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 50
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THE COUNTY OF HIGHLAND.
1809, came to Hillsboro in 1840, taught school for a while, on May 19, 1842, married Paulina, daughter of William and Susan (Walker) Lyle, old and respected residents of Highland county, and afterward purchased a farm two miles east of Hillsboro, which was his home until his death, January 12, 1885. His only child is Mari- etta, born March 7, 1846, and now the wife of A. T. Rogers. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. A. T. Rogers made their home on a place two miles east of Hillsboro, where they spent seven years and then returned to the old family homestead in Madison township. After a residence there of seven years, Mr. Rogers bought the 144 acres in New Market township where he has made his home. This place he has greatly improved and fitted up in modern style, among the additions being a fine barn and house with all the approved con- veniences. He is an up-to-date farmer and makes a specialty of raising Jersey cattle, of which favorite dairy breed he has a herd that will compare with the best in the county. Like his ancestors back to its first organization, he is a member of the Republican party, and at present he holds the office of justice of the peace. He and wife had six children: Effie M., a school teacher ; Clarence B., who died while attending school at Oxford ; Roy S., at home ; Helen, wife of W. E. Noftsger, of New Market township; Stanley L. and Julia. The family are all members of the Presbyterian church, in which Mr. Rogers holds the office of elder.
Pinckney C. Robinson, merchant, of Pricetown, traces his geneal- ogy to one of the oldest of pioneer families of Ross county. His grandfather, Minott Robinson, a native of Massachusetts, came with his parents to Ross county as early as 1803 and from that time for many years afterward was identified with the affairs of Ross and Highland counties. He married Sophia Haines and located in Hunt- ington township, Ross county, where he carried on farming and coopering until he passed away near Taylorsville, Ohio, in his seventy-third year, long outliving his wife, who died at the age of sixty-eight. Of their ten children William, Thomas and James are dead ; the living are Henry, Mary, Maria, John, Elizabeth, Charles and McAdow. Henry Robinson, eldest of the children, was born in Ross county, Ohio, April 9, 1828, qualified himself for teaching as he grew up and followed that occupation several years after leaving school. After his marriage to Mrs. Mary A. Kellenberger he engaged in farming and continued that pursuit until 1866, when he removed to Highland county and settled at Taylorsville. The family spent twenty years in and around this town where the mother died, leaving the following children : Lucy, wife of George W. Pulliam of Hamer township; the subject of this sketch; and Malissa, wife of J. W. Mahaffey, of Hillsboro. Pinckney C. Robinson, second in age of these children, was born in Huntington township, Ross county, Ohio,
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September 19, 1854, and as he grew up received an unusually thor- ough education. Besides his earlier discipline in the district schools, he attended the Hillsboro high school and took a course at the Normal university in Lebanon. For about nine years after leaving college, he taught school in Highland and Fayette counties, achieving high reputation as an educator and winning a ten-years' state certificate. In 1888, he embarked in general merchandise at Pricetown, and three years later he was married to Elsie, daughter of James and Virginia Smith. Since then he has been a resident householder at Pricetown and has continued his mercantile business with success. He has been honored with official positions as township clerk and treasurer. Mr. and Mrs. Robinson have three children, Fronia, Henry G. and Hubert. The family are communicants of the Chris- tian church and Mr. Robinson is a member of the lodge of Modern Woodmen of America at Pricetown.
Lines Robison is one of the farmers of New Market township whose first Ohio ancestor moved in long before' Highland county was organized. His great-grandfather, Thomas Robison, who was a sol- dier in the Revolutionary war, came from Westmoreland county, Pa., as early as 1800, settled in New Market, and purchased four hundred acres of land which is still in possession of his descendants. This ancestor married twice and had two families of children, George, William, Susan, Jane and Elizabeth by the first, and Robert, Nancy and Sally by the second, union. George Robison, eldest of all the children, was born in Pennsylvania in 1790 and consequently was a lad of about ten years when he accompanied his parents down the great river to the land of promise in the Ohio wilderness. After he grew up he met and married Margaret Hunter, who was also an immi- grant from Pennsylvania somewhat later than the Robisons. He served as a soldier in the war of 1812, spent the whole of his subse- quent life on the farm in New Market township and died in 1861, in the seventy-first year of his age. His six children, all long since dead, were Thomas, George, Robert, John, Nancy and Margaret. George Robison, Jr., second of these children, remained at home until a few years before his marriage to Jane, daughter of Alexander and Elizabeth Morrow. They settled on the old home place and became the parents of seven children, of whom Thomas A., Robert W. and Margaret L. have passed away. Those living are Granville, on the old home farm; Lines, subject of this sketch; Ephraim, who resides with the latter; and William A., of Highland county. Their father at one time was an extensive land owner, held most of the minor township offices and died at the age of seventy-eight, his wife surviving him and expiring in her eighty-second year. Lines Robi- son, the third of their children, was born in New Market township, Highland county, Ohio, November 19, 1841. He lives now on land
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purchased by his great-grandfather over a hundred years ago, and his birth occurred on the farm adjoining. He grew up on this place, worked out during the crop seasons and in winter picked up a fair English education in the neighborhood schools. He was in his twentieth year when the opening of the civil war electrified the coun- try and speedily made up his mind to do what he could for the Union cause. In the summer of 1861 the First regiment Ohio volunteer cavalry was organized, first of its kind in the state and later one of the crack regiments of the whole army. He enlisted in Company H, which was commanded by Capt. Martin Buck, and with it was sent into Tennessee, where he participated in all the marching and fight- ing of the regiment during the subsequent campaigns, making an ex- cellent record and enduring the hardships of war. He was confined in hospitals three different times on account of diseases incident to army life. After muster out, in October, 1864, he returned home and resumed his occupation of farming, subsequently going to Illi- nois, where he spent about eighteen months. Since his return to Ohio, he has lived on his farm in New Market township, engaged in general agriculture and stock-raising.
William Roush, Sr., well known as teacher and farmer, is descended from one of the earliest and strongest family connections that settled in the original New Market township, which was much larger then than now. About 1810, John, Henry and Philip Roush, all with large families, moved in and made a very desirable acquisi- tion to the population. They were Pennsylvanians and had first settled in Adams county, Ohio, where they spent some time before coming to Highland. Philip Roush married Mary Pence and had eight children, of whom Allen, Nathaniel, Polly, George, William and Lydia have passed away. The two living are John, who resides near Fairview, and Catherine, who married John Kesler and is a resident of Russell, Ohio. George Roush, fourth of the children in age, was born in Adams county, February 15, 1808, and remained at home until he reached his majority. About that time he married Rachel Tedrick, a native of Virginia who had been reared in High- land county by her parents, George and Mary Tedrick. With his bride he occupied a farm recently purchased near Russell Station in Union township, where they spent four or five years, and then trans- ferred their residence to New Market township. Here the husband had bought a place of 120 acres in the woods, on which he proceeded to erect a log cabin and go to clearing in true pioneer style. He prospered and at one time owned over 600 acres of land, but this was reduced before his death to about 400 acres. His wife died at the age of sixty-nine years and he married Lucinda Clark, of Adams county, who died in 1900 without issue. The children by the first
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marriage were Abraham, of Kansas; Frederick, of Union township; Mary, wife of Eli Layman, of Hamer township; William, subject of this sketch ; Lydia, deceased, and Margaret (widow of Lewis Wil- kin, deceased), residing at Hillsboro. William Roush, fourth of these children in age, was born in Highland county, April 28, 1837, on a farm adjoining the one in New Market township, where he now makes his home. As he grew up his ambition was to become a teacher, for which he qualified himself by attending school at Rus- sellville and Fairview, Ohio. Afterward he taught several terms of school and on August 23, 1860, married Alcinda, daughter of Will- iam and Nancy Henry, of Clinton county. In 1860 he located on the farm where he has since made his residence and which he has greatly improved by the construction of a handsome dwelling-house with all the modern conveniences. Other improvements also have been made, such as necessary outbuildings and general repairs, which give Mr. Roush a neat and comfortable home. He belongs to the Church of Christ and has held the offices of trustee and member of the school board. Mr. and Mrs. Roush have had four children : Elva died after marrying D. C. Bond, of Clinton county; Iva is the wife of Frank Hogsett, of Hillsboro; Olive is the wife of C. A. Pence of Liberty ; Carey married Merty Robinson of Hillsboro.
George A. Ruble, a prominent farmer of White Oak township, is a descendant of William B. Ruble, a native of Virginia, who came to Ohio and settled in the woods of White Oak township about the year 1800. He cleared away the forests and established a farm, now known as the George Fender place, and, having married a Miss Sur- ber, reared a family of ten children, all of whom are now deceased. Their names were John, Henry, George, Jackson, Katy, Lydia, Dollie, Madeline, Sally and Betsy. John, the eldest son, and father of the subject of this sketch, was born about 1805, on the farm where George A. Ruble now lives, and in early manhood he married Sarah Coffman, daughter of another family of early settlers. They began housekeeping on what is now known as the Andrew Ruble farm, and a few years later moved to the Coffman farm. Subsequently John Ruble bought and moved upon a farm in Clay township, where he and his wife both died in the spring of 1845. They had ten chil- dren : Jacob, deceased ; Joseph, living in Pike county, Ill. ; John W., of Salem township; George A .; William, deceased; H. W., of Kan- sas; Isaiah, of Minnesota; Sarah A., of Pike county, Ill. ; Delina and Rachel, deceased. George A. Ruble was born September 7, 1836, on the farm in White Oak township now owned by Surber & Sauner, and at nine years of age was left an orphan by the death of his parents. He was reared at the home of John Coffman to the age of twenty-one years, after which he found employment as a farm
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laborer for a short time. In January, 1858, he was married to Ann Davidson, who was born and reared in White Oak township, daugh- ter of Benjamin and Amelia Davidson, and of a prominent and old family in Highland county. They have ever since made their home, except for two years in Clay township, at their present home, and seven children have been born to them: Amelia, wife of Joseph Haller, of White Oak township; William, of Clinton county ; Frank, of White Oak; John, deceased; Cora, wife of Walter Larick, of White Oak; Altha, wife of McPherson Purdy, of Mowrystown, and one who died in infancy. In the time of the war of the rebellion Mr. Ruble tendered his services to his country, enlisting October 1, 1862, in Company D, Eighty-eighth regiment, Ohio volunteer infan- try. They were mustered in at Camp Chase, and assigned to duty guarding prisoners at various places in Illinois and West Virginia. After a faithful performance of such duties as were assigned him, Mr. Ruble was honorably discharged July 3, 1865, when he returned home and resumed his work as a farmer. He and wife are members of the Christian church to which he has belonged for fifty years, and Mrs. Ruble about fifty-five years. In politics Mr. Ruble is a Repub- lican. He voted for Abraham Lincoln and has not missed an elec- tion since 1860.
William B. Ruble, of Clay township, a well-known farmer and stockraiser and former trustee of the township, was born there, upon the farm now owned by James Reedy, December 25, 1839. His family began in America with Balser Ruble, who came to Richmond, Va., a century or more ago, from Germany, with his parents. Bal- ser, in the course of his work as a stone mason, helped build the cap- itol of the Old Dominion. He married Mary Surber, also a native of Germany, and fourteen children were born to them-Katie, Dollie, Sally, Betsy, John, Henry, George, Jackson, and Polly, and five who died young. About 1805 or 1806 the family moved to Knoxville, Tenn., and after a stay of no great time they moved on to Manchester, Ohio, and from there to Taylorsville, where Balser Ruble purchased a farm and passed the remainder of his days. He died at the age of ninety-seven years and his wife at the age of ninety-three. He had the pleasure, in 1811, of seeing the first steam- boat descend the Ohio river. Henry Ruble, son of Balser, was born in 1807, during the stay of the family at Knoxville, and was reared mainly in Ohio. At twenty years of age he participated in the adventurous mercantile journeys of that day, going with a trading boat down the Ohio and Mississippi to New Orleans. It was two years before he returned, and subsequently he was married to Betsey Overstake, a native of Brown county, Ohio. They went to house- keeping on a farm near Taylorsville, and three years later began
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clearing away the dense forest about the little log cabin they built on the farm now owned by James Reedy in Clay township. Here and at their former home six children were born to them: Sarah, wife of William Coffman, of Hillsboro; Cynthia, wife of S. A. Lyons, of Buford; Ellen, wife of M. J. Pulliam, of Salem township; Will- iam B., whose names begins this sketch; Elizabeth, wife of A. D. Wiggins, of Hillsboro, and Mary, wife of L. R. Duckwall, of Hills- boro, Ohio. Moving from the farm they cleared, they resided about five years on a farm on White Oak creek in Clay township, and then in 1852 bought the farm, where William B. Ruble now lives. When Henry Ruble died, at the age of eighty-six years, he was the owner of two hundred acres of good land, and was a worthy and respected citizen. He and his wife rest from their labors, and their mortal remains are interred in Buford cemetery. William B. Ruble, the only son of Henry, was educated in his youth in the district schools of the county, and when a young man, ready to begin the duties of manhood, he married Lucinda Overstake, a native of Highland county. They began their home life on the farm where they now reside, and where they have passed many happy and prosperous years. Mr. Ruble is the owner of three hundred and twenty acres of valuable land, and in addition to farming he has been notably suc- cessful in the rearing of livestock, especially of Short-horned cattle and Duroc hogs. He is a member of the Church of Christ, in poli- tics is a Democrat, and he has been honored with the office of town- ship trustee for six years. Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Ruble, Henry B., and William H., both of whom are living under the parental roof.
George Sams, for many years a well known and highly esteemed citizen of Brush Creek township, was born in Pennsylvania, Novem- ber 18, 1805. He was the son of Andrew Sams, a Pennsylvanian by birth, who served his country as a soldier in the war of the Revo- lution during two terms of nine months, and the eldest son of this patriot by his marriage to his second wife, Margaret. The latter died in Brush Creek township, at the age of eighty-seven years. The second son, Abram, died in early manhood ; a daughter, Mary, married Isaac Oakes, of Highland county, and died in Iowa, and Catherine married and went west. George Sams married Lydia Milburn, daughter of Thomas Milburn, whose father was a Revolu- tionary soldier, and they reared a large family of children-Abram, now a farmer near Dallas postoffice; Sallie, wife of T. G. Hoggard, of Hillsboro; Andrew J., of Paint township; George, a farmer in Iowa; Lydia, wife of Joseph Johnson, of Chillicothe; James G., of Brush Creek township; Dr. Samuel Gordon Sams, who died in Iowa in 1900; Annie, Esther Ann, Thomas and Emmeline died young.
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George Sams was a shoemaker by trade, and with great industry and devotion to the interests of his family, followed farming by day and often labored at his trade by night, by such efforts becoming the owner of about six hundred acres of land. He and his family resided in Brush Creek township from 1834, and he lived to the age of fifty-nine years and his wife to seventy-four. He was a man of deep religious faith as well as business energy, and was one of the most devoted members of the Methodist church.
James G. Sams, of Brush Creek township, a son of George Sams, was educated in the district school and in early manhood married Lucinda Bell Lucas, who was born and reared in Brush Creek town- ship, daughter of Elijah and Amanda Lucas, and connected with a wide spread and prominent Ohio family. She died August 28, 1890, having been the mother of four children: Maggie, deceased ; Bessie L., Birches E., and John O. At a later date Mr. Sams married Sallie M. Lucas, sister of his deceased wife, and they have had two children: one who died in infancy, and Faith W. Mr. Sams is the owner of a hundred acres of valuable land, and is quite successful in the pursuits of agriculture and the raising of live stock. He has rendered creditable official service as a member of the school board; is a member of the Odd Fellows lodge, No. 211, at Peters- burg, and in politics is a Democrat.
Andrew J. Sams, one of the elder sons of George Sams, is one of the prominent farmers of Paint township, owning four hundred acres in that and Marshall townships, two hundred and eighty acres of which was part of the David Reece estate, where Senator Joseph B. Foraker was reared. Andrew J. was born in Brush Creek town- ship, January 14, 1835, and received his education in the district school. In early manhood he married Ruth Ann, daughter of George and Mary (Frump) Bell. Mr. Sams' father was born in Morgantown, Va., in 1780 and died in Brush Creek township in 1877, at the remarkable age of ninety-seven years. Her mother was a native of Delaware. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Sams are, Oliver Newton Sams, prosecuting attorney of Highland county ; George Oscar, farming in Paint township; Mary, who died at the age of eighteen ; Edmund M., insurance broker in New York ; Eldora, wife of Robert H. Lucas, of Marshall township; Leslie, who died at three years; Clarence Delaplane, farming with his father; and Elsie, wife of Roscoe West, a farmer of Liberty township. Mr. and Mrs. Sams are members of the Methodist Episcopal church at Rains- boro, Ohio.
Mrs. David Sanders, of Leesburg, is one of those energetic, resourceful women of strongly marked character and executive abil-
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ity, who always become notable figures in the communities where they reside. They are needed to push along all good causes, from the building of a church or school house on one hand to the suppres- sion of all sorts of organized vice on the other. They are the first in the sick room "where pain and anguish rack the brow"; they are foremost in meeting the calls for charity; they can be relied upon to aid in every movement that makes for cleanliness or righteous- ness. Mrs. Sanders comes naturally by her strong traits, as she comes from sturdy old pioneer stock who learned self-sacrifice and how to provide in the bitter school of experience. She is one of the few living descendants of James Johnson, who came out from Vir- ginia in the olden days and helped the vanguard of civilization fight against the savage beasts and still more savage Indians that were then thick in Ohio from Lake Erie to the great river. This first comer left a son named Boling A. Johnson, who was born September 17, 1818, married Angeline, daughter of Daniel Pavey, and reared a family of children. One of these was Armilda Johnson, who became Mrs. David Sanders, the subject of this sketch. At the time of her birth, in 1848, the parents were living in Fayette county and her early education was obtained there, supplemented by attendance later at the Holbrook academy at Lebanon. After leaving this insti- tution, she returned home and spent some time on the farm, assist- ing in the household duties and indulging in restful vacation from study. In 1876 she was married to David Sanders, and of late years she has resided at Leesburg, where she has identified herself thoroughly with the social and religious activities of the place. Mrs. Sanders is a conspicuous member of the Order of the Eastern Star and treasurer of the Woman's Foreign Missionary society. Much of her time, also, is occupied with regular business, for which she shows a remarkable aptitude. She has only one child, a daughter named Lucile A., and the family is one of the most popular in the pretty village of Leesburg.
George W. Sanders, well known as farmer and stock raiser, comes of one of the old families of New Market township who took part in its first settlement and development. It was about the year 1810 that John and Annie (Woodruff) Sanders came from their home in Northumberland county, Pa., in search of better fortunes in the rapidly developing state of Ohio. They selected New Market town- ship as a favorable spot and there the head of the house purchased 149 acres of land, to which in later years he added considerably more and owned at one time several hundred acres. They were old school Baptists and John Sanders donated land and constructed a church of that denomination at his own expense. He also gave ground for a cemetery, and there his own remains were laid to rest when he died at the age of eighty-two, followed a few years later by
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his wife, who expired in her eighty-eighth year. The children of these old settlers, all long since dead, were Jacob, Dennis, Rachel A. and Oliver H. The latter was born February 2, 1820, on the home- stead farm where he was reared and spent all the days of his life. He married Eliza Vance, of Uniontown, Pa., and spent a peaceful existence in the cultivation of his farm and raising and dealing in stock. He was sixty-six years old when laid to rest, and when his faithful wife expired some years later her remains were deposited by his side in the old family burying-ground. Of their eight chil- dren only two survive-John V. and the subject of this sketch. The dead are Hugh, Polly A., Samuel, Dennis E., Margaret and Joseph. George W. Sanders, sixth in age of the children, was born in New Market township, Highland county, Ohio, February 1, 1854. He still lives in the house where his birth occurred, having made that his home from the beginning. While growing up he attended the neighborhood schools and between times assisted his father with the lighter work of the farm. When he reached the marriageable age he selected as companion for life Catherine Ferris, of one of the old families of Hamer township. After his union with this lady, the parents "set them up in housekeeping" on the place which without interruption has since remained their residence. Mr. Sanders owns two hundred acres of good land, well situated and kept in excellent order for general farming and stock-raising. He served as constable of New Market township two terms and is a member of the New Market grange. He and his wife have two children, Mary E. and Nora F., both of whom remain at home.
The Sands Family, so long and favorably known at Hillsboro, may be said to be unique .in one respect, inasmuch as they have estab- lished records dating back for three centuries. Few families of this country are fortunate enough to make such a claim, and possess a complete genealogical tree running back three hundred years or more in an unbroken series without a single "missing link." James Sands, who first established the family in the colonies, was a son of the Bishop of York, the name having been formerly Sandys and Sandes. James was born at Reading, Berkshire, England, in 1622 and emigrated to America in 1658. Two years later he was one of the colony who purchased Block Island, just east of Long Island, and he died in March, 1695. His wife's name was Sarah, and to them were born four sons and two daughters. John Sands, one of their sons, married Sybil, daughter of Simon Ray, and moved in 1691 to the north part of Cow Neck, where he died in March, 1712, leaving four sons and as many daughters. The second John Sands, one of his sons, married Catherine, daughter of Robert Guthrie from Edinburg, Scotland, and granddaughter of Dr. Alcock, who came as physician to the colony that settled Boston. Joshua, the eighth
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