Jacob EKELBERRY

  General Notes:

Source Citation: Year: 1850; Census Place: Brown, Delaware, Ohio; Roll: M432_675; Page: 305A; Image: 422.


JACOB EKELBERRY, farmer; P. O. Alum Creek ; was born in this county Sept. 13, 1841, the youngest child of Jacob Ekelberry, and a namesake of his father's ; he was raised up under the care of his parents, and in December, 1863, he was united in marriage to Maria E. Redman, born in Brown Township; since their marriage, they have resided in the northern part of Berlin ; he has 255 acres of land sixty-seven acres in Berlin, and the remainder in Brown. Mr. Ekelberry has served as Township Trustee four terms; is a member of the Grange, and the Order of Red Men, Lodge No. 95. Has three children -Stephen, Joanna and Bertha.

Jacob Ekelberry.\emdash A native of the old Buckeye state and a representative of one of its sterling pioneer families, Jacob Ekelberry has lived a life of uprightness and usefulness and was long and successfully identified with the great basic industries of farming and stockgrowing, through association with which lines of enterprise he gained distinctive success. He is now living virtually retired on an attractive little homestead of thirteen acres, lying adjacent to the village of Cardington, and in the county that has so long been his home and the scene of his well directed endeavors he is held in unqualified confidence and esteem, his standing in the community being such as to entitle him to representation in this publication.

Jacob Ekelberry was born on a farm in Brown township, Delaware county, Ohio, on the 13th of September, 1841, and is a son of Jacob and Elizabeth (Whiteman) Ekelberry, both of whom were born and reared in Pennsylvania, where their marriage was solemnized. The father was a son of Jacob Ekelberry, who was of stanch German ancestry and who finally removed from Pennsylvania to Maskingum county, Ohio, where he developed an excellent farm and where he and his wife passed the residue of their lives, honored by all who knew them. He was a man of sturdy integrity and marked industry and he was one of the worthy pioneers of Muskingum county, to whose social and material advancement he contributed his quota. Jacob Ekelberry (II), father of him whose name initiates this review and who bears the full patronymic, remained in Pennsylvania for some time after his marriage and then came with his cherished and devoted wife to Ohio. For a few years he maintained his home in Fairfielct county, and he then removed to Delaware county, where he reclaimed a farm and won independence and definite prosperity through his indefatigable industry and good management. On the homestead both he and his wife continued to reside until they were summoned to the life eternal, and their names merit an enduring place on the roll of honored pioneers of this favored section of the state The mother was a member of the Baptist church. They became the parents of eleven children, of whom four sons and five daughters were reared to years of maturity, and of the number three are now living: Sarah, who is the wife of George Ferguson, residing near St. Joseph, Missouri; Mary, who is the wife of John Heverlo, of Delaware county, Ohio, and Jacob, who figures as the immediate subject of this sketch.

Jacob Ekelberry, the only surviving son in this large family, gained his initial experiences in connection with the work of the home farm and the conditions that compassed his boyhood were those of what may be termed the middle-pioneer period of the history of this section of the state. He found his early educational advantages those afforded in the somewhat primitive district schools, but, he has profited largely by the lessons gained under the direction of the wise headmaster, experience, and is a man of broad mental ken and mature judgment, the while he has exemplified most effectively the wholesome traditions of the family name, which has ever heen exponent of intergrity, loyalty and unassuming worth. There has been nothing complex or dramatic in his career as one of the world's noble army of workers, but his course has been sincere, sane and earnest, marked by appreciation of the duties and responsibilities that canopy even- life, and the result is shown in the impregnable vantage place he holds in the confidence and regard of his fellow men. Mr. Ekelberry purchased his homestead fann in Westfield township. Morrow county, and through his well directed energies he developed the same into one of the valuable properties of the county, making the best of improvements and giving his attention to diversified agriculture and stock-growing. His landed estate, comprising eighty acres, he sold in 1911 and he has now established himself in the attractive home which he has purchased contiguous to the village of Cardington, where he is enabled to enjoy the gracious rewards of former years of earnest endeavor. The place comprises thirteen acres, as already stated, and he will thus find oportunity to touch in a moderate way the cultivation of the soil, his love for which has become reinforced by long years of close association.

Though never desirous of entering the turbulance of practical politics, Mr. Ekelberry has ever stood ready to lend his influence and cooperation in the support of measures tending to advance the general welfare of the community and he is aligned as a stench supporter of the basic principles of the Democratic party. Both he and his wife have been for many years zealous members of the Marlboro Baptist church, which is one of the oldest in Delaware county and near which their homestead farm is located.

The domestic relations of Mr. Ekelberry have been of the most ideal order, as his cherished and devoted wife has been a tme helpmeet as they have passed side by side along the journey of life, sustained and comforted by mutual sympathy and abiding affection. On the 24th of December. 1863, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Ekelberry to Miss Maria E. Redman, who was horn in Brown township, Delaware county, Ohio, on the 23rd of October, 1845, and who is the daughter of Aaron and Drusilla (I)ix) Redman, the former of whom was born in the state of Virginia, where he was reared to maturity and whence he came to Delaware county, Ohio, when a young man, his marriage being here solemnized. His wife was a daughter of David and Mary (Main) Dix. David Dix was a son of Elijah Dix, who was born and reared in the highlands of Scotland and who immigrated to America about the year 1750. He located about thirty miles north of the city of New York and there passed the remainder of his life. A number of his descendants have attained to distinction in public, professional and business life, including the late General John A. Dix, at one time governor of New York, as well as Honorable John A. Dix, the present governor of that state, and Reverend John M. Dix, D. D., a prominent member of the clergy of the Protestant Episcopal church. Elijah Dix, the progenitor of the family in America, married Margaret Clark, who was of English parentage. He was distinctively loyal to the land of his adoption, as is well shown by the fact that he served as a valiant soldier in the Continental line in the war of the Revolution. In this connection he was present at the surrender of Lord Cornwallis, at Yorktown. Later he established his home in Vermont, but he finally removed to Pennsylvania. David Dix, grandfather of Mrs. Ekelberry, was one of the sterling pioneers of Delaware county, Ohio, where he took up his abode in 1808, a few years after the admission of the state to the Union. He secured a tract of heavily timbered land in Troy township, where he reclaimed a farm from the wilderness, besides which he had the distinction of being the first permanent settler of that township. His wife, whose maiden name was Mary Main, was a representative of a family that gave a number of valiant soldiers and at least one officer to the patriou forces in the war of the Revolution.

In conclusion is entered brief record concerning the four children of Mr. and Mrs. Ekelberry. Stephen A., Joanna E., Bertha L. and Kittie M. Stephen A., who was afforded good educational advantages, having been educated in the schools of Delaware, Ohio, and at Kenyon Military Academy, at Gambler, is a master mechanic and resides in the city of Delaware. He married Miss Sylvia Catherine Jacoby, and they had two children: Glady Marie, who died in infancy, and Jay Redman, educated in the schools of Delaware, who is a promising young man, and a member of Company K, Ohio National Guards. Joanna E., after completing her public school education received training in art and took a course in music in the Ohio Wesleyan University, and was a successful teacher for a number of years. She first married Emmet M. Wickham, and by this marriage has one son, Joy Carrollton, now a veterinary surgeon, who received his education at the Ohio State University. She is now the wife of Frank L. Woods, and resides in Graceton, Texas, and has two sons, Francis Jacob and Joseph Patrick. Bertha L., who remains at the parental home, was graduated in the high school of Delaware, and also took courses in music and art at the Ohio Wesleyan University; Kittie M., who is also at home, after completing the course in the public schools continued her studies in music and art, and she, like her sisters, is a lady of culture and of most gracious personality, the family having been one of prominence in eonneetion with the social activities of the home community.

Jacob married Maria Ellen REDMOND, daughter of Aaron REDMAN and Drucilla DIX, on 24 Dec 1863 in Delaware Co., Ohio, United States. (Maria Ellen REDMOND was born on 23 Oct 1845 in Delaware Co., Ohio, United States, died on 1 Nov 1915 in Delaware Co., Ohio, United States and was buried in Marlborough Cem., Troy, Delaware, Ohio, USA.)