USA > Ohio > Fayette County > History of Fayette County, Ohio : her people, industries and institutions > Part 40
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William J. Patterson attended the public schools of his native city until he was nine years of age, and then came with his parents to Jackson county, Ohio, where he finished his education. He worked on the farm until he was twenty-four years of age, when he married and began renting land in Jack- son township, Jackson county. A few years later he purchased two hundred acres of land near Byer in Jackson county. A short time afterwards he sold this and moved to Fayette county, where he bought a farm of one hun- dred and sixty-seven acres in Marion township. He continued to farm in this county until 1901, when he went to Oklahoma and bought a farm of three hundred and twenty acres, but four years later sold this tract and re- turned to Fayette county, buying two hundred and twenty-six acres in Marion township and later bought a farm of one hundred acres adjoining the city of Washington C. H. On this farm he lived until his death in 1913.
Mr. Patterson was married December 27, 1876, to Harriett Wortman, the daughter of Jackson and Elizabeth ( Sniff ) Wortman. Her father was born in Muskingum county, near Zanesville, Ohio, and was the son of Joseph and Almeda ( Patterson ) Wortman. Jackson Wortman and wife were the parents of six children, Mrs. Minerva Harper, John Wesley, Isaac, Mrs. Harriett Patterson, Frank and Jesse L.
Mr. Patterson and his wife reared a family of eight children, all of whom are living and filling places in society. These children in the order of their birth are as follows: Ortha B., Frances E., Maud, Clara, Robert, Flora, Mary H. and Arthelia. Ortha B. took a business course at Ohio Wesleyan University, and is now managing the home farm for his mother : Francis E. married Grace Thompson and has two children, Edra and Will- iam. He is living at Kingfisher. Oklahoma : Maud is a graduate at Bliss Col- lege. Columbus, Ohio: Robert graduated from the Kingfisher, Oklahoma, high school and later took the law course at Lincoln, Nebraska: Flora is a music teacher: Arthelia is a graduate of the Washington C. H. high school. and is teaching : Hazel is also a graduate of the Washington C. H. high school.
Mr. Patterson always took an active interest in the civic life of his community and served on the school board of Marion township, and also as
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supervisor of the same township. He was an active and consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal church and was always interested in church affairs. His influence for good in the general life of his community was most potent and he will be remembered as a manly man of pleasing presence and an influential citizen of the county honored by his residence.
LEWIS CLARK COFFMAN.
That life is the most useful and desirable which results in the greatest good to the greatest number and although all do not reach the heights to which they aspire, yet in some measure each can win success and make life a blessing to his fellow men. It is not necessary for one to occupy numerous public positions to do so. In the humbler walks of life there remains much good to be accomplished and many opportunities for the exercise of talent and influence that will in some way touch the lives of those with whom we come in contact and make them better and brighter. In the list of Ohio's successful and useful citizens, the late Lewis Clark Coffman, of Washington C. H., Ohio, long occupied a prominent place. In his record there is much that is commendable and his career forcily illustrates what a life of energy can accomplish, when plans are wisely laid and actions are governed by right principles, noble aims and high ideals. His career was complete and rounded in its beautiful simplicity. He did his full duty in all relations of life and he died beloved by those dear to him and respected and esteemed by his fellow citizens. In offering this interesting history of his career it is believed that it will serve as an incentive to the youths whose careers are yet matters for the future to determine.
Lewis Clark Coffman, the son of Nathan and Sarah ( Edwards) Coff- man, was born in Fayette county, Ohio, January 25, 1840, and died in Wash- ington C. H .. January 2, 1902. His parents were both born in Ohio and spent all of their lives in this county, where they reared a family of eight children to maturity: William, who died of a fever contracted in the Civil War; Lewis C., whose history is here presented ; Charlotte, the deceased wife of John Pritty: Mack, deceased: Benjamin, deceased; Mary Belle, the wife of Thomas Parrett : Hester, the wife of Franklin Willard, and Jeannette, the wife of William Marchent, of Octa. Ohio. The latter two children were twins. Nathan Coffman was a farmer and trader and an early settler in Fayette county, where he lived in Wayne township. He owned a large farm
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and was an influential man in his community. He and his wife both died late in life.
Lewis C. Coffman, reared in Fayette county as a farmer's boy, attended the district schools and later attended the Wesleyan University at Delaware. Ohio. After completing his college course, he taught school for a few years and then began farming in Concord township. His father gave him a small farm, to which he later added one hundred acres and after farming this for a few years, disposed of it and bought four hundred acres on which he lived for a few years. Later he became interested in the pork packing business in Washington C. H., although he still retained his farm and gave it his per- sonal supervision. Some years after engaging in the pork packing business, he became interested in the lumber business and during his latter years gave most of his attention to the latter. His business life was honorable and upright and he always managed his affairs so as to win the approval of all those with whom he had financial transactions.
Mr. Coffman was married April 4, 1861, to Alsina Rodgers, the dangh- ter of Jackson and Nancy ( Jones) Rodgers. To this union ten children were born, five of whom are still living. Almira Belle, Nathan J., Harvey Grant, Alberta and Elwert, the latter two being twins; Lewis C. and four others died in infancy. Almira Belle became the wife of Elias Newton Harvout, who died in 1908. Mr. Harvont and wife had one daughter, Lelia C. Nathan J. is in the lumber business in Washington C. H. He married Maude Harlow and has two children, Harlow and Geraldine. Harvey Grant is one of the firm of H. G. Coffman & Company, lumber dealers in Wash- ington C. H. Alberta is bookkeeper in her brother's office. Elwert is single and working the planing mill of his brother. Lewis C. is a member of the firm of H. G. Coffman & Company. He married Mable Free and has one child living, Martha Jane.
Mr. Coffman was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, while his wife was a member of the Baptist church. He was a member of the Free and Accepted Masons and had attained to all of the degrees up to and including the Knight Templar degree. Politically, he was a Republican, but had never taken an active part in political matters.
The widow of Mr. Coffman is still living in Washington C. H. She was born in Wayne township. Fayette county, Ohio, on December 15, 1839. Her father was born and reared in Ohio and her mother was born in Ver- mont. They were early pioneers in Fayette county. The paternal grand- parents of Mrs. Coffman were Benjamin and (Jackson) Rodgers. natives of Virginia and early settlers in Fayette county. The maternal
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grandparents of Mrs. Coffman were Amos and Nancy Jones, natives of Ver- mont. Mr. Jones and his wife reared a family of four children, Nancy, Priscilla, Harvey and David.
Mr. Coffman possessed high and varied qualities of mind and heart and had a strong individuality and withal a gentle nature, about which were clustered the fondest memories of those dear to him. His was, indeed, a union of admirable qualities and he never ceased, even through the physical ills that afflicted him, to manifest the dignity, the courage, the grace and the bearing that came from the heart of a gentleman. He was a supporter of all measures looking toward the development of his home city and was one of the foremost workers for pushing forward all public spirited measures.
JOHN M. DEER.
One of the many retired farmers now living in the county seat of Fay- ette county is John M. Deer, who was for many years a prosperous farmer in Concord township. There is a certain degree of satisfaction in summing up the career of a retired farmer because the very fact that he is retired is con- clusive evidence that he has made a success of his life work. That such is the case with Mr. Deer is shown by his fine farm of two hundred and fifty- two acres in Concord and Union townships where he lived so many years. His whole life up until a few years ago has been spent in agricultural pur- suits and such has been his good management that he has acquired a very comfortable competence for his declining years.
Mr. Deer, the son of Absalom and Elizabeth ( Wilson ) Deer, was born in Highland county, Ohio, November 22, 1837. His father was a native of Culpeper county, Virginia, and came to Highland county when he was a young man. Absalom Deer was one of four children, the others being Fielding, Nancy and Margaret. To Absalom Deer and wife were born five children: Mary ( deceased ), John M., Henry ( deceased). Amy and Chad- ford ( deceased ).
John M. Deer attended the primitive schools of Highland county, Ohio, and was a pupil of the McVey and Cox schools in that county. As a lad he was early acquainted with hard manual labor and helped with all the work on his father's farm. He commenced working by the month when he was eighteen years old in Highland county and after he was married he located in Fayette county, Union township. He came to Fayette county in 1855 and
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later bought land in Union township and as he prospered added to his land holdings until when he retired, in 1913, he had one of the finest farms in that township. He owned at one time five hundred and four acres, but gave each of his sons a farm.
Mr. Deer was married in 1858 to Anna Liza McClellan, the daughter of William and Margaret ( Wright) McClellan. To this union there were born four children: James, who married Bertha L. Schenk and has two children, Eugene H. and John M .; Edwin, who married Carrie Kline and has two children, Ruth and Cline; Rufus, who married Carrie Reed and has one daughter, Juanita ; Carey, who married Alma McCoy and has one son, Heber. The first wife of Mr. Deer died some years ago and he later married Alma Mark, the daughter of Thomas and Sina Mark.
Politically, Mr. Deer is a Democrat and, although he has always been interested in good government, yet he has never been active in political affairs. He and his wife are consistent members of the Methodist Episcopal church and take a very active part in church work. Mr. Deer is a man of strong convictions and is a firm believer in the Golden Rule. He is a friend to all worthy causes and has lived a life which has endeared him to a large circle of friends throughout the county.
NATHAN CREAMER.
The first member of the Creamer family to locate in Fayette county, Ohio, was George Creamer, the grandfather of Nathan Creamer, with whom this narrative deals. George Creamer and his wife, Elizabeth Barney, came from Rockingham county, Virginia, to this county in 1816, and located on military land. The county was only seven years old when they located here and consequently they began life under truly pioneer conditions. They had to clear the land, drain the swamps and endure all the privations incident to life in any new and unsettled country. The one hundred years which this family have spent in this county has seen more changes in the progress of civilization than all of the previous years of history put together. Descended from such sterling ancestry, it is not to be wondered at that Nathan Creamer is a man of excellent qualities and a citizen who is highly honored and re- spected in his community.
Nathan Creamer, the son of Joseph B. and Elizabeth (Life) Creamer. was born about one mile southwest of Jeffersonville, September 18, 1844.
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His father, who was born in Rockingham county, Virginia. came to this county with his parents, George and Elizabeth (Barney) Creamer, when he was eight years of age, and lived the remainder of his days on the farm where his son, Nathan, is now located. George Creamer entered the land from the government and put part of it in shape for crops. Under these pioneer conditions Joseph Creamer grew to manhood, married and reared a family of seven children, Mrs. Mary A. Tobin, Mrs. Emily Armstrong, George, Lewis, Nathan. A. R. and U. G. Of these seven children, three, George, Mrs. Armstrong and Lewis, are deceased, the latter dying during the Civil War, in which he had enlisted as a member of the Ninetieth Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Two of the brothers, A. R. and U. G., are prominent lawyers and highly respected citizens of the community where they reside. George Creamer, the grandfather of Nathan, reared a family of five chil- dren, David, Joshua, Elizabeth. Mrs. Josiah Huff, and Joseph B., the father of Nathan Creamer.
Nathan Creamer was reared on the farm where he was born. He re- ceived his education in the district schools of his home neighborhood and finished at Jeffersonville in the graded schools. As a youth he worked on his father's farm during the summer seasons and at the age of twenty-five commenced renting land of his father. After the latter's death he pur- chased the interests of the other children in the home farm and has since been operating it with marked success. He carries on a general system of farming and stock raising and, being a man of progressive ideas, has had the satisfaction of seeing his efforts abundantly rewarded.
Mr. Creamer was married in 1872 to Martha M. Cryder, the daughter of William and Susan ( Carr) Cryder, of Madison county, Ohio, and to this union have been born three children, Ansel, Minnie and Jesse C. Ansel, now deceased, who was three years in the State University, died February 22, 1914: he married Susan Horley, and has three children, Edith E., Anna and Ansel, Jr .: Minnie is deceased : Jesse C. is a student in the Ohio State University, where he has completed two years of the regular course.
Politically, Mr. Creamer is a Republican and has held various offices at the hands of his party. He served as supervisor and also as a member of the school board, of which he has been president. His party, recognizing in him a man of ability and integrity, nominated and subsequently elected him to the responsible position of trustee of his township, and he is filling this office with honor to himself and credit to the citizens of the township. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Protestant church.
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BENJAMIN FRANKLIN JAMISON.
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 Benja- min Franklin Jamison, one of the leading older citizens of Union township, Fayette county, having been unassailable all along the highways of life, ac- cording to those who know him best, it is believed that a study of his career will be of benefit to the reader, for it is not only one of honor but of useful- ness also.
Benjamin Franklin Jamison, successful farmer, residing on his excellent farm of two hundred and fifty-four acres located about two and one-half miles from Washington C. H. on the Leesburg road, was born on October 19, 1834, the son of Jacob and Drusilla ( Harrison) Jamison. Jacob was born in Kentucky and when he was a small lad of six years, his parents came to this state and settled first near Frankfort. They, however, remained there but a short time and then came direct to this county, with the history of which the family has since been identified.
The immediate subject was the youngest in a family of eight children, the others being Jacob, William. Abraham, John, Merritt, Samuel, Isabelle and Benjamin, the subject. Mr. Jamison enjoys the unique privilege of having passed his entire life on the same farm, his birth having occurred in a house which stood on almost the same spot where his present elegant and commodious dwelling now stands. He received his education in the com- mon schools of the district, taking advantage of every opportunity this sec- tion at that time afforded and he remained under the parental roof until the time of his marriage, when he began life for himself. He spent three years in Illinois, then returned and bought the old home and gradually increased his possessions until he reached his present gratifying state. Throughout his career he has shown perseverance and determination of a high order, coupled with excellent business ability and this, with his undoubted honor and in- tegrity, not only won him material success, but an enviable place in the esteem of his fellow-men.
On September 12, 1865, Mr. Jamison led to the hymeneal altar Emily Jane Taylor, daughter of Edward and Mary (Smith) Taylor, the former
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of whom was a native of the state of Kentucky. In early manhood he emi- grated to this state and settled in this county, where he passed the remainder of his life, dying at the advanced age of ninety years.
While not a member of any church, Mr. Jamison is deeply interested in the cause and contributes from time to time to such benevolences as appeal to his sympathy. Politically, he has always been aligned with the Democratic party, although never taking more than a passive interest in such matters. Mr. Jamison is now in his eightieth year and is enjoying excellent health and is in full possession of all faculties. He is an interesting conversationalist and the doors of his handsome home open wide to admit both stranger and friend to such genuine old-fashioned hospitality as is not always met with. Mr. Jamison is properly numbered among the substantial citizens of this locality, having contributed in many ways to the advancement of his fellow citizens. He is known as one of the most successful raisers of live stock in these parts, but has practically given over the active management of his busi- ness to others, retaining, however, a complete control of affairs. He has, in the course of an honorable career, been successful in business affairs and is in every way deserving of mention in a biographical history of his county.
JOHN LOGAN.
John Logan, one of the leading and influential members of the bar of Fayette county, is a native of the old Buckeye state, having been born in Washington township, Clermont county, on January 30. 1857. His parents, Lewis Ashby Logan and Sarepta (Taylor) Logan, were both also natives of Ohio, the father having been born in Brown county and the mother in Cler- mont county. The subject's paternal grandparents were John and Margaret (Clark) Logan, the former a native of Kentucky, where he followed the vocation of a farmer. During the War of 1812 he enlisted for active service and became the major of a battalion. He and his wife became pioneer set- tlers of Brown county, Ohio, and enjoyed the high regard of the community because of their upright lives and their interest in the welfare of their neighbors. They both passed away when about seventy years of age. Lewis A., father of the subject of this review, was reared in Brown county, Ohio, and during his early years followed farming as a vocation. Later he became an expert millwright and for many years gave his attention to a flourishing mill business in Clermont county. He died in September. 1893, at West-
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wood, aged seventy-one years, and was survived a number of years by his widow, whose death occurred in October, 1901, in the seventy-seventh year of her age. They were folk of sterling worth and were long consistent members of the Presbyterian church. Mrs. Sarepta ( Taylor ) Logan was a daughter of John H. Taylor, a pioneer of Clermont county, this state, where he followed farming during his active years, his death occurring there when about seventy years old.
To Lewis A. and Sarepta Logan were born the following children : Lewis Ashby, who was accidentally drowned at the age of four years; Samuel Taylor, of Westwood, Cincinnati, Ohio; John, the immediate sub- ject of this review : Harry C., of Mobile, Alabama: Anna Elizabeth, prin- cipal of the state normal department of Miami University, at Oxford, Ohio, and Frank P., of Cleveland, Ohio.
When John Logan was about nine years of age, his parents removed to Cincinnati, Ohio, and there he grew to manhood. He attended the public schools there, graduating from the Hughes high school in June, 1875. Dur- ing the following year he was employed as a clerk in a law office in Cincin- nati, and during the following three years he engaged in teaching school. His year's experience in a law office aroused within him a purpose to make the practice of law his life work and, to this end, he began the study of Kent. Blackstone and other of the great legal authorities in the office of Judge Mar- shall J. Williams. In April, 1881, Mr. Logan was formally admitted to the bar and he immediately entered upon the active practice of his profession at Washington C. H., where he has remained continuously since and where he was soon in command of a representative clientele. In 1881 he entered into a partnership with Judge Williams, a relation which was continued with marked success until, in 1885, the senior member of the firm was elected to the bench of the circuit court. From that time until January 1, 1893. Mr. Logan was in partnership with Frank G. Carpenter, who is now judge of the common pleas court, but since the last-named date Mr. Logan has prac- ticed alone. He served efficiently as city solicitor for three years, but other- wise has held no public office.
As a lawyer, Mr. Logan is informed in his profession and faithful to clients and the law. He has been connected, on one side or the other, as counsel in much of the more important litigation which has been tried in the local courts, and his reputation as a lawyer has steadily increased until today his place in the front rank of the profession is generally conceded. Mr. Logan is a man of high intellectual attainments, gained by much reading and
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study and close observation of men and events. He possesses a. splendid library and some of his most enjoyable hours are spent among his books.
On the 26th day of October, 1887, Mr. Logan married Elizabeth B. Pearce. a native of Washington C. H., and a daughter of Elgar B. and Vir- ginia Bell ( Knight) Pearce, the latter a native of Fayette county. Elgar B. Pearce was well known as the editor and publisher of the Ohio State Register, but died when comparatively young. On the maternal side, Mrs. Logan is descended from Joseph Bell, her great-grandfather, who was numbered among the pioneer settlers of Fayette county, acquiring considerable land adjoining the city of Washington C. H., much of this land being now within the corporate limits. Mrs. Logan's great uncle on the maternal side, John M. Bell. was a man of considerable local prominence and served as captain of a company during the Civil War.
Politically, John Logan is an earnest advocate of the principles and poli- cies of the Republican party and has been a frequent figure in the councils of that organization. Fraternally, he is a member of Washington Lodge No. 129, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. While laboring for his indi- vidual advancement, Mr. Logan has never forgotten his obligations to the public and his support of such measures and movements as make for the general good can always be depended upon. A man of vigorous mentality and strong moral fiber, he has achieved signal success in an exacting calling and is eminently deserving of the large prestige which he enjoys in the com- munity with which practically all his mature life has been identified.
JOSEPH YOUNG STITT.
The history of this section of the Buckeye state is not an ancient one. It is the record of the steady growth of a community planted in the wilder- ness not much more than a century ago and reaching its magnitude of today without other aids than those of continued industry. Joseph Y. Stitt, to a short sketch of whose career the reader's attention is now directed, is directly descended from one of the earliest pioneers of this section and the family has, therefore, been largely instrumental in speedily bringing about the satis- factory conditions of community life which early obtained here; while the immediate subject of this sketch fills a place of trust and responsibility, and the manner in which he is esteemed by his fellow citizens clearly indicates how satisfactory indeed is the service he renders.
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