George May
George J. May is numbered among the intelligent and thrifty farmers of Pickaway County, of which his father was a pioneer, and he has a well-managed and highly productive farm on section 21, Walnut Township. He is a native of Frederick County, Md., and was born June 1, 1832, a son of John A. and Magdalena (Rohrer) May. His father was a native of Loudoun County, Va., and was a gallant soldier in the War of 1812. His ancestors are said to have originated in France, while his wife's were Germans, and early settlers of Maryland, where she was born. In 1836, John May brought his family from Maryland to Ohio, and cast in his lot with the pioneers of Pickaway County, settling in Walnut Township, and proving a valuable addition to their working force. He did well his part in redeeming the country from the forces of nature, and when he died, April 5, 1887, he left behind him a golden memory as a good citizen. He was father of a number of children, of whom these five are living: Christian, John J., Frederick, George J., and Melinda, wife of Solomon Burget.
Our subject was a small boy of four years when his parents sought a new home in the wilds of this county, and his boyhood was passed in a log cabin amid the privations of pioneer life. He attended the early schools of Walnut, but the educational advantages in those pioneer institutions of learning were meagre. He was early inured to hard work, having to perform the pioneer labor of felling trees to clear the land and prepare it for cultivation, and the experience he then gained in farming has been helpful to him since he became a farmer on his own responsibility. He has control of one hundred and sixty-four acres of excellent land, of which seventy-six acres belong to himself, and the remainder to his wife. He is a prudent and capable manager, and keeps his farm up to a high state of cultivation, and has it amply supplied with a good class of improvements. He and his wife stand high in social circles, and are among the most prominent members of the United Brethren Church, which he at one time served as Classleader, and he is now Trustee of the church. In politics, he is a straight Republican, and whatsoever will benefit the county meets with his hearty approval.
March 21, 1858, is the date of the marriage of our subject with Miss Mary Heim, a native of Pickaway County, born July 31, 1840, and a daughter of John and Susanna Heim. Her parents were early settlers of Walnut Township. They had three children, of whom she and her brother William are the survivors. Her marriage with our subject has been productive of mutual happiness and has been blessed with six children, named as follows: William, John L. (Postmaster at East Ringgold), Nelson H., Milton F., Calvin M. and Lyman.
From PORTRAIT & BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF FAYETTE, PICKAWAY AND MADISON COUNTIES, OHIO - Chapman Bros. [Chicago, 1892]