  Springs,  Ohio,  and  on  completing  his  course 
there  returned  home.  In  the  fall  of  1879  he  entered  upon  the  profession 
of  teaching,  being  employed  at  Conesville,  where  he  taught  for  one  year. 
He  was  for  eleven  years  a  teacher  of  the  schools  in  New  Moscow,  although  his 
work  there  was  not  continuous,  being  interrupted  at  various  times  by  teach- 
ing in  other  localities.  He  finally  returned  to  Conesville,  where  he  spent  three 
years  as  superintendent  of  the  schools  and  in  the  fall  of  1901  he  came  to 
Rascoe  as  assistant  superintendent  of  schools.    Two  years  later  he  was  chosen 


Digitized  by 


Google 


HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  449 

superintendent  and  has  since  ably  sensed  in  thi;5  capacity,  in.stituting  many 
modern  methods  and  needed  reforms.  He  is  a  broad-minded  man  and  an 
able  educator,  who  holds  to  high  ideals  in  his  profcvssion  and  accomplishes 
what  he  undertakes.  He  has  been  identified  with  educational  work  continu- 
ously for  twenty-nine  years  and  the  cause  of  public  instruction  in  this  locality 
has  been  largely  promoted  through  his  efforts  and  influence.  During  the  past 
two  years  he  has  served  as  college  examiner. 

Professor  McDonald  was  the  candidate  of  the  rei)ublican  party  for  the 
office  of  county  sheriff  in  the  fall  of  1908.  This  nomination  came  to  him 
largely  as  the  result  of  the  friendship  and  labors  of  many  who  hold  him  in 
high  regard  and  believe  that  he  will  prove  a  competent  official.  They  urged 
him  to  allow  his  name  to  be  presented  before  the  republican  convention  and 
although  he  had  two  strong  opponents  in  the  field  he  was  nominated  by  a 
good  majority.  At  the  election  November  3  it  was  found  that  he  had  received 
a  majority  of  one  hundred  and  seventy-three,  although  the  democratic  party 
usually  had  a  majority  of  five  hundred  in  the  county  and  Bryan  received 
that  many  more  votes  than  Taft. 

On  the  2d  of  October,  1884,  Professor  McDonald  was  married  to  Miss 
Jennie  Finnell,  of  Roscoe,  Ohio,  and  they  have  become  the  parents  of  three 
children,  Newton,  Blanche  and  George,  but  the  younger  son  is  now  deceased. 
The  elder  son  is  a  teacher  in  the  district  schools  and  is  preparing  himself 
for  a  college  course  in  civil  engineering.  The  daughter  is  the  wife  of  Ray- 
mond R.  Raymond  and  has  been  identified  with  theatrical  work  since  her 
marriage  February  27,  1907. 

Profe&«*or  McDonald  is  a  member  of  the  Methodist  P^piscopal  church  of 
Roscoe  and  is  serving  on  its  board  of  trustees,  while  in  all  departments  of 
the  church  work  he  is  deeply  interested.  Like  the  great  majority  of  men 
who  are  students  and  whose  lives  have  been  passed  along  lines  demanding 
intellectual  activity.  Professor  McDonald  is  interested  in  those  things  which 
promote  honorable  manhood  and  develop  high  character.  His  influence  is 
found  on  the  side  of  intellectual  and  moml  progress  and  he  always  has  a 
hand  outreaching  to  assist  a  fellow  traveler  on  life's  journey. 


DAVID  EVERHART. 

David  Everhart,  deceased,  was  born  in  White  Eyes  township,  Coshocton 
county,  Ohio,  March  8,  1833,  his  parents  being  Frederick  and  Elizabeth 
(Mizer)  Everhart,  who  w^ere  natives  of  Washington  county,  Pennsylvania, 
and  were  among  the  earliest  settlers  of  White  Eyes  township.  Their  family 
numbered  four  children,  all  of  whom  are  now  deceased. 

David  Everhart  was  reared  on  the  old  home  farm  in  his  native  town- 
ship and  assisted  his  father  in  the  work  of  the  fields  until  the  latter's  death. 
In  1871  he  purchased  the  farm  of  one  hundred  and  eleven  acres  in  White 
Eyes  township  that  is  now  owned  by  his  children,  and  there  successfully 
carried  on  agricultural  pursuits  until  called  to  his  final  rest.     In  addition  to 

Digitized  by  LjOOQIC 


450  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

the  work  of  general  farming  he  was  also  extensively  engaged  in  stock-raising 
and  bought  and  sold  a  great  many  horses.  In  fact,  he  was  one  of  the  best 
judges  of  horse  flesh  in  the  county,  being  able  to  give  the  correct  value  af 
an  animal  almost  at  a  glance.  He  was  well  known  and  highly  esteemed  as 
one  of  the  prosperous  and  enterprising  citizens  of  the  community,  and  gained 
the  confidence  and  good  will  of  all  with  whom  he  came  in  contact  by  reason 
of  his  straightforward  and  honorable  dealings  under  all  circumstances.  The 
main  portion  of  the  residence  which  stands  on  the  Everhart  farm  is  over  one 
hundred  years  old  and  was  one  of  the  firet  frame  houses  erected  in  this  part 
of  the  county.  The  same  floor  and  the  same  plastering  have  done  jservice 
since  the  time  of  its  construction. 

On  the  16th  of  January,  1862,  Mr.  Everhart  was  united  in  marriage  to 
Miss  Sophia  Gonter,  whose  birth  occurred  in  Tuscarawas  county,  Ohio,  July 
2,  1840,  her  parents  being  Jacob  and  Elizabeth  (Stilgenbower)  Gonter,  the 
former  a  native  of  Tuscarawas  county  and  the  latter  of  Germany.  The  mother 
was  bom  in  1813  and  when  eighteen  years  of  age  accompanied  her  parents 
on  their  emigration  to  the  new  world,  the  family  home  being  established  in 
Tuscarawas  county,  Ohio.  There  she  gave  her  hand  in  marriage  to  Jacob 
Gonter  and  they  resided  on  a  farm  in  that  county  until  the  time  of  their 
demise.  The  father  of  Mrs.  Everhart,  whose  birth  had  occurred  in  1814, 
passed  away  August  5,  1898,  while  her  mother's  death  occurred  on  the  7th  of 
October,  1884.  Unto  this  worthy  couple  were  bom  seven  children,  six  of 
whom  still  survive,  namely:  Mrs.  Everhart;  Elizabeth,  the  wife  of  Samuel 
Wyler,  of  Ragersville,  Ohio;  Mary,  the  wife  of  John  Saunterman,  of  Tus- 
carawas county,  Ohio ;  Sylvester,  a  resident  of  White  Eyes  township ;  Adeline, 
the  wife  of  Adam  Dook,  of  White  Eyes  township;  and  George,  living  in 
Tuscarawas  county. 

Unto  Mr.  and  Mra.  Everhart  were  bom  six  children,  as  follows :  Calvin, 
of  White  Eyes  township;  Mary  E.,  the  wife  of  Wilber  Ely,  of  Crawford 
township;  Saloma,  the  wife  of  Jacob  Leavengood,  Coshocton;  Walter,  a 
resident  of  Coshocton ;  Ella,  the  wife  of  Henry  Hooper,  of  Keene  township ; 
and  Milton,  who  operates  the  home  farm  for  his  mother. 

In  his  political  views  Mr.  Everhart  was  a  republican,  while  his  religious 
faith  was  indicated  by  his  membership  in  the  English  Lutheran  church, 
with  which  his  widow  is  identified.  Mrs.  Everhart  has  won  the  regard  and 
friendship  of  all  who  know  her  because  of  her  genuine  personal  worth  and 
many  excellent  traits  of  heart  and  mind. 


WILLIAM    ALLEN   MIZER. 

The  field  of  opportunity  is  limitless  in  this  land,  which  is  unhampered 
by  caste  or  class,  and  the  man  who  has  determination  and  energy  may  carve 
out  his  fortune  to  suit  himself.  Recognizing  this  fact  Mr.  Mizer  has  ste^- 
ily  worked  his  way  upAvard  undeterred  by  obstacles  or  difficulties  and  today 
he  occupies  a  prominent  position  as  one  of  the  leading  representatives  of 

Digitized  by  LjOOQLC 


HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  451 

fire  insurance  in  Ohio.  The  Mizer  family,  of  whi-ch  William  A.  Mizer  is  a 
representative,  was  founded  in  Pennsylvania  at  an  early  period  in  the 
history  of  this  country  and  during  the  pioneer  epoch  in  the  history  of  Jef- 
ferson county,  Ohio,  representatives  of  the  name  settled  in  Germano  near 
Jefferson  county,  Ohio.  The  family  is  noted  for  longevity,  one  of  its  mem- 
bers dying  at  the  advanced  age  of  one  hundred  and  two  years,  while  the 
sister  of  his  paternal  grandmother  reached  the  age  of  ninety-seven  years. 

Phillip  Mizer,  the  grandfather  of  our  subject  removed  to  Shanesville, 
Ohio,  and  became  a  prominent  and  influential  resident  of  that  community. 
He  was  a  cabinetmaker  by  trade  and  also  engaged  in  making  coffins.  For 
thirty  years  he  served  as  justice  of  the  peace  and  was  well  known  through- 
out the  district  as  Squire  Mizer.  He  was  a  handsome  man,  well  propor- 
tioned and  the  strength  of  his  character  made  him  one  of  the  leading  citi- 
zens of  his  community.  He  was  married  at  Germano  to  Margaret  Schultz. 
Their  son,  George  P.  Mizer,  was  born  at  Shanesville,  Tuscarawas  county, 
Ohio,  and  devoted  his  life  to  farming,  in  whi-ch  business  he  was  quite  suc- 
cessful. He  was  a  man  of  intensely  patriotic  spirit  and  did  everything  in 
his  power  to  promote  the  best  interests  of  his  county,  state  and  nation.  In 
1846  he  married  Miss  Catherine  Hagen,  a  native  of  Washington  county, 
Pennsylvania,  who  in  her  girlhood  days  was  brought  to  Ohio  by  her  par- 
ents, the  family  home  being  established  near  New  Comerstown.  The  death, 
of  George  P.  Mizer  occurred  June  30,  1886,  but  his  widow  still  sundves 
at  the  age  of  eighty-one  years. 

Upon  the  home  farm  William  A.  Mizer  was  reared  and  when  not  busy 
with  his  text-books  as  a  district-school  student  he  aided  in  the  work  of  the 
home  farm,  assisting  in  the  cultivation  of  the  fields  from  the  time  of  early 
spring  planting.  His  preliminary  education  was  supplemented  by  study  in 
a  select  school  at  New  Comerstown,  which  he  attended  through  two  winter 
seasons.  At  the  age  of  nineteen  jears  he  began  work  in  a  eountry  store  and 
in  early  life  he  was  inured  to  had  labor  and  learned  the  value  of  untiring 
industry  and  perseverance.  On  the  9th  of  September,  1865,  he  began  clerk- 
ing for  the  firm  of  Mizer  &  Ley  for  five  dollars  per  month.  His  duties  were 
manifold  and  included  the  janitor  work  in  the  store  and  the  currying  of  the 
horses,  besides  making  sales.  That  he  proved  capable  and  faithful  is  indi- 
cated by  the  fact  that  he  was  frequently  entrusted  to  conduct  the  business  in 
the  absence  of  the  proprietors  and  at  one  time  five  thousand  dollars  was  left 
in  his  care.  He  remained  in  that  store  for  three  years  and  while  there 
learned  the  German  language,  for  there  were  many  German  speaking  peo- 
ple in  the  neighborhood.  He  afterward  became  a  salesman  in  the  employ  of 
J.  W.  Pierce  and  subsequently,  as  the  result  of  his  diligence  and  economy, 
he  was  enabled,  in  connection  with  John  H.  Lovelace,  to  purchase  this  store 
whieh  he  conducted  for  three  years.  Selling  out  on  account  of  his  health 
he  afterward  engaged  in  the  sale  of  farm  implements  for  one  year  and  on 
the  3d  of  January,  1873,  he  became  connected  with  the  insurance  business, 
accepting  the  agency  in  Coshocton  county  for  the  Farmers  Insurance  Com- 
pany of  Leroy,  Ohio.  He  also  represented  the  interests  of  the  company  in 
Holmes  county,  Ohio,  and  is  still  engaged  in  the  business,  controlling  today  j 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


452  HISTORY    OF    COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

the  largest  fire  insurance  agency  in  Coshocton.  Prior  to  his  removal  to  thL< 
city  he  lived  in  Bakersville  until  September  1,  1890.  He  has  done  business 
in  this  county  for  the  past  thirty-five  years  and  has  a  wide  acquaintance 
throughout  its  borders. 

Mr.  Mizer  has  always  been  active  in  politics  and  is  a  stalwart  advocate 
of  democratic  principles.  On  the  9th  of  November,  1899,  he  was  elected 
clerk  of  the  courts  of  Coshocton  county  and  served  for  three  years.  In  1903 
he  was  again  chosen  for  that  oHice  and  continued  in  the  position  until 
190(>.  Otherwise  he  has  never  sought  political  preferment  but  has  been  con- 
tent to  do  his  duty  as  a  citizen  in  private  relations,  giving  his  aid  and  influ- 
ence to  every  measure  calculated  to  prove  of  [mblic  benefit.  He  has  been 
l)resident  of  the  Citizens  Building  &  Loan  Association  since  1894  and  is 
proving  an  excellent  executive  oflicer,  at  the  same  time  carefully  controlling 
bis  insurance  business,  in  which  connection  he  repre^sents  about  twenty 
companies. 

On  the  22d  of  November,  1870,  Mr.  Mizer  was  married  to  Miss  Helen 
M.  Pierce  and  they  now  have  three  children:  French  Y.^  born  July  16, 
1875;  Blake  V.,  born  February  18,  1880;  and  Audrey  V.,  March  8,  1888. 
Mr.  Mizer  is  a  Royal  Arch  Mason,  and  is  most  loyal  to  the  teachings  of  the 
craft  and  is  in  hearty  sympathy  with  it-*  principles  of  mutual  helpfulness 
and  brotherly  kindness.  His  reliability  in  busine.^*,  his  consideration  for 
the  rights  and  interests  of  others,  his  activity  in  support  of  progressive  com- 
munity affairs  and  his  faithfulness  in  the  discharge  of  every  obligation  that 
devolves  ui>on  him,  have  made  him  one  of  the  popular  and  respected  citi- 
zens of  Coshocton. 


JAMES   R.    PARK. 


James  R.  Park,  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Park  &  Renner,  owners  of  the 
planing-mill  at  Fresno,  was  born  in  White  Eyes  township,  this  county,  on 
March  26,  1862,  a  son  of  \V.  H.  Park,  a  sketch  of  w^hose  life  appears  else- 
where in  this  volume.  Our  subject  was  reared  on  a  farm  and  received  a 
common-school  education.  At  the  age  of  twenty  years  he  began  to  learn 
the  carpenter's  trade,  and  thus  early  became  interested  in  the  lumber 
product,  with  which  he  familiarized  himself  to  the  fullest  detail  by  work- 
ing in  a  sawmill  during  the  winter  months  for  fifteen  successive  years,  fol- 
lowing his  trade  of  carpentering  during  the  months  of  summer.  In  1893 
Mr.  Park  located  in  Fresno  and  from  that  time  on  devoted  his  entire  atten- 
tion to  carpentering  until  in  1903,  when  in  conjunction  with  Philip  Ren- 
ner he  equipped  a  sawmill  plant  with  all  modern  machinery  and  engaged 
in  the  manufacture  of  lumber,  handling  it  from  the  log  to  the  finished 
product.  Their  output  consists  of  window  sashes,  door  frames,  and  all  kinds 
of  mill  work.  Their  patronage  has  been  most  liberal  and  the  business  has 
been  a  thriving  one  from  the  outset.  In  addition  to  his  milling  interests, 
Mr.  Park  is  also  a  director  and  treasurer  of  the  Avondale  Glove  Company, 
of  which  he  was  one  of  the  organizers. 

.Google 


Digitized  by  ^ 


HISTORY    OF    COSHOCTON    COUNTY  453 

On  May  28,  1884,  Mr.  Park  wa^  united  in  marriage  to  Mls.<  Salema 
Boyd  who,  like  himself,  is  a  native  of  White  Eyes  township,  born  May  80, 
18G0.  She  is  the  daughter  of  Samuel  T.  and  Sophia  (Caton)  Boyd.  Her 
father  died  in  1888  at  the  age  of  fifty-five  years  while  her  mother,  who  is 
now  sixty-three  years  of  age,  is  a  resident  of  Coshocton.  They  were  the 
parents  of  four  children,  of  whom  three  are  living,  namely:  Salema,  the 
wife  of  our  subject;  Luella,  the  wife  of  Mero  Weir,  of  Cashocton;  and 
Blanche,  the  wife  of  Bert  Todd,  also  of  Coshocton.  Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Park  have  been  born  six  children,  namely:  Orval,  w^ho  is  attending  Dela- 
ware college;  Walter,  Russell  and  Virgil,  all  of  whom  r^ide  at  home  with 
their  parents.  Walter  is  engaged  in  teaching,  while  Russell  is  a  graduate 
of  the  Fresno  high  school.  Lester,  the  oldest,  and  Bertha,  the  youngest,  are 
deceased. 

Politically  Mr.  Park  is  a  republican,  though  he  has  never  aspired  to 
public  office.  He  has  ever  taken  an  active  interest  in  educational  matters, 
and  is  now  a  member  of  the  board  of  education.  Fraternally,  he  Ls  a  mem- 
ber of  Fresno  Lodge,  No.  11688,  M.  W.  A.,  of  which  he  is  treasurer,  and 
he  and  his  wife  are  also  members  of  the  Royal  Neighbors.  His  religious 
faith  is  indicated  by  his  membership  in  the  United  Presbyterian  church, 
in  which  he  holds  the  office  of  treasurer. 


ANDREW    STEPHON. 

Andrew  Stephon  needs  no  introduction  to  the  readers  of  this  volume 
for  he  is  a  well  known  business  man  of  Bakersville,  where  he  is  successfully 
engaged  in  merchandising.  He  has  also  been  active  in  community  affairs 
and  his  labors  in  behalf  of  public  progress  have  been  far-reaching  and  bene- 
ficial. He  was  born  in  Tuscarawas  county,  Ohio,  November  3,  1853,  and  is 
a  son  of  Jacob  and  Elizabeth  (Eckert)  Stephon,  both  of  whom  were  natives 
of  Germany.  They  remained  resident.-?  of  that  land  until  1842,  when  they 
came  to  America  and  established  their  home  in  Tuscarawas  county.  The 
father  was  a  tailor  by  trade,  but  after  reaching  the  new  world  turned  his 
attention  to  general  agricultural  pursuit-*,  owning  and  cultivating  a  farm  in 
Tuscarawas  county  up  to  the  time  of  his  death,  which  occurred  in  June, 
1888.  His  widow  survived  him  for  about  eight  years  and  pas.sed  away  in 
1898.  They  were  the  parents  of  thirteen  children,  of  whom  eight  are  liv- 
ing: Margaret,  the  wife  of  Fred  Eckfelt  is  living  in  ^rt  Washington, 
Ohio;  Henry,  whose  home  is  in  Guernsey  county,  Ohio;  Caroline,  the  wife 
of  Valentine  Goedle,  a  resident  of  Blackband,  Ohio;  Adam,  whose  home  is 
in  Tuscarawas  county;  Emma,  the  wife  of  Mark  Miller  also  living  iu  Tus- 
carawas county;  William,  of  the  same  county;  Mary  the  wife  of  David  Van- 
ostran  of  Tuscarawas  county;  and  Andrew,  of  this  review. 

Andrew  Stephon  spent  the  days  of  his  boyhood  and  youth  under  the 
parental  roof,  and  acquired  his  education  in  the  common  schools.  During 
the   period-!  of  vacation   he   worked   in   the   field*^,  an-isting   in   the  plowing. 


Digitized  by  ^ 


454  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

planting  and  harvesting,  but  at  length  he  put  aside  agricultural  interests. 
He  then  became  a  dealer  in  sewing  machines  and  continued  in  that  busi- 
ness for  ten  years,  when  he  believed  that  his  experience  and  his  capital, 
acquired  through  his  previous  industry  and  economy,  justified  his  becom- 
ing a  factor  in  commercial  lines.  Therefore,  in  1887  he  turned  his  atten- 
tion to  mercantile  lines  in  Bakersville.  There  he  has  conducted  business 
continuously  since,  having  a  well  appointed  store.  His  sales  are  now  quite 
extensive  and  the  enterpri.<e  is  proving  profitable. 

In  1877  Mr.  Stephon  married  Miss  Clara  Andrews,  who  w^as  born  in 
Tuscaraw^as  county  in  1856.  Her  father  died  in  December,  1899,  but  her 
mother  is  still  living  and  yet  makes  her  home  in  Bakersville.  Mrs.  Stephon 
was  one  of  a  family  of  seven  children,  and  by  her  marriage  has  become  the 
mother  of  three  daughters:  Jessie  is  the  wife  of  R.  T.  Leach,  who  is  in 
partnership  with  her  father,  and  by  this  marriage  there  is  one  son, 
Andrew;  Stella  J.  Is  the  wife  of  E.  I).  Swagert,  of  New  Comerstown,  Ohio, 
and  they  have  one  daughter,  Dorothea  K. ;  Mildred  M.,  a  graduate  of  the 
Bakersville  high  school,  is  yet  at  home. 

The  parents  are  coiLsl^tent  and  faithful  members  of  the  Prasbyterian 
church,  and  they  occupy  an  enviable  pasition  in  social  circles,  where  intel- 
ligence is  regarded  as  an  essential  factor  to  agreeableness.  Mr.  Stephon  is 
well  known  as  a  leading  republican  of  his  community,  and  for  three  terms 
filled  the  office  of  assessor.  He  has  also  served  on  the  school  board  and  was 
postmaster  under  presidents  Harrison  and  McKinley.  His  official  duties 
have  always  been  discharged  with  the  utmost  promptness  and  fidelity,  and 
he  is  widely  recognized  as  a  citizen  of  genuine  worth  whether  found  in  bus- 
iness, political  and  social  relations. 


THOMAS    J.    HANLEY. 

The  prosperity  of  any  community,  town  or  city  depends  upon  its  com- 
mercial activity,  it-  industrial  interests  and  its  trade  relations  and  therefore 
among  the  builders  of  a  town  are  thase  who  stand  at  the  head  of  its  busi- 
ness enterprises.  In  this  relation  Thomas  J.  Ilanley  deserves  mention.  He 
has  for  eighteen  years  been  engaged  in  the  milling  business  and  is  now  pres- 
ident of  the  Hanley  Milling  Company,  one  of  the  successful  and  important 
productive  industries  of  the  city.  He  was  born  in  County  Limerick,  Ire- 
land, July  12,  1859,  and  his  parents,  David  and  Ann  (Carey)  Hanley, 
were  al<o  natives  of  County  Limerick.  They  came  to  the  United  States 
with  their  family  of  seven  children  in  1862  and  settled  in  Steubenville, 
Ohio,  where  they  continued  to  reside  until  called  to  the  home  beyond.  The 
father  ])assed  away  in  1874  at  the  age  of  sixty-two  years,  while  his  wife  died 
at  the  age  of  seventy-eight. 

Thomas  J.  Hanley  was  but  three  years  old  when  his  parents  sailed 
across  the  Atlantic  and  became  residents  of  the  new  w^orld.  He  attended 
the  public  schools  of  Steubenville  and  afterward  continued  his  education  in 


Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


T.  J.  HANT.EY. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


Digitized  by 


Google 


HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  457 

the  Curry  Institute  of  Pitts^burg.  He  started  in  business  life  at  the  age  of 
seventeen  yeai-s  in  company  with  his  two  brothers,  Richard  and  Joseph  P. 
Hanley,  the  former  now  engaged  in  the  real-estate  business  in  Sheridan, 
Pennsylvania,  while  the  latter  was  practicing  law  in  Toledo,  this  state,  at 
the  time  of  his  death,  which  occurred  in  July,  1908.  The  brothers 
formed  a  partnership  and  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  brooms  in 
Steubenbville  for  two  years.  Thomas  J.  Hanley  then  turned  his  attention 
to  railroading,  with  which  business  he  was  connected  for  five  years. 

In  the  year  188G  occurred  the  mjirriage  of  Mr.  Hanley  and  Miss  Mary 
M.  O^Connor,  of  Cresson  Springs,  Pennsylvania,  and  immediately  following 
his  marriage  Mr.  Hanley  engaged  in  general  merchandising  in  Dennison, 
Ohio,  where  he  remained  until.  July,  1891.  Selling  out  his  business  there, 
he  came  to  Coshocton  in  the  same  year  and  succeeded  J.  F.  Williams  & 
Son  in  the  milling  business,  forming  a  partnership  with  Samuel  Ferguson. 
They  operated  the  mill  under  the  firm  name  of  Ferguson  &  Hanley  until 
1896,  when  Mr.  Hanley  purchased  his  partner^s  interest  and  carried  on  the 
business  individually.  In  1904,  however,  the  business  was  incorporated 
under  the  name  of  the  Hanley  Milling  Company,  with  Mr.  Hanley  as  the 
president  and  general  manager.  This  has  become  an  important  industry  of  the 
city.  The  mill  is  equipped  with  the  latest  improved  machinery  and  modern 
appliances  and  is  one  of  the  largest  in  Coshocton.  The  excellence  of  their 
product  insures  them  a  liberal  patronage  and  the  company  is  kept  busy  fill- 
ing orders  from  all  parts  of  the  surrounding  country.  The  output  of  the 
house  is  now  large  and  the  scope  of  manufacture  includes  White  Lily,  Early 
Riser  and  Snow^  Flake  flours.  They  also  manufacture  meal  and  feed  and 
deal  in  grain.  Mr.  Hanley  is  also  president  of  the  Sixth  Street  theater.  He 
ia  a  man  of  forceful  character  and  marked  individuality  and  is  gathering  the 
generous  harvest  w^hich  is  the.  just  recompense  of  indomitable  energy. 

Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hanley  have  been  born  six  children :  Veronica, 
Delsie,  Thomas,  Ambrose,  Jerome  and  Mary  Margaret,  all  of  w^hom  are 
under  the  parental  roof.  Mr.  Hanley  is  a  member  of  Coshocton  Lodge,  No. 
376,  B.  P.  0.  E.;  Ca^hocton  Council,  No.  994,  K.  C;  and  the  Catholic 
church.  His  interest  in  connnunity  affairs  is  not  a  matter  of  idle  assertion. 
On  the  contrary  he  is  a  worker  for  the  public  good  and  is  now  the  president 
of  the  Coshocton  County  Good  Roads  Association.  He  stands  for  progress 
not  only  in  his  business  affairs  but  in  public  life  as  well  and  his  efforts  are 
proving  far-reaching  and  beneficial. 


JOHN  WAGONER. 


While  well  known  in  business  affairs  as  a  representative  of  agricultural 
and  stock-raising  and  breeding  interests,  John  Wagoner  has  also  figured  prom- 
inently in  local  political  circles  and  has  been  especially  active  and  helpful 
in  support  of  movements  for  the  improvement  of  roads.  He  is  now  ser\dng 
as  road  commissioner  and  in  other  cities  has  done  effective  service  for  the 
public  welfare. 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


458  HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON    COUNTY 

A  native  of  Muskingum  county,  Ohio,  Mr.  Wagoner  was  lx)m  June  21, 
1834,  a  son  of  John  and  Barbara  (Shurtz)  Wagoner,  both  of  whom  were 
natives  of  Pennsylvania.  The  father  went  to  Muskingum  county,  Ohio,  as  a 
young  man,  while  the  mother  located  there  during  her  girlhood  days  with 
her  parents.  John  Wagoner  was  born  in  1796  and  while  still  a  resident  of 
Pennsylvania  assisted  in  building  the  ships  which  composed  Commodore 
Perry's  fleet  on  Lake  Erie  during  the  war  of  1812.  He  volunteered  to  Perry 
before  the  battle  but  owing  to  his  youth  and  a  full  complement  of  men  he 
was  not  accepted.  On  coming  to  Muskingum  county  he  turned  his  atten- 
tion to  farming,  with  which  he  was  identified  during  his  active  life.  He  died 
in  1879  upon  the  farm  where  the  birth  of  his  son  John  occurred,  and  on 
which  he  had  long  made  his  home,  transforming  the  place  from  a  wild,  un- 
improved tract  of  land  into  one  of  rich  fertility.  His  early  political  support 
was  given  to  the  whig  party,  and  on  its  dissolution  he  joined  the  ranks  of  the 
republican  party,  believing  firmly  that  its  principles  were  most  conducive  to 
good  government.  While  never  an  office  seeker  he  was  a  factor  in  the  party 
councils,  and  his  fellow^  townsmen  cidled  him  to  ser\^e  in  various  township 
positions.  In  the  community  he  was  regarded  as  a  man  of  influence,  for  it 
v/as  known  that  his  views  of  life  w^ere  sound  and  progressive  and  that  he 
manifested  an  unusual  interest  in  public  affairs. 

Mr.  Wagoner,  whose  name  introducet^  this  review,  was  reared  at  home, 
acquiring  his  education  in  the  common  schools  of  the  township.  At  twenty- 
one  years  of  age  he  began  teaching  and  for  fifteen  years  followed  the  pro- 
fession, imparting  readily  and  clearly  to  others  the  knowledge  which  he  had 
acquired.  During  these  years  he  was  also  engaged  in  farming  and  in  the 
operation  of  a  sawmill  and  a  threshing-machine.  He  introduced  the  second 
portable  sawmill  ever  brought  into  the  county  and  was  also  the  owner  of 
one  of  the  early  threshers  here.  Leaving  Muskingum  county  in  1859,  he 
removed  to  Coshocton  county  and  for  four  yeai-s  was  a  resident  of  Tuscarawas 
township.  Susequently  he  removed  to  Franklin  township,  where  he  has 
since  resided,  and  since  18G9  has  made  his  home  continuously  on  the  farm 
of  one  hundred  and  ninety-three  acres,  which  is  still  to  him  a  gratifying 
source  of  revenue.  The  fields  annually  return  golden  harvests,  and  in 
addition  to  the  tilling  of  the  soil  he  has  made  a  specialty  of  the  breeding 
and  raising  of  Merino  sheep,  while  for  several  years  he  has  also  extensively 
engaged  in  buying  w^ool.  His  business  judgment  is  usually  correct  and  his 
enterprise  has  placed  him  among  the  men  of  affluence  in  his  community. 
While  he  has  capably  conducted  his  business  interests,  Mr.  Wagoner  has 
also  figured  prominently  in  republican  circles  and  for  years  has  taken  an 
active  part  in  the  work  of  the  organization,  his  opinions  carrying  weight  in 
its  councils.  He  has  likewise  been  a  stalwart  and  helpful  advocate  of  the 
cause  of  public  education  and  served  for  several  years  as  a  member  of  the 
school  board,  while  at  the  pra^^ent  time  he  is  treasurer  of  the  board.  He  has 
likew^ise  favored  higher  education  and  in  fact  does  all  in  his  power  to  promote 
intellectual  progress.  Something  of  his  personal  popularity  is  indicated  by 
the  fact  that  while  living  in  a  township  which  is  regarded  as  a  democratic 
stronghold  he  is  now  serving  as  townshi})  treasurer.    He  has  also  been  elected 

Digitized  by  LjOOQLC 


HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON    COUNTY  459 

and  reelected  justice  of  the  peace,  until  his  incumbency  in  the  office  covers 
twelve  years,  during  which  time  his  decisions  were  strictly  fair  and  im- 
partial, winning  for  him  the  commendation  of  all  law-abiding  citizens.  He 
ha.-^  for  years  been  an  advocate  of  good  roads  and  has  done  much  to  better 
the  condition  of  public  highways  in  Coshocton  county.  Under  a  special  act 
authorizing  not  less  than  four  townships  to  improve  the  roads  by  special 
taxation  he  was  appointed  a  road  commissioner  in  1907  for  the  townships 
of  Franklin,  Tuscarawas,  Jackson  and  Keene,  and  in  this  capacity  has  done 
much  to  further  the  good  roads  movement  here,  his  labors  being  manifested 
in  practical  results  which  have  met  with  the  approval  of  the  citizens  of 
this  part  of  the  county. 

Mr.  Wagoner  has  been  married  twice.  In  1858  he  wedded  Miss  Cath- 
erine Zimmer,  of  Mu^ikingum  county,  and  unto  them  were  born  six  children, 
of  whom  four  are  living,  namely :  Ada  Alice,  the  wife  of  Andrew  Brannon, 
of  Franklin  township;  Henry  Howard,  a  fruit-grower  of  Stanislaus  county, 
California:  Judson  E.,  superintendent  of  the  Coshocton  Iron  Works,  at 
Monongahela,  Pennsylvania;  and  William  A.,  a  farmer  of  Franklin  town- 
.-hi|>.  The  wife  and  mother  died  in  1883,  and  in  1885  Mr.  Wagoner  mar- 
ried Mrs.  Hattie  Welling,  nee  Lewis,  of  Falls  township,  Muskingum  county, 
a  daughter  of  George  Lewis,  who  was  one  of  the  early  settlers  there  and  was 
prominent  in  community  affairs,  serving  as  the  first  clerk  of  the  court  in 
Mus^kingum  county  and  as  one  of  its  first  surveyors,  being  employed  by  the 
government. 

Mr.  Wagoner  is  a  member  of  the  Patrons  of  Husbandry  and  has  always 
taken  an  active  part  in  religious  work,  being  now  one  of  the  members  and 
trustees  of  St.  Paul's  Lutheran  church  in  Franklin  township.  His  life  has 
been  well  spent.  For  a  period  of  almost  a  half  century  he  has  lived  in 
Coshocton  county,  and  has  not  only  been  an  intera^^ted  witness  of  its  growth 
and  improvement,  but  has  contributed  in  substantial  measure  to  its  develop- 
ment, while  as  a  business  man  he  has  made  a  creditable  record,  and  that  his 
social  qualities  prove  attractive  is  indicated  by  his  large  circle  of  friends. 


ABNER    McCOY. 


John  McCoy,  the  father  of  our  subject,  came  to  Ohio  in  1806  in  com- 
pany with  his  parents,  Joseph  and  Milly  McCoy,  and  first  located  at  Zanes- 
ville.  but  the  following  wint<?r  removed  to  Virginia  township,  Coshocton 
county,  where  a  cabin  was  built  in  midwinter.  Upon  that  farm  the  family 
made  their  home  for  ten  years  and  it  is  now  owned  by  William  McGee, 
The  boys  of  the  McCoy  household  spent  most  of  their  time  playing  with 
the  Indians  as  there  were  no  schools  to  attend.  In  1817,  at  the  age  of 
twenty-two  years,  John  McCoy  entered  a  tract  of  land  in  Virginia  towmship, 
consisting  of  four  hundred  acres,  and  since  that  far-distance  date  the  McCoy 
farm  has  changed  hands  but  once,  that  being  from  John  McCoy  to  Abner, 
the  subject  of  this  sketch. 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


460  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

Abiier  McCoy  did  his  full  share  in  the  development  and  improvement 
of  a  tract  of  land  of  four  hundred  acres  and  it  was  only  during  a  few  weeks 
of  the  winter  months  that  he  was  permitted  to  attend  school,  therefore  his 
advantages  in  that  direction  were  very  limited.  Mr.  McCoy  began  life  on 
his  own  account  on  the  farm  which  has  always  been  his  home,  this  being 
one  of  the  largest  and  most  productive  tracts  of  land  in  Coshocton  county. 
In  addition  to  doing  general  farming  he  also  raises  stock  on  quite  an  ex- 
tensive scale,  keeping  only  that  of  the  highest  grades. 

Mr.  McCoy  was  married  on  the  18th  of  October,  1871,  to  ^liss  Eliza- 
beth Meek,  a  daughter  of  Asa  and  Virginia  Meek,  residents  of  Virginia 
township.  Their  union  was  ble&^ed  with  seven  children,  three  sons  and 
four  daughters.  The  sons  are  George  F.,  Asa  and  William  A.,  while  (tie 
daughters  are:  Virginia,  the  wife  of  Harvey  Cox;  Sarah  J.,  the  wife  of 
Edward  Dickinson;  Margaret  B.;  and  Mabel  V.  The  wife  and  mother 
passed  to  her  final  reward  February  20,  1908,  and  thas  the  community  lost 
one  of  its  most  highly  esteemed  women  and  the  hoasehold  a  devoted  and 
loving  wife  and  mother. 

Mr.  McCoy  gives  his  political  support  to  the  democratic  party  and  in 
1887  wa«i  elected  a  member  of  the  board  of  county  commihssioners,  serving 
for  two  terms,  or  six  years.  He  brought  to  the  office  sound  judgment  and 
good  business  sense,  and  in  political  circles  is  held  in  high  esteem.  He 
also  served  as  school  director  for  several  years  and  at  the  present  writing  is 
a  member  of  the  township  board  of  education.  He  is  a  public-spirited  citi- 
zen, whose  worth  well  merits  the  high  regard  in  which  he  is  uniformly  held. 


JACOB    EDMOND    WOLFE. 

Jacob  Edmond  Wolfe,  who  follows  farming  in  Tuscarawas  township, 
is  a  representative  of  one  of  the  oldest  families  of  this  county.  Hardly  had 
the  work  of  improvement  and  development  been  begun  when  his  grandpar- 
ents settled  in  this  part  of  the  state.  The  Indians  still  visited  the  neighbor- 
hood and  only  here  and  there  had  a  white  man  established  a  home  and  laid 
claim  to  the  land,  planting  the  seeds  of  civilization  on  virgin  soil.  The  grand- 
parents came  from  Pennsylvania  in  the  year  of  1812  and  settled  on  White 
Eyes  plains,  where  the  grandfather  acquired  extensive  landed  properties. 

There,  amid  the  wild  scenes  of  pioneer  life,  George  Wolfe,  the  father 
of  our  subject,  w^as  reared.  He  was  born  in  Pennsylvania  and  was  therefore 
ten  years  of  age  when  he  came  with  his  parents  to  Ohio.  He  assisted  in  the 
arduous  task  of  developing  a  new  farm  and  experienced  many  of  the  hard- 
ships and  privations  of  pioneer  life.  After  arriving  at  years  of  maturity  he 
married  Miss  Annis  Salyards,  who  was  born  in  this  county.  They  settled 
in  Keene  township,  where  George  Wolfe,  who  was  a  tanner  by  trade,  fol- 
lowed the  tanning  business  for  some  years,  meeting  with  excellent  success 
in  his  undertakings.  He  also  became  one  of  the  extensive  farmers  of  the 
county,  acquiring  twelve  hundred  acres  of  land,  which  he  managed  in  con- 
Digitized  by  LjOOQIC 


HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  461 

nection  with  his  tanning  interests.  His  politkal  support  was  given  to  the 
democratic  party  and  he  served  for  one  term  as  county  commissioner.  He 
was  also  a  deacon  in  the  Baptist  church  and  took  an  active  and  helpful  in- 
terest in  the  church  work.  No  measure  for  the  benefit  of  the  community 
failed  to  receive  his  endorsement  and  cooperation  and  he  was  regarded  as 
a  valued  resident  of  the  county.  He  died  November  11,  1886,  at  the  ad- 
vanced age  of  eighty-four  years. 

Jacob  Edmond  Wolfe,  whose  name  introduces  this  review,  was  born  on 
the  home  farm  in  Keene  township,  August  2,  1864,  and  as  his  age  and 
strength  permitted  he  assisted  more  and  more  largely  in  the  work  of  the 
farm,  alternating  his  time  between  the  labors  of  the  fields  and  the  duties 
of  the  schoolroom.  He  attended  successively  the  district  schools,  the  high 
school  of  Louisville,  Ohio,  and  the  Keene  Academy.  As  his  father  was  then 
in  advanced  years,  Jacob  Edmond  Wolfe  took  up  the  work  of  the  home  farm 
and  managed  the  property.  He  continued  to  reside  thereon  for  five  years 
after  his  father's  death  or  until  the  spring  of  1891,  when  he  removed  to 
his  present  farm  in  Tuscarawas  township — a  property  that  came  to  him 
through  inheritance.  It  is  splendidly  improved,  being  equipped  with  all 
modern  conveniences  and  accessories.  A  substantial  home,  good  barns  and 
substantial  outbuildings  stand  in  the  midst  of  well  tilled  fields,  and  every- 
thing about  the  place  is  indicative  of  his  care  and  supervision. 

In  1901  Mr.  Wolfe  was  married  to  Miss  Amelia  Jones  of  West  Lafayette, 
this  county,  and  they  have  two  children,  Guida  Maria  and  Dean  Samuel. 
Mr.  Wolfe  votes  with  the  democratic  party  and  has  served  as  township  trustee 
for  four  years.  He  was  president  of  the  committee  appointed  by  the  Business 
Men's  Association  and  the  Good  Roads  Association  of  Cashocton  county,  who 
organized  the  townships  of  Tuscarawas,  Jackson,  Keene  and  Franklin  into 
a  vspecial  road  district  for  the  improvement  of  public  highways.  He  is  a 
trustee  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  in  which  he  holds  membership. 
The  work  instituted  by  his  grandfather  and  carried  on  by  his  father  is  con- 
tinued by  him,  and  for  almost  a  century  the  family  name  has  figured  in 
connection  with  the  business  development  and  agricultural  progress  of  the 
county. 


GEORGE   W.    NEED. 


George  W.  Need  has  reached  the  very  venerable  age  of  eighty-nine 
years  and  is  now  living  with  his  son  in  White  Eyes  township.  His  life  has 
been  one  of  business  activity,  characterized  by  straightforward  dealing  and 
wherever  he  has  lived  he  has  enjoyed  the  confidence  and  good  will  of  his 
fellowmen.  He  was  born  in  Harrison  county,  Ohio,  March  3,  1819.  James 
Monroe  was  at  that  time  president  of  the  United  States  and  had  only  had 
three  predecessors.  Travel  by  the  aid  of  steam,  either  on  the  railroad  or  on 
the  rivers,  was  hardly  known.  In  fact  it  had  gone  scarcely  beyond  the  ex- 
perimental  stage.     All   of   the    great    Mississippi     valley    was    hirgely    an 

Digitized  by  LjOOQIC 


462  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

unsettled  and  unimproved  wilderness  and  the  family  home  in  which  George 
Need  spent  his  boyhood  days  was  upon  the  frontier.  His  parents,  (George 
and  Sarah  (Myser)  Need,  were  both  natives  of  Pennsylvania  but  had  be- 
come pioneers  of  Harrison  county,  Ohio,  where  the  father  followed  the  car- 
penter's trade.  Unto  him  and  his  wife  were  bom  the  following  children: 
Matilda,  deceased;  George  W.,  of  this  review;  David  and  Margaret,  who 
have  also  passed  away;  Samuel,  a  resident  of  Tuscarawas  county:  John, 
who  was  killed  in  the  war;  Maria,  the  wife  of  John  Hiner,  of  Iowa;  and 
Sarah  Ann,  living  in  Tuscarawas  county.  The  father  died  in  1856  and 
the  mother,  sur\^iving  him  for  three  decades,  passed  away  in  1886. 

George  W.  Need  was  reared  on  the  home  farm  amid  the  wild  scenes  and 
environments  of  pioneer  life.  He  can  well  remember  when  candle:^  were  iv^ed 
for  lighting  houses  and  when  cooking  was  done  over  the  old-time  fireplace. 
Most  of  the  buildings  of  the  neighborhood  were  constructed  of  lo^  and 
much  of  the  natural  timber  still  stood.  Farm  work  was  done  with  machin- 
ery very  crude  as  compared  with  that  of  the  present  time  and  he  has  lived 
to  see  remarkable  changes  in  the  methods  of  farming.  No  longer  does  the 
farmer  walk  behind  the  plow  in  the  fields  and  drop  the  seed  by  hand.  The 
modem  riding  plow,  the  cultivator,  the  self  reaper  and  binder  and  the  steam 
thresher  have  replaced  the  primitive  farm  implements  and  revolutionized 
the  work  done  in  the  fields.  Mr.  Need  remained  at  home,  assisting  in  the 
arduous  task  of  developing  the  place  up  to  the  time  of  his  marriage. 

On  the  8th  of  October,  1844,  he  wedded  Miss  Barbara  Hawk,  who 
was  born  in  Carroll  county,  Ohio,  in  1822  and  was  a  daughter  of  Leonard 
and  Margaret  (Rydenhouse)  Hawk.  Following  his  marriage  Mr.  Nee<l 
settled  upon  a  rented  farm,  which  he  cultivated  for  three  years  and  then 
when  his  economy  and  industry  had  brought  him  sufficient  capital  he  pur- 
chased fifty  acres  of  land  in  Coshocton  county.  On  the  place  was  a  small 
log  cabin,  in  which  he  lived  for  five  years.  He  then  sold  his  original  farm 
and  bought  eighty  acres  in  Adams  township,  upon  which  he  also  lived  for 
five  years.  Later  he  purchased  another  eighty-acre  tract  and  afterward  one 
hundred  and  thirty  acres  more,  residing  upon  that  place  for  seven  years, 
when  he  sold  all  of  his  land  in  Ohio  and  removed  to  Iowa.  He  remained 
in  the  latter  state,  however,  for  only  a  year,  when  he  returned  to  Coshocton 
county  and  invested  in  eighty  acres  of  land,  on  which  he  resided  for  a  year. 
On  the  expiration  of  that  period  he  disposed  of  his  property  and  lived  upon 
the  Hawk  farm  for  one  year,  after  which  he  bought  two  hundred  and  fifty 
acres  in  Adams  township,  making  it  his  home  for  about  twelve  months.  On 
again  selling  out  he  once  more  went  to  Iowa,  where  he  purchased  two  hun- 
ared  and  seventeen  acres  of  land,  cultivating  it  through  the  succeeding 
three  years.  He  then  disposed  of  mat  property  and  has  since  remained  a 
resident  of  Ohio,  now  making  his  home  with  his  only  son,  \V.  A.  Need, 
who  is  married  and  resides  upon  a  farm  in  White  Eyes  township. 

Since  the  organization  of  the  republican  party  Mr.  Need  has  been  one 
of  its  stalwart  supporters,  always  voting  for  its  men  and  measures  yet  never 
seeking  office  for  himself.  Both  he  and  his  wife  are  earnest,  consistent 
Christian   people,  holding  membership  in   the  Methodist   Episcopal  church. 

Digitized  by  VjjOOQlC 


HISTORY    OF    COSHOCTON   COUNTY  463 

They  have  now  traveled  life's  journey  together  for  sixty-four  years,  shar- 
ing with  each  other  the  joys  and  sorrows,  adversity  and  prosperity  which 
come  into  the  lives  of  all.  Mr.  Need  has  been  a  busy  man  and  his  career 
has  been  a  useful  one  but  of  recent  years  he  has  enjoyed  a  rest  which  he 
has  truly  earned  and  richly  merits.  No  history  of  this  community  would 
be  complete  without  mention  of  Mr.  Need,  who  has  lived  to  witness  such 
remarkable  changes  here.  He  has  seen  the  introduction  of  the  railroad, 
the  telegraph  and  the  telephone,  while  schools  and  churches  have  given 
their  civilizing  influence  to  the  upbuilding  of  the  community  and  material 
progress  has  been  continuously  advanced. 


ROBERT   ANDREW    CRAWFORD. 

Robert  Andrew  Crawford,  whose  constantly  expanding  powers  and  spirit 
of  dauntless  enterprise  have  led  him  into  the  field  of  industrial  activity,  where 
his  labors  are  constituting  a  feature  in  the  general  progress  of  Coshocton, 
as  well  as  a  source  of  individual  profit,  is  well  known  as  the  secretary  and 
treasurer  of  the  Hunt-Crawford  Company,  manufacturers  of  corrugated  paper, 
packing  and  supplies.  He  was  born  January  25,  1872,  in  Mill  Creek  town- 
ship, Coshocton  county,  and  his  early  boyhood  was  spent  on  a  farm.  His 
father,  Andrew  Crawford,  was  a  native  of  County  Tyrone,  Ireland,  born 
in  1810.  He  came  to  America  with  his  parents  and  other  members  of  the 
family  in  1820  and  settled  in  Crawford  township,  Coshocton  county,  Ohio. 
Later  he  went  to  Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  was  engaged  in  the 
tanning  trade,  and  subsequently  he  operated  a  tannery  in  Crawford  town- 
ship, Coshocton  county.  Later,  however,  he  turned  his  attention  to  general 
agricultural  pursuits  and  thus  continued  throughout  the  remainder  of  his 
active  business  career.  In  1835  he  was  married  to  Miss  Margaret  Irwin, 
and  unto  them  were  born  three  sons  and  a  daughter:  William  Henry,  John 
Thomas,  Guy  Irwin  and  Sarah.  Having  lost  his  first  wife,  Mr.  Crawford 
wedded  Mary  Ann  Ramsey  on  the  16th  of  July,  1867.  They  became  par- 
ents of  two  sons,  Oliver  Ramsey  and  Robert  Andrew.  The  mother  was  born 
in  Pittsburg,  Penusylvania,  March  10,  1825,  and  died  at  Keene,  Ohio,  Janu* 
ary  10,  1902,  having  for  more  than  nine  years  survived  her  husband  who 
passed  away  at  Keene  August  29,  1892. 

Robert  A.  Crawford  spent  his  early  life  on  the  home  farm  near  Keene 
and  was  graduated  from  the  Keene  township  high  school  in  1891  and  from 
the  preparatory  department  of  Wooster  University  in  1893.  He  then  entered 
upon  the  collegiate  classical  course  but  was  obliged  to  discontinue  his  studies 
in  his  senior  year  because  of  ill  health.  His  first  step  after  he  left  school 
in  1897  was  to  become  a  partner  in  the  firm  of  Crawford  &  Whittemore, 
doing  a  general  mercantile  business  in  Keene,  Ohio.  He  remained  in  that 
connection  for  two  years  and  from  1899  until  1901  was  engaged  in  the 
newspaper  business,  while  through  the  succeeding  two  years  he  was  a  repre- 
sentative  of   the   dry-goods   trade   in    Coshocton.      Thinking   to    find    more 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


464  HISTORY    OF    COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

profitable  fields  in  manufacturing  lines,  and  seeing  opportunity  for  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  good  business,  Mr.  Crawford,  in  1903,  a-sisted  in  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  Hunt-Crawford  Company,  manufacturers  of  corrugated  paper, 
packing  and  supplies.  They  built  a  plant  in  Coshocton,  equipped  it  with 
the  latest  improved  machinery"  known  to  the  trade  and  have  since  conducted 
a  growing  and  prosperous  undertaking.  From  the  beginning,  Mr.  Crawford 
has  been  secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  company  and  has  contributed  to  its 
succes.<ful  condu-ct  by  his  administrative  direction  and  sound  judgment. 

Not  unknown  in  political  circles  he  has  exerted  considerable  influence 
in  republican  ranks  and  hiis  been  active  as  a  member  of  the  county  central 
and  executive  committees.  In  1904  he  was  appointed  by  Governor  Herrick, 
Ohio  building  and  loan  examiner,  and  is  still  filling  that  position.  He  has 
been  a  member  of  the  Phi  Gamma  Delta,  a  Greek  letter  fraternity,  since 
1893  and  in  -1900  joined  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellow^s.  He  was 
formerly  identified  with  the  Presbyterian  church  in  Keene  and  he  trans- 
ferred his  membership  to  Coshocton  on  his  removal  to  the  latter  city. 

On  the  20th  of  December,  1900,  in  Coshocton,  Mr.  Crawford  was  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Annie  Isabelle  Stover,  a  daughter  of  LeRoy  S.  and  Sarah  (Irvine) 
Stover  and  a  granddaughter  of  James  Irvine,  who  was  a  captain  in  the 
Mexican  war  and  organized  the  first  military  company  from  Coshocton  under 
the  three  months'  call,  going  to  the  front  again  with  the  rank  of  captain, 
while  later  he  became  major  of  cavalry.  One  child,  Robert  Irvine,  was  bom 
unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Crawford,  on  the  10th  of  December,  1901,  but  died  No- 
vember 19,  1903.  Mr.  Crawford  is  interested  in  all  that  pertains  to  the 
city's  welfare  and  upbuilding  and  to  its  material,  intellectual,  social  and 
moral  progress.  His  influence  can  be  counted  upon  to  further  movements 
for  the  public  good  and  Coshocton  county  is  proud  to  number  him  among 
her  native  sons,  for  he  is  today  cla.ssed  with  her  progressive  citizens. 


SETH   SHAW. 


Seth  Shaw,  a  member  of  an  old  and  prominent  county  family  to  whom 
this  section  of  the  country  is  very  largely  indebted  for  its  present  high  state 
of  cultivation  and  development,  was  born  in  Lafayette  township,  November 
oO,  1853,  the  son  of  Velzer  and  Margaret  (Maple)  Shaw.  His  paternal 
grandfather  brought  his  family  into  this  county  from  New  Jersey  in  1833, 
and  bought  a  large  tract  of  what  was  then  wild  land.  Velzer  Shaw,  the 
father  of  our  subject,  was  born  in  Orange  county,  New  Jersey,  May  4,  1824, 
and  was  therefore  but  nine  years  of  age  at  the  time.  He  was  reared  in  the 
midst  of  pioneer  environments  and  as  he  grew  to  manhood  the  responsibil- 
ities of  the  place,  to  the  possession  of  which  he  afterward  succeeded,  were 
largely  shifted  to  his  shoulders.  He  wedded  Margaret  Maple,  who  was  born 
in  Portsmouth,  Ohio,  in  1825,  and  they  became  the  parents  of  five  children, 
of  whom  but  two  are  now  living,  namely:  Henr>',  a  resident  of  West  Lafay- 

Digitized  by  LjOOQLC 


Digitized  by 


Google 


1  i    .    i-LV.    >.)!;k 
1-L\..JL.I-PA[,Y 


ASTOR,  L'^^OX  AND 
T'LDEN   FOUNDATIONS. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON    COUNTY  467 

ette;  and  Seth,  of  this  review.     The  mother  died  in  1900,  while  the  father 
survived  her  for  a  few  years,  his  death  occurring  in  1904. 

Seth  Shaw  received  a  connnon-^school  education  and  hegan  his  career 
as  an  independent  farmer  at  the  early  age  of  eighteen  years.  The  first  land 
which  he  purchased  consisied  of  one  hundred  and  sixteen  acres  in  Lafayette 
tow^nship,  which  is  now  the  property  of  hit?  son  Lee.  Througli  good  man- 
agement, and  aided  by  a  fertile,  productive  soil,  he  derived  substantial  ben- 
efits from  his  farming  operations  and  gradually  increa^d  his  holdings  of 
farm  land  and  enlarged  his  income  in  proportion.  Through  investment  and 
by  inheritance  he  came  into  posse^ssion  of  city  residence  property  for  rental 
purposes  and  later  embarked  in  mercantile  pursuits.  Sound  judgment  and 
keen  businass  ability  has  characterized  his  various  undertakings,  so  that  he 
rates  high  in  the  mercantile  agencies,  and  his  connection  with  an  enterprise 
stamps  it  as  being  of  a  stable,  substantial  nature.  In  addition  to  his  home 
place,  which  consists  of  one  hundred  and  twenty-one  acres  adjoining  West 
Lafayette  on  the  north,  eleven  acres  of  which  lie  within  the  corporation  limits, 
Mr.  Shaw  also  owns  a  farm  of  two  hundred  and  forty  acres  in  Oxford  town- 
ship and  thirteen  houses  and  lots  in  Coshocton,  including  the  Union  Hotel 
on  Main  street,  a  building  containing  nineteen  rooms.  He  is  now  complet- 
ing one  of  the  handsomest  homes  in  West  Lafayette.  It  is  being  built  of 
cement  blocks,  and  covered  with  cement  shingles,  a  comparatively  new  in- 
novation, in  the  construction  of  which  Mr.  Shaw  is  demonstrating  his  faith 
in  one  of  his  business  ventured,  which  con<=5ists  of  a  plant  for  the  manufac- 
ture of  cement  building  blocks  and  cernent  shingles.  He  also  owns  ten 
thousand  dollars  worth  of  stock  in^the  West  Lafayette  Manufacturing  Com- 
pany, which  is  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  enameled  ware,  of  which  he 
was  one  of  the  organizers.  He  has  always  maintained  his  liome  in  West 
I^afayette,  and  regardless  of  his  interests  in  other  ventures  has  ever  adhered 
to  agricultural  pursuit*. 

On  the  16th  of  August,  1871,  Mr.  Shaw^  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss 
Nancy  A.  Hall,  who  was  bom  near  Parkersburg,  Virginia,  October  5,  1852, 
the  daughter  of  John  H.  and  Judith  (Ingraham)  Hall.  Both  of  her  parent* 
nore  natives  of  Virginia,  where  the  father  was  born  in  1821,  and  the  mother 
five  years  later.  They  left  their  native  state  and  located  in  Coshocton  county, 
where  they  spent  the  remainder  of  their  lives.  The  mother  died  in  1889, 
while  the  father  survived  her  for  five  years,  passing  away  in  1894  at  the  age 
of  seventy-three  years.  They  were  the  parents  of  ten  children,  of  whom 
two  are  dead.  Those  surviving  are:  Elihu,  a  resident  of  Kansas;  Nancy  A., 
the  wafe  of  our  subject;  Victoria,  the  wife  of  A.  C.  Dark,  who  live-^  in  Okla- 
homa; John  II.,  who  lives  in  Union  county,  Ohio;  W.  B.  and  Arthur  L., 
both  of  whom  reside  in  Lafayette  township;  Sarah  J.,  the  wife  of  John 
Bethan),  of  North  Judson,  Indiana;  and  A.  M.,  who  resides  in  West  Lafayette. 

Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Shaw  have  been  bom  nine  children,  six  sons  and 
three  daughters,  namely:  Lucian,  who  was  graduated  from  the  Ohio  State 
University  as  civil  engineer  in  1904,  married  Miss  Nellie  Beyers  and  resides 
in  West  Lafayette.  Henrietta  is  the  wife  of  Howard  Lennon,  superintend- 
ent of  the  county  infirmary  of  Coshocton  county.     Lee  O.  is  a  resident  ofj 

Digitized  by  V^OOQIC 


468  HISTORY    OF    COSHOCTON    COUNTY 

Lafayette  township.  J.  B.  is  a  graduate  of  the  Ohio  State  University,  class 
of  1908,  where  he  completed  the  course  as  cyramical  engineer  and  is  now 
foreman  in  an  enamel  plant.  He  married  Miss  Maria  Wild  and  now  resides 
m  Boston,  Massachusetts.  Isaac  H.  is  also  a  graduate  of  the  Ohio  State  Uni- 
versity, where  he  completed  the  cour^  as  doctor  of  veterinary'  medicine  in 
the  cla.«s  of  1907.  He  married  Miss  Carrie  Burris  and  his  home  is  in  Sioux 
City,  Iowa.  Francis  E.  and  Clement  are  at  home  with  their  parents,  An- 
toinette and  Newton  are  d;>ceased. 

Mr.  Shaw  gives  his  political  allegiance  to  the  democracy  and  has  served 
as  township  assessor  for  two  terms.  Both  he  and  his  estimable  wife  are  faith- 
ful and  consistent  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  to  which 
they  give  their  loyal  support. 


JOHN   QUINCY   ADAMS. 

John  Quincy  Adams  is  a  partner  in  the  Coshocton  Lumber  Company, 
a  successful  commercial  enterprise  of  the  city.  He  was  born  in  Keene 
township,  this  county,  his  parents  being  E.  W.  and  Olivia  (Gleason)  Adams, 
now  residents  of  Coshocton.  His  father  was  reared  a  farmer  but  later  be- 
came interested  in  the  lumber  business  as  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Adams  & 
Gleason  at  Ra«coe  and  is  now  a  director  of  the  People's  Banking  &  Trust 
Company  and  is  connected  with  other  business  enterprises  of  Coshocton. 

In  the  public  schools  of  Keene  and  also  in  the  Keene  select  school  John 
Q.  Adams  pursued  his  education  to  the  age  of  twelve  years,  when  he  re- 
moved with  his  parents  to  Coshocton  and  later  became  a  high-school  student, 
completing  the  course  by  graduation  with  the  class  of  1891.  He  spent  two 
years  in  acquiring  a  more  specifically  literary  education  in  the  Ohio  Wesleyan 
College  at  Delaware  and  then  made  his  initial  step  in  the  business  world 
at  Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania,  as  an  employe  of  a  house  dealing  in  builders' 
.supplies,  it  being  his  intention  to  thoroughly  acquaint  himself  with  the  busi- 
ness in  every  particular.  He  spent  four  years  there  and  his  close  application 
and  energy  won  him  successive  promotions  until  he  finally  became  assistant 
manager  of  the  wholesale  builders'  supply  yard.  Thus  with  thorough  under- 
standing of  the  trade  he  returned  to  Coshocton  in  1901  and  with  his  two 
brothers  organized  the  Coshocton  Lumber  Company.  This  concern  is  the 
largest  of  the  kind  in  the  city,  handlinio:  a  full  line  of  builders'  supplies,  in- 
cluding lumber.  They  have  complete  facilities  for  carrying  on  the  business 
and  their  trade  ha-^  enjoyed  a  remarkable  growth.  They  deal  exclusively 
in  lumber  and  building  materials,  and  have  a  large  storage  capacity,  insur- 
ing always  a  large  supply  on  hand  to  promptly  fill  all  orders  of  whatever 
magnitude.  The  office  and  yards  are  located  alongside  of  the  Wheeling 
&  Lake  Erie  tracks,  where  they  are  sure  of  quick  shipping  services.'  They 
make  a  sj)ecialty  of  large  orders  and  are  always  prepared  to  oflFer  an  induce- 
ment to  lumber  buyers  in  general.  The  benefit  of  a  large  and  complete  stock 
of  all   cla.sses   of  building   material,   together   with   prompt   delivery,    gives 


Digitized  by  LjOOQIC 


HISTORY    OF    COSHOCTON   COUNTY  4(39 

reliable  sen^ice  in  every  detail.  This  business  from  the  very  coninienee- 
ment  attracted  general  attention  and  favorable  comment  owing  to  the 
character  and  the  very  superior  quality  of  the  material  carried.  This  reputa- 
tion has  not  only  been  sustained  but  has  become  firmly  establLshed  owing  to 
the  great  volume  of  business  done  each  year.  This  truth  is  fully  demonstrated 
by  the  fact  that  today  it  ranks  as  one  of  the  largest  lumber  companies  in 
the  eastern  part  of  Ohio  in  any  city  the  size  of  Coshocton.  Their  methods 
of  doing  business  are  such  as  to  win  the  confidence  of  the  most  skeptical  and 
the  proprietors  are  all  young  men  of  rare  business  ability  and  the  highest 
standing  and  integrity. 

In  his  political  affiliations  John  Q.  Adams  is  a  republican,  strong  in 
support  of  the  party.  He  has  attained  the  Knight  Templar  degree  in  Ma- 
sonry, belongs  to  the  Elks  lodge,  and  is  a  member  of  the  Beta  Theta  Pi. 
His  thorough  preparation  for  a  business  career  proved  an  excellent  foundaition 
upon  which  to  build  his  succass,  and  along  legitimate  lines  and  through 
successive  stages  of  development  he  has  built  up  an  ent?rprise  which  is  now 
a  leading  commercial  concern  of  the  city. 


JOHN   GAULT. 


The  Gault  family  has  been  represented  in  Coshocton  county  from  the 
period  of  its  earliest  pioneer  history,  being  established  here  in  1815  by  Adam 
and  Margaret  Gault,  the  paternal  grandparents  of  our  subject.  They  came 
from  Mercer  county,  Pennsylvania,  and  located  in  Pike  tow'nship. 

John  Gault,  the  subject  of  this  review,  is  a  worthy  representative  of  this 
pioneer  family,  born  in  Pike  township,  a  son  of  Adam  and  Sarah  (Miller) 
Gault.  He  was  reared  under  the  parental  roof  and  upon  starting  out  in  life 
on  his  own  account  chose  as  his  occupation  farming,  which  he  is  now  carry- 
ing on  extensively  on  a  tract  of  land  of  three  hundred  and  sixteen  acres  sit- 
uated in  Pike  towTiship.  His  farm  Ls  well  improved  with  good  and  substan- 
tial barns  and  outbuildings,  and  everything  about  the  place  is  kept  in  a  neat 
and  thrifty  appearance  indicating  the  progressive  methods  of  the  owner.  In 
addition  to  raising  the  various  cereals  best  adapted  to  soil  and  climate  he  also 
raises  stock  and  both  branches  of  his  business  are  proving  a  [)rofitable  source 
of  revenue  to  him. 

Mr.  Gault  established  a  home  of  his  own  b>'  his  marriage,  on  the  22d  of 
June,  1867,  to  Miss  Susan  White,  a  daughter  of  Louis  and  Sarah  (Norris) 
White.  Their  union  has  been  blessed  with  three  children,  a  daughter  and  two 
sons:  Sarah  Isabelle,  Darl  F.  and  Tilden  A.  The  sons  assist  the  father  in  carry- 
ing on  the  homestead  property. 

Mr.  Gault 's  study  of  the  political  questions  and  issues  of  the  day  has 
led  him  to  give  stahvart  support  to  the  men  and  measures  of  the  democratic 
party,  and  he  has  been  calle<l  by  his  fellow  townsmen  to  fill  public  offices, 
having  served  as  treasurer  of  the  township  for  several  years,  as  trustee  of  the 
township  and  also  as  a  member  of  the  school  board.     His  religious  faith  is 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


470  HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

iiidieatod  by  hi.s  niembersliip  in  the  Presbyterian  church.  Mr.  Gault  is  an 
advocate  of  every  movement  that  is  calculated  to  benefit  the  community, 
either  educationally,  morally  or  socially,  and  as  a  representative  of  one  of 
the  oldest  and  most  prominent  pioneer  familie.-  of  Coshocton  county  he  stands 
high  in  the  esteem  of  all  whom  he  comers  in  contact. 


JOHN    CUTHBERT    MILLIGAN. 

Investigation  into  the  life  record  of  John  Cuthbert  Milligan  shows  that 
he  is  lacking  in  none  of  those  essential  qualities  which  make  the  good  citi- 
zen, the  liberal  business  man  and  the  faithful  friend.  He  has  been  promi- 
nent in  agricultural  and  commercial  circles,  has  demonstrated  his  loyalty  to 
his  country  on  the  field  of  battle,  and  in  every  relation  of  life  has  measured 
up  to  the  full  standard  of  honorable  manhood.  He  is  now  living  retired  in 
the  enjoyment  of  well  earned  rest  and  the  most  envious  cannot  grudge  him 
his  success,  so  honorably  has  it  been  won,  and  so  w^orthily  used. 

Mr.  Milligan  is  a  native  of  Coshocton  county,  his  birth  having  occurred 
in  Keene  township,  September  4,  1837.  His  {)aternal  grandfather,  a  native 
of  Ireland,  was  the  founder  of  the  family  in  the  new  world,  settling  in  Vir- 
ginia. His  father,  Cuthbert  Milligan,  was  a  native  of  Hardy  county,  Vir- 
ginia, and  came  to  Coshocton  county  in  1815,  casting  in  his  lot  with  the 
pioneer  settlers  who  were  reclaiming  this  region  and  converting  it  from  a 
frontier  district  into  the  homes  of  a  contented,  happy  and  prosperous  people. 
He  bore  his  full  share  in  the  work  of  development  and  for  many  years  was 
cUxsely  associated  with  \t<  agricultural  interest^^,  meeting  with  gratifying  suc- 
cess in  liLs  undertakings.  He  started  from  Virginia  with  a  horse  and  fifty 
dollars,  and  wnth  such  meager  possessions  began  life  in  Ohio,  but  as  the 
years  pa*.<ed,  his  untiring  energy  and  determination  overcame  all  obstacles 
and  he  steadily  worked  his  way  upward.  At  the  time  of  his  death,  which  oc- 
curred in  1888.  he  was  the  owner  of  over  nine  hundred  acres  of  good  farm 
land.  At  the  time  of  the  war  of  1812  he  enlisted,  but  was  never  called  to 
active  service.  He  married  Dorothy  Reed,  also  a  native  of  Hardy  county, 
Virginia.  The  Reeds  w^re  of  English  lineage  and  settled  in  the  Old  Domin- 
ion at  an  early  epoch  in  its  history.  The  fighting  blood  has  always  pre- 
vailed in  this  family  and  when  the  country's  safety  has  been  imperiled 
members  of  the  family  have  valiantly  fought  for  the  interests  of  this  land. 
Anthony  Ree<l,  the  grandfather  of  John  C.  Milligan,  and  also  a  native  of 
Virginia,  was  a  participant  in  the  Revolutionary  war,  taking  part  in  a  num- 
ber of  hotly  contested  battles.  His  brother,  Joseph  Reed,  served  on  Wash- 
ington's staff,  and  was  a  prominent  figure  in  those  times.  Loyal  and  pat- 
riotic, he  rendered  valuable  aid  to  the  father  of  his  country  in  the  efforts  to 
free  America  from  the  yoke  of  BritL4i  tyranny.  The  British  offered  him 
fifty  thousand  ])ounds  if  he  would  serve  England  and  h\>  reply  was  *'I  am  not 
worth  the  purchasing;  but  such  as  I  am,  the  king  of  Great  Britain  is  not  able 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  471 

to  buy  me.''  He  was  also  offered  the  best  colonial  office  in  the  gift  of  the 
king.  Dorothy  Reed  was  reared  in  the  county  of  her  nativity  and  in  early 
womanhood  gave  her  hand  in  marriage  to  Cuthbert  Milligan,  with  whom 
she  came  to  Ohio.  They  lived  to  see  this  region  transformed  from  the  fron- 
tier district  into  one  of  the  most  progressive  counties  of  the  commonwealth, 
retaining  their  residence  in  Coshocton  county  until  called  to  their  final  rest. 
The  death  of  Mrs.  Milligan  occurred  in  1887. 

There  were  still  many  evidences  of  pioneer  life  to  be  seen  in  this  dis- 
trict during  the  boyhood  days  of  John  C.  Milligan,  who  was  reared  on  the 
home  farm  in  Keene  township  and  pursued  his  education  in  the  district 
.schools  near  his  father's  home.  He  continued  his  .studies  during  the  winter 
months  to  the  age  of  twenty  years.  His  father  then  gave  him  a  part  of  the 
old  homestead  and  he  succ*essfully  cultivated  this,  carrying  on  general  agri- 
cultural pursuits  until  1890.  In  the  meantime  he  added  largely  to  hi< 
original  tract  and  became  known  as  one  of  the  leading  farmei-s  of  the  com- 
nuuiity,  for  his  fields  wei-e  always  highly  cultivated  and  on  his  farm  were 
found  the  most  modern  improvements.  In  1890  Mr.  Milligan  moved  to  Co- 
shocton and  established  an  implement  business,  which  soon  became  a  lead- 
ing concern  of  the  kind  in  the  county.  He  bought  for  cash,  sought  only  to 
secure  a  fair  profit  on  his  investment  and  at  all  times  employed  the  most 
straightforward  business  methods.  No  word  was  ever  uttered  against  his 
business  integrity  and  the  farming  community  had  the  most  absolute  con- 
fidence in  him.  Thus  his  sales  steadily  increased  until  in  1907,  when  he 
sold  out  to  the  Gray  Hardware  Company.  He  then  established  hL<  present 
business  with  a  view  of  assisting  his  son  in  making  a  start  in  the  commer- 
cial world,  and  the  latter  is  now  at  the  head  of  a  prosi>erous  and  constantly 
growing  enterprise. 

The  only  interruption  to  Mr.  Milligan's  business  career  came  in  his  en- 
listment as  a  soldier  of  the  Civil  war.  Hardly  had  the  smoke  from  Fort 
Sumter's  guns  cleared  away  when,  on  the  17th  of  April,  in  response  to  the 
first  call,  he  enlisted  as  a  member  of  Company  D,  Sixteenth  Ohio  Volunteer 
Infantry.  He  participated  in  the  battles  of  Phillippi  and  Carricks  Ford, 
and  on  the  ex[)iration  of  his  first  term  was  honorably  discharged  in  .August, 
1861.  Three  years  later  he  reenlLsted  in  the  Nineteenth  Ohio  and  went 
with  Sherman  on  his  march  to  the  sea  and  throughout  the  Atlanta  cam- 
paign. He  participated  in  many  other  important  battles,  which  contributed 
to  the  victory  that  finally  crowned  the  Union  arms,  and  on  the  10th  of 
June,  1805,  was  honorably  discharged.  Always  loyal  to  his  country  and 
displaying  a  most  patriotic  spirit,  he  offered  to  enlist  in  the  Spanish-Amer- 
ican war.  He  ha^  been  equally  faithful  to  the  welfare  of  the  community 
in  hLs  service  in  local  offices.  He  has  filled  a  number  of  townshij)  posi- 
tions and  for  twenty-one  years  was  justice  of  the  peace  in  Keene  township, 
where  his  decisions,  always  fair  and  impartial,  "won  him  golden  opinions 
from  all  sorts  of  people."  He  was  for  twenty-one  years  a  member  of  the  board 
of  education  in  Keene  and  the  public-school  system  ha=;  ever  found  in  him 
a  stalwart   champion.     He   has  voted   with   the   republican    party   since   its 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


472  HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

organization  and  for  twenty  years  was  central  committeeman  of  Keene 
township. 

On  the  7th  of  October,  1862,  ilr.  Milligan  was  married  to  ili--  Eliza- 
beth McCollough,  a  native  of  Jackson  township,  this  county,  who  died 
November  29,  1879.  Their  children  were  as  follows:  Alice  K..  who  wa- 
born  in  1863,  and  is  active  as  her  father'.^  hoa^ekeeper;  Flora  ElizaWth. 
who  was  born  June  10,  1865,  and  1-5  the  wife  of  Charles  Hoagland,  a  resi- 
dent of  Keene;  Mary  Laura,  who  was  born  in  1867,  and  is  now  engaged  in 
business  in  Seattle,  Washington;  Charles  Alexander,  who  was  born  in  1869. 
and  is  now  in  the  plumbing  business;  James  Edward,  who  was  born  in 
1871,  and  ls  living  in  Blissfield,  Ohio;  Sarah  Jane,  who  was  born  in  1878, 
and  died  in  1905;  William  Cbthbert,  who  was  bom  in  187'6,  and  is  now  in 
Columbus,  Ohio;  and  John  Howard,  who  was  born  in  1879,  and  died  in 
infancy.  The  loss  of  Mr.  Milligan's  wife  has  always  been  a  source  of  great 
sorrow  to  him,  as  he  was  devotedly  attached  to  her.  Theirs  was  largely 
an  ideal  marriage  relation  and  their  mutual  love  and  confidence  increased 
as  the  yeurs  passed  by. 

Mr.  Milligan  has  been  a  consistent  member  of  the  Methodist  Protestant 
church  for  fifty-two  years;  has  taken  an  active  interest  in  its  work  and  has 
filled  all  of  it«  official  positions.  He  is  likewise  a  valued  member  of  the 
Grand  Army  of  the  Republic  and  his  life  has  been  an  open  book.  He  at- 
tributes his  success  to  the  fact  that  he  has  always  endeavored  to  follow  the 
Golden  Rule.  He  has  ever  been  a  worker,  never  fearing  that  laborious 
attention  to  detail  that  is  so  necessary  in  the  acquirement  of  success,  but 
while  he  has  made  steady  progress  along  the  lines  of  affluence  he  has  never 
been  neglectful  of  his  duty  towards  his  fellowmen  nor  to  his  country  and 
he  enjoys  to  the  fullest  extent  the  confidence  and  good  will  of  all  with  whom 
he  has  come  in  contact. 


STEPHEN   F.    BALO. 


Honorable  in  business,  loyal  in  citizenship,  charitable  in  thought, 
kindly  in  action,  true  to  every  trust  reposed  in  him,  the  life  of  Stephen  F". 
Balo  was  the  highest  type  of  Christian  manhood  and  thus  his  death,  which 
occurred  April  9,  1907,  wa^  the  occasion  of  deep  sorrow  to  his  many  friends. 
He  w^as  born  in  Canton  Berne,  Switzerland,  May  7,  1835,  a  son  of  Francis 
and  Elizabeth  (Strom)  Balo,  who  in  1853  emigrated  to  the  United  States. 
Landing  in  New  York  the  family  made  their  way  to  Cleveland,  whence 
they  journeyed  by  canal  boat  to  Adams  Mills  and  this  has  been  the  home 
of  the  Balos  to  the  present  time.  When  the  family  arrived  here  they  were 
in  verv'  limited  financial  circumstances  and  were  strangers  in  a  new  coun- 
try, without  friends  and  unable  to  speak  the  English  language.  They, 
therefore,  endured  many  hardships  and  privations  in  establishing  a  home. 
The  father  and  two  of  the  sons,  however,  secured  employment  in  the  con- 
struction of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad,  for  which  they  never  received  their 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  473 

pay.  Soon  after  arriving  here  gickness»  overtook  them,  all  of  the  family, 
with  the  exception  of  the  two  youngest  members,  having  the  ague,  which 
was  prevalent  at  that  time.  One  of  the  children  died  from  the  sickness  and 
owing  to  this  unfortunate  circumstance  the  little  money  which  they  had 
saved  was  soon  exhausted  and  they  were  reduced  to  abject  want  and  were 
obliged  to  call  upon  the  county  for  assistance,  which  soon  supplied  them 
with  the  necessities  of  life. 

After  regaining  his  health,  Stephen  Balo  secured  employment  with  a 
farmer  in  the  neighborhood,  with  whom  he  worked  until  the  time  of  the 
Civil  war  when,  feeling  that  his  first  duty  was  to  his  country,  he  enlisted  in 
August,  1862,  as  a  member  of  Company  H,  Ninety-Seventh  Ohio  Volunteer 
Infantry.  He  served  under  Sherman  and  Hooker  and  was  mustered  out 
June,  1865,  at  Columbus,  Ohio. 

Following  his  return  from  the  war  he  engaged  in  farming  with  his 
father  and  later  farmed  on  his  own  account,  owning  a  well  improved  tract 
in  Virginia  township,  where  he  carried  on  general  agricultural  pursuits 
and  stock-raising.  Deprived  in  his  youth  of  many  of  the  necessities  and 
advantages  of  life,  as  the  years  passed  and  he  prospered  in  his  undertak- 
ings, he  availed  himself  of  all  the  comforts  and  conveniences  of  life  and 
occupied  one  of  the  finest  and  most  modern  country  homes  in  this  section 
of  the  state. 

Soon  after  returning  from  the  war,  Mr.  Balo  established  a  home  of  his 
own  by  his  marriage,  November  9,  1865,  to  Miss  Martha  J.  Bird,  a  daugh- 
ter of  Joshua  and  Martha  (Pepper)  Bird.  Their  union  was  blessed  with 
six  children:  Laura,  the  wife  of  Abe  Ridgeway;  Elizabeth-  E.,  the  wife  of 
Hamilton  S.  Scott;  Jerre  F. ;  James  H. ;  Mary  A.;  Rhoda  B.,  now  the  wife 
of  George  F.  Bainter,  a  practicing  physician  of  Strasburg,  Ohio. 

Mr.  Balo  gave  his  political  support  to  the  men  and  measures  of  the 
democratic  party,  while  his  religious  faith  was  indicated  by  his  membership 
in  the  Presbyterian  church  at  Adams  Mills.  Mr.  Balo  was  a  remarkable 
man  in  many  respects.  In  him  were  embodied  the  virtues  of  the  early 
pioneers — the  steadfast  purpose,  rugged  integrity  and  religious  zeal — 
virtues  to  which  the  splendid  civilization  of  America  is  indebted  for  its 
wonderful  development  and  its  glorious  progress. 


WILLIAM    GRAHAM. 

William  Graham,  who  is  extensively  engaged  in  agricultural  and  hor- 
ticultural pursuits  and  .stock-raising,  is  numbered  among  the  enterprising 
citizens  of  Coshocton  county.  He  was  bom  in  this  county,  October  6,  1862, 
a  son  of  James  and  Matilda  (Bryan)  Graham.  The  paternal  grandparents 
emigrated  from  England  to  America  in  1812  and  was  en  route  at  the  time 
war  was  declared  between  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States.  The  vessel 
on  which  they  were  passengers  was  seized  by  a  British  man-of-war  and 
taken  to  a  port  in  Nova  Scotia  where  the  passengers  were  detained,  as  orison^ 

Digitized  by  VjOO?IC 


474  HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

ers.  The  grandfather  was  a  stonemason  by  trade  and  worked  on  govern- 
ment building  during  the  time  he  was  held  as  a  prisoner  and  it  was  at  this 
time  that  James,  the  father  of  our  subject,  was  bom,  the  year  of  his  birth 
being  1814.  After  peace  was  declared  between  the  United  States  and  Great 
Britain  the  family  was  released  and  came  direct  to  Pike  township,  Coshoc- 
ton county,  the  year  of  their  arrival  here  being  1816.  Here  the  grand- 
father entered  three  hundred  acres  of  land  from  the  government  and  soon 
began  clearing  the  forests  and  establishing  a  home  for  himself  and  family. 
In  the  maternal  line  our  subject  comes  of  IrL«h  descent,  his  maternal  grand- 
father, James  Bryan,  and  his  brother  Silas  being  natives  of  Muskingum 
county,  to  which  place  their  parents  had  removed  upon  their  emigration 
from  the  Emerald  isle.  James  spent  his  remaining  days  in  Muskingum 
county,  but  Silas  removed  to  Illinois.  He  was  the  grandfather  of  William 
Jennings  Bryan,  the  noted  statesman  and  presidential  candidate  in  1908, 
so  that  the  latter  is  a  distant  relative  of  Mr.  Graham  of  this  review. 

William  Graham  was  reared  on  his  father's  farm  assisting  in  the 
work  of  cultivating  the  fields  during  the  spring  and  summer  months,  while 
in  the  winter  seasons  he  pursued  his  studies  in  the  district  schools.  He  has 
always  followed  the  occupation  to  which  he  was  reared  and  now  in  addition 
raises  fruit  on  an  extensive  scale  and  is  also  engaged  in  stock-raising.  He 
now  operates  a  farm  of  one  hundred  and  six  acres  in  Washington  township 
and  ninety  acres  in  Muskingum  county,  his  tracts  of  land  being  among 
the  most  valuable  and  best  improved  in  this  section  of  the  state. 

Mr.  Graham  was  married  in  April,  1886,  to  Miss  Margaret  Lemert,  a 
daughter  of  John  C.  and  Marj^  (Mull)  Lemert.  Two  sons  and  one  daughter 
have  blessed  this  union:  Frank  C,  John  L.  and  Mary  E.  Mr.  Graham 
gives  his  political  support  to  the  men  and  measures  of  democ^racy  and  is  a 
public-spirited  citizen,  always  ready  and  willing  to  contribute  his  share  in 
every  public  movement  calculated  to  better  the  conditions  of  the  com- 
munity in  which  he  lives.  He  has  ser\'ed  as  a  member  of  the  county  in- 
firmary board  for  three  years  and  is  also  a  member  of  the  district  school 
board.  He  is  also  a  notary  public,  the  only  man  in  the  township  officiating 
in  that  capacity.  He  is  a  Knight  of  Pythias  and  in  religious  faith  is  a 
Presbyterian.  He  and  his  family  occupy  an  attractive  home,  wherein 
reigns  culture  and  refinement,  and  its  hospitality  is  enjoyed  by  a  host  of 
warm  friends. 


HENRY    HARRISON    HAGELBARGER. 

Henry  Harrison  Hagelbarger  is  a  pro.-perou>  farmer  of  Tiverton  town- 
ship, owning  one  hundred  and  .^ixty-.-even  acres  of  valuable  land  here.  He 
is  a  native  son  of  the  township,  born  June  24.  1861,  of  the  marriage  of 
Jacob  and  Eliphal  (Humphrey)  Hagelbarger.  The  father  was  born  in  the 
state  of  New  York,  March  21,  18,^^5,  and  came  with  his  parents  to  Co- 
shocton county,  the  family  home  being  establiv>hed  in   Jefferson  township. 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


H.  H.  HAGELBARGER  AND  FAMILY. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


Digitized  by 


Google 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  477 

He  grew  up  on  the  home  farm,  subsequent  to  which  time  he  removed  to 
Tiverton  township  and  with  the  exception  of  two  years  spent  in  Cerro  Gordo 
county,  Iowa,  has  spent  his  time  in  Coshocton  county.  He  still  survives 
and  makes  his  home  a  few  miles  south  of  Tiverton.  The  mother  was  born 
in  the  Buckeye  state  and  was  married  in  Coshocton  county.  She  became  the 
mother  of  three  children:  Catherine  Elizabeth,  now  the  wife  of  I.  L.  Ghin, 
of  Geneva,  Nebraska;  Henry  H.,  of  this  review;  and  one  who  died  in  in- 
fancy. The  mother  also  passed  to  her  final  reward  about  this  time  and  both 
lie  buried  in  Cerro  Gordo  county,  Iowa. 

Henry  H.  Hagelbarger  was  but  two  years  old  at  the  time  of  his  mother's 
demise.  He  was  then  carefully  reared  by  the  father  and  was  educated  in 
the  district  schools  of  Tiverton  township.  He  remained  at  home  until  he 
had  reached  the  age  of  twenty-two  years  and  has  made  farming  his  life 
work.  He  now  owns  one  hundred  and  sixty-seven  acres  of  land  in  Tiverton 
township,  this  constituting  one  of  the  best  tracts  in  this  section  of  Coshocton 
county.  Six  years  ago  he  built  a  fine  modern  residence,  supplied  with  every 
convenience  and  accessory  for  the  comfort  of  the  inmates,  has  good  barns 
and  outbuildings,  and  everything  about  his  place  is  kept  in  a  neat  and  thrifty 
condition.  He  carries  on  general  farming  and  is  interested  in  the  Horse 
Breeders'  A^isociation,  owning  a  third  interest  in  the  French  draft  horse, 
Tongours.    He  is  also  a  stockholder  in  the  Bell  Telephone  Company. 

Mr.  Hagelbarger  was  married  January  1,  1888,  to  Miss  Dora  Winslow, 
a  daughter  of  David  and  Sarah  (Spurgeon)  Winslow.  The  Winslow  ancestry 
can  be  traced  back  to  the  time  of  the  Mayflower  and  members  of  the  name 
were  heroe^;  in  the  war  of  the  Revolution.  The  paternal  grandfather  came  to 
Ohio  from  Massachusetts,  covering  the  entire  distance  on  foot.  He  located 
the  farm  in  Tiverton  township  on  which  our  subject  now  resides.  This  region 
was  then  a  dense  wilderness  and  the  grandfather  in  due  course  of  time  de- 
veloped a  good  farm  property.  He  built  a  log  house,  which  at  that  time 
was  consdiered  the  best  house  in  Tiverton  township  and  which  until  six 
years  ago  remained  the  family  residence.  It  was  on  this  farm  and  in  that 
log  house  that  David  Winslow,  the  father  of  Mrs.  Hagelbarger,  was  born 
and  here  he  spent  his  entire  life,  his  death  occurring  January  25,  1901.  The 
wife  and  mother  died  June  8,  1889,  and  their  remains  lie  buried  in  the 
Baptist  cemetery  in  Tiverton  township.  After  the  death  of  his  wife  Mr. 
Winslow  remained  in  the  home  of  his  daughter,  Mrs.  Hagelbarger,  from 
whom  he  received  the  most  devoted  care.  Mrs.  Hagelbarger  has  one  sister, 
Elizabeth,  now  the  wife  of  J.  J.  Day,  a  general  merchant  of  Killbuck,  this 
state.  The  former  was  educated  in  the  district  schools  and  remained  with 
her  parents  until  the  time  of  her  marriage. 

The  home  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hagelbarger  ha^  been  bles.-ed  with  six  chil- 
dren: Noble  H.,  who  was  born  September  14,  1889,  and  is  in  school;  Nellie, 
born  December  11,  1892;  Ralph  W.,  bom  January  11,  1897:  Ruth,  born 
October  25,  1899;  Wayne,  born  January  25,  1903;  and  one  who  wa.«  bom 
September  26,  1905,  and  died  in  infancy. 

Politically  Mr.  Hagelbarger  is  a  republican  and  his  religious  faith  is 
indicated  by  his  membership  in  the  Disciples  church  at  Tiverton,  of  which 

Dtgitized  by  V^OOQlC 


478  IIiyTOKY    OF   COSHOCTON    COUNTY 

his  wife  and  two  eldcj^t  children  are  also  nieiiiberri.  His  fraternal  relations 
are  with  the  Patrons  of  Hui^bandry,  and  he  is  a  master  of  the  Grange.  Hav- 
ing spent  his  entire  life  in  Tiverton  township,  Mr.  Hagelbarger  has  a  verj^ 
wide  and  favorable  acquaintance  here.  He  is  therefore  interested  in  the 
progress  and  advancement  of  the  community  in  which  he  lives  and  has 
always  done  his  full  share  in  bringing  such  conditions  about.  His  estimable 
wife  also  shares  with  him  in  the  esteem  in  which  he  is  held  and  their  own 
hospitable  home  is  a  favorite  resort  for  their  many  friends. 


WILLIAM    HENRY    McCABE. 

The  world  pays  its  tribute  of  respect  to  the  man  who  is  succe.-v-ful  in 
business,  but  more  than  that  instinctively  yields  deference  to  him  whose 
life  has  been  passed  in  accordance  with  high  and  honorable  principles, 
never  displaying  that  selfish  interest  whereby  the  rights  and  privileges  of 
others  are  sacrificed.  The  record  of  William  Henry  McCabe  was  in  many 
respects  an  exemplary  one  and  therefore  his  death  was  the  occasion  of  sin- 
cere and  widespread  regret,  when  on  the  13th  of  August,  1901,  he  passed 
away.  He  was  born  June  18,  1851,  a  son  of  John  and  Julia  McCabe,  who 
were  natives  of  Ireland  and  came  to  America  soon  after  their  marriage, 
settling  on  Long  Island.  In  185'6  they  removed  with  their  family  to  the 
vicinity  of  Plainfield,  Coshocton  county,  Ohio,  and  afterward  settled  on  a 
farm  near  West  Lafayette,  while  later  they  took  up  their  abode  near  Canal 
Lewisville.  The  father  carried  on  agricultural  pursuits  throughout  his  en- 
tire life  and  died  in  1885. 

While  yet  a  boy,  William  Henry  McCabe  was  employed  at  the  railway 
station  at  West  Lafayette,  and  there  met  with  an  accident  that  required  the 
amputation  of  his  leg.  Thus  handicapped,  many  a  man  of  less  resolute 
spirit  would  have  felt  that  there  was  little  chance  left  for  him  in  life,  but 
Mr.  McCabe  was  not  discouraged  by  this  misfortune,  and  after  educating 
himself  for  a  business  career  he  came  to  Coshocton,  where  he  won  lifelong 
friends  through  that  desirable  quality,  which  for  want  of  a  better  term  has 
been  called  personal  magnetism.  Here  he  entered  the  employ  of  the  firm 
of  Hay  &  Wilson  as  bookkeeper  and  later,  in  association  with  others,  en- 
gaged in  the  drv^-goods  business.  His  ability  was  recognized  in  all  lines, 
for  he  possessed  sound  judgment  and  clear  insight  into  business  situations, 
and  was  able  to  combine  diverse  forces  into  a  harmonious  whole.  In  1881 
he  became  associated  with  H.  D.  Beach  in  the  publication  of  a  new.^^paper 
called  the  Standard  Commonwealth,  the  name  being  due  to  a  consolidation 
of  two  papers.  Later  it  wa«  changed  to  the  Democratic  Standard.  In  1889 
Mr.  Beach  sold  his  interest  to  Mr.  McCabe,  who  remained  sole  proprietor 
up  to  the  time  of  his  death.  The  Standard  became  a  successful  journal 
under  his  guidance,  and  was  a  credit  to  the  newspaper  interests  of  the  state. 

In  November,  1886.  ^Ir.  McCabe  was  married  to  Miss  Ella  Robinson 
and  they  had  two  children.  James  Robinson   and   Anna  Mary.       Mrs.  Mc- 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  479 

Cabe  is  a  native  of  Franklin  township,  this  county,  and  a  representative 
of  one  of  the  prominent  old  families  here.  Her  great-grandfather  was 
Major  Robinson,  a  native  of  Clarksburg,  Virginia,  who  on  coming  to  Ohio 
in  1801  settled  on  a  farm  near  Conesville,  Coshocton  county,  where  he  died 
in  1815.  His  son  was  Judge  James  Robinson,  a  very  prominent  represent- 
ative citizen  in  connection  with  the  judiciary  interests  of  the  state,  and  also 
a  representative  from  his  district  to  the  legislature.  His  son,  James  Robin- 
son, father  of  Mrs.  McCabe,  was  a  well  known  landowner,  who  at  one  time 
served  as  county  commissioner,  and  died  in  1868. 

In  politics  Mr.  McCabe  was  a  pronounced  democrat,  who  stood  high 
in  the  councils  of  his  party,  where  his  opinions  carried  weight.  He  was 
appointed  postmaster  of  Coshocton  during  President  Cleveland's  second  ad- 
ministration, and  dispatched  the  affairs  of  the  office  with  businesslike 
promptness.  At  the  time  of  his  death  he  was  acting  as  chairman  of  the 
democratic  county  executive  committee  and  for  many  years  he  was  a  dele- 
gate to  every  party  convention  to  which  he  was  eligible.  Fraternally  he 
was  connected  with  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd 
J'ellows,  and  of  Ca^hocton  Lodge,  No.  376,  B.  P.  0.  E.,  of  which  he  served 
as  exalted  ruler.  He  was  a  leading  citizen  of  his  community  and  was  ident- 
ified with  Coshocton  for  a  quarter  of  a  century.  All  Coshocton  and  hun- 
dreds of  people  elsewhere  in  the  county  and  state  knew  and  loved  this 
genial,  great-hearted  man.  He  had  the  rare  quality,  not  only  of  making 
friends,  but  of  keeping  them,  and  to  be  his  friend  was  to  command  that 
which  he  possessed,  whether  it  was  much  or  little.  He  was  generous,  al- 
most to  a  fault,  and  always  felt  that  it  was  more  blessed  to  give  than  to 
receive.  He  was  respected  by  those  who  were  his  political  enemies,  admired 
by  his  friends,  adored  by  his  family  and  honored  by  all  who  knew  him. 


BERNARD    PRESTON. 

Bernard  Preston,  who  is  practically  living  retired  in  a  comfortable 
home  in  West  Carlisle,  was  throughout  a  long  period  identified  with  agri- 
cultural and  business  interests  in  Coshocton  county.  He  was  born  in  Bel- 
mont county,  Ohio,  September  25,  1822,  a  son  of  Silas  and  Ann  Maria 
(Brown)  Preston,  the  parents  coming  to  Pike  township,  Coshocton  county, 
from  Washington  county,  Pennsylvania,  in  1833.  The  father  was  a  tan- 
ner and  was  engaged  in  business  in  West  Carlisle. 

Bernard  Preston,  whose  name  introduces  this  record,  was  reared  under 
the  parental  roof  and  at  an  early  age  entered  his  father's  tannery,  under 
whose  direction  he  learned  the  business.  He  w^orked  in  his  father's  tannery 
until  he  had  reached  his  majority,  when  he  became  apprenticed  to  learn 
the  harness  and  saddler's  trades.  After  completing  his  term  of  indenture 
he  engaged  in  business  in  West  Carlisle,  where  he  remained  until  1865, 
when  he  took  up  his  abode  upon  a  farm,  which  he  had  purchased  a  few 
miles  north  of  We.-t  Carlisle,  and  here  he  engaged  in  general  agricultural 

Digitized  by  LjOOQIC 


480  HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON    COUNTY 

puiBuite  and  stock-raising  until  1892,  when  be  once  more  took  up  his  abode 
in  West  Carlisle,  where  be  owns  and  occupies  a  nice  home,  which  is  sup- 
plied with  all  modem  conveniences  and  accessories  for  the  comfort  of  tlie 
inmates.  He  was  also  in  early  life  engaged  in  buying  wool,  shipping  a 
large  amount  annually.  His  activity  in  business  in  former  years  has 
brought  to  him  a  good  competency,  and  now  in  the  evening  of  his  days  he 
can  look  back  over  a  life  well  spent  and  enjoy  in  comfort  and  ease  the  fruits 
of  his  former  toil. 

Mr.  Preston  was  married  in  May,  1844,  to  MLss  Mary  Westlake,  a 
daughter  of  George  and  Ann  Wecstlake,  and  their  union  has  been  blessed 
with  twelve  children,  of  whom  four  are  deceased:  William  W.,  John  H. 
and  Howard,  all  of  whom  have  departed  this  life;  Louis  B. ;  Silas;  George; 
Charles  B. ;  Albert  D.;  Ann,  now  the  wife  of  George  \V.  Gault;  Sarah,  now 
the  wife  of  John  Almack;  Adeline,  the  wife  of  John  H.  Axline;  and  Ber- 
nard, who  is  also  deceased.  The  w^ife  and  mother  departed  this  life  about 
twelve  years  ago. 

Mr.  Preston  is  a  republican  in  his  political  views  and  affilations  but 
has  never  been  active  as  an  office  vseeker.  He  has,  however,  served  as  as- 
sessor of  the  township  for  a  number  of  yeare  and  has  served  as  a  member 
of  the  school  board,  the  cause  of  education  finding  in  him  a  warm  and  stal- 
wart friend.  He  has  not  only  been  active  in  business  affairs?  but  has  been 
a  public-spirited  citizen,  interested  in  movements  along  all  lines  tending  to 
promote  material  and  substantial  progre.^s. 


HON.    JOHN    W.   CASSINGHAM. 

The  life  of  Hon.  John  W.  Cassingham  has  been  that  of  a  gentleman 
of  forceful  character  and  of  marked  ability,  and  he  has  used  well  his  time, 
talents  and  his  opportunities,  thereby  adding  to  the  name  and  fame  of 
Coshocton.  He  is  descended  from  both  English  and  Scotch  ancestry,  his 
father,  George  F.  Cassingham,  having  been  born  in  County  Kent,  England, 
w^hile  his  mother,  who  in  her  maidenhood  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Eliza- 
beth Wilson,  was  bom  in  the  Scotch-Irish  region  of  Pennsylvania. 

John  W.  Cassingham  has  practically  spent  his  entire  life  in  Coshoc- 
ton. The  schools  of  his  native  place  afforded  him  his  educational  privileges, 
and  he  made  his  initial  step  in  the  business  world  as  driver  of  a  cart  for 
Samuel  Brown,  who  had  a  grading  contract  from  what  is  now  a  part  of  the 
Pan  Handle  Railroad  Company  at  Rock  Run,  about  three  miles  south  of 
the  city.  Mr.  Cassingham  devoted  a  part  of  that  year  to  the  work,  and  the 
remainder  of  the  time  carried  the  mail  on  horseback  between  Coshocton 
and  Canal  Dover  and  Sugar  Creek,  in  Tuscarawas  county.  He  eagerly 
availed  himself  of  every  opportunity  that  led  to  advancement,  and  there- 
fore accepted  a  position  as  assistant  in  the  county  treasurer's  office.  His 
work  there  extended  over  eleven  years,  commencing  with  Samuel  Ketchum 
in  1857,  and  extending  through  the  terms  of  Samuel  Lamberson  and  S.  C. 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  481 

Burrell.  That  he  was  faithful  and  reliable  is  evidenced  by  his  long  connec- 
tion with  the  office,  wherein  he  also  broadened  his  experience  and  knowl- 
edge, becoming  qualified  for  still  more  responsible  duties  in  the  busine&s 
world.  On  leaving  the  county  treasurer's  office,  he  organized  the  firm  of 
Cassingham  &  Crowley  and  established  a  grocery  store  at  the  corner  of 
Main  and  Fifth  streets,  Mr.  Cassingham  taking  charge  of  the  bookkeeping 
and  the  financial  interests  of  the  business.  The  partnership  was  continued 
until  1875,  when  he  withdrew  from  the  mercantile  lines  and  turned  his 
attention  to  coal  mining  operations  in  connection  with  Edward  Prosser, 
having  charge  of  a  coal  bank  of  B.  S.  Rickets.  He  was  afterward  connected 
with  E.  T.  Dudley,  of  Piqua,  Ohio,  and  aften^^ard  with  Edward  Prosser  in 
the  Penn  Twyn  Coal  Company  and  for  several  years,  beginning  in  1879,  he 
was  secretary  and  financial  manager  of  the  Home  Coal  Company,  in  which 
E.  Prosser,  D.  L.  Triplett,  the  Barneys,  G.  W.  Ricketts,  Dr.  Lee  and  others 
were  interested. 

Mr.  Cassingham  was  again  called  to  public  life,  when  in  the  fall  of 
1880  he  was  elected  county  auditor.  His  capable  service  was  indicated  in 
his  reelection  in  1883,  and  through  a  legislative  extension  of  his  term  he 
continued  in  office  for  nearly  a  year  beyond  the  usual  term.  Shortly  prior 
to  his  retirement  from  that  position  he  became  associated  with  the  Coshoc- 
ton Goal  Company,  and  also  extended  his  efforts  to  other  fields  of  activity, 
joining  Hugh  McElroy,  of  Pittsburg,  in  1871,  in  the  manufacture  of  paper, 
purchasing  the  Coshocton  Paper  Mill.  The  new  undertaking  proved  very 
profitable  and  Mr.  Cassingham,  with  others,  built  a  paper  mill  at  Newark, 
Ohio.  In  1893,  however,  both  of  these  mills  were  sold  to  the  Columbia^ 
Straw  Paper  Company. 

Mr.  Cassingharn  is  now  connected  as  a  stockholder  and  director  with 
one  manufacturing  concern  of  considerable  proi>ortion,  but  is  not  especi- 
ally active  in  its  management.  In  addition  to  his  operations  in  the  coal 
fields  of  Ohio,  w^hich  have  assumed  extensive  proportions,  he  has  also  be- 
come heavily  interested  in  West  Virginia  coal  and  timber  lands.  He  is 
likewnse  prominently  known  in  financial  circles,  becoming  a  director  and 
vice  president  of  the  Conmiercial  Banking  Company  in  1894,  while  at  the 
present  wTiting  he  is  president  of  this  institution,  which  is  the  oldest  and 
largest  bank  in  the  city.  In  1868  he  became  secretary  of  the  Coshocton 
Savings  Building  &  Loan  Association,  and  is  now  a  director  of  the  Citizens 
Building  &  Loan  Association. 

On  the  5th  of  November,  1863,  Mr.  Cassingham  was  married  to  Miss 
Caroline  Lamberson,  a  daughter  of  Samuel  Lamberson,  former  county 
treasurer.  They  have  two  sons  who  are  active,  energetie  men,  with  con- 
siderable mining  interc^^ts.  Mr.  Cassingham's  indomitable  energy,  good 
judgment,  kindly  dLs^position,  simple  tastes  and  quiet  manners  and 
methodical  business  habits  have  made  him  a  successful  man  and  useful 
citizen,  and  an  e.-teemed  public  servant.  He  has  been  called  to  various 
local  positions  of  trust  and  responsibility,  serving  as  a  member  of  the  city 
council,  as  a  tnistee  of  the  waterworks,  and  for  fifteen  years  as  a  member  of 
the  board  of  education.     He  is  recognized  as  one  of  the  stalwart  and  influen- 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


482  IILSTORY    OF    COSHOCTON    COUNTY 

tial  repra<emativas  of  democracy  in  thid  part  of  the  state.  In  1890  he  wa^? 
made  a  delegate  to  the  democratic  national  convention  in  Chicago.  In  1900 
he  was  elected  to  represent  his  district  in  congress,  and  two  years  later  was 
accorded  reelection.  He  is  energetic  and  far-seeing,  honest  and  public- 
spirited,  operating  broadly  and  continuously,  and  by  the  stimulus  of  his 
exertions  arousing  the  enterprise  of  others.  During  all  his  business  life  he 
has  held  many  important  relations  to  the  public  interest  and  his  influence 
has  been  felt  as  a  strong,  steady,  moving  force  in  the  social,  moral  and  in- 
dustrial movements  of  the  comnmnity. 


THOMAS    HAMILTON. 

Thomas  Hamilton  is  numbered  among  the  veterans  of  the  Civil  war 
and  in  matters  of  citizenship  has  always  been  as  loyal  to  his  country  as 
when  he  followed  the  old  flag  on  the  battlefields  of  the  south.  Throughout 
his  business  career  he  has  followed  the  occupation  of  farming  and  has 
prospered  in  this  undertaking,  being  now  the  owner  of  a  valuable  place  of 
three  hundred  and  six  acres  in  White  Eyes  township,  upon  which  he  has 
lived  continuously  for  more  than  a  third  of  a  century.  A  native  of  Ireland, 
he  was  born  December  5,  1842,  of  the  marriage  of  John  and  Mary  (Fair) 
Hamilton,  both  of  whom  were  natives  of  County  Tyrone,  Ireland.  They 
came  to  America  in  1843,  settling  in  Keene,  Ohio,  but  afterward  removed 
to  White  Eyes  township,  where  the  father  purchased  a  tract  of  land  and  car- 
ried on  farming  until  his  death.  Unto  him  and  his  wife  were  bom  six 
children:  Margaret,  the  wife  of  Jonas  Brown,  of  W^hite  Eyes  township; 
Thomas,  of  this  review;  Claudius,  deceased;  Mary  E.,  the  wife  of  W^  F. 
Park,  of  Fresno;  James  and  Matilda,  who  have  also  passed  asway. 

Thomiis  Hamilton  was  reared  as  a  farm  boy,  working  at  the  plow  and 
in  the  harvest  fields  through  the  months  of  spring,  summer  and  autumn, 
while  in  the  winter  seasons  he  puivued  his  education  in  the  public  schools. 
At  the  age  of  nineteen,  however,  he  left  the  farm  that  he  might  join  in  the 
defense  of  the  Union,  for  rebellion  had  broken  out  in  the  south  and  the 
country  was  in  grave  peril.  He  therefore  enlisted  in  August,  1862,  as  a 
member  of  Company  J,  Ninety-seventh  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry,  and  sened 
until  the  close  of  the  war,  participating  in  a  number  of  hotly  contested  bat- 
tles. He  participated  in  the  engagements  at  Stone  River,  Mission  Ridge, 
Kenesaw  Mountain  and  Burnt  Hickory.  He  was  also  in  the  battle  of  At- 
lanta and  other  engagements  of  the  Atlanta  campaign  and  was  wounded  in 
the  left  foot  during  the  battle  of  Missionary  Ridge.  He  was  a  brave  and 
loyal  soldier,  never  faltering  in  the  performance  of  any  duty  assigned  him, 
and  when  hostilities  had  been  brought  to  an  end  he  was  honorably  dis- 
charged at  Nashville,  Tennes,see. 

Mr.  Hamilton  then  returned  to  Coshocton  county,  Ohio,  and  became 
actively  interested  in  farming  in  this  locality,  purchasing  eighty  acres  of 
land  in  White  Eyes  township.     He  made  further  arrangements  for  having 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON    COUNTY  483 

a  home  of  his  own  by  his  marriage  to  Miss  ^largaret  J.  Boyd,  who  was  born 
in  this  county  June  6,  1843,  and  is  a  daughter  of  Robert  and  Mary  Ann 
(Johnson)  Boyd,  of  whom  mention  is  made  elsewhere  in  this  volume. 
After  their  marriage  the  young  couple  took  up  their  abode  on  the  farm 
which  he  had  purchased  and  made  it  their  home  until  1873,  when  Mr.  Hamil- 
ton sold  that  property  and  purchased  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  the 
place  on  which  he  now  resides.  To  this  he  has  added  from  time  to  time 
until  he  today  has  three  hundred  and  six  acres  in  this  township.  His  care- 
ful cultivation  of  his  fields  has  resulted  in  bringing  to  him  large  crops 
which  find  a  ready  sale  on  the  market  and  he  also  makes  a  specialty  of 
raising  and  breeding  Percheron  horaes,  owning  several  full  blooded  horses 
of  that  kind.  His  business  interests  are  capably  conducted  along  progress- 
ive lines  and  he  is  now  one  of  the  prosperous  agriculturists  of  the  com- 
munity. 

Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hamilton  there  were  born  six  children:  Mary 
Etta,  whose  birth  occurred  May  26,  1866,  and  who  passed  away  April  21, 
1890;  Cora  E.,  born  February '^l 3,  1868,  who  is  the  wife  of  M.  L.  Barrick, 
of  Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania;  John  F.,  who  was  born  December  6,  1870,  and 
is  now  a  resident  of  Van  Orin,  Illinois;  Ada,  born  November  20,  1873,  wlio 
is  the  wife  of  W.  H.  Lorenze,  of  Coshocton  county;  Collenia  D.,  born  Feb- 
ruary 25,  1878,  who  is  the  wife  of  John  E.  Thomas,  of  Adams  township; 
and  Robert  R.,  born  December  "6,  1882,  who  married  Victor  Myer. 

The  parents  are  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  and  Mr. 
Hamilton  is  .^erv'ing  as  one  of  the  church  trustee^s.  His  political  supj)ort  is 
given  the  republican  party  and  on  that  ticket  he  has  been  elected  to  several 
township  offices,  the  duties  of  which  he  has  discharged  with  credit  to  him- 
self and  satisfaction  to  his  constitutents.  He  is  also  a  member  of  the  Grange 
and  i.-s  interested  in  everything  that  pertains  to  the  agricultural  progress  of 
the  community.  He  deserves  much  credit  for  what  he  has  accomplished 
in  life,  for  his  success  is  attributable  entirely  to  his  own  labors.  He  has 
worked  diligently,  allowing  no  obstacles  to  bar  his  path  and  his  unabating 
energy  and  indu-^try  have  at  length  brought  him  a  handsome  reward  in  the 
shape  of  one  of  the  fine  farms  of  the  county. 


JOHN   H.    TOMPKINS. 

John  H.  Tompkins  was  born  at  PYont  Royal,  Virginia,  May  28.  1884, 
and  lived  there  until  the  age  of  fifteen,  when,  with  his  parents  he  emigrated 
to  Ohio,  traveling  overland  by  wagon.  He  was  a  near  relative  of  ^'Stone- 
vvair'  Jackson,  bearing  a  striking  resemblance  to  his  distinguished  kins- 
man, and  that  noted  general  frequently  visited  the  Tompkins  home  in  Vir- 
ginia. 

After  coming  to  Ohio  Mr.  Tompkins  located  in  Jackson  towns'hip. 
Ca«hocton  county,  where  he  engaged  in  farming  and  was  very  successful  in 
that  occupation.     At  the  aijo  of  twenty-throe  he  wa.=:  married  to  Nancy  J. 


Digitized  by  ^ 


484  HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON    COUNTY 

Baird,  a  daughter  of  George  K.  Baird,  of  Jackson  township,  and  a  grand- 
daughter of  Josiah  Clark. 

They  were  the  parents  of  the  following  children:  Lillie,  Alpha,  Wil- 
liam, George  B.,  Frank  M.,  Luther,  James  C,  Carrie  and  Jay  J.,  all  of 
whom,  except  William  and  Carrie,  with  their  mother  still  survive.  Lillie 
and  Alpha  are  successful  teachers  in  the  county,  the  former  being  at 
present  employed  in  the  schools  of  Tuscarawas  township.  George  B.  is  an 
engineer  at  Canton,  Ohio,  where  he  has  been  for  several  years  and  is  very 
prosperous.  James  C,  formerly  a  high-school  teacher  here,  is  employed 
m  bookkeeper  at  San  Francisco,  California,  and  is  doing  well.  Luther  has 
been  in  the  structural  iron  businass  for  some  time  and  is  also  located  at  San 
Francisco  and  is  prospering.  Jay  J.  is  a  well  known  and  progressive  mer- 
chant and  musician  in  Coshocton.  Frank  M.  is  a  successful  teacher  and  for 
the  past  four  years  has  been  employed  in  the  schools  at  Canal  Lewisville. 

In  1865  Mr.  Tompkins  moved  to  a  farm  near  Canal  Lewisville  and  re- 
sided in  that  vicinity  until  his  death,  which  occurred  April  13,  1904.  Polit- 
ically he  was  a  democrat  and  held  the  office  of  justice  of  the  peace  almost 
continuously  for  thirty-six  years. 

Frank  M.  Tompkins  began  his  early  education  in  the  district  schools 
near  his  father's  home,  this  being  supplemented  by  a  course  of  study  in  the 
public  schools  of  Coshocton.  He  was  reared  to  the  duties  of  the  home  farm, 
early  becoming  familiar  with  the  various  tasks  that  fall  to  the  lot  of  the  agri- 
culturist. However,  he  decided  upon  a  professional  career  as  a  means  of  liveli- 
hood and  started  out  in  life  as  a  teacher  in  the  district  schools.  He  was  thus 
engaged  until  1904,  when  he  was  employed  as  teacher  in  the  Canal  Lewisville 
schools,  where  he  has  continued  to  the  present  time.  He  is  recognized  as  one 
of  the  ma«^t  progressive  educators  of  the  county  and  is  well  liked  in  the  com- 
munity in  which  he  makes  his  home. 

He  is  a  man  of  refinement  and  culture  and  is  giving  some  of  the  best 
years  of  an  active  and  iir^eful  life  to  the  cause  of  education  and  has  attained 
more  than  local  distinction. 


SCOTT  DAVIS. 


The  life  of  Scott  Davis  has  been  one  of  continuoas  activity,  in  which 
has  been  accorded  due  recognition  of  labor,  imd  today  he  is  numbered  among 
the  substantial  citizens  of  Coshocton  county,  owning  and  operating  a  valuable 
farm  of  three  hundred  and  thirty-four  acres  situated  in  Virginia  and  Jack- 
son townships,  and  in  addition  to  this  he  superintends  the  farm  of  his 
brother  Frank,  who  makas  his  home  in  Colorado.  Mr.  Davis  was  born  in 
Virginia  township,  October  4,  1857,  a  son  of  James  and  Zebra  (Taylor) 
Davis,  a  sketch  of  whom  appears  elsewhere  in  this  volume.  The  father  was 
born  October  31,  1827,  and  died  November  1,  1904.  -Tie  was  married  May 
26,  1853,  to  Zebra  Taylor,  and  they  became  the  parents  of  eleven  children, 
five   of  whom   are   still  living:      Emma.   Scott,   William    Sherman,   Jennie, 


Digitized  by 


v^oogle 


> 

CO 
(3) 


Digitized  by 


Google 


n 


Digitized  by 


Google 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  487 

Benjamin  Franklin,  James  Howard,  Mary  Jane,  Isadore,  Allen,  Wilbert 
Grant  and  Edward  Prosser. 

Scott  Davis  was  reared  on  the  home  farm,  a^ssisting  in  the  work  of  the 
fields  from  the  time  of  early  spring  planting  until  the  crops  were  harvested 
in  the  late  autumn,  while  in  the  winter  seasons  he  pursued  his  studies  in  the 
district  schools.  When  he  started  out  to  make  his  own  way  in  the  world 
he  chose  the  occupation  to  which  he  had  been  reared,  first  farming  in  Frank- 
lin township,  where  he  lived  for  four  years.  He  then  removed  to  his  present 
farm  in  Virginia  township,  this  tract  comprising  three  hundred  and  thirty- 
four  acres.  He  follows  general  farming  and  stock-raising  and  both  branches 
of  his  business  are  proving  a  profitable  source  of  revenue  to  him. 

Mr.  Davis  vcns  married  Febmarv  15,  1885,  to  Mi-.-  Emma  Cox,  a 
daughter  of  William  and  Margaret  Cox,  residents  of  Virginia  township. 
Their  union  has  been  ble.^sed  with  six  children:  Ward  B.,  Alpha,  Clarence, 
Harvey,  James  and  Blanche.     The  two  last  named,  however,  are  deceased. 

Mr.  Davis  gives  his  political  support  to  the  men  and  measures  of  the 
republican  party  and  for  several  terms  has  filled  the  office  of  township  Trus- 
tee. As  has  been  tnily  remarked,  after  all  that  may  be  done  for  a  man  in 
the  way  of  giving  him  early  opportunities  for  obtaining  the  requirements 
which  are  sought  in  the  schools  and  in  books,  he  ma«t  essentially  formulate, 
determine  and  give  shape  to  his  own  character,  and  this  is  what  Mr.  Davis 
has  done.  He  has  persevered  in  the  pursuit  of  a  persistent  purpose  and 
gained  a  most  satisfactory  reward.  His  life  is  exemplars^  and  he  is  ever 
interested  in  all  those  movements  which  are  calculated  to  uplift  and  benettt 
humanity,  while  his  own  high  moral  worth  L^  deser\'ing  of  highest  com- 
mendation. 


JAMES  DAVIS. 
His  Autobiography. 


I  wa.«j  bom  in  Wales,  October  31,  1827,  and  emigrated  to  the  United 
States  in  1841.  Left  home  about  hist  of  July  of  that  year.  Left  Swansea, 
Wales,  on  steamboat  for  Liverpool,  England,  on  the  5th  day  of  August.  1 
left  Liverpool  on  a  sailing  boat  for  New  York  and  arrived  at  New  York  on 
the  22d  of  September,  1841,  being  on  the  sea  about  seven  weeks.  I  journeyed 
from  New  York  to  Albany  by  steamboat,  then  to  Buffalo  by  canal,  from 
Buffalo  to  Cleveland  and  thence  by  canal  boat  to  Roscoo,  arriving  there  on 
Sunday.  Then  we  walked  out  to  the  Coalport  coal  bank  and  afterward  my 
brother  Benjamin  and  myself  went  up  to  Holmes  county  to  dig  coal.  As 
the  sale  of  coal  was  poor,  Brother  Ben  came  down  to  Coalport  and  I  went 
to  school  in  December,  1841,  and  during  January  and  February,  1842,  in 
Holmes  county.  I  came  down  to  Coshocton  county  and  worked  with  my 
brother  Ben  in  a  coal  mine  in  the  summer  and  went  to  school  in  the  winter. 
Ben  and  I  worked  in  partnership  in  coal  mining  and  boated  coal  to  Newark 
and  Columbus  in  1848  on  the  Ohio  canal,  .celling  nuK-tly  fine  coal  to  the^ 

Digitized  by  V^OOQIC 


488  HISTORY    OF    COSHOCTON    COUNTY 

penitentiary  and  along  the  canal.  I  was  married  on  the  26th  of  May,  1853, 
and  my  brother  Ben  and  I  worked  together  until  he  died  on  the  6th  of 
March,  1855.  After  that  I  worked  on  the  canal  bank  and  carried  on  busi- 
ness by  my.^elf.  In  1872  I  moved  over  to  creek  farm  and  turned  my  attention 
to  farming.  I  must  confess  I  had  good  success  all  thase  times,  but  don't  you 
forget  I  worked  hard  all  these  years.  I  bought  land  near  Franklin  Station. 
I  farmed  very  exteiLsively  and  also  operated  in  the  sand  business.  I  made 
money  ejiough  to  pay  for  all  the  land  and  build  some  very  good  houses. 
1  am  able  to  pay  all  my  debt  by  selling  some  of  my  land.  I  believe  I  have 
told  all  the  good  I  have  done  and  now  ask  somebody  else  for  the  bad  deeds 
1  have  done.  In  the  fall  of  1863  and  spring  of  1864  I  built  a  canal  boat 
for  boating  coal,  the  name  of  the  boat  being  Ben  Butler.  In  the  summer 
of  1864  I  hired  a  suKstitute  to  serve  three  years  or  during  the  war,  for 
which  I  paid  twelve  hundred  dollars.  In  the  spring  of  1865,  when  the 
Civil  war  ended,  I  worked  in  coal  bank  about  three  months  and  then 
quit  and  took  up  farming. 


CAPTAIN    EBENEZER   ZANE    HAYS. 

Captain  E.  Z.  Hays,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  a  veteran  of  the  Civil 
war  and  the  oldest  member  of  the  Coshocton  bar,  was  born  in  Belmont 
county,  Ohio,  December  10,  1837.  His  father  was  bom  in  Maryland  and 
was  taken  by  his  parents,  about  1806  to  1810,  to  the  blockhouse  at  Wheel- 
ing, West  Virginia.  He  and  his  twin  brother  being  carried  "over  the  moun- 
tains" in  a  sack  thrown  across  the  back  of  a  horse  on  which  the  mother 
rode.  The  father,  John  Joseph  Hays,  married  Susan  Laughary  and  went 
to  farming  on  the  hill  above  where  Bridgeport  now  stands  and  there  Cap- 
tain E.  Z.  Hays  was  born.  The  family  is  of  Scotch-Irish  Presbyterian 
stock.  Beginning  with  the  Revolution  and  ending  with  the  brief  contest 
with  Spain  there  has  been  a  representative  of  the  family  in  all  our  wars. 
In  the  spring  of  1852  John  J.  Hays  removed  to  a  farm  opposite  W^arsaw 
in  this  county.  In  politics  he  was  an  old  line  whig,  later  becoming  identi- 
fied with  the  republican  party,  being  one  of  its  organizers  in  this  county, 
and  always  active  and  influential  in  its  councils. 

Ebenezer  Z.  Hays  was  the  eldest  child  and  only  son  in  a  family  of 
four.  The  son  having,  by  teaching  school,  acquired  a  liberal  academic  edu- 
cation, read  law  with  C.  C.  Leonard  (then  one  of  the  first  lawyers  of  Coshoc- 
ton county),  was  admitted  to  practice,  by  the  supreme  court  of  Ohio  on  the 
9th  day  of  February,  1859,  and  the  next  day  was  engaged,  with  his  pre- 
ceptor, in  trying  an  important  case  in  the  Coshocton  common  pleas  court. 

During  the  summer  of  1859  he  replenished  his  depleted  purse  by 
growing  a  fine  corn  crop,  his  father  generously  furnishing  the  land,  the 
teams  and  the  board  for  the  young  lawyer  and  allowed  him  to  pocket  all 
the  proceeds.     Being  now  in   funds,   he  went   to  Illinois  and  engaged  in 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  489 

school  teaching  until  the  Civil  war  broke  out,  when  he  enlisted  in  an  Illi- 
nois company  for  the  first  three  months'  call,  but  that  organization  failing 
to  get  into  the  service  and  thinking  the  ^Three  Months'  Men"  would  put 
down  the  rebellion,  he  returned  to  Ohio  until  the  war  was  over,  much  dis- 
pleased with  himself  for  not  getting  into  the  army. 

When  the  call  came  for  three  hundred  thousand  troops,  E.  Z.  Hays 
was  among  the  first  to  write  his  name  upon  the  enrollment  sheet  of  that 
organization  that  became  known  in  history  as  Company  K,  Thirty-second 
Regiment  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry.  He  entered  the  service  as  a  private  but 
his  fitness,  his  faithful  discharge  of  duties  and  his  personal  courage  soon 
brought  him  a  second  lieutenant's  commission,  which  was  followed  by  com- 
missions as  first  lieutenant  and  captain.  Of  his  services  for  the  Union  we 
quote  from  a  letter  from  Brigadier  General  B.  F.  Potts,  late  colonel  of  the 
Thirty-second  Ohio  Infantry,  a  letter  now  treasured  by  Captain  Hays  as  a 
priceless  possession.  General  Potts  says,  "Captain  Hays  served  with  dis- 
tinguLshed  honor  for  over  three  yeans,  earning  his  respective  promotions  by 
gallant  conduct  on  the  field.  Havini^  been  in  the  service  with  Captain  Hays 
during  his  entire  term  of  service,  I  know  his  worth  as  an  officer  and  his 
genial  qualities  as  a  gentleman."  The  Thirty-second  Ohio  as  a  whole,  par- 
ticipated in  twenty-three  engagements,  in  the  sieges  of  Vicksburg,  Missis- 
sippi and  Atlanta,  Georgia,  in  all  of  which  Captain  Hays  had  a  part,  either 
as  a  private,  company  or  staflF  officer. 

In  Fremont's  campaign  up  the  valley  of  Virginia  in  the  spring  of  1862, 
Private  Hays  was  made  a  prisoner  near  Cross  Keys,  and  with  some  three 
thousand  others  confined  in  the  fair  grounds  at  Lynchburg,  Virginia,  from 
where,  in  July  of  that  year,  he  effected  his  escape,  but  after  traveling  for  four- 
teen nights  up  the  James  river,  having  several  adventures  on  the  way,  he 
was  recaptured  within  ten  miles  of  personal  friends  who  would  have  hastened 
him  on  his  way.  His  captors  took  him  back  to  Lynchburg  fair  grounds, 
where  the  colonel  commanding  the  rebel  guards  ordered  him  confined  in  a 
stall  and  decorated  with  a  ball  and  chain.  As  he  was  being  taken  to  his  place 
of  confinement,  he  wuth  his  guards  passed  within  a  few  feet  of  the  guard  lines 
of  the  general  prison  pen,  at  a  point  where  the  prisoners  were  permitted  to 
come  cloziC  to  the  line  for  bartering  with  hucksters,  and  they,  the  prisoners, 
having  learned  that  an  escaped  prisoner  was  being  taken  to  the  ball  and  chain 
department,  were  crowded  thickly  near  the  guard  line;  Private  Hays  took  in 
the  situation,  purposely  dropped  his  cap,  stooped  to  pick  it  up,  which  caused 
his  guards  to  pass  a  couple  of  paces  beyond  him,  when  instead  of  falling  in 
with  them  as  they  certainly  expected,  he  with  head  down,  bolted  for  the  in- 
side of  the  line.  The  ground  being  literally  covered  wnth  little  shelter  tents, 
he  was  soon  out  of  sight  of  the  guards,  who  found  much  difficulty  in  working 
their  way  through  the  press  of  prisoners  who  contrived,  innocently  (?) 
enough,  to  be  ever  in  the  way.  The  fugitive,  crawling  from  tent  to  tent, 
soon  contrived  to  effect  a  change  of  clothing  from  rebel  gray  (coat,  pants 
and  cap,  which  he  had  captured  in  his  Wtanderings)  to  Yankee  blue,  got  a 
shave  and  a  good  wash,  all  of  which  c*ombined  to  work  so  decided  a  change 

in   his  appearance  that  neither  his  guard  nor  his  captors  recagnizj 

Digitized  by^  ^^ 


;H!!i.^5'd§Te 


490  HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

although  they  passed  within  a  few  feet  of  where  he  lay  upon  the  ground  in- 
tently (?)  perusing  an  old  copy  of  the  Statutes  of  Virginia.  Not  many  men 
of  the  Union  army  have  the  unique  record  of  having  broken  into  rebel 
prison.  In  a  few  days  after  his  return  to  Lynchburg  the  prisoners  confined 
there  were  sent  to  Belle  Isle  in  the  James  river,  from  where  he  with  several 
thousand  others  were  paroled  and  turned  in  to  Uncle  Sam's  hands  at  Akin's 
Landing,  Virginia,  about  the  4th  of  September,  1862,  and  brought  to  Anap- 
olis,  Marjiand.  Having  been  exchanged  and  promoted  to  second  lieutenant 
of  Company  K,  he  went  with  his  regiment  to  the  southwest,  where  he  became 
a  part  of  the  army  with  which  General  Grant  made  his  masterly  Vicksburg 
campaign.  Captain  Hays  with  his  regiment  participated  in  all  the  battles 
incident  to  that  campaign  excepting  that  of  Black  River  Bridge.  At  Cham- 
pion's Hill  they  captured,  by  a  brilliant  bayonet  charge,  the  First  Mississippi 
Battery,  Company  K,  passing  directly  through  its  line  of  guns. 

As  a  commissioned  officer  Captain  Hays  soon  won  the  confidence  and 
esteem  of  his  superior  officers  and  the  love  and  respect  of  the  men  he,  from 
time  to  time,  came  to  command.  At  the  second  battle  at  Champion's  Hill, 
Mississippi,  February  5,  1864,  in  command  of  two  companies,  he  was  sent 
to  reinforce  the  skirmish  line.  In  a  brief  time  the  two  officers  on  the  line 
who  ranked  him  were  both  severely  wounded.  The  command  of  the  four 
companies  and  of  the  line  then  devolved  upon  him.  He  pushed  his  men 
forward  with  such  determination  and  dash  that  the  eiiemy  was  routed  with 
considerable  loss  and  pursued  by  his  skirmishers  into  and  through  Jackson 
(the  state  capital)  to  the  banks  of  Pearl  river,  where  they  saved  from  destruc- 
tion the  pontoon  bridge  which  the  rebels  had  thrown  across  that  stream. 
Colonel  Potts,  commanding  the  brigade,  was  so  well  satisfied  with  his  work 
on  that  occasion,  that  he  said,  **Hays,  my  boy,  you  are  down  on  my  book 
for  promotion." 

When  in  Sherman\s  campaign  to  Atlanta,  the  brigade  to  which  Captain 
Hays  belonged  charged  the  right  wing  of  the  rebel  army  in  its  strong  posi- 
tion on  top  of  Brushy  Mountain,  he  was  the  first  commissioned  officer  of  his 
regiment  over  the  rebel  works  and  directed  the  fire  that  drove  back  the  rebel 
reinforcements  that  were  coming  up  their  side  of  the  mountain.  These  are 
only  two  of  many  incidents  in  his  army  life,  but  they  wull  suffice  to  show 
the  kind  of  a  soldier  and  officer  he  was. 

On  retiring  from  the  service,  Captain  Hays  formed  a  partnership  with 
Colonel  Josiah  Given  and  engaged  in  the  claim  agency  business  in  Columbus, 
Ohio.  The  firm  was  very  successful,  but  Colonel  Given,  being  made  postmaster 
of  the  house  of  representatives  at  Washington,  D.  C,  the  firm  was  dissolved, 
Captain  Hays  going  to  Cadiz,  Ohio,  where  he  engaged  in  the  practice  of  law% 
and  where,  on  the  14th  day  of  March,  1867,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Eliza 
Welch  Boebe,  eldest  daughter  of  Walter  B.  and  Maria  B.  Beebe.  One  child, 
Stuart  Bei^be  Hays,  now  of  Co.^hocton,  Ohio,  w^as  the  fruit  of  this  union.  On 
the  call  for  troops  for  the  war  with  Spain,  this  .son  responded  promptly,  en- 
tering the  service  as  a  private  in  Company  F,  Seventh  Ohio  Infantry.  In  a 
very  short  time  he  became  first  sergeant  of  his  company,  w^hich  position  ho 
held  until  the  muster  out  of  his  regiment.  ^ 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  491 

After  his  marriage  Captain  Hays  removed  to  Circleville,  Ohio,  and  en- 
gaged in  publishing  the  Circleville  Union,  the  republican  organ  of  Pickaway 
county,  a  service  he  performed  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  republicans  of  that 
county.  Selling  that  paper  he  bought  the  Sunday  Morning  Times  at  Zanes- 
ville,  Ohio,  which  he  converted  into  the  Daily  Morning  Times,  now  known 
in  the  newspaper  world  as  the  Times  Recorder.  Captain  Hays  has  been 
employed  in  newspaper  work  in  California  and  Colorado,  besides  being  a 
frequent  and  acceptable  correspondent,  from  time  to  time,  of  divers  Ohio 
papers.  He  is  also  the  author  and  editor  of  a  history  of  his  regiment  that 
has  had  a  libeml  sale. 

On  the  11th  day  of  July,  1879,  the  Captain's  wife  died  at  Cadiz,  Ohio, 
and  in  the  fall  of  1880  he  went  to  the  Pacific  coast  in  search  of  health.  Re- 
turning he  located  at  Warsaw,  where  he  has  since  been  practicing  law,  and 
where,  on  June  24,  1889,  he  was  married  to  Mrs.  Josephine  (Butler)  Dar- 
ling, only  daughter  of  Felix  Butler  and  Nancy  (Farquhar)  Butler. 

Captain  Hays  has  been  an  active  member  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the 
Republic  and  was  assistant  adjutant  general  of  this  department  from  1896 
to  1897 — one  term.  He  very  frequently  served  as  commander  of  his  post, 
as  its  delegate  to  department  encampments,  as  district  delegate,  as  aide  on  the 
staff  of  several  department  and  national  commanders,  and  as  delegate  at  large 
for  Ohio.  In  line  with  his  military  life  was  his  appointment  by  Governor 
Nash  as  one  of  the  commissioners  for  the  state  of  Ohio  for  the  purpose  of  lo- 
cating and  erecting  monuments  upon  the  Vicksburg  (Miss.)  National  Mili- 
tary Park  to  such  Ohio  commands  as  participated  in  the  campaign  and  siege 
of  Vi(»ksburg.  At  the  dedication  of  those  monuments,  he  delivered  one  of  the 
principal  addresses;  see  "Ohio  at  Vicksburg,"  page  351.  He  has  been  in 
demand  for  Memorial  (30th  of  May)  addresses  and  as  speaker  at  camp  fires 
and  on  other  occasions. 

Politically  Captain  Hays  has  been  an  active  but  liberal  republican,  fre- 
quently representing  his  county  in  state  conventions  and  sometimes  filling 
a  place  on  a  county  ticket  predestined  to  defeat.  He  was,  in  the  first  Harrison 
campaign,  a  member  of  the  state  central  committee,  and  was  held  at  state 
headquarters  as  a  supernumerary  speaker,  in  which  capacity  he  made 
numerous  political  speeches  throughout  the  state.  In  his  younger  days  he 
was  always  actively  engaged  in  state  and  national  campaigns.  He  stood  with 
Roo-evelt  in  the  Taft-Foraker  campaign  in  Ohio  in  the  spring  and  early 
summer  of  1908,  and  was  largely  instrumental  in  securing  the  nomination 
of  an  anti-Foraker  candidate  for  the  legislature. 


HOWARD  EDWARD  HAHN. 

Howard  Edward  Hahn  is  numbered  among  the  younger  membei*s  of 
the  Coshocton  bar,  but  his  years  do  not  seem  a  deterrent  to  his  progress.  He 
was  born  in  Franklin  township,  Coshocton  county,  August  28,  1876,  and  is 
H  representative  of  an  old  family  of  this  state.  His  grandparents  were  resi- 
dents of  Bucks  township,  Tuscarawas  county,  Ohio,  where  his  father,  Adam 


Digitized  by 


Google 


492  HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

Hahn,  was  born,  devoting  his  entire  life  to  agricultural  pursuits,  and  today- 
owning  one  of  the  most  beautiful  and  attra<?tive  farms  in  Coshocton  county. 
Attorney  Hahn's  mother,  who  was  Elizabeth  Strohacker,  Is  also  a  native  of 
Ohio. 

In  his  youthful  days  Howard  E.  Hahn  trudged  off  each  morning  to  the 
district  school,  wherein  he  mastered  the  common  branches  of  learning,  and 
later  he  supplemented  hLs  early  intellectual  training  by  study  in  the  college 
of  Scio,  Ohio,  for  a  year.  He  likewise  attended  the  Ohio  Normal  University 
at  Ada,  Ohio,  for  a  year  and  a  half  and,  in  preparation  for  his  profession, 
he  attended  the  law  department  of  the  Ohio  State  University  at  Columbus, 
where  he  graduated  in  June,  1900. 

Mr.  Hahn  located  for  practice  in  Coshocton.  He  has  never  specialized 
but  has  remained  in  general  practice  and  has  vshown  himself  thoroughly  fa- 
milar  with  many  departments  of  jurisprudence.  He  never  neglects  the 
thorough  preparation  which  should  always  precede  the  presentation  of  the 
case  in  the  courts,  while  in  his  argument  he  is  logical,  strong  and  convincing. 

Mr.  Hahn  was  married  on  the  6th  day  of  October,  1898,  to  Miss  Lenora 
M.  Johnson,  of  Coshocton.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Benevolent  and  Protective 
Order  of  Elks  and  the  Knights  of  Pythias  fraternity,  while  in  more  specifi- 
cally professional  lines  he  is  corrected  with  the  Coshocton  County  Bar  Asso- 
ciation. His  political  support  ds  given  to  the  democratic  party  and  for  three 
years  he  served  as  city  solicitor  of  Coshocton,  beginning  in  1903. 

While  advancement  in  the  law  is  proverbially  slow  Mr.  Hahn  found 
that  no  long  and  dreary  novitiate  awaited  him.  He  soon  gained  recognition 
as  a  diligent  lawyer  and  one  who  is  careful  and  accurate  in  the  application 
of  legal  principles  to  the  points  of  Lssue.  He  has  won  many  notable  victories 
for  his  clients  and  his  business  in  the  courts  is  steadily  gaining  in  volume 
and  importance. 


GEORGE   STONEHOCKER. 

George  Stonehocker  is  one  of  Cashocton's  native  citizens,  his  birth  hav- 
ing occurred  February  13,  1864,  on  the  farm  in  White  Eyes  township  which 
is  still  his  home.  He  is  a  son  of  Daniel  and  Mary  (Sherrets)  Stonehocker. 
The  father  was  born  in  1820  upon  the  old  homestead  farm  and  was  a  son  of 
Jacob  Stonehocker,  a  native  of  Virginia,  who  removed  westward  to  this  state 
in  1812.  He  first  settled  in  Tuscarawas  county  and  then  went  to  White  Eyes 
township  four  years  later,  becoming  a  pioneer  resident  of  this  community  in 
the  year  1816.  He  married  Elizabeth  Winklepleck,  who  was  a  native  of 
Pennsylvania.  Unto  them  were  born  eight  children.  This  number  included 
Daniel  Stonehocker,  who  was  born  in  Coshocton  county  in  1820,  on  the  farm 
which  was  the  birthplace  of  his  son  George.  He  was  reared  to  the  work  of 
the  fields,  and  as  the  years  passed  by  he  continued  to  engage  in  farming  on 
his  own  account,  developing  a  good  property,  which  showed  in  its  well  kept 
appearance  his  careful  supervision  and  energetic,  vigorous  management.    He 

Digitized  by  LjOOQLC 


HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  493 

married  Mi&s  Mary  Sherrets,  a  native  of  Tuscarawas  county,  born  in  1829. 
They  became  the  parents  of  three  children:  George;  Jacob,  who  was  born 
April  20,  1865,  and  died  April  16,  1881;  and  Lizzie,  who  was  born  April  3, 
18G8,  and  is  living  with  her  brother.  The  mother's  death  occurred  April  20, 
1886,  and  the  father  survived  her  for  more  than  five  years  and  passed  away 
April  25,  1892. 

No  event  of  special  importance  occurred  to  vary  the  routine  of  farm  life 
for  George  Stonehocker  in  his  boyhood  and  youth.  He  attended  the  district 
schools  in  order  to  acquire  his  education  and  during  the  vacation  periods 
he  worked  in  the  field;?,  early  becoming  familiar  w^th  the  labors  and  duties  of 
farm  life.  He  remained  wuth  his  father  until  the  latter's  death,  when  he  and 
his  sL^ter  Lizzie  came  into  possession  of  the  old  homestead,  which  comprises 
one  hundred  three  and  a  half  a<?res  of  land,  pleasantly  situated  in  White 
Eyes  township  not  far  from  the  city  of  Coshocton.  The  farm  is  well  im- 
proved with  modern  equipments,  and  the  fields  return  gratifying  harvests  as 
a  reward  for  the  care  and  labor  bestowed  upon  them. 

Mr.  Stonehocker  votes  with  the  republican  party  and  is  a  stalwart -advo- 
cate of  its  principles.  He  has  never  sought  nor  desired  office,  however,  yet 
he  ser\'ed  for  one  term  as  assessor.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Grange,  No.  1558, 
and  was  its  master  for  two  terms,  while  for  tw^o  years  he  represented  the 
county  in  the  state  Grange.  He  Ls  well  known  here  as  a  leading  farmer,  and 
one  who  is  in  hearty  sympathy  with  all  progressive  movements  for  the  benefit 
of  the  agricultural  community  and  the  county  at  large. 


GEORGE    WILSON. 


George  Wilson,  who  owns  and  operates  one  hundred  and  forty-five  acres 
of  rich  and  valuable  land  situated  in  Jefferson  township,  is  also  one  of  the 
few  remaining  veterans  of  the  Civil  war.  He  was  born  in  Jefferson  county, 
Ohio,  May  12,  1839,  a  son  of  John  and  Elizabeth  (Johnston)  Wilson,  both 
of  whom  were  natives  of  County  Tyrone,  Ireland.  The  father  came  alone  to 
the  United  States  about  1833  or  1834,  the  voyage  across  the  Atlantic  requir- 
ing six  weeks  and  three  days.  Upon  landing  in  America  he  at  once  made 
his  way  to  Jefferson  county,  Ohio,  and  in  1863  made  his  way  to  Coshocton 
county,  locating  on  the  land  which  is  today  owned  by  our  subject.  There 
he  carried  on  general  agrioultural  pursuits  during  his  entire  life.  He  met 
death  by  drowning  in  the  Walhonding  river  in  April,  1878.  The  wdfe  sur- 
vived for  ten  years  and  passed  away  in  1888.  Their  family  numbered  nine 
children,  as  follows:  William,  who  resides  in  Killbuck,  Holmes  county,  this 
state;  John,  deceased;  Nancy,  the  wife  of  Joseph  Pithen,  now  living  retired 
in  Mingo  Junction,  Ohio;  George,  of  this  review;  Mary  A.,  Jane  and  Sarah 
E.,  all  of  whom  have  departed  this  life;  Moses,  who  died  in  infancy;  and 
James,  a  farmer  of  Jefferson  township. 

George  Wilson  acquired  his  education  in  one  of  the  old-time  log  school- 
houses  of  Jefferson  county  and  was  reared  to  farm  life.    During  his  early  life 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


494  HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

he  learned  the  earpenter\s  trade,  worked  at  the  .same  for  some  time.  He  re- 
mained under  the  parental  roof  until  he  had  reached  the  age  of  twenty-seven 
years,  when  he  began  life  on  hi.s  own  account  by  choosing  the  occupation  to 
which  he  had  been  reared.  He  began  farming  in  Jefferson  township,  Coshoc- 
ton county,  where  he  has  made  his  home  to  the  present  time.  He  is  now  the 
owner  of  the  homestead  property,  comprising  one  hundred  and  forty-five 
acres  of  well  improved  land,  which  returns  golden  harvests  as  a  reward  for 
the  care  and  labor  bestowed  upon  the  fiehL*. 

In  18()2,  at  the  time  of  the  Civil  war,  Mr.  Wilson  put  aside  all  business 
and  personal  considerations  and  enlisted  as  a  member  of  Company  E,  Fifty- 
se(M)nd  Ohio  '\^)lunt(H»r  Infantry  for  three  years'  senice.  He  went  to  the 
front  in  August,  18(>2,  and  was  discharged  in  the  following  February  on  ac- 
count of  disability,  having  received  a  wound  in  the  shoulder  in  the  battle 
of  Perryville,  Kentucky,  from  which  he  still  suffers. 

P'ollowing  his  discharge  from  the  army  Mr.  Wilson  returned  to  his  home 
and  resumed  farm  labor,  which  has  been  his  occupation  to  the  present  time. 
Mr.  Wilson  established  a  home  of  his  own  by  his  marriage  in  1866  to  Miss 
Barl)ara  Severcns,  a  resident  of  Coshocton  county.  Their  union  has  been 
blessed  with  seven  children:  Sarah  E.,  who  has  pa-^sed  away;  Ida,  the  wife 
of  Lemuel  Church,  a  farmer  of  Tiverton  township;  Wiley,  deceased;  Effie, 
the  wife  of  William  Darling,  of  Bethlehem  township,  this  county;  Bertha, 
the  wife  of  John  Bowers,  a  farmer  of  Jefferson  township;  Verne,  at  home; 
and  John  J.,  who  follows  farming. 

Mr.  Wilson  is  independent  in  politics,  with  democratic  tendencies.  He 
is  a  Ma-^on,  belonging  to  Warsaw  lodge,  at  Spring  Mountain,  of  which  he  has 
served  as  junior  and  senior  wardens,  while  for  the  past  fourteen  yfears  he  has 
been  senior  deacon.  He  i.-^  also  identified  with  Stanton  Post,  G.  A.  R.,  at 
Warsaw,  while  his  wife  is  a  member  of  the  Christian  church.  Mr.  Wilson 
has  spent  the  greater  part  of  his  life  in  Coshocton  county  and  is  therefore 
thoroughly  familiar  with  its  history.  His  success  has  come  to  him  only 
through  his  own  efforts  and  well  directed  labors,  for  all  that  he  today  pos- 
sesses has  been  acquired  through  his  economy  and  careful  management.  He 
is  well  and  favorably  known  in  this  community  and  is  highly  esteemed  by 
all. 


HON.    GAIL    S.    HAMILTON. 

Hon.  (^ail  S.  Ilamdlton,  mayor  of  Coshocton,  is  giving  to  the  city  a 
public-spirited  and  businesslike  administration,  his  support  of  many  pro- 
gre.-N-iive  measures  gaining  for  him  the  endorsement  of  the  large  majority  of 
his  fellow  townsmen.  A  native  son  of  Ohio,  he  was  born  in  Wellington, 
Lorain  county,  August  3,  1868,  his  parents  being  Gaylord  B.  and  Flora 
(Selkirk)  Hamilton.  In  the  paternal  line  he  is  descended  from  Alexander 
Hamilton  and  on  the  maternal  side  from  Daniel  Boone.  His  father  wa« 
born  in  Medina  county,  Ohio,  in  1824  and  was  a  son  of  Lindsey  Hamilton, 

Digitized  by  LriOOQlC 


G.  S.  HAMILTON. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


I 

3    o 


Digitized  by 


Google 


HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  497 

\Yho  walked  the  entire  dii>tance  fjx)m  New  York  to  Ohio  and  settled  four 
miles  north  of  the  \illage  of  Medina.  He  was  accompanied  on  the  trip  by  a 
brother  and  two  cousins  and  they  settled  at  the  four  corners  of  the  road, 
which  district  still  bears  the  name  of  Hamilton's  Corners.  Gail  S.  Hamilton 
is  today  the  only  descendant  of  these,  four  kinsmen  bearing  the  name  in 
Ohio.  They  were  prominent  factors  in  the  early  development  of  this  part  of 
the  state. 

Gaylord  B.  Hamilton  was  made  postmaster  of  Medina,  Ohio,  when 
twenty-one  years  of  age  and  after  retiring  from  that  office  he  entered  the 
railway  mail  service,  with  which  he  was  identified  for  many  years.  While 
thus  engaged  he  became  the  inventor  and  jmt^nte^  of  the  mail  cat<iher, 
which  is  now  universally  used  by  all  railroads  for  ciitching  the  mail  bag  at 
way  stations  while  the  train  is  in  motion.  Previous  to  this  time  it  had  been 
tlie  eustom  to  catch  the  bag  with  the  arm  and  a  broken  shoulder  frequently 
resulted.  The  need  suggested  the  invention  to  Mr.  Hamilton,  who  at  length 
perfected  it.  Prominent  in  political  circles,  he  was  for  years  a  member  of 
the  state  central  committee,  of  Ohio  but  was  riever  tan  aspirant  for  public 
office.  He  was  an  intimate  friend  of  James  A.  Garfield  and  other  distinguished 
republicans  of  the  state  and  his  labors  were  untiring  in  behalf  of  their  suc- 
cess. Fraternally  he  was  connected  with  the  Masons  and  he  was  widely 
recognized  as  one  of  the  influential  and  honored  resident*^  of  his  section  up 
to  the  time  of  his  death,  which  occuwed  in  1889,  when  he  was  sixity-five 
years  of  age. 

Gail  S.  Hamilton  was  reared  to  farm  life,  for  when  he  was  five  years  of 
age  his  parents  removed  to  the  farm  belonging  to  his  grandfather,  who  had 
been  paralyzed  and  needed  the  assistance  of  his  son  upon  the  old  homestead. 
It  was  thus  that  Gail  S.  Hamilton  spent  his  early  youth  amid  rural  surround- 
ings, acquiring  his  preliminary  education  in  the  district  schools.  He  was 
twelve  years  of  age  when  the  family  removed  to  Medina  and  there  he  attended 
the  graded  and  high  schools.  When  seventeen  years  of  age  he  entered  upon 
his  business  career,  secuTing  a  situation  in  the  flour  and  feed  store  owned  by 
the  O.  C.  Shepherd  Milling  Company.  Two  yeare  later  he  resigned  in  order 
to  accept  a  position  in  a  laundry  and  was  identified  with  that  line  of  business 
for  eight  years.  In  1895  he  came  to  Coshocton,  Ohio,  and  accepted  a  posi- 
tion as  clerk  in  the  Empire  Hotel,  where  he  remained  for  three  years.  He 
was  later  connected  with  a  laundry  in  Toledo  for  two  years,  but  in  1900 
returned  to  Coshocton,  where  he  again  acted  as  clerk  in  the  Empire  Hotel 
for  a  year. 

It  was  during  that  period  that  Mr.  Hamilton  was  married  to  Miss  Lena 
Atkinson,  of  Delta,  Ohio,  and  immediately  following  his  marriage  he  pur- 
chased a  restaurant  on  Hickory  ^reet,  conducting  it  for  three  years.  On 
selling  out  in  1904  he  took  a  nine  months'  trip  to  California  for  the  benefit 
of  his  wife's  health,  and  on  his  return  in  the  spring  of  1905  he  purchased 
the  Star  restaurant,  which  he  conduot<?d  in  conneetion  with  the  Star  Hotel 
for  eighteen  months,  after  which  he  sold  out  and  engaged  in  the  theatrical 
business,  establishing  the  first  electri-c  theater  opened  in  Coshocton.  This 
has  proven  a  financial  success  and  is  the  popular  theater  of  the  city. 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


498  HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

Mr.  Hamilton  is  perhaps  even  better  known  in  political  circles  and  is  an 
ardent  republican,  who  has  labored  earnestly  for  the  welfare  and  success  of 
his  piuly.  In  1904  he  announced  his  candidacy  for  the  office  of  nmyor  but 
was  defeated  in  the  nominating  convention.  In  1903  he  withdrew  in  favor 
of  a  friend  but  in  1908  again  sought  the  nomination  and  at  the  ensuing 
election  was  chasen  for  the  office  by  a  handsome  majority.  He  is  proving  a 
capable  chief  executive,  who  administers  the  affairs  of  the  city  along  econom- 
ical yet  progressive  business  lines  and  has  secured  the  passage  of  a  immber 
of  important  measures  relative  to  the  city^s  welfare. 

Mr.  Hamilton  l>elongs  to  Coshocton  Lodge,  No.  96,  A.  F.  &  A.  M.,  Sa- 
maritan Chapter,  No.  50,  R.  A.  M.;  Coshocton  Commandery,  No.  63,  K.  T. : 
Fidelity  Lodge,  No.  135,  K.  P. ;  Coshocton  Lodge,  No.  76,  B.  P.  O.  E. ;  and 
the  Fraternal  Order  of  Eagles,  No.  761.  He  also  attends  and  support.^  the 
Pret^byterian  church,  of  which  hLs  wife  is  a  member.  Mr.  Hamilton  is  a 
popular  man,  of  friendly  and  cordial  spirit  and  his  good  nature  and  many 
sterling  traits  of  character  have  gained  him  the  friendship  and  regard  of 
many,  while  his  recognized  business  ability  constituted  an  element  in  his 
election  to  the  office  which  he  is  now  ably  filling. 


HENRY  C.   HERBIG. 

Looking  again  upon  the  well  remembered  features  and  upon  the  days 
when  Henry  Ilerbig  proved  his  worth  to  the  community,  memory'  of  the 
man  and  the  friend  that  he  w^as  recalls  those  personal  qualities  which  w^ith 
his  public-spirited  acts  were  held  alike  in  the  highest  regard. 

When  Coshocton  industries  most  needed  a  helping  hand  hL?  was  the 
one  to  pull  them  through.  He  was  a  moving  spirit  in  the  new  and  greater 
Cashocton,  in  the  promotion  of  her  industrial  and  commercial  importance, 
and  the  advancement  of  public  improvements.  Under  situations  demanding 
most  circumspect  tact  and  prudence  he  demonstrated  his  capacity  for  finan- 
cial achievement.  Manufacturing  and  mercantile  interests,  general  business 
enterprise,  and  the  welfare  of  Coshocton  at  large  advanced  through  his  judg- 
ment as  banker.  The  bank  grew  and  pra^pered  under  his  management,  and 
he  lived  to  see  his  pride — the  solid  old  Commercial  National — hold  its  place 
as  the  foremost  financial  institution  in  this  section  of  the  state. 

The  bank  was  Henry  Herbig's  life  work.  In  that  structure  of  pillared 
front  he  gave  the  best  that  was  in  him,  all  his  energy,  all  his  powers  of  en- 
durance. Long  before  his  health  finally  broke,  when  it  seemed  that  nerves 
were  straining  past  the  breaking  point  and  friends  advised  him  to  go  slowly, 
he  had  in  reserve  that  endurance  and  menial  alertness  which  withstood  the 
strain  of  years. 

The  many  w^ho  knew  him  can  yet  pleasantly  recall  his  manner  of  rest- 
less energy,  his  unflagging  determination  to  advance  Coshocton  in  all  thing?. 
He  was  quick  in  his  movement*,  and  swift  in  his  thinking.    He  was  able  to 

Digitized  by  LjOOQLC 


HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  499 

turn  quickly  from  one  subject  to  another,  and  dispatch  business  as  fast  as 
it  came  before  him.  Of  exemplary  habits  and  of  indefatigable  industry,  he 
was  always  the  same  active,  thoroughgoing,  unaffected  man  of  courage  and 
decision. 

He  was  born  in  Brunsfwack,  Germany,  in  1851,  and  two  years  later  his 
parents  located  in  Columbus.  Naturally  studious,  his  younger,  years  saw^  him 
well  started  on  a  business  career.  Coming  here  from  the  Deshler  National 
Bank  of  Columbus  at  nineteen  he  was  associated  with  T.  C.  Ricketts  in  the 
establishment  of  the  First  National  Bank  of  Coshocton  in  1872.  Mr.  Herbig 
at  first  filled  the  position  of  bookkeeper,  besides  attending  largely  to  cashier's 
duties.  Two  years  afterw^ard  he  became  cashier.  Faithful,  industrious,  well 
equipped,  he  justified  from  the  beginning  the  confidence  reposed  in  him  in 
this  responsible  position. 

He  never  lost  faith  in  the  future  of  Cashocton.  In  the  dark  days  of 
'73  the  storm  of  financial  panic  that  swept  over  the  country  carried  down 
the  steel  works.  With  characteristic  energy  Mr.  Herbig  accomplished  results 
which  started  the  fires  anew  in  the  Houston  Hay  Axle  Works.  And  through 
the  stress  of  '93,  while  factories  over  the  land  were  closing,  not  a  fire  was 
drawn  in  the  Coshocton  mill;  for  payrolls  were  met  with  the  banker's  help 
until  goods  could  be  sold.  Coshocton  industries  verified  the  judgment  of  Mr. 
Herbig.  They  grew  and  fiourished.  An  inestimable  benefit  was  conferred 
upon  them  and  upon  the  community  at  large  by  the  helpful  policy  of  Mr. 
Herbig,  carried  to  the  careful  limits  of  safe  and  conservative  banking, 

Financial  men  of  the  state  came  to  know  him.  He  was  one  of  the  organ- 
izers of  the  Ohio  Bankers'  Association  and  the  first  treasurer.  So  highly  was 
he  esteemed  that  he  was  reelected  treasurer  continuously  until  life's  close.  A 
man  of  education  and  refinement,  he  was  congenial  company.  Art  and  liter- 
ature appealed  to  him.  He  found  diversion  in  music,  and,  full  of  business  as 
his  life  was,  he  gave  time  occasionally  to  the  piano.  He  cared  enough  for 
the  beauty  of  flowers  to  cultivate  them  at  his  fine  home  in  Fourth  street. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Herbig  and  Miss  Clarinda  R.  Ranne  took  place 
in  1876.  A  daughter,  Helen,  died  in  1907.  Another  daughter  is  Mrs.  Philip 
Wales,  of  Remsen,  New  York.  A  son,  Fred,  died  in  1902;  another,  Carl,  is 
of  the  energetic  type  which  ranks  him  among  the  most  active  of  Coshocton's 
representative  business  men,  with  all  the  good  qualities  of  college  experience 
and  athletics.  He  is  a  stockholder  in  the  printing  house  of  Broome  &  Her- 
big, is  prominent  in  the  insurance  field,  an  Elk  and  active  in  politics.  He 
enlisted  in  the  army  during  the  SpanLsh-American  war.  His  w^ife,  formerly 
Miss  Charlotte  Ra^^e,  is  a  social  favorite. 

Henry  Herbig's  interest  in  Coshocton's  welfare  extended  to  earnest  and 
conscientious  servdce  on  the  board  of  education.  He  also  served  as  city 
treasurer  and  was  a  prominent  member  of  the  board  of  trade.  His  business 
interests  embraced  corporations  in  West  Virginia  as  well  as  in  local  fields. 
He  was  director  and  treasurer  of  the  Coal  River  &  Weistern  Railway  Company, 
director  of  the  United  Constniction  Company,  and  director  of  the  Coal  River 
Mining  Company,  all  of  Charleston,  West  Virginia;  director  of  the  Commer- 
cial  National   Bank,   of  the   Broome  &   Herbig  Company,   the   Pope-Gos.ser 

Digitized  by  LjOOQIC 


500  HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

China  Company,  and  the  Citizens  Telephone  Company,  of  Coshocton,  besides 
owning  considerable  real  estate  in  town  and  country. 

Failing  health  induced  Mr.  Herbig  to  resign  as  bank  cashier  in  the  fall 
of  1905.  Accompanied  by  Mrs.  Herbig,  his  daughter  Helen  and  relatives 
from  Mansfield  he  went  to  California,  then  to  Arizona  and  New  Mexico,  but 
there  was  no  improvement.  With  the  strength  that  still  remained  he  came 
home  in  April,  1906.  The  surgeon  found  tuberculosis  of  the  bowels.  There 
was  no  hope.  Sunday,  a  fortnight  after  the  home-coming,  the  sleep  of  peace 
came  to  him  as  the  faint  dawn  of  Easter  streaked  the  darkness  of  the  hills. 

A  city  mourned  her  loss.  The  day  of  the  funeral  the  closed  doors  of  the 
Commercial  National,  the  Coshocton  National  and  the  People's  Bank  marked 
the  last  tribute  to  the  memory  of  the  city's  veteran  banker.  The  members  of 
the  Business  Men's  Association  attended  the  services  in  a  body.  Members  of 
the  Ohio  Bankers'  executive  committee  from  Cleveland,  Toledo,  South 
Charleston  and  Ironton  were  present. 


HENRY    THOMAS,    JR. 

Henry  Thomas,  Jr.,  successfully  engaged  in  farming  in  Adams  town- 
ship, w^as  born  in  Tuscarawas  county,  Ohio,  July,  24,  1858,  his  parents  being 
Henry  and  Louise  (Doll)  Thomas,  w^ho  were  natives  of  Germany.  They  em- 
igrated to  America  in  an  early  day  and  took  up  their  abode  in  Tuscarawas 
county,  Ohio,  where  the  father  purchased  land.  The  mother  of  our  subject 
passed  away  in  1892,  but  Henry  Thomas  still  survives,  making  his  home  in 
Coshocton  county.  Their  family  numbered  seven  children,  namely :  Daniel, 
deceased;  Elizabeth,  the  wife  of  Jacob  Schlar,  of  Tuscarawas  county;  Henry, 
of  this  review ;  Louise,  the  wife  of  Jacob  Gebhart,  of  Tuscarawas  county ;  Car- 
oline and  Adam,  both  of  whom  are  residents  of  Coshocton  county ;  and  Mary, 
the  wife  of  F.  Graham,  of  Canton,  Ohio. 

Henry  Thomas,  Jr.,  attended  the  common  schools  in  the  acquirement  of 
an  education  and  remained  at  home  until  he  had  attained  his  majority.  He 
was  then  successfully  engaged  in  the  operation  of  a  rented  farm  for  some 
years  and  subsequently  purchased  his  present  valuable  farm  of  two  hundred 
and  four  acres  in  Adams  township.  In  addition  to  the  work  of  general  farm- 
ing he  makes  a  specialty  of  raising  Norman  horses  and  in  both  branches  of 
his  business  is  meeting  with  a  gratifying  and  well  merited  measure  of  pros- 
perity. The  success  which  has  attended  his  efforts  is  but  the  just  reward  of 
his  untiring  industry  and  capable  business  management,  and  he  is  now  widely 
recognized  as  one  of  the  enterprising  and  progressive  agriculturists  of  the 
community. 

Mr.  Thomas  has  been  married  twice.  In  1888  he  wedded  Miss  Catharine 
Lawrence,  who  passed  away  in  August  of  that  year.  In  1890  he  was  joined 
in  wedlock  to  Miss  Eliza  Yong,  whose  birth  occurred  in  this  county  in  1866, 
she  being  one  of  a  family  of  eight  children.  Her  father  is  deceased  but  her 
mother  still  makes  her  home  in  Coshocton    county.      Unto    Mr.  and  Mrs. 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  501 

-■  ^F    -  ^  '  .        ,    ■       I  j-:*^^.  .  J    .r,  •?      •: 

Thomas  have  been  born  six  children,  as  follows:    William  E.,  Jacot)  Henry, 
Ed  Walter,  Ellen  F.,  Clarence  A.  and  Leora  E. 

In  his  political  views  Mr.  Thomas  is  a  stalwart  democrat  and  has  .served 
as  superv^isor  and  as  school  director.  Both  he  and  his  wife  are  active  and 
helpful  members  of  the  Lutheran  church,  and  are  well  known  and  highly 
esteemed  throughout  the  community  as  people  of  genuine  personal  worth  and 
many  excellent  traits  of  character. 


JAMES    GLENN. 


James  Glenn  is  a  strong  and  able  attorney  of  Coshocton  who  since  his 
admission  to  the  bar  has  been  connected  with  much  important  litigation. 
Born  in  Guernsey,  Ohio,  April  13,  1868,  he  is  of  Scotch  lineage,  although 
early  representatives  of  the  name  came  from  the  land  of  hills  and  heather 
to  the  new  world  during  the  colonial  epoch  in  our  country's  history.  A  mem- 
ber of  the  family  participated  in  the  Revolutionary^  war  as  a  soldier  of  the 
Continental  army.  The  family  was  represented  in  W^ashington  county,  Penn- 
sylvania, prior  to  the  war  of  1812  and  in  pioneer  times  in  Ohio  was  estab- 
lished in  this  state.  John  Glenn,  the  father  of  our  subject,  was  born  in  Noble 
county,  Ohio,  and  early  became  familiar  with  the  hardships  and  privations 
incident  to  frontier  life.  He  continued  a  resident  of  Noble  county  until  after 
the  Civil  war,  when  he  removed  to  Guernsey  county.  He  was  a  tanner  by 
trade  but  in  the  latter  county  owned  land  and  carried  on  general  farming. 
After  the  inaugaration  of  hostilities  between  the  north  and  south  he  joined 
the  Union  army  as  a  member  of  Company  A,  Seventeenth  Ohio  Volunteer 
Infantry,  and  serv^ed  throughout  the  war,  participating  in  every  engagement 
in  which  his  regiment  took  part.  He  died  in  the  year  1891,  and  is  still  sur- 
vived by  his  widowjwho  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Mary  Ferguson.  She  was 
a  daughter  of  James  Ferguson,  a  pioneer  of  Guernsey  county,  Ohio.  He 
came  from  Belfast,  Ireland,  to  the  new  world,  and  the  homestead  which  he 
secured  in  Guernsey  county  is  still  in  possession  of  the  family,  being  now 
owned  by  Mr.  Glenn  and  his  brother-in-law. 

In  the  district  schools  James  Glenn  pursued  his  early  education,  which 
he  afterwards  supplemented  by  study  in  Muskingum  College,  a  leading  edu- 
cational institution  at  New  Concord,  Ohio,  Choosing  the  practice  of  law  as  a 
life  work  he  began  reading  at  the  age  of  eighteen  years  under  the  direction 
of  his  cousin,  S.  A.  Dickson,  a  leading  member  of  the  Dayton  bar,  and  when 
Mr.  Dickson  was  appointed  to  the  office  of  superintendent  of  public  instruc- 
tion at  the  Soldiers  and  Sailors  Orphans  Home,  at  Xenia,  Mr.  Glenn  continued 
his  reading  with  Trvette  &  Weyre,  well  known  attorneys  of  Cambridge,  Ohio. 
In  1891,  at  Columbus,  he  successfully  passed  an  examination  which  admitted 
him  to  the  bar,  and  immediately  afterwards  began  practice  at  New  Concord, 
where  he  remained  until  1893.  He  then  came  to  Coshocton  and  for  fifteen 
years  lias  been  a  representative  of  the  legal  fraternity  here.  He  has  always 
engaged  in  the  general  practice  of  law  and  has  been  connected  with  much  im- 

.  Google 


Digitized  by  ^ 


502  HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

portant  litigation  in  both  civil  and  criminal  law  practice.  He  conducted  a 
prosecution  of  Dickerson  for  murder  and  secured  his  conviction,  and  assisted 
in  the  defense  of  Mrs.  Ida  May  Borderkerger.  He  is  strong  in  argument, 
clear  in  his  reasonings  and  logical  in  his  deductions.  Outside  of  his  profes- 
sion he  has  numerous  interes^ts  in  the  coal  operations  in  this  and  Muskingum 
counties,  and  in  the  oil  operations  in  Washington  county.  He  is  likewise  the 
owner  of  a  valuable  farm  property  in  Guernsey  county,  having  made  judi- 
cious investment  of  hLs  capital  in  real  ^tate. 

In  1890  Mr.  Glenn  was  married  to  Mk«  Emma  Lee  Lawyer,  of  Guernsey 
county,  and  they  now  have  six  children:  Clare,  the  wife  of  Frank  RaifF; 
lone;  Margaret;  John,  who  is  eleven  years  of  age;  James,  a  lad  of  five  sum- 
mers; and  Annabelle. 

Mr.  Glenn  is  a  member  of  the  Ca«hocton  County  Bar  Association,  and 
is  well  known  in  political  circles.  In  1896  he  was  elected  to  the  house  of  rep- 
resentatives of  the  Ohio  general  assembly  on  the  democratic  ticket,  and  while 
thus  serving  was  the  author  of  some  important  general  laws  and  of  two  local 
laws  of  interest  to  Coshocton  county.  In  1903  he  was  elected  prosecuting 
attorney  of  Ca'^hocton  county,  ajid  filled  the  position  until  1906.  He  finds 
needed  rast  and  recreation  from  arduous  business  and  professional  cares  in 
driving  and  in  ba^^eball,  of  which  he  is  a  devotee.  There  Ls  no  business  in 
which  advancement  depends  more  largly  upon  individual  merit  than  in  the 
profession  of  the  law,  and  that  Mr.  Glenn  now  occupies  a  place  of  prominence 
in  the  legal  fraternity  is  attributable  to  his  close  application,  his  ready 
ma'itery  of  legal  principles  and  an  analytical  mind  which  enables  him  read- 
ily to  understand  the  relative  value  of  the  points  in  his  case. 


JACOB   LAHNA. 


Difficulties  and  obstacles  have  entered  into  the  life  of  Jacob  Lahna  but 
he  pas-;esses  the  will  power  and  determination  that  has  put  these  in  the  back- 
ground and  forging  his  way  to  the  front  is  now  numbered  among  the  substan- 
tial citizens  of  Coshocton  county.  Mr.  Lahna  was  born  in  Maskingum 
county,  Ohio,  June  4,  1843,  a  son  of  Jaeob  and  Ruth  Ann  (Sandler)  Lahna, 
who  wore  natives  of-Elzar,  France,  whence  they  emigrated  to  America  in  an 
early  day  and  established  their  home  in  Muskingum  county.  After  a  time 
thoy  made  their  way  to  Coshocton  county  and  here  spent  their  remaining 
days,  the  father  passing  away  in  1857,  while  the  mother  survived  for  about 
twenty-two  years,  pa^^sing  away  in  1889.  Their  family  numbered  five  chil- 
dren but  the  three  youngest  are  deceased,  the  eldest  of  the  family  being 
Charles,  of  Linton  township. 

The  other  member  of  the  family  and  the  second  in  order  of  birth,  Jacob 
Lahna,  acquired  a  common-school  education  and  was  reared  on  the  home 
farm.  In  1865,  however,  he  put  aside  all  business  and  personal  considera- 
tions and  offered  his  senices  to  the  government,  serving  until  the  close  of 
hostilities.    He  then  returned  to  his  home  in  Coshocton  countv  and  soon  after 


Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  503 

wa^  married  to  Miss  Sarah  Wagner,  who  was  born  in  this  county  in  1845,  a 
daughter  of  Michael  and  Mary  Ann  (Lash)  Wagner,  in  whose  family  were 
eleven  children.  The  parents  were  natives  of  Prussia  and  emigrated  to  Amer- 
ica in  an  early  day,  first  locating  in  Pittaburg,  Pennsylvania.  After  a  few 
years  there  spent  they  took  up  their  abode  in  Coshocton  county  and  here 
passed  to  their  final  rest. 

Mr.  Lahna  upon  starting  out  in  life  on  his  own  account  chose  the  occu- 
pation to  which  he  had  been  reared  and  through  his  energy,  ambition  and 
determination  has  accumulated  a  well  improved  farm  of  ninety-five  acres, 
situated  in  Linton  township.  He  has  improved  his  place  with  good  build- 
ings and  fences,  has  tiled  the  land  and  made  it  a  cultivable  tract,  which  yields 
abundant  harvests. 

The  home  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lahna  has  been  blcAsed  with  eleven  children 
but  the  two  youngest  are  deceased,  those  surviving  being:  Mary,  of  Chi- 
cago, Illinois;  Rosa,  the  wife  of  Jacob  Rarick,  a  resident  of  Stark  county,  this 
state;  David,  who  makes  his  home  in  Cashoeton;  John,  who  is  on  the  home 
farm ;  Agnes,  the  wife  of  William  Moflfit,  also  of  Chicago ;  Sadie,  the  wife  of 
Howard  Roller,  a  resident  of  Coshocton  county;  William,  Joseph  and  Benja- 
min, all  under  the  parental  roof. 

Mr.  Lahna's  study  of  the  political  questions  and  issues  of  the  day  has 
led  him  to  give  stalwart  support  to  the  democratic  party.  He  has  filled  the 
office  of  constable,  while  for  the  past  six  years  he  has  been  a  school  director 
and  takes  a  deep  interest  in  the  maintenance  of  a  good  school  system.  The 
spirit  of  self-help  is  the  source  of  all  genuine  worth  in  the  individual  and 
this  tnith  is  abundantly  verified  in  the  life  of  Mr.  Lahna,  Steadily  pursuing 
his  way  undeterred  by  the  obstacles  that  have  barred  his  path  he  is  achieving 
a  prosperity  of  which  he  has  every  reason  to  be  proud. 


NICHOLAS    J.    MULLET. 

Nicholas  J.  Mullet,  residing  on  his  valuable  farm  of  one  hundred  and 
seventy-five  acres  in  Bethlehem  township,  was  born  in  Switzerland,  May  10, 
1834,  his  parents  being  Steven  and  Anna  M.  Mullet,  who  were  also  natives 
of  that  country.  In  1850,  however,  the  father  emigrated  to  the  United  States, 
locating,  in  Coshocton  county,  Ohio.  His  family  numbered  nine  children, 
namely:  Mary;  Fannie  and  Elizabeth,  who  are  deceased;  Nicholas  J.,  of 
this  review;  Steven  and  John,  Avho  have  also  passed  away;  Jonas  and  Jacob, 
who  are  residents  of  this  county;  and  Barbara,  who  ha.^  likewise  been  called 
to  the  home  beyond.    The  parents  of  these  children  are  deceased. 

Nicholas  J.  Mullet  acquired  a  common-school  education  and  remained 
under  the  parental  roof  until  he  had  attained  his  majority,  suhsequently 
working  at  the  shoemaker  s  trade  and  also  as  a  farmer.  In  1865  he  removed 
to  Missouri  and  made  his  home  in  that  state  for  three  years.  He  was  engaged 
in  the  operation  of  rented  land  until  1892  and  afterward  purchased  his 
present  farm  of  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  acres  in  Bethlehem  township. 


Digitized  by  ^ 


504  HISTORY    OF    COSHOCTON    COUNTY 

in  the  cultivation  of  which  he  ha-  .^ince  lK*en  .-ucc(^^- fully  engaged.  He  also 
raises  and  feeds  stock  on  quite  an  extensive  scale  and,  by  reiLSon  of  his  un- 
faltering indastry  and  cai)ahle  management,  has  met  with  a  gratifying  meas- 
ure of  prrjsfK^ity  in  his  undertakings. 

In  18G4  Mr.  Mullet  wa-  joined  in  wedlock  to  Miss  Marj-  A.  Mullet,  who, 
though  of  the  same  name,  was  not  a  relative.  She  wa^  bom  in  Coshocton 
county,  Ohio,  in  1844,  a  daughter  of  Jacob  and  Elizabeth  Mullet,  who  are 
deceased.  She  has  but  one  brother,  Solomon.  Unto  our  subject  and  his  wife 
have  been  born  sixteen  children,  as  follows:  Andrew  L.,  whose  natal  day  was 
May  14,  1H64,  and  who  Ls  now  a  resident  of  Michigan;  Elizabeth  E.,  born 
October  4,  1805,  who  is  the  wife  of  John  Rodhe,  of  this  county;  Albert  P., 
who  has  passed  away;  Edward  J.  and  Charles  H.,  living  in  Coshocton  county: 
Amanda  C,  the  wife  of  Burnside  Bantum,  of  Bethlehem  township;  Emma 
M.,  the  wife  of  William  Evans,  of  Bethlehem  township;  Martha  S.,  the  wife 
of  Charles  Steyer,  of  Adams  township :  Jacob  N.,  living  in  Michigan ;  Jessie 
F.,  who  resides  in  Canton,  Ohio;  Henry  C,  of  Bethlehem  township;  Mary 
J.,  the  wife  of  J.  Easter,  of  Coshocton  county;  Coe  J.,  also  a  resident  of  this 
county;  Matthew  K.,  at  home;  Maude  J.,  the  wife  of  David  Easter,  of  this 
county;  and  Charlotte  X.,  also  at  home. 

Mr.  Mullet  gives  stanch  allegiance  to  the  men  and  measures  of  the 
democracy,  and  has  served  as  school  director.  Both  he  and  his  wife  are  de- 
voted and  faithful  members  of  the  Evangelical  church,  and  are  widely  and 
favorably  known  throughout  the  county,  not  only  by  reason  of  the  long 
period  of  their  residence  here  but  also  because  they  have  ever  manifested 
those  sterling  traits  of  character  which  in  every  land  and  clime  command 
respect  and  admiration.  They  have  a  good  group  picture  of  themselves  and 
sixteen  children,  which  took  first  prize  at  the  countv  fair  at  Coshocton  in 
the  fall  of  1908. 


GEORGE   J.    BOCK. 


(leorge  J.  Bock,  numbered  among  the  capable  officials  of  Coshocton 
county,  is  now  filling  the  position  of  county  surveyor,  in  which  connection 
he  is  di.-H^harging  his  duties  with  credit  to  himself  and  satisfaction  to  his 
constituent*^.  One  of  the  county's  native  sons,  he  was  born  in  the  city  of 
Coshocton,  January  18,  1879.  His  father,  George  J.  Bock,  Sr.,  was  a  native 
of  Pit(s})urg,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  was  reared  and  married.  He  wedded 
Mi^s  Mary  L.  Itehm,  a  native  of  Newark,  New  Jersey,  and  about  1878  they 
removed  to  Coshocton.  The  father  was  a  barber  and  here  followed  his  trade 
until  1907,  when  he  withdrew  from  that  line  of  business  and  turned  his  at- 
tention to  contnicting  in  partnership  with  his  son  and  namesake,  doing  busi- 
ness under  the  firm  style  of  (fcorge  J.  Bock  &  Son.  The  senior  partner 
is  a  stalwart  diMuocrat  in  politics  but  ha^  never  been  an  aspirant  for  office. 
Throughout   the  period  of  his   residence   in   Co-hocton    he  has   manifested 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


GEORGE    J.    BOCK,   JR. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


Digitized  by 


Google 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  507 

sterling  traits  of  character  which  have  won  for  him  the  unqualified  regard 
and  respect  of  a  large  number  of  his  fellow  townsmen. 

George  J.  Bock,  Jr.,  was  reared  in  Coshocton  and,  passing  through  con- 
secutive grades  in  the  public  schools,  was  graduated  from  the  high  school 
with  the  class  of  1897.  He  then  made  his  initial  step  in  the  business  world, 
spending  three  years  at  work  at  the  plumber's  trade,  during  which  time  he 
devoted  his  evening  and  leisure  hours  to  the  study  of  civil  engineering.  In 
1900  he  went  to  Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania,  to  complete  his  studies  and  after- 
ward secured  a  position  with  the  Wabash  Railroad  Company  in  the  civil 
engineering  department  in  the  construction  of  the  road  into  Pittsburg.  He 
was  employed  by  that  roadlfor  two  years,  during  which  time  he  attended 
night  school  in  Pittsburg.  Throughout  his  entire  life  he  has  bc^en  ambitious 
to  learn  and  has  constantly  broadened  his  knowledge  by  reading  and  invest!-  . 
gation.  He  possesses,  too,  an  observing  eye  and  retentive  memory  and,  un- 
like many  who  study  but  do  not  assimilate  that  which  they  learn,  he  has  ever 
made  good  use  of  his  knowledge.  In  the  spring  of  1903  he  went  to  the  Ohio 
Northern  University  at  Ada,  Ohio,  where  he  pursued  a  special  course  in  civil 
engineering  and  in  the  fall  of  that  year  he  returned  to  Pittsburg,  whe^e  he 
accepted  a  position  in  the  office  of  a  private  engineering  firm. 

Mr.  Bock  returned  to  Coshocton  in  September,  1904,  to  take  charge  of 
the  office  of  county  surveyor,  to  which  he  had  been  elected  in  the  fall  of 
1903.  In  1906  he  was  reelected  and  is  now  serving  for  the  second  term, 
proving  a  popular  and  competent  official.  He  has  carefully  systematized  the 
work  of  the  office  and  is  most  faithful  and  accurate  in  the  dische^ge  of  the 
duties  devolving  upon  him.  When  he  entered  this  office  there  had  been  no 
concrete  work  done  on  the  bridges  of  the  county  but  during  his  incumbency 
many  substantial  bridges  have  been  erected  using  much  concrete  work.  Mr. 
Bock  has  done  a  great  deal  of  engineering  both  for  the  town  and  for  private 
parties.  Since  his  return  to  Coshocton  he  has  also  become  associated  with 
his  father  in  the  general  contracting  business^  although  they  make  a  specialty 
of  heavy  masonry.  Although  they  have  been  connected  with  contract  work 
here  for  only  a  brief  period,  they  have  already  built  up  a  good  patronage 
and  secured  a  most  creditable  name  as  representatives  of  industrial  interests 
in  Coshocton. 

In  November,  1904,  Mr.  Bock  was  married  to  Miss  Josephine  M.  Bock, 
of  Pittsburg,  and  unto  them  have  been  bom  two  daughters,  Mary  Clementine 
and  Aleta  Margaret.  Mr.  Bock  belongs  to  Coshocton  Lodge,  No.  376,  B.  P.  0.  E., 
in  which  he  is  holding  the  office  of  leading  knight.  He  is  also  grand  knight  in 
Coshocton  Lodge,  No.  994,  of  the  Knights  of  Columbus,  and  is  a  member  of  the 
Catholic  church.  Reared  in  the  faith  of  the  democratic  party,  he  has  never 
found  occasion  to  change  his  views  upon  such  matters,  his  mature  judgment 
sanctioning  the  principles  of  the  party  and  the  methods  employed  thereby  in 
the  government  service.  His  own  official  record  has  won  him  the  commenda- 
tion of  republicans  and  democrats  alike,  and  when  we  note  the  persistency 
of  purpose  with  which  Mr.  Bock  gained  his  education  and  prepared  for  life's 
practical  and  responsible  duties  we  cannot  but  add  our  tribute  of  praise  for 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


508  HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

what  he  has  accomplished.  Such  a  life  record  may  well  serve  as  a  source 
of  inspiration  and  encouragement  to  others,  showing  what  may  be  done  when, 
without  any  special  advantages  or  opportunities,  the  individual  carves  out  a 
place  for  himself  in  the  world. 


JESSE    McCLAIN,    M.D. 

Dr.  Jesse  McClain,  a  successful  practitioner  of  the  regular  school  with  a 
large  patronage  in  Coshocton,  was  bom  in  Weet  Lafayette,  Ohio,  April  1, 
1868.  He  is  a  descendant  of  Seth  McClain,  who  in  1804  came  from  Vir- 
ginia to  Ohio  and  built  a  cabin  near  the,  fine  spring,  now  known  as  the 
College  Spring,  on  the  Ferguson  farm.  After  living  there  for  about  ten 
years  he  and  other  settlere  discovered  that  they  were  on  the  Higby  section  of 
military  land  and  because  of  this  he  removed  to  Linton  township,  becoming 
one  of  the  earliest  settlers  there.  He  married  a  daughter  of  the  Sells  family, 
whose  relatives  settled  further  up  the  river.  His  son  James  became  the  father 
of  Colonel  R.  W.  McClain  and  the  grandfather  of  Dr.  McClain  of  this 
reyiew. 

Richard  McClain,  the  father,  was  born  in  Linton  township  in  Novem- 
ber, 1823,  and  was  married  in  1848  to  Miss  Catherine  Elson,  of  this  town- 
ship. They  had  ten  children,  namely:  Jennie;  Seth,  deceased;  Ella; 
Arthur;  Lizzie;  Lyde;  Noah;  Laura,  de<^eased;  Charles;  and  Jesse.  Mr.  Mc- 
Clain was  a  man  of  note  in  this  township,  having  held  numerous  township 
offices,  and  was  county  treasurer  two  terms.  In  a  newspaper  account  of  his 
life  it  was  said  that  his  youth  and  manhood  were  passed  at  a  time  when  men 
were  honest  and  integrity  and  uprightness  of  character  were  prized  jewels. 
He  possessed  these  in  an  uncommon  degree,  as  evidenced  by  the  high  appre- 
ciation of  his  neighbors  and  friends  throughout  the  country.  His  courage 
an-d  patriotism  were  co-equal  and  he  defended  his  countr^^  with  the  same 
devotion  to  duty  that  actuated  him  in  his  eventful  and  succa^ful  life.  When 
a  young  man  he  enlisted  in  the  Third  Ohio  Infantry  and,  with  other  com- 
rades from  this  place,  served  in  the  war  with  Mexico  in  184*6-48.  At  the 
breaking  out  of  the  rebellion  in  1861,  the  firing  on  Fort  Sumter  aroused 
him  and  he  was  the  first  in  this  country  to  organize  a  company,  which  served 
with  distinction  for  three  months  as  part  of  the  Sixteenth  Ohio  Upon  his 
return  he  immediately  assisted  in  recruiting  and  organizing  the  Fifty-firsFt 
Ohio,  one  of  the  best  regiments  in  the  service.  He  was  elected  major  at  the 
organization  and  then  to  colonel,  after  the  promotion  of  Colonel  Stanley 
Matthews.  He  participated  with  his  comrades  in  the  battle  of  Stone  River 
and  others  of  the  campaign.  At  Chickamauga  he  was  captured,  and  after 
one  year  spent  in  Libby  prison  was  exchanged  and  returned  to  the  com- 
mand of  his  regiment,  serving  until  the  close,  of  the  war.  Upon  his  return 
home  he  was  nominated  and  elected  treasurer  on  the  democratic  ticket, 
though  he  had  been  an  uncompromising  republican.  Wheji  his  term  expired 
he  was  reelected  by  being  the  candidate  of  both  parties,  which  was  sufficient 


Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  509 

reoornmendation  of  the  faithful  discharge  of  his  duties.  He  was  one  of  the 
most  efficient  officers  the  country  ever  had.  Colonel  McClain  died  March  31, 
1880.  His  wife  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Catherine  Elson  and  is  still  living 
at  the  advanced  age  of  eighty-three  years. 

Dr.  McClain  pursued  his  education  in  the  district  schools  and  in  the 
Lafayette  high  school,  prior  to  entering  the  Ohio  Wesleyan  University  at 
Delaware,  this  state.  With  broad  literary  knowledge  to  serve  as  the  founda- 
tion upon  which  to  rear  the  superstructure  of  professional  learning,  he  next 
entered  the  College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons  at  Chicago  and  won  the 
M.D.  degree  in  1895.  Immediately  following  the  completion  of  his  course 
there  he  began  practice  in  Coshocton,  where  he  has  remained  continuously 
since,  save,  the  time  devoted  to  postrgraduate  study  in  the  Chicago  Clinical 
School.  While  he  engages  in  general  practice  and  enjoys  a  lucrative  patron- 
age therein,  he  specializes  to  some  extent  in  surgejy  and  is  most  competent 
in  that  regard.  He  keeps  abreast  with  the  leading  members  of  the  profes- 
sion through  the  interchange  of  thought  and  experience  in  the  meetings  of 
the  Coshocton  Medical  A^ociation,  the  Ohio  Medical  Society  and  the  Ameri- 
can medical  Association,  in  all  of  which  he  holds  membership. 

In  June,  1895,  occurred  the  marriage  of  Dr.  McClain  and  Miss  Mary 
Burt,  of  West  Lafayette,  Ohio,  and  they  are  well  known  socially  in  the  city, 
having  many  friends  here.  Dr.  McClain  is  a  member  of  the  various  Masonic 
bodies,  including  the  chapter  and  commandery,  and  he  belongs  to  the  Metho- 
di:?t  Episcopal  church.  He  takes  an  active  interact  in  local  affairs  and  was 
formerly  a  membex  of  the  board  of  health  and  the  board  of  public  safety, 
but  while  his  interest  in  matters  of  general  importance  is  that  of  a  public- 
spirited  citizen,  his  time  and  attention  are  chiefly  devoted  to  his  profession, 
wherein  he  has  attained  considerable  success.  Not  all  who  become  fol- 
lowers of  the  medical  profession  attain  success  therein.  It  demands  special 
fitness — ^a  quick  sympathy,  combined  with  readine3s  of  perception  in 
determining  the  remedies  that  are  needed  for  the  peculiar  condition  of  the 
patient.  To  these  qualities  must  also  be  added  a  broad,  comprehensive  and 
accurate  knowledge  of  the  principles  of  the  medical  science.  In  all  of  these 
particulars  Dr.  McClain  is  w^ell  qualified  and  thus  he  is  continually  making 
advancement. 


JUDGE    JULIUS   C.    POMERENE. 

Judge  Julius  C.  Pomerene,  lawyer  and  jurist,  whose  name  is  now  on  the 
roll  of  the  county's  honored  dead,  was  one  of  the  distinguished  members  of 
the  Ohio  bar.  He  well  merited  the  honor  and  success  which  came  to  him,  for 
he  labored  earnestly  to  secure  advancement,  realizing  that  in  no  profession 
does  progress  depend  more  largely  upon  individual  merit  than  in  the  practice 
of  the  law.  He  gained  nota;ble  distinction  through  the  fit  utilization  of  the 
innate  talents  which  were  his,  becoming  an  able  lawyer  with  keen  analytical 
and  logical  mind,  giving  to  his  clients  the  benefit  of  ripe  ability  and  unquali- 
fied allegiance.    He  possessed  a  mind  of  singular  precision  and  power,  capable 

Digitized  by  LjOOQIC 


510  HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

of  an  impartial  view  of  both  sides  of  the  question  and  of  arriving  at  a  just 
conclusion.  His  life  history  forms  an  important  chapter  in  the  annals  of  thi? 
county. 

Family  tradition  has  dt  that  the  founder  of  the  family  in  America  was 
a  French  youth,  Julius  Pomerene,  who  ran  away  from  home,  was  secreted 
by  La  Fayette  on  one  of  his  vessels  and,  after  the  arrival  of  the  French  troops 
in  the  new  worid,  served  with  the  American  forces  through  the  Revolutionary 
war,  one  account  claiming  that  he  held  the  rank  of  sergeant  under  General 
La  Fayette.  After  the  close  of  the  war  he  became  a  resident  of  Lancaster 
county,  Pennsylvania,  and  was  there  married  to  Magdalena  Heller,  a  Ger- 
man lady. 

Julius  C.  Pomerene,  a  son  of  Julius  and  Elizabeth  (Piersol)  Pomerene, 
.was  born  in  Salt  Creek  township,  Holmes  county,  Ohio,  June  27,  1835.  His 
boyhood  and  youth  were  spent  upon  the  farm  where  his  father  settled  on 
removing  from  Pennsylvania  to  Ohio  in  1819.  There  the  father  of  our  sub- 
ject lived  until  called  to  his  final  rest  in  1863,  his  time  and  energies  being 
devoted  to  general  agricultural  pursuits.  His  son  and  namesake,  Judge 
Pomerene,  was  a  pupil  in  the  district  schools  until  he  reached  the  age  of 
seventeen  years,  when  he  matriculated  in  Mount  Union  College,  where  he 
remained  for  two  years.  He  did  not  have  the  means  to  pursue  an  uninter- 
rupted course  through  college  and  he  spent  his  summers  and  vacations  at 
work  on  the  farm,  while  in  the  fall  and  winter  months  he  taught  or  attended 
school  as  necessity  and  opportunity  pointed  the  way.  He  was  for  one  year  a 
student  in  the  Hayesville  Academy  and  altogether  spent  about  three  years  in 
the  acquirement  of  a  higher  education. 

Ambitious  to  become  a  member  of  the  bar.  Judge  Pomerene  began  read- 
ing law  as  a  student  in  the  office  and  under  the  direction  of  Hoagland  &  Reed, 
then  the  leading  attorneys  of  Holmes  county,  with  whom  he  continued  for 
a  year.  At  the  expiration  of  that  period  he  entered  the  State  and  Union  Law 
College  at  Cleveland,  Ohio,  from  which  he  was  graduated  in  June,  1859.  In 
November  of  the  same  year  he  located  for  practice  at  Coshocton  and  remained 
an  active  and  prominent  member  of  the  bar  until  his  election  to  the  bench 
of  the  circuit  court  in  1892.  He  was  first  associated  in  partnership  with  Col- 
onel Josiah  Given,  another  one  of  the  judges  of  the  supreme  court  of  Iowa, 
and  this  connection  continued  until  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  war.  Judge 
Pomerene  afterward  practiced  alone  for  about  eighteen  months  and  was  then 
associated  with  Benjamin  S.  Lee  for  six  years.  On  the  dissolution  of  that 
partnership  he  joined  Etherington  T.  Spangler  in  a  partnership  that  re- 
mained in  effect  for  fifteen  years.  Judge  Pomerene  was  then  alone  in  prac- 
tice until  1886,  when  on  the  admission  of  his  son,  William  R.,  the  firm  of 
J.  C.  and  W.  R.  Pomerene  was  formed.  There  was  no  interruption  to  this 
association  until  January  1,  1893,  when  Judge  Pomerene  withdrew  to  take 
his  place  upon  the  bench  of  the  circuit  court.  In  the  meantime  he  had 
gained  distinction  as  one  of  the  foremost  members  of  the  bar  of  northern 
Ohio.    One  who  knew  him  well  said  of  him : 

"There  is  not  a  man  in  Coshocton  county  who  is  more  highly  respected 
as  a  citizen  than  Judge  Pomerene.     He  is  a  gentleman  both  by  nature  and 

Digitized  by  LjOOQIC 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  511 

education.  He  is  upright  in  his  intercourse  with  his  fellow  citizens  and  has 
a  thorough  appreciation  of  the  rights  of  others.  He  is  a  man  of  firm  con- 
victions, though  not  dogmatical  in  enforcing  his  views  on  others.  He  is 
open,  frank  and  sincere  in  his  manner  and  has  the  confidence  and  esteem  of 
all  those  who  come  to  know  him  well.  As  a  lawyer  he  has  long  been  one  of 
the  foremost  at  this  bar.  He  is  conscientious  with  his  clients  and  is  regarded  as 
a  safe  counselor.  He  had  a  large  practice  before  he  went  on  th-e  benchy 
which  was  of  a  general  nature,  though  he  had  more  chancery  practice,  per- 
haps, than  business  in  open  court.  He  is  recognized  as  one  of  the  best  read 
lawyers  in  this  section  of  the  state  and  is  eminently  qualified  for  the  judicial 
ermine." 

Such  was  Judge  Pomerene^s  position  in  the  public  regard  that  when  he 
received  the  democratic  nomination  for  one  of  the  judges  of  the  fifth  judicial 
district  it  was  at  once  conceded  that  it  was  almost  useless  to  place  an  op- 
ponent in  the  field.  His  election  was  a  foregone  conclusion  and  the  record 
which  he  made  on  the  bench  is  perhaps  best  told  in  the  words  of  an  eminent 
member  of  the  Ohio  bar,  who  said: 

"Judge  Pomerene  is  an  able  jurist.  He  is  adapted  by  nature  and  edu- 
cation for  a  judge.  He  has  an  equitable  mind  and  is  well  grounded  in  the 
principles  of  law.  He  is  clear  and  concise  in  his  statements  of  questions  of 
law  and  eminently  just  in  his  decisions.  He  is  conservative  and  safe  rather 
than  brilliant,  and  his  judgment  has  been  sustained  by  the  supreme  court. 
The  purity  of  his  life,  the  honesty  of  his  purpose  and  his  close  adherence  to 
the  practice  of  law,  to  the  exclusion  of  everything  else  since  he  entered  the 
profession,  are  other  elements  of  bis  character  that  have  raised  him  in  the 
esteem  of  the  members  of  the  bar  in  the  district.  He  has  maintained  him- 
self well  in  the  position  of  judge  and  fully  met  the  expectations  of  those 
who  placed  him  there." 

As  previously  indicated,  Judge  Pomerene  was  a  stalwart  democrat,  yet 
was  without  those  qualities  that  axe  characteristic  of  the  so-called  politician. 
He  was  a  believer  in  the  principles  of  his  party  and  recognized  the  obligations 
of  citizenship  but  never  countenanced  in  the  slightest  degree  the  employment 
of  political  methods  which  would  not  bear  the  closest  investigation.  On  the 
bench  he  never  allowed  partisanship  or  personal  prejudice  to  interfere  with 
the  faithful  administration  of  justice  and  his  decisions  were  not  only  strictly 
fair  but  were  based  also  upon  a  comprehensive  knowledge  of  the  law.  He 
was  yet  the  incumbent  in  the  office  of  circuit  judge  when  death  came  to  him 
suddenly  December  23,  1897. 

Judge  Pomerene  is  still  survived  by  his  wife,  two  sons  and  a  daughter. 
Mrs.  Pomerene,  who  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Irene  Perky,  was  a  daughter 
of  John  F.  and  Julia  Perky,  of  Hancock  county,  Ohio.  The  sons  are  Wil- 
liam R.  and  Frank  E.,  associates  in  the  practice  of  law  under  the  firm  name 
of  Pomerene  &  Pomerene,  while  the  daughter,  Helen,  is  the  wife  of  Lincoln 
C.  Carson,  of  Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania.  She  was  bom  September  28,  1869, 
and  was  a  student  in  the  Coshocton  public  schools,  in  Granville  Female 
Collei^e  of  Granville,  Ohio,  and  a  convent  school  at  Nottingham,  pear  QJeye- 

Digitized  by  VjOOQIC 


512  HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

land.     She  was  married  November  11,  1903,  and  has  one  daughter,  Helen 
Pomerene  Carson,  born  September  27,  1904. 

Such  in  brief  is  the  life  history  of  Judge  Pomerene.  He  was  a  man  re- 
spected and  honored  by  young  and  old,  rich  and  poor.  He  had  many  warm 
friends  and  those  who  came  within  the  closer  circle  of  his  acquaintance  found 
him  a  most  genial  companion,  while  all  who  knew  him  entertained  for  him 
the  esteem  which  the  world  instinctively  pays  in  recognition  of  genuine 
worth.  During  his  practice  his  course  was  such  as  to  reflect  credit  upon  the 
bar  of  this  district  and  state.  He  conducted  important  litigation  in  the  state 
and  federal  courts  with  gratifying  success,  winning  well  earned  fame  and 
distinction.  He  convinced  by  his  concise  statements  of  law  and  facts  rather 
than  by  word  painting  and  his  assertions  in  court  were  seldom  questioned 
seriously,  so  high  was  the  respect  for  his  legal  ability  and  integrity.  He  was 
an  able,  faithful  and  conscientious  minister  in  the  temple  of  justice  and  gave 
to  his  client  the  service  of  great  talent,  unwearied  industry  and  rare  learning. 


JOSEPH  L.  McDowell. 

Joseph  L.  McDowell,  who  at  the  age  of  fourteen  was  serving  as  page  in 
the  Ohio  legislature,  is  now  classed  with  the  leading  lawyers  of  Coshocton 
and  is  now  serving  as  county  prosecuting  attorney.  He  was  born  in  this 
city  April  6, 1874,  of  the  marriage  of  John  and  Catherine  (Kelly)  McDowell, 
both  of  whom  were  natives  of  Ireland.  The  father,  coming  to  America  in 
early  manhood,  spent  a  short  time  in  Cooperstown,  New  York,  and  thence 
removed  to  Coshocton,  Ohio,  where  he  learned  the  blacksmith's  trade.  At 
the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  war  he  enlisted  as  a  mechanic  and  worked  at  black- 
smithing  in  the  government  service  throughout  the  period  of  hostilities. 
When  peace  had  been  restored,  he  returned  to  Coshocton,  where  he  again 
followed  his  trade,  becoming  known  as  an  enterprising,  progressive  and  suc- 
cessful mechanic.  While  never  an  aspirant  for  public  office,  he  was  a  worker 
in  the  ranks  of  the  democratic  party  and  his  efforts  in  its  behalf  were  far- 
reaching  and  beneficial.   He  died  in  1900,  at  the  age  of  sixty-three  years. 

Joseph  L.  McDowell,  spending  his  boyhood  days  in  his  father's  home, 
was  sent  to  the  public  schools  of  Coshocton  and  while  receiving  theoretical 
training  there,  was  also  having  the  practical  experiences  which  come  to  the 
boy  who  early  learns  the  value  of  money  by  earning  it.  He  worked  as  a 
newsboy  and  bootblack  in  his  early  youth  and  at  the  age  of  fourteen  years 
was  given  the  position  of  page  in  the  state  legislature,  being  the  first  demo- 
cratic  page  to  serve  in  a  republican  house.  He  continued  there  for  eight 
years  and  then  went  with  Senator  Calvin  Bryce  to  Washington.  He  re- 
mained at  the  national  capital,  however,  for  only  two  months,  when  he  asked 
to  be  returned  to  the  Ohio  legislature,  as  the  emoluments  were  greater  there 
and  living  expenses  less.  While  acting  as  page  in  Columbus  he  attended 
night  school  under  Professor  King  and  began  reading  law  with  Captain  E. 
W.  James,  the  pioneer  attorney  of  Coshocton,  as  his  pr^^jf^Jfyj^V^ laudable 


HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  513 

ambition  prompted  him  in  this  course  and  has  constituted  one  of  the  strong 
features  in  his  later  advancement.  In  the  fall  of  1895  he  entered  the  Cin- 
cinnati Law  College,  was  graduated  therefrom  in  the  class  of  1898  and  was 
admitted  to  the  bar  on  the  11th  of  June.  Immediately  afterward  he  opened 
an  office  -in  the  Forbes  block  in  Coshocton,  where  he  began  the  practice  of 
his  profession.  He  has  practiced  independently  and  has  secured  a  liberal 
clientage,  for  he  soon  demonstrated  his  ability  to  cope  with  older  and  more 
experienced  lawyers.  He  has  won  many  notable  cases — a  fact  which  Ls  due 
to  his  careful  and  thorough  preparation  and  his  correct  application  of  legal 
principles  to  the  points  at  issue.  He  served  as  city  solicitor  for  four  years, 
from  1900  until  1904,  and  in  1906  was  elected  prosecuting  attorney  of 
Coshocton  county,  which  position  he  is  now  capably  filling.  In  this  connec- 
tion he  is  a  faithful  guardian  of  the  legal  interests  of  the  county  and  one 
whose  ability  has  gained  for  him  high  commendation. 

Mr.  McDowell  is  a  member  of  Coshocton  Lodge,  No.  976,  B.  P.  0.  E.. 
and  also  belongs  to  the  Knights  of  Columbus  and  the  Fraternal  Order  of 
Eagles,  while  of  the  Catholic  church  he  is  a  communicant. 

On  the  5th  of  August,  1907,  Mr.  McDowell  w^as  married  to  Miss  Ella 
Couerty,  of  Coshocton,  a  daughter  of  Farley  Couerty,  who  is  a  member  of 
the  board  of  public  service  in  this  city.  The  record  of  Mr.  McDowell  i^ 
marked  by  advancement  through  successive  stages  and  he  certainly  deserves 
the  proud  American  title  of  a  self-made  man.  Whatever  he  has  accomplished, 
whatever  success  he  has  won  and  whatever  fame  he  has  achieved  are  attrib- 
utable to  his  well  directed  efforts  and  the  wise  use  of  his  native  talents  and 
powers. 


M.    SPELLACY. 


In  recent  years  Coshocton's  development  has  been  very  rapid.  Many 
business  concerns  have  here  found  a  profitable  field  and  their  trade  interests 
are  bringing  the  city  into  close  touch  with  other  parts  of  the  country.  Each 
successful  industry  should  be  a  matter  of  pride  to  the  citizens  in  that  it  is  a 
factor  in  the  general  progress  and  improvement  here.  The  Spellacy-Raiff 
Enameling  Company  is  now  conducting  a  prosperous  concern  in  the  manu- 
facture of  high  grade  enameled  kitchen  ware. 

The  president  of  the  company,  M.  Spellacy,  was  born  in  Clare  county, 
Ireland,  in  1844  and  was  therefore  only  about  six  years  of  age  when  in  1850 
his  parents,  John  and  Nora  (Hartney)  Spellacy,  brought  their  family  to  the 
United  States.  They  located  first  in  Vermont  and  the  father  became  identi- 
fied with  railroad  work  there.  He  lived  at  various  places  and  after  the  break- 
ing out  of  the  Civil  war  engaged  in  contracting  and  railroad  building,  with 
which  he  was  identified  until  he  reached  the  evening  of  life.  He  died  in 
1888  at  the  very  venerable  age  of  ninety-two  yeare. 

M.  Spellacy  began  railroad  work  at  an  early  age,  carrying  water  for  the 
construction  crews  when  but  a  lad  of  ten  years.  From  w^ater  boy  he  gradu- 
ally worked  his  Avay  upward  until  he  became  a  railroad  con.trgdqj;^^^^fo|^ 


514  HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON    COUNTY 

some  thirty-five  years  was  prominently  and  extensively  engaged  in  railroad 
construction.  During  this  period  he  built  many  miles  of  railroad  and  was 
employed  by  a  number  of  the  leading  railroad  companies  of  the  country.  In 
1903  he  became  a  factor  in  the  development  of  the  oil  interests  in  Harrison 
county  and  is  still  associated  wuth  this  work,  in  which  he  has  attained  a 
notable  measure  of  success.  A  man  of  resourceful  ability,  however,  he  has 
not  confined  his  attention  to  a  single  line  but  has  engaged  in  various  fields 
of  business  enterprise,  readily  recognizing  a  favorable  opportunity.  In  1905, 
with  others,  he  organized  the  Si)ellacy-Raiflf  Enameling  Company  for  the 
manufacture  of  enameled  ware.  They  established  their  plant  in  Coshocton 
and  it  is  today  one  of  the  leading  industries  of  the  city.  Mr.  Spellacy  was 
chosen  president  of  the  company,  which  is  operated  along  most  modem  bus- 
iness lines.  The  plant  is  splendidly  equipped  with  the  most  modern  and  im- 
proved machinery  and  the  processes  of  manufacture  are  such  as  to  bring  out 
a  ware  that  is  equal  to  any  on  the  market.  They  guarantee  their  enamel  to 
be  absolutely  free  from  any  arsenic,  lead  or  any  impure  or  harmful  material 
and  it  is  not  affected  by  solutions  of  eighty  to  ninety  per  cent  of  acetic  acid 
when  boiled  to  drj-ness.  Although  the  enterprise  is  a  comparatively  new  one, 
the  output  is  now  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  dozen  pieces  of  ware  per  day 
and  the  entire  amount  has  been  sold  to  the  Atlantic  Stamping  Company,  of 
Rochester,  New  York.  The  business  from  the  beginning  has  attracted  j^en- 
eral  attention  and  favorable  comment,  owing  to  the  character  and  su[)erior 
quality  of  the  product  manufactured.  Skilled  workmen  are  employed  and 
the  reputation  of  the  house  has  always  been  fully  sustained.  Such  has  been 
the  growth  of  the  business  that  a  new  furnace  and  factory  were  erected,  enab- 
ling the  company  to  double  its  output. 

Mr.  Spellacy  is  a  democrat  in  politics  but  ha«  had  neither  time  nor  incli- 
nation to  seek  office.  He  has  always  concentrated  his  energies  upon  his  busi- 
ness affairs.  He  embodies  all  the  elements  of  what  in  this  country  we  term 
a  "square  man'' — one  in  whom  to  have  confidence,  a  dependable  man  in  any 
relation  and  any  emergency.  He  is  ready  to  meet  any  obligation  of  life  with 
the  confidence  and  courage  that  come  of  conscious  personal  ability,  right 
conception  of  things  and  an  habitual  regard  for  what  is  best  in  the  exercise 
of  human  activities. 


FRANK    ASHMAN. 


Frank  Ashman  has  the  distinction  of  being  the  only  republican  probate 
judge  elected  in  Coshocton  county  in  fifty-two  years.  He  is  one  of  the 
native  sons  of  the  city  of  Coshocton,  born  on  the  18th  of  January,  1877, 
his  father  being  Fred  Ashman  who  was  a  coal  miner  and  lived  here  almost 
his  entire  life.  The  family  is  of  English  lineage.  After  attending  the  pub- 
lic schools  of  this  city,  Frank  Ashman  continued  his  education  in  Oberlin 
College  and  the  Ohio  State  University.  In  the  meantime  he  learned  the 
printer's  trade,  but  a  desire  for  a  career  of  broader  opportunities  led  him  to 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


FRANK  ASHMAN 


Digitized  by 


Google 


Digitized  by 


Google 


HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  515 

seek  a  more  advanced  education  than  he  had  obtained  in  the  public  schools, 
and  to  supplement  his  university  course  by  the  study  of  law,  whereby  he 
prepared  for  active  practice  at  the  bar.  He  was  admitted  in  1904  and  on 
the  1st  of  July,  1907,  opened  an  office  in  Coshocton.  He  had  displayed  the 
elemental  strength  of  his  character  in  the  acquirement  of  his  education,  for 
he  worked  his  own  way  through  college.  When  he  had  completed  his 
studies  he  was  appointed  chief  clerk  in  the  state  bureau  of  labor,  at  Colum- 
bus, and  there  remained  for  several  years,  or  until  his  return  to  Coshocton. 
He  was  once  more  called  to  public  office,  when  on  the  3d  of  November, 
1908,  he  was  elected  probate  judge  of  Coshocton  county  and,  as  stated,  is 
the  first  republican  to  hold  the  office  in  fifty-two  years,  having  been  chosen 
to  the  position  by  a  majority  of  over  four  hundred,  a  fact  which  is  proof  of 
his  personal  popularity  and  the  confidence  reposed  in  his  professional 
ability. 

Ill  June,  1901,  Judge  Ashman  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Minnie 
M.  Miller,  of  Newark,  Ohio,  and  they  have  a  little  daughter.  Mr.  Ashman 
belongs  to  the  Masonic  lodge  and  the  Knights  of  Pythias  lodge  at  Coshoc- 
ton. He  has  been  quite  prominent  in  public  affairs  and  is  a  member  of 
the  Buckeye  Republican  Club  of  Columbus,  of  which  he  was  once  the  sec- 
retary. He  possesses  oratorical  ability  of  superior  order  and  has  frequently 
been  called  upon  to  deliver  public  addresses,  not  only  on  political  topics, 
but  also  on  the  occasion  of  the  celebration  of  Labor  Day  and  of  Decoration 
Day.  He  is  a  student  of  the  questions  which  are  agitating  the  public 
thought,  reads  broadly  and  thinks  deeply.  His  opinions  are  therefore  the 
result  of  careful  consideration,  and  being  presented  in  clear,  logical  manner 
seldom  fail  to  carry  conviction  to  the  minds  of  his  hearers.  In  manner  he 
is  jovial,  and  enjoys  the  sunshine  of  life  as  expressed  in  good  comradeship 
and  warm  friendships.  He  is  always  approachable  and  always  genial,  and 
his  friends,  who  are  many,  entertain  for  him  the  warmest  regard. 


G.    A.    RINNER. 


G.  A.  Rinner,  proprietor  of  The  Rinner  Company,  a  general  merchandis- 
ing business  of  New  Bedford  which  was  established  by  himself  and  father 
in  1883,  was  born  in  Mill  Creek  township,  this  county,  January  8,  1859,  a 
son  of  George  C.  and  Nancy  (Cox)  Rinner.  His  father  is  a  native  of  Ger- 
many, bom  in  August,  1831.  When  twenty-three  years  of  age  he  left  his 
native  land  for  America,  where,  after  investigating  the  opportunities  of  vari- 
ous sections  of  the  country,  he  eventually  decided  on  Coshocton  county  as 
the  land  of  his  adoption,  and  events  have  since  proven  the  soundness  of  his 
judgment  in  making  this  decision.  He  wedded  Nancy  Cox,  who  was  born 
in  Harrison  county,  Ohio,  in  1829,  and  five  children  were  born  to  their 
union,  namely:  G.  A.,  of  this  review;  E.  C,  ex-mayor  of  Coshocton;  Mary, 
the  wife  of  W.  H.  Wendt,  of  Coshocton;  and  Amanda  and  John,  both  of 
whom  reside  at  home  with  their  father,  for  the  mother  was  called  to  her 

Digitized  by  LjOOQIC 


olG  HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

eternal  rest  in  1898.  The  father  on  first  coming  to  the  county  engaged  in 
agricultural  pursuits  but  later  was  in  partnership  with  his  son  in  the  general 
merchandising  businesis  in  New  Bedford.  He  is  now  living  retired  in  Coshoc- 
ton. 

G.  A.  Rinner  was  reared  on  a  farm  and  received  a  common-school  edu- 
cation, which  he  later  supplemented  by  a  course  in  the  Spencerian  Business 
College  of  Cle\'eland,  thus  fitting  himself  for  the  mercantile  life  upon  which 
he  entered  at  the  age  of  twenty-four.  The  growth  of  the  business  has  been 
gradual  and  steady  and  new  varieties  of  stock  have  been  introduced  from 
time  to  time  until  now  it  consists  of  groceries,  dry  goods,  boots  and  shoes, 
carpets,  curtains,  queensware,  crockery,  glassware,  hardware,  paints  and  oils, 
besides  sundry  items  too  numerous  to  mention,  an  inventory  of  which  would 
aggregate  about  eighteen  thousand  dollars,  while  the  annual  sales  reach  a 
total  of  about  forty-five  thousand  dollars. 

On  September  17,  1883,  Mr.  Rinner  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss 
Martha  J.  Lowe,  who  was  born  in  Holmes  county,  this  state,  in  1864,  the 
daughter  of  Adam  and  Ann  (Patteison)  Lowe.  Her  parents  were  also 
natives  of  Holmes  county,  where  both  were  born  in  the  year  1834.  They 
became  the  parents  of  four  children,  namely:  John,  who  resides  in  Kansas; 
Frank,  a  resident  of  Holmes  county;  Martha  J.,  the  wife  of  our  subject;  and 
Albert,  whose  home  is  in  Canton.  The  father,  who  w^as  called  upon  to  mourn 
the  loss  of  his  life  companion  in  1908,  now  makes  his  home  with  our  subject. 
Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Rinner  have  been  born  four  children,  as  follows:  L.  C, 
who  resides  at  home  and  is  engaged  with  his  father  in  business;  Earl,  who 
conducts  a  grocery  store  in  Cleveland,  in  which  his  father  owns  a  part  inter- 
est; and  May  and  Clyde,  both  of  whom  reside  at  home  with  their  parents. 

In  politics  Mr.  Rinner  is  a  democrat,  while  religiously  both  he  and  his 
estimable  wife  are  members  of  the  Reformed  church.  Mr.  Rinner  feels  that 
he  owes  his  success  in  life  to  no  fortunate  combination  of  circumstances,  but 
that  it  is  due  rather  to  untiring  effort  and  unremitting  persistency.  It  is  to 
the  class  of  citizens  of  which  he  is  a  type  that  Coshocton  county  is  indebted 
for  the  sound  and  substantial  character  of  her  mercantile  institutions. 


WILLIAM   D.    FRAZEE. 

William  D.  Frazee  is  engaged  in  general  agricultural  pursuits  on  a  well 
improved  farm  consisting  of  one  hundred  and  forty-eight  acres  situated  in 
New  C{i.-tle  township.  He  was  born  on  a  farm  in  Tiverton  township,  Coshoc- 
ton county,  October  10,  1874,  being  the  eldest  of  six  children,  whose  parents 
were  Andrew  and  Almira  (Strieker)  Frazee,  both  of  whom  were  natives  of 
the  Buckeye  state,  the  former  born  in  Coshocton  county  and  the  latter  in 
Knox  county.  The  father's  parents  came  to  this  state  from  Pennsylvania 
and  were  farming  people.  He  was  reared  in  Coshocton  county  and  has  be- 
come a  very  successful  man.  He  still  survives,  now  making  his  home  in 
Tiverton  township.     In  politics  he  is  a  republican.     The  wife  and  mother 

Digitized  by  LjOOQLC 


HISTORY    OF    COSHOCTON    COUNTY  517 

passed  to  her  final  rest  more  than  twenty  years  ago,  leaving  to  mourn 
her  loss  six  children,  as  follows:  William  D.,  of  this  review;  Charles  O.,  a 
resident  farmer  of  Tiverton  township;  Benjamin,  who  follows  farming  in 
Knox  county;  Claudia,  the  wife  of  Harper  Rine,  who  follows  farmmg  near 
Bladensburg,  Knox  county;  Savilla,  the  wife  of  Bruce  Singer,  a  farmer  of 
Tiverton  township;  and  Lizzie,  who  makes  her  home  with  her  brother  Wil- 
liam. 

William  D.  Frazee  acquired  his  education  in  the  district  schools  of  New 
Castle  township  and  was  early  trained  to  the  duties  and  labors  of  the  home 
farm.  He  remained  under  the  parental  roof  until  the  time  of  his  marriage, 
which  occurred  in  1905,  the  lady  of  his  choice  being  Miss  Maud  Bigman,  a 
resident  of  New  Castle  township.  The  young  couple  began  their  domestic  life 
upon  the  farm  which  Mr.  Frazee  had  purchased,  this  comprising  one  hundred 
and  forty-eight  acres  of  rich  and  arable  land.  He  has  erected  a  fine  country 
home,  supplied  with  all  modern  conveniences  and  accessories,  and  there  are 
other  substantial  buildings  on  the  place  for  the  shelter  of  grain  and  stock. 
He  carries  on  general  farming,  raising  the  cereals  best  adapted  to  soil  and 
climate,  and  each  year  gathers  rich  crops  as  a  reward  for  the  care  and  labor 
which  he  bestows  upon  the  fields. 

I'he  home  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Frazee  has  been  graced  with  two  interesting 
little  sons,  Theodore  and  Carl  Benjamin.  Mr.  Frazee  gives  his  political  sup- 
port to  the  republican  party.  Both  he  and  his  wife  are  highly  respected  in 
the  community  where  they  have  spent  their  entire  lives  and  the  haspitality 
of  their  own  pleasant  home  is  enjoyed  by  a  host  of  warm  and  admiring 
friends. 


WILLIAM   R.    POMERENE. 

To  know  the  law  indicates  close  study  and  retentive  memory;  to  apply 
it  correctly  indicates  careful  analysis,  inductive  reasoning  and  logical  se- 
quences. The  trend  of  mind  in  the  Pomerene  family  is  particularly  judicial 
and  the  law  has  found  worthy  exponents  in  Judge  Julius  Pomerene  and  his 
two  sons  William  R.  and  Frank  E.,  the  former  senior  partner  of  the  present 
law  firm  of  Pomerene  &  Pomerene  and  the  immediate  subject  of  this  article. 
He  was  born  in  Coshocton,  March  19,  1864,  and  after  passing  through  the 
consecutive  grades  in  the  public  schools  was  graduated  from  the  high  school 
in  the  class  of  1879.  His  more  specifically  literary  education  was  pursued 
in  Wooster  College,  where  he  spent  two  years,  and  in  the  Ohio  State  Uni- 
versity at  Columbus.  His  preliminary  law  reading  was  done  under  the  direc- 
tion of  his  father  and  a  year  later  he  entered  the  law  school  of  Cincinnati 
College,  from  which  he  was  graduated  in  1886.  Following  his  admission  to 
the  bar  the  same  year  he  joined  his  father  in  a  partnership  which  was  con- 
tinued until  Judge  Pomerene's  elevation  to  the  circuit  court  Dench.  William 
R.  Pomerene  then  practiced  alone  until  1895,  when  he  was  joined  by  his 
brother  under  the  present  firm  style  of  Pomerene  &  Pomerene.     He  served 


Digitized  by 


v^oogle 


518  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

for  two  terms  as  prosecuting  attorney  for  the  county  but  otherwise  has  never 
sought  nor  desired  political  preferment,  for  the  demands  of  a  growing  pri- 
vate practice  leave  him  little  time  for  aught  else. 

Mr.  Pomerene  was  married  December  22,  1887,  at  Marietta,  Ohio,  to 
Annie  L.  Warner,  a  tiaughter  of  General  A.  J.  Warner,  and  has  two  chil- 
dren :  Warner  Merritt,  born  May  5,  1893 ;  and  Walter  Holmes,  bom  January 
21,  1895.  Mr.  and  Mre.  Pomerene  occupy  an  enviable  position  in  social  cir- 
cles, for  they  have  many  friends  among  Coshocton's  best  people.  Cordial  in 
address,  genial  in  manner  and  entertaining  true  appreciation  for  all  that 
is  worth  while  in  life,  Mr.  Pomerene  is  quick  to  appreciate  the  good  points 
in  others,  while  his  own  salient  characteristics  have  made  him  popular  with 
his  fellow  townsmen. 


S.   J.   CARPENTER. 


S.  J.  Carpenter,  who  owns  and  operates  a  well-improved  farm  of  one 
hundred  and  twenty-six  acres  situated  in  New  Castle  township,  is  a  self-made 
man,  for  all  that  he  today  possesses  has  been  acquired  through  his  own  hon- 
orable and  well-directed  efforts.  He  is  a  native  of  this  township,  born  March 
19,  1873,  the  second  child  and  eldest  son  of  J.  M.  and  Mary  (Wolford) 
Carpenter.  The  family  was  established  in  Coshocton  county  by  the  paternal 
grandfather,  Charles  Carpenter,  who  came  to  the  Buckeye  state  from  Penn- 
sylvania. The  father,  J.  M.  Carpenter,  was  bom  in  Coshocton  county  in 
1853  and  was  here  reared,  following  farming  as  a  life  work,  or  until  his 
death,  which  occurred  in  May,  1907,  his  remains  being  interred  in  the  New 
Castle  cemetery.  The  mother  was  a  native  of  Milwood,  Knox  county,  where 
she  was  reared  and  married.  She,  too,  has  passed  to  her  final  rest.  Their 
family  numbered  seven  children:  Karen,  the  wife  of  James  Allen,  of  New 
Castle;  S.  J.,  of  this  review;  Lovey,  the  wife  of  John  Steel,  a  railroad  man  of 
Los  Angeles,  California;  Lloyd,  a  resident  of  Akron,  Ohio;  Sallie,  the  wife 
of  Willis  Berry,  a  merchant  of  New  Castle;  Mary,  the  wife  of  Zulu  Mentina; 
and  Lizzie,  the  wife  of  a  Mr.  Fortune. 

S.  J.  Carpenter  acquired  his  education  in  the  district  schools  near  his 
father's  home  and  remained  under  the  parental  roof  until  he  reached  the 
age  of  fourteen  years,  when  he  began  life  on  his  own  account  and  since  that 
early  age  has  been  dependent  entirely  upon  his  own  resources.  He  has  al- 
ways followed  the  occupation  of  farming  and  with  the  exception  of  two 
years  spent  in  the  Philippine  islands  during  the  Spanish-American  war, 
as  a  member  of  Company  M,  Twenty-eighth  United  States  Volunteer  In- 
fantr\^  he  has  spent  his  entire  life  in  Coshocton  county.  He  enlisted  for 
service  on  the  24th  of  August,  1899,  and  was  discharged  in  April,  1901, 
having  made  a  creditable  military  record. 

Mr.  Carpenter  is  now  the  owner  of  one  hundred  and  twenty-six  acres 
of  well-improved  land  in  New  Castle  township,  and  here  he  is  engaged  in 
raising  the  cereals  best  adapted  to  soil  and  climate,  each  year  harvesting  rich 

Digitized  by  ^OOQlC 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  519 

crops  as  a  reward  for  the  care  and  labor  which  he  bestows  upon  the  fields. 
He  has  made  many  improvements  on  the  place  in  the  way  of  substantial 
buildings  and  today  it  is  a  valuable  property.  In  addition  to  his  farm  he 
also  owns  realty  in  the  village  of  N^w  Castle. 

Mr.  Carpenter  was  married  July  17,  1904,  the  lady  of  his  choice  being 
Miss  Maude  Ogle,  a  resident  of  Coshocton  county.  Their  union  has  been 
blessed  with  two  interesting  little  sons,  Walter  and  Morris.  Mr.  Carpenter 
gives  his  political  support  to  the  democratic  party  and  has  served  as  road 
supervisor  but  otherwise  has  filled  no  public  offices.  He  attends  and  supports 
the  Disciples  church  at  Walhonding.  Character  and  ability  will  come  to  the 
front  anywhere.  As  boy  and  man  he  has  been  buffeted  by  fortune  but  he 
has  overcome  the  obstacles  and  difficulties  that  have  barred  his  path  and  has 
gone  on  to  success,  today  being  numbered  among  the  substantial  agricul- 
turali.*5ts  of  New  Castle  township. 


J.    R.    SPECK. 


Few^  men  are  so  favored  by  fortune  that  a  successful  business  awaits  their 
entrance  into  the  world  of  activity.  The  vast  majority  must  labor  for  the 
advantages  which  they  enjoy  and  must  give  proof  of  their  merit  through 
earnest  and  intelligently  directed  labor.  Such  has  been  the  case  of  J.  R. 
Speck,  who  is  now  the  secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  Eureka  Laundry  Com- 
pany and  also  of  the  Domestic  Manufacturing  Company.  He  was  bom  in 
Betlehem  township,  Coshocton  county,  July  12,  1874,  his  parents  being  John 
C.  and  Rosanne  (Bowers)  Speck,  who  were  natives  of  Jefferson  township, 
this  county.  Joseph  Speck,  the  paternal  grandfather,  and  the  maternal  grand- 
parents of  our  subject  came  to  Coshocton  county  from  Germany  of  which 
land  they  were  natives.  John  C.  Speck  was  reared  to  farm  life  and  has  spent 
his  active  years  in  agricultural  pursuits.  For  a  long  period  he  tilled  the  soil 
and  at  length  when  his  labors  had  brought  him  sufficient  capital  to  permit 
his  retirement  he  put  aside  farm  business  cares  and  is  now  living  retired  on 
his  farm  in  Bethlehem  township.  He  is  prominent  in  democratic  circles  and 
has  been  honored  with  various  local  offices,  serving  for  a  number  of  years 
as  township  trustee  and  township  treasurer,  being  the  incumbent  in  the  latter 
office  at  the  present  time.  He  was  twice  candidate  for  county  sheriff  on  the 
democratic  ticket  but  was  defeated.  In  his  business  life  he  was  progressive 
and  enterprising  and  brought  the  first  steam  threshing  machine  into  Coshoc- 
ton county.  The  farmers  were  afraid  it  would  bum  up  their  crops  and  build- 
ings and  he  had  to  educate  them  to  its  use.  For  a  long  period  he  engaged  in 
threshing  and  was  also  identified  with  the  sawmill  and  planing-mill  business. 
For  a  number  of  years  he  conducted  the  planing-mill  in  Warsaw,  giving  his 
attention  largely  to  his  industrial  intercepts. 

Trained  to  habits  of  industry  and  economy  J.  R.  Speck  remained  at 
home  until  his  twenty-first  year,  acquiring  his  education  in  the  district  schools 
while  during  vacation  periods  and  after  he  had  permanently  put  aside  his 


Digitized  by 


v^oogle 


520  HISTORY    OF    COSHOCTON    COUNTY    ^ 

text-books  he  as-^isted  his  father  in  various  linec.  On  starting  out  in  life  for 
himself  he  entered  the  employ  of  John  Kissner,  a  contractor,  with  whom  he  re- 
mained for  four  or  five  years  as  foreman.  He  then  accepted  the  position  of  fore- 
man of  the  carpentering  department  of  the  H.  D.  Beach  Company  in  which  po- 
sition he  continued  for  two  years  and  in  1901  he  engaged  in  the  laundry 
business  on  his  own  account  at  No.  224  Main  street.  In  two  years  he  had  built 
up  a  biunne.-s  beyond  the  capacity  of  his  plant  and  in  August,  1903,  he  was 
one  of  the  organizers  of  the  Eureka  Laundrj^  and  Domestic  Manufacturing 
Companies.  After  the  incori)oration  of  the  business  Mr.  Speck  was  chosen 
secretary  and  treasurer  in  which  capacity  he  has  since  served.  This  company 
in  addition  to  conducting  a  growing  and  successful  laundry  is  also  doing  an 
extensive  and  pra^perous  business  in  rug  manufacture. 

On  the  17th  of  June,  1905,  Mr.  Speck  was  married  to  Miss  Grace  Croy, 
of  Trinway,  and  unto  them  was  born  one  son,  Jame^  Riley.  Mr.  Speck  be- 
longs to  Coshocton  Lodge,  No.  376,  B.  P.  0.  E.  and  to  Fidelity  Lodge,  No. 
135,  K.  P.  He  is  in  hearty  sympathy  with  the  principles  of  these  orders  and 
is  enthusiastic  in  their  support.  A  self-made  man  he  started  out  on  his  own 
account  without  capital  but  knew  that  businass  advancement  might  be  se- 
cured through  close  application  and  faithfulness.  These  qualities  have  ever 
remained  salient  factors  in  his  life  record  and  have  brought  him  a  volume 
of  business  which  makes  him  one  of  the  substantial  residents  of  this  citv. 


HARRY  LYONS. 


Harry  Lyons,  who  is  successfully  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits  in 
Adams  township,  was  born  on  the  farm  on  which  he  still  resides,  on  the  26th 
of  January,  1875.  His  parents  were  William  and  Mary  (Stonehocker)  Lyons, 
the  former  a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  where  his  birth  occurred  March  19, 
1838,  while  the  latter  was  born  in  Coshocton  county,  Ohio,  in  1842.  When  a 
little  lad  of  four  year?  the  father  was  brought  to  Tuscarawas  county,  Ohio, 
by  his  parents,  who  there  entered  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  land.  In 
that  county  he  was  reared  to  manhood  and  after  he  had  attained  his  major- 
ity wa^  employed  on  the  railroad  for  two  years.  Subsequently  he  came  to 
Coshocton  county,  purchasing  a  farm  in  Adams  township,  where  he  was 
successfully  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits  until  the  time  of  his  retire- 
ment from  active  business  life.  He  is  now^  living  in  Coshocton  with  his  wife. 
Their  family  numbers  seven  children,  namely:  Alfred  D.,  of  Coshocton; 
Jennie,  who  is  the  wife  of  Charles  Mizer  and  also  makes  her  home  in  Coshoc- 
ton, Ohio;  Harry,  of  this  review;  Wealthy,  at  home;  John  and  Curtis,  both  of 
Ca-^hocton;  and  Helen,  the  wife  of  George  Cooper,  of  Coshocton. 

Harry  Lyons  was  reared  on  the  home  farm  and  acquired  a  common- 
school  education.  When  twenty-one  years  of  age  he  left  the  parental  roof 
and  worked  as  a  farm  hand  for  two  years,  on  the  expiration  of  which  period 
he  purchased  seventy  acres  in  Adams  township.  This  tract  he  successfully 
cultivated  until  1906,  when  he  took  up  his  abode  on  his  father^s  farm   of 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  521 

eighty  acres,  where  he  has  since  resided,  being  engaged  in  general  farming. 
Owing  to  his  untiring  industry  and  well  directed  energy  he  has  met  with  a 
gratifying  measure  of  prosperity  in  his  undertakings  and  is  widely  recog- 
nized as  one  of  the  enterprLsing  young  agriculturalists  of  the  community. 

On  the  27th  of  January,  1898,  Mr.  Lyons  was  united  in  marriage  to 
Miss  Mabel  Mizer,  whose  birth  occurred  in  Tuscarawas  county,  Ohio,  June 
1,  1879.  Her  parents,  Philip  and  Hattie  (Van  Ostrain)  Mizer,  were  both 
natives  of  Tuscarawas  county,  the  former  having  been  born  in  1858  and  the 
latter  in  1856.  Philip  Mizer  pa-sed  away  in  1890,  and  his  widow  afterward 
became  the  wife  of  Fred  Limburght,  who  is  also  now  deceased.  Mrs.  Lim- 
burght  makes  her  home  in  Coshocton,  and  has  become  the  mother  of  four 
children:  Mrs.  Lyons;  Bessie,  the  wife  of  Vernon  McClintock;  Mana,  who 
is  the  wife  of  Roy  Norman;  and  B.  W.,  of  Coshocton.  Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Lyons  have  al-o  l)een  born  four  children,  namely:  Ethel,  Marjorie,  Lucille 
and  Charles. 

In  his  political  views  Mr.  Lyons  is  a  democrat,  and  both  he  and  his 
wife  are  devoted  and  faithful  members  of  the  Bakersville  Presbyterian 
church.  He  is  a  worthy  native  son  of  this  county,  in  which  he  has  spent 
his  entire  life,  and  has  gained  the  regard  and  esteem  of  all  with  whom  he 
has  come  in  contact. 


ALBERT    C.    NICHOLS. 

The  home  farm  of  Albert  C.  Nichols,  situated  in  Tuscarawas  township, 
is  one  of  the  scenic  features  of  this  section  of  the  state,  commanding  a  splen- 
did view  of  the  city  of  Coshocton  as  well  as  the  valleys  of  the  Muskingum, 
Tuscarawas  and  Walhonding  rivers.  Mr.  Nichols  was  born  m  this  county, 
May  22,  1873,  a  son  of  Alfred  and  Ellen  (Countryman)  Nichols. 

The  son  was  reared  to  farm  life,  early  being  trained  to  the  duties  and 
labors  that  fall  to  the  lot  of  the  farmer  boy.  He  spent  the  winter  months  in 
the  acquirement  of  an  education  in  the  district  schools,  wherein  he  mastered 
the  ordinary  branches  of  learning.  He  established  a  home  of  his  own  by 
his  marriage  on  the  13th  of  October,  1897,  to  Miss  Edith  Wood,  a  daughter 
of  Joseph  N.  and  Sarah  Wood,  residing  near  Coshocton.  Following  their 
marriage  the  young  couple  took  up  their  abode  on  their  present  farm,  situ- 
uated  one  mile  southeast  of  Coshocton.  It  is  a  highly  improved  tract  of  land, 
well  located  and  arable,  with  excellent  drainage,  and  supplied  with  good  and 
substantial  outbuildings.  A  beautiful  country  home  is  also  here  found,  the 
house  standing  on  the  hill  overlooking  the  city  of  Coshocton  and  the  site 
of  the  Muskingum,  Tuscarawas  and  Walhonding  valleys,  and  the  place 
with  all  its  appointments  constitutes  one  of  the  fine  landscape  views  of  this 
section  of  the  county.  Mr.  Nichols  is  engaged  in  general  farming,  and  there 
is  also  a  coal  mine  on  the  place,  which  he  operates,  thus  making  it  one  of  the 
valuable  as  well  as  one  of  the  attractive  properties  of  this  district. 

The  home  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Nichols  has  been  blessed  with  two  children : 
Garnette  E.  and  Jaseph  A.    Mr.  Nichols  gives  his  political  support  to  the 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


522  HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

democratic  party,  while  hi^  religious  faith  is  indicated  by  his  membership 
ill  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  He  is  a  man  of  push  and  progress,  with 
a  keen  interest  in  all  public  matters.  He  is  a  man  of  great  natural  ability, 
one  who  has  made  good  use  of  his  opportunities,  so  that  his  success  is  well 
deserved. 


THOMAS   HENRY  WHEELER. 

In  no  profession  does  advancement  depend  so  entirely  upon  individual 
capability  and  merit  as  in  the  law  and  the  successful  practitioner  is  he  whose 
close  study,  analytical  mind  and  untiring  diligence  enable  him  to  success- 
fully cope  with  the  intricate  problems  of  jurisprudence,  giving  a  clear  exposi- 
tion of  the  law  in  his  application  to  certain  facts  under  consideration.  Mr. 
Wheeler,  in  his  practice  before  the  courts  of  Coshocton  county,  has  attained 
an  enviable  reputation  as  a  strong,  able  and  successful  lawyer.  He  is  well 
known  in  this,  his  native  county.  His  birth  occurred  in  Bedford,  Ohio,  May 
14,  1867.  His  father,  Henry  T.  Wheeler,  a  native  of  Jeffereon  county,  Ohio, 
had  arrived  in  Coshocton  county  in  18(35.  He  was  a  farmer  and  school 
teacher  and  led  a  life  of  well  directed  activity.  He  became  well  known  as 
an  active,  enterprising  citizen  and  successful  haziness  man  and  the  commu- 
nity mourned  the  loss  of  one  of  its  representative  and  respected  residents 
when  he  was  called  to  his  final  rest  in  March,  1903.  His  wife,  who  bore  the 
maiden  name  of  Mary  J.  McPeck,  was  born  in  Harrison  county,  Ohio,  and 
is  of  Scotch-Irish  descent.    She  is  still  living  at  the  age  of  seventy-two  years. 

In  his  boyhood  days  Thoma.-  H.  Wheeler  was  a  pupil  in  the  district 
schools  of  Bedford  township  and  later  prepared  for  college  in  the  high  school 
in  the  town  of  Bedford.  He  then  entered  the  Michigan  University  at  Ann 
Arbor  in  1887  and  was  graduated  from  the  law  department  with  the  degree 
of  Bachelor  of  Law  in  1889.  He  also  pursued  partial  literary  and  medical 
courses  but  did  not  finish  in  either  of  the.-e  lines.  Following  his  graduation 
from  the  law  department  he  was  admitted  to  pra<?tice  in  the  courts  of  Michi- 
gan, Illinois  and  Ohio  and  began  practice  in  Coshocton  in  1881.  Well  in- 
formed in  all  departments  of  the  law  he  ha^  figured  in  many  prominent 
criminal  and  civil  cases  and  his  clear  and  forceful  presentation  of  his  cause 
has  indicated  the  most  thorough  and  painstaking  i)reparation.  He  won  an 
important  case  in  Ohio,  involving  the  right  of  the  national  banks  to  secure 
loans  on  bonds,  and  has  been  as-ociated  with  various  other  casas  which  have 
won  widespread  attention.  In  1897  he  wa<  elected  prosecuting  attorney  of 
Coshocton  county  and  on  the  exi)iration  of  his  first  term  of  three  years,  was 
reelected  in  1900  so  that  he  filled  the  position  for  six  years,  discharging  his 
duties  without  fear  or  favor.  Aside  from  his  professional  interests  he  is  a 
director  of  the  People's  Bank  of  Coshocton  and  its  vice  president.  He  is  like- 
wise a  director  of  the  McKee  Drilling  Company  and  is  connected  with  other 
small  corporations. 

In  March,  1893,  Mr.  Wheeler  was  married  to  Miss  Jennie  S.  Hood,  ^a 
daughter  of  E.  B.  Hood.    Their  children  are:   Bessie,  bom  in  March,  1894; 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  523 

Ralph  H.,  in  Augu.st,  1895;  and  Walter,  in  August,  1897.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Wheeler  are  prominent  and  well  known  socially  and  he  is  a  valued  member 
of  the  Benovelent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  the  Independent  Order  of 
Odd  Fellows,  the  Royal  Arcanum  and  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  of  Coshocton, 
m  which  he  is  a  past  chancellor.  His  political  allegiance  has  always  been 
given  to  the  democratic  party  which  has  found  in  him  a  stalwart  champion. 
He  has  served  as  chairman  and  as  secretary  of  the  democratic  executive  com- 
mittee and  has  been  his  party's  candidate  for  probate  judge.  His  attention, 
however,  is  especially  devoted  to  the  practice  of  law  in  w^hich  he  has  won  a 
creditable  pla<»e,  possessing  the  ability  that  enables  him  to  successfully  solve 
legal  problems.  He  has  always  been  a  diligent  student  of  his  profession  and 
has  thus  constantly  broadened  his  knowledge  while  in  the  trial  of  cases  the 
counsel  and  the  court  as  well  as  the  general  public  listen  to  h^m  with  atten- 
tion and  interest. 


FRANK    E.    POMERENE. 

Frank  E.  Pomerene  has  gained  a  position  of  much  more  than  local 
distinction  as  a  member  of  the  legal  fraternity,  being  now  regarded  as  one 
of  the  ablest  corporation  lawyers  of  northern  Ohio.  He  is  practicing  in  Co- 
shocton as  a  junior  partner  of  the  firm  of  Pomerene  &  Pomerene  and  fully 
sustains  the  high  reputation  which  has  always  been  associated  with  the  fam- 
ily name  since  his  honored  father.  Judge  Julius  C.  Pomerene,  became  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Ohio  bar.  Extended  mention  of  Judge  Pomerene  is  made  on  an- 
other page  of  this  work  and  the  ancestral  history  of  the  family  is  also  given 
in  that  connection. 

Frank  Etherington  Pomerene,  whose  name  introduces  this  review,  was 
born  in  Coshocton,  March  25,  1868,  and,  spending  his  boyhood  days  under 
the  parental  roof,  was  sent  as  a  student  to  the  public  schools  until  he  had 
mastered  the  high  school  course  and  won  his  diploma  with  the  class  of  1885. 
He  afterward  became  a  student  in  the  Ohio  State  University,  from  which  he 
was  graduated  in  1891  and  then,  preparing  for  the  bar  in  the  same  institu- 
tion, he  was  graduated  from  the  law  department  with  the  class  of  1895. 
Returning  immediately  to  Coshocton,  he  joined  his  brother  in  practice,  and 
the  firm  has  become  recognized  as  one  of  the  leading  firms  in  corporation 
law  in  northern  Ohio.  Their  attention  is  devoted  largely  to  practice  for 
private  corporations,  yet  they  are  also  legal  representatives  for  several  rail- 
road companies  and  general  counsel  for  the  Ohio  Electric  Railway  Company. 
They  also  represent  the  Pittsburg,  Cincinnati,  Chicago  &  St.  Louis  Railroad 
Company,  the  Toledo,  Walhonding  Valley  &  Ohio  Railroad,  the  Cleveland, 
Akron  &  Columbus  Railroad  Company  and  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Com- 
pany, together  with  various  manufacturing  and  financial  institutions  in  Co- 
shocton county.  Frank  E.  Pomerene  is  an  earnest  student,  preparing  his 
cases  with  great  thoroughness  and  care,  and  as  counsel  and  attorney  before 
the  courts  he  has  manifested  ability  that  places  him  with  the  leading  lawyers 
of  this  part  of  the  state. 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


\ 
\ 


524  HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

In  June,  1896,  Frank  E.  Pomerene  was  married  in  Coshocton  to  Miss 
Mary  E.  Wilson,  a  daughter  of  Janies  S.  and  Sarah  (Hay)  Wilson,  the  for- 
mer now  deceased.  They  are  prominent  in  the  social  circles  of  the  city  and 
their  elegant  home  on  Chestnut  street  is  noted  for  its  gracious  and  charming 
hospitality.  Mr.  Pomerene  is  a  democrat  in  his  political  views  but  without 
aspiration,  for  office.  The  only  public  positions  he  has  filled  have  been  in 
connection  with  educational  interests.  He  was  appointed  for  a  seven  years' 
term  as  member  of  the  board  of  trustees  of  the  Ohio  Stat^  University  and 
is  now  serving  as  president  of  that  board,  while  his  efforts  in  behalf  of  the 
institution  have  been  far-reaching  and  beneficial.  He  has  also  been  active 
in  the  upbuilding  of  the  Coshocton  public  library  and  was  largely  instru- 
mental in  securing  the  Carnegie  donation  thereto.  In  person,  in  talents  and 
in  character  he  is  a  worthy  scion  of  his  race  and  in  a  profession  demanding 
strong  intellectuality,  close  application  and  indefatigable  energy  he  has  made 
for  himself  a  most  creditable  name. 


JAMES  COX. 


Farm  work  has  constituted  the  labors  of  James  Cox  throughout  his 
entire  business  career.  He  now  owns  and  operates  a  well  improved  traet 
situated  in  Virginia  township,  this  comprising  ninety  acres.  He  was  born 
in  this  township,  September  19,  1848,  a  son  of  Hamilton  and  Rachel  (Har- 
deety)  Cox,  the  former  a  native  of  Loudoun  county,  Virginia,  and  the  latter 
of  Coshocton  county,  both  families  being  among  the  earliest  settlers  of  this 
section  of  the  state.  The  father  was  a  farmer,  being  engaged  in  that  work 
during  his  active  business  career. 

James  Cox  assisted  in  the  labors  of  the  home  farm  from  the  time  of 
early  spring  planting  until  the  crops  were  harvested  in  the  late  autumn  and 
for  a  few  weeks  during  the  winter  months  pursued  his  studies  in  one  of 
the  old-time  log  schoolhouses.  When  he  started  out  to  make  his  own  way 
in  the  world  he  chose  the  occupation  to  which  he  had  been  reared  and  he 
is  thus  engaged  at  the  present  time.  He  now  owns  a  well  improved  and  valu- 
able tract  of  land,  comprising  ninety  acres  located  in  Virginia  township,  and 
here  he  is  engaged  in  general  agricultural  pursuits,  each  year  harvesting 
rich  craps  as  a  reward  for  the  care  and  labor  he  bestows  upon  the  fields. 

Mr.  Cox  established  a  home  of  his  own  by  his  marriage  on  the  12th  of 
October,  1871,  to  Miss  Maria  McCoy,  a  daughter  of  John  and  Margaret 
(Meredith  McCoy,  natives  of  Coshocton  county.  The  marriage  of  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Cox  has  been  blessed  with  thirteen  children:  Nathaniel;  Sarah  J., 
who  has  departed  this  life;  Daniel;  Margaret,  who  is  also  deceased;  Alvin, 
deceased;  Annie  C,  now  the  wife  of  Lambert  Lacy,  a  farmer  of  Muskingum 
county;  John  H. ;  Ethel;  James  E.;  Naomi;  Prescott;  William;  and  Rachel, 
now  the  wife  of  Edward  Priest,  of  Conesville,  thLs  state. 

Mr.  Cox  gives  his  political  support  to  the  democratic  party  and  at  va- 
rious times  has  served  on  the  school  board.     He  is  deeply  interested  in  any 

Digitized  by  LjOOQIC 


HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  525 

movement  calculate-d  to  advance  the  welfare  of  the  community.  He  has 
achieved  success  through  bis  own  well  directed  labors  and  energy  and  de- 
serves great  credit  for  what  he  has  accomplished  in  the  business  world. 


ALONZO  SPURGEON. 

Alonzo  Spurgeon  is  a  splendid  type  of  a  self-made  man,  for  from  the 
early  age  of  twelve  years  he  has  been  dependent  upon  his  own  resources,  and 
today  his  landed  possessions  embrace  four  hundred  acres  of  valuable  land 
in  Tiverton  township.  He  was  born  in  this  township  September  28,  1845,  the 
second  son  and  third  child  born  of  the  marriage  of  James  and  Rachel  (Wal- 
ters) Spurgeon.  The  father  was  bom  in  Ohio  and  was  here  reared  and  mar- 
ried. He  was  engaged  in  farming  in  this  state  for  a  time  but  later  removed 
with  his  family  to  Indiana,  where  he  spent  one  year,  after  which  he  returned 
to  Ohio,  settling  in  Knox  county.  He  spent  his  remaining  days  there,  pass- 
ing away  in  1858.  He  was  an  old-line  whig  until  the  formation  of  the  repub- 
lican party,  when  he  became  a  stanch  supporter  of  its  principles  and  policy. 
The  mother,  who  was  born  in  eastern  Ohio,  came  to  Coshocton  county  in  her 
girlhood  days  and  was  here  married  to  Mr.  Spurgeon.  They  became  the  pai*- 
ents  of  seven  children,  namely:  Abraham,  deceased;  Harriet,  the  wife  of 
Elias  AJlen,  of  New  Castle;  Alonzo,  of  this  review;  James  M.,  who  was  for- 
merly identified  with  the  schools  but  is  now  living  retired  in  Danville,  Knox 
county;  Margaret,  the  wife  of  Hiram  Hughes,  a  farmer  of  New  Castle  town- 
ship ;  Elizabeth,  the  wife  of  James  Kelly,  a  resident  of  Stricklett,  Kentucky ; 
John,  who  follows  farming  in  Defiance,  Ohio.  After  the  death  of  Mr. 
Spurgeon  the  mother  was  married  again,  her  second  union  being  with  Noah 
Dennis,  by  whom  she  had  a  daughter,  Delilah,  the  wife  of  M.  C.  Dixon,  a 
resident  of  New  Castle  township. 

Alonzo  Spurgeon  acquired  a  limited  education  in  the  district  schools  of 
Tiverton  township,  for  from  the  early  age  of  twelve  years  he  was  compelled 
to  provide  for  his  own  support,  having  lost  his  father  about  that  time.  For 
several  years  he  was  employed  at  any  labor  that  would  yield  him  an  honest 
living,  and  when  the  Civil  war  broke  out  he  offered  his  services  to  the  gov- 
ernment, being  then  a  youth  of  eighteen  years.  He  enlisted  as  a  member 
of  Company  A,  One  Hundred  and  Ninety-fourth  Regiment  of  Ohio  Volun- 
teer Infantry,  and  was  on  guard  duty  in  Washington  City.  At  the  end  of 
one  year  he  was  honorably  discharged  and  returning  to  Coshocton  county, 
engaged  in  farming,  which  has  since  been  his  life  work.  He  has  met  with 
gratifying  success  in  his  undertakings  and  although  he  started  with  nothing 
he  is  now  the  owner  of  four  hundred  acres  of  valuable  land  in  Tiverton  town- 
ship and  he  also  recently  sold  one  hundred  acres.  He  is  likewise  a  stockholder 
in  the  Bell  Telephone  Company. 

Mr.  Spurgeon  was  married  in  1870  to  Miss  Mary  F.  Humphrey,  and 
their  union  has  been  blessed  with  five  children:  Alca  M.,  the  wife  of  William 
Bumpu.5,  a  resident  of  Tiverton  township;  Odelva,  the  wife  of  G.  T.  Riden- 


Digitized  by  ^ 


526  HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

baugh,  a  farmer  of  Tiverton  township ;  William  M.,  who  also  follows  fanning 
in  Tiverton  township;  James  Otis,  still  under  the  parental  roof;  and  one  who 
died  in  infancy. 

The  political  views  of  Mr.  Spurgeon  accord  with  republican  principles 
and  while  he  keeps  posted  on  public  affairs  he  has  never  been  active  as  an 
office  seeker.  He  and  his  wife  and  some  of  the  children  are  members  of  the 
Disciples  church.  He  is  a  man  of  temperate  habits,  never  using  tobacco 
nor  intoxicants  in  any  form.  He  deserves  great  credit  for  what  he  has  ac- 
complished in  the  business  world,  for  all  that  he  today  possesses  has  been  ac- 
quired through  his  own  energy  and  well  directed  labors.  The  ideals  of  men 
like  this,  their  personality,  the  history  of  their  lives,  and  their  profound 
sense  of  integrity  could.be  made  the  text  of  a  lesson  from  which  the  young 
men  of  today  could  study  success. 


PETEB   SHAFER. 


Pet^r  Shafer,  who  in  partnership  with  his  brother  Alonzo  owns  and  op- 
erates a  farm  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  in  Lafayette  township,  was 
bom  in  the  house  in  which  he  now  resides,  December  1,  1845,  the  son  of 
Abraham  and  Maria  (Davis)  Shafer,  both  of  whom  were  natives  of  Albany 
county,  New  York.  The  father  was  bom  November  13,  1809,  and  in  early 
manhood  he  wedded  Maria  Davis,  who  was  five  years  his  junior.  They  be- 
came the  parents  of  six  children,  of  whom  five  are  now  living,  namely :  Eliza- 
beth, the  widow  of  D.  W.  Lyons,  of  Coshocton ;  Catherine,  the  wife  of  James 
H.  Hay,  also  a  resident  of  Coshocton;  Peter,  of  this  review;  W.  B.,  who  re-^ 
sides  in  West  Lafayette,  Ohio;  and  Alonzo,  who  was  born  on  September  10, 
1852,  and  owns  a  half  interest  with  our  subject  in  the  farm  referred  to 
above. 

In  1835  Abraham  Shafer,  accompanied  by  his  young  wife  and  infant 
daughter,  Elizabeth,  left  their  native  state  and  came  to  Coshocton  county, 
Ohio.  Here  he  bought  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  land,  which  was 
covered  with  timber  with  the  exception  of  a  small  field  and  w^hoUy  unim- 
proved. A  week's  time  was  consumed  in  the  erection  of  a  log  cabin  in  which 
to  reside  and  primitive  buildings  were  hastily  erected  for  the  shelter  of  the 
grain  and  stock.  The  cleared  land  was  seeded  in  wheat  and  because  of  a  lack 
of  farming  implements  which  were  not  to  be  obtained  at  that  time,  he  sowed 
his  grain  broadcast  and  raked  it  in,  using  for  the  purpose  a  piece  of  brush 
which  was  tied  securely  to  the  horse's  tail.  Such  were  the  expedients  re- 
sorted to  in  the  pioneer  days  of  the  county,  and  all  honor  to  the  brave,  re- 
sourceful pioneers  who  by  their  patience,  energy  and  perseverance  have  made 
possible  to  us  of  the  present  day  the  many  comforts  and  blessings  which  we 
now  enjoy.  New  land  was  cleared  and  put  under  cultivation  as  rapidly  as  the 
labor  could  be  accomplished,  the  work  being  pursued  with  all  the  more  en- 
couragement because  of  the  rich  harvests  the  new  land  yielded.  Mr.  Shafer 
passed  away  in  1896  at  the  age  of  eighty-seven  years  and  his  wife  died  in 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  527 

1890.  At  thfe  time  of  his  death  he  owned  two  hundred  and  forty  acres  of 
land.  In  politics  he  was  a  republican.  He  served  as  county  commissioner 
before  the  war  and  also  as  township  trustee.  Religiously  both  he  and  his  es- 
timable wife  were  faithful  and  consistent  members  of  the  Presbyterian 
church. 

Peter  Shafer  received  his  education  in  the  country  school  of  his  district, 
afterward  attending  the  Vermillion  Institute  in  Ashland  county  for  one  term, 
but  as  his  inclinations  were  more  toward  an  active,  out-door  life,  rather  than 
a  clerical  one,  he  left  school  and  returned  to  his  father's  farm,  where  he  as- 
sumed his  share  of  the  work  of  the  place.  He  has  ever  taken  an  active  interest 
in  all  matters  pertaining  to  agriculture  and  -is  a  charter  member  of  the  Plain- 
field  Grange,  which  he  joined  in  1876,  being  one  of  the  oldest  members  of  that 
organization  in  the  county. 

On  October  30,  1871,  Mr.  Shafer  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Eliza- 
beth Scott,  who  was  bom  in  this  county,  January  14,  1847,  the  daughter 
of  James  R.  and  Mary  (Wallace)  Scott.  Her  father  was  born  in  Ireland  and 
was  brought  to  this  country  when  a  small  child  and  adopted  by  a  farmer 
of  Keene  township,  by  whom  he  was  reared  and  educated.  In  1849  he  went 
to  California  and  later  to  Oregon  but  afterward  returned  to  this  state  and 
spent  his  last  days  with  our  subject,  dying  at  his  home  in  1897  at  the  age  of 
seventy-two  years.  The  mother  of  Mrs.  Shafer  died  at  West  Lafayette  about 
1890.  They  were  the  parents  of  four  children:  Margaret,  the  wife  of  John 
W.  Fisher,  of  Steuben ville,  Ohio;  Elizabeth,  the  wife  of  our  subject;  Jennie, 
the  wife  of  Edmond  Shafer,  of  Cleveland;  and  Thomas,  who  died  in  the 
army.  Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Shafer  have  been  born  four  children,  namely: 
Fay,  at  home;  Bemie,  deceased;  one  who  died  in  infancy;  and  Charlie,  also 
deceased. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Shafer  are  devout  members  of  the  Presbyterian  church  of 
West  Lafayette,  in  which  Mr.  Shafer  presides  as  elder  and  trustee.  His  po- 
litical allegiance  is  given  to  the  republican  party.  He  is  now  serving  his 
first  term  as  township  trustee,  and  has  held  various  positions  on  the  school 
board. 


ELMER    L.    FOX. 


Elmer  L.  Fox,  a  native  of  Clark  township,  born  May  11,  1873,  has  been 
the  popular  and  enterprising  postmaster  of  Blissfield  for  almost  ten  years, 
having  received  his  appointment  to  this  office  September  29,  1898.  He  was 
reared  to  agricultural  pursuits,  having  passed  the  days  of  his  boyhood  and 
early  youth  on  the  farm  of  his  maternal  grandmother,  Margaret  Miller.  He 
received  a  common-school  education  and  early  improved  his  vacation  per- 
iods by  becoming  a  wage  earner.  He  was  but  fourteen  years  of  age  when  he 
accepted  his  first  position,  which  was  that  of  water  carrier  on  the  railroad 
then  being  built  through  Blissfield.  His  next  venture  was  that  of  running 
a  threshing  machine,  no  small  undertaking  for  a  youth  as  it  not  only  in- 
volved the  handling  of  a  number  of  men  but  also  considerable  mechanical 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


528  HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

skill.  Alert  to  the  opportunities  which  the  times  afforded,  Mr.  Fox  next 
engaged  in  running  a  sawmill,  an  occupation  which  he  followed  for  six 
years,  at  the  expiration  of  which  time  he  purchased  a  small  farm  in  Clark 
township  and  engaged  in  farming  for  a  time.  In  his  twenty-sixth  year  he 
received  the  appointment  as  po:?tmaster,  which  necessitated  his  residing  in 
Blissfield  and,  as  the  duties  of  this  office  were  light  and  left  considerable  spare 
time  on  his  hands,  in  April,  1906,  he  traded  his  farm  land  for  the  mercan- 
tile business  of  W.  F.  Lang  and  has  since  supplemented  his  work  of  handling 
of  the  mail  by  the  sale  of  merchandise. 

On  December  31,  1898,  Mr.  Fox  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Laura 
Stareheim,  who  was  born  in  Monroe  township,  August  25,  1876,  a  daughter 
of  Phillip  and  Louisa  (Bretzie)  Stareheim.  Her  father  was  born  in  Bavaria, 
Germany,  in  1835  and  came  to  America  when  but  a  youth  and  located  in 
this  county.  He  was  married  at  Chili  in  1859  to  Miss  Louisa  Bretzie  and 
they  became  the  parents  of  twelve  children,  eight  of  whom*  are  now  living. 
The  father  died  in  Coshocton  in  1903.  Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fox  has  been 
bom  one  daughter,  Margaret  Vern,  who  died  in  infancy. 

In  his  political  affiliations  Mr.  Fox  is  a  republican,  while  fraternally  he 
is  a  member  of  Blissfield  Lodge,  No.  13056,  M.  W.  A.  Religiously,  he  and 
his  estimable  wife  are  members  of  the  Evangelical  church,  and  they  are 
highly  esteemed  by  all  who  know  them.  Mr.  Fox  has  passed  his  entire  life 
in  the  county  and  the  sterling  traits  of  his  manhood  have  been  such  as  have 
won  for  him  unfaltering  trust  and  high  regard. 


JAMES    M.    WILSON. 

James  M.  Wilson,  who  is  numbered  among  the  substantial  agricultur- 
ists of  Coshocton  county,  owns  and  operates  fifty-four  acres  of  land  on  section 
8,  JeflFeiBon  towTiship.  He  was  born  in  Jefferson  county,  this  state,  Septem- 
ber 15,  1849,  the  youngest  in  a  family  of  nine  children,  bom  of  the  mar- 
riage of  John  and  Elizabeth  (Johnston)  Wilson,  both  of  whom  were  natives 
of  County  Tyrone,  Ireland.  The  father  came  alone  to  the  United  States 
about  1833  or  1834,  the  voyage  across  the  Atlantic  requiring  six  weeks  and 
three  days.  Upon  landing  in  America  he  at  once  made  his  way  to  Jefferson 
county,  Ohio,  and  in  1863  made  his  way  to  Coshocton  county,  where  he  fol- 
lowed farming  throughout  his  remaining  days.  He  met  death  by  drowning 
in  the  Walhonding  river  in  April,  1878.  The  wife  survived  for  ten  yeai^. 
passing  away  in  1888.  Their  family  numbered  nine  children,  as  follows: 
William,  who  resides  in  Killbuck,  Holmes  county,  this  state;  John,  deceased: 
Nancy,  the  wife  of  Joseph  Pithen,  now  living  retired  in  Mingo  Junction, 
Ohio;  George,  who  is  mentioned  on  another  page  of  this  volume;  Mary  A.. 
Jane  and  Sarah  E.,  all  of  whom  have  passed  away;  Moses,  who  died  in  in- 
fancy; and  James,  of  this  review. 

James  Wilson  acquired  his  education  in  the  common  schools  of  Jef- 
ferson and  Coshocton  counties  and  was  reared  to  farm  life.     After  reaching 

Digitized  by  LjOOQIC 


HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  529 

mature  years  he  rented  the  home  place,  which  he  operated  for  a  time,  or  until 
his  father's  death,  which,  as  above  stated,  occurred  in  1878.  In  1883  in  con- 
nection with  his  brother  George  he  purchased  the  home  place  but  later  the 
brother  purchased  his  interest  in  the  same  and  our  subject  now  owns  fifty- 
four  acres  located  on  section  8,  Jefferson  township.  He  is  here  engaged  in 
raising  the  cereals  best  adapted  to  soil  and  climate  and  each  year  gathers 
abundant  harvests  as  a  reward  for  the  care  and  labor  he  bestows  upon  his 
land,  and  is  therefore  meeting  with  success  in  his  undertakings. 

Mr.  Wilson  established  a  home  of  his  own  by  his  marriage  in  1877  to 
Miss  Mary  J.  Stover,  a  resident  of  Jefferson  township.  They  have  one  daugh- 
ter, Leora  A.,  who  was  born  in  1882  and  is  still  with  her  parents.  Mr.  Wilson 
supports  the  men  and  measures  of  democracy,  but  has  never  been  active  as 
an  office  seeker.  He  is  a  Mason,  belonging  to  Warsaw  lodge,  of  which  he 
has  served  as  master  since  January,  1896.  He  and  his  wife  and  daughter 
are  members  of  the  Disciple  church.  The  family  have  many  warm  friends 
in  their  community  and  the  hospitality  of  their  own  pleasant  home  is  en- 
joyed by  all  who  know  them. 


W.    D.    KISSNER. 


The  life  of  W.  D.  Kissner  has  been  so  varied  in  its  activity,  so  honorable 
in  its  purposes  and  so  far-reaching  and  beneficial  in  its  eflfects  that  it  has 
become  an  integral  part  of  the  history  of  Coshocton  county  and  has  also  left 
an  impress  upon  the  annals  of  the  state,  for  as  a  promoter  and  organizer  of 
various  enterprises  he  has  become  prominent. 

Mr.  Kissner  was  born  in  Jefferson  township  on  the  farm  on  which  he  now 
resides,  April  9,  1858,  a  son  of  Nicholas  and  Louisa  (Bigler)  Kissner.  The 
former  was  a  native  of  Switzerland  and  at  the  age  of  eighteen  years  emigrated 
to  the  United  States.  For  eight  or  nine  years  he  ran  a  peddler's  wagon  in  the 
counties  around  Wheeling,  West  Virginia,  and  ivhile  thus  employed  became 
acquainted  with  Miss  Louisa  Bigler,  a  resident  of  Monroe  county,  who  was 
only  seventeen  years  of  age.  at  the  time  of  their  marriage.  Accompanied 
by  his  bride  he  came  to  Coshocton  county  and  on  their  arrival  here  they 
found  that  they  had  but  thirty-five  cents  w4th  which  to  begin  housekeeping. 
Mr.  Kissner  first  operated  rented  land  in  New  Castle  township,  and  later 
purchased  land  in  Jefferson  township.  He  bought  and  sold  various  tracts 
until  1863,  when  he  purchased  one  hundred  and  ninety  acres,  located  on 
sections  12  and  13,  on  which  he  made  his  home  until  his  death,  which 
occurred  in  1894,  his  remains  being  interred  in  Darling  Cemetery,  in  Jefferson 
township.  Ho  was  a  democrat  in  his  political  views  and  in  early  life  be- 
longed to  the  Evangelical  Association,  but  in  later  life  joined  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church. 

Mrs.  Louisa  Kissner  was  born  in  Monroe  county,  Ohio,  of  Swiss  descent, 
and  became  the  mother  of  eleven  children,  as  follows:  Mary,  the  wife  of 
John  Fisher,  a  retired  farmer  of  Warsaw;  John  N.,  a  prominent  contractor 

Digitized  by  V^OOQlC 


530  HISTORY    OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY 

and  promoter  of  West  Lafayette,  Ohio;  Eliza,  the  wife  of  David  Myers,  a 
fanner  of  Pike  township,  Coshocton  county;  W.  D.,  of  this  review;  Jacob, 
who  died  in  1885  while  in  school  at  Lebanon,  Ohio;  S.  C,  a  director  and 
manager  of  the  Citizens'  Telephone  Company,  of  Coshocton ;  Sophia,  who  first 
married  John  Bender  and  after  his  death  became  the  wife  of  Charles  Welch, 
of  Columbus,  Ohio ;  Rosiana,  the  wife  of  Lewis  G.  Rees,  a  resident  of  Tiverton 
township;  Emma,  the  wife  of  Charles  Brillhart,  a  farmer  of  JeflFerson  town- 
ship ;  Millie,  the  wife  of  Honry  Barrick,  a  farmer  of  Jefferson  township ;  and 
Laura,  who  died  an  infancy. 

During  his  early  boyhood  annd  youth  W.  D.  Ki^sner  was  deprived  of 
all  educational  advantages,  for  his  services  were  needed  on  the  home  farm. 
At  the  age  of  twenty  years  he  entered  the  Warsaw  school,  remaining  there 
one  month,  and  for  six  months  he  attended  his  home  district  school,  subse- 
quent to  which  time  he  went  to  Lebanon  and  attended  school  for  twenty- 
three  weeks.  During  this  time  he  applied  himself  and  worked  earnestly  and 
persistently  to  acquire  the  knowledge  that  would  fit  him  for  life's  practical 
and  responsible  duties.  He  then  engaged  in  teaching  during  the  winter 
months,  being  thus  employed  for  ten  years,  while  in  the  summer  seasons 
he  worked  at  the  brick  and  stonemason's  trades,  being  thus  engaged  from 
1884  until  1893,  and  in  the  latter  year  erected  a  residence  for  himself.  In 
1881  he  purchased  sixty  and  a  half  acres  of  land  on  section  13,  to  which  he  has 
since  added  forty  acres  on  section  14,  where  his  residence  is  located,  and  he  also 
owns  twenty-eight  and  four-fifths  acres  situated  in  the  corporation  limits  of 
Nellie,  this  latter  property  being  valued  at  six  thousand  dollars.  He  has  also 
given  much  time  and  attention  to  promoting  and  organizing  various  industries 
and  enterprises  of  Coshocton  county.  He  was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the 
Coshocton  County  Telephone  Company  and  is  the  second  heeWest  stockholder, 
being  at  the  present  time  one  of  the  directors.  He  is  also  a  stockholder  in  the 
Bank  of  Warsaw  and  is  a  stockholder  in  the  Cooperative  Harvesting  Machine 
Company  at  Springfield,  Ohio.  He  also  organized  the  Farmers'  Alliance  of 
Coshocton  county  and  in  many  ways  has  been  prominent  and  active  in  pro- 
moting the  public  welfare.  Six  years  ago  he  put  aside  farming  pursuits  and 
since  that  time  has  given  his  attention  to  his  various  financial  enterprises. 

Mr.  Kissner  was  married  October  1,  1884,  to  Mi&*  Kathryn  E.  Hass,  a 
daughter  of  John  and  Fredericka  Haas,  the  former  now  deceased,  but  the 
latter  still  living  and  making  her  home  with  Mr.  KL^sner.  The  marriage  of 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kissner  has  been  blessed  with  two  children :  Myrtle  A.,  who 
was  bom  July  13,  1889,  and  is  at  home;  and  Ruth  Naoma,  who  was  born 
March  16,  1895,  and  died  June  4,  1895. 

Mr.  Kissner  gives  his  political  support  to  the  men  and  measures  of  democ- 
racy where  national  issues  are  involved,  but  at  local  elections  casts  an 
independent  ballot.  Being  a  temperance  man,  he  says  the  proudest  vote  he 
ever  cast  was  October  22,  1908,  when  Coshocton  county  was  voted  dry.  Fra- 
ternally he  was  formerly  a  member  of  the  Patrons  of  Industry,  and  is  now 
a  member  of  the  Patrons  of  Husbandry.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Evangelical 
church  at  Nellie  and,  with  the  exception  of  one  year,  has  served  as  class  leader 
for  the  past  twenty-four  years  and  superintendent  of  the  Sunday  school  con- 
Digitized  by  LjOOQIC 


HISTORY   OF   COSHOCTON   COUNTY  531 

tiiiuoiiflly  for  twenty-four  years  with  the  exception  of  two  yeai-s.  He  served 
as  president  of  the  Sunday  School  Association  of  Coshocton  County  for  two 
terms,  while  at  the  present  writing  he  is  serving  as  secretary  of  the  teachers' 
training  department.  Few  men  axe  more  prominent  or  more  widely  known 
in  Warsaw  and  the  surrounding  country  than  Mr.  Kissner.  He  has  been  an 
important  factor  in  business  circles  and  his  prosperity  is  well  deserved.  He 
is  a  public-spirited  man,  giving  his  cooperation  to  every  movement  which 
tends  to  promote  the  moral,  intellectual  and  material  welfare  of  the  community. 


Digitized  by 


Google 


Digitized  by 


Google 


Index  to  County  History 

Pioneers   Roll  on  Pages  76  to  92.    For  Soldiers*     names     consult    rosters    under 
wars. 


PAGE 

Abolitionists   94,  104 

Adams  Township    60,    75 

Adoption.  Indian   39,    45 

Advertising 216 

Agriculture    69.    219,  266 

Ague  Epidemic  59 

Amphibians    8 

Amusements    100,  260 

Ancient  Man   9 

Ancient  River  Bed 264 

Anti-Saloon    260-262 

Appleseed,  Johnny 62 

ArgiUite 9 

Army,  Coshocton  in 231 

Arrowhead,   Leaf-shaped    21 

Arrowhead,  Moundbuilders*   18 

Artists    273 

Ashes  in  Mounds 22 

Asiatic  Invasion   11 

Asiatic  Mound  Theory 25 

AtlanUs    10 

Attorneys   232-234 

Automobile    219,  272 

Aztec  Mound  Theory 25 

Bacon  Run   74 

BakersvUle    60,     75 

Banking   248,  271 

Baptist  Church 71,  256 

Baptist   Colored    258 

Bar 232-234 

Beal   Law   Elections 262 

Beaver.   Chief    43 

Bedford  Township   60 

Bench    232-234 

Bethlehem  Township 22.  60,     75 

Black  Hoof,  Chief 51 

Blissfield   75 

Bloomfield 75 

Blue  Jacket    51 

Board  of  Trade 216 

Bouquet's   Camp    15,     42 

Bouquet's  Expedition 41 

Brick  Manufacture   216,  263 

Bridge  Elections  1907-8 253 

Bridges,  Toll   68 

British  Governor's  Hatchet 47 

Brodhead's  Expedition   50 

Buddhists 25 

Building  and  Loan 248.  271 

Burial,  Indian  16.     31 

Burial.  Moundbuilder 20 

Butter   67,  266 


Caldersburg   ; 71 

Canal  Era 71,  73 

Canal  Lewisville   60,  75 

Captain  Pipe 45,  48,  50,  51 

Carboniferous  Age 8 

Carnegie  Library 217 

Cassingham,  J.  W 209 

Catholic  Church 103,  257 

Caughnawagas 43 

Cavallo 73 

Cave-dwellers lo 

Cement  216,  266 

Cemeteries  1909,  258 

Cemetery,  Ancient  16 

Central  Trades  Council 215 

Chalcedony 21 

Charcoal  in  Mounds 18,  19,  20,  22 

Chautauqua    272 

Cheese   , 266 

Chili    75 

Chinese  Mound  Theory 25 

Christian  Church   258 

Christian    Scientists    258 

Christian  Union  Church 258 

Churches    255-258 

Church.   Log    71 

Circle  Mounds  14,  22.  23 

Circus 100 

Civil   War 108-207 

Clarksvllle    68 

Clark  Township    , ,,.     75 

Clark  Township  Mounds 22 

Clay   263 

Claysville    74 

Coach  Stage   73,  102 

Coal   8,  102,  208-214,  248,  265 

Coke   210 

Congress  Lands    58 

Congressmen   241 

Corn 29,   219,   265.  266 

Corncrackers   73 

Cornstalk,    Chief    47 

Coshocton.   Abandoned   by  Indians..     51 

Coshocton,  Delaware  Capital 46 

Coshocton  County  Organized 57 

Coshocton,  Early   58.  66,  102 

C6shocton.   1909    215 

Coshocton,   Meaning  of 57 

Coshocton,    Spelling    of 46 

Coshocton    First    Settler 53 

Coshocton  Mayors   244 

Coshocton  Postmasters   243-244 

Coshocton   Men  Elsewhere 273 

Coshocton  Board  of  Trade 216 

County  Fair  271 

Digitized  by  CJjOOQlC 


II 


INDEX 


PAOE 

County  Infirmary   235 

County  Officers   61,  235-241 

County  Option  Election 253,  260-262 

County   Printing    221,  224 

Court,  First   61 

Courts   232-234 

Courthouse    99,   235 

Courtship,  Indian   31 

Cradle  and   Sickle 93 

Crawford  Township 75 

Croghan,   George    33 

Crusade,  Temperance   261 

Custaloga  35,  42 

Dance,  War   38 

Dancing,  Indian  31,  32 

Dancing,  Pioneer    54 

Darling   Hilltop  Wall 22 

Delaware  Migration 37 

Democratic   Party    104 

Disciple  Church    256 

Distillery    72 

Doctors  268,  269 

Draft   Riots    207 

Dunmore's   War    45 

Eagle  Feather  35 

Earthworks   14,  22 

East   Union    74 

Education 62,  251,  258.  259 

Eggs 67,  266 

Egyptian  Mound  Theory 26 

Election.  Primitive    57 

Electric  Light   216 

Electric  Railway    254 

Elephant  Remains 8 

Eozolc  Age  7 

Episcopal  Church   71,  258 

Eskimo 10 

Evangelical    Church    257 

Evangelical,  German  257 

Evansburg   (see  Orange)    

Evolution   7,  26 

Fair,  County    271 

Farmers'  Institutes   219 

Farm  Life    69,  219 

Federalists   66 

Ferries 58,  68,  74,  100 

Finn  Mound  Theory 26 

Fire  Department 272 

Fire  Worship  19 

First  Families  59 

Fish    267 

Fish  Age   8 

Fish  Spears   9 

Flour    100 

Forakerlsm   243 

Fort  Meigs   65 

Fossils   8 

Fox-hunting    267 

Franklin  Township   59,  74,  101 

Franklin  Township  School 62 

Franklin   Township   Mounds 22,  23 

Fraternal  Orders    260 

Frauds.  Healing   268 

Free  Mail  Delivery   219 

Free-Sollers    94,  104 

French  and  Indian  War 36 

French   King's  Visit 54 


PAGE 

Fresno   75 

Frew's   Mill    74 

Fusang 25 

Game    267 

Garfield   on  Towpath 72 

Gas,   Manufactured    215 

Gas,  Natural  217,  264 

Gauntlet,  Running  the 39 

Geology    7,   265 

German  Evangelical  Church 257 

German  Population   99 

Giant  Skeletons   20,  21,  23 

Girty,  Simon 48,  49,  52 

Gist,  Christopher  32 

Given.  Josiah   109.  113 

Glacial  Kame 22,  24 

Glacial  Period  8 

Glass  Works    216 

Grain  Shipping  71 

Grange 219 

Gravel  Pit    10 

Gravel  Terraces  9 

Greek  Letter  Fraternities  260 

Harris,  Mary   35 

Hatchet  Message  47 

Hay  Crop   266 

Hay,   Houston    215 

Hay.   Robert    72 

Heaton's    Town    74 

Hebrew  Mound  Theory 25 

Heckewelder 17,  46,  50 

Heckewelder's   Ride    48 

Helmick   75,  264 

High  School  Course 259 

Hilltop  Earthworks  14 

Horse  Racing 24.  61,  271 

Hospital    269 

Hunt,  Rev.  Wm.  E 104 

Ice   Sheet   8 

Inca  Mound  Theory 25 

Indian— Hebrew  Linguistics  25 

Indian   Summer    53 

Indian  Wars 37,  41,  44,  47,  51,  63 

Indian 

Adoption    39,  45 

Burial    16,  31 

Uncertain  Traditions   16 

Village  Life   29 

Courtship    31 

Marriage   32 

Traders   32 

Delaware   Migration    37 

Wampum  Records   37 

Dancing   31,  32 

War  Dance 38 

Scalp    Song    29 

Travel  Song 38 

Industrial    Organizations    213-215 

Infirmary,   County    235 

Inns 54,   57,  66 

Institutes,   Farmers'    219 

Irish  Mound  Theory 26 

Iron 265 

Iron   In  Mounds 17 

Iroquois    33 


Digitized  by 


v^oogle 


INDEX 


m 


PAGE 

Jackson  Township  Mounds 20,  22 

Jacobsport   74 

Jail    62.   235 

Japanese  Mound  Theory 25 

Jefferson  Township  Ancient  Works.21,  22 

Jesuit   Priests    37 

Johnny  Appleseed   62 

Joshua,  Mohican  Spy 50 

Judges    r 232-234 

Jury,  First  61.  62 

Kame,  Glacial 22.  24 

Keene    75 

Keene,  County  Seat 69 

Keene  Township  Ancient  Works.. 22,  23 

Keene  Township  Pioneers 60 

"Kid-Mossback"   224 

Killbuck,  Chief  46 

"King  Charley"  Williams 53 

King.  French 54 

"King  Charley's"  Tavern 54,  58 

"Know-Nothing"  Party 103 

Labor  Organizations    213-215 

Lafayette  Township  59,  101 

Lafayette   Township   Mounds 22,  23 

Lafayette  Township  Churches 71 

Land  Titles   58 

Lanning.  Richard   109,  149 

Lawyers   232-234 

Legislative   Members    241 

Library.   Carnegie    217 

Lichtenau   46 

Limestone 8 

Untbn  Mills 74 

Linton  Township   74 

Linton  Township  Earthworks 22,  23 

Little  Turtle    51 

Lodges,  1909    260 

Logan.  Chief   45 

Lost  Towns 68,  69,  74,  75 

Lost-Tribe   Mound   Theory 25 

Louis  Philippe's  Visit 54 

Lutheran  Church   257 

McClain.  Richard  W 109 

Mail    68.  219 

Mammoth    8,   10 

Manufacturing 54,  71,  215 

Marriage,  Indian    32 

Marriage,  Pioneer   58 

Mastodon    8 

Maxwell   Mound    20 

Mayors,   Coshocton    244 

Maysville    74 

Medical  Profession 268,  269 

Medill,  Joseph    99,  221 

Meigs,  Fort    65 

Mercantile 59,   67,   217 

Metal  Signs   216 

Metham,  Pren    150,  263 

Metham  Quarry   21 

Methodist  Church   71,  255 

Methodist  Protestant    256 

Mexican   Mound   Theory 19 

Mexican  War   94-98 

Military  Lands    58 

Militia,   Pioneer    60 


PAGE 

Miller  (Howard)  Circle 23 

Miller   Hilltop    Circle 14 

Millcreek  Township   71,  75 

Millsville    69 

Mining    208-214 

Ministers    (See   Churches) 

Ministers  in  Politics 260 

Monroe  Township    74 

Moravian  Missionaries 16,  46,  50 

"Mossback-Kld"    224 

Moundbuilders    13-27 

Ashes   22 

Burial  Customs  20 

Charcoal  Traces 18,  19.  20 

Cranial    Evidence,    etc.    (Mexican, 

Pueblo,  Peruvian) 19.  25 

Indian  Origin   14.  25 

Iron  Discoveries  17 

North  and  South  War 20 

Remote  Antiquity  to  Indian 16.  18 

Skeleton  Radii  of  Circle 23 

Religion  and  Industries 26 

Autochthonous  View  26 

Sun  Worship   17 

Use  of  Arrowhead 18 

Vanished  Race    14 

Village  Sites   22 

Speculations:  Aztec.  Inca,  Toltec, 
Chinese.  Egyptian.  Japanese.  He- 
brew, Irish.  Finn.  Norse.  Welsh 

and  "Lost  Tribe" 25.  26 

Mounds.  Age  of 19 

Mounds  in  the  County 22 

Howai  d  Miller  Circle 23 

Maxwell  20 

Metham   21 

Miller   Hilltop   Circle 14 

Porteus   18 

Walhonding   20 

Mount   Airy   74 

Munsey   47 

Nanticoke  Indians   16 

Napoleon  Draft  Riot 207 

Natural  Gas 217.  264 

Navy.   Coshocton   in 231 

Netawatwes   46 

Newalike 47 

New    Bedford    75 

New  Castle    74 

New  Castle  Township  Mounds 20,  22 

New  Castle  Township  Apple  Nursery    63 

Newcomerstown,  Origin  of 35 

New   Guilford    74 

New    Moscow    74 

Newport    75 

Newspapers 73,  99,  102,  221-226 

New  Year's  Shooting 100 

Nicholas,  John  D 109,  233 

Nicholas,  S.  H 213.  233 

Nichols.  Eli    74 

Norse  Mound  Theory 26 

Novelty  Manufacture   216 

Ohio  Company    33 

Ohio  River  Boundary  51 

Oil   263 

Option.  County   253.  260-262 

Orange 59,   69,    75 


Digitized  by  LjOOQIC 


IV 


INDEX 


PAGE 

Organized  Labor  213-215 

Oriental  Invasion  11 

Oxford  Township  Ancient  Works 22 

Oxford   Township   Pioneers 60 

Oxford  Township  Churches 71 

Palaeolithic  Implements   9 

Paleozoic  Age  7 

Parable  of  Revolution 44 

Path,  Red  24 

Paving,  Street  216 

Penn,  William  37 

Perry  Township  74 

Perry  Township  Ancient  Works 22 

Peruvians   19 

Philippe,    King    54 

Philippine  Soldiers   230 

Physicians   268,  269 

Pike  Township 74 

Pike  Township  Ancient  Works 22 

Pioneers,  Roll  of 76-92 

Pipe,  Captain 45.  48,  50,  51 

Pits,  Ancient   24 

Plainfield    74 

Plato    10 

Pocock,  E.  J 122 

Politics 66,  221,  224,  243 

Politics,  Minister  in 260 

Pomerene,  J.  C 233 

Pontlac  Conspiracy  41 

Poorhouse,  County 235 

Porteus  Mounds   18 

Postboy  Killing    68 

Postmasters,  Coshocton   243-244 

Potato   Prices    72 

Pottery,  Ancient  17,  26 

Presbyterian   Church 71,256 

Presbyterian,  United 258 

Press 73,  99.  102,  221-226 

Prices 67,  68,  72,  100,  266 

Printing.  County  221,  224 

Pueblos   19 

Pygmy  Race    16 

Quack   Healers    268 

Quarry,  Metham  21 

Railroad,  First    100 

Railroads 208.   209.   248 

Railroad,   Underground    93 

Railroad,   Electric    254 

Rebellion,  War  of 108-207 

Red   Hawk,   Chief 43.  51 

Red   Path    24 

Red-Soil    Circle 23 

Religion 26,  62,  71 

Renegades    48 

Republican  Party  104 

Revolution  Parable   44 

Revolution,  Soldiers  in 59,  60 

Ricketts,  Benjamin   67 

Roadhouses 54,   57,   66 

Road  System   250 

Robbery,  County  Treasury 105.  270 

Robinson,  William 45,  59 

Rochester   73 

Roscoe  71 

Rose  Law  Election 262 

Rural  Free  Delivery 219 


PAGE 

Sacrifice,  Human   19 

Sagas   26 

St  Lawrence  River  Theory 9 

Saloons   261 

Saltpetre  64 

Salt  Works 54,  71.  74 

Salvation   Army    258 

Scalp  Signs    39 

Scalp    Song    29 

Schools 62,   251,  258 

Self-binder    219 

Sells.  B.  F 95,  103.  172 

Senecas   43 

Settler,  First  53 

Seventh  Day  Adventists   258 

Shawanees    43,   51 

Sickle  and  Cradle 93 

Skull,  pierced  16,  20 

Skull  Speculation  20 

Slate  Implements  9 

Smith,  Col.  James 39 

Social  Conditions    260.  266 

Social  Glass  61 

Soil   264 

Soldiers   in   Revolution 59-60 

Soldiers.  War  of  1812 63-65 

Soldiers.  Mexican  War , 94-98 

Soldiers.  Civil  War  (See  Rosters  Un- 
der Wars.)    

Soldiers  with  Other  Troops 193 

Soldiers.   Spanish  War 227-230 

Soldiers.  Philippine  Service 230 

Soldiers.  Regular  Army 231 

Spanish  War    227-230 

Spiritualists   258 

Spring  Mountain 75 

Stanley.  Wilson   M 118 

State  Officials   242 

State   Sovereignty   66 

Steel  Works  215 

Stone   265 

Stone  Age  10.  22 

Stone  Ax   9.  23 

Stone  Mounds 21.  22.  23 

Stone  Layers   21,  24 

Stone  River   118 

Stones,  Shuttle-shaped   21 

Stone  Tube  In  Mound 21 

Stores,  Pioneer   59-67 

Street  Paving   216 

Sun  Worship   17 

Supreme  Court  Justice .73,  232 

Swayne,  Noah  H 73 

Taverns 54,  57,  66 

Tavern  Church  Service 71,  256 

Taxes    246-254 

Telephone    217.  219 

Temperance  movements    261 

Temperance,  Tin-cup    93 

Thvashlne:.  Flail   93 

Tidball,    N.    R 109 

Timber    265 

Tiverton   Township   Mounds 22.23 

Tiverton  Township  Apple  Nursery. .     63 

Tiverton  Township  Canal 73 

Toll-bridges    68 

Toltecs    25 

Tomahawk    Title    51 


Digitized  by 


v^oogle 


j 


INDEX 


PAGE 

Topography    264 

Towns,  Lost 68,  69,  74,  75 

Traders,   Indian    32 

Travel  Song,  Indian 38 

Treasury  Robbery 105,  270 

1  rolley  Line 254 

Tuscarawa    58 

Tuscarawas  Township  Mounds.  .14,  18,  22 

Underground    Railroad    93 

Union    Labor    213-215 

United  Brethren  Church 258 

United    Presbyterian    258 

Uppowac   30 

Van  Buren   75 

Vanished  Race 14 

Village  Life,  Indian 29 

Village,  Pioneer   58,  66 

Virginia  Township 60,  74,  101 

Virginia    Township    Mounds 22,23 

Volunteers    (See    Wars) 

Voorhees,  R  M 109,  233 

Walhonding   74 

Walhonding   Canal    73 

Walhonding  Indian  Village 39 

Walhonding  Valley  Pioneers 60 

Walhonding    Mounds    20 

Wampum  Records  37 

Warsaw 75,  217,  235 

War  Belt 47 

War  Dance    38 

War    Song    38 

War  of  1812 63-65 

War  with  Mexico 94-98 

War  of  1861-5 108-207 

..  110 
..  112 
..  114 
..  118 
..  123 
..  130 
..  134 
..  140 
..  146 
..   150 


Roster,  Co.  A,  16th  O.  V.  I. 
Roster,  Co..  D,  16th  O.  V.  I. 
Roster,  Co.  K,  24th  O.  V.  I. . 
Roster,  Co.  K,  32d  O.  V.  I.. 
Roster,  Co.  C,  51st  O.  V.  I. . 
Roster,  Co.  D,  51st  O.  V.  I. . 
Roster,  Co.  F.  51st  O.  V.  I. . 
Roster,  Co.  H,  51st  O.  V.  I. . 
Roster,  Co.  I,  51st  O.  V.  I. . . 
Roster,  Co.  F,  80th  O.  V.  I. . 


PAGE 

Roster,  Co.  G,  80th  O.  V.  1 155 

Roster,  Co.  H,  80th  O.  V.  1 159 

Roster,  Co.  H,  97th  O.  V.  1 163 

Roster,  Co.  I,  97th  O.  V.  1 168 

Roster,  Co.  D,  122d  O.  V.  1 173 

Roster,  Co.  G,  122d  O.  V.  1 178 

Roster,  Co.  E,  142d  O.  V.  1 183 

Roster,  Co.  G,  142d  O.  V.  1 185 

Roster,  Co.  E,  143d  O.  V.  I 186 

Roster,  Co.  G,  143d  O.  V.  1 188 

Roster,  Co.  H,  143d  O.  V.  1 189 

Roster,  Co.  M,  9th  O.  V.  C 191 

Roster,     Coshocton     Soldiers     En- 
listee with  Other  Troops  in  Civil 

^J{/Q^f   193 

War  with*  Spain .'  .* .'  .*  .* . ...  .*.'.*..'.  ..227230 

Roster.  Co.  F,  7th  O.  V.  1 228 

Washington,  George 32,  33 

Washington  Township    71,  74 

Water  Power,  Roscoe 72,  267 

Water  Works    217 

Wedding,  First   58 

Welsh   Mound   Theory 25 

West  Bedford 71.  74,  217 

West  Carlisle    74 

West  Lafayette 9,  75,   264 

West  Liberty    74 

Wetzel,  Indian  Fighter 50 

Wheat 67.  72.  100,  266 

Whigs 66.  94,  103 

Whipping  Post   62 

Whisky 67,  72,  73.  93 

White   Eyes,   Chief 45,  47-49 

White  Eyes  Earthworks   23 

White  Eyes  Township 75 

White  Woman  Rock 36 

Williams,  A.  M.... 109 

Williams,  Charles  54,  73 

Williams  in  Legislature    65 

Wills  Creek   74 

Wills  Creek  Mounds 23 

Wills  Creek  Pioneers  60 

Wolf  Premiums    68 

Wyandot 47,  51 

Zeiflberger  on  Mounds 16 

Zelsberger*s  Mission   46.  49 


Digitized  by 


Google 


Index  to  Biographies 


PAGE 

Adams,  J.  Q 468 

Aronhalt,  J.  E 291 

Ashman,  Frank  514 

Bahmer,   L.  E 349 

Balch,  George   307 

Balo,  J.  C 328 

Balo,    S.    F 472 

Barrick,    Nicholas    333 

Beebe,    M.    S 357 

Bible,  Lewis 335 

Bluck.  L.  E 388 

Bluck,   P.   T 336 

Bock,  G.   J 504 

Branstool,  George    306 

Buker,  S.  H 284 

Buxton,   N.    D 365 

Carpenter,  S.  J 518 

Cassingham,  J.  W 480 

Caton,  G.  R 404 

Church.  L.  T 381 

Clark,  William    374 

Cox,  James  524 

Crawford.  R.  A 463 

Croft,   John   J 389 

Croul,   John    315 

Cullison,  D.  A 375 

Davis,  James   487 

Davis,  Scott  484 

Dawson,   S.    F 408 

De  Hart,  P.  P 305 

Dougherty,  W.  A 379 

Durand.   C.    H 428 

Edwards.  J.  T 442 

Evans.  W.   B 299 

Everhart,  David    449 

'  Ewing,  David  401 

Ferguson,  Harry  443 

Fisher,  S.  S 316 

Forney,  J.  F.  &  J.  A 300 

Foster.  L.  J 352 

Fox,  E.   L 527 

Fox,  P.  J 342 

Frazee,   W.   D 516 

Gault,   John    469 

Glenn,   James    501 

Gosser,   C.    F 279 

Graham,  William    473 

Green,  William   302 

Gribble,  Daniel   367 

Hackenbracht,  Mary   391 

Hagans,  Samuel   320 

Hagelbarger,   H.    H 474 

Hahn,  H.   E 491 


PAOK 

Hains,   Benjamin    355 

Hains.  H.  F 331 

Hamilton,  G.  S 494 

Hamilton,  J.  E 326 

Hamilton,  Thomas  482 

Hanley.  T.  J 454 

Harbold,  Peter 414 

Haskins,  G.  S 412 

Haskins,  W.  H 420 

Haverick,  Joseph 325 

Hay,  G.  A 43» 

Hays,  E.  Z 488 

Henderson.  A.  J 319 

Henderson.  A.  M 289 

Herbig.  H.  C 498 

Heslip.  Joseph 417 

Hill,  A.  J 368 

Hook,  H.  M 387 

Hothem,  Valentine 332 

Howell,  S.  L 429 

Humphrey,  Z.  T 334 

Hunt,  W.  E 430 

Jones,  Smith 397 

Keesey,  R.  D 431 

King,  J.  A 324 

Kissner.  W.  D 52» 

Klein,   G.   D 432 

Lahna,  Jacob 502 

Lamberson,  C.  A 411 

Lang,  Anna  M 400 

Lapp,  J.  F 422 

Laurence,  Mary  C 382 

Liewer.  Hippolyt   423 

Loos,  C.  W 339 

Loos,  Isaac  * 340 

Lower,  Almeda  J 350 

Lyons,  Harry  520 

McAllister,  Isaac 372 

McCabe,  W.  H 478 

McClain,  Jesse 50^ 

McCormick,  S.  R 282 

McCoy,  Abner  459 

McDonald,  A.  C 448 

McDowell.  J.  L 512 

McFarland.  Lewis 383 

Mapel.  J.  R 409 

Markley.  David,  Jr 380 

Mercer,  C.  0 308 

Merrell,  W.  S 344 

Miller,  C.  C 358 

Miller,  H.  C 399 

Milligan,  J.  C 470 

Miskimen,  J.  C 314 

Mizer,  W.  A 450    ^ 

Digitized  by  LjOOQIC 


INDEX 


U 


PAGE 

Mohler,  G.  W 392 

Moore,  A.  S 288 

Moorehead,  M.  T 318 

Mullet,  N.  J 503 

Need,  G.  W 461 

Nichols,  A.  C 521 

Norman,  Christian 440 

Norris,  Henry 398 

Norrls,  L.  N 444 

Orr,    J.    T 290 

Park,  J,  R 452 

Park,  W.  F 348 

Park,  W.  H 410 

Phillips,  R.  S 384 

Piatt,  T.  J 310 

Pomerene,  F.  E 523 

Pomerene,  J.  C 509 

Pomerene,  W.  R 517 

Porteus,  John 393 

Preston,  Bernard 479 

Richcreek,  W.  E 343 

Richmond,  J.  E 297 

Rinner,  G.  A 515 

Rippl.  A 281 

Robinson,  W.  L 433 

Rogers,  J.  L 292 

Royer,  Prosper 356 

Royer,  P.  C 341 

Russell,  H.  F 402 

Shafer,  Peter 526 

Shaw,  Henry 360 


PAGE 

Shaw,  Seth  464 

Shipps,  P.  C 366 

Smith,  G.  W 351 

Smith,  J.  E 373 

Smith,  J.  L 413 

Smith,  T.  T 390 

Smith,  William    376 

Speck,  J.  C 407 

Speck,  J.  R 519 

Speckman,  Henry 394 

Spellacy,  M 513- 

Spurgeon,  Alonzo 525 

Stephon,  Andrew   453 

Stonehocker,  George  492 

Tarrh,   A.   W 364 

Thomas,  Clarence .' 447 

Thomas,  Henry,  Jr 500 

Tompkins,  J.  H     483 

Tredway,  Joseph 296 

Vail,  Sam  E 419 

Wagoner,  John 457 

Waring,  J.  0 424 

Wheeler,  T.  H 622 

Wilson,  George  493 

Wilson,  J.  M 528 

Wolfe,  J.  E 460 

Wolfe,  M.  N 434 

Wolfe,  Olive 2^ 

Workman,  Joseph 309 

Wright,   J.    W 427 

Zimmerman,  Jacob 359 


Digitized  by 


Google 


J> 


Digitized  by    _ 


Google 


Digitized  by 


Google 


Digitized  by 


Google 


Digitized  by 


Google 


Digitized  by 


Google 


JUN  2  2  W5 


Google