USA > Ohio > Noble County > History of Noble County, Ohio: With Portraits and Biographical Sketches of some of its pioneers and prominent men > Part 58
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HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, OHIO.
ent membership is about 150. The Sabbath-school has about one hun- dred scholars. The present pastor is Rev. W. L. Wells.
It is believed that the earliest Sabbath school in the county was organized in the Hoskinsville neigh- borhood. About 1825 a school was opened under the superintendency of Colonel Erastus Hoskins. It was then under the Methodist Episcopal denomination.
The Methodist Episcopal class men- tioned in connection with the history of Regan's chapel was organized in the fall of 1818, by Rev. Abel Robin- son, missionary. Francis and Mary Scott, Erastus and. Lydia Hoskins, and an unmarried lady whose name is not recalled, were the original members. Erastus Hoskins was the first leader. Joseph Reed, Benjamin Thorla, Sylvester Westcott, William Willey, Lambert Newton and their wives joined soon after the organiza- tion. Abel Robinson, Archer McEl- roy, John Graham, John Coleman, William Tipton, Thomas McCleary, Isaac Rannells, Cornelius Springer and two others were the preachers prior to 1828.
Valley Chapel Methodist Protestant Church .- The Methodist Protestant church at Belle Valley was organized in 1883. and the house of worship erected in the spring and summer of the same year, at a cost of about $1,500. The congregation was at first composed of about fifteen members, partly from Union church. The mem- bership is now nearly one hundred. Rev. W. L. Wells is the present pastor.
Cumberland Presbyterian Church. -The Cumberland Presbyterians have maintained an organization in Hiramsburg and vicinity for several years. They met for a few years in the Methodist Episcopal church, and about 1870 purchased the old Bap- tist church, where they still continue to worship. The congregation is small. The Baptist church was built about 1850, principally through the means and influence of the Lippitt family. Its membership diminished to such an extent that the congrega- tion was no longer able to support regular preaching and the church was given up.
THE M'KEE FAMILY.
No name is more conspicuous in the annals of Noble County than that of McKee. The family were not only among the first in the coun- ty in point of settlement, but were also pioneers in almost every import- ant public enterprise ever under- taken in the county.
The Mckees were of Irish descent, and came to Ohio in the latter part of the last century, from Lycoming County, Pa. The family consisted of David Mckee, his wife and sev- eral children. They remained a num- ber of years in Washington Coun- ty, in the vicinity of Marietta, and in 1809 came up the West Fork of Duck Creek, settling on the farm near Caldwell, now owned by Alex- ander McKee. They were among the very earliest families in the val- ley, and for several years had but few neighbors and no trading point near- er than Marietta. The father died in
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1815, and the widow and her children were left to get along as best they could in the arduous labor of pioneer farming. Mrs. McKee died in 1848. There were nine children in the fam- ily, most of whom were born in Pennsylvania. Their names were John, Robert, William, David, James, Alexander, Annie (Caldwell), Margaret (Caldwell) and Ezra.
John was a farmer, a prominent citizen, and passed his life in .Noble County. He died in 1873, at the age of eighty-five. Robert was the pio- neer salt-maker at Olive, and was a leading business man in this section for many years. He was born in Lycoming County, Pa., December 8, 1791, and came with the family to Duck Creek in 1809. He stamped his name on all the prominent events in the early history of what is now Noble County. He was the discov- erer and pioneer salt-maker of the valley, a business which he continued until the competition of the various salt works on the Muskingum reduced the price to fifty cents per barrel. While drilling some of the first wells, he was obliged to go to Marietta to get his tools repaired. After the salt business became unremunera- tive he built a log structure in Olive, where for many years he did a successful business as a merchant; his was the first store within the present limits of Noble County, his nearest competitor being at Barnes- ville. His first stock of goods was packed in on a horse from Baltimore over the mountains. He was also the first to handle tobacco, in which he engaged quite extensively for
many years. He was a man of deep religious convictions, and built the first church in the county ; in this en- terprise he evidenced his accustomed liberality. After deciding to build a church, he deputized a man by the name of Peter Lady to solicit sub- scriptions. After several weeks, Lady reported $45 as the sum collect- ed. McKee, disappointed by the lack of interest in the matter, said to him that if he would return the money he would build the church himself, which he did. The date of erection, as near as can now be ascer- tained, was 1828. About 1855 hc began to feel the weight of advanc- ing years and retired from active business, and devoted his attention to his farm, and loaning the accumula- tions of former years. He died of Bright's disease September, 1863. He was married in 1813 to Miss Ruth Thorla. She died in 1830, and in November of the same year he was again married to Elizabeth Willey, who died in 1887. By the first mar- riage there were six children: Mary A., Margaret (Morse), Susannah (Ogle), David, Rhoda (Rownd) and Martha (Ogle). By the second, sev- en : Columbus, Leonard, William, Robert, Ruth E. (Caldwell), Jasper and Worthington. Robert McKee was a man of great foresight, enter- prise and industry, and his name, where known, was a synonym for integrity and honor. No man was more prominent in the early history of Noble than he, and no one is held in more grateful remembrance by the people.
William removed to New York
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State when a young man, and spent the greater part of his life there. He died in Indiana. David was engaged as a boatman on the Mississippi River and died of cholera at Little Rock, Ark., when a young man. James was a farmer and resided near Hos- kinsville. He died at the age of eighty-seven. Alexander is still liv- ing on the old homestead. He was born in Marietta in 1798. He mar- ried Rhoda Thorla and reared a family of six sons. Annie became the wife of John Caldwell and lived and died in Noble County. Mar- garet married Joseph Caldwell and is still living.
Hon. Ezra McKee was one of the best and most influential citizens of Noble County, the establishment of which he was among the foremost in securing. He was born in Wash- ington County in 1802, and came to the county with his parents. His educational advantages were limited to four months' schooling, but a good mind, sound judgment and keenness of observation made up for this defi- ciency. In 1825 he married Abbie Westcott and purchased the farm adjoining the old homestead. His children by this union were Delia (Davis), Martha (Polling), David and Sylvester, all living. IIis wife died in 1836 and he married Almay West- cott, a cousin of his first wife. She was one of the early school-teachers of the county. To them were born four children - Manly, who died when one year old; Mary (Newton), deceased; Christopher and Manly. In 1837 Mr. McKee was elected to the legislature from Morgan County,
in which his township was then in- cluded ; and again in 1850 he was chosen to fill the same position. Dur- ing the succeeding session of the legislature, the project of the erec- tion of Noble County, which had been constantly agitated for five or six years preceding, was brought to a successful consummation. He was not only instrumental in securing the organization of the county, but he was also among the foremost of those who sought and finally succeeded in making Caldwell the county seat. He erected the first building in Cald- well, which was-used as a temporary court house. He served about twen- ty years as justice of the peace. Both in public and private life he was re- garded as an able, honest, honorable man. He died April 4, 1876. His widow resides with her son Chris- topher.
David E. McKee is the oldest son of Hon. Ezra McKee. He was born in Noble Township, August 15, 1833. He is a quiet, unassuming man, and sustains an excellent reputation for probity and intelligence. Mr. McKee has contributed to the press some poetical effusions of more than ordi- nary merit. He was principally en- gaged in farming until 1862, when he went with his brother Christopher to the Pacific coast, where they re- mained for three years, engaged in mining and ranching, in which they were quite successful. In 1867 he married Margaret Powell, of Wiscon- sin, whose paternal great-grandfather was a Revolutionary soldier. Her great-grandmother on her father's side lived to be one hundred and four
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years old. Mr. and Mrs. McKee have three children : Burton, Abbie and Lawrence. Mr. McKee is a Demo- crat. He has held the offices of township treasurer and land ap- praiser.
Christopher McKee, one of the leading farmers and most prominent citizens of the county, was born in Noble Township in 1840. IIe spent his boyhood on the farm, receiving a common-school education. In 1862 he went to Oregon in a party of twelve men, among whom was his brother David. This journey occu- pied about three months, Mr. McKee driving an ox-team. On the Pacific coast he engaged in mining for a time, and afterward went to Idaho. He remained at Centerville in that territory until June, 1863, engaged in packing supplies to the miners. He next went to the southern part of the territory, where David and he located a mine, which they worked until the fall of 1865. The mine proved a good one and yielded many thousand dollars' worth of ore, but owing to the cost of living and of working it, they could save but a small part of their earnings. During one winter the snow was so deep that it was piled up six feet higher than their cabin. The brothers left for home in September, 1865, on horseback and reached here in No- vember. On the way they were caught in a Rocky Mountain snow storm, and rode all day through the blinding snow, arriving at night at Fort Halleck. To feed their horses they paid seventy-five cents per pound for corn and twenty-five cents
per pound for hay. At the sutler's Mr. McKee bought a pound of crack- ers, a box of sardines, and a small bottle of bitters, for which he paid $15. In December, 1865, he married Miss Martha A. Scott. They have had four children - Louis W. (de- ceased), Irvel K., Cora B. and Mir- ley. Mr. McKee has followed farm- ing, and has also been engaged in various other enterprises. He has furnished the C. & M. Railroad Com- pany with over five million feet of lumber, and is still engaged in sup- plying timber to that road, and the B., Z. & C. In 1877 he again went west to the Black Hills; but after an examination of that region, con- cluded to settle down to farm life. Mr. McKee is a public-spirited citi- zen, an enterprising, sagacious and successful man of business, and his worth is appreciated in the com- munity.
JOHN NOBLE, SR., was a native of Lancaster County, Pa., and his father served through the Revolutionary War as a soldier from that State. The family were among the early immigrants to Ohio, and located in Washington County, where they remained several years. In 1811 Mr. Noble came to what is now Noble Township, Noble County, and se- lected land in the valley of the West Fork of Duck Creek. He began an improvement, erected a camp on the bottom, in which he and his sons, Samuel and James, passed the win- ter, their sister Polly keeping house for them. In 1812 the whole family moved to their new home and took up their abode in a cabin made from
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the logs of sugar-maple. The family came in wagons, through the track- less woods, following along the ridges. John Noble, Sr., was an in- dustrious honest man and a worthy citizen. IIe died in 1831 at the age of sixty-eight years. His widow died in 1849. They were the parents of seven children - James, Elizabeth (Reed), Sarah (Burlingame), Mary (Bates), Samuel, Rachel (Reed) and John, all now dead except John. James, the oldest son, was a man of great force of character, and was a pronounced anti-slavery man, when the word " abolitionist " was regarded only as a term of reproach.
John Noble, son of the pioneer above mentioned, was born in Wash- ington County in 1802, and is to- day one of the best informed men regarding pioneer events that it has been the pleasure of the writer to meet. Ile is a remarkably well- preserved man, and in spite of his four-score and five years, is still as active as many a man of sixty. Having been accustomed to hard work from boyhood, even now he busies himself chiefly in the per- formance of self-imposed tasks about the farm. He ranks among the best of the many excellent farmers in Noble County. Mr. Noble has lived in three counties-Guernsey, Mor- gan and Noble, without moving from the homestead to which he came in 1812. Ile was a member of the first board of county commis- sioners elected in Noble County in 1851, and has always been an active, public-spirited citizen. In his deal- ings with his fellow men he has
always been found obliging, upright and honest. His thrift and diligence have gained for him a competency, and throughout his long life he has enjoyed that greatest of human possessions-an unsullied reputation.
Mr. Noble was married in 1825 to Rebecca, daughter of Robert Cald- well, a prominent early settler. After more than half a century of happy wedded life, Mrs. Noble quitted the scenes of this earth- ly career in October, 1878. Two children were born of this union- Samuel, now a resident of Richland County, Wis., married to Miranda Ackley, daughter of an early settler of this county; and Martha J., now Mrs. James Carr, residing on the homestead.
JAMES CARR, the subject of this notice, was a leading farmer and a prominent and successful business man. James Carr was born in Brooke County, W. Va., in 1824. He was the second child and the oldest son of a family of eight chil- dren. His father's name was Joseph Carr and the children were Mary (Wheeler), James, Joseph (who died in West Virginia), Eliza J. (Ilearld) whose husband died at Pittsburg Landing while in the service of his country ; Sarah A. (Kirk), Parmelia (Wheeler) and Maria (Morgareidge). The mother, whose maiden name was Eliza McCleary, died in 1833, and Mr. Carr afterward married Nancy Wheeler, by whom he had seven children : Elizabeth, Lemuel N., Ellis C. (deceased), Julia A. (Koons), Henrietta (Gallatin), Tay- lor and Ethelinda (Balderson). Of
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the sons, Lemuel, who now lives in Cumberland, Ohio, was a soldier in the One Hundred and Twenty- second Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and was a prisoner at Andersonville for eight months. Ellis was also in the service and received a wound from a piece of shell. Although he served through the war, he died immediately after reaching home.
The Carr family came to Ohio in 1835, settling in Bristol Township, Morgan County. The father was a farmer, and died in 1878. His widow is still living with two of her chil- dren upon the homestead. James passed his boyhood upon the farm until 1842, when he started out to make his own way in the world. IIe went first to Belmont County and thence to Allegheny City, Pa. IIe remained in Pennsylvania two years, driving through the country selling clocks and "Bee-palaces." In 1844 he got the " western fever," and emi- grated to Iowa and from there to California. He located at Sig- ourney where he was engaged in the mercantile business and the loaning of money, doing a very suc- cessful business. Here, in 1847, he married Miss Helen L. Pinkerton, who bore three children, Inez Iowa (deceased); Charles S., who is married and resides in Nelsonville, Athens County ; and Helen S. (Boyd), Sharon Township. Mr. Carr's first wife died January 20, 1856.
In 1857 Mr. Carr returned to Ohio, and bought the farm now owned by Mr. Lovell, in Malta Township, Mor- gan County. In the following year he married Miss Martha J.
Noble. They continued to reside in Morgan County until 1868, and from that time until his decease made their home with Mrs. Carr's father, the venerable John Noble.
Mr. Carr was prospered admirably in his business relations, his good judgment, courage and tact serving him in good stead. Although he was an invalid for several years before his death, he maintained his native cheerfulness undisturbed. Thankful for the favors which for- tune granted him, he rejoiced that he was no longer under the necessity of a continual striving after the "al- mighty dollar." IIe was one of the prime movers in organizing and se- curing a charter for the Noble County Bank, and was identified with other important home enterprises. He was a man of good general information, a fluent conversationalist and of agreeable social qualities. He died January 31, 1887, and was buried with Masonic honors.
REV. SPARROW NICKERSON .- Col. Hugh Nickerson, the father of the venerable pioneer whose name heads this article, was of Irish descent, and was born in Chatham, Barnstable County, Mass., in 1782. He was a man of intelligence and ability, and during the War of 1812 commanded a regiment of infantry. The Nick- erson family at this time were sea- faring people, an occupation to which Mrs. Col. Nickerson was very averse, and fearing that her sons, as they grew up, would resort to that occu- pation for a livelihood, persuaded her husband to immigrate to Ohio. In the spring of 1817 the family,
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consisting of the parents and five His wife, noe Rebecca Blanchard, children- Mahala, Eliza, Sparrow. was born in Boston, where she lived until her marriage, in 1503. Her children, aside from those above mentioned, were Hugh, Rebecca. Simon and Celestia. The father died in 1846 : his wife in 1835. Rev. Sparrow Nickerson was born in Chatham, Mass., March 7, 1812. He was reared on the homestead farm, and being the eldest son, was denied the limited advantages for education afforded by the occasional subscrip- tion schools of that day, but in that other school, in which the teachers are observation and experience, he has been an apt pupil. By extensive reading, aided by a retentive mem- ory, he has acquired a fund of val- uable knowledge. In political be- lief Mr. Nickerson was originally a Whig, and advocated the election of James G. Birney for President. Next he became a " Free Soiler," and was . nominated, in 1845, for lieutenant- governor of Ohio. On the forma- tion of the Republican party he joined its ranks. He is now, how- ever, a Prohibitionist, and has been the candidate of this party for sen- ator and representative. In ante bellum days he was an abolitionist, and on that ticket ran for State treasurer. In 1850 he was ordained for the ministry, and for two years was a circuit preacher. In 1835 he married Miss Helen Byers; by this marriage there were three children : Joseph, Thomas and John ; the latter was a member of the Thirtieth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and served through the war. His second wife, Miss Betsey Sawyer, was born near Lurana and Joseph-left their native town by vessel for Baltimore, Md .: thence they came by teams across the mountains to Pittsburgh. Pa .. where they embarked on a flat-boat for Marietta. The journey was with- out incident worthy of mention, and on their arrival, the boat was traded for a Chickasaw horse. From Mari- etta they came to Mrs. David Mc- Kee's, where the family remained un- til a rude cabin was prepared for their reception on the farm now owned by his son, Sparrow. They had to find their way by blazed trees, and dur- ing the winter suffered greatly from exposure and poverty. The cabin was without a chimney, door, loft or floor, and frequently wild animals would come close to the house. Their surroundings were such that had it not been for the mother, who was a resolute woman, the family would undoubtedly have returned to their eastern home. The return of spring brought partial release from . pioneer hardships. The father found employment at his trade, that of a carpenter, in Zanesville, and in this way supported his family and paid for his land. He built for Augustus Hoskins the first frame house erected in what is now Noble Township. Ile was a man of force and stamina, and identified himself with early church history. He was a Method- ist in belief, and was one of the organizers of the Methodist Protest- ant church, and with others, founded the Brookfield library, which was probably the first in the county.
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St. Albans, Vt., in 1815, and came to Ohio in 1823. She is the mother of six children : Elizabeth (Allen), Levi M., Sarah M. (Bell), Simon S. Hannah R. (Love) and Hugh G. Sarah M. is deceased.
Mr. Nickerson is a typical pioneer, and but few men have attained to a greater share of public esteem than he. Ile is now enjoying the full fruition of a well-spent life, and in a few more years will leave to his family that priceless legacy, an un- spotted reputation.
GEORGE E. GEDDES .- This gentle- man, one of the prominent citi- zens of Noble Township, was born in Manchester Township, Morgan County, Ohio, March 6, 1833. His father, James Geddes, was one of the early settlers of this township, was born in Philadelphia County, Pa., in 1788, moved to Columbiana County, Ohio, about the year 1800, and from thence to Morgan County, Ohio, in 1817. Ile was of Scotch parentage, and was a soldier of the War of 1812 with Great Britain. Ile served under Gen. William H. Harrison, and died in 1853.
George E., the subject of this nar- rative, started in life a poor boy, with poor health, having inherited by nature a very frail constitution. By industry, economy and good bus- iness habits, he has placed himself among the most successful farmers of the county. He received a good English education, having studied surveying and the higher mathe- matics; followed teaching from 1854 till 1862; was elected justice of the peace in Noble Township in
1859, and re-elected in 1862. On July 4, 1863, he was commissioned, by Gov. Todd, captain of Company H, First Regiment Ohio Militia, and on September 4, 1863, was commis- sioned as lieutenant colonel, by Gov. Todd, of the First Regiment Ohio Militia. In 1878 he was the Green- back candidate for Congress in the Fifteenth Congressional District, composed of the counties Monroe, Morgan, Washington, Athens and Noble. His name has frequently been mentioned in connection with offices of trust and responsibility in the county. In 1855 Mr. Geddes was married to Miss Mary A. Brown, a lady of rare good common sense, and of excellent family, but handı- capped, like her husband, with a frail and weak constitution. Her father, Edward G. Brown, came from Rhode Island. Two sons were born to Mr. and Mrs. Geddes: James Ken- non and Edmond Burns. James K. married Miss Irene Young, of Chand- lersville, Ohio ; Edmond B. married Miss Effie M. Rummer, of Lowell, Ohio. Both of these young men are surveyors and civil engineers, who have become conspicuous in their profession. George E. was raised and educated a State-rights Demo- crat, but the late civil war, with its threatened disintegration of the Union, revealed to him the fact, that the right of a State to withdraw from the Union at pleasure, was fatal to a general government. He is now a strong Protectionist, believing it to be the duty of the general Govern- ment to foster, encourage, develop and protect our home industries.
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He is an extensive reader, well versed in the politics of our country. Progressive in thought, he stands well abreast in all the political, social and religious reforms of the country. Though raised a Methodist, he be- lieves strongly in the decrees and or- dinations of God. Socially, Mr. Geddes is gentlemanly and agree- able.
GEORGE ALONZO MCCLURE .- George McClure, father of the immediate subject of this biography, was born in Westmoreland County, Pa., in 1823; his father, William McClure, was a soldier in the War of 1812 and his paternal grandfather served in the War of the Revolution. He was a staff officer and distinguished himself in many of the hard-fought engagements of that great struggle. After the war, Congress gave him, in consideration of his service, a tract of land, where Frankfort, Ky., now stands. This land was occupied by squatters, who disputed his claim. Serious complications arose and he finally lost the property.
William McClure immigrated to Ohio in 1827, and settled near Gays- port, Muskingum County, where he resided until his decease in 1837. He was twice married; his first wife was a Miss Anderson; two children were born of this union: George and William. William went to California in an early day; he was a thrifty business man and acquired a large property in real estate. George was
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