The Augusta Cemetery Family Trees

John DeFord, son of the above John and father of the subject, was born in Kent county, Maryland, and was about eighteen years old when his parents changed their abode to Pennsylvania. He worked in Fayette county several years for a farmer by thename of Stevens and in 1799 was united in marriage with Miss Nancy Hopwood, whose birth occurred in Maryland in 1785. Mrs. DeFord was the daughter of Rev. John Hopwood, a well known Baptist divine, who preached in various parts of Fayette countyin an early day and helped to found several churches of his faith there and elsewhere in Pennsylvania. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. DeFord resulted in the birth of six children, whose names were as follows: Hannah, John, William, Harriet,Elizabeth and Daniel. The mother, a most worthy woman and for many years a sincere and faithful member of the Methodist Episcopal church, departed this life in 1815. A few years later Mr. DeFord married Miss Lydia Brownfield, of Pennsylvania,who died in 1838, leaving one son, now living near Kansas City, Missouri.

In 1811 John DeFord went to Carroll county, Ohio, and entered one hundred and sixty acres of land in what is now Augusta township, after which he returned to his home in Pennsylvania. He was an industrious, hard working man, and by carefuleconomy earned considerable money, which from time to time was judiciously invested in western lands, his last transaction of this kind in Ohio being about the year 1826, when his realty in this state amounted to something like nine hundred acres. As the country grew and population increased this land became quite valuable and in time represented a fortune of considerable magnitude. For over forty years Mr. DeFord kept a hotel at the foot of Laurel Hill, Fayette county, Pennsylvania,during which period his house became favorably known to the traveling public and earned the reputation of a first-class hostelry. The village in which it was situated was called Hopwood in honor of his father-in-law, but later the name waschanged to Monroe, by which it has since been known. Meanwhile his Ohio lands continued to increase in value and in 1842 Mr. DeFord disposed of his interests in Pennsylvania and moved to his possessions in Carroll county, settling on the farm inWashington township which his grandson Benton now owns and cultivates. On coming to this state he turned his attention almost wholly to agriculture and was quite successful in the pursuit, developing a very fine farm and earning the reputation ofa praiseworthy and public-spirited citizen. For many years he was a consistent member of the Methodist Protestant church and in politics supported the Democratic party, having been one of its leaders in the township of his residence. He spenthis declining years on his farm in quite and content and lived to a remarkable age, departing this life in 1873 in his one hundred and second year, being the oldest man in Ohio at the time of his death. In his younger days John DeFord becamepersonally acquainted with quite a number of the nation's leading man and distinctly remembered many of the stirring events of the early days. He was at Laurel Hill when Washington occupied the fort at Baltimore, and he not only saw the father ofhis country frequently but was quite well acquainted with him. In many respects Mr. DeFord was much more than an ordinary man, being intelligent, public-spirited and in no small degree a leader of opinion among his neighbors and fellow citizens. He stamped his individuality upon the community, took an active interest in promoting all legitimate enterprises and always stood boldly for the right, maintaining the course of his convictions under all circumstances.