USA > Ohio > Noble County > History of Noble County, Ohio: With Portraits and Biographical Sketches of some of its pioneers and prominent men > Part 60
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The first blacksmith shop near Harriettsville was started by Charles Lloyd in 1835.
James Lloyd, from England, en- tered land in this township in 1830 and in 1832 moved hither with his family. His son Charles, of Har- riettsville, is among the oldest res- idents of the township.
Charles Lloyd was born in Chesh- ire, England, in 1811. He came to this country in 1827 and to this town- ship in 1832. In early life he fol- lowed blacksmithing. He is an expert and ingenious mechanic and has invented several articles, some of which have been patented. After working at the blacksmith's trade twenty-one years he engaged in the mercantile business, which he still follows. In 1837 he married Sarah Booth, of Belmont County, who died in 1885. Six of their nine children are living : John, Thomas, Edward, J. F. M., Hannah and Lydia A. Thomas was county recorder for one term. He married a daughter of Hon. W. HI. Frazier. Mr. Lloyd is
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HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, OHIO.
an Odd Fellow and a Mason, also a member of the Methodist Episcopal church.
Charles Lloyd, of Harriettsville, has in his possession the horns of the last deer killed in the township. It was shot by his father, James Lloyd.
James Lloyd kept the first tavern in the neighborhood of Harriettsville. He also sold goods long before there was any store in the village. His wife was a woman of good business qualifications, and she attended to the store.
Joseph Pickard, an Englishman, came to the township in 1830. His children, Jacob and Ann, are both dead. Oliver Ingraham lived on the creek above Harriettsville in 1830. None of his descendants remain. William Brown and his son John lived on section 23, and were prominent Methodists. Shadrach Burton, an early pioneer, left the country years ago. Ile went to California and it is supposed that he was murdered on his way home. Isaac Worstel lived on the place next above the Lovett farm. He removed after several years' residence.
As an example of how the pioneer justices of the peace transacted legal business, we give a copy of a receipt found in an early justice's docket. The name of the justice does not ap- pear on the receipt. The document is as follows, verbatim et literatim:
" March the 24-1828.
"Receeved of Thomas Taylor Eight Dollars and forty Eight cents it being the remaining Ballance of a Judge-
ment against him on my Docket in favor of John Brown.
(Signed) "JOHN BROWN."
John Forshey was a prominent early settler and for several years served as justice of the peace.
Peter Crow and Silas M. Bonan are among the oldest residents of the township.
Adam Crum, a native of Germany, was a soldier in the War of the Revo- lution; he was wounded at the bat- tle of Bunker IIill. At the close of the war he settled in Pennsylva- nia, from whence he immigrated to Monroe County, Ohio, in 1808. Two of his sons, David and William, were pioneers in what is now Elk Town- ship. David married Miss Mary, daughter of Martin Crow, a German, who settled near Carlisle; he had five sons and five daughters; the latter were massacred by Indians, an account of which is given in the chapter devoted to Stock Township. David settled in Elk, and is said to have taught the first school in the township and was one of the early trustees. He had seven sons : George, James, Martin, Henry, William, Mi- chael, and David. George married Agatha Roe, and is one of the pros- perous farmers of the township; he has a family of four sons and three daughters : Peter D., J. Martin, Will- iam T., George I., Mary E., Louisa J. and Susan V. J. Martin is a prominent young teacher and a very worthy young man. Henry had four sons: William, James, Philo, and Henry, Jr. James is the only one of the family living in Elk. William
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entered land near Frederickton and for many years was a magistrate.
David Bonar, a soldier of the War of 1812 and one of the pioneers of this township, was born twelve miles above Wheeling, W. Va., in 1796. He settled four miles above Harri- ettsville on land which he entered from government. The country at this time was almost a wilderness. Marietta was the nearest trading point until Summerfield became able to supply the demands of the set- tlers. He took an active part in the politics of the township, and was one of the judges of the first township election, and held nearly all of the township offices. He was an earnest Christian and aided largely in the building of the Road Fork Baptist church. He had a family of five chil- dren : Silas, Isaac, Vincent, Nancy and Jasper. Silas, the eldest, was born in 1823, and married in 1845 Miss Freelove A. Grey. He has always resided on the old homestead and is a worthy citizen; his family of eight children are named as fol- lows: Sarah E., Louisa J., Mary M., Celestial A., Sylvester W., George M., Savannah and Albert M. Isaac, the second son of David, was born in 1824; was twice married ; by his first wife, Miss Ellen Jones, he had four children : Olive, Florence, Isaac W. and Mary O. Isaac removed to Kan- sas. In 1849 he went to California, "sailing round the horn." By occu- pation he is a teacher and farmer. Vincent Bonar was born in 1825 and died in 1880. He married Margaret Hardy in 1851; she died in 1857. Of a family of four, only one, Elizabeth,
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is now living. In 1860 he was again married, to Emily Brown, by whom he had eight children: Henry S., Nancy A., Jesse, Charles, Mary, Adoniram J., John M, and Laura B. Vincent was one of the leading citizens of the township, holding all of the offices in the gift of his fellow citizens. He built the Road Fork Baptist church. He was a prosperous farmer and always resided on the homestead farm. His wife owns the residence and is an excellent Christian lady and an efficient Sabbath-school worker. She was the daughter of Hon. Jesse Brown and Elizabeth Brown, of Monroe County, Ohio. Nancy Bonar was born in 1833 and married Albert Rogers in 1856. She moved to Iowa in 1865, thence to Missouri in 1866, where she now re- sides. They have seven children : Francis, Margaret E., Newton R., Otto C., James, Lydia J., and David. Jasper was born in 1835, and married Mary Leonard, of Marietta, in 1865, and moved to Fulton County. Orig- inally he was a teacher, but is now a prosperous farmer. He has a family of three children : Albert, Tilla and Belle. The first and last named are graduates of Granville College.
There were few settlers in the township in 1830, and of the few families then here, scarcely a half dozen have any representatives now. The growth of the township was very slow until 1836. Since that date many Germans have come in, and their enterprise and industry have added largely to the wealth of the township and the development of the country. Over one-third of
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HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, OHIO.
the inhabitants of Elk are either Ger- man or of German descent.
John Howald is said to have been the first German settler of the town- ship, not including "Pennsylvania Dutch." He was not properly a German, but a native of Switzer- land, as was also Jacob Rohrer, who came soon after. Howald obtained a title to his land in 1836, buying from William Cantwell. He lived on L. L. Lovett's present farm. How- ald came to Pittsburgh in 1826; thence to Captina and this township. He died in 1864. He was a wagon- maker by trade. It is said that he brought the first wagon into the township. The names of his children were Mary (Lindewood), Jeremiah, John, Joseph and Louisa (Lovett), all living except Mary.
John Howald and Jacob Rohrer have already been mentioned among the first German settlers of the township. They were followed with- in a few years by Leonard Schenck, C. Siebach, Adam Helm, Michael Feltner, from Bavaria ; Peter Gruber, from Prussia; the Uhlmans, from Alsace; Christian Eppler, from Sax- ony, and John and Henry Weppler, all of whom are now dead. Nearly all have descendants in the township. Almost all these early comers were Protestants. John Smithberger, a Prussian, who came in 1842, was the first German Catholic. Since 1850 the Catholic population has been largely increased by immigrants from Bavaria, IIesse Cassel and other Ger- man provinces.
The Germans were attracted to this township by the cheap lands,
much still remaining unentered at the time of the first arrivals. Nearly all came from cities, a large number from Pittsburgh, having been in the country long enough to make a little money and learn something of the English language. They were all poor at the start, and it was only by the practice of the most rigid econo- my that they were able to pay for their small farms - generally forty acres each - of unimproved land. But time and industry soon added to their possessions : all made a living and some became wealthy.
As an example of German pluck and perseverance, let us take the case of John Smithberger. He came to America in 1840 and resided for a time in Pittsburgh. In 1841 he went to Marietta to enter the land on which his son, William Smithberger, Esq., now lives. Finding that the land office had been moved to Chillicothe, he set off for that place on foot, secured his pat- ent and returned to Pittsburgh. In 1842 he moved with his family to Elk Township. He planted his first corn on a small clearing in the woods, preparing the ground with a mattock, as he had no plough. Many times he carried a half bushel of corn on his shoulders three miles, to have it ground at a neighbor's hand-mill. Mr. Smithberger died in 1859. Three sons and three daughters came to this township with him, the sons and one daughter being unmarried. The names of these children were John, Peter, William, Elizabeth (Long), Catharine (Rothfuchs) and Margaret (Yost).
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William Smithberger, Esq., is one of the leading business men and most prominent citizens of the town- ship. He was born in Prussia, in 1825, and came to America with his father's family in 1840. He came to Elk Township in 1842 and remained one year. He then went back to Pittsburgh, learned the machinist's trade, and followed it five years. He next engaged in the mercantile business in Pittsburgh. In 1853 he returned to this township, where he has since resided. He has been a successful farmer, and since 1874 has been in the mercantile business. In 1861 he began buying and packing tobacco, which business he still fol- lows. Ile has held the office of jus- tice of the peace since 1858 - which is sufficient proof of the high esteem in which he is held by the citizens of the township. He is a leading Catholic and donated the lot and built St. Henry's church. Mr. Smith- berger was married in Pittsburgh, in 1849, to Theresa Fauth. They have reared a family of eight sons and four daughters, all of whom are still living.
John W. Evans, a native of West Virginia, removed from Monongalia County, in that State, to what is now Elk Township, Noble County, in 1836. He was born in 1790 and died in 1874. IIis wife, Nancy, born in Maryland, in 1798, died in 1879. When the family came their neigh- bors were few and far apart. It was a common thing for a settler to go five or six miles to assist a new- comer in raising his cabin. Corn- meal was made by means of a grater
or else with a hand-mill, there being few mills of any importance nearer than the Muskingum River. People were often for weeks without bread- stuff of any kind in their houses, living on potatoes, pumpkins and roasted ears. There was little mar- ket for any kind of produce. Mr. Evans carried his wheat to Marietta on horseback and sold it for fifty cents per bushel. Wheat was thrashed with a flail and winnowed by hand. Dressed pork brought only $2.50 per hundred pounds. Squirrels, wild turkeys and raccoons and sometimes deer, made fearful work in the corn- field, which had to be watched con- stantly in order to secure a crop. Flour was only used on rare occa- sions. Dudley Evans, still a resident of the township, was born in Marion County, W. Va., January 23, 1834, and has a vivid recollection of pio- neer days. He received his first schooling in a log cabin with greased paper windows, one end of the house entirely occupied by a huge fire- place. In his early years he followed school-teaching. Mr. Evans has served as township assessor several terms.
Andrew Holschuh, one of the early German settlers, was born in Hesse Darmstadt, January 3, 1812. He came to America in 1828, and to Elk Township in 1839 .. He died in 1882. His wife, nee Sophia Schenk, whom he married in 1837, came to this country with her parents in 1833. When Mr. Holschuh came to the township, the country was still new and very wild. He sometimes went fifteen or twenty miles to mill, and
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HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, OHIO.
ten miles to a store. Often he was called to assist in raising cabins five or six miles distant. Living was very frugal, and at times the family subsisted for several days without bread, eating potatoes, roasting-ears and pumpkins. Mr. Holschuh was a Lutheran, and one of the founders of that church in this section of the county. His son, Adam Holschuh, at present one of the township trus- tees, was born May 7, 1855, and is a farmer and a prominent member of the Lutheran congregation. In 1883 he married Caroline, daughter of Jacob Ullman, one of the pioneers of the township. They have two chil- dren-a son and a daughter.
William Masters came from Guernsey County in 1845, and set- tled on an unimproved farm. It is said that he drove the first four horse team that ever came down the East Fork of Duck Creek, from Carlisle to Harriettsville. The wagon was a covered one, with a Jersey bed, and attracted great attention, many hav- ing never seen anything of the kind before. The settlers, after viewing the wagon to their entire satisfac- tion, assisted Mr. Masters in opening a road from Harriettsville to Master- ton, Monroe County. This was in the year 1837. William Masters died in 1853. His son Richard is still a resident of the township. Richard Masters was born in Guernsey Coun- ty, May 11, 1829, and is a farmer by occupation. August 15, 1862, he en- listed in Company K, Ninety-second Ohio Volunteer Infantry, in which he served until mustered out June 10, 1865. IIe has held the offices of
class-leader and trustee of the Meth- odist Episcopal church.
Isaac Pryor came from Belmont County to this township quite early, and remained here until his decease, in 1866. John Pryor, born in Bel- mont County in 1815, came to this township at the same time. He has been a deacon in the Baptist church. He married Elizabeth Cousins in 1849, and is the father of nine chil- dren, seven of whom are living.
J. C. Wernecke is one of the most prominent and successful business men of the county. He came to Har- rietsville in 1849. In the fall of that year he engaged in the mercan- tile business in which he still contin- ues. In 1856 he purchased 160 acres of land adjoining the village, on which he has since laid out an addi- tion to Harriettsville, which he has built up quite extensively. He is one of the largest tobacco merchants in the county and has the leading gen- eral store in Ilarriettsville, carrying a much greater variety and a much larger stock than is usually found in country stores. Mr. Wernecke has always given a hearty support to edu- cational and religious interests, and is a leading member of the Lutheran church.
John N. Van Fossen, son of John Van Fossen, was born in Belmont County in 1836, came to this county with his parents in 1844 and has re- sided here ever since. His father entered land in Stock Township. He reared six children, five of whom are now living. J. N. Van Fossen entered the Thirtieth Ohio Volunteer Infantry in October, 1862, and served
I.l. Wernecks.
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTOR, LENOX AND TILDEN FOUNDATIONS B
L
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about eleven months. March 2, 1865, he enlisted in the One Hundred and Ninety-fourth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and was discharged Octo- ber 4, 1865. Ile participated in the Vicksburg campaign and other noted movements. He is a thrifty farmer, and has served as township trustee for eleven years. He mar- ried, first, Rebecca Barnes; and, sec- ond, Mrs. Catharine White (nee Mor- rison). Two children were born of the first marriage and ten of the second.
Lloyd L. Lovett, one of the prom- inent farmers and best citizens of Elk Township, was born in Alle- gheny County, Md., February 10, 1837, and came to this township in 1854. He located on the farm of John Howald, the German pioneer, whose daughter, Mary Ann Louisa, he married in 1856. He has resided on this farm ever since, and has ad- ded to the old homestead until he now has 352 acres of good land. Mr. Lovett is the father of eight children : Carey E. (Bote), Lola N. (Kirchner), Elmer E., John T., Will- iam B., Mary A., Ernest S. and Nel- lie R. Mr. Lovett has served as township trustee four terms. He is a leading member of the Methodist Episcopal church and has served as trustee and steward of that organ- ization for twenty years.
Nelson C. Lovett, son of John Lovett, was born in Allegheny County, Md., in 1840, and came to this county in 1857. In 1866 he married Cynthia S. Hallett, of Wash- ington County. They have one child, a daughter. Mr. Lovett enlist-
ed in June, 1861, in the Twenty-fifth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and was discharged in December, 1862, from disability caused by a wound. He was in many severe engagements. After being wounded at the second battle of Bull Run, he was captured and paroled. He was left on the field two days without food or care and was two days more in the ambulance before reaching the hospital at Alex- andria, Va, where he could receive treatment. He was among the best of the many brave soldiers furnished by Noble County.
Peter Crow is a son of Martin Crow, a pioneer prominently men- tioned in the history of Stock Town- ship. He was born in that township November 6, 1814, and has followed farming. In 1835 he married Sarah, daughter of Samuel Pryor. Their children were Sarah, Samuel, George W., William U., John W. and Francis M., of whom only George and William are living, the former in Michigan and the latter in this town- ship. Peter Crow settled on his present farm when it was entirely unimproved. Ile at first bought a piece of land for $100 and afterward entered 160 acres at government price. IIe now has a good and well- improved farm. IIe has served as township trustee, assessor and land appraiser, and has been a leading member of the Methodist Episcopal church for many years. He was married the second time in 1868 to Mrs. Mary Dye, nee McPherson.
John Lee, Sr., was born at "Cas- sel on the Fulda," Germany, in 1788. In 1836 the family embarked for
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HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, OHIO.
America and after an uneventful voyage landed in Baltimore, Md .; thence they moved by teams to Pittsburgh, Pa., where he and three of his sons found employment in a glass factory. In 1839 they came to what is now Elk Township, where the elder Lee located a quarter sec- tion of land one half mile northeast of the village of Harriettsville, where he resided until his decease in 1871. He was a thrifty farmer and a valued citizen. His wife, nee Martha A. Braham, whom he married in 1817, died in 1852, at the age of eighty-three. Their children were Henry A., John, Christian, Barbara, Benjamin and William. Henry, the elder was born in Bradenburg, Ger- many, in 1818. He followed the fortunes of the family, and in 1840 married Miss Elizabeth Enochs, daughter of the pioneer whose history is given elsewhere. Twelve children were the result of this union : William, Louisa, John, Martha, Frederick, Mary, Russell, Sarah, Henry H., Hannah E., Edgar Earlwine and Albert S. He is a prosperous farmer and one of the most extensive tobacco growers in this region. William, son of Henry Lee, was born in 1841, and married Jane Carmichael in 1864. Their children are Arminda C., Ellsworth, Columbus, Emerson B., Mary E, Rilla A., Wilbert, Evert, William, Floyd and Clarence. William is one of the prominent citizens of the township and is a large tobacco grower. Louisa was born in 1842, married Thomas Pyles, who at the age of sixteen entered the service as
a member of the Ninety-second Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infant- ry. Their children are William HI., Wesley, Minnie, Mary, Nancy, Martha, George, Thomas, Arthur and Bertha. They reside in West Virginia. Martha Lee became Mrs. Frank Shaffer. He died in 1884. He was a soldier in the late war. Frederick Lee is a resident of Ritchie County, W. Va. He married, in 1879, Miss Mary A. Haught. They have seven children : Verne, Henry D., Alverde, Clinton T., George W., Preston and Dessie. Mary Lee married William, son of the pioneer, Frederick Miller. Their children are Arthur W., Ada M., Harkass and John. The children of Russell Lee and his wife, Caroline (Miller)-are Lily, Wesley, Willard, Francis, Alberteen, Martha and Nora B. He resides on the old homestead. Sarah Lee became Mrs. Philetus Miller. Their children are Winona, Tunny, Mary, Nellie and Henry W. Henry H., one of the rising young farmers of Jackson County, W. Va., married Flora A. Thompson. Their children were Debert, Walter and Henry. Hannah E. married W. J. Kelby. They have one child, Shella. Albert S., young- est child of Henry Lee, is a promis- ing young teacher and bids fair to become a useful citizen. Martha Lee, daughter of John Lee, Sr., was born in 1829. She married Charles Huffman and reared a family of eleven: Margaret (died in 1860), Martha (Williams), Barbara (died, 1850), John W., Frank, James B., Miles S. (died in 1886). Lovina B.
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(Morris), Philo T., Allen (died in 1873) and Ernest.
Edgar Earlwine Lee was born near Harriettsville, Ohio, in 1861. He re- ceived an academical education, and at the age of eighteen began teach- ing and is one of the prominent teachers of the county. He takes an active interest in political matters and is at this time (1887) clerk of the township. He is an active member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and an efficient Sabbath school worker. In 1886 he was married to Miss Mannie A., daughter of Vin- cent and Emily Bonar. His future is full of bright promises.
James Carmichael, merchant at Crumtown, was born in Monroe County, August 11, 1833. His father and grandfather were both early settlers in that county, near Stafford. The latter, James Car- michael by name, was the son of a Revolutionary soldier; he was a prominent citizen, a justice of the peace and a local preacher of the Methodist Episcopal church. Sam- uel L., the father of the subject of this notice, was born in Virginia and came to Ohio with his parents about 1820. He is now a resident of Elk Township, and is eighty-three years of age. For some years he was engaged in the mercantile business with his son. James began the mer- cantile business in Crumtown in 1863, with a capital of $60. He has since erected a good store and does a prosperous business. He was mar- ried in 1853 to Elizabeth, daughter of Jacob Richey, of this county.
Solomon and Elizabeth Murrey
came to Belmont County, about 1811. The wife died in that county in 1839. In 1847 the father removed to Franklin Township, in Monroe County, where he died two years later. Of the family of four sons and two daughters, only two sons survive. One of the sons, James L. Murrey, is a prominent farmer of Elk Township. He was born in Bel- mont County in 1826, and was brought up amid the scenes of pio- neer life. In the winter of 1848-9 he taught school, and for twelve succes- sive winters followed the same occu- pation, excepting in 1853-4 when he was in the West. In 1855 he mar- ried Margaret Sill, and settled on a part of his present farm. Mr. Mur- rey served one term as justice of the peace. He has been class-leader of Mt. Tabor Methodist Episcopal church over twenty years.
W. G. Williams was born in Bel- mont County in 1836. He has fol- lowed milling and farming. He en- listed in the Twenty-seventh Ohio Volunteer Infantry, in July, 1861, served three years, then re-enlisted in the same regiment, and was mus- tered out in July, 1865. At Atlanta he was wounded in the arm. He has served as township clerk and trustee.
Sebastian Shafer, born in Ger- many in 1824, came to America in 1847, landing in New York April 15. After working a year at mining in Pennsylvania, he came to Ohio, and thence to Noble County, where he engaged in wagon-making, which trade he still follows. He sent to Germany for his brothers, Charles
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HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, OHIO.
and Christian, and his sister. Caroline, who came to this country in 1853. In 1849 he married Barbara, daugh- ter of John Lee, of this county. Their children are William II., Freder- ick, Martha L. (died in 1878, aged twenty-six), John, Alexander, Ma- linda, Lydia, George B. M. and Hammond O. William II., born in 1850, followed the wagon-maker's trade and carpentry for some time, but for the past twelve years has been engaged in boot and shoe making, and is at present the lead- ing man in Harriettsville in that busi- ness. He married Lucinda Eppler. They have five children, born as fol- lows : Arthur L., September 19, 1875; Ora O., March 28, 1878; Augusta C., December 28, 1879; Henry I., Sep- tember 17, 1881; Myrtle L., March 7, 1883. Frederick, the second son of Sebastian Shafer, married Mary F. Bowlinger; John married Sarah M. Eppler; Alexander married Margaret Huffman ; Melinda is the wife of John Crow; Lydia married W. M. Mar- tin, son of Dr. W. G. Martin. Se- bastian Shafer has served as town- ship trustee, and as trustee and pres- ident of the Lutheran church. He was school director for fifteen years, and is an earnest friend of religion and education.
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