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BIOGRAPHIES

The following biographies are extracted from:
Source: 
The County of Ross: a history of Ross County, Ohio

By Henry Holcomb Bennett
Published by S. A. Brant, Madison, Wis.,
1902

A B C D EF G H IJ K L M N OPQ R S T UV W XYZ

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C. SEYMOUR IRVINE, a prosperous young farmer residing in the vicinity of Lyndon, Ohio, is a native of Danville, Ky.  His father, Robert Irvine, was a Kentuckian, and lived in the state of his nativity until 1878.  In that year he came to Ross county, located in Concord township and afterward became quite prominent in political and business circles.  He was elected as a representative of
Ross county in the lower house of the Ohio state legislature and served two years in this capacity.  His present resident is Frankfort, his time being specially devoted to the breeding of fancy road horses.  He married Anna, daughter of Aaron W. Seymour, member of the old family of that name long established in Paxton township.  C. Seymour Irvine was quite a small boy when brought to Ross county by his parents.  He was brought up and educated in Concord township and spent three years at the old Salem academy.  In December, 1898, Mr. Irvine was married to Hannah Mains, member of a family long and favorably known in Ross county.  Her ancestry dates well back towards the first settlement of the county and the descendants, widely ramified, have made themselves felt in the social and industrial development of that part of the great Scioto valley.  Mr. Irvine has been engaged in general farming, paying especial attention to raising stock and fattening the same for market.  He is a steady and industrious young man, member of the Presbyterian church at Pisgah, and enjoys the universal esteem of his neighbors.
Source:  The County of Ross: a history of Ross County, Ohio by Henry Holcomb Bennett - Published by S. A. Brant, Madison, Wis., 1902 - Page 532
CHARLES EDGAR ISEMAN, of Fruitdale, Ohio, has long been connected with the mercantile business at that point and has achieved a flattering measure of success.  His father, the late Jacob W. Iseman, conducted a general merchandise store at Fruitdale for fifteen years and at the same time carried on farm operations; as merchant and farmer, prospered and accumulated a competency; was conspicuously identified with all the public affairs of Paint township, and was one of the most influential citizens in that part of Ross county.  Jacob W. was a son of Christian Iseman, a native of Pennsylvania, who settled in Ross county early in the nineteenth century, and married Elizabeth Bratton, of Virginia, whose father was a soldier in the Revolutionary war.  Charles Edgar Iseman was born in Paint township and after a preliminary training in the common schools entered his father's store as clerk.  He held this position ten years and then went to Zanesville, Ohio, where he spent four years in a grocery store.  In March, 1898, he purchased the interest of his father's estate and that of his brother in the general mercantile business at Fruitdale, which he has since conducted as sole proprietor.  March 11, 1890, he was married to Laura, daughter of John H. Robson, a native of Cincinnati of English ancestry but resident for eighteen years in Paint township.  Mr. Iseman holds membership in the Masonic, Odd Fellows and Red Men fraternities.  He served as assessor of Paint Township in 1894 and is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church.
Source:  The County of Ross: a history of Ross County, Ohio by Henry Holcomb Bennett - Published by S. A. Brant, Madison, Wis., 1902 - Page 532
ARTHUR JACK, postmaster of Kingston, Ohio, was born at that place June 4, 1849.  His parents were Jacob and Elizabeth (Lennox) Jack, natives of Hampshire county, Va., where they were married.  They had nine children, two of whom died in infancy and  but four are now living, whose names are Mary E., Thomas, Joseph and Arthur.  Thomas is a clerk of Green township and resides at Kingston.  Arthur Jack received his education in the schools of Kingston.  Arthur Jack received his education in the schools of Kingston and in boyhood learned the harness-maker's trade, which he followed for about twelve years.  For several years he was engaged in general merchandising.  In 1887, he purchased the Kingston Blade, a weekly newspaper, which he conducted for twelve years, making a success as a journalist.  Jan. 1, 1898, he was commissioned postmaster of Kingston, which is a fourth-class postoffice, and he is still serving in that capacity.  Apr. 21, 1872, he was married to Sarah Bitler, a native of Fairfield county, and daughter of Joseph and Catherine BitlerMr. and Mrs. Jack are the parents of two sons and three daughters, of whom Edgar is employed on the Scioto Gazette; Mary  is in the postoffice with her father; Thomas is working on the Columbus Citizen, and Grace is at home attending the high school, from which Katheryn was graduated in the spring of 1902.  Mr. Jack has been an active and influential politician, recognized as a leader in local politics.  He has always been an ardent Republican, defending the principles of his party with vote, voice and pen.  He has served as a member of the Kingston city council, and the school board and in other positions of responsibility.
Source:  The County of Ross: a history of Ross County, Ohio by Henry Holcomb Bennett - Published by S. A. Brant, Madison, Wis., 1902 - Page 533
WILLIAM R. JACK, D. D. S., practicing dentist at No. 35 South Paint street, Chillicothe, was born in that city Nov. 10, 1873.  His parents are William L. and Lida (Woods) Jack, natives of Kingston, Ross county.   The father was a merchant in his working days, but retired some yeas before his death, which occurred in 1888.  The mother is still living, her residence being with her son William in Chillicothe.  Besides Dr. Jack, who was the youngest, there were two other children born to William and Lida Jack.  Of these, Miss Eva is the very efficient general delivery clerk in the Chillicothe postoffice and Joseph, who married Belle Pickens, is bookkeeper for the Baltimore & Ohio Southwestern railway at Washington, Ind.  Dr. Jack was educated in the schools of his native city and began the study of dentistry there about 1886, in the office of Dr. Robinson.  After that, he served an apprenticeship of about five years, passed his registration examination and started in business years, passed his registration examination and started in business with the New York dental parlors in Cincinnati.  He remained there about seven years, and in 1899 opened his present office in Chillicothe at the location heretofore given.  In 1895, Dr. Jack was married in Cincinnati to Lulu Walter, a native of Chillicothe, and daughter of Randolph Walter, a locomotive engineer on the Baltimore & Ohio railway.  Their union has been blessed by the birth of one child, Donald, now a bright boy of five summers.  The Doctor and his wife are members of the First Presbyterian church.  The Jack family was established in Ross county at a very early period of its settlement, the progenitors coming from Cannonsburg, Pa.  In fact, that state furnished Dr. Jack's ancestry on both sides of the house, the parents of his mother as well as his father being native Pennsylvanians.
Source:  The County of Ross: a history of Ross County, Ohio by Henry Holcomb Bennett - Published by S. A. Brant, Madison, Wis., 1902 - Page 534
JACOB JACOB, one of the old residents of Chillicothe and a successful business man, was born in Lampertheim, Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, Jan. 17, 1831.  He was educated in his native country and came to America at the age of twenty-two; located in Chillicothe, Ohio, Oct. 1, 1852, and has been a resident of that city ever since.  For nearly fifty years he has been identified with the growth and progress of Ross county's capital.  Mr. Jacob was a common laborer for a number of years after reaching Chillicothe and turned his hand to whatever he could find to do.  For seven years he was in a distillery and six years he spent in the railroad shops.  In 1854, he married Anna Marie Starck, a native of Germany then resident of Chillicothe.  She became the mother of five children, thus enumerated: Louisa is the wife of John Knecht, whose sketch appears in this work; Mary died unmarried at the age of twenty-three; Charles L. is a business man in Chillicothe; George W. died at the age of fifteen; Frederick William is employed in the Chillicothe postoffice.  Mrs. Jacob, who was a most estimable wife and mother, died Jan. 20, 1900.  About thirty-three years ago, Mr. Jacob engaged in the liquor business, which he has continued up to the present time.  He has met with financial success, after a life of struggle and hard work, and is one of the public spirited and enterprising citizens of Chillicothe.  He is the oldest member of the Red Men's lodge, as also of the Eintracht singing club, and has belonged to the Odd Fellows for nearly half a century.  Mr. Jacob came alone to America, but was followed seven years later by his parents, two brothers and two sisters.  His parents were Michael and Barbara (Leonhart) Jacob, both of whom, as well as a brother named Michael, died in Louisville, Ky.  Of the other children, Katherine Schumaker died in Chillicothe.  Peter is a cigar manufacturer in Louisville, Ky., and his sister Margaret  is a resident of the same city.
Source:  The County of Ross: a history of Ross County, Ohio by Henry Holcomb Bennett - Published by S. A. Brant, Madison, Wis., 1902 - Page 534
CHARLES L. JACOBS, of Chillicothe, was born in that city May 14, 1857.  He is the son of Jacob Jacob, a sketch of whom precedes this.  The slight change in the name has been made in recent years from the original form, in obedience to popular usage in America.  Charles L. Jacobs received the ordinary common school education and at an early period developed a talent for music.  For two years he was a teacher of instrumental and vocal music at Washington Court House, Ohio, and he followed this vocation, which was entirely in accord with his tastes, until his hearing became impaired, which misfortune, much to his regret, compelled him to abandon his favorite pursuit and take up other business.  In March, 1879, he was married to Amelia Roths, a native of Chillicothe and daughter of John Roths, an employee of the Baltimore & Ohio Southwestern railway.  They have only one child, Emma, who is a graduate of the city high school.  This lady inherited her father's talent for music and is at present a teacher of piano in Chillicothe.  Her musical education was acquired under home instructors and at the musical college of Cincinnati.  Mr. Jacobs is a member of the order o Red Men and he and his family belong to the Salem Lutheran church.  For the last seventeen years, he has been engaged in the liquor business at No. 23, North Paint street.
Source:  The County of Ross: a history of Ross County, Ohio by Henry Holcomb Bennett - Published by S. A. Brant, Madison, Wis., 1902 - Page 535
JAMES FAMILY: - The first representative of this now well-known connection was Reuben James, son of a Delaware sea captain who went from his native state to Virginia and there married Mary Phisto.    They lived a good while in Virginia after marriage, and in 1830 migrated to Ross county, where they settled on the farm in Concord township now owned by Mr. Fulton.  They had twelve children, two of whom, Isaac and Elizabeth, were born before the departure from Virginia.  The ten additions made to the family after the arrival in Ross county are thus given consecutively: Strawder, Washington, Reuben, Mary M., Evans, Milton, Missouri A., John A., Nancy and Nelson.  Of those enumerated above,  Washington, Mary M., Evans, Milton and John A. are dead.  The parents went from the Fulton farm to Wrightstown, where they conducted a hotel for seven years, after which they went for permanent residence to a farm purchased in Buckskin township, where both ended their days.  Strawder James was married June 29, 1852, to Rebecca Bush, by whom he had the following named children: Allen, deceased; Milton, married Lizzie Slagle; Mary B., married Morris Putnam; Lavina, wife of William Briggs; Clara, wife of Isaac Pancake; Reuben, deceased; Charles, married Nettie McClain of Ross county, and now lives in Denver, Col.; Nancy, wife of Jesse B. Mallow; Armada, deceased.  Strawder James was one of the most useful and esteemed of the citizens of Concord township.  He dealt extensively in stock and for several years was associated with Robert Templin and Milo Whaley in that business.  He held the office of township trustee a number of years and served one term as commissioner of Ross county.  He was a man of elevated views and moral character, held membership in the Methodist Episcopal church and when he died Mar. 22, 1897, there was a general feeling that the community lost one of its most valuable men.
Source:  The County of Ross: a history of Ross County, Ohio by Henry Holcomb Bennett - Published by S. A. Brant, Madison, Wis., 1902 - Page 535
ROBERT W. JAMISON was born in Concord township, Ross county, on the farm where he now resides, Oct. 13, 1873.  His father, Samuel Jamison, born Jan. 9, 1827, was the son of a man of the same name as himself, and grandson of William Jamison.  The latter was a South Carolinian who came to Ohio in the latter part of the eighteenth century, and bought land in Concord township, which is still in possession of his descendants.  He had a family of thirteen children, among whom was Samuel, the grandfather of our subject.  He cleared and improved 200 acres o land, served in the war of 1812, married Rebecca Anderson and died in Concord township in 1851.  Among their eight children was the father of Robert W. Jamison.  He spent his early life on the farm and obtained a common school education, supplemented by one term in the old Chillicothe academy.  He taught school a few terms and then went to farming, which was ever after the business of his life.  He met with success as a farmer and stock-raiser, accumulated considerable land and became one of the substantial men of the township.  On June 30, 1870, he was married to Eleanor, daughter of Robert and Ellen (Haynes) Worthington.  The Worthington family is one of the oldest and most prominent in Ohio.  Thomas Worthington became governor  of Ohio, and many others rose to positions of influence in the localities where they settled.  Robert Worthington, father of Mrs. Jamison, removed to Petersburg, Ill., before the civil war, and became a prominent citizen of that place.  Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Jamison became the parents of three children, of whom Anna Belle, their only daughter, is dead.  The two sons are Robert W. and James R., the latter attending school at Oxford, Ohio.  The father was a strict member of the Presbyterian church, of which he was deacon, elder and treasurer, and an exemplary citizen in all the walks of life.  His long and useful life was brought to a close on Dec. 12, 1899.  Since her husband's death, Mrs. Jamison has conducted his extensive business with the assistance of her son Robert W.  The latter was educated at Salem academy and has remained at home all his life.  At present he has the superintendence of about 300 acres of land and the responsibilities connected with the management of farm affairs.
Source:  The County of Ross: a history of Ross County, Ohio by Henry Holcomb Bennett - Published by S. A. Brant, Madison, Wis., 1902 - Page 536
THOMAS JANES was born in Union Township, Ross county, Ohio, Aug. 12, 1839, the son of Henry and grandson of Zacharian Janes, the latter a settler of Ross country as far back as 1801.  When Zacharian Janes came there were only three houses in Chillicothe and the country for miles around was but sparsely populated.  He bought 300 acres of land n Springfield township, spent the rest of his days in farming and died on the place where he had located.  He married a Virginia woman who had been a captive of the Indians for seventeen years and could speak their language fluently.  Their son Henry attended subscription school, learned the carpenter's trade and remained at home helping with the work until he reached his twenty-third year.  He then married Sarah Hurst, after which event he resolved to try his fortunes in the neighboring state of Indiana.  Accordingly he moved to that commonwealth, but after a stay of some three or four years returned to Ross county.  He purchased part of the old homestead place, on which he settled down to faring, also working at his trade, and so continued throughout the year of his life.  He served as trustee of his township, was county tax collector and held membership in the Methodist Episcopal church.  Of his six children, Mandy, the youngest, died in early childhood; Edward lives in Missouri; Thomas is the subject of this sketch; Joseph resides in Springfield township; Mary J. is married to Joseph Crider; and Lyena is now Mrs. August BoozerThomas Janes went to Illinois at the beginning of the civil war and enlisted in the Sixty-eighth infantry regiment of that state.  He was only out about one year, being taken with an illness en route to Wheeling, W. Va., which necessitated his being sent to a hospital and eventuated in his discharge from the service.  After that he remained at home until he was of age, when he entered upon the work of engineering.  His first service was as a locomotive engineer on the old Marietta & Cincinnati railway, which position he held for four years.  He then obtained employment on the Jeffersonville, Madison & Indianapolis railroad, with headquarters in the last mentioned city.  Subsequently he served on the Alton & Terre Haute road for about four years, when he returned to Ross county and lived on a rented farm for two years, after which he removed to the place where he now resides.  For eleven years past he has been engineer at the Ross County infirmary, in which place he has given entire satisfaction.  His only fraternal connection is with the Masonic Lodge at Chillicothe, of which he has been a member for some time.  Mr. James married Hannah Ulm, a descendant of early settlers of Ross county, and by her had ten children, as follows: John, who lives in Columbus, Ohio; Myrtie, wife of Jesse Bowdle; Ida, married to M. Courtwright; Anna, wife of George McQuintich; Samuel, of Union township; Elwood, of Columbus; Elizabeth, now Mrs. John Shaefer; Alta, now Mrs. Ater, of Deerfield township; Laly and Gustave, at home.
Source:  The County of Ross: a history of Ross County, Ohio by Henry Holcomb Bennett - Published by S. A. Brant, Madison, Wis., 1902 - Page 537
JESSE M. JONES, the well-known blacksmith and wagon-maker of Clarksburg, was one of the worthiest of the civil war soldiers contributed to the Union army by Ross county and the first man to enlist from Deerfield township.  The family has had representatives in Ohio for nearly a century, the first ones being Benjamin and Susan Jones, who settled at Waynesville, in Warren county, as far back as 1808.  They brought with them a son named Jesse, who was born in Virginia July 1, 1799, and after he grew up removed to Ross county, obtained employment at the Peterson works in Concord township and there learned the blacksmith's trade.  Some time later he built a shop at Frankfort, conducted business there for several years and then located at Clarksburg for permanent residence.  He continued to work in his blacksmith shop, enjoying a fair amount of prosperity, until a few years before his death, which took place in 1883, when he was about eighty-five years old.  He married Sarah Gum, a native of Virginia, and had ten children:  David, Catherine and John D., deceased; William M., of London, Ohio; Jesse M., Ethan A. and Norton G., of Indiana, Clara and Effie, of Clarksburg, and Milton E., of Circleville, Ohio.  Jesse M. Jones was born at Clarksburg, Ross county, Ohio, August 7, 1838, and in youth was taught the blacksmith trade in his father's shop.  This employment was rather rudely interrupted by the opening discord of the civil war and few heeded the country's call for assistance more promptly than Jesse M. Jones.  He hastened to enroll his name as a member of Company A, Twenty-seventh regiment Ohio volunteer infantry, and has the reputation of being the first man to enlist from Deerfield township.  This command, after a short stay at Camp Chase, was sent to St. Louis, thence to Chillicothe, Lexington and Kansas City, Mo., doing guard duty for a while at the latter place; next to Springfield and from there back to Sedalia, then a march of 350 miles to St. Louis, and on down the river to join General Pope's division.   Such is a brief summary of the regiment's earliest campaigning.  Subsequently Mr. Jones took part, with his command, in the engagements at Island No. 10 and New Madrid, the bloody battle of Pittsburg Landing and the siege of Corinth.  During the fighting around the latter city, Mr. Jones was wounded and sent to the hospital at Mound City where he was later discharged on account of disability.  After six months' rest at home, he re-enlisted in Company C, First Ohio heavy artillery, which was sent to Knoxville, Tenn., and did guard duty there until mustered out in 1865 at the close of the war.  Returning home, Mr. Jones remained a while at Clarksburg and then went to Indiana, where he had the misfortune to break his leg.  This made him an invalid for some time but as soon as able he enlisted in Company G, Thirty-seventh United States regiment, with which he was sent successively to Governor's Island, N.Y., from there to Fort Leavenworth and Fort Lyons, Kansas, and Fort Garland, Col.  While serving at the latter place his term of enlistment expired and he returned directly to his home in Clarksburg, where he has since resided.  His business has been that of blacksmithing and wagon-making in connection with the management of his farm in Deerfield township.  July 25, 1880, Mr. Jones was married to Laura E. Goldsberry, who died August 31, 1892, after becoming the mother of the following named children:  John D., Luella, Jessie, Gracey, Sarah and Irene.
Source:  The County of Ross: a history of Ross County, Ohio by Henry Holcomb Bennett - Published by S. A. Brant, Madison, Wis., 1902 - Page  
ROBERT J. JONES, M. D., one of the popular and successful physicians of Greenfield, Ohio, is a native of Wales, from which county he emigrated to America in 1884.  Though he attended school to some extent in the old country, his literary education was mainly received from coming to the United States.  After this was achieved satisfactorily he entered the Cincinnati Medical college, from which he was graduated in 1895, with the degree of M. D.  During the following year he held the position of interne in the Cincinnati hospital, which is regarded as a valuable post-graduate experience for young practitioners.  In 1896 Dr. Jones located at Greenfield from practice of his profession, where he speedily rose into notice and met with unusual success.  He was built up as extensive a practice, both in medicine and surgery, as is enjoyed by any physician in that section of Ohio, his business embracing the town, as well as a broad scope of the surrounding country.  Dr. Jones  is a member of the Highland county Medical society and often prepares papers for its edification, which exhibit learning and advanced knowledge on his part in all branches of the profession.  In 1898, he was married to Daisy Bowser, of Ross county.  He is a master Mason and member of the First Presbyterian church in Greenfield.
Source:  The County of Ross: a history of Ross County, Ohio by Henry Holcomb Bennett - Published by S. A. Brant, Madison, Wis., 1902 - Page  s
 
 

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