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 70
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Andrew Jackson Wilson was born on a farm one-half mile from the place where he now lives, in Union township, Clinton county. Ohio, on April 15, 1842, son of Alexander and Sarah ( Ireland) Wilson. the former of whom was born in Lancaster county, Penn- sylvania, in the year 1803, and died at his home in this county in 1805, and the latter of whom was born in Georgetown, Kentucky. In 1802, and died in 1869.
Alexander Wilson was the son of Samuel Wilson, a native of Scotland, who emi- grated to Amerien in the days of his young manhood, locating in Pennsylvania, where for a time he was engaged in farming in Lancaster county. In the early twenties of the last century he came west, locating with his family in this county. He bought one hundred acres of land on the Prairie road, about five miles east of Wilmington, and
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there he spent the rest of his life, becoming, in his day, one of the most influential men in that neighborhood, living to the age of sixty years. Samuel Wilson and his wife, the Jatter of whom was a member of one of the earliest familles in this county, were the parents of five children, three sons and two daughters.
Alexander Wilson was about twenty years of age when his parents moved to this county and he at once entered upon the life of a pioneer farmer. Beginning with nothing but a stout heart and sound resolution, he prospered beyond most of his neighbors. At first he was a tenant farmer in a small way, but presently bought a farm of his own, erecting on the same a store building on the Washington pike, five miles enst of Wilming- ton. This store, which filled "a long-felt want" In that neighborhood, proved the foun- dation of the fortune which Alexander Wilson amassed. As be prospered in his com- mercial enterprise Mr. Wilson invested in lands in that neighborhood, and presently found himself the owner of about one thousand acres of land in Union township. He made his home on the site at present occupied by the fine residence of his son, A. J. Wilson. He and his wife were members of the Christian church, he having been very largely instru- meutal in the organization of the Christian church which was erected many years ago in the vicinity of his home, he having been for years one of the heaviest contributors to the same.
To Alexander and Sarah ( Ireland) Wilson were born eight children, namely. Will- fam, for years a well-known farmer of this county, deceased; Catherine, deceased, who married John Glass; Sarah, deceased, who married Levi Bennett; John, of North Jud- son, Indiana ; Alfred, deceased, a former well-known farmer of this county; George, who died at the age of twenty-two years; Jane, who married Wilson McFarland and lives in Wilmington, this county, and Andrew Jackson, the immediate subject of this sketch.
Andrew Jackson Wilson was reared on the home farm in Unlon township, receiving his education in the district school in the neighborhood of his home, and upon reaching manhood's estate began to take active management of the home farm of two hundred acres, the entire responsibility of his father's extensive operations falling upon his shoul- ders as his father grew older. Upon his father's denth Mr. Wilson Inherited a tidy bit of land, to which he later added by purchase, until now he is the possessor of eight hun- dred and twenty acres, all adjoining. in Union township. In 1870 Mr. Wilson erected a fine new home on the site of his birthplace and has lived there ever since. For years he continued in active personal management of his extensive farms, but gradually re- linquished many of the arduous dutles relating to these operations, and now all his land is tilled by responsible tenants. Mr. Wilson ever took an active Interest in public affairs and early was recognized as a substantial factor in the financial affairs of the county. On January 14, 1879. he was made a director of the First National Bank of Wilmington, and on January S. 1880, was elevated to the position of vice-president of the same, a position involving practically the active control of the bank, from the fact that the president of the same was a non-resident, his home being in Cincinnati. On January 8. 1895, Mr. Wilson was elected president of the bank, and since that time has been nom- inally as well as actually in charge of the bank's affairs, a position of trust and respon- sibility. for which he long hnd displayed the highest capacity. his sound judgment and thorough acquaintance with financial, commercial and industrial conditions in this part of the state giving him eminent qualifications for the important post.
On May 10. 1868. Andrew J. Wilson was united in marriage to Hannah J. Custis, who was born in I'nion township, this county, within one mile of where she now lives, daughter of Douglas and Pernina Custis, a prominent family of Clinton county, a de- tailed history of which is set out in a biographical sketch of Levi Custis, brother of Mrs. Wilson, presented elsewhere in this volume.
Mr. and Mrs. Wilson are members of the Walnut Street Christian church at Wil- mington, of which Mr. Wilson was a trustee for many years, and they are actively con-
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cerned In all good works hereabout, having been for years regarded as among the lenders in all movements designed to advance the common good. Mr. Wilson formerly was a Democrat, but in 1888 transferred his political allegiance to the Republican party, since which time he has taken an active part in the councils of that party in this county, his sound Judgment being considered valuable by the party managers. During the Civil War, Mr. Wilson was enrolled among that patriotic band of home defenders known locally as "squirrel hunters," and played a prominent part in that organization during the period of its existence.
In 1898 Mr. Wilson conceived the idea of erecting at his own expense a steel tower on the court house corner, which should stand as a monument to his interest in the city of Wilmington. Work on the structure was begun on Friday, September 30, 1898, and it was dedicated with appropriate service. The tower Is constructed of steel and rises to a height of one hundred and fifty feet. A striking feature is a cement platform built in the tower at a distance of ten feet from the ground. This is used for the weekly band concerts, which are given by the city band during the summer season. The tower is lighted from top to bottom with electric lights of varying colors and presents a brilliant appearance when lighted up, having a circle of lights at the extreme top. The people are justly proud of the Wilson tower and have the satisfaction of knowing that no other city in the country has such a structure. It is also used for a flag tower.
There are two clocks in the new time system at the First National Bank. One is a master clock that hangs on the north wall of the main banking-room and the other is the dial and frame that stand without. The Inside clock controls the outside one, and together they work ont a plan that insures perfert time for the employees of the bank, and the outside world as well. The outer clock bears the words, "The First National Bank, Established 184." Day and night, the new clock tells the time accurately. It is placed so that from almost any direction it can be seen. With a clock striking the quar- ters and the hours by a series of four chimes, there is little use for other timepieces in the same neighborhood.
President A. J. Wilson, of the First National Bank, is responsible for the innova- tion ; he presented the timepiece, the inside and outside clocks, to the bank and to the public.
Mr. Wilson has been appointed one of the board to locate and build the Clinton county new court house in conjunction with the commissioners of the county.
Though having passed the three-score-and-ten stage of his career. Mr. Wilson is alert and active, enterprising, progressive and energetic, and bis influence in financial circles in this section continues as strong and effective as it was years ago. That he has been an invaluable factor in the financial and commercial life of this county is conceded on all sides, and he is held in the highest respect throughout this section of the state, the leaders in the business community having the utmost confidence in his judgment in financial matters.
HENRY GILROY CARTWRIGHT.
Henry Gliroy Cartwright, one of the well-known lawyers of Wilmington and Clinton county, who has been in partnership with Joe T. Doan for many years, is descended from pioneers of this section of Ohio who had a conspicuous part in its early history. Some of his ancestors were prominent Abolitionists, and before the Civil War assisted in the maintenance of the "underground railroad." Mr. Cartwright himself is a man who was well trained for the practice of his profession, and who, as one of the leading Republicans of Clinton county, has been active in the political and civic life of the county.
Henry G. Cartwright was born at New Burlington. In Chester township. this county. on September 24, 1873. a son of Henry G. and Mary L. ( Harrison) Cartwright, the former
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of whom was born at Front Royal, Frederick county, Virginia, on March, 1837, and died on November 8, 1893. The latter was born at Springfield, Ohio, in February, 1839, and died on April 2, 1907. Mr. Cartwright's paternal grandparents were Lawrence W. and Lucinda (Tobin) Cartwright, both of whom were natives of Virginia and of English descent. Lawrence W. Cartwright learned the tallor's trade, and was engaged in that vocation at Front Royal. Virginia. In 1850 he and his family removed to New Burling. ton, Clinton county, Ohio, and there he conducted a general store and served as post- master for many years. In the early days he had been a stanch Whig, and later became Identified with the Republican party. His family were active members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and he was an officer in that church. He died at the age of seventy- nine, while his wife died in middle life. After her death he was again married, and his second wife died a few years Inter. There were three children by each marriage. Mr. Cartwright's maternal grandfather was Peter Harrison, a native of Yorkshire, Eng- land, whose wife was a native of Mississippi, He was a cabinetmaker, undertaker, and a lay Metbodist Episcopal minister. He came to the United States at the age of eighteen and located in Waynesville, Ohio, Jater removing to Springfield, from which place he came to this county and lived at New Burlington for many years. "He was a strong Abolitionist and was Identified with the "underground railroad" movement In the years preceding the Civil War. At the age of seventy years be removed to Hall county. Nebraska, and Harrison township in that county, where he homesteaded a quarter section of land, was named for him, and there he died at the age of eighty years.
Henry G. Cartwright was thirteen years of age when his family came to this county and here he received a good education. When a lad he worked as a clerk in the John Grant general store at New Burlington, and at the beginning of the Civil War, eulisted for service in the Second Ohio Heavy Artillery, serving until his discharge for physical disability. In the spring of 1574 Heury G. Cartwright opened a dry goods and shoe store in partnership with John C. Cook, at Wilmington, and a few years later purchased the interests of Mr. Cook and operated the store alone, under the name of the "Eagle Store," continuing as proprietor of the store until his death in 1893. He was a Republican and took an active Interest in all local public affairs. The family were all members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Of the four children born to Henry G. and Mary L. (Har- Hison ) Cartwright. Harry died In Infancy ; Henry Gilroy is the subject of this sketch ; Aurora C. Is a resident of Wilmington, and Charles B., also is a resident of Wilmington, where he works in a dry goods store.
Henry G. Cartwright as a lad lived in Wilmington and there attended the public schools. He was graduated from the Wilmington high school in 1892, and subsequently entered Wilmington College. Still later he hecame a student at Obio State I'niversity at. Columbus and was graduated from the law department of that institution in 1896. For several years he practiced his profession alone, but In 1904, formed a partnership with Joe T. Doan, which still continues. Mr. Cartwright served as city solleitor of Wilmington for two years, and for twelve years has been a member of the Wilmington board of education. He has served as a delegate to many conventions of the Republican party, with which he has for years been prominently Identified.
On November 25, 1806. Henry G. Cartwright was married to Anna G. Gallup, who was born in Wilmington, the daughter of Horace and Frances H. Gallup, the former of whom Is deceased, but the Intter of whom is still living. To this union one child has been horn. a son, Hermin G., born on March 19, 1898. who is now a student In the Wilmington high school.
Mr. and Mrs. Cartwright are members of the Presbyterian church. Mr. Cartwright is a director and secretary of the I'nion Loan and Savings Company, of Wilmington, and is a member of the Masonic lodge, including the chapter, the council and the Order of
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the Eastern Star. He is also a member of the subordinate branch and uniform rank of the Knights of Pythias, besides the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elke.
Mr. Cartwright is a man well versed in the law and is familiar, not only with the fundamental principles upon which the law is based, but with all of the modern decisions of practically all the courts in which he practices, besides the higher courts. He is a wise and fair counsellor and a successful practitioner in court, his firm enjoying a large practice, which has been built upon honorable and fair dealing with the public. Per- sonally, Mr. Cartwright is highly respected by his fellow citizens, and is popular among the people of Clinton county.
WILSON HUNNICUTT.
The farmers of this country are the backbone of its commercial life, and, as primary producers, are the class upon which, not only the industrial managers, the transporters, the merchants and the banks depend largely for the prosperity, but good farming is likewise the keel of our commercial life and happiness. Wilson Hunnicutt, a retired farmer who is now living in Wilmington, began with a moderate-sized farm, which he bought on credit, and during his active career was able to accumulate six hundred acres in Liberty and Union townships, a very commendable record, and one of which he has every reason to be very proud.
Wilson Hunnicutt was born on August 18, 1848, in Liberty township, two miles southwest of Port William, the son of Thomas and Susanna ( Bailey) Hunnicut, the former of whom was born in Prince George county, Virginia, July 10, 1811, and who died on April 10, 1876, and the latter born near Dover, Union township, Clinton county, Ohio, February 9, 1810, and who died on October 15, 1806.
The paternal grandparents of Wilson Hunnicutt were Thomas, Sr., and Elizabeth Hunnicutt. The Hunnicutts were of Scotch-Irish descent and were natives of Prince George county, Virginia. He was a planter in Virginia and died in that state on Feb- ruary 15, 1823, a man well respected and widely known. His wife lived several years longer, passing away in 1845. They were prominent and influential members of the Friends church and were, therefore, opposed to slavery, although they lived in a region where slavery was common. Mr. Hunnicutt's maternal grandparents were Daniel and Mary ( Haworth) Bailey, the former of whom was born in Prince George county, Vir- ginia, and the latter of whom was a native of Union township, Clinton county, Daniel Bailey came to Clinton county in 1804, at a time when he was a young man. Here be purchased a farm four miles north of Wilmington and cultivated it until his death in 1844. He was a very tall. stoutly built and rugged man. The family of Daniel and Mary Bailey were stanch Quakers.
Thomas Hunnicutt, Jr., enjoyed only limited opportunities to obtain an education, but made good use of every opportunity presented to him, and became a well-informed man, largely by home study. When he was sixteen years of age he came to Clinton county, arriving on June 10, 1827, from Virginia, with his mother, brothers and sisters and a colony of others. His mother purchased a farm of one hundred acres in Liberty township, and, after Thomas, Jr., was a man, he purchased a tract of land located in what was in those days a swamp. one mile north of his mother's farm. He began with seventy acres of Innd, which he ditched thoroughly and improved, and Inter be owned six hundred acres. In 1835 he was married to Susanna Bailey and they had eight chil- dren. Thomas Hunnicutt, Jr., was well known as a stock raiser, and was appointed on many committees at fairs to Judge hogs. he having been a successful feeder and well known In this county for his success. He and his wife were devout Christians and active in the work of the Quaker church. Early in life he had been appointed an elder In the Dover monthly meetings, Politically, he was identified with the Republican party.
The eight children born to Thomas, Jr., and Susanna Hunnicutt became widely sep-
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arated. Four of the children, Catherine, David, John Oliver and Anna Eliza, are de- censed. Catherine married William Underwood, also deceased, and lived In Liberty township. John Oliver died In 1874. Anna Eliza, who was the youngest, married Henry C. McPherson, who is also deceased. The living children are Daniel B., Mary Elizabeth, Wilson and Thomas E. Daniel B. Ilves in Douglas county, Kansas, where he is a retired farmer. He is a veteran of the Civil War. Mary Elizabeth is the widow of John F .. Spear and lives at Dayton, Ohio. Thomas E. lives in Whittier, California ; his wife died In 1808.
Wilson Hunnicutt attended the Liberty township public schools, and later in life the Martinsville high school. After attending the high school for some time he became a student at the Spiceland Academy, at Spiceland, Indiana, an institution maintained by the Friends. After finishing his education he lived at home until his marriage. His father sold him a farm on credit, comprising one hundred and twenty-two acres, and he added to this farm until he owned five hundred acres in Liberty and Union townships. In 1902 Mr. Hunnieutt retired from active farm work and moved to Wilmington, Oblo, where he is now living at 531 North South street.
On August 3, 1871, Mr. Hunnicutt was married to Mary M. Gallimore, who was born in Wilson township. Clinton county, Ohio; and who is the daughter of Elisha and Eliza (Grear) Gallimore, both of whom are deceased. He was born in North Carolina and his wife was a native of Clinton county. They were members of the Friends church, and he was an excellent farmer, and at one time owned one thousand acres of land. Mr. and Mrs. Hunnicutt have had three children : Franklin, who is referred to elsewhere in this volume; Nora H., who married Dennis Stephens and lives on the Hunnicntt home place; and Bertha May, who married Alton M. Haworth, and who died on May 28, 1912.
Politically, Mr. Hunnicutt is a Republican and served as a school director for tif- teen years while living in the country. He is an elder of the Dover monthly meeting. Wilson Hunnicutt is a very worthy man and a good citizen, a man who has been indus- trious, honorable and fair in his relations with his fellows. Naturally, he is a highly respected citizen of Clinton county.
REV. JOSEPHUS HOSKINS.
No finer type of virile and useful manhood can be found in all Clinton county than the person of the Rev. Josephus Hoskins, of Wilmington, Ohio, who is a well-known real estate dealer of Wilmington and an acknowledged minister of the Friends church at Dover. He has served as evangelistic superintendent of the Wilmington yearly meeting of the Friends church for thirteen years. In 1872, he was acknowledged minister of the Friends church at Dover and was a minister in Dover for thirty-two years. He is still a member of that meeting and has held about every office within the gift of the yearly and quarterly meeting. He stands now as the recognized head of the Wilmington yearly meeting of Friends and Is pastor of the churches at Cuba and Beech Grove, where he preaches on alternate Sundays. The ancestry of the Hoskins family in Clinton county were characterized by their loyalty and patriotism at a time when loyalty and patriotism meant perhaps far more than they mean now. The paternal great-grand- father of Rev. Josephus Hoskins, Moses Hoskins, was a native of North Carolina and a soldier in the War of the Revolution. He immigrated to Ohlo. It Is belleved, about 1810. and subsequently moved to Illinois, where he died.
Rev. Josephus Hoskins is a native of Green township, born three miles north of New Vienna in Clinton county, April 26, 1841, and is the son of Isaac and Rachel ( Hodson) Hoskins. His father was born In 1811 in Guilford county, North Carolina, and died in March, 1897. His mother was born in 1809 in Guilford county, North Carolina, and died In May, 1854.
The parents of Isnac Hoskins, John and Hannab ( Hockette) Hoskins, both of whom
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were natives of North Carolina, were of Welsh dercent. Their ancestors had come from Wales about 1750. There were originally three brothers of the Hoskins family who came to America. One settled In Philadelphia and two In North Carolina. During the Revolutionary War, they operated a blacksmith shop and on one occasion a cannon ball was fired through the shop. All of them were members of the Quaker church.
John Hoskins was the eldest son of Moses Hoskins. He was reared in North Caro- lina and was married there. In 1813 John Hoskins and his family accompanied the Hodson family and a colony of settlers to Clinton county, Oblo. They settled in Green township in the Fairview neighborhood of Friends In those days there were no ronds and the settlers were compelled to cut their way through a dense wilderness. Deer and turkeys were in abundance and occasionally a bear was killed. The nights were made Hildeous by the howling of wolves. Pioneers of these days, those noble men and women who are long since gone, endured many hardships of which the present and the future generations can have no Intimate knowledge. John Hoskins purchased a survey of land consisting of nearly one thousand acres in Clinton county, for which be paid one and one-quarter dollars an acre. He later sold some of it at three dollars an acre and the same land is now worth one hundred and fifty dollars an acre. In the Clinton county wilderness he contracted the bilious fever, for which he was given calomel by a pioneer physician. This salivated him. He died at the age of fifty-five years, December 13, 1846. His wife died on September 18, 1876, at the age of ninety-one years. They were the parents of the following children : William, Isnae. Jobn, Hannah, Mary Jane and Elizabeth. John Hoskins spent most of his life working at the blacksmith's trade. leaving his sons to operate the farm. He had a large blacksmith shop on the farm where he made edged tools, Including axes. He also made unils and did general work. He was an elder in the East Fork meeting of the Friends church as was his wife also.
Isaac Hoskins was two years old when the Hoskins family came to Ohio. He grew up on the farm and learned the blacksmith's trade under his father's direction, His father gave him seventy-two acres of timber land in Green township and he cleared the land of the timber and built a log cabin, where he lived the life of a typical pioneer with wolves and panthers all about. Later he added twenty-two acres adjoining, living on the farm until 1558 when he sold out and moved to Highland, where he was a mer- chant for two years. He then moved to the Dover neighborhood in Union township. His first wife, who was Rachel Hodson, was the daughter of Solomon and Chloe Hodson. natives of North Carolina, who came to Clinton county in 1813 with the Hoskins family. Solomon Hodson bought several hundred acres of land in Green township and lived to be eighty-six years old. His wife died at the age of seventy-five. They were active in the East Fork meeting of the Friends church, he heing an elder in the church and she an active minister. Mrs. Rachel Hoskins died and Isnac Hoskins was married, secondly. in 1875 to Anna Hunt, who died In 1855. Afterwards he made his home with his son. Rev. Josephus Hoskins. Both were prominent In the Friends church. he as an elder and his second wife as an overseer.
Seven children were born to Isaac Hoskins and wife, two of whom. Mary, the widlow of John Davis, of Missouri, and Rev. Josephus Hoskins, the subject of this sketch, are living. The deceased children are: Joel and Josiah, twins, the former of whom died in Lewis county. Missouri, and the latter in Wilmington: Martha, who was the wife of Ezekiel Haworth, of Lynchburg, Ohio; Jane, who married Oliver Carl, of Liberty town- ship; and Lydia, who married Daniel Henry, of I'nion township.
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