A Standard History of Ross County, Ohio, Part 44

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

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Thomas Remley, father of John W., was also born in Springfield

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Township of Ross County. As a boy he had the advantages of the sub- scription 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 build- ings. 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 be- fore 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 excep- tion 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 in- surance 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 condu- cive to success.

1 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-

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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 in- dustrious 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 re- tirement 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 re- posed in him. This is a tract of 307 acres, on Rural Route No. 1, Chilli- cothe, in Liberty Township, known as the McGuire farm, and the, han- dling 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 Epis- copal Church, where he served as a member of the official board. Polit- ically 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

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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 chil- dren: 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 home- stead 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 fra- ternity, and he and wife were church members. They had six children. One son, James Fuller, was a member of the Seventy-fifth Ohio Infantry

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in the Civil war and was discharged on account of disability. Joseph S. Fuller has one surviving brother, Edward, a farmer in Concord Town- ship, 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 Frank- fort and Concord township schools. He was twenty-one years of age when he began to farm with his father on his own responsibility and con- tinued 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 Town- ship; Darrell, who married Minnie Newman of Twin Township, Ross County and they live in Colorado and are engaged in the sheep business ; and Theresa 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 edu- cation 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

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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 sup- plied 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 experi- ence, 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 Mis- sissippi River to Cincinnati and then settled in Allen Township of Union

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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 marriage 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 Gram- mar 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 strength, 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 her 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 angel flown away."

Ross COUNTY By Helena Frances O'Hara Hail, hail old Ross County thy great 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.

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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 entered 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 pro- prietor 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 rail- road; 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 mar- ried in 1882 to Maggie Schoeroltz, who was reared in the same neighbor- hood 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

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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 hand- some and valuable property, on which are many improvements, includ- ing 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 the 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 prop- erty. 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 rang- ing 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 there are now living thirty-two grandchil- dren, forty-seven great-grandchildren, and eight great-great-grandchil- Vol. II-23

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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 town- ships. 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.

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A Standard History of Ross County, Ohio, Part 44

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

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