500 - THE COUNTY OF HIGHLAND. of the town, this place being well improved with orchard, good build ings and pleasant surroundings generaily. Mr. and Mrs. Tway have four children: Zoe, born July 14, 1882, has deveioped good musica talent; Edward D., born July 14, 1881, is member of the Hillsboro high school class for the current session; Ada K., born October 21 1887, and Walter, born May 12, 1890, are pupils of the district school. The Vance family has been identified with Highland count affairs from a very early period and the members of this widel diffused sociai connection include a strong element of the county, citizenship. William Vance, who was born in Fayette county, Pa. February 8, 1779, was married about 1800 to Rachel Minton, on of the neighboring girls of his native county. In one respect th record of this pioneer pair was unique and perhaps unequaled eve in those days of fruitful marriages. They had twenty children, a of whom but two reached maturity, and one of them, Mrs. Margare Vance, widow of Thomas Vance, is still living in Washington town ship. William Vance died in Highland county in September, 1852 and his wife passed away January 12, 1867. Their son, Jaco Vance, who was born in Pennsylvania, September 18, 1806, cam with his parents to Highland county in 1826. Before leaving hi native state he married Lydia, daughter of Isaac and Nancy (Zerley Conn. The Corms were also Pennsylvanians, who resided in Virginia, a while, and reached their new homes in Ohio about the same time that witnessed the advent of the Vances. Jacob Vance died September 10, 1885, and his wife, who was born October 16, 1814, survived untii October 3, 1893. . Their famiiy, though not so numerous as that of the father,s parents, was quite up to the standard in number as wili appear from the appended list: Wiiliam C., a farmer of Ciinton county ; Anna, who died about the age of forty years ; Electa, widow of Col. Van. B. Hibbs ; Isaac K., fanning on part of the old homestead in Washington township ; Lemuel W. and Griffith L, noticed more fully below ; Clara E., wife of William C. Larkin, of Hillsboro ; and three children who died in infancy. Griffith L. Vance, who resides upon the farm where his father first settled on coming to Ohio and remained until his death, was born in Highland county, Ohio, April 20, 1851, and had the usual difficulty of the farmers, boys in those days in procuring an education. By going to schooi in winter and assisting on the farm in summer he arrived at adult years with sufficient learning for business purposes, which he has since greatly increased by observation and reading. He lived single for forty years, and was regarded by his friends as a confirmed bachelor, but finally wisely concluded to take a wife and in June, 1891, was married to Lizzie, daughter of John Glaze, whose parents formerly resided one mile south of the Infirm- BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES - 501 ary farm. Mrs. Vance,s grandfather was one of the early pioneers of Highland county, born about 1776 and died in 1857. Mr. and Mrs. Vance lost their first child, Leslie, who died at an early age, but have one bright and promising boy whom they have named Lester G., born September 30, 1894. Lemuel W. Vance, another of the sons of Jacob and Lydia (Conn.) Vance, was born in Hillsboro, Ohio, March 1, 1847, and was first married to Lucy Crow, of Fayette county, who died August 26, 1890. Unto this union were born Anna G., Clarence E., Emmitt G., and Lucy, ail attending school in Highland county. January 26, 1898, Mr. Vance married Sarah E., daughter of Samuel and Nancy (Arledge) Edingfield, a highly respectable family of Highland county. William Arledge, the father of Nancy Edingfield, was born February 27, 1779, and his wife, whose maiden name was Sarah Bradley, was born June 12, 1784. They were parents of tweive children and came to Highland county in 1809. Mrs. Vance,s mother died July 17, 1871, and her father June 3, 1892, their other children being William J., Elizabeth A., Mary J., James H., John, Samuel, and Charles. Mrs. Vance is the youngest of the Edingfield family and a lady of many excellent traits of character. A notable event of August 27, 1902, was the reunion of the Vance family, at the grove of Griffith L. Vance. It was looked forward to with great interest by many members of the family, and on the day set a large attendance gratified the hospitable intentions of all concerned. The day was one long to be remembered and was thoroughly enjoyed as a famous social event. Year after year this reunion will be maintained, as an organization has been perfected for that purpose. Isaac K. Vance, of Washington township, widely known as a successful farmer and worthy citizen, is a. grandson of William Vance, mentioned in the foregoing sketch, who was born in. Pennsylvania and there married Rachei Minton, a native of New Jersey and daughter of a soldier of the Revolution. They made their home in Pennsylvania until 1838, when they came to Highland county. Meanwhile they reared in Pennsylvania a large family, twenty children being born to them in all, of whom three died in infancy. The others were: Isaac, Thomas, Jacob, Davis, Minton, Brownfield, Lemuel, William, Margaret, Ruth, Comfort, Rebecca, Anna, Rachel, Mary, Mehitable, and Louisa, of whom the only one now living is Margaret, widow of Thomas Vance, of Washington township. The father lived to the age of seventy-five years and the mother to ninety-one. On coming to Highland county with his family William Vance bought 200 acres of land in Newmarket township, and to this he added other land, so that he left a large estate. He was a most worthy man, highly regarded by his neighbors, and one of the most devoted members of the Baptist church at Newmarket. 502 - THE COUNTY OF HIGHLAND. Jacob Vance, son of William, was born in Fayette county, Pa. September 9, 1806, and was married in that state to Lydia Conn. Soon afterward they moved to Virginia, and fthereiere in abou 1839 came to Liberty township, Highland county, and bought a far of 160 acres. He was a successful farmer and good business man increased his land holdings to more than four hundred acres, an when he died at eighty years of age lefvaiuableable estate, as well as the example of a useful and honorable life. He was one of the founders of the First Baptist church at Hillsboro, and for many years an active member. He and his wife, who died at seventy-five years of age, were buried in Hillsboro cemetery. Their children were: William, of Clinton county ; Anna; deceased ; Electa, widow of V. H. Hibbs ; Isaac K., whose name heads this sketch ; L. W., of Liberty township; Clara, of New Market township, and 'Griffith, on the old homestead. Isaac K. Vance was born on the Liberty township farm September 10, 1844, and remained there until about twenty-five years of age, when he went to Illinois as a sales agent. Two years later he returned to Highland county, and resumed the occupation oarming,ing, and married Amy D., daughter of John C. and Elizabeth Miller, of Concord township. They made their home for a few years, first in Washington township, and later in Newmarket, and then settled in Concord township. In 1886 he moved to his present home in Washington township, where he bought 101 acres. He is now the; owner of 131 acres, which he devotes to farming and stockraising, and upon which he has built a modern and handsome home. He has served as .a member of the school board for twelve years, and is a valued member of the First Baptist church of Hillsboro. By his first marriage Mr. Vance had three' children : Hamer C., now living in Clinton county ; Harley G., of Liberty township, and Elmer M. Their. mother died in 1880, and he subsequently wedded Damaris, daughter of Jacob Pennington, of Liberty township, and they have four children : Jacob P., Charles, LeRoy and Paul C. Lem W. Vance, a prosperous fanner of Liberty township, is a son of Jacob Vance, a native of Pennsylvania, who married Lydia, daughter of Isaac Conn, of Virginia, and became a farmer in Highland county. They had seven children: William., living in Clinton county ; Anna, deceased ; Electa M., wife of Col. V. B. Hibbs, of Portsmouth, Ohio ; I. K. Vance, of Highland county; Lem W., subject of this sketch; Griffith L., Clara E., wife of William Larkin, and three who died in infancy, Lem W. Vance was born March 1, 1847, near Hillsboro, O., was educated in the public schools, and in early manhood was married to Lucy Crow, of Fayette county, who died August 26, 1890, leaving four children: Anna G., Clarence E., Emmet G., and Lucy C. On January 26, 1898, Mr. Vance was BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES - 503 married to Sarah E., daughter of Samuel and Nancy (Arledge) Edingfield. Mrs. Vance’s father was a native of Pennsylvania, born October 15, 1806, and died in Highland county, Ohio, June 3, 1892. Her mother was born in Randolph county, N. C., January 18, 1805; and died in Highland county, Ohio, July 17, 1871. Her parents were William and Sarah (Bradley) Arledge, who located in Liberty township, Highland county, in 1809, where they passed the remainder of their lives. William Arledge was born February 27, 1779, and Sarah Arledge was born June 12, 1784. Mr. Vance has his home of fifty acres on the New Vienna pike, four miles northwest of Hillsboro, and he also owns a large farm south of Hillsboro on the West Union pike. He is one of the progressive and intelligent farmers of the county, and is held in high esteem by many friends. He and his wife are both active members of the Baptist church of Hillsboro: Hugh S. Vance, prominent for many years as a teacher and holder of county offices, has been a factor in the educational and political circles of Highland county. His grandparents, Hugh and Margaret (Tedrick) Vance, were natives of Pennsylvania, where they reared a family of nine children.- The only survivor is a son named Hugh, who went to California during the gold excitement in 1849 and is now a resident of Isleton, a town situated in the vicinity of Sacramento. George Vance, another son, was born at Uniontown, Penn., in 1825, and in early manhood married Lydia, daughter of William-. and Sarah (Harris) Wilson, with whom he subsequently migrated to Ohio and died at New Market in 1892. The children of this union were Hugh S., who is further noticed below; Robert C., an attorney in West Union, Ohio; Anna, who married J. D. VanWinkle, of New Market, and died in 1897 ; Dora, Wife of Frank Lemon, a school teacher and resident of Hillsboro; and John 0., a farmer of New Market. township. Hugh S. .Vance, eldest of the children, was born in Fayette county, Pennsylvania, February 20, 1856, and after. passing through the schools at New Market and Hillsboro determined to educate himself for the profession of teaching. With this view he entered the National. Normal university at Lebanon, Ohio, and took a full course in the various departments of this excellent institution. After finishing there, Mr. Vance taught school about fifteen years and from 1882 to 1885 served as one of the school examiners for Highland county. In 1884, he was elected recorder of Highland county and after serving out his term was elected county surveyor in the fall of 1899. In the- discharge of the duties of all these responsible positions, Mr. Vance showed himself to be a good business man as well as a conscientious and official in every respect. January 10, 1S88, he was united in marriage with Hattie daughter of Carey and Emma (Ridgway) Leaverton, names which recall 504 - THE COUNTY OF HIGHLAND early pioneer days in Highland county. Mrs. Vance’s paternal grandfather, John F. Leaverton, was born in Guilford county, N. C., in. 1812, came to Ohio with his father when five years of age and afterward became one of the leading farmers of Penn township. Ile had fourteen children, among the number being Carey, who married Emma Ridgway. The latter is a daughter of David H. and Jane Ridgway, who reside on the original family homestead at Samantha, and celebrated their golden wedding anniversary in October, 1898. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Vance are a son and a daughter. The birth of the former, whose name is George C., occurred May 31, 1889, a day made memorable by the great fiood at Johnstown, Pa., in which aver 4,000 people lost their iives. Jane R, the only daughter, was born August 21, 1890. Oliver Dow Van Pelt, of Jackson township, widely known as a prosperous and worthy citizen, is a grandson of one of the pioneers of Adams county. His grandfather, Benjamin Van Pelt, was born in Tennessee, June 1, 1775, and was married, there to Susannah Crosby, in August, 1793. Not long afterward the young couple sought the Ohio country for a home and settled in Adams county, where Benjamin Van Peit was well known among the pioneers as a wheelwright, and also as an occasional preacher for the Methodist church. He was a man of wide influence, and one of the important figures of the early days of Adams county, where he lived twenty years, and after that in Highland county. He served his country, aiso, as a soldier of the war of 1812. His children were fourteen in number : Joseph A., Benjamin, John, Riley, Anna, Susannah, Nancy, Margaret, Mary, Elizabeth, Maria, Penina, Sarah and Lydia. Joseph A., father of the subject of this sketch, was born in Adams county September 24, 1816, and on March 15, 1838, was married to Esther Foster, a native of Adams county. For some years they made their home in Adams county, and then removed to Highland and occupied the farm where Dow. Van Pelt now lives. Joseph. A. devoted much of his life to carpentering as well as farming, but he was embarrassed in his life work by illness, that almost kept him an invalid. Fourteen children were born to him and wife: Martha J., Melissa, Mary E., Anna, Maggie, Ella, May, Ida, Sohn B., of whom the only survivors, Mary E., and Anna, reside with their brother, Dow; and William H., in Oregon; Andrew J., in Oklahoma; Joseph R., in Kansas James C., in Jackson township, and Oliver Dow, on the old homestead. The latter, as has been stated, occupied the old homestead in Jackson township, with two sisters, and manages the farm and livestock interests. Re is a member of the Methodist church and a republican in politics, and his sisters are members of the Christian church. Dow Vanpelt was born June 23, 1861, and was an infant during the great civil war, but his elder brothers repre- BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES - 505 sented the family in the ranks of the Union. John B. served, four years among the Ohio soidiers, and participated in several of the great batties, making a creditable record, and William H. and Andrew J., also did honorable service for the nation on the field of battle. Ethan A. Walker, one of the leading citizens of Concord township and prosperous as a farmer, is a grandson of one of the earliest settlers of the township. This ancestor, Elijah Walker, born in Rockbridge county, Va., in 1775, was married in Virginia to Mary Diehl, and with his brother Charles and their families came to Ohio in 1808 and settled in Concord township, where they bought 830 acres of the original patentees. When the war of 1812 came on, Elijah Walker enlisted for the defense of his country, and served as a private soldier, but he did not long survive this experience, dying at the age of forty-five years. His widow, however, lived to over seventy-eight years of age. Their children, Samuel, Catherine (who married Joseph Massie), Mary (who became Mrs. McDay), Martha (who married a Campbell), Rebecca (wife of Marshal J. Manker), Eiizabeth (who married Hugh J. Hetherington), and John, George and Elijah, are all dead, but their descendants are found among the best families of the townships. Elijah, father of the subject of this sketch, was born on the farm now owned by L. D. Walker, May 27, 1810, was educated in the old log district school building lighted through greased paper windows, and when he had grown to manhood was married to Hannah J. Hamilton, a native of Adams county of Irish descent. Elijah Walker was an enterprising and successful man, owned three hundred acres of land, was the first owner of a portable sawmill in that part of the county, and was quite popular with his many acquaintances. He was one of the early opponents of slavery, in the days before the great war, aided in the work of the "underground railroad," and was a devoted member of the Free Soil party, before the formation of the Republican party, in which he and his sons have been prominent. He died at a little over fifty years of age, and was followed in five years by his wife, and the remains of both were interred in the family cemetery. The children born to them were Isabella, deceased ; Samuel, deceased; Ethan. A. ; Mary, widow of W. H. Dedrick, of Kansas; Matilda J., wife of P. Woolums, of Packwood, Ia. ; Nelson J. of Kansas; Margaret A., wife of 0. L. Marsh, of Packwood, Iowa, and John W., deceased. Ethan A. Walker was born on the farm where he now lives December 18, 1840, and lived there, receiving a district school education and aiding in the work of the farm, until after his father died, an event that made it impracticable for him to leave home during the early part of the war. Early in 1864, however, he entered the military service of his country as a member of the company of Capt. Rob- 506 - THE COUNTY OF HIGHLAND. ert J. Hatcher, which became Company A, of the Hundred and Sixty-eighth regiment Ohio volunteer infantry. This was one of the regiments sent into Kentucky, and was engaged in battle with Gen. John H. Morgan at Cynthiana all being made prisoners. Mr. Walker, with his comrades, came back to Cincinnati on parole, from which they were released later and discharged September 8, 1864. On the 24th of the same month he re-enlisted in Company I of the Forty-first regiment, which he joined in Athens, Ala. Then followed active and dangerous duty during the invasion of Tennessee, by Hood's rebel army, and Private Walker had opportunity for gallant service in the great battles of Franklin and Nashville, as well as in a number of minor encounters. At the close of the war he was honorably discharged at Nashville,. June 13, 1865, and returning home, he resumed the work of civil life. On September 28th, following his discharge he was married to Hannah J., daughter of John and Nancy Rotroff, of Adams county, and a few months later they occupied their present home, which, with the improvements since made, is one of the most convenient and attractive in the township. Mr. Walker is the owner of 250 acres of excellent land, is successful as a farmer, and' enjoys the esteem and confidence of his neighbors, as is shown by his election as township clerk two terms, as township trustee four or five terms, and his service for about twenty-five years as member of the school board, and from 1890 to 1900 as land appraiser. He is a member of the Presbyterian church, of the Grand Army post at Sugar tree Ridge, and in politics a Republican. He has ten children living: William C., a resident of Adams county ; Eva, wife of John A. Long, of Concord townshJohnJdhn N. ; Mollie, at home; Myrtle, wife of George Baker, of Concord ; Maggie, wife of John Eyler, of Brown county ; Elsie, wife of J. M. West, of Jackson township, and Linnie, Ida and Anna, at home. Henry J. Webster, an enterprising merchant, and one of the leading citizens of Belfast, is a son of Lewis F. Webster, for many years a merchant and prominent man of Concord township, and grandson of Thomas Webster, an early settler in Dodson township. Thomas Webster, the ancestor of the family in Highland county, was a native of Maryland, where he married Elizabeth Pulse. Soon after their marriage they came to Marshall township, and bought a small tract of land,, in large part with money he had saved while employed at Washington, D. C. After a few years he moved with his family to Dodson township, where he and his wife both died at the age of about fifty-five years. Their children, ten in number, were William, George,. Thomas, deceased ; John and Lewis, of Fairfax township; Eliza, living in Oklahoma ; Sarah, deceased ; James, of Wilson, Ohio; Julia, of Blue. Creek, Adams county, and Elizabeth, deceased. Lewis F. Webster was born near Berrysville, in 1836, and remained BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES - 507 at home until about twenty-five years of age, when he embarked in business, as a merchant at Fairfax. At that place he has held the office of postmaster for twenty-four years, and justice of the peace for twenty years, and during one term he was trustee of Concord township. He and his wife are yet living at Fairfax, and have a host of friends throughout the southern part of the county. He gives his attention now mainly to farming, having retired. from the cares of business life. Of his eight children William, the eldest, is dead; _Henry J. is in business at Belfast; A. F. and Silsba also reside, at Fairfax; Salome is the wife of John Woolums, of Concord township; D. Homer lives at. Fairfax, and Sarah E. and George H. are at the parental home. Henry J. Webster was born near Allensburg, in Dodson township, August 18, 1865, was educated in the district school, and when he had reached manhood was married to Sarah Fenner, a native of Union township, and a member of one of the old families of the county. The first lived for a short time at Blanchester, Ohio, and then removed to Hillsboro, where he had a sewing machine agency for several years. Afterward they resided at Belfast, and he had the contract for carrying the mails on the star route between Belfast and Hillsboro for seven years. On April. 1, 1902, he embarked in business at Belfast as a general merchant, putting in a well selected stock of groceries, stoves and furniture, farming implements, etc. Though a young man he is a leader in his community, and has . been honored three terms with the office of township clerk. He has provided his wife and two children, Irl V., and Mildred B., with one of the neatest homes of the town. Socially he is popular and active, being a member of the following iodges at Belfast: No. 572, Independent Order of Odd Fellows; No. 696, Knights of Pythias, and No. 571, Modern Woodmen of America. He is noble grand of the Odd Fellows and has held all the other chairs, and has been clerk of the Modern Woodmen since the organization of the lodge. In religious affiliation he is a Presbyterian, and in politics a Democrat. Charles A. Welsheimer, proprietor of the noted Island Grove flouring mills near Greenfield, Ohio, is of Ross county nativity, but has been identified with the industries of Highland county since the ninth year of his age. Philip Welsheimer, of Pennsylvania, became a citizen of Ross county eariy in the last century and purchased a large tract of land in Buckskin township, in the clearing and cultivating of which he spent the remainder of his life. He became the father of the unusually iarge number of sixteen children, among them being a son named David, who grew up on the farm and married Elizabeth, daughter of Morrow Adams, of Ross county. After farming awhile he removed to Fort Wayne, Ind. After residing there a few years he came to Greenfield, where he carried on the grocery 508 - THE COUNTY OF HIGHLAND. business for ten years or more. He had long had a desire to go into the milling business, and at length had an opportunity. As fax back as 1802, one John Kingery had built a mill on Paint creek near what is now the town of Greenfield. It was a crude affair, being a one-story building about thirty feet square and built of logs. Rude as it was, however, it was much prized by the settlers, as before its construction they had a mill nearer than Chillicothe for the grinding of their corn. In 1830, after he had so improved his machinery as to make flour, Kingery sold the mill to Samuel Smith, and in after years a much better establishment was put up, passing through various hands until 1871, when it was purchased by David Welsheimer. This proved to be a more permanent change, as he made numerous valuable improvements and conducted the mill for many years thereafter. In 1882 the structure was destroyed by fire, after which David Welsheimer erected one of the most complete flouring mills in that part of the state, which he called the Island Grove mill and elevator, and continued to manage until 1891, when he retired from business, his death occurring eight years later. He was a man of great energy and enterprise, full public spirit and one of the most useful as well as one of the most esteemed citizens of Highland county. It is interesting to compare his splendid and modernly, equipped establishment with the old pioneer structure which it eventually replaced. Kingery's millstones were made with a great deal of difficulty from a couple of native boulders, and still remain near the spot where they were so long in use, curious relics of a past and outgrown usefulness. Charles A. Welsheimer was only nine years old when his parents settled at Greenfield and may be said to have been brought up in a mill, as from boyhood he was associated with his father continuously with the exception of a few years spent in the lumber business in Kentucky. Welsheimer & Son was the firm in charge for a long time of the old Greenfield mills, which later became the Island Grove mill and elevator company. Since his father's retirement in 1891, Charles A. Welsheimer has been sole proprietor of this well known concern and does business on an extensive scale. He manufactures the famous Arbutus brand of flour, which is very popular, and his trade extends throughout southern Ohio. Under his father and himself improvements were added from time to time so as to keep abreast of the latest inventions and processes and the capacity of the mill at present is fifty barrels flour per day. In 1880 Mr. Welsheimer was married to Martha Ellen, daughter of John Hall, of Greenfield, by whom he has four children, Ruby, Walter, Annie and Mabel, the first two employed in the mill with their father. Mr. Welsheimer is a member of the Royal Arcanum and the Woodmen of the World. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES - 509 Joseph West, notable among the early settlers of this region of Ohio, was the ancestor of a considerable number of the prominent people of Highland and adjacent counties. He was a descendant of a progenitor who came from England in the early colonial days, and settled in Maryland and afterward moved to Virginia, establishing a family, of which one of the most famous members was Benjamin West, known alike in Europe and America for his genius as a painter. Joseph was married in Virginia to a Miss Ballinger, and in the year 1801 came with his family, in a party including his brothers John and Benjamin and their families, and settled four miles west of Sinking Spring, at Beech Flats. He became widely known, among the pioneer inhabitants, and accumulated a considerable estate. ̊His family included eight children: James, Joseph, John, Benjamin, Isaac, Pleasant, Hugh and a daughter. James West, an ancestor in the line traced in this4 sketch, son of Joseph, the pioneer, married Rebecca Nichols, a native of Virginia, and had eight children: Lucinda, Isaac, Benjamin, Sallie, Sampson, Matilda, Nathan and Martha. He was. a successful farmer in Brush Creek township for many years, dying at the age of seventy years. Some lime after his death his widow and the famiiy bought the farm now 'owned by the West heirs in Washington township, and she made that her home until her death at the age of eighty-three years. Nathan M., one of the sons of James and Rebecca West, married Lucinda Ballentine, daughter of John W. Ballentine, of Scotch descent, and reared a family of six children, of whom the survivors are notable among the people of Highland county today. Nathan M. West devoted his life to farming, and his success and evident intelligence and good judgment made him an authority among his neighbors. His character was above reproach, and he was heid in high regard for his unfailing honesty and integrity. As a young man he united with the Christian church, of which he was ever a faithful supporter. Unfortunately his life was comparatively brief, and he passed away at the age of forty-five years, leaving the mother to care for the children, a duty which she performed with such success that great credit is due to her. This worthy lady is yet living at the age of fifty-five years, is a devoted member of the Methodist church, and loved by a wide circle of friends and relatives. Their children are: Harlan, deceased; Matilda, wife of S. W. Spargur, of 'Washington township; Thomas J., Robert B., and Ellis E.', of Berrysvilie, and Nathan a dentist at Sinking Spring. Thomas J., the eldest son, surviving, and the head of the well-known firm of West Brothers, general merchants at Berrysville, was born September 20, 1872, on the home farm, and received his education in the district school and at Lebanon and Sardinia, Ohio. He began his manhood career as a teacher at the Paint schools, which he 510 - THE COUNTY OF HIGHLAND organized as a graded school, and remained with as principal until 1899, when he embarked in his present business as a merchant. Mr. West is making an enviable reputation. as a straightforward and successful business man, and his high standing among the people of the township is shown by his election to the office of township treasurer, which he now holds. He is a member of the lodge of Knights of Pythias at Belfast, and a Democrat in politics, like his ancestors. In early manhood he was married to Bernice, daughter of Isaac and Amanda Harper, and granddaughter of Julia Higgins, a well-known pioneer of the county. They have one child, Lois Evangeline. Robert B. West, another member of the firm of West Brothers, was reared at the old homestead and educated in the district school. He married Asenath Hatt, a native of Liberty township, and they began housekeeping at the old home, where they yet reside. Their home has been blessed with one child, a son. Mr. West. is a member of the Methodist church and of the Knights of Pythias, and in politics is a Prohibitionist. Ellis E., the third member of the firm of West Brothers, educated in the district school and at Lynchburg, and before going into business taught school for two terms in the Buckley district. He is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America, at Berrysville, and a Republican. Robert R. West, proprietor of the noted Spring Hill farm, east of Hillsboro, and for thirty-five years a well-known breederregis-egis tered cattle is connected by a direct line of ancestry with the men who helped organize Highland county. His grandfather, John West, was one of four brothers who came from Virginia at the beginning of the last century and joined his fortune with the little army then engaged in the settlement of Ohio. He tarried two years in Ross county, three in Fayette and then located permanently on a farm of 212 acres which he purchased in Paint tow ship, Highland county. He was a. fine specimen of the type of western pioneers. Six feet incheshes. tall, of erect carriage and athletic mold, firm in flesh and capable of enduring the greatest hardships) John West lived ninety-five years and enjoyed excellent health to the day of his death. Hp did much for the public good by helping lay out the roads, establish schools and assist other agencies of civilization. He helped organize the first Disciples' church and donated land for the erection of a house of worship on his farm, being active all his life in religious, educational and charitable work. His wife was a fit companion for such a man, being a woman of strength both in mind and body, a good mother and good housekeeper, who enjoyed unusual health until the close of her earthly career at the age of ninety-three years. This venerable couple reared a family of nine children all of whom, with one exception, grew to maturity and themselves became the parents. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES - 511 of numerous offspring. The list of those dead includes George, Isaac, Jackson and Andrew ; Amos lives in Iowa ; Hulda is the wife of Harrison Weyer ; Sarah married Jacob Tominson and Catherine is the wife of Frederick Bumgarner, of Samantha. Allen P. West, the fourth in age of the family, was born in Paint' township, Highland county, Ohio, December 9, 1821, grew up on his father's farm and spent sixty years of his life at that place. He married Isabelle, daughter of Robert Patterson of Marshall township, by whom he had four children ; Cyrus, a resident of Fayette county ; Robert R. ; Sallie, wife of Hiden Ervin, of Washington Court House; and Mary, wife of Charles Haynes of Hillsboro. In 1881 the parents removed to Washington Court House, Ohio, where they are living in retirement. Their son, Robert R. West, was born in Marshall township, Highland county, Ohio, on the farm adjoining his present place of residence, November 25, 1848. Besides the usual experience in the common schools of the district he spent one year at the college in Lebanon, Ohio. September 18, 1872, he was married to Ella, daughter of Samuel and Mary Lyle, of Liberty township. After this event, he moved to an adjoining farm of 300 acres, where he spent seven years and then returned to the old homestead, where he has since remained. Mr. West owns a large amount of land, consisting of 765 acres in the home place, a farm of 165 acres near Boston and another of 205 acres in Liberty township. His father had long been an extensive breeder and dealer in Shorthorn cattle and he has followed in his footsteps with an enlargement of the business and increased success. For thirty-five years he has been engaged in raising thoroughbred registered cattle and occupies a front rank among Ohio breeders of the famous strain known as the Shorthorn. His place, eight miles east of Hillsboro, is famous for its numerous springs, from which circumstance his stock have derived the name of "The Spring Hill Herd," and by this title are known far and wide among fanciers of fine cattle. Mr. and Mrs. West have four children : Roscoe is a farmer in Liberty township; Harry has a sawmill at Leesburg ; Annie and Mary are at home. Like his forefathers for generations, Mr. West is a believer in the doctrines taught by the Disciples' Church and is a member of the local congregation of that denomination. The West family, of Penn township, made its first appearance in Highland county about the year 1840. It originated with Eber West, who was born in 1770 in Allegheny county, Md., married Sarah Roland and removed with her to Pennsylvania, where he died in 1838. His son John, was born December 17, 1797, and in 1840 migrated to Ohio with his mother, who died in Highland county December 16, 1848. John West was married to Elizabeth, daughter of John Randels, who belonged to that element in our nationality colloquially denominated "Pennsylvania Dutch." John West died near New 512 - THE COUNTY OF HIGHLAND Market September 3, 1861, and his wife passed away on the Baker farm in, Penn township August 1, 1857, aged fifty-six years. The children resulting from their union were Isaac A., Jeremiah, Sarah (Yates) Enos, Belinda who died aged thirteen, Margaret who died at twenty-one, John and James Madison. Isaac Alfred West, eldest of the above mentioned children, was born October 8, 1825, and was consequently about fifteen years old when his parents settled in Highland county. He rose to a position of influence and was much respected in his community. For fifteen years he was justice of the peace in Penn township and held the office of county assessor. November 25, 1845, he was married to Eliza Jane, daughter of William and Margaret (Art) Woolums, the former born in Fleming county, Kentucky, March 19, 1822. The children of Isaac and Jane West were Sarah E., who married L. D. Crute and died June 28, 1872 ; William Alfred, a farmer of Liberty township ; Isaac Newton, a machinist at Dayton; Charles P., a hardware merchant at Chillicothe; Samuel T., farming in Pemi. township ; Wilson W., a farmer living near Samantha; Franklin M., sketched more fully below ; and Edward, proprietor of a restaurant at Kingston, Ross county. Frank M. West, next to the youngest of the children, was born in Highland county, Ohio, November 9, 1860, grew up on the farm and spent most of his adult life in mercantile pursuits. October 26, 1884, he was married to Rachel, daughter of John and Rachel (Starr) Kerns, who located in Samantha at an early date in the county's history. Rachel was born November 17, 1861, near her present home. The children of Frank M. and Rachel West are Howard G., born May 28, 1885 ; Lucy, born December 15, 1886, is attending the Hillsboro high school; Georgia M., born July 23, 1888, and died in 1890. Starling and Overton, twins, were born April 1, 1891. Mr. West became a merchant at Samantha in 1884 and continued in that business until his death, which occurred November 5, 1899. Like his father before him he enjoyed general respect and was a man of influence and prominence in that part of the county where his lot was cast. Besides the store building at Samantha, Mrs. West owns 108 acres of farm land and a comfortable residence, being highly esteemed in the social circle to which she belongs. Samuel T. West, one of the energetic farmers of Penn township, is a member of the family bearing his name which is sketched in some detail in this volume. They came originally from the famous "eastern shore" of Maryland to Pennsylvania, and thence in 1840 to Ohio, the first emigrants in Highland county being John West, his children and his mother. From John's marriage with Elizabeth Randels a large family resulted and these in turn by fruitful marriages so increased the name of West that it became a very familiar one in Highland county. Isaac. West, eldest of the children of John BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES - 513 and Elizabeth, was especially influential not only in spreading the family name by his offspring but by the prominence and popularity he acquired in the community. Samuel T. West, one of his sons, was born in Liberty township, January 25, 1855, and went through the usual experiences of a farmer's boy as to work and education. He has devoted his whole life to agricultural pursuits and enjoys the reputation of being both an intelligent and industrious tiller of the soil. In January, 1900, he purchased a farm of one hundred acres four and one-half miles north of Hillsboro, to which he afterward added sixteen acres of new ground, and this place promises to become a model farm under the skillful management and progressive cultivation of Mr. West. November 24, 1886, he was married to Kate B., daughter of William and Wilhelmina (Mundel) Boelzner, natives of Germany who came to America in 1849. Besides Mrs. West, the other children of the. Boelzner family were Philip, who died when thirty-nine years old ; William, a farmer and miller at Fairview ; Rose, deceased, who married Frank Ludwick, formerly of Kansas and later Oklahoma; Sophia, for many years a teacher; Amelia, wife of Nathaniel Roush, resident south of Fairview. During her girlhood and young womanhood Mrs. West taught school a number of years and gained high rank *as a successful educator. The children of Samuel T. and Kate B. West are Ray Eliza, born September 24, 1887; an infant daughter, born June 23, 1892, died June 29, 1892, unnamed ; and Nina. Fay, born August 9, 1894. Mr. West has inherited those strong and social qualities of his father which gain and hold friends, and as a result he enjoys the esteem of all his neighbors. Spencer D. West, of Rainsboro, treasurer of Paint township, is a descendant of William West, a native of Maine, who came to Highland county about 1830. His son, William, located in Loveland, Hamilton county, and died there in 1896. Another son, Albert, born in Marshall township in 1831, was educated in the district school, and in early manhood married Mary W., daughter of John Spargur, one of the prominent settlers of Paint township. They had eight children : John, now in Alaska; Sarah, who died at the age of twenty-two years; Olive, residing at Springfield ; Spencer D., subject of this sketch ; Schultz, in Alaska; Chauncey, who died at twenty-three years ; and Jesse and Cyrus, formerly of Seattle, Wash., but now in Alaska. Spencer D. West was born April 18, 1860, received a common-school education, and since his youth has been actively and successfully engaged in farming. His home, two miles east of Rainsboro, is an attractive one, on a farm of 145 acres, which is fertile and well kept. He is known and esteemed, not only throughout his township, but the county, and while serving his neighbors as H-33 514 - THE COUNTY OF HIGHLAND. township treasurer was honored with the Republican nomination for county commissioner in 1901, but., though he received a flattering support, the ticket was defeated. Mr. West was married February 19, 1882, to Emma, daughter of Alfred and Catherine (Simbro) Shipton, and they have the following named children : Nellie, wife of Clem Wise, farming on the West place; Katie and Orville, at home, and James, who died in childhood.. Mrs. West's father's family came from Pennsylvania to Paint township about 1830. She was born February 21, 1864, and is one of six children, the others being Nancy, who died in girlhood; Mary E., wife of James Peabody, who owns a farm adjoining that of Mr. West; Granville H., who died in youth ; John, farming, near Rainsboro, and Emma. Mrs. Mary S. Weyer, a woman of prominence in the religious and social, as well as the business life of Leesburg, Ohio, now resident on her country estate near that town, is of lineage both ancient and honorable. The family to which she belongs is of North Carolina extraction, her great-grandfather John Sanders being its most distinguished representative in that state during the eighteenth century. We find his son, Thomas M. Sanders, among those who established the infant colony in what is now Fairfield township, Highland county, during the first decade of the nineteenth century. It is only necessary to glance over the first crude records to see that Thomas M. Sanders was one of the important men and figured conspicuously in the early history of the township. In 1807 he was elected clerk and re-elected in the following year ; in 1810 he was chosen house appraiser and next year was given his old position as clerk in addition to the duties of appraiser. His son Nathaniel was also for many years a man of influence in the community, taking an active interest in the affairs of town and- township, until the time of his death, which occurred in 1889 at his handsome estate east of Leesburg. He married Maria Heller, who came with her parents from Virginia to Highland county many years ago and died at her husband's home in 1876. Nathaniel and Maria (Heller) Sanders were the parents of Mrs. Mary S. Weyer, who has proven a worthy descendant of a notable ancestry by her superior accomplishments and aptitude for business. In her girlhood, after the usual attendance at the common schools, she was sent to the seminary at Xenia, Ohio, for the purpose of receiving a thorough finishing. Her tastes, as well as talents fitting her for educational work, she took up with ardor into the profession of teaching, and was thus engaged at Leesburg for eight years subsequent to her departure from college. She proved to be one of the most successful as well as one of the most popular of the lady teachers, exhibiting ability both for imparting knowledge and maintaining discipline. Aside from her public duties, she found time for self-culture and for participation in public movements of a BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES - 515 philanthropic or educational character. She is a member both of the home and foreign Mission societies, and lends encouragement to the cause of brotherly love by participation in the work of the Altruistic society. She was one of the moving spirits in the establishment of the Farmers' and Merchants bank at Leesburg in 1901 and became a heavy stockholder in that institution. In 1891 she was married to William O. Weyer and at present resides on her farm near Leesburg, occupying her attention with business affairs and the requirements of social duties. The Whisler family, long and favorably known in Highland county, is of Southwestern Pennsylvania origin and dates its first establishment in this section in the third decade of the last century. Its first representative in Highland county was Moses, one of several sons of Henry Whisler, who was born in 1813 and twenty years later came to Ohio, locating three miles southwest. of Hillsboro. After a residence there of about five years he removed to New Mar ket, where he lived over forty years and died in 1883. Moses Whisler's first wife was Hannah Vance, member of a pioneer family, who bore him six children, of whom three are living: Henry, a practicing physician at New Antioch, Ohio ; Abraham, member of the same profession in California; and Charlotte, wife of J. M. Chaney of Highland county. The father's second marriage was to Phoebe Dunn, daughter of pioneer parents in Highland county, and this union resulted in the birth of four children : Ella, wife of Rev. R. W. King, a minister of the gospel resident in Oregon; Lewis, a railroad employe at Laporte, Col. ; Charles F., of Hillsboro ; and Ida M., wife of George Prime, who is farming two miles south of Hillsboro. Moses Whisler was married for the third time 'to Emiline Hetherington, by whom he had five children. Charles F. Whisler, third of the second family of children, was born in New Market, Highland county, Ohio, January 15, 1859, and, owing to the fact that his father owned a grist and sawmill, he naturally drifted into that line of business. At an early age he began dealing in lumber and in 1890 opened a wholesale establishment at Hillsboro, where he has built up a large trade. Mr. Whisler owns an extensive mill in the city and purchases the product of several other mills, which he ships to all parts of southern Ohio and some to more distant markets. He has prospered, and in 1895 erected a handsome residence on West street, opposite the Baptist church, having, his lumber office in the rear of his dwelling house. May 28, 1885, Mr. Whisler was married to Clara, daughter of Thomas McConnaughey, of Highland county, who lived but two years after the union. August 27, 1895, Mr. Whisler took a second wife in the person of Belle Arnett, of New Market, by whom he has one daughter, Helen A., born February 22, 1897. Mr. Whisler's religious affilia- 516 - THE COUNTY OF HIGHLAND. tions are with the Baptists and he is a member of the church of that denomination at Hillsboro. Jacob E. White, the popular proprietor of the celebrated Spring, Grove dairy and stock farm, near Greenfield, has achieved a phenomenal success in a comparatively short time in his chosen calling. The people of Greenfield and vicinity regard this dairy as one of their institutions and the owner receives in full measure the credit due him who supplies the masses with pure and wholesome food. It has scarcely been twelve years since Mr. White opened business with three cows and a few cheap utensils as his sole quipment for running a dairy. Today he has over one hundred head of stock, mostly pure bred registered Jerseys of the choicest and costliest strain, and an establishment which in the completeness of its facilities and thoroughness of its equipment yields to no other in the state of its class. In these twelve years of active business Mr. White has risen from obscurity to the position of 'one the best known dairymen in the great agricultural state of Ohio. He has long been a member of the Ohio Dairymen's association, whose meetings he attends regularly and whose proceedings are frequently enlivened and illuminated, by his pertinent remarks and suggestions based upon the experience and close observation of a practical dairyman. Mr. White may be properly described as up-to-date in every particular. He subscribes to the most advanced dairy periodicals, studies closely all publications of the Agricultural department and other authorities on the subject, and keeps in close touch with the progressive and thinking men who are in his line of work. In other words, it is his aim and ambition to keep abreast of the best thought of the age in what has now become a scientifically conducted industry of vital importance to the country's resources and welfare and involving hundreds of millions of capital. Mr. White uses only the most improved and efficient dairy appliances, and acts on the belief that if the motto "Cleanliness is next to Godliness" be true as a general proposition, it is especially true in all that relates to dairying. The cleanness of his methods and richness of his milk have proved such winning cards as to capture all Greenfield for his customers and spread his fame over the state. Mr. White came naturally by his fondness for breeding and handling cattle, as his father is one of the best known stockmen in the state and has been a dealer for more than half a. century. As "Uncle Billy" White he is familiar in stock circles throughout Ohio and adjacent states, and through now eighty years old he still buys and sells with the shrewdness and energy of his youthful days. William White, though born in Brown, was reared in Adams county, his father was Joseph White and his mother was Margaret (Spear) White, old pioneers of Brown county, Ohio. It is in the territory extending from Flemingsburg, Ky., to Washington Court House, BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES - 517 Ohio, that William White gained his reputation as a lumber manufacturer and stockdealer. He married Jane Dobbins Edgington, daughter of Jacob and Mary Edgington and granddaughter of Rev: Robert Dobbins, a noted minister of his day who established the first Methodist Protestant church in his part of the state. The nine children resulting from this union are all living. Mary M. married James Cockerill, of Fayette county, Ohio;. Robert is a hay-dealer in Greenfield; Annie is the wife of Joel Ard, of St. Louis; Emma, L. is at home; Joseph R. C. resides in Fayette county ; Lizzie is the wife of Dr. A. A. Hyer, of Buena Vista, Ohio ; Jacob E. White, of. Greenfield; Charles L., of Idaho; and Jessie S., wife of J. C. Long, a business man of Wellston, Ohio. Jacob E. White, seventh in order of the children, was born at Winchester, Adams county, Ohio, in 1863, and spent his early years partly in Hillsboro and partly in. Fayette county. His boyhood was passed on the farm and he had only such educational advantages as are afforded by the common country schools. He. was eighteen years old. when he settled in Greenfield and some time after his arrival was devoted to attendance at the Normal school in that town. It was in 1890 that the happy thought struck him of going into .the dairy business. Poorly equipped as he was at the start, lacking skill as well as capital; his three poor cows have grown almost as rapidly as Jonah's miraculous gourd, until we see before us the neat Spring Grove dairy with its elegant appointment and complement of "lowing herds." Mr. White pays no attention to politics or other matters that might distract his attention from the business for which he is so well qualified, but finds relaxation on the social side by membership. and occasional attendance with McClain lodge, Knights of Pythias. Robert W. White, the energetic and prosperous hay and grain merchant of Greenfield, comes of an old Virginia family which was well represented in the early pioneer struggles of Ohio. Grandfather Joseph White settled in Adams county among the first and bore his share in the hardships, dangers and privations incident to the period of original occupation. His son, William White, became a very prominent stock dealer, of Adams county, his business covering a wide scope of country and making him known throughout Ohio and neighboring states. His wife, Jane D. Edgington, descended from an ancestry distinguished in affairs both of church and state. Her father was Jacob Edgington and her mother a daughter of the celebrated Robert Dobbins, one of the founders of the Methodist Protestant church, representative of Fayette county in the legislature for two terms, and an evangelist of great renown. Grandfather Edgington took part in the early Indian wars which were such a dramatic and dreaded feature of the period embracing the occupation and settlement of the Northwest territory. Robert W., son of 518 - THE COUNTY OF HIGHLAND. William and Jane (Edgington) White, was born at Winchester, Adams county; Ohio, and was reared to manhood in his native place. Later he was engaged for some time in farming in Fayette county and in 1884 came to Greenfield where he embarked in the creamery business. Four years later this was given up and he became a dealer in hay, straw, corn and other grains. He began on a small scale, but the business grew by degrees until it has assumed large proportions, the buying, baling, handling and shipping employing the labor of many people. He now ships to many different points in widely different parts of the country and is doing a prosperous business. August 6, 1891, he was married to Matte, daughter of Thomas Moon, one of the old settlers on Walnut creek in Highland county. Mr. White is a Jeffersonian Democrat of the old school and a member of the order of Odd Fellows. He is popular not only in business but in the social circle, as he is a man of kindly disposition and observant of all the rules of hospitality. Silas S. White, attorney and justice of the peace at Sinking Springs, is a grandson of Benjamin White, a native of Vermont, born in 1809, who was for many years a prominent resident of Clay township. Benjamin White was a ship carpenter by trade, an active and influential man and a member of the Campbellite church. In early manhood he settled in Hamilton county and bought a large tract of land, and later moved to Clay township and acquired a farm. His wife was Lucinda Stratton, of Pennsylvania—German descent, and they had thirteen children: John, William, David, Lewis (of Brown county, Ohio), Catherine, Columbus, Marshall, Frank, Letty, Sarah, Sanford, Samantha and Mary, all except Lewis being deceased. Five of the sons were gallant soldiers of the Union in 1861-65, serving for more than four years each. David E. White, born in Clay township, December 18, 1840, enlisted in Company K of the Twelfth regiment Ohio infantry, mustered in at Hillsboro, and throughout the war he shared the record of that gallant, command, participating in numerous battles and skirmishes, and serving in all four years, five months and twenty-three days. He was mustered out as first sergeant of his company. After the war he made his home at Mount Orab, Brown county, and married Sarah Keeth ler, a native of Brown county. After 1895 they resided at Sinking Springs. He was a contractor for many years, and furnished most of the ties and some other material for the construction of the old Chil licothe & Eastern railroad. He was honored with local offices, and in every way was a man of prominence and high character. On December 27, 1901, while trying to catch the railroad train at Greenfield he was knocked from the trestle, and drowned in the creek, an accident that caused great sorrow to his family and many friends. His widow survives him, and three children : Silas S., Joseph H., BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES - 519 and Rebecca, wife of A. Cummings, of Mount Orab. Silas S. was born August 19, 1866, at Mount Orab, was reared there, and in early manhood began the study of law with White & Young, of Georgetown. Removing to Indiana, he was admitted to the bar there, and practiced for some time in the courts. After his marriage to Jennie Cummings, of Brown county, he lived at Mount Orab four year and then removed to Sinking Springs, where he continues in the general practice, and fills the office of justice of the peace, in which he is now serving the second term. While living in Sterling township, Brown county, he was honored with various township offices. He is one of the influential men of the county, and is now a member of the central committee of his party, the Democratic. Five children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. White—Harry, Hazel, Lester, George E., and Blanche. Mrs. Maria O. (Brouse) Whittell, of Liberty township, is descended from a pioneer who came to Ohio in the early part of the nineteenth century. Lewis Brouse was of Virginia nativity and married Mary Riner of the same state, with whom and several children he migrated to Highland, county, where he took part in the hardships of the early settlement and founded one of the enduring families. Of his nine children two survive, these being Mrs. Rosa Anderson of Hillsboro and Charles W.. Brouse of Henderson county, Ill. Another son, John. Andrew Brouse, was born in Virginia, April 30, 1816, and came with! his parents on the journey from the Old Dominion to the western wilds. In 1843 he was married to Catharine, daughter of John and Catharine (Lane) Holmes, natives of New Jersey, who were among the early arrivals from the east in Highland county. The six children of John A. and Catharine' Brouse were John, Frank, Wesley, Maria, Emma and 'Charley. Maria C. Brouse, eldest of the daughters, was born in Highland county, Ohio, June 23, 1850, and as she grew to womanhood received the customary common school education. July 5, 1888, she was married to Thomas M. Whittell, a native of Scotland, born in 1836, who accompanied his parents. to New York city at the age of twelve years. The parents soon became dissatisfied with America and returned to Scotland, leaving Thomas and his brother James to shift for themselves. The brothers soon parted and Thomas drifted to Pennsylvania where he secured work on a farm and grew to manhood. By hard work and close application to his books he not only laid up money but also acquired a reasonable education. Hearing of the advantages of farming 'in. the Ohio valley, he left Pennsylvania and subsequently located in Highland county, where he was destined to spend the rest of his days. He was a man of high moral .character, addicted to no bad habits, and a consistent member of the Methodist church. He started life penniless and by dint of indus- 520 - THE COUNTY OF HIGHLAND. try and perseverance had accumulated considerable property. It is to be hoped that those of his descendants who may read these pages in after years will find something in the life of this worthy man to encourage them to emulate his name in every way possible. In 1878, he purchased a fine, farm of 120 acres in Liberty township west of Hillsboro, where he resided until his death, which occurred January 27, 1898. On this place his widow resides with her two children : Roy, born May 30, 1890, and Florence, born January 2, 1893, both of whom are attending school. Since her husband's death Mrs. Whitten has superintended the business affairs of the estate with good judgment and is much esteemed in her neighborhood both as a woman and a citizen. James H. Wickersham, a merchant at Greenfield, trustee of Madison township, and, altogether quite a busy and prominent citizen, though a native of Pike was reared in the county of Highland. The family is one of the oldest in America, as Thomas Wickersham came over with William, Penn. on his second voyage and became part of the famous band who settled Pennsylvania. From this parent stem sprang the numerous progeny which eventually spread to most of the states of the Union and some of whom took part in. the pioneer development of the central West. Isaac Wickersham, founder of the Ohio branch, came from Pennsylvania at an early day and first settled at Eaton, but later located in Highland county where he engaged in the woolen manufacture. The Wickershams of different generations conducted woolen mills on Rocky Fork creek for eighty-five years, being both pioneers and patriarchs in the business. Samuel Wickersham, son of Isaac, was employed in this industry during the whole of his long life, which was one of continuous activity and devotion to patriotic principles. He belonged to the old guard of Abolitionists, helped to conduct the underground railroad and fought the institution of slavery from start to finish. He married. Sarah Core, of Pike county, by whom he had four children. Of those, Isaac M. Wickersham served two years of the civil war a member of Company F, Second Ohio heavy artillery, and afterward became a prosperous farmer in Iowa. Joel C. Wickersham, brother of the foregoing, is engaged in the general mercantile business of Clinton county and prominent in political circles. Mary E., the only daughter, is the wife of Abraham Grove of Westboro, Ohio. James H. Wickersham, eldest of the children, was born in Pike county, Ohio, April 19, 1844, but was brought to Highland county in his early years and there educated. In. 1863 he enlisted in Company F, Second Ohio heavy artillery, and accompanied this command during its subsequent campaigns in Kentucky, Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee. He was mustered out of the service at Nashville, Tenn., BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES - 521 September 1, 1865, returned home directly and resumed his work in the woolen mills. He was so engaged for many years after the war, until changed conditions made the local wool manufacture unprofitable, and when this point was reached Mr. Wickersham abandoned it for other 'pursuits. For some years past he has been in the wool, fuel, grain and feed business at Greenfield, and has been actively identified with the life and development of Greenfield in all departments, taking a hand in every movement of consequence that is started. He lends a hand in politics when the contests are exciting, is a master Mason, ,member of the Royal. Arcanum and one of the comrades in Gibson post, No. 180, Grand Army of the Republic, of which he has served as officer of the day for eight or ten years. He is also a member of the official board of the Methodist Episcopal church at Greenfield and one of the trustees of Madison township. Altogether he is a very industrious as well as an enterprising and popular citizen and one -whose influence is always felt on the right side of every good cause. In 1867 he was married to Mary V., daughter of Thomas and Cecelia Russell, members of old Virginia families and the union has been blessed by the birth of eight children, three of whom, are living. Frank T. Wickersham, the eldest of these, about twelve years ago founded the Greenfield Republican or the Tri-County News, which he conducted until 1901 when he disposed of it and became part owner of the Daily News, published at Lima, Ohio: Of the two daughters, Estella E. is the wife of E. W. Emery, of Greenfield, and Elsie May is at home. John Wilkin, veteran of the civil war and well-to-do farmer of New Market township, is descended from a pioneer family who came from Virginia and settled in Highland county in 1801. Among their numerous descendants was Eli Wilkin, born about 1818, who married Catherine Rhodes and by her had twelve children, of whom nine grew to maturity. One of these children was John Wilkin, born in New Market township, Highland county, Ohio, July 2; 1846, on the farm where he now resides. As he grew up he attended the neighborhood schools and later the high school at Hillsboro, and on reaching maturity he helped manage the farm in association with his father. The latter died in 1898 in the eightieth year of his age. February 1, 1864, Mr. Wilkin enlisted in Company C, Thirteenth regiment Ohio volunteer cavalry, which was mustered into service at Camp Chase early in May and soon after joined the army of the Potomac. It was first assigned to the Ninth army corps and served awhile as infantry, later being furnished horses and converted into cavalry. Mr. Wilkin took part with his command in the engagements at Poplar Grove church, Hatcher's Run, Dinwiddie Court House, Petersville, Farmville, and the other fighting that marked the "beginning of the end." He was present at the "grand finale" 522 - THE COUNTY OF HIGHLAND when Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox and thus put an end to the great civil war. Mr. Wilkin was released fserviceice. by an honorable discharge August 10, 1865, with the rankcorr-..poral, and lost no time in returning to his Ohio home. He resumed, the occupation of farming and in course of time became possessed of ninety acres of on which he now resides and carries on gen eral agriculture. In 1896 he was married to Mrs. Rebecca Roush, widow of Noah Roush, by whom she had six children : Sophronia, Nora Zella (deceased); Mittie, James and Cletus W. Mr. Wilkin is a member of the Reformed church and of Robert Russell post, No. 630, Grand Army of the Republic, in which he has held the position of adjutant. By his marriage with Ms. • Roush there has been one child, Wilfred H. Samuel Wilkin, of Hamer township, an extensive farmer, manufacturer, and breeder of live stock, comes of a highly honorable ancestry which runs back to the earliest pioneer days. They were originally Virginians and came from that historic section of the state known as the Shenandoah valley, arriving in. Ohio territory when it was still a hunting ground for roving bands of Indians. The grandfather of Mr. Wilkin, whose name was William, was one of the most prosperous farmers of his day and accumulated a large amount of property. He married Rebecca Windle and by her had a family of eight children, Peter, Joseph, Sarah, Eli, Elizabeth, William, Ann and George, all now dead except the last mentioned, who lives in Hamer township. William Wilkin was cut off from his usefulness in the prime of life and after his death the widow continued to manage the farm and look after the welfare of her large family. Joseph Wilkin, second of the children in age, was born in New Market township in. 1816, and in early manhood married Nancy, daughter of Allen and Elizabeth Roush, of Highland county. He located on a place in Union township where he lived until 1855, when he purchased a farm of 123 acres in Hamer. township. To this he removed and there spent the remainder of his days, passing away in 1887 at the age of seventy-one, his wife surviving until some years later. Of their six children, Elizabeth, Allen and Augustus have died; Samuel is, the subject of this sketch ; Rebecca J. is the wife of Lewis Orebaugh, of Hamer township'; and Joseph F. is a minister of the Methodist Episcopal church. Samuel Wilkin, second of the children, was born in Union township, Highland county, Ohio, September 8, 1843, and remained at home until he reached his majority. About that time he married Roseannh, daughter of George N. and Mary (Pugh) Webster, of Dodson township, and located there on a Small tract of land, where he spent the five following years. He then removed to a farm in Hamer township given to him by his father, where he now resides, adding to the property and greatly improving BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES - 523 it from year to year since he took possession. In 1882 he began the manufacture of tile, which he has since continued in partnership with his .son Dallas under the firm name of Samuel Wilkin & Son. They., use the latest and best improved machinery and do business on an extensive scale. As a farmer and stockraiser Mr. Wilkin has no superior in the township. His real estate holdings now consist of about 437 acres of the best quality of land, which is kept in highly improved condition and is cultivated by up-to-date methods. In 1891 he constructed a handsome brick residence, which has all the modern improvements and conveniences, and both in size and quality is superior to anything of the kind in he township. In fact everything on and about this model farm indicates skillful and progressive management, as the buildings and equipments of all kinds are neat and attractive and always kept in prime condition. Mr. Wilkin takes a just pride in his splendid Poland—China and Berkshire hogs, of which he has long been an extensive, breeder and shipper, and he enjoys a high reputation in this department of the live-stock industry. He has found time from his farm and other business to fulfill all the duties of a good citizen, being especially interested in educational and religious work. He held the position of school director for nine consecutive years, and during the whole of his adult life. has been a member of the Christian church and one of its most enthusiastic, workers. His marriage has been blessed with fourteen children, in the order of their birth as follows : Lewella M., the wife of S. R. Kidd:, of Dodson township, and mother of three children, Almira, Anna F. and Samuel K. ; Augustus E., who lives in Hamer township, married Lizzie Fawley and has had five children, those living being Dorotha I., Arnold. and Hugh N. ; Dallas O., in business with his father, who married Jennie Hawthorn and has had three children, Orpha, Nancy and Hilda (deceased) ; William F., of Hamer township, who married Susan Duvall and has two children living, 'Gladys and an infant, and one dead ; Joseph N., in Hamer township, who married Lucy J. Stroup, their children being Norma R. and Paul ; Cora M., who married J. N. Dollinger, of Dodson township, and has three children, Elizabeth I., Lotta. M. and Anna A. George R., in Hamer township, who married Hattie E. Williams, and have one child, Edgar Franklin ; Samuel B., who married Myrtle McKamey, and lives in Dodson township; Nancy N., Mary J., and. Henry, with their parents ; John A., who was killed in 1900 when eleven years old by being run over by a loaded wagon ; Everett Louis, who died in 1892 at the age .of two years and eight months ; and Rosa 0., the youngest of this interesting family. Alleniah F. Williams, a prosperous farmer of Brush Creek township, is a grandson of one of the early settlers of Jackson township, -Elias Williams. The latter was a native of Rockingham county, 524 - THE COUNTY OF HIGHLAND. Va., born in 1789, came to Highland county when about ten years old, and resided here until his death which occurred on February 25, 1838. In early manhood Elias Williams married Christina Countryman, also a native of Rockingham county, Va., born about 1790, died August 25, 1879. They began housekeeping in Jackson township, buying a tract of wild land. Their children were Polly, John, Eli, _Nancy, Elizabeth, Henry, Anna, Eliza and Levi. John. Williams, father of the subject of this sketch, was born in Jackson township June 6, 1807, and married Elizabeth Duncan, a native of Jackson township and daughter of Alexander Duncan. After several years they moved to Adams county, where Mr. Williams engaged in mercantile business at May Hill, and from there they returned to the vicinity of Belfast, and -later moved to Brush Creek township. John Williams had four children by his first wife : John, deceased; Sanford, deceased; Mary, wife of John W. Tener, of Belfast, and one that died young. After the death of their mother he married her sister, Mary, and they had ten. children: Elizabeth, wife of J. M. Suiter, of Harriet postoffice ; Susan, Eliza, and Amanda, deceased ; Ellen, wife of L. B. Coss, of Kansas ; Alleniah F. ; Agnes, wife of John Koger, of Paint township ; Martha, wife of C. P. Dun lap, of Greene county ; Thomas, deceased, and Anna, wife of John Dunlap, of Greene county. The father lived to the age of eighty-six years, and his second wife survives him, at ninety years, and very sprightly for that great age. Alleniah F. Williams, born in Jackson township, June 7, 1847, received his education in the district school and the, high school at Hillsboro, and in early manhood for four years was employed as a nurseryman. Afterward he was twelve years engaged in the profession of teaching, doing excellent work in the schools of his township. He married Iza R. Turner, born and reared on the farm where they now live, and except for the first year of their married life, they have made their home on the old Turner homestead, where they own 338 acres of land. Mr. Williams has made most of the improvements on the place, making it one of the most attractive of the region. He gives attention to the raising of live stock as well as farming, is a member of the grange of Patrons of Husbandry, in religious affiliation is an Universalist, and in. politics a Democrat. Among his neighbors he is held in high esteem.. Five children have been born to him and wife—Spees, living in Colorado; Laura. A., deceased ; Inis V., Carlton T., and Grace D. James A. Williams, veteran of the civil war and trustee of Liberty township, is one of the most progressive and enterprising of Highland county's many bright farmers. He is highly esteemed both as a citizen and a neighbor, keeps abreast of the times in all lines of useful information and is ever ready to put a shoulder to BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES - 525 the wheel in any worthy cause. He is a descendant of one of those sturdy old Quaker families who were driven out of North Carolina by their detestation of the hated institution of slavery. William Williams, son of Isaac, was born in North Carolina in 1774, and in 1797 was married to Phoebe Mendenall, of Guilford county in the same state. Early in the nineteenth century they became citizens of Highland county, locating in Penn township, where most of their eleven children were reared to maturity. The names of their offspring, as preserved in the old family Bible, were Katharine, Mary, Josiah, Isaac,, Robert, Joseph, John, Elizabeth, Ann, Jonathan and Phoebe,. Jonathan Williams was born in. Penn township, Highland county, Ohio, April 17, 1820, and in 1842 was married to Sarah Bailey, daughter of a prominent pioneer and leader in the society of Friends. The six children resulting from this marriage were Mary, wife of John Hustead of Penn township ; Melissa, wife of John Denny; James A., noticed more fully below; Laura E. ; Caroline, wife of Clark Woody; and Charles, a resident of the Indian Territory. .James A. Williams, third of the family, was born on the homestead in Highland county, Ohio, August 31, 1845. In the fall of 1864 he enlisted in the One Hundred and Seventy-fifth regiment Ohio national guard and served with the same until the expiration of his term in 1865. December 29, 1869, he was married to Rachel, daughter of Joseph and Margaret (Yost) Larkin of Harrison county, Ohio. After his marriage, Mr. Williams lived a while in Penn township and then removed to Kansas, but not liking the prospect out there, returned to Highland county and located on the Bernard farm west of Hillsboro. This arrangement lasted until 1887, when he purchased an excellent place of 153 acres on Clear Creek, north of the county seat, where he has since made his home. That he is regarded as a reliable business man is evidenced by the fact that in the spring of 1902 he was elected trustee of Liberty township. He is well informed on all matters relating to agriculture, one of the county's most energetic farmers and in every way a clever and popular citizen. • He belongs to the Union Veterans' Union and is one of the comrades of Hillsboro post, Grand Army of the Republic. The four living children of Mr. and Mrs. Williams are Isaac, born November 2, 1870, and now married and residing near Leesburg, Ohio; Oscar, born September 12, 1872; Margaret, born December 7, 1877, wife of Leslie Connell of Penn township; and Herbert, born April 3, 1890. Katie, the second born, died in infancy. William H. Willson, M. D., is one of the most popular and promising of the young professional men who make Greenfield, Ohio, their center of operations. He is a native of Highland county, was educated in her public schools and has spent most of the years of 526 - THE COUNTY OF HIGHLAND. his life in her confines. At an early age he conceived a great admiration for the noble science of healing and determined to make a study of the same with a view to its professional practice. With this end in view, he became a student at the Medical College of Ohio in 1894 and continued in diligent attendance at all the lectures during the three subsequent winter terms. In the spring of 1897 he was made happy by the reception of the degree of M. D. conferred upon him by his alma mater. Immediately after graduationtion, Dr. Wilson located in his native town of Greenfield and entered upon the active practice of his profession among old friends and neighbors. He was so engaged at the outbreak of the Spanish—American war in the summer of 1898. Actuated by a patriotic desire to do what he could in the cause of his country, Dr. Willson joined the Fourth regiment hospital corps and served with it during the Porto Rico campaign. Returning from the war he resumed his practice at Greenfield, which extends over portions of Highland, Ross and Fayette counties. In addition to his regular professional duties, Dr. Willson holds the position of medical examiner for several leading insurance companies. He is a member of the Highland County Medical society, a master Mason and communicant of the First Presbyterian church. On. February 26, 1902, Dr. Willson was married to Bessie endrydry, daughter of Richard and Minnie L. Hendry. Her father, a native of Scotland, has been a resident of Cincinnati for a number of years. Cyrus F. Wilson, a civil war veteran with a record of long and .brilliant service and a. prominent farmer of Greenfield, belongs to a family identified with the history of Madison township almost from the time of its organization. As early as 1810 his father, Adam B. Wilson, arrived from North Carolina and settled three miles southeast of Greenfield. He was a man of excellent business ability and great energy of character; qualities which made him one of the most influential citizens of the new county. Born in 1790, he served with credit in the war of 1812 and rose to the rank of lieutenant in his company. After coming to Ohio, he tarried a while in Ross county and was there married to Margery Dean, whose father, Abraham Dean, was among the pioneers who came in -the latter part of the eighteenth century. In addition to his regular occupation as a general farmer and stockraiser, Adam B. Wilson held the office of justice of the peace for twenty-four years, and transacted a large amount of business of all kinds. He was conspicuously identified with the movement against' slavery, but did not live to see that relic of barbarism wiped out, as he died in 1856, before the civil war had put an end to that great national disgrace. Most of his twelve children have passed away, one of the survivors being Cyrus F. Wilson, who was born in Highland county, Ohio, in 1839, and grew to man- BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES - 527 hood on his father's farm. In December, 1861, he enlisted in one of the companies of the famous Seventy-third regiment, Ohio volunteer infantry, whose fighting record was as brilliant as that of any organization in the army. In January, 1862, they were sent to West Virginia and in May fought against Stonewall Jackson at McDowell. They were seriously engaged at Cross Keys and Second Bull Run, losing at the last mentioned battle one hundred and forty-. four men, killed and wounded, and twenty prisoners. The next severe engagement was at Chancellorsville, in May, 1863, followed by the bloody and decisive battle of Gettysburg, where the Seventy-third was hotly engaged during the three days' fighting and lost. one hundred and forty-four men, killed and wounded,- out of a total strength of about three hundred and thirty. In the next. fall the regiment was sent west and was with Hooker in the hottest, of the, fighting at Lookout Mountain, where they again suffered severely. During the year 1864 they were with Sherman from Chattanooga to Atlanta, from Atlanta to the sea, from the sea. up through the Carolinas to Washington for the final grand review; then to Louisville, where the muster-out took place July 20, 1865. To have participated in such a series of campaigns and battles in behalf of one's country makes a record to be proud of, and Cyrus F. Wilson shares with his surviving comrades the honor of having been with the “old Seventy-third" during all those terrible but glorious days of the mighty struggle for national existence. December 17, 1868, Mr. Wilson. was married to Martha. L. Douglas, member of the widely distributed and influential family of that name in Highland county. She is the daughter of James and grand-daughter of William and Mary (Scott) Douglass, who settled near Greenfield in 1810 and became wealthy land-owners of Madison township. Mr. and Mrs.. Wilson have three sons: Frank D. and George 0., in business in Chicago, and James W., in Indian Territory. The parents are members of the First Presbyterian church at Greenfield, and Mr. Wilson revives old war memories with his comrades of Gibson post, No. 180, Grand Army of the Republic. Frank L. Wilson, M. D., a prominent and successful physician of Greenfield, Ohio, was born and bred in Highland county. His grandfather, Adam B. Wilson, a native of North Carolina, was among the earlier settlers of Highland county, where he became a successful and influential farmer. Dr. James Leighton Wilson, son of Adam B., was one of the eminent surgeons of this section of Ohio. After obtaining a literary education in the Ohio University at Athens, he entered the Ohio Medical college, from which he was. graduated about 1846 with the degree of M. D. After a year spent in the northern part of the state, he formed a partnership with Dr. Milton Dunlap for the practice of medicine at Greenfield, and. 528 - THE COUNTY OF HIGHLAND. this association was carried on profitably for a number of years. James Leighton Wilson was enthusiastically devoted to his profession and surrendered his whole life to its study and practice. His laudable ambition and unwearied efforts met with deserved success, as he achieved rank as a physician and surgeon of unusual ability. He refused to lay down his work at the approach of ill health, but continued to practice until a short time before his death, which occurred in 1899. He enjoyed the greatest consolation of a father in being able to leave behind a successor well worthy to wear his mantle and fully able to continue his professional work. This solace was afforded in the person of his youngest son, Dr. Frank L. Wilson. This gentleman had been well educated at the old. academy of South Salem, and the Miami university. Subsequently he entered the Ohio Medical college, from which he was graduated in 1875 with the degree of M. D. In the year following, he became associated with his father in the practice of medicine at Greenfield, where he has attained a very prominent position among the physicians and surgeons of southern Ohio. He is employed in his professional capacity both by the Baltimore & Ohio Southwestern and the Ohio Southern railway companies, in addition to his extensive practice in Greenfield and surrounding country. Dr. Wilson is a member of the Highland county Medical society and the fraternities of Knights of Pythias and the Elks. He was married in 1876 to Anna, daughter of Judge John Eckman, a very prominent citizen of Greenfield, who was mayor of the city and at one time associate judge. Dr. Wilson and wife have two sons, of whom Charles D. is student at Miami university and Oscar is at home. David C. Winkle, one of the model farmers of Hamer township, comes of an honorable Virginia ancestry first represented in Highland county about the year 1827. The new arrivals, who settled in White Oak township, included the parents and six Children, among the latter being Michael Winkle, who was born in Virginia, August 9, 1815. The latter was an ambitious boy and so early as the twelfth year of his age began to make his own way in the world. There was but little he could do except the lighter work of farm and mill, but this he did to the best of his ability and with an industry that promised well for the future. Shortly after arriving at legal age he was united in wedlock with Sarah Ann, daughter of Henry and Catharine Surber, with whom he began housekeeping on a farm in White Oak township. Being a good business man and progressive in temperament he met with success in all his ventures, one of which was a water-power sawmill that ranked among the first of its kind constructed in the township. As a farmer he was enterprising and believed 'in keeping things in good order, one of his improvements being a brick house, something of a novelty on farms at that time, BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES - 529 which was subsequently destroyed by fire. He was an active member of the Christian church, township trustee for many years and reached the age of eighty-four years before closing his earthly career. The postoffice of Winkle, the official name of the town of East Danville, was so called in honor of Michael Winkle, as a compliment to his popularity and worth as a citizen. His living children are Sarah Jane, wife of John Fender, of New Market township; Elizabeth, widow of Adam Redkey, of Hamer township ; Lucinda, wife of John Bennington, of White Oak township ; Rachel, wife of Hugh Vance, of Hamer township ; the subject of this sketch ; Isadora, wife of Amos Hawk, of White Oak township ; and Cornelius, Mary C. and William H., deceased. David C. Winkle, next to the youngest of the nine children, was born in White Oak township, Highland county, Ohio, on the farm adjoining his present home, November 8, 1855. He was married in early manhood to Olive Elizabeth, daughter of James P. and Maria Roberts, of White Oak township, and immediately located on the farm where he still resides. The place at first consisted of 148 acres but he has added to the area until he now owns 300 acres, nearly all of which is under a high state of cultivation. From time to time he has made improvements in the way of neat and commodious buildings, so that he has one of the most comfortable country homes in the township. Indeed, he is not only one of the representative agriculturists of his immediate neighborhood but is a model Highland county farmer of the up-to-date and progressive class. He has served nine or ten years as township trustee and is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America at Hillsboro. Mr. and Mrs. Winkle have had six children, of whom Charles N., Carrie 0. and Monta M. are living, and three died in infancy. The family are communicants of the Christian church. Jacob M. Wisecup, a veteran of the civil war and one of the progressive farmers of his community, traces his ancestry to a very early period in the history of Highland county. Jonas Wisecup, the founder of the Ohio branch of the family, located in Highland county as early as 1795 and established a distillery about five miles southeast of Marshall. By his wife Susannah he had twelve children, of whom Susannah, wife of William Cummings of Hartford City, Ind., is the only survivor. Jacob, the second son, was born about 1804 and in 1823 was married to Susannah, daughter of John Frump, by whom he had eleven children: John, a resident of Indiana ; Joseph, a farmer living near Carmel ; George, farming at Belfast; Jacob M., further noticed below; William, a resident at Carmel ; Mary Ellen, wife of Carey Skeen of Carmel; Daniel, a merchant at Bainbridge; Martha, wife of William Baird residing near Hillsboro ; Allen F., farming near Belfast; Lydia Ann, who H-34 530 - THE COUNTY OF HIGHLAND. married James Skeen and died in 1884 ; and Benjamin, a resident of Rainsboro. Jacob M. Wisecup, fourth of the children in order of birth, was married in 1868 to Margaret, daughter of Thomas and Hannah (Spargur) Montgomery, and connected with this event is a pathetic story of war times. In the fall of 1864, Jacob M. Wisecup and his bosom friend, William McCoy, enlisted together in the One Hundred and Seventy-fifth regiment Ohio volunteer infantry. This command was sent to Tennessee and participated in the bloody battle of Franklin, fought to check the advance of the Confederate General Hood toward Nashville and the North. Before entering this engagement, McCoy exacted a promise from Comrade Wisecup that should the former fall the latter would care for his widow. McCoy was mortally wounded by a shell and Mr. Wisecup himself severely injured in the head, the total loss of the regiment in killed, wounded and missing being about four hundred. He was in several other -fights afterward and served with the regiment until its discharge in July, 1865. Three years later, Mr. Wisecup fulfilled the promise to his dead friend by marrying his widow, Mrs. Margaret (Montgomery) McCoy, and caring for her tenderly ever after as his wife. Their children are Elmer N., who served as a soldier in the Spanish-American war and is now at home; Clarence E., also in the war as a musician, going from Cuba to the Philippines and after two years returning to peaceful pursuits, being a student of dentistry; Florence, wife of Ealy Roads of Buford ; Ernest Clark, attending the Hillsboro high school; and Lizzie Leota, wife of Thomas Brown, a carpenter at Hillsboro. Mr. Wisecup formerly resided near Hillsboro but in 1885 located at Belfast and ten years later purchased 183 acres of land near Dallas, where he at present resides. A few years ago Mr. Wisecup erected a handsome residence on this place which is regarded as one of the model farms of the county. Charles A. Woodmansee, of Highland, is a worthy representative of an old family, conspicuous in the early settling and subsequent upbuilding of Fairfield. township. The first arrivals came in 1818 from Monmouth county, New Jersey, and settled where Charles P. Woodmansee lived in after years. Samuel and Alice (Jeffrey) Woodmansee constituted the vanguard but they were followed later by several of their children who, with their descendants, eventually owned much of the land now included in the township. Samuel died in 1837 and his wife in 1836, having reared a family of twelve children. One of their sons, by the name of Isaac, born in 1785, settled with his wife and three children on Lee's creek, where James E. Moore subsequently. lived. Among the children of Isaac Woodmansee was a son named James who was married June 20, 1841, to Sarah, daughter of Moses and Catherine (Underwood) Smith. James and Sarah Woodmansee had six children, as follows: BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES - 531 Columbus, born December 10, 1844, married Polly Luttrel, and is a farmer in Clinton county; Matilda Ann,. born September 5, 1846, married Cyrus Thornburg, a farmer of Highland county; Sarah Mary, born March 14, 1848, married Dr. William B. Graham, and is living in Indiana ; Alice, born February 12, 1853, first married P. P. Cline, by whom she had one child, Marie, and after her husband's death she married Dr. Joseph Kyle and resides at Oriental, N. C. ; James Smith, born August 29, 1856, married Ida May Tilden, and is a farmer of Highland county. Charles A. Woodmansee, sixth and' youngest of the children; was born on the farm near Highland, Ohio, July 30, 1860. After preparing himself by good preliminary education, he devoted three or four years to teaching in the schools of Highland and Clinton counties. Wearying of that employment, he embarked in farming and followed this occupation until 1895, when he went to Chicago, secured a position with one of the large firms and traveled for the same several years throughout the West. In 1901 he returned to his old home, where he has since been engaged as special agent for the Equitable insurance company. September 14, 1882, he was married to Ida Adams, a member of one of the most substantial families. in Fairfield township. Her father, Manlove Adams, who married Mary Ann Fulks, is among the enterprising and progressive citizens and for years an important factor in affairs affecting the public interests. When his daughter married Mr. Woodmansee he made her a present of 224 acres 'of land near Leesburg, which for many years has been the country residence of the family. Mr. and Mrs. Woodmansee have two children: Hester Grace, born May 21, 1886; and Peter Leslie, born October 21, 1889. Daniel D. Worley, of New .Petersburg, bears a name long known in Paint township and identified with its history from earliest pioneer days. When Francis Worley, father of Daniel, arrived from North Carolina, the settlement was small and scattered and everything in the crudest condition.. Highland county had not yet been organized and while there was an abundance of rich soil it was nearly all covered with heavy growths of timber, the clearing away of which required men of iron nerve and indomitable will. Francis Worley was able to buy land in Paint township for $5 an acre and all the corn he wanted at the rate of twenty bushels for one dollar. He "laid to" like the rest of them, however, and by patience and endless labor gradually hewed a home out of the inhospitable sur- roundings. ire married Polly Worley and reared a family that equaled if it did not surpass those of the ancient patriarchs described in the book of Genesis. The sturdy boys and girls who made their appearance in regular .order in this primitive household increased until they numbered fifteen and five of these are still living. Francis Worley, who was an old-fashioned Whig in politics, -a law-abiding 532 - THE COUNTY OF HIGHLAND. man and good citizen in all respects, was gathered to his fathers at the age of seventy-six years. Daniel D. Worley, one of the survivors of the fifteen brothers and sisters heretofore mentioned, was born in Paint township, Highland county, Ohio, March 23, 1823. As he grew up he attended subscription school in a crude cabin presided over by various pedagogues from the "land of steady habits" and here picked up the "readin', writin' and 'rithmetic" which usually constituted the store of pioneer knowledge. In 1842 when about nineteen years old, he concluded to branch out for himself, and turned his face and footsteps towards southern Indiana. He located at Aurora, then a lively little town on the Ohio river, and embarked in blacksmithing but also did some farm work as a kind of side line. He spent ten years at this place, shoeing horses, ironing wagons and otherwise keeping himself busy, with the result that he saved a little money and with it moved farther on. Near Ottumwa, Iowa, he resumed his blacksmithing and prosecuted the work industriously for seven years, after which he took charge of a farm of 210 acres that occupied his time and attention until 1884. In 1886 he returned to Highland county and has since made his home at New Petersburg. March 14, 1847, he was married to Elizabeth Upp, descendant of one of the earliest of Paint township pioneers, and had by her five children all of whom died in infancy. The mother also passed away December 24, 1884, and Mr. Worley was married in 1887 to Mrs. Ruth Merdock, daughter of Benjamin Pierce, with whom he lived happily until her death, which occurred January 29, 1899. Mr. Worley is a member of the Baptist church and his political views find expression in the Republican platforms. Henry Yochum, notable among the early comers of the German settlers of Highland county a little before the middle of the last century, was born in Germany in. 1815, and was married there to Eva Eustus, a native of the same country. In 1843 he and his family came to America accompanied by his father, and after an ocean voyage of fifty-six days, landed at New Orleans. Thence they traveled up to Ohio, and settled in White Oak township, Henry Yochum purchasing ninety acres on Bell run. Henry Yochum was a successful farmer and good citizen, and active in the advancement of the German Lutheran church. He lived to the age of eighty-two years, and his wife to seventy-seven. Eight children were born to them, of whom the following are living: Margaret Mignery, and Jacob, who is now one of the influential citizens of the township. Jacob Yochum was born on the farm in White Oak township, now owned by Mrs. Mignery, November 1, 1845, was educated in the district school, and on attaining manhood was married to Mollie Purdy, a native of White Oak township. They began their married life on the old homestead, and eight years later bought their present BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES - 533 home, where Mr. Yochum owns 161 acres of well-improved land. Four children were born to them—Charles L., of Mowrystown Ora B., residing in White Oak township; Daisy and Robert at home. Their mother died in 1884, and Mr. Yochum was subsequently married a second time to Annie Haup, daughter of John ilaup, of Liberty township. Mr. Yochum is a successful farmer and an intelligent, business-like man, whose good judgment is in frequent demand for the public service. He has held the office of township trustee two terms, and land appraiser one term; in politics is a Democrat, and his religious affiliation is with the Presbyterian church. Peter Yochum, of Clay township, a former township trustee, and prominent as a farmer and citizen, is a Pennsylvanian by birth and son of Friedrich and Marguerite (Hurning) Yochum. These parents were married in their native land of Germany, and came to the United States about 1834, settling first in Pennsylvania, where Peter Yochum was born to them August 22, 1835, and thence removing soon afterward to Brown county, Ohio. A few years later they changed their residence to White Oak township, Highland county, and after a good many years there, they returned to Brown county, where the father died at fifty-nine years of age, and the mother at about sixty. Their ten children were Margaret, Peter, Mary, Lizzie, Caroline, Frederick, John, Jacob, Henry and Kittie. Frederick, John: and Kittie reside in Brown county, Mary at Carlisle, Ohio, Jacob in White Oak township, and the others, except the subject of this sketch, are deceased. Peter Yochum was reared at his parental home and educated in the district school; and when he came of age he went out for himself to work as a fanner by the month. Thus he continued until he was twenty-five years old, when he was married to Margaret Chavey, a native of Highland county. They went to housekeeping in Kentucky, but returned to Highland county in two years and occupied the farm now owned by John Mock. At this and another farm he lived five years, and then was able to buy a place of his own, containing fifty acres, which he has since increased to one hundred. Upon this he has ever since made his home. By his first marriage Mr. Yochum had twelve children, of whom six are living: Henry and Peter, residing in Clay township Lewis and Mary, whose homes are in Nebraska; Kate, of Concord township, and Cynthia, of Clay township. After the death of his first wife he married Elizabeth Dunham, a native of Clermont county, and four children have been born to them, of whom Sylvester and Clarence are living. Mr. Yochum has a well improved farm, which shows the evidence of skilful husbandry. In addition to general agriculture he gives some attention to livestock. He is held in high regard by his fellow citizens, and for five years he was honored with the office 534 - THE COUNTY OF HIGHLAND. of township trustee. In religion he is a member of .the Presbyterian church, and in politics he is a Democrat. The Zink family, long. and favorably known in Highland, had representatives here when the county was little more than an unbroken wilderness, and the now beautiful city of Hillsboro a scrawny village of stumps and log cabins. Enoch Zink, born in Pennsylvania in 1'784, son of John and Elizabeth Zink, was married in 1805 to Mary, daughter of John and Mary (Penn) Foster, and four years later migrated to Ohio with his wife and two sons. After a weary journey they arrived in Highland county in the fall of 1809, but the prospects were not reassuring. At that time hardly a beginning had been made in clearing the heavy forest growth characteristic of that part of Ohio. Here and there was a "patch" dug with infinite pains out of the heart of the forest and in the center a log cabin with a lot of "towhead" urchins playing around, it. Now and then there were a few small fields, but there were as yet practically no roads and accommodations of all kinds were of the crudest character. The embryonic city of Hillsboro was little more than a forest clearing, plenteously sprinkled with black stumps interspersed at intervals with crude cabins and the main street a prolonged mudhold, -which had to be navigated rather than walked across. But Enoch Zink was possessed of the true pioneer' spirit, not to be intimidated by ordinary difficulties, so he bought some land and set manfully to work to carve a home out of the forbidding wilderness. The place he selected was about four miles northwest of Hillsboro and there he reared his large family, eventually evolved a good farm and in due, course passed away from the scenes of earth. His two older sons, John and Samuel, were born in Pennsylvania and after the arrival in Ohio the family was increased by eight more births, named in order Elizabeth, David K., Sarah A., Thomas F., Eli, Maria P., Milton P. and Wilson C., all of whom grew to maturity and fulfilled their duties as intelligent, worthy and industrious Christian men and women. Only two of this family of ten children are now living. Thomas F., fourth of those born in Ohio, was for many years a resident of Hillsboro, but is now living at Columbus. Milton P. Zink, next to the youngest of the children, has for fifty-two years been a minister of the Methodist Episcopal church and member of the Cincinnati conference, but since 1889 has been retired from active service and a permanent resident of Hillsboro. He was married in 1855 to Mary J., daughter of John S. Beasley and granddaughter of Gen. Nathaniel Beasley, who was appointed by the commissioners to survey Highland county and locate the county seat. Posey B. Zink, son of Milton P. and Mary (Beasley) Zink, was born in Hamersville, Brown county, Ohio, October 14, 1861, and was graduated at the Hillsboro high school in 1882. For some years after BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES - 535 leaving school, he clerked for the wholesale grocery houses of Scott & Roads and McKeehan & Hiestand, but in 1890 opened business as a retail grocer on his own account. In 1898 he removed to his present location at the corner of High and. Walnut streets, where he has a double front, and in addition to a full line of groceries keeps novelties and queensware. October 3, 1894, Mr. Zink was married to Sarah E., daughter of Martin and Nancy McClure, one of the prominent families of Highland county, who are sketched at some length on another page of this volume. Mr. and Mrs. Posey B. Zink have one daughter, Helen Beasley, who was born March 19, 1898.