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 38
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William W. H. Huff resides at Leesburg on the homestead located by his father over sixty years ago. His family has been represented in Highland county from the year after its organization to the pres- ent time, a period of almost one hundred years. As far back as 1806 his great-grandfather, Daniel Huff, came from Surrey county, North Carolina, to view the country, and in the following year brought his family out for permanent settlement. In 1811 a second Daniel Huff, son of the foregoing, arrived in the neighborhood and settled upon Tod's fork, but two years later purchased from one Phineas Hunt his farm and mill on Hardin's creek. This proved to be an event of great importance to the infant settlement, as the enterprise soon started by the new arrival was exactly what was needed for pio- neer purposes. In 1813 Daniel Huff began the erection of a woolen factory, which was built about one hundred yards below Hunt's old mill, and in two years it was in running order and ready for busi- ness. The settlers flocked in from all sections of the country to have their flannel, which had been spun and woven at home, fulled, colored and dressed into a good article of cloth. Huff's mill became cele-
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brated throughout the whole country as one of the most extensive factories of the day. Indeed, it would be difficult to over-estimate its importance and benefits to the citizens of Highland county at that time, when the comforts and necessaries of civilized life were so dif- ficult to obtain. Mr. Huff did carding and fulling, dressing and finishing of cloth, and the grinding of both wheat and corn. Prior to its establishment, the settlers had to go to a mill on the Little Miami for the purpose of having their flannels dressed. Such was the boon conferred on carly settlers of Highland and neighboring counties by forerunners of the Huff family, who well deserve the title of public benefactors. Among the children of this useful citizen was James Huff, born in 1793, who came to Highland county with his parents when about eighteen years old. He married, purchased land in Fairfield township and reared a family, included in which was William W. H. Huff, the subject of this sketch. This gentle- man, representing the fourth generation of Highland county family, was born at Leesburg, December 31, 1839. Like most of the early settlers of Fairfield township, the Huffs were Quakers, and it was natural therefore that when William grew up he should attend Earl- ham college, the institution founded at Richmond, Ind., by the relig- ious society to which he belonged. Having completed his education there, he settled on the parental homestead, and has since pursued the peaceful calling so suited to his temperament and in keeping with the simple faith of his ancestors. That he has been a good citi- zen in all that the words imply, that he has been a friend of law and order, an advocate of temperance and good morals; in short, on the proper side of all movements that make for righteousness, it will hardly be necessary to add, after mentioning that he is a consistent member of the society of Friends. In short, Mr. Huff's means and efforts have been liberally put forth for the development of his com- munity and its advancement towards a high order of civilization. He married Phoebe J. Terrell, whose father, John H. Terrell, was one of the pioneers of Clinton county, Ohio. Mrs. Huff died June 20, 1890, leaving eight children, all of whom are of the kind to excite a parent's pride and give promise of fully sustaining in every- way the honor and prestige of a noble lineage. Their names are as follows: Maggie M., Daniel, Haines, Russell, James Guy, T. Chal- mers, I. Curtiss and Grace E.
James J. Hughes, a prominent farmer of Marshall township, is a grandson of an early settler, well known in his day, James Hughes, who came from Ireland with his wife Hannah and six children to America in 1816. They settled first in Campbell county, Va., and started out in June, 1825, for Chillicothe, but were diverted by news of the malaria in the Scioto valley, to Highland county, where they settled a short distance east of the village of Marshall. Seven of
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the ten children of James Hughes grew up: Peter L., Philip, J. L., who served many years as justice of the peace and was representative. in the legislature in 1857 to 1860 and again in 1867 to 1870; Cath- erine, Ann, James P., and Maria. James P., father of the subject of this sketch, was born in Virginia, January 1, 1823, came with his parents to Marshall township in infancy, and in early manhood married Mary Stethem, of Adams county. Their children were : Hannah, wife of A. Davidson, of Kansas; Catherine, who lives with her brother, J. J .; Ann, wife of James Rice; Maria, who died March 11, 1899; Sarah Jane, who married Frank Richert, of Cin- cinnati, and is now deceased; Bridget, wife of John Ragan, of Clin- ton county, and James J., whose name heads this notice. By a second marriage, to Jane, daughter of William Davidson, James P. Hughes was the father of nine children, of whom there are living: William and Robert, of Liberty township; Teresa, wife of James White, of Liberty; Joseph, of Hillsboro, and Lucy, wife of Oscar King, of Hillsboro. James P. Hughes was not only the father of a number of the best people of the county, but he was an active and leading man in his day, a stannch Democrat, and several times trustee of his township. His son, James J. Hughes, was born Feb- ruary 22, 1861, and in early manhood married Maggie, daughter of James Spargur, a member of one of the old and prominent families of the county. Their children were: Mary Ann and Florence, who died in infancy; Ruth, born September 16, 1894; James Ambrose, born December 7, 1896, and Helen, born August 11, 1901. Mr. Hughes is the owner of 185 acres of land, two miles east of the town of Marshall, which he bought in 1895. It was formerly his father's farm, and is a valuable area for agriculture, and one of the handsome places of the township. He does his duty in public affairs without seeking official preferment. He and his wife are members of the Catholic church.
Oliver H. Hughes, probate judge of Highland county and one of the ablest of the younger members of the bar, comes of a family long influential in public affairs and prominent in all the relations of life. The genealogical tree had its taproot in old Ireland, whence have sprung so many of the strong, prosperous and great men of earth, as well as the brawn and muscle to which this country owes so much for its gigantic industrial development. James and Hannah Hughes,
with their six children, were part of the passengers on a vessel which left Ireland in 1816 bound for the United States. The little party made their way to Campbell county, Va., where the father obtained work on the pike roads then building and continued mostly in this line of employment until 1825. In June of that year the family started for Ohio with a view of locating at Chillicothe, but owing to the uneasiness then entertained as to the unhealthfulness of the
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lower Scioto valley, they moved on to Highland county, where land was bought about two miles east of the present village of Marshall. Among these immigrant children was John L. Hughes, born in the old country March 29, 1809, and consequently at the time of his arrival a bright Irish lad of some sixteen summers. This youngster had the natural Irish brilliancy of mind, united with the Irish energy of character, and was destined to make a name for himself in the long life which then lay before him. Before that life of activity terminated he had acquired 1,300 acres of land in Marshall township and had risen to be one of the leading public men of Highland county. He was elected justice of the peace in 1843 and held that office almost continuously for nearly forty years. In 1857 he was elected to a seat in the state legislature and served the three follow- ing years; was again elected in 1867 and remained the representa- tive of Highland county until 1870. In 1841 Mr. Hughes was married to Elizabeth Carlisle, born March 3, 1822, and daughter of Rynard Carlisle, an early settler from Virginia. The children of John L. and Elizabeth (Carlisle) Hughes were Hannah E., wife of J. N. Hogsett, now farming near New Vienna; James R., who died in 1901, aged fifty-seven years; Sinai C., widow of A. J. C. Blount, late superintendent of the Children's Home; Anna E., teacher in the Hillsboro public schools; Laura E., wife of Dr. J. F. Blair, of Cin- cinnati, who died in 1896; John N., who died in 1897 at the age of thirty-nine years; the subject of this sketch, and Sallie B., wife of A. A. Noble, who resides on the Hughes homestead. Oliver H. Hughes, next to the youngest of the above enumerated children, was horn in Marshall township, Highland county, Ohio, December 29, 1863. He attended the district schools, took a course at the Hills- boro high school, studied law with De Bruin & Hogsett of Hillsboro, and entered the Cincinnati Law school, where he was graduated with the class of 1890. The death of his father having occurred Febru- ary 2, 1891, shortly after his admission to the bar, Mr. Hughes took charge of the home farm and devoted some time to arranging and settling the affairs of the estate. In 1895 he opened a law office in Hillsboro, and he was elected probate judge November 18, 1896, taking charge of the office in February of the following year. Judge Hughes gave such satisfaction by his first term that in 1899 he was honored with re-election for another three years.
John Hughey, a well known farmer of Madison township, who for some years has enjoyed the title of Squire, is of staunch pioneer ancestry connected with the county's history from a very early date. His grandfather was Charles Hughey, whose parents came from County Donegal, Ireland, to the eastern shore of Maryland and thence to Pennsylvania. Charles Hughey went to Kentucky and became one of the band of hunters and fighters whose exploits figure
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so conspicuously in the history of "the dark and bloody ground." He was a friend and follower of the famous Simon Kenton and often came over into Ohio with that bold borderer in pursuit of marauding and murderous Indians. While living in Kentucky he married Nancy Records, and in 1803 he became a settler on Sunfish creek in Pike county, Ohio. Five years later he changed his location to Rat- tlesnake creek and in 1810 removed to Madison township, Highland county, where he died in 1816, leaving a widow and ten children. Among the latter was Josiah R. Hughey, who subsequently became quite prominent in the politics of the county, being an uncompromis- ing Abolitionist and one of the leaders in the famous underground railroad device to assist runaway slaves. He held the office of jus- tice of the peace for many years in Madison township and died there in 1862. In early manhood he married Sarah Parker, of Highland county, and reared a large family of children, all but two of whom have passed away. Two of the sons, Charles N. and James M., became soldiers of the Union army during the civil war, the former dying in a hospital and the latter serving over three years. After the war, James M. Hughey served two terms in the lower house of the legislature as representative from Highland county, was later elected to the state senate and died during his term of office. Nicy L., only surviving daughter of Josiah R. Hughey, is the wife of A. B. Butler of Highland county. John Hughey, the only son now living, was born in Madison township, Highland county, Ohio, March 16th, 1845, where in early manhood he engaged in farming and stockrais- ing and has followed that business all his life. He inherited a taste for politics and always lends a hand to his party in the numerous and heated campaigns for which Ohio is noted. In recognition of his services, as well as his business ability, Mr. IIughey was chosen jus- tice of the peace and by successive re-elections has held that office for the last five years. Like his father before him, he has proved a pop- ular and efficient magistrate, dispatching business promptly, method- ically and satisfactorily to all concerned. In 1875 he was married to Ellen Winegar, of Madison township, by whom he has had three children, the only survivor being Frank N., who assists his father in the management of the farm. Mr. and Mrs. Hughey are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, of which he is a class leader.
Robert J. Jones, M. D., one of the popular and successful physi- cians of Greenfield, Ohio, is a native of Wales, from which country he emigrated to America in 1884. Though he attended school to some extent in the old country, his literary education was mainly received after coming to the United States. After this was achieved satisfactorily he entered the Cincinnati Medical college, from which he was graduated in 1895 with the degree of M. D. During the following year he held the position of interne in the Cincinnati hos-
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pital, which is regarded as a valuable post-graduate experience for young practitioners. In 1896 Dr. Jones located at Greenfield for . the practice of his profession, where he speedily rose into notice and met with unusual success. He has built up as extensive a practice, both in medicine and surgery, as is enjoyed by any physician in that section of Ohio, his business embracing the town as well as a broad scope of the surrounding country. Dr. Jones is a member of the Highland county Medical society and often prepares papers for its edification which exhibit learning and advanced knowledge on his part in all branches of the profession. In 1898'he was married to Daisy Bowser, of Ross county. He is a master Mason and member of the First Presbyterian church in Greenfield.
Eli P. Johnson, during his long and useful life, was one of the notable characters of that part of Highland county of which Lees- burg is the center, being conspicuous for nearly forty years as mer- chant, banker and all around good citizen. Mr. Johnson was a contribution to Highland from Greene county, Ohio, where he was born in 1821 of that kind of parentage calculated to produce noble and high-minded sons. Nancy Morman, his mother, came of a staunch old Quaker family, and Pleasant Johnson, whom she married, was one of the earliest and worthiest of the pioneers of Greene county. The latter died in 1840, and his wife completed a life of self-sacrifice and devotion to duty in 1855, while a resident of Iowa. After the usual educational routine of boys with limited means, Eli P. Johnson took that excellent preparatory course involved in the teaching of a few terms of school. With this slight business training he turned towards the "wide, wide world," and resolutely faced its dangers while preparing to take advantage of its opportuni- ties. It was in 1844 that the wanderer from Greene first made his appearance at Leesburg, then one of the most promising towns in the county of Highland. He was not overloaded with capital, nor was he backed by influential names or recommendations, but he had with him the hopeful courage of youth, a laudable ambition and a good supply of that American "grit" which usually enables its possessor to realize on expectations. As soon as he arrived in Leesburg, Mr. Johnson engaged as clerk for Eli Watson, who had been conducting a store there since 1835, and speedily showed his inborn talent as a merchant. The agreement was that he should receive one hundred and ten dollars per year, and so quickly did he prove his efficiency and gain the confidence of his employer that at the end of the first year he was allowed to do nearly all the buying as well as the selling. At the end of the fourth year he took an interest in the store and received one-third of the profits for his services. In 1852, three years later, Mr. Johnson purchased Watson's entire interest and took as a partner his brother, Jarvis L. Johnson, who remained with him
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three years. Mr. Johnson then purchased his brother's interest, con- tinued alone until 1857, disposed of the entire establishment to A. E. Leverton, and rested from business one year. In the spring of 1858 he formed a partnership with Benjamin Heller, bought the dry goods. business of John M. Keen and for three years thereafter conducted the same together. They divided up stock and accounts in 1861, and Mr. Johnson continued alone until 1875, when he sold his dry goods store and started a grocery, with William J. Holmes as a clerk. In the spring of 1880 he disposed of all his mercantile interests, after an unusually successful career of thirty-five years, and did not re-enter that field. In 1876 Mr. Johnson assisted in organizing the Leesburg bank, the first in that part of Highland county, and was chiefly instrumental in the construction of the old bank building. He was elected president of this financial institution and served in that capacity until his death, which occurred October 10, 1883. In 1849 he was married to Marietta, daughter of William and Jane Johnson, a highly respectable family of Fayette county, Ohio.
Everad M. Johnson, cashier of the Farmers' Bank at Highland, is a popular representative of the latest generation of a family which has been identified with Highland county from the time of its organ- ization. The oldest inhabitant cannot remember when one or more of the Johnsons were not connected with the affairs of Fairfield town- ship. It was a Johnson who laid out the town of Leesburg, and others of the name furnished subsequent additions. A glance over the old records will show that the Johnsons held various offices con- nected with the towns and township, and were among the most active of the earlier citizens in all public matters. Moorman Johnson, one of the most enterprising of the name, became prominent as a drover and shipper and died in 1863. He married Mary Connell, of High- land county, and by her became the father of Albert E. Johnson, who was born in 1847, and is now one of the well known farmers of Fairfield township, residing near Highland. He served as a soldier in the Eleventh regiment of Ohio cavalry during the last year of the civil war, and in 1867 was married to Lorena Davis. Everad M. Johnson, a son by this marriage, after the usual attendance in the common schools, entered Wilmington college, where he completed his education in 1890. For some years thereafter he taught school and in 1896 held the position of superintendent of schools in Wayne township, Clinton county. He resigned this office for the purpose of accepting the position of cashier of the Farmers' Bank of Highland, which he has since retained and filled most acceptably. He is one of the public spirited men of his community and figures actively, both in its social and business life. He holds membership in the Masonic fraternity and is prominent in all matters connected with
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that order. In 1895 Mr. Johnson married Rena Vaughan of New Holland, Ohio, a lady of unusual business qualifications. The offi- cials of the Highland bank appointed her assistant cashier and she discharges the duties connected therewith in a manner entirely satis- factory to all concerned, being one of the few women of the state holding a position of this kind. Lucille, the only child of Mr. and Mrs. Johnson, died in 1899.
Eugene S. Judkins, M. D., of Highland, Ohio, is the latest rep- resentative of a distinguished family of physicians who have been known for more than a century in different states. The records do not mention a time when there was not a physician in the family and there has been a Dr. Judkins at Highland since the second decade of the nineteenth century. For the purposes of this sketch the ances- tral tree will be traced no farther back than to James Judkins, who was born April 8, 1760, in Northampton county, N. C. When four- teen years of age he was placed with Sampson Stanton of Southamp- ton county, Va., to learn the hatter's trade, and while there became acquainted with a young girl named Martha, a grand-daughter of Sampson and daughter of Sylvanus Stanton, whose wife was a mem- ber of the noted Virginia family of Stewarts. October 19, 1783, James Judkins and Martha Stanton were married, after which event the husband returned to his native state and began business as a hat manufacturer. After becoming the mother of six children, Mrs. Judkins died at her North Carolina home, October 14, 1799, and being a member of the Society of Friends, her remains were depos- ited in the burying ground of that order at the town of Rich Square. January 21, 1801, James Judkins was married to Abigail Parker, and five years later located at Mount Pleasant, Ohio, where he lived until his death in November, 1823. By his second marriage he had seven children, including Robert Peel Judkins, who was born in North Carolina, September 9, 1812, and became in later life one of the eminent physicians of his name. He graduated at the Jefferson Medical college of Philadelphia, the most famous institution of its kind in the country at that time, and in 1832 migrated to Ohio in search of a location. After spending a few years at Mount Pleasant he arrived at the village of Highland, Ohio, July 3, 1832, and next day was drafted into service to help celebrate "the glorious Fourth" by reading the declaration of independence. Previous to this time, however, the honor of the profession and the family name had been maintained for some years at Highland by Dr. Stanton Judkins, a half-brother of Robert P. The latter lost no time in entering busi- ness at his new home and practiced his profession there continuously, with increasing popularity, both professional and personal, until the time of his lamented death, which occurred January 9, 1864. December 26, 1841, he was married to Anna B., daughter of Charles
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and Sarah Robbins, by whom he had four children. Gertrude, the eldest, was born November 7, 1842, married Henry W. Rayburn, a . farmer now living near Chetopa, Kansas, and has five children. Emma, born in 1847, married William Harlan, a druggist of Barnes- ville, Ohio, subsequently removed to Kansas and has three children. Etta Bell, the youngest child of Dr. Robert P. and Anna B. Judkins, was born in 1864 and died in early life. Eugene S. Judkins, the second child and only son, was born at Highland, Ohio, in 1845, and was attending the Wesleyan university at Delaware, when his studies were interrupted by the outbreak of the civil war. Too young to be accepted as a soldier in the earlier years, he nevertheless chafed for action, like other young patriots of that day, and eventually suc- ceeded in seeing service, which may be described as brief but bril- liant. He enlisted in the One Hundred Seventy-fifth regiment Ohio volunteer infantry, which was organized in October, 1864, and sent directly to Tennessee in time to take part in the operations against Hood, which involved some of the hardest fighting of the war. The regiment lost heavily at the bloody battle of Franklin and also took part in the severe engagements at Spring Hill, Thompson's Station and Nashville. In the fall of 1865, Dr. Judkins began reading medicine under the guidance of his uncle, Dr. Jesse P. Judkins, of Cincinnati, and continued the same under other professional friends after his uncle's death. In the autumn of 1867 he entered the. Miami Medical college at Cincinnati, and was graduated with the class of 1870. He first located at Toledo, but after a brief sojourn there returned to his native place, where he has since remained in the enjoyment of a large and steadily increasing patronage. When he "hung out his shingle" at New Lexington, the young doctor estab- lished himself in the old building so long occupied by his uncle, Stanton Judkins, which is one of the landmarks of the place, having been built in the first quarter of the century. The ancient door- mark, so long used by the Judkins family, now ornaments the office door of Dr. Judkins and is prized as a precious heirloom. The doc- tor is a prominent member of the Highland county Medical associa- tion and has done much to strengthen its efficiency and usefulness: to the profession. He is not only popular in a professional way but is an influential factor in all public movements affecting his town or township, and it is not too much to say that no family in Fairfield has done more for its development than that of Dr. Judkins. A good citizen, kindly and skillful· practitioner, and man who advocates progress in all departments of human endeavor, it is but a fair sum- mary of the truth to say that Eugene S. Judkins is a worthy son of a long line of worthy sires. The father of Dr. Judkins was one of the charter members of Chosen Friend lodge, No. 45, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, which was instituted at Highland, June 21, 1845, and Dr. E. S. Judkins himself has long been a member of the
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