USA > Ohio > Hardin County > A twentieth century history of Hardin County, Ohio : a narrative account of its historical progress its people and principal interests, Vol. II > Part 45
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This land was advertised for several years without any one bidding on it. Finally John McGuffey heard of it and came up from Columbus, looked the land over and concluded that it could be drained. He then put in a bid and got the contract and went ahead and did a sufficient amount of work to obtain four thousand five hundred acres of this land. This was done in the years 1858-9 under the direction of Mr. Rough, Mr. Woods, and Mr. Marsh, county commissioners at that time and to their entire satisfaction as they themselves expressed it. The prime object of this work was to get this land on the tax duplicate and thus help bear the burdens of taxation.
This then was the entering wedge toward reclaiming this section from the snakes, frogs and mosquitoes and we believe that the MeGuffey family should receive the proper credit that their efforts merit in thus starting a reclamation project that has been the means of developing the most productive section of Hardin county, a section that today is noted for its good roads fine homes and fertile farms, and realizes enormous sums of money from the sale of its products.
After acquiring this land the great Civil war broke out and thus delayed and frustrated the original plans of reclamation. This land was held for some twenty years and then the four thousand five hundred acres was sold to a syndicate of capitalists for six dollars per acre.
In the meantime John McGuffey purchased some two thousand aeres at priees ranging from three to twelve dollars per acre and it was this land that was deeded to his heirs and at present is still largely owned by them. His two sons, Richard C. and Cyrus were actively engaged with their father in the work from the beginning. Richard C. moving to IFardin county in November, 1863, and died March 22. 1870. Cyrus and wife moving there in April 1864.
Cyrus MeGuffey was educated in the public schools of Franklin
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county, then at the Ohio Wesleyan University at Delaware for two years and completed his educational training at the Ohio University at Athens. On October 25, 1859, he married Marinda Patterson, daughter of Thomas and Marinda (Codner) Patterson a native daughter of Franklin county, and a student for some time at the Worthington Female College. Four years after marriage they took up their abode in Hardin county and lived in this county until 1884. In March of that year they removed to Miami county, Indiana, living there for six years. In 1890 they re- turned to Hardin county and were residents of this county until the death of Cyrus MeGuffey on June 7, 1906.
Cyrus MeGuffey was ever modest and unassuming but honored and respected by all who knew him and in his death Hardin county lost one of her representative citizens and business men. In his home life he was always gentle and kindly considerate of the wishes of others and would sacrifice his own pleasures for the benefit of others. He was a man of strong mind and always strove to do good and to live up to a high standard of truth, virtue and absolute honesty. His widow still survives him and together with her son lives on the home farm.
William Cyrus MeGuffey was the only son born to Cyrus and Miranda MeGuffey and was born March 11, 1872. When twelve years of age he removed with his parents to Miami county, Indiana. After living there for six years he returned with his parents to Hardin county where he still resides. His early education was received at Rising Sun school in Marion township, Hardin county, later graduating from the high school at Gilead, Indiana. He then attended school at the Ohio Northern University at Ada and studied for awhile at the Ohio State University at Columbus.
After leaving school he engaged with his father in the produce business under the firm name of Cyrus MeGuffey & Son. Since the death of his father he still conducts the business under the firm name. While doing general farming their specialties are onions and potatoes ; large quantities of which are grown and shipped to any section of the country that wants them. At present their leader is upland grown White Globe onions. Mr. McGuffey grew the first upland onions that were grown in a commercial way in this county. The popular belief being that it required a mnek soil to successfully grow that crop This enter- prise was begun some five years ago and today the upland grown onions are a great factor in the onion deal.
The home farm where W. C. McGuffey lives is located about one quarter mile north of MeGuffey, Ohio. This farm until 1892 was practically a wilderness. The larger timber had been removed and the land had grown up in brush until that time when the clearing up of this farm began. The work was pushed steadily until the sixty acres then owned was all cleared. In 1900 the north half of the present farm was purchased from Clemuel R. MeGuffey and it in turn cleared. This farm today is one of the best improved farms and the residence of Mr. McGuffey is one of the finest in the county. He is a man of splendid business ability and good judgment and acumen and is generally successful in his undertakings. Ilis honesty and probity are unques- tioned and he merits and retains the confidence of his fellows.
F
RESIDENCE OF WILLIAM C. MCGUFFEY
Um. Le. Mekufry
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HISTORY OF HARDIN COUNTY
On November 28, 1894. W. C. MeGuffey was united in marriage to Myrtie J. Guider, daughter of Carl A. and Marilla A. Guider. Two children have been born of this union, Cyrus Carl, born JJannary 5. 1896. and Ennice A., born September 1, 1898. Mr. MeGuffey is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America, the United Commercial Travelers and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks at Kenton. In national polities he is a supporter of the Democratic party. but in local affairs votes for the men rather than the party, choosing the men he considers best fitted to fill the office in question.
JAMES V. HILL .- Among the most influential and substantial resi- dents of Roundhead township, Hardin county. Ohio. is James V. Hill, who carries on farming and stock-raising to a considerable extent. He has other interests outside his farm. is a successful business man. of sound judgment and intelligence, and interested in the cause of progress. Mr. Hill was born December 15, 1875, son of James R. and Elizabeth (Goslee) Hill. He is the oldest child living by his father's second marriage. and was reared in Roundhead township, of which he is a native. IIe lived on his father's farm and attended the district school winters, working on the farm through the summer, until he was sixteen years of age, since which he has given his entire time and attention to his business affairs, farming, buying and selling stock, etc. He re- mained at home until June 12, 1907, at which date he marred Bertie Smith, daughter of James and Samantha (Poe) Smith. Mrs. Hill was born in McDonald township, was reared on a farm, received a good edneation and became a teacher in MeGuffey and Roundhead schools. Mr. Hill and his wife have one son, James W., born March 10. 1909.
Mr. Hill is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church and his wife belongs to the Presbyterian church of Roundhead. He is also a member of Roundhead Lodge Knights of Pythias, and Kenton Lodge Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. Politically he is a Democrat. was elected commissioner in 1906, was reelected in 1908, and at present is serving the second term, being president of the board. He served four years as township trustee before being elected to his present office, and early took an interest in public affairs. He is an efficient and conscientious official, and highly esteemed by all.
Mr. Ilill owns a farm in Roundhead township, comprising two hun- dred and eighty acres, and is a stockholder in the Belle Center Bank. He is a breeder of registered Herford cattle, and is enterprising and progressive in his manner of carrying on his farm.
C. W. CAMPBELL .- Among the substantial and representative far- mers of MeDonald township is C. W. Campbell, a native of the township. born on the farm where he now resides, May 19, 1857. He is a son of William B. and Jane A. (Criswell) Campbell. who formerly lived in Greenfield, Ohio, and settled in Hardin county in 1852, there spending the remainder of their lives. Mr. Campbell began clearing the farm on which he settled, as it was thickly wooded. and he improved his land until he had a good homestead. He was an industrious and ambitious
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farmer, and at the time of his death owned one hundred and seventy- five acres of excellent farm land. He had seven children, of whom C. W. is the fifth.
The boyhood of C. W. Campbell was spent on his father's farm, and when old enough he began assisting with the duties of farming. He attended the district school of his neighborhood and spent one term at the college in Geneva. At the death of his father he remained on the farm and bought out the interests of the other heirs, so that he now owns the home farm of one hundred and seventy-five aeres. Besides carrying on general farming he has been very successful in stock raising. Mr. Campbell has worked hard on the farm ever since he was a boy and fully understands the conditions which exist thereon, so he is able to make the most possible profit from his work. He worked for his father by the month and saved enough money to make a start in life, and he owes his present success to his own efforts. He is one of the best known men in his community and has the respect and confidence of his fellows. Politieally he is a Democrat, and takes a keen interest in publie matters.
March 6, 1901. Mr. Campbell married Ada E. Greentree, who was born August 11, 1883, on a farm adjoining that of her husband, and here she was reared to womanhood. She was educated in the district school and remained at home until the time of her marriage. To this union four children have been born: Mary J., born December 28, 1901 ; Ada C., June 15, 1904; Elinore, May 31, 1907, and Dora Mildred, Sep- tember 21, 1908. Mr. Campbell and his wife are members of the United Presbyterian church at Roundhead, and are active workers in the interests of same.
WILLIAM LOYD HARVEY is prominently identified with Mt. Victory and its interests as a merchant. He was born at Saratoga, Indiana, March 11, 1883, a son of Thomas M. and Martha M. (Thompson) Harvey. On the paternal side he traces descent to William Harvey, his great- great-grandfather. This William Harvey was a sailor and a Revolu- tionary soldier, and a brief account of his life is given in the sketeh of Marvin O. Harvey. One of William's sons was Erastus Harvey, who became the great-grandfather of William L., and who served as a drum- mer in the war of 1812. He came with his brother Rufus to Logan county, Ohio, but later moved to Iowa, where he died in 1859 when ninety years of age. He was a Baptist minister, and his wife was Elizabeth Bettys.
Alonzo Harvey, a son of Erastus and Elizabeth Harvey, was born in the state of Vermont on the 29th of August, 1819, and he came with his parents to Logan county, Ohio. In 1860 he bought a farm in Union county, this state, but afterward sold that land and moved to Hardin county, buying a farm in Dudley township. He taught school during the winter months and farmed in the summers from the age of eighteen until the age of sixty, and he died in the year of 1888. On the 7th of July, 1844, he married Rachel Ballinger, who was born on the 15th of September, 1823, and died on the 10th of September, 1905. She was a
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daughter of Caleb Ballinger, born in the year of 1794, and of Rebecca (Bronson) Ballinger, born in 1796. They came from Virginia to Ohio, and were among the earliest settlers of Union county. Caleb Ballinger was a Methodist minister. The following children blessed the marriage union of Alonzo and Rachel Harvey: William, a carpenter; Irwin Har- ley, a farmer in Hardin county ; Mary Melvina, widow of George Thomp- son and a resident of Mt. Victory; Julius Oscar; and Thomas M.
Thomas M. Harvey was born in Union county, Ohio, July 9, 1853. After leaving school at the age of sixteen he farmed with his father until he reached the age of nineteen, and he then married and farmed for himself during the following six years. During that time he also studied for the ministry in the United Brethren church, and three years later became pastor of the church at Ottawa Corners. During the many years of his long and active life he labored as a minister throughout many parts of Indiana, his ministry covering twenty-five years of effi- cient and active service, and he died on the 17th of June, 1908. In the meantime he had purchased a farm, and he placed his sons thereon as managers, he continuing to devote his life to the work of his church, On the 3d of July, 1872. the Rev. Thomas M. Harvey married Martha M. Thompson, who still survives him and is now fifty-nine years of age. She is a daughter of Anderson and Anna (Conklin) Thompson, and is the mother of the following children: Myrtle, the wife of Peter Miller, and they have two children; Marvin O., a merchant in Mt. Vietory; Homer, who is farming in Hale township. Hardin connty; Nellie, the wife of Harry IIatcher, a farmer living in Mt. Victory; William L .. the immediate subject of this sketch ; and Mary, deceased.
Anderson Thompson. the father of Mrs. Harvey, was born in Union county. Ohio. In 1859 he moved to HIardin county, Dudley township with his family remaining until 1868, when he went to Ilale township, where he farmed until his death. 1896, at the age of seventy- seven. ITis father, William Thompson, came as a boy from Virginia. and settled in Union county, Ohio, where he farmed all his life. Ilis wife was Elizabeth Graham. The father of William Thompson, John Thompson, was the owner of a very large plantation in West Virginia and had many slaves. Anderson Thompson first settled on forty acres of the old Harvey homestead in Dudley township, and besides working his farm he also operated a brick kiln. After his marriage he made all his own honsehold furniture, and as his daughter, Mrs. Harvey, relates, that he made the first payments of his farm by selling hickory nuts. During the Civil war he was drafted, and as he could not leave his family sent a substitute. He was a member of the Christian church and for many years a deacon. He was chaplain of the I. O. O. F. and charter member of Mt. Victory Lodge. In polities he was a Democrat, and a very active worker in his party. His wife. Ann Conklin, was a daughter of William and Rebecca (Coleman), and they were natives of Union connty. She died in 1897, at the age of seventy-eight. Her grand- father was captured by the British during the Revolutionary war. He managed to escape during a skating exhibition which was gotten up to amuse the British soldiers. Of the eight children in the family of
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Anderson Thompson but one besides Mrs. Harvey is living. He is John Thompson, of Kenton, in the real estate business. Mrs. Harvey makes her home at Collett, Indiana. She is engaged in ministering in the United Brethren church being in charge of the United Brethren church conference for the past six years as itinerant minister, she being the first lady given this work for her church.
William L. Harvey received a common and high school training in Mt. Victory, graduating at the age of eighteen, and he afterward taught two terms of school in Hardin county and two terms in Mercer county. He then left the professional for a business life, farming for himself for three years, and in 1906 he bought the Butler Brothers interest in his present mercantile business, his partner being his brother-in-law, G. W. Rutledge. He is a Republican in his political affiliations, and he has served Mt. Victory as a member of its council and his community as corporation and township treasurer.
On the 6th of November, 1902, Mr. Harvey was married to Eva P. Rutledge, who was born in Mercer county, Ohio, July 3, 1884, a daughter of Joseph and Caroline (Early) Rutledge, farming people in Mercer county. Their family numbered the following children : Elmer, farm- ing in Mercer county; George, a Mt. Victory merchant; and Harvey, Charley, Otis, Lula, Ilazel and Cora, at home with their parents. The five children of Mr. and Mrs. Ilarvey are: Mavis, Loyd, Edith, Alton, and Mildred. Both Mr. and Mrs. Harvey are members of the Methodist church, and Mr. Harvey is servng his church as one of its stewards.
MARVIN O. HARVEY, prominently numbered among the business men of Mt. Victory, is a well known hardware merchant. He was born in Dudley township, Hardin county on the 5th of September, 1875, and on the paternal side he traces descent to William Harvey, his great- great-grandfather. This William Harvey was a sailor and a Revo-
lutionary soldier. The parents of William Harvey came from Scotland in 1730, and settled in Windsor county, Connecticut. Their son, Wil- liam, was born at East Haddon, October 26, 1754. At the early age of fifteen he was a sailor on the vessel plying along the New England coast. At the beginning of the Revolutionary war he joined the Continental army, and was in the first battles around Boston. After the evacuation of Boston, he entered the navy and was sent on an expedition up North river and later detailed on a voyage to the West Indies. On this trip he was captured by a British man of war and taken to prison at Providence, Rhode Island. Here he was released in what was thought to be a dying condition, but after a time he reenlisted in the Continental army for three years and served under General Washington. In the year 1780 he was again sent to the West Indies, and again he was taken prisoner, and remained in the Bermuda Isles till the end of the war. He continued his sea voyages until 1793 when he moved with his family to Lyndon, Vermont, where he died in 1826. He had married an English lady, Jane Bebee, and she survived him until 1840, dying in Champaign county, Ohio. One of his sons was Rev. Erastus Harvey, who became the great-grandfather of Marvin O. of this sketch. Rev.
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HISTORY OF HARDIN COUNTY
Harvey was born in East Haddon, Vermont, March 8, 1789. He was ordained in the Baptist ministry in August, 1825, and served for some time in Vermont, later coming to Ohio and ministering in Champaign, Clark and Union counties. During the war of 1812, he served five years in the United States service as drummer boy. Three of his brothers, like their father, followed the sea. On one of the voyages all three went on the same vessel and were never after heard from. In 1816 he married Elizabeth Bettys, of Woodbury, Vermont, and they reared a family of thirteen children. Two of the sons died during the Civil war. There were two ministers and a physician among his children.
Alonzo Harvey, a son of Erastus and Elizabeth Harvey, was born in the state of Vermont on the 29th of August. 1819, and he came with his parents to Logan county, Ohio. In 1860 he bought a farm in Union county, this state, but afterward sold that land and moved to Hardin county, buying a farm in Dudley township. He tanght school during the winter months and farmed in the summers from the age of eighteen until the age of sixty, and he died in the year of 1888. On the 7th of July, 1844, he married Rachel Ballinger, who was born on the 15th of September, 1823. and died on the 10th of September, 1906. She was a daughter of Caleb Ballinger, born in the year of 1794, and of Rebecca (Bronson) Ballinger, born in 1796. They came from Virginia to Ohio, and were among the earliest settlers of Union county. Caleb Ballinger was a Methodist minister. The following children blessed the marriage union of Alonzo and Rachel Harvey: William, a carpenter; Irwin Har- ley, a farmer in Hardin county ; Mary Melvina, widow of George Thomp- son and a resident of Mt. Victory ; Julius O .; and Thomas M.
Thomas M. Harvey was born in Union county, Ohio, July 9, 1853. After leaving school at the age of sixteen he farmed with his father until he reached the age of nineteen, and he then married and farmed for himself during the following six years. During that time he also studied for the ministry in the United Brethren church, and three years later became pastor of the church at Ottawa Corners. During the many years of his long and active life he labored as a minister throughout many parts of Indiana, his ministry covering twenty-five years of efficient and active service, and he died on the 17th of June, 1908. In the meantime he had purchased a farm, and he placed his sons thereon as managers, he continuing to devote his life to the work of his church. On the 3d of July, 1872, the Rev. Thomas M. Harvey married Martha M. Thompson, who still survives him and is now fifty-nine years of age. She is a daughter of Anderson and Anna (Conklin) Thompson, and she is the mother of the following children : Myrtle, the wife of Peter Miller. and they have two children; Marvin O., the immediate subject of this sketch; Homer, who is farming in Hale township, Hardin county Nellie, the wife of Harry Hatcher, a farmer living in Mt. Vietory ; William L., engaged in the grocery business in Mt. Victory ; and Mary, deceased. In the sketch of William L. Harvey is given a sketch of the Thompson family.
Marvin O. Harvey after leaving school at the age of fourteen worked Vol. II-23
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three years in a churn factory, and from that time until he attained the age of twenty-two he was again in school. During two terms he at- tended Ada University, and after his graduation from that institution he taught school for nine years in Dudley and Hale townships. On account of the ill health of his wife he sold his farm and moved to California, where for two years he was engaged in a mercantile business, and then returning to Ohio he settled at Mt. Victory and bought the hardware store of Johnson and Ballinger and has since been engaged in business along this line, conducting at the present time one of the largest hardware stores in this section. He is a Democrat in his political affilia- tions, and has served his community as a justice of the peace.
Mr. Harvey married on the 13th of September, 1899. Edna Lingo, who was born on the 6th of July. 1879. a daughter of Alvin Lingo, men- tioned elsewhere in this work. Their children are Clarinel, Merrill, Russell, Dwight and Louise. Both Mr. and Mrs. Harvey are members of the United Brethren church.
JOHN W. ZIMMERMAN .- It is a matter of gratification to the editors and publishers of this history of Hardin county to be able to incorporate within its pages a brief review of the career of this sterling citizen and successful agricultorist of Hardin county. where he has passed his entire life, being a scion of one of the honored pioneer families of this section of the Reserve, with whose annals the name has been identified for four generations-representing a period of nearly seventy years.
Mr. Zimmerman was born in McDonald township, Hardin county, on the 29th of July, 1857. and is a son of Humphrey J. and Susan (Wright) Zimmerman, the former of whom was born in Ross county, this state. about the year 1828, and the latter of whom was born in Fayette county, in 1832. Humphrey J. Zimmerman was a child of about six years at the time of his parents' removal from Ross county to Hardin county, where his father. John Zimmerman, secured a tract of wild and heavily timbered land. in the south part of MeDonald township, In a log cabin of the type common to the pioneer epoch was established the family home and then came the task of reclaiming the land to cultivation. Here the parents of Humphrey J. Zimmerman passed the residue of their lives, living up to the full tension. the deprivations and vicissitudes of pioneer days, and here he himself was reared to manhood. his educational advantages being limited to the primitive subscription schools, and even as a boy he began to lend his aid in the development and other work of the home farm. At the age of twenty-two years he was married, and later he became the owner of the fine homestead farm now owned and occupied by his eldest son, the subject of this review. He was one of the successful farmers of the county, a man of sterling integrity and of indefatigable industry, and he did well his part in connection with the civic and industrial development of this now favored section of the fine old Western Reserve. His name is well entitled to a place of honor on the roll of the sturdy and valued pioneers of Hardin county, where he continued to reside until his death, which occurred in 1895, his cherished and devoted wife having passed away in 1867.
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Humphrey J. Zimmerman was married to Emely Dolph of Roundhead, December 25, 1870, and died May 22, 1895, a few months before his father's death. In polities Humphrey J. Zimmerman was originally a Whig and later a Republican. Of the seven children born to him four lived to years of maturity: John W., whose name initiates this article, being the eldest of this number; Eliza J. became the wife of George Tidd and is now deceased; Samantha is the wife of Wesley McCoy, of Lima, Ohio; and Lawson L. is a representative farmer of Ronndhead township.
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