USA > Ohio > Highland County > The County of Highland : a history of Highland County, Ohio, from the earliest days, with special chapters on the bench and bar, medical profession educational development, industry and agriculture and biographical sketches > Part 29
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Albert G. Cockerill, though not an old resident, was sufficiently prominent and popular to be elected in 1901 a member of the board of trustees of Madison township, of which Greenfield is the com- mercial capital. Mr. Cockerill is one of those substantial, progres- sive farmers who have helped to give the Buckeye state such fame in matters agricultural and place her in the very front rank as a producer of fine stock. He is a native of Iowa, another of the famous agricultural states, but came to Ohio with his parents when ten years of age. They settled in Fayette county, where his father, Edward E. Cockerill, became a leading farmer and rose to promi- nence in politics. He was elected and reelected commissioner of Fayette county and has held the office for many years, ranking high as a business man and was consulted as a safe adviser in all county affairs. He married Heressie Binegar and reared a family of nine children. Albert G. Cockerill being, as previously stated, a mere lad when he reached Ohio, received most of his schooling after reach- ing Fayette county. It was only such as is usually given to farm boys who are not intended as teachers or for the professions, but he was naturally studious and of an inquiring disposition and has added to his knowledge by reading and study. He engaged in farming in
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Fayette county and remained there until 1892, when he concluded to try his fortune in Highland county. He reentered agricultural pursuits as soon as he arrived and has since paid close attention to general farming and stock feeding. In 1889 he was married to Naomi, daughter of Henry Mark, a prominent farmer of Fayette county. The three children resulting from this union are Cleo, Clayton and Angeline, all bright and promising of future useful- ness. In 1901 Mr. Cockerill was elected trustee of Madison town- ship and he has given entire satisfaction by his manner of discharg- ing the duties of that office. He is a member of the Methodist Epis- copal church at Greenfield and a most excellent citizen in all the rela- tions of life.
Monto B. Coffin, the talented editor of the Leesburg Buckeye, is a native of the Hoosier state and grandson of Nathan Dix Coffin, one of the early settlers of Hancock county. He was born in Rush county, Indiana, in 1867, obtained a good education in the common schools and in early manhood decided to cast his lot with the people of the Buckeye state. It was in 1889 that he arrived at Cincinnati, where he spent three years, and removed to Clinton county where he was engaged in farming until 1899. In that year he purchased the Leesburg Buckeye, since which time he has been an active factor in the community and one of its most enterprising citizens. Under his able management the Buckeye has become a popular and influential paper, enjoying a large circulation and exercising a decided influ- ence in the territory contiguous to Leesburg. Mr. Coffin has shown himself to be a bright and forcible writer, well informed on public questions and anxious to advance the general welfare by timely and intelligent advocacy. He does his full share towards keeping the press of the state well to the front as a civilizing agent and exponent of the best popular thought. In fact he is one of the pushing and enterprising young editors of Highland county and is doing much for the growth and development of the Leesburg community. In 1892, he was married to Atilla Leeka, whose father was one of the oldest settlers of New Vienna and a man of prominence in Clinton county. This union has resulted in the birth of a bright little daugh- ter named Helen. Mr. and Mrs. Coffin are popular in the social cir- cles of Leesburg and New Vienna, and Mr. Coffin is prominently connected with the Masonic order.
Jonathan B. Cowgill, farmer and stockraiser, bears a name long known and respected in Highland county and inseparably associated with the history of Paint township. Many a wanderer in the olden days has directed his weary footsteps to the "Cowgill neighborhood," well assured of a hearty reception, as the locality was not only prom- inent in the annals of religion and society but famous as the abode
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of charity and hospitality. It was a community settled and domi- nated by the Society of Friends, a name synonymous with gentle- ness, with law and order and the heaven-sent message of "peace on earth and good-will among men." It was as far back as 1806 that Henry Cowgill, his wife Eleanor and their three children, Sarah, Benjamin and Henry, formed a little procession on their way from Culpeper Court House, Va., seeking a home in the west. They first located on Hardin's creek, in what is now Fairfield township, but later Mr. Cowgill purchased a large tract of land in Paint town- ship for which he paid at the rate of two and one-half dollars per acre. Of the family above mentioned, Benjamin Cowgill long sur- vived all the others. He married Margaret Garrett and by her had four children who grew to maturity, of whom Henry is a retired farmer at Petersburg, Martha married Lewis Roads, William and Eleanor are dead. After the death of his first wife, Mr. Cowgill married her sister, Rachel Garrett, by whom he had the following children now living: Sarah, wife of Harry Evans, of Greenfield ; Hattie, wife of William Parker, of Iowa; Jonathan B., the subject of this sketch; Mary, wife of Jonathan Roush; and Charles G., of Paint township. Benjamin Cowgill was a blacksmith by trade and carried on the shop in connection with his farm of 212 acres. He was all his life a devoted member of the Friends society and donated the land on which in 1876 they erected the handsome house of wor- ship which has since been used by the congregation. He served as county commissioner one term, though he avoided office seeking and all the methods known to what is called "practical politics." Ben- jamin Cowgill, after a long life of usefulness, passed peacefully away February 28, 1888, aged eighty-six and a half years, having long survived his second wife, whose death occurred in December, 1868. Jonathan B. Cowgill, third in age of the last group of chil- dren, was born on the ancestral homestead in Highland county, Ohio, September 19, 1846, and grew to manhood amid the quiet surround- ings of this rural neighborhood. March 25, 1869, he was married to Rebecca E., daughter of Samuel and Mary (Kinser) Parker, by whom he has had eight children. Of these, William, the first born, is dead; B. M. is in Indiana ; Albert G. is a principal in the Friends academy at Moorestown, N. J .; Clarence O., Benjamin, Thomas R., Martha D. and W. Parker are at home. Mr. Cowgill, after his mar- riage, took charge of the home farm and has since heen engaged in general farming and stockraising. Though he votes the Republi- can ticket he takes no active part in politics but devotes his time entirely to his agricultural pursuits. Like his ancestors for many generations back he is an adherent of the Friends and has inherited the kindly disposition and hospitable traits that have been charac- teristic of all the Cowgills.
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The Cowman Family .- As early as the year 1818 John and Elizabeth Cowman left their Virginia home and joined the tide of emigration then setting in strongly toward the Ohio valley. They became settlers of Highland county, where their descendants have since been found among the staunchest and most respectable of the citizenship. When they arrived their son John F. was a mere infant, his birth having occurred in Virginia, December 19, 1815, but he grew up to be a useful and prosperous member of the com- munity. In early manhood he became a miller and at different peri- ods of his life was engaged in milling in various localities, includ- ing eleven years at Greenfield. April 18, 1838, he was married to Caroline, daughter of John and Betsey (Kees) Foster, with whom he lived happily over thirty years and who bore him a large family of children. Mrs. Cowman's father came from Pennsylvania and in 1812 purchased a tract of land in Liberty township, on which in 1827 he erected a dwelling-house that is still well preserved and makes a comfortable residence. It was at this place that Mrs. Cow- man was born February 20, 1817, and here she is spending the even- ing of her days under the affectionate care of her children. Her husband died January 26, 1869, but a few years before that event he purchased the eighty-one acres of land settled by his father-in- law and to this estate Mrs. Cowman and her children removed soon after the father's demise. The farm is situated four miles north of Hillsboro, along the New Vienna pike, contains a good orchard and is in a thrifty condition. Among the children of John F. and Caroline (Foster) Cowman was a promising son named John Madi- son, born February 6, 1840, who enlisted in Company C, Eighty- first regiment Ohio volunteer infantry, served three years and died from the results of a wound received September 2, 1864, at Atlanta. William C., the second son, who also served in the Union army, is now clerking for Wolfe & Colvert of Hillsboro. Samuel W. resides on the farm with his mother; Edna is the wife of John McCright of Fayetteville, Brown county ; Esther C. is caring for her mother at home; Emma Jane died in January, 1900, and five others passed away in infancy.
H. A. Cowman, general manager of the Greenfield Printing and Publishing company, is of Virginia stock, and grandson of Alex- ander Cowman, who came from the Old Dominion to Highland county when a young man and embarked in agricultural pursuits. His son, John M. Cowman, became a merchant and for years has followed that business at Greenfield. The latter's son, H. A. Cow- man, was born and reared in Highland county and when thirteen years old became a clerk in his father's store. He early developed a taste for journalism, his first venture in that line being as editor of a paper at Greenfield called the Tri-County News. Some time
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later he had charge of the Daily Journal, holding also a position as bookkeeper with the pad manufacturing establishment at Green- field. In April, 1901, he took charge of the Greenfield Republican, and has since been the general manager of that business. He is a member of the Presbyterian church at Greenfield.
The Crawford Family .- The name of Crawford is a memorable one in the annals of Ohio and especially identified with the history of Ross and Highland counties. The family here mentioned is descended from a Pennsylvania family of Irish descent, of which two of the sons were captured by Indians about the year 1760, and were prisoners in Ohio until surrendered to General Bouquet at the famous treaty of 1764. One of them afterward settled on Eagle creek, in Brown county, and the other located at Crawfordsville, Ind., which was named after him. The Colonel Crawford whose defeat in 1782, and subsequent burning at the stake in what is now Wyandot county, was one of the most tragic events in the annals of Indian massacres, was a relative of the Highland county branch of the family. Alexander Crawford, a brother of the Indian cap- tives alluded to, was born in Pennsylvania during the Revolution- ary war, and was the first of the family to gain a foothold in the Scioto valley. He married Anna Pigman and with her and four children left his native state in the fall of 1795, floated down the Ohio on a small flat-boat to the mouth of the Scioto, and ascended that stream in a canoe to the vicinity of Chillicothe. He was a mill- wright and helped to build the floating mill famous in Chillicothe history, commonly supposed to have been the first mill of any kind upon the Scioto river. After remaining about two years at his first location, Alexander Crawford moved to the mouth of Waugh's run on Deer creek, which locality he abandoned in 1799 and selected a place of residence on what afterward became the site of Centerfield in Highland county. Here he remained about six years and the place was long known as "Crawford's Thicket." From this point he removed in 1805 to Paint township, Ross county, his land extend- ing into the Highland county township of the same name. In 1807, he built on the Highland county bank of Paint creek a grist-mill which became an important factor in the domestic life of the neigh- borhood. Here he lived and carried on his work until 1823, when he was drowned while attempting to cross the creek in a canoe. His children, all of whom are long since dead, were seven in number and named as follows: Jesse, Alexander, Mary (Mrs. Nathan Thomas), Sarah (Mrs. James Greenfield), Elizabeth (Mrs. Will- iam Greenfield), Susan (Mrs. John McElwaine) and Elsie (Mrs. Joseph Estle) of Indiana. Alexander Crawford, Jr., second of the children in age, was born in Green county, Pa., in 1790 and was con- sequently a lad of five years when he floated down the Ohio with
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his parents on their adventurous voyage to the western wilderness. After he grew up he was associated with his father in the manage- ment of the mill and after the latter's death took charge and con- ducted the business alone for some years. In 1825, he sold the property to Mr. Barrett and removed to Plum run, a mile or more southwest of his former location, and there built a saw and grist mill which he conducted until 1850 when his sons assumed charge of the business. Alexander Crawford was a man of most excellent traits of character and very interesting as a companion on account of the experiences of his early life. He was a companion of the Indian boys, with whom he played and hunted, and he personally knew many of the warriors who became famous in history. Among his acquaintances were such celebrated characters as Logan and Tecumseh, and Captain John, a Shawanee chief who taught young Crawford how to hunt deer. He often went with his father to visit Waw-wil-a-way, the old chief who resided on Rattlesnake creek, and whose base murder by Wolff has been much reprehended by all the historians of the pioneer days. Mr. Crawford was present at Old Town (now Frankfort), Ross county, when the ceremonies establish- ing peace between the murderer and his victim's sons were celebrated, and often during his life spoke of the impressiveness of the scene which there ensued. Alexander Crawford, Jr., who was a fine mill- wright, erected many mills on various Ohio streams and was widely known as well as highly esteemed for his cheerful and sociable dis- position. He married Elizabeth, daughter of Benoni Brown, who came to Ross county from Virginia, and as a result of this union there were eight children. Jemima, the eldest, and widowed wife of Solomon Mershon, is a resident of Clermont county where her brother Jackson is also living in his eighty-sixth year. John joined the Second regiment, Ohio heavy artillery, and was accidentally shot and killed by a fellow soldier in Kentucky. Mary was drowned in infancy, and Catherine, who married S. G. Gough, died in July, 1901. The other three children are Alexander, Jesse and Anna, the latter a widow of John O'Neil. Alexander Crawford, Jr., died May 15, 1874, in his eighty-fifth year, having long survived his wife whose death occurred in 1841. Alexander Crawford, the third, who was born in 1828, and his brother Jesse two years younger, worked together in the mill for some years and the latter learned the trade of a millwright. In the spring of 1857 they purchased in part- nership 188 acres of land which they operated jointly for some time, and a few years later removed to their present place of residence, where in 1870 they erected a commodious dwelling-house. The two brothers now own 500 acres of land, which is well improved and equipped with all necessary agricultural conveniences. Formerly they raised mules extensively, but latterly have confined themselves
H-18
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. to general farming and breeding of miscellaneous stock. February 16, 1865, Jesse Crawford was married to Ruth V. Wheaton, of Mad- ison township, daughter of John F. and Mary (Vance) Wheaton, natives of Pennsylvania. The children of this union are five in number: Emma, married Joseph Burgess, of Paint township and has one child, John A .; John A. Crawford died August 27, 1894; Elizabeth E., wife of Albert McCoy, resides at Washington Court House; Luana, married Russel Hughey and died August 6, 1896, leaving one child, Ruth E .; Jessie M., wife of Samuel Buck, has two children, Elizabeth and Catherine.
Lewis Crum, in the early days one of the best known men of Highland county, was born in Virginia, February 10, 1787, and in early manhood married Sarah Eagle, born in Virginia October 5, 1787. A few years later they moved to Wayne county, Ohio, and not long afterward, in 1823, made their home in Brush Creek town- ship, Highland county. There Lewis Crum, who was a carpenter by trade, bought the old mill now known as the Porter mill, which he operated, with the exception of about three years, until his death, on April 7, 1861. His wife died on January 20, 1862. Their eleven children were: George, residing at Bainbridge; William, deceased; Amelia, of Coshocton county ; John Harrison, Millie, Anna, deceased ; Strawder, of Kansas; Eliza, deceased; Sarah, of Louisiana ; Alcinda, deceased; Rachel, deceased. John Harrison Crum, the father of the subject of this sketch, was born in Frederick county, Virginia, January 27, 1817, and was reared in Brush Creek township mainly, where he married Ann M. Wickerham, and began house keeping at Sinking Spring, where they lived about twelve years. Two years they spent at the place now owned by Mrs. Hempstead, and then they occupied the farm where their son, John H., now lives. He lived to the age of seventy-nine years and his wife to fifty-nine. Their children are: Jacob W., residing in Brush Creek township; John H., subject of this notice; Joseph W., Samuel, and Peter N. living in Brush Creek; Sarah, wife of D. Shoemaker, of Brush Creek, and Lewis, whose residence is in the same township.
. John H. Crum was born on the Hempstead farm, October 20, 1844, and was educated in the district school. At the outbreak of the great civil war he was among the first to offer their services to the nation, and enlisted in Company L of the Second regiment, Ohio cavalry, with which he was mustered in at Columbus. Being sent to Virginia, he was on duty there for twenty two-months, participat- ing in a number of encounters with the enemy, including the notable battles of the Wilderness, Hanover Court House, Dinwiddie Court House, Ream's Station, Cedar Creek, Winchester, Charlottesville, and Harper's Ferry. At the conclusion of his service he was mus-
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tered out at St. Louis, Mo., when he returned home and resumed the work of farming. Soon afterward he was married to Phoebe Lowe, a native of Maine, and for four years they made their home in Lib- erty township, afterward removing to the old homestead. He built a handsome residence in 1901, affording him a comfortable home, upon 125 acres of valuable land. He is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic and a Republican in politics. Mrs. Phoebe Crum, who died in 1892, was the mother of three children: Pearl, wife of R. J. Pope; Oscar, residing in Brush Creek, and Ivy, wife of J. Grable. On May 11, 1901, Mr. Crum was united in marriage with Mrs. Martha Garman and there was born to this union one child, Nina.
Peter N. Crum, a younger son of J. Harrison Crum, Sr., of whom a sketch is given in the foregoing, was born December 1, 1858, on the farm where he now lives. At nineteen years of age he went west, to Illinois, Minnesota and Iowa, and was most of the time in employment on the railroads. Then returning home, he bought part of the old place and married Mary A. Roads, of Brush Creek town- ship. Seven children have been born to them: Chester, Sherman, Cecil, Blanche, Golden and Silvie (twins, the latter deceased), and Roscoe, deceased. Mr. Crum is the owner of 104 acres of good land, is a successful farmer and good business man, and is unusually popu- lar in the township, as was shown recently by his election as the Republican candidate for trustee in a township generally Democratic by a large majority. He is serving his first term in this office, which he is adapted to fill with credit and benefit to the public.
Thomas Cummings, one of the early settlers of Brush Creek township, was a patriot soldier of the war of 1812, served the full term and was rewarded with a land warrant, but unfortunately lost his rights through some of the devious land operations of the early days. He married Susan Ockerman, who, like himself, was a native of Virginia, and they made their home upon a small tract of wild land in Brush Creek township, where they reared ten children : Henry, William, John, Martha, Mary, Barbara, Elizabeth, Anthony, Daniel and Thomas. Thomas Cummings was one of the founders of the first church in the township, and lived an honorable and Chris- tian life, which is remembered with pride by his many descendants.
Daniel Cummings, one of the sons, now prominent in Brush Creek township, was born there February 27, 1832, and in early manhood married Jane, daughter of James and Elizabeth Woolfe. In the time of the great rebellion he volunteered for the military service and was a private in Company B of the Hundred and Seventy-fifth Ohio infantry, with which he served about ten months in Tennessee. Though he started in early manhood without property he now has
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a valuable farm of 152 acres, and is much respected, and has been honored with the offices of school trustee and supervisor. He is a comrade of the Grand Army of the Republic and a steward in the Methodist church. He and his wife have had nine children: Bar- bara E., John W., James T., George A., Joseph, Charles E., Eliza E., Wesley, and one that died in infancy.
Thomas Cummings the younger, son of Thomas, whose name heads this sketch, was born and reared in Brush Creek township, and married to Mary J., daughter of Jacob T. and Elizabeth Hizer. He lived to the age of about sixty years, and was one of the successful farmers and influential men of the township. Taking a great inter- est in educational and religious affairs, he served for a number of years as a member of the school board, and was one of the staunch supporters of the old Pisgah Methodist church, and one of its trustees for many years. His children were: Edward S., residing in Paulding county ; Mary. E., at the old home; Martha E., at Belfast, Ohio ; Daniel R .; Melissa J., Ollie A., and Sherman are deceased ; and Farris B. resides on the old homestead.
Daniel R. Cummings, son of Thomas and Mary J. Cummings, was born on the farm now owned by his mother March 21, 1868, and was educated in the public schools. In his youth he began teaching in the schools of Paulding county, and he followed this profession for five years, then returning to Highland county and taking charge of the old homestead, and marrying Annie E., daughter of John N. and Catherine Butters of Marshall township. They are now living on the farm of her parents, and he is the owner of sixty acres of valuable land, but farms a larger area, with much success. He is one of the prominent young men of Marshall township, and has been honored with the responsible office of township trustee. He is a member of the lodge of Odd Fellows, No. 25, at Hillsboro, and a steward and trustee of the Methodist church. In politics Mr. Cummings is a Democrat. Mr. and Mrs. Cummings have three children : Fay M., Ruth V., and N. Gladys.
Robert C. Daisley, breeder of thoroughbred cattle and hogs and one of the substantial farmers in the vicinity of Lynchburg, Ohio, is a native of Highland county, of Irish parentage. His father, Will- iam Daisley, was born at Mt. Charles, parish of Inver, Donegal county, Ireland, in 1811 and came to America in 1833, but did not reach Highland county until six years later. He settled one mile south of Fairview in Hamer township and as he was an industrious young man of good address he soon made headway in business. Some years after his arrival he obtained the hand in marriage of Margaret Barnes, member of a wealthy and influential family who were iden- tified with the county from its organization. Her parents were John and Christina (Tedrick) Barnes, natives of Pennsylvania, who
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settled in Dodson township and there spent the remainder of their days. They had thirteen children and the father was able to give to each son one hundred acres and to each daughter fifty acres of land, his whole estate amounting to about nine hundred acres. The father died in 1857 and his wife a few years previous to that time. Will- iam Daisley and wife lived happily together for many years, her death occurring in 1874, at the age of sixty-eight, and his in 1891, when he was eighty years old. They had four children and the only one living is Robert C. Daisley, born in Hamer township, Highland county, Ohio, March 5, 1852. He attended school with a view to qualifying himself as a teacher and subsequently followed that useful occupation for fifteen years, being so employed from September, 1871, until March, 1886. In 1891 he located on a farm of 110 acres in Dodson township, where he has since been engaged in general farming and the breeding of fine stock. He makes a specialty of the Shorthorn Durham cattle and Poland-China hogs, and has met with success as a handler and producer of these popular varieties. August 12, 1877, Mr. Daisley was married to Salina A. Clark, born in Clin- ton county, Ohio, July 12, 1851, by whom he has two children, Maud M. and Myra R. Maud attended the Lynchburg high school and has been a successful teacher for several years. The family are members of the Christian church. Mrs. Daisley is the eldest daugh- ter of Carey and Rebecca J. (Hildebrant) Clark. Her father was. born in Clinton county, Ohio, November 26, 1828, and died there on June 25th, 1901. Her mother also was born in Clinton county, May 8, 1832. The Clarks and Hildebrants were among the pioneer set- tlers of Clinton county.
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