1300 - HANGING ROCK IRON REGION in the public schools acquired his early education. In 1846, at the age of nineteen years, he enlisted as a soldier, and with his command proceeded to Mexico, where he served with courage until 1848, when he returned to Portsmouth, and embarked in the insurance business. Enlisting for service in the Union Army during the Civil war, in 1862, he was commissioned, on August 22, 1862, captain of Company F, First Ohio Heavy Artillery, and was with his regiment until December 19, 1864, when he was honorably discharged on account of disability. A man of intelligence and ability, he was influential in the management of local and county affairs. He was clerk of the Scioto County courts from 1873 until 1879 ; and served one term as representative to the State Legislature, and for two terms as state senator. He died at his home in Portsmouth, September' 3, 1897. Amos B. Cole married, in 1851, Martha E. Orme, who was born in Scioto County, a daughter of John Orme, and granddaughter of John Orme, Sr., and his wife, Elizabeth (Graham) Orme, pioneers of the county. John Orme married Phylura Hayward, who was born in Vermont, October 16, 1808, a daughter of Moses Hayward. Her grandfather, Capt. Caleb Hayward, was born and reared in Scotland, and having emigrated to America in colonial days settled in Connecticut. Moses Hayward was born in Lebanon, Connecticut, in 1766. In 1787 he migrated to Vermont, locating in Norwich, where, in 1793, he married Hannah Smith. In 1814 he removed with his family to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from there coming, in 1816, to Scioto County, Ohio. Settling in Union Township, he bought land, and in addition to carrying on general farming was engaged in the manufacture of buckskin gloves, He lived to the venerable age of ninety-four years, passing away October 2, 1866. Mr. and Mrs. Anderson have reared seven children, namely : Clifford, Bessie Louise, Martha Kate, Lottie L., Charles Levi, Mary E., and Hayward M. Bessie L. is the wife of Charles Lyman Frederick, and has two children, Lyman and Martha. Martha Kate married Alan N. Jordan, and they have two children, Mary Frances and Alan N., Jr. WILLIAM T. BONE. One of the responsible and substantial citizens of Jackson Township in Vinton County is William T. Bone, who is rounding out a career of well bestowed effort as a farmer citizen, and who has gained by his efforts and earlier self denial a comfortable home for himself, his wife and growing children. Practically all his life has been spent in Jackson Township, where he was born October 16, 1861. He received his education in the local schools, and having been trained from early youth as a farmer, he took HANGING ROCK IRON REGION - 1301 up that vocation on reaching manhood and has been steadily realizing some of his better ambitions and ideals. His father was William Bone, Jr., and his grandfather, William Bone, Sr. The latter was born in Pennsylvania of Pennsylvania parents but of German ancestry. The older stock spelled their name in the German form Bohn. Grandfather William Bone was married in Pennsylvania to an Irish girl, Miss Ida McGuire. From there they came to Ohio and were pioneers in Jackson Township of Vinton County. They settled in the woods, cleared out a space among the trees and built themselves a log cabin with a puncheon floor, mud and stick chimney, and greased paper to let in the light of day. In this humble home they made their start and gradually surrounded themselves with those comforts and facilities which kept pace with progress in this section of the state. They were hard working, thrifty, honest, and stood high in the esteem of their neighbors. Grandfather William Bone survived his first wife, and married a second time, and finally died at the age of sixty-five. By the first marriage there were a number of children, briefly noted as follows : Joseph, who died unmarried in the State of Missouri; Elizabeth, who is now eighty-seven years of age and lives in the State of Colorado, the widow of a Mr. Benning ; John, who is eighty-five years of age, went as a young man out to Australia during the gold excitement on that continent, and still lives there having never married ; William, Jr., mentioned below ; Henry, who was accidentally killed in a runaway, leaving a wife and children ; Julia Ann, widow of Aaron Starkey, lives with her family in Hocking County, Ohio, and is seventy-five years of age ; Samuel, who married a Miss Jordan, and at his death left a large family ; Lucinda, who first married Landy Mars, and is now the wife of John Vining, living in Ralls County, Missouri, she being seventy years of age. William Bone, Jr., was born in Jackson Township of Vinton County in August, 1832. He grew up to the career of a farmer and eventually succeeded to the ownership of a part of his father's estate. Still later he went to live on one of the farms belonging to his wife's father in Hocking County, and now at the age of eighty-three he is comfortably situated and has an attractive home in Benton Township of that county. In politics he is a republican, his father before him having been an active whig. William Bone, r., was a soldier during the last year of the Civil war, and served with Gen. "Pap" Thomas in the great Battle of Franklin, Tennessee. He was married in Hocking County to Rachel Burns, who was born in a log cabin in Benton Township and died about 1870 at the age of thirty-two. She was of Scotch and English stock, and her parents, both natives of the United States, spent most of their lives as pioneer settlers in Hocking County. William Bone, Jr., and 1302 - HANGING ROCK IRON REGION wife were the parents of the following children : Lydia Ann, who died at the age of three years ; William T. ; Ida Carney, wife of a farmer in Crawford County, Ohio, and the mother of a daughter named Maud; Florida, wife of Frank Conrad, who is an engineer living at Lancaster, Ohio, and their children are named Jennie, Hazel and Lula. After reaching manhood William T. Bone married Miss Dora J. Smith. She was born in Jackson Township of Vinton County, March 4, 1869. She died September 27, 1904, after they had lived together happily for a number of years. She was a devoted wife and mother and she left a large group of friends to mourn her loss. She was a sister of Henry C. Smith, a well known citizen of Vinton County and other details of the Smith family will be found on other pages. Three .children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Bone. Mabel F., born December 4, 1890, died in 1903. Fannie C., born December 28, 1892, received her education in the public schools and is now the wife of Austin Ringer, a miller at Bloomsville in Hocking County. Florence, who was born April 4, 1896, died April 10, 1905. After his marriage, Mr. Bone went with his wife to a farm of forty-five acres in Jackson Township and occupied that place for a number of years. In 1903 he came to his present farm of seventy-two acres, known as the J. B. Randall farm. It occupies a most picturesque site, standing on a high elevation, and affording a fine view over the rugged country surrounding. Mr. Bone's is one of the many families of Vinton County that use natural gas both for heating and lighting the home. He resides in a comfortable house which was built in 1858 and is still in a good state of repair. He is an active member of the Locust Grove Methodist Church, and his wife is also a member of the same society. LAFAYETTE TAYLOR. The monotony which frequently ensues from the continuous following of a single line of endeavor has never been a feature of the career of Lafayette Taylor. The fortunate possessor of versatile talents, he has. not alone achieved a success in diversified lines of business life, but has also been able to contribute materially to the advancement of his community's civic interests through his knowledge of men, methods and subjects of importance. At the present time he is a resident of Rarden, in the Hanging Rock Region of Ohio, and is justly accounted one of his town's most substantial men. Mr. Taylor is a Pennsylvanian by nativity, born December 25, 1855, a son of William and Mary E. (Kelley) Taylor, both natives of the Keystone State. Of their twelve children, six are living. Lafayette Taylor's early education was secured in the public schools of Pennsylvania, the schoolhouse being three miles from his home. During the short winter HANGING ROCK IRON REGION - 1303 terms he trudged daily to and fro this distance in the pursuit of a. mental training until he was sixteen years of age, in the meantime working on the home farm during the summer months. For three years he was employed in the timber region, and thus gradually established himself in the business, in which he engaged at Rarden in 1887. In 1884 he was married to Miss Almeida McNeal, of Pike County, Ohio, who was reared and educated there, and to them there has been born one child : Volney S., a graduate of the high school, who attended the State University of Columbus, Ohio, and graduated from the scientific department, married Virginia Wells, of Paintsville, Kentucky. After coming to Rarden, Mr. Taylor expanded his business interests, and gradually has entered other lines of endeavor, so that he has taken a foremost position among the men who have maintained Rarden's standing as a live, energetic business community. He is president of the Scioto County Good Roads Organization, president of the Scioto County Agricultural Society, president of the Otway Savings Bank, at Otway, and president of the McDermott Stone Company ; is extensively engaged in the mercantile business, with a trade attracted from all over the surrounding territory, is engaged in the lumber and timber business in partnership with his son, and is the owner of 1,000 acres of finely-developed farming land in Scioto County. While his business interest are very extensive and demand a great deal of his time and attention, he has also found the leisure and the inclination to take hold of big-projects not alone for his own betterment, but for the welfare of the community, and in the widest sense is a progressive and public-spirited citizen. Having himself succeeded, he has ever been ready to lend a. helping hand to others who are trying to succeed, for none knows better the difficulties and discouragements of the working-man than he. A pleasant man, easily approached, he has numerous friends in all classes, and has fairly won the confidence of the community through his signal services in behalf of the general welfare. Mr. Taylor is essentially a home-loving man, but is not indifferent to the pleasure of association with his fellows in fraternal life, and is one of the popular members of the Portsmouth Lodge of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. WILLARD LAMB is a prosperous and representative farmer of Scioto County, where he is also interested in a successful general merchandise store. He is a scion, in both the paternal and maternal lines of old and honored pioneer families of this section of Ohio, where the ancestors and both sides settled more than four score years ago, when Southern Ohio was little more than an untramelled wilderness. Mr. Lamb himself is 1304 - HANGING ROCK IRON REGION today one of the oldest native-born citizens residing in Scioto County, and the pioneer farm which was the place of his birth and also that of his honored father is now in his possession, his birth having occurred in the old homestead one mile east of his present place of abode, and the date of his nativity having been June 28, 1844. He is a son of Reuben and Lavina (Chaffin) Lamb, the former of whom passed his entire life in Scioto County, where he died in 1856, and the latter of whom was born in this county on the 20th of February, 1821, her marriage to Reuben Lamb having been solemnized on the 5th of May, 1842. She survived her husband by many years and of the seven children five are living. Mary J., who was born February 25, 1843, is the widow of Claudius Andre and resides at Yorktown, Indiana. Willard was the next in order of birth of the surviving children. Phineas, who was born November 28, 1845, died young. Vilena died in childhood. Persis, who was born November 28, 1849, is the widow of James Coil and resides in the City of Portsmouth, county seat of Scioto County. Horace T. is a resident of the State of Texas, and Ira M. is a representative farmer of Scioto County. Willard Lamb was reared under the conditions and influences of what may be termed the middle pioneer era in the history of Scioto County, and his early educational advantages were those afforded in the common schools. He continued to be associated with the work of the home farm until he was eighteen years old, when he laid aside the arts of peace to tender his aid in defense of the nation's integrity. He served during the last year of and until the close of the Civil war, as a member of Company D, Seventy-third Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He participated in the Battle, of Nashville and numerous minor engagements and proved himself a valiant young soldier of the Union, his continued interest in his former comrades in arms being shown by his active affiliation with the Grand Army of the Republic. After the close of the war Mr. Lamb returned to his native county and soon afterward he began independent operations as a farmer on the homestead which is his present place of residence and upon which he has made the best of improvements within the passing years, besides bringing the land up to a high state of cultivation and giving to it such effective management that on every hand are tangible evidence of thrift and prosperity. His farm comprises 108 acres and is eligibly situated two miles north of the village of Franklin Furnace. Mr. Lamb has given his co-operation in the furtherance of those measures and enterprises that have tended to advance the civic and material welfare of his community and native county, and in politics he is now allied with the progressive party, to which he transferred his HANGING ROCK IRON REGION - 1305 allegiance from the republican party at the time of the national campaign of 1912. Both he and his wife are active members of the Baptist Church. On the 18th of June, 1868, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Lamb to Miss Rebecca M. Stumbaugh, who was born in the State of Illinois, on the 24th of November, 1849, her father having died when she was but ten months old and her mother having passed away and left her doubly orphaned as a child of three years. She was reared in the home of an uncle and received a good common-school education. Her paternal grandfather, Adam Stumbaugh, immigrated to the United States from Germany. Of the twelve children of Mr. and Mrs. Lamb seven are now living: Robert T., who is now manager for the Postal Telegraph Cable Company at Huntington, West Virginia, was formerly chief train dispatcher for the Buffalo, Rochester & Pittsburg Railroad ; Clara E., who is the wife of John Oakes, was a successful music teacher prior .to her marriage ; Hattie M., who was graduated in a business college, as a bookkeeper, is the wife of .Dr. Albert II. Bunshaw, of Webberville, Ingham County, Michigan; Walter W., who was graduated in the Chicago Correspondence School of Law, is a skilled telegraph operator and is employed as train dispatcher at Bagnell, Missouri; Bessie, who was graduated as a trained nurse, at Battle, Creek, Michigan, is the wife of Robert K. Hunnell, and .they reside in the City of Milwaukee, Wisconsin ; Hanson H. is a skilled mechanic and is employed as demonstrator for an automobile concern at Huntington, West Virginia ; Lois A., who remains at the parental home, is a stenographer, having been graduated in a commercial college. Lucinda, who is deceased, . became the wife of 'Prof. Henry J. Barrett, who is now superintendent of the public schools of Holidaysburg, Pennsylvania, and of their three children two are living —Elsie M. and Catherine. CAPT. JAMES WILLIAM SMITH. Patriotic, public-spirited and enterprising, Capt. James William Smith, a prominent citizen of Portsmouth, won distinction during the Spanish-American war as an army officer, and has gained prominence in the business world as president of the River City Lumber Company, one of the foremost industries of Scioto County. A native of Ohio, he was born May 21, 1871, on a farm in Union Township, near Galford, Pike County, of thrifty Scotch ancestry. His father, Maxwell Smith, was born in the North Of Scotland, and as a young man came to America, landing in New York. From there, accompanied by a friend, Leander Wiles, he came to Ohio, locating in Pike County, where he was subsequently variously employed, working on a farm, in the lumber woods, and for a number of seasons operating 1306 - HANGING ROCK IRON REGION a threshing machine. He died while yet in manhood's prime, in Pike County. He married Sarah Schoonover, who was born in Pike County, Ohio, a daughter of James Schoonover. Her grandfather, Hiram Schoonover, was born in Pennsylvania, of German ancestors. An early pioneer of Ohio, he took up a tract of timbered land in Union Township, Pike County, and on the farm which he redeemed from the forest spent his remaining years. The maiden name of the wife of Hiram Schoonover was ______ White. She was a lineal descendant of Peregrine White, who was born, in 1620, on board the Mayflower, while she lay at anchor in Plymouth Harbor, on the bleak coast of Massachusetts. Both she and her husband are buried in the Wells Cemetery. James Schoonover married Elizabeth Wells, and they both lived on the home farm in Pike County, and there died, the death of the father occurring in 1910, and that of the mother in 1868. Capt. James W. Smith attended the rural schools and assisted on the home farm until fifteen years of age, when he obtained employment in the sawmill of Peter Bushart, in Pike County, where he obtained his first experience in the lumber business. At the end of two years in that mill he went to Illinois, and for three years was engaged in farming and stock-raising. Returning to Ohio, Mr. Smith located then in Portsmouth, and entered the employ of the Little Kanawha Lumber Company, at the company's mill having charge of the dry dock that supplied the logs for the plant. He remained in that capacity two years, after which he was for two years carpenter for the Bushart Lumber Company. Starting then in business for himself, Mr. Smith carried on work as a building contractor in a small way until the breaking out of the Spanish-American war. He had previously joined the State Militia as a member of Company H, Fourteenth Regiment, Ohio National Guards, and had been commissioned second lieutenant of his company. Responding to the call for troops his regiment went to Camp Bushnell, at Columbus, April 26, 1898, and there volunteered into the United States service as the Fourth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, the companies retaining their same designation. On May 12, 1898, the regiment went into camp at Chickamauga Park, Georgia, from there going, July 20, to Newport News, Virginia, where it embarked on the steamer Saint Paul for Porto Rico. Landing at Aurora, the regiment was there on duty until the following November, when it sailed for New York. Landing in that city November 5, the regiment was received by President McKinley at the White House, Washington, District of Columbia, who had an especial interest in it, as it had been stationed at Columbus while he was serving as governor of the state, and had acted as his body guard. The regiment was granted a furlough of two months, and on January 20, 1899, was honorably discharged from HANGING ROCK IRON REGION - 1307 the service. Captain Smith had the distinction of having been the only member of the regiment to receive three commissions during his term of service in the Spanish-American war. He was commissioned second lieutenant at Columbus ; was made first lieutenant at Chickamauga Park ; and promoted to the rank of captain when he set sail from Newport News, after which time he had command of his company. Upon his return from the war Captain Smith organized the Smith Lumber Company, erected a planing mill, and subsequently as a building contractor erected many residences, business and public buildings, in= eluding among others the Carnegie Library Building and the Masonic Temple at Portsmouth, Ohio. He continued in that line of industry until 1910. In 1911 Captain Smith merged the Smith Lumber Company with another similar organization, and formed the River City Lumber Company, of which he is president, while his brother, Israel Smith, is a member of the company. This enterprising -firm handles lumber and builders' supplies, selling at wholesale and retail, and is carrying on a very prosperous business. Captain Smith married, August 12, 1891, Martha Galford, who was born in Union Township, Pike County, a daughter of Alexander and Albina (Rockwell) Galford. Captain and Mrs. Smith have three children, namely : Elsie B., Della May, and Homer James. Religiously the family attend the Trinity Methodist Church. Fraternally the Captain is a member of Aurora Lodge No. 48, Ancient Free and Accepted Order of Masons; of Mount Vernon Chapter, No. 23, Royal Arch Masons; of Calvary Commandery No. 13, Knights Templar ; of Solomon Council No. 79, Royal and Select Masters, of Portsmouth, Ohio ; and is a Scottish Rite—thirty-second degree Mason ; -a member of Syrian Temple A. A: 0. N. M. of Cincinnati, Ohio. A stanch republican in politics, he has filled many offices of responsibility with credit to himself, and to the honor of his constituents. In 1904 the Captain Was one of the candidates selected by the business men for the city council, and was elected by a large majority., and continued in office subsequently by re-election for six years. While in the council he served on the committee on light and water, being chairman of the water committee that advocated the system of filtration that has since been adopted. He is a member of the Portsmouth Board of Trade, and was formerly a director of the Commercial Club. CHESTER CLYDE MCCORMICK. it is of one of the old and well known families of the Hanging Rock Iron Region that Chester Clyde McCormick, lawyer, former probate judge and present city solicitor of Wellston, is a representative. In earlier days the McCormicks were furnace men and active in the iron industry peculiar to this region. 1308 - HANGING ROCK IRON REGION Judge McCormick was born at Monitor Furnace, now Coal Grove, in Lawrence County, Ohio. The founder of this branch of the McCormick family was his great-grandfather, who came from Tipperary, Ireland, and settled in that portion of Virginia which is now West Virginia. The grandfather, McCormick, emigrated from Virginia to Ohio, prior to the Civil war. Mr. McCormick's father was William R. McCormick, who was an old line Hanging Rock furnace man. William R. McCormick was born in 1840 in Lawrence County, Ohio, had a very meager education on account of lack of opportunity, and growing up at a time when the furnaces were in full blast he took up the occupation of furnace man. The noteworthy part of his record is perhaps his service of about four years in the Civil war. He was first with the Eighteenth Ohio Infantry and afterwards with the Fifth Ohio Independent Light Artillery. In politics he was a republican and was a Protestant in religion, though a member of no denomination. He married Miss Patterson, a daughter of Robert and Margaret (McVeigh) Patterson, both of whom were Scotch. Since early boyhood Judge McCormick has led a very active and versatile career. His own education came from the common schools supplemented by private instruction and a brief normal school attendance. For many years he was one of the popular young teachers. of Wellston, and for four years was principal of the high school. Since leaving school work he has been an active member of the bar, and has usually filled some position in the public affairs of Jackson County. He was clerk of the board of deputy supervisors of election, but is perhaps best remembered as probate judge of Jackson County from 1900 to 1906, an administration which was characterized by care of those delicate responsibilities entrusted to his supervision. Judge McCormick is now serving his third term as city solicitor of Wellston. In politics he is a republican and is a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. On June 14, 1894, he married Miss Bertha Vandervort. Mrs. McCormick was reared in this section of Ohio and in addition to the common schools she attended college for a time. Her parents were J. G. and Hannah (Roberts) Vandervort, the former a well known Wellston merchant and also postmaster of that town during Cleveland's first term, while her mother was for a number of years a teacher. Mr. and Mrs. McCormick have two children : Helen McCormick and Thurston McCormick. Helen was born at Wellston July 28, 1895, and is now engaged in teaching. Thurston was born at Wellston January 25, 1898, and is still carrying on his studies. FRANK V. LANTZ. On the 17th of June, 1915, Mr. Lantz was appointed postmaster at McArthur, Vinton County, as successor of Thomas HANGING ROCK IRON REGION - 1309 C. Kelley, and the preferment indicates alike his popularity in his native town and the consistent recognition of his activities and influence as one of the leaders in the local councils of the democratic party. He is a scion of one of the oldest and most honored pioneer families of Vinton County and on other pages of this publication adequate data concerning the family history are given in the sketch of the career of his brother, Isaac M. Lantz, so that it is not necessary to repeat the record in this connection, as ready reference may be made to the article in question. Mr. Lantz has in past years most effectively proved his ability and progressiveness in connection with important business activities, and he has maintained his home in his native village during the major part of his life, through his association with important agricultural implements concerns has caused him to travel extensively, the while he has proved a most successful salesman and executive in such connection. As postmaster he is giving a most creditable administration and as one of the representative and distinctively popular citizens of his native county he is specially entitled to recognition in this publication. Frank Vance Lantz was born at McArthur, Vinton County, Ohio, on the 1st of March, 1861, and here he was reared to manhood, the while he profited fully by the advantages afforded in the public schools. With the exception of three and one-half years passed in Athens County he has continuously maintained his home in his native village, and his loyalty and public spirit found fitting mark of appreciation when he was appointed to his present office. The McArthur postoffice is of the third class and all others in Vinton County are of the fourth class. In connection with the service of the postoffice at the county seat an efficient deputy postmaster and clerk is retained, and from this headquarters three carriers are in service on the rural routes emanating from McArthur and covering a radius of somewhat more than sixty miles. The postoffice was advanced to the third class about a decade ago and from it the rural free delivery service has been maintained since about 1907. For a time Mr. Lantz was engaged in the hardware business at Coalville and Nelsonville, Athens County, under the firm name of Lantz & Knighton at Coalville, and after his retirement from this firm he served fourteen months as superintendent of, a more extensive hardware business at Nelsonville, that county, after which he assumed a similar position in connection with the electric light service and artificial ice plant at that place. After his return to McArthur he entered the employ of the Warder, Bushnell & Glessner Company, the extensive manufacturers of harvesting machinery, at Springfield, this state. This alliance was formed in 1889 and he became field agent and manager for the company for a territory comprising fifteen counties in Southern Ohio and four 1310 - HANGING ROCK IRON REGION counties in West Virginia. As an expert in the business he passed two seasons as representative of this great corporation in Minnesota and South Dakota, his association with the company having terminated in 1898, after which he was for two years representative of the Deering Harvester Company in Southern Ohio. In 1900 he resigned his position and engaged in the retail grocery business at McArthur, where he became the owner of a thoroughly metropolitan grocery in the Raynor-Sprague Building. There he continued at the head of a substantial and prosperous business enterprise up to the time of his appointment to the office of postmaster. Mr. Lantz has long been recognized as one of the most loyal and vigorous Vinton County advocates of the cause of the democratic party and in its local affairs he has been specially active and influential. He has served as a member of its executive committee for this congressional district and also has given effective service as chairman of the Democratic County Committee, of which he has been a valued member for many years, with much finesse in maneuvering political forces in the various campaigns which he has assisted in -directing in this section of the Buckeye State. He takes deep interest in all that tends to advance and maintain the civic and material welfare of his home city and county and his 'sincerity and genial personality have gained to him a wide circle of staunch friends. He and his family hold membership in the Methodist Episcopal Church and are active in the support of the various departments of the work of the church of this denomination in McArthur. In his native town, the year 1887 recorded the marriage of Mr. Lantz to Miss Eliza' B. Sprague, who was born at McArthur on the 10th of August, 1868, and who has here maintained her home during the intervening years. Definite record concerning the Sprague family appears on other pages of this work, in the sketch of the career of her brother, Lewis W. Sprague. Mr. and Mrs. Lantz have three children : Pearl Frances was graduated in the McArthur High School and thereafter effectively developed her marked musical talent by completing a course in the conservatory of Ohio University, at Athens, in which she was graduated, as a skilled violinist, in the class of 1911. Since that time sh has retained a position as instructor in violin music at the universit in the City of Vincennes, Indiana. Dena M. was graduated in the piano department of the musical conservatory of Ohio University in 1909, and thereafter devoted one year to successful work as a teacher of music at Sutton, West Virginia. She then became the wife of. Orion H. Flesher, and they now maintain their residence at Reynoldsburg, Ohio, where Mr. Flesher is in the employ of the electric street railway company ; he is an expert accountant and was graduated in the commercial department HANGING ROCK IRON REGION - 1311 of Ohio University, at Athens,. George Sprague, the youngest of the children, is a graduate of the McArthur High School and was employed in his father's grocery store until his father was appointed postmaster, since which time he has held a clerical position in the hardware establishment of his uncle, Isaac M. Lantz, who is one of the representative business men of McArthur. WILLIAM H. BRUNTON. Now living retired at Jackson, William H. Brunton is an honored veteran of the Civil war and his name was for many years intimately associated with the mercantile and agricultural interests of Jackson County. He is a native son of Jackson County, born on a farm in Franklin Township April 3, 1843. His father was George Brunton, a native of Washington County, Pennsylvania, while the grandfather was Thomas Brunton, probably a native of Germany, but for many years living in Washington County in Southwestern Pennsylvania. Grandfather Brunton came to Jackson County accompanied by his family and bought a tract of land on Four Mile Creek in Franklin Township. After getting his family settled he returned to Pennsylvania in order to complete a contract he had taken for getting out rails. He was never heard from again. George Brunton was about twenty-five years of age when he came to Ohio with his parents. He had more energy and enterprise than capital. First he rented land for a number of years, then bought a farm from William Fuller in Franklin Township and lived there, industrious and prosperous, until his death at the age of sixty-nine. He married Mary Stuffier who was also born in Pennsylvania, a daughter of Peter and Mary Stuffier, natives of the same state and of German ancestry. Mrs. George Brunton died at the age of seventy-two. She was the mother of ten children who grew to maturity. The third son of the family, William H. Brunton, was reared in the rural districts of Jackson County, attended the local schools, and when nineteen years of age volunteered his services for the defense of the Union. He went out as a private in Company K of the Ninety-first Ohio Infantry Regiment, and was with that command in all its campaigns and battles until the close of the war, excepting only about two months. Among other battles in which he participated was Fisher's Hill, Clyde Mountain, Cedar Creek, Stevenson's Depot, Lynchburg and Harper's Ferry. He received an honorable discharge at the close of the war, and then returned home to take up farming. A few years later he moved to the Town of Jackson, and engaged in merchandise business. He finally traded his farm for city property, and is now retired from active affairs. 1312 - HANGING ROCK IRON REGION At the age of twenty-four Mr. Brunton married Elizabeth Emily Corn, who was born in Franklin Township, a daughter of Adam and Nancy Corn. They have reared four children : Clarence L., Cora May, Ella and Emmet M. Mr. and Mrs. Brunton are members of the Christian Church and he is affiliated with Francis Smith Post of the Grand Army of the Republic. DAVID VANCE RANNELLS. For almost eighty years the family name of Rannells has been one of the most prominent in Vinton County. The old homestead on the banks of Raccoon Creek in Swan Township was first settled by the father and grandfather of the present generation during the late '30s. The labors of three generations have worked many marvelous changes and transformations since then, and in view of the successful industry and the many influences that have pervaded the community from this homestead it is not strange that the name is associated with the highest honor and respectability in that section of the Hanging Rock Iron Region. The Rannells family were originally Scotch-Irish people, and they located in the center of the Scotch-Irish settlement in the western Allegheny Region some years prior to the Revolutionary war. For many years the family seat was in Washington County in Southwestern Pennsylvania, and all of the family belonged to what might be regarded as the established church of that section, the Presbyterian. Some of them served in the Revolutionary war, fighting the British and Indians and guarded the western frontier of the colonies. A number of the descendants are now members of the Daughters and Sons of the American Revolution. The great-grandfather of Daniel Vance Rannells was David Rannells, who spent All his long and useful life in Washington County and it is probable that he too bore some part in the Revolutionary struggle. It was in Washington County, Pennsylvania, that Joseph Rannells, grandfather of David Vance Rannells, was born in 1784. In early manhood he pioneered into the Ohio Valley and located in Guernsey County, where he married Elizabeth Bay. She was born October 27, 1784, in Guernsey County, and her family were among the earliest pioneers along the Ohio River. She grew up and spent practically all her life in Guernsey County. Joseph Rannells and wife had the following children, all of them born at Cumberland, Ohio : Thomas, born April 12, 1813; Sarah M., born July 12, 1816, and died in Northwestern Missouri in 1877, the wife of Robert Marshall ; Samuel, who was born November 11, 1817, and died at 4he age of nine months; David, born June 3, 1819, and died at the age of eighteen from the measles; and Joseph Watson, who was HANGING ROCK IRON REGION - 1313 born July 18, 1825, and died December 17, 1877, one of the prominent and influential citizens of Swan Township in Vinton County, where his widow and some of his children still live. Thomas Rannells, father of David Vance Rannells, grew up in Guernsey County, and was about twenty-five years of age when in 1838 he accompanied his father, Joseph, into Vinton County. He made the trip on horseback, and found almost a wilderness. After some search they selected a large tract of more than 300 acres on Raccoon Creek in section 25 of Swan Township, and secured this land, which was covered with a rich growth of forest timber, largely poplar. It was the site for a beautiful homestead, and in that one community the Rannells family has ever since lived and prospered. Grandfather Joseph Rannells died. July 1, 1848, and his wife had passed away at Cumberland in June, 1838. Both were prominent people in Guernsey County, and they had to do with the founding of the Presbyterian Church there and took an active part in its support and maintenance. Grandfather Joseph was a whig in politics. In April, 1841, Thomas Rannells returned to New Concord, Ohio, and claimed his bride, Miss Mahala McCreary. She was born near New Concord April 11, 1821. After her marriage she came with her husband to Vinton County and helped him build up there a fine home and rear their children in the ways of honor` and usefulness. They spent their lives at the old homestead now owned by their sons, David Vance and William Samuel, and the father died June 6, 1888, and the mother. on January 16, 1892: They are buried side by side in the cemetery at New, Plymouth and they were among the most prominent members and active workers in the New Plymouth Presbyterian Church. Thomas' Rannells was a republican in politics: David Vance Rannells was one of the youngest in a family of six sons and three daughters, all of whom were born on the old homestead which he now occupies, and four of whom are still living. They are : Mrs. E. J. Cable of Nelsonville, Ohio, James Watson of Manhattan, Kansas, William Samuel and David Vance, who reside on the old homestead. Of the deceased members of the family Mary E. was the oldest, and married William F. Vance. She died in Manhattan; Kansas, September, 1907 ; Leah J. married Vernon C. Stiers, and she died near Alexandria, Ohio, in January, 1910 ; Joseph A. died in Vinton County in 1899 ; Hilas B. died in Manhattan, Kansas, in 1913 ; Thomas died at the family home April 2, 1892. David Vance and his brother, William S., still own the old homestead of nearly 800 acres, the larger portion of which is fine grazing land. They were associated together in their operations as extensive sheep and wool growers until a few years ago, but now 1314 - HANGING ROCK IRON REGION , manage the business individually. These brothers were peculiarly successful in the growing and breeding of sheep, and kept a flock of from 700 to 800 head as wool bearers, and each year the wool clip that went to the market from the Rannells farm was perhaps as large as came from any one place in Southern Ohio. In recent years they have given more and more attention to cattle, and this. business is also conducted on a profitable scale. David Vance Rannells during his younger years spent seven years as a teacher, and is a well-educated man. At Cameron, Missouri, on December 3, 1902, he married Miss Mary Longstreth. Mrs. .Rannells is a highly cultured woman and belonged to one of the most select families in the country community around Cameron in one of the most beautiful and fertile sections in Northwestern Missouri. She was 'born on her father's farm southeast of Cameron September 19, 1876, and was one of a large family of children. Her father, Washington Longstreth was one of the most successful farmer citizens in his locality, and, a man of no little prominence and influence both in local civic affairs and in all that touched the moral and religious uplift of his section. Mrs. Rannells received her early education in the country schools, and was also a student for four years in the Missouri Wesleyan College at Cameron, and afterwards taught in the public schools of her native state and in Kansas for about seven years. Mr. and Mrs. Rannells take justifiable pride in their little family of children. The oldest is Florence Mahala, born March 19, 1904, and now in the sixth grade of the public schools ; Thomas Longstreth, born January 29, 1906, is in the fourth grade of the public schools ; Robert Longstreth, born March 6, 1908, is in the third grade of school, and Mary E., the youngest, was born Christmas Day, 1910. It should be mentioned that Elizabethhe baby daughter, Mary Eliiabeth, was entered for the Better Baby Contest at the State Fair in Columbus, and stood the rigid test of scientific scoring for points, and was given a prize of five dollars in gold and a beautiful souvenir. Mr. and Mrs. Rannells, are both active members of the Presbyterian Church at- New Plymouth. Mr. Rannells is a member of the local school board and at present he is master of Plymouth Grange, No 1856, and always shows a deep interest in any movement for the welfare of his community or state. CHARLES A. M. DAMARIN. In the Hanging Rock Iron Region of Ohio among the pioneers probably no business man was distinguished by greater influence, integrity, and broader usefulness than the late Charles A. M. Damarin, who for many years was identified with Portsmouth and vicinity, and whose descendants still live in that section of Ohio. HANGING ROCK IRON REGION - 1315 Charles A. M. Damarin was born in Paris, France, April 10, 1797. His father, Antonius M. M. Damarin, also a native of France, emigrated to America in 1817, bringing with him his two sons, Charles and Augustus. The former had been well reared and educated in his native land, and was twenty years of age when he first came to this country. From New York City the father and his two sons went directly to Southern Ohio, and located at the old French settlement at Gallipolis on the Ohio River. Charles Damarin there began his career as a clerk, but in a short time his business capacity was demonstrated by the purchase of an interest in the business of his employer, John Peter Roumains. After a number of years during which he had made considerable progress toward business prosperity Mr. Damarin in 1830 returned to Paris, and was in that city at the time Charles X was dethroned. When he returned to the United States in 1831 he was accompanied by his mother aid his sister, Pauline. In 1831 Mr. Damarin moved from Gallipolis to Cincinnati, was in business there two years, and then established a retail grocery house at Portsmouth. Successful from the start, he soon enlarged his scope of operations to include a wholesale business, extended his commercial relations to a large territory in several states, and in course of time had amassed a fortune. It was his interest in enterprises closely related with the general welfare and progress of Southern Ohio that made the career of Mr. Damarin particularly noteworthy. In his history of Scioto County the author, Mr. Evans, who knew him well, said : "He took the lead in business affairs in Portsmouth and maintained it all his life. While he was in active business no enterprise of any public consequence was undertaken unless he was in it and at the first. He was one of the founders of the Commercial Bank and one of its directors. He was one of the first to start the Scioto rolling mill and he built the Hamden Furnace, and by endorsing made it possible to build the Scioto and Hocking Valley Railroad. In 1835 he was selected to obtain a loan of ten thousand 'dollars to build a court house, and the commissioners left the money with him and checked it out as needed. He had a strong will, great power of endurance both mental and physical, and his integrity shone above all other qualities. He was charitable and benevolent." Charles A. M. Damarin married Harriet Offner, a daughter of Doctor Jacob and Mary (Harness) Offner. To their marriage were born three children, namely : Augustus A. M. ; Mary E., wife of Albert B. Voorheis of Cincinnati ; and Harriet, wife of George Drake Scudder of Portsmouth. Vol. II-43 1316 - HANGING ROCK IRON REGION THOMAS DAVID SHIRKEY. One of the oldest practicing attorneys of Lawrence County, identified with the bar of Ironton for more than thirty years, Thomas D. Shirkey 's career has been characterized by the usual accomplishments and rewards of the successful lawyer, and at the same time by a distinctive and influential place in the community. Thomas David Shirkey was born at Athalia, Lawrence County, Ohio, March 6, 1859. His father, Greenley T. Shirkey, who was born in West Virginia February 26, 1829, was one of the early and able educators in Ohio and elsewhere and died December 5, 1888. The mother's maiden name was Clarissa A. McGee, who was born in Washington County, Ohio, December 12, 1833, and died September 7, 1913. The Ironton lawyer is their only child. As a boy he attended the common schools and was also a student in the select schools opened and conducted by his father at different places in the county. As a part of his early experience there was two years of work as a teacher, one term in Lawrence County arm one term in Cabell County, West Virginia. Mr. Shirkey prepared for the law at the University of Michigan, graduating LL. B. March 29, 1882. In November 1912 Mr. Shirkey had completed thirty years of active practice at Ironton, and his associates have long held him in the highest esteem and attribute his success as a practitioner to a thorough ability linked with frank and honest dealings with his clients. Mr. Shirkey was married May 24, 1886, to Florence Crever, of Windsor Township, Lawrence County. Mr. Shirkey has taken both the lodge and encampment degrees in Odd Fellowship, is a member of the Knights of Pythias, attends the First Methodist Episcopal Church and in politics is a republican. Besides his comfortable residence in Ironton, he is the owner of town property in Proctorville, and also a fine farm of 100 acres in the same vicinity. While he has been a close student and worker in his profession, Mr. Shirkey has found diversion in the mechanical trades of cabinet maker and machinist, and has spent much of his leisure time in practical work along those lines. He is a man of broad intelligence, has kept well informed in literature and affairs, and everyone in Ironton recognizes his thorough public spirit as a citizen. JOHN R. CLARK. Two of the most esteemed residents of Elk Township in Vinton County are John R. Clark and his sister, Mattie, who are proprietors of and occupy the old Robert Clark homestead, which was first owned by their grandfather. This is a farm which has been under the direction and has returned its crops through one season to the other for the benefit of one family for a great many years. The Clarks have been among the real home builders and home makers in Vinton County HANGING ROCK IRON REGION - 1317 and their activities deserve some: record in the history of the Hanging Rock Iron Region.  Robert Clark, the grandfather, was probably born in Virginia. For a number of years he lived in the Hope Station community in what is now Vinton County, Ohio. -While, he was . living there his son, Abram, father of John R. Clark and sister, was born August 7, 1842. When the latter was still young the family came into Elk Township of Vinton County and established a home on the farm now occupied by John R. Clark and sister. Robert Clark married Miss Nancy Fee of Virginia. She died on the old homestead July 3, 1879, having been born March 15; 1811. Such are some of the brief records contained in the old family Bible, which originally belonged to grandmother Nancy Clark. This old book is still well preserved and is kept as a precious family heirloom by her grandchildren. Robert Clark after the death of his first wife married Eva Webb, who is still living, making her home with her niece, Mrs John Falkner, of Swan Township of Vinton County. She is now seventy-eight years of age and in quite good health, for her years. Several years before his death Robert Clark moved to Zaleski in Vinton County, and died there August 17, 1897. He was born August 11, 1817. Abram Clark, father of John R., grew up in Southern Ohio and after establishing his home in Elk Township he met and married on May 3, 1864, Emma Dillon. She was born west of McArthur in Elk Township .June 10; 1844, and was reared and educated in this locality. Her parents Were John L. and Ellen (Huston) Dillon, who were early settlers of Elk Township, where they acquired and developed a home and spent most of their .active lives. Mr. Dillon died at the age of sixty-two and his wife at the age of sixty-seven. They were also Virginia people, members of the Presbyterian Church, and in politics Mr. Dillon was a democrat. By occupation he was a shoemaker but did not spend all his time at the cobbler's bench, and in connection conducted a farm and was also in the nursery business. There were seven children in the Dillon family and three are still living. After his marriage Abram Clark and wife located on a farm, belonging to Mr. Dillon. A few months after, their marriage .Abram Clark enlisted in Company C of the. 148th. Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He got as far as Harper's Ferry, where suffering from a milgnant attack of the measles he was confined it the hospital throughout the entire. period of his enlistment, being given an honorable discharge without having seen any active field service. He never entirely recovered from the disease with Which he was afflicted during his brief term in the army; service. However,,' he was a mail of great industry and energy and built up a good home for his children. He died at the old homestead in Elk Township March 1318 - HANGING ROCK IRON REGION 1, 1885. He was a strong democrat in politics but held to no church creed. He was a man well respected, and was loved most by those who knew him best. His widow died at the old home farm September 8, 1907. She was reared a Presbyterian. Abram Clark and wife were the parents of three children. Pearl Martin, the other son, was born September 13, 1865, and is now conducting a feed store at Chillicothe, Ohio. He married Effie Holdren, and they have a son, Lloyd, now twelve years of age and in school. Martha J., better known as Mattie, was born, reared and educated in Elk Township, and has spent practically all her life on the old homestead, where she is housekeeper for her brother, John R. They own jointly the fine farm of two hundred forty acres, one-half of which originally belonged to their grandfather, Robert Clark. This is a farm that in the course of many years has undergone constant improvement and is one of the most productive places in Elk Township. The staple crops are corn, wheat and oats, and Mr. Clark keeps some high grade live stock, horses, cattle, sheep and hogs. The home in which Mk. and Miss Clark reside is a substantial six room house which was built by their grandfather, Robert Clark. There are other farm buildings, conveniently arranged and equipped, and the entire estate is one of great value and furnishes a beautiful and comfortable home for these two noble people who have lived so long and so honorably in Vinton County. Mr. Clark is a democrat in politics. JOHN E. JONES. One of the prominent iron operators in the Hanging Rock Iron Region is John E. Jones, who practically grew up around the furnaces in Jackson County and has extended his interests to a number of business corporations in this part of the state. John E. Jones, is a son of Eben and Ann (Williams) Jones, and was born at Jefferson Furnace in Jackson County. ' As a boy he attended country schools, and at the same time gained a valuable business experience by assisting in the store at Jefferson Furnace. On leaving school he was made storekeeper at the Globe Furnace, and has been closely identified with that business ever since. For a number of years he has been secretary, treasurer and general manager, and In the meantime has acquired financial and business relations with a number of other corporations in Jackson and elsewhere. In 1892 Mr. Jones married Blanche Armstrong, a daughter of David and Eliza (Martin) Armstrong. They are the parents of five children : Frances A., Harold Armstrong, Edwin Alfred, David Ellsworth and Marshall Hay. Mr. and Mrs. Jones are members of the Presbyterian Church at Jackson, and Mr. Jones is prominent in Masonic circles. He has affiliation HANGING ROCK IRON REGION - 1319 with Trowel Lodge No. 132, Ancient, Free and Accepted Masons ; with Trowel Chapter No. 73, Royal Arch Masons ; with Jackson Commandery No. 53, Knights Templar ; with Cincinnati Consistory of the Scottish Rite, and with the Temple of the Mystic Shrine at Columbus. JOHN G. WAGNER. Few residents of the country community in Scioto County have more thoroughly deserved the esteem and high standing among fellow citizens than John G. Wagner, whose home has been in Scioto County since his birth. His years were still those of boyhood when he first took a hand in the practical affairs of life, and with little education and relying almost entirely on his native ability and industry has prospered as few other residents in this section have, considering his humble beginning, and now enjoys not only a comfortable competence, an excellent home, but is favored with a position of high esteem in his community. John G. Wagner was born on the George Davis farm in Clay Township of Scioto County December 25, 1862, a son of Leonard and Rosa (Kedch) Wagner. Both parents were Germans by birth, came to the United States alone, and Leonard Wagner was for some years employed by farmers living in. Scioto County. They married in this county, and are both now deceased. There were six children, and five sons are living at the present time : Fred, a farmer in Missouri ; George, who lives on a farm in Iowa ; John G.; Henry, whose home is in Scioto County ; and William, a farmer in Valley Township. John G. Wagner was reared on a farm, and when the seasons of constant employment relaxed sufficiently he was able to attend the country schools. Most of his education came from practical work, and from early boyhood he did much to support the family, and contributed to the means which allowed his good mother to maintain a home until he was past twenty-one. When he started out for himself, he had only his proved industry and no money capital. Thus his material accomplishments represent his individual labor and good judgment. At the present time Mr. Wagner is the owner of a fine farm of two hundred acres in Valley Township, and his neighbors refer to him with the respect which is always paid to successful men. Mr. Wagner is one of the trustees of the Miller's Run Wesley Chapel, where he and his family worship. In politics he is a democrat. Mr. Wagner married in December, 1893, Martha Porter. They became the parents of two children, and the one daughter now living is Carrie, wife of Walter Rapp, and they in turn have a child, Melvin Rapp. Mrs. Wagner was born in Madison Township of Scioto County May 27, 1870, daughter of John and Eleanor (Carley) Porter, both now deceased, 1320 - HANGING ROCK IRON REGION and both natives of Pennsylvania. There were seven children in the Porter family, five of whom are living : Mary, widow of Joseph Kronk of Scioto County ; Alice, widow of Mr. Puterage ; Frank, who lives in Scioto County ; Anna, widow of John Kline of Cincinnati ; and Martha. Mrs. Wagner was reared on a farm, was educated in the district schools, and since her marriage has co-operated effectively with her husband in producing the generous prosperity which they now enjoy. JOSEPH HEWITT. The most enduring success is that wrung from years of patient industry, many acts of self denial, thrift and intelligent enterprise. When to these characteristics have been added those of 1 kindly' fellowship and public spirit in behalf of community affairs, it constitutes a commendable degree of success in whatever sphere and station the fortunate man may be. Representing this type of citizen in the Hanging Rock Iron Region is Joseph Hewitt, general farmer and stock raiser, of Swan Township, Vinton County. His homestead is one of the historic old: farms located near Creola, though he himself has owned it for only about a dozen years. It contains 125 acres, well improved, and passing through the farm is the Brushy Creek or as more commonly known Silvery Creek. His country home comprises a seven-room residence, with good barn and other out buildings, and he makes a specialty of first class crops and stock. Joseph Hewitt was born in Swan Township, in the northern section April 2, 1841. He has spent practically all his life in the county, and since early manhood his career has been that of farmer and stock raiser. When all Southern Ohio was a wilderness, and the few white men were battling not only with the material obstacles in the way of the conquest of a new land, but also with hostile Indians, the first of the Hewitt family sought settlement in Athens County. The pioneer was Moses Hewitt. In those early days while following his chief vocation as a woodsman and hunter he was captured by the Indians and carried by them into the wilds of what is now either Ross or Vinton County. He was tied to a stake and it was the immediate intention of his captors to burn him. While they were hunting fagots to heap around his feet, he managed to slip the knot in his bonds and by the exercise of all those crafts and arts which his long experience in the western wilds had given him he made his escape. For a number of hours he lay in a hollow log while the woods were being combed by the red men, then after days of suffering and hardship he found his way back home, where he arrived nearly famished, so that for several days he had to be fed with a spoon. This experience created in him an inveterate enmity of Indians and he and they were HANGING ROCK IRON REGION - 1321 implacable foes as long as he lived or as the Indians remained in the country. A son of this Indian fighter and pioneer was Aaron Hewitt, who was born in Athens County, Ohio. He also grew up trained and versed in all the arts of the hunter and was one of the most skillful in his time in the hunting of bear and deer. He spent .nearly all his life in Athens County, but when quite old he came to Vinton County and died there in 1863. He was twice married. His first wife was the mother of Robert Hewitt, who in turn was the father of Joseph Hewitt. Robert was their only child. Robert Hewitt was born in Waterloo Township of Athens County about 1810, was reared there, and in young manhood moved to Vinton County: Here he married Miss Mary Dalton, who was born in the State of Maryland and when quite young came to Southern Ohio with her parents, Nathan Dalton and wife. Nathan Dalton was a farmer in Swan Township and died there when about ninety years of age, having survived his wife. He was a whig and later a republican. After his marriage Robert Hewitt located on a new farm in Swan Township and on that homestead all his ten children were born. Five of them died young. Robert Hewitt was quite an old man when in 1862 he volunteered his services in defense of the Union as a. member of Company B, Ninetieth. Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He served until the close of the war and participated, in many. battles, though escaping without wounds. With slightly impaired health he returned home, but a few years later he was stricken with lung fever and died, in 1870. His widow died about ten years later in Swan Township when past seventy years. They were active members of the Methodist Episcopal Church and in politics he was a republican who was entrusted with several township offices. The surviving Children of Robert and Mary (Dalton) Hewitt are. Mary, Joseph, Hulda, William and Newton, all of whom are married. Joseph Hewitt married in Swan Township Miss Mahala Steele. She was born in Swan Township December 22, 1842, and was reared and educated there and had spent practically all her life in Swan Township. Her parents were Nathan and Elizabeth (Steele) Steele. Her father was born in Maryland and her mother in Ohio and they were married in Vinton County, starting their careers in Swan Township not far from Ebenezer. There Mrs. Steele died about 1844 when Mrs. Hewitt was an infant. There were two other daughters, Harriet and Jane, both now deceased. Nathan Steele after the death of his first wife married Ruth Ellis. He died in Swan Township July 27, 1895,, and his second wife three years later. They were both honest, upright Christian 'people and Nathan Steele's advice was widely sought because of his good judgment 1322 - HANGING ROCK IRON REGION and thorough integrity. He was a republican, and was for a great many years a member of the Ebenezer Methodist Church. He and his wife are both buried in the cemetery there. Nathan Steele by his second wife had three children : Sarah, who died after her marriage to Richard Tinkham ; Elizabeth, who is the wife of Will Cox, a farmer in Swan Township ; and Finley Steele, who is unmarried and lives on the old Steele homestead. Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Hewitt are members of no one church, though with their family they usually attend the Christian Church at Creola. In politics he is a republican and has always borne a substantial reputation in his community. Joseph Hewitt and wife are the parents of six children : Ira T., who was educated in the Zaleski schools and is now in business at Columbus, has been twice married, first to Olie Bartlett, by whom there is a son named Alfred now twelve years of age and living with Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Hewitt, and the name of his second wife was Florence Danner. Robert N., who completed his education in the public schools, is now an engineer with the Baltimore & Ohio Railway, is unmarried and lives at Chillicothe, Ohio. Riley W. lives on a farm of his own in Swan Township, and by his marriage to Millie Shull has children named Levera, now deceased ; Joseph, Adelbert, and an infant. George W. Hewitt is given particular mention in following paragraphs. M. Elizabeth, who resides with her father and mother, is the wife of William E. York, who is now an engineer on the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton Railway. Homer is a Swan Township farmer and by his marriage to Cora Ellis has children named Bernice, Harold, Lucile and Mary Elizabeth. George W. Hewitt, who is one of the most progressive general farmers of Vinton County, has an excellent home in Jackson Township, section 24, near McArthur. There he owns 130 acres of well improved land, growing wheat, corn and other staple crops and residing with his family in a substantial six-room house and with a good barn and other buildings attached. This has been Mr. George Hewitt's home for the past ten years and he has owned the farm five years. He was born in Vinton County January 10, 1874, and has spent practically all his life in this locality. After getting his education in the local schools and reaching manhood he started out as a farmer on his own account. George W. Hewitt was married in Jackson Township to Miss Mary E. Kelley. She was born in Swan Township in 1878, a daughter of Flem and Celesta (Sill) Kelley, who now live in Jackson Township on a farm. They have spent all their lives in Vinton County and are now past sixty years of age and still vigorous and well. The father is a republican and HANGING ROCK IRON REGION - 1323 the mother a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Mrs. Hewitt was the third in a family of four children, the others being: Hattie, wife of Lewis Ranchell of Hocking County, where by a former marriage she had two sons ; Samantha, wife of Charles Witherspoon, a farmer in Swan Township ; and Anna is the wife of Joseph Snipp, a farmer near Locust Grove in Jackson Township, and they have one son and two daughters. Mr. and Mrs. Hewitt have five children : Retha M., aged fourteen, is now in the eighth grade of the public schools ; Coral F., aged ten, is in the fifth grade ; Mary, aged. six, is also in school ; and the two younger are Rhoda M. and Helen M. Mrs. Hewitt is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church at Lotus Grove. In politics he is a republican. WILLIAM L. GRIFFITH, M. D. Both in the character of his practice and the value of his service to the community, Doctor Griffith is recognized as the leading physician and surgeon at Pedro Postoffice in Lawrence County. Doctor Griffith has been identified with his profession for over twenty years. He grew up on a farm in Lawrence County, and by hard work, with opportunities for schooling only three months at a time, laid the basis of his education, and finally succeeded in realizing his ambition to become a physician. His has been a self-made career in the best sense of that term, and his accomplishmentsand attainments are in the highest degree creditable. William L. Griffith was born in Aid Township, Lawrence County, February 2, 1857. His father, Louis A. Griffith, was born in Center County, Pennsylvania, in 1820, came to Ohio when a mere boy, and was the son of a charcoal 'burner, who operated the kilns for the production of the charcoal used in the old Union Furnace in Lawrence County. Louis A. Griffith was one of the first iron moulders to manufacture the . old iron kettles made at the Union Furnace. He afterwards was a farmer, and a man of unusual prominence and influence in Lawrence County, serving as county commissioner and for a number of years as justice of the peace in Aid Township. Louis A. Griffith married Zerelda Stuart, who was born in Lawrence County near the French Grant in 1823, and died in 1906. The father died in 1878. Their ten children were : Sarah, Amos, Mary, Louanna, Susan, Samuel D., William L., Martha, Louis F. and John S. Doctor Griffith was reared on a farm, and such education as he was able to acquire up to the age of twenty was spread over a number of terms, alternating between the periods of hard work in cultivating the land and performing the various duties of farm life. After a year spent as a school teacher in Aid Township, he took up farming on land 1324 - HANGING ROCK IRON REGION given him by his father in Lymes Township for five years. Doctor Griffith then found the means to. enter Miami Medical. College at: Cincinnati, and was graduated with his well earned degree M. D. in 1893. His first practice was at Steece in Lawrence County for two years, and from there he went out to the Northwest and was located a year and a half at Tacoma, Washington. Returning to Southern Ohio, .he again practiced for two years at Steece, located at Etna Furnace in 1897, and has since continued the work of his profession in that vicinity, with Pedro as his postoffice. He has a large general practice extending throughout the surrounding country. Doctor Griffith is a member of the County and State' 'Medical Societies and the American Medical. Association, and is local surgeon for the D., T. & I. Railway, having held that post since 1906. Through his long and successful practice he has acquired considerable property, owns his residence And twenty-three acres of improved land in Elizabeth Township and eighty-two acres of good farming land in Lymes Township of Lawrence County. Doctor Griffith was married February 2, 1882, at Gallipolis, Ohio, to Sarepta Wiseman, daughter of Louis F. and Mary (Carter) Wiseman of Lymes Township, Lawrence County. They are the parents of three children : Amos, who married Phoebe Johnson, and is a railway conductor living at Ironton; Clara A., who is the wife of Robert Stevens, a. railroad an living at. Hanging Rock ; and May Erma, who lives at home and is an assistant rural mail carrier out of Pedro. Doctor Griffith has taken thirty-two degrees in Scottish Rite Masonry and is also affiliated with the Improved Order of Red Men and the Knights of the Golden Eagle.:. His church is the Methodist. In politics he is a republican, and has served as postmaster at Pedro since November 15, 1904. GEORGE RINEHEART. Not only has the life of George Rineheart of Jackson Township, Vinton County, been prolonged beyond the age of fourscore, but his years have been filled with a usefulness and influence that have for more half a century made him one of the important factors in the affairs of his home county. He was born in Greene County, Pennsylvania, January 1, 1832, a son of Stephen and Sarah (Weischtiler) Rineheart, who were also natives of Greene County. The paternal great-grandparents were both natives of Germany, but spent most of their lives in Greene County, Pennsylvania, where they were pioneers. Both the paternal and maternal grandfathers of George Rineheart were named George and both were natives of Greene County, Pennsylvania, where they married and spent the rest of their days. They and their wives were hard working and thrifty people and established good farm homes and reared large families of chil-