USA > Ohio > Fayette County > History of Fayette County, Ohio : her people, industries and institutions > Part 36
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Charles F. Coffey has spent practically his entire life in Fayette county, the years of his young manhood being spent on the paternal homestead in Green township. He received his educational training in the district schools of his home neighborhood and until 1906 applied himself closely to the oper- ation of the home farm, in which he was successful. In the year mentioned. Mr. Coffey went to Columbus, Ohio, and for a year was in the employ of the International Harvester Company. He then came to Washington C. H., and for two years was engaged in the livery business, followed by a like period in the grocery business. He has disposed of his commercial interests, retaining the home farm, though he still resides in Washington C. H.
Politically, Charles F. Coffey has been a life-long supporter of the Demo- cratic party and has always taken an intelligent interest in local public affairs. While residing in his home township he served twelve years as township
(25)
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trustee, was supervisor for three or four terms, was a member of the board of review for two years and served several years as a school director. in 1913 Mr. Coffey was elected mayor of Washington C. H., and is filling the office with credit to himself and to the entire satisfaction of his fellow citi- zens. Fraternally, Mr. Coffey is a member of Temple Lodge No. 227, Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows, and was a charter member of Amazon Lodge No. 672, Knights of Pythias, but is now a member of Confidence Lodge at Washington C. H. Religiously, Mr. Coffey is a member of the Methodist Protestant church and Mrs. Coffey is affiliated with the Methodist Episcopal church.
On the 20th day of February, 1890, Mr. Coffey was married to Ada L. Clark, who was born in Washington C. H., the daughter of John S. and Catherine (Adams) Clark. Her parents were both born in Ohio, the father in Fayette and the mother in Highland county, and they are now residing in Buena Vista. They are the parents of four children, Harry. Ada L., Fred R. and Zilpha. To Mr. and Mrs. Coffey have been born two children, Lois and Robert.
Mr. Coffey is still in the prime of life and has before him many active and useful years. As before stated, he still owns the old home farm, to which he added twenty acres, making a total of one hundred and one and a half acres, and also owns an attractive and comfortable residence in Was1 -- ington C. H. He takes a deep and abiding interest in everything pertaining to the welfare of the community and gives his support to all worthy move- ments for the advancement of his fellow citizens. Prompt and discreet in the discharge of his official duties, affable and courteous to all who have business with him, and a man of inflexible integrity, he is justly deserving of representation in the annals of his county.
JARED F. ADAMS.
Success in this life is almost always won by the truly deserving. It is an axiom demonstrated by all human experience that a man gets out of this life what he puts into it plus a reasonable interest on the investment. The individual who inherits a large estate and adds nothing to his fortune cannot be called a successful man. On the other hand he that falls heir to a large fortune and increases its value is successful in proportion to the amount which he adds to his original possessions, but the man who starts in the
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world unaided and by sheer force of will, controlled by correct principles, forges ahead and at length reaches a position of honor among his fellow citizens, achieves success such as representatives of the two former classes can neither understand nor appreciate. To a considerable extent Jared F. Adams is a creditable representative of the class last named, having started out as a youth of fourteen on his own responsibilities. As a school teacher, as a lawyer and as a business man, he has performed his every duty faith- fully and well, and is justly classed with the representative citizens of Fayette county.
Jared F. Adams, the son of Isaac and Elizabeth (Wright) Adams, was born February 22, 1863, in Frederick county, Virginia. His parents were natives of the same state and reared a family of eight children, seven of whom grew to maturity: Mary, the wife of J. S. Stottlemyre, of Winchester, Virginia : Nimrod, of Frederick county, Virginia; Lana, the wife of Tobias Loy : Ellen, the wife of George W. Catlett; John, who was killed by lightning when a young man; Isaac; Thomas, who died in young manhood, and Jared F .. who is represented in this narrative.
Isaac Adams was a life-long farmer in Frederick county, Virginia, where his death occurred at the age of sixty. His wife is still living and is now in her one hundredth year. Isaac Adams was the son of David Adams, a farmer of Frederick county, Virginia, and the father of several children, among whom were Hiram, Peter and Isaac. The parents of Isaac Adams' wife were natives also of Virginia, living in the extreme eastern part of the state. The mother of Mrs. Adams died at the age of one hundred and three.
Jared F. Adams lived on his father's farm in Virginia until he was four- teen years of age and then came to Ohio and went to work on a farm in Fayette county near Milledgeville. He worked for five years for William A. Creamer, during which time he attended school during the winter season. His first schooling was under the tutelage of Frank M. Allen, the editor of this volume. He also attended the Bloomingburg Normal, which was con- ducted by Mr. Allen and Dr. A. M. Jones. Upon reaching his majority he started to teach in the district schools of this county, and in 1888 he came to Washington C. H. and taught school in the country near this city. While teaching he took up the study of law in the office of Hidy & Patton, and was finally admitted to the bar October 6, 1894, and has been in the practice of his profession in Washington C. H. for the past twenty years. However. most of his time has been given to the loan and insurance business, in which he has been very successful. He is the attorney for and a stockholder in the Farmers Bank, of Good Hope, and was one of the number to organize the
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bank in that place. He is also a stockholder in the Fayette County Bank, of Washington C. H.
Mr. Adams was married October 8, 1891, to Arminta Cline, the daughter of William and Naomi (Glasgow) Cline. Mrs. Adams was born in Jasper township, this county, both of her parents being natives of this state also. Her father, who was a farmer, died in 1910, on April roth, at the age of seventy-three, while her mother died in 1907 at the age of sixty-eight. The paternal grandparents of Mrs. Adams were George W. and Catherine ( Feag- gins) Cline, early settlers in this county, where they lived to a ripe old age. They were the parents of five children : Edward, Mary, Philip, Andrew J .. and William S., the father of Mrs. Adams. The maternal grandparents of Mrs. Adams were Andrew J. Glasgow and wife, early settlers in Clinton county, this state.
Politically. Mr. Adams is a Democrat, but has never had any inclination to become an aspirant for public office, preferring to devote his time and energies to his individual interests. Fraternally, he is a member of Temple Lodge No. 227, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and also of Fayette Encampment No. 134. He and his wife are members of the Imperial Re- bekah Lodge No. 717. He also holds his membership in the Knights of the Golden Eagle, as well as the Ladies of the Golden Eagle. He is also actively interested in the Junior Order of United AAmerican Mechanics, of which he is a valued member.
ROY T. MCCLURE.
The true measure of individual success is determined by what one has accomplished. An enumeration of those men who have succeeded in their special vocations in Fayette county and at the same time have impressed their personalities on the community where they resided would not be com- plete without the mention of Roy Thomas McClure, the cashier of the People's and Drovers' Bank, of Washington C. H. Graduating from the Ohio University, at the age of twenty, his first practical experience in bank- ing was gained in the People's Bank at Bloomingburg, and a short time later he started to work for the People's and Drovers' Bank, of Washington C. H. Such was his ability and so well did he impress the directors of this excellent financial institution that within three years, at the age of twenty-three, he was made cashier of the bank, a position which he is filling with entire credit to himself and satisfaction to the directors of the bank. The success
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which has come to him has been the direct result of his ability and close attention to business.
Roy Thomas McClure, the only son of Joseph M. and Anna ( Davis) McClure, was born October 6, 1884. in Rarden, Scioto county, Ohio. His father was a native of Highland county, this state, and lived there until his marriage, when he located in Rarden, where he engaged in the mercantile business for several years. He is now engaged in the same business in Bloomingburg, where he has been for many years. He is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons, while both he and his wife are loyal and con- sistent members of the Presbyterian church. They have two children, Roy T. and Eva, who is still living with her parents.
Joseph M. McClure is the son of Thomas and Martha ( McCague) McClure, natives of Ohio. Thomas McClure was an undertaker at Sinking Springs, in Highland county, this state, where he and his wife died several years ago. They were the parents of four children, George, Robert, Mar- . garet and Joseph M., the father of Roy T. McClure. The parents of Joseph McClure's wife were Thomas and Elizabeth ( Ralston.) Davis, natives of this state, who lived in Scioto county, and were farmers there all of their days, dying in that county at an advanced age. Thomas Davis and wife were the parents of seven children, Steele, James, Ellis, Sarah, Ross, Mattie, and Anna, the wife of Joseph M. McClure.
Rov T. McClure was reared in Bloomingburg from the time he was four years of age. He attended the common and high schools of that place and then entered Ohio University, from which institution he graduated in 1904, being one of the youngest graduates who ever completed the course in that institution. While in college he became a member of the Ohio Gamma chapter of Phi Delta Theta. His first practical experience in bank- ing was obtained in the People's Bank at Bloomingburg : he later accepted a position in the People's and Drovers' Bank at Washington C. H. This bank is the oldest in the city, having been organized in 1864, and is now the largest bank in the city. Mr. McClure began at the bottom in this bank and within three years attained the position of cashier, and for the past six years has been filling this position in a most satisfactory manner.
Mr. McClure was married October 2, 1907, to Eva Lucile Feurt, the daughter of William A. and Lydia (Brown) Feurt, and to this union has been born one daughter, Enid Lynette, and one son, Joseph Feurt. Mrs. McClure was born in Maryville, Missouri, and her parents are now residents of Chicago. Mrs. McClure has one brother, Fred, living.
Politically, Mr. McClure is a member of the Republican party, but has
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never been active in political affairs. The nature of his profession is such as to prevent him from being active in the councils of his party, and office holding has never held out any attractions for him. He and his wife are members of the Presbyterian church. Mr. McClure is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons.
JAMES WILLIAM WILLIS.
In the death of James W. Willis, in 1906, there was removed another of those prominent business men of Washington C. H., Ohio, who have made their way in life by force of their own merit and industry from small be- ginnings to great successes, and his memory will long be revered and his influence for good felt in this section of the state, for he belonged to that class of worthy and noble citizens who leave behind them much that is deatlı- less. He was a man of absolute honesty, always on the advance, and man- aged his extensive business affairs with a skill and prudence which came of accurate knowledge and wide experience. His rise in the world was at the expense of no one, and in his death Washington C. H. and Fayette county sustained a great loss and a wide circle of friends was left to mourn his pass- ing away, for he was universally regarded as one of Washington's most useful and enterprising men of affairs, of which city he had been an active and influential citizen for many years.
There flowed in the veins of James W. Willis an admixture of the blood of those sturdy races from across the sea which have contributed so largely to the progress and advancement of this great country of ours-Eng- land and Ireland. From England came his paternal grandfather Willis, who married Eleanor Montgomery. He came to the United States when eighteen years of age and settled at once in Fayette county, Ohio. He acquired a farm in Jefferson township and there spent the remainder of his days, dying there when past eighty years of age. To him and his wife were born the following children : Henry, James, Robert, Samuel, Mrs. Lewis, Mrs. Montgomery, Mrs. Gifford, Mrs. Boyer, Mrs. Fichthorn, Mrs. Thornburg. John. On the maternal side, the subject was descended from Robert Hogue, who, with his wife, came from the Emerald isle and also became early settlers in Fayette county, their home being in Jasper township. Their children were John. Robert, William and Belinda. Of the children of these respective families, Samuel Willis and Belinda Hogue, who were both born in Fayette
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county, married, and to them were born ten children, namely: Samantha ( Stover), Lucinda, Sallie, Ida, James W., Tillie, Lina, Linda and Jennie.
Samuel Willis passed his entire life in Fayette county, following the vocation of farming in Jasper township, where he owned one hundred and ten acres of excellent land. He was a man of splendid character, who en- joyed the respect of all who knew him, and his death occurred there in 1871, when about fifty-one years of age. His wife died in 1881, when sixty-five years of age. They were Methodists in their religious belief and were known for their kindness and benevolence. Mr. Willis was a soldier in the Civil War during the last year of that great struggle.
James W. Willis was born in Jasper township on the 4th day of June, 1853, and he remained on the paternal homestead until he had attained his maturity. He had received a good practical education in the district schools, and sometime after attaining his majority he moved to Jamestown and for a short time was engaged in the hotel business. He then went to Milledge- ville and built a home, engaging there in the timber and lumber business. Later he engaged in agricultural pursuits, which always had for him a special attraction and in which he was always successful, though at the same time he gave some of his attention to the lumber business. About that same time Mr. Willis and John L. Barnes, engaged in the buying and selling of live stock for several years, meeting with very satisfactory results. In 1887, Mr. Willis came to Washington C. H. and engaged first in the butchering busi- ness, later adding the handling of live stock, and still later he again embarked in the lumber business and ran a saw mill, which commanded his attention up to the time of his death. It was a testimonial to his versatility. of talent and his ready ability to adapt himself to any circumstances or demands upon him, that he could engage in so many different lines of enterprise and handle all of them successfully. In addition to the lines already mentioned, Mr. Willis established and built the present chair factory and engaged quite ex- tensively in the manufacture of chairs and he was the chief actor in the promotion and establishment of the P. Haggerty Shoe Company. He was the owner of the Millwood addition to the city of Washington .C. H., which he improved with splendid pavements and sidewalks, so that it became one of the most attractive suburbs of the city. He was a stockholder and director of the Commercial Bank, one of the solid financial institutions of Fayette county. Mr. Willis bought the old D. I. Worthington home and here he lived and dispensed an old-fashioned hospitality that was greatly enjoyed by his large circle of warm and loyal friends. He was a man of genial and kindly impulses, who continually made friends and never sacrificed any.
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Politically, Mr. Willis was a Republican from principle, and took a keen and intelligent interest in public affairs, though too busy a man himself to mix much in political affairs. Fraternally, he was a member of and took a deep interest in the time-honored order of Free and Accepted Masons, in which he took the degrees up to and including those of Knight Templar. Though not a member of any church, Mr. Willis was an attendant of the Baptist church, to which Mrs. Willis belongs, and he was a firm believer in every movement the object of which was the uplift of the human race. The death of Mr. Willis occurred on the 25th day of July, 1906, at the age of fifty-three years.
On August 20, 1882, James W. Willis married Carrie Spangler, who was born in Ross county, Ohio, on April 23. 1863, the daughter of Dr. Robert W. and Margaret (Somerville) Spangler, the former a native of Kentucky and the latter of Ohio. Mrs. Margaret Spangler died in Ross county, Ohio, at the age of forty-one years. She had borne her husband five children. Lucy Jane, John Mosby, Charles Somerville, Carrie Belle and Fred Arthur. Doctor Spangler was a practicing physician in Ross county for about twenty years and in Milledgeville for a like period, thus rounding out an honorable and successful professional career of four decades. His death occurred in 1897, at the age of about sixty-one years, having survived his wife more than thirty years. Mrs. Willis' paternal grandfather. Frederick Arthur Spangler. was a native of Pennsylvania, and his wife, whose maiden name was Lucy Jane Cornelius, was born in Kentucky. She died in middle life and he at the age of about seventy years. Mrs. Willis' maternal grandfather. John A. Somerville, was born in Scotland. He came to the United States in 1808, settling in Ross county, Ohio, and there married Elizabeth Smith, who was born in Highland county, Ohio. She died when past sixty years of age, and he lived to the remarkable age of ninety-three years. They were the parents of the following children: Jane ( Steele ), Rebecca (Dill ), Mary ( Howells ). Nancy (Reed). Margaret ( Spangler ), Sarah Somerville, and several who died before reaching mature years.
To Mr. and Mrs. Willis were born eleven children, namely: Bessie Janet, who is the wife of Ralph O. Young and the mother of a daughter, Jane : Lina Marion, who is doing settlement work in Knoxville, Tennessee : Willard S., who remains at home with his mother, is manager of the Willis Lumber Company, at Washington C. H .: Helen May is the wife of C. G. Beckel, of Dayton, Ohio, and they have a son, Cambridge; Robert Ervin, Charles Somerville, Carrie Eleanor, Richard Rochester and Willis Hegler are at home, and two who died in infancy.
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James W. Willis was in the fullest sense of the word a progressive, virile American citizen, thoroughly in harmony with the spirit of the advanced age in which he lived. He made good use of his opportunities and prospered from year to year, conducting all business matters carefully and systematic- ally, and in all his acts displaying an aptitude for successful management. He did not permit the accumulation of fortune to affect in any way his actions toward those less fortunate than he, and he always had a cheerful word and a helping hand for those in need. He was a most companionable gentleman and all who came within range of his influence were loud in their praise of his splendid qualities.
JOSEPH H. HARPER.
There are six papers in Washington C. H., Ohio, one of which, the Ohio State Register, dates from the year 1836. The next oldest paper is the Daily Herald, and both these papers are issued by the Herald Publishing Company. There is only one paper in the county outside of Washington C. H .. and that is the Citisen, published at Jeffersonville, and in this connec- tion it is interesting to note that there are eleven hundred and eighty-one papers of all kinds published in the state of Ohio, according to the last news- paper directory, more than half of which are weeklies. The vice-president of the Herald Publishing Company is Joseph H. Harper, and he is also one of the editors of the Daily Herald and the Ohio State Register. Mr. Har- per is a well trained newspaper man and has been connected with the news- paper business of his city for the past twelve years, and in addition to his connection with these newspapers he is also a lawyer, and has been practicing for more than twenty years in this city.
Joseph H. Harper, the son of John J. and Emma (Jones) Harper, was born August 21. 1870, in Portsmouth, Ohio. His father was the son of Alexander Harper, and was born at Tarlton, Fairfield county, Ohio, and was a prominent lawyer for twenty years in Washington C. H. He prac- ticed law at Portsmouth, Ohio, for a number of years, serving as prosecut- ing attorney, judge of the common pleas court, and also as judge of the dis- trict court. He served as a private in the Civil War and was a distinguished soldier throughout that memorable struggle. In 1886 John J. Harper came to Washington C. H. with his family and practiced law in this city until his death in 1906. His wife died in 1873. Four sons were born to John J.
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Harper and wife: John E., who lives in San Francisco, California ; Will- iam A., residing in Little, Kentucky; Samuel G., of Portsmouth, Ohio, and Joseph H. Alexander Harper was a native of Virginia, and was an early settler in Fairfield county, Ohio, where he and his wife reared a famliy of six children, John, William, Samuel, Joseph, Martha and Mary. The ma- ternal grandparents of Joseph H. Harper were residents of Scioto county, Ohio, and Emma, the wife of John J. Harper, was an only child.
Joseph H. Harper attended the public schools of Portsmouth, Ohio, where he was born, until he was sixteen years of age, and then, when his parents came to Washington C. H., completed his education in the schools of this city, graduating from the high school in 1889. He then took up the study of law in his father's office and spent one year in the Cincinnati Law School, graduating from that institution in May, 1892. He was admitted to the practice of his profession in all the courts of Ohio on the day after his graduation, and for ten years gave all his attention to the practice of his profession in this city. In 1902 he purchased the Ohio State Register and in 1911 became connected with the Herald Publishing Company as its vice- president, and has since been one of the editors of the Daily Herald and the Ohio State Register, which are published by this company.
Mr. Harper was married June 22, 1892, to Nina Silcott, the daughter of Arthur E. and Helen ( Taylor ) Silcott, and to this union two children have been born, Helen Taylor, born November 1, 1893, and Howard Stau hope, born February 15, 1899.
Mrs. Harper was born January 9. 1871, in Washington C. H., in the same house where she is now living. Her father was a native of Loudoun county, Virginia, and her mother of Bainbridge, Ross county, Ohio. Both are now deceased. Mrs. Harper was the only child born to this marriage of her father, who had formerly been married to Lucinda Taylor, the sister of his second wife. By his first marriage, Mr. Silcott had four children, Effie, Charles E., James and Frank. The maternal grandparents of Mrs. Harper were Gerald and Nancy ( Pepple ) Taylor, early settlers of Ross county, Ohio. They had a family of five children, Mary, Elizabeth, Lucinda, Ellen and James. Mrs. Harper is a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, one of her ancestors having fought in that war. .
Politically, Mr. Harper is a stanch Democrat and has always taken a deep interest in political affairs. He is now at the head of the securities de- partment of the state of Ohio, being appointed to this position by Governor Cox. Mr. Harper is a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of
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Elks. He is a man of wide education and has always been actively inter- ested in everything which pertains to the welfare of his city, giving his un- reserved support to all public-spirited measures.
DANIEL TAYLOR.
Descended from honored ancestry and himself numbered among the leading citizens of Fayette county, Ohio, the subject of this sketch is en- titled to specific mention in a work of this character. A residence in this county of many years has but strengthened his hold on the hearts of the people with whom he has been associated and today no one here enjoys a larger circle of warm friends and acquaintances, who esteem him because of his sterling qualities of heart and mind. The history of the loyal sons and representative citizens of Fayette county would be incomplete were there failure to make mention of the man whose name heads this paragraph. When the fierce fire of rebellion was raging throughout the Southland. threatening to destroy the Union, he responded with patriotic fervor to the call for volunteers and throughout the time of his service he proved his loy- alty to the government he loved so well. Wherever his lot has been cast, Mr. Taylor has been devoted to the public welfare and in all of his relations his highest ambitions have been to benefit the community and advance his standard of citizenship. The latter years of his busy life he is spending in quiet retirement at his home in Bloomingburg, honored and revered by all.
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