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Atlas of Lawrence County, Ohio
; Hardesty - 1882; Lake - 1887 Atlas Published by H. H. Hardesty & Co.,
Publishers, Chicago and Toledo, 1882.

Transcribed by Kristy


REV. JOHN JOSEPH RAUCK – is the son of Michael and Artonia (Wilhelm) Rauck.  He was
 born in Fulda, Prussia.  He came to this county in 1852.  He is a priest of St. Mary’s parish
 at the furnaces, residing in Elizabeth township.  His postoffice address is Ironton,
 Lawrence county, Ohio.
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F. M. RECKARD – is the son of Salmon and Susan (Stacy) Reckard; the former was born in
 Massachusetts, April 24, 1798; he removed to Lawrence county in 1832, settling in
 Proctorville, there being only four houses in the place and surrounded by a dense forest.
 He was one of the contributors toward the erection of a school-house in Proctorville—
education being considered the mainstay of the town; he also contributed toward the
 erection of a Methodist Episcopal church in the same place, and also one in Rome.  He was a
 commissioner of Lawrence county, and also an associate judge, being prominently connected
 with all matters pertaining to the interest of the county; he died January 14, 1881, aged 82
 years 9 months and 20 days; he experienced religion in 1833 at Rome camp ground, and
 filled the office of exhorter a great many years, his license being renewed each year until
 his death, although not able to attend but seldom for several years; he was unconscious for
 twelve hours before his death, but passed away very calmly, leaving behind a clear evidence
 that he was fully prepared.  His wife was born in Washington county, Ohio, July 5, 1806,
 and died June 5, 1843.  F. M. Reckard was born in Gallia county, Ohio, January 25, 1831.  His
 children by his first wife, Lucy A. Henry, are:  Vesta H. (McCormick), born January 30,
 1855, resides near Rockwood, this county; Dora B. (Morrison), February 7, 1858, died near
 Proctorville, February 27, 1881.  Mr. Reckard’s second marriage was to M. I., daughter of H.
 and Mary (Watts) Williams; she was born in Greenbrier county, Virginia, November 6, 1842;
 their marriage took place in Springfield township, Gallia county, April 2, 1872.  Mr. Reckard
 has been trustee of Union township for three terms, and still fills that position.  He had
 one brother in the war of 1861—Augustin S.; he was a member of Company H., 6th Ohio
 Cavalry, enlisting October 23, 1861; he was orderly sergeant of his company; he was killed
 at the battle of Aldee, Virginia, June 17, 1863.  Mr. Reckard’s postoffice address is
 Proctorville, Lawrence county, Ohio.
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WILLIAM RICHARDS – was born in Brierhill, Ohio, in 1849.  He is a furnace manager.  He is
 a scientific worker, and understands every branch of the trade.  He received his education
 at the Cleveland Institute.  The parents of Mr. Richards are William and Mary A. Richards.
 The subject of this sketch was married in Warren, Ohio, in 1874, to Clara Thompson,
 whose parents are Daniel and Minerva Thompson.  The children of Mr. Richards are:  Daniel
 T., born in 1875, and Mary, in 1879.  Mrs. Richards was born in the State of Ohio in 1854.
 The postoffice address of Mr. Richards is Ironton, Lawrence county, Ohio.
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BENJAMIN MERRILL RICKETTS, M. D. – was born at Proctorville, this county, May 20,
 1858.  His parents are Gerard R. and Rachel Ricketts.  His father came to this county in
 1832, and his mother was born in this county.  Benjamin attended the public schools of this
 vicinity, and entered the Ohio Wesleyan University in the spring of 1876.  He left at the
 commencement of the junior year, making medicine a specialty throughout.  He began
 reading medicine in the winter of 1878 with his father, Gerard R. Ricketts; he entered the
 Miami Medical College in the fall of 1879, and in the spring of 1881 he graduated with
 honors.  He located at Ironton April 7, 1881, and on the 23d of the same month he was
 elected health officer and smallpox physician.  His postoffice address is Ironton, Lawrence
 county, Ohio.
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JOHN RICKETTS – was born in Culpepper county, East Virginia, June 18, 1824, and married
 in this county November 18, 1847, to Jane Johnston, who is a native of Wayne county,
 West Virginia, born August 19, 1827.  They have the following children:  Thomas C., born
 October 2, 1848, resides at Silver River, Utah; Callie J. (Shattuck), July 18, 1851, died
 June 20, 1881; John W., February 14, 1853, resides in Clark county, Ohio; Mary J.,
 December 18, 1856, died November 11, 1859; Nannie V., May 15, 1862, resides at home;
 Dora B., February 14, 1865, resides at home; Sarah E., August 10, 1867, resides at home.
 The parents of Mr. Ricketts, are John and Eliza (Roberson) Ricketts, settlers of this
 county in 1833.  He died at the mouth of the Cumberland River, September, 1835, and she
 died in Virginia in 1830, respectively.  John Johnston and Mary A. (Campbell) Johnston are
 the parents of Mrs. Ricketts.  The father died in 1864.  They settled in this county in 1836.
 Benjamin Johnston, a brother of Mrs. Ricketts, was a soldier in the late war.  He enlisted
 in 1863, in the 2nd Ohio Cavalry, and was wounded in front of Petersburg, Virginia, from the
 effects of which he died July 15, 1863, at the age of 39 years.  Mr. Ricketts is a farmer of
 Perry township.  Postoffice address, South Point, Lawrence county, Ohio.

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PROVIDENCE M. ROBINSON – was born in Fayette township, Lawrence county, Ohio,
 December 5, 1824.  He came to this township in 1845 to teach school, and has resided here
 more or less ever since.  He organized the first Sunday school in Symmes township in 1855.
  He served as a soldier in the war of 1861; enlisted May 11, 1864, in Company D, 126th Ohio
 Volunteer Infantry; he served in the army of the Potomac, under General Grant, and was
 discharged at the close of the war.  In the fall of 1864, in consequence of heavy marching,
 he was disabled in his left leg, which continues to trouble him to this date.  Mr. Robinson
 was married in Symmes township, March 2, 1848, to Leuanna Stewart, who is a native of
 this township, born July 1, 1827.  Their children are:  John S., born January 31, 1849,
 resides in Fayette township; Gerard C., October 18, 1852, resides in this township; Rachael
 M. (McKee), March 2, 1854, died April 11, 1882; Perry S., May 5, 1856, resides in Fayette
 township; Sarah L., November 23, 1858, died October 15, 1877; Mary A. T., December 19,
 1861, resides in this township; Lizzie V., April 10, 1866, resides in this township; Rufus C.,
 October 29, 1870, resides in this township.  The parents of Mrs. Robinson came to this
 county in 1820.  Their names are:  John C. and Sarah (McCartney) Stewart.  Mr. Robinson’s
 parents are William G. and Rachael (Mounts) Robinson.  Mr. Robinson is engaged in farming
 as well as preaching.  Address, Sherritts postoffice, Lawrence county, Ohio.
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WILLIAM RODGERS -– is a native of Aid township, where he was born November 22, 1839.
  His parents who came to this county in 1836, are Thomas and Juda (Riganey) Rodgers.
  William was married to Eaphley Yates in Symmes township, April 30, 1861.  She was born in
 the same township March 5, 1845.  The parents of Mrs. Rodgers are Norris and Nancy
 (McQueary) Yates.  The children of Mr. and Mrs. Rodgers are:  Norman, born March 17,
 1862, resides in Arkansas; Morris, January 6, 1864; Harriet, June 10, 1866; Rosetta, June
 3, 1868; Howard, March 21, 1870; Nancy C., April 3, 1872; Medera, February 3, 1874;
 Albert, April 12, 1876; Effie, October 12, 1878; Zachariah, December 25, 1880.  William
 Rodgers was a soldier in the war of 1861.  He enlisted October 8, 1864, in Company A, Ohio
 Volunteer Infantry, and he served to the close of the war.  Mr. Rodgers is a resident of
 Symmes township and is engaged in farming.  Postoffice address, Handley, Lawrence county,
 Ohio.
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JAMES W. ROMANS – is a Virginian by birth, born in Wayne county, March 27, 1843; his
 parents are James and Mary (Smith) Romans, who came to this county in 1864.  James W.
 was married in Lawrence county, Kentucky, March 22, 1864, to Lydia Mathews, who was
 born in Wayne county, Virginia, January 11, 1846.  Her parents are Daniel and Sarah
 (Copley) Mathews.  The children of Mr. Romans are:  Josephine, born May 17, 1865; Melvin,
 November 3, 1866; James, October 12, 1868; Doretta, January 20, 1871; Albert, May 4,
 1873; Millard, December 22, 1874; Tilden, October 20, 1876; Harvey, November 15, 1878.
  Mrs. Romans had three brothers in the Confederate army during the late war, all members
 of the 8th Virginia Cavalry.  James Mathews served three years, and was wounded at the
 battle of Mofield, Virginia, in 1862.  Thomas and Harrison Mathews served four years, and
 returned home at the close of the war.  Mr. Romans is a farmer of Fayette township.  His
 postoffice address is South Point, Lawrence county, Ohio.
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JOHN M. ROWE – is a native of Noble county, Ohio, where he was born May 18, 1848.  He
 settled in this township and commenced the duties of a teacher in 1871.  He has been very
 successful as a teacher.  He taught eight terms in Windsor township, and seven in Scott
 Town.  He is also engaged in farming.  The father of Mr. Rowe, David, was born in February,
 1776, in Caroline county, Maryland.  He emigrated to Ohio in 1815, settling at Barnesville,
 Belmont county.  From there he removed to Lexington, Noble county, in 1817, where he
 cleared one of the first farms in that part of the country.  In 1856 he removed to
 Lawrence county, Windsor township, where he spent the remainder of his days, dying
 March 24, 1879.  His wife, Mary (Miller) Rowe, was born in October, 1800, and is still living
 in this township.  John Rowe was married in this township, September 3, 1876 to Laura A.,
 daughter of Harrison and Martha (Blackburn) McConnell.  Her father was born in
 Pennsylvania, October 9, 1826, and came to this county in 1840.  He was a teacher, and
 superintendent of instruction the latter part of his life.  He died May 6, 1871.  His wife was
 born in Greenup county, Kentucky, September 9, 1835.  Her father, Jerry Blackburn, was
 one of the early pioneers of Lawrence county.  He was engaged about the furnaces when he
 became superintendent of the Ohio and other furnaces.  He died in Alabama in 1877.  John
 Rowe was in the war of 1861.  He enlisted in Company D, 45th Kentucky Mounted Infantry,
 August, 1863; was discharged in 1864.  He was in the battles of Mount Sterling, King’s Salt
 Works, and other engagements.  Mr. Rowe was a clerk of Windsor township one term, in
 1874.  They have one child, Maud H., born February 24, 1878. While in the United States
 service Mr. Rowe was attacked with the measles, which settled in his spine, causing
 curvature of the spine, and a separation of three of his ribs on each side of the spinal
 column.  It sorely afflicts him at present.  One of Mr. Rowe’s brothers, Leander C., was
 pressed into the Confederate service, where he remained two years, then deserted.  He
 then entered the Federal army in the 2d Ohio Volunteer Cavalry, Company K.  Was sergeant
 of his company.  He died June, 1864, in the Cavalry Hospital, at Washington, D. C.  Address
 Mr. Rowe at Dobbston postoffice, Lawrence county, Ohio.
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WILLIAM E. ROWE – and Asenath J. Melvin were married in this county January 29, 1863;
 he was born in Pike county, Kentucky, August 9, 1835; while his wife was born in Lawrence
 county, Ohio, November 22, 1845.  The father of William (Reuben Rowe) died May 6, 1856,
 and his mother, Clara (Fry), died October 8, 1880; they came to this county in 1828.  John
 B. Melvin and Rhoda (Gore) Melvin are the parents of Mrs. Rowe; they settled in this county
 in 1813.  Mr. Rowe was a soldier in the war of 1861; he served three years in the 5th Virginia
 Volunteer Infantry; he took part in the following engagements:  Second Bull Run, where he
 was wounded in the left hand; in the battles around Lynchburg, under General Pope, and all
 the battles in the Shenandoah Valley, under General Sheridan.  Three brothers of Mr. Rowe
 also served in the war.  Lloyd, Stephen, and Reuben H. were all members of the 39th
 Kentucky, serving three years.  Stephen was wounded and taken prisoner in Pike county,
 Kentucky, in 1863, by bushwhackers, and was held as a prisoner three months.  Lloyd was
 also taken prisoner, but was only held one day.  William Rowe, the subject of this sketch,
 was promoted to orderly-sergeant in February, 1862; on May 1, 1862, he was promoted to
 second lieutenant; and on May 14, 1863, to first lieutenant.  James M. Melvin, a brother of
 Mrs. Rowe, was a member of the 195th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, serving to the close of the
 war.  John B. Melvin, the father of Mrs. Rowe, was in the 14th Kentucky Infantry, serving
 fifteen months.  Mr. Rowe has held several county offices, among them commissioner for
 six years, township treasurer for ten years, township assessor in 1872, and other offices.
 He is engaged in farming in Lawrence township.  Postoffice address, Rock Camp, Lawrence
 county, Ohio.

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ALEXANDER ROYER – the son of John and Jane (Boggs) Royer, is a native of the State of
 Pennsylvania.  He came to the county of Lawrence in 1846, where he is at present engaged
 as bookkeeper in the Bellefont Iron Works.  His parents are natives of Pennsylvania, the
 father born in Franklin county and the mother in Center county, Pennsylvania.  Both died in
 Johnstown, Cambria county, Pennsylvania.  Mr. Royer practiced homeopathy medicine for
 ten years, and since 1877 he has attended the books of the Bellefont Iron Works.  He is a
 member of the Republican party, and his religious views is liberal.  He is a member of the
 Arcanum Insurance Society.  He was married at Johnstown, Pennsylvania, in 1848, to
 Elizabeth McLane, who is a native of Pennsylvania.  They have the following children:
 George McL., born in 1848, resides in Alabama; Catherine H., in 1851, died in Ironton; Mary
 J., in 1850, died at Etna Furnace; Robert B., in 1856, resides in Ironton.  The parents of
 Mrs. Royer were George and Mary (Layton) McLane.  Both died in Johnstown, Pennsylvania.
 The address of Mr. Royer is Ironton, Lawrence county, Ohio.

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FRANCIS RUSSEL --  was born in Cabell county, West Virginia, December 5, 1814.  His
 parents were John and Patience Russel, the former died in 1817.  Francis Russel was
 married in this township, February 28, 1836, to Lois Morrison, who was born in Greenbrier
 county, West Virginia, November 12, 1817.  Their children were:  Lorenzo D., born February
 25, 1838, died in August, 1870; Richard, September 28, 1839, died May __, 1863; Andrew,
 December 23, 1841, resides at Getaway; Emeline (Waldeck), March 25, 1844, resides at
 Getaway; Mary A. (Betts), September 28, 1846, resides at Getaway; James, October 3,
 1849, resides in Sumner county, Kansas; Thomas, July 10, 1854, resides in Portsmouth,
 Ohio; Sarah (Tomlinson), March 2, 1857, resides at Getaway.  Andrew Russel was in the war
 of 1861, a lieutenant in Company H, 2d Virginia Mounted Infantry; he enlisted in 1862 and
 served to the close of his term; he was in the engagements of Cross Keys, Slaughter
 Mountain, Kelley’s Ford, Bull Run, Cloyd Mountain, Droop Mountain, White Sulphur Springs,
 Allegheny Mountain, and others; he was promoted April 22, 1864.  The parents of Mrs.
 Russel were Richard Morrison, born in Greenbrier county, West Virginia, in 1796, and died
 in 1876, and Mary (Brindley) Morrison, born in 1793 and died in 1853; they were married in
 1814 and emigrated to Lawrence county in 1821, settling in Union township, about one mile
 up Symmes creek from Getaway; they remained at that place a short time, when they
 moved to Getaway; from there they removed to Rome township, where his death occurred;
 her death took place in Getaway.  The postoffice at Getaway was named after Francis
 Russel, he being the first postmaster; it is still called Russel’s Place postoffice.  Mr. Russel
 died September 28, 1866; his wife still survives him, and lives on the old homestead.  Mr.
 Russel was treasurer of Union township for many years, and held the office at his death; he
 was also trustee of Union township at different times; he was engaged in the milling
 business.  Address, Russel’s Place, Lawrence county, Ohio.
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JOHN RUSSELL – was born in Lawrence county October 6, 1842.  His father, Samuel
 Russell, was born in Greenbrier county, Virginia, March 5, 1801.  He came to Lawrence
 county in 1822, and settled in Aid township.  He was married to Miss Irwin in Symmes
 township, this county, but her death took place in 1840.  He was married a second time to
 Susan West, the mother of John, the subject of this sketch.  They raised a large family of
 children, eight of whom are deceased.  He was a farmer by occupation.  His death occurred
 October 31, 1871.  His wife, who was born January 1, 1822, survives her husband, but she is
 in delicate health.  John Russell was married to Eva L. Stewart, in Aid township, December
 25, 1870.  Her birth took place in Windsor township, May 28, 1850.  Their children are:
 Examinnie, born September 14, 1871; Maggie, April 17, 1873; Harry, October 31, 1875, died
 November 1, 1875; Willie A., March 10, 1877.  Mr. Russell educated himself for the school-
 room.  He taught his first school in 1862.  He taught five terms in Marion, Aid township.  It
 was a labor of love with him and he met with unbound success.  After his marriage he took
 up farming as an occupation, which he has pursued ever since.  He is an expert in the
 breeding of Poland-China hogs, and has also introduced thoroughbred Jerseys.  He has held
 the clerkship of Windsor township every term since 1877, and at present occupies that
 position.  He was real estate appraiser in 1880.  Mrs. Russell’s father, William M. Stewart,
 is a native of this county.  John West, grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was born
 in Virginia, and emigrated to Jackson county, Ohio, in 1835, settling near Oak Hill, where
 his death occurred.  Address Mr. Russell at Willow Wood, Lawrence county, Ohio.

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