USA > Ohio > Allen County > History of Allen County, Ohio, and representative citizens, Part Two > Part 46
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
William T. Pierson was educated in Aug- laize County and remained with his parents until his marriage in 1874, when he moved to a farm one mile south of where he now lives. He has always been engaged in farming, and lived on his first farm for 18 years. On Thanksgiving Day 1893, he moved to the farm upon which he now lives and nine years later, in 1902, built the handsome, II-room frame house that is so much of an ornament to the property. He also erected barns, etc., and has placed the land under the most thor- ough cultivation.
Mr. Pierson was married October 22, 1874, to Ellen M. Riley, and their union has been blessed by the birth of one son and one daughter, namely : Eva A., born May 25, 1875 ; and Ira E., born December 5, 1881. Both are living at home. Mrs. Pierson was born May 2, 1855, in Bath township, and was living
near Spencerville at the time of her marriage. She is a daughter, of Joseph and Amanda (Berrihill) Riley, both of whom were natives of this county, the former having been born, March 16, 1833, and the latter, October 16, 1833. The father, while living in Keokuk County, Iowa, enlisted for service in the Civil War in which he met death January 2, 1863. The mother resides in Amanda town- ship. Her children were as follows: George A., born September. 15, 1857, who died Sep- tember 22, 1858; Leile Evangeline, born May 30, 1860, who died October 10, 1860; Joseph H., born May 28, 1863, who is a resident of California; and Ellen M. (Mrs. Pierson). When Mrs. Pierson was one year old, her par- ents moved to Iowa where they resided seven years, the family returning to Ohio on a visit at the time of the father's enlistment and re- maining here because of the death of Mr. Riley. Her grandfather was Rev. George Riley, who was born in Burlington County, New Jersey, August 27, 1792, and died in Sugar Creek township, Allen County, Ohio, in 1883. He was a missionary, assisting Rev. J. B. Findlay in his work among the Upper Sandusky Indians of the Wyandot tribe. Mr. Pierson is a member of the Methodist Episco- pal Church of Elida and is one of the trustees.
OHN MAY, one of the well-known bus- iness citizens of Beaver Dam, who has been engaged in a livery business here for some 25 years, was born at Mon- roeville, Huron County, Ohio, Febru- ary 1, 1852, and is a son of Thomas D. and Elizabeth (Plowright) May.
The parents of Mr. May were born, reared and married in England. They came to Amer- ica in 1850, settling at Monroeville, Ohio. The father died at Beaver Dam and the mother in Michigan, many years ago. The children were: Thomas, of Bluffton, Ohio; John, of this sketch; Annie (Young), of Beaver Dam ; and Elizabeth (Stiner), of Akron, Ohio.
John May was four years old when his parents moved to Eaton County, Michigan. In the following year his mother died, and in
.
COL. B. M. MOULTON
805
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS
1860 the family returned to Huron County, Ohio. , Our subject was reared to farm work and assisted his father for several years on the. Ohio farm, and then went to Wood County, Ohio, and lived with an uncle for two years. He learned the carpenter's trade and secured work in Lorain County, in the construction of the Lake Shore Railroad. In 1873 he became connected with the Lake Erie & Western Rail- road, as section foreman at Beaver Dam, and he remained with the road for a year and a half after the road was completed.
Mr. May was interested in both a grocery and livery business' for many years at Beaver Dam, but subsequently sold his grocery after 20 years of business, retaining his livery, which he still operates. He has well-equipped barns and keeps 10 horses.
Mr. May was married September 11, 1874, to Cynthia Westover, a native of this county, who is a daughter of Jonathan Westover. They have one child, Ida, who is the wife of F. D. Bowers, of Beaver Dam.
Mr. May is identified with the Republican party and he has been called upon, on numer- ous occasions, to accept offices of considerable responsibility, having served as councilman and as village and school treasurer. He is a member of the Disciples' Church.
OL. B. M. MOULTON, past depart- ment commander of the Grand Army of the Republic of Ohio, has been one of Lima's most distin- guished and esteemed residents for almost 20 years. Colonel Moulton comes of a long line of ancestors, many of whom have been prominent in the various walks and avo- cations of life and not a few, like himself, have gained honor and reputation in military cir- cles. He was born at Moultonville, Madison County, Illinois, July 3, 1845, and is a son of Orris G. and Nancy (Miller) Moulton.
The Moultons are descended from Sir Thomas Moulton, who went to England with William the Conqueror and fought by his side in the battle of Hastings, in 1066. He was
probably a Norman nobleman. He founded the town of Moulton in England and was given large estates and the title "Sir."
Five generations of Sir Thomas Moultons resided in the town thus established. In those days orthography was something of a fine art and the name became variously changed by the common people and for various reasons, prob- ably on account of recurrences of the same baptismal name, by members of the family. Thus on some old records the name is found spelled Multon and Molton, but the old orthog- raphy has always been maintained by our sub- ject's branch of the family."
In the "Domesday Book", that great sur- vey of England made by order of William the Conqueror, in: 1086, Thomas Moulton is men- tioned as a land-owner, having been put in pos- session of an estate called "Galeshore," a prop -. erty seized from the Gales by King William. Perhaps this is why the later Moulton is called "Lord of Gillesland."
Thomas de Moulton was a favorite of King Richard (Coeur de Leon.) in 1190. He is called "Lord of Gillesland" in Cumberland and by the Normans, "Lord de Vaux." Sir Walter . Scott introduces him in the romance "The Tal- isman," as such. He is probably the same Thomas de Multon who, as one of the barons," signed the Magna Charta in 1215. A Thomas de Multon was also a signer of the great char- ter of Edward in 1297 and this Thomas was probably a grandson of the preceding. They . were Lords of Egremont in Cumberland and probably became possessed of their lands on the Scottish border, as rewards for their services in the wars against the Scots. ( From the Heraldic Office, of Great Britain and other , reliable sources). Moulton Hall is a place in Wulbur- ton, now in' ruins, once the property of Sir Thomas.
Dudgall in his account of Sturbic says : "Acre was an old hospital for the poor people, dedicated to St. Leonard, which being given with the Manor A. D. 1230 to the Knight Hos- pitalers by Sir Thomas Moulton, Knight &c." Next, following a page of interesting extracts from records portraying the distinction of these ancient "Multons," are numerous quotations
...
.
806
HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY
showing that all branches of the Moulton family had arms with devices somewhat different from each other in minor details, yet alike in the main, viz : A plain field either of silver or blue. crossed by three horizontal bars, generally red, sometimes sable. This continued for several hundred years down to the arms which were granted in 1571; by the record these are de- scribed as follows :
Moulton: Argent three bars (jules) be- tween eight escallop shells, sable; three, two, two and one crest on a pellet, a falchion rising argent, granted in 1571. This is an accurate description of the arms brought- over by Thomas Moulton in 1635, excepting the color bars and shells and the grant might have been to his grandfather as it was made only 64 years before the emigrant brought over the copy that it still extant. Tradition asserts this to be the fact and that the escalloped shells were added to the very ancient arms of silver or red field and three bars, for victories won by Admiral Moulton of more recent times.
In 1635 Thomas and John Moulton, broth- ers, came to Newbury, Massachusetts, from Norfolk County, England. Later they settled at Hampton, New Hampshire and in 1637 they were joined by a third brother, William, who came from Ormsby, Norfolk County.
Ebenezer Moulton was the first of our sub- ject's branch of the Moulton family in Amer- ica, 'as far as known. It has been said that he was formerly a clergyman, also that he was in the service of the English government and came from England to Nova Scotia about the year 1725, a wealthy member of the English no- bility. Afterward .he came to New England and died in South Brimfield, Massachusetts, in 1783, leaving one son, Stephen.
Stephen Moulton, son of Ebenezer and great-grandfather of our, subject, was born in 1734, was graduated at one of the New Eng- land colleges, inherited his father's wealth and was an accomplished gentleman of his time. During the American Revolution he equipped a regiment at his own expense and contributed very largely from his fortune in aid of the Rev- olutionary cause. He participated in military affairs as lientenant colonel in the 22nd Regi-
ment of militia from Stafford, Connecticut. His two sons, Howard and Stephen, were taken prisoners on Long Island and were confined in the old sugar house prison at Richmond, Vir- ginia. Just 87 years later history repeated itself when our subject, also a prisoner of war, was sent to one of the old dungeons in the same city. After the close of the Revolutionary War, Colonel Moulton went to Ohio and later settled at Floyd, Oneida County, New York, where he died in 1819. He married a daughter of Lieut. Josiah Converse, Ellenor Converse, a cousin of Governor Julius Converse, of Ver,- mont. Their children were : Howard, Stephen, Benjamin, Joseph, Solomon, Ebenezer and Josiah.
Howard Moulton, son of Stephen (1), was a prominent merchant of Troy, New York and an able and distinguished man. One of his daughters married Gen. John E. Wool and another became the mother of John A. Gris- wold, who once was a Republican candidate for Governor of New York.
Stephen Moulton (2), son of Stephen (1), was a farmer residing at Floyd, New York; two of his sons were named Jesse and Asa. Jesse by his first marriage had three sons and one daughter,-Lewis, Charles, Henry and Julia. Julia became Mrs. Bell, of Syracuse, New York. By a second marriage, Jesse had a daughter, Elizabeth.
Benjamin Moulton, son of Stephen (1), lived at Floyd, New York, where he married and had four, sons and two daughters, viz: James T., Arthur, Josiah, John, Maria and Eleanor. Of the children of Benjamin the record is as follows :
James T. Moulton, son of Benjamin, was at one time one of the leading merchants of New York City. One of his sons, Arthur, married a Miss Sagor, of Utica and they had one daugh- ter. A son, Albert, died unmarried. A daughter, Sarah, married Thomas W. Timpson and they had one son and three daughters- Thomas W., Addie, Florence and Sarah. An- other daughter of James T. Moulton, Letitia, married James Alexander Striker, of New York. Jennie, another daughter, married Philip B. Low, of New York and their children were
807
AND - REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS
two daughters-Letty and Jennie. Gary, son of James T., resides in New York and his chil- dren-two sons and a daughter-are: Gary W., Raymond and Marion, the eldest son hav- ing one child.
Arthur Moulton, second son of Benjamin, married and reared a family some place in the far West. 1
Josiah, son of Benjamin, was born at Floyd, New York, and settled in the West, marrying a sister of Judge Powers Green. They had three sons-Powers, Rodman and Josiah --- and : one daughter. Powers is a prominent man in - Wisconsin.
John Moulton, son of Benjamin, reared a family in the West. ---
ยท Maria Moulton, daughter of Benjamin, married Hezekiah McIntosh and they had two daughters and three sons; the latter being An- drew, Ichabod and Charles. Andrew and Icha- bod married and practiced law at Utica, New York. One of the daughters became the wife of Josiah K. Brown, of Stittville, New York, dairy commissioner of that State.
Eleanor Moulton, daughter, of Benjamin, married a Mr. Roberts, of Buffalo, New York, and they had three daughters-Sarah and Maria, deceased, and Miriam.
Joseph Moulton, son of Stephen (1), re- sided at Troy, New York.
Solomon Moulton, son of Stephen (1), lived and died at Floyd, New York. His sons were: Stephen, Henry, Joshua, John, Benja- min, Roary and Wesley and his daughter was Susan, who married Oziah Wilcox. The chil- dren of this' union were Jermain and Jefferson. The latter married and left two daughters- Susan and Sophia, the former of whom mar- ried John Brinkerhoof, a prominent lawyer of Kansas.
Stephen Moulton (3), son of Solomon left no issue; he died at Rome, New York, and was interred at Floyd.
Henry Moulton, son of Solomon, married Lucretia Moulton and lived and died at Floyd. his children being Caroline who married Frank- lin French, of Western New York; and Thomas, who was a prominent merchant of Nashville, Tennessee. He was a polished gen- tleman. Of Thomas Moulton's two sons,
Frank resided at Nashville; he also had three daughters.
Joshua Moulton, son of Solomon, lived and died at Floyd, New York. His children were: Severn, William, George, Lewis, Eliza, Cath- erine, Mary, Susan and Margot. His son, Severn Moulton was a prominent man in New York City. He left one son and one daughter, the former of whom, Frank Moulton, became well known to the public as the "mutual friend" in the great Beecher-Tilton trial-his children reside in New York.
John Moulton, son of Solomon, lived in New York and left two children.
Benjamin Moulton, son of Solomon, died at Floyd, New York, leaving one son and two daughters. The son died in California without issue and one daughter-Sarah-is deceased." The other daughter-Susan-resides in the West.
Roary Moulton, son of Solomon, died at Floyd, New York, leaving one son, Horace C., who resides in Berlin, Wisconsin; and one daughter, Julia, who married Charles Riggs, of Turin, New York.
Wesley Moulton, son of Solomon, died un- married.
Ebenezer. Moulton, son of Stephen (1), was born at Stafford, Connecticut, where he married. Afterward he removed to Floyd, New York, where he died about 1855. He married first Mary Lillebridge, daughter of Rev. David Lillebridge, of Stafford, who was a son of Benjamin and Amy (Sherman) Lille- bridge, the latter of whom was a sister of Roger Sherman, one of the signers of the Declara- tion of Independence. The children of this first marriage were: Linus, David, Lucretia and Mary. He married (second) Eliza Gard- ner and their children were: Eliza, Maria and Orris G.
Linus Moulton, son of Ebenezer, resided at Floyd, New York, married Olive Frazier, of Western New York and they had one son and five daughters: Jermain, who died without is- sue; Mary, Imogene, Harriet, Louise and Anna. Mary married Asa Clark, of Floyd, New York, and left one daughter named Im- ogene, who married Charles H. Sampson, of Chicago. Harriet married Jesse Armstrong, of
41
-
1
HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY
808
Rome, New York. Louise married William D. Thorne and their two sons-Jermain and Will- iam B .- live in Chicago; Jermain married Frances Dart, of Lansing, Michigan, and their two children are named Frances Louise and Dart. Anna Moulton died without issue.
David Moulton, son of Ebenezer, was born in Stafford, Connecticut. When David was a boy, his father moved to Floyd, Oneida Coun- ty, New York, where David resided until his death, which occurred May 7, 1886. He was buried where he had spent the greater part of his life. Like the most of the Moultons of his time and race, he was a fine looking, large, well-proportioned man and in his youth he had great physical strength and all his life his men- tal endowments were of a very superior order. He was a colonel in the State militia. In poli- tics David Moulton was a stanch Democrat and for nearly 50 years was one of the leaders of hi's party, generally a delegate to all its im- portant conventions and on one occasion was its candidate for Congress from the Oneida district. David Moulton married Prudence M. Sizer, who was a daughter of Eli Sizer, a grandson of a French emigrant, D. Souzour. They had these children : Julia, Mariam, Sarah and Eliza. Julia married Nehemiah Slooper and their children were: Cesarine, Prudence and David M. Of this family, Cesarine mar- ried Hon. Eaton J. Richardson, a prominent lawyer of Utica, New York and at one time a State Senator, and they had one son-Everett Slooper. Prudence married William A. Davies, at one time a prominent merchant at Floyd, New York, and they had one son-William Everett. David M. also married and he had three children : Walter, William and Mary. Mariam married Henry M. Kellogg and they had three children: David M., Frederick H. and Converse. The first two are practicing law in New York City. Sarah married Edwin C. Kellogg and their three living daughters are: Ella, Clara and Louise. Ella married P. Fitzsimons, a merchant of New York City and they have two sons-Edwin Kellogg and Leon James. Louise married Sinclair Myers, a prominent real estate broker of New York city. Clara is unmarried. Eliza married William
Pratt and their children are: Harriet, Miriam and Milton. Lucretia, daughter of Ebenezer Moulton, married Henry Moulton.
Mary Moulton, daughter of Ebenezer, married Merritt Brooks, of Rome, New York and they had two sons -- Stephen and Sperry ; and four daughters-Elizabeth, Helen, Jose- phine and Mary Ann. Stephen left two sons, Elizabeth married Lester B. Miller, of New York; their only daughter is deceased and their only son, Merritt B., resides in New York City. Helen married John Sumner and their children were John and Edward, the latter of whom is a lawyer in Minneapolis. Josephine married Josiah Fogg, of St. Louis. Mary Ann died unmarried .:
Eliza Moulton, daughter of Ebenezer, is the widow of Hosea Clark; her two daughters, Hattie and Emma, are both deceased. The former married Joseph Favil, of Brooklyn, New York.
Maria Moulton, daughter of Ebenezer, died without issue.
Orris G. Moulton, son of Ebenezer, was born at Floyd, Oneida County, New York, June 23, 1816. He married Nancy Miller, daughter of Benjamin Miller, of Trenton, New York, and soon after they moved to Madison County, Illinois, where Orris had purchased a large tract of land. The town of Moultons- ville, in that county, is named in his honor, as he was its founder. Orris G. and Nancy (Miller) Moulton, had two sons, Benjamin and Orris G., the former of whom is the sub- ject of the present record. The father of our subject died of cholera at St. Louis, Missouri, July 11, 1851, aged 35 years; his widow dis- posed of her property in Illinois and returned to Steuben, Oneida County, Illinois, where she died in March, 1873 ._ Orris G. Moulton was born in Moultonsville, Illinois, July 23, 1851 and married Belle Ross, daughter of Aaron Ross, of Hornellsville, Steuben County, New York. They have one daughter, Frances, and reside at Syracuse, New York. Mr. Moulton is the general agent for New York of the Massachusetts Benefit Life Association of Bos- ton, Massachusetts.
Before leaving the ancetral history in order
.
(
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS
809
to give attention to that of Colonel Moulton himself, a few more interesting records may be added, viz :
Josiah Moulton, son of Stephen (1), had two children, Charles and Harriet. The former settled in New York as a merchant and dealer in cotton and in this line he accumulated an im- mense fortune. He was a personal friend of Louis Napoleon and was his host during the visit of that nobleman to America. After Na- poleon became Emperor of France, Charles Moulton and family moved to Paris and. re- sided in that city or at their magnificent coun- try-seat in the environs. Charles died in 1886 survived by five children : Ray, Charles, Henry, Clara and Helen. Both Ray and Charles are married, the latter's wife being an accom- plished lady from Boston-they had two sons who reside in that city. Henry, son of Charles, is unmarried. Clara married a member of the firm of Brown Brothers & Company, bankers of New York, and she, with one child, was lost when the steamer. "Arctic" was burned at sea. Helen, youngest daughter of Charles, married Count Paul Hatzfeldt, German Am- bassador in London.
Harriet, daughter of Josiah Moulton, noted before, married Judge Powers Green, of In- diana, and their daughter Harriet became a Mrs. Hills, of Waukegan, Illinois, and their children are: Harriet, Rebecca, Grace and. Frank.
After the death of his father and the return of his widowed mother to Oneida County, New York, our subject attended the public schools until he was 16 years old and then en- tered the Whitestown Seminary and devoted himself to his studies until he enlisted for serv- ice in the Civil War.' On August 4, 1862, he joined Company E, 117th Reg., New York . Vol. Inf., in which he served through three long years, during which time his personal brav- ery caused his promotion very rapidly. On September 29, 1864, he was wounded at the battle of Chapin's Farm and was taken pris- oner and transported to the same old city which had been the scene of the incarceration of his kindred some 87 years before. From Rich- mond he was subsequently sent to Annapolis
where he was kept at the distribution camp until he could be paroled. Colonel Moulton participated in the battles at Petersburg (barely escaping with his life at the time of the mine explosion), Cold Harbor, Drury's Bluff and Chapin's Farm and in innumerable smaller engagements.
After his return from the army, he resumed his studies at the Whitestown Seminary for. one year and then entered Eastman's Business College, where he was graduated late in 1866. For two years he was a clerk in a wholesale mercantile business at Dolpha, New York and then embarked in business for himself at Cone- sus, New York. He remained here for, eight years but sold out in 1876 and went to Penn- sylvania in the employ of J. D. Wolf, con- nected with the Oil Well Supply Company and remained with him until March, 1877, when Mr. Wolf sold his interests to Eaton, Cole & Burnham, and Colonel Moulton became man- ager of the new company and continued until the organization of the Oil Well Supply Com- pany. He accepted the position of manager of the business of this company of the district at Duke's Center in Northern Pennsylvania.
By 1881 Colonel Moulton's efficiency as a man of business was so recognized that he was transferred to the important district at Boli- var, New York, and in 1886, to Lima, Ohio. Here he has in charge the management of the Oil Well Supply Company of the Ohio and Indiana oil fields, in which the company is in- terested.
Colonel Moulton married Marietta Kuder, who is a daughter of John Kuder, of Grove- land, Livingston County, New York. Their one son, H. S. Moulton, is a lumber dealer at Lima and was a member of Governor Myron . T. Herrick's staff.
In politics Colonel Moulton has always been an uncompromising Republican and he has been more or less prominent in the party for many years. During the administration of Governor Nash, he was a member of the executive's staff and hence acquired his present title. In 1904 he was elected department com- mander of the Grand Army of the Republic of Ohio and faithfully and satisfactorily at-
810
HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY
tended to the duties of the office. Under the administration of Governor Herrick he served as a member of the board of trustees of the Sol- diers' and Sailors' and Orphans' Home, at Xenia, Ohio. A portrait of Colonel Moulton accompanies this sketch.
HARLES WILLIAM WESTBAY, mayor of the village of West Cairo and superintendent of schools, was born on a farm about three miles. from Lima, February 4, 1860. His parents were Isaiah and Katherine (Crites) Westbay, both of whom were born in Allen County. William Westbay; the paternal grandfather, who was a native of Scotland, settled in Pennsylvania, and later moved to Allen County, Ohio, where he died. The ma- ternal grandparents were Charles and Sophia Crites, natives of Pennsylvania, and of Ger- man ancestry.
Isaiah Westbay was a farmer, but was also a musician of considerable ability, and during the early years held singing-school at various places throughout this section. He enlisted in Company G, 8Ist Reg., Ohio Vol, Inf., as mu- sician, serving under Captain Overmyer as fifer and flute player, and among the engage- ments in which he took part was that at Cor- inth. He died March 7, 1864, a few days after returning to his family. He left three chil- dren, the two eldest being twins who were named in honor of their grandparents, our subject bearing the names of both grand- fathers, Charles and William, while his sister was called Sophia Jane. This sister married L. W. Allen and resides in Lima. Martha Ozilla, the third child, married J. M. Osborn and lives in Waverly, Kansas.
Our subject was reared on the farm and attended the common schools during his youth. At the age of 20 years, he took a two years' course in the Ohio Normal University at Ada, Ohio, and since that time has been en- gaged in teaching, so far as is known, he is the veteran teacher of the county, having taught consecutively here for the longest time. His
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.