Stephen Wilson Compton
Stephen Wilson Compton was born September 25, 1800, in Harrison County, Kentucky. He was the son of Samuel and Elizabeth (Harper) Compton. His parents emigrated from Virginia in 1790. His mother's (Elizabeth Harper) father was the original proprietor of Harper's Ferry in Jefferson County, Virginia. Samuel Compton settled in Adams County where Dunkinsville now stands in about 1806. When old enough to be apprenticed, he was indentured to William Roff, of West Union, to learn the saddler's trade and served out his indenture. At the end of his apprenticeship, he traveled about and worked at different places, including Newport, Kentucky, and Cincinnati, Ohio, which then had a population of only 20,000 people. When in Cincinnati, he worked on Main Street when there was only one building on it, on the west side of the street between Fourth and Fifth Streets, the old Presbyterian Church.
He married Harriet Donalson at Manchester in 1826 and settled in that town. He engaged in the saddler's business there in all its branches and carried it on there until 1844. He was a rapid and expert workman in his business. Owing to the sparsely settled condition of the country, he sometimes made more work than he sold, and then he would travel about and dispose of it by barter, trading with the merchants and taking their goods in exchange for his work, as much of the business of that time was transacted in that way, owing to the scarcity of money.
In 1844 he bought a farm near Winchester and removed to it and remained there until 1857 when he removed to the vicinity of Hillsboro. He resided in Highland County until 1860 when he removed to a small farm in Harveysburg, Warren County, Ohio. He had seven children, all of whom lived to maturity. His oldest son was named Israel Donalson, after his wife's father. He entered the service of his country on the fourteenth of August, 1862, in the 79th O. V. I. as First Lieutenant of Co. H, at the age of 33. He died at Gallatin, Tennessee. December 31, 1862.
His daughter, Ann E., married William Crissman and lives near Eckmansville, Ohio.
Samuel W. lives at Fayette, Fulton County, Ohio. He enlisted at the age of 28, on the nineteenth of April, 1861, in Co. F, 2d O. V. I., for three months' service, and was mustered out June 19, 1861. On the same day, he enlisted for three years in Co. F, 12th O. V. I., and served until the first day of July, 1864.
A daughter, Mary J., unmarried, lives at Stout's P. O., Ohio.
Another daughter, Carrie, married J. N. Patton, and lived in Washington, D. C. She died some three years ago.
A son, Joseph William, now a clerk in the Postoffice Department in Washington, D. C, enlisted in Co. F, 12th O. V. I., for three months' service, on June 19, 1861, at the age of twenty-one. He was mustered out July 1 1, 1864.
The youngest son, John Donalson Compton, who is Deputy United States Marshal at Covington, Kentucky, living at Dayton, Kentucky, enlisted in Co. F, 12th O. V. I., January 28, 1861, for three years and was transferred to Co. H, 23rd O! V. I., July 1, 1864. In July, 1864, the 12th O. V. I. was consolidated with the 23rd O. V. I. and the new organization called the 23rd O. V. I. He was discharged from this service August 8. 1865. Thus it will be seen that Mr. Compton's four sons all served in the army in the Civil War.
In 1866, he sold his farm in Warren County and removed to Stout's P. O. in Adams County, and engaged in the grocery business. He was postmaster and resided there until his death in 1882. at the age of eightytwo. He is buried at Manchester, Ohio. His widow survived him until 1803, when she died at the age of eighty.
He always tok an active interest in politics, but never sought or held any public office with the single exception of school trustee. He felt a great interest in education, desiring to provide the advantages which were denied him in his childhood. He had no school education but was able to keep his accounts and correspondence very creditably. He was first a Whig and afterward a Republican when the latter party was formed He was very loyal during the war and had no toleration for those who were not. He was anxious that all his sons should serve their country and while he could not go in the service himself, he did all he could to promote the comfort of those in the field and to aid and encourage them in their services. He was a member of the Presbyterian Church and lived up to all that implies. He was a man of strict integrity, honorable in all his dealings and in his intercourse with his fellow men. He had the respect and good will of the entire community in which he resided. He was a useful citizen and his life's work is best exemplified in his sons and daughters, who are all honorable and useful members in the community.
From History of Adams County, Ohio from its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time - by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers - West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B. Stivers - 1900