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 119
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Elizabeth ( Humphreys) McCray's parents were James and Elizabeth (Lange) Humphreys, the former of whom was born in New Jersey and the latter, on the ocean en route to America from Germany. James Humphreys was a "bound boy" to Colonel Rose, who lived in New Jersey and was a soldier during the Revolutionary War. Hle later married Colonel Rose's daughter and after her death, married Elizabeth Lange and enme on horseback to Ohio, where he purchased a farm in Warren county and became well to do. He died in 1893 at an advanced age.
Samuel C. MeCray was a farmer and respected for his honest dealings. During his latter years, broken in health, he lived with a son in Cincinnati, where he died In 1909. The Inte George Henry and Mellssa ( MeCray) Statler had only two children. Maude Marie, who was born on June 17, 1874, and Lula Cecilia, the wife of Professor Villars.
The present generation can never repay those old heroes of a past century who blazed the trails through the wilderness, established homes, cleared the forest, and reared children to honorable and useful lives. It was their work which has made this country the richest on earth and the inestimable heritage of the present generation Is the result of their labors. The ancestors of both Professor and Mrs. Villars bad a large part in the great work of pioneer development, especially in Clinton county.
JAMES W. CHANNEL.
James W. Channel, of Melvin, this county, Is one of the best-known citizens of Richland township. He is a prosperous merchant and farmer, and was born on April 15, 1866, at Morrisville, this county, son of John H. and Surah (Custis) Channel, natives of North Carolina, and of Richland township, this county, respectively. Sarah Custis was a daughter of Willlam H. Custis, a farmer of Clinton county, who owned two hundred acres of land. and who was a prominent member of the Friends church at Sabina. John H. Channel was educated in the common schools of Clinton county, having come to Ohio with his parents when quite young. As a young man he taught schools in different parts of the county, and for many years was active in politics. He was also a leader in the affairs of the Christian church In his community. During the last twenty years of his life he was in business at Sabina, conducting a clothing and drug store. Fraternally, be was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
To John H. and Sarah (Custis) Channel were born six children, Arminda, Mary, James W., Lucy, Emma and Gertrude, all of whom are living save Lucy and Arminda. the last named dying at the age of twenty-one years. Mary Is the wife of George Manmeisel, of Sabina. Lucy is the wife of Dr. William Burnett, of Sabina. Emma is the wife of N. B. Tharp, of Columbus, Ohio, and Gertrude, who is unmarried. has been principal of the East End school at Washington C. H. for twelve years. John H. Channel died in March, 1880, and his widow is still living in Washington township.
James W. Channel received his education in the common schools of this county,
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having attended school principally at Sabina. On January 5, 1888, he was united in marriage to Laura Pavey, who was born in this county, the daughter of John Pavey, a well-known farmer, who was prominent in the affairs of the Methodist Episcopal church. To this union two children have been born, Walter and Roxie, both of whom are living at home with their parents.
After his marriage, Mr. Channel located on his father-in-law's farm, where he remained two years. In 1891 he moved to Melvin and has lived in that pleasant village ever since. He was first engaged in the general mercantile business, but afterward built the elevator there, and is now its proprietor. Hle also established a tile-mill at Melvin, and operated that mill for five years. When the Baltimore & Ohio railroad was built, Mr. Channel was the telegraph operator at Melvin, and was also station agent for. the Pennsylvania Railway Company at that place for twelve years. Mr. Channel is the owner of sixty-two acres of land in Richland township. He is a member of the Methodist Protestant church and a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
CLINTON MADDEN.
Clinton Madden, the present popular cashler of the . Farmers National Bank at Clarksville, this county, was born in Wilson township, this county, on July 6, 1867, the son of Cyrus W. and Jane ( McCray) Madden, the former a native of the same county, born in Adams township, on Sepember 22, 1822, and the latter in Warren county, this state, on February 25, 1828. Cyrus W. Madden was the son of Solomon and Ruth ( Robbins) Madden, natives of North Carolina, and pioneers of Adams township. Solomon Madden was the son of George Madden, who served as a soldier in the patriot army during the Revolutionary War, and who came to North Carolina to this part of Ohio very soon after this region was opened to settlement. Jane McCray was the daughter of Christy and Nancy ( Urton) McCray, the former a native of Virginia, who died in Warren county, this state, in 1839, his widow surviving him for thirty-one years, her death occurring in 1870.
Cyrus W. Madden was twice married, bis first wife having been Lydia Eleanor Brown, to which union two children were born, Mrs. Mary E. McPherson, of Springfield, Ohio, and Mrs. Lydia E. Crawford, of Marion. Indiana. His second wife, the mother of the subject of this sketch, died in May, 1809. The children born of this second marriage were six in number, namely : A. D. Madden, who was a contractor, builder and lumber dealer at Clarksville, this county, and who died in June, 1014; Nannle, who died In 1902; Addie, a teacher in the public schools of Morrow, Ohio; W. H., of Waynesville, Ohio; Clinton, the subject of this sketch; and T. C., of North Lewisburg, Champaign county. Ohio. Cyrus W. Madden and his wife were members of the Friends church and their children were reared in that faith. He was a blacksmith and farmer, of Adams and Wilson townships, and died in Warren county in 1877.
Clinton Madden attended the public schools of Washington township, Warren county, and upon completing the course there prescribed extended his studies at the Lebanon Normal and at Wilmington College, after which, for nearly eighteen years, he performed excellent service as a teacher in the public schools. In April, 1906, he was made cashier of the Farmers National Bank at Clarksville, a position which he still holds, and which he has filled with credit to himself and to his employers.
On December 10. 1908, Clinton Madden was united in marriage to Nellie Cockerill. of Wilmington, this county, daughter of James Cockerill, deceased, a former resident of Fayette county. No children have been born to this union.
Mr. Madden is a Republican, as was his father. Both he and Mrs. Madden are members of the Friends church, and for years have taken a vital interest in its work and worship. They occupy no small place in the social life of the community, as they
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have made and retained many warm personal friends. Mr. Madden is genial and friendly, and while he is a good business man, he does not allow business to absorb all of his interest and time. He believes in taking time to live, and in keeping in touch with the questions and movements which are occupying a large share of the world's thought. He is a faithful worker, having at henrt the best interests of his employers, and as a business man, it might be said that his life is an exemplification of the words of a recent writer who said that "Those who will work faithfully will put themselves in possession of a glorious and enlarging happiness."
STEPHEN C. BROWN.
Listed among the progressive farmers of Liberty township, this county, Stephen C. Brown operates a splendid farm of ninety-three acres and his home is equipped with all of the conveniences available now in the country. He was born in Lucas county, Oblo. on September 29, 1881, the son of Edmund G. and Jessie (Cowdery) Brown. Edmund G. Brown was born in Dayton, Ohio, on April 30, 1855, and his wife was born in Union City, Indiana, the daughter of Diah Cowdery, who for many years was a dentist of Union City. The paternal grandfather of Stephen C. Brown was Henry L. Brown, who was a merchant at Dayton, Ohio, and who had a large store in what is now the center of Dayton. He was a leader In the Presbyterian church and a man of considerable wealth.
Edmund G. Brown, the father of Stephen C., is a farmer in Lucas county, Ohio, and owns eighty acres of land. He and his wife are members of the Christian church of Dayton, Ohio, and prominent in its activities. Nine children have been born to Edmund G. and Jessie (Cowdery) Brown. L. E., Eva C., Stephen C., Blossom. Charles, Jesste, Telfair, Henry and Sidney. all of whom are living.
Stephen C. Brown was educated in the public schools of Ohio and on September 19, 1904. was married to Nettie Shrack, who was a student at Wilmington College during 1903 and 1904. She is the daughter of J. H. and Olive (Carroll) Shrack, farmers of Liberty township, this county, and members of the Baptist church. To Mr. and Mrs. Brown five children have been boru. Edith M., Stephen. Jr., Olive Carroll, Edmund H. and Pauline S.
Mr. Brown has lately remodeled his house, and in 1914 built a barn. He has equipped the house with bath, furnace and all other modern conveniences, and he and his family are delightfully situated. Mr. and Mrs. Brown are members of the Baptist church at Wilmington, and Mr. Brown is identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows
ALPHEUS A. HITE.
Alpheus A. Hite, a well-known farmer of Liberty township, this county, was born on June 8, 1866, in Greene county, Ohio, the son of W. M. and Sarah (Dalby) Hite. the former of whom was born in Xenia, Oblo, on January 14, 1840, and the latter In Greene county, the daughter of Jesse Dalby, a prominent farmer and member of the Baptist church, in that county. W. M. Hite was the son of Andrew Ilte, a native of Ohio, and the father of six children, John (deceased), Albert A., C. M., Catherine, Elizabeth (decensed ) and W. M., the father of Alpheus A. These children located near each other in Greene county and a road in the neighborhood was named the Hite road. Andrew Hite was a pioneer farmer in Greene county and owned one hundred and thirty acres of land. He was a local minister in the Baptist church.
W. M. Hite, who died in November, 1912, was a farmer and stockman and for forty years shipped stock to Pittsburgh, Baltimore and other eastern points. He owned two hundred acres of land and was known as a successful farmer. He served as trustee in Greene county a number of terms before coming to Clinton county, fifteen years before
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his death. His widow is now living in Port William, this county. They were the parents of six children, Emma (deceased), Alpheus A., Charles. Maude, Oscar and Myrtle L.
Educated in the district schools, Alpheus A. Hite has always been engaged in farming. He was married on July 7, 1887, to Alice Thornhill, who was born in Greene county, the daughter of Malory and Thompsey (Bolden) Thornhill, who were farmers and members of the German Baptist church. To this union two children have been born, Pearl and Lola. Pearl Hite married Alfred Kiphart, a street car conductor of Richmond, Indiana, and bas one child, Donald. Lola Hite married James Mason. of Greene county, Ohio, and has one child, Winona E.
Mr. and Mrs. Hite own a farm of eighty-six and one-half acres, which they pur- chased in March, 1913. They are members of the German Baptist church at Carlisle.
LUTHER G. BAILEY.
Luther G. Bailey, an enterprising farmer of Liberty township, this county, living on rural route No. 2, out of Wilmington, was born ou September 3, 1872, in Liberty township. the son of Josiah and Sidnie (McPherson) Bailey, the former of whom was born in 1842 in Liberty township. this county, and the latter in Highland county. Ohio, daughter of John and Mariah (Bonsell) MePherson, who were residents of Highland county and members of the Friends church.
Josiah Bailey was the son of George and Lydia (Shields) Bailey, the former a native of Liberty township, who were the parents of four children, Enos, Anna, William and Josiah. George Bailey was an early farmer in this community and was a prominent member of the Friends church. Josiah Bailey was educated in the common schools and was engaged in farming all his life. He was a prominent member of the Friends church and died in February, 1913. He and his wife were the parents of three children, namely : Luther G., the subject of this sketch; Luella, who married George Mills, of Waynesville, Ohio, and Eva, decensed.
Luther G. Bailey received a common school education In the public schools of Liberty township and early in life took up farming. He now owns a farm of one hundred and twenty-four acres and is profitably engaged in general farming and stock- raising. Mr. Bailey was married to Almira Hunnicutt, who was born in Clinton county. the daughter of David and Martha (Ross) Hunnicutt. farmers of Liberty township, both now deceased, and to this union two children have been born. Atha Virginia and Alson H. Mr. and Mrs. Bailey are members of the Friends church at Dover and regular attendants at the services of the same. They have many friends in their neighborhood and are held in high regard by all.
CHARLES LINKHART.
Charles Linkbart is a progressive farmer of Liberty township, this county, who lives on a well-kept farm with his mother. Mr. Linkhart was born on February 1, 1880. in Liberty township, on the farm where he now lives, the son of George W. and Mary C. ( Anderson) Linkhart, the former of whom was born on April 15. 1843, in Liberty township, and the latter in Greene county, Ohio, Mary C. Anderson was first married to James Linkhart, a brother of her second husband. to which union there were born six children, Albert, Louisa, Laura, Frank. Emma and Anna.
George W. Linkhart was the son of Thomas and Ellen ( Fisher) Linkhart, natives of Virginia, who were married in that state and hnd one child, Joseph, before they came to Ohio. Upon locating in Clinton county, where they spent the rest of their lives, they entered one hundred and eighty-five acres of land, of which tract their grandson, Charles, now owns one hundred and five acres. They were members of the Methodist church. and Thomas Linkhart was an active man in his community. He and his wife were the parents of six children, Joseph, Dorothy, Thomas, Eleanor, George W. and James.
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George W. Linkbart was educated in the common schools of Liberty township and was engaged in farming during his entire life. He owned about three hundred acres of land in Liberty township and was a general farmer. Although a man active in public affairs, he was a man of strong domestic inclination and spent most of his time in his home. He and his wife were the parents of two children, Katie A. and Charles, the subject of this sketch. Katie A. married H. B. Ellis, a farmer of Liberty township, and has one child. Orville. George W. Linkbart died on September 11. 1908, and his widow is now living on the home farm with her son, Charles.
Educated in the district schools of Liberty township. Charles Linkhart was reared on the farm and was married on November 28, 1910, to Lela Oglesbee, daughter of Solomon and Sabina ( Middleton) Oglesbee, the latter of whom was the daughter of James Middleton, a native of Greene county, Ohio, a farmer by occupation and a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. Solomon Oglesbee was the son of Amos and Anna (Huffman) Oglesbee, the former of whom was born in Virginia in 1810 and came to Obio in 1817. Three years later he located in Clinton county and here be spent the remainder of his life. His wife was born In 1814 in Virginia and came to Ohio with her parents soon after the War of 1812. Amos Oglesbee died on December 31. 1851, and his widow on June 25, 1875. Besides Mrs. Linkhart. Solomon and Sabina Oglesbee had seven other children. James, who died at the age of forty-seven, Hattie, Nettie, Alice, Allle, Arthur and Carrie.
Mr. and Mrs. Linkhart have no children. Mr. Linkbart owns one hundred and five aeres of the old farm, but cultivates in all two hundred and twenty-five acres. He is n member of the Fraternal Order of Eagles of Wilmington.
HOWARD F. MCKAY.
Howard F. MeKay is a prosperous and well-known young farmer and teacher of Liberty township, Clinton county, Ohio. By birth and by marriage, he is connected with several of the very oldest families of this county and, being a young man of far more than ordinary ability, he is expected to take his place as a leader in this community.
Howard F. MeKay was born on January 15, 1891, In Liberty township, this county, the son of Jacob B. and Priscilla ( Haines) MeKay, the former of whom was born on March 14, 1559, In Liberty township, and the latter on July 13, 1860, the daughter of Eber and Mary (Mendenhall) Haines. Eber Haines was a well-known minister in the Friends church for a long period, a farmer by occupation and was born in Greene county, Ohio.
The paternal grandparents of Howard F. MeKny were Willlam Franklin and Eliza- beth (Peterson) Mckay. The former was born on January 12, 1833, in Chester township, and in 1856 was married to Elizabeth Peterson. They located In Liberty township and became the owners of three hundred and fifty acres of land and a desirable country home. They were the parents of six children, Azel P. (deceased), Jacob B., George E .. Ulysses G., Arthur F. and Beatrice A. The paternal great-grandparents of Mr. McKay were George Wesley and Mary ( Fergueson) MeKay, natives of Virginia, who moved to Ohio after their marriage. George Wesley Mckay died In 1850, and his widow in 1878. All of their ten children grew to maturity, George Wesley MeKay, who was born in 1800, was the son of Moses MeKay, who was born in Virginia about 1776. He remained in Virginia until about 1818, when he and his wife and eleven children came to Ohio, leaving one son in Virginia. They settled In Warren county, where he became a land owner and remained until his death, about seven years after locating. His wife died about the same time. George Wesley Mckay and wife had eight children. of whom two, George and Lucinda, are living, the deceased children being Tilman. Samuel. William Franklin, Alfred, Mary Massie and Jane.
Mr. and Mrs. Jacob B. Mckay, the parents of Howard F., are at present Hving in Wilmington, at 502 North Walnut street. Mrs. Jacob B. McKny is a member of the
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Friends church. The family owns land in Union township and also property in Wil- mington. Jacob B. MeKay was formerly a member of the board of education in Liberty township. He moved to Wilmington in December. 1900. To him and his wife have been born four children, E. Harold and Howard F. (twins), Mary Elba and Maynard J. E. Harold Mckay married Hla Haworth and lives in the Dover neighborhood of Union township.
Howard F. Mckay was born and reared on the farm and was educated in the common schools of Clinton county and at the Port William high school. After graduating from the Port William high school he entered Wilmington College, from which he was graduated in 1910, and having won a scholarship there he attended Haverford College during 1910 and was graduated from this latter institution in 1911. On January 24, 1914, Mr. Mckay was united in marriage to Edith Starbuck, who was born in Union township, this county, on November 22, 1800, the daughter of William A. and Mary Anna (Bailey) Starbuck, and who was graduated from Wilmington College with the class of 1911. William A. Starbuck is a farmer of Union township and a member of the Friends church. He is prominent in the Friends yearly meeting and in the Sunday school, of which he is super- intendent. For some time he has been an officer and director of the Clinton Mutual Insurance Company. For several years he served as assessor of Union township.
On August 20, 1915, a son was born to Mr. and Mrs. Howard Mckay, and was named Robert Franklin Mckay.
Mr. and Mrs. Howard F. Mckay are members of the Friends church and they take a grent interest in church work. Mr. Mckay was formerly in charge of the teachers' training class in the Chester Sunday school and is now (1915) superintendent. He is also mastre of the Mt. Pleasant Grange in Liberty township. Mr. Mckay and his twin brother. E. Harold MeKay, have a farm of eighty-one acres in Liberty township, which their father formerly owned. He has taught high school for four years, the first two years at Bradford, Ohio, and the last two years at the Mt. Pleasant school.
HUGH E. TERRELL.
Hugh E. Terrell, a representative of one of Clinton county's prominent families and a well-known stockman of Wayne township, is descended through his grandmother, Eliza (Bernard) Evans, from Pocahontas, daughter of the Indian chief, Powhatan, who married John Rolfe, of Varnin, Virginia, April 5, 1613 or 1614. Grandmother Evans was a representative of the seventh generation in direct descent from Pocahontas and Jobn Rolfe. Hugh E. Terrell not only owns a splendid farm in Wayne township, but he is a well-known stock breeder, who raises standard-bred horses, and who has been raising Shorthorn cattle for twenty years. Prominent in the educational circles of his town- ship, he Is a member of the Wayne township school board and has striven earnestly as a member of that board to Increase the efficiency of the public schools and to raise their standard of excellence.
Hugh E. Terrell was born on November 19, 1848, on "Woodlawn Farm," in Wayne township, this county, the son of David A. and Mary J. ( Evans) Terrell. His father was born about one mile south of Highland in Highland county, Ohio, on December 5, 1820, and died in April, 1909. His mother was born near Hillsboro, in Highland county. the daughter of Hugh and Eliza ( Bernard) Evans.
The line of descent from Pocahontas and John Rolfe to Eliza (Bernard) Evans as follows: Pocahontas and John Rolfe were married in 1613 or 1614, there being some doubt as to the exact date, and they had one son, Thomas Rolfe. (1) Thomas Rolfe married Jane Poythress, and they had one child, a daughter. As is well known to all readers of early colonial history. John Rolfe took his Indian bride to England, where her death occurred a few years later. Her son, Thomas Rolfe was reared in England, but in 1640 returned to Virginia and lived on his property called "Varnia," sixteen miles
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below Richmond, near Henricopolis. Thomas Rolfe and wife had a daughter, Jane, who married Col. Robert Bolling in 1675, the Intter of whom was born in 1646, and who died in 1709. The wife of Colonel Bolling lived but one year after her marriage, her death occurring in 1676. She left one child, a son, (3) John Bolling, who afterwards became a colonel in the American army. Col. Jobn Bolling married Mary Kennon, daughter of Doctor Kennon, and with his family lived in his beautiful home on the Appomattox, called the "Cobbs" Col. John Bolling and wife were the parents of six children, one son and five daughters: (4) Major John Bolling, born in 1700, was the father of nineteen children, died in 1757: (4) Jane, 1703, died, 1766, married Col. Richard Randolph, and was the mother of nine children, and the grandmother of Randolph Roanoke, who was of the sixth generation : (4) Mary, 1711, married Col. John Fleming, of Mount Pleasant. who was born in 1697, the son of Charles Fleming and grandson of Sir Thomas Fleming. who, in turn was the son of Sir John Fleming, first earl of Wighton; (4) Elizabeth, 1700, married Dr. William Gay; (4) Martha, 1713, married Thomas Eldridge, and died October 23. 1740. and Anne, who became the wife of James Murray.
Col. John and Mary (Bolling) Fleming were the parents of the following children : (5) Thomas, who was a captain in the Second Virginia Regiment in 1758, and afterwards colonel in the Ninth Regiment of Virginia in the Revolution, married a Miss Randolph, and was killed in the battle of Princeton, January 12, 1777; (5) John, who was a major In the Revolution, was killed at White Plains; William, born on July 6, 1736, married Elizabeth Champe, and during his life filled a number of important judicial positions in his native state of Virginia, died February 15, 1824; (5) Charles, who was captain of the Seventh Virginia, and lieutenant-colonel of the line, and Mary, who became the wife of William Bernard, and was the mother of ten children. The Fleming family was of Flemish descent, one of whom, of high rank, settled in Scotland in the reign of David I. The connection is direct from Sir Malcolm Fleming, sheriff of Dunbarton under Alexander III. This was a singularly distinguished family, friends of Robert Bruce and favorites of successive kings.
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