A Biographical history of Darke County, Ohio : compendium of national biography, Part 70

Author:
Publication date: 1900
Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 806

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GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Mrs. Rachel McFarland, mother of Mrs. Byrd, was born in Montgomery county, Ohio, on the 25th of November, 1823, and her death occurred March 17, 1895. She was a kind, Christian mother, and her teach- ings and admonitions will be held in deep reverence by her children as long as memory remains with them.

Mrs. Byrd has been reared and educated in Darke county, having received the ad- vantages of our excellent public schools. She is of that sunny nature which brightens all with which it comes in contact, and she pre- sides with grace and dignity over her happy home, being to her husband a true helpmeet and aiding him with her sympathy and ad- vice in all the temporal matters which come up for consideration, their mutual sympathy and confidence making their married life one of ideal nature. When they began life together Mr. Byrd was employed as a wage earner at Dawn, this county; later they leased land and there carried on farming, and finally, about the year 1892, they pur- chased the old homestead of Mr. McFar- land, assuming an indebtedness for a por- tion of the purchase price. They went to work earnestly, and the success which has justly attended their efforts is shown in the fact that they now own the old homestead and an additional twenty-three acres, en- tirely free from encumbrance, this being one of the finest farms in this section of the state.

Mr. Byrd is a Democrat in his political proclivities, his first presidential vote hay- ing been cast for Grover Cleveland. Both he and his wife are consistent members of the Christian church at Beamsville, and they have always contributed liberally to its work and its collateral.charities and benevolences. They are cordial and genial in their attitude,

having that intrinsic refinement which be- gets deep and lasting friendships, and their popularity in the community stands in evi- dence of their sterling worth of character.

FINLEY R. REED.

Finley R. Reed is a retired farmer liv- ing at Versailles. He was born in Wayne township, Darke county, June 17, 1828. The family name is one long and actively identified with the history of the Buckeye state. William Reed was a native of county Tyrone, Ireland, and when a young man came to America, reaching this country while it was still a province of Great Britain. At the time of the Revolutionary war he joined the Colonial army and served under Washington. In Pennsylvania he was mar- ried, afterward removed to Kentucky and thence came to Ohio, where he died at the advanced age of ninety-three years.

His son, Allen Reed, the father of our subject was born in Pennsylvania, in 1782, and by his parents was taken to Kentucky when five years of age. They located at Miller's Station and became well acquainted with Daniel Boone, the noted pioneer of that state. Allen Reed was married in Ken- tucky, and there engaged in the manufac- ture of salt. In an early day, however, he removed to Clinton county, Ohio, where he followed the same pursuit and also con- ducted a distillery. He removed from Clin- ton to Darke county, and during the war of 1812 served under General William Henry Harrison, with the rank of lieutenant. He afterward became the captain of the first company of the Second Battalion and Third Regiment. In 1815 he was the captain of the first company of the added battalion of the Second Brigade of the First Division of

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GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

the militia of Ohio, and in 1823 was elected the captain of the Second Company of the Second Regiment, Second Brigade and Tenth Division of the militia of the state of Chio, being sworn in by Governor Swishe, a justice of the peace. He was thus the first captain of the militia in the northern part of Darke county. In military affairs and in business circles he was a very prominent mian of the time. He served as a justice of the peace, and was a recognized leader in the Whig party until its dissolution, when he became a stanch Republican. In early life he was reared in the Presbyterian faith, but afterward became a member of the New Light church. He made farming his life work, and his well-directed labors enabled him to secure a comfortable home. He mar- ried Margaret McGriff, who was born in Kentucky and died when our subject was about two and a half years old. The Mc- Griff family was prominent in Ohio. Among them were twin brothers, Richard and John, who were born in Darke county, in 1804. The former lived to be ninety-five years of age, and the latter is still living at the age of ninety-seven. After the death of his first wife Allen Reed wedded Mrs. Jerome, but they had no children. By the first mar- riage, however, there were sixteen children, and with the exception of the eldest and the youngest, all reached mature years. These were : William, who died at the age of two years; John, who died at the age of fifty; Richard, who died when more than sixty years of age; Isaac, who died at the age of sixty-four; James, at the age of seventy- three : Sarah, who is the widow of Alexan- der Wilson, of Versailles; Margaret, who died at the age of eighty, and was the wife of James Greer, an early settler of Topeka, Kansas; Elizabeth, who became the wife of

O. S. Brandon and died at Jefferson, Wis- consin ; Allen, who was born July 18, 1818. and is now living retired in Topeka, Kan- sas; Thomas, who was a minister of the United Brethren church and died in Fulton county, Indiana; Matilda, who died at the age of thirteen years; Amberson, who died at the age of sixteen; William, who was a pioneer physician in Jefferson City, Wis- consin, having begun practice there abont 1850, and for eleven consecutive winters was a member of the senate of that state, and for fourteen years the medical examiner of the charities and reforms of the state; Iluldah, wife of Solomon Young, of Union City, Indiana; Finley R., our subject ; and one child who died in infancy.

Finley R. Reed, the fifteenth in the fan- ily, was reared in Wayne township, within sight of the town of Versailles, the farm being now within the corporation limits. He obtained but primitive educational privi- leges, for there was no school-house near until after he was married. He hauled the timber for the first school-house in Ver- sailles, and saw the county when it was in its pioneer condition. He is the only man known to be living that saw the old horse- inill that ground the meal that was used in making mush in the early days. He re- mained with his father until his marriage, which occurred in October, 1852, Alice Brandon becoming his wife. She was born in Wayne township, May 19. 1830, a daugh- ter of James and Susannah (Sark) Bran- don. The father was a native of Virginia and was reared in Kentucky, in which state the mother was born. They were married there and became the parents of seven chil- dren, Mrs. Reed being the fifth in order of birth, and the only surviving one. She was reared in Wayne township and attended the

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GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

same school of which her husband was a | tian church, was for many years one of its student.

After their marriage Mr. Reed located on section 19, Wayne township, where he followed general farming until 1865, when he purchased a farin on section 23, of the same township. He then took up his abode of that place and continued to operate his land until 1900, when he sold the property and took up his abode in Versailles, where he is now living retired. On the 2d of May, 1864, he joined the boys in blue of Com- pany F, One Hundred and Fifty-second Ohio Infantry, with which he served four months, holding the rank of second lieuten- ant. He was honorably discharged on the 2d of September.

Unto Mr. and Mrs. Reed have been born eleven children, of whom ten are living: Martha, the wife of Isaac Hitz, who is liv- ing in Kansas, and by whom she has eight children; Juanita A., at home; Susanna, the wife of Albertus Firestone, of Kansas, by whom she has three children; Margaret, the widow of Lewis Dobe, of Marseilles, and the mother of seven children ; Maria, the wife of Charles Mier, of Piqua, Ohio, by whom she has two children; Sarah, the wife of Ed Garris, of Union City, Indiana; A. Lincoln. who is married and resides southwest of To- peka, Kansas, with his wife and five chil- dren; Andrew J., of Versailles, who is mar- ried and has two children; Georgie at home; James A., who died at the age of two years; and Nellie, the wife of Law- rence Bachman, of Ansonia, by whom she has one child.

In his political views Mr. Reed is a stal- wart Republican. He belongs to the Grand Army Post at Versailles, and has been a member of the Masonic fraternity since 1862. He holds membership in the Chris-

trustees and still holds a number of offices therein. He is to-day one of the most lion- ored and widely known of the pioneer set- tlers of Darke county, and has witnessed its development from the time when the greater part of its land was in its primitive condi- tion. His life has ever commended him to the confidence and respect of those with whom he has been brought in contact and his record is in many ways well worthy of en- lation.

COLONEL DAVID PUTMAN.

As one of the representative and promi- nent citizens of Darke county Colonel Put- man well deserves representation in this vol- ume. He was born at Fort Black, now called New Madison, on the 4th of August, 1821, and his present residence is Palestine, in German township. His father, Ernestus Put- man, was a native of New York, born Octo- ber 27, 1776. There he was reared, re- maining at home until fourteen years of age, when he was apprenticed to learn the gun- smith and whitesmith trades. He served for a terni of seven years, and on the ex- piration of that period went to Springfield, Massachusetts, where he accepted a position as foreman in the stocking department of the government armory. For two years he served in that capacity. In the meantime he returned to his native place and was mar- ried. With two companions he made his way over the mountains to Pittsburg, Penn- sylvania. These men were accompanied by their young wives, and on reaching Pitts- burg they constructed a flat-boat, on which they made their way down the Ohio river. This was in 1809. Where the city of Madi- son now stands they effected a landing. Gen-

ENFA

David Partirian Sarah Putman e

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GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

eral Harrison was at that time governor of the Northwest Territory and was employed in surveying the town. These three men each took a lot and erected a log cabin, which was the foundation of the city of Madison. On the 11th of February, 1811, his first child was born in the town. His name was Aaron. He died in California in 1897. Soon after the birth of this son the mother died. Ernestus Putman established a gun- smith shop in Madison and as soon as his child was old enough so that he could carc for it he went to Harper's Ferry. He there entered the government employ, again serving in the same capacity throughout the war of 1812. At Shepherdstown, Virginia. lie was married, on the 24th of March. 1814, to Miss Elizabeth Gray, a lady of Scotch-Irish descent and a daughter of David and Jane ( Pollock) Gray, who came to the new world from the Emerald Isle. They lived in county Tyrone, but in 1802 crossed the Atlantic, I.nding in Baltimore. Maryland, whenee they made their way to Boonsboro. Four years later they took up their abode in Fredericktown, Virginia. Mrs. Putman was born in Ireland and was a maiden of twelve summers when she came with her parents to America. Her eldest brother, Thomas, was a sea captain and lost his life at sea about 1818. The next child was Nancy, who became the wife of Thomas Carson, and was married in Baltimore. Mrs. Putman was the third of the family and is followed by Sarah, who became the wife of John Kinnear, by whom she had a family of ten children. John M., the next of the family. settled in Eaton, Preble county, Ohio, and became a prominent man of the town. He en- gaged in merchandising and was a recog- nized leader in political affairs, being elected to the legislature on the Whig ticket. He

died in 1853. There was also one child. Mary, who was born soon after the arrival of the parents in Baltimore, Maryland. She became the wife of William Watt, and they had four children, two sons and two daugh- ters. all of whom are yet living.

After the marriage of the parents of our subject Ernestus Putman went direct to Washington eity, where he opened a gimn- smith's shop and took the contract for exe- euting all of the iron work for the White House. His business assumed very extensive proportions and he furnished employment to a large number of machinists. While re- siding in Washington city two children were added to the family: Jane Gray, who was born in 1816, and John G., born June II. 1818. Mr. Putman remained in Washington eity until 1819, when with his wife and chil- dren he came direct to what is now- New Madison. in Darke county, Ohio, the journey being made with a one-horse wagon. Here he entered land, securing a portion of the tract upon which the town of New Madison now stands. He conducted not only the first store in the village but also the first in the southern part of the county. Not long after liis arrival the third child. Elizabeth S., was added to the family. She was born in 1819. and became the wife of Dr. Rufus Gill- patrick, who went to Kansas in 1854 and was killed during the Civil war. He was one of the conductors of the underground rail- road, and his strong sympathy for the Union cause and his opposition to slavery led to his death. David Putman, the next of the fam- ily, was born August 4. 1821 : Mary I .. born in 1824, beeame the wife of Dr. Charles Jaquay, and is now deceased; Ernestus J .. born in 1826. married Sarah J. Deem, and afterward died in Colorado: Thomas C .. born in 1828, is deceased: James, born in

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GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

December, 1830, has also passed away ; Nancy C., born in 1833, is the wife of Dr. James G. Blunt, who became a major-general in the war. He went to Kansas and became an active factor in support of the Union cause at the time of the trouble in that state. Prior to 1856 he was prominent in political affairs in Darke county, and was an adherent of the newly organized Republican party. giving his support to Fremont. He died from the effect of a sunstroke, in Washington city

Ernestus Putman continued in business in New Madison from 1819 until 1842 and was instrumental in promoting the progress and upbuilding of the town. He laid out the town in 1831, and was one of the oldest merchants of the county. He served as the first postmaster and withheld his co-operation from no movement which he believed would prove of public good. In politics he was a stanch Whig in early life and on the dissolu- tion of that party became a Republican, sup- porting Lincoln in 1860 and again in 1864. He was in his eighty-ninth year when Lin- coln was elected a second time. He held membership in the Presbyterian church at New Madison, and all the expenses of that organization in building the church, with the exception of eighty dollars, were paid by the Putman family. He was widely and favor- ably known in Darke county as one of its honored pioneers and he lived to the ripe old age of eighty-nine years, respected by all who knew him. He was a member of the Masonic fraternity for sixty-seven years. His wife passed away in February, 1864, at the age of seventy-seven.

Colonel Putman of this review is the fourth child and second son in their family. and he and his sister are now its only repre- sentatives living. He was reared in New Madison and obtained all his school privi-

leges before he was thirteen years of age. He pursued his studies in a subscription school, conducted in a log building, and at the age of fourteen he went into his father's mill. This was one of the first in the county and was built at Weaver Station. He was there employed for two years, after which he returned home to New Madison, and for a short time remained in his father's store. On Christmas day of 1836, in company with thirteen companions. he started for Texas, walking to Cincinnati. This company was uncler command of Colonel George D. Hen- dricks. It proceeded by steamer to New Orleans and thence to the capital of Texas. where they remained until the 24th of March. The company separated there and Colonel Putman, together with William Maroney, started on foot from Columbia, securing a passport from the secretary of state. They walked four hundred and thirteen miles ultimately reaching the town of Nachatocha. near Alexandria. They returned home by way of New Orleans, where Colonel Putman, who had been intrusted by his father with a cargo of produce, which he had sold, leav- ing the money until his return, invested it in coffee, sugar and molasses, which was his first commercial transaction. The venture proved a success. He made his way to New Madison and continued in the store intil lie was twenty-four years of age, and in the meantime spent about a year in Hamilton, where he gained a practical knowledge of business transactions and of the value of merchandise. He was twenty-one years of age when his father retired from business, and the Colonel then entered into partnership with his brother John, in the spring of 1842.

On the 15th of November, 1842, he was united in marriage to Miss Sarah Mills, who was born two miles from New Madison, on

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GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

the 17th of January, 1822, and was a daugh- ter of Colonel Mark T. Mills and a grand- daughter of General James Mills, who be- longed to a prominent family of the county that was established in Ohio at an early epoch in its history, coming here in 1816 and settling on land two miles north of New Madison. He was a native of New Jersey, and emigrated to Hamilton, Butler county, Ohio, in 1800. He was one of the first set- tlers in the county and was colonel of the First Ohio Militia, Third Detachment, in the war of 1812. He left Hamilton, Ohio, February 5, 1813, in command of the First Chio Militia, and marched to Dayton: from there to Piqua, Loramie, St. Mary's, and finally, on the 7th of April, was ordered to Fort Meigs, where his regiment remained on guard duty till discharged from service. We find the following entry in his regimental book :

"Colonel Mills with a portion of his com- mand, having honorably served out the period for which they were called into the service of their country, are hereby dis- charged and permitted to return to the'r re- spective homes. Events not within the control of the present commander-in-chief of this army or of our government have rendered it necessary that the militia of the western states should compose a considerable portion of the northwest army. Ohio stands conspic- uous for the great zeal and promptness with which her citizens have yielded the com- forts of private life for the toils and priva- tions of the camp. In the return of this de- tachment of Ohio troops to their families and homes, it is due to Ohio and her sons to record their honorable service. To Colonel Mills and his staff, and his respective com- missioned and non-commissioned officers and privates, whose term of service has expired, and to whose promptness in the discharge of every duty he has been an eye witness, the

commanding general gives his sincere thanks.

"By command of Gen. Greene Clay."

Colonel J. Mills served in both branches of the Ohio legislature. He died of cholera in 1833, at Fort Jefferson, and is buried on the land he first settled. His wife was a physician of much note in the early history of this county. Colonel Mark T. Mills, son of the former, was one of the early sheriffs of this county, and while serving his second term was elected a member of the legislature. He was continued a member of that body for four or five years by the suffrage of the peo- ple. Ile was married to Miss Lydia Burdge March 29, 1821, and died in March, 1843. his wife surviving him until March, 1886.

Colonel Putman remained in business in New Madison until June, 1845, when he sold out to his brother John and came to Pales- tine. Here he engaged in general merchan- dising until 1848, when he traded his stock of goods for a farm in Sugar Valley, Preble county, Ohio. There he followed agricultural pursuits for two years, when he returned to Palestine and accepted a position as general traveling agent for the New York Mutual lasurance Company. He was for two years connected with that line of business, travel- ing over New York and Ohio. Again he took up his abode in Palestine and was engaged in the hotel business for a year, when he opened a stock of groceries, successfully con- ducting his store until the Ioth of October 1861.

At that date Mr. Putman was commis- sioned second lieutenant, and on the 17th of December had raised a fuff company and wa. elected captain. He was mustered into ser- vice as a member of the Sixty-ninth Ohio Regiment, and remained at Columbus until

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GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

the 19th of February, 1862. There they guarded rebel prisoners at Camin Chase until the 19th of April, when they started for Nashville. Captain Putman did duty with the regiment in all its engagements until June 20, 1863, when he was discharged on account of disability and returned to his liome. As soon as able, however, he began the organization of the Twenty-eighth Regiment of the Ohio National Guards, and when it was formed was elected colonel. On the 2d of May, 1864, this regiment was ordered out for one hundred days' service and went direct to Camp Dennison. Two companies from Clark county were added to the eight companies of the regiment, making a full command, which was mustered into the Uni- ted States service as the One Hundred and Fifty-second Ohio Infantry. They were ordered to New Creek, Virginia, and thence to Martinsburg. They left there on the 4th of June, with a supply train of two hundred and forty-nine wagons, and orders to reach General Hunter, who was then in the neigh- borhood of Staunton, Virginia. They were joined by five companies of the One Hundred and Sixty-first Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Second Maryland, one company of the Fif- teenth New York Cavalry and a section of Lowery's Battery. all under command of Colonel Putman. They were annoyed each diay by small bands of the enemy and lost the captain and five men of the New York Cav- alry. They overtook the rear of Hunter's army on the 10th, at Midway, and the main body of the army next day at Lexington. Here under Hunter's command the famous mills and military institutions of Lexington were destroyed by fire. At the latter was found a life-size statue of George Washington erected in 1788, which was turned over to Colonel Putman with special

instructions to deliver it to the governor of West Virginia, at Wheeling. These instruc- tions were faithfully executed.

On the 17th of June General Hunter turned over his prisoners, his sick and wounded and one hundred and fifty wagons to the command of Colonel Putman and for ten days they were on the retreat, arriving at Beverley on the 27th of June, and at Cumber- land, Maryland, on the 2d of July. They there remained until the 25th of August, were next at Camp Dennison, and on the 2d of September they were honorably dis- charged, and upon the return home the regi- inent was transferred back to the , ate ser- vice as the Twenty-eighth Ohio National Guard, so commissioned until the cl . of the war.

On his return home Colonel Putman be- gan the study of law under the direction of Judge A. R. Calderwood, at Greenville, and was admitted to the bar in 1866. He imme- diately began practice and gave his attention to bounty pensions. In 1870 he was elected justice of the peace to serve for three years and has been a notary public for forty-seven years. He is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, with which he has been iden- tified since its organization. He was the first commander of Reed Post, No. 572, and is the present commander. He also belongs to the Masonic fraternity. In politics he is a Re- publican, has been active in support of the party since its formation in 1854, and was a delegate to the state convention at Colum- bus, in 1856. In 1897 he was called upon to mourn the loss of his wife, who died on the 24th of January, after a long and happy mar- ried life of fifty-four years, two months and nine days. They had celebrated their golden wedding in the house where the first wedding party had been held and one hundred and

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GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

seven guests were invited to the dinner. The photographs from which the portraits that appear in this work were made were taken on their fiftieth anniversary. Almost eighty years Colonel Putnam has resided in Darke county. He is probably the oldest native res- ident within its borders, and has been a wit- ness to its wonderful growth and devel- opment, has aided in its progress and has withheld his support from no movement or measure which he believed would prove of public good. In all life's relations he has been true and faithful, in public office has been fair and impartial, in business strictly honorable and in social life has been a trusted friend and esteemed neighbor. He certainly de- ser : mention among the honored pioneers of I arke county.

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A Biographical history of Darke County, Ohio : compendium of national biography, Part 70

Author: Publication date: 1900 Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 806

Author:
Publication date: 1900
Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 806