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BIOGRAPHIES
 Source:
History of Shelby County, Ohio
Publ. Philadelphia, PA: R. Sutton & So.
1883
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Washington
Twp. -
JOHN T. BAILEY, a son of
Francis Bailey, was born in Montgomery County, O.,
in 1840; he is a resident of Lockington, and is engaged
in the manufacture of lumber and handles. In 1858
he was married to Miss Eleanor J. Jackson (
descendant of Edward Jackson, one of the pioneers
of Shelby County). She was born in 1841.
Source: History of Shelby County, Ohio - Publ.
Philadelphia, PA: R. Sutton & So. 1883 - Page 282 |
| |
Washington Twp. -
THOMAS BAILEY. After all, Fate
is only the caprice of conditions; to-day a sunbeam of
happiness, to-morrow a night-cloud of gloom; filling one
life with the tender bloom of hope, another with the
withering blight of despair. This very caprice is
the foundation of hope, for, if the life born to
adversity did not feel a potent strength within, capable
of contending against a hard fate with something of a
promise of success, the light of that life would go out
in gloom and despair. These lives, which know only
a hard condition of existence, are sustained and cheered
by that manhood in man which, willing to perform mighty
deeds, is also able to endure the cruelty of biting
wrongs. He finds his condition his inveterate,
bitter, and relentless foe, and takes up arms against
that condition. When he battles against the hard
surroundings of his birth, no measure can be taken of
his endurance and strength. In that war he becomes
his own fate, and struggles on, determined to triumph or
perish in the effort If he succeeds, the world calls him
a genius or a hero; but if he fails, he was only a
trifler or a fool. Success is the measure of
effort with humanity, and simply means that a man must
accomplish whatever he undertakes.
Let us look for a moment upon the eventful life of a
man upon whom Fate seemed only to frown, but who,
battling against the enemies of his very birth, at
length became master of his fate, and received the
plaudits bestowed upon the hero. Go backward,
then, in years beyond the birth of our proud Republic,
to the first decade of the eighteenth century, and enter
one of the homes of England. Then and there
Thomas Bailey sprang into being under
conditions against which two continents of men afterward
arose in arms in order that life might be rendered worth
the living. It was a century before the judicial
declaration that “a slave cannot breathe the air of
England and live,” for human piracy and slavery were yet
legalized and encouraged. The tree of liberty had
produced no fruit, and under the very conditions of his
birth Thomas Bailey found himself in deadly
conflict with his surroundings. When a mere child
he was kidnapped and taken aboard a vessel then about to
sail for America, where slavery and barbarism were yet
at a premium. The “home of the free and the asylum
of the oppressed” existed as yet only in dreams of the
future.
On reaching our present free and hospitable shores, the
lad was readily put in the market of human chattels, and
sold to a Virginian, the proceeds to be applied to the
payment of the child’s fare for his captive
transportation. He was then held in bondage by his
purchaser until about twenty-one years of age, when he
was captured by a warring tribe of Indians, and so
escaped from the service of a white robber of labor to
that of savages, who vied with the whites in the
nefarious traffic in human beings. True, it does
not appear that during his first service he suffered any
abuse or wrongs beyond what is implied by involuntary
service. To rob a man of the fruits of his toil
appears severe and heart less enough, and ever was a
giant, inhuman wrong. As if this were not enough,
a worse fate awaited the captive when once at the mercy
of the Indians. By them he was held in the most
abject and degrading bondage for several years, during
which period he suffered untold abuse and unnumbered
tortures. His treatment, besides being that of an
abject menial in the service of ignorant and cruel
barbarians, was frightful and shocking beyond the power
of expression. On one occasion, after a long
series of tortures, his hair was all plucked from his
head and eyebrows, and such other slow abuses inflicted
that he lost the use of his eyes, and suffered such
other misfortunes as to render him almost helpless to
himself, and largely useless to his tormentors.
See him in this abject and pitiable condition, and tell
us what could have been the measure of his hope! View
him in the hands of a tribe whose rule was to put to
death all useless captives, and then predict his
ultimate fate! In his seemingly undone condition,
if the words were ever justifiable, he might have
exclaimed“ Oh, why has man the will
and power
To make his fellow mourn ?"
But just such
crises as this sometimes in the history of nations as of
men, marks the introduction to a new and better life, by
building hope on the ruins of despair. So in this
case. The blind captive steals away, inspired by
thirst, in search of water, and after wandering about
for a time hears the thrilling music of a rippling
stream, which he approached, and cooled his parching
lips. This done, his fever allayed, he crept
aimlessly, perhaps despairingly, away among the bushes
which bordered the banks of the friendly stream.
At length, in the solitude of nature, beyond sight and
hearing of man, his bitterest foe, he threw himself upon
the earth, and fell into a soft and soothing slumber, a
sleep so kind that it brought him a dream of beauty,
because a dream of liberty and strength. In that
dream he was no longer blind, for blindness could not
look upon its picture of beauties and delights which he
held in adoration. But it was a transitory joy,
and he awoke to realize that “ a sorrow’s crown of
sorrow is remembering happier things.” He awoke to
hear the rustling of bushes, and human voices just
beyond his place of hiding. He listened, and
learned he was the object of search, and that upon being
discovered, being no longer of any particular use, it
was the intention to put him to death. Perhaps in
his forlorn condition this information was not invested
with horror to him. But it was still a terrible
awakening from a beautiful dream of liberty and manhood.
Again he listened, and heard a squaw observe that in
case she found the object of the search, she would claim
him as her servant, and spare his life that he might
take care of her child. Perhaps he did not realize
the kindness of that fate, but it presided, unconscious
though he was of the fact. Perhaps he dreaded his
life more than his death, and preferred to be
discovered, if at all, by those who would end his misery
by death, “the poor man’s dearest friend, the kindest
and the best.” But it was not so; as it was, the
squaw who intended he should live was the first to
discover him, and so became the preserver of his life.
Taking him to her Wigwam, she at once set about the
treatment of his eyes, and with that success for which
the Indian medical treatment is proverbial. By the
kind treatment of his preserver his eyesight was fully
restored. During the period of this treatment he
had been given charge of the child of his benefactress,
until the red-skin child and pale-face man became almost
inseparable companions. This companionship may
have been, in fact must have been, something of a joy to
the man who found in the child the first human being he
had ever known who did not seek to oppress and enslave
him. This manner of life continued for sometime,
finally culminating in a day of general sport and
feasting. On this occasion, as was their custom on
field days, the Indians gave them selves over to the
demoralizing influences of liquor, and became an
intoxicated mob. The captive-nurse saw another
dream of liberty, but this time in his waking hours.
He thought fully upon the matter, and finally resolved
to make an effort to realize that dream.
Accordingly, he walked back and forth near the scene of
revelry and debauchery, carrying the child in his arms,
apparently concerned only about its welfare and
happiness. The child was fretful, and the ruse
successful, for it was not known by the Indians that the
child was being tormented by pinching in order to cause
the crying. Thus with his fretful, restless
charge, the captive walked back and forth, each time
extending his walk away from camp and captors.
Finally, thinking himself unnoticed, he started on a
wild flight for the nearest fort and that liberty for
which he thirsted. The fort was distant several
miles, but he knew its whereabouts satisfactorily enough
to undertake to find it. With the child still in
his arms, he hastened onward, finding presently the
Indians were in hot and furious pursuit. To be
overtaken was to suffer a horrible death just after his
first breath of liberty. It was now a race for
life itself, and clinging to the child to prevent the
use of arrows by the pursuers, who were now close upon
his back, he kept up the race, and reached the fort just
as he fell exhausted by his burdened flight. The
occupants of the fort favored putting the child to
death, but he remonstrated, declaring that as it had
saved his life, its own must now be spared. He
then restored it to its mother, but for himself declined
all invitations to return with the Indians, although
their offers were profuse and liberal, and possibly
sincere. From that day Thomas Bailey,
for the first time a free man, realized his manhood,
renounced his savage life, turned his back upon a long
period of bondage, and looking about him for a moment
was dazzled by the glory of freedom’s sunlight, and
stood amazed at the realization of his brightest hope.
He, the victim of piracy, slavery, and barbarism; who
had bowed his head in despair, crushed in spirit, and,
for a time, wrecked in body, stood forth after all an
evidence of the tenacity of the life of man when put to
the severest test. Turning his face to
civilization, he sought the settlement of the whites in
Virginia, the scene to him of so much suffering, but now
the theatre in which he was to enter upon a new life,
presided over by a kinder fate. Measure, if you
can, the joy of the tortured slave, when in the
enjoyment of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of
happiness,” and when, for the first time, he realizes he
is master of his fate, and recognizes the divinity of
man. Thomas Bailey entered upon a
new life, under new conditions, inspired by a new
purpose. Reaching the settlement he plunged in
active labor, and after a time was married to an
estimable lady, reared a large and respectable family,
and closed his eventful life surrounded by the blessings
of liberty, prosperity, and peace.
Source: History of Shelby County,
Ohio - Publ. Philadelphia, PA: R. Sutton & So. 1883 -
Page 281 |
| |
Washington
Twp. -
WILLIAM BAILEY, a farmer, and one
of the trustees of Washington Township, was born in
Montgomery County, O., in 1839. He has devoted his
life to farming, except three years that he was part
owner of the Lockington Lumber Mills. In 1863 he
married Cynthiann Valentine, a daughter of
David Valentine. She was born in Shelby County
in 1842. They have a family of four children,
viz., Laura E., Anna M., Carrie M., and Lida.
They reside on section 16, where he commenced when his
land was nearly all in the woods. Beside this he
has another farm of eighty acres of improved land.
Source: History of Shelby County, Ohio - Publ.
Philadelphia, PA: R. Sutton & So. 1883 - Page 282 |
| |
Washington
Twp. -
WILLIAM AND FRANCIS BAILEY.
William Bailey, a grandson of Thomas Bailey,
the story of whose checkered life has just been told,
was born in Virginia in the year 1785. When about
twenty years of age he married Sarah Reison, a
lady of Virginia, and shortly afterward came to Ohio and
settled in Warren County. Here their son,
Francis Bailey, was born in the year 1815.
When about twenty years of age he married Sarah
Reison, a lady of Virginia, and shortly afterward
came to Ohio and settled in Warren County. Here
their son, Francis Bailey, was born in the year
1815. His youth was passed with his parents at his
native place until he attained his majority, or in 1836,
when he married Rachel Northrup, of Clinton
County, and came to Montgomery County the same year,
where he located and learned the milling trade. He
continued at this occupation until 1844, when he came to
this county and located on a farm in Washington
Township. Here he gave his attention to farming
until 1863, when he purchased a stock of dry goods and
groceries at Lockington, and conducted a general store
during the following three years. From 1866-69 he
was employed in buying grain at Lockington for D. K.
Gillespie, proprietor of the warehouse. About
the latter date he became a stockholder in a company
organized to construct and operate a paper mill at
Lockington, but the project failed, and Mr. Bailey
sold his interest at a heavy sacrifice. He next
bought a sawmill, but soon disposed of it to his sons
and retired from active work. He is now mayor of
Lockington, and has in the past held the offices of
township trustee, treasurer, and finally, that of land
appraiser in 1880. In 1858 his first wife died,
leaving eight children to mourn the loss of a mother.
In 1862, Mr. Bailey married his second wife,
Rosanna Boyer, the results of the marriage being one
child, which died in infancy.
Source: History of Shelby County, Ohio - Publ.
Philadelphia, PA: R. Sutton & So. 1883 - Page 281 |
| |
Turtle Creek
Twp. -
AMOS BAKER, Farmer; P. O., Sidney.
Mr. Baker is a son of Martin and
Eve Baker. He was born in Clarke
County, Ohio, Mar. 4, 1825. He is a carpenter by
trade, which, in connection with farming, has been his
avocation through life. Jan. 5, 1854, he married
Miss Sarah, daughter of Daniel Baker,
born in Clarke County, Ohio, Jan. 31, 1827. Mr.
and Mrs. Baker settled in Clarke County and remained
a few months, when they came to Shelby County, and moved
on the land which now comprises his well-improved farm
in section 17, Turtle Creek Township, on which he has
since resided. His
companion died Mar. 26, 1868. On the 31st day of
March, 1874, he married Miss Sibbie Ensey,
daughter of Matthias and Margaret
Ensey, born in Sidney, Jan. 3, 1841. Mr.
Baker filled the office of trustee of Turtle
Creek Township two years.
Source: History of Shelby County, Ohio - Publ.
Philadelphia, PA: R. Sutton & So. 1883 - Page 302 |
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Van Buren Twp. -
C. H. BAKER was born in this
county in 1850, and has since lived here, and been
engaged in farming. His parents, Henry C. and
Miana Becker, were old pioneers, having come here in
1837, while the country was yet new. They were
thus witnesses to the primitive condition of the county.
Source: History of Shelby County, Ohio - Publ.
Philadelphia, PA: R. Sutton & So. - 1883 - Page 253 |
| |
Franklin Twp.
-
DAVID BAKER, Farmer; P. O. Sidney.
Mr. Baker was born in Greene County, Ohio, Jan.
27, 1827, and was brought to Shelby County by his
parents, John C. and Margaret Baker, in 1831, who
located in Sidney and remained two years. In 1833
they moved on a farm in Salem Township, where young
Baker passed his minority. In 1847 he began
working at the carpenter trade, which he made his
principal business for a number of years, or until 1857,
when he purchased and moved on a farm in Salem Township,
which he conducted six years. In 1863 he rented
his farm and again turned his attention to his trade,
which he followed until 1866, when he purchased and
moved on the farm in section 7, Franklin Township, where
he has since resided, and followed farming and
stock-growing. He has been married twice; first,
on the 15th day of March, 1849, to Miss Jemima
A. Michael, of Salem Township, Shelby County,
daughter of George
Michael, by whom he had four children, three of
whom are now living, viz., Harvey W., George M.,
and Jacob H. His wife died July 5, 1860.
His second wife was Miss Sarah Swanders, whom he
married Sept. 13, 1866. daughter of David and Lydia
Swanders. Miss Swanders was born
in Fairfield County, Ohio, Oct. 30, 1832, and came to
Franklin Township, Shelby County, with her parents in
the spring of 1833. By this union he has two
children, David M. and James M.
The Squirrel Hunter's Discharge.
Cincinnati was
menaced by the enemies of our Union. David Tod,
Governor of Ohio, called on the Minute Men of the State,
and The Squirrel Hunters came by thousands to the
rescue. YOU, DAVID BAKER, were one of them,
and this is your HONORABLE DISCHARGE.
Chas. W. Hill, Adjt. -Gen. of Ohio
Approved by David Tod, Governor.
Sept. 1862. |
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Salem Twp. -
GEORGE C. BAKER, a son of John C. Baker,
was born in Rockingham County, Va., in the year 1811.
Came with his father to Shelby County in 1830, and
located in the town of Sidney, where he learned the
carpenter trade, which occupation he followed for
twenty-five years in and about Sidney. In 1838 he
married Miss Susannah Hartman.
They have two children, viz., Aaron B., who was
born July 13, 1846, and Josephine, born Aug. 31,
1856. They lost one son, David Clinton,
in the army. He enlisted in the 20th O. V. I.
Died on a hospital boat June, 1863.
Aaron B. married Miss Clarinda A. Monroe
Oct. 1871. By this union they have one child, Walter
E., who was born Sept. 1876.
Source: History
of Shelby County, Ohio - Publ. Philadelphia, PA: R.
Sutton & So. 1883 - Page 335 |
| |
Jackson
Twp. -
JEFFERSON BAKER, deceased,
was born in Clarke County, Ohio, in 1827. He was
reared on a farm, and made farming his vocation through
life. In 1845 he came with his mother,
Elizabeth Baker (his father being dead), to Shelby
County, and located on the farm in section 30, Jackson
Township, now owned and occupied by his son, W. C.
Baker, on which he passed the remainder of his days.
In 1846 he married Miss Margaret Critten, then of
Shelby County, but a native of Virginia, where she was
born in October, 1826, and came to Shelby County with
her parents in 1837. By this union he reared a
family of four children, viz., William C., Mary E.,
Francis M., and John H. Mr. Baker died
Nov. 7, 1872. His companion survived him until
Jan. 2, 1882.
Source: History of Shelby County, Ohio - Publ.
Philadelphia, PA: R. Sutton & So. - 1883 - Page 233 |
| |
Salem Twp. -
JOHN BAKER, one of the early settlers of Salem
Township, was born in Virginia, near Cumberland Gap, in
the year 1815. He came with his father’s family to
Sidney in 1830. After staying a few months in
Sidney they moved to the country, on a rented farm,
where they remained two years, then moved to a piece of
land in Salem Township, where his father had entered;
here he helped his father to clear his new farm.
He also followed clearing land for others for a number
of years. He says he has cleared at least 200 acres of
land with his own hands and axe; he would get from five
to six dollars per acre for clearing. In 1837 he
married Elma Shinn, by whom he has had eleven
children, eight of whom are still living. When
Mr. Baker commenced housekeeping he did not
have a dollar in the world; he worked by day’s work at
fifty cents per day to get provisions to live on;
would clear land nights, often working till after
midnight; has grubbed many days with nothing to eat but
cold corn pone, and was so hard pressed at one time that
he sold his only cow to pay for provisions to live on.
But few of the early settlers of Shelby County passed
through harder times than did Mr. Baker.
He in his younger days was one of the most athletic and
strong men in the county. He has been known to
shoulder five bushels of wheat in one sack; but has now
retired from the active duties of labor. In
politics is a radical Republican. In religion he is a
Methodist, being a local minister in that church.
Source: History
of Shelby County, Ohio - Publ. Philadelphia, PA: R.
Sutton & So. 1883 - Page 335 |
| |
Salem Twp. -
JOHN CONRAD BAKER, when a young
man, came to America. He was born in Germany about 1742.
The exact date of his coming to the United States is not
known, but he married here in about 1782. Some
time after he was married he returned to Germany to
inherit an estate which had been left; he, being the
eldest of the family, became heir to his father’s
estate. He remained in the fatherland till 1797,
when he returned to the United States with his wife and
three children.. He left the old country on account of
being pressed into the army. He had no means with which
to pay his passage. He went to the captain of a
vessel about to sail for the United States to secure a
passage for himself and family, but the captain said he
dared not take him, for if it was found ‘out he would
have to suffer the penalty; but Mr. Baker,
being very anxious to get away from the oppression,
insisted on being taken. The captain finally
agreed to take him and his family on condition they
would suffer themselves to be shipped as ballast in the
hold of the vessel, and remain there till the vessel had
passed the boundary line of the German dominions.
This they agreed to do. After getting his family
secretly on board of the ship they were inclosed in
large hogsheads or casks, with provisions enough to last
them for several days. The casks were then placed
in the bottom of the vessel with heavy ballast on top of
them, so they could not be readily reached.
Source: History of Shelby County, Ohio - Publ.
Philadelphia, PA: R. Sutton & So. 1883 - Page 334 |
| |
Turtle Creek
Twp. -
MARTIN BAKER, Farmer; P. O.
McCartysville.
On Mad River, Clarke County,.Ohio, Mr. Baker was
born July 15, 1831. He is a son of Martin
and Eve Baker. In 1854 he came to Shelby
County, and settled on the west half of section 16,
Turtle Creek Township. On the 18th day of October,
1855, he married Miss Elizabeth, daughter of
Samuel and Rachel Harshbarger, who was born in
Turtle Creek Township, Shelby County, June 14, 1838.
Mr. and Mrs. Baker settled on his land, and have
since been residents of Turtle Creek Township except
four years, three years of which time they were living
in Clarke County, Ohio, and one year they spent in the
west. They moved on the farm where they now reside
in 1876, which is located in section 2, north of
boundary line. They have a family of five
children, two sons and three daughters.
Source: History of
Shelby County, Ohio - Publ. Philadelphia, PA: R. Sutton
& So. 1883 - Page 303 |
| |
Van Buren
Twp. -
MOSES E. BAKER, ESQ., was born in
Butler County, Ohio, in the year 1804. We can
learn nothing of his early life, or that of his
ancestors, except that his father was Ephraim Baker,
but when or where he was born we do not know.
Moses was reared on a farm, and received the
common-school education of his day. In 1828 he
married Miss Lucretia Jeffras, a daughter of
Thomas and Nancy (Reynolds) Jeffras, of Butler
County, Ohio. In 1833 he came to Shelby County and
entered land in this township, and the same year brought
his family. They lived one year on rented land,
then moved into his own cabin. They were among the
very first settlers in the township, only two or three
families having preceded them. He was one of the
organizers of the township, the first election being
held at his house. He was the first justice of the
peace in the township, which office he held until the
time of his death in 1848. Esquire Baker
was always a leading spirit in his township. After
his death his widow remained a leading spirit in his
township. After his death his widow remained on
the farm until her family were grown up. She is
now living in the village of Anna. They reared a
family of six children, viz., William M., Thomas J.,
Nancy A., Clark J., Mary, and Sarah Jane.
Clark J., one of the sons, was in the war of the
Rebellion, and died in the service.
Source: History of Shelby County, Ohio - Publ.
Philadelphia, PA: R. Sutton & So. 1883 - Page 252 |
| |
Perry Twp. -
WILLIAM BAKER.
The Bakers, the ancestors of William
Baker, were of German origin. Their first
location in the United States was in Virginia, but the
time of their settlement there is not known. Here
they lived till 1812, when the father of Mr. B.
moved to Clarke County, Ohio. Here in the year
1815 the subject of our sketch was born, grew up to
manhood, and married. He married Elizabeth
Loudenback in 1637, and in 1842 moved with his
wife and three children to Shelby County and settled in
the north woods of Perry Township, on the banks of the
Miami River. When Mr. Baker landed
on his place there was a rude cabin, and a few acres
underbrushed. It was here in the wilds that Mr.
Baker commenced without a dollar, working by
days’ work for bread for his family, until he could
clear land and raise a crop for himself. He owed two
hundred dollars on his land. This he had to make,
which, he says, was the hardest money to raise he ever
tried. Mr. Baker has been one of the
successful farmers of Shelby County. He commenced
in the woods with an indebtedness of two hundred dollars
on his 140 acres of land. He has added to his farm
until he has bought 890 acres of well improved land.
Esquire Baker has made for himself and
each of his family a comfortable home, and now retires
from active toil on the farm to enjoy the fruit of his
early labor. He has ever had the esteem and
respect of his fellow citizens, who have honored him
with the various offices of honor and trust of his
township. They had a family of eight children,
five of whom are living, viz., Sarah J., born
1841; Mary Elizabeth, born 1844; Margaret A.,
born 1848; Martin A., born 1852; Lewis W.,
born 1859.
Source: History of Shelby County, Ohio - Publ.
Philadelphia, PA: R. Sutton & So. 1883 - Page 222 |
| |
Jackson
Twp. -
WILLIAM C. BAKER, eldest son of
Jefferson and Margaret Baker, was born July 22,
1847, in Jackson Township, on the farm in section 30,
where he now resides. His education was received
in the common schools of Jackson Township, and by close
application to his books at home, he is what we might
call a self-educated man. In 1868 he began
teaching school, which he followed as his vocation in
connection with farming. Teaching in the winter
and farming during the summer months until 1881, when he
retired from teaching, and has since then given all of
his time to farming, which he is conducting with
success, and now owns the old home farm of one hundred
and twenty acres in section 30, on which he resides.
In 1878 he was elected clerk of Jackson Township which
office he filled until April, 1882. Mar. 31, 1872,
he married Miss Mary C. Thompson, by whom he had
one child, Allen Baker. His companion died
Nov. 23, 1875. On the 8th of April, 1876, he
married Eureka Smith, by whom he had two
children, Nora and Milton.
Source: History of Shelby County, Ohio - Publ.
Philadelphia, PA: R. Sutton & So. - 1883 - Page 233 |
| |
Van Buren
Twp. -
WILLIAM M. BAKER was born in
Cincinnati in 1832, and came to this county with his
parents the next year. He has served as assessor,
trustee, justice of the peace, and county commissioners.
In 1853 he married Sarah F. Wakeman, who was born
in New Jersey in 1836. They reared a family of
nine children, four of whom are dead.
Source: History of Shelby County, Ohio - Publ.
Philadelphia, PA: R. Sutton & So. - 1883 - Page 253 |
| |
Van Buren
Twp. -
JOHN BANNING, a native of Miami
County, Ohio, was born in 1844, and came to this county
in 1870. Since that time he has been engaged in
farming. In 1850. Their children are named
Edward A., Laura B., Samuel, and Simeon B.
Source: History of Shelby County, Ohio and
representative citizens - Evansville, Ind. - 1913 - Page
253 |
| |
Orange Twp. -
JAMES D. BARKALOW was born in
Shelby County in 1824, on the bank of the Great Miami
River, four miles below Sidney, in Orange Township, on
land entered by Wm. P. Barkalow, his grandfather,
and has lived on the same farm from that time to the
present. In 1849 he married Elizabeth
Jackson, a daughter of Edward and
Jane Morris Jackson, who settled
within the present limits of Orange Township in 1809.
They have by their marriage two children, William W.
and Frank A. Mr. Barkalow is now
among the oldest residents of the township who were born
here, having lived herefifty-eight years without
intermission.
Source: History of Shelby
County, Ohio - Publ. Philadelphia, PA: R. Sutton & So. -
1883 - Page 192 |
| |
Orange Twp. -
JOHN BARKALOW, as stated above,
was born in Maysville, Ky., in the year 1801, and came
with his parents to Warren County, Ohio, in 1804.
In 1821 he married Catharine De Nise, and in 1823
removed to Shelby County and settled on a tract of wild
land in Orange Township. This land he cleared and
cultivated, and built a good dwelling, where he resided
until 1861, when his dwelling and household goods were
almost totally destroyed by fire, and in his efforts to
save his family, in which he succeeded, he came near
losing his own life. He then removed to the town
of Sidney, where he resided until his death, September,
1872. His widow survived him until January 31,
1882, when she died at the home of her daughter, Mrs.
J. S. De Nise. They raised a family of eight
children, whose names and date of birth are as follows:
Mary A., born Sept. 21, 1822; James D.,
Sept. 12, 1824; Eleanor, May 2, 1827; Sarah,
May 22, 1829; Lydia M., Feb. 26,1832;
Celina, May 6, 1834; Nancy D., Nov. 19, 1836;
and George D., Mar. 4, 1839.
Source: History of Shelby
County, Ohio - Publ. Philadelphia, PA: R. Sutton & So. -
1883 - Page 192 |
| |
Orange Twp. -
JOSEPH T. BARKALOW, a son of
Wm. P. Barkalow, and brother of John Barkalow,
was born in Warren County, Ohio, in 1817, lived with his
father until 21 years of age, when, in 1839, he married
Abba De Nise, who was born in Butler County, O.,
in 82. By this union they had three children,
viz., Eleanor, Mary and Eliza; the last
two only now living. In 1842 Mr. B. moved
to Shelby County and located on section 22 Orange
Township; they lived here two years, then returned to
Warren County and remained about four years, then
returned to his former home in Orange Township, where he
lived until 1872, when he retired from the farm and
moved to Kirkwood, where he and his wife live in a
comfortable home with a competence for their remaining
days. They are now living in the enjoyment of
plenty, having spent a life of hard toil. It is to
be hoped that their last days may be their happiest.
Source: History of Shelby
County, Ohio - Publ. Philadelphia, PA: R. Sutton & So. -
1883 - Page 192 |
| |
Orange Twp. -
WM. P. BARKALOW. The
ancestors of the Backalows - now written
Barkalow - were among the first emigrants from
Holland to New York - then New Amsterdam. They
were worthy descendants of the hardy, industrious, and
honest Dutch nation. The indomitable perseverance
and success of the Dutch is everywhere proverbial.
After aiding in the settlement of New York and New
Jersey, some of the descendants of the
Barkalows emigrated to Kentucky, from thence to
Ohio. William Barkalow, the worthy ancestor
of the Shelby County Barkalows, was born in New
Jersey in the year 1768. Just when he removed from New
Jersey we have been unable to ascertain, but we next
find him in Maysville, Ky. In 1790 he married
Mary Tapscott. It was in Maysville that their
first child, John Barkalow, was born. In
1804 they removed to Warren County, Ohio, where he died
in the year 1852, his wife having died in 1843, at the
age of seventy years.
Source: History of Shelby
County, Ohio - Publ. Philadelphia, PA: R. Sutton & So. -
1883 - Page 191 |
| |
Green Twp. -
JOHN BEEZLEY, Retired Farmer; P.
O. Plattsville, Ohio.
The subject of this sketch was born in Hamilton County,
Ohio, on the 22d day of October, 1797. He is a son
of William and Elizabeth BEezley who moved
from Hamilton to Clermont County, Ohio, remained until
1812, when they removed to Clarke County, where the
subject of this sketch grew to manhood. In
October, 1816, he married Miss Elizabeth Ellsworth,
of Clark County, daughter of John and Mary Ellsworth,
who were among the pioneers of Green Township, this
county. Mr. and Mrs. Beezley settled in
Clarke County, remained until the spring of 1826, when
they came to this county and settled in Green Township,
where he has since resided and made farming his
vocation. They reared a family of nine children,
five of whom are yet living - William, Paul, Silence,
Jane, and Rachel. William and Paul
are now in Iowa; Silence and Jane are
living in Missouri, and Rachel is living in
Illinois. All are married and having families.
William Beezley served three years in the war of
1861, as captain of a company in an Illinois regiment.
Paul Beezley served four years during the late
war, as a private in the 20th O. V. I., and was
honorably discharged at the close of the war.
Source: History of Shelby County, Ohio - Publ.
Philadelphia, PA: R. Sutton & So. - 1883 - Page 202 |
| |
Turtle Creek
Twp. -
EDWIN E. BELL was born in Greene
County, Ohio, Feb. 20, 1824. He is a son of
William and Rebecca Bell. He came to Shelby
County in 1833 with his parents, located in Franklin
Township, and remained about three years, when they
moved to Turtle Creek Township, where young Bell
grew to manhood. Jan. 11, 1848, he married Miss
Laura M. Clough, then of Oxford, Ohio, but a native
of Clermont County, Ohio, where she was born Dec. 12,
1822, daughter of John P. and Minerva Clough.
Mr. and Mrs. Bell settled on the north half of
his father’s home farm near Hardin, on which they have
since resided. They have a family of five
children, viz., Laura E., John W., Horace E., Frank,
and Charley V.
Mr. Bell filled the office of treasurer for
Turtle Creek Township one year, the office of trustee
two years, clerk one year, and constable one year.
He owns a farm of eighty acres, which is-a part of his
father’s home farm.
Source: History of Shelby County, Ohio - Publ.
Philadelphia, PA: R. Sutton & So. - 1883 - Page 303 |
| |
Turtle Creek
Twp. -
WILLIAM BELL, deceased, was born
in Fauquier County, Virginia, Feb. 18, 1796. He
was brought up on a farm, and he made farming and
clearing land his principal vocation through life.
He served in the war of 1812, and some time after his
death his family received a land warrant from the
Government calling for eighty acres of land, and a few
years later a second warrant calling for another eighty
acres, was received by his family for his services
during that war. Nov. 24, 1818, he married Miss
Rebecca Davis, of Fauquier County, Va., where she
was born Aug. 1, 1793. She was a daughter of
Rev. William F. R. Davis, a Revolutionary soldier,
and an early settler of Turtle Creek Township.
Mr. and Mrs. Bell settled in their native county and
remained until 1823, when they came to Ohio and located
in Greene County. Ten years later, or the spring
of 1833, found them located on the north half of section
16, Franklin Township, this county, where they remained
three years, when he sold his half section of land in
Franklin Township, and moved his family on section 32,
Turtle Creek Township, near Hardin. On this farm
they passed the remainder of their days. He died
Jan. 15, 1845. His companion survived him until
March 29, 1862. They reared a family of eight
children, viz., Mary E., Edwin E., Rachel F., William
M., Hamilton J., Thomas C., Martha A., and Lovina J.
Mary E. Bell died Sept. 22, 1843; Edwin E.
and William M. now reside on the home farm near
Hardin; Richard T. lives in Sidney; Hamilton
J. resides in Cincinnati; Thomas C. is living
in Oregon City, Oregon; Martha A. and Lovina
J. are now living in Greene County, O.
Thomas C. Bell served about three years in
the war of 1861.
Source: History of Shelby County, Ohio - Publ.
Philadelphia, PA: R. Sutton & So. - 1883 - Page 303 |
| |
Turtle Creek
Twp. -
WILLIAM M. BELL was born in Greene
County, Ohio, May 31, 1827. He came to Shelby
County with his parents in 1833. Apr. 12, 1858, he
married Miss Josephine H. Thompson, daughter of
Mark and Asenath Thompson. Miss Thompson
was born in Butler County, Ohio, Oct. 6, 183l , and came
to Sidney with her parents in 1835. Mr. and
Mrs. Bell settled on the south half of his father’s
home farm, near Hardin, where they have since resided.
They have three children, viz., Herbert R., Ada J.,
and Martha I. Mr. Bell filled the office of
township clerk for Turtle Creek Township near twenty
years, and acted as trustee of the township six years.
He has made farming his vocation, and now owns a good
farm, which is a part of the home farm.
Source: History of Shelby County, Ohio - Publ.
Philadelphia, PA: R. Sutton & So. - 1883 - Page 303 |
| |
Washington Twp. -
ISAAC BETTS, ESQ.Source: History of Shelby County,
Ohio - Publ. Philadelphia, PA: R. Sutton & So. - 1883 -
Page 285 |
| |
Green Twp. -
SAMUEL BIRD, deceased, was born in
New Jersey on the 6th day of May, 1875. He was of
English descent. He married Miss Alice Vorhess,
a native of New Jersey, born Apr. 9, 1793. They
settled in their native State, remained until 1832, when
they migrated to Ohio, and located in Shelby County,
Green Township, where they passed the remainder of their
days. Mr. Bird died Aug. 6, 1847.
Mrs. Bird died Sept. 9, 1853. They reared a
family of nine children, viz., John, Christy,
Gilbert, Samuel, Anngeleta, Martha, James, Joseph,
and Margaret. John, James and Martha
are deceased. The other six are all living in
Shelby County except Margaret, who lives in Champaign
County.
Source: History of Shelby County, Ohio - Publ.
Philadelphia, PA: R. Sutton & So. - 1883 - Page 204 |
| |
Green Twp. -
SAMUEL BIRD, Farmer; P. O.
Plattsville, Ohio.
A son of the above named Samuel Bird, deceased,
was born in Ocean County, New Jersey, Dec. 10, 1822, and
came with his parents to Shelby County in 1832 as
aforesaid. He married Miss Susannah Blakely,
born in Franklin Township, Shelby County, Ohio, Aug. 6,
1825, daughter of Robert and Eliza Blakely, who
were among the early settlers of Franklin Township, this
county. Mr. and Mrs. Bird settled on his
father's home farm, which he purchased shortly after the
death of his father. He has filled the office of
trustee of Green Township nearly all the time since
1852, and still holds the position. They reared a
family of six children, five sons and one daughter:
all are now living except one son, Levi J., who
enlisted in Company K of the 12th O. V. C., Oct. 1863,
was taken prisoner on Clinch River, Virginia, December,
1864, and died in Libby prison February, 1865.
Source: History of Shelby County, Ohio - Publ.
Philadelphia, PA: R. Sutton & So. - 1883 - Page 204 |
| |
Dinsmore
Twp. -
JOHN BLAKELEY, third son of
Samuel and Mary Blakeley, was born in Franklin
County, Ohio, July 11, 1825. He came to Shelby
County with his parents in 1830, and has been a citizen
of Dinsmore Township since March, 1832. He married
Miss Elizabeth Elliott in the year 1852, daughter
of Cornelius and Elizabeth Elliott. Miss
Elliott was born in Licking County, Ohio, Oct. 18th,
1833, and came to Shelby County with her parents in
1835. Mr. and Mrs. Blakeley settled on his
father's home farm, on which they have since resided.
They reared a family of three children, viz., Adam
E., Minerva, and Adilia. Mr. Blakesley
now owns his father's home farm, containing one hundred
and sixty-one acres; also one hundred acres in section
10, same township.
Source: History of Shelby County, Ohio - Publ.
Philadelphia, PA: R. Sutton & So. - 1883 - Page 241 |
| |
Dinsmore
Twp. -
SAMUEL BLAKELEY, deceased, was
born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1780, where he passed his
minority days. He emigrated to America when a
young man, and located in the eastern part of
Pennsylvania, where he remained several years, then came
to Ohio and located in Franklin County. He was a
weaver by trade, which he followed during the winter
months and stormy weather for many years. He
married Miss Mary Decker, then of Franklin
County, Ohio, but a native of Bucks County,
Pennsylvania, where she was born in 1797. Mr.
and Mrs. Blakeley remained in Franklin County until
in 1830, when they came to Shelby County, and settled on
eighty acres of land in Franklin Township. March,
1832, they moved to Dinsmore Township, and settled on
section 4, on which Mr. Blakeley died July 18,
1857. His companion survived him until in
September, 1880, when she died in Botkins. They
reared a family of seven children, viz., Elias,
Decker D., Catharine, John, George, Mary A., and
Nancy A., two of whom are now deceased, viz.,
Decker D. and Nancy A.
Source: History of Shelby County, Ohio - Publ.
Philadelphia, PA: R. Sutton & So. - 1883 - Page 241 |
| |
Cynthian
Twp. -
ELIPHALET BLANCHARD. The
Blanchards are of French extraction; they came to
America early in the seventh century and settled in
Andover, Mass. We would be glad to trace this
family in a chronological manner down to the present,
but we are compelled to skip several generations and
come down to the present, but we are compelled to skip
several generations and come down to the eighteenth
century, to the person of Stephen Blanchard, the
grandfather of the Shelby County Blanchards.
The date of his birth we cannot learn, but we know that
he was at the battle of Bunker Hill. He was
married to Lucy Adams. they had a son
Stephen, who was the father of Eliphalet.
He was born in New Hampshire in the year 1784.
He married Christiana Penny in 1807 (whose father
also was at the battle of Bunker Hill). She was
born in the State of Maine in 1788. They emigrated
to Ohio in 1818 and located in Butler County, where they
remained until 1823, when they moved to Warren County,
lived there until 1832, when they came to Shelby County
and located in Loramie Township, remaining there until
1837, when he bought some wild land in Cynthian Township
and moved on to it. The family at this time
consisted of Christian, Eliphalet, Lucy, Sarah,
Rachel, and John. Two of the older
children (Abigail and Stephen) had married and
left home. Mr. Blanchard died Nov. 1856.
His wife died Feb. 1873. Eliphalet, the
third son, was born in Butler County in 1821; came with
his parents to Shelby County in 1832. He was
reared on the farm and educated in the primitive schools
of his day. He was the main help of his father in
clearing his farm, and did not have the advantage of
schools that the children of the present day have.
In 1846 he married Miss Mary J. Penrod, a
daughter of Samuel and Rachel (Chambers) Penrod.
By this union they had born to them four children, viz.,
Almira, born Jan. 25, 1847; Rachel, born
Nov. 16, 1855; Ira, born Apr. 8, 1859, and
John, born Oct. 10, 1862. Mr.
Blanchard is now the owner of the old homestead,
beside other lands he has since purchased, making in all
some 280 acres in section 33. He is one of the
most theoretical as well as practical farmers in the
county. He makes agriculture a study, and believes
that whatever is worth doing at all, is worth doing
well; as a result, success has crowned his efforts.
Source: History of Shelby County, Ohio - Publ.
Philadelphia, PA: R. Sutton & So. - 1883 - Page 273 |
| |
Cynthian Twp. -
JOHN M. BLUE was born in Union
County, Ohio, near Marysville, June 19, 1840. At
five years of age he was taken to Delaware County, where
his parents moved, and settled for some time.
Eleven yeas later he was back at the old Union County
home, where he attended school about a year, and then
began working on a farm for twelve dollars per month.
Sixteen months later he received twenty dollars a month,
and at the expiration of two years he began splitting
rails, which he followed about two years, and again
resumed farming for a period of three years, this time
working with his uncle. He then spent a few months
at home, and resumed his old occupation as
rail-splitter. He was a member of 135th Ohio
Regiment, Col. Legg, and was stationed at
Harper's Ferry and Camp Kearney, and was mustered out of
service at Camp Chase. He afterwards took jobs of
getting out railroad ties, bought timber and contracted
in lumber. He married Miss Elizabeth M.
Valentine Feb. 11 ,1867. He moved to Quincy,
where he remained about four years, and labored to pay
off some old debts. He continued in the lumber and
timber business until he acquired a little capital.
In 1876 he moved to Sidney, and went into the lumber and
stave business. In 1877 he met severe reverses.
Again the next year he suffered a loss of $2750, but
kept right along in his business. In 1881 he cut
seven hundred cords of wood, and handled over three
million feet of lumber, at a net profit of $6100.
In 1882 he handled eighteen hundred cords of wood, and
over two million feet of lumber. His children are
William L., Charles C., Harry S., and Alta
May.
Source: History of Shelby County, Ohio - Publ.
Philadelphia, PA: R. Sutton & So. - 1883 - Page 375 |
| |
Van
Buren Twp. -
JOHN H. BLUMENHORST, a farmer near
McCartyville, was born in Germany in 1852, and settled
in this township in 1874. He was married at New
Bremen in 1874 to Miss Hannah Cook, who was born
in Auglaize County in 1856. They have two
children, named William H. and Henrietta C.
Source: History of Shelby County, Ohio and
representative citizens - Evansville, Ind. - 1913 - Page
253 |
| |
Van Buren
Twp. -
CHRISTIAN BOESEL, a son of
Christian and Dorotha Boesel, was born in Auglaize
County in 1839. In 1854 he married Miss Miana
Wierwill, of New Knoxville, Ohio, and moved to
Shelby County. She was a native of Germany, and
was born in 1838. Their children are, Edward J.,
born 1865; Josephine D., born 1867; Ida C.,
born 1869; Clementina W., born 1872.
Source: History of Shelby County, Ohio - Publ.
Philadelphia, PA: R. Sutton & So. - 1883 - Page 253 |
| |
Washington
Twp. -
THE BOTKINS. This family can
be traced to Virginia, where, about the middle of the
last century, Thomas Botkin was born. He
married Elizabeth Devincks. They raised a
family of eight children. James Botkin, one
of the above, was born in Virginia in 187_, and married
Mary McCray about 1808. In 1812 he entered
the army and served his term of enlistment. There
were born to him by this marriage thirteen children.
His wife died in 1844. He afterward married
Rebecca Elliott. By this marriage there were
eleven children - making in all twenty-four children by
both marriages. In 1847 Mr. Botkin moved to
Shelby County, but remained but one year, then moved to
Illinois; was there four or five years, then
removed to Shelby County, where he died in 1855.
Sarah A. Wise was the twelfth child by the
first marriage of James Botkin. She lived
with her father until the time of her marriage. In
1853 she returned to Shelby County, where she has
resided since that time. Her family consists of
four children, viz., Celina, Mary Frances, Anna,
and Tracy J.
Source: History of Shelby County, Ohio - Publ.
Philadelphia, PA: R. Sutton & So. - 1883 - Page 285 |
| |
Green Twp. -
JOHN BOTKIN, deceased, was born in
Virginia in November, 1798, and came to Ohio with his
father when a small boy, and settled in Warren County,
where young Botkin grew to manhood. He
married Miss Elizabeth Locker, then of Clarke
County, Ohio. In 1827 or 1828 Mr. and Mrs.
Botkin came to Shelby County, and settled in section
18, Green Township, where they passed the remainder of
their days. Mrs. Botkin died in 1862.
Mr. Botkin died Dec. 10, 1875. They reared
a family of nine children, viz., Sarah, Eliza, Nancy,
Lydia, Elizabeth, Amos, Emeline, Jemima, and Mary
E. Sarah and Nancy are now dead.
Mr. Botkin filled the office of treasurer of
Green Township for several years, and also township
trustee for a few years.
Source: History of Shelby County, Ohio - Publ.
Philadelphia, PA: R. Sutton & So. - 1883 - Page 204 |
| |
Dinsmore
Twp. -
RICHARD BOTKIN, deceased was born
in Hamilton County, Ohio, Sept. 25, 1803, where he
passed his minority days on a farm. On the 22d of
October, 1829, he married Miss Elizabeth Short,
of Hamilton County, Ohio, where she was born Jan. 20
1809. Mr. Botkin moved to Shelby County
with his family in 1832, entered, made improvements, and
settled on a part of section 5, Dinsmore Township, on
which he lived and conducted the business of farming in
connection with dealing in stock, until the time of his
death, which occurred Apr. 29, 1858. His companion
died Mar. 19, 1839, leaving him with four small children
viz., Martha, Russell, Robert, and Hannah.
In the fall of 1840 he married Miss Jane Elliott,
daughter of Cornelius and Elizabeth Elliott, who
was born in Licking County, Ohio, Apr. 4, 1824, and came
to Shelby County with her parents in 1835. By this
union he reared a family of six children, viz., Sarah
M., John W., Alexander, Selvenis, Emma J., and
Charles S., all of whom are now living except
Emma J., who died in October, 1878. Mrs.
Botkin is still residing on the old home farm near
Botkins Station. Mr. Botkin was one
of the most energetic, enterprising business men in the
township, and at his death the church of which he was a
member (viz., the Methodist Episcopal) lost one of its
best members, and Dinsmore Township one of its leading
citizens.
After Mr. Botkin's first entry of land, he made
other purchases of land until he owned several hundred
acres in the vicinity of where Botkins village is
now located. During the erection of the Dayton and
Michigan Railroad, he contracted and graded three miles
of the roadbed. He donated to the railroad company
the right of way through his land, nearly a mile in
length, with the understanding that the company would
give him a station on his land, at the most convenient
point for the accommodation of the citizens in the
neighborhood. In his will, a short time prior to
his death, he ordered a town to be laid out, which was
done soon after his death, and given the name of
Botkins in honor of him and to perpetuate his name.
Source: History of Shelby County, Ohio - Publ.
Philadelphia, PA: R. Sutton & So. - 1883 - Page 242 |
| |
Green Twp.
-
DAVID BOWERSOCK, son of Jacob
and Srah Bowersock, was born in Brown Township,
Miami County, Ohio, Dec. 25, 1829. He received his
education at Delaware, Ohio, where he attended school
several years. In 1849 he engaged as clerk in the
mercantile business with Samuel Bowersock, of St.
Paris, Ohio, with whom he remained several years.
In 1865 he came to New Palestine, Shelby County, where
he engaged in the mercantile trade, and has since been
conducting the business successfully, dealing in all
kinds of general merchandise necessary to keep in stock
in a country village. In 1865 he was elected to
the office of justice of the peace of Green Township,
and has since filled the office (excepting one term)
until Dec. 5, 1881, when he resigned his position as
justice of the peace to accept the office of probate
judge of Shelby County, to which he was elected in the
fall of 1881 by the democracy of Shelby County.
Jan. 8, 1856, he married Miss Elizabeth H. Wooley,
by whom he was one son and one daughter. |
| |
Washington
Twp. -
DAVID BOWLSBY was born in 1830.
In 1860 he married Martha Hardesty, a daughter of
Samuel Hardesty. They had one daughter,
Margaret, born 1861. In 1862 Mr. Bowlsby
enlisted in the 50th O. V. I., and died of disease at
Jacksonborough, Tennessee, Jan. 19, 1863.
Source: History of Shelby County, Ohio - Publ.
Philadelphia, PA: R. Sutton & So. - 1883 - Page 288 |
| |
Dinsmore
Twp. -
GEORGE W. BOYER, eldest son of
Samuel F. and Elizabeth Boyer, was born in Dinsmore
Township Apr. 24, 1846. He enlisted in Company F,
20th O. V. I., in October, 1861; was actively engaged in
the battles of Fort Donaldson, Shiloh, Champion Hills,
and Atlanta; also several other minor engagements not
here mentioned. In the fall of 1863, he
re-enlisted as a veteran in the same company and
regiment, and served until after the close of the war in
1865. He returned to his home in June, 1865.
IN February, 1868, he married Miss Nancy Blue,
daughter of James and Sarah Blue, born in
Franklin Township, this county, Apr. 28, 1846. By
this union he has five children, three sons and two
daughters. He makes farming his vocation, and now
owns a farm in section 3, Dinsmore Township, on which he
now resides.
Source: History of Shelby County, Ohio - Publ.
Philadelphia, PA: R. Sutton & So. - 1883 - Page 244 |
| |
Dinsmore
Twp. -
SAMUEL F BOYER, deceased, was born
in Pennsylvania, Feb. 12, 1815. He was a son of
Samuel and Christina Boyer, who came to Ohio and
located in Fairfield County, remained until in 1833,
when they came to Shelby County and settled on the farm
now owned by J. J. Schilling in Franklin
Township, on which they remained until 1847, when they
moved to Dinsmore Township, and located on the farm now
owned by George Fogt, Sr., one mile south of
Botkins, where they passed the remainder of their days.
Mr. Boyer died in 1861. His companion
departed this life Nov. 20, 1867. They reared a
family of ten children, viz., Elizabeth, Daniel,
Lucinda, Samuel F., Joseph, Mary, George, Christina,
William and Savina. Only four of the
above named children are now living, viz., Elizabeth,
Mary, William, and Savina.
Samuel F. Boyer, subject of this sketch, came to
Shelby County with his parents as above stated. He
made farming his principal avocation through life, which
he conducted with success, and was considered one among
the leading farmers of Dinsmore Township. At the
time of his death he owned five farms in Dinsmore
Township; in all there were three hundred and ninety
acres of good land. On the 14th of September,
1842, he married Miss Elizabeth, daughter of
Jesse W. and Sarah Veach. Miss Veach was born
in Shenandoah County, Virginia, July 15, 1822. She
came to Shelby County with her parents in 1832, and
settled on the farm now owned by Christian Simmers,
three-quarters of a mile south of Anna, in Franklin
Township, where Mr. Veach died Jan. 22, 1853.
Mrs. Veach is still living at the advanced age of
eighty-four years, and is now making her home with her
daughter, Elizabeth Boyer in Dinsmore Township.
Mr. and Mrs. Boyer settled on the farm now owned
and occupied by his widow, which is the west half of the
northeast quarter of section 9, Dinsmore Township, on
which Mr. Boyer died May 14, 1878, leaving a wife
and ten children, viz., Sarah J., George W., Harriet
E., Christina, Samuel F., William H., Joseph H., Mary
F., James E., and Anna D., and many friends
to mourn the loss of a kind of husband, an indulgent
parent, and a good citizen.
Source: History of Shelby County, Ohio - Publ.
Philadelphia, PA: R. Sutton & So. - 1883 - Page 244 |
| |
Dinsmore
Twp. -
SAMUEL BRACKNEY was born in Greene
County, Ohio, Jan. 29, 1825. He is a son of
Reuben and Sarah Brackney. In 1840 he moved
with his parents to Auglaize County, Ohio, and located
on a farm two miles east of St. Johns. Mar. 14,
1847, he married Miss Mercy Munch, daughter of
John and Mary M. Munch, who was born in Greene
County, Ohio, Nov. 9, 1822, and came to Shelby County
with her parents in 1832, and settled in Dinsmore
Township, near where Anna is now located. Mr.
and Mrs. Brackney settled on a farm near St. Johns
and remained about two years. In March, 1849, they
came to Shelby County and settled on a part of section
16, Dinsmore Township remaining until in the autumn of
1854, when they moved on a farm in section 15, same
township. In 1869 he purchased a farm of 78 acres
in the northwest quarter of section 26, Dinsmore
Township, on which he moved his family and has since
resided. He reared a family of five children,
Mary A., Sarah, Nancy J., John, and Catharine.
He has made farming his principal avocation through
life. His father, Reuben Brackney, served
about six months in the war of 1812, and received a land
warrant from the Government in 1848, calling for one
hundred and sixty acres of land. He was born in
Virginia, Dec. 7, 1787. He married Miss Sarah
Ary in 1813. He entered the army in March,
1814, and served until the close of the war. In
1816 he, with his family, came to Ohio and located in
Greene County, remaining until 1839, when they moved to
the then south part of Allen, but now Auglaize County.
His companion died Nov. 9, 1847. He died Feb. 20,
1867. He was often heard to say that he hoped to
live to see the Rebellion closed. His wish was
granted.
Source: History of Shelby County, Ohio - Publ.
Philadelphia, PA: R. Sutton & So. - 1883 - Page 248 |
| |
Cynthian
Twp. -
LEVI P. BRANDON was born in Darke
County, Ohio, in 1840. He was a son of Vincent
G. and Lydia Brandon, of Versailles, Ohio.
In 1861 he enlisted as a private in Company E, 40th O.
V. I., and was promoted to sergeant. He was with
his regiment all through its service of three years,
except three months while sick in the hospital. In
1864, soon after returning from the army, he married
Margaret Weaver. They have born to them seven
children, Alonzo A., Orwell D., Ida J., Jennie A.,
Stephen G., Manly A., and Mary B. In
1879 Mr. Brandon came to Newport and engaged in
the cabinet business, at which he is engaged at the
present time. He also is clerk of his township.
Source: History of Shelby County, Ohio - Publ.
Philadelphia, PA: R. Sutton & So. - 1883 - Page 275 |
| |
Van Buren
Twp. -
WILLIAM BRANDT was born in
Hanover, Germany, in 1833, and settled in this county
when twenty years of age, locating in 1855 in section
17. He married Frederica Baker in 1862, she
being born in this county in 1841. Their children
are named Eliza, Henry, Christian, Caroline, Rose
Amanda, Frederica, and Ameal.
Source: History of Shelby County, Ohio - Publ.
Philadelphia, PA: R. Sutton & So. - 1883 - Page 254 |
| |
Green
Twp. -
WELLINGTON BRANSON, Nurseryman; P.
O. Plattsville, Ohio, a native of Ohio, was born in
Miami County on the 26th day of February, 1830, where he
passed his minority. Nov. 20, 1852, he married
Miss Elizabeth M., daughter of Thomas and
Margaret Long of Miami County, and remained a few
years. In 1858 they emigrated to Iowa, where they
remained until in 1864, when they returned to Ohio, and
in the spring of 1865 they came to Shelby County, and
located in Green Township, where they now reside.
They have a family of seven children, four sons and
three daughters. Mr. Branson gave all of
his attention to farming until 1875, when he engaged in
nursery business, which now occupies the most of his
time.
At this date, 1881, he has about fifteen hundred trees,
of all kinds and varieties of fruits, ready for market,
about thirty-two thousand threes one year old, which he
has grown since the freeze and destruction of fruit
trees during the winter of 1880-81, and intends from
this year on to make the raising of fruit trees his
entire business. His varieties consist of about
one hundred and three different kinds of apples, thirty
of pears, fifteen of cherries, also a nice variety of
plums, peaches, currants, gooseberries, grapes,
blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, quinces, and,
in fact, everything in the nursery line. They
employ no agents, but give their commission to the men
who buy and plant their trees. They can sell at
half the price of travelling agents, furnishing better
trees, fresh from the nursery suited to our climate and
soil.
Source: History of Shelby County, Ohio - Publ.
Philadelphia, PA: R. Sutton & So. - 1883 - Page 203 |
| |
Green Twp. -
DAVID BRELSFORD
was born in Miami
County, Ohio, Jan. 24, 1835. He came to Shelby
County in 1861, and made his home with Jeremiah
Layman of Orange Township, two years, Aug. 18, 1863.
He married Mrs. Aimee H. Silver, nee Layman,
daughter of Jeremiah and Mary Layman, born in
Hamilton County, Ohio, Dec. 1, 1831, who came to Shelby
County with her parents in 1839 and located in Orange
Township. Mr. and Mrs. Brelsford settled in
Green Township on a part of the south half of section
23, where they are now residing. They have a
family of five children, four sons and one daughter.
Source 2: History of Shelby County,
Ohio - Publ. Philadelphia, PA: R. Sutton & So. - 1883 -
Page 207 |
| |
Dinsmore
Twp. -
PHILIP BRIDEWEESER, son of
Philip and Dorothy Brideweeser, was born in Dinsmore
Township, this county, Feb. 19, 1843. On the 17th
of March, 1867, he married Miss Mary, daughter of
Christian and Mary Fogt, of Franklin Township,
where she was born Mar. 17, 1837. Mr. and Mrs.
B. settled on eighty acres of land in section 21,
Dinsmore Township, on which they lived until 1874, when
he traded his farm in section 21, for the farm in
section 28, same township, on which he moved his family
and has since resided. His companion died Feb. 12,
1879, leaving him with a family of six children, five of
whom are now living, viz., Sophia C., Mary A. D.,
Christopher M., George E., and Joseph V.
Mr. B. has made farming his principal avocation,
which he has conducted with success.
Source: History of Shelby County, Ohio - Publ.
Philadelphia, PA: R. Sutton & So. - 1883 - Page 245 |
| |
Dinsmore
Twp. -
PHILIP BRIDEWESSER, deceased, was
born in Germany in 1804. He immigrated to America,
and located in Franklin County, Ohio, where, on the 4th
of September, 1833, he married Miss Dorothy Zimpfer
then of Franklin County, but a native of Germany, where
she was born Jan. 2, 1813. In the fall of 1834,
Mr. and Mrs. Brideweeser came to Shelby County,
entered, and settled on the east half of the northeast
quarter of section 27, Dinsmore Township, on which they
passed the remainder of their days. He died July
31, 1853. His companion died Mar. 8, 1875.
They reared a family of nine children, viz., Mary,
Dorothy, Matthias, Godfrey, Philip, John, Henry, Sophia,
and Valentine, three of whom are now dead, viz.,
Mary, Henry, and Valentine. The
remaining six are now living in Shelby County.
Source: History of Shelby County, Ohio - Publ.
Philadelphia, PA: R. Sutton & So. - 1883 - Page 242 |
| |
Orange Twp. -
JOHN BROWN. The
Browns are - as far back as we can learn - Natives
of Virginia. From there they removed to Kentucky,
thence to the territory of Ohio, years before it became
a State. They located within the present limits of
Clermont County. This pioneer was Joseph Brown
and his wife, Mary Parker Brown. They
settled here soon after their marriage. They
raised a family of twelve children. John
was the fourth of the family; he was born in Clermont
County in 1806. He lived to manhood on the farm
and worked with his father at the wheelwright trade.
At intervals, when not engaged on the farm or otherwise,
he would follow boating down the river. They would
load a flatboat with grain or provisions, and take it
down to Natchez or New Orleans - those being their
principal points of trade. In 1829 he married
Miss Mary Fitzwater, and the following year (1830)
came to Shelby County, and settled on 160 acres of land
that his father had entered several years prior.
This land was all in the timber. From this wild,
unborken forest, he made a well-improved farm.
Here he lived to raise a family of six children, viz.,
Mariah, Elizabeth, Mary Ann, Lavina, John P., and
F. Ward. Mr. Brown died June 17, 1879.
The Fitzwaters are of English descent.
Their first location in America was in Pennsylvania.
Thomas Fitzwater, the father of Mrs. Brown,
came to Clermont County, Ohio, at the close of the last
century. They lived in block-houses, and were
among the first settlers of that county. It was
here that Mrs. Brown was born in the year 1809.
Source: History of Shelby County, Ohio - Publ.
Philadelphia, PA: R. Sutton & So. - 1883 - Page 196 |
| |
Salem Twp. -
SHADRACH B. BURTON, was born in Pickaway County,
Ohio, in 1824. In 1826 he was brought by his
parents to Turtle Creek Township, where he lived till
the year 1856, when he moved to Salem Township. He
was married to Miss Sarah Strouse in 1854.
Their family consists of five children: Daniel W.,
Redosar E., Melinda J., William H., and
Rebecca D. Mr. Burton is a well-to-do
farmer, having 254 acres of valuable land, without an
indebtedness of one dollar.
Bazzel Burton, the father of the above, first
came to the county in 1816 with his wife from Pickaway
County. He entered land in Turtle Creek Township.
They came with all their effects on horseback with
two horses. The country was so new and wild that
they soon got discouraged. So he gave a lease on a
part of his land, and returned to Piqua, where he
remained till 1826, when he returned to his land, and
remained till he died in 1865. His wife died in 1860.
Source: History of Shelby County, Ohio - Publ.
Philadelphia, PA: R. Sutton & So. 1883 - Page 341 |
| |
Clinton Twp. -
D. L. BUSH. The Bushes
are of German descent, came to the American Colonies
about the middle of the last century, and located in
Eastern Pennsylvania, where Harry Bush, was born
in 1754, and married Eva Huffman about 1780.
They reared a family of ten children, viz., Sarah,
Catharine, George, John, Henry, Jacob, Mary, Charles,
Michael and Elizabeth. Of this family
five came to Shelby County; Catharine, the wife
of Daniel Vandemark, was the first who came;
Charles came in 1821, and located in Sidney.
The others came some years later. Jacob,
the father of Daniel L., was born in Pennsylvania
in 1794. He married Anna Labor in 1818.
They raised a family of twelve children; Daniel
was the second of the family; he was born in 1820, and
came to Sidney in 1844 and worked at the carpenter trade
until 1853, when he received the appointment of
postmaster, which he held for a term of eight years.
He was then elected treasurer of the county which office
he filled for two terms. Since that time he has
been justice of the peace two terms, and mayor of Sidney
two terms. In 1846 he married Sarah J. Bush
(a daughter of Charles Bush), who came to Sidney
in 1821. Esq. Bush's family consisted of
five children, viz., Charles E., Albert, Anna,
James J. and Eva.
Source: History of Shelby County, Ohio - Publ.
Philadelphia, PA: R. Sutton & So. - 1883 - Page 371 |
| |
Clinton Twp.
-
GEORGE L. BUSH was born Dec. 19,
1826, in Pennsylvania, and came to Sidney Dec. 16, 1848.
Here he worked at the carpenter trade until January,
1869. He was three times elected county recorder,
serving nine years. He afterward opened a grocery
and provision store, to which he attached a bakery.
He was a trustee of the water works two years, and
member of the board of education three years. In
1854 he married Miss Mary Ann Hailman, who died
in March, 1864. They had three children:
Stanley M., Carrie A., and one child which died in
infancy. In 1865 he remarried. When he came
here there was no town south of the Catholic Church,
while west of the D. & M. R. R. was one wild forest.
Source: History of Shelby County, Ohio - Publ.
Philadelphia, PA: R. Sutton & So. - 1883 - Page 376 |
| |
Orange Twp. -
JOHN E. BUSH, SR., grandfather of
the above, was born in Germany; came to America prior to
the Revolutionary war; enlisted as a soldier in that
war, and was wounded at or near New York City, and died
from the effects of the wounds several years afterward.
He was located in Monroe County, Pa., where Henry
Bush, Jr., the father of John E., was born in
1790. In 1811 he married Sarah Smith,
who was born in 1789. They lived in Monroe County
until 1838, when they removed to Shelby County, and
located on section 8, Orange Township. John E.
was the sixth child of the family. He was born in
1828, consequently he was ten years of age when he came
to this county. He lived with his father until
1849, when the gold fever for California broke out.
Young Bush took this fever, and he and his
brother, C. W. Bush, and M. W. Jackson
determined to see this El Dorado. They fitted up a
team of ponies and wagon with provisions and
accoutrements, and left home Apr. 19, 1849, and arrived
at St. Joseph, Missouri, about the first of June.
Here they fitted another team of two yoke of cattle and
joined in company with about a dozen other teams, and
about the middle of June started for the plains.
To give a history of this trip across the plains would
take more space than we can give, but suffice it to say
that they suffered all the privations that the early
emigrants suffered who crossed the great American Desert
at that early day. They were compelled to abandon
their wagons, take it on foot without water or
provisions; finally arrived at the settlement in the
Upper Sacramento Valley November 1st, after being seven
months on the road. He remained in California
until 1853. During this period he spent the most
of his time mining and packing. About two months
he followed hunting. There are but few men now in
Shelby County that have given the time to the rifle that
Mr. Bush has. The first deer he
killed was in 1848, when he killed three in one day,
near where Swanders Station now is. He has killed
deer almost every year from that time to the present.
The past year (1881) he, together with a party of
others, went to Wisconsin for a deer hunt. Mr.
Bush killed seven deer and a lynx. While in
California he within two months killed fifty deer and
one black bear. He and his partner, Nathan
Travers, killed ninety-three deer, and sold $777
worth of venison, beside what they traded for provisions
to live on during that time. In 1853 he returned home by
vessel by way of the Isthmus, arriving at home between
Christmas and New Year’s. He then remained at home
with his father until 1863, when he married Miss C.
E. Rauth. By this union they have seven
children, viz, Charles M., born 1865; Edmund
R., born 1868; John H., born 1870;
William W., born 1873; Frederick, born 1875;
Maud M., born 1877; and George, born 1879.
Mr.
Bush has the confidence of his fellow-citizens,
having filled the office of infirmary director nine
years, and at the present time is one of the
commissioners of the county.
Mr. Bush, while in California in 1851,
went out one day with a party of others in pursuit of a
wounded grizzly. After being out some time the
party separated. Shortly afterward Mr.
Bush heard the bleating of a cub bear. He
supposed she was calling for her dam, but, when he came
up to where be supposed the cub was, he not only found a
cub, but a full grown grizzly and four cubs.
Mr. B. concluded these were not the parties he was
looking for, and the sooner he could get away from there
the better,—so he took to his heels and ran as fast as
he could, the bear after him. He threw his hat,
ran about fifty yards to a leaning tree, which he
attempted to climb. Just as he reached the tree the hear
was upon him, and struck at him and knocked his gun from
his hand. He succeeded in getting part way up the
tree when the bear caught him by the boot and held on.
Both fell to the ground. The bear then ran to her cubs,
and John made good time for the bushes; but
before he reached them the hear was upon him again.
Just as the bear reached him he sprang over a large pine
log. The bear stopped on the log, and John
reached the bushes and got away. During all this
time his partner, who was near him, saw the whole
affair, but climbed up a tree, and kept out of danger,
never offering any assistance.
Mr. Bush has killed buffalo, antelope,
mountain sheep, bear, wolves, and almost all kinds of
wild game of the country.
Source: History
of Shelby County, Ohio - Publ. Philadelphia, PA: R.
Sutton & So. - 1883 - Page 191 |
| |
Washington
Twp. -
SETH L. BURNETT was born in
Montgomery County, Ohio, in 1821. In 1847 he
married Elizabeth A. Mellinger. They raised
two children, Ida M. and Willis C.
Mr. Burnett died in 1877. David
Mellinger, the grandfather of Mrs. Burnett,
was one of the three brothers who came to Shelby County
in 1806. He raised a family of ten children.
Of the descendants of these ten children there is not
one left in the county except Mrs. Burnett.
She is a daughter of David M. Mellinger. He
was born in 1802 and died in 1850. His father died
in 1848.
Source: History of Shelby County, Ohio - Publ.
Philadelphia, PA: R. Sutton & So. - 1883 - Page 284 |
| |
Turtle
Creek Twp. -
DAVID H. BUSHMAN, son of
William H. and Druscilla Bushman, was born in
Clermont County, Ohio, Jan. 29, 1840. In August,
1864, he came to Shelby County, and on the 9th day of
Mar., 1865, he married Miss Catharine, daughter
of Samuel and Jane Elliott, born in
Dinsmore Township, Shelby County, Ohio, Sept. 22, 1843.
Mr. and Mrs. Bushman settled on the farm in
section 33, Turtle Creek Township, on which they have
since resided. They have three children, viz.,
Joseph E., Mary L., and Edna M.
Source: History of Shelby County, Ohio - Publ.
Philadelphia, PA: R. Sutton & So. - 1883 - Page 300 |
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