History of Carroll and Harrison Counties, Ohio, Part 67

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 67
USA > Ohio > Carroll County > History of Carroll and Harrison Counties, Ohio > Part 67

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Israel Rankin was born in Athens Township, Harrison County, November 20, 1830, and he profited fully by the advantages offered in the pioneer schools of the locality. He passed vir- tually his entire life on the old homestead farm which was the place of his birth, and he was not only one of the substantial representatives of farm industry in his native county but was also a prominent and influential citizen who maintained inviolable place in popular confi- dence and esteem. He was a stalwart and well fortified advocate of the principles of the demo- cratic party and was influential in the local councils of the party, besides which he was called upon to serve in various offices of com- munity order, including that of township trus- tee. He was one of the leading members of the Rankin Methodist Episcopal Church, con- tributed generously to its support and served earnestly in its various lay offices. He served more than a quarter of a century as worshipful master of Lodge No. 298, Free and Accepted Masons, at Flushing, Belmont County ; was high priest of Cadiz Chapter No. 98, Royal Arch Masons; and was affiliated also with Hope Com- mandery No. 26, Knights Templar, at St. Clairs- ville, Belmont County, besides which he was at the time of his death the only man in Athens Township who had received the Masonic order of the High Priesthood, which was conferred upon him in 1866 at Toledo. He also held mem- bership in the Masonic Veterans of Ohio, or- ganized in 1870.

August 18, 1870, recorded the marriage of Mr. Rankin to Miss Sarah Dickerson, daughter of Adam Dickerson, a member of another of the sterling pioneer families of Harrison County. Mrs. Rankin was called to the life eternal Au- gust 29, 1886, a devoted member of the Ran- kin Methodist Episcopal Church, in the ceme- tery of which rest her remains beside those of her husband. who survived her many years. They became the parents of three children- Elizabeth Jane, James Jamison and William Dickerson, all of whom remain on the old home- stead farm. Elizabeth and William never hav- ing married. All hold membership in the Ran- kin Methodist Episcopal Church, and the two sons are democrats in politics. As exponents of farm enterprise they are fully upholding the prestige of the name which they bear, as are they also in their loyal and liberal attitude as citizens. They are numbered among the repre- sentative farmers of Athens Township and in their native county their circle of friends is coincident with that of their acquaintances. James J. Rankin, on the 10th of December. 1913. was united in marriage to Miss Mary Daniel, and they have one child, James Frederick.

LEWIS CARNEY HOUZE. Owning 155 acres of land in Rose Township, Lewis Carney Houze is so operating it as to win for himself a posi- tion among the most progressive and success- ful farmers of Carroll County. He was born at Hoff's Run Township. March 14, 1858, a son of William Henry and Cynthia (Need) Houze, of Irish and Pennsylvania-German stock. The grandfather, Henry Houze, located in Pennsyl- vania at an early day, was there married, and

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had two children, William Henry, and his sister Mary. During the War of 1812 he served as a soldier and received a pension for his services. Coming to Ohio, he secured eighty-eight acres of government land in Rose Township, and there he died at the age of eighty-eight years, and his wife passed away on the same farm. Will- iam Henry Houze was the younger of his par- ents' two children, and he was engaged in farm- ing in Rose Township all of his life. His death occurred in 1905, his wife having passed away some years prior to that date. They had six children born to them, of whom Lewis C. was the youngest.

Growing up on the homestead, Lewis C. Houze alternated attending school in District Number 5. Rose Township, during the winter months, with work on the farm in the summer ones, until he was seventeen years old, and then for two years he worked in the coal mines at Lin- dentree. Rose Township. After his marriage he bought his present farm, and has since been engaged in operating it, and also for twelve years operated a threshing outfit. He has been a general farmer all of the time since coming to this farm, and finds interest and assistance in his membership with the National Grange of Atwood, Ohio. He is recognized as one of the solid men of his township, and is held in high esteem by all with whom he is associated.

In 1886 Mr. Houze was married to Ellen Lu- cetta Harsh, a daughter of Enoch and Ann Catherine (Helfrich) Harsh, of Harrison Town- ship, this county. Mr. and Mrs. Houze became the parents of the following children: Homer Franklin, who married Etta Van Pelt of East Rochester, has two children-Curtis and Harvey Albert : Ola, who is Mrs. George Shultz of Car- rollton, has two children, Earl Le Moine and Wilma Ellen, living, and one, Gladys Rebecca, who died at the age of nine months; Edna May, who is at home; Anne Catherine, who is Mrs. Fremont Sommers of Malvern, Ohio, has three children, Alice Lucette, Lester and Rose; Ches- ter Clark, and Loren Herbert, who are at home.

Chester Clark Houze served in the United States Army during the late war, entering the service at Carrollton. September 23. 1917, and was mustered out March 21, 1919. He was sent to Camp Sherman. where he remained until February. 1918. and was made a buck private of Company E, One Hundred and Thirty-Second Infantry. Transferred to Camp Forrest, Georgia, in April, 1918, he was placed in the Eleventh Machine Gun Company, and sent to Camp Merrett, New Jersey, and sailed for France from New York City, landing at Brest. He saw action in the offensives of St. Mihiel and Argonne, and at Verdun had the first and second fingers of his right hand shot off by a machine gun bullet at the second joint. This injury was much aggravated by his having to walk and crawl for three miles, during which time he lost a large amount of blood. At the time he was shot, his lieutenant lost his life. The young soldier was in several hospitals re- covering from his wounds before he was sent home on the Leviathan, December 13, 1918, and landed in New York City. From there he was sent to the hospital at Camp Sherman, where he

·was detained until in February, 1919, and re- ceived his discharge on account of disability. On account of his injuries he receives a pen- sion. He is one of the Carroll County boys who did not return uninjured, but his wounds are honorable ones, and serve to remind him of that time in his life when he arose above the average man's outlook on life, and rendered the best service in the world, for he risked his life in defense of his country and the ideals of patriotism.

JAMES A. COPELAND. To all right-thinking people some proper tribute ought to be paid the memory of the dead not only as a token of re- spect, but also to keep before the public the name and virtues of the departed. From the . days of the erection of the Egyptian Pyramids to the present it has been an accepted fact that no better means can be found for this outward expression of an inward affection and venera- tion than that afforded by the erection of a substantial monument over the last resting place of the dead. One of the men of Harrison County who is rendering valuable service to. the people of this locality in this line is James: A. Copeland of Jewett, whose monuments are admittedly among the most appropriate and! artistic to be found in the cemeteries of the state.

James A. Copeland was born in Salem Town- ship, Jefferson County, Ohio, on December 3, 1862, a son of John A. and Lucinda (Stayer) Copeland, the former born in Salem Township, Jefferson County, Ohio, on April 1, 1825, and the latter, born in the same township as her husband, was a daughter of Samuel and Emily (Lowry) Stayer. Samuel Stayer and his wife were of German origin, although the family has been in this country for many generations, and their parents came to Ohio from the eastern part of Pennsylvania. They were all members of the Lutheran Church.

John Copeland, the paternal grandfather. was born in Maryland. He married a Miss Armstrong, and they had the following chfl- dren : John A .. Samuel, William, James. Alex- ander, George. David, Margaret, Mary J. and Sarah A. The Copeland family is of Scotch- Irish descent. John Copeland became a pio- neer of Salem Township, Jefferson County, and there he reared his large family and taught

all of them to be useful. John A. Copeland became a farmer of Salem Township, and there he died in 1880, his widow surviving him until 1894, when she too passed away. Four children were born to John A. Copeland and his wife. namely : Amanda E., William S., Mary E., and James A. The family all belonged to the Lu- theran Church, and took an active part in local church movements.

Growing up in his native township, James A. Copeland attended the local schools and after he was grown he began farming, remaining in Salem Township until 1898, when he came to Jewett, Harrison County, Ohio, and for eight years was a salesman for Evans & Stevenson, who were in the monument business. Mr. Cope- land then went into the monument business for himself, and for thirteen years has been so

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engaged, building up a very large trade as the artistic value and perfection of his work gained appreciation.

On June 1. 1889, Mr. Copeland was married to Mamie E. Porter, a daughter of James L. and Mary J. Porter, of East Springfield, Ohio. Two children were born of this marriage, namely : William Howard, who married Ethel Hilbert, and had one child, James H .; and Loyal Her- bert, who on June 6, 1918, enlisted in the hos- pital service for the great war after being refused admittance to a line organization. He sailed for France as a replacement unit the night after the signing of the armistice, and landed at Bordeaux, France, and was assigned to duty in the office of chief surgeon at Tours, France, American Headquarters, and was pro- moted to the rank of corporal. On July 10, 1919, he landed in the United States, and was honorably discharged not long thereafter.

The first Mrs. Copeland died on June 8, 1913. and Mr. Copeland was afterward married to Mrs. Susie M. Osborne. Mr. Copeland has taken an active part in civic affairs, and in ad- dition to being a member of the City Council from 1911 until his election to the office of mayor he served that body as its president for six months, and is now the chief executive of Jewett. Under his careful administration of affairs the city is showing an admirable ad- vance, and he is admittedly one of the best mayors the city has ever had, and succeeding officials will be hard put to it in order to make a better record than Mr. Copeland.

FRED A. THOMPSON is the owner of an excel- lent farm of eighty acres in Rumley Township. Harrison County, and is here proving his abil- ity and progressiveness as an enterprising ex- emplar of agricultural and live-stock industry. He was born in Archer Township, this county, on the 16th of June, 1888, and is a son of Har- vey L. and Maria (Shambaugh) Thompson. The father, now deceased, is accorded a memo- rial tribute on other pages, so that in the pres- eut sketch further review of the family history is not required.

Fred A. Thompson did not manifest more than the usual amount of boyish reluctance when he was pursuing his rudimentary studies in the dis- trict schools of Archer Township, and later be applied himself with appreciation while a stu- dent in the village schools at Jewett. In 1906, after having been associated in the work of the home farm, he established his residence at Jew- ett, and for about ten years thereafter he oper- ated a dray line in that village. After retiring from this business he was engaged in teaming during one year, and in 1917 he removed to his present farm, which he has since continued to make the scene of vigorous and successful en- terprise along the lines of advanced agriculture and stock-growing. His political allegiance is given to the republican party. His wife holds membership in the Lutheran Church at Jewett.

In December, 1909, Mr. Thompson was united in marriage to Miss Carrie Groves, daughter of Samuel Groves, and they have five children- Forrest, Mary, John, Gwen and Eva. In con- nection with his general farm operations Mr.

Thompson conducts a prosperous dairy enter- prise.

HARRY A. HEAVILIN is numbered among the progressive young farmers of Archer Township, and is well maintaining the civic and industrial honors of a family name that has been long and worthily linked with the history of Har- rison County. For adequate data concerning the Heavilin family reference may be made to the sketch of the career of Frank M. Heavilin, on other pages of this work.

Harry A. Heavilin was born in Archer Town- ship, Harrison County, on the 16th of Decem- ber, 1885, and to the public schools of his native county he is indebted for his early educational discipline. He gained first-hand knowledge of the details of agricultural and live-stock indus- try, as he early began to assist in the work of his father's farm, and he remained with his parents on the old home farm until the time of his marriage, since which time he has been successfully engaged in farm enterprise on a well improved place of 130 acres, and he is known as one of the vigorous and thrifty rep- resentatives of farm industry in his native township. He is a republican in politics and he and his wife hold membership in the Asbury Chapel Methodist Episcopal Church.

On the 30th of April. 1918, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Heavilin to Miss Wilma Auld, daughter of Allison P. Auld, of Washing- ton Township, Harrison County, and they are popular factors in the social life of their home community.

JOHN S. REPPART, who is the owner of a well improved farm of seventy-five acres in Short Creek Township, Harrison County, was born in this township on the 19th of September. 1856. and during his entire active career he has been identified with farm industry in his native township, besides which he has owned and operated a threshing outfit during the past thirty years. He also has operated a saw mill for a long period of years, but since 1917 has found practically no requisition for his mill, owing to the limited amount of available lum- ber in the immediate sections. He has brought about an effective co-ordination in the agricul- tural and live-stock departments of his farm enterprise, and his only son is now his partner in the operation of the farm. the while they have become specially successful in breeding and raising registered Holstein cattle, Duroc- Jersey swine, and Cheviot sheep, the Reppart farm having exhibited its fine live stock at the Harrison County and other fairs since 1915. Mr. Reppart is a republican in politics, has al- ways taken lively interest in the welfare and advancement of his native county. and has se- cure place in popular confidence and good will. His wife holds membership in the Presbyterian Church at Adema.

Mr. Reppart gained his early education in the schools of his native township and is a scion of one of the sterling pioneer families of Har- rison County. He is a son of William S. and Nancy ( Smith) Reppart, the former of whom was born in Short Creek Township in 1830, and

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the latter of whom was born in Tuscarawas County, a daughter of John Smith. The mar- riage of Mr. and Mrs. Reppart was solemnized November 15, 1855.

Daniel Reppart, grandfather of the subject of this review, was born in Wales in 1788. He was a young man when he came to the United States and established his home in Philadel- phia, Pennsylvania, where his first marriage occurred and where were born all of the chil- dren-three or more of this union. On the occasion of an epidemic of yellow fever in Penn- sylvania he removed with his family to Read- ing that state, and there his wife died of the fever, as did also all of their children except Frederick Jesse. In 1825 Daniel Reppart mar- ried Miss Hannah Stephens, who was born July 26, 1786, and shortly after their marriage they came to Ohio and became pioneer settlers in Harrison County. His son Frederick J., of the first marriage, remained in Pennsylvania, and the members of the family in Ohio finally lost practically all trace of him. Daniel Rep- part initiated the development of a farm in the midst of the forest wilds of Short Creek Town- ship, and on the old homestead he and his wife remained until their deaths, Mrs. Reppart hav- ing passed away May 23, 1858, and her hus band's death occurred on the 10th of the fol- lowing December. They became the parents of two children : David, who was born in 1826 and whose death occurred May 28, 1887; ; and Will- iam S., father of him whose name introduces this record.

William S. Reppart attended the pioneer schools of Short Creek Township, and as a young man he learned the trade of stone mason. As a skilled workman at his trade he assisted in the building of the bridges on the old plank road from Cadiz to Adena, and in connection with farm enterprise he continued to work at his trade to a greater or less extent for a long term of years. He was one of the substantial and honored citizens of Short Creek Township, where his death occurred in November, 1898, in the house in which he was born. His widow passed to eternal rest on the 25th of February, 1903, she having been a zealous member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Mr. and Mrs. Reppart became the parents of three children- John S., the immediate subject of this sketch; Thomas F., who is individually mentioned on other pages; and Junius L., who likewise is individually represented in this publication.

On the 13th of March, 1879, was solemnized the marriage of John S. Reppart to Miss Al- mira Johnson, who likewise was born and reared in Harrison County and who is a daughter of the late Jonas and Sarah (Dunlap) Johnson. Mr. and Mrs. Reppart have six children : Anna Belle is the wife of Jesse Nation, and they have three children, Olive Moslea, Alta May and Everett Emmerson. Charles J., the only son, is associated with his father in the operation of the home farm. He married Miss Mary Adams, and their children are Charles Floyd, John Ellsworth, Emmerson Roy, who died at the age of two years and eight months, and David Ver- ner. Lucy L. and Sadie E. are twins, the for- mer being the wife of Samuel Buchanan and

they have four children, Bernice Berdena, Ruth Hannah, Edgar Franklin and Samuel Halford, and the latter is the wife of Charles March- bank and they have four children: Raymond Lamoyne, Laura Elmyra, Charles Emmerson and John Wesley. Grace May is the wife of Oscar Singer and they have two living children and one dead, as follows: Albert Lloyd and Delbert Roy, and Eleanor Vincetta, deceased. Mary Alice is the wife of Orla Burdette, and they have one son, John Clifton.

ADAM D. PORTER is a representative of the fourth generation of the Porter family to be identified with farm industry and to the ex- emplar of loyal and progressive citizenship in Harrison County, his paternal grandfather hav- ing been one of the pioneer settlers of Cadiz Township and he himself being one of the sub- stantial farmers and representative citizens of Athens Township. His birth occurred in Cadiz Township, August 12, 1857. In the same town- ship his father, John Porter, was born on the 31st of January. 1831, a son of Samuel and Re- becca (Dickerson) Porter. the former of who was born in Pennsylvania, September 17, 1800, and the latter was born August 23, 1802. their marriage having been solemnized April 5, 1827. Mrs. Porter was a daughter of Joshua and Sarah (Dunlap) Dickerson, and her father like- wise was a sterling pioneer and successful farmer of Harrison County. Joshua and Sarah Dickerson became the parents of nine children -Joshua, Jr., John, Adam, William, Rebecca, Susan, Sarah (died in childhood), and Jane and Mary (twins).

Samuel Porter, grandfather of the subject of this review, was a son of Samuel and Sarah (Burns) Porter, who were born and reared in Pennsylvania, where the former learned the saddler's trade and where he remained until 1802, when he came with his family to what is now Harrison County, Ohio, where he became associated with his brother James in the owner- ship of an entire section of heavily timbered land. He reclaimed a farm in the midst of the forest, and as the only saddler in the county he found much demand for his service at his trade in the early days. He developed one of the best farms in the county, the land having been purchased from the Government. and bere he continued to reside until his death, August 2, 1869, at the patriarchal age of 105 years. His wife was born August 15, 1786, and died in 1830, both having been sincere members of the Presbyterian Church, and his political allegiance having been given to the democratic party. This honored pioneer couple became the parents of eleven children-John, James, Smiley. David, Samuel, Jane. Jolly, Elizabeth, Nancy (died in infancy), Irwin and Sarah, the last two having never married and having remained on the old homestead until their deaths. It should be noted in this connection that the Porter family was founded in Pennsylvania in the early colo- nial epoch and that representatives of the same were patriot soldiers in the war of the Revoln- tion. besides which the family contributed one or more soldiers to the War of 1812.

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, Samuel Porter, Jr., grandfather of him whose name initiates this review, was a small child at the time of the family removal to Harrison County, where he was reared under the condi- tions of the early pioneer period. He became one of the substantial farmers of Cadiz Town- ship and there remained on his old homestead farm of eighty acres until his death, December 23, 1869, only a few months after the death of his remarkably aged father. His widow long survived him and was summoned to eternal rest on the 6th of February, 1892, both having been devout members of the Presbyterian Church. The names and respective birth dates of their children are here recorded : Joshua, May 20,.1828; Sarah, September 8, 1829; John, January 31, 1831; Samuel, November 17, 1832; Mary Jane, October 7, 1834: William, April 7. 1836; Adam, November 30. 1837; Rebecca, June 21, 1840: and Susanna, July 10, 1842.

John Porter was reared on the old home farm and acquired his early education in the pioneer schools of Cadiz Township. In that township he initiated his independent career as a farmer, and there he continued his residence on his farm until 1894, when he removed to Cadiz, the county seat. In 1901, however, he located on a farm near Cadiz Junction, and after remain- ing there six years he returned to the city of Cadiz, where he has since lived retired. He is a democrat in politics and is a member of United Presbyterian Church as was also his wife. November 13, 1856, recorded his mar- riage to Miss Sarah Dunlap, daughter of Adam and Martha (Thompson) Dunlap, members of honored pioneer families of Harrison County. Mrs. Porter passed away on the 2d of October, 1901. Of their children the eldest is Adam D., Jr., immediate subject of this sketch, the names of the other five being as here noted : Martha J., Mary E., Rebecca Amanda (de- ceased), Sarah Lydia and Susan I.

Adam D. Porter, Jr., gained his youthful edu- cation in the district school locally known as the Pike's Peak School in Cadiz Township, and his initial experience of practical order was gained in connection with the work of his fa- ther's farm. As a young man he worked at the carpenter's trade at intervals, but the basic in- dustry of agriculture has claimed his allegiance during practically the entire period of his inde- pendent career. He continued as a farmer in Cadiz Township until 1908, when he removed to his present excellent farm of eighty-four acres in Athens Township, where he stands as an ex- ponent of agricultural and live-stock enterprise. He is a democrat in his political adherency and his wife holds membership in the First Presby- terian Church at Cadiz.

On the 15th of September, 1886. Mr. Porter married Miss Samantha Jane Thompson, who was born and reared in Harrison County, a daughter of Joseph and Hannah (Shields) Thompson. In the concluding paragraph of this sketch is entered brief record concerning the children of Mr. and Mrs. Porter :

George married Miss Florence Coleman and is engaged in farming in his native county. Mary is the wife of Chester Busby, of this county. John Joseph was one of the gallant

young men contributed by Harrison County to the nation's service in the late World war. On the 6th of October. 1917, he entered service at Camp Sherman, Ohio, and in the following month he was sent to Camp Pike, Arkansas, and in April, 1919. went to Camp Mills, New York. On the 10th of the following month he sailed for the stage of war, arriving at Dover, England, on the 24th of that month and in France on the 5th of June. He forthwith en- tered active service with the American Expedi- tionary Forces, and he took part in the famous Chateau Thierry campaign, in which he was wounded in the left arm on the 18th of July. His injury caused him to be confined five weeks in Base Hospital No. 36, and on the 11th of September, 1918. he rejoined his command as a member of Company A, Fifty-eighth Infantry. Fourth Division. He took part in the Meuse- Argonne offensive movement of the allied troops September 25 to October 19, 1918. and after the signing of the historic armistice he was with the army of occupation in Germany until July on the 11th of which month he left Coblenz for Brest, from which port he sailed for the United States on the 24th of that month. He arrived in the port of New York city on the 1st of August, and received his honorable discharge on the 8th of that month. He endured the full tension of the great conflict on the blood-stained fields of France, and made a record that shall ever reflect honor upon his name. He returned to the parental home after receiving his dis- charge. Adam Craig Porter, the next younger son, entered service at Camp Sherman October 6, 1917, was later assigned to the remount serv- ice, and with his command sailed for France October 6, 1918. There he continued in the re- mount service until the close of the war, and he arrived in his native land in July, 1919, his honorable discharge having been received on the 8th of that month, and he likewise having gladly returned to his native county, as one of the honored young veterans of the World war. The two younger sons, still at the parental home, are William H. and Carl H.

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History of Carroll and Harrison Counties, Ohio, Part 67

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