A history of Scioto County, Ohio, together with a pioneer record, Part 95

Author: Evans, Nelson W. (Nelson Wiley), 1842-1913
Publication date: 1903
Publisher: Portsmouth, O. N. W. Evans
Number of Pages: 1612

USA > Ohio > Scioto County > A history of Scioto County, Ohio, together with a pioneer record > Part 95

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Then Monsieur Gervais disappeared below our horizon and we hear of him no more. He went back to his beloved France, in 1817. He rode all the way from Gallipolis to Philadelphia, on horse- back accompanied by E. S. Menager. When he reached Philadel- phia, he gave his horse to Menager. He carried his money on this trip in his saddle pockets. He was never married but resided in Paris with his sister. He died in 1824, at the age of sixty. In leaving Gallipolis, he presented the many town lots he owned there to his friends.

MARTIN BEEBE GILBERT.

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Martin Beebe Gilbert

was born September 16, 1816, at Canaan, New York, the son of Giles Gilbert, Senior, and Effie Beebe, his wife. When he was but two years of age, his parents located in Marietta where his' father engaged in the grocery business with Colonel Stone at Point Harmar. The family came to Portsmouth in 1830, and his father engaged in the same business ; and he was connected with it as clerk and partner until 1846, when his father went out of it and it was changed to M. & G. Gilbert, our subject and his brother Giles Gilbert, Jr., composing- the firm. Mr. Gilbert obtained his education in Marietta and in the public schools at Portsmouth; but the greater and better part of it was his business education in the counting room of his father. Be- tween 1830 and 1850, the furnishing of supplies to the steamboats plying the Ohio river was a very extensive and lucrative business; and Portsmouth was a point at which a great many of the supplies were purchased. Mr. Gilbert made his fortune largely from the steamboat and river craft trade. He continued in the wholesale gro- cery business from 1838 until his death, and was uniformly success- ful. He was a man who made and held many friends. He had a wide acquaintance through all the territory tributary to Portsmouth ; and had the confidence of the entire business community. He was known for his promptness and integrity in business. He was a pub- lic spirited and liberal minded citizen. No enterprise for public ben- efit was ever projected in the community, but he was called upon for and favored it with a liberal subscription and with his influence. He was a Whig and a Republican in his political views; but he never sought an office or attempted to control any political action. He was ambitious only for business success. About the only public office he ever held was that of city wharfmaster, from May 3, 1842, until April 6, 1844; but this was directly in connection with his business in selling boat stores. Mr. Gilbert was one of the most patriotic and loyal citizens of the County. October 14, 1861, he was made one of the Military Committee of Scioto County. This was an office of

great responsibility but without emoluments. His associates on this committee were F. C. Searl, W. A. Hutchins, John P. Terry and A. W. Buskirk. He served on this committee as late as November 20, 1864. When the history of the war is written, the arduous du- ties that were performed by the County Military Committee will be known. It had arbitrary power; and none but the most loyal and self-sacrificing men, could, or would accept the place. Mr. Gilbert performed his duties on this committee to the satisfaction of all con- cerned. He was the founder of one of the most substantial and ex- tensive businesses in the city of Portsmouth, now conducted by the M. B. Gilbert Grocery Company. During his life and until the Ist of January, 1900, the business was conducted as a partnership, but since that tie it has been conducted as a corporation. Since his

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HISTORY OF SCIOTO COUNTY.

death his estate has been largely interested in the business. Mr. Gilbert was not only an honest and successful business man during his entire life, but he was essentially a religious man. For thirty-five years, he was a communicant of All Saints Church. He was a mem- ber of the vestry of that church nearly the whole of that time. For some years prior to his death and at the time of his death, he was a Senior Warden of the church, the most imporant lay office in the or- ganization. May 12, 1840, he married Laura Virginia Hancock. She died October 14, 1868. Their children were: Lucius H., and Augustus B., both deceased in young manhood; Frank L., and Mar- tin B. jr., deceased in middle life. On the 15th of June, 1871, he was married to Mrs. Caroline Stockham, widow of Thomas Crull, who survived him. They had one daughter Laura Virginia, the wife of Frank Kendall. Mr. Gilbert was punctilious in carrying out to the letter all of his obligations whether financial, social or relig- ious. He was not a user of liquors or tobacco and was very methodi- cal in all his doings. He was uniformly courteous and obliging to all of his acquaintances. He was a model business man and churchman. He was most highly esteemed in his church and in the community, and when called upon to part with this world he had no regrets. His life and conduct were more valuable than a thousand sermons and all those who remember him, recollect the words, "He being dead yet speaketh" because the remembrance of his honorable Christian life is a precious treasure to all who knew him.

Marion Ingalls Gilruth,

daughter of William and Grace Ingalls Gilruth, was born Feb. 14, 1776 in the city of Edinburg, Scotland. In 1784, she with her parents emigrated to the United States. On the 16th of March, 1787, they settled on the Ohio river, at a place called Belleville on the Virginia shore, some eighteen miles below the mouth of the Little Kanawha. During the Indian War which followed they ran many risks of los- ing their lives. On one occasion as the family were sitting at break- fast, they heard footsteps of men running. Marion stepped to the door to see what it meant. As she opened the door, she heard a scream in another direction, and looked to ascertain the cause. She saw him, who afterwards became her husband, rush into his house while some twenty Indians were carrying on a work of death within a few yards of the other end of his cabin. Turning she saw three Indians within fifteen feet of her, with their guns pointed at lier. She looked one that was immediately in front of her full in the face, he instantly took down his gun, crying out "Ugh." In the meantime her little brother had come out and advanced nearly half way to where the Indians stood. - She sprang forward, caught the child, clarted into the house, and shut the door, and gave the alarm. Fir- ing commenced and the Indians retreated, having killed one man, taken a little boy prisoner and lost their chief. In March, 1792, she

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was married to Thomas Gilruth by whom she had seven children, two of whom died in infancy. John, Jane, James, Mary and William are yet living. Having lost their possessions at Belleville by an older claim, the Gilruth family settled in the French Grant, Scioto County, Ohio, on the 8th day of April, 1797. Thomas Gilruth died March 19, 1826. She survived until April 14, 1847. She was a mother to the orphan, a friend to the poor, and a support to the church.

James Gilruth

was born January 29, 1793, at Belleville, Wood County, West Vir- ginia. He was the son of Thomas Gilruth and Marion Ingalls, his wife. His parents came from Scotland shortly after the close of the American Revolution; and the year 1792 found them in southern Ohio, then the theatre of an Indian war. The danger of assaults from the savages caused the Gilruths to cross the Ohio river and seek shelter in, or near, a fort at Belleville, Va. After the treaty of Green- ville the Gilruths concluded to seek a permanent home in Ohio. April 8, 1797, they settled in the French Grant.

Our subject spent his youth on the farm, with occasional inter- ludes for such schooling as the neighborhood afforded. In 1813, he volunteered with a company raised in his region for service in the war against Great Britain. The company was assigned with an Ohio regiment, and saw a great deal of hard service on the northern frontier. He made a good record and was sent out on several scouting expeditions.

In 1816, he was married to Miss Hannah Kouns.

In the winter of 1818-9, a great revival swept through southern Ohio; and in February of the latter year, our subject was, as he him- self had said many a time, "powerfully converted" at a Methodist meeting. By the latter part of March, he had so favorably impressed his Presiding Elder that he was licensed to preach; and on the 7th day of August, following, when the conference met, he was ordained as a regular minister. He continued in the regular ministry in the Ohio Conference for thirty-two years. He made his first visit to Iowa in 1844; and in that year, or the year following, entered a quarter section of land two miles north of the city of Davenport. He returned to Ohio and remained until the spring of 1851 when he re- moved with his family to Davenport, Iowa. He became a member of the Iowa Conference, a relation he sustained until the day of his death. He officiated as pastor in charge, or on circuit, whenever ap- pointed, until the year 1863, when he was placed upon the superan- nuated list. Gilruth Chapel near his home was named for him. In 1853, he moved his family onto a farm near Davenport, where he re- sided until his death.

His wife died in 1818. September 25, 1823, he married Miss Mary Westlake, daughter of a prominent citizen of Gallipolis, Ohio.

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HISTORY OF SCIOTO COUNTY.

He had eight children: Harriet and Mary, both deceased; Naomi M., the wife of Sylvester R. Hayes; Matilda, the wife of George Car- penter ; Pauline, who married A. J. Kynett; Christina, the wife of Augustus R. Logan; James M. and Thomas W. He died June II, 1873.

He had made money, became quite rich, indeed, but he never lost the respect and confidence of the neighbors nor of those who had bus- iness transactions with him, by the means of acquiring it. He sus- tained his Christian integrity in business as well as in the pulpit. He possessed bright intellect, had vivid imagination, and a love for the beautiful in nature and literature. His memory was very reten- tive, his command of language good. He, was a mighty man phys- ically, and in his prime, his weight was nearly 300 pounds.

William Gilruth

was born May 24, 1797, in Adams County in the Northwest Terri- tory. He was the youngest of three children of Thomas and Marion Ingalls Gilruth, who emigrated to this country shortly after the Revo- lutionary War and finally settled in the French Grant.

He was early trained in the use of rifle, ax and fishing rod, the first implements of those days. Schools, there were none. But his mother was a woman of refinement; and having brought some books from Scotland, her children were given the rudiments of an educa- tion, with a taste for good reading which they improved all through life.

He was married to Rebecca Austin of Lawrence County in May, 1822. Her parents came from Luray, Shenandoah Valley, Virginia. His wife died in April, 1860, leaving ten children, seven sons and three daughters. The sons were Irwin Malcomb, Thomas, James, Austin, Isaac Newton, Henry Clay, Archibald. All the sons lived and grew to manhood, except Henry a boy of eighteen, who enlisted in Co. D. 173 O. V. I., August 25, 1864; appointed post duty ser- geant, September 16, 1864; died in the service January 23, 1865. Only two sons are now living, one of them, Austin, is the owner of a Cattle Ranch near Elko, Nevada. He is of quiet, reserved disposi- tion, taking pleasure in his fine stock, his books and papers. Archi- bald, the other was for fourteen years a missionary in India. He is now a member of the Ohio Conference, Methodist Episcopal Church. He married Miss Agnes Mulligan. They have six children. The daughters of William Gilruth were: Minerva, married Thomas D. Kelly, now a widow, living in Huntington, West Virginia; Mary, married A. E. Goddard, lives at the old home place, near Haverhill, Ohio; Alice married M. S. Pixley, M. D., Portsmouth, Ohio. Wil- liam Gilruth lived four score years on a farm on which he was born. He died June 2, 1879, honored and respected by all who knew him.

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PIONEER SKETCHES.

Thomas Gilruth

was born November 5, 1827, at the old Gilruth homestead in Green Township above Haverhill, Ohio. He was the second son of Wil- lam and Rebecca (Austin) Gilruth. His grandfather was Thomas Gilruth, born in Perthshire, Scotland, and came to the United States in 1783, and located in Virginia. His wife was Marion (Ingalls) Gilruth, daughter of William and Grace Ingalls, and was born in Edinburg, Scotland, February 14, 1776.

Our subject was raised on a farm and got his meagre education by attending three months subscription schools during the winter months. At the breaking out of the rebellion, he enlisted October 3. 1861, in Battery F., First O. V. Light Artillery and was transferred to Co. G., 19th regiment, Veteran Reserve Corps, April 28, 1864. He was mustered out at the expiration of his term of service, No- vember 9. 1864. He was wounded by a piece of shell on the right hand. He was married December 25. 1866, to Nancy Coe, daugh- ter of Strander and Sophia Coe. They have had four children, but only two are living: Hattie and Addie Bell, who reside with their mother. Mr. Gilruth died April 13, 1899, and is buried in the family graveyard on the home farm. He was a Republican in his views, a man of integrity and honor and of a quiet and retiring na- ture. He was a great reader and kept well informed on current events. He had a special weakness for fine horses and had a reputa- tion for his blooded animals.

William Givens, Jr.,

the eldest son of Judge William Givens and Rachel ( Stockham) Giv- ens (see their sketch), was born at Poplar Row, now Jackson, the village of salt boilers in Jackson County, Ohio, July 31, 18II. He attended the district schools and the subscription schools of the day. and worked with his father at the salt works until the year 1826, when the family moved to Nile Township, Scioto County, Ohio, on the farm purchased from John Graham, one of the proprietors of the Graham, O'Bannon & Massie Survey Nos. 2.459 and 2.558. Here he assisted his father and brothers David and John in clearing up the land and cutting wood for the supply of such steamboats as were then plying the Ohio river. They used their earnings in making payments on the farm, which was then a wilderness. He was en- gaged much of his time in the construction of keelboats and flatboats, for which there was a good demand for freighting to all points on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers as far down as New Orleans. The boats were loaded with produce and floated down the river and the load sold out. Then the boat would be sold, and the enterprising mariners would frequently walk back. He was connected with this business more or less, as well as looking after and cultivating his farm and or- chard, until there was no more produce of the forest worth looking after in his neighborhood. In politics he was a Whig until the dis-

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HISTORY OF SCIOTO COUNTY.

solution of that party, and was then a Republican the remainder of his life, taking a very active part in recruiting soldiers for the Civil War, and in assisting in caring for those who were left behind. In re- ligion, he was a Methodist from the age of twenty-one, and his home was a haven of rest for the circuit rider and those attending the quar- terly, and other meetings, from a distance. He was a warm hearted, friendly man, and was always slow to believe that any of his ac- quaintances could go wrong. He saw nearly three generations come and go in his neighborhood, and was acquainted with all the men, women and children, and was highly respected. William Givens was married to Elizabeth Elliott on October 15, 1834. She was the sister of Katharine, who married Laban Woodworth; Nancy, who married John Elliott, and Sarah, who married Leroy S. Moore. She had four brothers : John. Benjamin, William and Alexander. These were all children of Benjamin Elliott and Isabella (McCann) Elliott. Both families, the Elliotts and McCanns, are believed to have emi- grated from Scotland and Ireland at an early date and settled in Adams and Scioto Counties. The clan of Elliott had a separate tartan of plaid, and were an important family in Scotland. There was also an important English family by the name of Elliott, be- longing to Devon and Cornwall. Elizabeth Elliott was born in Scioto County, Ohio, February 12, 1814. Children were born to them as follows : Cynthia A., who married Washington Cross, and now lives at Roseland. La. : Sarah Ellen, who married R. A. Bryan, residing in Portsmouth, Ohio: Mary Jane, who married M. Herdman, resid- ing at Elm Tree, in Nile Township: Martha Susan, who married Rev. S. M. Donahoe and died June 16, 1881 ; Eliza Catharine, who married George Williamson of Dry Run and died March 28, 1887: Margaret Isabel, who died at the age of sixteen in 1862; David Creighton, who married Josephine McDermott and resided .in Nile Township until recently, when he with his family emigrated to Hampton, Iowa: William Alexander, who married Lucy Murphy, daughter of Sherry Murphy, of Adams County, and now resides on the old Givens farm. The married life of William and Elizabetli Givens extended to nearly sixty-four years. Williams Givens died at his home in Nile Township, July 30, 1898, from the infirmities of old age, aged eighty-seven years. Elizabeth (Elliott) Givens died Oc- tober II. 1899, from the same cause as her husband, aged eighty-five years, seven months and twenty-nine days.

Allen Forsythe Givens,

the sixth son of William Givens, was born in Jackson County, Ohio, April 22, 1820. He lived in Jackson County until 1827, when his father removed to Scioto County and located 312 acres in the O'Ban- non, Graham and Massie survey No. 2,459 and 2.558. He attended the country schools for three months in the year, during his boyhood and was reared a farmer. He lives on a farm of 120 acres, part of

JEFFERSON W. GLIDDEN.

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the same land on which his father located, and has lived there all his life. When he moved there his father's purchase was nearly all woods. For thirty years, our subject was engaged in building flat boats and in flatboating to Cincinnati. In 1880, he was real estate Appraiser of Nile Township, the only public office he ever held. On June 10, 1841, he was married to Mary Smith. daughter of James Smith, a brother of John F. Smith, the old ferryman. His children are: John W., living in Salina, Kansas; James H., deceased, leaving a widow and three sons; Rachel Eliza, the wife of Augustus Orcutt, now living in Charleston, West Virginia ; Elizabeth, married, first, to Marion Coe by whom she has two children, living and married ; sec- ond, to George Williamson of Dry Run : Aurilla F., married to Andy, Noel and has died leaving five children; Victoria Givens, married to Silas Smith and died leaving two children. Mr. Givens lost three chil- dren in infancy, two sons and one daughter. He was originally a Whig and then became a Republican. Since 1884, he has been a Prohibitionist. He has been a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church for sixty-five years. He has been a steward of the church for forty-five years and Sunday School superintendent for twenty- six years. He is holding both offices at present. His wife died November 8, 1900, aged seventy-eight. No citizen of Scioto Coun- ty is held in greater regard than Mr. Givens. The purity of his life and the integrity of his character are known to all of the community where he dwells and have earned him the high place he has in the esteem of his fellow men.

Jefferson Wadley Glidden

was born at Northfield, New Hampshire in 1806. His father was Charles and his mother. Ruth ( Hall) Glidden. She lived to be 91 years old and died in Wheelersburg, Ohio. He learned the dyer's trade in New Hampshire. His father, who had located in Franklin this county, in 1826, is buried there. Jefferson Wadley Glidden went into the woods and made charcoal. He formed a partnership with John Blair, Obadiah Glidden's father-in-law. He began chopping wood at $10 a month, and then went into making charcoal for Junior Furnace. After a few years, he was one of the parties who bought the furnace. He discovered a spring on the place that would cure ague. It cured him and all of his neighbors. It turned out after- wards when the water was analyzed that it was impregnated with arsenic. He was a member of the old Ohio Iron Company which built Junior and Empire Furnaces. When the company failed, our subject went to Texas on a trip. He afterwards came back and bought Junior Furnace. He went there in 1840 and remained until 1850. He owned an interest in the Furnace until it blew out in 1866. He and John Blair were the owners and were partners. It was then purchased by Glidden & Company, consisting of Jefferson Wadley Glidden and Obadiah his brother. After that, it was owned by Glid-

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HISTORY OF SCIOTO COUNTY.

den, Murfin & Company, composed of Jefferson W. Glidden, Daniel A. Glidden, Obadiah Glidden, and James Murfin. Glidden & Mur- fin built Empire Furnace in 1859. In 1852, the firm of Glidden, Crawford & Company was organized, consisting of Jefferson W., Obadiah, Charles Mills, Stephen S. and Daniel A. Glidden and George Crawford. That firm purchased and operated Clinton Furnace. Jef- ferson W. Glidden also had an interest in Scioto Furnace under the firm name of Glidden, Robinson & Company. Jefferson Glidden built the first suspension bridge across the mouth of the Scioto. He organized the Gas Company at Portsmouth and built its works there.

He was one of the leading spirits of the city of Portsmouth dur- ing his residence there. At one time he was interested with Mark E. Reed in the purchase of 30,000 acres of land in La Porte, Indiana. He, with John Lockwood, bought a large tract of land near Milwau- kee and laid out an addition to the city known as the Glidden & Lockwood Addition, which was sub-divided and sold during his life, and after his death. At one time he had a judgment of $13,000 lev- ied on his house as a member of the firm of Glidden, Robinson & Company, he being the only solvent member of the firm. Col. Tur- ley had the judgment. When Jefferson Glidden heard of the levy, he was then sick in bed and said to his son, John, "Let them sell the

house, I can't." John Culbertson, of Ironton, better known as "Black Hawk," hearing of the levy, offered him $22,000 on his own note at 6 per cent. He declined the offer and paid off the judgment from his own resources. He died March 16, 1863, of consumption.

He was a Whig and Republican, but not a member of any church. He was a man of few words, clear and concise in his expressions. He had immense energy and great kindness of heart. At one time when Judge Searl, then a mere boy had a coal contract for Franklin Furnace, and was losing money right along, he asked to be relieved from his contract. The other partners refused. The matter was brought to the attention of Mr. Jefferson W. Glidden. He investi- gated it and saw that if Judge Searl completed his contract, it would ruin him. He insisted to the other members of the firm that it should make a new contract with Judge Searl, who was then plain F. C. Searl, and give him an opportunity to make something. A new contract was made and Mr. Searl came out all right under the contract.

Mr. Glidden was a man of wonderful nerve, always cool. He was a great reader and a man who investigated everything thorough- ly. As a business man he was invaluable in the community.

Elijah Glover, Sr.

The Glover family were among the earliest settlers of Scioto County and Portsmouth. Their American ancestor, John Glover came from London, England, under a grant to Lord Baltimore. He

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PIONEER SKETCHES.

was of mixed Scotch and English descent. He bought land in Fred- erick County, Maryland, and lived near what was known as Ellicott's Mills. His children were Joshua, Samuel and Sarah. The latter married, in Maryland, a man named Basiman; Samuel married Eliz- abeth Barnes of Cecil County, Maryland; and through every genera- tion of the Glover family until the present time, there has been a Samuel Glover and an Elizabeth Barnes Glover. Samuel Glover and family emigrated to Kentucky in the year 1795. They settled on a farm in Mason County near May's Lick. They had thirteen chil- dren : John, named for the grandfather, Ezekiel, Elijah; Johusa, Na- than, Joshua, Sarah, Samuel Barnes, Asa, Anna, Margaret, Azel and Elizabeth Barnes. The last named died in early girlhood, the re- maining twelve lived to manhood and womanhood, and most of them to old age. Elijah, Johusa, Nathan, Sarah, Anna, Margaret and Azel lived and died in Portsmouth or vicnity.

Elijah Glover was born May 6, 1782, and was the first member of the Glover family to locate in Ohio. He was followed by his brothers and sisters before named. He was the third child of Sam- uel Glover and was in his fourteenth year when his father left Mary- land. His first visit to Ohio was in 1799, when he came to buy furs for his father's hat store in Kentucky. In company with a man nam- ed Crane, he went in a pirogue up the Scioto river as far as Chilli- cothe. On their way back, in passing through the old ford, at the head of the mill race, their boat struck a snag, turned over and Crane lost all his furs. Ever after, during the keel boat navigation, this spot was called "Crane's Defeat."

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A history of Scioto County, Ohio, together with a pioneer record, Part 95

Author: Evans, Nelson W. (Nelson Wiley), 1842-1913 Publication date: 1903 Publisher: Portsmouth, O. N. W. Evans Number of Pages: 1612

Author: Evans, Nelson W. (Nelson Wiley), 1842-1913
Publication date: 1903
Publisher: Portsmouth, O. N. W. Evans
Number of Pages: 1612