USA > Ohio > Brown County > History of Clermont and Brown Counties, Ohio, from the earliest historical times down to the present, V. 2 > Part 2
USA > Ohio > Clermont County > History of Clermont and Brown Counties, Ohio, from the earliest historical times down to the present, V. 2 > Part 2
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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 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77
Rev. William R. Ely was known all over the states of Mis- souri and Ohio as a horticulturist, knowing every tree, flower, grass and bird, their habits and nature. He was a great lover of Nature, and taught his son the love of all things beautiful. He did much to beautify his home and city.
Mrs. Lavina (Weaver) Ely was also a native of Clermont county, Ohio, being born in 1827, and died in 1907. She was buried by the side of her husband in the Batavia cemetery. They had five children born to them, all of whom, with the exception of our subject, Edwin C., died in childhood.
William Mount Ely, the father of the Rev. William, and the grandfather of Edwin C., was born in New Jersey, in 1802, and came with his parents to Clermont county in 1804. He was a son of George Ely, who was a native of New Jersey, and two years after he came to the county, 1806, purchased a tract of land under the James Johnson Survey, number 1,776. He had other lands also, and in 1814 he, with D. C. Bryan, laid out the town of Batavia, which comprised sixty-two and one-half acres. He was probably the first sheriff in the coun- ty, and was a Democrat. He had four children : Matilda, Re- becca, William Mount and George.
William Mount Ely, who was a farmer and stock raiser, also kept a hotel in Batavia, where he acquired the name of
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"Laughing Bill," on account of his hearty, whole-souled laugh. He was a big man, with great broad shoulders and fine physique. He was a great lover of horses and dogs, and it was considered a treat to ride one of his fine horses. He was gen- erous to a fault and although, at one time he was the owner of six hundred and forty acres of land, he owned but forty acres at the time of his death, by reason of his liberality. He was the father of seven children, all of whom were born in Clermont county :
Harriet, married D. C. Everhart, of Batavia and Newtown. She died in 1852.
William, the father of our subject.
George, who lives in Chicago, is past eighty years of age.
Mary, who was the wife of William H. Hardin, died near Savannah, Mo., in 1871.
John, died in Chicago in 1899.
Daniel J., whose death occurred at Savannah, Mo., in 1890.
Achsah, married William T. Eddy, a grandnephew of the husband of the noted Christian Science leader, Mrs. Baker Grover Eddy. Their home is at Templeton, Cal.
All four of these sons were in the Civil war, enlisting from Indiana. William Mount Ely passed from this life in 1881, at Maitland, Mo. His wife's death occurred in 1870, and she is buried in Savannah.
Mr. Edwin C. Ely received his education in the public schools of Batavia, and graduated from the high school of Chillicothe, Mo., then studied law under C. H. Mansur, of Chil- licothe, who was then general counsel for the Wabash & Pa- cific Railway Company, also second comptroller of currency, under President Cleveland.
At the age of nineteen years, Edwin Ely passed the competi- tive examinations at West Point, ranking first in them. He also passed examinations for admission to the bar the fol- lowing year, but on account of his age was compelled to wait until his majority.
In 1887, Mr. E. C. Ely returned to Batavia, where he taught school for nine years, still reading law under E. Q. Crane and Mr. J. R. Woodlief. He was admitted to the bar at Columbus, Ohio, in 1896, and ranked third in a class of fifty-two students. He began the practice of law at Batavia at once, where for nearly seventeen years he has carried on a general law busi- ness, with offices in the Clermont Hotel Building.
From 1900 to 1909, Mr. Ely served the community in which
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he lives as mayor, demonstrating with characteristic energy a spirit of devotion to the public good. With the co-operation of such gentlemen as Mr. Nichols, Mr. Speidel, Mr. Parrot and others, he was enabled to make many improvements in the town, such as the putting down of good cement walks all over the town, the installation of electricity, city water, and tele- phone, in fact advocating any and all measures that were for the good of the people and the beautifying of the town in which they live. Although not now in office, Mr. Ely still dis- plays an interest in the welfare of his towns-people.
Mr. Edwin C. Ely was married, November 6, 1887, to Miss Patience Brown, also a native of Batavia, and was a daughter of Thomas and Sarah (Brown) Brown, farmers of the county. She was one of a large family, but all have passed from this life but Mr. Frank Brown, of Batavia. To this union one child was born :
Miss Daisy, who was born at Batavia, July 17, 1894. She is in the senior class of the Batavia High School. Mrs. Ely died in 1898, and was buried in the Batavia cemetery. She was a devoted member of the Methodist church.
Mr. Ely's second marriage took place in 1899, to Miss Lou Medaris, who was born in Owensville, Ohio, in 1872, and is a daughter of Charles and Phoebe (Hill) Medaris, both of whom were natives of Ohio. Mr. Medaris was a prosperous farmer and stock raiser. There are two children : C. E. Medaris, who lives at Harveyville, Kan., and the wife of Mr. E. C. Ely. Mr. Ely is the father of two children by his second marriage :
Forrest Edwin, born at Batavia, April 1, 1901. He is an ex- tremely bright boy and has made a fine record in school for one of his years. He does all of his father's banking business, and drafts mortgages, being an all round help to his parents. He won a pony, cart and harness as a prize for selling the largest number of Saturday Evening Posts in ten weeks, for the Curtis Publishing Company, of Philadelphia. He also owns the agency of the White Star Laundry, and has a bank account of over two hundred dollars.
Louise, who was born June 20, 1907.
Mr. and Mrs. Ely are members of the Methodist church, of which they are active workers, the former being on the of- ficial board and a teacher in the Sunday school. teaching the men's class of thirty-five members. Mr. Ely started this class some years ago, with a few members, and has devoted much thought and time to the enlarging of the class roll. He has
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been connected with the Sunday school for years as superin- tendent and teacher.
Fraternally, Mr. Ely is a Mason, and has filled all of the offices of the Blue lodge. Mrs. Ely is a member of the East- ern Star, and both are very popular both fraternally and so- cially.
Mr. Edwin C. Ely has been local counsel for the Bell Telephone Company for nine years, and is a Republican in poli- tics. He still owns the farm of one hundred and four acres that belonged to his mother, and is what is considered a self- made man. Mr. Ely is a great reader of history and fiction, and is in possession of several poems of which his father, Wil- liam R. Ely, was the author. Among them are "The Land of Somewhere," "The Reveries of Spring," which have been printed.
Mr. Ely is a man of deep feeling and sympathy, a man of pleasing address, who always has a good word for every one, and stands for all that is good, noble and true. He usually de- livers the annual address at the Weaver Reunion, which is most interesting and entertaining.
NICHOLS FAMILY.
The name of Nichols has been identified with the history and progress of Clermont county from its very earliest settle- ment.
Nathan Nichols, the progenitor of the Clermont county Nich- ols, who had followed the sea for many years, was the first in- habitant of this county of that name now so widely known. He came from his Virginia home with the members of his family, making the long journey on horseback late in the Eighteenth century. Nathan Nichols seems to have been a man of some substance, and on his arrival in Ohio he bought 1,000 acres of land in Hamilton county, near what was then Fort Washington, now Cincinnati. After a short residence there, finding the location unhealthy he exchanged this land for a tract of equal extent in Monroe township, upon which he established his home and lived for the remainder of his life. The house which he erected on this land, of stone quarried with his own hands from the earth, was long a land- mark in that locality.
Nathan Nichols was the father of thirteen children: Philip,
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the ancestor of Judge Perry J. Nichols, William S. Nichols, John C. Nichols, grandfather of C. B. Nichols, of Batavia, and of John Nichols, and George W. Nichols, of Mt. Washington, Ohio, and Abner, Catherine, David C., Elijah G., Nathan, Robert, Elizabeth, Thomas J., and Jonathan C. Nichols. Among the descendants of the children of Nathan Nichols, above named, still residing in this county are David H. Nichols, now over eighty years of age, living near the old home in Monroe township, and Thomas J. Nichols, of New Richmond. Philip Nichols, the grandfather of Judge Perry J. Nichols, was born July 12, 1785, and among the children was Thomas L. Nichols, the father of the subject of this sketch, who died at an advanced age at his home near New Richmond within recent years. Thomas L. Nichols intermarried with Evaline Donham, daughter of Col. Jonathan S. Donham, a large land holder and a man for many years prominent in the public affairs of Clermont county. Among the children were the late Perry J. Donham, long a prominent lawyer in Cin- cinnati; E. J. Donham, for two terms treasurer of Clermont county, from 1880 to 1884, and R. W. Donham, still a resi- dent of New Richmond.
Judge Perry Jackson Nichols was the eldest child of the marriage of Thomas L. Nichols and Evaline Donham, and was born at the family home, on a farm near New Richmond, March 30, 1839. His boyhood was passed on the farm and his life was that of most farm boys, giving assistance in the work of the farm and enjoying such scant advantages for education as the country schools afforded. When thirteen years of age his father secured the contract for the carrying of the mail from New Richmond in this country to Blanches- ter, Clinton county, and Deerfield, Warren county, and the boy, who was in the future to hold so prominent a place in the community of his birth, took charge of this work and for several months, without regard to weather conditions, per- formed the long journey involved on horseback twice a week. In after life in referring to this episode in his career, he spoke of it with gratification, ignoring the hardships involved and dwelling only on the pleasure it gave him to reflect that he had been able thus to assist and make easier the labors of his father.
In 1856-7-8, he was employed under the direction of his father, who was a steam engineer, in that business, and ac- quired a working knowledge of the engineering trade. In
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1859 he attended school at Parker's Academy, and later for a brief season at the Farmer's College, near Cincinnati. He then secured a certificate and taught school for two years, and during his spare time prosecuted the study of law under the direction of his uncle, Perry J. Donham, then engaged in the practice of law in New Richmond. At the September term of the district court, held at Batavia, in 1861, Judge Nichols was admitted to the practice of the law and shortly thereafter formed a partnership with Mr. Donham, which continued until the removal of the latter from New Richmond to Portsmouth. From about 1863 to 1867 he continued in the practice of the law at New Richmond alone, and in the last named year entered into a partnership with Judge Frank Davis, which continued until Judge Nichols was elected pro- bate judge and removed to Batavia, in 1879. His success as a lawyer was a marked one from the beginning of his pro- fessional career, and this was due to his native ability, thor- ough grasp of the principles of the law and unflagging indus- try in the prosecution of his business. In 1865 he was elected mayor of New Richmond, and served in that office up to 1870. The period of his service as mayor of New Richmond is marked in the annals of that town as being the most satis- factory in improvements accomplished during the life of the village. The public spirit which was a marked feature of his character found scope in forwarding improvements of streets, sidewalks, and in the creation of the beautiful park, in which the citizens there still take a just pride. Elected probate judge in 1878, he moved to Batavia, and since then has been a resident of that town, retiring at the end of his term to resume the practice of law, and for a few years was associated in business with Judge Frank Davis and Thomas A. Griffith. This firm was dissolved by the death of Mr. Griffith, in 1885.
In 1886 his son, Hon. Hugh L. Nichols, now lieutenant-gov- ernor of Ohio, became his father's partner and this connection continued up to the death of Judge Nichols. In 1900 Allen B. Nichols, another son, was admitted to the partnership.
Judge Nichols was married August 21, 1862, to Jeannette Gilmore, a daughter of Hugh Gilmore, a leading merchant of New Richmond, and Jean Hayes Gilmore. Hugh Gilmore was a native of County Down, Ireland, and his wife of Coun- ty Antrim. Hugh Gilmore was for thirty years a leading busi- ness man and respected citizen of New Richmond. There were born to the marriage of Judge Perry J. Nichols and Jeannette Gilmore, children as follows:
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Annie M., who intermarried with J. C. F. Tatman, now de- ceased, whose home is in Batavia.
Hugh L. Nichols, the above named now lieutenant-governor of Ohio.
Carrie B., who intermarried with E. W. Buvinger, and who passed away within a few years after her marriage.
Nellie M., the wife of Dr. Linn Moore, both of whom died young.
Florence E., who died unmarried.
Allen B., now a leading attorney of the Clermont bar.
All the years of Judge Nichols's professional practice were fruitful in accomplishment from a professional standpoint. Almost from the beginning of his career, he, as a lawyer, was recognized as a safe counselor and especially strong in the trial of contested cases. Trustworthy in the fullest extent of the term, those who confided their business to him soon came to recognize in him not only a professional advisor, but also a personal friend. There is perhaps no man who ever prac- ticed his profession in Clermont county who possessed the complete confidence of those whose affairs he managed to a greater degree than did Judge Nichols. While his energies were largely devoted to the business of his profession he loved literature, and in his reading displayed a rare discrimination and taste. In books, he loved and appreciated the best. His love of order was made manifest in his methodical arrange- ment, in all business affairs, and his love of the beautiful was shown in his taste, amounting to almost a passion for improve- ments of every kind. This was especially manifest in his con- stant effort to make more beautiful the surroundings with which he daily came in contact, both in and about his home and throughout the village where he dwelt.
Judge Nichols continued in his usual good health up to less than a year before his death, when signs of physical failing made themselves manifest, and it became apparent to family and friends that he was the victim of some insidious disease. Notwithstanding this, his buoyancy of spirit asserted itself triumphant over physical ails, and he continued up to a few weeks before his death to give his attention to the office, of which he was the head, and it was only then by the urgings of those who loved him most that he consented to lay aside the cares of business and retire to the repose of his home, and here in the midst of his family he passed away, closing a long and useful life, full of good deeds and rich in material achievement, on the 18th day of November. 1997.
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E. A. LOCKWOOD.
In no other business in life is there a greater demand for intellectual ability, strong characteristics and sound judg- ment than in the management of a modern newspaper. In no other vocation is there greater need for diplomacy and fear- lessness in advancing ideas and policies. In the eighty-five years the "Clermont Sun" has been in existence there has been associated with the editing and managing of the paper none but competent and capable men.
The "Clermont Sun" was established at Bethel, in July, 1828, by Samuel Medary, who was Territorial Governor of Kansas during President Buchanan's administration, and who was a great uncle of the present business manager, E. A. Lock- wood. The paper is operated under the firm name of Lock- wood & Breeding, proprietors and publishers.
The "Sun" has been the Democratic organ of the county since it was first established, although the county was con- trolled by the Republican party from 1878 to 1885. From 1885 to 1902, Mr. E. A. Lockwood held the editorship of the paper and since then has been the busines manager. From 1902 to the present time Mr. John W. Lennin has attended to the editorial work.
Mr. E. A. Lockwood was born in Madison, Ind., January 19, 1855, which place was his home until in 1862, when the family removed to Clermont county, Ohio. He is a son of Elder J. H. Lockwood, more extensively mentioned elsewhere in these volumes.
Mr. Lockwood attended the public schools of the county until he was seventeen years of age, at which time he entered Parker's Academy, graduating in the class of 1875. He then spent two years at Butler University, at Irvington, Ind., near Indianapolis. From 1879 until 1882, Mr. Lockwood taught in the high school at Moscow, this county, and from then until 1885, he was superintendent of the schools at Bethel.
In 1879, Mr. Lockwood married Miss Susan J. Porter, who was born and reared near Nicholsville, a daughter of William and Asenath (Lane) Porter, early residents of Monroe town- ship. They were of Scotch descent, and have been deceased for some years.
Mrs. Lockwood died in June. 1895, at the age of forty years, leaving three sons :
Howard T., who is a civil engineer, is at present asso-
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ciated with the Wood-Harmon Company, of New York City, as chief engineer. He married Miss Emma Zimmer, of Wil- liamsburg, Clermont county, Ohio. They have two daugh- ters, Mary Elizabeth and Helen Porter.
Allen P. is manager of the office of the Kelley Island Lime and Transport Company, of Buffalo, New York. He married Miss Pearl Cox, of Walnut Hills, Cincinnati. She is a grand- daughter of the late Joseph Cox, ex-circuit judge. They have one daughter, Virginia Sue.
Henry A., of New York City, is connected with the Wood- Harmon, Real Estate Company. He married Miss Blanch Mac- Donald, of New Rochelle, New York.
Mr. Lockwood married a second time, in August, 1902, Miss Josephine Zimmer, a sister of his son's wife. Mrs. Lock- wood was born and reared near Point Isabel, Clermont county, and later resided near Williamsburg. until her marriage. She is a daughter of Joseph and Mary Zimmer, who were early settlers of Clermont county.
Mr. and Mrs. Lockwood attend the Presbyterian church of Batavia, where Mr. Lockwood placed his letter when he re- moved from Bethel to that place. He united with the Chris- tian church at Bethel years ago, changing only for the reason that there was no church of that denomination in Batavia.
In political views, Mr. Lockwood is always a Democrat.
DR. ISAAC REDROW.
Dr. Isaac Redrow is known throughout Clermont county, Ohio, as an able professional man of experience, ripened by years of practice in his profession, and the result of this expe- rience gives ample proof of the esteem and confidence in which he is held in the community where he has practiced for forty- four years. His birth occurred in Cincinnati, March 1, 1840. The parents of Dr. Redrow were Enoch and Mary Jane (Snow- hill) Redrow, the former of whom was a native of New Jer- sey, but who came to Ohio when quite young. While still in New Jersey, he learned the shipbuilder's trade, which he fol- lowed in Fulton, and later in Cincinnati. He lived an active life and died in 1861, at the age of fifty-five years. He was of the Methodist Episcopal faith. Mary Jane (Snowhill) Red- row was born at Lebanon, Ohio, and died in Cincinnati, in 1840.
Dr. Redrow was reared at Fayetteville. Brown county,
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Ohio, attending the public schools of that place, taking up the study of medicine with Dr. W. C. Hall, 1865 to 1869.
September 11, 1861, Isaac Redrow enlisted, in Cincinnati, in Company B, Fifth Ohio cavalry, as a soldier and corporal, serving three years and three months. He was in twenty- three important engagements, including Shiloh, Hatchie, Holly Springs, Coldwater, Lexington, Corinth, Pittsburg Landing, Davis Mills, Lebanon, Missionary Ridge and others.
A remarkable fact is that in all these battles Dr. Redrow was never once wounded.
Returning from the war, Dr. Redrow again took up the study of medicine, and began to practice in Fayetteville in 1868, continuing for one year, coming to Williamsburg in 1869, at which place he has resided until the present time.
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The marriage of Dr. Redrow to Miss Katie Leffingwell was solemnized in 1875. Mrs. Redrow is a daughter of Sidney S. and Melissa (Byron) Leffingwell, who owned and operated the grist and saw mills at Williamsburg from 1848 to 1861. He also turned out chair material, probably the first ever made here. His father, Capt. Samuel Leffingwell, was in the gov- ernment service and received as his remuneration some 1,100 acres of land within three miles of Williamsburg, which in- cludes the farms owned by Mr. Mckeever, Mr. Reed and others. He was a merchant in Williamsburg, coming here in 1832, from Norfolk, Va., where his wife's decease occurred in 1810. The Leffingwell family was founded in America by Thomas Leffingwell about 1636. Mrs. Redrow is one of nine children who grew to maturity, and is the only one who re- mained in Clermont county. The others are :
Mrs. Harriet C. Richards, of Lawrence, Kan.
Mrs. Olive B. Warden, of Choctaw City, Okla.
Charles H. Leffingwell, of California, who was a soldier in the Civil war.
Mrs. Judith P. Wageman, of Texas.
Horace Leffingwell, of San Marcus, Texas.
Dr. Redrow had one sister, Mrs. Matilda Lake, who died in 1873; one half brother, William Redrow, of Company B. Fifth Ohio cavalry, who was wounded at Shiloh, from the effects of which he died later.
To the union of Dr. and Mrs. Redrow have been born two children :
Walter L. Redrow was graduated from the Ohio State Uni- versity, class of 1900. He received the degree of Bachelor of
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Laws from Georgetown University, Washington, D. C., 1933, and the degree of Master of Patent Law from George Wash- ington University in 1904. He is now in the patent office at Washington, D. C. He married Eleanor, daughter of George Daugherty, of Washington, D. C., and they have two chil- dren-Eileen and Allen.
Clara Redrow was graduated from the Ohio State Univer- sity in the class of 1903. She married William Ireton, who is in the mail service. They have two children-Carl and Eleanor.
In political views, Dr. Redrow is a Republican, but does not care to hold office, believing that his first duty is to his pro- fession. He is a member of the Clermont County Medical As- sociation, and was formerly a member of the Ohio State and American Medical associations, and is also a Mason. Dr. Redrow is a member of the J. H. Jenkins Post, No. 242, Grand Army of the Republic, in which he has filled all the offices. He has giyen his life to a profession which is of eminent ser- vice to his fellow men, and his zeal and enthusiasm in his . chosen calling have won for him the kind regard from all. He lived during the Nation's peril and offered himself with cour- age and energy in her defense. His life has been one of use- fulness to others.
JOSEPH R. SMITH.
One of the best known men in Clermont county is Joseph R. Smith, an extensive farmer and stock raiser, and a prominent member of the local organization of the Democratic party. He has held many township offices and has otherwise been ac- tive in political circles. He has a fine farm of two hundred acres, about three miles east of Milford, on the Milford and Woodville pike, his postoffice address being Milford, Rural Route No. 1. He is a native of Cincinnati, born March 2, 1850. son of William F. and Eliza ( Paylor) Smith. He was educated in his native city, living there until he was sixteen years of age. when his parents bought land in Miami township, but about thirty-five or forty years later his father retired from active life and returned to Cincinnati, where he spent the re- mainder of his life. He and his wife are buried in Greenland Cemetery, the latter having passed away a few years before his death. The father was a Democrat, but did not care for
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