Sanford Alexander McCullough
Sanford Alexander McCullough, of Tranquility, was born on his father's farm near the above mentioned village, March 11, 1842. He is a descendant of a fine old Scotch-Irish family of which John McCullough, of Virginia, is the progenitor of the Ohio branch. He was a nephew of Major Samuel McCullough, who made the daring horseback leap into Wheeling Creek from the bluffs above it near Fort Henry at the time of its investment by the Indians in 1771 . John McCullough spent the latter part of his life in Adams county. His son, Alexander McCullough, grandfather of the subject of this biography, was born in Rockbridge County. Virginia, where he married Nancy McCroskey, shortly after which event, he came to Adams county. He and his wife are buried in the old cemetery at Tranquility, or as formerly known. Hopewell Meeting House. He was a soldier in the War of 1812, and was in the engagement at Sandusky. He had a family of five children; Sarah, James, Tilford, Samuel B., who married Rebecca Cumings, and Archibald, father of our subject, who was born September 10, 1817. He was a carpenter by trade and lived on a farm. January 1, 1841. he married Sarah Elliott, daughter of Robert Elliott, who married Sallie McIntire. Archibald McCullough's children were, Sanford, Robert, Samuel, Nancy, James, Sarah, Addison, Willison, and Steele.
Sanford A., our subject, received a good common school education and improved his leisure hours in general reading which has added largely to his scholastic attainments. He enlisted as a Private in Company G, 129th O. V. I.. July 23, 1863, and was honorably discharged March 8, 1864. In August of that year, he re-enlisted in Company H, 173d O. V. I., in which he was made Sergeant, and served until his honorable discharge at Nashville, June 26, 1865. October 11, 1865, he married Miss Orlena A. McCreight, daughter of Major John McCreight, whose wife was Nicassa Dryden, of Tranquility. Mr. and Mrs. McCullough have had born to them three children : Spencer E., now deceased; John E., of Peoria, Ill ; and Miss Myrtle May, living with her parents.
Sanford A. McCullough is one of the most prominent business men, and among the best known citizens of Adams County. Being industrious and frugal, and a man whose integrity has never been questioned, he has accumulated a large estate, and is rated among the most substantial business men of the county. He served for a number of years as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Wilson Children's Home, at West Union, and was selected by the late Hon. John T. Wilson, one of the executors of his vast estate. He has been twice elected a member of the Board of County Commissioners of Adams County on the Republican ticket when the rest of the ticket was overwhelmingly defeated, and is at present a member of that board. He is a member of the United Presbyterian Church of Tranquility in which he has held the office of Clerk for many years.
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