USA > Ohio > Fayette County > History of Fayette County, Ohio : her people, industries and institutions > Part 64
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Edward Post, the son of Abraham and Margaret ( Harper) Post, was
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born March 13. 1876, on the farm where he is now living. His mother is the daughter of Benjamin Harper and wife.
The education of Mr. Post was received in the district schools of Jasper township and at an early age he began to work for himself. When only nineteen years of age he began renting land and, being a very successful farmer, was soon enabled to purchase land of his own. He sold his farm and now rents the Ford farm of two hundred acres. Being a good manager and a man of ceaseless industry and patience, he has added to his original land holdings from time to time. The farm he rents is well improved, well equipped with all the latest machinery for successful farming and well stocked with high grade animals of various kinds. He has given particular attention to the breeding of hogs and in addition to the raising of them is actively engaged in buying and selling hogs for the local markets.
Mr. Post is a member of the Democratic party and has been one of the leaders in political affairs in the township for many years. His party non- inated and elected him trustee in 1911, and so successful was his first term that he was renominated and re-elected to the same position, a fact which speaks well for his efficiency as a public servant in the administration of the inany duties which fall to the lot of the township trustee, in which he has shown himself adhundantly able to care for in a satisfactory manner, and thus has won the high esteem of the citizens of the township, irrespective of party affiliations.
REV. F. M. CLEMANS.
There is no earthly station higher than the ministry of the Gospel and no life more uplifting and grander than that which is devoted to the ameliora- tion of the human race. The life of the minister means sacrifice for the betterment of the brotherhood of man, yet there are always men who are willing to cast aside earthly crowns and laurels of fame in order to follow in the footsteps of the lowly Nazarene. It is not possible to measure ade- quately the height, depth and breadth of such a life, for its influences con- tinue to permeate the lives of others through succeeding generations, so the power it has cannot be known until the "last great day when the trumpet shall sound and the dead shall be raised incorruptible." One of the self- sacrificing, ardent, loyal and true spirits who has been a blessing to his race, who has left in his wake an influence that ever makes the world brighter and better, is the Rev. F. M. Clemans, now living a retired life near New Hol-
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REV. AND MRS. F. M. CLEMANS
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land, Ohio, on his farm, known as the Guy Halme place, after having spent nearly a half century in the service of his Master.
Rev. F. M. Clemans, the son of William T. and Elizabeth (Dalbey) Clemans, was born June 28, 1835, in Greene county, Ohio, near Jamestown. His father came to Greene county when two years old with his parents, Hezekiah and Martha (Stacy) Clemans, locating in that county in 1813. Hezekiah Clemans was a soldier of the War of 1812 and served under "Mad Anthony" Wayne in his campaign against the Indians in the northern part of Ohio. William Clemans, the father of Hezekiah, was a soldier in the Revolutionary War and fought at the battle of Cowpens January 17, 1781. William Clemans' father came from the northern part of Ireland and settled in Virginia about the middle of the sixteenth century. It is interesting to note that Samuel Clemens, familiarly known as "Mark Twain," was a nephew of William Clemens, the great-grandfather of Rev. F. M. Clemans.
Practically the whole career of Rev. F. M. Clemans has been spent as a student, teacher and minister of the Gospel. His early education was re- ceived in the district schools of his home township, after which he entered Great Grove Academy. He then taught school for several years, during which period he devoted all of his spare time to reading and study. At the age of thirty-one years he resigned the superintendency of the Jamestown schools to take up the ministry and was ordained as a minister in the Metho- dist Episcopal church, and for nearly half a century ministered to the spirit- tal wants of different congregations. While still a young man he spent con- siderable time in study, and is the holder of several degrees from reputable colleges. He was granted the degree of Master of Arts by Ohio Wesleyan University ; the degree of Doctor of Divinity by the University of Chicago. and the degree of Doctor of Philosophy by the East Tennessee Univer- sity at Athens, Tennessee. His life has been one of devotion to the work of the Master. Thousands have heard his voice and been benefited thereby. It is not within the province of men to estimate the good which can be accomplished during the life of such a man, and especially when it is taken into consideration that he preached for nearly fifty years. He retired from active service in his church a few years ago and is now living a quiet and retired life near New Holland. He and Mrs. Clemans have two farms aggregating three hundred and fifty-six acres in Marion township. over which they maintain a careful supervision.
Rev. F. M. Clemans was married in 1859 to Sarah Chaffin, and to this union four children were born: W. L., of Cedarville, Ohio; Fred M., of
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Mechanicsburg : Lillie V .. deceased, and Nellie G., deceased. Mrs. Sarah Clemans died November 5, 1885, and on July 25, 1888, Mr. Clemans was married to Mrs. Clara Chaffin Clarke, a cousin of the first wife. The last marriage took place at Delaware, Ohio. Mrs. Clara Clemans has been a true helpmate and a great help to her husband, both financially and in his ministerial work. She inherited from her parents the home farm, which has been in the family for over one hundred years.
Rev. F. M. Clemans has always taken an intelligent interest in political matters, but owing to the nature of his life work, has never been active in political affairs. He has always been an independent voter and cast his ballot for the men who, he felt, were the best able to conduct the affairs of government, irrespective of their political affiliations. Fraternally, he has long been a member of the Free and Accepted Masons. He is a man of modest and unassuming demeanor, a fine type of the self-made American, a friend to the poor, charitable to the faults of his neighbors, a man who always stands ready to unite with them in every good work. He is a man who in every respect merits the high esteem in which he has always been held and now, in his declining years, he can look back over a life which has been well spent in the service of his fellow men and his Master.
Rev. Clemans was first superintendent of the Dayton and Cincinnati District of the Anti-Saloon League and took a prominent part in that or- ganization, being all his life a temperance advocate.
Guyholme, the country residence of Rev. and Mrs. Clemans, is one of the oldest homes in Fayette county. The land was purchased by Jonathan Shepherd, Mrs. Clemans' maternal grandfather, of Gen. Duncan McArthur, the noted Indian fighter, to whom it had been given by the government for his services in the wars. Here Jonathan and Elizabeth Shepherd and little daugh- ter Susan (afterward the wife of Smith Chaffin) settled in 1811. so that the farm has been in the possession of the family over one hundred and three years. Mrs. Clemans' mother used to tell her how, when a child of four years, she came with her father and saw him cut down the first tree ever felled on this tract of land, and how she played around while he cleared one acre and built his cabin. She also told how, in 1812, she saw a body of soldiers marching up the White pike on their way from Chillicothe (then the capital) to Detroit, where they were afterward in Hull's surrender. She visited Indian camps along the stream-Compton creek-which flows past the farm, and grew up amid the hardships and privations of pioneer life. Jonathan and Elizabeth Shepherd literally hewed the farm out of the wilder-
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ness. The tract was noted for its fine timber and still possesses many beauti- ful trees.
Mrs. Shepherd was a niece of the illustrious John Champe, the intrepid young Virginian whom General Washington selected to carry out the hazard- ous enterprise of capturing Benedict Arnold, after his traitorous scheming for the surrender of West Point. He wished to secure Arnold and save from execution Major Andre. Perhaps no event of the Revolution required more coolness, courage and good judgment than this attempt of Champe and though, at the last moment, Arnold escaped, it required the nerve of a hero to get back to the American headquarters, where his admiring chieftain gave him an honorable discharge and a bodyguard to take him home in safety
Elizabeth Daily Shepherd inherited from her mother, Fanny Champe, heroic qualities and sterling virtues, which well fitted her to lead the life of a pioneer, and here, amid the primeval forest, she and her husband established a Godly home, a center of industry, thrift and all the homely virtues trans- planted from old Virginia soil. Hither, in due time, came an alert and promising young man, Smith Chaffin, who wooed and won the daughter of the house. He was born October 4, 1809, his mother a beautiful Maryland girl, his father a sturdy native of North Carolina, reared in Virginia and. after marriage, emigrating to Ohio. Smith Chaffin and wife became large landholders in Fayette and Pickaway counties and were known for their sterling worth. He was a man of inflexible purpose, sound judgment and a clear and lofty perception of duty. He had the logical mind of a statesman and in debate was a foeman worthy of any man's steel. His clear-cut sen- tences contained not a superfluous word and drove the argument home with telling effect. The wife was a woman of cultured mind and heart, though a product of the old "deestrict skule," graduating from the alphabet into the New Testament with never an "ism" or an "ology" in her curriculum. A reader of the best literature, she made the Bible a special study and was so familiar with it that she needed no concordance. With a superb equipoise, she pursued the even tenor of her way, unmoved by the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune. With a heart "by hope made strong, by faith made high," she sat like Patience on a monument, amid the most trying cir- cunistances.
Mrs. Clemans is the youngest child of this couple and is the last sur- viving member of this family. She was graduated in the classical course from Xenia College in 1866, and was elected a member of the faculty of that institution the week before graduation. She resigned this position to be
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united in marriage with Maxwell Gaddis Clarke, a son of the Rev. John W. Clarke, one of the old and best known ministers of the Ohio conference of the Methodist Episcopal church. Rev. Clarke was a cousin of the renowned linguist and commentator, Dr. Adam Clarke, and, like him, possessed a won- derful command of language. This gift descended to the son and likewise to the grandson, Guy Max Clarke, a brilliant young graduate of Ohio Wes- levan University, who passed away to heaven in his twenty-third year. The farm was named "Guyholme" in his honor, and his mother has established a professorship in his alma mater bearing his name. After the death of her husband, Mrs. Clarke returned to Xenia College as its preceptress, a place she filled very acceptably. Afterward she taught in the schools of Delaware, Ohio, resigning the position to join her fortunes with those of the Rev. F. M. Clemans. Of frail physique, she has ever tried to do what she could and "lend a hand."
JOHN R. HUCHISON.
The life of a farmer is the most enjoyable life a man can lead. In no other occupation or profession is a man his master as he is in the farming profession. He always has fresh eggs and meat and never wants for any- thing good to eat. With the introduction of labor-saving machinery the life of the farmer has lost practically all of the drudgery which formerly handi- capped it. One of the prosperous farmers of Fayette county who started at the foot of the ladder and climbed to a position where he commands the respect of his neighbors is John R. Huchison, of Wayne township. Starting in life on his own responsibility at the early age of seventeen years, he has been a hard and conscientious worker all his life and well inerits the success which has attended his carefully planned career.
Jolın .R. Huchison, the son of Richard and Zipporah ( Hanna) Huchi- son, was born August 7, 1861, in Union township, this county. His father was a native of Virginia and came here when a lad as an orphan. He came alone and first located in Ross county, this state, where he found work with a kind-hearted farmer. He grew to manhood in that county, married and in 1856 located in Fayette county, where he began on a rented farm. He en- listed at the opening of the Civil War in the One Hundred and Seventeenth Regiment of Ohio Volunteer Infantry and was killed in the siege of Vicks- burg, May 22. 1863, and is buried on the battlefield, and the beautiful monu-
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ment dedicated to this regiment by the state of Ohio now adorns the battle- field.
John R. Huchison was less than a year old when his father went to the front and was less than two years old when he died. Consequently he has never known a father's care. Five children were born to Richard Huchison and wife, William, James M., Mary, Eliza and John R. The two daughters are deceased, while the three sons are still living.
John R. Huchison was reared by his good mother, who kept her little flock together and gave all of them a good, common school education. John R. attended the Brock school in his home neighborhood and later completed his education in the Chaffin school. When he reached the age of seventeen he began to rent part of the home farm from his mother, and after his mar- riage came to his present farm of one hundred and thirty acres six miles from Washington C. H. He has improved this farm in many ways by the erection of new buildings, fencing, drainage and the planting of all kinds of fruit trees.
Mr. Huchison was married February 4, 1886, to Della Davis, who was born November 26, 1866, in this township. Mrs. Huchison is the daughter of Nelson and Maranda (Anderson) Davis, natives of Fayette county, Ohio. Mrs. Huchison was born in Wayne township and raised in Union township by Robert Hanse and wife. Nelson Davis and his wife both died when Mrs. Huchison was only three years of age. Nelson Davis, who was the son of Benjamin R. and Jane (Compton) Davis, had a large family of children. only two of whom are now living, Martha and Della, the wife of Mr. Huchi- son. Martha has been twice married, her first husband being Isaac Lorrimer, and to this union two children were born, Hazel, and Isaac W., deceased. After the death of her first husband, Martha Davis was married to Benjamin F. Johnson, and to her second union two sons were born, Henry and Ben- jamin F. Mr. and Mrs. Huchison are the parents of three children: Harry L., who married Orpha Dennis, and has two children, Pauline E. and Del- bert ; Elmer T. and Mabel G., both of whom are unmarried and still living at home with their parents.
Mr. Huchison and his wife are consistent members of the Methodist Episcopal church, while, fraternally, Mr. Huchison is a member of the Sons of Veterans, an organization which includes the sons of those who fought in the Civil War. Politically, he is a Democrat, but has never been inclined to take an active part in political matters. Mr. Huchison is a man who has lived a clean life and has always so conducted himself as to merit the hearty approbation of those with whom he has been associated.
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JOHN H. ROOK.
A veteran of the Civil War and a resident of Fayette county, Ohio, for more than thirty years, John H. Rook has been an important factor in the life of his community for that length of time. He enlisted in the Civil War at the beginning of that struggle and acquitted himself with honor. The old soldiers are fast answering the last roll call and it seems that they should be accorded all honor possible while they are still living. This volume contains the biographies of many of the veterans of Fayette county. These men who volunteered their lives for the sake of their country are especially deserving of mention in the history of their county.
John H. Rook, the son of Gibson and Hannah (Hill) Rook, was born November 16, 1835, in Jackson county, Ohio. His father, the son of John Rook, was born and reared in Jackson county and was also in the Civil War. John Rook, Sr., had three children, Nancy, Betsy, and Gibson, the father of John H. Rook. Gibson Rook and wife were the parents of six children, John H., William, Elliott. Mrs. Elizabeth Miller, Icebenda and Gibson. Of these children only one, John H., is still living.
John H. Rook was educated in the common schools of Jackson county, Ohio. His education was necessarily limited because of the meager facilities offered by the schools of his day. He continued working with his father on the home farm until the opening of the Civil War, when he enlisted in 1861 in Company K, Ninety-first Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He served under Col. John Turley, his regiment being a part of the Eighth Army Corps and attached to the Army of the Cumberland. During his services of three years he participated in many of the bloodiest battles of the war and was never wounded or captured, although he had many narrow escapes. He was finally discharged from the service at Cumberland, Missouri, and mustered out at Cincinnati, Ohio.
Immediately after the close of the war, Mr. Rook returned to Ohio and located on his farm in Ross county, where he lived for eighteen years. He then brought his family to Fayette county, Ohio, and bought a farm of fifty- four acres five miles from Washington C. H. On this farm he has lived for the past thirty years, devoting his time to general farming and stock raising.
Mr. Rock was married in 1862 to Polly Case and to this union eight children have been born, William C., Charles, Samuel, Pearl, Jake, Grant ( died in infancy), Elizabeth and Malinda. The mother died in 1890 and the subject married in 1898 Mary Allpree, to whom no children have been born.
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Mr. Rook and his family have been consistent members of the Metho- dist Episcopal church. Mr. Rook's fraternal connections have been with Harry Rodgers Post. Grand Army of the Republic. Mr. Rook is one of the most highly respected men of his community, although he is now approaching his seventy-ninth birthday, yet he is enjoying good health and takes an active interest in the life of his community.
DAVID C. MCCUNE.
The manager of the largest farm in Fayette county is David C. McCune. who has for the past twenty-seven years been the superintendent of the Humphries Jones estate of eighteen hundred acres in Wayne township. The supervision of such an extensive tract of land requires ability of an ex- ceptional kind and that Mr. McCune has been on the estate for more than a quarter of a century indicates that his work has been very satisfactory.
D. C. McCune, the son of Wallace and Amanda ( Hill) McCune, was born October 30. 1862, in Jackson county, Ohio. His father was born in the same county and died of the typhoid fever while serving his country in the Civil War. His mother then married James Irwin. Wallace McCune and his wife were the parents of three children: An infant, Ferendas, and D. C. To James Irwin and wife were born eight children, Alice. Rebecca, William L .. Charles, Bertha, Anna, James and Ethel.
The father of D. C. McCune died when he was a babe in arms and con- sequently he knows very little of the history of his father's family. He went to the district schools in Jackson county and remained at home until he was twenty years of age. He then came to Fayette county and began to work out by the month on farms in that county. He married at the age of twenty- one and at once went to the Selsor farm, where he lived one year. Such was his success as a farmer on this place that he was offered the management of the Jones estate and moved on to it in 1887. He has twelve men under his control the year around and raises more grain and stock than any farmer in the county. He has every modern convenience for advanced farming and handles everything on a large scale. For instance, he sells his live stock by the car load and thus is able to command the highest market price at all times.
Mr. McCune was married on Christmas eve, 1884. to Josie Yerian, the daughter of Allen and Mary ( Reed) Yerian, natives of Jackson county. To
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this union there have been born ten children, Homer, Charles, William C., Elmer, Elva, Ollie, Herman, Leland M. and two who died in infancy. Homer married Myrtle Cramblet and has two children, Helen and Wayne. Charles married Ollie Kier and has four children, Stanley, Thelma, Russell and Nellie. William C. married Jane Price and has two children, Forrest and Annie Lee. Elmer married Stella Hook. Elva is the wife of Herschel Fletcher, and has one daughter, Josie Belle.
The family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church and liberal contributors to its various needs. Politically, Mr. MeCune is independent and his extensive agricultural interests have demanded all of his time and energy. He is a man who is interested in everything which pertains to the general welfare of his community and can always be depended upon to give his hearty support to all such movements. Personally, he is a genial and whole-souled man, who has a word of cheer for everyone and a man who is well liked by all who know him.
GEORGE B. PARRETT.
Ninety years ago there was born in this county a lad who was destined to become one of the most prominent citizens of Fayette county. Although he has now passed to his reward, yet the sincere and fruitful life he led was such that his influence is still felt in the community where he spent so many years of his active life. He was a man of great force of character and always stood on the right side of all moral questions. He was an ardent Prohibitionist and was a strong foe of the liquor traffic all his life. Successful in business, he never lost sight of his obligations to those around him and was in the forefront of every movement which was launched for the betterment of his community. Such men give character to a locality and of such strength was Mr. Parrett that he was a leader in all uplifting movements. He will always be remembered as a man who stood for better and higher things and therefore left a name which will always be cherished by his children and honored by those who were so fortunate as to know him.
The late George B. Parrett was born January 19, 1834, in Fayette county and died in Madison township, July 4, 1913. He was the son of Joseph J. and Rebecca (Fansher) Parrett, both of whom were natives of Coke county, Tennessee, and the youngest of a family of eight sons and one daughter. Joseph J. Parrett served in the War of 1812 and, among other privations.
GEORGE B. PARRETT
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subsisted at one time for three days on a half pint of meal. Rebecca Fansher was the daughter of Isaac Fansher, a soldier of the Revolutionary War. Joseph J. Parrett and wife reared a family of nine children, Isaac, Benjamin, Frederick, David, Pleasant, Russell, Jackson, Mrs. Minerva Allen, and George B., with whom this narrative deals.
George B. Parrett was married August 21, 1856. to Amelia A. Bush. She was the daughter of Daniel and Mary E. (Webster) Bush, of Fayette county, and was born September 10, 1835. The Bush family came to this county from South Carolina. Brice Webster, the grandfather of Mrs. Par- rett, was an early merchant and physician of Washington C. H. Mr. and Mrs. Parrett were the parents of a family of twelve children: Euphemie Estaline, born in 1857; Edward Ankney, born in 1858; Ella Gazelle, born in 1860; Florence Jane, born in 1861 ; Ada Verrell, born in 1863; Warren Web- ster, born in 1864; Erie Harlan, born in 1866; Alice Gertrude, born in 1868; Noyes Marvin, born in 1871; Dio Ladell, born in 1873; George Clyde, born in 1877; Anna Blanche, born in 1881.
Euphemie E. Parrett became the wife of Harry Crow and had three children : Georgia, who married Elza Steward and has two children, Vergil and Paul; Willie, who married Frank Steward and has three children, Selma, Pauline and Grace; and Grace. Edward A. Parrett married Francis Taylor and has five children: Earl, who married Amelia Michael, and has two chil- dren, Helen and one other ; Harvey; Inez, who married Charles England and has three children, Ellen, Edward and Parrett: Scott, who married Euda Beal; and Edward. Ella G. Parrett married Dr. Jasper N. Clark and has nine children: Mabel (the widow of Dr. Shaw, deceased), Lewis, Lydia, Pauline (the wife of Hubert Nichols and the mother of two children, Hubert and Dorothy), Zelma (the wife of Earl Beckwith and the mother of an infant child ), Ralph, Winifred (the wife of Charles Lewis), Lucy and Jasper. Florence J. Parrett married J. B. Harrison and has five children : George; Pleasant, who married Flora Dennis and has one daughter, Dorothy ; Cathi- erine, who married Lugen Bell ; and two single. Blanche and Olive. Ada V. Parrett married Everett Harrison (deceased) and has eleven children : Homer (deceased), Ray, Howard (who is married and has four children), Scott, Grover, Edward, Bateal, Grant, Mary, Clay and Florence. Warren W. Parrett married Ida Noble and has four children : Charles (deceased), Ross (married and has two children, Juanita and Charles), Floyd and Paul. Erie Harlan Parrett married Minnie Puckett and has seven children : Marion (married Edna Graham and has one son, Harlan), Marie (married William
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