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 24
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private library, where he feels at home with familiar friends. His material possessions are such as, with judicious management, pre- cludes the possibility of want, and he and his estimable wife and young son, comprise a happy and contented trio around the home fireside.
SOLOMON J. DONALDSON, a mechanic of Dexter City, was born in Washington county, Pa., June 17, 1831, and accompanied his par- ents to Muskingum county, Ohio, when five years old, having remained a resident of the state ever since. He was reared on a farm in Morgan county, and received a fair common school education. At the age of twenty-three, he left the farm and learned the cooper's trade, and after following that for some years, learned also the stone mason's trade, working at that during the summer seasons. He enlisted August 13, 1862, in Company A, Seventy-Eighth Ohio volunteer infantry, serving in the Army of the Tennessee under Gen- eral Grant, until his promotion to a higher rank, later serving under General Sherman. He participated in the battles of Port Gibson, Raymond, Kenesaw Mountain, and at the siege of Atlanta, was wounded in the right arm at Raymond, captured at the hospital there, twelve days later, and taken to Richmond as a prisoner. He was in Libby Prison about two months when he was paroled and later exchanged. He rejoined the army on the march to Atlanta, and remained at the front until December, 1864, when he was sent to the rear and placed on detached duty at a general hospital at Cov- ington, Ky., thus relieving an able-bodied man, who was needed at the front. Mr. Donaldson served in the same regiment with James Mason, father of Sergeant Chas. B. Mason, later rendered conspicuous by his efforts to shoot Guiteau, the assassin of President Garfield. Mr. Donaldson served faithfully and well, making a record as a soldier which is complimentary to himself and an honor to his pos- terity. Being discharged, he returned to his wife and four children in Muskingum county, and soon afterward learned the shoemaker's trade, being unable from his physical condition to resume either of the other trades previously learned. In 1866 he moved to Noble county, living in Caldwell several years, and nine years later remov- ing to Dexter City, where he erected a beautiful residence. Besides shoemaking, he has been at different times engaged in barbering and photography, thereby earning a livelihood, and educating his large family. Mr. Donaldson was married June 15, 1851, to Nancy Cal- lendine, a native of Vermont. She was the mother of six children and died in May, 1884. The children are: Garrey, salesman of New York City ; William J., an oil worker, in Glouster ; Hayden M., a farmer near Macksburg; Mary, wife of George Williams of Mari- etta ; Lillian M., wife of George Duvall, of Dunkirk, Indiana; and
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Elvin Glidden, of Dexter City. Mr. Donaldson married for his second wife, Nan Dyer, who is the mother of six children, all under the parental roof. The children are: Corporal Tanner; Fannie, his twin sister, wife of David McAtee, of Dexter City; Miles L., Goldie, Flossie and Archie. Mr. Donaldson was one of the charter members of John M. Mosely Post No. 470, Grand Army of the Re- public, the first post organized in Noble county ; which he has served many years, as Officer of the Day, and of which he was recently chosen Commander, an honor worthily bestowed. He has been a member of the order of Odd Fellows for thirty-six years and is Past Grand of Dexter City Lodge No. 496. Politically he is independent, though formerly a staunch Republican. Mr. Donaldson is a pensioner by reason of wounds received in the Civil war.
MARK WARREN, a prominent educator of Noble county, was born near South Olive, July 26, 1872, and is a son of W. P. and Rhoda J. Warren. He received his education at his home school, at South Olive, in both the Common and Normal Schools, and at Caldwell. He was exceptionally bright as a student, began teaching at the age of eighteen, and has followed that profession one way or another until the present time. He was married September 25, 1895, to Miss Ara Ogle. For the past four years he has served as superintendent of the Dexter City schools, and has brought them up to a standard to be proud of. It was largely due to his efforts that the school was classed by State School Commissioner Bonebrake, as a third-grade High School. In 1900 Mr. Warren was appointed school examiner of Noble county, by Probate Judge L. W. Wheeler, in which capacity he served with credit for more than two years, when he resigned to enter politics. Securing the nomination for county treasurer by acclamation in the Noble county Republican convention in the spring of 1903, he was elected to that office on November 3, by the largest majority accorded any candidate on the ticket. Mr. Warren will assume the duties of the office in September, 1904.
WILLIAM A. LONG, a farmer and stock-raiser of Sharon township, was born in the house where he now lives on August 28, 1857. He is a son of William and Mary (Ross) Long, the mother dying in middle life. Of the eight children born to these parents, William A., is the fourth. He was educated in the common schools of Sharon township where he has always lived, following the life of a farmer. This life seems to have had a particular fascination for Mr. Long, and he has been especially successful. His farm of one hundred acres is well improved, with fine buildings and all conveniences, and is well adapted to both agriculture and stock raising, the latter being exten- sively carried on. Mr. Long was married January 15, 1880, to
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Florilla J. Bailey, a daughter of John and Mary (White) Bailey, whose family was among the earliest settlers in the county. To them have been born three sons and one daughter, all unmarried. They are Harley Garfield, born November 6, 1880, a graduate of the Spencer- ian Business College in Cleveland, now employed with the Garry Iron and Steel Plant at Cleveland ; Edmund and Edgar, twins, born February 4, 1883; and Mary Kiturah, born June 25, 1885. The twin boys own a farm adjoining the parental home, Edmund is teacher in the public schools of the county, and Edgar looks after the farm. Mr. Long and family are members of the Baptist church and active workers in church and Sunday school. Mr. Long is a Republican in political views and he has always supported the principles of his party. All his family are strictly temperance in principle and active in that work. Mr. Long has never sought public office, though he has manifested great interest in the schools, being president of the Board of Directors of Sharon township.
EDSON F. WALTERS, trustee of Sharon township and a prosperous farmer near the village of Sharon, was born in Noble county on Janu- ary 18, 1868. He is a son of Peter M. and Elizabeth M. (Marquis) Walters, both natives of Sharon township, and both now living in that village. The Walters family is of German and Irish origin, the paternal great grandfather being German, and his wife Irish. The Marquis family is of similar origin, though in reverse order. The father spent productive years in farming and is now engaged in the jewelry business, being a practical mechanic. There was a family of four sons and six daughters, one son and three daughters having gone to that land whence no traveler returns. Those living are Chloe L., now the wife of Mr. Ellis of Grundy county, Mo .; Samuel J., and Charles E., farmers in Scotland county, Mo., the latter being a min- ister as well as a farmer; Lillian J., wife of E. E. Henry, a jeweler in Lancaster: Nora D., wife of Miner Fowler of Reinersville; and Edson F. Mr. Walters, the subject of this sketch, was educated in the common schools of his native township, but has followed farming as a vocation. He was married March 15, 1894, to Etta Jennings, a daughter of G. N. Jennings, late of Sharon township. The family were early settlers of Noble county, and her father was a resident of Sharon township for forty years. For one season following his mar- riage, Mr. Walters was a farmer in Illinois, and afterwards came into possession of the farm on which he now lives, partly through inher- itance and partly through purchase. The farm comprises fifty-eight acres, mostly all improved, Mr. Walters engaging principally in cattle raising and poultry business. Mr. and Mrs. Walters have one daughter, Leah, born December 16, 1896. In politics Mr. Walters is a Democrat, and by that party was elected trustee in 1900, still serv- ing in that capacity.
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WILLIAM M. LONG, of Caldwell, an old resident and prominent citizen of Sharon township, was born October 28, 1827, on the terri- tory now comprised within Sharon township. His father was Sam- uel A. Long, who was born in Fayette county, Penn., and came to Belmont county in early youth. There he married and located near the present site of Caldwell, many years before Noble county was organ- ized. On removal from Belmont county he placed all his worldly effects upon a small pack horse, and carrying his axe and leading his horse, his wife following on foot they traveled over a trail through the woods to their new home. Samuel A. Long was descended from a hardy frugal and industrious Scotch-Irish ancestry. The mother of the subject of this sketch, Mary (Oliphant) Long, was his father's second wife, and was the mother of six children, who were: Mary E., wife of James Wilson, and who died in southern Illinois; W. M .; Andrew, a farmer at Cambridge, who was killed by a falling build- ing; Robert, deceased; N. B., died in Cambridge in 1903; and Jonathan, a farmer in Missouri. His father had six children by the previous marriage, all of whom are now deceased, but all of whom lived to raise families of their own. Mr. W. M. Long received such education as the schools of the pioneer days afforded, but throughout his long life, he has been a careful reader and a close observer, and has thus become a man of broad culture and intelligence. When a young man of seventeen, he engaged in teaming, driving four horses and hauling merchandise from the cities to the country dealers. He was married in 1850 to Mary Ross, a native of Westmoreland county, Pa., born the same year as her husband. In 1856, he located on the farm on which he now lives, a farm which at one time consisted of five hundred and thirty-five acres, but now has been divided among his children until that which he occupies is but a small portion of the original farm. By his first marriage Mr. Long had eight chil- dren, one of whom died in infancy. C. R., the eldest, is employed in a publishing house in New York City, of which he is part owner, is married and has one daughter; Samuel A. is a prosperous farmer in Sharon township; W. A. occupies the original homestead of the family; Mary J., wife of Mr. Shipley, now deceased ; John A., superintendent of the schools at Streator, Illinois, a graduate of Wesleyan University and a prominent educator ; Sarah K., deceased ; James E., a farmer in Kansas; and a child, who died in infancy. Mrs. Long died of consumption. Mr. Long married for his second wife, Lucretia Phipps, who also died of the same disease three years after marriage, leaving one son Lucins W., who is engaged in the stock-raising business in Indian Territory. The present wife of our subject was Mary J. Bell, a daughter of George Bell, a prominent citizen of Noble county, and a Virginian by birth. Three children were born to this union: Harry B., Jesse B., and Frank B. Mr.
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Long was reared a Democrat, and was taught to believe in slavery, though he never indorsed the doctrine. In his youth his reading was altogether along the lines advocated by the slave-holding Democracy. He voted the Democratic ticket from his majority until the organiza- tion of the Republican party, in 1856, and from that day to the present he has been an ardent devotee of the doctrines of the Repub- lican party. During the Civil war he was a staunch supporter of the Union and an active ally of the Government. His native locality was strongly impregnated with secession sentiments and generally opposed to enlistments, and much damage was done to property from time to time, and his efforts at raising troops and caring for the helpless were often maligned. But notwithstanding, he continued his course of loyalty and went sc far as to invoke Government aid in self protection. In 1868 Mr. Long was Republican candidate for county commissioner and received a very satisfactory support at the polls. He immediately inaugurated some needed reforms in the management of county affairs thereby incurring both praise and censure, but he was energetic and succeeded in carrying out his plans, and served his six years with credit to himself and profit to his con- stituency. Mr. Long has always been active as well in religious work and he and his wife are members of the Presbyterian church.
JOSEPH H. HOOPES, of the firm of Hoopes & Watson, general merchants of Olive Green, was born in Noble township, on June 7, 1872. He is a son of Ellis and Margaret (Jones) Hoopes, both living in Noble township. The father was a farmer and was born in Belmont county, March 28, 1838, and is a son of Daniel and Rachel (Chance) Hoopes. The father of Ellis Hoopes was a native of Belmont county, where he lived until 1860, then removing to Green county, Ill., where he and his wife died, the mother at the age of sixty-five and the father aged eighty. There was a family of six sons and three daughters, only three of whom are now living. Isaac was the eldest, dying in Illinois in 1862, leaving a wife and children. Mary Jane married Morris Rector and is now living in Iowa; Benjamin died in early manhood; Susanna married A. L. Linder, and died in Illinois; Elizabeth, wife of C. M. Kinney, also died in Illinois ; John lives in Iowa, and was a soldier, serving in an Illinois regiment. Mr. Ellis Hoopes was also in the war, enlisting August 11, 1863, in Company F, Fifteenth Ohio volunteer infantry, and serving in the Army of the Tennessee under General Thomas. He was in the battles of Chicamauga, Missionary Ridge, in front of Atlanta, Franklin, and Nashville, besides many skirmishes leading up to these engagements. He escaped personal injury in the way of wounds but received a pensionable injury otherwise in the service. He was discharged in the autumn of 1865 and returned to Belmont
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county, moving soon after to Noble county. Mr. Hoopes was mar- ried June 16, 1866, to Margaret Jones, a native of Noble county, and to them were born five children, Joesph H. being the only son. Mr. Hoopes is a member of Caldwell Post, Grand Army of the Republic. He is a Methodist Protestant, and in politics is a Demo- crat. Mr. Joseph H. Hoopes, the subject of this review, was edu- cated in the schools of Hoskinsville, and began his career as a teacher, following this profession for nine years. He was very economical during this time and the savings of that nine years labor was the nucleus of his present business, which he commenced on March 26, 1903. Mr. Hoopes was married October 9, 1901, to Minnie A. Watson, daughter of Hezekiah Watson, a well known merchant of Caldwell. Mr. Hoopes is also assistant postmaster at Olive Green, being appointed with his brother-in-law, Mr. Watson, in March 1903. Mr. Hoopes is a member of Spring Lodge No. 705, Knights of Pythias, in which he has held various official psitions. In political views he is a Democrat. He is a member of the Methodist church, while Mrs. Hoopes is a member of the Christian church.
JACOB W. SWANK, a prominent citizen of Olive Green, was born in Sharon township May 4, 1829, and has always lived in the township of his birth. He is a son of William and Barbara (Pickenpaugh) Swank, both natives of Pennsylvania, but residents of Noble county some years before their marriage. The family was of German ances- try, and was prominently identified with the early history of Noble county, the posterity having kept along the same line. The father was born in 1796, and was reared under the teaching of German parents, and was twenty-eight years old before he could speak Eng- lish. He died in 1865 and the mother in 1869. Of a family of nine children born to them, all are living, the youngest being now past sixty years of age, and the eldest now past seventy-seven. The chil- dren were: Philip, Jacob, Peter C., a farmer of Noble county; Elizabeth, wife of James Archibald; John Wesley; Susanna, wife of Nathan Newton ; Sarah Jane McFarland, a widow ; and Joseph Shaw. Mr. Swank, the subject of this review, was educated in the common schools of his day, and spent his early life on a farm. For twenty-three years he was engaged in general merchandising in Olive Green, and just as he was about to retire from active life, he was obliged to again resume business to preserve some of his property and provide for future contingencies, having been too kind hearted in helping others in money matters in the way of security. He engaged in milling at Sharon and after going to considerable expense in remodeling and repairing, the mill burned with very little insurance. He then erected his present mill at Olive Green, this being an up-to-date mill with roller process and a capacity of sixty barrels a day. Mr. Swank
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was married September 12, 1850, to Jane Brownrigg, who was born in the vicinity of. her present and life long home. To them were born five children, one of whom is dead. They are as follows: Mary M. Brabham, of West Virginia ; Serepta Fedora, wife of Samuel Patter- son of Olive Green ; Barbara Lillian, died in early womanhood ; Ful- ton Napoleon, a partner with his father, a practical engineer and mil- ler ; Eva D., wife of A. F. Pickenpaugh. Mr. Swank has been a life- long Democrat and has been active and influential in local politics, having served his township as treasurer, supervisor, school director and the like. He is a Methodist in religious views. Mr. Swank was made a Mason in 1857, and is now in full affiliation, both in the Blue Lodge at Sharon and Royal Arch Masons at Caldwell. He has filled the position of Worshipful Mastor of Sharon Lodge No. 136, and has been a Mason in good standing for forty-six years. Mr. Swank is among the oldest natives of Noble county, and his experience in the. pioneer days as recounted by himself, is both instructive and amusing. He says that in the early days of his boyhood, the pioneers were greatly annoyed by the depredations of squirrels in their corn fields, particularly just after planting time. It was the duty of the boys in the families to watch the squirrels, usually for the two or three hours in the early morning. They would build a "smudge" in the nearby woods to keep the gnats and mosquitoes off, and, armed with the family rifle and dogs, they made it extremely uncomfortable for the squirrels. He has attended school in the typical log school house of pioneer days, povided with greased paper for window lights, six-feet fire place supplied with fuel cut by the larger boys in attendance, and all the enjoyment that went with it. Twenty-six days constituted a month, teachers were paid by subscription, some of them working for fifty cents a day and boarding themselves. The general custom was to "board around." This fifty-cent teacher, however was said to be a somewhat noted mathematician, because he could "work in the Single Rule of Three." Mr. Swank has always been a lover of horses, and at the early age of thirteen, took charge of a team and wagon, doing general teaming for some thirteen years. On one occasion by reason of his superior horsemanship, a spirited team was taken from his older brother and given to him. He often made long trips, assisting in moving people emigrating to points further west. Mr. Swank well remembers the old-time amusements, the log-rollings, raisings, husking bees, flax pullings and log cabin cotillions. There was an element of labor connected with all of these which gave zest and appetite to the festivities which followed. Every family had their whiskey which was about as free as water. It was on the table two or three times daily, but there was an unwritten law which pro- tected the jug or keg from depredations of all between meals. The most devout Christians tolerated their bitters, and the festive jug
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has aided in raising many a pioneer cabin in the wilderness. Mr. Swank was one of the few who could "carry his corner" at raisings in a workman-like manner, and his services were always in demand for that purpose. Fulton N. Swank, the only son of Jacob Swank, was born August 30, 1861. He was educated in the common schools, and followed farming until the milling business, in which he is interested, was started. Since then he has been the engineer and is well fitted to superintend the machinery or operate the rolls. Mr. Swank was married March 6, 1886, to Laverna Wiley, a daughter of John and Mary Wiley, the father deceased, and the mother living at Sharon. Mrs. Swank has two brothers and five sisters living, the latter being some distance away, and the former residents of Noble county. To Mr. and Mrs. Swank have been born two sons and two daughters: Roy G., Mary Josephine, Erle, and Thursa Irene. Mr. Swank is a Mason, non-affiliated, former membership in Sharon Lodge. He takes an active interest in church work and with his wife, belongs to the Methodist church.
TEMPEST W. PATTERSON, contractor and builder of Olive Green, was born in Sharon township, October 19, 1873, and is a son of Samuel and Fidora (Swank) Patterson, natives of Noble county, where they have always lived. There is a family of two sons and one daughter all living, of whom Tempest W. is the eldest. The only brother is Charles, who is married to Bertha Beckett, and is living on a portion of the old parental home. They have one child. Mr. Patterson was educated in the public schools, and at an early age showed a decided tendency toward mechanics. He learned the rudi- ments of carpentry from his father, who was a wood worker. At the age of nineteen he built the Olive Green mill for his grandfather, Jacob Swank, and while this building is not a specimen of fine workmanship, that being not required in a structure of that char- acter, yet its symmetrical construction and apportionment of strength where required, give evidence of the handiwork of a mechanical genius. In 1899 he began general contracting, furnishing all material, designs and the like, and completing buildings from cellar to garret. Since that time he has been employed on contract work, giving work to six or seven men. In 1902 he erected a planing mill on the home farm, has it well equipped with modern machinery, and has without question, the best plant of its character in Noble county. This plant is utilized in winter in preparing material for his spring and summer work. Mr. Patterson is very ambitions and has won his possessions through hard labor alone. He is rated as one of the finest mechanics in Noble county and is doing a large share of the building in Cald- well, has a contract for four houses in the Capital City, and several others at other places. Mr. Patterson is a Democrat in his political
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views. He is not connected with any secret societies or religious organizations. His time is entirely given to his business, and his achievements are far beyond the ordinary for a young man of his years.
HENRY CLAY FOSTER, a farmer and stock raiser of Sharon town- ship was born in Brookfield, Noble county, on December 15, 1843, where he has spent his life. He is a son of John and Mary (Boney) Foster; the father born in Pennsylvania in 1799, and the mother in Pennsylvania in 1806. They were married in Pennsylvania, near Brownsville, Washington county, in 1826, moving to Noble county, Ohio, in 1834, and settling on a farm near Olive Green, in Brookfield township, which he and his children cleared up and improved. The father died on this farm in 1885, and the mother in 1898, at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Mary A. Ethell, of Oklahoma Territory. The father was of Irish ancestry, his parents being natives of the Emerald Isle, while his mother's people were Pennsylvania Dutch, the maternal grandmother being well educated in the German language. The were the parents of nine children, seven of whom are living. The children are: Sarah Ann, widow of Jesse Gray ; Jacob, killed by a falling tree, left wife and family; Mary Ann, wife of Orlando Ethell, now living in Oklahoma; James K., a well-to-do farmer in Brookfield ; John Tyler, a farmer and fruit-grower in Sharon town- ship; Eliza Ann, wife of Abraham Shields, living in Indiana ; Henry Clay; George Washington, deceased; and Easton W., a wealthy farmer of Sharon township. Mr. Foster, the subject of this review, was educated in the common schools, and began life as a farmer, fol- lowing that and carpentry all his life. Mr. Foster was married September 1, 1864, to Margaret J. Pickenpaugh, who died thirteen years after their marriage. Three children were born to this union : Milan G., a farmer in Oklahoma; Cora W., wife of Howard Wilson of Belmont county ; and Vernon Curtis, who married Anna Iams, and lives on a farm in Sharon township. Mr. Foster was married the second time on March 21, 1878, to Nancy Jane Hinton, a daughter of Rev. James Hinton of Putnam county, and Mildred (Tuggles) Hinton ; there were seven children in the Hinton family, of whom Mrs. Foster is the second ; the names were, Susan Mary, Nancy Jane, Lucy Ann, Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses Simpson Grant, Rosabel, Ida Florence and Alta, all of whom are married except the last named, and all in Missouri except Mrs. Foster. Rev. Mr. Hinton was a North. Carolinian by birth, was born and reared in slavery days though a rabid Unionist and abolitionist. He was one of the many sufferers from depredations of both the Union and Confederate armies in the border states. Mrs. Hinton was a native of Kentucky. Mr. and Mrs. Foster have an interesting family of seven children: Alta M.,
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