James William Whigham
James William Wigham, whose excellent farm of eighty acres lies three and one-half miles south of Amsterdam, in Springtield Township, was born at Hopedale, Harrison County, Ohio, November 30, 1856, and is a son of Andrew and Mary (Davis) Whigham.
Andrew Whigham came to America from Ireland and secured work at Hopedale, O., where he met and married Mary, a daughter of John Davis. She died in 1863, in Hardin County, Ohio, having been the mother of three children: James W.; Jennie, who died when aged five years; and Dora. The last mentioned married C. P. Merryman and they reside near Smithfield, in Jefferson County. After the death of his first wife Andrew Whigham married a widow, a Mrs. Walker, and they had four children: Frank, Jennie, Jessie and Josephine, the last named dying in infancy.
Andrew Whigham lived in Harrison County for some four years after his first marriage, and then moved to Hardin County, where he resided until his death, in 1871. A member of Co. A, 82nd O. Vol. Inf., in the Civil War, he was fortunate enough to escape all injury while in the service. He and wives attended the Presbyterian church.
Before he settled down to industrial life J. W. Whigham attended the public schools in Hardin County and at Unionport, and also the Hopedale Normal School, and has found that a good education has helped materially to make him a successful farmer, capable of applying improved methods of agriculture. In the spring of 1890 he moved from near Unionport to his present farm, purchasing it from G. M. Gault. The old log cabin that was built on the place by pioneers is yet standing on the farm, but the other buildings were erected by Mr. Whigham after coming here. His land is all cleared with the exception of two acres, and besides general farming he raises sheep, keeping about one hundred head over the winter. In politics he is a Republican, as was his father in his later days.
Mr. Whigham was married first in 1883, to Miss Edna McCullough, a daughter of the late Dr. McCullough. She died in 1884 and was buried at Unionport. Mr. Whigham was married secondly October 25, 1887, to Miss lantha E. Gault, a daughter of George M. and Lucinda (Retts) Gault, and they have had three children: Zella L., who is attending Bethany College; an infant son that died unnamed; and Ethel A., who is at school. Mr. Whigham and family are members of the Christian church at Bergholz, in which he is an elder, an office he also held for several years in the Unionport church.
Mrs. Whigham 's grandfather, John Gault, came from Washington County, Pennsylvania, to German Township, Harrison County, Ohio, when his son, George M., was twelve years of age, and the latter grew to manhood there. He married Lucinda Betts, a daughter of William Betts, and they had five children: John, who married Margaret Miser; Loretta; lantha E., who married Mr. Wliigham; William B., who married Laura Miser; and McKinney V., who married Cora Davidson, a daughter of Cicero Davidson. After marriage George M. Gault continued to live on the old home farm until late in life and then moved to a small farm on the Salem and Jefferson Road, where he died, in 1904, his wife having passed away in 1894. They were buried at Salem, being members of the Presbyterian church there. During the Civil War George M. Gault was in the 100-day service. He owned at his death about 218 acres of land, and forty-eight of this lies in Jefferson County, Ohio, but at an earlier period was a large land owner. In politics he was a Democrat.
20th Century History of Steubenville and Jefferson County, Ohio, by Joseph B. Doyle. Richmond-Arnold Publishing Co., Chicago, 1910