USA > Ohio > Logan County > The historical review of Logan County, Ohio > Part 52
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In 1835 Samuel Henderson came by wagon over the mountains to Clark
resident of Springfield, where he worked at his trade of brick-laying, which he had learned when a young man. After his marriage. however, he followed farming. In the fall of 1837 he came to Logan county, settling on a farm three miles northeast of De Graff. where lie purchased three hundred and twenty acres, thereon spending his remaining days. He worked hard and as the result of his industry be- came well-to-do. When he purchased his farm he incurred an indebtedness of six hundred dollars, but within ten years his place was clear, although during that early period times were hard and money scarce in this county. He made trips to Belle- fontaine to market his butter, starting so early in the morning that he was enabled to return in time for breakfast. As the years passed he prospered and he became the owner of two or three farms. In early life he was a Whig and afterward a Re- publican. Of the Methodist Episcopal church he was an active member and he died in that faith at the age of eighty-nine years and six months.
The boyhood days of Addison Hender- son were a period of earnest and unre- mitting toil. His services were needed on the home farm and he had little oppor- tunity to attend school. which was two and a half miles from his home. However, by observation, experience and reading he managed to acquire a good education and practical knowledge. He assisted his father until twenty-one years of age, when he began to farm on shares, thus continu- ing his work until twenty-seven years of age, when he extended his efforts to the business of buying and selling cattle.
On the 22nd of May, 1851, Mr. Hen-
ADDISON HENDERSON.
MRS. ADDISON HENDERSON.
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derson was united in marriage to Miss sent to the hospital near Norfolk, Virginia, Emily J. Strayer, who was born in Berkley and was nearly dead when sent home. He did not recover his health until the fol- lowing spring. After his military experi- ence he continued in the stock business for many years and he still feeds and ships a large number of hogs annually, at the same time superintending the management of his farm, which at present consists of one hundred and thirty-six acres, having sold one hundred acres in 1902, as he did not care to continue extensive farmi- ing. county, Virginia, April 3. 1826, a daughter of Daniel and Elizabeth (Small) Strayer, who removed to Clark county, Ohio, when Mrs. Henderson was only three years of age. After two years they came to Logan county and settled, for one summer, one mile west of De Graff and then located upon the farm adjoining the one upon which Mr. Henderson now resides. Soon after their marriage the young couple re- moved to this place, where they have since lived. It was formerly the property of Unto Mr. and Mrs. Henderson were born three children: Anna E., the wife of Dr. W. W. Hamer, of Bellefontaine: Wil- liam Eldridge, who married Clara Riker, of St. Paris, Ohio, and now lives in Piqua, with his wife and two children, Paul and Homer. Mary L., the wife of Dr. Wil- liam J. Rogers, a dentist of De Graff, by whom she has five children. her father. For some years their home was a log cabin, but as time passed the primitive improvements were replaced by those of modern date. In 1861 Mr. Hen- derson began buying and shipping stock, which he took to New York city, and while there with his first shipment he heard the news of the firing upon of Fort Sumter. The same year he began the building of Mr. Henderson cast his first presi- dential vote for Henry Clay in 1844, voted for Fremont in 1856, and has since been a Republican, but never an office seeker. At the age of eighteen he became a mem- ber of the Methodist Episcopal church, which his wife joined at the age of twelve years, and they have since been consistent Christian people. Her father was a li- censed local preacher and lived to be about seventy-seven years of age. He was well-to-do and gave to each of his four children a farm of one hundred acres. Mr. Henderson has now passed the eightieth mile-stone of life's journey, and he and his wife have passed the fifty-first anniversary of their marriage. Well known in Logan county, there is no couple more worthy of respect and regard than Mr. and Mrs. Addison Henderson. his present brick residence and while he was laying off the cellar his brother passed by and remarked that he had better be preparing for the war instead of building, but it was a later date when he joined the army. He removed into his new house in February, 1862, and in the following year he became a member of Company F, One Hundred and Thirty-second Regiment, as a private. In May, 1864, he was called into service by the United States govern- ment, was sent to Washington and en- camped on the farm of Robert Lee. After a week they went to what was called the "white house" where Washington was married. Mr. Henderson did guard and garrison duty for about four months and was at Bermuda Hundred and Petersburg. At the former place he was taken ill and 26
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HARVEY D. YOUNG.
Harvey D. Young is a retired merchant who is now engaged in farming in Pleas- ant township, Logan county. He was born in Delaware county, Ohio, on the 31st of May. 1843. and is a son of Henry and Julia Ann (Foulk) Young. His par- ents removed to Shelby county, Ohio, when he was but ten years of age and his father purchased a farm, which he culti- vated in connection with work at the car- penter's trade. After two years he re- moved to Logan county in 1855 and pur- chased one hundred and fifteen acres of land about a mile west of Logansville. Upon that farm he spent his remaining days, passing away July 29, 1891. at the age of seventy-eight years. In his boy- hood days Harvey D. Young acquired a fair common-school education and during his youth remained at home, assisting his father until he was about twenty-four years of age.
As a companion and helpmate for life's journey he chose Miss Margaret C. Jones and their wedding was celebrated January 5, 1868. at Careysville, Champaign county, Ohio. She was born in Springfield. Janu- ary 2, 1849. a daughter of John and Mar- garet (Swonger) Jones. Her father was a miller by trade and was probably born in Pennsylvania, as was her mother. Both came to Ohio in early life and were mar- ried in Springfield. Mr. Jones met his death by the explosion of a boiler in a mill in Springfield, where he was employed. There were four children born unto him and his wife, of whom two died in childhood. The mother reared the other two and afterward married David Royer, removing then to Pleasant township, Lo-
gan county. In that township Mrs. Young was reared to womanhood and obtained a commn-school education. Her only sis- ter, Mrs. Mary Elizabeth Coffer, who was a widow for many years and whose home was in DeGraff, died March 27, 1903, at a hospital in Columbus, Ohio, where she had gone for treatment. Her remains were brought back to DeGraff and in- terred in Greenwood cemetery. She left seven children.
After the marriage of our subject and his wife they located in Logansville and he and his father established a store. which he conducted for twenty-two years. They also conducted the post-office dur- ing most of that time, either one or the other having been appointed to the posi- tion of postmaster. When they entered upon the duties of this office there was only a weekly mail. but through the re- quest of Mr. Young, Judge William Law- rence. of Bellefontaine, who was then in congress, secured the delivery of a daily mail at Logansville. While in the store Mr. Young purchased an interest in the farm where he now lives. He at first bought forty-three acres of the Royer farm. later purchased thirty-eight acres, subsequently became the owner of five acres in Washington township. then five acres more in the same township, and after- ward twenty acres of the Royer farm. He now owns one hundred and eleven acres all in one body, and he has placed splendid improvements upon his land. erecting a fine home in 1892 and also adding other modern equipments, including the latest improved machinery for facilitating farm work. After he had carried on his mercan- tile enterprise for twenty-two years he sold it and took up his abode on the farm where
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he has since lived. his attention being given to the production of the cereals best adapted to the soil and climate.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Young have been born ten children, of whom eight are now living. Emma. the eldest. died in infancy. Clara F .. born in Logansville, was educat- ed in the common schools and is the wife of Frank Strayer. of Bloomfield township, by whom she has four children: Floyd. Minor. Wavel and Harvey. Sylvester El- .wood. who was also educated in the com- mon schools, married Carrie Banning and now lives in Bloomfield township. Clar- ence A. was for six years connected with the grocery business in DeGraff, and is now living in Tippecanoe City, Miami county. Ohio. Dora A. is the wife of James S. Swonger. of Pleasant township, and they have three children: Hazel B., Pearlie Dale and May. Maggie is the wife of Henry Koogler. of Champaign county, Ohio, where he is engaged in farming. Ada E. is the wife of Clarence Kaylor and lives in Washington township. Harvey Foster. born December 23. 1882. and Henry G. are both at home.
In his political views Harvey D. Young is a Republican and has supported the party since casting his first presidential ballot for Abraham Lincoln in 1864. For about eighteen years he has served as a member of the board of education and dur- ing much of that time has also been town- ship trustee. He was elected a director of the county infirmary in 1895. and was instrumental in securing the appointment of W. C. Black as its superintendent. Mr. Young is well known in this county by reason of an upright life and business in- terests which have brought him into con- tact with many of the leading business men
of the county. In all his trade relations he has been found to be strictly honest and just and owing to his close application and unremitting diligence he has gained prosperity that classes him among the sub- stantial citizens of his locality.
JOHN KERR.
John Kerr, who is successfully carrying on farming and stock-raising in Union township, five miles and a half northeast of DeGraff. claims Logan as his native county, his birth having accurred near the site of the old mill that was erected by Wliliam Boggs, and his natal day being July 26. 1842. His father, Joseph Kerr, was born in Rockingham county. Virginia, in Feb- ruary, 1812, and was a son of John Kerr. who died in the Old Dominion. When about twenty years of age, the father came to Ohio. in company with a brother and some neighbors, and settled in Logan coun- ty. In early life he followed the miller's trade, working at various places in this state. but in 1849. he purchased forty acres of land in Union township, where our subject now resides, and turned his attention to farming. His first home here was a log house, which he occupied for a number of years, but in 1872-3 he built the present residence of his son. John. From time to time he added to his land. until he had one hundred and ninety acres in the home farm and also had a tract of fifty-two acres in Harrison township, being one of the well-to- do and substantial agriculturists of the com- munity. In politics he was a Democrat, but was never an office-seeker. He married Margaret Loman, who was born in Mary-
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land in 1813, and was a little girl when she accompanied her parents on their re- moval to Logan county, Ohio, the family locating in Miami township, where they were living at the time of her marriage, but the parents afterward removed to Logan county, Illinois. Joseph Kerr died on the 26th of December, 1888, having survived his wife only a few months, as her death oc- curred May 17, 1888. Both were laid to rest in Huber cemetery in Pleasant town- ship.
This worthy couple were the parents of nine children, of whom John is the fifth in order of birth. Five of the number reached years of maturity, and four are still liv- ing. The three eldest died in childhood. Caroline married Frederick Mohr, and now lives in Washington township. John is the next of the family. Mary E. is the wife of George Culp, of Harrison township. Mar- garet is the wife of John Cooper, whose home is in McArthur township. Saloma married George Jackson, and died in Har- rison township.
During his boyhood and youth John Kerr received a good, practical education in the common schools, and also acquired an excellent knowledge of farm work while as- sisting his father in the labors of the field. He never left the old homestead and is today the owner of eighty acres of that tract, which is under a high state of cultivation, and well improved.
On the 20th of December, 1866, in Pleasant township, Mr. Kerr married Miss Sophia Coover, who was born in Union township, this county. Her parents were Daniel and Eliza (Musselman) Coover, the former a native of Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, the latter of Maryland. Mr. Coover was a young man when he came to
this state, but his wife was only seven years old when brought here by her parents. Mr. and Mrs. Kerr have three children: Clar- ence A., born June 16, 1869, married Ova May Hoover, and lives in Harrison town- ship: Willard E., born January 6, 1881, is still at home; and Harley W., born Septem- ber 8, 1885, completes the family. Mrs. Kerr is a member of the German Baptist church. By his ballot Mr. Kerr supports the men and measures of the Democratic party, but has never cared for official hon- ors. He is widely and favorably known in the community where he has so long made his home, and is held in high regard by all with whom he is brought in contact, either in business or social life.
GEORGE W. NEEDHAM.
George W. Needham, who follows farm- ing and stock-raising in Miami township. was born in Loudoun county, Virginia, April 9, 1851, and when he was six years old his parents, Thomas and Catherine (Evans) Needham, removed to Champaign county, Ohio), settling on a farm near Me- chanicsburg. The father engaged in the cultivation of a rented farm for a time and then became foreman of the weaving de- partment in a woolenmill, being employed in that capacity for many years. He is now living a retired life at the age of eighty- four years. his birth having occurred in Loudoun county, Virginia, in 1819. The mother, who was born in the same county, in 1815, is also living. They were the parents of eight children, of whom George W. was the sixth, and six of the family are still living: Elizabeth is the wife of Wil-
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liam L. Evans, who resides near Mechan- icsburg : John W. is the foreman of a lum- ber yard of Mechanicsburg: William died in infancy: Lucy is the wife of Charles Culp. of Mechanicsburg, and has seven children ; Anna is the wife of Samuel Mc- Climans, who resides on a farm near Me- chanicsburg, and they have five children ; George is the next of the family: Emily died in childhood ; and Adra is the wife of Albert Hendrickson. of Mechanicsburg, and has one child.
When but ten years of age George W. Needham began working in the woolen- mills, making stocking yarn, and by the time he was fourteen he was weaving. When he was eleven years of age he fell and broke his right arm, but soon resumed his work in the woolen-mills, where he re- mained until he was seventeen years of age, his wages going to his father. During the winters he attended school. At the age of seventeen he began working as a farm hand for fifteen dollars per month, being in the employ of a brother-in-law for a time. During his first year he earned one hundred and fourteen dollars, of which he saved one hundred. and then loaned it out at ten per cent. interest. He was in the employ of others until 1873, when he began farming for himself in Champaign county. In 1879 he established a grocery store in Mutual. which he conducted with success for two years and then sold out and engaged in clerking in Mechanicsburg for three years. On the expiration of that period he re- sumed farming.
Mr. Needham was married November 4, 1880, in Mechanicsburg, to Miss Anna H. Runyon, who was born in Champaign county, a daughter of Richard and Martha (McCaughey ) Runyan. Mr. and Mrs.
Needham resided upon a farm in Cham- paign county until 1892, when they came to Logan county and rented the W. E. Har- ris farm, on which they lived until it was sold. For seven years thereafter they lived upon the W. E. Henderson farm. and then came to their present home about a mile from DeGraff. in Miami township. Their marriage has been blessed with six children : Rena, born in Mechanicsburg: Bessie, who died in infancy : Ralph HI., born October 17. 1888: Earl, horn June 10, 1890; Ada. born in Logan county. April 3. 1894: and Ber- tha G .. born in this county, August 24. 1897. Their son Earl was drowned in the Miami river near DeGraff. July 29. 1902. and the Rev. Walter H. Leatherman also lost his life then in a heroic attempt to save the boy. The death of their son came with crushing force to the parents. The following little obituary poem was written at that time :
"Tis hard to break the tiny cord When love has bound the heart; 'Tis hard, so hard, to speak the words We must forever part. Dearest loved one, we must lay thee In the peaceful's grave's embrace, But thy memory will be cherished Till we see thy heavenly face."
Although reared in the Democratic faith Mr. Needham has always been a Re- publican since casting his first presidential vote for Grant in 1872. He has been a delegate to various conventions and is an earnest worker for the party, but has never been an office-seeker. He has served, how- ever, as a director in his school district, and believes in having good schools and employ- ing competent teachers. Fraternally he is connected with the Tribe of Ben Hur at DeGraff, and Wildy Lodge, I. O. O. F., at Mechanicsburg, and both he and his wife
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are earnest members of the Methodist Epis- copal church. His life has been a busy one, and from the age of ten years lie has made his own way in the world, so that whatever success he has achieved has come as the logical result of his own labors.
CAPTAIN JOHN D. INSKEEP.
Captain John D. Inskeep is respected as a business man, and honored as one of the veterans of the Civil war. When the coun- try called for troops to aid in the preser- vation of the Union he responded with pa- triotic ardor, and through long years of sanguinary struggle he fought for the starry banner of the nation and the cause it repre- sented. Returning home he quietly as- sumed the duties of civic life, and in business affairs has gradually progressed until today he is the possessor of a handsome compe- tence, and also an honored name, which has been won through business methods that neither seek nor require disguise.
He is numbered among Logan county's native sons, for his birth occurred on a farm in Zane township in 1834. His father was David S. Inskeep, also a native of this coun . ty, for the family was founded here at a very early epoch in its history. His paternal grandfather was a minister of the Methodist church. David S. Inskeep first opened his eyes to the light of day in Logan county, where his father had located in 1807, com- ing to Ohio from Virginia. After reach- ing years of maturity he was united in marriage to Martha Downs, and in order to provide for his family he followed the occu- pation of farming, but his death occurred when he had reached the comparatively
early age of thirty-nine years. His widow, long surviving him, passed away in March, 1890. She, too, was a native of Logan county, and in her family were eight chil- dren, of whom all are living with the ex- ception of Mrs. Josephine Dickinson, who died in 1889. The Captain is the eldest of the family, and the others are Mrs. Cath- erine Vaughyning, Mrs. Elizabeth Skid- more, Mrs. Esther Outland, David F., Hul- da and Mrs. Mary Skidmore. With the exception of the last named all are still res- idents of Logan county.
To a limited extent Captain Inskeep at- tended the common schools in his boyhood days. His training at farm work was not meager, for, from an early age, he worked in the fields and meadows, being thus engaged until 1861, when, in response to his coun- try's call for aid, he enlisted as a private of Company C, Seventeenth Ohio Infantry. In June, 1862, he was promoted to the rank of second lieutenant and in November of the following year he was commissioned captain of Company C. His regiment was assigned to the Army of the Cumberland with the Fourteenth Army Corps, and when mustered out on the 16th of July, 1865. Cap- tain Inskeep lacked but forty days of serving four years. For three months he was the acting major of liis regiment, but did not hold a major's commission. Many and im- portant were the battles in which he par- ticipated, including the engagements at Wild Cat, Kentucky, October 21, 1861; Mills Springs, Kentucky, January 19, 1862; Cor- inth, May 17, 1862; Perryville, Kentucky, October 8, 1862; Stone River, Tennessee, from December 30, 1862, to January 3, 1863; Hoover's Gap. Tennessee, June 26. 1863; Chickamauga, September 19- 21, 1863; Brown's Ferry, November I,
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1863; Mission Ridge, November 25, 1863; C. A. Hamilton, of East Liberty, Ohio, a Resaca, May 14, 1864; Kenesaw Mountain, June 18-24. 1864: Chattahoochie River, July 7, 1864 ; near Atlanta, August 7, 1864; Jonesboro, Georgia. September 1. 1864; Waynesboro, Georgia, November 31, 1864: Black River, December 6, 1864: Savannah. December 21, 1864; Fayetteville, March 10, 1865; Bentonville, March 20, 1865: Golds- boro, March 22. 1865 ; Smithfield, April II, 1865; and Raleigh, April 13, 1865. At Louisville, Kentucky, on the 16th of July, 1865, Captain Inskeep was mustered out, and with a most creditable military record he returned home.
Previous to going to the war, the Cap- tain had engaged in teaching in the public schools, and after his return he re- sumed farming. which he followed contin- uously until 1887, when he came to Belle- fontaine, but lie still owns over one hundred acres of land in Perry township, constitut- ing the old home farm upon which his father located in 1841. In 1886 he was elected treasurer of Logan county, and in Septem- ber of the following year, having removed to Bellefontaine, he entered upon the duties of the position, in which he served for two terms of four years. After his retirement from office he was engaged in general busi- ness for five years, and has also carried on farming, superintending from Bellefontaine his agricultural interests. For five years he has been secretary of the Savings, Building and Loan Association, of Bellefontaine, and is one of its stockholders. He also owns considerable reality in the county, and since 1896 he has been the vice-president of the Bellefontaine National Bank, in which he is also a stockholder.
daughter of Dr. James W. and Clementine ( Allen ) Hamilton. Her father died August I, 1879. and her motlier passed away in 1893. In their family were ten children, of whom Mrs. Inskeep is the eldest of the three surviving, the others being Fremont C. and Florence E. Mrs. Inskeep is a grad- uate of the Steubenville Seminary, an insti- tution conducted under the auspices of the Presbyterian church, and in her native vil- lege she engaged in teaching. Her father, Dr. Hamilton, had located in East Liberty in 1836, and at once established his office there, and for many years successfully en- gaged in practice, becoming well-to-do. He served as a lieutenant of the famous "Squir- rel Hunters," the troops being stationed in Cincinnati, having been removed to that place when it was believed that the rebel troops would make an attempt to destroy the city. This was a regiment raised solely for that purpose, and it accomplished its mission of preventing the rebel advance. Dr. Hamilton was also prominent in political cireles, and in 1860-1. represented his dis- trict in the state legislature. At that time he was an advocate of the Republican party but later he joined the ranks of Democracy. He was called upon to serve in a number of official positions and at the time of his death was filling the position of township treas- urer.
The home of Captain and Mrs. Inskeep has been blessed with three sons : Guy Ham- ilton, Clair Allen and John Downs, all un- der the parental roof. The Captain be- longs to the Grand Army post at Bellefon- taine, to the blue lodge of Masons, at East Liberty, and to Lafayette Chapter, No. 60,
On the 9th of October. 1881. occurred R. A. M., of Bellefontaine. For twelve the marriage of Captain Inskeep and Miss years he was master of the lodge, and
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