A history of Scioto County, Ohio, together with a pioneer record, Part 100

Author: Evans, Nelson W. (Nelson Wiley), 1842-1913
Publication date: 1903
Publisher: Portsmouth, O. N. W. Evans
Number of Pages: 1612

USA > Ohio > Scioto County > A history of Scioto County, Ohio, together with a pioneer record > Part 100

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Henry Richie Kinney,

son of Aaron Kinney, who has a sketch and portrait herein, was born July 21. 1815, at the old Kinney homestead, where he now resides, on Kinney Lane. His last year of schooling was in 1836 in the Woodward High School, Cincinnati, Ohio, where he received in -. struction from Dr. Ray, the author of Ray's Arithmetic, and the two McGuffeys, authors of the McGuffey school text books. Stanley Matthews and George E. Pugh were classmates. He worked on his father's farm until he was twenty-two years of age. The farm extended down to what is now Twelfth street and much of that por- tion of Portsmouth, north of this street was ploughed and culti- vated by Mr. Kinney when a young man.

His father gave him a farm when he was twenty-one which he sold and took the proceeds, and with his brother, started west to in- vest in real estate. It was their intention to invest in Chicago which at this time, was a mere cluster of huts, and seemingly a swamp. It looked so unpromising that they decided not to invest there. They

traveled through the West and East for about three years. They were present at the signing of the treaty by which Iowa was acquired from the Indians. The chiefs, Black Hawk and Keokuk, were pres- ent. This was at the period of suspension of specie payment, and Mr. Kinney emulating the example of his brother. Eli, who was then a banker in Portsmouth, began to buy and sell the paper of the local banks, at which he made considerable money. After this he became a trader on the Mississippi river, buying produce and live stock, and transporting it to New Orleans to market. During one of these trips, the party became wind bound near Island 96 and narrowly escaped an encounter with the land and sea pirate. Lafitte, whom they learn- ed had a few days previously captured a flat boat loaded with cat- tle, and murdered the crew. He was married November 7, 1843, to Mary McNairn, a daughter of Joseph and Jane McNairn, natives of Scotland. His wife came to the United States when only fifteen years of age.

When Mr. Kinney gave up flatboating he located in Portsmouth and set up a hardware store. His stock was worth about $3,000 and there was not $10.00 worth of American manufacture in the whole stock. He continued in this business until 1856 when he sold to Waller and Ward and received for his stock complete $23,000 and not $50.00 worth of foreign manufacture could be found in the

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HISTORY OF SCIOTO COUNTY.

stock. He imported his stock for about four years and at that time American manufactures began to come forward, so he patronized home industries.

It was one of his characteristic traits, to attend closely to any business he had in hand and almost all of his ventures were success- ful. Everything he touched turned into money. His father made a division of his property in 1856 and Mr. Kinney received for his portion the old homestead. Here he has lived ever since. This house was built in 1812, and has been the home of three generations. Upon moving to the farm he turned his attention to farming, and the cultivation of fruit trees for profit. In 1870, he went back to the hardware business with his sons. This was one of his unsuccess- ful ventures, and he sold out February 28, 1877, to J. B. Rottinghaus and Joseph Lang. He then went back to his farm and has been en- gaged in farming, gardening and raising small fruit. In 1826, he went to Cincinnati and got one dozen grapevine cuttings and brought them home with him and planted them. He is said to be the second man in the state of Ohio to cultivate the grape.

Mr. Kinney has always been a Democrat. He was treasurer of Clay Township for a short time, filling a vacancy. He was a candi- date for County Treasurer October 9, 1877, against B. R. Miles. The vote stood Miles, 2,974, Kinney, 2,539. He has been a member of All Saints church since 1843. He was baptized by Bishop Chase in the old Court House, which stood on Market street between Sec- ond and Front streets, in 1821. His children were: Joseph, died aged one year; Sarah Ann, died aged eight; Wellington, living on Chil- licothe Pike; Mary C., died aged four ; Harry Elwell, died in 1881, aged thirty; Janet married Samuel T. Williams, living; Josephine and Isabel, living ; Aaron and Polly, twins, died aged three months; Sarah Ann and Mary C., mentioned above died of cholera, July I. 1854. Mr. Kinney bears well the weight of years, aside from his loss of hearing. he enjoys complete health. He is the last survivor in this vicinity of the generation of men who conducted flatboats to New Orleans.

Philander Chase Kinney

was the son of Aaron Kinney, who has a separate sketch herein. Hc was born in Portsmouth, Ohio, May 18, 1821. He was educated partly in Portsmouth and partly in Cincinnati, and passed his mi- nority on his father's farm. In his youth he was a market gardener and dairyman. For several years subsequent to his majority he was engaged in farming and flat-boating between Portsmouth and New Orleans.

In 1846 to 1848, he was engaged in the livery stable business in Portsmouth. In 1849, he was engaged in the banking business in Portsmouth with Thomas Dugan, under the name of Kinney &

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PIONEER SKETCHES.

Dugan, and continued it until 1870, when he removed to Cincinnati and engaged in the same business there until 1874.

In 1850, he was married to Marie L., daughter of John Clark. They had one daughter, Lilly, wife of Walter A. Cissna, of Chica- go, Illinois.

From 1856 to 1858 he was interested in the lower rolling mill. In 1868, he was a candidate for County Commissioner of Scioto County, on the Democratic ticket but was defeated by Henry Rosen- berg. The vote stood, 2.764 for Rosenberg, and 2,340 for Kinney. He was always a Democrat. In 1871, he retired from the banking firm of WV. Kinney & Co., with which he had been engaged for soine time. From 1874 to 1877, he was engaged in the furnace busi- ness in Tennessee, but had his office in Cincinnati. In 1877, he re- turned to Portsmouth.

He was a man of great business qualifications and met with re- markable success. He traveled extensively through this country and made two trips to Europe. On one trip he was accompanied by his nephew, William Kinney. As a banker, he was very successful and made a fortune. He died January 15, 1884.

Levi Kirkendall

was born in Jefferson, now Valley Township, Scioto County, Ohio, October 19, 1818, a son of Daniel and Sarah (Campbell) Kirkendall. His grandparents Willia and Lavinia Kirkendall, settled in Ports- mouth about the beginning of the present century. They had a fam- ily of five children : Daniel, Levi, Henry, William and Lavinia. Daniel was married about 1813. in Portsmouth, to Sarah, daughter of William and Mary ( Stricklett) Campbell. In 1819, he removed to the farm where Levi now lives. He was a Captain of a rifle com- pany in the old military days, and served in the war of 1812. After his death the government gave his widow warrants for land in Lo- gan County, Illinois. He died in 1853 and his wife in 1857. Eight children were born to them: William of California; Levi; Mary, wife of Thomas Craig; Stephen, on the old farm; Lavinia, wife of David Dunlap: and John. Sarah Ann and Henry are deceased.

Levi Kirkendall was married March 15, 1838, to Minerva, daughter of George and Mary Beloat. and settled on the old Beloat farm. In 1855, he removed to Jo Daviess County, Ill., but the next year returned to Ohio. The day after his return, August 31, his wife died. Of their six children: George, William, Sarah Alice, Mary, James O. and Levi, the three latter are deceased. In 1857. Mr. Kirkendall married Mrs. Sarah Russell, daughter of George and Elizabeth Hereodh, and removed to Washington County, Ill. In 1864, he returned to the home farm where he has since resided. Mr. and Mrs. Kirkendall have had four children, but two now liv- ing: Rhoda E. and Fanny. James S. and Truss L. are deceased.

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HISTORY OF SCIOTO COUNTY.

Politically, Mr. Kirkendall was a Republican. Before the or- ganization of that party he was a Whig and cast his first vote for William Henry Harrison for President. He owned a fine farm, well improved. He was a member of the Baptist church, and of Lucas- ville Lodge, No. 465, F. & A. M. His son, George W. enlisted in the Forty-fourth Illinois Cavalry and served during the war. He died June II, 1888.

Mathias Kricker

was born April 22, 1811 in Dusseldorf, Parish of Kempen, near Cologne, Germany, now part of Prussia. His father was a school teacher, and he was brought up to follow that profession. His mother's name was Gertrude, the family name not remembered. He had a brother, Peter, and three sisters, Madeline, Catherine and Ger- trude. He attended his father's primary school and afterwards an academy. At the age of fourteen, he was apprenticed to a cabinet maker, served three years and became a journeyman.

At the conclusion of his apprenticeship, after the custom then, he had to designate a route he would follow, starting from his mas- ter's place and returning to the same point. This route was marked down in a book and certified by the government and he had to obtain statements in every place he stopped from a master workman. He worked in Belgium about a year and was three years in Holland, at the Hague, Rotterdam, Amsterdam and other places. At the age of twenty-one, he returned to Cologne, and he and his brother Peter went to making velvet ribbons. They were prosperous for a time, but a duty interfered with their business and broke them up. He spent three years after the conclusion of this venture in Cologne, as a foreman in a cotton factory. At the end of that time, his father died, and he took his place as a school teacher in the public schools for a few months.

He came to the United States, at the age of thirty-one. He came as a sightseer with the view of locating in case he was satis- fied. He reached this country in the fall of 1842, and went from New York to Buffalo and then to Cleveland. He worked awhile at · his trade in Cleveland, and came to Portsmouth on the canal, in- tending to go on to Cincinnati. He stopped in Portsmouth at Ma- jor Reiniger's hotel. The latter persuaded him to stay .. In the summer of 1843, he made a trip through Indiana, Illinois, Iowa and Missouri. He was looking for a better location than Ports- mouth, but concluded to return. He worked for others until his marriage.

He met his wife in the Roman Catholic church, on Madison street. Her name was Margaret Myers, a daughter of Anton My- ers, a native of Wurtemburg. They were married November 23. 1844, by Rev. Father O'Maley. They went to housekeeping at once. on Third street, between Madison and Jefferson streets. He then

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went into business for himself as a cabinet maker for three years. He then concluded to try hotel keeping and kept the Swan Hotel for three years, after which he purchased where the post-office and the Kricker building now stand, and became a contracting teamster un- til 1854. He then went to manufacturing buggies where Fisher & Streich's drug store now stands. He was afterwards an Insurance agent. He was a Justice of the Peace from March 4, 1863. to Jan- uary 10, 1872, in Wayne Township. He retired from business in 1888, and died January 31, 1890.

He was brought up in the Roman Catholic church and adhered to it all his life as a faithful member. Samuel M. Tracy was one of his intimate friends. Both were great readers, fond of history, and had many tastes in common. In his political views he was a Demo- crat. He was noted for his integrity in business and his conscien- tious life. Mr. Kricker was a man of domestic tastes and preferred to spend his leisure with his family. He was very successful in bus- iness and could have been more so had he chosen to. He never had good health. He was administrator, executor and trustee of many estates, and was very methodical in all his ways of doing business. Having been a school teacher, he never used any colloquialisms but followed the rules of syntax in all his speaking.

His wife, Mrs. Kricker was born April 23, 1826, in Wurtem- berg, Germany, of a Roman Catholic family. Her father's family came to Pittsburg in 1832, over the mountains with mule teams. They went from Pittsburg to Louisville on the steamer "Powhatan." At that time there was only one other steamer plying on the Ohio riv- cr, the Robert Fulton. They were two weeks coming from Pitts- burg to Louisville. She came to Portsmouth in January, 1835. Her father was a butcher and went into partnership with Major Reiniger. Her father died in 1841 and her mother, when she was five years old. Mrs. Kricker is a woman most highly esteemed in her church, and in the circle of her acquaintance in the community. Her faculties are wonderfully preserved for her years. She has a remarkable memory and her hair is as black as when she was a young woman. Her life has been one of great usefulness.

Mr. Kricker and his wife were the parents of the following children : Lewis, born 1845, and died 1887, leaving a wife and five children. Joseph, born 1847, died in St. Louis in 1896, leaving three children, who reside in Portsmouth; Francis Charles, born in 1850, died in Portsmouth in 1878, at the age of twenty-eight and left a wife; Mrs. Louise Balmert, widow of Simon Balmert, has seven children and resides on Washington street, Portsmouth, Ohio; George Englebrecht, born in 1856, is cashier of the Central Savings bank; Richard, who resides on East Second street; William, born in 1870, resides in Baltimore, is employed by the, Canton Distilling Company and is single.

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HISTORY OF SCIOTO COUNTY.

Andrew Lacroix,

a French emigrant, was born in Normandy in 1766. He was an ac- coucheur in his own country. He came to the United Statets at the age of 25 years. He was one of the regular French emigrants, not a pick up or stowaway as some were. In Gallipolis he became a whip sawyer under Monsieur Bertrand, and carried on a horse mill. On February 13, 1797, he was married to Madame Serot, widow of Peter Serot. She had four children of her previous marriage, the oldest of which was only four and one-half years old.

He came to the French Grant on March 21, 1797, with Jean G. Gervais, Jean Baptist Bertrand, Charles F. Duteil and William Du- duit. He drew lot number 15 as his portion. He built him a cabin and cleared ground for peach orchards. When he secured a crop of peaches, he distilled them. Directly after coming to the Grant, he had an encounter with a bear on the hills back of Franklin Furnace. He shot at the bear and only broke its lower jaw. The bear then hugged him and the two fell down and rolled down the hill together. Lacroix managed to stab the bear with his knife and make an end of it after much injury to himself. As Lacroix's peach distilling grew. he sent boats to New Orleans. He gave his attention to fruits. He had orchards of apple trees. From September to March, he would be engaged in distilling apple or peach brandy. It was a hard em- ployment, requiring constant attention, night and day. One night he fell into a well 36 feet deep but managed, unaided, to climb to the top and saved his life, as it was in a lonely place where no assistance could be called.

His wife died December 16, 1824, leaving seven children of her marriage with him, Cecilia, born May 20, 1798: Zaire, Emily, Cath- arine, Michael, Andrew and Alexander born December 28, 1809. Madame Lacroix was herself one of 23 children. Monsieur Lacroix was called to practice his profession in the Grant, and often went twelve to fifteen miles in the night. He died September 29, 1844. He was fond of books and spent much of the time in his latter years, in reading.

William Lawson

enjoys the distinction of being about the only one of the pioneers of Portsmouth, who brought any money with him. We have stood them all up and searched them (historically speaking) and we find that he brought about one thousand dollars-a great fortune in 1799. This William Lawson is reported to have been born in Virginia, but was born in York County, Pennsylvania, in December, 1761, the eld- est son of Thomas Lawson, a Revolutionary soldier, whose record will be found under that title. William may have been in the Revo- lution, but if so we have no account of it. He went into Hampshire County, Virginia, in 1779 or 1780, and remained there nineteen

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vears. It is said he disliked the institution of slavery. In 1799, he appeared in Alexandria. He came with three of his brothers, Thom- as, John and James, and three sisters. The brothers and sisters lo- cated in Kentucky opposite Scioto County.

He located on the Ohio side and went into a trust which bought up the 2,024 acres of land on which Portsmouth was located, Hen- ry Massie, Jeremiah McLene, Nathaniel Willis and General Thomas Parker were his partners. Jointly they entered all of section sixteen and fractional sections, 15, 17, 18, 19 and 20, Township I, Range 21, and fractional sections, I and 2, Township I, Range 22, on March 28, 1801. They all sold out to Massie who thus obtained the credit of being the founder of the town. Lawson's share was 454 acres in the pool and he took it on the east side of the purchase. The part he took is bounded on the east by the Damarin farm, on the north by Seventeenth street extended, on the west by Campbell Avenue and on the south by the Ohio river. Lawson formally assigned his inter- est to Major Henry Massie who took out the patent for the tract in August, 1804, but directly after, he deeded to Lawson the 454 acres, two rods and thirty-six poles. Lawson paid Massie, or rather the government two dollars per acre for this land. His deed from Mas- sie was dated October 29. 1806, and in consideration of one dollar. He built his cabin on the tract near the present residence of Miss Mary Young, when no timber had been cut on the site of Ports- mouth. It was built with reference to the large spring. Lawson's Run was named for William Lawson. When Massie was surveying out the lots in Portsmouth he and his party of surveyors boarded at Lawson's home. He was evidently pleased with the treatment ac- corded him for he offered to give Mr. Lawson a lot in the town of Portsmouth. It is said Lawson declined it because he thought it would be a burden and the town would never amount to anything. In ISII, Lawson replaced his cabin by a rich house which in its turn was replaced by the present Jesse Young residence, built by Mr. Aholiab Bently in 1854.

On May 10, 1803, William Lawson was made a Commission- er when Scioto County was organized. He served until October 10, 1810, seven years. In 1809, at the organization of Wayne Township he was made an Overseer of the Poor. In 1813, he was a viewer of the first road laid out in Wayne Township. In 1814, he was an Overseer of the Poor for Wayne Township, a second time. In 1820, he was elected a fence viewer of the Township, refused to serve and was fired.

William Lawson married Susannah Earsom. The following are their children : Manasseh and Thomas; John, born August 27, 1790, died September 18, 1859; Madison and Enoch: Mary, mar- ried Judge Joseph Moore; Christina, married to General William Kendall; Maria, married to General William H. Kelley of Union

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HISTORY OF SCIOTO COUNTY.

Landing; Ruth, married to Milton Kendall, a son of General Wil- liam Kendall.

William Lawson was a positive man and went direct after ev- erything he wanted. He was very candid in his opinions and never hesitated to express them. He had no policy except to speak out his impressions and feelings at any time. He died March 18, 1832, and is buried on the hill in the spot back of where Thompson Kenyon now resides. His wife died June 25, 1846, aged seventy-six years. The proposed city, in which he had no faith and whose pretensions he despised, has absorbed his entire farm of 454 acres.

Thomas Cotton Lewis, Sr.,

was born in Llandaff, Wales, March 31, 1776. He was the son of Lewis Lewis and Ann Cotton Lewis. He served apprenticeship in Merthyr-Tydvil, South Wales, to become a machinist, draugtsman and millwright. He was the master mechanic in erecting iron works at Newbridge. June 19, 1815, he landed in New York city. At Middletown, Fayette County, Pa., in 1818 he erected, and with his brothers, run for Mason & Company, of Connellsville, the first mill in the United States for rolling bar iron from blooms. In 1821 and 1822, he put up a blast furnace in Butler County, Pennsylvania, for Whitney & Company. Later he repaired and remodeled several mills in Pittsburg, and built a new rolling mill in Centre County for Cur- tain. As master mechanic, he erected "the upper" rolling mill in Portsmouth, in 1832, for Glover, Noel & Company. With his son, Thomas Cotton Lewis, Jr., he built and operated a foundry on Mill street, in Portsmouth, Ohio, in 1842. He prospected for iron and coal in Ohio and West Virginia. About 1850, he gave up business and settled on a farm, near Wheelersburg, where he died October 19, 1853. He was buried in Greenlawn Cemetery. He joined the Masons in Wales, was a communicant of the Protestant Episcopal church, was a well educated man for the times, was competent in his trades and capable of erecting and running all kinds of iron works.

Thomas Cotton Lewis, Jr.,

was born in Merthyr-Tydvil, Wales, January 25, 1805. He was the son of Thomas Cotton Lewis, Sr. and Mary ( Watts) Lewis. He was one of the forty-two persons, by the name of Lewis, who came in one ship to New York city in the spring of 1817. He helped his father and his uncles make the first bar iron rolled in the United States. He was a machinist, roll-turner and engineer at Pittsburg. Pennsylvania. He was an engineer on passenger boats on the Ohio river for a time. In 1832, he came to Portsmouth, and for years, at different times he was roll-turner and machinist in "the upper" or Gaylord Mill. Soon after coming to Portsmouth, he bought the lot at the north-east corner of Third and Washington streets where he lived for nearly sixty years. He invented and built the old rivet

THOMAS G. LLOYD.

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machine that David Patton ran, click-ety-clack, for so many years in the Gaylord Mill. With his father, he built and run the foundry, afterwards a wheel-barrow factory, paper mill, etc., on Mill street.

With his son, Charles, he went over-land to the California gold fields, in 1852. Returning by the Isthmus of Panama, he was ship- wrecked in the Caribbean Sea. In 1856, he built the store room on the corner of Third and Washington streets, where he conducted for thirty years a toy and notion store, and was "Santa Claus" to the boys and girls of old Portsmouth. At various times, he built six or eight houses in the city. He took stock in several factories and did what he could to build up the city. He was elected Assessor of the Third ward of the city many years in succession. He was an active member of various temperance societies, of the Y. M. C. A., of the Home Guards, and a consistent member of the Presbyterian Church. He died in his eighty-seventh year and his remains are interred in Green- lawn.

Richard Lloyd

was born in Boston, Mass., Nov. 9, 1806. He came to Portsmouth Ohio with his father in 1817. The following year the family moved to Cincinnati, but returned to Portsmouth in 1820. In 1827, he en- gaged in the shoe business for himself, and in 1830, formed a part- nership with John P. Terry to carry on the same line of business. Later on he employed a number of men in the manufacture of boots and shoes in connection with his regular jobbing business, being the pioneer manufacturer in this line in the city. The firm did an ex- tensive wholesale business in this and adjoining states for a number of years, being located on Front street, below Market.

He had five brothers and one sister.

October 21, 1829, he was married to Anna Canfield, who died April 25, 1896. Eight children were born unto them, all of whom have passed away with the exception of Mrs. Geo. W. Field, of London, England.

Richard Lloyd was a man of the strictest integrity, a consistent member of the Sixth Street M. E. church, and one of the most liberal supporters. The lot upon which the church was erected being donat- ed by him.

He died March 5, 1891, at Portsmouth, Ohio.

Thomas Geldred Lloyd

was born at Marietta, Ohio, October 11, 1810. His parents moved to Cincinnati on or about the year ISII. They removed to Ports- mouth during the year 1817. Here the remainder of his life was spent. His education was such as the schools of the pioneer days of Ohio afforded. Aside from education he was endowed with large common sense, business foresight and executive ability.

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HISTORY OF SCIOTO COUNTY.

His first business adventure, after reaching years of maturity, was the manufacture of shoes in which he was sucessful, employing many laborers. He made for himself the start of what was afterward a very comfortable competence. He learned his trade as shoemaker under his brother-in-law, Benjamin Melcher. When money began to flow into his exchequer, his foresight began to assert itself. When he saw that the destiny of Portsmouth was one of progress and that there would be money in the real estate business, he ventured out upon this line, purchasing vacant lots and improving property until before he died he was one of the largest real estate holders in the city of Portsmouth. He constructed some fifty odd new houses in the city which were sold soon after completion, as it was a well known fact that houses he had constructed were of the best material and would stand wear and tear.

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A history of Scioto County, Ohio, together with a pioneer record, Part 100

Author: Evans, Nelson W. (Nelson Wiley), 1842-1913 Publication date: 1903 Publisher: Portsmouth, O. N. W. Evans Number of Pages: 1612

Author: Evans, Nelson W. (Nelson Wiley), 1842-1913
Publication date: 1903
Publisher: Portsmouth, O. N. W. Evans
Number of Pages: 1612