|
BIOGRAPHIES
Source:
THE
HISTORY OF CLINTON COUNTY, OHIO
Volume 2 of 2
containing
A History of the County; Its Townships, Cities, Towns, Schools,
Churches, Etc.; General and Local Statistics; Portraits of
Early Settlers and Prominent Men; History of the
Northwest Territory; History of Ohio; Map of
Clinton County; Constitution of the
United States, Miscellaneous
Matters, Etc., Etc.
- Illustrated -
Chicago:
W. H. Beers & Co.
1882
< CLICK HERE to
RETURN to 1882 BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX >
< CLICK HERE to RETURN to LIST of BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORY INDEXES >
| |
Union Twp.
-
GEORGE WADE, Jr., P. O. Wilmington, an old settler of
Union Township, was born in Western Virginia in April, 1824.
His parents were James and Susannah Wade, natives of the
"Old Dominion." Mr. Wade was reared on a farm, and
has continued in that business through life. He received a
fair education in the public schools of West Virginia and Ohio,
coming to Clinton County in 1836. He located in the timber
of Union Township, but has his land now very well improved.
Mr. Wade was united in marriage in 1873 to Mrs. Mary
J. (Carter) Holley. They have three children -
Cyrus, Lydia E. and Carrie Etta.
Source: History of Clinton Co., OH, Vol. 2, Published
1882 - Page 914 |
| |
Clark Twp. -
PROF. E. P. WEST, Principal of the
Martinsville Public Schools, was born in Clark Township, Clinton
County, Feb. 2, 1851. He is a son of James and Helena
West. Prof. West was reared to manhood on his
father’s farm in his native place. He acquired his
education in the schools of Martinsville and in the Friends’
College of Wilmington, from which he graduated with special
honors from the President, Benjamin Trueblood, in
June, 1878. He then engaged in the congenial profession of
teaching, and has since pursued that business in Martinsville,
occupying the chair of Principal. Prof. West is
considered one of the ablest and most efficient instructors that
the Martinsville schools have ever had. The schools at the
present time are prospering finely. Prof. West
is identified with the Masonic Fraternity of Martinsville as
Master. He is a member of the Clinton County Teachers’
Association, of which he was President in 1880. In April,
1881, he was elected a member of the Board of Examiners of
Clinton County, and performs the duties of that office with
excellent ability.
Source: History of Clinton Co., OH, Vol. 2, Published 1882 -
Page 974 |
| |
Union Twp. -
JOSEPH H. WEST (deceased). Mr.
West was a most prominent attorney of the Clinton County bar
for many years. He was born in this county Nov. 22, 1822,
and was the second of eleven children of Peyton West
and Sarah Hadley. Peyton West was a native of
Pittsylvania County, Va., and by occupation a surveyor. In
1807, he emigrated to Ohio, settling in Clinton County, on the
East Fork of the Little Miami River, where he died Aug. 22,
1870. He was identified with the growth of Clinton County,
taking a prominent part in all enterprises of public moment.
Peyton West was one of the first surveyors of Clinton
County, discharging the duties of that office for about
twenty-five years. For several years he was Collector of
Taxes for his county. Sarah (Hadley) West was a
native of Guilford County, N. C., and daughter of James
Hadley, an early pioneer of Highland County, Ohio, locating
there in 1804. The subject of this sketch was bred to a
life of industry and morality, there in 1804. The subject
of this sketch was bred to a life of industry and morality,
under the best of home influences. He was employed at farm
work until he reached manhood. His education had been so
meager that up to this time he could scarcely read. The
spur of ambition impelled him to seek means to improve his mind,
and fit himself for a life of usefulness. In 1843, he
walked barefooted to Wilmington, a distance of twelve miles.
Here he attended school for about one year, doing any honest
work the while that would enable him to pay his board. He
improved his time so well that he secured a teacher's
certificate, and immediately took charge of a school in Clinton
County. He remained in this position, discharging his duty
faithfully, reading law and cultivating his mind generally, for
one year, when he returned to Wilmington and pursued his
law studies for six months. In November, 1845, he went to
Cincinnati, and for the next six months was employed as salesman
in a wholesale dry goods house. In 1846 he enlisted as a
private in Company B, Ninth Regiment Ohio Volunteers, and
started for Mexico. He went with the regiment as far as
New Orleans to be mustered into the service. In
consequence of a disabled shoulder, he was unable to pass
muster, and was therefore honorably discharged. He found
himself away from home and without money. He worked his
way on a steamboat up to Vicksburg, where he remained a few
weeks, and then went up the Yazoo River to engage in lumber
rafting. After being thus employed for several months, he
landed with his raft at New Orleans, June 29, 1847, en route for
home. From New Orleans, he took passage for Cincinnati,
where he obtained employment as a salesman in a wholesale
grocery house. He remained in this situation until
November, 1848, when ho took a stuck of goods and opened a store
for his firm at Williamstown, Grant Co., Ky. In this way,
he conducted business for the firm until September, 1851, when
the latter failed. By the failure of his principals, he
lost what money he had, and was obliged to borrow money from a
friend in order to reach Martinsville, in this county. In
January of 1852, be was employed as the driver of a notion
wagon, but one month of such employment sufficed to turn him to
other pursuits. In 1853, he located again at Martinsville,
and resumed reading law. July 14, 1854, he was admitted to
the bar at Xenia, Ohio, and immediately opened a law office at
Wilmington. Six months after his admission to the bar, he
was engaged as attorney to the Cincinnati, Wilmington &
Zanesville Railroad Company, holding that position until 1860.
In the meantime, he had been admitted to practice in the United
States Courts. In October, 1860, he was elected Probate
Judge of Clinton County, and was re-elected in 1863, discharging
the duties of that position for about six years. From 1866
to the time of his death, he was actively engaged in the
management of a large legal practice. He was an ardent
Republican from the organization of that party, and a delegate
to the National Republican Convention in 1864. He was a
man of forcible character, affable demeanor and highly respected
by all with whom he had acquaintanceship. Sept. 19, 1850,
he married Henrietta Stroud, a native of Williamstown,
Grant Co., Ky. Edward J. West, his eldest son, was
born at Blanchester, Marion Township, Dec. 8, 1851. He
passed his boyhood on a farm, and received a liberal education
at the Wilmington High School. He commenced reading law at
the age of sixteen, and pursued his studies with great
diligence. For two years he taught school, devoting his
leisure hours to his law books. Jan. 29, 1873, he was
admitted to the bar. In 1875, he was brought out by his
fellow-citizens, and elected Prosecuting Attorney of Clinton
County. He has been twice re-elected (third term
commencing Jan. 2, 1882), and is probably the youngest man in
the State filling such a position. Before he was of
age, Mr. West had made a reputation as a newspaper
correspondent, and was prominent as a lawyer. He is a
member of Royal Arcanum, M. E. Church, and especially known to
the people of his county as a vigorous and enthusiastic
temperance lecturer and Sunday school worker, having been sent
as the representative of Clinton County to the Ohio State Sunday
School Conventions of 1872-73-74-75. Mr. West
has thus far displayed great energy in the practice of his
profession, and his popularity bids fair to rank with that of
his revered father. He was united in marriage, Jan. 3,
1878, to Katherine E. Bowshier, a native of Circleville,
Ohio. They have two daughters—Winnifred C. and
Kathleen C.
Source: History of Clinton Co., OH, Vol. 2, Published 1882 -
Page 918 |
| |
Clark Twp. -
OWEN WEST, farmer and miller, P. O. Lynchburg, son of
James and Elizabeth West, was born in Clark Township Mar. 4,
1835. He was reared to manhood on his father’s farm, and
was educated in the Martinsville schools and Ohio Wesleyan
University of Delaware, Ohio. He followed the profession
of teaching for twelve years consecutively, except two years
while he was in the mercantile business in Morrisville.
During the rebellion he aided in organizing the Home Guards at
Cincinnati, and in 1863 he was chosen their Major General, and
in the early part of 1864 was given the rank Lieutenant Colonel
of the One Hundred and Forty-ninth Regimental Battalion of the
Ohio National Guards. He had command of them one year
while at Fort Federal Hill and Baltimore, Md., and in the battle
of Monocacy September, 1864, he with his regiment were honorably
discharged for the valuable services they had so efficiently
rendered in defense of the Nation’s flag. At the close of
his military achievements, Col. West returned home
and resumed farming, which he has since followed in connection
with lumbering. He owns and operates two saw-mills, each
having a daily capacity of 5,000 feet, and affording employment
for five hands. He owns a valuable farm of 225 acres well
improved and cultivated; he also has a tract of 320 acres in
Butler County, Kan. Sept. 20, 1855, Col. West
was united in marriage to Elizabeth A. Roberts, daughter
of James and Hannah E. Roberts, and a native of
Washington Township, where she was born Dec. 23, 1835.
This union resulted with nine children, of whom seven are
living, viz., Margaret, wife of Rev. McClean Simington;
James W., Anna M., Owen A., Hannah E., Amos S. and
Charles H; Laura E. and Mary E. are deceased.
Mrs. West departed the scenes of earthly life Feb.
1, 1879. Col. West is a member of the
Methodist Episcopal Church; he is also identified with the
Masonic Fraternity and I. O. O. F. In politics, he is a
stalwart Republican.
Source: History of Clinton Co., OH, Vol. 2, Published 1882 -
Page 974 |
| |
Clark Twp. -
PEYTON M. WEST, farmer, P. O.
Martinsville. About 1806, Owen and Elizabeth (Martin) West,
natives of Pittsylvania County, Va., came to the territory now
included in Clinton County, locating on the East Fork of the
Little Miami, in Clark Township. With them came a large
family of children, viz.: Owen, William (who was a
married man), James, Thomas, Peyton, John, Nancy, Jane, Mary,
Susan and Rebecca Owen, Sr., was a surveyor, as were
also his sons Owen and Peyton, and at an early day
did much of the surveying throughout this portion of Clinton
County. The family were Friends in religious belief, and
the parents lived and died on the farm which they entered.
Peyton, the father of our subject, was also a native of
the Old Dominion and grew to maturity in Clark Township, where
nearly all his days were passed, he learned the art of surveying
from his father, following that vocation in connection with
farming all his life. He was County Surveyor of Clinton
County from October, 1840, until October, 1846, serving two
terms. He was the agent for some of the original land
owners in this region of country, and surveyed and sold their
land. Peyton West was married to Sarah Hadley,
a daughter of James and Ann Hadley, who bore him the
following children: James H., Joseph H., William H., Peyton
M., Elisha B., Edith, Sarah Ann, Esther Jane, Caroline, Jeremiah
H. and Hannah M., all of whom became the heads of families,
excepting the last mentioned, who died in girlhood, since which
two others have passed away, viz.: Joseph H., who died in
Wilmington, and Jeremiah H. on his farm in Washington
Township. At an early day, Peyton West was
engaged for two years in merchandising in Wilmington, and, with
that exception, always resided on his farm in Clark Township,
where he died Aug. 22, 1868, his wife surviving him and dying
June 23, 1876. Their bodies were interred in the Odd
Fellows Cemetery of Clark Township. Peyton West
was a man of large, muscular frame and strong determination of
character, possessing a good education and hard common sense; he
became a very successful farmer, giving to every one of his
children a good start in life, all of whom living are residents
of Ohio. He was one of the first to introduce tiling into
his township, and ever took a deep interest in the growth and
improvement of stock. The old homestead, now the property
of one of his daughters, is said to be one of the finest farms
in Clinton County, and in fact there were few more useful men in
the community than this old surveyor of Clinton County.
Peyton M. West, the fourth son of Peyton and Sarah
(Hadley) West, was born upon the old homestead Aug. 22,
1826, and there grew to. manhood, having such educational
advantages as the log schoolhouse of his neighborhood afforded.
He was reared to farm life, but in later years was engaged in
many different callings. He was married, May 26, 1853, to
Sarah Jackson, daughter of Josiah and Ruth Jackson;
she was a native of Clinton County, Ohio, and became the mother
of seven children, viz.: Marietta, Emerson B. (deceased),
Clara M., Frank, Josiah E. and two died in
infancy. Mrs. West died Oct. 28, 1868, and
he was again married, Oct. 25, 1869, to Anna Dean,
who has borne him the following children: Harry D.
(deceased), Roy, Musa, Carl and Pearle.
Politically, Mr. West was a Whig in early life,
but since the formation of the Republican party has supported
and voted that ticket. He is the owner of 260 acres of
fine land in Clark Township, also some lots in Wilmington and
400 acres in Southeast Missouri. He resides at
Martinsville, but looks after his farm, which lies some distance
south of that village. Mr. West is a man who
has traveled considerably, possesses broad views and a
well-informed mind, and, like his ancestors, adheres to the
Friends’ Church.
Source: History of Clinton Co., OH, Vol. 2, Published 1882 -
Page 973 |
| |
Liberty
Twp. -
JOSEPH WHINERY, farmer (retired), P. O.
Lumberton. Among Clinton County's oldest native born
citizens, and perhaps its first white birth, is the name of
Joseph Whinery. The county was organized Feb. 19,
1810, and on Apr. 20, following, is recorded his birth, and is
the second of his father’s family. His parents were
Thomas and Ruth (Miller) Whinery, both natives of York
County, Penn.; he was born Oct. 5, 1779, and Ruth about
seven years his junior. They devoted their minor life in
their native county, where they married early in the present
century, and had born to them one child, Phebe, which
they brought to Ohio with them in 1808, but when about seven
years old died from eating, as they supposed, poison vine buds.
They settled in the present limits of Union Township near Center
Meeting House, where he purchased a small tract of land, to
which he added and exchanged until his last earthly home
consisted of 170 acres. He was one of the hardy pioneers
and adventurous settlers, to whose calm endurance must be
attributed the progress, growth, development and present
prosperity of Clinton County. He buried his first wife in
1837, who became a victim of that dreaded disease, consumption;
she was the mother of ten children, of whom eight were left
motherless, but only two remained at home. He married for
his second companion Charlotte, widow of John
Hoddie, with whom he lived until death called him hence in
1856, and the widow still survives at the age of nearly
seventy-five years. Joseph was reared amid log
cabins and the wilds of nature, many times having for his meat
the flesh of the forest animals, long since exterminated.
In his minority, the educational privileges were in accordance
with other advantages of the pioneer days. His first
teacher was Robert Way, who occupied a small hut
with a few scholars who had wended their crooked paths through
the dense forest, for sometimes miles, to enjoy the meager
advantages therein taught. Studying by the brilliancy of
the sun, forcing half-obscured rays of light through their
greased paper windows, Joseph has, by his own efforts,
accumulated sufficient knowledge to carry him successfully
through life, and now is one of the prominent land-owners of his
township, in which he has served as Trustee several terms in
early life. When in his teens in the year 1827, was
employed in driving a drove of cattle from here to Philadelphia,
Penn., making the round trip on foot except swimming a horse
across the Ohio River, at Wheeling, W. Va. The time
consumed in this trip was eleven long weeks from his parents,
when seventeen years of age. He remained at home and gave
his father his time until twenty-three years of age, but, on May
23 following, he united in marriage with Sarah, daughter
of Hezekiah Hiatt, mentioned in Isaac
Hiatt’s sketch in Liberty Township, this volume. She
was born Apr. 7, 1811, in Union Township, Clinton Co.,
Ohio, and she as well as her husband endured many privations and
hardships. This union has been blessed with five children,
of whom four grew to maturity, but one only is now living, viz.,
Allen. Mr. and Mrs. Whinery have trod the
path of married life for nearly half a century, and are both
birthright members of the Friends’ Church.
Source: History of Clinton Co., OH, Vol. 2, Published 1882 -
Page 1066 |
| |
Chester
Twp. -
JAMES WILLIAMS, farmer, P. O. Oakland, was born Mar. 6,
1834, in Monmouthshire, England. His parents are William
and Sarah Williams. William Williams was
born Oct. 29, 1797, in Monmouthshire, England. When about
fourteen years of ago, his father died, and the support of his
mother henceforth devolved upon him. On June 7, 1827, he
married Miss Sarah Lewis, by whom he had seven
children, six of whom are still living—John, William, James,
Edward, Richard and Thomas. In the year 1849, they
left the shores of England, and sailed for America. After
landing at Philadelphia, they proceeded to Sharonville, Hamilton
County, where they remained about four years. They then
removed to Clinton County, Chester Township, and settled on a
farm of about 226 acres, near Oakland. He was a member of
the Baptist Church, and departed this life Apr. 2, 1877.
His widow survives him, now in her eighty-fifth year.
James Williams, the subject of our sketch, was reared
to manhood on a farm, and received a good English education.
On Nov. 4, 1863, he was united in the bonds of matrimony to
Miss Mary June Haines. To them have been born three
children—Wilbur H., and two deceased. He is a
member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, a Republican, and the
owner of 185 acres of land.
Source: History of Clinton Co., OH, Vol. 2, Published 1882 -
Page 951 |
| |
Wilson
Twp. -
JESSE B. WILLIAMS (deceased) was born Oct.
24, 1837, in Hamilton County, Ohio, son of Jesse and Mary
Williams, who were among the early settlers of Hamilton
County. He was reared on a farm, and received the
rudiments of education in a district school. When
twenty-one years of age, he married Miss Ann Maria Carroll,
daughter of Stephen and Rebecca Carroll. To them have
been born two children, viz., Alonzo M. and Harriet A.
In 1848, he removed to a farm located about a mile south of
Bloomington; lived thereon one year, and removed to a farm
belonging to the Telfair estate, where he lived
about three years, at the expiration of which time the war of
the rebellion broke out. He enlisted in the Seventy-ninth
(Company D), Ohio Volunteer Infantry in August, 1862; was
mustered into the service at Camp Dennison. From there his
regiment was called away to Kentucky, where he was taken quite
ill, and was obliged to be taken into the hospital, at
Louisville, Ky., where he remained a few weeks, and subsequently
was sent home, where he remained a few months, when he was again
called to duty, and was sent to Nashville, where his regiment at
that time was stationed, but owing to his ill health, the
greater part of the time, he was allowed to do hospital duty in
Nashville Hospital. He remained here till he returned
home, in Sept. 25, 1865; lived about six years after his return
from the war, and died Mar. 27, 1871. He was a kind and
loving father and indulgent husband, and respected by all who
knew him.
Source: History of Clinton Co., OH, Vol. 2, Published 1882 -
Page 1175 |
| |
Wilson
Twp. -
JOSEPH WILLIAMS
(deceased) was born about the 1796, in Adams County,
Ohio, son of Joseph and Mary Williams, who were among the
first settlers of Adams County. He was reared on a farm;
received the rudiments of education in a district school.
When but eighteen years of age, his father died, and upon him
depended the support of the family, which was quite large.
He remained at home until 1820, he being then in his
twenty-fourth year, when he married Miss Margaret Jones,
daughter of Andrew Jones. In 1825, he removed to
Clinton County, in Wilson Township; bought 196 acres of land
about three miles east of Port William; settled thereon, and
endured all the hardships of pioneer life. In the year
1844, Mrs. Williams died, having been the mother of ten
children. I n the year 1845, he was again married to Mrs.
Susan Rosher, who was a widow, with a family of
two children. This union has been blessed with eight
children, three of whom are still living. He was a member
of the Methodist Episcopal Church; was successful in business;
left to his family 196 acres of land, and died in September,
1874. His widow still survives him.
Source: History of Clinton Co., OH, Vol. 2, Published 1882 -
Page 1175 |
| |
Union
Twp. -
JOHN WILLIAM WOOD, farmer, P. O.
Wilmington, was born in Union Township, Clinton Co., Ohio, June
28, 1842. He received an ordinary education and early
applied himself to the work on the farm, at which he has
continued, being now the possessor of eighty seven acres of
well-improved and arable land. He was married May 31,
1870, to Huldah J. Freeman, a native of Preble County,
Ohio, and a daughter of Richard Freeman. In
religious belief, Mr. Wood is a Baptist, and in politics
a Republican. He makes stock-raising a specialty and
devotes himself particularly to the raising of Berkshire and
Poland-China hogs, with which he has had marked success.
He is classed among the best farmers of the county, and owns
some very fine stock of the above varieties.
Source: History of Clinton Co., OH, Vol. 2, Published 1882 -
Page 921 |
| |
Union
Twp. -
NATHAN S. WOOD, farmer, P. O. Wilmington,
was born in Union Township, Clinton Co., Ohio, Sept. 27, 1837.
His parents were Robert Wood, who was born in
Frederick County, Va., June 14, 1812, and Mary D. (Hughes)
Wood, a native of this township and daughter of Jesse
Hughes, of Kentucky. She died in 1881, in her
sixty-sixth year. They had a family of six children—Jesse,
Nathan S., Lydia (deceased), John William, Isaac and
Luvenia, all the survivers now being married. Our
subject’s grandfather, Isaac Wood, was born in
Virginia in 1779, and lived to the age of ninety-three years.
Our subject follows farming for a livelihood and is the owner of
205 acres of land on which he built a neat, substantial and
comfortable residence in 1881, at a cost of $3,000. He was
married, Oct. 8, 1861, to Miss Abbie E. Patterson, a
native of Greene County, and a daughter of Thomas Patterson.
By her he has had four children, viz.: Seymour, Fanny R.,
Mary J. and Charles Thomas. Mr. and Mrs.
Wood are members of the Baptist Church, and he is a
Republican, and at present Trustee of this township. His
maternal grandfather, Jesse Hughes, came to Clinton
County in 1803, and before bringing his family contracted with a
man to build him a house and clear a garden spot for $50, which
he left with a settler named Bennett, who was to pay it
to the man on the completion of the work. This man,
however, obtained the money before the work was accomplished and
absconded. When Mr. Hughes arrived with his family
and found no house ready for their reception, he obtained the
assistance of two neighbors and soon had a cabin ready for
occupancy. The timber around his dwelling was so thick
that his wife was obliged to blow the old-fashioned dinner horn
to enable them to find it. This heavy timber has now all
disappeared, and the land on which it stood is now in a perfect
state of cultivation.
Source: History of Clinton Co., OH, Vol. 2, Published 1882 -
Page 921 |
| |
Union
Twp. -
JAMES F. WOODS, farmer, P. O. Wilmington,
was born in Wilmington, Ohio, July 2, 1844. He is the son
of Joseph and Rosauna (Fife) Woods. His father was
born in Lebanon, Ohio, and his mother in Wilmington, Ohio.
His parents were of Irish descent. His education was
obtained in the schools in Wilmington, and at the Wilmington
College. He did not graduate, but has more than an average
education. His early life was spent as a book-keeper and a
clerk. In 1868, he started in the dry goods business in
Wilmington, and subsequently went to farming. He is
considered a successful farmer. Mr. Woods was
married in 1869 to Mary L. Wood, a native of Clinton
County, Ohio, and daughter of Robert P. Wood, a pioneer
of this county. Mr. and Mrs. Woods’ marriage has
been blessed with three children—Mary Rosanna, Robert Eddie
and Joseph Silas. Mr. Woods is a Republican.
They are members of the Baptist Church. Mrs. Woods’
father has been a consistent member of the Baptist Church for a
long number of years. He is a wealthy, influential farmer.
Source: History of Clinton Co., OH, Vol. 2, Published 1882 -
Page 920 |
|
