USA > Ohio > Knox County > Past and present of Knox County, Ohio, Vol. II > Part 7
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In every-day life, George J. Ewers is a man whose word is as good, if not better. than the bond of most men. Honesty and integrity are no mean- ingless terms with him and his records as a man and citizen are without blem- ish. He is a leader in this part of the county in public affairs, and because of his interest in all that makes for the good of the county, his industry and genial address, his unassuming nature and his loyalty to all that is ennobling and in harmony with the right as he sees and understands the right, have made him esteemed with a wide circle of friends and acquaintances.
RICHARD D. PURDY.
The subject of this review is a gentleman of high standing to whom has not been denied a full measure of success. He is one of the representative farmers of Clay township, having long been a recognized factor of import- ance in connection with not only the agricultural interests of this and other sections, but has also been identified with the growth and prosperity of the vicinities where he has been pleased to reside. He is a connecting link between the pioneer epoch and the present period, his family having been early resi- dents of the Buckeye state.
Richard D. Purdy was born on November 9, 1833, on a farm in Holmes county, Ohio. He is the son of Elijah and Clarinda ( Babcock) Purdy, the father born in Wayne county, Pennsylvania, and the mother in Coshocton county, Ohio. The father came to Holmes county, Ohio, about 1818, when eighteen years of age, his parents both being deceased, and here he engaged in farm work, the country then being little developed. He devoted his life to farming and was also a minister in the old-school Baptist church. He spent the remainder of his life in Holmes county and there his death occurred on October 16, 1872, his widow surviving until in July. 1876. They were the parents of ten children, six sons and four daughters. Six of them are now
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living, namely : Richard D., of this review, is the oldest of the sons living ; Julia Ann, the oldest of the children, resides in Carthage, Missouri, at the advanced age of ninety years, being the widow of Dr. D. B. Stickney ; Ephraim lives in Vanwert county, Ohio; Mercy Jane is the widow of Em- manuel Shaffer, of Allen county, Ohio; Eliah lives in Pittsburg, Pennsyl- vania; John C. lives in Harrison township, this county ; those deceased are Lucinda, Ruth, Edward and Ozias Wilson.
Richard D. Purdy was reared on the farm and was educated in the country district schools, but his education was limited. When eighteen years of age he began learning the carpenter's trade and he worked at that for forty years in many counties in Ohio and Kansas, also Missouri and Indiana. Being a skilled workman, his services were always in great demand, and many are the substantial dwellings, barns and business houses over the country that stand today as monuments to his skill as a builder.
Mr. Purdy was married on February 8, 1854, to Rachael Purdy, who was born November 28, 1833, the daughter of Nathaniel and Clara ( Nichol- son) Purdy, of Holmes county, this family having originally come from Wayne county, Pennsylvania.
Seven children have been born to the subject and wife, namely : Julia A. is the wife of Simon J. Dudgeon, of Gambier ; Clarenda V. married Abraham Morningstar, of Gambier; Jasper N. lives in Allen county, Ohio; Emory E. lives in the state of Washington ; John C. lives in Clay township, this county ; Chauncey V. lives in Pleasant township, this county ; Henry Valentine lives in Centerburg. There has not been a death in the family.
After his marriage Mr. Purdy settled in Allen county, Ohio, in the woods and there began clearing the land, and in time he had a good farm which he superintended, but also carried on his trade of carpenter. From there he moved to Jefferson county, Kansas, in 1864, where he became the owner of a farm and in connection with it followed his trade. The health of himself and family not being of the best in the Sunflower state, they re- turned to Ohio in 1866, locating in Harrison township, Knox county, where he bought a farm and also followed carpentering. In 1876 he bought his present farm in Clay township and soon thereafter moved his family to the same and here he has since resided. For a number of years after moving here he followed carpenter contracting. He became the owner of two hun- dred and thirty-four acres of land, but he has disposed of his land until he now has but one hundred and twenty acres .. It is well improved and un- der a high state of cultivation, and here he carries on general farming and stock raising, making a specialty of sheep. He has a large, substantial and
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attractive home and good buildings of all kinds on his place. His home is two miles north of Martinsburg.
Politically, Mr. Purdy is a Democrat and he has served as justice of the peace, also as a member of the local board of education. He has kept well informed on public questions and has ever manifested an interest in public matters. He and part of his family are members of the Baptist church and they are prominent in all circles in which they move.
LORAN E. MAHAN.
This well known citizen is another of the old soldiers who went out to fight their country's battles nearly fifty years ago. What a splendid sight it is at the present day to see a company of these old soldiers go by on Decoration day or the Fourth of July, in their faded uniforms and with their tattered flags flying. But they will soon be gone forever, and nothing will be left but a memory. That memory should be something more than a sound. Their deeds should be perpetuated in song and story, in monument and perpetual commemoration, so that the future generations may draw inspiration from their patriotism and gallantry.
One of the honored veterans of that great war is Loran E. Mahan, farmer of Miller township, Knox county, who was born on June 3, 1848. in Milford township, this county. He is the son of Edgar and Weltha (Ellis) Mahan, both natives of Geneseo county, New York, and there they grew to maturity, received their education and were married. The father learned the shoemaker's trade, and he also farmed many years. His death occurred about 1880, his widow surviving a number of years.
Loran E. Mahan was reared on the home farm, where he worked when of proper age and he received his education in the common schools, though he never attended school after he was fourteen years of age. When the Civil war came on he wanted to go to the front, but was not old enough, so he waited patiently as the war progressed and when fifteen years old he en- listed in Company H, Eighty-second Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and served under General Sherman in his campaign about Atlanta and was with him on the memorable march to the sea, and until the close of the war, which found him in the Carolinas. He was wounded at the battle of Averasborough, North Carolina, in March, 1865, but continued with his regiment, never missing a day's duty while in the service, and he proved to be as faithful a
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soldier as any of the veterans in his regiment. After the close of the war he returned to the home farm in Knox county, where he continued to work until his marriage, on December 31, 1872, to Almeda Harris, daughter of Emer B. and Polly Ann (Dailey) Harris, of Liberty township, an early pioneer family from Virginia.
Two daughters and one son have been born to the subject and wife, namely: Anna, who married Thomas Robblee, of Lincoln, Nebraska ; Weltha married Edward Paswater, of Lincoln, Nebraska; Ralph L. lives in Malcolm, Nebraska.
After his marriage Mr. Mahan went to Champaign county, Illinois, where he remained four years, then went to Lancaster county, Nebraska, and continued to reside there until 1909, when he and his wife returned to Miller township, Knox county, Ohio. While living in Nebraska he engaged in farming and in breeding registered Jersey cattle and Essex hogs. He was an extensive breeder and became widely known as such. At the Columbian Ex- position at Chicago, 1893, perhaps the greatest world's fair ever held, he made seventeen entries of his thoroughbred hogs, and he had the good fortune to carry away seventeen prizes, thirteen of which were first prizes. Nine herds were competing. He was also an exhibitor at various state fairs and was always a prize winner. He was also extensively engaged in the dairy business with Lincoln, Nebraska, as his market point, among the families he furnished being that of William J. Bryan, who was a customer for several years. Mr. Mahan was also a large land owner and engaged in general farm- ing, but it was his fine stock that carried his name broadcast over the country. No better judge of live stock could be found than he and he has always been a great admirer of good breeds of various kinds of stock.
Since returning to Miller township, this county, Mr. Mahan bought what was known as the Miller farm, deeded to James Miller in 1814, and signed by President Madison, and it never changed title and was never mort- gaged, until bought by the subject in 1909. This excellent farm contains three hundred acres of as valuable land as the county affords, well improved and under a high state of cultivation, in fact, one of the choicest farms of the county. Mr. Mahan has laid miles of tile in the fields and in every way brought the place up to the most advanced standard, and he also carries on a system of crop rotation, and is in every way a successful and scientific farmer, and he carries on general farming and stock raising on an extensive scale. He has also begun fine horse breeding, thoroughbred Belgian horses, there being none finer in the state, and because of their superior quality his stock are greatly admired by all. He also breeds high grade Delaine sheep. He has
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been regarded as one of the most progressive and foremost farmers and breeders in whatever community he has lived.
Politically, Mr. Mahan is a Republican and he has been a loyal party man, always interested in public affairs and in whatever tended to promote the interests of his community. While living in Nebraska he was many times urged to become a candidate for the county offices, but always declined, hav- ing never been an office seeker. Fraternally, he is a member of the Lilford Grange, Patrons of Husbandry. His fine farm lies five and one-half miles southwest of Mt. Vernon and he has a modern, attractive and pleasant home, surrounded by large, convenient barns, stock sheds and various outbuildings ; he has replaced all the deficient structures on the farm with substantial ones, and everything about the place denotes thrift, good management and pros- perity.
Personally, Mr. Mahan is an obliging, unassuming, public-spirited gentle- man whose integrity is unquestioned.
JAMES COLGIN.
It is no doubt true that Ireland, of all countries of the world, has sent more emigrants in proportion to population to the United States than any other country, and the reason is well known. For hundreds of years the Emerald Isle has been denied many valuable rights and privileges by Great Britain, and the pride and honor of the people were ground into the dust. They could avoid all this only by leaving the island, much as they loved it, and accordingly thousands of them, as the years rolled round, have crossed the wide Atlantic to find a home of greater freedom in America. They began to come in large numbers after the Revolution and have continued to come until the present time. In every state they have settled and built up com- fortable homes. They were among our first teachers and business men, and today they occupy many of the proudest positions within the gift of the in- habitants.
In the northern part of Erin was born the late James Colgin, long a thrifty farmer of Butler township. Knox county, and an honored veteran of the Union army. When eleven years of age, he emigrated with his parents, Frank and Mary Ann Colgin, to the United States, soon afterwards locating in Knox county, Ohio, and here they farmed on rented land until their deaths, a few years after establishing their home in the new country. These parents had eight children, who grew to maturity, and three of them are still living.
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James Colgin was educated in the common schools of Knox county and here grew to manhood. He worked on the farm when a boy, by the month, later renting land, and finally, having gotten a start through his industry, he purchased a farm north of here. Later selling that, he bought a farm of one hundred and eighty-three acres in Butler township on which he placed many valuable improvements and made a comfortable living as a general farmer and stock raiser, establishing a good home and here he remained until his death, on May 4, 1904.
Mr. Colgin proved his loyalty to his adopted country during our great civil strife in the early sixties by enlisting in 1864 in an Ohio regiment and he served faithfully in the Federal army for nine months. Politically, he was a Republican, and in his fraternal relations was a member of the Masonic order. He also belonged to the Grand Army of the Republic.
Mr. Colgin was married on February 1I, 1866, to Mary M. Morning- star, who was born November 19, 1842, in Knox county, the daughter of William and Susan Morningstar, a highly esteemed old family of this county, who came here in pioneer days from Pennsylvania. The mother was a mem- ber of the Horn family, also prominent in the early life of the locality. Here Mrs. Colgin was reared and educated. Since the death of her husband she and her sons have operated the place, carrying on the work inaugurated by Mr. Colgin in a most praiseworthy manner.
Seven children were born to Mr. and Mrs. James Colgin, named as follows : William Sherman, Elizabeth Ann, Bertha E., Frank; Arthur, who superintends the farm: Benton teaches school and assists on the home farm in summer; Garfield was the youngest child. The father was a man whom everybody respected, for he had few personal faults and was neighborly, kind and generous.
TORRENCE MITCHELL.
A representative of one of the old and honored families of Knox county, which since pioneer days has been prominently connected with the develop- ment and substantial progress of this section of the state, Torrence Mitchell, farmer of Milford township, has worthily sustained the good reputation of the family through his active and useful life and prominence in connection with the agricultural industries of this favored section of the Buckeye state. There is utmost compatibility in here entering a brief review of his career, and aside from being a valuable and perpetual record, the article will be read with interest by the many friends of himself and family.
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Mr. Mitchell was born on the farm he now owns in Milford township, this county, on April 22, 1851. He is the son of Almon and Margaret (Haw- kins) Mitchell. The paternal grandparents, Sylvanus Mitchell and wife, were natives of Connecticut, where they spent their early lives, emigrating in an early day to Licking county, Ohio, and in 1824 they moved to Knox county when neighbors were few and a wild stretch of woods covered the earth. Here they established their home and spent the balance of their lives. The maternal grandparents, Harrison and Phebe (Lovell) Hawkins, were natives of Rhode Island, locating in Milford township with a colony from that state. Here Mr. Hawkins entered a farm of one hundred and sixty acres, which he cleared, developed and on which he and his wife spent the balance of their lives.
The father of the subject was born in Licking county, Ohio, in 1816 and the mother was born in Knox county in 1818. When eight years old the former came to Knox county and here grew to manhood and married and devoted his life to general farming and stock raising, being very successful and owning four hundred acres of good land at the time of his death. Politi- cally, he was a Republican and was more or less active in party affairs. His family consisted of thirteen children, twelve of whom grew to maturity and were married. Of the number, five sons and two daughters are still living. The mother was a member of the Church of Christ. The death of Almon Mitchell occurred on April 4, 1896, and his widow survived until in March, 190I.
Torrence Mitchell grew up on the home farm and assisted with the general routine of work there in his boyhood. He was educated in the public schools and in the Galena Academy. He began life for himself by teaching school, which vocation he followed for a period of ten years with much suc- cess, but he finally tired of the school room and took up farming. He re- mained on his father's farm awhile and then went to Tennessee, where he remained three years, then, his father urging him to take charge of the home farm, he returned here and has since operated the same in a most gratifying manner, keeping it well tilled and well improved. This place of one hundred and forty-two acres ranks with the best in Milford township. Mr. Mitchell also has a farm of one hundred acres in Tennessee. In connection with general farming he carries on stock raising, handling some good grades; however, he merely oversees the place, leaving the active work of the same to his son since April 1, 1910.
Politically, Mr. Mitchell is a Republican and he has held various town- ship offices. He is a member of the Grange, the only secret order to which he
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belongs, and he and his wife belong to the Church of Christ, he having been an elder for twenty years.
Mr. Mitchell was married on October 27, 1875, to Clara Stevens, a native of Knox county, and the daughter of John and Emmeline Stevens, old settlers here. Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell, namely : L. Grace, who was graduated from the Centerburg high school and Hiram College, has been engaged in social settlement work in Cleveland for the past eight years; Laura L. died when eighteen years of age; Margaret S., also a graduate of Centerburg high school and Hiram College, is also engaged in social settlement work in Cleveland; John S. was graduated from the Mt. Vernon high school, also took the short course in agriculture at the Ohio State University, and is now operating the home farm and has been very successful in carrying out the work inaugurated by his father.
JOHN A. HICKINBOTHAM.
Among the substantial farmers and stock men of Morgan township. Knox county, who deserve to rank high in the list of twentieth-century til- lers of the soil in this nature-favored locality is John A. Hickinbotham, a man who has worked hard for that which he now possesses, and knows how to appreciate the true dignity of labor and to place a correct estimate upon the value of money ; nevertheless, he is liberal in his benefactions and stands ever ready to support with his influence and means all measures for the ma- terial and moral welfare of his community, consequently he is well deserving a place in her history.
Mr. Hickinbotham was born on June 26, 1850, on a farm in Monroe county, Ohio. He is the son of Thomas and Elizabeth ( Hindley) Hickinbot- ham ; both parents were of German descent, but they were both born in Staf- fordshire, England, and there they grew up and were married. They emi- grated to America early in 1850 and settled in Monroe county, Ohio, where they spent the remainder of their lives.
The subject was reared on the home farm and educated in the public schools of Monroe county ; however, he is a self-educated man, having at- tended the schools in his community only twenty months. He has always been a deep student and kept well abreast of the times. He taught school successfully for a period of twenty years, his last certificate being dated De- cember 28, 1889, good for five years and covered fourteen different branches,
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in which he was graded as perfect in every one. He took high rank among the successful teachers of his day and his services were in great demand. For some time he was principal of the Graysville schools of Monroe county. In the fall of 1889 he closed his teaching career by conducting a teachers' nor- mal for several months ; he then entered the mercantile business at Graysville, Monroe county, and during all these years he was conducting a farm which he owned. He maintained his store at Graysville for a year and a half, then turned his attention exclusively to farming and also cared for the home place of his father after his mother's death. On his farm oil was developed which proved very profitable and in 1902 he left his farm in Monroe county, which he afterwards sold, retaining his oil interests and he came to Morgan town- ship, Knox county, two miles northwest of Morgan Center, and here he has since resided, his place consisting of one hundred and twenty acres, which he brought up to a high state of improvement and cultivation, and on which stands a modern and attractive home and large, convenient outbuildings. He keeps an excellent grade of live stock of all kinds.
Mr. Hickinbotham was first married on October 24, 1872, to Phebe A. Keyser, daughter of Jesse J. and Lucinda ( Riley) Keyser, of Monroe county. Ohio, the family being from Belmont county. One son and one daughter were born to this union, John J , of Muskingum county, and Eliza- beth J., deceased. The wife and mother passed to her rest on August 23, 1879, and on April 5, 1880, Mr. Hickinbotham was united in marriage with Margaret Daugherty, daughter of Simon and Mary E. ( Hilliard) Daugherty, of Monroe county, where Mr. Daugherty was born. Mrs. Daugherty was born in Pennsylvania. They are now both deceased. Four children were born of the second union of the subject, namely: Mary E., who married John S. Vance, of Miller township; Thomas S., of Utica, Licking county, Ohio : Everetta L. married A. B. Devore, of Morgan township, and Harrison H., who lives on the home farm.
Politically, Mr. Hickinbotham is a Republican and in his younger days was active in public affairs. He was chairman of the first Republican central committee in Monroe county at a time when that party was very much in the minority in Monroe county and for many years he was active in the party organization. He served as a member of the board of education at Grays- ville, and since coming to Knox county he has been trustee of Morgan town- ship.
Fraternally, Mr. Hickinbotham is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and the encampment of that order, also the Masonic order at Utica, Licking Lodge and chapter, council and commandery of that order
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at Mt. Vernon, and he is a thirty-second-degree member of the Columbus Consistory, and a member of Aladdin Temple, Ancient Arabic Order of No- bles of the Mystic Shrine at Columbus. He is also a member of Morgan Grange No. 828, Patrons of Husbandry. He and his wife are members of the Church of Christ. Personally, he is a man of broad intelligence, pro- gressive in all that the term implies, a man of affairs, public-spirited, oblig- ing and of genial address, being prominent in the life of the community.
JAMES LEROY SCOTT.
One of the successful farmers and stock raisers of Milford township, Knox county, is James Leroy Scott, who has succeeded at his chosen line of endeavor because he has persistently applied himself and has been thwarted by obstacles, but, having removed them one by one from his pathway, he has ascended to a high rung of success on the ladder on which he started at the bottom and he is therefore deserving of the esteem in which he is held by his neighbors and many friends.
Mr. Scott was born in this township on June 29, 1850, and he has been content to spend his life in his home community. He is the son of James and Sarah (Horn) Scott. His parental grandparents, Chinsworth and Jane (Fitch) Scott, were natives of Greene county, Pennsylvania, from which they came to Knox county, Ohio, about 1840 and settled on land which later became a part of Morrow county, and there became very well established on their farm, which the elder Scott cleared and on which he raised his family, and there he and his wife spent the balance of their lives. The maternal grandparents, Jacob and Priscilla Horn, were natives of Washington county, Pennsylvania, where they grew up, were married and spent their lives.
James Scott, father of the subject, was born in Greene county, Pennsyl- vania, in 1818 and the mother's birth occurred in Washington county, that state, in 1820, and they grew up and were married in their native state, com- ing to Ohio about 1842 or 1843, Mr. Scott having followed his parents here, and he located in Milford township, Knox county, and there he became owner of considerable land and was one of the substantial farmers of the township. Later, however, reverses which he could not control caused him to lose his property. He lived a quiet, retired life. He and his wife belonged to the Disciples church. His death occurred in March. 1899, and his wife died in May, 1879. They were the parents of five children, three of whom are liv-
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