USA > Ohio > Brown County > History of Clermont and Brown Counties, Ohio, from the earliest historical times down to the present, V. 2 > Part 15
USA > Ohio > Clermont County > History of Clermont and Brown Counties, Ohio, from the earliest historical times down to the present, V. 2 > Part 15
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HON. BENJAMIN E. GARDNER.
One of the best known of Ohio politicians for native intellect, honesty of purpose, and stern, unyielding devotion to prin- ciple, is the Hon. Benjamin E. Gardner. There is, perhaps, no one who is more closely connected with the affairs of Clermont county, Ohio, or who takes a greater interest in the welfare of the community of which he is a part. That he is serving his second term as State representative from Clermont county, is proof that he has been faithful to the interests of the people who elected him.
Benjamin E. Gardner is a native of Clermont county, his birth having occurred in Monroe township. June 20, 1851. His father, W. W. Gardner, was a native of Brown county, Ohio, being born near Ripley, May 19, 1826. He was reared and educated in Brown county, coming to Clermont county in 1840, locating first in Franklin township, where he remained but a short time. He then settled in Monroe township, perma- nently. He married Miss Margaret Kratzer, August 23, 1846, her death taking place five years later, when the subject of this review was an infant. W. W. Gardner followed the oc-
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HON. BENJAMIN E. GARDNER
HARRIET (SWOPE) GARDNER
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cupation of mill wright for the greater part of his active life. He was a Democrat in politics and served as township trustee for ten years or more in succession, during the Civil war times. He was a member of the Odd Fellows and a consistent mem- ber of the Christian church. . He was successful in life and at his death, which took place May 1, 1897, he owned a finely im- proved farm of one hundred and eighty acres.
The grandfather of the Hon. Benjamin E. Gardner, for whom our subject was named, settled in Brown county, Ohio, early in the Nineteenth century, where he engaged in the busi- ness of farmer and millwright. . He was prospered to a large measure and in the year of 1850, he and his good wife went West, where they remained until their deaths. They were the parents of five children, all of whom are deceased.
Mr. Gardner was enabled to acquire a good common school- ing in Monroe township, and the schools of the county, fol- lowing which he entered upon his business career as farmer, in connection with which he carried on threshing, and con- ducted a saw mill.
On May 1, 1873, occurred the marriage of Mr. Gardner to Miss Mary Swope, who was a daughter of John and Eliza (Keithler) Swope, both natives of Westmoreland county, Penn- sylvania, and early settlers of Clermont county. John Swope died in 1878, in the seventy-second year of his age, and his wife, Eliza, died May 1, 1897, in her seventy-eighth year.
To the union of Mr. and Mrs. Gardner four children were given :
Lora, is the wife of C. C. Barkley, a prosperous farmer of Monroe township. They have two children: Elbert and Merrill.
Charles N., married Miss Ada Nichols, a daughter of Jo- seph Nichols. They are residents of Cincinnati and are the parents of one son, Joseph.
John W., a farmer living near Felicity, married Miss Etta, daughter of George Lanham, and they have one daughter. Florence.
Frank, who is operating the home farm. married Miss Carrie. a daughter of Louis Snider. One son blesses this union, Leonard.
Mrs. Gardner passed from this life August 12, 1880, at the age of thirty-seven years.
Mr. Gardner was married a second time in 1800 to a sister of his first wife. Miss Harriet Swope, and they reside at Nicholsville, where they have a comfortable home.
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. For the past twelve years, Mr. Gardner has been a mem- ber of the County Agricultural Board and takes an active interest in stock betterment. He handled thoroughbred Aber- deen-Angus cattle, and was the owner of the second herd of these cattle in the county. Mr. Gardner always takes a great interest in politics and is well informed on all of the important issues of the day, which has led him to favor the principles of the Democratic party and has held the office of township clerk for one term, and resigned from the office of township trus- tee to accept the office of representative from Clermont coun- ty, in 1908. Socially, Mr. Gardner is a member of the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows, of Nicholsville, and both he and his estimable wife are devoted members of the Chris- tian church.
The close application which Mr. Gardner has always given to the business he had to do, the unfaltering perseverance for the completion of any task undertaken, constitutes the secret of his unvarying and unbounded success, and classes him with the foremost of substantial citizens of the county.
EDWARD PATCHELL.
Mr. Edward Patchell, the father of Edward C. Patchell, mentioned elsewhere in these volumes, was born on Oil creek, Venango county, Pennsylvania, February 19, 1801. His pa- ternal ancestors were French Huguenots, who immigrated to the northern part of Ireland in 1568, four years before the massacre of St. Bartholomew. The doctrines of Calvin had gained an entrance to that portion of France bordering on Switzerland, and were embraced by the Patchells, a numerous and influential family living near Vassey. The fifth great- grandfather of our subject was one of the gallant few who served under that famous Protestant clergyman. George Walker, in the heroic defense of Derby against King James. For bravery in the battle of Boyne he was presented with a gold medal, dated 1600, now in the possession of E. C. Patchell of Stonelick.
Edward Patchell, the progenitotr of the family in America. and the grandfather of our subject, was keeper of the forest under Lord Fitzgerald. This nobleman was killed by the Catholic tenantry in the insurrection of 1788 in Derry county.
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He also owned a large farm five miles from Londonderry, and would have shared the fate of his lordship had he not been secretly released by a man named Dunbar, whom he had pre- viously befriended several times. In 1792 he immigrated to America and in 1800 purchased a farm on Oil creek, in Penn- sylvania, on which he settled; on this farm are some of the largest oil wells of the United States. He died in 1814, aged ninety-seven years.
James Patchell, next youngest in a family of two sons and three daughters, was born in County Derry, Ireland, 1772; married Elizabeth Cannon in 1800, she being born in County Tyrone, Ireland, 1783. They had eight children: Edward, William, Mary, Jane, Eliza, Jemima, James and Joseph, all of whom are deceased. In the War of 1812 he was a major in the Pennsylvania militia and was stationed at Erie during the winter of 1814. His brother, Edward, was a brigadier-general in the Pennsylvania line during the War of 1812, and was ap- pointed by President Jackson, issuing commissary general of the army of the Southwest, with headquarters at New Orleans. He held this position for three years, resigning on account of ill health. At the time of his death he was one of the wealth- iest and most prominent citizens of Pittsburgh. In the spring of 1816. James Patchell, in company with several other fami- lies, descended the Alleghany and Ohio rivers to Neville, Clermont county, Ohio, in a keel boat ; later purchased a farm on India creek in Monroe township, where he lived until 1832, removing then to Butler county. Ohio, his home until his death, 1844, and where his wife passed away in 1846. He was a man of great energy and strong will power, combined with excellent judgment, thus making for more than ordinary ability.
November 2, 1826, Edward Patchell married Sarah Ann Brown, born in Nashville, Tenn., February 7, 1803. and the following children were born to them: William W .. born No- vember 7, 1827: Elizabeth J., born July 16, 1830; James M .. born July 11. 1832: Sarah Ellen, born August 6. 1834: Ange- line, born May 15, 1837; Mary E., born March 22. 1844. and Martha E., born June 23, 1847. Sarah E. is the widow of Ambrose Roudebush, of Stonelick township. Angeline is the wife of Uriah Haworth, and lives on the East Fork of the Little Miami river, near Batavia. James M., never married. was a pupil of Prof. Stevens, of Milford, for several years, and grad- uated from Nelson's Mercantile College. of Cincinnti. in 1854.
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In 1857 he went to California, where he spent two years and in 1863 he was unanimously chosen captain of a company of Ohio home guards, and in September of the same year, was commissioned major of the same company by Governor Todd. His discharge of the duties was most dignified, popular and efficient. Edward C., another son, is mentioned on other pages of this work.
Mrs. Patchell passed away January 17, 1866. She was one of those wives and mothers who made life what it should be- a home what it is intended to be-the most attractive place on earth. In 1866, Mr. Patchell married Anna J. McDonald, who survived him and later became the wife of Roland Boyd. She is also deceased.
Mr. Patchell died suddenly of heart trouble, while visiting a neighbor, February 11, 1876. He was austere in manner, well balanced of mind, with temperate habits; his heart was ever tender toward suffering humanity: he was a patron of colleges, though possessed of little education, altogether com- bining the fire of the French, the sympathy of the Irish, the exactness of the Scotch-united in perfect harmony.
FRANK ALEXANDER STIVERS.
Mr. Frank Alexander Stivers, of Ripley, Ohio, is a repre- sentative of the best pioneer blood of which Brown or Adams counties can boast. His birth occurred at Ripley, Brown county, Ohio, on the 15th of April, 1865. He is a son of An- drew Jackson and Katherine ( Maddox) Stivers.
His paternal great-grandfather. John Stivers, who was born in Virginia in 1764, was of an old Colonial family resident of Virginia. He intermarried with Martha Neel. of that State. During the Revolutionary war, he enlisted as a private in Captain Robert Daniel's company, it being a part of a regi- ment of the line commanded by Colonel Spencer. Serving this term, he again enlisted in a company raised by Captain Harris. At the time of this enlistment he was a resident of Spottsylvania county. After the war. he removed first. to Pennsylvania, and from thence to Adams county, Ohio, and located near Manchester. In 1832. he applied for and received a pension, in recognition of his services in the War of the Revolution; he died in Spring township, Adams county. Ohio.
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at the age of sixty-four, and is buried at Decatur, Brown coun- ty, Ohio.
Robert Stivers, a son of John and Martha (Neel) Stivers, and grandfather of the subject of this sketch, came with his parents to Ohio from Pennsylvania, and on arrival at matu- rity, in December, 1815, married Jane Meharry, a native of Ire- land, her birth having taken place in County Tyrone, February 3, 1790. She had been brought by her father and step-mother to the United States at the age of four years. Alexander and Jane Meharry, her father and step-mother, were natives of Ireland, who immigrated to America in May, 1794, and had settled at Connellsville, Pa. In 1798, they removed to Ken- tucky and shortly afterwards to Adams county, Ohio, where Mr. Meharry met his death, in August, 1813, being killed by the falling of a tree, while returning from a camp meeting held near New Market, Highland county, Ohio. The maiden name of the mother of Jane Meharry was Gillespie, and she died in Ireland, and left two children, John and Jane.
Jane (Meharry) Stivers was a woman of great force of char- acter and natural ability, raised in a God-fearing and God -. serving family, she never lost the effects of her early training. Throughout the strenuous life of that day, she was ever an active and consistent Christian. She accepted membership in the Methodist Episcopal church, and died triumphant in that faith. Her precept and example was so forcefully impressed upon her family that a reflex of her character is clearly dis- played in this generation. Her brothers were men of mark and substance, one, Alexander Meharry, a gifted and devout evangelist, became eminent in the Methodist Episcopal church, the others remained farmers, and moving to In- diana, were prominent in the well known settlement around Shawnee Mound in that State. The children of Robert and Jane (Meharry) Stivers consisted of four sons and four daughters.
Andrew Jackson Stivers, second son of Robert and Jane (Meharry) Stivers, and father of the subject of this mention, was born in Sprigg township, Adams county, Ohio, Septem- ber 6, 1818. He became more generally known and more closely identified with Brown county than the others. As a young man, not yet of age, he came to Ripley, Ohio, and be- gan that career of trade and finance that made his name a household word, and his life a high mark of ambition to those who wished to excel. His first employment was with Arch-
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ibald Leggett, and he remained with him until the organiza- tion of the farmers' branch of the State Bank of Ohio in 1847, with Mr. Leggett as president, Mr. Daniel P. Evans as cashier, and he as teller. This was the beginning of his lifelong occu- pation-that of banking. Yet, he did not confine himself en- tirely to this pursuit, he also traded in tobacco, wheat and pork, and other interests. In a long life of activity coupled with economy and rare foresight, he became possessed of abundant means. His life was pure and simple; sharing his mother's love for the Methodist church, he became identified with that organization in Ripley and for many years was its chief supporter.
Mr. Andrew Jackson Stivers was twice married, September 20, 1845, to Miss Harriet Newel McClain, a union that lasted but six years. She died August 19, 1851. Again he was united in marriage, after a long interval, to Miss Katherine Maddox, December 13, 1859, who proved a helpmeet indeed, through years of unusual happiness and prosperity. Four children were born to this union, two dying in infancy, and two surviving, namely, Robert, born April 20, 1862, and Frank Alexander, born April 15, 1865. They have kept his business intact, and pursued the same benevolent and generous line of action in both church and civic affairs. Mr. A. J. Stivers died in Ripley, Ohio, March 18, 1894, being survived by his wife and two sons.
Mrs. Stivers was a daughter of John T. Maddox, a pioneer of Adams county, a substantial citizen of Ripley at the time of his death. Mrs. Stivers was a woman of more than ordinary breadth of mind and heart. Her activities were both along social and church lines. She espoused the cause of temperance and with well known zeal, became a leader in that movement. She died March 2, 1904, at the home of her son. Frank Alex- ander, leaving a name and memory of rare fragrance.
John Robert Stivers, who married Miss Belle Tyler, a great- granddaughter of Col. John Poage, the founder of Ripley, is living in Ripley, engaged in banking, farming and stock trad- ing, conjointly with his brother.
Frank Alexander Stivers, being of a studious trend of mind, attended Ripley school and was a student of the high school of Ripley, while yet in his "teens," after which he at- tended the Ohio Wesleyan University, at Delaware, during the years of 1884 to 1886. in the class of 1888. Desiring a busi- ness education, he attended Nelson's Business College in Cin-
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cinnati. He chose the law as a vocation, entered the Cincin- nati Law School as a student, and was graduated therefrom May 28, 1890, with the degree of Bachelor of Laws. The next day, May 29, 1890, he was licensed by the Supreme Court of Ohio to the full practice of the law in all the courts of that State. On October 9, of that same year, he was admitted to practice in the United States court for the Sixth circuit, and Southern district of Ohio. On returning to Ripley, he formed a partnership with W. D. Young, Esq., and entered into practice.
The failing health of his father and the exacting demands of the large estate, compelled Mr. Stivers to relinquish the pur- suit of the law and give his attention entirely to the business of looking after it; he then entered the bank as an officer and has so remained.
In 1889, February 20, Mr. Stivers married Miss Zua John- ston, of Bucyrus, Ohio. She was the daughter of Henry Drinker Ellis Johnston and his wife, Jane Ludwig Johnston. She graduated from Bucyrus schools in 1884 and from the Ohio Wesleyan University, at Delaware, in 1888. It was while fellow students, the acquaintance began which led to marriage. Mrs. Stivers' family was quite as distinctly identified with the northern portion of Ohio as was that of her husband's with the southern portion. Her father was the eldest son of Thomas F. and Martha (Walton) Johnston (they were sec- ond cousins), old residents of Crawford and Marion counties. They were Quakers in religion and Republicans in politics. The Johnston family, originally. were from Ireland, although Thomas F. was born in Lycoming county, Pennsylvania, in 1800; he was a cabinet maker by trade. The family moved to Bucyrus in 1825. Henry Drinker Ellis Johnston became a farmer and stock raiser, owning a large landed estate, which he cultivated and grazed as his pursuit required. He was familiarly known as "Major," the title acquired from his con- nection in early life with the militia of Marion county.
Henry Drinker Ellis Johnston was married to Miss Jane Ludwig, daughter of Samuel Ludwig. She was born Novem- ber 20, 1831, while the family were on the way from Penn- sylvania to Ohio. Her father was a native of Berks county, Pennsylvania, born January 25, 1788, and died December 20, 1876, The family were originally from Alsace, France, and the Brothers Ludwig, the earliest known of the family, being staunch Huguenots and Protestants, were driven from France
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by the revocation of the Edict of Nantes. They took refuge later in America, having turned their estate into money and secreted it in the lining of their clothing. Mrs. Stivers has much of the same spirit in religious matters, and is quite de- voted to the Methodist church, in which she was reared.
The family of Frank Alexander and Zua (Johnston) Stivers consists of themselves and three children: Andrew Jackson, named in honor of his grandfather; Richard Johnston, and Mary Effie. Andrew Jackson, the eldest son, is known as "Jack" and was born November 24, 1889, at Ripley, Ohio. After passing three years and graduating at the Culver Mili- tary Academy, of Indiana, he is now attending his father's alma mater, the Ohio Wesleyan University, at Delaware. The second son, Richard Johnston, was born February 6, 1893, at Ripley. After preparation at Exeter Academy, Mas- sachusetts, he has matriculated as a student at the University of Yale, at New Haven, Connecticut. He also spent one and a half years at the Culver Military Academy before entering Exeter. Mary Effie was born October 6, 1900, at Ripley, Ohio, and is attending the home school at Ripley.
Since his marriage, with the exception of the time passed in the study and practice of law, about three and one-half years in all, Mr. Stivers has devoted himself to banking. In connection with his brother, Robert, he has acquired a con- trolling interest in the Citizens' National Bank of Ripley, and has been in turn its assistant cashier, president and cashier, the latter office he now holds. He has held this connection for about twenty-seven years. In banking, Mr. Stivers has al- ways been conservative, yet free enough to promote any move- ment in trade, looking to the betterment of the business inter- ests of his native town and county. He is not.a speculator in any view, but has invested in many branches of business other than in his own bank. He is a large holder of real estate, both city and country, and his holdings are looked after with the same intelligent and careful insight that marks his banking career. He and his brother also own a controlling interest in the Ripley Gas & Electric Plant, and gives it his personal attention.
Mr. Stivers has taken his father's place in the Methodist church, and extends to it the same generous financial help that has characterized the family for so long.
While looking after financial affairs, he by no means neg- lects civic duty, for seven years he was a member of the city
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council, and gave to that service the same interested attention that marks all his actions. He is now in middle life, full of energy and pushing forward every movement for the good of his community. In politics, he is a Republican, and a close observer of the history and actions of his party, proud of its past history and hopeful of its future. In his daily walk, he is liberal and henevolent, open to espouse every good move in his community.
THE DeVORE FAMILY.
Three brothers of Huguenot heroic blood came early to America, one settling in New Jersey, one in Virginia, and one in Pennsylvania. From the last ancestry David DeVore, son of Nicholas and Sarah DeVore, was born in Washington county, Pennsylvania, February 10, 1774, and moved to Mason county, Kentucky. He married Alice Mann, of the same fam- ily as Horace Mann, who was born in New Jersey, April 15, 1777. They removed to the farm near Red Oak, Ohio, where they died, Alice DeVore, June 25, 1860, and David DeVore, January 26, 1861. Their children were:
Anna, born February 13, 1797, married to Joseph Horn, Jan- uary 17, 1816.
Sarah, born December 5, 1798, married to John Carnahan, May 14, 1818.
Polly, born February 17, 1801, married to John Wills, Sep- tember 12, 1829.
Peter Mann, born April 3, 1802, married to Sally Day, Oc- tober 3, 1821.
Abner, born November 25, 1803.
Nicholas F., born May 16, 1806, married to Hetty West, October 18, 1832.
David G. DeVore, born March 31, 1808, married Rebecca Murray, near McConnellsville, Ohio, May 24, 1837.
Elhanan, born February 25, 1810, married Martha B. Stay- ton, October 22, 1835.
Newton S., born May 24, 1812, married Lucinda Melvin, June 10, 1836.
Emily, born June 25, 1819, married John Beasley, February 25, 1836.
Excepting Abner, who died young, all reared large families, and all lived in Brown county. Emily De Vore Beasley moved
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with her family to Champaign, Ill., where her husband ac- quired wealth and occupied a position of importance in the community. Newton DeVore, when in the prime of manhood, moved to Mt. Vernon, Ind., where he died. The other mem- bers of this large family lived and died in the county of their birth. David DeVore, the founder of the Ohio family, was a man of sturdy virtues, intelligence and of lovableness. He became a man of wealth and was connected with the first bank of Ripley. David G. DeVore, his son, resembled him in appearance, and in disposition.
David G. De Vore, attended the University at Athens, Ohio, when the trip was made on horseback. He ranked high in scholarship, being especially noted in mathematics. After graduation, he studied law with Archibald Leggitt, of Ripley. Thomas Corwin was one of the examiners when he was ad- mitted to the bar. He entered a law firm with Thomas L. Hamer, and steadily rose in his profession, until he was sec- ond to none in the courts in which he practiced. He lacked the eloquence of Hamer, but he surpassed him in scholarship and knowledge of the law. Early in his practice, he was made prosecuting attorney. David G. DeVore was a great reader and a profound student of history, for which his remarkable memory aided him. Shortly before his death, he quoted from memory fifty psalms and said, "I can give the rest." He loved his home and his friends with him in it. He amassed a large fortune, which in his old age was lost him, yet it never lost him his sweetness of temper. He was public-spirited. ever ready to advance the public good. He was interested in young men, and aided many to a successful career. He died Novem- ber 26, 1894. Rebecca Murray DeVore, his wife, was of Scotch-Irish ancestry, and possessed the virtues of those peo- ple. She died April 12, 1866.
Of their children, Alice and Emily died in childhood. Peter Mann, a remarkable youth, when eleven years old, Lucy Mary Taylor, who married William Snedeker, in Los Angeles, June 29. 1909. James Mann, who was a long time county commis- sioner, died September. 1911. Three are still living: David De Vore, connected with H. S. Pogue & Company : Sarah Phillips, living in Cincinnati, and Rebecca Jane DeVore, who enjoys the distinction of being the only "Brown Countian" in the recent "Who's Who." She has been a teacher and educa- tor of distinction for many years, holding the presidency of Pennsylvania College for Women, Pittsburgh, for six years,
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