Authors - Knox County Historical Society

Vaughan Kester

(1869-1911)

Vaughan Kester was a very popular writer of short stories and novels. He was born in 1869 in New Jersey, the son of Franklin and Harriett (Watkins) Kester. The family moved to Delaware, Ohio, where another son, Paul, was born. A few years later while the boys were young, Vaughan and Paul came to Mount Vernon to live with their grandmother. The boys were educated by tutors in Mount Vernon and in Cleveland. During this period Vaughan also traveled in the West and lived for a short time on an uncle's ranch in Colorado.

Lorin Andrews Lathrop

(1858-1929)

Lorin Andrews Lathrop was a popular writer and an important political figure during the early 20th century. He was born in 1858 in Gambier, Ohio where his father was principal of Kenyon's Milner Hall. Little biographical information has been located regarding his early life.
Lorin married Kittie Dewitt in 1875 and began his career as a journalist in San Francisco. He became active in politics, and in 1902, President Grover Cleveland appointed him American Consul to England.

William Wright (Dan DeQuille)

(1829-1898)

In the masthead of a memorial copy of the Virginia City Territorial Enterprise there are the portraits of two men. One is Mark Twain and the other is Dan DeQuille. The Enterprise was Nevada Territory's first newspaper, established in 1858.
Dan Dequille is the pen name of William Wright, who was born on a farm north of Fredericktown in 1829. When Will was 18 the entire family moved to Iowa. A few years later William married and began raising a family. But this was mid-nineteenth century and the stories of gold and adventure farther west were too much to ignore. In 1857 he left his wife and three children and, with his brother Hank, went to the gold fields of California to seek his fortune.

William Wesley Pennell

(1853-1930)

William Pennell was a busy Knox County, Ohio, physician and writer of note. He was born in 1853 in Holmes County, Ohio, where he received his public school education. Pennell Pennell-1 graduated from the College of Wooster in 1875, and that same year married Melvina M. Williams.
He received a degree in pediatric medicine from Western Reserve University in 1882. Dr. Pennell began his medical practice in Holmes County, coming to Knox County in about 1882. His wife, Melvina died in 1903, and in 1920 he married Anna Grace Ash. During his medical career, Pennell continued to pursue advanced medical training. He also was active in several medical associations, one of which was the American Medical Authors Association.

Albert B. Williams

(1847-1911)

Albert B. Williams was the author of the third of the early histories of Knox County. He was born in 1847 in Holmes County and came to Mount Vernon as a minister of the Disciples of Christ Church. He resigned from the ministry in 1900 because of poor health. Reverend Williams died in 1911.

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