USA > Ohio > Fayette County > History of Fayette County, Ohio : her people, industries and institutions > Part 68
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Mr. Shelley was a life-long Republican, but never had any inclination to take an active part in political matters. However, he was interested in everything pertaining to good government and always gave his unreserved support to such measures as would bring it about. Fraternally, he was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and was always interested in the affairs of that fraternal organization. Mrs. Shelley is a woman of gracious tact and charm and is greatly beloved by all who know her. She is a devoted member of the Methodist Episcopal church, in whose welfare she has always been interested and to whose support she is a willing and generous
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contributor. Mr. Shelley was a man of broad sympathies, kindly disposed toward the faults of others and ever ready to lend a helping hand to those less fortunate than himself. In everything that he did he was careful to observe a proper mode of conduct and thus left behind him a name which will always be cherished by his children and those with whom he was asso- ciated. The lives of such men mean much to a community, for they give stability and character to the locality where they live. Such a man was Luther L. Shelley ; thus he lived and thus he passed away.
EDWARD E. COCKERILL.
One of the earliest pioneer families to settle in Fayette county, Ohio, was the Cockerill family, which was first represented in this county by Will- iam S. Cockerill, a native of Loudoun county, Virginia, who was born in December, 1790, and came to Ohio in 1812, shortly after his marriage, settling first on the Ohio river just above its union with the Hocking river. Here he lived until 1821, when he came to Fayette county and purchased land of John Rowe in Perry township. Here he lived for one year and then bought land of Mr. Connor on the Little Wabash. William S. Cockerill was a man of decided literary tastes and more than ordinary intellectual ability. For several years after coming to this county he followed the profession of teaching in connection with farming. He served in the War of 1812 in an Ohio regiment. William S. Cockerill was married four times, his first wife being Anna Lehman, to whom he was married in Virginia in 1809, and whose death occurred in Fayette county, Ohio. in 1821, shortly after the family moved to this county. Nine children were born to this first marriage, Eliza- beth, William, Milly, Samuel, Eldridge. Thomas G. and three who died in infancy. Thomas G. is the father of Edward E. Cockerill, with whom this narrative subsequently deals. The second wife of William S. Cockerill was Phoebe Mooney, the daughter of Judge Mooney, and to this second union mint children were born, Mary A., James, Lydia J., Harmanus, Amanda, Eliza, Anna and two who died in infancy. The second wife died in 1855, and in 1857 Mr. Cockerill married her sister, Eliza Mooney, who died in 1862. The fourth and last marriage of William S. Cockerill occurred in 1864, when he was united in marriage to Mrs. Doster, who died in 1873. William S. Cockerill lived until December 19, 1879, being nearly ninety years of age at the time of his death. He was a prosperous farmer and left an
MR. AND MRS. EDWARD E. COCKERILL
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estate of four hundred acres of excellent land, which is now held by his descendants.
Thomas G. Cockerill, the son of William S. and Anna (Lehman) Cockerill, was born in 1812, and was married September 29, 1831, to Sylvitha Cochran, the daughter of Barnabas and Charlotta Cochran, natives of New Jersey and early settlers of Ohio, who came to this state in 1806. To Thomas G. Cockerill and wife were born nine children, William Newton, Martha J., Edward Estell, Jacob, Thomas, Samuel S., James W., Amelia O. and Eldridge W. Four of these sons were in the Civil War, where they made a distinguished record for themselves. All of the nine children grew to manhood and womanhood, married and reared families of their own.
Edward Estell Cockerill, named in honor of the Rev. Edward Estell, was born January 22, 1837, in the township where he has always lived except ten years in other states. He is the third child of Thomas G. Cockerill and wife and one of the most highly honored residents of this county. He was born in a log cabin in Perry township, and spent a few months of his boy- hood years in the primitive schools of his home neighborhood, and early in life became used to hard manual labor. He married two years before the Civil War opened and left his wife and two small children to serve his country. He enlisted in the One Hundred and Sixty-eighth Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry and served for four months toward the close of the struggle. Immediately after being mustered out of the service he returned to his farm and has been following that vocation since. He bought his present farm of two hundred and thirty acres, six miles from Washington C. H., in 1881, which farm was a part of his grandfather's estate and is now one of the most attractive farms in Perry township. Mr. Cockerill has always been a heavy stock raiser and has been uniformly successful along this particular line. He keeps his farm in good repair and has always kept it to a high state of productivity, so that he is able to secure the maximum results from his labors.
Mr. Cockerill was married October 11, 1859, to Heressa Bineger, the daughter of George and Mary Bineger, natives of Virginia. and to this union have been born eleven children, Dennis, Eldridge, Minnie, A. G., Orville, Carrie, Melvin, Almeda, Gilbert, Lurella, Frank Willard. Dennis and Eldridge died before their father went to the front during the Civil War; Minnie married Eugene Horney and has four children, Fred, Jessie, George and Ralph; A. G. married Naomi Marks and has three children, Cleo (who (45)
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married James Beatty, and has one son, Russell B. ), Clayton and Angeline ; Orville is married: Carrie married Mr. Craig and has three children, Gene- vieve, Otis and Helen: Melvin married Miss Meeks and has four children, Edward M., Melvin, Russell and Estella : Almeda is single and still living with her parents: Lurella is the wife of Harry Silkot and has two children, Roland and Edward, deceased ; Frank W. married Miss Coffman and has one child : Gilbert is married and has one son, Marcus.
Mr. Cockerill has been a life-long Republican in politics and has always been very much interested in political matters. He has been trustee of his township. served as member of the school board, while he was commissioner of Fayette county for two terms. Fraternally, he is a member of the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows and the Grand Army of the Republic. He has been a member of the Methodist Episcopal church for more than fifty years and has always been much interested in church work. He and his wife celebrated their golden wedding anniversary in 1909 and the occasion was observed in a most happy style. Mr. Cockerill is one of the best beloved men in the township and no one is held in higher esteem and greater affection.
C. H. PERRILL.
A farmer and stock raiser of Jasper township, Fayette county, Ohio, is C. H. Perrill, who was born in this county forty-four years ago on his father's farm near where he is now living. His parents located in this county several years before the Civil War, and his father became one amongst the largest land owners of the township. Mr. Perrill is a practical farmer and has made a success of his chosen life. While primarily interested in his own affairs, yet he has not neglected to take his share of the burdens of civic life and gives his unreserved support to all measures of merit.
C. H. Perrill, the son of John and Margaret (Sparks) Perrill. was born November 25. 1870. in Jasper township, on his father's farm about eight miles northwest of Washington C. H. His father was born June 17, 1823. in Highland county, Ohio, and lived there until he reached his four- teenth year. He then went to Pike county, Ohio, and lived with his grand- parents until he attained his majority. He then became interested in the live stock business and drove stock from Ohio to Pennsylvania and New York markets, following this line of activity until he was twenty-nine years of age. In 1852 he came to Fayette county and here was married on November 14, 1855, to Margaret J. Sparks, the daughter of Elias Sparks.
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John Perrill was the son of Hugh Perrill, who died in Kentucky about 1847, and his wife died in Highland county, Ohio, in 1835. To John Perrill and wife were born eleven children: George, Mrs. Iva Acton, Louis, Ed- ward, Mrs. Rebecca Custis, Charles H., Mrs. Laura Jones, Mrs. Margaret Glass, Frank and two who died in infancy. John Perrill was one of three children, the others being James and Mrs. Mary Brown.
C. H. Perrill received all of his education at the South Plymouth school in this county. At the age of twenty-six he assumed the management of his father's large estate.
He has identified himself with the various activities of his township, and although unmarried he takes an active interest in the social life of his locality. Politically, Mr. Perrill is a Republican, but often gives his support to a deserving friend of the opposing party.
JACOB V. KENNELL.
One of the many farmers of German ancestry in Fayette county is Jacob V. Kennell, of Union township, who has been a resident of this county for the past half century. He has inherited all of those sterling characteristics which have made the Germans successful wherever they have located and in whatever occupations they have engaged. The thrift and economy of the people from the Fatherland has become proverbial and they never fail to make a success of any undertaking to which they turn their attention. While Mr. Kennell has been primarily interested in his own affairs he has not neg- lected to take his share of the burdens of civic life and has thereby won the esteem and regard of his fellow citizens.
Jacob V. Kennell, the son of Valentine and Mary (Dohn) Kennell, was born in Jackson county, Ohio, October 18, 1849. His father was born in Germany and came to America when a small boy with his parents, locating in Jackson county, Ohio. The family were among the early settlers and be- came prominently identified with the history of Jackson county. Valentine grew to manhood in that county, married there and came to Fayette county in 1864 with his family. He and his wife reared a family of seven children, Catherine, Eva ( deceased ), Jacob V., Mrs. Barbara Miller ( deceased), Mrs. Anna Nichols, William (deceased) and John.
The education of Jacob V. Kennell was received in a rude log. school house in Jackson county and in the district schools of Union township in Fay-
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ette county. He worked on his father's farm until his marriage and then began for himself on a rented farm in Union township. He saved his money and within a short time was able to buy part of his present farm. As he prospered from year to year he added to his land holdings until he now owns one hundred and sixty acres of fine land in Union and Marion townships about four miles from the county seat. He has placed some valuable im- provements on his farm and has built a fine country home of ten rooms, his home being equipped with all of the modern conveniences. He has divided his attention between the raising of crops and live stock with excellent success and is ranked among the best farmers of his township.
Mr. Kennell was married March 5, 1872, to Catherine Knotts, the daugh- ter of Henry B. and Rachael ( McGowen) Knotts. To this union there have been born three children : Eva, deceased, who was the wife of J. E. Robinson, and had one daughter, Catherine: Mae, the wife of Joseph Allemang; Percy, who married Nellie Heistand.
The Democratic party has received the hearty support of Mr. Kennell since reaching his majority and he has always taken an active part in local political affairs. He has been especially interested in educational matters and has served as clerk of the school board of his township for the past twenty- one years, a remarkable record and one which shows the confidence his fel- low citizens have in his ability.
LOUIS PERRILL.
There are three means of measuring the magnitude of the farmer's income : the area of land under cultivation, the amount of working capital employed and the productive labor the farm furnishes. These three factors are not independent of each other. In general, the larger the area of pro- ductive land the greater the working capital and the amount of productive labor, but this is not always the case. Data are not available for determining the independent influence of these three means of measuring the magnitude of the farming business. but much data has been collected by the United States government to show that each is closely correlated with profit. A most interesting study has been recently issued by the Department of Agriculture in regard to the farmer's profits. A detailed study of two hundred and seventy-three farms in Indiana, Illinois and Iowa revealed the fact that
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average profits are as follows: For farms averaging thirty-seven acres the profit was $416: seventy-two acres averaged $848; and increasing averages up to six hundred and twenty-three acres with a profit of $6,182. Whether Fayette county measures up to these averages the historian does not know, but if all the farmers of the county were as successful as Louis Perrill, there would be no question but that they were fully up to the average.
Louis Perrill. the son of John and Margaret J. (Sparks) Perrill, was born November 10, 1862, in Jasper township, in this county. His father was a native of Ross county, Ohio, and came to Fayette county when a young man. He married after settling in this county and reared a family of eleven children, nine of whom are still living: George, Mrs. Ivy Acton, Louis, Mrs. Rebecca Custus, Edward L., Mrs. Laura M. Jones, Mrs. Mar- garet Glass, C. H., Frank and two infants who died in infancy. The mother of these eleven children was the daughter of Elias and (Hall) Sparks. John Perrill, the father of Louis, was one of three children, the other two being James and Mrs. Mary Brown.
Louis Perrill was educated in the schools of Jasper township and early in life began to assist with the work on the home farm. He spent all of his summer vacations on the farm and in this way had a good practical knowl- edge of all phases of agricultural life by the time he had reached his majority. At the age of twenty-six he moved to his present farm of two hundred and forty-seven acres, which, with the farm of one hundred and thirty acres since acquired, makes him one of the largest land owners of his township. He divides his attention between farming and stock raising and has met with a success commensurate with his efforts.
Mr. Perrill was married February 9, 1898, to Lucy Johnson, the daugh- ter of Solomon and Mary (Creamer) Johnson. To this marriage there has been born one son, Wallace C. Mr. Perrill and his wife are loyal members of the Methodist Protestant church and are actively engaged in the work of their church. Mr. Perrill is superintendent of the Sabbath school and one of the class leaders of his denomination.
Fraternally, he is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons and the Junior Order of United American Mechanics. Politically, he has always been identified with the Republican party and has been active in political matters in his county. He has served as trustee of Jefferson township to the satisfaction of his fellow citizens and at the present time is filling the im- portant office of county commissioner, being elected to that position in the fall of 1912 by a handsome majority and re-elected in the fall of 1914 for a second term by one thousand majority.
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HON. JAMES D. POST.
It is a pleasure to investigate the career of a successful, self-made man. Peculiar honor attaches to that individual who, by his own unaided efforts, gradually overcomes the obstacles in the pathway of success and by the master strokes of his own force and vitality succeeds in forging his way to the front and winning for himself a position of influence and esteem among his fellow citizens. Such is the record, briefly stated, of him whose name appears at the head of these paragraphs and who for several decades has been numbered among the successful lawyers and representative citizens of Fayette county. His life-long residence in this community has made his name widely and familiarly known. His life and the history of this locality for more than fifty years have been contemporaneous and he has performed his full share in the upbuilding, development and progress of the county. taking an especially prominent part in the later-day growth of the commu- nity. He has been a consistent man in all phases of his career and his life has been characterized by an entire absence of pretense or sham. He is what the community holds him to be, a man among men, and one who has fairly earned the high position which is today his.
James D. Post was born on a farm near Washington C. H., Fayette county, Ohio, on November 23, 1863. His parents, Abraham and Mary Jane (McCoy) Post, also were natives of Fayette county, and both died here, the father in 1909, at the age of sixty-eight years, and the mother at the early age of twenty-six years. Abraham Post was a farmer by vocation and was the son of Valentine Post, who came, with his wife, from Pennsyl- vania, being numbered among the earliest pioneers of Fayette county. Here his death occurred at an advanced age. To him and his wife were born the following children : Andrew, Jacob, Abraham, Wesley, Barbara, Ann, Nel- son and Sarah J. Berry. Mary Jane Post was the daughter of Patrick and Elizabeth McCoy, who also were early settlers in Fayette county. Their children were Patrick. Abraham, John, Sylvester, Elias, Mary J., Sarah J., Price, Ann (McCartney) and Rebecca ( Drais). To the subject's parents were born two children besides himself, Esker, deceased, and Addie, the wife of Thomas M. Hare, of Baltimore, Maryland.
James D. Post has spent his entire life in Fayette county and his boy- hood days were spent on his father's farm, where he not only gained a sound body, but also became imbued with those sterling principles of industry, per- severance and independence which have been marked characteristics of his-
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later life. His early educational training was received in the district schools, which was supplemented by a course in the National Normal University, at Lebanon, Ohio. During the following five years Mr. Post was engaged in teaching school, and during this period he earnestly gave his attention to the study of law. the practice of which profession he had determined to make his life work. In 1887 he was examined and admitted to the bar and at once came to Washington C. H. and "hung out his shingle." That he has been eminently successful in his chosen calling is a matter of local history, for Mr. Post has for many years been numbered among the leaders of the Fayette county har, being connected with much of the important litigation in the local courts and being frequently employed in the courts of neighbor- ing counties. As a member of the bar he has ever faithfully and honorably discharged his duty, and has always maintained the respect that is due to courts of justice. He has always counseled and maintained such actions and defenses only as appeared to him to be just and has adhered so closely to the professional code of ethics that he has merited the confidence which has universally been placed in him.
Politically, a life-long supporter of the Democratic party, Mr. Post has for many years stood high in the councils of his party, wielding a large in- fluence and Leing numbered among the party's leaders in this section of the state. In recognition of his ability, he was, in 1910, nominated and elected to represent this congressional district, the seventh, in the national legisla- tive body. No member of Congress entered upon his labors there with a more sincere devotion to his constituents' interests than did Mr. Post, and that they appreciated and recognized his efforts was evidenced by his re- election to Congress in the fall of 1012. He is a close student of public questions affecting the financial, economic, educational and moral interests of the country and he has invariably been found on the right side of these great questions.
Religiously, Mr. Post and His wife are earnest members of the Presby- terian church, to which they contribute liberally. Fraternally, Mr. Post is a member of Sample Lodge No. 227, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
In 1885 James D. Post was married to Mrs. Mary J. Snider, a native of Ohio, and the daughter of J. J. and Catharine ( Creamer ) Worthington, also natives of the Buckeye state. These parents had three children, David I., Lee and Mary J. To Mr. and Mrs. Post has been born one son, Claude L., who is an attorney in Columbus, Ohio, and who married Lois Jones.
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By her first marriage Mrs. Post is the mother of a daughter, Effie, the wife of T. E. Leland.
Mr. Post has always been an active supporter of all local movements tending to the upbuilding of the community, and is a stockholder and director of the Milledgeville Bank. Though very busy in the practice of his profession and in discharging his official duties at Washington, D. C., Mr. Post does not evade his ordinary duties as a citizen and, because of his life and attainments, he deserves representation in the annals of his county.
ALEXANDER DAWSON.
Although a resident of this county but a short time, Alexander Dawson has been here long enough to let his neighbors judge of his character and worth as a citizen. Born and reared in Ross county, this state, in 1888, he came to this county and in 1913 moved to his present place in Marion town- ship, on a farm of fifty acres on the Circleville pike eight miles from Wash- ington C. H. He comes from an old and highly esteemed pioneer family and has inherited those excellent qualities which made his forefathers prominent citizens of the various communities in which they resided. He is a man of clean and wholesome life and interested in everything which pertains to the general welfare of his locality, thereby well meriting the high esteem in which he is held.
Alexander Dawson, the son of Dillie and Rebecca ( Baughman) Daw- son, was born November 17, 1849, in Ross county, Ohio, near Clarksburg. Dillie Dawson was the son of John and Catherine Dawson, natives of Lan- caster county, Pennsylvania, and early settlers in Ross county, Ohio. Dillie Dawson was bound out when a small boy, owing to the death of his father, and was essentially a self-made man in every particular. He grew to man- hood in Ross county, married and reared a family of seven children, Marion, Sarah Jane, Alexander, Dillie, Owen, Jasper and one who died in infancy. Of these children, Alexander, Owen and Jasper are still living.
Alexander Dawson was educated in the schools of Clarksburg, Ohio, and early in life went to work on the farm. He lived in Ross county until 1888, when he came to Fayette county, where he is now living. He is a self- made man, having started in life with nothing and has attained his present standing solely through his own unaided efforts.
Mr. Dawson was married on November 21, 1872, to Emma Shockley,
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MR. AND MRS. ALEXANDER DAWSON
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the daughter of William and Martha (Dennis) Shockley, and to this union eight children have been born, Clarke, Harry, Owen, William, Mary, Lillie, Clara and Nettie. Clarke married Edna Hoskins, and has two children, Opal and Forrest ; Harry is deceased; William married Ida Mattson and has two children, Virgil and Mabel; Mary became the wife of G. W. Rogers; Lillie is the wife of Guy Brown and has two children, Frank and Paul, de- ceased : Clara is the wife of James Hunter, and has four children, Vera, Robert, Ruth and Ethel V .: Nettie married Lawrence Losey and has two children, Dorothy and Paul.
Politically, Mr. Dawson has been a life-long Democrat and has always taken a deep interest in local political matters. After coming to Fayette county, he served as township trustee and was road supervisor while living in Pickaway county, filling the latter position for twelve years. Mr. Daw- son is a man of pleasing personality, and has won many friends since be- coming a resident of this township and county.
WILLIAM H. SHELEY.
It is an excellent thing to be born to great wealth, but it is a more ex- cellent thing to be born to a good name. When ancestors through many generations have lived useful lives and made a splendid name for themselves by devotion to duty and honor, it is one of the brightest inheritances which can be left to descendants. And so the families who had representatives in the Revolution or in the service of the country many years ago, boast of such service and found organizations of the descendants, with the record of the fathers as the foundation stone. Descendants of families which came to the wilderness of Ohio and carved refined and Christian homes from the primeval wilds may well boast of the deeds of their fathers and mothers who conquered the woods and made the soil blossom with the flowers of in- dustry and peace. And for this great service, so long since unselfishly ren- dered, their children of today may well rise up and call them blessed. Such has been the inheritance of the subject of this brief sketch.
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