USA > Ohio > Guernsey County > History of Guernsey County, Ohio, Volume II > Part 26
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Joshua Hood Bond was one of a family of twelve children, all of whom are now dead. The father died December 3, 1904, and his wife died in May, 1878, and both are buried in McCoy's cemetery in Londonderry township. Joshua H. Bond was a prosperous farmer and a large land owner. He was a Republican in politics and active in the public affairs. He filled several of the most important offices of the township and was a man always prominent in public matters. In addition to farming, he bought and sold horses extensively. He and his family were members of the Methodist Episcopal church and he was a devout Christian for many years.
John H. Bond spent his childhood and youth on his father's farm and assisted in the general farm work, and his education was obtained in the country district schools. His parents' family consisted of four sons and three daughters: Cornelius H., of Exter Park, Colorado; John H., the subject of this sketch; Charles H., deceased ; Elizabeth A., now Mrs. James Wilkey, a pioneer of Harrison county, Ohio; Jeremiah, deceased; Mary Belle and Maude, both live in Scio, Ohio, the latter being a teacher in the Scio College.
John H. Bond has been married three times, his first wife being Sarah Margaret Smith, of Londonderry township, whom he married on February 12, 1878. To this union seven children were born: Emma F., now Mrs.
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Ralph B. Sproat, of Cambridge; Albert A., of Iowa; Vernon B., of Cam- bridge: Roney V., of Lore City; Robert Austin, of Lore City; Wilbur R., of Lore City ; Zula M., at home. The wife and mother died March 10, 1896. His second marriage took place on July 22, 1898, to Margaret J. Todd, of Belmont county, Ohio, and one son was born to this union, Leonard, who died one year after birth. Mrs. Margaret Bond died on April 18, 1900, and on June 12, 1902, Mr. Bond was married to Sarah M. Warne, daughter of Jacob and Mary J. Warne, of Center township, Guernsey county, Ohio. No chil- dren have been born to this union.
Mr. Bond engaged in farming in Londonderry township and he followed that pursuit until April, 1900, when he sold his farm and moved to Lore City, where he bought property and engaged in the livery business, in which he has been engaged ever since. He is also engaged in the sale of farm machinery (luring a part of the year, and has established quite a business. He owns several pieces of property in Lore City besides business property and equip- ment. He is a Republican in politics and has been active and filled various local offices while living in Londonderry township, among which was that of land appraiser, which position he filled in 1900. In 1908 he was nominated by the Republicans of Guernsey county as a candidate for infirmary director and was elected for a second term in 1910. He was vice-president of the board during the first term and president during the second. He and his family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church at Lore City. He is a public spirited citizen, always active in whatever pertains to the public good, a man who stands high in the estimation of his fellows, and an honest and efficient public official. Public spirited, he occupies a prominent place in the affairs of the community in which he lives.
EDWIN M. NELSON.
Among the old and representative citizens of Center township, Guernsey county, Ohio, none enjoys a higher meed of respect and esteem than the gen- tleman whose name appears at the head of this sketch. A life characterized by the strictest integrity of word and deed and absolute faithfulness to every trust reposed in him, has earned for him a reputation of greater value to his family than could have been earned by the possession of great wealth or high political honor.
Edwin M. Nelson was born November 14, 1836, in Allegheny county,
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Pennsylvania, and is the son of Samuel and Susanna ( Paden) Nelson. Both of these parents were born and reared in York county, Pennsylvania, and made the rough and tiresome trip over the mountains to Allegheny county in 1835. Samuel Nelson was a man of splendid educational attainments, being a fine Latin scholar, which language he taught in York county in his younger days. His father was a native of Ireland and after his death, Samuel Nelson gave up teaching and took charge of the paternal farm. When the family first came to America they settled in the Carolinas, but, because of Indian troubles, they came North, settling in York county, where they engaged in farming. After locating in Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, Samuel Nelson engaged in farming until about 1842, when he took transportation down the Ohio river to Wheeling, West Virginia, from which point he transported his family and household goods to the farm in Guernsey county where his son, the subject of this sketch, now lives, the place containing one hundred acres, along the National road. James Paden, father of Mrs. Samuel Nelson, came to Center township, Guernsey county, about 1820, and lived here until his death, in 1841, at which time his farm descended to his daughter, Mrs. Nelson, by inheritance. Samuel Nelson was a man of modest demeanor, but intelli- gent and high minded, and stood high in the esteem of all who knew him. Politically he was a stanch Democrat, and a Presbyterian in his religious faith. To him and his wife were born nine children, five sons and four daugh- ters, namely: Elizabeth, Rebecca. James, Robert, Margaret, Samuel H., Susanna, Joseph and Edwin M., all being now deceased excepting the last named. The father of these children died in January, 1851, and was sur- vived a number of years by his widow, who died in 1865, both being buried in the cemetery at Washington, where the daughters and one son, James, are also buried. In 1807, and again in 1811, while a resident of York county, Pennsylvania, Samuel Nelson was commissioned a captain in the state militia.
Edwin M. Nelson has spent his entire life, since January, 1842, on the old family homestead, where he now lives. His youth was devoted to farm work as soon as old enough and his education was secured in the district schools of the home neighborhood. He was married, on November 3, 1863. to Margaret Work, the daughter of James and Ann (Cunningham) Work, of Center township. The Work family came from Harrison county, Ohio, in the spring of 1861 and here Mr. Work became a prosperous farmer. He died in 1869 and his widow in 1886, both being interred in the cemetery at Cam- bridge. Mr. Work was a Republican in politics and a Presbyterian in his religious belief. To Mr. and Mrs. Nelson have been born seven children, two of whom died in infancy. Those living are as follows: Flora, the wife
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of James Norris; Ella, the wife of James Tedrick, of Center township; Ida, the wife of George Hanson, of the state of Montana; Mary, the wife of Joseph W. Dyson, who is represented elsewhere in this work; Everett, of Center township.
Edwin M. Nelson has devoted his mature years to farming and stock raising, in both of which lines he has met with a gratifying degree of success. He is a Democrat in his political affiliations and has taken an active interest in party affairs. Although his party is in the minority in Center township, he has been elected to office almost continuously, this standing in unmistakable evidence of his personal popularity and eminent fitness for the positions to which he has been chosen. He has served as justice of the peace for thirty- five years, and there was but one break in this long period of service. He also served as land appraiser of Center township in 1880 and 1900. He was township clerk for nine years, township treasurer one year, township assessor, and for many years a member of the school board. He rendered efficient service as a member of the Democratic county central committee and has been frequently a delegate to party conventions. Religiously, Mr. Nelson and his family are members of the Presbyterian church, to which they give an earnest support. In recent years Mr. Nelson has not done much active work on the farm and is living practically retired. He holds broad and intelligent views on public questions and exerts a large influence in the community where he lives and where for many years he has been a prominent factor. His father before him was also a man of wide repute, as during the days of much travel over the National road he kept a tavern for the accommodation of the travel- ing public, his place being a popular hostelry in the early days. Edwin Nelson enjoys a wide acquaintance over Guernsey county and his friends are in num- ber as his acquaintances.
WILLIAM H. DAVIS.
The Nestor of the mining industry in the Guernsey valley and the man to whom, more than any other individual, was due the extensive mining de- velopments in that section, was William H. Davis. Mr. Davis was born in the south part of Wales, June 14, 1851, and was the son of Robert and Maria Augusta Davis. The father was Welsh, the mother English. When he was thirteen years old his parents brought him to America and located at Youngs- town, Ohio. At the age of twenty he married Mary A. Cook, of Hubbard, Ohio, who died in 1881, and on September 21, 1886, he was united to Mary A.
WILLIAM H. DAVIS.
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Morton, of Sherman, Ohio. Miss Morton was a daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth (Scott) Morton. She was born in the north part of England and when eight years old was brought to America by her parents, who located first in Pennsylvania, then came to Sherman, Ohio. Her mother died about 1884 and her father about 1888.
Mr. Davis's whole life, virtually, was devoted to the mining industry, as he entered the mines in Wales when but a child of seven years and from that on was connected with the business in some capacity. In 1888 he came from Sherman, where, for six or seven years, he had been in the employ of Mr. Barrett, and on the 10th of May of that year began opening up the Pioneer mine at Byesville, owned by Mr. Barrett. There were then only two mines of any consequence at Byesville and since there was built up, largely through the energy and skill of Mr. Davis, an important coaling business. After the Pioneer mine was exhausted he went with B. F. Berry, who then bought the Farmer mine, just south of Byesville. Later on other mines were added, with Mr. Davis in charge of them, until there were ten under his supervision with a force of nearly three thousand men and a payroll of considerable over a hundred thousand dollars a month. About 1907 the properties were taken over by the Cambridge Collieries Company, with headquarters at Byesville. Mr. Davis retained his position as general superintendent until about May I. 1909, when he resigned because of failing health. His ailment was cancer of the spleen, which could not be operated upon, and from its effects he died July II, 1909.
When about nineteen years old Mr. Davis made a public confession of his faith in Christ and joined the Welsh Baptist church, but for many years he had no actual church connections, although he always manifested a kindly spirit in this direction, contributing freely of his means and encouraging his family in their religious relations. During his later days much of his time was spent in prayer and he professed his trust in God and his faith in salvation. He was a member of the Knights of Pythias, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Elks. He is buried in Norwood cemetery, at Cambridge.
Mr. Davis was prominently identified with the First National Bank, of Byesville, where, by reason of his wide knowledge of men and affairs and his sound judgment, he was an efficient and valued officer. According to one who knew him best, no one else, perhaps, was so popular with the men in the mines as was wholehearted, genial "Billy" Davis. by which name he was affectionately called alike by his business associates and the men who worked under him. Throughout the Guernsey valley he was known as an upright, honest Christian gentleman, and no one was esteemed more highly by all
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classes. He was a man very fond of his home and family, and he left his business troubles outside the gate, presenting his most cheery aspect in the domestic circle. He was fond of music and delighted in singing with his family. A man of close application to his business, he allowed himself but one vacation a year and that of but few days' duration. A man of no school- ing, he yet acquired a great deal by home study and became well educated.
Mr. Davis was the father of six children. Three by the first wife were : Hiram, now of Byesville: Mrs. David Morse, deceased, and William H. Davis, Jr., of Byesville. Hiram is superintendent of the Little Run Trail mine. He is married and has two children. William H. is electrician for the Cambridge Collieries Company, and is also married. The children by the second wife are. George Henry, Louia Augusta and Elizabeth, all of whom now reside with their mother at their present little home farm adjoining Byesville. George Henry is a jeweler at Byesville. Louia Augusta is book- keeper for the Byesville Coal Company, and Elizabeth will soon graduate at the Byesville high school.
JAMES HODGE McCREARY, D. D. S.
Though young in years, Dr. James Hodge McCreary, of Byesville, one of the best known of the younger dentists of Guernsey county, has shown what energy, high purpose and proper training can accomplish when coupled with sound judgment and an altruistic impulse. He comes of an excellent old family whose honored name he has worthily upheld. He was born in Center township, this county. September 20, 1878. and he is the son of Hugh and Martha ( McKelvy) McCreary. For a more complete record of the Doctor's parents and ancestry the reader is referred to the sketch of his brother, John L. McCreary, appearing herein.
Doctor McCreary grew to maturity on the home farm and there built up a robust constitution by outdoor work, which has stood him in good stead during his subsequent battle of life. He attended the district schools in the wintertime and later went to the normal school. He studied dentistry at the Ohio Medical University, now Starling Medical College, where he made an excellent record and from which he was graduated in 1903, after which he began the practice of his profession in Byesville where he has remained ever since, enjoying a very liberal patronage, which is constantly growing. for his reputation as a careful, painstaking and thoroughly equipped dentist has be-
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come well established and he has kept abreast of the times in everything per- taining to his profession.
Doctor McCreary was married on December 28, 1905, to Mabel Frame. daughter of Roland S. Frame, Sr., a highly respected and influential family. To the Doctor and wife one son, Roland Alexander, has been born.
Besides his practice. Doctor McCreary is interested in the C. L. Frame Dental Supply Company at Chicago. He also owns various properties in Byesville. Fraternally, he is a member of the Masonic order, having attained the Knight Templar degree. He also belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He and his wife belong to the Methodist Episcopal church at Byesville, and they stand high in church and social circles.
CLINTON D. WARNE.
Among the sterling citizens of Center township and the representative farmers of Guernsey county, Clinton D. Warne is deserving of conspicuous mention, having worked long and hard to achieve the ample competence that is today his, and while he has labored for his own advancement, as is right and proper. he has never neglected his duties of citizenship, but has always stood ready to aid his neighbors and the promotion of the general good in this county.
Mr. Warne was born on September 25. 1868. on the farm on which he now resides, being the son of an old and highly honored family, Jonathan and Ann ( Smith ) Warne. The father was also born on this farm, while the mother's birth occurred in Licking county, Ohio. Grandfather Jonathan Warne came from New Jersey with his family when the country was very new and began life here in typical pioneer fashion, making their home in the woods. He cleared the land and built a cabin which was their residence for some time. thus this family has been known in Guernsey county for many generations and the reputation it has borne has been second to none. Jona- than Warne, Jr., father of Clinton D., was a farmer all his life, and he reared a family of seven daughters and two sons. all living with the exception of two daughters. The father's death occurred on August 6. 1903, and he was fol- lowed to the "narrow house" only a few days later, August IIth, by his faith- ful life companion, and they are buried in the Pleasant Hill cemetery.
Clinton D. Warne spent his childhood and youth with his parents and obtained his education in the district schools, working on the farm the mean-
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while. He was married on April 7, 1897, to Lena Gardner, daughter of Park and Cynthia ( Hagan) Gardner, of Quaker City ; both parents are living on a farm. To Mr. and Mrs. Warne one son has been born, Clinton D., Jr., also one daughter, Rettie.
Mr. Warne has always lived on the farm where he was born or on an ad- joining farm. He has been very successful and is now the owner of a splendid farm of three hundred and fifty-six acres of good land and he is also extensive- ly interested in the saw-mill business, which he has operated for fourteen years. By the judicious management of his farm and mill he has laid by quite a competence and is now prosperous, as he deserves, for he has been a persistent worker and has forged ahead without the assistance of anyone.
Politically, Mr. Warne is a Republican and has always been loyal to the principles of this party, as was his father. He has been township trustee for three years and is now serving his second term. He and his wife are mem- bers of the Methodist Episcopal church and liberal supporters of the same. He is decidedly a man of affairs, and great business capacity and untiring energy, and he stands high among his fellow men in all the relations of life.
JOHN WESLEY SHRIVER.
The Shriver family has been for several generations identified with the life and interests of the community of Jackson township, and the gentleman whose name heads this sketch is one of the representative men of his township, an able farmer, well known citizen, who has taken his part in the development of the common good, and a friend esteemed and loved by those who know him best.
John Wesley Shriver was born in section 19, Jackson township, Guern- sey county, Ohio, on August 30, 1868. He is the son of Mark Gordon and Caroline (Camp) Shriver, whose record precedes this. He grew up on the home place, and has followed farming practically all his life, though he has been engaged in mining for a small portion of the time. His farm is well cultivated, and shows to the passer that its owner is an up-to-date farmer.
Mr. Shriver was married on August 25, 1906, to Mildred Moorhead, the daughter of Frank and Sarah L. (Pilcher) Moorhead. She was born and reared at Senecaville, where her mother still resides. Her father was the son of Jonathan and Mary Ann ( McElwee) Moorhead, and the Moorhead fam- ily have been residents of the county from early times, while Mary Ann Mc-
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Elwee was one of the first children to be born at Hartford, Jackson town- ship. Frank Moorhead was a wholesale tobacco merchant, and died at Sen- ecaville on November 19, 1908. His wife is a native of Vinton county, Ohio.
Mr. and Mrs. Shriver are the parents of two children, Consuelo Marie and Adam Gordon. After the death of his father John W. Shriver continued to live on the old home farm, before mentioned. He owns one hundred and ninety-four acres of land. He is not a politician, but has accepted some minor offices, such as that of school director, from a sense of civic duty, and votes with the Democratic party. Both he and his wife are members of Mt. Zion Baptist church. Mr. Shriver is a man of strong and consistent Chris- tian character, and a devoted husband and father, highly esteeming his wife and children, and the pleasures of his home.
BENJAMIN TRENNER.
Another of the old soldiers and loyal defenders of the National Union during the greatest civil strife in the history of the world, a man who deserves the highest praise for his unselfish sacrifices in giving up the pleasures and comforts of home, the opportunities of business and the peaceful pursuits of life and offering his services and his life, if need be, on the fields of carnage in the southland in order that "this government might not perish from the earth," in the language of the great emancipator whom he loved-our first President martyr-is Benjamin Trenner, a well known citizen of Jackson township, who, through a long and useful life, has seen this locality forge to the front.
Mr. Trenner was born in the northwestern part of Valley township. Guernsey county, Ohio, on September 19. 1830. He is the son of Henry and Sarah (Frye) Trenner. Henry Trenner came from Virginia, probably from Loudoun county, when about twenty-five years old. Henry Trenner's father (probably also named Henry) came to America from Germany during the American Revolution, and he fought for the colonies. His people in the old country had been wealthy and influential, but he dare not go back after having joined the American colonists. After the Revolution he settled in Virginia. His son Henry came to this county in a very early day and bought a farm in Valley township, when very little land had been cleared. After Henry came, then his father, the old Revolutionary soldier, came too, and lived with him until his death.
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Henry Trenner married Sarah Frye, who was born in Virginia, and she came to Ohio with her parents while she was a girl.
Benjamin Trenner was one of eight children, all boys. One died in in- fancy, seven grew to manhood, namely : Noah, John and Isaiah are dead, Wil- liam and Henry are living in the west; Caleb lives on the old homestead in Guernsey county ; Benjamin is the subject of this sketch. Henry Trenner, the father, first bought one hundred and sixty acres of land, to which he later. added eight more acres. It was during the war of 1812 that Henry Trenner settled in Valley township. He intended to go to the war, but an attack of the measles prevented his doing so, so he hired a substitute.
The family grew up in pioneer conditions. Roads were very few. The Clay pike was laid out, but it was by no means a good road. Cambridge was a very small place. When the settlers wanted shoes they killed a beef and took the hide to a tanner at Cambridge, who took half of the hide for the tanning. Then they had the shoemaker come to the house and make shoes for the family. Boots did not come into use until the subject was fifteen years old. Later boots became the only footwear of the men. They raised their own flax and wool and worked it up for clothes. The subject never had an overcoat until after he was twenty-one years old. He wore woolen flannel shirts.
In October. 1851, Benjamin Trenner married Barbara Spaid, daughter of William Spaid and wife. William Spaid came from Virginia about as early as the Trenner family.
After his marriage Mr. Trenner rented a farm on the Clay pike and made a business of keeping overnight the great droves of stock that were constantly passing along on the road to eastern cities in those days.
Two years later he bought an eighty-acre farm in the north part of Valley township and lived there three years, then sold that and bought another near by, but lived there only a short time. About 1856 he bought the farm where he has lived ever since, in the south part of Jackson township. He has one hundred and thirty-two acres well improved and he has been very successful as a farmer.
During the Civil war he was in Company E. One Hundred Seventy-sec- ond Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and saw some of the hardest service. After the war he returned to his farm. He has followed farming all of his life. He has very valuable coal deposits on his farm, which are now being worked, and he is comfortably fixed in his declining years.
Mr. Trenner and his wife had four children, namely : William Leander married Elizabeth Grant and lived in Zanesville. He died about 1908, when
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about fifty-one years old, leaving three boys and two girls, besides one child that died in infancy. Sarah Alice Trenner married Justice Thompson and lived at Hartford, this county. Mary Ann married A. R. Gabin and lives in Cambridge and she has one daughter. Henry M. Trenner married Harriett Brown, of Cambridge. He is in the shoe business in that city. He and his wife have two children.
Mr. Trenner was a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, at Byes- ville, until it surrendered its charter. He and his wife are members of the Lutheran church. They are a grand old couple and have enjoyed almost sixty years of wedded life, and both are fairly well preserved for their years. Their house is a large white structure, a handsome home, with well kept grounds.
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