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BIOGRAPHIES
Source:
The History of Miami County, Ohio
Publ. Chicago: W. H. Beers & Co.,
1880
BETHEL TOWNSHIP
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1880
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Page 638
CHARLES
SENSEMAN, retired farmer; P. O. West Charleston; is a son of
William and Catharine (Eschleman) Senseman, natives of Lancaster
Co., Penn.; he was born in 1790, and she in 1788; they resided in
different counties of that State until 1838, when they moved to Ohio,
and rented a log cabin, in which they lived the first summer; he had
also rented a farm in Greene Co., which his son and son-in-law farmed
; in the fall, he moved to Greene Co., also, and bought the farm he
had rented, but remained only a few months, when he returned to Miami
Co., and bought the farm of 234 acres, on which he had first settled.
Of their family of eight or nine children, four are still living—Henrietta,
now Mrs. Michael Bashore, near Covington, Miami Co.; Charles;
Catharine, now Mrs. William Snyder, near Logansport,
Ind.; and William, in West Charleston. Catharine
Senseman departed this life April 22,1864, and her husband May 12,
in the short space of twenty days. The subject of this sketch was born
in Lancaster Co., Penn., July 16, 1817; he commenced life for himself
in about a year after his father came to this State he moved
into the old cabin on his father's farm, and, as he says, commenced at
the bottom; he rented the farm for eighteen or nineteen years, and
then bought of his father 162˝
acres; on this he has made great improvement, and, at different times,
made purchases, till he has in one tract 180 acres, besides three
other farms in this county, making in all 573 acres. In 1839, Dec. 30,
he married Eve Wolf, who was born in Greene Co., Ohio,
Nov. 28, 1821. The fruits of this marriage were eleven children, of
whom nine are living—John, Mary Ann, William,
Cornelius, Milton, Catharine, Charles H.,
Justina and Joseph.
Source:
The History of Miami County, Ohio - Publ. Chicago: W. H. Beers & Co., 1880
- Bethel Twp. |
Page 639
HENRY
SHROYER, deceased; was born in Bethel Township, Miami Co.,
Ohio, Aug. 18, 1840; his occupation was farming, and he was one of the
enterprising farmers of this community, owning 225 acres of land. In
1861, he was united in marriage with Ann Eliza Kable, who was
born in Osborn, Greene Co., Sept. 28, 1842. The fruits of this union
are eight children—Anna Mary, born March 24, 1862; James K.,
born Oct. 10, 1863; Edgar C., born Nov. 6, 1866; Susan A.,
born Aug. 27, 1868; Sidney J., born May 26, 1870; Stanley W.,
born May 17, 1873; Grade L., born May 21, 1875; and Carrie
M., born June 26,1877. Henry Shroyer departed this life
March 18, 1878; his widow has since had the entire care of her
children and the farm, which, by the aid of her eldest son, is managed
very successfully.
Source:
The History of Miami County, Ohio - Publ. Chicago: W. H. Beers & Co., 1880
- Bethel Twp. |
Page 639
JACOB
SHROYER, retired farmer; P. O. Brandt; was born in Frederick
Co., Md., Nov. 10, 1807; he emigrated to Ohio, with his parents, in
the fall of 1819, and stopped at Dayton, where they passed the winter;
in the following spring, they moved to Bethel Township, Miami Co., and
purchased 160 acres of land in Sec. 10, where he spent the remainder
of his life, owning at the time of his death 457 acres of land. The
subject of this sketch and one sister are the survivors of the family
of five children; he has always been engaged in agricultural pursuits,
and, in connection, has also dealt considerably in stock; he owns
about 641 acres of land in this and Clark Cos., and has held office
for about forty years; has been Township Treasurer for twenty-one
years ; in the spring of 1880, was elected to serve his tenth
successive term as Township Trustee. Six children were the fruits of
his first marriage—Thomas, Matilda, Catharine E.,
Henry (deceased), Anna Maria (deceased) and
Harriet; Maria Shroyer, his wife, departed this life
Sept. 23, 1842. He afterward married Susan Stockstill,
with whom he had six children—John W., Oscar, Sarah,
Rebecca, Rachel C. and Jacob (the last two
deceased). Mrs. Susan Shroyer died Feb. 22, 1860, at the age of
46 years and 2 months. On Jan. 24, 1861, he married Mrs. Priscilla
Mendenhall, formerly Miss Mann, with whom he is
living a very quiet and happy life.
Source:
The History of Miami County, Ohio - Publ. Chicago: W. H. Beers & Co., 1880
- Bethel Twp. |
Page 639
JOHN
SNELL, farmer; P. O. Brandt; is a son of Jacob and Barbara
Snell, who came to Ohio by means of wagons, in a company of thirty
persons in 1830; they stopped in Montgomery Co. for about two years,
and then came to Bethel Township, Miami Co., and bought 120 acres of
land, on which they made some additional improvements in the way of
clearing, repairing the house and erecting a new barn; here they spent
the remainder of their lives; he died in 1855 at the age of 59 years,
and she in 1860 aged 60 years. The subject of this sketch was born in
Rockingham Co., Va., July 19, 1827; his cradle, while on the way to
this country, was the feed-box fastened to the hind part of the wagon;
in this he slept while crossing the Ohio at Wheeling. Being the oldest
son, he had the principal part of the work to do on the farm, as his
father worked at the carpenter's trade; in 1853, he settled on 82
acres of land in the above-named township, lying in Sees. 3 and 9;
here he has since resided, and, having erected new, substantial farm
buildings, he has a very desirable farm, in a high state of
cultivation. His marriage with Maria L. Rupp was celebrated
Nov. 7, 1850; she was born in Lancaster, Penn.. Feb. 15, 1830, and is
a daughter of Samuel Rupp. who came to this State in 1837, and is
still living in Clark Co. Mr. and Mrs. Snell are
the parents of three children—Minerva R., Jacob F. and Mary
E. Mr. Snell and family, except one daughter, are
members of the German Baptist Church.
Source:
The History of Miami County, Ohio - Publ. Chicago: W. H. Beers & Co., 1880
- Bethel Twp. |
Page 639
S.
L. STOCKSTILL, farmer ; P. O. New Carlisle. Clark Co.; born in
Bethel Township, Miami Co., Ohio, Aug. 27, 1817 ; is the son of Thomas
and Catharine Stockstill. He was one of the very early
settlers of this county; his native State was Maryland, but when quite
young he removed to Tennessee with his father, who was a speculator in
slaves. Thomas, being conscientiously opposed to the slave traffic,
left Tennessee at the age of 16, and came to Ohio. At this time, there
were only five or six huts in Cincinnati, and a very few between that
and Dayton, which then consisted of one cabin, in which a man by the
name of Acres kept a store, and carried on quite a traffic with the
Indians. Northeast of Dayton for a distance of twelve miles, there was
not a house, and no road but an Indian trail. He stopped with old man
Hain, an acquaintance of his from North Carolina, located in
what is now Bethel Township, Clark Co.; his wealth then consisted in
a horse, saddle, saddlebags, a few chisels, two gimlets and a broad-ax; he never served an apprenticeship at any trade, but was handy with
tools and did a considerable amount of work in wood, and at shoemaking; he made the first coffins used in this part of the country. In those
days, it would have been thought sinful to make any charge for
services of that kind, so that he has made many coffins without
charge; his chief business was farming, and after his arrival in this
State he took a lease for twelve years of Leonard Hain,
whose daughter Catharine he married about 1801; in 1806, he
left his lease and bought 80 acres in Bethel Township, Miami Co., and
once more commenced in the woods. In addition to clearing up his farm,
he bought 120 acres more. He was a strict Methodist, and aided almost
any church of that faith within his reach. Eight of his children grew
to maturity-—Elias, Rachel, Sarah, Susan,
John N., Stephen L., Irvin J. and Catharine. Our
subject has always followed farming; in connection with his farm work,
he has made several useful inventions, as he felt a need for the
several articles invented. His first was a grain drill, the
distributing principle of which is now used in the Superior Drill,
built at Springfield, and others. His other patents were for a clover
harvester, for heading clover in the field; a riding attachment for
breaking-plows, and a meat cutter. His livelihood has been gained
principal^ by the sale of these patents. On the 18th of February,
1847. he married Mary J. Lucas, a native of Clark Co., born
June 4, 1826 ; by this union they have had nine children—James A.,
Catharine 0., Chalmers T., Nannie C, Insco H. (deceased),
Maggie M., Summerfield S.. Minnie J. and Etta B.
Source:
The History of Miami County, Ohio - Publ. Chicago: W. H. Beers & Co., 1880
- Bethel Twp. |
Page 640
SAMUEL
SULLIVAN, farmer ; P. O. Tadmor, Montgomery Co., Ohio; born in
Clark Co., Ohio, Feb. 11, 1814; was a son of James and Jane
(McAlister) Sullivan. He was one of the lineal descendants of the
Sullivans who settled Sullivan's Island, N. C, whence it
derives its name. It was on account of his antipathy to slavery that
he left the land of his nativity and emigrated to Clark Co., Ohio.
Their mode of traveling was quite in contrast with that of the present
day. They came through on pack horses, the mother taking two children
with her on one horse, and the father one child and their provisions
on another, for a distance of 600 miles. He took a lease in the
above-named county, and settled on the banks of Mud Creek; at the
expiration of his lease, he bought 160 acres, which he improved, but
by some mishap lost all. Being, perhaps, past the prime of life, he
never made an effort to retrieve his situation, and left his children
to accumulate what they could for themselves. He was a minister of the
Christian Church for a number of years. Our subject was accustomed to
the hardships of frontier life, but received an ordinary education,
such as he could obtain in those days by attending school a few months
in the winter season; when, in his 17th year, he left home to fight
his way through life, working for the first summer at $6.50 per month,
and then took a job of clearing, by which he saved 27 cents per day;
he soon found that he had not sufficient muscular power to make a
living by hard labor, and therefore decided to educate himself; having
gone as far as the single rule of three in arithmetic, and modes and
tenses of verbs in grammar, the requisite of a teacher in those days,
he engaged to teach a term of three months; he entered into an article
of agreement to commence at 8 o'clock in the morning, teach every
alternate Saturday and received $21 for the term and boarded himself;
he followed teaching for six years, gradually increasing his wages
until he received $20 per month. Mr. Sullivan has held an office
of some kind for a number of years; was Justice of the Peace for
twelve years, and is Representative of Miami Co. at the present time;
he is not an office seeker, but being a man of real worth, his office
is a gift from the people. In 1832, Nov. 4, he married Maria
Crook, a sister of Gen. George Crook, the great Indian
fighter. The fruits of this union are eleven children— Thomas,
James, Theodore, Martha, John, Oliver, George. Florence
(deceased), Alice and Lizzie. The eldest son is a
graduate of West Point. Although commencing life with nothing, he has
educated his family and accumulated property valued at about $100,000.
Source:
The History of Miami County, Ohio - Publ. Chicago: W. H. Beers & Co., 1880
- Bethel Twp. |
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