The Yeoman Families of Fayette County, Ohio

Ira Yeoman, son of James Yeoman, whose history appears elsewhere, was born in the state of New York, May 5, 1808, and remained there until the spring of 1815; then came down the Alleghany river, on a raft. The river was high, and, at Pittsljurg, they landed on a large elm tree. They took the raft on the Ohio, and landed at Columbia, near Cincinnati. In the fall they removed to this township, and settled above Rock Mills. He spent his youth at home, and after his father's death, took charge of the family. His education, to use his own words, "was in the clearing," for in those days, there were few opportunities to attend school. He was married, April 8, 1830, to Oce, daughter of Robert McElwain, who bore him one child, Robert, who lives on the farm adjoining. He and wife are exemplary Christians, and members of the Old School Baptist Church.

In 1859, he started a store at Rock Mills, and remained three years, and then resumed farming. In March, 1874, he removed to Rattlesnake Creek, remained two years, and then came to his present farm, which is located on the old Miami trace, one mile from. Good Hope, and contains one hundred and ninety-four acres, well improved. He farms to grain and stock.

Mr. Yeoman held the office of township treasurer, fifteen years, township clerk, two years, and county commissioner three years, a sufficient guarantee as to his integrity. He is a Republican, though a Democrat prior to the candidacy of Fremont.

As printed in the source¹. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

The Yeoman family have been residents of Fayette county, Ohio, for nearly one hundred years and Osco Yeoman is the fourth in direct descent from his great-grandfather, James, who came to this county in 1815. The first member of the family to come to America from England was Stephen Yeoman, the great-great-grandfather of Osco Yeoman, with whom this narrative deals. Stephen Yeoman had four sons, Walter, Gilbert, Samuel and James. James Yeoman married Sarah Bates, the daughter of Stephen and Lydia Bates, natives of Vermont and of English descent. Ten children were born to James and Sarah (Bates) Yeoman: Abigail, Stephen, Joseph, Cyrene, Alva, Lydia, Jared, Minerva, Samantha, and Ira, the grandfather of Osco Yeoman.

Ira Yeoman was born in 1808, near Buffalo, New York and his wife, Osea AlcElwain, was born in 181 1 near Good Hope, Ohio. She was the daughter of Robert and Jane McElwain, natives of Pennsylvania and later residents of Maysville, Kentucky, and still later of Fayette county, Ohio, where they settled in 1810. Robert McEhvain was born in 1779, and was married to Jane Taylor in 1804, ten children resulting from this union, James, John, William, Osea, Robert, Nancy, Samuel, Thomas. Eliza and Minerva. Robert McElwain was the first justice of the peace in Wayne township, Fayette county, and people came to him from far and near to settle their difficulties.

Ira Yeoman came with his parents to Ohio in 1815, being a lad of seven years at the time. They first located in Columbia, a small village near Cincinnati, and in the fall of 1815 removed to Wayne township, Fayette county, where James Yeoman, the father of Ira, lived until his death. The first winter the family spent here in 181 5 was filled with all kinds of discouragements. The family lived in a house which they built in one day, the house consisting of a mere pen built with poles and had neither floor nor windows.

Through these primitive conditions Ira Yeoman was reared to manhood and in 1830 married Osea McElwain. Ira Yeoman was one of the substantial and trusted citizens of his township and county. He served as township trustee for fifteen years, clerk for two years and as county commissioner for three years, filling all of these positions in an efficient and very satisfactory manner to his fellow citizens.

One of the largest birthday celebrations which ever took place in Fayette county occurred August i, 1896, when nearly one thousand people assembled ill honor of the eighty-fifth anniversary of Mrs. Ira Yeoman. Several hundred invitations had been sent out, and everybody came with well filled baskets and prepared for a big feast and a pleasant time. The crowd was made up of old and young from far and near, and included a large number of pioneer citizens who had come to pay their respects to the aged couple and talk over the days of long ago when Fayette county was a wilderness. At that time Mr. and Mrs. Ira Yeoman were probably the oldest pioneer couple in the county and had been married for sixty-six years.

Robert Yeoman was the only child bom to Ira and Osea (McElwain) Yeoman, and grew to manhood in Wayne township, this county, and married Elizabeth J. Hill, and to this union were born five children: Osco, the immediate subject of this review; Sarah, deceased, who was the wife of Andrew Clark: Ella, deceased, who was the wife of Charles Doster; Emma, the wife of Joseph White, and William Ira, deceased. The first wife of Robert Yeoman died and he afterwards married Caroline Parker, and to the second union eight children were born, Mary, Joseph W., Effie, Martha. Robert, Earl, Luella and Nellie.

Osco Yeoman attended the Rock Mills school in his home township, and later attended the district schools in Jasper township. At the age of twenty he began renting land and in 1894 purchased his present farm of eighty-five acres in Wayne township about one mile from Rock Mills.

Osco Yeoman was married December 24, 1874, to Susan Baughn, and to this union five children have been born: Jessie, who married Iva Edwards; Orpah E., the wife of Harley King, is the mother of four children, Marcus H., Dorothy M., Susan L. and Elner M. Ida J., the youngest child of Mr. and Mrs. Yeoman, is deceased, as is Apel.

Politically, Mr. Yeoman is a member of the Republican party, but has never had any inclination to make the race for any public office, preferring to devote his time and attention to his agricultural interests. Fraternally, he is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America and, religiously, he and his family are affiliated with the Methodist Episcopal church.

As printed in the source¹. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

SAMUEL N. YEOMAN.

Samuel X. Yeoman, merchant and railroad builder, Washington. The name was originally Youmans, being of English extraction. Two brothers, thus spelling their names, came from England to iew York in aii early day, the one going to New Jersey, the other to the South; the celebrated Professor Youmans, of New York, being a descendant of the southern brother, our subject being a descendant of the brother who went to New Jersey. The grandfather came to Ohio, and settled on the waters of Paint Creek, in Wayne Township, Fayette County, about 1811, where he erected, probably, the first grist-mill ever built in the county. This mill was erected where the Rock Mills now stand. Here the pioneer remained until his death.

Samuel T. Yeoman, his son, was serving in the war of 1812 when his father came to Ohio, but immediately after its close he also came to Knox County, Ohio, where he married Miss Nye, daughter of Ichabod Nye, the first sheriff:' of Knox County. In 1815, they removed to Payette County, and settled on a farm near the town of Good Hope, in Wayne Township, and remained on this farm until 1829, when he removed to Springfield, andremained one year; thence, to Lebanon, and remained there one year. He then returned to Fayette County, and settled in Washington. In 1833, he was elected as a member of the General Assembly of Ohio. In 1836, or 1837, he engaged in the mercantile business, associated with Joseph and Amasa Olds as partners. In 1851, he retired from active business, and died in 1856. He served, with credit to himself as associate judge, postmaster, and justice of the peace, in his county, and was one of the active leading politicians of his day. Mrs. Yeoman died in Washington, in 1872, in the seventy-fourth year of her age. They were the parents of twelve children, six sons and six daughters. Stephen D. died while a young man, unmarried. Bethiah L. married, but she and her husband are dead. Gilbert L. M. died when a young man, unmarried. James L. died in infancy. Eusebia N. died at the age of thirteen. Jane M. was married to Theodore Ogle, who is now dead. She lives in Washington. Josephine M. married Van M. Ogle, and lives on a farm in Green County, Indiana. Sarah died in infancy. Ascenith also died in infancy. Joseph Amasa Olds is married and practicing law in Fort Dodge, Iowa.

Samuel N., our subject was born in Wayne Township, Fayette County, Ohio, in 1828. In the spring of 1849, he organized a company of ten persons, all boys but one, and went to California in search of gold. This was probably the first company that went from this part of the state to California. The entire company reached there, and all but one of the number returned. This enterprise proved to be a financial success to Mr. Yeoman, and after remaining there two years and some months, they returned to Fayette County. Soon after his return, he purchased his father's stock of goods, and commenced the mercantile business, continuing the same until the fall of 1853, when he sold out, and engaged in the real estate business until 1858.

In 1857, he organized a company, and built the first respectable hotel in the town, now known as the "Arlington Hotel." The same year Mr. Yeoman again entered the mercantile business, associating with him F. A. Nitterhouse and D. Ogle. They purchased the stock of goods owned by Zebedee Harper. He also established, the same year, a branch store in connection with Theodore and V. M. Ogle, in New Lexington, Perry County, and in that year retired from this establishment.

In the spring of 1861, Mr. Yeoman was appointed by the governor of Ohio chairman of the military committee of the county, and was soon afterward ordered to West Virginia, to look after the interest of the soldiers of his county. En June, 1862, while holding this position, he applied to the governor for an appointment as major, for recruiting for the 90th O. V. I., and entered on the recruiting business June 21, 1862. In thirty days he recruited two full companies (C and K), and assisted to recruit two more companies, which were assigned to the 114th Regiment.

August 1, 1862, he resigned his chairmanship, and reported, with his companies, at Camp Circleville, and in less than three days thereafter was ordered to Kentucky without arms or equipments, and reached Lexington by rail in great haste. Received arms next morning, and was ordered at once to assist in covering the retreat at Richmond, Kentucky. He participated in the battles of Perryville, Stone River, Seige of Chattanooga. Was commissioned lieutenant-colonel after the battle of Stone River, and colonel of the 90th after the seine of Chattanooga, Colonel Rippey having resigned.

The colonel remained with the regiment, participating in the battles of Jouesborough, Atlanta, Champaign, etc., and was mustered out of service, after having served three years, June 21, 1865. He had in all some thirteen hundred men under his command, but only had about three hundred and twenty-seven when mustered out. Mr. Yeoman was a brave, patriotic man, working faithfully and honestly to put down the rebelUou and save the Union. He left his mercantile interests to the care of his partners, devoting his entire time and energies to his country's welfare. But few officers have been more devoted to the country's welfare than has Colonel Yeoman.

In 1866, Mr. Yeoman projected and started the Columbus and Washington turnpike; it being the first enterprise of the kind in the county under the " Free turnpike Act," which enterprise inaugurated a system of free turnpikes all over the county, which has resulted in a spirit of general improvement, that now makes the county one of the leading counties of the state. Mr. Yeoman was elected state senator from his district, composed of Greene, Clinton and Fayette counties, in 1867, serving two years, with marked ability. He was leeted by the same district, to the senate of this state, in 1873, and again served the full term.

In 1869, he organized the Columbus and Maysville Railroad, (known as the blue grass road), became its president, surveyed and located the same; but because of Hillsboro being interested in another railroad enterprise, and not sympathising with this movement, it failed.

In 1875, the colonel took up the old Dayton, Xenia and Belpre Railroad, and organized the Dayton and Southeastern ]*arrow Gauge Road. He became its president, overseeing and giving it his entire attention; and although the enterprise met with many reverses, he succeeded in its completion from Dayton to its intersection with the Marietta road at Mnsselman's. He also assisted in the building of the branch road from Allentown to Waynesville.

In 1877 and 1878, he built a part of the Danville, Olney and Ohio Railroad in Illinois.

He also built the Indianapolis, Delphos & Chicago Railroad, and at this time is superintendent of the Indiana, Chicago & IS'northern Railroad.

In 1873 Col. Yeoman, in connection of Mr. F. A. Mtterhouse, commenced the building of a magnificent store-room, opera-house, etc., in Washington. He completed the store-room in 1874, but on account of the panic, and the stringency ot the money market, the opera-houseremains unfinished.

Col. Yeoman was the originator of the Washington Cemetery, and was its first president. He organized and planned its lay-out.

Probably no one man has done more for the improvement of the town of Washington, and the County of Fayette, than Col. Yeoman.

In June 1853, Mr. Yeoman married Miss Susan M. Conily, of New Lexington, Perry County, Ohio. She is a most excellent women. They are without children. In politics the colonel is a staunch Republican. Mrs. Yeoman is a member of the Baptist Church.

As printed in the source¹. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

GENERAL STEPHEN B. YEOMAN.

General Stephen B. Yeoman, attorney at law, Washington, was born in Washington, this county, on the ist day of December, 1836, and is a son of Alvah and Elizabeth Yeoman. His father was a native of Iew York, and his mother of Virginia. His father came to this state about the year 1806, and his mother about 1815. They had a family of eight children, four of whom are living.

Stephen, the subject of our sketch, at the age of fifteen, shipped as a sailor; visited New Zealand and different points in South America, Asia, and Africa. After enjoying many adventures, and undergoing many hardships, finally returned to the United States. His great grandfather served with credit as a captain in the revolution, and his grandfather as a first lieutenant in the war of 1812.

When the late war broke out Stephen B. immediately volunteered. Was under General Rosencrans, with whom he continued as a private in the 22d O. V. I., Company F, and was afterwards in West Virginia, until his regiment was discharged by reason of expiration of term of service. At home he immediately commenced recruiting, and returned to the field again, September 15, 1861, as captain of Company A, 54th O. V. I. He was then ordered, by General Sherman, to take ten picked men and penetrate the rebel lines, in order to ascertain their forces. While gallantly in discharge of duty, he received the following wounds: Shiloh, April 6th and 7th, slight wounds in breast; battle of Russell House, June, 1862, in left leg, also, in arm and abdomen; January loth and 11th, 1863, wounded in right arm, entirely severing the arm below the elbow, which was amputated. For his distinguished services he was promoted to major of his regiment, and on account of his serious loss, and not being able to return to his regiment, he resigned. He was appointed captain in the Aeteran Reserve Corps, commanding Company C, 2d Battalion, on duty at Cincinnati.

In May, 1864, he received from the President of the United States, the appointment ot colonel of this regiment, and was detailed by War Department to Camp Caley, Virginia, as superintendent of recruiting service and chief mustering officer, of the northeast district of Virginia. November 29, 1864, he rejoined his regiment, and led this command in all the actions after that date. He has also been commanding officer of 3d Brigade, ist Division, 25th Corps, and was promoted by the President of the United States, to Brevet Brigadier General of Volunteers, for his gallant services during the war; to rank as such from the 15th day of March, 1865.

He was married, in 1863, to Miss Cordelia A. Wood, daughter of Daniel and Tabitha Wood, of this county. They have five children living: Minnette, Ida C., Burton, Nellie and Grace, and one dead, Willard.

In 1866 he was elected probate judge of the county, which office he filled three years, and is now practicing law in Washington. He is a man beloved by all who knoAV him, and is competent and well worthy of filling any office in the gift of the people.

As printed in the source¹. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.