550 - BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. P. M., visiting churches. and objects of interest. The island is so very steep that sledges are the only mode of conveyance, many of which' are models of convenience and beauty, drawn by oxen. At eight o'clock they weighed anchor in good spirits from indulgence in wine cellars. The next sight_ of land was the Canary Islands and the peak of Teneriffe ; from Teneriffe they sailed seventeen days to the Island of St, Helena, where they dropped anchor in Jamestown Bay and landed on July 4. Here they went up Main street, a shabby affair too, where they found the Consul building, where all the foreign consuls were to be found, each one represented by the flag of his country, which in one common breeze floated aloft, and all are equal, Among them there were nine Americans, who, when they came to the Stars and Stripes, dropped their hats and gave three cheers for the Emblem of Liberty. They were W. C. Stickney, of Steubenville, Ohio ; Ed. Hall, of Zanesville, Ohio, William A. Walsh and W. H. Wiley, of Richmond, Virginia ; John Osborne, of Montana, Territory ; William Battenhouse, of New York City, and the subject of this sketch. Next they visited the former residence and the tomb of Napoleon, the First, where they were permitted to pluck a few geranium leaves in remembrance of the great warrior, and drank refreshing draughts from the very spring that once quenched the thirst of the sleeping warrior, whose deeds of valor has nerved the arm of many a soldier since. To this place from Jamestown it was six miles, but they returned ready to continue the voyage at about sun' set from the mountainous journey. At eight o'clock they were again sailing, this time for the cape, Their visit at this place was on July 4, and having asked the cabin privilege of Captain Coxwell, they, the Americans, had pre-arranged to celebrate it by a dinner. This project met with some difficulty upon a British steamer, as the English aboard opposed it and began to ridicule America and its celebration of that memorable day, They would sing "Rule Britannia" and other songs. At length the Americans armed themselves, being determined not to be thwarted by such opposition, and then warned the British that if it was necessary it would come to the worst, At this the British kept mute. Just previous to serving the meal, a Flag Lieutenant of Rear Admiral Campbell, who was bound for the cape, looked into the cabin and espied that the Stars and Stripes was above the Union Jack in the display arranged, and raised objection, complained to Captain Coxwell, that as he was carrying English mail it should not be permitted and to save trouble, by the Captain's request, they changed the arrangement and hung all the ensigns on a line in equal height. Supper was served and a good time was enjoyed with three invited guests, officers of the steamer. The next day a draft of resolutions were drawn, thanking the Captain for his kindness, which were handed him, On July 13, they landed at Capetown. The first land seen upon its approach was Table Mountain, a distance of one hundred and eighty miles away, The mountain stands 4,600 feet above the sea. The voyage was made in thirty-three days and a half. Upon landing they found business brisk and the streets filled with groups of Kaffirs, Malays, Hindoos, half breeds, etc.., many of whom were drunk on Cape Smoke whisky. The first night came on and they slept upon the vessel and the next morning arose at four o'clock to witness one of the grandest of sunrises, which HISTORY OF PERRY COUNTY - 551 they often saw, even in more grandeur than that, during their four years stay in Africa. Notwithstanding the beauty, mentioned, the barren waste of Africa, for four long years left nothing to be remembered with pleasure, only the monotony of a waste desert and Karroo remains. The reflections of home and the fertile soil of America kept a spirit of hope alive in the breast of again, through the kindness of Providence, enjoying its scenery and dying amidst its luxuries, On July 19, they started for the diamond fields ; traveled by rail eighty miles to Wellington, arriving at noon. This is near Bains Kloof, or mountain. After dinner they took stage and at sun set they reached the summit of the mountain. Took a supper at Constable, a poor substitute for American luxuries. Constable is a relay station. There were now thirteen passengers for the diamond fields. Horses were changed every three or four hours. Traveled for six consecutive days by stage, by way of Buffalo River,-passing river beds every mile or two, but only two had any waster, those of the Orange and Moder. Next they reached Worcester at twelve o'clock at 'night. July 24, they reached Victoria West ; here they slept five hours, having only two hour's sleep previous to that since they started for the fields. At this place they saw the first ostriches in Africa. The next place was Queenstown, one of the best towns upon the way. They next arrived at Jacobs Noll, on the Moder River, and on July 27, arrived upon the fields, having traveled about one thousand miles by stage in seven days and a half, Upon the way the first curious thing that attracted attention was the cape sheep. Its tail was so large that it was supported upon a small wagon to enable it to go about. The sheep would weigh about seventy-five pounds and its tail about thirty-five pounds, The tail of this sheep is used instead of butter for their bread, and is the much more valuable part of the mutton which is quite sweet. At one place they took breakfast with a Kaffir who lived in a long log house with a cane thatched roof, and built the fire in the middle of the floor with no stove or fire place or chimney, They seemed to live in keeping with their filthy life. July is a winter month there, and during their journey they had heavy frosts, The sight of the fields was something new. Europeans in their native attire and Kaffirs in their nudeness standing about in groups. With difficulty they obtained lodging for the night. Upon the next morning they struck for the American camp, where they found Mr. Flynn, Mr, Lancaster and a Mr. Seiber, all from Chicago, Illinois, of whom they obtained the use 0f a small tent, in which eight of the party slept upon a small litter of straw for one week, when they purchased tents for themselves, At that time they procured tools for diamond digging, The business proved unprofitable for two months, after which they met with some success, but what they endured upon the diamond fields was an experience worth years of life in some quiet work. The heat, the dust storm, the fleas and many pests, would test the hearts of the bravest. Smith found some valuable diamonds. Of the party John Osborne died at Pilgrims Rest, in the Transvoal. Mr. Stickney died in May, 1873, on the Bay of Biscay, on his way home, Walsh and Wiley returned to Richmond, Virginia, in 1874. Smith returned in June of 1876, starting on Good Friday in April, Mr, Smith's heart gave thanks to Providence for his health and success through the rough and hard 552 - BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. trials or the diamond fields and set out for his native land, which he now fully realized was the land of corn and wine, but twelve hundred miles distant. The journey he was permitted to make in safety by an overland route to Algoa Bay, from where he took a steamer ; stopping at Capetown two days, he sailed for England, via the Island of Madeira ; landed in South Hampson, May 21, 1876, and took a railroad train for London, May 31, and set sail from Liverpool for Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, arriving in thirteen days and a half by the steamer Lord. Here he remained six days visiting the Centennial Exposition, and on his way back visited Baltimore, Washington and Richmond, Virginia, and landed at Lancaster, from whence he started. After his return he married Mary Jane Bougher, daughter of Peter and Mary Jane (Burke) Bougher ; soon after which he went to Texas. After he had been gone four months his wife, whom he had left at her father's, died, May 13, 1877, after seven day's illness, leaving a new born babe which also died six weeks after, From this sad scene in life he returned to Lancaster and worked there until .the spring of 1878, when he came to Shawnee and opened in business, and in May, 1879, was married to Alice, daughter of Neil and Ann (Fealty) Coyle, of Perry county, Ohio. To them was born one child, viz. : Nellie Ann. Mr, Smith's mother, who was born in Limerick, Ireland, and his brother and sister are living in Preston, Iowa, SMITH, LEONARD C., editor, Weekly Banner, Shawnee, Ohio ; was born December 3, 1861, in Licking county, Ohio ; son of Sidney and Annie (Lawrence) Smith, His father was a soldier in the late war, and died in the service, soon after Leonard C. was. born. The father and son never saw each other. Young Smith began the printer's trade when thirteen, and at sixteen was editor, He assumed his present charge in January, 1881. The paper in his management has rapidly increased in popularity, and bids fair to be a success. SMOCK, JOHN M., farmer, Shawnee, Ohio ; was born October 24, 1829; in Greencastle, Fairfield county, Ohio ; son of John and Margaret (Mathews) Smock, Was brought up on a farm, and followed agricultural pursuits up to 1872, at which time he changed his occupation to that of teamster; teaming at Five Mile Furnace, south of Logan, four years ; at XX Furnace, Shawnee, three years. Furnished iron ore by contract, from Iron Ore Point, for the Fannie Furnace, one year ; furnishing all the ore the furnace used during that time ; and was engaged about the furnace until November, 1881, when he took charge of the stables which he has controlled up to this time. Mr, Smock was married May 13, 1858, to Mary V. Russell, daughter of William and Catharine (Wenner) Russell of Uniontown, Muskingum county, Ohio. They are the parents of ten children, viz. : William L,, Elmer E., Sarah C., Emma L,, Harriet V,, Minnie B., Robert Russell, Ella May, John Clarence, and Mary Estella, all living. Mr. Smock served as a carpenter in the army during the late Rebellion, enlisting May, 1863, and remained until Oc'ober of same year ; and upon his return, he volunteered with the O. N, G., and served four months in the Shenendoah Valley under General Siegle, when he was honorably discharged and returned home to his family. SMOOT, JOHN, telegraph operator, Shawnee, Ohio ; was born Feb- HISTORY OF PERRY COUNTY - 553 ruary 10, 1856, in Fairfield county, Ohio ; son of 'Solomon and Rachel (Pannebecker) Smoot. Mr. Smoot was brought up on a farm, and followed agricultural pursuits until he was twenty-one years of age, when he employed as clerk at Sugar Grove, in the Columbus & Hock ing Valley Railroad office, where he remained about one year, after which they sent him to Lancaster, Ohio ; Logan, Ohio ; and Nelsonville, Ohio, as clerk, Came to Shawnee next, where he has been clerking and studying telegraphy for six or seven months, and up to this time, and is now engaged as operator for the C. & H. V, R. R. SNYDER, SAMUEL, was born in 1843, in Clayton township, Perry county, Ohio ; a son of Peter Snyder. His mother's maiden name, was Ellen Dean. He was married in 1865, to Miss Margaret, daughter of Michael Reynolds. The children are : Mary, Ellen, Catharine, Mattie, Dora, Maggie and Stephen A. The brothers of Samuel are : Jacob, William, Joseph, Austin, Alfred, Thomas and Nicholas. In 1881, Samuel Snyder became a successful candidate for county commissioner, and his hotly contested nomination against a field of worthy and formidable competitors, was ratified at the following election, and he is now serving the people of his native county with great devotion to the general welfare, He is a working man, and in partnership with his brothers, carries on thzwortable saws and one planing mill. The hands with these mills ofte mp near the saw, do their own cooking, and thus reduce the expenses to the minimum, while the profits are kept up to the maximum, by judicious purchases of timber, by large contracts of lumber to the trade abroad, and the conversion of much suitable material into flooring and other forms for building, for bridges, and so on. The extortionate rates of freight charged by the B. & O, Railroad, is assigned as sufficient reason for removing the planing mill from Somerset to some other point, where competition for freight is likely to insure better terms. SOPHER, J, H., senior partner of the Corning Weekly Times; was born May 12, 1849, near Pennsville, Morgan county, Ohio ; son of J. D. and Julia (Newlon) Sopher, Mr. Sopher was removed from his place of nativity when a child, to Rosseau, Morgan county, Ohio, where he remained until manhood, when he was engaged as a clerk in a store for about three or four years, and then engaged in business for himself, selling drugs, medicines, etc., which he continued eighteen months in Rosseau, when he moved his business to Ringgold, where he was appointed post master, At this place he remained eighteen mon hs, and then moved to Junction City, Perry county, Ohio, having previously disposed of his goods, but continued as post master, employing a deputy for nine months, at which time he had the deputy appointed post master. At Junction City he was employed at various kinds of business ; where he remained about two years, when he was obliged to leave on account of the ill-health of his family, From there he went to near Portersville, Perry county, Ohio, where he was engaged at various pursuits—publishing a small amateur monthly known as the Comic Visitor, remaining there until November, 1880, then came to this place , where he continued the publication of the paper, and in a short time aft rward, made it a semi-monthly, changing the name to the Corning Times, issuing it at fifty cents per year. Again, in June, 1881, he changed the is- - 55 - 554 - BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES, sue to a weekly, and made it a five-column folio, for one dollar per year ; and in December, 1881, took into partnership Mr. George S. Weaver, of Columbus, Ohio, which firm continues as Sopher & Weaver, August 31, 1882, they again enlarged the paper to a seven-column folio, and issued it at one dollar and fifty cents per year. It was the first, and is now the only, paper-published in the Sundy Creek valley mining districts, and is neutral in politics. Mr. Sopher was married February 18, 1875, to Miss Mary F., daughter of Lazarus and Lorena (Shepard) Pierce, who lived near Ringgold, Morgan county, Ohio. This union has been blessed by two children, viz. : Allie May, and William H. Mr. Sopher's father was a former resident of Virginia, and afterward of Pennsylvania, but came to Ohio at an early date, and settled in Morgan county, of which he remained a citizen up to the time of his death, which occurred during the late civil war, dying April 22, 1862, at Savannah, Tennessee, a soldier in his country's cause. His mother also came from the eastern States, marrying after she came to Ohio, and is still a venerable resident of Rosseau, Ohio. Mrs. Sopher's parents came to Ohio from Pennsylvania, during the pioneer period, and were married in this State, living near Ringgold, Morgan county, Ohio, up to the time of their deaths. Mr. Pierce died in 1862, and Mrs, Pierce died in 1874. SOUSLIN, ISAAC, farmer ; post office, Somerset, Ohio ; born in 1838. in Perry county ; is a son of Jacob Souslin, and his wife, Sarah E., daughter of Michael Lutz. His grandfather, Martin Souslin, was a resident of Licking county, Ohio, where he deceased, Isaac was married in 1865, to Miss Nancy Stickel. He enlisted in Company.G, Thirty-first Regiment, 0. V. I., and served to the end of the war. He was partner in a tan yard for six years, with his brother-in-law, Charles Stickel ; farmed rented land two years ; and in 1876, he bought in section 35, Hopewell, of William Parks. He has greatly improved this farm, and demonstrated the power of industry and good husbandry in production of good crops. The children are : Charles F,, John R., Laura W., Sarah K., Louisa Ellen, Mary Alice, Bertha Olive, William Henry, Daniel Richard, and James A. Garfield Souslin. Mr. and Mrs. Souslin are Lutheran in religion, and add to the comforts of home the light of the newspapers and the contentment of Christians. SPARKS, LEROY B., carpenter, Shawnee, Ohio ; was born February 15, 1854, in Bowling B,, Licking county, Ohio ; son of William and Elizabeth (Brady) Sparks. Was raised upon a farm to the age of eleven years, when his father moved into Brownsville, same county, and with whom he made his home until he was eighteen years of age, when he came to Shawnee, Ohio, He learned the carpenter trade while at home with his father. Upon coming to Shawnee, he first employed with the New York and Straitsville Coal and Iron Company, as a carpenter, and worked six months ; and has been employed at that business at the following places : London, Madison county, Ohio, two months ; Upson Coal Company, Shawnee, Ohio, one year ; Odd Fellows' Hall, this place, for B, Hollenbach, two months. At this time he returned to his father's home, and remained three months, during which time he was married to Jessie M., daughter of George W, and Alcinda (Fry) Holmes, of Brownsville, Licking county, Ohio. They are the parents of two HISTORY OF PERRY COUNTY - 555 children, viz. : Edward P. and Allie Grace. After his marriage he returned to Shawnee, Ohio, where he has remained up to this time, and has been employed at his trade upon contracts for Swartz, three months ; assisted in building the M. E. Church ; for XX Coal and Iron Company, one year ; on contracts with John Campbell, two months ; at Fannie Furnace, three months ; again at XX Furnace, about one year ; and with the New York and Straitsville Coal and Iron Company, up to this time. SPENCE, THOMAS, mine boss at No. 9, Rendville, Ohio ; was born June 2, 1840, in England, At eight years of age he went into the mines of England, where he worked until 1863, when he came to Allegheny c0unty, Pennsylvania, and remained about one year ; then came to Bellaire, Ohio, and was mine boss there about six years. He came to the Hocking coal district about 1872, and to his present place in 1879, Mr, Spence was married June 19, 1858, to Miss Margaret, daughter of Robert and Anne (Maughan) Bickerton, of England. They adopted a child, Catharine, married to Mathew Robson, and Elizabeth and Anne, Mr, Spence has had an extensive experience in mining, and thoroughly understands the business. SPENCER, HENRY W., farmer, Reading township, post office Somerset ; son of William C., and grandson of William Spencer, who was born in 1772, and came to Perry county in 1805, his wife being Martha Love, a sister f Thompson Love's mother, and of Irish descent. Henry's grandfather died in his eighty-eighth year, and his grandmother nine years p or to this event. His father was born on the Spencer homestead in 1808, and is yet living, while his mother died therein her sixty-eighth year. Her maiden name was Weirick. Her sons were Horace, shot to death by one Harvey in an altercation in Omaha ; John, who resides in Dayton, Ohio and Harry, who resides upon the homestead of his ancestry, near Somerset, Her daughters were Louisa Cain, Ellen Overmeyer, Martha Law, and Ann Shirley, all deceased, leaving Henry and John the only survivors. The family is of Old School Baptist belief, and Whig, or Republican in politics, Henry was in Company E, Seventeenth Ohio, and Company I, One Hundred and Fourteenth Ohio, and served as a soldier to the end of the late war. He was united in marriage May 1, 1866, to Miss Emma Keys, a daughter of the late Thomas and Elizabeth Keys, whose maiden name was Henderson. The family at present comprises Father Spencer, his granddaughter, Henrietta Overmeyer, Miss Belle, the sister of Mrs. Henry Spencer, and four children, viz. : Charles, May, Paul and Nellie. The Spencer homestead, under the proprietorship of Henry, its present chief, maintains its ancient reputation for social hospitality and intelligence. It has fallen to his lot to live where his grandparents died, where his father was born, where his mother bade him a last farewell, and where, also, three of his sisters returned to receive paternal care in their last sickness. It was his uncle, Eli Spencer, who represented Perry and Muskingum in the Senate of Ohio, and the public has indicated its partiality towards Henry also. In the fall of 1880 he was elected land appraiser in Reading township by fifty majority, when the party of his worthy opponent carried the township by one hundred and forty majority for Hancock. 556 - BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. SPIECE, PHILIP, born in Prussia, came to America when young and settled in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, and there married Susannah Merchant. His sons, Peter and David, were born in Pennsylvania, and Adam in Reading township ; the latter married Miss Odlin, and has one son living in Dayton, Philip came to Ohio in 1809, and settled where David now lives. Was of the Reformed church, and a farmer. SPIECE, DAVID, born January 3, 1807, second son of Philip, who, with his son Peter, bought the homestead and who then bought Peter's share. Married, for his first wife, Mary M. Houtz, by whom he had the following living children : Susan, wife of Abner Rarick, a farmer, five children ; Daniel, farmer, one son and two daughters ; Solomon, carpenter, bachelor, Dayton, Ohio ; Lydia, wife of John Price, farmer, Paulding county, Ohio; George, married to Isabel Bowman, farmer and miller, has four sons and one daughter, Paulding county,Ohio ; Sarah, single, at home ; Peter, married to Cecelia Mitchell, farmer, two sons and two daughters, Fairfield county. David, married a second wife, Katharine (Voght) Davis in 1848, by union he had four children ; those living are Jane C., Almedea S., wife of Henry Baker, who has one son and three daughters, farmer, Reading township ; John W., teacher, farmer, single. His taxes, $40 per year now, have been as high as $100 during the war. He kept wood fires exclusively to within a few years ; has used tobacco fifty years ; drinks from a hard water spring, and has lived on the same place for seventy-three years, and has voted at the same poll for fifty-three years, the Democratic ticket up to 1854, and the Republican ticket since then. He is a member of the Methodist Church, and one of the few early settlers. SPIRER, DANIEL, day laborer, Shawnee, Ohio; was born February 27, 1849, in Fairfield county, Ohio, son of Ambrose and Theresa Spirer, Mr. Spirer was brought up on a farm and followed agricultural pursuits until he was twenty-one years of age, at which time he engaged in huckstering and assisting in a store for two years, and then moved to Shawnee in 1873, where he has been engaged in trimming coal upon railroad, digging ore, and hotel business up to this time. He now owns eight and one quarter acres of land with a substantial frame dwelling upon it, just out of corporation limits of Shawnee, Was married July 20, 1870, to Regena, daughter of Adam and Frances (Cable) Bock, of Fairfield county, Ohio, They are the parents of six children, viz. : Theresa Ann, Adams Cecily, Joseph, William, and Margaret, all living at home. SPRINGER, EZEKIAH, farmer, Saltlick township, post office, Hemlock, Ohio, son of Daniel and Jane (Jones) Springer, was born March 29, 1823, in Harrison county, Ohio. Mr. Springer was raised a farmer, and has followed agricultural pursuits to the present time. Lived in his native county until he was thirteen years of age, when, with his father, he came to the farm of one hundred and sixty acres, upon which he now resides. His father entered this land, paying $1.25 per acre. He built his cabin, cleared the farm, and lived upon it until 1846, when he sold it to his sons Ezekiah and Rezin. Mr, E. Springer has added twenty acres to his eighty acres and much improved the farm; having erected a fine farm residence, He also assisted in HISTORY OF PERRY COUNTY - 557 cutting the logs and building the first cabin upon the farm. Mr. Springer has been deacon of the Christian or Disciple Church about twenty-five years. Was married October 3, 1853, to Catharine, daughter of John and Rebecca (Avery) Condon, of Salt Lick township, this county. They are the parents of ten children, viz. : Benjamin F., Mary, William, Rebecca, John, Alice, Lewis, Granville, Lillie and Annie. SPRINGER, BENJAMIN F., farmer, Saltlick township, post office, Hemlock, Ohio, was born in this township ; son of Ezekiah and Elizabeth (Condon) Springer, Was brought up on a farm, and has followed agricultural pursuits to the present time. When twenty-one years of age, he went to Union county, Ohio, and worked upon a farm three years, when he returned home and was married, September 1, 1877, to Almira J., daughter of Simeon and Elizabeth J. (Storer) Sanders, of what is now Coal township. They are the parents of two children, viz, : Alton J., and Effie B. In about one year after his marriage he moved to Clark county, Iowa, where he remained about three years and six months, when he returned and located on his present farm near Hemlock, Ohio. STALLSMITH, JOHN S,, manufacturer of woolen goods, Hemlock, Ohio ; born October 19, 1833, in Harrison county, son of George and Elizabeth (Springer) Stallsmith, Mr. Stallsmith was brought up on farm and followed farming until he was twenty-three or twenty-four years of age, when he began working at the carpenter trade, which he followed for about four years. He then enlisted in the army, in 1861, for three years, or during the war, and served up to the holidays of 1863, when he veteranized for three years, or during the war, and served up to August, 1865, when he was discharged by reason of the close of the war, Mr. Stallsmith enlisted as a drummer and refused two proffered promotions to First and Second Lieutenant, as it would have taken him from his company, but was discharged as First Sergeant, He served in Company A, Thirty-first Regiment, O. V. I., in the Army of the Cumberland, First Division, Fourteenth Army Corps, and was in the following engagements : Mill Springs, Kentucky, January 19, 1862 ; Siege of Corinth, Mississippi, May, 1862 ; Perryville, Kentucky, October 8, 1862 ; Shepperdsville, Kentucky, 1862 ; Cages Ford, Tennessee, November 22, 1862 ; Stone River, December 30, 1882 to January 2, 1863 ; Hoover's Gap, June 26, 1863 ; Tullahoma, June 30, 1863 ; Chickamauga, Sept. 19 and 20, 1863 ; Mission Ridge, Tennessee, November 25, 1863 ; Resaca, Georgia, May 14, 1864 ; Tunnel Hill, Georgia, May 8, 1864 ; Dalton, Georgia, May 12, 1864 ; Dallas Gap, Georgia, May 27, 1864 ; Pine Mountain, Georgia, June 19, 1864 ; Kennesaw Mountains, Georgia, June 24, 1864 ; Chatahoochie River, Ga., July 5, 1864 ; Peachtree Creek, Georgia, July 20, 1864 ; Atlanta, Ga., September 2, 1864 ; Jonesboro, Georgia, September 1, 1864 ; Nashville Savannah ; Averysboro, North Carolina, March 16, 1865 ; Ben :onville, North Carolina, March 19, 1865 ; and on Sherman's March to the Sea, Upon returning home he purchased a store in Millersville, which hich he owned about six months, when he sold the store and engaged in running a saw-mill for about six years, after which he went into the woolen manufactory which he continued up to 1881, when he quit but a gain re- 558 - BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES sumed, and was the cause of Hemlock being built,by the establishment of the woolen mill. He is now Justice of the Peace of Saltlick township, and has served several terms as township trustee, and as school director. Mr Stallsmith was married December 29, 1865, to Hannah, daughter of James and Eliza (Veil) Ball, of Coal township. They are the parents of four children, viz. : Eva May, Eliza Helena, William Hermon and Cora Jane. By his first wife he had three children, viz. : Jacob Geo., John W., and Mary Elizabeth. STALTER, JOSEPH, farmer, post office New Lexington, Clayton township, Perry county, Ohio ; born in this county in 1848 ; son of John and Mary (Stakely) Stalter, the former died in 1880. Mr. Stalter was married, in 1869, to Miss ary  Snider, daughter of Peter and Ellen (Dean) Snider. They are the parents of seven children, viz. : John P., Lucy, deceased ; William P,, Mary E., Gertrude, Thomas V. and Jessie, deceased. STEVENSON, JAMES, engineer, Rendville, Ohio ; was born August 19, 1838, in Clarion county, Pennsylvania ; son of Samuel and Susan (Kissinger) Stevenson. When a child his parents moved to Lawrence county, Pennsylvania, where he made his home until he became a man, after which he made his home in Ohio and Pennsylvania, He came to his present residence in 1879. Mr. Stevenson was married July 7, 1860, to Miss Eva E., daughter of David and Catharine Kennedy, of Lawrence county, Pennsylvania. They are the parents of two children, viz. : George M., married to Anne I. George, of Perry county, Ohio, and Laura, who died in infancy. STEWART, JOHN, born in 1836, in county Donegal, Ireland ; came to America in 1852; revisited Ireland, England, the isle of Man and Scot- land in 1865. His marriage is referred to in the Hammond biography. His brothers are James, George, Hugh, Thomas and Gilbreth, ,His sisters are Ann, Jane, Mary and Lucy, all in Ireland, His mother's maiden name was Nancy Meldrem. After learning the blacksmith trade, and visiting different parts of the United States, and meeting with some thrilling adventures on the frontier, Mr, Stewart married and settled on the Hammond homestead, to which his industry and thrift have added many acres and much improvement, He ranks among the foremost farmers in enterprise and intelligence, and is the founder of a new American house of Stewart, STEWART, JAMES, miner, New Straitsville ; he was born in Tyrone county, Ireland, September 16, 1842 ; is a son of Hugh and Jane Stewart, natives of Ireland. He came to America in 1859, and settled in Schuylkill county, Pennsylvania, where he remained until 1861 ; he then came to Athens county, Ohio. In 1864, he married Mary Duffey, whose parents were natives of Ireland, Mr, Stewart came to New Straitsville in 1871, and began mining coal for the Straitsville Mining Company, by whom he is yet employed. He has, by his industry, accumulated the home where he now resides. STICKEL, CHARLES, son of Daniel M. Stickel, who was born in Hesse Cassell, Germany in 1798, and died in Somerset, O., in 1861, at the age of sixty-three years ; his wife was Katharine Staffinger. They brought with them three children to the State of Virginia, in 1833, where they remained about six years. They came to Somerset in 1839, Their HISTORY OF PERRY COUNTY - 559 sons are John, in Van Were, Ohio ; Daniel and Charles in Somerset, Ohio. The daughters are Emily Parkeson, post office Somerset ; Catharine Parkeson, of Newark ; Maria, of Somerset ; Mary Fromm, of Canal Winchester ; Nancy Souslin, near Somerset. Charles Stickel was married to Phidelia J. Jones, daughter of Jehu B. Jones. He finished work as an apprentice at the tanning trade in 1867, and now owns the residence and tannery of his preceptor. He volunteered in Company G, Thirty-first Regiment, O.V. I., Captain Jackson in "1861 ; was wounded November 25, 1863, at Mission Ridge ; re-enlisted and was honorably discharged July 25, 1865. He has added the Forquair, to the Poorman estate and tannery, works three hands, and his leather is sought for at home and abroad. He is Lutheran in religion, Republican in politics, and his career illustrates the rewards of patriotism, sobriety, industry and plodding perseverance. His mother is yet living at the age of eighty-one, to which advance period of life she has arrived without the aid of snuff or tobacco. STILLMAN, T. SPENCER, born March 26, 1823, in Weathersfield, Hartford county, Connecticut ; son of Deacon Ebenezer Stillman, and the youngest of twelve children., His mother's maiden name was Miss Rhoda Francis, said to be the most handsome woman in her vicinity. The children are Frank, of Hamilton, New York ; Ebenezer, deceased ; John, who died in Mobile, and whose sons were in the Rebel service ; Henry, Hartford, Connecticut ; Lewis, Newark, New Jersey ; Thomas Spencer, of Somerset ; Mary, widow of John .Doubleday, and mother of Henry S. Doubleday, deceased, of Somerset ;Fanny, widow of Frederick S. Moors, of the United States Navy ; Eliza, died at thirty-two years of age ; Anna, still living ; Rhoda, widow of C. W. Badger, Newark, New Jersey, and Caroline, died in infancy. T. Spencer Stillman was married November 14, 1850, to Mrs. Swayzie, a young and beautiful. widow, whose maiden name was Miss Sylvia Dawes, cousin of Senator Dawes, of Massachusets. At first his father was a shoemaker, but soon became owner of several tracts of those rich and beautiful lands bordering on the Connecticut River, near Weathersfield. Thomas was educated as a dry goods clerk, became a, clerk of a steamer, plying between Hartford and New York, then a dry goods merchant on his own account in Hartford, thence removed his store to Hamburg, South Carolina, where he was during the Mexican War, becoming acquainted there with Brooks and other celebrities of that State; sold out in 1848 and embarked in the produce trade in Springfield, Massachusetts, where he was captivated by the charms of his present wife, then became a farmer near Weathersfield, which business he followed for three years, and then March 19, 1853, came to Somerset to join W. S. French, a cousin, in the sub-contracts on the old Scioto and Hocking Valley Ry., under the chief contractors, Seymore, More & Company, who "pegged out," as Tom says in his curt reference to those times, "and left me $9,000 short of money paid out of my private means for labor, but no man can say I owe him a dollar for work done on the railroad." He has judgments in Licking and Perry Courts vs Seymore, More & Co., amounting to over $50,000, but in those days a laborer had no lien on the road his labor and his money constructed. Mr. Stillman, and his amiable wife, have not been blessed with children, but their hearts and hands are 560 - BIOGRAPHICAL. SKETCHES. open to the unfortunate, and though their ship has met with rude buffetings on the ocean of life they are comfortably moored in its afternoon, and Mr. Stillman as notary and pension agent, keeps his bank account healthy. STITH , JOHN, farmer, post office Rushville ; born in 1813 ; is the eldest son of the late Rev. Elder Jesse Stith, of the Baptist Church, and his wife, Polly Graham. The Rev. Elder was born in North Carolina, and was only in his nineteenth year when his son John was born, on a farm bordering on the Reservoir in Walnut township. Elder Stith and his wife became Baptists when quite young, and their devotion to the church often impelled them to travel on foot from Walnut township to the Pleasant Run Church, and carry their children, then too small to be left at home. Their sons were John. Henry, James, Jesse' and William Baker Stith ; the daughters were Amy Tr0vinger, now a widow, and Nancy Grey, now dead. The sons are all living except Jesse,who volunteered in the army and fell a sacrifice on the bloody field of the Wilderness while a member of the One Hundred and Twenty-sixth Regiment, and the Sixth Corps, whose gallantry won unfading laurels. John was married to Delilah, daughter of the venerable Isaac Hite, September 6, 1835. Her mother was Magdalena, daughter of John and sister of the late Henry Bretz, who were of the early settlers, and distinguished not only for their thrift, but for their piety and respectability in Fairfield county. After six years residence on the "Refugee," Etna township, Licking county, John purchased the famous farm where he and his dutiful wife now reside, in Richland, Fairfield county, since 1842. In 1880 their house took fire and burned to the ground, the insurance covering only a part of the loss. In a few days not less than twenty teams were in line from Pleasantville loaded with material for the grand country structure, which now adorns the premises, and these were only twenty testimonials of sympathy for a deserving neighbor and an honest man. Their children are Mary, wife of Joseph Puffner, post office Rushville ; Isaac, who was last heard from in California, whither he went with his uncle Levi Hite ; Amy, wife of Levi Saum, post office Rushville; Katharine, single ; Levi, married to Katharine Nagle, Lancaster ; William Allen, married to Amanda Louis ; Lizzie, single, residing with her aunt, Levina Hite ; Phebe, wife of David Henderson, post office Salem; John, married to Ella Spohn ; Nancy, single ; Levina, wife of John Holliday Bushe's Station ; Jonas, single ; Jesse, married to Phebe Ann Stoltz, Holliday, and Ruth, wife of William Bull, of Hickman's Mills, Jackson county, Missouri— fourteen in all—the youngest lacking but one year of being of age. This interesting family is not only remarkable for its size, but also for its robust health, not one of whom ever doubted their capacity to paddle his, or her, own canoe. Grandfather Stith began to preach before he could read his text, but he soon not only could read, but rose to the front rank as a speaker in his church, while his sons and daughters all grew to be men and women, noted for their success in life and for the generous hospitality, which kindles happiness around the old Baptist hearthstone. STOBBS, CATHBERT, miner, New Straitsville ; was born in New Castle, North England, January 12, 1847 ; is a soh of Ralph and Catharine (Clark) Stobbs, natives of England. At the age of sixteen he HISTORY OF PERRY COUNTY - 561 came to America. He was married at Pomeroy, Ohio, November 15, 1867, to Mary, daughter of Hughey and Esther Williams, natives of Wales. They are now the parents of six children, two of whom were born in Pomeroy, and four in New Straitsville. STOLTZ, LEWIS, JR., was born in 1843, in Jackson township, a few months after the death of his father, Lewis Stoltz, Sr. He had five brothers and three sisters. Lewis went into the Forty-sixth Regiment, Company F, Captain Henry H. Giesy. Three of his brothers joined the One Hundred and Fourteenth Regiment, Company G, Captain Ephraim Brown, two of whom lost their lives. He was wounded on the same day and at the same battle where General McPherson fell, He and his wife, who was Miss Margaret Petty, were married November 24, 1867, and have succeeded to the ownership of the Petty homestead, where she was born, and where she grew to womanhood; and where, surrounded by the associations of childhood, and blessed with a kind husband, their beautiful home maintains the generous welcome to its friends, which was so often met there in days of Father Petty. STONEBURNER, JOSIAH, farmer ; post office, Crooksville ; was born in Muskingum county in 1820. Settled in Perry county in 1860. Son of Jacob and Margaret (Hartsell) Stoneburner. The former died in Muskingum county in 1831, the latter in Morgan county in 1845. Mr. Stoneburner's parents emigrated from Maryland in a very early day,, and settled in Clayton township, Muskingum county, Ohio. Mr. Stone burner was one of a family of eleven children, six of whom are still living, He was married in 1838, to Miss Sarah A. Williams. They are the parents of ten children, viz. : N. H., Josiah, deceased ; Margaret A., deceased ; Mary J., deceased ; John W., Augustus, Manda C., deceased ; Sarah A., Mary C., deceased ; Harvey E. ThOse liv- ing are all married and living in this county. Mr. Stoneburner had three sons in the late war. Josiah enlisted in 1861, in Company A, Sixty-second Regiment, O, V, I., Captain Edwards. He participated in the following engagements : Winchester, Virginia; Port Republic, Harrison's Landing, Black Water, Morris Island, Fort Wagner,W Petersburg, Virginia ; Signal Hill, Deep Run, Chapman's, Virginia, and Darby, Virginia, John W. enlisted in 1864, in Company H, Thirty-first Regiment, N. H. was in Company H, One Hundred and Sixtieth Regiment. Mrs. Stoneburner's grandfather was in the Revolutionary War. STONEBURNER, N. H,, farmer and potter ; post office, Crooksville ; born in Muskingum county, Ohio, in 1839, Came to Perry county in 1859. Son of Josiah and Sarah A. (Williams) Stoneburner. Mr, Stoneburner has been in the potter), business about twenty years. Married in 1860, to Miss Clarissa A. Brown, daughter of B. S, Brown. They are the parents of three children, viz. : John F., Mary and Ada, Mr. Stoneburner enlisted in the war in 1864, Company H, One Hundred and Sixtieth Regiment. He participated in the following engagements : Winchester, Virginia, Martinsburgh and Old Town. Discharged at Zanesville. STORER, JADES L., M, D,, Corning, Ohio ; was born April 18, 1830, in Allegheny county, Pennsylvania. Son of Ezekiel and Sarah (Case) Storer. At the early age of two years, James L. Storer was - 58 - 562 - BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. brought to Ohio by his parents, who settled and lived in Muskingum county, on a farm, where he was reared to the age of fifteen years, when he entered the Muskingum County College, situate at Concord, Muskingum county, Ohio ; and in the fall of 1851, graduated at that institution. Immediately after graduating, he began teaching school, which he continued for a number of years, mainly. in Kentucky and Ohio. In about two years after graduating, he received the degree of A. M. from his Alma Mater. In 1855 or 1856, he began the study of medicine, and in 1858, he began the practice of medicine, which he con:- tinned until the breaking out of the late war, when he was engaged in the army until the close of the war, at which time he again took up the practice of medicine in his former field of practice, at Millertown, Perry county, Ohio, where he has continued up to this time. Dr. Storer was married June 8, 1854, to Miss Esther, daughter of George B. and Mary Jane (Frazier) Passmore, of Perry county, Ohio. They are the parents of three children, viz, : Edgar A., Jesse and Guy. All at home. STROUSE, S. F., boot and shoemaker, Junction City, Perry county, Ohio. Son of John and Leah (Minich) Strouse ; born in Berks county, Pennsylvania, September 27, 1850 ; left there when about eight or nine years of age, and went to Pickaway county, then went to Iowa ; lived there five years, then came back to Pickaway ; went to his trade when about fourteen. Set up shop for himself in 1869, in Straitsville, this county ; came to Junction City in the fall of 1872, where he now does business. Was married to Miss Rosa, daughter of William and Catharine (Darsham) Haine, in 1874. Are the parents of three children, viz. : Lola May, Alice L. G., Vernon F. Mr. Strouse’s people are of German descent. SULLIVAN, FRANK, wagon maker, Shawnee, Ohio ; was born May 22, 1850, in Rushville, Fairfield county, Ohio ; son of John and Hester (Williams) Sullivan. Mr. Sullivan was raised a farmer, and has lived in the following places, viz. : McConnelsville, Morgan county, Ohio, one year ; Amesville, Athens county, Ohio, in all and at different times, about ten years ; eighteen months, while engaged on portable saw mill ; fourteen months in hotel business ; two years in dry goods business, and about five years in wagon making business, after he left his father,s home ; on a farm near Hartleysville, Putnam county, Ohio, one year ; Nelsonville, short time ; in Missouri short time, in hotel business ; one winter in Ames township, Athens county, Ohio, where his father packed tobacco ; thence to Buffalo, Putnam county, Ohio, two years, where he learned his trade ; after which he went to his father,s farm, living one year ; and then, as above stated, in Amesville five years ; in Maxville, two years at his trade, when he came to Shawnee, Ohio, one year ago, and has engaged at wagon making up to this time. Was married September 23, 1874, to Eva, daughter of James and Charlotte (Blackburn) Evener, of Athens County, Ohio. They are the parents of four children, viz. : Reason, deceased ; Austin, deceased ; Sylvia, deceased ; and Blanche, the only one living. SWARTZ, GEORGE W., grocer ; post office, Thornville, Ohio ; born 1828, in Reading township, Perry county, Ohio ; a son of John Swartz, whose wife's maiden name was Susan Jordan, both natives of Rocking- HISTORY OF PERRY COUNTY - 563 ham county, Virginia. One brother, John, lived in Jacksontown, Ohio. Another; David, resides in Wyandot county, Ohio ; post office, Fowler,s Station. A sister, now Mrs. Sarah, wife of John Shook, post office, Little Sandusky, Ohio, was first the wife of E. Bowers, of the One Hundred and Twenty-sixth O. V. I., Sixth Army Corps, who was lost in service. Father Swartz died in his sixty-third year, but Mother Swartz is still living, near the age of seventy, with her daughter, Mrs. Shook. George W. Swartz first married Matilda, daughter 0f William Clumb, in 1849, By this marriage he became the father of Margaret, wife of Jefferson Cover, of Thorn, and Sarah J., wife of John Clark, Junction City, Ohio, a son of Allen Clark, near there ; a third daughter is Miss Susan, at home, After the death of his first wife, he was married to Miss Josephine Highland, of Mercer county, Ohio, and by this marriage there is one son, Morris Swartz. About six years after his last marriage, he became blind, in the fall of 1867. His service in the army had much to do with his misfortune. He was finally placed on the pension rolls, and in 1868, he, with only $2.20 in cash, began business in Thornport, as a grocer and retailer of liquors, and has provided himself with a neat home, and lives in comfort. His head is twenty-four inches ; weight, two hundred and twenty pounds ; and height, five feet nine inches in stockings. He is a grandson of Phenus Swartz, a native of Germany, and inherits a conk shell that called to dinner prior to the Revolution, This grandfather served this country in the Revolution, and died near Wooster, Ohio, thirty-five or forty years since. His maternal grandfather, Adam Jordan, was also a fifer in the Revolutionary War, and drew pension ; his widow drew afterwards, and after her marriage to a second husband. An uncle, Silas Swartz, served in the Mexican War, from the State of Illinois. An uncle, Andrew Swartz, of Stark, Illinois, is still living, SWEENY, JOHN, butcher, Shawnee, Ohio ; was born July 22, 1841, in Monroe township ; son of Thomas and Bridget (McCabe) Sweeny, natives of Ireland. John was brought up on a farm, where he remained until twenty-two years of age. He traveled one year on the Muskingum River, In 1866 he engaged in merchandising in Monroe township, where he remained five years. Came to this place in 1873, and worked two years at the carpenter’s trade, then engaged in his present business, Mr. Sweeny was married February 5, 1867, to Miss Mary, daughter of Bernard and Julia (Conway) O,Farrell. They are the parents of five children, viz. : Julia Anne, Bridget Catharine, Rose Lily, Mary Ellen and Theresa. Mr. Sweeny is doing a good business. SWINEHART, PETER, farmer, was born in 1810, in section nineteen, Hopewell township ; has been Justice of the Peace twenty-one years, county commissioner six years ; has held every office in his township except constable, and has been a resident of this township for seventy-two consecutive years. His great grandfather and mother, tradition affirms, crossed the ocean from Germany with a large family, and being able to pay only the fare of the younger and more helpless of their children, the older ones were hired to service in America to settle the bill. Whether John, the grandfather of Peter Swinehart, was among the last named, is not known, but that he lived in Northumberland county, Pennsylvania, and there reared a respectable family, among 564 - BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. whom was his Son John, the father of Peter, is certain. Leaving all his relatives in Pennsylvania, John Swinehart and his wife emigrated to Perry comity in 1807. A few years after, John,s father paid him a visit, perhaps in 1810, the year Peter was born, and returned the same year to Pennsylvania. He must have carried back good news of his. son John, for 1814 two sisters of John, the wives of John Linn and Henry Coble, escorted hither by their mother, settled in Perry county. After she had visited her son John, and his wife, and kissed his children, born in the forest home, she bade good bye to her two daughters and to her son John'', mounted one of the horses that had pulled the wagon from Pennsylvania, and rode home. She was a small sized, sprightly woman, of fearless heart. At the same time, or at least the same year, there came Andrew Swinehart, son of him. who crossed the ocean, uncle of John, and great uncle of John's son Peter. This ancient Andrew, who either came with his father over the sea, or was soon after born in Pennsylvania, settled as a carpenter and joiner in Somerset, where he died. This Andrew was the father of the late venerable Samuel Swinehart, who died on his farm near Somerset, and Jacob, who died at the toll-gate east of Somerset, and of Daniel and Peter Swinehart, who lived in Circleville, Ohio, and of George, the father of that Samuel who now resides in section thirty-two, Hopewell, When Peter was only a few years of age, his father, John Swinehart, Moved from section nineteen to section nine, Hopewell, and before his cabin was chunked and daubed, and quilts were hung on the wall for protection, and while his wife expected soon to be confined in childbed, he was drafted into the army, reported at Franklinton, and failing to get leave of absence, crossed the Scioto, broke through the ice, and after a tedious and perilous journey through the woods, reached home, arranged for the comfort of his family, returned to military duty, was arraigned for desertion and bailed by Jacob Anspach, afterwards the father-in-law of Peter, and served until honorably discharged. The brothers of Peter are Jacob, Little Sandusky, Ohio ; Jonathan, Hen- derson county, Illinois ; Samuel, deceased in Hopewell township ; Daniel, deceased in Fulton county, Indiana ; George, Black Swamp. Sandusky county, Ohio ; Andrew, Bloomdale, Wood county, Ohio ; and his sisters are Sally, deceased wife of George Anspach. Thorn township ; Elizabeth, deceased wife of Jacob Cooperider, Thorn township ; Katharine, deceased wife of Jerome Stalter, deceased ; and Juda, wife of Jacob Lawrence, post office, Upper Sandusky, Ohio. Peter Swinehart was married to Miss Sophia Anspach in 1834. She died in 1881, in the sixty-seventh year of her life, and the forty-seventh of her marriage. Their children and post offices are Simon P., Glenford, married to Elizabeth Shelley ; John, Arcola, Illinois, married to Susan Bowman ; George Henry, Linville, Ohio. married to Martha Orr ; Elizabeth, wife of Lewis Cooperider, Glenford ; Ann Sophia, wife of Emanuel Cooperider, Glenford ; Magdalena, wife 0f Oliver Cooperider, Glenford ; Margaret, wife of George H. Bowers, Gratiot, Ohio ; Nancy C,, wife of George Hupp, Brownsville, Ohio ; Levina Emeline, wife of Joseph H, Orr, Glenford, and Melzena Alice Swinehart. Peter relates that an uncle, sometime about the year 1812, entered a half section of land, made the required down payment, and failing to meet the back HISTORY OF PERRY COUNTY - 565 payments, the land reverted to the government, Subsequently the cer tificates held for such lands were made receivable by act of Congress for their face value at any land office of the United States. In 1830 Peter applied one certificate to eighty acres of land ten miles west of Fremont, at the Tiffin, Ohio, land office, for himself, and did the same for his father. Fourteen years later he sold his eighty for $300, and a year later half of it sold for $400, and now the whole eighty is estimated to be cheap at $4,000. Peter Swineheart weighs one hundred and seventy-five pounds, is about five feet ten inches in height, and his head measures twenty-three and one-half inches in circumference, He has furnished an interesting assortment of facts relating to early days in Perry county, which appear in the general history of Hopewell township. SWINGLE, L. B., dental surgeon, corner of Main street, New Lexington, Ohio. Dr. S, was born January 29, 1842, in Deavertown, Morgan county, Ohio, son of Nicholas .J., and Mary M. (Leffler) Swingle, Dr. Swingle began the practice of his profession in the fall of 1867, in his native town. In May, 1873, he established his office in this place where he has built up a good practice. The Dr. was married June 21, 1881, to Miss Annie, daughter of Thomas and Ellen (Grimes) Bearer. TAYLOR, JAMES, dealer in coal land, projector of railroads and in ventor, and at present a resident of Columbus, Ohio ; born in Perry ccunty in October, 1825, a son of Thomas Taylor, and a grandson of Thomas Taylor, native of county Down, Ireland. He was editor of sundry newspapers, and for three years editor-in-chief of the Ohio State Journal. James. Taylor would be a leader in human thought and action in any community. As a writer his style is vigorous, pungent and sententious. He was asked " When did your father, Thomas Taylor come to America? " " he did not come at all," was the reply. " How then did he get here?" " He was brought," was the answer. " Who brought him and when? " " He was impressed into the British service under General Gage to coerce the Colonies, and landed in Boston in 1774.' I suppose he deserted the British service after that? " " No," replied Mr. Taylor, " he did not ; he just left, How could a man desert an army he never joined? No, sir ; he just left Boston, wandered into Western Massachusetts, and finally joined the American army ; was appointed ensign and orderly to James Monroe, chief of Washington's staff; served with Monroe while in a the army and otherwise to the close of the war ; then settled in Fauquier county, Virginia, on Monroe's farm, where his seven sons and five daughters were born," These seven sons were Nathaniel, William, Thomas, John, George, James, deceased young, and Joseph. The daughters were Katharine, Sarah, Mary, Elizabeth and Ellen. Of these seven sons, Thomas, Jr,, was the father of James, and had also seven sons and five daughters. The names were Joshua O. Taylor, a Justice of the Peace in Newton township, Muskingum county, Ohio, IC r thirty years ; Thomas Evan Taylor, died in Danville prison ; James ; John S., in Clayton township, Perry county ; George W., deceased, ho was Justice of the Peace in both Harrison and Clayton townships ; William A., Columbus, Ohio ; and Albert G., killed at Mission Ridge. The sis- 366 - BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. ters of James and the daughters of Thomas Taylor were Amelia, wife of William Adams, Pike township ; Elizabeth, deceased wife of L. D. Gardner ; Sarah, wife of John B, De Long, of Harrison township ; Mary, deceased at eighteen ; and Katharine, wife of William A. Babbitt, New Lexington, Ohio, By careful and actual count more than a company of the Taylor family were in the army on the Union side, twenty-one of whom died or were killed in the War of the Rebellion. James Taylor was married to Miss Amanda Hatcher, of New Lexington, Ohio. Their children are Laura, wife of Judge Kelly, of Perry county ; and Miss Stella, of New Lexington, TAYLOR, J. C., furniture dealer, Junction City ; born near Bridgeport, Belmont county, January 21, 1840 ; son of Samuel A. and Hannah (Calaughan) Taylor. His mother's parents, James D. and Abagail, were from Ireland. His grandparents, John and Mary E, (Yost) Taylor, were early settlers of Belmont county, from Pennsylvania. Mr. Taylor,s lot has been cast in many places ; he has lived in seventeen States. At the age of two years, his father’s family moved to Cincinnati, thence to Wheeling, West Virginia, Bridgeport and Grant county, Wisconsin, successively. At the age of seventeen years he began an extensive tour as a carpenter, walking from place to place through many States, and at twenty-one commenced mercantile life at Barnesville, O., as senior member of the dry goods firm of Taylor, Wilson & Co. Later he followed farming and other pursuits in that vicinity, and in August, 1873, removed to New Lexington, operating a meat and provision store until he lost it by a destructive fire, February 23, 1874. After a short stay in Zanesville, he came to Junction City, April 20, 1874, He was employed for several years in the planing mill of Bringardner & Co. ; was then salesman in Brown's store, and carpenter until the spring of 1880, when he formed a partnership with H. A, Pletcher, and has since conducted a general furniture and undertaking business. He was married September 1, 1864, to Elizabeth J. Neptune, of Barnesville, daughter of William H, and Elenor (Barnes) Neptune, who emigrated to Belmont county from Loudon county, Virginia, They have had two children, Wilbur L,, deceased ; and William Walter. TEAL, LAWSON, Auditor’s clerk, New Lexington, Ohio ; born in April, 1817, in Bearfield township ; son of Lloyd and Rachel (Moore) Teal. Young Teal was brought up on a farm, and began teaching when twenty-three years old, and taught ten or twelve years, and has been Auditor,s clerk about fourteen years, Mr. Teal married Alice, daughter of Peter and Cynthia (Barnes) Vansickle, of Pike township. They are the parents of two children, Edward L., deceased ; and Herman A. Mrs, Teal was first married to Stephen Bailey. They became the parents of three children, Orr, Joseph and Cynthia. TEAL, A. A., Rendville Ohio ; was born in Bearfield township, February 28, 1841 ; son of Edward and Nancy (Koons) Teal. Mr. Teal was brought up on a farm. In 1861 he volunteered in Company D, Thirtieth Regiment, O. V. I., and served until the close of the war. He participated in the battles of second Bull Run, South Mountain, Antietam, Siege of Vicksburg, and was with Sherman on his march to the sea, Mr. Teal was married in April, 1864, to Elizabeth A. Clayton. They are the parents of six children, namely : Edward L., Myrtle HISTORY OF PERRY COUNTY - 567 May, Evanna Matkie, Ada May, Harry Hooker, and Cora Bell. Edward L. died when eight years of age, in the State of Illinois. His first residence after marriage was in Pike township, and in 1867 he moved to the State of Illinois, where he remained nine years, and in 1876 he returned with his family to Perry county, where he did business for several insurance companies ; also, sold fruit trees. TEATERS, JAMES, merchant, New Lexington, Ohio ; was born May 5, 1833, in Donegal, Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania ; son of Michael and Margaret (Henry) Teaters, of German ancestry. In about the year 1848 he went to Point Mills, West Virginia, where he followed milling. From this place he moved to Roney's Point, and subsequently to Tridelphia, where he was railroad agent, postmaster and merchant for four years, April 12, 1870, he came to this place and established his present business. Mr, Teaters was married September 5, 1861, to Miss Mary J., daughter of Thomas and Eliza Humes, They are the parents of five children, viz. : William Elsworth, deceased ; George Alden, deceased ; Lizzie May, Frank Stewart, and John Henry, TEDROW, GEORGE, potter ; post office, Crooksville ; born in Muskingum county in 1840 ; came to Perry county in 1853 ; son of Moses and Mary (Dunifant) Tedrow. He was married, in 1875, to Miss Clara E. Rambo, daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth Rambo. They are the parents of four children, viz. : Blanche, Dora, Charles and Frank, TEETER, THOMAS B., Corning, Ohio ; was born near Linnville, Licking county, Ohio, September 17, 1841 ; son of Curtis and Mary (Essford) Teeter. When at the age of ten years, he went to work in the woolen mills at Newark, Ohio, where he remained four years ; then boated two years on the Ohio Canal, after which he dug coal until the 17th of April, 1861, when he enlisted in the Third Ohio three months service, and re-enlisted for three years, and was honorably discharged in the fall of 1864, He was engaged in the battles of Rich Mountain, Cheat Mountain, Green Brier, Perryville, Stone River, Chickamauga, Mission Ridge, and was captured near Cedar Bluffs, Georgia, and held as a prisoner at Belle Island, until his exchange at City Point, Virginia, When he came to Columbus, Ohio, he immediately joined in pursuit of John Morgan, in his raid through Ohio. After his capture, he went South and joined the army of the Cumberland, and marched with General Sherman as far as Kingston, Georgia. He returned to Perry county at the close of the war, and mined coal. In 1865 he vent to Haydenville and worked there until the spring of 1871, when he came to Straitsville and mined one year. In December, 1872, he purchased a lot on the corner of Clark and Railroad streets, in the above town, and engaged in the grocery business, and continued there until the sr ring of 1881, when he came to this place. Mr. Teeter was married January 9, 1866, to Miss Nancy A. Jiles, by Rev. Cady, near New Lex. ngton, Ohio: They are the parents of six children, viz. : Ida, William J., Edward, Mary E., Samuel J. and Unis H. TERREL, JESSE, farmer, Monday Creek township, Maxville, Ohio ; was born January 23, 1812, in Harrison county, West Virginia ; son of Timothy and Elizabeth (Nixon) Terrel. Mr. Terrel's early life was spent in hunting, and when game became scarce he went to farming, 568 - BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. which he has followed to this time, and by industry and economy, has gained a handsome fortune. Mr. Terrel was married the first time, September 19, 1833, to Nancy, daughter of Ralph Webb. Mrs. Terrel died October 18, 1864. They became the parents of ten children, viz. : Benjamin G., deceased ; Leroy S., deceased ; Martha J., deceased ; William, Isaac H,, Jerome, Mary Ida, deceased ; Clara, deceased ; Samuel T. and Frank. He was married the second time, February 21' 1867, to Mariah, daughter of John and Mary (Long) Sykes. Mr. Terrel's grandfather, Matthew Terrel, came from England and settled in Virginia, and was Drum Major in the Revolutionary War. His son, Timothy, father of the subject of this sketch, was the sixth in number of thirteen children born unto him. Timothy came to Ohio in 1815, in search of game, and located in Monday Creek township. Mrs. (Webb) Terrel's father came to Falls township, Hocking county, Ohio, in 1817. THACKER, ORRIN, Auditor of Perry county ; post office, New Lexington. THARP, ABISHA, miller, Hemlock, Ohio ; was born November 25, 1855, in Perry county, Ohio ; son of Alfred and Annie (Storrer) Tharp. Mr. Tharp was brought up as a miller, and has followed the business up to this time, except two years he farmed ; and has been employed as stated below : Milling in Buffalo Shoals, Wayne county, West Virginia, about ten years with his father ; at this place about five months, when he went to Pickaway county, Ohio, and farmed about six months ; returned to Hemlock, farmed one year, and again went to milling for Benjamin Sanders, which he continued about five months, when he' in partnership with Spencer S. Sanders, rented the mill and ran it for one year, since which he has milled for Spencer S. Sanders up to this time. Mr. Tharp was married December 25, 1879, to Nora Dell, daughter of Hezekiah and Sarah Frances (Leffler) Sanders, of this place, They are the parents of one child, viz. : Clarence Sebastian. THARP, JAMES M., grocer, Bristol, Pike township, Maholm post office, Ohio ; was born December 10, 1857, in Bristol, this county ; son of James and Elizabeth (Lyons) Tharp, Mr. Tharp remained with his father until he was eighteen years of age, when he began teaching school and has taught in the following places : Monday Creek township, District No. 5, four months ; Pike township, District No. 7, two months ; Pike township, District No. 8, Bristol, four terms, three six months terms, and one four months term ; near Somerset' one three months term, and between the terms he taught in Bristol. Mr. Tharp's father came from Pennsylvania to Ohio when a boy with his parents, whose father entered land two miles south of this place, and near Bowman Hill iron ore mine, and afterward owned two hundred acres of land now owned by Robert Bennett, and was one of the pioneers of the forest. His son, James, and the father of the subject of this sketch, once owned one hundred and twenty acres of land where Buckingham now stands' and afterward owned fifty-three acres near this place, now owned by John' McCabe. Upon selling this, he moved to Pickaway county, Ohio' where he lived one year, and then into Fairfield county, living one year, when he moved back to this place, where he has since lived. In the spring of 1882, James M,, Tharp, the subject of this sketch, bought a grocery, where he is now engaged in selling family groceries. HISTORY OF PERRY COUNTY - 569 THOMAS, SIMEON, farmer, Shawnee, Ohio ; was born July 2, 1842, in Saltlick township, this county ; son of Joseph and Jane (Smith) Thomas. Mr. Thomas was raised a farmer, and made agricultural pursuits the business of his life until within the last eight. years. Farmed in Perry county, Ohio, with the exception of two years, when he farmed in Pickaway county, Ohio, Returned to this county in 18i3, and engaged at Beard's Furnace until fall of 1876, when he came to Shawnee, and where he leas remained up to this time, engaged at mining, except one year, when he assisted in building the New York Furnace. Mr, Thomas was married August 28, 1862, to Margaret M,, daughter of John and Elizabeth ( Worley) Wells. They are the parents of three children, viz.: Jessie M., Elizabeth Jane, and John A., deceased. Mr, Thomas is at this time a trustee of the M. E. Church of this place. Mr. Thomas enlisted in Company B, Seventeenth Regiment, O. V. I., March 12, 1861, the first company enrolled in this county for three months, and served four months; returned home and followed farming until January 12, 1864, when he re-enlisted in Company B, Tenth Regiment, O. V. C,, for three years or during the war; served eighteen months, and was discharged in August, 1865, because of close of war. Was under fire nearly every day after going into the service, and saw the hardest battle at Atlanta. Georgia, where he had his horse shot from under him, Was on Sherman's March to the Sea. THOMPSON, GEORGE, was born in the counts- of Armagh, Leland, August 20, 1811, and died at Corning, Ohio, May 10, 1882, aged seventy years, nine months and twenty days. The deceased came to America when only ten years old, Nearing the age of manhood' he became an apprentice to learn the harness-making trade in New York City. June 6, 1834, he was married to Catharine Skinner. Six children were born to them; three of whom now survive, viz.: Adam, married to Anne Cummiskey ;. she is now deceased; John, married to Mary A. Slevin, and Timothy, married to Jennie A., daughter of Colonel James and Catharine (Cook) Dalzell. George Thompson, the subject of this sketch, lost by the Morgan Raid property to the value of eight hundred dollars; also lost heavily in prospecting for oil in Perry county, Ohio. During his twenty-one years of service as Justice of the Peace, there was never one of his decisions reversed by the higher courts. In 1835 he came to Ohio, and entered eighty acres of land' and laid out the town of Thompsonville ; and, in order to get a post office' the place was named Chapel Hill. He donated an acre of ground on which the Catholic Church and pastor's residence now stands, and afterward united with this church, continuing a faithful member until he departed this life. He was appointed postmaster under Pierce's administration, and his commission dated January 13, 1860, is signed by J. Holt, Postmaster-General. Having been elected Justice of the Peace for Monroe township, he was commissioned by Governor S. P, Chase, and he was continued in office until his death. TINKER, CHARLES H., Recorder of Perry county, Ohio, was born June 21, 1847, in Union township, Morgan county, Ohio; son of S. and Mary A. (Blackstone) Tinker. When Charles H. was two years old, his parents located on a farm in Monroe township, where he was brought up. He followed farming until 1875, when he engaged in merchandis- - 57 - 570 - BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. ing at Millertown, where he remained one year ; then moved to Junction City, and continued his business there two years. Came to this place in 1879, and clerked two years in a dry goods store. He was elected to his present office in October, 1880. Mr, Tinker was married March 7, 1872, to Miss Hannah, daughter of Samuel Morgan, of Monroe township, They are the parents of four children, viz, : Frank Albert, Lydia Viola, Charles B. and William Leroy. TRACY, T. J., stone mason, Pike township; post office, New Lexington, Ohio ; was born November 29, 1850, in Harrison township, this county.; son of William and Elizabeth (Hitchcock) Tracy, Mr. Tracy was raised in New Lexington, Ohio, and has been a resident of that place nearly all of his life. Was married December 7, 1871, to Emma, daughter of William and Lovenia (Patterson) Rambo, of Grangers' Mills, this county. They are the parents of four children, viz. : Lizzie, Guy, John and Lovenia, now living. Mr. Tracy has made stone masoning the business of his life up to this time, and has been a contractor for the last eight years, undertaking county contracts at New Lexington, for the bridges near Arnold's Mill over Rush Creek, one near C, & M, V. depot, Rush Creek, two over Fowler's Run, and one over Yager's Run. Out of New Lexington he put in stone work for one near XX Furnace, Shawnee,Ohio ; one near George Deffenbaugh's Honey Creek ; one on Main street in Corning ; one near Beard's Shaft, same place, and now has a contract for one over Fowler's Run at New Lexington, Ohio, Mr. Tracy is fourth sergeant in Company A, Seventeenth O. N. G., and was in the skirmish at Corning during the miner's strike in the fall of 1880. TROUT, WILLIAM, farmer and stock grazer by occupation, post office Glenford, Ohio ; was born in Hopewell township ; he is a son of George Trout and Francis Cowen, who were married in 1822. He and his brother, George H. Trout, occupy the ancient homestead in section three. The last named was married in 1863, to Miss Ann Maria Walser, and are the happy parents of four children, named Sarah Frances, John W., George Allen and Martha A. Trout ; of these John W., now fourteen, exhibits excellent genius as a draftsman and penman, His uncle William has remained unmarried and has a large and comfortable room of his own in the family home, where he enjoys all the comforts of bachelor life, and where all welcome callers are treated to the hospitalities of a gentleman, William and George H, are the only surviving sons of George Trout. The surviving daughters are Susan, wife of Samuel Cooperider, and Margaret, wife of George Cooperider, post office of both, Brownsville, Ohio. The mother of this family died in 1852, and the father in 1860, in his sixty-second year. When twelve years of age he came with his grandfather, Judge Trout, to Somerset, Ohio, His brothers, the sons of Judge Trout, were Jacob, a soldier in the War of 1812, and went to Fort Wayne ; J0hn, who settled in Hancock county, Ohio, and laid out the village of Van Buren ; Elizabeth, wife of Samuel Parkeson, who moved to Miami county, Ohio ; Juliann Sophia, wife of Jacob Brunner, of SomersetMargaret, wife of Rev. Andrew Hinkel, who with his wife died in dermantown, Montgomery county, Ohio, and who, though both a Mason and Odd Fellow, was buried by the Lutheran Church ; George, the father of William and HISTORY OF PERRY COUNTY - 571 George H. Trout, who died in Hopewell township ; Henry, who lived in Somerset and vicinity and died there ; Philip, who lived and died in Perry county, and Michael, the youngest, born in 1809, who resides in Germantown, and is yet a practicing physician at the age of seventy-three years, George Trout, when yet a resident of Pennsylvania, was an inn keper, as he was also after his removal to Somerset, Ohio. He was one of the first Associate Judges of Perry county, helped to lobby the bill to 0rganize the county and to establish the county seat at Somerset, donated the ground where the court house now stands, assisted in the entertainment of General Jackson at the hotel of Ben Eaton in Somerset, was a Democrat in politics, and old time Lutheran in religion, and an honest man from principle. He died in 1829, in Somerset, universally lamented, in the sixty-seventh year of his life, His wife’s maiden name was Margaret Zeigler, who survived her husband many years and died at the age of eighty-two. The relics of Judge Trout, in possession of his grandson, William. Trout, in whose possession are also the records of the family, are a cane, the gift of a friend on his departure from Pennsylvania for Ohio ; a pair of old time shoe buckles, worn by the Judge at the Jackson supper ; a profile likeness, said to be a good representation of the forehead, nose, mouth and chin of the. Judge, black upon white paper, framed in a circular frame about four inches in diameter. The name Sophia came into the family from the Zeigler side, based upon a legend that Sophia, a sister of Mrs, Trout, in the haste and confusion of retreat from hostile Indians, somewhere in Carolina, was forgotten, and when her father returned to her rescue, he found her hiding behind a door of the cabin, crouching with great fear and mute as a mouse, and she was thus saved from the massacre that drenched the village near by in the blood of innocence. The Trout family fled from Alsace when it fell into the power of the French to avoid submission to the demands of intolerance upon its Lutheran citizens, preferring liberty in the wilds of far off America to home and country and kindred, and patrimony in France. An ancient mound, covering nearly an acre at its base, and rising to a height of perhaps twenty-five feet, is found on the Trout farm, section three, Hopewell, and a like mound is seen half a mile southwest of the first named, in section nine. In size, regularity of shape, and beauty of contour, these mounds present an imposing aspect to the eye and the questions arise, were they created from natural forces, or by the hands of men? For twenty odd years the Trout brothers have devoted themselves to the rearing of the best breeds of sheep, They breed from none now that do not bear the test of U. S, sheep register, and they are consequently in the front ranks of sheep husbandry and they have added one hundred and fifty-seven acres to the original homestead range for their flocks in Licking and Perry, TURNER, FRANK N,, merchant, Rendville, Ohio ; was born September 30, 1852, in Port Carbon, Schuylkill county, Pennsylvania ; son of Jesse and Ruth T. (Foster) Turner, Mr. Turner was raised in the place of his nativity, which remained his home until 1880, Mr, Turner attended school at Blair Presbyterian Academy, Blairstown, New Jersey, from which he graduated ; after which, in June, 1873, he entered Lafayette College at Easton, Pennsylvania, from which he graduated in 572 - BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES, 1877. In the fall of 1877 he entered Princeton Theological Seminary. remaining until 1878, at which time his health failed him and he was obliged to leave off his studies, and return home where he remained until 1880, when he went to Kansas. from whence he came to Rendville, Ohio, in September of same year and employed with the Sunday Creek Coal Company. remaining with them until April. 1881 afterward bought out Charles Herring. of the firm of Carter & Herring. and upon May 1, 1881, he formed a co-partnership with Charles Carter the firm being Carter & Turner, which partnership continues up to this time, and has met with good success. Mr. Carter's father still resides upon the homestead in Pennsylvania. TURNER, JOSEPH, mine boss, New Straitsville. Ohio. TUSSING, L. A., of the firm of Tussing & Donaldson, attorneys at law, and Mayor, New Lexington, Ohio ; was born January 2. 1851, in Monday Creek township, Perry county, Ohio ; son of Rev. Samuel C. and Juliet (Marlow) Tussing. Mayor Tussing was educated in the public schools, and at Denison University, Granville, Ohio, Began teaching when about eighteen and taught six years ; began reading law in 1876, was admitted to the bar in 1877, and began practice in this place immediately after his admission. In June, 1878 he formed a partnership with L, J. Burgess, firm name Burgess & Tussing, which was dissolved September, 1880, when the present firm was formed, In April of the same year, Mr, Tussing was elected Mayor of New Lexington, Ohio. UCKER, JACOB, clerk in New York store' Shawnee, Ohio ; was born September I, 1851, in Hocking county, Ohio ; son of George and Theresa (Cabell) Ucker, Was raised a farmer and followed agricultural pursuits until he was twenty-two years of age, when he came to Shawnee in the fall of 1873, and was employed dumping coal one year, as weighmaster two years, since which he has been clerking in the store of the New York and Straitsville Coal and Iron Company, having been with them seven years, in all. Mr, Ucker was married July 2, 1873, to Rachel, daughter of Asbury and Edith (Turner) Voris, of Hocking county, Ohio. They are the parents of four children, viz. : Ella and Jacob Edward, living ; Charles and John, dead, VANSYCLE, STEPHEN A., son of Peter A, and Cynthia (Barns) Vansycle, daughter of Rev. Isaac Barns, and grandson of Andrew, who died in New Jersey at the age of ninety. Stephen's father arrived in Ohio and settled on the farm where he died in 1876, at the age of ninety-three. He spent over $800 for the monuments and fencing of his burial ground, and that of his venerable consort, He reared eleven children to the estate of married life. Among these are Almira, wife of George Pherson, ex-treasurer of the county ; Alice, wife of Lawson Teal, Deputy Auditor, and Stephen A., the subject of this sketch, who was married to Eliza Saffel, deceased, February 24, 1880. Their children are James Reuben, Isaac Alfred, Mary Jane Swinehart, Lydia Katherine Brookhart, now a widow residing with her only child at the home of her father ; John Thomas, William, Calvin, Ellen Brehm, Elizabeth Poland, Perry Elmer and Frank, the youngest son. Stephen began life a renter, in a few years bought forty acres near Bristol, and paid $100 on the contract, having time to pay the other $300. He alleges this was the HISTORY OF PERRY COUNTY - 573 hardest money he ever earned, but he got through and kept on buying until he had one hundred and sixty acres in a body, He also is of the opinion that the first $1,000 any man earns,is far the most difficult to acquire. He can read tolerably, but his learning was chiefly acquired in leveling the forest and threshing wheat with a flail. He sold out the farm he earned by hard knocks and economy, and bought one hundred and sixty acres in Reading township, prospered there, bought the Cassel farm, and then next to it the beautiful home of the late Judge William M. Brown, in sight of Somerset, where he now lives in comfort, and but for the loss of his cherished wife, also in happiness. His first tax receipt was $1.08 ; last year he paid over $180, and worked twelve days to pay his road tax. His children generally inherit the thrift of their ancestors and have nearly all grown to the estate of womanhood and manhood. He is of German Baptist extraction, never held, or was a candidate for any office, except school director, his church being non-combative and non-office holding. He has avoided lawsuits, and except the last sickness of his wife, $r00 would pay all his bills for the doctors or medicine, though he has reared a large family. VEINING, GEORGE H., carpenter and contractor, Rendville, Ohio ; was born July 24, 1850, in Logan, Hocking county, Ohio ; son of Henry and Mary A. (Gregory) Vening. George H. was brought up on a farm near New Lexington, and learned his trade with his father ; came to his present residence in November, 1879. Mr. Vening was married November 4, 1878, to Miss Sophia, daughter of William Newton and Susanna (Dixon) Irwin. They are the parents of two children, viz, : Ethel May and Mary Edna, Mr, Vening has had good success, being one of the best mechanics of the county. WAGNER, JOHN, was born June 3, 1823, in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania ; son of George Wagner and Catharine Ritz ; post office Rushville, Ohio, The family is of German descent on both sides. Father Wagner came to Ohio in 1831, bought the farm on which he died, in 1850, and in the days prior to railroads, kept a regular drove stand and hotel. The sons, who came with him from Pennsylvania, were Simon Peter and George Washington, and the daughter was Mary Elizabeth, wife of Samuel Westall, who died in Lawrence county, Illinois, Those born afterwards were Susan Catharine, wife of Joel Petty ; Henry M,, who married Miss Leach ; Jacob R., who married Mary Haines ; Anna Jane, wife of Moses Petty ; Matilda, deceased, former wife of Daniel Berket, all of whom reside in Lawrence county, Illinois. April 18, 1844, John Wagner was married to Ann Stoltz, who is the mother of eight sons and three daughters now living. These are : George W. married to Jane, daughter of Lewis Combs, post office Rushville ; Simon Peter, married to Elizabeth, daughter of John Neely ; Henry M., married to Jessie, daughter of Lucretia Baker, a wid0w near Linnville, Licking county, Ohio ; Samuel S., married to Belle, daughter of William Rutherford, post office Rushville, Ohio ; Mary K., wife of Wesley, son of Samuel Thomas ; Margaret Ann, wife of Asa, son of David Dennison, post office Rushville, Ohio, and Matilda Jane, wife of Lewis A, Gillespie, post office Hancock, Perry county, Ohio. The children vet single and at home are : John R., Thaddeus, David Grant and Sherman. The religious connection is of the Brethren Church. The 574 - BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. home of John Wagner, two miles east of Rushville, ranks among the foremost in the county both in size and value, and is the fruit of that persevering adherance to one occupation, characteristic of the Wagner name. WALKER, ROWLAND, son of John Walker ; born 1798, in Great Dolby, Leicestershire, England, and grandson of Rowland Skivington Walker. In the childhood of John Walker, his father paid for teaching him to read and write twelve cents per week, at the same school where the poor were admitted free. The town built the school house. Newspapers cost six-pence, or twelve cents. John served four years as apprentice to a butcher, getting his board, while his father clothed him and paid ten pound ($50) for his tuition. Saturday was the day fixed for beef sales and no other day, in Nottingham, was a sale of beef permitted by retail. As late as 1840 he sold beef, best cuts at fourteen cents per pound, and steak, free from bone, sixteen cents per pound. His maternal grandfather, Mawley, gave him twenty guineas to begin butchering on his own account, and he said he made money at it, or he could not, in 1843, have brought his wife and all the children to the United States, In 1821, he married Sarah Dixon, who came with her husband and six children to Jefferson county, Pennsylvania. Their children were Sarah Ford, who died in Pennsylvania ; Rowland, George, Marv, Mrs. Ann Bailey and John, who all came to Perry Co. with their parents in 1864, and settled in Pike township, on a farm one mile from the N. S, & S. R. R., where his wife died in 1877, This farm was sold at $100 per acre, or $16,000, a price due to mineral deposits. After this he bought east of Somerset, and in sight of it, a large tract which he divided between Mrs. Bailey, a daughter, widowed by the loss of her husband in the army, who brought with her from Jefferson county, Pennsylvania, five children ; and Rowland, a son who had gone to Illinois, but is now here, and with whom his father is spending the evening of his life, and who has drawn a pencil portrait, both of his father and mother, which do credit to an art taught him in the common schools of England. It was the expressed desire of Mother Walker to have the following lines, slightly altered in expression, engraved upon her tomb : Sarah Dixon was my name' England was my nation' America my dwelling place' And Christ is my salvation. When I am dead and in my grave' And all my bones are rotten' This inscription testifies. That I am not forgotten. WALKER, JOHN, JR,, farmer, Pike township, New Lexington, Ohio ; was born September 23, 1836, in Nottinghamshire, New Bedford, England, and son of John and Sarah (Dixon) Walker. Mr, Walker was raised a farmer and followed agricultural pursuits in the summer season and the lumber trade in the winter season for about thirteen years. From the time he was twenty-one years of age until he was twenty-five years of age, he made the handsome sum of $1,700, during the winter