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 31
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Andrew W. Dwyer, a well known farmer and stockraiser, has long been identified with the agricultural interests of Madison town- ship. He is of Irish blood, his grandfather James Dwyer having emigrated from the Emerald isle in youth and settled in the western part of old Virginia. He left a son named Aaron, who migrated to Ohio in 1835 and settled in Highland county where he became a leading farmer and stockraiser. Aaron Dwyer married Abigail Hedrick, a native of West Virginia of German descent, by whom he reared a family of four children : Esther, widow of Harvey Mur- dock; Caleb, president of a bank at Springfield, Kansas; Joseph, a resident of Highland county, and Andrew W. Dwyer. The latter was born, bred and educated in Highland county, and in 1878 was married to Martha, daughter of Noah Glascock, who was a native of Culpeper county, Virginia, and one of the early settlers of Highland county. Mr. and Mrs. Dwyer have five children: Earl, educated at the Ohio State University, and now teaching in North Dakota ; Stanley, Frank, Laura and John. Mr. Dwyer has spent his whole life in agricultural pursuits, making a specialty of the breeding of stock. Among his choice possessions is a fine herd of thirteen thor- oughbred Polled Angus cattle, which are among the best of their kind in the State. The family are all members of the Methodist Episco- pal church at Greenfield, of which Mr. Dwyer is a trustee.
George E. Easton, a former trustee of Brush Creek, and influen- tial citizen, is a grandson of Edward Easton, a native of England, who was married in that country to a Miss Shadford, and immi- grated to the United States in 1815, first settling in Pennsylvania. After a short stay they moved to Kentucky and remained several
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years and then made their home in Ripley, Ohio, until their death. Edward Easton, son of the foregoing, and father of the subject of this sketch, was born in England in 1810. He came to Sinking Springs in early manhood, and engaged in business as a merchant, and married Mary N. Amen, a native of that place and member of one of the early and prominent families of the county. She is still living and at the age of 87 is well preserved. Later, Edward Easton, Jr., established a tannery near Sinking Springs, in Pike county, where they lived some time, afterward moving to Hillsboro, where he was in the leather business. About 1860 he established a tannery on the farm where his widow now lives, and there he died at the age of seventy-four years. He was a man of religious nature, and was widely known as a local minister of his church, as well as esteemed by all his acquaintances as a man of integrity and kind- ness. He and his wife had seven children: Mary C. and Erastus, who died in infancy; Hyman N., deceased; George E., Sarah R., living at Kansas City; William T., in Kansas; and Rev. John A. Easton, of Winchester. George E. Easton was born at Sinking Springs, September 29, 1836, was educated at the Hillsboro schools, and in early manhood married Kate Jolly, of Liberty township, descendant of a well-known pioneer family of the county. After living two years in Hillsboro, he moved to the farm where he now lives, taking charge of the tannery established by his father. Five years later he removed with his family to Illinois, but later returned to Highland county, where he has since remained. He is a man of prominence in his township and enjoys the respect of his neighbors and acquaintances. The wife of Mr. Easton died in 1882, leaving five children living, besides two who died in infancy: Edward, liv- ing in Kansas City; Mary, of Cincinnati; Charles, Mamie and Catherine, residing in the same city.
Samuel Edingfield, trustee of Union township and one of its sub- stantial farmers and popular citizens, comes of Pennsylvania stock. His father and namesake was a native of the Keystone state, born in Fayette county in 1808, and being left an orphan in early boy- hood was bound out to a Mr. Thomas. As soon as he reached maturity he married a Miss Carr, by whom he had five children, only two of whom are living. In 1835 he came to Highland county, where he met and married Nancy Arledge, a native of North Caro- lina, born in 1806, and brought to Ohio by her parents when a girl. He did fairly well and accumulated 148 acres of land. At his death in 1893, he left three children by his last marriage, one of whom is Samuel Edingfield, the subject of this sketch, who was born in Highland county, Ohio, August 2, 1845. At an early period of life he began work for himself and after years of hard labor and saving can point to eighty-five acres of well-improved land as a fair
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return for his efforts. He follows general farming, raises stock, looks closely after all the details of his operations and stands well among his neighbors. This is proved by the fact that he is now and has for six years been trustee of his township, managing the duties of that office in such a way as to give entire satisfaction to his con- stituents. In 1875, Mr. Edingfield was married to Sarah Fenner, of Highland county, by whom he had three children, Roy (deceased), Flora and Charles. The mother died in 1892, and in December, 1896, Mr. Edingfield was married to Ollie Smith, of Highland county. The family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church.
Rufus O. Elliott, one of the worthy farmers of Washington town- ship, was born May 13, 1840, son of Charles Elliott, who was for many years a well-known and popular citizen of Highland county. Charles Elliott was a native of Pennsylvania, and reared in that state. Being a poor boy, he was bound out in childhood, but when he came of age he determined to embrace the opportunities of the west and came to Highland county, where he found employment during the remainder of his life as brick and stone mason and plas- terer. He also gave considerable time to farming, and after living for fifteen or twenty years on the place now owned by E. Mullenix, bought a farın of 111 acres in Washington township, where he died at over seventy-five years of age. His widow, eighty-nine years of age, is now living with her son Henry. She was Nancy Smith, daughter of Jeremiah Smith, and was born and reared in Liberty township. Charles and Nancy Elliott had four children : Angeline, now living in Dakota ; Clarinda, wife of John Sanders, of Concord township; Henry M., of Liberty township, and Rufus O. of Wash- ington township. The latter, whose name heads this sketch, was reared on the home farm, where he has continued to live to the pres- ent time, and educated in youth in the district school. In early manhood he married Hannah A. Vance, who was born and reared in Newmarket township, daughter of David J. and Eliza Vance, and three children have been born to them: Eliza, deceased; Ella M., wife of Edward J. Muntz, and David H., of Hillsboro. The death of Mrs. Elliott, depriving the family of a devoted wife and mother, occurred April 24, 1900. Mr. Elliott is a member of the Methodist church, and a Democrat in politics, and is held in high esteem by his neighbors.
Thomas M. Elliott, proprietor of the Greenfield steam laundry, has long been connected with the city's affairs in different depart- ments of industry. His father, Alexander Elliott, was one of the Pennsylvanians who helped to settle Buckskin township, which is that part of Ross county bordering on Greenfield. He was a leading
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business man of the latter city for many years and died there in 1862. He married Jane Adams, also a native of Pennsylvania, and they reared a large family of children, of whom the five living are John A., of Illinois; David, of York, Pa .; Isabella, widow of Beniah Fleming; Margaret A., widow of H. M. Devoss, and Thomas M. Elliott. The latter, who is the subject of this sketch, was born in Ross county, Ohio, and came to Greenfield when ten years old. He attended school at the Blair & McFarland academy, and at an early age looked about for employment. His first venture was in the furniture business, with a partner, under the firm name of Murray & Elliott, which was progressing with good prospects of success until interrupted by the outbreak of the civil war. When that dire event occurred, Mr. Elliott promptly foresook his business to become one of that mighty army which was organized under the different calls of President Lincoln. Among the first regiments organized was the Twenty-seventh Ohio volunteer infantry, Com- pany H of which was recruited in Highland county. Mr. Elliott joined this company and was mustered into service with the regiment in August, 1861. The same month it was sent to St. Louis, Mo., and on arrival encamped near that city. In the organization of the Army of the Mississippi, the Twenty-seventh regiment was assigned to the First brigade, First division. It was prominent in the siege of New Madrid and the attack on Island No. 10, and a few weeks after the last event moved to the vicinity of Fort Pillow. It took part in the second battle at Corinth, Miss., and at Iuka was in a hotly contested engagement. In November, 1862, it helped to gain a brilliant vic- tory over Forrest at Parker's Cross Roads, capturing seven guns, three hundred and sixty prisoners and four hundred horses. The Twenty-seventh was in the Atlanta campaign, the march to the sea, the grand review at Washington, and was discharged from service in July, 1865. Mr. Elliott started in as a private, but was later made a sergeant, and in 1863 was promoted to the captaincy of a company in the Ninth Louisiana regiment, which rank he retained until mus- tered out at Natchez, Miss., in 1865. After his return home, he sought employment in a planing mill and later purchased a mill and embarked in the lumber business. This he carried on for twenty years, when he disposed of his interests and retired temporarily for a much needed rest. His next venture was the purchase of the steam laundry which he has since conducted at Greenfield with entire satis- faction to himself and customers. His wife is Jennie, daughter of Henry Irwin, of Highland county, and they have an only child, Mary Irwin. Mr. Elliott is a member of the official board of the Pres- byterian church at Greenfield, and by virtue of his army record holds membership in the patriotic organization known as the Grand Army of the Republic.
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Charles A. Ellison, of Paint township, superintendent of the Cave Farm, owned by a company of Chillicothe people, is a grandson of James Ellison, of Virginia, among whose children were James, Eli, Matthew, Joseph and Felix. The latter, father of Charles A., was born in Virginia in 1807, and in early manhood entered the ministry of the Baptist church, in which he became prominent and useful. In 1845 he removed to Ohio, where he died in 1860. By his first marriage to Eveline Walker, the Rev. Felix Ellison had three chil- dren : Virginia Caroline, Amelia Clementine, and America Ade- line ; and by his second marriage, to Mary Ann, daughter of William and Lucy (Holdsaple) Carnifax, of Carnifax Ferry, Va., the follow- ing children were born: W. George L., who served three years and three months in the Fifty-sixth Ohio infantry; Mary Emeline, who married Jacob Webb, first lieutenant in the Seventh Virginia regi- ment in 1861-65; Samantha, wife of John Duffy, of Virginia; Adoniram, who served in the Hundred and Seventeenth Ohio regi- ment and First Ohio heavy artillery, and since being enrolled in the army as Andrew, has borne the latter name; Charles A., subject of this sketch ; Emily Jane, who married John Riley Jewett, of Scioto county, and died at thirty-five years of age. Charles A. Ellison was born August 12, 1850. Though he was only a boy during the great civil war, in which his brothers participated, he served three months in the cause of the Union, with the state troops, under Captain Will- iam Turner. On February 16, 1874, he married Barbara, daughter of the Rev. John H. and Susan (Nichols) Lutz (now spelled Lute). The Rev. John H. Lute was a noted minister of the Christian denom- ination, having spent almost his entire life in the ministry, in Scioto county, Ohio, where he died March 26, 1883. His wife survived him until September 3rd, 1886, when she also passed away. Four children have been born to Charles A. and Barbara Ellison: Will- iam George and Charles Samuel, who died in infancy; Mary, who was educated in the Bourneville high school; Andrew, who attended the same institution, and is now farming. Mrs. Ellison's brothers and sisters are: Elizabeth, widow of Richard Throckmorton ; George, Martha; Lydia, deceased, former wife of Joseph Wilson; Mary J., wife of Amos Higgins; John and Robert, Jacob; Phoebe, wife of Newton Hilt, a soldier for three years in the Union army ; and Samuel; all those living having their homes in Scioto county. Mr. Ellison has been engaged for several years in contracting and building turnpikes, but recently was secured by the syndicate that owns the Cave farm, as superintendent. He is a man thoroughly fitted for such a position, of good executive ability and active and enterprising in nature. He is one of the prominent men of Paint township. He and wife are members of the Baptist church, and he is affiliated with the Masonic lodge, No. 465, of Lucasville.
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James Euverard, an influential citizen of Clay township, is a grandson of one of the leading men in the French settlement that was made in Highland county about seventy years ago. George and Elizabeth Euverard, the original ancestors in America, were natives of France, where the father was a stonemason and maker of wooden shoes. They sailed for the United States in 1832, with their chil- dren, and after an ocean voyage of thirty-eight days reached New York. Their first settlement was near Lake Ontario, and five years later they removed to Cincinnati, from there coming to Highland county eighteen months later, and settling near Mowrystown. They bought a small farm in White Oak township, and later a farm in Clay township, where George died at the age of over eighty-three years and his wife, Elizabeth, at eighty-eight. They had eleven chil- dren : Peter, John, George, David, Susan, Margaret, Mary, Sophia, Catherine, Susannah and Elizabeth, of whom the only survivors are Mary and Catherine, both living in Clay township. Peter, the eld- est, and the father of the subject of this sketch, was born at Etobon, France, in 1809, and after he came to America with his parents, fol- lowed for many years the occupation of stone mason in addition to farming. He married in this country Susan Euverard, daughter of Peter, Sr., and Susan Euverard, who lived in the same town with himself in France. She came to America in the same ship with her husband. Some time after their marriage, they removed to Clay township, where they lived until their death, the father dying at the age of seventy-eight, and the mother at fifty-eight years. Peter Euverard acquired nearly three hundred acres of land, and was one of the best known men of the township. He left six children : Eliza- beth, wife of H. Jodry, of White Oak township; Clanie, wife of L. G. Marconet, of Clay township; James and Charles L., of Clay township, and Noah and Joseph, the latter two residing in Tennes- see. James Euverard was born in 1840, on the farm now owned by C. L. Euverard, and was educated in the district school and at Leb- anon, New Richmond and Buford. In early manhood he taught school for two terms, but his health failed and he was compelled to give up that profession. Subsequently he was engaged with his uncle in the manufacture of spinning wheels, and after that he and his brother gave considerable attention to the manufacture of brick, in addition to farming. From 1869 for nine years the two brothers owned and operated the old water mill at Mowrystown, and while liv- ing there James Euverard was married in October, 1870, to Columbia Himes, a native of Brown county. Twelve years later, in 1882, the mill was sold, and he bought a place of 48 acres in Clay township, where he now owns 95 acres of valuable land. Mr. Euverard is an enterprising and active man and enjoys the confidence of his asso- ciates. He served acceptably as township trustee in White Oak township, was a member of school board from 1884 to 1890, in all
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six years, and had charge of the Gath postoffice for over four years by appointment of President Mckinley. He is a valued member of the Baptist church. His only son, William Hayes, is living at home, and the daughter, Ida Pearl, is married to Albert Whiteing, of Clay township.
Charles L. Euverard, a prosperous farmer of Clay township, is a grandson of George Euverard and son of Peter Euverard, pioneers of the French settlement of Highland county, of whom mention is made in the foregoing sketch. He was born September 5, 1842, on the farm now owned by him, and where his present residence now stands, and he has remained in the township ever since, with the exception of brief absences, never exceeding two weeks. Industrious, intelligent and enterprising, he has made a success of life, and stands high in the esteem of his fellow men. In youth he attended the dis- trict schools of the township, and learned the trade of stone masonry under his father, the well known and popular Peter Euverard. But he never followed his father's handicraft as a means of livelihood, directing his energies, instead, to the work of agriculture. In early manhood he was married to Mary A. Harris, a native of New Market township and daughter of Robert and Martha Harris, old and respected settlers. He and his wife have ever since resided upon the farm where they then began housekeeping, and their home has been blessed with four children: Loyd E., Robert C., Roy C., and Mary Christine. At the present time Mr. Euverard is the owner of 179 acres of good land in Clay and forty acres in Newmarket township. He has served the community ably for a good many years as school director and he is a valued member of the Baptist church and the Republican party.
George L. Evans, of Clay township, one of the younger land- holders of the county, is particularly well known as a breeder and owner of trotting horses. He is the son of Milford Evans, a native of Brown county, who married Zarilda, daughter of Joseph Ralstin, one of the old settlers of Brown county. These parents, Milford and Zarilda Evans, had nine children, Melissa and Jane, deceased ; Will- iam, now living in Missouri; Sylvester, of Dayton, Ohio; George L .; Charlie, of Hamilton, Ohio; Ida, of Cincinnati ; Ulysses, of Chicago, and Thomas S., of Dayton. Milford Evans was a gallant soldier of the Union in the time of the great rebellion, was on duty throughout nearly the entire period of hostilities, and received two honorable dis- charges. He died about 1869 and his wife passed away in 1865. George L. was born at the Brown county home of his parents October 18, 1855, and at the death of his mother, being ten years of age, he started out to make his own way in the world. Four years later he came to Highland county and worked at farming by the month for
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several years. Thus the years passed until he reached early man- hood, when he had the good fortune to win the hand of Margaret A. Harris, daughter of A. P. Harris, a prominent farmer of Salem town- ship. Four years afterward he bought a small place in Brown county, and after about three years' residence there he purchased 333 acres where he now lives, an area that he has increased to 115 acres. He continued farming, prospering in this occupation and winning the esteem of his fellow citizens, until about ten years ago, when he gave his attention mainly to the rearing of horses. He now has a half-mile track at his home, has been quite successful in the training of valuable horses, and is the owner of Blackthorn, with a record of 2:30, Aradill, a trotting mare with a record of 2:194, and several promising colts that have not yet achieved fame. His home is one of the most pleasant in the county, and he is a popular and influential citizen. Mr. Evans is a member of the lodge of Odd Fel- lows at Buford, and a Republican in politics.
James Fairley, one of the notable pioneers of Highland county, was a native of Scotland, who came to Ohio from Rockbridge county, Va., in 1815, and settled on a farm afterward owned by the Pattons, in Paint township. He built a distillery on his farm on Fall creek in 1818, and was engaged in that industry, common in that time, for some years. His death occurred in 1860. By his marriage to Nancy Lackey, he had eleven children: William, Jane, Nancy Y., Addison, Samuel M., Mary A., James Y., Amanda, Christina and David A. Samuel M. Fairley was born December 8, 1816, and married Sophia, daughter of Enoch and Sally Overman. She was the granddaughter of Zebulon Overman, a native of Green Brier county, Va., who came from the Shenandoah valley to Paint town- ship, with his children, in 1805. The family has always been very prominent in the Friends society of Highland county. By this mar- riage Samuel M. Fairley had eight children: Caroline, wife of Amosiah Baldwin; James W., deceased; Levi B .; Mary L., wife of James Hughey; Enoch O .; Nancy, wife of F. M. Johnson; Elizabeth, and a son who died in infancy. Enoch Overman Fair- ley, son of Samuel M. and Sophia Fairley, was born in High- land county, October 26, 1852, and married in early manhood Mary Hindman, born December 9, 1859, daughter of William and Lucinda (Clark) Hindman. She is one of the children (the others being David C., Mary C., and Carrie Ellen) of William Hind- man, born in Brooke county, W. Va., April 30, 1814, and died at New Petersburg, October 2, 1895, and his wife, Lucinda Clark, born April 3, 1831, in Highland county, and died at New Petersburg November 9, 1887. Enoch O. Fairley is a prosperous farmer of Paint township, residing about half a mile north of New Petersburg, where his home has been since childhood. He is a popular and estimable
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citizen, maintains a membership in Emerald lodge, No. 211, Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows, at New Petersburg, and is active and enterprising in his social and business relations. He and his wife have three children : Marie, born August 14, 1878, formerly a teacher in the public schools and now the wife of James E. Haines of Fay- ette county ; Lula, born May 10, 1881, and Herbert, born March 18, 1884.
Cyrus W. Fairley, the well known grocer and livery stable pro- prietor at Hillsboro, is descended from one of the old pioneer fami- lies of Highland county. His grandfather was James Fairley, above mentioned, who came to Ohio from Rockbridge county, Virginia, in 1815 and settled on the farm in Paint township afterward owned by Joseph Patton. Among his eleven children was James Y. Fairley, born in Highland county, Ohio, December 25, 1822, and married in 1844 to Rosanna, daughter of Richard Barrett, an early settler of Paint township. The children of this union, consisting of five sons and five daughters, were Sallie J., wife of Joseph Dwyer, of Paint township; Nannie E., wife of Valentine Graff, of Iowa ; Cyrus W., further sketched below; David M., farming on the old homestead ; Richard B., superintendent of the new chair factory ; Mary, deceased, wife of Barney Grimm, a farmer of Penn township; John W., a shoe merchant of Greenfield; C. Grant, farming in Fairfield town- ship; Ella, who died in girlhood; Wilma P., living at Hillsboro. Cyrus W. Fairley, third of the above enumerated children, was born in Highland county, Ohio, August 30, 1849, and reared on his father's farm in Paint township. In August, 1897, he came to Hillsboro and embarked in the grocery business, which he has since continued with success and now has a very fair trade. As a side line, he added the livery business, which he has conducted for four years, and in the spring of 1902 purchased the Jacob Uhrig stock on Beech street, adjoining the Clifton House, where he has since enjoyed an increased patronage. August 22, 1876, Mr. Fairley was married to Hannah E., daughter of Martin S. and Margaret B. Swain of Clinton county. Mrs. Fairley is a sister of William Swain, who was for many years superintendent of schools at Mont- gomery, Ohio. Charles W. Swain, another brother, is a prominent attorney at Wilmington, Ohio, and Emma, a sister, is the wife of James L. Fullerton, a shoe dealer of Greenfield. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Fairley are Charles E., born in July, 1878, and farnı- ing in Fairfield township; Rosa B., a graduate of the Hillsboro high school residing at home; and Herman, a partner with his father in the grocery business.
The Faris family is one of the oldest, as it is certainly one of the most numerous and influential of all the family connections in Salem
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