USA > Ohio > Fayette County > History of Fayette County, Ohio : her people, industries and institutions > Part 35
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and by good management and strict economy left a good estate and at his death, in 1800, was the owner of eight hundred and fifty acres in Paint town- ship, this county. His widow is still living and is now residing in Washing- ton C. H. Both were members of the Methodist Episcopal church, while he was prominent in the civic life of his community. He held various town- ship offices and was a member of the school board of his township at one time. William R. Willis was the son of James Madison and Emily (South- ward ) Willis, both natives of Ohio and pioneers in Fayette county. James Madison Willis was a merchant and farmer in Paint township, and was the parent of several children, Mrs. Laura B. Jones. James Woodbridge and several who died while young. Virginia McDonald, the wife of William R. Willis, was the daughter of Thomas and Rebecca McDonald, natives of Vir- ginia and Ohio, respectively, and early settlers in New Holland, Ohio. Thomas McDonald was a wagon-maker and followed this occupation until his death in New Holland at an advanced age. Mr. McDonald and his wife were the parents of three children, Catherine. Robert, and Virginia, the wife of William R. Willis.
James Madison Willis was reared on his father's farm in Paint town- ship and after finishing the course in the public schools graduated from the Bloomingburg high school, after which he entered the University of Mich- igan, but. on account of his father's death in 1890, was compelled to withdraw after completing two years in the university. He then returned home and asstuned charge of his father's large farm and has been engaged in farming ever since. For the past ten years he has lived in Washington C. H., but he still has active charge of the farm and takes pride in calling himself a farmer. In addition to the interests which he has in the old home place of eight hundred and fifty acres, he owns four hundred acres of his own adjoin- ing the home farm, which gives him one of the largest farms in the county, and according to the 1910 census there are only forty-three farms in the county of more than five hundred acres, four of which are over one thousand acres in extent.
Mr. Willis was married June 9, 1892, to Mary C. Keller, the daughter of Daniel T. and Mary Jane (Thistle) Keller, and to this union have been born two daughters, Gretchen and Doris. Mrs. Willis was born in Romney. Virginia, her parents being natives of the same state and now deceased. Mr. Keller and his wife were the parents of five children.
Politically, Mr. Willis is a Republican and has always been active in political matters. He was elected to the Ohio General Assembly in 1900 as
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representative from the joint district of Fayette and Madison counties, and when the state was redistricted he served another term as representative from Fayette county. While in the General Assembly his influence was always cast on the side of good government and his hearty support was given to all measures which he felt would benefit the state in any way. Locally, he has been a member of the school board of Washington C. H. for several years and was on the board of directors when the present high school building was erected. In addition to his farming interests, Mr. Willis is connected with the People's Bank of Bloomingsburg and is a director and vice-president of this financial institution. Fraternally, he is a member of the Free and Ac- cepted Masons, belonging to the blue lodge, the Royal Arch chapter and the commandery of Knights Templar at Washington C. H. He also holds his membership in the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks in his home city. Mrs. Willis is a member of the Presbyterian church, and while he is not an active member of any church yet he lends his influence to all worthy move- ments which are fostered by the church. As a representative citizen of the county he has been active in every movement looking toward the welfare of his community and in this way has won the high respect and esteem of all who know him.
THOMAS S. MADDOX.
The Maddox family trace their ancestry back to colonial times and have found that the first member of the family concerning whom definite informa- tion has been preserved came to Ohio from Delaware about 1800 and located in Ross county, near the present city of Frankfort. The first member of the . family to come to this state was David Maddox, a pioneer Methodist preacher and a native of Sussex county, Delaware, as was his wife, Elizabeth Lingo. They were married in their native state, settled in Ross county, Ohio, about 1800, and lived there the remainder of their lives, both being buried at Clarksburg, in that county. Rev. David Maddox was a soldier in the War of 1812, serving in one of the Ohio regiments.
The children born to Rev. David Maddox and wife were Benjamin, Collins, William, Zachariah, Smith, John, Mitchell, Samuel, Mesister, Mary and Polly. David Maddox and wife were the great-grandparents of Thomas S. Maddox, the present prosecuting attorney of Fayette county. The grand- father of Mr. Maddox was Benjamin Maddox, who was a babe in arms when his parents moved from Delaware to Ohio. He was reared to manhood in
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Frankfort, Ohio, and after his marriage to Ann Timmons, a native of Ohio, he located about ten miles from Clarksburg, where he farmed until his death in middle life, his wife surviving him many years. Benjamin Maddox and wife were the parents of a large family of children, Robert A., Stewart, Drusilla, William, Edward, Martha, Harriett and Franklin. The widow of Benjamin Maddox married William Crabbe after the death of her first hus- band and two children were born to her second marriage, Mrs. Millie Foster and Mrs. Emma Knowles.
Robert A. Maddox, the father of the immediate subject of this sketch, was born in Ross county and there reared to manhood. He enlisted for service in the Civil War in Company D, Eighty-ninth Regiment Ohio Volun- teer Infantry, and served for about eighteen months. He first enlisted for a short term, and upon the expiration of his first enlistment re-enlisted, serv- ing throughout as a private. After the close of the war he returned to his home county and followed his trade as a blacksmith until his death November 4. 1902, being in his seventy-third year at the time of his death. His wife died January 26, 1906, at the age of seventy-six. He was married before the war to Martha A. Taylor, the daughter of William and Elizabeth (Nessell) Taylor, natives of Pike county, Ohio. To this union were born eleven children, five sons and six daughters, ten of whom lived to maturity. These children in the order of their birth are as follows: William, deceased ; Lizzie, deceased, was the wife of Harvey Thrush; Drusilla, who died at the age of nineteen years: Margaret Ann, the wife of Frank Walston, of Will- iamsport. Ohio; Samuel O., of Washington C. H .; Mary Belle, the wife of Frank Kelley, of Washington C. H .; Robert Franklin, of New Holland, Ohio; Thomas S., with whom this narrative subsequently deals: James S., of Sabina, Ohio; Nettie O., deceased, who was the wife of George Wright, and Vonnie May, who died in infancy.
William Taylor, the father of the wife of Robert A. Maddox, was a shoemaker by trade, and he and his wife were early settlers in Fayette county, where they lived to the ripe old ages of seventy-six and ninety-seven respectively, and are buried in Coon's cemetery in Jefferson township. Will- iam Taylor and wife reared a family of children : William, George. Chester, John, Elizabeth, Allemon, Christina Newman, Mrs. Nancy DeMoss and Martha A., the wife of Robert A. Maddox.
Thomas S. Maddox, the present prosecuting attorney of Fayette county. and the son of Robert A. and Martha (Taylor) Maddox, was born in Clarks- burg, Ross county, this state, on March 7, 1864. He was reared in Williams-
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port, Pickaway county, this state, and Octa, this county, attending the public schools in both of these places. As a young man he taught school and for eight years was a successful instructor of the youth in Fayette county. Dur- ing this time he served as a member of the board of county school examiners, serving in this capacity for nine years. During the time he was engaged in teaching he was working on the farm in his summer vacations, and during the winter season, while teaching, spent his spare moments in reading law.
Mr. Maddox applied himself so diligently to his legal studies that he was ready for admission to the bar in March, 1894, and at once began the active practice of his profession in Washington C. H., where he has since lived. As a lawyer he ranks well with those who have been engaged in this profession in Fayette county, a fact which is shown by his election as county prosecuting attorney in 1912. He has been a life-long Republican and in the summer of 1912 his party nominated him for this position, and upon his subsequent election at the November polls he took his office on January I. 1913. He is showing marked zeal in prosecuting all offenders of the law, and is building up a reputation as a man who is free from all entangling alliances and a man who is thoroughly able to cope with any legal situation which may arise in his office.
Mr. Maddox was married July 3, 1889, to Elizabeth Lamb. the daughter of John W. and Alice B. ( Hall) Lamb, and to this marriage have been born two sons, Robert Ray and Thomas Emory. Robert Ray is assistant prose- cutor under his father and ex-deputy probate clerk. Robert Ray married Ruth Deere and has one daughter, Carrie Elizabeth. The other son, Thomas Emory, is still in school.
Mrs. Maddox was born in Holt county, Missouri, and her father was a native of North Carolina, while her mother was born in Kentucky, and after their marriage they became early settlers in Clinton county, Ohio. Both have been deceased many years. They were the parents of three children, Monterey, Tina, and Elizabeth, the wife of Mr. Maddox. The paternal grandparents of Mrs. Maddox were Isaac and Catherine ( White) Lamb. natives of North Carolina and early settlers in Clinton county, Ohio, where she died, while the grandfather died in Missouri. Isaac Lamb and wife were the parents of three children, John W., Jehu and Mrs. Maria King. The maternal grandparents of Mrs. Maddox were Harvey and Nancy (Van Hook) Hall, natives of Kentucky and early settlers in Clinton county, this state, where they died. Harvey Hall and wife were the parents of a large family of children : Alice B., Amanda, Margaret, Ann, Tabitha, Monterey. William, Dean, Elias and Elizabeth.
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Mr. Maddox is a member of the Knights of Pythias, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Fraternal Order of Eagles and the Modern Wood- men of America. Mrs. Maddox is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church and, while Mr. Maddox is not actively identified with the church, yet he is interested in all the work of the church and contributes of his means to its support.
HARRISON F. BROWN.
A man's reputation is the property of the world, for the laws of nature have forbidden isolation. Every human being either submits to the con- trolling influence of others or wields an influence which touches, controls. guides or misdirects others. If he be honest and successful in his chosen field of endeavor, investigation will brighten his fame and point the way along which others may follow with like success. The reputation of Har- rison F. Brown, one of the leading citizens and efficient public officials of Fay- ette county, is such, according to those who know him best, it is believed that a study of his career will be of benefit to the reader, for it has been one not only of honor but of usefulness also.
Harrison F. Brown, or Harry, as he is familiarly known among his friends and acquaintances, is the scion of a sterling line of ancestors, who have been closely identified with the history of the Buckeye state in their respective communities. His paternal great-grandfather was Peter Brown, whose wife, Nancy Polk, was related to President James K. Polk. Among their children was Trusten Polk Brown, who was a native of Sussex county, Delaware, as was his wife, Tabitha Wingate Cannon. The latter's parents were Jesse and Margaret Cannon, also natives of Delaware. Trusten and Tabitha Brown were brought to Ohio in their childhood, he when about six years of age, and she when two years younger, the two families settling in Deer Creek township, Pickaway county. There they grew to maturity and were married, and there they spent the rest of their days, he dying at the age of fifty-six years and she when sixty-six years old. To Trusten and Tabitha Brown were born the following children: Frank, Wesley, Trusten, Peter W., Sarah, Nancy, Elizabeth, Maria. Tabitha and Solomon Wesley.
Solomon W. Brown was reared in Pickaway county and throughout his active life he applied himself to the vocation of farming. Eventually, about 1867, he came to Fayette county, locating on the Benjamin Harrison farm in Paint township, where he remained until about 1900, when he came to
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Washington C. H. and here he has since resided, enjoying that rest which he so richly earned. He married Mary Elizabeth Harrison, the daughter of Benjamin and Martha ( Reeves) Harrison, and to them were born two chil- dren, Emma .A., the wife of J. T. Morris, of Washington C. H., and Har- rison. the immediate subject of this sketch.
The parents of Mrs. Mary Elizabeth Brown were natives of Ohio and the major portion of their lives were spent in Madison county, where their deaths occurred. Benjamin Harrison was a son of Gen. Batteal Harrison. who was a second cousin of ex-President Benjamin Harrison and who served with the rank and title of general in the War of 1812. His wife, Elizabeth (Scott ) Harrison, was a native of Kentucky. For many years they resided in Fayette county and died here. Benjamin Harrison was a prominent and successful farmer and took a prominent part in the public affairs of his county, serving at one time as county commissioner. His wife. Martha ( Reeves ) Harrison, was a daughter of Thomas and Mary ( Jackson ) Reeves, natives of Madison county, Ohio. To Benjamin and Martha ( Reeves) Har- rison were born five children, Mary Elizabeth, Batteal, Isabel, Angeline and Winnie S. Gen. Batteal Harrison was a son of Benjamin Harrison, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence.
Harrison F. Brown was born on the paternal homestead in Paint town- ship. Fayette county, Ohio, on the 4th day of April, 1873. He was reared amid the health-giving surroundings of country life and early imbibed those elements of industry, persistence and independence which have so largeh contributed to his later success in life. He first attended the district schools and the high school at Bloomingburg, and then became a student in the National Business University, at Columbus, where he graduated at the age of twenty years, with a good practical knowledge of business methods and practices. During the following two years Mr. Brown was a traveling sales- man. but at the end of that period he located on a farm in Paint township. to the operation of which he devoted himself with pronounced success until November, 1909, when he moved to Washington C. H., where he has since resided. The farm of two hundred and sixty acres in Paint township is owned by Mrs. Brown, but Mr. Brown also owns a farm of three hundred and thirty acres in Green township, both tracts being well improved and valuable properties. On the Ist of April, 1913, Mr. Brown entered into a partnership with J. L. Rothrock in the livery business, in which they have met with pronounced success. They carry a large line of vehicles of every description demanded by the local trade and their turn-outs equal any in this locality. They are courteous and careful in their treatment of their custom-
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ers and are numbered among the popular business firms of this city. On May I, 1914, Mr. Brown purchased his partner's interest and is now the sole owner of the business.
Politically, Harry Brown has been a life-long supporter of the Repub- lican party and has long been an active worker in the ranks and prominent in the party councils. In recognition of his sterling qualities of character and his sound business ability, he was nominated and elected to the responsible office of county commissioner, and so satisfactory was his service in that It capacity that he was re-elected and is thus now serving his second term. is the consensus of public opinion that the county never had a more careful or efficient public official than Mr. Brown. Fraternally, he is a member of Leanore Lodge No. 512. Free and Accepted Masons, at Sedalia, Ohio; Fay- ette Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, at Washington C. H .; Garfield Com- mandery No. 128, Knights Templar, and is also a member of Washington Lodge No. 129. Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. Mrs. Brown is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church.
On February 26, 1903, Harry Brown was married to Florence E. Selsor, a native of Paint township, this county, and the daughter of William J. and Electa J. ( Morris) Selser, who were early settlers in Fayette county. To Mr. and Mrs. Brown have been born two children, Mary Elizabeth and William S.
William J. Selsor was born in Madison county, Ohio, and his wife in Fayette county. They were the parents of four children, namely: Idell. Edna Dean ( who died at the age of eighteen years), Florence Ethel (Mrs. Brown) and Ercell. Mrs. Brown's paternal grandparents were Fred and Mary ( Rankin) Selsor, natives of Virginia, while her maternal grandparents were Samuel and Phoebe ( Groves) Morris. Samuel Morris was born in Clermont county, this state, in 1805, and was brought to Fayette county in 1813. Phoebe { Groves ) Morris was born in Jackson county, Ohio, coming to Fayette county after her marriage. To this worthy couple were born eight children, Daniel Groves, Samuel Robinson, John Eulon, Electa J., Will- iam Warrington, Martin Wolf, Amanda Elizabeth and Elma Eliza. William J. Selsor died in 1909, being survived by his widow, who still resides in Washington C. H.
Mr. Brown has demonstrated himself to be a man of good business ability and marked enterprise. As a private citizen he takes a deep and abid- ing interest in all phases of the community life affecting the material, educa- tional, social or moral welfare of the people, and his support is always given
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to such movements as are conducive to the greatest public good. Personally, he is a genial and companionable man and enjoys a marked popularity in the community where he resides.
PROF. WILLIAM WALTER DAVIES.
Not too often can be repeated the life story of one who has lived so honorable and useful a life and attained to such notable distinction as has he whose name appears at the head of this sketch, one of Ohio's successful and distinguished educators and writers. His character has been one of signal exaltation and purity of purpose. Well disciplined in mind, maintaining a vantage point from which life has presented itself in correct proportions. simple and unostentatious in his self-respecting, tolerant individuality, such a man could not prove other than a force for good in whatever relation of life he may have been placed. His character is the positive expression of a strong nature and his strength is as the number of his days. His career has been a long, busy and useful one, and his name is revered by all who have had occasion to come into contact with him. His life has been one of con- secration to his calling, and well does he merit a place of honor in every history touching upon the lives and deeds of those who have given the best of. their powers and talents for the aiding and betterment of their kind.
William W. Davies was born on the toth day of May, 1848, in Llangybi. Cardiganshire, South Wales, and is the son of David and Mary Davies, both of whom are deceased. In young manhood William Davies came to the United States and, having completed his public school training, he be- came a student in Ohio Wesleyan University, where he was graduated ill 1872. with the degree of Bachelor of Arts, and receiving his Master's degree from the same institution in 1875. In 1874 he graduated from Drew Theo- logical Seminary, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Divinity. In 1877 he was given the degree of Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Halle, Prussia, after three years of study in residence, and he also studied in the Faculte Libre, Lausanne, Switzerland, and the Sorbonne, Paris. In 1878 Doctor Davies was ordained to the ministry of the Methodist Episcopal church and during the following two years was pastor of the church at Dover. Ohio: from 1879 to 1883 he was instructor of Hebrew and modern languages in Ohio Wesleyan University ; adjunct professor, 1883-4, and then became professor of Hebrew and German. He devoted himself indefatigably
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to his labors and for many years he has been numbered among the leading educators of the state which he has honored by his citizenship. Doctor Davies has done considerable original research work and has done much writing. In 1894 he became and is still editor of the department of Archaeol- ogy and Biblical Research in the Methodist Review: wrote the Critical Notes in the Sunday School Teachers' Journal, 1895-7: contributor to Mod- ern Languages, Notes, and to various religious journals. He is a member of the Society of Biblical Archaeology, the Victoria Institute, Authors' Club ( London), Phi Kappa Psi and Phi Beta Kappa. He is author of the "Uni- versal Bible Encyclopedia," two volumes, 1903; "The Codes of Hamurabi and Moses," 1905.
Professor Davies has twice been married. On December 25, 1879, he married Mary E. Chase, of Auburn, Maine, whose death occurred on Septem- ber 2, 1909. On the 27th of June, 1911, he was married to Madeline B. Sharp, widow of the late Morris Sharp, of Washington C. H .. and who is referred to at length elsewhere in this work. Professor Davies is a man of genial and kindly impulses, who, because of his splendid ability and high personal character, has won a host of warm personal friends.
CHARLES FRANKLIN COFFEY.
Holding distinctive prestige among the enterprising and influential citi- zens of Fayette county, is Charles F. Coffey, present mayor of Washington. C. H., whose record, here briefly outlined, is that of a self-made man. who, by the exercise of the talents with which nature endowed him, success- fully fought his way through life's battles and rose to the position he now occupies as one of the leading men of the community honored by his citizen- ship. He is a creditable representative of old pioneer families of this locality and the admirable qualities and characteristics of his sturdy ancestors have borne fruit in his own life.
Charles F. Coffey was born in Fayette county, Ohio, on the 8th day of May. 1868, and is a son of James R. and Rebecca Jane (Stafford) Coffey. who are both natives of Ohio, the father born in Highland county and the mother in Fayette county, both being reared in Fayette county. They were the parents of five children, three of whom lived to maturity, namely: Eliza Jane, deceased, who was the wife of Dennis Blackmore: Charles F., of this review : Wayman Hampton, deceased, and two who died in infancy. James
CHARLES F. COFFEY
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R. Coffey was a laboring man during the first years of his mature life, but, being a man of steady and economical habits, he was able to forge ahead and eventually secured a farm of eighty-one and a half acres in Green township, to the improvement of which he devoted himself, and where he reared his children. He died on March 11, 1913, in the seventy-second year of his age, and his wife passed away on March 2, 1913, aged sixty-six years. They were members of the Methodist Protestant church and their lives were singularly consistent with their religious professions.
The paternal grandparents of the subject were John Patterson Coffey and Sarah Coffey, both of whom were natives of Pennsylvania. In the pioneer period they came to Highland county, Ohio, where they remained for a time and also ran a hotel in Buena Vista in the early days, finally locating in Fayette county. Here they died when well advanced in years and are buried in White Oak cemetery. Their children were as follows: William, Addison, Charles, John. James R., Ruth and Margaret. On the maternal side, the subject is descended from Wayman Hampton Stafford and Jane (McDaniel) Stafford, he a native of Virginia and she of Pennsylvania, while both were of English descent. They became pioneer settlers in Fayette county, where Mr. Stafford followed the vocation of a miller, one of the most useful occupations during the days of the early settlement of that community. His mill was located on Rattlesnake creek in Green township. Jane Stafford passed away in middle life, but her husband lived to old age. They had two children, Rachel ( Wallen) and Rebecca. After the death of his first wife. Wayman Stafford married Ellen Tutor, to which union were born three sons, Solomon, Charles and Parris.
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