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 23
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REV. SAMUEL FINLEY Ross. pastor of the Methodist Episcopal church at Caldwell, is a native of Harrison county, Ohio, where he was born on February 20, 1853. and was reared and educated. He is a son of Joseph and Catherine (Patterson) Ross, early settlers in Harrison county. The paternal grandfather was killed in the War of 1812 ; the paternal great grandfather was raymaster in General Washington's army. and was captured by the British near the present site of Gen- eral Grant's tomb. Mr. Ross first attended the common schools, and later was a student at McNeely Normal School, Scio College, and La Fayette College, receiving the degree of D. D. from the latter institution. He had the honor of being a student under the noted mathematician and chemist, Prof. William H. Brinkerhoff, who was president of McNeely Normal School. Mr. Ross began his educa- tional career with the bent of the parental mind turned toward the law, but when ready to launch upon his life work, he chose for himself the ministry. While a student he also engaged as a tutor in the Normal College, having had some experience in that line in the common schools, where he taught when but seventeen years of age, earning the money for his college expenses in one year's teaching. He spent four years in collegiate work as student and tutor, also serv-
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ing as a "supply" on many cecasions in ministerial work. Mr. Ross was ordained to the ministry after two years probationary work in the Eastern Ohio Conference. This was with deacon's orders, in 1887 ; in 1891, was ordained an Elder, and received the degree of D. D. in 1902, having been a trustee of Scio College for seventeen years previously. His first pastoral charge was Adamsville, where he and Rev. J. J. Jackson had charge of seven churches, then at Port Wash- ington, at Philadelphia Plains, at Waynesburg, at West La Fayette, having charge of each place three years, and three years at New Concord, where he assisted in building the Muskingum College, being president of the Convention in soliciting aid in its construction. He went thence to Cumberland for three years and came to Caldwell in his present capacity in September, 1902. Mr. Ross is an carnest, able preacher whose kindly spirit and human sympathies endear him to all. He has done much voluntary evangelistic work, and is effective and powerful as a revivalist. He has been very successful in his work in the Caldwell church, a society which has the name of being one of the oldest churches in that part of Ohio. Mr. Ross was married December 25, 1873, to Amanda R. Welsh, a native of Harri- son county, and a daughter of John and Margaret (Gilmore) Welsh. She was educated at Scio College, and is very talented in music. Their union has been blessed with four children: Howard .J., now a student in the State University at Columbus, preparing for the law : Olive Margaret, a graduate of Scio School of Oratory; Ruth Lucile, and Joyce Welsh, who are at home. Dr. Ross is a member of the Masonic order, belonging to Port Washington Lodge No. 202. In politics he is rated as a Republican, though with strong temperance sympathies. He is opposed to lawlessness even though apparently sanctioned by law.
WILLIAM J. JOHNSON, of Caldwell, a farmer and ex-county auditor of Noble county, was born in Guernsey county, now a part of Noble, on the 15th of November, 1850, and is a son of John K. and Eliza- beth Holden (McBride) Johnson. The father was born in Virginia in 1816, the mother in Ohio in 1818, and they were married in Ohio in 1838, where they have spent most of their lives. The paternal grandfather, George B. Johnson, was a native of England, came to Virginia and married Anna Mackley. The maternal grandfather came to Ohio in a very early day and came into possession of large landed interests, which descended to his heirs. The father of the subject of this sketch, inherited a portion and bought additional lands, becoming well-to-do. He died in 1896 at the age of eighty- three, his wife having preceded him five years. The family com- prised four sons and two daughters, four of whom are living: John L., a traveling salesman at Columbus; Hannah, wife of
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Thomas S. Larrick; Nancy, now Mrs. Hercules Murphy, of Pleasant City ; and William J. Mr. Johnson was educated in the country schools, Muskingum College, Ohio Normal College at Lebanon, and various private schools. He began his independent career as a teacher, following that profession for about sixteen years, and then engaged in the mercantile business in Guernsey and Noble counties for a few years. By reason of failing health he retired from active life and took up a political career. He held the office of justice of the peace two terms, was township clerk one term, a member of the Board of Education in Sarahsville for six years, was nominated and elected county auditor of Noble county in 1891, serving over six years. At his second election, he received 830 majority, the largest ever given to any county candidate in the county. He has been engaged in the collection of delinquent and omitted taxes throughout the southern portion of the state, having become interested in that line of work while yet in the Auditor's office. Mr. Johnson was married September 19, 1872, to Amanda M. Burcher, a native of Belmont county, and a daughter of William P. and Louisa Burcher. To this union have been born six children: Ora Winifred, a teacher in the city of Minneapolis, Minn .; Charles B., an attorney in Clarksburg, W. Va .; Edward T., a practicing dentist in Caldwell; Arthur G., a graduate of the Ohio Dental and Surgical College; John R. and Charlotte, at home. The children have all had every advantage in education and are an exceptional family in the way they have appreciated their father's efforts for them. Mr. Johnson is a promi- nent Mason and has served ten years out of fourteen as Worshipful Master of Olive Lodge No. 210, and is a member of Cumberland Chapter No. 116, Royal Arch Masons. Mr. Johnson was reared in the faith of the Lutheran church. Politically he is a staunch Repub- lican and has always been an active worker in the cause of Repub- licanism. Mr. Johnson has been an active, energetic, and successful business man. He has earned a great deal of money, which he has spent liberally for the education and comfort of his children. He owns a good farm of two hundred fifty-six acres in Noble and Center townships which he operates through hired help. It is well stocked, has a producing gas well, with other prospects for oil and gas, and is underlaid with coal. He has also a fine home in Caldwell.
JOHN M. CAMPBELL, postmaster and retired merchant of Dexter City, is a native of Belmont county, and was born January 8, 1838. The Campbell family is traceable to Scotch-Irish ancestors. The great great grandfather was the founder of the family in the New World; he was massacred by the Indians. Mr. Campbell is a son of Archibald and Hannah (Sample) Campbell, the mother a native of Ohio, the father of Maryland. They were married in Belmont
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county, removed to Washington county, and both died at Marietta, the father at the age of eighty-six, and the mother at seventy-five. They were the parents of nine children, seven of whom are living: John M .; Rebecca J., wife of Thomas Hall of Washington county ; Samuel M., traveling salesman living at Marietta ; Sarah A., wife of Ross Dye ; Joseph L., a merchant at Marietta ; Gideon J., a merchant, now deceased ; and Lina, of Belpre. Mr. Campbell, the subject of this sketch, was reared to manhood on a farm in Lawrence township, received his education in the public schools, and followed farming until the breaking out of the Civil war. He enlisted August 6, 1862, in Company F, Ninety-Second Ohio volunteer infantry, serving under General Sherman in the Western department. He participated in the battles of Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge, Atlanta, Buzzards Roost, Jonesboro, participated in the famous march to the Sea, up through the Carolinas and "on to Richmond." He was also at the grand review at Washington. Mr. Campbell was sergeant of his company during the war, and escaped personal injury, except for deafness in one ear occasioned by the explosion of a shell which killed his comrades on his right. He was discharged June 10, 1865, and returned to his home in Liberty, where he had left a wife and two children. He had been married in 1859 to Calista A. Blcor, a native of Belmont county. Five children have been born to them: Iowa E., wife of G. W. Clvmer, who died in 1901, leaving a family of six children ; Mary F. ; John A. : Ella B., wife of Wm. Daniels, who left one child ; Clara A., wife of Ralph W. Loucks, the only survivor of the children. After the close of the war, Mr. Campbell engaged in farming for one year, after which he was for five years an oil operator. He was fairly successful in this, and afterward engaged in the mer- cantile business, being one of the first merchants in Dexter City. This proved unprofitable, so he sold out and was a traveling salesman for several years. In 1897 he was appointed postmaster by President McKinley, and has continued since in that capacity. Mr. Campbell is a member of the Masonic fraternity, holding his membership at Aurelius Lodge No. 398, of Macksburg. He is a member of John L. Moseley Post, G. A. R., of Dexter City. He is a member of the Baptist church as were his parents. He takes an active interest in religious matters. He is a Republican and influential in the party counsels. Mr. Compbell has been fairly successful in his life. though at times unfortunate. He receives a pension by reason of disabilities incurred in the army.
EDWARD E. COBURN, M. D., a regular practicing physician and surgeon of Dexter City, Ohio, was born in Morgan county, near the line of Washington county, on April 25, 1867. He is the son of Leonidas J. and Susan (Swift) Coburn, both natives of Ohio, the
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father born in Morgan county and the mother in Washington county, where she died January 20, 1897. The father is descended from Major Asa Coburn of Revolutionary fame, and one of the first settlers of Marietta, where he is still living, upon the farm where he was born. He has been a successful farmer and has attained prominence in local politics, having served three terms as Commissioner of Mor- gan county, and Justice of the Peace a number of years ; he has always been a working Republican. The family consists of five sons and one daughter, all of whom are living: Don C., a minister in the Methodist Protestant church at Zanesville; Nicholas, a minister in the same church, superannuated, lives at Zanesville ; Charles, a farmer in Morgan county, near the old home; Juniata, widow of Joseph Smith, who, with her son Leonidas, lives with her father ; Dr. E. E., and Allen, a student in Starling Medical College. Dr. Coburn was educated at Adrian, Michigan, and at Starling Medical College, from which he graduated in March, 1894. He began the practice of medicine in Stockport, Morgan county, where he remained two years, was in Cambridge for six years, and moved to Dexter City in Sep- tember 1902. He has been successful in establishing a fine practice and in connection with this, has the only drug store in Dexter City. Dr. Coburn was married December 29, 1897, to Mary Rose, a native of Washington county, where he was reared and educated at Marietta College. She is a daughter of James and Josie Rose, a prominent well-to-do family at Cole Run, where the father has been postmaster and general merchant for over twenty years. In the family are: Charles, a merchant tailor; Mary, Lucy, John and Helen, all at home. Dr. Coburn is a member of the Knights of Pythias and of the Odd Fellows. In politics he is a staunch Republican. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, in which Mrs. Coburn is an especially active worker.
JOHN WILLIAM BEEBOUT, M. D., a regular practicing physician and surgeon of Dexter City, is a native of Washington county, and was born near Newport, June 10, 1871. He is a son of Prof. Leander J. and Rachel (O'Bleness) Beebout, the father a native of Jefferson county, the mother of Washington county, and both are now living on the place where the subject of this sketch was born. The father was a teacher by vocation, and spent thirty-six years in Washington county, teaching forty-three terms in one school. The Beebout family is descended from Holland ancestors, and the O'Bleness from the same, who settled at Kingsbridge, New York, before the Revolution, and were driven out by the British, losing all their possessions. The families came west before the birth of either of the subject's parents, and settled in Washington and Jeffer- son counties. Dr. Beebout is the only son of Leander and Rachel
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Beebout, and has one sister living, Miss Bertha, who is at home. Dr. Beebout was educated largely under his father's tuition, attended Scio College, and completed his medical education at Starling Med- ical College, Columbus, with the class of '96. He received his pre- liminary professional training under the tuition of Dr. E. W. Hill of Marietta, and began practice at Dexter City, September 29, 1902. Dr. Beebout has already established a lucrative practice and attained a prominent social and professional position. He was Coroner for Noble county four years, during his practice at Hiramsburg and Caldwell. Dr. Beebout was married June 29, 1897, to Addie Gib- son, a native of Washington county, but a resident of Caldwell, and to them has been born one son, Howard E., born May 19, 1901. In political views, Dr. Beebout is a Republican. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias in Dexter City, and has twice passed the official stations in his lodge. He is also a member of Dexter City Lodge Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Dr. Beebout and wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church.
JOHN H. SHANKLAND, of Caldwell, ex-postmaster, and retired farmer, is a native of Marion township and was born July 1, 1843. He is a son of James W. and Henrietta S. (Rownd) Shankland, both natives of Delaware, but coming to Ohio in childhood. The Shank- land family is descended from Welsh ancestors, long established in America. The grandfather, James M. Rownd, was the first settler of Barnesville, as were the parents the first residents of Summerfield, now the second town in Noble county. The father, James W. Shankland, opened a store in the woods on the present site of Sumn- merfield, in 1827; after three years he sold out, spent a year on the farm, and then located in Lexington, then a small village in the county, now extinct. There he opened an extensive mercantile busi- ness, and was greatly interested in the tobacco trade, then in its beginning. He established stores at six or seven different points in the county, and did a very extensive business, shipping as many as twelve hundred hogsheads in one season. His losses were often great, through incompetency of some of his employes, vet in the main, he was successful, and accumulated a goodly competence. Mr. Shank- land died near Summerfield, October 9, 1879, at the age of seventy- nine, and his wife on December 6, 1892, in her ninetieth year, at the home of her son, John H. She was a devout Christian woman, whose father was a local minister of the Methodist church ; she remem- bered distinctly Bishop Asbury, the first bishop of the Methodist church, and how as a little girl she sat upon his knee at the parental home in Barnesville. She was a subscriber to the New York Chris- tian Advocate for sixty-one years. The family of James and Hen- rietta Shankland consists of three sisters and four brothers living,
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and one sister who has joined the silent majority. Those living are : Martha A., now a widow, residing with her daughter at Lyons, Kan- sas; Mary, widow of L. A. Prettyman, residing with her son at Dresden ; Eliza, wife of Edward Y. Taylor, of Minneapolis ; James M. a retired merchant in Des Moines, Ia .; Charles W., a farmer near Summerfield ; Samuel R., editor and publisher of Custer City, S. D .; and John H. Mr. Shankland received a common school education in his native county, which was supplemented by a business course in Eastman's College at Poughkeepsie, N. Y. He enlisted August 6, 1862, as a private in Company D, Ninety-Second Ohio volunteer infantry, and served three years in the Western Department under General Sherman. He participated in a number of engagements, culminating at Chickamauga, in a wound which rendered him unfit for field duty thereafter. After recovery, he was detached as a clerk in the Government offices at Louisville, Ky., where he served until the expiration of his term, being discharged June 22, 1865. Return- ing home, he attended Commercial College and after graduation, was engaged in the mercantile business in Guernsey county for four years. Mr. Shankland was married in February, 1877, after which he located on his farm which he had inherited in part, purchasing the balance. He wedded O. Ella Openshaw, a native of Yorkshire, Eng- land, but reared and educated in Summerfield. One daughter has been born to this union, Henrietta Blanche, a graduate of Caldwell High school and now married to Charles V. Graham of Cambridge, a telegraph operator on the B. & O. They have also one daughter, Henrietta, born in October, 1900. Mr. Shankland retired from his farm and removed to Caldwell in the fall of 1892, at which time he was installed as Treasurer of Noble county, having been elected on the Republican ticket in 1891. In 1898 he was appointed post- master of Caldwell, by President McKinley, serving four and one- half years under this appointment. He has always taken an active interest in political affairs, and served his party in various capacities. Mrs. Shankland and daughter are members of the Methodist church, Mr. Shankland was a charter member of John Brown Post, No. 504, Grand Army of the Republic, and served two years as Commander of the same.
WAYNE YOUNG, a practical jeweler and silversmith of Caldwell, was born on a farm three and one-half miles southeast of Caldwell, on the 4th of June, 1874, and is a son of David and Mary (Caldwell) Young, both natives of Noble county. The father was a mechanic and farmer by trade and died August 19, 1903, at Caldwell. The mother, who was a daughter of Samuel Caldwell, one of the founders of the town bearing his name, was born on a farm near Caldwell and spent her life in Noble county. She died in Caldwell, the family
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having retired some twenty years ago. The family comprises two sons and five daughters, two of the daughters and the two sons living. These living are: Miss Adda, assistant to her brother in his jewelry business; Charles C., of Caldwell; Wayne; and Luna, a teacher of music in Nebraska. Mr. Young, subject of this sketch, was educated in the Caldwell public schools, and at the age of seventeen entered the Chicago College of Horology, where he pursued his studies for three years, receiving his diploma as a competent workman in that line. In May, 1894, he bought out a stock of jewelry and started in business in Caldwell, and since then, he has built up a good busi- ness, having practically the only establishment of the kind in the town. He carries a full line of goods and makes a specialty of fine watch repairing and artistic engraving. Mr. Young was married March 8, 1896, to Miss Adda Mclaughlin, daughter of Joseph Mc- Laughlin, whose sketch appears elsewhere in this work. To this union, three children were born, Lucile, Howard and David. In political views, Mr. Young has voted with the Democrats in the past, but is not certain of his political views in the future. He and his wife are members of the Baptist church and both active in religious work. Mr. Young designs to put in a full line of optical goods in connection with his other business, and place a thorough, competent. optician in charge; his sister, Miss Adda, being now a student in optics at a college in Chicago with that end in view. Mr. Young is an affable, pleasant young man, thoroughly schooled in the intri- cacies of his profession, blessed with a pleasing address and more than ordinary personal attractions. He is a young man of high ideals and most exemplary life and character. Few young men have started in life with brighter prospects or attained a greater degree of success in a few brief years, than has he.
HARRY A. WILSON, bookkeeper and general salesman in the exten- sive mercantile house of Friedman Bros., of Caldwell, was born in Summerfield, Noble county, on August 16, 1878. He is a son of Joseph H. Wilson, a veteran of the Civil war, whose record as a soldier is worthy of preservation and transmission ; he enlisted at the beginning of the war as a private of Company I, Twenty-Fifth Ohio volunteer infantry, serving four years and nine months, until his discharge ; he served in the Army of the Potomac, participating in nearly all of the general engagements fought by that valiant army, and escaping personal injury, other than being rendered unconscious for a time by the concussion from the explosion of a shell near his head ; he suffered many hardships, as did all who were faithful to the cause, and returned in impaired health, for which he received a par- tial recompense in a pension ; he was cabinet maker by trade, but has been unable to work at that business for many years; in recent
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years, when able to work, he has turned his attention to painting and decorating. The mother of Harry A. Wilson was Mary J. Morrison, both parents natives of Ohio, and both still living. Harry A. Wilson is the youngest child and only son in a family of three, the sisters being Mrs. George F. Hayes of Caldwell, and Mrs. A. E. Osborne of Sharon. He was educated in his native town, completing the high school course in 1896. He began his mercantile career in the employ of C. H. Richey, of Summerfield, and was with him as general sales- man for two years and a half. In December, 1897, he accepted a position with Friedman Bros., in Caldwell, as general salesman in the dry goods department; and in 1901, he was promoted to book- keeper and general superintendent of the extensive office work, which position he now holds. Mr. Wilson was married August 8, 1900, to Isabelle James, a native of Caldwell, and daughter of Wilton and Mary James. She is one of a family of six, three of whom are deceased ; the living are: Leslie, traveling salesman of New York City ; Homer, a railway employe in St. Louis; and Mrs. Wilson. One son has been born to Mr. and Mrs. Wilson, James J., born March 15, 1902. They are members of the Methodist church, in which Mr. Wilson served several years as a steward. In politics, he is a Republican. Mr. Wilson is an exemplary young man, who possesses the confidence of his employers to the fullest extent, and he and his wife are held in high esteem by the residents of Caldwell. They exercise a potent influence for good among all and especially among the young people of the community.
HON. LEVI WILLIAM FINLEY, of Caldwell, ex-member of the Sixty-sixth general assembly of Ohio, and a retired merchant was born within the present limits of Noble county, on the 11th of March, 1844, and was reared and educated in his native county. He is a son of William and Rachel (Glover) Finley, both natives of Penn- sylvania, who were married in Noble county, living there until 1870, and then removing to Wayne county, Iowa, where they ended their days. The mother died in 1875 at the age of sixty-two and the father in 1885, at the age of eighty. He followed farming all his life and was regarded as well-to-do. The family comprised nine children, eight of whom lived to years of maturity. The eldest is Rebecca, wife of George Miley of Buffalo township; Susan, wife of James W. Gibson, now superintendent and matron respectively of Noble County Infirmary ; Eliza, wife of Levi Keller, died in 1877; John died in youth; Jacob, a resident of Oklahoma, where he owns a fine farm; Isaac, died in the army in the Civil war, buried at Athens, Ala., a member of the Ninth Ohio cavalry; Samuel C., proprietor of a meat market in Wayne county, Ia., and George, who died in 1889. Mr. Finley entered the army as a member of Com-
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pany E, Eighty-Eighth Ohio volunteer infantry, in July, 1863, serv- ing two years as clerk at headquarters of the Northern Department. His regiment did garrison duty most of the time, being employed in guarding railroads, recruits, deserters, prisoners and the like. Pre- vious to entering the army, Mr. Finley had been engaged in teaching for a year or two, and on returning, resumed this profession for about two years longer, and then engaged in general merchandising at Sarahsville, originally the county seat of Noble county. He con- tinued in that line six years, when failing health obliged him to seek a change, and in 1873 he engaged in farming, stock raising, and fruit growing. In November, 1902, he left the farm and moved to Cald- well, turning over the management of his 250-acres farm to his son. Mr. Finley has always taken an active interest in politics, being a Republican until 1872, when he became a follower of the Liberal Republican candidate, Horace Greeley, and since that time has been a Democrat. In 1876, he was the Democratic candidate for county auditor, but was defeated at the polls ; and in 1883 was elected to the legislature. In 1887 he was a candidate for State senator, but failed in the nominating convention. He was deputy collector of internal revenue for one year, 1897 to 1898, in the sub-division composed of the counties of Noble, Guernsey, Monroe, Washington, Athens, Mor- gan and Meigs, and was legislated out of this position in 1898 at the outbreak of the Spanish war. He was a member of the State Central committee for four years, and has served on the Executive and Con- trol committees of the county. He was also deputy state supervisor of elections and held various other offices in the township, to say nothing of the various school board offices held at different times. Mr. Finley was married November 24, 1866, to Jane Young, a native of Noble county, and a daughter of William J. and Jane (McCann) Young, the father a native of Rhode Island, and the mother of Noble county, Ohio. To them have been born seven chil- dren, five of whom are living: William L., editor of the Kenton Press and president of the Scioto Sign Co., wife, Emma Hancher, have six children ; George R., married Iona Mcclintock, resides on home farm, four children; Mary J., wife of A. C. Frye of Kenton ; Rachel May, wife of J. B Sparling; and JJoseph L., a student in Caldwell. Mr. Finley is a member of the Masonic fraternity, Sum- merfield Lodge No. .. ; of Knights of Pythias, being Past Chancellor Commander of same, and of the Grand Army of the Republic. He is a minister of the Disciple church and active in religious work, having been in the ministry for eight years, though his carly religious affilia- tions were with the Methodist church. He is pre-eminently a good man, honored and respected by all. Though never obtaining the full measure of his political ambition, he takes defeat philosophically. He is a student by nature and has surrounded himself with a fine 15
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