History of Carroll and Harrison Counties, Ohio, Part 23

Author: H. J. Eckley, William T. Perry
Publication date: 1921
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 678

USA > Ohio > Harrison County > History of Carroll and Harrison Counties, Ohio > Part 23
USA > Ohio > Carroll County > History of Carroll and Harrison Counties, Ohio > Part 23

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October 2, 1900, recorded the marriage of Mr. McPeck to Miss Etta May Adams, daughter of John S. and Sarah J. (Welsh) Adams, of Archer Township. Mr. Adams was one of the leading farmers of this township, developed also a large business as a shipper of live stock and was for many years a director of the First National Bank of Cadiz. He was born Septem- ber 4, 1837, a son of Samuel Adams, who was born January 20, 1808, and died June 13, 1874. He married Jane Stewart, who was born October 22, 1811, and died in March, 1892. The death of John S. Adams occurred on his farm on . August 10, 1884, and his widow remained on the find old home farm until 1904, when she removed to Jewett and later removed to Cadiz, where she died December 16, 1915, aged seventy-one years. She was born in Archer Township, Har- rison County, on August 2, 1844, a daughter of John Welsh, who was born November 20, 1808, and died in Cadiz in 1880. His wife, Margaret (Gilmore) Welsh, was born January 18, 1816, and died in Cadiz in 1902. Mr. and Mrs. Adams became the parents of five children-Etta May, Samuel F., Charles W., Zella E. and Mary A. . Mr. and Mrs. McPeck have two children, Chester Adams and Florence Esther.

ROBERT L. TIMMONS. In consideration of the remarkable impetus that has in later years been given to the good roads movement in all sections of the United States it is specially interesting to record that in his native county Mr. Timmons was actively and successfully identified with the construction of improved roads for fully forty years, and he was one of the oldest road con- tractors not only in Harrison County but also in this entire section of the state. He also had the distinction of having constructed the first macadamized road in his home county.

Mr. Timmons was born in Cadiz Township, this county, January 14, 1850, and died in Cadiz on October 29, 1920. He was a son of Forney and Elizabeth (Lacey) Timmons, both natives of Cadiz Township, where the respective families settled in the early pioneer period. Forney Timmons was born in the year 1817, and was a son of Charles Timmons, who was born at Charleston, South Carolina, in 1755 and whose wife, Mary (Forney) Timmons, was a native of Georgia and a daughter of. Abraham Forney, who came to Harrison County in the early pioneer days and settled on a farm near the

present City of Cadiz. He was of French an- cestry, was a captain of a militia company in Georgia and served as a soldier in the war of the Revolution. Charles Timmons came to Harrison County at the same time as did his father-in-law. He was from Berkeley County, West Virginia, and he died within a few years after coming to Ohio.

Forney Timmons became a successful manu- facturer of pumps at Cadiz. He supplied pumps to residents of Harrison and adjoining counties for many years and was associated with his son Robert L. in the construction of pike roads. He died in 1885, and his wife survived him by a number of years. Her father, John Lacey, was an early brick and stone mason in Harrison County and was also engaged in the manufac- turing of brick. Mr. and Mrs. Timmons held membership in the Methodist Episcopal Church. They became the parents of four children : Caro- line Elizabeth married Charles Allen and they established their home in the City of Columbus, Ohio; Milton J. and Benjamin F. removed to the State of Kansas in the pioneer days; and Robert L., of this review, is the youngest of the number.

Robert L. Timmons gained his early educa- tion in the public schools of Harrison County and began to aid in his own support when he was but eleven years old, after his two older brothers entered service in the Civil war. His first work was as a boy in a stone quarry, and finally he learned the trade of stone mason, to which he devoted his attention about a decade. For thirteen years thereafter he conducted a hardware and tin shop at Cadiz, and in the meanwhile became a contractor in the building of turnpike roads. This latter enterprise finally proved so successful that he sold his shop and business at Cadiz, and during the long inter- vening years he continued his operations as a contractor in the construction of high-grade roads. He was a pioneer in the good roads ser- vice in this section of the Buckeye State, in which he achieved worthy success. He was a loyal and public-spirited citizen, was a member of the democratic party, was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church and was affiliated with the Masonic and Knights of Pythias fra- ternities.

In 1868 Mr. Timmons was united in marriage to Miss Isabella Amanda Howard, daughter of Capt. John M. and Elizabeth (Edney) Howard, of Barnesville, Belmont County, Ohio. Her father was captain of his company in an Ohio regiment in the Civil war. To Mr. and Mrs. Timmons were born the following ten children : Bessie May (deceased), Harry Howard, Florence (Mrs. Jesse Smith), Forney Wellington, Bernice Lacey (Mrs. M. M. Mansfield), Lillian (Mrs. James Clark), Frances, who married Brydon Pearce and both are now deceased, their only child, Charles, being reared in the home of his maternal grandparents, Robert Lacey, Jr., Don- ald (deceased), and Isabel, who married Dr. Bradford C. Godfrey, of Burlington, Vermont.

Harry Howard Timmons, the eldest son, was one of the gallant young patriots who repre- sented Harrison County in the nation's military service in the late World war. On the 3d of

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ROBERT L. TIMMONS

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January, 1818, he became a member of the Twenty-third Regiment of Engineers, in which he was made sergeant of the first class and also duty sergeant, and with which he saw twenty months of active service in France. He partici- pated in the great campaigns of the Argonne Forest and the St. Mihiel sector, his regiment having been engaged in building roads for the artillery while moving along with the advance lines of infantry, and its position having been constantly one of great hazard. He sailed for France March 30, 1918, and landed at Brest on the 13th of the following month. On the 11th of May his command reached the front line of the Bachera sector, and remained with that sector until September 18. It was then assigned to the Argonne Forest sector and was behind the lines the morning the great drive started. He remained in that sector until the signing of the armistice, and his regiment was under fire for six months to the day. He received his dis- charge at Camp Sherman, Ohio, June 19, 1919. Robert Lacey Timmons, Jr., went to Camp Sher- man on September 2, 1918, with the limited service men, and was discharged from the ser- vice on December 11, 1918. Harry Howard, Forney Wellington and Robert Lacey, Jr., were all identified with their father in business, and since his death they have carried on the business successfully. At this writing they are complet- ing a large road-building contract in Belmont County, Ohio, which was begun during their father's life.

JAMES C. MOCLESTER, M. D. Properly num- bered among the dependable and skilled men of his profession, Dr. James C. McClester, of Harrisville, is enjoying a large practice and is worthy of the confidence which is placed in him, not only by his patients but others in his community who recognize the inherent worth of the man. He was born in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, February 3, 1869, a son of John and Margaret (Clark) McClester, both natives of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, the latter being a daughter of James Clark. Her mother's maiden name was Staddart.

John McClester was for some years a farmer of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, but later moved to Coraopolis, Pennsylvania, and estab- lished himself in business as a merchant. He conducted a similar establishment at Sewickley, Pennsylvania. With the exception of a few years spent in Logan County, Ohio, and Beaver County, Pennsylvania, he passed his life in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. He died at Shadyside, Belmont County, at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Will Hoskinson, in October, 1918. His wife has also passed away. Their children were as follows: James C., whose name opens this review; Lydia, who was second in order of birth; Clara, who married W. J. Stevenson, an attorney of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Jennie, who married W. L. Hoskinson, a merchant of Bellaire, Ohio; Margaret, who was graduated as a nurse from the Ohio Valley General Hos- pital; and three others who died in infancy.

Doctor McClester was graduated from the Huntsville High School of Logan County, after which he matriculated at the Ohio Medical Uni-

versity, from which he was graduated in 1894, and on August 16th of that year settled at Harrisville, Harrison County, Ohio, and entered upon the duties of a general practice. With the exception of three years spent in practice at Malvern, Ohio, Doctor McClester has remained at Harrisville during his professional career.

In 1914 he was united in marriage with Margaret Toland, a daughter of William and Elizabeth Toland. They are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church of Harrisville. For some years Doctor McClester has belonged to the Harrison County Medical Society. For eight years he has been on the village board of Harrisville, and has given his community the benefit of his knowledge of sanitation and awakened it to its responsibility with reference to public health. The Doctor was a member of the Reserve Medical Corps of the United States Army, and was in camp at Camp Greenleaf, Fort Oglethorp, Georgia, from July 5, 1918, in training three weeks, and was then sent to Camp Wadsworth, Spartanburg, South Carolina, where he was honorably discharged on October 16, 1918, with the rank of first lieutenant.

WALTER N. HALL. The mercantile interests of Harrisville are admirably conserved by some of the most enterprising men in this part of Harrison County, and their progressive spirit has resulted In the bringing to the community a desirable line of trade from the outlying dis- tricts and the establishment of a reputation of fair dealing and sound business methods. One of these merchants who has borne his part in the bringing about of the above mentioned results is Walter N. Hall.

Mr. Hall was born in Mount Pleasant Town- ship, Jefferson County, Ohio, September 6, 1874, a son of Josiah and Deborah W. (Wilson) Hall, and grandson of Nathan Hall. Nathan Hall was born in Mount Pleasant Township, Jefferson County, Ohio, where he was married to Maria Smith, and they had one son, Josiah. By a former marriage he had a son William, who was known as "Big" William Hall. On account of his size Nathan Hall was known as "Big" Nathan Hall, and he was a man of powerful strength. All of his active life he was engaged in farming in his native township. He and his family belonged to the Society of Friends.

Josiah Hall was born in Mount Pleasant Township, Jefferson County, Ohio, and his wife was born at Smyrna, Guernsey County, Ohio, a daughter of Joseph and Eliza ( Branson) Wil- son. Joseph Wilson was a prosperous farmer of Guernsey County, Ohio, and he and his wife had the following children : Benjamin, Lindley, Martha, Maria, Miriam and Deborah W., of whom all grew to maturity with the exception of Lindley, who died in infancy. The Wilsons were also Quakers in their religious belief. All of his life Josiah Hall was engaged in farming in Mount Pleasant Township, and was held in high esteem in his neighborhood. Both he and his wife belonged to the Society of Friends. They had the following children: Abbie, who married Thomas Starbuck and lives at Colders, Ohio; Elma, who married Edwin Hall, a son of Parker Hall, and lives at Pasadena, Call-

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fornia ; Alice, who married Herman Meislahn, and after his death, Charles Koontz, and lives at Los Angeles, California; Walter N., who was fourth in order of birth; and Miriam, who married Dean White and lives at Colders, Ohio.

Walter N. Hall attended the neighborhood schools of Mount Pleasant Township and a Friends private school in the same township. Still later he was a student at a boarding school at Barnesville for a year, leaving it to enter a Friends boarding school at Westtown, Pennsylvania. In order to gain a practical knowledge of the fundamentals of business, he subsequently took a commercial course at Scio, Ohio. Mr. Hall then put to use his knowledge thus gained, and for some time was in an in- surance business at Cleveland, Ohio, but when his father died he returned to Mount Pleasant Township and for three years was engaged in conducting the farm. In about 1904 Mr. Hall bought a mercantile business at Harrisville, but sold it in 1908 and bought a farm of forty acres adjoining Harrisville, on which he erected a modern residence, where he still lives. This is a beautiful place, supplied with all modern con- veniences and equipment. In 1912, however, Mr. Hall once more entered the mercantile field and has continued in it ever since, his store being one of the leading ones in this part of the county. For the past three years he has been a director of the Peoples National Bank of Adena, Jefferson County, Ohio.

On October 9, 1901, Mr. Hall was united in marriage at Harrisville, Ohio, with Loretta M. Lewis, a daughter of John G. and Emma Lewis. Mr. and Mrs. Hall have two sons, Walter Myron and John G. In their religious connections Mr. Hall and his wife maintain membership with the United Presbyterian Church of Harrisville. Mr. Hall is a Blue Lodge and Chapter Mason, belonging to both organizations at Cadiz, Ohio. He is a man who displays in his life and busi- ness efforts that stability and strength of char- acter which work to bring about a proper bal- ance in a man, and the esteem which he inspires is well founded and deserved.

THEODORE DICKERSON. The name Dickerson is associated with the early history of Harrison County, and Theodore Dickerson, of Cadiz Township, who has always lived where he was born, June 26, 1856, has pride in bringing the family story up to date in the forthcoming Carroll and Harrison County History. His father, Joshua Dickerson, was born in the same community, the Dickerson Church neighborhood in Cadiz Township, November 9, 1808.

Thomas Dickerson, great-grandfather of Theo- dore, came into what is known as Harrison County on Christmas day, 1800, and settled on land immediately surrounding this landmark church, clearing and planting some of it before it was on the market as Government land, and as soon as it was open for settlement he secured title to an entire section. Combined with mak- ing a farm in the wilderness he was a frontier blacksmith. Before there were machine shops in the towns the blacksmith was the most nec- essary man to community development, and Thomas Dickerson was a man of influence in

the beginning of Harrison County civilization. He came from Fayette County, Pennsylvania, where he married Mary Curry, who came with him into the frontier community. There were ten children born to them. One son, Baruch, was born in Pennsylvania and came with his parents to Harrison County. Through Baruch Dickerson comes the line of descent, his son Joshua being the father of Theodore Dickerson. Baruch Dickerson worked with his father as a blacksmith. His wife was Elizabeth, daughter of William Holmes. She was born and lived near Wellesburg, West Virginia.

Elizabeth Holmes came to Harrison County to care for a brother who was working as a blacksmith with Thomas Dickerson. When he contracted a fever he sent for his sister, and thus was brought about an acquaintance that later ripened into friendship and marriage. They lived in different places, finally settling down in Harrison County. In 1822 Baruch Dickerson was elected sheriff of Harrison County; and at that time he moved to Cadiz. While he was performing the duties of his office a notorious band of horsethieves and counterfeiters infested the whole country from Wheeling, West Virginia, to Lake Erie, and as sheriff Mr. Dickerson was forced to deal with them. While in northern Ohio securing deposi- tions he contracted a fever and died from it.

The children of Baruch Dickerson were Joshua, Susannah, Polly, Thomas, Polly (the first child named Polly died and, as used to be the custom in many families, another was given the same name), Jane, William Wilson and Elizabeth. Baruch Dickerson was a whig, and besides serving the county as sheriff he also served as county commissioner. He was a marksman of ability, and was captain of the first rifle company.

Joshua, the oldest son of Baruch Dickerson, was sixteen years old when his father died, and a year later he went to the home of an uncle, Aaron Mercer, in Short Creek Township, where he worked in a woolen factory and in a flour- ing mill. remaining there four years. The ca- pacity of the flouring mill was 1,300 barrels and it was all consumed in the immediate com- munity.

In 1834 Joshua Dickerson married Elizabeth Crumley, who died childless, and his second marriage was with Mary Jane Elliott. She was a daughter of Samuel and Nancy (Grimes) Elliott, of Belmont County. Eight children were born to this union: Aaron (deceased), Baruch (deceased), Thomas, Sarah, Theo- dore, Samuel (died in infancy), Hiram (died in 1920) and Charles. While the history of the Dickerson family was identified with the whig political party, Theodore Dickerson was born the year the whig party was swallowed up by another and he has been a republican. His father was a member of the whig party but when it had served its time he became identi- filed with its successor, the republican party.

When a family has lived long enough in one community that a rural church has borne its name through successive generations it has per- petuated itself, and such is the history of the Dickerson family in Harrison County. Theo-

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dore Dickerson began farm activities on the old homestead of his father and he lives there to- day. On April 15, 1896, he married Ella Haver- field, a daughter of James and Elizabeth (Barr) Haverfield. Their children are: Floyd H. and Hartzell Paul Dickerson, both living with their father. The mother died January 29, 1916, and on March 3, 1920, Mr. Dickerson married Mar- garet J. McFadden, daughter of Thompson and Elizabeth (Dickerson) McFadden. The church relation is with the Dickerson Methodist Episco- pal Church in the community.

Theodore Dickerson has served as a member of the board of trustees and as treasurer of the Dickerson Methodist Episcopal Church for more than thirty years. He has been school director and a member of the local school board for more than twenty years. "By their fruits ye shall know them," and it is the part of good citizenship to serve one's day and generation.

CHARLES PHILLIPS. The family story of Charles Phillips of Cadiz Township reverts at once to Fayette County, Pennsylvania, where he was born August 19, 1857, a son of William S. Phillips. Pennsylvania means "Woody land of Penn," and the Phillips family have been Quakers, William Penn having offered special inducements to settlers of that faith in the colony founded by him. W. S. Phillips was born there May 12, 1828, and he married Ruth Swan, of the same community. Her father, Richard Swan, was a farmer of Fayette County. Their children are: Presley, Charles, Alfred, Ruth, Sarah and Emily. .

W. S. Phillips was a son of Ellis Phillips, grandfather of the Cadiz Township citizen. He was born October 12, 1798, in Washington County, Pennsylvania. His wife, Phoebe (Lilly) Phillips, was ten years his junior, born April 1, 1808, and they married and lived on a farm in Fayette County. Their children are Ruth, born July 23, 1828; William S .; Solomon, born September 25, 1830; Thomas, February 17, 1835; James Alfred, December 15, 1839; Ellis, August 31, 1843; Martha Jane, August 26, 1845. The wife and mother died February 27, 1850, and the father died January 9, 1878, their lives hav- ing been lived under different conditions from the civilization of today when the high cost of living enters into it. William S. Phillips, who always lived in Fayette County, was a school teacher for three winters in his young manhood, and the remainder of his life was spent as a farmer. As in the previous generation the family are Friends.

In his boyhood days in Pennsylvania Charles Phillips, of Cadiz Township, attended the com- mon schools of Fayette County, and later he was a student in the Pennsylvania State Normal at California, Pennsylvania. He also took a commercial course at Iron City, Pennsylvania. While he had unusual educational advantages, he did not quit the farm for business oppor- tunities. The day of the educated farmer was at hand, and Mr. Phillips was ready for it.

On January 25, 1890, Mr. Phillips married Elizabeth D. Elliott. She is a daughter of James and Jane (Dixon) Elliott. In the fol- lowing year he bought his Harrison County

farm and moved to it. It is on the Cadiz and Steubenville pike, and he has made of it an attractive farmstead. There are 181 acres of land, with good buildings on it. Mr. Phillips combines livestock industry with farming, and his specialty is Shorthorn cattle.

Mr. Phillips has given educational advantages to his children, the son, William, born October 2, 1891, is a graduate of Ohio State University at Columbus in the class of 1915, and Helen Annabelle, born August 22, 1893, is a graduate of Wilson College at Chambersburg, Pennsyl- vania, class of 1916. In this instance the Phillips family are Presbyterians. There is an old saying : "Once a Friend always a Quaker," but Friends are unknown in some communities.

The Elliott family also lived in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, Mrs. Phillips having been born there. James Elliott was a Fayette County farmer, and his wife, Jane McKee Dixon, was a daughter of Nathan and Elizabeth (Forsythe) Dixon. Their children were: Josephine, born July 23, 1849; John, March 17, 1852; Edward, September 24, 1854; Elizabeth, September 1, 1857; Harvey, January 27, 1863; Annabelle, November 1, 1866.

The father of James Elliott was William and his mother was Ruth (Crawford) Elliott. William Elliott was a captain in the Revolu- tionary war. The Phillips-Elliott family have a fine historical background in colonial days in America.

JOHN W. WHITCRAFT succeeded his father as owner of the substantial lumber and planing- mill business which the latter had long con- ducted at Carrollton, and has secure status as one of the representative business men of his native city and county. He is a scion of the fourth generation of the Whitcraft family in what is now Carroll County, with whose annals the family name has been worthily linked for more than a century. His great-grandfather, John Whitcraft, was born and reared in Ireland, and in 1814 he and his wife, whose family name was Harper, became residents and pioneer settlers of that part of Harrison County that is now comprised in Carroll County. They came to Ohio soon after their immigration to America, and Mr. Whitcraft became one of the honored pioneer farmers of Carroll County, where he reclaimed his land from the forest, the original deed to the property having been signed by President James Monroe and being still preserved as a family heirloom. This deed was for the last land taken by this sterling pioneer, and the tract that it conferred is sit- uated about four miles distant from Leesville, Carroll County. Here John Whitcraft died in 1854, his wife having passed away in 1834. Their son John H. was born within the limits of the present Harrison County but was reared to manhood in Carroll County. In 1834 he married Mary, a daughter of William Alban, of Stark County, and they established their home on a farm four miles distant from Leesville- the old homestead previously mentioned. In 1853 Mr. Whitcraft was elected sheriff of the county, which office he retained four years. He was a presidential elector from Ohio at the time

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when Rutherford B. Hayes was elected presi- dent, and he was one of the vigorous and suc- cessful men of affairs in Carroll County until his death in 1884, at the age of seventy-two years. His wife survived him by several years, and both were earnest members of the Presby- terian Church. Of their children the eldest, Matilda, widow of Capt. Isaac Ulman, is still living, at a venerable age, and resides at Mas- sillon, Stark County; Elizabeth died in 1858; William Alban met his death in the Civil war, having been killed in action while serving as lieutenant of Company A, Twenty-fifth Ohio Volunteer Infantry; Henry H. was a father of John W., immediate subject of this review; Amanda died at the age of ten years; James P. was in railroad service many years prior to his death ; and Mary Martha, wife of William W. Cressinger, still resides in Carroll County.

John W. Whitcreft was born at Carrollton on the 8th of October, 1872, and is a son of Henry H. and Nancy (McLaughlin) Whitcraft, whose marriage was solemnized in 1868 at Carrollton. Henry H. Whitcraft was born in Monroe Town- ship, this county, November 30, 1840, and his wife was born in Fox Township in 1844, a daughter of the late Judge James McLaughlin, a representative of another well known pioneer family of Carroll County. Henry H. Whitcraft was reared on his father's farm and received excellent educational advantages. He was teaching school at the time of the inception of the Civil war, but promptly subordinated all other interests to tender his aid in defense of the Union. On the 7th of November, 1861, he enlisted in Company A, Eightieth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, of which he was made sergeant. In the battle of Iuka, September 19, 1862, his left arm was disabled by a musket ball wound, and in February, 1863, he received his honorable discharge. A few months later, however, he was given a position in the commissary depart- ment of the army, and he thus continued in service until the close of the war. For one year thereafter he taught school and also gave super- vision to his farm in Carroll County, and there- after he served as assessor of internal revenues until 1875, when he established himself in the lumber business at Carrollton. With this busi- ness he continued his association until his death in 1910, since which time the enterprise has been continued by his elder son, to whom this review is dedicated. Mr. Whitcraft was a staunch republican, held church membership and was affiliated with the Grand Army of the Re- public. A man of sterling character, he held inviolable place in the confidence and esteem of all who knew him. His widow still resides at Carrollton, and of their children the eldest is Mary, who is the wife of William M. Shep- herd, of Carrollton; Alice is the wife of William F. Forsythe, of Carrollton; John W., of this sketch, was the next in order of birth; Mrs. Emma Sterling likewise resides at Carrollton; Grace is the wife of U. C. Deford, of Youngs- town, Ohio; and James H. is a practicing physi- cian at Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania.

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History of Carroll and Harrison Counties, Ohio, Part 23

Author: H. J. Eckley, William T. Perry Publication date: 1921 Publisher: Number of Pages: 678

Author: H. J. Eckley, William T. Perry
Publication date: 1921
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 678