Elliott, Rev. James H.

ELLIOTT, BOYD, MCKEE

Posted By: mjv (email)
Date: 10/30/2020 at 09:38:26

Rev. James H. Elliott, Crawfordsville, Iowa, was born near Fair Haven, Preble Co., Ohio, Aug. 29, 1836. He is a son of James and Sarah (Boyd) Elliott, the former born in Abbeville District, South Carolina, the latter in Kentucky. Ebenezer, the paternal grandsire of our subject, was a noted Abolitionist, and his house was known as an “underground railroad station” in anti-slavery times, when it required men to uphold such sentiments in that State. The father of Ebenezer strongly espoused the cause of liberty, and three of his sons were soldiers in the War of the Revolution; the Tories, thinking them concealed in the house and not finding them, determined to confiscate his horses. The aged father remonstrated; saying that with his horses went all hopes of his crop. The enraged Tories, finding some resistance against their act, deliberately shot and killed the aged man in his own dooryard. The paternal grandmother had five uncles who were Revolutionary soldiers, the shortest of whom was six feet four inches tall. The family was composed of seven sons, and the name of Gaston is often mentioned in the history of that war.

In 1806 James Elliott came with his father, Ebenezer, to Preble County, Ohio, being at that time nine years of age. He grew to manhood on the farm, and after his marriage engaged for many years in that occupation. Three sons and three daughters comprised the family: John B., Narcissa, Sara J., E. Bower, James H. and Martha A. John, the eldest, is a civil engineer and expert witness; the eldest daughter Narcissa, is the widow of Hon. W. H. Bonner, of Decatur County, Ind.; Sarah J. and E. Bower are deceased; the latter was a soldier during the late war, and received a wound at the battle of Vicksburg, from which he never recovered. Martha A. is the wife of Rev. J. H. Cooper, of Marysville, Blount Co., Tenn.

Our subject began his academic education in Richland Academy, Indiana, in 1857, and in 1861 entered the Miami University, graduating from that noted school in the spring of 1863. In the autumn of that year he matriculated at the Theological Seminary at Xenia, Ohio, taking there two terms, then one course at Allegheny, and the fourth and last at Monmouth, graduating in theology from the latter college in 1867. In June, 1866, he was licensed to preach by the First Presbytery of Ohio, and preached as a supply until the close of 1867. August 7 of that year, his marriage with Miss M. Lovisa McKee, of Rushville, Ind., was celebrated, and the next summer he was stationed for one year at Pawnee City, Neb. In September, 1868, Rev. Elliott was ordained by the Nebraska Presbytery, and settled eighteen miles north of Cincinnati, Ohio, in January, 1870, remaining until 1880, in charge of one congregation. In October, 1881, he received a call from the United Presbyterian Church of Crawfordsville, and has since resided in the village where he enjoys the highest degree of confidence and occupies a most enviable position as a minister. During his pastorate in this village there have been 129 accessions to the church, and there are in good standing at this time 209 active members. The United Presbyterian congregation numbers among its members a large number of the wealthier farmers of the township, and the health and prosperity of the society are largely due to the talent and labor of Rev. Elliott, who is justly accorded praise as a clear and logical speaker. The church building has been repaired and seats comfortably 500 persons.

Two children have graced the union of Rev. and Mrs. Elliott: Annie M., deceased, and Bower M., born July 9, 1875. Rev. Elliott was a volunteer during the late war, and a member of Co. I, 156th Ohio Vol. Inf. He comes from patriotic stock, and from Revolutionary times to this date the name has been found on the muster rolls, when the rights of the American people were being tested.

Source: Portrait and Biographical Album of Washington County, Iowa (1887). Excerpt from Biographical Sketch of Rev. James H. Elliott, pages 202-203.