1200 - HANGING ROCK IRON REGION of the representative physicians and surgeons of the Hanging Rock iron Region, and :though his precedence as a member of his profession was won in West Virginia, where he remained fully twenty years, he is now engaged in practice at McArthur, the judicial center of his native County of 'Vinton, where he initiated his professional endeavors on the 6th of. November, 1914,- and Where his ability and personal. popularity have been the forces that have conspired to the upbuilding of his sub-stantial and representative general practice. Doctor James was born in Brown Township, Vinton County, Ohio, on the 1st of April, 1868, and is a son of Richard T. and Eliza (McFarland) James, the former of whom was born in West Virginia and the latter in Ohio, their marriage having been solemnized in Morgan County, Ohio. About 1840 Richard T. James established his residence in Vinton County, where he purchased a tract of land and developed one of the valuable farms of Brown Township. He reclaimed much of his farm from the forest and was a man whose steadfast purpose and sterling integrity made him well worthy of the unqualified esteem in which lie was held. He was born in the year 1813 and continued to reside on his old homestead farm until his death, at the age of seventy-four years. He was one of the honored and influential citizens of Vinton, County, was a stalwart in the camp of the republican party, and he was cafled upon to serve in various local offices of public trust, including that of township trustee, of which he was the incumbent for a number of years. His wife survived him by several years and was seventy-six years of age when she was summoned to the life eternal, both having been earnest members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. They became the parents of nine children, all of whom attained to years of maturity with the, exception of-one, and of the number, four are now living. Dr. H. Sawyer James; who is the youngest of the nine children, passed. the period of his childhood and early youth on the homestead farm which was the place of his nativity, and while early lending Ins aid in the work of the. farm he also made good use of the advantages afforded in the local schools, through the medium of which he prepared himself for -college. He was a student in Ohio University, at Athens, for some:time, though he did not complete the full academic course, and in initiating his independent career he became a representative of the pedagogic profession, in which he was a successful teacher in the schools of Southern Ohio. In the meanwhile he began reading medicine under the effective preceptorship of Dr. John W: Johnson, of Nelsonville, Athens County, and finally he entered Starling Medical College, in the City of Columbus. In this institution he was graduated as a member of the class of 1890, and after thus receiving his degree of Doctor of Medi- HANGING ROCK IRON REGION - 1201 cine he went to West Virginia and established himself in practice at Malden, Kanawha County, not far distant from the City of Charleston. There he held the position of physician and surgeon for the Campbell Creek Coal Company for the long period of seventeen years, the while his private practice also became one of substantial and successful order, so that he was known as one of the leading physicians of that section at the time when he returned to Ohio and engaged in practice at New Plymouth, Vinton County. Three years later he returned to West Virginia and became assistant surgeon of Mount Hope Hospital, at Huntington, where he continued his service in this capacity for one year and had tire opportunity of further fortifying himself in clinical surgery. At the expiration of this period Doctor James returned again to his native county, in the autumn of 1914, and established himself in general practice at McArthur, the county seat, as has previously been noted in this context. He is a close and appreciative student and keeps in touch with the advances made in both medical and surgical science, so that he is enabled to bring to bear in his practice the most approved methods and remedial agencies, his unequivocal success affording the best voucher for his technical ability and being indicative also f his strong hold upon popular confidence and good will. He is a member of the American Medical Association and during the period f his residence in West Virginia he was actively affiliated with the Kanawha County Medical Society and the West Virginia State Medical Society. He is now an active member of the Vinton County Medical Society and the Ohio State Medical Society, the while be finds much satisfaction in making his native county and state the field of his earnest endeavors in his exacting profession. The doctor's political allegiance is given to the republican party and both he and his wife attend and support the Christian Church in their home city. On the 17th of July, 1890, was solemnized the marriage of Doctor James to Miss Mayme Davis, of Athens County, Ohio, where she was born on the 27th of March, 1869, the youngest in a family of three children. Mrs. James is a daughter of Edwin and Cynthia (Cook) Davis, both. of whom were born and reared in Vermont, where their marriage was solemnized. The Davis family was founded in New England in the colonial period of our national history and representatives of the same were patriot soldiers of the Continental Line in the War of the Revolution, so that Mrs. James is eligible for membership in the society of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Within a comparatively short period after their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Edwin Davis immigrated from the old Green Mountain State to Ohio and settled in Athens County. Mr. Davis' purchased land in Green Township, where he reclaimed and 1202 - HANGING ROCK IRON REGION developed a productive farm, this homestead having continued to be his place of abode until his death, at the age of sixty years, and his widow having been somewhat more than eighty years of age when she too was summoned to the "land of the leal." Both were devout and active members of the Christian Church, in which Mr. Davis served as elder for many years, and in politics he was a radical republican,—one influential in local affairs of a public order. Doctor And Mrs. James have no children. OTTO H. SCHWEICKART. Among the contractors and builders of Ironton who have contributed materially to the upbuilding and development of this prosperous community of the Hanging Rock Iron Region, none are held in higher regard than Otto H. Schweickart. Although still a young man, his accomplishments have been such as to place him in a substantial position among the members of his calling, and as a public-spirited citizen he has always had the interests of his city at heart. Schweickart was born at Ironton, Lawrence County, Ohio, January 7, 1884, and is a son of Frederick and Louisa (Fridley) Schweickart. His father was born in Germany in 1833, and at the age of twenty-five years emigrated to the United States and settled at Ironton, where he sub-sequently became a prominent contractor and builder. He also took an active interest in the educational, religious and civic affairs of the city, and for a number of years was a member of the Hospital Board of Ironton. His death occurred in 1907. Mrs. Schweickart, who survives her husband and resides at Ironton, was born near Ripley, Brown County, Ohio, in 1838. There were nine children in the family, as follows: George, Lena, Charles, Margaret, William L., Albert, Frank, Amelia and Otto H. Otto H. Schweickart was given ordinary educational advantages in his youth, attending the Ironton public schools and proving a close and attentive student. At the age of fourteen years, under the teaching of his father, he started to learn the trade of carpenter, and after master-ing his vocation worked thereat until 1911. At that time he embarked in the contracting and building business, and continued alone with some success for three years, but in 1914 formed a partnership with C. K. Turley, the firm now being known as The Diamond Lumber Company. The business has enjoyed a steady and healthy growth, and at this time the company own two plants, one at Ironton and the other at Russell, Kentucky, and the stock and buildings are valued in the neighborhood of $25,000. Mr. Schweickart is thoroughly familiar with every detail of his business and does all of his own architectural work, and numerous handsome business structures, churches, schools and residences stand as HANGING ROCK IRON REGION - 1203 monuments to his ability. He is greatly interested in all out-door sports and is a stockholder in the Ironton Athletic and Amusement Company, as well as in the South Side Theater Company, and also holds membership in the Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Schweickart owns his own residence. In political matters he is independent, preferring to use his own judgment in the selection of those men and measure§ which he believes will contribute to the welfare and advancement of the community and its people. Fraternally, he is connected with the Modern Woodmen of America and with Lawrence Lodge No. 198 Free and Accepted Masons. With his family, he attends the Pine Street Methodist Epis-copal Church. Mr. Schweickart was married at Ironton, September 6, 1907, to Miss Kathryn Winifred Roberts, daughter of George H. Roberts, a carpenter of this city. Mrs. Schweickart is a lady of education and refinement and for several years was a public school teacher. Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Schweickart : Otto Robert and Kathryn Louisa. JACOB H. MILHON. Both Mr. Milhon and his wife are representatives of old and honored families that were early settled in the Buckeye State and the names of which have been worthily linked with the annals of American history since the Colonial days, Mrs. Milhon being, through both paternal and maternal ancestral lines eligible for membership in the Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution and on the distaff side being a lineal descendant of Elder Brewster, an historic character and Pilgrim clergyman who came to America on the time renowned ship "Mayflower." The fine farmstead home of Mr. and Mrs. Milhon is eligibly situated one mile north of the attractive little City of McArthur, the judicial center of Vinton County, and is known for its generous and gracious hospitality, while the family is one of distinctive popularity in the community and Mr. Milhon is recognized as one of the representative agriculturists and stock-growers of this favored section of his native state. Jacob H. Milhon was born in Belmont County, Ohio, on the 16th of June, 1848, and is a son of Rev. James and Eliza (Larrick) Milhon, the former of whom was a native of Virginia and the latter of Belmont County, Ohio, where her parents settled upon their removal from Virginia. The Milhon family is of stanch German lineage and representative of the same settled in Virginia, the historic Old Dominion, prior to the war of the Revolution. James Milhon was reared and educated in Virginia and at the age of twenty-one years he came to Ohio and became a resident of Belmont County. There he met and wedded Miss Eliza Larrick, a member of a Vol. II-36 1204 - HANGING ROCK IRON REGION well known pioneer family, and in that county he engaged in farming besides devoting his attention to teaching in the pioneer schools and to service as a minister of the Alethodist Episcopal Church, of which he had become a devoted member prior to leaving his old home State of Virginia. In 1855 the family came to Vinton County and Mr. Milhon purchased a homestead of 160 acres, in Jackson Township. There he re claimed a productive farm and eventually became the owner of a valuable landed estate of more than 300 acres. He long held prestige as one of the substantial agriculturists and honored and influential citizens of the county and when well advanced in years he and his wife removed to Elk Township, where they passed the closing period of their long and noble lives in the home of their son, Jacob H., subject of this review. The father died when somewhat more than eighty-six years of age, and the mother, a woman of gentle and gracious personality, passed to the life eternal at the age of eighty-three years, both she and her husband having been Christian folk of consecrated zeal and devotion and having labored earnestly for the aiding and plifting of their fellow men. Mr. Milhon continued his earnest service as a minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church until virtually the close of his long and useful life, and it altogether probable that no other clergyman in this section f the stet officiated at so great a number of marriage and funeral services as di this honored pioneer. Of the six sons and one daughter Jacob H. is now the only one living, and of the other children the last of the number to pass away was Justus V., who is survived by his wife, one son and one daughter and they reside in the State of California. Joseph F., a nephew of Jacob H. Milhon, is a resident of Columbus and has a family of three children. Jacob H. Milhon was a lad of about seven years at the time of the family removal to Vinton County, and he was here reared to maturity on the old homestead farm in Jackson Township, where he made good use of the advantages afforded in the common schools of the period and where he continued his active association with agricultural pursuits until 1898, when he removed with his family to Elk Township and purchased his present farm, which comprises 236 acres of most fertile and productive land, the greater part of which is under effective cultivation and devoted to the various products best suited to the soil and climate. He also raises excellent grades of cattle, sheep, horses and swine, and is known as one of the energetic and progressive farmers and substantial citizens of the county that has long been his place of residence. On his farm he erected the present attractive and modern house of eight rooms, and the other buildings on the place are of excellent order—thrift and prosperity being everywhere in distinct evidence. Mr. Milhon has had no desire for the HANGING ROCK IRON REGION - 1205 honors or emoluments f public office but is essentially loyal as a citizen and is aligned as a staunch supporter of the cause of the Republican party. He and his wife and daughter are zealous members of the Meth-odist Episcopal Church at McArthur and he has served as a trustee of the same. Though, as previously stated, he has had no predilection for political preferment, Mr. Milhon has consented to serve in various local offices of public trust, including that of township trustee, and thus has subordinated personal desires to civic loyalty. In Jackson Township, Vinton County, the year 1872 recorded the marriage of Mr. Milhon to Miss Roxana Pettit, who was born. in Morgan County, this state, on the 18th of June, 1853, and who was a young woman at the time f the family removal to Vinton County, where her parents settled on a farm in Jackson Township. She is a daughter of John and Amanda (Brewster) Pettit. John Pettit was a native of Ohio and was a son of Samuel and Margaret (Sniff) Pettit, who came from New Jersey and numbered themselves among the pioneers of Morgan County, where the father obtained government land and developed a farm from the for-est wads. He was killed in an accident incidental to a house-raising and was in the prime of life at the time of his death, his' widow surviving him by many years. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. John Pettit continued their resi-dence in Morgan County until after the birth f all their children, and they then, in April, 1865, removed to Vinton County and established their home on a farm in Jackson Township, where Mr. Pettit died in 1887, after having passed the age of three score years and ten. His widow survived him by more than a decade and passed the closing period f her life in the home of her daughter, Mrs. Milhon, wife of the subject of this review, where she died in 1899, at a venerable age, both she and her husband having been zealous members of the Methodist Episcopal Church and he having been a republican in politics from the time of the Civil war until his death. Mr. and Mrs. Milhon became the parents of three children : Leonette, who remains at the parental home, has been for a score of years an earnest, successful and popular teacher in the schools of Vinton County, but has recently resigned to a large extent her labors in the pedagogic profession. Clarence V. died at the age of eighteen months. Herman C. is a locomotive engineer in the employ of the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton Railroad Company and has served in this capacity for the past fifteen years, his original work as a railroad man having been in the service of the Hocking Valley Railroad. He is a bachelor and maintains his residence at Elmwood Place, a suburb of the City of Cincinnati. 1206 - HANGING ROCK IRON REGION HENRY W. EARNHEART. Of the worthy and successful exponents of the agricultural interests of the Hanging Rock Iron Region Mr. Earn-heart is a prominent and popular representative in Vinton County, where his well improved farm. of 120 acres is eligibly situated in section 20, Swan Township, the place being devoted to diversified agriculture and :the raising of high-grade live stock, and the general air of thrift and pros-perity giving evidence of the energy, enterprise and progressiveness of the owner. The farm buildings are of excellent order, including an attractive residence of seven rooms, and all of these permanent improvements have been made by Mr. Earnheart himself. On the old homestead which he now owns and occupies Mr. Earnheart was born on the 22d of June, 1853, the place of his nativity having been an humble log house of the early pioneer type. ere he was reared to manhood, here, he early gained familiarity with and enduring respect for honest toil and endeavor, and here he has continued his well ordered activities as a farmer and stock-grower since the initiation of his independent career. Steadfast rectitude has characterized his course in all f the varied relations of life, and he has the unqualified confidence and. high regard of the people of his native county. Mr. Earnheart is a son of Jacob and Melinda (Bevington) Earnheart. His father was born in Pennsylvania, in 1790, a representative of one of the staunch old German pioneer families of the Keystone State, and there he was reared to manhood. He had not yet attained to his legal majority at the time of the war of 1812, but he showed his youthful patriotism by prompt enlistment in a Pennsylvania regiment, with which he rendered effective service during this second conflict with England. He became one of the pioneer settlers of Vinton County, Ohio, where he purchased a tract of wild land in Swan Township and instituted the arduous task of reclaiming it to cultivation. Later he added to his landed estate, and the farm now owned by his son Henry W., subject of this review, was indebted to him for its reclamation and early improvement. Here this sterling pioneer continued to reside until his death, which occurred in 1859. His first wife, whose maiden name was Elizabeth Kaylor, died when about sixty years of age and left no children. He later wedded Miss Melinda Bevington, and she survived him by many years, her death having occurred October 10, 1888, at which time she was seventy-five years of age. Both were earnest and consistent members of the United Brethren Church, and in politics he gave his allegiance to the democratic party. The only child of the second marriage of Jacob Earnheart is he to whom this sketch is dedicated. Henry W. Earnheart was reared under the conditions and influences of what may be termed the middle pioneer epoch in the history of Vin- HANGING ROCK IRON REGION - 1207 ton County, where his early educational advantages were those afforded in the common schools and where he began to assist in the work of the home farm when he was a mere boy. As the only child of his father he naturally inherited the old homestead farm, and it may well be understood that the same is endeared to him by many gracious and hallowed memories and associations. He takes a loyal interest in all that concerns the welfare and progress of his native county and is one of its substantial and honored citizens. His political support is given to the republi-can party and his wife holds membership in the Methodist Church. On the 29th of May, 1880, was solemnized the marriage f Mr. Earnheart to Miss Eliza Hass, who was born in Swan Township, Vinton County, on the 20th of March, 1863, and who has proved a devoted wife and mother, a true helpmeet to her husband. She is a daughter of Abraham and Lamson (Steele) Hass, the former of whom likewise was born in Swan Township, where his father, Jacob Hass, was one of the first settlers. Jacob Hass came to Vinton County when a young man and here he wedded Miss Catharine Schriner, both of these revered pioneer citizens passing the remainder of their lives in this county and both having been devout members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Abraham Hass and his wife passed their entire lives in Vinton County, where he was long one of the active representatives of farm industry in Swan. Township. He died at the age of sixty-two years and his widow passed away when the same age. Mr. and Mrs. Earnheart became the parents of three children : Nancy J., who was born in the year 1881, attended the local schools and also developed her talent as a musician. She is now the wife of Edward Phillips, a prosperous farmer of Jackson Township, Vinton County, and they have two daughters—Mary E. and Edith Maude. Jacob Blane Earnheart died on the 11th of January, 1893, at the age of eight years. Fletcher McKinley Earnheart, the younger son, was born September 30, 1894, was afforded the advantages of the public schools of his native township and is associated with his father in the work and management of the home farm. WILLIAM J. WARD. Even as the kindly products of the soil must ever figure. as the stable basis of material prosperity, even so must special importance attach to those agencies which make possible the handling and manufacturing of agricultural products, particularly grain. This, the thriving little City of McArthur, Vinton County, is signally favored in having as one of its leading industrial enterprises that represented in the substantial and fine equipped McArthur Mills, which have the best of facilities for the manufacturing f flour and other grain products of the best modern standard, and of these mills William J. Ward, a native 1208 - HANGING ROCK IRON REGION son of this city, has the active supervision and management. He is senior member of the operating firm of Gilman & Ward, in which his coadjutor is George H. Gilman, who maintains his residence in the City of St. Paul, Minnesota, where he is a master car-builder in the service of the Northern Pacific Railroad Company. In 1896 Mr. Ward became one of the interested principals in control of the McArthur Mills, by purchasing the interest of William D. Gold, and since that time he has had the entire charge f the mills, the while he has gained accurate knowledge of all details of operation and has had thirty years' experience in the milling business in the Buckeye State. The fine mills are comprised in a substantial brick structure that is 45 by 73 feet in lateral dimensions and that is three stories in height, besides having a basement that is likewise fully utilized. Operative power is supplied by natural gas engines, and it is specially pleasing to note that the gas utilized is obtained from the Ohio Fuel Supply Company. The grain supply sources are f the best, and the products find a ready market. The mechanical equipment and other facilities of the McArthur Mills are of the most approved modern type, there being a full complement of four sets of double rolls and also a modern machine for the grinding of corn into corn meal. Storage facilities are such that Mr. Ward is able to keep on hand at all times an adequate supply of grain, and his progressive policies and careful management have made the enterprise remark-ably successful as a valuable contribution to the industrial prestige- of Vinton County and its judicial center. William Judson Ward was born at McArthur, his present place of residence, and the date of his nativity was November 8, 1854, his early educational advantages having been those afforded in the public schools of the fine little city in which he is now a representative business man. He is a son of Benjamin and Samantha (Pilcher) Ward, both of whom were born in Vinton County, Ohio, the old homestead of her parents, who were sterling pioneers of the county, having been that which now constitutes the county infirmary farm. The marriage of the parents of Mr. Ward was solemnized in Vinton County, and though for ten years they resided in Knox County, Illinois, the major part of their lives was passed in Vinton County, where the father died in 1857, at which time he was in the prime of life. His wife long survived him and passed to the life eternal on the eighty-second anniversary of her birth, she having been a devoted member of the Christian Church for many years prior to her death. Of the children the first born were twins, Robert and James, the former having died in the West and little being known by his kinsfolk concerning his life in later years. James was a resident of Cincinnati HANGING ROCK IRON REGION - 1209 at the time of his death and was survived by his wife and a number of children. Columbus P. was nearly seventy-eight years of age at the time of his death, in 1915, and is survived by one child, Amanda, who has sons and daughters, is a resident of McArthur and is the widow of Captain Alexander Pearce who was a valiant soldier and officer in the Eighteenth Ohio Regiment during the Civil war. The subject of this sketch was the youngest f the children and was about three years of age at the time of his father's death. In politics Mr. Ward maintains an independent attitude and gives his support to the men and measures meeting the approval of his judgment, without being constrained by partisan dictates. Though he is essentially a business man and has had no ambition for political office, he is liberal an-d progressive as a citizen and he consented to serve one term' in the office f township clerk. He is affiliated with the local lodge and chapter of the Masonic fraternity and is past master of the former, both he and his wife being active and valued members of the Christian Church of McArthur. In his native city was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Ward to Miss Eliza T. Gilman, June 29, 1879, who was born at this place in 1857 and who is a daughter of Oscar W. and Mary (Lantz) Gilman. Her father was for many years one of the best known and most honored and influential citizens of McArthur, where he continued to reside until his death, somewhat more than a decade ago, his wife surviving him by several years, Oscar W. Gilman was born at Messena, New York, September 7, 1830 and as a young man he learned the trade of millwright in Buffalo Mid built his first grist mill at Erie, Pennsylvania, after which he made three trips to California in the interest of milling parties. He came to Vinton County, Ohio, to superintend the building and equipping of the original flour mill at McArthur, the capital of which was furnished by Brown & Hewitt. This mill burned to the ground in May, 1896, and the present substantial brick mill was erected under his supervision in 1896. He eventually became one f the owners of the mill property. He continued to be actively identified with the operation of the mill until virtually the time of his death, and after he assumed control he had various partners, of whom the last was his son-in-law, Mr. Ward, the present manager of the business, his son being now the other interested principal ill the firm of Gilman & Ward, as has been previously noted in this article. Of the children of Mr. and Mrs. Ward the eldest was Charles Oscar, died in the prime of his young manhood. Miss Edna May Ward stil1 remains at the parental home and is a popular factor in the social life of the community, she having been for a number of years employed 1210 - HANGING ROCK IRON REGION in a clerical capacity in local mercantile establishments. CHARLES W. GOLDEN. Representing a pioneer family in the Hanging Rock Iron Region of Ohio, Charles W. Golden has been identified with Lawrence County practically all his life, was for several years mayor f the City of Ironton and has a substantial business record as a mer-chant. Throughout his career he has manifested a high degree of public spirit toward all enterprises and movements for the improvement of his home city. Charles W. Golden was born in Upper Township, Lawrence County, Ohio, October 1, 1870. His grandfather Marshall Golden was one of the very earliest settlers of Lawrence County. The father, whose name was Thomas Golden, was born in Upper Township in Lawrence County in 1835, and had a long and active career, his business being that of farmer, and in public affairs he was deputy probate judge of the county and for over twenty years a justice of the peace. Judge Golden married Mary Richardson, born at Ironton in 1838. Their five children were Lena E., Anna L., Ada P., Charles W. and Thomas N. The early life of Charles W. Golden was spent on a farm, the country schools supplied his education up to eighteen, and then after two years of active work on the old homestead he went to work as helper in the Lamberts Foundry for a year and a half. The following six months were spent in the machine shops at Palestine, Texas, and on returning to Ohio he successfully followed the dairy business in Upper Township of Law-rence County for nine years. In 1904 Mr. Golden established a grocery business at Ironton, and now has one f the largest and best patronized establishments in the retail district. On November 6, 1896, at Ironton Mr. Golden married Ida M. Abel, daughter of Jesse Abel, who was a nailer in the nail mills at Ironton. Mr. and Mrs. Golden are the parents of three children: Harold W., Ralph J., and Mary E. The fraternal affiliations of Mr. Golden connect him with a number of orders, including the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias, the Knights of the Golden Eagle, the Improved Order of Red Men and the Junior Order of United American Mechanics. His religious home is the First Baptist Church. Mr. Golden is a director in the Iron City Building & Loan Association. It was as a democrat in politics that he served in the city council and as mayor of the city from 1908 to 1912, but his public spirit has been entirely unpartisan, and his record as mayor was one that should make his name long remembered in Ironton. Under his leadership, among other important improvements, he secured a water filter plant for the city, having fought HANGING ROCK IRON REGION - 1211 for that improvement for fully seven years. Mr. Golden owns a comfortable residence of his own, and some business property in the city and a small acreage in Upper Township. He is a member of Lymes Creek Fishing Club and for a time belonged to Company I of the Seventh Ohio National Guard. HOMER P. DUNKLE. After a man has spent thirty years in one occupation he deserves success in accordance with his ability. Homer P. Dunkle has been a general farmer in Vinton County for about that length f time, and the evidence of his ability is strongly featured in his fine and productive farm in Swan Township in the Siverly Creek District. He owns 120 acres in sections 18 and 19 on the road between Stella and Creola. He has owned that place for the last six years and it makes a delightful home for himself and family and also represents a good business proposition. Perhaps the chief feature of the farm is a gas well which has produced as high as 2,000,000 feet of gas a day. Representing an old family of Vinton County, Homer P. Dunkle was bowl in Swan Township January 18, 1865. He was reared and educated here and ever since leaving school in early youth has identified himself with the vocation and occupation of a general farmer. His parents were Benson and Mary (Foreman) Dunkle, both of whom were born in Vinton County and after their marriage started out housekeeping. in Swan Township. The father died on his farm in the spring of 1912 at the age of eighty-one, and his widow is still living, aged seventy-five. She is an active member of the Christian Church, and Benson Dunkle was a republican. The paternal grandfather was John Dunkle, a native of Pennsylvania wilco came. into Vinton County in the early days. His second wife was a Miss Hill, and he had children by both marriages. He lived to be quite an old man, and in the early days he voted the whig ticket. The maternal grandparents of Homer P. Dunkle were David and Elizabeth (Torrence) Foreman, both of whom were born in Guernsey County, Ohio, where they married but subsequently moved to Vinton County and Swan Township. David Foreman died when about sixty years of age. He was a man of considerable prominence in Vinton County and twice served as county treasurer, and was a very active democrat. His widow married after his death John Fee, and they spent their declining years in Elk Township where they died when quite old. Mrs. Foreman, or Mrs. Fee, as she was after her second marriage, was a great Bible student. In later years she went blind, but could quote from memory almost any chapter in the Scriptures. Both Benson Dunkle and his wife were of large families of children, 1212 - HANGING ROCK IRON REGION and they themselves became the parents of eleven, as follows : Pearl, who is superintendent of the County Infirmary of Vinton County and has a son named Harry O., now married ; Homer P.; John, who lives in Creola and is married and has one son and four daughters ; Nancy is the wife of B. O. Newton of Jackson Township in Vinton County and has five daughters ; David lives in Athens County and has one son and two daughters; Joseph lives in Lancaster, Ohio, and has two sons and one daughter; Estella is the wife of James George of Swan Township and has four sons and one daughter living; Cynthia is the wife of Elza King of McAr-thur, a contractor, and has three sons ; Lena is the wife of Charles Crow of Carrol, Fairfield County ; Harley is married and is a machine foreman living in Cleveland, Ohio, and has a son and daughter ; George resides at Locust Grove in Vinton County and has one son and two daughters. Homer P. Dunkle was married on the farm where he now resides to Miss Nancy E. Albin. She was born on the farm where Mr. and Mrs. Dunkle now reside June 23, 1863, grew up in that locality and for her education attended school in the Siverly District. Practically all her years have been spent in this one community and she has been a sustaining influence both in home, church and social affairs. er parents were Sam-uel and Rebecca (Reed) Albin. Her father was born in Guernsey County-, Ohio, August 8, 1830, and her mother in Perry County, Ohio, October 11, 1833. Samuel Albin came to Swan Township in Vinton County with his parents and his wife came in 1852 with her widowed mother. After the marriage of Samuel Albin and wife they located on the farm now owned by Mr. Dunkle, and Samuel Albin is still living there, tenderly cared for y his daughter Mrs. Dunkle. Though eighty-five years of age he is still smart and active, and enjoys life's pleasures and duties as much as many men years his junior. In the fall of 1915 he husked one hundred' shocks of corn. He still reads without the aid of glasses. In politics he is a democrat, and he and his wife have both been active in the Methodist Church. Mrs, Albin died September 4, 1910, the mother of four children : Thomas, who lives near Stella in Vinton County; Ezra B., whose "home is in Columbus and he has been twice married, having a son Carl by the first marriage ; the third in age is Mrs. Dunkle ; Cora A. is the wife of Columbus Dunkle of Logan, Ohio, and they have a daughter named Gladys. Mr. and Mrs. Dunkle have three children. Otis A., born April 4, 1893, was graduated from the McArthur High School in 1913, completed a course in a business college at Lancaster, Ohio, and is now a successful teacher. Thomas L., born April 18, 1896, completed his education in the grade schools and in the McArthur High School with the class of 1915. and has already taken up teaching. Arthur A., born May 20, 1898, is HANGING ROCK IRON REGION - 1213 still a student and lives at home with his parents. Mrs. Dunkle and her two sons are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church at Locust Grove. Mr. Dunkle is a republican, and his sons have taken up the same political affiliations. JOSEPH E. OWREY. One of the important interests of any thriving community is that which has to do with its plumbing and steam fitting work, and a worthy representative of this line of business at Ironton is found in the person of Joseph E. Owrey, who for nearly thirty years has been known to the citizens of this locality as a thorough-going, progressive and reliable plumber. Mr. Owrey, whose place of business is at No. 133 Adams Street, has established a reputation for good workman-ship and fidelity to engagements, and has built up a good business alone and unaided. He was born at Wheeling, West Virginia, November 25, 1862, and is a son of Adam and Clara (Gibson) Owrey. Adam Owrey was born at Newcastle, Pennsylvania, in 1831, there grew to manhood and became connected with the iron industry, and in 1863 came to Ironton and was made manager of the Belfont Iron Works, which important position he held for a period of more than forty-five years. He lived retired from active life for many years, having accumulated a handsome competence, and died March 29, 1915, in Ironton. Mrs. Owrey, who was born at Alleghany, Pennsylvania, died in 1881, and Mr. Owrey was married a second time to Miss Jennie Gibbons, who died in 1897. Mr. Owrey's third marriage was to Miss Katie Chatfield, who still survives. There were no children by the second or third unions, but by his first wife Mr. Owrey became the father of five children, namely : William, Ida, Charles, Joseph E. and Leah. Joseph E. Owrey attended the public and high schools of Ironton, to which city he had been brought as an infant by his parents, and at the age of eighteen years completed his studies and began to learn the trade of plumber. After completing his apprenticeship he began to work as a journeyman and was thus employed until 1885, in which year he began business on his own account. He has built p a business estimated to be worth as much as $40,000 a year, and his work is to be found all over Ironton and into the surrounding county, in such buildings as the Cen-tral School Building, the Campbell School Building, the Spencer Church, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows Hall at Ironton, the Cattlesburg school, and numerous of the leading residences in and outside of the city. Mr. Owrey accredits his success to his honest methods and his fair treatment of customers, which he deems his main assets in business. He carries a complete stock of fixtures and appurtenances for high-class work, and is thoroughly conversant with the most up-to-date methods. 1214 - HANGING ROCK IRON REGION In 1886 Mr. Owrey was married to Miss Ida Bartley, who died in 1896, having been the mother of four children: Ethel, who is now Mrs. Townsend of Anderson, Indiana ; Jennie, who is single and lives in Cali-fornia ; Adam, who is deceased; and Cyrus, residing at home. Mr. Owrey was married the second time to Miss Estella Bailey of Ironton, December 16, 1897, and they have five children : Norma, Leola, Ralph and Ernest and Ernestine, twins. Mr. and Mrs. Owrey and their children reside in their own pleasant home at Ironton and are members of the First Methodist Episcopal Church. He is a republican in his views, but has not been a seeker after political office, preferring to give his time and atten-tion to his business. However, he takes an interest in the welfare of his city and is an active member of the Chamber of Commerce. A lover of out-of-door sports, when he can get away for vacations he takes hunting and fishing trips, and is a frequent attendant at ball games, being an enthusiast in regard to the national game. GEORGE R. WRIGHTSEL. Now living in comfort. and plenty at his rural home in Elk Township of Vinton County, George R. Wrightsel is one of the old and honored citizens of this section. His is a career with many interests. He has accomplished much in a lifetime f nearly seventy years, and his achievements are the more creditable for the fact that his early boyhood was spent largely among strangers and He has had to work out his own destiny. He was born in Pickaway County, at what was known as Pickaway :Plains about four miles southeast of Circleville, on June 24, 1846. was next to the youngest of eight children whose parents were Henry and Polly (Reager) Wetzel. How the name became changed will be told a little later. Henry Wrightsel, the father, died February 10, 1848, when the son George was eighteen months old and when the youngest of the family, William H., was only five months old. Before he died the father called around him his children and prayed God's blessing to rest upon them. He told his wife that there was flour enough to last perhaps until April, after which the family would be in the world without shelter or. food. At that time the country was new, and there were no relatives to aid this fatherless household. The mother soon saw that it would be impossible to keep her children together, and she found homes for the three oldest, Jacob being taken by William Dresbach, or, as his name was also spelled, Thricepaw, and he married Margaret Curts ; the daughter Mary went to live with a family by the name of Hilters until she grew to womanhood. About fifty years ago she went West with a family by the name of Curts, and for over forty-five years there was no connection by letter or any other communication between her and other HANGING ROCK IRON REGION - 1215 members of the family. About a year ago Mr. Wrightsel received a letter from one of her daughters, who had only recently learned that she had any relatives living. This daughter informed Mr. Wrightsel that his sister Mary married a man by the name of Taylor, and died after becoming the mother of twin daughters. These twin daughters were cared for and reared by their father, and the one who wrote to Mr. Wrightsel married a man y the name of Dr. Celie, a physician and a man of considerable prominence and by this marriage there were two daughters, now young women. Another son, John, lived with a German family and died when about eighteen years of age, having been trained to speak the German as his own tongue. The two daughters, Hannah and Catherine, both died in infancy. The daughter, Margaret, after com-ing to Vinton County with her mother went back to Pickaway County where she married William C. Crites. She is now living at Circleville, Ohio, past eighty years of age and a widow. The youngest son, William Henry, is a carpenter at Zaleski in Vinton County, and by two marriages has a family of seventeen children. It was due to the fact that the children were scattered and grew up in different homes and localities that the original family name was so mach confounded and received so many different spellings. Some of the children took the form Ritzel, others retained the original spelling of Wetzel, while the subject of this sketch adopted the form Wrightsel. One of the greatest names in the annals of American pioneer life was that of Lewis Wetzel, a brother to Jacob Wetzel, the latter being Mr. Wrightsel's grandfather. Lewis Wetzel was a Virginian, early became identified with the country west of the Alleghanies, particularly in Western Virginia and the Ohio Valley and was a pioneer, a leader among early settlers, a noted Indian fighter, and a remarkable character concerning whom many pages of story and history have been written. He was particularly identified with what is now the State of West Virginia, and one of:the principal counties in that state is named Wetzel. The tradition is that Lewis Wetzel's father, John Wetzel, was killed by the Indians while he was exploring the country along the Mississippi River, and for that deed it is said that Lewis Wetzel swore vengeance and thereafter sought to kill every Indian he could as long as he lived. Jacob Wetzel, grandfather of George R. Wrightsel, was born in Virginia and was a pioneer settler in Pickaway County, Ohio. He established a home near Tarleton, and there reared a family of some half dozen sons and daughters. Somewhat later, while some of his children were still young, he went back to Virginia on a visit, and he was never heard of afterwards. The country all wild, and it was difficult to communicate from one settlement to the other and consequently nothing has ever been learned as to his fate. 1216 - HANGING ROCK IRON REGION George R. Wrightsel grew up largely among strangers partly in Pick-away and partly in Vinton counties. He received only a, common school education. For a time he lived with a Mr. William Sniff in Hocking County, and while there at the age of seventeen in 1863 he enlisted in Company G 151st Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He went out as a private and did valiant service as a soldier f the Union for more than a year, until October, 1864. He was in several skirmishes and battles, and his commander was the noted General Sigel. Prior to his enlistment he had also been a volunteer militiaman in organizing to repel the invasion of General John Morgan from the state. When only sixteen years of age he volunteered to carry an important telegram from Star postoffice to Zaleski, the object of this dispatch being to warn all the residents of the locality and secure sufficient volunteers to head off and capture the Con-federate marauder. After the war Mr. Wrightsel attended school for a time in Lebanon, Ohio, and also a select school at New Plymouth. By hard work and much self-denial he acquired the equivalent of a liberal education, and for a time was a teacher. For several years he engaged in farming in Pick-away County, and subsequently removed to Vinton County, where his active career has been spent as a farmer. Soon after coming to Vinton County Mr. Wrightsel met and married Miss Mark E. MaGee. She was born in. Brown Township f Vinton County February 15, 1853, a daughter of Samuel MaGee, .who was born in County Down, Ireland, in 1815, and when six years of age came to the -United States with his, parents, who located in Ohio as pioneer set-tlers, and spent the rest of their days in this state. Samuel McGee married Celia Trout, who was born in Ohio of German ancestry. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. MaGee spent their careers on a farm in Vinton County, and both died there, the former at the age of eighty-four and the latter at sixty-five. They were members of the Presyterian Church and in politics he was a democrat. After his marriage Mr. Wrightsel started out as a farmer in Elk Township, and for nearly fifty years he has lived there a contented and prosperous agriculturist and a public spirited citizen. Later he settled on the old home of Samuel MaGee, and for a number of years he has owned that place. His home farm consists of 150 acres, and nearby he owns two other tracts, one of ninety-six acres and the other of forty acres. On one of these tracts he operates coal mines. He also owns over two hundred acres on Raccoon Creek in Brown Township, and in that locality his sons own about 300 acres. Thus in spite of the obvious disadvantages with which he began life he has accumulated more than an average share of prosperity ,and he has done all this on a basis of strictly honorable deal- HANGING ROCK IRON REGION - 1217 ing and a steadfast integrity. His success has been as a general farmer and stock raiser. His homestead is located on the main Pike road one mile north of McArthur. To Mr. and Mrs. Wrightsel were born a family of ten children. Mar-garet A., born March 21, 1869, first married. a Mr. Hawk, by whom she was the mother of two sons and one daughter ; her second husband was Hiram Tilley, who died soon after their marriage ; and she is now the. wife of Doctor Lindley and lives in Hamilton, Missouri. Carrie F., born March 3, 1870, was killed y a train at Newark, Ohio, September 24, 1911 ; her first husband was Henry Dowd, who died leaving one child, May ; and her second husband was Clarence Spicer. Nora, born December 7, 1871, is the wife of Walter Swain of McArthur, and their children are Bud, Lelia, Mary, Thomas and Joseph. Samuel W., born January 26, 1873, is contractor who makes a specialty of the construction of pike roads and lives in Logan, Ohio ; he married Alice Darby, and they have two chil-dren named Earl and. Ada. Helena M., born March 30, 1875, is the wife of :Harvey Stevens, a farmer in Elk Township, and their children are Carrie, Ruth, Harmon and Mary. Celia I., born September 19, 1877, died December 23, 1893. Bertha E., born May 31, 1881, is the wife of Thomas Dunkle, a railroad man living at Chillicothe, Ohio ; their children are Robert and Margaret Elizabeth. George F., born March 21, 1884, is now living on a part f the. old homestead farm ; by his marriage to Florence Lantz, he has children named Gladys, Lantz, Paul, Martha and Geraldine. Goldie P., born October 11, 1885, is the wife of Ernest Sprague. Mary E., born July 10, 1889, is still unmarried and at home. Besides the large family of their own children Mr. and Mrs. Wrightsel have also been foster parents to two children : Sarah E. Forest, who was born July 28, 1903, and is now in the fifth grade of the public schools; aria George L. Davis, who was born September 17, 1902, and is now in the fourth grade f the public schools. Mr. and Mrs. Wrightsel have been regular attendants and members of the Methodist Episcopal Church since 1868. His own parents were active in the United Brethren faith. In national polities he is a demo-crat end his sons have accepted the same political faith. JACOB F. SCHERER. A successful business man of Ironton, whose activities have been devoted to contracting in teaming, and dealing and operating in coal, is Jacob F. Scherer. From modest beginnings he has steadily advanced to a position of importance in his community, and as a lifelong resident f the city has taken a keen and helpful interest in its affairs, whether of a business or civic nature. Mr. Scherer was born at Ironton, September 15, 1865, and is a son of Michael and Constance 1218 - HANGING ROCK IRON REGION (Deitrict) Scherer. His father, .born on Tiger Creek, Kentucky, in 1836, followed the trade of tinner throughout a long and industrious career, and died in 1892, while Mrs. Scherer was born. at Chillicothe, Ohio, in 1849, and passed away in 1913. They were the parents of seven children: William M., Ellen., Jacob F., Pauline, Henry J., I3enjamin. F. and Car-oline M. The early education of Jacob F. Scherer was secured in St. Joseph Parochial School, and at the age of twelve years he laid aside his books to learn the firmer's trade. At the time of his father's death, he and his mother and two brothers took over. the management of the business, with which Jacob F. was connected until 1905, and in that year became identified with teaming as a contractor, in which line he has built up an excellent tra.de. He first became interested in the coal mining business about 1899, and in addition to being one of the leading dealers of Ironton is well known as a developer of coal lands, and owns forty-two acres of coal land in Upper Township, in addition to which he leases other prop-erty in the same vicinity. He also has 1.06 acres. of improved farming land in Green Township, Scioto County, Ohio, and owns his residence at No. 638 South Sixth Street, and one-half interest in the business property at 40 Scott Avenue. in 1910 Mr. Scherer formed a partnership with Harry Mountain, but the business is still conducted under the name of J. F. Scherer. Mr. Scherer is a stockholder and director in the Miller Ice Crean). Company, and a working member of the Chamber of Commerce. Primarily a business man, his large interests. demand his almost exclusive attention, but he has not been indifferent to the needs of his city, and has always been ready to perform the duties of citizenship. He is a republican in his political views; and for four years served as central committeeman, although he has. not been an office seeker. Mr. Scherer is a member of St. Joseph Catholic Church and of St. George's Society. On March 15, 1883, Mr, Scherer was married to Miss Bridget A. Joyce, of Ironton, daughter. of Thomas and Mary (McGinnis) Joyce. Eight children have been born to this union: Thomas M., who is deceased; Bertha M., who married Mathew Anderson, a pipe foreman for the United Gas and Fuel Company, of Huntington, West Virginia; Benjamin F.; William J., a firmer of Ironton, married Grace Justice : Pauline; Welby and Maid, twins, the latter of whom is deceased; and Albert C. REV. PATRICK HENRY. Distinguished by a long life and by years of devoted service in. the cause of the church, Rev. Patrick Henry is one of the oldest natives of the Hanging Rock Iron Region, and represents a family which has been identified with this section f Ohio more than a century. He became a minister of the Methodist Church more than forty HANGING ROCK IRON REGION - 1219 years ago, and has shown the qualities of the true leader and teacher. His success cannot be adequately measured by any figures, but it may be noted that during his active work he received an aggregate of several thousand people into the church. Mr. Henry is now retired from his pastoral duties and has the satisfaction of a long and useful retrospect and a serene confidence in the future. Throughout his career he has been a man of strong convictions, has stood resolutely by the articles of his belief, and before the war was opposed to slavery and subsequently has been equally ardent in his hostility to the rum traffic. Much of his work was done in the iron regions and at the various furnaces, and he has known personally many of the builders and operators of most of the furnaces in the Hanging Rock Iron Region. Rev. Patrick enry was born in Lawrence County, Ohio, September 7, 1836. He has an interesting and historic ancestry. His great-grandfather, John Henry, came from Ireland to America before the Revolutionary war, and during that struggle for independence enlisted three times in the colonial army. He was at the first great battle of Bunker Hill and in many other engagements. After the war he settled in Teays Valley, Virginia, about 1808. He was married in Ireland. A son of John Henry, the emigrant, was James Henry, grandfather of Rev. Patrick Henry and a cousin to Patrick Henry-, the famous Virginia statesman. James Henry married Elizabeth bee, a daughter of the Rev. John Lee, and a cousin to Gen. Robert E. Lee, the great leader of the Confederacy. Their marriage was celebrated September 28, 1809. Not long afterwards they moved out to Southern Ohio, and in Lawrence County their son, Brice Henry, father of Rev. Patrick Henry, was born March 9, 1815. Brice Henry was a farmer, sawmill owner and lumber dealer. He was a man of good business ability and useful as a citizen, though he had only a common school education. e was a member of the Baptist Church and in politics a whig and later a republican. Brice Henry married Jane Sloane, who was born in Virginia July 11, 1810, a daughter of John and Sarah Sloane. John Sloane was born in Virginia October 31, 1778, and his wife, Sarah Henry Sloane, was born in the same state September 13, 1780. The Sloane family came to Gallia County-, Ohio, in 1811. Rev. Patrick Henry grew up in Lawrence County, had a common school education, and has followed three distinct lines of work during his lifetime, first as a farmer, second as a contractor, and lastly, until his retirement, as a minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Reverend Henry joined the church in November, 1858, and on June 18, 1870, was licensed to exhort, was licensed as a local preacher June 7, 1873, and ordained a deacon September 30, 1877. He was ordained an elder Sep- Vol. II-37 1220 - HANGING ROCK IRON REGION tember 25, 1881, and in 1889 joined the Ohio Conference as an active minister. At one time he was pastor of the Methodist Church at Hanging Rock, and at different times in his active career was pastor of churches at six of the iron furnaces of the Hanging Rock Iron Region, namely : Pine Grove, Laurence, Etna, Vesuvius, Hecla and Franklin. Reverend Henry has been a lifelong republican, but never active in practical politics or a seeker for political honors. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity. On November 5, 1857, he married Mahala Virginia Henry, a daughter of Isaiah and Adah Langdon Henry, who died August 13, 1898. After he became too feeble for active service in the ministry he lived in retirement at Ironton, Ohio, until February 12; 1915, when he was called y his Master to his reward in eaven. The beautiful floral offerings and the large concourse of friends attending his funeral service attested the warm esteem in which he was held in all this Hanging Rock Iron Region. His body now lies buried beside his wife in beautiful " Woodland" at Ironton, Ohio. DANIEL P. CURRY. Fully eighty-five years have passed since the Curry family made their first venture into the wilderness of what is now Vinton County, Ohio. Daniel P. Curry has himself lived a life in keeping with the traditions and honorable activities of his ancestors. While he has reached the psalmist's age of three score and ten, he is still considered among the progressiVe and active farmers of Jackson Township, and now lives in the house and on the farm where he was born August 31, 1846. His ancestors were Virginia people. His great-grandfather was one of five brothers who emigrated from the North of Ireland and settled in America during the colonial period, the brothers taking up homes in different sections of colonies. The great-grandfather established his home in what is now Greenbrier County, West Virginia, six miles from Louisburg at or near Fort Springs. There he procured possession of some wild land, developed it, and a part of this property is still owned by a descendant, Samuel Curry, a cousin of Daniel P. Curry. There is an old family graveyard on the old homestead in that part f the pres-ent State of West Virginia, and many of the earlier members of the family sleep the last sleep there. Grandfather Oliver Curry 'spent all his life in Virginia, and died before the Civil war. His widow lived to be nearly a hundred years of age; and both are now buried in the old. family plot already mentioned. They were born while the Revolutionary war was in progress, and the great-grandfather Curry participated in that war as a soldier. As a family the Currys have been identified with the Methodist Church, and in politics the men have been republicans. Oliver Curry and wife had a large family of children. HANGING ROCK IRON REGION - 1221 One of these was Andrew Curry, father of Daniel P. e was born October 7, 1807, and he and his brothers and sisters grew up in their native county of Western Virginia, and most of them married and had families of their own. The names of these children who grew up were Andrew, Thomas, Oliver, Jr., Samuel, Mary, Nancy, Rachel and Virginia. Three of them came to Vinton County, Ohio, and spent their last days there. The pioneers of the family in Vinton County were Andrew and Thomas Curry. They were still young and unmarried when in 1829 they penetrated the wilderness and secured land in Jackson Township. This land their father Oliver had secured from the Government some time previously while Andrew Jackson was President of, the United States. In this dense fOrest as it was then these young men set to work with hearty good will, and with axes felled the giants of the forest and cleared off a sp. or the cultivation of their limited crops. All around them was space for the great natural game preserve, and their table was supplied with venison, the meat of wild turkeys and other forest animals. They lived in a typical log cabin, and each of the brothers eventually developed a good farm. They both married in Vinton County. Thomas married Christina Hawk, and he spent the rest of his days on his farm, where he died when about forty-five years of age, survived by his widow. Andrew Curry married Amy Horton, who was of a pioneer family of what is now Vinton County. She was born about 1808 and died about 1847: She was the mother of eight children, namely : Nathan ; Henry ; Homer ; John M., who is married and living in Missouri ; Thomas, Adaline, who is now Mrs. Bothwell f McArthur, and is eighty-two years of age ; Eliza ; Sarah. After the death of his first wife Andrew Curry was married in Jackson Township to Amy McDougal, a cousin of his first wife. She was born in Vinton County in March, 1817, and was reared and educated there and died at the old homestead, where her son Daniel now lives, in December, 1909. She was then ninety-two years of age, and she was a remarkable woman in many ways, particularly in her physical vigor, and an illness of 'only about twenty minutes preceded her final dissolution. She and her-husband were both devout Methodists, and her daily walk and actions were in keeping with her high religious faith. Her father was Richard McDougal, a pioneer in Southern Ohio, and both he and his wife died in the early '40s. They were among the pioneer Methodists, and their home was ale headquarters for the Rev. Daniel Poe, the noted missionary among the Wyandotte Indians. Mrs. Andrew Curry's grandfather was George McDougal, who was born in Ulster, Ireland, and came to America, in 1775. From 1776 to 1781 he served with Washington's army in 1222 - HANGING ROCK IRON REGION various campaigns and lived for a number of years after independence was won, and died at Lucasville, Ohio. His son Richard and two of the latter's brothers served in the War of 1812, and one of the brothers died in an English prison. By his second marriage Andrew Curry became the father of five. children : Mary E. married Leroy Lacy f Lancaster, Ohio, and she died in 1913 leaving children ; the next is Daniel P. ; Samuel, spent all his life in Jackson Township, and married Mary E. Galino of Ross County, and left three daughters ; Julia died in Missouri when in middle life, unmarried; Harriet L. died in girlhood. It was on the old homestead farm in Jackson Township that Daniel P. Curry spent the years of his early youth and manhood. He secured a substantial education and was still only a boy when He gave his serVices to the Union during the Civil war: For some years after the war Mr. Curry taught school. In 1877 he went west to Missouri, and became a traveling representative for a carriage company of Columbus, Ohio. making his headquarters at Kansas City. He lived for twenty years that section of the country, and sold goods over several states. Then being in ill health he came to Ohio to join his aged mother, and has since occupied his time with the management of the farm and his other interests in Jackson Township. He is a first class farmer, and gives much of his attention to the raising of stock, particularly cattle and sheep. He owns seventy-five acres of his own and has a half interest in the hundred-acre homestead where he was born. Mr. Curry has never married. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and for many years after 1890 was active in the subordinate lodge at Hamilton, Missouri, filling. the various chairs in the lodge and representing. it in the Grand Lodge for two years in 1897-98 at St. Louis. e is an ardent republican, and was elected by his party to the office of infirmary director. Mr. Curry served through two enlistments in the Civil war. His brother Nathan was a member of the Ninetieth Ohio Volunteer Infantry and died of illness in 1863, and was buried at Louisville, Kentucky. Another brother, John M., was a member of the Eighteenth Ohio Volunteers and later of the 114th Regiment, and died January 11, 1916, at Ravenwood Missouri. Another brother, Thomas, was in the Twelfth Ohio Cavalry for three years, fought in many battles, was never wounded or captured, but died about a year after the war ended. Mr. Curry is now an active member of Sergeant Reed Post, Grand Army of the Republic at McArthur. FRANKLIN C. BROWNSTEAD. One of the most important industries in the Hanging Rock Iron Region is the Ironton Portland Cement Company. HANGING ROCK IRON REGION - 1223 It is not only an industry of which Ironton is proud but is ,also one of great importance to the city in that it employs many men and gives the impetus to commercial prosperity which any large industrial concern always does. The general superintendent of this plant is Franklin C. Brownstead, who in the field of mechanics, general and electrical engineering, and almost every phase of machinery and industrial plant building, equipment and management, is regarded as an expert, and especial interest attaches to his career from the fact that he was born in one of the old iron centers of the Hanging Rock Region and has been identified with various mechanical and industrial plants practically all his career. Franklin C. Brownstead was born in Lawrence County, Ohio, August 11, 1873. His father, Ernest Brownstead, born in Hanover, Germany, in 1821, came to America at the age f eleven, followed a career as an engineer and foundryman, and died in 1898. His wife was Catherine Mook, who was born in Germany in 1833 and died in 1880. Franklin C. Brownstead spent two years of his early life at the Mount Savage Furnace in Kentucky, where his father was one of the operators. The family then returned to Ironton, where Mr. Brownstead attended the public schools until thirteen, and then began a practical vocational train-ing as helper to his father in the engine room. He was employed as fireman and in other capacities until about 1892, and then entered the employ of the LaClede Electric Company at St. Louis, in their construction and electric engineering department. After a year Mr. Brownstead returned to Ironton, was for four years engineer with the Ironton Fire Brick Company, then chief engineer, foreman of car barns, and electrician at Ironton for the Ohio Valley Electric Railway Company for three years, and in 1901 became engineer and electrician with the Iron-ton Portland Cement Company. His connection with the industry has not been continuous since that time, since in 1907 the Penn Portland Cement Company at Bath, Pennsylvania, secured his services as general :foreman, and after three months promoted him to superintendent of the plant. an office he held for two years. Since 1909 Mr. Brownstead has been superintendent of the Ironton Portland Cement Company, and it is due to his genius in mechanics and as an industrial manager that the chief success of the business on its manufacturing side is due. On March 5, 1895, Mr. Brownstead married Nora M. Hart, daughter :of enry Harrison and Georgiana Hart of Ironton. Her father was a police officer and also engaged in the grocery business. To their marriage have been born the following children: Edna Irene, Charlotte Louise, Ernest F. and Icele Nora. The family are members of the Congregational Church, and Mr. Brownstead is a republican in politics. He owns his residence at Ironton, and is also a, stockholder in the Ironton 1224 - HANGING ROCK IRON REGION Portland Cement Company. Mr. Brownstead was a member of the Seventh Regiment Band from 1896 until the beginning of the Spanish-American war, when he resigned owing to the bar upon active service of mar-ried men. Mr. Brownstead is a member of .the Chamber f Commerce, and finds his chief pleasure in outdoor life, an occasional hunting or fishing trip, and in riding about the country with his family in automobile. LEWIS KRUGER has made his mark in Vinton County as a substantial farmer. He started life with a liberal equipment of energy, industry, and honest intentions. He has fulfilled the various obligations imposed on him and has performed in turn the duties that lie in the path of an honest citizen and a provider for home and family. His homestead is three miles west of McArthur in Richland Township, situated on the Pike road. There he owns 225 acres of land, twenty-five acres being in native timber. All the rest is under the plow and in pas-ture land, and the farm under his management has returned large crops of grain and he raises some good stock. His family live in a comfortable home, and his farm buildings comprise a barn on a foundation 40x50 feet with several sheds and outbuildings. Mr. Kruger has owned this farm for the past eight years and has lived in Vinton County since 1875, since early childhood. He was born in Jackson County,. Ohio, September 5, 1871, and was about. four years of age when the family moved to Vinton County. His parents were John and Christina (Cramer) Kruger, both of whom were born in Germany. They cattle as children to the United States. The Cramer family located in Pennsylvania and Christina's parents spent the rest of their lives near Pittsburg. John Kruger's parents located in Virginia, where they spent the rest of their lives. John Kruger was married in :Virginia, and while living there three children were born: Josephine, Maggie and John, Jr. About 1875 the family set out for Ohio and during the six years spent in Jackson County three other children were born, Edward, George and Lewis. The youngest child of the parents was born after the family came to Jackson Township, in Vinton County All these children are still living, all of them married, and all have children except one. Four of them are living in Vinton County. John Kruger and wife both died in Jackson Township. the former at the age of fifty-six and the latter at sixty. She was a member of the United Brethren Church, and in politics he was a democrat. They were both good, honest and upright people, and during their years spent in Vinton County they improved a good farmstead. Lewis Kruger, after growing to manhood, married in Jackson Township Miss Amanda Husan. She was born in this township May 9, 1881,