USA > Ohio > Clinton County > History of Clinton County, Ohio Its People, Industries, and Institutions, with Biographical Sketches of Representative Citizens and Genealogical Records of Many of the Old Families > Part 100
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John Stingley, grandfather of J. Albert Stingley, was born in Virginia on August 22, 1792, and came to Ohlo In 1800, first locating in Ross county, where, on April 16, 1818. he married Elizabeth Bush, who was born on May 31. 1798. Four years later they pur- chased a form of two hundred and nine aeres in Clinton county and ever since that time the family has been established here. Four children were born to John and Elizabeth
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. Stingley : Nonb B., February 24. 1819; Guead. : November, 24, 1820; Talitha, April 27, 1823; and Julian, October 7, 1825. The father of these children died on September 6, : 1828, and after his denth, his widow married Sebastian Stingley, the twin brother of her first husband. The Stingley family in America dates from the coming of George Stingley, a native of Germany, who was born on September 12, 1763, and who was the great-grandfather of J. Albert Stingley, the subject of this sketeb.
Like his other brothers, J. Albert Stingley was educated In the common schools of Chester township and has farmed in that township practically all of his life, except for one year which be spent in Wilmington. during which brief period he conducted n butcher shop on West Main street. For seven years prior to his marriage, Mr. Stingley dealt largely in stock and is one of the well-known stock buyers of Clinton county to- day. In February, 1894. be purchased a farm of seventy-two acres, where he has since lived.
On December 18. 1887, J. Albert Stingley was married to Rosa M. Fudge, daughter of H. C. and Emeline Fudge, to which union' have been born two children, Hazel, who married Foy Powers and has one child, Dorothy Lucile, and Oscar L.
Mr. and Mrs. Stingley are members of the Friends church and are highly esteemed in their neighborhood. Mr. Stingley is a member of the Knights of Pythlas and of the Knights of the Maccabees. He Is independent in politics, believing that local govern- ment is more effectually served outside the realm of partisanship.
JOSEPH F. BALLARD.
Joseph F. Ballard, a well-to-do farmer of Union township. this county, is a repre- sentative of the sixth generation of the Ballard family in Clinton county. His great- great-grandfather, David Ballard, emigrated to Oblo about the year 1800 and located within the present limits of the city of Wilmington.
Joseph F. Ballard was horn on November 4, 1872, in Liberty township, the son of Abraham S. and Mary J. (Oren) Ballard. members of the Friends church, the former born in Union township on January 14, 1838, and the Intter in Liberty township, in April, 1568, sister. of the Hon. Jesse N. Oren .. Abraham 8. Ballard. was educated. in. the.com- mon schools of Liberty township and farmed in that township all of his life, owning eighty acres of land. On September 12, 1861, he married Mary J. Oren, and to this union three children were born. namely : Clara, who married Hiram Arnold; Charles F .. who married Jessie Parker, and Joseph F., the subject of this sketch. Abraham S. Ballard was a Republican and served ax trustee of Liberty township. He was also a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
Abraham S. Ballerd, who died in 1913. was the son of Joseph and Susannah G. (Stillings) Ballard, the former of whom was born on April 29, 1912, In Clinton county. end the letter, on June 24, 1817, In Virginia. In 1826 she came with her parents. Abra- hum nud Srrab Stillings, to Clinton county. Susannah G. Stillings was the youngest of a family of six children. Joseph Ballard owned one hundred and thirty neres of land in Liberty township, where he farmed most all of his life and where he was well known. Besides Abraham S., he and his wife had three other children, Margaret, Eunice and Enmua. They were members of the Friends church and he was a Republican in politics.
The Clinton county branch of the Ballard family goes back to the Old Dominion state. where David. the grandfather of Joseph and the great-great-grandfather of Joseph F .. was born about the middle of the eighteenth century. He married several years before the Declaration of American Independence and about 1800 came to Ohio and settled within the present Butits of Wilmington, purchasing a military lund warrant. He was among the first. If not the first. minister in the Friends church in Clinton county and served locally for many years, or until his death about 1520. He and his wife were the parents of seven children, all of whom grew to maturity. Six married and one died
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unmarried. John Ballard, the next In line of descent, was born In either Pennsylvania or Virginia, about 1770, and married Dinah Pickerell ,on April 20, 1708. In 1809 they came to Clinton county and he died on May 13, 1814. They also were the parents of seven children. After Jobn Ballard's death, bis widow married John Whitson, a native of Pennsylvania. She passed away on June 7, 1835.
Joseph F. Ballard, the subject of this sketch, who was educated in the common schools of Liberty township and In Wilmington College, which he attended for one term, began farming in Chester township after completing his education, farming there for two years In 1805 Mr. Ballard purchased the farm in Union township where he now lives. This farm originally consisted of fifty-eight acres but he has since added to the tract until he now owns one hundred and fifty-one acres, a splendid farm. From year to year, he has invested considerable money in all kinds of improvements and is regarded as one of the more successful men of Union township.
In 1893 Joseph F. Ballard was married to Irene Johnson, the daughter of Harry and Margaret (Painter) Johnson, to which union four children have been born, as follow : Donald, born in 1897; Nadine, in 1899; Frances, in 1906, and Herbert, in 1908.
Mr. and Mrs. Ballard are members of the Friends church, true to the religion of Mr. Ballard's great-great-grandfather, the Rev. David Ballard, probably the first min- ister of the Society of Friends in this region. Politically, Mr. Ballard is a Republican. He and his wife are interested in all good works in their neighborhood and are held in high esteem throughout that part of the county.
JUDGE EDWARD JOSEPH WEST.
The high standing of the West family in this country began several generations ago. when Thomas West, known as Lord Delaware, governor of Virginia, early in the seven- teenth century, probably became the progenitor of the family in America. Benjamin West, the great painter, is of the same stock. Peyton West, grandfather of the subject of this review, surveyed the town of Westboro, which was named for him, while his son, the father of the Judge, was elected probate judge on the same ticket which elected Lincoln to the Presidency, and, as a delegate to the Republican national convention at Philadelphia In 1864, helped to renominate the martyred President. With an ancestry such as this. It is not surprising that Edward J. West has attained a front rank among his fellow citizens. Lawyer, publicist, judge, politician, lecturer and orator, Judge West's name and fame have extended beyond the confines of the state in which he lives. As a politician of the bigher type, he is known from one end of the state to the other; as a lyceum lecturer. he has addressed audiences in many states of the Union; and as a member of several national organizations, he has been the recipient of signal honors.
Edward Joseph West, now judge of the common pleas court of Clinton county, was born on December 8. 1851. at Blanchester, Clinton county. the son of Joseph H. and Henrietta (Stroud) West, the former of whom was a native of this county, and the latter of whom was born In Williamstown. Grant county, Kentucky.
The West family came originally from England, and settled on Fall creek. in Pittsyl- vania county. Virginia. It was here that Owen West, great-grandfather of Judge West. married Mary Martin. Of their children. Peyton West, grandfather of the subject. married Sarah Hadley, who was born nenr Guilford, North Carolina. They were the parents of six boys and five girls. Peyton West was among the ambitious men of the East. who migrated westward. settling in 1804 on a farm in Clark township. Clinton county. Ohlo. before the county was organized. Here it was that Joseph H. West. the father of Judge West, was born. Peyton West, besides being a surveyor, held public office, including that of county treasurer. He died on his farm, three miles southeast of Martinsville, Ohio.
The life of Joseph H. West, father of the subject, was as varied and full of public
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honor and service as the life of a man living in that stirring time could well be. Born on November 22, 1822, be was only twenty-six years of age when the Mexican War broke out. Enlisting at New Orleans in 1846, he served until the close of that struggle, being mustered out tu the same city in which he began service. The war over, he returned to Cincinnati, Oblo, and from there went to Williamstown, Kentucky, to take charge of a store. There he was married, on September 19, 1850, to Henrietta Stroud. Returning to Clinton county about 1861, he continued to live here until his death, which took place on November 25, 1879. In 1864 Joseph West had a part in national politica, as a delegate to the national convention that renominated Abraham Lincoln to the Presidency. Four years prior to this, he was elected probate judge of Clinton county, was afterwards re-elected, and served six years. Being admitted to the bar in 1854, he was in active practice all of the time he did not hold public office. His widow is still living, making her home with her son, Edward J.
In the maternal line, Judge West is descended from Southern stock, his mother's mother having been Harriett Vanlandingham, who was born in Stafford county, Vir- ginia, a descendant from the French Huguenots. When she was a young girl, her parents moved to Fairfax county, Virginia, and thence to Grant county, Kentucky. There she became the wife of Edward Stroud, who was born in Reading, Pennsylvania, and their daughter, Henrietta, became the wife of Joseph H. West. Of the nine children born to this union, Edward J .. is the eldest, the others being: Clarence, now living in Los Angeles, California : George. Harriet and William H. are deceased ; Benjamin, of Charleston, West Virginia : Mellville, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania ; and Alfred, deceased.
Edward J. West received his education in the common schools of Wilmington and the high school, being compelled, on account of ill health, to leave school before grad- uation. He then taught school for two years, his first teacher's certificate being dated April 2. 1870. During this period be lived at home, one and one-half miles west of town. Meanwhile he had read law under his father's directions and he was admitted to the bar on January 20, 1873, practicing thereafter with his father.
With his election as prosecuting attorney in 1875, the official life of Edward J. West began. When he went out of office. after serving twelve years, or five terms, he again resumed the Inw practice in January, 1889, which he continued until April 6. 1906, when he was appointed by United States District Judge A. C. Thompson as referee in bank- ruptey for Clinton county, resigning this office to assume the duties of judge of common plens, a place to which he was appointed, on September 4, 1908, by Governor A. L. Harris, having been previously endorsed by a primary vote of his county, Later, he was elected to fill a short term, and in November. 1910, was elected for the full term of Alx years.
In 1806 Judge West was elected as delegate to the Republican national convention at St. Louis In 1800. He is considered one of the best public speakers in the state and has done much effective work in this line for the Republican party. He was formerly chairman of the Republican county central committee.
On January 3, 1878, Edward J. West married Katharine F. Bowshier, who has taken a keen interest in the career of her husband and has had her share in his success. Katharine E. Bowshier Is the daughter of Stephen E. Bowshier and was born on a farm in Pickaway county, Ohio. The children born to Judge and Mrs. West were: Winnifred C., who passed away at the age of twenty-two years: and Kathleen C., wife of William M. Weller, of Cincinnati, Ohio, whose children are Katharine W. and Winnifred C., both born at Lynchburg. Virginia. One of the interesting phases of the family life of this home is the devotion and tender care lavished on the Judge's mother. now eighty-two years of age. By her gentle nature and lovable personality. this aged woman has won many friends, who brighten her declining years.
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Judge West is the type of man whose active mind must find many and varled channels of expression. This he has sought in a number of organizations, some of which are national in their scope. Among these is the National Geographic Society, of Washington, D. C., an organization which numbers among its members men and women of the highest scholarship and attainment. Ile also belongs to the Luther Burbank Society, another association which is broad in its scope and membership. For several years the Judge has been actively affiliated with the International Lyceum Association, for which he occasionally lectures. He is also a member of the Ohio State Bar A8so- ciation. He is a well-known speaker on fraternal and patriotic subjects, of which his favorite tople is the Grand Army of the Republic. When a boy on the farm, Judge West joined the Patrons of Husbandry, or Grangers' Association, an organization in which be has been active ever since. He belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Fraternal Order of Eagles, the Junior Order of United American Mechanics, and the Royal Arcanium, being grand orator of the grand council of Ohio of the last-named order; Modern Woodmen of America and Daughters of Rebekah.
Among the Interests of Judge West's early childhood and young manhood was the church, and he is now an elder in the Presbyterian church, of which bis wife, daughter and son-in-law are members. The Judge formerly found time to be active in Sunday school work, having represented his home county in the state and national conventions of that body.
Life has been to Judge West a thing of deep interest and signal value. Clear in his intuitions, true In his judgments, broad in his sympathies and kindly in his nature, bis life has been far-reaching in its influence for good. With every opportunity for self- aggrandizement, he chose rather to serve the common people and in so doing he has ever had their merited respect and esteem. Clinton county has been dignified by his life and achievements, and his influence in the civic and social life as well as in professional circles, has been of a most beneficent order.
JOHN BRENNAN.
No better farm is to be found in Wilson township than the seventy-six acres which is owned by John Brennan, living on Rural Route No. 1, out of Sabina. Ohio.
John Brennan was born on May 22, 1860, In Fayette county, Ohio, a son of Thomas and Margaret ( Mitchell ) Brennan, the former of whom was born in County Sligo, Ire- land. in 1812, and the latter also a native of Ireland, born in county Wexford, the daughter of Patrick Mitchell. Thomas Brennan was a son of Thomas Brennan, a native of Ireland and a devout member of the Catholic church, who never came to America. Thomas Brennan, Jr., father of John, wes educated in a private school .in Ireland, and came to America about 1849, proceeding to Cincinnati, where for some time he worked on a railroad, which was being constructed at that time through this section of Ohto. He later married Margaret Mitchell, and commenced farming in Clinton county ahout 1859. Although he always thereafter was engaged In farming he never owned land. He was a devont member of the Catholic church and died in that faith, his death occurring on November 25, 1895. His wife had preceded him to the grave many years before, her death having occurred in 1876, at the age of thirty-seven years. They were the parents of six children. Mary. Catherine, John, Jerry, Margaret and Ann, of whom Mary and Margaret are now deceased.
Educated in the common schools of this state, John Brennan has become a successful farmer of Wilson township, this county. He was married in 1887 to Margaret Sullivan, a native of Ireland, the daughter of Thomas Sullivan, who is now living in Wilmington, Ohlo. Mr. and Mrs. Brennan have to children. Mr. Brennan is the owner-of seventy- six acres of land in Wilson township, where he lives. This land is level and very rich.
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Twelve years ago he bullt a comfortable and modern house, and four years ago erected a large and commodious barn, and has improved his farm in many ways, 80 that he now has a very neat and attractive place.
WALTER T. McMILLAN.
Walter T. McMillan is widely known as a successful farmer in Union township, Clinton county, Ohio, where his well-directed efforts in the practical affairs of life, his capable business management and sound judgment have won for him a competence in farm property and a comfortable status in the business affairs of this county. He owns the old Seth Linton farm of two hundred and thirty-three acres, which he purchased In 1896. His life fully demonstrates what may be accomplished by a man of energy and ambition who is not afraid to work and who is possessed of a capacity for perseverance. In all of the relations of life he has commanded the confidence and respect of his aseo- ciates and friends, and has ably carried forward the work of bis illustrious ancestors who were pioneers in this community.
Walter T. McMillan was born near Gurneyville. Chester township, Clinton county, Oblo. November 22, 1865, and is the son of Isaac and Nancy ( Linton) McMillan, the former was born in Chester township in 1836, and died in 1874. The latter was born on the farm where her son, Walter T., now lives, March 1, 1840, and died on March 12, 1911. Isaac McMillan was the son of David and Sarah (Carpenter) McMillan, the former of whom was born in Chester township, Clinton county, the son of David and Hannah ( Hussey) McMillan. Sarah Carpenter was a native of New York state who came to Clinton county, Ohio, with her parents when three years old. David McMillan. Sr., who was born on March 2, 1772, In Pennsylvania, was the son of William and Deborah McMillan. They were residents of York county. Pennsylvania, after coming to this country, the former having been born in Scotland and the latter in Wales. They had eight children : Thomas, William, Henry, Samuel, David and Jonathan (twins), Mary and Lydia. Jonathan married Anne Hussey ; David married Hannah Hussey; Mary married Joseph Baxter: Lydia married William Jay. After coming to Ohio David and Hannah (Hussey) McMillan settled where Thomas McMillan later owned a farm. They had ten children, five of whom were born in Pennsylvania, and five in Ohio. After locating in Clinton county in 1804, David and Hannah ( Hussey) McMillan obtained a land grant signed by President George Washington, purchasing the land for a dollar and a quarter an acre. They were members of the Society of Friends. David, Jr., and Sarah (Carpenter) McMillan had two children, Isaac and Judinh, the latter of whom was the first cashier of the Clinton County National Bank, and who died in California.
Isaac McMillan grew up on the farm neur Gurneyville and operated this farm for his father until 1866, when he opened a hardware store and also began packing pork. He assisted in the establishment of the Clinton County National Bank. He was a Repub- lleun In politics and as a member of the Friends church served as clerk of the Center monthly meeting for many years. For some time he was the proprietor of a dry-goods store. He died while still a young man of lung trouble. His wife was the daughter of Seth and Sarah Anne Linton. The genealogy and family history of the Linton family are presented in more complete form in the sketch of Fred Weldon Linton, contained elsewhere in this volume.
After the death of Isaac McMillan, his widow, the mother of Walter T. McMillan, married an uncle of her first husband, Thomas McMillan. They lived in Chester town- ship near the Chester church. By Nancy (Linton) McMillan's first marriage there were six children, namely : David R., born on March 3, 1861, died at the age of three years; Seth I .. , February 15, 1863, an attorney at Columbus, Ohio; Walter T., November 22, 1865: Clifton, December 21, 1867, died at the age of two years; Carrle E., November 3, 1869, died at the age of two years; and Maria E., October 4, 1874, died at the age of six
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months. Thomas and Nancy (Linton) McMillan were the parents of one son, Thomas Heury, who lives on the old McMillan homestead In Chester township. Mrs. Nancy (Linton) McMillan spent her later years among her children and died at the home of her son, Walter T.
Walter T. McMillan obtained the rudiment of an education in the public schools of Chester township, and later became a student at Wilmington College. He was nine years old at the time of his father's denth, in 1874, and after his death lived with his grandfather, Seth Linton, until thirteen years of age. After this he worked for his step-father, Thomas McMillan until his death, when In partnership with his mother he purchased the old Seth Linton farm in Union township, where he now lives. Mr. McMillan has since remodeled the house and bulldings and greatly improved the farm.
On December 24. 1894, Mr. McMillan was married to Martha Blanch Kirk, a native of Adams county, Ohio, the daughter of Albert DeWitt and Phoebe D. (McIntyre) Kirk. The father of Mrs. MeMillan is a resident of Winchester, Ohio, where he is a merchant tailor. His wife is deceased. To Mr. and Mrs. Walter T. McMillan have been born six children ; Florence Nancy, born on November 22, 1895, is a graduate of Wilmington Col- lege: Damaris, January 22, 1808, is a student in the Wilmington high school ; Isaac DeWitt, September 7, 1899; Leontine, died at the age of one year; Kirk, January 1. 1001; and Harriet, December 15, 1912.
Mr. and Mrs. McMillan are members of the Center meeting of the Society of Friends. Mr. MeMillan Is an ardent Republican.
AARON BOWMAN.
Some of our braintest men and women have bad little or no acquaintance with the Interior of a school room, but they have not only taken advantage of every opportunity for gaining knowledge, but they have made opportunities for themselves. They had that force of character that would not admit of the neglect to follow every avenue leading to an education. We cannot but admire the man who wins out in spite of such a draw- back.
Aaron Bowman, farmer of Union township. Clinton county, Ohio, was born in Brown county, Ohio, August 4, 1862. He is a son of Benjamin and Mary Ann ( Greeley ) Bow. man. He received a meager education in the public school near his home in Brown county. When he was fifteen years old, his parents moved to Kentucky, and in 1897 he came to Clinton county, where he was married. After renting several farms In Green township. he purchased seventy acres in Green township, and lived there twelve years. In 1911 he sold out, buying seventy-eight acres in I'nion township, on the Waynesville pike, where he has since resided. He remodeled his house, and it is one of the most attractive and comfortable homes in the neighborhood. Mr. Bowman is a member of the Christian church, and is a Democrat.
Benjamin Bowman, father of the subject of this sketch, was born in 1821. In Brown county, Ohio, and died on June 30, 1902. His wife was Mary Ann Greenley, who was born in 1831. and died in December, 1902. He grew to manhood in Brown county on a farm. He married, and soon after bought a farm in Brown county, which he sold in 1878, going from there to Kentucky, settling in Clark county. Here he rented land and farmed, devoting his special attention to the raising of tobacco. He lived on the H. P. Thompson farm twelve years. About 1590 the family came to Clinton county. He died on the Ferren farm in Union township. He and his wife were members of the Christian church. They were the parents of ten children, namely : Lucinda, Louis, James B., Nelson. Lucius M., Aaron, Nannie, Thomas, Harvey and Ida. Lucinda became the wife of Whitmore Freeland, and lives in Indiana; Louis, died In Adams county, Ohio: James B. deventa, lived in Clinton county : Nelson lives in Clark county, Kentucky, and is n tobacco ralser: Lucius M. lives in Wilmington., Oblo, and is a retired farmer; Nannie
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became the wife of George Green, and lives in Nicholas county, Kentucky; Thomas lives In Kentucky ; Harvey lives in Union township, and is a farmer ; Ida died in 1903.
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