USA > Ohio > Knox County > The Biographical record of Knox County, Ohio : to which is added an elaborate compendium of national biography > Part 33
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work of the farm claimed his attention, and he continued to engage in the cultivation of the fields upon the old homestead until twen- ty-seven years of age, thus gaining that ex- perience which has made his own farm labors profitable.
On December 24, 1878, Mr. Kirkpatrick was united in marriage to Miss Francy E. Arnold, a daughter of William M. and Ann (Stohl) Arnold, who removed from Penn- sylvania to Wayne county, Ohio, and after- ward came to Knox county. Mrs. Kirk- patrick is their third child and was born in North Liberty, Pike township, July 13. 1851. Four children have been born unto cur subject and his wife: Reece E., L. Blanche, Charles E. and William A., and the family circle yet remains unbroken by the hand of death. They reside upon a fine farm on section 13, Pike township, where Mr. Kirkpatrick owns one hundred and ten acres of valuable land. There he carries on general farming and stock-raising, and for the shelter of grain and stock he has pro- vided good buildings. Excellent improve- ments are found upon his place, and his labors are manifest in the neat and thrifty appearance of his property.
In his political views Mr. Kirkpatrick is a Democrat, and on that ticket he was elected trustee of his township. For many years he was a member of the school board, and the cause of education profited by his efforts in its behalf. He withholds his co-operation from no movement or measure that he be- lieves will contribute to the general welfare and therefore he is justly accounted one of the valued citizens of the community. So- cially he is identified with the Knights of the Golden Eagle, with the Knights of the Mac- cabees and with the Grange of North Lib-
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erty, and in all of these he has filled various offices,-a fact which indicates the regard in which he is held by his fellow townsmen.
HARRISON FERRIS.
Harrison Ferris was born on the farm on which he now resides, on September 29, 1842, a son of Embry and Phœbe ( Holmes) Ferris. The father was born in Dutchess county, New York, and after arriving at man's estate he there learned the wagon- maker's trade. He was also married in his native county, and there two of his children were born. In 1832 he family emigrated to Knox county, Ohio, purchasing one hun- dred and sixty acres of land where our sub- ject now resides, most of which was covered with a dense growth of timber. He at once erected a log cabin and began the arduous task of placing his fields under cultivation. Their primitive log cabin served as a habita- tion for a number of years, after which it was replaced by a modern frame residence, but ere its completion both the husband and wife were called to the home beyond. They were prominent members and active work- ers in the Baptist church, and he was a Whig in his political views. Five of their eight children still survive, namely: Will- iam, of Tama county, Iowa ; Egbert, a resi- dent of Henry county, Illinois ; Harrison, the subject of this review ; Oscar, also of Tama county, Iowa; and Sarah, the wife of Dr. Fred Gager, of Rochester, Missouri.
Harrison Ferris was but nine years of age when he was called upon to mourn the loss of his parents, and he afterward made his home with different residents of the neighborhood, working for his board. At
the age of fifteen years he was employed as a farm hand by Lemuel Beckley, and from that time on he was employed by different farmers until September, 1859, when he joined the gold seekers to Pike's Peak. After a short time spent in the mines, how- ever, he contracted chills and fever, and he was advised by a physician to leave the mountains, which he did during the follow- ing winter, returning to Knox county, Ohio. Here he again began work by the month, thus continuing until August, 1862, when he enlisted for service in the Civil war, be- coming a member of Company G, One Hun- dred and Twenty-first Ohio Volunteer In- fantry. During his army career he took part in the battles of Perryville, Chickamagua, Missionary Ridge, Kenesaw Mountain and Atlanta, also many other engagements and skirmishes. He was wounded at Benton- ville, North Carolina, March 20, 1865, and on the 18th of May, of that year, was hon- orably discharged from the service at Camp Denison, returning to his home with a most creditable military record.
After his return from the war Mr. Ferris resumed work as a farm hand. In 1866 he was united in marriage to Miss Sarah Dar- ling, a native also of Wayne township, Knox county, and a daughter of Abraham Darling, now deceased. After his marriage our sub- ject located with his bride on a small farm near Mount Vernon, but after a residence there of one year he rented a place near Fredericktown, where for the following three years he was engaged in agricultural pursuits. On the expiration of that period he removed to Fredericktown, where for about three years he was engaged in the liv- ery business, and on selling his interests there he purchased thirty-six acres of land
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OF KNOX COUNTY, OHIO.
one mile west of his present home. There he made his home until 1887, when he sold that tract and purchased another of one hun- dred and fifteen acres, sixty-four acres of which was a portion of the old Ferris home- stead and the remainder was a portion of an adjoining farm. There Mr. and Mrs. Ferris have since made their home, surrounded by the comforts and many of the luxuries of life. He is a practical and progressive ag- riculturist, and his place is neat and thrifty in appearance, owing to his consecutive labors and careful supervision.
Unto our subject and wife were born eight children, but only four are now living, namely: Minnie B., the wife of William G. Norris, of Richland county, Ohio; Nor- ma, the wife of Frank Cramer, a resident of Liberty township, Knox county ; Embry R., and Frederick, at home. The Democ- racy receives Mr. Ferris' hearty support and co-operation, and in 1896 he was elected a county commissioner of Knox county. He was also land appraiser in 1890, and has held a number of other offices of honor and trust. Socially he is a member of Thrall Lodge, No. 170, F. & A. M. He is highly respected by those who have known him from boyhood, and is indeed a worthy rep- resentative of an honored pioneer family. At all times he has been safely relied upon to use his influence and means in the ad- vancement of whatever has been for the good of the community.
WILLIAM FRANKLIN BALDWIN.
The late William Franklin Baldwin, of Mount Vernon, Knox county, Ohio, was born in Medina county, Ohio, January 4,
1846, and died at Mount Vernon April 3, 1892. His parents were Fowler and Eliza ( Harris) Baldwin, and he was a descendant of the Baldwin family who were emigrants to Connecticut. He began his education at Medina and completed it in the high school at Mount Vernon, to which place his par- ents moved while he was yet quite young. He began his active business career as a clerk in a dry-goods store, and after some years' employment in that capacity he en- gaged in the retail grocery trade at Mount Vernon. Three years later he accepted an appointment as a mail clerk in the local post office, the proffer of which was secured for him by his brother, who was assistant su- perintendent in the office. Eventually he re- signed this position and engaged in the lum- ber business. His next venture was in the hat, cap and fur business, in which he re- mained for eight years, until, with Dr. Jo- seph Taylor, he purchased the Mount Ver- non Republican, of which he thus became half owner. Later Dr. Taylor sold his in- terest in the enterprise to Mr. Baldwin's brother, Charles, and Mr. Baldwin was a partner in the concern until his death. In 1864, when about eighteen years old, he en- listed in the Union army, in which he served about one hundred days as a private, being on active duty at the seat of war. Polit- ically he was a strong Republican, and at one time he was a member of the school board of Mount Vernon. He was long a member of St. Paul's Episcopal church, in which he was a vestryman and choir master. Mr. Baldwin was very prominently identi- fied with the Masonic fraternity and was one of its most influential members in the state. He gave inception to his Masonic career on July 21, 1871, and he was an officer
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in the grand lodge of Ohio at the time of his death. In the chivalric depart- ment of the order he was a member of Clinton Commandery, No. 5, Knights Tem- plar, at Mount Vernon, and was a mem- ber of the grand commandery of the state. He had - attained the thirty-second degree in the Scottish Rite Masonry, and had he lived until September, 1892, he would have received the thirty-third degree, the highest conferred in America. He was also a noble of the Mystic Shrine, having been affiliated with Alkoran Temple, in the city of Cleveland.
Mr. Baldwin was married, January 17, 1872, to Miss Ella Winne, daughter of George and Sarah E. (O'Hara) Winne, who bore him two children : Winnie, who is Mrs. William M. Coup, of Mount Vernon, and Charles Fowler Baldwin, an electrical en- gineer, of Chicago, Illinois. Mrs. Baldwin's ancestors in the paternal line were of Welsh extraction, and some of them lived at Rochester, Utica and Albany, New York. Her mother was a relative of Gen. James O'Hara, of Revolutionary fame. Her great- grandfather, Hugh O'Hara, brother of James, was a merchant at Pittsburg, Penn- sylvania, and amassed considerable property, but the records of his holdings were de- stroyed by fire, and it has never been possible for his descendants to benefit by his thrift and enterprise. He was murdered at Cheat Mountain, while traveling to Philadelphia for goods. Killian Winne, Mrs. Baldwin's grandfather in the paternal line, married a Mrs. Fellows, a widow, and they had several children. Mrs. Baldwin's father and mother were the parents of children named Belle, who married Edgar A. Clark, of Chicago, Illinois, and is now deceased ; Ella W., who
married William Franklin Baldwin; Frank, who died in 1890; and Kate, a maiden lady who lives in Mount Vernon. Mr. Winne died in 1898, and his wife in February, 1878. Mr. Winne came to Mount Vernon at the age of fifteen years with his brother from Utica, New York, and the latter became a dry goods merchant at that place. Event- ually he erected a hotel, the Kenyon House, which he conducted successfully for thirty years or until his retirement from active life. For three years he was in the internal rev- enue office. Frank Winne, his brother, served under General Morgan in the Mex- ican war and was stabbed by the Mexicans while on an expedition for provisions. His clothes were sent to his .family and Mrs. Baldwin now has a peculiar pin which he obtained in Mexico and wore on the lapel of his vest. Jacob Winne, Mrs. Baldwin's great-grandfather, was a Revolutionary sol- dier.
WILLIAM L. ELY, M. D.
As a practitioner of medicine and sur- gery Dr. Ely has won the success which follows merit and has advanced to an en- viable position among the representatives of the profession in Knox county. In tracing his ancestral history it is found that his great-great-grandfather was a native of Germany and became the founder of the family in the new world, while Michael Ely, the great-grandfather, was a native of Washington county, Pennsylvania. It was in the same locality that Lewis Ely, the Doc- tor's grandfather, was born and reared. He married a Miss Porter and is still living, a hale and hearty old man in his eighty-fourth
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OF KNOX COUNTY, OHIO.
year, his home being in Cardington, Morrow county, Ohio.
Abram Ely, the Doctor's father, is a native of Knox county, his birth having oc- curred in 1838. He was but a boy when he accompanied his parents on their removal to Morrow county. His father, however, possessing somewhat of a roving disposition, lived in various places and Abram was there- fore reared in Knox, Morrow and Henry counties of Ohio and in Indiana. He was married in Mount Vernon to Mrs. Olive (Gray) Dehority, who was born in Zanes- ville, Ohio, and was twice married, her first husband being William Dehority, a native of Delaware and a prominent farmer of Mor- row county. They had two children : Martha and Irene, the latter the wife of Samuel Osborn, of Morrow county. After the death of her first husband she gave her hand in marriage to Mr. Ely and they also have two children, but the Doctor is the only survivor. At the time of his marriage the father located on a farm near Sparta, Mor- row county, and after five years went to Missouri, operating sawmills in Macon, Shelby and Sullivan counties, that state, for three years. In 1873 he returned to Mor- row county, settling about a mile south of South Woodbury, where he still resides, having an excellent farm there.
Amid the refining influences of a good home Dr. Ely was reared and was early taught the value of industry and honesty in the active affairs of life. He pursued his education in the select Quaker schools of Morrow county and in Sparta, where he con- tinued his studies under the direction of Pro- fessor Bonebrake. Determining to follow a professional career and choosing that of medicine, he began reading under the direc-
tion of Dr. J. H. Tims, in 1889, and in the fall of 1890 he entered the Cleveland Med- ical College, in which he was graduated on the 23d of March, 1893. On the 28th of the same month he opened an office in Frederick- town and has since built up a lucrative and constantly growing practice. His reading has been wide and thorough, and he is very accurate in applying his knowledge to the alleviation of human suffering.
On the 23d of December, 1883, Dr. Ely was united in marriage to Miss Maria C. Tims, the only child of Dr. J. H. Tims, of Sparta, and unto them have been born two children, Lona E. and Florence. The Doc- tor gives his political support to the Democ- racy, and for two years he served as a mem- ber of the town council, while at the present time he is a member of the school board. He is deeply interested in the welfare of the town and belongs to that class of public- spirited men who desire the advancement and improvement of the town and hesitate not in giving their co-operation and sub- stantial support to those measures which will prove of general good.
MAJOR WILLIAM McFADDEN.
William McFadden, the well known resi- dent of Mount Vernon, Knox county, Ohio, a brief account of whose busy and useful career it will be attempted by the writer here to give, is of Irish and German ancestry, and his first American ancestors in both lines of descent came over the sea to the land of liberty about the same time. His par- ents were Henry and Hannah (Stinemetz) McFadden, and he was born in Clinton
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township, Knox county, Ohio, November 25, 1828. He acquired such education as was available to him in old-fashioned sub- scription schools taught in log school houses, with slab seats and plank desks or writing tables extending the full length of the room, the latter secured to the walls with wooden pins. Such primitive school houses had big fire places at one end that would hold several large logs at a time. The floors of these school houses were made of split logs laid flat side up, and the arrangement of their seats was such that the backs of the pupils were always turned toward the teach- er. Until he was eighteen years old Major McFadden attended such schools in the win- ter months and helped to clear land and carry on the work of the farm during the spring, summer and fall months. After that for about fifteen years he was a clerk in the dry goods store of Judge Miller. At the time of the gold excitement in California he narrowly escaped being a "Forty-niner" only because he was unable to leave for the gold fields before 1850. Then, in company with others, he made a ninety-four days' journey across the plains to the land of gold. He remained four years in California as a miner and farmer, spending two years in the Pajaro valley, and during that time he made and lost considerable money. October I, 1854, he embarked on a vessel at San Francisco for a voyage across the isthmus to his old home. The ship left San Fran- cisco on Saturday, and the next day, Sun- day, was wrecked at Yankee Blade, and two hundred out of the twelve hundred on board lost their lives. That night a dense fog set- tled over the waters, rendering it impossible for any one to see the length of the ship, and the next morning, while they waited for
some signs that would enable them to leave the stranded vessel, the curtain lifted from the surface of the water almost as an im- mense stage curtain would have done, so far as appearances went, and revealed to those on board a strange ship, the crew of which speedily came to the rescue of Mr. McFadden and his unfortunate companions. After more interesting experiences he re- sumed his homeward journey.
Major McFadden located in Richland county, Ohio, after 'his return from Cali- fornia and was engaged in the dry goods business there until October, 1861, when he enlisted in Company H, Fifty-ninth Regi- ment, New York Vounteer Infantry, at Belleville. He was mustered into the service at New York city as a private and in No- vember of that year was promoted to second lieutenant. In April, 1862, he was made first lieutenant; in October, 1862, he was raised to the rank of captain; and in May, 1864, he was honored by promotion to be major of his regiment, in which office he served gallantry until he was finally mus- tered out of service. He led his regiment in a memorable fight before Richmond in 1862 and fought at Bull Run, Antietam and Fredericksburg. He fought in the second Fredericksburg battle in May, 1863, and at the battle of Gettysburg he commanded his regiment. Later he participated in the fights in Virginia, in the Wilderness, at Spottsylvania Court House, Cold Harbor and Petersburg. June 22, 1864, he was made a prisoner of war on the Jerusalem plank road and was confined in Libby prison and later transferred to prisons at Macon, Georgia, and Charleston and Columbia, South Carolina. He made his escape at Co- lumbia, November 1, 1864, and: traveled
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OF KNOX COUNTY, OHIO.
across the Carolinas and Tennessee to Knoxville, which point he reached after twenty-seven nights of travel, hiding and resting in the day time. Nathan Bostwick, also an escaped prisoner of war and also a native of Knox county, Ohio, was his com- panion on this memorable journey. At Knoxville they obtained transportation to their old home in Ohio, which they visited on a thirty days' furlough, at the expiration of which Major McFadden rejoined his regiment near Richmond, serving with it until his discharge in 1865, at Syracuse, New York. His escape was noteworthy and a brief account of it will be appreciated in this connection. At Columbia the prisoners were kept in a large space and around them was drawn a dead line, eighty feet from which guards were stationed on all sides with instructions to shoot them should they attempt to cross it. Another prisoner, who had been detailed to carry wood outside of the prison camp was led to quarrel with Major McFadden and accused him of lazi- ness. Their war of words was a heated one and it resulted in the Major's crossing the dead line, supposedly to carry wood. After carrying one armful he started on his long and tedious journey. That same day more than one hundred men escaped in a similar manner. On their travels he and his com- panion were sheltered and guided by col- ored people, upon whose fidelity they were able to rely to the utmost.
August 14, 1855, Major McFadden mar- ried Emma B. Ward, daughter of Levi and Mary (Freeman) Ward. Their six children named, as follows, were: Herbert, de- ceased; William C., a banker at Fargo, North Dakota; Charles, deceased ; Mary R., who married Dr. Charles H. Wikenson, of
Canon, Colorado, and is now dead; Emma, deceased; and Carrie Y., who is a member of her parents' household.
Mrs. McFadden's parents were early settlers in Knox county, Ohio. Rufus Ward, her grandfather, a native of Worces- ter, Massachusetts, fought for American in- dependence in the war of the Revolution .. Her father was born at Brandon, Vermont, in 1808, her mother in Connecticut, in 1815. Her father was young when his parents re- moved to Knox county, Ohio. They set- tled in Miller township and became prosper- ous farmers. Mr. and Mrs. Ward were married in 1832, and had five children, as follows: Roxanna S., who married Mitch- ell Young, a jeweler, an early settler at Mount Vernon and a soldier in the Civil war; Mrs. McFadden; Sarah E., who mar- ried John M. Ewalt, and is now dead; Charles Carroll, of Mount Vernon; and Freeman F., who is a practicing physician and surgeon and lives in New York city.
CHARLES C. IAMS.
The Mount Vernon Republican, of Mount Vernon, Knox county, Ohio, was established in 1840. It was continued as a weekly until in 1885, when it became a semi- weekly, attaining a large circulation. C. F. & W. F. Baldwin, both now deceased, were then the proprietors, Col. C. F. Baldwin being the editor. A few years later the paper was purchased by the Republican Publishing Company, and in September, 1897, the publication of a daily edition was. begun. The next year the word "News" was added to the original name, the publi-
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cation of the company now being known as the Mount Vernon Daily Republican-News. The paper enjoys a wide circulation and is classed in the "Blue Book" as among the best in Ohio. The company does a large job printing business. A linotype machine was installed August 25, 1900. Ben Ames is president of the company; Charles C. Iams, vice-president, editor and manager ; and L. A. Culbertson, secretary and treas- urer.
Charles C. Iams was born October 23. 1860, at Tomah, Monroe county, Wiscon- sin, and came to Ohio with his parents, the late Rev. Francis M. and Mary M. Iams, in the early seventies. November 11, 1875, the family located at Mount Vernon, Knox county, where Charles C. has since made his home. In December, 1875, he was ap- prenticed to learn the printer's trade in the office of Park's Floral Magazine, and about fifteen months later became a "devil" in the office of the Mount Vernon Republican, then a weekly paper published by Wilkin- son & Knabenshue. He passed successively through the stages of pressman, job printer and foreman, and in 1887 became city edi- tor, under the chief editorship of the late Col. Charles F. Baldwin, whom he suc- ceeded as editor in the fall of 1894. In January, 1900, the Republican Publishing Company, publishers of the Mount Vernon Daily Republican-News and the Knox County Semi-Weekly Republican-News, was organized as follows: Ben Ames, president ; Charles C. Iams, vice-president, editor and manager; L. A. Culbertson, sec- retary and treasurer. These are the officers at the present time.
November 25, 1880, Mr. Iams married Miss Katharine M. Hill, daughter of J. M.
and Elizabeth Hill. One daughter, Edythe, was born to them. Mr. Iams has been a life-long and ardent Republican worker, but has held no public office except trustee of the city water works, to which he was elected in the spring of 1899. He is an Odd Fellow, Knight of Pythias and Mason, hav- ing passed the chairs in subordinate lodges of these orders, as well as in the chapter, council and commandery, Knights Templar. He is also a member of the Royal Arcanum and the Mystic Shrine.
HENRY R. ELLIOTT.
Henry R. Elliott was for many years a highly respected citizen of Berlin township, and it is most appropriate that his history be given in this volume among the life rec- ords of men who have conferred honor and dignity upon society here. He was born in Berlin township December 4, 1835. His parents, Gideon and Rebecca (Roberts) El- liott, came from Maryland to Ohio and cast their lot with the early settlers of Berlin township, Knox county. Our subject was the eldest of four children, and in the place of his birth he was reared, while in the com- mon schools he pursued his education. Early he became familiar with the work of the farm and assisted in the cultivation of the fields on his father's homestead until his marriage, which important event in his life occurred May u7, 1859, the lady of his choice being Eliza Elma Willits. She was born in Berlin township August 10, 1837, a daughter of John and Elizabeth (Purvi- ance) Willits. Her father came to Knox county in its pioneer days and was actively
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OF KNOX COUNTY, OHIO.
identified with the primitive development here. He wedded Miss Purviance, a na- tive of Belmont county, Ohio. She died when about thirty years of age, and of her three children one died in infancy, while David, the brother of Mrs. Elliott, is also deceased. She, therefore, is the only one of the family remaining. She was reared in Berlin township, and in the district schools began her education, which was con- tinued in Fredericktown, while for one year she was a student in the Wesleyan Female College at Delaware, Ohio. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Elliott were born two daughters, La- mira E., the wife of William H. Rucker, of Berlin township, by whom she has two chil- dren, Elma J., wife of Charles W. Cham- pion, at Mount Vernon, and Mabel E .; and Mary Ellen, the wife of J. T. Brown, who is living near Lexington, Richland county, and has two children, Elliott Ray and Delpha E.
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