Henry Mark
Henry Mark, farmer and stock raiser, is a son of Henry and Naoma Mark, who came from Pennsylvania, in 1815, and settled on the west bank of Sugar Creek. They were the parents of eight children, three sons and five daughters. Cynthia A., married and lives in Leesburg, Highland County, this state. Anthony W., married and lives in Edgar County, Illinois. Mary, married to Stephen Stafford and lives near Staunton. Harriet, married but is dead. Lewis H., married and resides in the neighborhood. Hulda Jane, married and lives with her father. Rachel, married to John Conner and lives in the neighborhood.
The mother died some years since. The father, now more than eighty years of age, is living on Leesburg pike, near Sugar Creek, being one of the oldest residents of the township.
Henry, our subject, was born November 29, 1834, and married Amanda A. Rowe, daughter of Martin and Sophia Rowe, (whose biography appears in this book,) April 15, 1857. Soon after their marriage, they commenced house-keeping on the farm, located on the east side of Sugar Creek, where they have continuously resided until the present time.
They have had ten children born unto them, three sons and seven daughters: Alice, Joseph E., Eliza J., Ada S., Annie, died in infancy ; Naoma J., Charles E., Miriam, died in infancy ; Frederick M., and Mary E. The children living are all at home with their parents except Joseph E., temporarily absent, attending school at the Ohio Wesleyan University at Delaware, Ohio.
Mr. Marks owns a very valuable farm of one hundred and fifty-one acres where he lives. A short time since, he erected a residence, which he occupies, at a cost of more than four thousand dollars. He owns a valuable farm of one hundred and twenty-six acres, on the south side of the Wilmington pike, about one mile west from Sugar Creek, in Concord Township. Also, another farm of eighty-one acres on Sugar Creek.
Our subject has been remarkably successful in all his efforts of life. He has attended to his one legitimate business, that of farming and stock raising, through high and low prices, used good judgment and practiced economy.
This is a Christian family, members of the Methodist Church, ascribing their success in life to the blessing of God in a very great degree.
From R. S. Dills' History of Fayette County
Improvement and progress may well be said to have formed the keynote of the character of the man whose name appears above, a well known and influential farmer and stock raiser of Union township, Fayette county. He has not only been interested in advancing his individual affairs, but his influence has been felt in the upbuilding of the community life. His family are among the early settlers of this community, his father having come to this county in 1811, and therefore a history of this section is more or less a history of the Mark family, for they have left their impress on the life and institutions of this locality throughout the years. Throughout his long career, Mr. Mark has been known as a man of industrious habits, striving to keep abreast of the times in every respect, and as a result every mile post of the years he has passed has found him further advanced, more prosperous, and with an increased number of friends.
Henry Mark, residing on his fine farm of one hundred and sixty acres, located four miles south of Washington, was born on November 29, 1834, in Concord township, this county. He is a son of Joseph and Naomi (Bush) Mark, the former of whom was a native of Pennsylvania and first came to this county in 1811 when he was a small boy, being brought here by his parents. He was born in Pennsylvania on October 1, 1800, his father being Peter Mark. Peter was a man of influence and high ambition who left the impress of his strong character upon the early life of this locality. When he first came here he bought a tract of land, for which he paid one dollar and a quarter per acre, and the same land is today worth two hundred dollars per acre. At the time he obtained possession, it was virgin soil and largely covered by heavy timber. This he set about removing and for several years endured many of the hardships and privations of the early pioneers. As the years passed by, acre by acre his farm was reclaimed from the grasp of the wilderness and became one of the very best in this section. Following in the footsteps of Peter Mark came his son Joseph, the father of the immediate subject of this sketch. Joseph also was a man who desired the betterment of conditions surrounding the lives of those about him and who also did all within his power to raise high the standard of civilization in a new territory. Joseph was the father of a family of eight children, the immediate subject being the fourth child in order of birth. The others were Cynthia, Anthony, Mary, Lewis, Rachael, Harriet (deceased) and Huldah.
When a youth Mr. Mark took advantage of such schooling as the time and locality afforded and assisted the father in the work of the home place until he reached the age of twenty-three. At that time he was desirous of starting in life for himself and rented land which he tilled during the summer seasons. He had also fitted himself for a teacher and for many winters was employed in several of the schools of the neighborhood. He made his first purchase of land in 1870 and later purchased the farm where he has since made his home. He has always been considered one of the most progressive and up-to-date farmers of the section and has also made considerable money on live stock, having something more than a local reputation in this line.
On April 15, 1858, Mr. Mark was united in marriage with Amanda Rowe, their union being blessed with eleven children, Alice, Joseph, Eliza, Ada, Charles E., Naomi, Fredrick, Mary and Ruth; two died in infancy. Mr. Mark's religious affiliation is with the Methodist Episcopal church and, politically, he has endorsed the principles of the Republican party for a great number of years. Mr. Mark is a man who has passed the allotted three score years and ten and in the community where he has lived for so many years he is held in the warmest regard by a wide circle of friends and acquaintances.
From History of Fayette County Ohio - Her People, Industries and Institutions by Frank M. Allen (1914, R. F. Bowen & Company, Inc.)