USA > Ohio > Clinton County > History of Clinton County, Ohio Its People, Industries, and Institutions, with Biographical Sketches of Representative Citizens and Genealogical Records of Many of the Old Families > Part 103
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Asa Fisher was the son of Barake and Martha Fisher, both natives of Virginia and farmers by occupation, who spent all their lives in their native state. They were the parents of five children, Butler, Asa, Elizabeth, Louisa and Hetty.
Of the six children, born to Asa and Frances ( Williams) Fisher, only two, Sarah E. and William, the subject of this sketch, are living. Sarah E. was born on September 17, 1838. The deceased children are Mary Frances, born on December 28, 1834; Delphia, November 4, 1836; Louisa C .. January 17, 1843, and James Polk, December 1, 1844. Although Asa Fisher had little education, he became a very efficient tailor at Gaines- boro, Virginia. He died at the age of about thirty years, when his son, William, was about five years old.
William Fisher was educated in the subscription schools at Gainesboro, Virginia. He came to Ohio on October 24, 1863, and on January 27, 1875, was married to Mary M. Henry, a native of Warren county, born on December 20, 1843, the daughter of John and Catherine ( Stump) Henry, farmers in Warren county, Ohio, who moved to Clinton county about 1854, settling in Union township, where they became prominent members of the Christian church. Mrs. William Fisher is one of ten children born to her parents. The others were Daniel, William, Jonas, John, Sarab, Lydia, Fannie, Reese and Joshun. To William and Mary M. ( Henry) Fisher three children have been born, namely : Edwin C .. of Liberty township, born on November 25, 1875, who married May Gilerest and has five children : Emerson A., Vada, John W .. Irma and Ruth; Dora D., February 27. 1877, who married Rev. John M. Cosby, a Baptist minister living in West Mansfield, Oblo, and Laura, May 5, 1881, who married Frederick Steele, of Union township, this county, and has two children, Earl and Ethel M.
William Fisher owns three hundred and seventy-four acres of land, all of which Is located in Clinton county, the home farm consisting of seventy-six acres. I'ntil the disbanding of the Grangers, he was a prominent member of that organization. Mrs. Fisher is a member of the Baptist church and she and Mr. Fisher are warmly interested in all movements having to do with the betterment of local conditions, being held in high esteem by all who know them.
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ANDREW R. SHIDAKER.
Andrew R. Shidaker Is a prosperous farmer and dairyman of Adams township, who has lived on the farm he now occupies for a quarter of a century. He was born in this county on Angust 11, 1849, the son of Mitchell W. and Elizabeth (Dakin) Shidaker, the former of whom was born in Miami county, Ohio, and the latter in Chester town- ship, Clinton county.
Mitchell W. Shidaker was the eldest of the six children born to Michael Sbidaker and wife, the others being Catherine, Elizabeth, Jonathan, Henry and Robert. He was educated in the common schools of Miami county and when a young man began teaching in the public schools of Warren and Clinton countles. He continued In this profession all of his Hfe, but owned a farm of two hundred acres in Chester township, which he operated in connection with teaching. For about fifteen years he was also engaged in selling fruit trees in this community.
To Mitchell W. and Elizabeth (Dakin) Shidaker nine children were born, namely : Warren H. {deceased) ; Andrew R., the subject of this sketch; J. H., a farmer in Chester township; George Riley (deceased) : Emma, who married B. Y. Collett : Lyda, who married J. Collett, and four who died in infancy. Mitchell W. Shidaker served for many years as the clerk of Chester township. He voted the Republican ticket and was more or less prominent in local politics.
Born in Clinton county and educated in the public schools of this county, Andrew R. Shidaker was married at the age of twenty-one to Mary E. Slack, who was born on the farm where Mr. and Mrs. Shidaker now live, the daughter of Joseph W. Slack. a prominent farmer of this county, to which union one child has been born, Mattie, who married Herbert Wire, of Wilmington, and has one child, William. Joseph W. Slack was a lieutenant in Company I. Seventy-ninth Regiment, Obio Volunteer Infantry. serving for three years, until the close of the war, when be returned to his home on the farm where the Shidakers now live and there he spent the rest of bis HIfe. his death occurring on September 19, 1882. Joseph W. Slack was born in Bucks county. Pennsyl- vania, on May 23, 1824, son of Jacob and Susan Slack. In 1846 he came to this county, locating in the village of Sligo, where for fifteen years he was engaged in the wagon and carriage business, but upon returning from the army enaged in farming, becoming quite successful, having been the owner of two hundred and forty acres of fine land in Adams township. He was active and influential in public affairs and was a promi- nent member of the Masonic fraternity. He had served his township very acceptably as trustee and in 1870 was elected county treasurer of Clinton county, In 150 he was elected county commissioner from his district and in both of these important publie offices gave excellent service.
DAVID F. MURPHY.
Farmer and stockman of Idberty township, this county. David F. Murphy, who owns one hundred and fifty acres of land in that township, was born on December 16, 1856, In Green township, the son of Isaiah and Delllah (Smith) Murphy, natives of Clinton and Highland counties, Ohio, respectively. Isaiah Murphy was born on March 2, 1:30, and Delilah Smith, on October 8. 1:3. They are still living at the ages of eighty-five and eighty-two years, respectively, and on October 8, 1914, celebrated their golden wed- ding anniversary, The venerable Isaiah Murphy, who was educated in the old-fashioned log cabin school, when hewed logs were used for seats and greased paper for windows. has lived on the farm, which his father owned in Green township, since he was four years old. The old home farm consists of sixty-six seres. During the active years of his life, Isaiah Murphy was active In local affairs and was rated as a prominent citizen of this community. Only two of the nine children born to Isaiah and Delilah (Smith) Murphy are deceased, Seymour L., the sixth boro, who died on April 3, 1915, and Ida,
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who died at the age of one and one-half years, the seventh child. The living children are James W., David F., Samantha, Sarah Louisa, Andrew C., Everett and Eva. Mrs. Isaiah Murphy is the daughter of Abner and Cynthia (Cast) Smith, who were pioneers in this section of Ohio.
The maternal grandfather of David F. Murphy, Abner Smith, who was born in New England, came to Ohio before his marriage. He was twice married. Mrs. Isaiah Murphy having been a child by his second wife. Abner Smith was a farmer in Highland county, this state, and Inter settled in Green township, this county, where he owned a small farm. He was a devoted member of the Christian church and was regular in attendance.
The paternal grandparents of David F. Murphy were Jacob and Mary (Lomand) Murphy, both natives of Virginia. They were the parents of seven children, of whom Isaiah Murphy was the third born. The others were David, William, Rebecca, Catherine, Susannah and Mary A. Jacob Murphy moved from Virginia to Ohio and located in Clinton county about 1825, becoming the owner of considerable land in Green township. Eighty-one years ago he purchased a farm in that township, upon which his son, Isaiah, has lived since he was four years old.
David F. Murphy was educated in the common schools of his day and has been twice married. In 1803 he married Anna Earley, who was born in Clinton county, a daughter of George Earley, a pioneer farmer of this county. She died on August 7, 1907, leaving one child, Herman. who married Hazel Houser, and has one child, Franklin Willis. Mr. Murphy married, secondly, Mrs. Emma ( Ward) Williams, a native of Newark, Ohlo, to which second union there has been no issue.
Mr. and Mrs. Murphy have a farm of one hundred and fifty acres which they pur- chased in 1900. Fraternally, David F. Murphy is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He and his wife are members of the Baptist church at Wilmington and are held in high esteem by their many friends.
E. WILSON HARVEY.
E. Wilson Harvey and his sister, Mrs. Ruth Ellen Harris, are the only living mem- bers of their generation of the Harvey family in Clinton county. The Harvey family is one of the pioneer families of Clinton county and deserves special consideration in a volume of this character.
E. Wilson Harvey was born on October 3, 1853, in Clinton county. Both he and his sister. Ruth Ellen Harris, are children of Simon and Ann (Townsend) Harvey, the former born in North Carolina and the latter born in Ohio, the daughter of John Town- send, a farmer and horse raiser. Simon Harvey, who died in 1870, was the son of Joshua and Mary ( Morrison) Harvey, natives of North Carolina. By his first marriage, Joshua Harvey had five children, Hannah, Simon, Libert, Levi and Saleh. After the death of his first wife, he married a Miss Moon, and by this marriage had two children, Naney and Jehu.
Simon Harvey was educated in the common schools, and became the owner of two hundred and twenty acres of land in Adams township, this county. He was a man very much interested in local politics and prominent in the councils of the Republican party in Clinton county. He and his wife were members of the Friends church and their children were reared in that faith. There were nine of these children. the sur- vivors being as heretofore set forth, E. Wilson Harvey, the youngest, and Mrs Ruth Ellen Harris, the third born. The deceased children are Lydla. Auron, Jane, Mary, Martha, Henry and George.
E. Wilson Harvey, who was educated in the district schools of Clinton county and reared on the farm, was married to Kate Cowgill, the daughter of John and Amanda (Van Pelt) Cowgill, who were farmers by occupation. Mrs. Harvey died in 1894, at the age of thirty-two years, leaving two children, Winifred and Martha. Winifred mar-
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ried Charles Cook, of Harveysburg. Ohio, and they have two children, Margaret and Howard. Martha is a nurse in Columbus, Ohio. The father of these children leans toward the Quaker church.
Ruth Ellen Harvey married Charles Harris, who died In December. 1913, leaving no children. He was the son of Samuel and Phoebe ( Kibby) Harris, the latter of whom was the daughter of Ephraim Kibby, a pioneer of Clinton county. The photograph of the early settlers of Clinton county, contained in this history, was taken at the home of Ephraim Kibby in 1869. The late Charles Harris was a soldier in the Civil War, having served In the Seventy-ninth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Although he survived the war, he came out of it much worn in health and suffered from the effects of that terrible contest until the end of his life. He was a farmer in Warren county for a time, but later lived in Wilmington and was living in the county-seat of Clinton county at the time of his death. Mrs. Harris owns property on Sugartree street in Wilmington.
Mr. Harvey and his sister, Mrs. Harris, live on the old Harvey homestead, which comprises one hundred and seventy acres of land in Adams township, and are held in very high esteem throughout that section of the county.
FRANK H. MORRIS.
Frank H. Morris, a skillful farmer of Clark township, who is well known in Clinton county, was born on August 3, 1857, in Highland county, Ohio, and is a son of Avery and Lydia ( Jackson) Morris, natives of Adams and Highland counties, Ohio, respectively.
The paternal grandparents of Mr. Morris were William and Depsy ( Bales) Morris, natives of Scotland and the state of Alabama, respectively. William Morris came to America when a young man, possibly with his parents, and lived to be ninety-seven years old. He was active until the time of his death. Having located in Adams county, Ohio, he remained there until his removal to Clinton county about 1865. A farmer by occupation and a member of the Christian church, in which he was active, he died in Washington township. Depay Bales Is supposed to have come north from Alabaum with her parents in an early day. The maternal grandparents were Joseph and Lydia Jack- son, who were early settlers of Highland county, Ohlo, and who died In that county, They were also active members of the Christian church and farmers by occupation.
Avery Morris, the father of Frank H., was educated in the public schools of Adams county, Ohio, and although he enjoyed limited educational advantages, by home study and close observation he became a well-informed man. He began farming in Highland county. Ohio, about 1867. and Inter removed to Clark township, in this county, where he farmed on a portion of the farm which is now owned by his son. He owned one hundred and seventy-two acres in this tract and one hundred and sixty acres south of this farm. He and his wife were devoted members of the Christian church. They reared a family of aix children.
Frank H. Morris received his education in the public schools of Clinton county, and was renred to the life of a farmer, and on attaining maturity took up farming on his own account on the old home place. Mr. Morris is a well-known soll builder. When be was about fourteen years of age he made the remark to his father that he would like to own some time the land north of the northern boundary of the A. J. Bates farm between the two roads and as far north as Morrisville. His father replied: "Stranger things than that have come to pass." That land is exactly what Mr. Morris now owns, It con- prises seventy-five acres and Mr. Morris claims that it is sufficient for any one man to cultivate and cultivate properly. He has erected all of the buildings on the farm and made practically all of the improvements, except the old house, which was formerly used as a dwelling, but which is now used as a shed.
On January 1. 1881, Frank H. Morris was married to Hannah Turner, the daughter
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of A. J. Turner, of Clark township, and to this union have been born three children, Susie, Myrtle and Hattie. Susie is the wife of Josiah Mckibben, a farmer of Washing- ton township. Myrtle is the wife of Edwin Wilson, of Washington township, and they have one son. Morris Edgar. Hattie became the wife of William Steele, a farmer of Clark township.
Mr. and Mrs. Morris are loyal and devoted members of the Friends church.
OLIVER J. TOWNSEND.
The Townsend family were originally residents of Oyster Bay, having settled on Long Island In 1656, Richard Townsend, who emigrated from England, being the ancestor from whom Oliver J. Townsend is descended. He, however, was one of three brothers and the youngest who emigrated to America from England. The name Townsend is of noble origin and comes down from the time of the Norman conquest of England. In direct line, Oliver J. is descended from Dayton H. Townsend, whose father was Josiah, whose father was Jesse, whose father was Isaac, whose father was Isaac, Sr., whose father was Richard, whose father was John, whose father was Richard, the original Immigrant. The Townsends left Long Island because of differences with the Dutch. From Long Island they emigrated to Rhode Island, where for a long time they were prominent in the affairs of that state. Later, however, they returned to Long Island.
Oliver J. Townsend, the subject of this sketch, was born at Avondale, Cincinnati, in 1861, the son of Dayton H. and Rachel ( Hollingsworth) Townsend, natives of Spring- boro, Warren county, Oblo. and of Rochester, Warren county, Oblo, respectively. Dayton H. Townsend was the son of Josiah and Abigal ( Holliway) Townsend, the former of whom was born in Cape May county, New Jersey, and the latter in Virginia. They were married on November 14, 1818. Josiah Townsend, who was the son of Jesse Town- send, moved with his widowed mother and her other children from New Jersey to Columbiana county, Ohio, where they built a home in Salem. In 1810 the family emigrated to Waynesville and Joslah returned to New Jersey to learn the blacksmith trade, remain- ing there until he reached his majority, later returning to this state. He is buried in the Center neighborhood of Clinton county.
Dayton H. Townsend was a dairyman near Cincinnati, and later purchased the Jand in this county where his son, Oliver J., now lives, and there he spent the remainder of his life, becoming the owner of more than five hundred acres. All the members of the family were Identified with the Friends church.
Oliver J. Townsend was educated in the Martinsville high school and at Wilmington College, later beginning his farming operations on land located a little west of Marting- ville. Mr. Townsend served for seven years as commissioner of Clinton county, and It now a justice of the peace in Clark township. He has dealt extensively in live-stock and grain and is very well circumstanced.
On March 21, 1894. Oliver J. Townsend was married to Emma Spencer, who was born in Warren county, this state, a daughter of John K. and Drusella ( Russell) Spencer, the former of whom was born in Salem, Massachusetts, and the latter on the Isle of Wight, adjacent to England. They were early settlers in Warren county, Ohio, and their descendants have been prominent in the public life of that county. Mrs. Town- send's paternal grandfather was Thomas Spencer, a noted Abolitionist. Her father removed to Beech Grove, Clinton county, when she was four years old, and, after remain- ing at Beech Grove for eight years, returned to Warren county, Ohio. His brother, Frank Spencer, was a captain in the Union army during the Civil War. Both the Spencer and the Townsend families have always been identified with the Friends church.
Oliver J. Townsend is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias and the Modern Woodmen of America.
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ETHELBERT BLOOM.
Specific mention is made in this volume of Clinton county history of many worthy citizens who have figured in the growth and development of the county, and whose Inter- ests are identified with its varlous phases of progress. Each has contributed his share to the well-being of the community and to the advancement of its normal and legitimate growth. Among this number is Ethelbert Bloom, a resident of Wilmington, this county, a member of the firm of Bloom & Conner, which is engaged extensively in the stone- crushing business and in road building.
Ethelbert Bloom was born on January 30, 1869. in Green township, this county, the son of William H. and Miranda Jane ( Roberts) Bloom, the former of whom was born in Clinton county, in August. 1829, and died in 1905, and the latter. born in Kentucky, In August, 1827, died in April, 1913. Mr. Bloom's paternal grandparents were Cornelius and Eunice Bloom, Quakers, who came from Pennsylvania to Ohio and were early set- tlers in Green townsbip, this county. It was Cornelius Bloom who built the brick house on what is now the D. M. Fife farm. In early days he drove four- and six-horse teams to Cincinnati with merchandise, long before the railroads were built and when the people of this county pooled together to have their hauling done. He died at the age of sixty and his wife at the age of sixty-seven. Etbelbert Bloom's maternal grandparents died when his mother was a little girl, and she was reared by her uncle, Fred Roberts, of Green township.
William H. Bloom grew up on the farm and himself became a farmer. Early in life he purchased a farm one mile south of New Antioch, consisting of eighty-one acres, and there be spent the remainder of his life. He was a man of considerable prominence locally, and for many years served as school director. He was identified with the Republican party. He and his wife were devout members of the Seventh-Day Adventist church. They were the parents of eight children. of whom two are deceased. Ethelbert was next to the youngest of the family. The deceased children are Sarelda Jane, who married Vincent Fisher, and Harvey, who died at the age of thirteen, of diphtheria. The living children are Mary, who married Charles M. Noftsger, of Green township; Malissa, who married D. H. Taylor, of Illinois; Sarah, a twin sister of Sarelda Jane, who married C. W. Fisher, a resident of Cozad. Nebraska; Rosa, who married Grant Gregory, of Union township, and Christiana, who married Edward Taylor, of I'nion township.
Ethelbert Bloom attended school at New Antioch, Ohio, and after finishing his com- mon-school education was employed on his father's farm until he reached his majority. For some time he then worked by the month for different people and for one year attended the Seventh-Day Adventist College at Mt. Vernon, Ohio. After leaving college Mr. Bloom rented a farm and engaged in quarrying and hauling building rock to Wil- mington. It was he who furnished the stone for the foundation of the public library in Wilmington, and also the stone for the stand-pipe, In 1905 Mr. Bloom moved to Wilmington and there he is still living. Twelve years previously he formed a partner- ship with John A. Conner, under the firm name of Bloom & Conner, and they have since that time been engaged in the stone-crushing business in Clinton county, their plant being recognized as the largest stone crusher in this section of the state, comprising two complete outfits. In 1912 the firm had the honor of winning the contract for the building of the first four miles of the state road through Clinton county, Mr. Bloom him- self superintending the construction of the road. They have now, and have had for many years, large contracts for crushing stone in different parts of the county.
On March 17, 1895, Ethelbert Bloom was married to Mary Minionette Greentree, who was born in Fayette county, Ohio, the daughter of William and Jennie ( Rowe) Greentree. The former, born in Brown county, Ohio, In 1>48, is still living, and the latter. born in 1:52, died in 1852. To Mr. and Mrs. Bloom three children have been born,
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namely : Martha Ellen, born on July 14, 1890; Mildred Jane, September 1, 1901, who died on August 13, 1902, and Irwin William, April 17, 1908.
Politically, Mr. Bloom is a Republican. The Bloom family are all members of the Seventh-Day Adventist church and are devout believers in the doctrines of that organiza- tion, Mr. Bloom being the leading elder of the local church. He is a very respectable and a representative citizen of Clinton county, and he and his wife are held in high esteem by their many friends.
JAMES E. CAREY.
"In Memoriam!" No two words combine in more meaningful expression than these. How much of respectful consideration ; how much of tender devotion. and how much of sincere regard for the memory of one who has gone before, is implied in the use of the phrase with which this paragraph is introduced. In a monumental work of the character contemplated by the compilers of this extraordinary volume it seems eminently fitting that there should, here and there throughout these pages, be presented for the consideration, not only of the present generation of readers. but for those who, perchance, shall have occasion to review these pages in generations yet to come, a brief and modest summary of the lives of those departed fathers of the commonwealth who long since have passed from the scenes of present worldly activity. In following this design, the biographer surely would be remiss in his duty to the people of Clinton county if this book were permitted to go forth without an epitome of the life and of the works of the gentleman whose name heads this particular chapter of the biographical section of the history of the county, a name which has the power to recall many pleasant memories on the part of those now surviving, who, in his day here, knew so well and respected so highly the subject of this respectful memoir.
The late James E. Carey, who died at his home in Green township, Clinton county, Ohio, on June 8. 1906, was born on a farm in Highland county. Ohio, on December 1. 1857, son of David and Rebecca (Hiatt) Carey, early settlers of that county. Reared on the home farm, James E. Carey received his education in the district schools of his neighborhood and early became a saw-mill man and operator of a threshing-machine outfit, remaining in Highland county until 1899, in which year he came to this county, locating on a farm in Green township, on which his surviving family now resides. Mr. Carey was an excellent farmer and a good citizen, faithfully discharging all his duties toward his fellowmen, true to every trust reposed in him and loyal in all his relations in life. Diligent in business, his industry was amply rewarded and at the time of his death he was the possessor of a fine farm of one hundred and sixty-three acres in Green township, all of which was under excellent cultivation and well improved, the same being looked upon as one of the best farms in that part of the county. Devoted to his family, a kind husband and an Indulgent and loving father, his home life was all that could be desired and upon his passing there was created a most sorrowful vacancy in that home. A good neighbor, stanch and true in his relations with his fellowmen, Mr. Carey made and retained hosts of friends throughout that part of the county and there was wide mourning at his death. Mr. Carey was a Republican and was devoted to the principles of good government, ever willing to give of his time and of his services in the promotion and extension of the same. He was a faithful and devoted member of the Friends church and his personal example was influential for much good In his neighborhood. his neighbors all holding him in the very highest esteem.
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