Page:History of Richland County, Ohio.djvu/930

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��BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES:

��Lehigh and Philadelphia. He was married to Miss Elizabeth Henry; he moved to Ohio in about 1835, he stopped in Wayne Co., near Smithville, about two years; from there he removed to Richlind Co.; he purchased 40 acres of land in Sec. 22, in AVorthington Township, on which he removed with his family, and on which he continued to reside as long as he lived ; after coming to this township, he assisted in clearing a great deal of land besides his own ; he died in 1870. in the 72d year of his age. His widow is living at this date, and has attained to the advanced age of 75 years. George and Elizabeth Cramer are the parents of eight children ; six of whom are now living. Reuben, their eldest son, while a young man, learned the carpenter's trade; he followed this occupation until 1874. He was married to Miss Julia A. Fike Nov. 21, 1855; they are the parents of ten children, six sons and four daugh- ters, named in the order of their births as follows : Daniel, born March 5, 1857; Malinda, Nov. 25, 1858; Samuel, June 10, 1860; George, May 15,1862; John, Nov. 27, 1863; Samantha A., Oct. 20, 1865; Mary E., July 27, 1867; Jefferson, July 7, 1869; Franklin, May 24, 1871, and Ellen, Dec. 10, 1875; all of whom are living save JetFerson, who died young. Mrs Cra- mer, who was born May 29, 1834, in VVorthington Town- ship, was a daughter of Tobias Fike, who was of Ger- man descent, and a farmer by occupation. Aug. 20, 1855, Mr. Cramer purchased 40 acres of the north- east quarter of Sec. 21, in Worthington Township, for SI, 015, where he has since resided; he has very ma- terially improved this farm since it came into his pos- session ; he has erected buildings thereon which are both elegant and commodious; April 23, 1855, Mr. Cramer bought of Jackson Nichols, for $500, 20 acres of the west half of Sec. 28, in this township ; March 7, 1872, he bought 40 acres of the same section, of Jona- than Divelbiss, for which he paid $2,000; he also bought the farm owned by his father at his decease, but has since disposed of it ; he is now the owner of 100 acres of land which he and his sons cultivate ; he takes a deep interest in the cause of education ; more especi- ally in the education of his own children. His son Daniel is a teacher by profession and has been engaged in the business for some time. Mr. Cramer joined the Lutheran Church at the early age of 14 years ; he and his good wife are respected members of the community in which they reside.

CUNNINGHAM, JAMES CAPT., deceased ; he was born in Baltimore, Md., in 1780, and in 1786 emigrated with his parents to Westmoreland Co., Penn., and after- ward to Monongalia Co., Ya., where his father died ; in 1803, he eloped with Hannah Stateler, to Pennsylvania, where they were married; returning home, they re- ceived the forgiveness and blessing of their parents ; in 1804, in company with his wife's pai-ents, they re- moved to the vicinity of the Black Hand, Licking Co., Ohio ; in the autumn of 1805 his wife died, leaving one child, that child is Mrs. Elizabeth Baughman; she now resides with her children in Mansfield. In 18<?8, Capt. Cunningham was married to Mar- garet Myers, and in May, 1809, came to Rich- land Co., and located on the Black Fork of the Mohican, near Perry ville, where he put out a crop of corn ; then went back, brought out his wife, and put her down in

��the woods, alongside a camp-fire, and commenced to build a log shanty over her head, which he completed in three days, with the assistance of three men ; later in the season, he removed into the only log cabin then standing in Mansfield, which had been built a few months previously, by one Samuel Martin ; the cabin stood on the lot known as the Sturges corner, now ornamented by the handsome three-story brick build- ing of H. H. Sturges. He removed there to board Gen. Mansfield's surveying party, and to " keep tavern," to entertain persons who came here to purchase Virginia military school lands, which were then offered for sale. His wife at first objected to the project of removing to Mansfield to keep boarders ; provisions were scarce, and hard to obtain, and she expected in a few months to become a mother ; her consent was finally given, and the captain shelled a few bushels of corn, packed the grist on two horses to mill at Clinton, Knox Co.; the next day, he returned home with the meal, and the day following removed to the cabin above mentioned, where, on the 23d of August, 1809, his wife gave birth to a daughter (Matilda) who was afterward married to Will- iam Perry. In the spring of 1810, they removed from Mansfield to the Clear Fork Valley, near St. John's Church, where he rented a patch of cleared land and put out a crop of corn. The next year, he removed to the Black Fork, a mile south of Greentown, where he remained until after the murder of the Zimmer family. At the commencement of the war of 1812, he began raising a company of volunteers ; he called the settlers together at his house, and after stating to them the condition of the country, succeeded in raising a com- pany of men for active duty, the remainder being left to guard the settlement from the incursions of maraud- ing savages ; he marched his men to Mansfield, and camped on the public square, where they remained for a few days, and were joined by other volunteers, and then marched to Detroit. At the end of the war, ho entered a farm in Worthington Township ; cleared, im- proved, and then sold it, with the intention of remov- ing to Missouri ; but, reconsidering the matter, he pur- chased the farm adjoining his former home, where he resided until his death, which occurred in August, 1870. Capt. Cunningham cut the first crop of grain ever harvested in Richland Co.; he was active and en- ergetic, taking a leading part in public affairs, and was the first acting Sheriff of the county ; he was an excel- lent marksman, and often tried his skill upon the different wild animals which then infested the forests. During the time of his captaincy, Mr. Cunningham at- tended an officers' muster at Berkshire, Delaware Co., Ohio; just as the company was about to break up, three suspicious-looking soldiers made their appearance on the parade ground ; they were immediately arrested as deserters, and subjected to a critical examination, separately ; they each protested their innocence, and declared that they had been out on duty as a fatigue party under Col. Root, and on hearing that Hull had surrendered his army, they had determined to make good their escape, which they did ; and in order to approve what they affirmed, they told the examining officers that Col. Root was now at home, a distance of about nine miles from Berkshire ; Col. Kratzer then called around him

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