M. H. ADRIAN. Success comes as the legitimate result of well applied energy, unflagging determination and perseverance in a course of action that has once been decided upon. She smiles not upon the idler or dreamer, and only the man who has won her favor justly and by unflagging effort does she deign to crown with blessings. In tracing the history of Mr. Adrian it is plainly seen that the success he enjoys has been won by the commendable qualities just mentioned, together with many others which have gained him the high esteem of all who know him. He is the largest landholder in Jefferson township, and ranks among the leading agriculturists of this part of Ohio, where his labors have been so well directed that he is now most prosperous.
Mr. Adrian is a native of Knox county, his birth having occurred in Harrison township, on the 14th of August, 1855. His father, Isaac Adrian, was born in Jefferson county, this state, and coming to this county at an early day took up his abode in Harrison township, where throughout his active business career he carried on farming. His death occurred when he was seventy-seven years of age, and thus terminated busy and useful career. He married Cynthia Harrod, who was born in Harrison township upon the farm which is yet her home. She is now eighty-one years of age. She has performed a noble work in the world, having reared a family of ten children, all of whom reached adult age, while nine are yet living and are a credit to their loved and venerated mother.
The sixth child and third son of this family is M. H. Adrian, whose name introduces this sketch. In the usual manner of farmer lads of the period he spent the days of his boyhood and youth, and when the farm work was over in the autumn he entered the public school of his neighborhood and there acquired a good English education. He was married in Union township, November 19, 1879, the lady of his choice being Miss Delia May Parsons, a sister of Dr. Parsons, of Brinkhaven. The young couple began their domestic life at Democracy, Ohio, and he engaged in farming in Pike township for five years, on the expiration of which period he removed to Union township, there remaining for two years. He then purchased the farm upon which he now resides and which comprises two hundred acres of rich and arable land, which when placed under the plow yields excellent harvests in return for his labor. He also owns another tract of eighty acres one mile north of his home place, and one hundred and twenty-six and a half acres in Union township, known as the Parsons farm, so that his landed possessions aggregate four hundred and six and a half acres, making him the most extensive landholder in Jefferson township. Throughout the greater part of his life he has followed stock-raising in connection with the tilling of the soil, and for two years he was engaged in merchandising at Buckeye City, and for one year at Brinkhaven. Energy is one of his marked characteristics, and has been an excellent foundation upon which to rear the super-structure of his success.
The home of Mr. and Mrs. Adrian has been blessed with five children: Lauris N., Lewis I., Ivan L., Virgil H. and Leila O.
Mr. Adrian and his family have a wide acquaintance in the county where they have always resided and their circle of friends is quite extensive. He votes with the Democracy, and socially is connected with the Knights of the Maccabees, with which he has been identified for five years, and in which he has filled all the offices. He is a member of the Baptist church in Tiverton township, Coshocton county, in which he is serving as a deacon, a position he has filled for eight years, and in its work he has taken an active part. He is well known in the county as a respected citizen, whose word is thoroughly reliable, whose business is conducted along lines of the strictest honesty, and whose worth is widely acknowledged by his fellow men.
(Source #2) (Contributed by Sheryl McClure)