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(Source: History of Trumbull & Mahoning
Counties, with Illustrations & Biographical Sketches - Vol. II - Cleveland
- H. Z. Williams & Bro. - 1882)
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CHAPTER I.
HOWLAND TOWNSHIP |
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BIOGRAPHIES. |
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FRANCES ANDREWS
was born in Vienna township in 1818, and was married
first in 1840 to Ann King, who was born in 1820,
and died in 1852. To them was born Kennedy K. in 1841.
Mr. Andrews was again married in 1854 to Esther
Ann Kennedy, who was born in 1836. Their children were
Daniel and Anna, both deceased, and Linda now
living at home. He has been mostly engaged as a farmer and
dealer in Durham cattle; also buying and selling horses, and was
previously engaged in the dairy business. He settled on the farm
on which he has since resided, in 1843, where he now lives in
the retired enjoyment of the fruits of a busy life. |
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JAMES BOLIN was
born in Weathersfield, Trumbull county, Ohio, December 7, 1819 ;
son of John and Delilah (Williams) Bolin. John Bolin
came to Ohio in 1817, settling in Weathersfield, and cleared
up the place now owned by his sons James and John.
He raised a family of five children, three of whom survive—James,
John, and Mrs. Maria Kyle. He died
in January, 1841. His wife came to Trumbull county with the
family of James Heaton in 1801. James
Bolin married, January 3, 1844, Miss Elizabeth
Drake, who was born in Pennsylvania March 7, 1812. They
have one son and two daughters, as follows: Warren S.,
born December 28, 1845 ; Candace, September 19, 1847; Maria E.,
wife of William Van Wye of Weathersfield,
June 4, 1851. In the spring of 1861 Mr. Bolin
settled on the place where he now lives, in Howland, on which
Samuel Drake settled about 1816. |
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J. R. CHAMBERLAIN,
now a resident of Howland, was born in Ontario county, New York,
August 25, 1833. His family came to Ohio in 1834 and settled in
Vienna township. After passing through the course of the common
schools and Vienna academy he attended Poland academy two terms,
and then engaged in teaching for several years, teaching in
winter and farming in summer. He was married November 21, i860,
to Tryphena Hibler, daughter of Jacob
Hibler, an early settler of Hubbard township. They lived in
Vienna and Brookfield townships until 1870, when the place on
which they now reside was purchased. Both Mr. and Mrs.
Chamberlain are members of the Presbyterian church in
Vienna. |
DRAKE FAMILY.*
Abraham Drake, of Monmouth, New Jersey, was in the
habit of going with others to Schooley mountain, in that
State, in the fall of the year, for the purpose of hunting. On
one of these occasions he became acquainted with a Miss
Stark, a relative of Colonel John
Stark of Revolutionary fame, and married her. He bought two
hundred acres of land near Haskelstown, New Jersey, where they
settled, and to them were born three sons, viz: Abraham,
Aaron, and Sylvenius. Abraham, the oldest,
was born in 1756. In 1788 or 1789 he married Sarah
Bell, of Sussex county, New Jersey. To them three daughters
and six sons were born, viz: Elizabeth, Sarah, and
Meriam, Jacob, Simeon, Aaron,
George, Abraham, and Amos. And for some years
they lived near the above-named town, but the father dying, and
having willed all his property to his son Aaron,
Abraham and Sylvenius were dissatisfied. Abraham
endeavored to persuade Aaron to allow him to have the
house and a small piece of land belonging to his father's
estate, and on which he then lived, and which would enable him
to maintain his family by his occupation, being a weaver, but in
this his efforts proved to be of no avail, and on returning home
from this mission, late one evening, sadly disappointed, and as
no other avenue seemed open to him whereby he might support his
family, he said to his wife, "We will go West," and with this
decision, which was characteristic of the man, he soon bid his
friends and native place a last farewell, for he never returned,
and the writer believes never heard of them afterward. He
removed his family to Jefferson village, Morgan township,
Washington county, Pennsylvania, where they stayed some six
months, while he went on to Ohio to look for a place to locate
their future home. This was in the year 1804 or 1805. He
purchased three hundred and twelve acres of land in Howland
township, for which he paid $655, and settled on that part of it
which is the farm now owned by his grandson, Amos
Drake. Here they began by earnest and unceasing toil to
supply their wants from their own productions, amid the
privations and hardships incident to the times. It was even no
small task to guard the few domestic animals, which they had or
could get, from the attacks of wild beasts. Well does the
writer remember the log pen in which the sheep were secured at
night to keep the wolves from them, and also of the trap made of
logs in the woods, to catch those prowling invaders, yet with
all of their vigilance sheep were frequently killed, and bears
would kill the hogs and calves, and the deer would persist in
feeding upon their wheat in the fall and spring.
And yet amid these scenes with willing hands they soon began to
gain for themselves a comfortable home. But when it seemed they
most needed each other's presence to assist and cheer them in
their efforts death took from the home the wife and mother. She
died May 16, 1808, aged forty-two, leaving the husband and eight
children, the youngest a son only a year old.
The household duties henceforth devolved upon the
daughters, Elizabeth and Sarah. In 1813 he built
the house (yet standing) in which he afterwards lived until his
death, July 17, 1818, aged sixty-two years, and here would my
pen fondly linger to pay a tribute to one whose industry,
honesty, and uprightness of character were proverbial. The
impress of the virtues of that father and mother was seen upon
their children in after years, and made them moral, upright,
unassuming, faithful men and women.
Elizabeth having married, the care of the family
fell on Sarah, which duties she faithfully performed for
some years, she and Jacob keeping and living on the homestead.
Simeon and Aaron settled on a part of the
land which belonged to their father; George and
Abraham settled on the west side of the creek in this
township. Elizabeth moved to Poland, now Mahoning county,
all following agricultural pursuits. George in 1844
removed with his family to Howard, Knox county, Ohio. Sarah
in 1833 sold her interest in the homestead to Jacob, and
built a house on the farm of Abraham, where she lived
until April 1851, when she ceased to keep house, and lived with
Aaron and his family until April, i860, when she returned
to the old home, and lived with her nephew up to the time of her
death October 26, 1864, aged seventy-two years. She and her
brother Amos were not married—he dying July 30, 1821.
Meriam died in infancy in New Jersey. The following are
marriages of the the sons and daughters of Abraham and
Sarah Drake; the number of children born to each
marriage; the death and age of parents, and the number of
children now living.
June 11, 1811, by Dan Eaton, justice of
the peace, James Stull, of Poland, and
Elizabeth Drake, of Howland. To them were born three
daughters and one son. Death and age of parents unknown. One
daughter survives.
January 3, 1822, by Isaac Heaton, justice
of the peace, Simeon Drake and Lucretia
Williams, of Howland. No children, she dying soon after
marriage; age unknown.
May 8, 1825, by John Hank, justice of the
peace, Aaron Drake and Mary Williams,
of Howland. To them were born five sons and three daughters. He
died August 22, 1855, aged fifty-six years; his widow, three
sons, and one daughter survive.
June 9, 1825, by R. L. Seely, justice of the
peace, Simeon Drake and Olvina Hank,
of Howland. To them were born four sons and one daughter. The
father died March 12, 1859, aged sixty years ; the mother
February, 1880, aged seventy-six years. Three sons survive.
June 15, 1826, by Alford Brunson, justice
of the peace, George Drake and Nancy
Smith, of Hubbard. To them one son was born. The mother died
May, 1827. The son survives.
May 30, 1829. by Adamson Bendy, minister,
George Drake and Mary McElroy, of
Washington county, Pennsylvania. To them were born two
daughters. The mother dying in 185-; the father February 23,
1871, aged sixty-eight years. One daughter survives.
May 17, 1830, by A. Bently, minister, Abraham
Drake and Jane McElroy, of Washington
county, Pennsylvania. To them one son was born; the mother dying
October, 1842; the son surviving.
May, 1844, by A. S. Hayden, Abraham Drake and
Phebe Moffit, of Solon. To them was born one
daughter; the father dying May 24, 1849, aged forty-four years.
His widow survives.
April 11, 1826, by Joseph W. Curtis, minister,
Josiah Drake and Agnes Anderson, of
Howland. To them were born two sons and one daughter, viz:
Amos, Alva, and Agnes. The mother died
September 19, 1831, aged thirty-six years.
February 12, 1833, by John Henry,
minister, Jacob Drake and Artlissa Lane,
of Austintown. To them were born a son and daughter, viz:
George and Emily. The father died September 28, 1842,
aged forty-six years; the mother August 22, 1846, aged
thirty-seven years; his daughter Agnes October 4, 1846,
aged fifteen years.
The following are the marriages of the sons and
daughter of Jacob Drake referred to and the number
of children surviving : April 24, 1851, by Isaac
Errett, minister, Amos Drake, of Howland, and
Lavinia J. Hull, of Champion. To them a son and daughter
were born—Charlie W. and Ida M.—who reside as
above written.
September 6, 1860, by Mathias Christy,
minister, Alva A. Drake and Lide J. Grove, both of
Howland, where they still reside.
Emily went to Clinton county, Iowa, in 1847,
where she married Dr. S. D. Golder. They settled in
Charleston, Missouri. To them four sons and one daughter were
born. The mother died January 31, 1875, age forty-one years. The
daughter and three sons survive.
George went to Colorado in i860,
where he married Martha A. Brown. To them two sons and
one daughter were born. An infant son survives.
Alva A., second son of Jacob and Agnes
Drake, was born in Howland township in the year 1829.
After obtaining a fair English education he devoted himself to
agricultural pursuits. In i860 he married Miss Lide
Grove, daughter of Jacob and Rachel
Grove, of Austintown, and later of Howland. Mr.
Grove was born in Beaver, Pennsylvania, in 1802. While but a
child his parents removed to Austintown, and there he
married, in 1830, Rachel Woodward. He removed to
Howland in 1850, and died April 16, 1881. Mrs. Grove
died March 31, 1880. They had two children—John C. and
Lide. The former died in 1861, leaving two children—Minnie
and Lulu. Mr. Drake settled on the farm on
which he now resides in 1865. He is an extensive and practical
farmer and dealer in fine Merino sheep. He has accumulated two
hundred and fifty acres of land, which is in good condition.
While he is enterprising and industrious he is at the same time
liberal and companionable. He held the office of justice of the
peace in Howland township, and on account of reliable judgment
in business matters was chosen real estate appraiser. He is a
representative of one of the oldest and most respectable
families in the township, as the preceding family sketch will
show.
*Prepared by Amos Drake. |
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Z. T. EWALT was born
in Howland township September 6, 1816. His father, John
Ewalt, was born in New Jersey in 1776, came to Ohio in
1801, and settled in Howland township in 1802 on the place now
owned by his son, Harris Ewalt, where he died about 1858.
His family consisted of ten children, five of whom are living.
He was a member of the Society of Friends, as was also his wife.
Z. T. Ewalt was reared on his father's farm and
resided at home until twenty-seven years old. He spent the year
1841 in the West. He was married April 20, 1843, to Belinda
Adams, who was born in Little Beaver, Pennsylvania,
September 6, 1823. Their family consists of six children, four
of whom are still living, viz: John A., Madison county,
Ohio, a Presbyterian minister; Z. T., Jr., resides in
Howland; Florence I., wife of S. B. Reed, resides
in Windham, Portage county; Olive B., resides in Howland.
Mr. Ewalt settled on his present farm in 1843. He
has filled several township offices, including justice of the
peace, to which he was first elected in 1863, and served twelve
years; was county coroner eight years, and again elected justice
of the peace in 1881. In politics he was a Whig and is now a
Republican. |
JONATHAN FOLSOM,
was born in Essex county, New York, July 31, 1814. His parents
were Jonathan and Betsey (Leonard) Folsom.
Jonathan, Sr., was a native of New Hampshire, born April 18,
1784. He came to Trumbull county, Ohio, in 1833, and settled in
Weathersfield, clearing up a place now owned by John
Parks. He died in 1850, and his wife the same year.
Jonathan Folsom the subject of this sketch, was united
in marriage in 1836 to Milly A. Dunlap, by whom he has
two children living, viz: Nathan D., superintendent of
Trumbull county poor-house; O. W., a resident of Hiram.
Mrs. Folsom died August 5, 1841, and he married for his
second wife, December 16, 1841, Miss Jane Scott,
whose parents settled in Vienna township at an early date,
removing to the place now occupied by the subject of our sketch
in 1828. He died in 1863. Mrs. Folsom was born in
Vienna, March 10, 1818. Six children were born of this marriage,
of whom four are living, as follows: Cyrus B., born
November 8, 1842, a merchant of Youngstown; Emma C.,
October 20, 1844, wife of S. A. Corbin, of Warren;
Elizabeth J., January 22, 1847, wife of Lewis
H. Thayer, a merchant of Youngstown; Olive L., April
26, 1849, at home. Mr. Folsom continued to reside in
Weathersfield until 1863, having purchased the old homestead,
when he moved to Howland. |
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KENNEDY FAMILY.
Samuel Kennedy (Howland), the
pioneer of this family in Trumbull county, was born in Chester
county, Pennsylvania, in 1764, from whence he moved to Ohio in
1814, and settled on the Kennedy homestead in Howland,
where he lived until his death, which occurred in 1816. On this
farm he erected the first saw-mill in the township on Kennedy
run, on the east part of the farm. This mill was operated from
that time until about 1873.
He was married to Jane Kennedy, and to
them were born the following children : Montgomery K.
(deceased), Nancy, now living in Howland, Elizabeth
(deceased), Mary, mother of J. F. King, Tabitha
(deceased), James, now on the home farm, Maxwell
(deceased), Thomas and William, of Bazetta; and
Ann, widow of M. J. Iddings, of Howland.
James Kennedy was born in Northumberland
county, Pennsylvania, in 1807, and came with his father to Ohio,
when he was but seven years old. From his boyhood to his present
advanced age he has been a resident of Howland, and always
prominently identified with all the public interests of the
township. In early times every settler from necessity became
expert in the use of a gun; but Mr. Kennedy was,
and is now rated, as an extra good shot. He relates that he
succeeded in killing forty-two wild turkeys in forty-four shots;
and now exhibits a target about two inches in diameter in which
eight bullet holes cluster about the center. He was also a
mechanic and manufactured articles of furniture and cutlery with
considerable skill.
He was married in 1831 to Miss Alice
Scott, who was born in 1809. Their children are William
Wallace, of Newton Falls; George W., of Howland;
James Lawrence, of Warren, and John Scott.
The Kennedy family of Howland was
represented in the late civil war by George W. Kennedy,
who enlisted August 22, 1861, in company C, Second Ohio cavalry.
The regiment immediately went into camp at Cleveland, where they
spent the winter. Afterwards were ordered west to Platte City,
Missouri, and were employed mostly as scouts in the Indian
country. The first skirmish in which they were engaged was at
Independence, Missouri, afterwards being engaged in a battle at
Cowskin prairie, and, also, at the second battle at Pea Ridge.
In 1862 or 1863 they returned from the West and in following
campaign were engaged as scouts in Kentucky and Tennessee; was
through the memorable campaign of the wilderness under Grant;
also at the siege of Knoxville, Tennessee. He was considerably
disabled by his horse falling on him at Somerset, Kentucky,
breaking a leg and three ribs.
In the fight at Piney Creek church his horse was shot
from under him while in command of his company, to which he
succeeded on account of the cowardice of his captain while under
fire, he holding the rank of sergeant at the time. At the famous
battle at Winchester, Virginia, he had another horse disabled,
and was present when General Phil. Sheridan
appeared after his famous ride—"saving the day at Winchester."
After following the regiment through many hard
campaigns he was discharged September 18, 1864, on account of
injuries received as above mentioned. On his return home he was
married November 11, 1865, to Eliza Bailey, who
was born July 25, 1837. They now have one child, Jimmie Frank,
who was born April 5, 1868. After his marriage, he settled on
the east part of the homestead farm and operated a saw-mill. He
afterwards returned to Sharon, Pennsylvania, where he kept a
hotel; also, afterwards engaged in same business at Warren. He
removed to the present farm in Howland in 1877, where he now
resides—having served his township as assessor, school trustee
and supervisor.
John Scott Kennedy was born in
1850, and was married m 1876, to Jennie King, who
was born in 1855. They have one child, Grace.
He is now a member of the firm of M. C. & J. S.
Kennedy, marble and granite works, Cortland, Ohio; was census
enumerator of 1880, and had the honor of presenting the best set
of books in the census district; he has also held the office of
town assessor for two years, having been elected to that office
while absent from home. He now resides on the home-farm in
Howland. |
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WILLIAM W. KENNEDY,
the only son of Samuel M. and Tabitha Kennedy, was born
in Howland township, March 27, 1836. His father, Samuel
Kennedy, was born in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, in
1798. He came to Ohio with the family and settled in Howland
township. His family consisted of two children—William W. and
Mrs. Ann E. Gilbert, who resides on the homestead.
Samuel Kennedy was much esteemed as a neighbor and citizen.
He died February 21, 1875. William W. Kennedy married,
September 25, 1877, Miss Addie Ewing, by
whom one son was born—Samuel E. Mrs. Kennedy died August
6, 1878. Mr. Kennedy was married again April 19,
1882, to Miss Barbara Jones. He resides on
the homestead in Howland. |
JAMES FRANKLIN KING,
widely and favorably known throughout this part of Ohio as a
stock dealer and farmer, is a descendant of one of the earliest
settlers of the county. His grandfather, Barber King,
was a native of Connecticut, and was employed in that State as
an iron worker.
He made the acquaintance and courted Irene
Schoville, a lady of aristocratic family, whose parents
objected to her marriage with a laborer; and the old Connecticut
statutes made it a crime for a man to lead a lady to Hymen's
altar without her parents' consent. But Cupid has never been
easily bound by statutes, and when in earnest always finds a way
of evading them. In this instance Miss Schoville
rode to her affianced's house, gave him a place behind her on
her horse, and rode to a magistrate's office, where they were
lawfully married. Mr. King joined the second
company of surveyors sent out by the Connecticut Land company in
1797, and while thus employed selected a place for settlement
near the present site of Canfield. The following spring he
removed with his wife from Connecticut and made an improvement
on the lot which had been selected. They lived there two years,
then removed to a lot at the present village of Girard. After a
residence on this lot of about six years, having made
considerable improvement, General Perkins proposed
an exchange of one hundred acres in Howland for the lot on which
Mr. King lived. After viewing the ground the
proposition was accepted, on condition that the center of the
one hundred acres should be a certain strong, clear, flowing
spring. Beside this spring Mr. King built his
house in Howland, and moved into it in June, 1806, on the day of
a total eclipse of the sun. The house stood on the ground now
occupied by J. F. King's residence. Mr. King
was a plain, unambitious farmer. He lived to the age of
sixty-nine years. Mrs. King lived to the
advanced age of eighty-six years. During the Revolution she was
taken prisoner at Wyoming by the Indians and held captive for
six months. The family of Barber and Irene King
consisted of seven children— Jonathan, James,
Samuel, William, Bliss, Anna, and
Sarah. Sarah (Mrs. William Brinton)
is the only member of the family living. They all settled in
Howland township except James, Anna (Mrs.
Jabez Bell), and Sarah Brinton.
William King, father of James F. King,
was born April 9, 1798, and died October 8, 1866. He was
married in 1820 to Mary B. Kennedy, a daughter of
Samuel and Jane Kennedy. She was born in 1801, and
died January 3, 1869. Mr. King was a man of great energy
and progressive ideas; his wife was plain, unassuming and
industrious. They were both members of the Presbyterian church
and were remarked in their neighborhood for sympathy and
kindness in cases of sickness. Their family consisted of four
children—James F., Irene (deceased), Orvilla (Mrs.
William Chamberlain), and Jerusha (Mrs. Charles Hunt).
James Franklin, whose portrait
appears on an adjoining page in this volume, was born March 12,
1822. He owns and resides on the old homestead of his
grandfather and father, and where he was born and raised. He
attended the district school and received a fair English
education, but it was farm work that mainly occupied his
attention. Soon after thoroughbred shorthorn cattle had been
introduced into the county, in 1841, by Thomas and
Frederick Kinsman, Henry B. Perkins, and the
Cowdens of Gustavus, Mr. King saw the
opportunity of building up a successful industry. The first
importations of cattle had been from New York. Mr.
King accompanied Messrs. Kinsman and
Perkins to the Bluegrass region in Kentucky in 1850, at
which time he made a purchase of short-horns, and has since
continued to supply his herds with stock cattle from that region
and from southern Ohio. He has for about forty years given close
and intelligent attention to the breeding and raising of stock
cattle. He keeps on his farm about one hundred head. Of late
years Mr. King has been dealing to some extent in
thoroughbred Southdown sheep. He has been identified with the
Trumbull County Agricultural society as an officer ever since
its re-organization in 1846, and for eight years was president.
Under his management the annual fairs were made of special
interest to the general farmers. He aimed to make the annual
exhibitions what they professed to be—agricultural fairs. He is
a man of good executive talent, being energetic, correct and
decided. Mr. King married in 1862 Miss
Cornelia J. Andrews, daughter of Samuel and Lorena
(Hutchins) Andrews, of Howland township. They have a family
of two children. |
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JOHN LANE was born
in Austintown, Mahoning county, Ohio, May 29, 1812; married,
February, 1840, Miss Anna Westover, and soon after was
appointed superintendent of the county infirmary, filling that
position some three years. He purchased a farm in Champion,
where he lived some thirty years, with the exception of a year
and a half in Vienna. In 1870 he purchased the Simeon Drake
farm, where he afterwards lived. He had a family of four
children. Austin W., born February 20, 1841, enlisted, in
1861, in the Fourteenth Ohio battery, and was in the battle of
Shiloh. Being prostrated by sickness he was soon removed to
Cincinnati under the care of his father. He died April 29, 1862.
Chester, born March 5, 1843, died September 7, 1844.
Frank B., born April 2, 1855, died October 20, 1859.
Irenus L., the only survivor, was born in Champion township,
January 3, 1853. He attended a normal school at Orwell, and
Hiram college some five terms; also took a commercial course at
Eastman's Commercial college, Poughkeepsie, New York. In the
spring of 1875 he took charge of the home place. He married,
June 8, 1876, Miss Maggie D., daughter of Adam
Dawson, of Howland. |
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MILO McCOMBS was
born in Weathersfield, Trumbull county, February 3, 1818, son of
James McCombs. He removed to Howland township in the fall
of 1855, settling on the place now owned by his son Nelson J.,
the old Dr. Seely place. He married for his first wife
Harriet Nelson, who died in 1851, and in 1853 he
married Rebecca Hake, who is still living.
He died in June, 1879. Nelson J., his oldest son, was
born in Weathersfield June 24, 1842, and married, October 4,
1870, Miss Charlotte Sowers, born in
Cuyahoga county in March, 1843, and has a son and a daughter—Harry
C., born October 27, 1873, and Mary Bell November 23,
1878. |
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ISAAC RATLIFF
was born February 6, 1818, on the farm on which his son James
now lives. He was married in 1839 to Phoebe King,
who was born in 1821. To them were born the following children:
Mary, William (who died in the army in Kentucky in
1862), and James, and Josiah. Mr.
Ratliff has been mostly engaged as a farmer, but has served
as a supervisor for a number of years. About 1865 he began
quarrying stone in the quarry which he afterwards sold to the
Harmon Austin Stone company. |
JAMES RATLIFF
was born in 1845, and was married to Barbara Snair,
who was born in 1846. To them were born the following children:
William, John, Anna (deceased), and
Judson. Mr. Ratliff has been engaged in
various occupations—working in stone quarry, farming, and is now
engaged with his brother Josiah in operating the steam
saw-mill. He is known as one of the rising young men of this
township, throughout which he is well and popularly known.
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JOHN RATLIFF. Among
the surviving pioneers of Trumbull county few are more deserving
a place in this history than Judge Ratliff. He was
born in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, December 17, 1799.
His grandparents came to this country from England, but at what
date is not known. His father was John Ratliff,
and his mother Mary Vandyke, both of whom were
natives of Delaware, where they lived until about the year 1798.
They moved to Westmoreland county and thence to Beaver county in
1801, near the Pennsylvania and Ohio State line. On the 1st day
of April, 1811, his parents removed to Trumbull county, Ohio,
arriving at their destination in the northwest part of Howland
township on the 3d day of the same month. There the subject of
this sketch grew to manhood, surrounded by all the difficulties
attending a pioneer settlement. In 1818 he married Elizabeth
Wilson, daughter of Robert and Elizabeth
(Hyde) Wilson, who were natives of Ireland but
came to this country when quite young. In April; 1821, he was
elected township clerk of Howland and served in that capacity
for a period of eighteen years. About the year 1823 there was a
regiment of volunteer riflemen organized in Trumbull county. The
township of Howland raised a company of about eighty men, who
were uniformed and equipped with good rifles. At the first
election of officers Richard L. Seeley was chosen captain
but was afterwards promoted and Judge Ratliff was
elected captain, serving seven or eight years, shortly after
which the regiment was disbanded. About the year 1839 he was
elected justice of the" peace and served in that capacity six
years, when, in 1845, he was elected one of the associated
judges of the common pleas court of Trumbull county, which
office he filled with ability until the change in the State
constitution in 1851. His associates on the bench were Edward
Spear, of Warren, and Asa Haines, of Vernon,
the presiding judge being Hon. Benjamin F. Wade.
September 1, 1844, Judge Ratliff became a member
of the Disciples church of Warren, and in the following year was
elected by the congregation one of the overseers of the church
and officiated in that capacity till about 1870, when he was
released from the duties of the office on account of his age.
May 3, 1855, the Disciples church in Warren became an organized
body under the laws of Ohio for the incorporation of churches
and he was elected one of the trustees and still holds such
office.
He is the father of seven children. Two died in
infancy. The others are as follow: Isaac, now living in
Howland; Robert W. of Warren; Ann
(deceased), wife of Josiah Soule; Mary
(deceased), wife of Henry Hoagland; and Lydia
Maria, wife of Daniel L. Jones, of Warren, with whom
the subject of this sketch makes his home. Mrs.
Ratliff died in Warren March 16, 1875, aged seventy-seven.
Judge Ratliff's occupation through life has been that
of farming. He has been unusually blessed with good health, and,
possessing a naturally vigorous constitution, he is to-day,
notwithstanding his advanced age, a hale and hearty old
gentleman. At this writing (March 17, 1882) he is eighty-two
years and three months old. |
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JOSIAH RATLIFF
was born in 1847 and married to Eliza Wilson, who
was born in 1847. Their children are as follows: Mina and
Bertie. He enlisted in 1864 in the One Hundred and
Ninety-sixth Ohio volunteer infantry, and served about one year,
doing garrison duty at Fort Delaware, and in the Shenandoah
valley. Mr. Ratliff returned from the army and
settled to the peaceful pursuits of a farmer's life in Howland
township. He has served his township as trustee, and at present
is engaged with his brother James in running the steam
saw mill near their residence in the northwest part of the
township. |
JOHN REEVES, SR.,
was born in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, June 6, 1781;
married April 16, 1801, Sarah Quinby, who was born
in Washington county, Pennsylvania, April 30, 1786. They moved
to Howland in the spring of 1803, he having been out the fall
previous and purchased one hundred and sixty acres in lot
twelve. He brought his goods by water in a canoe down the
Monongahela and Ohio to Beaver, thence up the Beaver and
Mahoning to Warren, while his wife made the journey on
horseback. During the War of 1812 Mr. Reeves was
drafted but furnished a substitute. Shortly afterward he removed
to Washington county, Pennsylvania, where he kept a tavern on
the National pike some three years. He returned again to the
farm but did not remain long, removing to and residing in Beaver
county, Pennsylvania, about three years. He then moved to
Sharon, Mercer county, where he operated a carding machine,
grist and saw-mill some three years. He then returned to the
farm where he lived until his death November 20, 1851, aged
seventy years. His wife lived until February 3, 1880, aged
ninety-three years and nine months.
Provisions were very scarce in the early settlement,
and on one occasion Mr. Reeves went to Beaver to procure them,
leaving his wife with a child and a neighbor's girl to take care
of the stock. On a very dark night during his absence the wolves
attacked the small flock of sheep near the barn, some ten rods
from the house, killing all but one, which Mrs. Reeves
courageously rescued from the rapacious beasts. She, with the
aid of the girl, pulled the wool from the dead sheep and
afterwards carded and spun it, and had it woven into coverlets,
some of which still remain as relics in the family.
--------MORE ON JOHN REEVES, SR. ----------------------
John Reeves, Sr., came from Westmoreland county,
Pennsylvania, in the fall of 1803, and purchased the well known
Reeves homestead farm, being part of lots twelve and
thirteen, Howland township. He moved in the spring of 1804 and
settled on this farm, having brought his goods down the
Monongahela and up the Ohio, Beaver, and Mahoning rivers in a
common canoe. He was born June 5, 1781, and died in 1851; was
married April 16, 1801, to Miss Sarah Quinby,
who was born April 30, 1786. Their children were Arthur,
Samuel, Abner, Jesse, Ephraim Q., Joseph P.,
John, Lewis, Sarah (now Mrs. Reno,of
Chicago), Eugenia (now Mrs. Little, of Chicago), Nancy
(now Mrs. I. N. Dawson, of Warren), and Hannah B.,
deceased. John Reeves, Jr., the seventh child, was born
Tuesday, March 21, 1815, and was married in 1839 to Harriet
Mason, who was born September 11, 1820. To them were born
the following children: Ellesif, Abner M., Sarah,
Mary, James, and John. Mr. Reeves was
elected treasurer of Trumbull county in 1856, and served two
years; has been several times elected justice of the peace of
his township. During the late war he was actively engaged in
enlisting soldiers, having recruited company B, One Hundred and
Fifth Ohio volunteer infantry, in about nine days, and of which
he was commissioned captain. He is now one of the well known,
leading men of his township, engaged as a farmer on the
homestead farm. |
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JOHN WILLIAMS
was born in Howland township October i, 1806. His father,
Uriah Williams, was a native of Pennsylvania, where he was
married. He came to Ohio with his family in 1801 and settled in
Howland on the farm now occupied by his son John. The
family consisted of three sons and seven daughters, of whom
three are living. His death occurred in 1814. John was
the youngest son. He was raised on the farm and his father's
death threw upon him at an early age considerable responsibility
in the management of the place. He obtained a good education for
that time, and taught school one term. He was married in 1842 to
Miss L. Scott, by whom one son, Lewis, was
born December 13, 1852; a carpenter by trade. Mrs.
Williams died January 3, 1865. He was married again
September 13, 1866, to Mrs. Elizabeth Kyle,
daughter of James W. Russell, who was an early settler in
Austintown. By her first husband Mrs. Williams had one
child—Laura E. Kyle, wife of M. L. Hyde. Mr. Williams
settled on his present farm in 1842. He was active during the
war in the Union cause. |
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NOTES OF SETTLEMENT.
(This area contained some of the biographies above, only) |
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