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 6
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Mr. Phillips has been twice married, his first union being to Miss Mariah Long, the ceremony having been performed on the 19th of January, 1867. To this marriage were born four children, three of whom are living in 1911, namely: Emma, who is the wife of Arthur Hayden; Eddie B., who is unmarried and who remains at the parental home; and Starley H., who is engaged in agriculture and who resides in Harmony township. Mrs. Phillips was called to eternal rest on the 24th day of March, 1892, and subsequently Mr. Phillips married Miss Addie B. Turner. The latter union has been profilic of one child; Freddie D., who was born on the 19th of April, 1899, and who is now attending the district schools in this township. Mr. and Mrs. Phillips are popular and prominent citizens in Harmony township and they command the high regard of all with whom they have come in contaet.
Annette Bartell Scott
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ANNETTE M. BARTLETT SCOTT is the daughter of Abner and Eliza Annette Adams Bartlett, and was born at the old home- stead northeast of Mt. Gilead June 20, 1863. She first attended the country district sehools and then the Mt. Gilead High School from 1878, and in which she was gradnated in June, 1882; was then one year at the Normal College, Lebanon, Ohio, from which she was graduated in 1883, and the following year was librarian at the Normal College at Lebanon, Ohio. The following year she taught sehool in Warren county, Ohio, and in the latter part of 1885 she entered the State Normal School at Oswego, New York, and in February, 1887, she was graduated from the same with the highest honors of her elass and was made valedictorian.
At her graduation she was asked to become the principal of the Normal Mission School for girls of the Presbyterian church in the city of Mexico, Mexico, then vacant. After careful considera- tion of this call, and with the advice of friends at home, she de- eided to undertake this work of great responsibility. Some of the pleasant features of the work in this school were the amiability and loving and lovable dispositions of the girls; their instant and unquestioning obedience to every requirement of their teachers; their uniform politeness; their brightness of intellect and their snecess in their studies. She arrived at the city of Mexico in April, 1887, and took charge of the school, and within one year taught the classes in Spanish, though with- out knowledge of that language on her arrival. In the sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth years of her work classes were graduated, and the standing in scholarship of the young ladies was equal to that of young ladies graduated from normal schools in the United States.
This article would be incomplete if no mention were made of Miss Bartlett's rare excellence of character. We strew costly flowers when it is too late, and often withhold words of encourage- ment and praise that would have strengthened and cheered some fainting heart. Miss Bartlett was eminently fitted for the work she undertook, bringing to it a well trained mind, richly endowed by nature, to which had been added the graces of culture. That she was signally successful was no surprise to those who knew her. Modest and unassuming in a marked degree; shrinking from ap- pearing in public, even when urged to do so, but when speaking of "her girls" impressing her hearers with her deep interest in their welfare and her sincee desire to benefit and uplift them. Gentle and refined in her nature, yet strong and self-reliant when occasion required.
Well does the writer recall her feelings when Miss Bartlett left her northern home and friends to undertake grave responsibil- ities and duties in a distant land and among a strange people-the thought that a young life of nmeh promise would be ahnost wasted came to her, but she has lived to feel rebuked that she ever enter-
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tained the thought that such strength and purity of character, such steadfastness of purpose and such earnest Christian endeavor could be wasted in any land or among any people.
It is a gratification to Miss Bartlett's friends to know that her work was and is appreciated. To many poor Mexican girls her example is a guiding star, leading them to truer and nobler woman- hood. Long will she be remembered with gratitude and affection in many an humble home in that distant land.
During the more than nine years of her teaching in the Mission School, besides acquiring a complete knowledge of the Spanish language, she also acquired the French language. The year's leave of absence in 1894 she spent at Wellesley College and the Summer School at Harvard University, continuing her study of modern languages and philosophy.
The climate of the eity and valley of Mexico, in which the city is located, and the altitude of the same, which is 7,435 feet abovo the level of the ocean, are both trying to the health of natives of the north, and she had repeatedly suffered in her health. ยท In June, 1896, on account of her health and for other good reasons she resigned her position as principal of said school. For nearly five years prior to May 2, 1901, she was professor of musie and mathematies in the State Normal School at North Adams, Massa- chusetts. She went to Europe in the summer of 1889 for a few months of travel and study.
On May 27, 1901, she was married to Joseph Seott, of Miles City, Montana, at Trinity church, Chieago, by Dr. William C. Richardson (now of Philadelphia), in the presence of a few friends.
For six months they made their home at Berkley, California, but business reasons required a change, and they made their home in Spokane, Washington.
He was one of nature's noblemen ; of English and Seotch-Irish deseent, and their married life of nearly five years was one of unalloyed happiness. He was taken sick in the fall of the year 1905, from over-exertion and exposure, and after partial recovery his physicians advised a trip to the Mediterranean as a means to complete recovery, and on December 18, 1905, with wife, nurse and physician, the trip from Spokane to New York was undertaken, and after a fortnight of rest from the journey,, on January 9, 1906, the voyage to Naples, Italy, with wife and nurse, was undertaken, and thenee to Cairo, Egypt, returning to Naples after a month at Cairo. Though at first he improved with the voyage, all that could be done was of no avail, and he died March 24, 1906, at Naples, Italy. His widow brought his remains to Spokane, and they are interred in Fairmount eemetery.
She has yet her home in Spokane, Washington, going aeross, every few years, to the north of Ireland for a few months with her husband's people at the old Scott homestead. Down to May, 1901, her home was Mt. Gilead.
.
gotm, Sellars
Jane
Sellary
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HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY
JOHN SELLARS .- Memory and its one enduring medium of expression, the written word, constitute the only link between past and present, the only tangible earnest of the future. Thus the reminiscences of the pioneer should ever be treasured and perpetu- ated, that the lessons of the days that have fled may not be lost or left unappreciated. One of the honored and venerable pioneer citizens of Morrow county whose mind holds the gracious heritage of the past and the knowledge of the present, with its opulent prosperity and advancement, is John Sellars, who is one of the best known citizens of Cardington township, where he is passing the glowing evening of his day in that peace and plenty that con- stitute the fitting reward for past years of earnest toil and en- deavor. He is one of those sterling and sturdy citizens who have aided in the developing of this section from the status of little more than a sylvan wild to its present condition, "where every prospect pleases," and where the present generation is enjoying to the fullest extent the bounteous aftermath of the seed sown in arduous toil, in privations and in the isolation of the pioneer days. In view of the present conditions it seems hardly possible that within the borders of Morrow county are yet to be found those who recall the primitive period through personal memory and associa- tion, and when such are found their reminiscences should be given an enduring place through such publications as the one here pre- sented.
Thus is offered a brief outline of the career of Mr. Sellars, with such incidental record as he has seen fit to offer concerning the "dear, dead days beyond recall." He and his noble wife remember well the time when the pioneer agriculturists of this section of the state still had recourse to the plow with the wooden mould-board, the sickle, the scythe, the flail, the cradle for garnering the wheat, the while the domestic economies were fostered by the spinning wheels for both wool and flax ; the primitive hand looms, by which were manufactured the fabrics for clothing and for general house- hold use; the old-time fireplaces, which furnished both warmth and the means of preparing food; and other accessories whose crudtiy would utterly baffle successful efforts on the part of the housewife of the present day. It is much to have witnessed the transformation that has been wrought along all lines, the progress that has culminated in the splendid twentieth century, with greater auguries for the future, and it is a matter of gratification even to revert thus briefly to the labors and methods of those who laid broad and decp the foundations upon which has been reared so grand a superstructure of civilization.
John Sellars finds a duc mced of satisfaction in that he can claim the old Buckeye state as the place of his nativity and in that he is a scion of one of its sterling pioneer families. He was born in Perry county, Ohio, on the 1st of November, 1827, and thus has passed the eightieth milc-stone on the journey of life. He is the Vol. II-4
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eldest in the family of three sons and one daughter born to Jacob and Effie (Fluekey) Sellars, and of the number two others besides himself are still living. Margaret is the widow of Lewis Queen, of Cardington township, Morrow county, where she still remains on her fine homestead farm. She likewise is an octogenarian and is one of the revered pioneer women of the county. She has two sons and one daughter, and they accord to her the utmost filial solicitnde. George, the only surviving brother of him whose name initiates this review, is likewise one of the representative agricnlturists and influential citizens of Cardington township. Of his children two sons and one daughter are living. .
Jacob Sellars, who was one of the carly settlers of Perry county. Ohio, was a scion of the stanch Pennsylvania German stock and was a man of strong character and unfaltering industry. He took an intelligent interest in public affairs and was aligned as a stalwart supporter in the cause of the Democratic party, as exemplifying the principles of Jefferson and Jackson. He settled in what is now Cardington township, Morrow county, before this county had been erected, and here he purchased three hundred and sixty acres of heavily timbered land, upon which he built his primitive log house-a mere cabin, without even the provision of windows. His son John, to whom this sketch is dedicated, can well remember this rude domicile and he recalls that on various occa- sions it was necessary to build at night a fire in the middle of the room to keep the wolves from entering the door, whose only pro- tection was a blanket. The land thus secured by Jacob Sellars was purchased from a man named Buzley, and the latter had secured the tract from the government. The Sellars family still retain the original government deed, which is a document of much historic interest as well as a valued family heirloom. Jacob Sel- lars instituted the reclamation of a farm in the midst of the virgin forest and in this work he was ably assisted by his sturdy sons. He continued to reside in Cardington township until his death, which occurred in the year 1849, and his name merits a place on the roster of the worthy pioneers of this country. His wife was also of German ancestry, and, indeed, her parents were natives of Germany .. Her father, George Fluckey, was a valiant soldier in the Continental line in the war of the Revolution, and in later years often related incidents concerning the days passed at Valley Forge and Trenton and concerning General Washington, under whom he served. The service of this loyal soldier renders Mr. Sellars and his sons eligible for membership in the Sons of the American Revolution and his daughters to membership in the allied organization, the Daughters of the American Revolution. The devoted wife and mother, Mrs. Effie (Fluckey) Sellars, was sum- moned to eternal rest when about eighty-three years of age, having long survived her husband. She was an earnest and consistent member of the Protestant Methodist church. They lived lives of
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signal usefulness and honor and ever commanded the unequivocal confidence and esteem of all who knew them.
John Sellars was a lad of but seven years at the time of the family removal to what is now Morrow county, and here he has maintained his home during the long intervening years, marked by large and worthy accomplishment on his part as one of the world's noble army of workers. Under the sturdy diseiplines of the pioneer farm the youth waxed strong in mind and body, and it is worthy of special note that in making the trip from Perry county to the new home in Morrow county the seven-year-old boy walked the greater portion of the distance, driving the cattle and sheep. His early educational advantages were secured in the prim- itive log school house eommon to the pioneer days. The building was about eighteen feet square and constructed of round logs. The floor was of puncheon, and slabs served for seats and desks, while the requisite heat for the winter terms was provided by a cavernous fireplace, which belehed its smoke through a chimney of sticks and mud. The slab benches had no backs and the smaller boys would be compelled to sit on these rude seats throughout each day's session with their little legs waving in air. The general desk used by the pupils was a wide board running along the sides of the room and resting on pegs driven into the log walls for support. The fire-place, with its giant logs, gave to the pupils an extra- ordinary warmth of face and equal chilliness of back. The schools were conducted on the subscription plan and the teacher "boarded around" among the various families whose children gained their instruetion in these rude "temples of learning." from which has been "graduated" many a man who has attained distinction in our nation. At the school the teacher would most frequently secure his or her luncheon from the well filled baskets of the pupils, and the fare provided would prove tempting to many a man of even epicurean tastes, as it frequently included corn pone, quail, rabbit hams, venison, ete. Money was a scarce article in the pioneer communities and the emolument of the teachers was correspondingly small. Prior to her marriage Mrs. Sellars applied for the position of teacher in the school in her neighborhood, and while she was well qualified her services were refused because she demanded one dollar a week in "salary," while another young woman accepted the responsibility at a stipend of seventy-five cents a week.
Though his carly educational advantages were thus limited, Mr. Sellars had an alert and receptive mind and thus profited gener- ously from the lessons gained under the direction of that wisest of all headquarters, experience. He is a man of broad mental ken and through self-discipline and association with men and affairs has gained a large fund of information, so that he has ever been well fortified in his convictions and opinions. He assisted mater- ially in the reclamation and development of the home farm and
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when twenty-one years of age he initiated his independent career by renting one hundred and sixty acres of the same .. Under these conditions he continued his labors for two years, and he had his full quota of perplexities and troubles in guiding the ox team and plow among the stumps of the partially reclaimed fields. In fact, he lived up to the full tension of the pioneer days, and his memory is a store house of interesting reminiscence. He relates that when he was a lad the pioneer farmers of this county would turn their hogs out in the woods to feed on the "mast," a term applied to the indigenous nuts, acorns, etc., to which the ambitious animals would give willing attention. Each owner had a defining mark for his swine and when the animals were properly fattened they were identified by these marks, which were duly recorded at the county seat. The insignia thus used by the father of Mr. Sellars for the identification of his wandering domestic beasts was a V-shaped "crop" in the right ear of each hog. The wolves were numerous and it was with great difficulty that the sheep were saved from depredations. On one occasion two wolves killed seventeen sheep owned by the subject of this review, and the bloodthirsty animals were tracked and finally killed. The social diversions of the early days were simple, but genial and kindly, and every pioneer door had its latch-string out, assuring welcome to friends and neighbors as well as to the way-faring man. Spelling matches, corn huskings, and other diversions afforded entertainment to the young and old, and envy, gossip and malice were virtually unknown among those who thus lived and labored under primitive but gracious environments and conditions. It was the privilege of Mr. Sellars to swing the old-fashioned grain-cradle from dewy morn until evening's shadows came, and in this and other arduous toil he justified the scriptural prophesy that "by the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread." He was a strong, sturdy and industrious boy and was ever ready to bear to the full the heat and burden of the day, while he gained the reputation of being able with the help of his aged father, to equal in the harvest field in a day the work of two average men. In threshing out the grain he has vigorously swung the primitive flail, and he had recourse also to the use of horses in trampling out or threshing the wheat on the barn floor. All day application in this order of toil caused much "mortification of the flesh," but a night's rest would bring measurable relief to jaded muscles, for there was no shirking or apathy on the part of those who thus "'worked out their own salvation."
When but twelve years of age Mr. Sellars hauled grain with team and wagon to Sandusky, a distance of one hundred miles, and on the return trip he brought such merchandise as was demanded by the family and neighbors. He made a number of such trips, and when but fourteen years of age he proved himself able to do a man's full work in connection with the arduous operations of
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the pioneer farm. He recalls that the hay was raked up by hand in windrows, and that the pitchfork which he used was a forked stick, carefully selected and cut in the woods-a heavy and awk- ward implement for a mere boy to handle. Owing to the scarcity of money the neighboring farmers "exchanged work" during the busy seasons and thus no wages were demanded .. Wild game furnished bountifully the larders of the early settlers, and on his own farm Mr. . Sellars has seen at the deer licks across the fields a number of herds of deer .. He has also participated in many of the old-time fox hunts, which were a source of much diversion to the pioneers .. Mr. Sellars was, like Nimrod, a "mighty hunter," and he has tramped many a mile through the dim forest aisles in search of game. He began his formidable executions in this line by means of a primitive flint-lock gun, which he secured by trading a pig for the weapon. With this somewhat recalcitrant gun he would saunter forth in search of conquest, and his boyish ardor was not quenched by such parental admonitions as the following : "John, you will get the buck-ague and you cannot hit a door." The lad was persistent and finally he placed himself in ambush and so effectively used his ancient weapon as to bring home a fine turkey, which evidence of prowess did much to silence the "carp- ing criticism" which he had previously endured in the same kindly spirit in which it was given.
There were no matches in those days, and frequently when the fire had died on the hearth Mr. Sellars would replenish the same by shooting into a dry log and thus kindling a flame. Otherwise recourse was taken to flint and steel for this purpose. Coon hunt- ing by the light of the moon was another disgression dear to the heart of young Sellars, and even after his marriage and his at- taining to the dignity of a man of family the lure of this sport proved irresistible. His wife would often accompany him on such expeditions and would hold the torch which furnished him the necessary light for him to cut the tree in which his prey had found lodgment. Many a contest was held by the young men of the section in hunting for the birds and animals that devastated the crops, and in this they were encouraged by the farmers. On more than one occasion in such competition the laurels of victory fell to Mr. Sellars, the contest being decided by the number of heads or scalps brought in by the various competitors. The Indians still roamed about their ancient haunts and for some time a band of Wyandots had a camp near the home of Mr. Sellars. They would come each autumn and winter to hunt in this vicinity and often members of the band would call at his door. He has seen the march of progress file triumphantly on-the invention of the telegraph, the incoming railroad and other achievements of his boyhood and youth, and now he is in the era of wonderful electrical facilities, the navigation of the air and other marvels which in his youth would have been looked upon as in the realm of the impossible. All that
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has been compassed in the lifetime of this honored pioneer is diffi- cult to realize in a concrete way, but he has kept in pace with ad- vancement and has been appreciative of the same, even as he was of the not benignant conditions and influences of the days of prim- itive things. It is a "far ery" from the lumber wagon as the only vehicle to the rushing, pulsing automobile; the tardy post, often through stage lines, to the telephone; the slow-going stage coach to the swift electric interurban service,-yet all these developments have been made within the memory of Mr. Sellars. He and his wife had no buggy or even spring wagon in their early married life, and they many a time made their way in stately dignity to the church three miles distant by means of ox-tram transport. After Mr. Sellars had become a member of the United Brethren church he handled all the logs which were utilized in the erection of the first church building of this denomination in his section of the county, and he and his wife were prominent factors in the work and merriment of the various log-rolling assemblies of the early days, when by this means provision was made for the erection of new cabins for the neighbors. Mr. Sellars was among the first experts in connection with such primitive arehitectural work, and Mrs. Sellars likewise came actively to the front in assisting in the preparation of the bounteous feast that was spread for the weary but happy workmen who had thus shown both their energy and good will.
On the 29th of March, 1849, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Sellars to Miss Isabella J. Curl, and they became the parents of six sons and four daughters. Of the children now living brief record is given in the following paragraph, together with data concerning their children.
Selby, was one of the progressive and successful farmers and stock-growers of his native county, was afforded the advantages of the local schools and became a practical business man and hon- ored citizen. He married Miss Nettie Barry and they had three sons and two daughters, namely: Neva is the wife of Charles Burgraff, a farmer of Cardington township, and the mother of Edith, Estella, and Carl Henry; Arthur, who is engaged in agricultural pursuits in Cardington township, married Miss Roma Gilson; Hayes, asso- ciated in the work on his father's farm, married Miss Florence Grover; Mae is the wife of Ernest Betts, a farmer of this county ; and Clarence remains at the parental home. Selby Sellars was a Prohibitionist in politics and an active temperance worker, as well as a zealous member of the Methodist Episcopal church.
Since the above was compiled of Mr. Sellars he died, and we herewith append the obituary from one of Morrow county papers.
"Selby Sellars, son of John and Jane Sellars, was born Septem- ber 21, 1852, and died January 26, 1911. He was the second oldest of a family of ten children and the sixth to depart. He was united in marriage with Miss Nettie Barry April 3, 1879. To this union
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