History of Madison County Ohio: Its People, Industries and Institutions, Part 105

Author: Chester E. Bryan
Publication date: 1915
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1207

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After their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Bay moved to the Howard farm aud con- tinued to operate it as tenants until the death of Marion Howard. its owner. who died on December 31, 1911, at the age of seventy-one.

Marion Howard was the son of Amos J. and Rachael (Kirkly) Howard, the former of whom was six years old when brought to Madison county, Ohio, by his parents,

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Amos, Sr., and Marian (Mills) Howard. Amos Howard, Sr., was born on Goose Island, in the Connecticut river, in Grafton county, New Hampshire, in 1775. He was mar- ried to Marian Mills, March 22, 1796, and in the fall of 1808, moved to Virginia, where he taught school. In the spring of 1809, he came down the Ohio river on a flatboat. He died on January 15, 1843, and his wife in 1860. Amos J. Howard, who died on April 16, 1882, was twice married. After the death of his first wife in 1858, he was married in 1861 to Elizabeth Cowan, who survived him. Amos J. Howard was father of the following children : Napoleon B., Mary J., John M., Clinton, Marion, Edwin, Belle and another daughter. Marion was born on the old farm in the northern part of Somerford township. Marion Howard owned nine hundred acres of land in Madison and Champaign counties. The relations between him and his stepmother were of the closest and most cordial kind. He always consulted her in business transactions since she was an unusually capable woman.

At the death of Marion Howard in 1911, Harry E. Bay purchased the old Howard homestead, of one hundred and fifteen acres of land, and has since purchased a small tract, three quarters of a mile away in Champaign county, which was also a part of the Howard estate. Mr. Bay has been making many improvements in the last three or four years and has laid several miles of tile on his farm. Now it is one of the most productive farms in Madison county. Mr. Bay grows alfalfa and corn and the ordinary crops raised in this section. He feeds all of his grain to his stock.

A Republican in politics, Mr. Bay has never taken an active part in politics. Fra- ternally, he is a member of the Knights of Pythias and the Grange.

HUBERT S. WORTHINGTON.

From the earliest ages agriculture has been an honored vocation for men of energy and ambition, and from it have developed the substantial and representative citizenship of our country. Hubert S. Worthington, whose name initiates the follow- ing sketch, has, by patient adherence to well doing, succeeded in establishing for himself and family a life of comparative comfort in the community in which he started on life's journey empty handed.

Hubert S. Worthington, farmer, Plain City, Ohio, was born on June 16, 1860, in the township which is his present home. He is a son of John H. and Candace (Smith) Worthington. He grew to manhood on the home farm, and obtained his early educa- tion at the district schools, attending later, the schools at Ada, Ohio, after which he began the life of a farmer. Mr. Worthington had but little of this world's goods when he took upon himself the responsibility of providing for a wife and family. He started out with a rented farm, and at the end of two years rented a portion of the home place, and bought the remainder, to which he has added, until he now owns a valuable tract of one hundred and eighty acres, known as "Bur Oak Farm," located on rural ronte No. 1, Plain City, about four miles south, on the Plain City and Mechanicsburg pike.

Mr. Worthington is an active supporter of the Republican party in local politics. He and his family are members of the Presbyterian church of Plain City, and on the board of that church he has served as trustee for the past four years. He has also served as a member of the board of education for a number of years, and with the exception of five years spent in North Dakota, from 1884 to 1888, he has always lived on his present farm. While in Dakota he was employed for one year by Jones Brothers, after which he and his brother farmed for themselves.

John H. Worthington, father of the subject of this sketch, was born in 1825, at Colchester, Connecticut, coming to Madison county. Ohio, at the age of sixteen, and was educated at the West Jefferson schools. His wife, Candace (Smith) Worthington,

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to whom he was married in 1851, was born in 1827, on the farm where Hubert S. Worthington first saw the light. After his marriage, John Worthington spent the most of his remaining years at Plain City. His wife died in 1883. This union was blest with nine children, seven of whom were living in 1915: Ida, Eva, John C., Hubert D., Alathea, Myra and Harry B. Ida became the wife of T. K. Sherwood; Eva is the widow of E. G. Converse; John C. was married to Harriet Beach, and lives at Plain City; Alathea became the wife of Herbert Holycross; Myra lives at Columbus, Ohio; Harry B. also resides at Columbus. John H. Worthington was mar- ried, secondly, to Cloe Beach Bartlett.

Hubert S. Worthington was united in marriage, May 29, 1889, with Rose Mitchell, daughter of David and Elizabeth (Worthington) Mitchell. She was born on Sep- tember 15, 1868, in Darby township, Union county, and was educated in the district schools and high school. To Mr. and Mrs. Worthington were born the following children : Nila V., dled at the age of twelve years; Willis M., died at the age of eight months; Mary E., born on October 9, 1896, graduated from the Plain City high school in the class of 1915, and now attending the state university; Alice A., born on May 22, 1904.

Mr. Worthington is descended from an aristocratic old pioneer family of Ohio, and he and his family move in the best social circles of the community. He is a gentleman of pleasant address and enjoys the confidence and high esteem of his fellow citizens. His success is due to the co-operation of his good wife.

ALVAH CALHOON.

One of the strong, self-reliant characters of Madison county is the gentleman whose name stands at the head of this paragraph. His unlimited supply of energy and his determined and industrious efforts toward success in his agricultural pursuits have . rewarded him with a splendid tract of two hundred and eighty-three acres of as fine land as could be found in the state of Ohio. During his long residence here he has become well and prominently known and is considered as one of the eminently suc- cessful agriculturists of Madison county, Ohio.

Alvah Calhoon, farmer, living on rural route No. 3, London, Jefferson township, and proprietor of "Maple Shade Farm," consisting of two hundred and eighty-three acres, was born on February 21, 1850, in Canaan township, Madison county, and is a son of Lawson and Mary A. (Smith) Calhoon. He attended the public schools of the county, and remained at home until eighteen years of age, when he entered a private school at Plain City, Ohio. After his marriage Mr. Calhoon gave close attention to his farming interests, the result of which is his present valuable tract of land, situated on the Lucas road, eight miles northeast of London, Ohio. Mr. Calhoon has always been a stanch Republican. He is a member of the Presbyterian church.

Lawson Calhoon, father of the subject of this sketch, was born at Darby Plains, and his wife, Mary A. (Smith) Calhoon, was born at Galena, Ohio. After their mar- riage Mr. and Mrs. Calhoon located in Canaan township, near Amity, Ohio, where they reared their children, and resided for many years, moving later to Darby Plains, but returned to their old home near Amity at the end of three years, and later moved to Plain City where they spent the remainder of their days. To Mr. and Mrs. Lawson Calhoon were born four children: Emery died at the age of six years; James, who died aged forty-two years, was married and was the father of four children; Elizabeth became the wife of G. M. Russell, of Columbus, Ohio; and Alvah.

Alvah Calhoon was united in marriage, April 7, 1887, with Hannah A. Timmons, a daughter of Thomas W. and Hannah (Oglesby) Timmons, born in Jefferson township. Mrs. Calhoon was reared on a farm and attended the public schools of Madison county.

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MR. AND MRS. ALVAH CALHOON.

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After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Calhoon located on the old Calhoon farm, located west of Plain City, Ohio, where they lived for sixteen years, renting at first and later purchasing a part of the home farm. In 1905 they came to Jefferson township, where they now reside.

Thomas W. Timmons, father of Mrs. Alvah Calhoon, was a native of Ross county, Ohio, near Chillicothe. His wife was Hannah (Oglesby) Timmons. He came to Madi- son county, Ohio, with his parents, John W. and Lottie ( Williams) Timmons.

The paternal grandfather of Mrs. Alvah Calhoon, was John W. Timmons, and his wife was Lottie (Williams) Timmons, daughter of Reverend Williams, who at one time was a slave holder in Maryland, but later became convinced that slaves had souls, and set his slaves free, after which he moved to Ohio. Mr. Timmons was married in Mary- land and brought his family to Ross county, and afterward moved to Madison county, settling in Range township, where he accumulated five hundred acres of land and where he lies buried. Matthew Rea now owns the farm. Mr. and Mrs. Timmons were the parents of eleven children, five of whom are living in 1915: Jennie became the wife of M. R. Roberts, of Nebraska; Alice H., wife of the subject of this sketch; Doctor Cath- erine, the widow of W. M. Vickers, is practicing her profession at Cleveland, Ohio; Ruth is the wife of E. H. Stuckey, and Grant lives in Jefferson township.

Mr. and Mrs. Alvah Calhoon form their part in the substantial and honored citizen- ship of the township, and rightfully deserve the high place they occupy in the esteem of their many friends.

JAMES S. PARKER.

James S. Parker is a prosperous young farmer of Darby twonship, who lives three and one-half miles southwest of Plain City, and who cultivates altogether two hundred and three and one-half acres of land. He has made a specialty of raising registered Berkshire hogs and is well known in Madison county.

James S. Parker was born on June 4, 1873, and is a son of Sidney and Maria (Sisson) Parker, the former of whom was born in Athens county, Ohio, and who was killed by a falling tree in his native county. The latter lives at Pleasanton, in Athens county.

Sidney Parker and wife were the parents of eight children : Benjamin F., a farmer in Athens county, Ohio; William S., a farmer in Athens county, and for twenty-one years a teacher in the public schools of that county; Edward B., living in Athens county ; James S., the immediate subject of this review; Mary E., the wife of Oscar E. Chase, of Athens county ; Oliver M., a farmer living in Alberta, Canada; Lydia M., the wife of William Lash, a farmer of Athens county; and Charles A., a farmer living near Manitou, North Dakota.

James S. Parker was reared on his father's farm in Athens county, receiving his education in the public schools of his native county, and as soon as old enough began to learn the rudiments of farming by assisting with the work of the home farm. After he was twenty years old, Mr. Parker was employed as a brick burner at Gloucester, Ohio, and remained there for ten years. Subsequently he engaged in the real-estate business at Athens. He came to Madison county, November 1, 1914.

James S. Parker was married to Bessie I. O'Hara on September 14, 1910. Mrs. Parker is a daughter of Smith T. and Alice M. (Kilbury) O'Hara, and was reared on the farm where she is now living. She was born on July 19, 1885, receiving her early education in the common schools of her home county, afterwards supplementing her educational training by a course in the Wesleyan University at Delaware, Ohio, from which institution she was graduated in 1908. After leaving college she taught school for (45)

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one year at Nelsonville, Ohio, in Athens county. Mr. and Mrs. Parker are the parents of one son, Robert O. Smith, born on March 13, 1914.

Smith T. O'Hara. the father of Mrs. Bessie I. (O'Hara) Parker, was born in Jerome township, Union county, on February 5, 1857. He is now living retired in Plain City, Ohio. He is a son of Joseph and Ann (Rickard) O'Hara, the former a native of Ohio, and the latter of Virginia. They were married in Union county and lived and died there. Joseph O'Hara was a farmer and stock man. He and his wife were the parents of two children, Frank (deceased) and Smith T.

Smith T. O'Hara was educated in the public schools and later attended the busi- ness college at Delaware, Ohio. On April 25, 1882. he was married at Marysville, to Alice Kilbury, who was born at Plain City, Ohio, a daughter of Isaac and Lavina (Ketch) Kilbury, of Union county, Ohio. Isaac Kilbury was a son of Thomas Kilbury, one of the oldest settlers of this county; he was nearly one hundred years old when he died. Mrs. Alice (Kilbury) O'Hara was the only child of Isaac and Lavina (Ketch) Kilbury. Isaac Kilbury died in 1863 and his widow was married, secondly, to Perry Donglass, of Union county, Ohio. To this union were born five children, S. A., Cora F., Clara W .. Thurman P. and Daisy L.

Mr. and Mrs. Smith T. O'Hara were the parents of one child, Bessie I., who married James S. Parker. Mr. O'Hara has always been a farmer He is a Republican, and has held township office. He is a Mason and he and his wife are members of the Eastern Star. Mrs. O'Hara is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church.'

The Parkers are members of the Methodist Episcopal church at Plain City, Ohio, in which they take an active interest. Mr. Parker is a member of the Knights of Pythias lodge at Glouster, Ohio, and is a Republican in politics.

OSCAR DICKASON.

Oscar Dickason is a successful farmer of Somerford township, who was born on Georges fork, near his present home, on April 20, 1850. He is the son of Samuel R. and Eliza (Rafferty) Dickason. Samuel R. Dickason was the son of Samuel and Sarah (Countz) Dickason, the former of whom was born in Greenbrier county, Vir- ginia, on Greenbrier river, in 1785, and who, when six years old, was taken to Monroe county, Virginia, where he lived until 1811. In 1814 Samuel Dickason was married and a little later came to Ohio. After a short stop at Dayton he settled at the Glade and soon thereafter secured a tract of unimproved land and there he lived and died. His death occurred on August 15, 1877, when he was in his ninety-third year. At that time he was the oldest citizen in Somerford township. In the sixty-six years of his residence he had failed but twice to cast his ballot. He was the father of fifteen children, and at the time of his death had thirty-three grandchildren, sixty-six great-grandchildren and four great-great-grandchildren.

The ancestors of the Dickason family are traced to the very earliest settlers of the Old Dominion state. Samuel Dickason's father was, for nine years, a prisoner of the Indians and escaped finally, after having failed many times and having gone through many thrilling experieces. Samuel Dickason built a cabin on Wahoo Glade, so called for Chief Wahoo, whose camp was not far distant. Georges fork was also named for another Indian chief, as was Spring creek, for Chief Springer. The Indians were numerous in the days of Samuel Dickason and the forest was filled with game. The dense undergrowth of the Glade afforded shelter for the wild hogs, and Samuel, once hearing a cry for help, sent his two big dogs ahead and, with his trusty gun, mounted his horse and followed. A wild boar had treed a man and was making frantic efforts to tear down the sapling when Samuel's bullet killed him. Samuel Dickason had very little trouble with the Indians. Once, when skinning a deer, his

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gun was laid aside and an Indian, coming up unnoticed, picked up the gun and left his own broken-stocked gun. He was making off, when Samuel took the gun from him and compelled him to take his own broken gun.

Samuel R. Dickason was born in Virginia and spent most of his life on the farm where Oscar Dickason now lives. He was not an office seeker. He passed away in Clark county, Ohio, on July 24, 1895, in his seventy-fifth year. None of his fourteen brothers and sisters are now living. His widow spent her last years with her son, Oscar, and died at the age of eighty-seven. To them were born six children, two of whom are living, Oscar and Walter. The latter is a retired farmer of Columbus and owns a farm in Clark county. Jacob, Marshall, Angeline and Sarah Ann are deceased.

Reared on a farm and educated in the common schools, Oscar Dickason was married in Clark county, Ohio, at the age of twenty-five, to Alsaretta Couples, who was an orphan, born in Madison county. They began housekeeping on their present farm, located on the Lafayette and Mechanicsburg road, nine miles north of London. The farm is known as the Rafferty farm and belonged to Mr. Dickason's maternal grandmother. His mother inherited a part of the farm and he afterward bought one hundred and four acres. He has a good house and a fine barn and is engaged in general farming. Having spent his whole life on the farm he is interested exclusively in agriculture.

Mr. and Mrs. Oscar Dickason are the parents of five children, as follow: Addie Loen is the wife of Wilbur Foreman, of Columbus, and has one child, LaMarr W .; Willard died died at the age of thirty-three; Walter R. is an engineer on the Big Four railroad at Sharonville, Ohio; Harry Lamar is single; Alice Fern, now Mrs. Ashmore, who, with her son, George Oscar, live with Mr. and Mrs. Dickason. Walter R. Dickason very much enjoys hunting for big game and spends a portion of each year in the Maine woods and other good hunting sections of the country.

The Dickason family are members of the Christian church at Summerford. Mr. Dickason is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and has passed all of the chairs in the subordinate lodge. He is also a member of the Knights of Pythias.

ELMER P. DAUGHERTY.

It requires not only a very high order of business ability, but a most expert knowledge of agriculture and agricultural problems to manage an enormous estate comprising five thousand acres where general farming and stock raising are carried on. It is a most fitting tribute to the career of Elmer P. Daugherty that he has succeeded in a magnificent way, not only in the management of "Houstonia Farm," No. 4, a tract of three hundred acres, but in the supervising capacity which he exer- cises over the entire Houston estate. He has shown himself to be a man possessed of great commercial logic and wide vision, and has well performed the task which he set about to accomplish.

Elmer P. Daugherty, superintendent of the Houston estate, and manager of "Houstonia Farm" No. 4, was born at Darbyville, Pickaway county, Ohio, January 15, 1866, but has been a resident of Madison county for the past twenty-one years.'

As superintendent of the Houston estate, Mr. Daugherty has under his immediate supervision twelve tenants, each of whom operates his own farm. Mr. Daugherty, however, looks after all the improvements on the estate. He also has direct charge of the operation of three hundred acres, and lives in Deer Creek township in a residence built especially for him. Many years ago he engaged in general farming and for seven years worked by the day. He next rented a ninety-acre farm for one year, and then three hundred acres for five years, investing heavily in live stock in the

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meantime. He has lived on the Houston estate during the past twelve years. "Hous- tonia Farm" No. 4 originally produced but forty pounds of corn to the shock, it now produces sixty-five bushels to the acre. This land has been developed to its present high state of productivity under the careful and skillful management of Mr. Daugherty. On the farm of which he has direct and sole charge, he raises registered Shorthorn cattle and deals in imported Belgian horses. In addition to feeding cattle and hogs he keeps thirty-seven head of cows and grows his own young stock. He also makes a specialty of Duroc-Jersey hogs, all of which are registered. In recent years he has exhibited the products of this farm at different fairs in this section of the state.

In 1891 Elmer P. Daugherty was married to Rhoda Hill, a native of Pickaway county, Ohio, and to this union have been born six children, Glenn, Veta, Marie, Edna, Hilda and Thelma, all of whom are living at home with their parents. Marie is a graduate of the business college of Columbus.

One of the noteworthy features of the Houston estate is a social club, which maintains a hall thirty-five by seventy feet, built and supported by the members. The club maintains a baseball team, a basketball team and other athletic organizations. Its fifty members hold dances occasionally, support an orchestra, and an amateur theatrical society. The club house stands on the site of the old Dunn church. It is essentially a young people's club, but the older citizens of the community are honorary members. Altogether the Houston . Athletic Club provides the most up-to-date social advantages, not only to the Houstonia family, but to all the families in the vicinity.

Elmer P. Daugherty is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights of the Golden Eagle. He is also prominent in the Rural Protective Asso- diation. Elected as a Democrat, he has served as a justice of the peace in Deer Creek township, and also as township assessor. He is a member of the school board and is one of the commissioners appointed to secure the repair of the Marysville road. Mr. Daugherty is a very busy man, and a very useful one in the community where he has spent the most active years of his life.

VYNUL HARBAGE.

Among the enterprising and progressive citizens of Madison county, Ohio, none stands higher in the esteem of his fellow citizens than Vynul Harbage, a successful farmer of Deer Creek township, living on the national road. He has long been engaged in agricultural pursuits of this county, and the years of his residence here have but served to strengthen the feeling of admiration on the part of his neighbors.

Vynul Harbage was born on September 22, 1869, in Jefferson township, Madison county, Ohio, and is the son of Owen and Minerva F. (Arnett) Harbage, the former of whom was born in Oxfordshire, England, and who at the age of sixteen came with his parents to the United States. His father, Joseph Harbage and family, lost one child on the voyage to America. The child was thirteen years old and was buried at sea. Landing at New York, the Harbage family came west to Buffalo and Cleveland and finally to West Jefferson, Madison county, Ohio, settling on the East pike. They became farmers by occupation, Joseph dying at an advanced age and is remembered by his grandson, Vynul. Owen was married, at the age of twenty-three, to Minerva F. Arnett, the daughter of William Arnett, a neighbor of his father. The Arnett family comes from Cambridge, Dorchester county, Maryland. Mrs. Owen Harbage was born near Lower Glade church in Madison county, Ohio, December 31, 1835.

After their marriage Owen and Minerva (Arnett) Harbage took up farming, residing on the East pike in Jefferson township. The original Arnett homestead was subse- quently purchased from the other heirs. The old Arnett home has been built for nearly thirty years. The family built another house which is still standing. but, in 1889.

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removed to the farm one and one-half miles away on the national pike, known as the Roberts home. Here Mr. Harbage's mother died on March 10, 1903, at the age of sixty- eight years. The father is still living and resides mostly in West Jefferson. He is a public-spirited citizen, but has not been an office seeker. He is still active as a business man and still attends to his own affairs although he has been partially disabled for two years.

Mr. and Mrs. Owen Harbage had seven children, four of whom, Addie, Clara, Arnett and Vynul, are living. Charles, the eldest, died at the age of forty-seven. He was a farmer in Jefferson township. Annie, who was unmarried and a stenographer at Columbus, Ohio, for some time, is now deceased. Her remains were buried in Pleasant Hill cemetery. Ben, who was cashier for the Farmer's Bank at West Jeffer- son, died at the age of twenty-eight. Of the living children, Addie is the wife of David Lloyd of Brown township, Franklin county, Ohio. Clara is the wife of J. W. Goodson of Jefferson township, and Arnett lives in Monroe township.

Vynul Harbage was reared on the farm and educated in the common schools, in the high school and at Ohio State University, where he spent some time. He lived at home until his marriage. He was associated with his father in the management of the farm.

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History of Madison County Ohio: Its People, Industries and Institutions, Part 105

Author: Chester E. Bryan Publication date: 1915 Publisher: Number of Pages: 1207

Author: Chester E. Bryan
Publication date: 1915
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1207