USA > Ohio > Greene County > History of Greene County, Ohio: its people, industries and institutions, Volume II > Part 60
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Joseph T. Hutchison grew up on the home farm and supplemented his schooling in the local schools by taking a commercial course in Antioch Col- lege. After leaving college he rented a farm and began farming on his own account. Three years later he married and a year afterward bought the old Smith place of ninety-five acres in Beavercreek township, and has ever since made his home there. Since taking possession of that place Mr. Hutchison has erected a new set of buildings, his residence having been built in 1914.
On April 25, 1895, Joseph T. Hutchison was united in marriage to Carrie Andrew, who was born in Beavercreek township and who is the adopted daughter of Samuel G. and Keziah Andrew, who reared her from childhood, and to this union have been born three children, Samuel Andrew, born on' August 20, 1899; Lois Belle, May 31, 1901, and Joseph Ersle, May 21, 1903, all of whom are now students in the Xenia high school. The Hutchisons are members of the Second United Presbyterian church at Xenia. Mr. Hutchison is a Republican.
WILLIAM L. CARLISLE.
William L. Carlisle, who has lived in his present home near Byron for a period of thirty-six years, was born in Clark county, Ohio, on May 9. 1850. the son of Jehu and Hester ( Batchelor ) Carlisle. Jehu Carlisle was a native of Loudoun county, Virginia, born November 16, 1816. As a young man he made the journey from Virginia to Ohio with a five-horse team, spending five weeks on the way. He spent the remainder of his life in Ohio, following the occupation of a farmer, and died at the home of his son on March 6, 1896, at the advanced age of eighty years. In 1837 Jehu Carlisle was united in marriage to Hester Batchelor, who was a native of this county, born March 26, 1817, on the site of the old Yellow Springs hotel, and was one of nineteen children born to her parents. Her father, Robert Batchelor, was born in 1750, and was a soldier in the Revolutionary War, being twice wounded in that struggle. Jehu Carlisle and wife were the parents of nine children, Robert B., George A., John A., James B., Julia A., Margarct S., Howard, William and Jessie D. The mother of these children died on April 26, 1908.
GREENE COUNTY, OHIO
William L. Carlisle received his early education in the common schools of his home township in Greene county and after leaving school took up farming, which occupation he has followed continuously since, having lived on the Baker farm in Bath township, near Byron, for many years. For twenty-five years he has been government crop reporter for his district. He has also served his township as supervisor.
On February 16, 1897, William L. Carlisle was married to Esther Dilly, a native of Montgomery county, Ohio, the daughter of John and Jane (Hart) Dilly, both of whom are now deceased. To this union have been born two children, Paul, born on December 11, 1897, who is assisting his father on the farm, and Ada Frances, born February 23, 1905, who is in school.
THOMAS C. BERRYHILL.
Thomas C. Berryhill, former trustee of Sugarcreek township and pro- prietor of a farm of one hundred and sixty acres south of Bellbrook, is a native "Buckeye" and has lived in this state all his life, a resident of Greene county since he was nine years of age and of the farm on which he is now living since he was fifteen. He was born in Preble county, October 25, 1845, son of the Rev. Franklin and Nancy (Sloan) Berryhill, whose last days were spent in this county; of which the former had become a resident in 1815.
The Rev. Franklin Berryhill, a minister of the Presbyterian (old school) church, was born in Augusta county, Virginia, March 1, 1811, a son of Alex- ander and Rachel ( Thompson) Berryhill, the latter of whom was a niece of Charles Thompson, of Revolutionary fame, secretary to the first Con- tinental Congress. Alexander Berryhill was born in Virginia and at the age of nineteen years volunteered his services in behalf of the patriot army during the Revolutionary War and was attached to the command of General Greene. At the battle of Guilford Court House he was captured by the enemy and was held prisoner for two years, or until his exchange. During that battle he was severely wounded by a sword blow on the head and the scar of that wound he carried to his grave. At the close of his military service he re- turned to farming pursuits and after his marriage to Rachel Thompson set- tled on a farm in Augusta county, in the Old Dominion, and there remained until 1815, when he came with his family to Ohio and settled on a tract of land south of Bellbrook in this county, where he died in 1823 and was buried in the Pioneer graveyard at Bellbrook. He and his wife were the parents of eleven children, eight sons and three daughters. Franklin Berryhill was the youngest of these eight sons. The others were as follow: James, who
THOMAS C. BERRYHILL
MRS. LUELLA E. BERRYHILL
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·married Esther, a daughter of William Turner and established his home in Sugarcreek township; William T., who also made his home in Sugarcreek township, where he died on April 27, 1874, at the age of eighty-four years, and was buried in the Bellbrook cemetery; John, who served as a soldier of the War of 1812, married Rachel James and located in Sugarcreek town- ship: Alexander, Jr., who moved to Miami county, this state; Samuel, who died in 1840 and was buried at Bellbrook; Archibald, who died on July 7, 1877, aged seventy-five, and was buried at Bellbrook, and Matthew, who died on September 25, 1898. he then being ninety-two years of age, and was buried in the Bellbrook cemetery.
Having been but a child when his parents came to this county from Vir- ginia, Franklin Berryhill was reared on the pioneer farm in Sugarcreek township. From the days of his boyhood he evinced unusual aptitude in his studies and in due time was matriculated at Hanover College, in Indiana, from which institution he was graduated in 1837. He completed his theo- logical studies under the preceptorship of Doctor Matthews, who was his tutor for three years, and was then ordained to the ministry of the Presby- terian church and for ten or twelve years thereafter was actively engaged in this high calling. His health then began to fail and, securing honorable re- tirement from the ministry, he returned to his old home in the vicinity of Bellbrook and sought recuperation on the farm; continuing, however, his ministerial labors as local occasion required and ever maintaining his active interest in church and Sunday school work. His father had settled on and led in the development of a tract of about seven hundred acres in Sugar- creek township and in the ultimate division of that tract the Rev. Franklin Berryhill shared to the extent of a good farm and his needs were amply pro- vided for, he coming to be the owner of three hundred and seven acres of choice land. He died on that farm.
On January 21, 1841, the Rev. Franklin Berryhill was united in mar- riage to Nancy Sloan, who was born in Pennsylvania and who also was a member of one of Greene county's pioneer families, and to that union were born five children, namely : Theodore B., now deceased; Thomas C., the im- mediate subject of this biographical sketch; Caroline, who died at the age of thirteen years; Elmira, wife of William Rupert, of Westville, this state, and Mrs. Finette Fox, of Dayton. The mother of these children died on July 13, 1864, and in 1865 the Rev. Franklin Berryhill married Julia A. Cooper, of Bellbrook, which second union was without issue.
Thomas C. Berryhill was about nine years of age when his parents re- turned to Greene county in 1854 and was about fifteen when they located on the place on which he is now living in 1860. He completed his schooling in the local schools and after his marriage in the fall of 1887 established his
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home on the home place, one hundred and sixty acres of which he now owns,. and has ever since made that his place of residence. In addition to his gen- eral farming he has given considerable attention to the raising of live stock. Mr. Berryhill is a Republican and served for two terms as trustee of his home township. He was for some time a member of the Grange. His youngest son, Robert, is a member of the local lodge of the Junior Order of United American Mechanics.
On November 3, 1887, Thomas C. Berryhill was united in marriage to Luella E. Miller, who was born in Montgomery county, daughter of Aaron and Emma (Karr) Miller, of that county, and who died on February 29, 1912, leaving four children, Emily, Esther, John and Robert, all of whom are at home with their father save John, who is now ( 1918) a soldier of the National Army, stationed at Camp Sherman. Mr. Berryhill and his family are connected with the Presbyterian church.
CHARLES WALKER DEAN.
Elsewhere in this volume there is set out at considerable length a his- tory of the Dean family in Greene county. Charles Walker Dean, a build- ing contractor at Cedarville, was born in the northwestern corner of New Jasper township, this county, September 5, 1861, son of John Campbell and Emily Louisa (Hagler) Dean, the latter of whom was born in that same township on December 31, 1838, daughter of Samuel and Jane (Fudge) Hagler, the former of whom was a son of Leonard and Mary Susan ( Peter- son) Hagler, both of whom were born in Hardy county, Virginia. The Haglers are of Swiss descent. In 1817 Leonard Hagler and family came to Greene county and settled on a farm of near five hundred acres at the forks of Caesars creek. Leonard Hagler was an old-fashioned Methodist. He and his wife were the parents of eight children, of whom Samuel was the eldest. The latter carried on farming operations until his death. His wife was a daughter of Christian and Elizabeth (Nicholas) Fudge, who had come to this part of Ohio from Botetourt county, Virginia, about the. time the Haglers had settled here.
John Campbell Dean was born in that part of Greene county that later became organized as New Jasper township, December 28. 1830, a son of Daniel and Jane (Campbell) Dean, of whom more is noted elsewhere, and was the first-born of that parentage, he having had a brother David, who lived in Xenia ; another brother, Levi, who continued farming, and a sister who died in youth. As the eldest son, John C. Dean became the mainstay of his widowed mother after the death of his father and for some time continued to operate the home farm. He presently bought a farm of
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eighty-three acres on the Stringtown road and after his marriage on Feb- ruary 13, 1855, to Emily Louisa Hagler, who was then but sixteen years of age, established his home in a two-room log house on that place. On that farm he and his wife spent the rest of their lives, his death occurring on April 1, 1891, and hers, September 5, 1903. He was a. Republican and he and his wife were members of the First United Presbyterian church at Xenia. They were the parents of ten children, of whom Charles W. was the fifth in order of birth, the others being Samuel Edgar, born on April 14, 1856, who is now living at Enon; Anna Jane, July 10, 1857, wife of A. C. Grieve, a New Jasper township farmer; Emily Luella, October 20, 1858, who died on April 9, 1882; Moses Allen, January 26, 1860, now a resident of Xenia ; David Oscar, February 14, 1863, who also lives in Xenia; Laura Etta, December 24, 1864, who died on October 4, 1865; John, August 13, 1866, a resident of Xenia; Ida May, March 8, 1874, who also lives in Xenia, and James Ralph, August 21, 1877, a Xenia township farmer.
Charles Walker Dean received his schooling in the Hazlip school and remained on the farm until he was twenty years of age, when he became employed with the contracting firm of A. G. Elerick & Sons at Cedarville and for three years was thus employed. He then became employed with the Tarbox Lumber Company at Cedarville and in 1894 became a partner of W. J. Tarbox in the operation of a lumber yard there, continuing thus en- gaged for a couple of years, at the end of which time he sold his interest in the concern and entered the general building contracting business on his own account, a business in which he ever since has been engaged, during this time having erected numerous dwelling houses in the Cedarville neigh- borhood besides more than fifty barns. Mr. Dean is a Republican and has served, at various terms, fifteen years as a member of the Cedarville com- mon council. He and his wife are members of the United Presbyterian church.
Mr. Dean has been twice married. In May, 1887, he was united in marriage to Lydia Barber, daughter of David and Mary (Jackson) Barber, and to that union two dangliters were born, Bertha May, now a bookkeeper in the Cedarville Exchange Bank, and Mary Louisa, wife of Milton An- trim, of Dayton, a bookkeeper in the Wright aeroplane factory. The mother of these daughters died on August 12, 1891, and on January 20, 1898, Mr. Dean married Clara Ellis, who also was born in this county, and to this union two children have been born, Charles Frederick, who was born on October 16, 1898, and Hester Frances, February 8, 1904. Mrs. Dean was born in the vicinity of Clifton, daughter of Aaron and Mary (Mendenhall) Ellis, the latter of whom died in February, 1913, and the former of whom is now making his home with Mr. and Mrs. Dean. Aaron Ellis was born
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in this county and has resided here all his life. His wife was born in Mary- land and was but a child when she came with her parents, Samuel and Mary (Whittington) Mendenhall, to this county. Samuel Mendenhall was a miller, whose last days were spent at Springfield. To Aaron Ellis and wife four children were born, Mrs. Dean having a brother, James S., living at Oakdale, and two sisters. Ida, wife of Frank Goe, of West Liberty, and Lucy, wife of Joseph P. Berg, of Round Mountain, Nevada, whose son, Chester Berg, a United States soldier, was one of the susvivors of the transport "Tuscania," which was torpedoed by a German submarine early in 1918.
JOHNN M. DIFFENDAL.
John Diffendal, the proprietor of a farm about a mile and a half south of the Clark county line, in Ross township, is a native of the state of Maryland, but has been a resident of Ohio since he was seventeen years of age and of Greene county since 1884. He was born on June 10, 1857, son of Samuel and Elizabeth (Eyler) Diffendal, who were the parents of nine children, of whom the subject of this sketch was the seventh in order of birth, the others being the following: Charles, a retired farmer, now living at South Charleston, in the neighboring county of Clark; Elizabeth, who died when eighteen years of age; Martin, who established his home on an Indiana farm and there died in 1917; Margaret, who died in the days of her girlhood; Amanda C., who died in 1914: Samuel, a farmer of Ross township, this county; Lewis, a resident of South Charleston, and an infant who died in 1863, the mother dying at the same time.
John Diffendal was about six years of age when his mother died. He received his schooling in his native state and remained on the home farm there until he was seventeen years of age, when he came to Ohio, South Charleston being his objective point, and in the neighborhood of that place and over in Madison county he was engaged at farm labor until his mar- riage in 1881, after which he began farming on his own account. In 1884 he moved into Greene county and rented a farm in Ross township, con- tinuing farming as a renter until he bought the farm on which he is now living in 1904. This is a farm of two hundred and seventy-seven acres situated on rural mail route No. 2 out of South Charleston and since taking possession of the same Mr. Diffendal has made numerous improvements on the same. In addition to his general farming. he has given considerable attention to the raising of live stock. Mr. Diffendal is a Democrat with "independent" leanings and for some years has been a member of the school
JOHN M. DIFFENDAL.
MRS. ELIZABETH J. DIFFENDAL.
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board in his home township. Fraternally, he is affiliated with the local lodge of the Free and Accepted Masons at Jamestown. He and his family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church.
On December 17, 1881, John Diffendal was united in marriage to Eliza- beth J. Minnix, of Fayette county, this state, and to this union six children have been born, namely: Frank, who is farming in Ross township and who married Florence Dement and has two children, John Roy and Franklin R .; Daisy, who married Scott Cheney, of the neighboring county of Clark, and has four children, Emmet, Helen, Ruth and John Milton; Louis M., who is farming in Ross township and who married Theresa Dennehy and has four children, Lucile, Louis, Elizabeth and Rachel; Nellie, who married Audrey Gordon, of Fayette county, and has two children, Donah and Mar- jorie; Jolan E., who is at home assisting his father in the management of the farm, and Catherine, who married Dr. Foye Troute, of Jamestown, and has one child, a son, Ralph.
CHRISTOPHER K. ELLIS.
Christopher K. Ellis, proprietor of a farm on rural mail route No. 3, out of Jamestown, where he has made his home for the past twenty-eight years, is a native son of this county and has lived here all his life. He was born on a farm in Jefferson township, or rather in that portion of Caesars- creek township that in the summer of 1858 came to be set off as Jefferson township, December 24, 1856, son of Silas and Mary B. ( Kinsey) Ellis, both of whom were members of pioneer families hereabout.
The Ellis family has been represented in Greene county since the year 1807, when Christopher Ellis, great-grandfather of the subject of this sketch, came here with his family from Frederick county, Virginia, and settled in the southern part of the county, a mile north of Port William. Christopher Ellis was born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, of Dutch stock, January II, 1763. He married Eliza Caney, who was born on September 5, 1769, and made his home in Frederick county, Virginia, until he came to this county in 1807. He traded a horse for fifty acres of land north of Port William and thus got a start upon which he improved until at the time of his death - in 1836 he was the owner of sixteen hundred acres of land in that region. His wife had preceded him to the grave about twelve years, her death having occurred on September 5, 1822, and he later married Nancy Overly. To this latter union four children were born, Martha, Tilden, Angeline and Daniel. By his marriage to Eliza Caney, Christopher Ellis was the father
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of twelve children, Jacob, Abraham, Isaac, John, Samuel, William, George, James, Mary, Joseph, Christopher and Elizabeth.
Samuel Ellis, sixth son of Christopher and Eliza (Caney) Ellis, grew up on the home place north of Port William and there spent all his life. having established his home there after his marriage to Elizabeth Oglesbee. who was born in this county, a member of one of the pioneer families. Sanı- uel Ellis died at his home in the southern part of the county on December II, 1880, he then being eighty years, two months and seven days of age. Samuel Ellis was thrice married. By his union with Elizabeth Oglesbee he was the father of six children, namely: Preston, who became a merchant and millman at Bell Center and there lived to be eighty years of age: Polly Ann, who married John Early; Silas, father of the subject of this sketch ; Joseph, Almira, who married Daniel Early, and Isaiah, who made his home in Clinton county. Following the death of the mother of these children, Samuel Ellis married Keziah Woolman, who also was born in this county, and to that union were born seven children, namely: Eli, who went to the front as a soldier of the Union during the Civil War, a member of Company B, Fortieth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, with which com- mand he served for three years, and was killed at one of the later battles at Ringgold, Georgia : Susan, who married James Bone; Sarah Jane, who mar- ried John Jenkins; Simon Peter and Sammuel Newton, twins, both of whom served as soldiers of the Union during the Civil War, the former a member of Company F, Sixtieth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, was taken pris- oner and for eleven months suffered confinement in Andersonville and Libby prisons, and the latter a member of Company H, One Hundred and Fifty- fourth Ohio; Joshua, now living on a part of the old home place in Jeffer- son township and who also served as a soldier during the Civil War, a miem- ber of the Sixtieth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and Martha, who died at the age of three years and thirteen days. Following the death of the mother of these children, Samuel Ellis married Mrs. Providence Sewell, which union was without issue.
Silas Ellis grew up on the home farm north of Port William and received his schooling in the neighborhood schools. After his marriage to Mary B. Kinsey, of Port William, he bought a small farm in that neighborhood, but later moved to Clinton county, where his last days were spent. During his active operations he bought and sold a good deal of land and also dealt in horses. He and his wife were members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Silas Ellis died on the 3rd day of February, 1896, he then being sixty-eight years, seven months and three days old. and his widow survived him to the age of seventy-seven. They were the parents of seven children, of whom the subject of this sketch was the fourth in order of birth, the others
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being the following : Hiram, now a resident of Concordia, Kansas; Maria, wife of Benjamin Strickle, of Clinton county; one who died in infancy ; Ida Ann, wife of Nathan Woolford, of Clinton county; Jonathan, a mechanic, now living in Nebraska, and Silas Andrew, who owns a farm in Warren county and resides there.
Christopher K. Ellis received his schooling in the schools of Spring Valley and Jefferson townships and remained at home until his marriage in 1880, after which he made his home for a while in Clinton county. He then came back to Greene county and located on a farm in Caesarscreek township, where he remained for eight years, or until 1890, when he bought the Daniel Bayliff farm of one hundred acres, the place on which he is now living, in Jefferson township, and has since made his home there. To his original hold- ings there Mr. Ellis has added by purchase until now he is the owner of three hundred and thirty-two acres and his sons also have farms in that neighborhood. In addition to his general farming Mr. Ellis has given con- siderable attention to the raising of live stock, making a specialty of Aber- deen-Angus cattle and heavy draft horses. He also is a stockholder and a member of the board of directors of the Wilson Engineering Company at Xenia.
On February 5, 1880, Christopher K. Ellis was united in marriage to Medora Adams, who was born in Caesarscreek township. daughter of Jack- son and Eliza (Ary) Adams, the latter of whom was born in that same town- ship. Jackson Adams was born in Virginia in 1827 and was four years of age when he came with his parents, Nimrod and Susan (Linkhart) Adams, to this county in 1831, the family settling in Caesarscreek township. Nimrod Adams and his wife were the parents of six children, of whom Jackson was the first-born, the others being the following: Ella, who married John Borden ; Joseph, who established his home on a farm north of Paintersville; Harriet, who married Jonathan Bales; Harry, who died unmarried, and Josephine, who remained a spinster and is still living on a part of the old home place. After his marriage to Eliza Ary, Jackson Adams established his home on a farm in Caesarscreek township and there died in 1891. His widow survived him for twenty years, her death occurring on September 8, I9II. She was a member of the Methodist Protestant church. Jackson Adams and wife were the parents of six children, of whom Mrs. Ellis was the second in order of birth, the others being Luella, who died in the days of her girlhood; James D., who married Flora M. Harness and is farming in Jefferson township; Lydia J., who died in infancy ; Hattie, who died in youth, and Sarah, wife of George Babb, of Caesarscreek township.
. Mr. and Mrs. Ellis have two sons, Orville J. and Charles S., the former of whom remains at home, assisting his father in the management of the
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home place. He also owns a farm of his own. Charles S. Ellis also has a farm in Jefferson township, on which he makes his home. He married Iva E. Sheely and has one child, a son, Lawrence Victor, born on April 9. 1914. Mrs. Ellis is a member of the Methodist Protestant church. Mr. Ellis is a Republican, as are his sons, and, fraternally, is affiliated with the Masonic lodge at Jamestown and with the Knights of Pythias lodge at Port William.
REV. JOHN M. PIDGEON.
The late Rev. John M. Pidgeon, who at the time of his death at his home in Jefferson township in the spring of 1918 was the oldest minister of the Wilmington yearly meeting of the Society of Friends, was born in Guilford county, North Carolina, February 2, 1834, a son of Charles and Catherine Pidgeon, both of whom were born in that same state, the former on March 1, 1806, and the latter, November 23, 1810, and who were mar- ried there on November 8, 1829. During the time of the Civil War Charles Pidgeon came to Ohio with his family and settled in Clinton county, where lie and his wife spent their last days, dying near Wilmington. They were the parents of twelve children, those besides John M., the third in order uf birth, being Emily, deceased, who was the wife of John Briggs; Mrs. Mary Jane Cammack, deceased; Hannah E., who married William Charles and is also deceased; Julia A., living in the vicinity of Wilmington, widow of William Henry; Samuel T., now living retired at Jamestown, this county ; David, who lives at Whittier, California ; Jeffrey H., who died in childhood ; Louisa M., wife of Adin Starbuck; Charles A., who died in young manhood; Henry H., who is still living on the home place near Wilmington, and Cor- nelia, wife of Bruce Sprague, of Wilmington.
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