USA > Ohio > Logan County > The historical review of Logan County, Ohio > Part 35
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perity and power. He contributed to its upbuilding and rejoiced in its prosperity and found comfort in the home and fire- side that was within its keeping.
JOHN H. HUSTON.
John Hunter Huston, who is engaged in general farming and the breeding of
Mr. Hubbard was a very gifted writer . Chester White hogs, was born on the and most felicitous in his uses of the pen, farm where he now lives, in Miami town- and yet it is said that in his editorial work he stood at the cases and put his thoughts directly into type. He has written some beautiful poems, and had they been care- fully preserved they would have made a volume of great worth and value. But it is of Thomas Hubbard. the man and the friend, that I would lastly speak-of one who for so many years went in and out and was a part of the daily work and growth of our city: a man of warm and generous friendship for those whom he numbered among his personal friends : and one who held his home and family most lovingly sacred. and found at his own fire- side the welcome and cheer of the tender- est attachments ; a man whose heart was as tender as a woman's in sympathy for the unfortunate and distressed. and who testified his sympathy in something more substantial than words; one who was so clearly identified with the whole history of our city as to have in great measure been a part of its very growth and being. These early and foremost pioneers are passing away, like the forest which fell to make way for later developments. Full of years and honors, they are being gath- ered to their fathers, leaving the unfin- ished work to be taken up by younger hands and carried forward by younger hearts, but they leave behind them the evidences of deeds well done and of lives full of good words and works. ship. January 17, 1834. a son of Paul and Mary (Carothers) Huston. The father was born in County Derry, in the north of Ireland, and was of Scotch descent. When about seven years of age he accom- panied his parents on their emigration to America. making the voyage across the Atlantic in 1791. He was a son of Samuel and Martha ( Hunter) Huston, who settled in Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, where Paul Huston was reared to man- hood. He wedded Miss Mary Carothers. a native of Cumberland county, where they were married. About 1821 they left the Keystone state and spent the follow- ing winter in Preble county, Ohio, remov- ing thence to Hamilton county, where they remained until 1826, when they came to Logan county, taking up their abode upon the farm which is now the home of John H. Huston. The father and a younger brother purchased three hundred and twenty acres of land, a quarter-section lying on either side of the road. Paul Huston occupied the part upon which his son. John, is now living, and there he spent his remaining days. The grandpar- ents afterward came to Ohio and died in this county before the birth of our subject. The grandfather was about seventy-five years of age at the time of his death. while his wife passed away when about eighty-two or eighty-three years of age. Paul Huston served his country as a sol- "To live in hearts we leave behind, is not to die." ROBERT P. KENNEDY. dier in the war of 1812 and in Alabama was taken ill with yellow fever. after which
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he returned to his home in Pennsylvania. F, One Hundred and Thirty-second Ohio
On the home farm John Hunter Hus- ton was reared amid pioneer surroundings. He acquired a fair common school educa- tion, attending school until fourteen years of age, when his father lost his eyesight, which necessitated the son remaining at home to aid in the care of the farm. When fifteen years of age he assumed its man- agement and although but a boy. he cheerfully took up the burden which de- volved upon him and displayed much abil- ity in the operation of the land. .
After arriving at years of maturity he sought a companion and helpmate for the journey of life. and in Union township, on the oth of February, 1857. he married Miss Margaret Pheneger. who was born in this county, July 4. 1833. a daughter of Peter and Mary (Seathman) Pheneger. In that year his present home was built and he has since occupied it. Two children came to bless this home. James Arthur, the elder, is now living in, Winfield, Kansas, and has an office in Wichita. He wedded Mary E. Kress and they have two chil- dren, Alta and Harry. Christie E. mar- ried Malinda Hinkle and they reside east of DeGraff. They have five children- Nora Glenn, the wife of Howard Hess, of Logan county : Rush J., who is a resident of the state of Washington; Dwight, Nel- lie and Lina, at home.
After his marriage Mr. Huston con- tinued farming on the old home place, where he remained until August, 1862, when he enlisted in the Union army as a member of Company H. Ninety-sixth Ohio Infantry, and went into camp at Delaware, Ohio. He was rejected, how- ever, on account of ill health. but in 1864 he re-enlisted as a member of Company
Infantry, for one hundred days' service. He did duty on the James river, at Nor- folk and at Bermuda Hundred. and on the expiration of his term resumed farming. He has seventy-five acres of the original homestead and has always lived upon this farm. He has engaged quite extensively in the breeding of stock, making a spe- cialty of Chester White hogs, and his fields are also well tilled and produce good crops. For more than thirty years Mr. Huston has been a member of the Methi- odist Episcopal church, and he belongs to the Odd Fellows' lodge, at DeGraff. in which he has filled all the chairs. His res- idence in the county covers almost seventy years, and therefore he has a comprehen- sive knowledge of its history, its growth and development. While he has lived a quiet. unostentatious life. he has always been Joyal in matters of citizenship and is classed with the representative agricultur- ists of the community.
DON C. BAILEY.
Don C. Bailey needs no introduction to the readers of this volume, for he is one of the native sons of West Liberty, his birth having here occurred on the Ist of January. 1859, his parents being George F. and Sit- san (Van Buskirk) Bailey. The father, a native of Harford county, Maryland, came to Ohio in 1840 and is represented on an- other page of this work. His wife died when the subject of this review was but twelve days old.
The son was educated in the public schools of his native town and in 1878. at
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the age of nineteen years, he entered the the duties of the office to the satisfaction of office of the West Liberty Gazette to learn all its patrons and also to those in authority in the post office department in Washing- ton, D. C. During his term of service there was one rural route established and three others provided for by the department. On his retirement from the post office, Mr. Bailey resumed active management of The Banner. the printer's trade and bought a half inter- est in the plant, becoming a partner with H. W. Hamilton. He remained in the of- fice until the 27th of June, 1879, and then became interested in the Buckeye Blade, which was really the successor of the Ga- zette, a change in the name occurring only. This was made in 1881, and for a short Mr. Bailey's public service, however, has not been confined alone to the post office, for he has been a member of the city council, a member of the board of education and in other ways has rendered efficient aid in mat- ters of public interest. He is now serving his third term as a drector in the Farmers' Banking Company. Strong in his local po- litical belief, he wields a wide influence, and has done much for the success and growth of the party. time Mr. Bailey was in partnership with W. S. Allen in the conduct of this paper. On the 21st of December. 1882, Mr. Bailey established the West Liberty Banner and the Blade soon discontinued publication. The Banner became the leading paper and Mr. Bailey has conducted it without inter- ruption and with very desirable success for over twenty years. It is the leading weekly paper in Logan county, with a circulation of thirteen hundred, and is Republican in its political complexion. It exerts a wide in- fluence in political lines and is the champion of measures of progress, reform and im- provement. The paper is well edited and as a means of disseminating general news proves a potent factor. Superior workman- ship is also a characteristic of this journal, and Mr. Bailey does everything in his power to make the paper one of the best ever pub- lished in his section of Ohio. He has suc- ceeded in the undertaking and is widely rec- ognized as a leading representative of jour- nalistic interests.
By President McKinley Mr. Bailey was appointed to the position of postmaster of West Liberty, on the 22d of May, 1898, and on the Ist of July of the same year en- tered upon the duties of the position, which he continued to fill until the Ioth of Jan- uary, 1903. His administration was busi- ness-like and progressive and he discharged
On the 3Ist of December. 1879, Mr. Bailey was united in marriage to Miss Al- pharetta Atha, a daughter of Simeon and Rhoda (Euans) Atha, who are residents of West Liberty. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Bailey have been born five children who survive: Clara Myrtle, Leila Ann, Howard Franklin, Donnetta and Zellah Oleeta, while three died in infancy. The eldest daughter is a grad- uate of the West Liberty high school, of the class of 1901. Mr. Bailey has a nice residence, one of the finest in West Liberty, and the home is celebrated justly for its gracious hospitality and good cheer. Mr. Bailey is connected with the Knights of Pythias fraternity, and is a popular and es- teemed resident of his community. His entire life has been passed here, and the fact that many of his stanchest friends are numbered among those who have known him from boyhood is an indication of an honorable and upright career.
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ISAAC A. DORAN. M. D.
For many years this gentleman was successfully engaged in the practice of medicine in Rushsylvania and was regard- ed as one of the leading and influential citizens of that place. He was born in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, July 23. 1820, and was descended from an old French Hugenot family that came to America prior to the Revolutionary war and settled in New Jersey. His grand- father. Thomas Doran, Sr .. and also his father, Thomas Doran, Jr., were natives of that state. The latter married Jane Hayes, a daughter of James Hayes, who came to this country from Ireland and set- tled in Beaver county. Pennsylvania. After living in that county for a time. Thomas Doran removed to Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, where two of his sons - the Doctor and James H .- were born. In 1828 the family came to Ohio and took up their residence in the village of Bethany. Butler county, twenty miles from Cincinnati, where the remainder of the children were born, these being Thomas S. and Hannah. In 1833 they removed to Shelby county, where the father and mother both died. Their son James H .. also died at that place March 12. 1877. Hannah is now the widow of James John- son and resides on a farm five miles south- east of Sidney. Thomas S. now lives in Sidney.
During his boyhood Dr. Doran attend- ed the district schools of Shelby county and after completing his education taught school for a couple of terms, but not lik- ing that occupation he then turned his at- tention to the study of medicine in the office of Dr. Beeman, of Sidney, who was
to him a faithful friend while preparing for his chosen calling. Our subject next went to Cincinnati to attend the Eclectic Medi- cal College and while a student there he worked in a restaurant to meet his ex- penses. After his graduation in 1849 he selected Rushsylvania, then a village of only seventy-five inhabitants, as the scene of his future operations, and on the HIth of April. that year. rode into the town on horseback with his medicine case stocked and ready for business. He also brought with him a letter of endorsement with the seal of Shelby county stamped upon it and signed by William Skillen, county recorder ; Andrew Rancop, auditor : C. W. Wells, assistant auditor: James Wells, postmaster: W. I. Martin and Samuel Machiell. He was the first eclectic physi- cian in Logan county. Very devoted to his profession. no distance was too great for him to traverse if he could relieve hu- man suffering and he paid no attention to his own inconvenience. At one time for thirty-two days he daily walked to Ridge- way. a small hamlet seven miles from Rushsylvania, and returned in the same way in order to visit his patients there, the roads being impassable for teams.
On the 16th of January. 1851, Dr. Doran was united in marriage to Miss Sarah J. Elam, a daughter of James Elam, who was the first white child born in Greene county, Ohio. The wife died in June. 1878. Four children blessed this union, namely: Alonzo. now deceased. was for some years, employed as a travel- ing salesman for a medical supply house of Cincinnati; Thomas, born June 14. 1855. married Mary Aldridge and they died leav- ing one daughter. Della, who is now the wife of John McCune and lives in Rush-
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DR. I. A. DORAN.
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MRS. E. S. DORAN.
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sylvania. Elam, born July 30, 1857, re- sides in Los Angeles. California. He married Jennie Watkins and has two daughters, Pearl and Bessie. Della, born December 31, 1863, died March 31, 1870.
Dr. Doran was again married in Darke county, Ohio, February 19. 1879. his sec- ond union being with Miss Elizabeth Stephenson, who was born February 5, 1837, on the old homestead seven miles north of. Greenville, where her parents lived and died. Her father. John Stephen- son, was born in Virginia. April 16. 1803. and was married in Darke county, Ohio, on the 16th of April, 1827, to Miss Eliza- beth Stahl, whose birth occurred in Bed- ford county, Pennsylvania, July 1. 1806. They were farming people and consistent members of the Christian church. In poli- tics Mr. Stephenson was first a Whig and later a Republican and for two terms he acceptably filled the office of justice of the peace. He died February 2. 1879. and his wife. passed away October 13, 1883. During their early residence in this state they often traded with the Indians and underwent all the experiences of pioneer life. Of their six children only two are now living, these being Mrs. Doran and Esther J., wife of Andrew McCann, of Anderson, Indiana. By his second mar- riage the Doctor had no children but Mrs. Doran has reared an adopted daughter, Eva, who was born July 23, 1882, and they now occupy the old home place in Rushsylvania.
At one time Dr. Doran carried on the drug business in his office, but in 1868 he erected a two story building with a good store room on the ground floor, where he was engaged in the drug trade in partnership with Dr. Fisher for two
years. At the end of that time he sold his interest in the business that he might de- vote his entire attention to the practice of his profession which had grown to im- mense proportions. In 1883 he became convinced that riding was proving detri- mental to his health and in September of that year he and his wife opened a drug store, both being licensed as registered pharmacists in March of the following year. They continued the business until a short time prior to the Doctor's death, when Mrs. Doran disposed of the store.
The Doctor was first appointed post- master of Rushsylvania on the 28th of No- vember, 1854, under James Campbell, postmaster general, and continued to fill that office until November. 1882, during that time handling nearly nine hundred thousand letters. . At one time Dr. Doran practiced civil engineering to some ex- tent and assisted in surveying the Big Four Railroad through this county. it be- ing at that time the Indianapolis & Galion Railroad. Public spirited and enterpris- ing he took a very active part in the de- velopment and upbuilding of his village, where he erected five buildings. He put down the first permanent pavement in 1853 and planted the first evergreen trees in the place. He was always an advocate of public improvement and did all in his power to advance the welfare of the com- munity in which he lived. In politics the Doctor was a Republican, and fraternally was connected with the Masonic order, being made a Mason at Sidney, Ohio, in 1850. He also belonged to the Eclectic Medical Association of Ohio and the Lo- gan County Medical Society. His relig- ious connection was with the Methodist Episcopal church, and he died in that faith
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on the 8th of December, 1895, being laid was admitted to the bar at Urbana, Ohio, to rest in the Rushsylvania cemetery. In in the year 1844. The following year he his death the community realized that it had lost a valued and useful citizen-one devoted to the public welfare and a man of the highest honor and integrity. His estimable wife is also an active member of the Methodist church, is a woman of good business and executive ability. charitable almost to a fault, and is held in the high- est respect and esteem by all who know her. came to Bellefontaine, arriving there in March, 1845. He here opened a law office and continued in the practice of his profes- sion, serving as prosecuting attorney for six years, and until the adoption of the pres- ent constitution of the state. when he was elected probate judge. He served so capably in this office that he was re-elected for two terms. When his two terms upon the bench expired Judge Bennett retired from the practice of law.
JUDGE EZRA BENNETT.
Ezra Bennett was born in Cumberland county, New Jersey, March 13, 1812. His parents, Timothy and Sarah Bennett. were born in that state of English lineage. When Ezra Bennett was five years of age his parents moved to a farm near Cincinnati, Ohio, where his father carried on agricul- ture and lived until his death. His wife also died in Hamilton county. But one of their children is now living. Nathaniel, re- siding in Iowa.
He then purchased an interest in the foundry and machine shop of Kramer & Bennett, which partnership continued for a number of years. He afterward moved up- on a farm near Bellefontaine and continued in the occupation of farming until the break- ing out of the Civil war. Soon after that event he offered his services to the govern- ment and became a first lieutenant of the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Ohio Batteries. Being at that time more than forty-nine years of age he was exempt from service, but his deep interest in the Union cause and his devotion to his country impelled him to join the army. He remained in the army until failing health forced him to return home. He then engaged in the furniture business in Bellefontaine, and for many years was an active factor in mercantile life
At the age of fourteen years Ezra went to Cincinnati to learn the trade of cabinet- making. which he followed for several years. In his work he displayed the thoroughness and reliability which were ever manifested throughout his career. here. While working at his trade his power in On the Ioth of July, 1834, Judge Ben- nett was united in marriage at New Vienna, Clark county, Ohio, by Rev. John Galloway. a Presbyterian minister, to Miss Mary Ann Bryant, and for fifty-five years they traveled life's journey together. Miss Bryant was born October 18. 1813. in Washington debate and his keen analytical mind became manifest, and these abilities convinced his friends that he might become a lawyer of ability, and he was persuaded to take up the study of law. For a time he read dur- ing his leisure hours, and later was directed by Roswell Howard, a distinguished mem- county of Pennsylvania, of Scotch-Irish par- ber of the Greene county, Ohio, bar. He entage. At the age of seven she went with
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her father and mother to Hamilton county, Ohio, where she lived until the spring of 1834, when the family removed to New Vienna. After the marriage of the young couple they resided in Springfield and Xenia until March, 1854. when they came to Bellefontaine. Bellefontaine continued to be Judge Bennett's home until he was called to his final rest, and his widow yet remains here.
They became the parents of four chil- dren : Sarah Elizabethi became the wife of Joseph C. Van Eaton, who gave his life in defense of the Union, falling in the battle of Selma, Alabama, in 1865. She after- wards married Horace B. Adams, who served three years in the Civil war, and they now reside at Los Angeles, California.
A daughter of Mrs. Van Eaton, who married Stanley McKee. of Bellefontaine. also resides at Los Angeles, California, as do also Fannie and Bennett. Adams. her other children. Lucius C. was a soldier of the Union army, having enlisted in the first company of troops raised in Logan county, under Captain Ashmead of the Thirteenth Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He served for three months under the first call for troops in this regiment. Afterward he enlisted for three years in the Fifty-seventh Ohio, in which he was appointed hospital steward. He was discharged from the gov- ernment army on surgeon's certificate of disability, from which disability he died June 12, 1862. John Q. A. was also a sol- dier enlisting at the age of sixteen years in the One Hundred and Thirty-second Ohio Infantry. Mark, the youngest member of the family, died in infancy.
In the year 1872. John Q. A. Bennett married Elizabeth Williams, of Seneca county, Ohio. They have two children :
Lucius C., was a captain in the Second Ohio Infantry during the Spanish-American war, and a captain in the Thirty-first United States Volunteers, in which he served two years in the Philippine war, and is now a first lieutenant of the Twenty-first Regular United States Infantry. Charles Edward was a sergeant major in the Spanish-Amer- ican war, and served two years as a sergeant in the Philippine war, and is yet in the Phil- ippines, serving as an officer in the Philip- pine Constabulary.
Judge and Mrs. Ezra Bennett became members of the Presbyterian church soon after their arrival in Bellefontaine. He was elected and ordained a ruling elder of that denomination at Xenia in 1841, and was the sole member of its session for about three years. Soon after liis removal to Bellefon- taine, he was installed a ruling elder of the Presbyterian church at that place, and at the time of his death was the oldest member of the session, and he served longer as an elder of that church than any other person has. His service as an elder, altogether, reached fifty-eight years. His life was in entire har- mony with the teachings and principles of his church. He was ever actuated by its Christian spirit and broad humanitarian principles, which won for him the profound- est respect and highest esteem of his fellow- men. He was zealous, devoted and rigid in his adherence to his principles, and was yet one of the most amiable of men. He took a great interest in church work, con- tributed liberally to its support, and did everything in his power for the advancement of Christianity. He was one of the charter members of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows of Bellefontaine, and remained a member until his death.
He was one of the trustees of the Chil-
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der's Home, of Bellefontaine, and was a man of generous spirit and benevolent prin- ciples who gave freely of his means to aid the poor and needy or to assist a friend in time of trouble. Public spirited, he was ever found ready to co-operate in worthy public improvements, and his influence was ever found on the side of progress and advance- ment. Possessing much oratorical ability he was frequently called upon to preside at meetings, and his voice was often heard in willing advocacy of propositions for the wel- fare of the city. He was a man of great de- cision of character and nothing could swerve him from a course which he believed to be right. but while he was always firm, he was also exceedingly conscientious in his views, and in his consideration of the feelings and belief of others. In his politics he was an unfaltering Republican.
For a year prior to his demise he was in failing health, but the end came suddenly and unexpectedly. Up to six o'clock in the evening of his last day, he passed in and out among his friends, and at seven o'clock on the 22d of August, 1899, he departed this life
"As one who wraps the drapery of his couch about him And lies down to pleasant dreams."
For almost forty-five years he had been a resident of the county, and during ali that time his career had been one of untarnished honor, his reputation unassailable, his life exemplary in all respects. His widow still owns the old homestead at No. 311 East Sandusky avenue, where she resides with her son. J. Q. A. and his family. Like her husband, she has been a life-long member of the Presbyterian church, delighting in doing good.
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