Edmund Faherty

In 1825, Edmund Faherty, built a “horse band mill” two miles north of the mill established by William Nelson in 1812. From the large number of such mills, one would conclude that their capacity to produce was rather small or that there were more settlers...

Rev. James C. Elliott Biography

The history of Perry and Randolph Counties would be incomplete without a sketch of the Elliott family.  They are the descendants of English and Scotch-Irish ancestry.  Members of the family came to America prior to the Revolutionary War.  William Preston Elliott, the...

John Edgar

John Edgar was an officer in the British Navy during the Revolutionary War. He married an American wife who was an able person and much devoted to the cause of the colonists. This attitude on the part of his wife must have greatly influenced Edgar, for we shortly find...

Benjamin Craine

Large families were not so unusual in pioneer days. One pioneer, upon being asked how he managed to feed so many, answered – “Every mouth brings two hands.” Benjamin Craine brought many hands when he came with seven sons in 1802 to settle on Mary’s...

John Coulter

The French name of Grand Cote was given to the prairie in the northeastern part of the county. It was on this prairie that John Coulter settled in 1822. Around his place a small village grew up and for a time was known as Grand Cote. When the town was platted in 1850,...

Cole Brothers

In 1839, the Cole Brothers began construction of a flour mill. This business prospered, and milling began to be a principal industry. The Cole’s have left their imprint upon the town.

John Clendenin

John Clendenin, a Revolutionary War Veteran, was also an early settler on the site of present day Chester. His son, James Clendenin, settled near Rockwood, where his descendants yet live.

A. A. Burlingame

The people about Sparta early assumed a leadership in the making of tools and implements used by the settlers. A. A. Burlingame set up to make wagons in nearby Eden. He soon began to make plows and in 1866 moved to Sparta. At that time he regularly employed nine men...

John B. Burk

John B. Burk, leaving his family in Tennessee, came to Shiloh Hill community in 1827, and built a log house. After completing the house, he fastened his two dogs in it with a plentiful supply of cornmeal and water. He then set out for Tennessee to bring his wife and...