USA > Ohio > Crawford County > A centennial biographical history of Crawford County, Ohio > Part 63
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81
684
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
ert has since grown up. Thirty acres of the tract had been cleared and a log house had been built upon it. There John Zimmerman lived out the remainder of his days and died December 20, 1878, at the age of seventy-three years. From the time of the organization of the Republican party he acted with it in all questions of public policy. He served his township as trustee and filled other important offices. He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church and was liberal in the support of its various interests. His wife died February 25, 1887, aged about seventy-one years.
When John Zimmerman brought his family to Todd township the subject of this sketch was about eleven years old. He remained with his father until he was twenty-one years of age, assisting him about his farm work and attend- ing the common schools near his home as opportunity afforded during the years of his youth. In 1856 he went to the far west by way of the Nicaragua route. He engaged in prospecting for minerals on the north fork of the American river and later on Bear river, but made his headquarters about sixteen miles from Sacramento, California. He remained on the coast about four years, during which time he took up several mining claims, and then returned to Ohio with the expectation of going back to California, but at the request of his father he remained and for two years was with him on his home farm. He married Phoebe Jane Caughey, of Sycamore, Ohio, and after his marriage he located on the farm in Todd township which he has since owned and operated. The place comprises one hundred and ten acres of land, well improved and very productive, much of which Mr. Zimmerman devotes to general farming. Mr. Zimmerman is a Republican.
Mrs. Zimmerman, who died January 6, 1900, bore her husband six chi !- dren, as follows : Alida C., who is the wife of William Lambright, of Nevada, Ohio; Viola, who is the wife of Scott Ekleberry, of Todd township; and Clara, Amy, Annie and Daisy, who are members of their father's household. Clara is a milliner and Viola and Daisy and Annie have achieved an enviable repu- tation as school teachers.
JOHN DILLINGER.
A representative of one of the honored pioneer families of Crawford county, John Dillinger has resided within its borders for more than sixty years and throughout a long period has been a most active factor in its sub- stantial development and improvement. He was born in Stark county, Ohio. September 24, 1827, the family residing at that time near Canton. His father,
685
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
Joseph Dillinger, was a native of York county, Pennsylvania, and was of German descent. He was reared upon a farm and in early life learned the miller's trade. When a young man he emigrated westward to Stark county, Ohio, where he married Susanna Smith, and as honored pioneer people of Ohio they aided in laying the foundation for the development and upbuilding of the commonwealth. They had six children, namely : John, of this review ; Hiram, who is living in Putnam county, Ohio; David, Harriet, Emeline and Manais, all now deceased.
In the year 1834 Joseph Dillinger came with his family to Crawford county and located in Lykens township, where he entered one hundred and sixty acres of land from the government-the farm upon which Henry Ob- lander now resides. He then contracted with Ben Huddle to build him a log cabin for thirty dollars, but on account of illness Huddle was unable to per- form the work and when the Dillinger family arrived in the county there was no house awaiting their occupancy. They unloaded their goods in the woods and erected a shanty of clapboards and later built of round logs a cabin con- taining one room. They had to clear a place on which to build, so heavily was the timber. There were few roads in the county and everything was yet in a primitive condition. The father cleared and improved his farm and made his home thereon until his death, which occurred when he was fifty-seven years of age. His wife died a few years later.
Mr. Dillinger, of this review, was a little lad of seven summers when the family came to Lykens township. He was reared upon the pioneer farm and aided in clearing and cultivating the land. He never had the privilege of attending school until he was thirteen years of age, and his advantages were ' then very meager, but experience, observation and reading have added greatly to his knowledge. In 1850 he rented a farm of eighty acres, and after culti- vating it for three years purchased the property upon which he resided until 1867, when he came to his present farm. His landed possessions aggregate two hundred acres, and the place is well improved with all modern accessories and conveniences. A substantial residence, with barns and good outbuildings in the rear, stands in the midst of highly cultivated fields and neatness and thrift characterize everything about the place. Mr. Dillinger carries on gen- eral stock-raising. He has been buying cattle, hogs and sheep for thirty years and has been shipping since 1872. Since 1892 he has been engaged in buying stock at Sycamore, and his business endeavors have been crowned with a gratifying degree of success.
In 1847 Mr. Dillinger was united in marriage to Miss Mariah Lister, and
686
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
unto them have been born nine children : Marilda, the wife of Enoch Watson, of Clyde, Ohio; James, a stock-buyer of Lykens; Delilah, the deceased wife of James Fenchner; Arlita, the wife of E. R. Runyon, of Van Wert, Ohio; Mary A., the wife of Moses Vance, also a stock-buyer of Lykens; David, who is engaged in buying and selling stock at Bloomville; John, who is living in the same place; Laura, the wife of Milo McClelland, their home being on her father's farm; and Leonora, the wife of William Salty, of Clyde, Ohio.
Mr. Dillinger gives his political support to the men and measures of the Union Reform party. Since 1863 he has been a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and is likewise a member of the Baptist church. He is a most enterprising and progressive citizen and no resident of Lykens town- ship has done as much for its welfare and progress as Mr. Dillinger, who withholds his co-operation from no movement calculated for the general good. He is generous and genial in disposition and wherever known he has won many warm friends.
HORATIO W. MARKLEY.
Horatio W. Markley is one of the progressive and prominent men of Crawford county, and is a descendant of several of the most distinguished families of this part of Ohio. Mr. Markley was born in Liberty township, Crawford county, on July 24, 1848, and was a son of Joseph and Elizabeth (Stough) Markley. The paternal great-grandparents were Joseph and Susan- nah ( Wigley) Markley. They came to what is now Ashland county, then Richland, Ohio, in 1815, entering about three hundred acres of land on the present site of the city of Ashland. Here he erected and later conducted an extensive distillery business, and as the years passed became one of the sub- stantial men of the locality. Both he and wife were unusually corpulent. their accumulated weight being more than five hundred pounds. Every year, arrayed in a peculiar riding costume, one feature of which were beaver hats. they made a horseback trip to the eastern relatives, where they were expected with pleasure on account of their many admirable traits of character. They reared a family of eleven boys and two girls, all of them being of more than average weight and size. The smallest of the boys, faceciously called "the runt," weighed two hundred and fifty pounds. All of the family lived to marry and rear families of their own. The extraordinary strength of five of these sons excited general comment, as each one could take a full barrel of whis-
687
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
key up in his hands and drink from the bung. Perhaps the strongest of all was Horatio, who was born in Somerset county, Pennsylvania, in 1804, and was considered the strongest man in the county. Shortly after his marriage he came to Crawford county and entered one hundred and forty-four acres of land in Liberty township, where his daughter, Mrs. Elizabeth Teel, now re- sides. With the assistance of his brother Mathias, who had preceded him here some years, assisted also by the two wives, a comfortable log cabin was built and on this farm he spent his whole life. He became prosperous and was able to leave his children very well situated, giving each one a farm at the time of maturity. He was long one of the leaders in the English Lutheran church and was known through the county for his kindness and liberality. No call for help was ever disregarded, and when death came, in 1880, at the age of seventy-six, the mourners extended far beyond those of his own family. He married Nancy Link, who was the daughter of Adam Link, also a remark- able man. He was born in Wheeling, West Virginia, where he owned six hundred acres of land on the present site of the city of Wheeling. He was a veteran of the Revolutionary war. His father was killed by the Indians dur- ing the early days. Being surrounded by Indians, he and a friend bargained for their lives, and, as the Indians promised safety, they came out, only to be tomaliawked by the savages, who destroyed everything they could find, tore open feather beds to see the feathers fly, killed the cattle and cut up the leather in the tan yards. Adam Link lived over a century, dying in 1864, at the advanced age of one hundred and two years, nine months and twenty-seven. days.
The maternal great-grandparents of our subject were also well-known. people, John Stough being a Lutheran minister, who first married Mary Hag- myer, and later Catherine Troutman. The great-grandfather, Thomas Charl- ton, was of English birth, and married Elizabeth Mercer. John G. Stough, the maternal grandfather, was a native of Perry county, Pennsylvania, and came to Crawford county shortly after his marriage to Sarah Charlton, a native of Washington county, Maryland. Mr. Stough settled on the farm now owned by the Widow Moderwell, entering one hundred and sixty acres of forest land, built him a log cabin in the forest and hung up a quilt for shelter in place of a door. When meat was wanted for the larder he took his gun. stepped a few paces away from his home and soon shot a deer, so plentiful were they at that time. His family went through every phase of pioneer life, but in this wilderness he reared a fine family and remained until advanced in years, when he moved to Vernon township and died there at the age of eighty-
38
688
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPIIICAL HISTORY.
four years. Both he and wife had been life-long members of the Lutheran church.
Joseph Markley, the father of our subject, was born on the old Horatio Markley homestead, on December 4, 1824, and grew up at home, early doing his part of work on the farm. His education was necessarily limited, but through life he was a great reader and in time became self-educated and was thoroughly informed concerning the public events of the day. His marriage was to Elizabeth Stough, in Liberty township, who was born on October 21, 1827, and she was a daughter of John G. and Sarah (Charlton) Stough. After his marriage he located on seventy-two acres of land one and one-half miles north of the Markley homestead and during the second year realized enough from the sugar maples on the farm to pay for it. Here Mr. Markley resided until his death, in May. 1858, at the age of thirty-three. His life had been a busy one and he had succeeded well. He was very active in the affairs of the English Lutheran church, and was a member of the Republican party. After the death of Mr. Markley his widow married Peter Rutan and now re- sides in this township. One daughter was born of this marriage: Anna, the wife of Oliver Wheaton, a pattern maker of Mansfield.
Horatio W. Markley, the bearer of an honored name, was reared on the home farm and acquired but a limited education. He was married on Feb- ruary 23. 1871, to Miss Maria C. Rader, who was born in Northampton county, Pennsylvania, and was a daughter of Aaron and Sabina ( Bower ) Rader, both of whom were natives of Pennsylvania. They came to Crawford county previous to 1850. After his marriage our subject and wife went to Columbiana county and located on a farm belonging to Michael Charlton, but two years later they returned to Crawford county and purchased a farm of seventy-two acres two miles north of Sulphur Springs, where the family re- sided for four years. Then Mr. Markley sold that and bought eighty acres in Cranberry township, on which farm he remained for three years, later selling that also. For the following nineteen years he successfully operated a farm of one hundred and sixty acres belonging to his sister-in-law, Mrs. Julia Rader. In 1884 he bought forty acres located one-fourth mile south of his present home, and this land he retained four years and then exchanged it for the farm he now occupies. This consists of sixty-two and one-half. acres and upon it he has erected a most desirable set of buildings, modern in construction and attractive in appearance. He removed to this place in 1899.
Mr. Markley has been very successful during these years of industry, has become well known and esteemed in the county and has reared a most estimable
689
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
family, viz. : Franklin A., city solicitor for the B. & O. Railroad at Toledo, Ohio; Hattie E., a millinery trimmer at Toledo; Bert W., deceased; Esther B. and Ross W., both at home. In politics our subject has always been a stanch Republican, and fraternally he is connected with Liberty Lodge, No. 845, K. of H. His wife is a member of the L. O. T. M. and of the Lutheran church. He is one of the progressive and energetic men whose example in a community is for its benefit, and all through Crawford county live those who most highly esteem Horatio W. Markley.
ELIJAH LYONS.
Elijah Lyons, who is engaged in the cultivation of a good farm in Cran- berry township, has always resided in Crawford county, his birth having oc- curred in the township which is still his home, on the 22d of May, 1850, his parents being Jacob and Susan (Robison) Lyons. The father was born in Perry county, Pennsylvania, in 1822, and was a son of Adam and Barbara Lyons, who came to Ohio about 1836, settling in Richland county, near Shelby, where his father leased a tract of land for several years. He was then in limited financial circumstances and on the expiration of his lease he came to Crawford county, residing in Cranberry township up to the time of his death. Adam Lyons' children were George, John B., Jacob and Susan. The father of our subject was fourteen years of age when he came to Ohio, and eight years later he purchased eighty acres of the farm upon which his son Elijah now resides. Soon afterward he further completed his arrangements for a home of his own by his marriage to Miss Susan Robison, who was born in Perry couny, Pennsylvania, a daughter of William and Christina ( Zeigler) Robison, who came to Ohio about the same time the Lyons family removed to this state. They took up their abode in what is now Auburn township, Craw- for county, then a part of Richland county, and later removed to Cranberry township, spending their last days upon the farm where Mr. French now re- sides. George Robison, an uncle of Mrs. Lyons, was an officer in the war of 1812, and for many years thereafter was a leading figure in military circles. Two of her brothers, William C. and Thomas Henry, were loyal supporters of the Union cause during the Civil war, and the latter died near Arkansas Post while in the army.
At the time of their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Lyons located on the farm which he had purchased and later he added to this a tract of ten acres. To the further development and improvement of his property he devoted his energies
-
690
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
until his death. His study of political issues led him to give his support to the Democracy, but he was never an office seeker. In early life he held member- ship in the Presbyterian church, but in later years, as there was no church of that denomination in the neighborhood, he united with the Methodist Episco- pal church. He was an energetic and persevering man and bravely faced the hardships of frontier life. He secured school land covered with a dense forest, built a cabin, cleared away the trees and in due course of time had a comfortable home for his family. He died in 1891, and his wife passed away in 1894. She, too, was a loyal and consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal church. Four children were born unto them, but only two are now living, the sister of our subject being Matilda, widow of Thomas Baer, of New Washington.
Elijah Lyons enjoyed the sports in which boys of the period usually in- dulged, pursued his education in the district schools and assisted in the work of the home farm. His early educational advantages, however, were supple- mented by study in the Plymouth high school, in the Delaware University and in a Presbyterian seminary at Lexington, Ohio. Prior to his seventeenth year he began teaching and for nine terms followed that profession through the winter months. In the spring he would then attend school in order to perfect his own education and in the summer he assisted in the work of the home farm. In the fall after he had attained his majority he went to La Salle county, Illinois, where he remained for eighteen months, after which he engaged in teaching school for one term and also worked on a farm. He then took charge of the home farm, operating it on the shares up to the time of his marriage.
In 1880 Mr. Lyons was joined in wedlock to Miss Susan J. Holtz, of Huron county, and then took his bride to Van Wert county, Ohio, settling on forty acres of land which he had purchased only a short time previous. Twenty-two months later his wife died, and after bringing the remains to Huron county for interment he returned to Van Wert county, disposed of his farm and chattel property and then again went to his old home. In the fol- lowing autumn he purchased a farm of fifty acres, now owned by Albert Nye. It was then all covered with underbrush, but with characteristic energy he be- gan to prepare it for the plow, and in due course of time abundant harvests rewarded his labors. He was again married, February 14, 1886, his second union being with Miss Susannah Smith, a native of Crawford county and a daughter of Jesse and Eva ( Shoup) Smith. Their union was blessed with two children, Clarence E. and Wilbert W., but the latter is now deceased.
After his second marriage Mr. Lyons erected a residence upon his farm and there made his home until 1892. In the year previous his father had died
691
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
and Mr. Lyons then traded his farm to his sister for her share in the old home place and also handsomely provided for his mother. He is now the owner of the old home farm,-a valuable and desirable property, attractive in appearance by reason of the excellent buildings and richly cultivated fields. He usually votes the Republican ticket, but is not strongly partisan, believing, however, in clean politics and the support of men who will secure purity in government. His wife is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, to the support of which he contributes, also attending its services. He belongs to Hyperion Lodge, No. 651, K. P., and has passed all the chairs. As a member of the school board he has manifested his friendship for the cause of education and as a citizen he is public-spirited, heartily endorsing all movements for the general good.
EZEKIEL C. MCNUTT.
One of the well-known and highly esteemed residents of Auburn township, Crawford county, Ohio, is Ezekiel C. McNutt, who is a representative of one of the old pioneer settlers of this couny. The birth of Ezekiel McNutt, who is the subject of this biography, was on June 2, 1839, in Columbiana county, Ohio, and he was the son of AAbraham and Mary J. ( Craton ) McNutt, and he was one of seven children born to them, the five surviving members of the family being: Alexander, a resident of Bucyrus ; Abraham, a resident of Lib- erty township, in this county ; Mary J., the wife of Aaron Darr, of Sulphur Springs : Rachael, the wife of Aaron Park, of Galion, Ohio; and Ezekiel C., the subject of this sketch.
Abraham McNutt was born in Lawrence county, Pennsylvania, in 1812, and grew to manhood on his father's farm, at the age of eighteen leaving the parental roof for the town of Petersburg, where he learned the trade of tanner and engaged in that business until 1840, at which time he became a resident of Crawford county, Ohio. Here he purchased a farm of one hundred and twenty-seven acres of land in Liberty township, near the Cranberry township line, and settled in a small log house in the woods, this cabin having been erected by the original settler. The land had not been either cleared or im- proved, and Mr. McNutt immediately engaged in the labor of preparing the land for cultivation. He built a comfortable hewed-log cabin, which in time gave place to a substantial brick residence that was his home until his death, which occurred in 1874, when he was sixty-two years of age. In poli- tics Mr. McNutt was a stanch Whig, but later became identified with the
692
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
Republican party. He was a man noted for his sound judgment and deep con- viction, but was of that temper that enabled him to live through the trying times of the Civil war in perfect amity with his neighbors, although he was surrounded by those of differing political opinion. So well was he known and so highly esteemed that his views were never questioned. Mr. McNutt had been reared in the faith of the Methodist church, but did not formally con- nect himself with any religious body, although he was a God-fearing man and a regular attendant upon church services.
Ezekiel C. McNutt was the youngest son of the family and was afforded good educational advantages. At the age of twenty-one he began to teach the district school during the winter season and spent the summer on the farm, and this quiet, useful life was suddenly changed by his enlistment for service in the Union army. On August 1, 1864, he became a member of Company G. Twenty-fifth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, under the command of General Hatch. The latter had charge of about ten thousand men on the coast of South Carolina, where they were stationed until April, 1865, guarding Con- federate prisoners. In April of that year our subject's regiment started for Savannah and took part in the engagement at Honey Hill and Red Hill, and also some sharp skirmishes, receiving his honorable discharge at Charleston, South Carolina, on July 15. 1865.
After his war experience our subject returned home and resumed his old life, teaching and farming, as previously, continuing until 1872, at which time he and his brother-in-law erected a building in New Washington, where they opened up a grocery and provision store. For three years our subject was connected with this business, having the entire management of it, remaining one year after his marriage.
Mr. McNutt was married on July 7. 1875, to Miss Mary J. McKee, who was born in Waynesburg, Auburn township, and she was the daughter of James McKee, of Scotch-Irish extraction, who was born in Perry county, Pennsylvania. Mr. McKee came to Crawford county about 1833 and settled in Auburn township, spending his life in this and Cranberry township. One year after marriage Mr. McNutt, in 1876, removed to the farm of his father- in-law, in Cranberry township, the latter desiring the presence of his daughter, her mother having died in April of that year. For seven years our subject farmed on shares for his father-in-law, and he made his home with our sub- ject's family, where he received devoted, filial care. In 1883 Mr. McNutt re- moved to a farm of forty acres in Cranberry township, which he purchased some time prior to this date, and remained on this tract for four years, at the
693
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
end of that time selling it and purchasing forty-one acres just across the line, in Auburn township, remaining here until 1895, when he also sold that farm advantageously and removed to his present one of eighty acres. This is fine farm land, and here our subject and family enjoy all the comforts of country life. Two of their three children survive, these being: Edna E., who mar- ried Levi Lash, in this township: and James Wesley, who was born on De- cember 12, 1886, hence is only fourteen years of age, but is remarkable for intellectual gifts, as he has successfully passed the Boxwell examination and is a youth of great promise. Frederick E., the second child, has passed away.
In politics Mr. McNutt, like his honored father, is identified with the Re- publican party. Both he and wife were reared in the Methodist church, but as there is no organization of that kind here they attend and support the Lu- theran church, where they are highly valued.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.