USA > Ohio > Champaign County > A centennial biographical history of Champaign county, Ohio > Part 43
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it is one of his most precious souvenirs, having been the first sword given him when he was promoted to second sergeant, and he used it in all the engagements and through the whole campaign. His division was sent to the relief of Burnside at Knoxville and on May 2, 1864, his regi- ment was on the firing line when Sherman made his memorable move to- ward Atlanta. At Kenesaw Mountain, June 27, 1864, the regiment was in the thickest of the fight, losing ten of its nineteen officers in killed and wounded-one hundred and sixty-three men being killed, wounded and taken prisoners. During this memorable campaign, his regiment was within the constant hearing of musketry or artillery for one hundred days. The next battle he participated in was the battle of Jonesboro, which was really the fall of Atlanta, as Jonesboro was the only way of escape the enemy had. After the fall of Atlanta, our subject and his regiment went with Sherman to the sea and was present at the capture of Savannah. After Sherman's army, on January 20, 1865, left Savannah, it marched through South Carolina, where took place the battle of Averysboro, March 16, 1865. The battle of Bentonville followed, March 19, 1865, which was the last for that regiment as it went on to Goldsboro ( Sherman's objective point ), arriving March 23, 1865, then to Smithville, April 12, where they received the information of Lee's surrender of April 9. 1865, then to Raleigh. then to Morrisville ; the first day of May they started for Wash- ington by the way of Richmond, arriving at Camp Ward on the roth of May. 1865. near Alexandria, being on the march seventeen days. With a gallant military record Captain McCrea returned to his home after the close of the war and again took up the duties of civil life. On the Ist of January, 1872, he was united in marriage to Miss Ellen Richards, and they took up their abode on the old McCrea homestead, where he has ever since resided. The place now contains two hundred and forty-one acres and constitutes one of the best farms to be found in Champaign county. On the 30th of October, 1875, Mrs. McCrea was called to her final rest,
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leaving one son, John W., who resides in Cleveland, Ohio. She was born on the 7th of June, 1849. For his second wife the Captain chose Miss Hester Ann Berkshire, their wedding having been celebrated on the 8th of November, 1881, and they have one child, Mary E., who was born December 24, 1882, and is at home. Since his return from the war the Captain has been elected to many positions of honor and trust. In 1892 he was made a county commissioner, which he continued to fill for nearly seven years, and for a time was chairman of the board. He has also held the office of township treasurer. He maintains pleasant relations with his old army comrades through his membership in the H. C. Scott Post. No. ITI. G. A. R., of St. Paris. Ohio.
PERRY DANIELS.
Perry Daniels was one of the honored pioneers who aided in laying the foundation on which to erect the superstructure of Champaign coun- ty's present prosperity and progress, and through the period of carly development he was an important factor in the improvement and ad- vancement of this section of the state. Ilis father. Thomas Daniels, was born, reared and educated in the famous old Blue Grass state. but in 1813. after his marriage he left his southern home for Ohio, locating on the present Daniels homestead in Champaign county. The land was then in its primitive condition, but as the years passed by he cleared a portion of this farm, and here his death occurred in 1841. He was married in his native state to Sarah Cainbell, and she, too, was born and reared in Kentucky. This union was blessed with ten children, four sons and six daughters, as follows: America. Narcissa. George. Malinda. Perry, Laniana. Andrew Jackson, Milton, Etna and Gatch.
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All but four of the children were born in Champaign county, and here all were reared. They have since passed to their final reward. The father gave his political support to the Whig party and religiously was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church.
Perry Daniels, the immediate subject of this review, was born in this locality on the 8th of January, 1814, and throughout his youth and early manhood he assisted his father in clearing and improving his Ohio home. The educational privileges which he received were those afforded by the district schools of the neighborhood. In early life he also studied the art of surveying, but never followed that profession, preferring to give his energies to the tilling of the soil. After his father's death he became the owner of the old home place of one hundred and fifty-seven and a half acres. He performed his part in the arduous task of clearing new land, plowing and planting the crops and throughout his entire life he was engaged in agricultural pursuits on the old homestead in Har- rison township. He was prominently identified with the Republican party, and for a number of years held the office of constable. His social relations connected him with the Masonic fraternity, holding membership with the lodge at West Liberty.
As a companion on the journey of life Mr. Daniels chose Miss Mary Barckshire, who was born in Dayton, Ohio, and she there remained until within a few years of her marriage. Her father, Henry Barckshire, was a native of the northern part of Ohio. In an early day he moved to Dayton, making the journey by boat, and during the trip a fire was kept burning in a kettle until it was discovered by the Indians. In that city he was married to Miss Sarah Morris, a native of Virginia, but when an infant she was brought to this state and was reared in Clark county. This worthy couple became the parents of six children, of whom Mrs. Daniels was the eldest in order of birth. By her marriage with ur subject she became the mother of eight children, namely : Allen,
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deceased . Sarah, at home: Margery, the wife of L. J. Baker, who is engaged in the implement business in Urbana ; Adelia, the wife of J. H. Wilson, who is engaged in business in Corning, California; Mar- gueritte, who also makes her home in that state; Minnie, the wife of Don Wilson, of California : Anna, who is also unmarried and resides in that state. All of the children were born on the old home farm in Champaign county. Mr. Daniels was called to his final rest on the 8th of December, 1887. His was a long, active, useful and honorable life, and his name is indelibly inscribed on the pages of Champaign county's history.
D. S. PERRY.
One of the most expert authorities on broom-corn in Champaign county is D. S. Perry, a substantial citizen of Urbana and variously in- terested in the surrounding agricultural, industrial and banking enter- prises. \ native of Venango county, Pennsylvania, he was born Febru- ary 20, 1837. a son of John and Mary ( Smith) Perry, and grandson of Moses and Phoebe (Cross) Perry. The origin of the family is authen- tically traced far back into Scottish history, in which country Moses Perry was born, and from where he emigrated to America with his parents when yet a boy. Ilis wife was born in Ireland, and as a child crossed the sea with the rest of her family, settling, as did the Perrys, in Pennsylvania. After the marriage of the young people they removed to Venango county, Pennsylvania, and lived upon the same farm for sixty- five years, or until the time of their respective deaths. While tilling their land and taking a prominent part in the general affairs of the county, the grandparents reared a family of five sons and three daughters.
The parents of D. S. Perry were born. reared, and married in P'enn- 35
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sylvania, in which state the maternal grandfather. David Smith, was born, and in his longevity showed a truly remarkable hold on life, attain- ing to four months less than a hundred years. He married Ann Lane, who was of Welsh descent, and who died at a comparatively early age. To John and Mary (Smith) Perry were born five sons and four daugh- ters, one son and two daughters being deceased. Three of the sons served their country in the Union army during the Civil war. Two of the daugh- ters. Mrs. John W. Snyder and Mrs. D. C. Carey, as well as D. S. Perry, are the only members of the family living in Champaign county.
Up to the time of his removal to Urbana in 1880, D. S. Perry en- gaged in farming and stock-raising, and from his fourteenth year has been interested in either the raising, purchasing or manufacture of broom- corn. While still on the paternal homestead he attended the public schools, and in the spring of 1862 settled on a farm in Union township. this county, where with his brother, he engaged on an extensive scale in the cultivation of broom-corn. The handling of this necessary commodity proved such a reliable source of revenue that upon locating permanently in Urbana Mr. Perry devoted himself entirely to promoting his chosen industry, and with his brother formed the broom-corn manufacturing en- terprise under the firm name of Perry Brothers. In time the brother withdrew from the concern by disposing of his share to Mr. White, and for the following ten years the affairs of the manufactory were conducted under the firm name of Perry & White. At the expiration of this time the interests of Mr. Perry passed into the hands of J. D. Valentine, and the now reliable and successful firm of White. Valentine & Company maintain the old substantial business integrity fostered for so many years by the Perry brothers.
In the meantime Mr. Perry had been perfecting arrangements for an independent broom-corn business along somewhat different lines, and be has since been engaged in the supply department, principally in buying
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and selling corn, and also the machinery required for its conversion into brooms. He has heavy holdings in several concerns, notably the Ohio Straw-Board Company, of which he is president and chief promoter. Additional responsibilities have been assumed as president of the Ohio Laundry Company, of Urbana, as a director in the Citizens' National Bank, and as a stock-holder in warehouse interests in Arcola, lilinois. Mr. Perry is also interested in general farming, and he raises stock on an extensive scale.
On the 30th of March, 1864, Mr. Perry was united in marriage to Susan L. Madden, and of this union there have been three children, one of whom, a son, died at the age of seventeen years. The daughters are married respectively to Mr. A. B. Offenbacker and L. C. Shyrigh. Mr. Perry is a member of the board of trade, and in political affiliation is a Republican. With his wife he is connected with the Methodist Episcopal church. His is a career which has been watched with increasing pride on the part of his fellow citizens, among whom he is regarded as a typical business man of the progressive and reliable order.
R. C. MOULTON.
The Green Mountain state has furnished many men of prominence and worth to the west, and among the number is included R. C. Moulton, of Champaign county. He was born in Orange county, Vermont, Febru- ary 5, 1821. His paternal grandfather, Phineas Moulton, was a native of Massachusetts, but early in life settled in Vermont, where he reared a large family of children. His son Phineas became the father of our subject, and he, too, was born in Orange county, Vermont. He followed the tilling of the soil as a life ocupation, and during the war of 1812 he
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served his country as a brave and loyal soldier, for which he received a land warrant. His life's labors were ended in death when he had reached the age of sixty-five years. In the county of his nativity he was united in marriage to Maria Cotton, a native of Bethel, Windsor county. Vermont, and a descendant of Sir Robert Bruce Cotton, of England. Her father, Biby Lake Cotton, was also a native of Vermont, and was a soldier during the Revolutionary war. He married Miss Alice Chase, an aunt of Salmon P. Chase, and a sister of Bishop Philander Chase, the founder of the college at Gambier, Knox county, Ohio. Mrs. Moul- ton was called to her final rest at the age of eighty-four years. She became the mother of twelve children, nine of whom grew to years of maturity, namely: Martha, who became the wife of William Bissell. Bishop of Vermont : Caroline Chase, who served in the treasury depart- ment at Washington when Mr. Chase was secretary of the treasury ; R. C., of this review ; Ellen, who became the wife of Nathan L. Pennock : Alice Chase, who became the wife of A. M. Gould; Sarah D., the wife of William P. Wheeler, a prominent attorney in New Hampshire : Rachel D., the wife of John Newell, a civil engineer; Mary, who died at the age of eighteen years; Lavinia and Maria, twins, the former the wife of a Mr. Bates, of Washington, D. C., who formerly served in the patent office there, and the latter the wife of Gemont Graves, an Episcopal min- ister of Burlington, Vermont. Their daughter is the wife of Major Andrews, who is serving in the Philippines.
R. C. Moulton, of this review, received his elementary education in the district schools of his native locality, and his studies were com- pleted in the high school of Orange county, Vermont. Desiring to enter the legal profession, he accordingly began the study of law immediately after completing his literary education, and was admitted to the bar in his native state in 1845. About two weeks later. in company with Erastus Martin, he came to the Buckeye state, locating in Rush town-
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ship. Champaign county, where he made his home for one year. In 1846 he continued his westward journey, joining an uncle, Salmon Chase Cotton, at Grand De Tour, Illinois, and in the same year he went to Geneva, Wisconsin, spending the following winter at Geneva Lake. In [847 he continued his northward trip, and in 18448 returned to Champaign county, where he again took up the practice of law and at the same time taught vocal music. On the 6th of June, 1854. Mr. Moulton was united in marriage to Olive Pearl Howard, who was born in Rush town- ship, this county, February 3. 1832, a daughter of Anson and Olive ( Pearl ) Howard. Her father was born at Hampton, Connecticut, April 3. 1781. and in 1817 came to Champaign county, locating on the farm on which our subject now resides in Rush township. The place was then wild and uncultivated, and he was among the early pioneers of this locality. His death occurred on the 28th of March. 1849. His father. William Howard, was born on the 18th of January, 1749, and was of English descent. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Phoebe Fuller, was born at Hampton, Connecticut, December 8. 1759. Mrs. Moulton's mother was born in Windham county, Connecticut, July 1. 1790, and her father. Philip Pear, was a native of the same county. Mr. and Mrs. Anson Howard became the parents of four children, three sons and a daughter, but one of the sons died in infancy. Mrs. Moulton was the youngest child and only daughter in the family, and she was born and has spent her entire life upon the farm on which she still resides. She is now the only living representative of her family. Two daugh- ters have blessed the union of our subject and wife .- Olive Pearl, who was born June 27. 1859. and died in September, 1863: and Mary, who was born July 21. 1865. The latter is the wife of Charles B. Whiley. and they reside in Lancaster, Fairfield county, Ohio, where he is a promi- nent attorney and a leading business man. They have two children, Dorothy Bell and Olive Pearl.
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After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Moulton located on the old Howard homestead, where they have ever since resided. The place now contains two hundred and fifty acres of rich and productive land. In addition to the raising of the cereals Mr. Moulton is extensively engaged in the sheep business, raising principally the Rambouillet breed, and in this branch of his business has met with a very high degree of success. Politically he has been a Republican since the organization of that party, and prior to that time voted with the Whigs. His life has been weil spent, and his integrity in business and his fidelity in all the relations of life have won him the confidence and esteem of many friends.
HOMER PORTERFIELD.
Homer Porterfield, president of the Porterfield Carriage Company, at Mechanicsburg, is a native of this state, and was born near New Paris. Preble county, February 14, 1863. His parents, David A. and Minerva J. ( Hopper ) Porterfield, were also natives of Ohio, in which state they engaged in farming during the greater part of their active lives, and where the father died in 188.4. at the age of fifty-five years. The mother, who is now living in Richmond, Indiana, had eight children.
The boyhood days of Homer Porterfield were uneventfully spent on the paternal farm, and by the time he had attained to sixteen years ambitious tendencies had arisen to emphasize the limitations of his sur- roundings. He therefore put farming behind him as not entirely suited to his temperament, and in Richmond, Indiana, learned the carriage busi- ness, to which he has since devoted his energies. In 1890 he located in Mechanicsburg in pursuit of his chosen occupation, and two years later became interested in the Schneider Carriage Company, which enterprise
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was in 1894 incorporated as the Porterfield Carriage Company, with Mr. Porterfield as president and general manager. This concern is one of the substantial business interests of the town, and turns out a high grade of vehicles, principally on the carriage order.
In 1886 Mr. Porterfield married Alice Schneider, of Richmond, Indi- ana, and of this union, there are two children, David Philip and Rhoda Madge. Mr. Porterfield has for many years been active in Republican political undertakings, and is at present clerk of Goshen township. Fra- ternally he is associated with the Knights of Pythias, and he is a mem- ber of the Mechanicsburg Lodge, No. 113. F. & A. M. Mr. Porter- field has a reputation for sterling worth in his adopted town, and his public- spiritedness and enterprise are felt in many department of interest.
FREDERICK N. BARGER.
Frederick Newls Barger. a worthy representative of a sterling old family, is one of the highly respected farmers and citizens of Concord township. Champaign county. The Bargers are of German origin and the many notable traits common to that people are to be observed in the character of our subject. His paternal grandfather, John Barger, was born in Germany, but in early life he came with two brothers to Amer- ica, locating in Loudoun county, Virginia. He subsequently took up his abode, in Rockbridge county, that state. In political matters he was a Democrat. His son, Adam Barger, was there born on the 27th of De- cember, 178.1, and in the county of his birth, in 1808, he was united in marriage to Susanna Garrett. a native of Rockingham county. Vir- ginia, and they became the parents of eleven children : Sally, deceased; Frederick: N .. of this review ; George, Rebecca. Sophia, John and Chris-
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tina, also deceased; Nancy, who died in infancy: William, deceased; Matthew and Mary. In the Old Dominion, in 1832. the mother of this family was called to her final rest. Three years later, in 1835, the father came to Champaign county, purchasing eighty acres of land four miles west of our subject's present farm, where he made his home until death, in 1860. passing away at the age of eighty-four years.
Frederick N. Barger, whose name introduces this review, was born in Rockbridge county, Virginia, February 27, 1813, and remained under the parental roof and gave his father the benefit of his services until he was twenty-one years of age. In 1836 he joined the family in Cham- paign county, locating one mile west of the Concord church, in Concord township, where for a time he worked at different occupations, during the first winter here being employed as a stavemaker and afterward as a carpenter. After his marriage he embarked in the gunsmith business, and while thus employed he repaired over three thousand guns and made about one hundred and fifty new ones. He subsequently returned to the old farm which he had first purchased on coming to Champaign county, near the Concord church, where he made his home until 1868, and in that year he came to the farm which he now owns. The place consists of eighty-eight acres, most of which he has placed under cultivation, and the many and substantial improvements thereon stand as monuments to his ability. He is also the owner of several sawmills. In former years he was a member of the old Know Nothing party. For thirteen years he efficiently served his township as its trustee, was its treasurer for four and a half years and for one year served as supervisor. He has at all times enjoyed the full confidence of the public, and no citizen of his section of the county is held in higher respect.
On the toth of November, 1840, Mr. Barger was united in mar- riage to Miss Sarab Strayer, a native also of Virginia. When about eighteen years of age she accompanied her parents on their removal to
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Logan county, Ohio, where they were among the early pioneers. Mr. and Mrs. Barger have had six children, namely: Frances, the wife of John Taylor, a farmer of Champaign county ; Jeunette, the wife of John C. Crain, a blacksmith in Michigan ; and Mary Elizabeth, Margaret Ilan- nah, John L. and Rosa Emma, deceased. In his social relations Mr. Barger is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, No. 46, of Urbana, and also of its beneficiary auxiliary, and was formerly identi- fied with the Grange. He is a prominent member of the old Concord church, in which he formerly had charge of the library, and he also assisted materially in the erection of its house of worship. He is now one of the oldest residents in this section of the state, and nearly his entire life has been spent in the interests of Champaign county.
SAMUEL ZIRKLE.
On the roll of Millerstown's respected and leading business men is found the name of Samuel Zirkle, who for a number of years has been connected with its mercantile and milling interests. He comes of one of the old colonial families of Virginia, and on the maternal side he is a relative of the famous Andrew Jackson. He was born in Mad River township, Champaign county, on the 27th of March, 1844, and is a son of Cornelius and Nancy ( Jackson) Zirkle, both born and reared in Virginia. The former, who was born on the 12th of July, 1804, was a miller by trade, but after his removal to the Buckeye state, about 1825. he located on a farm of eighty acres in Mad River township, and there- after gave his entire time to its cultivation and improvement. He was numbered among the prominent old pioneers of the locality. The mar- riage of Mr. and Mrs. Zirkle was celebrated in Virginia and they be-
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came the parents of four children, namely: Herndon: Marguerite J., deceased ; Cornelius, also deceased : and Samuel, of this review. With the exception of the eldest all were born in Champaign county. The mother of this family was called to her final rest in 1848. and two years afterward, in 1850, the father was again married, Mrs. Mary Smith becoming his wife. She, too, was born in Virginia, and was the widow of a Mr. Sargent. By his second marriage Mr. Zirkle became the father of five children,-Salvanus A., Theodore, John, Melvina and Catherine. The two last mentioned are now deceased, and all were born in Cham- paign county. The father continued to carry on the work of his farm in Mad River township until his life's labors were ended in death, pass- ing away in the faith of the Lutheran church, of which he was a worthy and consistent member. His political support was given to the De- mocracy.
Sanmel Zirkle, of this review, remained under the parental roof and gave to his father the benefit of his services until his marriage, when he was twenty-six years of age, after which he removed to a farm of his own in Mad River township, there remaining for about one year. His next home was in Johnson township, on which he remained for two years, for five years resided on the Solomon Snapp farm in Adams township, for a similar period maintained his residence on the George R. Kiser farm in Johnson township, and went thence to Millerstown, where in the fall of 1883 he purchased the mill which he still owns and operates. Since 1896 he has also been identified with the mercantile interests of that city, and in both departments of trade he is meeting with a well merited degree of success. He is a persevering. resolute business man and conducts all trade transactions with the strictest regard to the ethics of business life. His name has ever been synonymous with hon- orable dealing, and he has the unlimited confidence of all with whom he has come in contact.
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