BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES, BELMONT COUNTY, OHIO

"History of the Upper Ohio Valley" Vol. II, 1890.

Presented by Linda Fluharty from hard copies provided
by Mary Staley & Phyllis Slater.

Pages 702-703.


WILLIAM EATON is the only living representative of nine children born to John
and Catherine (Eckels) Eaton. The children were: Joseph, born January 4, 1805,
died February 8, 1825; John, born October 18, 1806, died December 10, 1848;
Jeanet, born November 4, 1808, (the wife of Robert Miller), died December 11,
1826; Mary, wife of Joseph Rodgers, born February 1, 1811; Benjamin, born April
21, 1814, died May 15, 1877; Daniel, born July 5, 1816, died November 4, 1861;
William, born December 16, 1818; Isaac E., born December 22, 1820, died in 1882,
in Leavenworth City, Kan.; David, born March 2, 1824, died May 28, 1847, he was
a soldier in the Mexican war, and met his death at the front. The father of these
children was born April 6, 1781, in Pennsylvania. In 1814 he came with his parents
to Morristown, Belmont Co., Ohio. He died July 11, 1843. At the time of his death
he was standing behind the counter in his hotel, his demise being caused apoplexy.
The mother was born December 11, 1780, and died March 1, 1863, having reached the
advanced age of eighty-three years. Mr. and Mrs Eaton were devout members of the
Presbyterian church, the latter being one of the first members, at a time when
services were held in the woods, before they had any church building. John Eaton
established a hotel on what is now the "Ola State road," when the township was
unsettled, there being but three houses in Morristown at the time. He was post-
master of Morristown during the last twenty-five years of his life. William Eaton
received his education in the old log school-house at Morristown, which was the
only school in the vicinity in that day. When he was twelve years of age he was
taken into his father's store and remained there for sixteen years. December 1,
1846, he was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Atwell, a daughter of Thompson
and Nancy Atwell, who were natives of Loudon county, Va. They came to Belmont
county, Ohio, in 1826, and here reared six children, viz.: William, born August
12, 1826, he went to California in 1849 and was not heard from until January,
1889, he was then in Mexico; Elizabeth, born February 2, 1828; Jesse, born. January
30, 1831, died in Nevada in 1887; Thomas E., born June 29, 1833, died December 30,
1888; Susan, born August 19, 1836, the wife of Edward Harris, now living in Calif-
ornia; Mary Jane, born February 1, 1839, wife of Andrew Ewers. The father was born
September 28, 1797, and died March 3, 1861; the mother died June 29, 1881. William
Eaton was engaged in the mercantile business for six years after his marriage, he
then turned his attention to farming and stock-raising, and has been very successful
in this pursuit. The children that have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Eaton are: Robert
M., born April 23, 1849, he is one of the brightest young men that Belmont County
has produced; he was prosecuting attorney of Belmont county, being elected in 1880,
he served two years, and after that became one of St. Clairsville's most prominent
lawyers; he was admitted to the bar in 1871. In 1886 he moved to Atchison, Kan.,
and has met with such success in his new home that in 1888 he was elected judge of
the District court; Charles A., born August 16, 1851, lives with his parents; Mary
B., born February 23, 1854, is the wife of John C. Tomlinson, a member of the firm
of Tomlinson & Eaton, lawyers; Ruth E., born April 18, 1858, died October 5, 1860.
Mr. and Mrs. Eaton are consistent members of the Presbyterian church, and are held
in the highest essteem by their large circle of friends. Mr. Eaton is one of the
representative agriculturists of the county.