|
BIOGRAPHIES
Source:
History of Highland
County, Ohio
by Rev. J. W. Klise -
Publ. Madison,
Wis.,
Northwestern Historical Association
1902
<
CLICK HERE TO
RETURN TO 1902 BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX >
| |
CYRUS W. FAIRLEY,
the well known grocer and livery stable proprietor
at Hillsboro, is descended from one of the old
pioneer families of Highland county. His
grandfather was James Fairley, above
mentioned, who came to Ohio from Rockbridge county,
Virginia, in 1815 and settled on the farm in Paint
township afterward owned by Joseph Patton.
Among his eleven children was James Y. Fairley,
born in Highland county, Ohio, Dec. 25, 1822, and
married in 1844 to Rosanna, daughter of
Richard Barrett, an early settler of
Paint township. The children of this union,
consisting of five sons and five daughters, were
Sallie J., wife of Joseph Dwyer,
of Paint township; Nannie E., wife of
Valentine Grafi, of Iowa; Cyrus W.,
further sketched below; David M., farming on
the old homestead; Richard B., superintendent
of the new chair factory; Mary, deceased,
wife of Barney Grimm, a farmer of Penn
township; John W., a shoe merchant of
Greenfield; C. Grant, farming in Fairfield
township; Ella, who died in girlhood;
Wilma P., living at Hillsboro. Cyrus W.
Fairley, third of the above enumerated children,
was born in Highland county, Ohio, Aug. 30, 1849,
and reared on his father’s farm in Paint township.
In August, 1897, he came to Hillsboro and embarked
in the grocery business, which he has since
continued with success and now has a very fair
trade. As a side line, he added the livery
business, which he has conducted for four years, and
in the spring of 1902 purchased the Jacob Uhrig
stock on Beech street, adjoining the Clifton
House, where he has since enjoyed an
increased patronage. Aug. 22, 1876, Mr.
Fairley was married to Hannah E.,
daughter of Martin S. and Margaret B. Swain
of Clinton county. Mrs. Fairley is a
sister of William Swain, who was for many
years superintendent of schools at Montgomery, Ohio.
Charles W. Swain, another brother, is a
prominent attorney at Wilmington, Ohio, and Emma,
a sister, is the wife of James L. Fullerton,
a shoe dealer of Greenfield. The children of
Mr. and Mrs. Fairley are Charles E.,
born in July, 1878, and farming in Fairfield
township; Rosa B., a graduate of the
Hillsboro high school residing at home; and
Herman, a partner with his father in the grocery
business.
Source: History of Highland County, Ohio by Rev. J.
W. Klise - Publ. Madison, Wis., Northwestern
Historical Association - 1902 ~ Page 294 |
| |
JAMES FAIRLEY,
one of the notable pioneers of Highland county, was
a native of Scotland, who came to Ohio from
Rockbridge county, Va., in 1815, and settled on a
farm afterward owned by the Pattons, in Paint
township. He built a distillery on his farm on
Fall creek in 1818, and was engaged in that
industry, common in that time, for some years.
His death occurred in 1860. By his marriage to
Haney Lackey, he had eleven children:
William, Jane, Haney Y.,
Addison, Samuel M., Mary A., James
Y., Amanda, Christina and David
A. Samuel M. Fairley was born Dec.
8, 1816, and married Sophia, daughter of
Enoch and Sally Overman. She was the
granddaughter of Zebulon Overman, a native of
Green Brier county, Va., who came from the
Shenandoah valley to Paint town ship, with his
children, in 1805. The family has always been
very prominent in the Friends society of Highland
county. By this marriage Samuel M. Fairley
had eight children: Caroline, wife of
Amosiah Baldwin; James W.,
deceased; Levi B.; Mary L., wife of
James Hughey; Enoch O.; Haney,
wife of F. M. Johnson; Elizabeth, and
a son who died in infancy. Enoch
Overman Fairley, son of Samuel M. and
Sophia Fairley, was born in High land county,
Oct. 26, 1852, and married in early manhood Mary
Hindman, born Dec. 9, 1859, daughter of
William and Lucinda (Clark) Hindman. She
is one of the children (the others being David C.,
Mary C., and Carrie Ellen) of
William Hindman, born in Brooke
county, W. Va., Apr. 30, 1814, and died at New
Petersburg, Oct. 2, 1895, and his wife, Lucinda
Clark, born Apr. 3, 1831, in Highland county,
and died at New Petersburg Nov. 9, 1887.
Enoch O. Fairley is a prosperous farmer of Paint
township, residing about half a mile north of New
Petersburg, where his home has been since childhood.
He is a popular and estimable citizen, maintains a
membership in Emerald lodge, No. 211, Independent
Order of Odd Fellows, at New Petersburg, and is
active and enterprising in his social and business
relations. He and his wife have three
children: Marie, born Aug. 14, 1878, formerly
a teacher in the public schools and now the wife of
James E. Haines of Fayette county; Lula,
born May 10, 1881, and Herbert, born Mar. 18,
1884.
Source: History of Highland County, Ohio by Rev. J.
W. Klise - Publ. Madison, Wis., Northwestern
Historical Association - 1902 ~ Page 293 |
| |
THE
FARIS FAMILY is one of the oldest, as it is
certainly one of the most numerous and influential
of all the family connections in Salem township.
The first of the name to settle in America was
James Collins Faris, born in Scotland in 1715,
and an emigrant to Virginia in 1740. His son
James was born in Virginia in 1742 and there
reared a large number of children, among them being
John Faris, who was born in 1770 and married
Jane Watson, whose father was a native of
Glasgow, Scotland, who had come to Virginia about
1740 and later served in the Revolutionary war.
It was from the last mentioned couple that all the
Highland county Farises descended. In
1813, John and Jane Faris located in New
Market township and reared a family of sons and
daughters which in numbers as well as sturdy
qualities was one of the strangest of the pioneer
period. Every one of the entire thirteen grew
to maturity, married, and reared children of their
own. By the inexorable law, from which no
mortal can escape, all have long since paid the debt
of nature, but they left upon the communities in
which they resided an impress for good which still
remains as a precious heritage to their descendants.
A few brief biographical details of each one will
prove of interest: Elijah married
Mary Miles, settled on one hundred acres of land
where Pricetown now is, and had six children.
Catherine married Samuel Sweinhart in
1815, and first lived south of Pricetown, in a rough
shanty enclosed on three sides only, from which, in
her husband's absence, she had to fight away the
wolves with an axe. They had seven children.
Beniah had eight children and lived west of
Pricetown. Mary married Jacob
Cochran, settled in New Market and had eight
children. Sarah married Abraham
Wilkin, settled near Sonner's Mill in
White Oak township and had eight children.
Rachel married Daniel Scott, lived east
of Pricetown in Salem township and had three
children. James W. married Mary Hoop,
settled east of Pricetown and had three children.
John B., eighth of the family, is sketched
more fully below. Jesse married
Nancy Davidson, a woman of remarkable character,
by whom he had eleven children. Jane
married Samuel Gibler and settled in Liberty
township. Eli S. married Lucilla
Pulliam and settled in New Market.
Andrew F. married Susan Hoop, lived on a
farm south of Pricetown, and had eight children.
Uriah married Eliza Couch, settled
south of Pricetown and had seven children.
John Faris, the patriarch of this interesting
family, soon after his arrival in the county, bought
about 600 acres of wild land in New Market township,
but after purchased 1,000 acres in Salem township
which became the basis for his children's homes.
He was a man of prominence and influence, and active
in the promotion of good enterprises. He and
his wife were members of the Christian church at
Pricetown and for many years interested in religious
work. He died in 1850 at the age of eighty-one
and his wife one year later in the eightieth year of
her age. John B. Faris, eighth
in age of the thirteen children above described was
born in Virginia Jan. 2, 1802, and hence was about
eleven years old when his parents arrived on the
banks of the Scioto. In 1823 he married
Catharine, the seventeen-years-old daughter of
David Welty, who came from Kentucky to Hamer
township in 1811. The newly married couple
settled on a farm in what was known as the Bowyer
Survey in Salem township, north of Pricetown,
where they retained their residence to the end of
life. About 1824, Mr. Farris
constructed on White Oak creek the first gristmill
in Salem township, which he conducted in connection
with a sawmill until his death, which occurred
in1837 at the comparatively early age of thirty-five
years. This ended prematurely a life of
usefulness, as his business enterprises were at that
time the most important in the township and he
himself one of its most progressive men. After
his death his wife showed unusual business ability,
by superintending and carrying on all the industries
in which her husband had been interested. She
married Matias Gibler, who, however, only
lived a year afterward, and she herself passed away
Sept. 2, 1889, aged eighty-two years. This
good woman had eight children, all by her first
husband, of whom Eliza, Mary N., Sarah and
Elizabeth are dead. The four still living
are David, a resident of Illinois;
Josephus and Levi, of Pricetown, and
John B. Faris, Jr. The latter was born in
Salem township, Highland county, Ohio, July 27,
1837, and in early manhood went to Pike county,
Illinois, where he spent some time in work for
monthly wages. Returning to his Ohio home he
was married to Chaffalio, daughter of
Jacob and Anna Fender, of Clay township, located
at Pricetown and four thirty-two years, followed the
profession of teaching. This, however, was
interrupted in 1864 by his military service with
Company E, One Hundred and Sixty-eighth regiment
Ohio infantry. This command was first sent to
Robinson Station, Ky., where they did guard duty and
later part of the regiment was captured after a
fight near Cynthiana with General Morgan.
Subsequently they were sent back to Cincinnati,
where they did guard duty, afterward a Camp Dennison
and there they were mustered out of the service
Sept. 13, 1864. After this brief but rather
rough experience of war, Mr. Faris returned
to Pricetown and resumed his occupation as a teacher
, which he did not again abandon for many years.
In 1872, he was ordained as a minister of the
Christian church and held several charges, but of
later years has given up regular work on account of
his health. He lives a retired life at the
same home he has occupied since his marriage, with
the exception of two years spent in Liberty
township. His estimable wife passed from
the scenes of earth Apr. 4, 1901, and was laid away
in the Plainview cemetery. The living children
are John S., who is postmaster of Pricetown;
Laura B., widowed wife of J. W. White;
and Anna, at home. Mary and
Moody, the first born and twins, and J.
Walter, next in order of birth, are dead.
Josephus Faris, fourth of the children of
John B. and Catharine (Welty) Faris,
was born in Salem township, Highland county, Ohio,
July 21, 1829, and remained at home until his
marriage to Millie, daughter of Philip and
Rachel Baker. He enlisted in Company E,
One Hundred and Sixty-eighth regiment Ohio infantry,
and shared the service of that command, above
described. Shortly after his return home from
the army, he removed with his family to Illinois,
where he spent sixteen months and then came back to
Highland county. For twenty years he followed
the occupation of teaching school, during which time
he has held the positions of assessor, clerk,
supervisor, notary public, and member of the school
board. In the spring of 1902 he was elected
justice of the peace for Salem township, to take
office in November. Like most of his family
connection, he is a member of the Christian church
and is a most excellent citizen in all the relations
of life. He has had eleven children, of whom
Lucilla C., John P., Eliza J., William C. and
Flavius J. are dead. Those living are
Sarah E., wife of William T. Wardlow,
of Salem township; Levi S., Rachel B., and
Rosa N., at home, and Evadean, wife
of E. L. Gomia, of Salem township. In
1889 was held the first Faris family reunion,
which has been kept up annually ever since.
John B . Faris is president and historian of his
reunion association. As many as four hundred
of the descendants of John and Jane (Watson)
Faris have attended a single reunion, and this
annual event has now become a fixture among the
annual entertainments of Salem township.
Source: History of Highland County, Ohio by Rev.
J. W. Klise - Publ. Madison, Wis., Northwestern
Historical Association - 1902 ~ Page 294 |
| |
BENJAMIN
F. FARIS, well known in the farming
circles of Dodson and Union townships, is a
great-grandson of the pioneers, John and Jane
(Watson) Faris, mentioned in the foregoing
family sketch. The ninth of their children,
Jesse, in 1825 married Nancy Davidson,
born in 1805. She was the only daughter of
John Davidson, a native of Pennsylvania, one of
the strong characters of that rugged period and the
earliest settler within the limits of the present
township of Salem. He was also the first
shoemaker of that neighborhood, volunteered in
Captain Barrere's company for the war of 1812,
was elected lieutenant and surrendered with
General Hull at Detroit. After their
marriage, Jesse and Nancy (Davidson) Faris
settled a mile southwest of Pricetown, but a year
later removed to a farm which the widow Long
owned. This pioneer couple used to tell
amusing stories of the hardships connected with
their honeymoon days. Their household goods
were so meager that they placed them all in the
front end of the wagon-box. On their way they
stopped at the mill and got a peck of corn ground
which, with two hams, constituted all their
provender. Mrs. Faris soon made five
pounds of butter, which she exchanged for one pound
of coffee. This was "putting on style," as
before that the family had been content with
sassafras tea. Their first soap was made by
Mrs. Faris from the fat of two opossums.
John Faris, the patriarch of the Highland
county family, and his wife, were members of the
Christian church at Pricetown. He died in 1850
at the age of eighty-one years and his wife in 1851
when eighty years old. Jesse and Nancy
(Davidson) Faris had eleven children, among the
number being Carey C. Faris, who was born in
Salem township Oct. 30, 1831, and married Eliza
King, born in Hamer township in 1839, In 1863,
Carey C. Faris enlisted in Company B, Second
regiment Ohio heavy artillery, with which he served
fifteen months and was eventually discharged for
disability, by virtue of which a $30 per month
pension was granted. He owns a small farm and
for some time has been living in retirement.
He has eight living children, among them Benjamin
F. Faris, who was born in Salem
township, Highland county, Ohio, Feb. 6, 1861.
With a view to fitting himself as a teacher he
attended the National Normal university at Lebanon,
Ohio, where he went through the regular course.
After leaving this institution, Mr. Faris
spent the next seven years as a teacher in the
district schools, but was eventually forced to give
up0 this employment on account of failing health.
Mar. 5, 1887, he was married to Electa Roush,
daughter of N. W. and Martha Roush, and a
member of one of the leading pioneer families of
Hamer township. As early as 1806 her
great-grandfather, Philip Roush, cleared a
farm in the north part of Hamer, which was
subsequently owned by his son John. By
this marriage Mr. Faris has three children:
Bertsyl W., Otis G., and Isma Anna.
Mrs. Faris died May 17, 1901. For the
past twelve years Mr. Faris' time has been
taken up in agriculture and stock raising. He
is now and has been fir five years past a member of
the school board and takes much interest in
educational affairs. He is prominent in
Knights of Pythias circles and connected with the
Masonic fraternity at Lynchburg.
Source: History of Highland County, Ohio by Rev.
J. W. Klise - Publ. Madison, Wis., Northwestern
Historical Association - 1902 ~ Page 298 |
| |
JOHN S.
FARIS, postmaster at Pricetown, is one of the
younger generation of the old and long established
Highland county family of that name, whose history
is sketched at length above. He is a
great-grandson of John and Jane (Watson) Faris,
and grandson of John B. Fairs, mentioned in
the foregoing. John B. Faris had eight
children and among the number a son and namesake who
married Chaffolio Fender. This couple
were the parents of John S. Faris, who was
born at Pricetown, Highland county, Ohio, Oct. 20,
1868, and educated in the district schools. At
an early period he evinced a strong inclination to
teach, an occupation in which his father had met
with success, and he devoted fourteen years to this
honorable profession. In 1901, he engaged in
mercantile business at Pricetown and at the same
time was appointed postmaster of the village, which
position he has since retained. He is also
township clerk, was chairman of the township central
committee several years, and in 1900 was appointed
to take the census of Salem township. Like
most of his family connections, he is a member of
the Christian church and is regarded as a young man
of bright promise for future usefulness. He
married Flora B., daughter of Jonathan and
Elizabeth Foust, of Pricetown, and has two
children, Madge and Glenn.
Source: History of Highland County, Ohio by
Rev. J. W. Klise - Publ. Madison, Wis., Northwestern
Historical Association - 1902 ~ Page 298 |
| |
LEVI
FARIS, of Pricetown, is a grandson of that
remarkable pioneer couple, John and Jane (Watson)
Faris, mentioned above, who located and bought
large sections of land in Highland county a few
years after the war of 1812. One of their
thirteen children was John B. Faris, who
built the first grist mill in Salem township and
became one of the most influential and enterprising
citizens of his day. HE married Catharine
Welty, a daughter of an old Kentucky pioneer,
and a woman of great ability and strength of
character. After her husband's death, she
carried on his farming and milling business, besides
looking after the needs and education of her
children. Among the latter was Levi Faris,
born in Salem township, Highland county, Ohio, July
11, 1831, and educated in the district schools.
In early manhood he was married to Margaret,
daughter of Albert and Elizabeth Malcom, of
New Market township. Her mother is yet living
and is in reasonable health, although ninety-two
years of age. Immediately after this marriage
Mr. Faris moved to Illinois, where he was
employed for a while, but not liking the outlook he
returned in a short time to Highland county and
settled on a rented farm in Salem township.
Later he bought a small place in the township on
which he resided some time, and in 1872 purchased
property in Pricetown which has since been his home.
His military service during the civil war was with
Company E, One Hundred and Sixty-eighth regiment
Ohio volunteer infantry, which was organized in May,
1864, and subsequently sent into Kentucky.
This command rendered valuable service as protector
of railroads and government property and in checking
incursions of raiders from the Kentucky side of the
river. They came in collision with Morgan near
Cynthiana in June, 1864, and after spirited fighting
suffered considerable loss in the way of prisoners.
Later the regiment was sent to Cincinnati, where it
did guard duty until mustered out of the service at
Camp Dennison in September, 1864. For several
years after the war, Mr. Faris followed the
business of carpentering and bridge contracting, but
lately has retired from regular work on account of
failing health.
Source: History of Highland County, Ohio by Rev.
J. W. Klise - Publ. Madison, Wis., Northwestern
Historical Association - 1902 ~ Page 297 |
| |
J.
FRANK FENDER, senior member of
the firm of Fender & Son, lumbermen, at
Taylorsville, is a descendant of George Fender,
a native of Virginia, was married there to
Magdalene Launce, and in the fall of 1801, with
his family, and his father-in-law, Adam Launce,
and his family, he settled on the banks on the banks
of White Oak, not for from where the settlement was
made in the same year by Robert Finley and
James B. Finley and John Davidson and
their families. This was the first settlement
of the township. He first bought a hundred
acres including the site of his home, which is yet
standing, he acquired a large body of land, and
became a valued citizen, and the main stay of the
Christian church in that locality. His eight
children were Katie, Sarah, Pollie, Betsey, John,
Jacob, George and one who died in infancy.
John, father of the subject of this sketch,
was born on the White Oak farm, Jan. 23, 1813, and
when grown to manhood he married Catherine Kibler,
with whom he went to housekeeping on the old
homestead. Later he built there a brick
residence, which was in its day the finest house in
the township, and though now outrivaled, is still
standing and substantial. He became the owner
of over five hundred acres of land, held many of the
township offices, and was an earnest worker for the
welfare of the Christian church. He and his
wife died within nine days of each other, both at
the age of seventy-five years. Their children,
ten in number, were, William and Sarah,
now living in White Oak township; Leah and
Henry, deceased; Mary, wife of George
Carr, of White Oak township; Rachel, wife
of Robert Hatcher, of Hamer township;
Amelia, wife of Charles Robinson, of
White Oak township; and J. Frank. J.
Frank Fender was born in the house where he now
lives, Feb. 25, 1856, married to Mary Ann Roberts,
a native of Highland county, and daughter of
Alfred and Catherine Roberts. Seven children
have been born to them: Newton, Clarence, Virgie,
Glenn, and Stanley, living at home, and
Alva and Mertie, deceased. Mr.
Fender is the owner of about 250 acres of land,
which he farms successfully, giving considerable
attention also to the raising of live stock, and in
his connection with the firm of Fender & Son,
owning and conducting the saw mill at Taylorsville,
he is contributing efficiently to the remunerative
industries of the township. He has served the
community ably as township trustee, assessor and
constable, is widely influential in politics as a
Democrat, and is a valued member of Lodge No. 633,
at Mowrystown, of the Independent Order of Odd
Fellows.
Source: History of Highland County, Ohio by Rev. J.
W. Klise - Publ. Madison, Wis., Northwestern
Historical Association - 1902 ~ Page 299 |
| |
CHARLES
FENNER, trustee of New Market
township, comes of pioneer ancestors who settled in
Highland county among the first of the incoming
emigrants from the East. His grandfather,
John Fenner, was a native of Pennsylvania
and entered government land in what is now Liberty
township as far back as 1800. He lived to the
age of seventy years, became a large landowner and
reared a family of children, among them being a son
named William W., who was born in Liberty
township about 1821. William W. Fenner
married Malinda Frost and had ten children,
four sons and six daughters, all of whom grew to
maturity and seven of them are still living.
The father was a farmer all his adult life, belonged
to the Methodist Episcopal church and held various
minor offices, including that of township trustee.
He died Mar. 12, 1896, while residing in Union
township, long surviving his wife, who passed away
in 1862. Charles Fenner, the
youngest of their surviving children, was born in
Clay township, Highland county, Aug. 12, 1860, and
remained at home until a year or two after reaching
his majority. Dec. 23, 1883, he was married to
Haney E., daughter of John W. and
Mary (Strange) Hart, of Union township.
Mrs. Fenner’s paternal grand father was
Joel Hart, of North Carolina, who came
to Ohio first in 1801, two years later brought his
family to Highland county, and removed to Union
township in 1832 where he and wife passed the
remainder of their days. In 1826, Joel
Hart .shot the last bear killed in Highland
county, and in 1848 his son, Jonathan, was
the slayer of the last deer seen inside of the
county limits. After his marriage Charles
Fenner spent three years in the counties of
Mercer and Darke and afterwards rented a farm for
two years in Liberty township, Highland county.
Subsequently he removed to his present place in New
Market township, where he owns 118 acres of land and
carries on general farming. He is trustee of
New Market town ship and a charter member of Russell
lodge, No. 706, Knights of Pythias. Mr. and
Mrs. Fenner have three children living, Mary
M., Charles H. and Leonard, the eldest,
Clyde, having died when five years old.
The family affiliates with the Methodist Episcopal
church, of which Mr. Fenner has been a
member some years.
Source: History of Highland County, Ohio by Rev. J.
W. Klise - Publ. Madison, Wis., Northwestern
Historical Association - 1902 ~ Page 300 |
| |
THOMAS
M. FERGUSON, a veteran of the
civil war, has long been identified with the
industrial, political and fraternity interests of
Paint township. His father, John
Ferguson, a native of Ireland, brought to this
country by his parents when eighteen months old,
married Sarah Patton, a native of
Kentucky then living in Highland county, and
subsequently settled in Clermont county, Ohio, where
he followed his trade as a carpenter and died in
1849. Two years later his widow, with four
children, came to New Petersburg and made her home
in Highland county until her death at the age of
eighty-five years. Of her ten children only
two are now living, these being the subject of this
sketch and his brother, Delos S., who resides
at Leesburg, Ohio. The names of those who have
died are Jane, William W., Allen, James P.,
Joseph C., Samuel H., Elizabeth A. and Sarah.
Thomas M. Ferguson was born in Clermont county,
near Marathon, Ohio, Dec. 16, 1836, and while still
a boy began working out on farms by the month,
giving his scanty wages to his mother. In 1857
he came to Rainsboro and spent a year with James
Rowe learning the trade of harness-making after
which he was employed in a carriage shop four years
perfecting himself as a trimmer. He eventually
mastered all the details of this useful handicraft
and, since 1865, his main business has been that of
carriage trimming and harness-making. Oct. 10,
1861, he enlisted as a private in Company D,
Sixtieth regiment Ohio volunteer infantry and served
with it in Virginia under Fremont, taking part in
the engagements at Cottontown, Harrisonburg, Cross
Keys and Harper’s Ferry. At the latter place
the fighting continued from Sept. 11, 1862, for
several days, finally ending in the surrender of the
Federal troops to the Confederate forces under
Stonewall Jackson. Mr. Ferguson
and his comrades were sent to the parole camp at
Annapolis, Md., and from there to Camp Douglass,
where they were discharged Nov. 10, 1862. From
that time he remained at home until June 13, 1863,
when he reenlisted as a private in Company A, Second
regiment Ohio heavy artillery, and shortly after the
organization was appointed first sergeant.
This command was detailed to guard bridges and
railroads from Louisville to Bowling Green until
May, 1864, when it was sent to Cleveland, Tenn.,
where it remained for some months and during the
time was engaged in a lively fight with Wheeler’s
cavalry. In November the regiment was in an
engagement at Strawberry Plains and later took part
in what was known as the Stoneman raid
through southwestern Virginia. They returned
to Knoxville Jan. 1, 1865, where they guarded
government property until July, 1865, and next month
were discharged from the service at Camp Chase.
Mr. Ferguson served twelve years as
constable of Paint township and is now serving his
ninth year as justice of the peace. He was
appointed postmaster at Rainsboro under Harrison’s
administration to fill a vacancy caused by the death
of Y. C. Miller. He is connected with
the Bainbridge lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, and
is a charter member of Lodge No. 452, Knights of
Pythias, in which he has held all the offices.
He helped to organize Trimble post of the Grand Army
of the Republic, was its commander for eight years
and is now adjutant. In September, 1859, he
was married to Rose McKenna, by whom
he has five children: Austa, wife of F. M.
Ubanks of Rainsborough; Florence, wife of
Henry Ubanks of Sinking Springs; Jennie,
wife of Charles Elton, of
Jeffersonville; William S., school
teacher, and C. M., a traveling salesman.
Source: History of Highland County, Ohio by Rev. J.
W. Klise - Publ. Madison, Wis., Northwestern
Historical Association - 1902 ~ Page 301 |
| |
FLOYD
E. FERNEAU, prominent among
the younger farmers of Brush Creek township, is a
grandson of Henry Ferneau, who was one of the
pioneers settlers of that township, and a man of
note in his day. Henry F'erneau’s
children were, Aaron; Mary Ann,
wife of Joseph West; Martha, wife of
Austin Pepple; Maria, wife of
Cyrus Franklin; Joshua, John,
Henry and Joseph F. Joseph F.
Ferneau, father of the subject of this sketch,
was born in Brush Creek township, Sept. 17, 1836,
and was for many years one of the prosperous farmers
of the township. He married Abigail
White, of Highland county, and their children were,
Roxanna, who died in infancy; Henry A.,
Ella, Elizabeth, Floyd E.; Myrtle, wife of
Joseph Wilson; Ada, wife of Oscar
Hixon; Maude, wife of Charles
Kelly. Floyd E.
Ferneau was born June 7, 1868, in Brush Creek
township, and educated in the district school, and
at the famous Formal college at Valparaiso, Ind.
On Aug. 30, 1892, he was married to Retta,
daughter of Jacob and Jane Tener, of Adams
county, and they have three children: Ada B.,
born Dec. 31, 1897; Emmet, born Mar. 4, 1900;
and Kenneth, born Mar. 14, 1901. Mr.
Ferneau is the owner of land in Highland and
Pike counties aggregating 216 acres, and has proved
his ability as a skillful farmer and good business
man. He has been honored by the people of his
township with the office of justice of the peace,
and is a member of the Masonic lodge, No. 196, of
Bainbridge, of the Odd Fellows lodge of Petersburg,
of the Knights of Pythias, Uniformed rank, No. 492,
of Cynthiana, and of the Modern Woodmen at Sinking
Spring.
Source: History of Highland County, Ohio by Rev. J.
W. Klise - Publ. Madison, Wis., Northwestern
Historical Association - 1902 ~ Page 302 |
| |
EMERY
L. FERRIS, president of the
Merchants National Bank of Hillsboro and for more
than thirty-six years prominently connected with the
monetary interests of the city, is from the great
Empire State of the east, whence have come so many
men eminent in the world of finance. He is a
son of Rev. Philo and Nancy M. (French) Ferris,
and was born in Madison county, N. Y., Aug. 15,
1833. In youth he attended the schools at
Cazenovia, in his native county, and later
accompanied his parents to Wisconsin where the
father who was a Methodist minister, had pastoral
charge of one of the churches of his denomination.
In early manhood Mr. Ferris went to Chicago
and obtained a position in the money department of
the American Express company which he retained until
his removal to Hillsboro in 1805. In the
spring of I860, in partnership with Judge Foreman
Evans, Mr. Ferris engaged in the private
banking business in a building situated on the
corner of Main and High streets, which was
successfully prosecuted for about fifteen years.
Feb. 1, 1880, the institution was organized as The
Merchants National Bank with a capital of $100,000
and the following officers: H. Strain,
president; E. L. Ferris, cashier; A.
Matthews, assistant cashier. At the
present time Mr. Ferris is president and
John Matthews cashier of this bank. By
strict integrity, correct business methods and
financial ability Mr. Ferris has not only
benefited the institution of which he has charge but
the city and county as well, meantime gaining for
himself an honorable standing in the world of
finance and trade. Sept. 15, 1868, he was
married to Sallie Matthews, a lady of
distinguished ancestry on both sides of the family.
Her grandfather, Hon. John Matthews,
was not oily of the earliest but one of the most
useful and influential of Highland county’s original
settlers. He arrived from North Carolina in
1805 and located on Clear creek three miles
northeast of the site on which Hillsboro now stands,
where his first experiences well illustrate the
trials and devices of the early pioneers. He
suspended his provisions for safety from beech limbs
near the camp while his cabin was being built in the
usual crude and hasty manner. In 1806, a year
and a half before Hillsboro was laid out, John
Matthews taught the first school at the
Sam Evans schoolhouse, two and a half
miles east of the present town. In 1807 he was
elected the first magistrate of Liberty township and
eventually reached the position of associate judge
of Highland county, which he held many years with
honor to himself and was highly respected by the
public. In 1824 he married Mary
Hussey and had a family of twelve children,
several of whom rose to distinction in politics and
the professions Albert G. Matthews, one of
his sons, and the father of Mrs. Ferris,
studied law and for many years was a successful
practitioner at Hillsboro, rising to the dignity of
probate judge of Highland county. He was a
native of Highland county and an honored member of
the bar until his death. Jan. 8, 1846, he married
Margaret J., daughter of Gen. J. J. McDowell,
a Virginia gentleman of the old school who was horn
in 1800 and died in Highland county in 1877. Judge
A. G. Matthews has several living children.
The children of Mr. and Mrs. Ferris are
Margaret, who resides with her parents, and
Emery L., Jr., who graduated with honor in the
Harvard Law School, class of 1901, and is a
practicing attorney in Hew York city with the firm
of Anderson & Anderson.
Source: History of Highland County, Ohio by Rev. J.
W. Klise - Publ. Madison, Wis., Northwestern
Historical Association - 1902 ~ Page 304 |
| |
JAMES
M. FETTRO, one of the
representative and prosperous farmers of Liberty
township, comes of patriotic pioneer ancestors whose
descendants have made the name an honorbale
one throughout Highland county. The founder of
the family in Ohio was Joseph Fettro
(formerly spelled Fittro), who served in the
war of 1812, spent most of his life in Pennsylvania
and when well advanced in years migrated to Highland
county, where he died. His son Abraham
resided in Penn township, Jacob made his home
in Paint, and Polly married Solomon
Gaines of Liberty township. John
Fettro, the eldest of his father’s nine
children, was born in March, 1805, and acquired
ownership of a farm of one hundred acres about a
mile east of Hillsboro where he lived many years.
He married Rebecca Plaint, a native of
Virginia, born in 1802, who lost both her parents in
childhood and was reared by her aunt, Mrs.
Thompson. She died in 1890, long surviving
her husband, who passed away in 1872. The
children of John and Rebecca, (Plaint) Fettro
were Harriet, wife of Adrian
Vanpelt, of New Petersburg; Joseph, who
resides in California; Elzira, wife of
William Ervin; James, further
sketched below; Sarah, wife of James Ervin
of Highland county; John, who was a soldier
of the civil war and died at the age of thirty five
years; Rebecca, widow of Jacob
Pennington and residing near Hillsboro; Mary,
who died when about twenty years old; Nancy,
wife of E. C. Camp, a major in the United
States army and later in the coal trade at
Knoxville, Tenn. James M. Fettro, the
fourth of the children, was born in Highland county,
Ohio, Nov. 19, 1834, and educated in the district
schools. His first wife was Margaret,
daughter of Thomas and Hannah Hogsett, who
were early settlers of the county and progenitors of
a strong family connection. The children by
this union were Laura, wife of Harley
Russell, a liveryman of Galvia, Illinois;
Anna, wife of Newton Miller of
Hillsboro; Stella, wife of John
Link, a farmer of Liberty township. Sept. 25,
1877, Mr. Fettro married Lizzie,
daughter of Isaac and Sarah (Broadstone) Roads,
descendants of one of the pioneer families.
Mr. Roads, father of Mrs.
Fettro, formerly conducted a tannery and leather
store in Hillsboro. The only son by the second
marriage was Harry Edward Fettro,
who is engaged in farming as a partner of his
father, and married Libbie R., daughter of
Charles W. and Kate (West) Hiestand. She
has a twin sister, Lou D. Hiestand;
their births occurred Dec. 28, 1881 and their mother
died in March, 1895. Lillie Edith,
eldest daughter by the second marriage of James
M. Fettro, is the wife of James Hogsett,
and Kellie Marie, the youngest daughter, is
attending school. Mr. Fettro has
seventy-seven acres in his homestead on Rocky fork,
which is well equipped as to buildings, orchards and
other essentials of good husbandry, and he also owns
125 acres of land near the Brouse chapel.
Source: History of Highland County, Ohio by Rev. J.
W. Klise - Publ. Madison, Wis., Northwestern
Historical Association - 1902 ~ Page 305 |
| |
HENRY
FORAKER, a worthy
citzen citizen of Paint township, residing
one mile northwest of Rainsboro, is a grandson of
Henry Foraker, a native of Delaware, who married
Mary Taylor. Their son, Jacob
Foraker, married T'ena Spargur, of
a noted pioneer family of Highland county, and they
had nine children: Henry, the subject of this
sketch; Susan, Mary Ann,
Samantha, Margaret, James,
Trimble, Rufus, and one that died in
infancy. Henry Foraker was born
Dec. 1, 1842, in Highland county, and reared upon
the farm. In early manhood he married Lydia,
daughter of Richard and Eliza Cooper, of
Delaware, born Dec. 1, 1846. They have had six
children: Gertrude, born June 12, 1866, now
the wife of Gilbert Baham, of Ross
county; Joseph, born Apr. 28, 1868; Oliver,
born Feb. 3, 1870; Margaret, born Jan. 3,
1872; Theodosia, born May 20, 1874, who
married Edward Gossett May 10, 1897;
and John, born Sept. 28, 1877.
Florence C. Ogle, a grand daughter of Mr. and
Mrs. Foraker, born Mar. 21, 1886, has made her
home with them for a number of years. Mr.
Foraker has a good farm of about ninety acres
near Rainsboro, where he makes his home, and he is
reckoned among the skillful farmers and good
citizens of the county. He and his wife are
members of the Methodist church at Rainsboro.
Source: History of Highland County, Ohio by Rev. J.
W. Klise - Publ. Madison, Wis., Northwestern
Historical Association - 1902 ~ Page 306 |
| |
JOSEPH
BENSON FORAKER was born July 5, 1846, in the county
of Highland, in a pioneer cabin about one mile north
of Rainsboro. The Foraker family came
to Ohio from Virginia because of their strong
distaste for the institution of slavery. J.
B. Foraker was brought up upon his father's
farm, and assisted in the work incident of rural
life. Besides the cultivation of the fields
there was a grist and saw mill which demanded
attention and but few idle hours were spent by the
boys on the farm. when in his sixteenth year
the civil war broke out and the patriotic impulses
of young Foraker impelled him to enlist in
the Eighty-ninth Ohio regiment. He was made
sergeant in August, 1862, and the first lieutenant
in March, 1865, and was brevetted captain for
efficient services. He was in the battles of
Missionary Ridge, Kenesaw Mountain, and Lookout
Mountain, and marched with Sherman from
"Atlanta to the sea." He was but nineteen years
of age when he was mustered out of the service, and
he could look back with pride to the fact that no
unsoldierly act had cast a shade upon his record,
but that step by step he had risen from the ranks to
an honored and responsible position in the service
of his country. After returning from the war
he spent two years at the Ohio Wesleyan university
at Delaware, and from there went to Cornell
university, where he graduated in July, 1869.
In 1879 he was elected judge of the superior court
of Cincinnati, a position he held for three years.
He was nominated by the Republicans in 1883 for
governor, but was defeated by Judge Hoadley;
was renominated and elected in 1885 and reelected in
1887. He was nominated for a third term in
1889, but was defeated by James E. Campbell,
of Butler county. As governor his
administration was clean and pure, brave and
conscientious, and won the admiration of all,
without regard to party names and convictions.
As an orator Senator Foraker has but few
equals.
"I would express him
simple, grave, sincere;
In doctrine incorrupt; in language plain,
And plain in manner; decent, grave, chaste,
And natural in gesture. |
He is able to breathe into the
souls of others the fire of his own courage and
purpose. J. B. Foraker is a political
leader, a statesman as honest as he is strong and
through all the years of his political life has had
the confidence and esteem of his countrymen.
In speaking of politics and political
leadership we use the term in its broad sense,
having no special reference to any one party but to
the art of government, or the science whose subject
is the regulation of man, in all his relations as a
member of a state. We might define politics to
be the theory and practice of obtaining the ends of
civil society as perfectly as possible.
Politics is in its higher definition statesmanship;
for by state we understand a society formed by men,
with the view of better obtaining the ends-of life
by a union of powers and mutual assistance. It
was this great principle of mutual relationship and
aid and the security and stability of such forms of
political thoughts as would secure to all the people
the highest good, that has filled the mind and heart
of the senior senator from Ohio during all the years
of his public service. While it is true that
men in high places are not free from the criticism
that their greatness provokes, the triple plate of
steel that incases the person of Highland’s favorite
has enabled him to resist with perfect safety the
onslaughts of his political enemies. His
generous love of liberty made him a ready and
eloquent champion of the cause of Cuban emancipation
and independence, and he has the proud privilege of
hailing another nation and race made free by his
efforts, joined to that of others, and another star,
which if not added to the starry flag he followed so
gallantly in the sixties, yet a star still, shining
in the blue vault of God, harbinger of that glorious
hour when all the nations of the earth shall be free
and all men everywhere be permitted to have a free
and untrammeled start in the race of life.
Source: History of Highland County, Ohio by Rev. J.
W. Klise - Publ. Madison, Wis., Northwestern
Historical Association - 1902 ~ Page 306 |
| |
GEORGE
W. FOX, one of the industrious and
enterprising farmers of Liberty township, is
descended from an old Pennsylvania family long
resident in the "City of Brotherly Love."
There dwelt Conrad and Charlotte Fox, who had
nine children and among the number a son named
Christian, born Oct. 26, 1811, and later an imigrant
to Ohio where he died at the age of seventy-three
years. He married Mrs. Elizabeth (Weber)
Wurtz, whose two children by her first husband,
Conrad Wurtz, were Mariah Elizabeth,
at present engaged in the dressmaking business at
Dallas postoffice, six miles northeast of Hillsboro;
and John Jacob, who served as a soldier in
the civil war, was held in prison for some time and
died in 1865 at Hillsboro. The children of
Christian and Elizabeth (Wurtz). Fox
were Emma, a dressmaker with her
half-sister at Dallas; George W., further
noticed below; Caroline B., who died at the
age of twenty-eight years; Charles M. and
Charlotte M., twins; Carrie B., deceased
wife of Albert Depue of Knoxville, Tenn.;
Francis A., who died at sixteen years of age;
and Lewis A., superintendent of a lead
mine at Carthage, Mo. George W. Fox,
eldest of his mother's second family of children,
was married Feb. 28, 1890, to Emma, daughter
of Samuel and Mary (Black) Lyle, members of
old and long established Highland county families.
Samuel Lyle came with his parents to Ohio in
1815 when he was an infant. His father first
bought land in Concord township, which he gave to
his eldest sons, and subsequently settled on the
Rocky fork in Liberty township, about five miles
east of Hillsboro. Here he died and here his
son Samuel grew to maturity and spent all the
days of his life. In 1841 he married Mary
Black, of Virginia, by whom he had seven
children, including the present wife of George W.
Fox. For many years Mr. Fox has
been one of the industrious and thrifty farmers of
Liberty township. He owns a small tract near
the Brouse chapel, but resides on the Spargur
farm of 244 acres opposite the old Heistand
homestead. this place was rented by Mr.
Fox about twelve years ago and since then has
been skilfully cultivated and greatly
improved under his energetic supervision.
Source: History of Highland County, Ohio by Rev. J.
W. Klise - Publ. Madison, Wis., Northwestern
Historical Association - 1902 ~ Page 308 |
| |
MAJOR
ANTHONY FRANKLIN, a notable Ohio pioneer, was
born in Amherst county, Va., July 17, 1778, of a
family that was honorably represented among the
officers and soldiers of the Revolution. On
account of the early death of his father he was
apprenticed in youth to the carpenter's trade, with
General Nathaniel Massie, and
came to Massie's frontier station,
Manchester, about 1795. He also assisted
General Massie in his surveys in Ohio,
and in compensation received several tracts of the
wild forest land, upon one of which he made his
home, early in the last century, in Brush creek
township, which he occupied for sixty years, and
which after him was owned and occupied by his
son-in-law,
JAMES P. KEECH.
Upon selecting his "Franklin farm" for his home, Mr.
Franklin married Polly, daughter of
Captain Nelson, of Kentucky, and they
began their home in the wilderness, with George
W. Barrere, at the site of New Market, twelve
miles away, as their nearest neighbor. Mr.
Franklin also kept open house for travelers
on the road from Chillicothe to Cincinnati, and
entertained many noted men. In the militia he
had the rank of major, and he was the first sheriff
of Highland county elected by the people. Of
his ten children, Nelson A. served in the
legislature from Pickaway county and afterward moved
to Missouri; Maria married John W. Spargur;
Joel was a business man at Circleville, Larue,
and Lincoln, Neb.; Thomas Wingfield went west
and settled in Illinois; Patsey married
James P. Keech; Polly married and went to
Illinois; Cyrus served in General
Morgan's regiment in the Mexican war, afterward
moved to Iowa and later to Missouri, and was a
gallant cavalry officer in the service of the
Confederate States; while the youngest child, John
Nelson, who also made his home in Missouri,
fought for the Union, as did several of the
grandchildren of Major Franklin.
James P. Keech, who resided for many years on the
Franklin farm, was born Sept. 9, 1820, in Lancaster
county, Pa., son of William Keech, also a
native of that state, who came west and settled near
Larue, Marion county, following his trade as a
blacksmith, an important function in that day, until
his death, which occurred at a comparatively early
age. His six children were, James P., Mary,
Ann, Jane, David H. and Margaret M.
James P. learned the trade of his father in
youth, but in early manhood was married to Martha
E. ("Patsey") Franklin, as has been noted, and
they began housekeeping and farming on a tract of
land belonging to Major Franklin in Marion
county, where they lived until they came to the
Brush creek farm in 1852. His wife, born on
this farm July 9, 1817, and died there in November,
1894, was the most estimable woman. She was
the mother of six children; John H.,
deceased; William A. of Hillsboro, Ohio; and
Cyrus F., of Lincoln, Neb.; James L.,
subject of this sketch; Mary M., of East
Monroe, and Robert, the latter deceased.
James P. Keech is yet living, in the latter
years of a successful and honorable life. He
is the owner of 300 acres of land, and has served
several terms as township trustee. His son,
James L. Keech, was born Aug. 2, 1852, and now
resides upon the old homestead, or Franklin farm.
He is one of the prominent younger men of the
township, highly respected and trusted by his
neighbors. He has in his hands the management
of the farm, and has demonstrated skill as a farmer
and ability in business.
Source: History of Highland County, Ohio by Rev. J.
W. Klise - Publ. Madison, Wis., Northwestern
Historical Association - 1902 ~ Page 308 |
| |
ALMOND
G. FRAZIER, owner of the stone
quarry near Greenfield which bears his name, comes
of a Clinton county family of farmers, the original
founder of which was a pioneer from Tennessee.
The latter left a son named
Lewis Frazier, who became
prominent in the agricultural development of Clinton
county, where he ended his days after a life of
usefulness to himself and others. He married
Margaret Quigley and had a family of
eight children, of whom six are living in different
parts of Ohio. John and Aaron are at
Wilmington; Alfred at Springfield; Maggie,
wife of Edward Dougherty, at
Greenfield; Lizzie, wife of Frank
Drake, at New Vienna. Almond G. Frazier,
like the rest of the children, was born on his
father’s farm in Clinton county, Ohio, and remained
at home until he had obtained his education.
In 1892 he came to Greenfield where, a few years
later, he found employment in connection with the
quarrying industry. In 1899 he purchased what
is now known as the Frazier stone quarry,
situated in the edge of Ross county, and has since
done a thriving business which has profited both
himself and the community, as the work necessitates
the employment of a considerable force of men.
In fact, Mr. Frazier has proved a
welcome addition to the industrial forces that have
made Greenfield such an enterprising little city, as
he personally is popular and imbued with the public
spirit so essential to good citizenship. He is
a partner in the canning factory known as the
McCormick & Frazier canning company and
is giving this business much of his attention at
present. In 1882, he was married to Mattie,
daughter of Collins Thompson, a
prominent farmer of Highland county. This
union has resulted in the birth of two bright
children, Frank and Carrie, both in
the public schools. The family are affiliated with
the Christian church and Mr. Frazier
is a member of the official board.
Source: History of Highland County, Ohio by Rev. J.
W. Klise - Publ. Madison, Wis., Northwestern
Historical Association - 1902 ~ Page 310
NOTE: In the Lewis Frazier biography,
Almond G may be noted as Albron Gage. |
| |
GEORGE
S. FREE, notable among the
younger farmers of Paint township, was born Nov. 10,
1869, of a family well known in
Ross and Highland
counties since their settlement. Mr.
Free is a son of Isaac and Nancy (Ogle) Free,
pioneers of Paxton township, Ross county, Ohio,
whose children were, Charles, who married
Ida Swindle, and is a farmer near
Bainbridge; Julia, wife of Warren
Ogle, of Fayette county; Joseph, farming
near Bainbridge; Lina, wife of Robert
Dill, of Fayette' county; Lizzie,
Ella, George S., John, Alfred
and Mattie. Isaac Free
was a son of George and Hannah Free, who
settled at an early day in Paint township, Ross
county, Ohio, and lived there the rest of their
lives. Isaac Free died May 12, 1902,
and Nancy Free died Oct. 1st, 1891.
George S. Free received a common-school
education in his youth, and on Mar. 29, 1893,
married Marie, daughter of Robert B. and
Mary J. (McClure) McMullen.
She was born and reared on the farm now owned by her
and her husband, which was taken up, at an early
day, by Mr. Free’s grandfather, Joseph
Ogle, and was later purchased by the father
of Mrs. Free’s mother. After her
marriage to Robert B. McMullen he bought the
tract, and after his death Mr. Free
purchased the farm from the heirs. Mr. and
Mrs. Free began house keeping at Rapids Forge,
where he had bought 180 acres of land. Three
years later he sold that tract and bought part of
the present stead. farm, and, as has been stated,
after the death of Mrs. Free’s father,
he secured the remainder of the tract of 350 acres
and the old home. It is one of the handsomest
farms in the county, to which he has added enough to
make 500 acres in all. It is picturesquely
located along Paint Creek, three miles northeast of
Rainsboro, diversified by hill and dale, and
embracing a great area of valuable and fertile soil.
Mr. Free is an enterprising and
progressive farmer, and employs his estate to great
profit, raising livestock as well as grain, and
giving considerable attention to fruit culture.
This year he has one hundred and ninety acres in
corn. The best agricultural machinery is put,
to use, and half a dozen teams are steadily
employed. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Free
are Robert, Isaac, born Apr. 3, 1894;
and George Scott, born Apr. 16, 1896.
Mr. Free and his wife are valued
members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and he is
fraternally associated with Paint Valley lodge, No.
497, Knights of Pythias, at Bainbridge, and the
lodge of Modern Woodmen of America.
Source: History of Highland County, Ohio by Rev. J.
W. Klise - Publ. Madison, Wis., Northwestern
Historical Association - 1902 ~ Page 310 |
| |
FRESHOUR FAMILY,
so long and favorably known at Greenfield and
vicinity, yields to few in the interest connected
with its genealogical record and patriotic
achievements of the individual members. They
have been represented in all the wars fought for the
country’s independence or to sustain its integrity
and life. The ancestors were conspicuously
identified with the difficulties and dangers of the
early settlements in the Ohio valley and the
descendants have borne their full share of the
responsibilities and labors connected with the
building up of great states. The American
branch of this substantial family originated from
Abraham Freshour, who emigrated to the
United States from Germany and became a leading
farmer in Ohio. He had a, son Abraham
who enlisted as a soldier in 1812 and served through
the war of that, period on the American side,
contracting consumption as the result of exposure
and dying of that disease shortly after returning
home. His son, Abraham J. Freshour, was
bom at London in Madison county, Ohio, and came to
Greenfield in 1824. He learned the
saddler’s trade with Jeremiah Wilson,
hut was eventually compelled to abandon this work on
account of failing health. In 1850 he embarked
in the grocery business which he continued for
twenty years and closed out in 1870, after which he
lived a retired life until his death, which occurred
in 1895. During his early days in Greenfield,
he organized and was chosen leader of a band, which
was the first of its kind in southern Ohio and
became quite noted as a musical organization in that
part of the State. In 1839, Abraham J.
Freshour was married to Julia (White) Bryan,
whose family was one of the most estimable of the
Scioto valley and deserving of much more than a
passing notice. Her father, Charles
White, was one of the strong and rugged
characters of the pioneer period and a man whose
life record furnishes a list of honorable
achievements. Born in Virginia of highly
respectable parents, he united with the Methodist
church in the days when that organization was
comparatively weak, became a co-worker with the
celebrated Asbury, the first bishop of the
Methodist Episcopal church ordained in the United
States, and traveled with him on the circuit in
Virginia and Maryland. When the great
Revolution assumed the shape of open war, Charles
White and his two older brothers, Samuel
and John, enlisted as soldiers in the
Continental army. The first mentioned escaped
without material injury, but his two brothers fell a
sacrifice to the cause, being killed in battle while
bravely fighting against the British invaders.
When the news of Daniel Boone’s
explorations and daring deeds in Kentucky reached
his ears, Charles White determined to
cross the mountains and cast his lot with the heroic
settlers of “the dark and bloody ground.”
Shortly after the close of the Revolutionary war he
located at Lexington and, true to his religious
instincts, the first thing he thought of was the
spiritual needs of the bold borderers. He
helped organize the first Methodist Episcopal church
established in Kentucky, long known as the “old
Masterson’s church,” near Lexington, and did much
missionary work among the rude inhabitants of the
frontiers. Charles White, like
many other immigrants from the south, owned slaves
in Kentucky, but in time his conscience revolted
against this abominable institution and he
determined on a general manumission. Hot only
did he emancipate all of his own slaves but he
bought and set, free some of those belonging to
neighbors who had married among his people.
He deserves the enduring glory of having been one of
the very first of the Abolitionists and he served
the cause not simply by word of mouth but by deeds
involving a, large pecuniary loss. Even before
he set them free, he had carefully taught his poor
dependents the art of reading and writing and never
ceased to look after their welfare after they had
been emancipated. Charles White’s
first wife was Sarah Monroe, sister of
the fifth president of the United States, and they
had a daughter, Elizabeth, and five sons,
William, John, Daniel, Samuel
and George, of whom the three youngest served
as soldiers in the war of 1812. The second
wife of Charles White was Charlotte
Downs, daughter of a notable character in
that age of wars and revolutions. Her father,
Henry Downs, came over from England
with the expedition of Lord Delaware
and lived for a while on the eastern shore, but
later migrated to Kentucky. He became one of
the founders of the city of Lexington and fell
during the memorable siege of Bryant’s Station by
the Indians. By his second marriage Charles
White had four sons and seven daughters, who
grew up, married and assisted materially in building
up the infant commonwealth of Kentucky by rearing
large families. Their children, to the number
of twenty or more, were represented in the great war
between the states which convulsed the nation and so
long threatened its destruction. The
anti-slavery sentiments of Charles White
eventually made Kentucky a very disagreeable state
for him to live in and in September, 1808, he
settled in Ross county, Ohio, a short distance below
Greenfield. He never lost sight of his main
purpose in life and when he erected his house one
room was constructed for the especial purpose of
holding religious services. For nearly twenty
years his house was a noted preaching place on Deer
Creek circuit, from about 1810 until 1826 or 1827,
when the first church was built, a small brick
building where the parsonage now stands. Willis,
Collard, Walker, Hunter,
Griffin, Simomns, John Collins,
James and Isaac Quinn, Estel,
Eddy, Bigelow and others whose names
are famous in Methodism, made their stopping place
with Charles White, and after them
many of his children were named. He personally
superintended the building of both the first brick
and the old stone church, and his two sons,
namesakes of Willis and Griffin,
hauled every stone used in its erection. On
the first day of May, 1851, he threw the first
shovelful of dirt on the Baltimore & Ohio
Southwestern railroad, being then in his ninetieth
year, and he lived to see the first train pass over
the road, May 1, 1854, dying on the anniversary of
Yorktown, Oct, 19, 1854. Abraham J. and Julia
(White) Freshour had a family of three children,
James H., Mary and Hortense, all of whom
were reared and educated in Greenfield. James
H. Freshour, the only son, at the age of twenty
enlisted in Company I, Eighty-first regiment, Ohio
volunteer infantry and served the last three years
of the civil war. He took part with his
command in the great battle of Pittsburg Landing and
all the marching and fighting of the Atlanta
campaign, was wounded three times in different
engagements, and returned from the war much broken
in health. Though his death did not occur
until Mar. 27, 1902, he never fully recovered and
suffered much at times from the effects of his
patriotic service. He was a member of the
Union Veterans’ Union and an honored comrade of
Gibson post, Grand Army of the Republic. He
had a strong affection for his companions in arms
and did not forget them as death approached, but
left a handsome bequest of $6,000 to be devoted to
the erection of a suitable monument in the
Greenfield cemetery to commemorate the brave dead of
his command. This generous donation was
supplemented by his sister, Hortense
Freshour, who added $4,000 to her brother’s gift
and thus exhibited her patriotism as well as
sympathy with his dying wish. The surviving
members of the Freshour family are all
members of the Methodist Episcopal church at
Greenfield and enjoy general esteem in the
community.
Source: History of Highland County, Ohio by Rev. J.
W. Klise - Publ. Madison, Wis., Northwestern
Historical Association - 1902 ~ Page 314 |
| |
JOHN
FRUMP, of Jackson Township, formerly trustee
of Marshall township, was born in Brush Creek
township, Oct. 7, 1841. He is a grandson of
John Frump, a native Delaware, who was twice
married in that state, and with his second wife came
to Highland county and settled on Rocky fork, and
afterward bought a farm in Marshall township.
A few years later he died, but his wife lived to the
great age of ninety-four years. Their children
were Betsy, Ann, Harriett, Cassie and
William. William, the youngest son, and
father of the subject of this sketch, was born on
the Rocky fork farm in to Julia Wolf, a
native of Highland county, after which he lived at
the home place in Marshall township, until he died
at the age of seventy-five years. His widow
survives, at the age of eighty-six. He was a
man of high character, a steward and class leader in
the Methodist church, and prospered in worldly
affairs, so that he was able to leave a good
property. His children were ten in number:
Joel, deceased; John; Nancy, deceased;
Mary, wife of R. G. Setty, of Adams
county; James, of Marshall township;
William, of Paulding county; Milton, of
Marshall township; Harriett, of Oklahoma;
Frank, deceased; Daniel, of Paulding
county. John Frump became twenty-one
years of age in the midst of the great civil war,
and being of a patriotic nature, his energy was
first turned in that direction. Enlisting as a
private soldier in Company B of the Hundred and
Seventy-fifth Ohio volunteer infantry, he was
mustered in at Camp Dennison, and sent with his
command to Nashville, Tenn. When that state
was invaded by Hoods rebel army, he participated in
the battle of Franklin and several minor
engagements, and he continued in the survive until
his regiment was mustered out in 1865. On
October 15, of the same year he was married to
Louisa A. Hall, daughter of Jacob and
Mary Hall, and they first made their home near
Pisgah church in Marshall township. Three
years later he bought the farm now owned by J. A.
Burnett and fifteen years after that they moved
to the farm he now owns. He has 173 acres of
valuable land, to which he now gives his attention,
and to raising and dealing in live stock.
Formerly, for twenty-four years he gave his time in
the harvest season to the operation of the threshing
machine. He held the office of trustee of
Marshall township five years, and is at present
justice of the peace in Jackson. Since
seventeen years of age he has been a member of the
Methodist church, and for many years he has been an
active member of the Grand Army of the Republic.
In politics he adheres to the Democratic party.
"Mr. Frump has had six children, of whom two
died in infancy. The survivors are Mary L.,
wife of W. E. Roberts, of Adams county; W.
J., of Marshall township; and Francis S. and
Sally E., at home. Mrs. Frump is
also a member of the Methodist church.
Source: History of Highland County, Ohio by Rev. J.
W. Klise - Publ. Madison, Wis., Northwestern
Historical Association - 1902 ~ Page 314 |
| |
MILLARD
F. FUNK, M. D., of Mowrystown,
one of the most influential citizens of White Oak
township, was horn near Sugartree Ridge, June 23,
1854. He is the son of John Funk, for
many years one of the prominent men of Concord
township. John Funk was born in
Virginia, and as a baby of four months was taken
along by his parents on the long and difficult
journey to Michigan territory in the early days of
settlement, as far as Mowrystown, where the infant
became too sick to be taken further, and was
entrusted to the kindness of the family of Harvey
Badgeley. The parents promised to
return for him, but some misfortune or the
difficulties of travel prevented, and the boy was
raised by his foster parents. Reaching manhood
he married Sarah C., daughter of Joseph
Ilelsley, and after a short residence in White
Oak township they removed to Concord, where they
lived about twenty-five years. About the year
1865 he returned to Mowrystown and in 1870 he
engaged in the general mercantile business there.
He continued in this for about fifteen years.
Then for about twenty years, and up to a year of his
death, he was agent for the Hillsboro railroad
company. He was also justice of the peace of
his township for fifteen years, and an active member
of the United Brethren church. His children
were Jerusha E., deceased; H. T.,
residing in Missouri; Mary E., wife of J.
Sauner, of White Oak; Millard F., Eli,
of Mowrystown; Levi, of Springfield, Mo., and
Asenath D., wife of Rev. F. P. Rasselatt,
of Toledo, O. Dr. M. F. Funk, after
receiving a common school education, embarked in
mercantile business at the age of twenty-one years,
but his tastes were for professional life, and in
1878 he went to Macoupin county, Ill., and read
medicine in the office of Dr. William A. Schriver
for two years. Subsequently he took two
courses of lectures at the Eclectic Medical
institute of Cincinnati, in 1881 and 1882, and upon
being graduated returned to his native region and
began the practice of medicine at Mowrystown.
He also engaged in business as a druggist, and he is
yet conducting this store, in connection with his
practice, dealing also in farm implements, buggies,
harness and robes. He is esteemed alike as a
professional and business man, has one of the most
handsome homes in that vicinity, and enjoys the
confidence of all. He has served the community
three years as township treasurer, and is a member
of the orders of Odd Fellows and Modern Woodmen of
America, the Ohio State Medical association and the
United Brethren church. Since 1896 he has held
the office of post master. Dr. Funk was
married in 1884 to Sophia Galliett, and they
had one child, Homer, who died in infancy.
The wife died in 1888, and in 1891 he wedded
Jennie M. Roberts, daughter of Alfred Roberts,
by whom he had two children, Ethel and
Jennie. Their mother died in 1896, and two
years later he was married to Ollie Frazer, a
native of Clermont county.
Source: History of Highland County, Ohio by Rev. J.
W. Klise - Publ. Madison, Wis., Northwestern
Historical Association - 1902 ~ Page 315 |
|
