HANGING ROCK IRON REGION - 925 wife, mother of the subject of this sketch, was Maria Randall. She was a daughter of Robert and`,. Lucy (Pendleton) Randall, and widow of Alvan Stephens. She survived him, and died at the home of one of her daughters, in Auburndale, Massachusetts. She reared six children. Graduating from the Oxford Academy, Samuel Randall. Ross went to Cortland, New York; as a boy of sixteen years, and from that time until 1844 was employed. as a clerk in the general store of his uncle, William Randall. He then came to Ohio, locating in Portsmouth, then a city of about four thousand inhabitants. He came by way of the railroad to Buffalo, thence via the lakes to Michigan City, Indiana, where he took the stage for Cincinnati, which he reached after traveling three days in the most expeditious way then possible. From Cincinnati he came by boat to Portsmouth, where he established himself as a wholesale grocer, commission and forwarding merchant, and continued thus employed until 1861. He then transferred his business to Cincinnati, and there continued until his retirement from active pursuits.. He is now living in Portsmouth, in the dwelling to which he took his young bride in 1847, sixty-nine years ago. Mr. Ross married, September 7, 1847, Elizabeth Kinney, a daughter of Washington and Mary (Waller) Kinney. She was born in Portsmouth, Ohio, February 29, 1824; and died October 28, 1898. A short sketch of her grandfather, Aaren Kinney, son of Peter Kenney, a Revotionary soldier, may be found elsewhere in this volume. Mr. and Mrs. Ross reared three children, namely : Anna Randall Ross, George Kinney Ross, and Thomas Waller Ross. THOMAS WALLER, M. D. Distinguished as .the first physician to settle in Scioto County, Hon. Thomas Waller, M. D., was conspicuously identified with its growth and development, and as an early resident of Portsmouth filled many public positions of trust and responsibility. A son of John and ,Mary (Mathews) Waller, he was born September 14, 1774, in Stafford County, Virginia. He received superior educational advantages for his time, and in 1797 was graduated from William and Mary College-, in Williamsburg, Virginia. Going soon after that important event to Kentucky, he was for a short time engaged in mercantile business at Washington, Mason County. Subsequently attending medical lectures at the Pennsylvania Medical College, in Philadelphia, he was graduated from that institution with the degree of M. D., and immediately began the practice of his profession in Kentucky. On January 10, 1800, Doctor Waller married Elizabeth Macfarlane, daughter of Capt. Andrew Macfarlane, of Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, 926 - HANGING ROCK IRON REGION who served as captain of a company in the Revolutionary war. Going with his bride to Pennsylvania, Dr. Waller remained there a year, and then, in 1801, accompanied by his wife and infant child, he came to Ohio, traveling on horseback to Wheeling, and thence by boat to Alexandria, Ohio, arriving there on June 21, 1801. Purchasing property there, the Doctor immediately began the practice of his profession, and in 1803 was elected justice of the peace. At the organization of Scioto County he had the distinction of being the first representative to the State Legislature elected from that county. Subsequently removing to Portsmouth, Dr. Waller continued his residence in this city until his death, July 19, 1823. Doctor Waller was the first postmaster of Portsmouth, holding the position at the time of his death. He was the first president of the Commercial Bank of Scioto County, which was organized in 1817, being the first institution of the kind in the county. He was also the first president of the first council of the Town of Portsmouth,. and was one of the first wardens of the first vestry of All Saints' Church. Mrs. Waller died in 1824, in Portsmouth. Nine children were 'born of the union of Doctor and Mrs. Waller, namely : Margaret, who married Capt. Francis Cleveland ; Mary married Washington Kinney ; William died unmarried ; Thomas married Miriam Coppage; Elizabeth; Hannah died unmarried ; John married Mary J. Baldridge ; Susannah married John P. Berry ; and George A. married Jane Davey. ANDREW JACKSON FINNEY. One of the prominent old citizens of Portsmouth, whose span of life covers three-quarters of a century, Capt. Finney is a native of Scioto County, and the name has been identified with this section of the state for practically a century. He was a valiant soldier during the war, has been a farmer and merchant, and has filled with credit and distinction many of the offices in township, city and county government. Andrew Jackson Finney was born in Bloom Township, Scioto County, October 2, 1840. His father was George H. Finney, who was born in the same locality in 1818. The grandfather, Martin Finney, was a native of Connecticut, came from that state to New York and from there to Ohio, and after a short stay at Marietta floated down the Ohio River on a raft of logs and landed at Portsmouth. Going into the dense wilderness that then covered this country he bought a tract of timbered land ,on the southwest quarter of Bloom Township. He lived there as a true .pioneer, using his axe to clear away the forest and improving a farm which remained .his home until his death at the advanced age of ninety-two. In spite of his extreme age he retained HANGING ROCK IRON REGION - 927 his mental faculties and also his sight and hearing fairly well until the end of his life. Martin Finney married Tryphosa Hall, who died at the age of eighty-five. The four children who grew up were George H., Julius, Laura and Melissa. George H. Finney was reared in Scioto County and when a young man took up the work of teaming to and from the furnaces, and that was his regular occupation for a number of years. In the meantime he had invested his savings in a tract of land adjoining the old homestead, and lived there a number of years. Though he was in middle life when the war broke out, he enlisted on August 10, 1862, in Company D of the One Hundred and Seventeenth Ohio Infantry, a regiment which was subsequently transferred to the artillery service, and after that he was in Company D of the First Ohio Heavy Artillery. With this command he continued as a faithful soldier through its various campaigns and battles until honorably discharged and mustered out on June 28, 1865. George H. Finney finally removed from his farm to Powellsville and lived there until after the death of his second wife. His home thereafter was with his children and he died at Sciotoville at the age of seventy-eight. The maiden name of his first wife, the mother of Captain Finney, was Eliza Fullerton. Her parents, James H. and Hannah (Smith) Fullerton were natives of Greenbrier County, Virginia, and were early pioneers or Scioto County. Mrs. George H. Finney died at the age of twenty-five. He married for his second wife, Adeline Fullerton, a sister of his first wife. She left two children, George H. and Eliza A. Andrew Jackson Finney spent his youth on a farm, was educated in the, rural schools, and was already an independent farmer in this county when the war broke out between the states. On the 20th of April, 1861, only a few days after President Lincoln issued his first call to put down the rebellion he enlisted for the three months service in Company D of the Twenty-second Ohio Infantry. He was with that regiment until August 19, 1861, and a little more than a year later, on October 27, 1862, he enlisted for the term of three years in the Eighth Independent Company of Ohio .Volunteer Sharpshooters. In this command he was appointed sergeant March 9, 1863, was promoted to first sergeant November 19, 1864, and was mustered out with his company on July 19, 1865. He was with the first Ohio troops that aided in the struggle with the South, and was in service for several weeks after the practical ending of hostilities. After the war Captain Finney was engaged in farming until 1871, and then sold his place and spent about a year in Greenup County, Kentucky. Returning to Scioto County in 1872, he turned his atten- 928 - HANGING ROCK IRON REGION tion in 1873 to merchandising in Powellsville, and was one of the chief business men of that village for ten years. At the same time he filled the office of postmaster from January, 1873, until December, 1882, at which date he resigned. In 1870 Captain Finney was elected land appraiser of Vernon Township, serving one year in that office. His business career has been marked almost continuously by some form of public service. He was justice of the peace in Greene Township from 1873 to 1879, was treasurer of that township from 1881 to 1883. In 1882 Mr. Finney was elected sheriff of Scioto County on the republican ticket. In that election he received 3,286 votes against 2,915 given to his competitor, William B. Williams, making his majority 371. At his re-election as sheriff in 1884 he received 4,241 votes against 3,080 for his opponent, John Newdoerfer, making his majority at that time 1,161. All the older citizens of Scioto County recall the capable and efficient manner in which Captain Finney discharged his duties as sheriff. On retiring from the sheriff's office, Captain Finney became a clothing merchant for about sixteen months in Portsmouth, and then opened a stock of retail groceries. His business rapidly grew in this line and in 1892 it was reorganized as both a wholesale and retail store, under the name of A. J. Finney & Sons. While Captain Finney was general manager of the business, his son, Oscar T. Finney, was traveling salesman, and Walter A. Finney was city salesman. Captain Finney was elected clerk of the Common Pleas Court, November 8, 1898, and was re-elected in 1901, serving two full terms. In 1912 he was appointed market master of Portsmouth, holding that office until a change of municipal administration. In April, 1914, he was elected a justice of the peace by the city council to fill an unexpired. term. Everyone in Scioto County regards Captain Finney as one of the men who have been most influentially connected with the history of this county for the past fifty years. He is a member of Bailey Post of ;the Grand Army of the Republic. On February 22, 1862, after his first service in the war and before his second enlistment, he married Lovina Wait, daughter of Benjamin F. and Mary (Smith) Wait, of Wait's Station. HENRY BECKER. Now serving as county recorder of Scioto County, to which office he was elected in November, 1914, Henry Becker has lived all his We in this county, and for a number of years has been more or less actively associated with both business and public interests. Henry Becker was born on a farm in Washington Township of Scioto County, April 15, 1866. His father, Fred Becker, was born in Wuertemberg, Germany, where his parents spent all their lives. He HANGING ROCK IRON REGION - 929 and two other brothers came to the United States. Of these, Adam settled in Washington Township, while Henry subsequently returned to his native land and died there. Fred Becker attended school regularly during his youth in Germany, and after leaving school set out for the United States, making a passage which required fifty-two days, and landing at New York City. Coming West he lived for a time in Kentucky, then moved to Indiana, and finally arrived in Portsmouth. About his first employment in this section of Ohio was with Stephen Morrow in the latter's distillery. He next bought a partly improved farm in Washington Township. This land had water power, used for the operation of a combined saw and grist mill. These mills were under his management for a number of years, while he also superintended the operation of a farm, and his death occurred there in his sixty-fourth year. Fred Becker married Mary A. Walz, who was born in Germany and came with her widowed mother and several other children to America, settling in Covington, Kentucky. Mrs. Fred Becker died at the age of seventy years. The six children reared by her were : Mary, who married Jesse Rose ; Lena, who married Ed Nagle ; Kate, who became the wife of C. B. Longman ; Henry ; Emma, wife of John H. Gillen ; and Fred, a resident of Washington Township. Henry Becker grew up orr the farm in Washington Township, attended the rural schools, was well trained in farm and mill work, and subsequently graduated from the Portsmouth Business College. After the completion of his course at the business college he spent five years in the employ of the Adams and Southern Express Company, and then clerked for seven years with the Drew-Selby Shoe Company. He resigned to become deputy county treasurer one term, then returned to the Shelby Shoe Company for one year, and was next appointed and served two years as city clerk. Mr. Becker has thorough qualifications for his present office as county recorder and they were well recognized by the citizens who voted him into that office. April 29, 1897, he married Grace Donaldson, who was born in Portsmouth, daughter of W. W. and Margaret J. Donaldson. Mr. and Mrs. Becker have three children : Margaret M., Fred W., Jr., and Dorothy Elizabeth. The family are members of the Trinity Methodist Episcopal Church, and Mr. Becker is affiliated with Magnolia Lodge of the Knights of Pythias and with the Loyal Order of Moose. PEARL EDGAR SELBY. A practical man of affairs, keen-sighted and enterprising, Pearl Edgar Selby, vice president and general superintendent of the Selby Shoe Company, at Portsmouth, has met with 930 - HANGING ROCK IRON REGION eminent success in his business career, his success being wholly due to his energy and real worth. A son of George D. Selby, of whom a sketch may be found elsewhere in this work, he was born and educated in Portsmouth. After his graduation from r Portsmouth High School, MAlr. Selby served an apprenticeship at pattern making in the plant of the Drew-Selby and Company. Mastering that trade, he worked in the various departments of the company's manufactory, becoming thoroughly familiar with the art of shoe making in its every detail, and thus fitting himself for the advanced position he now occupies. In 1892 Mr. Selby became an active member of the Drew-Selby Company, and superintendent of one of its departments. Applying himself diligently, he soon learned the details of the business as he previously had of the work, and ere long was recognized as an important factor in the shoe business of the world. The Selby Shoe Company is known far and wide as one of the largest in the country, and in its growth and upbuilding Mr. Selby has been largely influential. He is likewise identified with various other enterprises of much importanc1892, Blanche Mr. Selby married June 8, 1892, Blanche E. Smith, and they have two children, Harold Rea and Gladys. Mr. and Mrs. Selby are members of the Bigelow Methodist Episcopal Church. MARK SELBY. Endowed with a business sagacity and patience that has enabled him to master the minutia of details, and an active mind that reaches far beyond the exigencies of the moment, Mark Selby, vice president, secretary and sales manager of the Selby Shoe Company, is closely associated with the promotion of the manufacturing and mercantile interests of Portsmouth, his home city. A son of George D. and Lydia (Webster) Selby, he was born and brought up in Portsmouth, acquiring his first knowledge of books in the public schools of the city. Being three years a student in Ohio Wesleyan University, in Delaware, Ohio, Mark Selby found employment in the factory of the Drew-Selby and Company, beginning work in a humble. capacity, and persevering until thoroughly acquainted with the various branches of shoe making. Upon the organization of the Selby Shoe Company, in 1906, Mr: Selby was made vice president and secretary and sales manager, and has since filled these responsible positions efficiently and successfully. He is also secretary of the Mitchell Manufacturing Company and one of the organizers and a director of The Standard Supply Company, both concerns of Portsmouth. HANGING ROCK IRON REGION - 931 Mr. Selby married first, in 1898, Miss Maude Grimes. She died in 1905, leaving one child, Christine Selby. Mr. Selby married second, in 1912, Miss Adelaide Hare. Fraternally Mr. Selby is a member of Patriarch Lodge No. 154, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and also belongs to the college fraternity Phi Kappa Psi. ROGER SELBY. A rising young business man of Portsmouth, Roger A. Selby, production and office manager of the Selby Shoe Company, one of the leading industries of Portsmouth, is ably performing the duties devolving upon him, and while advancing his own prosperity is ever mindful of the higher interests of his employees, and of the firm with which he is connected. He was born in Portsmouth, a son of George D. Selby, and is of English ancestry, being a lineal descendant in the seventh generation from one Jeremiah Selby, who emigrated from England to America in Colonial days, and for many years thereafter was engaged in the practice of medicine in Connecticut. Acquiring his preliminary education in the Portsmouth schools, Roger Selby entered the Scientific Department of Yale University, from which he was graduated as a mechanical engineer. He was for three years private secretary to Congressman Henry Baman and then for two years occupied a similar position with United States Senator Theodore E. Burton. Returning then to Portsmouth, Mr. Selby entered the office of the Selby Shoe Company as secretary to the superintendent, and later took up his present work. JAMES S. FRIZELL, M. D. Scioto County claims as one of its able and representative physicians and surgeons the popular citizen whose name introduces this paragraph and who is engaged in the successful general practice of his profession in the attractive Village of Buena Vista. Greater interest attaches to his success and prestige by reason of the fact that he is a native of the village in which he now maintains his home and in which his birth occurred on the 3rd of January, 1858. Here also he is fully upholding the professional honors of the family name, for his father likewise was numbered among the prominent and honored physicians of Scioto County. Dr. James Savage Frizell is a son of Dr. William Alexander Frizell and Artemitia (Kenyon) Frizell. Dr. William A. Frizell was born in Lewis County, Kentucky, situated directly across the Ohio River from Scioto County, Ohio, and was a son of Joseph Frizell, who was an extensive land owner and prominent agriculturist of Northern Kentucky, where also he built up a profitable enterprise in the manufacturing of salt. He was a citizen of much influence in his community and Vol. II-19 932 - HANGING ROCK IRON REGION was an honored veteran of the war of 1812. When of venerable age he came to Scioto County and here he passed his declining years at Buena Vista. The maiden name of his first wife, the grandmother of him whose name initiates this article, was Mary Savage, and she was but twenty-three years of age at the time of her death. She was survived by three children, James A., who became a successful wholesale druggist in the City of Dayton, Ohio; Mrs. Margaret Thompson, and Dr. William A. For his second wife he married a widow named Fox-worthy, and they became the parents of one daughter, Anna. Dr. William A. Frizell was reared to adult age in Kentucky, where he attended the common schools of his native county and thereafter took a collegiate preparatory course in a private school in Greenup County. He studied medicine under the preceptorship of an able and prominent physician at Felicity, Clermont County, Ohio, and then entered the Ohio Medical College, in the City of Cincinnati, in which he was graduated with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. After having been engaged in practice for a time at Rome, Adams County, he removed to Scioto County and established his residence at Buena Vista, where he built up an excellent practice, to which he. devoted his attention for a number of years. He then removed to the old homestead of his wife's parents, in Adams County, and continued in the practice of his profession in that county and across the Ohio River in Kentucky, in which state he maintained an office at Vanceburg. He was engaged in the active work of his profession for more than forty years, earnest and self-abnegating in his services to suffering humanity, and animated by that sympathy that transcends mere emotion to become an actuating power for helpfulness. Revered for his sterling character and worthy accomplishment, Dr. Frizell passed to the life eternal in 1889, at the age of sixty-five years. His widow now owns and resides upon the old Kenyon homestead, in Adams County, which was the. place of her birth and upon which her husband passed the closing years of his life, as previously intimated in this article. She is a daughter of Daniel and Rebecca (Zorns) Kenyon, both of whom were born in Kentucky, whence they came to Ohio and numbered themselves among the pioneers of Adams County, where they passed the remainder of their lives. Dr. William A. and Artemitia (Kenyon) Frizell became the parents of four children, of whom four are living, Dr. James S., of this review ; Mary, Ella and William, the last mentioned being now a successful jeweler and optician at Vanceburg, Lewis County, Kentucky. To the public schools of Buena Vista Dr. James S. Frizell is indebted for his early educational discipline, and he determined when HANGING ROCK IRON REGION - 933 a youth to prepare himself for the profession in which his father had gained definite success and precedence. With this end in view he was finally matriculated in the Ohio Medical College, his father's alma mater, and in the same he was graduated as a member of the class of 1880 and with the well earned ,degree of Doctor of Medicine. Later he completed a regular course in the celebrated Jefferson Medical College, in the City of Philadelphia, and this time-honored institution likewise conferred upon him the degree of Doctor of Medicine, in 1884. Though thus admirably fortified for his exacting profession, Doctor Frizell has not permitted himself to lapse in his careful study of medical and surgical science, but keeps in close touch with the advances made in the same. He avails himself of the best standard and periodical literature of his profession and further reinforces himself through his active membership in the Scioto County Medical Society, the Ohio State Medical Society and the American Medical Association. Soon after his graduation in the medical college Doctor Frizell engaged in active practice in his native town of Buena Vista, and this section of Scioto County has continued the stage of his zealous and effective professional endeavors during the long intervening period of more than thirty years. He controls a large and representative practice and is known and honored as one of the able and faithful members of his profession in this section of the state. He served twelve years as a member of the board of United States pension examining surgeons for Scioto County. As a citizen Doctor Frizell is essentially progressive and public-spirited, his political allegiance being given to the republican party and both he and his wife being zealous members of the Presbyterian Church, in which he has served as elder of the church at Buena Vista, as well as superintendent of its Sunday School. In Adams County he is affiliated with Rome Lodge, No. 535, Ancient Free & Accepted Masons ; his capitular affiliation is with Vanceburg (Kentucky) Chapter, Royal Arch Masons ; and he holds membership also in the Order of the Eastern Star; Buena Vista Lodge, No. 842, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and the adjunct organization, the Daughters of Rebekah ; the Junior Order of United American Mechanics, and the Loyal Order of Moose. On the 31st of October, 1883, was solemnized the marriage of Doctor 'Frizell to Miss Caroline Miller, who was born and reared at Buena Vista and who is a daughter of John and Frederica (Ukelar) Miller, the former of whom was born in Hesse-Cassel and the latter in Baden, Germany. Doctor and Mrs. Frizell have no children, but in their home is being carefully reared Anna Miller, a half-sister of Mrs. Frizel. 934 - HANGING ROCK IRON REGION HOMER SELBY. As purchasing agent of the Selby Shoe Company of Portsmouth, Homer Selby is actively identified with one of the foremost industries of Scioto County, and is successfully devoting his every effort toward the advancement of its interests. A. native born citizen of Portsmouth, he acquired his elementary education in public schools of the city, and in 1904 was graduated as a mechanical engineer from the Case School of Applied Science, at Cleveland. Thus finely equipped for a business career, Mr. Selby entered the factory of the Selby Shoe Company, with which he has since been connected. Familiarizing himself with business methods, he developed and demonstrated great aptitude for commercial activities, and since assuming his present position as purchasing agent is doing much towards maintaining the firm's reputation as one of the most prosperous and substantial concerns of the kind in the county. Mr. Selby has been twice married. He married first, in 1905, Laura Moody. She died in 1906, leaving one child, Mary Louise Selby. Mr. Selby married second, in 1913, Lola Davis, and there is one child, Sara, born to this union. Religiously Mr. and Mrs. Selby are members of the Bigelow Methodist Episcopal Church. Fraternally Mr. Selby is a thirty-second degree Knight Templar Mason, and also belongs to the Phi Delta Theta college fraternity. ORIN L. VEAZEY. On the fine farmstead, in Nile Township, Scioto County, where he now holds prestige as one of the representative agriculturists of the younger generation, Mr. Veazey was born on the 6th of October, 1886, and he is a scion of one of the old and honored families of Southern Ohio. Progressiveness and well ordered enterprise are shown by him in connection with the operations of his well improved farm, and in his native county he has secure place in popular esteem, his status in the community clearly entitling him to recognition in this history of the Hanging Rock Iron Region. Mr. Veasey is a son of Armour King Veasey and Dolly (Kennedy) Veasey, the former of whom was born in Greenup County, Kentucky, on the 13th of November, 1857, and the latter of whom was born in Scioto County, Ohio, a member of a sterling pioneer family of this section of the Buckeye State. Joseph W. Veasey, grandfather of him whose. name introduces this article, was born and reared in Pennsylvania, from which state he went as a cadet to the United States Military Academy, at West Point, in which institution he was graduated. He was a valiant soldier in the war of 1812, and at the time of the Civil war, though venerable in years, he gave excellent service in drilling recruits for the Union army. From the old Keystone State he HANGING ROCK IRON REGION - 935 came in an early day to Ohio and settled in Jackson County, whence he later removed to Greenup County, Kentucky. Within a short time thereafter he came again to Ohio and established his residence at Ironton, Lawrence County, where he became associated with William D. Kelley in the iron business. Finally he purchased a farm near South Point, that county, and there he continued to reside until 1879, his wife having died in 1877. In the year 1879 he removed to Scioto County, but he passed the closing period of his life at Ashland, Kentucky, in the home of his daughter, Mrs. Sarah Williams, his death there occurring when he was in his eighty-fifth year. As a young man he married Miss Elizabeth Campbell, who was born in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, the youngest of the eleven children of William Campbell, who was a native of Scotland, where all of the children were born except Mrs. Veasey. Immigrating with his family to the United States, William Campbell established his home at Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, where he engaged in the work of his trade, that of cabinetmaker, this continuing to be his vocation until the time of his death. Mrs. Elizabeth Veasey died in 1877, and of the seven sons and two daughter three were born in Pennsylvania, three in Kentucky and three in Ohio. Armour King Veasey was an infant at the time of the family removal from Kentucky to Lawrence County, Ohio, where he was reared and educated and where in his youth he was for several terms a successful teacher in the district schools. In 1879 he passed the winter in the lumber woods of Louisiana and in the spring he returned to Lawrence County. In 1881 he removed with his family to Scioto County and purchased a farm on the Buena Vista turnpike road, in Nile Township, where he continued as a successful and honored representative of the agricultural and stock-growing industries for more than thirty years. He then sold the farm to his son, Orrin L., of this review, and he has since lived retired, in this township. The maiden name of his first wife was Dolly Kennedy, and she was summoned to the life eternal in 1891, being survived by two children, Stella and Orrin L. A number of years later Armour K. Veasey wedded Miss Lucille Honaker, who was born at Quincy, Lewis County, Kentucky, a daughter of Dr. Cornelius Honaker and Emily (Storer) Honaker. Two children were born of this union, one who died in infancy and a son, Morris H., who is living with his grandmother in Nile Township. Armour K. Veasey is a stalwart republican in politics, has served as notary public and as a member of the school board of his district, the latter position having been held by him for sixteen years, in Nile Township. He has served also as township assessor and as a member of the township board of health. 936 - HANGING ROCK IRON REGION Orin L. Veasey was reared to manhood on the farm which he now owns and occupies, and is indebted to the public schools of Scioto County for his early educational discipline. He has given unwavering allegiance to the basic industries of agriculture and stock-growing and his success has been on a parity with his energy and progressiveness. In politics he gives unfaltering support to the cause of the republican party, and he is now serving as justice of the peace, of which office he has been the incumbent since 1908. At the age of twenty-one years he was elected 'constable of Nile Township, a position in which he served two years. Mr. Veasey is past noble grand of Buena Vista Lodge, No. 842, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and he attends and supports the Methodist Episcopal Church at Buena Vista, his wife being a member of the same. In 1907 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Veasey to Miss Belle Metzger, who was born in Lewis Township, Brown County, Ohio, and who is a daughter of David and Mary E. (Shinkle) Metzger. David Metzger was born in Lewis Township, Brown County, on the 28th 'of December, 1851, and on the same farm was born his father, Joseph Metzger, the date of whose nativity was August 16, 1817. The latter was a son of Conrad Metzger, who was born in Pennsylvania, of sturdy German ancestry, and whose father came to Ohio when well advanced in years, the closing period of his life having been passed at Circleville, Pickaway County. Upon coming to Ohio from the Keystone State Conrad Metzger became a . pioneer settler in Brown County, where he purchased a tract of heavily timbered land and instituted the reclamation of a farm, in what is now Lewis Township. He contributed his quota to the civic and industrial development of Brown County, where he continued to reside on his farm until his death, when about seventy years of age. His son, Joseph, succeeded to the ownership of the old homestead farm and there continued to reside until his death, in 1887. He married Miss Nancy Watson, who was born in Clermont County, this state, on the 31st of May, 1815, and who was summoned to. the life eternal on the 14th of January, 1882. David Metzger was one of a family of seven children and was reared to manhood on the ancestral homestead farm, the while he availed himself of the advantages of the common schools of the locality and period. He continued to be associated with his father in the work and management of the home farm until he had attained to the age of twenty-eight years, when he purchased a farm in Clark Township, Brown County, whence he returned a few years later to the old homestead place. Later he was engaged in farming in Green Township, Adams County, and in 1899, he removed with his family to Nile Town- HANGING ROCK IRON REGION - 937 ship, Scioto County. In 1909 he purchased the fine farm on which he now resides, in the same township, and he is one of the substantial farmers and honored citizens of this section of Scioto County. In 1879 was solemnized the- marriage of Mr. Metzger to Miss Mary E. Shinkle, who was born in Lewis Township, Brown County, in which county also were born her father, Walter Shinkle, and the latter's father, Michael Shinkle. Michael Shinkle was a son of Jonathan Shinkle, who was one of the early settlers of Brown County, where he reclaimed a farm from the wilderness and where he passed the residue of his life. His son, Michael, succeeded to the ownership of a portion of the old homestead and there passed his entire life as an industrious and prosperous farmer. He wedded Miss Sally Gardner, who likewise passed her entire life in Brown County. Walter Shinkle, who celebrated his seventy-seventh birthday anniversary in 1914, has been a lifelong resident of Brown County, where he has long been a representative agriculturist and stockgrower and where he has also been successful as a dealer in leaf tobacco. His wife, whose maiden name was Nannie Nowlin, was born near Lawrenceburg, Indiana, and is a daughter of Silas and Mary Nowlin, pioneers of the Hoosier State. David and Mary E. (Shinkle) Metzger reared seven children, of whom Mrs. Veasey was the third in order of birth. The names of the other children are as follows : Nannie, 'Jesse, Earl, Minnie, Lewis and John. Jesse married Miss Nellie Cameron and they have one son, Raymond. Earl wedded Miss Irene Sortman and they have two sons. Minnie is the wife of Cleo Snyder. Mr. and Mrs. Veasey have one daughter, Elizabeth. SAMUEL G. MILLER. There are many reasons why this sterling citizen of Scioto County should be accorded special recognition in this publication. He personally represented his native state as a valiant soldier of the Union in the Civil war and he has been a successful farmer and honored citizen of Scioto County for many years, his homestead farm being in Clay Township, near the City of Portsmouth, where he is now living virtually retired. He came with his parents to this county when a child and here he has resided during the long intervening period of nearly seventy years—years marked by earnest and fruitful endeavor on his part. Further than this, he is a representative of families that were founded in Ohio more than a century ago, before the admission of the state to the union, and thus his personal and ancestral history becomes one of consecutive indentification with the development and progress of this favored commonwealth. Mr. Miller was born in Columbiana County, Ohio, on the 24th of 938 - HANGING ROCK IRON REGION January, 1841, and is a son of Samuel and Emma (Peckham) Miller, both likewise natives of that county, where the former was born in 1803 and the latter in 1801. The parents were reared and educated under the pioneer conditions in their native county and there their marriage was solemnized. In 1846 they removed to Scioto County, where the father developed an excellent farm and became a citizen of worth and influence, both he and his wife continuing their residence on their homestead farm until their death. Of their six children the subject of this review is the elder of the two now living, and Phoebe A. is the wife of John C. McNulty, of South Webster, Scioto County. Samuel G. Miller was five years old at the time of the family removal to Scioto County, and he was reared to maturity on the old homestead farm, in Jefferson Township, in the meanwhile availing himself of the advantages of the common schools of the locality and period. He continued to be actively identified with agricultural operations until the outbreak of the Civil war, when he did not long delay response to the call of patriotism, as shown by the fact that, in July, 1862, he enlisted as a private in Company C, Ninety-first Ohio Volunteer Infantry, which was assigned to the Eighth Army Corps. After a short period of service. the regiment was transferred to the Department of West Virginia, and with his command Mr. Miller continued in active service until the close of the war. He endured his full share of hardships and perils and took part in numerous engagements, among which may be mentioned the following : Cloyd's Mountain (or Farm), Martinsburg, New River, Halltown, Stephenson's Depot, Winchester, Fisher's Hill and Cedar Creek. Mr. Miller was never wounded or captured, and continued with his regiment until the close of the war. He was mustered out in June, 1865, and duly received his honorable discharge, after a record that will ever give honor to his name. His continued interest in his old comrades in arms is manifested through his affiliation with Bailey Post, No. 164, Grand Army of the Republic, in the City of Portsmouth. After the close of the war Mr. Miller returned to Scioto County, and here he has continued to be identified with agricultural pursuits during the long intervening years. In politics Mr. Miller has never wavered in his allegiance to the republican party and in earlier years he was an active worker in its local ranks, besides which he was called upon to serve in various minor offices in his township, including that of township assessor. His life has been guided and governed by the highest principles of rectitude and honor and he has not been denied the fullest measure of popular confidence and esteem. For the past eight years he has served as superintendent of the Sunday School of HANGING ROCK IRON REGION - 939 Valley Chapel, of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and for seven years he has held also the position of class leader in this church, of which both he and his wife were devoted and valued members. On the 22d of November, 1866, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Miller to Miss Margaret J. Meek, who was born in Iowa but who was reared and educated in Carroll County, Ohio. Of the children of this union three are now living : Charles B., who was born February 8, 1868, wedded Miss Margaret Dall and they reside on a farm near Wheelersburg, Scioto County ; Edward G., who was born September 20, 1878, and who is a successful farmer of Clay Township, Scioto County, married Miss Elizabeth Bobst ; and Mary, who was born March 7, 1884, is wife of Orville Gable, likewise a farmer of Scioto County. There are also eight grandchildren. Mrs. Miller died March 2, 1910, and was buried in Greenlawn Cemetery, Portsmouth. AARON T. NOEL. The owner of a specially valuable farm of forty acres, in Precinct No. 1, Clay Township, Scioto County, and this township has represented his home from the time of his nativity, the while he stands as a sterling and popular scion of one of the old and influential pioneer families of Scioto County, with whose history the family name has been worthily identified for more than a century, its original representatives here having come to the beautiful Scioto Valley prior to the admission of Ohio to the Union. Aaron T. Noel was born in Clay Township on the 24th of April, 1842, and has been concerned with the agricultural interests of his native township from his youth to the present time, his present farm, while not of great area, being equipped with the best of permanent improvements and its fertility being of the highest, as shown by the fact that the land is valued at $600 an acre. Mr. Noel is a son of Aaron and Catherine (Orm) Noel, both likewise natives of Scioto County, where the former was born July 13, 1807, and the latter on the 19th of May, 1814. Mrs. Noel passed to the life eternal on the 25th of February, 1864, and her husband survived her by more than thirty years, his death having occurred April 1, 1895, when he was nearly eighty-eight years of age. They became the parents of six sons and five daughters, whose names and respective dates of birth are here noted : Nathan M., March 8, 1833 ; Josiah 0., April 17, 1835 ; Anna E., September 7, 1836 ; John P., April 5, 1839 ; Elizabeth F., October 18, .1840 ; Aaron T., April 24, 1842 ; Mary C., June 30, 1844 ; Jacob S.; April 20, 1847 ; Oscar B., August 1, 1849 ; Margaret J., February 6, 1853 ; and Sarah M., August 20, 1857. After the death of the wife of his young manhood Aaron Noel wedded Miss Rhoda P. Severns, who 940 - HANGING ROCK IRON REGION was born December 27, 1833, and who died May 19, 1889, being survived by one daughter, Henrietta R., who was born March 1, 1877. Aaron T. Noel was reared to manhood in Clay Township, where he received a good common school education, which 'has been effectively supplemented by the experience which he has since acquired in his association with men and affairs. Mr. Noel has not only become one of the representative agriculturists of his native township but has also been active and influential in public affairs of a local order—as a stalwart and well fortified advocate of the principles of the democratic party. As a young man he was employed two years in the' office of the adjutant general of Ohio, and while his father was serving as treasurer of Scioto County he held for two years the position of deputy treasurer, besides having been deputy county clerk for one year. His first elective incumbency was that of township clerk of Clay Township, in which position he served three years. He was a member of the school board for nine years, was township assessor for two years, and at the present time holds the position of land appraiser of Clay Township. From 1886 to 1890 he was internal revenue gauger at Portsmouth, and was elected in 1913 to serve for four years as justice of the peace of Clay Township. In the City of Portsmouth Mr. Noel is affiliated with Aurora Lodge, No. 48, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons ; Solomon Chapter, Royal Arch Masons ; the council of Royal and Select Master, and the commandery of Knights Templars. On the 14th of December, 1865, Mr. Noel wedded Miss Sarah C. Stone, whose death occurred January 19, 1870. Of their children the' eldest is Florence G., who was born September 12, 1866, who is the wife of James P. Appel and who has one daughter ; Charles A., who was born July 1, 1868, died August 14, 1891 ; Thomas A. P. was born November 9, 1869. On the 9th of October, 1884, Mr. Noel contracted a second marriage, when Miss Edith Taylor became his wife. She was summoned to the life eternal on the 14th of March, 1911, and is survived by one daughter, Gurney Margaret, who was graduated as a trained nurse and who now resides in Columbus. MILTON WESLEY BROWN. The following paragraphs take up the chief points in the history of a family which has been identified with the Hanging Rock Iron Region for a century or Tore, and there are few families that illustrate a more substantial stock and to whom this section is more indebted for the elements of good character in its first settlers than the Browns. Milton Wesley Brown has spent the years of a long and useful life in Scioto County, is a veteran soldier of the Civil war and is now living largely retired at his home in Portsmouth. HANGING ROCK IRON REGION - 941 Milton Wesley Brown was born on a farm in Marion Township, Pike County, Ohio, September 2, 1836. His father Royal Brown was born in Vermont, April 11, 1811, and was a son of David and Sally (Hubbard) Brown. Some years ago Milton W. Brown was elected the first president of the reunion of the Brown family, and fortunately his address is preserved and can be quoted for a very interesting account of the early origin and the principal facts in the Brown family history. The essential paragraphs from this address are given as follows : “Daniel Brown, who was so miraculously saved from death in the massacre of the colony to which he belonged, was the ancestor of this branch of the Brown family in Ohio. It is one of the inherent qualities of the human heart to acquaint ourselves with our family tree, to dwell upon the trials endured and the honors enjoyed by one's ancestors. Hence, by the promptings of this desire, we are here today. In 1646 the ancestors of our tribe emigrated from Scotland and settled in New England, in April of that year. There were eight families in the party. They located in what is now Massachusetts. They made themselves homes in the wilderness, and prepared the best they could for the coming winter. On the 8th of November following, a light snow fell. That night the Indians visited the settlement, and taking the unsuspecting colony by surprise massacred the whole company except one child. The particular Brown who was the ancestor of this family had a wife, two daughters and three sons. One of the sons was named Daniel, eight years of age, who slipped out unnoticed by the excited savages and secreted himself behind the chimney. As soon as the Indians had finished their bloody work they departed and at daybreak little Dan crawled out of his hiding place and went into the house to find his father, mother, two brothers and two sisters murdered and scalped. The child made his way alone through the forest fifteen miles to a settlement and gave the alarm. And from him, Daniel Brown, came our family. Dr. George Brown, D. D., of Pittsburg, and one of the principal founders of the Methodist Protestant Church, was a great-grandson of little Dan. This invincible little hero grew to manhood, married, and had three sons. One settled in New York and we have no record of him. One settled in Virginia and one in Vermont. Their names were Joseph, Amos and David. Dr. George Brown's father, General Jacob Brown, who commanded the American troops at Lundy's Lane in 1814, was a grandson of little Dan. Our great-great-grandfather settled in Vermont, and we are of the Vermont limb. " Our grandfather David Brown was born in New York in 1783. He was married to Sallie Hubbard in Massachusetts, and moved to Vermont ,in 1813. He went back to New York from whence he came to Ports- 942 - HANGING ROCK IRON REGION mouth, Scioto County, Ohio, in 1816. The Hubbards came from England, and settled in what is now Massachusetts. The first of this tribe known was William Hubbard, who was born in England in 1621, and came to America in 1630. He was a minister of the Gospel from 1665 to 1703 in Massachusetts. He was the author of a history of New England. Samuel D. Hubbard was born in Connecticut in 1799 and died in 1855. He was a member of President Fillmore's cabinet. When our grandfather David Brown landed in Portsmouth in 1816 he had just twenty-five cents in money left, but it seemed to be more than he thought he needed, so, agreeable to the custom of the times, he spent his last quarter for whiskey and was happy. He settled first on the Big Scioto river, but it being so sickly there he moved out to the Rocky Fork of Little Scioto, where he built a cabin. At first they had no floor, their bedstead was stakes driven into the ground and poles laid across, and all their belongings were moved on an old grey mare. Nothing daunted, they cleared out the brush, planted corn and potatoes, and Uncle Dow McKinney, who was a little boy and knew them, told me grandfather had turnips enough in the fall to feed the whole settlement. Afterwards he moved his family to what is now Stockdale in Marion township, Pike county where he turned his boys loose in the briars and swamps to root hog or die. But they had rugged constitutions, inured to hardship and the ground seemed to stick to them wherever they settled, and now their posterity owns a goodly share of the land in their community. I remember our grandfather as a short, fleshy old man with white hair who always had a kind word for us little boys. He was a great wrestler in his younger days and when General Jackson was a candidate for the presidency, he made the banter at a gathering of politicians at old Dan McKinney's that he could throw down and man who voted against General Jackson and he received a broken leg in trying to make good his boast. He loved a slick horse trade as well as a cat loves cream, and that trait in his character is not wholly extinct in some of his posterity. Grandmother was a kindhearted, saintly woman, cherished an ardent love for the Christian religion and the Methodist church, and there was nothing I enjoyed more than going over to grandma's and eating a piece of her. cake that was kept on the hanging shelf and grandmother never forgot the cake. This was when I was a little boy, but it is still fresh in my mind. Our grandfather's children were eight in number in the order named : Ransom, Huldah, John H., Royal, David, Franklin, Nathan, William H. and Joseph Jackson. I remember going with father one morning to see the place where their house had burned the night before. The bottom logs were still slowly burning. This was before HANGING ROCK IRON REGION - 943 insuring property was the custom by farmers, and it was a heavy loss to the old folks. "Grandfather's children were all church members, instilled the principles of religion into the minds and lives of their children, always taking an interest in establishing schools and churches in the community in which they lived; and as a result the Browns are a moral and law abiding people. So far, not a criminal belongs to the tribe. Not a saloon keeper nor a bartender can be found among them, and they were all loyal to their country and the flag. Many of them went at the call of the nation to war, and gallantly fought, bled and suffered for freedom and the Union." Royal Brown, father of the citizen first named above, was three years old when brought to Ohio by, his parents, and was reared amid such pioneer scenes as are glimpsed in the sketch already noted. He was converted in his youth and joined the Methodist Protestant Church, and being ordained as a minister of that denomination joined the Muskingum Conference. He had also learned the stonecutter's trade and built many stone chimneys for his neighbors. In Marion Township he bought a farm, and that was the home of his family many years and is now occupied by his son William B. Royal Brown was active in the ministry until late in life and was finally superannuated, and died in the eighty-fourth year of his age. Royal Brown was married August 18, 1833, to Rachel Beauchamp. She was the daughter of John and Elizabeth Prettyman Beauchamp. Her father was a native of England of French ancestry and her mother a native of Delaware and a kin to Dr. Solomon. Prettyman, noted as an educator and college president, and also to Rev. Wesley Prettyman, who was sent as a missionary to Bulgaria, while there was persecuted and mishandled by the Mohammedans, and severely wounded, and finally returned home and spent his later years preaching in Ohio. Mrs. Royal Brown survived her husband about three years and died in her eighty-fourth year. She was the mother of eight children who grew up as follows : Harriet, who married Thomas Allard ; Milton Wesley ; Francis Asbury ; John Sheppard ; Royal Benton ; David Tipton ; Rachel Ellen, who first married James Wallace and after his death Louis Nicholet ; and William Beauchamp. The son Francis Asbury was converted in his youth and joined the Methodist Protestant Church, served three years during the war with the Ninety-First Ohio Infantry, and after being honorably discharged was ordained a minister, and was active in the work and service of the Methodist Protestant denomination for forty years, twice serving as delegate to the General Conference. The 944 - HANGING ROCK IRON REGION degree Doctor of Divinity was conferred upon him by the Kansas City University of the Methodist Protestant Church. Milton Wesley Brown, whose early life was sufficiently back in the last century that he knew many pioneer traditions that are entirely unknown to the present generation, had his school training from the district institutions, and inherited the lessons in morality and thrift and the training in habits of industry which were generally characteristic of his family. In his youth he assisted on the farm and lived with his parents until his marriage. He then bought a farm in, Marion Township and went in debt for the property. At the end of about a year he sold this farm at considerable loss and then moved to Scioto County and bought a farm of 101 acres near Harrisonville. That was good land with fair improvements and he set up as a general farmer and as a dealer in cattle. Mr. Brown had a notable career as a soldier during the Civil war. On August 11, 1862, he enlisted in Company G of the Ninety-First Regiment of Ohio Infantry and was appointed a corporal. Going to the front with the command he was one of twelve men with the Ninety-First Regiment which were assigned to duty in Blazer's Company of Scouts, Mr. Brown .being a non-commissioned officer in that organization. Blazer's Scouts Were organized for the express purpose of effectively opposing Mosby's Guerillas, which at that time were exceedingly troublesome. Mr. Brown remained with his command in its many raids and encounters with. Mosby's men until OctOber, 1864. His horse fell and he was thrown to the ground and his arm broken, and as a result of this injury he applied to General Crook for a furlough. The general at first said that no furloughs were being given to anyone at that time but then asked the petitioner what command he belonged to, and on being told Blazer's Scouts, General Crook said if he was to do anyone a favor it would be to a member of that band, and told Mr. Brown to go to his regimental surgeon, get a certificate of disability, and then go to the division commander, General Rutherford B. Hayes, for approval. Mr. Brown did this and General Crook granted the furlough allowing him to return home. At the expiration of his furlough he started for Virginia to rejoin his command. Arriving in that state he learned that only a few days before Blazer's Scouts had been ambushed and most of them killed, wounded or taken prisoners, Commander Blazer himself being among those who were captured and taken to Libby Prison. Such being the status of affairs Mr. Brown rejoined his regiment in the regular command and continued with it until the close of the war. During his service he participated in many important campaigns and fights, and among other experiences was at Cedar Creek and HANGING ROCK IRON REGION - 945 saw Sheridan when he joined his troops after his memorable ride from Winchester, and saw him swing his. cap—not a hat as the poem says—in order to rally his -men aril, lead them to victory. Mr. Brown was honorably discharged with his regiment in June, 1865, and returning home resumed farming and continued that vocation with unusual success for many years. His land under his good management was well improved and was increased by new purchases to upwards of 600 acres. From 1894 to 1898 Mr. Brown was engaged in the sale of farm implements in company with his oldest son. In 1887 he was elected a county commissioner, serving two terms. In politics he is a republican. He is a charter member of the G. A. R., Scioto Post, of Harrisonville. His home remained on the farm until 1907, in which year he moved into Portsmouth and has since lived somewhat retired in that city. On August 21, 1856, Mr. 'Brown married Sarah Wood. She was born in Scioto County December 14, 1837. Her father, Simeon Wood, was born in Cayuga County, New York, September 7, 1804. Abner Wood, the grandfather, was born in 1766, one of a family of sixteen children. In 1808 Abner Wood migrated to Ohio, accompanied by his family, and located at Alexandria, then the principal town in Scioto County. However, he soon moved to the east side, but in consequence of the sufferings from the fever and ague in 1812 he moved to Little Scioto and settled in Harrison Township, improving a farm and living there until his death at an advanced age. Simeon Wood, the father of Mrs. Brown, succeeded to the ownership of the old home farm and lived there until his death at the good age of ninety-two. He is buried in the Wood Cemetery. Simeon Wood married Emeline White, who was born in Greenup County, Kentucky, a daughter of Daniel White, who came to Scioto County and lived and died in Greene Township. Mrs. Brown died February 20, 1906. On September 16, 1907, Mr. Brown married Mrs. Amanda (May) Cox. She was born in Lewis County, Kentucky, daughter of Benjamin Franklin May. She was unusually well educated, and possessed musical talent which was cultivated and which she employed for several years in association with her brother; the Rev. Frank May, a Baptist minister and well known evangelist. Miss May led the singing at many successful revivals over which her brother presided. As a young woman she married William Cox, a successful merchant at Concord, Kentucky, with a branch store at Poplar Flats. He died in 1895. Mr. Brown by his first wife had five children : Asbury ; Rachel, who died at the age of one year; Charles Wesley ; Emmeline Florence ; and Edgar. Mr. Brown is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. 946 - HANGING ROCK IRON REGION PETER KAPS. An honored veteran of the Civil war, and for many years one of the useful and active citizens of Portsmouth, but now living retired in Florida, Peter Kaps has now passed the age of four score years, and from early childhood until the close of his mature activities was identified with this section of Ohio. Peter Kaps was born in the village of Landen, Bavaria, Germany, May 19, 1833. His father, Kasper Kaps, was born December 10, 1797, in the "same locality of Bavaria, and was reared and educated there. For seven. years he served in the army of the King of Bavaria, and later became a dealer in live stock. This occupation developed into an extensive business, and he made a number of trips to Paris on business missions, and often told his children about the fireside at home of his experiences. He usually went to Paris either through Metz or Strassburg. In 1836 Kasper Kaps emigrated to America, accompanied by his wife and two children. The journey was made in a sailing vessel, which was six weeks after leaving the old country before it landed them in New York. After a brief stay in Albany, the family took passage on an Erie canal boat, and by way of that canal and Lake Erie reached the State of Ohio. They first visited in Southern Ohio at Piketown, where a cousin, Michael Nessler, lived. This cousin advised Kasper Kaps to locate in Portsmouth, which he did. Here he was employed at various occupations, and had a pleasant home near the corner of what is now Court, Ninth and Chillicothe streets in Portsmouth. He had land for a garden, and kept a cow, pigs and poultry, and while paying twelve and a half cents a bushel for corn, often sold the surplus eggs at four cents a dozen, and pork at two and a half cents a pound. Kasper Kaps frequently told his children of the sacrifices involved in leaving his native country, where he had a prosperous business, and the reason for coming to America was that his son might avoid the burdensome army service. In spite of that fact, two of his sons joined the army during the war between the states and saw active service. Peter Kaps was three years old when the family located in Portsmouth, and while growing up on the homestead above mentioned, attended school whenever opportunity offered. It is recalled that he sat in the same seat at school with Jim Ashley, who afterwards rose to prominence as governor of Ohio. Miss Elizabeth Waller was their teacher. Besides school attendance Peter Kaps worked for Daniel Parshley at farming and bricklaying, and served a full apprenticeship at bricklaying with Hon. William Newman, a brother of George Newman. The bricklayer's trade was his vocation until the breaking out of the war. HANGING ROCK IRON REGION - 947 On November 9, 1861, Peter Kaps enlisted in Company K of the Fifteenth Regiment of Kentucky Infantry. He went south with the raiment, and was in all its movements and campaigns until the close of the war. Among the more important engagements in which he participated were those at Perryville, Stone River, Chickamauga, Dallas, Resaca and Jonesboro, all of them critical and historic points in the great conflict between the armies of the North and South during the struggle for Tennessee and Georgia. At Chattanooga by appointment from General J. B. Steadman, Mr. Kaps served as Barracks' Commander from March 16 to May 2, 1864. Enlisting as a private, he was promoted until he held the rank of first lieutenant. He was honorably discharged and mustered out of the service January 14, 1865, at Louisville. After returning home Mr. Kaps formed a partnership with his brother in the contracting and building business, and that was the line of work in which he did his chief service while a resident of Portsmouth. During that time he had the contract for the building of many of the best residences and business blocks in the city. Mr. Kaps was actively engaged in business until 1904. In 1897 he had removed with his family to a farm, and lived there for several years. In October, 1910, having disposed of his various business interests, he removed to Florida, and purchased property at ,Zephyr Hill and St. Cloud, and now makes his home there, and as a pastime cultivates tropical fruits. On January 1, 1871, Mr. Kaps married Elizabeth Evans. She was born at Tipton, Staffordshire, England, a daughter of James Evans. Her father was a native of England, and on coming to America first located in St. Louis, was in business there a time, until an epidemic of cholera drove him away, when he removed to Newport, Kentucky, and was for a time employed at Swift 's rolling mills. From there he came to Portsmouth, and for a number of years was head sheet roller at the Gaylord plant. His later years were spent in Portsmouth, but he died at Atwater, Ohio, at the age of eighty-seven. James Evans married Lydia Taylor, who was born in 1812 at Dudley, Staffordshire, England. Mr. and Mrs. Kaps are the parents of three sons: James E., George P., and Henry H. Mr. Kaps has been a republican since casting his first vote for Abraham Lincoln, and among other things which illustrate his public spirit he served for five years -as a member of the city council of Portsmouth. JAMES E. KAPS. The contracting and building business which engaged the attention of Peter Kaps for so many years at Portsmouth is Vol. II-20 948 - HANGING ROCK IRON REGION now continued through his sons under the name of Kaps Brothers. James E. Kaps, of this firm, is a practical man in the construction trades, and one of Portsmouth's leading business men. He was born at Portsmouth, September 12, 1872, a son of Peter and Elizabeth (Evans) Kaps, and grew up in his native city, with an education in the public schools. As a boy he began learning the trade of bricklayer, and in 1900 became associated with his brother, Henry H. Kaps, and their firm has since had a large share of the contracting and building business in Portsmouth and vicinity. Mr. Kaps was married January 22, 1905, to Cora Blanche Bussey, who was born in Vernon Township of Scioto County. Her father, Aaron Bussey, who was born in the same township and of parents who were among the pioneers of Scioto County, was reared on a farm, and farming has been his chief line of activity. For nearly twenty-five years, however, he has been engaged in public construction work as foreman for Samuel Monroe and Samuel Monroe & Sons. Aaron Bussey married Flora Call, who was born in Vernon Township, which was also 'the birthplace of her parents. Mr. and Mrs. Kaps are the parents of two sons: Russel and Howard. Mr. Kaps was reared in the Episcopal Church, while his wife is a Baptist. Fraternally, he is affiliated with the Massie Lodge, No. 115, Knights of Pythias. GEORGE P. KAPS. The second of the sons of Peter and Elizabeth (Evans) Kaps, George P. Kaps, was born at Portsmouth, September 12, 1875, grew up in that town, and received his education from the public schools. At the age of fifteen he began learning the trade of bricklayer, and has made that trade the basis of his business career. At the present time he is foreman in the bricklaying department for the firm of Kaps Brothers. George P. Kaps was married in 1900 to Martha Barbee. She was born in Portsmouth, a daughter of William A. and Mary (Gable) Barbee, and is a sister of Mrs. Albert Turner, under whose name a sketch of the family will be found on other pages. Mr. and Mrs. Kaps are the parents of six children, named Carl, Ruth, Edith, Helen, George P., Jr., and Margaret. HENRY H. KAPS. The junior member of the firm of Kaps Brothers, contractors and builders, at Portsmouth, is one of the younger business men of that city, and has found the opportunities for success in the same line of activities which have engaged his father and his brothers. In November, 1915, he was elected mayor by the largest vote ever cast for that office. HANGING ROCK IRON REGION - 949 Henry H. Kaps was born at Portsmouth, February 4, 1878, a son of Peter and Elizabeth (Evans) Kaps. Reared in Portsmouth, educated in the city schools, he learned the trade of bricklayer under his father's direction and continued under the elder Kaps in the practical details of contracting and building until the latter's retirement. At that time he and his brother James succeeded to the business. They have developed a thorough organization and all the mechanical facilities for carrying out successful contracts in general building work, and particularly in the construction of brick and reinforced concrete buildings. A large part of their business is also in the construction of roads, bridges, sewers, sidewalks and other public work. Henry H. daps was first marriedin 1906 to Frances Merrill. She was born in Wheelersburg, a daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth (Pixley) Merrill. Mrs. Kaps died in 1910, leaving a daughter named Elizabeth. The present Mrs. Kaps was, before her marriage, Mrs. Carrie (Beatty) Belmart, the widow of Simeon Belmart. Her parents were Alexander and Mary (Skelton) Beatty. Mr.- Kaps is a member of the Episcopal Church. CHARLES VINCENT WERTZ. Noteworthy among the enterprising and -prosperous residents of Portsmouth is Charles Vincent Wertz, who is carrying on a substantial business as a dealer in real estate. A son of Charles Wertz, he was born April 27, 1872, in the City of Portsmouth, coming from German ancestry. A native of Germany, Charles Wertz was left fatherless when a young child. His widowed mother being left in somewhat straightened circumstances, came with her little family to America, locating in Portsmouth, where she subsequently married Jacob Kunzelman, with whom she removed to Beaver, Pike County, where they both spent their remaining days. Charles Wertz became self-supporting at an early age, working at any honest employment until entering a printing office, where, in addition to learning the printers' trade, he acquired a very good education. He was afterwards clerk on a steamer plying between Cincinnati and New Orleans for a number of seasons. Resigning that position, he opened a cafe in Portsmouth, and thereafter conducted it successfully until his death, in 1897, at the age of fifty years. The maiden name of the wife of Charles Wertz was Elizabeth Barr. A daughter of William Barr, she Was born in Portsmouth, Ohio, of German lineage. Her paternal grandfather, Thomas Barr, was born, reared, and married in Germany. Late in life he bade adieu to the fatherland, came to Ohio, and spent his last days in Chillicothe. Born and educated in Germany, William Barr was fourteen years of age