"E. H. CHILCOTE, M. D., a prominent physician of Bloomdale, seniormemb er of the firm of E. H. & A. M. Chilcote, was born in Perrytown-
WOOD COUNTY, OHIO. - 763
ship, September 9, 1848. He is of English descent, the first of theAme rican branch of the family being his great-grandfather, JohnChilcote, w ho settled first in Maryland, and later came to Richlandcounty (now As hland county), Ohio, where his death occurred at theage of ninety-six. H is son, Mordecai, our subject's grandfather, wasborn in Maryland, and w as married there to Ruth McCrill. In 1814,they removed to Ohio, settli ng in the then unbroken wilderness ofAshland county. Their journey cau sed much alarm to them and theirfriends, as Indians were numerous and t roublesome. Mordecai Chilcotedied at forty-seven, before his farm had b een fully brought undercultivation. His wife survived him and died at t he age of eighty-one,in the home of her son Samuel, in . Ashland count y, where the remainsof both of these brave pioneers now rest. They had s even children,none of whom are now living: John, formerly a farmer, di ed in Perrytownship; Rachel died in Ashland county; Delilah died there a lso, atthe age of sixteen; Mary married William Murray, and died in As hland;Elizabeth died at the old home; and Mordecai, in Hillsdale count y,Michigan.
Samuel Chilcote, the youngest of this family, and the father of oursub ject, was born in Amanda township, Lancaster county, June 2, 1813,and w as only a year old at the time of the removal to Ashland county.He had b ut limited educational advantages in that frontierneighborhood, but wa s an apt scholar, and made good use. of his timewhen not working upon t he farm. On February 21, 1833, he was married,in Orange township, Ashl and county, to Miss Susan Hatfield, a nativeof Harrison county, born O ctober 16, 1816, the daughter of Williamand Nancy (Craig) Hatfield. He r mother having died in 1823, she hadbeen reared by strangers from the a ge of seven, until an oldersister, Marian, was married to James Worley , and she then made herhome with them, and came to Ashland county on t heir removal there.Samuel Chilcote was only nineteen years old when he m arried, and hisportion of his father's estate could not be secured, so h e continuedto work upon the farm as before. After attaining his majori ty, hecame to Perry township, Wood county, where he arrived October 21 ,1834, in the primeval forest, without even a roof to shelter his family. A shanty was hastily raised with bass bark roof and three sidesmad e of slabs, the opening being toward a huge log fire where theydid the ir cooking. He and his brother John then owned 16o acres,which they di vided. ' , Uncle Sam," as he was called by everybody,became a leading m an of his day in this county, first as a Democrat,and later as a worke r in the Republican party. He held variousoffices, serving six years a s county commissioner, twelve as justiceof the peace, and he was also t rustee for some time. He held variousoffices in the M. E. Church, with w hich he and his wife had united inearly life, He had a genial nature, a nd possessed most admirablequalities of mind and heart. His physical s trength was unusual, andhe was six feet tall and built in fine proport ion, weighing over 200pounds. He met his death December 9, 1885, from b eing thrown from adouble wagon box, injuring his spine, and he was bur ied in PerryCenter cemetery by the Masonic fraternity, of which he had b een aleading member. His widow remained at the old farm until 1890; bu tsince that time she has lived with her three sons, who care for her with a filial devotion which does them honor. All are residents of thisc ounty: Russell A., the eldest, born February 16, 1841, is a farmerin P erry township; E. H., our subject; and Allen M., the youngest,born Apr il 8, 1851, who is in partnership with the latter.
Our subject was reared as a farmer's boy, and attended the districtsch ools until the age of sixteen, when he began to study at Fostoria.He l earned rapidly, and at eighteen was competent to teach, andtaught two t erms in Loudon township, Seneca county. Afterward heattended school at F ostoria for some time, and then entered MiamiMedical College at Cincin nati, graduating in March, 1871. He beganthe practice of his professio n in Van Buren, Hancock county, andthree years later moved to Bairdsto wn, where he remained two years,but failing health compelled him to re linquish his work,' in which hewas unusually successful. He spent a fe w years at the old home, andin 189o, with his health restored, he resu med his professional laborsin partnership with his brother, they being n ow the oldestpractitioners in Bloomdale.
In 1884 Dr. Chilcote was married in Cleveland to Miss Fannie Cooper, an ative of Wood county, and a daughter of George Cooper, a prominentfarm er of Perry township, Wood county. They have just built abeautiful res idence, one of the finest in Bloomdale, and threechildren, Eva M., Flo rence Edna and Russell Cooper, make it merry.Mrs. Chilcote is active i n all social and philanthropic movements,and is a leading member of th e M. E. Church. The Doctor is an admirerof fine horses, and owns some f ine specimens. In politics he is aRepublican and a regular voter, but h e has never been an officeseeker."
