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 109

Author: Albert J. Brown (A.M.)
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Chicago : W.H. Beers & Co.
Number of Pages: 1108

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 109

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John W. Matthews, a retired farmer of New Vienna, this county, a former mayor of New Vienna and at present a justice of the peace in that township, is descended from pioneer stock. He is prominent in the fraternal circles of this county and, more than all else, he and his wife have reared a family of eight children to honorable and useful lives; young men and women who have been well educated and who are already started on successful careers. Three of Mr. Matthews' sous are attorneys in Cincinnati, one is a dentist in that city and still another is a practicing physician at New Vienna.

John W. Matthews was born in this county on December 27, 1850, the son of Elijah H. and Ellen (Elliott) Matthews, the former of whom was born in Highland county, Ohlo, on October 20, 1826, and the latter, in Clinton county, on November 28, 1832. Elijah H. Matthews died in Clinton county on December 13, 1904, and his wife many years previously, December 9, 1590.

Elijah H. Matthews was the son of John and Mary Matthews, the former of whom was a native of North Carolina and the latter of Tennessee. John Matthews was the son of John and Rebecca Matthews, natives of North Carolina, of Scotch descent. They emigrated from North Carolina to Ohio and settled near New Market, in Highland county. In 1807. One year later they located four miles north of Hillsboro, on Clear creek, and there spent the rest of their lives. John Matthews, the father of Elijah H., was born in March, 1774, and after his marriage in Highland county, located on his father's farm, where he remained through life. He and his wife were the parents of ten children, seven sons and three daughters, among whom John, Albert G., Christopher, Elijah. Joel, Susan, who married a Mr. Brown, Mrs. Mary Chapman and Mrs. Eliza Jane Hicks, of Kansas, all long since deceased. Jolin Matthews was a prominent man In Highland county. He served as county commissioner two terms and as associate judge of the county for twenty-one years, having been elected three consecutive terins of seven years each. He died in August, 1848, at the age of seventy four years and his wife in April, 1864, at the age of seventy-four. Elijah H. Matthews was married on January 25, 1949, to Ellen Elliott. daughter of William and Susan Elliott, early settlers of Clinton county, who were married, lived and died in this county, They were the parents of four children, Thomas G., who resides in Mercer county, Ohio; William; Ellen : and Eliza Jane, who married Valentine Cox, of Van Wert county. Mr. and Mrs. Elijah H. Matthews had ten children: John W., the subject of this sketch ; Susan, who was born on May 29, 1853, and married Levi West, both now deceased : Mary Elizabeth, June 20. 1:57, married David Matthews: Sarah E., October 7, 1859, married Lafayette West : Kate G., February 10, 1862, married Abraham Frazier, both now deceased ; Rachel Ann. April 13. 1864, married W. B. Steele; Ollie M .. June 10, 1869, married William Hardy : Clara E., December 25, 1870, deceased, and Oscar L., December 28, 1874, married Lucy Curtis. Until 1850 Elijah HI. Matthews resided in Highland county and then moved to Clinton county, locating four miles northeast of Wilmington, where he lived a few years, then moved several times and finally died at New Vienna. He had lived abont twenty years near Centerville, where he owned a farm of three hundred acres. When a young man. Elijah H. Matthews and his brother. Christopher, had managed a

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general store in Buford, Highland county. At the time of his death, he owned several hundred acres of land. He was mayor of New Vienna two years, justice of the peace ten years, township trustee, assessor of the third division of Clinton county, and a mem- ber of the Masonic fraternity. Mr. and Mrs. Elijah H. Matthews were members of the Christian church.

John W. Matthews was reared on a farm and educated in the public schools. For twenty-four years he was a resident of Wayne township, where he was engaged in farming and contracting, during which time he served as trustee and justice of the peace, having been elected as a Democrat. In 1903 he moved to New Vienna, where he has since lived. Mr. Matthews owns one hundred and forty-six acres of land, one and one-half miles from New Vienna. He was married in 1870 to Olive Plerce, a native of Clinton county and the daughter of Thomas and Eliza J. ( McFadden) Pierce, both now deceased. Thomas Pierce was a well-known attorney at Wilmington, this county. To this union eight children have been born, Dr. W. T., Emma, Sylvia, Edna, Stanley, Elijah H., John W. and Albert. Dr. W. T. Matthews was born on August 7, 1871, was graduated from the Cincinnati Medical College of Ohio in 1901 and has been in the active practice of medicine since that time. After spending two years at Millidgeville, in Fayette county, he located at New Vienna, this county. He married Blanche Miller and they have one son, Charles. Emma Matthews, born on September 30, 1872, married J. E. Bernard, of Wilmington, and has six children. Sylvia Matthews, born on June 23, 1874, married Henry Rhonemus, of Wayne township. Edina Matthews, born on June 24, 1877, is the widow of I. C. Driscoll and has two children, Edith and John W. Stanley Matthews, born on December 14, 1878, was graduated from the Cincinnati Law School, while President Taft was dean of the college of law. After graduating with honors he entered upon the practice of his profession In Cincinnati. He married Mary Dunham. Elljah Matthews, born on October 16, 1884, was graduated from the law department of Yale University and is a practicing attorney in Cincinnati. He married Lida Dunham. John W. Matthews, born on August 23, 1886, was graduated from the law school of the Cincinnati Young Men's Christian Asociation and is also a practicing attorney in Cin- cinnati. Albert Matthews, born on September 13, 1889, was graduated from the Oblo Dental College and is a practicing dentist in Cincinnati. Mr. Matthews is a member of the Masonic order, the blue lodge at New Vienna, and a member of the chapter at Hills- boro, Ohio.

There is no famully in all Clinton county that is better known, perhaps, than the Matthews family and certainly none is more highly respected.

JOHN B. MCKENZIE, M. D.

The life of the distinguished physician and the public-spirited man of affairs presents a striking example of well-defined purpose. Dr. John B. Mckenzie, of Oakland, Chester township. Clinton county, Ohio, not only is possessed of well-defined purpose, but also of ability with which he has been able to make that purpose count for the good of his fellow men. Since beginning his practice in Chester township, fifteen years ago, he has acquired a large patronage and a good name, not only in a professional way, but in a private way as well. Endowed with sound mentality and intellectual discipline of a high order which he has supplemented by rigid professional training and thorough mastery of the technique of medicine, he well deserves the substantial practice which has come to him. As a poultry fancier, Doctor Mckenzie is also well known, having won many prizes at different shows held in the Middle West.

John B. Mckenzie was born on January 18, 1874, at New Antioch, Green township, Clinton county, the son of James and Rebecen (Truitt) Mckenzie. His father was born in Green township in 1840 and died in 1876, and his mother was also born in that town- ship. She was the daughter of George W. and Abigail (Applegate) Truitt.

JOHN B. MCKENZIE, M. D.

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The paternal grandparents of Doctor Mckenzie were William and Lucinda (Morton) Mckenzie, both natives of Clinton county. He was a farmer in Green township and owned a farm of one hundred and twenty-four acres, to which he devoted his attention. They had six children: Elizabeth Jane, Ellen, James, Charles D., William B. and Mary Emily.

James Mckenzie was educated in the common schools of Green township and was a young man when the Civil War broke out. He enlisted In the One Hundred and Forty- ninth Regiment, Ohlo Volunteer Infantry, and, after coming back from the war, took up farming in Green township, where he remained the balance of his life. James and Rebecca Mckenzie had two children, Frank, who died at the age of two years, and John B., the subject of this sketch. After the father's death, in 1876, his widow married, secondly, Thomas J. Blood, and they now live in New Antloch. James Mckenzie was a member of the Christian church. He was a Democrat.

John B. Mckenzie began his education in the common schools of Union township and later he attended the schools at New Antioch. In 1898 he entered the Starling Medical College at Columbus, Ohio, and was graduated with the class of 1900. Imme- diately after his graduation, he began his practice in Chester township. Before going to college, however, he had read medicine with Doctor Whisler, of New Antioch, and had driven with him on his practice for one year. He also spent his summer vacations in Doctor Whisler's office. Doctor Mckenzie's hospital experience was received in the St. Francis, St. Anthony and Mt. Carmel hospitals at Columbus, Ohio.

As a breeder of fancy poultry. Doctor Mckenzie is well known, both in Ohio and Indiana, having exhibited fowls at the poultry shows at Cincinnati, Columbus, Toledo and Indianapolis At Cincinnati, Toledo and Indianapolis he has taken several first prizes. Doctor and Mrs. Mckenzie have a beautiful country home at Oakland and enjoy all of the comforts of life.

On February 28, 1898, John B. Mckenzie was married to Hattie L. Armstrong, a daughter of James K. and Amanda (Bowser) Armstrong, the former of whom was born on November 10, 1846, at the Snow Hill house in Green township, and the latter born on November 20, 1840, in Lockland, Ohio, Mr. Armstrong was a farmer in Green township. He and his wife had two children: Ida V., who married Joseph Summers; and Hattie L., the wife of Doctor Mckenzie. Mr. and Mrs. Armstrong now live in New Antioch. To Doctor and Mrs. Mckenzie has been born one daughter, Cleo A., who is now deceased. She was born on February 3, 1899, and died on November 27, 1901.

Dr. John B. Mckenzie is a member of the Clinton County and Ohio State Medical societies, a life member of the American Poultry Association and a member of the Fraternal Order of Eagles.

ALLEN ALBERT CURTIS.

Allen Albert Curtis, now a well-known farmer and stockman in Green township, this county, where he owns a farm of one hundred and twenty-five acres, was born on January 28, 1855, in the township where he lives, a son of David and Martha J. (Truitt) Curtis, both natives of Virginia, the former born in 1827 and the latter in 1887.

The paternal grandparents of Mr. Curtis were Christopher and Sarah Curtis, pioneers in Highland county, Ohio, who later moved to Clinton county. where both spent most of their lives, and where both died. Upon coming to Clinton county, they settled on what is now known as the Higgins farm. Mr. Curtis's maternal grandparents were George and Abigail { Applegate) Truitt, the former of whom was a son of William Truitt. a pioneer of Clinton county, who died at the age of about ninety years. George and Abigail (Applegate) Truitt were pioneer farmers in Clinton county, where both spent most of their lives, and where both died. the latter dying In the house where ber grand- son, Allen Albert Curtis, now lives, in 1906, at the age of eighty-four years.

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The late David Curtis was a farmer by occupation, a Democrat in politics, and n member of the Baptist church. He and his wife were the parents of nine children, of whom Allen Albert is the eldest, the others, In the order of their birth being as follow : William, Sarab, James E., Jennie, Frank, Lula, George and Lucy. Of these children Sarah, Jennie and Lula are deceased. Lula, who was the wife of Frank Steele, died in March, 1208. Lucy is the wife of Oscar Matthews. David Curtis died in 1898, and his widow is still living. Allen Albert Curtis was renred on his father's farm and was educated in the public schools, For many years be has lived on the farm of one hundred and twenty-five acres which he owns in Green township.

On January 2, 1879, Allen Curtis was married to Ollie West, a native of Clinton county, who was born in Wayne township on March 17. 1801, daughter of Edmond and Jane (Bernard) West, the latter of whom was the daughter of George Washington Ber- nard, mentioned elsewhere in this work. Edmond West was born in Wayne township, the son of a pioneer farmer of that township. To Mr. and Mrs. Curtis twelve children have been born, Winnie, William, Edna, Harley. Jennie. Howard, Carrie, Jessie, Fred, Mary, Mabel and Stanley, all of whom are living save William.

Mr. and Mrs. Curtis are members of the Christian church at Centerville and are regular attendants and active workers in that church. Mr. Curtis votes the Democratic ticket.

HON. ELIAS DAKIN HARLAN.

On the memorial roll of Clinton county, there is no name more worthy of respectful consideration than that of the late Hon. Elins Dakin Harlan, former member of the lower house of the Ohio General Assembly from this district, and for many years one of the most prominent factors in the agricultural, social and civic life of this county. Honored by the electors of this district by the election for two successive terms as member of the state Legislature, he performed his duties to his district and his state, in that important enpacity, in such a manner as to give his name a high place on the roster of Ohio's constructive statesmen and his memory long will be cherished hereabout. One of the leading farmers of the county, he for years was regarded as one of the most intelligent exponents of the modern methods of agriculture in this part of the state, and in 1803 was appointed as a delegate to the national farmers congress held at the World's Columbian Exposition at Chicago, in that year, on the recommendation of his warm friend and close associate, the Hon. John Sherman. For many years he was chairman of the Clinton county Republican committee and in this position wielded a powerful influence In political affairs throughout this section of Ohio. He was kuown as an effective organizer and in district and state conventions of his party his counsel and advice were eurgerly sought by the leaders of the party in the state, his political labors and Influence thus extending to all parts of the state. In the purely local field. he had served his township faithfully and well for years as a justice of the pence. his judgments ever being regarded as just and true by his nelghbors, and he had performed equally faithful and effective service as a member of the board of education, his strong interest in the schools giving to this service an unusual value, which the community was not slow to appreciate. Faithful in all the relations of life, an honored veteran of the Civil War, an Indefatigable worker and a true and public-spirited citizen, he was a man well worthy of praise and it is but fitting and proper that in this history of the county in which the best efforts of his life were so unselfishly expended there should appear a brief and modest review of bis useful enreer.

Ellas Dakin Harlan was born on a farm in Adams township, this county, on April 1. 1837, son of Nathaniel and Lydia (Dakin) Harlan, pioneers of this county and leaders in the community life of their neighborhood. Nathaniel Harlan was one of the most Influential factors in the development of the Adams township section of the county. A

ELIAS D. HARLAN

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MRS. F. D. HARLAN

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large farmer and an intelligent and public-spirited citizen, he for many years exerted a most wholesome influence in that community. In earlier days be was a Whig and was one of the leading anti-slavery men in this county. Upon the organization of the Republican party he threw his influence on the side of that organization and ever after- ward was regarded as one of the leaders In the Republican party hereabout. Ilis wife, who was one of the daughters of Elins Dakin, a pioneer Quaker and Whig, of this county, was equally vigorous in her efforts in behalf of better things in the community of which she and her husband were such prominent integral parts and her memory, as well as his, is held in the most grateful remembrance throughout that community, even to this day. They were the parents of six children. three sons and three daughters, namely : Elias D., subject of this sketch ; William; Edwin, deceased ; Mra Harriet Hale; Mary A., deceased, and Mrs. Eva Mullen, of Long Beach, California.

Ellas Dakin Harlan spent his boyhood days on the parental farm in Chester town- ship, assisting in the cultivation and development of the same, at the same time rereiv- ing his elementary education in the district schools of that neighborhood. This he sup- plemented by a course at Antioch College and at the excellent old school at Yellow Springs, this state, and on September 16, 1861, enlisted in Company B, Fortieth Regi- ment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, in which he served for three years without a furlough, receiving his honorable discharge on September 20, 1864, with the rank of corporal. During this service, Corporal Harlan encountered the dreadful experiences of war in such notable battles as those of Chickamauga, Stone's River and Peach Tree Creek. His regiment was attached to the Army of the Cumberland, under General Rosecrans, and was in the thick of that great army's campaigns, including the campaign from Chatta- nooga to Atlanta. He also was engaged in the West Virginia campaign in the early part of the war and, with five others, at the battle of Franklin, barely escaped capture. He and his companions were surrounded and were about to give up their arms, when the Confederates shot and killed two of his comrades. Thinking he would just as soon be shot while running as while standing. Comrade Harlan made a run for It and, by the exercise of extraordinary wit. threw himself in the dooryard of a house in the town of Franklin. as though shot, and his pursuers rode ou past. apparently satisfied that they had slain him. In his whole army career. Comrade Harlan proved himself a brave and loyal soldier, and after the war became one of the leaders in the organization of the Grand Army of the Republic In this section of the state. He was one of the organizers of Morris McMillan Post. Grand Army of the Republic, and was elected first post com- mander of the same, which position be held for two terms, and was three times appointed on the staff of the Ohio department commander.

From the days of his earliest manhood, Mr. Harlan gave close attention to political affairs, being a close student of civies and devoutly interested in good government. Casting his first vote for Abraham Lincoln, his interest in and zeal for the Republican party never wavered and in time he became a powerful factor in the political life of this county, his Influence extending far beyond the contines of the county. as noted above, by reason of his Jong service as chairman of the Clinton county Republican committee. As a justice of the peace and as a member of the board of education, he performed excellent public service of a local character and long before his election to the Legislature was regarded as one of the leading men in the public life of the county. The people of Clinton county, recognizing his ability and his worth, elected him as a representative from this district to the lower house of the seventieth General Assembly of the state of Ohio, bis service in that enpacity being so well received that he was re-elected, serving his second term in 1893-94. His interest in the advancement of agricultural methods in Ohio was so well known and so pronounced that he was appointed, as noted above. a delegate to the farmers congress at the great world's fair held In Chicago in 1803. in which position he was able to perform signal service in behalf of the country's agricul-

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tural Interesta. In various other ways, Mr. Harlan had been enabled to perform excellent service on behalf of the public, in all the relations of life being true, until his useful career on earth came to an end on October 22, 1914.

On July 4, 1865, Elias Dakin Harlan was united in marriage to Sarab A. Morris, who was born in Chester townabip, this county, on May 4, 1845, daughter of John and Mary Morris, natives, respectively, of Virginia and Ohio, and who survives him. To this union there was no Issue.

John Morris, a pioneer settler of this county, was born on Neuse river, North Carolina, the son of Isaac and Millicent (Bundy ) Morris. Early in life, attracted by the possibilities of pioneering in this section of Ohio, he walked from his home in Virginia to this section, "spying out the land." Before making his definite location in this county, he repeated this trip four times, walking each time. On one of these trips he shot and killed a bear, the skin of which he sold to Governor Trimble for three dollars. John Morris married Mary Stanley, daughter of Robert and Edith (Mason) Stanley, natives of the eastern shore of Maryland, and to this union eight children were born, Isaiah, Lydia, Eliza, Sarah (Mrs. Harlan), Isabelle and Jeremiah (twins), Martha (who died in infancy) and Susanna. John Morris died on August 29, 1886. His wife bad preceded him to the grave about five years, her death having occurred on August 6, 1881. Mr. Morris was a farmer until 1871, in which year he retired from the form and moved to Harveysburg, where his last days were spent.

Hon. Elias D. Harlan was a birthright Quaker and his widow is devoted to the affairs of the Methodist church. He was a master Mason and ever took an earnest Interest in the affairs of that ancient organization.

ELIZABETH SHRIEVES, M. D.

Elizabeth Shrieves, M. D., the subject of this sketch, is an Ohloan by adoption, having been born at North Hoosie, New York. Her parents, William Randolph and Esther Ann (Barnett) Sbrieves, were born and reared in Rensselaer county, New York, in the vicinity of the battlefields of Bennington, Vermont, the main engagement of that famous battle having been fought on her great-grandfather's farm. In 1872 the Shrieves family moved from New York to Wilmington, this county, and Elizabeth Shrieves received her education in the public schools of that city and in Wilmington College, graduating from the latter in 1884. Following her graduation she taught for one year in the Melvin school and for several years substituted in the public schools and taught one year in the primary grade of the Main street building, which latter position she resigned to enter the Posse Normal School of Gymnastics, at Boston, Massachusetts.

While attending the Chautauqua Summer School of Gymnastics, Miss Surleves came under the influence of Dr. Eliza Mosher, of Brooklyn, and the following fall matriculated with the Laura Memorial Medical College, of Cincinnati, which has since been merged with the Ohio-Miami Medical College. After graduating from this institution with the class of 1899, Doctor Shrieves served as Interne in the Presbyterian hospital at Cincin- nati and in March. 1901, began the practice of her profession at Wilmington, this county. To the usual professional training secured at the colleges, Doctor Shrieves has had the added advantage of an interneship in the Woman's hospital, at Chicago; post-graduate work, both in Chicago and in New York, and bas had the inestimable advantage of a comprehensive tour of visitation in the better hospitals of Europe and attendance on clinics during a year abroad. spent in Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Germany and England. Strong Christian principles, established in childhood and later supplemented by college training and travel, in the case of Doctor Shrieves, has brought to the medical profession a woman of splendid qualities of heart and mind, with a breadth of view and purpose which daily enlarges her usefulness to all who are fortunate enough to come under her influence and care.

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Doctor Shrleves is a member of the American Medical Association, the Ohio State Medical Society and the Clinton County Medical Society; the Greek-letter fraternity, Alpha Epsilon Iota, composed of medical women of America ; is examining physician for the Daughters of America and for the Ladies of the Maccabees, is trustee and treasurer of the Wilmington Carnegie library board and is also a member of the Order of the Eastern Star, the Six and Twenty Club and of the Methodist church at Wilmington.

In August, 1909, the Shrieves home circle was broken by the death of Doctor Shrieves' mother and on January 1, 1910, the father passed on. In the following fall, Doctor Shrieves and her sister, Miss Emma, closed the home and spent a year abroad. Doctor Shrieves and her sister, Miss Emma, who reside together, own several dwellings and apartments in Wilmington. They have a widowed sister, Mrs. Frances S. Mills, now living in Los Angeles, California, and a brother, Dr. Edwin B. Shrieres, a successful dental surgeon, who is married and lives at Sioux City, Iowa.

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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 109

Author: Albert J. Brown (A.M.) Publication date: 1882 Publisher: Chicago : W.H. Beers & Co. Number of Pages: 1108

Author: Albert J. Brown (A.M.)
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Chicago : W.H. Beers & Co.
Number of Pages: 1108