In the books' own words, not ours, with obvious scanning errors fixed. The later printing (1900) is folded below the first. Families often supplied these stories to the publisher, so check key dates.
Born 1818
From The history of Darke County, Ohio, containing a history of the county; its cities, towns, etc.; general and local statistics; portraits of early settlers and prominent men; (1880), A Biographical history of Darke County, Ohio : compendium of national biography (1900)
AARON A. IRELAN, farmer and stock-raiser, Sec. 6; P. 0. Hollandsburg; one of the substantial men of Darke Co.; was born in Preble Co., Ohio, Sept. 12, 1818 he is a son of Moses Irelan, who came from Cincinnati to Preble Co. at an early day, and in 1831, settled in Butler Township, Darke Co. Aaron remained at home until 1843, receiving but very little education, having to walk five mdes to get to the nearest school; his first business for himself was "huckstering," which he followed for a short time, then engaged in the dry-goods trade. He was married to Phebe Tillson Oct. 18, 1846; she is the daughter of Isaiah Tillson, one of the pioneers of Harrison Township. After their marriage, he continued in the drygoods trade until 1852; he became satisfied, that that business did not suit him, and sold out and purchased a farm adjoining Hollandsburg; the following two years, he changed around from one to another farm in the neighborhood; in the spring of 1 864, he removed to the farm where he now resides; he now has 100 acres of land in German Township, in a good state of cultivation, with good buildings, also 40 acres in Monroe Co., Ind., besides the home farm, which consists of 290 acres; this is nicely located, and only about one-half mile from the town of Hollandsburg, which affords good school and church privileges; the Middle Branch of Whitewater passes through the farm, affording excellent and abundant water for his stock, and when he gets the house and other improvements, which it is his purpose to build, he will have a home of which they will justly feel proud. They are the parents of nine children, four of whom are living, viz.: Norman T., resides in German Townrhip William D., Cora B. and Clara L. Mr. Irelan, though not among the oldest citizens, is an old resident of Harrison Township, and has been and now is a quite prominent, active and useful citizen; has administered several states; was a member of the Township Board of Trustees ten successive years, and afterward three years; also Justice of the Peace for upward of fifteen years, and is now a member of the Township Board of Education. Mr. Irelan is a self-made man, having gained a knowledge of business by his experience while in the dry-goods trade,&the knowledge and experience being about all the benefit he derived from that business, but it has enabled him by energy and industry to place himself in the front rank among the farmers of Harrison Township.
As printed in The history of Darke County, Ohio, containing a history of the county; its cities, towns, etc.; general and local statistics; portraits of early settlers and prominent men; (1880). See the original pages. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.
AARON A. IRELAN.
It is now our privilege to enter a brief review of the career of one of the venerable and honored pioneer citizens of Darke county, and the province of a compilation of this nature is most perfectly realized in offering a resume of such character. Aaron Abel Irelan. who is a resident of Hollansburg, Harrison township, is a native son of the Buckeye state, having been born in Monroe township, Preble county, on the 12th of September, 1818, the son of Moses Irelan, who removed from Cincinnati to Preble county about 18 16. He was born in Pennsylvania, September 15, 1790, and his death occurred November 22, 1872. His father was Aaron Irelan, of an old and long-lived Pennsylvania family. Ail of his brothers and sisters except one lived to advanced age, his death being the result of an accident, as he was killed by a horse, when about fifty years of age. Grandfather Irelan removed from New Jersey to Pennsylvania and thence to Cincinnati, and he died in Coleraine township. His widow subsequently married a man named Robinson, and she died of paralysis, at the age of eighty years.
Moses Irelan married Hester Abel, who accompanied a family named Beten from New Jersey to Ohio when a child of seven years, in 1808. She was born in 1799 and her marriage to Mr. Irelan was ck msummated when she was sixteen years of age. Of their ten children we make record as follows: Polly, wife of George Painter, died, leaving five children; Aaron A. is the subject of this sketch; Dorcas was three times married and she died at the age of seventy-two, leaving three children; Ephraim died young; Hettie and Jane have both passed away, each leaving children; and the three others of the family died in infancy. The mother died in 1837, and the father was again married, one child being the issue of this union. He died November 22, 1872, as before noted.
Aaron A. Irelan was reared in the forests of the pioneer farm and he early became injured to hard work, aiding in the reclaiming and cultivation of the old homestead. He remained with his parents until he had reached the age of twenty-five years, after which he engaged in huxtering for four years, beginning his independent career without cash or credit. In 1845 ne engaged in the general merchandise trade in Hollansburg, continuing this enterprise until 1852, when he determined to resume the pursuits to which he had been reared, and since then he has been very successful in his farming operations, having owned at one time six hundred and seventy-five acres, of which he still retains two hundred and forty acres of the most desirable and best cultivated land in the county. Though he has operated so extensively in the agricultural line he has continued to hold his mercantile interests until quite recently, when he disposed of the same.
On the 1 8th of October, 1841, Mr. Irelan was united in marriage to Miss Phcebe Tillson, and they have had nine children, namely: The first born was a son, who died in infancy; Josephine died at the age of five years; Norman Tillson is engaged extensively in farming and stock-raising, utilizing his father's farm and also his own place, of one hundred and sixty acres; he is married and has seven children; James died young; Isaiah died at the age of twelve years and George at the age of five; William A., a successful teacher, died in April, 1900, at the age of thirty-nine years, leaving a wife and three children; Cora Belle is the wife of Samuel Williams, of Greenville, and has four sons; and Leona is the wife of O. S. Downing and has five children. The Tillson family is of good old New England stock, the original representatives having come to America in the Mayflower. Aaron Irelan, grandfather of our subject, was a son of Dayton Irelan, who came to America from England prior to the Revolution, and his brother, who came with him, was taken prisoner and taken back to England, returning to the United States after the close of the war. Dayton Irelan married Dorcas Buck, of New Jersey, and they have five sons and five daughters, all of whom attained adult age and were married in Ohio. The present generation of the Irelan family is the eighth in line from the original American progenitor.
Mr. Irelan is a Master Mason, having been identified with this time-honored fraternity for many years, and in politics he renders allegiance to the Democratic party, having served as township trustee for the lo ig term of fifteen years and having also held the office of justice of the peace for a similar period. Mrs. Irelan is a member of the Christian church.
Rev. Hosea Tillson, an uncle of Mrs. Irelan, was born November 24, 1810, and is still living, being a resident of Bethel, Indiana. He was the tenth child of Luther and Mehitable Tillson, who removed from Woodstock, Connecticut, to Cincinnati, in 1802, and later to Butler county, Ohio, near the present site of Somerville, and there Hosea was born. In 18 17 the family removed to Darke county, near the Indiana line, and here, amid the perils and vicissitudes of pioneer life, he grew to manhood. At the age of twenty-one years he married Jane A. Anderson, of Bethel, with whom he lived twenty-three years. They reared one son. Reuben, who was a merchant, and at present postmaster of Hollansburg. After the death of his first wife Mr. Tillson married Margaret Harlan, of Bethel, and their married life has extended over a period of forty years. They are the parents of three daughters. The Rev. Mr. Tillson is a sound Bible student and an unswerving advocate of truth and virtue. In his patriarchal age he has the veneration of all who know him. His father was for six years a sailor on the ocean ami related many interesting tales of adventure and peril. Rev. Mr. Tillson has been a licensed preacher in the Christian church for sixty-two years. He settled in Bethel in 1866 and was an elder in the church for thirty-six years. He lived close to the Indiana line and became very popular as "the marrying parson."
[This passage is too damaged in the scanned book to reproduce. See the original book.]
As printed in A Biographical history of Darke County, Ohio : compendium of national biography (1900). See the original pages. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.
The printed record stops around 1880. We trace your line from there down to you, with every source cited.