USA > Ohio > Logan County > The historical review of Logan County, Ohio > Part 82
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On the 22d of December. 1864. in Bellefontaine. Mr. Miller was married to Miss Elizabeth Milner. of Union township. this county, who was born here October 7. 1841, a daughter of Simon and Eliza (Odor) Milner. She is the second in order
of birth in a family of ten children. all of whom reached years of maturity. and seven of the number are still living. The father of this family was born in Guernsey county, Ohio, March 27. 1817, and died on the oth of June, 1897. During his boy- hood he came to Logan county with his parents. Jesse and Elizabeth Milner. His wife, whose birth occurred in Culpeper county. Virginia, May 4. 1813. was brought to Ohio by her parents when a child. the family locating north of Belle- fontaine. in Logan county, where she was married.
Mr. and Mrs. Miller became the par- ents of eleven children, who in order of birth are as follows: Albert L., born May 19. 1865. is a carpenter living in Harrison township. He married Emma Wolfe and has two children, Gale Samuel and Albert Dewey. Emma .A., born September 3. 1866. is the wife of Daniel Mohr, a resident of Ada, Ohio, and they have two children. Anna Belle and Harry Il. William H .. born November 10, 1867. is train dis- patcher in Bellefontaine. He married Jen- nie Mohr and has four children. Claude. Ray. Helen and Max. Edward F., born February 17, 1869. lives in Harrison town- ship, where he has efficiently filled the of- fice of township clerk since 1894. Since casting his first presidential vote for Ben- jamin Harrison in 1892 he has been an ardent supporter of the Republican party. and he is a member of the Progressive Brethren church at Gretna. Ohio. On the IIth of November, 1894. he married Hat- tie Baughman, who was born in Hancock county. Ohio. July 11. 1875. a daughter of .A. J. and Nancy ( Bosserman) Baughman. and they have two children, Clara Juanita, born April 29. 1895. and Foy B., born Sep-
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tember 4. 1896. Andy J., born August 20, bilities and unremitting diligence form the 1870. and Ada E., born February 13, 1872. both died in infancy. Charles M., born January 2, 1874, is clerking in Butler's dry goods store in Bellefontaine. May Belle. born September 5. 1875. was married No- vember 1, 1900, to Joseph E. Thatcher, D. D. S. Harvey .\., born September 21. 1877. married Catharine Neer and lives in DeGraff. where he is serving as telegraph operator. Nellie F., born August 5. 1881. and Harry J., born May 26, 1885. are both at home with their mother.
After his marriage Mr. Miller contin- ued to reside upon the old homestead farm, which he subsequently purchased of his father, and he made many improve- ments upon the place, including two addi- tions to the residence and the erection of a good bank barn in 1886. Throughout his active business life he engaged in agri- cultural pursuits, his labors being ended in death in 1892. Politically he was a Re- publican and religiously was an earnest and consistent member of the Progressive Brethren church. He was widely and favorably known, and in the community where his entire life was passed he had a host of warm friends. Mrs. Miller has pur- chased the Hudson property adjoining her present farm and will locate thereon in the spring of 1903.
ANDREW B. HUSTON.
No matter in how much fantastic theo- rizing one may indulge as to the causes of success, careful analysis of a successful ca- reer always brings forth this fact, that enter- prise, a careful outlook over future possi-
basic elements of prosperity and advance- ment. and this is as true in professional life as in industrial and commercial circles. Andrew B. Huston, an attorney and coun- selor at law of DeGraff. has gained a posi- tion among the able lawyers of the county and is now the senior member of the firm of Huston & White. He was born upon a farm in Miami township. Logan county, October 24. 1859. a son of Samuel P. and Elizabeth ( Bowman ) Huston. Paul Hu's- ton, the grandfather, was born in Ireland and came from Londonderry to America, locating for a time in Pennsylvania. where he married Mary Carothers. He afterward took up his abode in Hamilton county, Ohio, coming thence to Logan county and upon the farm on which he located in 1828 he spent his remaining days.
Samuel P. Huston was born in Hamil- ton county, July 16, 1826, but was reared in this county, and here married Elizabeth Bowman, who was born in Franklin county, Pennsylvania, October 28. 1827. Her mother died in that state. and when about eight years of age she came to Ohio with hier aunts, her father arriving later. She had a good education and taught school prior to her marriage, which occurred in Logan county. Here Mr. Huston followed farming and was at one time the owner of one hundred and twenty acres of land. He died April 16. 1894. In politics a Republi- ean and in religious faith a Presbyterian, he was ever true to his honest convictions and he long served as an elder in the church in DeGraff. At one time he was also an act- ive member of the Grange. In the family were four children: Ella J. is the wife of Fred Melhorn, of Champaign county, and has three children. Andrew is the second.
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William Paul, who is a dentist of DeGraff. cousin in Bellefontaine, and in 1888 passed was born in Miami township. November 16, an examination in Columbus, whereby he was admitted to practice in the courts of Ohio. In February 1902. he was ad- mitted to practice in the United States courts. He began the practice with W. C. Huston, of Bellefontaine, and after two years became a partner of J. S. Huston, with whom he was associated for six years at DeGraff. From 1896 until 1899 he was a partner of Charles H. Curl and in the latter year entered into business relations with G. G. White, forming the present firm of Huston & White. In May. 1901. they opened an office in Piqua, of which Mr. White has charge. Mr. Huston going there to assist in the care of their legal business at that point.
1861, was educated in the district and high school of DeGraff, which he entered at the age of nineteen and was graduated in 1884. He then began teaching in the country schools and followed that profession for six years. He then pursued a three years' course in the Ohio College of Dental Sur- gery, was graduated in the class of 1895. and in May of that year he began practice .. in DeGraff. where he has since remained. He was married here, October 2, 1895. to Jennie Strayer, who was born in Adams township. Champaign county, April 30. 1864. a daughter of Joseph and Emily (Fiddler) Strayer. He is at present a member of the DeGraff school board and is a Republican in his political views. He be- longs to the Presbyterian church, in which he has been a trustee since 1900, and he is connected with the Tribe of Ben Hur and the Knights of Pythias Lodge, in which he has filled all the chairs. Clarence E. Hus- ton, the youngest member of the family, is a physician at Rushsylvania. He married Anna L. Newman, and has two children.
On the home farm Andrew Iluston spent his boyhood days and attended the district school until eighteen years of age. when he entered the DeGraff high school and was graduated in 1881. with class honor in scholarship. and he was also class president. Through the succeeding six years he taught in the country schools and then took up the study of surveying and civil engineering, but as the outlook for that work was not good he concluded to prepare for the bar. He had studied to some extent while teaching and next be- gan to read in the office where he is now located. in 1886. He read and recited to a as deacon and elder and has been a delegate
Mr. Huston was married in Union township. Logan county, December 27, 1883. to Miss Margaret R. Hinkle. a daughter of George and Magdalene ( Sultz- bach ) Hinkle. They have two children : Edna, born in DeGraff, June 8, 1887; and Esther, born April 15, 1892.
Since voting for Garfield in 1880 Mr. Huston has been a stalwart Republican, and in 1892 upon the resignation of the mayor he was appointed by the city council to fill the vacancy. At the next election he was chosen by popular ballot and for three suc- cessive terms he was elected. During his administration the electric light plant was put in in 1893 and is owned by the city. It was through his efforts that the legislature passed the bill, permitting the issuance of bonds for this purpose. He labored earn- estly for the welfare of DeGraff and along many lines of progress and improvements his labors were very effective. A member of the Presbyterian church, he has served both
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to the presbytery a number of times and to one sister still living. Mrs. Belinda Wick- the synod in 1902. He is a charter men- ersham, who resides near Zanesfield, and William, who is living in Boone county, Iowa. ber of Helmet Lodge, No. 242, K. P .. in which he has filled the chairs and has also been representative to the grand lodge. He is likewise a charter member of the Tribe of Ben Hur and has filled some of its offices. Mr. Huston has purchased the interest of the other heirs in the old homestead of nine-five acres, which he has now owned since 1808, and he has a fifth interest in the Phoenix Hotel block in DeGraff, which was built in IS94. at a cost of twelve thou- sand dollars. He also has a good residence property on Walker street and all this indi- cates that his has been a prosperous career. for aside from the advantages of a good education, he had no aid in starting out in life for himself but has overcome obstacles by perseverance and energy. and to-day enjoys a good reputation as a lawyer and reliable business man.
ABRAHAM ELLIOTT.
Abraham Elliott owes his success and advancement in life to his judicious invest- ment in real estate and to his practical and capable control of his business affairs. He is well known in Logan county as a leading. influential and respected citizen. A native of this state. he was born in Stark county, not far from Canton, De- cember 21, 1828. a son of Isaac and Re- becca (Greer) Elliott, the former a native of Pennsylvania and the latter of Mary- land. The father was a farmer by occupa- tion and followed that pursuit throughout his entire life. His death resulted from apoplexy. Mr. Elliott has one brother and
Abraham Elliott spent the first ten years of his life in his native county and then accompanied his parents on their re- moval to Logan county, the home being established in Jefferson township. He there pursued his education in a log school house and he remained with his father un- til twenty-one years of age, when he started out in life for himself, working first as a farm hand for seven dollars per month. When twenty-two years of age he was married, in 1850, to Miss Mary Wick- ersham, and six children were born of this urion, of whom one died in infancy, while five are still living. A. C., whose home is in Bellefontaine: Elmer, of Onawa, Mich- igan: Emma, the wife of Hezekiah Potee. of West Mansfield; Agnes, the wife of Walter Sutton, of Rice county, Kansas, and Oliver, of Bellefontaine.
When Mr. Elliott was married he had no capital and had to depend upon his labor for everything needed by his fam- ily. For two or three years he engaged in breaking oxer and steers, which he would then sell. and in this way he secured enough to buy twenty-six acres of ground. and obtaining a team. he followed farming upon the little tract until his wife died in 1891. In the meantime, however, he had largely increased his landed possessions. In the year mentioned he took up his abode in Rushsylvania, where he operated a gristmill for a year and then conducted a hardware store in West Mansfield for five years. In October. 1901, he purchased his present home in Bellefontaine, where he has thirty acres of land, eight of which
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lie within the corporation limits in the Kansas realty twenty-seven years ago, eastern part of the city.
In April, 1892. Mr. Elliott was again married, his second union being with Miss Susie B. Rogers, who was born in Greene county, Pennsylvania. near the home of James G. Blaine. In fact. she was distantly related to the Blaine family, and the mid- dle initial of her name stands for Blaine. She acquired her education in the schools of her native county and in Waynesburg College, removing then to Quaker City, Ohio, where she remained for several years, after which she became a resident of Columbus, Ohio, where her parents died. Her father. Daniel Rogers, was a native of Pennsylvania, but her paternal grandfather was born in England. Her mother, who bore the maiden name of Jemima Pettit, was born in Greene county, of the Keystone state. but her people came from New Jersey. In their family were nine children, who reached mature years, while six of the number are yet living, namely : Mrs. Elizabeth White ; Lydia Iams: Mrs. Melissa Hartigan: Na- thaniel P .: Daniel and Mrs. Elliott. The last named was a successful teacher in the common and graded schools, following the profession in Pennsylvania and in Ohio until her removal to Columbus.
Mr. and Mrs. Elliott now occupy a very pleasant home in Bellefontaine. Through the exercise of his business qual- ities and his sound, practical judgment he JOHNSON P. ANSLEY. has prospered in his work and is to-day the owner of three hundred acres of land in Farming interests have ever claimed the attention of Johnson P. Ansley, who has for many years been regarded as one of the successful agriculturists of Rush Creek township. Kentucky is his na- Perry, Lake and Jefferson townships of Logan county and four hundred and eighty aeres in Rice county, Kansas, from which he derives a better income than from his Ohio land. He purchased his tive state, his birth having occurred in
paying eight and a half dollars per acre for the first half section, and for the tract he has in recent years refused seventy-five dollars per acre. To a considerable extent Mr. Elliott has dealt in stock, making a specialty of horses, and during the war his sales amounted to a carload per week. He sold direct from the farms to the govern- ment, and realized a good profit on his labor.
While the war was in progress Mr. El- liott was appointed to take military census of Jefferson and Rush Creek townships and report upon those who were able bod- ied men, eligible for military duty. He has always been a stanch Republican, but rever a seeker after office. although he was at one time nominated for the position of county commissioner. Reared in the faith of the Society of Friends, he has al- ways adhered thereto, and is living a life in harmony with its teachings, never taking advantage of the necessities of his fellow men in his business career, and winning success through honorable, straightfor- ward methods. He is well known in the county where he has made his home for more than six decades, and has ever taken a commendable interest in the progress and upbuilding of this section of the state.
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Fleming county December 3. 1833. and from there he came to Logan county. Ohio, in 1835, with his parents, locating upon a farm in Rush Creek township, to the cultivation and improvement of which he has since devoted his energies. He re- ceived a common school education and was thus well fitted for life's responsible duties when he began making his own way in the world at the age of nineteen years.
Mr. Ansley is one of a family of four children, the others being Lydia Ann. Mary E. and George W., and his parents were George and Dilly (Johnson) Ansley. On the 25th of October. 1864. was cele- brated the marriage of Johnson P. Ansley and Mary Ann Roberts, who was born in Rush Creek township. September 7. 1846. and is a daughter of Jesse and Charlotte Roberts, in whose family were the follow- ing children: Isaac: Lawson: Milton; Mary Ann; Hattie: Calvin; Jesse; Barclay : Judson : Johnson, deceased; Lucy Jane and Franklin.
The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Ansley are as follows: Alice C., born Sep- tember 8, 1865. is now the wife of William J. Moore and has two children, Martha and William: Charles, born April 15. 1867. married Olga Grable and has two children, Wellington and Mary O .; John, born September 21. 1870, married Ella Simpson: Jesse. born October 24. 1873. is deceased: Lottie, born April 15. 1876, is the wife of James Gilbert and has one child. Wilda A. Lydia, born December 5. 1878, is the wife of Henry G. Rosebrook. Mary, born June 20. 1883. is deceased; George J., born May 20, 1885, and Goldie. born December 22, 1890, are both at home with their parents. Mr. and Mrs. Ansley are active members of the Christian
church, and he is a supporter of the Demo- cratic party and its principles. They are numbered among the representative citi- zens of their community and well deserve the esteem in which they are held.
ISAAC AKEY.
Isaac \key is one of the revered patri- archs of Logan county who has traveled life's journey for more than eighty-seven years and has been a witness of much of the growth and development of this sec- tion of the state, and to its improvement and progress he has contributed his full share. He has aided in doing away with pioneer conditions and replacing them by all that indicates an advanced civ- ilization. For many years he was actively connected with agricultural interests, and his enterprising business methods and in- "defatigable labor returned to him gratify- ing and creditable success that now en- ables him to rest from further labor and enjoy the fruits of his former toil.
Mr. Akey was born in Washington county, Pennsylvania, on the 18th of Sep- tember. 1815. His father was of Irish lineage and his mother of Scotch descent, and the former was born in Maryland and the latter in Pennsylvania. The children in their family were Peter, Isaac. Jane. John. Friend. Ellis, James and Lemuel, but the last named. with the exception of our subject, is the only one now living, his home being in Richland Center, Wiscon- sin. The parents removed from the Key- stone state to Stark county, Ohio, when our subject was a lad of nine years and there amid the wild scenes of frontier life
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he was reared to manhood. All around stretched the unbroken forests and the uncultivated tracts of prairie. The streams were unbridged and roads were not yet ยท cuit.
After he reached majority he went to Beardstown, Illinois, by the river route in 1838. He was employed there, but soon returned to Stark county, Ohio, where he sought a companion and helpmate for life's journey. He married Miss Vesta Hubbard on the 7th of February, 1841. and for more than a half century they traveled life's journey together. She was a daughter of Rev. Stephen Hubbard. who for fifty years was a circuit rider, being one of the early ministers of Ohio. Mrs. Akey proved a faithful companion and helpmate for her husband and her death, which oc- curred on the 14th of June. 1894. in Belle- fontaine, was deeply regretted by their many friends as well as by her immediate family. They reared three adopted chil- dren, Timothy and John Sullivan and Will Tuttle, the last taking the name of Akey. Will is a practicing physician of Dakota. Mr. Akey provided him with excellent school privileges in Cincinnati, where he was graduated on the completion of his medieal course. John Sullivan, who served as a dispatch bearer in the Civil war. died in Texas in 1895. . He married a niece of Mr. Akey. Tiry thy Sullivan is now in the employ of the government in Wash- ington, D. C. He was provided with good educational privileges. for a time engaged in the drug business and for several years has been secretary of the Ohio Associa- tion, which grants him a salary of twelve hundred dollars per year. He married Mattie Arnold. of Bellefontaine.
After his marriage Mr. Akey engaged
in farming in Stark county and came to Logan county in 1847. For five and a half years he lived on a farm on Mill creek, comprising one hundred and twen- ty-seven acres. He then purchased one hundred and thirty-eight acres of land in Lake township and he has retained sixteen acres of this, which are included within the corporation limits of the city, while the re- mainder he has sold to a nephew, Wini- fred Akey, who later sold it and removed near Belle Center. Shortly after coming to Bellefontaine Mr. Akey disposed of his home on Mill creek and about 1885 he sold his land adjoining the city. His re- moval from the Mill creek farm to the one in Lake township occurred in 1853. and there he lived for thirty years, making ex- cellent improvements upon his property and placing his fields under a very high state of cultivation. and adding all the modern equipments which show progres- sive methods and practical ideas. In 1883 he took up his residence in the city and retired from further business cares. At one time he was engaged in making maple syrup and sugar in large quantities. The greater part of the native trees in this sec- tion of the state were sugar trees and he found the manufacture of syrup and sugar a profitable industry. His life was indus- trious, his labor unremitting. his energy unfaltering and it was along these lines that he accumulated a handsome compe- tence that now enables him to live in hon- orable retirement. He is a stockholder in the People's National Bank and he owns some property in Humeston, Iowa.
On the 7th of May, 1895. Mr. Akey was again married. his second union being with Miss Clara Elliott, a niece of his first wife. She was born in Cedar county, Iowa.
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a daughter of Aaron Elliott, who died in Oklahoma in January, 1902. He was a native of Stark county, Ohio. and married Harriet Hubbard, whose birth occurred in Portage county, Ohio. Her death oc- enrred near Humeston. Iowa, in 1887. Mrs. Akey has one sister and two brothers. Emma and Charles, the former of Chero- kee, Oklahoma, and the latter of Allerton. Iowa. and Mrs. Eva Parker, of Humeston, Iowa. Mrs. Akey obtained her education in the common schools and in a normal school. At the age of fifteen she went to Wayne county, Iowa, and for some time was a resident of Humeston. She taught school for fifteen terms in Wayne county and was very succesful in her educational work, which she continued up to the time of her removal to Bellefontaine. in 1804. Mrs. Akey is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church and belongs to the Woman's Relief Corps.
In his political affiliations Mr. Akey is a stalwart Republican, who has given un- faltering support to the principles of the party for many years. An honored pio- neer, his memory forms a connecting link between the primitive past and the pro- pressive present. When he came to the place which is now his home there was a tract of timber land which extended from a few blocks east of Main street to New Jerusalem, but all is now cleared away and the land has been transformed into pro- ductive fields. yielding golden harvests. Mr. Akey was at one time a famous hunter. He found his chief recreation and delight when with his gun upon his shoul- der, he tramped through the woods. He was an unerring shot and many a deer has fallen before his trusty rifle. He did not have to go beyond the confines of Logan
county to capture such large game and can now tell many an interesting tale of his hunting experiences. Mr. Akey is one of the genial old citizens, retaining vivid impressions of the early days when the trees of the forest stood in their primeval strength and when the land was still in its primitive condition. While he retains pleasant recollections of happenings of that olden time. he has always been a friend of progress and improvement and takes great delight in what has been accomplished in Logan county by her people.
ALONZO T. KENNEDY.
When old age comes upon one and the burdens of life are a heavy strain upon fragile health and strength, death is often a welcome messenger. but when it comes to a man in the prime of life-a man of upright character and genuine worth-it always occasions deep regret. Alonzo T. Kennedy was but in middle life when called to the home beyond and Belle Cen- ter was called upon to mourn a citizen that it felt it could ill afford to lose. He was born at Staunton. Fayette county, Ohio, January 26, 1853. and passed away January 24. 1899. Had he lived two days longer he would have been forty-six years of age. Mr. Kennedy was the second in order of birth in a family of five children born unto Reuben and Diana (Painter) Kennedy. His father lost his life in the Civil war when defending the Union cause, and the mother died when her son Alonzo was but thirteen years of age, so that in tender youth he was left to face the world unaided by the protecting care
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and counsel of either father or mother. never a politician in the sense of office- He had two brothers, who are now living in Washington Court House, Ohio. Frank M., who is a civil engineer, held the office of county engineer for two terms in Fay- ette county, and Osman L. is a mason by trade, also living in Washington Court House.
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