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BIOGRAPHIES
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J. ABBOTT, farmer; P. O. Urbana; was born in Shelby Co.,
Ohio, Jan. 13, 1836, and is a son of James and Susanna
Abbott. He was born in Pennsylvania June 21, 1816, and
came to Ohio about 1823. His occupation was farming, which
he followed in the above-named county, by renting farms till
1845, when he moved to Champaign Co., Ohio, and, in 1848,
purchased 40 acres of land in Johnson Township. His first
marriage occurred in 1835, with Susannah Slusser.
She was also a native of Pennsylvania, born Sept. 3, 1816, and
died Nov. 17, 1838, the mother of two sons - William J. and
John, the latter deceased. In 1840, he married
Matilda Veach. She was born in Virginia, Oct. 19,
1822. The fruits of this union were six children, of whom
five survive, viz., Sarah C., now the Widow Carmony,
of Johnson Township; Jesse and Margaret (twins),
residents of this county; Harriet, now the wife of Dr.
George Tate, of Shelby Co., and David H., residing
near Millerstown, Johnson Township. James Abbott
departed this life March 27, 1853. W. J. received a
common-school education and also attended the college at
Delaware, Ohio, four terms in all. He commenced teaching
in 1855, and followed that business about twelve years; a part
of this time he carried on farming also. He has served
several years as Township Clerk. In 1867, he purchased 79
acres of land in Sec. 2, of Concord Township, and moved on it
March 12, 1878. This was a very wet and rather wild piece
of land, but, by considerable draining and clearing, he has made
it among the best in the vicinity. Although a cripple, he
is a man of remarkable energy and perseverance, and one also who
commands the respect and confidence of all around him. On
the 13th of May, 1858, he married Emily V. Compton, a
native of Jefferson Co., Va., born Feb. 5, 1840. She came
to Ohio with her mother in 1852; her father died prior to that
time. W. J. and Emily V. Abbott are the parents of
nine children, seven of whom are yet living - Charles M.,
John H., Anna M., Minnie A., Emma Maude, Oma J. and
Oro. |
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JAMES ALLISON, merchant tailor, of the firm of
Ellis, Weaver & Allison; is a native of Scotland, and was
born in 1840; he was put to learn the trade of a tailor when 11
years old, and has followed that business ever since. He
came to America in 1858, and located in Urbana in 1864, and in
1878 became a member of the above firm. Mr. Allison's
mother, an aged Scotch lady, now resides with him. He
married, in 1868, Belle, daughter of William Sampson;
she is a sister of Mrs. I. B. Happersett, whose biography
appears in this work. They have two children - James M.
and Berth. Mr. Allison has had years of
practical experience as a salesman and cutter, and is a worthy
citizen. Mr. Allison is a member of the Order
of Red Men, also of the Masonic Order and I. O. O. F. |
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JAMES W. ANDERSON, druggist;
was born in Virginia in 1828, and came to this State in 1848,
becoming a resident of Urbana; in 1856, he engaged in the drug
business with Dr. J. S. Carter, Jr., whose biography also
appears in this book; he had been associated in the business
with various persons until 1879, since which time he has
conducted the business alone at the old sand, corner of Scioto
street and Monument square, where he now keeps a full and
complete line of drugs, paints, etc. His reputation is
already well established, and his continual success is a
deserved compliment to his business ability. He was
married, in 1872, to Caroline, daughter of S. V.
Baldwin, a former prominent citizen of Urbana. Mr.
Anderson is a member of the First Methodist Episcopal
Church, and also of the Masonic Fraternity, and is an active and
worthy citizen. |
Mad
River Twp. -
JOSEPH ANDERSON, farmer; P. O. Urbana.
The father of Mr. Anderson emigrated to this county in
1825; his name was John and he was born in Page Co., Va.;
his wife's maiden name was Nancy Lower; they were married
in Virginia, and their bridal tour was taken, Mrs. Anderson
riding a horse and John walking by its side, until their
arrival in Clark Co., in 1825; their beginning in life was one
of the hardest; having no money, they were obliged to shift as
best they could; John frequently worked for 12-1/2 cents
per day; this manner of living was continued for eight years,
when they concluded to look for a better location; he had saved
a small sum during this time, and, being of an energetic sort,
he determined to have a home; his little cash this time, and,
being of an energetic sort, he determined to have a home; this
his little cash was invested as part payment for 160 acres of
land, upon which was a little cabin, with perhaps an acre
cleared; the first work was in building a comfortable log house,
after which, clearing up the land was continued, until a large
portion was, in a few years, under cultivation; children grew up
around them, and the eldest were able to aid very much in the
work; Marie and William were born in Clark Co.;
Betsy, James, Albert, Joseph, Mary, Angeline, Susan and
Louisa were born on the farm now owned by Joseph, our
subject; eight of these children are living. Prosperity
seemed to dawn on John and his wife from the date of
their coming to this county; their stock throve wonderfully, and
their crops were good, and he was always ready to meet the
payments on his land as they came due; his energy was
remarkable, and his success was such that, at one time, he owned
1,500 acres of land, and was possessor of 260 acres at the time
of his death, which occurred in 1877; his widow resides in
Urbana. Mr. Anderson dealt largely in stock, and
made much of his wealth in this way; he served, during the war
of 1812, fourteen months; we are not able to state under whose
command. Joseph was married to Mary Overhulser
in 1865; they have, by their marriage, three children -
Annie, Harvey A. and Charles; by his first wife, he
was the father of Isaac, Erastus, George, Wiley, Jasper
and Elmer; Mary and Elizabeth are not living.
Mr. Anderson purchased the old home farm in 1877, and is
very comfortably situated, having a productive farm, and is one
of our enterprising men; his wife also represents a family who
were pioneers of Ohio, but they died during her girlhood.
Mr. Anderson devotes his time to agricultural pursuits,
the rearing of stock, etc.; he owns 190 acres of land, on which
are several of the finest springs in the township; he is a
Republican of the substantial sort - a rarity among residents of
this township.
Source: History of Champaign County, Ohio
- Publ. Chicago: W. H. Beers & Co. – 1881 - Page 704 |
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CEPHAS
ATKINSON was born in York County, Penn., in the year
1790. His wife, Abigail Oren, was a native of
Tennessee, and was born in December, 1795. They were
Orthodox Friends, and were married by the rights of their church
at Center Meeting, in Clinton County, Ohio, in the year 1815.
They began life in a very humble manner, moving to a rude cabin
on a lease in the neighborhood, and hauling their worldly
effects upon a one -horse sled. By the strictest economy,
in the course of a few years he was able to purchase a hundred
acres of land in Greene County. This he occupied and
improved, and in due time bought a tract of a thousand acres in
Clark. He gave his attention to stock-raising, and
prospered continually. In the year 1838, thinking to
better his condition generally and provide for the future of his
increasing family, he sold his lands in Clark and bought of
Otho Johnson, in Mingo Valley, a farm now owned and occupied
by his son-in-law, James Hunt. This farm comprises
333 acres, and included the farm of Maria Hunter, as well
as the site of Mingo Village. Mr. Atkinson paid $25
per acre for these lands, and his object in coming to Champaign
County was to give more attention to raising grain and less to
the stock business - a plan which he never fully executed.
He became the father of a large family eight of whom grew to
manhood and womanhood, but the older sons were never permanent
residents of Wayne Township. Near the close of life, he
purchased 1,500 acres of land in Madison County. Of his
family, the following brief summary may be made: Isaac
married Nancy Gray, of Greene County. Levi
married Mary B. Phillips, of Madison County.
John married Nancy Phillips, of Madison County.
Joseph was twice married. His first wife was
Sarah Edwards; his second, Alice Gladden.
Jane married William Hannah, a Scotchman.
William Married Lucinda Fleming, a widow, Margaret
C. married James Hunt, of Highland County, and is the
only child who became a permanent resident of Champaign county.
Thomas married Louisa Owen, of Kentucky.
Mr. Atkinson and wife, as has been stated, were members of
the Orthodox Friends' Church, were piously devoted to its
doctrines and usages, and never faltered in their adherence to
the principles of peace which this denomination is known to
advocate. At one time in his life, Mr. Atkinson, in
obedience to his peace principles, refused to train at a general
muster. He was fined, and, refusing to pay the fine, the
officer levied upon and sold the side-saddle of Mrs.
Atkinson. Mr. Atkinson was born, cradled and nurtured
in the anti-slavery sentiments of his church, and from early
manhood to ripe old age he spoke, prayed, sacrificed and planned
to free the oppressed and strike the shackles of bondage from
the limbs of the black man of the South. His house, in the
Mingo Valley, was known as a place of refuge for the painting
fugitive pursued by the mater who would drag him back to
bondage. The escaping slave always found in Cephus
Atkins a friend - one who secreted, fed, and clothed him,
and forwarded him to the next place of safety. He neither
recognized nor obeyed a law of the land which made him a
slave-catcher, but he did recognize a higher law that offered
liberty to the bondman and equality before the law to all.
A volume might be written of the underground railroad experience
of this conscientious old Quaker, but, unfortunately for the
historian, the record is buried with the martyr. The crack
of the whip of the slave-owner, the baying of the blood-hound,
the groans of the oppressed slave, have become things of the
buried past, and are now only spoken of as relics of the
barbarism of the days gone by. Cephus Atkinson was
scrupulously exact in his dealings with men, paying and exacting
the last penny; uncompromising in his views, positive and
unwavering in his devotion to a principle, liberal toward his
views, positive and unwavering in his devotion to a principle,
liberal toward the church, diligent in business, fervent in
spirit. He died possessed of a large estate, value at
nearly $100,000. Though he did not live to see the
realization of the hope of his life (the extinction of slavery),
yet he died in the shadow of coming events which foretold
freedom to the oppressed. He died in November, 1860, aged
seventy. His wife died in December, 1875, aged eighty
years. |
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