PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD - 501 tion was dissolved and our subject and his brother George bought the entire stock, the former assuming the management of the business. The peculiar fitness of our subject for official positions was recognized by his fellow-citizens and he was nominated by the Republicans for Mayor in the spring of 1887. Although the city had a Democratic majority of about four hundred, he Lacked only four votes of being elected, a fact which, of itself, is a sufficient indication of his popularity. In the fall of 1887, he was elected Probate Judge by a majority of two hundred and sixty-six votes against a regular Democratic majority of nearly twelve hundred, running ahead of his ticket more than fourteen hundred. He assumed the duties of the office February 9, 1888, and during his incumbency of the position moved into the elegant new Probate rooms. At the expiration of his term, February 9, 1891, he declined a renomination and withdrew from the position which he had honored by his faithful discharge of duties and judicious decisions. J. LILLY, M. D., D. D. S., is engaged in the practice of dentistry in Circleville, and has won an enviable reputation for the careful, skiIlful manner in which he performs all operations. He is well provided with every new appliance for making the extraction of teeth as easy and painless as possible, also preserves the natural teeth and fills them, and likewise makes artificial teeth on gold, silver or platina plates, and always guarantees to give perfect satisfaction. He stands at the head in his profession, is well read and well posted on all subjects relating to it, as the contributions from his pen to dental literature testify; but although he has the M. D. degree he has never practiced medicine as a specialty. The Doctor was born in Circleville, Ohio, on the 1st of January, 1858, and the people have had every chance to judge of his character and qualifications, for here he was reared. His father, Dr. W. R. Lilly, was a native of Pickaway County, 24 Ohio, and a graduate of the Cincinnati Dental College. When a young man, he came to Circleville, and, both here and throughout the State, stood high in his profession, which he followed until his death at the family home, June 7, 1892. He was always highly respected for his many estimable qualities and his upright character, which won him many friends. In politics, he was a Republican, and during the late war enlisted in the State troops, taking part in the capture of the celebrated Gen. Morgan, during his raid in Ohio. Mary E. Robbins, as the mother of our subject was known in maidenhood, was born in Pickaway County and is the daughter of Matthias Robbins, a native of the Keystone State. During the War of 1812, Mr. Robbins served valiantly in defense of the United States, but by occupation was a farmer. Mrs. Robbins is still living and has attained the great age of more than one hundred years. Mrs. Lilly is a devoted member of the Methodist Church, to which her husband also.belonged. Of their eight children, six are now living, our subject being the third. John is a physician in Toledo, Ohio; and Robert F., who was graduated from the Circleville High School at the age of seventeen, is also a graduate of the Cincinnati Dental College, in the Class of '92. At a very early age, our subject evinced a strong love for the profession he is now successfully following, and assisted his father when but a boy. He extracted teeth when he had to stand on a chair to do it, and in that way had a fair knowledge of the profession before he adopted it. For some time he studied under his father, and afterward carried on his studies in the Cincinnati Dental College, which he entered in 1877. During the following year, he became a student in the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor and was graduated from the department of dentistry in 1879, with the degree of D. D. S. During the fall of 1879, the young doctor entered the Starling Medical College, of Columbus, from which he was graduated with the degree of M. D. in the following year. Subsequently, he practiced dentistry with his father for a few years, or until 1882, when he opened his present office. His dental parlors and operating rooms are ele- 502 - PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. gantly furnished and contain every facility for carrying on work in the most convenient and successful manner. As a dentist, his reputation is of the highest order; as a citizen, he is highly regarded for his sterling worth; and as a friend, those who know him can best appreciate his noble qualities of heart and mind. At Circleville, Dr. Lilly and Miss Ada Vernon were united in marriage. Mrs. Lilly was born in this city, where for many years her father, the late Dr. L.. C. Vernon, was a prominent physician. There have been born unto them two children, Harel and Stuart, and the family is comfortably domiciled in a pleasant residence on Union Street. Socially, the Doctor is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Elks. In politics, he affiliates with the Republican party, believing its principles best adapted to the national progress. He holds membership in the Methodist Church and contributes liberally to its support, as he does to all laudable enterprises. NEHEMIAH NEDDS, a retired farmer, residing in London, was born in Westmoreland County, Pa., September 6, 1832, into the home of Jacob and Margaret (Miller) Nedds, who were also natives of Pennsylvania. In 1838, they came to Ohio, and for a time the father was engaged in farming at Columbus, in Franklin County. Later, he went to Indiana, and was similarly employed in that State. He subsequently returned to Ohio, and the remainder of his life was spent at his occupation at Dayton. He and his good wife were among the foremost members of the Presbyterian Church, of which he was Trustee several years. Politically, he was a Democrat, as was his father before him. He served with valor in the War of 1812 as Lieutenant of his regiment. Of his eleven children, three are living: Mrs. Elizabeth Webster, of Franklin County; Mrs. Mary Reed, also of that county; and our subject. Their paternal grandfather, Godlip Nebbs, was born in Germany. He came to America early in life, and lived thereafter in Pennsylvania until his death, following the trade of a hatter. He and hi wife reared a family of some six children to goodly lives. He belonged to the German Reformed Church, and was strict in religious matters. Nehemiah Nedds, to whom these lines refer, was a small boy when his parents came to Ohio, and his life for some years thereafter was passed on a farm in Franklin County, where he obtained his education. He remained an inmate of the parental household until he was nineteen years old, and he then began his independent career. He tried wagon-making first, but did not like that trade, nor was he any better pleased with the weaving and coloring business to which he next turned his attention. The calling of a farmer, to which he had been reared, and in which he had had a good training, better suited his tastes, and for some four years after abandoning weaving,'he worked as a farm hand by the month. By that time, he had made a good start, and, desirous of establishing a home of his own, he was married to Miss Rhoda Roderick, of Madison County, daughter of Ludwick and Rebecca (King) Roderick, who were natives of Maryland and early settlers of this county. In his wife, our subject has found a capable helpmate and a cheerful companion, who has greatly aided him in securing the competency that is the fruit of their early labors. They have two children living: Milton W., an engineer; and Albert T., a painter. After his marriage, our subject continued to work as a farm hand for some ten years in Madison County, and then for a like number of years he rented farms. He subsequently purchased twenty acres of land in Union Township, erected suitable buildings, and lived on the same some six years, adding to it in the mean time by buying other land until he had quite a good-sized farm, with well-tilled fields and substantial improvements. At the end of six years, he removed to London, having bought four lots located on West High Street, on which 'he built a neat and well-planned residence, which he has since made his home. Ile is a man of solid worth, who is looked up to by his fellow-citizens in the city, and township, where he is well known. He and his wife are consistent Christians, their daily lives showing the value of their religious PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD - 503 professions, and in them the Methodist Episcopal Church has two of its most efflcient working members. He was a Class-leader for several years and Sunday-school Superintendent for a time. Politically, he is a Republican of the true stamp. JAMES FRYBACK, Among the representative ment of this county, none are more favorably know or more highly respected then the above-mentioned gentleman. His prominence arises from personal worth, which the public are not slow in recognizing, as well as from distinguished family connections, for he represents one of the oldest families in the county. A native of Pickaway County, Ohio, born in Pickaway Township on the 20th of January, 1834, he is the son of John and Letitia (Emerson) Fryback, the former a native of Pennsylvania and the latter of Virginia. -The grandfather, George Fryback, was a native of Germany and was left an orphan at a tender age. He and his brother crossed the ocean to America and both served in the Revolutionary War, the former enlisting when sixteen years of age. After the war, they returned to Pennsylvania, but later, George Fryback moved to Maryland, where he remained until about 1797. In the spring of that year, he came on horseback to Ohio, settled in Pickaway Township, Pickaway County, and raised some corn and put up some hay. He then returned to Maryland for his family, and in the fall came back to Pickaway Township, settling on three hundred and twenty acres of new land on the Congo Creek. He erected a rude log house and immediately began improving his farm. He was a hard-working, industrious man, and died in December, 1833. John Fryback was born in the year 1788, and was nine years of age when he came with his parents to Ohio. He received a common-school education and remained under the parental roof until the breaking out of the War of 1812, when he enlisted to fight the British and Indians. • He served as Sergeant in a rifle company until the close of the war and then returned to his home in Ohio. He was a great bunter and was considered a fine shot, even in those days when all had a use for the gun and when there were very few poor marksmen. Our subject now owns the gun used by his father and grandfather. The latter built the old brick house which is now the oldest brick building in the county. It is quite a large house now and must have been considered very fine in its day. The father of our subject followed farming and trading in cattle for many years, and was very successful in both pursuits. He owned six hundred and forty acres of land near Circleville, also other tracts in different portions of the county, and gave each of his eleven children a good start. He was a stout, fine looking man, and about six feet, one inch in height, and his death, which occurred in 1876, was caused partly by a fall, when he sprained his hip. He was a great horseback rjder and delighted in this exercise. He was a liberal supporter of all enterprises of a worthy nature, assisted in building churches and was active in all good work. He was an Old-line Whig in politics, but was not radical in his views. His wife, who was also a member of the Presbyterian Church, died when seventy-seven years of age. Eleven of their twelve children grew to mature years, and seven are living at the present time. James Fryback, the youngest son and tenth child, was early trained to assist on the farm, and his youthful days were passed in cultivating the soil and in attending the log schoolhouse, where he sat on a slab seat, used a quill pen, and warmed himself at the immense fireplace. Later, a brick schoolhouse took the place of the primitive log cabin, and gradually other improvements were made. Young Fryback attended the winter terms principally, for there was plenty of work on the farm during the summer months, and when seventeen years of age he entered Kingston Academy, and remained there for two years. Returning home, he remained there until twenty years of age and then went to Indiana, where he passed a year or two, engaged in cultivating the soil. In 1865, he bought two hundred and forty-five acres of land, part of the old home place, and there engaged in farming and in the stock business. He raised a fine grade of cattle and was quite actively engaged in 504 - PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. buying, selling and feeding stock. Seeing the need of more land, he bought eighty-five acres near Hayesville, and also improved sixty-eight and one-half acres in South Pickaway County. He has a fine farm, has it well improved, and is one of the substantial and prosperous men of the county. In 1889, he rented his farm and has since resided in Circleville. He takes a deep interest in all public enterprises and is one of the many public-spirited citizens of the county. He has found a great many Indian relics on his farm, which is a historical spot in Ohio, the Indian Chief, Cornstock, having had his village on this place many years ago. There is also a noted Indian spring on the farm, and in clearing around this spring seven gun barrels were found. Mr. Fryback has a large barn on his farm and a wind-pump, as well as other improvements of like character. Grandfather Fry-back bought apple seed, planted it, and thus had an orchard, but not a tree is left at the present time. Our subject was married on the 28th of September, 1875, to Miss Mary W. Sharp, daughter of John Denny Sharp, a native of Ross County, Ohio, born in 1803. Grandfather John Sharp, a Virginian, married a Miss Denny, a distant relative of Maj.-Gen. Denny. He came to Chillicothe at a very early day and settled in that city, or rather place, when there was but one house beside his own. He kept store and traded with the Indians, trusted them at flrst but found it did not pay, and later went on a farm. His father, Gen. Sharp, who was of Irish descent, was an officer in the Revolutionary War under Washington. His wife was a Taylor, a relative of Zachary Taylor, and of Scotch descent. Grandfather Sharp located in Pickaway Township, this county, in 1803, on three hundred and twenty acres of wild land, and was in the War of 1812. He was a Presbyterian in his religious views and lived to be sixty-six years of age. The father of Mrs. Fryback was a farmer on the old home place of three hundred and twenty acres in Ross County, and later he added enough to the original tract to make three hundred and forty-five acres. He was a Republican in his political views, and a Presbyterian in religious matters, and was an Elder in his church. He died on the 26th of December, 1891, and his mind was clear and vigorous to the last. His wife, whose maiden name was Sarah Corwin, was born in Pike County, Ohio, and the daughter of Samuel Corwin, who was a native of the Keystone State but an early settler of Pike County, Ohio, and of English descent. He owned a good farm here and in the West, and was a prosperous man. Mrs. Fryback's mother died in 1843. They were the parents of four children, three of whom grew to mature years, our subject's wife being third in order of birth. She was born in Pickaway Township, this county, and when fifteen years of age entered Marysville Academy at Marysville, Ohio, and remained there two years. She had two brothers in the army. Corwin enlisted in the Seventy-third Ohio Infantry in 1862 and served until the close of the war. He was wounded at Resaca. The other brother, John Taylor, was also in the same company, and now resides on the old place. Mrs. Fryback began teaching school when sixteen years of age, three years in one district, seven in another and all in sight of her father's home. To our subject and wife have been born two children: Letitia E. and Sue. Mrs. Fryback has been a member of the Presbyterian Church for a number of years, and she is a member of Groce Post, W. R. C. Mr. Fryback is a Republican in his political principles. HUGH SNIDER, whose life sketch we now present to our readers, resides in Union Township, Fayette County, and is the son of William Snider, who came to this State with his parents from Virginia, in which State he was born in 1805, while his parents were on the journey. For fifty years the father of our subject pursued the work of a drover and trader, and in those early days used to drive stock across the mountains. He was for many years one of the most extensive drovers, and is now the oldest trader, in that line, in Fayette County. The mother of our subject was Margaret, da ter of Hazard Hopkins, and she became the mot of six children, all but one of whom grew to   PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD - 505 and woman's estate. Those who are living are Sarah, now the widow of John Davis; Elizabeth, wife of G. W. Taylor, a Kansas farmer; Henry C., who is at Dayton in the Soldiers' Home, and who served his country faithfully during the War of the Rebellion, and our subject. Hugh Snider was born April 16, 1832, on Paint Creek, five miles from Washington C. H., and there had his early training and education, studying in the district schools of Wayne Township. He worked with his father until after he was twenty years of age, and was married November 28, 1852, to Rebecca, daughter of William and Elizabeth Marchant. Mr. Marchant was a farmer and blacksmith in Fayette County, and came here among the early settlers. The young couple passed a year on the old homestead and then came to the farm which they now occupy and which was purchased by the young man of his father. But little of it was then cleared but now it is all in a good state of cultivation. His spade turned the first soil that was ever turned on Pone Creek, and he has spent all his life in putting in excellent condition the farm that he bought when a young man. When he first settled here, he lived in a log house that had an old log fireplace, which took firewood so large that the young man used to drive his horse into the house to roll the log onto the fire, a log so large that it would last several days. John Rowe, Abraham McCoy and our subject are the only ones of the old settlers now living in the neighborhood. In the early days they found abundant opportunities for kindly interchange of work, and Mr. Snider says that he has sometimes gone every day for two weeks, helping his neighbors to roll logs. In 1873, Mr. Snider pulled down his log house and put in its place a handsome and substantial brick residence, adding an excellent barn also to his farm. His only child, Clara, is the wife of Frank Lidy, who is in the oil business in Washington C. H., and is an enterprising and successful young man. Mr. Snider has his farm in a fine condition and all the barns and outbuildings are creditable to his taste and good judgment.  His crops are principally in grain and .he also raises some stock. In his political views, he is in sympathy with the Republican party and in the early days was a Whig. In former times he was a School Director, but aside from that has not cared for official position and has not taken an active part in politics. I. N. BEATTY. Among the prominent and representative farmers and stock-raisers of Perry Township, Pickaway County, we are glad to present to our many readers the life history of the gentleman whose name heads this sketch. He was born in this county, April 18, 1821, and is a son of James and Margaret (Gibson) Beatty. The father was a native of Virginia and removed to Ohio in 1818, and located in Fayette County, where he spent the remainder of his days, dying in 1879, at the advanced age of eighty-four years. The subject of this sketch is the eldest of five children born to his worthy parents. The family comes of a long-lived race who were strong and robust, the grandfather, Charles Beatty, being eighty-two years old at the time of his death. Our subject has been a resident of Fayette and Pickaway Counties all his life and is one of the most successful and prosperous farmers in the county. Stock-raising and dealing have been his chief occupations, besides engaging in mixed farming. Mr. Beatty, of this sketch, was married December 27, 1847, to Margaret Hidy, a native of Fayette County, Ohio, and a daughter of Joseph Hidy, a farmer by occupation. Immediately after the marriage of our subject, he commenced farming in Fayette County, and in 1867 removed to Pickaway County, where he has resided ever since. By this marriage two children have been born, Scott and Clara. A sketch of the former is written elsewhere in this work. Clara is the wife of William C. Boswick and is making her home in this county. In his political affiliations, Mr. Beatty affiliates with the Republican party. The fine farm of this gentleman consists of from seven hundred to eight hundred acres, all under splendid cultivation. Upon this place are erected a number of model 506 - PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. buildings for the accommodation of his cattle and horses. The Short-horn breed is his favorite in cattle, and at the present time he handles many horses. He owes his success to his good judgment and skillful management, and he is a thorough gentleman whom it is a pleasure to meet. He is hospitable and kind and stands among the most highly respected citizens in the county and township. His wife departed this life at her home, July 20, 1887. ELKANAH HUMBLE was formerly, in his early manhood, prominent as an educate and is now well known in Pickaway County as a farmer and stock-raiser, with one of the best farms in Walnut Township. He is a native of Ohio, born in Clarke County, September 20, 1826. When he was a child, he was taken to Delaware County and from there to Franklin County, when he was ten years old: When he was fourteen years of age, he came to Pickaway County, and has been a resident here for more than half a century. He early displayed good scholarly ability, and was very ambitious to obtain an education. The preliminary schooling of our subject was obtained in the log schoolhouses of Franklin and Pickaway Counties, and he was a close student, devoting every spare hour to his books. At the age of twenty-two, he entered upon the profession of teaching, talking charge of a school in Harrison Township, which he taught four months, at $15 per month, paying *1 per week out of his salary for board. Wishing to further prepare himself for his calling, he then became a student at the Wesleyan University at Delaware, and profited very much by the course that he pursued in that institution during the fourteen weeks that he attended there. After leaving college, our subject taught in Walnut Township several years and in other places in different parts of Pickaway County during the flfteen years that he was engaged in teaching. He won a high reputation as an educator who was thoroughly adapted to his profession, who under stood its requirements in the various schools with which he was connected, and won golden opinions as to his methods of imparting instruction, from pupils and parents alike. He is still interested in educational matters, is of a thoughtful turn of mind, with an active brain that still keeps pace with the times, as he is a careful student. His political views find expression, generally, in the platform of the Democratic party. Religiously, he is of •the Methodist Episcopal faith and a valued member of the church. Mr. Humble's successful career as a farmer began in 1851, when he settled on his present homestead in Walnut Township, which contains two hundred and forty acres of land, and was then in a wild, uncultivated condition. By persistent effort, seconded by intelligent and well-directed labor, he has wrought a marvelous change, clearing up much of the land and erecting a substantial set of buildings, and has a neat and orderly place that is an ornament to the neighborhood. Beside this farm, he has another of one hundred and sixty-two acres in Scioto Township. which is also well improved. Our subject was first married to Rhoda Miller, who was born on the farm on which he lives, and was a daughter of Joseph and Phoebe (Hedges) Miller. One son was born of that marriage, Albert, a graduate of the Wesleyan University, who is following in his father's footsteps as a successful educator, and was engaged in his profession in Oregon, but has now returned home and will take charge of the Nebraska School in Walnut Township. By his second wife, Catherine Miller, Mr. Humble had three sons, namely: Gilbert, Clerk of Walnut Township; Joseph, a resident of the State of Washington; and Frank, County Clerk and Recorder of Montezuma County, Colo., who was educated at the Lebanon, Ohio, Normal School. Our subject's son Gilbert is a native of Pickaway County, and was born December 14, 1855. He was educated in the public schools of Walnut Township and, in due time, showed himself to be possessed of the requisite push and business tact necessary to secure success or to realize his ambitions, and he has already made his mark in his native county. He was first appointed Clerk of Walnut Township in September, 1888, and in the PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD - 507 spring of 1892 was re-elected to the office. In politics, he is an ardent Democrat, and socially, he is a member of the Masonic order, at Lithopolis. The marriage of Gilbert Humble with Miss Lyda A. Brinker took place in 1882. She is a native of Walnut Township and a daughter of the late Barnabas and Elizabeth Brinker, who were early settlers of this part of the county. Mr. and Mrs. Humble have had four children, of whom two are living: Edna M. and Frank.C CHARLES SLYH was born on the farm where he now lives, March 26, 1848, the old home- stead being very pleasantly located five miles south of Plain City, Canaan Township, Madison County. His father, Mathias Slyh, was born at Harper's Ferry, Va., in 1800, and was reared amid the wild and picturesque scenery of that noted spot. He was a son of Henry Slyh, who was also a Virginian by birth, and was a gallant soldier in the War of 1812. He died in Columbus, this State, at the ripe old age of eighty years. He was of German descent, his father having come from Germany in Colonial times and settled in Virginia. The mother of our subject, who bore the maiden name of Sarah Patterson, was born in Virginia in 1807, and was a daughter of Robert Patterson, who was also a native of that State, and was of Irish extraction. When she was about nine years old, her parents became pioneers of this State. The father of our subject came to Ohio in 1821. He was already married, having been wedded in Maryland when he was nineteen years old. His first wife, who accompanied him in his migration to this State, died in 1830, leaving four children, all of whom grew to maturity, and three of whom are still living. Mr. Slyh's second marriage was with the mother of our subject, and she bore him eleven children, of whom seven grew to manhood and womanhood, and six of them are still living. The father of our subject is distinguished in the history of this county as, one of its pioneers. He had first settled in Pickaway County, whence he removed to Columbus, where he remained one year, and at the expiration of that time he came to Madison County and located on the homestead owned and occupied at the present time by his son Charles. He built a log house, and vigorously entered upon the hard task of developing a farm, which under his careful management became one of the most desirable places in the vicinity, and in the comfortable home built up by his toil, he closed his eyes in death, January 12, 1883, thus ending a long and honorable life. He was greatly missed by the people among whom he had lived so many years, who knew him to be a true Christian and an active worker in all good causes in which he was interested. He was for many years one of the leading members of the Darby Baptist Church, holding official positions therein, and doing much for its upbuilding. He was likewise a well-known figure in 'public life, having held the offices of Trustee and Assessor of the township of Canaan. His wife survived him until August, 1891, and then she too passed away. Charles Slyh, the subject of this biographical notice, is the tenth child and sixth son of his parents. His education was obtained in the district school, and on the old farm he early gained a clear insight into agricultural methods, and since he has been farming on his own account intelligently adapts the best to the conditions of the soil, and is a good, round-about, practical farmer. He remained an inmate of the parental household until he was twenty-six years old, assisting his father in the management of the farm, and farming for himself. After marriage, he removed to the William Wilson Farm, which he occupied two years. Returning then to the old homestead, he has ever since lived upon it. He has one hundred and fifty acres of land that is under a high state of cultivation, and is exceedingly productive. It is supplied with a neat and substantial set of buildings, and with all the modern appliances for carrying on agriculture to the best advantage. Our subject is a lover of good horses, and keeps the best, having some fine specimens of blooded animals, and doing quite a business in buying and selling horses. He has a comprehensive knowledge of the horse, is an unerring judge of its good and 508 - PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. bad points, and his opinion is often referred to by his associates. He is also interested in sheep, which he handles for the market, having handled as many as two thousand during the season, and he now has a flock of five hundred of fine grade. The marriage of Mr. Slyh with Miss Eliza Kilgore was celebrated March 26, 1875. She was a native of Canaan Township, and here her entire life was passed, her death occurring in 1887. This was a sad blow, not only to the members of her own household, by whom she was greatly beloved, but by others beyond the home circle who were favored with her steadfast friendship. She was true in all the relations of life, and left a precious memory of a pleasant personality, and of a wife and mother who was devoted to husband and children, and self-sacrificing in the faithful performance of her duties. Two daughters and a son are left to comfort our subject and help him in maintaining his home: Ora, Alma and Rodney. This brief outline of the life of Mr. Slyh shows that he has arisen to an important place among the stockmen of his native county, and that he has been an influence in raising the standard of the horses bred within its borders. He has also mingled in the public life of the community, acting as Assessor of the township eleven years, and he is active in social circles as a member of Urania Lodge No. 311, A. F. & A. M., at Plain City; of Lodge No. 159, K. P; and of the Red Men of that city. He was at one time a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows in that place. In politics, he is found with the Democrats.   JESSE NIGH, a leading groceryman of Mt. Sterling, who is also engaged in the undertaking business, has the honor of being a native of Ohio. He was born in Fayette County, on the 24th of October, 1847, and is a son of Samuel and Jane (Kemp) Nigh. His father was born in Fairfield County, Ohio, in 1812, is a carpenter by trade and still resides in Pickaway County. Of the family, three sons and four daughters grew to mature years, and four are yet living: Mrs. Mary Beale, who resides on the farm in Pleasant Township, Madison County, and has five children; Mrs. Lucinda Smith, who died and left six children; Mrs. Charlotte Bragg, who resides on a farm in Range Township, Madison County, and has three children; Mrs. Emma Downs, who with her four children makes her home in Pickaway County; Otho W., who enlisted as a private in the One Hundred and Thirteenth Ohio Infantry, became cook for the Captain, and after one year in the service died of disease. His death occurred in Nashville and his remains were brought home and interred in Pleasant Cemetery in Mt. Sterling on his twenty-first birthday. Jesse P. is the younger, and Nathan died at the age of sixteen years. Mr. Nigh, whose name heads this record, began life for himself at a very early age and has since made his own way in the world. He earned his first money by working as a farm hand. At the age of twenty-four, he was married to Miss Etta Javett, their union being celebrated in Mt. Sterling, August 30, 1870. Mr. Nigh was then engaged in the harness business, which he continued for three years. On selling out, he engaged in farming for a year, after which he embarked in the grocery trade and was thus engaged for fourteen years. He then purchased fourteen acres of land in Pickaway County, but after again following agricultural pursuits for one year, he abandoned that occupation to embark in his present business. He now has an excellent trade in the grocery business and his patronage is well deserved. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Nigh have been born eight children: David Homer, Bertha Ora, William S., Freddie Milton, Floyd Bernard, Leslie Weir, Glenn and Ida May (twins). The eldest son was born in Harrisburgh, Franklin County, Ohio, and the other children are all natives of Mt. Sterling. Mr. Nigh cast his first Presidential vote for Gen. Grant, supporting the Republican party for a number of years, but is now an adherent of the Prohibition party. He has never been an office-seeker, preferring to devote his entire time and attention tp his business. Mr. and Mrs. Nigh and two of their children are members of the Methodist Church. He has served as Steward, PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD - 511 Class-leader and assistant Superintendent of the Sunday-school. In the church, he has taken quite a prominent part, doing all in his power for its upbuilding. His life has been well and worthily spent and his straightforward course has won him the confidence of all with whom business or pleasure have brought him in contact. ELI HARSH. There is probably no citizen of Scioto Township, Pickaway County, better or more favorably known than Eli Harsh, whose portrait appears on the opposite page. He began life a poor boy, but has now gained considerable wealth. He has gained the esteem of all with whom he has come in contact in business and social life, and his standing as a merchant at Commercial Point is an enviable one. Born in Carroll County, Ohio, April 3, 1836, our subject is the son of Lewis Harsh, who was born in Pennsylvania in 1791. They are of German descent, grandfather Harsh having emigrated from Germany to America when a young man, just after the close of the Revolutionary War. After spending a number of years farming in Washington County, Pa., he migrated at an early day to Carroll County, Ohio, where he became one of the pioneers. There he bought quite a tract of land, and, settling in the wilderness, developed a fine farm. Indians were his near neighbors, and wolves and deer were often to be seen from his door. He was a noted huntsman and a good shot. He reared a large family and lived to complete more than ninety years. The father of our subject was a young man when he came to Ohio. He bought eighty acres of timber land from his father and, having built for himself a house of hewed logs, settled down to develop his farm. He bought sixty acres additional and proved himself a hard worker and an industrious farmer, developing his estate and bringing it to a high state of cultivation. He lived to be ninety-one years of age, and was highly esteemed as a man of character and industry. He was a member of the German Reformed Church all his life and a faithful attendant upon religious services. In politics, he was a strong Democrat, but was not one who sought office. He married Silom Gantz, a native of Pennsylvania, and they reared to maturity eight sons and five daughters, namely: Andrew, Isaac, Rachel and Leah (twins), Cornelius, Zenus, Mary M., Jeremiah, Savina, Eli, Nathaniel, Mahala, and Philip. The mother of this numerous household, who was a member of the Reformed Church the greater part of her life, died at the age of seventy-eight. Her family was also of German descent and her father was born in the Old Country. He of whom we write was reared and educated in Carroll County, Ohio, attending the pioneer schools in the log schoolhouses where the large open fireplace, the slab writing-desk, and the slab seats, were the only furnishing of which they could boast. The door had wooden hinges and a wooden latch, and the very earliest of these schoolhouses had oiled paper in the windows in lieu of glass. It was a subscription school and the teachers " boarded around." At eighteen years of age, Mr. Harsh attended Mount Union College, in Stark County, Ohio, spending two years in that institution, and while there paid his expenses by chopping wood and making gardens. When twenty years old, he began teaching school in Carroll County, and afterward pursued that profession in Franklin County, where he taught for one year in Jackson Township and three years in Pleasant Township. The marriage of our subject at Harrisburgh, Franklin County, this State, took place. September 18, 1860, and united him with Caroline Miller, a native of that place. Her father, Henry Miller, was born at Guntersdorf, in Nassau, Germany, December, 19, 1797, and her mother, Mary Catherine Strader, was born at Greifenstien, Prussia, April 10, 1789. They were married September 12, 1827, and in April, 1834, took passage for America on the ship "Shenandoah." The vessel being wrecked, they were rescued and brought to this country by another ship, after having been on the ocean for six weeks. They lost one child in this disaster, but brought two safely through the trying ordeal to which they were subjected. 512 - PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. Mr. Miller began his career in the United States in great poverty, having lost everything he possessed by shipwreck. At an early day, he settled in Columbus, Ohio, and after residing there for three years removed to Harrisburgh, where he carried on a general store and tailor shop, until within a few years of his death. He was one of the pioneer merchants of the town, and when locating there had to chop clown trees to make a place upon which to build a house. His four living children are Cathrine, Wilhelmina, Emily and Caroline; William was the name of the little son whom they lost upon the voyage and who was then six years old. Mr. Miller died in his eighty-second year and Mrs. Miller died at the age of seventy-five. They were both members of the German Reformed Church. Three children have blessed the home of our subject: Lewis M. and Leslie A., who are partners in the dry-goods business in Columbus, and Carrie, who is still with her parents. Mr. Harsh located here in 1864 and established himself in the mercantile business, with a capital of only $300 or $400, and he is now considered worth some $40,000. He has enlarged the business from time to time, and took his sons into partnership with him, continuing thus until a year ago, when they started their store in Columbus. He has had great success and has established a large trade. The present double two-story store with basement was built in 1881, and he occupies the entire building, carrying a stock of from $10,000 to $12,000 in dry goods, clothing, boots and shoes, hardware, wall paper and general notions. His handsome and commodious residence was erected by him in 1870, and he has a splendid farm of two hundred and forty acres adjoining the village on the south, which he has in the hands of a tenant, besides a town residence which he also rents. His residence and store occupy three lots, and are considered a handsome addition to the town architecturally. Mr. and Mrs. Harsh have been members of the Methodist Church throughout most of their lives, and he is the Steward and Trustee of that body, as well as one of its main financial supporters. In politics, he is independent, with strong Prohibition proclivities, and rendered efficient service as Township Treasurer for fifteen years. He has been very successful, as might well be expected from a man of his ability and thorough study of business principles and practice. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and is influential in that body.    WAYNE CALDWELL is a representative of one of the oldest and most respected families in the county and is one of the pushing, wide-awake business men of Circleville. He is young, enterprising and energetic, and stands very 14h both in financial and social circles. He is a native-born resident of Pickaway County, Ohio, born. in Jackson Township on the 23d of July, 1848, and his father, Alexander Caldwell, was born in the same county and township in 1812. The grandfather, Alexander Caldwell, Sr., was a native of Scotland, and when a boy of thirteen emigrated to the United States and first settled in Pennsylvania. Later, he moved to Virginia, and from there to Ohio at an early date, settling in Jackson Township, within a mile of where his son resides at the present time. He was among the pioneer settlers; his farm was all wild land, and he resided in a log house for many years. He was industrious and ambitious and soon made many improvements on his place. , There his death occurred when about seventy-five years of age. He was a member of the Presbyterian Church. The father of our subject passed his youthful days in assisting his father in clearing the farm, and, as might naturally be expected, his educational advantages were not of the best, for he attended only now and then the schools taught in the log schoolhouses of that period. He remained under the parental roof until after his marriage, after which he branched out for himself, choosing the occupation to which he has been reared as his calling in life. He has been favored in every respect and is to-day one of the most successful farmers and stockmen in the county. He makes a specialty of Short-horn cattle and fine heavy draft horses. During the war, he dealt quite ex- PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD -513 tensively in sheep. He did not enter the army on account of ill-health. He gradually accumulated twenty-four hundred acres of fine land on Sciota River. He is a good manager, a man of excellent business acumen, and no doubt inherited his thrift and energy from his sturdy Scotch ancestors. He is now eighty years of age, and is an active member of the Presbyterian Church. His wife, whose maiden name was Charlotte Morris, was born in Walnut Township, this county, the daughter of John Morris, a native of Pennsylvania. She is now seventy-eight years of age. Of the six children born to this couple, five are now living, and our subject is the second in order of birth. His early school days were spent in the log schoolhouse with slab benches, a log left out at one side for a window, and other rude contrivances. Later, a much better schoolhouse was erected, and in this our subject remained until seventeen years of age, when he entered Bloomingburgh Academy, in Fayette County, Ohio. Three years later, he was graduated from that institution and intended to enter college, but was called home on account of his father's illness. After this, he continued at home and assisted his father until 1874, when he became the possessor of a farm of three hundred and eighty-seven acres in Scioto Township, all well improved and well cultivated. He followed agricultural pursuits on this until 1879, when he located in Circleville, but he has still continued to operate the farm through a superintendent. Our subject bought out F. M. Shulz's crockery store and has continued this business up to the present time, adding to the original stock wallpaper and moulding, and now occupies three floors of the First National Bank Building. Notwithstanding Mr. Caldwell's business and the urgent demand it makes upon his attention, he is able to devote a portion of his time to public matters and every laudable enterprise receives his hearty support. He is practical, energetic and persevering, and a most reliable man of business. Mr. Caldwell chose his life companion in the person of Miss Maggie Renick, and their marriage was solemnized in the year 1879. The result of this union has been three children, of whom only one survives, Felix. Mrs. Caldwell's father, Felix Renick, was a very extensive farmer and was the first settler in this township. She was born here, was educated in Hillsboro Female Seminary, and is a lady of intelligence and refinement. Mr. Caldwell is a member of the Board of Trade and was Secretary of the Pickaway Fair Company for some time. This company spent much time in building up and improving the grounds, but they received very little encouragement from the people, and so abandoned it. Mr. Caldwell still owns a partnership in this. He has shown his appreciation of secret orders by becoming a member of the Knights of Pythias and the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons. He is a man of thorough understanding of public affairs and is interested in the success of Republican principles. SAMUEL W. BENNETT, whose farm in Monroe Township was reclaimed from the primeval forests by his father, Samuel J, Bennett, represents one of the early pioneer families of this State, and he is a fine type of the native-born sons of Pickaway County, whose agricultural interests he promotes by his progressive modes of farming. He was born on the old homestead on which he lives, December 11, 1851. His father, who was a native of Ross County, was a son of John Bennett; who was born in Delaware, was of English ancestry, and was a farmer by occupation. In the early part of the century, he came to Ohio, and made settlement in the forests of Ross County, where he bought a small tract of land, upon which he built a log cabin for a dwelling. He and his wife reared a large family, and in the fullness of time passed away from the scenes of their pioneer labors, his death occurring when he was seventy or more years old, and her's at the age of ninety-seven years, nine months and fourteen days. The father of our subject grew to a stalwart manhood in his native county, and in 1834 he was there married to Rebecca Hopkins, who was also   514 - PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD born in Ross County, her birthplace lying on the shores of Big Paint Creek. Her parents, who lived to be very old, were among the early settlers of that county. These ten children were born to the Bennetts: Sarah A. (Mrs. Taylor), Mary A. (Mrs. Taylor), Jane (Mrs. Barnhart, now deceased), Will K., Mahala (Mrs. Chittem), Nancy (Mrs. Cork-well, Samuel W., Fanny (Mrs. Barnhart), Rhoda (Mrs. Ensley), and Eluora (Mrs. Toben). The mother is still living, at the age of seventy-five, and bears her years well, still being active and retaining her faculties undimmed by the ravages of time. Nearly all her life she has been a member of the Methodist Church, and she is an exemplary Christian. After marriage, Mr. Bennett came here to settle, and bought a tract of timber land, which is the old homestead occupied by our subject. He had to cut down the trees to make room to build a log cabin, which'was the regulation pioneer dwelling, with its puncheon floor, open fireplace and rude home-made furnishings, and in that humble abode he and his wife commenced housekeeping. The country around was an almost unbroken wilderness, with but very few settlements, a log cabin here and there along Deer Creek marking the home of some venturesome pioneer. Wild game of all kinds was abundant, and venison and wild turkey furnished agreeable additions to the, somewhat limited bill of fare of the settlers. The father of our subject was very diligent, worked hard to clear and develop his farm, and was well rewarded for his labors by the substantial competency that he acquired. He died lamented at the end of an upright, honorable life of sixty-five years. He was of a truly religious nature, and took an active part in the upbuilding of the Methodist Church at Yankeetown, to which he belonged. In politics, he was a Whig, until after the Republican party was formed, and from that time he gave the Republican cause his firm support. Our subject was reared on the old homestead, and early acquired a knowledge of agriculture in all its branches, that has been of, good service to him. He was educated in the district schools, and the fIrst that he attended was held in a log house, that was rudely furnished with slab benches, that were held up by wooden pins. At the youthful age of nineteen, he entered in earnest upon his lifework, and has farmed the old home place ever since. He has here three hundred and fifty-eight acres, all under cultivation, and very thoroughly drained with tiles. He conducts mixed farming, and besides raising one hundred acres of grain each year, has his farm well stocked with cattle, horses and hogs of the most approved grades. The marriage of our subject with Miss Mary Robison, a native of Mt. Sterling, Madison County, was solemnized August 26, 1874. Their pleasant home circle is completed by their two daughters, Lillis E. and Bertha M. Both have been well educated, and the former, who has a talent for music, is an accomplished pianist. Mrs. Bennett is a woman of fine disposition and character, whose influence for good is felt by all who come in contact with her. She and her daughters are members of the Methodist Church, and are prominent in its every good work. Mr. Bennett is a liberal-minded, open-handed man, who stands well in financial circles, and with his neighbors and fellow-citizens in general. His political sentiments are decidedly of the Republican order, and he is a stalwart advocate of the principles of his party. WESLEY DAVIS, a prosperous merchant of Williamsport, Deer Creek Township, Pickaway County, is a native-born citizen of this place. He was born October 28, 1839, and is a son of William and Mary (Funk) Davis, natives of Virginia, who removed to Ohio in 1806. Wesley's father was a farmer by occupation, and came of a long-lived race. Out subject received his education in the common school, and, at the early age of fifteen years, commenced in life for himself by working on a farm by the month, which he followed until May 30, 1861. In that year, he enlisted in the Civil War, being the first volunteer from his town. He enlisted in Company B, Thirteenth Ohio Infantry, served his time and was discharged August 23; 1868. After he returned home, he attempted to PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD - 515 again enlist, but was refused, and went with the regiment as a sutler, remaining until the close of the conflict. Mr. Davis again returned home May 1, 1865, and subsequently engaged in the merchandise business at Williamsport, in which line of business he has continued ever since. He has been twenty-two years in the same store, and has been very successful and prosperous in the business. The business consists of dry goods, hardware, groceries, queens-ware, boots, shoes, wall paper and clothing. He is the proprietor of two stores, one of which is devoted almost exclusively to gents' furnishing goods. Mr. Davis has been a hard worker and began in life with but small capital, but he has wisely devoted his time and attention almost wholly to his business affairs. This gentleman of whom we write took as his wife Miss Frances Leiby, a daughter of James Leiby, a native of Ohio. The ceremony took place at the home of the bride's parents in this place, July 15, 1865. Our subject is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons, and has taken the Thirty-second Degree. He is a member of the Town Council, and, in politics, affiliates with the Republican party. He and his good wife are consistent members of the Methodist Episcopal Church of their town. THOMAS K. PERDUE is City Engineer of Washington C. H., and is also engaged in the nursery business here. He is a son of Gresham and Abigail (Morse) Perdue, who were natives respectively of Bedford County, Va., and of Tuckerton, N. J., their parents being pioneers of this State. The father of our subject was born in 1790, and in 1813, in the opening years of a stalwart manhood, came to Ohio, and was one of the early settlers of Highland County, where he was variously engaged, principally in the nursery business, he being one of the pioneer fruitmen of the State. He was married after coming to Ohio, his wife's people having come here from New Jersey in 1825, and settled in Champaign County. Her father, Ephraim B. Morse, was a distant relative of Phineas B. Morse, the great inventor of the telegraph. Gresham Perdue was, in turn, a Whig, a Free-soiler and a Republican, and was in full sympathy with the anti-slavery cause, but his religious principles as a Friend forbade his taking up arms when war was declared. He died February 18, 1885, at the venerable age of ninety-five years, leaving behind him a noble record as a man eminently worthy of the respect and regard in which he was always held. He was the father of eight children, one by a former wife, Elizabeth Dukeminere. Five of these children are still living, our subject being the youngest. Gresham Perdue's second wife, the mother of our subject, passed away May 14, 1878, at a ripe old age. Thomas K. Perdue was born July 30, 1838, in New Martinsburgh, this county(Fayette). He early showed himself to be a good scholar, and he acquired an excellent education, whereby he was enabled to teach in the Public schools, in which he had obtained much of his learning, supplemented by reading and private study. He began teaching in 1860, and for twenty winters was closely engaged in the profession, winning a high reputation as an educator of more than average ability. During that time, he was also interested in the fruit business, in which he still continues, and has built up an extensive trade as one of the leading nursery men of Fayette County. In 1880, Mr. Perdue was elected County Surveyor, a position for which he was well qualified, as he had learned surveying from his father and is an expert in that line. After his election, he removed to Washington C. H. to enter upon the duties of his office, which he held six years, and he still continued surveying after the expiration of his term. He was subsequently elected City Engineer of Washington C. H., and is serving his fourth year in that capacity, giving full satisfaction by his intelligent and faithful performance of the duties thus incumbent upon him. In the year 1883, he bought the place where he now lives in an attractive part of the city, and built a good frame house for the accommodation of himself and family. 516 - PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. To the lady who presides over his home and looks so well to the comfort as well as happiness of the household, Mr. Perdue was wedded April 30, 1868. Mrs. Perdue, formerly Jane M. Smith, was born in Pickaway County, February 24, 1847, and is a daughter of Isaac and Mary Smith, who were pioneers of that county, her father being a blacksmith. Her marriage with our subject has brought them nine children, all of whom are living, namely: Whittier, a civil engineer at Chicago; Miriam; Edith, who married Otis Conner and resides in Indianapolis;, Alice; Morton, a civil engineer in Chicago; Homer; Lizzie; Helen and Gladys. Our subject is an uncompromising Republican, and is well posted in regard to polities. For three years, he was Clerk of Perry Township, was Trustee for years, and was School Director for many terms, using his influence to secure the best possible educational advantages for the youth of the township. He has had a good deal to do with the County Infirmary, of which he was a Director six years. He and all his family are members of the Society of Friends at Martinshurgh. He is known, by all as a man of unimpeachable integrity and sound honor. WILLIAM MILLIKAN, Sr., is a member of the firm of William Millikan & Son, publishers and proprietors of the Fayette County Weekly and Daily Herald. The latter paper has been published for the past six years and is the only daily in the county, while the weekly was the first Republican organ in Washington C. H. They are both bright and newsy sheets and find their way into hundreds of homes throughout this section. The Fayette County Herald was established in 1858 by our subject as a seven-column, four-page weekly, and continued to be of that size until Mr. Millikan built up a good circulation. In 1871, he associated with him as partner in the business his son, W. W. Millikan. The paper has been enlarged three different times, it now being a seven-column, eight-page paper, and it is aiding materially in forwarding the interests of this section. In December, 1885, they started the Daily Herald, which proved a success from the start, it being now a four-page, seven-column paper. Our subject was born in Colerain Township, Ross County, this State, September 22, 1806, and is the son of John Millikan, who was born in North Carolina, where he grew to mature years. The father of our subject came to Ross County in 1804, where he was married to Miss Mary Wyatt. He was a Lieutenant in the War of 1812, and died in 1814, while in charge of British prisoners at Chillicothe. He of whom we write received a good education in Delaware County, Ohio, whither the family had removed, and there found his first employment in the office of the Delaware Gazette. When quite a young man, he purchased a half-interest in the paper, his partner being Judge Ezra Griswold. Selling out a few years later, Mr. Millikan removed to Marion and established The Western Galaxy, of which he was the publisher for four years. He then took up his abode at South Bend, Ind., and edited the Indiana Free Press, being joined a year or two later by his brother John, and here they continued in partnership for nine years, making a success of the venture. Our subject then sold out to Schuyler Colfax, and, going to Kalamazoo, Mich., bought a half interest in the Kalamazoo Telegraph, which he managed for two years, when he went to La Porte, Ind., in company with his brother, having purchased of him a half-interest in the La Porte County -Whig, which they published for nine years. Mr. Millikan then rested from his arduous labors for four years, and then, coming to Washington C. H., has been identified with the interests of this section since that time. He has followed the life of a printer since 1830, with the exception of the four years above mentioned, and has probably been in that line of business longer than any other man in the Buckeye State. Mr. Millikan was twice elected on the Whig ticket to represent his district in the State Legislature from La Porte County, Ind., and while residing there also served as Mayor of the city of PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD - 517 La Porte for one term. In the fall of 1875, he was elected to the Legislature from Fayette County, Ohio, and again elected to the same position in 1879, his last service being with the session of 1881. During that time, he served as Chairman of the Committee on Public Printing for four years, and was also a member of various other important committees. He served as a member of the School Board six years, over which body he presided as President one term. The lady to whom our subject was married in 1829 bore the name of Rachel Abbott. She departed this life in 1833, and Mr. Millikan was afterward married to Miss Amanda, daughter of Judge Homes, of Newark, Ohio. The wife and mother died in 1836, at South Bend, leaving a son and daughter: Charles A., of Marysville, Ohio, and Ann Eliza, the wife of E. E. Wood, an attorney of Cincinnati, residing at Avondale. The lady who became the third wife of Mr. Milliken was Emma Cleveland, of Elkhart County, Ind., and at her death left five children. Two have since died and there are living William W.; Emma, at home, and Evaline May, who is teaching stenography in the Lexington (Ky.) College. ills fourth wife was Mrs. Mary B. Bostwick, of Fayette County. Mr. Millikan is a man of broad culture and has filled wisely the editorial chair in this and other States. His son, William W., Jr., was born at South Bend, Ind., July 24, 1846. He received a good education in the common schools and later learned the trade of a printer from his father. He was married, in 1874, to Miss Nannie Smith, a native of New Lexington, Ohio, and the daughter of L. W. and Lydia Smith. To them have been been born three children, two of whom are living, Susie and Pauline. One son, Hugh, is deceased.   ELMER W. WELSHEIMER. Among the prominent residents of Washington C. H., there is perhaps no one more worthy of mention in this volume than our subject, who was elected to the position of County Treasurer in 1890. He is a native of this State, having been born in Ross County, October 4, 1843, to William H. and Mahala (Robbins) Welsheimer. The father was one of the pioneers of the above-named county and was reared to agricultural pursuits. The original of this sketch was given a good education in the country schools of his district, and later attended the temple of learning at Bloomingburgh for two years. On the outbreak of the Civil War, he enlisted, in November, 1861, as a member of Company G, Seventy-third Ohio Infantry, and accompanied his regiment to West Virginia, where they were under the command of Gen. Rosecrans. He participated in the second battle of Bull Run in 1862, under Pope, in which conflict he was wounded. He later fought at Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville and Gettysburg, and soon after the last-named battle went south with Hooker to re-inforce Rosecrans. The company of which he was a member arrived at Bridgeport October 28, 1863, and opened up the "cracker line" for Rosecrans. At that time, Col. Smith's brigade charged the enemy, who were stationed on Raccoon Mountain, in which battle Mr. Wel-sheimer was wounded, necessitating the amputation of his foot fifteen days later. He was in the hospital at Nashville until the spring of 1864, at which time he returned home, having served his country bravely for a period of nearly three years. Returning home from the war, our subject spent two and one-half years in school at Bloomingburgh, after which he launched out in the general merchandising business and continued so occupied until elected Clerk of the Court in 1875. He was the incumbent of that position for twelve years, and at the expiration of that time engaged in the grocery and insurance business. In 1889, Mr. Welsheimer was elected County Treasurer, but did not assume the duties of the office until September, 1890. At the expiration of his term, he was reelected to the same office, which expires in September, 1894. He has given general satisfaction to the people and fills the office in a most conscientious and efficient manner. In 1869, Mr. Welsheimer and Miss Sarah, a daughter of Samuel Zimmerman, were united in 518 - PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. marriage, and to them have been born three children, namely: Otis, who assists his father as County Treasurer, Olive and Lulu. In social matters, our subject is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and is also connected with the John M. Bell Post, G, A. R. In politics, he is a Republican. JOHN QUINCY ADAMS OLIVER, the Secretary and General Manager of the Scioto Machine Works, of Circleville, McEwing and Oliver, proprietors, is a leading business man of this place. He was born in Clinton County, N. Y., April 24, 1826, and is the only child of Rufus and Annie (Stark) Oliver. The grandfather, Robert Oliver, was a native of New York and became a Vermont farmer. His last days, however, were spent in Clinton County, N. Y., where his death occurred at the age of fifty-eight years. He was of Scotch-Irish descent. Rufus Oliver was born near Orwell, Rutland County, Vt. He served in the War of 1812. He engaged in farming in New York and married Miss Stark, who was born in Grand Isle County, N. Y., and was a daughter of Benajah and Mary (Sweet) Stark, both of whom were natives of the Green Mountain State. Mr. Stark was a farmer by occupation and for a number of years prior to his death, followed that business in Clinton County, N. Y. He was a relative of Gen. Stark, of Revolutionary fame. In 1833, Mr. Oliver removed with his family to Hinckley, Medina County, Ohio, and purchased a farm of sixty acres at $4.50 per acre. His first home was a log cabin. In the spring of 1841, he removed to York Township in the same county and bought one hundred and twenty-seven acres of land, which he transformed into a highly improved farm. In politics, he was a stanch Whig and was a Member of the Methodist Protestant Church. He was quite a fine singer and served as a leader of the choir. His death occurred in 1862. His wife survived him some years and passed away at the advanced age of eighty-three. Our subject spent his early boyhood days prior to his eighth year within a mile and a half of Lake Champlain. His education was acquired in the common schools, and he was early inured to the labors of the farm. He remained with his parents until their deaths. In 1855, he married Miss Rebecca Kimball, who was born in East Lyman, N. H., and was a daughter of Charlton and Mary Kimball, of Maine. Before her marriage, she engaged in school teaching. They began their domestic life upon the home farm, where the wife died a few years later. Mr. Oliver then left the farm and for ten years, including the period of the late war, was a dealer in pianos and organs in Medina, Ohio, and also engaged in teaching music. Early in life, he manifested great love for that art and had studied both vocal and instrumental music. In June, 1877, Mr. Oliver wedded Mrs. Elizabeth S. Springer, widow of the Rev. Cornelius Springer, a Methodist Protestant minister, of Zanesville, Ohio. The following year they became residents of Circleville, and our subject purchased stock in the Scioto Machine Works, which were incorporated, he becoming their Secretary and a Director. That position he held until the works were closed. On the 3d of November, 1885, in company with Mr. McEwing, his present partner, he bought the works from the assignees and they have since carried on the business successfully. The Scioto Machine Works are the largest of the kind in the county. They have a forty-horse power engine and all the modern improvements. Their buildings cover an acre and a quarter and consist of two warehouses, a machine shop, foundry, blacksmith-shop, boiler-shop and engine rooms. They have furnished employment to from seventy-five to one hundred hands and manufacture portable and stationary engines, portable sawmills, gristmill machinery, cook, parlor and office stoves, fire fronts and grates, house fronts, and window caps. Their business is constantly increasing and has become one of the leading industries of Circleville. By his first marriage, Mr. Oliver had a family of five children, four of whom grew to mature years: De Witt C.; who was engaged in the insurance business in Helena, Mont., lost his health and died in Circleville, if August, 1889, at the age of thirty-four; Angie M. is the wife of J. M. Wright, Prosecuting Attorney of Lancaster, Fairfield County, PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD - 521 Ohio; Annie is the wife of C. W. Botkin, proprietor of a music store in Columbus; Rebecca is living in Columbus; and Carrie Ida died in childhood. For the past four years, Mr. Oliver has been engaged in teaching vocal music and also gives lessons on the violin. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and is musical director of the choir and fills the office of Steward. In politics, he is a Republican. Socially, he is a member of the Royal Arcanum, and the Independent Order of Good Templars, in which he is a very active worker. Ile spent two months of the past winter in Leesburgh, Fla. Mrs. Oliver owns two orange groves in that State. She is a very prominent temperance worker, being Vice-president of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union of Florida, where she makes her home through the winter. She has lectured in that State, in Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, New York and New Jersey, and is prominently known among temperance workers throughout the States. She is also a regularly licensed minister of the Methodist Protestant Church. Mr. Oliver is one of the prominent citizens of the community and his success in life is well deserved. ISAAC E. DREISBACH is one of the early settlers of Pickaway County, and an honored retired farmer now living in Circleville. He was horn in East Buffalo Township, Union County, Pa., March 28, 1819, and is a son of the Rev. John Dreisbach, whose sketch appears in connection with that of Martin Dreisbach on another page of this work. The gentleman whose portrait and biography we here present was reared to manhood in the Keystone State, and at an early age became inured to the hard labors of the farm. On the emigration of the family to the West, he drove a team, and after twenty-one days of travel reached Pickaway County. The family settled on a farm and the ys engaged in its cultivation. Many of their evenings were devoted to study, and in this way our subject acquired his education. He remained at home until he had attained his majority and 25 then started out in life for himself, renting a farm for a few years. On the 9th of February, 1841, in Walnut Township, Mr. Dreisbach married Miss Lydia Hittel, who was born in Lehigh County, Pa., in 1821, a daughter of John Hittel, who was a farmer of the Keystone State. In 1831, he came with his family to Ohio, and settled upon a farm in Walnut Township, where his death occurred two years later. His wife, who bore the maiden' name of Lydia Kern, was also a native of Pennsylvania, and died in Circleville at the age of sixty-two years. Seven children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Dreisbach, namely: Mary, who is the wife of Prof. H. C. Smith, a music teacher of Naperville, Ill.; Benjamin F., who was graduated from the. Northwestern College of Plainfield, Ill., is now farming in Circleville Township, Pickaway County; Martha, who was graduated from the Northwestern College, is the wife of Lewis Earnest, of Anderson County, Kan.; Rosalie is the wife of David Ludwig, of Pickaway County; the Rev. Charles, a graduate of the Northwestern College, of Naperville, Ill., is a farmer and a minister of the Evangelical Church of Frankfort, S. Dak.; Reuben is a farmer of Pick-away Township, Pickaway County; Emma is the wife of the Rev. T. W. Woodside, a missionary, who is now in Vilando, West Central Africa. In 1840, Mr. Dreisbach bought a farm in Pickaway Township, upon which was a log house, and afterward purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land of his brother, making in all three hundred and twenty acres. In 1853, he built a brick residence thereon and subsequently bought one hundred and seventy-two acres of land adjoining his farm on the north. He afterward purchased two hundred and thirty-one acres one mile to the west, and engaged extensively in general farming and stock-raising. He still owns all of his land, which he rents. His home farm was one of the most highly cultivated in the community and has yielded him a golden tribute, which has made him a wealthy citizen. In 1890, he left the farm and has since lived retired in Circleville, where he has a pleasant home. In February, 1891, he and his wife celebrated their fiftieth wedding anniversary. In 1850, Mr. Dreisbach became, a Free-soiler, in 522 - PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 1852 voted for John P. Hale, and in 1856 for Fremont, and then supported the Republican party. until 1884, since which time he has been a stanch Prohibitionist. He is h consistent member of the Evangelical Association, has been a Class-leader for, half a century, and for many long years was Superintendent of the Sunday-school. His life has been a busy and, useful one and he has won the high regard of all. ALLISON GRIM, a prominent farmer and stock-raiser, resides on the old Federal Road, a mile east of Range, where he owns a fine farm of four' hundred and fifteen acres. He was born in Huntington Township, Ross County, July 30, 1843, and is a son of John and Barbara (Grub) Grim. His father was born in Maryland, January 15, 1807, and the mother in Pennsylvania, February 12, 1815. While children, they came with their parents to Ross County, Ohio, where they were married, February 19, 1833. They afterward went to Fayette County, then returned to Ross County, and in 1861 again went to Fayette County. Five years later, they came to Madison County, where they resided during the greater part of the time until the father's death in November, 1888. His wife passed away in 1867. Our subject spent his boyhood days in the usual manner of farmer lads. At the age of twenty, he bought his time of his father, and in February, 1864, enlisted in Company K, Eighth Ohio Cavalry. He was on the Hunter raid in the Shenandoah Valley, participated in the battle of Winchester, and was at Cedar Creek when Sheridan made his famous ride. He saw the General when he came through, and was one of those who followed him to victory that day. On the close of the war, he was discharged in Clarksburgh July 30, 1865, his twenty-second birthday. Mr. Grim at once returned to his father's home in Fayette County and gave his attention to farming. He married Miss Mary M. Foster, December 12, 1868. She was born on the farm which is now their home, September 6, 1845, and is the youngest daughter of James and Margaret (Bowyer) Foster. Her father was born in Ross County, Ohio, March 4, 1802, and shortly after his twentieth birthday, was married to Miss Bowyer, who was born November 7, 1801. Soon after, they started for Madison County, and Mr. Foster worked by the month at *7.25, having charge of the farm of Gen. Worthington, with whom he remained until the latter's death. Mrs. Worthington then made him the proposition that if he would still attend to the farm and engage in raising stock, she would furrmsh the money and divide the profits. This he did for a number of years, and laid the foundation of his immense fortune. He eventually began buying land belonging to the Worthington estate, and at length became owner of over twenty-one hundred acres in this county. He also bought six hundred acres for Mrs. Eliza Chenoweth, his daughter, and purchased three hundred and twenty acres in Piatt County, Ill., and six hundred and forty acres in Madison County, which now belong to other parties. He was very generous, and frequently would give a horse or cow to a man just starting out in life. He became a member of the Methodist Church at the age of eleven and served as Class-leader for forty years. His financial aid was not confined to his own church alone, but he gave freely to all. On one occasion when help was needed for a colored church in London, one of the County Commissioners said that he would give as much as any one else in the room. Mr. Foster asked how many others would do that and six more agreed, so he laid $50 down On the table, and as his associates were men of their word, they also put down similar amounts and the indebtedness was paid off the church. In 1824, Mr. Foster cast his first vote for John Quincy Adams. He was an Abolitionist and voted for J. C. Fremont in 1856. He never sought office or cared for it. He was never known to take advantage of any man and often remarked that he would rather give a man *100 than cheat him out of a penny. His death occurred November 25, 1873, and his wife passed away July 29, 1858. Four of, their eleven children are still liv- PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD - 523 big: Eleanor, wife of J. S. Pancake, whose sketch appears in this work; Elizabeth, wife of James B. Chenoweth, whose sketch is also given in this volume; James P., the only living son, and Mrs. Grim. After his marriage, Mr. Grim began operating one hundred and sixty acres of land given him by his father-in-law, and has since resided upon the farm. At the division of the Foster estate, his landed possessions were increased to four hundred and fifteen acres. Five children were born in his home but all died in childhood. Mr. Grim and his wife are both members of the Methodist Church and are highly respected people, widely and favorably known in this community. He cast his first Presidential vote in 1864, for Abraham Lincoln, and supported the Republican party until recently, when he joined the Prohibition party. Socially, he is a member of the Grand• Army of the Republic and has attended National Re-unions in Columbus, Milwaukee, Boston and Detroit, and was a delegate to the State Encampment at Piqua in 1892. Mr. Grim is a representative farmer of this community and he and his estimable wife well deserve representation in this volume., JACOB L. JAMISON, an extensive farmer and stock-dealer of Perry Township, Pickaway County, is a native of Washington C. H., Fayette County, this State. His birth occurred on the 7th of May, 1850, and he was born to William and Malinda (Cecil) Jamison,, both natives of Ohio,. the father following the vocation of a tiller of the soil. The grandfather of our subject, Jacob Jamison, was born in Kentucky, and at an early day removed to Ohio and built the first house in Washington C. II. He was Judge of the court for several years and was a prominent citizen in that county. Of the five children born to the father and mother of Jacob L. Jamison, he is the third in order of birth. At the early age of seventeen years, he started to make his own way in the world farming by the month, which he continued for six or seven years, and then engaged in the stock business. In this he has been more than ordinarily successful and carries on about the largest business of this kind in the county. He has now associated with him as a partner Mr. William Woods, of Deer Creek Township. Mr. Jamison enjoys the reputation of being one of the best-natured men in the community, and his genial, pleasant face has long been familiar to the citizens of his neighborhood. His heart and purse are always open to aid and encourage. Jacob L. Jamison, of this brief sketch, on the 15th of October, 1873, took as his life companion and helpmate Miss Josephine Curran. Mrs. Jamison is a native of Fayette County, Ohio, and is a daughter of John and Melissa (Conner) Curran, both of Fayette County, this State. The union of our subject and his amiable wife has been blessed by the birth of three children, who bear the respective names 'of James Quinn, Thomas and Donna Opal. In his political affiliations, Mr. Jamison is a strong advocate of the Republican party. DR. M. H. MIESSE, physician and surgeon, of Circleville, Ohio. Among the people of Circleville and surrounding country, the name that heads this sketch is a very familiar one, for, in his professional capacity, he has become intimately acquainted with a majority of the inhabitants. He was born in Chillicothe, Ohio, November 16, 1843, and is a son of Dr. Benjamin and Sophia (Carpenter) Miesse, natives. of Pennsylvania and Connecticut, respectively. Grandfather Jacob Miesse was also a native of the Keystone State, and was a successful agriculturist of that State. Our subject's maternal grandfather was an early settler of Athens County, Ohio, and was also a tiller of the soil. He died in that county when eighty years of age, and his wife passed away at the advanced age of ninety-six. The father of our subject, Dr. Benjamin Miesse, was born near Reading and was a graduate of the 524 - PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD, University of Pennsylvania, at Philadelphia, in the department of medicine, and after coming West, he practiced his profession in Chillicothe for some time. Later, he came to Circleville, and practiced his profession there until after the death of his wife, when he returned to Pennsylvania. His family consisted of three sons and one daughter, viz.: Dr. Benjamin F., who was an Assistant Surgeon in an Ohio Regiment during the Civil War and is now' practicing his profession in Chillicothe; Edson B., who has a book-store in Chillicothe; and Lizzie, now Mrs. Reiche, who resides in York, Pa. Dr. M. H. Meisse was second in order of birth of the above-mentioned children. He passed his youthful days in Chillicothe, Circleville and Athens, until his father went back to Pennsylvania, when he was a resident of that State for three years. At the age of ten years, he returned to the Buckeye State and was a resident of Findlay for three years. After this, he was in Greenville, Ohio, with an uncle, until he was fifteen years of age, in 1859, when he entered the Ohio University at Athens. He graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1864, after which he read Medicine with his uncle, Dr. Jonathan Meisse. From 1865 until 1866, he attended the Medical College in Cincinnati, Ohio, and in the fall of 1867 he Went to New York, where he entered the College of Physicians and Surgeons, graduating in March, 1868, with the degree of M, D. He subsequently located at Royalton, Fairfield County, Ohio, and practiced his profession in that and Pickaway County until 1880, when. he decided to settle in Circleville for school advantages. During his residence in this county, he has become well and favorably known to the majority of her citizens as an able and successful medical practitioner. He has been a member of the Board of Pension Examiners here for the past three years, and was also a member of the Board of Pension Examiners at Chillicothe for about one year, or until the Board was established in Circleville, when he was transferred to this place. He now has a pleasant office three doors north of the American House, and he has a comfortable residence on Scioto -Street, near Main Street. He owns some real estate in Columbus, one hundred and seventy acres of well-improved land in Monroe Township, this county, and other property. All this the Doctor has made by his own industry and close attention to his profession. With money earned by teaching school, he received his medical education and he is now one of the leading physicians of the county, having a large and remunerative practice. He was married in Chillicothe, Ohio, in 1868, to Miss Louisa E. Crimmins, a native of Portsmouth, Ohio, and the daughter of Rev. S. P. Cummins, of West Virginia. Mr. Cummins was a Methodist Episcopal preacher and settled in Portsmouth, Ohio, at an early date. He was Treasurer of Scioto County two terms. The three children born to our subject and his wife are as follows: Ella, who married J. H. Chaney, an architect on the World's Fair buildings; Bertha, who graduated from the High School in 1891; and Alice, who will graduate in the Class of '93. Dr. Miesse is a Knight Templar, and is also a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. In politics, he is a true-blue Republican, and in religion, he is a Methodist. In May, 1864, after graduating, he enlisted at Athens, Ohio, in the One Hundred and Forty-first Ohio Infantry, Company B, and was mustered in at Gallipolis, Ohio, and four months later he mustered out at the same place. He was a Charter member of Groce Post Dr. Miesse has been a delegate to several State and county conventions, and is President of the Garfield Republican Club, of Circleville. He is Treasurer of the Republican Executive County Committee, which position he has held for several years, and he is a member of the County Committee. He was a member of the Hocking Valley Medical Society until it was disbanded. LEWIS NEISWANDER. The farming and stock-raising affairs of Pickaway County, Ohio, and particularly of Madison Township, are ably -represented by Mr. Neiswander, who is a descendant of thrifty and energetic German stock on both sides of the house. Mr. Neiswander was born in Schuylkill County, PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD - 525 Pa., on the 2d of December, 1846, and is a son of Daniel and Eliza Neiswander, who are now residing in Putnam County, Ohio. About 1850, the parents left the Keystone State, and hearing of the fertile soil of Ohio, decided to locate within its borders. They first settled in Walnut Township, Pickaway County, and there made their home until their removal to Putnam County. Honest and upright in all their dealings, they won and held the respect of all who were fortunate enough to be acquainted with them. Our subject's scholastic advantages were received in his native county, and were such as the common schools afforded. These advantages he improved to the utmost, and although he did not attend school after the age of thirteen years, he is acknowledged by all to be a man of intelligence and ability. At the age of eighteen years, he decided that there was "no royal road to excellence without great labor" and he started out to fight his own way in life. For several years, he worked as a farm hand and received for his services from $18 to $25 per month in the busy season. He selected his wife in the person of Miss Leah C. Glick, and their marriage was solemnized August 26, 1869: Her father, Daniel Glick, now makes his home with our subject. To Mr. and Mrs. Neiswander have been born two interesting children: Minnie V. and Daniel B. N. For several years after his marriage, Mr. Neiswander tilled the soil on rented land, but he subsequently purchased one' hundred and twenty acres and received forty acres through his wife, making one hundred and sixty acres in Madison Township, this county, and he is now one of the representative farmers and stockmen of his section. Although just in the prime of life, he has made his way to the front ranks among the energetic farmers of this county, and, owing to the attention he has always paid to each minor detail, he has accumulated a fair share of this world's goods. Coupled with his energy and enterprise, he inherits his father's excellent business qualities, and has succeeded far beyond his expectations, being now the owner of some of the most productive land to be found. Mr. Neiswander is a member of the German Reformed Church, is a Deacon in the same, and is one of its most active members. He favors all enterprise tending towards the progress and development of Pickaway County and is public-spirited and progressive. Socially, he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows' lodge at Winchester,' Ohio. Mr. Neiswander is well known in Madison Township and bears the reputation of sterling integrity and honesty in all business transactions. He enjoys the confidence and esteem of all who know him.    CHARLES PHELLIS has borne a conspicuous part in promoting the progress of the agricultural and stock interests of Madison County within the last quarter of a century, as one of the most enlightened and enterprising of its representative farmers and stockmen. His residence is half a mile north of Rosedale, in Pike Township, where he has a large landed property, including one of the finest and best appointed farms in all the country round, where he does an extensive business. in raising and dealing in cattle, horses, sheep and hogs of high grade. Mr. Phellis, a native of this State, was born in Hamilton County January 9, 1845. His father, Jacob Phellis, was also a native of Ohio, and was born in Butler County. He was a carpenter by trade, and was a large contractor, building many houses in Hamilton and Butler Counties, and for a while he was a resident of Cincinnati, where he erected several large buildings, some of which are still standing. He also had contracts in New London, where he put up some good buildings. He had control of a large business, was one of the leading contractors of his part of the State, and was in the midst of a highly successful career when he was stricken by death in his fiftieth year. He was alive to public interests, and in his political views was a decided Democrat. The Phellis family originated in France, but a branch of it came to this country many years ago and were early settlers of Pennsylvania, where they flourished as large farmers. Thomas Phellis, the grandfather of our subject, was a native of that State. He came to Butler County, Ohio, in the very early days of 626 - PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. its settlement, coming by the way or the Ohio River to Cincinnati: The mother of our subject; who is still living in Butler County, was Marilda Brundage in her maiden days. She was born in Beaver County, Pa., seventy years ago, and came to Butler County when a small girl with her parents, who were both natives of Pennsylvania. Her mother lived to be ninety years old. The parents of our subject were married in Butler County, and then located at New Haven, in Hamilton. County, whence they afterward went to Cincinnati. They Were the parents of the following eight children, all of whom grew to maturity.: Cyron A., the wife of James Snyder, who was for many years Commissioner of Mercer County, of which he is a prominent citizen; Elvira, who married William Roberts, and is now dead; Jane, deceased, who- was the wife of Taylor Salsburry, of Canton, Fulton County, Ill.; William. B., a prominent farmer of Butler County; Charles; Jacob W., a merchant of Okeana, Butler County; Robert W., a resident of Cottonwood Falls, Wis.; and John L., a resident of Coldwater, Mercer County, Ohio. The subject of this biography is the fourth child and second son. of his parents. At the age of nine years; he had the misfortune to lose his father and then came to Pike Township to live with his uncle, Charles Phellis, who was a large land-holder here, and very prominent. He had attended school in his native place, and he was given fine educational advantages after he came to live with his uncle. He went first to the local district school in Pike Township, then entered the High School at Mechanicsburgh, and finally completed his studies in the Ohio Wesleyan University at Delaware, of which he was a pupil four years. He was but a boy when the war broke out, yet the following year found him in the" ranks, although he was but seventeen years old when he enlisted in Company D, Sixty-sixth' Ohio Infantry. Notwithstanding his youth, he displayed fine soldierly qualities when in active service, but his health gave way under the privations and hardships that he had to endure, and at the end of seven months he was honorably discharged on account of disability. Returning to Pike Township after his trying experiences of army life, our subject continued his residence with his uncle for some years, and in 1865 began business for himself as a farmer and stock-raiser. After his marriage, in the summer of 1869, he settled immediately on a farm a mile north of the one on which he now resides, and which he still owns. Be remained on that until 1890, when he took possession of this one. He has here a commodious and finely-built residence, roomy and well-arranged barns and other first-class buildings, and all the conveniences of a model farm. He and his family are the proprietors of twenty-two hundred acres of valuable land, ali in one body in Pike Township, about forty acres of it in heavy timber, and the rest under a perfect system of cultivation, or devoted to pasturage, and provided with various dwellings, barns, granaries and other outbuildings. All of the land is under our subject's personal supervision, and all the details of agriculture on a large scale are carried on in the most orderly manner. He gives much of his attention to stock-raising with marked success, and is a leader in that industry in this part of Madison County. He has a fine herd of two hundred cattle of the purest stock best adapted to this locality, has six hundred sheep of superior grades, one hundred and fifty hogs, and many horses of fine strain. Mr. Phellis was married August 3, 1869, to Miss Clara A., the youngest daughter of William and Adalaide Guy, of Pike Township. Her father, who has attained the venerable age of ninety-eight years, has been long and favorably known throughout the township and county. Mrs. Phellis was born in Pike Township, August 14, 1850. She is a woman of true culture and is finely educated. She studied at the Female College at Cleveland, pursued a course at Sanford College, and also attended the Ohio Wesleyan Seminary at Delaware. She presides ably over her household, understanding full well the art of making a cozy and attractive home. Her congenial marriage with our subject has brought them two daughters and three sons of whom the following is recorded: Nellie A., born October 5, 1872, is a graduate in the Class of '92, of the Ohio Wesleyan University at Delaware; Charles Waite, born July 15, 1875, has been PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD - 527 an attendant at the military school at Gambier; Verne H. was born June 10, 1881; Fullington Guy, April 1, 1888; and Ethel Greeley, March 23, 1890. Our subject's sagacity in business matters, clear, comprehensive, well-trained intellect, and his broad outlook on life generally, have brought him to the front as a valuable civic official, and he has held various responsible positions. He was Trustee of Pike Township and Township Clerk ten years, was at one time Justice of the Peace, and for one term was County Commissioner. It is said of him that " he is a true gentleman in every sense of the word;" he is always courteous and affable in his intercourse with others, and a warmhearted and generous friend to all with whom he is associated. He is an entertaining conversationalist, and his talent for literary work has been turned to account during, the last ten years, by his acting as correspondent of the Agricultural Department at Washington, D. C., for Madison County. In politics, he is a strong Republican. Socially, he is a member of Stephen Baiter Post No. 88, G. A. R., at Mechanicsburgh. EVAN PHILLIPS. It is owing to the energy and, practical ability of such men as our subject that Pickaway County enjoys the reputation of being one of the best developed and richest agricultural centers in Ohio. He is the fortunate proprietor of a large farm in Pickaway Township that ranks among the first and choicest to be found on the historical and fertile Pickaway Plains, in regard to its handsome appointments, cultivation and productiveness, and also as to its value as a stock farm. Mr. Phillips was born in Lancaster County, Pa., June 3, 1835. His father, William Phillips, who was a competent carpenter and also a farmer, came to Ohio in 1850, and was a resident' of Guernsey County until his removal to Kansas, where he died at the ripe age of eighty-two years. His wife, whose maiden name was Priscilla White, preceded him in death. They had eight children, of whom en are living. Our subject is the fourth child of his parents and passed his early life on a farm in his native State, attending the district schools during his boyhood. He was about fifteen years old when the family came to Ohio, and the following year he started out to earn his own living, as he was an independent, resolute lad, with a well-formed am bition to make his own way in the world and achieve success by the use of the strong muscles and clear brain with which he was gifted. He began work at $9 a month, obtaining better wages as he grew older, and was in the employ of others eleven years. It is needless to say that a young man of his calibre and persistent nature made and wisely saved money, and at the expiration of that time turned his attention to farming for himself. His farm contains four hundred acres of valuable land, of which nearly three hundred acres lie en the famed Pickaway Plains. It is a beautiful farm and in a fine condition, with every appointment found on a model grain and stock farm. Its fine buildings are ample and adapted to the purposes for which they are intended, and an elegant frame house, of a modern style of architecture, erected in 1891, adds to the attractiveness of the place, and the farm with its well cultivated acres is a pleasing feature in the landscape. Mr. Phillips has it well stocked with all kinds of high-bred stock, and from that source, as well as from the grain and other products that he raises, he has a large yearly income. The marriage of Mr. Phillips with Miss Ellen J. Hitler was solemnized April 19. 1862, and is a most congenial union. Mrs. Phillips is a native of Pickaway County, born in Washington Township, and a daughter of Jacob Hitler, one of its early settlers, of whom mention is made elsewhere. Mr. and Mrs. Phillips have ten children, all of whom have had fine educational advantages. They are Charles, Nelson, Florence E., Josephine E., Della, Maud, Dennis E., Rose O., Lilly C., and Arthur W. Charles married Miss Elizabeth Bartley, and lives in Washington Township. Florence E. married Jacob Ludwig and they live in Pick-away Township. The other children are at home. Our subject and his family stand high in social circles, and are noted for the pleasant hospitalities 528 - PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD which they dispense to their numerous friends in their charming home. He is unswerving in his loyalty to the Democratic party. He has served as a Trustee of his township three years, and is a man of genuine public spirit, who generously aids all movements in any way calculated to advance the interests of township or county. ROBERT C. PARKER is a farmer and stockman of wide experience and business qualifications of a high order, who has been an important agent in developing the rich agricultural resources of Fayette, his native county. He is one of the first of his class in Paint Township, where he has a large and finely equipped farm, situated two and one-half miles north, and a little west, of Bloomingburgh. Upon the place be has erected a beautiful residence, a view of which accompanies this sketch. Mr. Parker was born in Marion Township, November 28, 1828. His father, John Parker, who was one of the foremost pioneers of Fayette, County in his day, was a Virginian by birth. He was married in his native State to Mary A. Whiteman who was born in the same place as himself. Soon after marriage, he brought his bride to Ohio, in 1826, to brave.the hardships and trials of frontier life, in order to buiild up a comfortable home for themselves. He bought two hundred acres of land in Marion Township, but after living upon it five years, removed with his family to Paint Township, and bought seven hundred and fifty acres of land, which he afterward developed into one of the finest farms in the neighborhood, and that was his home until he closed his eyes in death, at the age of seventy-three, in the year 1873. He was a man of large enterprise, and acquired wealth and prominence as a farmer and stockman. In early life, he was a Whig, and in later years the Republican party had in him an earnest advocate, from the time of its formation until the hour of his death. He was Township Trustee for many years, and had the interests of his community at heart at all times. Religiously, he was of the Presbyterian faith, and was a member of the church of that denomination at Bloomingburgh. His wife survive him until 1883, and then passed away at the age of seventy-five. They were the parents of six children, four daughters and two sons, all of whom grew to maturity, and two of whom are still living, our subject, and his sister, Mrs. Hannah B. Barker, of Paint Township. Their paternal grandfather, Robert Parker, was a native of Virginia, and is supposed to have been of Irish descent. Robert C. Parker, of this biographical record, is the second child and first-born son of his parents. His education was conducted in the common schools of his boyhood days, and on his father's farm he was well trained in agricultural pursuits. He continued to assist his father in the management of his extensive farming interests until he was twenty-seven years old, and at that age took upon himself the responsibilities of domestic life, being married January 29, [856, to Miss Margaret Selsor, who has nobly performed her part in the upbuilding of their home, proving to be a true home maker, devoted to the interests of her household. Mrs. Parker is a native of Madison County, and was born June 13, 1832, a daughter of Frederic and Mary (Rankin) Selsor, the former of whom was an early settler of the State, coming here in 1815. Her father was born in Virginia, and her mother was a native of Fayette County. The former died at the age of eighty-six, and the latter when forty-two years old. Our subject and his wife have had two children: Alice M., who diedat the age. of eleven years; and William S., who married Miss Eva Creath, and resides on his father's farm. Immediately after his marriage, Mr. Parker located on the farm in Paint Township on which he still lives. It was mostly in its natural condition when it came into his possession, but he has wrought a wonderful transformation, whereby it has become one of the best ordered farms in the county, its four hundred and eighty acres of rich soil nearly all under cultivation, and valuable improvements on every hand adding to its worth and attractiveness. A substantial class of buildings adorn the place, the handsome and commodi- PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD - 531 ous residence, of a pleasing style of architecture, being built in 1881, at a cost of $6,000. Mr.. Parker is now. interested principally in raising stock, devoting the most of the grain grown on his farm to feeding his stock. He has three hundred hogs, fifty head of cattle of superior breeds, beside other well-bred stock. Our subject is endowed with strength of mind and native ability, and his sensible, practical views on all subjects with which he is familiar give him weight and influence in the community. In his active and busy career he has not stayed to ask if life is worth living, but has made it so by always doing the duty nearest at hand. In this way he has acquired wealth, and gained the universal respect of his community. He is a Republican, who 'stands by his party whether defeat or victory perches on its banners. He was Township Trustee some years, and made a good record as a civic official, who looked carefully after the interests entrusted to him. ADAM NEBBERGALL, who has for many years been engaged in farming and stock-raising in Wayne Township, occupies a high place among the farmers of Fayette County, to whose intelligence and industry is greatly owing its substantial progress. A native of Ohio, his birth occurred in Ross Conty in 1819, he being the youngest of twelve. children born into the pioneer home of Henry and Nancy Nebbergall, who were natives of Virginia. The mother of our subject died at the time of his birth and his father followed not many years after, as he never saw him but once after he was large enough to remember. Thus sadly orphaned on the very threshold of life, our subject was at once taken by his aunt, Mrs. Wagy. At the age of eight years, he was bound out to Isaac Monroe, but as that gentleman had a large family of his own, he could not clothe and care for the little orphan pCoperly, and so two years later he went to live with an elder brother, with whom he remained a short time, and until he was seventeen years old he lived with several different people, finding no permanent home. At that age, he went-on a farm to work by the month lor a small amount of money, and remained there eight years. When our subject was twenty-five years old, he was married to Eliza, daughter of Joseph and Sarah Parrett, whose sketch is given in that of John H. Parrett. After marriage, Mr. Nebbergall came at once to Fayette County and for a short time rented a farm. Later, he bought twenty-five acres of land that are now included in his present farm, borrowing money with which to make the first payment. The ambitious, energetic and diligent young pioneer set to work with a good will to improve a farm, having but $14 left after he had settled on his homestead. He possessed a thoughtful, vigorous intellect, was a good scholar, and keenly feeling his early lack of school privileges, set about obtaining a higher education after he was of age, and went to school until he was fitted for a teacher, which profession he followed both in Ross and Fayette Counties, proving to be a most excellent instructor. His principal occupation through life has been farming, however, and he has met with more than ordinary success in his vocation. He has purchased over four hundred acres of land, paying for it all with money obtained by his own labors, and is one of the most prosperous farmers of his township. His first house was built of logs and had a clapboard roof and a mud and stick chimney. This has been superseded by a roomy modern dwelling, and a good set of farm buildings adorn the place, a view of which is presented to our readers. To Mr. and Mrs. Nebbergall have been born three- children, of whom two are deceased Sarah A., who died in infancy, and Joseph M., who died at the age of twenty-three. Their only surviving child is Mary E., the wife of Emmit King and the mother of five children. Our subject is a Republican of excellent standing in his party. His first vote was cast for Gen. William H. Harrison, and during the last Presidential campaign of 1888, he had the pleasure of supporting the grandson of the hero of Tippecanoe at the polls. During the late war,when Morgan the bold rebel raider, was creating terror and havoc through- 532 - PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. out the southern part of the State, Mr. Nebbergall promptly responded to the call for troops to drive the rebels away, and did good ervice during the fifteen days in which they were engaged in routing them. He has also shown himself to be a public-spirited and useful civic official in the various township offices that he has held from time to time. He is an Elder in the' Pisgah Church and a man whose Christian living proves the sincerity of his religious belief. SAMUEL TAYLOR, who is one of the prominent farmers of Darby Township, Madison County, was born on the farm where he now lives, August 23, 1817. He is thus one of the oldest residents of the township and is well and honorably known to all the citizens of Plain City, as his farm, which is located on the banks of the Big Darby Creek, lies only one-half mile east of the city. His` father, Richard Taylor, was probably a Kentuckian by birth and his early training was received in Kentucky. The mother of our subject bore the maiden name of Polly M. McDuffe, and was also a Kentuckian. They came from their native home to Union County, Ohio, and located in what is now Plain City in 1805, but after that they returned to. Kentucky and remained for two years before permanently settling in Darby. Township. Their farm was covered by a dense forest, and Indians were their most numerous neighbors. When they first moved into their log house, it had no floor, and wild animals were frequently about their door. There they made their home through life, the mother dying at the age of seventy years and the father surviving to enter upon his tenth decade. Of their seven children, all but one grew to reach years of maturity. Our subject is the youngest in his parents' family and the only one who is now living. His whole life of seventy-five years has been spent upon the farm where he was born. In 1839, he was united in marriage with Eunice Allen, and they became the parents of two children, who grew to womanhood, namely: Mary, who is now the wife of Eli Shover, of. Darby Township, and Sarah, who is Mrs. David Brown, and resides near Mechanicsburgh,Ohio. Mrs. Taylor died about 1850, leaving the daughters motherless. The present Mrs. Taylor was known in maiden hood as Rosina Kent, and to her were horn two daughters and one son. The eldest, Rachel, is the wife of Wayne Kiser, of Plain City. Mahala is Mrs. Roy Ramsey, and she and her husband reside with her father. Samuel E. was called from earth after he reached the age of thirty-seven years. Our subject has a farm of over four hundred acres on his home place, and another of two hundred acres elsewhere in the township, besides two hundred and fifteen in Jerome Township, Union County, and most of this is under cultivation. When 'his father first came to this region, there were no schoolhouses and no pikes here and he has helped to build many' miles of the latter. He is now the oldest native-born man in the county, and has been a Republican from the time he was old enough to vote, and has held various local offices, having been School Director, and Township Trustee for many years, and having filled the office of Supervisor of Roads. Although he is not a member of any church, he is a believer in the doctrines of Christianity and a liberal contributor to the support of its institutions. His present borne is in a handsome brick house which he erected many years ago. ANDREW J. VAN NESS; a hardware dealer of Mt. Sterling, began business in this line in 1891. He was at first associated in partnership with Mr. Passwater, but after six months the connection was discontinued and our subject has been alone. He has already built up a good trade by his industry, good management and courteous 'treatment, and has secured the confidence and good-will of all. He was born in Rossie Township, St. Lawrence County, N. Y., on the 3d of May, 1841, and is a son of Jeremiah and Maria (Vrooman) Van Ness. His parents PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD - 533 were also natives of the Empire State, both born and reared near Schenectady, N. Y., and were of Holland Dutch descent. The father was a glassblower in early life but followed farming. in St. Lawrence County. Our subject was born and reared upon the farm. His early education, acquired in the common schools, was supplemented by a two-years' course in the Antwerp Academy, which he attended between the ages of nineteen and twenty-one years. Ile then returned home and began operating his father's land. In December, 1864, he determined to seek his home in the West and came to Madison County, Ohio. For about two years, he was engaged in carrying the mail between Washington C. H. and Columbus, going on horseback when the roads were bad and with a hack when the roads were passable, at which time he also carried passengers. He next worked by the month at whatever he could find to do and from his earnings managed to save a small sum. When he had a little capital, Mr. Van Ness was united in marriage, December 14, 1871, to Miss Sarah Douglass, one of the fair daughters of Mt. Sterling. Her parents were David H. and Dorothy (Yocum) Douglass. Two children have been born unto our subject and his wife: Zoa, who was born February 9, 1872, and graduated from the Mt. Sterling High School in 1891; and Wade D., born August 26, 1880. They also lost a daughter, Ella, who died October 10, 1888, at the age of twelve yeears and was buried in Pleasant Cemetery. After his marriage, Mr. Van Ness engaged in business with his father-in-law as a dealer in general merchandise and continued his operations in that line for some thirteen years with good success. In this way he got a start in life and secured a home. In 1885, under President Cleveland, he was appointed Postmaster and served for four years, when the change in adihinistration caused his retirement. About a year later, he embarked in his present business as before stated. He is sagacious and far-sighted and well deserves a prosperous career. Mr. Van Ness proudly Oast his first vote in 1864 for Gen. George B. McClelland, and has since been a stalwart advocate of Democratic principles. He has served for two terms as Justice of the Peace and for two terms as City Councilman, and his duties were promptly and faithfully performed. JOSEPH C. HARPER, Treasurer of Pickaway County and City Treasurer of Circleville, is widely known throughout Ohio and well deserves representation in this volume. He was born five miles west of Lancaster, in Fairfield County, Ohio, September 2, 1831. His paternal grandfather came to this State about 1801, but after two years returned with his entire family. He was a planter and was of Scotch-Irish descent, being a direct descendant of the founder of Harper's Ferry. Alex Harper, father of our subject, was born in Berkeley County, Va., and about 1825 came to Ohio. He located and improved a farm near Lancaster, where he remained until 1840, when he removed to Lima, Ohio. He afterwards returned to Fairfield County and subsequently engaged in the hotel business in Tarlton, Pickaway County. He was also one of the early teachers of the State. In 1855, he settled in Peoria, Ill., where he died three years later, at the age of fifty-eight. Of the Methodist Church he was a prominent member. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Jane Cunningham, was born near Lancaster, in 1812. The death of Mrs. Harper occurred in 1881. She was a member of the Methodist Church. Her father, Robert Cunningham, was a native of Berkeley County, Va., and went by team to Fairfield County, in 1801. He enlisted in the War of 1812, under Gen. Sanderson, and was killed at the battle of Ft. Meigs. His wife reared the family and lived to be eighty years of age. She could handle a rifle as well as a man and was a remarkable woman in many respects. She was well read and was a consistent member of the Presbyterian Church. Our subject's great uncle, Samuel Harper, built the first gristmill in Fairfield County. In the family of Alexander Harper were four sons and two daughters who grew to mature years: Samuel A., who enlisted at the first call for troops 534 - PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. and served throughout the late war, becoming Lieutenant, now resides in Peoria, and is prominent in Grand Army circles, having served as Commander of Illinois; John J., who .was in the one hundred days' service, was ten years Judge of the Court of Common Pleas of the Portsmouth district and is a prominent attorney of Washington C. H.; William H. is a prominent farmer of Peoria County, Ill.; one sister died in that county, and Mrs. Mary Williamson is living in the same county. Our subject was the eldest of the family. He acquired a common-school education and at the age of nineteen began teaching. After teaching in the district schools, he served as Principal of the schools in Lancaster, Ohio, from 1862 until 1865, was Superintendent of the Bucyrus schools for six years, of the Sidney schools for one year, the Waverly schools for two years and the Newark school fpr three years. He was eminently successful as an instructor. In 1880, he located in Columbus and was interested in railroad projects. In 1884, he located in Circleville and for six months was Principal of the Madison Township High School. In the fall of 1885, he became Deputy County Treasurer and in 1888 was elected Treasurer and was re-elected in 1890. On the 6th of October, 1853, in Tarlton, Prof. Harper married Miss Susan Foust. Her father, Andrew Foust, who was born in Delaware County, Ohio, was a carpenter by trade and died in 1883. He was also a prominent politician, representing his county in each house of the Legislature. His father, Jacob Foust, a native of Pennsylvania, was the first white man who ever raised a crop north of Columbus, Ohio. The mother of Mrs. Harper, whose maiden' name was Rachel Drum, is seventy-nine years old. They have an adopted daughter, Mary E., whom they reared from childhood. She graduated from the Pleasantville Collegiate Institute and is the wife of T. E. Mithoff of Flagstaff, Ariz. Her only daughter, Marvene Harper, finds a home with our subject. Mr. Harper is the owner of a highly improved farm of one hundred and fifty-two acres in Salt Creek Township, besides his pleasant residence on Scioto Street. Since 1853, he has been a member of the Odd Fellows' society and holds membership with the Reformed Church. In politics, he is a stalwart Democrat, has served as a member of the City Council froth the Fourth Ward, is serving his second term as County Treasurer and is also City Treasurer. His public duties have been discharged with promptness and fidelity, thus winning him the commendation of all. In connection with educational interests, Mr. Harper has formed a wide acquaintance throughout the State. He was instrumental in organizing the first Teachers' institute in Fairfield County, and has lectured and taught in various institutes throughout the State. He is acquainted with all the prominent teachers in Ohio, for his lecture and institute work have brought him in contact with many. He deserves much credit for what he has done in the interests of education and his work has been of acknowledged worth. WILLIAM RENICK was for many years one of the most prominent agriculturists of the Scioto Valley. He died at his home in Circleville, in May, 1881, and in his death the community lost one of its best citizens. Tradition says that the Renick family is of German origin, its ancestors having emigrated from the Fatherland to Scotland to escape religious persecution. The name underwent a change from Reinwick to Renwick. In time, one of the family was created a peer. He purchased the property of his two brothers, who, with their father, emigrated to America and settled in Eastern Pennsylvania, whence they removed to Hardy County, Va., locating on the south bank of the Potomac. Their descendants are now scattered all over the country. In the meantime, the name was again changed to Rennick, and finally one N was dropped, making it its present form. For more than two hundred years the Renick family has been represented in this country, and many of its members have attained prominence in various lines of business. One characteristic of the family is that of never being office-seekers. William Renick, grandfather of our subject, was a direct descendant of the emigrants, and was PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD - 535 reared in Hardy County, Va. For a time, he served as Deputy Surveyor under Lord Fairfax. He had four sons, Felix, George, Thomas and William, who all located in the Scioto Valley, between the years of 1797 and 1803. His daughters all married, but remained in Virginia. George Renick, father of our subject, was born in Hardy County, Va., September 7, 1776, and spent his early boyhood days upon a farm, and in his youth clerked in a store in Moorefield, Va. He was twice married. In September, 1802, he wedded Miss Dorothy Harness, of his native county, and they had ten children, seven of whom are living. She died in December, 1820, and in 1825 Mr. Renick married Mrs. Sarah Boggs, a sister of Gen. James Denny. Mr. Renick first visited Ohio in 1797. A few months later, he again came, and witnessed the nailing of the first shingle that ever graced a roof in the city of Chillicothe. He afterward went through the wilderness to Kentucky, where he spent the winter, returning to Virginia the following spring. He did not make a permanent location in Ohio until the autumn of 1802, when he was married and took his bride to Chillicothe. He opened the largest general merchandise store in that place at that time, and afterward engaged extensively in stock-raising. With wonderful foresight, he saw that corn would become one of the staple products of the valley, and believed it could be raised and fed to cattle with good advantage. In the winter of 1804-05, he fed a considerable number, which he marketed the following spring in Baltimore. The result was highly satisfactory, and in 1808, having accumulated a large landed property, he retired from merchandising and devoted his energies to farming and stock-raising, having at this time a number of blooded horses, cattle and hogs. His health, which was never robust, failed him in 1816, and on the advice of Dr. Scott, he removed to Woodford County, Ky., selling off much of his fine stock. He retained only a few head of favorite cattle. His health received no benefit from the change, and he returned to Ohio in the fall of the same year. From that time, he gave attention almost exclusively to the raising of cattle, and raised some of, the largest animals of this kind ever produced in the United States. He was very successful, and was an honored citizen. In 1844, he was made a Presidential elector on the Whig ticket, and voted for Henry Clay, his early personal friend. In religious belief, he was a strong Presbyterian. William Renick, the subject of this sketch, was born in Chillicothe County, November 12, 1804, and commenced doing an extensive business at the early age of fifteen and a half years, on account of his father's health. It was intended that he should pursue a full classical education, but this interfered with his doing so. On attaining his majority, he entered into active business life on his own account, and became a prominent and wealthy farmer and stock-raiser. He engaged in feeding and grazing cattle on an extensive scale, having on hand as high as three hundred head. He made extensive shipments to the Eastern markets, and was one of the largest drovers in the State. He purchased and brought from Texas, in 1854, twelve hundred head of cattle, the first lot of Texas cattle in large numbers ever brought to this county. He was a sagacious and farsighted business man, and was widely known as a leading drover. Mr. Renick was three times married, but left no children. His last marriage was with Miss Josie Pearce, who was born near Lancaster, Fairfield County, Ohio, and is a daughter of Lewis and Catherine (Vanmater) Pearce, the former a native of Pennsylvania, and the latter of Virginia. Her father was a soldier in the war with Mexico, and in the Civil War became a member of the Seven. teenth Ohio Infantry, and was commissioned Lieutenant. Mr. Renick was the inventor of the present mode of constructing turnpike roads. For nearly three years, he constantly importuned the Directors of the Columbus and Portsmouth Company to adopt his system, which from its cheapness and usefulness has long since been the only plan of construction used in the West. On account of being out of funds, the Directors consented to try it, and on account of its great usefulness it has since been adopted. Mr. Renick was a stanch Republican and his articles on Currency of 536 - PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. the Country, the Dollar of the Daddies, Revenue Tariff, Free Trade, Banks and Banking Systems, etc., did much to mold public opinion. He was a ready writer, and penned a number of communications of interest to farmers, including those on Blue Grass, Short-horns, Thoroughbred Cattle of Ohio, and the Early Cattle Trade of Ohio. Mr. Renick was active, enterprising and highly public-spirited, although he labored from early age under the dire misfortune of a partial, and during his last twenty-five years almost a total, loss of hearing. His widow, who is a most estimable lady, still resides at the family residence on the corner of Fourth and Mound Streets. JACOB TAYLOR, who is one of the eldest-born sons of Madison County, a representative of one of its early pioneer families, has for many years been closely identified with the farmers who have been prominent in the development of its agricultural resources, and he has built up one of the most beautiful homes in Canaan Township, on the fine large farm that he has improved, two and one-half miles south of Plain City. Our subject was born in Canaan Township, February 20, 1819, This part of the country was then but little advanced from its primitive condition, and he remembers well the pioneer surroundings amid which he grew up. Wild game was plentiful in the forests, along the streams and on the prairies, and he used to indulge in the pleasures of the chase occasionally. At one time he killed a deer by cutting its throat with an ale, while his faithful dog fought the animal, and he could tell of many another hunting adventure. His father, William Taylor, a native of Virginia, was one of the early settlers of Madison County, coming to Ohio in 1806 from Kentucky, and locating in Darby Township. He was subsequently married, in Canaan Township, to Elizabeth Casto, a native of New Jersey, coming from that State to Ohio with her parents in 1808. They located on the present site of Cincinnati. After marriage, the Taylors began their wedded life on ,a farm in Darby Township, but they afterward came to Canaan Township, where the father died in his sixty-fourth year, and the mother in her seventy-eighth year. They had fourteen children, of whom nine grew to maturity, and four of them are still living. Our subject is the fourth of the family in order of birth. His first schooling was obtained in Darby Township, in a rudely built house, 16x16 feet in dimensions, with a mud and stick chimney, and his education was completed in the district schools of Canaan Township. When he was nineteen years of age, his father died, and he continued at home on the old farm with his mother and the rest of the family to assist in managing the farm until he was twenty-three years old. When he started in life for himself, he worked as a farm laborer, getting $12 a month for wages, or $2 more than the regular price, as he was so capable and helpful. As wages became lower, he afterward obtained only $10 a month. For cutting cordwood he had twenty cents a cord, and mauled rails for twenty cents a hundred. He was an expert fn both, and could cut three cords of wood a day and split from two hundred to two. hundred and fifty rails a day. He was ambitious to build up a home, and made up his mind that he would never marry until he had the wherewithal to do so. Accordingly, he was frugal and prudent, saved up his earnings, and in due time bought one hundred and three acres of land in Canaan Township, and had it all paid for before he took unto himself a wife. After marriage, he lived on the parental homestead until he took up his residence on his own farm, which under his care has become a very attractive home. It embraces five hundred and forty acres of as fine and well-cultivated land as is to be found in Madison County, and is in every way substantially improved. Its broad fields yield abundant harvests, its pastures afford feed for the excellent class of stock that he raises, and its buildings are neat and orderly, and of a handsome style of architecture, especially the commodious and elegant residence that was erected in 1878 at a cost of $5,000. Mr. Taylor was united in marriage with Miss Rebecca Kilgore, April 8, 1845. She, too, is a na- PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD - 537 tive of Madison County, born in 1827. A wedded life of forty-seven years has brought them much happiness, and among its blessings are the children and born unto them, five in number, three daughters two sons, namely: Sarah, who is deceased; Zachary, a resident of Darby Township; William, who lives with his parents, and superintends the management, of the farm; Jane, who died in infancy; and Cora, wife of C. H. Andrew, of Canaan Township. This brief record of the life and work of our subject shows that he, is eminently a self-made man, who has struggled nobly against heavy odds to carry out his aims, and has succeeded as Oily such a man can, who works steadily, exercises cool judgment and due discrimination in business Matters, and is scrupulously honorable in all his transactions. His name stands among the highest in financial circles, and he is regarded with the respect due to his age and position by his fellow-townsmen. He was in 'early life a Whig, and in 1840 cast his first Presidential vote for the illustrious grandfather of our present Chief Magistrate, and is a bona fide Republican to-day. D. H. SQUIRE, M.. D., of Ashville, is a well-trained and progressive physician, who stands with the foremost of his profession in Pickaway County, and he is also prominent In its public and social life as one of its leading citizens. He is a native of Ontario, Canada, and was born October 22, 1850. His parents, John S. and Melissa (Denys) Squire, are natives, respectively, of Vermont and Ontario. His paternal grandfather was of English birtk. When our subject was sixteen years of age, he accompanied his parents in their migration from their old Canadian home to Carroll County, Mo., where they lived a few years. They finally removed to Harper County, Kan., and there the father still resides. For many years he has been a minister, and, though he is past eighty years old, he still preaches occasionally with much of his old-time fervor and greatly to the acceptance of his hearers. Our subject gained his education in various schools in different parts of the country. He laid the foundation of his learning in the public schools of Canada and Missouri. For three winters, he attended a night school, in connection with the High School, at Columbus, Ohio. He taught a district school in Missouri for two years, and while an engineer in Columbus, Ohio, running a stationary engine for the Columbus Chair Factory, he conceived the idea of studying medicine, and employed as a preceptor Dr. Baldwin, to whom he would recite three nights in a week, studying whenever he could get an opportunity while at his Work. He remained under Dr. Baldwin's instruction two years, and then, returning to Missouri, he taught two years, continuing his studies in the meantime, and in the fall of 1878 he entered the Columbus Medical College to further fit himself for his chosen calling. He was graduated from that institution in 1880 with honor, having sustained' a high rank for scholarship throughout the course. After leaving college, the Doctor selected Ashville as his future home and soon was recognized as a valuable acquisition to the citizenship of this section of Pickaway County. He his made his mark as a physician of rare merit, who combines a sound practical knowledge of the various branches of medicine with the genial courtesy and ready tact that have gained him a strong' hold, both in the confidence and the hearts of the people to whose ills he so successfully administers in the course of a large and lucrative practice. He has made his influence felt in various ways since becoming a resident of this place, and is always found among the first to advocate desirable improvements or any enterprise that will in any way enhance local or county interests, He is one of the leading politicians of this part of the State, a representative Republican, and, besides being a member of the Harrison Township Republican Central Committee, he belongs to the County Executive Committee. His social relations are with Pickaway Lodge No. 747, I. O. O. F., and with Lodge No. 3005, K. of H., of which he is Trustee. Religiously, he and his amiable wife are members in high standing of the Methodist Episcopal Church. We cannot close this brief biography of the 538 - PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. Doctor without some reference to the pleasant domestic life that has contributed in no small degree, not only to his personal happiness and comfort, but to his material.. success in life. June 6, 1878, is the date of his marriage with Miss Florence Croswell, who presides over his home with true grace and makes it the center of a charming hospitality. Their cozy household is completed by the two children born unto them: Clarence and Chester C. HARVEY D. MARCY, of Mt. Sterling, claims Massachusetts as the State of his nativity. He was born in Berkshire County, November 13, 1835, and is a son of Elijah L. and Amanda (Garfield) Marcy. His mother was a distant relative of President _Garfield, and his maternal grandmother, Mrs. Sarah Allen, was a relative of Col. Ethan Allen, of Revolutionary fame. His father was of a somewhat roving disposition, and our subject removed with his parents to Crawford County, Pa.; to Freedom Township, in Portage County, Ohio; to Lennox, near Lake Erie; then to Kingsville, and subsequently to Wayne, Ashtabula County, and when he was a lad of twelve summers, he became a resident of Troy, Geauga County. Mr. Marcy obtained his education in the common schools and at Hiram College: At the age of sixteen, he received a certificate and began teaching, and for many years taught each winter after he was seventeen years of age. At the age of nineteen, he went to South Bloomfield, where he was employed as Principal of the Union School. About this time, he was married, on the 10th of June, 1862, in White Oak, Fayette County, to Miss Catherine S. Cook. They spent the summer in Geauga County, and then returned to Fayette County, where Mr. Marcy engaged in teaching in the winter. His wife died in 1864. He was again married, July 31, 1866, this time to Mary A. Cook, a daughter of Isaac T. and Elizabeth (Lewis) Cook, and a sister of his first wife. he taught but one winter after his second marriage. He had been engaged in teaching each winter from the age of seventeen years. For his first term of school he received only $14 per month, but he afterwards received $50 per month. Mr. Marcy now turned his attention to farming, having purchased one hundred and seventy acres from Mr. Cook. He also bought an additional one hundred acres tract. His landed possessions now aggregate ,seven hundred and thirty acres. Abandoning the farm, he came to Mt. Sterling in 1873, In order to better educate his children. Unto Mr. and. Mrs. Marcy have been born the following children, of whom seven are living: Rena S., who was born in Madison Town. ship, Fayette County, July 14, 1867, graduated with the first honors of her class' in 1888, and is now the wife of Seymour Renick, a railroad employe, residing in Muncie, Ind.; Scott Harrison, who was born January 10, 1869, graduated from the Mt. Sterling High School in the Class of '89, is now married, and, with his wife and one child, resides upon the farm in Madison Township, Fayette County; Elizabeth Lewis, who was born in Madison Township, Fayette County, June 16,1870, and graduated in the Class of '86, was taken with consumption, and went to Florida for her health, but it was soon seen that she could not recover, and she expressed a desire to return home, but died on the sleeping-car a little north of Chattanooga, January 21, .1892. Her remains were interred in Pleasant Cemetery. Albert Milton, born June 20, 1872. is now studying dentistry in Mt. Sterling; Lora C., born April 14, 1874, died February 13, 1875; William Harry, born June 24, 1876, and Margaret Cook, born January 7, 1880, are both in school; Nellie Allen was born March 1, 1883; Daniel Franklin, who was born October 1, 1887, died in 1889; and Charles Sherman, who was born October 30, 1890. Mr. Marcy cast his first Presidential vote for John C. Fremont, and followed the fortunes of the Republican party until late years, since which time he has voted with the Prohibition party. The cause of education finds in him a warm friend, and he has done effective service in its interests while serving on the School Board. He was Clerk and Treasurer of the School Board for several years, and has been its President for a number of years. Himself and wife are members of the Christian PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD - 543 Church, in the work of which he takes an active part, being now Superintendent of the Sunday-School. His life has been well and worthily spent, and by his sterling worth and integrity, he has won the high respect of all with whom he has been brought in contact. JOHN, McCAFFERTY, Sr., whose long and successful career as a farmer in Monroe Township shows him to be above the average in business ability, and who is still g and active notwithstanding that he has I the eightieth milestone of a long and honorable life, is of the earliest pioneer stock of Ohio, and is himself one of the old settlers of Pickaway County, who has witnessed much of its development during the fifty and more years that he has within its borders. Our subject was born near Frankfort, Ross County, Ohio, January 22, 1812, a son of John McCafforty, who was a native of Kentucky. The father of the latter bore the same name as himself, and was born in Sweet Avon, Scotland. He came to America when a young man, settled in Virginia, and was there married to Miss Nellie Watts, who was a native of that State, but of Scotch antcedents. After marriage, they settled near Lexington. Ky., and lived there a great many years, he being a pioneer farmer of that section. They had a family of fourteen children, of whom eleven grew up. The grandfather of our subject finally removed with his family to the present site of Cincinnati, where he bought land, and there lived a few years. In 1790, they took up their residence in Chillicothe, as their previous dwelling place was swampy and of a malarial character. At that time, there were but three or four cabins where now the flourishing city of Chillicothe stands. The grandfather bought land there and spent the remainder of his life in that place, living to the good old age of ninety years, while his wife attained venerable age of ninety-two years. The father of our subject grew to a strong, stal- 26 wart manhood amid the pioneer scenes of his Kentucky birthplace. He was a great hunter and often used to indulge in the pleasures of the chase. He came with the rest of the family to Ohio and subsequently to Chillicothe, where he became very friendly with the many Indians that then lived around their new home, and spent many a day hunting with them. He was much prospered financially and owned several hundred acres of land near Frankfort, Ross County. While he was redeeming his land from the wilderness, he built and lived in a log cabin. He was sixty-nine years of age when he died, and his county-lost one of its most efficient and highly respected pioneers. During the Revolution, when he was a young man in Kentucky, Mr. McCafferty did not go to the front, but many a night he had to stand guard at home to protect the cabin and its inmates from sudden surprises by the British or Indians. he was a man of true religious feeling, and for many years was connected with the Presbyterian Church, but later in life became a Methodist. In politics, he was a Whig, The mother of our subject, who died at the age of eighty-seven years, in 1863, bore the name of Nancy Sellers, and was born in Washington-, Pa., her ancestors being of the German race. She came to Ohio with a sister in 1800, made her home thereafter in Chillicothe, and was there married. She was the mother of four boys and four girls, namely: Nancy A.; Sarah, who is living; Ellen; Betsy; John, who is living; William; George, who is living, and David. The mother was a Methodist and active in church matters. He of whom we write was horn. and reared on his father's farm in Ross County, and his education was conducted in the typical pioneer log school of the early years of. the settlement of this State. Large open fireplaces served for heating purposes, slab benches with pin legs were the prevailing style of seats, and greased paper took the place of glass in the windows. The schools were conducted on the subscription plan, and the teacher usually had to take his pay in wheat, corn and bacon, as money was seldom to be had. Our subject worked on the farm summers and attended school winters during his boyhood. At the age of nine- 544 - PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. teen, he went to Chillicothe to serve an apprenticeship of three years in a tanning factory. While there he attended night school, where he learned more than he had ever learned in the district schools, and thus laid a solid foundation for the education that he added to by observation, experience and reading or study at leisure moments. At the end of three years' apprenticeship, Mr. McCafferty worked a short time in the tannery on shares, but soon abandoned that, and going to Clarksburgh set up a tannery of his own, which he operated eight years. Next he resumed the calling to which he had been reared, and renting land near the village, conducted farming thereon eight years. In 1840, in the fall of the year, he came to Pickaway County, and bought one hundred and twenty acres of his present farm. The only improvements consisted of a log cabin and nine or ten acres of clearing. The most of the country roundabout was timbered, and he began life here in the woods. He did well in his undertakings, made money and bought additional land, so that he now has a choice farm of three hundred acres of as good farming land as can be found in this locality, all improved and very productive. It is amply supplied with buildings, including a neat frame dwelling that he built forty-five years ago, to replace the humble log cabin that originally stood here. He carries on mixed farming, and has handled a great many cattle, sheep, horses and hogs. Mr. McCafferty was married, March 5, 1835, to Miss Mary Bowdle, who was born October 23, 1813, in one of the early pioneer homes of Ross County. Her parents were William and Anna (Brown) Bowdle, who were both natives of Maryland, the mother having been born February 13, 1777. They were married July 26, 1801, in Ross County, of which the father was a pioneer farmer and miller, owning a large tract of land and a mill on Deer Creek. He accumulated considerable wealth and died in 1842, at the advanced age of ninety-three years and two days. His wife also lived to be very aged. Of the eight children born to our subject and his wife, three died in infancy. These survive: John S.; Mary E., Mrs. Creath; Nancy, Mrs. Williams; Jason L., and Alice, Mrs. Riggin. The good wife and mother departed this life December 23, 1882, leaving behind her a precious memory of one whose many pleasant ways and fine qualities of head and heart had made her greatly beloved by all who came under her genial influence. She was a sincere Christian and a valued member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Our subject is widely known and greatly esteemed. He is a good type of our self-made men, as he began life for himself with no capital other than a clear. steady brain, a resolute will, and a fine capacity for well-directed labor, seconded by exceedingly sound business qualifications. With these he long ago stepped to the front among the solid moneyed men of his township. he has always held to the same political principles since the days of his early manhood, when he belonged to the Whig party and cast his first Presidential vote for Henry Clay, and when the Republican party was formed he joined its ranks, and has given it hearty support from that day to this. He has been a member of the Methodist Church since he was twenty years old, and has done much toward its upbuilding. The attention of the reader is invited to the lithographic portraits of Mr. and Mrs. McCafferty which are presented in this connection. REV. JACOB H. SCHNEIDER, A. B., A. M., Pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Circleville, and Christ Congregation in Jackson Township, was born in Jackson Township, Stark County, January 13, 1855. The family of which he is an honored member originated in Germany, where the paternal grandfather, Jacob, was a farmer; the maternal grandfather and great-grandfather were also farmers, living in the village of Hoegst. The father, Leonard, was born in Schloss Nauses, Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, and followed the trade of a cabinet-maker in his native country until 1841, PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD - 545 when he emigrated to the United States, in company with John Daum and his family. After landing in New York, the little party proceeded up the Hudson River, crossed the State to Buffalo, and thence went by steamer to Cleveland, Ohio. Leaving the others there, John Daum made an expedition into Hocking County in search of a location. Returning as far as Massillon, he made a conditional contract for ninety-six acres lying four miles east of the city, and afterward came back to Cleveland. Leonard Schneider was then sent down to Massillon to complete the purchase and gather the crop of hay and wheat. The family followed later. In January, 1842, Leonard Schneider and Miss Eva M., daughter of John Daum, were married, and settled on a part of the farm of his father-in-law. Mr. Schneider was a cabinet-maker by trade, but finding that there was little to do in his line of trade, engaged in carpentering work at Massillon. About 1850, he bought a farm of eighty acres in Jackson Township, Stark County (the birthplace of our subject), and with a great deal of hard labor and economy, succeeded in paying for it. In the spring of 1870, Mr. Schneider removed to the old Damn homestead, and there passed away in the same year, at the age of fifty-four years. The mother of our subject was born in Hoegst, Germany, and still survives at the age of seventy-two, making her home at present with our subject. Her father, John Daum, was a German by birth, and when a mere lad was a teamster in Napoleon's army on the retreat from Russia. He engaged in farming in the Fatherland until 1841, when he came to America, and afterward resided in Massillon, where Isis death occurred at the age of fourscore and six. The family found a religious home in the Lutheran Church. The seventh among nine children in a pioneer home, our subject early aided in the work around the home, and experienced with his parents the hardships of pioneer life. He remembers that in 1859-60 the wheat crop failed entirely, and they used buckwheat bread. Miring war times, the dren wore home-made "butternut" pants and el blouses to school. Each fall their father would take the hide of a heifer to the tannery, and the next autumn the boys would have their boots made of leather from it. Although the family lived four and one-half miles from Canton, where the church was located, there were very few Sundays during the year but what some members of the family were present at services. Before the boys were old enough to walk that distance, they had a Sunday-school at home, the father acting as teacher, and in that way they learned the catechism and Biblical history. The rule was, that in good weather six of the family would ride to church and the others would walk. Our subject well remembers those trips—how they used to hang their shoes and stockings over their shoulders, and, after running through the wet grass until near town, would stop and put them on again. One summer the boys attended a school taught by a student, afterward Rev. H. A. Schulze, and for a time pastor of the Circleville church. April 6, 1868, our subject and his brother John were confirmed by Rev. J. C. Schulze, and after the confirmation the former spent some time with his sister, Catherine, then Mrs. Johnson, meanwhile receiving the advantages of the Canton public schools. When he was fourteen, his father bought and located upon Grandfather Daum's farm, and he, with his brother William, operated a farm belonging to the latter. When William married, our subject returned to the parental home. His father had previously died, leaving the farm incumbered with debts, poor fences, rotten buildings, and in such a condition as required great industry to effect needed repairs. The deplorable condition, however, was not due to any negligence on the part of Mr. Schneider, Sr., for the farm had been neglected by Grandfather Daum for years. When our subject's younger brother, Leonard, grew to manhood, there was not work enough on the farm to occupy the attention of all the sons, so Jacob was selected to learn a trade. After endeavoring in vain to secure a place, he hired at length to a farmer, with whom he remained one year. Later, he secured work with a carpenter at fifty cents per day and board, but not having acquired the full vigor and strength of manhood, he 546 - PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. over-exerted himself in lifting heavy oak timber and sustained injuries which prevented further arduous manual labor. About that time, through the persuasions of Rev. A. H. Feldman, our subject decided to enter the ministry, and through the kindness of that gentleman he was introduced to Prof. W. F. Lehman, who was visiting at Canton, and who assisted him to be received as a part beneficiary in Capital University. In the fall of 1874, he went to Columbus, entered the college, and after five years' study, was graduated with his class, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Arts. Next our subject took a course in the theological seminary at Columbus, and after studying there two and one-half years, was called to Circleville as pastor of the Trinity Lutheran Church, accepting the pastorate of that church in December, 1881. January 28, 1882, he was duly ordained and installed by Rev. D. Simon, assisted by Prof. Stellhorn, and here he has since remained, gaining a warm place in the affection of the parishioners, and enlarging and increasing the usefulness of the church. He was also the means of effecting the organization of a congregation in Jackson Township, for which he has done a noble work. In addition to other labors, he succeeded in raising the money for building the parochial school at a cost of $3,000. His congregation now numbers three hundred and twenty-five communicants, and the membership increases every year. His great capabilities and faithful work have not been unnoticed by other churches, and he has frequently been called to positions of greater prominence, but the Mutual attachment existing between him and his people has always prevented the acceptance of other offers. May 31, 1882, at Columbiana, Ohio, Rev. J. H. Schneider and Miss Anna Baeschler were united in marriage, the ceremony being performed by the bride's father, assisted by Rev. A. II. Feldman. They are the parents of three children: Eva, Harvey and Sadie. In national politics, Mr. Schneider is a Democrat, and in his State political adherence has voted sometimes for the candidates of the Republican party. He is an admirer of Gov. McKinley, whom he considers one of the able men in the United States. In the synods of his denomination, many high honors have been conferred upon Mr. Schneider, and he is now serving as President of the English District of the Synod of Ohio, as well as Secretary of the Mission Board of the State Synod. WILLIAM THOMAS, one of the self-made men of Madison County, who is engaged in farming and stock-raising in Stokes Township, was born in Grayson County, W. Vs., December 18, 1813, and is a son of Moses and Catherine (Williams) Thomas. His father was a native of North Carolina, and when a boy went to Virginia, where he met and married Miss Williams, a native of Grayson County. Our subject was the eighth of nine children who were born unto them in that county. With one exception, all grew to mature years, but he has only one sister now living, Mrs. Nancy Huffman, of Stokes Township. The family emigrated to Ohio in 1823, locating in Fayette County, where the father leased two hundred acres of land and built a blacksmith shop. He worked at his trade while his sons operated the farm and there resided until his death. Our subject was early inured to the hard labor of the farm and in his youth he also learned blacksmithing. At the age of twenty, he started out in life for himself, and soon afterward married Miss Lavina, daughter of William and Anna (Willis) Beauchamp. She was born in Clarke County, Ohio, June 20, 1815, and they were married October 10, 1833. They began their domestic life upon a rented farm and five years later Mr. Thomas purchased one hundred and fifty-seven acres of wild land, upon which not a furrow had been turned or a tree cut. He built a log house of two rooms, and began the improvement of his farm, which is now under a high state of cultivation. A pleasant residence has long since replaced the cabin home. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Thomas were born thirteen children, and, with the exception of one who died PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD - 547 at the age of five, all grew to manhood and womanhood: Noah, now of London, who was born in Fayette County, August 1, 1834, served as County Auditor for a number of years, was Warden of the Ohio Penitentiary four years, and was appointed by Gov. Foster and by Gov. Foraker Superintendent of the Soldiers' Orphans' Home in Xenia, where he remained four years. He served three years in the late war and lost an arm at the battle of Cold Harbor. In politics, he is a Republican. He has been twice married and has five children. Moses, the second son, was born December 30, 1835, and owns a farm of one hundred acres in Stokes Township. He is married and has nine children. William Thomas, born December 11, 1837, is a graduate of Yellow Springs College. He served three years in the late war, was shot in the left leg at the battle of Petersburg and is now crippled. He gets a pension of $15. With his wife and three children he makes his home in Yellow Springs. Jephtha, born November 27, 1839, was also one of the boys in blue. He died December 25, 1887, leaving five children. John Wesley, born January 22, 1843, died in August, 1885, leaving six children. Robert L., born April 29, 1845, is a farmer of Pocahontas County, Iowa, and by his marriage has four children. Huston, born October 19, 1849, resides on a farm of one hundred and twenty-six acres in Stokes Township with his wife and two children. Jasper, born March 16, 1852, resides on the home farm. By his marriage he has four children. Elijah, born January 9, 1855, is an agriculturist of Stokes Township, and has one child. Oscar B., born January 28, 1861, graduated from Yellow Springs College, engaged in teaching in that place for three years, and was graduated from the law school of Cincinnati. He is now attorney at London, Ohio. Sarah Catherine, born September 9, 1841, became the wife of Henry Huffman, and died in 1874, leaving three children. Mary Ann, born August 29, 1847, died at the age of five years. Florestine, born December 21, 1862, is the wife of William Blessing, and unto them was born a daughter March 3, 1889, Dott. From time to time, Mr. Thomas extended the boundaries of his farm until he now owns three hundred and twenty-seven acres of valuable land, which yields to him a golden tribute. He cast his first vote for Gen. Harrison in 1840, supported John C. Fremont in 1856, and has since been a Republican. He served as Township Treasurer for six years but has never been an office-seeker. For forty years he has been a member of the Christian Church and his upright and well-spent life has been in harmony with his profession. JAMES S. SWEARINGEN, a representative and prominent young farmer of Pickaway County, was born in Jackson Township, August 19, 1857. His well-appointed farm of one hundred and eighty acres of land, which is a part of the old home place, is of historic interest in that it is a part of the "Bedinger Survey" that was given to his great-grandfather, Capt. Bedinger, by the Government for services in the Revolutionary War, located by him in 1796, and has never been bought or sold. Our subject has a fine large residence, 'remodeled in 1890, several frame barns, and all the equipments of a model farm. Mr. Swearingen is descended from a notable ancestry. His father, Henry B. Swearingen, was born in Chillicothe, November 16, 1814. His grandfather, whose given name was James S., was born in Berkeley County, Va., February 3, 1782; his great-grandfather, Josiah Swearingen, was also born in that county, March 28, 1744, the date of 'his birth; his great-great-grandfather, Van Swearingen, was born in Maryland, while his great-great-great-grandfather, Zachariah Swearingen, was a native of Holland. The father of the latter, Garrett Swerengen (as the name was then spelled), great-great-great-great-grandfather of our subject, was the original representative of the family in America, coming here in the year 1654 with his family, consisting of his wife, Barbara (De Barette), and two children, Zachariah and Elizabeth; from Brabant, a province of Holland. They settled near Annapolis, and in 1669 the family became naturalized citizens of the province of Maryland. Zach- 548 - PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. ariah, the next lineal descendant, had four sons: Thomas, Van, John and Samuel. The children of Thomas were two sons, Thomas and Van, who, according to an old "History of the Valley of Virginia," settled in the neighborhood of Shepherdstown, that State, on or near the Shenandoah River, in 1734, and were among the first settlers on that watercourse and its vicinity. Van Swearingen was Lieutenant of the militia of the county of Berkeley, Va. He was subsequently raised to the rank of Colonel, and was a man of local note. He was the father of five children, of whom Josiah, the next in descent, was the eldest, and was born March 28, 1744. He was a Captain, under Gen. Lewis during Lord Dunmore's War. He married, January 5, 1777, Phebe Strode, who was born December 8, 1747. He died August 9, 1795, and she, July 6, 1786. They had three sons: Thomas, James and Samuel, and a daughter, Eleanor, who became the wife of Gov. Thomas Worthington. James Strode Swearingen, who was the second son of Josiah and Phebe Swearingen, was born in Berkeley County (now Jefferson County), W..Va., February 3, 1782. At the age of thirteen years, he became Clerk in a store at Battletown (now Berryville), Va., near Winchester, where he remained about two years. The ensuing four years were spent as clerk in the County Clerk's office at Winchester, Frederick County. He was obliged to abandon that position on account of ill-health, but the experience that he had gained and the formation of methodical habits were of inestimable value to him in after life. In 1799, he came to Ohio, having exchanged his land in Virginia for land in the vicinity of Chillicothe. In 1800, he was appointed Ensign in the army, and two years after, having been promoted to the rank of First or Second Lieutenant, he made the journey from Chilli-cOthe to Detroit with a guide, traveling on horseback through the primeval wilderness, and as there were no settlements on the way between Chillicothe and Lake Eric was without a morsel of food to eat while crossing the State. On his arrival at Detroit, Lieut. Swearingen was put in command of a company and sent to Chicago, where he helped to build Ft. Dearborn. Later, he was stationed at Ft. Mifflin, below Philadelphia, at Pittsburgh, Ft. McHenry, Baltimore Cincinnati, and other places, but mostly on the frontier. November 4, 1811, while at Pittsburgh, he was united in marriage to Nancy, daughter of Capt. Henry and Rachel (Strode) Bedinger. She was born January 7, 1787. An early ancestor of hers, Adam Bedinger, was a native of Alsace, Germany. He and his family were Protestants, and to escape persecution after the conquest which resulted in the ceding of Alsace to France, he emigrated to America, landing at Philadephia in 1734. Soon thereafter, he joined a party of German emigrants, who settled upon the beautiful, rich lands on Con-owago, in York County, Pa. His son Henry married Magdalena Schleyel (Slagle, as Anglicised) and removed to Shepherdstown, Va., in the spring of 1762. His son Henry, the father of Mrs. Nancy Swearingen, was born October 16, 1753. He was a Captain in the Continental army during the revolution, was taken prisoner at Ft. Washington, and was confined on Long Island for four years. In 1796, the Captain located the tract of land in Jackson Township, Pickaway County, known as the Bedinger Survey, the most of which was owned by the father of our subject. Henry Bedinger was a man of good native ability, great energy and force of character, and was a power in the community where he lived. In 1814, being then Quartermaster-General and a staff officer, James S. Swearingen made his headquarters at Chillicothe, where he remained on duty until the close of the war, when he made permanent settlement in that city, and there spent the remainder of his life. Soon after his marriage, he had received from his father-in-law the Bedinger tract of land in Jackson Township, but he never settled upon it. He died in Chillicothe, February 3, 1864, and his wife died January 11, 1859. Three of their seven children died in infancy. The others were Henry B., Eleanor, Sarah B. and Virginia, the latter of whom died unmarried at the age of twenty-one years. Eleanor married first Dr. John H. Grant, of Covington, Ky., and after his death was married to Maj. Edward Clarkson, of the same place. She died in Jackson Township, PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD - 549 January 20, 1879. Sarah became the wife of N. W. Thatcher, and both are now deceased. The father of our subject was born at Adena, near Chillicothe, Ohio, November 16, 1814. He left his early home in Chillicothe in 1837, to settle in Pickaway County, and in December, 1851, took up his residence on the farm in Jackson Township now occupied by his son of whom we write. He was married, January 3, 1850, to Elizabeth Nesbitt, of Xenia, who was born June 3, 1827. She died in 1881, and he survived her until October 15, 1889, when he passed away at a. ripe age. They were the parents of eight children, of whom the following is the record: Eleanor V., born March 26, 1854, married, October 26, 1882, W. V. Grant, of Covington, Ky., and died September 26, 1890, leaving one child, Henry, born October 8, 1888'; James S., our subject; Nancy N., born December 22, 1858, died May 30, 1887; Robert N., born February 22, 1859, died October 27, 1865; John G., born February 24, 1863, married November 13, 1888, Miss Fanny Dent, of Xenia, and they have one child, Virginia, born November 12,1889; Henry B., born May 26, 1865, is in the Pension Department at Washington, D. C.; Thomas T., born January 15, 1868, is book-keeper in Columbus; Mary S., born March 9, 1871, was graduated from Miss Phelps' School in Columbus, in 1892. Henry B. Swearingen was well and favorably known throughout this county, and had many friends in various parts of this State who sincerely regretted his death. He was one of the best-informed men in the county, having been a great reader all his life and having had a liberal education, being a graduate of Kenyon College at Gambier, and his reading, while covering a wide range of subjects, was always well selected. He possessed a kindly disposition and was an agreeable as well as entertaining companion. For many years, and until the time of his decease, he was identified with St. Philip's Parish of this city and was nearly always a delegate from the parish to the annual diocesan conventions. Our subject was well educated in the district schools of his native township and in the High School at Circleville. At the age of twenty-one years, he began life for himself, and has met with fine success as a general farmer. Of late years, he has made somewhat of a specialty of raising potatoes, and he is also engaged quite extensively in the stock business. He raises sheep of a high grade, fine Polled-Angus cattle, and draft and road horses, having several standard-bred trotters. He is deeply interested in all that concerns his native township and county, and in him the Republican party finds a stalwart supporter. Mr. Swearingen was married, November 11, 1890, to Miss Minerva Anderson, who was born in Wayne Township, this county, October 26, 1867. She is an accomplished young lady, and her grace and tact admirably second the courteous hospitality of her husband in their pleasant home. HENRY LILLY. There is in the development of every successful life a lesson to all; for if a man is industrious, ambitious and honorable in his ambition, he will undoubtedly rise to a position of prominence, whether having the prestige of family and wealth or the obscurity of poverty. We are led to these reflections in reviewing the life of Mr. Lilly, who is at present occupying a well-improved farm, which is located in Fairfield Township, Madison County. Our subject has done much to aid in the development of this part of the country and, as a patriotic soldier, deserves credit for the work he did in securing the stability of the Union. He of whom we write is the son of the late Wesley Lilly, who was born in Fluvanna County, Va., March 30, 1798, and was five years of age when he came with his parents, Thomas and Theodosia Lilly, to this State, and located in Ross County. There the father died in the fall of 1823, and in 1830 the mother, with her family, came to Madison County, where she departed this life in 1838. The maiden name of our subject's mother was Mary Durflinger, daughter of Daniel and Elizabeth Durflinger, natives of Virginia, who located in Madison County, this State, about 1827. Wesley Lilly was an earnest member in the Meth-