Liberty Township (part 2 of 6)

A Mr. Watsbaugh and a Mr. Irvin were very early teachers in Pleasant township, near the Trimble farm. Eli Ashbrook, of Illinois, in his young days was a good teacher in Pleasant.

Samuel Shaw was an old-time teacher of Liberty township. He was a £>-iant and when bad boys fell into his hands they trembled. Many teachers were cowed and compelled to g'ive up their schools. Not so with Samuel Shaw. He was a match for the stoutest boy or the largest school.

Dr. Bryson, of Millersport, and the late Dr. Aldred, of Carroll, were competent and successful teachers in their younger days. The wife of Dr. Bryson was an Aldred. The first wife of Dr. Aldred was a Crawford, a relative of tne late Jacob Van Meter Crawford, of Berne township.

Abraham Winters, who taught school as early as 1810, lived on Pleasant Run, northwest of the Taylor Ruber farm. He came early from Rockingham County, Virginia. He reared two daughters who were once belles of the township. The oldest married Col. Valentine Cupp, who, while gallantly leading his regiment, was fatally wounded at Chickamauga. His wife is also dead. The other daughter, Margaret, married Lieutenant Lafayette Pickering. Pickering has long been dead, but the once handsome girl is still living. Margaret Winters lived in the days when horseback riding was popular, as well as a necessity. She was a daring and accomi)lished ecjuestrienne and captured more than one prize at the County h^air.

We will name a few good teachers who taught in and about Rushville after the time of Simon Hyde, the greatest scholar of his time. John W. Fauble was

Robert J. Black taught school fifty years ago, or about that time, in Rushville. He resides upon his farm in Rushcreek and is now a cultivator of and an authority on fruit.

1 he venerable David Pence, grandson of Emanuel Ruffner, in his early days, was a successful teacher. His only daughter is the wife of Joseph S. Sites, of this city. He is a distinguished member of one of the large and distinguished pioneer families of this county.

Most of the school houses in which the foregoing pioneers taught were built of round logs chinked and daubed and a single log cut out of sufificient width for windows. The fire places m many instances were as wide as one end of the building, and huge logs used for fuel.

The seats were made of slabs with round legs at each end and destitute of backs. The schools were all taught on contracts signed by each patron, agreeing to pay a stated price for each pupil.

In one instance a public-spirited citizen, father of Broad Cole, built a school house and employed Abraham Cole to teach the school at eight dollars per month and invited his neighbors to send their children and pay pro rata share or not, as they chose or were able. There were no special school hours then. The teacher was there at daylight and had a good fire ready to receive his pupils, make them comfortable and go to work. There were no gold or steel pens in those days ; all were made with pen-knife of goosequills by the teacher. Fancy a teacher at that interminable task now.

As stated above, the early school houses had huge fire places, some as wide as the building, and in one case, and perhaps others, the back logs - children raised in our modern home never saw a back log - were drawn in by horses, ropes being run through the cracks between logs.

All middle age men will remember the ten plate stove used to warm school houses and in universal use, with big letters on the side, "Made by John Moore, Mary Ann Furnace." This furnace and foundry was located in Licking County, on the Licking river, a few miles from Newark, east. Moore, the proprietor, was a famous man, for is it not fame to be known to thousands of school children? He was the father of Mrs. Judge Silas H. Wright, long a resident of Lancaster, now of Washington.

This same stove once adorned and warmed the country and village stores and many farm houses. Many readers of this sketch will be reminded of a dear old friend. A friend that ^ave them comfort and never boasted of it. A friend around which the scholars gathered at noon time of cold days, chatted and ate their lunch. But alas, the stove has gone and others have taken its place, and saddest of all, the scholars, most of them, are gone and others have taken their place.

Pioneer Preachers Of The Methodist Episcopal Church Who Were

no set of early pioneers are more entitled to remembrance in these sketches than the self-sacrificing traveling Methodist preachers of the early days. Many of them were without much education to speak of, but they were earnest, pious, Godfearing men. They were plain men. and dressed in clothing intended for service and not for show, made upon a uniform pattern, round cutaways, liishop Asbury's suit was made of homemade cloth. In one case, cloth and suit were both made by a lady friend and pr-isented to him. They traveled horseback, fording creeks and swimming rivers. In many cases it required' four weeks to make the rounds of the circuit, and often preaching in some cabin every night. On such circuits the jieople came ten and fifteen miles to attend the service. This was especially the case on Sunday. They were cheerful men, happy men and good conversationalists, and they were received with open hand wherever they stopped. Happy the family so highly favored. The parents rejoiced for the opportunity to converse and for the influence for good the visit of the preacher would have upon the lives of their children.

Senator Ewing understood this when he gave a thousand dollars in his will to Catholic priests, as a slight evidence of his regard for the early priests, who (166) made his home their home, and assisted him, as he expressed it, in raising his boys. The hearty reception given the preacher was not confined to Methodists. - Presbyterians and Baptists gave them hearty welcome. This is acknowledged by Bishop Asbury in his journal.

The first pioneers to preach in this county, and have charge of a circuit, were Jesse Stoneman and James Ouinn. They both lived to a great age and their memory is still cherished. Stoneman, after closing his career as a preacher, settled on a farm in Perry county. He, with his family, is buried at Thornville.

James Ouinn preached for nearly forty years, in this and adjoining counties, and closed his career in Highland County. He was buried near Hillsboro, Ohio. He has several relatives in this county, or more proi)erly his wife, who was a daughter of Edward Teal.

James Axlcy ]ireached in this county in 1805. I^ was a "rough diamond" and was kept on the frontier all of his life. Being at Chillicothe, he, with another minister, were entertained by Governor Tiffin, a Methodist. .\ part of the evening meal was stewed chicken. - Axley took his portion in his fingers and stripped the bones and tlieu threw them to a dog sitting on the car])et near him. This was j^robablv the first carpet he had ever seen in a dining room. On his way to Mississippi Territory, to which he had been assigned, he jM-cached in Nashville. The minister there was afraid he would make a break and gave him a word of caution. .Soon after commencing his disci nu'sc a gentleman entered, the minister whispered, " That is General Jackson." Axley exclaimed : " Who cares for General Jackson ! He will go to hell as quick as anybody else if he does not repent." After the close

James B. Findlay preached here in 1811, and he was on this district as late as 1842. He was a distinguished preacher of his time. He, with Rev. Jacob Hooper, who lived near New Salem, were missionaries to the Wyandot Indians, at Sandusky, in 1821. The city of Findlay is named for one of his family.

James Gilruth was a famous preacher of early days. He was in this county in 1823. He was a man of great strength and fought the rowdies at camp meetings. He, as late as 1842, after the close of his ministry, moved to Davenport, Iowa, where his daughter opened a seminary. The distinguished Dr. Kynett, who died a few days since in Philadelphia, married one of his daughters.

Charles Waddle from 181 4 to 1834 was a very distinguished preacher. People came long distances to hear him at camp meeting, and the name of Charles Waddle, was famous in a large region. He fell from grace and left the church. The writer saw him a few years since in Pleasantville, where he lived a short time with his son, a broken down, sorrowful looking old man, unknown and unhonored in a region where his eloquence had once delighted thousands

Jacob Young was a distinguished preacher in this county in 1820, and about the year 1841 he closed his ministry here. He was a good man and his life was an inspiration. His oldest son. Wheeler Young, is the present sheriff of Franklin County, Ohio.

Michael Ellis was an earnest, faithful and pious preacher, as early as 1817. Thomas Batton, of the Boys' Industrial School, married a niece of his.

Leroy Swonnstedt was a somewhat famous preacher in this county in 1825. He was for many years manager of the Methodist Book Concern at Cincinnati.

James Laws was here as early as 1826. His oldest son was born in Lancaster. His sons were for many years and still are commission merchants of Cincinnati.

Henry S. Fernandes was a preacher in this county in 1829. He was in charge of the church at Athens in 1837, when the great revival of that year brought many students into the church, among them Rev. Joseph M. Trimble. He spent his old age in Rushville, and made a very modest living selling goods.

Thomas A. Morris, afterwards bishop, preached in Lancaster one year (1820). Joseph M. Trimble, W. H. Sutherland, R. S. Foster, (now a bishop), M. Dustin, Colonel G. Moody and S. M. Merrill (now a bishop) were distinguished and eloquent Lancaster divines in their prime. Tallmadge Foster, son of the bishop, is an attorney of Cincinnati.

Rev. Joseph Carper was once a distinguished preacher of this region. He was a man of intellect, fine presence and a splendid speaker. He died thirty or more years since in Perry County, Ohio. His son, Homer Carper, was for many years a distinguished lawyer of Delaware, Ohio. Homer once met a gentleman of Athens, who told him that if he would go to Athens he could spend a month or two in that county and stop every night with a friend and admirer of his father. Rev. Joseph Carper officiated at the wedding of the writer, 45 years ago.

David Young was another good man, who preached as early as 1826. His home was in Zanesville. He married the widow of John Mclntire, fotmdei of Zanesville, and son-in-law of Ebenezer Zane, founder of Lancaster, Ohio.

Moses A. Milligen was a preacher here as late as 1 84 1. His brother, Lamsden P. Milligen of Indiana, was a Knight of the Golden Circle, tried and convicted of treason, and sent to the Ohio penitentiary. The kind heart of Lincoln consented to his liberation. The writer met him in Huntington, Indiana, a few years since. He referred to Ohio and his early life there and spoke of his brother,.Rev. Milligen.

The famous Peter Cartwright preached at the early camp meetings in this county. He was a " rough diamond," but possessed many good qualities as a pioneer preacher. He moved late in life to Illinois and settled near Springfield. His name is immortal, for it will be forever associated with Abraham Lincoln. In 1847 he was the Democratic candidate for Congress, and Abraham Lincoln was his opponent and defeated him.

His aged widow met with a singular death. She was attending a quarterly meeting. During the general class, she arose and gave her testimony in a clear but impassioned style, and after she had brought the people to a high state of excitement by her eloquence and zeal, she closed by saying, " I am waiting for the chariot," and immediately sank into her seat a corpse. The preacher in charge arose and immediately exclaimed, " The chariot has come." Hay tells this in his life of Lincoln, and it is corroborated by a minister still living, who was present at the time.

nOTWITHSTANDING the many and trying privations of the pioneers, they were not destitute of amusements - not the cultured lecture or refined opera, but healthful and satisfying. It is doubtful if there is any community a happier people than were the first settlers of this country.

Men's amusements were rude and mostly in the open air. Neighbors were brought closer together, communities mingled and there was a hearty interchange of hospitality.

Hunting with the rifle was indulged in by all classes, both to obtain game for food and for amusement. There were many famous hunters and a poor shot was the exception. Thomas Cherry killed fifty deer in one winter, one bear and other game.

William Murphey, in his early years, killed 63 wolves and a panther. He also killed with his rifle, or his dogs, raccoons, foxes and wild cats to the number of 600. For many years he was a dealer in peltries.

Another method of amusement, common to every neighborhood, was the shooting match, or target shooting. A prize or prizes were offered for the best shot, or one set of half a dozen or more would shoot against the same number for the prize, which was a deer, steer, or more frequently turkeys. The contest (171) would last, sometimes, an entire day, and always half a day. Christmas was always a favorite day for a shooting match, and sometimes on election day. The contest was one of great interest for the best off-hand shots and all the neighborhood would be on hand. This amusement continued up to within the memory of men now living. The expert squirrel hunters loved the match. The amusement which laid in the shade all other forms was the fox hunt. The hunters, mounted on trained horses, following a pack of fifteen or twenty hounds, in full cry, over hill and dale, regardless of fences or other obstructions, the fox occasionally in sight, the hounds always, and their music reverberating from hill to hill. Abraham Applegate and Major Cox used to say that the most glorious music in the world was made by a pack of fox hounds, -of a frosty morning in October, in full cry. Applegate was so much of an enthusiast upon this subject that he was anxious to visit England for the sole purpose of seeing and hearing a pack of thoroughly trained hounds in an open country, in full cry. He knew the voices of his dogs, and could tell whether old Bet or Spot was in the lead. Two of the most noted fox hunters of the early period were William Murphey, then of Walnut township, and Samuel Graybill of Greenfield. Both were grand old hunters and grand old men. Both could set a horse when 80 years of age with the best of them, and remain in the saddle to the end of the chase. Mr. William Murphey kept a kennel of hounds as late as to be within the memory of the writer. They were somewhat troublesome and expensive. Their principal food was mush. Trouble and expense was not counted by such sportsmen as William Murphey. Of later years Major Cox,

Abraham V. Applegate and Dr. A. Davidson were noted fox hunters and often followed the hounds. A pack of hounds, in full cry, would stir the blood of Dr. Davidson. - George Fetters is about the only lover of this fine sport left. He keeps a hound or two to remind him of the days that are gone.

The writer remembers what was called a circle hunt in the year 1848 in Pleasant township. The lines of men were about four miles square, all in command of Colonel Thomas Duncan. At the sound of his horn the lines moved to the center and met near C. Rugh's. Three foxes were gathered in, one of which got away. It was a jolly day, enjoyed by hundreds of excited people. Labor was turned into amusement. Log rollings, house and barn raisings and corn huskings, even the wheat harvest ; all contributed to the general fund of amusement. Strong men tested the strength of each other and sometimes their tempers.

A gang of men, 10 or 15, went into the field with their hooks, cut through a land about three feet wide and bound the sheaves on the way back. Fifteen men would cut about what is now done with a binder in one day. The owner of the field generally tried to get the best reaper to lead the field, as it was called, and sometimes he was paid extra. But woe to the leader if it were found out - his hide would be the forfeit, as they called it. Taking his hide meant laying him in the shade.

Isaac Wilson, late of Greenfield, but in early life, of Richland township, was a great leader, one of the best men with a sickle in those days. He was best in

Horse racing in the early days was very popular, though it was not introduced to any extent until thoroughbred and blooded horses came to the state.

Each neighborhood had scrub horses to run from lOO to 300 yards. As early as the thirties, Chancy Rickets of Pickerington, then Jacksonville, owned som.e good horses and that point was somewhat famed for this amusement.

About 1838, Benjamin Yontz came out to this county from Maryland and brought with him some well bred horses. Cupbearer and others. He had a fine race track built just south of New Salem and kept it up for some years.

The people of Europe, especially of the continent, have plenty of outdoor amusements, and this may be one reason for their content and apparent happiness under conditions to which Americans would not submit.

The writer is old enough to remember O'ne oldfashioned fox hunt and confesses to a weakness for the music and excitement of the chase. A fox at full speed in the distance, his long brush in line with his back and nose, fifteen or twenty hounds, many of them handsome, stretched .out for two hundred yards, running at full speed, their noses to the ground, all in full cry, but each with a different note. Many men well mounted, their horses going at full speed, and the best trained clearing fences, jumping ditches, the voices of the riders, shouting and calling out names of favorite dogs. I hear old Spot, she's in the lead now, old Bet leads the pack and so on, for they all know their dogs. Sometimes the riders were left far behind, but the music and the cry of the leader could be heard afar off.

Who would not have enjoyed such a scene with old Billy Murphy as leader ? And his smile of triumph when, in at the death, he found that his favorite dog had captured the prize.

Of Several Families Prominent In The Early

CHE early settlers of Fairfield County, then including Perry and Licking Counties, were a hardy race of men and women. People of large frame, strong and active. Brainy men, and intelligent for their opportunities, and usually possessing rare good common sense.

In brief sketches it will not be possible to even name all worthy to be remembered ; we can only select a representative type here and there of the long list of worthy men. The great majority of the people of this county are better educated than the people of 60 years ago, and have read more books and light literature, but in strength of character and strong intellect, they are not superior, if, indeed, equal. The men of the early days read the Bible, Milton's Paradise Lost, Homer's lUiad, and a few other books of like character, and they read them well - they thoroughly digested their contents. A few such books are worth more than a whole library of the present day fiction.

Rev. Foster was the first Lutheran preacher to preach in Lancaster. He lived in Thorn township, now in Perry County. He settled there at a very early day with his six stalwart sons and gave each a farm. His son Andrew married a sister of the late Thomas Anderson, of Pleasant township. His son Samuel (176) married a daughter of Jacob Graybill, and lived all of his life near Lancaster. He was a well known character to all old citizens. He was the father of the late Col. Sam Foster, of Columbus, and Geo. W. Foster, of Cincinnati ; also of the late Mrs. Alvah Perry.

Rev. Geo. DeBolt was the first Baptist preacher to preach in Lancaster. He settled in Walnut township prior to 1806, being one of the first settlers. He was a "hard shell" preacher of the most pronounced type. A good speaker and an intelligent man. But he could not deliver a discourse without severely berating other denominations. Sixty years ago, yes, 50 years, a weed known as dogfennel was the curse of the country. Every lane and byway and the public road was full of it, and every common white with its bloom in the season. During a revival season at the Methodist church in New Salem DeBolt preached to his congregation at Union Chapel. He called their attention to the revival services and warned them that if not more faithful and active in their religious life the Methodists and dogfennel would take the country.

He raised a large family, all of whom filled a respectable and useful position in life. One of his sons, Reason DeBolt, studied law, married a daughter of the late Wm. McCleery, of Greenfield township, and moved to Trenton, Missouri. He rose to some eminence. He was a captain in the civil war, and with Gen. Prentiss, was captured at Shiloh and taken to Libby prison. Returning to Missouri, he was elected a member of congress from that state. Reason was one of the first schoolmates of the writer.

He came from Maryland, and first settled on Pleasant Run, near where Amos Webb now lives. Ir his cabin, or near it, at this place, the first class of Methodists in this county was formed.

Teal afterwards moved to what has since been known as the Ashbrook farm, now owned by the heirs of H. G. Miller. On this farm he and his family are buried. Bishop Asbury visited Teal in 1803, and records in his journal that Teal owned 1200 acres of as good land as could be found in the country.

A daughter of Mr. Teal married Rev. James Ouinn, the first man to preach m this county, in the year 1799. The Teals were at one time very prominent people, but death has claimed most of them. Perry Teal, a grandson, and Mrs. lownsend Reed, a granddaughter, are about the only ones left of the old stock.

Of the many distinguished men who honored Greenfield township by their residence there, one of the most .striking figures was Walter McFarland.

He came to the township as early as 1798, and entered at once upon a long, industrious and honorable life. Walter McFarland was over six feet in height, well formed and well proportioned. He was a man of great strength and activity, and renowned for his herculean feats. No man could match him at the end of a hand-spike. No man could carry a timber of the weight he could lift and walk off with, with ease.

For sixty years he was one of the prominent men of his neighborhood and of the county. His fine presence attracted the attention of strangers and commanded their respect. His son John, now an old man, is a resident of Lancaster. One of his daughters married David Keller, now a prominent banker of Shelby

John Leith

There are but few of this generation who ever heard of John Leith. He was a farmer, and lived two miles from Pleasantville, in Walnut township. His father emigrated from Leith, Scotland, to South Carolina. His mother was a native of Virginia. John was born on the Peedee river, March 15, 1755, and was left an orphan at five years. His uncle took charge of him and soon apprenticed him to a tailor, who took him to Charleston to live. In three or four years he ran off and made his way to York, Pennsylvania, where he engaged himself to a farmer, with whom he remained four years. He then made his way to Fort DuOuesne, afterwards Fort Pitt, now Pittsburg. Here he engaged himself to an Indian trader, and they took a stock of goods to an Indian village on the Hock- Hocking, then called the "Standing Stone." We find upon examination of some authorities that this was about the year 1772 or 1773. His employer left him here at the age of 17 years in charge of the store and went to Fort Duquesne for more goods. The Indians confiscated the goods and carried Leith ofiF a prisoner. He remained in captivity 16 years and had a varied experience. A part of this time he clerked for British Indian agents in various localities - for three or four years at Upper Sandusky. At the time he lived near Mt. Pleasant there was a white woman with the Indians, but he did not give her name. This is the first white woman known to have lived on the spot where Lancaster stands. In 1779, while still a prisoner, he was married to Sallie Lowry, also a prisoner. This took place at Coshocton. He was 24 and she was 18 years of age. His wife had been a prisoner since a mere child. They lived two years in Gnadenhutten. Two children, boys, were born to them. Samuel was born in 1780, and died in Fairfield County in 1820. He was the second white child born in the Tuscarawas " valley. In 1786 he, with his wife and two children, escaped from the Indians, leaving near Sandusky, with a supply of parched corn, and made their way on foot through the wilderness, in winter time, a distance of 200 miles to Fort Pitt, where they arrived in safety, having subsisted on the parched corn. He lived for a few years in Pennsylvania, for a time in Robbstown, and was for a time a partner of David Duncan, a trader. During these years he became religious. In the year 1795 he built a boat and loaded his goods and family, and floated down the Ohio to Marietta. Here they tried to push his boat up the Muskingum, but met with an accident, and boat and goods were lost. For several years after this accident he had a sad and varied experience. His wife died and left him alone. In a year or two he married a Mrs. McKee, and with her moved to Guernsey County, and from there to Fairfield. This was about the year 1816. He died in the year 1832. His first wife was a sister of Jane Lowry, who was also a prisoner among the Indians, and became the wife of John McNaghten, a pioneer of Walnut township. His son, George W. Leith, lived for many years near Nevada, Wyandotte County, Ohio, and if we mistake not, was associate judge of the Common Pleas court. Leith was a very enthusiastic member of the Methodist church, and related a wonderful conversion and experience in a pamphlet written for

Rev. David Jones

Among the noted visitors to the spot where Lancaster now stands, the name of Mr. Jones cannot be omitted. Rev. David Jones hved at Freehold, New Jersey, and so far as known, was the first preacher to visit the territory of Ohio. He was a Welsh Baptist. In 1772, he, with Gen. Geo. Rogers Clarke and several other adventurers, left Fort Pitt for the lower Ohio, Louisville being the destination of General Clarke. On this trip Jones preached to Indians and scattered settlers wherever he found them. Rev. Jones made the return trip in 1773, overland We give a passage from his journal: "February 9, 1773, came safe to Mr. McCormick's, at Standing Stone. This town consists chiefly of Delaware Indians, and is located on the Hock-Hocking creek. Though it is not wide, yet it admits large canoes and peltry is thus transmitted to Fort Pitt. Overtook here Mr. David Duncan, a trader from Shippenstown, on his way to Fort Pitt." Here was a trading post kept by a white man, a stopping place for others, and a wandering missionary 27 years before Lancaster was thought of, and corroborative of Leith's story as to a trading post. It is highly probable that Leith was there and that Jones saw him. During the war of the revolution Rev. David Jones was a chaplain attached to the command of General Anthony Wayne, of the Pennsylvania line.

He was a very eloquent man and did much to cheer up the soldiers and maintain discipline at Valley Forge. He told the disheartened soldiers "that a shad would as

Robert McClellend, the famous Indian scout, of. General Wayne's army, visited Mt. Pleasant, or Standing Stone, a few years after the visit of Jones, but as a spy, and accidentally finding a white girl, heroically fought off the Indians for a day and night and rescued her from a horrible fate.

He became a resident of Lancaster in 1800, and kept one of the first taverns. His daughter married Thos. Hart. They reared a large family. J. B. Hart, Judge Samuel Hart, Mrs. Borland and Mrs. Stambaugh were children. McClelland spent his old age on a farm in Perry County. He was born in western Pennsylvania. He has many relatives there and in Pittsburg ; also near Steubenville, Ohio. His uncle Robert was a pioneer of Jefferson County. His family was a large and prominent one. They were Scotch-Irish.

The McNaghten family was for near 90 years quite prominent in Walnut township. The ancestor of this family was Thomas McNaghten, a Scotchman, who came to America prior to the revolutionary war. Like thousands of other good Scotchmen, he settled in Pennsylvania. One writer, Fiske, states that more than 500,000 Scotch-Irish came to the United States and settled in the interior and western part of Pennsylvania and the valleys of Virginia and North Carolina.

Another writer. Hunter, avers, and gives ample authority and names of public men, that they were the prominent Indian fighters who defended the frontier for 40 years against the Indians. And that they were the prominent leading men who settled in Kentucky and Ohio and left the impress of their genius and enterprise upon the institutions and laws of those states. The Scct:!;-I:ish were undoubtedly a great people and a great factor in western civilization. More prominent and useful men of that race adorn the pages of Ohio history than of any other. Whoever, therefore, has a trace of Scotch-Irish blood in his veins, has reasons to be proud of a noble ancestry.

John, the son of Thomas McNaghten, married Jane Lowry, a sister of Sallie Lowry, who was the wife of Jo'hn Leith, referred to above. Like her sister, she had been a prisoner among the Indians, and after her escape or redemption, married John McNaghten in Western Pennsylvania, and moved to Ohio. This was prior to 1806, but we cannot give the year. He was a taxpayer here in 1806. He settled two miles northeast of Pleasantville in what has been known a century as the Elm flats. Here he purchased land enough to give each of his children a farm - the sons, John, Thomas, James, Neal, Alexander, 160 acres each ; and the daughters, Mary, Jane and Elizabeth, 80 acres each - a 50 per cent, discrimination unworthy of his Scotch blood. In a few years the sons and daughters, except Thomas, sold their lands and left the country ; Neal going to Wheeling, and the others to the west. Neal became quite a prominent citizen of Wheeling - - was respected and esteemed for many good qualities of head and heart. He was a gentleman of elegant manners and fine presence, a man who attracted attention on all occasions. Thomas McNaghten was the representative man of this family, and lived a long and honorable life in this county. He was always the noted and prominent man in his township, and distinguished for his integrity and other good qualities. During all of his life he was a leading member of the old school Baptist church. Every third Sunday found him in his seat in the northeast corner of the church at Pleasant Run, surrounded by the fine heads of Jonas Friend, Col. RufTner, Christian Baker, Jonathan Peters, Tunis Ashbrook, John Ashbrook and Jacob Kagy. As goodly a company as any man ever worshipped with. His first wife was Rebecca Young. Their children were Jane, Mary, Araba, David, Noah, Owen, John S. Children by his second and third wives were Hiram, Cyntha, Rebecca, Harrison, Thomas J., James M. and Tunis.

David married Amelia Ashbrook and they spent their lives on a farm near their old home. One of their favorite sons was killed in the charge upon Fort Wagner and was heard of no more.

Noah McNaghten was for 30 years a very prominent farmer of Richland township. His wife was a daughter of Tunis Ashbrook. No better citizen lived in his time than Noah McNaghten. He has been dead a number of years. His widow lives with a daughter near Boston, Massachusetts. Owen McNaghten married a daughter of Christian Baker and became an excellent and prosperous farmer of Walnut township. He reared a good family of children. He has been dead a number of years. Tunis McNaghten lives in Franklin county, Ohio. He is a prosperous farmer. Both he and his brother Thomas were valiant soldiers in the Union army. Thomas J. McNaghten is the present postmaster of Pleasantville. He married the youngest daughter of Tunis Ashbrook. Thomas J. is an exemplary citizen and follows in the footsteps of his Baptist father, he being one of the leading members of the Pleasant Run church.

The descendants of John McNaghten are very numerous in Ohio, Indiana, IlHnois and Iowa ; also Pennsylvania and West Virginia, and an honor to the sturdy race from which they sprang.

We have traced but one family, as that is the only one in a marked manner identified with Fairfield County. We would be glad to give more information in regard to this branch, but it is difficult to obtain reliable and full information. We fear that many people will, when too late, wake up to the fact that their family history is lost. The writer is trying to preserve what is yet obtainable, and to stimulate others to do likewise.

The Well-Known Peters Family

It is not known in what year the ancestor of the Peters family came to America, or from what country. He settled in Philadelphia as a married man and two sons were born, Jacob and Henry.

Henry was twice married but was not blessed with children. Jacob was born in Philadelphia and married there. He moved to Baltimore where he reared his family of three sons and one daughter. We cannot give name of daughter, but can only state that she married a man named Burns. The sons were John, Jacob and Samuel. Samuel, the ancestor of the family, the subject of this sketch, was born in Philadelphia September 27, 1772. He died at his home in Amanda township, Fairfield County, O., September 10, 1829.

His wife was Mary Stevenson, daughter of Daniel Stevenson, of Baltimore county, Md. She was born September 28, 1773, and died in Fairfield County February 15, 1861, aged 87 years. Their oldest son, Henry Peters, was born October i, 1796. They came to Ohio

Daniel Stevenson was born September 21, 1737, and died September 3, 1829. Ruth, his wife, was born January 24, 1743, and died January 12, 1834. They were the parents of ten children. They came to Ohio several years earlier than Peters and his wife. The wife of Samuel Peters was a model woman and mother. She was a daughter of Daniel Stevenson, one of the early pioneers of Richland township, and on whose land the first Methodist church in the county was erected. The old homestead now belongs to Edward Stevenson, a grandson of the pioneer. There were several brothers and sisters of the Stevenson family, Daniel, Jesse, Mordecai, Edward, Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hampson are those remembered ; most of them were born in Maryland and came to Ohio with their father as early as 1803. James Hampson, during life a very prominent farmer of Pleasant township, was a grandson of Daniel Stevenson. Frank Stevenson, son of Mordecai, occupies the old homestead, one of the best farms in Fairfield County. Mrs. John Greer is a granddaughter of Daniel Stevenson. The children married and settled upon farms in the neighborhood, where most of the old stock lived and died. Daniel Stevenson, the pioneer and father of this large family, was a very prominent man of the early days and much respected for his sterling character. He was a Methodist and gave the ground for the first church in the county. He entertained Bishop Asbury on one or two of his visits to this county, and it was on his land where Asbury -conducted the first camp meeting held in the county. The church referred to was built of hewn logs. A few of our readers will remember the big broad axes used to do this work, and with what skill a few of the pioneer workmen could use them, and with what skill the corner men could notch the logs perfectly, and carry up their corner, a perilous job, but performed by hundreds of men. We have digressed and now return to the history, briefly, of the Peters family.

Mr. Peters and wife came in the year 1812 to Fairfield County and settled two miles north of West Rushville, on Rushcreek, at the mouth of Snake run. Here they remained for about the space of five years, when they purchased land south of Royalton, (now owned by Benjamin Haas ) and opened up a farm and endured the hardships incident to pioneer life. Here they spent their lives, living the quiet life of farmers and rearing a large family of children. Mr. Peters was a man of sterling character and possessed good business qualifications. He was prominent and -beloved m his neighborhood, and exerted an influence in the community far above the average. His success in rearing a large family to honorable ana useful lives, is evidence of many good fjuaHtics and ability as a parent - the good wife and mother comes 'n\ here for a large share of credit. His sons were Henry. Nathan, Robinson J., Ebenezer, Wesley, Gideon, Stevenson, Lewis and Andrew, most of whom lived to old age and all exceptionall}' fine business men. Nine brothers, possessing better business ability, or more successful in business will be hard to find among the pioneers, or at any other period. They were stalwart men, most of them of commanding presence. Take this family, the Stevenson family, the Beery family - where can you find such large families of stalwart, robust long-lived men ?

Henry Peters at an early day moved to Marion County and when the Wyandotte Indians sold out he moved to Wyandot County. He was a good man, n sagacious man. He prospered and made good investments. He died a few years ago in Upper Sandusky, and left to his heirs quite an estate. Upon the death of his brother Gideon in 1844 he took charge of his children and reared them as a father, and at his death they were well remembered. Nathan Peters moved to Marion County at an early date. He engaged in farming for a number of years and was successful. His old age was spent in Marion where he owned a fine home. His son Harvey was for many years a leadingdruggist of Marion.

Ebenezer Peters moved at an early day to Marion County where he was a prosperous farmer and stock dealer. Like all of his brothers he was a good business man and resi)ectcd and honored by his neighbors. He died some years since at an advanced age. In middle age he resided in Marion where he took an active part in politics and assisted in electing our fellow citizen Samuel A. Griswold county auditor. His son Irwin Peters is still living.

Stevenson and Lewis became farmers and located in Pickaway County, near Nebraska P. O. Like their brothers they were successful in business, accumulated property and lived in good style. They were among the prominent members of the Methodist Episcopal Church in that vicinity. Lewis Peters was an unusually intelligent man, of good social qualities and a man of influence and very highly esteemed. One of his sons married a daughter of Rev. John W. White, once well known in Lancaster, and resides in Upper Sandusky. Both gentlemen are dead. A son of Stevenson, a man of some parts, occupies the old home. The second wife of Lewis Peters was a daughter of Wm. Coulson, a distinguished pioneer merchant of Rushville.

A son of Lewis Peters, Hon. S. R. Peters, of Newton, Kan., is an old Pickaway County boy, born in Walnut township in 1842. He is a graduate of Delaware University, and served through the war as a member of the Seventy-third regiment, O. V. L, coming out of the service as captain. He went to Kansas following the war, and in a little over a year after settling in that state his political career began. He was a member of the State Senate, judge of the Ninth Judicial District, a very trying region to hold court. He was three times elected to the difficult position without opposition. In 1883 he was elected at large to the Forty-eighth Congress. In 1890 he declined further congressional honors, preferring to practice his profession. Judge Peters is now postmaster at Newton and editor of the Kansas Republican, published in that city. He also practices law. Judge Peters' wife was Amelia C. Doan, daughter of Rev. John Doan, and they were married in Circleville in April, 1867. Mrs. Peters was a universal favorite in Washington society during their residence in that city. Dr. W. L. Peters lives in Circleville.

Gideon Peters learned the trade of a tanner and for some years conducted the business at the foot of Main street. He was a prominent member of the Methodist church in the forties. He died in the prime of life in 1844. He married a Stevenson.

Wesley Peters lived most of his life in Hocking township. He was a quiet citizen and unassuming in his manners. A man to be liked and trusted upon first acquaintance. In the late years of his life he lived on " Hallelujah Heights " near town. His wife was an Ingman.

For a year or two he was president of the Fairfield County Bank. He died at an advanced age. His son John W. Peters is a very prominent Methodist preacher of the Cincinnati Conference. Henry Will Peters, Samuel Peters, Silas and James were his sons. Sallie, his youngest daughter, resides in Champaign, 111. Mrs. Thomas Strode and Mrs. George Hoffman reside near Lancaster. Mrs. Euens in the West; Dr. Wesley Peters, of this city, is a grandson, as is Mr. George Peters, of Hocking township. A daughter of Silas Peters is the wife of George Lamb, of Hooker.

Robinson J. Peters was one of the prosperous farmers of this county. He married a Galligher of Amanda township and for some years was a farmer in that township. About middle age he came to Hocking township, and was both a farmer and capitalist. He was a money n.aker from the start and pursued his business with unflagging courage and industry. He was a shrewd business man and seldom made a mistake in his investments or business ventures. He was a judge of good land and owned fine and productive farms. He died at a great age having passed, by two or three, his eightieth year. Zebulon, his oldest son, passed three score and ten, inherited good business qualities, industry and integrity. He has reared and educated an interesting family. His oldest son Henry is the Vice President of the Fairfield County Bank. Frank is a farmer of Greenfield township. A daughter married Georgia Cunningham. Zebulon's wife was the daughter of Mr. Jacob Beck. His son Will is a partner in the firm of N. R. Butler & Co. Newton Peters, another son and now a gray-headed man, married a daughter of David Eversole. Thev have reared quite a large family of children. Two of the sons, Robinson and Charles are promising young farmers of Hockmg township. A daughter married James Claypool.

Andrew Peters married a daughter of Valentine Reber, a sister of one of the best of Fairfield County's men, Henry Reber. Andrew Peters was a good and successful farmer and cattle man. He made money and at one time owned i,6oo acres of very fine land. He was prominent in Fairfield County, and was elected County Commissioner in 1854. He lived beyond four score years. His son Milton is one of the large farmers of this county, owns a fine home and lives in elegant style. Frank lives upon a 300 acre farm in Pickaway County and John in the same county on a like farm.

The only daughter married George Creed and lived and died upon a farm near her old home in Amanda township. Her son Frank Creed, is a promising young man.

A daughter of Sam'l Peters married Wm. Brumfield, one of the first brewers of Lancaster. They lived for many years upon their farm near town. Broad Cole married one of the daughters. He was a well known farmer forty years ago and resided at the big spring, where Felix Swope now lives. The Coles were early settlers and at the house of the pioneer. Bishop Asbury preached in 1803 the first sermon heard in the township.

One of the daughters married Daniel Walters and they spent their lives upon a farm in Amanda township. Judge Festus Walters of the Common Pleas Court of Circleville, is their son. He has attained quite a prominent position at the bar.

The venerable Elizabeth Williamson, widow of Isaac N. Williamson, is a daughter of Samuel Peters and the only one now living of this large family of sons and daughters. She has lived beyond four score years and may be often met in town in fair weather. This is a brief sketch of a very remarkable family and in all respects a very worthy one. Prominent, influential and highly esteemed wherever known.

The Ashbaugh Family

The Ashbaugh family of Rushcreek left Huntington County, Pennsylvania, in the fall of 1799, for the Ohio country, and arrived safely at the cabin of Col. Samuel Carpenter, December 31, 1799, where they remained over night. That night a child was born to one of the families and was named David Ashbaugh. The parents were John Jr. and Catharine Miller, his wife. The family that left Pennsylvania consisted of John Ashbaugh, sr., and wife, and their sons, Jacob, Joseph, Frederick and Andrew and his two daughters, Mary and Patsy, and John Ashbaugh, jr., and wife. They came in company with Joseph Miller, wife and daughters Elizabeth and Rachel. Rachel Miller, in about twelve months became the wife of Edward Young and reared a large family of children. She was the mother of the late Mrs. Jacob Moyer. The party floated down the Ohio from Pitts- burgh on flatboats, or family boats, landing at the mouth of the Hockhocking. The men came up the valley on foot and on horseback, and the women, with the goods, in canoes, to the mouth of Rushcreek. Here the goods were placed upon pack horses and the party made their way to Col. Carpenter's cabin on foot. From Carpenter's they traveled through the woods to a spot since known as the Neely farm and now as the Weaver place, near Bremen. Here a small plat of ground had been cleared the previous spring by Joseph Miller, John and Joseph Ashbaugh.

Elizabeth, a daughter of John Ashbaugh, sr., was left in Pennsylvania. She had previously married a Mr. Saxton of Huntington, and there she lived with her family until her death in 1822.

Mr. Saxton was a mechanic. He manufactured nails by hand, a slow process, but then the only method. Four sons were born to them, viz : John, Joshua, Joseph and William. John Saxton learned the trade of a printer and came west at an early day and commenced the publication of a weekly paper called the Repository, at Canton, Ohio. John Saxton was a man of ability and of high character and was, all of his useful life, a distinguished citizen of Canton, Ohio. He was the father of James Saxton, the banker, and the grandfather of Mrs. President McKinley. We gather from this that Mrs. McKinley is a third cousin of the late John Ashbaugh. Elizabeth Ashbaugh. Mrs. McKinley 's great grandmother, was the aunt of John Ashbaugh, of Lancaster, Ohio. Joshua Saxton learned the printer's trade and made his way to Canton, Ohio, when a young man and assisted his brother in the publication of his paper.

In 1838 he moved to Urbana and established a weekly paper called the Citizen. He was always a prominent and useful citizen of Urbana, and like his brother John achieved much more than a local reputation.

Joseph and William Saxton, sons also of Elizabeth Saxton, settled at an early day in Washington City. Joseph was a fine scholar and a very brilliant mechanical genius. He was a silversmith by trade. Prof. Bache pronounced him the greatest mechanical genius the world ever saw. He was a member of the Franklin Institute of Philadelphia and of the Royal Society of London, England. He made the city clock of Philadelphia, still to be seen and heard at Independence Hall. He spent nine years in Paris and London and while there invented the first magnetic machine capable of producing a spark. He exhibited his machine in the presence of thousands of people in London and was honored by the presence of forty scientists. He was received with great honor while abroad. He invented and made the machinery of the United States mint at Philadelphia. He invented the electric clock in the department of weights and measures in Washington, D. C. John Ashbaugh <once visited this cousin and was very cordially received.

Joseph and Jacob, sons of John Ashbaugh, sr., moved at an early day to Kentucky and the family lost all trace of them and their descendants.

Andrew Ashbaugh married Esther Ray, of Huntington county, Pennsylvania, and after coming to Rushcreek settled east of Bremen on the farm now owned by A. Grafis. Their children were John, William, Abraham, Samuel, James and Robert, Catharine, Jane, Margaret and Elizabeth, who married George Orndorff. Their daughter, Margaret, married William Rowles, who now lives with a second wife near Pleasantville, Ohio.

Jo'hn, the oldest son, was born October 24, 1808. He worked on the farm until 21 years of age. He worked for William B. Lewis, of Rushville and learned the carpenter trade. While in Rushville he witnessed the great fight between Isaac Wilson and a man named Maxwell, who came from the east on purpose to whip Wilson. A large crowd of people formed a circle and the combatants fought to a finish. ]\laxwell was at the close of the fight put to bed and was under the care of a doctor for several weeks.

In 1839 he married Mary Beery, daughter of George Beery, and engaged in the mercantile business in Bremen, and so cor.tmui J until the \'.ar 1854. He traded in horses, tobacco and packed pork.

In 1870 he purchased the Albert Claypool farm, east of Lancaster, where his son George now lives. In 1874 he moved to Lancaster, where he died November 10, 1895. His children were George B., Josephine and Kate. George married Mary A. McCandlish, of Bremen; Josephine married Dr. Rankin, of Bremen; Miss Kate resides with her mother in Lancaster.

Kate Rankin married Samuel Porter, of Muskingum County ; Viola married Jessie Rowles of Bremen ; Nellie married Victor Coen. of New Mexico ; (irace and Florence Rankin are with their parents in Bremen.

John ]., his son, married Jennie Davis, daughter of David Y. Davis, of Rushcreek. He lives on the old Davis farm and is a highly esteemed citizen of his township and a veteran of the civil war. George was accidentally killed in Indiana. Robert married Miss Franks and lives in Rushville, Ohio. James lives in Columbus, Ohio. Hiram was a farmer and (lied in Indiana. IMariah. daughter of William, married \\'illiam Work and lives near Rushville. Elizabeth married Charles Rowles, of Bremen. Jane married A\'i]liam Stuart and now lives, a widow, in P.ucyrus. Ohio. Margaret married Isaac Mast - both are now dead.

.A-braham Ashbaugh, brother of William and John, married a Miss Linton and moved to Tama county, Iowa, where they died. Samuel and James lived and died in Perrv Countv. Thev were farmers.

Robert, son of Andrew, was a carpenter. He was a soldier of the Union army and lost his health in the service. He died a few years since in Columlnis, Ohio. His widow and son, George, live in Columbus.

Jane married John Cohagen and both are now dead.- Children of this couple live, or did live, near Pickcrington, Ohio. Margaret married Anderson Crooks.

( )ne of the daughters married George Spangler. Th.eir daughter. Miriam, married Joseph Stukey, ?on of Judge Stukey. who in time moved to Jasper County, Missouri. Their son,^ W. W. Stukey, lives in Lancaster, Ohio, also a daughter, Clara Good.

John Jr., brother of Andrew, married Catherine Miller of 1 Pennsylvania. They settled on a farm near Jerusalem church, cast of Bremen. They reared a family of ten children.

David was born January i, 1800, in the cabin of Col. Samuel Carpenter, if tradition is correct, where the parents were over night before going to Rushcreek. He lived and died in Rushcreek, below Geneva.

Margaret married Geo. McCandish. They lived a few years on a farm and then moved to Bremen, where McCandish, for some years, was a merchant.

The Beery Family

The Beery family has been for more than 130 years one of the largest and most prominent in the valley of \Mrginia. They were, originally, from Berks county, Pennsylvania.

A ])ranch of this family, or rather two branches, came, or began to come, to Fairfield County as early as 1800, and settled in Rushcreek township.

ITc was l)orn in Rockingham County, Virginia, was twice married, and reared a family of sixteen children. I lis first wife was a Miss Keller, an aunt of the late lion. Daniel Keller, of Fairfield County.

Barbara, Elizabeth, Martha, Mary and Susan. The second wife of Nicholas Beery was a woman of Rockingham whose name we cannot give. Their children were Joseph and Christopher, Margaret and Fanny. All of the children, except Barbara, who married Mr. Blosser, came early to Fairfield County.

John, son of Nicholas, married Margaret Shaeffer and settled just east of where Berne Station is now located. Their sons were Noah, David, Abraham and Nicholas. Noah married, for his wife, Miss Rader, who wa.s a daughter of John Rader, of Rockingham County, Virginia, and for his second wife, a Mrs. Smith, and moved to N. W. Missouri, where he prospered and was a respected and influential citizen. A daughter of his married Andrew J. Snider, at this time a wealthy stock dealer of Kansas City, and president of the First National Bank of that city. A son, Chester A. Snider, of Mr. and Mrs. Snider, married a daughter of ex-Governor Oglesby, of Illinois. Another son, a very promising young man, died in California.

David married a Hufford and moved to Missouri. Abraham married a daughter of Frederick Friesner. He moved to Logan, Hocking County, and lived and died there. Nicholas married a sister of Frederick Sites. He moved to Missouri. John, the son of Nicholas, Jr.. married a sister of Jacob Huber and moved to Auglaize county, Ohio. Delilah married John Beatty. Their son, J. H. Beatty, is United States District Judge of Idaho. Elijah Beery of Sugar Grove, was a son of Nicholas.

The onlv daughter of John Beerv, Elizabeth, married John Coffman, near Carroll, the father of the late Samuel Coffman and grandfather of Benjamin.

Jacob Beery married Nancy Geil, in Virginia. Upon their arrival in Fairfield, they settled on a farm on Upper Raccoon, now owned by Frank, a son of Lewis Beerv. Later in life they moved to Wyandot County, Ohio, where they died.

Abraham Beery married Catharine Fast and they settled on the bluft, north side of Raccoon and one mile east of Berne. Their son, Abraham, married a Miss Elizabeth Weldy and moved to Decatur, Indiana, where he still lives. Their son, Joel, married Sarah ITuddle and moved to Darke county, Ohio. Their daughter, Elizabeth, married Abraham Geil and they lived and died in Rushcreek. Their daughter, Catharine, married Joseph Swartz, and lived near Mount Tabor church. They were the parents of Joel and Rev. Andrew Swartz and Mrs. Sheldon.

Sarah, daughter of Abraham, married Henry Swartz of North Berne. Later in life Mr. Swar|:z moved to Illinois. One of his sons married a daughter of Samuel Jackson. He enlisted in the Union arm.y and died in the service. Ex-Mayor Swartz, of Columbus, is their son.

Rebecca, daughter of Abraham, married John Turner. Turner died leaving his widow with a family of small children. Jacob B. Turner of Bremen, all of his life a reputable and influential citizen of this county, is one of the sons of this couple. A brother resides in Bremen and Peter in Lancaster, Ohio. Their son Emantiel. now deceased, was a minister in the Evangelical church. Mr. Turner's widow married John Shoemaker. Mrs. Shoemaker is still living near Bremen. Ohio. Their son Eli is a Methodist preacher. Fanny, daughter of Abraham, married F.manucl Sites, who became one of the highly es- teemed citizens of Pleasant township. George Sites and attorney J. S. Sites, of Lancaster, are sons of Emanuel. Mrs. John E. Miller and Mrs. Frank Beery are daughters, and Drs. H. C. and E. F. Sites, of Ft. Wayne, Ind., are sons. Delilah, daughter of Abraham, married a Mr. Samuel Bear and they moved to Darke County, Ohio, where Bear died. Late in life she became the wife of Emanuel Sites. Mary married George Swartz and moved to Hancock Countv, Ohio. Another daughter Barbara, married a Mr. Daniel Huddle. Samuel, one of their sons, is a minister. They reared a good family.

Isaac Beery, son of Nicholas, came to Fairfield County a single man. He married Mary Cradlebaugh, a daughter of the first German Reformed preacher in this county. Rev. Cradlebaugh. Her brother, Andrew Cradlebaugh, of Circleville, was the father of Col. John Cradlebaugh, an attorney of some prominence.

Isaac Beery was a Dunker preacher of considerable prominence and of high character. He lived on the original section i->urchascd by his father, south of Hartzler's mill on Raccoon. George, son of Isaac, was a dentist and lived and died in Royalton and was bm-ied tlicrc. .\ndrow died a single man. Levi marricfl a Miss Short and moved to Iowa, where both (lied. Jesse married Rebecca Larimer, moved west and (lied there. Elijah Beery, son of Isaac, married, but we can not give the name of his wife. They moved to Miami C<iuuty, ( )lii(>. Isaac also married and moved to Miami Comity, Ohio. Enoch, son of Isaac Bcerv, Sr., married a ladv of Perry County,

Ohio. They moved to Miami County, Ohio, where he still lives. The horse trainer, named Beery, who occasionally visits Lancaster, is a son of Enoch Beery.

Delilah, daughter of old Isaac, married a Mr. Ward, of Miami County, where they lived and died. Catharine, daughter of Isaac, married Daniel Sites or Seitz, and they lived about one mile south of North Berne. Enoch Beery Seitz, one of the famous mathematicians of the world, was their son, and was born on the farm in Berne. He was a brilliant scholar when a boy and always in advance of his teacher.

Henry Beery, son of Nicholas, settled near Sugar Grove. \Vc can not give the name of his wife. His son-in-law and Henry, his son, live near Sugar Grove. Elijah was a prominent citizen of that vicinity for sixty years.

George Beery, son of Nicholas Beery, Sr., was born in 1783. He married Catharine Cradlebaugh in 1809, a sister of his brother Isaac's wife. They were prominent and influential people and they reared a large and interesting family. George Beery was a wellknown man - a farmer and merchant by turns. He was the original proprietor of the village of Bremen and the first merchant there. He died on his farm six miles east of Lancaster, in 1856. He was the best known of his numerous brothers and numbered among his friends many prominent men of Lancaster. He came to Fairfield County in 1800.

The numerous sons of George Beery were all good business men and they made a success of life. Samuel married Catharine Hull and was a farmer all of his life. He built the fine brick residence just east of Lancaster. He died in the prime of old age. His widow married Samuel Black. John married Mary Black and lived and died upon his farm near Bremen. Joseph died while yet a young man. Isaac was for a few years a merchant in Bremen, but moved to Upper Sandusky, where he married a daughter of Dr. Fowler, a wealthy farmer near Little Sandusky. He was, in connection with his brother Anthony, a prosperous merchant in his new home. Anthony married a Miss Sherman. George studied law and settled in Upper Sandtisky. He married Ann McDonald, of Lancaster. In the last few years of his life he was president of the First National Bank of Upper Sandusky. Simon was for several years a prominent and successful business man of Bremen. He married Melvina Grove, and late in life moved to Urbana, Ohio. He owned a fine farm on Mad River. Noah died voung. Solomon was a farmer of this county and is now a prosperous one near Upper Sandusky. He married Louisa Hammack, of this city. Thomas Ewing Beery married a college mate, a Miss Witt, of Indiana. He married the second time a Miss Osborne. He has been for many years a successful business man and a highly esteemed and influential citizen of Wyandot Cou.nty, Ohio. Christena, daughter of George Bcerv, married Charles Stuart and lived near

Bremen. Mary married John Ashbaugh and lived many years near to and in Bremen. She is a well preserved woman, on the shady side of eighty, and after a long and useful life she enjoys the peace and comfort that comes to those who fairly earn it.

Barbara, the oldest daughter of old Nicholas Beery, married a Mr. Blosser and lived and died m Virginia. Elizabeth married Rev. Jacob Geil and settled on lower Rush Creek. He was a Mennonite. Martha married a Comer and lived on what is now the George Clover farm. They were the parents of Isaac Comer, an old-time tailor of Lancaster, Ohio.

Mary, daughter of Nicholas, married Rev. Henry Stemen. They came to Rush Creek, southeast of what is now Bremen, where they reared a large family. Rev. Stemen was an earnest, zealous Mennonite preacher, and always spoke in the German language. The Beerys were of Pennsylvania German descent and all understood the language. Susan married Abraham Beery, a distant relative of her father. They settled in lower Ruch Creek.

Joseph and Christopher, sons by the second marriage of Nicholas Beery, married sisters by the name of Miller, came to Fairfield and settled on lower Rush Creek. Margaret married a Mr. Kechler and lived on Raccoon in Rush Creek township. Fanny married Mr. Joseph Hite, of Walnut township. His old farm is now owned by Kemp Brothers, at Thurston.

This completes such record as we are able to give of the Nicholas Beery family, one of the largest families ever known in the count)-, and second to none in sterling worth and good citizenship. Their descendants still fill a large space in this county and are numbered bv hundreds, and in everv western State Beervs are to be found or some of their collateral relatives. Daniel, Frederick, Lewis and George Beery, Berne township people, and Samuel, Abraham and Christian Beery, old Lancaster residents, were relatives of the Nicholas Beery family and highly respected people. Abraham was Mayor of Lancaster and father of Dr. George Beery.

The Ashbrook Family

THE ASHBROOK FAMILY The valley of Virginia gave to Fairfield County many distinguished and honored citizens ; but that valley was not alone in furnishing emigrants to Ohio and Fairfield County in particular. Hampshire County, in the valley of the south branch of Potomac, gave us the Ashbrook, Peters and Claypool families, as distinguished and as highly respected as any that adorn the annals of our county. The first Peters of which we have record, was born October 27, 1749. His wife was born October 27, 1759. They were the parents of Airs. Aaron Ashbrook and the late Jonathan Peters. They lived to a great age. Jonathan and Gershoin were their sons, both highly respected and intelligent men. They spent the latter years of their life in this county. Tonathan lived on the old David Pence farm, in Richland townslii]x ( )nc of his daughters is tlie wife of William iM'icnd. A son. Edward, lives in tlie same vicinitv. Gershom reared a large family, living at one time in sight of Columlnis, where Orrin Peters was l)()rn. ( )ne son is an attorney at Princeton, Illinois. M()(->re and Orrin are wealthy manufacturers of Cincinnati. Orrin married Eckert, of this city. Both are well known. A sister of these gentlemen. Deborah, was the mother of an esteemed citizen of .\manda township. John Onincy Adams Rhie. J. O. A. Blue married a Gallidier, a connection of the Robinson Pe- ters family, but in no way related to his mother. His son, George, married a daUjjhter of Henry Reber. Her mother was an Allen, daughter of Howard Allen, who married a Leist. Abigail Peters married Aaron Ashbrook. The Ashbrook family has been traced to England and back into the misty past. There is a legend that long ago a gentleman walking upon the banks of a brook noticed a small boy standing near an ash tree. He inquired his name but the little fellow did not know it. He had compassion upon him, giving him the name of Ashbrook, certainly beautiful, appropriate and well chosen, and as such it has come down the centuries. Aaron Ashbrook was born in Hampshire county, Virginia, January 7, 1780. Abigail Peters, his wife, was born in the same county January 7, 1782. They were married December 22, 1800. Two children were born to them in Virginia. Alwut the year 1805 they came to Ohio, by wagon and settled in Pleasant township. Their old home stood on the blufif between the residence of James Hampson and John M. Ashbrook. There they lived a quiet life, rearing a large family of children and died at a good old age. They lived to see their children well established in life, honored and respected by their neighbors and fellow citizens. They were distinguished members of the old school Baptist church at Pleasant Run and Aaron Ashbrook was always a conspicuous figure in that congregation. As were his sons John and Tunis after him. Aaron Ashbrook was at the time of his death 85 years of age and his wife Abigail died at the great age of 94 years.

Aaron Ashbrook had three brothers. Rev. Eli who lived in Licking county, and one of whose sons is a prominent business man of Newark, and a son-in-law of the Rev. George DeBolt, the pioneer Baptist preacher. Thomas and WilHam were the names of his other brothers. Thomas lived in Pickaway county until about 44 years of age, when he moved to Illinois. He was a fine man and a favorite with his relatives.

William Ashbrook lived first in Pleasant township, but moved later to Amanda township where he died. His wife was Amelia Peters, sister of Mrs. Aaron Ashbrook and Mrs. Blue. Both lived to a good old age. Their sons were Absalom, Mahlon, Edward and William.

Absolom is dead. He was a farmer in Amanda township. Edward is still living in Amanda township at the age of 82 years. Mahlon lives in St. Joseph, Mo., at the age of 86 years. William lives in Ashville, Pickaway County, Ohio.*

George A., son of Absolom, is a farmer in Pickaway County. Frank, another son is a farmer in Bloom township. Monroe and John, sons of Absalom, reside in Kansas.

E. L. Ashbrook, the popular young Jvcpulilican of Amanda township, resides 011 the old homestead with his father. Mrs. L. D. Cole, daughter of Edward, lives in Columbus.

Daniel R. Kellerman, at one time a prominent farmer of Amanda township, married Iv}'. They reared a large family of children and gave them a good education. Prof. Kellerman. of the Ohio University, is their son. One son is a Universalist preacher. Some years since D. R. Kellerman and some of his sons moved to near Humboldt. Kansas, where Kellerman recently died. Their youngest daughter. Dory, married a Williamson, and lives in Bluffton. Indiana.

Of the Peters family there were sons, viz.: Jonathan, Gershom. Rev. Mahlnn. Jolm, Tunis, Rev. James and Absolom and four sisters. Katy. Abigail, Deborah and Amelia. Most of them lived to a great age, filling out honorable and useful positions in life. Their descendants are scattered far aufl wide, and but few of them are known to each other. ( icr'^bom was for some years Associate Judge of Franklin County. During at least a part of their lives the Peters brothers H\-ed in I'ickawav and Franklin Counties.

Ttuiis I'eters Asbbroo]< was l)oni December tq, i8oi, in TTanu;)sbire Countv, A'irginia. He received such, education as the new Ohio country afforded. He married Anna, daughter of David Pence and granddaughter of 1-Juanuel Ruffner. Their children are Aaron P. A.shbrook, of Kansas : Mrs. Noah Mc- Xaughten, of Massachusetts: Mrs. fohn Hill, of

Tunis P. Ashbrook was a fine farmer, an intelligent and upright citizen, respected and honored by all who knew him. He divided a handsome estate among his children. He belonged to a lovely and affectionate family. It used to be said that the Ashbrooks shook hands if they met twice in the same day. Tunis died March 6, 1866, aged 64 years. A finer looking gentleman than T. P. Ashbrook seldom visited Lancaster. His face was an index to his character. John M. Ashbrook was born January 2, 1809. He married Katharine Armstrong, of Lancaster. She is living at Geneva, Nebraska, in her 8ist year.

John M., was a live, competent business man and a good farmer. He ran a whiskey distillery for a good many years with some success. He owned and tilled for years large tracts of land. His wealth at one time was estimated at $125,000. He was a liberal man, hospitable and kind, and his money was freely spent. His house was the home of Baptist preachers for forty years and Baptist people, and the latch string was out to all comers. His house was a free hotel, always full. His hospitality was unbounded. The writer can say what he was too generous to admit, he was greatly imposed upon. He was a public spirited citizen in the best sense of the word. He, with David Huber, projected the Pleasantville Academy, and carried it to completion. In this he took great interest, for he was the friend of education and had a local pride in securing the Academy. The meeting of citizens in Pleasantville, which gave the project endorsement and insured sue- cess, was called by Eli P. Ashbrook. This meeting \yas addressed by Dr. A. P. Miller, Col. J. M. Connell, Hon. C. D. Martin, J. C. Hite, and Judge G. Peters. A good brick building was soon built and Prof. Freed and others have distinguished themselves there and educated many young men. P. S. Wiseman was chairman.

Having succeeded so well in securing an Academy for Pleasantville, he became intoxicated with success and local pride. We must have a railroad, he said, and he and David Huber went to work. He headed the subscription by thousands, and became responsible for rights of way and other matters and took contracts and involved himself in many ways for many thousands of dollars, all of which, he eventually paid with his hard earned dollars. No man ever worked with greater enthusiasm than did John M. Ashbrook for this railroad. He believed that it would be a paying investment. Besides the loss of thousands of dollars, he gave two years his time to this road, for which he did not receive a penny. It was sad to see a noble, generous, unselfish, hopeful, energetic man like John M. Ashbrook go down. He did not survive the disaster more than three or four years. He closed up his railroad matters, paid his debts, gathered his family together and turned his face toward the West, and resolutely sought a new home among strangers. The place he loved, to which he had given his time and fortune, he was to see no more. Home, the graves of his father, friends and neighbors were henceforth to be but a memory. He died August 17, 1885, aged 76 years. He has a son in Hebron, Nebraska, O. A. Ashbrook, who married a daughter of Thomas Duncan. He is now postmaster of Hebron, Nebraska. John, a brother, is a citizen of Geneva, Nebraska. He is now a soldier at Manilla in the First Nebraska Regiment. James and Levi live in Denver, Colorado. Wm. Stewart married Blanche and lives in Geneva, Nebraska. He is assistant cashier of a bank.

James A. Ashbrook was born August i6, 1811. His wife was Rebecca Kagy. James was a farmer for years in Pleasant township, but in later life moved to Coles County, Illinois. He died January 24, 1879, aged 76 years.

Eli P. Ashbrook was born in Pleasant township, December 10, 1816. He was well educated for the times in which he lived, and during his young years was a successful school teacher. His first wife was Adaline Shaw, daughter of John Shaw, a much respected farmer of Rushcreek. His wife's brothers were O. P. Shaw, J. W. Shaw and Andrew Shaw, all well known to your readers. His second wife, Mary, was a daughter of Andrew Shaw, a number one citizen of Rushcreek township, and a brother of John Shaw. Joseph Shaw, near West Rushville, is his brother-in-law.

E. P. has had a checkered career. He farmed for some years and finally invested money in the distillery business. Fire came and swept away most of his in- vestment. He then moved West and settled in Mattoon, Illinois, where he was for some time engaged in the woolen mill business. He now lives a retired life at Windsor, Illinois, being now nearly 83 years of age. Eli P. was always an elegant gentleman, industrious, energetic and honest, and left a host of friends behind, when he left old Fairfield.

Another is a prosperous man in Washington State. Two other daughters are happily married and live, one in Mattoon and one in Chicago, Illinois.

Fanny Ashbrook was born in Hampshire county, Virginia, January 3, 1804. She married Lewis Kagy, long a good farmer of Walnut township. They reared three beautiful daughters, and intelligent girls they were. Aaron Kagy, for years the great stock buyer of this county, was Lewis Kagy's son. Mary married Jacob Walters and lives at Webster City, Iowa. They had the misfortune to lose an only daughter by fire, her clothing having taken fire. Laura married James Church. Rebecca married first, Ben. Walters. She married again, this time to a wealthy farmer near Ottawa. Illinois. Mrs. Kagy died, aged 93 years.

The great sorrow of their lives was the loss of a dear boy, Aaron, at the assault upon Ft. Wagner. He sleeps in an unknown grave, no one in this county saw him fall or is able to tell anything about his death. David died, aged 65 years. Deborah died December. 1897.

Katherine Ashbrook was born March 26, 1814. She married Samuel Walters, a farmer of Walnut. She died October, 1891. Her children live in the West.

Amelia Ashbrook was born August 19, 1825. She married William Cherry, a farmer of Walnut. They were the parents of twelve children. She died November 2, 1877. The Cherry children are married, three or four live near the old home, the others in the West.

It is surprising to learn how the old families are locked together by marriage. The two Peters families, the Stevensons, Rebers, Rufifners, Leists, Aliens, Ashbrooks, Claypools and Shaws are bound together like an endless chain. The writer is indebted to Eli P. Ashbrook for information furnished.

The Ashbrooks were well posted politicians. When parties divided during President Jackson's term, they espoused the cause of the Whig party. They were ardent supporters of Gen. Harrison and Henry Clay. In 1848, the writer was present at a township Whig meeting held in Keller's school house. Tunis P. Ashbrook was president. At this meeting Uriah C. Rutter, then a young school teacher, was a speaker, and devoted his time to a defense of the tariff. He acquitted himself so well that the president requested him to prepare a speech for the next meeting.

In 1856 they became Republicans, and for the remainder of their lives gave their time, their means and influence to that party, conscientiously believing, that in that way, they were but serving their country. Their families were represented in the Union army by active, brave and intelligent young men - and while they were fighting the foe with undaunted courage, their fathers were active, patriotic supporters of the Government at home.

Captain Aaron P. Ashbrook returned in safety from the war, and was for many years a popular citizen and an active leading Republican of this county.

Jonathan and Martha (Thompson) Peters, came from Hampshire County, Virginia, in 1816, first stopping at the home of William Ashbrook, about a mile from the old homestead.

Jonathan Peters was a son of Tunis Peters, who lived in Hampshire County, Virginia. Tunis Peters' father and mother emigrated from Holland to the Shenandoah Valley, and raised a family there in the first half of the eighteenth century. Tunis' wife's maiden name being Francina Adams.

Tunis and Francina Peters reared a family of thirteen children in Virginia and emigrated to Pickaway County, Ohio, following their children after they had married.

Jonathan was one of the pioneer school teachers, living at the time - April 30, 1822 - near Millersport on what is now known as the Martha Henderson farm.

Jonathan's stay here was short, he having said that lie would not give a dollar an acre for such land as was about him. The experience of having to pen his cows in an enclosure to prevent them becoming mired in the swaley lands oi the community, was such that

A few years after living there, his father, Tunis Peters came from East Ringgold, Pickaway County, to visit him, and died September 24, 1826, at his home.

The ancestor of Mrs. Peters was John Thompson, who came from Ireland at the age of sixteen, as a stowaway, and upon his arrival at Baltimore he was sold for his transportation to the highest bidder. He afterward became a wealthy and respected farmer of Hampshire County, Virginia.

In 1844 Mrs. Peters died, leaving a large family of children. Jonathan again married, this time a widow Harmon, aunt of Dr. G. A. Harmon, of Lancaster, and mother of Amos T. Harmon, of Columbus, whom Peters reared to manhood.

In 1848 Jonathan agam moved to the place upon which he died, it being three miles east of Pleasantville, Ohio, and the place is yet known as the Jonathan Peters farm.

Philip Peters

Philip Peters married Mary Ashbrook and settled at a very early day in Walnut township, Fairfield County. He died and was buried in that township in 1817, near what is now Millersport. Their daughter, Mary, was born January 10, 1812. Left an orphan at five years, she was taken into the family of her uncle, Peter McGee. In February, 1834, she was married to John Pittsford, of Granville. They settled in Baltimore, where Pittsford was a merchant. Their daughter, Martha, who married Isaac PYickbone, was born in the brick house now owned by S. S. Weist in

In 1849 Mrs. Pittsford married Myron Merchant, who died m June, 1866. In October, 1868, she married Alfred Hatch, of Delaware, Ohio, who died in Miay, 187 1, leaving her a widow for the third time. Mrs. Hatch is still living, 89 years of age. The Peters stock were long-lived people.

Tunis Peters, Sr

Tunis Peters, sr., married Francina Adams, and they reared a family of 13 children in Hampshire county, Virginia. We have written briefly of Jonathan and Philip and will now mention others of the family. James Peters married his cousin, Nancy Peters, Samuel Peters married his cousin, Amelin Peters, Abigail Peters married Aaron Ashbrook, Deborah Peters married Michael Blue, Katie Peters married Reverend Eli Ashbrook, who moved to Licking County, Ohio; Tunis Peters, jr., married Eve Glaze and settled in Franklin County. The Peters Dash Company was owned by his sons, of Columbus, Ohio; Gersham Peters married Susan Glaze and settled in Franklin County ; Parmelia Peters married William Ashbrook and they settled in Amanda township, Fairfield County, Ohio; John Peters married Cynthia Biddle and settled in Pickaway County, Ohio; Absalom Peters married Phama Sarsher and settled near E. Ringgold, Pickaway County, Ohio.

The vShenndoah Valley, of Virginia, was settled largely by Pennsylvania people, both English and German speaking people. They emigrated from

Berks, Lancaster and York Counties, Pennsylvania. There were Mennonites, Dunkers and Primitive Baptists among- them. From the year 1806 to 1840, in almost every year many families came from that valley to Fairfield County. Samuel and Reverend John Wiseman, Abraham Winters, the Millers, Murphys, Ashbrooks, Beerys, Freeds and hundreds of other families all came from that splendid valley.

Of the many families referred to, none were larger or more highly respected than the Kagys. They were a hardy race, descended from hardy Swiss ancestors. But few of this large family now reside in Fairfield, for as the children grew to years of maturity, they married and either moved north to Seneca and Hancock Counties or to Marion, Cumberland and Effingham Counties, Illinois. This family produced many men of considerable prominence and ability, farmers, lawyers, doctors, ministers, teachers and merchants.

Rudolph Kagy, a native of Switzerland, came first to Pennsylvania. From there he moved to the valley ot Virginia, and lie was the founder of the family that came to the county in 1833 and settled in Rushcreek.

Christian Kagy

Son of Rudolph, the second, was born September 14, 1 77 1, in Pennsylvania, and went to Virginia in 1781. He was married to Mary Bibler in 1796; they were the parents of ten children. He moved to Fairfield County in 18 18 and died September 3, 1831.

Lewis B. Kagy once lived on the Goldthwait farm in Walnut township, and was the oldest son. He was born January 15, 1798. October 9, 1823, he married

Francina Ashbrook. He died May 12, 1872, in Illinois ; his wife lived to be 93 years of age and died in Illinois, April 2y, 1897. They were the parents of seven children.

Aaron was born April 2, 1826. He married Eliza Mauk, of Walnut township ; they now reside at McCool Junction, Nebraska. For five years, beginning in 1850, Aaron Kagy was the largest and busiest stock buyer in Ohio; he drove his cattle in lots of 100 to Baltimore, Maryland. He failed in 1854 and involved many of his friends. His father and father-in-law endorsed for him and their farms were sold to pay his debts.

Mary Kagy, the oldest daughter, was born May II, 1828. She married Jacob M. Walters and with him moved to the West ; she now lives, a widow, in Webster City, Iowa.

Laura C. was born March 19, 1832 ; she married James T. Church, son of Isaac Church, of Lancaster, and now lives, a widow, in Chicago, Illinois.

John M. Kagy was born April 8, 1834; he married Mary P. Beckwith. He has lived in many parts ot the West and now resides at Boseman, Montana.

Rebecca Kagy was born March 4, 1836. Her first husband was Benjamin Walters, brother of Jacob M., husband of Mary. Her second husband is Moab P. Trumbo, to whom she was married February 26, 1856. They reside on a fine farm near Ottawa, 111. The three daughters of Lewis B. Kagy are good women and exceptionally good looking. They were belles 01 Walnut township.

Francis Kagy, daughter of Christian, was born July 20, 1800, in Virginia. She married David Bretz, May 19, 1822, by Reverend Snellson. David Bretz was born in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, July 24, 1798. He was the son of Valentine and Elizabeth Bretz. Thev lived near the old home and reared ten children.

Valentine Bretz, married Sarah A. Telford, September 2"/, 1855. He died June 11, 1886, from the effects of a wound, received at the battle of Stone River. One of his sons, residing in Michigan, married a Stinchcomb.

Abraham B. Kagy, son of Christion, was born September 17, 1802. He married Sarah Hall, daughter of Daniel Hall, August 11, 1826. A. B. Kagy became a distinguished citizen of Findlay, Ohio, and later of Ewington, Efifingham county, Illinois.

Daniel Hall, son of A. B. Kagy. May 16, 1827, was the date of his birth. He enlisted in the Thirtyfifth Illinois in 1861, and died in the service of his country.

Benjamin F., son of A. B. Kagy, was born February 27, 1831. He married Martha J. Stams, February 6, 1853. He filled important positions of honor and trust in Effingham County, Illinois.

Barbara Kagy, daughter of Christian Kagy, was born in 1804. She married John Bretz in 1820. They were the parents of eleven children. Their son Christian was a soldier in the Mexican War. He served as a clerk in the State Department at Columbus, Ohio. Their son, Simon Peter, was a Union soldier.

Elizabeth Kagy, daughter of Christian, was born December 28, 1807. She married John Hall, son of Daniel, who came to Walnut township in 1804. They were married March 18, 1828.

Rebecca Kagy, daughter of Christian, was born November 16, 181 1. She was married to James A. Ashbrook, November 10, 1836. They were the parents of nine children, viz : Lewis K., John Monroe, Abigail Ann, Mary Catharine, Maria Amelia, Aaron Tunis, Francina Deborah, James Scott and Samuel Clinton.

Lewis K. married Cyntha Chism. John Monroe married Marj^aret Fuller. They reside near Humbolt, Illinois. Abigail Ann married Robert Groves. They are the parents of thirteen children. Mary Catharine married Joseph Vance Hill, June i6, 1861. They reside at Seward, Nebraska. Mary Amelia married Isaac Bowers, O'f Kansas.

Frances Deborah, was born April 6, 1849, i" Fairfield County, and was married to Lafayette Green, March 26, 1867. They now reside near Ottawa, Kansas.

James Scott married Almira Gray. Samuel Clinton was born June 17, 1854, in Fairfield County, Ohio. He married Sallie C. Brown December 23. 1875. He is now the postmaster at Humbolt, Illinois.

Samuel Kagy, son of Christian, was born January I, 1819, in Ohio. He married Hannah Baker, of Perry County, Ohio, February 6, 1840, and moved to Hancock County, Ohio.

Susan, (laughter of Christian, never married. l\u(lol])h Kag\-, lirother of Christian and Jacob, was born November 5, 1773. in Berks county, Pennsylvania, and moved with parents to Virginia, in 1781. He married Hannah Siple in 1796. From Rockingham County, Virginia, he moved to Fairfield County, Ohio, in 1 8 19. They were the parents of twelve children, viz: John, Jacob. Christian, Abraham, Catharine, Barbara, Hannah. Elizabeth. Mary, Rudolph, Henry and Doctor Martin Kagy. Rudolph, sr., died August 5, 1829. His wife died November 21, 1871.

John was born January ly, 1797. December 3, 1820, he married Catharine Hite. They first moved to Seneca County, Ohio, in 1827, and from there to Marion County, IlHnois, where both died at an advanced age. John Kagy was a man of abihty and high character. He reared a family of ten children. His son, Dr. John Kagy, was a distinguished citizen of Seneca County, Ohio.

John Benjamin, son of John, was born January 9, 1830. In i860 he moved to Salem, Illinois. He studied law with Judge Silas L. Bryan, father of William J. Bryan, and became his partner. He married Marietta Black, a native of New York state. They were parents of eleven children.

Levi M. Kagy, son of David Kagy and grandson of John, is a lawyer of ability at Salem, Illinois. Levi D. Kagy, son of John, was born October 24, 1838. He was at one time elected auditor of Seneca County. He married Frances Ann Lamberton, and they now reside in Fostoria, Ohio.

Christian Kagy, son of Rudolph, married Ann Hite, daughter of John Hite, and moved to Marion County, Illinois. They were the parents of twelve children.

Elizabeth, their eldest child, was born November 19, 1826. She married Samuel E. Stevenson, May 18, 1848, and they moved to Marion County, Illinois, where Stevenson became a wealthy and prominent farmer.

John Hite Kagy, son of Christian and Anna Hite Kagy, married Hannah J. Furry, October 9, 1859. Lewis Hite Kagy was a farmer of Marion County, Illinois.

Hannah, daughter of Christian and Anna Kagy, was born May 24, 1838. She married Noah R. Stevenson, son of Mordecai. The writer remembers Noah as one of his pupils at the Snake Run schoolhouse in 1849.

Abraham Kag-y, son of Rudolph, brother of Christian and Jacob, was born December 23, 1803 ; he married Barbara Pugh, December 27, 1823. They were the parents of fifteen children. They moved at an early day to Seneca County, Ohio.

Catherine Kagy, daughter of Rudolph, was born in 1805 ; she married Andrew Hite in 1826. They were the parents of thirteen children ; this large family moved at an early day to Marion County, Illinois.

Barbara Kagy, daughter of Rudolph, was born November 10, 1807; she married Lewis Seitz, August 24, 1823, and moved to Seneca County, Ohio. They were the parents of fourteen children.

The Honorable John Seitz was one of their children ; he was born in Seneca County, Ohio ; he married Cecelia J. Hite, of Marion County, Ohio.

John Seitz was a reader and a man of ability ; he served in both branches of the Ohio Legislature and was in 1880 the Greenback candidate for Governor of Ohio. He obtained notoriety and was well known to all Ohio politicians. Two daughters of Lewis Seitz married into the Bretz family of Seneca Coimty.

Hannah Kagy, daughter of Rudolph, was born in 1 81 2, in Virginia. She married John Crooks, of Berne township, this county ; the}- were the parents of nine children. Hannah died at the age of 42 }ears and John Crooks in 1895 at the age of 92 years.

EHzabeth, daughter of Rudolph Kagy, was born in 1813. She married John Beaver. One of their daughters married Edward Turner, of Richland township, and they were the parents of eleven children.

Doctor Martin Kagy was the sevenih son and youngest child of Rudolph Kagy; he was born August 20, 1825; he married Christena A\'alters. He was a teacher and studied medicine : he practiced medicine a year or two, and was then elected clerk of the Common Pleas Court, Fairfield County. This ended his career as a i)hysician and politics spoiled what might nthcrwise have been a useful and profitable career. He died August 24, 1898. With this we close the sketch of Rudolph and Hanna Siple Kagy.

Jacob Kagy, son of Rudolph second, of Virginia, and brother of Christian and Rudolph, was born November 3, 1776, in Shenandoah County, Virginia; he married Rebecca Bibler, a sister of Christian's wife, April, 1810; he came with his family to Fairfield County, and settled in Walnut township in the year

Barbara was born August 23, 1812; she married Daniel Rinehart, of Walnut, in January, 1837. They were the parents of six children. Daniel Rinehart moved about 1840 to Effingham County, Illinois, wdiere he became a prominent merchant and a popular and useful citizen. Three of his sons are men of prominence and two of them lawyers.

John Kagy was born September 15, 1844; his first wife was Isabelle Stevenson; his second wife was Mary Jane Camp. Late in life he moved to Marion County, Illinois, where he died November 22, 1878. He left seven children.

Jerretha Kagy was born July 1, 1824, and married David Grove, September 2, 1851. They were the parents of eight children. She died November 5, 1895.

Jacob Kagy was all of liis life one of the best men of \\'alnut lownsliip; he was one of the pillars of the Primitive T.aptist church. liis memory is precious to all who knew him. Hicre are but few of the names of Kagy, Bretz, Spitler and Ashbrook remaining in this county, but Seneca County, Hancock County, Ohio, Effingham County, Illinois, and Marion County, Illinois, gained what Fairfield lost, viz., hundreds of good citizens, men of character and ability.

ginia, came to Fairfield County, in 1833, and settled in Rushcrcck township. He was born December 13, 1795, and in 1824 he married Barbara Blosser. By this marriage he had one dauiihter, Barbara. His first wife died soon after their marriage and in 1827 he was again married to Barbara Hoffman. By this marriage six children were born to him, viz. : Rudolph, Frederick, Franklin, David, John and Christian C.

Rndolph Kagy, the eldest son of Christian R. Kagy, was born October 27, 1828, in Page County, Virginia, and married Annie Alexander, May 19, 1857, a sister of Mrs. Robert J. Black. Two children were born to this couple. Nettie T. Kagy, born February 2T, i86r. She was educated at the Pleasantville Academy and a( the Female Seminary, Oxford. Ohio. She was married to John .\. Gravett, of Lancaster, Ohio, December 5, t888. They reside at Salida, Colorado.