Adams County, Ohio - Biographical sketches, 1900 (part 8 of 8)

During his residence in Chattanooga, now over thirty-five years, he passed through three epidemics of smallpox, two of cholera, and one of yellow fever, remaining at his post during the continuance of each. He was elected President of the Tennessee Medical Society in 1873, and presided over that body two years. For twenty-five years, he has been a member of the American Medical Association, and was for three years. 1867 to i860, a member of the Judicial Council of that'body. He has been a nionil>cr oi the American Public Health Association since 1S74. \\v was appointed Pension Examining Surgeon in September, i8(>5. and snvod as such twelve years. He has frequently contributed lo medical liioiature. tiotabh two articles - one on the cholera of iJ^r^ and ono on tlic yoll«»w fever epidemic in 1878. published in the reports and papers of the American Public Health Association. He retired fTM>m aotivo practice in 188.V except as surgeon, which he continued until iSinx when bo retired absolutely from the practice of both medicmo and snrq:cry. He is of a social disposition, belonging to the Masonic (^nlcr. Knitrhts of Pythias, and G. A. R. His first political vote was casi tor the Whig ticket in 1832, but when the Whig party waf followed b\ the Rop\d>lican party, he went with the Democratic party and has remained with it since.

Dr. Van Deman prides himself on his financial standing, never having a note of his go to protest and being prompt with every obligation. He is a man of considerable property, all made by his own efforts. He is a member of the Ohio Commandery of the Loyal Legion, elected May 6, 1866, insignia number 4744. He enjoys a respected and honored position in the city of his residence and calmly awaits old age, with a sense of duties well done.

was born July i. 1840, on the Watson homestead four miles above Manchester on the Ohio River. His great-grandfather, Michael Watson, was born on the eastern shore of Maryland and went to Mason County, Kentucky, in 1790. His children were Aaron, Michael. Mrs. Simeon Strode, Mrs. Aaron Moore, Mrs. Solomon Shepherd, Mrs. McConaughy, another daughter, and Abraham, grandfather of our subject.

Abraham Watson was born in Maryland, October 25, 1773. In 1804, he removed to Adams County and purchased the present Watson homestead. In 1819, he purchased the brick house which is still standing and occupied by James D. Mott. Abraham Watson's wife was Mary Moore, daughter of Joseph Moore, one of the earliest and most prominent pioneers of Adams County. He was a native of New Jersey, born June 9, 1854. He emigrated to Virginia in 1780, and in 1790 to Kentucky. In 1800, he emigrated to Blue Creek in Adams County, where he organized a congregation among his old New Jersey neighbors and built Moore'r Chapel, the first meeting house in Adams County, and it is claimed by old settlers to be the oldest in the State. He afterward bought the Elijah Kimball farm on the Ohio River, where h^ resided until his death in 1822. The children of Abraham and Mary (Moore) Watson were twelve in number, six daughters and six sons, the youngest of whom was Enoch Lawson Watson, father of our subject. Abraham Watson died November 7. 1847. H^s wife died February 10, 1864, at the age of eighty-four. Enoch Lawson Watson remained on the home farm until after his father's death, buying out the interest of the other heirs. He conducted the farm until 1892, when he removed to Manchester. On November t8. 1846, he married* Miss Lucinda Boyles, daughter of Thomas and Anna (Bonner) Bovles. She was born May 22, 1824. Thomas Boyles resided where Nathan Ellis now resides, near Bcntonville. The children of Enoch Lawson and Lucinda (Boyles) Watson are Anna Wiley, wife of the late Hon. John K. Pollard ; William Nelson, subject of this sketch ; Mary, wife of Robert K. Moore, of Buena Vista, Ohio; Eliza Arabella, wife of W. A. Underwood, deceased; Alice Cora, wife of James D. Mott, and Emma Florence, wife of Wil- Ham McNaley. of Orlinda. Tennessee.

Enoch L. Watson was a man of great force of character. He was a lifelong advocate of the temperance cause and when the Prohibition party was organized, he gave it his support and influence, believing it the best means of bringing about a reform for good in the cause he upheld. He died on November 8, 1895. His widow survives.

W6 History Of Adams County

and took a commercial course in the National Normal University at Lebanon, Ohio, and on May 3, 1887, entered the Farmers' Bank in Manchester in the capacity of clerk. lie was soon promoted to cashier, which position he still occupies. In 1893, he entered the firm of Ruggles, Shumate & Company, a leading dry goods house of Manchester, Ohio, and in 1897, Mr. Shumate retiring from the firm, he became an equal partner with Mr. Ruggtes, under the name of Ruggles & Watson.

Mr. Watson was married February 9, 1898, to Hattie Mercer, daughter of James Mercer, of Youngstown, Ohio. They have one child, Eva Mercer, born April 13, 1899.

Mr. and Mrs. Watson are members of the Methodist Protestant Church at Manchester. Mr. Watson is a member of the Masonic Blue Lodge of Manchester. He was reared a Democrat, but cast his lot with the Prohibition party with his father, and at present prefers the platform of the Union Reform party. As a business man, his services in the bank have made that institution many friends, and as a banker, he enjoys the confidence of the entire community. Whilst kind and courteous to all, he has the manhood to do the right at all times reg^rdl«ess of the consequences. He is a gentleman of the highest type and a man who tries to square his life by the **Golden Rule."

was born November 5. 1841, at Cherry Fork, the son of Thomas Campbell Wasson and Martha Campbell, his wife. He was reared on his father's farm. He attended the common schools of his district and the North Libert v Academy. He entered Miami University in the Fall of 1861. and graduated in i8(S6. The same Summer he went to Gallipolis and he and Capt. M. \'. R. Kennedy, now of Zanesville. Ohio, purchased the Onderdonk book store and continued the business under the firm name of Wasson & Kennedy. On September 3, 1867, he was married to Miss Jennie Henderson, of Middletown. Butler County. In 1872, he dissolved partnership with Capt. Kennedy and continued the business alone. In the Fall of 1877, he was elected a member of the Ohio House of Representatives from Gallia County, as a Repuj^lican and served one temi. He declined a renomination and election, as he had changed his residence to near Middletown, Butler County, where he engaged in farming and where he continued to reside there until 1889. when he removed to Hamilton, Ohio, where he has resided ever since.

He has always been a staunch Presbyterian and was an elder in the church at Gallipolis. On his removal to the city of Hamilton, he and his fainilv connected with the United Presbyterian Church in which he is a

Mr. Wasson has a son. Clarence C. a physician in Hamilton, and a daugliter. wife ^.^\ Joseph L. Blair, purchasmg agent of the Niles Tool Works of 1 laniilton. ^ir. Wasson is fond of reading and study, and keeps abreast kA iIk liiiKs. While he would not like to be styled a gentleman of leisure, lie ha.s thr full command of his own time and devotes himself very largely to work in his church. He is a gentleman of the highest character and enjoys the resi)ect and confidence of all who know him. His wife died

July 3, 1899. She was a woman of the most estimable character, devoted to her family and good works. Since that time he has made his home with his daughter, Mrs. Blair.

was bom September 13, 1846, in Highland County, Ohio. His mother's maiden name was Hannah Amanda Crawford and his father's name was Isaac Newton West. His father and mother were married in West Union, September 28, 1845. His father was bom in Highland County, Ohio. His grandfather, James West, was from Virginia. His father died in Buford, Highland County, in 1852, of that "Fell Destroyer," consumption, leaving his mother with him and a sister, Josephine, bom in 1848. His mother took her two children and went to the home of her mother, Mrs. Daniel Matlienv, in West Union. Here she fell a victim of the same disease in 1854. James McClanahan was appointed guardian of the two children and he placed them with Thomas Reighley, of North Liberty, who reared them. Our subject enlisted in Company G, 129th O. V. I., July 14, 1863, and served in that regiment until March 8, 1864. He re-enlisted in Company H, 173d O. V. I., August 31, 1864, and served until June 26, 1865. At the date of his first enlistment, he was of the right age to make a good soldier and did make an excellent one. He knew what was most important to a soldier - he knew how to take care of himself, and for that quality he survived the service to this dav. After his return from the armv, he removed to Peoria, Illinois, where he resided until 1868, when he went to Manchester and resided there until 1871. December 31, 1870, he was united in marriage to Louisa A. Little, sister of Capt. W. W. Little, at Manchester. He remcVed to Portsmouth, Ohio, in March, 1871, where he has since resided. He worked for his brother-in-law, Capt. Little, until 1877, when he went into the P>urgcss mill and worked there until i8i86, when he went to draying and carting. In politics, he has always been a Republican. He has had five children: James P. and Claude, electricians; Anna, George and William. His .son Otto died in the Regular Army, a member of the Sixth Infantry.

He prides himself on his honesty and fair dealing, and is highly respected by all his acquaintances. He belongs to no organization but the Grand Army. His wife died suddenly on December 7, 1888. He tries to do his part according to the best of his information and ability, and when death calls him, he will have no regrets.

This lodge was organized Januarty 6, 1817. The charter members were Abraham Hollings worth. Master; Samuel Treat, Senior Wardon; John Kincaid, Junior Warden; James Roff, John Fisher, George Bryan and Aaron Wilson. The jewels were purchased June 24, 1819, and cost thirty-five dollars. They are Past Master, Master, Senior Warden, Junior Warden, Senior Deacon, Junior Deacon, Treasurer, Secretary and Tyler. They are of silver and engraved, No. 43. The first return to the Grand Lodge was June 24, 1817, to June 24, 1818, shows that Henry Young, Willis Lee, Samuel McClelland, Isaac Foster, James R. Baldridge, James

Rogers and George R. Fitzgerald were made Masons, and Nicholas Black and Edwin Browning admitted as members. The records show that very many prominent men were members. Gov. Thomas Kirker was a member at one time and was Grand Junior Deacon.

The lodge met from its organization in 1817 until 1835, when it suspended until advised by the Grand Lodge, and elected Abraham HolUngsworth to represent them in the Grand Lodge. The crusade against Masonry caused the lodge to remain suspended until October 22, 1846, when it resumed. That year Mr. Hollingsworth attended the Grand Lodge at Dayton. On June 5, 1846, the members of the old lodge met at their hall and agreed to reorganize. Then it was the grand Lodge issued a dispensation by William Thrall, Grand Master, to A. Hollingsworth, William Allen, E. S. Moore, Adam McGovney, D. W. Stableton. Joseph Sprague, William Records and John C. Scott, empowering them to begin work. The following officers were appointed by the Grand Master: Abraham Hollingsworth, Worshipful Master; William Allen, Senior Warden: E. S. Moore, Junior Warden ; M. V. Cropper, Senior Deacon ; Isaac Foster, Junior Deacon ; Adam McGovney, Treasurer ; Joseph Sprague, Secretary' ; Nicholas Bur well. Tiler. The first meeting was held June 13, 1846. The first candidate for degrees was L H. DeBruin, October 30, 1846, and he received the first degree, November 2y, 1846.

In 1880, the lodge built a Masonic Hall and occupied it until 1889. January 11, 1889, the lo<lge met there for the last time. Through financial losses, they were compelled to give it up. They moved to the Miller & Bunn Building and remained there until December 18, 1885, when they moved to the Tolle Building. The hall is thirty by sixty feet with two ante rooms, ten by frfteen feet. ^

43. furnished one room at a cost of seventy-five dollars. The lodge has two old relics worthy of notice. One is the lambskin apron, which l>elonji^ed to its first Master. Abraham Hollingsworth, presented to the lr»<lge in i8(>8 by the estate of his daughter. The other is the Royal Arch Apron, which beUniged t(i Col. John Kincaid, the first Junior Warden. The latter was presented hy W. S. Kincaid. It is a white silk satin with a silk border, worked with l)lue silk. It is not less than ninety years old. The Masters and Secretaries of the kKlt^^e have been as follows: proprietor of the Palace Hotel, at Bentonville, was born March 8. 1863, on Eagle Creek, in Brown County. Ohio. He is a son of Richard and Nancy (Edwards) Wills. Thomas Edwards, grandfather of our subject, came from Scotland to Virginia, where he married Sarah Jacobs in 1786. He soon afterwards removed to Ohio. He purchased a thousand acres of land where Aberdeen now stands. His second son, James, grandfather of our subject, was born in January, 1800. In 1806, he removed with his parents to Byrd Township, on Eagle Creek, and settled on the farm now known as the William Edwards farm. In August 1821. he married Nancy Jacobs, and they reared a family of thirteen children, all of whom grew to maturity and married. James Edwards was a Justice of the Peace for a number of years. His wife died February 26, 1848, and in the Spring of 1850, he sold his farm and removed to Russellville, where he engaged in tanning for fifteen years. On December i, 1859, he was married to Rachel Linton. Xancy A., a daughter by the first marriage, was born Januar)* i, 1837, and married Richard Wills. She died March 26. 1898.

Our subject received but ar limited education in the Public schools. He chose the occupation of blacksmith and served for three years in the S. P. Tucker shops at Mancliester, at the expiration of which time he engaged in the same business for himself.

On January 15. 1885. he was married to Florence Myrtle Roush, daughter of Micliael R6ush, of this county. They have two children, Flossie, aged nine years, and Dean. Mr. and Mrs. Wills are members of the L^nion Church at Bentonville. Mr. Wills moved to Bentonville in 1896 and opened a livery and feed stable in addition to his blacksmith shop, and in i8<>8 opened the Palace Hotel.

was bom at Lac Oui Parle. Minnesota, January 31, 1838. He graduated' at Monilta College in 1857 and was a resident graduate of Yale University in 1858 and 1859. He served during the Civil War in the Fifth Minnesota, aiivl 70th I'nited States Cavalry more than four years. In skirmishing at one tiem, a bullet drew blood from his forehead, and at other tiems three bullets passed through his clothes, but he was not wounded. At the close of his services, his- health was so broken by swamp fever that he was compelled to give up his chosen profession and he followed mecantile pursuits ami farming, ma'<ing several changes in his location. For the past nineteen year?, he has been Professor of Mathematics at Augustana College, Rock Island, Illinois. He has always been an active church worker and especially in the Sundav School. He was never married.

was born December 31,. 1837, c>n Scioto Brush Creek, in Adams County, ten miles north of Rome. His father was James Wikoff and his mother, Rachel Prather, a daughter of John Prather, one of the old citizens of Adams County. Her 'brother, Henry Prather, is the one who started the West Union and Manchester Hack Line, and maintained it all his life. His parents had ten children and he was the fifth. He was reared near Blue Creek Postofficc and attended school there. He learned the vocation of a farmer, and when of age, purchased a farm in the vicinity of his birthplace. He was married October 8, 1863, at Otway. Ohio, to Miss Sarah Freeman, daughter of Isma Freeman.

In 1867, our subject sold his farm and moved to Rarden, Scioto County, Ohio, where he carried on the business of merchandising with the exception of three years, until 1888,/since which time he has been engaged in farming and trading. His wife died on October 22, 1887. I" 1894 and 1895, he was Mayor of the village of Rarden. He has had four children. His son James, his (laughter Minnie, wife of John R. Davis, and his son John W.. all reside in Rarden. His son, William, reached the age of twenty, a young man of the finest health and physique. In the Spring of 1898, he accepted employment in the C. P. & V. R. R., and on July 6, 1898, died of a blow received while riding on the top of a freight car while passing throu.q"li the tunnel at Arion. Thus was 'this most promising young life cut off.

Our subject is a Dcniocrat in his political views and a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Mr. Wikoff tries to live according to the Golden Rule to the best of his ability, and conies as near to it as the average of humanity.

was born in Adams County, Ohio, on November 15, 1825, the son of John and Nancy (Jones) Wikoff, and was reared on his father's farm. He received such education as the common schools afforded and afterwards improved himself by private study. He began life as a farmer and continued it until July 2^^ 1862, when he enlisted in the 91st O. V. I., as First Lieutenant of Company I. He was promoted Captain of the company, November 20, 1862, and served until the twenty- fourth of June, 1865. After his return from the army, he resided in Columbus and studied law.

In 1867. he was admitted to the bar but never actively engaged in the practice of law. In 1871, he was appointed Chief Clerk in the office of the Secretary of Stale, which position he held until he was elected Secretary of State in 1872. In 1874, he was renominated for that office by his party, but was defeated with the State ticket. In 1874, he was made Chairman of the Republican State Executive Conmiittee, and served as such until 1876, when he was appointed Adjutant General of Ohio by Governor Hayes, and was 2\}so elected as the Ohio member of the Republican National Committee. He resigned both last named positions in order to give his entire attention to the duties of Chairman of the Republican State Executive Committee in the campaign of 1876.

In February, 1877, he was appointed United States Pension Agent at Columbus. Ohio, by President Grant. He was reappointed to the same office by President Hayes in 1881, and reappointed by President Arthur in 1885, holding the office until July i, 1885, when President Cleveland appointed one of his own party in his place.

In December, 1885, he was appointed by the United States Circuit Court at Columbus, Ohio, Receiver of the Cleveland & Marietta Railroad and sold it under order of the Court, July 1, 1886. On the reorganization of the road, he was made President, Director and General Manager, and as such had charge of the road until the close of 1893.

In December, 1852, Gen. Wikoff was married to Angeline Collier, daughter of John Collier, of Adams County, Ohio. They have four sons living, Wheeler R., John B., James E., and Charles A. Since 1872, his residence has been in Columbus. He is a man of high character, esteemed by all who know him. His record as a business man, an army officer, and a public official, is without a stain or blemish.

son of Jacob and Eve (Ammen) Wickerham, and whose grandparents on both sides were pioneers of Adams County, was born January 31, 1832, near Sinking Springs, Highland County, Ohio, and lived in Highland County until the Civil War. He was postmaster at Sinking Springs in the fifties. During the Civil War, he kept a general store at Locust Grove, which was looted by Morgan's raiders in 1863. He afterwards enlisted as a Private in Company I, 141st Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and served from May 2 to September 3, 1864, under Captain George S. Kirker. He served Highland County as its Representative in the Sixtieth General Assembly, 1 872- 1 873, and was in that time admitted to the bar. In 1880, he returned to Adams County and has resided there ever since and is now conducting a general store in Peebles. Mr. Wickerham is a Republican in politics and was the successful candidate of that party for County Treasurer, being elected to that office in 1889 and 1891, and serving four years, from 1890 to 1894.

Mr. Wickerham was married May 15, 1856, to Elvira, daughter of George P. Tener, of Locust Grove, Ohio, and their children are Oliver C' who owns and resides in the house at Sinking Springs once owned and occupied by Charles Willing Byrd ; Nancy E., wife of Theodore Getchell, Secretary of the R.R. Y.M.C. A., of Philadelphia, Pa. ; Sarah Jane, wife of E. E. Neary, a dentist at Delaware, Ohio; Martha J., residing with her parents ; Peter Ammen, who served in the war with Spain in 1898 with the Second U. S. Engineers and was Clerk in the Quartermaster Department under Col. Guy Howard, at Augusta, Georgia, until the Cuban Volunteers were mustered out. In June, 1899, he accompanied his chief to Manilla,

Mr. Wickerham is a member of the G. A. R. ; is a Mason and Knight of Pythias and a member of the Peebles Methodist Episcopal Church. Socially, he has few, if any, equals in the- circle in which he moves. He is the soul and life of any assemblage where he is known. To him more than to any one else is due the success of the Annual Pioneers' Reunion of Sinking Springs. He loves to tell humorous stories occurring among his friends, and it is reix>rted that he occasionally tells them of himself, although the writer had not the time and was not able to make the research necessary to verify this statement. Mr. Wickerham has the happy faculty of being able lo make an interesting speech on any occasion. In the forum he is at home ami is always able to please, to amuse and instruct an audience. He ridicules the idea of being old or growing old, and claims he will always be young. He never has any tales of woe to tell and is never discouraged. He always looks at the bright side of things andjt naturally reflects itself in him. He is of a ver^- happy disposition, and without seeming to do so, is always seeking to make others happy. With such a disposition and such faculties, he is a very remarkable man to the communitv.

was born near Locust Grove, Ohio, October 12, 1864. His father was Peter Wickerham and his mother was Martha F. Tener. His grandfather and great-grandfather Wickerham were each named Peter. His great-grandfather, Peter WMckerham, came down the Ohio River in a flatboat in 1800. He settled near the site of the 'town of Peebles. In 1824, he devised to his son, Peter, the two hundred and seventy-five acres now owned by Jacob and Robert Wickerham. His grandfather, Joshua Tener. came to Locust Grove in t8t6 with his father. Jacob Tener. His great-grandfather, Peter Wickerham, emigrated from Germany, and was among the first settlers of Adams County. Jacob Tener, his maternal great-grandfather, emigrated from iialtiniorc.

Thir subject grow up on his father's farm and had the benefit of the District scliools until he was nineteen years of age. He spent one year at Lebanon and attended the County Normals. At Lebanon/ he took the teacher's course together with special branches. From 1889 to 1894, he taught school. In 1894, he began the study of medicine with Dr. O. W. -Robe, of Youngsville. He entered Starling Medical College in 1894 and graduated in 1897. He located at Youngsville, succeeding his preceptor and has practiced his profession there ever since.

In politics, he has always been a Democrat. He is a member of the Metluxlist Episcopal Church at Seaman. He was married in 1895 ^o ^^'^^ W. K. Jeffries, a daughter of Thornton F. Jeffries, of West Virginia.

was born August 26, 1866, near Decatur, Ohio, son of George H. and Abigail (Pointer) West. Samuel West, his grandfather, was a native of Bracken County, Kentucky. He married Nancy J. Story, and they removed to Adams County in the forties. They reared a family of "seven children. George H., the eldest son, was the father of our subject. He was married August 26, 1865, to Abigail Pointer, daughter of James and Susan Poifiter, nee Armstrong, of the eastern shore of Maryland.

George H. West was a member of the i82d O. V. I., in the Civil War. The Pointer family and the Armstrong family emigrated together to Ohio in 1801. Both families settled in the river bottoms below Manchester.

Our subject spent his boyhood in Bentonville and received such education as the Bentonville schools afforded. He attended the Ohio Wesleyan University in the years 1888 and 1889. He also attended Normal schools at North Liberty, West Union and Bentonville. He has been ^i*g2i§f^d in teaching for several years. He has always been a Democrat, taking an active part in politics. He was a delegate to the Democratic State Convention in 1889, ^^^ ^^^s served on the Election Board of the county for several years, and on the Central Committee of his party. He was nominated in August, 1899, by the Democratic party of his county for Surveyor.

He united with the Methodist Episcopal Church of Bentonville on November 17, 1887, and was licensed by the Quarterly Conference as a local preacher in June, 1896. He is a graduate in the "Legion of Honor." He is a member of Crystal Lodge, No. 1 14, West Union Knights of Pythias : a member of the Independent Order of Red Men, No. 133, of Bentonville, and a member of West Union Camp, No. 547, Modern Woodmen of America.

He was married August 27, 1890, to Hattie B. Mefford, daughter of Joseph N. and Minerva (Woodruff) Meft'ord, of Bentonville. Their children are Nellie P., Talma, Bessie M., and Opal M.

Mr. West is always foremost in local politics and educational affairs, and is respected by all for his high standards in morals and religion.

the founder and original proprietor of the village of Wamsleyville, was born August 3, 1843, ^^ ^^^ site of the village, the son of William Wamsley and Elizabeth Bolton, his wife, both natives of Adams County. His grandfather, William Wamsley, was a g^eat hunter and loved that calling better than any other, though he was both a farmer and a tanner. He was one of three brothers, the original settlers on Scioto Brush Creek, and came from the State of Pennsylvania. The Indians were frequent visitors to the new home of William Wamsley, the first in the wilderness. From them he learned that what is now Jefferson Township, had been a favorite hunting ground with them and that the site of Wamsleyville was one of their camping grounds. William Wamsley, the first, was a lover of nature and there was much to attract him to his location on Scioto Brush Creek. He was a successful hunter of bear and deer all his life, and the vicinity of his home was the last habitat of those animals in Adams County. He might have selected a fertile savannah or prairie and made his descendants rich, but the pleasures of the chase governed his selection. The original ancestor of the Wamsley family in this country came from Germany and the industr>% energy, honesty and thrift of the German has displayed itself in eac?h generation. Our subject left his father's home at the age of fourteen and set up in, business for himself. He bought and sold stock from the age of fourteen, till the age of twenty, when he bought three hundred acres of land, including the town site of Wamsleyville. In that same year he built a grist mill and sawmill and soon after laid out the town. Mr. Wamsley is not and never was a practical miller, but he has conducted the milling business since 1863. He has added to his possessions until now he owns five hundred acres of land at and in the vicinity of Wamsleyville. While Mr. Wamsley does not profess to be a salamander, he has had a remarkable experience in the way of fires. Since originally erected, his mill has been destroyed by fire twice, and his barns twice. In April, 1888, his town was nearly destroyed by fire, but Phcenix-like, has risen from its ashes. He has had fine dwellings on the real estate owned by him, consumed by the flames, and yet notwithstanding all these losses, he has prospered and is prosperous.

Mr. Wamsley was married May 27, 1867, to his full cousin, Sarah W. Wamsley. They have one child, Milton Bina, bom May 19, 1870. He resides in the town of Wamsleyville. He married Miss Amanda Thompson in 189C) and has two sons, William Klise and Butler Flack. He assists his father in his extensive business.

Mr. Wamsley, our subject, is six feet, tall, broad-shouldered and of a heavy frame. He weighs two hundred pounds. He has black piercing eyes and wears a full beard, now turned gray. He is a pleasant and agreeable man to meet and enjoys the society of his friends. Like his father and grandfather, he is a Democrat. He has been a member of the Christian Union Church for twenty-two years. He is a kxral minister in that church and as such exerts a great influence for good. He is a sucessful farmer and miller and would succeed in anything he would undertake. His energ)' and force of character so predominate his village, that it is better known as *'Bill Town," than the proper name of Wamsleyville. He impresses all who meet him as a true man, and a more intimate acquaintance confirms jthe impression. He has been and is a powder for good among his people, and his life has been a great benefit to those about him and dependent on him. Nature gave' him the stamp of true manhood, and time and experience have improved those elements of character which are the jewels of American citizenship.

physician, was born December i, 1848, in the thriving village of Buford, Highland County, Ohio. He is a son of Daniel G. and Rebecca Murphy Wittenmyer, and a grandson of Daniel W. Mittenmyer, who, with his wife Sarah, came from Pennsylvania in early days and settled in the village of Jacksonville, Adams County, where he was a well-known grocer and storekeeper for a number of years. He died in his seventy-seventh year.

Biographioal Sketches 906

for a time and read medicine with Drs. John and J. W. Bunn, of Jacksonville, and in 1872-4, attended lectures at the Cincinnati Colltge of Medicine and Surgery, where he graduated in the Spring of 1874. Returning to his home, after graduation, he formed a partnership with Dr. John Bunn, one of his preceptors at Jacksonville, and continued wath him until 1879, when he took an office to himself. In 1885, he married Lizzie Graham, the accomplished daughter of John Graham, a prosperous farmer near Dunkinsville. and locatecl at the new town of Peebles, near his former home, where he practiced his profession until elected Auditor of Adams County in 1893, when he removed to West Union. He was Y-e-elected in 1896, and is the present Auditor of the county. He is a lifelong Democrat, and perhaps no man stands higher in the estimation of his party adherents than Dr. Wittenmyer. He has been a power in his party councils for years. In the vVinter of 1898. his health failing he was compelled to give up the arduous duties of his office and seek relief on the coast of Florida, whence he has recently returned much invigorated, to the delight of his family and friends. He has a family of three bright sons, James G., Daniel L., and John E.

was born May 21, 1839, on Turkey Creek, Adams County, Ohio. He was a son of Rev. Jesse Wamsley, and Mary McCormick. Rev. Jesse Wamsley was a minister in the Methodist Church for ihirtv vears, but when dissensions arose over questions growing out of the Civil War, he joined the Christian Union, and served as a minister in that church for over thirtv vears.

Our subject was reared on a farm and also worked at the tanning business when a young man. He also taught school, and at the age of twenty-one years went into the general merchandising business, which he carried on at Wamslewille until his death. May 5, 1889.

October 19, 1865, he was imited in marriage to Miss Jane Collins, daughter of D. S. and Maria Moore Collins. This union was a very happy one, and there were born to them two daughters, Mary Maria, who died March 8, 1868, and Julia Ellen, who married Hiram V. Jones.

Mr. Wamsley became a wealthy and prominent citizen of Adams County. He was a minister in the Christian Union Church, and a Justice of the Peace for years in Jefferson Township. He was one of the most prominent Democrats of the region in which he resided.

is not a native Buckeye, but was caught young and has made as good a citizen as though bom in the great State of Ohio. He is a native of Mifflin County, Pa., and was born June 7, 1844. His parents came to Ohio when he was but eighteen months old and located at Mt, Leigh, the nursery of many distinguished citizens. He has three sisters and one brother. His father was born in 1806. He was an elder in the Presbyterian Church at Mt. Leigh and died in 1873. His mother died in Seaman in 1893. He received a common school education and labored on his father's farm until July 14, 1863, when he enlisted in Company C, 129th O. V. I. He was at the capture of Cumberland Gap. September 9, 1863. He was in the army of Gen. Burnside in the Longstreet campaign in East Tennessee in the Fall of

1863. arul marched, stan-ed. fed graybacks and fought with the rest of them, f fe was in the note^l encotmter at Black Fox Ferrv on Clinch River, Dec(*mfK'r 2. 1863. He was mustered out March 8, 1864. He concluded to try military' life again, and on August 31, 1864^ enlisted in Company H. 173d ( ).' \'. I., and ser\'erl until June 26. 1865. He was always ready for duty and rations and tlie (Government had no more faithful soldier. After the war. he came back to the farm on which he was reared, and which he now ow ns. the Jonah Steen farm. He married Dorcas Glasgow, daughter fA Andrew Cilasgow. June 20. 1873. and has a son Frank, a bright young merchant and l)f])uty Postmaster at Seaman, Ohio. His wife died February 2^^, 1874. From 1873 to 1878, mir subject traveled for D. H. Baldwin & Co.. of Cincinnati, O., in Ohio, Indiana and Kentuck>-. While traveling, be Ix'came acquainted with Miss Sallie Plauch. of ElizavtUe, Fleming County, Ky., and as James always had winning ways, he married her January 24. 1878. They have two bright intelligent boys. Lucien Baldw in and Clarence Plauch, aged fifteen and twelve.

Mr. Young farmed frrnn 1878 to 1888, when he moved to Seaman and built a hotel and livery stable, both of which he has conducted ever since. He has lK*en a trustee of his township and was appointed Postmaster at Seaman in 1897. He is a Republican and a member of the Presbyterian Church at \ft. I^eigh. He works hard all week, and when Sunday comes he is alw-ays an attendant at the services, and has led the choir since 1865. He owns and manages, with profit, two other farms than the one already mentioned - ^thc Aaron Steen farm and the Joseph Roth- HKk farm.

Surrounded by an interesting family, prospered and prosperous, with the esteem and respect of all his neighbors. Mr. Young ought to be contented and happy, and we l)elieve he is. It is a pleasure to meet him and spend some time witii liim in his pleasant hostelry, and no man more enjoys the company of his old friends than he." When he is called, he will be ready, but we hope he may not be wanted on the other shore for many years, as lie is a most valuable citizen here.

was horn near IjKnist (irove, Adams Ccnuity. Ohio, December 8, 1863. His father. Lewis Zile, was l)orn in Maryland, August 5. 1821. His father, Jacob Zile, horn in Carroll County, Maryland, brought his farfiily to Ohio in 1824. Jacob Zile was a soldier in the War of 1812. Our subject's mother was Caroline Cannooi, daughter of Byas N. Cannon, a native of Delaware. His wife. Julia Ann Hern, was also from Delaware.

Our subject attended the common schools until the age of eighteen, when he became a teacher and followed that profession until the Spring of 1833, when he entered the Normal University of Danville, Indiana, and studied Civil Engineering and Surveying. In 1884, he attended the Normal Sc1kk)1 at Lebanon for two terms. In 1887, he was nominated by the Republicans for Sheriff of Adams County, but was defeated by a small majority, in 1887, he was appointed Deputy Auditor under Prof. J. W. Jones, who had been appointed by the County Commissioners for ten months. In 1889. ^^ attended the Normal School at Ada, Ohio, and while there was appointed Postal Clerk in the United States Railway Mail Service. He entered on the duties of that position April 17, 1889, and remained in the mail service ten years. He was promoted rapidly tmtil he was made a clerk in charge of a car in 1896, and served in that capacity until the twentieth of May, 1899, when he resigned on account of the impairment of his health.

In the Spring of 1894. he and J. R. Davis entered into a partnership in general merchandising at Locust Grove, at the stand formerly occupied by L. M. Davis. Since retiring from the Postal Service, I^r. Zile has devoted his time to this business. *He owns the farm upon which the town plat of Palestine was made by Peter Wickerham in 1837.

Mr. Zile has always taken a great interest in educational work and is possessed of one of the most extensive and best collection of books in the county. One who knows Mr. Zile best says of him : "He possesses all the sterling virtues which make a man respected by his fellows. By industry, economy and temperance, he has acquired a competence. He is always ready to aid and contribute to worthy objects, either charitable or of public benefit. He is uniformly courteous to others, tolerant of their opinions and disposed to give due consideration to all their rights and claims. He is always willing to aid those who are ambitious to do well for themselves. While holding public office, Mr. Zile showed a wonderful administrative ability and earned the highest commendations for himself from those who supervised the work. He is one of the most earnest and enthusiastic members of his party, the Republican, and with some others like himself, properly distributed over the county and working as he does, Adams County would uniformly be a Republican county.

one of the best known citizens of Adams County, is a native of Loudon County, Va. There he was boni August 9, 1824, near Leesburg. His father was William Urton and his mother, Jane Pursel, both natives of Loudon County, Va., His father emigrated to Ohio in 1830, first stopping near Columbus, but soon after he located in Adams County near Youngsville. He brought with him seven children of whom our subject was the second. Our subject attended the common schools and among his teachers were Joseph Randolph Cockerill, afterwards Colonel of the Seventieth O. V. L He was brough up to be a farmer and was another of the young men of Adams County who never taught a Public school. He began farming on his own account, in 1848, near Louisville, in Adams County, and continued if for five years. On November i, 1853, he was married to Miss Susan Frances Summers, a very attractive young woman of great force of character. They were married at Marble Furnace, by the Rev. David McDill, D. D., who has a sketch and portrait in this work. His wife was the daughter of Jacob Summers, a native of Loudon County, Virginia, bom June 13, 1791. His wife, Elizabeth Elmore, was born May 11, 1789. They were married February 29, 1816. Elizabeth Elmore was the daughter of John Elmore, a soldier of the Revolution in the Continental line from Virginia, who served in that war seven years. As a lad he was in the French and Indian War throughout the whole of it. He was a native of Ireland. He lived to be 103 years old aiid when he died was buried with honors of War. His wife survived him some two years and died at the age of eighty-three. He received a land warrant for his revolutionary services, and it was located in Kentucky.

Jacob Summers, father of Mrs. Urton, was a farmer from Loudon County, Va. He was also a slave holder, but believed the institution was injurious to the States permitting it. In 1835, ^^ sold his slaves and came to Ohio. He sold most of his*f)ersonal effects and brought his family out in a two-horse carriage. His goods, such as he brought, followed in a four-horse wagon. He bought twelve hjmdred acres of land at Marble Furnace, at the time the furnace was abandoned, and owned it until his death, July 19, 1852. His wife died in 1874. He was a Whig all his life

Jacob Summers brought to Ohio four daughters and one son. He and his wife buried two infant sons in Virginia. Of the five children who grew to maturity. Mahala Elizabeth, bom May 2, 1821, marired. Hector Urton ; the next, Susan F.. wife of Mahlon Urton, was bom June 23, 1823 ; Ruhama Ann. born July 27, 1825, married Townshend Enos Reed ; James F., the only son, who was born January 15, 1830. and as Captain of Company B, 70th O. V. T., was killed in battle before Atlanta, July 28, 1864; Mary Ellen, born January 19, 1834, married Isaac Hannah.

Returning to our subject. Mahlon Urton, the farm on which he now resides was set apart to Capt. J. F. Summers in the division of Jacob Summers' estate. Mr. Urton purchased it of him and moved on it the fourth of January. 1859. ^^^ home, a one-stor)' brick, was built by James and McArthur, proprietors of Marble Furnace. In front of it a long lawn has two rows of locust trees, the bodies of which have attained great proportions, and the surroundings proclaim that the builder of the home was a Virginian.

Mr. and Mrs. iTton have had five children born to them. Tliomas Clayton, their only son, was born October 20. 1854, and died at the age of twenty-one, in 1876. Their daughter, Anna Belle, is the wife of William Snedaker, a farmer, residing near Tranquility. Their daughters Frances Lillian and Rosalie Jane are residing with their parents. Their daughter, Emma Florence, is the wife of Charles E. Miller, of Marble Furnace. Since the creation of Bratton Township from Franklin, Mr. Urton's home is in Bratton Township. Mr. Urton was a Whig during the existence of the Whig party and since then has been a Republican. As such he was a Commissioner of Adams County from 1888 to 1891, and he has been a Trustee of Franklin Township.

He was a member of Company K, 141st O. V. I., and served from May 2 to September 3, 1864. Mr. Urton possesses all the cardinal virtues and his life has been an illustrating of them. He is respected and esteemed by all who know him. If any one can get to heaven by living an honorable life, Mr. Urton needs to give himself no further concern on that subject. All who know cannot help liking him, and would not, if that were a matter of will. Mr. Urton's neighbors think that when the books are opened on the "Great Day," his account will be all balanced on the credit side. Such citizens as he are a credit to any community which they honor with their lives.

was born at Comstock, Scioto County, Ohio, on the fourth day of April, 1864. His father was Edward Walsh and his mother's maiden name was Margaret O'Brien. His parents were natives of County Clare, Ireland, and were married there. They immigrated to the United States in 1848, and settled in Bath, Maine. They came to Ohio in 1852 and located at Portsmouth, where they remained for a few years. They then removed to Comstock, in Scioto County, near the line of Adams County. They had five children, four sons and on^ daughter.

Our subject was reared as a farmer's son. He attended school at Wamsley, in Adams County, under the instruction of Professor J. W. Jones, now Superintendent of the Ohio State Institution for the Deaf and Dumb. He also attended a Normal school at Mt. Joy, under Professor Aaron Grady. He was a student at Lebanon, Ohio, under Professor William A. Clark, formerly of Adams County. He began the study of law at Lebanon in 1890, and continued it under the tutorship of the Hon. James W. Bannon, of Portsmouth, Ohio, and afterwards with the Hon: Theodore K. Funk, of the same place. He was admitted to the bar in December, 1894, and located at Otway, Ohio, where he was Mayor of the village for two years. He located at Portsmouth, Ohio, in 1897, for the practice of law, and formed a partnership with the Hon. Noah J. Dever, formerly Common Pleas Judge, who has a separate sketch herein. The stvle of the firm was Dever & Walsh.

He was elected City Clerk of Portsmouth on April 13, 1899, for two years, and is now holding that office. He was married January 4, 1900, to Miss Katharine Lehman,, daughter of Theodore Lehman, deceased.

In politics, he is a Democrat of the straighest sect. In his religion, he is a communicant of the Church of the Holy Redeemer (Roman Catholic), of Portsmouth, Ohio. Mr. Walsh is a young man fond of social pleasures, and well liked by the general public. He maintains his law offices with the Hon. Noah J. Dever and Harry W. Miller, and practices his profession as well as attends to the duties of City Clerk. He is an industrious, hard-working and painstaking young lawyer who aims to do his full duty to his clients, and is regarded with great favor by the general public. Among his brethren of the bar and those who know him, he is considered as one who is bound to attain distinction in his profession.

was born in Cincinnati, September 22, 1842, the son of Joseph Allen and Harriet Lafferty Wilson. He was an only son, His father, at the time of his birth, was Deputy Clerk of the Courts of Hamilton County, and resided in Cincinnati until 1844. His father died December 16, 1848, of consumption. His mother died August 12, 1850. He was then taken by his uncle and aunt, Mr. and Mrs. Dr. Wm. F. Willson, and resided with them in West Union until 1851, when they removed to Ironton, Ohio and took him with them. He attended the Public schools in Ironton till about 1861, when he went to Illinois and engaged in school teaching. On August 15. 1862. at Morton, Illinois, he enlisted in Company G, of the 86th Illinois Regiment and served until June 6. 1865, when he was discharged. He returned at once to Ironton, and from there went to West Union, Ohio, where he became a law student under the late Edward P. Evans. He remained here during the Summer and Fall and in the Winter attended the Cincinnati Law School. He was admitted to the bar at Portsmouth, Ohio, April 23, 1866. He then went to Cincinnati, where, on October 9, 1866, he was- married to Pauline H. Weber, daughter of Prof. John Weber. There were two sons of this marriage, William P., born September 13, 1867, and Charles O., bom May 26, 1873. They reside with their mother at Cincinnati. John O. Wilson first located at Elizabethtown, Illinois, as a lawyer and remained there one year. He then returned to Cincinnati and engaged in the drug business for eighteen months. He then located at Greensburg, Ind., but remained only a few months. He then went to St. Louis. Mo., where he took up the practice of law with Judge Powers. He resided at St. Louis during the remainder of his life. In August, 1878, he went to Memphis, Tenn., on legal business. It was during the prevalence of yellow fever. His business required him to remain in Memphis some time. After he had been there eight days, he was attacked with yellow fever. He was sick some five or six days, when he died, alone, among strangers, and without the presence of a single friend. He was buried in the common grave with numerous other victims. His life was a sad one in the loss of hi$ parents and in his own tragic death at the early age of thirty-six. His widow removed to Cincinnati, where she has since resided. Her sons are excellent young men with good positions and are doing their best for themselves and for her.

James P. Wasson was one of those men for whom the world is better fur his having lived in it. He was born in Wayne Township, December 18, 1H37. tlie son of Thomas Campbell Wasson and Martha Patten Caniphell. his wife. His childhood and youth were spent at Cherry b*ork and he received such education as the schools of his vicinitv afforded. His relip^ious training was careful and thorough by his father and mother and he was brought up in the Ignited Presbyterian Church at Cherry Fork. Any one familiar with that denomination knows just what thai means, and that training dictated and governed the whole course of his life. He was trained to the strictest habits of industry and v'conomy and taught the art of farming. His father was one of the most industrious and energetic farmers in Adams County and our subjt'Ct was like him. It was alwavs a maxim in the life of James P. Wasson lo make the best and the most out of every situation which confronted him. and in this he never failed.

On Scptemhrr 1. 1859, he was married to Martha Ann Mclntire, his third cousin, daughter of Gen. William Mclntire and Martha Patton. his wife, so that both he and his wife were great-grandchildren of John Patton. ni Rockh'-idije County. \ irginia. Directly after their marriage, they w^nt to housekeeping on a farm of his father's south of Xorth Liberty. In iScwJuly 10. he enlisted in Capt. David Urie's Companv G,i29th (). \ . 1 . atui here the writer, who served with him. knew him best. He was appointe(^ a C<>r|H^ral and discharged all his duties as a S4Mdier with the utmost fidelity. He marched over five hundred miles in the . Summer heat and in the Winter's snow, and aften went hungry. He endured all the hardships of a severe campaign and never uttered a word of complaint. He seemed to think that he had enlisted to do and suffer these things for his country and he served the latter as' he did his God, faithfully, and upon his conscience. In this service, the writer was his* intimate friend and was with him every day. Had he lived in Cromwell's day, he wouM easily have been one of his "Ironside." With an army made up of soldiers like he, the United States could have subdued the world, if the war had been for a just cause, for he would have fought in no other. When he returned from his service in the army, he resumed his vocation as a farmer and resided on the same farm until 1869, when he took the Gen. William Mclntire farm, where he continued to reside until March. 1877. I" *^' of this time he and his wife were faithful members of the Cherry Fork church. Mr. Wasson was one of the most active and energetic men. This was his heritage, both from his father and mother, and their traits were intensified in him. For a long tinie he had felt that the rewards for farming in Adams County were inadequate, and he determined to remove to the fertile prairies of Kansas. Therefore, in \rarch, 1877, he located in Douj^flass Kansas. Mere he and his wife and family entered the United Presbyterian Church at Edgerton, in which he was made a ruling elder and held the office during his life. He was a faithful teachers in the Sabbath School. In the church, as in the community, he was always consulted and his advice taken and followed. He was of most excellent judgment in things, both temporal and spiritual. He was a wise counsellor and always maintained the highest Christian character. In all things for the good of his church or community, he was foremost. He was taken with his mortal illness on the tenth of January, 1898, and died on the seventeenth; following. His death was a great loss to his family, his church and the communitv. His wife survives, and he left the following children : Cora Esther, the wife of Frank Wilson ; Nora, the wife of Tweed Patton, formerly of Cherry Fork: Albertina, the wife of Clarence Was.son, also from Cherry Fork, and James Ormand, a son. He had a son, William Campbell, born In 1868, and who died in 1885. His daughters, sons-in-law and son all reside near the home in which he died. It is a gratification to the writer that this testimonial is in the History of his native county, where those who knew him for forty years in his childhood, youth and manhood, may recall his correct life and many virtues.

was born at Chillicothe, Ohio, April 12, 1799. He was the first child born there after the founding of the town by Gen. Nathaniel Massie, and was named for him. His father, Benjamin Urmston, was a companion of Gen. Massie in laying out the town. He asked for the privilege of felling the first tree in marking out the town, and the privilege was granted him by Gen. Massie. Benjamin Urmston built a home in the new town, and it had glass windows and a shingle roof. However, he did not reside long in Chillicothe, but soon removed to a farm, and died in a short time after that.

Nathaniel studied theology at Princeton, New Jersey. He had a school friend who resided in Danbury, Connecticut, and visited him there. He became acquainted with Miss Evaline Comstock there, and married her in 1826. He returned to Ohio and became a missionary for Ohio and K^entucky. His wife's health failed in this work, and he went to Connecticut, and there connected with the Congregational Church. In 1844, he located at Bainbridge, Ohio, in the ministry, and remained there until 1853.

He was then called to the Old Stone Church in West Union, Adams County, Ohio, to whch he ministered until 1857. While there he taught a select school which the writer of *this sketch attended, and he can certify that Mr. Urmston was a most thorough teacher. What Rev. Urmston taught, the writer learned and has never forgotten. In this place, in 1855, Rev. Urmston lost his wife. She rests in the Old South Cemetery at West Union.

His daughter, Miss Mary E. Urmston, also taught a select school for girls at West Union, and she was regarded as a most excellent teacher. She afterwards taught in the Young Ladies' Seminary at Portsmouth, Ohiot for several years. She married the Rev. E. P. Pratt, D. D^, of Portsmouth, Ohio, and is now his widow.

In 1857, our subject went to Missouri and preached there until the breaking out of the war. He then returned to the vicinity of Hillsboro, where he remained imttl his death on August 27, 1884. He married for a second wife. Miss S. Johnson, of Cornwall, Connecticut. His third wife was Miss Melissa A. Stover, of Highland County, Ohio, who survived him.

He had seven children of his first marriage. His son, Lieutenant Thomas A. Urmston. of the Regular Army, was killed in one of the battles in Virg^inia. His son Comstock died in young manhood. At the time of his death, Rev. Urmston left two surviving children, Mrs. E. P. Pratt and Philander Urmston, of Muscatine, Iowa. Rev. LTrmston w,as a man of strong conscience, and lived up to his belief. He believed in doing thoroughly everything he found to do, and followed that belief both in preaching and teaching.

was born June 13. 1794. Stephen Wood, an ancestor, came from England and located in Hempstead, Queens County, New York. His youni^^est son, Benjamin, married Leah Robbins, in Hempstead. Joseph, the only son of Benjamin, was born in 1742, and was the father of seven children. His oldest .son was Benjamin, born in July, 1769. Our subject was the third son and sixth child. He was born in Mason County, Kentucky, where his father had removed. His eldest brother, Benjamin, moved to West Union in 1804 and resided there until 1815. when he removed to ChilHcothe, Ohio, and- afterwards to Portsmouth, Ohio, in 1823. where he died in 1824. Benjamin Wood kept a tavern in West UuioTi wlicre Lewis Johnson now resides, and was a Captain in the Militia. Tlie wife of Benjamin was Sarah Huston, born August 30, 1774. She died April 2, 1844, at Troy, Indiana.

Robert Hutchinson Wood was married to Sarah Lodwick, September 29, 1818. She was the eldest child of Col. John Lodwick. Their daughter, Nancy Jane, married Dr. Hiram G. Jones, and was the mother of two children, a son and a daughter.

Robert H. Wood, our subject, followed the trade of a cabinet maker in West Union for many years He had a shop in a building recently removed, just south of the residence of Dr. B. F. Slye, and resided in the house now owned by Dr. Slye. Mr. Wood was a highly esteemed citizen of West Union. He believed in advertising, and had a standing advertisement of his business in the Free Press, with a picture of a sideboard as a part of his card. He was prosperous in his business and was the undertaker for the village. Many of the pieces of furniture made by his own hands are still in existence.

He died of consumption, July 30, 1835. and is buried in the Old South Cemetery at West Union. He was a member of, and an elder in, the Presbyterian Church there. He owned the ground occupied by the Old South Cemetery until 1834, when he conveyed it to parties having friends buried there, to be used for burial purposes.

was born November 28, 1795, at Connellsville, Fayette County, Pennsylvania. He was trained to the strictest belief and observances of the Westminster Confession, and it remained with him as the best part of himself all his life. He came to Adams County in 1817, in a flatboat. He landed at the mouth of Brush Creek and walked up the creek to Brush Creek Furnace, where he engaged as a clerk under Archibald Paul, who was then running the furnace. At that time the furnace only ran on vSundays. On week days the forge ran to make hollowware, pots, kettles, stoves, anrlirons and all kinds of castings. Then a ton of iron was 2268 pounds and tv/enty-eight pounds allowed for sandage. The furnace at that time was run by water alone. When the w^ater was low, they had to tramp a wheel to blow oflF, and the best they could do was to make two or three tons of iron a day. On the twentieth of July, 1825, Mr. Hamilton was married to Nancy Ellison, daughter of John Ellison. She was the sister of the late William Ellison, of Manchester. The marriage ceremony was performed by the Rev. William Williamson, who signed his name to the certificate, V. D. M., (Verbi Dei Minister), which was the fashion at that time, which translated is "Of the Word of God, Minister."

Robert HannHon was a resident of Adams County until 1828. In that time he laid the foundation of a successful business career. He was diligent in business, and of the highest integrity.

M that time it was thought a furnace must run on Sundays or the entire charge would be ruined, but Mr. Hamilton induced Mr. Paul to try the experiment of a change. It was found the iron produced was just as good. Mr. Hamilton was the first furnaceman in the country who stopped his furnace on Sunday.

The old F)rush Creek Furnace was owned by the Ellisons and the Meanses. In 1823, Robert Hamilton and Andrew Ellison, son of the Andrew Ellison who was captured by the Indians in 1793, under the 58a name of Ellison & Hamilton, built Pine Grove Furnace in Lawrence County. Robert Hamilton fired it on January i, 1829. Four tons a day was its capacity at starting.

After h'i located at Pine Grove Furnace, he became one of the founders of the church at Hanging Rock, and was a ruling elder in it from its organization to his death.

His first wife died June 23, 1838, and on February 20, 1839, he was married to Miss Rachel R. Peebles, a daughter of John Peebles and a sister of John G. Peebles, of Portsmouth.

Our subject's judgment was excellent and he was wonderfully successful in business. He amassed a large fortune of which his widow was largely the almoner. He was respected and esteemed by all who knew him as a man who lived right up to his standard, both in business and in religion.

He died September ii, 1856, in his sixty-first year, of a dysentery. His death was a great loss to the business community and to the church. It was almost a calamity, as his influence and nuethods were of an incalculable benefit to those about him. His ashes repose in the beautiful Greenlawn Cemetery, at Portsmouth, Ohio. His widow, Mrs. Rachel Hamilton, survived until August 27, 1883, when she died, aged eighty-seven years and one month. She was noted for her pious life and good deeds. Her gifts to charities were many, large and continuous, during her whole life, but her gifts by will were also many, large and praiseworthy. She stated in her will, she feared she had not given enough for charitable purposes and therefore she gave her executor, her brother, John G. Peebles, $10,000 for charitable objects to be bestowed in his discretion. Her memory is revered in the entire circle of her acquaintance. The Peebles-Hamilton Reading Rooms at Portsmouth, Ohio, are a monument to }ier memory.

was born in I.oudon County, Virginia, in 1792. He resided there until 1837, when he removed to near Mt. Leigh, in Adams County, Ohio, where he spent the remainder of his life. In 171 3, John Cockerill, of Westmoreland County, Virginia, purchased two hundred acres of land, for which he gave sixty-five hundred pounds of tobacco. At that time he owned other lands in Westmoreland County, Virginia. Thomas Cockerill, his son, removed to Loudon County, Virginia, in 1739. His will was recorded in 1777, and discloses the fact that he had a large family of sons and daughters. One of his sons, Sanford Cockerill, was the father of Daniel Cockerill. our subject.

Daniel Cockerill was in the War of 181 2, and was a Sergeant. His services were rendered in the vicinity of Baltimore and Washington. He was brought up to the trade of carpenter. Just before the War of 1812, he built a niet^ting house for the Quakers, called "Goose Creek." Owing to the embargo act at the commencement of the war and the rise in prices after he made the contract, he lost one thousand dollars in compK'tiiii:- the nicetini;: house. The congregation, on hearing of his loss, mack' it up to him.

and John Craven Calhoun. Daniel T. was Captain and Major in the First Ohio Light Artillery, and is now at th« State Soldiers' Home at Sandusky. Giles J. was First Lieutenant and Captain in the same regiment, and is now residing at Wynwood, Indian Territory. His wife was Belle Dunbar, daughter of James Dunbar, who formerly owned the Stephen Reynolds place near Peebles, Ohio. He has a son, Ceran D. Cockerill, now a resident of Portsmouth, Ohio.

John C. C. married a daughter of Isaac Martin, of Mt. Leigh. He died about five years since at Metropolis, 111. A daughter, Rebecca, married Alfred Eylar. and moved to Pontiac, Illinois, where she and her husband died, leaving two sons and one daughter. One son, D. C. Eylar, has a separate sketch herein.

General Daniel CockerilKs daughter, Lydia Jane, married Levin Cannon, and both are deceased. They had five children, Daniel Cannon, of Lovett's Postoffice; Urban Cannon; Mrs. Anna Hamilton, of Locust Grove; Mrs. Flora Hughes, of Lovett's Postoffice; and Mrs. J. F. Wickerham, of Peebles.

General Cockerill devoted himself entirely to agricultural pursuits after removing to Adams County. He was not a member of any church. He was an old-time Democrat until Fort Sumter was fired upon. The jar of that firing displaced all the Democracy in him, as he stated, and from that time until his death on May lo, 1864, he was an enthusiastic Republican and a most ardent supporter of the war measures. He thought the Southern States were not justified in secession, and he wanted to see thelm thoroughly whipped into submission.

He was a citizen of great public spirit, and believed in doing his full part in public affairs. He represented Adams and Pike Counties in the lower house of the I^islature in 1845 and 1846. In 1848 and 1849 he again represented the same counties in the lower hoiise of the Legislature. At this session, by a joint resolution, he was made a Major- General of the Eighth Division of the Ohio Militia.

From the time of his location in Adams County, he was a man of influence, and was always held in public esteem. Among his virtues, charity and hospitality were the most prominent. In the practical exercise of these virtues he found great delight. He cherished great love for his native state, Virginia, but lost all patience with her when she seceded from the Union. It was his pride and pleasure to maintain hospitality as his Virginia .ancestors had done before him. Everything he undertook to do, he endeavored to do with the best of his ability. He was for this reason a model farmer.

If any one characteristic of his should be emphasized, it was his loyalty and patriotism. Three of his sons went into the federal army, and his youngest son would have gone had not his defective eyesight prevented. He would have gone himself had not his age and infirmities prevented. As it was. he was an ardent friend of the Union, and gave its cause all the support possible for his circumstances and condition. His wife survived him until 1873. He and she lie side by side in the Mt. Leigh Cemetery. Of him it may be said that no more loyal heart ever beat in human breast, and he transmitted these qualities to his descendants, as the pages of this work will abundantly testify.

farmer was born in Bralton Township, May 17, i860. His father, William McCoy, was a soldier of the Civil War. He enlisted in Co. B. i7Sth O. \'. 1., oi! August 23, 1864, at the age of thirty-four years, and was mustered out of the service June 2y, 1865. He was a native of Pike County. His wife, Elizabeth A. Hamilton, mother of our subject, was a daughter of Henry Hamilton. Our subject's grandfather, James McCoy, was from the Green Isle, beyond the seas.

William A. .\TcCoy married Susannah Jones, from Pike County ; and moved to Sinking Springs, Highland County, in the fall of i860. Our subject lived in Sinking Springs until 1871, when he moved onto the farm where he now resides. His mother died January 16, 1S98. He was the eldest of three children. His brother, George G. McCoy, resides at Hainbridge. in Ross County. He married Ruth A. Summers, daughter of Daniel Summers, of Locust Grove. His sister Anna marncd William W. Dunbar, who died September 4, 1895. She resides wnth and makes a home for her brother, our subject, who is unmarried. He is a Democrat in his political views, and a very stiong one at that.

He is outspoken in all his views, political or otherwise. He is a Master of the Pe^^hles M?«sonic Lodge, No. 581 : and is also a member of the Knights of Pythias Lodge, No. 203, at Peebles. He has a common school education, but never taught. He was elected a Justice of the Peace of Franklin Township, in 1807. ^^^ re-elected in 1000. He is erne of those forceful young men who believe in candor: and whose views are an open bo^^k ; ;md who are not deterred by policy or caution from expressing their well-considered thoughts. He is a man of fine physique and phvsical presence, which at once impress those who meet him. If ho lives and has liealth, he will be heard from further on.

was horn I )'.c'c'nil»cr i ^^ i<^-^5. in Lewis County. KeiUucky, o])p()sito the villa,L;i' of Manc^lu'stcM', in Adinis C<»nn.ty, (\; but during his childhood. I)(t\hoo(l and \-onnj^ nianh^od. his home was in Manchester. His father, [anu's Kittle, one of ilir ])ion('c'rs of Achuns County, Ohio, was born Deceinl)c'r 4. l7o,^ nrar Johnstown, Pennsylvania; and he was married to Miss Charlotte Davis, lanuarv 10 iSi'.v There were thirteen children of this niarria.ue. ('f v.hom our subject was the eldest. His grandfather, Thomas Kittle, was a native of Ireland. He came to this country in 1774 or 1775. He was a Uevolntionary soldier. He enlisted on December jj. ^777, in Captain h'aniUleroN 's troop. Fourth Regiment of Draj;oons. connnanded hv Col. Stephen M(\vlan, to serve during the war. \]\> regijnent was from Xew Jersev. I lis wife, who had been Miss Mary Nei]>er. eanu^ from Count v Antrim, Ireland, in 1768 or 1769. in the ship "Pros]HM-ity." Tier parents settled first in Lancaster County. Pennsyl- \;;nia. and afterwards moved to Westmoreland County. Pennsylvania.

v'^he and her husband ean^ie t(^ Manchester, Ohio, in 1803 where both died and arc buried They had eight children. Their son James resided in Manchester until his tleath. August it. 1887, at the age of ninotyf(^nr \ears. He was a soldier in the War of t8i2. and was pensioned for his services tlierein. Our subject's qreat-grandfather. John Little, was horn auv! live-l in Ireland in Countv Tvroue, four miles from Market

Hill. He was a farmer. His wife's name was Mary McCully. His son Thomas was the only child of a numerous family who came to the United States.

The education of William W. Little, our subject, though meagre, was obtained at Manchester, Ohio. His childhood, boyhood, and youth were filled with hardships, but he took them good-naturedly and cheerfully, trying to make the best of every condition he was compelled to meet. He went on the river at an early age, and by his energy and sheer force of character soon rose to the position of mate.. He served as a boy on Cincinnati, New Orleans, and Memphis packets from deck sweep up. He was on the steamboats United States, two or more of the Sciotos, and the Boston. He was also a pilot and master ; and was known e\'erywherc as Captain Little, the usual title given to steamboat masters. He knew every man connected with the river trade from Portsmouth to Cincinnati, and had an extensive acquaintance on the Southern rivers. He made Portsmouth his home from 1855 to 1882.

On January 29, 1854, he was married to Miss Mary A. J. Timmonds, who was born April 27, 1827, and who died October 20, 1855. ^^^ twin djaughters died in infancy. Mr. Little was married a second time to Miss Harriet A. Tinnnonds, sister of his first wife, who resides at the family homestead with lier only surviving child. Miss Mary J. Both of Mr. Little's wives were granddaughters of Richard Woodworth, a soldier of the Revolutionary War, who enlisted in February, 1777, in Captain William Gray's Con»pany. of Col. William Butler's regiment, Pennsylvania, and served four years. He was in the battles of Brandywine, Gerniantown, and Monmouth, and was pensioned May 9, 1818.

Mr. Lit*le and his second wife have had seven chilcJren. Their eldest son, William H., born in 1857. died in 1888, leaving a wife and child. Their sons Carey E., aged eighteen, and Frank C, aged sixteen, both died of that fell disease consumption. The others died in infancy.

Mr. Little went into the coal business in Portsmouth Ohio, in 1858, and continued in it until 1879. He was first alone and then in partnership wnth James Hamilton, as Little & Hamilton, in 1862. From that time he continued the business alone until 1866, when he formed a partnership with K. X. Hope, the firm being known as W. W. Little & Company. In advertising this business in 1865. he adopted the motto of Capt. William McLain. "We have come to stay." and placed it at the head of his advertisement ind kept it there. While engaged in the coal business, lie also had other activities. He owned the steamboats Pike, Boskirk. \'i(^la. Oaylord, Brilliant Eldorado and not fewer thaii three ferry boats : and he commanded all of them at times, as he always had masters papers. He operated the ferry between Portsmouth, Ohio, and Spring\'ille. Kentucky, for many years. He built the River City Ferry Boat in 1874, and ran her until vSeptember 28. t88i. when he sold the ferrv to Capt. vSamuel Brown for a farm of two hundred acres at Little, in Orocnnp County . Kentucky, to which he removed in 1882. spondiiicr the remainder of his life as a farmer. During the Morgan raid in 1863 he commanded a <leet of boats in the Ohio River, and thereby acquired the title of "Commodore."

such during^ most of the time thereafter until he removed to Kentucky. He was president of the City Council of Portsmouth from 1870 to 1874, and in 1877 and 1878. He was president pro torn, in 1876. Mr. Little was a most enthusiastic Republican, and a power in city politics. He knew the second ward thorouj;["hlv, and he could always carry it whenever he undertook to do so. It was never any trouble to induce him to do political work.

He was a director of the Farmers' National Bank for several years in its early history, and always took a prominent part in every public measure for* the advancement of the city. He took a leading part in introducing the Holly waterworks into the city oi Portsmouth. He was a member of Rev. E. P. Pratt's church in Portsmouth, and Kved up to his professions as closely as any one could who had been a steamboatman.

Mr. Little went through not only many family afflictions, but several financial disasters, but he never lost courage or hope. He always retained his good spirits and his energy. From 1866 to 1882, he resided on the northeast corner of Front and Court Streets, Portsmouth, Ohio, in what has since been known as the Morton Club prof)erty, where he was known to all. As a public spirited citizen, he was a model, - always ready to do his part and more, too ; and was always readjy and willing to help every good cause. When he became a farmer, which every steamboatman has an ambition to be, he kept his interest in public affairs as before. He died July 18, 1897, and is interred in Greenlawn Cemetery, in Portsmouth. When called in judgment on the last day he will cheerfully face his record, anc' will have nothing to explain or apologize for. He did the best he could every day of his life, and who can do more ?

On pages 226 and 227 of this work, we have given a sketch of the above named gentleman as a member of the bar of Adams County. In that sketch we mentioned Mr. Blair as a power in the Democratic party. Since that sketch was completed and laid aside, about September i, 1900, Mr. Blair changed his party relations, and has become an active Republican, making many public speeches favoring the re-election of President Mc- Kinley. It is due to Mr. Blair that he should go down to posterity as of the political faith he professed when this book was closed. Therefore we have noted the change of political faith made by him, and give him credit for honesty of purpose in the change. Mr. Blair will always be found where his honest convictions take him, and will be a power to any organization to which he attaches himself. We bid him godspeed in his new departure, as we would had the case been reversed.

In February, 1853, Samuel Burwell. the aged publisher of the Scion, was then a young man just starting in life. Mr. Evans, one of the editors of this work, remembers Mr. BurwelFs coming to the Evans home to ask about the propriety of starting a newspaper, and a name for it. Mr. Edward P. Evans, the father of the editor of this work, advised him to start the newspaper, and suggested the name of "The Scion of Tem- perance," which was adopted, as it was determined at the time to start it as a temperance paper. The writer was eleven years old at the time, and was present at the conference when the launching of the Scion was determined upon. He remembers what was said at the conference as distinctly as though it had occurred but yesterday.

The publication of this weekly was begun in 1841 by Stephen P. Drake. He continued its publication until the summer of 1845, when he sold out to Robert Jackman, who continued it until his death in August, 1851. Durmg Mr. Jackman's ownership, the paper was suspended for a few mor»ths in the year 1849; ^ind when he resumed its publication, the name was changed to The People's Intelligencer, and it was continued under that name during its existence in West Union. After Mr. Jackman's de^th in 1851 (see page 378 of this book), Henry B. Woodrow, now living at 421 West Seventh Street, Cincinnati, Ohio, continued the publication of the newspaper for Mr. Jackman's widow, Mrs. Elizabeth Jackman, until Februarv, 1852, when he purchased the plant and took it to Manchester and continued its publication there about two vears.

The paper was Whig in politics during its entire existence. At the time Mr. Drake began the publication of the Intelligencer, West Union had been without a newspaper for a number of years, the Free Press being the last. When Mr. Drake sold out in West Union, he went to Portsmouth, Ohio, and started a paper called the Portsmouth Clipper, which he published several years. He was afterwards engaged in the newspaper business in Ironton. During the Civil War, he was a member of the Second West Virginia Cavalry, and died in the army. He was a brother of the late Samuel P. Drake, of Portsmouth.