900 - HANGING ROCK IRON REGION Hodge, the former of whom was born in West Virginia and the latter in the Brush: Creek section of Adams County, Ohio. Stephen Hodge was a son of William and. Phoebe (Cooper) Hodge, who came in an early day to Scioto County, where they resided for a time at Portsmouth, after which Mr. Hodge purchased a tract of land on Pine Run, where he reclaimed a farm and passed the 'remainder of his life, his wife having preceded him to eternal rest. Stephen Hodge was a young man at the time of -the family removal to Scioto County, and here he eventually bought a farm on Upper Twin Creek, in Nile Township, his original purchase having been a portion of the well improved homestead now owned by his son John, of this review. He put forth much energy and ability in the reclamation and development of his farm, was a loyal and valued citizen of Nile Township and commanded unqualified popular esteem in the community. He continued to reside on his homestead farm until his death, which occurred when he was seventy-five years of age. His wife was born in the year 1831 and still resides in Scioto County, one of the venerable pioneer women of the township that has long represented her home and in which her circle of friends is limited only by that of her acquaintances. Shea celebrated her eighty-fourth birthday anniversary in 1915 and retains in a remarkable degree her mental and physical power. Thomas Cooper, father of Mrs. Sarah Hodge, was one of the earliest settlers of Nile Township, Scioto County, where he purchased a tract of heavily timbered land, on Twine Creek, this section having been at the time little more than an untrammeled wilderness and land having been placed at an average valuation of $1.25 an acre. After clearing a portion of his land Thomas Cooper sold the property and removed to Adams County, where he developed a farm and passed the residue of his life. He was a son of Samuel and Nancy (Groom) Cooper, who were numbered among the sterling pioneers of Scioto County, where they continued to reside on their pioneer farm, on Brush Creek, until the close of their lives, Mrs. Nancy (Groom) Cooper having been born in Adams County, this state and having been a daughter of John Groom, one of the first settlers of that county. Mrs. Sarah (Cooper) Hodge recalls in pleasing reminiscence many scenes and incidents touching the pioneer days in this part of Ohio. As a girl she learned to card and spin wool, as, the housewife of ,the ,day thus made provision for the making of the clothing for the family, and she remembers well when the yawning fireplace served in lieu of a stove, both for warming and cooking purposes. This venerable woman became the mother of nine children, of whom three are now living. John Hodge early began to lend his aid in the work of. the home farm and his were the educational advantages afforded by the rural schools of HANGING ROCK IRON REGION - 901 the day. He has never severed his allegiance to the great fundamental industry of agriculture and he now owns the farm that was the original place of settlement of his paternal grandfather and which later became the property of his father. Mr. Hodge has made excellent improvements on the old homestead and is one of the progressive and substantial farmers of his native county. Though never a seeker of public office he is loyal and liberal as a citizen and is aligned as a staunch supporter of the cause of the republican party. In the year 1910 Mr. Hodge wedded Miss Ollie Cooper, who likewise was born and reared in Nile Township, and who is a daughter of Robert and Sarah Cooper. Mr. and Mrs. Hodge have three children, Eliza, Ray and John. JAMES R. HEMPHILL. Not long can well directed energy and good judgment applied to the great industry of agriculture fail to show results that may be noted by even the casual observer, and this is distinctly in evidence in connection with the career of Mr. Hemphill as one of the ambitious and representative farmers of Scioto County, where he maintains his residence on one of the many fine farms of Nile Township. Mr. Hemphill was born in Adams County, Ohio, on the 10th of June, 1875, and is the only son of Thomas H. and Isabella (Elliott) Hemphill. Thomas Holmes Hemphill was born in the City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on the 29th of January, 1831, and died February 10, 1915. He was a son of Matthew H. Hemphill, who was born in the north of Ireland, of Scotch ancestry, and who immigrated to America when a young man. Matthew H. Hemphill established his residence in Philadelphia, where he remained until 1839, when he and his family set forth for Ohio, the long overland journey having been made with a team of horses and a large covered wagon, in which vehicle were transported also the household effects. 'After arriving in Scioto County they passed six months at Portsmouth, and they then continued their pioneer journey into Adams County. There Matthew H. Hemphill purchased a tract of timber land in the locality known as "Tranquility." On his land was a log house and a log barn, of the type common to the pioneer days, and a small clearing had been made on the embryonic farm. He reclaimed much of his land to cultivation and on this homestead he and his wife passed the remainder of their lives. Thomas H. Hemphill was reared to manhood on the pioneer farmstead just mentioned and his entire active career has been one of close and successful identification with agricultural pursuits. He remained a resident of Adams County until 1880, when he removed to Scioto County and became one of the successful farmers of the Twin Creek District of 902 - HANGING ROCK IRON REGION Nile Township, where he and his wife still reside, his son James R., of this review, being associated with him in the work and management of the farm. Thomas H. Hemphill first married Miss Paulina A. Collins, and upon her death she was survived by three children, Etta Margaret; Mary S. and David Steele, the last mentioned of whom is now deceased. For his second wife Mr. Hemphill wedded Miss Isabella Elliott, who was born on a farm near Wilmington, Clinton County, Ohio, in 1841, and died September 14, 1915. She was a daughter of John Elliott, who was born irr Pennsylvania and whose father, William Elliott, likewise was a nativee of the Keystone State, and a representative of a pioneer Scotch-Irish family of that historic old commonwealth. William Elliott was numbered among the early settlers in Clinton County, Ohio, where he reclaimed and improved a farm on Lee's Creek and where he passed the remainder of his life. John Elliott continued his residence in Clinton County until 1854, after which he passed two years in Adams County, and in 1856 he numbered himself among the substantial agriculturists of Nile Township, Scioto County, where his death occurred in 1881. He married Miss Nancy Elliott, who was born and reared in Scioto County, a daughter of Benjamin and Isabella (McCann) Elliott, and she was sixty-five years of age at the time of her demise. James R. Hemphill is the only child of his father's second marriage and the only surviving son, his half-brother, David S., having died at the age of nineteen years. Mr. Hemphill was about five years old at the time of the family removal to Scioto County, and here he was reared to adult age on the farm which is still his home, his early education having been acquired in the well known Elm Tree School, in Nile Township. He continued to reside with his parents until their death and to be actively identified with agricultural pursuits, with a well established reputation as one of the progressive and representative farmers of the younger generation in Scioto County. On the home farm special attention is given to the raising of corn and tobacco. He is a republican in polities and both he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, his parents holding membership in the Reformed Presbyterian Church; the adherents of which are frequently designated as Covenanters. On the 22d of December, 1898, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Hemphill to Miss Emma F. Jeffers, who was born in Lewis County, Kentucky. Her father, Henry Jeffers, was born at Steubenville, Ohio, a son of Henry F. Jeffers, who later removed to Lewis County, Kentucky, where he passed the remainder of his life. Henry Jeffers, father of Mrs. Hemphill, was ten years of age at the time of the family removal to Kentucky, and he passed the rest of his life in Lewis County; that state, HANGING ROCK IRON REGION - 903 his death having occurred in the Village of Carrs, when he was sixty-six years of age. He wedded Miss Ann. Stratton, who was born and reared in Kentucky, as was also her father, Thompson Stratton, the latter having been a son of Aaron Stratton, who was a pioneer of the old Bluegrass State, where he was a contemporary and associate of Daniel Boone, the historic frontiersman. After the death of her husband Mrs. Ann (Stratton) Jeffers came to Ohio, where her death occurred about two years later. Mr. and Mrs. Hemphill have four children : Holmes, Julia. Belle, Keith Jeffers, and May Margaret. MRS. NORA JONES BRIGGS. The Jones, Williamson and Briggs families, all represented by Mrs. Briggs of Washington Township in Scioto County, have many interesting, and useful relations with this section of Ohio, covering a century or more in time. Love of land, peace and industry have been marked characteristics in the various generations, and as the earlier members suffered and toiled to establish homes in the wilderness, so those of later and easier times have continued to uphold and increase the virtues with which the names have always been associated. Herself born in Washington Township, Mrs. Briggs is a daughter of Luther R. Jones, who was born in Stafford County, Virginia, in 1840. His father, George Jones, was a native of Virginia, came to Ohio in an early day and bought a farm three miles from Wilmington, which was his home till death. He married Lucinda Fallis, who died in middle life, and her parents were early settlers in the vicinity of Wilmington and spent their last days there. When only a youth, Luther R. Jones left the old home and came to Scioto County to make his home with his sister, Mrs. Minerva I. Bailey, of Washington Township. Soon after the breaking out of the Civil war, he enlisted in Company E of the Thirty-third Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and was with the regiment in its various movements and engagements until the Battle of Perryville, Kentucky, in 1862, where he was severely wounded in the left leg. He lay on the battlefield some time unattended, and then summoning all his resolution he arose, took two muskets, and set out for the front. Again he was hit, this time in the right leg, which completely disabled him. He lay on the field among the wounded, dying and dead for two days, and was then taken to shelter and received surgical attention. Some friends came and took him home. From one leg fifty-two pieces of bone were taken, and he was unable to walk for eighteen months. That was the end of his military service, and his wounds brought him a discharge with all honors. However, he lived to the age of sixty-five, and met death by accident in Russelville, in 1905. Luther R. Jones married Louisa J. Williamson, of one of the first 904 - HANGING ROCK IRON REGION families in Scioto County. She was born on a farm at Dry Run in Washington Township. Thomas WiWilliamsonher father, was also born in Scioto County. His father, Joseph Williamson, was Probably born in New Jersey, and coming west became one of the first settlers in Scioto County, where he secured a tract of Government land near the mouth of the Scioto River in WaWashingtonownship. He died in 1812. The maiden name of his wife was Martha Feust. Thomas Williamson spent his active years as a farmer, and owned a farm extending along both sides of the Galena Pike. His own efforts resulted in the clearing up of a large amount of land, and his later years were spent in comfort. When the Old Town Methodist Church was organized in 1837, he was one of its trustees. Thomas Williamson married Lucinda Ord, who was the grandmother of Mrs. Briggs: She died at the age of thirty-six. For his second wife he married Druzilla Smith, who survived him a few years. Mrs. Briggs was the only .child who grew pp. Her mother died in 1891. In Washington Township, where are all the associations of her childhood and youth, and where she was educated, she married February 26, 1890, Aaron A. Briggs. Mr. Briggs was born in Clay Township, Scioto County, November 29, 1863. His father, John K. Briggs, was born October 6, 1826, on the old Briggs homestead on the Chillicothe Pike, a farm now included in the City of Portsmouth. The grandfather, Samuel Clingman Briggs, was born in Nescopeck Township, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, May 25, 1794, a son of John and Hannah (Clingman) Briggs. Hannah Clingman was a daughter of John Michael Clingman, a soldier of the Revolution and one of the first settlers in Portsmouth. Samuel C C.riggs came to Portsmouth in 1815, making his home for a time with his uncle, Aaron Kinney. When All Saints Church was organized June 23, 1817, he was one of the signers of its constitution, and was confirmed as a member of that church in 1820. Later his membership was transferred to the Bigelow Methodist Episcopal Church, in which for a number of years he was steward and trustee. His home until his death was the old Briggs farm. The second wife of this old pioneer was Rebecca Tim-brook, the grandmother of Aaron A. Briggs. She died in 1840 and her husband in 1860. John Kinney Briggs moved out to Washington Township in 1861, and was successfully engaged in farming until his death on November 27, 1893. He had three wives. The mother of Aaron Briggs was Mary Miller, who died November 14, 1865. Her children were Louisa, who died in childhood ; Laura, who died at the age of sixteen ; Aaron A. ; Margaret, widow of Dr. George W. Osborn ; Charles C. ; and Frank. HANGING ROCK IRON REGION - 905 Aaron Briggs had the substantial training of a farmer boy, with an education in the rural schools, and it was to the vocation of farming that he paid his life's tribute of productive labor. In 1890 he located on the farm now occupied by Mrs. Briggs, the old Williamson homestead, and lived there until his death in 1906. The first wife of Mr. Briggs was Sabrina Cole, daughter of George W. Cole. At her death on November 24, 1888, she left two sons, Alfred M. and Frank A. Mrs. Briggs has three daughters, Margaret,, Beulah and Helen. With her children she occupies the fine old Williamson estate, which is to a degree her own ancestral domain. Its lands border the Galena Pike on both sides, and the house is located. on high grounds, overlooking the Scioto Valley with a view of the hills beyond. FRANCIS A. SWEARINGEN. One of the many beautiful rural -homes of Scioto County is that owned by Mr. Swearingen, this idyllic place being situated on a side-hill overlooking the Ohio Valley and its picturesque surrounding hills, and the farm comprising 218 acres of most fertile and productive land, in Nile Township. The house on the place is a fine old mansion that is now equipped with modern facilities. and accessories, and is on an excellent turnpike road extending from Portsmouth. to Buena Vista. The property was purchased by Mr. Swearingen in 1908 and here he and his wife are living in Peace and comfort, independent and prosperous, esteemed by all who know them and with virtually influences and environment that would' do justice to the old patriarchal regime, as all of their children save one live within ready telephone communication and thus the venerable parents are favored in having about them their children and their children's children, their devoted companionship having covered a period' of nearly half a century and both being representatives of honored pioneer families of this section' of the old Buckeye. State. Though he claims the fine Bluegrass State as the place of his nativity, Mr. Swearingen has been a of Southern Ohio from his early childhood and for many years he has stood as one of the substantial and prominent representatives ,of the basic industries of agriculture and stockgrowing in this section Of the state, besides which his is the distinction of having been. one of- the gallant young Ohio patriots who rendered valiant service as. soldiers in the Civil war. He is well known. in Adams and Scioto counties and after years of earnest and fruitful endeavor, he and his wife, find themselves compassed by most benignant and grateful influences and environment in the gracious twilight of their lives. Francis Asbury Swearingen Was born on a farm in Lewis County, 906 - HANGING ROCK IRON REGION Kentucky, on the 4th of January, 1846, and as this is one of the Kentucky counties lying directly across the Ohio River, his present home is not far removed from the place of his nativity. He is a son of John and Mary, (Loveland) Swearingen, the former of whom was born in Lewis ,County, ,Kentucky, on the 1st of December, 1821, and the latter of whom was born in Scioto County, Ohio, where her, father, Horace Loveland, was a pioneer settler. John Swearingen was a son of Marmaduke and Mary (Stratton) Swearingen, his father having been a native of Pennsylvania and having immigrated thence to Kentucky in an early day, to become a pioneer of Lewis County, where he reclaimed a farm to effective cultivation and where both he and his wife passed the remainder of their lives. John Swearingen was reared to adult age in his native county, where he was afforded the advantages of the pioneer schools. At the age of eighteen years he crossed over the Ohio River to Scioto County, Ohio, and here, in 1841, was solemnized his marriage to Miss Mary Loveland. Soon afterward he returned to Lewis County, Kentucky, and thew he and his wife continued to reside until 1850, when they established their home on a farm in Adams County, Ohio. Six years later they removed to Scioto County, and Mr. Swearingen purchased a farm in Nile Township,—the fine bottom lands of the Ohio River Valley. Here he developed one of the productive and valuable farms of this specially opulent section of Southern Ohio, and on the old homestead both he and his wife continued to reside until their death, each having attained to the .venerable age of eighty-seven years. Both were earnest and zealous members of the Methodist Episcopal Church and their Christian faith was exemplified in their daily lives. Kindliness, consideration and helpfulness marked their course, and their names and memories, are held in lasting honor in the county that long represented their home. Mr. Swearingen was a man of strong 'mentality and well fortified. convictions, was influential in public affairs of local order, and served several years as ,trustee of Nile Township. As a devout and consistent churchman he filled for a number of years official positions in the Methodist Church in which he and his wife held membership, in Nile Township. He was treasurer of the church and also served as classleader. These honored pioneers reared a family of five children, namely : Francis A., Alpha, Laura A., John W. and Anna.. Francis A. Swearingen was a child of four years at the time of his parents' removal from Lewis County, Kentucky, to Adams County, Ohio, and about ten years old when the family home was established in Scioto County. His early educational discipline was obtained in the common schools of the locality 'and period and he continued to be actively asso- HANGING ROCK IRON REGION - 907 dated in the work and management of the homestead farm until he responded to the call of higher duty and tendered his aid in defense of the Union. On the 26th of August, 1862, when but sixteen years .of age, Mr. Swearingen enlisted as a private in Company H, Eighty-first Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and as a youthful patriot and faithful and efficient soldier he made an admirable record in connection with his service in the ranks of one of Ohio's gallant regiments. With his command he participated in many of the important engagements marking the progress of the great conflict between the North and the South, and in campaigns and battles he lived up to' the full tension of the great struggle. He was with his regiment in Sherman's memorable Atlanta campaign and the subsequent march to the sea, and in this connection took part in the historic battles of Kenesaw Mountain, Resaca, and Dalton, the siege and capture of Atlanta, and in the ever memorable march of Sherman's forces to the seaboard and thence up through the Carolinas to Washington, where Mr. Swearingen had the distinction of participating in the grand review of the jaded but victorious Union forces at the close of the war. He received his honorable discharge, at Louisville, Kentucky, on the 19th of July, 1865, and then returned to his home. Mr. Swearingen served during virtually the entire war and the more gracious memories and associations of his military career are vitalized through his active affiliation with the Grand Army of the Republic. During the long intervening years Mr Swearingen has been continuously and successfully identified with agricultural pursuits in Scioto County, and he has been one of the progressive and vigorous representatives of this line of industrial enterprise in this section of the state. His present attractive and valuable homestead was purchased by him in 1908, as previously noted ,in this context. He has been one of the world's productive workers, his course has been guided and governed by the highest principles ,of integrity and honor, and he and his wife having impregnable place in the confidence and good will of all who knew them. They are zealous members of the Asbury Methodist Episcopal Church at Pond Run and in politics, though never a seeker of public office, Mr. Swearingen is a staunch supporter of the cause of the republican party. On the 31st of October, 1866; was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Swearingen, the sturdy "young veteran" of the recent Civil war, to Miss Sarah J. Grimm, and with abiding love and sympathy they have since remained in devoted companionship, the while they have reared their children to lives of rectitude and usefulness and have not been denied their full reward in filial affection and solicitude. Mrs. Swear- 908 - HANGING ROCK IRON REGION ingen was born in Wirt County, West Virginia, and is a daughter of Michael and Susan (Edwards) Grimm, the former of whom was born in JackSon County, that state, and the latter in Monroe County, she having been a daughter of Lewis and Mary Edwards. Peter Grimm, father of Michael, was a prosperous farmer of Jackson County, West Virginia, and it is supposed that he there passed his entire life. Michael Grimm was reared and educated in his native county and continued to be identified with agricultural pursuits in West Virginia until 1865, when he came with his family to Scioto County, Ohio, and purchased a farm on Pond Run,. Nile Township, where both he and his wife passed the residue of their lives, he having attained to the age of seventy. years and his widow having been seventy-six years of age at the time of her death. Their seven children were : Mary, Nancy, John, Sarah J., Allen, Charles and Homer. Mr. and Mrs. Swearingen likewise have reared seven children, and in the concluding paragraph of this review are given brief data concerning them. Ulysses Grant married Miss Anna Evans and they have four children—Mildred, Robert, Loa and Ray. Emma is the wife of William R. Punteney and they have four children—Frank S., Minnie, George H., and Ruth. Mary is the wife of Andrew B. Turner and they have three children Amy, Mabel, and Albert. Michael wedded Miss Sarah Odell. John T. married Miss Alice Odell and they have three children—Lawrence, Lois, and Walter.. Ira married Miss Bessie Hall and they have three children—Wilber, Ray; and Isabella. Kate is the wife of Albert Arn and they have four children—Ray, Eugene, Helen, and Margaret. JOHN S. RAPP. Out on Galena Pike in Washington Township can be found some striking evidences of the enterprise of John S. Rapp in a fine farm :homestead and several platted and improved additions to the Village of Nauvoo. Mr. Rapp represents a substantial element of German stock that.has been identified with the Ohio Valley for over a century, and his own methodical and careful management has placed him in a position beyond want and to command the entire respect of a. community. John S. Rapp was born in Beaver Township of Pike County; Ohio, June 26. 1854, a son of Christian Rapp and grandson of Frederick Rapp, both of whom were born in Wuertemberg in Southern Germany. A kinsman of the grandfather was George Rapp, the leader of a religious society that opposed the Roman Catholic Church, who was finally compelled by persecution to come to the United States in 1802 to seek a location for himself and followers in the land of freedom.. Having fixed on a location eighteen miles below Pittsburg, he returned HANGING ROCK IRON REGION - 909 to his native land and in 1803 led across the Atlantic some six hundred of his followers, many of whose descendants still live in the vicinity first occupied by this religious colony. Grandfather Frederick Rapp himself came to the United States in 1827, spending about three months on a slow-going sail vessel. Landing at New York he went overland to Pittsburg, where his family and possessions were embarked on a river boat, and came down the. Ohio and first located in Muskingum County. While living there he made several trips to Portsmouth, passing through Pike County, and finally concluded to establish a home in the latter county. A tract of Government land was bought in what is now Beaver Township, and the first home was a double log house. That was his home till his death when about seventy. years old, and in the meantime his work had brought about the improvement and cultivation of many acres. Energy was his marked characteristic, and with the increase of possessions he finally had about five. hundred acres. The seven children he reared were Frederick, Christian, Michael, Louis, Jacob, John and Catherine. Christian Rapp, the father, was about eight years old when the family crossed the ocean to America. He had the advantages of training afforded by residence in a new country, somewhat limited as to book learning but every incentive to practical labor. After reaching manhood he left the home place and bought 100 acres in Beaver Township, paying $900. It had some frame buildings and a considerable acreage cleared, and was located an eighth of a mile from the Village of Beaver. A few years later, having sold this farm at an advance, he moved to Scioto Township in Jackson County and bought and occupied the farm. on which he died when seventy-eight years Of age. The wife of Christian Rapp was Mary Spangler, a native of Germany. Her father, John Spangler, came to America about 1830, and spent the. rest of his years in Beaver Township. His daughter, Mrs. Rapp, lived to the age of seventy-five, and reared ten children, named Peter, John S., Louis, Henry, Christian, Charles, Joseph, Catherine, Lena and Anna. John S. Rapp spent his youthful days in Pike and Jackson counties, and while attending school worked for his father until twenty-one. He had little with which to make a start for himself, and consequently was a renter for a number of years. His home was on the Sargent farm near Piketon nine years, and on coming to Scioto County in 1886 he rented a place on Dry, Run. Prosperity smiled on his efforts, and in 1900 he purchased the Calvert farm on the Galena Pike in Washington Township:. The same .year he had surveyed and platted sixty dots which are recorded as Rapp 's addition to Nauvoo. In 1906 910 - HANGING ROCK IRON REGION he put on a second addition, containing fifty-four lots, followed by a third addition of thirty-two lots in 1911, and since then a fourth, also with thirty-two lots, in 1915 he added a fifth addition of 120 lots, and in this year he has added to his farm holdings a forty-acre tract, which is to be cut in one-acre lots. The property is very happily located on the side hill overlooking the Scioto and Ohio valleys, and Mr. Rapp has proved very successful as a real estate operator. For a period of twenty-four years the direction taken by his farm enterprise was dairying, but in recent years he followed the lines of general agriculture. In 1877 Mr. Rapp married Elizabeth Ober. She was born in Beaver Township of Pike County. Both her father, John, and her grandfather, Frank Ober, were natives of Germany, and came to the United States about 1830 and locating in Beaver Township, where the grandfather improved a farm. John Ober, seven years old when brought to America, was reared and trained as a farmer, and having inherited a portion of the estate finally bought the interests of the other heirs and had a large and valuable farm on which he lived till death and reared his family. Mrs. Rapp's mother was Hannah Elizabeth Renner, born in Germany. Frederick Renner, her father, was well educated and taught school in his native land, and on coming to America located in Jackson- County, which remained his home until his death at the age of sixty-one, his widow surviving to the advanced time of eighty-one years: A grandson named Fred Renner now occupies the old homestead. Mrs. Rapp's mother after being reared and educated in Germany came to America at the age of twenty-one, preceding her parents, and coming down the Ohio landed at Portsmouth, then a small town, and proceeded on to Piketon. She died at the age of sixty-one, while John Ober passed away when seventy-two. Mrs. Rapp was one of a family of six daughters and one son, namely : Mary, Elizabeth, Caroline, Catherine, Christina, John and Lena. Mr. Rapp is the father of a family of six sturdy and industrious sons—John E., Joseph W., Harry F., Howard E., Ralph R. and Stanley E. John married Sadie Williamson. Joseph W. married Rhoda A. Barbee, and their four children are Hazel E., Mary L., Pearl E. and Harry W. Harry F., who is a practicing physician, married Lida C. Williams. Howard married Viola Eulitt, and has a daughter named Gwendolyn. While a good business man Mr. Rapp has not neglected the interests of the community and is a member of the board of trustees of the township. He and wife belong to Old Town Methodist Episcopal Church. HANGING ROCK IRON REGION - 911 CHARLES C. BRIDWELL. As president of the Portsmouth College of Business, at Portsmouth, Ohio, Charles C. Bridwell is officially connected with one of the leading educational institutions of the kind in this section of the state.. The school is well equipped with all the modern apparatus necessary for giving instruction in the required branches of study, and its many students are especially trained for business pursuits. A native of Scioto County, Mr. Bridwell was born in Nile Township, a son of William Bridwell, and grandson of James Bridwell, both of whom were born in Ohio. His great grandfather, Thomas Bridwell, was born and bred in Virginia. Coming from there to. Ohio when young, he became a pioneer of Adams County. He first bought a tract of timber one and one-half miles south of Jacktown, and after living there several seasons moved to Nile Township, Scioto County, where he bought land, improved a farm, and was there engaged in tilling the soil until his death, at the age of seventy-five years. His wife, whose maiden name was Lydia Jordan, survived him, and with her youngest son moved to Ironton, where she spent her closing years of life. She reared two daughters and five sons. Born in Adams County, Ohio, James Bridwell was reared to agricultural pursuits, and after his marriage bought the farm which he had assisted his father in clearing from its original wildness. Disposing of that in 1837, he moved to Scioto County, locating in Nile Township, where he purchased a tract of timbered land. A small part of it had been cleared, and in the opening a log cabin, with a stick and earth chimney, had been built. He soon built a small hewed log house, which the family occupied a few years, and later erected a commodious two-story house of hewed logs, and was there a resident until his death, at the early age of forty-seven years, in the meantime having by dint of perserving industry put much of the land under a good state of cultivation. He married Mary Ann Humble, who was born in. Adams County, Ohio, a daughter of James and Mary (Cross) Humble, pioneers of that county. She survived her husband, living until eighty-one years of age. One of a family; of ten children, William Bridwell was born, January 20, 1834, on the home farm in Adams County. He grew to manhood, however, in Scioto County, acquiring his education in the rural schools of Nile Township. Reared to habits of industry and economy, he worked as a farm hand during his early days, and having saved his earnings subsequently bought land in Washington Township, and was there engaged in general farming and stock-raising until 1908. In that year, having accomplished a satisfactory work as an 912 - HANGING ROCK IRON REGION agriculturist, he moved to Portsmouth, where he has since lived retired from active business. William Bridwell has been twice married. He married first, at the age of twenty-five years, Esther Ann Harmon, who was born in Nile Township, where her father, Middleton Hanlon, was an early settler. She died two and one-half years after their marriage, leaving a child that died at the age. of four years. He married second, November 3, 1867, Sarah Compton, who was born in Green Township, Adams County, Ohio, October 10, 1840, a daughter of George. Compton. Her grandfather, Samuel Compton, was born in Virginia, of English ancestry. In 1796 he migrated to Kentucky, and ten years later, in 1806, he settled in Adams County, Ohio, near the present site of Dunkinsville, and there cleared and improved a homestead, on which he lived and labored until his death. He married Elizabeth Harper, whose father was the original proprietor of Harper's Ferry, Virginia. Their son, George Compton, a native of Adams County, served an apprenticeship at the tailor 's trade when young, and followed it at home for many years. He subsequently turned his attention to agriculture, and having bought land in Jefferson Township there carried on general farming the remainder of his life. The maiden name of the wife of George Compton was Mary Ann Ham. She was born in Maine, a daughter of Jonathan and Sarah (Snow) Ham, natives of the same state. Jonathan Ham moved with his family from Maine to New York, and after living for a time at Sodus Bay started for Illinois, going first to Pittsburgh with 'teams, and thence down the Ohio river on a boat. His health being very poor, the family stopped off at Maysville for him to recuperate, but he died very soon after landing, and the family changed their plans, locating in Adams County, Ohio, instead of going to Illinois. His widow survived him for a number of years, and later in life went to Illinois to spend her last years at the home of a daughter. Mrs. Mary Ann (Ham) Compton lived to be nearly four score years old. She reared eleven children. William and Sarah (Compton) Bridwell were the parents of six children, as follows : Alice,. Morris, Charles C., Mary, James, and Lida. Obtaining a good education when young, Charles C. Bridwell remained beneath the parental rooftree until' attaining his majority. Coming then to Portsmouth, he was for eight years employed as a clerk in the office of the Drew-Selby Shoe Company. The ensuing year he traveled on the road as a commercial salesman, after which he was bookkeeper for the Heer Shoe Company, and its successor, the ,Irving Drew Company, for eight years. Mr. Bridwell then purchased from W. J. Henry, an interest in the Portsmouth College of Business, HANGING ROCK IRON REGION - 913 of which he has since been the president. Under the able and judicious management of Mr. Bridwell this school is fast winning a prominent position among the leading business colleges of Southern Ohio, its courses of study embracing such branches as will best fit a young man for a successful business career. Mr. Bridwell was reared in the Methodist faith, and is now a member of Trinity Methodist Episcopal Church. On May 19, 1915, Mr. Bridwell was united in marriage to Mayme Ethel Lusher, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Lusher of Mercerville, Gallia County, Ohio.. HENRY SCHOMBERG. For more than half a century Mr. Schomberg was identified with the Hanging Rock Iron Region, where he began his career as a farm laborer and was also engaged in the trade of butcher ?or a number of years. He. won prosperity and lived with honor in the community, and was one of the Grand Army men in this section. Mr. Schomberg had one of the best rural homes in Harrison Township of Scioto County. Henry Schomberg was born in Hanover, Germany, October 15, 1845, a son of Lewis and Henrietta (Clausing) Schomberg. The parents left Germany in 1850 and emigrated to the United States, locating at Clinton Furnace, in Southern Ohio. Lewis Schomberg had been identified with the iron industry in Germany, and was employed for twelve or thirteen years in that line after coming to Ohio. He was a tender at the Clinton Furnace for two years, then moved to the Scioto Furnace, and while living there his first wife died. He married Elizabeth Dauver, and later came to Harrison Township in Scioto County and engaged in farming. He was born in 1819 and died in 1872. By his first wife there were four children; of whom three are here mentioned : Mary, wife of Adam Minch, of Chillicothe, Ohio; Charles, who lives in the State of Alabama ; and Henry. Henry Schomberg was about five years of age when the family made its journey to America, and his education was practically all the result of American schools. After leaving public school he found employment and means of self-support in a railway section gang. He was not yet sixteen years of age when the war broke out, and in 1864 he enlisted in Company I of .the One Hundred and Fortieth Regiment. That was a "hundred-day" regiment, but he served 120 days, and at the expiration of his term of enlistment he was honorably discharged. His patriotism led him to enlist again, and this time he went out as a member of the Fifth Ohio Cavalry and remained until the close of the struggle between the North and the South. His patriotic duty performed, Mr. 914 - HANGING ROCK IRON REGION Schomberg returned to Scioto County, and again took up work as .a section hand on a railroad. He learned the butcher's trade, and for eighteen years combined that trade with the vocation of farmer. From that time all his time and energies were devoted to farming. Mr. Schomberg, as the product of his own labors and good management, became the owner of a fine farm of 161 acres situated three miles north of Sciotoville. On July 9, 1868, occurred his marriage to Jemima Wait, who is a native of Scioto County. To their marriage have been born a large family of nine children: Mary, wife of Charles Gordon, and the mother of fqur children; Lewis, who married Mabel Haney and has two children ; Frances, wife of Southerton B. Mansfield, and has two children; Ruth, wife of Charles Ballinger; Anna, wife of Charles Sparks, and the mother of four children; Foster C., who married Sarah Knore and has six children ; Henry H., who is married and has four children; Stella, the wife of Frank Knore and the mother of our .children; and Nora, wife of Alvin Lewis, who has two children. Mr. Henry Schomberg had thirty grandchildren. He was a member of the Christian Church, being a charter member of his home church and acting as elder. In politics he was a democrat. He departed from this life January 30, 1916. JOHN GEDDES PEEBLES. A man of pronounced ability and forceful individuality, John Geddes Peebles, for many years one of the more prominent and influential citizens of Portsmouth, was widely known as one of the original "iron masters" of Lawrence County, and as a prime mover in the development of one of the leading industries of his times. A son of John Peebles, he was born, November 30, 1813, in Ross County, Ohio, about five miles from Chillicothe, on .a farm located on Lick Run, coming from thrifty Scotch stock. His paternal grandfather, William Peebles, was born in Scotland, in the Town of Peebles, near Edinburgh, and was but an infant when taken by his parents to the North of Ireland, where he was reared and educated. Coming to America in early manhood, he settled in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, and at the breaking out of the Revolutionary war raised a company of soldiers, which he equipped at a personal expense of £400. Going to the front with his brave men, he was wounded in a battle with the Hessians at Flat Bush, Long Island, on August 28, 1776, and died from the wounds received on September 5, 1776, his remains being buried on Long Island. After his death the United States reimbursed his family in Continental money, and also gave to his family a deed to 2,000 acres of not very HANGING ROCK IRON REGION - 915 valuable land. The widow and her three children were left in such limited circumstances that it was necessary to dispose of the land as early as possible, regardless of price. John Peebles was born in Shippenburg, Pennsylvania, November 21, 1769, and was scarce seven years of age when his father was killed in battle: He served an apprenticeship at the cabinet maker's trade when young, and lived in his native state until after his marriage. In 1807 he started with his family for Ohio, traveling with wagons to Brownsville, Pennsylvania, where he purchased a flatboat on which he proceeded to Pittsburgh, from there coming down the Ohio River to Portsmouth, Ohio, arriving in June, of that year. Continuing the journey with wagons, he settled. in Chillicothe, where he followed his trade five years. Subsequently buying land near Paint Creek, he built a distillery, which he operated until it burned. He then invested in a tract of timbered land situated five miles from Chillicothe, on Lick Run, and having erected a sawmill began to manufacture furniture from the beautiful cherry and walnut timber that was found in abundance on his place. Soon trading that land for property in Chillicothe, he lived there until 1819, when he started with his family for the prairies of Illinois. Putting his household goods on a keel boat, he sailed down the canal, landing in Portsmouth, Ohio, April 2, 1819. Mrs. Peebles objected strongly to-going to Illinois, and as he was satisfied with Portsmouth and its future prospects he decided to remain, and with that end in view bought a hotel on Front Street. A short time later he established a factory for the making of nails, which was then a slow process, twenty-five pounds a day being all that one man could make; and as the price of nails ranged from 50 to 75 cents per pound the venture was not profitable, and lasted but a brief period. Soon after his settlement in Portsmouth, John Peebles became active in public matters, and was often chosen to offices of trust and responsibility. He was a member of the first board of health of the city ; was custodian of standard measures of Scioto County ; was assessor ; overseer of the poor ; trustee of Wayne Township ; secretary of the county agricultural society ; and was a director of the Columbus and Portsmouth Turnpike Company. He spent his last years at Hanging Rock, Scioto County, his death occurring October. 22, 1846. His wife, whose maiden name was Margaret Rodgers, was .a daughter of Richard and Rachel Rodgers. She was born in Shippenburg, Pennsylvania, May 17, 1777, and died in Scioto County, Ohio, August 28, 1847. They reared nine children, as follows : William ; Rachel R. married Robert Hamilton ; Elizabeth became the wife of Dr. Hempstead ; Fanny D. ; Jane F. -married Robert Wood.; Richard R.; Margaret R.; Joseph S. and John Geddes. One child, Margaret, died in infancy. Vol. II-18 916 - HANGING ROCK IRON REGION John Geddes Peebles was educated in the pioneer schools of Portsmouth, and at the age of fourteen years entered the employ Of his uncle, John McCoy, a merchant in Chillicothe, with whom he remained eighteen months. Returning then to Portsmouth, he was variously employed until 1836, when, in company with Capt. Francis Cleveland, he embarked in mercantile pursuits. The panic of 1837 put him out of business, as it did many others who had been much longer established. In a paper bearing the date of February 18, 1830, the following advertise- ment appeared: "Removal "Portsmouth Hotel and Stage Office "John Peebles has removed to the commodious and well-known stand which he formerly occupied on the corner of West and Water Streets, near the steamboat landing (owned by E. Glover, deceased). The establishment is now fitted up at considerable expense and care, and he is prepared with accommodations more extensive and more convenient than he has ever before been able to offer the public. Persons desirous of taking a passage on either stage or boats, or those coming off at any time,, day or night, will find this stand conveniently suited, and attention will be given at all hours.. To those persons who have favored him with their custom he returns his grateful thanks and solicits a, continuance, and assures every one who may favor him with a call that no attention will be wanting to contribute his utmost to their comfort and convenience. ".The commission business is. continued by John Peebles as usual and attention paid to the landing of steamboats. Those who may favor him with Consignments may depend. on their business being conducted with care and goods disposed of agreeable to instructions at price as low as any ,regular house." Mr. Peebles built up a very good, business as. a commission agent, taking goods consigned to him on a flatboat and trading along the river until he converted them into cash. He was variously employed until 1842, when he located. at Pine Grove Furnace, where he worked at carpentry, the Meantime making a practical Study of the iron industry. In 1844 he was made manager of the entire business at the furnace, and continued in that capacity ten years. In 1844, with his brother, Joseph S. Peebles; and Samuel Coles, he invested his savings, acquiring a half interest in both the Pine Grove Furnace and the Hanging Rock Coal Company. Possessing excellent business judgment and discrimination, and being wise in the management of his affairs, Mr. Peebles met with rare success in his ventures, in a few years acquiring wealth and prestige HANGING ROCK IRON REGION - 917 in the business world. He was also conspicuously identified with many other commercial enterprises, among the most prominent of which may be mentioned the following: the Belfont Iron Works Company ; the Ashland Coal Company; the Ashland Coal and Iron Railway Company ; the Lexington and Big Sandy Railroad Company ; and the Portsmouth National Bank, of which he was a director and later president from 1875 until his death. Mr. Peebles was a resident of Ironton from 1864 until 1865, when he returned to Portsmouth and bought a commodious residence at the corner of Second and Washington streets. His death was caused by an accident, on October 30, 1901. He was active in business until his death, and devoted 'much of his time and means to charitable works. Liberal in his, benevolence, he was ever ready to lend a helping hand to any good work, being of a deeply sympathetic and charitable nature and animated by the broadest spirit of humanitarianism. He served as president, of the Board of Trustees of the Children's Home for many years, and was deeply interested in its affairs. Greatly interested in everything concerning the public, he took much pleasure in clipping items of interest from papers and magazines, and had in his library several volumes of interesting articles that he had thus accumulated, and from which Mr. Evans in his history of Scioto County copied extensively. Mr. Peebles married, June 10, 1835, Martha Rose Steele, who was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, May 29, 1816, a daughter of Robert Steele. Of the nine children born of their union, five grew to years of maturity, namely : Robert, deceased ; John, of whom a brief sketch may be found elsewhere in this volume ; Margaret J., deceased ; Mary E., and Richard R., deceased. The daughters remained with their father, caring tenderly for him in his old age. Both were equally active with him in church affairs and works of benevolence, ever ready to serve the suffering and needy.. Since the death of her sister Margaret, Miss Mary Peebles has traveled extensively both at home and abroad. JACOB OFFRERE, M.D. Prominent among the pioneer physicians of Ohio was Dr. Jacob Offrere, who came to Scioto County in the very early part of the nineteenth century, and for several years thereafter in the pursuance of his professional duties traveled everywhere about the country on horseback, with saddle-bags well filled, at that time there having been no drug stores in which prescriptions could be filled. The Doctor was born October 4, 1775, in Virginia. His father, Samuel Offrere, removed with his family from Virginia to Pennsylvania, settling in Lancaster County, where he purchased the 918 - HANGING ROCK IRON. REGION large estate that was later owned by President Buchanan. He subsequently lost all of his property by endorsing for others. He married Sarah Carpenter, a daughter of Doctor Carpenter, who was long engaged in the practice of medicine in Philadelphia. The Carpenter family came to the United States from Germany, where the name was spelled "Zimmerman," meaning a carpenter. Jacob Offrere studied medicine with his maternal grandfather, Doctor Carpenter, in Philadelphia, and after receiving his diploma came to Ohio, thinking his prospects for a successful career better in a newer country. Locating in Scioto County, he bought land in Wayne Township, a few miles from Portsmouth, and there erected a brick house on the river banks. In 1816 he removed to Portsmouth, where in addition to practicing his profession he was interested in numerous enterprises and filled various offices of trust. He served as township treasurer of Wayne Township ; was road supervisor; a member of the local board of health ; and also served as county treasurer of Scioto County. The Doctor invested largely in land, first buying 400 acres from the Government, and later buying extensive farm lands. He also became a large owner of city property of value. He continued a resident of Portsmouth until his death, December 12, 1859, at the age of four score and four years. Doctor Offrere married Mary Harness, who was born in October, 1767, and died April 9, 1843. Their only child, Harriet C. Offrere, became the. wife of C. A. M. Damarin. TRACE N. DIXON. While the Hanging Rock Iron Region is especially noted for its mineral resources, its farms are by no means a small factor in the total aggregate of wealth, and farming is one of the best lines of business carried on in this section of southern Ohio. One of the younger representatives of the agricultural class is Trace N. Dixon, whose home is at Dixon Mills in Harrison Township of Scioto County. Mr. Dixon spent a number of years in other lines of work, but is now quietly and profitably engaged in planting, cultivating and harvesting, and is one of. the highly respected residents of his community. Trace N. Dixon was born at Dixon Mills, a well known center of settlement in Scioto County, July 24, 1879, and is a son of Noah and Eunice (Dodge) Dixon. His father was born in Vinton County, Ohio, and his mother in Scioto County. The father still lives at Dixon Mills. There are two living children, the older brother being George Dixon of Athens, Ohio. Trace N. Dixon was reared on a farm at Dixon Mills, was educated HANGING ROCK IRON REGION - 919 in the public schools, and after the age of sixteen left his books to take up employment on the farm. For several years he was in the service of the Norfolk and Western Railroad Company. He drilled water wells for the company all along its system for two years, and was then employed in the terminal for some time until returning to his farm. Mr. Dixon has sixty-six acres of highly improved land at Dixon Mills, and raises the staple crops and also considerable stock. Mr. Dixon was married July 3, 1911, to Bertha Shuler, who was born in Scioto County. They have one child, Earl, born July 17, 1914. In politics Mr. Dixon is a republican. FILMORE E. MUSSER. Endowed by nature with mental abilities of a high order and the will and disposition to work, Filmore Musser is amply qualified for the responsible position he holds as cashier of the Ohio Valley 'Bank at Portsmouth, both by temperament and by training. He is a. native-born citizen of Portsmouth, as was his father, John Musser, Jr., whose birth occurred in this city, February 3, 1834. John Musser, Sr., his paternal grandfather, was born in 1794 in Pennsylvania, and was there reared and married. Following the tide of emigration to Ohio. in 1823, he settled at Portsmouth, where he followed his trade of a shoemaker for a time, continuing a resident of the place until his death, at the age of eighty-one years. His second wife, the grandmother of Filmore, came to Portsmouth from New York, her native state, her maiden name having been Mary Jane Ball. She survived her husband twelve years, passing away at a good old age. John Musser, Jr., a millwright by trade, spent his entire life in Portsmouth, dying at the age of seventy-six years, in 1910. He married Isabelle Jones, who was born in Portsmouth, a daughter of Charles Jones. She lived to be seventy-five years of age. To her and her husband four children were born, as follows : Filmore, Jesse, Nevin ; and John, deceased. Having been graduated from the Portsmouth High School with the class of 1875,-- Filmore Musser taught school the following winter in Greenup County, Kentucky, and during the succeeding two years was similarly employed in Green Township, Scioto County. In 1878 and 1879 he taught in the historic "Red Schoolhouse," in Clay Township, near Portsmouth, and in 1880 was principal of the Hamden Junction High School. He was subsequently engaged for a while in newspaper work as compositor and reporter. In April, 1881, Mr. Musser was made deputy county auditor under George L. Dodge. In 1886 he was elected county auditor of Scioto County, and was continued in office by subsequent re-elections until 1893, 920 - HANGING ROCK IRON REGION serving with eminent ability and efficiency. While thus employed, he devised and put into use entirely new methods regarding the management of his office, and with Charles Kinney, county treasurer, arranged a system of accounting between the two offices. To such an extent was the work systematized that at the completion .of his term the auditor's office was regarded as a model for the state, and to his methods, which have been continued by his able, successors, is due the fact that the offices of the auditor and ,treasurer of Scioto County are considered the best conducted of any in the state. Mr. Musser also, in connection with the county commissioners, devised a plan for funding the bonded indebtedness of the county, making a levy for the annual payment of a portion of the debt, the continuance of which te present time has left the 4.county free of debt. After his retirement from the auditor's office, Mr. Musser was for three years publisher of the Portsmouth Tribune. In the years 1897 and 1898 he was employed as an expert accountant by the state auditor, and in 1899 he prepared maps of the City of Portsmouth and of that part of Scioto County lying east of the Sappraisementor the decennial appraisement of 1900. From 1903 until 1910 he served as city auditor, and has since filled his present responsible position as cashier of the Ohio Valley Bank. On December 29, 1885, Mr. Musser married Elona Oakes, a daughter of Joshua and Temperance (Marshall) Oakes, of whom a sketch is given on another page of this volume. Two children have blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs. Musser, Ethel and Isabel. They are members of the Bigelow Methodist Episcopal Church, and have reared their daughters in the same religious faith. PETER JAMES KLINE, M. D. Forty years of active service as a physician at Portsmouth constitute a valid claim for recognition of Doctor Kline in any history of .that community, while as a soldier, citizen and man of broad and generous interests he stands among the best of Ohio's citizenship. Peter James Kline was born on a farm in Buckskin Township of Ross County, July 4, 1840, and represents substantial pioneer stock in that section. His first American ancestor was J. Henry Kline, who came from Strassburg, Germany. His grandfather, Peter Kline, was born in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, July 5, 1792, and moved into Ohio about 1825, locating near Chillicothe, where his work brought about the improvement of a farm which was his home. until his death on July 25, 1849. He married Isabel Dewey, who waJulyn June 9, 1792, and died Jilly 4, 1865. They reared nine children, named HANGING ROCK IRON REGION - 921 Henry L., Daniel, James, Jane E., Isabel, Mary, Jacob D., Peter L., and William. Col. Henry L. Kline, father of the Doctor, was born on a farm in Cumberland County, October 25, 1813, and was about twelve years of age when he came to Ohio. His education was from the rural schools of his native state and of Ross County. On reaching his majority, he found much of the country still unoccupied and bought a tract of Wild land, devoted some years to its clearing and then settled down to the substantial business of agriculture, which he followed successfully, acquiring other land from time to time, until his holdings amounted to 400 acres. His death occurred on the farm in Ross County, Ohio, October 9, 1879. Col. Henry Kline married Mary E. McCreary, who was born in Ross County, September 1, 1817. Her father, James McCreary, who was of Scotch-Irish ancestry, was born in Pennsylvania, December 31, 1769, and married Jane Menary. She was born in Kentucky, December 11, 1786. Her father was the distinguished Gen. James M. Menary, who was born in Pennsylvania, June 9, 1760, was a soldier on the patriot side in the Revolution and also was in the War of 1812. General Menary was a pioneer citizen of Ohio, having located in what was later Ross County. in 1796. At that time only one log cabin occupied the present site of Chillicothe. He and fifteen other families were banded together and lived under the shelter of a blockhouse located a few miles out of Chillicothe, on the high land overlooking the Scioto. That was his home for two years, and in the meantime he secured a tract of government land near the present slate mills, five miles from Chillicothe, and occupied that until his death. General Menary was in command of a squad of militia which in 1812 started to reinforce the garrison at Detroit, but learning of Hull's surrender returned home. General Menary married Mary Blair, who was born in Pennsylvania, October 30, 1765, and died April 29, 1850. During his young manhood Henry Kline joined the state militia and rose to the rank of colonel. He and his wife reared but two children, Doctor Kline and his sister, Mary. Doctor Kline spent his youth in Ross County in the two decades before the war. The district schools furnished him instruction until fourteen, after which he pursued his studies in the Salem Academy of his native county until 1862. Then began his career as a soldier, with enlistment on August 7, 1862, in Company I of the Eighty-first Ohio Volunteer Infantry, for a term of three years. He was made corporal June 27, 1864, advanced to sergeant November 10, 1864, and mustered out with his company July 13, 1865. The battles and cam- 922 - HANGING. ROCK IRON REGION paigns which form the record of the Eighty-first were also his own, as he was always ready for rations and for duty. He was on the famous march to the sea, and went later to Washington to participate in the grand review. His return from the army marked the beginning of his study of medicine, under Dr. Samuel C. Hamilton, and later at the Miami Medical College in Cincinnati, where he was graduated March 1, 1871. His first office for practice was in South Salem. In 1873 he matriculated in the Bellevue Hospital Medical College of. New York and graduated from the course in 1874. In the same year, on April 1st, he located in Portsmouth, which city has ever since been his home. Doctor Kline was treasurer of the Hempstead Academy of Medicine in 1881 and its president in 1883. He was pension examiner under President Hayes and President Harrison, and reappointed in June, 1897, by President McKinley, and is still serving. For six years, between 1886 and 1895; he was a member of the city board of education, and was appointed a member of the board of health on April 19, 1878, and served four years. He is a member of Bailey Post, No. 164, Grand Army of the Republic, having served as its commander. His church home is at the First Presbyterian. March 2, 1871, the day after his graduation from Miami, he married Elida E. Pricer. Her grandfather, John Pricer, a native of Pennsylvania, was a pioneer in Ross County, and followed his trade as a carpenter at Salem until his death. David H. Pricer, Mrs. Klihe 's father, was' born in Salem, Ross County, in 1823, acquired a good education for the time, and followed teaching and farming. His later years were passed in Portsmouth. His wife, whose maiden name was Amanda Wilson, was born in Buckskin Township of Ross County in February, 1825, and died March 11, 1889. Her father, John Wilson, a native of Pennsylvania, settled among the first in Buckskin Township, cleared a farm from the wilderness and lived there until his death.. Doctor and Mrs. Kline have reared one daughter and one son. The daughter, Lena, is the wife of Edward P. Reed and they have a daughter, Eve-line. Charles Flint, who was the Doctor's only son, graduated from the Bellevue Hospital Medical College, New York, and was associated with his father in practice until death took him prematurely from a useful career. The son married Jean Barr, who survives and has two children, Elmer and Flint. Doctor Kline is a member of the Hempstead Medical Society, the Ohio State Medical Society, and the American Medical Association. An 'intimate view of Doctor Kline and estimates of his character and activities are 'found in the Evans History, which says : "As a physician, HANGING ROCK IRON REGION - 923 Doctor Kline has the confidence of all his medical brethren and of the public generally. He stands easily at the head of his profession. It would not be too much to say that he is the most popular physician and man in Portsmouth. Everyone likes him-. He can always be- found at the front in every project for the public good. He possesses a wonderful store of human sympathy and is constantly expressing it. Make up a full catalogue of all the civic and domestic virtues and he expresses them all. "He is a pleasant, easy and entertaining speaker. He is on good terms with his audience at all times, and can always touch a popular chord, but on the occasions of soldiers' reunions he is unexcelled. He is always at home at a soldiers' reunion. He never misses one in fifty miles of his residence, and one is seldom held without his being invited. A camp-fire warms his heart at once, and on these occasions, while he is speaking, he is again the young soldier of 1861-65. He has never forgotten the enthusiasm 'of his youth, and he can bring some of it back to his old comrades. He has an inexhaustible fund - of war reminiscences and is constantly adding to his store. He has forgotten nothing of his army life, and can tell of it so that his hearers feel that they were eye-witnesses. There is nothing so interesting as an older person who can recall his youth in such a way as to make his hearers feel the fire of it. It is to be hoped the Doctor will hold the spirit of his youth as long as he lives, and as to that his friends wish he may rival Methuselah." LELIA NEWTON. Talented and cultured, and well informed in history and literature, Miss Lelia. Newton, librarian of the Carnegie Library at Portsmouth, has filled the position for many years, devoting her energies almost exclusively to her duties to the public, and to her faithful and efficient work is attributed much of the library's success and healthful growth. A daughter of Henry Townsend Newton, she was born in Portsmouth and here has spent her entire life., Miss Newton's grandfather, Capt. John Newton, was born, bred and married in Maryland. In 1830, responding. to the lure of the West, he started with his family for Ohio, crossing the mountains with teams to Pittsburgh, thence down the river to Cincinnati. He was subsequently captain of a steamer plying, between that city and New Orleans, and continued his residence in Cincinnati until his death. His wife, whose maiden name was Eliza Townsend, was born in Maryland, and died, while yet in middle life, in Cincinnati. One of a family of six children, Henry Townsend Newton was born, October 16, 1817, in Baltimore, Maryland, and as a boy of thirteen 924 - HANGING ROCK IRON REGION years came with his parents to Ohio. He grew to manhood on a farm near Cincinnati, and as a young man became engineer on a steamboat, continuing in that position several years, but - later being foreman in a machine shop at Cincinnati. Removing with his family to Portsmouth, Mr. Newton assumed the foremanship of Murray-Moore Machine Shop, and remained a resident of the city until his death, May 25, 1890. Mr. Newton married, in Cincinnati, Maria Brown, who was born in Belfast, Ireland, of Scotch ancestry. Her. parents, James and Mary (McClure) Brown, were born in Belfast, of Scotch parentage, and about 1823 came to America, settling in Cincinnati, where Mrs. James Brown died. Mr. Brown subsequently moved to Illinois, and there spent the closing years of his life. Mrs. Henry T. Newton survived her husband, passing away October 25, 1895. She was the mother of four daughters and two sons, namely : Edwin, Laura, Viola, Emma, Louis, and Lelia. Soon after her graduation from the Portsmouth High School, Miss Lelia Newton began her present career as assistant to Colonel Wharton, the founder of the library, and at his death, in 1883, succeeded him as librarian, and has held the position since, performing the duties falling upon her in that capacity with credit to herself, and to the satisfaction of the officers and patrons of the library. Miss Newton is a member of the First Presbyterian Church, and was formerly an active worker in the Sunday school. SAMUEL RANDALL ROSS. A hale and, hearty man, strong both mentally and physically, Samuel Randall Ross, of Portsmouth, bears with ease his burden of ninety-seven years, and having retired from business activities is enjoying a well-earned leisure. He was born April 8, 1819, in Oxford, Chenango County, New York, a son of Samuel Ross. His paternal grandfather, Andrew Ross, was born April 20, 1741, of Scotch parentage or ancestry, and spent his last days in Oxford, New York, dying in 1819. He married Sarah Wheeler, who was born in Newark, New Jersey, a daughter of Capt. Nathaniel Wheeler. Samuel Ross was born in New York City, February 21, 1786, and as a young man was graduated from Princeton University. Becoming a Methodist Episcopal minister, he preached six years in Virginia. Going to Oxford, New York, in 1815, he turned his attention to agricultural pursuits, and united with the Episcopal Church. In 1816 he was elected warden of Saint Paul's Church, and remained as warden, or vestryman, until 1820. Late in life he sold his farm and removed to Elmira, New York, where he resided with his children until his death, in 1861. Samuel Ross was twice married. The maiden name of his second