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BIOGRAPHIES
Source:
Portrait and Biographical Record
of
Auglaize, Logan and Shelby Counties, Ohio.
containing Biographical Sketches of Prominent and
Representative Citizens Together with
Biographies and Portraits of the Presidents of the
United States.
Publ. Chicago: Chapman Bros.
1892
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J. S. VAN HORN.
In narrating the lives of the many wealthy citizens and
prominent old settlers of Logan County, Ohio, we find no
one more worthy of mention, or whose long life of
usefulness is more worthy to be chronicled, than the
much esteemed and successful farmer, J. S. Van Horn.
His parents, William and Mary (Davis) Van Horn,
were natives of West Virginia, the father being born in
Harrison County. The latter was married in his
native State, and in 1828 he and his family emigrated to
the Buckeye State and settled in the woods in Clarke
County. There he resided until 1839, when he made
a settlement in Logan County. there were very few
settlers here at that time, and Mr. Van Horn
bought eighty acres from one of them, and also bought
land from the Government, paying $1.25 per acre. A
few Indians were in the county and they had their camp a
mile and a half from his home. He settled in a
round-log cabin with a clapboard roof, puncheon floor,
etc., and amid these rude surroundings, and in this
primitive manner, he began laying the foundation for his
subsequent prosperous career. He was a hard
worker, and although deer, bears and other wild animals
were plentiful, he cared very little for hunting and
spent all his spare time in clearing the farm of the
heavy timber with which it was covered. This was
the first farm in the county, and at the time of his
death, which occurred in 1857, he was the owner of
between four and five hundred acres of land. All
this was the result of his own industry and good
management, for he started out with very little else
than a pair of stout arms and a determination to
succeed. His marriage resulted in the birth of
twelve children, eleven of whom reached nature years.
They were named as follows: Sobrina, Jacob,
Suscilla, Minerva, Amy, Job, Eli, John and
William and Lewis (twins), Maria Louisa
Josephine and Mary Josintha Eglantine
(twins). The mother died when forty-five years of
age. Both parents were Seventh-day Baptists all
their lives, and the father was a Democrat in politics.
The subject of this sketch was born in Clarke County,
Ohio, Sept. 8, 1828, and was but ten years of age when
he came with his parents to Logan County, Ohio. He
assisted in driving sheep to this point and remembers
the journey perfectly. After reaching this county,
the sheep were kept in tight rail pens to keep away the
wolves, but after all many were destroyed in that way.
Our subject attended the pioneer log schoolhouse, with
slab seats, clapboard roof, weighed down with poles, and
the large open fireplace. Part of the time these
were subscription schools. He was obliged to go to
West Liberty to do his trading when they first settled
in this county, and when seventeen years of age he
branched out for himself. He used to attend log-rollings
and all the other gatherings of those days. When
seventeen years of age, he went to get money to buy
clothes. Instead of the clothes, however, he
bought forty acres of land on the canal in Defiance
County, Ohio, but subsequently traded that for forty
acres in Logan County, and after his marriage located
there.
Mr. Van Horn was married on the 15th of
February, 1848, to Miss Charity Taylor, a native
of Washington County, Pa., born Dec. 31, 1829, and the
fruit of this union were nine children: Henry
(deceased), Eli, James, William, Evangeline
(deceased), John (deceased), Alonzo
(deceased), Jacob and Irvin. Mrs. Van
Horn came to Ohio with her parents, James and
Nancy (Smith) Taylor, in the year 1811, and settled
in this township, where the father opened a fine farm.
Here his death occurred a number of years later.
After marriage, our subject moved on his forty acres and
commenced housekeeping in a log cabin. Not a tree
had been cut on his place and he went to work with much
determination to improve and make a pleasant home.
He and his economical and thrifty wife worked hard and
put up with all inconveniences to make improvements on
their place. For bedsteads Mr. Van Horn
took logs, bored holes in the ends and in these inserted
poles for legs. He used bark for bed cord.
Later, he bought eighty acres additional, traded that
for the old home place, and then bought his present
property, settling on the same in 1865. He is now
the owner of one hundred and sixty acres here and about
two hundred and eighteen acres altogether. He
owned at one time four hundred acres here, but gave his
children considerable land. He is engaged in mixed
farming, missing grain, and stock, and for some time he
was actively engaged in buying and selling stock.
He built his present fine residence in 1882, at a cost
of over $5,000, and has it nicely furnished.
Mr. and Mrs. Van Horn are both Seventh-day Baptists
in their religious views, and in politics he affiliates
with the Democratic party. Mr. Van Horn is
now one of the most successful and influential farmers
of the county, and after his long life of usefulness, he
and his wife can sit down and thoroughly enjoy the
fruits of their labor.
Source: Portrait and Biographical Record of
Auglaize, Logan and Shelby Counties, Ohio - Publ.
Chicago: Chapman Bros. 1892 - Page 540-541 |
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JACOB VAN HORN.
It is gratifying to trace the history of those of the
early pioneers of Logan County who have persevered
through trials and hardships and have at last reached
the point where they can enjoy the wealth and prosperity
which rightly belong to them. In the life of the
gentleman whose name we now give we find such a history,
and the popularity which belongs to such a man is the
just meed which his neighbors are glad to pay to his
worth and work.
This representative pioneer was born in Harrison
County, W. Va., on the 22nd of July, 1820, to the union
of William and Mary (Davis) Van Horn, natives of
West Virginia. The grandfather, Job Van Horn,
was of German descent on his father's side, and his
mother's people came from Switzerland. William
Van Horn left West Virginia the first week of April,
1828, and came by wagon to Clarke County, Ohio, settling
ten miles west of Springfield. He made the journey
by wagon to Ohio, was one week on the way, and was often
mired in the bad roads. After living there until
1835, he sold out and rented land for two years in
Champaign County, Ohio. Later, he came to Logan
County, purchased land from the Government, and bought
some of one of the early settlers. Animals of all
kinds abounded, and our subject has seen as many as
eighteen deer in one drove. The first year he
killed seventeen porcupines that came around the house.
The father cleared up his farm by a great amount of hard
work and owned a large tract of land at the time of his
death, which occurred when he was sixty-two years of
age. Of the twelve children born to this worthy
couple, eleven grew to mature years. They were
named as follows: Sobrina, Jacob, Suscilla,
Minerva, Amy, Job, John, Eli, William and Lewis
(twins), and Maria Louisa Josephine, and Mary
Josintha Eglantine (twins). The mother passed
away when forty-five years of age.
Our subject was educated in West Virginia, and after
coming to Ohio often attended spelling-school, being
considered the best speller in the vicinity. The
spelling-schools were held in the rude log schoolhouses
of those days, with puncheon floors, slab seats, and
immense fireplace with mud and stick chimney. Our
subject being the eldest of the sons, was obliged to
work hard to assist his father in clearing the farm of
the wood with which it was covered. He found time,
however, to attend all the log-rollings, and cabin
raisings in the neighborhood, and enjoyed himself as
only a pioneer boy could. He selected his wife in
the person of Miss Sarah Taylor, a native of
Columbiana County, Ohio, and their marriage was
celebrated on the 23d of December, 1843. She came
with her parents to Logan County, Ohio, in 1836, and
settled in this township. Three children have been
born to Mr. and Mrs. Van Horn: Ai.
Sampson, and Abigail, who died when twelve
years of age.
After marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Van Horn settled on
section 23, and built a log cabin on the spot now
covered with forty feet of water, away out in the
Lewistown Reservoir. There they resided until Apr.
1, 1856, when our subject sold his land for reservoir
purposes. He owned at that time two hundred and
fifty acres of land, and after selling out worked for
one year superintending the construction of the
reservoir. He settled on his present property in
1856, and has made his home here ever since.
Mr. Van Horn owns five hundred acres of land, but
gave two hundred acres to each of his sons, reserving
one hundred acres for himself. When starting out
in life, Mr. and Mrs. Van Horn had nothing to
commence with, but they were full of ambition and made
every penny count. Their first of ambition and
made every penny count. Their first table was a
chest, and their bedstead was boards placed on poles
driven into the wall in a corner of the room. The
bedcord was linden bark and sticks woven together.
The first windows were made of greased paper, which
admitted the light but kept out the cold air in the
winter. In this manner this ambitious young couple
started out to fight their way in life. Mrs.
Van Horn was the kind of woman God meant when
He said He would make man a helpmate, for she stood by
her husband's side in all the ups and downs of life, and
by her counsel and advice, as well as her hard labor,
assisted him to gain the comfortable competency he now
has. This faithful companion passed from the
scenes of her earthly trials on the 29th of June, 1886.
She was a Seventh-day Baptist and Mr. Van Horn is
also of that faith, deriving much comfort from it.
In politics, he advocates the principles of the
Democratic party.
Source: Portrait and Biographical Record of
Auglaize, Logan and Shelby Counties, Ohio - Publ.
Chicago: Chapman Bros. 1892 - Page 559 |
NOTES:
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