George S. McCormick
George S. McCormick was born March 27. 1822, near Steam Furnace, in Adams County. His father, James McCormick, was a native of Pennsylvania, and his mother, whose maiden name was Hannah Hawk, was a Virginian. They were married in Pennsylvania, and very soon thereafter loaded their household goods upon a flatboat at Pittsburg and floated down the Ohio, landing at some point near Wrightsville in the year 1808.
James McCormick was a collier and molder, and soon found employment among the furnaces which were then the principal industry in Adams County. He made his permanent home near Old Steam Furnace, where the subject of this sketch was born, never leaving the county except during the War of 1812, when he served with Gen. Wm. H. Harrison at Fort Wayne.
To him and his wife were born nine children, in the order named: Mrs. Jane Page, Mrs. Elizabeth Freeman, Mrs. Mary Wamsley, William, James, Charles. Mrs. Hannah Mitchell and George. Of these only Mrs. Margaret Freeman is living at this time (1898).
James McCormick was a man of magnificent physique, broad-chested, strong of limb and active. He had a firm set jaw, with a double row of teeth above and below, and soon became known as "Burr" McCormick, a name given him because of the fact that his hair, which was usually cropped close, stuck straight out. and was of a reddish hue, about the color of a ripened chestnut burr.
His advent among the furnace men of course created considerable speculation as to whether or not he was what they termed a "good man." He bad hardly taken his place in the foundry before he was challenged by the "bully" of the furnace to a test at fisticuffs. McCormick was a strict Presbyterian, and did not believe in fighting, but when it come to a question of whether he should fight or be whipped, he chose the former, and soon made short work of his adversary.
This established his reputation at that furnace, but it did not end his troubles. Knowledge of his ability soon sped to rival furnaces, each of whom boasted their best man, and since he would not leave his home, pilgrimages were made to the furnace in which he found employment in order that be might be challenged, and the question of which had the best "bully" be thus settled. It is said that he never met defeat. He was regarded a strong man, not only physically, but mentally and morally, and many of his good qualities were inherited by the subject of this sketch.
In the early days of Adams County the opportunities of securing even a common school education were very meager. Three months of the year, George Smedley McCormick walked miles through mud and rain to the little log school house, for it was only in the dead of Winter, when all labor was at a standstill, that time could be given to the development of the mind. By sturdy perseverance and close application, at the age of eighteen, he found himself competent to teach, and took charge of his first school on the West Fork of Scioto Brush Creek. He followed this profession for six years, teaching in both Adams and Scioto Counties. One of his first schools was in Nile Township, Scioto County, and the building is still standing. It is a log structure about fifteen by twenty feet, with one log left out of the side for a window. This crevice was closed by means of window glass and greased paper. Just under it, running the entire length of the building, was a desk, called the writing desk, at which the entire school were obliged to seat themselves when taking instructions in that branch.
His salary was seldom more than $12.50 per month, from which he saved until he was enabled to attend through two terms of the Ohio Weslevan University, then in its infancy. He was a man of frugal habits, and of good business judgment. He never speculated, but was content to see his worldly store increase through the legitimate profit of trade. The first piece of money he ever earned was a "'fi' penny bit." which he received from his brother-in-law. Moses Freeman, for ploughing corn one day on hillside ground prolific of stones and roots. As the value of the coin was but six and one-fourth cents, the reader will understand how well it was earned. With characteristic thrift he placed this money at interest, an elder brother being the borrower, and to the latter's surprise on the day of settlement the piece had doubled itself.
He began his career as a merchant in 1846 at the little village of Commercial, one mile and a half below Buena Vista and just within the borders of Adams County. His capital consisted of one hundred and fifty dollars, saved from his earnings as a school teacher, and five hundred dollars borrowed from his brother-in-law, the Rev. Jesse Wamsley, of "Bill Town," now Wamsleysville.
In 1848, he built for Mr. Wamsley the first house erected in Buena Vista, after it was platted as a town, and placed in it the first stock of goods ever sold in that village. The site selected was the spot on which stands the family residence, in which he passed his last days. This house came into his possession about ten years before his death, though removed to another site, and is still in use for residence purposes.
In the Spring of 1850, he removed to Rome, this county, where he conducted a successful business for nine years. His health becoming impaired, he purchased a farm in Nile Township, Scioto County, to which place he removed his family in 1859. In '62 and '63, he was engaged in merchandising for the second time in Rome, having for a partner George Lafferty. during which time his family remained on the farm.
After five years spent in farming he removed to Portsmouth in 1868, where he engaged in the grocery business. In 1870, he returned to his farm, and in 1875 the second time went to Buena Vista, where he remained constantly engaged in business until within a year of his death.
He began life with empty hands, a strong will and a clear intellect, and succeeded in leaving behind him ample provision for the wants of those nearest and dearest to him. He loved an honest man, and if there be added to his honesty intelligence, he always strove to make of such an one a friend. It was an impossibility for him to be anything but charitable, and the readiness with which he forgave those who dealt with him unjustly was often a source of annoyance to his friends and business associates. This forgiving spirit cost him many a dollar, but amply were he and his frends repaid when, during his last illness, he rejoiced that he could leave the world bearing malice towards no man.
He was a man of many strong friendships, and especially did he like at all times the company of the young.
In those early days Masonry meant much, and he took a very great interest in the work, being at one time an officer in the lodge at West Union, although he lived as far away as Rome. He was also an Odd Fellow, and a member of the Methodist Church. In politics, he was an enthusiastic Democrat but was broadminded enough to recognize merit in any party and often voted for those of opposite party affiliations. He held a number of Township offices as a matter of duty imposed by good citizenship, but declined many honors proffered by his party which would have carried him into the arena of active party politics.
He was married in 1847 to Nancy Fleak, of Cincinnati. Seven children were born to them, only two of whom are now living. Charles A., a merchant at Buena Vista, and A. F. McCormick, an attorney at Portsmouth. Ohio.
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