USA > Ohio > Greene County > History of Greene County, Ohio: its people, industries and institutions, Volume II > Part 38
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Franklin county. When seventeen years of age he began working in a flour-mill in that neighborhood, a business at which he worked, off and on, for twenty years. In due time he became the owner of a mill at Bowling Green. in Wood county, and for six years operated the same. He then sold out and worked as a journeyman millwright for several years, at the end of which time he rented a mill at Goshen, in Clermont county, and for about six years was engaged in milling there. He then disposed of his interests there and moved to Dayton, where he for a time was employed as a sta- tionary engineer. In the meantime Mr. Brown had become an expert elec- trician and in 1895 he and his brother Frank came to this county and erected and installed an electric-light plant at Jamestown. building the power sta- tion and wiring the town. Two years later his brother sold out his interest in the plant to John Colnot, who presently sold his interest to Mr. Brown, who then associated with himself in the business his son, Orlando T. Brown, and Brown & Son continued to own and operate the plant until in February, 1917, when they sold it to the Dayton Power and Light Company, which is now operating the same. Mr. Brown takes pride in the lighting plant he built up at Jamestown and of which he still is superintendent, for the Dayton company retained him as general superintendent of the plant after they took it over. In 1895 when he started the plant going at Jamestown it repre- sented an initial outlay of six thousand dollars, but during the many years he was in control of the same he gradually extended the plant until it came to be worth twenty thousand dollars. In 1916 Mr. Brown erected a brick double house on the north side of East Main street and has since made his home in one half of that house, his son-in-law, Archibald McFarlan, and family occupying the other half. Mr. Brown is a Republican and is now serving as a member of the Jamestown town council, to which office he was elected in the fall of 1917.
On July 21, 1872, Mr. Brown was united in marriage to Elnora Fel- lers, who also was born in Fairfield county, Ohio, February 7, 1857, daugh- ter of Joshua and Barbara (Runde) Fellers, who were the parents of eleven children, all of whom are still living and of whom Mrs. Brown was the seventh in order of birth, the others being the following: Eliza, born on May 7, 1844; Minerva, April 2, 1846; Martha, May 6, 1847; Clara E., February 13, 1850; David E., November 25, 1852; Elizabeth, November 27, 1853; Florence. December 14, 1858; John C., November 3, 1861 ; Bar- bara Alice, May 6, 1863, and Docia, April 18, 1865. Joshua Fellers, the father of these children, died on December 10, 1899, and his widow's death occurred on July 10, 1900. She was born on June 8, 1822. Mr. and Mrs. Brown have two children, a son and a daughter, Orlando Theodore and Lillie May, the latter of whom is living at Jamestown. Orlando T. Brown,
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who formerly was associated with his father in the operation of the lighting plant at Jamestown, is now living at Dayton, where he is engaged as an electrician. He married Blanch Bossard and has two children, Helen and Esther. Lillie May Brown married Archibald McFarlan, proprietor of a barber shop at Jamestown, and has two children, Owen Brown and Ned Lee. The Browns are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, of which Mr. Brown has been a steward and deacon for more than twelve years. For six years he also was superintendent of the Sunday school of that church.
GEORGE M. SHANK.
George M. Shank, former trustee of Beavercreek township and the pro- prietor of a farm of one hundred and forty-seven acres three miles north of Alpha, rural mail route No. 10 out of Xenia, was born on that farm on July 2, 1852, son of Absalom and Martha N. (Ankeney) Shank, the latter of whom also was born in this county, daughter of David and Elizabeth An- keney, who had come here from Maryland, further mention of whom is made elsewhere in this volume. Absalom Shank was born in Frederick county, Maryland, May 6, 1813, son of Henry and Barbara (Crumbaugh) Shank, and was but an infant when his parents came to Greene county in 1814 and settled in Sugarcreek township. In 1837 Absalom Shank married and estab- lished his home on the farm on which his son George is now living, erecting there in the fall of 1855 and spring of 1856 the present dwelling house on the place. There he spent the rest of his life, his death occurring in Decem- ber, 1881. He was a Republican and a Lutheran. He was twice married, his first wife, Martha Ankeney, dying in 1863, after which, in 1866, he mar- ried Margaret Fauber, who died in 1908 without issue. By his first mar- riage Absalom Shank was the father of eight children, of whom George M. was the fifth in order of birth, the others being Julia A., now deceased, who was the wife of George Harmon: Melinda, wife of Adam Rubert, of Mechanicsburg, Ohio; Martha Jane, who married Silas Huffman, of Fair- field, and died in 1917; Henry, now a resident of Hot Springs, Arkansas; Lewis, who is engaged in the undertaking business at Des Moines. Iowa; Jacob A., now a resident of Spokane, Washington, and Horace, of San Diego, California.
Reared on the home farm, George M. Shank received his schooling in the Ludlow school. After his marriage in 1874 he rented a farm in the neighborhood of the home place and after his father's death in 1881 returned to the home place, which, in partnership with his sister, Mrs. Harmon, he purchased a year later. In 1901 he bought his sister's interest and has since owned the farm. Mr. Shank is a Republican, served one term as town-
GEORGE M. SHANK
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ship trustee and has for eighteen years been a member of the local board of education. He and his family are members of the Beaver Reformed church.
Mr. Shank has been twice married. On December 24, 1874, he was united in marriage to Ella Butts, who also was born in Beavercreek town- ship, daughter of Basil and Anna Butts, and who died without issue on December 12, 1877. On February 10, 1880, Mr. Shank married Josephine Beare, who was born in the neighboring county of Montgomery, daughter of Henry and Mary Beare, the former of whom was a soldier of the Civil War, and to this union four children have been born, Frank, who is employed in the plant of the National Cash Register Company at Dayton; Etta, wife of John Lyons, a Montgomery county farmer ; Harry, making his home on the home farm and who married Bertha Rickles and has two children, Thelma . and Wilhelmina, and Mary, wife of Jobe Lyons, who is employed by the Metal Products Company of Dayton and owns his home at Belmont.
JAMES F. ROBINSON.
The late James F. Robinson, a veteran of the Civil War and former trustee of Silvercreek township, who died at his farm home in that town- ship in the spring of 1900 and whose widow is now living at Jamestown, was born on a farm in the neighboring county of Fayette on April 16, 1838, son of Singleton and Ann (Janes) Robinson, natives of Virginia, who had been residents of Fayette county since the days of their youth and whose last days were spent there.
Singleton Robinson was but a lad when he came with his parents from Virginia to Ohio, the family settling in Fayette county, and there he grew to manhood and married Ann Janes, who also had been born in Virginia and who was but a child when she came to this state with her parents. After his marriage Singleton Robinson established his home on a farm in Fayette county and there spent the rest of his life. His wife died in 1854 and he survived her for forty years, his death occurring in 1894. They were mem- bers of the Newlight church and their children were reared in that faith. There were six of these children, of whom but two are now living, Paris, who is now a resident of Michigan, and Scott, who continues to live on the old home farm in Fayette county, the others besides the subject of this memorial sketch having been Willis, Sarah and Ella.
Reared on the home farm, James F. Robinson received his schooling in the schools of that neighborhood and continued his labors on the farm until his marriage at the age of twenty-three, in 1861, when he established his home on a farm in Jefferson township, Clinton county, remaining there for
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ten years. In 1871 he located in Greene county, buying a farm of two hun- dred and six acres in Silvercreek township, on the Jefferson pike, two and one-half miles east of Jamestown, where he established his home and spent the rest of his life. When Mr. Robinson took possession of that place it had on it an old log cabin and a tumble-down stable. It was but partly cleared and was in an otherwise unimproved condition, but he soon got his plans under way and it was not long until he had a new house and farm buildings on the place and was beginning to get it under cultivation. In addition to that place Mr. Robinson also owned a farm in Fayette county. He was a Democrat and for some time served as township trustee and also as a mem- ber of the school board. His death occurred at his home in Silver Creek township on May 4, 1900. He was a soldier of the Civil War, having enlisted in the One Hundred and Sixty-eighth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Company D, in 1864. He served until he was mustered out as second lieutenant. He was one of the officers that took some of Morgan's men to the Ohio penitentiary after their conviction.
On October 17, 1861, Mr. Robinson was united in marriage to Ann E. Moorman, who was born in Silvercreek township, daughter of Reuben and Susan (Sharp) Moorman, the former of whom was born in that same town- ship, son of Micajah Moorman, one of the earliest pioneers of that neigh- borhood. Micajah Moorman was a Virginian and a Quaker and came to Greene county in 1809. He took an active part in the work of organizing a local Society of Friends in the neighborhood of Jamestown. Of his chil- dren, seven grew to maturity, namely: Thomas, Christopher, Reuben, Effie, Nancy, Elizabeth and Mildred. Reared on the farm on which he was born in Silvercreek township, Reuben Moorman remained there all his life, liav- ing established his home there after his marriage to Susan Sharp. In addi- tion to farming he also operated a saw-mill on his place. His death oc- curred in 1870 and his widow died in 1884. They were members of the Friends church at Jamestown and their children were brought up in the faith of that denomination. Of the four children born to Reuben Moorman and wife but two are now living, Mrs. Robinson having a sister, Martha, widow of Alfred Ross, now making her home in Jamestown, the others having been Thaddeus, who died in youth, and Samuel C. Moorman, who died at Seattle, Washington, in February, 1914.
To James F. and Ann E. (Moorman) Robinson were born eight chil- dren, namely : Anna, who died in early childhood; Frank, who married Eliza- beth Highland and is now living in Chicago, where he is engaged as city sales manager for the Walter A. Baker Cocoa Company; Della, who married David Paullin, a farmer of Silvercreek township, and has one child, a daughter, Lelia; Charles A., who is now farming the old home place in Sil-
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vercreek township; Reuben W., a tinner, living at Jamestown, who married Bessie McCreight and has one son, Carl; Bertha, who died in 1894 at the age of nineteen years; Sarah Blanche, who died in 1881 at the age of four years, and Mary, wife of Ross Mendenhall, of Akron, Ohio. Mrs. Robinson is now making her home at Jamestown. She has been a lifelong member of the Friends church at that place.
Charles A. Robinson, who is now living on and operating the old home farm in Silvercreek township, was reared on that farm and received his schooling in the neighborhood schools. He remained at home until 1905, when he went to Mishawaka, Indiana, where he was connected with the operations of the Ball Rubber Company for seven years, or until 1912, when he returned to the home farm. He married Martha Johnson and has one child, a daughter, Mary Alice.
GEORGE DAVIS, M. D.
One of the most recent additions to the corps of physicians now prac- ticing their profession in the city of Xenia, is Dr. George Davis, who located in that city in the spring of 1918. He had been engaged in the practice of his profession in the village of New Jasper for eighteen years before his removal to Xenia. Doctor Davis is a native son of Ohio, born in the neigh- boring county of Fayette, son of James M. and Margaret E. (Dowell) Davis, both of whom were born in that same county, members of pioneer faniilies in that section of the state, and who are now living at Columbus, the capital of the state. James M. Davis was born in 1840, a son of George W. Davis and wife, Virginians and pioneers in that section of Fayette county lying between Washington Court House and Good Hope. Reared in that county, James M. Davis was living there when the Civil War broke out. He enlisted his services in behalf of the Union and went to the front as a member of Company C, One Hundred and Fourteenth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, with which command he served for three years and was mustered out with the rank of lieutenant. He later became engaged in the manufacture of drainage tile and brick in the vicinity of Washington Court House and there continued thus engaged until his retirement in 1914 and removal to Coumbus, where he and his wife are now living. James M. Davis married Margaret E. Dowell, who was born in Fayette county in 1845, and to that union were born six children, of whom Doctor Davis was the third in order of birth, the others being as follow: Lincoln, who is en- gaged in the oil business in Chicago; Grant, a civil engineer, now residing at Greenfield, this state; Mrs. Jennie Chambers, a widow, living at Colum- bus; Nellie, wife of Harry Drake, also of Columbus, and Dr. Homer Davis,
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a dental surgeon, who is practicing his profession at Kansas City. James M. Davis is a Republican and he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church.
Doctor Davis supplemented the schooling he received in the public schools of Washington Court House by attendance at the Normal School at Ada and at the National Normal University at Lebanon, and then en- tered the Ohio Medical College at Cincinnati and upon completing his med- ical studies in that institution served an internship in the Cincinnati Maternity Hospital. Thus equipped for the practice of his profession, Doctor Davis came to Greene county in the latter part of 1900 and located at New Jasper, where he engaged in practice until the spring of 1918 when he moved to Xenia. The Doctor is a member of the Greene County Medical Society and of the Ohio State Medical Society. He has invested in farm lands in New Jasper township. He finds his chief recreation in hunting and fishing and is an ardent devotee of these healthful outddoor sports.
On January 8, 1902, in New Jasper township, Doctor Davis was united in marriage to Jennie L. Smith, who was born in that township, daughter of James M. and Eliza (Huston) Smith, the latter of whom is still living there. James M. Smith, a veteran of the Civil War, who died in 1911, was for years regarded as one of the most substantial farmers of the New Jasper neighborhood and elsewhere in this volume there will be found in detail a history of his family, as well as that of the Huston family. Doctor and Mrs. Davis are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. The Doctor is a member of the local lodge of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks at Xenia.
DANIEL H. BEAM.
Though it is nearly twenty-five years since the death of Daniel H. Beam, formerly one of the best-known farmers and stockmen of Caesars- creek township, his memory is still fresh in the neighborhood, and it is but fitting that in a volume of this character there should be paid a tribute to that memory. Daniel H. Beam was a native son of Greene county and all his life was spent here. He was born on a farm on the Bowersville pike in Xenia township in February, 1833, a son of Daniel and Ann ( Haines) Beam, Virginians, who had settled on the farm just referred to upon com- ing from Virginia to this county and there spent the remainder of their lives. Daniel Beam and his wife were the parents of seven children, William, Silas, John, Daniel, Mary, Julia Ann and Jane, all of whom are now deceased.
Daniel H. Beam grew up on the home farm in Xenia township and received his schooling in the little old log school house in that neighborhood.
MR. AND MRS. DANIEL H. BEAM,
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For three years after his marriage in 1854 he continued to reside on the home farm. He then bought the Lutz farm of one hundred and eight acres near the Zoar church, on the pike leading from Spring Valley to Middletons Corner, in Caesarscreek township, the place on which his widow is still living, and there spent the rest of his life. As he prospered in his farming operations Mr. Beam bought an adjoining tract of one hundred and twelve acres and thus had two hundred and twenty acres of land on which he built a comfortable house and made other substantial improvements. In addition to his general farming Mr. Beam gave considerable attention to the raising of live stock. During the early 'gos Mr. Beam's health began to break and his death occurred on September 27, 1893, he then being in the sixty-first year of his age. A contemporary newspaper mention of his death says that "Mr. Beam was an unfaltering Christian, which fact is admitted by all who knew him. He walked in the same attitude of faith the year around. He was a friend to the poor and needy and never turned one away empty. His kind Christian counsel will be missed, but never forgotten. He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church and held membership at the Zoar church, to the support of which he was the most liberal contributor. Hundreds of times have his prayers echoed within its walls."
On December 21, 1854, Daniel H. Beam was united in marriage to Susan Ann Keiter, who also was born in this county and who survives him, continuing to make her home on the farm in the neighborhood of Zoar church. Mrs. Beam was born on a farm in Caesarscreek township, daughter of Frederick and Mary (Weaver) Keiter, natives of Virginia, who were married in Hampshire county, that state, this county now being in West Virginia, and who after their marriage came to Ohio and settled on a farm in the woods of Caesarscreek township, where they spent the remainder of their lives, the former living to be seventy-five years of age and the latter, seventy-four. Frederick Keiter developed one of the best farms on the Wilmington pike and came to be a man of substance and influence. Reared a Whig, he later became a Republican. He and his wife were members of the Old School Baptist church. They had twelve children, of whom Mrs. Beam was the seventh in order of birth, the others being Elizabeth, Harrison, John, Mary, Margaret, Nancy, George A., Jane, James and Edward (twins) and Sarah. Further mention of the Keiter family is made elsewhere in this volume.
To Daniel H. and Susan Ann (Keiter) Beam were born ten children, William, Henry Alva, Emma J., Addie B., Euretta S., Daniel F., Anna N., Frederick K., Albert E. and Flora, all of whom are living save Addie B., born on January 20, 1862, who died on February 26, 1871, and Frederick K., born on June 4, 1871, who died on March 29, 1872. William Beam,
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who was born on November 30, 1856, married Sarah Peacemaker and is now living at Port William, in the neighboring county of Clinton, where he is engaged in the live-stock and milling business. Henry A. Beam, born on August 12, 1858, married Mrs. Blanche (Swindler) Hurley and is a farmer and stockman in Spring Valley township, this county. Emma J. Beam, born on August 10, 1860, is the wife of Charles Hurley, a farmer of Spring Valley township. Euretta S. Beam, born on February 22, 1864, is the wife of Thomas Boyd, also a Spring Valley township farmer. Daniel F. Beam, born on December 16, 1865, married Elizabeth Johnson and is farming in Spring Valley township. Anna N. Beam, born on March 21, 1868, married Frank Woods and is living on a farm in the vicinity of Port William. Albert E. Beam, born on March 2, 1873, married Martha Scott and is engaged in farming and stock raising in Spring Valley township. Flora Beam, born on June 8, 1876, married Clarence McKay, a farmer of the New Burlington neighborhood. As noted above, Mrs. Beam continues to make her home on the old home place where her husband died nearly twenty-five years ago and where she has lived for sixty years, during which time she has been a witness to the amazing transformation that has taken place with the gradual development of that section. She is a member of Zoar church.
ULYSSES S. GRANT ST. JOHN.
Ulysses S. Grant St. John, better known among his friends as Grant St. John, the proprietor of the old Daniel Sutton place on the New Jasper pike in New Jasper township, rural mail route No. I out of Jamestown, was born on a farm in Caesarscreek township on July 3, 1869, son of John W. and Phœbe Ann (Heiny) St. John, the latter of whom, born in Virginia, died in 1895. John W. St. John, who is still living and a biographical sketch of whom is presented elsewhere in this volume, also was born in Caesars- creek township, December 29, 1831, one of the ten children born to Daniel WV. and Eliza (Bone) St. John, who were among the earliest settlers in that township. Daniel W. St. John was a son of John and Rhoda (Wood) St. John, as is set out in the review above referred to, wherein also is contained a detailed history of the St. John family in this county and to which the attention of the reader is respectfully invited in connection with this review of the life of Grant St. John.
Grant St. John grew up on the home farm in Caesarscreek township, received his schooling in the nearby district school and remained at home until his marriage when twenty-four years of age. He then rented a farm in the neighborhood of Cedarville and began operations on his own account, afterward moving from there up into Clark county, where he was engaged
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in farming for several years, at the end of which time, in 1912, he returned to Greene county and bought a farm in Caesarscreek township. A year later he sold that farm and bought the farm of eighty-two acres on which he is now living. This is the farm that formerly belonged to Mr. St. John's wife's grandfather, Daniel Sutton.
On February 26, 1893, Mr. St. John was united in marriage at James- town. to Sidney Lois Sutton, who was born in New Jasper township, daughter of Daniel H. and Mary C. (Blessing) Sutton, both of whoni also were born in this state, members of pioneer families, and both of whom died in October, 1910, the former on the 2nd of that month and the latter on the IIth. Both the Suttons and the Blessings were among the early residents of Greene county, these families having been represented here for a hundred years and more. Daniel H. Sutton was born on the farm on which Mr. and Mrs. St. John are now living, in January, 1841, son of Daniel and Eliza- beth (Spahr) Sutton, and there grew to manhood. He married Mary C. Blessing, who was born at Spring Valley, in October, 1841, a daughter of Marcus and Maria (Crumley) Blessing, the former of whom was the pro- prietor of a hotel and a mill at Spring Valley and also a landowner in that vicinity, and after his marriage bought one hundred acres of his father's place, established his home there and there he and his wife spent the re- mainder of their lives. They were the parents of three children, Mrs. St. John, the last born, having a sister, Maria, wife of S. B. Levalley, of New Jasper township, and a brother, Marcus Sutton, unmarried, who is operating his father's old home place adjoining the farm owned by Mr. St. John.
William G. Sutton, who was the father of Daniel Sutton, father of Daniel H. Sutton, Mrs. St. John's great-grandfather, was born in New Jer- sey and there grew to manhood and married, later moving to Kentucky, whence, in 1803, he and his wife Lois and their children came up into the valley of the Little Miami and settled in Greene county. He took up land in the Military Tract south of the then embryonic city of Xenia. He and his wife were the parents of seven children, four sons and three daughters, and the descendants of these children in the present generation form a nu- merous connection hereabout. Daniel Sutton, grandfather of Mrs. St. John, was born in 1802 and was thus but an infant when his parents came to this county. He grew up on the home place south of Xenia and married Eliza- beth Spahr, who was born in Virginia in 1804 and who was but a child when her parents, Philip and Mary (Schick) Spahr, came to Greene county and settled south of Xenia. Philip Spahr and wife reared a family of ten children and that family also has a wide connection throughout the county. After his marriage Daniel Sutton established his home on the old home place on Caesars creek and became the proprietor of two hundred and twenty
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