USA > Ohio > Morrow County > History of Morrow County, Ohio; a narrative account of its historical progress, its people, and its principal interests, Vol. II > Part 40
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Attending the district school during the days of his boyhood and youth, Adam Clouse obtained a practical knowledge of the common branches of learning and when ready to start in life for himself chose the free and independent occupation of a farmer. Laboring with unremitting industry, he has met with richly de- served success as a general farmer and stock raiser, his fine farmi of one hundred and fifteen acres being advantageously located one and one-fourth miles north of Denmark. His homestead is under a high state of enltivation, and with its improvements and appoint- Vol. II-22
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ments is considered one of the choice estates of this part of the county. In 1905 Mr. Clouse added to the value and attractiveness of his estate by the erection of a fine residence, which contains all of the modern conveniences and improvements, and invariably elicits words of praise from the passing traveler.
Mr. Clouse married, in 1877, Martha A. Overly, who was born July 8, 1859, in Ross county, Ohio, and was there educated in the common schools. Her parents, Elisha and Lucinda (Kinnamon) Overly, died in early life, leaving two children, a son and a daugh- ter. Left motherless when but three years of age and fatherless at the age of twelve years, Mrs. Clouse and her brother were brought up by an aunt, who did the best she could for them until they were able to look out for themselves. Mrs. Clouse came to Canaan township when a girl of seventeen years, and a year or so later married Mr. Clouse. Two children have blessed their union, namely : Ada B., born June 20, 1879, is the wife of Charles I. Reed, of Canaan township; and Elsie May, born February 25, 1895, is a student in the public schools.
A Democrat in his political affiliations, Mr. Clouse has served as township treasurer and as road supervisor, and at the present writing is a member of the local school board. Fraternally he be- longs to Calanthia Lodge No. 116, K. of P., of Caledonia, Ohio. He is an active and faithful member of the Methodist Episcopal church of North Canaan, of which he is a trustee and a steward and a teacher in its Sunday School.
LEE S. CUNARD .- Many of the ablest men in America are ardent devotees of the great basic industry of agriculture and it is well that this is so because the various learned professions are rapidly becoming so crowded with inefficient practitioners that in a few years it will be practically impossible for any but the excep- tionally talented man to make good or even to gain a competent living therein. The independent farmer who in addition to till- ing the soil cultivates his mind and retains his health is a man much to be envied in the days of strenuous bustle and nervous energy. He lives his life as he chooses and is always safe from financial ravages and other troubles of the so-called "cliff dweller." An able and representative agriculturist who has much to ad- vance progress and conserve prosperity in Morrow county, Ohio, is Lee S. Cunard, who owns and operates a finely improved farm in Lincoln township.
Lee S. Cunard was born in Lincoln township, near Fulton, Morrow county, Ohio, the date of his birth being October 1, 1881. He is a son of Alexander H. and Virginia A. (Craven) Cunard, both of whom are now deceased and both of whom were born and reared in Loudoun county, Virginia, whence they came to the old Buckeye state of the Union in an early day. Judge Stephen T. Cunard, grandfather of him whose name initiates this review, was
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born in Loudoun county, Virginia, on the 3rd of February, 1803. In early life Judge Cunard entered upon an apprenticeship at the carpenter's trade; his preliminary educational training was of a primitive nature but in due time he supplemented the same with extensive reading and eventually became a learned man. He was a son of Edward and Edith (Thatcher) Cunard, both of whom were likewise natives of the Old Dominion state. Edward Cunard sacrificed his life in the war of 1812, in which he was a lieutenant. He witnessed the entrance of the British troops into the national capital and participated in many important battles marking the progress of the war. Prior to his military service he was a civil engineer, in which profession he prosecuted a good livelihood. His father was Edward Cunard, Sr., a gallant soldier in the war of the Revolution. The Cunard family traces its ancestry back to the Hirsts, of Yorkshire, England, the original progenitor of the name in America having come to this country in the year 1680, location having been made in the vicinity of Baltimore, Maryland.
The paternal grandmother of Lee S. Cunard, of this review, was Vashti B. (James) Cunard, a native of Loudon county, Vir- ginia, born in 1805. She was a daughter of David and Charlotte (Bradfield) James, who came to Ohio at an early day. The marriage of Judge Cunard to Vashti B. James was solemnized in Virginia on the 26th of November, 1826, and they removed to Ohio in 1835, settling in the wilds of Lincoln township, Morrow county, then known as Delaware county. The trip across the mountains into Ohio was made in an old fashioned carry-all, in which were driven the mother and small children, together with such portable goods as the family possessed, the father walking the entire dis- tance. Judge Cunard secured a farm of about one hundred acres near Mt. Gilead and there constructed a rude log house, which was the family habitation for a number of years. He was a Whig in politics originally, but later gave his allegiance to the Republican party. At the time of the organization of Morrow county, in 1848, Stephen T. Cunard was appointed associate judge of the court of common pleas and later he became a member of the state board of equalization for the senatorial district comprising the counties of Knox and Morrow. At the time of the inception of the Civil war he aligned himself as a stanch supporter of the Union cause and he was a man of prominence and influence throughout his entire life in Ohio. He was summoned to eternal rest on the 3rd of March, 1881, his cherished and devoted wife having passed away on the 6th of May, 1871.
To Judge and Mrs. Cunard were born four sons and two daughters, concerning whom the following brief data is here in- corporated : Mary C., became the wife of Orman Kingman, of Lincoln township; Captain Undwell M. was long engaged in farming in Morrow county; Henry E. is deceased; Thomas C., resides near Fulton, this county ; Alexander HI., was the father of
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the subject of this review; and Amanda E., who married Dr. A. E. Westbrook, of Ashley, is deceased. All of the sons were soldiers in the Union army in the Civil war, Ludwell M. and Alexander H. having been members of the Thirty-first Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Henry E. was a member of Company I, Third Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and he lost his life in the battle of Perryville on the 8th of October, 1862. Thomas C. was a soldier in the One Hundred and Forty-eighth Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Alexander H. Cun- ard was born on the 22nd of August, 1845, and he was a farmer by occupation. He married Miss Virginia A. Craven and they be- came the parents of two children: Orria V., who resides with the subject of this sketch ; and Lee S., to whom this article is dedicated. The mother is a descendant of an old Virginia family and she long survived her honored husband and died on the 14th of Sep- tember, 1909. As previously noted, the father was a soldier in the Thirty-first Ohio Volunteer Infantry in the Civil war. From the effects of extreme exposure suffered at the battle of Stone river he contracted pulmonary consumption and as a result of this dread malady he died in 1886.
Lee S. Cunard was reared to adult age on the old home farm on which he now resides, and he received his education in the public schools of Lincoln township. He was a child of but four years of age at the time of his father's death and as he was an only son he was early obliged to assume the practical responsibili- ties of life. He relieved his mother of the management of the old farmstead and he and his sister continued to maintain their home with the aged mother until her death, in 1909 The sister now keeps house and Mr. Cunard works and manages the farm. Orria V. owns seventy-three acres of land in Lincoln township, where they reside, and Mr. Cunard has a farm of eighty-seven acres near Cardington. The sister is a woman of most gracious personality, is prominent in charitable work in this section and is a zealous member of the Baptist church.
In his political adherency Mr. Cunard is a stanch advocate of the principles promulgated by the Republican party and while he - has never manifested aught of ambition for political preferment of any description he is ever on the alert to help along any meas- ure advanced for the good of the community and the county at large. He is a general farmer and stock-raiser and holds prestige as one of the ablest agriculturists in Lincoln township. Fra- ternally he is affiliated with Bennington Lodge, No. 433, Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows. Lee Cunard is now a student in the Landon School of Art and Cartooning, at Cleveland, Ohio, and he has been a student therein for two years. He is a man of philanthropical tendencies and he and his sister are prominent and popular factors in connection with the best social activities of the community . They are both unmarried.
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JACOB EKELBERRY .- A native of the old Buekeye state and a representative of one of its sterling pioneer families, Jacob Ekel- berry has lived a life of uprightness and usefulness and was long and suecessfully identified with the great basic industries of farm- ing and stockgrowing, through association with which lines of enterprise he gained distinetive snecess. He is now living vir- tually retired on an attractive little homestead of thirteen aeres, lying adjacent to the village of Cardington, and in the county that has so long been his home and the scene of his well directed en- deavors he is held in unqualified confidence and esteem, his stand- ing in the community being such as to entitle him to representation in this publication.
Jacob Ekelberry was born on a farm in Brown township, Delaware county, Ohio, on the 13th of September, 1841, and is a son of Jacob and Elizabeth (Whiteman) Ekelberry, both of whom were born and reared in Pennsylvania, where their marriage was solemnized. The father was a son of Jacob Ekelberry, who was of staneh German ancestry and who finally removed from Penn- sylvania to Muskingum county, Ohio, where he developed an ex- cellent farm and where he and his wife passed the residue of their lives, honored by all who, knew them. Ile was a man of sturdy integrity and marked industry and he was one of the worthy pioneers of Mnskingnm county, to whose social and material ad- vancement he contributed his quota. Jacob Ekelberry (II), father of him whose name initiates this review and who bears the full patronymie, remained in Pennsylvania for some time after his marriage and then came with his cherished and devoted wife to Ohio. For a few years he maintained his home in Fairfield county, and he then removed to Delaware connty, where he re- claimed a farm and won independence and definite prosperity through his indefatigable industry and good management. On the homestead both he and his wife continued to reside until they were summoned to the life eternal, and their names merit an en- during place on the roll of honored pioneers of this favored section of the state The mother was a member of the Baptist church. They became the parents of eleven children, of whom four sons and five daughters were reared to years of maturity, and of the number three are now living: Sarah, who is the wife of George Ferguson, residing near St. Joseph, Missouri; Mary, who is the wife of John Heverlo, of Delaware county, Ohio, and Jacob, who figures as the immediate subject of this sketch.
Jacob Ekelberry, the only surviving son in this large family, gained his initial experiences in connection with the work of the home farm and the conditions that compassed his boyhood were those of what may be termed the middle-pioneer period of. the history of this section of the state. He found his early educa- tional advantages those afforded in the somewhat primitive district schools, but he has profited largely by the lessons gained under the
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direction of the wise headmaster, experience, and is a man of broad mental ken and mature judgment, the while he has exempli- fied most effectively the wholesome traditions of the family name, which has ever been exponent of intergrity, loyalty and unassum- ing worth. There has been nothing complex or dramatie in his career as one of the world's noble army of workers, but his course has been sincere, sane and earnest, marked by appreciation of the duties and responsibilities that canopy every life, and the result is shown in the impregnable vantage place he holds in the confi- dence and regard of his fellow men. Mr. Ekelberry purchased his homestead farm in Westfield township, Morrow county, and through his well directed energies he developed the same into one of the valuable properties of the county, making the best of im- provements and giving his attention to diversified agriculture and stock-growing. Ilis landed estate, comprising eighty acres, he sold in 1911 and he has now established himself in the attractive home which he has purchased contiguous to the village of Carding- ton, where he is enabled to enjoy the gracious rewards of former years of earnest endeavor. The place comprises thirteen aeres, as already stated, and he will thus find oportunity to touch in a moderate way the cultivation of the soil, his love for which has become reinforced by long years of close association.
Though never desirous of entering the turbulance of practical politics, Mr. Ekelberry has ever stood ready to lend his influence and cooperation in the support of measures tending to advance the general welfare of the community and he is aligned as a stanch supporter of the basic principles of the Democratic party. Both he and his wife have been for many years zealous members of the Marlboro Baptist church, which is one of the oldest in Dela- ware county and near which their homestead farm is located.
The domestic relations of Mr. Ekelberry have been of the most ideal order, as his cherished and devoted wife has been a true helpmeet as they have passed side by side along the journey of life, sustained and comforted by mutual sympathy and abiding affection. On the 24th of December, 1863, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Ekelberry to Miss Maria E. Redman, who was born in Brown township, Delaware county, Ohio, on the 23rd of October, 1845, and who is the daughter of Aaron and Drusilla (Dix) Redman, the former of whom was born in the state of Virginia, where he was reared to maturity and whence he came to Delaware county, Ohio, when a young man, his marriage being here solemnized. His wife was a daughter of David and Mary (Main) Dix. David Dix was a son of Elijah Dix, who was born and reared in the highlands of Scotland and who immigrated to Ameriea about the year 1750. He located about thirty miles north of the city of New York and there passed the remainder of his life. A number of his descendants have attained to distinction in public, professional and business life, including the late General
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John A. Dix, at one time governor of New York, as well as Honor- able John A. Dix, the present governor of that state, and Reverend John M. Dix, D. D., a prominent member of the clergy of the Protestant Episcopal church. Elijah Dix, the progenitor of the family in America, married Margaret Clark, who was of English parentage. He was distinctively loyal to the land of his adoption, as is well shown by the fact that he served as a valiant soldier in the Continental line in the war of the Revolution. In this con- nection he was present at the surrender of Lord Cornwallis, at Yorktown. Later he established his home in Vermont, but he
finally removed to Pennsylvania. David Dix, grandfather of Mrs. Ekelberry, was one of the sterling pioneers of Delaware county, Ohio, where he took up his abode in 1808, a few years after the admission of the state to the Union. He secured a tract of heavily ยท timbered land in Troy township, where he reclaimed a farm from the wilderness, besides which he had the distinction of being the first permanent settler of that township. His wife, whose maiden name was Mary Main, was a representative of a family that gave a number of valiant soldiers and at least one officer to the patriot forces in the war of the Revolution.
In conclusion is entered brief record concerning the four child- ren of Mr. and Mrs. Ekelberry. Stephen A., Joanna E., Bertha L. and Kittic M. Stephen A., who was afforded good educational advantages, having been educated in the schools of Delaware, Ohio, and at Kenyon Military Academy, at Gambier, is a master me- chanic and resides in the city of Delaware. He married Miss Sylvia Catherine Jacoby, and they had two children : Glady Marie, who died in infancy, and Jay Redman, educated in the schools of Delaware, who is a promising young man, and a member of Company K, Ohio National Guards. Joanna E., after completing her public school education received training in art and took a course in music in the Ohio Wesleyan University, and was a suc- cessful teacher for a number of years. She first married Emmet M. Wickham, and by this marriage has one son, Joy Carrollton, now a veterinary surgeon, who received his education at the Ohio State University. She is now the wife of Frank L. Woods, and resides in Graceton, Texas, and has two sons, Francis Jacob and Joseph Patrick. Bertha L., who remains at the parental home, was graduated in the high school of Delaware, and also took courses in music and art at the Ohio Wesleyan University; Kittie M., who is also at home, after completing the course in the public schools continued her studies in musie and art, and she, like her sisters, is a lady of culture and of most gracious personality, the family having been one of prominence in connection with the social activities of the home community.
ITARPER FLEMING .- When it is stated that this well known and highly esteemed agriculturist and stock-grower of Peru township
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is a representative of the third generation of the Fleming family in Morrow county it becomes evident that he bears a name that has been identified with the history of this favored section of the Buckeye state since the early pioneer epoch, and it may further be stated that on the maternal side also he is of the third genera- tion in Morrow county, within whose borders the respective fam- ilies settled prior to its organization under the present name. As a citizen of sterling worth and as one who has attained to marked priority in connection with the important industrial lines to which he has given his allegiance Mr. Fleming is well entitled to definite recognition in this history of his native county. to whose civic and material progress he has contributed, even as his father and both his paternal and maternal grandfathers. His fine landed estate, comprising one hundred and two acres, is known as Long View Stock Farm, and the beautiful rural home occupies. a site whose eminence is such as to afford a commanding view of the surrounding country within a radius of about three miles. His is one of the model farms of the county and his indefatigable energy and progressive methods have brought to him unqualified success in his various operations, the while he has stood exponent of the most loyal citizenship and of distinctive publie spirit.
Ilarper Fleming was born in Peru township, Morrow county, on the 28th of August, 1862, and in the same fine township which is his present place of abode were also born his parents, James and Rachel (Haverlo) Fleming, the respective dates of nativity having been January 27, 1824, and August 15. 1830. The father has given his allegiance to agriculture and stock-growing throughout his entire active career and he and his wife, now venerable in years, live with their children. Both are well known in this section of the state, which has ever been their home, and they have secured an impregnable place in the confidence and esteem of those with whom they have come in contact in the various rela- tions of life. Of their nine children he whose name introduces this sketch was the seventh in order of birth and of the others three sons and one daughter are now living.
Harper Fleming was reared to the sturdy discipline of the old homestead farm and is indebted to the common schools of the locality and period for his early educational training, the greater part of which was received during the winter terms, when his services were not in requisition in connection with the work of the farm. He has never wavered in his allegiance to the great basic industry under whose influence he was reared, and through the same he has found ample opportunity for effective enterprise. IIe has kept in close touch with the march of advancement and has availed himself of scientific methods and progressive ideas in both the agricultural and stock-growing departments of his productive operations, with the result that he is recognized as one of the essen- tially representative farmers and stock-growers of the county that
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has ever been his home and to whose every interest he is loyal. He initiated his independent career when a young man by teaching school for a number of years, afterward taking up farming, and he has resided upon his present homestead for many years, in the meanwhile putting forth the best effort in developing and im- proving the place. He makes a specialty of the raising of high- grade live stock and through this medium has gained high reputa- tion for the success of his operations. The buildings and other permanent improvements on his farm are of the best order and everything about the place bears patent evidence of thrift and prosperity.
In politics Mr. Fleming is found aligned as a stanch supporter of the cause of the Demoeratie party and he has wielded much influenee in connection with public affairs of a local order. He has exemplified the most progressive ideas and policies and he was the principal factor in securing the petition for and bringing about the construction of the Fleming stone road, a fine highway ex- tending from Ashley to Stantontown, Morrow county-a distance of five and one-half miles. He has served with marked efficiency and acceptability as assessor of Peru township and also as deputy connty supervisor of elections, besides which he has otherwise been active in connection with public affairs in the county.
Mr. Fleming has been twice married. In 1886 he wedded Miss Jennie Foster and she was summoned to the life eternal on the 26th of August, 1901. Coneerning the children of this union the following brief record is entered: Gussie A., who was born on the 23rd of May, 1887, was graduated in the high school at Pleasantville, Fairfield county, as a member of the class of 1905, and thereafter was for two years a student in Shepherdson Col- lege, at Granville, Lieking county. She is now principal of the high school at, Basil, Fairfield county, and is proving a successful and popular teacher. Ollie R., the second daughter, who was born August 15, 1891, was graduated in the commercial depart- ment of Oberlin Colege, as a member of the class of 1911, and she holds a lucrative position with a Cleveland business firm. Junia E., was born on the 20th of August, 1895. On the 3rd of August, 1902, Mr. Fleming was nnited in marriage to Mrs. Gladys (Jen- kins) Whipple, widow of Albert Whipple and a daughter of Silas Jenkins, a well known citizen of Ashley, Morrow county, a village about four and one-half miles distant from the homestead farm of Mr. Fleming. The one child of the second marriage is Wade E., who was born on the 29th of August, 1904. Mr. Fleming and his family are popular factors in connection with the social aetivi- ties of the community, and the attractive home is known for its cordial hospitality.
ORVILLE HULSE .- A well-known resident of Sparta, Orval Unise occupies an assured position among the substantial sitizens of Morrow county. A son of Renben Hulse, he was born, Novem-
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ber 16, 1852, in Morrow county, being the descendant of one of its early pioneers. His paternal grandfather, Thomas Hulse, who married Leah Hervey, spent his entire life in New York state, dying at an early age. His widow, with her two children, a son, Reuben, and a daughter, came to Ohio, and settled on a farm in Morrow county.
Coming with his mother and sister to Morrow county in the early part of the nineteenth century, Renben Hulse assisted in the establishment of a home, and remained with his mother until his marriage, April 2, 1827, at the age of twenty-seven years, to Susan Hewett. She was born in Pennsylvania, and came with her parents, Cyrus and Serena (Sherman) Hewett, to Knox county, Ohio, when a girl. He subsequently located on a farm, and was successfully engaged in agricultural pursuits in Morrow county until 1880, when he removed to Sparta, where he lived retired, enjoying the fruits of his earlier years of labor, until his death, 1889. He was an active member of the Republican party, and served as county coroner, township trustee, and for several years was a member of the local school board. Four children were born to him and his wife, as follows: a child that died in infancy ; Amarilla, deceased; Orville, the special subject of this sketch; and Eva, born April 27, 1859.
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