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Source:
History of Lower Scioto Valley
Together with Sketches of its Cities, Villages and Townships, Educational,
Religious, Civil, Military, and Political History, Portraits of Prominent Persons,
and Biographies of Representative Citizens
Chicago: Inter-State Publishing Co.
1884

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JOHN PEASE TERRY, President and Superintendent of the Portsmouth Iron and Steel Company, was born in Coldbrook, N. H., Feb. 16, 1807, a son of Charles and Huldah (Pease) Terry.  About 1810 his parents moved seven miles south of Sodus Point, Wayne Co., N. Y.  His father was a minuteman and was killed at the bu8rning of the Point by the British in 1814.  He remained with his mother a short time and then went to live with Wells Whitman, of Ontario County, remaining with him till eighteen years of age.  He was reared a farmer, with no educational advantages, but by personal application and private study he acquired a fair education.  In 1825 he borrowed $1 from his mother and started for the West.  He stopped in Buffalo a month, and then proceeded to Cleveland, Ohio, then a place of 2,500 inhabitants.  From there he went to Akron, and the next spring to Newbury.  In February, 1828, he was employed by Francis Cleaveland, in the engineer corps of the Ohio and Erie Canal, and by diligent study he was promoted at different times till finally he was assistant engineer, serving under Mr. Cleaveland till 1832.  In the summer of 1832 he was contractor on the Cincinnati & Harrison Turnpike, in Hamilton County.  He then became a stockholder in the Clinton Furnace Company, and was manager till 1834.  About that time he was financially ruined by the failure of Jacob Clingman, for whom he hand endorsed notes, and was obliged to again work for a salary.  He then went to Indiana and was engaged in engineering on the Wabash & Erie Canal a part of 1834-'5, after which he took heavy contracts on the canals, completing some of them in 1837.  In 1837, having again acquired considerable capital, he came to Portsmouth, and the following year, with Richard Lloyd, became established in the wholesale boot and shoe business, remaining with him till 1840.  From 1843 till 1845 he, with William Waller, W. Davis, and Samuel Cole shipped produce to New Orleans.  Having to take a farm in Washington Township on a mortgage he carried it on till 1847, when with Wm. Waller and Samuel Cole he bought the Quarry flouring mills and tannery.  In 1853 he retired from the firm, and with others built the Madison Furnace, in Jackson County.  In 1864 he sold out and speculated in iron till 1866, when he bought the Buckeye Furnace.  In 1870 he retired from business.  In 1873 he went to Missouri and built the Hamilton Furnace, but it not proving a paying investment he, in 1874, returned to Portsmouth.  He has been a Director and Stockholder in the First National Bank since its organization, and in 1878 was chosen President, but only served a year.  In 1879 he became a stockholder in the Portsmouth Iron and Steel Company, and since June, 1881, he has been President and Superintendent.  Mr. Terry has served on the City Council and School Board several terms each.  Nov. 14, 1832, he married Susan, daughter of Dr. Thomas Waller.  They have had five children - Mary Indiana, Charles, Louis, George and Alice B.  A daughter, Ella, died in 1835, aged one year.  A son, Thomas, was a cadet at West Point at the breaking out of the Rebellion, but resigned and enlisted in the Union army.  He was Second Lieutenant in the Ohio Heavy Artillery, and was detailed on the staff of General S. S. Fry.  He died at Point Burnsides, Ky., Mar. 4, 1864, aged twenty-one years.  Louis and George were both in the late war, the former in Company A, Thirty-third Ohio Infantry, and the later in what was known as President Lincoln's Guards, stationed at Washington, D.C.
~ Page 298 - History of Lower Scioto Co., Ohio - Publ. Chicago: Inter-state Publishing Co. 1884
JAMES DAVIS THOMAS was born Mar. 3, 1816, in Ross County, Ohio.  His father, Benjamin Thomas, was born in Chester County, Pa., and his mother was a native of Virginia. They emigrated to Ohio in 1801 and settled in Ross County, near Frankford.  In 1820 they settled in Clay Township, Scioto County, where the father died in 1832, and the mother was burned to death in her own house in 1812.  James D. Thomas received a limited education at the subscription schools, and in 1810 was married to Raney A., daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth Dehart.  They had a family of five children, two of whom lived to maturity.  Wm. M. died in 1882, and Mary E., wife of F. F. Millar.  Mrs. Thomas died in 1881.  In 1818 Mr. Thomas moved to his present farm, which then contained 275 acres, but now consists of 1,200 acres.  His brick residence was built in 1819.  His main occupation has been farming, in which he has been very successful.  He has been a member of the Methodist church over forty years.
Page 405 - History of Lower Scioto Co., Ohio - Publ. Chicago: Inter-state Publishing Co. 1884
JOHN B. THOMAS, youngest son of Benjamin and Charity Thomas, was born near Lucasville, Scioto County, Mar. 1, 1819.  His father was a native of Virginia and came to the Scioto Valley in an early day.  He died in 1851 and his wife is yet living, now the wife of W. J. Galford, of this county.  Our subject was reared on a farm, and obtained a fair common-school education.  He was married to Eliza J. Farmer, who has borne him four children—Benjamin F., Edna M., Mary C. and Oscar E.  Mr. Thomas has a farm of 150 acres of choice land, on which he raises principally corn and wheat.  He has served as Trustee of his township three terms.
Page 406 - History of Lower Scioto Co., Ohio - Publ. Chicago: Inter-state Publishing Co. 1884
WILLIAM J. THOMAS, merchant, was born in June, 1837, in Scioto County, and is the eldest son of Benjamin and Sally Thomas.  His mother dying when he was four weeks old, he was reared by his grandmother, Mary Thomas, till eight years of age, when he lived with his father, who had previously married Charity Thomas.  His father died in 1851.  He attended the common schools, and when he grew to manhood engaged in farming.  He was married in 1860 to Mary M., daughter of B. G. Warwick, M. D., of Lucasville. He has seven children living, his eldest daughter, Anna, being married to A. J. Hawk, of Syracuse, Ohio.  Soon after his marriage he moved to Illinois and pursued farming for five years, after which he returned to the Scioto Valley and engaged in the mercantile business.  Mr. Thomas was elected Township Assessor in 1865, and was again elected in 1882.  He is a member of Lodge No. 165, A. F. & A. M., and has belonged to the Commandery since his twenty-fourth year, he being at that time its youngest member.  His wife is an active member of the Methodist Episcopal church.
Page 406 - History of Lower Scioto Co., Ohio - Publ. Chicago: Inter-state Publishing Co. 1884
WILLIAM M. THOMAS, deceased, was the only son of James D. and Nancy A. Thomas, and was born in Scioto County, Ohio, Nov. 15, 1841.  He was married in 1867 to Rachel R., daughter of Thomas Morgan, one of the first settlers of the Scioto Valley.  This union was blessed with seven children, of whom four are living—Charles W., Eva H., Mary M. and Edward Morgan.  Mr. Thomas was one of the most successful farmers and stock-dealers in Valley Township.  His death occurred in 18S2 and his widow still occupies his residence, which is a fine two-story frame surrounded by beautiful grounds. He was a charter member of the Masonic fraternity, and was Secretary of the lodge from the time of its organization till shortly before his death.
Page 406 - History of Lower Scioto Co., Ohio - Publ. Chicago: Inter-state Publishing Co. 1884
GEORGE TITTLE was born in New Paris, Preble County, Ohio, Apr. 2, 1822, a son of John Tittle.  His father was a native of Pennsylvania, a hatter by trade, who came to Ohio when a young lad, residing in Preble County till his death, in 1856, aged sixty years.  George Tittle learned the tanner's and currier's trade when a young man, in Eaton, Preble County.  He worked at it two years in Wayne County, Ind., two years in Butler County, Ohio, thirteen years in Saline, Montgomery Co., Ohio, eight years in Dayton, Montgomery County, and in 1868 removed to Vanceburg, Ky.  His tannery in Kentucky was burned to the ground and rebuilt twice; loss from $15,000 to $20,000.  In 1877 he built the Portsmouth Tannery, on Scioto street, between Front and Second streets.  It is the only tannery in Portsmouth, and at first was a small affair, but has been enlarged twice.  He employs from six to eight hands, and tans from sixty to seventy-five hides a week, making a specialty of saddle skirtings.  He uses chestnut oak bark exclusively, having it ground by steam; the liquor is also changed by steam pumps.  Mr. Tittle was married in Preble County, May 25, 1843, to Sarah Ann Town, a native of Philadelphia.  She died in Kentucky, Apr. 5, 1876.  He afterward married Mrs. Martha J. (Kenyon) Cherington.  They have one daughter - Sallie.
~ Page 299 - History of Lower Scioto Co., Ohio - Publ. Chicago: Inter-state Publishing Co. 1884
DANIEL W. TITUS, son of Samuel and Clarissa (Coryell) Titus, was born Feb. 11, 1822, in Harrison Township, Scioto County.  His father was born in Northumberland County, Pa., in 1798, and was married July 15, 1816, in New York State, to Clarissa Coryell, who was born in 1799 in Tioga County, Pa.  They had seven children - Dr. Arthur Titus, Green B., John, Mary, wife of Eli Shope of Scioto County; Jane, wife of Peter Magnet; Rebecca, wife of Gillum Crabtree, and Daniel W.  They came to Ohio in 1818 and entered 160 acres of land in Harrison Township, where the father died in December, 1859.  His wife is still living with our subject at the age of eighty-four years.  Daniel W. was married Aug. 17, 1847, to Eulalia Dodge, born Apr. 28, 1827, and daughter of Lyons and Alma (Stuhl) Dodge, natives of Pennsylvania, who came to Ohio in 1837.  Mr. and Mrs. Titus have five children living - Stephen; Ellen, wife of James Sweet; Matilda, wife of William Scholar; Mary A., residing in Montana Territory, and Samuel.  After his marriage Mr. Titus was engaged at different furnaces in Southern Ohio about fifteen years.  He lived in Green County, Ind., four years.  He then returned to Ohio in 1862, and has since resided on the old home far, and during this time has spent considerable time in traveling through different States, spending eighteen months in Montana Territory.  He enlisted in the late war in Company F, Ohio National Guards, and and was discharged at Gallipolis, Ohio.  In politics he is a strong Republican.  Mrs. Titus has been Postmistress at Harrison Mills since Apr. 7, 1881.  She belongs to the Methodist church. 
~ Page 348 - History of Lower Scioto Co., Ohio - Publ. Chicago: Inter-state Publishing Co. 1884 - Harrison Twp.
JAMES FITZMAURICE TOWELL was born in Ardfert, County Kerry, Ireland, Nov. 3,1825.  His parents afterward moved to Listowel,
where he resided until, at the age of sixteen, he crossed the Atlantic and joined his brother, the Rev. Thomas Towell, who was at that time Rector of the Protestant Episcopal church, at Oxford, Chenango Co., N. Y.  He spent two years at the Oxford Academy in hard study, then taught a district school near Guilford, Chenango County, boarding around among the parents, as customary in those days.  He resumed his studies in the Oxford Academy, and then -removed to Staten Island, N. Y., and became teacher of mathematics in his brother’s boarding-school, where he taught and studied for nearly two years.  In 1847 he removed to Portsmouth, Ohio, crossing the Alleghany Mountains in a stage.  He entered the dry-goods house of James Pursell and T. N. Davey, and there took his first lessons in mercantile pursuits, gaining the confidence and esteem of his employers.  In 1853 the retail branch house of I. F. Towell & Co. was opened by Mr. Pursell, which prospered from the .start, and at the end of three years was made into a jobbing house exclusively, under the firm name of Pursell & Towell.  At Mr. Pursell’s death in 1857, the business was continued for six years more with signal success, until the breaking out of the Rebellion, when trade was prostrated and property on the border endangered.  It was deemed necessary by Mr. Towell to discontinue the partnership, and restore to Mr. Pursell’s estate the capital invested with the profits, intact.  He continued the business alone until 1878, when his son-in-law, Dan McFarland, became associated with him under the firm name of Towell & McFarland.  In July, 1880, they established, with Mr. A. L.Sanford the extensive wholesale manufacturing clothing house of McFarland, Sanford & Co., which with their wholesale dry-goods house is conducted with marked success, giving employment to 150 operatives. Oct. 23, 1849, Mr. Towell married Seva C. Greene, of Staten Island.  They have three daughters - Essie, Louise, wife of Dan. McFarland, and Addie.  They lost three daughters in infancy.  Mr. Towell and his family are members of All-Saints’ Protestant Episcopal Church, Portsmouth.  He is Senior Warden of the parish, and Superintendent of the Sunday-school, positions he has held for many years.
~ Page 300 - History of Lower Scioto Co., Ohio - Publ. Chicago: Inter-state Publishing Co. 1884
HENRY ABNER TOWNE, lawyer, Judge an  Mayor, Portsmouth, Ohio, was born in Litchfield, Herkimer Co., N. Y., Jan. 5, 1826. He is the only child of Abner Towne and Sarah Eliza Vinton.  His father graduated from Union College, Schenectady, N. Y.; studied divinity at Andover, Mass., and was ordained pastor of the Presbyterian church in Litchfield, N. Y., on July 18, 1825, where he died  June 19, 1826, in the very prime of his usefulness, greatly lamented.  Our subject was then only five months old.  His mother was a sister of the Hon. Samuel P. Vinton, once a Member of Congress from the Gallipolis, Ohio district.  Shortly after the death of her husband she returned to her parents in Amherst, Mass., but some two or three years subsequent came to Ohio, and made her home with her brother in Gallipolis for a year or more, while there being engaged in teaching school.  She afterward became the wife of Dr. Robert Safford, of Putnam, Ohio (now included in the city of Zanesville), and in 1831 removed to that place.  When about ten years of age young Towne went to live with an aunt in Milan, Huron Co., Ohio, and there began a course of study preparatory for college.  Returning to Putnam after a year or two, he completed his college preparation.  In the fall of 1841 he entered Marietta College, and graduated therefrom in 1845.  For a year subsequent he was engaged in teaching school in Coshocton, Ohio, and while thus employed resumed the study of law under the Hon. David Spangler, which he had previously begun under General C. P. Goddard, of Zanesville.  In 1849 he was admitted to the bar in Cincinnati, and immediately located in Marietta, where he began the practice of his profession in partnership with Hon. W. A. Whittlesey, after a Member of Congress from Southern Ohio.  In December, 1855, he removed to Portsmouth, where for several years he continued in practice by himself, but subsequently took into partnership Hon. James W. Bannon, of Portsmouth.  In 1868 he was elected Judge of the Common Pleas for the second sub-division of the second judicial district of Ohio, but served only something over a year, and then resigned and resumed his legal practice in Portsmouth, with H. W. Farnham  In the spring of 1879 he was chosen Mayor of Portsmouth, and served acceptably a term of two years.  During the summer of 1880 he served under the Government as Supervisor of the census for the Fourth Census District of the State.  In January, 1882, his health being impaired, and for the purpose of having a change of labor and climate, he accepted the position of Clerk of the House of Representatives' Committee in the District of Columbia, and served during the Forty-seventh Congress.  In politics he was formerly an Old line Whig, but upon the organization of the Republican party became one of its first advocates, and has voted solely with that party since.  He has always taken a lively interest in all educational matters, and for four years was a member of the Portsmouth Board of Education, serving as its secretary, a and also having charge of its finances.  He is connected as stockholder and director with the Scioto Star Fire-Brick Works, of East Portsmouth, and also stock-holder in the Globe Iron Company, of Jackson, Jackson Co., Ohio.  On Dec. 18, 1856, Judge Town, married Harriet Nye, of Marietta, Ohio, whose father, Judge Arius Nye, once represented his district in the Ohio Legislature, also served as Common Pleas Judge, and was very prominent and useful man of his day.  She is also a great-granddaughter, on her mother's side, of General Benjamin Tupper, of Revolutionary fame.  The issue of this marriage was one son - Robert S. Towne.  He is a graduate of the Ohio State University at Columbus, and is by profession a mining engineer.  He is now located at Buena Vista, Col. , and is prosecuting his chosen profession with fine success.  In religious views Judge Towne is an Episcopalian, and is a Vestryman in All-Saints' Episcopal Church, Portsmouth, Ohio.  He is a man of fine natural abilities and good judgment, and is well qualified for the honorable positions held by him, all of which have been tendered him without his solicitation.  His ministrations, both as Judge and as Mayor, have been rendered with fidelity and impartiality.  He possesses a fine physique, courteous manners and excellent social qualities, and is very greatly respected in the community.
~ Page 300 - History of Lower Scioto Co., Ohio - Publ. Chicago: Inter-state Publishing Co. 1884
REV. JOHN B. TRACY

~ Page 388 - History of Lower Scioto Co., Ohio - Publ. Chicago: Inter-state Publishing Co. 1884

W. D. TREMPER, D. D. S., was born in New Richmond, Ohio, Jan. 9, 1851, a son of Johnson Tremper, a pioneer of New Richmond.  He began the study of his profession under Dr. R. A. Mollyneaux, and graduated at the Ohio Dental College, Cincinnati, in 1870.  He then located in Ypsilanti, Mich., and practiced eight years, and in 1878 removed to Portsmouth, and located on the corner of Second and Washington streets.  Dr. Tremper fully understands his profession, and is prepared to practice any part of surgical dentistry in the most careful manner.  He was married Dec. 7, 1880, to Mary Hayman, a native of Newport, Ky.
Page 301 - History of Lower Scioto Co., Ohio - Publ. Chicago: Inter-state Publishing Co. 1884
MRS. ELIZA TROTTER

~ Page 302 - History of Lower Scioto Co., Ohio - Publ. Chicago: Inter-state Publishing Co. 1884

WILLIAM TURNER

~ Page 452 - History of Lower Scioto Co., Ohio - Publ. Chicago: Inter-state Publishing Co. 1884

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