HISTORY OF ROSS COUNTY - 825 have one daughter, Marie Elizabeth, a student in the Ohio State University. In 1875, Mr. Anderson enlisted in the Sixth Regiment, Ohio National Guards, as a private. He was later commissioned second lieutenant of his company, and having been promoted to the rank of major in 1877, served in that capacity until resigning from the company in 1886. Fraternally, Major Anderson is a member, and past exalted ruler, of Chillicothe Lodge No. 52, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He has served as secretary and director of the Chillicothe Chamber of Commerce for the past five years. GEORGE KLINE. For a great many years the name Kline has been closely associated with local business at the Village of Yellowbud in Union Township. Mr. George Kline is the general merchant there, and succeeded his father in a business which has been continued as a service of the community for half a century or more. He was born in the Village of Yellowbud, April 17, 1864. His father, George Kline, Sr., was born in the same township in 1837. The founder of thc family in this county was grandfather Christopher Kline, a native of Pennsylvania and of early German ancestry. Corning to Ross County he located in Union Township, buying forty acres of land about a mile north of Andersonville. At that time Ross County had no convenient markets, since railroads had not yet been introduced. Corn raised on the farms could hardly be disposcd of, and in view of thcse conditions, Christopher Kline established a distillery on his land, and operated it for a number of ycars, using his own corn and that of his neighbors. His place also gained local fame from his method of brewing beer from pawpaws, which grew in great abundance along the banks of Deer Creek. Christopher Kline lived in Union Township until his death. He reared five children, named Christopher, Hattie, Susan, George and Henry. George Kline, Sr., grew up on a farm, and when a young man engaged in merchandising at Yellowbud. He opened a stock of general merchandise, and at the same time rented land and became a prosperous farmer. For a number of years he was postmaster of Yellowbud, and lived there until his death in 1906. The maiden name of his first wife was Sarah Fowler. Her father, Gabriel Fowler, spent all his life in Ross County. Mrs. Kline died in 1871 leaving four children, Charles, Christopher, George and Effie. By other marriages their father reared five other children. Reared at Yellowbud, George Kline, Jr., attended the public schools and acquired a good business education. His early years were spent in assisting on the home farm and agriculture was his regular vocation until 1896, when he took charge of his father's store. On his father's death he succeeded to the business, and has made it a means of reliable service to that locality. Mr. Kline is unmarried and makes his home with his sister, Mrs. Henry Watts. In politics he cast his first presidential vote for Grover Cleveland and has always been a consistent supporter of the democratic 826 - HISTORY OF ROSS COUNTY party. For four years he was a member of the township board of trustees. Fraternally, he is affiliated with White Oak Camp No. 10323 of the Modern Woodmen of America. JAMES MILTON EVANS, M. D. A life prolonged beyond ninety years is always an interesting spectacle. When with long years have been combined splendid service to humanity, a helpful and inspiring character, then such a life commands admiration and respect.. Ross County has in the person of Dr. James Milton Evans of Clarksburg one of its oldest citizens and most venerable men. He was born in Highland County, Ohio, February 26, 1824, and is still living in the enjoyment of good health and his mental faculties at the age of ninety-two. His father was Isaac Evans, and his grandfather was also a native of Ohio and settled in Highland County at a very early day. The grandfather improved a farm on Clear Creek, where he resided until his death. Isaac Evans subsequently removed from Highland County and settled in Buckskin Township of Ross County, where he was engaged in farming until death claimed him. The maiden name of his wife was Jane Norton, who was born in Buckskin Township. Her six children were Juliet, Cynthia, John B., Samuel R., William D., and James M. A remarkable part of the family record is that all of these sons except William became successful physicians. Dr. James M. Evans grew up on his father's farm. He attended the rural schools of Buckskin Township and was also a pupil at the noted South Salem Academy. In his twentieth year he taught a term of school in Highland County, also a term in Ross County and two winter terms in Boone County, Kentucky. While teaching he carried on his medical studies at Rising Sun, Indiana, under his uncle, Israel Evans. The winter of 1848-49 he spent in attending lectures in the Cleveland Medical College and the following winter at Starling Medical College in Columbus. Graduating from Starling in the spring of 1850, Doctor Evans is one of the few physicians of Ohio still living who took their first cases ten years before the war. He began practice about the time some of the most important aids to modern medicine were discovered. He began practice in the Clarksburg community, and continued actively for fully sixty-five years, and in that time his name was pronounced as a benediction in hundreds of homes which he had served so well and faithfully. In 1885 he retired from active parctice, but in the past thirty years he has been frequently called upon in consultation and even now some old friend or neighbor asks his advice and services in a professional capacity. During the high tide of his career Doctor Evans was especially successful in the treatment of pneumonia. It is said that he hardly ever lost a case when called at the beginning. He cured some when they were given up by other physicians. Many gave him the reputation of being especially skillful in the cure of cancer, though Doctor Evans states that his cures were usually not malignant cases of this dread disease. Doctor Evans was three times married. In 1852 he married Emily HISTORY OF ROSS COUNTY - 827 Pryer Yates, who was born in Pickaway County, Ohio, a daughter of John and Elizabeth (Blue) Yates. At her death in 1860 she left four children named Mary E., John T., Isaac C., and Milton. For his second wife Doctor Evans married Eliza Caldwell, a popular teacher in the public schools. At her death she was survived by three children named Eldora C., Edward and Orin C. For his third wife Doctor Evans married Mrs. Mary Brown, widow of Richard Brown. Doctor Evans joined the Presbyterian Church when a young man, but there being no church of that denomination in Clarksburg, he subsequently became an active member of the Methodist denomination. The doctor's oldest daughter, Mary, married William J. Mossbarger, son of Samuel and Eleanor (Cherrington) Mossbarger. To Mr. and Mrs. Mossbarger were born seven children who grew up named Arthur T., Emily E., Milton C., Hugh S., Melva E., John S., and Willie L. Arthur Mossbarger, of these children, married Arlene E. Dawson and has a son named Owen W. Milton Mossbarger married Olive Betty and has a daughter named Betty Louise. Melva Mossbarger is the wife of John Dawson and their two children are Virginia M. and John Milton. CHARLES B. GEARHART. For many years Charles B. Gearhart has played an important part in Union Township of Ross County, where he is widely known as a successful farmer and stock raiser. He has owned some of the best horses in Ross County, and has also found both pleasure and profit in the breeding of fine hogs. Mr. Gearhart is also known in Ross County for his official connection with local affairs. He was born in Wayne Township, Pickaway County, Ohio, June 25, 1858. His ancestry goes back to Germany, where his great-grandparents probably spent all their lives. His grandfather, John Gearhart, a native of Germany, had a brother named George, who also came to the United States and located in Circleville, Ohio, where he spent the rest of his days. Grandfather John Gearhart on coming to America first located in Pennsylvania, but when the last century was still young he came to Ohio and settled in Pickaway County. From there he removed to Dayton, and died a few years later. He married Mary Wilhelm, who survived him and with several of her children moved to Illinois, settling near Shelbyville, where she spent her last years. She reared nine sons and one daughter. Henry Gearhart, father of Charles B., was born in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, in 1818, and was still young when he accompanied his parents to Ohio. At that time Ohio had no railroad, and all bulk produce was shipped in boats over the canals and rivers, while cattle and hogs were driven overland over the mountains to eastern markets. It was in connection with the droving business that he interested himself in early years, and later became associated with Colonel Lutz as a livestock dealer. He finally bought a farm in Wayne Township of Pickaway County, Ohio, and was employed in general farming until his death in 1887. Henry Gearhart married Frances C. Briggs, who was born in Ross County, November 29, 1832, a daughter of Joseph Briggs. The 828 - HISTORY OF ROSS COUNTY Briggs family has been a very prominent one in Ross County. Mrs. Henry Gearhart is still living, occupying the old homestead, and though burdened with the weight of years still possesses all her mental faculties. Only in 1916 she had the cataracts removed from her eyes. The four children she reared were named Frank T., Charles B., Mary West and William S. Mary is the wife of Owen McDill. Charles B. Gearhart grew up in Pickaway County, and received his education in the public schools. His early experience was in connection with farm work, and at the time of his marriage he rented a farm in Muehlenberg Township of Pickaway County. A year later he removed to the homestead, where his wife was born and reared, and in that section of Union Township has since been engaged in general farming and stock raising. Mr. Gearhart has made a success both in the raising of draft and road horses, and since 1905 has devoted his time particularly to the breeding of Poland China hogs. In 1883 he married Miss Ella Zurmehly. She is the daughter of Robert and Harriet (Lutz) Zurmehly. Her father was a son of Casper Zurmehly, who was born in Switzerland, and her mother a daughter of Samuel Lutz, a native of Pennsylvania and of German descent. Mr. and Mrs. Gearhart are the parents of three sons, Shirley Z., Carl B., and Paul Henry. The son, Shirley, married Grace Extine and they have one daughter, Dorothy E. Carl married Christian Hamman and they have a son, George Hamman. Mr. Gearhart cast his first presidential vote for James A. Garfield and since then has been a consistent supporter of the principles of the republican party. For nine years he administered the office of justice of the peace and for a term of three years (1901-02-03), served as county commissioner. Mrs. Gearhart is an active member of Springbank Methodist Episcopal Church. VERNER TRENARY SCOW, M. D. One of the progressive and talented young physicians of Ross County, Doctor Scott since graduating from the university and having his preliminary experience in hospital work, has been in active practice at Clarksburg. He was born at Manchester in Adams County, Ohio. His grandfather, Robert Scott, was a native of Pennsylvania, and on coming west first settled in Maysville, Kentucky, and then removed to Manchester, where he died when still a young man. His widow afterwards married Captain Lafayette Trenary, who was an early settler of Manchester. Ohio, and a man of wealth and influence, being a manufacturer of and dealer in lumber and owning and operating several passenger and freight steamers on the Ohio and Kentucky rivers. Captain Trenary died in Manchester. Doctor Scott's grandmother then marricd for her third husband a Mr. Bender, who was a veteran of the Civil war and for some years until his death served as postmaster of the Soldiers Home near Dayton. Andrew Scott, father of Doctor Scott, was born at Manchester, Ohio, and was only one year of age when his father died. He received a good HISTORY OF ROSS COUNTY - 829 education in the schools of Manchester, and as a young boy began a practical business experience on his step-father's river boats. Eventually he rose to the responsibilities of commanding a river steamer. During the Spanish-American war he served as a member of the Seventh Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He is now living retired at Dayton. Andrew Scott married Tilly Lady, who was born in Indiana, a daughter of William Lady, a native of Virginia and an early settler of Indiana. Andrew Scott and wife reared three children : Verner Trenary, Wilkins Robert, now a machinist at Dayton, and Elizabeth Lady. Doctor Scott grew up in his native Town of Manchester, graduated from the high school there and afterwards became a student of the Ohio Wesleyan University at Delaware. After his literary course he entered the medical university at Cincinnati, from which he was graduated M. D. in 1913. Following his graduation he spent a year as house physician at the Jewish Hospital in Cincinnati. He then located in Clarksburg and has since given all his time and attention to his rapidly increasing general practice. In 1914, Doctor Scott married Gertrude Harriet Perry. She is a daughter of Jesse A. and Elizabeth (Smith) Perry. Her maternal grandparents were Abraham and Elizabeth (Ellis) Smith. For a number of years her father was editor and publisher of the Manchester Signal, but he now lives retired in Cincinnati. Doctor and Mrs. Scott are the parents of one daughter. Wilma La Verne. In the line of his profession Doctor Scott is an active member of the Ross County and Ohio State Medical societies. He also belongs to the Nu Sigma Nu College Fraternity and to the Clarksburg Lodge No. 721 of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He and his wife worship in the Methodist Protestant Church. JOHN W. REMLEY. Through threc generations members of the Rem-ley family have contributed their lives and energies to the improvement of the fine farming district of Springfield Township. John W. Remley represents the third generation and has spent practically all his career on the old homestead in that township. His has been a life of industry, and by upright living he has won the respect and confidence of a large community. He was born in Springfield Township, June 22, 1863. His grandfather, Conrad Remley, was one of the early settlers of that township, coming in the early years of the last century. Acquiring a tract of timbered land in the Dry Run district, he hewed a farm from the wilderness, and he also established an institution which was an important factor in the early life of that township. On one of the running streams he improved a water power, and made it turn the wheels of a grist mill. He operated that mill for a number of years, and it was a splendid local convenience for the community. He and his good wife, Delilah, who was a native of Scotland, continued to live on the old home farm until their death at a good old age. Thomas Remley, father of John W., was also born in Springfield 830 - HISTORY OF ROSS COUNTY Township of Ross County. As a boy he had the advantages of the subscription schools of his locality, and he assisted his father both in the mill and on the farm. After his marriage he bought a tract of land in section 15 of Springfield Township. This contained about thirty acres of cleared land, and the only other improvements were some log buildings. Thereafter his years were steadily devoted to the improvement and cultivation of his land and he resided there until his death at the age of sixty-eight. His wife, who died at the age of sixty-nine, was before her marriage Catherine A. McNeal. She was born in Springfield Township, a daughter of Thomas McNeal, who married a Miss Gates. Thomas McNeal was of Scotch while his wife was of German ancestry. One of a family of ten children, John W. Remley, spent his early years on the old farm, attended the district schools, and with the exception of four years lived with his parents until they passed away. He then succeeded to the ownership. of the old homestead, and has busied himself with its improvement and cultivation to the present time. His farm consists of both hill and valley land. The hills are arable to the very top, and constitute splendid grazing land and also productive of the staple crops in this section of Ohio. A stream of never failing water passes through the farm, and the bottom lands on both sides have been well tiled. Mr. Remley believes in progressive methods of farming and has modern implements, and besides the raising of crops he indulges his fancy for good livestock and keeps a dairy. In January, 1896, Mr. Remley married Catherine Overly, who was born in West Springfield, a daughter of John and Martha Overly. Mr. and Mrs. Remley are the parents of four children, Forest, Elwood, Dorothy May and Carl Eugene. Mr. Remley is affiliated with Camp No. 1,141 of the Modern Woodmen of America, and he also has an insurance policy in the North American Life Insurance Company. HARRY REITERMAN, through agricultural enterprise, has maintained the reputation of his father, J. C. Reiterman, who came to Ross County in 1885 and for thirty-two years was engaged in tilling the soil. Harry Reiterman belongs to the younger generation of agriculturists, but has already established himself as a skilled and energetic farmer, whose training has been comprehensive and whose education has been conducive to success. Mr. Reiterman was born at Circleville, Pickaway County, Ohio, December 12, 1881, and is a son of J. C. and Jane (Rader) Reiterman. His father was born in Pike County, Ohio, in March, 1848, and was an infant when his father died, so that the records of the family have been lost and little is known of the grandfather save that he was of German descent. Jane Rader was born in Pike County, Ohio, also a daughter of Adam and Elizabeth Rader, who came to the Buckeye State from the Old Dominion. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Reiterman resided in Pike County until 1879, then moving to Circleville, which was their home until 1885. The latter year marked the time of their advent in Ross County, and their location in Liberty Township, where J. C. Reiter- HISTORY OF ROSS COUNTY - 831 man continued to be engaged in farming until March, 1916. He then retired and with his two daughters and his wife removed to their home at Chillicothe, where they now live. Mr. Reiterman has lived an industrious and useful life, characterized by a maintenance of high moral standards. In his dealings with his fellowmen he has evidenced integrity and probity, and as a citizen he has endeavored to help his community to grow and develop along all lines. Few men are entitled in greater degree to the esteem of their fellows. Mr. and Mrs. Reiterman have had five children, all of whom survive, namely : Della, who is the wife of John R. Fry, a farmer of Ashville, Ohio; Nancy, who resides with her parents; Harry, of this notice; Lloyd, who married Alice Metcalfe and is engaged in farming near Kingston, Ohio; and Helen, who lives at home. Harry Reiterman received his preliminary education in the district schools of Liberty Township, whence he was brought as a child of three years, and following this took a complete business course at Chillicothe's leading business college. This training was supplemented by a short course in agriculture at the Ohio State Agricultural College at Columbus, and he then returned to the home farm. At the time of his father's retirement from the duties of active life, Mr. Reiterman was given charge of the farm and since that time has proved well worthy of the trust reposed in him. This is a tract of 307 acres, on Rural Route No. 1, Chillicothe, in Liberty Township, known as the McGuire farm, and the handling of its many duties is a labor not to be lightly taken or to be easily discharged. Mr. Reiterman, however, possesses the abilities, the energy and the necessary knowledge, and his operations are proving abundantly successful. On February 15, 1916, Mr. Reiterman was married to Miss Maude Betts, daughter of Albert and Ella (Putnam) Betts, of Frankfort, Ross County. Mr. and Mrs. Reiterman are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, where he served as a member of the official board. Politically a democrat, in 1915 he served as township assessor of Liberty Township. His fraternal connection is with Chillicothe Lodge No. 6, Free and Accepted Masons. MRS. MARTHA FOSTER is a member of a family that has been associated with Ross County for more than a century. Her married name is the same as her maiden name, and it was her grandfather Foster who led the way into the Northwest Territory and established a home in Ross County in the latter part of the eighteenth century. Mrs. Foster is a daughter of Thomas Coke and Jane E. (Davis) Foster. She was born in Franklin Township of Ross County, July 30, 1840, and for a number of years has lived in her attractive home in Franklin Township, and she also owns land in Pike County. Her father, Thomas Coke Foster, was born on the same farm where she first saw the light of day, on July 21, 1813. He was the youngest in the family of John and Martha (Prather) Foster. Grandfather John Foster and his three brothers, Thomas, Joseph and Richard, came from Cumberland, Maryland, about 1796 and bought tracts of land from the 832 - HISTORY OF ROSS COUNTY Government in Ross County. John Foster was a local Methodist preacher and held many meetings in this pioneer district of Ohio and worked for his church while developing and cultivating his land. Thomas C. Foster, who was the youngest of a family of thirteen children, grew up on the old homestead in Ross County and eventually bought the interests of the other heirs in the place. He remained with his mother, and spent a very active and a useful career. He died as a result of a railway accident in December, 1882. He married Jane E. Davis, who was born in Franklin Township of Ross County, April 22, 1821, and died, August 12, 1852. They became the parents of six children : Martha Foster; Major J. C. Foster ; Hannah, who was born in 1844 and died in 1893 ; John, a resident of Franklin Township ; William, who died at the age of twenty-four years ; and George, born in 1852 and died in 1881. Mrs. Martha Foster being a daughter of a substantial and prosperous family was given good educational advantages, attending a private school and finishing her education in the Hillsboro Oakland Female Seminary. In February, 1865, she married James P. Foster. In 1868, they moved out to Kansas, where they were early settlers, and where they lived for eighteen years until the death of Mr. Foster in 1886. Since her husband's death, Mrs. Foster has returned to Ross County and has made her home in Franklin Township near Higby, the old homestead of her grandfather. She is an active member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and her family were prominent in organizing Foster's Chapel, of which she is a member. JOSEPH S. FULLER. No body of men, perhaps, make more stable and reliable citizens in a town or village than the retired farmers. They usually settle in such communities after years of patient labor on their farms and they bring with them sound judgment and clear views of men and affairs that have ripened in the contemplative life of the farm Hence they make valuable advisers as well as substantial residents. Among the representative men of this class who lives in comfortable retirement at Bourneville, Ohio, is Joseph S. Fuller, who is respected and esteemed by all his fellow citizens. Joseph S. Fuller was born in Athens County, Ohio, November 21, 1848. His parents were Seth and Theresa (Dean) Fuller, both of whom were born in Athens County. His maternal grandfather, Nicholson Dean, burned the brick and assisted in the erection of the first building of the Ohio State University at Athens. Mr. Fuller's great-grandfather Pratt was one of the early settlers of Ohio and his great-grandfather Tiles was also a pioneer of Ohio. Seth Fuller acquired 2,000 acres of land in Athens County and carried on large farming and stockraising operations. During the Civil war he bought and shipped horses for the Union army. In 1865 he removed with his family to Ross County and there passed the rest of his life. He belonged to the Masonic fraternity, and he and wife were church members. They had six children. One son, James Fuller, was a member of the Seventy-fifth Ohio Infantry HISTORY OF ROSS COUNTY - 833 in the Civil war and was discharged on account of disability. Joseph S. Fuller has one surviving brother, Edward, a farmer in Concord Township, Ross County, and one sister, Maria, the wife of Austin Tinker, of Concord Township. Joseph S. Fuller was reared to the age of seventeen years on the home farm in Athens County and then accompanied his parents to Ross County, afterward continuing his education for three years in the Frankfort and Concord township schools. He was twenty-one years of age when he began to farm with his father on his own responsibility and continued an agricultural life for many years afterward. Although Mr. Fuller is now retired he still owns a farm of 240 acres of valuable land in Twin Township. Mr. Fuller was married, December 26, 1869, to Miss Georgianna Hickle, who was born at Hallsville, Ross County, Ohio, December 28, 1850. Her parents were Christopher and Anna (Bender) Hickle, both of whom were born in Virginia and were married there, coming to Ohio before the Civil war. Mr. Hickle became a man of large means and owned 300 acres of land. Mr. and Mrs. Fuller have three children : Ora, who is the wife of James Purdum, who is a farmer in Twin Township ; Darrell, who married Minnie Newman of Twin Township, Ross County and they live in Colorado and are engaged in the sheep business; and Tberesa M., who is the wife of George Murkle of Twin Township. Mr. and Mrs. Fuller are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He casts his vote with the republican party but takes no active part in public affairs of a political nature and has never accepted any political office. He can always be depended upon, however, to lend his influence in the direction of temperance, lawfulness and morality. JAMES AUGUSTINE DEXTER has lived a life of worthy purpose and of substantial benefit in his home community of Concord Township. Though now retired from active responsibilities and close upon his seventieth year, he can still prove a valuable friend to any movement for betterment that he chooses to assist and is a citizen well entitled to the consideration long paid him. He was born in Concord Township, September 13, 1847. His father, George M. Dexter, was born in Lincolnshire, England, June 4, 1816, a son of George and Sarah (Mann) Dexter. About 1835 the Dexter family came to America, settling in Concord Township of Ross County in that year. Meanwhile George M. Dexter had acquired a fitting education in England and on coming to America became a school teacher in Ross and Warren counties. He finally settled down to the thrifty work of farming in Concord Township and remained thus engaged until his death on May 4, 1882. George M. Dexter was married in August, 1845, to Miss Mary McNally, who was born in County Derry, Ireland, a daughter of James and Susan McNally, both of whom spent all their lives in Ireland. Mrs. George M. Dexter died in 1886. She was the mother of four children. Of the two sons, Alfred D. Dexter became distinguished in Ohio by 834 - HISTORY OF ROSS COUNTY his noble services as a priest of the Catholic Church. Educated at home and in the common schools, he spent nine years in Mount St. Mary's Seminary at Cincinnati, where he completed his philosophical and theological studies. After graduating from the seminary he was ordained September 23, 1876, by Most Reverend Archbishop Purcell. He delivered his first sermon in St. Mary's Church at .Chillicothe, but his first regular appointment was as assistant in Kenton, Ohio. After three years he was transferred to Marysville and while there built a beautiful church in Mechanicsburg, where he conducted a mission from Marysville. In September, 1889, Father Dexter was called to take charge of the large and flourishing church of St. Mary's, Chillicothe. He remained its very popular pastor for about nineteen years and did much to build up the congregation both in material well being and in spiritual power. At the time of his death on April 20, 1915, he was pastor of the church in South Charleston, Ohio. His remains were brought back to Chillicothe and the funeral services were held in St. Mary's Church, where he had said his first mass and sermon. The career of James Augustine Dexter has been almost continuously identified with farming in Concord Township. The district schools supplied him with his first advantages, and he also attended a collegiate academy in Chillicothe conducted by Prof. George Kelley. Mr. Dexter has long been recognized as a scholarly man, and his early advantages were improved by constant reading and study. He has written many articles for the public press, and his well ordered mind, his long experience, has given him something to say and the power to say it well. However, his real work in the world has been farming. He inherited a valuable farm about two miles west of Frankfort and was actively engaged in its cultivation for many years. While he still owns the'farm, he is now enjoying the comforts of retirement in his home at Frankfort. Without aspiring to office he has nevertheless played an important part in local affairs, and his friends and neighbors have elected him to several local positions. He has been school director and justice of the peace, and while justice he officiated at the trial of some important cases in the township. Evidence of his impartiality and dignity as a judge is found in the fact that not one of the cases was ever appealed to a higher tribunal. Judge Dexter has always been a democrat in politics, and in earlier years did much to further the welfare of his party. Now he is content merely with voting. It was due to him more than to any other individual that the Frankfort and Herrod's Creek Turnpike was made a free highway, relieved from tolls. He has used his influence in many other ways to improve his home town of Frankfort. On January 25, 1893, Mr. Dexter married Joanna A. Powers, a daughter of John and Catherine Powers. Her parents were born in Ireland and came to America in 1849, bringing with them their four oldest children. They came to this country in an old-fashioned sailing vessel and spent eleven weeks in battling with the winds and waves before they landed in New Orleans. From there they came up the Mississippi River to Cincinnati and then settled in Allen Township of Union HISTORY OF ROSS COUNTY - 835 County, where Mrs. Dexter's father was a farmer. He and his wife spent the rest of their days there. Mrs. Dexter was one of seven children. To Mr. and Mrs. Dexter's marriagc were born three children : Alfred Dominic, Mary Kathleen and Elizabeth Maurine. The son, Alfred D., is now serving an apprenticeship at the machinist's trade in Dayton. Elizabeth M. married Kenneth Ater, and they have a son named James Elmer. The other daughter, Mary Kathleen, had a brief but noble lifetime. She was born April 27, 1895, was graduated from the Frankfort Grammar School in 1910, in July of that year passed the Boxwell-Patterson examination at Chillicothe, then entered the Frankfort High School and was graduated valedictorian of the class of 1914. The following summer she took special work in the Ohio University at Athens and in September began teaching in the Putnam District of Concord Township. Her health soon failed, and on February 3, 1915, her young life was closed with death. She had received her first communion in Greenfield, Ohio, August 4, 1907, and was confirmed by Most Rev. Henry Moeller, D. D., on October 28, 1907. A beautiful tribute to this young girl was paid by Helen Frances O'Hara in the following words : "Was it the gleam of that happy home that beckoned endless day, That left the smile on the tender lips as we laid our dear away? Or was it more ? Did an angel band come down and whisper low : 'We waited for you on brighter shores and now we beg you go. Your earthly home is pure and fair as an earthly home can be, But we want your lily soul away where is bliss eternally.' And did they call her thus away ? Our flower, our hope, our pride, And leave our hearts broken and homes bereft when darling Kathleen died ? Beauty her gifts of face and form, with a lavish hand bestowed. Kindness, candor, love and truth, in the depths of her bright eyes glowed. Like a fragrant lily of regal strcngth, brighting all that shone, Sweetly in maidenhood's tender blush her spotless soul moved on. If these were gifts so prized by heaven reflecting its image here; Those who knew her could not be blamed for holding her likewise dear. If in our vacant home we look and sigh for hcr presence still, If there's a void in our aching hearts which naught on earth can fill, We look aloft, for we know that death for her was God's sweet day. Our home was blessed to know the love of an angcl flown away." ROSS COUNTY By Helena Frances O'Hara Hail, hail old Ross County thy grcat rivers teem As placidly now as in days long ago When red men stood nigh to the brink of the stream In hiding for game or in wait of a foe. 836 - HISTORY OF ROSS COUNTY The red man is gone, but thy waters leap on; Subdued by the hand of the great pioneer They have since turned the wheel for the flour and meal And fed generations that lived by them here. Hail, hail dear Ross County, our homage is thine. Thine arms hadst first cradled the birth of our state. Thou nursed her and brought her to liberty's shrine, And placed her, a star, in our nation so great. That star's brightest beams on thy valley still gleams Forever transcending its white light shall fall Down whence it first sprung, when the state was so young, It scarce dared to climb the dim rampart at all. Hail, hail, then, all hail, noble County, to thee Thy hills o'er thy valleys as monuments stand, Great watchers in grandeur thy guardians to be Majestic they tower as sentinels grand And the blue sky above caresses with love Those spires of Nature 's Cathedral that rise Teaching man to revere, the lesson taught here His journey is earth, but his home is the skies. JOHN GREGG. Two occupations, farming and merchandising, have entcred into the career and contributed to the usefulness of John Gregg. than whom there is no better known citizen in Twin Township. His entire life has been spent at Storms Station, where he has been the proprietor of a successful general store business and in the vicinity of which he owns a handsome and well cultivated farming property, and where, for twenty-nine years, he has acted in the capacity of postmaster. Mr. Gregg was born at Storms Station, Ross County, Ohio, March 18, 1857, a son of Michael and Rebecca (Storms) Gregg, and a grandson of John Gregg, one of the early settlers of Twin Township. After their marriage, the parents of Mr. Gregg located on a farm in this township. and at the time of his death, so well had he managed his affairs, Michael Gregg owned some 300 acres of land, although he had started life with few advantages and but small capital. He and his wife were the parents of three children : Frank, who met his death in an accident on the railroad ; Hattie, who is the wife of Samuel Allen, of Bainbridge; and John. John Gregg was reared on the home farm in Twin Township and received his education in the common schools, which he attended during the winter months until he was twenty-six years of age. He was married in 1882 to Maggie Schoeroltz, who was reared in the same neighborhood and attended the same school, and whose father had been an emigrant to this country from Germany. Two children were born to this union : Gilbert S., a graduate of the graded schools, who married Amy Rhodes and is now engaged in farming in Twin Township ; and HISTORY OF ROSS COUNTY - 837 Hattie F., also a graduate of the public schools, who resides with her parents. After their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Gregg settled on a farm in Twin Township and here they have continued to cultivate and develop a handsome and valuable property, on which are many improvements, including a fine set of substantial buildings. After a short period, Mr. Gregg decided to enter mercantile lines and accordingly established himself in business at what was then known as McCurdy, but which was later named Storms Station, in honor of his grandfather, John Storms. He has built up a good and prosperous trade, which extends all over this section, and has established an excellent reputation in business circles as a man of honorable principles and good business acumen. On April 27, 1883, during the administration of President Chester A. Arthur, Mr. Gregg was appointed postmaster at Storms Station, and this post he has held almost without interruption ever since, his service therein extending over twenty-nine years in all. His discharge of the duties of the office has been eminently satisfactory, conscientious and expeditious and he has been able to inaugurate a number of reforms which have given the people better service. In his political views he is a democrat and wields some influence in local affairs. His fraternal connection is with tbe Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, at Chillicothe. Emerging from the background of the early history of Ross County is the strong and courageous personality of John Storms, whose material wealth was gathered from the soil of Twin Township upon which he was one of the first arrivals, and to the cultivation of which he spent the balance of his life. He was born at Warm Springs, Virginia, in October, 1790, and in 1802 came to Ohio with his parents, who were in more than modest circumstances, his father having lost all his property. Here he grew to manhood, and when, at the outbreak of the War of 1812, a call was issued for six companies of "rangers," he responded as the first volunteer from his state, although, as Mr. Storms afterward said, he "did not know anything about war and was soon sick of the job." However, he had too much grit to give up, and fought safely through the struggle, although on a scouting expedition to Detroit he nearly lost his life. The party was without food for several days, and the young soldier became so weak that he felt he could not continue, begging his companions to proceed without him. He often related in later years many other thrilling experiences encountered while ranging the country with headquarters at Bellefontaine. At the close of the war, Mr. Storms returned to Ross County, Ohio, where the balance of his life was passed and where his death occurred, July 21, 1889. His active career here was passed in agriculture and his operations were phenomenally successful, so that at the time of his death he owned 3,200 acres of land in Ross County, Ohio, and Benton County, Indiana. He married Rachel DeHart, March 2, 1818, and she died in 1856, their children being Jacob, Joseph, Nancy, Eliza, Rebecca, Mary, Elizabeth, Jane, Maria, and Sarah, and thcre are now living thirty-two grandchildren, forty-seven great-grandchildren, and eight great-great-grandchil- Vol. II-23 838 - HISTORY OF ROSS COUNTY dren. Mr. Storms was a devout member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, was an important political factor before, during and after the organization of the county, and was regarded as a man of broad views. sound judgment and invariable moral rectitude. GEORGE MCCALLA is part owner and active manager of one of the largest stock farms in Ross County. His farm comprises 1,109 acres of land. It lies along the Black Run in both Twin and Huntington townships. Mr. McCalla's home is in Twin Township. He and his partners use this land for the raising of high grade cattle and hogs and they specialize in the feeding of such stock and ship a number of carloads every year. The farm has from 300 to 500 head of hogs on the average. and their cattle herd comprises from 100 to 200 head. Though his life has been spent in Ross County since infancy, George McCalla was born at Black Hill, England, May 20, 1877. His parents were John and Jane (McClure) McCalla. They were both natives of County Armagh, Ireland, where they were reared. John McCalla went to England when a young man, but subsequently returned to marry Jane McClure, and following their marriage they lived in England for seventeen years. John McCalla was a moulder by trade, and followed that occupation as long as he lived in England. On July 5, 1879, this family arrived in Ross County, locating in Paint Township, where John McCalla bought the farm on which he died in 1896. His widow is still living there. They had seven children, and the three that reached maturity were : Jane, wife of Samuel McCalla of Paint Township, Ross County; Samuel, who died at the age of twenty-four ; and George, the youngest of the family. George McCalla grew up on the home farm in Paint Township and received a district school training in the Mount Olive School. The first twenty years of his life he spent at home and in that time gained a practical acquaintance with the business which he has followed so successfully in later years. For a number of years, Mr. McCalla was employed by William Baird, a prominent cattle buyer, and for him he frequently drove herds of cattle or otherwise conducted them to market. Mr. McCalla finally became associated with William Baird and Fay Baldwin in the purchase of a large farm in Twin and Huntington townships, where Mr. McCalla has since centered his activities. They bought this land in 1906 and since July of that year, Mr. McCalla has had active charge. In this ten years' time the firm has been variously improved with modern facilities and conveniences, and it is undoubtedly one of the largest and best kept stock farms in Southern Ohio. On May 13, 1897, Mr. McCalla married Mary Shinkle, a daughter of Phillip and Mary Shinkle of Paint Township. Mrs. McCalla was a child when her father died. Her parents were of Pennsylvania Dutch stock. Mr. and Mrs. McCalla had five children : Ralph, Dwight, Alice, Clarke and Ruth, all still at home. The mother of these children died. March 18, 1908. She was a devoted mother and home maker and her memory will always be cherished by her children. HISTORY OF ROSS COUNTY - 839 On April 6, 1910, Mr. McCalla married Mary J. Dalzall, who was born in Ireland, a daughter of James and Margaret Dalzall. She grew to womanhood in Ireland and in 1903 came to America to live with a sister in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. It was while living in that city that she became acquainted with Mr. George McCalla. They were married there. Mr. McCalla is affiliated with Chillicothe Lodge No. 52, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, is a republican in politics and a member of the Presbyterian Church at Bourneville. For one term he served as township trustee of Twin Township, and was for one term on the township school board of Paint Township. JAMES C. GRAGG. For about thirty-five years the mercantile interests of Ross County have been represented at Bourneville by James C. Gragg, who, in addition to having been a general merchant during this time and the proprietor of a business that has been looked upon as a necessary commercial adjunct, has at various times been the incumbent of positions of official importance, in which he has rendered excellent service to his fellow-citizens. Mr. Gragg was born in Twin Township, Ross County, Ohio, May 21, 1859, and is a son of George W. and Ruth Ann (Gilfillan) Gragg. The family is an old and honored one of this locality, and Mr. Gragg's father was born in Twin TOwnship, September 14, 1832, being a son of James and Catherine (DeVoss) Gragg. James Gragg was born in Virginia. the son of an Irish immigrant, and there grew to young manhood, coining to Ross County, Ohio, as a pioneer, some time between the years 1810 and 1815. Here he was employed as a day laborer for a number of years, and one of the pieces of work in which he was engaged was the building of the Cincinnati Pike, which was constructed in 1839. Mr. Gragg married Catherine DeVoss, who was born in Buckskin Township. Ross County, a daughter of Isaac DeVoss, who was a boy when he came to this county with his father, Joseph DeVoss. He settled in the same neighborhood that had Mr. Gragg. After their marriage, James and Catherine (DeVoss) Gragg took up housekeeping on a farm in Twin Township, where they passed the remaining years of their lives in tbe quiet pursuits of the tiller of the soil. They were the parents of the. following children : Samuel, Michael, Andrew, James, George W., and William. George W. Gragg grew to manhood in Twin Township, Ross County, in the valley of Paint Creek, and in 1857 was married to Ruth Ann Gilfillan. They settled in Twin Township and rented for several years, until Mr. Gragg's energy and industry were rewarded by the accumulation of sufficient capital with which to purchase a property. There Mrs. Gragg died in 1893, whilc Mr. Gragg survived until August 22, 1910. Both were held in the highest esteem in their community, and were known as people possessing many excellent qualities of mind and heart. They became the parents of five children, as follows: Alexander, who died in infancy ; James C.; Ida, who is the wife of H. L. Corcoran, of Twin Township ; Elizabeth, deceased, who was the wife of Clinton 840 - HISTORY OF ROSS COUNTY Cockerell; and Adam, who died when twenty-one years of age. G. W. Gragg was an uncompromising democrat in politics, and his belief in and loyalty to his party was so strong that he really made it his life hobby, without seeking personal reward. The Gilfillan family, of which Mrs. Gragg was a member, originally owned and inhabited the Island of Mull, just off the west coast of Scotland. At an early date they became embroiled in a feud with the MacDougall clan of Lorne, and the Gilfillans were entirely exterminated, with the exception of two of the wives of younger chieftains, who swam to the mainland and found refuge there. Not long thereafter each gave birth to twin sons, from whom sprang all the Gilfillans now living. The foregoing is an extract from the "Doomsday Book," London. The Gilfillans were entitled to a coat of arms on which was inscribed : "Armis Et Animis," meaning "By Force of Arms and Strength of Mind." At the time of a religious persecution in Scotland, some of the Gilfillan clan sought refuge in Ireland, and there, in County Derry, in 1761, was born Thomas Gilfillan. He married Agnes High, a native of County Down, born in 1760, and as a young married couple they emigrated to the United States and settled in Kentucky. There a large family of children were born, and eventually the family moved to Ross County, where the original founders of the family in this country died, and where their children's children still live to perpetuate the name. When Thomas Gilfillan came to the United States, he brought with him a brother, Adam Gilfillan, who became one of the scouts in the surveying expedition of Nathaniel Massie and was wounded in 1796 at what was afterward called Reeves Crossing. The second son of Thomas and Agnes Gilfillan was Alexander Gilfillan, who was born in Kentucky, in 1788. He married Elizabeth Monroe, daughter of Alexander and Sarah (McCoy) Monroe, in 1813. Both Alexander Gilfillan and Alexander Monroe fought as soldiers in the War of 1812, in which struggle the former was a captain of militia. Ruth Ann Gilfillan was the daughter of Alexander and Elizabeth (Monroe) Gilfillan, and was born in 1828, in Twin Township, Ross County, Ohio. She became the wife of George W. Gragg. James C. Gragg was given his education in the district schools and was reared on the home farm, where he assisted his father until he was twenty years of age. At that time he came to Bourneville, where he secured a position as clerk in the general store of Joseph Burgess, with whom he learned the mercantile business. Mr. Gragg remained in Mr. Burgess' employ for some eight or ten years, during which time he became well known to the people of this community as a young man of solidity, resource and ability. He carefully husbanded his earnings, learned all he could of business methods and customs, and in 1885, when appointed postmaster of Bourneville, opened a business establishment of his own. At the end of four years his term of office expired with a change in the administration, but he continued in business, and has done so ever since. In 1893 he was again appointed as postmaster, HISTORY OF ROSS COUNTY - 841 holding that office for five years, and in 1913 his son, J. Rodney Gragg, was given the postmastership. In June, 1888, Mr. Gragg was married to Miss Margaret Shoults, who was born in 1866, in Twin Township, a daughter of Alexander and Sarah E. (Shotts) Shoults. Alexander Shoults was born in Twin Township, October 13, 1833, a son of John and Mary (Flood) Shoults. John Shoults came to Ross County, Ohio, from Rockingham County, Virginia, about the year 1800, with his parents, Charles and Drucilla (Howard) Shoults. Sarah E. Shotts, who became the wife of Alexander Shoults, was born in Heller's Bottom, Twin Township, August 25, 1845, a daughter of David and Catherine (Long) Shotts, the family having come from Augusta County, Virginia, in 1809. David Shotts was a scout under "Mad Anthony" Wayne, was the first settler of the family in Ross County, and met his death during a thunder storm, in 1825, while seeking shelter under a tree. His wife was Mary Wagner, who, as a small girl, gave Gen. George Washington a drink of water on one of his surveying tours in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. David Shotts was the father of a large family of children, among whom the seventh in order of birth was Jacob, who married Sarah Toops, December 31, 1817. They became the parents of David Shotts, the father of Sarah E. Shotts, who married Alexander Shoults. Sarah Toops was descended from Paul Streve (or Streevey), who was born in Germany in 1755 and came to Northampton County, Pennsylvania. He enlisted in 1776 as a private in the Continental army during the Revolutionary war and fought through that struggle. Catherine Long was a daughter of John and Elizabeth (Thomas) Long, and it was the father of Elizabeth, Michael Thomas, who, with Duncan McArthur, were given the first two lots at Chillicothe as a grant. Mr. and Mrs. Gragg are thc parents of three children : J. Rodney, of Bourneville, postmaster, and associated with his father in business; Elizabeth, who is the wife of C. U. Ebenback, of Chillicothe ; and Foss Hunter, at home. J. Rodney Gragg is a member of the Masons and Odd Fellows. He was married October 18, 1915, to Miss Hazel Free, daughter of the late Joseph Free, of Paxton Township, Ross County. James C. Gragg is prominent in Masonry, being a member of Bainbridge Lodge, No. 193, Free and Accepted Masons ; Chillicothe Chapter, No. 4, Royal Arch Masons; Chillicothe Council, No. 8 ; and Chillicothe Commandery, No. 4, Knights Templar. He also holds membership in Paint Valley Lodge, No. 437, Knights of Pythias, at Bainbridge ; Bourneville Lodge, No. 808, Independent Order of Odd Fellows; and Chillicothe Lodge, No. 52, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. His political support is given to the democratic party. As a live, progressive member of his community he has assisted in the enterprises that have made for civic improvement, and his standing as a citizen and as an honorable man of business is of the very highest. ADAM SCHILLER. A great many people in Ross County know Adam Schiller through his services as a teacher. He was one of the popular 842 - HISTORY OF ROSS COUNTY educators of the county for a number of years, but is now a substantial farmer living on rural route No. 2 out of Lyndon, in Twin Township. His family has been identified with Ross County for several generations. He was born in Huntington Township of this county September 15, 1873, a son of Richard and Sophia (Hamm) Schiller. Both his parents were also natives of Huntington Township. The grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. August Schiller, were natives of Germany, where they were reared and married, and on coming to the United States they settled in Huntington Township of Ross County, where they spent the rest of their days. They were the parents of the following children : Richard, Herman, Otto and Edmund. Of these, the sons Herman and Edmund were both soldiers in the Civil war. Richard Schiller and wife had three children : Adam, August and Helena. The daughter is now deceased, and August is a farmer living in Twin Township. Adam Schiller spent the first twelve years of his life in his parents' home in Huntington Township, and then went to Twin Township to live with his uncle, Adam Hamm. While taking his place as a working member in the Hamm household he also attended school, and was finally graduated from the Twin Township High School. After that he qualified as a teacher and followed that vocation for ten winters. In the meantime he was steadily pursuing farming, and that is now his permanent vocation. In April, 1904, Mr. Schiller married Mary Absten. She was born in West Virginia. After their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Schiller lived on Lower Twin, in Twin Township, and they finally located on their present farm. They are the parents of four children : Viola, Bernard, Edwin and Mildred. Mrs. Schiller is an active member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He is a past noble grand of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and is a republican in politics. He is a quiet, unassuming citizen, does his part as a resident of his community, and is hard working and for several years has been on the high road to success. L. D. MILLER. Left an orphan at an early age, L. D. Miller, now a well-known and substantial farmer of Twin Township, had to start life on his own account and also bear the burdens of others. He has made a good use of his years, and has not only accomplished much, but has linked honor and probity with his name. He was born in Pike County, Ohio, December 14, 1866, a son of John and Julia (Kaplinger) Miller. Both parents were natives of Ohio, and his mother was born in Ross County. John Miller was given a public school education, was married in Ross County, and then located on a farm in Pike County. For a number of years he lived there, and later sold out and moved to Ross County, where he spent the rest of his days. He died at the age of forty-three, leaving his widow to care for the family of young children. His wife died a few years later. She was an active member of the Christian Union Church. The six children were : Andrew, now retired ; L. D. Miller; John B., deceased ; Jennie, HISTORY OF ROSS COUNTY - 843 wife of Ed Hern, of Scioto Township ; Nora A., deceased ; and William T., a merchant and carpenter. L. D. Miller grew up in Twin Township and had a limited education in the common schools. When about fifteen years of age he determined that he would earn his own way and help support the family. Since then his life has been one of consecutive endeavor, and after becoming independent he was married on February 16, 1889, to Miss Mary Kaplinger. She was born and reared in the same township. After their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Miller began a life of simple living and extreme economy. Mr. Miller worked by the month for six or seven years, and finally got the start which enabled him to acquire a homestead and home of his own. He now owns a first-class farm of 105 acres on rural route No. 1 out of Bourneville. All that he has was made by his own efforts. Mr. and Mrs. Miller had two children, but both of them died in infancy. Mrs. Miller is an active member of the Christian Union Church. Fraternally he is affiliated with Lodge No. 52 of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks at Chillicothe, and politically he is a democrat, though in no sense a politician or seeker for public honors. SAMUEL A. STEELE. As farmer and cattle breeder, Samuel A. Steele. tenant on the Diggs farm in Twin Township, Ross County, Ohio, has shown much enterprise and has met with considerable success in his undertakings. He is not unknown politically in the township and has membership in one of the county's exclusive social organizations. Samuel A. Steele was born in Twin Township, Ross County, March 7, 1889. His parents were James G. and Alice (Igo) Steele. His father was horn in 1840 on Paint Creek, in Paxton Township, Ross County, and died in April, 1910. He was well known and highly respected, an elder in the Presbyterian Church and was a republican in politics. The mother of Samuel A. Steele was born in Twin Township, May 2, 1852, and now resides in Chillicothe. Of the ten children in the family, Samuel A. was the ninth in order of birth. Mr. Steele's childhood and youth were passed on the home farm. He was given educational advantages, attending the common schools and the high school in Twin Township, and afterward took a course in the Bliss Business College at Columbus. He is a heavy breeder of polled Durham cattle and of other high-grade stock, and owns an interest in a famous prize-winning Belgian horse. Almost from boyhood Mr. Steele has been interested in politics, and party confidence has been placed in him at all times by the citizens of Twin Township, and it was shown when he was made a member of the republican county central committee, in which office he served for four years, and when he was elected a township trustee, although but twenty-two years old. He is one of the township's popular young men and is a member of .the Chillicothe Country Club. J. S. WILTSHIRE, M. D. Among the men of Ross County who are devoting their energies and talents to the practice of medicine and 844 - HISTORY OF ROSS COUNTY surgery, few bring to bear upon their vocation larger gifts of scholarship and resource than Dr. J. S. Wiltshire, of Gillespieville. Doctor Wiltshire did not select his life work in the untried enthusiasm of extreme youth, but made his choice at a time when his mind had become matured and trained to thoughtfulness by years of practical experience as an educator and to full realization of the possibilities and responsibilities of his profession. Doctor Wiltshire was born at Mooresville, Harrison Township, Ross County, Ohio, February 1, 1860, and is a son of Dr. J. M. and Mary (Sutherland) Wiltshire, natives of Ohio. There were four children in the family : William H., who is engaged in farming near Gillespieville; Dr. James S. ; Mary F., who is the wife of F. A. Counts and lives at Richmond Dale ; and J. E., whose home is at Vigo. The father, who was born in 1834, is still engaged in the practice of medicine at Richmond Dale. James S. Wiltshire was about one year old when the family moved to Massieville, Ohio, and about one year later was taken to Londonderry, where he attended the public school. Later he went to school at Chillicothe, and supplemented this by attendance at the National Normal School, at Lebanon, Ohio, where he took a teacher's course. For a period of sixteen years, from 1877 until 1893, he followed the vocation of educator and during this time was for two years principal at Londonderry and for a like period at the Sharonvillc High School. In 1893 he entered the Starling Medical College, at Columbus. Ohio, and in 1897 was graduated therefrom with the degree of Doctor of Medicine, and took first honorable mention in his class. In the summer of 1895 he completed a course at the Ohio Maternity Hospital, under the tutelage of Doctors Zinke and Tate, and at once commenced practice in association with his father at Gillespieville. Here he has continued to the present time. His skill in diagnosis and his successful treatment of long standng and complicated cases have created a gratifying demand for his services and have combined to formulate a career of exceptional breadth and usefulness. To a thorough professional equipment he adds a kindly and sympathetic manner, a genuine attachment to his calling and a ready adaptation to its multitudinous and exacting demands. He holds membership in the Ohio State Medical Society and the Ross County Medical Society, and keeps fully abreast of the various advancements constantly being made in the profession. Politically a republican, he has been elected on that party's ticket to the office of township clerk, the duties of which he performed most satisfactorily. Doctor Wiltshire has been successful in a material way. and is the owner of 310 acres of land in Ross County. In 1903 Doctor Wiltshire was united in marriage with Miss Anna Thomas, the youngest daughter of Joseph Thomas, and they are the parents of one son : John M., Jr., born in 1906. GIDEON S. COOVER, who has had a long and useful relationship with Ross County, as soldier, farmer, public official and public-spirited citizen. represents a family that came to this section of Ohio at the beginning of the last century. HISTORY OF ROSS COUNTY - 845 His ancestry goes back to Gideon Coover, who was born in 1738 and spent his life in Pennsylvania. He was one of those earnest patriots who offered their lives for the sake of independence during the Revolutionary war. He served as a private in Capt. James MacCurdy's company, Third Battalion, Cumberland County Militia, in 1783. His colonel was Samuel Erwin. This revolutionary soldier married Frances Stahle, and they became the parents of nine children. Their son Gideon, who was born in Pennsylvania in 1775, emigrated from that state in 1800 and subsequently bought the farm now owned by the Rodes heirs, seven miles west of Chillicothe, on the Cincinnati Pike. About 1820 Gideon Coover, with a party of others, went to New Orleans, taking a flatboat laden with flour, pork, hops and other provisions. After arriving at New Orleans he disposed of his cargo, and while in that city was infected with the germs of yellow fever. The yellow fever scourge then and for years afterward came periodically to all gulf ports. He was on his way home before the nature of his illness was recognized. The captain at first refused to carry him any further and talked of throwing him overboard. He was finally prevailed upon to take the stricken man as far as Baton Rogue, where he was put ashore, and he died at the home of a minister whom he had previously known. His remains were laid to rest in that southern city. Gideon Coover married Jane Downs, and at his death he left a widow and nine children. The names of the children werc : John, Adam, James, William, Samuel, Nancy, Frances, Jane and Mary. John married Adah McKenzie; Adam married Hannah Hyatt ; James married Mary A. Breedalove ; William married Cynthia Edmiston ; Nancy married Henry Haines ; Frances married Kirtus Cryder ; Mary married John Teter; Samuel and Jane died after they were grown, unmarried. Adam Coover, father of Gideon S., was born near Chillicothe, Ohio, January 5, 1812. His wife, Hannah Hyatt, was born in Pennsylvania, October 30, 1813, and as a girl came to Ohio with her grandparents, who located near Chillicothe. After their marriage, Adam and Hannah Coover started out to establish a home with very little capital. For sevcral years he worked on a farm at small wages, while his wife looked after the cooking and other duties of the household. Subsequently they rented a farm and finally bought a place. Adam Coover prospered through his industry and honorable dealings, and eventually owned more than 400 acres. He and his wife were active members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and they helped organize Core's Chapel, now the Beach Grove Methodist Episcopal Church. Politically he voted with the democrats until the Civil war, and afterwards was a republican. Adam Coover died December 23, 1889, while his wife, Hannah, passed away December 27th of the same year. They had lived happily together for fifty-six years, having been married August 8, 1833. Their children were : Mary Jane, born July 1, 1834, and died January 27, 1835 ; William Hyatt, born December 2, 1835, married Catherine Bristol, and died May 23, 1910 ; Maria Elizabeth, born March 19, 1838, married A. T. Foster, and died April 22, 1886; Gideon Samuel, who was born 846 - HISTORY OF ROSS COUNTY June 1, 1843, and is the immediate subject of this article; Franklin Eddy, born August 21, 1885, married Maria Grimes, and now living in Delaware, Ohio. Gideon S. Coover, who was born in Twin Township of Ross County seventy-three years ago, has spent practically all his life in Ross County. He received his early education while living on the home farm in Twin Township, but has profited a great deal from practical experience with men and affairs. Before he was twenty-one years of age he enlisted, on May 2, 1864, in Company I of the One Hundred and Forty-ninth Ohio Volunteer Infantry. This was one of the hundred-days regiments and was in the battle at Monocacy, that saved Washington City. This One Hundred and Forty-ninth Regiment was placed on the B. & 0. National Pike and was the means of saving the city, as General Grant said in his report, "They saved Washington." He was in the service four months and was mustered out and given his honorable discharge August 30, 1864. While he was in the army he passed his twenty-first birthday, and in the following fall he gave his first vote to the republican candidate for President, Abraham Lincoln. Since then he has steadfastly supported the republican party in all its campaigns. On November 20, 1866, Mr. Coover married Mary J. McKenzie. Mrs. Coover was born in Bourneville, Ross County, September 17, 1846. She died April 14, 1898. She was also of a very old and prominent American family, and her children are entitled to membership in the Sons and Daughters of the American Revolution through either their paternal or maternal ancestry. Mrs. Coover's grandfather, Joshua McKenzie, was a drummer in Lieut.-Col. Ludwig Waltner's Maryland-German Regiment in the Revolution. Her father, Eli McKenzie, was a soldier in the War of 1812 and was also a drummer. Mr. and Mrs. Coover had eight children, one of whom died in infancy, and the seven now living are : Myrtle O., who was born September 21, 1867, was educated in the common schools and also the South Salem Academy, has taught for a number of years and also took the training course in the Red Cross Training School at Philadelphia ; Adah M., the wife of J. L. Sonner, of Delaware, Ohio; Alice M., wife of Frank S. McKenzie, of Bourneville ; Jessie R., wife of Fred E. Vore, of Bourneville ; Nannie H., wife of F. E. Crites, of Barberton, Ohio ; Samuel A., who married Cora Beard and they live at Amarillo, Texas; and McKenzie C., who married Mary Shultz and lives at Delaware, Ohio. Mr. Coover has spent most of his life as a farmer, but for thirty years was an auctioneer, selling real and personal property on farms and at stock sales. His services were in large demand, and he presided over many important sales at Chillicothe, Bainbridge, South Salem and Bourneville. On July 1, 1903, he was appointed mail carrier from Storms, which was transferred to Bourneville after eight years, and has since given an efficient and competent service in this capacity. For a number of years he served as township trustee, also as assessor in Buckskin and Twin townships, and is a man in whom public spirit is always uppermost as a guiding principle. He is one of the prominent HISTORY OF ROSS COUNTY - 847 members of the Methodist Episcopal Church in his locality, and for many years was superintendent of the Sunday school and now is a trustee and treasurer of Bourneville Church. Mr. Coover has thirteen grandchildren. DAVID SUMMERS. In David Summers, Ross County has an able conservator of its agricultural interests, as well as a faithful promoter of those important adjuncts to community life, good schools and good roads. He is one of the substantial land holders of Twin Township, where he owns the Baum farm of 197 acres, lying off the Cynthiana Pike, three miles from Bourneville, on which he makes his residence, as well as 500 acres of land elsewhere in the township. Mr. Summers was born in this township, on the Upper Twin Road, August 20, 1866, and is a son of Samuel and Jane (Purdum) Summers. Samuel Summers was born in Virginia, and was still a small lad when brought to Ross County, Ohio, by his parents. He received his education in the early subscription schools and grew to manhood as a farmer, and, when he entered upon his own career started with nothing but his energy, industry and ambition to assist him, as his father was not in circumstances in which he could afford to give his son a start in a financial way. Mr. Summers was a day laborer in the fields for several years, next became a renter, and finally was able to purchase a small farm of his own. As the years passed he added from time to time to his holdings, and through the medium of his own efforts became the owner of nearly 600 acres of land. He was a quiet, unassuming man, who attended strictly to his own affairs, but was looked upon as a good and progressive citizen and as a kind and generous neighbor. He and his wife were the parents of three children : Maggie, who died in young womanhood ; Sallie, deceased, who was the wife of the late Jacob Baum ; and David. David Summers received his education in the Bourneville schools and was reared to manhood on his father's farm. When ready to choose his life's vocation, he readily adopted agricultural work, in which he had been trained from earliest boyhood, and for which he had a natural predilection. While he has always been engaged in general farming and has made a success of his enterprises in that direction, he is inclined to make a specialty of feeding cattle, and in this field is accounted one of the leading men of the county, shipping two or three carloads every season. Ever since arriving at the responsible age, Mr. Summers has been an apostle of industry, and has practiced economy, temperance and thrift. He is well posted on currcnt events, and one of the public-spirited, far-seeing and dependable men of the community. In political matters he is a republican, and his religious faith is that of the Presbyterian Church. He has built and rebuilt, fenced, ditched and improved generally, and has a delightful home and profitable property. Mr. Summers was married January 30, 1886, to Miss Fannie Kerns, daughter of William and Jane Kerns, of South Salem, Ross County, Obio, Mr. Kerns being a retired farmer and Union veteran of the Civil 848 - HISTORY OF ROSS COUNTY war, in which he fought as a volunteer. Three childrcn have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Summers: Mabel, who died in infancy ; Nellie, a graduate of the Bourneville schools, and now residing at home; and William S., of Bourneville, who married Malinda Stoults. SAMPSON SHOEMAKER. It is the ambition of nearly every man when he is arrived at the age of three score and ten to point out some worthy accomplishment and to look over a lifetime well and worthily lived. All that and more is the form of satisfaction granted to Sampson Shoemaker, of Twin Township. Mr. Shoemaker when a youth was one of the valiant fighters for the cause of the Union during the Civil war. He has spent the greater part of his life as a practical farmer and good citizen in Ross County, and is still living on his fine homestead of 242 acres in Twin Township. His farm is one of the conspicuous landmarks along the old Limestone Road, one of the oldest roads in the state. He is successfully engaged, and has been engaged for many years, not only in the raising of crops but in the producing of high grades of livestock. He has some fine hogs, cattle and sheep, and owns two of the best bulls in the county. Mr. Shomaker was born near Sinking Springs, in Highland County, Ohio, February 28, 1843, a son of Martin and Annie (Purgett) Shoemaker. Martin Shoemaker was born in Virginia and camc to Highland County, Ohio, as a lad with his parents. After reaching manhood he bought the home place from his parents near Sinking Springs and lived a useful and industrious life there until his death in 1853. His widow survived him until thc age of seventy-six. Martin Shoemaker and wife had nine children, eight of whom reached maturity, and two are now living: Frederick, who died in 1916; Amy, deceased ; Lydia Alin, who died at Council Bluffs, Iowa, wife of Eli Runyons ; Sampson ; William, deceased ; Priscilla Ann, who died at Belfast, Ohio ; Allen, who operates the home farm in Highland County ; and Amanda, deceased wife of James Robey, a miller in Highland County. Sampson Shoemaker spent the first twenty years of his life with his parents in Highland County. In the meantime he had attended the common schools, and heavy responsibilities were early thrust upon his youthful shoulders. At the age of sixteen he took charge of the home farm. In 1863 Mr. Shoemaker volunteered for service in the Union army. He went out with Company E of the Eleventh Ohio Cavalry. under Colonel Collins, and spent more than three years in the war. Part of the time he was corporal, and he also served in Company I, of the Eleventh Regiment. He was mustered out of service in 1866. Returning home, he livcd in Highland County until his marriage to Miss Esther Angeline Smith. During their twenty-five years of married companionship, terminated by thc death of Mrs. Sheomaker, thirteen children were born, six sons and seven daughters. Ten of them are still living: D. A., who is aim extensive farmer in the State of Washington ; Alvin H., in the grocery business in California ; Harvey A., who lives in Newark, Ohio ; F. M.. HISTORY OF ROSS COUNTY - 849 connected with the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad and living at Washington Court House; Frank L., who lives in Jackson, Ohio; Martin M., of Gooding, Idaho; Etta, wife of Leo Fels, of Belfast, Highland County; Louisa, wife of Fred Fels, of Twin Township, Ross County; Mettie, wife of Charles Shoults, of Gooding, Idaho; and Lena, wife of Floyd Long, of Twin Township. For the first year after his marriage Mr. Shoemaker lived on the home farm as a renter, and a year after that he came to the place he has ever since occupied in Twin Township. His has been a steadily prosperous career. His first land holdings in Ross County comprised 100 acres, and he has added to that until he has a fine farm with all the improvements, including 242 acres. After the death of his first wife, Mr. Shoemaker married Miss Viola Belle Seaman, a daughter of Sylvester Seaman, of Adams County, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Shoemaker have one child, Anna Grace, now three years of age. Mr. Shoemaker is a past noble grand of Paint Valley Lodge, No. 808, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, at Bourneville. For the past eight years he has served as commander of the Silas D. Prater Post, No. 530, Grand Army of the Republic, at Bourneville. He and his family are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and for a number of years he has served as trustee and financial elder. Politically he is a democrat, and for one year held the office of township cononcble. JOHN M. ROTROFF is one of the old and honored residents of Twin Township of Ross County, and for many years has successfully conducted a general mercantile establishment at Nipgen. He is also former postmaster of that place, and is spending the closing years of a long and fruitful life still engaged in a useful service to his community. He was born in Highland County, Ohio, near Sugar Tree Ridge, on March 6, 1839, but represents one of the pioneer Ross County families. His parents were John and Nancy (Naylor) Rotroff, his father a native of Pennsylvania and his mother of Ohio. The paternal grandfather, Jonas Rotroff, came to Ross County as early as 1803. He lived in that section only a short time and, after moving to Chillicothe, went on to Highland County, where he died. John Rotroff was a. resident of Highland County during all his active years and was well known in that section of the state. He was a republican in politics, and an active member of the Christian Church. He was the father of ten children, and the three now living are : John M.; Hannah J., wife of Ethan A. Walker, of Highland County ; and Nancy, wife of Edward Carr. John M. Rotroff grew up on his father's farm in Highland County. He made the best possible use of the advantages in the local schools, and in early life he himself became a teacher and spent four years in that work in Highland, Brown and Adams counties. Mr. Rotroff married Ernestine Carr. Of the ten children born to their union, only three are now living : William, of Lima, Ohio ; Lewis, of Springfield; and Rosa, wife of Harry Yowler. The mother of these children died June 1, 1888. On June 9, 1889, Mr. Rotroff married Cath-