USA > Ohio > Noble County > The county of Noble; a history of Noble County, Ohio, from the earliest days, with special chapter on military affairs, and special attention given to resources. > Part 15
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the mercantile business at Mt. Ephraim. He was married in 1859 to Mary Ellen Love, and to them were born four children ; Hiram Wes- ley, Rosanna, Maud Alline, and George. Mr. and Mrs. Craft are members of the Christian church.
THOMAS MARTIN McVAY, M. D., one of the oldest practicing physicians in Noble county, was born in Franklin township, Mon- roe county, March 12, 1842. He was reared on the farm there and received his preliminary education in the district schools. He taught school for four years, reading medicine in the meantime, and in 1863 he began the practice of medicine at Harrietsville, two years later locating at Dexter City, where he practiced until 1880. He was elected treasurer of Noble county in 1879, re-elected in 1881, and retired in 1884, when he resumed the practive of medicine at Cald- well. After three years he built the Caldwell Woolen Mills, and shortly sold out to enter a general store at Dexter City, which he con- ducted in connection with his practice of medicine until 1889, when he again sold out to take up his residence on his newly purchased farm of two hundred forty-six acres, located near Harrietsville, and con- tinued in the practice of medicine. The life of a farmer was not entirely pleasing to him so he returned to Caldwell, to resume the practice of medicine there, and while there he also became the owner of the Caldwell Flouring Mill. In 1891 he again sold his interests in Caldwell, and moved to Summerfield where he has since been in the practice of his profession. Dr. McVay was married October 22, 1864, to Lovina Pryor, born April 11, 1843, a daughter of William and Louisa Pryor, old residents of Noble county, and to them have been born six children: Miles W., born Sept. 14, 1865, a merchant in Summerfield ; William H., born April 26, 1867, now deceased ; Mag- gie M., born January 16, 1869, a milliner ; Minnie M., born April 30, 1873, deceased; Albert A., born January 4, 1875, in business with his brother; and Ara A., born March 2, 1877, in business with her sister. Miles W. was married Nov. 8, 1893, to Sarah A. Wells, born Sept. 28, 1866, and two children have been born to them, Grace, born May 11, 1895, and T. M. born Dec. 29, 1896. Dr. McVay is a. member of the Masonic order, holding membership in the Macksburg lodge, and an Odd Fellow, a member of Reliance lodge of Summer- field, Ohio.
JOHN W. ROUSE, a prominent merchant of Summerfield, was born near Woodsfield, Monroe county, April 18, 1853, was there reared and educated in the common and Normal schools of Woodsfield. He followed the vocation of a school teacher for three years, but aban- doned it to become a clerk in a mercantile establishment. Mr. Rouse was engaged in that occupation in different places for fourteen years,
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and in 1887 purchased William W. Paull's interest in the firm of Rownd & Paull, in which he has since been associated, the firm name being Rownd & Rouse. In 1903, the First National Bank of Sum- merfield was organized, with Mr. Rouse as president and a capital stock of $25,000. The directors are: L. Curtis, E. P. Sullivan, J. R. McClintock, W. W. McClintock, John Kaiser, Dr. J. W. Morris and J. W. Rouse. The officers: J. W. Rouse, President; E. P. Sullivan, vice-president; W. H. Philpot, cashier. Mr. Rouse was married in 1889 to M. Alma Williams, a daughter of William T. Williams, an old resident of Noble county, and to them have been born two daughters, Frances G. and Lucy C. Mr. Rouse is a mem- ber of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
JOHN H. WILLIAMS, M. D., one of the prominent physicians of Summerfield, was born in Stafford, Monroe county, November 4, 1860 ; where he grew to manhood. He received his primary education in the common schools of that county, attended the Normal schools in Monroe and Noble counties, and engaged in teaching for about two years, before taking up the study of medicine. He entered the Starling Medical College at Columbus, graduating in 1885. Dr. Williams began the practice of his profession at Harrietsville, where he remained four years, continued at Macksburg three years, and later came to Summerfield, where he has since practiced. In 1890 he was elected by the Board of Trustees of the Athens Insane Hospital, as assistant superintendent of that institution, and filled that posi- tion until 1892, when the change of administration caused his retire- ment. Dr. Williams was married December 31, 1900, to Mary E. Calland, a daughter of William Calland, an old resident of Noble county. Dr. Williams is a member of the Masonic Order, and of the Knights of Pythias.
RICHMOND B. TAYLOR .- Rev. Edward H. Taylor, a pioncer Meth- odist minister in southern Ohio, was born in Pennsylvania and was taken by his parents to Jefferson county, when a boy. He grew to manhood there and at the age of eighteen years began preaching, which calling he followed all his life. His first circuit was all the territory south of the national pike, and between the Muskingum and Ohio rivers. He was married in 1823 to Lydia Barstow, a native of Rhode Island, and to them were born six children: Edward F., a retired farmer in Kansas; Richmond B. ; Cornelia Ann, deceased ; Rev. Themas Taylor of the Ohio M. E. Conference, now stationed at Columbus; Melville C., at Marshall ; and Olivia R., widow of Shep- herd Wilson, of Cedar Falls, Iowa. Rev. Taylor died in 1856, and Mrs. Taylor in 1880. Dr. R. B. Taylor was born in New Lisbon, February 3, 1828. He was four years of age when his parents moved
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to Summerfield, and it was here that he grew to manhood. At the age of seventeen he took up the study of medicine and after reading it for five years, began the practice of it at Summerfield, where he followed that profession for thirty-three years, excepting the time he was in the army. In 1865 he enlisted as a private in Company G of the One Hundred Eighty-Sixth Ohio volunteer infantry, and two weeks after was detailed as acting assistant surgeon, and stationed first in the hospital at Cleveland, Tenn., then in the brigade hospital at Dalton, Ga., and finally in the general hospital at Chattanooga, Tenn. In 1881 he went to Kansas where he practiced his profession for ten years, returning to Summerfield, where he now resides. Since 1860 the doctor has been a local minister in the M. E. church, and for a great part of that time, a local deacon. He has been twice married ; in 1849 to Martha J. Kirby, of McConnellsville, who died in 1893, leav- ing four children: Rev. Edward H. Taylor, of Mitchell, Ind .; Rev. M. B. Taylor of Dresden ; Lydia A., wife of H. B. Faber; and Truman E. Taylor, M. D., deceased. Dr. Taylor was married in 1901 to Sarah C. (Parvell) Buell. In politics he is a prohibitionist.
GEORGE W. BOYD .- Thomas Boyd, one of the earliest settlers of Noble county, was born and reared to manhood in Belmont county. He moved to Noble county in an early day, entered land from the government, and engaged in farming. He married Nancy Wiley, of an old Noble county family, and of the seven children born to them, all are now dead. John Boyd, the oldest son of Thomas Boyd, was born in Sharon township, and always lived in Noble county, a farmer by occupation, and somewhat of a real estate dealer. John and Mar- garet (Shepherd) Boyd were the parents of nine children : Thomas, farmer in Sharon township; George W .; Hester, deceased; the latter two, twins; Robert M., deceased; Sarah Ellen, deceased; William Riley, deceased; Lafayette, of Enoch township; Theodore, and John N., of the same township. Mr. Boyd died in 1892, and his wife in 1890. George W. Boyd was born in Enoch township in 1843, where he has always lived the life of a farmer. He was married in 1868 to Helen M. Woodford, a daughter of Aranda Woodford, an old resident of Noble county, and to this union were born eight chil- dren : Laura Bell, wife of A. E. Harris; Maggie, wife of C. M. Car- penter ; William R .; Charles A., of Olive; John S .; Catherine Alis, wife of J. C. Swank; Nellie May, and Carrie Adelphia. Mr. Boyd is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, both the subordinate lodge and the Encampment. Aranda Woodford, father of Mrs. Boyd, was a native of Olive township, and a farmer by occupation. He married Mercy Ellis Wheeler of an old Noble county family, and to them were born eleven children, only four of whom are now living. Those deceased are, Lucretia, Lois Ann,
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George, Catherine, Eunice Ann, Andrew Jackson, and Allen Moses. The living are, Eliza Jeannette, wife of Sylvester Cunningham ; Helen Maria ; Isabel, wife of Thomas Boyd; and Leve Woodford, of Nebraska.
ARTHUR OGDEN ARCHER, comes of an old and highly respected fam- ily of Ohio, a family that has sturdy, noble men, prominent in the history of the county and of the state. The grandfather, Absolom Archer was a son of Simon Archer, and a native of Stock township, where he lived the quiet life of a farmer. His wife, Rhoda Swainey, of an old and pioneer family, was the mother of five children: Isaac, who gave his life on the altar of his country in 1865 ; Aaron ; Adaline, whose daughter, Rhoda McGovern, is a Sister of Charity in Nebraska ; George W. ; and Andrew Jackson, who died in boyhood. The father Aaron Archer, was born in Stock township October 24, 1844. He served in Company G., of the One Hundred Eighty-Sixth Ohio Vol- unteers, in the war and was injured in an explosion at Chattanooga, but after a short time in the hospital, rejoined his regiment. He followed farming as an occupation after his discharge, until 1890, when he moved to Caldwell. He was married to Cordelia Riddle, daughter of Michael and Susanna Riddle, one of the substantial citi- zens of the community. Mr. and Mrs. Archer are the parents of five children, one of whom died in infancy, the others being Isaac E., ex-school teacher and railroad man, and one of the Superintendents of decorations of the American exhibit at the Paris Exposition, now of Columbus, Ohio; Columbia A., wife of Marshall E. Merry, a well known and prominent stock dealer of Caldwell, and the mother of one child, L. Walton, a musical prodigy of ten years of age, who began his career as a pianist at six years of age and who frequently sings at concerts ; Marcilla Archer, the youngest child, a student of Hiram College and now manager of the Ladies' Department in the A. E. Starr Department Store at Zanesville ; and Arthur Ogden. Mr. A. O. Archer was born on his father's farm in Stock township. He received an academic education, and at the age of twenty years began the study of law under the tutorship of Judge Charles A. Leland, of Caldwell, later Associate Supreme Judge for the territory of New Mexico. After three years study, he was admitted to the bar, stand- ing' second in a class of fifty-nine, only seventeen passing the examina- tion. Mr. Archer began the practice of his profession at Caldwell, where he remained six years, going at that time to Lorain, and was suc- cessful in his practice there. At the age of twenty-three he was elected Mayor of Caldwell, a very high compliment to his ability, being the youngest mayor ever elected in the city, and at that time. the youngest mayor in the state of Ohio. He has been a member of the Cabinet for the Fifteenth Congressional District of the Ohio
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Republican League, and has in many ways served his party. £ Mr. Archer is one of the successful young members of the Ohio bar, and his past brilliant record augurs well for his future. As an orator he is without a peer in southeastern Ohio ; there has been no political cam- paign since he was nineteen years old, with which he has not been prominently connected, and rarely has there been a public occasion without Mr. Archer delivering an address. On March 5th, 1904, Mr. Archer received the appointment of Assistant United States Attorney in the Dawes Commission to the Five Civilized Tribes of Muskogee, Indian Territory. He is the attorney representing the government in the enrolling and allotting of lands in the Choctow and Chickasaw Indian nations. This appointment is an unusual recognition of emi- nent ability in one of his years and is especially gratifying to Mr. Archer's friends.
URIAH SPRINGER .- Jacob Springer, an early resident of Noble county, was born in Carrol county, in 1819, where he grew to man- hood, received a limited education and adopted farming as an occu- pation. In 1841 he transferred his farming interests to Noble county, and has since lived there. In 1862 he enlisted in Com- pany B of the Seventy-Seventh Ohio volunteer infantry, as a private, and served ten months, his regiment doing guard duty all the time at Alton, Ill. Jacob and Mary (Flory) Springer were the parents of ten children : Henrietta, Daniel, Simeon, deceased ; Samuel, of Noble county; Uriah; Washington; Lydia, widow of Wesley Robbins ; Tabitha J .; Catherine, wife of Josiah Presdee and Jemima, of Noble county. Mr. Springer died in 1887, and his wife in 1894. Uriah Springer was born in Noble county June 14, 1846, and has always lived there but for three years spent in Missouri. He enlisted as a private in Company C, of the Twenty-Fifth Ohio volunteer infantry, serving over two years, and being in the following engage- ments : Honey Hill, and several skirmishes along the Savannah and Charleston railroads. After the war he took up the life of a farmer, and for the past ten years has been in Olive township. Mr. Springer was married first to Harriet J. Bonnar, daughter of Vincent Bonnar. an old resident of the county, who died in 1874, leaving one child, Louise J., now Mrs. Murray, of Noble county. In 1876 he married Rosanna Mossberg, a native of Belmont county, and five children have come to bless this union: Etta I., wife of Silas Roher; Walter; Verna M., wife of William Farley, of West Virginia; Angeline, wife of Alonzo Kohart ; and Modlene, deceased.
DAVID RADCLIFF, a farmer and early settler of Noble county, was born in County Down, Ireland, January 16, 1813. His parents both died when he was young, and he came with his brother to America,
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settling in Noble county in 1830. He entered government land in. Olive township, engaged in farming and wood cutting most of the time. Aside from these interests he followed keel boating along the Muskingum and Ohio rivers, making trips as far as New Orleans. In 1837 he married Jane Miller, a daughter of William Miller, one of the oldest Irish settlers of southern Ohio, and who at the time of his death, was the oldest Mason in Ohio, and said to be the oldest in the United States. He lacked one month of one hundred years at his death. Mr. and Mrs. Radcliff were the parents of seven children : Margaret, deceased; William, farmer in Olive; Martha, wife of Joshua Davis ; Ann, wife of William Willey ; Mary, and George, died young; and David H. Mrs. Radcliff died in 1898, and Mr. Radcliff in 1902. Mr. Radcliff was a member of Sharon Lodge No. 136, Free and Accepted Masons; he and his wife were members of the Uni- versalist church at Dudley, Ohio. David H. Radcliff was born in Olive township October 24, 1865, where he was reared and educated, and where he has followed the life of a farmer. Mr. Radcliff was married March 9, 1893, to Georgiana Allison, and to this union have been born: Robert Kenneth, Harvey Allison, deceased, and Orton Dale. Mr. Radcliff is a member of the Knights of Pythias, Castle Hall Lodge No. 280 at Caldwell; Keith Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, No. 466, and Keith Encampment No. 245. He and his wife are members of Rebecca Lodge at Caldwell.
WILLIAM RADCLIFF, oldest son of David and Jane (Miller) Rad- cliff was born in Olive township March 30, 1840, where he was reared and educated, and where he has followed the strenuous life of a farmer since reaching manhood. Mr. Radcliff was married in 1864 to Eliza Shriver, daughter of J. J. Shriver, of an old Noble county family. She died in 1883, leaving three sons, George, a farmer in Sharon township ; William Elmer, a student at the Starling Medical College ; and David W., a school teacher. Mr. Radcliff was again married in 1885 to Mrs. Jane Danford, a daughter of W. W. Stringer, and to them have been born two children; Mary Jane and Charles Francis. Mr. Radcliff is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, subordinate Lodge, and Encampment at Keith.
JOHN RADCLIFF, the elder of the three brothers who came to Ohio from Ireland, was born in County Down, in 1803. Settling in Noble county in 1830, he lived there twenty years, following the trade of a stone mason, and then moved to Randolph county, Illinois, where he became a farmer, until his death in 1868. Mr. Radcliff was married in Ireland to Sarah Jane Smith, and to them were born six children, two of whom, David and Margaret, are living, and the others, John, William, Mary Jane, and Francis, are now deceased. Mrs. Radcliff
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died in 1875. David Radcliff was born in County Down, Ireland, in 1830, and was about two months old when his parents came to America. He was reared in Noble county and has spent his life in farming in that county but for ten years spent in Illinois. He was married in 1849 to Lois Ann Woodford, a daughter of Aranda Wood- ford, and old settler of Noble county, and to them have been born nine children, Charles, John, and William, deceased ; and Sarah, wife of John C. Blake; Martha Marinda, wife of Ansel Blake; Eunice, wife of B. A. Landaker; Aranda M .; Lillie, wife of Martin McAtee; and Margaret Jane, deceased. Mrs. Radcliff died in September, 1900. Mr. Radcliff is a member of the Universalist church.
WILLIAM HAGA .- John Haga, one of the earliest settlers of what is now Noble county was a native of Pennsylvania. In the early part of the Nineteenth century he came to Ohio, and took up land from the government in Jackson township, removing later to Sharon town- ship where he lived till his death in 1875. John and Susan (Day) Haga, were the parents of Milo, of Olive township; Adam, deceased ; Amanda and Susan, twins, the former the wife of Stephen Delancy, of Iowa, and the latter the widow of George Baker, also of Iowa ; Jacob and Benjamin deceased; Mahala, wife of Ralph Kirkpatric; Matilda, wife of Rufus Tilton, and Paul, both of Olive township. Milo Haga was born in Pennsylvania, and at the age of two years was brought by his parents to Ohio, Noble county, where he has lived the life of a farmer. He was married to Rebecca Wagner, who died in 1846, leaving two children, William Morgan, and Francis Marion. The second marriage was to Rebecca Tilton, a daughter of Hebron Tilton, who also died, leaving four daughters and two sons: Susan, wife of Samuel Archer; Matilda; Rufus; Melissa, wife of George Spear; John; and Mahala, wife of Samuel Gardner. Francis M., the second son, was born in Noble county in 1844, where he was reared and has followed farming all his life. He was married in 1875 to Elizabeth Shriver, a daughter of Nicholas Shriver, and to them have been born six children : Alvali R. ; Rebecca, wife of Linas Tread- way, of Caldwell; Anna May, wife of Daniel Landaker; Minnie Myrtle, wife of Thomas Briggs; Nicholas Milo, and Alice Frances Elizabeth. William Haga, the eldest son of Milo Haga, was born in Noble county in 1842, and has always lived in Olive township, fol- lowing the occupation of a farmer, residing at home and caring for his aged father.
JAMES N. BROWN .- George W. Brown, an early resident of Noble county, came to Ohio from Pennsylvania with his parents when he was sixteen years of age. He was a son of Jeremiah B. Brown, a glass blower by trade, who took up farming on coming to Ohio, and con-
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tinued that until his death in 1864. George W. was the oldest son, and was born in 1815. He grew to manhood in Noble county and spent his life there. In 1861 he enlisted in a Michigan battery of light artillery, serving three years, after which he resumed his occupation of a farmer. He was married in 1836 to Mary Ann Shafer, a daugh- ter of Conrad Shafer, an old resident of Noble county, and to that union were born eight children: James N .; Jeremiah B., deceased ; George W., of West Virginia; Caroline, wife of Joseph Rutherford ; Margaret M., wife of Isaac Hickel; Mary Ann, wife of Lewis Moore ; Isabella, wife of Joshua Davis; and Lucinda, deceased. Mr. Brown died in 1894, and his wife in 1896. James N. Brown, the subject of this sketch, was born in Center township, December 29, 1836, and has always made Noble county his home. He chose the most independent occupation in the world, that of a farmer, and has been particularly successful in it. He was married in 1857 to Isabelle Mansperger, and to this union have been born eleven children : John, a farmer of Meigs county ; Emma, wife of John K. Hedge ; William, a carpenter in Caldwell; Edward L., a farmer of Jackson township ; Anna, wife of Rev. J. E. Iams, of New York; Asbury, an oil driller; George, a teacher; Ira, an oil driller ; Frances, Charles, and Pearl. Mr. and Mrs. Brown are members of the United Brethren church.
SYLVESTER CUNNINGHAM .- Ebenezer Cunningham, an old settler of Noble county, was a native of Maine, being born there in 1790. While but a boy he engaged as a sailor with his uncle, and on the ship Fox made two trips to Liverpool, England. During his absence upon his second trip, his father William Cunningham, removed to Ohio, settling in Olive township. On his return from the trip, Mr. Cunningham went west to join his parents, and soon after his arrival, the War of 1812 breaking out, he walked to Zanesville to enlist in the army, under the command of Captain Carnes. The company marched from Zanesville to Fort Erie and there joined General Harrison's command. At the call of Commodore Perry for volunteers from the land forces, Mr. Cunningham and his mess mate volunteered their services, and were taken aboard the flag ship Lawrence. They assisted in getting the ship over the bar, and the following morning came the great battle of Lake Erie. Mr. Cunningham was an active partici- pant in that battle, at the close of which only nine men on the ship were able to walk, and some of them, Mr. Cunningham among them, were wounded. After the battle he was put in charge of one of the captured vessels, and thus served during the winter. The following spring he was discharged, and returned to Noble county to his occu- pation of farming, which he did on a small scale, and worked at the millwright business also. He was a Jackson Democrat, but never aspired to office. Ebenezer and Sally (Morgaridge) Cunningham
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were the parents of ten children: George, William, John, Sally, Elmira, Parmelia, all deceased, Ebenezer, Ambrose, Francis Gilead, and Jane Rowland, still living. George Cunningham was born near Dexter City in 1817, and always lived in Noble county, a carpenter during the summer season and a cabinet maker during the winter. He was not an office seeker, but served his township as trustee and treasurer, besides several minor offices. He was married to Matilda Ogle, a daughter of James Ogle, a native of Ireland and one of the early settlers of Noble county, and they were the parents of seven children : Sylvester, Charlotte, Jeannette, Marilla, now Mrs. Brown ; Alvaretta, wife of Rufus Haga ; Nancy Jane, and an infant, deceased. The father died in 1874, and the mother in 1890. Sylvester Cun- ningham, a well-known farmer of Dudley, was born in Olive town- ship January 14, 1844, and there was educated and grew to manhood. When only twenty years of age he enlisted in Company F of the One Hundred Sixty-First Ohio volunteers, serving a little over a year. During that short time he was in the battles of Newmarket, Lynch- burg, Harper's Ferry, Manassas Junction, Winchester, Cedar Creek. Mount Jackson, Appomattox Court House, and many minor engage- ments. After his discharge he tried carpentering for a time, but owing to ill health, he was obliged to give it up for farming. He has served his township as trustee, clerk, and as school director for twenty years. He has been a delegate to the Democratic state con- vention four times and to every Congressional convention for years. Mr. Cunningham was married to Eliza Woodford in 1867, and five children have come to bless their union: Nancy Jane, now Mrs. Davis ; Austin Ludwig, a farmer; Matilda Alice, now Mrs. Sanford; Alta Eleanora Hurst, now deceased; and Mary Icephine, also deceased. Mr. Cunningham has been a member of the Caldwell Lodge Independent Order of Odd Fellows for nearly forty years, and is also a member of the Grand Army of the Republic.
WILLIAM DAVIS .- Levi Davis, Sr., an early settler of Olive town- ship, was born in the state of Maine, in 1800. When he was six years of age, his parents moved to Ohio, locating in Noble county, where he grew to manhood, always living on the farm occupied by William W. Davis. Levi and Betsy (Hutchins) Davis, were the parents of ten children: Rhoda Ann, Joseph C., Levi, Levi, Jr., Benjamin E., Elizabeth P., all deceased ; Daniel V., of West Vir- ginia ; William W .; Rosanna M., wife of Joseph R. Webber of Mon- tana ; Amy R., wife of Benjamin B. Tilton, all living. Mr. Davis died in 1877, and his wife in 1885. William W. Davis, a well known farmer of Noble county, was born in Olive township on the place where he now lives, in 1835. He was reared and educated there, and in 1857 was married to Catherine L. Woodford, daughter of
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