A Standard History of Ross County, Ohio, Part 17

Author: Lyle S. Evans
Publication date:
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 549

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MRS. ESTELLE (JONES) PURDUM. A woman of culture and refine- ment, interested in all movements tending toward the betterment of the world, Mrs. Estelle J. Purdum is an ardent advocate of temperance, and an active and prominent member of the Woman's Christian Temper- ance Union. A native of Ross County, she was born in Liberty Town- ship, which was also the birthplace of her father, Henry Jones, Jr., his birth having occurred February 16, 1824. She comes of honored pioneer stock, her great-grandfather, Thomas Jones, having migrated from New Vol. II-9

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Jersey to Ohio in 1803, bringing with him his family, which included a son, Henry, who became the grandfather of Mrs. Purdum.

Thomas Jones made the trip from the Atlantic Coast to Ohio long before the days of railroads and canals, journeying overland, it is sup- posed, with teams, bringing his wife and children with him, and camp- ing and cooking by the way, as was then the custom. Having purchased a tract of land near Rattlesnake Knob, in Liberty Township, Ross County, he erected the typical log cabin, and on the farm which he cleared from its pristine wildness spent the remainder of his life. Both he and his wife, Elizabeth, lived to a good old age, and reared a large family, their children being as follows: William, Henry, Thomas, Ben- jamin, Joshua, Caleb, Samuel, Jeremiah, Jacob, Mary and Rebecca. Caleb died in middle life, but all of the others lived long and useful lives, married and reared families.

Henry Jones, Sr., Mrs. Purdum's grandfather, was born in New Jersey, and ere he had entered his teens was brought by his parents to Ross County. From his obituary, written by one of his sons, we learn that he obtained the rudiments of his education in a log cabin, it having been the first building erected in Liberty Township for school purposes, the pupils attending representing at that time thirty-two families. At the time of his death, at the age of four score years, all but two of those families, the Joneses and the Claypools, had become extinct in Liberty Township, either by death or by removal.

During his youthful days the nearest mill was ten or more miles distant, and he, with other boys, used to take a sack of grain to be ground, and each boy would wait his turn, sometimes waiting thus a full day and night. Jackson was the nearest point at which salt, which cost $4 a bushel, could be bought, while at the same time corn, which was usually of an inferior quality, sold at 8 cents per bushel, and muslin cost 50 cents a yard. Beginning his career as an independent farmer, Henry Jones, Sr., bought 100 acres of land in Liberty Township, and was there actively engaged in tilling the soil until his death, March 17, 1871. During the later years of his life he suffered greatly from physical infirmities, yet his constant testimony was that his last days were his best; that his pathway grew brighter; and that this in many respects was a good and beautiful world, but that there was another and better in reserve for the faithful, and which he expected through Christ to inhabit throughout all eternity.

Henry Jones, Sr., married, at the age of twenty-seven years, Rachel Corken, a daughter of Thomas and Grace (Mason) Corken, who migrated from Maryland to Ohio, becoming pioneers of Harrison Township, where they spent the remainder of their lives. Both were consistent members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and their bodies are buried in the Concord Methodist Episcopal Churchyard. Mrs. Rachel (Corken) Jones died in 1893, at the advanced age of ninety-six years. She was the mother of nine children, as follows: Simpson, Nelson, Henry, Mil- ton, Elizabeth, Rebecca, Rachel, John and Mason. Brought up on the homestead, in Liberty Township, Henry Jones, Jr., obtained his early

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education in a log cabin standing at the foot of Taylor's Hill, on the Londonderry Pike, and as that was before the establishment of free schools in Ohio, it was run on the subscription plan. Making the most of his opportunities, he acquired a good education, and by extensive reading gained a large amount of general information, to his very last day taking an intelligent interest in passing events. He became a farmer from choice, and at the time of his marriage installed his bride as mistress of a log cabin, in which they began housekeeping and in which their four oldest children, including Mrs. Purdum, were born. He was very successful in his agricultural labors, and wisely investing surplus money in land, became the possessor of 700 acres, lying in Lib- erty and Harrison townships. In the early '60s he built a commodious brick house, surrounded by seven acres of beautiful lawn, in Harrison Township, and there earnest men and women of the church, and those interested in all reform movements, were welcome guests. After the death of his wife he came to Chillicothe to live with Mrs. Purdum, and died at her home December 27, 1912.

The maiden name of the wife of Henry Jones, Jr., was Mary Jones. She was a daughter of Thomas and Margaret (Haynes) Jones, and a granddaughter of Rev. George Haynes, the first blacksmith to locate in Chillicothe. She died on the farm in Harrison Township February 8, 1904. Eight children were born to her and her husband, as follows: Estelle F., now Mrs. Purdum; Gertrude, who was the second wife of J. A. Cuscaden; Emmeline, who married E. P. Cliner; Virginia died unmarried; Alice, who became the first wife of J. A. Cuscaden; Norris H .; Josephine married T. M. Hanna; and Jessie, who married C. V. Jones.

Acquiring a very good education in the public schools, Estelle Jones began teaching school in her home district when but fifteen years old. Entering the Ohio Wesleyan Female College, in Delaware, at the close of the Civil war, she continued her studies there two years, after which she was again engaged in teaching until about a year prior to her marriage.

Estelle Jones married, October 28, 1868, John W. Purdum, and began housekeeping in Chillicothe, in the house which she now occupies. John W. Purdum, a son of Jesse and Mary (McAdow) Purdum, was born April 16, 1838, in Chillicothe. As a young man he began clerking in the hardware store of D. A. Schutte, and was thus employed until May, 1864, when he enlisted in Company A, One Hundred and Forty-ninth Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Being commissioned second lieutenant of his company, he went with his command to the front during the Civil war and continued in active service until receiving his honorable dis- charge, August 30, 1864. He then resumed clerking for a time, but was subsequently engaged in business on his own account until compelled by ill health to give up all active pursuits. Retiring permanently then from business cares, Mr. Purdum continued his residence in Chillicothe until his death, August 24, 1911.

During the great revival of 1860, Mr. Purdum was converted, and

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united with the Walnut Street Methodist Episcopal Church, of which Rev. C. E. Felton was then pastor. Four children were born of the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Purdum, namely : Mary, who died at the age of thirty-five years; Henry Jones, Florence, and Norris Willard.

At the age of eleven years Mrs. Purdum joined the Concord Methodist Episcopal Church, and on coming to Chillicothe had her membership transferred to the Walnut Street Methodist Episcopal Church, with which she has since been identified, since 1868 having been a teacher in its Sunday school. Mrs. Purdum has always been an earnest worker in the cause of temperance, and at the reorganization of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union in Chillicothe, in 1886, was made its president. In 1891, in Toledo, she was chosen treasurer of the state organization, and served four years. In 1890 she was elected to the state board of trustees of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, and filled the position four years. Mrs. Purdum believes there is no movement greater than that of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union. Because of her loyalty to the cause, she has often endured the most bitter perse- cutions, but she is a woman who will stand firm as a rock when a prin- ciple is involved, and never was known to falter in a work when she encountered opposition. Self-sacrificing to a fault, her ambition and per- sonal convenience is of secondary consideration when anything is to be done that will advance the cause of the Woman's Christian Tem- perance Union. Her indomitable energy and perseverance, backed by her strong convictions, lead her to success where many others fail. She is an ardent believer in woman's enfranchisement, and through her instrumentalities suffrage lectures have been delivered in the remotest parts of her county. A friend says :

"We have learned through years of closest association in the work of the Women's Christian Temperance Union that in all the successes and defeats, in trying to bring the liquor power subservient to the law, that in all of the pleasant and unpleasant things which white ribboners commonly encounter when laboring for this greatest cause, her soul has never been scorched with malice toward any one, and that her heart is filled with love and charity for all. The atmosphere of her home is the essence of purity and Christian piety. An affectionate and devoted wife and mother, 'the heart of her husband did safely trust in her,' and 'her children rise up and call her blessed.' "

ALEXANDER STEEL. Noteworthy among the industrious and able farmers who contributed largely toward the development and advance- ment of the agricultural interests of Ross County was Alexander Steel, late of Chillicothe, where he lived for several years, retired from active business pursuits. A son of James Steel, Jr., he was born on a farm in Ross County, Ohio, in June, 1846, of pure Scotch ancestry.

James Steel, Jr., was born in 1807, in Scotland, where his parents, James and Jane (Gladstone) Steel, were lifelong residents. Immigrating to America in 1816, he spent two years in Virginia, from there coming as a boy to Ohio. In 1842 he located in Scioto Township, Ross County.

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Buying a tract of land on the North Fork of Paint Creek, he engaged in general farming, and was there a resident until his death, fifty-six years later, on December 21, 1898, at the venerable age of ninety-one years. He was a man of sterling character, a strong Presbyterian in religion, and an ardent advocate of the temperance cause.

On October 3, 1837, James Steel, Jr., married Jane Somerville, a daughter of John Somerville, a well-to-do farmer of Bourneville, who came to Ohio from Scotland in 1808, and during his subsequent life was a man of prominence in Ross County, and active in the Swedenborgian Church, of which he was a member.

One of a family of ten children, Alexander Steel was brought up on . the home farm, in Scioto Township, and assisted his father in its man- agement for a few years after attaining his majority. He then located in Twin Township, on land given him by his father, and after occupying it a few years sold out, and bought land adjoining the parental home- stead. As a tiller of the soil, he met with excellent success, but was subse- quently forced to give up active work on account of ill health, and for eighteen months lived in Chillicothe. Again assuming possession of his farm, he managed it for nearly four years, when he again took up his residence in Chillicothe, where he lived retired until his death, in 1911.

Mr. Steel married, in 1882, Jeanette Morris Anderson, who was born at Anderson Station, Union Township, Ross County, Ohio, a daughter of James R. Anderson, a native-born citizen of Chillicothe. Mrs. Steel's grandfather, Lewis Anderson, was born, January 4, 1760, in Wales, and in early manhood emigrated to Ohio, locating in Ross County, in Chilli- cothe. He later bought land at Anderson Station, and was there engaged in agricultural pursuits until his death, July 11, 1846. He married first, April 6, 1815, Isabelle Schwartz, who died in early life, leaving two children, James R. and Jane W. In 1821 he married for his second wife Mrs. Jane Patterson. James R., Anderson succeeded to the ownership of his father's homestead, and was there prosperously engaged in gen- eral farming and stock-raising during the remainder of his life, passing away March 16, 1889. The maiden name of his wife was Mary Jane Morris. She was born in Union Township, a daughter of John and Phoebe (Rogers) Morris, and died on the home farm, October 17, 1896. To her and her husband, nine children were born and reared, as follows: John S .; Thomas L .; Mary M .; Jeanette Morris, who became the wife of Alexander Steel; James; William D .; Louis F .; Margaret M .; and Lincoln C.

Mr. and Mrs. Steel reared two children, Margaret; and J. Robert, who married Elizabeth Willick, and now occupies the home farm. Mrs. Steel is a member of the First Presbyterian Church, to which Mr. Steel also belonged.

CHARLES F. COPPEL. To have played an effective part in business affairs in one locality for a period of thirty-five or forty years is of itself an achievement that reflects honor and is not unconnected with impor- tant service. Such has been the position of Charles F. Coppel at Chilli- cothe, one of the very successful business men of that city.

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A native of Ross County, he was born November 17, 1846, a son of Christopher and Caroline Coppel. His father was born in Germany and came to America during the decade of the '30s, locating in Chilli- cothe. He began his career in this country as a farm laborer and for a great many years, until his death in 1874, he lived on the Mathews farm. The mother died in 1882. Of their large family of fourteen children, all but three are still living.

Charles F. Coppel grew up in Ross County, attended the public schools, fitted himself by hard work and by learning the lessons of honesty and thrift for a useful career. In 1882 he began business at Chillicothe as a restaurant proprietor, having his establishment close to the site now occupied by the Cincinnati, Hamilton and Dayton Railroad Depot. He. has continued in that same line of business now for thirty-four years, and probably has the oldest institution of its kind under one continuous management in Ross County. In addition Mr. Coppel has built up a large local trade in coal and building material. He has extensive yards and a large and commodious warehouse for the handling of these products.

His success is also indicated by his home, a large brick residence, that stands on a hillside commanding a fine view in several directions. Mr. Coppel also has a part in farming enterprise and owns a large estate of 1,500 acres and has developed much of it and is still continuing the work of improvement.

In politics he has for a number of years maintained an independent attitude. Mr. Coppel married Miss Elizabeth Winter. To their mar- riage were born four children: Anna B., wife of A. R. Wolf, who is now postmaster of Chillicothe; Charles F., Jr., now deceased; William, who is a clerk in his father's business; and Harry Tobias.

ELISHA A. TINKER. An able and skilful attorney, well versed in legal lore, Elisha A. Tinker is successfully engaged in the practice of his pro- fession at Chillicothe, and is also actively interested in public matters. He was born, April 28, 1872, in Trimble Township, Athens County, Ohio, on the same farm that his father, Resolve W. Tinker, first opened his eyes to the light of this world, his birth having occurred in 1844, the farm having then been owned and occupied by Charles Tinker, grand- father of Elisha A. Tinker.

Charles Tinker was born in Connecticut, and was about four years old when brought to Ohio by his parents, who settled on wild land near the present site of Zanesville. He grew to manhood amid pioneer scenes, long before the days of railroads and canals, when few, if any, evidences of civilization as now understood existed. Grown to a sturdy manhood, he married, and subsequently moved to Trimble Township, settling on land which his wife had inherited, it being heavily timbered when he assumed its possession. After living for a while in a log cabin, he burned bricks, and erected a brick house therefrom. He cleared a large portion of the land, and was there actively engaged in tilling the soil until his death, in the eightieth year of his age.

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Charles Tinker married Almira Fuller, who was born in Dover Township, Athens County, where her father located on coming to Ohio from Connecticut. The greater part of the state was then in its virgin wildness, the land being owned by the Government, and its dense forests being habited not only by the wily red man, but by wild beasts of all kinds. It is said that just before leaving his native state, Mr. Fuller had sold a cow for sixteen dollars, but had not received the pay therefor, and that he returned to Connecticut for the purpose of collecting the sum due him. In order to do so, he worked his way on a flat boat down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers to New Orleans, where he secured an opportunity to work his passage on a sailing vessel to Connecticut. Collecting his money, he walked back to Ohio, and on the farm which he improved, it being located about six miles from Athens, he spent his remaining years.

Brought up on the home farm, Resolve W. Tinker began life on his own account in Trimble Township, in addition to carrying on general farming establishing a profitable business as a cattle dealer, buying in Ohio, and shipping to the eastern markets. Coming to Ross County in 1891, he bought a farm in Concord Township, and established himself in mercantile business at Clarksburg, where he resided until his death, in November, 1904, at the age of three score years. He married Mary F. Martin, who was born in Jefferson County, Illinois, a daughter of Thomas Martin. She survived him, dying in January, 1908, leaving four chil- dren, as follows: Lewis M., Elisha A., Resolve W., and Eugene.

Laying a good foundation for his future education in the rural schools, Elisha A. Tinker entered the Ohio University, from which he was graduated in 1893. While there pursuing his studies, he had taught school two terms, and after leaving the University he took up journal- istic work, until 1895 being associated with the "Athens Herald." In the meantime Mr. Tinker read law, first with Sleeper & Sayre, in Athens, and later in Chillicothe, with Luther B. Yaple. Admitted to the bar in 1896, Mr. Tinker began the practice of his profession in 1897, at Chilli- cothe, and has continued here until the present time.

Mr. Tinker married in October, 1901, Laura Morrison, who was born in Union Township, Ross County, a daughter of William Morrison, and they have one child, Frances Tinker. Since casting his first presidential vote for William Mckinley, Mr. Tinker has been actively identified with the republican party, and has served as chairman of the executive committee of the Ross County Republican Organization most of the time since 1903. He has been a delegate to numerous district and state con- ventions, and in 1905 was elected to the lower house of the State Legis- lature. Mr. Tinker belongs to the Phi Delta Theta College Fraternity, and is a member of Chillicothe Camp, No. 4111, Modern Woodmen of America.

A. R. WOLFE. One of the leading citizens of Ross County, prominent in its business, social and political circles, Adolph R. Wolfe, postmaster at Chillicothe, holds a position of trust and responsibility, and is per- forming the duties devolving upon him in this capacity to the eminent

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satisfaction of all concerned. He was born, October 10, 1870, in Cincin- nati, Ohio, a son of John and Mary (Kroll) Wolfe.

Left motherless when a child of six years, he came to Chillicothe to live with his mother's sister and her husband, Mr. and Mrs. Hugo L. Gessner, who cared for him as tenderly and lovingly as though he had been their own son. Educated in the public schools, he remained with his uncle and aunt until twenty-four years old, assisting Mr. Gessner in his business. Turning his attention then to journalism, for which he had a natural taste and aptitude, Mr. Wolfe became a reporter on the Chillicothe Daily News, his salary being $6 per week. Making rapid strides in his newspaper work, he became, at the end of a year, city editor of that paper, and after its consolidation with the Chillicothe Advertiser continued with that paper until April, 1913, when he resigned to accept his present position of postmaster. Previous to that time, in addition to his editorial work, he had assumed the management of the Masonic Opera House, leasing it for four years, and then owning it for a period of ten years, when he sold the property.

Mr. Wolfe has been twice married. He married first, in 1901, Miss Alice Thomas, who was born in Clarksburg, a daughter of Archibald and Mary (Norris) Thomas, and sister of James Milton Thomas. She died in early womanhood, her death occurring in September, 1909. Mr. Wolfe married second, in 1912, Miss Anna Coppel, a native of Chilli- cothe, being a daughter of Charles F. and Elizabeth (Winter) Coppel. Mr. and Mrs. Wolfe attend St. Paul's Church.

Having cast his first presidential vote for Grover Cleveland, Mr. Wolfe has since been a consistent member of the democratic party, and active worker in its ranks. He has been a delegate to several demo- cratic state conventions, and has served as a member of the State Central Committee, and as chairman of the County Democratic Committee. Fraternally Mr. Wolfe belongs to Scioto Lodge, No. 6, Ancient Free and Accepted Order of Masons; to Chillicothe Chapter, No. 4, Royal Arch Masons; to Chillicothe Council, No. 4, Royal and Select Masters; to Chillicothe Commandery, No. 8, Knights Templar; and is a member of the Valley of Columbus Consistory, and of Aladdin Temple, Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He is likewise a mem- ber of Chillicothe Lodge, No. 52, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks; and of Chillicothe Camp, No. 4111, Modern Woodmen of America.

GUSTAVUS SCOTT FRANKLIN, A. M., M. D. A man of talent and culture, with the greatest capacity for earnest and diligent labor, the late Gustavus Scott Franklin, M. D., was for many years one of the foremost physicians of Chillicothe, where the major part of his life was spent, his birth having occurred in this city November 22, 1837, and his death in February, 1901. His father, William B. Franklin, had the family name of "Bussard" changed, in 1831, by the Ohio Legislature, to its present form, "Franklin." He was a son of Daniel Bussard, Jr., and a grandson of Daniel Boussard, Sr. There is a well established tradition that the paternal grandfather of Daniel Boussard, Sr., was born in France,

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having been a Huguenot, and in 1685, after the revocation- of the Edict of Nantes, fled to Saxony, where he married the daughter of a burgomaster.

Daniel Boussard, Sr., or Bussard, as the name was afterwards spelled, was born, in 1743, in Saxony, Germany, and when five years of age was brought by his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Peter Bussard, to America. He spent the next few years of his life in the eastern part of Pennsylvania, from there moving with the family to the Monocacy Valley, Maryland. After his marriage he settled in Frederick County, Maryland, and there the birth of his son, Daniel Bussard, Jr., occurred, December 2, 1771.

William B. Franklin was born, October 29, 1804, in Georgetown, Dis- trict of Columbia. Scholarly in his tastes and ambitions, he was gradu- ated from Princeton College, now Princeton University, in Princeton, New Jersey, with the degree of bachelor of arts. Deciding to enter the legal profession, he studied law under the preceptorship of Francis Scott Key, author of the Star Spangled Banner. Going to Virginia, he was tutor in the family of John Caile Scott until 1831, when he came to Ohio to accept the position of a teacher in the Chillicothe Academy. Becom- ing active in public affairs, he was elected county auditor in 1841, and was continued in office by successive re-elections until 1857. He again served in the same office from 1859 until 1863. In 1860 he was appointed registrar at the United States Land Office in Chillicothe, and continued in that capacity for eighteen years. He lived to a ripe old age, dying at his home in Chillicothe.

William B. Franklin married, August 25, 1827, at Western View, on the Rappahannock River, Culpeper County, Virginia, Marianne Scott, who was born at Rock Hill, Maryland, January 2, 1803, of Scotch ances- try. Her father, James Caile Scott, was a son of Gustavus Scott, and grandson of Rev. James Scott, the immigrant ancestor. His great- grandfather, Rev. John Scott, master of arts, was born in Dipple Parish, Morayshire, Scotland, and spent his entire life in his native country.

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A Standard History of Ross County, Ohio, Part 17

Author: Lyle S. Evans Publication date: Publisher: Number of Pages: 549

Author: Lyle S. Evans
Publication date:
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 549