HISTORY OF HOCKING VALLEY

CHAPTER XVII.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF YORK TOWNSHIP, INCLUDING THE CITY OF NELSONVILLE.

William Nelson Alderman, M. D., was born in Oxford, Morgan Co., Ohio, Nov. 27, 1853, a son of Nelson J. and Susannah (Wei- mer) Alderman. He received a common-school education, remain- ing at home till eighteen years of age. On leaving home in 1871, he became associated with his brother, S. J. Alderman, in the mercantile business, in Bishopville, Ohio, under the firm name of S. J. Alderman & Bro. In 1874 he retired from the firm and began the study of medicine with Dr. George E. Carpenter, of Athens; was under his preceptorship one year and then went to Oxford and studied with Dr. H. D. Dantford, remaining with him until his graduation from the Medical College of Ohio, at Cincin- nati, Feb. 28, 1877. He practiced with his preceptor till the fol- lowing September, when he went to New York and took a course of lectures in the Bellevue Hospital Medical College, graduating in February, 1878. In July, 1878, he located in Nelsonville, and in the spring of 1879, became associated with Dr. I. P. Primrose. Feb. 25, 1880; he married Sarah A., daughter of Dr. Primrose. They have one daughter---Addie P. Dr. Alderman is a member of Philodorean Lodge, No. 157, A. F. & A. M., Nelsonville. Mason Andrews was born in Ames Township, Athens County, May 27, 1844, a son of David and Christiana (Mowery) Andrews. He was reared on a farm and educated in the common school, liv- ing with his mother until he grew to manhood. He was married Dec. 29, 1863, to Miss Eve Howard, only daughter of Loyd and Elizabeth (Weimer) Howard. They are the parents of five chil- dren---Loyd R., Emma V., William M., Ira E. and Hulda E. In 1874 Mr. Andrews purchased his present farm containing 114 acres of good land, under a high state of cultivation. He and his wife are members of the M. E. church. He is a member of the I. O. O. F., Hockhocking Lodge. No. 339. Frank C. Armstrong, M. D., physician and surgeon, was born in the city of Columbus, Ohio, Feb. 2,1859, a son of Thomas and Jane 437

John W. Bennett, farmer and stock-raiser, was born in Balti- more, Md., Aug. 17, 1849, a son of James and Priscilla C. (Luken) Bennett. In 1859 his parents came to Ohio and located in York Township, Athens County, near Nelsonville, where he resided till manhood. He was married April 20, 1871, to Mary L. Thornton, daughter of Madison and Sarah C. (Hicks) Thornton. They have had six children, only four now living---Loring R., Frank N., Charles W. and John M. Mr Bennett's father was born in Balti- more County, Md., March 24, 1801. When eighteen years of age he was employed in the Patterson Rolling Mills near Baltimore, and remained there thirty-seven years. Sept. 23, 1844, he married Priscilla C. Luken, a native of Hartford County, Md., but reared in Baltimore County. They were the parents of seven children, six now living. They came to Athens County in 1859, and located near Nelsonville, where Mr. Bennett died Nov., 18, 1865. Mr. and Mrs. Bennett were members of the Christian church, he having been Deacon over thirty-five years. 440

Charles Walter Cable, M. D., Nelsonville, was born July 25, 1859. He is the oldest of four children of Charles A. and Sarah A. (Scott) Cable, with whom he lived until manhood and received a High School education in his native city. At the age of seventeen he began the study of medicine under Dr. Richard Gundry, Super- intendent of the Columbus Hospital for the Insane at Columbus, and was under his preceptorship eighteen months, when he went to Athens and studied under Dr. A. B. Frame eighteen months. He graduated from the Medical College of Ohio, at Cincinnati, March 2, 1880. He then continued his studies until the following winter when he went to New York City and attended a course of lectures at the Bellevue Hospital Medical College, from which he graduated March 10, 1881. He then began the practice of medi- cine at Nelsonville. Oct. 12,1881, he married Bessie, daughter of Elmor and Mary (Cooley) Golden, of Athens. They are both members of the First Presbyterian Church of Nelsonville. John French Camp, real estate agent, Nelsonville, and Justice of the Peace of York Township, was born in Alexander Township, Athens Co., Ohio, March 11, 1829. He is the youngest of two sons of Edward and Charlotte (Taylor) Camp. His father dying when he was two years of age, he lived with his mother until he was twelve, when he began to maintain himself by working as a farmer's boy. At the age of sixteen he apprenticed himself to J. C. Frost, of Athens, to learn the tailor's trade, and remained with him two years, receiving his board and $40 per year for his servi- ces as an apprentice. He then, feeling the importance of having an education, entered the Preparatory Department of the Ohio University at Athens and attended two years, defraying the expenses of his board and tuition by working during the hours he was not in school and during vacations. In 1851 he engaged in teaching in the public schools and taught in Athens and Hocking counties until 1861, and in the meantime was Superintendent of the schools of Nelsonville for several terms. Oct. 2, 1861, he enlisted in Company G, Eighteenth Ohio Infantry, as a private. In the following November he was promoted to First, or Orderly Ser- geant, and served as such until April 1, 1864, when he was com- missioned Second Lieutenant of Company C, same regiment, and served in that capacity until he was mustered out at the expiration of his term of enlistment in 1864. He was in fourteen battles. The most important were Stone River, Chickamauga and Davis Cross Roads. After his discharge he returned to Athens County 448

and taught until 1877. He located at Nelsonville in 1866 where he has since resided. He has been elected to and filled the office of Mayor of Nelsonville two terms, and has also served as Clerk of York Township two terms. In 1882 he was elected Justice of the peace of York Township. In 1882 he became associated with Alexander W. Nelson in the real estate business, under the firm name of Camp & Nelson. April 25,1851, he was married to Miss Mary Lutitia, daughter of Rev. John W. Brown, of Nelsonville. They have four children---Florence Iota, Julius French, William Preston and Angie Charlotta. They have lost one, Eva Sophia, who died July 22, 1864, at the age of nine years. Mr. Camp is a demitted Master Mason and also a demitted Odd Fellow, and has filled all the stations in both orders. Alfred Harrison Carnes, senior member of the firm of Carnes & Shepard, merchants of Nelsonville, was born near Leesburgh, Loudoun Co., Va., Aug. 10,1824. When he was seven years old he came with his parents, James and Mary (Scatteday) Carnes, to Ohio, settling near McConnelsville, Morgan County, and from there came to Athens County when he was thirteen. His parents both died the year before he was fifteen and he was thrown on his own resources. The first year after their death he lived with Will- iam Jolliffe in what is now Ward Township, Hocking County, work- ing for him and attending school one year. He then went to Eggles- ton salt works on Sunday Creek, Athens County, and was engaged as fireman and engineer for two years, when, in 1842, he came to Nelsonville and located. He worked in the coal mines until the spring of 1856, when, by the request of a friend, Matthew Van Wormer, he entered his store as a clerk, remaining with him until the fall of 1860, when W. B. Brooks became Mr. Van Wormer's successor. He worked for Mr. Brooks until the fall of 1871, when he purchased the business house and stock of Lewis Steenrod and engaged in the mercantile business, W. P. Shepard being asso- ciated with him under the firm name of Carnes & Shepard. He has been a Trustee of York Township one year; a member of the Council three years, and of the School Board of Nelson- ville. He has been twice married; his first wife was Miss Sarah A. Crothers, of Nelsonville, whom he married in the spring of 1850, and who died Oct. 21, 1858, leaving five children, three of whom are living---Sarah L., wife of W. P. Shepard ; Nancy V., wife of Robert J. Hickman, and Mary Z., wife of Thomas Johnson; Charles A. died Sept. 5, 1873, at the age of eighteen, and Emily 449

and Mercy C., unmarried. He married his second wife, Margaret E. Carnes, of Nelsonville, March 26, 1865. She died April 3, 1875, leaving five children---Sylva M., Eliza M., Charles W., James A., and William A. He married his third wife, Mrs. Margaret Davis, of Lancaster, Dec. 20, 1876. Mr. Crane is a Master and Royal Arch Mason, and has served as Senior and Junior Deacon and Sen- ior and Junior Warden of his lodge. He is also an Odd Fellow, and is a Past Grand. Edward Homer Davis, proprietor of Davis's livery stables at Nelsonville, was born in York Township, Athens Co., O. April 15, 1859. His parents were Joseph A. and Alvira (Judd) Davis. His father dying when he was a child, he lived with his mother on the homestead until her death, when he was fourteen. At that age he began to work for himself. In 1876 he traded his interest in his father's estate for the livery business, in which he is now en- gaged at Nelsonville. In the spring of 1882 he was elected a mem- ber of the Council of Nelsonville, and is now an incumbent of that office. Joseph A. Davis (deceased) was born in Athens County Ohio near the mouth of Monday Creek, Dec. 1, 1825. His parents were Rufus P. and Clarrissa (Allen) Davis. He was married to Alvira Judd, Oct. 24, 1850. They had seven children, five of whom are living---John F., Lizzie Armitage, Charles J., Edward H. and Clinton L. Seth P. died in childhood and Susan A. in infancy, Mr. Davis spent his whole life on the farm on which he was born, heiring part of the land and purchasing the balance, where he pursued farming up to his death, July 16, 1866. G. W. Devore is a native of York Township, Hocking Co., Ohio, born Nov. 28, 1843, a son of Henry and Nancy (McKee) Devore. He was reared on a farm and received his education in the common schools and at the Ohio University. He spent several of his vacations in teaching school. In 1868 he entered the employ of the Nelsonville Coal Company, and April 2,1870, was employed by T. Longstreth. He has been promoted from time to time, and at present is Superintendent of the store and offices of this district of the Columbus & Hocking Coal and Iron Company. He was married, Oct. 14, 1869, to Carrie McGill. They have three children---Carrie C., Belford L. and George E. Mr. and Mrs. Devore are members of the Methodist church. James Dew, proprietor of the Dew House, Nelsonville, was born at Zanesville, Ohio, Sept. 6, 1839. In 1840 his parents, John 452

and Sarah (Zane) Dew, came to Athens County, and settled in York Township on a farm, where he was reared. His father was a pioneer of Athens County, and came with his brother, Thomas Dew, when eight years old from Cumberland, Md., in 1819. His mother was a descendant of the Zane family, founders of the city of Zanesville, Ohio. Our subject lived with his parents until manhood, and was given a common-school education. In his boyhood he was placed in charge of his father's farm, and did not begin to do any thing for himself until his father's death, in 1863. Receiving his share of his father's estate, he made no investments until 1878 when he built the Dew House, a brick structure in Nelsonville, which he rented until May, 1882, when, with his son Dudley, he took charge of it as James Dew & Son. In January, 1881 he purchased a farm of 530 acres in the vicinity of Frank- ford Clinton Co., Ind., where he is also engaged in farming and stock-raising. In 1881 he was Trustee of York Township. In 1859 he married Miss Margaret Charlton, of Nelsonville. They have three children---Dudley, Capitola and Stanley. They have lost one son---Orlaf. Thomas Dew was born in July, 1815. He lived near Nelson- ville, and was a farmer and stock-dealer. He enlisted in the late war and was a Captain of the Eighteenth Ohio Regiment, which position he held until his health failed, when he was obliged to re- sign and come home. He died at his home at Bessemer, Sept. 30, 1868, from disease contracted in the army. He left a family and a host of friends to mourn his loss. He was married to Miss Nancy Zane, daughter of Silas and Annie (Bland) Zane. Mr. Zane was the founder of Zanesville, Ohio, and was a very wealthy and in- fluential man at that time. Mrs. Dew was born May 4, 1821, and is the only one of the family now living. Mr. and Mrs. Dew were the parents of eight children, three of which are living---Thomas E., Silas, and Mark; James, Joel, Isah, John and Orlaf are de- ceased. Charles Henry Doan, junior member of the firm of Lama & Doan, coal operators and merchants of Nelsonville, was born at Harveysburgh, Ohio, Jan. 7, 1852. When about four years old his parents, Nathan and Anna E. (Downing) Doan, moved to Rich- mond, Ind., where our subject remained till he was sixteen years of age. He was educated in the public schools and in Holing- worth's Commercial College at Richmond. In 1868 he was em- ployed in a planing mill for a year, and afterward worked about 453

John Dreany, merchant, of Nelsonville, was born Feb. 22, 1832, in County Armagh, in the north of Ireland, where he lived till he was twenty-on years old. He then emigrated to the United States, landing at New York in June 1852. He first went to Pittsburg and engaged himself as a miner in the Sawmill Run coal mines un- til 1854, when he went to Virginia and worked as a miner until 1856. The same year he came to Nelsonville, where he was again engaged as a miner for one year, after which he became a coal operator and carried on the business until November, 1859. He then began boating on the Hocking Valley & Ohio Canal, and in July, 1863, 454

during the Morgan raid, his boat was burned and his best horses taken by Morgan's men. In 1870 he gave up boating and engaged in the mercantile business, which he still follows. March 27, 1865, he married Elizabeth Cawthorn, who died June 4, 1874, when he, Aug. 1, 1877, married Anna Matheny, who died Oct. 13 of the same year. In February of the following year he was again married, this time to Lavina Dashler, of Athens County. Mr. Dreany is a Master Mason of Philodorean Lodge, No. 157, of Nelsonville, and also an Odd Fellow, and belongs to Hockhocking Lodge, No. 339. 455

Elizabeth (recently a graduate of Nelsonville High School), Isabella and Cora. In 1868 Mr. Edwards married Mrs. Emily McLaughlin of Nelsonville. They have one child---Stella L. Mr. Edwards is a member of the First Presbyterian Church, Nelsonville. He has served as Deacon several years and is now a Ruling Elder. He is a member of Hockhocking Lodge, No. 339, I. O. O. F. William Edward Evans, President of the Hocking Valley division of the Miners' Association of the State of Ohio, was born at Grayson, Ky., July 1, 1847, where he was reared and lived with his parents, David and Frances (Evans) Evans, until manhood. At the age of eighteen he began to work in the coal mines at Mandy Furnace, Ky., remaining there until he was of age, when he came to Ohio and was employed in the coal mines at Sheridan, Lawrence County. He afterward returned to Kentucky and worked in the mines at Coalton until 1874 when he came to Nelsonville and has been employed in the various mines at that place ever since. July 1, 1881, he was elected President of the Hocking Valley division of the Miners' Association of Ohio. Sept. 8, 1870, he married Elizabeth Rust, of Ironton, Lawrence Co., Ohio. They have six children---Charles Edward, William Henry, Frank, Harry, Stella and an infant. Mr. Evans is a member of Franklin Assembly, No. 453, Knights of Labor, being at present Treasurer. He is also an Odd Fellow and member of Unity Lodge, No. 568, of which he is Noble Grand, and of Nelsonville Encampment, No. 121. Christopher Findling was born in Germany, Sept. 12, 1849. When he was six years of age he came with his father's family to the United States and settled in Pomeroy, Meigs County, O., where he was reared and received a limited education. During his youth he worked in the coal mines, and when he was seventeen years of age he went to work in the woolen mills at Middleton, where he remained two years. At the end of that time he came to Athens County and was employed in the coal mines at Nelson- ville. In 1879 he came to Bessemer, where be has since resided, and has been engaged in the grocery business. He was married March 4, 1872, to Miss Corithine Rinestetter, a native of Hocking County. They had two children---Charley (died in 1877) and Lizzie. His wife died in 1875. He was married Nov. 4, 1880, to Miss Missouri Stuart of Athens County. They have had one child---Bertha, who died Sept. 2, 1881. Mr. Findling is a member of K. of P., York Lodge, No. 75. 456

Jacob William Frost, Postmaster of Nelsonville, was born in Athens, Ohio, Nov. 9, 1847, where he was reared and received a common-school education. He is the son of Jacob O. and Mary (McCabe) Frost, with whom he lived until manhood. His father being a tailor, he learned that trade in his boyhood. In the fall of 1863 he came to Nelsonville and engaged in tailoring until 1870, when, on account of his health, he was obliged to change his business, and was employed as a clerk in the stores of Nelsonville until 1878, when he received the appointment of Postmaster. He is a Master, Royal Arch, Council and Knight Templar Mason and member of the lodge at Nelsonville, and chapter and council at Logan, and commandery at Athens. He has served several terms as Senior Deacon of his Lodge. Charles Frederick Gilliam, M. D., Nelsonville, Ohio, was born in Logan, Ohio, Nov. 9, 1853. He is the son of William and Mary E. (Bryan) Gilliam. He began to support himself at the early age of thirteen by working in the nail factory of Clifton, W. Va. In his nineteenth year he was employed as a clerk at Middleport, and afterward at Nelsonville. When about twenty he began to clerk for his brother, Dr. D. T. Gilliam & James Dew, druggists at Nelsonville. He afterward succeeded Mr. Dew and was in business with his brother, under the firm name of Gilliam & Brother, until 1877, and during that time he studied medicine under his brother. Having a certificate to practice from the County Medical Society, Athens County, for several years, he was only required to take one course of lectures before graduating. He graduated from the Columbus Medical College in March, 1878, and established himself in his present practice at Nelsonville. From July, 1878, to September, 1881, he served as Township Physician of York Township. March 12, 1879, he married Miss Mattie Frost, daughter of J. C. Frost, of Nelsonville. They have one child---Charles Frederick, Jr. William B. Gilmore was born in Pickaway County, Ohio, Sept. 10, 1835. His youth was spent in attending school. At the age of eighteen years he engaged in running an engine for a saw-mill. About a year and a half later he went to the Vinton County furnaces and ran the engine for four years. At the breaking out of the Rebellion he enlisted in Company K, Eighth Ohio Cavalry. He participated in many hard-fought battles and remained in active duty until the close of the war, receiving an honorable discharge Aug. 7, 1865. He returned to Vinton County, and was 457

in the employ of the Hamden Express Company for a year and a half. In the spring of 1867 he went to Stewart County, Tenn., where he engaged with the Lagrange Iron Company as engineer for four years. In August, 1871, he returned to Ohio, and for five years was employed by the Union Furnace Company, of Hocking Valley. In 1877, he came to Buchtel, where he has been in the employ of the Akron Iron Company as engineer. He was married April 9, 1860, to Miss Caroline Cramer, a native of Vinton County, Ohio. They had two children---Addie and Annie. His wife died March 14, 1871. He was married Dec. 21 1872, to Miss Diantha Tucker, a native of Hocking County, Ohio. Mr. Gilmore is a member of the I. O. O. F., Hocking Valley Lodge, No. 262, and of Tom Dew Post, No. 288, G. A. R. J. T. Gray was born in Prince George County, Md., Nov. 23, 1825, a son of Elias and Delilah Gray. Mr. Gray received a com- mon education in the public schools, and moved to Nelson- ville in 1867, where he has since made his home. June 27 1849, he was married to Eliza Specht, daughter of Peter Specht. They have two living children---Alice and Emma, both married. Jonas died at the age of twenty years and one month. Mr. Gray enlisted first in the Ninety-second, and afterward in the One Hun- dred and Fifty-fifth Ohio Regiment, under General Ben Butler. He has been a Mason for a number of years, and is at present Master of the Nelsonville Lodge, No. 157. He was also a member of the I. O. O. F. for a brief period. He has served as Village Counsel three terms of two years each. Mr. Gray is by trade a tanner. John Grimm is a native of Baden, Germany, born March 9,1833. His father, Philip Grimm, was Secretary of State for twenty-seven years in his native country, and his three elder brothers were men of military rank. One was Major in the German army, and the other two were Captains in the regular service. Our subject came to the United States in 1848, landing in New York. He learned the blacksmith's trade in Brooklyn, serving three years as an appren- tice and one year as journeyman in the same shop. He then visited nearly all the principal cities of the United States, and in 1854 came to Ohio, and located in Cincinnati. Oct. 17, 1857, he mar- ried Miss Rachel Wollbrand, a native of Sleswick, Holstein, Ger- many. He resided in Cincinnati until November, 1859, when he removed to Meigs County, Ohio, and remained until the breaking out of the late civil war. In 1861 he enlisted in the Seventh Ohio Battery Light Artillery, as a soldier of the ranks, but 458

soon promoted to Artificer of the blacksmith's department. June 6 he met with a serious accident by the fall of a horse, having his left leg and five ribs broken, and was confined to the hospital until October 23 following when be was honorably discharged by a special order of General Sherman, but the following May he returned to his old regiment as a veteran, and received his former position, where he served until the close of the war. He was mustered out Aug. 27, 1865, and returned to his home in Meigs County, and there pursued his trade until 1876, when he came to Athens County and lived at Stewart for one and a half years. He then came to Buchtel where he has since resided, and has been foreman of the blacksmith shops for the Akron Iron Company. He was elected Justice of the Peace in 1880, and re-elected in 1881. Mr. and Mrs. Grimm are the parents of nine children, only seven of whom are living---Charles, Mary E., Florinda, Sophia, James, Augustus and Gustus (twins); John and Rachel, deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Grimm are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. He is a member of the A. F. & A. M., Lodge No. 457, and of K. of L., Keystone Lodge, No. 1,516. W. J. Hamilton, Postmaster, Buchtel, a son of Samuel and Mary (O'Neal) Hamilton, was born in McKeesport, Allegheny County, Pa., June 17, 1848, where he was reared and educated. When he was old enough to work he engaged on the public works of the mines. He afterward clerked for his uncle, John O'Neal, at Pine Run, where he remained for seven years, after which he engaged in weighing coal for the same company two years. He then en- gaged as carpenter for the P. V. & C. R. R.Co., where he remained for about two years, and in the summer of 1877 came to Ohio and located at Buchtel, Athens County, where he has since resided. The first six months he was engaged in the mines, after which he was weighmaster until April 1, 1882, when he received his ap- pointment as Postmaster. He was married Jan. 16, 1875, to Liz- zie Cawean, a native of West Elizabeth, Allegheny Co., Pa. They have two children---Cora B. and Norrinne. He is a member of I. O. O. F., Buchtel Lodge, No. 712, being a charter member, and the encampment at West Elizabeth, No. 212; also a member of the K. of P., York Lodge, No. 75. W. J. Haybson was born in Hamden, Vinton Co., O., Sept., 30, 1844 a son of Richard and Rachel (Gregory) Haybson, where he was reared and received his education in the common school. His youth was spent in working on a farm and attending school 459

Moses Lewis, deceased, was born in Athens County, Ohio, April 19, 1816, a son of Samuel Lewis, who was a son of Daniel Lewis, and came to Athens County among the early settlers. He was reared on a farm and educated in the common schools. He was married May 9, 1843, to Miss Sarah Harrington, a daughter of Samuel K. Harrington, a native of New York. Soon after our subject's marriage he moved on the farm, where his widow now resides They were the parents of fifteen chil- dren, eight of which are still living. He and his wife were members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Lewis held the office of Justice of the Peace for about eight years besides many other local offices of trust and responsibility. He departed this life May 29, 1882. Mrs. Lewis has a large farm of 336 acres of well-cultivated land. 467

Frank W. and Ella Vell, the latter dying in the fall of 1876, at the age of six years. He married his second wife, Miss Belle G. Cre- sap, of Logan, Ohio, April 22, 1873. They have three children--- Webster C., Charles E. and Mabel Lefever. Fred Lorenzo Preston, of the firm of L. P. Preston & Son, was born at Delaware, Ohio, Jan. 10, 1854, and is the eldest of four sons of Lorenzo P. and Laura L. (Dix) Preston. When he was an infant his parents removed to Columbus, where they lived until he was thirteen, when they came to Nelsonville. He was educated in the schools of Columbus and Nelsonville until he was seventeen, attending the High School of Columbus through part of the junior year, when he returned home to Nelsonville, and was employed as a clerk for W. B. Brooks. He afterward became bookkeeper and was with him about ten years. In August, 1881, he became associ- ated with his father in the mercantile business at Nelsonville, under the firm name of L. P. Preston & Son. March 31, 1879, he mar- ried Ella, daughter of John Herrold, of Athens County. They have one child---Perry. Lorenzo Perry Preston, senior member of the firm of Pres- ton & Son, merchants, Nelsonville, was born in Montpelier, Vt., Feb. 3, 1817, where he was reared a farmer, and lived with his parents, Samuel and Lydia (Short) Preston, until manhood, and was given a good English education. When seventeen years of age he began to teach in country schools, and taught in various places in Vermont, at the same time pursuing his studies. After becoming of age, in the spring of 1838, he came to Ohio, and located at Columbus, where he was employed as clerk in the store of Stone, Carr & Co. for one year, when he become associated with Charles Kelton in the mercantile business, under the firm name of L. P. Preston & Co. In 1844 he formed a, co-partnership with his brother, S. D. Preston, in the mercantile business at Columbus, under the firm name of S. D. & L. P. Preston, remain- ring in business together till the fall of 1854. Mr. Preston was then employed as a clerk in the store of his brother, W. B. Preston, until 1858, when he was employed as postoffice clerk at Columbus by Samuel Medary for six months. He was elected associate clerk of the Ohio Legislature, serving the winter of 1858 and '59. In the spring of 1859 he was employed by Fitch, Bortle & Co., to take charge of a store in connection with the furnace at Logan, and was in their employ until January, 1860. In the spring of 1860 he re- ceived the appointment of census-taker in the townships of Frank- 475

lin, Jackson, Hamilton and Pleasant, in Franklin County Ohio, and after completing that work went to Cambridge Guernsey County, and was employed in the store of R. E. Champion & Co., until the spring of 1863, when he returned to Columbus an en- gaged in the grocery business, continuing until 1865. In 1866 he was employed, by W. B. Brooks, as buyer and manager of his store at Nelsonville, with whom he remained until 1877. He then went to Mechanicsburg, Ohio, and engaged in the mercantile business until the spring of 1882 when he removed with his business to Nel- sonville, when his son, Fred L. Preston, became associated with him, forming the present mercantile firm of L. P. Preston & Son. He has been twice married. His first wife was Miss Elsie Clark, of Montpelier, Vt., whom he married June 20, 1844, and who died in Columbus, November, 1851, leaving one child, Kate who died in April, 1856, at the age of seven years. March 3, 1853, he married Miss Laura Dix, of East Montpelier, Vt. They had four children---Fred L., Samuel Decatur, Gilbert Dix and Leonard Shubael. Isaac Porter Primrose, M. D., Nelsonville, Ohio, was born in Uniontown, Muskingum Co., Ohio, Oct. 18, 1831, the eldest of six children of Reuben H. and Hester Ann (Cannon) Primrose. He was reared in Muskingum and Perry counties, receiving his educa- tion in the common schools and the High School of Somerset. In 1857 he began the study of medicine with Dr. Nicodemus Hafford, of Old Straitsville, Perry County, studying and practicing the pro- fession till August, 1861, when he enlisted in Company A, Thirty- first Ohio Infantry. On the organization of his company he was elected Second Lieutenant, and in February, 1862, was promoted to First Lieutenant. In November, 1862, he resigned on account of his eyes and a catarrhal trouble and returned to Old Straitsville. In February, 1863, he came to Nelsonville and assisted in raising Company A, Thirty-sixth Ohio National Guard, and was appointed its Captain, but on the organization of the regiment he was chosen Colonel. His regiment retained its organization till the close of the war, but was never called into active service. In the winter of 1864-'65 he attended Starling Medical College, Columbus, Ohio, from which he graduated Feb. 26, 1865. He has been a member of the City Council of Nelsonville three years, of the School Board two years, and President of the Athens County Medical Society five years. He is a Master Mason and member of Philodorean Lodge, No. 157; also a member of Phil Kearney Post, No. 38, G. 476

A. R. In April, 1852, he married Jane Harbaugh, of Old Straits- ville. They have five children---Hester A., now Mrs. S. W. Jones, of Kingston, Ohio; Sarah A., now Mrs. W. N. Alderman; Binnie L., now Mrs. F. J. Hill; Loving and Blanch H. They have lost two children---Kittie Greenwood, died in July, 1862, aged six months, and Adie C., died July 11, 1879, aged twenty years. Dr. and Mrs. Primrose are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. June 16, 1883, the Doctor received the nomination of the Repub- lican party for Representative to the State Legislature. John Raine was born in Stanhope, county of Durham, England, Dec. 22, 1813, a son of George and Elizabeth (Brown) Raine. When he was thirteen years of age he went to work in the lead mines with his father, but soon after his father died. His mother died in 1835. He remained in the lead mines till 1838 and then went into the coal mines, remaining there till 1844, when he embarked for the United States, landing in New York, May 24. He came to Nelsonville and was first employed in the coal mines of J. F. Sommers, remaining with him three years. He was then em- ployed by the late L. D. Poston eighteen years. Since 1865 he has worked for W. B. Brooks & Son, and though seventy years of age, still retains much of his youthful vigor, and enjoys life better when at work than when idle. April 9, 1844, on the eve of his departure for America, he married Miss Eliza Taylor, who is still living, hav- ing shared all the changing vicissitudes of a Western home with her husband. They have no children. They are members of the Methodist church, of Nelsonville, Mr. Raine having been Trustee, Steward and Treasurer. James B. Rose was born in Pickaway County, Ohio, Dec 25, 1856. He was reared on a farm, and received his education in the common schools of his native county. He remained with his par- ents until he reached his majority, after which he engaged as a fire- man on a locomotive for the C. & H. V. R. R. He afterward went to Straitsville, Ohio, where he was employed by a mining company as clerk in their store. In the fall of 1880 he came to Buchtel, and entered the employ of the Akron Iron Company, as salesman in their mercantile establishment, having charge of the dry-goods department. He is a member of the A. F. & A. M., Lodge No. 84, Straitsville, Ohio. Curtis William Russell, blacksmith, Nelsonville, was born in Middleport, Meigs Co., Ohio, Oct. 3, 1849, where he lived until twenty years of age. He is the son of Benjamin Franklin and Jane 477

George Snowden was born in County Durham, England, May 25, 1839. His father was killed when our subject was an infant by the explosion of a mine. In 1849 his mother came to the United States and located in Meigs County, Ohio. where he lived until 1856, when he went to Peoria County, Ill., and remained until the breaking out of the late civil war. April 16, 1861, he enlisted in the three months' service, but there being a mistake in the mus- tering papers he only served seven weeks, when he returned to Meigs County, Ohio, and soon after joined Captain William R. 484

Brown's corps, Company E, Fourth Virginia Regiment, and was detailed by General Garfield as a scout, serving in that capacity until the fall of 1862, when he was detailed to drill the officers of the Thirteenth Virginia Regiment, and there received a commis- sion as Second Lieutenant. He afterward acted as spy in the Rebel General Jenkins's camp for a time, after which he took com- mand of the scouts until Sept. 19, 1863, when he was severely injured by the falling of a horse, which disabled him from active duty for a time. July 16, 1864, he entered General McCausland's camp in rebel uniform and gathered some valuable information, but received a severe wound from which he has never recovered. After the close of the war he went to Illinois, and accepted the po- sition as superintendent of two large mines, which he held for seven years. In 1876 he returned to Athens County, where he has since resided. He was married Oct. 12, 1865, to Miss Ellen Thomp- son, of Middleport, Ohio. They have seven children---Annie L., John G. and Mary C. (twins), Ellen M., Ladie J., William T. and Sadie B. Mr. Snowden is a member of Tom Dew Post, No. 1,516, G. A. R., and the Odd Fellows Lodge, No. 242, Pomeroy. 485

mustered out June 22, 1865, and returned to Athens County. He soon after took a trip through the Western States, returning in May, 1867, when he purchased the farm where he has since resided. He has 167 acres of good land and one of the finest orchards in the township. He was married April 18, 1868, to Lucinda J. Haines, of Athens County. They are the parents of one child which died March 6, 1869. Mr. and Mrs. Wollett are members of the Chris- tian church. He is a member of Philodorean Lodge, No. 157, A. F. & A. M., and Hockhocking Lodge, No. 399, I. O. O. F. Lewis Clinton Woodard, a clerk with Parker & McGill, of Nel- sonville, was born in Starr Township, Hocking County, April 27, 1851. He is the fourth of five sons of Ichabod and Eleanor (Nel- son) Woodard, his mother being a daughter of Daniel Nelson, the founder of Nelsonville. He first attended the district school of the township, after which he went to Union High School at Lo- gan, completing his education at the Ohio University at Athens. He began to teach in 1871, and taught in several schools in Hocking County, until 1881, when he came to Nelsonville and engaged in butchering, continuing in that business till the spring of 1883. He then accepted his present position. He was married April 26, 1881, to Miss Jennie Gilliam, of Nelsonville, and both are members of the Methodist Episcopal church of that place. W. N. Woodard was born in Starr Township, Sept. 29, 1841. He is a son of Ichabod and Eleanor Woodard. He is a grandson of Daniel Nelson, the founder of Nelsonville, and one of the early settlers and old pioneers of this county, who died about 1835 or 1836. Ichabod Woodard died on his farm in Starr Township, March 16, 1868. Mr. Woodard received a common education in the public schools of his township. He enlisted July 25, 1862, at the age of twenty-one years, in Company E, Ninetieth Ohio In- fantry, and was in several battles of importance, under General Sherman. March 25, 1875, he was married to Violet Smith, a daughter of John and Sarah Smith, of Moundsville, W. Va. They are the parents of four children, three of which are living---Estella V., Lulu and Clyde B. John C. died when he was about six weeks old. 493

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