G.C. Ehlerman, of Fulda, is one of the most enterprising business men of Noble County. He came from Germany in 1866, at the age of nineteen, and settled in Miltonsburg, Monroe County, where he clerked in a store, having previously served an apprenticeship at that business in his native land. In 1868 he came to Fulda and entered the employ of John S. Hohman. He afterward bought the latter's stock of goods (Mr. Hohman having failed for a large amount), and has since done a large and successful business. He also purchased Mr. Hohman's tobacco warehouse and began dealing extensively in tobacco. The warehouse and its contents were destroyed by fire in May, 1886, involving a loss of $10,000. Mr. Ehlerman has since erected a new building, the best of the kind in eastern Ohio. He has also a large and commodious store, an elegant residence and seventy-five acres of land. He packs from 200 to 300 hogshead of tobacco per year and deals extensively in wool, handling about 80,000 pounds annually. Mr. Ehlerman is a Catholic. He is at present serving as township trustee. He was married in 1873 to Mary E., daughter of John S. Hohman, and has six children: Mary, Julia, Frederick, Cecilia, Christian and Ernest.

History of Noble County, Ohio Published by L.H. Watkins & Co. of Chicago 1887
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David Harper, father of Abraham Harper, came from Pennsylvania and settled in Guernsey County about 1820. In 1833 he removed to Stock Township, and about 1852 to the vicinity of Dexter City, where he died in 1875. His children were Rhoda (deceased), John J., Elizabeth (deceased), Isaac N., Abraham, George W., William B. (a member of the Seventy-seventh Ohio Volunteer Infantry, killed at the battle of Saline), Michael (a soldier in the same regiment), and Mary A. The father was a school-teacher for many years.

Abraham Harper was born in Stock Township in 1837. In 1857 he married Amanda, daughter of Obed Ackley, an early settler. Children: Columbus M., Mary E. (Matheny). Mr. Harper has served in various township offices and is at present a justice of the peace. The family belong to the Christian church.

History of Noble County, Ohio Published by L.H. Watkins & Co. of Chicago 1887
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Joseph Smith and family, from Chester County, Pa., settled on Olive Green Creek in 1824, and about 1833 removed to Noble Township, where he died in 1860 at the age of eighty-three. Mr. Smith was the father of four children: Thomas G., John, Joseph and Margaret. He was a preacher of the Baptist denomination. His son John, now a resident of Enoch Township, came to Ohio with his parents. In 1837 he married Mary J. Cain, daughter of William Cain. Children: Elizabeth C., Landon R., Van Buren and Joseph L. Mr. Smith is a prominent farmer having two hundred acres of land, which he purchased and improved himself. His children all reside in this county. He has served as township trustee. His maternal grandfather, Thomas Green, was a soldier in the Revolutionary War.

History of Noble County, Ohio Published by L.H. Watkins & Co. of Chicago 1887
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John Boyd, son of Thomas Boyd, was born in Belmont County in 1819. His father, a native of Pennsylvania, came to Ohio when a boy, married Agnes Miley in Belmont County, and in 1822 settled near the present town of Sharon. His children were Mary (Archibald), Rebecca (Roberts), Margaret, Nancy (Parrish), Ann (Parrish), John,Miley and Robert - of whom Ann, John and Robert are living.

John boyd settled on his present farm in 1841, beginning with seventy-eight acres, and adding to it until at one time he owned 930 acres, part of which he has since given to his sons. Mr. Boyd was married in 1841 to Margaret Shepard, of this county. Their children are Thomas, George, Robert (deceased), Sarah E. (deceased), Lafayette, Theodore and John N. Mr. Boyd follows farming and the raising of fine stock. The family are members of the United Presbyterian church.

History of Noble County, Ohio Published by L.H. Watkins & Co. of Chicago 1887
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William McBride was born in Pennsylvania, and came to Harrison County about 1816. In 1833 he removed to Enoch Township, and entered two hundred acres of land where his son Martin now resides; he lived upon his farm until his decease in 1871. By his first marriage there were four children: John, Mary A. (dead), Samuel and Martin. Martin was born in Carlisle, in 1832. He married in 1856 Miss Jane Swainey. They had two children, Abigail and Uriah. The former died in her eighteenth year; the latter married Miss Alice Davidson. Mr. McBride enlisted December 25, 1861, in the Twentieth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He was engaged in the following battles: Fort Donelson, Shiloh, Fort Gibson, Vicksburg, Atlanta, Ga., Corinth, and many of the minor engagements. At Atlanta he was hit by rebel bullets eighteen times. He was on detached service as a sharpshooter, being one of the best marksmen in the regiment. He served his term and was honorably discharged. He is a representative of one of the oldest families in the county, and is an honorable and useful citizen.

History of Noble County, Ohio Published by L.H. Watkins & Co. of Chicago 1887
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Rev. Damian Joseph Kluber - The history of St. Mary's church and the life of Father Kluber are so inseparably connected that neither is complete without the other. To the upbuilding of society he gave a life of passionate earnestness and self-sacrificing effort. His devotion to his interests and the spiritual and temporal welfare of his people has bee rarely excelled. Like his Master, his life was spent in doing good. His abnegation and entire disregard of his personal welfare were the primary cause of his early death. He was born December 20, 1837, at Fulda, Hesse-Cassel, Germany. His father was an intelligent gentleman of the middle class, who died when Damian Joseph was a small boy. In his youth he evidenced a studious disposition, which was fostered by his mother. He entered the seminary at his native place, where he obtained a thorough classical education. In 1857 he came to America, and, having decided to make ministry a life's vocation, entered "Mt. St. Mary's of the West," at Cincinnati, Ohio, where he was ordained in June of 1860 by most Rev. J.B. Purcell, archbishop of the diocese. In July of the same year he was given the Fulda church, with the adjoining missions in Monroe, Washington and Noble Counties. All his visits to the different points of his parishes were made in the saddle, and it can be said of him, as of the early missionaries, that "the saddle was his chair and his bed." Continuous riding in the saddle over rough roads caused hernia, which was the primary cause of his decease. In 1865 he was relieved of the missions in Monroe County, and in 1871 of the missions at Harriettsville and Fox's settlement. There still remained, however, a great deal of horseback riding for him to do; his disease grew worse, and attended with more danger. One day in February, 1883, he stared for Caldwell; the roads were in terrible condition; his business he thought to be imperative, as he had collected a fund for the relief of the poor people in Europe (whose country had been devastate by floods) which he desired to remit at once. He arrived in Caldwell, but was there attacked with strangulation, from which he died February 20, 1883, in the forty-sixth year of his life.

He was visited during his illness by Rt. Rev. Bishop Watterson, who, despite the condition of the roads and the inclemency of the weather, attended the funeral and witnessed the grief of his spiritual children, to whom he hd been a father and a teacher. His pastorate embraced a period of twenty-three years, in which time he built the present church edifice and a parochial residence and school, and brought the congregation to its present permanence and prosperity. A beautiful monument, erected by his congregation, marks his resting-place. Although dead, he still lives in the hearts of those he was associated with. He is remembered by all who knew him as a Christian gentleman, whose great kindness of heart and the all-absorbing love he possessed for the work he was called to do cut short his earthly existence in the prime of life.

History of Noble County, Ohio Published by L.H. Watkins & Co. of Chicago 1887
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John B. Hill - John D. Hill, the father of the subject of this notice, was born in Mittlebach, Hessen, Germany, in 1810. In 1834 he came to this country in company with John Schoeppner, and together they settled in Wheeling, W. Va. In 1838 Mr. Hill came to Noble County and entered forty acres of land in Enoch Township, returning to Virginia, where he worked one year to obtain money with which to enter another forty. Afterward he sold his purchases and bought eighty acres, upon which he resided for many years. He died in April of 1880, aged seventy years. He married Miss Ottilla, daughter of John Schoepper, who was his fellow passenger from Germany and one of the first German settlers of Enoch Township. He had a family of seven children: John, Catharina, Anna B., Leonard, Barbara, Eva and John B. The latter was born in 1850, and married, in 1872, Miss Mary F. Raush, and has a family of eight children: Rosa, Aloysius, Joseph, Eva, Catherine, George, Peter and Ottilla. He is one of the leading German farmers of the county, owning the old homestead, to which he has added seventy-five acres, making a fine farm of 237 acres, under good improvement and with good buildings. For some time he has made sheep growing a specialty. Like his father, he is a Democrat in politics and a Catholic in religion. Both have been generous supporters of church enterprises, and aided in the erection of St. Mary's church.

John B. has for six years been a justice of the peace. He is a prosperous farmer and an esteemed citizen.

History of Noble County, Ohio Published by L.H. Watkins & Co. of Chicago 1887
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In 1812 John House and family came from Greene County, Pa., accompanied by House's brother-in-law, Thomas Ball. They came with teams, cutting their own road from Leatherwood Creek. James Eagon had settled in 1811 on the farm next below where House located. John House served as justice of the peace for eighteen years. Prior to this, Edward Bell, who lived on Leatherwood Creek within the present limits of Guernsey County, had held the same office for the township. John House built a log-mill upon the creek as early as 1816, and afterward erected a saw-mill. The grist-mill was afterward twice rebuilt, and the last one erected is still standing. Mr. House died in1856. Nathan House, born in Greene County, Pa., in 1810 has lived in Beaver Township since 1812, and has a vivid recollection of the hardships and experiences of pioneer life.

Some years after James Eagon came to the township, his brothers, Jesse and Bernard, came out from Pennsylvania and settled, bringing out also their father, Bernard Eagon.

History of Noble County, Ohio Published by L.H. Watkins & Co. of Chicago 1887
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John Joy and his sons, Abaslom and Amos, were among the pioneers of the township. They came from the vicinity of Wheeling, and before coming to Beaver lived a short time in Seneca Township. After a number of years they removed to Federal Creek, in Morgan County, where the village of Joy was named for them.

History of Noble County, Ohio Published by L.H. Watkins & Co. of Chicago 1887
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In 1824 Isaac Cooper came from Virginia, bringing his family and his household good in a two-wheeled cart drawn by two horses hitched tandem. His son, W.K. Cooper, is now a carpenter in Batesville.

History of Noble County, Ohio Published by L.H. Watkins & Co. of Chicago 1887
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In 1818 William W. Finley came from Belmont County with his family and bought a farm, on which his son-in-law, James Reed, laid out the village of Batesville, which for many years was known as Williamsburg. He had a family of eleven children, seven of whom are now living. He died in the township in 1836, his wife in 1874 at the age of eighty-five. The second daughter, Margaret, was born in Belmont County, Ohio, in 1811. She married James Reed, who came to the county about 1827 or 1828. He followed teaching for a livelihood. He was the first store-keeper of Batesville; his stock ($160) was hauled from Wheeling, W. Va., in a one-horse wagon. He did business for about five years, when he bought a farm in Buffalo Township, where he lived until 1832, when he removed to Senecaville. In 1852 he purchased the farm now owned by his son, Sylvester, in Center Township. Here he lived until his decease, in May of 1872. He had a family of six children: Lovina (Rich), Ellen A. (Vorhies), Isabelle (Williams), Caroline (Arndt), Rebecca A. and Sylvester. Mr. Reed was a good citizen and an exemplary man in all respects. In politics he was a Republican; he belonged to the Methodist church.

History of Noble County, Ohio Published by L.H. Watkins & Co. of Chicago 1887
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Jacob Brown, a native of Virginia, came from Belmont County to this township in 1819. His son, Squire Brown, born in 1807, is among the old residents of Batesville.

History of Noble County, Ohio Published by L.H. Watkins & Co. of Chicago 1887
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John S. Jeffries was born in 1792. In 1815 he emigrated from Chester County, Pa., and settled on the farm on Beaver Creek, where he died in 1872. He was a man greatly esteemed in the community, where he spent the greater part of his long life. He left a large number of descendants.

History of Noble County, Ohio Published by L.H. Watkins & Co. of Chicago 1887
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John and James Reed were probably the first permanent settlers of the township. They were from New Jersey, and settled in 1804.

James B. Reed lives on the farm entered by his grandfather. His father was born on the same farm in 1808 and died in 1869. He was thrice married and was the father of seventeen children.

James B. Reed was born April 6, 1837, and has followed farming and stock-dealing. He was married in 1858 to Harriet C. Fowler of Belmont County. Their children are Mary Arilla and Clara Alice. Mr. and Mrs. Reed are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. He is a Democrat and had held several township offices.

History of Noble County, Ohio Published by L.H. Watkins & Co. of Chicago 1887
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Joseph Carpenter, the pioneer, was a native of Virginia, and for two years served in the Revolutionary War. He lived near Moundsville, and he and his family encountered many dangers from hostile Indians. He came to Belmont County, Ohio, about 1806, and a few years later removed to this township, where he died in 1849. His son Robert was born in Virginia in 1796, and came to Ohio with the family. He was a pioneer settler on the farm now owned by his son, J. Wesley Carpenter. He died in 1881. He was a member of the Methodist church for thirty-five years. He was prominent as a farmer and stock-raiser, and excelled in raising tobacco.

J.W. Carpenter was born in Beaver Township August 31, 1848, and is among the leading farmers and breeders of fine stock. Since 1883 he has been engaged in breeding fine Merino sheep and graded Poland-China hogs. Mr. Carpenter is a leding member and officer of the Methodist Episcopal church. He married Mary M. Garvey, of this county, in 1873, and has three sons and three daughters.

History of Noble County, Ohio Published by L.H. Watkins & Co. of Chicago 1887
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Daniel Wendall was a Virginian, of German descent. He moved from Shenandoah County, Va., to Ohio in 1819, settling with his family on the farm now occupied by his sons Harrison. Philip Wendall, an older brother of Daniel, had settled in the township some years previously. Harrison Wendall was born in Virginia and came to this county with his parents. He aided his father in clearing up the farm on which he now lives. He married Melissa E. Hopkins, of Batesville, in 1841. Children: Lucy, Daniel, William and Mary (deceased), Joseph, John K., Charles, Franklin and Hattie. Mr. and Mrs. Wendall belong to the Lutheran church.

History of Noble County, Ohio Published by L.H. Watkins & Co. of Chicago 1887
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Samuel Wyscarver, from Greene County, Pa., settled in this township in 1828, and his son Jacob in 1830. The latter is one of the leading farmers of the county. He made his first purchase of land (seventy-three acres) in 1843. To this he has made additions, so that he now owns almost one thousand acres of the best land in the county. He has upon his land five dwelling houses and the best of improvements. In 1839 Mr. Wyscarver married Rhoda, daughter of Daniel Wendall, an early settler. They have had twelve children, eleven of whom are living.

History of Noble County, Ohio Published by L.H. Watkins & Co. of Chicago 1887
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Samuel Hastings, from Frederick County, Va., was of Irish descent. He came to Belmont County in 1822, and two years later entered the land on which his son Hiram now lives, and removed to it in the fall of 1824 cutting his way through the wilderness. Having built a cabin, the family moved in before there was any floor or chimney; afterward he made a floor of puncheons and built a chimney of sticks and mud. When Mr. Hastings entered his land at Marietta he had only $1.50 left, and with this he purchased three bushels of wheat. Until a crop could be secured the family lived chiefly on corn bread. In spite of hardships and difficulties he succeeded in securing by his labor a comfortable home. Mr. Hastings died in 1863 in his sixty-sixth year. He was one of the organizers of the Lutheran church at Batesville and was a friend of public improvements. He was the father of two sons and two daughters.

Hiram Hastings, a well-known and prominent citizen, was born on the farm where he now lives, April 23, 1829. He has held several township and church offices, and is an active, energetic and respected citizen.

History of Noble County, Ohio Published by L.H. Watkins & Co. of Chicago 1887
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William Deal came from Calvert County, Md., about 1835, and settled on the farm now owned by John H. Deal. He was the father of two sons and eight daughters. Nine of his children are still living. Mr. Deal died in 1880 in his eighty-fourth year. He was a leading Methodist and an anti-slavery man. John H. Deal and William are his sons. The former was a captain of militia during the Morgan raid.

History of Noble County, Ohio Published by L.H. Watkins & Co. of Chicago 1887
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James Lowrey was born near Winchester, Va., in 1811, and came in 1845 to the farm on which he now resides. He is a blacksmith by trade and for many years had the only shop in his neighborhood. In 1831 he married Sarah Hall of Belmont County. They have had nine children, seven of whom are living. He is a Republican and has held several township offices.

History of Noble County, Ohio Published by L.H. Watkins & Co. of Chicago 1887
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Lewis Hunt, a prominent farmer, is the son of Henry Hunt, and was born in Belmont County in 1844. He came to the farm he now occupies in 1845. He has followed farming and stock-raising and dealing in stock and wool. In 1865 he married Julia A., daughter of James M. Griffin, of this township. They have had three children. Mr. Hunt is a member and officer of the Methodist Episcopal church.

History of Noble County, Ohio Published by L.H. Watkins & Co. of Chicago 1887
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William Douglas was born in Ireland in 1792, and died in Noble County in 1871. He settled in Pennsylvania and there served in the War of 1812. He came to this township in 1833. He held several township offices and was justice of the peace. He was elected to the legislature in 1842. He was an earnest friend of churches and schools, and a leading Methodist. He was the father of twenty-one children by two wives. Seven are still living. Vachael Douglas, a prominent farmer, was born in Beaver Township in 1833. He married Sarah A., daughter of James P. Reed, in 1856 and has three children living. Mr. Douglas is a Methodist. He has served in several township offices.

History of Noble County, Ohio Published by L.H. Watkins & Co. of Chicago 1887
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William Douglas, son of William, Sr., was born in this township in 1840. In 1863 he married Sidney A. Finch of Belmont County. They have four sons and eight daughters, all living. Mr. Douglas has held several township offices and is a trustee of the Methodist Episcopal church.

History of Noble County, Ohio Published by L.H. Watkins & Co. of Chicago 1887
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Richard Coultas came to this township in 1828, from Pennsylvania. He died in 1872 at the age of eighty-two. His son Robert is one of the successful farmers of the township. He married in 1847, a daughter of William Dement, one of the pioneers of Monroe County, who carried the mail from Wheeling to Cincinnati in 1810-15.

History of Noble County, Ohio Published by L.H. Watkins & Co. of Chicago 1887
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John Hague, from Fayette County, Pa., settled in Wayne Township about 1812, and died about 1842. His son, Joseph, came to this county when about eight years old, and has since resided here. He is now eighty-one years old. Taylor Hague, of Beaver Township, was born in Wayne Township in 1831. He married Margaret, daughter of Thomas Marlow, and they have four children living.

History of Noble County, Ohio Published by L.H. Watkins & Co. of Chicago 1887
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Thornton D. Petty is of Virginian parentage. His father and mother came from Jefferson County in that State, settling in Beaver Township in 1821. T.D. Petty is one of a family of eight children, two of whom are dead. He was born February 14, 1832, and is still living on the farm entered by his father. In 1858 he married Eleanor D. Harris, of this township, who died in 1876. They had one child: Mary Emma, who is living. Mr. Petty is a Republican. The family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Rev. Ludwell Petty, well known in this county as a minister of the Methodist Episcopal church, was his brother. His mother was a cousin of General Robert E. Lee.

History of Noble County, Ohio Published by L.H. Watkins & Co. of Chicago 1887
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Isaac Cooper, a native of Virginia, settled in this township in 1824. He was born in the Shenandoah Valley in 1799. He died in Vinton County, Ohio, in 1882. He was a substantial farmer and a worthy citizen. He was the father of Sarah (Hastings), William K., Isaac N., Azariah C. and Francis R., two of whom, Azariah C. and William K., reside in this county.

Azariah C. Cooper was born in Beaver Township in 1841. He was reared on a farm and learned the carpenter's trade. In 1861 he enlisted in Company D, Forty-second Ohio Volunteer Infantry, in which he served four years. In 1883 he was elected county treasurer, and was re-elected in 1885. He married Miss Lucy Gebhart, and is the father of eight children.

History of Noble County, Ohio Published by L.H. Watkins & Co. of Chicago 1887
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Hon. Abraham Simmons was for many years a prominent citizen of this township and county. He was born on the eastern shore of Maryland in January, 1816. In 1833, when a lad of seventeen, he came to Barnesville on foot, and after remaining there a short time, he became a resident of Batesville and followed the tobacco business. He was afterward quite extensively engage in the mercantile business.

Mr. Simmons was a thoroughly self-made man. At the age of seventeen he had never attended school; but by his own efforts he became well informed and a good man of business. He was a Republican and took an active part in politics. In 1856-7 he represented Guernsey County in the legislature and was regarded as an able and efficient member. In 1868-9 he was State senator from the Fourteenth District, composed of Washington, Morgan and part of Noble Counties. From 1861 to 1865 he was treasurer of Noble County. Every worthy public interest found in him a zealous friend. He was one of the most prominent and active members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and took a deep interest in religious matters. He married Nancy, daughter of William Anderson, of Beaver Township, in 1839, and reared seven children. Two of his sons gave their lives in defense of their country: William C., the elder, died at Bolivar, Tenn., in 1862; Thomas V. was captured near Cumberland Gap, and died at Belle Isle prison in 1864. Soon after the death of Thomas, a daughter, Rachel, was thrown from a horse and killed. The loss of these children was a severe blow, from the effects of which he did not recover. Mr. Simmons died April 27, 1875. Three of his children are living: Mrs. C. Foster, Clarence C. and Anna (Glidden).

History of Noble County, Ohio Published by L.H. Watkins & Co. of Chicago 1887
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George Robert Atkinson, merchant, is the second of a family of seven children born to Mr. and Mrs. George B. Atkinson, who were natives of eastern Virginia. George R. came to Ohio with the family in 1836, settling near Morristown, Belmont County. He taught school in early life, but since arriving at manhood has been engaged in the mercantile business. In 1879 he was elected to the legislature from Belmont County. In 1881 he removed to Batesville, his present location. He is a Democrat and has recently been appointed postmaster. In 1874 he married Mary Wendall, of Batesville, who died in 1877. In 1882 he married Viola M. Reed, of this township. They have two children: Mary C. and Carrie L.

History of Noble County, Ohio Published by L.H. Watkins & Co. of Chicago 1887
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Frank M. Atkinson was the third son of George B. Atkinson, who came from eastern Virginia. He was born in Boston, Belmont County, Ohio, in 1837. In 1882 he married Josephine Sharkey, of Batesville, who died in the same year. Mr. Atkinson was a man of rare ability as a speaker, and of the most agreeable social qualities.

History of Noble County, Ohio Published by L.H. Watkins & Co. of Chicago 1887
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Hon. F.M. Atkinson, for many years one of the most prominent and enterprising business men of the county, was a native of Belmont County. He came to Batesville in 1869, and built up a flourishing business as a merchant. He was one of the principal organizers of the Batesville bank, and was its first president. For several years he was greatly interested in railroad matters. He served as president of the Cincinnati, Wheeling & New York Railroad, and secured the extension of that road to Campbell's Station. He was a Democrat in politics, and in 1880-1, served as State senator from the Nineteenth District.

History of Noble County, Ohio Published by L.H. Watkins & Co. of Chicago 1887
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D.C. Goodhart, merchant is of Virginia parentage. His father and mother were born and married in Loudon County, Va. His father settled in Muskingum County, Ohio, in 1835. D. C. Goodhart came to Batesville in 1846. He has followed tailoring and the mercantile business, and is at present engaged in the latter. He married, first, Mary A. Van Horn, of Monroe County, who died in 1853. By this union he had two children, both of whom are deceased. For his second wife he married Mrs. Mary A. Sullivan, of Batesville. Children: Willeann, fie of Jerome Shively; Emma L. and Jerome Henry Clay.

History of Noble County, Ohio Published by L.H. Watkins & Co. of Chicago 1887
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Deb Murray