History of Carroll and Harrison Counties, Ohio, Part 91

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 91
USA > Ohio > Carroll County > History of Carroll and Harrison Counties, Ohio > Part 91

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James B. McDevitt gained his youthful edu- cation in the district schools of Monroe Town- ship. where, save for brief intervals, he has re- sided continuously on the old home farm, of which he is the owner and to the active manage- ment of which he gives his attention. His po- litical allegiance is given to the republican party

and his wife is a member of the United Brethren Church.

January 20, 1914, recorded the marriage of Mr. McDevitt to Miss Nellie Marie Morland, and they have two children-Ethel Margaret and Annie Marie. Mrs. McDevitt was born in Har- rison County, Ohio, and is a daughter of Will- iam and Margaret (Wagner) Morland, the for- mer of whom was born in Palermo, Carroll County, Ohio, September 3, 1855, and the lat- ter in Tuscarawas County, in 1860, their mar- riage having been solemnized December 22, 1883. Thomas Morland, father of William, was a car- penter by trade, but as a young man he became the owner of a farm in Carroll County. After selling this property he established his residence at Bowerston, Harrison County, where he opened a general store and where he continued to re- side until his death, his children having been nine in number: Jane (Mrs. Andrew Wilson), William, Margaret (Mrs. Hadley Dunlap), Thomas, Martha (Mrs. Harvey Renicker), Etta (Mrs. William Bower), James and Robert (twins), and Alice (Mrs. Charles Wheeler).

After his marriage William Morland pur- chased a farm in Tuscarawas County, where he remained until '1890, when he sold the place and purchased his present fine farm, in Monroe Township, Harrison County. He and his wife had eight children: John married Mary War- ner and they reside at Milan, Erie County; Ed- gar is deceased; Alma is the wife of Jesse Cus- ter; Nellie Marie is the wife of James B. Mc- Devitt, of this review; Zella is the wife of Charles Gotschall ; Mary married Floyd McCau- ley; and two children died in infancy. John Wagner, grandfather of Mrs. Morland, was born near Tappan, Franklin Township, Harrison County, in 1823, and his wife, whose maiden name was Margaret Scott, was born in Carroll County, in 1817, a daughter of Robert and Hannah (Russell) Scott. John Wagner was a son of Mathias (born in 1792) and Nancy (De- Long) Wagner, and Mathias Wagner served as a soldier in the War of 1812; he was a son of John Wagner, who was born and reared in Maryland and who came thence to Ohio in the early pioneer days. Mathias Wagner engaged in farming in Harrison County when he was a young man, and in 1831 he removed with his family to Tuscarawas County, where his death occurred in 1848. His children were: Sarab, Isaac, George, Nancy, John, Enoch, James, Jef- ferson, Harrison and Mathias, Jr.

John Wagner continued his residence in Tus- carawas County from 1831 until his death in December, 1880, and his widow passed away in 1891. They became the parents of four chil- dren-Sarah Jane, who died in 1911, Mary El- len, Mathias S. and Margaret Ann.

SAMUEL S. EASTERDAY. whose well improved farm of 1661% acres, is situated in Monroe Township, Carroll County, is a popular repre- sentative of one of the old and honored fami- lies of this section of the Buckeye state. He was born in Perry Township, Carroll County, near Conotton, a village just over the line in Harrison County. and the date of his nativity was March 5, 1861. He is a son of David and

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Mary (Trushel) Easterday, and is a scion of a family, of German origin, that was founded in Pennsylvania in the colonial period of our national history. George Easterday was born in the old Keystone State, and there he reared his family of five sons and two daughters, all of whom remained in that state except John, grandfather of Samuel S. John Easterday was reared and educated in Pennsylvania and there was solemnized his marriage to Eve Swinehart. In the spring of 1830 he came with his family to Ohio and settled in Harrison County, where he remained until 1855, when he came to Carroll County and established his residence in Perry Township, where he purchased the farm that continued his place of abode until his death, which occurred November 19, 1873, his widow having passed away December 28, 1880, and their remains being laid to rest in the Bowers- ton cemetery, both having been devout communi- cants of the Lutheran Church. They became the parents of nine children, namely: Magda- lene ( Mrs. Washington Borland), George, Adam, David (father of the subject of this review), John, Margaret (Mrs. Michael Trushel), Sam- uel, Elizabeth (Mrs. Joseph Smith), and Eve A. (Mrs. Henry Cogan).

David Easterday was born on the old home farm in Perry Township, and in his farm activi- ties he was for some time a resident of Har- rison County. He finally removed to the state of Illinois, and there his death occurred. His wife died in Harrison County, when about eighty-six years of age and both having held the faith of the Lutheran Church. They be- came the parents of six children, namely : Mar- tha, William, Samuel, Margaret, John and Mary.

Samuel Sylvester Easterday first attended school at Conotton, and later continued his studies in the Grundy Ridge district school for six years, his final schooling having been re- ceived in the village of Scio, Harrison County, in 1880. He attended school principally during the winter terms, when his services were not in requisition in connection with the work of the home farm, and as a youth he applied him- self diligently to service as a farm employe. Finally he became sufficiently fortified in a financial way to justify his purchase of a farm of forty acres, in Perry Township, Carroll County, a property which he later sold. After his marriage, in 1882, he gave his attention principally to farm work in the employ of others having purchased a threshing rig, and followed threshing for twenty years, until 1901, when he purchased and assumed the management of his present farm, which he has since continued to make the scene of vigorous and successful agricultural and live-stock Industry. Mr. East- erday is found staunchly aligned in the ranks of the democratic party, and he served two years as supervisor of Perry Township, in which office he was the advocate and supporter of pro- gressive measures for the benefit of his con- stituent township. He and his wife are earnest members of the Methodist Episcopal Church at Leavittsville and their pleasant home is known for its generous and unassuming hospitality.

In the year 1882 was solemnized the mar- riage of Mr. Easterday to Miss Margaret Bus-

ler, of Perry Township, and they became the parents of five children; Charles, the firstborn, died in 1887, at the age of five years; Anna Maria is the wife of Edward Elliott, of Rose Township, and they have two children-Ethel and Clayton; Mary is the wife of Mack Brown, of Magnolia, Carroll County; the other two children died in infancy.

WILLIAM C. HARSH conducts at Harlem Springs, Carroll County, an automobile garage that is thoroughly modern in equipment and fa- cilities, and he is aso the owner of a well im- proved farm of eighty acres in Lee Township, the active management of the place being vested in his sons, who are numbered among the pro- gressive young representatives of farm industry in this county.

William C. Harsh was born at Harlem Springs, Ohio, on the 9th of July, 1868, and is a son of Jackson and Anna (Craven) Harsh, the former of whom was born in Washington County, Pennsylvania, November 5, 1830, and the latter was born in England. She was a child at the time when her parents, Robert and Mary (Greenwood) Craven, established their home in Carroll County, Ohio, Mr. Craven having become a prosperous merchant and hon- ored and influential citizen of Harlem Springs. Jackson Harsh was a son of Philip and Sarah (Booker) Harsh, who became early settlers in Harrison Township, Carroll County, whence they removed to Kansas in the year 1875, the remainder of their lives having been passed in that state, where Mr. Harsh became the owner of an extensive stock ranch. Jackson Harsh was reared and educated in Carroll County, and with the passing of years he became promi- nently and successfully identified with the live- stock business in this section of the state, be- sides which he became one of the most extensive buyers and shippers of wool from Carroll and adjoining counties. He became the owner of a fine farm estate of more than 500 acres in Harrison and Lee Townships, and there be re- mained until his death. In 1854 he married Alvira, daughter of Jacob Strayer, and she died four months later. October 5, 1867, recorded the marriage of Jackson Harsh to Miss Anna Craven, and she passed to the life eternal on the 10th of August, 1889, her six children hav- ing been William C., Edward, Mary, Annie, Frank and Sarah.

William C. Harsh was reared in the home of his maternal grandparents at Harlem Springs, where he was given the advantages not only of the public schools but also of Harlem Springs. At the age of twenty years he joined his father on the farm, where he remained a few years. Two years after his marriage, which occurred in 1890, he left the farm and engaged in the buying and shipping of wool at Harlem Springs, in the meanwhile continuing his active alliance with farm industry. Five years after his re- turn to Harlem Springs he here purchased a handsome brick house of about fourteen rooms, and this has since continued the family home. For sixteen years Mr. Harsh was a successful traveling salesman in the handling of farm ma- chinery, and it was upon his retirement from

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this service that he erected his present modern garage at Harlem Springs. He is a stalwart supporter of the cause of the republican party, he and his wife hold membership in the Presby- terian Church, and he is affiliated with the lodge of Free and Accepted Masons No. 124, at Car- rollton ; with Minerva Chapter, Royal Arch Ma- sons: with the council of Royal and Select Mas- ters in the City of Canton; and with the Scot- tish Rite Consistory in the city of Columbus.

In July, 1890, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Harsh to Miss Emma Hanna, who was born in Washington Township, Carroll County, and who is a daughter of Hugh and Elizabeth (McCausland) Hanna, the former a native of Pennsylvania and the latter of Center Town- ship, Carroll County, Ohio, where her father, James McCausland, settled in the pioneer days. Mr. and Mrs. Harsh have seven children-Anna, Lelia Jean, Bessie, Robert G., William Conley, Mary and Harold. All of the children remain at the parental home except the eldest. Anna, who is the wife of L. E. Anders, of Harlem Springs. The family is one of marked promi- nence and popularity in the representative social life of the community, and their spacious and beautiful home is a center of generous hos- pitality.

DAVID JACKSON DAVIS. The claim of David Jackson Davis upon the consideration and good will of his fellow-citizens of Union Township is based upon many years of effective work as an agriculturist, upon a meritorious record as a citizen, and upon his activity in promoting edu- cation and kindred accompaniments of advanced civilization. His entire career has been passed in Carroll County, and with the exception of one and one-half years he has devoted his energies to agricultural pursuits, in which he has won success through the application of industry and good judgment.

Mr. Davis was born on a farm in Union Town- ship February 5. 1863, a son of William and Sarah (Tope) Davis, the former a native of Perry Township, Carroll County, and the latter of Union Township. His paternal grandfather was Joshua Davis, a native of Maryland, who married an Irish girl who had been brought to the United States at the age of thirteen years, and they spent their later lives in Union Town- ship, where they entered land from the United States Government. The maternal grandpar- ents of Mr. Davis were Stephen and Jemima (Kail) Tope, who were among the earliest set- tlers of Carroll County and also entered Gov- ernment land.

Following their marriage William and Sarah (Tope) Davis settled on a farm in Perry Town- ship, where they resided for a short time, but soon bought land in Union Township, and there continued to be engaged in agricultural opera- tions during the rest of their lives, Mr. Davis passing away May 28, 1895, and his widow sur- viving until 1918. They were industrious, God- fearing people, who discharged their responsi- bilities faithfully, and were held in the highest regard in the community in which their home was located. They were the parents of the fol- lowing children: Stephen, who is engaged in

agricultural operations in Union Township; Mary Ann, of Union Township, who is the widow of John McKnight, a farmer; Jasper N., who died at the age of two years; Joshua B., of Monroe Township; David Jackson; Thomas J., of Carrollton, Ohio; Martha E., of Massillon, Ohio; and John, who resides on the home place.

The district schools of Union Township fur- nished David Jackson Davis with his educa- tional training, and his boyhood and youth were passed on the home farm, where he secured experience in agricultural methods while assist- ing his father and brothers. When he entered upon his independent career it was as a farm hand, and for four years he was thus employed. Following his marriage he became the owner and operator of a thresher and manager of a sawmill for about three years. During the time he conducted these enterprises he made his home at Petersburg, but eventually returned to farming, and for one year lived on his father's place. He then purchased 128 acres of the home property, on which he has continued to carry on general operations to the present time, in ad- dition to which he raises all kinds of fruit and has a well-ordered apple orchard of 300 trees. He has won well-merited success, and in so do- ing has held the confidence and respect of those with whom he has had dealings.

On October 22, 1892, Mr. Davis was united in marriage with Miss Cora A. Sell, who was born in Union Township, Carroll County, a daugh- ter of John and Elnora (Hahn) Sell, the for- mer a native of Tuscarawas County, Ohio, and the latter of Lee Township, Carroll County. Mr. and Mrs. Davis have no children. They are consistent members and liberal supporters of St. John's Lutheran Church, of which Mr. Davis has been a member of the Board of Trustees since 1918, and a deacon for many years. He has rendered valuable and efficient service to his community in several offices of public trust, having been a justice of the peace for nine years, land appraiser of Union Township in 1910, personal assessor in 1912, and for some years a member of the School Board.

HENRY RUTLEDGE. In the passing away of Henry Rutledge on June 25, 1907, Union Town- ship and Carroll County sustained an agricul- tural and social loss of more than average im- port. Mr. Rutledge had occupied an important position in his community, and in his passing left not only a legacy of material wealth, but of useful lessons, and he who would may read that early limitations develop, rather than dis- courage, the strong and resourceful.

Mr. Rutledge was born in Union Township March 4, 1846, a son of Robert and Jane (Brooks) Rutledge, and a grandson of Thomas and Jane (Crosier) Rutledge, natives of Ire- land. Thomas Rutledge died on the ocean while en route to the United States, but his widow completed the journey and established her four sons, Edward, John, Robert and James, in Union Township, where she lived for many years and died in advanced age. Robert Rutledge was still a lad when brought from his native Ire- land to America, and he grew to manhood in Union Township, where he met and married

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Jane Brooks, a native of that township, and a daughter of Henry and Durinda (Fawcett) Brooks, early settlers of Union Township. Fol- lowing their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Rutledge settled down to farming in the same community, and there the father died when still compara- tively a young man, September 22, 1876, the mother reaching ripe old age and dying August 10, 1906. They were the parents of the follow- ing children: Durinda, the wife of Richard Kelley, of Perry Township; Ann Jane, who died as the wife of the late Samuel Buchanan, of Union Township; William, who also died in Union Township; Henry ; and Mary E., who died as the wife of the late John Pittenger, of Union Township.

Henry Rutledge secured his educational train- ing in the public schools of Union Township and remained on the home farm until the time of his marriage. He then purchased a small farm in that township from Mr. Dunlavy, and to it from time to time added until he was the possessor of 258 acres of good land. Of this property there is now pasture land and timber amounting to fifty acres, the remainder being all under a high state of cultivation. During the time that he carried on operations on this farm Mr. Rut- ledge added to the house. remodeled the barn and erected new outbuildings, and in various other ways added to the facilities and equip- ment necessary for modern farming. This is known as Locust Lawn Stock Farm, and is largely devoted to the raising of live stock, al- though general farming methods prevail. Here Mr. Rutledge passed away June 25, 1907. Dur- ing his active life he drew to him many warm and devoted friends, and the confidence of the community in which he lived and worthily la- bored. He was recognized as an intelligent, up- right and enterprising agriculturist, in private life he was exemplary, and as a citizen he was always faithful to the obligations of public duty. He served efficiently as supervisor of roads and as a trustee of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Politically a republican, he stood staunchly by the principles of his party. He was a valued and popular member of the local Grange.

Mr. Rutledge was married September 14, 1870, to Miss Rebecca Ann Brackin, who was born in Union Township August 24, 1850, a daughter of Richard and Sarah Jane (McCort) Brackin, the former a native of Jefferson County, this state, and the latter of Harrison County, and a granddaughter of Cornelius and Rebecca (Brooks) Brackin and James and Ann (Faw- cett) McCort, all born in Ireland and early set- tlers of this part of Ohio. Mrs. Rutledge, who survives her husband and lives on the home farm, is a woman of many virtues and accom- plishments, and a faithful member of the Meth- odist Episcopal Church. Three children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Rutledge: Elva Dixon, the proprietor of a pharmacy at Minerva. Ohio, who married Bessie Florence Stockin and has one child, Margaret Marie: Robert Loman; and Richard Elmer, who is employed in the First National Bank of Carrollton. Robert Loman Rutledge, one of the enterprising farmers of Union Township, is the operator of the farm which was formerly cultivated by his father.

He married September 23, 1914, Miss Georgia Ann Amos, of Perry Township, daughter of San- ford C. and Agnes (Amos) Amos, the former a native of Perry Township, Carroll County, and the latter of Fort Wayne, Indiana. To this union there have been born three children : Ruby Rebecca, Richard Amos and Catherine Agnes.

CHARLES JACOB HOLMES. Descended from one of the fine old substantial agricultural families of Harrison County, Charles Jacob Holmes, though he began his active career by learning a trade and was a journeyman machinist, even- tually returned to the occupations of his earlier years and for over twenty years has been an active leader in the farming community of Har- rison Township in Carroll County. Mr. Holmes owns 155 acres, divided into two farms, located on rural route No. 1 out of Dellroy.

He was born at Conotton in Harrison County September 4, 1866, only son and child of Jacob and Jerusha ( Stratton) Holmes. His grand- father, George Holmes, was one of the hardy pioneers who at the beginning of the nineteenth century sought the new lands west of the Ohio River, and in about 1821 settled in North Town- ship of Harrison County. Altogether he ac- quired about 500 acres there and spent many of his years in clearing it up and developing a high class farm. He died in 1883 and his wife, whose maiden name was Mary Criplever, died in 1885. They had ten children. Of these Jacob lived in that community all his life and died in June. 1866, several months before the birth of his son Charles Jacob. The widowed mother survived him just half a century, spending these years in Harrison County, where she died in 1916.

Charles Jacob Holmes grew up in the Co- notton community of Harrison County, attended country schools there, and was also partly edu- cated at Salem in Columbiana County, where his mother had lived before her marriage. At the age of nineteen Mr. Holmes began an ap- prenticeship in the plant of the Buckeye Engine Works, and spent four years learning the trade. From 1890 until 1899 he was employed as a journeyman machinist at different points and with different industries in Ohio and Pennsyl- vania.

In 1898 Mr. Holmes married Alice Schwab, daughter of Nicholas and Margaret (Abuehl) Schwab. of New Philadelphia, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Holmes have four children : George Nicho- las, born in 1900, still at home; Ethel Margaret, born in 1902; Lewis Whittier, born in 1904; and Clara Lucille, born in 1908.

At the time of his marriage Mr. Holmes be- gan planning for a permanent home and re- sumption of his former vocation as a farmer. In 1899 he bought 109 acres and has given his attention to farming that tract ever since. He bought another nearby farm of fifty acres in 1914. He is also a stockholder in the First Na- tional Bank of Carrollton and in the Farmers Exchange of Carrollton. He is a democrat, and was one of the unsuccessful candidates on the county ticket in 1920 for the office of county commissioner. He served two years as a mem-

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ber of the School Board of Harrison Township, and is a member of the Methodist Church of Baxter's Ridge.

JOHN WASHINGTON BORLAND, one of the rep- resentative farmers of Carroll County, comes of a family, four generations of which have had residence in this part of Ohio. This family has proved its substantial qualities in later years as well as in the times when the country was new and required the dauntless pioneer spirit.

The farm of 193 acres in Harrison Township now owned and managed by John Washington Borland was the scene of his birth on June 15, 1881. He owns a half interest in sixty acres in Monroe Township of the same county. He is a son of Samuel J. and Anna (Molls) Borland. His great-grandfather was Samuel Borland, who was born in Westmoreland County, Pennsyl- vania, May 11, 1785. As an early settler of eastern Ohio, coming from Westmoreland County, he paid two hundred and fifty dollars for a quarter section of land in Monroe Town- ship in Carroll County. He was twice married, his first wife being Nancy Little, while his sec- ond had the Christian name Elizabeth.

Washington Borland, grandfather of John W. Borland, was born in Westmoreland County, July 11, 1822, and during his long life Improved and cultivated a portion of the ancestral estate in Monroe Township, and was one of the influ- ential citizens of Carroll County, where he died September 21, 1904. He married Magdalena Easterday, who was born January 18, 1825. and died February 18, 1895. They had a family of ten children, equally divided between sons and daughters, the oldest being Samuel J. Borland. who was born February 11, 1849, and is still living, having devoted his best years to agri- cultural pursuits. His wife was born January 14, 1858. They have two sons, John W. and Eimer T. Borland. The latter lives at Dellroy, and by his marriage to Florence Smith has four children.

John W. Borland is an American citizen who believes that some of the best opportunities for profitable work to himself and to his fellow citi- zens are found on the farm. He has devoted practically his entire life since early boyhood to growing crops in the field of the farm where he was born. At intervals until he was twenty- one he attended the country school at Mount Nebo. When he was twenty-three, in June, 1904. he married Alverda Loretta Hawk, of Center Township. They have one of the good country homes of Harrison Township and have taken a generous interest in community affairs. Mr. Borland is a member of the National Grange at Dellroy, and the Presbyterian Church of Dellroy. Both he and his father are demo- crats, and his father at one time was candidate for director of the County Infirmary.

LAFAYETTE BUSBY. The Busby family is one of the old established ones of Harrison County, and the majority of those bearing the name have devoted themselves to agricultural pur- suits with the result that a great deal of credit is due to them for the present development in this very important industry. One of these ex-

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History of Carroll and Harrison Counties, Ohio, Part 91

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