History of Knox County, Ohio, its past and present, Part 169

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 169

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

Mr. Shipley returned home, but soon went to California via New York and Aspinwall. Here he engaged in merchandizing at Mugginsville, on Cats-paw flat, west of Mule-ear divide, in Lyekiyou county, where he remained nearly three years. Mr. Shipley returned to Knox county in 1866, and married Mary C.

Anderson, of Howard township, September 11, 1866. He now resides in Monroe township, near where he was born. Four children were the issue of this marriage, viz: Marion Eugene, horn July 16, 1868; Price McKendree, born June 28, 1871; William Burrk, born June 29, 1873; Lida Ora, born September 20, 1875.

SHIPLEY, GEORGE W., Pike township, farmer, post office, North Liberty, born in this township in 1838, and was married in 1861 to Sarah J. Rummel, who was born in Worth- ington township, Richland county, in 1838. They have three children-Mary G., born in 1862; Willard B., in 1865, and Edwin R., in 1870.

His father, Elias Shipley, was born in Maryland in 1791, and was married to Rebecca Phillips, who was born in Maryland in 1796. They had twelve children-Reuben, Catharine, William A., James, Brice, George W., and Rebecca. The deceased children are Mary Jane, Caroline, Elias, Charles, and John Wesley.

Elias Shipley, sr., died in this township in 1861. They came to Knox county at an early day and settled in this township, and are numbered among the pioneers.

SHIRA, RUDOLPH H., Pike township, farmer, post office, North Liberty, was born in Stark county, Ohio, in 1820; went to Richland county when quite young; remamed there eleven years, and was married in 1844 to Catharine Loose, who was born in Bedford county, Pennsylvania, in 1825. They have eight children-William, born in 1845; Rob Roy, in 1847; George, in 1849; Emma, in 1854; Amanda, in 1855; Abi S., in 1859; Wilson, in 1861; and Lloyd, in 1867.

The following are married: Rob Roy, to Ellen Shacklet, deceased; George, to Mary Penroe; he is a practicing physician at Dunkirk, Ohio. William is engaged in the study and prac- tice of medicine in Scottown, Marion county, Ohio. Amanda Shira was married to Melvin Sweitzer; they reside at Inde- pendence, Richland county.

SHOWERS, JEREMIAH, Berlin township, mason, post office, Fredericktown, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. in 1841. He came to Ohio in 1856, and located in Berlin town- ship, Knox county, where he was married in 1865, to Sarah Ann Davis, who was born in Berlin township, in 1842. They have two children: Leota, born in 1867; Frank B., in 1870.

Mr. Showers was a soldier in the late war, and was among the first to respond to the call. He was a member of company E, Third Ohio volunteer cavalry, and was engaged with this company and regiment three years and six months. He was also engaged in the company of Guthrie Grays for six months. He continued until the close of the war, and was one of the loyal, faithful, and brave soldiers of Ohio.

SHRIMPLIN, ABSALOM, Jefferson township, deceased, son of John Shrimplin, born in Knox county, Butler township, November 27, 1806, where he was reared and received a com- mon school education.

In 1829, June 23d, at the age of twenty-two years, he married Miss Priscilla F. Dial, daughter of Isaac and Hannah Dial, who was born in Pleasant township, Knox county, in 1810, October 28. After his marriage he remained in Butler township, being the owner of one hundred and ninety-two acres of land. In 1849 he sold said land, purchased a farm of two hundred and twenty-two and a half acres in Jefferson township, about eighty rods southeast of the village of Greersville, where he

804

HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY.

then moved with his family, and remained until his death, which occurred the twenty-eighth day of December, 1878 in his seventy-second year. His companion survives him in her seventy-first year.

Mr. and Mrs. Shrimplin became the parents of twelve chil- dren viz: John D., porn May 17, 1830; Hannah E., July 25, 1832: Isaac M, May 28, 1834; Oliver B. May 28, 1836. died July 9, 1846; Mar, ret M., October 6. 1838; Minerva S., De- cember 6, 1840, Edward R., March 26, 1843: James K. P., March 13, 1845, did in Fairfax hospital, Virginia, August 18, 1863; Louis C., September 16, 1847; Silas M. (. D., March 22, 1850; Franklin P., January 31, 1853; Joseph C. B., May 2, 359 Lied Op hur 860. Yine of these are living.

The subject of this sketch is said to be the first white male Child born in Knox winty.

.HER I. Middlebury township, st office Frell town. borr in Middlebury township, st 21 1937 AS (m / Moruary 3. 1858 to Elizabeth 2

They Have 'n, Vi | 1 L., born April 1, 1850.

This father, Abner Sherman was born January 29, 1804, in Dumont county, and was ma ried March 26, 1826, to Katherine Kerby, who was born in Maryland March 19, 1806. They had two children: Mary Jane, born December 7, 1826; and Abner, August 23, 1837. Mary Jane Sherman was married January 4, 1845, to Luther Moon. They reside in Perry township, Rich- land county.

SHULTS, JACOB, fariner, Jefferson township, post office, Danville, was born in Sommerset county, Pennsylvania, February 15, 1808. In 1809 he came with his parents to what was then known as Stark county, Ohio but by the changes that have Duen made in the county lines it is now known as Carroll county. nelired with his parents in's id county until the year 1836, a, Mies w ty Breakler, who was born in Germany December 16, 1 po. In ISog Mr. and Mrs. Shults moved on the farm where they now live. They became the parents of seven children, who grew to be young men and women. Their tw sons, Jacob and Christopher, volunteered to defend their country December 8, rSor. Christopher died in Tich on Tegness . September 2, 1862. Jacob died at same i've, October 28. 2.62. Both died of camp disease. Henry · en! Un tío htumo rằng, in company K, Sixty-

infantry, and was honorably Tahir: 001º. - "Ir. Shui how resides in Jefferson town- bons, bu the farm b outered September, 1833. He is seventy- Do Years old and mhjoys good health for a man of his age. Y seven child- " are still living.

DI LIMAN, ALEX, horse dealer, Fredericktown, was born et Beaver county, Pennsylvania, March 30, 1839, came to Ohio when quite small, and was married to L. J. Trayhern, who was born in Ohio. They have seven children, viz. : Alex S., James .A., Samuel Ulysses, Susie, Nellie, Mamic, Nannie. Mr. Silliman is engaged in buying and selling horses, and is one of our best judges in this trade.

SIMS, JOHNSON, farmer, was born in Clay township July 8, 1835, and with the exception of four years when he was in Iowa, has resided in Clay township. He was married Septem- r 15, 1869, to Miss Harriet Floyd, who was born January 23, 1342. They have only one child: Hannah May, who was born September 3, 1870, in Polk county, Iowa.

Mr Sims was a member of company D, One Hundred and Twenty-fifth Ohio volunteer infantry, and was severely wounded at the battle of Chickamauga. They are members of the Pres- byterian church of Martinsburgh, and Mr. Sims is a deacon in the church.

SIMMONS, THOMAS, Pike township, farmer, post office, Democracy, born in Worthington township, Richland county, Ohio, in 1850, and was married in 1873, to Lorilla Evlyn O'Bryan, who was born in Pike township, this county, in 1855. They have four children: Emerald Alvernon and Sylva Alberta (twins), born in r873; Samuel Douglass, in r876; and Estella May, in 1878. Mr. Simmons came to Knox county in 1861.

SIMONS, NICHOLAS, Milford township, farmer, was born in Pennsylvania March 5, 1796, and remained there until about 1825, when he came to Ohio. He worked east of Mt. Vernon for some time. While there, he made the acquaint- ance of Miss Hannah Devours, and they were married. She was born July 28, 1815, and is a native of Pennsylvania. Soon after their marrig they came to Mil'orl township, where hic has resided ever since. He purchased the farm he now owns. which was a wilderness at the time, and built his first atiding place near the site of his present dwelling.

Mr. Simons has been a hard working, industrious man, honest in his dealings, and by his industry he has made for himself a comfortable home wherein to spend his remaining days. They had a family of thirteen children-those living are: Catharine; Barbara, married to John Blaker; Jacob; Margaret, widow of David Glancy; Henry, Nathaniel, Lavina, Louisa and Sarah; and the deceased are: John, Elizabeth, Solomon and an infant.

SIMONS, M. J., Fredericktown, dealer in dry goods, notions and queensware, was born in Knox county, Ohio, in 1832, and was married in 1855, to Alice Smith, who was born in Canada. They have three children, viz: Charlie, Fred, and Maude. Two died young.

Mr. Simons was engaged in his business in 1852, has the most extensive store in this place, and has been one of the most suc- cessful men in the mercantile business here. He has a very large and complete stock, and the best the market affords.

SIMPKINS, BENJAMIN F., Pike township, farmer, post office, Democracy, was born in Monroe township, this county in 1847, and was married November 3, 1867, to Martha E. Hy- att, who was born near Mt. Holly, this county, in 1849. They have one son -- Isaac E .- born August 8, 1868. Mr. Simpkins came to Pike township in the spring of 1878, and has built a residence in Amity. During the summer season he engages in farming, and during the winter in manufacturing axe handles. He is a member of a pioneer family.

SIMPSON, JOHN, Howard township, farmer, post office, Howard, was born in Brown township on the second day of pril, 1841, His father died in the year 1846. He lived with his grandfather until he was eighteen years old. He was married in his twenty-first year to Miss Drusilla Clark, and moved to his present farm in 1865. He moved to Union town- ship in 1869, remained there two years, and then went back to his present farm. He has nine children: Slora Jane, Elmer, John, Grant, Olive, Quincy, William, Frank, and an infant.

SINGER, J. W. F., merchant tailor, Hill's block, South Main street, Mt. Vernon, was born in Center, Pennsyl- vania, August 9, 1819, where his parents resided until he was

HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY.

805

seven years old, when they removed to Clearfield county, and located on a farm where he resided fourteen years, and then em- igrated to Pittsburgh, Wayne county, Chio, where they lived three years, and until April 1, 1840. While living in Clear- field young Singer entered the employ of an elder brother and learned the tailoring trade, where he served four years. His first business engagement in his own hehalf was at Pittsburgh, Wayne county, where he started a tailor shop and continued it until 1840, when he came to Mt. Vernon and engaged in the same business, and carried it on until 1852, when he went to Lancaster, Ohio, and engaged as cutter in an establishment there, remaining there two years. On his return to this city he entered the employment of A. Wolff as cutter, which continued eight and a half years, and then two years with Mark Curtis. He then commenced merchant tailoring, and has carried it on ever since. He commenced with a capital of fifteen hundred dollars, and has been doing a business of about twenty thousand dollars per year. He now carries a stock of five thousand dollars, com- prising cloths, cassimeres, suitings, overcoatings, and merchant tailoring in all its branches, and warrants every suit that leaves his establishment.

Mr. Singer was married to Miss Kate Stockwell, of Wayne county, in March 1838.

SLAIGHT, GEORGE, deceased, Union township, was born in Richmond county, New York, June 10, 1796. He worked in the coasting trade as a sailor between New York and Richmond, Virginia, when a young man. In February, 1820, he married Mary D. Winant, born in New London, Connecti- cut, May 15, 1794. They settled on Staten Island, near New York city, remaining until 1828, when they moved to New York city, where they lived until the spring of 1838. They then came to this county and settled in Jefferson, now Union township, on land now owned by his heirs, where they passed the remainder of their life. They reared four children: Edward T., Henry G., Frances E., and Elizabeth E .; all living.

Mr. Slaight served in the War of 1812. His wife deceased May 22, 1853; he survived her until September 17, 1858.

SLOAN, ROBERT R., deceased, was born February 28, 1815, in Washington county, Pennsylvania, where his early years were spent. He graduated at Jefferson college, Pennsyl- vania, in 184r. He has been a citizen of Ohio, with the excep- tion of two years spent in Missouri, since the year 1840. He taught during this time in the Ashland academy with Professor Fulton and Miss Jane Coulter, who, in 1843, became his wife.

In 1844 Mr. Sloan opened a boys' school in Mt. Vernon, be- ginning with one scholar, and increasing to fifty or sixty in four months. At the same time Mrs. Sloan opened a school for girls, which ripened at last into the Mt. Vernon seminary, under charge of Mr. Sloan as superintendent, and Mrs. Sloan as prin- cipal and matron. They continued jointly in the management of this seminary until 1867, when they removed to Cleveland.

In 1861 Mr. Sloan was chosen corresponding secretary of the Ohio Christian Missionary society, which position he filled with great credit to himself and efficiency to the society until 1869, when he resigned.

In 1875 he was elected president of the Ohio Christian Mis- sionary society, which position he filled at the time of his death, which occurred July 30, 1877, in his sixty-third year.

SMITH, DEACON JOHN S., deceased, late of Miller town- ship, was born on the ninth day of March, A. D. 1793, in Ty- rone county, in the north of Ireland, and came to the United

States with his parents in 1796, who located in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, where the subject of this sketch continued to reside with his parents until after his marriage in December, 1817. In May, 1818, he removed to Knox county, Ohio, and located on the farm where he died, having been a resident of the county nearly sixty years.

Mr. Smith united with the Presbyterian church in Westmore- land county, Pennsylvania, at about the age of twenty-two years, of which church his parents were members-uniting by letter upon his removal to Ohio with the Presbyterian church in Mt. Vernon, which church was then under the pastoral care of Rev. James Scott. He served in the capacities of deacon and ruling elder in the church for many years. He was a faithful attendant of the church of his choice until prevented by the infirmities of age, and was greatly attached thereto. He was a devoted Christian, and always felt his dependence on Christ, in whom he trusted for eternal life. That faith which he so long enjoyed did not fail him in the closing days of his life, for he died with a full and clear view of his acceptance with God, and could exclaim "I know that my Redeemer liveth."

This good man died at his late residence, three and one-half miles south of Mt. Vernon, on the fifth day of November, 1877, in the eighty-fifth year of his age.

The subject of the above sketch was married to Miss Mary Sterret December 4, 1817. She was of Scotch descent, born in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, June 9, 1801, and died January 26, 1879, on the old homestead. She was a lady of many Christian virtues.

They were the parents of eleven children, viz: Mrs. Eliza Levering, of Gratiot county, Michigan; Mrs. Mary Letts, of Utica, Licking county, Ohio; Moses, farmer near Gambier; Robert, who resides on the old homestead; Sarah, who lives on the farm; Mrs. Emily Bebout, Morgan township; William is a lawyer of St. Louis, Missouri. The deceased: John N., died September 24, 1860, on the farm; Catharine B., wife of A. J. Hyatt, of Brownsville, . Ohio, died August 15, 1862; Cynthia Tulloss, died January 20, 1864, in Franklin county, Kansas; Nancy Sims, died December 25, 1878, in Delaware, Ohio.

SMITH, JAMES, Pleasant township, deceased (a native of Ireland), was born in 1798. When but seventeen years of age he emigrated to America, and located in Hunterdon county, New Jersey, where he engaged in the mercantile business, and continued in it a number of years.

In 1825 he married Miss Frances Jones, daughter of Abra- ham and Catharine Jones, born in New Jersey on the fifteenth day of October, 1801. They settled in New Jersey, where they remained fourteen years. Their union resulted in six children, one of whom deceased young.

In 1839; he, with his wife and five children-Mary, Sarah, William I., Frances, and James, emigrated to Knox county, Ohio, and located on the farm in Pleasant township now owned by his son, William J. He then engaged in farming, living on the same farm until his death, which occurred February 9, 1856. He owned a farm of two hundred acres. His companion is still living, at the advanced age of seventy-nine years, enjoying good health. She is living with her son on the home farm. Only two of her children are now living, viz: Sarah and William J. Sarah married Reed Setts, and is now a widow, her husband died in 1876. William J. was born in the State of New Jersey, February 7, 1831. He was brought up on a farm and made farming and stock raising his vocation.

806

HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY.

In August, 1858, he married Miss Susannah Baker, born in Knox county, February 12, 1832, daughter of Peter and Bar- bara Baker. They settled on his father's home farm, where they are now living. They have a family of five children, two sons and three daughters. In 1878 he erected one of the finest brick residences in Pleasant township, on the old home farm, in which he now resides.

SMITH, JAMES, deceased. There were none of the earlier settlers of Mt. Vernon more generally known, or more promi- nently connected with every good work tending to promote the interests of the pioneers of Knox county, than the person whose name heads this article. Mr. Smith was born March 6, 1779, at the family homestead near Harrisburgh, Rockingham county, Virginia. His father died during the minority of James, leav- ing him, the youngest of a large family, to the care of his wid- owed mother, by whom he was educated. At the decease of his mother, in the distribution and settlement of his father's es- tate, he inherited eight negro slaves. He married Miss Rebecca Emmett, daughter of Rev. John Emmett, then of Staunton, Virginia.

Impressed with the truth and justice of the declaration "that all men are created equal, and entitled to the enjoyment of per- sonal liberty," he emancipated all his slaves, and with his wife and child, Jane, who afterwards married Colonel Charles Sager, he removed to Ohio. Arriving in Knox county in 1806, he first settled on the Haines farm, one and one-half miles south of Mt. Vernon.

The journey from Virginia to Ohio was no easy matter, as it had to be made on pack-horses, through an unsettled region, without suitable roads or stopping places. It was a tiresome and fatiguing journey for his young wife and infant child. When he reached Knox county he had expended all his money but fifty cents.

He soon removed to the new town of Mt. Vernon. With a disposition to engage in any honest employment, he was rea- sonably prosperous; a member of the Christian church, and a local preacher of that denomination, he preached without pay or salary, and his house, for many years, was the stopping place of the ministers of that and other denominations, and especially of the early settlers in other parts of the county visiting Mt. Vernon.

When the county was organized and courts established, Mr. Smith was appointed clerk of the supreme court and court of common pleas, a position he filled to the satisfaction of the judges for a quarter of a century.

A season of great financial embarrassment induced the busi- ness men of Knox county, as well as of Licking, Richland and other localities, to engage in banking as a means of relief, and the result was the establishment of banks of issue at this and other localities in advance of legislation expressly authorizing the issue of paper money. Mr. Smith, Robert Giffin, John Hawn, jr., Samuel Kratzer, and others, organized "The Owl Creek bank," of Mt. Vernon, and were induced to loan upon the notes of solvent persons, a large amount of the money issued by the bank, relying upon the payment of these notes, in addi- tion to the capital paid in for their redemption. The makers of these notes combined, and were able to defeat the expected leg- islation, and refused to pay their notes; the bank, not having been legally incorporated, could not enforce the collection. The bank bills thus loaned were put in circulation by these borrow- ers, and the bank stockholders compelled to redeem them; this,

by reason of the non-payment of the notes thus given, they were unable to do in full.

Mr. Smith, and the other stockholders, were compelled to re- deem those outstanding bank notes, not being able to legally enforce collection of the notes received, and upon the faith of which they were issued. The last payment on the part of Mr. Smith, to redeem those bank bills, required the application of the entire proceeds of the sale of his farm, situated on the Mar- tinsburgh road, near Mt. Vernon. The old case of Luke Wal- pole vs. Robert Giffin and others, finally closed up this unfor- tunate banking venture, and virtually ruined most of its stockholders, men who never realized a cent of profit out of it. Allusion is made to this matter in justice to all the parties inter- ested, as the facts have not been fully understood by those who refer to the old Owl Creek bank in terms not complimentary to its originators.

Mr. Smith continued to reside in and near Mt. Vernon until the year 1838, when he removed to Madison county, Ohio, where he died in 1841, in the sixty-second year of his age. His death was occasioned by injuries received in being thrown from his horse. His remains were removed to Mt. Vernon, where they rest near those of his wife, who died of cholera in 1832.

All the children of Mr. Smith, except Jane, were born in Mt. Vernon-three girls and three boys. The daughters are all dead save Mrs. Adaline Davis, who still resides in Ohio. The sons, Benjamin, James, jr., and Vispacian, are all citizens of Minne- sota, where they have resided since 1856. The desire to "go west," which induced the father to leave Virginia, appears to have, fifty years afterwards, possessed the sons. Whilst they are reasonably prosperous and attached to their homes in Min- nesota, they note with pride and pleasure the growth and pros- perity of their native town of Mt. Vernon.

_SMITH, ISAAC, farmer, post office, North Liberty. He was born in Wayne county, Ohio, in 1814. He was married to Deliah Smith. They had two daughters, Sarah and Maria. They reside in Iowa. Mrs. Deliah Smith died in this county, September 28, 1858.

Mr. Smith subsequently married Sarah Wallace, who was born in Dauphin county, Pennsylvania, in 1832. They have six children: Eldanh, born in 1860; Armina A., in 1862; Ettie, in 1864; Mary, in 1866; Charlie, in 1868; Milton, in 1869. Mr. Smith came to this county in 1854, and located in Pike town- ship, where he now resides. He was engaged at the carpenter trade while in Wayne county. He erected his present residence with his own hands. He owns a good farm and is engaged in farming.

SMITH, BENJAMIN, farmer, Morgan township, was born in Greene county, Pennsylvania, January 27, 1807. His father, James H., was born in Maryland, in 1780, emigrated to Greene county, Pennsylvania, where he married Martha Davis in 1804. In 18II he came with his family to Ohio, and settled in Morgan township, where he purchased a tract of heavily timbered land. He was a soldier in the War of 1812, and died in 1860. His first wife died in 1828. He afterwards married Martha Honey, who died in 1863. By his first wife he had eleven children, five of whom are living. Mr. Smith made a trip to Ohio as early as 1800. The subject of this notice learned blacksmithing with his father and worked at it for some years. January 17, 1833, he was joined in marriage to Miss Sarah Brown, a native of Virginia. She died September 26, 1870. They had two chil- dren, viz: Martha, deceased, and Sarah, living at home. Mr.

MOSS-ENGCON

807

HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY.

Smith is a man of general information, well informed upon the issues of the day, and a man of considerable genius. He has always been industrious, and cleared up the farm on which he now resides, and is in comfortable circumstances.

SMITH, THOMAS, deceased. He was born in this county in 1816; he was married in 1840 to Ruth Ann Barnhard, who was born in Frederick county, Maryland, in 1823. They had the following children: Isaac B., was born in 1841; Fidelia D., in 1843; Sheldon, in 1845; John F , in 1847; Columbus W., in 1850; Martha Jane, in 1851; Emma L., in 1854; Mary M., in 1856, and Alice M., in 1858. Thomas Smith died in 1858. Isaac B. was a soldier in the Rebellion; he was a member of the Third Virginia cavalry till August, 1863; he reenlisted in the Second Ohio heavy artillery; he continued till he was killed accidently by the cars near Concord, Tennessee, January 29, 1865. He was second lieutenant. His remains were brought home and interred in the Berlin cemetery.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

History of Knox County, Ohio, its past and present, Part 169

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