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PIONEER HISTORY OF CAMDEN TOWNSHIP, LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO

(By Dr. F. E. Weeks, Kipton, Ohio)

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Pages 41 - 50


Gibson, Lorenzo Dow, no kin of the other Gibsons, as known, bought of William Scott the Steve Cowie farm in 1849 and sold it to Charles McCotter in 1854. He married, 1st, Jennette Scott, daughter of William Scott, and she died quite young. He had children, Irene [Penny], died in Berlin. Net, died in Norwalk. Milo, who married 1st, Zetta, daughter of Nelson Twining, 2nd a Messmer girl. He lived in Kipton, Norwalk, etc., and is deceased. Dow Gibson married a second wife and children. He lived in Berlin, Wakeman, etc.

GIFFORD, WILLIAM SIDNEY, born Feb. 8, 1821, married Isabella, daughter of Rev. John Cannan, and lived on the Charles Hill farm, the east part of which he bought in 1854. He died Jan. 5, 1899. His wife was born Aug. 31, 1824 and died March 1, 1890. Their children were: LaFayette, born May 16, 1852, married Oct. 19, 1874. Matilda, daughter of Solomon Searls, and had children, Sarah Ann, born in Oberlin Aug. 3, 1875, married Mahlon Brown Mar. 30, 1897, and Mrs. Warren. He married twice more. He was killed in a railroad accident in Cleveland Nov. 15, 1898. His daughter was brought up by Mr. and Mrs. Cawin Cannan, and married Aubrey Searles, and is deceased. Mary Ann, who married William Eastman. Fremont, known as "Colonel Gifford", never married and lived near the Cannan schoolhouse. Martha Washington ["Mattie"], born Feb. 22, 1859, married, March 13, 1879, George Tennant, son of David R., and lived in Manger, Michigan. Grant married Hattie Rose and lived in Pittsfield, Ohio.

GILES, MARTIN, bought the north part of the Hoffhein farm in 1844. Mary, his wife, died Feb. 9, 1867, at the age of 24. A son of Martin Giles died in 1857.

GILLETT, D. N. lived here in 1854, 1857 and 1866.

GILLETT, WILLAM, lived here in 1845.

GLYNN, HENRY F., lived on the Bricker farm, and moved to Pittsfield. Elbert was his son.

GOODRICH, EZEKIEL, owned the Mandeville farm in 1847.

GREEN, LLOYD, born in 1821, came from Kinso [Kinsua], Pa. He lived near the Little Lake in Camden, then in Wakeman, then on the Tom Sells farm, 51 acres of which he bought in 1857, then to the Horace Green farm, 30 acres of which he bought in 1858. He died in 1912. Sally, his wife, born in 1825, died in 1909. He had children, Mary, married Wesley C. Fay Aug. 22, 1866. They lived in Michigan, where he died and she then went to Oregon. Rosina, married Montgomery Bell and lived in Michigan. Sterling, married, 1st, Lettie Wells, of Michigan, 2nd, Julia E. Welch, daughter of Daniel. [His children were Ida, Ada, Lloyd, Horace, Pearl, Mabel, Earnest and Orrie.] Malvina, married Lewis Searles. Florence married Asher Gibson. Horace, married Bessie Radcliffe and lives on the home farm.

GREEN, FREEMAN, was a school director in Camden in 1858. His first wife was a Bristol, his second one was Mary Jane Fenn. He lived in Clarksfield, Brighton, etc. George Green of Brighton, is a son. Freeman Green was a very good drummer and he and Hugh Mosher, used to make some very fine fife and drum music.

GROATT, MRS. HANNAH, widow of David, came to Camden in 1855, purchasing the small place just east of Camden, where her daughter, Tura, lived, and where she died Dec. 20, 1896. She was born in 1810, the daughter of Nodia and Sarah Marshall. She lived near Saratoga Springs, N.Y., and married David Groatt in 1830. They lived in Cato, Cayuga County, N.Y., until the spring of 1853, when they removed to Birmingham, Ohio, where he died Sept. 25, 1854. They had children, Sarah A., who married James VanDusen, of Camden. Hannah who died young. Mary, born at Butler, Wayne County, N.Y., June 2, 1836, married, Oct. 8, 1856, John J. Denman, of Florence, and died Sept. 3, 1871. Susan, born April 29, 1838, married, June 23, 1867, Franklin Hale, of Wakeman, and died June 4, 1915. Ketura, died young. Turah E., born Aug. 26, 1852, married, 1st, Richard Warren, and had a son Frank, 2nd,Charles VanDeusen, and died in Cleveland Feb. 21, 1927.

The Groatt line has been traced back to Symon Symonse Groot, the common ancestor of the Groots of America. He came to America in 1629. The line goes back fifteen generations to one Jasceline de Cornet - 1270 A. D.

GROOT, JOHN A. was born May 8, 1820. His father, Aaron Groot, lived at Oskosh, Wisconsin, in later years and was a member of the State Legislature for a number of years. The family was of Holland origin. [Originally the name was DeGroot.] John was born near Schenectady, N.Y. On August 25, 1842, he was married to Eliza J. Heath. He removed with his family from New York to Wisconsin, thence to Akron, Ohio, thence to Kipton in 1857. He was a shoemaker by trade and lived in the Will Eggleston house, before it was remodeled, and had his shop in a front room. He died Feb. 2, 1892 and the wife on Sept. 11, 1907. The children were: George A., born Aug. 3, 1843, married Maora A. Sage, of Huron, Ohio, Dec. 12, 1872, and lived in Cleveland where he became a well known lawyer. Mary O., born Oct. 15, 1844, married, 1st, July 3, 1864, Horace Baker, 2nd William Wright, and lived in Norwalk, Ohio. Cornelius P., born March 15, 1846, went to Utah when a young man and married there, but removed to Los Angeles, Cal. Helen C. , born Jan. 15, 1848, in Salem, O., married John Padley June 16, 1875, and lived in Philadelphia. Harriet M., born July 13, 1849, married, Dec. 16, 1868, James Lees, of Henrietta, and died July 16, 1915. Leanna D., born Jan. 30, 1851, married, Feb. 27, 1870, Augustus J. Hubbard, and died in Kipton in 1917, in the old home, which she had remodeled, being a widow when she came there. HARRY H., born May 17, 1852, married, Oct. 1, 1874, Mary, daughter of William Coltrin, and became owner of the Coltrin farm and lived there until his death Feb. 15, 1929. His widow and son occupy the home farm. Ida J., born June 8, 1854, married William Kaiser Oct. 3, 1883, and died Nov. 17, 1915.

GROUT. William Grout, born April 18, 1758, died Jan. 9, 1836. He enlisted in the Continental army a few months before his 18th birthday. At the battle of Monmouth he was overcome with heat and was ill for six months. He married Amy Woodbury May 20, 1799. He moved to Akworth, N. H., where he served as a magistrate for thirty years and was representative for several terms in the New Hampshire General Assembly. In 1828 he removed to Rushford, N. Y., where he died.

Grout, William, Jr., son of the above, born Nov. 7, 1805, in Ackworth, N. H., left home at the age of seventeen and went to New York State to study medicine and taught school until his graduation. He removed to Ohio in 1843. He married Minerva Stevens Sept. 27, 1829. She was born Dec. 31, 1805 in Stockbridge, Mass.

Their home in Camden was the east portion of the Jay Whitney farm, at Samtown. He died Sept. 16, 1879 and the wife June 19, 1882.

They had children:

Nancy L.

born Octob. 22, 1830, at Rushford, Alleghany County, N.Y. She married Harvey Butler March 17, 1852, and they lived in the old home. She died in 1904. He was born in 1820 and died in 1903.

Seth

born Oct. 20, 1832, married Susan Cillett Jan 3, 1860. He became a physician and went to Kansas with a colony of Huron and Lorain County people as their physician, and died at Auburn, Kansas in 1905.

William

born Aug. 21, 1835, died May 14, 1889, in Cleveland, where he was a railroad official; buried at Kent, 0hio.

Minerva

born Jan. 8, 1838, in Rushford, married James Briggs Aug. 10, 1859, moved to Monterey, Mich. and in 1885 to North Dakota, died 1908.

Rebecca

born March 8, 1840, in Little Valley, Cataraugus Co., N.Y. She married Henry Sheffield Dec. 8, 1861, and died in Camden, Dec. 7, 1912.

Amy

born Oct. 12, 1842, at Cold Spring, Cataraugus Co., N.Y. She married Harmon Martin Feb. 19, 1868, and died at the home of a son in Wakeman, Feb. 7, 1928.

Mary

born March 25, 1845 in Camden, married Henry Hoyle and went to Michigan.

Amy Woodbury Grout, mother of Dr. William Grout, came to Camden about 1846, and with her came an unmarried daughter, Hannah. Amy Grout died in Camden. Hannah died in 1861. Amy Grout, born in 1767, died in 1853.

GUERNSEY, THOMAS O., born in Lenawee County, Michigan, May 16, 1843, son of Edmund S. Guernsey, married Jane, daughter of William W. Whitney, of Camden, May 4, 1868. They lived in Michigan until 1871, when they came to Camden, but returned to Michigan, but came back to Camden in 1875. He died July 20, 1921.

GUNN, CHARLES, bought the William Scott farm in 1856, now the May farm. He was born April 28, 1807, and died May 9, 1883. His wife, Susan, born Aug. 17, 1812, died Sept. 1, 1889. Their only child, Mary, married H. K. House, as his third wife, and died Oct. 24, 1866, at the age of 21. Her only child, Alice, married Ed. Shedd, and lives in Detroit.

HALES, JOHN, lived in Pittsfield, Lorain Co., Ohio, in 1850. In 1858 he bought the John Ginste farm. He deeded the John Kingsbury farm to his son James who built the house there. In 1850 he bought the farm where his son Henry lived. He died aged 77.

He had children:

James,

who married, after his return from the army, Rose Jarrett, of Townsend, lived on the Kingsbury farm, then went to Toledo and died there.

George,

who went to Missouri and died there.

William,

who also went to Missouri, and died.

Henry,

born 1850, married Alice Hawkins, of Camden, and lived on the home farm, where his son, now lives, and died Aug.1, 1916.

Phebe,

who married in Missouri and lived there.

 

HAMMOND, FREEMAN Y., married Sally Babcock in New York State and had children, Eunice, David, Louisa, Elihu and Levi. About 1828 or ‘29 he moved to Brownhelm, O. The wife died April 1, 1837. He then married Eunice Morse, of Brownhelm, and had a daughter Sally. The second wife died and he married Harriet Fletcher, of Clarksfield, widow of William Thompson [who was killed by falling from a roof.] She died in 1870 or ‘71. He then married, 4th, a widow Hill, whose maiden name was Maykee, a sister of Mrs. John Converse, of Clarksfield. He died in 1872 at the age of 74. He used to live on the Albert Hanes farm and on the 20 acre farm south of Abram LaDow’s. The widow Thompson had a son, George, who had served as a soldier in the Civil War for more than four years. On July 16, 1866, he was drowned in the Little Lake. He was 23 years of age. Louisa Hammond married Abram LaDow. Sally Hammond married Stanton Kenyon, son of Elijah, and they moved to Michigan.

HAMON, Origin., whose wife was Sarah, came from Portage County, Ohio, and in 1850 lived in Camden. He sold the west part of the Gibbs farm to M. S. Bonney, having bought it of William Whitford. In 1857 he sold part of the H. H. Howe farm to Selden Tennant.

HARDY, SAMUEL, SR., whose mother was a Worcester, of Worcester, Mass., lived at Binghamton, N.Y., [where so many Whitneys lived], and he married Rhoda, sister of John R. Whitney, later of Camden.

They had children:

William W.

born July 22, 1811.

Samuel

born Aug. 23, 1813.

Mary

born Sept. 5, 1815.

Roswell

born March 14, 1819.

Sarah

born May 18, 1821.

Charles

born April 25, 1824.

Henry

born Aug. 20, 1826.

John

born Oct. 16, 1828.

The wife died Feb. 16, 1833, and a year later, to the day, he married Elizabeth [Stout] Twining. She was the mother of Charles Alexander and Joseph Nelson Twining. They had two daughters, Caroline, born Jan 22, 1835, and Harriet Ann, born Oct. 23, 1837. Mr. Hardy lived on a farm in Wellington until he went to live with his son, Samuel, in Camden, and his wife lived with her sons in Camden. They probably never lived together in Camden. Mr. Hardy died in 1862 at the age of 92.

William W. Hardy, who had a crippled leg, never married and lived with Roswell. They went to Tennessee and came here later.

Roswell Hardy married, Dec. 23, 1854, Mary Ann Tuttle, daughter of John, of Camden. They lived in Clarksfield, but removed to Camden in 1876. He owned the farm later owned by his son, Samuel, and lived in the John Broder house, where he died Sept. 30, 1898, and the wife died April 3, 1915. They had children, Samuel A., born Jan. 17, 1856, John Franklin, born 1859, died infant, Nellie May, born April 14, 1863, Carrie Mary, born April 6, 1873.

Samuel Hardy, Jr., married, March 5, 1839, Frances Morse, in Binghamton, N.Y. In 1842 he bought the Little Lake farm in Camden, cleared it and lived there. He afterwards lived in Clarksfield, then came to Kipton and died July 12, 1885, in the Wayne Sigsworth house. The wife died in Norwalk in 1886. They had children: Rhoda J., born Dec. 5, 1839, married Ransom Camp of Clarksfield, and died in California. William W., born Aug. 11, 1842 in Binghamton, enlisted in the army, the first Camden boy to enlist, and died Jan. 15, 1862 at Fayettsville, Virginia, the first Camden soldier to die. Lucy Morse Hardy, born April 3, 1850, married Dr. Myron C. Furlong, of Clarksfield. Two sons, Benjamin F. and Franklin B., died in infancy.

Charles Hardy, a tanner and currier, and also a mason, came to Camden when a young man. He married, Oct. 23, 1845, Catherine, daughter of William W. Whitney, of Camden. They first lived in a house back of John Weber’s, then, on the Henry Hale farm, in Wellington, in the Twining Lane, in Clarksfield, to Milan in 1873, then to Kipton, in the John Scott home.

They had children:

William Henry,

born April 2, 1847, died Nov. 22, 1929, married Ufracia Jane Bronson, daughter of H.G. Bronson.

Rhoda Ann,

born Jan. 16, 1851, married Claudius Victor Turner, of Milan, resides on the farm near Milan [1935].

John Samuel,

born June 11, 1853, married Augusta Stowe. Died May 3, 1936.

Ella Jane,

born Aug. 21, 1856, died April 7, 1902. Married 1st, Edward E. Peck, 2nd, Elwood Austin.

Frances Louella,

born Aug. 23, 1866, married John H. Scott.

Charles Hardy died January 25, 1892. His wife died May 7, 1904. Mr. Hardy was director in Dist. No. 6 in 1855.

HENRY HARDY, born Aug. 20, 1826, died March 4, 1893, married, March 19, 1854, Eliza Rood. He sold the farm formerly owned by J. E. Davidson to M. W. Barker in 1856. He bought the Webb Calkins farm the next year and sold it to James Weeks in 1860. He removed to Clarksfield and finally to Brighton. His children were:

Ellen A.,

born May 5, 1856, married Harmon Underhill Oct. 11, 1877.

Charles Avery,

born Sept. 25, 1858, died at Brighton, Feb. 2, 1925, married Alice Gray, of Clarksfield, May 25, 1882.

Laura C.,

born Aug. 11, 1867, Married Leslie Lawrence March 24, 1887.

John Hardy went to California with the ‘49ers and died of cholera morbus. He was not married.

HARLEY, JACOB, lived in Kipton in the house of Miss Waterhouse. He was a school director in 1862 and lived here for more than twenty years later.

HASKINS, JOHN, lived just north of the Hilliker farm in 1862. His mother lived with him. Her name was Polly Moranville, born July 16, 1759, married a Haskins. She lived in Boston, later Albany. She recollected happenings in the Revolutionary War. She died in Camden in 1867 or ‘68, at the great age of about one hundred and eight. She, with Mr. and Mrs. Bettis, gave Camden the distinction of being the final home of three people who lived to be more than centenarians.

John Haskins became somewhat demented, and was annoyed by some boys, so he shot at them, wounding a Miller boy so that he died. He went to live with Nicholas Sheffield, then to Vermillion, where he died.

Sophia, daughter of Polly Haskins, married, 1st, Lansing Joyce, 2nd, - - Bailey. [The Joyce history follows in regular order.]

HASTINGS, NATHAN, was director in No. 6 in 1858. He was living in No. 7 in 1856.

HAWKINS, WILLIAM, a son of Samuel and Lydia [Van Camp] Hawkins, was born in Newburgh, Orange County, N.Y., July 2, 1804, one of eight children. His father died when he was nine years old. He learned the trade of blacksmith and lived in Cayuga County, N.Y. In 1830 he removed to Michigan, where he had a brother, but returned, and in 1832 came to Florence, Ohio, where he worked at his trade with George Tillinghast, a blacksmith. In 1834 he removed to Camden, purchasing Lot 13, tract 10. [Waterworks and Whitney farms]. Here he, with his brother Charles, built a log house, considered the best in the township, and a log shop, where he followed his trade for many years. On April 22, 1835, he was married to Mary Abbott, daughter of Squire and Anna [Spafford] Abbott, of Henrietta.

Their children were:

Eliza,

born March 3, 1836, married Egbert Ingersoll and died Feb. 23, 1886.

Hannah,

born in 1837, married Jay Cook and died in 1894.

Maria

born died in 1900, unmarried.

Vesta

born in 1842, married Oscar Tanner and died May 23, 1863, in Ruggles, Ashland Co., Ohio.

Mary

born Oct. 19, 1844, married Luman A. Andrews Oct. 17, 1872, and died Feb. 8, 1921.

Anna

born in 1846, married Simeon Hales and died in Henrietta May 25, 1919.

Charles E.

died in Maumee, Ohio, March 4, 1922.

Naomi

born in 1852, married Elbert H. Wing and died in 1907.

Alice

born 1854, married Henry Hales and died in Camden Feb. 6, 1925.

 

William Hawkins died in 1888. His wife, born in 1813, died in 1896. Charles Hawkins, the brother, died April 28, 1865, at the age of 59, unmarried.

HAYNES FAMILY. John Haynes, who had a wife, Elizabeth, came from Binghamton, N.Y., in 1845, with a team of oxen, and located at Milan, O. With them came a brother, Peter Haynes and a brother-in-law, Isaac Wiborn, both married. John’s family consisted of Harrison [who married Mary Todd, of Wakeman], Simeon, Elizabeth and Susan.

The father of John and Peter, Joseph, came to visit the sons in Milan. He died suddenly while on his way to church.

The Haynes brothers and Wiborn sold their farms in Milan and removed to Camden. John bought a part of the Coon Heidrich farm in 1853. In 1856 he bought the Barzilla Gibson farm, the portion south of the road, and in 1858 he sold to Elijah Kenyon the Dowdell Hale land south of the cross road. In 1859 he bought of Lemuel Kingsbury a part of the David Shafer farm, where he died Dec. 18, 1869, at the age of sixty. He married the widow of David Shafer Oct. 21, 1860. His daughter Eliza married Levi Charles Kellogg.

Peter Haynes bought the Ray Green farm, east of the road, in 1849, and sold it to Lemuel Kingsbury in 1856 and then bought the portion on the west side of the road and sold it to H. G. Bronson. In 1845 he bought the Dowdell-Hale 30 acres. He removed to Grass Lake Michigan about 1856. In 1850, with Isaac Wiborn, he bought out Gideon and Champman Waugh and in 1853 they sold to Francis P. Howe. [The Henry Weeks farm]. His wife when he first sold land was named Orpha, but when he sold last it was Minerva. Susan Haynes, sister of John and Peter, married Henry Douglass. Sarah, another sister, married Isaac Wiborn. Simeon Haynes was director in Dist. No. 2 in 1864. He married a daughter of Harry Lewis and lived on the Alvah Gibson farm, and once lived east of the Charles Hill farm. He probably removed to St. Louis, Mich.

HEATH, JOHN, married, May 21, 1845, Charity Warner, sister of Henry Crandall’s wife, and probably daughter of Austin P. Warner. In 1846 he bought the Roy Radcliffe farm. In 1853 he sold the north half to William Whitford. In 1850 he purchased the north part of the Ed. Radcliffe farm but sold it in 1853. In 1847 Abigail Heath bought land of John Heath and sold it in 1853. In 1845 Squire Heath died at the age of 49. Whether he or Abigail were related to John we do not know.

HEATH, DANEL, married Ann Eliza Andrews, daughter of Seneca, so reported, but the records show that he married Marietta Andrews Jan 1, 1840. In 1852 he owned the DeLos Gibson farm. In 1850 he gave to Billie M. Messenger a receipt for $275 "on mortgage and I bind myself to pay all debts contracted by myself and Messenger while in company for furnishing goods and horses and am to pay Coburn all there is due him for goods that either of us have had of him."

HEWITT, NELSON E., a son of Ephraim and Minerva Hewitt, was born in Westfield, Chatauqua County, N.Y. In 1858 he married Harriet M. Cowden, born October 28, 1839 at Westfield, and came to Camden and bought the Ernest Leininger farm, where he died Jan. 19, 1878, at the age of 46. He was a painter by trade. His children are William E., Frank C., of Kipton, DeEtte [Johnson] and Earl.

HIGLEY, ISAAC, whose wife was named Phebe, bought the Ray Searls farm in 1851 and sold it to William E. Whitney in 1853.

HILL, IRA, born in Stephentown, N.Y., married, 1st, Genevra Randall, 2nd, her sister Betty. He with Selden Tennant and others, was persuaded by their pastor to invest in a project to deal in wild land in Indiana. The scheme failed and they were obliged to sell their land and emigrate to a region where they could obtain cheaper land with what little money they had left.

In 1839, while a resident of Bloomfield, Lagrange County, Indiana, Ira Hill bought the William Betts farm, the 45 acres next west and the lot south. He built the Betts house and lived there until his death in 1850, at the age of sixty. In 1841 he bought the Guthrie farm of Eli Bush, and the next year deeded it to his son Nicholas. In 1840 he bought the west part of the Gibbs farm and sold it the next year to Stephen Thompson. In 1847 he bought the Frank Calkins farm, but soon sold the whole or nearly all of it. He had served in the War of 1812. His children were Nelson P., Nicholas R., Janet and Luana, by the second wife. He married, 3rd, Sabrina Short. She was born in Herkimer County, N.Y., but removed to Madison County with her parents, and at the age of thirty, married Mr. Hill. They lived in Sweden, N.Y., for three years, then removed to Indiana, and two and a half years later to Camden, on account of the ague. By the third marriage Mr. Hill had children, Ira G., Albert, Lucy and Sarah. After his death the widow married Samuel C. Hoyle.

Nelson Hill married, January, 1841, Sarah Morgan, daughter of Samuel. In 1842 he received from his father a deed of the Will hewitt farm [William Becker], but deeded it to Nicholas Hill in 1850. In 1843 he bought of Dayton S. Morgan the north 80 acres of the Fred Bronson farm. In 1859 he obtained the deed of the Pippert farm, from Samuel Morgan and lived there until his death July 28, 1874, born April 11, 1817. He had a son, Morgan N., born in 1851 and died May 1, 1904, and a daughter, Emma, born in 1842, married Albert M. Fitch, of Elyria.

Nicholas Hill married Phebe Allen, of Henrietta, April 28, 1842. He removed to Cedar Springs, Michigan, before 1857. He named the town. In 1849 he bought the Eugene Reynolds farm and a part of the Will Calkins farm, and sold it to Charles Kingsbury in 1853. He had a son Leander.

Janet Hill married - - Peck in New York state.

Luana Hill married George G. Washburn, of Camden.

Ira G. Hill, born in 1849, died in 1872. He had a son Charles, lived on a farm east of the Cannan corners, removed to Wellington, and died there.

Albert Hill married, 1st, Mary Leet, 2nd, Dora [Burdick] Hill, widow of his brother Ira G. He used to live in Camden, but spent his last years in Wellington and Florida. He built a house west of his father’s and lived there. The house is the one now on the Clarence Searles farm.

Lucy A. Hill, born Dec. 30, 1841, married George G. Prince, of Camden.

Sarah Hill married Horace Hoover, of Camden.

Elam T. Hill married Horace Hoover, of Camden in 1848, but lived in Lagrange, Indiana at that time. He once lived in Bloomfield, Ill.

HINMAN, G. D., kept the store at Samtown, in 1842.

Andrew J. Hinman married Celestia Morgan, daughter of David. In 1848 he bought a small piece of land of Samuel Morgan and some from Rufus Washburn.

Andrew J. Hinman went to California with other Camden men, and died there. He left a son, Andrew Floyd, born in 1850, died in 1913, in Toledo. He married Florence Andrews, daughter of Albert Andrews, of Camden.

HOFFHEIN, DANIEL, born June 7, 1805, was a native of Pennsylvania. His wife, Sarah Danner, born October 5, 1808. They removed to Wayne County, Ohio, and about 1854 to Camden. Mr. Hoffhein died April 24, 1875. The wife, died Dec. 22, 1886.

They were the parents of eleven children:

William,

born October 5, 1829, died in April, 1911.

Caroline,

born August 21, 1830, married Peter Hitchcock Nov. 18, 1861, removed to Wood County, Ohio, and died Jan. 27, 1912.

John,

born Jan. 23, 1835, died in 1890. He was the only son who married, his wife being Nancy Dennis of Findlay, Ohio, and they lived there for a time, then came to Camden and lived in a house near the Vosburgh farm.

Sarah,

born Nov. 30, 1836, died Dec. 20, 1915. She married Lyman Blackman, son of Ansel, of Henrietta, and lived in Wood Co., Ohio, and died there.

Lewis,

born in Penn., died young.

Jacob,

died in Wayne Co., Ohio, aged 7 years.

Abraham,

born Sept. 28, 1840, died Nov. 19, 1918.

Lucy,

born Oct. 17, 1842, died Jan. 26, 1925.

Catherine [Kate]

born Feb. 9, 1844, died Dec. 13, 1924.

Elizabeth,

born May 31, 1846, died July 6, 1916.

Mary Jane,

born Nov. 30, 1848, died March 2, 1922, married Mason Bryant Ogilvie, but separated and she died on the home farm.

All of the unmarried ones, as well as Mary Jane, ended their days at the home farm. Several of them became blind.

At the time of the death of Kate, the county authorities were called to the home to investigate the conditions reported. They found that there were six persons in the family, all subsisting on the blind fund of $160 each, for Kate and Lucy. It was a most destitute home. The farm had run down until it produced no income. Mrs. Ogilvie’s daughter, Mrs. Elsie Fox, and daughter lived there. The daughter was married later and she and her husband and a child or two were murdered in Arkansas, by a man from Akron. The case made plenty of news for the papers.

HOLCOMB, OBED, and has wife, Rachel, came to Camden from Henrietta in 1834. In 1835 he bought 30 acres, the north part of the Watkins farm and the seven acres of the Frank Sigsworth where the house stands, but deeded back the Watkins farm and sold to Burt Bayless the seven acres between the road the east line of what Bayless then owned. After living here three years they removed to Columbus.

Truman Holcomb, a brother of Obed, perhaps [called "Troopy"], had married Phebe Pike of Brownhelm Nov. 23, 1820. He came to Camden in 1835 and lived on the five acre tract of John Watkins on the east side of the road. He and his wife joined the Pike heirs in a deed to Samuel Pike for the south part of the Watkins farm in 1839. He was a soldier in the War of 1812. His children were Moses, Mehitable, Harriet, Arvilla, Ambrosia, Ann Janette, and William. Harriet married Elisha Williams. Ambrosia married, Oct. 20, 1858, Joe Cross. Ann Janette married Charles Allen a dentist of Wellington. Truman died Oct. 26, 1872, at the age of nearly 84 years. He was born in Vermont. The wife died in 1875. He lived with Moses on the Searles and Gibbs farms, and before that with Ambrosia in a small house a short distance north of the Center, until her death in 1865.

Mehitable Holcomb married Dan Sanders and moved to Iowa, where she was burned to death.

William Holcomb served in the war, and then went to Michigan, where he died.

Moses Holcomb, born in Ohio May 12 1823, married Hannah Tennant, daughter of Selden Tennant, of Camden, Nov. 7, 1848. In 1844 he bought of Edwin Gager the Watkins five acre piece, and in 1852 bought the same piece again of Dan Waugh, Jr. In 1847 he bought of Oliver Church the Frank Searls farm and sold it to Eli Flickinger in 1860 and bought the Gibbs farm. In 1848 and 1853 he received quit claim deeds of the Pike farm, south part of the Watkins farm. They lived on the Gibbs farm until 1881, when they sold out and removed to Wiota, Iowa. He died April 10, 1895 and the wife died Sept. 2, 1908. They had children, Elida, born Aug. 6, 1849, married Henry Breckenridge of Camden, July 4, 1867, and died at Gratiot, Michigan, July 25, 1874. Olive, born Jan. 23, 1858 [error of year], who married Derastus Brown, of Camden, June 27, 1872. They removed to Iowa. Truman, born Nov. 16, 1855, married Clara Campbell in 1877 and removed to Iowa. George, born 1858, died 1861. William P., died infant. Fred Grant, born March 1, 1865, married Emma Stark in Iowa.

Harriet Holcomb and James Pier were married Nov. 23, 1869.

End of Pages 41 - 50

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