George Elba Zimmerman
To make a success of agriculture it is necessary to be something more than merely a hard worker. In these days when modern machinery has made it possible for the farmer to dispense with laborious efforts in order to get a good crop there is demanded a technical knowledge which it was not considered necessary to know fifty years ago. There are fields in Fayette county which fifty years ago would even produce twice as much corn as the same fields will yield today for the reason that the soil has lost much of its former fertility. Continuous cropping, without proper rotation of crops or scientific fertilizing, has depleted the plant food in the soil. The wise farmer of today realizes that a knowledge of tlie constituent elements of the soil is neccssary if he wishes to secure the maximum results from his efforts. One of the progressive farmers of Fayette county who keeps well abreast of the latest advances in agriculture is George E. Zimmerman, a prominent farmer and stock raiser of Jefferson township.
George Elba Zimmerman was born April 12, 1869, in Greene county, Ohio, and is the son of Fletcher and Lucy (Preddy) Zimmerman. His father was born in this county and was a son of Obadiah Zimmerman, a native of Virginia and an early settler in Union township, this county. Fletcher Zimmerman and wife were the parents of eleven children, Alvin B., Osman T., Frank R., Trustin, George Elba, Dean, John, Mrs. Anna Ellis, Samuel, Mrs. Flora Haas and Mrs. Edith Neal. Fletcher Zimmerman is still living and is the owner of about two hundred acres of land, part of which lies in Fayette county.
George E. Zimmerman attended the Hargrove school in Jefferson township and later went to the Futtrell school, where he completed his education. He remained at home until he was twenty-one years of age and began farming on the shares, after which he rented a farm of one hundred and fifty acres, on which he lived for three years, when he bought his present farm of one hundred and sixty acres about three and one-half miles north of Jeffersonville. His farm, known as the Poplar farm, is one of the most attractive in the county and he has always taken great pride in keeping it in good repair. He is an extensixe raiser of Duroc hogs and high grade cattle and derives the major portion of his income from the sale of his live stock. Mr. Zimmerman was married December 27, 1893, to Maude Perkins. the daugliter of Absalom and Jennie (Hitchcock) Gordon. Mrs. Zimmerman's mother died when she was fifteen months old and she was then adopted by Daxid and Elizabeth (Ervin) Perkins and by them reared to womanhood. David was born in Washington county, Ohio, and is a son of Samuel Perkins and is living with the subject. Nine children were born to Samuel Perkins and wife: Weston, Willard, Mrs. Matilda Durken, Walter, David. Mrs. Sarah Thomas, Mrs. Columbia Ervin. Esther and Abbie. All of these children are deceased except Matilda and Columbia.
Mr. Zimmerman and his wife are the parents of five children, Harold W., Donald R., Amos V.. Ala L. and Theron A. Harold is a graduate of the Jeffersonville high school, while the other four children are still students in the common schools. Their parents are firm believers in the great value of a good education, and they are giving their children the benefit of the best educational training that can be had in the county. The family are all loyal members of the Christian church, in whose welfare they are interested and to whose support they are liberal contributors. Fraternally, Mr. Zimmerman is a member of the Knights of Pythias. Genial and unassuming in manner, he easily wins friends and always retains them because of his high personal qualities.
From History of Fayette County Ohio - Her People, Industries and Institutions by Frank M. Allen (1914, R. F. Bowen & Company, Inc.)