USA > Ohio > Fayette County > Portrait and biographical record of Fayette, Pickaway and Madison counties, Ohio : containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, together with biographies and portraits of all the presidents of the United States > Part 60
USA > Ohio > Madison County > Portrait and biographical record of Fayette, Pickaway and Madison counties, Ohio : containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, together with biographies and portraits of all the presidents of the United States > Part 60
USA > Ohio > Pickaway County > Portrait and biographical record of Fayette, Pickaway and Madison counties, Ohio : containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, together with biographies and portraits of all the presidents of the United States > Part 60
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 | Part 108 | Part 109
Mr. Beatty, of this sketch, was married December 27, 1847, to Margaret Hidy, a native of Fayette County, Ohio, and a daughter of Joseph Hidy, a farmer by occupation. Immediately after the mar- riage of our subject, he commenced farming in Fayette County, and in 1867 removed to Pickaway County, where he has resided ever since. By this marriage two children have been born, Scott and Clara. A sketch of the former is written elsewhere in this work. Clara is the wife of William C. Bos- wiek and is making her home in this county.
In his political affiliations, Mr. Beatty affiliates with the Republican party. The fine farm of this gentleman consists of from seven hundred to eight hundred aeres, all under splendid cultivation. Upon this place are erected a number of model
506
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
.
buildings for the accommodation of his cattle and horses. The Short-horn breed is his favorite in cattle, and at the present time he handles many horses. He owes his success to his good judgment and skillful management, and he is a thorough gentleman whom it is a pleasure to meet. Ile is hospitable and kind and stands among the most highly-respected citizens in the county and town- ship. Ilis wife departed this life at her home, July 20, 1887.
E LKANAHI HIUMBLE was formerly, in his early manhood, prominent as an educator, and is now well known in Pickaway County as a farmer and stock-raiser, with one of the best farms in Walnut Township. He is a native of Ohio, born in Clarke County, September 20, 1826. When he was a child, he was taken to Delaware County and from there to Franklin County, when he was ten years old. When he was fourteen years of age, he came to Pickaway County, and has been a resident here for more than half a century. He early displayed good scholarly ability, and was very ambitious to obtain an education.
The preliminary schooling of our subject was obtained in the log schoolhouses of Franklin and Pickaway Counties, and he was a close student, de- voting every spare hour to his books. At the age of twenty-two, he entered upon the profession of teaching, taking charge of a school in Harrison Township, which he taught four months, at $15 per month, paying $1 per week out of his salary for board. Wishing to further prepare himself for his calling, he then became a student at the Wes- leyan University at Delaware, and profited very much by the course that he pursued in that insti- tution during the fourteen weeks that he attended there.
After leaving college, our subject taught in Walnut Township several years and in other places in different parts of Pickaway County during the fifteen years that he was engaged in teaching. He won a high reputation as an educator who was thoroughly adapted to his profession, who under-
stood its requirements in the various schools with which he was connected, and won golden opinions as to his methods of imparting instruction, from pupils and parents alike. lle is still interested in educational matters, is of a thoughtful turn of mind, with an active brain that still keeps pace with the times, as he is a careful student. Ilis political views find expression, generally, in the platform of the Democratic party. Religiously, he is of the Methodist Episcopal faith and a val- ued member of the church.
Mr. Humble's successful career as a farmer began in 1851, when he settled on his present homestead in Walnut Township, which contains two hundred and forty acres of land, and was then in a wild, uncultivated condition. By persistent effort, see- onded by intelligent and well-directed labor, he has wrought a marvelous change, clearing up much of the land and erecting a substantial set of build- ings, and has a neat and orderly place that is an or- nament to the neighborhood. Beside this farm, he has another of one hundred and sixty-two acres in Scioto Township, which is also well improved.
Our subject was first married to Rhoda Miller, who was born on the farm on which he lives, and was a daughter of Joseph and Phoebe (Hedges) Miller. One son was born of that marriage, Al- bert, a graduate of the Wesleyan University, wlio is following in his father's footsteps as a success- ful educator, and was engaged in his profession in Oregon, but has now returned home and will take charge of the Nebraska School in Walnut Town- ship. By his second wife, Catherine Miller, Mr. Humble had three sons, namely: Gilbert, Clerk of Walnut Township; Joseph, a resident of the State of Washington; and Frank, County Clerk and Recorder of Montezuma County, Colo., who was educated at the Lebanon, Ohio, Normal School.
Our subjeet's son Gilbert is a native of Picka- way County, and was born December 14, 1855. He was educated in the public schools of Walnut Township and, in due time, showed himself to be possessed of the requisite push and business taet necessary to secure snecess or to realize his ambi- tions, and he has already made his mark in his na- tive county. He was first appointed Clerk of Walnut Township in September, 1888, and in the
507
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHIICAL RECORD.
spring of 1892 was re-elected to the office. In politics, he is an ardent Democrat, and socially, he is a member of the Masonic order, at Lithopolis.
The marriage of Gilbert IIumble with Miss Lyda A. Brinker took place in 1882. She is a native of Walnut Township and a daughter of the late Barnabas and Elizabeth Brinker, who were early settlers of this part of the county. Mr. and Mrs. Humble have had four children, of whom two are living: Edna M. and Frank.
C HARLES SLYH was born on the farm where he now lives, March 26, 1848, the old home- stead being very pleasantly located five miles south of Plain City, Canaan Township, Mad- ison County. His father, Mathias Slyh, was born at Harper's Ferry, Va., in 1800, and was reared amid the wild and picturesque scenery of that noted spot. He was a son of Henry Slyh, who was also a Virginian by birth, and was a gallant sol- dier in the War of 1812. IIe died in Columbus, this State, at the ripe old age of eighty years. He was of German descent, his father having come from Germany in Colonial times and settled in Virginia.
The mother of our subject, who bore the maiden name of Sarah Patterson, was born in Virginia in 1807, and was a daughter of Robert Patterson, who was also a native of that State, and was of Irish extraction. When she was about nine years old, her parents became pioneers of this State. The father of our subject came to Ohio in 1821. He was already married, having been wedded in Mary- land when he was nineteen years old. Ilis first wife, who accompanied him in his migration to this State, died in 1830, leaving four children, all of whom grew to maturity, and three of whom are still living. Mr. Siyh's second marriage was with the mother of our subject, and she bore him eleven children, of whom seven grew to manhood and womanhood, and six of them are still living.
The father of our subject is distinguished in the history of this county as one of its pioneers. He had first settled in Pickaway County, whence he
removed to Columbus, where he remained one year, and at the expiration of that time he came to Madison County and located on the homestead owned and occupied at the present time by his son Charles. He built a log house, and vigorously en- tered upon the hard task of developing a farm, which under his careful management became one of the most desirable places in the vicinity, and in the comfortable home built up by his toil, he closed his eyes in death, January 12, 1883, thus ending a long and honorable life. He was greatly missed by the people among whom he had lived so many years, who knew him to be a true Christian and an active worker in all good causes in which he was interested. He was for many years one of the leading members of the Darby Baptist Church, holding official positions therein, and doing much for its upbuilding. He was likewise a well-known figure in public life, having held the offices of Trustee and Assessor of the township of Canaan. llis wife survived him until August, 1891, and then she too passed away.
Charles Slyh, the subject of this biographical no- tice, is the tenth child and sixth son of his parents. Ilis education was obtained in the district school, and on the old farm he early gained a clear insight into agricultural methods, and since he has been farming on his own account intelligently adapts the best to the conditions of the soil, and is a good, round-about, practical farmer. Ile remained an inmate of the parental household until he was twenty-six years old, assisting his father in the management of the farm, and farming for himself. After marriage, he removed to the William Wilson Farm, which he occupied two years. Returning then to the old homestead, he has ever since lived upon it. He has one hundred and fifty acres of land that is under a high state of cultivation, and is exceedingly productive. It is supplied with a meat and substantial set of buildings, and with all the modern appliances for carrying on agriculture to the best advantage.
Our subject is a lover of good horses, and keeps the best, having some fine specimens of blooded animals, and doing quite a business in buying and selling horses. He has a comprehensive knowledge of the horse, is an unerring judge of its good and
508
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
- bad points, and his opinion is often referred to by his associates. He is also interested in sheep, which he handles for the market, having handled as many as two thousand during the season, and he now has a flock of five hundred of fine grade.
The marriage of Mr. Slyh with Miss Eliza Kil- gore was celebrated March 26, 1875. She was a native of Canaan Township, and here her entire life was passed, her death occurring in 1887. This was a sad blow, not only to the members of her own household, by whom she was greatly beloved, but by others beyond the home circle who were favored with her steadfast friendship. She was true in all the relations of life, and left a precious memory of a pleasant personality, and of a wife and mother who was devoted to husband and children, and self-sacrificing in the faithful per- formanee of her duties. Two daughters and a son are left to comfort our subjeet and help him in maintaining his home: Ora, Alma and Rodney.
This brief outline of the life of Mr. Slyh shows that he has arisen to an important place among the stockmen of his native county, and that he has been an influence in raising the standard of the horses bred within its borders. He has also mingled in the public life of the community, acting as As- sessor of the township eleven years, and he is ac- tive in social cireles as a member of Urania Lodge No. 311, A. F. & A. M., at Plain City; of Lodge No. 159, K. P; and of the Red Men of that city. He was at one time a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows in that place. In politics, he is found with the Democrats.
ESSE NIGII, a leading groceryman of Mt. Sterling, who is also engaged in the under- taking business, has the honor of being a na- tive of Ohio. He was born in Fayette Coun- ty, on the 24th of October, 1847, and is a son of Samuel and Jane (Kemp) Nigh. Ilis father was born in Fairfield County, Ohio, in 1812, is a carpenter by trade and still resides in Pickaway County. Of the family, three sons and four daughters grew to
mature years, and four are yet living: Mrs. Mary Beale, who resides on the farm in Pleasant Town- ship, Madison County, and has five children; Mrs. Lucinda Smith, who died and left six children; Mrs. Charlotte Bragg, who resides on a farm in Range Township, Madison County, and has three children; Mrs. Emma Downs, who with her four children makes her home in Pickaway County; Otho W., who enlisted as a private in the One Hundred and Thirteenth Ohio Infantry, be- came cook for the Captain, and after one year in the service died of disease. His death occurred in Nashville and his remains were brought home and interred in Pleasant Cemetery in Mt. Sterling on his twenty-first birthday. Jesse P. is the younger, and Nathan died at the age of sixteen years.
Mr. Nigh, whose name heads this record, began life for himself at a very early age and has since made his own way in the world. He earned his first money by working as a farm hand. At the age of twenty-four, he was married to Miss Etta Javett, their union being celebrated in Mt. Sterling, August 30, 1870. Mr. Nigh was then engaged in the harness business, which he continued for three years. On selling out, he engaged in farming for a year, after which he embarked in the grocery trade and was thus engaged for fourteen years. He then purchased fourteen acres of land in Pick- away County, but after again following agricul- tural pursuits for one year, he abandoned that oc- cupation to embark in his present business. He now has an excellent trade in the grocery business and his patronage is well deserved.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Nigh have been born eight children: David Homer, Bertha Ora, William S., Freddie Milton, Floyd Bernard, Leslie Weir, Glenn and Ida May (twins). The eldest son was born in Harrisburgh, Franklin County, Ohio, and the other children are all natives of Mt. Sterling.
Mr. Nigh cast his first Presidential vote for Gen. Grant, supporting the Republican party for a number of years, but is now an adherent of the Prohibition party. He has never been an office-seeker, preferring to devote his entire time and attention to his business. Mr. and Mrs. Nigh and two of their children are members of the Methodist Church. He has served as Steward,
Eli Harsh
511
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHIICAL RECORD.
Class-leader and assistant Superintendent of the Sunday-school. In the church, he has taken quite a prominent part, doing all in his power for its upbuilding. His life has been well and worthily spent and his straightforward course has won him the confidence of all with whom business or pleas- ure have brought him in contact.
E LI HARSH. There is probably no citizen of Scioto Township, Pickaway County, bet- ter or more favorably known than Eli Harsh, whose portrait appears on the opposite page. He began life a poor boy, but has now gained considerable wealth. He has gained the esteem of all with whom he has come in contact in business and social life, and his standing as a mer- chant at Commercial Point is an enviable one.
Born in Carroll County, Ohio, April 3, 1836, our subject is the son of Lewis Harsh, who was born in Pennsylvania in 1791. They are of Ger- man descent, grandfather Harsh having emigrated from Germany to America when a young man, just after the close of the Revolutionary War. After spending a number of years farming in Washington County, Pa., he migrated at an early day to Carroll County, Ohio, where he became one of the pioneers. There he bought quite a tract of land, and, settling in the wilderness, developed a fine farm. Indians were his near neighbors, and wolves and deer were often to be seen from his door. Ile was a noted huntsman and a good shot. He reared a large family and lived to complete more than ninety years.
The father of our subject was a young man when he came to Ohio. He bought eighty acres of timber land from his father and, having built for himself a house of hewed logs, settled down to develop his farm. He bought sixty acres addi- tional and proved himself a hard worker and an industrious farmer, developing his estate and bringing it to a high state of cultivation. He lived to be ninety-one years of age, and was highly esteemed as a man of character and industry. Ile was a member of the German Reformed Church all
his life and a faithful attendant upon religious services. In politics, he was a strong Democrat, but was not one who sought office. He married Silom i Gantz, a native of Pennsylvania, and they reared to maturity eight sons and five daughters, namely: Andrew, Isaac, Rachel and Leah (twins), Cornelius, Zenus, Mary M., Jeremiah, Savina, Eli, Nathaniel, Mahala, and Philip. The mother of this numerous household, who was a member of the Reformed Church the greater part of her life, died at the age of seventy-eight. Her family was also of German descent and her father was born in the Old Country.
He of whom we write was reared and educated in Carroll County, Ohio, attending the pioneer schools in the log schoolhouses where the large open fireplace, the slab writing-desk, and the slab seats, were the only furnishing of which they could boast. The door had wooden hinges and a wooden latch, and the very earliest of these schoolhouses had oiled paper in the windows in lieu of glass. It was a subscription school and the teachers " boarded around." At eighteen years of age, Mr. Harsh attended Mount Union College, in Stark County, Ohio, spending two years in that institu- tion, and while there paid his expenses by chop- ping wood and making gardens. When twenty years old, he began teaching school in Carroll County, and afterward pursued that profession in Franklin County, where he taught for one year in Jackson Township and three years in Pleasant Township.
The marriage of our subjeet at Harrisburgh, Franklin County, this State, took place September 18, 1860, and united him with Caroline Miller, a native of that place. Her father, Henry Miller, was born at Guntersdorf, in Nassau, Germany. December, 19, 1797, and her mother, Mary Cath- erine Strader, was born at Greifenstien, Prussia, April 10, 1789. They were married September 12, 1827, and in April, 1834, took passage for America on the ship "Shenandoah." The vessel being wrecked, they were rescued and brought to this country by another ship, after having been on the ocean for six weeks. They lost one child in this disaster, but brought two safely through the try- ing ordeal to which they were subjected.
512
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
Mr. Miller began his career in the United States in great poverty, having lost everything he poss- essed by shipwreck. At an early day, he settled in Columbus, Ohio, and after residing there for three years removed to Harrisburgh, where he carried on a general store and tailor shop, until within a few years of his death. He was one of the pioneer merchants of the town, and when locating there had to chop down trees to make a place upon which to build a house. His four living children are Cath- rine, Wilhelmina, Emily and Caroline; William was the name of the little son whom they lost upon the voyage and who was then six years old. Mr. Miller died in his eighty-second year and Mrs. Miller died at the age of seventy-five. They were both members of the German Reformed Church.
Three children have blessed the home of our subject: Lewis M. and Leslie A., who are partners in the dry-goods business in Columbus, and Carrie, who is still with her parents. Mr. Harsh located here in 1864 and established himself in the mer- cantile business, with a capital of only $300 or 8400, and he is now considered worth some $40,- 000. He has enlarged the business from time to time, and took his sons into partnership with him, continuing thus until a year ago, when they started their store in Columbus. He has had great suc- cess and has established a large trade. The pres- ent double two-story store with basement was built in 1881, and he occupies the entire building, carrying a stock of from $10,000 to $12,000 in dry goods, clothing, boots and shoes, hardware, wall paper and general notions. His handsome and commodious residence was ereeted by him in 1870, and he has a splendid farm of two hundred and forty acres adjoining the village on the south, which he has in the hands of a tenant, besides a town residence which he also rents. His residence and store oceupy three lots, and are considered a handsome addition to the town architecturally.
Mr. and Mrs. Harsh have been members of the Methodist Church throughout most of their lives, and he is the Steward and Trustee of that body, as well as one of its main financial supporters. In politics, he is independent, with strong Prohibition proclivities, and rendered efficient service as Town- ship Treasurer for fifteen years. He has been very
successful, as might well be expected from a man of his ability and thorough study of business principles and practice. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and is influ- ential in that body.
W AYNE CALDWELL is a representative of one of the oldest and most respected families in the county and is one of the pushing, wide-awake business men of Circleville. He is young, enterprising and energetic, and stands very high both in financial and social circles. He is a native-born resident of Pickaway County, Ohio, born in Jackson Township on the 23d of July, 1848, and his father, Alexander Caldwell, was born in the same county and town- ship in 1812. The grandfather, Alexander Cald- well, Sr., was a native of Scotland, and when a boy of thirteen emigrated to the United States and first settled in Pennsylvania. Later, he moved to Virginia, and from there to Ohio at an early date, settling in Jackson Township, within a mile of where his son resides at the present time. He was among the pioneer settlers; his farm was all wild land, and he resided in a log hoase for many years. He was industrious and ambitious and soon made many improvements on his place. There his death occurred when about seventy-five years of age. He was a member of the Presbyterian Church.
The father of our subject passed his youthful days in assisting his father in clearing the farm, and, as might naturally be expected, his educa- tional advantages were not of the best, for he attended only now and then the schools taught in the log schoolhouses of that period. He remained under the parental roof until after his marriage, after which he branched out for himself, choosing the occupation to which he has been reared as his calling in life. He has been favored in every re- spect and is to-day one of the most successful farmers and stockmen in the county. He makes a specialty of Short-horn cattle and fine heavy draft horses. During the war, he dealt quite ex-
513
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPIIICAL RECORD
tensively in sheep. He did not enter the army ou account of ill-health. He gradually accumulated twenty-four hundred acres of fine land on Sciota River. He is a good manager, a man of excellent business acumen, and no doubt inherited his thrift and energy from his sturdy Scotch ancestors. 1Ie is now eighty years of age, and is an active mem- ber of the Presbyterian Church. His wife, whose maiden name was Charlotte Morris, was born in Walnut Township, this county, the daughter of John Morris, a native of Pennsylvania. She is now seventy-eight years of age.
Of the six children born to this couple, five are now living, and our subject is the second in order of birth. His early school days were spent in the log schoolhouse with slab benches, a log left out at one side for a window, and other rude con- trivances. Later, a much better schoolhouse was erected, and in this our subject remained until seventeen years of age, when he entered Blooming- burgh Academy, in Fayette County, Ohio. Three years later, he was graduated from that institution and intended to enter college, but was called home on account of his father's illness. After this, he continued at home and assisted his father until 1874, when he became the possessor of a farm of three hundred and eighty-seven acres in Seioto Township, all well improved and well culti- vated. He followed agricultural pursuits on this until 1879, when he located in Circleville, but he has still continued to operate the farm through a superintendent.
Our subject bought out F. M. Shulz's crockery store and has continued this business up to the present time, adding to the original stock wall- paper and moulding, and now occupies three floors of the First National Bank Building. Notwith- standing Mr. Caldwell's business and the urgent demand it makes upon his attention, he is able to devote a portion of his time to public matters and every landable enterprise receives his hearty sup- port. He is practical, energetic and persevering, and a most reliable man of business.
Mr. Caldwell chose his life companion in the per- son of Miss Maggie Renick, and their marriage was solemnized in the year 1879. The result of this union has been three children, of whom only
one survives, Felix. Mrs. Caldwell's father, Felix Reniek, was a very extensive farmer and was the first settler in this township. She was born here, was edu- cated in Hillsboro Female Seminary, and is a lady of intelligence and refinement. Mr. Caldwell is a member of the Board of Trade and was Secretary of the Pickaway Fair Company for some time. This company spent much time in building up and improving the grounds, but they received very little encouragement from the people, and so abandoned it. Mr. Caldwell still owns a partner- ship in this. Ile has shown his appreciation of secret orders by becoming a member of the Knights of Pythias and the Ancient Free and Ac- cepted Masons. Ile is a man of thorough under- standing of public affairs and is interested in the success of Republican principles.
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.