|
BIOGRAPHIES
The following biographies are extracted from:
Source:
The County of Ross: a history of Ross County, Ohio
By Henry Holcomb Bennett
Published by S. A. Brant, Madison, Wis.,
1902
< CLICK HERE TO
RETURN TO THE 1917 BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX >
<
CLICK HERE to RETURN to LIST OF BIOGRAPHICAL INDEXES & HISTORIES
>
C. SEYMOUR
IRVINE, a prosperous young farmer residing in the
vicinity of Lyndon, Ohio, is a native of Danville, Ky.
His father, Robert Irvine, was a Kentuckian, and
lived in the state of his nativity until 1878. In
that year he came to Ross county, located in Concord
township and afterward became quite prominent in
political and business circles. He was elected as
a representative of
Ross county in the lower house of the Ohio state
legislature and served two years in this capacity.
His present resident is Frankfort, his time being
specially devoted to the breeding of fancy road horses.
He married Anna, daughter of Aaron W. Seymour,
member of the old family of that name long established
in Paxton township. C. Seymour Irvine was
quite a small boy when brought to Ross county by his
parents. He was brought up and educated in Concord
township and spent three years at the old Salem academy.
In December, 1898, Mr. Irvine was married to
Hannah Mains, member of a family long and favorably
known in Ross county. Her ancestry dates well back
towards the first settlement of the county and the
descendants, widely ramified, have made themselves felt
in the social and industrial development of that part of
the great Scioto valley. Mr. Irvine has
been engaged in general farming, paying especial
attention to raising stock and fattening the same for
market. He is a steady and industrious young man,
member of the Presbyterian church at Pisgah, and enjoys
the universal esteem of his neighbors.
Source: The County of Ross: a history of Ross County, Ohio
by Henry Holcomb Bennett - Published by S. A. Brant, Madison,
Wis., 1902 - Page 532 |
CHARLES EDGAR ISEMAN,
of Fruitdale, Ohio, has long been connected with the
mercantile business at that point and has achieved a
flattering measure of success. His father, the
late Jacob W. Iseman, conducted a general
merchandise store at Fruitdale for fifteen years and at
the same time carried on farm operations; as merchant
and farmer, prospered and accumulated a competency; was
conspicuously identified with all the public affairs of
Paint township, and was one of the most influential
citizens in that part of Ross county. Jacob W.
was a son of Christian Iseman, a native of
Pennsylvania, who settled in Ross county early in the
nineteenth century, and married Elizabeth Bratton,
of Virginia, whose father was a soldier in the
Revolutionary war. Charles Edgar Iseman
was born in Paint township and after a preliminary
training in the common schools entered his father's
store as clerk. He held this position ten years
and then went to Zanesville, Ohio, where he spent four
years in a grocery store. In March, 1898, he
purchased the interest of his father's estate and that
of his brother in the general mercantile business at
Fruitdale, which he has since conducted as sole
proprietor. March 11, 1890, he was married to
Laura, daughter of John H. Robson, a native
of Cincinnati of English ancestry but resident for
eighteen years in Paint township. Mr. Iseman
holds membership in the Masonic, Odd Fellows and Red Men
fraternities. He served as assessor of Paint
Township in 1894 and is a member of the Methodist
Episcopal church.
Source: The County of Ross: a history of Ross County, Ohio
by Henry Holcomb Bennett - Published by S. A. Brant, Madison,
Wis., 1902 - Page 532 |
ARTHUR
JACK, postmaster of Kingston, Ohio, was born at
that place June 4, 1849. His parents were Jacob
and Elizabeth (Lennox) Jack, natives of Hampshire
county, Va., where they were married. They had
nine children, two of whom died in infancy and but
four are now living, whose names are Mary E.,
Thomas, Joseph and Arthur. Thomas is a
clerk of Green township and resides at Kingston.
Arthur Jack received his education in the schools
of Kingston. Arthur Jack received his
education in the schools of Kingston and in boyhood
learned the harness-maker's trade, which he followed for
about twelve years. For several years he was
engaged in general merchandising. In 1887, he
purchased the Kingston Blade, a weekly newspaper, which
he conducted for twelve years, making a success as a
journalist. Jan. 1, 1898, he was commissioned
postmaster of Kingston, which is a fourth-class
postoffice, and he is still serving in that capacity.
Apr. 21, 1872, he was married to Sarah Bitler, a
native of Fairfield county, and daughter of Joseph
and Catherine Bitler. Mr. and Mrs. Jack
are the parents of two sons and three daughters, of whom
Edgar is employed on the Scioto Gazette; Mary
is in the postoffice with her father;
Thomas is working on the Columbus Citizen, and
Grace is at home attending the high school, from
which Katheryn was graduated in the spring of
1902. Mr. Jack has been an active and
influential politician, recognized as a leader in local
politics. He has always been an ardent Republican,
defending the principles of his party with vote, voice
and pen. He has served as a member of the Kingston
city council, and the school board and in other
positions of responsibility.
Source: The County of Ross: a history of Ross County, Ohio
by Henry Holcomb Bennett - Published by S. A. Brant, Madison,
Wis., 1902 - Page 533 |
WILLIAM R. JACK, D. D. S.,
practicing dentist at No. 35 South Paint street,
Chillicothe, was born in that city Nov. 10, 1873.
His parents are William L. and Lida (Woods) Jack,
natives of Kingston, Ross county. The father
was a merchant in his working days, but retired some
yeas before his death, which occurred in 1888. The
mother is still living, her residence being with her son
William in Chillicothe. Besides Dr. Jack,
who was the youngest, there were two other children born
to William and Lida Jack. Of these, Miss
Eva is the very efficient general delivery clerk in
the Chillicothe postoffice and Joseph, who
married Belle Pickens, is bookkeeper for the
Baltimore & Ohio Southwestern railway at Washington,
Ind. Dr. Jack was educated in the schools
of his native city and began the study of dentistry
there about 1886, in the office of Dr. Robinson.
After that, he served an apprenticeship of about five
years, passed his registration examination and started
in business years, passed his registration examination
and started in business with the New York dental parlors
in Cincinnati. He remained there about seven
years, and in 1899 opened his present office in
Chillicothe at the location heretofore given. In
1895, Dr. Jack was married in Cincinnati to
Lulu Walter, a native of Chillicothe, and daughter
of Randolph Walter, a locomotive engineer on the
Baltimore & Ohio railway. Their union has been
blessed by the birth of one child, Donald, now a
bright boy of five summers. The Doctor and his
wife are members of the First Presbyterian church.
The Jack family was established in Ross county at
a very early period of its settlement, the progenitors
coming from Cannonsburg, Pa. In fact, that state
furnished Dr. Jack's ancestry on both sides of
the house, the parents of his mother as well as his
father being native Pennsylvanians.
Source: The County of Ross: a history of Ross County, Ohio
by Henry Holcomb Bennett - Published by S. A. Brant, Madison,
Wis., 1902 - Page 534 |
JACOB JACOB,
one of the old residents of Chillicothe and a successful
business man, was born in Lampertheim, Hesse-Darmstadt,
Germany, Jan. 17, 1831. He was educated in his
native country and came to America at the age of
twenty-two; located in Chillicothe, Ohio, Oct. 1, 1852,
and has been a resident of that city ever since.
For nearly fifty years he has been identified with the
growth and progress of Ross county's capital.
Mr. Jacob was a common laborer for a number of years
after reaching Chillicothe and turned his hand to
whatever he could find to do. For seven years he
was in a distillery and six years he spent in the
railroad shops. In 1854, he married Anna Marie
Starck, a native of Germany then resident of
Chillicothe. She became the mother of five
children, thus enumerated: Louisa is the wife of
John Knecht, whose sketch appears in this work;
Mary died unmarried at the age of twenty-three;
Charles L. is a business man in Chillicothe;
George W. died at the age of fifteen; Frederick
William is employed in the Chillicothe postoffice.
Mrs. Jacob, who was a most estimable wife and
mother, died Jan. 20, 1900. About thirty-three
years ago, Mr. Jacob engaged in the liquor
business, which he has continued up to the present time.
He has met with financial success, after a life of
struggle and hard work, and is one of the public
spirited and enterprising citizens of Chillicothe.
He is the oldest member of the Red Men's lodge, as also
of the Eintracht singing club, and has belonged to the
Odd Fellows for nearly half a century. Mr.
Jacob came alone to America, but was followed seven
years later by his parents, two brothers and two
sisters. His parents were Michael and Barbara (Leonhart)
Jacob, both of whom, as well as a brother named
Michael, died in Louisville, Ky. Of the other
children, Katherine Schumaker died in
Chillicothe. Peter is a cigar manufacturer
in Louisville, Ky., and his sister Margaret is
a resident of the same city.
Source: The County of Ross: a history of Ross County, Ohio
by Henry Holcomb Bennett - Published by S. A. Brant, Madison,
Wis., 1902 - Page 534 |
CHARLES L. JACOBS,
of Chillicothe, was born in that city May 14, 1857.
He is the son of Jacob Jacob, a sketch of whom
precedes this. The slight change in the name has
been made in recent years from the original form, in
obedience to popular usage in America. Charles
L. Jacobs received the ordinary common school
education and at an early period developed a talent for
music. For two years he was a teacher of
instrumental and vocal music at Washington Court House,
Ohio, and he followed this vocation, which was entirely
in accord with his tastes, until his hearing became
impaired, which misfortune, much to his regret,
compelled him to abandon his favorite pursuit and take
up other business. In March, 1879, he was married
to Amelia Roths, a native of Chillicothe and
daughter of John Roths, an employee of the
Baltimore & Ohio Southwestern railway. They have
only one child, Emma, who is a graduate of the
city high school. This lady inherited her father's
talent for music and is at present a teacher of piano in
Chillicothe. Her musical education was acquired
under home instructors and at the musical college of
Cincinnati. Mr. Jacobs is a member of the order
o Red Men and he and his family belong to the Salem
Lutheran church. For the last seventeen years, he
has been engaged in the liquor business at No. 23, North
Paint street.
Source: The County of Ross: a history of Ross County, Ohio
by Henry Holcomb Bennett - Published by S. A. Brant, Madison,
Wis., 1902 - Page 535 |
JAMES FAMILY:
- The first representative of this now well-known
connection was Reuben James, son of a Delaware
sea captain who went from his native state to Virginia
and there married Mary Phisto.
They lived a good while in Virginia after marriage, and
in 1830 migrated to Ross county, where they settled on
the farm in Concord township now owned by Mr. Fulton.
They had twelve children, two of whom, Isaac and
Elizabeth, were born before the departure from
Virginia. The ten additions made to the family
after the arrival in Ross county are thus given
consecutively: Strawder, Washington, Reuben, Mary M.,
Evans, Milton, Missouri A., John A., Nancy and Nelson.
Of those enumerated above, Washington,
Mary M., Evans, Milton and John A.
are dead. The parents went from the Fulton farm to
Wrightstown, where they conducted a hotel for seven
years, after which they went for permanent residence to
a farm purchased in Buckskin township, where both ended
their days. Strawder James was married June
29, 1852, to Rebecca Bush, by whom he had the
following named children: Allen, deceased;
Milton, married Lizzie Slagle; Mary B.,
married Morris Putnam; Lavina, wife of William
Briggs; Clara, wife of Isaac Pancake;
Reuben, deceased; Charles, married Nettie
McClain of Ross county, and now lives in Denver,
Col.; Nancy, wife of Jesse B. Mallow; Armada,
deceased. Strawder James was one of the
most useful and esteemed of the citizens of Concord
township. He dealt extensively in stock and for
several years was associated with Robert Templin
and Milo Whaley in that business. He held
the office of township trustee a number of years and
served one term as commissioner of Ross county. He
was a man of elevated views and moral character, held
membership in the Methodist Episcopal church and when he
died Mar. 22, 1897, there was a general feeling that the
community lost one of its most valuable men.
Source: The County of Ross: a history of Ross County, Ohio
by Henry Holcomb Bennett - Published by S. A. Brant, Madison,
Wis., 1902 - Page 535 |
ROBERT W. JAMISON
was born in Concord township, Ross county, on the farm
where he now resides, Oct. 13, 1873. His father,
Samuel Jamison, born Jan. 9, 1827, was the son of
a man of the same name as himself, and grandson of
William Jamison. The latter was a South
Carolinian who came to Ohio in the latter part of the
eighteenth century, and bought land in Concord township,
which is still in possession of his descendants.
He had a family of thirteen children, among whom was
Samuel, the grandfather of our subject. He
cleared and improved 200 acres o land, served in the war
of 1812, married Rebecca Anderson and died in
Concord township in 1851. Among their eight
children was the father of Robert W. Jamison.
He spent his early life on the farm and obtained a
common school education, supplemented by one term in the
old Chillicothe academy. He taught school a few
terms and then went to farming, which was ever after the
business of his life. He met with success as a
farmer and stock-raiser, accumulated considerable land
and became one of the substantial men of the township.
On June 30, 1870, he was married to Eleanor,
daughter of Robert and Ellen (Haynes) Worthington.
The Worthington family is one of the oldest and
most prominent in Ohio. Thomas Worthington
became governor of Ohio, and many others rose to
positions of influence in the localities where they
settled. Robert Worthington, father of
Mrs. Jamison, removed to Petersburg, Ill., before
the civil war, and became a prominent citizen of that
place. Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Jamison became
the parents of three children, of whom Anna Belle,
their only daughter, is dead. The two sons are
Robert W. and James R., the latter attending
school at Oxford, Ohio. The father was a strict
member of the Presbyterian church, of which he was
deacon, elder and treasurer, and an exemplary citizen in
all the walks of life. His long and useful life
was brought to a close on Dec. 12, 1899. Since her
husband's death, Mrs. Jamison has conducted his
extensive business with the assistance of her son
Robert W. The latter was educated at Salem
academy and has remained at home all his life. At
present he has the superintendence of about 300 acres of
land and the responsibilities connected with the
management of farm affairs.
Source: The County of Ross: a history of Ross County, Ohio
by Henry Holcomb Bennett - Published by S. A. Brant, Madison,
Wis., 1902 - Page 536 |
THOMAS
JANES was born in Union Township, Ross county,
Ohio, Aug. 12, 1839, the son of Henry and
grandson of Zacharian Janes, the latter a settler
of Ross country as far back as 1801. When
Zacharian Janes came there were only three houses in
Chillicothe and the country for miles around was but
sparsely populated. He bought 300 acres of land n
Springfield township, spent the rest of his days in
farming and died on the place where he had located.
He married a Virginia woman who had been a captive of
the Indians for seventeen years and could speak their
language fluently. Their son Henry attended
subscription school, learned the carpenter's trade and
remained at home helping with the work until he reached
his twenty-third year. He then married Sarah
Hurst, after which event he resolved to try his
fortunes in the neighboring state of Indiana.
Accordingly he moved to that commonwealth, but after a
stay of some three or four years returned to Ross
county. He purchased part of the old homestead
place, on which he settled down to faring, also working
at his trade, and so continued throughout the year of
his life. He served as trustee of his township,
was county tax collector and held membership in the
Methodist Episcopal church. Of his six children,
Mandy, the youngest, died in early childhood;
Edward lives in Missouri; Thomas is the
subject of this sketch; Joseph resides in
Springfield township; Mary J. is married to
Joseph Crider; and Lyena is now Mrs.
August Boozer. Thomas Janes went to
Illinois at the beginning of the civil war and enlisted
in the Sixty-eighth infantry regiment of that state.
He was only out about one year, being taken with an
illness en route to Wheeling, W. Va., which necessitated
his being sent to a hospital and eventuated in his
discharge from the service. After that he remained
at home until he was of age, when he entered upon the
work of engineering. His first service was as a
locomotive engineer on the old Marietta & Cincinnati
railway, which position he held for four years. He
then obtained employment on the Jeffersonville, Madison
& Indianapolis railroad, with headquarters in the last
mentioned city. Subsequently he served on the
Alton & Terre Haute road for about four years, when he
returned to Ross county and lived on a rented farm for
two years, after which he removed to the place where he
now resides. For eleven years past he has been
engineer at the Ross County infirmary, in which place he
has given entire satisfaction. His only fraternal
connection is with the Masonic Lodge at Chillicothe, of
which he has been a member for some time. Mr.
James married Hannah Ulm, a descendant of
early settlers of Ross county, and by her had ten
children, as follows: John, who lives in
Columbus, Ohio; Myrtie, wife of Jesse Bowdle;
Ida, married to M. Courtwright; Anna, wife of
George McQuintich; Samuel, of Union township;
Elwood, of Columbus; Elizabeth, now Mrs.
John Shaefer; Alta, now Mrs. Ater, of
Deerfield township; Laly and Gustave, at
home.
Source: The County of Ross: a history of Ross County, Ohio
by Henry Holcomb Bennett - Published by S. A. Brant, Madison,
Wis., 1902 - Page 537 |
JESSE M. JONES,
the well-known blacksmith and wagon-maker of Clarksburg,
was one of the worthiest of the civil war soldiers
contributed to the Union army by Ross county and the
first man to enlist from Deerfield township. The
family has had representatives in Ohio for nearly a
century, the first ones being Benjamin and Susan
Jones, who settled at Waynesville, in Warren county,
as far back as 1808. They brought with them a son
named Jesse, who was born in Virginia July 1,
1799, and after he grew up removed to Ross county,
obtained employment at the Peterson works in Concord
township and there learned the blacksmith's trade.
Some time later he built a shop at Frankfort, conducted
business there for several years and then located at
Clarksburg for permanent residence. He continued
to work in his blacksmith shop, enjoying a fair amount
of prosperity, until a few years before his death, which
took place in 1883, when he was about eighty-five years
old. He married Sarah Gum, a native of
Virginia, and had ten children: David,
Catherine and John D., deceased; William
M., of London, Ohio; Jesse M., Ethan A. and
Norton G., of Indiana, Clara and Effie,
of Clarksburg, and Milton E., of Circleville,
Ohio. Jesse M. Jones was born at
Clarksburg, Ross county, Ohio, August 7, 1838, and in
youth was taught the blacksmith trade in his father's
shop. This employment was rather rudely
interrupted by the opening discord of the civil war and
few heeded the country's call for assistance more
promptly than Jesse M. Jones. He hastened
to enroll his name as a member of Company A,
Twenty-seventh regiment Ohio volunteer infantry, and has
the reputation of being the first man to enlist from
Deerfield township. This command, after a short
stay at Camp Chase, was sent to St. Louis, thence to
Chillicothe, Lexington and Kansas City, Mo., doing guard
duty for a while at the latter place; next to
Springfield and from there back to Sedalia, then a march
of 350 miles to St. Louis, and on down the river to join
General Pope's division. Such is a
brief summary of the regiment's earliest campaigning.
Subsequently Mr. Jones took part, with his
command, in the engagements at Island No. 10 and New
Madrid, the bloody battle of Pittsburg Landing and the
siege of Corinth. During the fighting around the
latter city, Mr. Jones was wounded and sent to
the hospital at Mound City where he was later discharged
on account of disability. After six months' rest
at home, he re-enlisted in Company C, First Ohio heavy
artillery, which was sent to Knoxville, Tenn., and did
guard duty there until mustered out in 1865 at the close
of the war. Returning home, Mr. Jones
remained a while at Clarksburg and then went to Indiana,
where he had the misfortune to break his leg. This
made him an invalid for some time but as soon as able he
enlisted in Company G, Thirty-seventh United States
regiment, with which he was sent successively to
Governor's Island, N.Y., from there to Fort Leavenworth
and Fort Lyons, Kansas, and Fort Garland, Col.
While serving at the latter place his term of enlistment
expired and he returned directly to his home in
Clarksburg, where he has since resided. His
business has been that of blacksmithing and wagon-making
in connection with the management of his farm in
Deerfield township. July 25, 1880, Mr. Jones
was married to Laura E. Goldsberry, who died
August 31, 1892, after becoming the mother of the
following named children: John D., Luella,
Jessie, Gracey, Sarah and Irene.
Source: The County of Ross: a history of Ross County, Ohio
by Henry Holcomb Bennett - Published by S. A. Brant, Madison,
Wis., 1902 - Page |
ROBERT J. JONES,
M. D., one of the popular and successful
physicians of Greenfield, Ohio, is a native of Wales,
from which county he emigrated to America in 1884.
Though he attended school to some extent in the old
country, his literary education was mainly received from
coming to the United States. After this was
achieved satisfactorily he entered the Cincinnati
Medical college, from which he was graduated in 1895,
with the degree of M. D. During the following year
he held the position of interne in the Cincinnati
hospital, which is regarded as a valuable post-graduate
experience for young practitioners. In 1896 Dr.
Jones located at Greenfield from practice of his
profession, where he speedily rose into notice and met
with unusual success. He was built up as extensive
a practice, both in medicine and surgery, as is enjoyed
by any physician in that section of Ohio, his business
embracing the town, as well as a broad scope of the
surrounding country. Dr. Jones is a
member of the Highland county Medical society and often
prepares papers for its edification, which exhibit
learning and advanced knowledge on his part in all
branches of the profession. In 1898, he was
married to Daisy Bowser, of Ross county. He
is a master Mason and member of the First Presbyterian
church in Greenfield.
Source: The County of Ross: a history of Ross County, Ohio
by Henry Holcomb Bennett - Published by S. A. Brant, Madison,
Wis., 1902 - Page s |
|
|
|
|
|
