Page 638
JOHN ROSS, farmer ; P. 0. West Charleston. He was born in Bethel Township July
22, 1814, and is a son of John and Sarah Ross; they were
natives of Pennsylvania, but removed to Kentucky, and from there came
to Ohio and settled in Warren Co., where the town of Franklin now
stands; his father, Robert Ross, laid out the town; in
1811, John Ross came to Bethel Township, Miami Co., and
purchased 320 acres in two separate tracts, and located on the one
where his son now resides; although they were not the earliest
settlers, they were the first to make any improvements worthy of
mention; he was one of the parties called out to pursue the Indians,
at the time of the Dilbone and Gerard massacre; their cabin served as
a retreat for the women and children of the neighborhood, while the
men were gone; this farm continued to be their home to the end of
their lives; he died in 1849, at the age of 72, and she in 1872, at
the age of 90; it is also the birthplace of our subject; this was one
of the most heavily timbered countries ' to be found anywhere, and
also thickly set with underbrush, which made it all the more difficult
to clear; however, by the hard knocks and unceasing energy of the
pioneers, it has been stripped of its forests and made a desirable
locality; of this work, Mr. Ross has done a good share;
he owns 140 acres of the quarter-section inhabited by his father,
which he has under good cultivation, and also well improved; besides
this, he has 160 acres in another section of this township, and is
doing a thriving business as a farmer; he has a harvest of about 100
acres of wheat, also some rye and barley, besides the spring crop. In
the early part of March, 1845, he married Eliza DeLong,
also a native of this township, and the daughter of George
and Elizabeth DeLong, who came here in an early day
from Virginia; the fruits of this marriage are twelve children, viz.,
Ann M., Harrison C, Robert, John L., Benjamin Franklin,
Sarah E., Mary Alethia, George W., Eliza, Thomas Jefferson,
Fannie and Charles; Harrison C. entered the
service of his country Aug. 10, 1863, and died in July, 1864; he was a
member of Co. K, 1st O. V. H. A.
Source:
The History of Miami County, Ohio - Publ. Chicago: W. H. Beers & Co., 1880
- Bethel Twp. |
