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BIOGRAPHIES
Source:
History of Adams County, Ohio
from its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time
by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers
West Union, Ohio
Published by E. B. Stivers
1900
Please note: STRIKETHROUGHS are
errors with corrections next to them.
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ROBERT MILLER PATERSON,
farmer, residing near Peebles, Ohio, was born July 5, 1854,
near Newport, in Adams County. His father was Ralph
Paterson, a native of New Jersey. the name is
Sweedish, and Ralph Patteson's ancestors came to this
country originally from Sweden.
Our subject's mother was Drusilla A. Wilson.
Her father, Ralph Wilson, born in Pennsylvania,
was in the War of 1812,and had nine brothers, all of whom
were soldiers in the same war. He had five sisters.
Our subject attended the common schools of his vicinity and
early displayed a thirst for learning. He attended
several Normal schools in the county, began the work of
teaching in 1873, and continued it for ten years, working on
the farm in the Summer months. From 1883 to 1885, he
was engaged in merchandising at Dunbarton, Ohio, with J.
W. Rogers, under the firm name of Rogers & Peterson.
In 1885, he went to farming on the farm where he now
resides, and has followed that occupation ever since.
He was Clerk of Meigs Township from 1892 to 1896.
He was married Sept. 19, 1883, to Miss Ellen M.
Rogers, daughter of John Wilson Rogers.
They have two children, Nellie B. and Ralph.
Mr. Peterson is not a member of any church, but
believes in the broad religion of humanity. He is one
of those with whom it is pleasant to meet and converse, and
after meeting him one feels that he has met a fellow man
whom it is a pleasure to know. He possesses much
magnetism and he aims to do good to all with whom he
associates and makes those persons feel he has benefited
them. He is always ready to learn and equally ready to
impart his information in a way to give pleasure to his
hearers. In his political beliefs, he is a Democrat.
He is a citizen, honest, industrious and upright, whose life
can always be cited for good and whose place in the
community is for usefulness. He is a prudent and safe
counselor, an obliging and considerate neighbor. As a
friend, he is faithful and true. His convictions on
any subject are strong and not easily changed. With
all these good qualities fully known and understood, he is
highly esteemed among his neighbors and in the circle of his
associates.
Source: History of Adams County, Ohio - by
Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers – West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B.
Stivers - 1900 - Page
840 |
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JOHN PATTERSON.
John Patterson was born in Pendleton County,
Virginia, Nov. 23, 1793, and died in Wilkins, Union County,
Ohio, Feb. 1, 1859. His parents were James
Augustine Patterson, of English descent, and Ann
Elizabeth Hull (Patterson), of Dutch descent.
The family lived in that part of Virginia (now West
Virginia) known as the "Backbone of the Alleghanies," and
owned large tracts of land on the South Branch of the
Potomac River. James A. Patterson rendered the
American cause important service during the War of the
Revolution, and for that reason became possessed of
sufficient means to purchase a large body of land in
Alleghany County, Pennsylvania, a part of which is now in
the heart of the city of Pittsburg. Others had
preempted a part of the land before he reached it, and he
did not attempt to dispossess them.
John Patterson was but about eight years of age
when his father died, in1801, and in 1804 he was apprenticed
for a period of ten years to Z. A. Tannehill to learn
the trade of watchmaker and silversmith. His employer
died in1813, leaving his apprentice on his own resources.
He then enlisted as a private soldier in a Pittsburg
infantry regiment, serving in Gen. Adamson Tannehill's
Brigade in what is historically known as the "War of
1812." He saw but little field service, but before the
ward ended he was made as corporal.
In 1815 he went to Alexandria, Va., expecting to
go into business, but his partner proved unworthy, and he
returned to Pittsburg, entering the employ of Mr. John
Thompson. In the autumn of 1817 he emigrated to
Ohio, making the journey down the Ohio River, then one of
the most promising settlements in the Buckeye State.
Here he opened a jewelry store, made and repaired watches
and clocks and manufactured articles of silverware.
Some of the spoons and possibly other utensils of his
handiwork are still in existence. He afterwards
established a tannery, and then one of the first
wool-carding and combing factories erected in southern Ohio.
In the spring of 1819 he was elected justice of the peace
for Tiffin Township, and subsequently was twice elected to
the same position. For several years he held the
office, by appointment, of county collector for taxes.
On Jan. 27, 1827, the system of tax collecting then in vogue
was abolished by the act of the legislature, which created
the office of county treasurer, and the incumbent of that
office was made the only tax collector.
In 1826 Mr. Patterson was elected as
representative from Adams County to the twenty-fifth general
assembly of the state; in 1828 to the twenty-seventh; in
1829 he was joint representative with Hosea Moore in
the twenty-eighth general assembly. He was then, as
always throughout his public career, an ardent Democrat.
In 1833 and again in 1834, he was for the fifth and sixth
times elected as representative in the legislature. He
was elected as state senator from Adams and Brown counties
in1835 to the thirty-fourth general assembly; and in 1836
was elected as state senator from Adams, Brown, and Scioto
counties to the thirty-fifth general assembly.
With the single exception of Hon. Thomas Kirker,
Governor of Ohio, in 1808, who served as senator and
representative for seventeen years prior to 1825, John
Patterson was a member of the legislature longer than
any other citizen of the county. He took high rank as
a party leader and debater, and secured the passage of
excellent laws. He was a firm friend of all public
improvements, and heartily supported the "National Road" and
all the various canal projects which were before the
legislature during his eight terms of service.
In 1834 John Patterson, of Adams; Uri Seeley,
of Geauga, and Jonathan Taylor, of Licking, were
appointed by Governor Lucas as commissioners for Ohio
to settle the boundary between Ohio and Michigan. The
action of the commissioners was resisted by the Governor and
inhabitants of Michigan Territory, and for a time there was
great excitement throughout the state, the militia was
called out on each side, and for a few weeks there was every
prospect of bloodshed. Happily for all concerned this
was averted. This, and subsequent proceedings relative
to the disputed boundary line, are matters of record and a
part of the history of the state, too lengthy for repetition
here. Suffice it to say that the action of the
commissioners was sustained by the governor and legislature
of the state, and by the president and congress of the
United States. The territory in dispute now includes
the great city of Toledo.
On Mar. 21, 1838, President Van Buren appointed
Mr. Patterson United States Marshal for the state of
Ohio, as the successor of John Patterson, of Belmont
County, who, through he bore the same name, was not a
relative. The United States courts then were all held
at Columbus, and thither Mr. Patterson removed his
family, residing in that city from the date of his
appointment until the expiration of his official term,
July 10, 1841. His most important service was the
taking of the United States census, during the summer of
1840. This immense and important task was solely in
his charge, and it was performed in a manner creditable to
himself and to the complete satisfaction of the government.
Returning to Adams County, in 1841, Mr. Patterson
resided in West Union until the summer of 1847, when he
removed to York Township, Union County, Ohio, where he spent
the remainder of his life on a farm in the peaceful pursuits
of agriculture and stock raising. His remains were
laid to rest in sight of his home, in the cemetery of the
York Presbyterian Church, with which he was identified
during the last twelve years of his life.
John Patterson was married three times.
His first wife was Mary Brown Finley, daughter of
Major Joseph Lewis Finley and Jane Blair Finley.
They were married at her father's residence on Gift Ridge,
south of West Union, Nov. 10, 1818, by Rev. Thomas
Williamson. Six children were born of this union,
namely: Joseph Peter (died at Butler, Pa., Mar.
4, 1856), Lewis Augustine (died at West Union, Aug.
23, 1895), Thomas Reed (resides at Price Hill,
Cincinnati, Ohio), Hannah Finley (married Lewis C.
Clark, died at Manhattan, Kansas, Apr. 23, 1884), and
Mary Brown (married Jacob Dresback, resides at
Paris, Ill.) His first wife's remains were laid away
in the old village cemetery.
His second wife was Miss Celia Prather, daughter
of Major John Prather, of West Union, to whom he was
married Nov. 9, 1831, by Rev. John Meek. To
them the following children were born: Algernon
Sidney (died in infancy), Elizabeth Jane (married
Benjamin F. Coates, resides at Portsmouth, Ohio),
Robert Emmet (died at Nashville, Tenn., June 25, 1860),
John Prather (died at Chicago, Ill., Dec. 17, 1889),
and James Hamer (died in infancy at Columbus, Ohio).
Mrs. Celia Patterson died at Columbus, Ohio,
Feb. 22, 1840. A number of years afterward her remains
were removed to the West Union cemetery.
His third wife was Miss Mary Catherine McCrea, a
relative of Jane McCrea, whose tragic massacre by the
Indians near Saratoga, N. Y., is narrated in the annals of
the Revolution. They were married at Columbus,
Ohio, on Nov. 12, 1840, by Rev. James Hoge. All
of their four children were born in West Union; three of
them (James McCrea, Stephen Henry and Celia
Ann) died in infancy. Charles Moore,
their youngest child, died in hsi seventeenth year (Mar. 4,
1863), at Murfreesboro, Tenn., while in the service of his
country as a volunteer soldier during the War of the
Rebellion.
Mrs. Catherine M. Patterson was married to
Andrew McNeil, of Union County, on June 16, 1862, who
died Dec. 31, 1889. She died at her home near
Richwood, Ohio, Oct. 27, 1893.
Source: History of Adams County, Ohio - by
Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers – West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B.
Stivers - 1900 - Page
264 - Chapter XVI - Politics |
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HON. SAMUEL
LINCOLN PATTERSON, who now represents
Adams County as a part of the seventh senatorial district,
is a great-grandson of Judge Joseph Lucas, who
represented Adams County in the first legislature of Ohio
and a sketch of whom is found elsewhere.
He was born Sept. 7, 1860, at Piketon, Ohio, son of
William Patterson and wife, Hannah Brown, who was
a daughter of John R. Brown and his wife Levisa
Lucas, daughter of Judge Joseph Lucas.
Our subject's father was born near Philadelphia
His father, Thomas, died when his son William
was quite young. The father of John R. Brown
named was a captain in the Revolutionary War from Virginia,
as was Maj. William Lucas, father of Judge Joseph
Lucas. Mr. Patterson, the father of our
subject, was a wagon maker and a blacksmith. His wife
had a farm adjoining Piketon and he operated that in
connection with his trade. He died June 11, 1879, and
his widow still resides in Piketon. Our subject
attended school in Piketon till 1879, when he went to
Lebanon. He began the occupation of school teacher in
1881 and followed it until 1886. In Piketon he taught
in 1884, 1885 and 1886, having the position next to the
superintendent. He was mayor in the village of Piketon
from 1882 until 1890, and was a justice of peace of Seal
Township from 1883 to 1886. He was a member of the
school board in Piketon from 1889 to 1887. He was
elected state senator in the seventh senatorial district
composed of Adams County, Pike, Jackson and Scioto in the
fall of 1899. At the organization of the senate he was
made chairman of finance and placed second on the judiciary
committees and on the committees on public works and
insurance.
He was married May 18, 1882, to Miss Lizzie M.
Bateman, daughter of Rev. Samuel Bateman, of
Piketon. They have six children, two boys and four
girls. In his political faith, Mr. Patterson is
an earnest Republican, and was chairman of the Republican
Executive Committee for the first three years Pike County
went Republican.
He is a man of strong convictions, but cautious and
conservative in the expression of them. while amongst
his friends, he is gentle and reserved in hnis manner, at
the same time, he is one of the most positive men, and firm
in his purposes. As a lawyer, the longer he devotes
himself to a cause, the stronger he becomes in it. He
has great reserve force, he always appears sto have
something reserved for a denoument. He has rare
judgment and fine discrimination. He seldom reaches a
false conclusion. As a lawyer an untiring worker.
In taking up a case, he masters the facts and then the law,
then he prepares his pleadings which are models of accuracy.
He gives great promise as a lawyer. As a member of the
Ohio senate, he has already taken a high position amongst
his fellow senators. He bids fair to make an enviable
reputation as a legislator.
Source: History of Adams County, Ohio - by
Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers – West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B.
Stivers - 1900 - Page
274 - Chapter XVI - Politics |
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JOHN M. PATTISON was born
in Clermont County, Ohio, June 13, 1847. He entered
the army in 1864 at the age of sixteen. He was
admitted to the bar in Hamilton County, Ohio, in 1872.
He was elected to the state legislature from Hamilton county
in 1873. He was vice president and general manager of
the Union Central Life Insurance Company in 1881 and was
elected president in 1891. He was elected state
senator in 1890 in the Brown-Clermont District to fill a
vacancy caused by the death of Thomas Q. Ashburn.
He was elected to the fifty-second congress on the
Democratic ticket by 16,100 to 13,157 for D. W. C. Loudon.
After his congressional career, he resumed his connection
with the Union Central Life Insurance Company and is now its
President.
Source: History of Adams County, Ohio - by Nelson W. Evans
and Emmons B. Stivers – West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B.
Stivers - 1900 - Page 326 |
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J.
MONROE PATTON, of Cherry Fork, is a lineal descendant
of John Patton, of Virginia. His father was
Nathaniel Patton, of Harshaville, who married
Ann Thompson, daughter of Daniel Thompson, of
Adams County. The subject of this sketch was born in
the old Patton homestead at Harshaville, October 13,
1850. Being of strong and robust frame during his
boyhood days, and for over twenty years after his majority
and marriage, he lived the busy and toilsome life of a
farmer. He received the rudiments of an English
education, the best it afforded, in his home district
country school, and later he attended the old academy at
Cherry Fork, in its better days, under the tuition of
Professors Coleman and Smith.
Oct. 8, 1872, he was united in marriage to Miss
Sarah J. Allison, daughter of David Allison, of
Spring Mill, Center County, Pa. This marriage was a
happy one, uniting as it did two old and respectable
families, many of whose descendants are scattered throughout
the Ohio Valley, and recognized as active, honorable men and
women.
In the Spring of 1893, Mr. Patton purchased the
farm implement and hardware business (and drug store) of
Morrison Bros., of Cherry Fork, and removed there with his
family, where he now conducts the above named business.
From his well known integrity and upright dealing with men,
he has built up a business interest reaching into the
country for miles about him.
His family consists of Mary Maud, who married
Frank E. Kirkpatrick; Maggie Anna, who married
Charles H. Morrison; Clyde, a promising young man
engaged in business with his father; and Lorena and
Sarah Helen, yet at home.
In politics, Mr. Patton is a Republican, having
held many offices of trust in his native township. He
and his family are earnest supporters of trust in his native
township. He and his family are earnest supporters of
the U. P. Congregation at Cherry Fork.
Source: History of Adams County, Ohio - by
Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers – West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B.
Stivers - 1900 - Page 836 |
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JOHN
PATTON, of Virginia. He is so designated to
distinguish him from his son, John Patton, who
emigrated to Ohio. We find he was from the north of
Ireland. He was one of eight brothers. We do not
know what time he located in Virginia, but it was not later
than 1774. He was born about 1754. he was
married in about 1775. His eldest child, Nathaniel
Patton, born Feb. 22, 1776; was married in Rockbridge
County, Virginia, 1797. Nathaniel Patton
located in Adams County in 1814, on the farm where Ramsey
Duffey now lives. He went to Rush County, Indiana,
1824. His wife's name was Polly Robinson.
He was the father of fourteen children, all of whom but the
eldest, John S. Patton, followed him to Decatur
County, Indiana. He died there in 1844. The
second child of John Patton, of Virginia, was
Martha Campbell. She married James Campbell,
in Rockbridge County, Virginia. They came to Adams
County and settled near Decatur. Brown County.
She left a large number of descendants, among whom are teh
Wassons of Cherry Fork. Thomas Patton,
a son, lived and died on West Fork. The wife of
Gen. William McIntire was his daughter. His other
children removed to Peoria, Illinois, in the forties.
Nathan Patton owned the Sam McNown place in Brown
County. He was a money maker and Adams County was too
slow for him. He left after a few years' residence
with his entire family and located in Iowa. All trace
of him and his family have been lost to the other Pattons.
John Patton, the youngest son, was born in Virginia in
1787, a notice of whom is elsewhere herein. A daughter,
Jane Patton, died in middle age, unmarried.
Mary Patton was born in Virginia in 1789, and was
married to Charles Kirkpatrick in 1806. They
came to Ohio and located on Eagle Creek. Three
children were born to William Evans, and ten children
were born of this union, the eldest of which was Edward
Patton Evans, of West Union, father of one of the
editors of this work. She died Mar. 22, 1830, at the
age of forty-one. Nancy Milligan the fourth
daughter of John Patton, of Virginia, was born in
Rockbridge County, Virginia, about 1791. She married
William Milligan, and they located near Unity in Adams
County. She was the mother of a large family.
J. C. Milligan, her son, was a County Commissioner of
Adams County from 1860 to 1863. Her son, John
Milligan, is living near Decatur, Brown County.
John Patton, of Virginia, died in 1809 in
Rockbridge County. He made his will in July, 1809, and
it was probated in October, 1809. From the tone of his
will, it is judged he was a very pious, God-fearing man.
The inventory of his estate on file indicates he was an
ordinary Virginia farmer. He owned 278 acres of land
in one body, about five and three fourths miles from
Lexington, on the upper Natural Bridge road. Two
hundred acres of his land lay in Burden's Grant, and the
remainder, seventy-eight acres, just outside of it.
The original grant of the
Burden tract was from George, the Second, by the
Grace of God of Great Britain, France and Ireland, King and
Defender of the Faith, etc., and on condition that one
family for every thousand acres be settled on it within two
years. There were 92,100 acres in the grant. The
land was to be held in free and common socage and not in
capite or by knight service, and to pay a rent of one
chilling for every fifty acres, to be paid yearly in the
Feast of St. Michael, the Archangel (September
29). Three acres out of every fifty were to be
improved within three years. All these conditions were
abolished by the Virginia Legislature during the Revolution.
John Patton bought his two
hundred acres in Burden's Grant, Dec. 3, 1782. That is
the date of his deed, but he probably had it contracted for
long before that. He purchased of James Grigsby,
who died Apr. 7, 1794, and was the first person buried in
the Falling Spring cemetery.
John Patton hated the institution of slavery,
and had intended to remove from Virginia had he lived, but
he charged his children to remove from a slave state, which
they did. His descendants are very much the same type
of man that he was himself; strong, prudent, economical,
honest., careful, despising all sham and pretense, adn
hating oppression and injustice in every form.
Source: History of Adams County, Ohio - by
Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers – West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B.
Stivers - 1900 - Page 806 |
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JOHN
PATTON, of Ohio, so designated to distinguish him
from his father, having the same name, but who never resided
in Ohio, was born in Rockbridge County, Virginia, June 9,
1787. His mother was Martha Sharp, the daughter
of a Presbyterian minister of Glasgow, Scotland. He
was married to Phoebe Taylor in Rockbridge County,,
Virginia, in 1813. While he was courting her, he used
to visit her about every ninety days, riding over the
Natural Bridge, his home being on the opposite side of the
bridge from her. He resided in Rockbridge County until
1816 when he moved to Wayne Township, Adams County, where he
purchased a farm. His wife was aunt of Bishop
Taylor, of the M. E. Church,, so long a missionary in
Africa. She was born Feb. 2, 1794. They joined the
Associate Reformed Church in North Liberty as soon as they
came from Virginia and attended it all their lives.
They had ten children born to them, four sons and six
daughters. Martha, the eldest, was born in
Virginia. She married the Rev. Robert Stewart,
who was pastor of the church at Cherry Fork for nineteen
years. She died in 1852. His second son,
James T., born Oct. 25, 1815, died in 1835. He had
been attending Miami University, and was expecting to become
a minister of the Gospel. Another son, John Elder,
lived many years near North Liberty on the Winchester road.
Nathaniel C. Patton, one of the principal
farmers of the county, lives near Harshaville.
Henry Patton died unmarried. Of the daughters,
Larissa married Alexander Caskey and had a large
family. One of her sons is John P. Caskey, of
the firm of Harsha & Caskey, at Portsmouth, Ohio.
A daughter, Elizabeth married Robert Morrison,
of Eckmansville; Phoebe Caroline married S. D.
McIntire, and Nancy and Margaret each
married a Kirkpatrick. they also had a adopted
child, Phoebe C. Finley.
John Patton died Oct. 7, 1853, aged sixty-five
years. His wife died Oct. 7, 1863, aged sixty-nine
years.
John Patton and his wife were the very strictest
Presbyterians. there was family worship morning and
evening, grace before meals, and a returning of thanks
after, and Sunday was devoted entirely to public and private
worship, including the catechism. When anyone visited
their house, he was not asked if he were a member of any
church, but he was called on to say grace or take part in
worship, and if he was not in a condition to do so he was
put in the position to be asked to be excused. In
those days religion was a severe and awful matter, and they
made it a part of their every day life. Sunday was a
day when only public or private worship, reading of the
scriptures or catechising, and nothing else, was to be
thought of. They believed that the promises were for
them and their children, and acted on their belief.
their lives were models for all the world, but alas, how the
world has changed since that time. The severity of the
religion of the Pilgrim Fathers was no greater than that of
Rockbridge County, Virginia, Presbyterians, but with all
their religious severity, they did not forget to make and
save money and had all that thrift which belonged alike to
the New England Puritan and the north of Ireland Protestant
Irishman.
Source: History of Adams County, Ohio - by
Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers – West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B.
Stivers - 1900 - Page 807 |
| |
ALFRED PENCE. One of the first settlements in Adams County
outside of the Stockade at Manchester was made by Michael
Pence, his son Peter Pence, and their kinsmen,
the Roush family, together with the Bryans and
Cooks, in 1796, at the "Dutch Settlement" in what is
now Sprigg Township. These families were "Pennsylvania
Dutch" and had originally settled in the Shenandoah Valley,
and in the year 1795 came to the Three Islands, at
Manchester, to make their future homes in the Northwest
Territory. The first year of their coming to the Three
Islands, they cultivated a crop of corn on the lower island
which was then partially cleared.
Michael Pence, the pioneer, was drowned in the
Ohio River in 1807 while attempting to cross with his team
at the lower ferry. He had purchased one thousand four
hundred acres of land in the Hopkins Survey in Sprigg
Township and was a wealthy farmer for his day in Adams
County. He is buried in Hopewell Cemetery. His
son, Peter Pence, who married Susan Roush in
the Shenandoah Valley previous to his coming to Adams County
in 1795, had among the children, a son, Aaron, born
in 1798, who married Elizabeth Moore, and who was the
father of the following named children: Nathan,
David, Daniel, Jacob, Francis S., Peter, Harriet, who
married Dyas Gilbert, and our subject.
Alfred Pence, the oldest child, who was born May 17,
1823, on the old Michael Pence homestead, which he
now owns and where he resides, near Maddox postoffice.
He married Hannah Evans in 1847, and has reared the
following children: Elizabeth, who
married Zenous Roush; Ruth, who married
Robert Brookover; Dyas, who married Ada Parr;
Rufus; Mahala, who married Lafayette Roush; and
Ida, married to Rev. A. D. Foster.
Source: History of Adams County, Ohio - by
Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers – West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B.
Stivers - 1900 - Page 830 |
| |
REUBEN
PENNYWIT was born May 31, 1817, the fourth child of
Mark Pennywit, who reared his family on Gift Ridge in
Adams County. He had six brothers and each of them was
more than six feet tall. In youth,, he delighted in
feats of strength. He united in the Methodist
Episcopal church at Quinn chapel at its dedication, Dec. 20,
1842, a church built on the old Pennywit home, and
largely by the contributions of the family.
On April 3, 1839, he married Miss Jane Cooper,
of Brown County, Ohio, who survived him. They had nine
children, eight of whom were living at the time of the death
of their father. They were Captains Wylie and
Alfred; George and Mary of Manchester;
Captain Samuel Pennywit, of Natchez, Mississippi;
Mrs. Edward McMillan and Mrs. J. P. Duffey, of
Cincinnati, and Joseph W. Pennywit.
He died Feb. 10, 1892. In his Christian
character, he was pre-eminent.
Source: History of Adams County, Ohio - by
Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers – West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B.
Stivers - 1900 - Page 811 |
| |
ALFRED PENNYWITT
was born Jan. 8, 1840, on Gift Ridge, Monroe Township, Adams
County, Ohio. His father was Reuben Pennywitt,
who has a separate sketch herein, and his mother's maiden
name was Jane Cooper. His mother was born in
September, 1816, and is still living. Reuben
Pennywitt and wife had nine children, eight of
whom are living. One died in infancy. Our
subject is the eldest child of his father's family. He
attended school on Gift Ridge, and his entire education was
obtained in the common schools. His father was a
builder of boats and a lumberman. Mr. Pennywitt
began steamboating at the age of eighteen. He
continued in steamboating for a short time, and was engaged
in the lumber business until the fourth of July, 1861, when
he enlisted in Company I, 39th O. V. I., for three years.
He served until the twenty-fourth of August, 1864, when he
was mustered out at the expiration of his term of service.
He was never in the hospital and was never disabled while in
the service. He was in every battle in which his
regiment was engaged and never received a scratch.
On returning from the army, he folowed the
lumber business in Manchester for two or three years.
In 1867, he re-engaged in steamboating, beginning as a
watchman on the steamboat Robert Moore. He has
continued in the same occupation ever since, and has served
as second mate, mate, pilot, and master. He was master
on steamboats in the Southern trade, notably the Courier and
the Stella Wild, and others, for over ten years. He
has resided in Manchester ever since the War.
Since 1877, he has been engaged on the Ohio River on the
Pomeroy and Pittsburg boats. For the last five years
he has been a mate on the Pittsburg and Cincinnati line, on
the Hudson and the Virginia. He has been engaged on
not fewer that two hundred different steamboats during his
career as a steamboatman.
He has always been a Republican, and has been a member
of the Methodist Protestant Church at Manchester for
the last eight years. He was married June 21, 1869, to
Miss Matilda C. Fleming, daughter of Alexander
Fleming and granddaughter of James M. Cole.
He has had three children: Edith C., born May 31,
1870, the wife of F. A. McCormick of Manchester;
Rufus C., born June 5, 1872, a physician in the city of
Dayton, located at 134 South Ludlow Street, where he has
been four years. He had a daughter, Pearl C.,
born July 8, 1878, who died Sept. 7, 1891. Our subject
has but one grandchild, Rufus, son of F. A. and
Edith McCormick, born Dec. 9, 1891.
Captain Pennywitt is noted for his modesty and
his substantial worth. One always knows just where to
find him; and when found, he can be depended upon. He
is as different from the traditional old-time steamboat mate
or master, as day is from night. His friend David
Dunbar says that one can ascribe all good qualities to
him, and then fall short of his real merits. He
maintains the high character for honor and integrity set by
his ancestors ever since they have been known to Adams
County. They would have died for conscience' sake and
counted it glory, and our subject is not a whit behind them.
Source: History of Adams County, Ohio - by
Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers – West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B.
Stivers - 1900 - Page 834 |
| |
HENRY PENNYWITT,
third son of John Pennywitt, was born on the old homestead on
Gift Ridge, Adams County, Ohio, on Dec. 13, 1851. He
attended the common schools and assisted his father on the
farm until he was a young man, when he left his home and went
to Bellefontaine, Logan County, Ohio, to learn the trade of
printer. In 1872, he went to Washington, D. C., and
worked at his trade until the Spring of 1874, when he entered
the United States Weather Service, and his remained almost
constantly with that service until the present time. He
served as observer of the weather at Leavenworth, Kans.;
Burlington, Iowa; Pittsburg, Pa.; Buffalo, N. Y.; Norfolk,
Va.; Sanford, Fla.; Titusville, Fla.; Jupiter, Fla. (at which
place he superintended the construction of an observatory);
Knoxville, Tenn.; New Orleans, La., and Washington, D. C.
He now holds a responsible position in the Climate and Corp
Division of the Weather Bureau at Washington, having charge of
the statistical work of temperature and rainfall data and the
collection of reports pertaining to the condition of the
different crops of the country. He has always taken a
deep interest in scientific investigations, particularly the
study of meteorology and kindred subjects.
On Nov. 12, 1890, in Knoxville, Tenn., he was married to
Miss Jennie L. Hessee, of Abingdon, Va.
He has one boy, John Edward, six years of
age, and one girl, Louise Mary, now nearly
three years old.
Source: History of Adams County, Ohio - by
Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers – West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B.
Stivers - 1900 - Page 831 |
| |
WM. CLINTON PENNYWITT,
the eldest son of John Pennywitt, was born on
the bank of the Ohio River, opposite the head of Manchester
Island, July 11, 1839. (He has recently adopted the
spelling of the family name here given, having been convinced
that such was the original and proper method.) He
received all his schooling in a log schoolhouse on the old
homestead near the present site of Quinn Chapel. At the
age of eighteen, he began teaching in the Public schools.
At twenty-one, he "went West." When Fort Sumpter was
fired upon and President Lincoln made his first call for
defenders of the flag, he was one of the first to respond.
He enlisted in April, 1861, at Newton, Iowa, in Company B,
Fifth Infantry Regiment of Iowa Volunteers. His command
was in action at New Madrid, Mo., the siege of Corinth, the
battle of Corinth, Luka, Jackson, Clinton, Champion's Hill and
Vicksburg, Miss., Missionary Ridge, Tenn., the Atlantic
Campaign, and in many minor engagements. During his
entire army service he was never in the hospital, never absent
from his command, and he never missed a tour of duty. On
the battle-field in front of Vicksburg his comrades chose him
by an almost unanimous vote to be their company commander.
This action of the men was ratified by all the field officers
of his regiment, and Governor Kirkwood commissioned him
Captain over the heads of both Lieutenants, and the First
Sergeant of his company. This is the only instance of
this kind in the history of the war. He remained with
his command until it was mustered out.
In civil life he has been at different times bookkeeper for a
large manufacturing establishment in Cincinnati and for one of
the largest lumber companies in Chicago; clerk in the U. S.
Treasury, Interior and Postoffice Departments; Chief of
Division of Railroad Statistics of the Tenth Census; rate
clerk of the C. B. and Q. Railroad; statistical clerk of the
Chicago Fire Department; editor of the Manchester Gazette,
the Maysville (Ky.) Republican and Round's
Printers' Cabinet, Chicago; and Washington correspondent
of a large number of newspapers. At the present time he
is serving as law clerk of the Department of Agriculture.
He was married Aug. 28, 1878, to Anna Rebecca Frow,
of Winchester, youngest daughter of Archibald and
Eliza Frow. They have two children and reside
in their pleasant home, "Seven Gables," at Glencarlyn, Va., a
beautiful suburb of Washington.
For several years, Captain Pennywitt has been devoting very
special attention to the Subject of a great national
institution of learning to be located in the immediate
vicinity of the National capital, a movement originated and
earnestly advocated by the immortal Washington.
He is the author of a memorial to Congress, presented in the
Senate, Feb. 28, 1899, by Senator Cullom, that has
attracted much attention. This memorial offers the
following suggestions:
(1.) The restoration to National jurisdiction of
that portion of the District of Columbia (ten miles square)
which lies south of the Potomac River.
(2. ) The founding of a city upon this reacquired
territory, to be dedicated to the cause of learning and to
be known as the city of Lincoln.
(3. ) The establishment within this city of a
great National institution of learning to be known as the
University of Washington and Lincoln.
He expects to devote the remainder of his life to the
development of this great project which has been described
as "the fitting climax to all that has been done for
education during the Nineteenth Century," and as "an
undertaking worthy of the foremost nation on earth, and of
the most progressive age of human history."
Source: History of Adams County, Ohio - by
Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers – West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B.
Stivers - 1900 - Page 832 |
| |
GEORGE W. PENNYWITT,
liveryman, of Manchester, was born Feb. 19, 1856, on a farm
about three miles above Manchester, and is a son of
Reuben Pennywitt and Jane Cooper, his
wife. He was educated in the Public schools of
Manchester, and was engaged in the lumber trade with his
father until 1882, when he engaged in the feed and livery
business, which he has since followed with success.
Apr. 24, 1881, he married Miss Laura Kimble, daughter
of Henry Kimble. He has a son, Reuben Roy
born Jan. 19, 1882, a graduate of the Class of '99 of the
Manchester High School, and a daughter, Mary Roxana,
born Dec. 17, 1895.
In politics, Mr. Pennywitt is a Republican, and
is a member of the Methodist Church. He has held many
local offices, and is one of the substantial business men of
Manchester.
Source: History of Adams County, Ohio - by
Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers – West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B.
Stivers - 1900 - Page 833 |
| |
JOHN PENNYWITT
was born on Gift Ridge, Monroe Township, Oct. 28, 1810, and
died at Washington, D. C. May 4, 1882.
In 1740 there landed at the port of New York a young
immigrant from Alsace-Lorraine. His name was John
Pennywitt, or Pennwitt. (The name was afterwards
variously spelled Penniwitt, Pennywit,
Bennywitt, etc.) He was a Huguenot; his family had
been well-nigh exterminated and he had been persecuted and
driven from his native land because of his religious faith.
He was by occupation a miller, and found employment at his
trade at Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He married his
employer's daughter, and with his bride started to join the
Huguenot colony in South Carolina. On the way thither
they passed up the Shenandoah Valley and were so impressed
by the beauty of the scenery and the fertility of the soil
that they decided to locate there. He built the first
mill in the valley, the foundation of which is still
standing near Mount Jackson. He had two sons and
several daughters. One son, John, emigrated to
the West and came to Adams County. He was a giant in
stature and his strength was remarkable. He could
carry two barrels of flour at once, one under each arm.
His remains now lie in the cemetery at Quinn Chapel.
He had four sons, one of whom, Mark, succeeded to the
home farm on Gift Ridge. Mark had six sons, one
of whom, Samuel, was accidentally killed when a
youth. The five surviving brothers, John, James
Reuben, David and Mark, lived to ripe old age.
They were all large and muscular. Their aggregate
weight was more than a thousand pounds, and their combined
strength doubtless exceeded that of any other family of
equal numbers in southern Ohio. As to their physical
development they constituted perhaps the most remarkable
family that Adams County has ever produced. And they
were equally noted for their sterling integrity and
irreproachable character.
The eldest of these brothers, John (the subject
of this sketch), was married in early manhood to Ann Wade,
a schoolmate of his boyhood days. the daughter of a
near neighbor. They reared a family of four sons and
four daughters, all of whom are living at the date of this
writing (September, 1899). At the age of nineteen he
became a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church at
Naylor's Meeting House. To that denomination he
continued faithful to the end. He organized a class
made up of his immediate neighbors, donated the ground and
was the chief contributor to the fund for erecting Quinn
Chapel, and the main support for many years of the society
that worshipped there. During a considerable portion
of his life he was one of the stewards of West Union circuit
in which was embraced Quinn Chapel.
In his younger days he served as justice of the Peace
and as Captain of Militia. He was an old-line Whig.
When the Republican party came into existence he identified
himself with that political organization. To the
principles of that party he was firmly attached. To
the institution of slaveryhe was always a relentless enemy.
His party honored him with the nomination to the State
Legislature and elected him County Commissioner. While
serving in the latter capacity he was largely instrumental
in securing the construction of improved roads throughout
the county. He was Chairman of the Republican
Executive Committee for several years, during which period
his party was generally successful at the polls; but for his
right arm he would not have used a single dollar to corrupt
an American voter.
The panic of 1875 brought financial ruin to him.
He gave up his home and his last dollar, and in 1874, with
his wife and one unmarried daughter, removed to Washington,
D. C., to accept a home proffered them by one of his sons.
In May, 1876, he received an appointment to a clerkship in
the United States Treasury department, which position he
held during the remaining six years of his life.
The distinguishing features of John Pennywitt's
character were unswerving honesty, absolute integrity of
purpose and unflinching adherence to the truth. He
never told a lie. He was an absolute stranger to
deceit. A near neighbor, Peter Thompson, saw
him grow from infancy to manhood and clearly recognized this
trait in his character. Once upon a time this old
gentleman had occasion to repeat a statement made by him and
a bystander expressed some doubts of its truth. This
aroused his Scotch ire and he burst out in tones of
indignation, "I know it's true, for John Pennywitt
himself told me." From this incident he became
generally known as "John Pennywitt himself."
Higher tribute than this can not be paid to human character.
Those who knew him well never doubted a word that he
uttered.
He was self-educated and his education was thorough and
practical. Notwithstanding his limited opportunities
for attending school he became familiar with all the common
branches of learning, and in mathematics he was superior to
many college-bred men. He taught many terms in the
public schools. Algebra, geometry and surveying he
mastered without a teacher. He became widely known as
a land surveyor, and in contested cases his surveys were
accepted by the courts as thoroughly reliable.
His remains rest in Odd Fellow's Cemetery in
Manchester. His funeral was one of the largest ever
witnessed in the county. By his side sleeps the
partner of his life's joys and sorrows. Adams County
may justly be proud of such a son.
Source: History of Adams County, Ohio - by
Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers – West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B.
Stivers - 1900 - Page 610 |
| |
WILEY DANIEL PENNYWIT
was born Sept. 26, 1861, three miles above Manchester, in
Adams County. His father was Mark Pennywit, and
his mother's maiden name was Sarah Cooper. He
was educated in the Public schools of the county.
Politically, he has always been a Republican. He is a
member of the Methodist Episcopal Church of Rome. He
came with his father, Mark Pennywit, to Rome on Sept.
18, 1880, where he engaged in business with him until the
death of the latter on June 18, 1885, after which he
conducted the business himself, which was a saw, planing and
grist mill. In April, 1888, Mr. Pennywit's mill
and all its contents were burned. There was no
insurance whatever and the loss was quite heavy.
Mr. Pennywit, with characteristic energy, built the same
year on a somewhat larger scale. He manufactures
flour, meal, and dressed and undressed lumber of every
description.
He lives in the parental home with his only unmarried
sister, Eugenie Pennywit. His other sisters are
Artemesia Godfrey, Mary H. Roberts, and Martha J.,
the wife of E. A. Crawford, editor of the West Union
Defender.
Mr. Pennywit is a
gentleman of the highest character and integrity, and
scrupulously exact in all his dealings with his fellow men,
and has the highest respect and esteem of all with whom he
comes in contact. He is one of the foremost business
men of the county. He and his sister have a delightful
home, surrounded by all the comforts and conveniences of
life, where it is a pleasure for their friends to meet
them.
Source: History of Adams County, Ohio - by
Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers – West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B.
Stivers - 1900 - Page 833 |
| |
ROBERT MILLER PETERSON,
farmer, residing near Peebles, Ohio, was born July 5, 1854,
near Newport, in Adams County. His father was Ralph
Peterson, came from the State of New Jersey. The
name is Swedish, and Ralph Peterson's ancestors came
to this country originally from Sweden.
Our subject's mother was Drucilla A. Wilson.
Her father, Ralph Wilson, born in Pennsylvania, was
in the War of 1812, and had nine brothers, all of whom were
soldiers in the same war. He had five sisters.
Our subject attended the common schools of his vicinity and
early displayed a thirst for learning. He attended
several Normal schools in the county, began the work of
teaching in 1873, and continued it for ten years, working on
the farm in the Summer months. From 1883 to 1885, he
was engaged in merchandising at Dunbarton, Ohio, with J.
W. Rogers, under the firm name of Rogers & Peterson.
In 1885, he went to farming on the farm where he now
resides, and has followed that occupation ever since.
He was Clerk of Meigs Township from 1892 to 1896.
He was married Sept. 19, 1883, to Miss Ellen M.
Rogers, daughter of John Wilson Rogers.
They have two children, Nellie B. and Ralph.
Mr. Peterson is not a member of any church, but
believes in the broad religion of humanity. He is one
of those with whom it is pleasant to meet and converse, and
after meeting him one feels that he has met a fellow man
whom it is a pleasure to know. He possesses much
magnetism and he aims to do good to all with whom he
associates and makes those persons feel he has benefited
them. He is always ready to learn and equally ready to
impart his information in a way to give pleasure to his
hearers. In his political beliefs, he is a Democrat.
He is a citizen honest, industrious and upright, whose life
can always be cited for good and whose place in the
community is for usefulness. He is a prudent and safe
counselor, and obliging and considerate neighbor. As a
friend, he is faithful and true. His convictions on
any subject are strong and not easily changed. With
all these good qualities fully known and understood, he is
highly esteemed among his neighbors and in the circle of his
associates.
Source:
History of Adams County, Ohio - by Nelson W. Evans and
Emmons B. Stivers – West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B.
Stivers - 1900 - Page 840 |
| |
GEORGE WASHINGTON PETTIT. It is a great responsibility for a
father to name a son for the father of his country, but in
this case, Mr. Pettit's father assumed it. If a
boy or man having this prenomen, does not live up to the
model set by his immortal name, then it is always case up to
him, but in this case, our subject has always done the best
he could under all circumstances, and has never been
reminded that he did not follow the model of his patronymic.
Our subject was born near Dukinsville
Dunkinsville, Adams County,
Apr. 5, 1856. His father was Isaac Pettit and
his mother's maiden name was Sarah Chambers.
His father was a native of Greenup County, Kentucky, and his
mother of Washington County, Pennsylvania. His father
was a farmer and a blacksmith, and young George
partially learned the latter trade while a boy at home with
his father. All the education he received from others
was in a log school house in Oliver Township, known as the
"Gulf District," and he had but three months school in any
one year, but George was ambitious and determined to
seek learning and did so. He acquired a sufficient
knowledge of the comon branches and began his career
as a county school teacher, April 30, 1866, at Mt. Tabor, in
Jefferson Township. The same year he taught at
Bentonville, and continued there until 1870. In 1871,
he began teaching Rome, and taught there until 1874.
On May 20, 1874, he was married to Laura A. Adamson,
daughter of John Adamson, of Bentonville. In
1874 and 1875, he taught in Concord, Kentucky. In 1875
and 1876, he taught again at Rome. In 1876 and 1877,
he and his wife both taught again at Rome.
In April, 1878, he removed to Chenoa, Illinois, and
there five months, when he returned to Adams County, and
that same winter he taught at Bentonville. He began
the study of law under the Hon. F. D. Bayless, of
West Union, West Union in 1878, and began practicing in
April, 1879, at West Union. In October, 1880, he was
elected clerk of the courts of Adams County by a majority of
215 over L. J. Fenton, afterward congressman.
He was re-elected in 1883 over R. S. Kirkpatrick by
420 majority and had 124 more votes than the Democratic
state ticket.
He has three children - Horace G., who married
Vida Sutterfield, daughter of D. R. Sutterfield,
Ernest G., aged eighteen, and Helen, aged 11.
He is a member of the board of elections of Adams County, having been appointed Aug. 1, 1899. In his political
views, he is a Democrat. He is a member of the
Methodist Church. He is a strong advocate of the cause of
temperance. He is known everywhere as a Christian
gentleman. He is honest and honorable in all his
relations of life. As a lawyer, he is active,
energetic and industrious. He always prepares his
cases well, tries them thoroughly and excels as a trial
lawyer. At the great day, when all records are read and
examined, George Washington will have no occasion to
blush for his namesake.
Source: History of Adams County, Ohio - by
Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers – West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B.
Stivers - 1900 - Page 223
NOTE:
Mentioned in Chapter XIV - County Affairs on page 140
as follows:
MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES: G. W. Pettit
(Leedom resigned), West Union, appointed July 7,
1885.
Mentioned on Page 144 as follows included in:
Clerks of Court - Roster: 1880-1886 George W. Pettit
Mentioned on Page 877 in biography of Charles Luther
Swain "He became a law student in 1890 under George W.
Pettit, of West Union."
NOTE:
CORRECTIONS - p. 223. In the second
paragraph read "Dunkinsville" for "Dukinsville." |
| |
SAMUEL
PFEIFER, (deceased) son of Philip and Hermena
Pfeifer, was born in Buda-Pesth, Hungary, Oct. 12, 1824,
and died Feb. 28, 1899, at Blue Creek, Ohio. In
boyhood, he clerked in a dry goods store in his native city,
and when the Rebellion of 1847 came on, he enlisted as a
soldier in the Army of Freedom. After this he fled to
Germany to save his head, and joined the German army.
In 1849, he came to the United States and took out
naturalization papers in 1856. He enlisted in the
service of the United States, Oct. 30, 1861, First Ohio
Light Artillery, Sergeant of Battery L, and was honorably
discharged Oct. 31, 1864, at Cedar Creek, Va.
He married Laura Jane Freeland, daughter of
Edward and Sarah Wales Freeland, Jan. 25, 1859. She
was born July 87, 1841, and died Mar. 30, 1887. There
were born to this union Edward W., Minnie, James
A., Fannie B., Frank who died in infancy, and Clara
F.
James A. Pfeifer, born Sept. 5, 1865, son of
Samuel Pfeifer, is now in the general merchandising
business with his brotehr-in-law, Albert Jones, at
Blue Creek. He is an active, thorough going business
man, and the firm is doing a thriving business.
Samuel Pfeifer and wife are buried at Moore's
Chapel.
Source: History of Adams County, Ohio - by
Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers – West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B.
Stivers - 1900 - Page 835-36 |
| |
HENRY
PILE born in Somerset Co., Pa., married there
Rebecca SAMPLE; came to this county in 1800. He
was a soldier of the War of 1812.
Source: History of Adams County, Ohio - by
Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers – West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B.
Stivers - 1900 - Page |
| |
JAMES
THOMAS PITTS was born Apr. 4, 1846, in Greene
Township, Adams County, Ohio. He was the youngest of
four children. He was reared on a farm, and attended
the District school. His father died when he was but
ten years of age and he was thrown on his own resources.
As a youth, he worked on a farm and drove teams for farmers
in Scioto and Adams Counties in the vicinity of Buena Vista.
When the war broke out, he was fifteen years of age,
but he was wild to go in. He was too young, but he
gave his age as sixteen, and was accepted. He served
until Sept. 11, 1864, when he was discharged by reason of
expiration of term of service. He left much broken in
health, and on reaching home had pneumonia, typhoid, and
remittent fever successively, and was given up to die.
He ran away from his doctor as soon as he was able to
travel, and on Feb. 17, 1865, he re-enlisted in Company C of
the 81st O. V. I., his former regiment, and was made company
wagoner. He served until July 13, 1865, when he was
mustered out, as the war was over. He came home a
second time much broken in health, and it took some time to
regain his strength. As soon as he was able, he went
to teaming. On May 29, 1871, he was married to Miss
Mary A. Young, daughter of Thomas Young, of
Greene Township, Adams County. He and his wife went to
housekeeping in Buena Vista, and resided there a year.
Mr. Pitts was born a trader, and moved to near Rome,
Adams County, where he resided for two years, and then moved
back to Buena Vista, and lived on it until 1878, when he
sold it to William J. Flagg.
He then bought the Lorey
Adams farm, consisting of one hundred and seventy acres,
two miles north of Rome, on the Mineral Springs road, and
resided there until 1882, when he sold it and purchased the
Solomon B. McCall farm near Buena Vista. He
resided there until 1887, when he sold it to Richard
Young and bought two farms from Judge Ousler, in
Greene Township, in Adams County. He moved on to the
one where Judge Ousler had his residence, and resided
there until February, 1890, when he traded his farms for
lots in the city of Portsmouth and moved there. He
purchased a home at 1439 Grandview Avenue, on Lawson
Heights, and resided there at the present time.
He enjoys the distinction of being almost the only man
who went into the army at the age of fifteen, and came out
at the age of nineteen, in July, 1865, having served nearly
four years. He has two children: Elya Eleanor,
former wife of Henry Kept, who has a daughter of
Myrtie, aged six years; and William, his son,
aged fifteen years.
Mr. Pitts has always maintained the most
amicable relations with all his neighbors wherever he has
dwelt, and could go back and live pleasantly at any of his
former homes. He is of an agreeable and obliging
disposition, but he cannot refuse a trade when it was
offered; and yet, with all his trading, he has made and
saved money; and he is an exception to the rolling stone
adage, if moss therein means money. In his political
faith, he is a Democrat, but he has never sought or held
office, nor has it sought him. He is a teamster by
occupation, and follows it diligently. He is not a
member of any church, but believes in the religion of
humanity. He tries to meet every duty in life with a
cheerful disposition, and so far as succeeded. He
hopes to continue his bravery of spirit till he shall be
called hence.
Source: History of Adams County, Ohio - by
Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers – West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B.
Stivers - 1900 - Page 839
NOTE:
He is also mentioned on Page 350 of same book in Company
F of the 81st O.V.I. as being from Adams County, OH |
| |
JOHN
FREDERICK PLUMMER, liveryman, of West Union, born
Dec. 28, 1857, is a son of Frederick Pflaumer, as the
name was originally written, who was a native of Wurtemburg,
Germany, and who came to America at the age of eighteen
years. He first worked as a blacksmith and afterwards
became a prosperous farmer near the Mt. Leigh Church in
Scott Township, this county.
John F. Plummer is one of the best and most
widely known citizens of Adams County. He was reared
on a farm, where he was taught industry and frugality, and
after attaining his manhood, he followed the occupation of
farmer till his thirty-fourth year, when he disposed of his
farming interest, and removed to Winchester, at which point
he conducted the well known hostelry- the Plummer
House - formerly old Parker House. In November,
1895, he took up his residence in West Union, where he
conducts a large livery and feed stable. In 1898, he
also engaged in the undertaking business with O. C.
Robuck. He is at present a trustee of the
Wilson Children's Home. In politics, he is a
Democrat of the old Jefferson school, in accordance with his
ideas of simplicity, frugality and honesty. He and his
accomplished wife, formerly Miss Nettie E. Custer, a
near relative of the gallant Gen. George Custer, are
both devout members of the Presbyterian Church of West
Union. Mrs. Plummer began teaching school at
the remarkably early age of thirteen, and was one of the
first in her profession until her marriage, Dec. 28, 1887.
She is one of the brightest mathematicians in the county.
Mr. Plummer is a member of Adams Lodge, Knights of
Pythias, No. 484, of Winchester. He has one son,
Harry C., born Sept. 12, 1897.
Source: History of Adams County, Ohio - by
Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers – West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B.
Stivers - 1900 - Page 836 |
| |
JOHN WINSTON PRICE
was born in Hanover County, Virginia, in 1804. He
was prepared for college by a Rev. Blair. At
seventeen years, he entered William and Mary College and
graduated with honors four years after. He studied law
in Richmond, Virginia, under the tuition of
John Marshall, Chief Justice of the United
States, and was admitted to the bar in that city He
came to Ohio in 1827 and located in Columbus for the
practice of law.
In 1830, he married the eldest daughter of Judge
John A. McDowell, of Columbus. In 1831, he located
in Hillsboro and practiced law with the late
Gen. Richard Collins until 1834, when he became
president judge of the common pleas district composed of
Adams, Brown, Clermont, Highland and Fayette, having
been elected the winter previous. His work was
laborious and arduous, but he was an honest and faithful
judge. He retired from the bench in 1841 and
gave up the practice of the law. He was a careful and
prudent man in business and accumulated a handsome fortune.
He died Mar. 4, 1865.
Source:
History of Adams County, Ohio - by Nelson W. Evans and
Emmons B. Stivers – West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B.
Stivers - 1900 - Page 178 -
Chapter XV |
| |
THE PUNTENNEY FAMILY.
George Hollingsworth Puntenney, was a son of
Joseph Puntenney, whose father was a French Protestant,
and was compelled to leave his native home in France on
account of his religion. George H. Puntenney
brought his family to the West Indies to an island called
Eustatia, intending to make that his home, but being
dissatisfied with this place, he embarked for Ghent in
Holland, and from there went to Oxford, England, where his
son, Joseph Puntenney married Mary Hollingsworth.
After remaining some years in England, the whole family
emigrated to America, and settled in Little Gunpowder Falls,
in Maryland. At the breaking out of the Revolutionary
War, George Puntenney was fourteen years old.
His father died in the second year of the war, and his
property was sold by his administrator for $22,000.00, which
was paid in Continental money, which soon became worthless.
The family then moved to Braddock's old battlefield
in Pennsylvania, and George H. Puntenney became an
Indian scout and a trader with the Delaware Indians, and
subsequently he was engaged with a surveying party in the
Green River country, Kentucky. In going down the Ohio
River he passed the present site of Cincinnati twice before
the virgin timber on that site had been touched by the white
man.
He subsequently married Margaret Hamilton and
settled in Bourbon County, Kentucky. In March, 1800,
he removed to Greene Township, Adams County, Ohio, and
settled at Stout's Run, where he lived until his death in
1853. On his farm, his son, James Puntenney,
was born Sept. 1, 1800, and resided there all his life,
until his death on May 7, 1890. James Puntenney
was the second white child born in Greene Township, and he
was a man who was loved, honored, and respected by all who
knew him.
James Puntenney was a Whig and Republican, but
at all times he was anti-slavery in sentiment and might be
called a downright Abolitionist. He never failed to
aid the fugitive slaves who called on him on the way to
freedom.
He was a member of the United Presbyterian Church in
the latter part of his life, and prior to that, was a member
of and a ruling elder in the Reformed Presbyterian Church
for a number of years.
He was married Apr. 10, 1823, to Miss Martha Wait,
a woman of remarkable character. There were seven
children of this marriage, but only four survived.
There children were John, Elizabeth, Mary Jane and
James Hollingsworth Puntenney. John, the eldest
child, carried on a tannery for a number of years on Stout's
Run. He went to Colorado in 1886 and died there in
1899, in his seventy-seventh year. Mary J. was
married Oct. 4, 1864, to Hon. Andrew C. Smith.
She and her husband own and reside on the James Puntenney
estate on Stout's Run. Elizabeth married
Henry Ousler, Nov. 7, 1850, and died at her home on
Stout's Run, May 15, 1891, in her seventy-first year.
James H. Puntenney, the youngest of the family, was
born Oct. 10, 1848. In his childhood, he showed great
fondness for music, and as a youth, he became a
violoncellist in a string band. As he grew older, he
became a skilled pianist, and cultivated his voice to a
great extent. He was bright, quick, and disposed to
study, and learn all within reach of him. Until
fourteen years of age, he attended the district schools, and
at the age of fifteen, he attended the North Liberty
Academy, then under the supervision of the Rev. D.
MacDill, D. D. He spent two years at his academy,
and in the Fall of 1886, entered Miami University and
graduated in June, 1871. It was his father's idea that
he should study for the ministry, but the son preferred a
business career.
In the Fall of 1871, he located in Cincinnati. He
obtained a position in the music store of D. H. Baldwin
& Co., and in the course of time, he became the book-keeper
of the firm and held that position for ten years. In
the year of 1882, the firm of D. S. Johnson & Co. was
organized and Mr. Puntenney became a member
until the business was closed. At that time, he
located in Columbus, where he has been engaged in the piano
business ever since. Mr. Puntenney is now the
senior member of the well-known house of Puntenney &
Eutsler, of Columbus. They have built up a large
and prosperous business, in their line, in the center of the
State.
On Apr. 25, 1876, Mr. Puntenney was married to
Miss Eliza Love. To them were born two
children: Harry, who died at the age of four years,
and Mary Martha, who resides with her father in
Columbus. His first wife lived but four years.
He was married to Miss Belle Love on Dec. 21, 1882,
and to them two children have been born: Belle,
aged sixteen, and James Hollingsworth, aged twelve
years.
In politics, Mr. Puntenney is a Republican.
He and his family are members of the United Presbyterian
Church. He is an elder in the Neil Avenue U. P.
church. He is a genial, courteous gentleman of the
strictest integrity, and highly esteemed for his sterling
qualities as a business man. He is firm in his
attachments and conscientious in all his dealings. He
has always identified himself with any and every movement
for the uplifting and betterment of mankind. He is
known as a liberal-minded, large-hearted citizen, whose soul
is concerned in the welfare of humanity. He is not
devoted solely to his own affairs, but is known as
thoroughly unselfish, with the disposition of a true
philanthropist.
Source: History of Adams County, Ohio - by
Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers – West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B.
Stivers - 1900 - Page 668 |
NOTES:
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