USA > Ohio > Fairfield County > Pioneer period and pioneer people of Fairfield County, Ohio > Part 18
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Two children of this marriage grew up, Margaret and George, who married Harriet Holmes.
For this Tallman sketch we are indebted to Miss M. J. Roe, of Gilbert, Ohio.
THE WILSONS.
Nathaniel Wilson, Sr., was a native of Scotland. He with his parents were staunch Cameronian Pres- byterians and followed their leader, Robert Cameron,
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in an effort to free their church from the domination of Charles the Second of England.
The Presbyterians under Cameron met the English commander, the Duke of Monmouth, June 22, 1679, at Bothwell Bridge and were defeated. Cameron and many of his followers were captured, among them Na- thaniel Wilson, then but 19 years of age.
Cameron's hands were cut off with his own sword and it was then returned to him. As a mark of favor he presented it to Nathaniel Wilson, his youthful fol- lower. Wilson managed to make his escape, bearing with him the sword of his leader.
The persecution of the Presbyterians continued and he was obliged to flee the country, which he did, and landed in America. He settled in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, where he married, reared a fam- ily, and died in 1753, bequeathing to his eldest son, Nathaniel, the old Scotch Bible, the sword of Cameron and his Presbyterian faith. This son, Nathaniel, con- tinued to reside in Pennsylvania until the year 1798. when he emigrated to Ohio and settled in Fairfield County. The old home is about three miles west of Lancaster. He built himself a cabin and placed over the door the famous sword of Cameron, and over it in large letters, " The Sword of the Lord, and of Gid- eon."
Nathaniel Wilson died in 1815 and bequeathed the old homestead to his son Nathaniel, the man most gen- erally referred to, when people speak of Nathaniel Wilson.
Nathaniel Wilson, Sr., was an associate judge of the first court of this county.
In 1817, N. Wilson, Jr., set aside a plat of ground for burial purposes, and to insure it from desecration,
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Of Fairfield County, Ohio.
conveyed it to the President of the United States, October 24, 1817. The ground he subsequently en- closed by a high and strong stone wall and a young cedar of Lebanon was planted in the center, said to have come from Palestine. It is said that he took a personal interest in the work and was always there, and occasionally read a chapter from the old Scotch Bible.
This stone enclosure was to be enclosed by a good fence, and to provide for keeping it up he planted a grove of locust trees near his home, and in his will of April 12, 1838, he gave the grove to President Martin Van Buren, to be used as provided in his will. These interesting land marks, of long ago, are still attractive spots and are visited by many people. We regret to see the grove despoiled by the present owners of the old home. "Woodmen, spare that tree."
Mr. Wilson died May 12, 1839, before he had com- pleted the wall of his burial ground. His son Gustin Wilson, completed the work and complied with his father's will so long as he lived.
Nathaniel Wilson, Sr., was one of the first county commissioners. Nathaniel Wilson, Jr., had four brothers, William, Robert, James and Samuel, and two sisters.
Nathaniel Wilson married a Pennsylvania woman.
They were parents of five children, two sons and three daughters. One son while yet a young man was killed by a falling tree, that he was cutting down.
Gustin Wilson was born in 1806 and died in 1882. He married Margaret McClelland, niece of Col. John Noble. He was a most estimable man, a good citizen, a good farmer and a staunch Presbyterian. Like all good men he revered and honored the memory of his father.
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His son Harvey is a clergyman of the Presbyterian Church and resides at Mackinac, Mich.
Zella Wilson, daughter of Nathaniel, married Ste- phenson Peters, son of Samuel Peters of Amanda township. They settled in Walnut township Pickaway County, where members of the family still reside. Norman Peters occupies the homestead.
Alice Wilson, married Nathan Peters, son of Sam- uel. Nathan moved to Marion, Ohio, where he spent a long and useful life and reared a good family. Mrs. Peters was buried in the stone graveyard beside her parents.
Mendana Wilson married Joel Gallagher, a brother- in-law of Robinson J. Peters. They became owners of the old Nathaniel Wilson homestead and spent their lives there, in the peaceful pursuit of agriculture. A grand-daughter of this couple married Dr. Reese of Lancaster, Ohio.
One of the daughters of Nathaniel Wilson, Sr., married a Larimer and they lived upon a farm in the neighborhood.
Another married a Mr. Crocket of Tennessee.
James Wilson married a Miss Edwards in 1802, but did not live long, dying in 1807. His son John Wilson lived to an old age on a part of what is now the Carlisle farm. He sold out to Major Carlyle and moved to Shelby County, Illinois. The widow of James Wilson, for her second husband, married Thomas Carlisle in 1813, and they reared quite a large family. Their son, B. W. Carlisle, was a prominent man and a State Sen- ator.
Mrs. Carlisle was a sister of Mrs. Margaret Ewing, mother of Thomas E., William and James Ewing. Her
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father lived in Ross County. She was a member of the Presbyterian Church.
Thomas Carlisle came from Virginia in 1811, and died on his farm in 1844. He was a justice of the peace and a county commissioner. One of his sons, Dr. Carlisle, died in Arkansas. One of his daughters married Christian Graybill of Illinois; another George Allen of Illinois; another John C. McFarland, and another a banker at Hillsboro, Ohio, Mr. Barrere. Mrs. Carlisle died January 14, 1866.
Robert Wilson, son of Nathaniel, Sr., was born in Pennsylvania in 1774 and died on his farm in 1844. His wife was Jane Donovan, who was born in 1777. She died in 1865, aged 88 years. Newton D., born in 1811, died young; Josephine M., born in 1810, died young. James Madison was born in 1812, and lived and died a bachelor in California. He was a soldier of the Mexican War. Elizabeth Wilson, daughter of Robert Wilson, Sr., was born in 1813. She married F. A. Foster, a Lancaster, O., merchant. She died in the year 1898. She has a son living in St. Louis, and one living in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Robert Wilson, son of Robert Wilson, Sr., was born in 1817. His wife was Mary Sweitzer, whose parents came from Switzerland. They were the parents of five children, two of whom are dead. Robert Wilson was a farmer all of his life and a good one. He was one of our best citizens, esteemed by his neighbors. We had no better citizens than Robert Wilson. He was a prominent member of the Presbyterian Church.
Daniel Webster when here visiting Senator Ewing in 1833 called upon Robert Wilson and enjoyed his hospitality.
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Smith Kerns Wilson, son of Robert Wilson, Sr., was born in 1821, and married a Miss Coney. He was for many years a prominent farmer of Hocking town- ship, and hoping to better his condition, he sold out and moved to Tennessee, where in a short time he was killed by the bullet of an assassin. His family left the in- hospitable country and moved to Colorado.
We have not been able to learn what became of the Cameron sword. It seems to have been lost. Such a rare relic ought to have been preserved.
Samuel Wilson, son of Nathaniel Wilson, Sr., was born in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. He was married to Miss Jane Martin. He came with his father to Ohio in 1798. He lived upon the farm where Frank Peters now lives. They were the parents of five or six children. Samuel was in the war of 1812 and died soon after his discharge. His widow died at the home of her son in Peoria, Ill.
Elizabeth a daughter of this couple was born in 1809 and married John M. Woodward, a carpenter, in 1833. Woodward worked upon the old Presbyterian church. He lived for a time in Logan and died in Bluffton, Indiana, in 1881. His wife died in Lan- caster, in 1895. Their son Samuel lives in Columbus, and Asa B. Woodward lives in Madison, Iowa. He is a steamboat captain. Sarah J., married Jacob Bum- gardner, a Lancaster blacksmith.
Margaret married James Ruff of Logan. Lorain married William Stuckey, son of Joseph Stuckey, of Carthage, Missouri. Ruth married Augustus Magoon in Logan, Ohio. Josiah Wilson, son of Samuel, lived and died in Peoria, Illinois ; never married. John Wil- son, son of Samuel, lived in Franklin County.
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Of Fairfield County, Ohio.
Margaret Wilson married William Thompson. They lived in Ross and Brown Counties, and finally in Illinois. Samuel Dudley Wilson, son of Samuel, was a farmer and a merchant in Washburn, Ill., and moved from there to Peoria, Ill., where he died.
William Wilson, son of Nathaniel, Sr., married Rachel, daughter of General James Wells and lived upon the farm now owned by his son James Wells Wil- son. We refer the reader to the sketch of the Wells family for information in regard to his family.
THE CRUMLEY FAMILY.
The ancestor of the Crumley family was Valentine Gramlich, who immigrated to this country from the Duchy of Wuertemberg, Germany. He arrived at Phil- adelphia September 19, 1749. Valentine and his sons founded the Lutheran Church at Weisenberg town- ship, in Lehigh County, Penn., soon after their settle- ment in that county, in 1749. Valentine Crumley was a man of influence and high standing in his county, and a leading public spirited citizen. He was the father of five children, viz., George, who died near Danville, Penn. ; Paul, who died at the old homestead ; Daniel, Ann M., and Christian moved to Ohio as early as 1805. Gramlich soon became Crumley.
Three sons of Paul moved to Ohio in 1815 - Jonathan, Jacob and Paul. They settled in Pickaway County, Ohio. Paul died March, 1826. He left four sons, James, Stephen, Thomas and William. William was born in Pennsylvania March 19, 1813, and he died May, 1888, aged 75 years. He was the father of the Hon. T. E. Crumley, late a trustee of the Boys' Indus- 1 trial School, and State Senator from Pickaway County, Ohio.
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Daniel Crumley, late of Bloom township, was a son of Christian Crumley. He was born in Bloom town- ship, December 11, 1807. He married Miss Jane Beeten, daughter of Peter Beeten. She was born July 5, 1811. Their children numbered fourteen, and nine of them preceded him to the grave. Those living at the time of his death, November 30, 1891, were Mrs. A. W. Killits, of Chicago, Ill .; Mrs. T. J. Arnold, Lancaster, Ohio; Mrs. W. H. Stallsmith, Girard, Ohio; E. M. Crumley, Springfield, Ohio, and A. I. Crumley, Lithopolis, Ohio.
Daniel Crumley was a very prominent and useful man in his township. He was a Justice of the Peace for twelve years, and was for several terms a town- ship trustee. He was a very competent administrator on estates, and settled up twenty-five in his life time. His second wife was a Mrs. Buxton of the County of Licking.
Mr. Crumley was an upright, honorable man, widely known and highly esteemed. He was a bro- ther of Conrad Crumley of Hocking township, and grandfather of Frank Crumley of the Lancaster Gazette.
Conrad Crumley, son of Christian and Salome Crumley, was born in Penn township, Northampton County, Penn., on the 24th of January, 1802 ; his par- ents were Lutherans and the infant Conrad was bap- tized and brought up in that faith.
In the year 1803 Christian Crumley with his fam- ily, left Pennsylvania to seek a new home in Ohio. They made a temporary stop in Lancaster, and during that time one of his children died. He purchased a section of woodland in Bloom township, built a cabin and moved his family to the new home, about one inile
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west of Rock Mill. Here young Conrad remained un- til he became a man. He assisted his father in clear- ing up his farm, and tasted the joys and endured the privations of pioneer life. When 18 years of age he was confirmed a member of the Lutheran Church, and to the end of his life was a faithful member and a con- sistent Christian. His membership at this time was at the Glick church, Rev. M. J. Steck, pastor.
On two occasions Christian Crumley loaded flat boats at Gallipolis for New Orleans. Conrad drove the team that carried, or drew, the produce to load these boats. He made nine trips in one winter, through an almost unbroken forest to Gallipolis, a distance of one hundred miles.
February 23, 1824, Conrad Crumley was married to Miss Mary M. Feller. He then settled upon a quarter section of land donated by his father, entirely in the woods. He lived in a rude cabin and devoted his energies to clearing up his farm, where his son Daniel now resides, in Hocking township.
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Here he lived a quiet, peaceful life for forty-one years, and reared a large family of children, eleven in number. Two of his sons were in the Union army. After the war two of them, George and Daniel, were in Columbus and took passage on the same coach with Colonel McVeigh and family. The coach was upset and MeVeigh and his son were killed. The Crumley boys remained with the family and brought the dead to Lancaster. When a friend spoke to the old man and praised his boys for their good conduct, tears came to his eyes and he replied : "I am proud of my boys."
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Conrad Crumley was one of the grand old men of the past, one whose example for good was felt in a very large circle of acquaintances. He was for a number of years a trustee of St. Peter's Lutheran Church, Lancaster, and later of Trinity, near his home. He died March 8, 1879, aged 77 years. He had been married 55 years. His son David married Sarah, a daughter of the late Daniel Ward.
John Married Catharine Miller of this county. Peter married Catharine, a daughter of the late George H. Strode. Daniel, married Rebecca Strode. They live on the old Crumley farm. Daniel was a Union soldier during the war. George married Ma- tilda Brobst. Mary became the wife of Daniel Hoff- man. Elizabeth is the wife of Amos Graham. All are farmers and have fine homes in the neighborhood where they were born and raised.
There are many grandchildren and great-grand- children of Conrad Crumley, but the list is too long .
for special mention.
THE GRAHAM FAMILY
The Graham family is not a large one, but for one hundred years it has been an honored and respected one in the United States, and for seventy-five years well known and esteemed in Fairfield County. Wil- liam Graham was one of the early teachers of Fairfield County, a class of men who deserve immortal honor, for they taught under great difficulties and were faith- ful and earnest in their work.
Arthur Graham, the ancestor, was born in Tyrone county, Ireland. He came to the United States about the year 1791 and landed in the city of Baltimore. He was then 19 years of age. He came with an uncle
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and several cousins, but it is not known that any one of his own family ever came to America.
He married Nancy Hanna, who was reared about five miles below Hagerstown, Md. To them were born three sons and two daughters. William, the oldest son, was born near Hagerstown, June 4, 1799. Eliz- abeth, the second child, married Leonard Bumgardner. Samuel married Nancy Thomas. James, the fourth child, married Nancy Givens. James died in 1896 in Scioto County, Ohio, aged 90 years. Fanny, the youngest daughter, married James Givens and they lived and died in Pike County, Ohio.
Arthur Graham was a man of giant strength and famous for his feats in that line. He at one time carried nine bushels of rye some distance and ascended five or six steps with the burden on his back. These things are remembered, for the strong man was in. pioneer times the pride of his neighbors.
William, of whom and his family we have more particularly to sketch, at the age of twenty-two years married the widow of John C. Flood, whose husband was a soldier of the war of 1812, and died in the hos- pital at Norfolk, Va. She, was the mother of the late John C. Flood and Washington Flood of Lancaster, Ohio.
The Floods were Virginia slavcholders, and the grandfather of John C. and Washington willed them an interest in his slaves. These slaves were eman- cipated thirty years before Abraham Lincoln issued his famous proclamation of emancipation. William Gra- ham and his wife lived on Patterson creek, Hampshire County, Va. On the 20th of October, 1822, he placed his family and his belongings in a Conestoga wagon drawn by four horses - wife and babe, his two step-
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sons, and two nephews, Henry and August Burnham, constituted his family. They turned their faces to the far west, and crossing the north branch of the Potomac at Washington bottoms, made their way to Carter's tavern, five miles west of Cumberland, and followed the emigrant road over the mountains to Brownsville, thence to Washington, Penn., and on to Wheeling, on the Ohio river.
In crossing the river their cow refused to go upon the boat and swam the river ; becoming confused, she turned back to the shore whence she started. In time she was got over, but swam the river three times in so doing. From Wheeling they passed through St. Clairsville, Cambridge and Zanesville, over the old Zane trace. This was before the national pike was built. Arriving at Lancaster, they turned south to Madison township, where William Graham had, while in Virginia, rented a farm of one Philip Welsheimer. When he reached the farm he found that it had been sold to Major John V. Pearse.
Here his trouble began. For two weeks he hunted for a farm, without success, leaving his goods in his wagon. He was finally compelled to place his family in an old school house with a dirt floor. Here his family remained over winter, he teaching a school in the neighborhood, his wife and boys taking care of the team and cow. In the spring of 1823 he rented the Robert Cisna farm, one mile west of Lancaster, now owned by Dr. C. E. Reese. Here they lived six years. During these years his sons, George and Amos were born. In 1829 they rented the Christian King farm, the same where Charles Creed now lives. About this time King built the oil-mill, afterwards changed to a grist mill, and lately torn down by Henry
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Of Fairfield County, Ohio.
C. Weaver. About the year 1832 he bought 80 acres of school land, to which he moved his family in 1833, and where his family was reared. The old Graham home is familiar to all Hocking township people.
His wife died at this home June 12, 1869. In the year 1870, Mr. Graham sold his farm and moved to Logan, where he married Mrs. M. A. Lyons. He died in Logan, February 8, 1875. His widow sur- vived him several years.
The daughter, the six-months babe that came over the mountains in the wagon, on the 6th of April, 1844, married C. F. Griner. Griner was a fine scholar and a special friend of the late Dr. John Williams. He was the architect and builder of the famous stone wall around the graves of Nathaniel Wilson and family. He broke down soon after this work was completed and for several years was an invalid. He died leaving a wife and five children.
William A. Griner, of Delaware, Ohio, Edward Griner, a soldier of the Union army, now deceased ; George G. Griner, also a soldier, who died in a Louis- ville (Ky.) hospital; C. F. Griner, now deceased, and Susan, wife of William Barr of Amanda, were his children. His widow became the third wife of Fred A. Shaeffer.
George Graham, son of William Graham, married a daughter of John Morgan, whose wife was a McCleery. He lived near Carroll and reared a family of children. In 1875 he moved to DeWitt County, Illinois, where his wife died and where his children married. He married a widow named Stone. He moved to Kansas, back to Illinois, and from there to Oklahoma, where he now resides.
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Amos, the youngest son of William Graham, mar- ried Elizabeth, daughter of Conrad Crumley. Amos was a school teacher in his young days and well qual- ified for the profession. But he soon settled down as a farmer and has ever since followed that occupation, either in Amanda or Hocking township of this county. He has been successful and owns a fine home - once owned by F. A. Shaeffer. He reared a good family of boys and girls, and enjoys the happiness that such a family only can bring to a parent. One daughter married S. E. Cullumber and resides in Pickaway County ; Francis and Myrta reside at home ; George A., John L ... , Dr. W. C. and Edward Boyd are good bus- iness men, highly esteemed, and are prospering. Amos Graham and family are prominent members of the Presbyterian Church.
THE CLAYPOOL FAMILY.
"Not to know from whence we came, not care any- thing about our ancestors, is to detract from the honor and gratitude due them."
The Claypools were distinguished people among the pioneers of Licking, Fairfield and Ross Counties. They were of the bluest blue blood of Virginia and able to trace their ancestry back in an unbroken line to a time when English history was little more than a tradition.
James Claypool lived at Waldrum Park, North- amptonshire, England. Like other gentlemen of the period he was granted a coat-of-arms June 17, 1583. John Claypool married Elizabeth, the favorite daughter of Oliver Cromwell. The tomb is pointed out to visitors, in Westminster Abbey. James Claypool, brother of John, witnessed the signature of William
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Penn to the charter of Pennsylvania. Norton Clay- pool, brother also of John, was the first to emigrate to America.
Betsy Ross, who lived in Philadelphia, and mar- ried a John Claypool, made the first United States flag, the stars and stripes. Her portrait and the history of the flag was in the magazines during the last year. We cannot go into full details of this large family, but must be confined to the Ohio branch. The grandfather of Jacob Claypool, who came to this country, was James Claypool. He lived and died on Lost River, Hardy County, Virginia, on the south branch of the Potomac. He was born February 14, 1701, and died October 9, 1789. His son James was born December I, 1730. He married Margaret Dunbar, October 31, 1753. She was born November 20, 1736, and died March 26, 1813. James Claypool died August II, 18II. They were the parents of nine daughters and three sons. The daughters of James Claypool (b. 1730) and Margaret Dunbar were (in order of birth) : I. Ann, m. Archibald Wilson ; 2. Hannah, m. Ist John Watson, m. 2nd William Evans ; 3. Jane, m. William Peppers ; 4. Margaret, m. David Thomas ; 5. Esther, m. Jeremiah Jacobs; 6. Ruth, m. Robert Denton ; 7. Rachel, m. John Berry; 8. Rhoda, m. Joseph Jeffer- ies ; 9. Elizabeth, m. John Woolard; to. Tirzah, m. Wesley Blizzard. The sons were Abra- ham, Isaac and Jacob, and that was the order in which they were born. Abraham was born in Hardy County, Virginia, April 2, 1762. Abraham was one of the very early settlers of Ross County, Ohio. He reared a family of children, most of whom moved to Fountain and other counties of Indiana. Abraham was a very prominent man and represented his county several
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terms in the Ohio Legislature. This was prior to 1810. His descendants are distinguished people of Indiana. Solomon Claypool, of Indianapolis, was Common Pleas Judge at Covington on the Wabash, ยท and an able lawyer and an upright man. He is a pleasant gentleman to meet, cordial and sincere, as the writer found him. He is one of the distinguished men of Indiana. Edward F. Claypool is a business man of large wealth and resides in Indianapolis. Mrs. Virginia C. Meredith, daughter of Austin B. Claypool, and widow of Henry Clay Meredith (son of General Solomon Meredith), was the business manager of the Board of Lady Managers, World's Fair, and wrote the official report of the board for Congress. Mr. A. L. Claypool, the brother-in-law of John Bookwalter, and living in Springfield, Ohio, is a brother of Judge Claypool.
Abraham Claypool married Elizabeth Wilson. Isaac Claypool was born February 7, 1769. He mar- ried a Miss Wilkin and they settled in Ross County They were not blessed with children.
Jacob, the Fairfield pioneer, was born March 17, 1775. He married Margaret Baker, of Rockingham County, Virginia, March 5, 1799. They came to Ohio about October 21, 1811. The wife died June 22, 1828. He was married the second time to Mrs. Neil, of Ross County. Jacob died October 27, 1843. He first came to Ohio in the year 1805 and purchased the original farm on which Isaac his son now lives. It had been occupied by squatters up to that time, James Brooks, a Mr. Crook and Drake Taylor. The place was called "Yankeetown" by the early settlers. He built a hewed log house for his family-the same, in part, now oc- cupied by Isaac Claypool. Jacob Claypool received
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Of Fairfield County, Ohio.
a good education, especially in mathematics, and he qualified himself for a land surveyor. During the first twenty years of his residence in this county he was largely engaged in that business. The papers he left behind are beautiful specimens of drafting. He was methodical, accurate and an accomplished penman. His superior education and fine mind soon gave him a leading position in the county and in Lancaster, where he was highly esteemed. Upon the organization of the Lancaster Bank in 1816 he was elected one of the directors, as was his neighbor Richard Hooker. In the same year he was elected to the lower House of the Legislature, was reelected in 1818 and again in 1822. In 1824 he was elected a member of the Ohio senate. He supported the preliminary legislation that secured for us the Ohio Canals and the Common School system. He was one of the first Fairfield County men to drive cattle to the Eastern markets and he continued the business to within three years of his death. His son Isaac, when a youth, accompanied him on such trips to Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York. In the year 1826 the Barrett Woolen Mill at the upper falls of Hockhocking burned down and the owner was unable to rebuild. The Legislature gave authority for a lottery and the Common Pleas Court appointed Jacob Claypool, Samuel F. Mccracken and John Creed com- missioners to conduct it, and in this way it was rebuilt and leased for a term to Joshua Clark and Colonel John Noble.
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