OHIO GENEALOGY EXPRESS

A Part of Genealogy Express

 

Welcome to
Fulton County,  Ohio
History & Genealogy

BIOGRAPHIES

Source:
History of Henry & Fulton Counties
edited by Lewis Cass Aldrich - Syracuse NY
Publ. D. Mason & Co.
1888.
Transcribed by Sharon Wick

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

 CLICK HERE to RETURN to 1888 BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX >
< CLICK HERE to GO to LIST of BIOGRAPHICAL INDEXES >


L. G. Ely
 
 HON. LAFAYETTE G. ELY.   In the western part of Franklin township, Fulton county, is the excellent farm and elegant home of the Hon. Lafayette G. Ely, a man well known throughout this county and northwestern Ohio, as a successful farmer, a thorough-going business man, a trusted public servant, and a man of strict integrity and moral worth.
     All this is said of him by many persons whose acquaintance with Mr. Ely is of long standing.  The father and mother of our subject were natives of Pennsylvania, but at the time of their marriage were residents of Morrow county, Ohio (then Knox county), and our subject was born in that part of Knox county which afterward became a part of Morrow county.  In his father's family were eleven children, of these Lafayette Gilbert Ely was the eldest, he being born on the 3d day of April, 1834.  Of these children but seven grew to manhood and womanhood.  George Ely was the youngest of those that reached man's  estate.  He enlisted in the service of his country, was a non-commissioned officer in Company C, of the One Hundredth Ohio Infantry, and was killed at Atlanta, Georgia, during Sherman's memorable campaign.
     George Ely, senior, the father of Lafayette G., was the son of Asher Ely, who was of the fifth generation from Joshua Ely, one of the Puritans of New Jersey, and who died at an advanced age in 1704.  Asher Ely was born in New Jersey in 1788, and with his parents moved to Pennsylvania in 1795.  He was a soldier in the war of 1812 - 15.  In 1826 he moved to Knox county (now Morrow), Ohio, where George Ely was married and where our subject was born.  In the year 1835 the father, George Ely and his wife, Elizabeth (Folck) Ely, and their first-born, Lafayette G., then one year old, became residents of Williams county, Ohio, and were among the very earliest pioneers of that locality.  Mr. Ely (George) was prominent in the improvement and development of that county.  He assisted in the organization of Brady township, voting at the first election held therein; and to him belongs much of the credit of its early improvement and development.  George Ely, at the age of seventy-eight years, died upon the farm that he hewed out of the wilderness, and a little later his wife followed, both being highly esteemed by all who knew them.
     The life of Lafayette G. Ely, up to the age of twenty-three, was spent upon his father's farm, and in attending school.  After he was eighteen he worked upon the farm during the farming season, and taught school in the winters.  The early education of this family was by no means neglected, and while their father was unable to provide each with a home, when they reached man's estate he saw to it that the means and ability of earning a home was furnished, in teaching them industry, frugality and economy.  This is well shown in the life and success of our subject.
     On the 12th day of November, 1857, Lafayette G. Ely was united in marriage with Sarah S. Masters, the eldest daughter of the Hon. Ezekiel Masters, of Franklin township, and in the same year this young couple, with little financial means, but full of hope and energy, become residents of that township.
     From that time Mr. Ely has continually resided in Fulton county, and his association with its civil and political growth is so well known as to require but brief mention in these pages, and in the township of his residence there lives no man who does not enjoy his acquaintance.  His beginning here was necessarily small, for his means were limited; but the visitor at his present home is  at once struck, not only with the attractiveness of its surroundings, the large and comfortable dwelling and out-buildings, but with the evidence of thrift and prosperity that everywhere around him prevail.
     His farm is known as one of the best and most productive of the county, and now consists of about two hundred acres.  From his farm can be seen the home of his boyhood days.  The noble and devoted wife of Mr. Ely shared with her husband in the toil and economy that made this comfortable home; she born him four children, all of whom are now living, and have married and settled within a few miles of their father's home.  The family were two sons and two daughters, and upon their marriage they were each quite liberally provided for, in a financial way, by their father.
     After a congenial and most pleasant married life of nearly thirty years, Mrs. Sarah Ely, the wife and mother, on the 16th day of May, 1885, answered the Master's call.  She was a most loving and devoted wife and mother, an excellent neighbor, and a faithful worker in the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which from her childhood she was a member, and in the teachings of which she had carefully reared her children.  For nearly two years Mr. Ely lived a widower.  He was again married, on the 30th of December, 1886, this time to Mrs. Mary H. Wood, a most worthy lady and a prominent teacher in the schools of Fremont, Ohio.
     Lafayette G. Ely has been a resident and successful farmer of Franklin township for upward of forty years, and while in the main he has been devoted to agricultural life, he has found time to participate in the events of the political world to some extent, and although he cannot be classed with the politician and office-seeker, he has taken deep interest in the civil and political welfare of this county and State.  In the earlier days of his residence in the county he held several offices of his township.  In 1859 he was elected justice of the peace, which office he filled for twelve successive years.
     In 1871 he was elected auditor of his county, and twice re-elected, holding this important and responsible office six years.  Each renomination was by acclamation, and each re-election by increased majorities, the last being much the largest, which indicated his popularity as a public servant.  During the six years that he was the fiscal officer of the county he maintained a temporary domicile, at the county seat, but other than this he has resided upon his farm.  In 1891 Mr. Ely was elected Representative in the General Assembly of Ohio from his county, and re-elected in 1893, filling this position four years.  During the four years he was a member of the Finance committee of the House, the most important and responsible committee of the Assembly.  He also served upon various other committees.  He was the author of a number of important bills, several of which were enacted into laws.  He took special interest in all legislation pertaining to the agricultural interests of the State, so much so that in this particular he was recognized as one of the leaders.
     Just prior to the election of Mr. Ely to the Legislature, he had served two years as a member of the State Board of Agriculture, and at the close of his term in the Legislature he was again elected a member of the State Board of Agriculture.  He is serving his fifth year upon this board, and is now its vice-president.  His term will expire in 1900.
     From the time that Mr. Ely chose farming for his principal occupation he has always manifested a lively interest in agriculture, and for forty years he has been a member of the Agricultural Society of his county; and has been a member of the County Board of Agriculture for the past twenty years, is its president at this time and has been for fifteen successive years.  He has always labored to elevate the standard of agriculture, and sought to instill into the minds of the farmers and their families a true and commendable pride and love for their occupation and calling, and to his earnest, faithful and conscientious endeavor in this direction may be ascribed no small share of credit for the high standard to which agricultural education and development have attained in Fulton county.
     When about eighteen years of age Mr. Ely connected himself with the Methodist Episcopal Church, to the faith of which he has constantly adhered, although he is no strict sectarian, as his contributions to many worthy causes outside his own society will fully attest.  All share his bounty, and enjoy the benefits of his liberality and generosity, no worthy charity ever appealing to him in vain.  Mr. Ely has likewise always been a friend to the young people around him, and shown a deep interest in their education and welfare, and his library, one of the largest and most complete in the county, has always been open to the free use of his numerous warm friends among the young people.
     Mr. Ely is one of those persons who feel strongly attached to their children, and he manifests a constant and deep interest in their financial, social and moral welfare, feeling himself, however amply rewarded for all his labor of love in their behalf in the full consciousness and realization of their appreciation and return of love and obedience as shown in their lives and their close and constant attention to his welfare and happiness.
Source: History of Henry & Fulton Counties edited by Lewis Cass Aldrich - Syracuse NY - Publ. D. Mason & Co. 1888
- Page 616
.

CLICK HERE to RETURN to
FULTON COUNTY, OHIO
INDEX PAGE
CLICK HERE to RETURN to
OHIO GENEALOGY EXPRESS
INDEX PAGE
FREE GENEALOGY RESEARCH is My MISSION
GENEALOGY EXPRESS
This Webpage has been created by Sharon Wick exclusively for Genealogy Express  ©2008
Submitters retain all copyrights