History of Knox County, Ohio, its past and present, Part 122

Author: Hill, N. N. (Norman Newell), comp; Graham, A. A. (Albert Adams), 1848-; Graham, A.A. & Co., Mt. Vernon, Ohio
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Mt. Vernon, Ohio : A. A. Graham & Co.
Number of Pages: 1096

USA > Ohio > Knox County > History of Knox County, Ohio, its past and present > Part 122

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They settled in Knox county, where they lived until 1852, when they moved to Coshocton county, remaining until 1865, when they returned to Knox county, purchased and moved on

Jacob. Colony

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HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY.

the property where they are now living, in Pleasant township, about two miles southeast of Mt. Vernon. They have six chil- dren, one son and five daughters. Two of the latter are dead.

COLE, THOMAS F., Liberty township. An ancient and very extensive family of British origin, to be distinguished from the German name Kohl by the method of spelling.

As far back as Edward's time one named Cole appears to have been employed by that monarch to communicate with the Scots.

Henry Cole, D. D., dean of St. Paul's, preached the condem- nation sermon when Thomas Cranmer, archbishop of Canter- bury, suffered martyrdom under Queen Mary, 1555.

To the female side of this family was allied Nicholas Ridley, bishop of London, burned for his religion at Smithfield, Lon- don, 1555, a full-sized portrait of whoni, in a sitting position is preserved in the family homestead of a branch of the family in Downham, Isle of Ely, Cambridgeshire, England. This home- stead, intimately connected with the branch of the family now in the United States, was built some five centuries ago. Its massive dining-table of princely proportions has been an object of curiosity for many years and is suggestive of

" The banquet waits our presence, festal joy Laughs in the mantling goblet, and the night, Illumined by the taper's dazzling beam, Rivals departed day-"

The designs of the tapestries hung upon the walls of its din- ing hall have long puzzled visitors from all parts of the kingdom, some believing them to represent the pains of purgatory, and others, the torments of the damned. The portraits of the mis- tresses of the house in due succession (among them a fairhaired Hollander), for a period of nearly three hundred years, still (or did a few years ago) adorn its walls.

Inseparably associated with the history of this family is a tree known in the annals of Downham as the "Old Oak," which, until 1833, stood a few paces from the homestead door. Such was its age and proportions that an extensive ball-room had once been erected among its branches. Its fall will probably be best illustrated by a quotation from a letter written July 22, 1833, by Francis Cole to his brother Michael, in this State: "Our dear old father is in good health as ever I saw him. A serious accident, however, had like to have befallen him at the fall of the Old Oak Tree, which had liked to have killed him. We employed John Wall to take it down. Its fall was sudden, owing to the decay of its roots. At the time of its fall there were several children playing about it; three met with instant death, and Robert Walsham had his thigh broken, and several others were slightly hurt." The history of this tree and other curiosities of the Isle of Ely, were found in a book owned by C. Baely, M. D., of Brownsville, Fayette county, Pennsylvania.

There is one character connected with the family of Michael Cole, late of this county, which we would fain notice, i. e., Miss Jennie Hancock, having been present at his birth, and at the birth of each of his brothers and of his sister, and continually interesting herself in their welfare, they learned to regard her almost as one of themselves. In her latter years she was called the wise woman of England, and was accounted a witch. One pious cottager averring that he saw her and the knobbed cane she carried pass through the key hole of his street door. An- other ascribed the shower of pins and needles which fell upon his table while the family were at breakfast to her malignancy. In other cases, well vouched for, the milk became sour and even

curdled before reaching the house after milking. Strange sick- nesses came upon those who dared to anger her, and all the absurdities usually ascribed to witchcraft were imputed to her. A gratuity, however, appeased her wrath, and an apron full of cabbage, or a donation of half a crown, was presumed to have averted many calamities. Her death, which occurred at an ex- treme old age about the year 1841, was extensively noticed, and her life and sayings commented upon by the newspapers of the United States, as well as by those of England and the conti- nent.

Thomas Cole, who died about the year 1760, left two sons, Thomas and Ridley. Ridley died young. Thomas inherited the ancestral home at Downham, and married Ann Stubbins. His death occurred March 8, 1836. His wife, Ann Stubbins Cole, died upon the birth of their seventh child, Michael, De- cember 12, 1794. Seven children were born to them: Thomas, Ridley, Francis, Ann, Robert, and Michael, of whom four, Thomas, Robert, Ridley, and Michael, emigrated to America and settled in New York State. To Thomas were born two daughters, who are still living near Ithaca, New York.

Two of Ridley's sons, Ridley and Thomas, and two of Robert's sons, James and Thomas, went to Iowa and settled Colesburgh, in Delaware county.

Of Francis, John, and Ann, who remained in England, Francis became engaged in government works, and· purchased the old homestead. He reared a family of four children, three of whom, daughters, remain in England. His son, Michael, is now in Colesburgh, Iowa.

Francis died August 29, 1849.

Ann, when very young, married James Luddington, of Little- port, England, and became the mother of a family distinguished . for their wealth and culture.

John reared a family of eight children, four of whom, James, Thomas, Ridley, and Joseph, are now in Iowa.

Michael was born December 12, 1794. His schoolmaster was John Aspland, grandfather of the winner of the international belt, 1880. He was married to Mary Utteridge May -, 1815, with whom he embarked for America on Good Friday, April 17, 1832, settling in Chautauqua county, New York, where he in- vested all his means in a farm, the title to which proving imper- fect he found himself penniless. In 1835, with wife and child, he removed to Butler county, Pennsylvania; thence, in 1836, to Allegheny City, now a part of Pittsburgh. During the follow- ing sixteen years the family removed twelve times, finally start- ing from Brownsville, Fayette county, they left the Keystone State and arrived in Knox county, Ohio, in March, 1852, settling in Green Valley, on the farm now owned by G. L. Cochran, esq .; after one more remove they rested upon the farm in Liberty township, which they called Mt. Airy, and on which they now reside.

On the thirteenth day of October, 1867, in her sixty-seventh year, the mother was called to her eternal rest, and on the eleventh day of February, 1879, Michael Cole, having been counted among the people of God for more than seventy-five years, and successfully braving every vicissitude of fortune, calmly slept the sleep of death, leaving one son.

Thomas Francis, the subject of the present sketch, who was born October 1, 1834, in Chautauqua county, New York, was. partially educated in Allegheny City, Pennsylvania; removed with his parents to Knox county, Ohio, in 1852; was married to Charity, daughter of W. O. Phillips, Esq., July 4, 1855. Six children were the result of this union:

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HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY.

Michael Francis, born March 24, 1856, married to Sadie' daughter of J. L. Jackson, esq., May 24, 1876, to whom a daughter, Maud, was born March 10, 1877. He is now farm- ing near Mt. Vernon.

S. P. Chase, born September 24, 1857, inarried Etta Hull, daughter of James Hull, esq., July 3, 1878, to whom was born, April 16, 1879, a son, Thomas Francis Cole. Chase is now living at Bangs engaged in teaching.

W. Utteridge, born April 13, 1861, attending school at Leb- anon.

Robert, born September 7, 1865; Mary, February 28, 1870; Alice, March 24, 1873. The last three we found with their par- ents at Mt. Airy in 1880.

COLE, WILBERT E., Berlin township, farmer, post office, Fredericktown, was born in Connecticut in 1811. He came to Zanesville, Ohio, in 1815, and to Berlin towhship in 1819, where he still resides. He is the oldest settler of Berlin township now living. He was married in 1839 to Mary A. Woodruff who was born in Knox county. She died in 1875 after a protracted ill- ness of four years, with a cancer. Mr. Cole's second marriage was to Sarah Pritchard, who was born in Maine in 1833, and came to Ohio in 1838.

COLE, SILAS, was born February 5, 1836, in Devonshire, England, where he remained until 1867, learning the trade of ship blacksmithing. In 1867 he came to America and settled at Mt. Vernon, Ohio, where he engaged with the firm of Bucking- ham, Gutherie, Taylor & Hupton, whom he served about one year; afterwards worked a short time in Newark and in Cincin- nati, when he established himself in Mt. Vernon in the black- smith trade, which he has carried on successfully ever since. In 1879 he added to his shops and commenced making iron bridges, the first ever made in Knox county. He is doing a good busi- ness in every department at this time. He was married to Miss Mary Ann May, daughter of Thomas May, April 5, 1867, and is the father of eleven children, three of whom are living.

COLE, WILLIAM M., farmer, post office, Council Grove, Morris county, Kansas. He was born in Berlin township, Knox county, Ohio, in 1840; was married in 1861 to Elizabeth M. Hunter, who was born in Pike township, this county, in 1840. They have eight children, namely: Lydia E. born in 1862; Mary E., in 1864; Lavina A., in 1866; Frank E., in 1868; Charlie E., in 1870; Jolin H., in 1872; Martha A., in 1874; and William A. in 1879. Mr. Cole and wife were identified with this county till the spring of 1881. They sold their farm and have emigrated to Morris county, Council Grove, Kansas.

COLE, RACHEL, widow, Berlin township, post office, Shalers Mills, was married first to Hugh MeBride and had one son, Ambrose, now a resident of Richland county. Mr. McBride died in Pike township in 1842. Mrs. Rachael McBride was afterward married to Thomas D. Brown, and had a son- Thomas D., a resident of Berlin township. Mr. Thomas D. Brown died in Knox county. Mrs. Rachael Brown's third mar- riage was to Isaac B. Cole, of Berlin township. They had one daughter, Iiannalı, who was born in 1854, and was married in 1872 to Levi Grubb. They have two daughters, Nettie A., born November 25, 1872, and Bertie A., December 17, 1875. Mr. Grubb is a carpenter and farmer.

COLE, WHEELER W., farmer, Berlin township, post office, Fredericktown, was born in Berim township, this county, in 1852, married in 1877, to Alice R. Auten, who was born in this

township in 1854. They have one son who was born May 19, 1879. Mr. Cole is engaged in farming, and is a quiet and good citizen.

COLOPY, JOSEPH, farmer, Union township, post office, Gann, born in Maryland, June 3, 1802. In 1804 he was taken to Virginia, and remained there until 1813, when he came to Knox county and settled south of Mt. Vernon. In 1825 he married Delila Sapp, and settled on the farm which he now owns and occupies. When they came here it was all timber land, but they cleared it up and now he owns a good little farm. His wife died in 1861, and left nine children. The oldest son died in California, and two of the daughters died later. He was married afterward to Mrs. E. Myers in 1868. She was a daughter of Mr. Chase, who is a second cousin of Governor S. P. Chase. She was the first white girl born in Massillon. Joseph and Levi Colopy remain at home on the farm. Joseph was married to Jennie Durbin in 1871. They have one child, Bessie, born in 1878.

COLOPY, JACOB, Union township; retired farmer, was born near Baltimore, Maryland, June 3, 1802. With his father, Timothy Colopy, he came to Knox county in 1812. He first settled in Miller township, five miles south of Mt. Vernon, and resided there until he was twenty-two years of age, when he removed to the southern part of Jefferson township, now in- cluded in Union. He was married September 18, 1825, to Delila Sapp, who was born August 23, 1804. Their children were: Timothy W., born October 31, 1826; Jonathan A., July 17, 1828; Sarah C., February 27, 1830; George E., March 12, 1832; Joseph H., December 1, 1834; Levi F., December 31, 1838; Delila A., July 7, 1841; Mary M., July 29, 1844, and Sarah C., April 29, 1849. Timothy died in California in about 1851. First Sarah C. died in about 1849, and second Sarah C. died June 5, 1855. Mrs. Colopy died May 19, 1861.

Mr. Colopy was married second time, September 15, 1867, to Mrs. Emily V. Myers, who was born in Massillon, Ohio, Sep- tember 20, 1822. When he removed to Jefferson. it was almost a wilderness. Deer, wolves and wild animals were numerous. Possessing an indomitable spirit, he went to work with a deter- mination to succeed, and by dint of perseverance and hard work he was at one time the owner of seventeen hundred acres of excellent farming land lying in Jefferson and Union town- ships. Owing to his advancing years and loss of health and strength, he divided this among his children some years since. He voted at the first election held in Jefferson township, and is the only one living of those who voted at that election. He has been a life long member of the Catholic church, and has always voted the Democratic ticket.

COLOPY, MRS. HULDA, Miller township, was born in this township February 12, 1817, and was daughter of Alpheus Chap- man, who was born in Vermont in 1786. served in the War of 1812, was taken prisoner at Malone, New York, and was confined in Montreal, Canada, during the winter. His father was a soldier of the Revolutionary war. After Mr. Chapman was discharged from the army, he went to Vermont, where he remained for some time, and then came to Miller township, where he married Emma Ward, daugliter of Rufus Ward, a pioneer of Miller township, about 1816. They remained some time in Miller township, and then went to Licking county (Homer), where Mr. Chapman died in 1832. His wife survived until 1839. They had a family of five children, viz: Hulda, the subject of this notice; Lucinda, married to James Stone; Julia, married to

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HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY.

Royal N. Hickox; Henry C .; Fannie, married to George Wykman.

Hulda married John Colopy October, 1842, He was a na- tive of Virginia, born in 1812, and died in 1871. Farming and raising sheep was his principal business. He kept hotel in Brandon for a number of years, and was widely known. They had three children, viz: Albina, married to Charles J. O'Rourke; William C., and Emma C., wife of Shelton R. Butcher. Al- bina and William C. have deceased.

Mrs. Colopy tanght school for a number of terms, and is a woman above the average in intelligence. Her father, A. Chap- man, was a commissioned colonel, and took an active interest in military affairs.

COLOPY, TIMOTHY, Miller township, farmer, was born in Miller township, March 8, 1823. His father, William Col- opy, was a native of Ireland, who emigrated to America a few years prior to the War of 1812. He married Mary Fitzpatrick, in Baltimore, Maryland, a native of county Limerick, Ireland, and in the spring of 1813, the young couple came as far west as Wheeling, Virginia, where they remained a few years and then came to Miller township. Mr. Colopy died on the farm now owned by his son, on the Granville road. His wife still survives him (December, 1880). They had seven children; the living are: Catharine, widow of Elijah Colony; Mary Ann, wife of Oliver Squires; Timothy; Ellen, widow of Jacob Row; and Sarah J., wife of T. L. Marquand; John, and Thomas have died.

The subject of this notice was reared on a farm, and has followed farming as his occupation. He enlisted in company F, First battalion, Eighteenth United States infantry, October, 1861, at Mt. Vernon, Ohio, and served with the armies under Generals Buell, Rosecrans, and Thomas. He was in the battles of Chickamauga, Mission Ridge and, Buzzard's Roost, besides a number of skirmishes. He was taken sick and discharged on account of physical disability, after serving about two years and eight months. He was slightly wounded at Mission Ridge, on the chin, He married Miss Theresa Doyle, daughter of James Doyle, deceased, of Mt. Vernon, Ohio. They have five children, viz: Mary A., James W., Francis T., Nellie M., and John P.

COLOPY, JONATHAN, farmer and stock-raiser, Brown township; post office, Democracy; son of Jacob and Delila Colopy; born July 17, 1828, in Jefferson township, Knox county, Ohio, where he was reared, receiving a common-school education, after which he remained with his father until the nineteenth of February, 1856, when, at the age of twenty-eight years, he was united in marriage with Sarah J. Berry, daughter of James and Lucy Berry, born in Guernsey county, October 1, 1832. He afterwards located in Brown township, Knox county, on a farm of eighty acres, given him by his father-in-law, James Berry. Three years afterward, in the spring of 1859, he bought, adjoining him on the west, forty acres; and in 1861, two hun- dred and seventy-five acres adjoining on the south and south- west; in 1868, ten acres on the west; in 1871, eighty-two acres on the north; in 1872, twenty more on the north; in 1878 and 1880, forty-five acres on the southeast, making in all five hun- dred and ninety-two acres, where he now resides. He is also the owner of three hundred and eighty acres in Union township, Knox county, making a total of one thousand acres. Mr. Colopy also owns a share in the woollen mills at Gann; is also the owner of a portable saw-mill. He is considered an ener- getic and shrewd farmer.

Notwithstanding all his losses, he has accumulated a large amount of property. From 1877 to 1880 he paid ten thousand dollars security money, but is nevertheless at present erecting a very fine dwelling house at a cost of five thousand dollars. The union of Mr. and Mrs. Colopy resulted in three children, viz : James E., born December 6, 1856; Lucy B., born October 13, 1858 ;. who, on the seventh day of October, 1879, married Louis G. Welker, of Howard township, Knox county, where she at present resides on a farm given her by her father; Mary A., born May 3, 1864, all of whom are living. Mrs. Colopy died September 17, 1864, aged thirty-two years. Mr. Colopy at present remains a widower. He and his family are members of the Catholic church, located near Danville.

COLOPY, JOSEPH H., farmer, Union township; post office, Gann; was born in Jefferson township, Knox county, in 1837, and married in February, 1871, to Jennie Durbin, and settled on the old homestead. He has one child, Bessie, born August 29, 1873. His business is farming and raising stock.

COLVILLE, JAMES (deceased), Pleasant township. He was born near Winchester, Virginia, in 1767. When a young man he emigrated to Washington county, Pennsylvania, re- mained there until 1803, when he came to Knox county, Ohio, and located on land now owned by his sons in Pleasant town- ship, a short distance from Mt. Vernon. He at once com- menced to improve his land by clearing away the forest, erect- ing a cabin, and tilling the soil. His cabin was erected as early as 1805, in which he and another man lived, for some months prior to November, 1806. He assisted on the survey of the military land of Knox county. In the fall of 1806 he returned to Washington county, Pennsylvania, and on the twenty- seventh day of November, of same year, he married Miss Mary Jackson, born in Washington county, Pennsylvania, October 3, 1781, daughter of James and Nancy Jackson. In a short time after his marriage he returned with his wife to his forest home in Knox county. His log cabin served them as an abode until about 1824, when he erected a hewed log house, which, with an addition of a frame, erected in a few years, served them as a residence until his death. He filled the office of associate judge, in Knox county, for a short time. He de- ceased February 7, 1837. His companion survived him until May 17, 1851. Thus ended the lives of two of Knox county's earliest pioneers. They reared a family of eight children, viz: Martha, Joseph, Nancy, James, John, Thomas, Robert M., and Mary J. Two of the number (Martha and Mary J.) have died. Joseph is now living in Iowa; Nancy is in Wisconsin, and the other four brothers are living on the home farm. James and John are not married. Thomas was born in Knox county, Ohio, November 9, 1818; he married Miss Sarah Patrick in 1847, born in Mt. Vernon in March, 1825, daughter of Uriah and Delilah Patrick.

They settled on his father's home farm, where they are now living. They have five children, three sons and two daughters. He has filled the office of justice of the peace in Pleasant township since April, 1875. Robert M. was born in Pleasant township, Knox county, Ohio, July 16, 1821. He married Miss Hannah J. Patrick in 1854, daughter of Uriah Patrick, born in Pleasant township, Knox county, February 3, 1831. They settled on a part of his father's home farm, where they are now living. They have four children, three sons and one daughter.

COLVILLE, JAMES, was born in Frederick county, near Winchester, Virginia, in 1767. In 1803 he came to Knot

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county, Ohio, and settled on a farm in Pleasant township (now owned by his sons), a short distance east of Mt. Vernon. His log cabin was built as early as 1805. November 27, 1806, he married Miss Mary Jackson, who was born in Washington county, Pennsylvania, October 3, 178r. He aided in surveying the Military lands in Knox county. He was one of the associ- ate judges of the county in 1808. Mr. Colville died February 7, 1837, aged seventy years, and Mrs. Colville on the seven- teenth day of May, 1851, also aged seventy years.

COLWILL, SIMON, retired, Monroe township; a native of England, and son of Thomas Colwill, was born in Septem- ber, 1810. He began working at the wagon making trade as an apprentice in 1826; served three years as such, then worked six years as a journeyman at his trade in England. On the twenty-ninth day of March, 1835, he married Miss Ann Heard, of England, born May 28, 1812, daughter of John Heard. On the third day after their marriage, April Ist, they sailed for America, landing in New York, on the sixteenth day of May, and from thence to Gambier, this county, arriving at the end of their journey June 7th. He at once engaged at his trade, and carried on a wagon shop in Gambier for twenty years. In 1848 he purchased and moved on the farm where they are now living, in Monroe township, one mile north of Gambier. He contin- ued in his business in Gambier until 1855, when he erected a shop on his farm, in which he carried on his trade until 1874, when, on account of bad health, he quit business and is now living a retired life. They reared a family of nine children, viz. : Mary J., William H., Daniel, Elizabeth, John T., Emma L., Frances E., Simon A., and Charles G. William H. Colwill served one year in the war of 1861, and died at Vicksburgh July 30, 1863. Daniel Colwill, served about eighteen months in the war of 1861, and was wounded at the battle of Stone River December 26, 1862, and died from the effects of his wounds January 3, 1863.

COLWILL, WILLIAM, Liberty township, farmer, was born in county Cornwall, England, December 27, 1831. His parents, William and Harriet Colwill, nee Harris, came to the United States about 1842, settling in Jefferson township, and pur- chased a tract of two hundred and eighty acres of land, and were among the best citizens of that section. They have both deceased, Mr. Colwill died on the farm, and his wife survived him some time, and died at Gambier. They had seven children, William being the only son. He was reared on the farm, atten- ded the district schools and select school, and also an academy at Loudonville. He taught school and worked on the farm until the death of his father. He sold his property in Jefferson township, and in 1865 removed to Liberty, where he purchased a farm, and where he has continued to reside. He was super- intendent of the building of the Rossville flouring mill, and was secretary of the company, and one of the partners. He is a director of the Farmers' Insurance company, of Jelloway, and collecting agent, which position he has held since the organiza- tion of the company. Mr. Colwill is a man of general infor- mation, an accurate and good business man, and is one of the leading men of the township. He was married to Miss Han- nah Danbury, of Jefferson township. They had seven children -two sons and five daughters.

CONDON, D. W., Fredericktown, shoe merchant, was born in Frederick county, Maryland, 1831. He emigrated with his parents to this county in 1851, and was married in 1862 to Me- linda Jane Royce, who was born in this county. They had

three children, Frank, Jennie and Mary. Mr. Condon learned the shoe trade with his father, and has since worked at that business. He is a member of the firm of D. W. Condon & Co., boot and shoe dealers. He was a soldier in the late Re- bellion, was brave, rendered good service, and was honorably discharged.

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History of Knox County, Ohio, its past and present, Part 122

Author: Hill, N. N. (Norman Newell), comp; Graham, A. A. (Albert Adams), 1848-; Graham, A.A. & Co., Mt. Vernon, Ohio Publication date: 1881 Publisher: Mt. Vernon, Ohio : A. A. Graham & Co. Number of Pages: 1096

Author: Hill, N. N. (Norman Newell), comp; Graham, A. A. (Albert Adams), 1848-; Graham, A.A. & Co., Mt. Vernon, Ohio
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Mt. Vernon, Ohio : A. A. Graham & Co.
Number of Pages: 1096