USA > Ohio > Genealogical and family history of eastern Ohio > Part 60
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In 1863 Mr. Ripple married Miss Betsy Miller, and they became the parents of five children : Ella, Nushea, Sherman, Cornelia and Birdie. The wife and mother died in 1878, and in 1880 Mr. Ripple was again married, his second union being with Sarah E. Rorak, a native of Austintown township.
In connection with his farming operations Mr. Ripple is a general con- tractor, and has been extensively engaged in building bridges and doing other
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work of a public nature in Mahoning county. He has also been called upon to fill a number of positions of trust and responsibility. For six years he served as a trustee of Austintown, discharging his duties in a most capable manner. He and his wife are members of the United Evangelical church, of which he is the president of the board of trustees, and he also belongs to the Knights of Pythias fraternity and is vice president of the Camp Park Association. Having always lived in this county he has a wide acquaintance here, and is held in high esteem by his friends and neighbors for his sterling worth. He is regarded as one of the enterprising, active business men of his township, and the success which has come to him is. the reward of his enterprise and indefatigable labor. He possesses an affable and courteous manner and genial disposition, and to know him is to respect and honor him. He is also popular in the ranks of the Republican party and a strong advocate of its platform, yet does not care for political honors or emoluments.
OWEN NEFF.
This well known and respected resident of Austintown township, Ma- honing county, was born in Lehigh county, Pennsylvania, March 12, 1827, and thus has completed over three-quarters of a century of his life. His parents were George and Eve (Messamer) Neff, and he was their only child, his mother dying when he was but seven months old. His father was married again, and twelve children were born of this second union; he died in Penn- sylvania in 1881. After his mother's death Owen Neff was taken into his maternal grandfather's family and reared to manhood. Grandfather Christian Messamer was born in Lehigh county, Pennsylvania, in 1778, and died at the age of eighty-two years. His wife was Eve Sycle, who died in 1827, and her children were George, Jacob, Eve, Kate, Rebecca and Polly. In 1835 Christian Messamer moved to Jackson township, Mahoning county, and bought one hundred and one acres of land, on which he spent the remainder of his life. He made four trips on foot out to this country before finally purchasing, which indicates his rugged, hard-working nature, and he was a credit to his adopted county.
Owen Neff lived with his grandfather till the spring of 1845, then went to work at the carpenter's trade, and was later with John Gilbert for four years, becoming well skilled in his trade. He began farming in 1860, at which time he bought his present farm of eighty-two and one-half acres in Austin- town township. He has devoted this land to general farming, and has been more than ordinarily successful in his undertakings. Mr. Neff was first mar- ried in 1850 to Miss Maddie Hood, and they had two children, Mary and John
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W. Mrs. Neff died in 1859, and in 1860 he was married to Maria Buck, by whom he had two more children, J. O. and Alice. Mrs. Maria Neff was born in New York state, March 5, 1826. Mr. Neff is a Republican and a member of the German Reformed church, and in private and public life has always been accounted a most honorable and sincere man, having worthily performed the duties which fall to one's lot in life.
DEWITT DILWORTH IRWIN.
In the business world perseverance is more necessary to success than talent. On every hand we see living examples of this, and in this sketch we wish to record a man who has risen to an important place simply through unremitting effort. DeWitt Irwin, whose life we shall immediately outline, was a grandson of Dr. Irwin, who was a native of Ireland and came to Amer- ica in 1818, settling in the Scotch settlement in Columbiana county, Ohio, where he died. His son, John N. Irwin, was born in Pennsylvania, and for many years was a merchant of Salineville, Ohio. His wife was Rebecca Pat- terson, and she was the mother of twelve children, of whom seven still sur- vive, as follows: Helen M., the wife of T. D. Bake; James W .; Frank P .; Darwin W .; Fred; DeWitt D .; and Mary G.
DeWitt Dilworth Irwin, the last son of the above, was born in Saline- ville, Columbiana county, Ohio, in 1875, and came with his mother to Liver- pool in 1879, where he received his education in the public school. At the age of fourteen he left school to learn the decorator's trade, at which he worked for three years. In 1895 he entered the employ of the Edwin M. Knowles Company, which in 1901 became the Potters Supply Company. As an evidence of Mr. Irwin's ability, he began as utility man, was promoted to the place of manager, and in 1901 became secretary, the place which he still retains. In June, 1900, Mr. Irwin was united in mar- riage at Altoona, Pennsylvania, to Nellie A. Welsh, and they have named their one son Edwin D. Mr. Irwin holds membership in the Methodist Epis- copal church, and is a firm believer in the principles of the Republican party. The success of his young life gives promise of greater fruitage in the years to come.
A. C. TIBBITS.
Jerry Tibbits, a native of Maryland, came to Youngstown, Ohio, at an early day, but he soon afterward moved to Austintown township, where he was the owner of one hundred acres of land. He was prominent in his local- ity, and a man of considerable intelligence. He held to the political beliefs of the old Whig party. By his two marriages he had five children, but these
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are all now deceased. One of the sons was named William and was born in Youngstown at the early date of 1802. He was a harness-maker by trade and worked at that occupation both at Austintown and on his farm south of Mineral Ridge, where he was the owner of one hundred and seventy-eight acres. He was also a practical farmer, and when he moved to his uncleared farm in 184I he built a log cabin, in which he lived for some years. During his lifetime he acquired considerable property, and enjoyed a good reputation among his neighbors. His wife was Elmira Cleveland, who was born in Connecticut in 1810, and they were married about 1831; she died in 1897. Eight children were born of this union: Betsy M., deceased; Charles, de- ceased; Nancy E .; Laura E., deceased; Charlotte M .; A. C .; John F .: and Mary A.
A. C. Tibbits was born in the log house above referred to, and was reared and educated in his native township. He has never followed any other occu- pation than farming, and has owned his present place, a part of his father's original homestead, since 1893. The two branches to which he has given most attention are the raising of fine horses and conducting a dairy. The visitor to Mr. Tibbits' place would at once discern that he was an up-to-date agriculturist and one who makes use of the best and most modern improve- ments over the old-time way of conducting a farm. As farming is the oldest and most substantial of the pursuits of man, so it is the most capable of giving large returns to the intelligent and progressive farmer.
In February, 1876, Mr. Tibbits was married to Miss Hannah, the daugh- ter of David and Sophia Jones, the date of her birth being January 23, 1849. Her father was born in Wales in 1818 and her mother in England, and the former emigrated to this country in 1839, and the latter in 1844. The chil- dren of David and Sophia Jones were Hannah, Jennie, Isaac, Alice, Ella, Carrie E., and those deceased, Mary, William H. and Edward A. Mr. and Mrs. Tibbits have five children : William C., born June 2, 1877; Holford C., September 18, 1879; John A., June 25, 1882; Edwin H., August 18, 1885 ; and Sophia A., November 16, 1889.
THOMAS SEBRON.
Thomas Sebron is a well known farmer in Austintown township, Mahon- ing county, but has gained his principal reputation from his devotion to one branch of the general industry of husbandry. For fifteen years the citizens of Youngstown were accustomed to wake up in the morning and find their bottles filled with pure milk from the dairy of Mr. Sebron, and the fact that it was the pure article accounts for his long continuance in the trade and in
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the favor of his patrons. His herd consisted of fifty-two high grade cows, and his equipment was such as to enable him to market his milk with utmost cleanliness and dispatch. Of late years he has given up dairying, to the disappointment of many customers, but he intends to resume activity in that line in a short time.
Mr. Sebron is a native of England, where he was born August 22, 1849, and is the son of Thomas and Celia (Thomas) Sebron, who passed their lives in agricultural pursuits in England, and were the parents of two sons, Thomas being the only survivor. He spent the early years of his life in his native land, and in 1878 came to America. He first located in Miners- ville, Pennsylvania, and was employed in mining for three years, but in 1881 he came to Austintown township, Mahoning county, and took up his favorite pursuit. On March 19, 1898, he purchased of Solomon Crum his present farm, which contains sixty-five acres, and which he is constantly improving. He is not a slave to the customs of his fathers, but believes in making use of the best of modern appliances, and has consequently met with more than ordi- nary success in his undertakings.
On March 25, 1869, Mr. Sebron married Miss Mary, the daughter of Will- iam and Margaret Jones, born in Wales, March 7, 1849. Of the eleven children of this marriage, seven are living, namely: Joseph, born on October 3, 1872; Thomas J., on March 3, 1875; William, on October 14, 1877; Arthur, Sep- tember 2, 1881 ; Oliver, December 27, 1883; Louis, February 27, 1888; and Mary J., April 27, 1890. Mr. Sebron is a member of the Republican party, and keeps himself informed and uses good judgment on the public questions of the day, so that he is well qualified to play the part of a citizen in his adopted country.
FRANK HAMMON.
Austintown township, Mahoning county, is the seat of a number of first-class agriculturists, who run their farms on a good paying basis, and always keep up with the progress which is made in the art of husbandry as in all other lines of industry in this modern age. One of this class who is especially deserving of mention in this work is Frank Hammon, whose farm of one hundred acres compares favorably with that of any other of similar size in the vicinity.
His father, Jacob Hammon, was born in Lehigh county, Pennsylvania, in 1794, and in 1833, with his wife and two children, came to Ohio and first made location at Cornersburg, Mahoning county, but some time later came to Austintown, where he purchased a farm of two hundred acres, already improved and well cultivated. He afterward made purchase of an additional
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hundred acres, now the home of his son Frank, and subsequently sold the first place. He was a leading farmer of the county, and a worthy citizen in every respect. He belonged to the Democratic party, and was a member of the German Lutheran church, in which he held numerous official positions. In 1823 he married Elizabeth Cook, who was also a native of Lehigh county, Pennsylvania. Their family consisted of nine children, of whom four are living : Samuel, Mary Rupright, George J. and Frank. Both of the parents lived to a good old age, Jacob dying at the age of seventy-one years, and his wife, who was born in 1805, lived to be eighty years old.
Frank Hammon was born on the farm which he now owns, on December 3, 1846. After he had been reared to a vigorous manhood and had received such advantages as the schools of the neighborhood afforded, he entered upon his life-long career as a farmer, and has gradually advanced in prosperity to the present time. He has owned his farm since the death of his mother in 1885, and he devotes his land to general culture and stock-raising.
On April 10, 1872, he was married to Miss Anna L., the daughter of Isaac and Clarissa Jones. Ada M., the first of the children of this union, was born September 23, 1873: Clara E. was born November 10, 1874; Earl U., on February 18, 1876; Lee F., on June 30, 1888; and Robert V., on February 7, 1899. Mr. and Mrs. Hammon are members of the Lutheran church, and he has been honored in his township with the office of assessor, and in many other ways has acted the part of the good citizen.
JESSE SPONSELLER.
Jesse Sponseller, one of the successful general farmers of Canfield, Ohio, residing in Austintown township, owns and operates a fine piece of property consisting of eighty-seven and one-half acres, which he devotes to general farming and stock-raising. Our subject is the grandson of Frederick Spon- seller, who, with his wife, came from Pennsylvania to Ohio in 1803, and settled in Beaver township on a farm of two hundred acres of wild land. This property the grandfather cleared and brought into a high state of cultiva- tion, and it is now one of the finest farms in the township. The family of Frederick consisted of nine children, who became useful citizens of Mahon- ing county. Of this number was Conrad, who is the father of Jesse, and he was born in 1810 and resided in Beaver township all his life, accumulating a comfortable property, his farm, which was well tilled, consisting of eighty- eight acres, although it has since been added to until it now comprises one hundred and fifty acres. Conrad married Miss Nancy Sechrist, and they had five children, namely : Josephus, John, Henry, Jacob and Jesse, all of
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whom are living. Of this family one became a preacher. The father was a man of true worth, and a consistent Christian. In politics he was a Demo- crat. He died in 1863, beloved by all who knew him.
Jesse Sponseller was born in Columbiana county, Ohio, in 1831, although the other members of the family were born in Mahoning county. Jesse was yet a boy when his father removed once more to Mahoning county, since which time he has made it his home. His present farm was purchased in 1868, and he has brought it into a very valuable condition. It shows that a man of enterprise and one who is a good manager is in charge of affairs.
In 1864 our subject was married to Miss Mary Ann Neier, a daughter of Jonathan and Julia Neier. To this happy union five children have been born, four of whom are living, namely: John, Samuel, Emma and Louisa. Mrs. Sponseller was born in Austintown township in 1837. The family are all connected with the Reformed church, in which they take an active part, and they are most justly numbered among the leading people of the locality in which they have resided for so many years.
GEORGE P. IKIRT, M. D.
For many years the above named gentleman has enjoyed prominence in eastern Ohio, both in professional and political circles. In 1888 he was brought conspicuously before the public by his candidacy for Congress on the Democratic ticket, in opposition to the late President Mckinley. During his residence of about twenty-five years in East Liverpool he has risen stead- ily in his profession, and attained recognized rank among the foremost mem- bers in eastern Ohio. The family is of German origin, and it seems that the name was originally written in German as Eicher. The Doctor's great-grand- father emigrated from Germany in the latter part of the eighteenth century, locating in Pennsylvania in early manhood and died there many years later. His son George Ikirt, who was a millwright by trade, served as a soldier in the war of 1812, afterwards came to Ohio and died in this state in 1858. Among his children was Jacob J. Ikirt, whose birth occurred at Lisbon, Ohio, in 1826, and who in after life rose to prominence as a physician. In youth he learned the carriage-maker's trade at Lexington, Kentucky, but returned to Ohio and when about twenty-one years of age began the study of medi- cine. After the usual preliminary reading he practiced in the west several years, and returning east entered Starling Medical College at Columbus, Ohio, and was graduated from that institution. Shortly thereafter he located at West Point, Ohio, where he remained until 1875, and then moved to East Liverpool, where he continued in practice until his death, which occurred
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in 1898. He married Elizabeth, the only daughter of Joseph Fife, who was a soldier in the war of 1812 under General Jackson, and one of his scouts at New Orleans. Afterwards he came on horseback with his bride to Colum- biana county. His father, James Fife, was born in Ireland of Scotch ancestry, came to the United States in early manhood and ended his days in Penn- sylvania. The Fifes were descendants of the Scotch noble family of that name who are so conspicuous in the military and civil history of the British Isles. By marriage with Elizabeth Fife, Dr. Jacob J. Ikirt had four children, of whom one died in infancy; those who reached maturity being George P .; Kate I., now the wife of A. H. Clark; and Mary C., widow of Charles E. Crow.
George P. Ikirt, the eldest surviving child, was born near West Beaver church, in Columbiana county, Ohio, in 1852, and received his education in the common schools, suppleniented by a course in the schools at Lisbon. At the age of seventeen years he began teaching school and reading law under Hon. Jonathan Wallace. Two years later he was forced to abandon both, and after regaining his health on the farm, began the study of medicine. When preliminary preparation had qualified him for a further step, he took his first course at Columbus and then matriculated at the Cincinnati College of Medicine and Surgery, where he was graduated in the class of 1877, and shortly afterward located at East Palestine, Ohio. After spending twelve months at that place, he removed to East Liverpool, practiced his profession there four years, and then entered the Bellevue Hospital Medical College, from which he obtained a diploma in 1882. Returning from that institution to East Liverpool, he resumed his practice and has continued it there, with occasional interruptions due to necessary absences, up to the present time.
Dr. Ikirt inherited from his father an admiration for Democratic princi- ples of government, and from early manhood has taken an active interest in his party's battle for supremacy. In 1884 he founded the Crisis, a Democratic paper strongly advoating Jeffersonian principles. His intelligent advocacy and zealous participation made him so popular with the rank and file that in 1888 he was selected to lead in the campaign as candidate against William McKinley. That year, which witnessed the election of Harrison to the presi- dency, was a "bad" one for the Democratic party, and Dr. Ikirt having three strongly Republican counties in the district was defeated in the race, after a campaign of such spirit and vigor as to win the increased confidence of his party and the admiration of his opponents. Having, previous to the campaign of 1888, been instrumental in causing the nomination of his old preceptor, Jonathan Wallace, and successfully managed his campaign, he
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was again nominated for Congress in 1892. He entered the contest with such faith and determination that in his speech of acceptance he promised to carry the standard to victory. After one of the hottest contests in the old eighteenth district noted for its contests, he was elected by a handsome majority a member of the fifty-third Congress. He was a faithful and zeal- ous representative. Firm in his convictions, conscientious in his ac- tions, and, while freely conceding to others the same rights he claimed for himself, he did not hestitate to denounce wrong in his own party as freely as in the opposition. Tom Reed said of him, after a running debate before the ways and means committee, "He is as ready in response as was Sunset Cox, and he is Jacksonian to the core." Believing that the contention of Bland and Benton was right and in the interest of the welfare of the people, he broke with President Cleveland, whom he had twice helped to elect, on the silver question, and also voted against the burden of additional bonds being laid upon the shoulders of the people when he believed it could have been avoided by carrying out Democratic principles. At the expiration of his official term he retired from the political field as a candidate, refusing a second nomination tendered him without opposition. While still taking an active interest in politics, he has since devoted his time mainly to his profession and business interests.
He was married in 1873 to Mary L. Hasson, a daughter of Jonathan Hasson, who died in 1876 leaving one son, Frank H. Ikirt. In 1880 he was married to Mary E. Holmes, of Alliance, Ohio, and to this union seven children have been born: Horace Holmes, Georgella, Mary R., Olive E., Jacob J., Virgil C. and Geraldine B. Dr. Ikirt has been a member of the United Pres- byterian church since boyhood.
ELIJAH WATSON HILL.
The Hill family is of Pennsylvania origin, Elijah Hill, father of our subject, having been born in Westmoreland county of that state in 1824. In 1859 he removed to Ohio, and for many years had charge of coke ovens in connection with the industries at Salineville, an occupation which he ad- hered to until his death in 1889. He married Rachael A., daughter of James Cowan, and all the five children resulting from this union are still living, their names being: James G., Arthur D., Elijah W., George W. and Chester C.
Elijah Watson Hill, third in order of the above enumerated children, was born at Salineville, Ohio, February 19, 1870, and remained at home until twenty-one years old; meantime, obtaining a good education in the com-
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mon and high schools. He had an ambition to complete a full college course, but this desire was unfortunately made impossible of realization by the death of his father, which compelled him to immediately seek a means of livelihood. His first business venture was in the confectionery business at Homestead, Pennsylvania, to which place he removed shortly after his marriage in 1891. The period of his residence there was marked by the severe riots and conse- quent bloodshed which made Homestead a familiar word all over the world. The conditions, however, brought about by this desperate struggle between capital and labor, made the place a very undesirable one for the pursuit of ordinary business, and Mr. Hill, after trying it a year, had enough of the experience to last him, so he disposed of his interests and hunted a more congenial location. Coming to East Liverpool he secured employment in a grocery store, and after holding that situation four years was elected in 1897 to the office of justice of the peace. He served a term of three years in that position, and during his tenure disposed of about one thousand cases, of which only two were reversed on appeal to the higher court. While hold- ing the office of justice he commenced operating in real estate as a side line, but since the expiration of his term this has constituted his main business. In 1898 and again in 1900 he was nominated as a candidate for the legisla- ture on the Republican ticket, and made the race each time, but was defeated in both instances, owing to the numerical preponderance of the opposition party. Aside from these excursions into the political field, Mr. Hill has not been an aspirant for office, but has devoted his attention to his real estate busi- ness, which he has built up and extended to satisfactory proportions.
In 1891 Mr. Hill was married to Miss Cora Ellen, daughter of Francis Rogers, of Salineville, and has two children: Janet F. and Roger C. His religious affiliations are with the Methodist Episcopal church, and his fra- ternal connections are with the Elks, Knights of Pythias and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
DR. ROBERT H. BARNES.
Dr. Barnes was born in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. His early educa- tion was in the primary schools, and in 1866 he was graduated at the Elder Ridge Academy, in Indiana county, Pennsylvania. He took up the study of medicine, and in 1870 graduated from the Old Jefferson Medical College of Philadelphia. In 1882 he located in Youngstown, Ohio, where he has since continued his lucrative and representative practice. In 1872, in Mercer coun- ty, Pennsylvania, he was married to Crissia A. Lemgerger, a daughter of Charles Lemgerger, and to them were born four children, as follows: Har- riett W., Charles J., Lizzie M. and Myrtle C.
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The father of Dr. Barnes was born in Dorsetshire, England, and bore the name of John Barnes. He came to America with his wife, whose maiden name was Elizabeth Chencon, and ten children, seven of whom grew to ma- turity, came to bless their home. Of these five now survive: Charles, Anne, wife of Jacob Scharretts; John F .; Mary, wife of J. T. Williams; and the subject of this narrative.
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