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Abraham Armstrong

Abraham Armstrong

1810-1890

The Household Guide for Instructor with Biographies: History of Guernsey County, Ohio by T.F. Williams, page 513

“The following is a sketch of the history of the ancestors of Abraham Armstrong, of Jefferson Township, as handed down orally or by tradition. His great-grandfather, Adam Armstrong, lived in Washington County, Pennsylvania, where he raised a large family. Some of his children moved to Greene County, Pennsylvania, in early times. His son Abraham, grandfather of the present Abraham Armstrong, was born on June 27, 1747, and married Florence McLean. They had fourteen children, including a daughter born to his wife by her first husband – seven sons and seven daughters – all of whom reached maturity. John, their eldest son, and father of Abraham Armstrong, was born May 6, 1781, and married Susannah Henderson, who was born in Mifflin County, Pennsylvania, May 20, 1788. They were married in 1809, and in the autumn of 1813 moved to the pleasant site occupied by the subject of this sketch. Their children according to age are Abraham, Amelia, John, Thomas, McLean, Elizabeth, Margaret, Alexander McCoy and Susannah Jane. The father died in 1852 and the mother in 1870. Abraham was born March 2, 1810, and succeeded his father in the milling and farming business. The grist-mill was first built in 1815 and was twice rebuilt. When six months old Mr. Armstrong lost the use of his right leg from sickness, and has used a crutch through life. Like many young men in this locality, he taught school during the winter season.”

“In 1840 he ran on the Whig ticket for county treasurer, but was defeated by Newell Kennon by one hundred and eleven votes. In 1842, in a similar race, Mr. Kennon was elected by eleven votes. Mr. Armstrong was township clerk from April 1842, until elected county auditor in October 1844. In 1846 he missed a re-election by a few votes and in 1871 was elected to represent the county in the State Legislature. In 1852 he was elected justice of the peace and again in 1862, and held the office until 1861, and also from 1875 to 1878. He was also township treasurer for seventeen years. His wife was Elizabeth W. Walker, who died February 7, 1847, in the twenty-seventh year of her age, leaving an infant son twenty-five days old, now known as John W. Armstrong. His second wife was Mary C. Patterson, who was born in Fayette County, Pennsylvania. By her he had two sons, Jeremiah Patterson, born February 28, 1850, and James McLean, born October 19, 1853. John W. Armstrong, the eldest son was born January 13, 1847, he married Martha Clark. Jeremiah P married Agnes McConnell, who died in 1876.”

John Armstrong

Portrait and Biographical Record of Guernsey County Ohio 1895 page126

John Walker Armstrong. Guernsey county is justly proud of her native-born citizens, who are honorably bearing their share in sustaining her interests and extending her wealth. Among these is the subject of this biographical review, who is engaged in farming on section 2, Jefferson Township, and is one of the most progressive and enlightened farmers. His estate, which comprises one hundred acres, is placed under substantial improvements, the fields are well tilled, and a neat set of farm buildings adorns the place.

Mr. Armstrong was born January 13, 1847, in Cambridge, but was reared on the farm of his grandfather, John Armstrong, in Jefferson Township, until thirteen years of age, when he went to live with his father, and assisted in the flouring-mill which latter owned on section 24, Jefferson Township, and which was kept running day and night through the busy season. His attendance at school was limited to few months in each year, but on becoming his own master, in 1868, he determined to become well educated, and with the little money which he possessed entered Muskingum College, carrying on his studies in that institution for one term. The tuition he next received was at normal at Cambridge, and on leaving there he was given a certificate to teach. This occupation he followed only a short time, however, as September 2, 1869, he was married, and therefore gave his attention to milling, which business occupied his entire attention for fifteen years. At the end of that time he sold his interest in the mill, and gave his whole attention to farming. The lady whom our subject married was Martha R., a daughter of Andrew and Nancy B. Clark, of Centre Township, this county. She was born in Jefferson Township, Guernsey County, February 7, 1849, and in girlhood was given the privilege of a good education. After her union with Mr. Armstrong, the young couple located at Guernsey Mill, where their nine children were born namely: Mary B., William R., Addie L., Martha E., John C., Abraham C., Harry O., Charles O., Ira P.

The parents of Mrs. Armstrong came from Pennsylvania. Andrew Clark, the father, was a son of William and Elizabeth (Baird) Clark, who emigrated to Ohio from Washington County, Pa., about 1815, and located in Jefferson Township about 1817. Andrew Clark was born in Jefferson Township, September 23, 1820. Nancy B., his wife, was born in Liberty Township, this county, October 10, 1821, and was married August 25, 1846, after which she and her husband located in Jefferson Township, where their children, Eliza Ann, Sarah Jane, and Martha Rebecca (Mrs. Armstrong), were born.

The great-grandparents of John W. Armstrong, Abraham and Florence Armstrong, who established this branch of the family in America, were natives of Scotland and Ireland, respectively. The great-grandmother came to Guernsey County at an early date, probably about 1813, and is buried in Pleasant Hill Cemetery in this township. The grandfather and grandmother, John and Susannah Armstrong, in 1813 moved to section 24, Jefferson Township, where the grandfather died in 1852, and the grandmother in 1870. The old mill has been twice re-built, the last time in 1850.

The father of our subject, Abraham Armstrong, was born March 2, 1810, in Pennsylvania. He was well educated, and for a number of years engaged in teaching school, after which he succeeded his father in the milling and farming business, In 1844 he was elected Auditor of Guernsey County, and in 1871 was elected to the Legislature, serving in that position for two terms. November 4, 1845, he married Miss Elizabeth Walker, who was a daughter of James Walker, and was born May 20, 1820, in Allegheny County, Pa. She died within two years of marriage, leaving one child, John Walker, our subject, an infant of three weeks. He was at once taken onto the home of his grandparents, John and Susannah Armstrong, who reared him until the age of thirteen. as above stated. This old couple were pioneers of the county, and entered the land Government which the family now occupies.

Our subject has been prominent in public affairs of his township, and the confidence which is reposed in him is shown by the fact that he served in the capacity of Township Clerk, Treasurer and Justice of the Peace. In 1890 he was elected Census-taker of Jefferson Township, and is now Notary Public. He is a working member of the United Presbyterian Church, to which his wife and six children belong.

John M. Amos

John M. Amos

Stories of Guernsey county by Wm. Wolfe Page 464-465

John M. Amos.—For more than a half century The Jeffersonian has been published by the Amos Family. For a third of a century John M. Amos was the editor. Following his death in 1919, three of his sons, Thomas E., Herbert E. and Harry W. assumed control.

John M. Amos was born in Belmont county, Ohio, on August 20, 1839. A few years later the family settled on a farm in Noble county, Ohio. Here John M. Attended the rural schools and grew to young manhood. He taught school for a few terms, in the meantime preparing for college under the instruction of private teachers. He entered Allegheny College from which he received the degree of Master of Arts. While serving as principal of schools at Batesville and Caldwell, Mr. Amos studied law at such time as he could spare from his school work. Having been admitted to the bar, he practiced law in Caldwell for about ten years.

While engaged in legal work, Mr. Amos, together with his law partner, Fred W. Moore, bought The Caldwell Press, which they edited and published jointly. By the death of Mr. Moore a short time after the partnership was formed, Mr. Amos was left with both a newspaper and a law business on his hands. He dropped the law to devote all his time to journalism. Having sold The Caldwell Press, he purchased The Jeffersonian and came to Cambridge, which place offered a better field for newspaper expansion.

James R. Barr

James R. Barr

Stories of Guernsey county by Wm. Wolfe Page 467-468

     The Republican-Press.—For about twenty-five years a weekly paper, The Republican-Press, was published in Cambridge.  Founded by L. A. Dunifer, it was first called The People’s Press.  In 1883 the name was changed to The Cambridge Democrat.  The plant was bought by a stock company in 1885, and the name was again changed, this time to The Republican-Press.   James R. Barr was manager and editor.  The paper was strictly partisan and an important factor in local politics.  About 1905 it was purchased by The Guernsey Times and continued as a weekly for a few years, when its publication ceased.

     For more than a half century James R. Barr was active in the business and civic affairs of Cambridge and Guernsey county.  He taught in the rural schools of the county for several years.  After taking a course in pharmacy in the University of Michigan, he engaged in the drug business in Cambridge.  He served two terms as county clerk of courts, six years as a member of the city board of education, two years as a member of the city council, and four years as mayor of Cambridge (1890-94).  During the twelve years of the William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt administrations he was postmaster at Cambridge. 

     Mr. Barr was probably best known for his political activities.  He was not only a loyal Republican in principles, but was a recognized leader in both county and state politics.  He served as chairman of the Republican county committee, and as a member of the state central committee.  In 1896 he was a delegate to the convention that nominated William McKinley for the presidency.  His last public service was in the state Senate to which he was elected in 1920.

James M. Bell

Stories of Guernsey county by Wm. Wolfe Page 675-676

An early Attorney and Politician

     James M. Bell a Prominent Citizen.—There are very few persons in Guernsey county today, perhaps, who ever heard of James M. Bell.  For a period of thirty years he was one of the leading citizens of Cambridge, an outstanding attorney and politician, and an enthusiastic supporter of every movement to advance the welfare of town and county.

     He was the only Guernsey county man ever elected to serve five terms in the lower house of the state legislature, and one of two Guernsey county men to be chosen speaker of that body.  Although this was in the days when a term in the legislature was one year instead of two, as at present, he, nevertheless, came before the people for election five times, and that he was always successful showed him to be either an able statesman or a clever politician—or both. He was the first Guernsey county man to be elected to Congress.

     James M. Bell was born in Huntingdon county, Pennsylvania, in 1796.  Having studied law in Steubenville, Ohio, he was admitted to the bar at the age of twenty-one.  In 1818 he came to Cambridge where he lived until his death which occurred in 1849.

     First Master of Guernsey Lodge No. 66.—Interested in giving Cambridge youth a better education than the district school with its limited curriculum of the traditional reading, writing and arithmetic afforded, he assisted in establishing an academy here, and became one of its first directors.  This was in 1838.  In 1832 Mr. Bell took a leading part in a movement to establish the first public library in Cambridge, and when an organization was effected, he became its first president.  Having become a Mason before locating in Cambridge, he helped to organize a lodge here and he became its first master.  This lodge was established in 1822 and chartered as Guernsey Lodge No. 66.

     As an outstanding attorney Mr. Bell had an extensive practice.  His excellent business qualifications, quick perception and ability for profound thinking were qualities that enabled him to succeed in his profession.  He was an eloquent and convincing speaker.  It was only natural that, with such qualifications, he would be sought as a political leader. 

     A Whig in Politics.—In politics James M. Bell was a Whig.  He was elected to represent Guernsey county in the lower house of the state legislature in 1826, and for the four succeeding terms.  This is a record that has never been equaled by another Guernsey county state representative. Isaac Grummond served four terms in early days, but they were not consecutive. Honor was brought to Guernsey county  in 1830 when James M. Bell was chosen speaker of the lower house. Only one other Guernsey county man has thus been honored—Freeman T. Eagleson who was chosen speaker for the term of 1904-1906.

     Elected to Congress.—In 1832 Mr. Bell was a candidate for Congress against William Kennon, of Belmont county.  Guernsey county was then located in the Eleventh district of which Belmont was a part. Andrew Jackson was the Democratic candidate for the presidency that year against Henry Clay, a Whig.  While the Guernsey county voters gave Jackson a majority, they cast such a large vote for Bell as to enable him to win over Kennon who was a candidate for a second term.  Two years later Kennon defeated Bell.

     Following his term in congress Mr. Bell devoted his time to the practice of law in Cambridge.  He was familiarly known as “General” Bell, having been an officer in the Ohio militia.  At the time of his death he was only fifty-three years old.

     Mr. Bell’s wife was the daughter of Wyatt Hutchinson, one of the pioneer tavern keepers of Cambridge.  A daughter of Mr. Bell became the wife of Dr. W. V. Milligan, long-time pastor of the Presbyterian church.

Judge Turner G. Brown

Judge Turner G. Brown

Stories of Guernsey county by Wm. Wolfe Page 880

Judge Brown’s Family.—“Judge Brown had nine children. In order of their ages they were Mary, Thomas, Dorcas, Walter, Levi, Columbus, Samuel, Sarah and Turner, Jr.

“Dorcus married and lived on a ranch in Texas. During the Civil war she came home for a visit. Her father gave her three thousand dollars in gold coin, approximately her share of his estate. Not being able to get through the Confederate lines when returning home with the gold, she boarded a ship at New York. The vessel was sunk a short distance from the city and all on board were lost.

“Walter became a minister in the Methodist Episcopal church. When the Civil War opened, Levi and Samuel enlisted, the former becoming a surgeon and the later a major. Levi died form overwork; Samuel was killed at the Battle of Chickamauga. Their bodies were brought home and buried in the family plot on the Brown farm. They were afterwards removed to the old South cemetery in Cambridge.

“Columbus located in Londonderry and was the father of Dr. Oscar S. Brown, who went to New Mexico and was chief surgeon for the Santa Fe Railroad. Mary and Sarah were maiden ladies and lived to a good old age. Turner Brown, Jr., the youngest son, lived in Cambridge a number of years.

Influential in the County.—“Judge Brown and the majority of his family were peculiar to themselves. They did not associate or visit with their neighbors, but frequently entertained visitors from a distance, mostly wealthy or prominent persons. They were of English descent and claimed to have royal blood in their veins.

“The judge owned 400 acres in Londonderry and Washington townships. He was able to educate all his children and did so, giving some of them the advantages of the best schools. His farming was mostly done with hired help who ate at a table separate from that of the family.

“Excepting the one son, Walter, who became a minister, the members of the family, while at Londonderry, were not affiliated with any church. The judge himself was somewhat of an agnostic in religious matters and never attended church. However, he was naturally broad-minded, intellectual and very influential in the Londonderry community.”

Col. J. M. Bushfield

Col. J. M. Bushfield

Stories of Guernsey county by Wm. Wolfe Page 630

  1. M. Bushfield–Cambridge’s long-time mayor, J. M. Bushfield, was born nearWheeling,W. Va., in 1819.  After he had graduated from Washington-Jefferson College he came to Cambridge and began the study of law under Nathan Evans.  While so engaged he first served as mayor.  Admitted to the bar in 1842, he began the practice of law in Antrim, Guernsey county, but remained there only a short time.  Like his law preceptor, Nathan Evans, he was an ardent Whig, and for a time he edited a Whig paper in Cambridge, “The Begg Bugle.”  He later became a Republican.

     During its session of 1846-47, Bushfield was clerk of the lower house in the General Assembly.  From 1857 to 1861 he was prosecuting attorney of Guernsey county.  When the Civil War opened he became lieutenant-colonel of the One Hundred Twenty-second regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry.

     Col. J. M. Bushfield was a Cambridge attorney for fifty years, a record surpassed by very few. He was a member of the Presbyterian church and a leader in the various local activities for civic betterment.  His death occurred in 1893.  In 1938 Harlan J. Bushfield, grandson of Colonel Bushfield, was elected governor of South Dakota.

Katy Reasoner Conner

Katy Reasoner Conner

Stories of Guernsey County by Wm. Wolfe Page 1024

     Catherine, daughter of John and Elizabeth Wilson Thompson Reasoner, born March 25, 1805, was the first white child born in what is now Guernsey county.  She married Thomas E. Conner and lived in the township all her life, dying at the age of eighty-four.  Her body lies in the Pleasant Hill Cemetery, just over the line in Muskingum county.  Elizabeth Wilson Thompson Reasoner, who was buried in the same cemetery died at the age of eighty-three.  Elizabeth Conner Morgan, daughter of Catherine Reasoner Conner, was ninety-two years of age at the time of her death in 1931.  It is interesting to note that the lives of a mother an daughter spanned 126 years of Guernsey county history, and that the mother was the first child to be born in the county.

Wm. M. Farrar

William. Farrar

Stories of Guernsey county by Wm. Wolfe Page 591-592

William M. Farrar

William M. Farrar was born in Washington county, Pennsylvania, in 1824.  Like Mr. White he attended the common schools, then studied for a short time in an academy.  He taught school in Kentucky for two years, reading law in the meantime, and came to Cambridge in 1848.  In 1851 he was elected clerk of courts of Guernsey county, the first under the new Constitution, and served two terms.   As a soldier in the civil War he attained the rank of captain.   While in the army he was a member of the staff of Gen. James A. Garfield to whom he was ever afterwards greatly attached.

     An Editor.—In 1869 he established The Cambridge News and was its editor for five years.  This was a weekly newspaper published in the interests of the Republican party.  The name was afterwards changed to The Cambridge Herald, an independent paper whose publication was continued until about twenty years ago.

Mr. Farrar was a member of the Cambridge board of education for several terms.  He was elected mayor two times.  He represented Guernsey county in the General Assembly in 1883-84, and again in 1885-86.  His “groundhog speech” before that body showed that he possessed a rare sense of humor.

An Author.—The legal profession did not appeal to him.  His tastes were literary.  While he attended school comparatively little, he was a student all his life.  He was especially interested in history and he wrote several historical articles that were published widely.  On e of these was the “Moravian Massacre.”  His account of that event was written after much research and study and it is considered one of the most authentic yet given.  An address by Farrar at the Marietta Centennial in 1888, entitled “Why Is Ohio Called the Buckeye State?”  is preserved in Howe’s Historical Collections of Ohio and in the publications of the Ohio Archaeological and Historical Society.

     A Man of Strong Convictions.—Captain Farrar was distinguished for his public spirit, strong convictions, and fearlessness in the discharge of his duties as he saw them.  Apparently oblivious of what others might think of him, he pursued his own way animated by his won conceptions of right and duty.

The writer of this article never knew personally either of these men, but he has heard much about both of them from others.  They were amongst the men of the last century, who stood out prominently as Guernsey county citizens.

 

Stories of Guernsey county by Wm. Wolfe Page 466-467

Other Cambridge Publications

     The Herald.—William M. Farrar established The Cambridge News, a weekly Republican paper, in 1867.  After it had passed through several managements, it was purchased, in 1882, by J.P. Mahaffey and Thomas W. Ogier, who changed the name to The Herald and conducted it as an independent weekly for twenty-eight years.  W. O. Moore purchased The Herald in 1910 and published it for a few months.  He then consolidated it with the Guernsey Times, of which he was manager.

     J.P. Mahaffey, familiarly known as “Perry” was prominent in local civic affairs.  He served as county clerk of courts from 1879 to 1882, and represented this district in the state Senate for two terms (1906-1910.  In politics he was a democrat.

Dr. Samuel Findley

Dr. Samuel Findley

Stories of 
Guernsey county by Wm. Wolfe Page 896-897-898-899-900

Dr. Samuel Findley, Pioneer Preacher and Teacher

We remember the men and women who first settled the county and cleared away the forests, who built roads, who held office, who fought in wars, who engaged in activities that advanced it materially.  Such persons, overlook the fact that there were others here whose work, although of a different kind, affected the future of the county.  One of the greatest of these was Dr. Samuel Findley. His memory should be honored.

     There are seemingly but few persons in Guernsey county today who know much about Dr. Findley.  However, there are many whose lives have been influenced by the work done by him here almost a century ago.  His influence has reached down through the generations, affecting directly or indirectly both the educational and the religious interests of the county, even to the present time.

     His Youth.—Dr. Samuel Findley was born in Western Pennsylvania in 1786.  His father was a farmer and a judge in the Butler county court.  His uncle, William Findley, was appointed by President George Washington as arbiter in the settlement of the Whisky Rebellion.  He was a member of the Pennsylvania delegation that met to ratify the Constitution of the United States, and voted against it because it contained no provision for education.

     At fourteen years of age Samuel dedicated himself to the preaching of the Gospel.  He found a Latin grammar, and having no time out from work for study, he tied it between the plow handles and studied as he walked back and forth across the fields.  He took up Hebrew, Greek and the Bible, and walked a mile each morning before breakfast to recite to a preacher.  At the age of twenty he rode horseback to New York City to study for the ministry.  His last cent was spent to cross the Hudson River by ferry.  He sold his pony for money to pay tuition, and then worked at odd jobs for enough to pay for his room and board.  Having received his diploma, he walked home, a distance of 500 miles.

     Becomes a Preacher and a Teacher.—Ordained to preach in the Associate Reformed church, he married and located in Washington county, Pennsylvania.  Here he preached in several churches, and he opened an academy in which he taught.

     In 1818 Dr. Finley made a missionary trip through the newly opened country west of the Ohio River.  He followed Zane’s Trace until he came to Fairview in Guernsey county, Ohio, which was then a settlement of log cabins.  Gathering the pioneers about him, he preached to them under the trees on the hill south of the settlement.  He returned later and organized an Associate Reformed society.  The little group built a stone church under the trees on the hill where he had preached.  This was the first Associate Reformed church in Guernsey county, and , as that denomination afterwards became the United Presbyterian church, it may be considered the first of that faith whose adherents now constitute the county’s second largest religious group.  All of their many churches in this section, with few exceptions, can trace their origin directly or indirectly to the influence of Dr. Findley.

     In 1824 Dr. Findley organized an Associate Reformed church at Washington, and one near the present Antrim, which was called Miller’s Fork.

     Having three preaching appointments here, he moved his family form Pennsylvania to Washington, giving up an academy and established congregations for the hardships of a new country.  His unselfish reason for this change is shown in a petition to the Guernsey county commissioners for his release from the bond of dishonest county official. He therein says of himself in the third person: “Twenty-one years and two months have now elapsed since the subscriber became a located citizen of this county.  The literary, as well as the moral and religious character of the county was, at that time below par.  He felt that there was work to do, and he set about doing it with his very might. His labors for the elevation of the literary, moral and religious character of the community have been untiring.  Whilst obstacles apparently insuperable, at times, have blocked up his way, he has found perseverance and increased exertion at all times the sure badge of Success.”

     The Religious Examiner.—At Washington, in 1827, Dr. Findley began publishing The Religious Examiner, a monthly periodical of forty or more pages devoted to the interests of the Associate Reformed church.  It was one of the first religious journals to be published west of the Allegheny Mountains.  In the closing issue of the first year he says:

     “His (the editor’s) resources of information are greatly increased.  His exchanges with the most respectable eastern publications are now extensive.  (The National Road was built through Washington that year.)  He has it in his power to give the earliest intelligence even from Europe, that can be thrown afloat at the same distance, in the interior of America.  The mail stage passing through this place in which he resides, twelve times every week, renders his situation a thoroughfare of intelligence—and being on the great National Road which connects the eastern and western hemispheres of the U.S., forty miles west of Wheeling on the Ohio River, he can correspond with and have access to, the eastern and western extremities of the U.S. with equal facility.”

     Dr. Findley published The Religious Examiner for several years.  As the organ of the Associate Reformed church, it had much to do with the planting of the principles of that church in the minds and hearts of the early settlers of Guernsey and neighboring counties.

     Locates at Antrim.—He purchased 160 acres of land immediately west of Antrim in the early 1830’s, built a cabin on it and moved his family there.  Educational advantages were lacking in the community.  The young people attended the little log schools in the woods, where they were taught to read, write and cipher, but nothing else.  Although Dr. Findley was still editing The Religious Examiner, was preaching at Fairview, Miller’s Fork and Washington, and farming to support his large family, he offered to teach any of the young men of the Antrim neighborhood who might want to pursue studies beyond what the little log school had to offer.

     In the fall of 1835 a class of eight young men was organized, and began work in a room of his cabin home. So enthusiastic was Dr. Findley and so eager were the young men to learn that within a short time the number wishing to enroll could not be accommodated in the cabin.  In 1837 Dr. Findley opened an academy which was called the Philomathean Literary Institute.  This proving to be a success, a charter was granted by the state legislature to 1839 and the name changed to Madison College, with Dr. Samuel Findley as president.

     Educated Preachers and Teachers.—The popularity of Madison College extended throughout Eastern Ohio.  On its advisory board were such persons as Hon. John A. Bingham, the nationally known statesman, and Dr. Joseph Ray, the author of the old-time popular arithmetics. Young men prepared for teaching at Madison, and lifted the schools of Guernsey county to a higher plane.  Dr. Findley prevailed upon many of the students to enter the ministry; in fact, it was his desire to advance the interests of the Associate Reformed church that prompted him to establish a college.  Financial difficulties resulting from the unsettled condition of the country in Civil War days caused the college to be closed.

     A Strict Disciplinarian.—As shown by the rules of Madison College, Dr. Findley exacted the very best conduct of his students.  In the family circle he was a disciplinarian of the first order.  No literature was permitted in the home more profane than Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress.  One of his sons, David, wanted to study medicine, but Dr. Findley would not give his consent on the grounds that no doctor could be a Christian.  But David did become a doctor, and two of his sons are now prominent physicians in the West.  Four of Dr. Samuel Findley’s sons went into the ministry and two of his daughters married ministers.

     Dr. Findley opposed the introduction of the organ into the church services.  It is said that he and his son, Samuel, attended the meeting of the General Assembly in Philadelphia when the question was up for debate.  It was well into the night when the meeting broke up, having arrived at the decision in favor of the organ.  As the two left the meeting, Samuel asked, “Father, where shall we sleep tonight?”  The father replied, “My son, I do not know, I do not care.”

     The story is told that he would begin his Sabbath service at 10 o’clock in the forenoon and close it with the twinkling of the stars; that his prayer was three-quarters of an hour long and that the exposition of the Scriptures consumed twenty minutes.  To prepare for the Sabbath service he would shut himself up in his room on Friday and would brook no interruptions from anybody but his wife.

     It is not recorded that he ever indulged in frivolities save on one occasion when he took his children to a circus, for which he was castigated by members of his congregation.  Reconciliation came when it was learned that he only saw the animals, avoiding the allurements of the ringside.

     His Works Do Follow Him.—Guernsey county has never realized its debt to Dr. Samuel Findley.  A reading of the Cambridge newspapers published since 1824 will show that he had a leading part in every movement designed to elevate the intellectual, moral and religious planes of the county. He came here because, on a missionary journey, he found them to be “below par,” and he labored “with his very might” to change this condition.

     We submit the following as one example of his influence: From the first little church established by him at Fairview went forth a score or more of preachers, some of whom reached prominent places in the United Presbyterian ministry.  Some of them became professors in theological seminaries.  Two of them became presidents of Muskingum College.  Through all of these Dr. Findley’s influence was multiplied.

     After Madison College had been closed Dr. Findley left Guernsey county.  His death occurred at the home of a son in Newark, New Jersey, in 1870.  In compliance with his oft expressed wish, is body was brought to Antrim for burial.  The United Presbyterian congregation served by him there for thirty years, erected a modest monument to his memory.

Erected by the U.P. Cong.

of Antrim to the Memory of

Rev. Samuel Findley, D. D.

who was born

June 11, 1786

and died

Feb. 22, 1870

In the 84th year of

his age

—————-

He was installed first pastor of

this Congregation in June, 1824,

and faithfully served in this capacity

till 1854

—————

His works do follow him

Rev. James B. Finley

Rev. J. B. Finley

Stories of Guernsey County by Wm. Wolfe Page 376

Rev. J. B. Finley.—Traveling a circuit of 475 miles each month, Rev. J. B. Finley, Ohio’s most noted circuit rider, came into Guernsey county to preach to a few Methodist groups that had been  organized here.  He gave forty years of service as a minister in the backwoods of Ohio, Pennsylvaniaand New York.  His great energy of character and burning zeal, together with his eloquence, tact and knowledge of human nature, gave him an influence that resulted in much good to the pioneers. 

     When in charge of what was known as the Wills Creek circuit, which included Guernsey county, his home was on Leatherwood creek.  The route of this circuit has been described as follows:

     “Beginning at Zanesville and running east, it embraced all the settlements on each side of the Wheeling Road (Zane’s Trace), on to Salt creek and the Buffalo fork of Wills creek; thence down to Cambridge and Leatherwood; thence to Barnesville and Morristown; thence down Stillwater; thence up the Tuscarawas through New Philadelphia and on to Carter’s; thence to Sugar creek; thence down the Tuscarawas to William Butt’s; thence all the settlements down to Zanesville, the place of beginning.”

Stories of Guernsey county by Wm. Wolfe Page 413

The Circuit Rider

     Rev. James B. Finley, who, it has been said, was for many years the most noted circuit rider of this country, and exerted more influence for good in the Ohio region than any other man in the state, was once a resident of Guernsey county.  During his forty years of service as a minister he traveled circuits of the Methodist Episcopal Church through the forests of Ohio, New York and Pennsylvania. He preached and organized churches in every section of Ohio.  He managed great camp meetings in the backwoods and established schools and missions amongst the Indians.

     First Resident Preacher of Guernsey County.—Rev. Finley was the first resident preacher of Guernsey county.  While living here he had as his parish most of the territory now lying within the boundaries of Guernsey, Muskingum, Noble, Belmont, Harrison, Tuscarawas and Coshocton counties.  Rev. James Watts, his predecessor on the circuit, had passed through what is now Guernsey county and organized a Methodist church in Cambridge in 1808, a year before the arrival of Rev. Finley.  The organization was effected at the home of Thomas Sarchet, which stood on the site of the present Central Drug store, at the northeast corner of Wheeling avenue and Seventh street, which stood on the site of the present Central Drug Store, at the northeast corner of Wheeling avenue and Seventh street.    The Methodists worshiped here and in the old court house a few years before erecting a church building.

John Hall

John Hall

Stories of Guernsey County by Wm. Wolfe Page 908-909

     John Hall the Pioneer Quaker.—Traveling westward alone, a young Quaker came into what is now Millwood township on August 4, 1806.  He was carrying a sack of corn meal, a loaf of bread, a flitch of bacon, a knife and fork, a pewter plate and some cooking utensils.  His name was John Hall and he was twenty-two years of age.  A year before this he had come with his father from North Carolina to Belmont county.  Having become of age, he wanted to be free to work out his future his own way; hence this journey in quest of a place to settle.  Liking the appearance of the northeast quarter of Section 13, he decided to enter in and establish a home there.

     All about him was a dense forest.  Near a spring he selected a spot for a cabin.  At the foot of a big oak tree he slept the first few nights; then, as a protection from wild beasts, he slept on a scaffold that he erected under the trees.  He split a buckeye log in two and from one of the halves he hewed out an oblong tray which was about twenty inches across the short way.  This, when covered, made a safe protection for his provisions.  Wild turkeys were plentiful and easily captured.  For many days he lived on their meat and the food he had brought from his father’s home.  In the meantime he was engaged in building a cabin for a home.  The Williams family five miles down Leatherwood valley were his nearest neighbors, but of their presence there John Hall may have had no knowledge.

     A few weeks later two strangers appeared at his cabin, announcing that they were John Webster and Henry Sidwell from Lancaster county, Pennsylvania; that they were Quakers seeking a place to locate.  Hall pointed out a suitable tract just west of the one he had entered, and Webster decided to purchase 800 acres from the government, eighty acres for each of his ten children.  The cost was $1.25 an acre.  Sidwell, who was a brother-in-law of Webster, chose a half section of land east of Hall’s place. They then returned to Pennsylvania for their families.

     A Quaker Romance.—When John Webster reached home and reported the result of their trip, the character of the land and his purchase in the wilderness, one of his daughters, Phebe, protested against leaving civilization for a home far away in an unbroken forest.  “Never do thee mind, Phebe,” said her uncle, “we found a lad out there who will make thee a good husband.”  Whether or not this was an inducement, Phebe came with the others, and the next spring she became the wife of the identical lad of whom her uncle had spoken.  The wedding took place at a Quaker church in Belmont county.

     John and Phebe Hall made their home in the cabin he had built.  Later they erected a large brick residence near the cabin.  Their family consisted of eight children, six sons and two daughters. All were buried in the Friends cemetery at Quaker City, as were may of their descendants.

     A Successful Pioneer.—John Hall was a man of great industry, integrity and economy, and he possessed the confidence of all who knew him.  Not only did he become an extensive landowner and farm on a large scale, but he engaged in the mercantile business and in buying tobacco which was an important crop in that section.  He seemed to be successful in every activity in which he engaged.  He was the largest stockholder in the first Guernsey county bank which was organized at Washington.  When the Central Ohio (Baltimore and Ohio) Railroad was proposed, he was one of its leading advocates.  To encourage the promoters of the railroad to build it down Leatherwood valley instead of across the central or northern part of the county he bought much stock in the company, and became one of its first directors.  As such officer he was succeeded by his son, Isaac W. Hall, who, in turn, was succeeded by his son, the late John R. Hall, benefactor of Quaker City.  At the time of his death, in 1854, John Hall was the wealthiest man in Guernsey county.  In 1906 the descendants of John Hall observed the hundredth anniversary of his coming into the township, near the Quaker meeting-house at Quaker City.

 Joseph K. Hall

Joseph K. Hall

Stories of Guernsey County by Wm. Wolfe Page 1044

     An Eccentric Character.—There died in Wheeling township a few years ago an eccentric character who was known to people in every part of Guernsey county.  His name was Joseph K. Hall, and his age at the time of his death was seventy-six years.  He was born in Wheelingtownship and made his home with a brother near Guernsey.  He never married.

      Joseph K., when a youth, displayed some extraordinary intellectual traits along with his eccentricities. He composed doggerel verse which some of the local papers published to humor him.  Flattered by this recognition, he wandered from place to place and tried to entertain the people who would listen to him, with recitals of his own compositions   He wrote some songs, set them to his own music, and sang them in his own characteristic way.  In rendering his favorite, “Gathering Up Shells from the Seashore,” he would afford much amusement with his excessive gesturing.  He like to be known as “The Guernsey Poet,” or “The Wills Creek Warbler.”

     While Joseph K. Disliked manual labor, he found it necessary to work occasionally in order to live. He would enter upon a task enthusiastically, but seldom completed it. In his traveling over the county he usually wore two or three coats and vests.  He would invariably have a rope around his neck to which a cane was attached.  From the cane hung a stocking which served as a traveling bag.  Being religious, he often quoted the Bible.  In politics he was a staunch Republican, and he liked to argue with those of a different political belief.

     Considering him harmless, people generally throughout the county received Joseph K. kindly on his periodic visits, and frequently gave him meals and lodging, for which he believed he was paying with his entertainment.  He was once photographed in a uniform lent him for the occasion.  This was probably the proudest moment of his life.

Wyatt Hutchison

Wyatt Hutchison

Stories of Guernsey county by Wm. Wolfe Page 548-549

Wyatt Hutchison.—Wyatt Hutchison was proprietor of the Hutchison tavern from 1818 to 1845.  He was son-in-law of John Beatty and came with him to Cambridge in 1803.  Zaccheus A. Beatty, one of the founders of Cambridge, was his brother-in-law.

     Of the early settlers at Cambridge Wyatt Hutchison was one of the most prominent.  He entered land north of the settlement, which afterwards became the Colonel J.D. Taylor farm, now a part of the city.  When the War of 1812 opened he enlisted, becoming first lieutenant in the company organized by Captain Absalom Martin.  Following the war, he served as county commissioner.

     In politics Wyatt Hutchison was a Whig and he worked zealously in the interest of that party as long as it existed.   He was very active in the campaign of 1840.  In religion he was a Baptist. It was mainly through his efforts that the Baptist church had its beginning in Guernsey county.  He became best known, through, as the keeper of the Hutchison tavern.

 Dr. Charles E. Jefferson

Dr. Charles E. Jefferson

Stories of Guernsey county by Wm. Wolfe Page 640-641-642-643-644

Dr. Charles E. Jefferson

     In the list of prominent persons connected with Guernsey county Dr. Charles E. Jefferson is included.  He was born in Cambridge on August 26, 1860, and spent the first eighteen years of his life here.  Thereafter he completed courses in college and university and returned and married a Cambridge girl.  He then located in Massachusetts, and later in New York City.  His death occurred on September 12, 1937.

     Internationally Known.—Statements similar to these might be made concerning many Guernsey county boys who are not mentioned in this series of stories.  But Charles E. Jefferson became known internationally as a preacher, author, and leader in the movement for world-wide peace. In a poll of 25,000 ministers taken in 1924 by The Christian Herald, this  Cambridge boy was chosen as one of the twenty-five most influential preachers in the United States. His utterances from pulpit and platform, as well as passages from his many books, have been quoted throughout America.  For his activities in the movement for World peace he has been praised by statesmen at home and abroad, including Lloyd George, of England.

     Boyhood in Cambridge.—For much of the information that has enabled us to write the following sketch we are indebted to Attorney Fred L. Rosemond, of Columbus, Ohio, a boyhood schoolmate, a college classmate and roommate, and a lifelong friend of Dr. Jefferson.

     Dr. Milton Jefferson, father of Charles E., was a dentist whose office was in a building that stood on the corner until occupied as now by the Central National Bank.  When Charles E. was born the Jefferson family lived in a weather boarded log cabin on East Wheeling avenue, on the site of the present Forsythe building.  On a lot directly across the street Dr. Milton Jefferson later erected a brick residence, doing much of the work himself, as he was a good mechanic.  Charles E., then a strong lad, assisted his father in the work.  This residence still stands, although changed by additions of a new front, and in it is located a Kroger store.

      The father of Charles E. was a tall, large, full-bearded man, calm, strong and capable.  His death occurred many years go, but not until he had seen his son making a mark in the place he would have first chosen for him-the Christian pulpit.  Dr. Milton Jefferson was an officer and pillar in the Cambridge Methodist Episcopal church.

     As a pupil in the Cambridge schools, form which he graduated in 1877, Charles E. perhaps displayed but few of the eminent qualities that characterized him later. However, he was studious and enjoyed speaking in public.   At the time of his graduation form high school the local papers called attention to the literary merit of his oration, and its delivery.  He was rather independent in thought and did not, unless momentarily so to speak, take religion seriously.  There was nothing in his boyhood to indicate that one day he would rank amongst the greatest preachers in America.

     Enters Ohio Wesleyan University.—In the fall of 1878 Charles E. Jefferson and Fred L. Rosemond left Cambridge together to enter Ohio Wesleyan University at Delaware.  Rev. Hollingshead, pastor of the Methodist Episcopal church, followed them down to the station and presented them with church letters and kindly advice.  Mr. Rosemond could not recall that Charles E. had ever taken any active part in church or Sunday school work while in Cambridge. Neither

of the boys was affected much by the religious atmosphere of Ohio Wesleyan.  Jefferson had law in mind and Rosemoand had medicine. Their thoughts and efforts were directed towards the acquisition of such knowledge and training as would fit them for further courses in their chosen professions.  That both boys changed their ambitions, Rosemond switching to the one that had been Jefferson’s, and Jefferson passing to one that was far form the mind of either, was something that neither would have thought possible when first making his choice of profession.

    Aside from his regular studies Charles E. was interested in public speaking and took advantage of every opportunity to improve his oratorical powers.  Mr. Rosemond joked him a good deal about this, but he kept right on, and repeatedly took first place in oratorical contests.  It is said that he took lessons in public speaking long after he had become one of the country’s most famous pulpiteers.  Frank Gunsaulus, an alumnus of Ohio Wesleyan who became eminent in the ministry, was Jefferson’s idol in his college days.

     Influenced by Phillips Brooks.—After graduating from Ohio Wesleyan Jefferson served as superintendent of schools at Worthington, Ohio, for two years, to earn money for a course in law.  He then entered the law department of Boston University.  Phillips Brooks, at the height of his power in that day, was preaching in Boston.  Jefferson went to hear him, and this changed his course in life.   As Mr. Rosemond puts it, “The first time Jefferson heard him (Brooks) preach signaled the fading of the legal profession in his ambition.”  After a little he sought and obtained an interview with the man upon whom he looked with awe and admiration, and he was astonished to find him friendly and as simple as a child.  “He had evidently been fighting the “call” and went to this conference,” Mr. Rosemond says, “entrenched behind the last bulwarks of resistance.”  Years later, Jefferson, having been invited to speak from the same pulpit Brooks had so long empowered and adorned, told how gently but finally Brooks brushed his doubts away.  Dropping the study of law, he entered the Boston School of Theology, often preaching as a supply pastor, and graduated in 1887.

     Dr. Jefferson as a Preacher.—He returned to Cambridge and on August 10, 1887, he married Miss Belle Patterson, daughter of Mr. an d Mrs. James Patterson, then living on East Steubenville avenue, and sister of W. N. Patterson, now residing at 307 North Tenth street.  Rev. W. H. McFarland officiated at the wedding which was attended by fifty guests.  The Jeffersonian of that week referred to the groom as a “remarkably talented young minister of whom the people of Cambridge are justly proud.”

     Immediately following his marriage Dr. Jefferson took charge of the Congregational church at Chelsea, Massachusetts, and remained there eleven years.  Then came a call to the great Broadway Tabernacle in New York City.  Here he remained until his retirement from the ministry in 1929.  This church, situated in the heart of New York’s theatrical district, had obstacles seemingly impossible to be overcome.  Dr. Jefferson, in his brief relations, entitled “Thirty years on Broadway, wrote that to occupy a pulpit for thirty years in this “tumultuous and ever-changing and reputedly godless thoroughfare almost belongs to the category of miracles.”  Of this The New York Times said editorially, “It would indeed seem to one to be almost a miracle if one did not know the subtle power of Dr. Jefferson’s quiet eloquence.”  That same paper repeatedly referred to him as the “Saint of the Great White Way,” and after his death said, “Dr. Jefferson had a longer ‘run’ on Broadway than any actor.

     In his forty-two years in the pulpit he repeated only twelve sermons, and those were repeated by request. Once when his church voted him an increase of salary from $10,000 to $12,5oo per year, he declined the increase on the ground that $10,000 was enough to be paid any preacher.

     Wrote Many Books.—But Dr. Jefferson was more widely known as an author than a preacher.  He was a voluminous writer, having produced some thirty books dealing with religious, moral and social questions.  Among the best known of his works are “Things Fundamental,” “The Minister as Prophet,” “The World’s Christmas Tree,” “My Father’s Business,” “The New Crusade,” “ The Character of Jesus,” “The Cause of the War,” “Christianity and Peace,” and “What the World Has Taught Us.”

     A Leader in the Peace Movement.—He was one of the early leaders in the movement for world peace. In 1922 he represented the Protestant churches of the United States in Great Britain and preached in the leading non-conformist churches of England and Scotland. In recognition of his outstanding ability Yale University, Vermont University, Ohio Wesleyan University, UnionCollege and Oberlin College conferred the degree of Doctor of Divinity upon him.

     Dr. Jefferson’s Family.—Of the three children born to Dr. and Mrs. Jefferson only one, Charles Frederick, survives.  A daughter died quite young and the other son, Ralph, passed away soon after the World War in which he had served. After the death of Dr. Jefferson’s father his mother and two sisters were left in the home on Wheeling avenue.  Presently one of the sisters died, and the other married and moved away.  The mother lived on for a long time.  Dr. Jefferson came often to visit her. After her death he returned occasionally to visit the Patterson family, or in case of sickness or death. On such occasions he repeatedly preached in a local church. His father and mother are buried in the South cemetery.  To Dr. Charles E. Jefferson Cambridge was always home, but his remains lie at Fitzwilliam, New Hampshire, where for several years he made his summer home among the mountains.

Rev. Wm. G. Keil

Rev. William G. Keil

Stories of Guernsey County by Wm. Wolfe Page 969-970-971

Rev. William G. Keil.—For long time service as a Guernsey county preacher Rev. William G. Keil, who lived in Senecaville from 1827 to 1892, dying in the latter year at the age of ninety-three, holds the record.  He established a Lutheran church in Senecaville and was its pastor for forty years.  During all this time and for twenty-five years afterwards he frequently journeyed about many miles form his home and preached in other churches of his denomination.  He was Guernsey county’s pioneer Lutheran and all churches of that faith in the county and several in adjoining counties were either established by him or sprang from ones that were.

     Not only did Rev. Keil establish churches and preach the Lutheran faith, but he also farmed some and took an active part in all local movements that had for their purpose the betterment of the social and moral life of the people.  Out standing in his activities along these lines was his work as an abolitionist before the Civil War. Together with Dr. John Baldridge, Dr. Noah Hill, Dr. David Frame, William Thompson, David Satterthwaite, Daniel Pettay and others he helped from the Senecaville Colonization Society (an organization opposed to slavery) and became its first president.  He assisted many a fugitive slave in his journey to Canada and freedom by way of the Underground Railroad.  Some years before his death Rev. Keil  prepared some notes relative to his life and the early settlement of the Senecaville community, form which we take the following:

     My father, he says, came from Germany to America about the close of the Revolutionary War and settled at Strasburg, Virginia, where I was born in 1799, the year George Washington died.  I was the youngest of three sons of whom the others were Philip and Conrad; the latter died in infancy.  I had five sisters-Rebecca, who died in infancy; Mary Ann, who married George Ederley, of Strasburg; Rebecca (another of same name?), who married Naphtali Luccock; Elizabeth, who married Caleb Chandler, of Strasburg; and Catherine, who married Jeremiah Jefferson, of Cambridge, Ohio.  Around our home at Strasburg was slavery which was hateful to me.

     In 1825 I came to Guernsey county as a missionary of the Lutheran church, and I preached at several places in the valleys of Beaver, Seneca and Buffalo creeks.  Living where the town of Williamsburg (Batesville) is now located were the families of Philip and Daniel Wendle, also William Finley form the Shenandoah valley.  In the Beaver valley were the families of John Cline, Samuel Hastings, Jacob Arick, George Peters, John House and others.  In Buffalo township were the Larricks and Kackleys from Virginia; also the Secrests anf Dysons.  In the valleys of Seneca and Buffalo creeks were Millhones, Mileys, Thompsons, Spaids, Fishels, Stranathans, Robbins, Fryes and others.

     In 1826 I voluntarily returned to Ohio, and on the last day of December, 1827, I arrived at Senecaville on horseback. William Finley, a Presbyterian, took me into his home where I remained for some time.  Senecaville was then a shabby-looking place with a small and shiftless population.  Most of the houses were built of logs, some of which looked as though they were about to topple over. William Thompson and David Satterthwaite had frame houses.  Down by the creek was a salt well near which were several log cabins that were occupied by the wood-choppers and salt-boilers.  In the country roundabout the houses, for the greater part, were cabins of unhewn logs, clapboard roofs, puncheon floors, each cabin with one door, one window and a stick chimney daubed with mud.  The furniture was scant and rude, much of it made by the settlers themselves.  But the people were sociable and helpful to each other, and simple in their habits.

     Churches were few and far between.  At Washington was an indifferent log house in which the Presbyterians held meetings. Circuit riders had been traveling through the creek valleys and had organized a few Methodist classes that met around at private houses.  Within a few years after my arrival I had organized three Lutheran churches.  Schools were scarce and poor.  Those that were kept were subscription schools and most of the settlers were too poor to pay their children’s tuition.  The woods were full of game—deer and wild turkeys—and the streams were alive with fish.

     At the time I came I found a large connection of Thompsons in the neighborhood of Senecaville.  They had come from Chester county, Pennsylvania.  Another early settler was David Satterthwaite who had come from New Jersey in 1814 to occupy a section of land upon which he laid out the town of Senecavilleathe next year.  His father, who was a Quaker, had been here previously and had entered five sections of land which extended down the valley to the forks of Seneca and Buffalo creeks. David Satterthwaite, two years after he came here, commenced boring for salt down by the creek.  His nearest neighbors were Robert Thompson, John Thompson, Jarus Gordon and Thomas Richey, who lived about a mile away.

     Ephraim Dilley, who had fought in the Revolutionary War, came here at an early date.  He was the father of six sons and two daughters. Abraham,,  one of the sons, had nine daughters and one son.  Thomas Richey and his brother George settled on ‘Possum creek in 1812.  George later sold out and moved farther west.  Thomas remained and his descendants are numerous in the neighborhood.

     Until his death Rev. Keil lived on a little farm at the edge of Senecaville.  Long after he ceased to be a regular pastor he would “supply a pulpit” in some church that could be reached conveniently.  He prepared his sermons carefully and preached them in a slow and solemn manner.  Young couples whose parents—perhaps grandparents—had been married by him came to his home to be married.  Over a wide area he visited the sick, conducted funerals and consoled those in bereavement.  He dressed in a manner befitting his profession, as he believed, by wearing a frock coat and silk hat on all special occasions.  Rev. Keil was highly esteemed and his memory will long be revered in the Senecaville community.

John Kirkpatrick

John Kirkpatrick

Stories of Guernsey county by Wm. Wolfe Page 464

John Kirkpatrick.—For the next fourteen years The Jeffersonian was owned, edited and published by John Kirkpatrick.  Born at Middletown, Guernsey country, he attended Miller Academy at Washington, became a teacher at sixteen, graduated from the Cleveland Law School, and began office there, established a pension agency and published a small paper,  The Boy in Blue, which was devoted to the interests of the soldiers.  It was continued for ten years and circulated widely.

     Mr. Kirkpatrick was a political fighter.  While editor of The Jeffersonian he served as a member of the Ohio River Commission, also of the Board of Trustees of the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Orphans’ Home. On account of ill health he sold The Jeffersonian to John M. Amos in 1886, and retired from newspaper work.  Mr. Kirkpatrick died a few months later.

Dr. John McBurney

Dr. John McBurney

Stories of Guernsey county by Wm. Wolfe Page 468

     The Ohio Teacher.—Dr. John McBurney began the publication of an educational periodical in 1880, which he called The Guernsey Teacher.  It was issued from the office of The Guernsey Times.  A small paper of four pages, it was devoted principally to the schools of Guernsey county.  After two years it was enlarged and the name changed to The Eastern Ohio Teacher, and four years later to The Ohio Teacher.

     It was published in Cambridge for nineteen years, during which time it acquired a circulation of nearly two thousand, reaching into most counties of the state. In 1899 Dr. McBurney sold The Ohio Teacher to Henry G. Williams and M.R. Andrews, of Marietta, where it was published for a few years.  It was moved to Athens, Ohio, and later to Columbus, Ohio, where it was published for several years.

     Born on a Guernsey county farm in 1834, Dr. John McBurney attended the country district schools and entered Madison College at Antrim, form which he was graduated in 1859.  Of the five men in the class, four became ministers and Dr. McBurney an educator.

     After leaving college, Dr. McBurney taught in the rural schools a few years, and in July, 1863, entered the Union army.  At the close of the war he became superintendent of the Cambridge schools, which position he held fourteen years.  For twenty-two years he was a school examiner in Guernsey county.  He was one of the founders of the Eastern Ohio Teachers Association.  After leaving the Cambridge schools, he became professor of natural science in Muskingum College, a position he held until 1897, when he retired from teaching.  His death occurred in Cambridge, in 1916.

Rev. Wm. H. McFarland DD

Stories of Guernsey county by Wm. Wolfe Page 389

Rev. William H. McFarland, D.D.

Dr. McFarland Pastor for Forty Years.—The long pastorate of Dr. McFarland has very few parallels amongst the ministers of any religious denomination in this county.  When he came to the church it had a membership of seventy-nine, and the Sabbath school an enrollment of thirty-four.  On announcing his resignation at a service forty years later, he stated that during his ministry he had preached 4,450 sermons in Cambridge, attended 2,820 prayer meetings, made 2,400 public addresses, baptized 621 persons, received 1,384 in membership, preached 700 funeral sermons, solemnized 538 marriages, made ten addresses at golden weddings, made 21,000 pastoral visits, and taught a Bible class almost every Sabbath.

Rev. Wm. V. Milligan

Stories of Guernsey county by Wm. Wolfe Page 383

Rev. William V. Milligan was installed here (Cambridge Presbyterian church) as pastor in 1853. He remained forty-five years, establishing a local record for long service in one church. His influence for good on the people he served and the community generally was very great.

C. Ellis Moore

Stories of Guernsey county by Wm. Wolfe Page 104

  1. Ellis Moore.—For long service in Congress C. Ellis Moore held the record amongst theGuernseycounty members. He served seven terms (March 4, 1919-March 3, 1933).

     Born in Oxford township, Guernsey county, in 1884, he taught in the rural schools there, graduated from Muskingum College in 1907, and from the law department of Ohio StateUniversity in 1910.  Having been admitted to the bar he began practicing law in Cambridge in 1910.  Four years later he was elected prosecuting attorney of Guernsey county.

     For several years Mr. Moore was a member of the judiciary committee.  He was named one of the managers to conduct the impeachment proceedings against George W. Inglish, a United Statesdistrict judge.  This was the seventh time in the history of the country that an impeachment charge had been filed against a district judge.

     In the Roosevelt landslide of 1932 Mr. Moore, a Republican, was not reelected.  He resumed the practice of law in Cambridge, became president of the Central National Bank, and president of the Cambridge Chamber of Commerce.  Mr. Moore died in 1941.  He was buried in Northwood cemetery.

     Some Interesting Notes.—It may be of interest to note that seven of the nine Guernsey county members of Congress were attorneys.  Six of them had been prosecuting attorneys of Guernsey county.  Six of them had taught school.  Four of them had been elected to the state legislature.  Three of them served as mayors of Cambridge.  Only four of the nine were natives of Guernsey county; of the others three were born in Belmont county and two in Pennsylvania.  All are now dead, and all but one are buried in Guernsey county.

Major James W. Moore

Major James W. Moore

Stories of Guernsey county by Wm. Wolfe Page 259

Major James W. Moore.—Born in Wills Township on August 25, 1838, James W. Moore was not yet twenty-three years of age when the call to arms came. He had been educated in the Cambridge public schools and Miller Academy at Washington. At the opening of the war he was living with his parents near Cambridge. Weighing more than 200 pounds, tall, straight, physically sound and active, he was well fitted for a soldier’s life. Recognizing these qualifications and knowing of his intelligence and strong personality, his comrades, when assembled in front of the old court house before leaving for the war, elected him as their captain. During the next three months his company experienced some hard fighting in Virginia. In the meantime President Lincoln had called for more men, asking that at this time they enlist for three years.

Captain Moore went to Columbus to reenlist. Here he was surprised to learn that for meritorious service as a Captain he had been appointed a Major by Gov. David Tod, and assigned to the Ninety-seventh Ohio Volunteer Infantry. When he took his place he found himself to be the youngest field officer in the Second Brigade, Second Division, Fourth Army Corps, under General Wagoner.

Major Moore fought in the Battle of Missionary Ridge, receiving a serious wound on November 25, 1863. When sufficiently recovered for further service he was back with his men and participated in the hard-fought battles between Chattanooga and Atlanta. On June 22, 1864, he had command of the Second Brigade skirmish line at Kenesaw Mountain. While he established and held the Union lines, 122 of his men were killed and wounded within the brief period of one-half hour.

Major Moore was carried from the field with a shattered ankle. He was taken to a hospital where he remained for two or three months, and was then told that because of his crippled condition he would be unable to perform further army service. On September 13, 1864, he was discharged and sent home on crutches.

The following year he married Hannah M. Carlisle and settled on a farm three and one-half miles east of Washington, on the National Road. He enlarged the farm to 400 acres and engaged extensively in stock-raising, at the same time taking an active part in county affairs but never seeking public office. His death occurred in 1915. The farm is now (1942) owned by Mr. and Mrs. E. B. Wallace, Mrs. Wallace being the only living child of Major and Mrs. Moore. The home is generally known as the “Major Moore Place.”

Col. C. P. B. Sarchet

Col. C. P. B. Sarchet

Stories of 
Guernsey county by Wm. Wolfe Page 714-716

     Until his death in 1913, at the age of eighty-five years, C. P. B. Sarchet was a resident of Cambridge.  He saw the place grow from a village composed mostly of log houses and a few hundred people to a city with a population of several thousand.  He attended the common schools of Cambridge, such as they were back in the 30’s, and then took a course in the Cambridge academy which provided instruction beyond the common branches.

     Edited The Guernsey Times.—In 1855 C. P. B. Sarchet and his father purchased The GuernseyTimes which they edited and published for a few years.  After severing his connection with the Guernsey Times, he contributed many articles tot hat publication, to The Jeffersonian, and to The Herald.  These contributions were made occasionally over a period of fifty years.

     His writings, for the greater part, pertained to the early history of Cambridge, and were mostly of a reminiscent character.  When Colonel Sarchet was a boy the original settlers of the town were still there and from them he heard the stories of pioneer days.  Many of these stories would have been lost had they not been written by him and published in the papers.  Local incidents in the early days of his own life were also related in the articles he wrote.

     For forty years Colonel Sarchet engaged in farming.  His interest in agriculture extended beyond the mere tilling of the soil.  He belonged to the various agricultural societies in the county and took an active part in their meetings, especially farmers’ institutes.

     Chosen Colonel.—During the Civil War he did much provost duty in Guernsey county.  He was commissioned a captain by Governor Todd and instructed to organize the militia of the county into three regiments.  Later he was elected colonel of the third regiment—the title by which he was afterwards known.

     Colonel Sarchet possessed a remarkable memory.  He was a ready writer. He was proud of the fact that he was a member of one of the pioneer families of Cambridge, one that was active in the early development of the town, and he was anxious that its history should be preserved.

     His wife was Malvina Moore Sarchet, daughter of Andrew Moore, whose father, Andrew Moore, Sr., came to Frankfort (known as the “Lost Town” of Wills Township) in 1806, and opened a tavern and a blacksmith shop for the accommodation of travelers on Zane’s Trace.  It is due to Colonel Sarchet and members of the Moore family that we now have some history of the “LostTown.”

     Wrote History of Guernsey County.—“Sarchet’s History of Guernsey County” was published in 1910.  This work, consisting of two volumes, one historical and the other biographical, was compiled by representatives of B. F. Bowen and Company, Indianapolis, Indiana, under the supervision of Colonel Sarchet who supplied many articles that he had written for the Cambridge papers.  This is the most complete history of Guernsey county that has been published.  But for Colonel Sarchet it would not have been possible.  A volume was published by T. F. Williams, Cleveland, Ohio, in 1882, called “A Household Guide” to which was an appendix devoted to Guernsey county.  This was subscribed for by those whose biographies appeared in it.   Another biographical work was published in 1895, which like the first was produced for commercial purposes and not the interests of the county.

     Independent in Politics.—Colonel Sarchet was an independent thinker in politics.  During his life he was a Whig, a Democrat and a Republican, supporting the party at an election whose principles most nearly suited his own views.  He was a man of sterling integrity and indefatigable industry.  In his long life he contributed much towards the betterment of Cambridge.

Moses Sarchet

Moses Sarchet

Stories of Guernsey county by Wm. Wolfe Page 627

Moses Sarchet

Born on the Isle of Guernsey in 1803, Moses Sarchet came to Cambridge with his parents, Thomas and Ann Sarchet, in 1806. Here he remained until his death in 1890. He was the last of the original Guernseyites to die.

No other person has been connected with local civic affairs as long as Moses Sarchet was, nor has any other engaged in more different activities. He became assistant clerk of courts of Guernsey county at the age of sixteen, served as such for eight years, and as clerk of courts for fourteen years. He was township clerk township trustee, overseer of the poor, town clerk, mayor of Cambridge for two terms, justice of the peace for twelve years, and a county school examiner. He was resident engineer of the National Road, and a contractor in the construction of the Central Ohio Railroad, in which company he was the largest local stockholder. During the Civil War he was a member of the Guernsey county military and draft commission. He built a home that is said to have caused his defeat when a candidate for membership in the state legislature.

Peter Simpson

Stories of Guernsey county by Wm. Wolfe Page 630-631-632

Peter Simpson

The name at the head of this story will be familiar to some of Cambridge’s older citizens and will call to mind the town’s best known hostler of the “horse-and-buggy days.” Fairview used to know him in the “stage-coach days.” He bowed to Henry Clay on a number of occasions when the old statesman stepped from his carriage at the Bradshaw Tavern; and he likewise paid his respects to William McKinley and other men of distinction, when they were guests at the Morton House.

Horses His Hobby.—Peter Simpson was a negro whose early home was in Brownsville, Pennsylvania. The National Road, which was extended through Guernsey county in 1828, was completed from Cumberland, Maryland, to Wheeling, West Virginia, in 1818. In boyhood Peter’s love of horses drew him to the stagecoach stations where the teams were changed. He became acquainted with the drivers, some of whom permitted him to ride with them across the mountains. He afterwards drove some himself, and in his old age he never tired of telling about his perilous adventures on the old Cumberland Road.

Peter was a brother of Edith Simpson Lucas, widely known as “Aunt Edie, the Fortune Teller,” who, with her husband, came to Fairview, Guernsey county, very early in the last century. A few years after their settling there Peter followed them and became the hostler at the Bradshaw tavern which stood at the east end of the town and was a division point for some of the stage lines. He had fresh teams ready for the drivers when they arrived; he assisted the wagoners in caring for their horses; he directed the drovers in penning their stock for the night.

Peter became one of the best known characters along the National Road. His kindly care of horses was noticeable to the guests at the tavern. Many a weary traveler was cheered by his characteristic good humor and permanent smile. Nothing pleased Peter more than a tavern full of guests, a wagon-lot full of wagons, and a barn full of horses.

Employed by Joseph Morton.—In the 1860’s Bradshaw, who had kept the tavern since the days of Zane’s Trace, sold it to Joseph Morton. Peter remained as hostler. Then the railroad came through Guernsey county and the National Road began to decline. One by one the stagecoach lines went out of business until finally all were gone. The wagoners saw their great loads of tobacco, wool and other farm products carried by rail, and they quit, too. There were fewer and fewer guests at the tavern, fewer horses in the barn, and Peter grieved. Morton sold the tavern which was torn away for the dwelling that now stand on the site. HE moved to a farm in Oxford township, and Peter went along to take care of the horses.

In 1873 Joseph Morton purchased what was then the leading hotel in Cambridge, and came here to operate it. Known now as the Carnes building and used for office purposes, it stands on West Eighth street, opposite the court house. On the corner occupied by the present Central National Bank Building was the Cook hotel. Back of it and fronting on west Eighth street was the hotel barn. The Cook Hotel was closed and the barn sold to N. B. Long who, in 1869, removed the barn and erected a hotel on its site. Until Joseph Morton took charge David Jenkins managed it for Mr. Long. During the former’s long proprietorship it was known as the Morton House. In the rear was a large barn in which were kept the hotel horses and horses of guests. Her Peter again reigned in supreme happiness.

A Familiar Figure.—For the next twenty years or more Peter Simpson was a familiar figure around the Morton House. When he was not sleeping, he always wore a felt or derby hat, and he resented any request to remove it. Unless reference was made to his hat, a subject concerning which he was touchy, he seldom became angry. When he became drunk, which was often in his old age, he would endeavor not to annoy others. Although he swore considerably, nobody took him seriously, as it was more from habit than feeling.

Peter never married. He loved horses and he loved children. A group of the latter he often had about him, entertaining them with stories of the old days on the Cumberland Toad at Brownsville, or at Bradshaw’s tavern. Ever courteous, honest and loyal, old Peter had many friends, some of whom were prominent in political live. For half a century he was hostler at the Bradshaw tavern and the Morton House, during which time he became known to hundreds of travelers.

Peter could neither read nor write. He didn’t know his age. Edith, his sister, was born in 1785 and lived to be ninety. Peter was as old, or older, when he died about fifty years ago.

Lemuel Stillions

Lemuel Stillions

 My Great-Great-Grandfather, Samuel Lemuel “Lemuel” Stillions, was born Oct 4, 1831, in Loudon County, Virginia.  It was in Loudon County, Virginia where he grew to manhood using Lemuel as his choice for name.   His parents were William Stillions and Nancy Ann Slack.  Lemuel left Virginia about 1861 on foot herding a flock of sheep to Guernsey County for his Uncle, Thomas Stillion.  Lemuel arrived, courted and fell in love with his uncle’s daughter Elizabeth E. Stillion.  They were united in marriage on February 12, 1861 in Middlebourne, Guernsey County and began their lives together in Middlebourne (Guernsey County) Ohio.  (Since Lemuel and Elizabeth were first cousins I believe that is why Thomas dropped the s from his name.) Lemuel served in the Civil War of 1862-1865; with Company A, 97th Division, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Grand Army of the Republic.  He enlisted as a private July 18, 1862 and participated in a major battle in Maryland on June 10, 1863.  On June 10, 1865 he was honorably discharged.  Lemuel was a member of the M. E. Church of Middlebourne for over 30 years and Elizabeth was a member for over 50 years.  Lemuel died, May 11, 1898 in Wills Township, Guernsey County.  Elizabeth, his wife was born on February 26, 1837 and died April 8, 1920 in Oxford Township, Guernsey County, Ohio at the age of 83 years 1 month and 12 days.  They both rest in the Carlisle Cemetery, Middlebourne, Ohio

Lemuel had one brother and five sisters, all were born in Loudon County, Virginia.

Adison was born December 14, 1821, married Susanna Sarah Gibson, and died October 13, 1900 in Marion County, Mo.  Ann Marie was born 1823; Elizabeth “Lizzie” born 1824, married a Brown and died in 1907; Mahaley was born 1830, married a Anderson and died June 18, 1871 in Monroe County, Mo.; Nancy was born 1835 and Eliza was born 1837.

Elizabeth E. had seven brothers and four sisters, all born in Virginia except for Lucinda who was born in Guernsey County, Ohio.   Elizabeth’s family came to Guernsey county between 1837-1847.

James was born in 1822, married Lucinda Steel November 24, 1846  in Guernsey County, Ohio; Martin was born February 1824, married Elizabeth Dempsey September 28, 1848 in Lawrence County, Ohio; died 1906 in Scioto, Ohio; Elijah “Ellsworth” was born 1825; married Elizabeth Premea Steel on February 23, 1848 in Guernsey county, his second marriage was to Sarah Jane Steel June 9, 1859 in Guernsey county; William was born April 26, 1827, married Margaret Ann Gallentine August 9, 1849, his second marriage was to Nancy E. Masters Lewis on October 24, 1872 both marriage were in Guernsey County; Erastus was born 1831; John T. was born 1832, married Sarah Erton February 24, 1853 in Guernsey County; George born 1853; Nancy Jane born 1833, married Henry Erton, November 4, 1852; Betsy E. was born 1835; Lucinda was born December 27, 1847, married  Godfrey Kern, December 1885 and died February 21, 1916 in West Branch, Iowa; Mary was born 1851.

Lemuel and Elizabeth had nine siblings.  There were three sons and six daughters.

Rebecca “Jennie” was born November 27, 1861, married John Wesley Gill April 6, 1882 in Guernsey county, died December 1, 1889.  Jennie married the second time to Thomas Thatcher on March 13, 1895.  She died April 2, 1945.

Tracy Ann born December 28, 1862, married Samuel Wesley Woodburn March 4, 1886 and died July 28, 1931.  Thomas William was born November 27, 1864 in Middlebourne, married Elizabeth “Lizzie” Lewis November 22, 1887, his second marriage was to Mary Evaline Markee on December 17, 1917. Thomas died June 22, 1931.  Nancy Esther was born July 17, 1866, married Stacy Taylor March 2, 1892 and died August 3, 1899. Ada Florence “Addie” was born December 18, 1867, married James Bendure October 20, 1892 and died January 7, 1932.  James Abner was born July 11, 1869 in Wills Twp., married Martha “Mattie” Knight October 1, 1891, his second marriage was to Nora E. Bryant Stockwell on June 2, 1914 and died March 25, 1929.  Edward Homer was born October 20, 1871, married Nancy Erskine on November 10, 1892 and died December 11, 1937.  Hattie May was born January 25, 1875, married John W. Taylor September 26, 1896 and died October 22, 1930.  Sade “Sadie” was born November 24, 1877, married Albert Bales on November 27, 1901 and died April 6, 1962.

David D. Taylor

David D. Taylor

Stories of Guernsey county by Wm. Wolfe Page 459-460

David D. Taylor.—For more than thirty years David D. Taylor was connected with the Guernsey Times, so closely during the latter half of that period that to many, the name of one invariably called to mind the name of the other.  Before he acquired a financial interest in the paper he had been employed in the office.  A staunch Republican, he used the columns of his paper in promoting the interests of that party.

     David D. Taylor, a brother of Joseph D. Taylor, was born in Oxford township, Guernsey county, in 1842.  He taught school and served as a Union soldier in the Civil War.  For two terms he represented Guernsey county in the state legislature, where he became popularly known as “Guernsey Taylor.”  He served as county school examiner, county coroner, and postmaster of Cambridge for twelve years.  Through his paper he attacked fearlessly every issue, political or other, that he believed to be wrong.

     Many More Changes in Management.—For a few months after the death of Mr. Taylor his sons managed The Guernsey Times.  It was then sold to J. M. Carr and others.  MR. Carr became manager and editor and continued as such until November 8, 1905, when the paper was purchased by a company headed by W.H. Gregg, who served as managing editor.  Two years later came another change in management, when a controlling interest was acquired by The Times Recorder, of Zanesville, Ohio.  The Republican-Press, a weekly Cambridge paper was taken over also and conducted under the same management.  Frequent changes in editorship followed.  Changes in stock control also occurred.  Under the management of W. O. Moore, who had previously edited The Herald, another Cambridge weekly, that paper was absorbed by The Guernsey Times.  For a few years Edwin L. McMillen was in control.  He was succeeded by N. A. Geyer, the last editor.

     Purchased by the Jeffersonian.—In October, 1919, The Guernsey Times was purchased by The Jeffersonian.  After almost a century the old familiar name ceased to appear at the head of a newspaper.  The two publications that had been competitors in the newspaper field of Guernsey county since the days of Andrew Jackson became one under the name of The Jeffersonian  However, many of the principles as well as the influence of The Guernsey Times did not die; they have continued under the new arrangement.

     The Daily Guernsey Times.—Under the editorship of David D. Taylor The Daily Guernsey Times was established in 1895.  It was published until purchased by The Jeffersonian, for the greater part of the time as a morning paper.

J. Sterling “Sterling T.” Thomas

J. Sterling “Sterling T.” Thomas

Stories of Guernsey county by Wm. Wolfe Page 610-611-612-613

“Sterling T.”

Files of Cambridge papers published in the 80’s, 90’s and the first decade of the present century contain many poems and short articles of criticism signed “Sterling T.” Some of the older citizens will remember the writer as J. Sterling Thomas, an eccentric character of striking appearance, seen daily on the streets. His correct name was J. Smith Thomas, he himself having made the change from Smith to Sterling, as the latter was more suited to the dignity he believed himself to possess.

No prouder man than “Sterling T.” ever walked the streets of Cambridge. With his clean-cut features, gray hair, neatly trimmed beard and courtly bearing, his appearance was not unlike that of artist, actor, poet and diplomat combined. As long as his finances permitted, he dressed immaculately. When walking the streets, he invariably carried a cane. By those who came to know him he was found to be tender-hearted, honest and truthful, and courteous to an extreme.

Descendant of Pioneer Family.—Little was known about the life of J. sterling Thomas, as he kept his past a secret. It was known that his family was connected with the Gomber’s, Beatty’s and Metcalf’s, of pioneer days; that his father, Lambert Thomas, lived in Cambridge in the 30”s and published The Guernsey Times from 1836 to 1839; that “Sterling T.” was born in Zanesville about the year 1845 and years later came to Cambridge from Philadelphia. What had happened in the meantime was not known until after his death.

Lambert Thomas had been a man of some wealth, as such was considered in that day, and the inheritance of “Sterling T.” enabled him to live in style for a few years after coming to Cambridge. He painted pictures, wrote poetry and criticisms, and assumed an air of superiority that placed him in a class to himself. As both an artist and a writer, he displayed much ability. Why he chose to live in Cambridge was not known. Earning but little from painting and writing, he finally became so straitened in circumstances that he took quarters in a single basement room of the Taylor building, and here he lived for the last eight or ten years of his life. However, he retained his pride until the end. On the morning of December 2, 1910, he was found dead in a room of the American hotel which stood near the site of the present postoffice.

A few months before he died he came into the office of The Jeffersonian and handed the editor, John M. Amos, a bulky sealed envelope, with the instructions that it should not be opened until his death had been established beyond a question. On the day of his death the envelope was opened and found to contain the autobiography of J. Sterling Thomas. It is probable that he had a premonition of death, and, knowing that the people were curious concerning his past, took this means of satisfying them. While his life story, as he wrote it, is too long to be given here, we shall sketch it briefly.

Educated in Philadelphia and Europe.—He opens his story by stating that he was born in Zanesville, Ohio, son of Lambert and Catherine Gomber Metcalf Thomas (date of birth not given). When “Sterling T.” was five years old, his parents moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and placed him in a private school. Here, he says, he formed an attachment for a young girl whose name was Zilda Morgan. While in this school, his health was very delicate and his parents feared he would not live to manhood. On account of his health he was taken out of school at the age of sixteen and placed in a wholesale silk house where he remained one year. His father then sent him to Cadiz, Ohio, to work in the clothing store of an uncle. Here he met Hon. John A. Bingham who would have appointed “Sterling T.” to West Point, had his health permitted.

Returning to Philadelphia after a year in Cadiz, he began the study of art and classical literature. When a student in the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, he painted a number of pictures that were exhibited and highly commended by artists and critics. The most of this literary productions of that time were printed in the Waverly Magazine and the Philadelphia Sunday papers.

Presumably to fire his poetical imagination he began drinking, forming a habit that remained through his life. Following a quarrel with his father he went West and tried roughing it for several months, drinking heavily all the time. Returning to Philadelphia, he wrote poetry and articles for Cincinnati, Chicago, and other city papers. After serving a clerkship in the Philadelphia postoffice for a year, he returned to art and literary labors. To further his art education he went to Europe and studied under some of the masters. While there he produced a number of his best pictures.

Not of Royal Birth.—In his youth, he said, he was obsessed with the belief that he was not the child of Mr. and Mrs. Lambert Thomas, but was a scion of royalty whom they had adopted and were passing as their own. On one occasion he accused his mother of this deception, but she painfully impressed upon him in a decisive manner that he was a Thomas and nobody else. As a child he was always morbid and melancholy. His only love affair, he said, was that of his boyhood days. In his literary studies, when a youth, he possessed an insane admiration for Byron and Thackeray.

Religious Belief.—He said that while he rejected some of the important dogmas of orthodox Christianity, he believed in religion and a future existence as a conscious entity, and had little dread of death, save the pain that may attend physical dissolution. Upon the death of Godwin Smith, the scholar whom he greatly admired, he wrote the following lines. They are not included in his autobiography. We found them in an old paper and are presenting them here a speciment of his literary work, and an indication of his religious faith:

“Goldwin, the gates of heaven stand ajar for thee,

Thou knight of old, linked to the man of modern mind;

Thine ancient face the wise and good no more may see,

But in thy works of wisdom truth and beauty find.

“The Scenes of this world’s evil live no more for thee,

To pain they heart, or to receive thy honest scorn;

With all the grace and gladness gone before for thee,

To that fair clime where honor, truth and love were born.

“There, where the good and honest live eternally,

In blest beatitude of mind and heart and soul,

Feeling the rapture of God’s love supernally,

With lofty intellectual life beyond control.”

In closing the story of his life he stated that his long and unintended stay in Cambridge had been due to his getting out of money. It had been very detrimental, as the annoyances he had experienced had affected his health. He requested Mr. Amos to give him as good a character as his conscience would permit, and closed with “Adieu, mon cher ami, jusque au revoir.”

On the day following his death he was buried in the South cemetery beside the bodies of his brother and sister. Six prominent professional and business men were the pall bearers.

Wm. Oxley Thompson

William Oxley Thompson

Stories of Guernsey county by Wm. Wolfe Page 792-793

William Oxley Thompson

In the Peter’s Creek school district of Adams township William Oxley Thompson, son of David G. and Agnes M. (Oxley) Thompson, was born on November 5, 1855. The father was a veteran of the Civil War; the mother was a woman of strong character and much intelligence.

Moves to Cambridge.—At the time William O. was born David G. Thompson was engaged in farming, but being a shoemaker, he soon after moved to Cambridge to work at his trade. Here William O. started to school, his mother being his first teacher. To assist in the support of the family she taught the primary room of the Cambridge schools, then located in the old Masonic building on North Seventh street.

There eventually came to be ten children in the family, of which William O. was the oldest. Eager for a higher education, he entered Muskingum College in 1870. In 1878 he graduated as the honor member of his class. He worked his way through school in the truest sense of that oft used expression. Not only could the family not help him, but he helped support the family at the same time he was struggling for an education. He gave eight years to the completion of a college course that he easily could have finished in four.

Taught in Oxford Township.—During his eight years of college he would drop out frequently to earn money by which to continue his studies. He worked as a farm hand at eight dollars a month, and he taught in rural schools. One of the schools in which he taught was known as “No 4” in Oxford township, a mile southwest of Fairview. Forty years afterwards he visited this little school and donated to it a part of his personal library. In his honor the name of the school was changed to “Thompson.” The schools of the township were later consolidated and this building was removed.

President of Ohio State University.— After graduating from Muskingum College Thompson entered the Western Theological Seminary (a Presbyterian school) at Allegheny, Pennsylvania, from which he graduated in 1882. After preaching a few years at Odebolt, Iowa, and Longmont, Colorado, he came to Oxford, Ohio, as president of Miami University. Eight years later (1899) he was chosen president of Ohio State University at Columbus. Here he served until 1925, when he retired of his own accord. During his administration this institution grew from an enrollment of 1,200 to 12,000 students, thus becoming one of the greatest universities in America.

Dr. William O. Thompson was a leader in the field of education. In 1927 he was chosen Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States. By the chief executives of both Ohio and the United States he was appointed a number of times to serve on important commissions. His counsel was sought in matters of school, church and state. The universal regard in which he was held was outstanding. Contributing to this were several characteristics of the man.

A Natural Leader.—Dr. Thompson was a natural leader. He displayed a boundless energy throughout his entire life. He took an active part in many movements, aside from his regular work, that to him seemed designed for the betterment of society. Possessed of a pleasing voice, and sympathetic and frank in conversation, he became a friend to all whose privilege it was to meet him. His death occurred on December 9, 1933.

Dr. Henry L. Wells

Dr. Henry L. Wells

Article in The Jeffersonian
Dean of 
Guernsey County Physicians, to Be 81

 

  One of this area esteemed physicians, Dr. Henry L. Wells, known a “father” of the Cambridge Rotary Club Crippled Children Program and whose unselfishness in serving others and interest in community affairs are noteworthy, reaches an important milestone Thursday.

     He will be 81 then.  He has been a practicing physician over 54 years, longer than other person active in the profession in Cambridge and Guernsey County.

          Father Practiced Here

     Dr. Wells was born in Newark, Ohio, Dec. 3, 1878, the son of Dr. Levi and Mary Ann Morrison Wells.  Dr. Levi Wells opened an office in Cambridge in 1879, when Henry was three months old.  The father, still remembered with deep respect and affection by old citizens, was a typical country doctor whose income was, at times, meager but who left a heritage more valuable by far than a large estate.

     Dr. Henry graduated from Cambridge High School in 1898, worked his way through medical colleges in Cleveland and interned at City Hospital, Cleveland.  In 1905, he returned to Cambridge and began practicing with his father. In those pre-automobile days, roads in Guernsey and adjoining counties were practically impassable in winter and Dr. Henry, following in his father’s footsteps, traveled with horse and buggy or on foot.  He owned and operated one of the first automobiles in Cambridge but, because of the many perils of the road in those days, he was frequently told to “get a horse.”  Upon one occasion, a well known Quaker City man named John R. Hall, complained to Henry’s father that “your boy will kill himself driving in his auto at a speed of at least 15 miles an hour.”

          Enlisted In Army

     In World War I, he enlisted in the army and was stationed at Camp Dix.  Returning to Cambridge, his practice developed into one of the largest in Guernsey County.  In his long career, he has delivered some 2500 babies.  One of them was delivered in a trailer near where Andrews Motelnow stands on U.S. Route 40 west of town.

          Built Own Hospital

     Always interested in the medical care of people, in 1921 he built a hospital which he named and dedicated to his father and mother.  However, attention to hospital details deprived him of the opportunity to visit the many people who called for him and he sold the Wells Hospital in 1933.  In later years, he was very active in the establishment of Guernsey Memorial Hospital.

     At one time, Dr. Henry, his father and his brother, Dr. Ross, a dentist, shared office space in the same building.

     On Nov. 4, 1908, he was married to the former Bessie Pickens at a home wedding at Scotch Ridge.  They are presently residing at 819 Lakeside Drive.  To this union were born two sons, Dr. Arthur Wells, is a prominent Cincinnati surgeon, and Paul L. Wells, deceased.  They have six grandchildren, Henry, Frederick and Judy Wells of Lore City R. D. 2 and John, Tommie and Diane Wells, all of Cincinnati.

          Office Nurse

     His office nurse, Mrs. Kathryn Burger McNees, started working with Dr. Wells at Wells Hospital in 1921 and worked there for six years until her marriage.  She later came back with Dr. Wells in 1937 and has been with him ever since.

     Dr. Henry holds the Congressional Medal of Merit, the certificate for which was signed by former President Harry S. Truman.  He has also received citations for his work as a civilian during World War II from two former presidents, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman.

     One of the greatest pleasures in the life of Dr. Wells is to see children, once thought hopelessly crippled, walking and finding careers for themselves in all walks of life.  He receives numerous Christmas cards each year form former patients, some of whom he cannot recognize because they have married and changed their names.

     Dr. Wells has been active in work with veterans of the area and is greatly interested in their welfare.  Richard A. Williams, local VA contact representative, has this to say of Dr. Wells:

          He’s Consecrated

     “The veterans of World Wars I and II and the Korean War join together in their praise of Dr. Henry Wells who has helped them in time of emergency, regular examinations and out-patient treatment.  Dr. Wells is a truly blessed and consecrated man.” 

      As for Dr. Wells, his innate sense of modesty will only permit him to say, “I feel very highly rewarded with the respect and confidence that the community seems to have in me.”

     Perhaps this explains why so many of his patients are proud to call him “friend.”

Theodore Wells

Theodore Wells

Stories of Guernsey county by Wm. Wolfe Page 273-274

The Last Soldier of the Civil War.—Theodore Wells, the last Guernsey county soldier of the Civil war was born on March 1, 1846, and died in Cambridge on December 29, 1941, almost ninety-six years of age.  He was buried in a cemetery at Cadiz, Ohio.  For two or three years prior to his death he was this county’s only veteran of the war.  He was long active, both physically and mentally, and less than two weeks before he died he participated in a parade which officially opened the sale of bonds in Guernsey county for the second World War.

     After several futile attempts to enlist for service in the Civil War he was accepted before he was eighteen years of age, and sent to Chattanooga, Tennessee, where he joined Company F of the Ninety-eighth Ohio Volunteer Infantry.  He was with Gen. William T. Sherman on his march to Atlanta.  At Kenesaw Mountain he was shot in the side, the ball passing through his body and killing the soldier behind him.  He was taken to a Chattanooga hospital where he remained until he was able to be sent to a hospital in the North.

     His wound healed and he was anxious to join his company.  In the meantime General Sherman had taken Atlanta and was on his march to the sea.  Wells went to New York and embarked on a ship sailing to Savannah; here he expected to join his comrades.  The ship was wreaked off the coast of North Carolina.  For several days Wells and some others waded the swamps with nothing to eat except raw clams and oysters.  When they finally reached dry land they learned that General Sherman had taken Savannah and was on his way north with the army, that he had passed through that county several days before.  Wells followed as rapidly as possible, but before he overtook the Union soldiers Lee had surrendered and the war had ended.  He continued to Washington, however, and participated in the grand review of the Union army.

     After the war Mr. Wells engaged in business for a while in Senecaville.  For about twenty-five years he farmed in Knox and Adams townships.  His first wife died in 1931, and, in 1939, when he was ninety-three years of age, he married Mrs. Amanda Howell Kennedy.  He was long an active member of the Grand Army of the Republic, serving as a post commander for several years. A few years before his death he was elected Ohio Commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, the highest state honor his comrades of the Civil war could bestow upon him.

Joseph W. White

Joseph W. White

Stories of Guernsey county by Wm. Wolfe Page 590

Joseph W. White

     Joseph W. White was born in Cambridge in 1822.  He attended the common schools, such as they were in that day, and was a student for one term in the Cambridge Academy.  This was a chartered educational institution on North Seventh street, with studies a little beyond the common branches.  For a short time he held a position in a newspaper office in Columbus.  Returning to Cambridge he read law, teaching school in the meantime.

     One year after being admitted to the bar, he was elected prosecuting attorney of Guernseycounty, by the Democrats, and reelected in 1847.  For many years he was a leading member of the Guernsey county bar.   Two prominent attorneys of fifty years ago, Judge E. W. Mathews and Judge J. W. Campbell, had been his law students, and with each of them he was a law partner.

     Elected to Congress.—In 1862 he was the Democratic candidate for Congress of the Sixteenth district which then was composed of Tuscarawas, Harrison, Guernsey and Noble counties.  His Republican opponent, whom he defeated, was John A. Bingham.  Although Mr. Bingham was a candidate for congress several times before 1862, and at least three times afterwards, this was the only time he was ever defeated.  Mr. White served but one term.

     In the celebrated Brough-Vallandigham campaign of 1863, Mr. White, then a member of Congress, took an active part, not only in Guernsey county, but in several parts of the state. His ability as a campaigner was recognized by his party and his services as such were sought.

     An Enterprising Citizen.—At all times he took much interest in local civic affairs.  He was a member of the board of education, a member of the council and mayor of the town.  It was while he was mayor that the Town Hall was built.  That the Cleveland and Marietta Railroad might be completed through Guernsey county, he contributed much time and money.  Joseph W. White was a valuable Guernsey county citizen of the last century.