Col. Gordon Lofland was a public-spirited man who played a significant role in the growth and prosperity of Guernsey County, Ohio. Born in Virginia in 1794, he moved with his family to Fairfield County, Ohio, in 1800, and settled in Cambridge in 1816, where he lived until his death in 1869. He was a patriotic man who devoted much of his time and private means to the cause of the Union during the Civil War. He was appointed by Governor Tod of Ohio as the state’s commissioner for the Gettysburg cemetery in 1863 and the Antietam cemetery in 1867. Col. Lofland was married to Mrs. Sarah P. Metcalf, and they had six children.
Among the residents of Guernsey County in pioneer days, none is more deserving of having his name perpetuated on the pages of history than Col. Gordon Lofland, who has long been sleeping the sleep of the just. His life was fraught with so much good, and his example so worthy of imitation, that he is yet spoken of with reverence by the older inhabitants of the county. He performed his work well, whatever he had to do, never shirked his duty or quailed at dangers or obstacles.
Colonel Lofland was born in Loudoun County, Virginia, on September 19, 1794, and his death occurred on December 17, 1869, at his home in Cambridge, Ohio, at the age of seventy-six years. He was the son of Dorman and Mary H. Lofland. In the year 1800, his parents moved from Virginia to Fairfield County, Ohio, and took up their residence near Lancaster, Ohio. In 1816, Colonel Lofland came to Cambridge, where he resided until his death. There was little connected with the growth and prosperity of the town and vicinity with which he was not familiar and actively connected. He was a public-spirited man and stood in the front rank of progress and endeavored to keep pace with advancing civilization. He was very patriotic and was one of the most useful citizens in the state during the Civil War, devoting much of his time and private means to the cause of the Union, which he held to be insoluble. He raised recruits, and in endeavoring to keep alive the spirit of patriotism among the people, he embraced every opportunity, and his services along these lines were incalculable.
His patriotism was recognized by Governor Tod of Ohio, who seldom, if ever, disregarded his counsels. He was appointed by the Governor as Ohio’s commissioner for the Gettysburg cemetery in 1863, and in 1867 he was appointed commissioner for the Antietam cemetery. He was always prompt in the discharge of his duties connected with the several positions he was called upon to occupy, and the people were always pleased to delegate their interests to his hands. He was frequently called upon to represent them in different ways and upon different occasions during most of his life. During the years of his activity, he was seldom absent from public assemblies, political and patriotic, and even during the last year of his life, he attended a meeting of the veterans of the War of 1812 and a political meeting addressed by Governor Hayes on September 2nd preceding his death. He was a most worthy character and held a conspicuous position in the estimation of all the people.
In 1824, Colonel Lofland married Mrs. Sarah P. Metcalf, widow of Thomas Metcalf and a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Gomber, who came to Cambridge from Frederick City, Maryland, in 1808. Her father’s name is intimately associated with the history of Cambridge, he being one of the original projectors of the city. Mrs. Lofland’s death occurred on November 5, 1870, in the seventy-sixth year of her age. She was a most worthy woman and in every way a fit life companion for her distinguished husband. She was kind and quiet in her disposition, and as a wife and mother looked well to the wants of her household. She enjoyed, as she well deserved, the love of her entire family, and the respect and confidence of her acquaintances, and all who knew her were her friends.
The representatives of the family yet living and residing in Cambridge are a son, Col. Gordon C. Lofland, and a daughter, Mrs. Caroline Hutcheson. The deceased children are Thomas A., Mary, Jacob G., Susan, and Sarah P. The parents and members of the family are all buried side by side in the first cemetery dedicated to burial purposes in the city of Cambridge, which is now near the center of the business section of the city.