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 66
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 66
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 66
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The parental family comprised seven children, four of whom are still living. Archibald, our subject, received his early education in the log schoolhouse which stood on the farm. Suhse- quently, he spent one and one-half years in Cir- cleville, where he attended the Union Schools, and is a man of good information and broad knowl- edge. ITis marriage, October 22. 1867, united him with Miss Margaret Ann Robinson, who was born in Ross County in 1831. Her father, John Rob- inson, was a farmer by occupation, and died when about ninety-five years old. After a happy wedded life of more than twenty years, Mrs. Whitesel passed from the scenes of earth, August 8, 1891, mourned by a large circle of warm per- sonal friends, and especially mourned by her hus- band, to whom she had been all that a loving wife and devoted companion could be. She was a mem- ber of the Presbyterian Church, and her life was such as to prove the sineerity of her belief.
In his political affiliations. Mr. Whitesel is a
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stanch Republican, while in religious matters, he is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, in which he is Trustee. During the Morgan raid, in Ohio, he was an active participant, and went as far South as Scott's Landing, and from there to Zanesville. He has a finely improved farm of one hundred and eighty-two acres on section 12, where he raises a good grade of stock, and con- duets a general farming business. Mrs. Whitesel owned one hundred and seventy-one acres in Ross County, which was rented to tenants. The place which Mr. Whitesel occupies in the community is a high one, and his life has been so upright and honorable as to win the confidence of all with whom he has been brought in contact.
C APT. MARCUS B. RADCLIFFE won a high reputation as an officer in the Union army during the late war, when he sacrificed the opening years of a promising manhood on the altar of his country, and Pickaway County holds in honor her gallant son, a native of her soil, who has also proved of value to her citizenship as one of hier thoughtful, progressive farmers, who manages his extensive farm in Pickaway Township after the most approved modern methods.
Capt. Radcliffe was born in Pickaway County, January 10, 1840, and is a son of Benjamin Rad- cliffe. His father was born in Kentucky in 1794, and, coming to Ohio with his widowed mother in 1806, was reared near Darbyville, this county. He was one of six children. all of whom are dead. He served in the War of 1812 under Gen. W. II. Harrison, in Northern Ohio, and was a good sol- dier. He was a member of the Christian Church, and was active in religious matters. Ilis wife, Sarah Florence in her maiden days, came of an old Virginia family, was born in that State in 1800, and in 1806 was brought to Ohio by her parents, who located on the banks of Darby Creek, this county. She died in 1852, and in her death the Christian Church lost a devoted member. She was the mother of sixteen children. eight sons and eight
daughters, and four of them are still living. The father was married a second time, Frances A. Sco- ville becoming his wife, and by her he had one son, now deceased.
The subject of this biographical review was reared on a farm on the banks of Deer Creek, and was educated in a log schoolhouse. In the fall of 1858, he went to Cireleville to engage as elerk in the dry-goods store of Delaplanes & McCaully, he being at that time eighteen years of age. After the breaking out of the Rebellion, he watched its course intently, and finally threw aside his personal aims and ambitions to fight for his country, as his father had done half a century before, enlisting Angust 8, 1862, in Company A, One Hundred and Fourteenth Ohio Infantry, as a private. He was mustered in the following September as Sergeant of his company, and in the trying times that followed won his way steadily from rank to rank by his in- vincible courage and coolness in the heat of battle and in the midst of danger, and by his promptness in obeying and efficiency in carrying out orders, as well as by his fidelity and general trust-worthi- ness. He was made Second Lieutenant February 14, 1863, was promoted to the position of First Lieutenant May 2 of the same year, and in Decem- ber, 1864, was commissioned Captain, an honor richly deserved. He did not act in that capacity, however, as, though his regiment was consolidated about that time and he was offered the captaincy in the new regiment, he was obliged to leave the army on account of ill-health.
Capt. Radcliffe fought under Sherman at Chick- asaw Bluffs; assisted in the capture of Arkansas Post, celebrating his birthday on that occasion; and he took an active part in the enti e siege of Vicksburg, lasting forty five days, and during that time he did not have a change of clothing, so con- stantly was he ou duty. He assisted in building twenty-eight hundred feet of pontoon bridge across the bayous and tributaries of the Mississippi River, from Milliken's Bend to Grand Gulf, and was otherwise constantly kept busy during that im- portant campaign. He was present at the engage- ment at Thompson's Hills, May 1, 1863, and was under fire almost constantly from that date until after the 22d of the same month. He was in the
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thickest of the fight at Champion Hills, and he ac- companied Gen. Banks on the Red River expedi- tion. He suffered much from exposure on that trip, and contracted a chronic disease. which was so bad that he was ordered to the hospital at Milliken's Bend. Ile then showed signs of in- subordination for the first time, and utterly refused to go, determining to continue with the army and die with the boys on the march, rather than remain behind and miss an opportunity to do his share of fighting. He continued with his regiment until he was so debilitated that the physicians decided that he would not live to reach home, and he was discharged December 17, 1864, at the mouth of the White River, in Arkansas.
At the time of his discharge, the Captain was the recipient of the following tribute to his value as a soldier and to his worth as a man:
HEADQUARTERS ONE HUNDRED AND FOURTEENTHI REGIMENT OHIO VOLUNTEER INFANTRY, MOUTH OF WHITE RIVER, ARK., December 1, 1864. To all whom this may concern:
In the consolidation of the One Hundred and Fourteenth and One Hundred and Twentieth Regi- ments Ohio Volunteers, the bearer, First Lieut. Mark B. Radcliffe, at his own request, was mustered out of the service. He has been connected with the One Hundred and Fourteenth Regiment Ohio Volunteers since August, 1862, at which time he entered the service as Sergeant of Company A, and was commissioned and mustered as Second Lieuten- ant of the One Hundred and Fourteenth Ohio, May 11, 1863, and was commissioned and mustered as First Lieutenant November 15, 1863, in which capacity he has served since that time. As a Ser- geant, Lieutenant, and in all his relations with the service, he has done every duty faithfully and diligently, and has acquitted himself honorably, and with credit to himself and beneficially to the service. He is a good soldier and an efficient ofli- cer. He is a man of good moral character, tem- perate habits, gentlemanly deportment, fine social qualities, and of undoubted integrity, patriotism and loyalty. He is well qualified and worthy for any position in a regiment to which he would aspire. I therefore, with great pleasure, cheerfully recommend him to the favorable consideration of
any or all to whom he may present himself for a place or position.
JOHN. H KELLY, Colonel, commanding One Hun-
dred and Fourteenth Ohio Volunteer Infantry. EPHRAIM BROWN, Major, One Hundred and Four- teenth Ohio Volunteer infantry.
After severing his connection with the army, Capt. Radcliffe returned home, and when he had sufficiently recovered to attend to business, he re- sumed his position as clerk, and was thus employed several years, but finally turned his attention to farming and has since lived in Pickaway Township. He has here a fine estate of four hundred acres of land, bordering on the famous Pickaway Plains, and extending into the fertile bottoms of the Sci- oto River, the soil being of a sandy loam, and re- markably productive. The situation is fine, the residence commanding a wide and beautiful pros- pect. Looking eastward, the eye falls on Black Mountain, where the Indian warriors congregated to hold their councils and to declare war or peace.
Our subject was married July 29, 1869, to Miss Lizzie Crouse, a native of Ross County, and a daughter of Nelson Crouse, a farmer of that county. She is a woman of much strength of character and true refinement, who is a fit companion for her husband, to whose interests she is devoted, as well as to those of their children, of whom they have two: Eva T., a graduate of the Circleville Iligh School, and now the wife of Frank Cox, of the firm of Cox Bros., merchants at Lancaster; and Frank C., at home with his parents.
Capt. Radcliffe is a Republican in whom there is no guile. A man of superior intelligence, he is well informed on all historical and political sub- jects, and in all things pertaining to the late war. Both he and his wife are members of the Presby- terian Church, and he belongs to the Knights of Pythias, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and Grand Army of the Republic. He has been Presi- dent of the Soldiers' Monument Association of Pickaway County for some time, and he was very influential in securing the erection of the Memorial Hall and Library Building at Circleville, dedicated December 29, 1891. He is one of the Trustees, and was Secretary and Treasurer during the con- struction of the building. It is a noble structure
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that would grace any city in the land, combining strength, beauty and simplicity in its architecture, and it will be a perpetual reminder to the people of the fallen heroes whose lives it is intended to commemorate, as well as of the veterans who are still among us, who sacrificed so much and fought so well to preserve the Union; and within its walls their children and children's children, from gen- eration unto generation, shall learn many a lesson of patriotism from the history of the past and from the inspiration of the present.
EBER JONES. Probably in the history of the representative houses of Washington C. II., no more worthy example can be found of what may be accomplished by energy and well-directed efforts, than is strikingly exemplified in the successful career of the leading art gallery of the city, of which Mr. Jones is the proprietor. His photographie studio is located at the corner of Main and Court Streets, in an elegant suite of rooms formerly occupied by different artists of the city, but recently remodeled for his use. Previous to 1892, his gallery was in the Dahil Block, where he established an enviable reputation for the excellency and elegant finish of his work.
Mr. Jones is one of the youngest business men of Washington C. II., for he only recently attained to his majority. He was born in Bloomingburgh, Fayette County, November 19, 1869, the son of Charles and Mollie (Meyers) Jones. His father, who was an attorney by profession, was compelled to remove to a farm on account of his failing health, which was somewhat recuperated by his out-door ex- ercise. He afterward removed to Washington C. II., and there died in 1875. His wife survived him about ten years, her death, September 8, 1885, being the result of accident. On that day a terrible cyclone swept over the city and destroyed the house, in which she was alone at the time, killing her in- stantly.
The parental family comprises two sons beside our subject. Homer is stenographer for the Cashier of the First National Bank at Kansas City; Howard
is learning photography with our subject. Heber Jones received his education at Washington C. HI., where he entered the art gallery of C. S. Snyder in the early part of 1884, remaining with him until the cyclone of 1885 destroyed the gallery. Ile afterward continued his studies at school for a time, and then commenced to work for W. F. Wil- lett, then a prominent photographer of Washing- ton C. HI., but now of Chicago. When Mr. Wil- lett sold out the business to Mr. Spencer, our sub- ject remained with the last-named gentleman for a short time, until he was sufficiently acquainted with the business to start out for himself. Ile opened an art gallery in the Dahl Block, where he conducted a very successful business until the date of his removal, February 1, 1892.
The pleasant home which Mr. Jones has estab- lished on West Market Street is presided over by his cultured wife, who was formerly Miss Ada Paul. Prior to her marriage, which took place November 18, 1891. she resided in Washington C. H., where she received a good education. Socially, Mr. Jones is a member of the Knights of Pythias, and in his religious preference is a liberal supporter of the Methodist Episcopal Church, which he and his wife attend.
OHN R. SOLT. This gentleman occupies a very high position among the farming com- munity of Walnut Township, Pickaway County. He is ex-Trustee of the township, and is at present residing on section 21, where he owns and operates a fine tract of land. He is a native of the above-named township, his birth oc- curring February 1, 1840. His parents, Paul and Rebecca Solt, were natives, respectively, of Penn- sylvania and this county.
The great-grandfather of our subject on the pa- ternal side was born in Germany, and, on emigrating to this country, participated in the Revolutionary War. Paul Solt came to this State, in company with his mother and sister, when about sixteen years of age, in 1825, his birth occurring in 1809. They made settlement in Fairfield County, where
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they made their home a short time, and then came to Pickaway County, locating in Walnut Town- ship when it was practically in the woods. A log cabin was erected, in which they resided for a time, when it gave way to a more comfortable and com- modious abode. The elder Mr. Solt worked for a time on the Ohio Canal, helping to build that waterway.
Eight of the ten children born to Mr. and Mrs. Paul Solt are still living and are, respectively: Elizabeth, John R., William; Celanta, the wife of H. HI. Brown; Thomas; Eveline, Mrs. David Ileist; Ruphina and Charles. In township affairs, the father of our subject occupied a prominent posi- tion, being Assessor of his township a number of years. Ile was a Democrat, politically, and aided greatly in the upbuilding of his community, his name heading all lists which had for their object the betterment of his fellowman. He was a mem- ber in good standing of the Lutheran Church, in the faith of which body he died, June 25, 1891, and in his death Pickaway County lost one of its rep- resentative citizens.
Our subject grew to mature years in this town- ship, and remained at home assisting his father in grubbing, clearing and improving the home farm, until starting out to battle with life on his own account. His opportunities for obtaining an cdu- cation were very limited, and he was disciplined mainly in the stern school of experience, which pre- pared him to meet every emergency with a steady and a ready hand.
September 1, 1867, our subject and Miss Vienna, daughter of Absalom A. Peters, were united in marriage. The father of Mrs. Solt was born in the Dominion, but at the time of his decease was residing in Walnut Township, this county. To our subject and his estimable wife have been born ten children, namely: Clayton, Harvey, Carrie, Milton, Louama, John, Laura, George, Mattie and Hugh.
Mr. Solt is the possessor of an estate containing one hundred and forty acres, which by his indus- try has been brought to a good state of cultivation. In politics, our subject is a Democrat, and served as Trustee of his township for three years. Ile is a Lutheran in religion, and socially is identified
with the Masonic fraternity at Circleville. Mr. Solt is ranked among the prominent and leading citizens of Walnut Township, where his word is considered as good as his bond. By energy and perseverance, united with economy and good business qualifications, he has secured a compe- tency, and is now living in the enjoyment of the comforts of life.
OIIN P. NOECKER is a native of Pick- away County, born August 5, 1849, and has won his way to an honorable place among its intelligent, industrious, business-like farmers, who form so important a proportion of its population. Ile has an excellent and well-managed farm on section 2, Walnut Township, which is a part of the old homestead that his father, a pio- neer of the township, reclaimed from the wilder- ness.
Our subject is a son of Henry and Maria (Kron- inger) Noecker, who were natives of Pennsylvania. Ilis father was early left an orphan, and was bound out to learn the trade of a carpenter in his youth. He became a very skillful workman, and was en- gaged at that calling for years. When a young man, he came to Ohio, and he assisted in building houses in Columbus when the State capital was a small town. Ile finally settled in Pickaway County among the pioneers of Walnut Township, and in the busy years that followed, improved the farm on which his son of whom we write resides. Ile lived to a ripe age, dying August 7, 1884, and thus closing a life spent in well-doing, in which he had won the respect due to his merits as a man and a citizen. He was a straight Republican in his politics, and in religion was a Lutheran, be- longing to the church of that denomination at St. Paul, being prominent in its work as an Elder. Ilis wife died several years ago. These are their surviving children: Sylvester, Nathan; Christia, wife of Lewis Reed; Henry, John, Daniel, and Mary, wife of Emanuel Burger.
The subject of this biographical review was
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reared to manhood on the farm where he first opened his eyes to the light. He was well trained in the management of a farm, and when he came into possession of a part of the old homestead, he was perfectly competent to carry it on judicionsly and profitably, and he has done so. Ile is mostly self educated, as his advantages were somewhat limited in his boyhood, although he had an veca- sional opportunity to attend a school in the home district. His farm, which contains one hundred and forty acres of good land. is well cultivated, and its improvements are of a substantial order.
Mr. Noecker was married to Miss Sallie Baum in October, 1872. Like her husband, Mrs. Noecker is a native of Pickaway County, Madison Town- ship being her birthplace, and she is a daughter of Lewis and Elizabeth Baum, of that township, who were early settlers of the county. Our subject and his estimable wife are the parents of two chil- dren: Clarence B. and Howard C.
Mr. Noecker is a man of pure and honorable character, unites firmness with a just consideration for the rights of others and lives up to his Christian principles in thought and act. Ile and his wife are valned members of the Lutheran Church, which he is serving as Deacon, and they are highly re- garded by all who know them. In politics, he is a Republican.
ACKSON THOMAS, one of the citizens of prominence, wealth and influence, whose home is in Monroe Township, where he has a large and finely-equipped farm, bears the reputation of being one of the most sagacious, practical, and progressive of the farmers and stockmen of Pickaway County. He represents an old and honored family of this section, and he was born December 8, 1831. His father, whose given name was William, was a native of Vir- ginia, as was his father, also.
In 1807, the grandfather of our subject, Jere- miah, with Netty, his wife, accompanied by his fam- ily, set out from his old home in a wagon, to per- form a momentous and somewhat perilous jour-
ney that was to lead over the mountains into the wilds of Ohio. He thus became a pioneer of Pick- away County, settling on Deer Creek, this town- ship, when there was scarcely an inhabitant in the region, and the surrounding country was a wilder- ness. Ile developed a small tract of land, and died here when in middle life. He was on friendly terms with the Indians, who trusted him, and often several tribes could be seen from the hill on which he lived. He used to hunt some, and occa- sionally killed a deer.
The father of our subject was a boy when he came with his father to Ohio. He was brought up under pioneer influences, and did not have any educational advantages during his boyhood. When he married, he could not write his name, but he learned to write under the instruction of his wife and hired men, became quite a proficient penman, and could keep his own books. He was very poor at the time of his marriage, and he and his wife began housekeeping in an old log house, with home-made furniture, the bedstead being made by boring holes in the wall, into which poles were in- serted that rested on wooden legs. Mr. Thomas was a man of great natural ability, and when once he obtained a good start he progressed rapidly in the acquirement of wealth, so that at the time of his death he had fifteen hundred acres of land, and was making enough to buy a farm each year. Ile made the most of his money in stock, never selling any corn, but feeding it all to his cattle and other stock. He died the 10th of January, 1849, when searcely past the prime of life, and his removal was regarded as a serious loss to the ma- terial interests of the county and to its higher in- terests as well. He was a man of serious religions views, a strong Methodist, and he was very help- ful in organizing the society and in building the first house of worship of that denomination in the neighborhood. which was known as the Heb- ron Church. In early life, he was a Democrat in politics, but he later identified himself with the Whigs.
The mother of our subject, who was a native of Virginia, bore the maiden name of Elizabeth Nor- ris. She came to Ohio when quite young, with her parents. She was a hard-working woman, and her
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husband owed much of his success to her help and influence. She used in the early days of their marriage to drop corn in the field after two teams, and then go home and prepare dinner for the men, and in many other ways she bravely put her shoulder to the wheel and performed her share of the labors that resulted in the upbuilding of a comfortable home and the accumulation of wealth. She was an active member of the Methodist Epis- copal Church nearly all her life, and she was noted for her kind heart and hospitable, charitable na- ture. She was the mother of these ten children who grew to maturity: Eleanor (Mrs. Truax), now deceased; George W., deceased: Milton M., de- ceased; Mary A. (Mrs. King), Jackson, Margaret (Mrs. Henderson), Sarah W. (Mrs. Madox). Eliz- abeth J. (Mrs. Henderson ), William II., and Perry C. Three others died in infancy.
The birthplace of our subjeet was on a hill one hundred and thirty feet high, near the waters of Deer Creek. He was educated in the primitive log schoolhouses of those early days, with their large open fireplaces, slab benches, writing-desks consisting of a slab, or slabs, placed against the wall, and window made by taking out a log the whole length of the building; the door opened out instead of in, as now, and hung on wooden hinges. Mr. Thomas began life for himself at the age of seventeen, his father having died the pre- vious year. His mother gave him and his brother Milton all they could raise on part of the farm af- ter paying the living expenses of herself and the younger children.
Our subject left home when he married, in 1855, he and his bride beginning their married life on the Foster Farm, on which they lived a year, and then he settled on this farm, which adjoins the old homestead, moving into a log house. That humble abode was replaced by his present fine, large frame residence in 1875, he having built a good frame barn in 1867, and he has his farm well supplied with buildings for every needed purpose. He has made the most of the improvements himself, elearing nearly all the land, which comprises seven hundred and twenty-one acres, he having started with one hundred and sixty-six acres. Five hundred and forty acres of his landed property lie in one body in
Monroe Township, and he has one hundred and eighty-one acres at Clarksburgh, in Ross County, which is well improved, and a fine, commodious brick residence of ten rooms adorns the place.
Mr. Thomas carries on mixed farming, and em- ploys a number of men, allowing twenty acres to a man in carrying on his varied operations. When he began farming, he raised one hundred hogs every year, wisely feeding his corn to his stock, never selling but one lot of corn. For the past twenty years, he has aimed to keep three car-loads of cat- tle all the time, one of yearlings, one of two-year- olds, and one of three-year-olds, which he ships annually. IIe is one of the solid moneyed men of the county, and rightly attributes his prosper- ity to close attention to his business, to thrifty and economical management, and to the judicious methods that have characterized his manner of carrying on farming and stock-raising, and the handling of his funds. in loaning money, etc. Ile has been very fortunate in all his enterprises, as he has never had any reverses. A man of his calibre and aptitude for affairs is eminently fitted for civic life, and he has been drawn into it as County Commissioner, which position he held for six years, and as Township Trustee. In politics, he is an un- compromising Democrat. Religiously, both he and his amiable wife are connected with the lle- bron Methodist Church as two of its most effective working members.
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