WILLIAM HAMILTON
emigrated from Washington County, Pennsylvania, to Perry
Township, in the fall of 1820 - having previously purchased, of
his brother Hugh, the northeast quarter of section 3, in
said township. His family were composed of his wife and
seven children - the only survivor of whom, now residing in
Perry Township, in Mrs. Mary J., wife of John A.
Campbell.
Mrs. Hamilton died in October, 1850, at the age of
seventy-three years. Hugh Hamilton, Esq., of
Lafayette, born September, 1821, in Perry, is the only son of
William Hamilton now a resident of the township.
Ancient Fortifications and Mounds in Jackson and Perry
Townships.
Upon the land in Jackson Township, now owned
by John M. Livingston and John Ramsey, about a
mile northeast of Lafayette, are the remains of what is supposed
to have been an ancient fortification. This work is
located on the western side of an elevated ridge, but its
eastern line reaches the summit. Its shape
is quadrangular. Before the timber was cleared by the race
no occupying it, its outlines could be distinctly traced, but
the plow has nearly obliterated them. The oak timber which
was found growing upon its sides was equal in dimensions to any
in the surrounding forests. When the ground
was yet in its wild state, only twelve years since, the
embankment was about eight feet at its base and eighteen inches
in height, these dimensions being very regular. The area
was about one and a half acres. Within the incluosure of
the fort, about twenty-five years since, John H. Hamilton
found a hard flint stone, highly polished surface, five inches
in length, two inches at the base, and one and a half inches at
the point. The center was encircled by a groove, in which
he could bury the point of his finger.
Two ancient mounds also existed in Perry
Township, on the farm originally entered by Hugh Hamilton.
They were about thirty feet distant from each other, and
occupied the summit of a hill. The largest was eighteen
feet in diameter at its base, and rises four feet above the
natural surface. This one still remains
undisturbed, with the exception of having been cleared of its
timbers. The smaller one was about twelve feet in diameter
at its base, and was elevated about three feet above the natural
surface. There were no indications that the earth of which
these mounds were composed had been taken from the immediate
vicinity of their location.
Some thirty years ago, when William Hamilton was
excavating the earth for his cellar, the western side embraced
the ground occupied by about one-half of the smaller mound.
After the earth had been removed down to the natural surface,
the remains of some wood, supposed to be a root, were
discovered; continuing, however, the excavation, it proved to be
a shaft of timber that had been placed perpendicularly below the
surface. Following down the decayed wood, the men reached
a quantity of coarse but pure sand, and a few inches below this
a human skeleton; and yet below this two other skeletons, also
imbedded in sand. The wood, from the point where it
entered then sand, was found to be in a good condition of
preservation. The bones of the skeleton were remarkably
well preserved, including the teeth and the most delicate
portions of those belonging to the fingers and toes. A few
hours' exposure to the atmosphere dissolved all except the
larger bones. One of the skeletons indicated that it had
belonged to a person of immense size. James McMeeken,
the largest man in the neighborhood, weighing over two hundred
pounds, and having a remarkably full face, would pass the lower
jaw of this skeleton over his own countenance without any
difficulty. The end of the shaft referred to terminated at
the depth of the lower part of the last skeleton. It had
been dressed so as to present three sides, and the marks of the
edged instrument used in dressing it were clearly visible.
There were also imbedded in the sand, about a pint of a powdered
substance, resembling Spanish brown paint; also a polished
stone, about six inches in length, one inch in width, and half
an inch in thickness - the sides and ends being rounded off.
This stone was afterward used to sharpen a Dutch scythe, by
Mr. Oner, a revolutionary soldier, and a resident, up to the
time of this death, on teh farm now owned by William
Patterson.
Source: History of Ashland County, Ohio - publ. 1863 - Page 462 |
|
Mifflin Twp.
(Formerly the town of Petersburg)
DANIEL HARLAN, SEN., an emigrant
from Virginia, removed to Mifflin Township, with his family, in
April, 1815. Died in 1824, at the age of 53.
(
Source *2: History of Ashland County, Ohio - publ. 1863 - Page
534) |
Vermillion Twp. -
WILLIAM HARPER, an emigrant from Jefferson
County, Ohio, entered the southwest quarter of section 10,
township 21 (Vermillion,) in June, 1815. The residents of
the township at that date were Samuel Bolter, George
Ackley, Jonathan Palmer, Robert Finley, William Black, George
McClure,,,,,,,,, Samuel Hunt, and James Walters, (the
latter acting as justice of the peace.)
The names of the sons and daughters of William
Harper, were John Nancy, Henry, Mary, Sarah, Sophia,
and Elizabeth.
The nearest mill at this time was Shrimplin's,
on Owl Creek. The trip occupied from four to six days, and
was made with four horses and a wagon, which would carry from
forty-to fifty bushels.
There was no wheat raised or for sale in the county at
this time. Corn would bring eighty and one hundred cents.
The animal food was principally venison and other wild game.
About 1819 and 1820 the county began to raise a surplus of
agricultural products, and from this time forward the completion
of the Ohio Canal, produce would hardly bear transportation to
the market, (which was then Sandusky City.) Mr. Harper
on one occasion took a load of flour to market and exchanged his
flour for salt, giving two barrels of flour and half a dollar in
cash for each barrel of salt. The first substantial
encouragement given the farming and industrial interests was the
market afforded by the completion of the Ohio Canal to
Massillon; but the construction of the ship canal from the mouth
of Huron River to Milan made a yet better market than Massillon,
and effected a change in the course of trade. The railroad
system, however, greatly injured Massillon, and almost destroyed
its trade.
William was killed by the running away of his
team near Plymouth, Ohio, about 1831. John now
occupies the old homestead. Nancy is the wife of
Joseph Sheets. Mary is the wife of Joseph
Strickland - all residents of Vermillion Township.
Henry resides in Medina County, Ohio. Sarah
is the wife of John Cole, and resides in
Indiana. Sophia is the wife of John Hall, of
Vermillion Township; and Elizabeth married Charles
Reed, and resides in Michigan.
Source: History of Ashland County, Ohio - publ. 1863 - Page 280 |
ISAAC
HARVOUT emigrated from Chester County, Pennsylvania, and
commenced life upon the land which he has since improved and
upon which he now resides, in October, 1819. His family at
this time consisted of his wife and four children, namely:
Julia A., Rebecca, Mary, and Rachel. His
farm originally consisted of one hundred acres in section 16.
Source: History of Ashland County, Ohio - publ. 1863 - Page
161 - Clearcreek Twp. |
| JOSEPH
HARVUOT was born in Chester county, Pennsylvania, in
1792. In 1818 he married Lydia Bruce, and
removed to Clearcreek, Richland county, Ohio, in the spring of
1820, and located on section twenty-five, where he resided until
his decease in 1843. He was a member of the Disciple church, and
an elder. His family, at his decease, consisted of Isaac,
Anne, Richard, Elizabeth, Lewis,
Sarah, Joseph, and Mary, by his first wife, and
William, by his second wife, having been twice married. The
only member of the family left in Clearcreek is Isaac. Isaac is a
dealer in money, and is accumulating a fortune. He is married, and
resides in Savannah. |
| NATHANIEL
HASKELL was born in Windsor county, Vermont, October
3, 1792. He emigrated to Ohio in 1817, and located in
Cleveland. In July, 1818, he removed to Wooster, Wayne
county, where he remained three years, and located in Loudonville,
Richland, now Ashland county. Soon after his arrival, he
erected a carding-machine and fulling mill, which for several
years was a great neighborhood convenience. In April, 1823,
he married Hettia A. Skinner, the daughter of a pioneer,
who erected the first grist-mill in the vicinity of Loudonville.
Mr. Haskell was a thrifty business man and
accumulated property quite rapidly. He laid out an addition
to Loudonville, and, by his business energy and strict integrity,
contributed to the growth of the town. He was long engaged
in the mercantile business, and possessed tact and energy in its
management. He took a deep interest in the school system of
Ohio, and was always liberal in forwarding the interest of
education. He was, for many years, an active member of the
Masonic fraternity, and noted for his genial disposition and love
for that ancient order. In his later years - 1868 - he
became the principal stockholder and owner of the Haskell
bank of Loudonville, which was an institution of deposit and
exchange, and was managed by him. In 1855 his excellent wife
deceased. September 30, 1871, Mr. Haskell deceased,
leaving his bank interest to a nephew, he having died childless.
The institution was conducted by the nephew until 1875, when he
deceased. |
Mifflin Twp.
(Formerly the town of Petersburg)
BENJAMIN HERSHEY, emigrated from Lancaster
County, Pennsylvania, in October, 1825, and settled upon the
southwest quarter of section 31, Montgomery Township; being land
that he had purchased the year previous. A year or two
subsequent he purchased, of Andrew Newman, the mill
property on the Black Fork, owners, the Messrs. Stayman.
(
Source *2: History of Ashland County, Ohio - publ. 1863 - Page
534) |
J. M. HEYDE, M. D., of Loudonville, is
outstanding as one of the leading physicians and surgeons of
Ashland County, and is a veteran of the World War. He was
born in Holmes Count, Ohio, Sept. 1, 1878, the son of John H.
and Rachel (Parsons) Heyde.
The Heyde family is of French origin, having
come to the United States from Alsace-Lorraine. The
great-grandfather of J. M. Heyde, Jacob Henry
Heyde, served for a period of five years with Napoleon, and
was with him at the Battle of Waterloo.
John H. Heyde is a native of Homes County, and
was a prominent resident of that section for many years. He
served as a member of the General Assembly from 1894 until 1898,
and has been a lifelong Democrat. Until his recent
retirement he wa numbered among the most prosperous farmers of
Holmes County. He is now a resident of Ashland subject of
this sketch; Charles F., farmer lives in Ashland County;
Rev. Amos L., lives at Logan, Ohio; and John H., Jr.,
lives at Shelby, Ohio.
J. M. Heyde spent his boyhood on his father's
farm in Knox Township, Holmes County, and attended the rural
schools. He spent to years at Ohio State University, after
which he entered Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia. He
received the degree of Doctor of Medicine in 1900, spent the
following six years in practice at Walnut Creek, Holmes County,
and was located for one year at Lucas, Richland County. He
then established offices in Loudonville in 1911, where he has met
with marked success as a physician and surgeon. Doctor
Heyde has taken graduate work in medicine at the Illinois Post
Graduate School, Chicago, and in 1930 spent four months studying
in clinics throughout Germany, Austria, Italy and France. He
is former president of the Ashland County Medical Society, and an
active member of the Ohio State Medical Society, and American
Medical Association. He is also a member of the staff of
Samaritan Hospital, Ashland.
In July, 1917, Doctor Heyde enlisted for service in the
World War and received the commission of first lieutenant, U. S.
Medical Corps, being attached to the 33rd Ambulance Unit at Camp
Taylor, Ky. Early in 1918 he was promoted to the rank of
captain and served as medical officer of Ambulance Company Nos.
351 and 53. He was discharged from the service in March,
1919, and resumed his practice in Loudonville.
In 1901 Doctor Heyde was united in marriage with
Miss Jeanette Smith, of Loudonville, the daughter of
Jacob and Emma (Long) Smith, who were born in Lake
Township, Ashland County, The former died in 1917 and the latter
lives in Loudonville. Doctor and Mrs. Heyde
have a son, Edward C., born in 1911. Hi is a graduate
of Loudonville High School, class of 1928, and now attends Wooster
College, where he is preparing himself for the study of medicine.
Doctor Heyde is affiliated with Loudonville
Lodge, F. & A. M., 32nd degree, and belongs to the Knights of
Pythias, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and Rotary Club.
He has been president of the Loudonville school board since 1928,
and a member of the board since 1927.
Doctor Heyde is particularly
interested in the history of Loudonville and Ashland County, and
was the author of the centennial history of the city of
Loudonville, published in 1914. |
JACOB
HIFFNER, JR., emigrated with his family, consisting of
his wife and three daughters, from Franklin County, Pennsylvania
to Orange township, in November, 1817, and during the same year
purchased of John Mackerell the southwest quarter of
section 14 - being the land upon which he yet resides.
Four families from Pennsylvania traveled in company, and settled
in Orange Township at the same time, namely, those of his
father, Jacob Hiffner, Sr., of his brother, Frederick
Hiffner, and of his brother-in-law, Ridenour.
His First Year's Experience:
Mr. Hiffner erected a
temporary cabin upon the land of his father, which afforded
shelter for his family during the winter of 1817-18. In
the mean time he had constructed a rude cabin upon his own
place, and in April, 1818, removed his family and scanty stock
of household effects into it, and engaged in the improvement of
his land. When he commenced housekeeping, his cabin was
without a door, chimney, or floor - the fire being made upon the
ground in the center of the cabin, and the smoke finding its way
out chiefly through an open place in one end of the roof
designed for the future chimney of the cabin. Mr.
Hiffner avers that the best pone he ever eat was made of
soft and rotten corn, purchased at Stibb's mill, and
eaten with an appetite sharpened by a long fast and severe
bodily toil. Being skilled in the use of the rifle, his
family never suffered for want of venison or other wild meat.
Good breadstuffs, however, were not in the country, and the most
miserable quality, which the swine of this day would reject,
could only be obtained a a great distance, and at one dollar per
bushel. His severest trials passed away with the first
year. Since that time his industry ahs been amply
rewarded, as has been the case with most of the pioneers who yet
survive in Orange Township; he now approaches the close of his
seventy-seventh year, in vigorous health and blessed in all the
comforts that belong to an earthly home.
Source: History of Ashland Co., Ohio - Publ. 1863. - Page 519 |
CALVIN
HILL, an emigrant from Vermont, purchased, in November,
1811, the and in Green Township, which subsequently became his
homestead for many years. This farm is now the property of
G. W. Carey, Esq. His nearest neighbors were
Captain Ebenizer Rice, (father of Alexander Rice, who
lived on the place now occupied by the latter;) Joseph Jones,
(who owned the farm upon which now resides John Taylor;)
Judge Thomas Coulter, (who lived upon the quarter
directly south of Charles Tannehill;) Lewis Hill,
(who resided immediately below what is now the town of
Perryville;) Solomon Hill, (who resided immediately above
said town;) Moses Adzit son-in-law of Solomon Hill,
(and who resided upon the place of his father-in-law;) Melzer
Tannehill, (whose farm adjoined Judge Coulter's on
the east;) Lewis Oliver, (whose farm was directly east of
Charles Tannehill;) and Jeremiah Conine, (whose
farm was east of Melzer Tannehill's;) Sylvester Fisher,
(whose land joined Mr. Rice's on the northwest;) - these
were the neighbors of Mr. Hill.
Source: History of Ashland Co., Ohio - Publ. 1863. - Page 325 |
GEORGE WILLIAM HILL, of
Ashland, was born in Marshall county, Virginia, April 22, 1823.
His ancestors were Scotch-Irish. His great-grandfather
settled in the Shenandoah valley, Virginia, in about the year
1750. His grandfather Edward Hill, settled about
four miles west of Mt. Pleasant, in Westmoreland county,
Pennsylvania, in the year 1794, a region prior to that time
claimed as a part of the territory of Virginia, where John
Hill, father of George W. Hill, was born in 1801.
In the fall of 1822 John Hill located in Marshall county,
Virginia, where he married Catharine Grandstaff, of
German descent, and where George William Hill, their
first child, was born. In 1824 John Hill removed to
Richhill township, Muskingum county, Ohio, on the head waters of
Wills creek, then a wild and sparsely settled region. In
1830, he removed to near Brownsville, in Licking county, where
he remained until 1834, and then located near Hartford, in the
same county, in the midst of the forest of that region, where
deer and other game could be seen almost daily ranging through
the deep woods, and commenced to prepare a new home. After
making some improvements upon his farm, he sold it and again
located near Newark in 1836, and in September of the same year
his wife deceased and was buried in the old cemetery of Newark.
John Hill then returned with his children, seven in
number, to Richhill, in Muskingum county. In March, 1840,
while engaged in business, John Hill died at Providence
City, in the Maumee region. In 1842 the administrator of
his estate became a bankrupt, and took the benefit of that law,
and the children of John HIll were left penniless, owning
to the defects of the administration laws of the State at that
time. Without money and in the possession of a few books,
having a limited common school education, the subject of this
sketch apprenticed himself to learn the trade of a tanner, and
served about three years, on the principle that every young man
should have a trade or occupation to warrant success in life.
In 1845 he entered Ashland academy, then under the
superintendence of the lamented Lorin Andrews, one of the
most successful instructors in Ohio, and who afterwards became
president of Kenyon college, in Knox county, Ohio. Mr.
Hill remained at that school three years, paying his way by
working nights, mornings, and during vacations. In 1848 he
became deputy for the auditor and treasurer, and remained in the
county offices until 1851. In 1850, having read law at
nights after office hours, he was admitted to the bar as a
practicing attorney. In 1852 he was principal of
Loudonville academy, which position he held until failing health
compelled him to resign. In 1853-4 he was official
reporter for the Ohio senate. In August, 1854, he was
appointed a deputy in the office of the State auditor, that
office being presided over by Hon. William D. Morgan, now
of Newark, Ohio. In Nov., 1855, he was appointed to a
first-class clerkship in the treasury of the United States.
In 1859, he graduated in medicine in the medical department of
Georgetown college, District of Columbia, lecture hours
occurring after office hours in the treasury, thus enabling him
to attend lectures without losing time. In July, 1861, he
was at teh first battle of Bull Run, as a volunteer surgeon.
In January, 1862, he returned to Ashland, Ohio, and entered upon
the practice of Medicine, and continued in that profession until
the fall of 1867. In 1862 he was elected prosecuting
attorney of Ashland county, and was re-elected in 1864. In
the winter of 1868-9, he was official reporter of the house of
representatives of Ohio. In April, 1868, he purchased the
Ashland Union, the Democratic organ of the county, and
changed its name to The States and Union. He
continued to edit said paper until August, 1872, when, differing
with his party on the policy of nominating Horace Greeley
for President, he sold said upper.
In 1872 he was a delegate from the fourteenth district
to the Baltimore convention, but refused to act with his
delegation as to the time-serving policy of selecting a
candidate from the ranks of the Republican party to head the
National Democratic ticket for President. In disgust he
retired, selling to men who thought they sacrificed no principle
in advocating the claims of Greeley for President, although he
had often stated in Tribune, that he "would not say that
every Democrat was a horse thief, but would say that every horse
thief turned out to be a Democrat." The people of
the United States refused to sustain his nomination, and defeat
and disaster overtook the old man, and from
disappointment, he soon became a hopeless wreck, and died.
Such is the end of ambitious and ill-balanced men! In the
spring of 1873, Mr. Hill was elected a member of the Ohio
Constitutional convention held at the cities of Columbus and
Cincinnati in the summer of 1873 and winter of 1874.and served
upon several committees int he convention, and was chairman of
the committee of accounts and expenses. He made a number
of speeches, all of which are printed in the volumes of the
debates. He was active in opposing all schemes to deplete
the treasury, and increase the burthens of the people, and
finally voted against the constitution, feeling convinced that
it was not what the people wished. On the fourth of July,
1876, at a town meeting, the people selected him to deliver the
Centennial address for Ashland county. A large assemblage
of people was present to hear the address, which was published
in both the county papers. In 1875-6-7-8 he wrote the
sketches of Marion, Wyandot and Allen counties, with a full
history of the ancient Wyandotts, Delawares and
Shawnees, including their final removal west. In
1880 he finished, for publication, the history of Ashland
county.
Mr. Hill married Miss Rebecca Draper,
daughter of John Draper, formerly from near Boston,
Massachusetts, May 17, 1850. His family consists of three
children: Margaret Amanda, Ida Rena and William Duane
Hill all of age.
Source: History of Ashland County, Ohio with Illustrations and
Biographical Sketches, by George William Hill, M.D. - Published
by Williams Bros. 1880. |
JOHN HOUGH,
born in Frederick County, Maryland, removed to Montgomery
Township in 1823. In the following year, he purchased of
Benjamin Byers, of Wayne County, the quarter section upon
which he has since resided. When he removed to the county
his family consisted of his wife and eight children only
three of whom now survive, namely, John and William
and Mrs. Mary Eichelbarger.
The town of Ashland, at the period of his arrival,
contained not more than half a dozen families, while Jeromeville
was quite a flourishing town.
Source: History of Ashland Co., Ohio - Publ. 1863. - Page 195 |
| PETER HUFF
was born in Virginia, December 25, 1798, and when a child
accompanied his parents to Beaver county, Pennsylvania, where he
remained until 1825, when he came west and located in Lake
township. He settled on the west side of Lake fork in the
forest, and soon erected a cabin and began to improve his land.
Those residing on the west side of the stream were George
Marks, John C. Young, John Emerick, Enoch Covert, Abraham Blue,
Jabez Smith, Emer Akins, and Nathan Dolby. Mr. Huff
has a fine property south of Mohicanville. He is
quite vigorous and retains all his faculties. He has two
sons, Samuel and William. The former resides
in Mohicanville and carries on a large woollen manufactory, and
the latter resides on the homestead. Mr. Huff stays
with his son. |
ABRAHAM HUFFMAN
emigrated from Virginia, in 1816, and purchased of his brother
Jacob the farm now owned by William Smyth, and
removed to it in 1819. This farm he improved and resided
upon until the year 1837, when he sold it to John Musser,
and purchased of Elias Ford the farm upon which he now
resides. When he came to the country, the family of Mr.
Huffman consisted of his wife and two sons, Benjamin
and Samuel.
Source: History of Ashland County, Ohio - publ. 1863 - Page 161
- Clearcreek Twp. - Page 161 |
| ABRAHAM
HUFFMAN was born in Brooke county, Virginia, November 19,
1785. In 1813 he enlisted with the Brooke county soldiers to
serve in the northwest part of Ohio; but before seeing active
service the war closed. He entered the east half of section
thirty-one, in Clearcreek township, Richland county, in the
spring of 1815, and came on with a hand and erected a small open
cabin, and returned about the middle of the summer, after having
prepared a few acres of new ground for corn, and brought his
family. His was among the first families who located in
Clearcreek - the families of Robert McBeth, James Haney, John
and Richard Freeborn, and William Shaw having
arrived about the same time. When Mr. Huffman first
landed he found large numbers of Delaware and Wyandot Indians
encamped along the stream, engaged in hunting and trapping.
After a few weeks they returned to Sandusky. In the fall
they came on again. A large and well worn trail passed near
his cabin. The hunters passed up and down this trail on
their way to Wooster and Pittsburgh, on their trips to exchange
furs and peltry for lead, powder, tomahawks, knives, clothing, and
"white men's fire-water." There were two burial spots on the
farm of Mr. Huffman, one near the modern site of his barn,
and where one Mr. Mykrants erected a residence, east of the
Savannah road. In their hunting excursions along the streams
of Clearcreek, they frequently stopped at these cemeteries, and
seemed to mourn the departed. Mr. Huffman was careful
not to disturb the last sleeping place of their braves. It
was his custom to feed the Indians when they called at his cabin,
and by doing so he won their esteem. They never disturbed
him, although they passed in large numbers until about 1822.
Mr. Huffman was a large, energetic and thorough-going man.
His land contained a splendid sugar camp, and the second year he
made enough sugar to complete his payments on his farm. It
sold at the trading points at eighteen cents per pound, in cash.
For three or four years his toil was constant, for, when not
engaged in leveling the forests on his own premises, his services
were freely given to aid his neighbors in erecting cabins, rolling
logs and the like. The timber of the native forests of
Clearcreek was very dense and exceedingly tall. To prepare
fields for tillage, therefore, required much hard labor and toil
for a number of years. Mr. Huffman, in his prime,
possessed uncommon endurance. In a few years he had a model
farm, and was surrounded by all the comforts of the thrifty
agriculturist. He resided on his homestead until his family
had grown up and became somewhat scattered. He had been
foremost in encouraging the common schools of the township, in
erecting public highways and in support of houses of worship.
He was always ready to aid the needy, and was the foe of every
species of vice. In his intercourse with his neighbors, he
was frank and outspoken. He was an active member and
official of the Methodist Episcopal church for over fifty years.
He removed to Ashland in 1848, disposing of his farm, and died
October 19, 1860, at the age of seventy-five years. Mrs.
Huffman died in 1862, aged seventy-three years. The
family consisted of Zachariah, Susan, Abraham, Benjamin, John,
William, Mary Ann, Sarah Jane, Daniel and Perrin,
Zachariah, Abraham, John, William and Sarah are dead,
and the balance of the family are very much scattered. |
DANIEL
HUFFMAN emigrated from Brook County, Virginia, to the
east half of section 31, Clearcreek Township, with his wife and
children, Zachariah, Susan, and Abram, in the
spring of 1815. He entered his land at the United States
Land Office. His second crop of maple sugar he sold at
Wooster, for eighteen cents per pound, cash - a remarkably
fortunate sale for those times.
Mr. Huffman improved his farm and continued upon
it until 1848, when he removed to Ashland, where he died on the
19th of October, 1860, at the age of seventy-five years.
Benjamin, John, William, Mary Ann, Sarah Jane,
Daniel, and Perrin C. were born in Clearcreek
Township
Benjamin Huffman, who has resided the last
twenty years upon the farm adjoining the old homestead, is the
only one of the sons now residing in the county.
Source: History of Ashland County, Ohio - publ. 1863 - Page 161 |
ANDREW
HUMPHREY removed with his family, consisting of
his wife and four children, to Green Township, in the year 1824.
He emigrated from Champaign County, Ohio. The previous
year he had purchased the half section now owned and occupied by
his son, William Humphrey. He died in 1850, at the
age of sixty. William and John Humphrey both
residing in Green Township, are the only surviving members of
the family. The north part of the township, when Mr.
Humphrey removed to it was an unbroken wilderness - now
house between him and Mohicanville and Hayesville, and only one
or two between him and Perrysville.
Source: History of Ashland County, Ohio - publ. 1863 - Page 325 |
ANDREW
HUMPHREY, born in Ireland, came to America when only
twelve years old, and afterward married Mary Humphrey of
Erie, Pennsylvania. He came to Ashland county in 1824, and
first settled on the farm now owned by William Humphrey.
He was a shoemaker by trade, but in the latter part of his
life was engaged in farming. He was a member of the
Disciple church, and in politics was a Democrat. He was
the father of ten children, six of whom are living: William
who married Nancy McIlvaine; Rebecca, wife of
Lewis Patterson, of Missouri; Nancy, wife of
Alexander McS___; Catharine, wife of John Ramsey,
of Iowa; John, who married Rebecca Toney, and
lives in Ashland county, Ohio; and Jane, wife of James
Laird.
(Source: History of Ashland County, Ohio with Illustrations and
Biographical Sketches, by George William Hill, M.D. - Published
by Williams Bros. 1880. - Page 282) |
ROBERT
R. HUMPHREY, born in Ashland county, Ohio, in
1851, was engaged in farming and school teaching until 1874,
when in company with J. R. Swartz, he purchased A. D.
Simmerman's stock of dry goods, groceries and notions in
Perrysville, and continued in partnership until 1878, when he
purchased Swartz's share, and still continues business
under the firm name of Humphrey & Son Apr. 14,
1880, their store and nearly their entire stock was destroyed by
fire, but they immediately erected a temporary building
adjoining their old stand, bought a new stock of goods, and
still continue in business. They deal largely in country
produce; their sales in all amounting to between twenty-five
thousand and thirty thousand dollars per annum. In 1878 he
married Jennie E. Wallace, and they have one child,
Clyde.
(Source: History of Ashland County, Ohio with Illustrations and
Biographical Sketches, by George William Hill, M.D. - Published
by Williams Bros. 1880. - Page 282) |
WILLIAM
HUMPHREY, born in Mifflin county, Pennsylvania, in 1814,
came to Ohio with his father, and in 1842 married Mary
McIlvaine. He is engaged in farming, and also in the
dry goods business in Perrysville, and has the largest vineyard
in Green township. He has held the office of trustee,
clerk and treasurer for a number of years, and is an honored and
respected member of society. He has eight children, viz.:
James A., who married Mary Wachel, and lives in
Ashland County; Mary, wife of Benjamin Fry, of
Ashland county; Annie; Robert, who married
Jennie Wallace, and lives in Ashland county; William,
Jane, Sadie and Hattie.
(Source: History of Ashland County, Ohio with Illustrations and
Biographical Sketches, by George William Hill, M.D. - Published
by Williams Bros. 1880. - Page 282) |
WILLIAM
HUNTER, an emigrant from Westmoreland County,
Pennsylvania, removed with his family, consisting of his wife
and eight children, to Green Township, in March, 1818, and
commenced improvement upon the north half of section 26.
He originally emigrated from Ireland, and was an officer in the
Federal service against the insurgents in the "whisky
insurrection."
He died on the 17th of January, 1819, at the age of
forty-seven. He had been to the mill at Newville, and on
his return his family discovered, from an unusual appearance in
his features, that he was ill. He remarried to his family,
"Faith, childers, I believe I am poisoned," and laid himself
down before the broad fireplace, so close to the embers of the
hearth that his feet were partly imbedded in the warm ashes.
His trembling limbs created a great dust, which, added to his
chattering teeth, despite their warm sympathy for their father's
affliction, provoked mirth from the little ones. This
demonstration so annoyed the sufferer, that he raised himself
up, and demanded to know whether they had "no better manners
than to laugh at the miseries of a dying man," and made an
effort to give the children "a brush." His attack proved
to be a hard ague chill - the first of which he or his family
had any experience - and which, in about three months, resulted
in his death.
Of his sons, David, James, William and John
yet reside in Green Township.
About two years after the death of
the elder Mr. Hunter, his widow died, leaving a family of
nine orphan children - the eldest boy being between sixteen and
seventeen years of age, and the youngest only fourteen months.
This young family, in a new and wild country, struggled with the
privations that beset them, and remained together (with the
exception of two sisters, who married) until David, the
senior brother, attained the age of twenty-seven years. On
the third morning after the death of the widow, the youngest
child rose and, approaching the bed formerly occupied by his
mother, called upon her in piteous terms to receive him - an
incident which opened afresh the fountains of grief in the elder
members of the family.
How David Hunter obtained his first Fruit
Trees.
Some years after the death of his parents, David
Hunter, on his way to Mansfield to pay his tax, met, for the
first time, with Johnny Appleseed. The two sat down
upon a log and engaged in conversation- Hunter dividing
with his new acquaintance the first cakes he had taken with him
to sustain himself on his journey. Johnny inquired
into the circumstances of Hunter's family, where he
lived, etc., and receiving answers, advised the young man that
he should not delay in obtaining and transplanting trees for an
orchard. Hunter stated that he was too poor to pay
for the trees. His new friends rejoined that he could
supply him with fifty or sixty trees, and that as to the
question of pay, it was a matter of no moment whether they were
ever paid for. He then told Hunter to call
upon his brother-in-law, William Broom, (who lived upon
the farm now owned by William Cowan, Esq.) and obtain the
trees. He did so, and from this beginning, has made
additions until now he has orchards numbering over six
hundred fruit trees.
Source: History of Ashland County, Ohio - publ. 1863 - Page 326 |
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