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BIOGRAPHIES
The following biographies are extracted from:
Source:
A Standard History of Ross County, Ohio
Vol. II.
Published by The Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago & New York
1917
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NEWTON E. ICE.
Combining farming with veterinary practice, Newton E.
Ice, of Liberty Township, is one of the busy men of
Ross County. He has 200 acres of land under his
care and no part of this large farm shows any evidence
of neglect.
Doctor Ice was born in Wetzel County, West
Virginia, Feb. 20, 1885, and is a son of D. B. and
Phoebe (Wyatt) Ice. Both parents were born and
reared in what is now West Virginia, and are retired
residents of Smithfield, Wetzel County. They are
members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Of
their family of three children, one died in infancy and
both of the survivors live in Ohio, Newton E. in
Ross County and Lee in Washington County, and both are
interested in agricultural pursuits. The one
daughter bore the name of Jennie.
On his father's farm Newton E. Ice grew to
manhood and learned not only the practical business of
operating a farm, but also the care and medical
treatment of stock. He came greatly interested
along this line and studied veterinary science and has
adopted its practice as a profession. After
attending the common schools, he entered the high school
at Buchanan and was graduated therefrom in 1905.
Mr. Ice found remunerative employment in the oil
fields in his native state and continued there until
1909, when he came to Ross County, Ohio, and took a
correspondence school course in veterinary medicine and
surgery, graduating with an average of 96 per cent.
His knowledge of veterinary science serves him well on
his large estate, giving him the knowledge and skill to
keep his own stock in condition while gradually building
up a wider extended practice. He makes a specialty
of fine horses.
Doctor Ice was married July 8, 1906, to Miss
Bessie Fry, who was born and reared in Virginia.
They have four children: Beryl, Hortense,
Drexel and Lorie. Doctor Ice was reared
in the democratic party, as was his father. His
200 -acre estate is situated one mile southwest of
Londonderry, Ohio.
Source: A Standard History of Ross County, Ohio -
Vol. II. - Published by The Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago &
New York 1917 - Page 672 |
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CAPT. JOHN W. JENKINS
Source: A Standard History of Ross County, Ohio -
Vol. II. - Published by The Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago &
New York 1917 - Page 726 |
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ARSENE J. JONES,
whose farm of ninety acres is located on the northern
edge of the Village of Vigo, belongs to the younger
generation of the agricultural element which must be
depended upon to preserve the farming prestige of the
County of Ross in the coming years. He has passed
his entire life within the limits of the county and is a
farmer by training and inclination, having displayed
already in his career those qualities which go to make
up the successful and progressive tiller of the soil.
He was born on a farm in Liberty Township, Ross County,
Ohio, now occupied by his father, Sept. 23, 1884, and is
a son of Thomas C. and Martha (Rittenour) Jones.
The Jones family is one which is one of
the best known and oldest in Ross County. It was
founded here by William Jones, the great
grandfather of Arsene J. Jones, who came to this
fertile and productive portion of Ohio at an early date
in its history, and here became well-to-do and
prominent, as a stock dealer and a citizen. His
son, Mason Jones, was also agriculturally
inclined, was a husbandman all of his life, and
accumulated a good property. Thomas C. Jones
was born on the farm which he now occupies in Liberty
Township, and has never cared to
change his locality. Through the exercise of good
management and industry and the display of ability in
his vocation he has succeeded in the
accumulation of a good farm, while as a citizen he has
always been progressive and public-spirited, fairly
winning and holding the respect, esteem
and confidence of his fellow men. He and his wife
have had three sons: B. O., a graduate of
Wilmington College, who lives on his farm in Liberty
Township; Arsene; and R. E., who resides
with his parents.
Arsene J. Jones received his education in the
district schools of Liberty Township and Wilmington
College, Wilmington, Ohio. Returning at that time
to his father's farm, he worked thereon until his
marriage, Nov. 10, 1909, to Miss Clara
May Jenks, a daughter of Truman and Addie
(McKinniss) Jenks. Truman Jenks
was born in Jackson County, Ohio, and after his marriage
went to Sedalia, Missouri, where he remained for about
six years. He then returned to Jackson County for
fourteen years, following which he took up his residence
at Frankfort, and a short time later came to Vigo, Ross
County. Here he has since been engaged in business
successfully as the proprietor of a tile factory.
Mrs. Addie (McKinniss) Jenks
is a daughter of Granville and Mary
(Cassiday) McKinniss, and a granddaughter
of Charles and Martha (Cramer)
McKinniss, who in 1802 came from Pennsylvania to
Chillicothe, Ohio, and then removed to the farm near
Coalton, Jackson County. Martha (Cramer)
McKinniss was a granddaughter of Robert
Fulton, Sr., who was born in County Kilkenny,
Ireland. Hence the Scotch-Irish in the
McKinniss family. Mr. and Mrs.
McKinniss moved back to Chillicothe and then to Coal
Township, Jackson County, where the grandfather was
engaged in the river trade. Truman Jenks
and wife became the parents of eight children, of whom
five are living: Harford P., of Columbus, who
married Grace Dixon; Clara May; Frank,
of Atlanta, Ohio, who married Nannie
Argabright; Stella, the widow of D. T.
Yoakum; and Granville, of Vigo. The other
three children died in infancy.
After their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Jones settled
on the farm which they now occupy, and which has been
brought to a high state of cultivation. Mr.
Jones raises the standard crops and uses the
latest methods in his work, and makes a constant study
of conditions in the vocation in which his best energies
are enlisted. In his political views he is a
prohibitionist, and he has at all times been an
indefatigable worker in behalf of temperance and a
bettering of public morals. Mrs. Jones
is a devout member of the Vigo Baptist Church, and takes
an active interest in its work. They have one son,
Truman Corwin, who was born Oct. 17, 1910.
Source: A Standard History of Ross County, Ohio -
Vol. II. - Published by The Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago &
New York 1917 - Page 652 |
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BOYTON B. JONES.
The farming men of Ross County have played an important
part in the fortunes of that section, and among them
should be mentioned Boynton G. Jones, one of the
younger and very progressive agriculturists of Liberty
Township. Diversified farming is his plan, and he
is making a notable success of his endeavors.
His home is the farm of 260 acres in Liberty Township,
owned by his father, T. C. Jones. He also
owns eighty acres in Liberty Township. His home
place is on Rural Route No. 3, out of Gillespieville.
Boynton G. Jones was born in Liberty Township,
Feb. 14, 1879, a son of T. C. and Martha J. (Rittenhour)
Jones. His father was also born in Liberty
Township, and members of the Jones Family located
here in the very early pioneer epoch. The
great-grandfather, William Jones, was the founder
of the family in this section of Ohio. The
grandfather was Mason Jones, who when T. C.
Jones was a boy of four years, moved to Pike County,
Ohio, and lived there until he and his wife died.
T. C. Jones grew to manhood in Pike County, was
married there, and soon afterwards, returned to Liberty
Township and bought the farm of 287 acres of land, which
he made the nucleus of his farming enterprise for many
years. His success as a farmer is indicated by the
fact that he now owns 770 acres in Liberty Township.
His has been an active career, and business has not
claimed altogether his attention. He is a
prominent member of the Methodist Episcopal Church and a
loyal republican and has been honored by his fellow
citizens with the office of township trustee four years,
township treasurer and membership on the school board.
T. C. Jones and wife have three sons:
Boynton G., Arsene J., and R. Everett.
Boynton G. Jones grew up on the old homestead in
Liberty Township, and besides such advantages as were
given by the district schools spent two terms in
Wilmington College in Clinton County, Ohio. After
returning home, he found a place on his father's farm,
and worked industriously there until his marriage.
Mar. 1, 1900, he married Sophia Jane Calver,
daughter of Marvin Calver and wife whose maiden
name was Stratton.
During the first year after marriage, Mr. and
Mrs. Jones lived at Vigo, employed by his father,
and then moved to the place where he still resides.
He and his wife are the parents of three sons:
Lauris C., who was born, Jan. 16, 1901, and is now
in high school; Leslie M., born June 6, 1906, and
a student in the public schools; Lloyd M., born
Apr. 9, 1910, and recently started to school.
Politically, Mr. Jones is a republican. He
has served on the township school board two years, and
is now filling with much credit and ability the office
of district assessor for the years 1916-17.
Source: A Standard History of Ross County, Ohio -
Vol. II. - Published by The Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago &
New York 1917 - Page 871 |
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IRVIN T. JONES,
the leading merchant of Hallsville, was born in Kingston, Ross
County, Ohio, Jan. 24, 1836. His parents were John and
Dorothy (Powers) Jones, the former a native of Maryland,
where he was reared, and the latter a native of Delaware county,
Ohio. Irvin T. Jones was reared in Ross county,
attending the district schools, and engaged in mercantile
pursuits until Feb. 13, 1862, when he enlisted in Company H,
Sixty-ninth regiment, Ohio veteran volunteer infantry. His
regiment first saw duty at Nashville, Tenn., and participated in
the following noted engagements: Stone River, Chickamauga,
Missionary Ridge, and the historic campaign of Sherman
against Johnston up to and including the battle of
Atlanta. After the surrender of Atlanta he accompanied
Sherman in his famous march to the sea and on up through the
Carolinas until Johnston's surrender, then to Richmond,
Va., and from there to Washington, where he participated in the
Grand Review, one of the most noted military pageants of modern
times. From Washington his regiment was order to
Louisville, Ky., and there mustered out of the service.
During his entire military service, although in many of the
hottest engagements of the war, he never received a wound and
never lost a day's service on account of sickness. After
his return home he again turned his attention to merchandising
and in 1883 permanently located in Hallsville where he opened up
a completely stocked general store, and today we find him, after
years of perseverance and energy, enjoying not only a successful
business but also in the prime of his activities. He is a
member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and of Maxwell
post, G. A. R., at Kingston. Mr. Jones is a
Republican in politics, is a postmaster at Hallsville and a
highly esteemed citizen.
Source: A Standard History of Ross County, Ohio
-
Vol. II. - Published by The Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago &
New York 1917 - Page 704 |
J. Finley Jones
Scott F. Jones |
J. FINLEY JONES.
The claim of J. Finley Jones upon the good will
and consideration of the people of the region of
Gillespieville is based upon many years of effective
work as an agriculturist, upon his record as a
public-spirited citizen, and upon his activity in
promoting education and kindred accompaniments of
advanced civilization. He has nearly reached man's
allotted three-score-and-ten years, but is still active,
both bodily and mentally, and in addition to supervising
operations on his farm in Liberty Township, takes a keen
interest in the affairs of his community.
Mr. Jones was born on the farm upon which he now
resides, Oct. 11, 1847, and is a son of Thomas and
Susanna (Pierce) Jones, the former a native of
New Jersey and the latter of Virginia. They came
to Ross County as children, with their parents, and were
here reared, educated and married. After their
marriage they settled down to house-keeping on a farm in
this neighborhood, and here the rest of their lives were
spent. Mr. Jones was a hard-working an
industrious farmer and had established himself well,
with every chance of winning a full measure of success,
but did not live to see his efforts fully appreciated,
as his death occurred in 1848, before J. Finley Jones
was one year old. There were nine sons and two
daughters in the family, and of those four are living at
this writing, namely: Wilson; Thomas, whose
home is in Kansas; James W., of Liberty Township,
a farmer; and J. Finley, of this notice.
J. Finley Jones received his education in the
early district schools of Ross County and was reared on
the farm in Finley Township. When he reached
manhood he began farming operations on his own account,
and the old homestead, upon which his father located on
first coming into this county, is still his home.
He has made many improvements in regard to ditching,
tiling, fencing, etc., has installed up-to-date
equipment and machinery, and ha a fine, substantial set
of buildings, with all modern accommodations and
comforts. Mr. Jones has carried on general
farming, and as new methods have been proven good, has
adopted them, although his practicality has not allowed
him to dispense with time-honored and tried customs
until he has found that they could be bettered.
His farm now consists of 262 acres, and is one of the
valuable ones of Liberty Township.
Mr. Jones was married to Miss Edith E. Pummell
who died in 1899. They were the parents of four
sons, of whom but one, Scott F., is now living.
Mr. Jones is a republican but not a politician.
Scott F. Jones was born July 18, 1893, on the
home farm, and is one of the enterprising and energetic
young farmers of the township. He attended first
the district schools, folowing which he pursued a
course in the Chillicothe High School, from which he was
duly graduated. After that he taught school for
three months in the country district of Harrison
Township and one year in Liberty Township, and then
returned to the home farm to become his father's
assistant. He is a member of the Concord Methodist
Episcopal Church, in the work of which he has been
active, as he has also in the Sunday school. Like
his father, he is a republican in matters of public
policy.
Source: A Standard History of Ross County, Ohio -
Vol. II. - Published by The Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago &
New York 1917 - Page 704 |
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JESSE JONES,
One of the oldest and most substantial families of Ross
County is represented by Jesse Jones, who
has had a long and useful career in farming and who
looks after an extensive acreage in Green Township, both
as a manager and as an owner.
Mr. Jones was born in Harrison Township
of Ross County June 26, 1859. One of the pioneers
of Harrison Township was his grandfather, Abel
Jones, who came when that part of the county was in
all its wilderness condition. Acquiring a tract of
timbered land, he gave his energies to its clearing and
cultivation until his death. John W. Jones,
father of Jesse, was born in Harrison Township of Ross
County in 1827. When he was a boy there were no
public schools in Ohio, and he attended such schools as
were maintained by community co-operation and by
subscription. Many other affairs were conducted in
a very primitive style. His mother did all the
cooking by the open fireplace, and wool and flax were
grown, which the housewives carded and spun and made
into cloth, from which were fashioned the garments worn
by members of the family. John W. Jones
grew up to a life of usefulness and honor. He
succeeded to the ownership of the old homestead, and
many years ago erected there a hewed log house which was
1½ stories high and
at that time was considered one of the best homesteads
in the township. In May, 1864, he enlisted for
service in Company D of the One Hundred and Forty-ninth
Ohio Infantry, and was out for 100 days, going to
Virginia and taking part in several battles and
skirmishes before receiving his honorable discharge.
After the war he resumed farming and cultivated the
homestead until his death. John W. Jones
married Sarah Leasure, who was born in
Colerain Township of Ross County and like wise
represented a family of pioneers. Her father,
Thomas Leasure, was born near Bedford,
Pennsylvania, and about 1814 came to Ohio, making the
entire journey across the country with wagon and team.
He located in Colerain Township and was there when its
population was very sparse and when few improvements had
been made. He him self improved a tract of land
originally a wilderness and lived there until his death.
Thomas Leasure married Hannah
Luckhart, who survived her husband and attained the
great age of one hundred years two months and two days.
Both she and her husband are now at rest in the Leasure
Cemetery. Before coming out to Ohio, Thomas
Leasure had fought as an American soldier in the
Revolutionary war. Mrs. John W. Jones
reared seven children: Hannah, Silas A., Nancy,
David W., Jesse, Margaret and Thomas W.
Jesse Jones spent the first twenty-one
years of his life on his father's farm, in the meantime
getting a practical training in farming, and also
attending the district schools. He worked by the
month for a time, and then rented a small farm, and
finally rented and became manager of the well-known
Dresbach farm, which was later owned by
Cyrus F. Pontius. Upon the death of Mr.
Pontius, Mr. Jones became trustee of his
estate, and has since managed the farm as trustee.
In 1912 he bought a tract of sixty acres about a mile
south of Kingston, has improved it with some substantial
buildings, and his family now live there.
In 1884 Mr. Jones married Ida B.
Luckhart. She was born in Colerain Township of
Ross County, a daughter of Nelson L. and Mary
(Strawser) Luckhart. Nelson Luckhart
was born in Colerain Township, a son of John Luckhart,
a native of Pennsylvania, who had settled in Colerain
Township among the pioneers, and developed a tract of
timbered land which he bought in the east part of the
township, until it comprised a very comfortable farm.
That was his home until his death at the age of
seventy-six. Nelson Luckhart grew up
on that homestead, and began his independent career as a
renter. After his marriage he located on the
Strawser homestead, in section 22, and
continued general farming until his death at the age of
sixty-eight. His wife, Mary Strawser,
was born in Colerain Township, a daughter of John and
Hannah (Cutshawl) Strawser. Mrs. Luckhart
now makes her home with her daughter, Mrs. Jones. Mr.
and Mrs. Jones have a son, Clarence F.
His early education was acquired in the rural schools,
and later he attended the Kingston High School.
Much of his active career has been spent in teaching,
and he made his mark in that work. In 1907 he
taught his first term in the Pleasant Grove District,
and remained there two years. Following that he
took a commercial course at Columbus, and then resumed
teaching at Sulphur Lake for one term, spent another
three-year period at Pleasant Grove, then taught one
term in the grammar school of Kinnikinick, and has since
been engaged in farming in association with his father.
Clarence Jones was elected a justice of
the peace in 1912, serving one year, and in 1913 was
elected township trustee and re-elected in 1915.
He is a member of Lodge No. 419, Knights of Pythias, and
is past and present grand chancellor of that lodge.
He married Florence Richter.
Source: A Standard History of Ross County, Ohio -
Vol. II. - Published by The Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago &
New York 1917 - Page 755 |
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MRS. MARTHA LANE JONES is one of the few survivors of the
early
members of the teaching profession in Ross County. All
honor is due
to those who formed and trained minds of the youth of
this county
forty or fifty years ago, and she has many interesting
recollections of
school conditions and educational affairs in general in
Ross County up
to the time the first free public school system was
established.
Born in Concord Township October 27, 1840, Martha
Lane
is a
daughter of Pleasant Lane, who was born in Ross County,
where Mrs. Jones' grandfather came as a pioneer, buying a tract of
timbered land
in Concord Township and developing a farm from the
wilderness. The
father of Mrs. Jones grew up on that farm, and made
farming the basis
of his career in this county, he spent all his life in
Concord Township,
where he and his wife died may years ago. The maiden
name of the
mother of Mrs. Jones was Nancy Parish, who was born in
Concord Township, a daughter of Samuel Parish, likewise a pioneer
there. Mrs. Jones
was one of the five children: Sarah, John,
Martha,
Catherine and Robert.
As a girl Mrs. Jones made the best of her opportunities
and man
aged to acquire a good education in the local schools. When only sixteen
years of age she taught her first term in Concord
Township, and she
remained active in that profession until her marriage.
At the age of twenty-two she married James Harvey
Jones. The
late Mr. Jones was born in Vermont, where he was reared
and educated
and had the usual influences and environment of the New
England boy.
When a young man he came west, and he also for several
years taught
school in Ross County. He finally bought a farm in
Concord Township and was engaged in its management, raising field
crops and stock
until his death.
Mrs. Jones died August 27, 1916, at Clarksburg. She was
the mother
of three children. One son, James Morton, died in
infancy. The living children are Nancy Ellen
and William D.
William D. Jones graduated from the Frankfort High
School and
took up the career of medicine. He studied with Doctor
Barnett, and
then attended lectures in the Starling Medical College
at Columbus, now
the medical department of the Ohio State University. Graduating
M. D. in 1892, he forthwith began practice in Franklin,
where he
remained five years, and since 1897 has been one of the
leading physicians of Clarksburg. In 1898 Doctor
Jones married Cora Wilkius. She
was born in Concord Township, a daughter of Owen
and Susan Wilkins. Doctor and Mrs. Jones
have two daughters, Ruth and Hazel. In
the line of his profession Doctor Jones is a member of
the Ross County
and the Ohio State medical societies. He is also
affiliated with Frankfort Lodge, No. 721, Independent Order of Odd Fellows;
with Frankfort
Lodge of the Masons, and with Chillicothe Chapter, Royal
Arch Masons.
Source: A Standard History of Ross County, Ohio -
Vol. II. - Published by The Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago &
New York 1917 - Page 861 |
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MILTON P. JONES.
To the community of Twin Township Milton P. Jones
is known not only as a practical and successful farmer,
but as a public-spirited citizen and a man whose service
on more than one occasion and in various capacities has
been useful to the public. First and foremost he
is a farmer, and has the supervision of a very large
estate consisting of 800 acres in Twin Township, located
seven miles from Bainbridge and fourteen miles from
Chillicothe. He is served by Rural Route No. 1 out of
Bourneville.
In farm where Milton P. Jones was born, Feb. 4,
1872, is part of the old Jones family has
distinguished itself by constructive labors and the
accumulation of a large amount of land and also by
striking qualities of personal character and
citizenship.
The farm where Milton P. Jones was born, Feb. 4,
1872, is part of the old Jones estate in Twin
Township, and is now occupied by David Jones.
His parents were William A. and James (Storms) Jones.
William A. Jones was born in Louisa County,
Virginia, and when a small boy, accompanied his parents,
Mr. and Mrs. David Jones, to Ohio. David
Jones died a short time after his arrival in this
state. The family first located near Waverly in
Pike County. William A. Jones possessed in
a striking degree the qualities which enable a man to
get along in the world. Through the early death of
his family he was thrown upon his own resources, and was
about sixteen or seventeen years of age when he came to
Ross County. He worked out by the month, being
employed for considerable time by Enos Prather.
He was thrifty as well as industrious, and in a few
years was safely on the road to success. At the
age of twenty-five he married Jane Storms. Her father,
John Storms, was one of the pioneer
settlers in Hetherby's Bottoms, and later
established a home at what has been known for many years
as a landmark in Ross County, Storms' Station. In that
community he spent the rest of his days and was one of
the leading characters in that section of the county.
After his marriage, William A. Jones bought 200
acres of land, where his son, Milton, now
resides. During his residence there, three
children
were born, and he then bought the farm where his son
David lives, and that was his home until his death,
about 1900. Mrs. William A. Jones is still
living, and makes her home with her son, David,
in Twin Town ship. In spite of his unpromising start,
William A. Jones made a fortune and was long rated
as one of the largest landholders in Ross County.
At one time his possessions aggregated over 2,500 acres.
He and his wife became the parents of eight children, of
whom seven grew to maturity, and the four now living
are: William F., a retired farmer of Francisville,
Illinois; David G.; Anna, wife of
William A. Wallace; and
Milton P.
Milton P. Jones grew up in a home of substantial
comforts and was given the equivalent of a liberal
education. He attended the public schools and the
high school at Bourneville, spent one year in the Ohio
Wesleyan University, at Delaware, and another year in
the Ohio Northern University, at Ada.
On Dec. 10, 1896, he married Miss Emma
Corcoran, a daughter of Dennis and Sarah Corcoran,
of Irish descent. Mrs. Jones was
born in Twin Township, and has spent practically all her
life there.
After his marriage, Mr. Jones lived in
the old house on his father's farm for three years, then
spent a brief season in Norfolk, Virginia, and on
returning to Ross County resumed farming on the same
place but in another house for two years. He and
his wife then returned to the home which they had first
occupied after their marriage, but in 1906 put up the
modern dwelling which they now call their home.
Mr. and Mrs. Jones are the parents of two
children: S. Albert, born Oct. 8, 1897, took
three years in the Bourneville High School and was
graduated in 1915 from the Chillicothe High School, and
is now a student in the Ohio State University.
Milton C., born Feb. 8, 1899, is in the third year
of the course of the high school in Bourneville.
Source: A Standard History of Ross County, Ohio -
Vol. II. - Published by The Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago &
New York 1917 - Page 914 |
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THOMAS JUNK
Source: A Standard History of Ross County, Ohio -
Vol. II. - Published by The Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago &
New York 1917 - Page 719 |
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