JOHN FINCH, one of the representative business men of the county, was born in Delaware county, Ohio, June 7, 1821, a son of Isaac and Elizabeth (Kirkendall) Finch, natives respectively of New York and New Jersey.  The great-grandfather of our subject was killed by Indians, and the grandfather was also taken captive by the redskins and held in custody for six years.  Isaac Finch, a life-long farmer, came to Delaware county about the year 1814, with his two children, Jesse and Sally.  He entered 150 acres of land, about the center of Kingston township, which he afterward sold, but purchased lands in the same township.  He was the father of nine sons and three daughters, namely: Sally, deceased; Jesse, of Cherokee county, Iowa; Chanch, of Wichita, Kansas; John, our subject; Martin, deceased; Eunice Catherine, deceased; Harmon, of Delaware county; Isaac D., superintendent of the Studebaker Wagon Works at South Bend; Derwin, deceased; Sayre, deceased; Harriet, wife of George Bowers, of Sunbury, Delaware county; and Alfred, deceased.  Both Mr. and Mrs. Finch died at the age of seventy-four years.
     John Finch, the subject of this sketch, worked at farm labor until seventeen years of age, and was then apprenticed to the blacksmith’s trade at Berkshire, receiving $30 per year, and followed the trade twelve years.  He then purchased sixty acres of land, ten acres of which was cleared and contained a rude log cabin.  Selling that land, he bought 100 acres in Kingston township, fifty acres in Berlin township; and forty acres in the southeast corner of Brown township, to which he afterward added eighty-five acres, owning at one time nearly 800 acres.  In the spring of 1859 Mr. Finch located on his present farm, where he has been extensively engaged in the stock business for twenty-six years.  In addition to his other interests he has also spent fifteen years in the mercantile business, and during the entire time served as Postmaster of Berkshire.
     August 14, 1846, he was united in marriage with Lucy Ann Alford, a daughter of John and Catherine A. Alford.  To that union were born three children: Henry, Luellen and Thacker Webb, who is a member of Sunbury Lodge, K. of P., No. 231.  The daughter married Daniel S. Potter, of Berlin township, who is a charter member of Cheshire Lodge, No. 613, Knights of Pythias.  The wife and mother departed this life in 1852.  Mr. Finch afterward married Cinderella S., daughter of John P. and Diadamia Slack.  They are the parents of four children: Diadamia Elizabeth, wife of George Buckingham, of Kingston township, also a charter member of Cheshire Lodge, Knights of Pythias; Eva Jane, wife of Joseph Irwin, of Berkshire township and a charter member of that lodge; Mary Emma married Wilmer Neilson, of Berlin township; and John E., a charter member of Cheshire Lodge.  Mr. Finch is a member of the F. & A. M., Sparr Lodge, No. 400, at Sunbury, and in political matters is an ardent Republican.  Both he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
     John P. Slack, father of Mrs. Finch, was born in Berkshire township, Delaware county, Ohio, in 1805.  In his twenty-fourth year he was united in marriage to Diadamia Pierce, who died in 1864, at the age of seventy.  To that union were born four children: Cinderella S., the eldest; Charles C., who lives in Kansas; Jane S., wife of Lewis Carpenter, of Oxford township, Delaware county, Ohio, and George A., a physician residing in Cleveland, Ohio.
Source: Memorial Record of the Counties of Delaware, Union and Morrow, Ohio; Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Co., 1895, pp. 288-289
Contributed by a Generous Genealogist.

HENRY FLECKNER, of Sunbury, Ohio, occupies a prominent position in business circles.  He is proprietor of a stone quarry near by, which adds not a little to his income.  He was born June 28, 1844, and is a son of Peter and Catherine Fleckner.
     When quite young, Henry Fleckner started out in life for himself, spending his boyhood in work in the ore mines of Maryland.  At the age of eighteen he responded to the country’s call for troops, enlisting for three years’ service as a member of Company A, Eighteenth Regiment of United States Regulars.  After leaving Lebanon, Kentucky, he was continuously in active service and participated in some of the most important engagements of the civil war, including the battle of Perryville, siege of Corinth, Hoover’s Gap, Stone River (where he was wounded in the right eve), Chickamauga (where he was wounded in the right leg), charge on Missionary Ridge, Resaca and during Sherman’s march, was wounded in the right arm at Dallas, Georgia, or near New Hope Church.
     Mr. Fleckner had taken up his residence in Delaware in 1858, and was engaged in farm work until he joined the boys in blue.  When the war was over and the country no longer needed his services he returned to his home in Delaware, and for a time was engaged in teaming and contracting, making and grading streets.  In 1877 he became a resident of Sunbury, where he has since made his home and established a stone quarry, which he is yet successfully conducting.  He also owns thirty-two acres of land which yield a fine quality of freestone and he there has a good quarry.
     In 1866 Mr. Fleckner was united in marriage with Miss Louisa C. Burrer, a daughter of Jacob and Catherine Burrer.  They became the parents of four children, but Charles Robert and Julia K. are now deceased; Harry and Carrie being the only ones living.
     Mr. Fleckner is a charter member of the Knights of Pythias Lodge of Delaware and belongs also to Galena Lodge, No. 404, I. O. O. F., and Sparr Lodge, No. 400, A. F. & A. M.  His business success has been achieved through careful management and well-directed efforts, and is therefore justly merited.
Source: Memorial Record of the Counties of Delaware, Union and Morrow, Ohio; Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Co., 1895, p. 238
Contributed by a Generous Genealogist.

BENJAMIN FLEMING, a farmer of Lincoln township, was born in Peru township, then Delaware county, December 19, 1820.  His father, Isaac Fleming, was born in Pennsylvania, April 17, 1794, a son of Henry Fleming, who was supposed to have been born in that State.  He came to Delaware county, Ohio, in an early day, settling on the banks of Alum creek, in Peru township, where he entered land, built a log cabin, and remained until his death, which occurred in his eightieth year.  The mother of our subject, formerly Elizabeth Wyan, was born in Pennsylvania, May 10, 1796.  Isaac Fleming and wife were married in Pennsylvania, November 7, 1816, and came to Ohio the same year, locating on Alum creek, Peru township, Delaware county, but a short time afterward located three miles below, on the same creek.  Mr. Fleming died there at the age of seventy-eight years, and his wife departed this life at the age of seventy-four years.  They were members of the Presbyterian Church.  He was a Democrat in his political views.  They were the parents of seven children, namely: Sarah A., born in 1818, died in 1846; Benjamin, the subject of this sketch; James, born in 1824, resides in Peru township, Morrow county; Washington, born in 1827, died in 1893; Lydia, born March 27, 1829, deceased; Nelson, born in 1832, lives near Eden, Delaware county; and Sidney, born in 1848, resides on the old homestead in Oxford township, this county.  The children were all born on the banks of Alum creek.
     Benjamin Fleming, the second child in order of birth, remained at home until his marriage, after which he spent eight years on a farm in Peru township, and then came to his present location.  He settled in the dense woods, built a log cabin, and improved his land.  He now owns 208 acres of land, nearly all of which is under a fine state of cultivation.  In his political views, Mr. Fleming was formerly a Democrat, but now casts his vote with the Prohibitionists.
     December 25, 1843, he was united in marriage with Hannah A. Worth, born in Maryland, April 13, 1825.  Her father, James Worth, was born in that State in December, 1790, and was a miller by trade.  Her mother, née Mary Thatcher, was born in Pennsylvania, September 28, 1791, her father, Jonathan Thatcher, having been a native of the same State, and she was reared a Quaker.  James Worth and wife were married in Maryland, March 15, 1815, and came to what is now Morrow county, Ohio, in 1837, spending the remainder of their days in Peru township.  The father died in 1845, and the mother in 1861.  They were the parents of six children: John W. born in 1815, resides in the West; Joseph M., born in 1817, is deceased; Mary Jane, born in 1821, is the wife of Vinal Thurston, of Peru township; Hannah A., born April 13, 1825, now Mrs. Fleming; and William, born March 26, 1827, reside., in Peru township.  Our subject and wife have seven children.  The eldest, Talitha Jane, is the wife of Henry Wyan, of Lincoln township, and they have two children. ––Benjamin A. and Nellie.  Judson A., of Peru township, married Elizabeth Jewell, and they have two children, ––Cora and Lorance.  Joseph, the third child in order of birth, is deceased.  Otterbin L., of Cardington, married Hannah Warner, and has five children, ––Binnie, Glenn, Coral, John and Bessie.  Lorenzo D. married Letta Mason, and they have three children, ––Gertie, Walter and Herbert.  Justin C. married Sadie Shoemaker, and has two children, ––Gavitt and Mame.  Mary E. is the wife of Grant Rosevelt.  Their three children are: Inez, Walter, and an infant.  The family are members of the United Brethren Church.
Source: Memorial Record of the Counties of Delaware, Union and Morrow, Ohio; Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Co., 1895, pp. 351-352
Contributed by a Generous Genealogist.
NOTE:   See more of the family in Morrow County, OH

NELSON FLEMING, a prominent farmer of Brown township, was born in Delaware county, September 19, 1832, a son of Isaac and Elizabeth (Wyan) Fleming.  The father was born in Mifflin county, Pennsylvania, April 17, 1794, and the mother was born in that State May 10, 1796.  They were married November 7, 1816, by Rev. James Johnson, and had seven children –– Sarah Ann, Benjamin, James, Washington, Lydia, Nelson, and Sidney.  The parents died on the old home farm in Brown township, Delaware county, the mother dying March 5, 1871, at the age of seventy-four years, and the father May 25, 1872, aged seventy-eight years.  He was a farmer all his life, a Democrat in his political views, and a member of the Presbyterian Church.
     Nelson Fleming, our subject, was early inured to farm labor, and received his education in a log school house.  He now owns one of the best farms in his locality, has a good residence, and a barn 42x68 feet.  He is engaged in raising Norman horses, and the best grade of cattle, sheep and hogs.
     In Delaware county, August 9, 1854, Mr. Fleming was united in marriage with Elizabeth Barton, who was born near Zanesville, Muskingum county, Ohio, September 27, 1829.  She is a daughter of Kimber A. and Rachel (Barkes) Barton, the former a native of Culpeper county, Virginia, and the latter of Meigs county, Ohio.  The father died in Oxford township, this county, at the age of sixty years, and the mother, in Illinois, at the age of seventy years.  They had eleven children, namely: Elizabeth, Mary, Ebenezer, Eliza, Sarah, James, Nancy, Kimber, Etherline, Edward and Rebecca Jane.  Ebenezer and James were soldiers in the late war, and the former is now deceased.  Mr. and Mrs. Fleming have one son, Ed. James, born September 27, 1858.  He was married in 1881 to Jessie Kirk, a native of Ohio, and they have two children, ––Wesley Lee and Frank Arthur.  Mr. Fleming affiliates with the Democratic party, and is a member of the Wesley Methodist Church.
Source: Memorial Record of the Counties of Delaware, Union and Morrow, Ohio; Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Co., 1895, pp. 94-95
Contributed by a Generous Genealogist.

SIDNEY FLEMING, one of the leading agriculturists of Brown township, Delaware county, Ohio, was born near Stantontown, in Peru township, Morrow county, Ohio, August 8, 1840, a son of Isaac and Elizabeth (Wyan) Fleming, and at the age of five years moved with his parents to the farm where he now lives.  The father died on the old homestead at the age of seventy-eight years, one month and eight days.  He was a farmer by occupation and a Democrat in his political views.  The mother died at the age of seventy-four years, nine months and twenty-five days.
     Sidney, the youngest of seven children, was reared to farm labor and received his education in the district schools.  August 13, 1862, at Lincoln’s call for 300,000 volunteers, he enlisted for service in the late war, entering Company D, One Hundred and Twenty-first Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, under Colonel Reed and Captain Samuel Sharp.  He was first under fire at Perryville, Kentucky; next took part in the siege of Atlanta, Ga.; participated in the battles of Resaca, Rome, Kenesaw Mountain, Jonesboro, Bentonville, North Carolina, and was in Sherman’s march to the sea, and through the Carolinas to Richmond, and on to Washington, District of Columbia, where he took part in the grand review.  Receiving his discharge, Mr. Fleming returned to the old homestead.  He now owns 139 acres of land, where he has all the necessary farm improvements.
     At the age of twenty-eight years he was united in marriage with Lydia McDaniel, a daughter of Anderson McDaniel, of Morrow county, Ohio.  She was a school teacher.  They had three children: Harry W., aged twenty-two years; Frederick B., twenty-two years; and Mary Cynthia fourteen years.  The wife and mother died August 30, 1887.  She was a worthy member of the Adventist Christian Church.  Mr. Fleming was again married, April 3, 1890, to Emma Clark, a native of Upper Sandusky, Ohio, and a daughter of Loyd and Hannah Clark, also of that place.  In his political relations Mr. Fleming is a Democrat, and socially is a member of Ashley Post, No. 281, G. A. R.
Source: Memorial Record of the Counties of Delaware, Union and Morrow, Ohio; Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Co., 1895, pp. 276-277
Contributed by a Generous Genealogist.

SILAS W. FOWLER, M. D., who is engaged in the practice of medicine in Delaware, was born on the 22d of October, 1847, in Greene county, New York, which was also the birthplace of his father, Charles M. Fowler.  During his infancy his parents removed to New Philadelphia, where his mother, who bore the maiden name of Catherine Gray, was born.  After a short time they went to Delaware county, locating in Porter township.
     The Doctor spent the days of his boyhood and youth at farm work and in attendance on the district schools of the neighborhood until fourteen years of age, when he entered Central College, of Franklin county, Ohio.  There he completed an academic course of study, but ere that work was accomplished he had to leave school and engage in teaching in order to secure the means to continue his education.  When a youth of only sixteen he was employed as the teacher of one of the largest schools in the northern part of Franklin county, and remained in charge for two years.  He then refused to teach longer even at an advanced salary, although earnestly solicited by the school directors to do so.
     Obtaining the consent of his father, in 1864, the Doctor, then a young man of seventeen years, entered the army as a member of the One Hundred and Thirty-sixth Ohio National Guards.  On his return home in the succeeding autumn he entered the college at Oberlin, Ohio, and in the spring of 1868, he took up the study of medicine in the office of Dr. John W. Russell, of Mount Vernon.  There he began fitting himself for his life work, and thorough preparation has made him an able practitioner.  In 1869-’70 he was a student in the University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, and in 1871 vas graduated at the Jefferson Medical College of Philadelphia.
     Immediately after his graduation, Dr. Fowler came to Delaware, where in the meantime his father had located, and since has engaged in practice at this place.  He has been a frequent contributor during his professional career to various medical and scientific journals, writing many able articles.  He belongs to the Delaware County Medical Society, the Central Ohio Medical Association, the Ohio Medical Society, the American Medical Association, and the International Medical Congress.  To the last named he was sent as delegate from the American Medical Association in 1887, the convention being held at Washington, District of Columbia, and again he was made a delegate from the same association to the congress which met in Rome, Italy, in 1893.  He was a member of United States Board of Pension Examiners, under President Harrison.
     In 1886, Dr. Fowler led to the marriage altar Miss Iza May Vail, the only daughter of Judge I. C. Vail.  She is a highly educated and accomplished lady, who was graduated from the Ohio Wesleyan University in the class of 1888.  The Doctor and his wife are prominent people of the community and hold an enviable position in social circles.
Source: Memorial Record of the Counties of Delaware, Union and Morrow, Ohio; Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Co., 1895, pp. 203-204
Contributed by a Generous Genealogist.

B. F. FRESHWATER, Judge of the Probate Court of Delaware, was born on the 24th of November, 1852, on the old “Hinton farm” in Delaware township, and grew to manhood on a farm in Berlin township.  His early education, acquired in the common schools, was afterward supplemented by a more advanced course of study.  At the age of nineteen he entered the Ohio Wesleyan University, completed the classical course of study in that school, and was graduated in 1877.
     Mr. Freshwater then took up the study of law in the office of Carper & Van Deman, and in order to meet his expenses taught school at the same time.  He was admitted to the bar on the 2d of June, 1880, and on the 1st of July began the practice of his chosen profession in connection with F. B. De Witt, in Paulding county, under the firm name of De Witt & Freshwater.  On the 1st of January. 1881, the partnership was dissolved, and our subject continued alone in business at that place until October 14, 1884, when he returned to Delaware county, and on the 27th day of November, 1885, opened an office in Delaware.
     Attracted by politics, Mr. Freshwater became connected with the work of the Republican party, the principles of which he warmly advocates, and was made Secretary of the Republican Central Committee, serving in that capacity two years.  In 1893 he was nominated on the Republican ticket for the office of Probate Judge, and, being elected, entered upon his duties February 9, 1894.
     Mr. Freshwater is a member of Hiram Lodge, F. & A. M., of Lenape Lodge, No. 29, K. P., and of Delaware Lodge, B. P. O. E.  He aided in the organization of Company K, Fourteenth Regiment of Ohio National Guards, and was elected Second Lieutenant, but resigned in 1880.  He was married July 2, 1889, to Miss Nellie L. Babcock, and they have one child.  Judge Freshwater is an able young attorney, whose skill and ability are rapidly winning him prominence in the ranks of the legal profession.  In the discharge of his public duties he has ever been found true and faithful, and has the confidence and respect of the entire community.
Source: Memorial Record of the Counties of Delaware, Union and Morrow, Ohio; Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Co., 1895, pp. 267-268
Contributed by a Generous Genealogist.