USA > Ohio > Fayette County > History of Fayette County, Ohio : her people, industries and institutions > Part 69
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William H. Sheley, farmer and stock raiser, residing on his one-hundred- and-sixty-acre farm, located about four miles from Washington C. H., on the Bloomingburg road, first saw the light of day on January 12, 1849, in Greene county, Ohio, near Jamestown. It was at that point that the earliest of the family settled when they came to this state in 1802 and took up gov-
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ernment land, carving out of the wilderness the home which was a family possession for so many years. Mr. Sheley is a son of T. L. and Sarah ( Phillips) Sheley, who in their day and generation were among the most prominent citizens of Greene county. They were refined and kindly people whose useful lives shed a beneficent influence over the entire community where they passed their lives and in that same neighborhood they were laid to rest when death called them from their activities here below. Mr. Sheley's paternal grandparents were Michael and Louisa ( Strong) Sheley, the former of whom was born near Winchester, Virginia, and was a son of John and Anna ( Bealler ) Sheley. John was a native of Germany, who came to this country in his young manhood and the Bealler family were emigrants from Ireland, locating in Virginia early in its history. John had become a nat- uralized American before the outbreak of the War of the Revolution and during that conflict was for seven years in the famous Virginia Continentals.
Mr. Sheley was one of a family of seven children, the second in order of birth, and when a boy attended the common schools of the home locality and in his spare time assisted with the work of the home farm. He re- mained under the parental roof until he attained his majority, when he started out in life for himself. His first venture was the renting of a tract of land. He first came to this county in 1890, when he purchased a farm and permanently located here. However, he later disposed of his original hold- ings and purchased his present location from the Hays estate. 'He devotes his energies to general farming and the raising of live stock.
On December 12, 1872, Mr. Sheley was united in marriage with Martha Tressler, born on March 13, 1850, in Greene county, a daughter of Peter and Catherine ( Smith) Tressler. Peter Tressler was a life-long farmer and a son of John and Sarah ( Fudge) Tressler. John was a native of Virginia and was one of the early settlers of Greene county, where he was prominent in everything that made for the public good. Mr. and Mrs. Sheley are the parents of three children, the oldest of whom, Thurman, married Lula Min- ton and is the father of three children: Doris, Earl and Zelma. He resides on the farm. Clarence, the second son, lives at home, while Kathreen, the daughter of the family, is the wife of Irwin West and lives at Jeffersonville.
Mr. Sheley is an earnest and consistent member of the Methodist Prot- estant church, while politically, he gives his support to the Democratic party. He is regarded as one of the leading men of that party in this locality. He has been a trustee for the Children's Home for the past fourteen years. Mr. Sheley is one who has not only succeeded along material lines, but has won for himself something better than possessions in the honor and respect ac-
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corded him by his fellowmen and their tribute to his usefulness as a citizen. He began his business career low on the ladder of success, but to his under- taking he applied himself with courage, industry and perseverance and has attained a commensurate degree of success.
SCOTT BEATTY.
One of the largest farmers and stock raisers of Fayette county, Ohio, is Scott Beatty, who is the owner of about eight hundred acres of land in Fayette and Pickaway counties, Ohio. The first members of this family came to Fayette county about 1818 and settled on land south of Samuel Dew. Mr. Beatty has devoted his life to agricultural pursuits and is known as one of the largest cattle raisers of Fayette county, having made a specialty of this particular phase of stock raising. He is a man of marked business ability and good judgment and has always so conducted his affairs as to win the high esteem of his fellow citizens, while at the same time adding to his material possessions.
Scott Beatty, the son of Isaac Newton and Margaret ( Hidy ) Beatty, was born September 9, 1850, in Marion township. Fayette county, Ohio, and moved to Pickaway county in 1863, and moved back to Madison town- ship in 1908. His father was born in Marion township, the son of James and Rebecca ( Gibson) Beatty. James Beatty came from Hampshire county, Virginia, in 1818, and located in Marion township, where he and his wife reared a family of five children : Isaac Newton, Milton, James G., Samuel and Mary. The parents of Margaret Hidy Beatty came from Pendleton county, West Virginia, about 1800 and located in Fayette county, Ohio.
Scott Beatty received his elementary education in the district schools, afterward attending the National Normal University at Lebanon, Ohio. After graduating from this excellent institution he returned to the farm and has since devoted his life to the various phases of agriculture. At the age of twenty-one he began farming for himself and by good management and keen foresight has so managed his affairs as to accumulate an estate of eight hundred acres, being one of the largest land owners of the county.
Mr. Beatty was married June 28, 1874, to Mary Decker, the daughter of A. S. and Catherine (Timmons) Decker. Mr. Beatty was born in Water- loo, Ohio, her father having located in that city immediately after coming to this country from Switzerland, where he was born. A. S. Decker was a
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harness maker by trade, and he and his wife were the parents of two chil- dren : Mary, the wife of Mr. Beatty, and Wesley. Mr. Beatty and his wife have one daughter, Margaret A., the wife of William Strope. Mr. and Mrs. Strope are the parents of three daughters: May, Hazel and Fern.
William Strope was born November 5. 1874, at Manara, Ohio, the son of Lafayette and Essie (Brown) Strope. Lafayette Strope came from Compton Creek, Ohio, and was the son of William Strope, a native of Vir- ginia. Lafayette Strope and wife had a family of six children: Charles, Nancy, Clara, Mary, William and Mrs. Inez Tharp. After leaving school Mr. Strope learned the telegrapher's trade and was for several years an operator on the Baltimore & Ohio railroad at Orient, Ohio. He married Margaret A. Beatty on the 19th day of June, 1895. and since then has assisted his father-in-law on the farm. He is a Republican in politics and, fraternally, is a member of the Knights of Pythias.
Mr. Beatty adheres to the principles and policies of the Republican party but has never been active in the political affairs of his township or county, his extensive agricultural interests demanding all of his time and attention. His wife died in 1913 and since then he has been making his home with his daughter, Mrs. William Strope. Fraternally, Mr. Beatty is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons and the Knights of Pythias.
J. W. HAIGLER.
The Haigler family trace their ancestry back to the little mountainous republic of Switzerland. J. W. Haigler, whose history is presented in this connection, is the fourth in direct line from the first member of the family to come to this country. The name of the first member of the family to settle in America has been lost, but it is known that he was married before coming to this country and that he settled in Pennsylvania and reared a large family of children who located in Hadry and Pendleton counties, Virginia, upon reaching manhood and marrying. One of the several chil- dren born to this first member of the family to come to Virginia was William, who is the great-grandfather of J. W. Haigler. William Haigler married Magdalena Whitzel and located in Virginia, where he reared a large family.
A family of fourteen children were born to William Haigler and wife : Phoebe, the wife of Jesse Harper; John, who married Phoebe Skidmore; Anna, the wife of Eli Brand; Christina, the wife of Jonathan Nelson ; Eliza-
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beth, the wife of Jesse Buckbee; Jacob, who married Christina Harper ; Mary, the wife of Michael Carr; Susan, the wife of George Miller; George, who married and had at least two sons, George and Zebdee; Henry, who re- moved to Canada; Jehu and Martin, concerning whom nothing is known; William and Clara, who died in childhood. John Haigler, the second child, who became the grandfather of J. W. Haigler, lived for a time in West Virginia, and spent his declining years in Labette county, Kansas. John Haigler and wife were the parents of six children: Elijah, the father of J. W., whose career is set forth later on; Morgan, who married Elizabeth Armentrout; James, who married Edith Speakman: Rebecca, the wife of George H. Kyle; Levina, the wife of C. Smith, and Lucinda, the life of Jehu Judy.
Elijah M. Haigler was born in Pendleton county, West Virginia, Sep- tember 26, 1826, and came to Fayette county, Ohio, when he was a young man of twenty-one. He only remained in Fayette county for a short time and then returned to West Virginia, and a year later returned to Fayette county and became interested in the raising of live stock. He was married in 1859 to Letitia Hays, and to this union were born five children: John W., Mrs. Julia Kennedy, Albert, Charles and Mrs. Jennie Todhunter.
John W. Haigler, the oldest child of Elijah M. and Letitia (Hays) Haigler, was born on the farm where Albert Haigler is now living, May 28. 1862. He went to school for a time in Fayette county and later went to Virginia, where he attended school in Rockingham county and then com- pleted his education by attending college at Lebanon, Ohio. At the age of twenty-two he began farming for himself by renting land from his father. After renting a few years he bought his present farm of seventy-seven acres about twelve miles from the county seat. He is a stock raiser and keeps a high grade of stock on his farm at all times.
Mr. Haigler was married on Christmas day, 1894, to Emma L. Heironi- mous, the daughter of Joshua G. and Phoebe ( Hutchinson) Heironimous, and to this union have been born three children: Nellie Letitia, Candace Marie and Elijah Morl, deceased. Both of the daughters are graduates of the Jeffersonville high school.
Politically, Mr. Haigler is identified with the Republican party and has always been more or less interested in local politics. He has been a member of the school board of his township, as well as township assessor, filling these positions in a satisfactory manner to his fellow citizens. He and his family are consistent and loyal members of the Methodist Episcopal church, in whose welfare they are greatly interested. Mr. Haigler is a trustee of his local denomination.
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DR. FRANCIS MARION BLACK.
The late Dr. Francis M. Black was a prominent citizen of Darbyville, Ohio, for many years and during his residence here in the county he took an active part in every phase of the development of Washington C. H. and Fayette county. He was a distinguished soldier of the Civil War and was always interested in the welfare of the old soldiers. He was not a man of pretense and therefore did not pose as a perfect man. But he was a man of high ideals, and, like men of strength of character, his ideals were always above him. His ideals were not meager, but full, broad and telling-ideals of home, of social life, of business, of the sanctuary, of obligation and duty, of faith and religion. He was a man whose speech was sane, whose honor was unswerving, and whose word was pure gold.
Dr. Francis M. Black, the son of William and Elizabeth Black, was born in Pickaway county, Ohio, October 27, 1827, and died in Washington C. H., Ohio, January 20, 1902. He was one of nine children, all of whom are now deceased with the exception of Captain Edward R., of Leistville, Ohio.
Doctor Black was educated in the public schools of his native county and received his medical education under the tutelage of Doctor Hull, of Circleville, Ohio, to which he added a course of lectures in the medical school at Columbus. He began the practice of medicine at Williamsport. Ohio, in 1849, but the next year moved to Darbyville, Ohio, where he re- sided until 1883. In that year he removed to Washington C. H., where he lived the remainder of his life. While in Darbyville he was in partnership with Doctor Allen for some years, after which he practiced alone. Upon settling in Washington C. H. he entered into partnership with Dr. C. A. Foster and they remained together for several years. Doctor Black owned a fine farm near Darbyville to which he gave his careful supervision. He sold this farm and invested in Pickaway county farm land and had nearly four hundred acres of well-improved land at the time of his death. He was interested in the business life of Washington C. H. and was president and a large stockholder of one of the largest banks in the city. At the time of his death he was the oldest physician in the county although he had practically retired from active practice a few years before his death.
Doctor Black was married in October, 1853, to Mary Zinn Ambrose, a daughter of Elijah and Prudence (Sharp) Zinn. His widow is still living in this city in the old homestead. There were no children born to this union.
Doctor Black was a Scottish Rite Mason and had attained to the thirty-
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second degree and was also a member of the Mystic Shrine. He was always active in Masonic affairs and was interred with full Masonic honors. Mrs. Black has been a life-long member of the Methodist church and although Doctor Black was not a member of the denomination, yet he was a regular attendant upon its services. He lived a life of usefulness and honor in every respect and was truly one of the noblemen of earth.
In the year 1862 Doctor Black enlisted in Company A, Ninetieth Regi- ment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and was elected captain of his company immediately after it was mustered into the service. His regiment was at- tached to the Fourteenth Army Corps and fought in many of the bloodiest engagements of the war. At the battle of Stone River his regiment suffered fearful losses, but he escaped without injury although many of his brave comrades fell to rise no more. The Ladies of the Grand Army of the Re- public took a prominent part at the time of the funeral services.
Thus briefly is told the story of the life of a good citizen. He came to the end of life's journey with no regrets on account of a wasted life. The trail he has left in this world he has found in that better world where he is now marching with those who have kept the faith and fought the fight which ends in eternal happiness.
JESSE WELTON.
The history of every man is an account of what he does, and the history of such a man as Jesse Welton, a large land owner of Jefferson township, is interesting in view of the fact that he started in at the foot of the ladder and by his own energy and determination has accumulated a farin of more than five hundred acres. He is strictly a self-made man who has achieved his suc- cess because of his sterling personal qualities, and being a man of high ideals and correct principles of life, he is well deserving of the high esteem in which he is universally held throughout the county.
Jesse Welton, the son of Solomon and Mary ( Clarke ) Welton, was born March 17, 1851, in Petersburg, Virginia. Solomon Welton and wife were born in Hardy county, West Virginia, and never left the county of their nativity. he dying in 1862, and the wife and mother many years later. Both are buried in the cemetery at Petersburg, West Virginia. Three children were born to Solomon Welton and wife: Aaron, Jesse, and Mary, the wife of B. J. Baker.
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Jesse Welton received his education in the schools of his native town and remained at home until he was twenty-five years of age. He then left his native state and came to Fayette county, Ohio, where he began working by the month. Being of a frugal turn of mind, he saved his money and when he had accumulated one thousand dollars, he began renting land in this county, and continued farming in this way for seven years, at which time he married and purchased a farm in Jefferson township. Being compelled to exercise the closest economy in order to buy this farm it was but a natural thing for him to continue his frugal habits after beginning to farm for him- self on his own land. He invested his savings in land and kept on increasing his acreage until at the present time he is the owner of five hundred and ten acres of fine land in Jefferson township. He finds the most profitable part of his farming is in the raising of live stock, feeding a large number of cattle and hogs each year for the markets.
Mr. Welton was married to Susan Parrett, the daughter of Isaac and Mary A. ( Kiplinger) Parrett, natives of Virginia, and to this union has been born one son, Wilbur J., who is now farming with his father.
MILLS GARDNER.
The late Mills Gardner, of Washington, C. H., Ohio, was one of the dis- tinguished lawyers and educated men of his day and was a son of one of the honored families of Ohio. A man of high moral character and unimpeachable integrity, persistent industry and excellent professional judgment, he stood as a leader in his state for nearly half a century, in the largest and best sense of the term. Mr. Gardner was one of the notable men of his day and genera- tion and as such is entitled to a conspicuous place in the annals of his state. As a citizen he was public-spirited and enterprising to an unwonted degree. As a statesman he was the peer of any of his contemporaries. As a business man he exercised those qualities which distinguish men of industry ; and, as a friend and neighbor, he combined those qualities of head and heart that won confidence and commanded respect.
Hon. Mills Gardner, the son of Seth and Elma Sands ( Barrere) Gard- ner, was born at Russellville, Brown county, Ohio, January 30, 1830, and died at Washington C. H., Ohio, on the 20th day of February, 1910. His father was born in New York and his mother in Ohio. For most of their married life they lived in Russellville, Ohio, where they reared their three
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sons, George B., Mills and Thomas. Seth Gardner was a merchant in Rus- sellville for many years and died there late in life. His widow, Elma S. Gardner, died in Washington C. H. at the age of eighty-five. Seth Gardner was a son of Benjamin and Lucy (Hawks) Gardner. Benjamin Gardner was born in Exeter, Washington county, Rhode Island, and served as a soldier in the Revolutionary War. The maternal grandfather of Mills Gardner was George W. Barrere and his wife was Abigail Mills, both of whom were na- tives of Virginia.
Mills Gardner received his early education in the common schools of New Market, Highland county, Ohio, and afterwards attended an academy taught by the Rev. John Rankin at Ripley, Ohio. He left school when he was fourteen years of age to enter a dry goods store as clerk. It was while he was working as a clerk in this store that he began the study of law under the supervision of his uncle, Hon. Nelson Barrere, of Hillsboro, Ohio. In 1854 Mr. Gardner moved to Washington C. H., Ohio, where he lived until his death. He was admitted to the bar in 1855 and was engaged in the practice of his profession and in public service for the remainder of his days.
Mr. Gardner was a life-long Republican and was a leader of his party for more than a quarter of a century. In 1855 he was elected prosecuting attor- ney of Fayette county and re-elected to the same position, serving four years. In 1862 he was elected to the State Senate and served two years in the Legis- lature. In 1864 Mr. Gardner was presidential elector from his congressional district and voted for Abraham Lincoln. In 1866 he was elected to the House of Representatives in the State Legislature and served for one term. His next public service was as a member of the Constitutional Convention of 1872, to which he was elected by the voters in his district. The highest official position to which he attained was that of member of Congress, to which he was elected in the fall of 1876. He was a member of the forty-fifth Congress from the third congressional district of Ohio, and in the same year was a member of the Republican national convention, which nominated Rutherford B. Hayes for President. While in Congress, Mr. Gardner sat between the two martyred Presidents, James A. Garfield and William McKinley, and was a warm friend of both men. This position completed the official career of Mr. Gardner, which gave him distinction.
As a lawyer Mr. Gardner had a large practice and as a pleader before the jury he had few equals in the state. He was interested in business affairs and was a stockholder in several financial institutions of his county. He was president of the Commercial Bank for several years. He built one (46)
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of the most beautiful residences in Washington C. H., where his two daugh- ters are still residing.
Mr. Gardner was always an active worker in the Methodist Episcopal church and was one of the committee which built the present church at Washington C. H. This was the third church of this denomination and Mr. Gardner had helped to build the first two as well. He was a very liberal contributor to the church and was never happier than when engaged in some kind of religious work. He conducted a large men's class and a Bible school for several years and was regarded as a most efficient teacher.
The domestic life of Mr. Gardner was very happy. He was married at the early age of twenty-one, in October. 1851, to Margaret Ann Morrow, the daughter of John and Martha Morrow. There were nine children born to Mr. Gardner and his wife, all having died in childhood with the ex- ception of two daughters. Gertrude and Edith Hortense, both of whom are still living. Mrs. Gardner died October 20. 1898, and her husband survived her only a few years. The two daughters, Gertrude and Edith, took care of their father very tenderly after their mother's death. These two daughters are very prominent members of society and interested in everything pertain- ing to the advancement of the educational and religious welfare of their city. They were both active workers in the church and their influence is always used for the best things.
WILLIAM M. CAMPBELL.
A prominent business man of Washington C. H., Fayette county. Ohio, is William M. Campbell, vice-president of the Midland Grocery Com- pany of Ohio and general manager of the Dahl-Millikan branch at Washing- ton C. H. He has been a business man since his early manhood, his father having been a general merchant all his life, and, consequently, his early training was such as to influence him in favor of a business career. He has been living in Washington C. H. since 1897, where he has charge of the Dahl-Millikan branch of the Midland Grocery Company.
William M. Campbell, the son of Thomas C. and Margaret L. ( Brown) Campbell, was born in Bainbridge, Ross county, Ohio, February 28, 1871. His parents, who were natives of Ohio, reared a family of six children : William M., of Washington C. H .; Joseph Porter, of Bainbridge; Frances . C., of Bainbridge: T. Clifford, of Berlin, Germany; Winifred, the wife of
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David H. Roche, Jr., of Chillicothe, Ohio, and Frank, who died in early childhood.
Thomas C. Campbell was born in Aberdeen, Ohio, and reared in Cyn- thiana, Pike county, Ohio. He was a general merchant and for forty-five years was a prominent merchant of Bainbridge, where he is now living a retired life. He has extensive farming interests as well as mercantile in- terests in Ross county. Both he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church.
Thomas C. Campbell's father, William H. B. Campbell, of Aberdeen, Ohio, was a grandson of Evan Campbell, whose father was Mathew Camp- bell, one of the founders of Cincinnati, Ohio. Mathew Campbell was a son of Colin Campbell, of the house of the Scottish Lords and the seventh son of the Duke of Argyle, Scotland.
The paternal grandparents of William M. Campbell, William H. B. and Nancy (Shofstahl) Campbell, were early settlers in Brown county, Ohio. William H. B. Campbell was the first man to start the Gretna Green for ferrying people across the Ohio river between Maysville, Kentucky, and Aber- deen, Ohio, and was a river boatman all his life. Thomas C. was the only child born to this union and was reared by an uncle and aunt, J. W. McCague. The maternal grandparents of William M. Campbell were Joseph P. and Mary ( Perrill ) Brown. Joseph P. Brown was merchant and farmer at Bainbridge. where he died at an advanced age. Mr. Brown and his wife reared a large family of children, Margaret L., John, Frances, Perrill F., Effie and Elizabeth.
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