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 33
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Emery L. Ferris, president of the Merchants National Bank of Hillsboro and for more than thirty-six years prominently connected with the monetary interests of the city, is from the great Empire State of the east, whence have come so many men eminent in the world of finance. He is a son of Rev. Philo and Nancy M. (French) Ferris, and was born in Madison county, N. Y., August 15, 1833. In youth he attended the schools at Cazenovia, in his native county, and later accompanied his parents to Wisconsin where the father who was a Methodist minister, had pastoral charge of one of the churches of his denomination. In early manhood Mr. Ferris went to Chicago and obtained a position in the money depart- ment of the American Express company which he retained until his removal to Hillsboro in 1865. In the spring of 1866, in partner- ship with Judge Foreman Evans, Mr. Ferris engaged in the private banking business in a building situated on the corner of Main and High streets, which was successfully prosecuted for about fifteen years. February 1, 1880, the institution was organized as The Merchants National Bank with a capital of $100,000 and the follow- ing officers: II. Strain, president; E. L. Ferris, cashier; A. Mat- thews, assistant cashier. At the present time Mr. Ferris is presi- dent and John Matthews cashier of this bank. By strict integrity, correct business methods and financial ability Mr. Ferris has not only benefited the institution of which he has charge but the city and county as well, meantime gaining for himself an honorable stand- ing in the world of finance and trade. September 15, 1868, he was married to Sallie Matthews, a lady of distinguished ancestry on both sides of the family. Her grandfather, Hon. John Matthews, was not only of the earliest but one of the most useful and influential of Highland county's original settlers. He arrived from North Carolina in 1805 and located on Clear creek three miles northeast of the site on which Hillsboro now stands, where his first experi- ences well illustrate the trials and devices of the early pioneers. He suspended his provisions for safety from beech limbs near the camp while his cabin was being built in the usual crude and hasty man- ner. In 1806, a year and a half before Hillsboro was laid out, John Matthews taught the first school at the Sam Evans schoolhouse, two and a half miles east of the present town. In 1807 he was elected the first magistrate of Liberty township and eventually reached the position of associate judge of Highland county, which he held many years with honor to himself and was highly respected by the public. In 1824 he married Mary Hussey and had a family of twelve chil- dren, several of whom rose to distinction in politics and the profes- sions. Albert G. Matthews, one of his sons, and the father of Mrs. Ferris, studied law and for many years was a successful practitioner at Hillsboro, rising to the dignity of probate judge of Highland county. He was a native of Highland county and an honored mem-
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ber of the bar until his death. January 8, 1846, he married Marga- ret J., daughter of Gen. J. J. McDowell, a Virginia gentleman of the old school who was born in 1800 and died in Highland county in 1877. Judge A. G. Matthews has several living children. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Ferris are Margaret, who resides with her parents, and Emery L., Jr., who graduated with honor in the Harv- ard Law School, class of 1901, and is a practicing attorney in New York city with the firm of Anderson & Anderson.
James M. Fettro, one of the representative and prosperous farm- ers of Liberty township, comes of patriotic pioneer ancestors whose descendants have made the name an honorbale one throughout High- land county. The founder of the family in Ohio was Joseph Fet- tro (formerly spelled Fittro), who served in the war of 1812, spent most of his life in Pennsylvania and when well advanced in years migrated to Highland county, where he died. His son Abraham resided in Penn township, Jacob made his home in Paint, and Polly married Solomon Gaines of Liberty township. John Fettro, the eldest of his father's nine children, was born in March, 1805, and acquired ownership of a farm of one hundred acres about a mile east of Hillsboro where he lived many years. He married Rebecca' Plaint, a native of Virginia, born in 1802, who lost both her parents in childhood and was reared by her aunt, Mrs. Thompson. She died in 1890, long surviving her husband, who passed away in 1872. The children of John and Rebecca (Plaint) Fettro were Harriet, wife of Adrian Vanpelt, of New Petersburg; Joseph, who resides in California; Elzira, wife of William Ervin; James, further sketched below; Sarah, wife of James Ervin of Highland county ; John, who was a soldier of the civil war and died at the age of thirty- five years; Rebecca, widow of Jacob Pennington and residing near Hillsboro; Mary, who died when about twenty years old; Nancy, wife of E. C. Camp, a major in the United States army and later in the coal trade at Knoxville, Tenn. James M. Fettro, the fourth of the children, was born in Highland county, Ohio, November 19, 1834, and educated in the district schools. His first wife was Mar- garet, daughter of Thomas and Hannah Hogsett, who were early set- tlers of the county and progenitors of a strong family connection. The children by this union were Laura, wife of Harley Russell, a liveryman of Galvia, Illinois; Anna, wife of Newton Miller of Hills- boro; Stella, wife of John Link, a farmer of Liberty township. September 25, 1877, Mr. Fettro married Lizzie, daughter of Isaac and Sarah (Broadstone) Roads, descendants of one of the pioneer families. Mr. Roads, father of Mrs. Fettro, formerly conducted a tannery and leather store in Hillsboro. The only son by the sec- ond marriage was Harry Edward Fettro, who is engaged in farm-
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ing as a partner of his father, and married Libbie R., daughter of Charles W. and Kate (West) Hiestand. She has a twin sister, Lou D. Hiestand; their births occurred December 28, 1881 and their mother died in March, 1895. Lillie Edith, eldest daughter by the second marriage of James M. Fettro, is the wife of James Hogsett, and Nellie Marie, the youngest daughter, is attending school. Mr. Fettro has seventy-seven acres in his homestead on Rocky fork, which is well equipped as to buildings, orchards and other essentials of good husbandry, and he also owns 125 acres of land near the Brouse chapel.
Henry Foraker, a worthy citzen of Paint township, residing one mile northwest of Rainsboro, is a grandson of Henry Foraker, a native of Delaware, who married Mary Taylor. Their son, Jacob Foraker, married Tena Spargur, of a noted pioneer family of High- land county, and they had nine children : Henry, the subject of this sketch ; Susan, Mary Ann, Samantha, Margaret, James, Trimble, Rufus, and one that died in infancy. Henry Foraker was born December 1, 1842, in Highland county, and reared upon the farm. In early manhood he married Lydia, daughter of Richard and Eliza Cooper, of Delaware, born December 1, 1846. They have had six children : Gertrude, born June 12, 1866, now the wife of Gilbert Baham, of Ross county; Joseph, born April 28, 1868 ; Oliver, born February 3, 1870; Margaret, born January 3, 1872; Theodosia, born May 20, 1874, who married Edward Gossett May 10, 1897; and John, born September 28, 1877. Florence C. Ogle, a grand- daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Foraker, born March 21, 1886, has made her home with them for a number of years. Mr. Foraker has a good farm of about ninety acres near Rainsboro, where he makes his home, and he is reckoned among the skillful farmers and good citi- zens of the county. He and his wife are members of the Methodist church at Rainsboro.
Joseph Benson Foraker was born July 5, 1846, in the county of Highland, in a pioneer cabin about one mile north of Rainsboro. The Foraker family came to Ohio from Virginia because of their strong distaste for the institution of slavery. J. B. Foraker was brought up upon his father's farm, and assisted in the work inci- dent to rural life. Besides the cultivation of the fields there was a grist and saw mill which demanded attention and but few idle hours were spent by the boys on the farm. When in his sixteenth year the civil war broke out and the patriotic impulses of young Foraker impelled him to enlist in the Eighty-ninth Ohio regiment. He was made sergeant in August, 1862, and first lieutenant in March, 1865, and was brevetted captain for efficient services. He was in the bat- tles of Missionary Ridge, Kenesaw Mountain, and Lookout Moun-
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tain, and marched with Sherman from "Atlanta to the sea." He was but nineteen years of age when he was mustered out of the serv- ice, and he could look back with pride to the fact that no unsoldierly act had cast a shade upon his record, but that step by step he had risen from the ranks to an honored and responsible position in the service of his country. After returning from the war he spent two years at the Ohio Wesleyan university at Delaware, and from there went to Cornell university, where he graduated in July, 1869. In 1879 he was elected judge of the superior court of Cincinnati, a position he held for three years. He was nominated by the Repub- licans in 1883 for governor, but was defeated by Judge Hoadley ; was renominated and elected in 1885 and reelected in 1887. He was nominated for a third term in 1889, but was defeated by James E. Campbell, of Butler county. As governor his administration was clean and pure, brave and conscientious, and won the admira- tion of all, without regard to party names and convictions. As an orator Senator Foraker has but few equals.
"I would express him simple, grave, sincere ; In doctrine incorrupt ; in language plain, And plain in manner ; decent, grave, chaste, And natural in gesture."
He is able to breathe into the souls of others the fire of his own cour- age and purpose. J. B. Foraker is a political leader, a statesman as honest as he is strong and through all the years of his political life has had the confidence and esteem of his countrymen. In speaking of politics and political leadership we use the term in its broad sense, having no special reference to any one party but to the art of government, or the science whose subject is the regulation of man, in all his relations as a member of a state. We might define poli- tics to be the theory and practice of obtaining the ends of civil soci- ety as perfectly as possible. Politics is in its higher definition statesmanship; for by state we understand a society formed by men, with the view of better obtaining the ends-of life by a union of pow- ers and mutual assistance. It was this great principle of mutual relationship and aid and the security and stability of such forms of political thoughts as would secure to all the people the highest good, that has filled the mind and heart of the senior senator from Ohio during all the years of his public service. While it is true that men in high places are not free from the criticism that their greatness provokes, the triple plate of steel that incases the person of High- land's favorite has enabled him to resist with perfect safety the onslaughts of his political enemies. His generous love of liberty made him a ready and eloquent champion of the cause of Cuban emancipation and independence, and he has the proud privilege of
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hailing another nation and race made free by his efforts, joined to that of others, and another star, which if not added to the starry flag he followed so gallantly in the sixties, yet a star still, shining in the blue vault of God, harbinger of that glorious hour when all the nations of the earth shall be free and all men everywhere be per- mitted to have a free and untrammeled start in the race of life.
George W. Fox, one of the industrious and enterprising farmers of Liberty township, is descended from an old Pennsylvania family long resident in the "City of Brotherly Love." There dwelt Con- rad and Charlotte Fox, who had nine children and among the num- ber a son named Christian, born October 26, 1811, and later an emi- grant to Ohio where he died at the age of seventy-three years. He married Mrs. Eilzabeth (Weber) Wurtz, whose two children by her first husband, Conrad Wurtz, were Mariah Elizabeth, at present engaged in the dressmaking business at Dallas postoffice, six miles northeast of Hillsboro; and John Jacob, who served as a soldier in the civil war, was held in prison for some time and died in 1865 at Hillsboro. The children of Christian and Elizabeth (Wurtz) Fox were Emma, a dressmaker with her half-sister at Dallas; George W., further noticed below; Caroline B., who died at the age of twenty- eight years ; Charles M. and Charlotte M., twins ; Carrie B., deceased wife of Albert Depue of Knoxville, Tenn .; Francis A., who died at sixteen years of age ; and Lewis A., superintendent of a lead mine at Carthage, Mo. George W. Fox, eldest of his mother's second family of children, was married February 28, 1890, to Emma, daughter of Samuel and Mary (Black) Lyle, members of old and long established Highland county families. Samuel Lyle came with his parents to Ohio in 1815 when he was an infant. His father first bought land in Concord township, which he gave to his eldest sons, and subsequently settled on the Rocky fork in Liberty town- ship, about five miles east of Hillsboro. Here he died and here his son Samuel grew to maturity and spent all the days of his life. In 1841 he married Mary Black, of Virginia, by whom he had seven children, including the present wife of George W. Fox. For many years Mr. Fox has been one of the industrious and thrifty farmers of Liberty township. He owns a small tract near the Brouse chapel, but resides on the Spargur farm of 244 acres opposite the old Heis- tand homestead. This place was rented by Mr. Fox about twelve years ago and since then has been skilfully cultivated and greatly improved under his energetic supervision.
Major Anthony Franklin, a notable Ohio pioneer, was born in Amherst county, Va., July 17, 1778, of a family that was honor- ably represented among the officers and soldiers of the Revolution. On account of the early death of his father he was apprenticed in
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youth to the carpenter's trade, with Gen. Nathaniel Massie, and came to Massie's frontier station, Manchester, about 1795. He also assisted General Massie in his surveys in Ohio, and in compensa- tion received several tracts of the wild forest land, upon one of which he made his home, early in the last century, in Brush creek town- ship, which he occupied for sixty years, and which after him was owned and occupied by his son-in-law, James P. Keech. Upon selecting this "Franklin farm" for his home, Mr. Franklin married Polly, daughter of Captain Nelson, of Kentucky, and they began their home in the wilderness, with George W. Barrere, at the site of New Market, twelve miles away, as their nearest neighbor. Mr. Franklin also kept open house for travelers on the road from Chilli- cothe to Cincinnati, and entertained many noted men. In the mili- tia he had the rank of major, and he was the first sheriff of High- land county elected by the people. Of his ten children, Nelson A. served in the legislature from Pickaway county and afterward moved to Missouri; Maria married John W. Spargur; Joel was a business man at Circleville, Larue, and Lincoln, Neb .; Thomas Wingfield went west and settled in Illinois; Patsey married James P. Keech; Polly married and went to Illinois ; Cyrus served in Gen- eral Morgan's regiment in the Mexican war, afterward moved to Iowa and later to Missouri, and was a gallant cavalry officer in the service of the Confederate States; while the youngest child, John Nelson, who also made his home in Missouri, fought for the Union, as did also several of the grandchildren of Major Franklin.
James P. Keech, who resided for many years on the Franklin farm, was born September 9, 1820, in Lancaster county, Pa., son of William Keech, also a native of that state, who came west and set- tled near Larue, Marion county, following his trade as a black- smith, an important function in that day, until his death, which occurred at a comparatively early age. His six children were, James P., Mary, Ann, Jane, David H., and Margaret M. James P. learned the trade of his father in youth, but in early manhood was married to Martha E. ("Patsey") Franklin, as has been noted, and they began housekeeping and farming on a tract of land belong- ing to Major Franklin in Marion county, where they lived until they came to the Brush creek farm in 1852. His wife, born on this farm July 9, 1817, and died there in November, 1894, was a most estimable woman. She was the mother of six children; John H., deceased ; William A. of Hillsboro, Ohio; and Cyrus F., of Lincoln, Neb .; James L., subject of this sketch; Mary M., of East Monroe, and Robert, the latter deceased. James P. Keech is yet living, in the latter years of a successful and honorable life. He is the owner of over 300 acres of land, and has served several terms as township trustee. His son, James L. Keech, was born August 2, 1852, and now resides upon the old homestead, or Franklin farm. He is one
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of the prominent younger men of the township, highly respected and trusted by his neighbors. He has in his hands the management of the farm, and has demonstrated skill as a farmer and ability in business.
Almond G. Frazier, owner of the stone quarry near Greenfield which bears his name, comes of a Clinton county family of farmers, the original founder of which was a pioneer from Tennessee. The latter left a son named Lewis Frazier, who became prominent in the agricultural development of Clinton county, where he ended his days after a life of usefulness to himself and others. He married Margaret Quigley and had a family of eight children, of whom six are living in different parts of Ohio. John and Aaron are at Wil- mington; Alfred at Springfield; Maggie, wife of Edward Dough- erty, at Greenfield; Lizzie, wife of Frank Drake, at New Vienna. Almond G. Frazier, like the rest of the children, was born on his father's farm in Clinton county, Ohio, and remained at home until he had obtained his education. In 1892 he came to Greenfield where, a few years later, he found employment in connection with the quarrying industry. In 1899 he purchased what is now known as the Frazier stone quarry, situated in the edge of Ross county, and has since done a thriving business which has profited both himself and the community, as the work necessitates the employment of a considerable force of men. In fact, Mr. Frazier has proved a wel- come addition to the industrial forces that have made Greenfield such an enterprising little city, as he personally is popular and imbued with the public spirit so essential to good citizenship. He is a partner in the canning factory known as the McCormick & Fra- zier canning company and is giving this business much of his atten- tion at present. In 1882, he was married to Mattie, daughter of Collins Thompson, a prominent farmer of Highland county. This union has resulted in the birth of two bright children, Frank and Carrie, both in the public schools. The family are affiliated with the Christian church and Mr. Frazier is a member of the official board.
George S. Free, notable among the younger farmers of Paint township, was born November 10, 1869, of a family well known in Ross and Highland counties since their settlement. Mr. Free is a son of Isaac and Nancy (Ogle) Free, pioneers of Paxton township, Ross county, Ohio, whose children were, Charles, who married Ida Swindle, and is a farmer near Bainbridge; Julia, wife of Warren Ogle, of Fayette county ; Joseph, farming near Bainbridge; Lina, wife of Robert Dill, of Fayette county; Lizzie, Ella, George S., John, Alfred and Mattie. Isaac Free was a son of George and Han- nah Free, who settled at an early day in Paint township, Ross county,
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Ohio, and lived there the rest of their lives. Isaac Free died May 12, 1902, and Nancy Free died October 1st, 1891. George S. Free received a common-school education in his youth, and on March 29, 1893, married Marie, daughter of Robert B. and Mary J. (McClure) McMullen. She was born and reared on the farm now owned by her and her husband, which was taken up, at an early day, by Mr. Free's grandfather, Joseph Ogle, and was later purchased by the father of Mrs. Free's mother. After her marriage to Robert B. McMullen he bought the tract, and after his death Mr. Free pur- chased the farm from the heirs. Mr. and Mrs. Free began house- keeping at Rapids Forge, where he had bought 180 acres of land. Three years later he sold that tract and bought part of the present farm, and, as has been stated, after the death of Mrs. Free's father, he secured the remainder of the tract of 350 acres and the old home- stead. It is one of the handsomest farms in the county, to which he has added enough to make 500 acres in all. It is picturesquely located along Paint Creek, three miles northeast of Rainsboro, diver- sified by hill and dale, and embracing a great area of valuable and fertile soil. Mr. Free is an enterprising and progressive farmer, and employs his estate to great profit, raising livestock as well as grain, and giving considerable attention to fruit culture. This year he has one hundred and ninety acres in corn. The best agricultural machin- ery is put to use, and half a dozen teams are steadily employed. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Free are Robert Isaac, born April 3, 1894 ; and George Scott, born April 16, 1896. Mr. Free and his wife are valued members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and he is frater- nally associated with Paint Valley lodge, No. 497, Knights of Pythias, at Bainbridge, and the lodge of Modern Woodmen of America.
The Freshour family, so long and favorably known at Greenfield and vicinity, yields to few in the interest connected with its genealog- ical record and patriotic achievements of the individual members. They have been represented in all the wars fought for the country's independence or to sustain its integrity and life. The ancestors were conspicuously identified with the difficulties and dangers of the early settlements in the Ohio valley and the descendants have borne their full share of the responsibilities and labors connected with the building up of great states. The American branch of this substan- tial family originated from Abraham Freshour, who emigrated to the United States from Germany and became a leading farmer in Ohio. He had a son Abraham who enlisted as a soldier in 1812 and served through the war of that period on the American side, contracting con- sumption as the result of exposure and dying of that disease shortly after returning home. His son, Abraham J. Freshour, was born at London in Madison county, Ohio, and came to Greenfield in 1824.
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He learned the saddler's trade with Jeremiah Wilson, but was eventu- ally compelled to abandon this work on account of failing health. In 1850 he embarked in the grocery business which he continued for twenty years and closed out in 1870, after which he lived a retired life until his death, which occurred in 1895. During his early days in Greenfield, he organized and was chosen leader of a band, which was the first of its kind in southern Ohio and became quite noted as a musical organization in that part of the State. In 1839, Abra- ham J. Freshour was married to Julia (White) Bryan, whose fam- ily was one of the most estimable of the Scioto valley and deserving of much more than a passing notice. Her father, Charles White, was one of the strong and rugged characters of the pioneer period and a man whose life record furnishes a list of honorable achievements. Born in Virginia of highly respectable parents, he united with the Methodist church in the days when that organization was compara- tively weak, became a co-worker with the celebrated Asbury, the first bishop of the Methodist Episcopal church ordained in the United States, and traveled with him on the circuit in Virginia and Mary- land. When the great Revolution assumed the shape of open war, Charles White and his two older brothers, Samuel and John, enlisted as soldiers in the Continental army. The first mentioned escaped without material injury, but his two brothers fell a sacrifice to the cause, being killed in battle while bravely fighting against the British invaders. When the news of Daniel Boone's explorations and daring deeds in Kentucky reached his ears, Charles White determined to cross the mountains and cast his lot with the heroic settlers of "the dark and bloody ground." Shortly after the close of the Revolution- ary war he located at Lexington and, true to his religious instincts, the first thing he thought of was the spiritual needs of the bold bor-
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