Jesse A. Hickman

     Jesse A. Hickman was born in 1828 at Greene Co, PA.. He was the son of Samuel Hickman and Elizabeth (---). He married Charlotte Waychoff, daughter of Jacob Waychoff Jr. and Nancy Bonar, circa 1848 at Greene Co, PA.. He was listed in the Draft list of Richill Twp, Greene Co, PA. between May 1863 and June 1863. He married Caroline Renner, daughter of Elisha T. Renner and Jane Gump, in 1864. He died on 12 June 1885 at Salem, Dent Co, MO.. Jesse married twice and fathered a total of thirteen children, the last when he was 54 years old. Jesse's first wife was Charlotte Waychoff, daughter of Jacob Waychoff, Jr. and Nancy Bonar. Charlotte was a direct descendant of Peter Wyckoff, who migrated from Holland to New Netherlands (now New York) in 1636. His house, now the Wyckoff House and Museum in Brooklyn, is the oldest house still standing in New York.
Jesse was a carpenter and joiner by trade. His known works included building railroad trestles, framing churches, and the fine woodworking inside a Courthouse. He was quite a strong willed character, weighing close to 300 pounds. Townsfolk lovingly called him "Uncle Jesse." It has been said that between work projects, he would go into town and drink heavily for days. The court records show that he was involved in several lawsuits in Greene County, and allegedly squandered the money of this first wife's estate.
Just east of Waynesburg, PA, Jesse purchased land from Elmore Phillips and advertised town lots for sale in the local newspaper, in December 1850. In the 1850's, Jesse and Charlotte lived on the farm of Jesse's father, on the border of Whiteley and Jefferson Townships, Greene County, where their six children were born.
In 1860, after the settlement of Charlotte's father's estate, Jesse and Charlotte moved and bought 51 acres property in Richhill Township, Greene County. They sold the land in 1863 when Charlotte became ill, probably of tuberculosis. Charlotte died on August 3, 1863.
In 1864, Jesse married Caroline Renner, who was the daughter of his first cousin, Elisha Renner. Caroline was born Oct. 28, 1845, remarried John Christopher after Jesse's death and died Nov. 12, 1920 in St. Louis, Missouri.
After his marriage to Caroline, Jesse and his large family moved to Maryland, Mannington WV, Salem Missouri, Gainesville Texas, Illinois and back to Salem Missouri, probably in search of carpentry work. In 1869, he built the house on Lot 24, #4 Monroe St., Mannington,WV. In Salem, MO, he built the stair railings and woodwork inside the Dent County Courthouse, which can still be seen today.
After building the Presbyterian Church in Salem, Jesse was elected Justice of the Peace of Spring Township, Dent County in 1882. He resigned in 1884, probably due to ill health, as he died in Salem, on June 12, 1885, after "a long and painful attack." There is no record of his burial, but he is probably buried in the same Potter's Field of the Cedar Grove Cemetery, where his son was buried three years earlier.