Gilkison, Ella

Aaron married Becker, Charlotte (Harmon?) on 26 Aug 1957. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Personal Records, Maureen (Molly) McGUIRE COLSON:

First child born in Mansfield, OH. At the birth of this child, General James HEDGES of Mansfield requested of the parents the privilege of naming the child, saying he would deed him a town lot, so they granted the General this privilege, and he named the child for himself and for the town, Mansfield Hedges Gilkison.

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Mansfield Hedges Gilkison

THE MANSFIELD [OHIO] HERALD: 26 February 1885, Vol. 35, No. 15

Death of the Pioneer Son of Mansfield
Born: February 2d., 1811
Died: February 23, 1885
Aged 74 years and 21 days

On Tuesday last many of our readers were startled at the above announcement of the death, and notice of the funeral obsequies, of Mr. Mansfield H. Gilkison.

The old must died the young may, and most certainly Mr. Gilkison's life was prolonged beyond the average age of man, but it is not specially the fact of his many years that THE HERALD desires to note. It is always a melancholy pleasure to record the death of friends, and it is especially so when the demise is that of an aged citizen.

It is a fact known to most of the readers of THE HERALD that Mansfield H. Gilkison was the first white male child born within the limits of Mansfield, and that his days span all the years from the early beginning of the village down to our present growth and extent as a city.

His grandparents on his mother's side were George Coffinberry and wife, who in 1809, came to this then new country from Lancaster, Ohio, having previously moved from Virginia. His father, Jno. C. Gilkison, was of North Carolina parentage. He first moved to Kentucky, thereafter to St. Clairsville, and in 1810 to Mansfield.

On both sides he was of pioneer stock and he inherited many of the sterling qualities of these brave early settlers. Fear of man was an unknown feeling to Mansfield H. Gilkison. His father was a mason by trade, but had acquired much of a practical knowledge of the printing art, and so the son was an adept both as a brick-mason and type-setter. THE HERALD, in this connection, is informed, and takes pleasure in putting on record the fact, that the father of our deceased friend was the very first to print and publish a newspaper in the county of Richland, and we would be glad to have a copy of "THE OLIVE" for that was its title, so as to re-produce it in our columns. The son, as he grew up, worked with his father, in the summer season at brick-laying, and in more inclement weather in the printing office. THE OLIVE afterwards became THE MANSFIELD GAZETTE, and passed into the control of our now venerable townsman, James Purdy, Esq., but later on Mr. Jno. C. Gilkison, with his sons, projected the RICHLAND COUNTY JEFFERSONIAN, and for years were its publishers and editors. In 1850, they retired, selling the whole plant to the firm of Day & Smith, composed of our friends M. Day, Jr. and E.W. Smith, who gave the paper a new name, THE MANSFIELD HERALD, which title, under them and their respective successors, it has since retained.

Mansfield H., when a young man, was married to Miss Dukes, a member of another pioneer family, and who preceded him to the "far off country". His children grew to manhood and womanhood, and formed alliances and established homes of their own, so that for many years since the death of the wife of his youth, the subject of our sketch was alone and lonely, and only within the year passing he was again married to her who is now his bereaved widow.

Mr. Gilkison has filled many official places in his long life requiring coolness, courage, and a determined spirit, such as marshal, constable, deputy and acting sheriff, and discharged the several duties well and acceptably by all.

He was a member of I.O.O.F. -- Mansfield Lodge, No. 19. His funeral obsequies were attended by the Order on Wednesday, and so peacefully midst the snows of winter, was this old friend, the first child of Mansfield, laid away in his final resting place, the grave -- resting place for all the weary sons of men. It is fitting that we chronicle his birth, his life, his death. One by one, they who were the pioneers, or children of the pioneers, take their departure.

On the 4th. of July, 1881, there was a gathering of our people in the park to unveil the monument. Of those there assembled was our departed friend, with many of the older citizens, the friends and associates of early days and manhood's years. Since then, of what number how many have died: John Wiler, John Y. Glessner, David Vasbinder, Samuel Snyder, Dr. Sutherland, Thos. J. Robinson, John Krause, Peter Remy, Alanson Allen, Barnabas Burns, Charles Krabill, J.A. Heldman, E. Clapp, David McCullough, Jacob Emminger, preceded him, and now Mansfield H. Gilkison joins the throng. The old men are fast passing away; the pioneers of Richland County are nearly all gone hence. We who survive should cherish their memories and imitate their virtues.

Mansfield married Dukes, Emaline. Emaline was born on 15 Mar 1808 in Caroline Co., MD; died on 18 Jul 1879 in Mansfield, Richland, Ohio, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Personal Records, Maureen (Molly) McGUIRE COLSON:

From Graham, History of Richland County, Ohio, pp 275-276, is a sketch regarding an old Indian warrior and his daughter who were making their way toward Upper Sandusky. The Indian's name was Toby. The little daughter had been living with the Greentown Indians, who were being removed by the Government, and Toby came to take her home; he met her at Mansfield. She was under guard, so he could not get her away openly; however he succeeded in getting her through the guards. A company of soldiers started in pursuit of the Indian fugitives, and after overtaking them, they immediately fired, wounding the father. He ran to a stream and fell in it. Two of the soldiers reported what they had done, and the company under the command of Sergeant J. C. Gilkinson, subject of sketch, went to look for the Indian. They found him still alive and lying in the stream. Toby lifted his hands and begged for mercy but there was none. Then one soldier took his tomahawk and handed it to another, telling him to get revenge for his brother's blood, who had been killed by an Indian. McCulloch took the tomahawk from Morrison, and in spite of Gilkison's entreaties to prevent this inhuman deed, sunk the tomahawk into the Indian's skull up to the handle. Nothing could be done to punish the two men for the crime as there was a standing order that all Indians found in the woods should be shot. The daughter escaped and lived several days on
berries before arriving safely at Sandusky. Gilkison showed mercy, which, no doubt, returned to him from the Father above.

John C. Gilkison and his father-in-law were among the first settlers in the town of Mansfield. John
C. lived for awhile in George Coffinberry's log house, and his first son was born there. He and his
brother James were chosen as Bishops by the Church of Christ in Mansfield about 1834. For
awhile a select school was taught in John C.'s two-story log house. Judge Stewart's school was in the upstairs, and a special stairway was erected on the outside of the building for this purpose. "He only taught there one winter, as the children made so much racket over Mrs. Gilkison's head, that she concluded to dispense with the school." (Information for this paragraph was gleaned from the same book by Graham, pp 447, 448, 474 and 482.

John Creyton's household was included in the 1820, 1830, 1840 and 1850 Censuses of Richland Co, OH. From a feature story of a local newspaper in Mansfield, John Gilkison arrived in Mansfield from eastern Ohio about 1810. The Gilkisons figured prominently in the early life of that city, and John Creyton and his son, Mansfield, were described as "excellent citizens". John was a printer and had the first newspaper in Mansfield, known as The Olive. Later he was editor of The Gazette. Stories have been handed down through his family that John and his brother James became lost as young boys and were found and returned by Indians.

John married Coffinberry, Sarah in 1808. Sarah (daughter of Coffinberry, George Lewis and Little, Elizabeth) was born on 20 Jun 1791 in Martinsburg, Berkeley Co., Virginia (now WV), Estimate; died in 1870. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

(Nancy and her. sister, Sarah, married brothers, James M. to Nancy and John C. to Sarah.)