Ian and Shawn Hamilton with an information table at the Shop, Swap, and Stroll in Lowell in May. They find a variety of ways to gather historical records from people by showing up to local events, posting online, handing out flyers, and calling people they find through old articles. (Photo by Amber Phipps)

LOWELL — Over the course of two-and-a-half years, Lowell local Ian Hamilton and his father and co-author Shawn Hamilton have been working tirelessly on their fourth history book.

Titled “Young American Patriots of Adams Townships and Lowell, Ohio,” the novel will be a two volume collection that contains history of Lowell veterans from the Revolutionary War to present day.

Ian said that it was only supposed to be one volume but the book has exceeded 700 pages which is the publisher’s limit. He said he’s at a total of roughly 1,100 pages with detailed information and records from 1,700 Lowell veterans.

“It’s never-ending because you always find something else,” said Shawn. “It’s very interesting that such a small town would have so much history.”

Ian would spend 12 hours a day going through all types of records he searched for on his own or received from people who submitted information to his email.

Ian and Shawn Hamilton are seated in front of the Richardson Memorial of Past Commanders at the American Legion Post 740 in Lowell. They wanted to thank the Legion for its help in finding information for their book about veterans and military from Lowell. (Photo by Amber Phipps)

The collection features some of the veteran and military history that he was able to gather about Lowell. This included family history from people that don’t currently live in Lowell but may have had veteran relatives who were from the township.

“This book started because of the small section in the second book that included a little bit of information about local veterans,” said Ian.

Shawn said he always had an interest in military history so he thought it would be a good idea to write a separate book that included veterans and military history.

They originally planned to publish the book in the early summer but they continue to receive insightful information that they want to make sure they include. Shawn made a point of apologizing to those who had veterans in Lowell that they weren’t able to include due to the sheer volume of information they’ll continue getting while the book is being edited and finalized.

“We wanted to disclaim that this isn’t a complete record and it never will be because there’s always going to be more people we discover,” said Shawn.

Ian wanted to give people more time to send in any information to him so they could publish the book before August. They are currently planning to stop accepting information by mid-June so that it can be edited and published beginning in July.

“It’s a wonderful thing they’re doing for the community, the veterans and their families,” said Damian Huck who is the commander for the American Legion Post 750. “To have somebody like these two get together and take the time to get this information out there means a lot.”

Ian was born and raised in Lowell and fell in love with history and record-keeping at a very young age. He currently has three published books: “Historic Images of Lowell, Ohio,” “Lowell, Ohio: History & Memories,” and “Historic Images of Washington County, Ohio.”

“I’ve always had an interest in history for as long as I could walk and talk,” said Ian. “I started looking into genealogy when I was 13 years old.”

Ian and Shawn are excited to publish the fourth book which will be separated into two volumes. They encourage people to contact them about any information relating to veterans and current military from the area.

All photos and general service information can be sent to shamilton69@frontier.com, Ihamilton93@mail.com, or call their landline 740-896-3179 to give them information before their desired deadline.

Ian Hamilton can also be reached on Facebook at Lowell, Ohio – History & Memories.

Amber Phipps can be reached at aphipps@newsandsentinel.com