BIOGRAPHIES

The following biographies are extracted from:
Source #1 - The County of Ross: a history of Ross County, Ohio
By Henry Holcomb Bennett
Published by S. A. Brant, Madison, Wis., 1902
Source #2 - A Standard History of Ross County, Ohio
Vol. II.
Published by The Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago & New York 1917

A - B - C - D - EF - G - H - IJ - K - L - M - N - OPQ
R - S - T - UV - W - XYZ

Biographies will be added upon request.
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NEELY, Joseph H. NELSON, Joseph B. NELSON, W. Guy NEWELL, William C. NEWELL, William C. NEWMAN, Robert W.

NICHOLS, James D. NICHOLS, Joseph NOBLE, Charles H. NORRIS, Frank NORRIS, Joseph M. NORTON, Augustus

JOSEPH H. NEELY, of South Salem is an interesting personality and a man of varied accomplishments.  In his time he has followed the trades of blacksmith, carriage maker, painter and decorator, and musician.  Everything he has ever undertaken has been well done and he has made himself one of the most useful members of any community where he has had his home.      Mr. Neely was born in Springfield, Ohio, Nov. 30, 1851, a son of James J. and Elizabeth (Souders) Neely.  His father was born in Newark, New Jersey, grew up there and learned his trade as blacksmith after a a thorough apprenticeship.  He became a skilled workman and as a journeyman he arrived in Springfield, Ohio, where he met and married Elizabeth Sounders.  She was also a native of New Jersey and had come with her parents when a young girl to Dayton, Ohio, making the journey by wagon.   From Dayton she went to Springfield, and after her marriage Mr. and Mrs. James Neely continued to live in that city until about 1666-67.  They then came to Lyndon in Ross County, where the father bought a shop  After two years he sold out and took a wagon trip to Kansas, going by way of Jefferson City, Missouri.  He did not remain there long, and on returning to Ohio again located in Springfield for a year.  About 1870 the family located in Salem of Ross County, where the father rented a shop from Henry Moomaw and followed his trade for several years.  He was considered one of the best blacksmiths in Ross County, and was especially skillful as a worker in steel.   He was a member of the Presbyterian Church and was affiliated with Springfield Post of the Grand Army of the Republic.  He had first enlisted in the Fifth Ohio Cavalry with which organization he received an injury that gave him an honorable discharge.  On recovering he enlisted in the Sixteenth Ohio Battery and served for two years as blacksmith.  James J. Neely and wife had four children, all of whom grew up, but the only one now surviving is Joseph H.    James was a blacksmith and died at Springfield.  Elizabeth died unmarried at Salem.  Peter, also a blacksmith, died in New York City.      Joseph H. Neely acquired his early education in the common schools of Springfield.  As a boy he studied blacksmithing in his father's shop, and served a complete apprenticeship, acquiring not only the fundamentals of blacksmithing but also carriage trimming.  Painting and everything connected with those trades.      On Aug. 3, 1871, Mr. Neely married Virginia G. Gregory, a daughter of Aaron Gregory.  After his marriage Mr. Neely followed painting in Greenfield for a year, spent another year at Good Hope, the following year at Springfield,  and then returned to Lyndon in Ross County, where he remained three years.  Changing his location to Salem, his health broke down there, and after a time he was associated with his father in the blacksmith shop.  Since then he has followed his trade successfully for many years at South Salem, and everyone in that community knows his ability as a blacksmith and painter.  For some three or four years he was associated with two of his sons at Greenfield under the name of Neely & Riley Knife and Saw Company.  They built a factory and manufactured cutlery and saws of all kinds.      Mr. Neely is widely known for his musical talent.  He began the study of music at the age of eighteen, and his specialty is the E flat cornet, which he has played in many organizations and on many occasions through a period of thirty-five years.  He played the alto with the band at Salem, and he organized the band and led it for many years.  Afterwards for ten years he was leader of the Sixth Regiment band at Chillicothe, and was then bandmaster of the Seventeenth Regiment band under Colonel Hamilton for three years.  Since then he has been leader of the Neely Cadet Band at South Salem.  This band was first organized in 1903 and reorganized in 1904.      Mr. and Mrs. Neely have three talented children: Herbert G., who graduated from the Cincinnati Musical College, is a talented musician who has continued his studies abroad ,and has filled some very responsible positions in the musical field.  Emil G., who is an expert trombone player, is postmaster and general merchant at South Salem.  Maggie G. is a wife of Dr. Marson of Anderson, Indiana, and she is a proficient instrumentalist on the piano.  The family are members of the Presbyterian Church and politically Mr. Neely is a republican.  For some years he has served on the village council at South Salem. Source #2 - A Standard History of Ross County, Ohio - Vol. II. - Published by The Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago & New York 1917 - Page 895   JAMES D. NICHOLS was born in Ross County, Ohio, July 8, 1830.  His father, James Nichols, was a native of Maryland, who came to Ohio in 1800 and settled in Ross county.  He was a miller by trade and worked at that occupation for about thirty years.  Before he left Maryland he married Martha Beard, by whom he had twelve children, of whom only two survive, James D., who is the subject of this sketch, and John T., who is living in Texas.  The names of the others are as follows:  Addison, Lucretia, William, Elizabeth, Margery, Effie J., Charlotte, William R., Miranda and Victoria.  Besides the milling business, which was his specialty, the father also carried on farming in a general way, being regarded as an industrious and upright citizen.  His death occurred in 1863, his wife only surviving him about one year and dying in 1864.  James D., who was the eighth of the twelve children, attended the schools of his district and obtained the kind of education common to the youth of those days.  He remained at home until he reached twenty-three, after which he taught school for five years.  Nov. 19, 1859, he was married to Susan Augusta, by whom he had two children, Melvin and Philena, both of whom are living at home.  After marriage Mr. Nichols settled down to farming, which he has since followed, having lived on the same place for sixty-eight years.  In politics, Mr. Nichols is Democratic and his religious affiliations are with the Methodist Episcopal church. JOSEPH NICHOLS was born in Scioto township, Ross county, Ohio, July 17, 1831.  His father, Joseph Nichols, a native of Washington county, Md., born May 10, 1797, was married May 30, 1822, to Elizabeth Ann Mossburgh, who was born in Maryland on Feb. 8, 1800.  In the year 1827 they came to Ohio and settled near Chillicothe, where Mr. Nichols worked at his trade as a cooper for some time.  Eventually, however, he abandoned that line of work and having purchased land, devoted himself to farming until his death on April 1, 1858.  Before leaving Maryland, there children had been born, of whom Henry and James are dead and Mahala is living in Illinois.  During the residence of Ohio, the family was increased by the birth of four more children, of whom Charlotte was born in Scioto and Elizabeth and Matilda in Union township.  Joseph Nichols, the fifth in order of birth, received the ordinary common school education of that day, and remained at home and assisted his father until his marriage to Alice Mary Bateman, which occurred on Nov. 10, 1853.  He first started out on a rented farm, but as prosperity visited him he from time to time bought land until he owned the 169 acres which constitute his present homestead.  Mr. Nichols has greatly improved the surroundings, since his first occupancy in 1858, and has a very pretty home overlooking the adjacent valley.  He carries on general farming and raises stock, and pays considerable attention to fruit, among his possessions being a fine peach orchard of 1,200 trees.  By his first marriage Mr. Nichols had four children:  Legrand B. and William F., of Van Wert county; Alice E., who married Levi Rose of Union county; and Myrtie B., who is the wife of Thomas J. Good of Clermont county.  The mother of these children died in1863, and on Nov. 13, 1870, Mr. Nichols remarried, his second wife being Nancy O. Huhn.  Only one child, Joseph Howard, was born to this union, and he lives on his father's place.  His mother died in 1887 and his father's third matrimonial union was with Mary C. Flesher, on Dec. 29, 1889.  Mr. Nichols in politics is Democratic and he has held the offices of to township trustee, township assessor, and justice of the peace.  His religious affiliations are with the Christian Union, of which he has been a preacher for thirty-six years. CHARLES H. NOBLE, a representative farmer of Deerfield township, belongs to the generation who have grown up in Ross county since the civil war and carried on agricultural operations by modern methods.  He is a son of Joshua Noble, who was born Nov. 18, 1822, in Ross county, and here received his education and training for the pursuit which was to constitute his life-long business.  Joshua Noble embarked in farming at an early age and obtained success in that line, besides achieving a position of prominence and influence in his community.  The public regard was shown by his frequent summons to hold various township offices and he was generally at the front when movements were on foot to introduce improvements of any kind.  In 1844 he was married to Lavina Wright, with whom he lived most affectionately until her death in 1888, he surviving her three years and passing away in 1891.  They became the parents of eight children, seven of whom are living: John, Peter (deceased), George, Milton, Lafayette, of Deerfield township, Nannie, Dora, and Charles H.  Charles H. Noble was born in Deerfield township, Ross county, Mar. 29, 1865; was educated in the district schools and trained to farm work from boyhood to maturity.  In due time he had a farm of his own and has devoted all of his working life to agricultural pursuits.  Jan. 15, 1891, he was married to Allie, daughter of David Speakman, an old resident of Deerfield township.  The union has resulted in the birth of four children: Roy, Dora, John and George.