Source: A Standard History of Ross County, Ohio - Vol. II. - Published by The Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago & New York 1917 - Page 643

JOHN WESLEY RITTENOUR.  It was in the closing years of the eighteenth century that the various members of the Rittenour family and their connections located in Ross County.  The early generations had their full share of pioneer experiences and hardships.  They were among the true builders of the commonwealth of Ohio.  They were thrifty and industrious people, morally upright, kind neighbors, and built their lives into the character of the community.  A worthy descendant of such stock, John Wesley Rittenour has spent his entire lifetime in Ross County and is one of the very prosperous farmer citizens of Green Township, living near the historic old Town of Kingston.
     The founder of the family in this county was his great-grandfather Anthony Rittenour, who was born and reared in Rockingham County, Virginia.  He also lived for some years in Frederick County of that state and for one year in Washington County in Southwestern Pennsylvania.  In 1798 he migrated into Northwest Territory.  A team drew the wagon out of Pennsylvania and across the hills into the wilderness of Ross County.  He was accompanied by his family and on arriving at his destination he entered a tract of Government land in what is now Jefferson Township of Ross County.  There he was one of the first to clear the forest and put a plow into the soil.  His family occupied a log cabin until he replaced it with a substantial stone house.  There he spent his last years and passed away in 1835.  Anthony Rittenour married Elizabeth Flusher, who was of German ancestry.  They reared six sons and two daughters.
     Jacob Rittenour, representing the next generation, was born in Frederick County, Virginia, in 1787 and was eleven years of age when he came to Ross County.  Thus a part of his youth as well as his manhood were passed within the borders of this county.  With a limited education, he had the practical training best fitted to cope with the situation involved in life in a new country.  He spent his best years farming in Jefferson Township, where he died.  The maiden name of his wife was Anna Claypool.  Her name introduces another pioneer family of Ross County.  She was born in Randolph County, Virginia.  Her father Abraham Claypool was born in Hardy County, Virginia, now West Virginia, on April 2, 1762.  Abraham’s father James Claypool was born in Virginia, February 14, 1701.  On October 9, 1753, James Claypool, Jr., married Margaret Dunbar, who was born November 20, 1736, and died March 26, 1813.  She reared a family of nine daughters and three sons.  Abraham Claypool was reared and educated in his native state and from there came to Northwest Territory in 1799, locating in what is now Liberty Township of Ross County.  He bought timbered land and built for a family residence a substantial hewed log house.  Abraham Claypool  was a man of considerable distinction in the early days.  He was a member of the First Constitutional Convention of Ohio and also of the first State Senate.  The maiden name of his wife was Elizabeth Wilson.  Both spent their last days on the home farm.  Jacob Rittenour and wife reared four children named James, Isaac N., George C. and Margaret.
     Isaac Newton Rittenour, father of John Wesley, was born in Jefferson Township of Ross County.  Growing up on a farm, he made the best of his limited opportunities to obtain an education in the pioneer schools.  As a youth he made several trips over the mountains to the eastern markets as a livestock drover.  His independent career began as a worker on shares of a part of his father’s farm.  Subsequently he became owner of the land, and resided there until his death in 1851.  Isaac N. Rittenour married Sarah Orr.  She was born in Springfield Township, a daughter of Thomas Orr, who was born in Hardy County, Virginia, and a grand-daughter of James Orr, who was born in Belfast, Ireland.  James Orr  came from Ireland about 1770, locating first in South Carolina, but a few years alter on account of ill  health moved to Virginia and lived near Moorefield in what is now Hardy County, West Virginia, until 1797.  He then came to the Northwest Territory and established a home in what is now Liberty Township of Ross County.  He thus became the third successive stock from which John Wesley Rittenour is descended of the early pioneers of Ross County.  His first home in this county was on High Bank prairie, and later he moved to Dry Run, six miles above the High Bank.  James Orr was very liberally educated, was a surveyor by profession and one of the first school teachers in Ross County.  His death occurred in 1802.  Thomas Orr, the maternal grandfather of John W. Rittenour, accompanied his parents of Ross County and it is said that he and his brother Zebulon did the first plowing in Liberty Township, and he also carried a chain for General Massie  when the road from Chillicothe to Gallipolis was surveyed.  He owned and operated a farm in Springfield Township, and there his life came to a close in 1854.  The maiden name of his second wife was Mary Jones, who was born in New Jersey.  After the death of Isaac N. Rittenour his widow married W. W. Crabb of Unioin Township, and she died at the home of her son John W. Rittenour in her ninety-first year.
     John Wesley Rittenour was born in Jefferson Township November 7, 1848.  As a boy he attended district schools in Springfield and Union townships and prepared for college in the Lebanon Normal School.  Entering the Ohio Wesleyan University at Delaware, he remained a student there until the illness of his stepfather called him home to superintend the farm.  At the time of his marriage he settled on the Brown homestead belonging to his wife in Green Township, lived there eight years, and then bought the farm where he now resides.  Mr. Rittenour and family have one of the very attractive and pleasantly situated homes of Ross County.  His dwelling is a handsome and commodious brick house, surrounded by a beautiful lawn.  The house is one of the old landmarks, having been built in 1842 and on the farm is a much older relic of early days, a barn that was constructed in 1808, and whose solid timbers after more than a century show the quality of pioneer construction.  Mr. Rittenour owns 540 acres while his wife has 216 acres.
     In 1871 he married Mary Alice Brown.  Mrs. Rittenour was born in Green Township February 17, 1849. Her father, Isaac Brown, was a native of Virginia and of colonial ancestry.  Her grandfather, Timothy Brown, came to Ohio and one of the early settlers in the fall and when only parts of the distance had been covered to the destination they stopped for the winter.  In the spring they arrived in Ross County, where grandfather secured timbered land in Green Township, and erected the log buildings and other improvements which were the beginning of a farm.  The grandfather died there at the age of eighty-five, his children having been named William, David, Timothy, James, Maria, Amos, J. Wesley, Isaac, Rachel and Amelia.  Isaac Brown, father of Mrs. Rittenour, was reared and educated in Green Township, and eventually secured a part of the old homestead.  There he erected a brick house and frame barn, and engaged in farming until his death in 1853.  The maiden name of his wife was Elizabeth Clingman, who was also a native of Green Township, and who died is 1851, leaving two children, Clara, wife of Joseph Rogers, and Mrs. Rittenour.  Mrs. Rittenour after her mother’s death was cared for by her uncle, Amos Brown, who had succeeded to the ownership of the old homestead.  Amos Brown was a man who rendered some very useful service to the people of Ross County in early days.  He was a teacher and a man of fine integrity of character.  He never married, but cared for his mother in her last years, and willed his estate to his nieces, Mrs. Rittenour and Mrs. Rogers.  This estate is still owned by them.
     Mr. and Mrs. Rittenour have four children, Floyd Isaac, Ora Jeannette, Charles Warren and Lillian Jane.  Floyd I. married Marietta Gould, lives at Calexico, California, and has two children named Ruth Jeanette and Robert Gould.  The son Charles married Louise Irwin, and lives at Kingston, Ohio, and has a son Charles Warner.  Mr. and Mrs. Rittenour and children are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, Mrs. Rittenour and her daughters being members of the Foreign Missionary Society and the Ladies’ Aid Society.  All the children received part of their education in the Ohio Wesleyan University at Delaware.  Charles, Ora and Lillian are members of Scioto Grange.  Politically Mr. Rittenour is a republican.  Mr. Rittenour’s farm is known as “Maple Bend.”
Source: A Standard History of Ross County, Ohio - Vol. II. - Published by The Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago & New York 1917 ~ Page 743 (SEE PORTRAIT)

Source: A Standard History of Ross County, Ohio - Vol. II. - Published by The Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago & New York 1917 ~ Page 872

ANDREW P. ROBINSON.  Prominent among the enterprising and progressive men who have been instrumental in promoting the agricultural prosperity of Ross County is Andrew P. Robinson, who has accumulated wealth in his farming operations, and is now living retired from active pursuits in Chillicothe.  A son of James McDill Robinson, he was born June 28, 1859, in North Union Twp., Ross County, coming from pioneer stock, his grandfather, John Robinson, having been an early settler of that section of the county.
     Joshua Robinson, Mr. Robinson's great-grandfather, came with his family to the Northwest Territory in 1795, accompanying Gen. Nathaniel Massie and his little band of followers.   A short distance below the falls of Paint Creek, near the present site of Bainbridge, the party encountered a band of Indians, and in the fight which ensued Joshua Robinson was fatally wounded.  He wore at the time a red broadcloth vest which was later found on an Indian, who had evidently exhumed the body and appropriated the garment for his own use.
     John Robinson was born in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, in 1788, and at the age of seven years, just after the death of his father, he was adopted by his Uncle William.  He grew to manhood in Ross County, and during the War of 1812 served as a corporal in Capt. Alexander Manary's company.  He subsequently bought a tract of timbered land on Dry Run, South Union Township, and from the wilderness hewed a farm, which is still owned by his descendants.  There he lived until his death, at the venerable age of ninety-eight years, and his remains are now resting in the McDill, died in middle life.  Seven of their children grew to years of maturity, as follows:  Joshua, John D., Wilson, Sarah, Isabelle, James M. D., and Hannah.
     Born in 1815, on the parental homestead, in South Union Township, James McDill Robinson became familiar with all branches of agriculture when young.  In early manhood, in partnership with his brother Wilson, he bought land in North Union Township, and began life for himself as a general farmer and stock raiser.  Several years later he bought out the interest of his brother Wilson, who moved to Logan County, Illinois, and continued farming by himself.  Later he moved with his family to Circleville, where his children might have good educational advantages.  In 1875 he bought the farm in South Union Township, and there, three days after assuming its possession, his death occurred, in the month of March, 1875.  He married Catherine Poe, who was born in Chillicothe in 1816, a daughter of Andrew Poe, Jr.  Her grandfather, Andrew Poe, Sr., was one of the early explorers of the Northwest Territory, coming to this part of the country when the Indians were numerous, and deeply resented the invasion of the palefaced whites.  From Volume I, "Howe's History of Ohio," we make the following extract:
     "Adam and Andrew Poe.
     "In 1782 seven Wyandotte Indians invaded the section some distance below Fort Pitt and killed an old man living alone.  Among them was a Wyandotte chief.  Eight men, including Adam and Andrew Poe, started in pursuit.  They used every precaution against an ambuscade.  A short distance before they reached the river, Adam Poe left the party, and went ahead to the river, and there saw the Chief, a very powerful man, and a small Indian.  He raised his gun to shoot the Chief, but the gun missed fire, the click, however, attracting the attention of the Indians.  Being too near to successfully retreat, he sprang upon the Indians, and threw them both to the ground.  The smaller Indian got away and tried to tomahawk him, but he kicked the Indian and knocked the tomahawk from his hand, then broke from the Chief, picked up the Indian's gun, and shot the smaller one.  Then the Chief seized him, and they struggled and fell into the river, where each tried to drown the other.  After struggling for some time Adam Poe drowned the Indian."
     Andrew Poe, Jr., was born in Penn County, Oct. 21, 1781, the year prior to his father's encounter with the Wyandotte chief.  He was subsequently one of the earlier settlers of Chillicothe, where he lived several years.  He then removed to his farm, in West Scioto Township, and there he died, Oct. 30, 1861, his body being buried in Grand View Cemetery.  Mrs. Catherine (Poe) Robinson died in November, 1875, leaving two children, Elwynn S. and Andrew P.
     Receiving his elementary education in the rural schools of his native township, Andrew P. Robinson continued his studies for a while in the Circleville schools, later taking a course at the Chillicothe Business College.  Returning then to the home farm, he assumed its management, and was there profitably engaged in cultivating the soil until 1905, when he removed to his present home in Chillicothe, where he is living retired from active pursuits, enjoying a well deserved leisure.  Mr. Robinson did not sell his land, however, but still owns, in Union Township, two farms, aggregating 386 acres, which he operates through tenants, and he also has an interest in valuable farming property in Logan County, Illinois.
     Mr. Robinson married, in 1886, Jennie Isabelle Woodside Clark, who was born in Chillicothe, a daughter of Hon. Milton Lee Clark, of whom a sketch may be found elsewhere in this work.  Mr. and Mrs. Robinson have three sons, namely: Elwynn Wilson; John Drew, who served fro three years in the Regular Army, having been sergeant of Company B, First United States Infantry, one year in Vancouver barracks, State of Washington, and two years at Schofield barracks, Hawaiian Territory; and Clark Woodside.
Source: A Standard History of Ross County, Ohio - Vol. II. - Published by The Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago & New York 1917 - Page 549

E. E. ROCKHOLD. Historically one of the most interesting estates in Ross County is the old Nathaniel Massie homestead, a mile west of Bainbridge.  This is now the home of Mr. Rockhold, a progressive citizen of Ross County, whose business affairs are of a varied nature and who is especially well known for the successful manner in which he conducts his farm as a stock raising proposition. The farm comprises 450 acres.
     Mr. Rockhold was born in Bainbridge November 19, 1873. He belongs to one of the old families of Southern Ohio, and it was his great-grandfather, Joseph Rockhold, who came to Ross County from Pennsylvania in the early days.  His first settlement was along the river bottoms, but on account of the sickness which prevailed there, he soon afterward moved back to the hills' and spent the rest of his life as an industrious pioneer farmer. Elijah Rockhold, a son of the pioneer Joseph, was born on the High Banks of Ross County. When a young man of eighteen years of age he started out for himself. At that time railroads had not yet penetrated this section of Ohio and he was employed as driver of a stage on the line between Marietta and Chillicothe, his route extending between Chillicothe and Hillsboro.  From that he took a position as clerk for a merchant named Adams, and progressed so rapidly that Mr. Adams soon made him active manager and in time he bought the entire business and was long known as one of Ross County's successful and well-to-do merchants.
     E. C. Rockhold, father of E. E. Rockhold, was born in Bainbridge, one of eight children and the only one who reached mature years.  His wife, Cidna M. Jones, was born at McArthur, in Vinton County, Ohio, where her father was an extensive farmer and became widely known as one of the early importers of Merino sheep.  E. C. Rockhold and wife had three children: E. E.; Georgiana B., living at home; and Cyrus K., who is a graduate in the mining course from the Ohio State University and is now located at Castle Gate, Utah.
     Mr. E. E. Rockhold has had a various business experience.  His early training was directed largely to preparation for a business career.  He attended the Bainbridge schools, the old Salem Academy, the New York Military Academy, and the University of Pennsylvania.  For six months he was employed at a bank in Philadelphia. He then returned home for two years, following which he spent four years in New York City.  His father had served three years in the Union army during the Civil war, going out with Company H of the Eighty-ninth Ohio Volunteer Infantry.  He was captured and spent fifteen months in the Andersonville and Libbey prisons, and the suffering of prison life undermined his health and he was never entirely strong after the war.  It was to take charge of his father's business that E. E. Rockhold resigned his position in New York City and returned home. After that he had complete charge of the business.  As a farmer, Mr. Rockhold specializes in registered hogs of the Duroc strain, and he keeps all his livestock up to a high grade.
Besides his interest as a farmer and stock raiser, he owns stock in banks and is one of the prominent business men of Ross County.
     During the Spanish-American war Mr. Rockhold enlisted in the First Naval Battalion and was assigned to the signal corps.
     On September 24, 1906, he married Nelle H, Elliott, of a family from Waverly, Ohio. They are the parents of two daughters: Helen D. and Pauline E.  Mr. Rockhold is affiliated with Bainbridge Lodge, No. 196, Free and Accepted Masons; Greenfield Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; Chillicothe Council, No. 4, Royal and Select Masters, and Chillicothe Commandery, No. 8, Knights Templar.  His politics is republican.  In his home community he has served as member of the town council, also on the board of public affairs and the school board.
Source:  A Standard History of Ross County, Ohio - Vol. II. - Published by The Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago & New York 1917 - Page 562