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HARVEY SHEILDS is giving his
able management to the fine old homestead farm in Short Creek Township, Harrison
County, that figures as the place of his nativity, his birth having here
occurred on the 10th of November, 1861. The general appearance of the
farm, consisting of 100 acres acres, gives to the observer the immediate
deduction that its owner is a man of energy and progressiveness, and Mr.
Shields takes great pride in keeping the old homestead up to the highest
standard. He is a son of Jackson and Abi (Goodwin) Shields, the
former of whom was born in 1827 and the latter on the 22nd of May, 1829, a
daughter of Jesse and Anna Goodwin. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs.
Shields was solemnized Sept. 25, 1854, and they continued their residence on
the old home farm until the death of Mr. Shields, on the 28th of Feb.,
1906, his widow still remaining in the home that has been endeared t her by the
memories and associations of many years. The names and respective dates of
birth of their children are here recorded: Martha (Mrs. John R. Sergant),
July 8, 1855; Davis H., June 14, 1858; Ruth Anna, Feb. 16, 1861;
Harvey (subject of this sketch), Nov. 10, 1861; Lydia (Mrs. Thompson
Matson), May 5, 1863; Mary R. (second wife of Thompson Matson),
Feb. 18, 16; and Tacy, July 7, 1871.
Jackson Shields was a son of Benoni and Lyda
(Woodward) Shields, both both natives of New Jersey, where the former was
born August 6, Jersey, where the former was born August 6, 1780, and the latter
Sept. 16, 1782, their marriage having here been solemnized. In 1829
Benoni Shields became a pioneer settler in Short Creek Township, Harrison
County, where he reclaimed a farm from a virtual wilderness and where he and his
wife passed the remainder of their lives, their eleven children having been born
prior to the removal to Ohio, and the family name having been worthily linked
with the history of Harrison county for nearly a century.
Harvey Shields was reared and has continuously
remained on the old home farm, and his early education was obtained in the
public schools of his native township. He is familiar with every nook and
corner of the farm, which has been his home from the time of his birth, and this
knowledge he has utilized in gaining the maximum returns from his progressive
activities as an agriculturist and stock-grower. The farm comprises 100
acres and is equipped with good buildings and other modern improvements.
Mr. Shields is a republican in politics and he and his wife hold
membership in the Presbyterian Church at Adena.
June 4, 1902, recorded the marriage of Mr. Shields
to Miss Sadie B. Wilson, who was born and reared in Moorefield Township,
Harrison county, a daughter of James and Eliza (Davidson) Wilson, both
likewise natives of Harrison County and representatives of honored pioneer
families. James Wilson was a son of James and Sarah (Brock)
Wilson, who were natives of Virginia and who were early settlers in
Moorefield Township, Harrison County. James Wilson, Jr., passed his
entire life in Moorefield Township and succeeded to the ownership of the old
homestead farm, his death having there occurred in 1873. His first married
Nancy J. Tarbet, and she was survived by one son, Madison.
The marriage of Mr. Wilson to Miss Eliza Davidson was solemnized
August 4, 1864, and they became the parents of three children, Jonah D.,
Sadie B. and James A. Mrs. Wilson long survived her husband and
was about eighty-two years of age at the time of her death. She was a
devoted member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. She was a daughter of
Jonah and Sarah (Joice) Davidson, natives of Maryland. Samuel,
father of Jonah Davidson, came to Harrison County in 1812 and settled in
Washington Township, where he and his wife, whose maiden name was Mary Drake,
passed the remainder of their lives. They became the parents of three sons
and three daughters. Jonah Davidson was born in Allegheny County,
Maryland, July 4, 1804, and thus was about eight years old when the family came
to Harrison County in 1812. Here he was reared to manhood and here in 1829
he married Miss Sarah Joice, their one child having been Eliza,
who was born October 26, 1832, and who became the wife of James Wilson,
as previously recorded. Mr. Davidson died June 16, 1889, his wife
having passed away in 1859. Mr. and Mrs. Harvey Shields have two
children: Harold Wilson, born Aug. 21, 1904; and Harvey Raymond,
born May 5, 1907. |
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MILTON M.
SHIELDS is another of the native sons of Harrison County who has
expressed his appreciation of its advantages and attractions by continuous
residence with its borders, save for a period of five years marked by his
engagement in farm enterprise in Belmont County, and he is now one of the
substantial representatives of agricultural and live-stock industry in Short
Creek Township, where he is the owner of a well improved farm of 104 acres.
In the past few years Mr. Shields has extended his activities by
dealing in cattle, horses and sheep, of which he has became a successful
buyer and shipper.
Mr. Shields was born in Short Creek Township on
the 24th of Sept., 1861, and is a son of Joseph and Lucinda (Ruth)
Shields, the former of whom was born in Chester County, New Jersey, Mar.
22, 1825, and the latter was born and reared in Harrison County, Ohio, born
and reared in Harrison County, Ohio, where her father, Parker Ruth,
was a pioneer settler. Joseph Shields was a son of Benoni
and Lydia (Woodward) Shields, the former of whom was born Aug. 6, 1780,
and the latter on the 16th of Sept., 1782. Then marriage was
solemnized in their native State of New Jersey, whence in 1829 they came to
Ohio and numbered themselves among the pioneer of Short Creek Township,
Harrison County, where they remained on their old home farm until the close
of their long and useful lies. They became the parents of eleven
children, whose names and respective years of birth are here recorded:
William, 1804; James, 1806; Sarah, 1808; Eli,
1812; Mary, 1813; Eleanor, 1815; Thomas, 1818;
Alice, 1820; Lydia, 1822; Joseph, 1825; and
Jackson, 1827. These dates show that all of the children were born
prior to the family migration of Ohio.
Joseph Shields was about four years old when the
family home was established on the pioneer farm in Short Creek Township,
where he was reared to manhood and where he continued his active alliance
with farm enterprise until the close of his life. He was the owner of
a good farm of 160 acres at the time of his death, which occurred June 16,
1880. The maiden name of the first wife was Martha Stires, she
having been a daughter of John Stires, another pioneer settler of
Harrison County. Mrs. Shields died in the year 1854, as did
also her first two children - John and Sarah Emily, and the
one child who attained to years of maturity was the youngest of the three -
Cynthia Eleanor, Mrs. Lucinda (Ruth) Shields, the second wife of
Joseph Shields, died in the year 1905. Both were active members of
the United Presbyterian Church at Adena. They became the parents of
nine children - Joseph E., Milton M., Thomas, William T., Clayton, Anna,
Lizzie, Jennie and Hannah.
Milton M. Shields has reason to look back with
satisfaction on the benignant influences that compassed his childhood and
early youth. He was reared on the home farm and made good use of the
advantages afforded in the district schools of Short Creek Township, within
whose borders he initiated his independent career as a farmer. here he
has been continuously engaged in farm industry from his youth to the present
time, except for the five years passed in Belmont county, as previously
noted. He has neither time nor inclination for the activates of
practical politics or the honors of public office, but is a loyal supporter
of the principles of the democratic party and is progressive in his attitude
as a citizen. His wife holds membership in the Methodist Episcopal
Church.
On December 11, 1884, was solemnized the marriage of
Mr. Shields to Miss Phoebe J. Wright, who likewise was born and
reared in Harrison County and who is a daughter of William and Elizabeth
Wright. Mr. and Mrs. Shields have the five children: Chester
married Miss May Bennett and they now reside at Caton, Stark County;
Dora is the wife of Dallas McCue, of Harrison County; Veda
is the wife of Leslie Fox, and they reside in the City of Akron,
Ohio; Halford married Miss Irene Stephens, and operates a
garage at Georgetown, Harrison County; and Faye is a wife of
Raymond Braumbaugh, of Akron, Summit County. |
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WILLIAM T. SHIELDS has not
found it necessary to leave his native township in order to find
opportunities and advantages essential to successful achievement, and he is
today one of the vigorous representatives of farm enterprise in Short Creek
Township, Harrison County, where he holds the position of farm
superintendent for the Short Creek Coal Company and has supervision of the
operations of a fine farm property of about 1,200 acres. In the sketch
of the career of his older brother, Milton M.,
is given ample record concerning the family history.
William T. Shields was born in Short Creek
Township on the 14th of April, 1873, and is a son of Joseph and Lucinda
(Ruth) Shields, the former of whom died in 1880? and the latter in 1905.
The subject of this review was afforded the advantage of the district
schools of his native township and was seven years old at the time of his
father's death. Thereafter the family resided about five years in
Belmont County, where William continued his studies in the public
schools, and after the return of the family to Short Creek Township he here
eventually engaged in independent farm enterprise. He continued his
farm activities, besides giving considerable attention to teaming, until the
autumn of 1906, when he removed to the village of Georgetown, where he has
since maintained his home. Here he conducted a general store for three
years, and for five years thereafter was here engaged in the livery and
teaming business. Since 1916 he ahs held the responsible office of
farm superintendent for the Short Creek Coal Company. Mr. Sheids
has never manifested any ambition for political activity or preferment,
but is aligned in the ranks of the republican party and is a loyal supporter
of its cause. Both he and his wife hold membership in the Presbyterian
Church.
Adda M. (Barr) Shields, wife of the subject of
this review, was born and reared in Harrison County and is a daughter of
David and Mary Barr. Mr. and Mrs. Shields have two children:
Carrie M., who was born September 22, 1896, is the wife of Clement
Dorsey, and they have two children, Craig and Donald.
George C., who was born Aug. 2, 1898, is with the Short Creek Coal
Company. The maiden name of his wife was Nettie Woods and they
have one child, Adda May. |
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.JOHN W. SLATES. Among
the well-cultivated farms of archer Township is the one of 136 acres
owned by Bachel Welch and operated by John W. Slates,
a prosperous agriculturist of Harrison County. He was born in
Missouri January 23, 1873, a son of Adam Slates, and grandson of
William Slates. Adam Slates was born in Loudon Township,
Carroll County, Ohio, and his wife, Elizabeth McConnell, was born
in Lee Township, Carroll County, a daughter of Joseph McConnell.
With the exception of a few years that he spent in the State of
Missouri, Adam Slates passed his life in Carroll County, and he
was a farmer by occupation. His death occurred in November, 1885,
but his widow survives him. Their children were as follows:
Mary, who married David Stenger; Edwin; John W.; Cora M.,
who married Emanuel Hendricks; and George, who died when
about eighteen months old.
Although born in Missouri, John W. Slates was
reared in Loudon Township. Carroll County, and attended the
Kilgore School of that township. As a young man he began working
by the month among farmers, and continued this plan until 1903, when he
began operating rented land, and in March, 1919, moved on the present
farm, where he is carrying on general farming and stock-raising,
specializing on sheep.
On November 28, 1901, Mr. Slates was married to
Emma Finnicum, a daughter of A. W. Finnicum, and they have
three children, namely: Harry J., Dorothy Fay and Dora
May, the last two named being twins. Mr. and Mrs. Slates
and their children are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church of
Hanover.
A. W. Finnicum, father of Mrs. Slates,
was born in Rumley Township, Harrison County, December 26, 1849, a son
of George and Lydia Ann (Hilbert) Finnicum, and grandson of
Thomas and Phoebe Finnicum. Thomas Finnicum was one of the
early settlers of Rumley Township, where he spent the remainder of his
life. He had come to Harrison County from England, which was his
native land, but stopped for a brief period in Pennsylvania, where
his son, George Finnicum, was born.
George Finnicum grew to manhood in Rumley
Township where he became a farmer, and he was engaged in this line of
work all of his life. The children born to George Finnicum
and his wife were as follows: Thomas, Jennie, Mary, A. W..,
Hattie, George, Allen, Frank and one other..
Until his marriage A. W. Finnicum, who had been
reared in Rumley Township and educated in its schools, worked among the
farmers of that region, but afterwards he began farming on his own
account, and has been a resident of Archer Township ever since. He
and his wife own ninety-two acres of land and live along the Cadiz and
Jewett turnpike.
In 1872 A. W. Finnicum was united in marriage
with Amanda Carnaga, a daughter of Manassa and Elizabeth
Carnaga, and they became the parents of the following children:
George, who died at the age of four years; Joseph Frank, who
died in childhood; Emma, who is Mrs. Slates; Blanche; Elmer;
Myrtle; Mary and Jessie. Mr. and Mrs. Finnicum belong
to the Presbyterian Church. Both the Slates and Finnicum
families stand high in public estimation, and those bearing one or other
of these names have every reason to be proud of their honorable line of
upright, industrious ancestors. |
