USA > Ohio > Union County > History of Union County, Ohio; its people, industries and institutions > Part 93
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106 | Part 107
Mr. Connolly is a Democrat in politics but has never taken an active part in political affairs. He has always been found on the right side of all questions affecting the public welfare of his community, and his life has been such that it is a credit to the county honored by his citizenship.
DAVID S. DAVIS.
The "Shady Brook Stock Farm" of one hundred and seventy-five acres in York township, Union county, Ohio, is the home of David S. Davis, one of the prosperous farmers of this township. He was born in this same township and has spent his whole life here. His grandfather came to this county in the early thirties and was one of the prominent citizens in the early history of the county. Mr. Davis has devoted most of his life to agriculture, although he was in the mercantile business in York Center for a few years. His home farm is located five miles east of West Mansfield and is one of the most attractive farms in the county.
David S. Davis, the son of Finley D. and Margaret J. (McAdow) Davis, was born October 19, 1859, in York township, Union county, Ohio. His father was born near Stillwater, Ohio, March 6, 1827, and his mother was born in Union county, Ohio, in 1831. Finley D. Davis came to this county with his parents when a small lad and located in York township, where he grew to manhood and married Margaret J. McAdow. To this union were born six children, four of whom are still living: T. J., a farmer of York township, who married Mary N. Fulton: David S., of York town- ship: Mattie M., the wife of Charles G. Morrow, a farmer of York town- ship, and Ada A., the wife of John H. Montgomery, a farmer of York town- ship. Finley D. Davis was a prominent farmer and at the time of his death owned two hundred and forty acres of good land in this county. He en- listed in Company D. One Hundred and Eighty-seventh Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, in January, 1865.
MR. AND MRS. DAVID S. DAVIS.
961
UNION COUNTY, OHIO.
Mr. Davis was educated in the schools of York township and spent his boyhood days assisting his father on the home farm. He began farming for himself when he was about seventeen years of age. He has given his whole life to the tilling of the soil with the exception of six years, which he spent in the mercantile business in York Center. He ranks among the best stock raisers of his township, and has given particular attention to the breed- ing of Holstein cattle, Percheron horses and Duroc hogs.
Mr. Davis was married March 18, 1897, to Nellie V. Waltz. She was born in Summit county, Ohio, December 2. 1865, and is the daughter of Reuben and Margaret (Worbs) Waltz. Her father was a professional musician. Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Davis: Margaret , E., born June 16, 1898, a student in the Marysville high school; D. Kenneth, born December 27, 1900: Martha E., born July 15, 1903, and M. Ester, born June 27. 1909.
Mr. Davis and his family are earnest members of the Methodist Episco- pal church at York Center and have always been active in its behalf. Mr. Davis is now the treasurer of the church and his wife is the chorister. Mrs. Davis is a member of the Ladies' Aid Society and president of the Dorcas Society of her church. She is also a member of the missionary society and a teacher of the young ladies' class in the Sunday school. Mr. Davis has al- ways given his hearty support to the Republican party and has served as trustee of his township in a manner which indicated that he is a man of abil- ity and integrity.
JOSHUA S. REA.
A farmer and highly respected citizen of Liberty township, Union county, Ohio, is Joshua S. Rea, who has been a resident of this county for four years. He is a quiet and unassuming man who, by a life of honest en- deavor, has endeared himself to a wide circle of friends and acquaintances during the years he has made this county his home.
Joshua S. Rea, the son of David and Ruth (Skidmore) Rea, was born in Logan county, Ohio, January 6, 1848. His father was a native of Vir- ginia, and his mother was born in Columbiana county, Ohio. David Rea and his wife were married in Logan county and were among the early pio- neers of that county. David Rea secured his land through the profits of a sugar camp. For his first augur, to be used in tapping sugar trees. he paid
(61)
962
UNION COUNTY, OHIO.
two coon skins, and was compelled to go to Urbana, a distance of twenty miles to secure the augur. After clearing his land in Logan county he built a log house and otherwise improved his farm, and here he and his wife lived the remainder of their lives. David Rea was a soldier in the War of I812, and a highly respected citizen of the community where he spent the greater part of his life. David Rea and wife were the parents of thirteen children, Joshua S. being the only one now living. The others were John, Mrs. Fannie Brooks, Mrs. Mary Ann Meade, Mrs. Shady Heath, Mrs. Caroline Perkins, Mrs. Ruth Hisey, David. Jr., Joshua S. and five who died when young.
Joshua S. Rea was reared on his father's farm in Perry township, Logan county, Ohio, and received such education as was afforded by the common schools of his boyhood days. He remained at home until his mar- riage in 1868, and then located in his home county on a farm in Perry township, where he remained until 1910. He then came to Union county and located in Liberty township, where he has since resided. He is the owner of a fine little farm of forty-three and one-half acres which, by in- tensive farming, yields him a very comfortable living. He and his wife are interested in the various activities of the community and are held in esteem by their neighbors and friends.
Joshua S. Rea was married January 1, 1868, to Jane C. Supler, a native of Logan county, Ohio, and to this union six children have been born : Irwin D., a decorator living in Bellefontaine, Ohio; Thomas C., a farmer of Liberty township, who married Iva B. Skidmore; Guy, a decorator liv- ing in West Mansfield, Ohio; Ogle Herman, a railroad man; Samuel, de- ceased, and Iza, deceased.
Mrs. Rea is a daughter of Samuel and Nancy (Campbell ) Supler, her father being a native of West Virginia and her mother's birth having oc- curred near Circleville. Pickaway county, Ohio. They were married in the latter county where they remained two years, when they moved to Logan county, Ohio, near East Liberty, and here they lived the remainder of their lives. They were among the early pioneers of Logan county, arriving there when the county was practically a wilderness. They were the parents of eleven children, all of whom are deceased with the exception of Mrs. Rea and her sister, Sarah Ann. The others were Mary, Rachel, Edward and Thomas. Edward died while in Libby prison, in the South, during the War of the Rebellion and Thomas died in a hospital during the war. The rest of the children died when young. Nancy Campbell's great-grand-
.
963
UNION COUNTY, OHIO.
mother, Mary Campbell, was taken prisoner by the Indians while living near Chillicothe, Ohio, while her husband was absent from home. The Indians destroyed the 'home by fire, and at first they permitted Mrs. Campbell to carry her one-year-old baby away from the house. However, they shot and killed her after traveling a short distance. The baby lived for a time after- wards. Besides these depredations the Indians took as prisoner two girls and two boys, and killed and quartered another girl, strewing her remains along the road of the father's return. The other children were kept in captivity so long that the youngest forgot his name, but they were later re- turned to their relatives near Chillicothe.
Mr. Rea and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church at North Greenfield, Ohio, and have long been interested in its welfare. He is a member of East Liberty Lodge No. 247, Free and Accepted Masons, while politically, he has long been affiliated with the Republican party. In all the elements of manhood and good citizenship Mr. Rea has measured up to the full standard of the good American citizen and is well deserving of the high esteem in which he is held.
NATHAN L. MOFFITT.
The Moffitt family are of Scotch-Irish descent and came to America about the year 1770 and located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The first member of the family, concerning whom definite information is recorded, is Robert Moffitt, the great great-grandfather of Nathan L. Moffiitt, with whom this narrative deals. About the middle of the eighteenth century Robert Moffitt emigrated from Scotland to Ireland and there married Mar- garet Stewart and both he and his wife lived the remainder of their days in Ireland, where they reared a family of eleven children, James, Charles, Will- iam, Adam, Margaret, Mary, Catherine, Robert, Hugh, John and Patrick.
Of these eleven children, Hugh became the head of the line represented by Nathan L. Moffitt, of York township, Union county, Ohio. Hugh, the great-grandfather of Nathan, emigrated about 1770 and located first in Philadelphia and later in Randolph and Calhoun counties, North Carolina. where he lived until about 1798. In that year Hugh Moffitt and his family came to Chillicothe, Ohio, where he died in 1799. The wife of Hugh Moffitt was a daughter of Charles Davis, of North Carolina, a native of England who had come to the United States and first located at Philadelphia and
964
UNION COUNTY, OHIO.
later removed to North Carolina. Hugh Moffitt and wife were the parents of ten children, Robert, John, Joshua, Charles, Joseph, Jeremiah, Ruth, Nathan, Hannah and Mary.
Nathan Moffitt, the grandfather of Nathan L., was born in 1783 in North Carolina and married Catharine Raines, a native of Highland county, Ohio. To this union nine children were born, Benjamin, Hugh, Nathan, Lawrence, William, Adam, Charity, Hannah and Anna.
Lawrence Moffitt enlisted in Shelby county, Ohio, in Company D, Seventy-first Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He served from 1861 to 1864, being discharged for disability and dying in 1865, at Bodkins, Ohio. He was the son of Nathan Moffitt, was born in Champaign county, Ohio, October 25, ISII, and married Elizabeth Johnson, of Greene county, Ohio. To this union five children were born: John D., a sailor; Nathan L., with whom this narrative deals; William F., of Urbana, Ohio; Carrie, the wife of J. W. Miller, and Isabelle, the wife of Mahlon Wright. The mother of these chil- dren died September 14, 1911, at Byhalia, Ohio.
Nathan L. Moffitt was born in Highland county, Ohio, May 29, 1853, and was reared in Greene and Shelby counties, Ohio. He applied himself with diligence to his studies and after completing his education in the com- mon schools, qualified for the position of a teacher in the public schools of his county. For twenty-five terms he taught in the district schools of York and Washington townships, in Union county, Ohio, during which time he attended the Ohio Normal School at Ada, becoming a student there in 1879. In 1912 Mr. Moffitt entered the law department of the Normal School at Ada and in the following year graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Laws, being sixty years of age at the time he received his degree. He has the honor of being the oldest man who ever graduated from the school and the oldest man in the state of Ohio who ever passed the bar ex- amination. He was admitted to the practice of law in Union county in June, 1914, and is devoting all of his time to his law work. He has been a justice of the peace of York township for the past fourteen years, and in this capacity had read widely in order to administer the affairs of his office in a satisfactory manner. During his long career as a teacher he has filled various official positions, having been president of the school board of his township as well as holding other township offices.
Mr. Moffitt was married April 30. 1879, to Dillie Stalder, the daughter of Casper and Mary (Howard) Stalder, and to this union one daughter has been born. Gertrude, who is now a teacher in the public schools of Union county.
965
UNION COUNTY, OHIO.
Casper Stalder, the father of Mrs. Moffitt, was born near Berne, Swit- zerland, September 24, 1809, and died near York in Union county, Ohio, February 11, 1894. He came to the United States with his parents in 1819 and located at Marrietta, Ohio, where he grew to manhood. He first worked on the Ohio canal in 1831, receiving twenty-five cents a day for his ser- vices. His father bought land in Athens county for twenty-five cents an acre and lived there until his death in 1824. Casper was fifteen years of age at the time of his father's death and then began drilling salt wells, and for fifteen years followed this line of business. He bought a drilling outfit for fifteen hundred dollars and drilled for himself for several years. He helped to drill the first salt well in the Hocking valley. Casper Stalder was married December 15, 1836, to Mary Howard, and to this union several children were born, Henry. Elizabeth, Lydia, Charles, Johannah, Senica, Dilley and Ruth.
Mr. Moffitt has been a life-long Republican and has held many official positions at the hands of his party and filled all of them with commendable satisfaction. Mr. Moffitt has been deeply interested in the welfare of his community and has never failed to lend his hearty support to all measures of general good. He is a man of indomitable energy, as is shown by the fact that he entered law school and graduated at the time that he did. His zeal is indeed commendable and the history of such a man should find a place in the annals of his county.
W. F. STINER.
The best history of a community is that which deals most with the lives and activities of its people, and especially of those who by their own en- deavors and energy have forged to the front and placed themselves where they deserve the title of progressive men. In this brief biography will be found the record of W. F. Stiner, who has worked himself up from the foot of the ladder and has achieved a career which speaks well for his in- dustry, his application and his high integrity. Born and reared on the farm, he has that independence of mind and self-reliance which characterizes men who are born on the farm and reared close to nature. No truer blessing can befall a bay than to be reared on the farm, in the healthful, life-inspiring labor of the fields.
W. F. Stiner, the proprietor of a general store at New Dover, Ohio, was born March 2. 1868, in Paris township, this county. He is a son of
966
UNION COUNTY, OHIO.
Joseph and Margaret (Louck) Stiner. His father was born in this county and is the son of Christopher and Ruth (Gilson) Stiner. Joseph Stiner was a farmer and influential citizen of this county, and is now making his home in New Dover. He and his wife have reared a family of seven children, all of whom are still living: W. F., of New Dover; Ora, the wife of R. D. Cook; Trell; Roy; Laura, the wife of George Lowery; Mollie, the wife of Frank Land, and Effie, who became the wife of Charles Hildreth.
W. F. Stiner attended the school at District No. 12, in his home town- ship, and worked on his father's farm from his earliest boyhood days. He continued farm life until about six years ago, when he bought the general store of L. L. Williams, at New Dover. He owns the store building and also a comfortable home in New Dover. Since acquiring the store has largely increased the stock of the store. He is a genial man and by his courteous manner and honest methods of business has attracted new customers with the result that his trade is increasing rapidly.
Mr. Stiner was married in April, 1891, to Grace Montgomery, the daughter of John C. and Rebecca (Williams) Montgomery. John C. Mont- gomery is a plasterer by trade and lives in New Dover, having been born in this county. Mr. Stiner and his wife have two children, Carl and Ethel. The daughter is the wife of Walter Thompson and has one daughter, Madeline.
Politically, Mr. Stiner is a Democrat and has served his fellow citizens as township assessor. The earnest labors and honest dealings of Mr. Stiner have resulted in a large measure of success in a material way, and at the same time have been the means of winning for him the confidence and hearty approbation of his neighbors and fellowmen.
JOSEPH W. KIRBY.
The greater portion of the wealth of Union county, Ohio, is invested in farming land and much of the material prosperity of the county is due to the success which has attended the farmers in the tilling of the soil and the raising of live stock. Dover township has many excellent farmers, and among them Joseph W. Kirby has occupied a prominent place for the past sixteen years. His father came to this county seventy years ago and since that time the various members of the family have taken a prominent part in the history of Union county. Mr. Kirby has taken an active part in the
967
UNION COUNTY, OIIIO.
civic life of his township and has served with eminent satisfaction to his fellow citizens as trustee, in which office he has performed faithful and efficient service.
Joseph W. Kirby, the son of Thomas and Rebecca (Shinnaberry ) Kirby, was born January 3, 1852, in Claibourne township. His father was a native of Frederick county, Maryland, and came to Knox county, Ohio, when a young man. He grew to manhood in that county, married and bought a farm, which he later sold and moved to Union county, arriving here in 1845. He purchased a farm in Union county and here he lived for the remainder of his days. Ten children were born to Thomas Kirby and wife, William, Matilda, Lydia, Fleming, Elizabeth, Kate, Abner, Mary, Thomas and Joseph. All of these children with the exception of William and Joseph are deceased.
The education of Joseph W. Kirby was received in the schools of Clai- bourne township. He assisted his father on the home farm until he mar- ried in 1877. after which he farmed on the old homestead for three years and then moved to Delaware county. He lived there ten years and then moved to his present farm of sixty-three acres, where he has since resided. It lies about seven miles northeast of Marysville. He has divided his at- tention between general farming and stock raising, and by careful tilling of his land has succeeded in winning a very comfortable competence from the soil.
Mr. Kirby was married October 14. 1877, to Eva Ledley. the daughter of Lloyd and Amanda (Cosner) Ledley. The Ledley family came from Maryland and located first in Morrow county, Ohio, and then moved to Delaware county, and still later to Union county, where they located in 1871. Mr. Kirby and wife are the parents of six children: Marietta, deceased ; Elsie, the wife of C. W. Griffith, and the mother of one son, Ray: Joseph Alva, who is still at home: William, who was married November 24, 1914. to Effie Mathews, of Virginia; Dora A., who married James H. Ritten- house and has one daughter. Eva Fern; Glenn, at home.
Politically, Mr. Kirby has been a Democrat since reaching his majority and has always taken an active interest in local political matters. His party nominated him for the office of township trustee a few years ago, and he was subsequently elected to that position. He filled it with credit to himself and satisfaction to the citizens of his township. Mr. Kirby has lived his entire life in Union county with the exception of the ten years in Delaware county, and has so lived that he has won and retained the high esteem of all with whom he has come in contact.
968
UNION COUNTY, OHIO.
CLAYTON I. POWELL.
A prominent young farmer and stock raiser of Liberty township, Union county, Ohio, is Clayton I. Powell, who is the proprietor of the "Glendale Stock Farm." He is engaged in the breeding of Duroc hogs, his herd being headed by Defender Colonel. Mr. Powell is a young man of great energy and ability, a graduate of Antioch College, and an auctioneer who is already making a name for himself throughout this section of the state. He is one of the few auctioneers of the state who has attended an auctioneering college, and it is safe to predict that within a few years Mr. Powell will be ranked among the leaders in his profession in the state of Ohio.
Clayton I. Powell, the son of Edgar and Amanda (Kilbury) Powell, was born in Canaan township, Madison county, Ohio, July 12, 1881. His father, the son of Joshua and Lavina (Fisher) Powell, was born in Logan county, Ohio, April 19, 1856. Joshua Powell was a son of William Powell, who came to the United States from Germany. Joshua Powell was born near New Cleveland, Ohio, and came to Union county, where he married Lavina Fisher. Edgar, the father of Clayton I., was the fourth child in the family. Edgar Powell was reared on his father's farm in Logan county, Ohio, and educated in the common schools of his county and also in the schools of Ridgeville, Indiana. He was married September 30, 1880. to Amanda Kilbury, the daughter of T. T. and Darthula ( Perkins) Kilbury.
Edgar Powell and wife are the parents of four children, Clayton, Ida, Dale T. and Glenn B. Ida is the wife of Joseph Zimmerman and lives in this county. She graduated from the Plain City high school and later from the Ada Normal School of Elocution. Dale T. is a graduate of the Plain City high school and of the Bliss Business College of Columbus, and is now a bookkeeper. Glenn B., who is only eighteen years of age, is the boy who raised the champion acre of corn in Canaan township, Madison county, Ohio, in the year 1914. He also exhibited the prize Duroc sow in the boys' judging contest in September, 1914.
Clayton I. Powell was born in the same house in which his maternal grandfather was born in Madison county, Ohio. His maternal great-grand- father built the house. Mr. Powell's great-grandfather was Thomas Kil- bury, a son of Richard Kilbury, of Vermont, who came from England on the eve of the Revolutionary War and served in that conflict.
Clayton I. Powell was educated in the schools of Madison county, Ohio, and later became a student at Antioch College, at Yellow Springs,
969
UNION COUNTY, OHIO.
Ohio. He then entered the Missouri Auction School at Trenton, Missouri, and graduated August 1, 1911. Since that time he has done a large amount of auctioneering in Union and surrounding counties, and has already made a name for himself in this particular line of activity. Mr. Powell has a fine farm in Liberty township, where he is extensively engaged in the breeding of Duroc hogs, and has made a pronounced success in this venture.
Mr. Powell was married September 8, 1906, to Celia Skidmore, the daughter of John H. and Elizabeth (Inskeep) Skidmore. Mrs. Powell was born in Logan county, Ohio, August 3, 1884, and is a graduate of the high school. To this union four children have been born: Eileen, born June 6, 1907: Imogene, born July II. 1908; Opal, born October 1I, 1910, and Grace, born February 15, 1913.
Mr. Powell and his family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church at West Mansfield, Ohio. He is a member of the West Mansfield Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons and is at present the master of his lodge. Although he is a staneh Republican in politics, yet he has never taken an active part in political affairs. He is one of the most progressive young farmers of the county and a man of great energy and ability. He has a host of friends and acquaintances who are attracted to him because of his winning personality and high character.
WARREN S. LOCKWOOD.
A life long farmer of Union county, Ohio, as was his father before hini, Warren S. Lockwood has been a valued citizen of Liberty township for more than half a century. He has never failed to give his hearty support to such measures as make up good citizenship. In this respect he measures up to the highest standard of the good American citizen who is interested in his country's welfare. He and his good wife have reared a large family of children to lives of usefulness and have had the satisfaction of seeing them take their places as good members of society.
Warren S. Lockwood, the son of Thomas E. and Julia ( Safford) Lock- wood, was born in Taylor township, Union county, Ohio, in a log cabin on the present site of the village of Broadway. His father was born in Liberty township and his mother was born in the state of New York. They were married in Union county, Ohio, and were the parents of eight children, five of whom are still living: Evaline, the widow of A. Martin; Harrison.
970
UNION COUNTY, OHIO.
of Kansas; Edward, a farmer of Liberty township: Ella. the wife of J. J. Ford, of Kansas, and Warren S. Thomas E. Lockwood was a soldier in the Civil War and was killed in the battle of Shiloh, April 7, 1862.
Warren S. Lockwood was reared on a farm in Union county and edu- cated in the district schools of his immediate neighborhood. Upon reach- ing his majority he was married and began farming in Taylor township, where he resided until the year 1878. Then he moved to Liberty township to the farm where he now resides. He has a fine farm of fifty acres three miles from Raymond, and here he lives that quiet and unostentatious life of the good American farmer and devotes himself to general farming and stock raising, and by a system of intensive farming has made a comfortable living for himself and family.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.