Biography-Memoirs of Men and Women of Stark County.
Compiled by JOHN DANNER. B.F. Bowen, Publisher 1904.
Including:
- John M. Foulks
- Wallace S. Foulks, M.D.
- Elizabeth (Morgan) Foulks
- Lafayette Foulks
- Marion C. Foulks, M.D.
JOHN M. FOULKS. -- The Foulks family has a most remarkable military record. William Foulks, the subject's great-grandfather, served gallantly in the struggle for independence and his son, also named William, gained distinction as captain in the war of 1812. John Foulks, so of the latter, was also a veteran of the second war with England, serving with Captain Hargaugh's cavalry company, which won honor in a number of bloody battle fields. Later when the clouds of rebellion darkened the national horizon and armed hosts of treason threatened to disrupt the government, six sons of John Foulks took up arms in defense of the nation and nobly upheld its honor.
With a single exception, these sons passed through the fiery ordeal safely, the exception being one who received a painful wound in the leg while facing the storm of shot and shell in the engagement of Resaca, Georgia. Another brother, William, was captured at Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and for some months suffered all the untold and unexplainable horrors of the prison at Andersonville.
Reverting to the genealogy of the subject, it is learned that his paternal ancestors were among the early white settlers of Pennsylvania, and that shortly after the revolutionary period many representatives of the family found homes within the present limits of Beaver county. Not long after the close of that war, the Indians, incited to hostility by British emissaries, took the war path and devastated that part of the country, mercilessly murdering men, women and children, but few of the Foulks escaping the general massacre. It is a matter of record that the savages, for some reason, refrained from killing a few of the unfortunate captors that fell into their hands, among the number being two daughters and a son of William Foulks, the Revolutionary hero referred to in a preceding paragraph.
The son, whose name was George, finally succeeded in making his escape and for many years there-after his fame as a scout made him widely known on the frontier. He was a warm friend and intimate associate of the celebrated scout and Indian fighter, Brady, of "Brady's leap" fame, and the two met with many thrilling experiences and daring adventures during the troublesome time which characterized the early settlement of western Pennsylvania and the eastern counties of Ohio.
While in captivity one of the daughters married a man by the name of Whittacre, who was also a prisoner, the Indians according this privilege to such white people as fell into their hands. Subsequently they appear to have fared quite well as the chief not only gave them their liberty but also allotted them a large tract of land near the present site of Upper Sandusky, Ohio. There Mr. Whittacre improved a farm on which he and his wife spent the greater part of their lives, but of the fate of the other daughter nothing definite was ever learned.
William Foulks, Jr., grandfather of the subject, was born June 10, 1770, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and shortly after the Revolutionary war removed with his parents to Beaver county, where he grew to manhood and married. While living there he laid claim to four hundred acres of valuable land and was intending to make it his home when a law was enacted requiring all holders of real estate to perfect their titles to the same. In this matter Mr. Foulks did not experience any difficulty as his claim was perfectly valid, but a number of unscrupulous speculators organizing themselves into a company for the purpose of defrauding settlers out of their holdings, instituted proceedings him, his place being one of the most fertile and in many respects one of the most desirable farms in the county.
Compelled to defend his rights, he contested the matter in several law suits which were tried in Philadelphia and each time received a favorable verdict, but the expenses of so much litigation exhausted all of his means and well-nigh impoverished his family. The land sharks persisting in their persecutions, he finally was obliged to let matters take their course as he had no means with which to defend himself further.
Driven to this extremity, he finally abandoned his home to his persecutors and, with others similarly situated, moved in the year 1800 to the newly settled country of eastern Ohio, locating on the present site of New Lisbon, Columbiana county. His dwelling, a rude log cabin of the most primitive pattern, was the first improvement on the land where now stands the above county's flourishing seat of justice, one of the most beautiful as well as one of the wealthiest cities of its size in the state.
After remaining a few years where he originally settled, Mr. Foulks moved to what is now the thriving town of Calcutta, where he subsequently built the first brick dwelling in that section of the country. His place soon became the nucleus of quite a flourishing settlement and, being centrally located, with superior natural advantages, he finally laid out a town which in compliment to him was called Foulkstown. The village grew apace and became the chief trading point for a large area of territory, but in the course of time the name was officially changed to Calcutta, by which it has since been known.
While a resident of the village, William Foulks took a leading part in the public affairs of the county and became one of the most influential politicians in the eastern part of the state. He represented the district of which Columbiana formed a part, three times in the general assembly, having been one of the leaders of his party during the sessions of 1810, 1811 and 1818. His legislative career was eminently satisfactory to his constituents and his name is prominently connected with many of the most important laws enacted during his incumbency. He spent the closing years of his life in Richland county and in his death, which occurred on the 3rd day of September, 1832, the state lost one of the most influential legislators and high-minded men of his day and generation.
Elizabeth Morgan, wife of William Foulks, was a granddaughter of celebrated Revolutionary patriot, General Daniel Morgan, whose prowess and leadership saved the day at Saratoga, and it is also to his gallant feats of arms that the history of our country is indebted for many of its most interesting and thrilling pages. Mrs. Foulks' father, who was also named Daniel, served with distinction during the war for independence and no doubt held and important commission as he was ever afterwards known as General Morgan.
John Foulks, son of William and Elizabeth Foulks, was born in Beaver county, Pennsylvania, about the year 1793. He was a small child when his parents moved to Ohio and grew to mature years in the county of Columbiana, experiencing all the vicissitudes of life in a new and undeveloped country. When a youth in his 'teens he engaged in the overland freighting business as a teams ter between the settlements of eastern Ohio and the Allegheny mountains. He devoted his attention to this line of work for several years and after giving it up followed different vocations for a livelihood until finally becoming a farmer and keeper of a house of public entertainment.
As stated in a preceding paragraph, he served in the war of 1812, having been a youth of about fifteen when he entered the service to fight for his country. Of his military experience sufficient is known to warrant the statement that he proved a brave, cool and collected soldier under many trying circumstances and that he did nothing to bring discredit to a name distinguished for gallant and meritorious service.
Mr. Foulks was twice married, the fist time to a Miss Fisher, who lived but a short time and bore him no children. In 1830 he chose a life companion in the person of Mrs. Mary Hassler (nee Slence), whose former husband, Daniel Hassler, died while moving his family form Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, to a tract of land in Columbiana county which he had purchased the previous year. After the death and burial of her husband the widow Hassler continued the journey until reaching her destination and then set resolutely to work to hold her land and meet the payments as they came due.
A woman of fine natural endowments and not lacking the qualities that overcome difficulties and win success, she managed her business affairs admirably, provided well for her children and was in very comfortable circumstances at the time of her second marriage. By Mr. Hassler she had five children, all now deceased, and her union with Mr. Foulks was blessed with seven, of whom the following survive: John M., the subject of this sketch; Theodore L., of Boise City, Idaho; Clavin, a resident of Springport, Michigan, and Minerva, widow of the late William Vink, of Canton.
After his second marriage Mr. Foulks settled on his wife's farm, just east of Moultrie, on the "Hahn Bottoms," and in addition to cultivating the soil, opened his house for the entertainment of the traveling public. He kept a tavern at this point for many years and met with fair success, later removing to the town of Moultrie where he built a larger and much better equipped hotel. Mr. Foulks continued to run a hostelry until the death of his wife, when he broke up housekeeping and from that time on lived among his children. In 1878, at the ripe old age of eighty-five, his spirit gently passed into the great beyond, leaving as a monument to his posterity a name and reputation above reproach.
John M. Foulks was born in West township, Columbiana county, Ohio, on the 5th of June, 1840. His childhood years were confined to the usual routine of labor and play which characterize the early life of the majority of boys, and when old enough he began his studies in the public schools, the training thus received being afterwards supplemented by a course in a private educational institution at North Georgetown, conducted by Rev. Mr. Heming, a teacher of scholarly ability and high professional attainments.
At the age of fifteen young Foulks earned his first money by working for a neighboring farmer, receiving for his services the modest compensation of four dollars per month. In this way he earned thirty-two dollars, after which, in his sixteenth year, he apprenticed himself to learn the carpenter's trade, his wages while thus engaged to be seven dollars per month the first summer, nine dollars the second and eleven dollars the third, by which time it was supposed he could master the craft. Meanwhile he applied himself so diligently to his studies that in his twenty-first year he was sufficiently qualified to pass the required examination and secure a license entitling him to teach in the public schools.
Mr. Foulks taught his first term in the winter of 1861-62, and achieved an honorable reputation as an instructor. He continued to divide his time between educational work and carpentry until 1864, in September of which year he laid aside his books and tools for the purpose of entering the army. He enlisted in Company I, One Hundred and Seventy-eighth Ohio Infantry, and two weeks after entering the service was made orderly sergeant, in which capacity he served until honorably discharged at the close of the war. The One Hundred and Seventy-eighth formed part of Twenty-eighth Corps, Army of the Ohio, and took part in all the campaigns and battles in which that command was engaged.
Among the more noted actions in which Mr. Foulks participated was the fighting in the vicinity of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, where he was under almost constant fire from November 30th to the 14th of the following month, the arrival of the Confederate forces under General Hood necessitating a change of operations at the latter date. From that time until the expiration of his period of enlistment his conduct was all that could be expected of a brave and courageous soldier. On the 29th of June, 1865, he received his discharge at Charlotte, North Carolina, and as soon as possible returned home and resumed the dual duties of mechanic and educator.
Meantime, September 15, 1864, Mr. Foulks was united in marriage with Miss Elizabeth Jones, daughter of Joseph Jones, the father one of the largest and most successful farmers of Columbiana county, in which part of the state Mrs. Foulks was born and reared. In 1866 Mr. Foulks moved to his father-in-law's farm, which he ran for several years with the assistance of hired labor, devoting the greater part of his own time to contracting and building. Two years later he gave up his trade, the better to look after his agricultural interests, but he still devoted the winter seasons to school work, continuing the latter profession with marked success until 1873.
From that year until his retirement Mr. Foulks was exclusively a tiller of the soil. In 1890 he purchased of Mr. Jones the large and beautiful farm on which he had been living for twenty-four years and after cultivating it with encouraging financial results until 1901 turned it over tot he management of his son-in-law and moved to the tow of New Franklin, where he is now living a retired life.
Mr. Foulks has always maintained an active interest in the affairs of his community and township and served the latter three terms as assessor. In politics he is staunchly Democratic and for years has been a leader of his party in local affairs, also rendering valuable service in state and general elections. He belongs to Homeworth Lodge No. 499, Free and Accepted Masons, and is also an influential member of the Grand Army post at Minerva.
A pleasing incident in the career of Mr. Foulks occurred in 1898 when the beautiful monument erected in honor of the soldiers from West township, Columbiana county, was publicly unveiled. The occasion attracted a large concourse of people, and the beautiful and impressive ceremony served to arouse their enthusiasm and patriotic pride to a degree seldom witnessed on any previous occasion. When asked what part he proposed to take in the exercises, Mr. Foulks replied to the effect that he had but one favor to ask and that was the privilege of designation the party to whom should be accorded the honor of pulling the cord that was to loosen the veil and expose the monument to view.
He gave as reasons for this request the fact that he could name a person present who had one grandfather, five times removed, and four grandfathers, four times removed, that served with distinction in the Revolution, three grandfathers three times removed and two, twice removed, that were veterans of the war of 1812, also one grand uncle that took part in the latter struggle; two grandfathers, eleven grand uncles and more than ten cousins, more or less distant, that fought for the Union during the late Rebellion; one grand uncle that participated in the Black Hawk war, besides a number of near relatives that served in the war between the United States and Spain, designation as the one honored by such a patriotic lineage, his own little granddaughter, Ruth Bat es. It is needless to state that his request was most freely and cheerfully granted and at the proper moment the little miss pulled the cord which exposed the noble shaft to the gaze of hundreds in attendance, the closing ceremony being marked by the most enthusiasm.
Mr. and Mrs. Foulks have a daughter by the name of Anna M., now the wife of D. W. Bates, a well-known farmer of Columbiana county, and the mother of the little Ruth referred to above; also one son, Victor and one daughter, Elva.
WALLACE S. FOULKS. -- The history of the Foulks family in the United States dates from the colonial period and the name appears in connection with the great struggle which resulted in American independence. According to the most authentic information obtainable the Doctor's great-great-great-grandfather on the paternal side was William, a native of Germany. He came to America prior to the war of the Revolution and when the colonists revolted espoused their course and bore a distinguished part until the Briton was driven from our shores.
He also proved his loyalty to his adopted country by fighting her hereditary foe from 1812 to 1815, having served in a Pennsylvania regiment during that war. He is supposed to have first settled in Massachusetts, moving thence to New York and later to Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, where he followed the life of a farmer until his death, which occurred about the year 1835.
The subject's great-great-grandfather was William, a native of Philadelphia, born June 10, 1770, married Elizabeth Morgan, born September 8, 1771. William died September 3, 1833, and his wife June 6, 1845. The issue of their union was as follows: Nancy, who married a Mr. Fisher, born October 22, 1791, died May 16, 1858; John, born June 10, 1793, at Darlington, Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania; Sallie, born February 12, 1796, died January 1, 1856; Charles, born July 26, 1798, died April 4, 1872; William, born June 27, 1800, died June 3, 1879; Elizabeth, born August 25, 1802; Jessie, born June 27, 1804; Mary, born July 18, 1806, died April 28, 1845; Matilda, born September 20, 1808, died August 25, 1852; Jacob, born June 19, 1810, died March 20, 1811; Minnie, born December 20, 1818, married a Mr. Stephenson, of near Mansfield, Ohio, and they have four children.
John Foulks, the subject's great-grandfather, was born in Westmoreland county, near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1793, and, like his father, devoted his life to the pursuit of agriculture. When a young man he came to eastern Ohio, settling at Moultrie, Columbiana county, where shortly after his arrival he married a widow of the name of Mary Hassler, daughter of William Slentz, who was also a native of Pennsylvania. John Foulks entered a section of land on which he built a small log cabin and lived the life of a pioneer, sharing in all the hardships and vicissitudes of the early times. He developed a fine farm, accumulated a large estate and became one of the enterprising men of the community in which he lived. He died in 1878, where he originally settled, his wife preceding him to the grave in 1869.
The following are the names of the children born to John and Mary Foulks; Lafayette, of whom a more extended notice will be found in another paragraph; Mrs. Minerva Vink, born August 7, 1834; William, born May 8, 1836, died in 1893, a solider of the late Civil war; his widow, formerly Miss Angeline Nunermaker, resides at New Franklin; Milton, born August 25, 1838, also a veteran of the Rebellion, died at Dunkirk, Indiana, in 1901; John M., born June 5, 1840, served in the One Hundred and Fifteenth Ohio Volunteers in the Civil war, married Elizabeth Jones and now lives at New Franklin, Ohio; Theodore Shannon, born March 29, 1842, was likewise a soldier, and at this time lives at Butte, Montana, a single man; Clavin, born April 15, 1845, a member of the One Hundred and Fifteenth Ohio Infantry in the Civil war, married Maggie Jones and makes his home at Albion, Michigan.
Lafayette Foulks, the oldest of the above children, was born in Columbiana county, Ohio, December 24, 1832. He was reared to agricultural pursuits, attended at intervals when a boy the old fashioned schools of the times and made farming his life work. In 1851 he married Miss Nancy Whiteleather, who was born in Columbiana county in the year 1836, the daughter of David and Elizabeth (Firestone) Whiteleather, natives respectively of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, and Wooster, Ohio. David Whiteleather came to this state in an early day and died in New Chambersburg, Ohio, about the year 1877. The Firestones moved to Ohio from Wayne county, Pennsylvania.
After his marriage Lafayette Foulks moved to a farm in the vicinity of Moultrie, Columbiana county, and there lived and prospered until his death, in 1889. Like his brothers, he too responded to the country's call in the dark days of the Rebellion, enlisting in Company D, One Hundred and Fifteenth Ohio Infantry, of which he was made second lieutenant at Columbus and later, for brave and meritorious conduct, was promoted first lieutenant. He acted in the latter capacity until the close of the war and returned home after spending three and a half years in the service of his country.
In politics he was originally a Whig, but afterwards became a Republican, of which party all the male members of the Foulks family have been earnest supporters. He was a zealous communicant of the Methodist church, as was also his wife, and as a man and citizen he commanded the esteem and confidence of the community in which nearly all of his life was spent.
Lafayette and Nancy Foulks reared the following children: Marion C., M. D.; David W., born December 15, 1859, resides in Indianapolis, Indiana, married Frances Harrison, now deceased; William L., born March 30, 1866, died September 29, 1900, married Alpha Shively; Elizabeth, born March 29, 1862, married D. E. Lower, of Columbiana county, Ohio.
Marion C. Foulks, M. D., was born May 15, 1852, in Columbiana county, Ohio, and spent his early years on his father's farm, meanwhile, as opportunities afforded, attending the common schools. He was an apt pupil, as may be inferred from the fact of his having successfully passed the required examination for a teacher's license when but thirteen years of age, perhaps the youngest person in the state to receive such an instrument. Mr. Foulks taught school for seven successive years, but in 1873 abandoned educational work for the purpose of reading medicine, entering the office of Drs. Firestone and Carey at Salem, Ohio.
Subsequently he became a student of the medical department of Wooster University, from which institution he was graduated in 1876, and immediately thereafter began the practice of his profession at North Georgetown, Columbiana county, where he remained during the ensuing ten years. Dr. Foulks built up an extensive practice in and around North Georgetown and in due time became one of the leading physicians and surgeons in that section of the state.
In 1886 he opened an office in Canton, and since that time has practiced in this city and adjacent country with a large measure of professional and financial success. His career has been one of uninterrupted prosperity, and today he occupies a commanding position among the medical men of eastern Ohio. He is now the consulting physician of the Aultman Hospital, and as a member of the Stark County Academy of Medicine, Canton Medical Society, Northeastern Ohio Medical Society, and the State Medical Association, he has done much to advance the standard of professional efficiency in this part of the country. Fraternally Dr. Marion C. Foulks is a Royal Arch Mason, a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias and an active worker in the Improved Order of Red Men.
He is a pronounced Republican in politics, yet he has never held political office nor aspired to public distinction, although active in promoting t he interests of his party and even ready to maintain the soundness of his opinions. Religiously he was reared a Methodist, but in matters of faith entertains liberal views, believing all churches to be potent instrumentalities for good if properly conducted. The Doctor was married, at New Alexander, Columbiana county, Ohio, in 1873, to Miss Frances A. Lower, whose birth occurred in that town on the 4th day of July, 1856. Mrs. Foulks is the daughter of Michael and Nancy (Smith) Lower, both natives of the county of Columbiana, their respective ancestors having moved to that part of the state from central Pennsylvania.
Dr. and Mrs. Foulks have two children, namely: Anna M., educated in Canton public schools, graduated from the high school and from the Canton Business College; Wallace S., M. D.
Dr. Wallace S. Foulks, to a brief review of whose life and professional career the reader's attention is here with respectively invited, was born June 1, 1875, in Salem, Columbiana county, Ohio. When he was an infant his parents moved to North Georgetown and there he lived until about fourteen years of age, meanwhile beginning his education as a pupil in the village schools. He continued his studies at the above place until the family came to Canton, after which he attended the city schools until his nineteenth year and then entered his father's office to begin his preliminary preparation for the medical profession.
In due time under his father's able direction he was ready to enter upon a more thorough course of instruction, and accordingly he became, in 1894, a student of Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, and after attending that celebrated institution the greater part of three years was graduated in 1897 with the degree of Doctor of Medicine.
In October of the latter year Dr. Foulks began practicing at his present quarters in Canton and since that time has made rapid advancement, enjoying today worthy prestige among the successful professional men of the city and county. He prepared himself for his life work under some of the ablest medical talent on the continent, and, availing himself of every opportunity for advancement, has gradually forged to the front, gaining an honorable distinction and a liberal share of patronage. He is a young man of fine intellectual and professional attainments, a student and a thinker, and thus far his laudable ambition to excel has been crowned with most encouraging success.
In common with the enterprising and progressive members of the profession everywhere he seeks the association of those similarly engaged, and accordingly his name is found in the records of the Canton Medical Society, the Stark County Academy of Medicine, and other medical organizations, whose object is the advancement of a higher standard of excellence among those whose lives and energies are being devoted to the alleviation of human suffering. Realizing that to political parties are entrusted the government of the state and nation, he gives his support to the party which in his judgment best meets the requirements of the people and that most nearly subserves their interests, and believing the Republican party best calculated to meet these ends he has been pronounced in his allegiance thereto since old enough to read and investigate intelligently, and he is now one of its younger leaders in the city of Canton.
The Doctor is a member of the First Methodist Episcopal church of this city and in his fraternal relations belongs to the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Eagles, Knights of Honor, Home Guards, Royal Templars and Woodmen of the World. He is a married man and has a pleasant home in Canton, presided over by a lady of culture and refinement who became his wife in this city on the 29th day of June, 1899. The maiden name of Mrs. Foulks was Florence M. Rockhill and she is the daughter of Samuel H. and Margaret (Smith) Rockhill. To them has been born a son, Raymond, born March 6, 1903.
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