USA > Ohio > Fayette County > History of Fayette County, Ohio : her people, industries and institutions > Part 55
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from disease contracted therein: Frank, deceased, and two who died in infancy.
The subject's paternal grandparents. Moses and Marcey ( Kirkendall ) Hopkins, were natives of Pennsylvania and eventually became pioneer settlers of Ross county, Ohio, where they died when well advanced in age. They reared a number of children. Mr. Hopkins' maternal grandparents likewise came from Pennsylvania to Ross county in an early day and there spent the remainder of their lives, rearing several children.
Josiah Hopkins was reared on his father's farm and his early education was received in the typical log-cabin subscription school of that period, slab seats and greased-paper windows indicating the style of the furnishings. Afterward Mr. Hopkins had the advantage of one term's attendance in the high school at Frankfort and a similar period in the high school at Green- field. He remained in the paternal home until he had attained his majority, he and his brothers giving their father assistance on the farm, while during their leisure periods they were permitted to work for their neighbors and to retain such money as was earned in this way. Subsequently, Mr. Hopkins came to Washington C. H. and for a short time was employed as a clerk in the general store of George Melvin and Thomas Wallace. Then for two or three years he worked on the home farm, at the end of which period. in 1857. he married and then engaged in farming on his own account. For two years he rented a part of his father's farm and, carefully managing his resources, he was then enabled to buy a farm of two hundred acres in Madi- son county, where he lived for five years, that being the only time when he ever resided outside of his native county. Returning then to Fayette county. Mr. Hopkins bought a little more than three hundred acres of land situated on the Washington and Circleville turnpike, about five miles east of Washington C. H., to the improvement and cultivation of which he devoted himself and there he reared his family. Through his hard and consecutive efforts and good management, he was prosperous and from time to time bought addi- tional land until eventually he owned eight hundred and fifty acres of splendid and well improved land. This land he divided among his children by deeds, and after the children were grown he quit the farm and moved to Washing- ton, where he bought and remodeled an attractive and comfortable home and there he resided until his death. Mr. Hopkins was successful in the acquisi- tion of a comfortable share of this world's goods and was numbered among the solid and substantial citizens of the county. He was a stockholder and vice-president of the Midland National Bank, of Washington C. H., one of the solid and influential financial institutions of Fayette county. In the larger
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life of the community Mr. Hopkins always took an intelligent interest and his support was always given to those things which have promised to be of the greatest benefit to the people generally.
Politically, Mr. Hopkins was always aligned with the Republican party, which ticket he usually voted, though he was not blindly partisan in the sense that he saw no good in other parties or in other candidates. Religiously, he was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church and gave his support to the various activities of that society.
On December 24, 1857, Josialı Hopkins was united in marriage to Sarah Elizabeth Rogers, who was born about six miles east of Washington C. H., the daughter of David and Mary (Jennings) Rogers. Her parents were natives of Pennsylvania, but came to Fayette county many years ago and here spent the rest of their lives, the father dying here when eighty-three years of age and the mother about sixty. They were the parents of six children, Sarah, John, Benjamin, Alexander, Ruth and Ellen.
To Mr. and Mrs. Hopkins were born five children, namely: Eva Jose- phine is the wife of Jerome Penn (deceased July 4, 1904), of Washington C. H., and they have two sons, Erret ( deceased) and Ralph: Austin Franklin married Margaret Edwards and they have a son, Edwards; O. Scott married Elsie Willis ; Stella Ruth married Walter Hamilton and they are the parents of a son, Frank. The mother of these children passed to the better life in May. 1905, in the sixty-ninth year of her age. She was a woman of rare personal qualities and greatly esteemed by all who knew her.
By a life consistent in motive and action, Mr. Hopkins earned the sincere regard of all who knew him and he was rightfully numbered among that ener- getic and enterprising class that has made this favored section one of the most noted and richest in the great Buckeye state.
JOEL A. ALLEN.
One of the pioneer farmers of this county is Joel A. Allen, whose career of seventy-five years has all been spent within the limits of Fayette county. He is now living in retirement after a strenuous life of activity which covered considerably more than half a century. His well directed efforts in the practical affairs of life, his capable management of his interests and his sound judgment have brought to him a very satisfactory competence for his declin- ing years. He served with distinction during the dark days of the Civil
MR. AND MRS. JOEL A. ALLEN
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War and was probably at the front longer than any man who enlisted from Fayette county. Too much honor can not be accorded the men who faced every danger and death itself upon the battlefields of the Civil War and bore suffering and made sacrifices for their country's sake.
Joel A. Allen, the son of Adam and Rosanna (Hidy) Allen, was born August 7, 1839, in the township where he has lived most of his life, having spent nineteen years in Greene and Clinton counties. Ohio. His father was also born in this same township and was a prominent farmer and land owner. Adam Allen lived all of his life in this county with the exception of a few years when he lived in Madison and Clinton counties, this state. His de- clining years were spent with his son, Joel. Thirteen children were born to Adam and Rosanna (Hidy) Allen : Mrs. Sarah J. Bryant, John, Mrs. Cath- erine Morris, Joel A., William, George, deceased, Elijah, Samuel, Etta, Mrs. Rossetta, deceased, Lucy Straley, Adam and one who died in infancy. Of these children the following are now deceased : Sarah J., Catherine, William, Etta and George.
Joel A. Allen was reared under the primitive pioneer conditions which prevailed during his boyhood days and attended the rude log school house with its greased-paper windows and slab seats, and there learned the rudi- ments of reading, writing and arithmetic. At the opening of the Civil War he enlisted in Company K, Forty-fourth Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and served for more than four years. The company was under the com- mand of Colonel S. A. Gilbert and Colonel Moore and participated in en- gagements in West Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee. Mr. Allen had the honor of having served for a longer time in the Civil War than any other man from his county. After the close of the war Mr. Allen returned to Jeffersonville, Olio, and worked on a farm in the immediate neighborhood. After his marriage he began renting land in Greene county, this state, and later located in Clinton county for a short time. He then returned to Fay- ette county and bought fifty acres of excellent land adjoining the village of Jeffersonville, where he is now living. He also is the owner of several town lots in Jeffersonville.
Mr. Allen was married to Mary C. Janes, the daughter of William and Mary (Mock) Janes, early pioneers of the county, and to this union have been born two children, Isophine and Ralph. Mr. and Mrs. Allen have also reared a boy, Howard Haynes, who is the son of George and Lucy (Horney) Haynes, who are both deceased, the father being buried in Chicago, Illinois, and the mother in Hidy cemetery, at Jeffersonville, Ohio.
(37)
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Politically, Mr. Allen is a Republican and has always been actively interested in political matters. He has held various township offices, among them being that of township trustee and school director. Mr. Allen and his family are all loyal and consistent members of the Friends church, of Clinton county, and take an active interest in all the work of that denomination.
JASON F. HENKLE.
There is no earthly station higher than a minister of the Gospel, for 110 life can be more uplifting or grander than that which is devoted to the amelioration of the human race; a life of sacrifice for the betterment of the brotherhood of men, one who is willing to cast aside all earthly crowns in order to follow in the footsteps of the lowly Nazarene. It is not possible to measure adequately the bounds of such a life, for its influences continue to permeate the lives of others through succeeding generations; so the power it has exerted cannot be known until the last great day. Jason F. Henkle. the immediate subject of this sketch, who for thirty-seven years labored as a minister of the Gospel in the Methodist Protestant church, felt the call to the work when young and gladly answered it, although in doing so he set before himself a great task in accomplishing a suitable education to enable him to best discharge the duties which would be his. As was the custom in earlier days perhaps more than now, Mr. Henkle also conducted the work of the farm and in these ways has lived a life full to repletion with activity and brimful of good results. A short sketch of his career forcibly illustrates what energy, integrity and fixed purpose can accomplish when animated by noble aims and correct ideals.
Jason F. Henkle, who resides on the old Henkle homestead in Union township, Fayette county, Ohio, was born on May 13, 18.47. a son of Eph- raim and Mary S: (Carr) Henkle, the former of whom was born on April 23, 1818, in this same township. He was the son of Barbara Henkle, who was a daughter of Isaac Henkle, who, with his brothers. Jacob, Esau and Saul, came from Pendleton county, Virginia, at a very early date in the his- tory of the state, probably about the year 1815. Isaac Henkle took as his wife a German woman who came from one of the first families of that nation- ality in this section. Ephraim, his son, who is the father of the immediate subject of this sketch. was the father of ten children and he himself had the
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distinction of being the first white child to be born in what is now Union township.
Jason F. Henkle attended the schools of the home locality when a boy and from his early youth assisted the father in the work about the home place, this being the same land on which Mr. Henkle now lives and which comprises fifty-two acres. He remained with his father until he attained his majority, when hearing of better opportunities for young men in the West, he journeyed to Logan county, Illinois, and secured a tract of land there which he rented for a year. When the first season's crops were gathered in, he returned to his boyhood home in this state, where he remained for two years, when, the call of the West again becoming insistent, he returned to Illinois, locating this time in McLean county. Here for two years he farmed rented land, and at the end of that time again returned to Ohio, where he has since made his home. During all the time he was so engaged, and for a few years later he was laboring all his spare time to better fit himself for the ministry and to this end was seeking a higher education alone and unaided. The fine degree of energy and courage which he possesses saw him through this big undertaking and at last the time came when he was able to take his place before the world as a full ordained minister of the Gospel, to which work he gave the best of his life and effort.
On March 14, 1872, Mr. Henkle was united in marriage with Laura O'Day, who bore him one child, Ephraim, who died in earliest infancy. Mrs. Henkle passed from this life on April 23, 1873, but a little more than a year after her marriage, and both mother and child lie buried in the cemetery at Washington C. H. The next few years which passed were lonely ones for Mr. Henkle and those most interested in him were glad indeed when, on October 1, 1878, he led to the altar Nanna Hamm, of London, Ohio, daugh- ter of John and Mary Jane (Timmons) Hamm, farmers of that locality. To Mr. Henkle by his second marriage were born six children, four of whom have passed into the great beyond. These are Lily H., Wilson C., Evelyn L. and Ray. Those living are Mary, who is the wife of Argyle P. Duncan and the mother of one son, William, and a son, Allan E., who resides in Detroit, Michigan, these being the first and fourth children, respectively, in order of birth. Both this daughter and son received excellent educations, both grad- uating from the college at Adrian, Michigan.
While Mr. Henkle is not now on the active list of ministers, the duties of his calling still devolve upon him and he is still active in the cause so dear to his heart. His fraternal affiliation is with the Independent Order of Odd
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Fellows and also with the Knights of Pythias, and in the work of both these orders he takes a commendable interest. He is also affiliated with the Sons of Veterans. His father, Ephraim, was a captain during the Civil War. being connected with Company F, One Hundred and Sixty-eighth Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry. During an engagement he was captured by the enemy at Cynthiana, Kentucky. He also had some experience during the Mexican War, but was not regularly enlisted in the service.
Of marked mental ability, well posted and a forceful and effective man in every walk of life, Mr. Henkle is held in high esteem by his brothers in the ministry and laymen alike. He is sincerely interested in all causes which lead to the advancement of the human race along all legitimate lines and is numbered among the strong and influential citizens of the county, enjoying universal respect and esteem throughout his wide circle of friends and ac- quaintances. Because of his active life and the good he has accomplished wherever his path has led, he is eminently entitled to special mention in a volume of this character.
FLOYD R. SMIDLEY.
The occupation of the farmer is the most independent career open to the man of today. One of the youngest farmers of Marion township, Fayette county, Ohio, is Floyd R. Smidley, who is now renting one hundred and fifty acres of fine land from his father about one mile north of New Holland. His father is one of the most successful farmers of this county and is a man who has been a leader for many years in everything that pertains to the develop- ment of the township. He has inherited those sterling characteristics which has made his father so successful and the success which has attended his efforts thus far indicates that he will eventually become one of the substantial farmers of his township.
Floyd R. Smidley, son of George and Minnie (Whitmer) Smidley, was born September 30, 1891, in Wayne township, Fayette county, Ohio. His father was a native of Ross county, Ohio, while his mother is a native of this county. Both of his parents are still living in Marion township, where his father owns and operates the Elmwood Stock Farm. The reader is referred to the history of George Smidley, which is found elsewhere in this volume, for further information concerning the Smidley family.
Floyd R. Smidley is the oldest of the living children born to George
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Smidley and wife, and one of four living children, the others being Roy, Iva and Gladys, and was born September 30, 1891. He received his education in the North Star and Gamble schools of this county, and early in life de- cided that he wished to follow the occupation of a farmer. As a youth he worked on his father's large farm during the summer vacation, and thus by the time he was of age was well acquainted with the various details of agri- cultural life. After his marriage, in 1913, he rented one hundred and fifty acres of land from his father, and is now tilling this in a way that shows him to be a progressive farmer and thoroughly in touch with the latest methods in tilling the soil. He gives most of his attention to stock raising and has been very successful along this particular line of activity.
Mr. Smidley was married August 16, 1913, to Artie Barclay, the daugh- ter of David Barclay. David Barclay was a native of Ross county and lived there all his life, dying October 16, 1911. He married Jessie Hilton and they raised a family of six children, Clifford, Artie, Howard, Leota, Calvin and Gladys. The wife and mother still lives on the old homestead in Harri- son township, Ross county. Mr. and Mrs. Smidley are loyal and consistent members of the Christian church, in whose welfare they are deeply inter- ested. Mr. and Mrs. Smidley have a little daughter, Annalee, born July 29, 1914. Mr. Smidley is a member of the Knights of Pythias and the Sons of Veterans. He is still a young man of clean habits and high character, and is well liked and respected by every one with whom he has been associated. Genial in disposition and kindly in manner, he makes friends wherever he goes with the result that he has a large circle of friends and acquaintances.
WILLIAM HENRY ROWE.
The gallant veterans of the Civil War are fast answering the last roll call and within a few years there will be none of them left. Among the many veterans of Fayette county who have been mustered into that better land and joined the army triumphant there is no one more worthy of mention than the late William Henry Rowe, who was a prominent farmer of Concord town- ship for many years. He was a man who always performed his every duty whether on the battle field, in official life, as a private citizen or in his family circle. Such men give character and stability to the community in which they live and for this reason are always missed when they are gone.
William H. Rowe, the son of Willis and Harriet ( Limes) Rowe, was
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born in Fayette county, July 22, 1836, and died at his home in Leesburg. Ohio, June 8, 1906. His father was a native of Virginia and came to Ohio in 1820 and located on the Wabash. Willis Rowe and wife reared a family of six children, all of whom are now deceased: Harmon, Oliver, Minnie, Alia. Hester and William Henry.
William H. Rowe attended the village school at Staunton, as did the girl who was later to become his wife. He knew what it was to have to work and from his earliest boyhood assisted with the labor on his father's farm. He remained at home until his marriage in 1857 and then began farming for himself in Concord township. When the Civil War opened he had his heart torn between duty to his family and duty to his country, but his wife told him that she could care for the three children and that when his country needed him he should go to the front. He enlisted in Company K, One Hundred and Sixty-eighth Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and served to the close of the war. Immediately after the war closed he returned to his happy family and resumed his peaceful pursuits. He prospered as a farmer and he and his good wife reared a large family of children to lives of usefulness and honor.
Mr. Rowe was married in 185; to Sarah Ann Craig, and to this union there were born ten children, Finley, William, David, Elizabeth, Florence, Oliver, Hattie ( died aged one year ), Martin, Earl and Pearl. Finley mar- ried Hattie Worthington and has eight children : William, Clarence, James, Elba, Inez, Hazel, Anna and Eva. William married Jennie Wagner. David married Nettie Tanquary and has two children, Mina and Carl. deceased. Martin married Bessie Dade. Elizabeth married Robert Patton and has four children, Lily, Leona, Marie and Willard. Oliver married Maud Covan and has two children, Alice and Lottie. Leroy married Pearl Burnett. Florence and Earl are still single. Hattie married Frank Doty and has three children.
Mr. Rowe was a life-long Republican and always interested in political affairs, particularly in local politics. For many years he served as a member of the school board in his township. As a veteran of the Civil War he was greatly interested in the Grand Army of the Republic and belonged to the post at Washington C. H. He was a consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal church and lived a life in harmony with its teachings. He was a man of domestic tastes and was never happier than when at home and sur- rounded by his family. He never overlooked an opportunity to do good and yet was never ostentatious in his benefactions. Such men are a blessing to the community in which they live and their lives should be an inspiration to the coming generation :.
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NOAH THORNTON.
The character of a community is determined in a large measure by the lives of a comparatively few of its members. If its moral and intellectual status be good, if in a social way it is a pleasant place to live, if its reputa- tion for the integrity of its citizens has extended into other localities, it will be found that the standards set by the leading men have been high and that their influence has been such as to mold the characters and shape the lives of those with whom they mingle. In placing the subject of this sketch in the rank of such men. justice is rendered a biographical fact universally recog- nized throughout the locality honored with his citizenship. Mr. Thornton has contributed much to the material, civic and moral advancement of his com- munity, while his admirable qualities and the straightforward, upright course of his daily life, have won for him the esteem and confidence of the circles in which he moves and has given him a reputation for integrity and correct conduct.
Noah Thornton, well known farmer of Union township, Fayette county, Ohio, was born on January 4, 1856, on what was known as the old Thornton farm, a portion of which is included in the subject's present farm home of two hundred acres. This home is situated on the Johnstown road, about three and one-half miles from Washington C. H. The subject is the son of Thomas B. and Mahaley ( Harper ) Thornton, the former of whom was born in Colum- bus, this state, and was a very prominent farmer of this section. In his youth Thomas B. Thornton was a bound boy, having been brought to this locality when a baby and bound out. He was a very ambitious chap and when a mere boy he began clearing land for his future home. At the time of his death he stood possessed of some six hundred acres of excellent farming lands. Being a man of keen intellect and possessed of more than ordinary civic pride. he took more than a passive interest in local community affairs and left the mark of his individuality upon much that relates to county history. He was the father of eight children, namely: Amos, James, Anderson (deceased ), William, Ellen, Austin ( deceased ), Thomas and Noah, the immediate sub- ject of this sketch.
Mr. Thornton received his education in the schools of Johnstown, and when quite a small boy began assisting the father in the work of the home farm. At the age of twenty he started farming on his own account, renting land from his father for this purpose. From the very first he has succeeded and is regarded as among the best agriculturists of the county.
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On September 29, 1874, Mr. Thornton was united in marriage with Rebecca Hopkins, daughter of William and Sophia ( Crantz ) Hopkins, and to their union have been born two children. The elder is Wilber, who married Alma Hooker and is the father of four children, Everett, Ursel, Kenneth and Velma. The subject's younger child is Ursel, who remains at home and is at present attending school.
Mr. Thornton's political affiliation is with the Republican party, in the affairs of which he takes a commendable interest. He is at present giving efficient service as a member of the school board and can always be counted upon to heartily endorse any movement for the betterment of the higher life of the community. He holds his religious affiliation with. the Seventh-day Ad- ventist church and gives generously toward the support of the local organiza- tion. While a quiet, unassuming man whose best endeavors are extended in behalf of his home and family. Mr. Thornton is one who fully appreciates the duties of citizenship and makes an effort to add his quota to the advance- ment of the best interests of the community. The family is well liked and highly respected by a large circle of friends and acquaintances.
WILLIAM L. HENKLE.
The best title one can establish to the high and generous esteem of an intelligent community is a protracted and honorable residence therein. Will- iam L. Henkle, Sr., one of the best known and most highly esteemed men of Fayette county. Ohio, and now living in honorable retirement after many years of activity in agricultural circles, has resided here all his life and his career has been a most commendable one in every respect. By persistent industry and the exercise of sound common sense in his operations, he gained the re- wards for which he labored and is today numbered among the substantial and influential men of the community.
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