History of Greene County, Ohio: its people, industries and institutions, Volume II, Part 53

Author: Broadstone, Michael A., 1852- comp
Publication date: 1918
Publisher: Indianapolis, B.F. Bowen
Number of Pages: 1440

USA > Ohio > Greene County > History of Greene County, Ohio: its people, industries and institutions, Volume II > Part 53

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John D. Lantz, as noted above, was but six years of age when he came to this state with his parents and here lie grew to manhood. He was twenty years of age when his father bought the farm in Beaver Creek township and moved here from Springfield. After his marriage he established his home on that farm and in time became owner of the same. He and his wife were members of the local Reformed church. Mr. Lantz was a Repub- lican and at one time and another was elected to serve in various official capacities. John D. Lantz died on February 5, 1913, in his eighty-fourth year. His wife had preceded him to the grave nearly eighteen years, her death having occurred on February 22, 1895, she then being in the sixtieth year of her age. She was born in 1836.

In 1855, John D. Lantz was united in marriage to Rebecca Harner. a

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daughter of George and Julia A. Harner, and to that union were born four children, namely: Ada B. and Julia A., who are still living on the old home place in Beavercreek township; John C., who married Nettie R. Meyers and died at the age of thirty-nine years, leaving three children, John L., Losetta E., who married John Lesher, and Edna A., who married James Turner; and George W., who married Matilda Wetzel and is living at Zim- merman, where he is engaged in the carpenter business. Since the death of their father the Misses Ada and Julia Lantz have continued to maintain their residence on the old home place, rural mail route No. 10 out of Xenia. They are members of the local Reformed church.

JAMES WILSON MIDDLETON.

The late James Wilson Middleton, who died at his home at Middletons Corners in Caesarscreek township, in the fall of 1917, was born on that place, the old Middleton home farm, and there had spent all his life. He was born on April 27, 1849, son of James and Angeline (Musetter) Middleton, who were among the pioneer residents of that part of the county, where their las days were spent. James Middleton was born in Berkeley county, Virginia, and in 1825 came to Greene county and bought a tract of land in Caesars- creek township, where he established his home, his brothers, Thomas and John, having settled there previously, the two having come out here to locate land, afterward returning to Virginia, where they were married and then came back to Greene county to make their permanent home, their parents, Bethuel and Naomi (Ganoe) Middleton, and the other members of the family ac- companying them to the new home in the then wilderness, the Middletons thus early becoming a well-established family in the Caesarscreek neighbor- hood, Middletons Corners thus taking its name; all of which, together with other details of the history of the Middleton family in Greene county, is set out elsewhere in this -volume.

James Wilson Middleton was the last-born of the ten children born to his parents and he grew up on the home farm, receiving his schooling in the local schools, and after his marriage in 1871 established his home on a por- tion of the home place and there continued to make his residence, spending his life there, the owner of one hundred and fifteen acres of the old Middle- ton farm. In 1888 he erected on his farm a substantial farm house and the other improvements on the place were in keeping with the same. In addi- tion to his general farming, Mr. Middleton gave considerable attention to the raising of live stock. He was a Democrat and had served the public in the capacity of township trustee and of land appraiser. He was affiliated

JAMES W. MIDDLETON.

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with the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Middleton's death occurred on September 12, 1917, and he left a good memory in the community.

On October 4, 1871, James Wilson Middleton was united in marriage to Emma C. Peterson, who was born on a farm three miles east of the village of New Burlington, in the neighboring county of Clinton, a daughter of Jacob S. and Sarah C. (Ellis) Peterson, the latter of whom was born in that same neighborhood, on the Wilmington-Xenia pike, eight miles south of Xenia, daughter of Henry Ellis and a granddaughter of Abraham Ellis, a Revo- lutionary soldier, who had settled there in the early days of the settlement of that region and whose descendants in the present generation form a numerous connection throughout this part of Ohio. Jacob S. Peterson also was a member of one of the old families in this part of the state. He was born in Clinton county, where he grew up and where after his marriage he estab- lished his home on a farm, but later moved to Wilmington, the county seat. where he and his wife spent the remainder of their lives. He was a Repub- lican and he and his wife were members of the Reformed church. They were the parents of six children, of whom Mrs. Middleton was the first-born, the others being: Ada, wife of George A. McKay, of Xenia; Orville, a real- estate dealer at Pamplin City, Virginia, who has been married twice, his first wife having been Luella Oglesbee and his second, Evelyn Greene; Alice, who married Horace McMillen and continues to live in Clinton county ; Jacob Elmer, who married Viola Farquahar and has been a teacher all his active life, now connected with the public schools at Brookneal, Virginia, and Grace, widow of Frank Colvin. For years Mrs. Colvin has been matron of the girls section of the college at Delaware. this state.

To James W. and Emma C. (Peterson) Middleton were born two sons, Orville P. and J. Raymond, both of whom are farming in Caesarscreek township, the latter farming the homestead tract where his mother still makes her home. Orville P. Middleton married Laura Haines and has four chil- dren, Wayne, Marion, Grace and Clara. J. Raymond Middleton married Lydia Maria Haines and has two sons, Allen and Paul. Since the death of her husband Mrs. Middleton has continued to make her home on the home place at Middletons Corners. She is a member of the Maple Corners Re- formed church.

JESSE CLYDE TOWNSLEY.

Jesse Clyde Townsley, farmer and stockman, proprietor of the old John A. Barber farm of one hundred and eighty-six acres in Cedarville township, and former trustee of that township, was born on a farm on the

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Townsley road in Cedarville township, July 5, 1874, son of John and Malinda (Kershner) Townsley, the latter of whom is still living in Cedarville. She was born at Yellow Springs, a daughter of Jonathan and Marian (Kulp) 'Kershner, the former of whom also was born in Greene county and the latter in Pennsylvania. Jonathan Kershner was a carpenter at Yellow Springs and died there at the age of eighty-three years. His widow died on July 4, 1916, at the age of eighty-four. They were members of the Yellow Springs Christian church and were the parents of eight children, those besides Mrs. Townsley being James, now a resident of Mattoon. Illi- nois: Dross, who lives in Cedarville; Emanuel, deceased; John, deceased; Cowray, deceased; Ford, a carpenter at Yellow Springs, and Charles, who lives in the West.

The late John Townsley, who died at his home in Cedarville on Sep- tember 19, 1915, was born on a farm four miles east of that place on Janu- ary 4, 1850, a son of James and Clarissa (Harper) Townsley, the latter of whom was born in that same township in 1821. James Townsley was born in 1825 at Cortsville, up over the line in Clark county, son of John Towns- ley, one of the eight children of John Townsley, who with his brother Thomas, a soldier of the Revolution, had come up here from Kentucky and settled in what later came to be organized as Cedarville township, the first permanent settlers of that section of Greene county. James Townsley was one of a large family of children, all now deceased. He located on what is still known as the James Townsley homestead in Cedarville township and lived there until his retirement from the farm about 1887 and removal to Cedarville, where his death occurred in August, 1907. He had been twice married, his first wife having been Clarissa Harper, who received from her father a part of the farm above referred to. She was the youngest of the three daughters born to her parents, the others being Mrs. D., H. Marshall, deceased, and Mrs. Thursa Townsley, who is now living at Jamestown, aged ninety. James and Clarissa (Harper) Townsley were the parents of seven children, those besides John being Elizabeth, who married John Owens and died on August 25; 1913: Lila M., wife of J. O. Spahr, of the Jamestown neighborhood; Emma, wife of T. N. Harper, of Dayton; Jennie, now living at Xenia, Mrs. O. A. Spahr; Robert S., a retired farmer, now living at Cedarville, and Frank, who is still living on the old home farm. Following the death of the mother of these children in December, 1868, James Towns- ley married Hester Barber, a daughter of John and Sarah ( Martin) Barber, of this county, the former of whom was a farmer and a soldier of the War of 1812. This second marriage was without issue. Mrs. Hester Townsley

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died in April, 1905, aged eighty-four. James Townsley was a Republican and a member of the United Presbyterian church.

After his marriage to Malinda Kershner on February 22, 1871, John Townsley bought a hundred-acre farm adjoining his father's place and later bought an adjoining forty, living there until his retirement and removal to Cedarville, where he spent his last days. He is buried in the old Massies Creek cemetery. He was a Republican and a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, a trustee of the church and a member of the official board. To him and his wife were born four children, those besides Jesse being Clara, who married Prof. Calvin Morton, of the Cedarville schools, and has one daughter, Martha Jean: Harry, a farmer residing just south of Cedarville, and Robert. a farmer of Miami township.

Jesse C. Townsley received his schooling in the Thorn school and remained on the home farm until his marriage in 1897. after which he rented his wife's father's farm, the John A. Barber place in Cedarville township, and continued thus to operate the place for seventeen years, or until 1915, when he bought the place, one hundred and eighty-six acres, and is still living there. He and his wife are members of the United Presbyterian church at Cedarville. Mr. Townsley is a Republican and for six years served as trustee of Cedarville township. Mrs. Townsley also was born in Cedarville town- ship, Florence Barber, daughter of Jolin A. and Sarah (Townsley) Barber, and married Mr. Townsley on June 30, 1897. Her father, John A. Barber, also was born in Cedarville township, as was his wife, who was a daughter of Enos Townsley, one of the sons of the pioneer John Townsley, great-great- grandfather of Jesse Townsley and also, of course, of the latter's wife. Enos Townsley's wife was Sarah, daughter of James McCoy, one of the Greene county pioneers. John A. Barber was a son of John Barber, who was a son of William Barber, who had come to this country from Ireland and settled in Washington county, Pennsylvania. In that county John Barber was born. Upon reaching manhood he came to Ohio and located at Xenia, where he became engaged in the Campbell mill on Shawnee creek. In due time he bought a tract of land and his last days were spent on the farm. He married Sarah Martin and to him and his wife were born eleven children, ten of whom grew to maturity. John A. Barber. one of these children, was twice married, his first wife having been Eliza, daughter of Andrew Galloway. To that union two children were born. Mrs. Eliza Barber died in 1866 and Mr. Barber in 1868 married Sarah Townsley. Two daughters were born to this latter union, Mrs. Florence Townsley having a sister. Eva, who married Charles H. Ervin, of Xenia, and has one son, Fred. The Barbers were mem- bers of the United Presbyterian church at Cedarville.

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DAVID S. WILLIAMSON.

David S. Williamson, proprietor of a farm in the Cedarville neighbor- hood, now living retired at Cedarville, the operations of the farm being carried on by his son, Raymond T. Williamson, is a member of one of Greene county's old families, and has lived here all his life. He was born on a farm in the vicinity of the village of Jamestown on December 29, 1851, son of John S. and Jane (Kyle) Williamson, and was the last-born of the three children born to that parentage, his mother having died when he was two years and eight months of age. She was a daughter and eldest child of Judge Samuel Kyle, one of the foremost pioneers of Greene county and further mention of whom is made elsewhere in this volume.

John S. Williamson was the fourth in order of birth of the ten children of David and Catherine (Duncan) Williamson, who came to this county with their family in 1836 and settled in that part of the county now included in New Jasper township, their farm of three hundred acres being situated along Caesarscreek at a point equidistant between Xenia and Jamestown, as is set out elsewhere in this volume, together with a comprehensive narra- tive relating to the Williamson family in Greene county. In a biographical sketch relating to Samuel K. Williamson, elder brother of the subject of this sketch, there is set out at some length a history of the career of John S. Williamson, who died at his home in Cedarville in the fall of 1898.

David S. Williamson grew up to the life of the farm. His schooling was received in the neighborhood schools, being completed in the Cedarville schools, his father having moved to the farm on the Cincinnati-Columbus pike, two miles west of Cedarville, now owned by Mr. Williamson, when he was twelve years of age. On that place he grew to manhood and after his father's retirement from the farm and removal to Cedarville in 1873 he took charge of the place and after his marriage in 1881 established his home there, continuing to make that his place of residence, having inherited the farm after his father's death, until his retirement in April, 1917, and removal to Cedarville, where he now resides, though still retaining a super- visory oversight of the place, which he is accustomed to visit nearly every day. As with several others of the Williamsons, Mr. Williamson was early attracted to the possibilities of sheep raising and for many years his farm west of Cedarville has been largely devoted to the breeding of fine Merino sheep. The work there inaugurated by him is now being carried on by his son, Raymond T. Williamson, who occupied the home place and is carrying on the operations of the farm.

On February 9, 1881, at the home of the bride about a mile east of Cedarville, David S. Williamson was united in marriage to Nannie A.

DAVID S. WILLIAMSON.

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McMillan, who was born on that place on January 23, 1856, a daughter of Hugh T. and Rachel McMillan, the former a member of the well-known McMillan family of this county, and to this union have been born five chil- dren, two of whom died at birth, the survivors being Mary Erwin, born on April 12, 1885, now at home: Florence Jane, September 6, 1887, who is now teaching school at Nevada, Iowa, and Raymond Torrence, June 23, 1891, who, as noted above, is now farming the home place. In January, 1917, Raymond Torrence Williamson married Fannie Stroup and is making his home on the home place, his parents having moved into Cedarville about the time of his marriage. The Williamsons are members of the Covenanter church at Cedarville. Mr. Williamson is a Republican.

WILLIAM FRANKLIN BENHAM.

The Benhams became established here more than a century ago with the coming of Peter Benham, who left the settlement in which he was born, not far north of Cincinnati, and came up here into the valley of the Little Miami, establishing his home in Beavercreek township, this county, where he spent the rest of his life and where his descendants in the present generation are still to be found.

Peter Benham, the pioneer, was born twelve miles north of the then village of Cincinnati, in 1795, a son of Richard and Lydia Benham, the former of whom, a native of New Jersey, had been an Indian fighter in Kentucky and had later settled at Ft. Washington, building there the third cabin put up on the present site of the city of Cincinnati, at one time Ow!1- ing there ten acres of land that is now in the very heart of the city. At the time of his death, which occurred near Todds Forks, he was the owner of one hundred and fourteen acres there. One of his brothers, David Benham, was a friend and companion of Daniel Boone, and another, Col. Joseph Benhanı, became one of the most noted attorneys in the early days of Cincinnati. Richard Benham was a soldier of the War of 1812. He and his wife had four sons, John, Richard, Peter and Benjamin, the latter of whom became a resident of Indiana and was the last survivor of the family.

Reared amid pioneer conditions, Peter Benham married at the age of twenty-one years and established his home in Beavercreek township, this county. On that farm he spent the rest of his life, living to the age of eighty- six years. Peter Benham was twice married. His first wife, Catherine Beck, whom he married at Centerville, was born at Waynesville in 1800, daughter of Samuel Beck and wife, the latter of whom was a Galyard. Samuel Beck was a native of New Jersey, who came to Ohio in territorial days and became

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a pioneer tavern keeper at Waynesville, in Warren county. He and his wife were the parents of four sons and four daughters, the sons having been John, Samuel, Benjamin and Joseph. To Peter and Catherine (Beck) Benham were born twelve children, of whom eight lived to maturity and of whom but one, Mrs. Lydia Huston, of Alpha, widow of George W. Huston, now survives, the others having been Benjamin, the father of the subject of this sketch; Joseph; Eliza, who married Isaac Bumgardner; Sarah, who mar- ried Leonard Coy: Mary J., who married Joseph P. B. Johns; Lydia A., who married George W. Huston; Peter O. and. Samuel. The mother of these children died in January, 1864, and Peter Benham later married Cathe- rine Nave, who was born in Pennsylvania, the daughter of John Nave, who had come to Ohio with his family and had settled in the township of Spring Valley, in this county. Both these women were members of the Reformed church and the Benham children were reared in that faith. Peter Benham lived to be eighty-six years of age.

Benjamin Benham grew up on the pioneer farm on which he was born in Beavercreek township and after his marriage began farming on his own account, for a time renting a farm in that neighborhood. He then bought the farm on which his son William F. is now living, a mile and a half south- west of Alpha, coming to be the owner of a farm of one hundred and ninety acres. He was a Republican. He and his family were members of Mt. Zion Reformed church. Benjamin Benham died in 1899. His wife had preceded him to the grave about three years, her death having occurred in 1896. She was born, Mary Gillespie, in Ross county, this state, in 1821, and was but a small child when her parents settled on the tract of land now occupied by the village of Selma, in the neighboring county of Clark, where both parents died of "milk-sickness" when she was ten years of age. Benjamin and Mary (Gillespie) Benham were the parents of three children, the subject of this sketch having had two sisters, Catherine, now living at Dayton, widow of Henry Clay Glotfelter, and Eliza Jane, who married William Masters, of Beavercreek township, and who, as well as her husband, is now deceased.

William Franklin Benham, only son of Benjamin and Mary ( Gillespie) Benham, was born on the Shakertown pike, rural mail route No. 7 out of Xenia, in Beavercreek township, this county, November 24, 1849. His ele- mentary schooling was received in the district school of his neighborhood, the Benham school, located on his father's farm, and he completed his schooling in the old Beaver grade school, the course in that excellent school at that time comprising about the same course as that now covered in high school. After his marriage in 1872 he continued to make his home on the home farm, as his father grew older gradually taking over the manage- ment of the place. Upon the death of his father in 1899 the place was divided and he since then has had ninety acres, including the old home build-

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ings. Of late years Mr. Benham has been practically retired from the active labors of the farm, having turned the same over to the management of his son, Benjamin E. Benham, who is married and is living on the place.

On December 5, 1872, William Franklin Benham was united in mar- riage to Mary Ellen Coy, who was born on a farm a mile and a half west of the Benham farm, April 5, 1849, and who died in August, 1902. She was the daughter of Henry and Lucinda Coy and a member of one of the oldest families in Greene county, the Coys having been here since the days before the organization of Greene county. To William F. and Mary E. (Coy) Ben- ham eight children were born, namely: Edmond C., now employed in the plant of the Delco Company at Dayton and who married Effie Dissingham and has one child, a daughter, Mildred; Gertrude Ray, who married Jacob Seifert and is also living at Dayton; Minnie, wife of Edward Shoup, a Beavercreek farmer; Benjamin Earl and Lucinda Pearl, twins, the former of whom, as noted above, is now operating the home farm and who married Ruth Campbell and has one child, a daughter, Helen, and the latter of whom married Archibald Koogler and died at the age of twenty-six years: Henry, who died in infancy; William Franklin, Jr., unmarried, who is employed in a furniture store at Dayton, and Aaron Russell, who formerly lived at Dayton, employed there in the Delco Company's plant, but now (1918) is in Camp Sherman. The Benhams are members of the Mt. Zion Reformed church, both the Benhams and the Coys having been active in the work of the Reformed congregation in Beavercreek township since pioneer days. Mr. Benham is a Republican.

CYRUS BROWN.

Cyrus Brown, veteran of the Civil War, former trustee of New Jasper township and a farmer of that township, enjoys the unique distinction of having served in the 'gos as sheriff of Greene county for the shortest term ever noted in the local shrievalty, his tenure of office having lasted but two weeks. The Legislature had enacted a law fixing the beginning of the terms of sheriffs in this state on September I instead of on January I, this altera- tion of the tenure leaving a term of eight months unprovided for. The commissioners of Greene county appointed Mr. Brown sheriff to fill the vacancy and he entered upon the duties of that office. Two weeks later the state supreme court declared the new law unconstitutional and he thus was deprived of his office, but he had been sheriff for two weeks and even the supreme court was powerless to deprive him of that distinction. During his term of service as a soldier of the Union Mr. Brown saved four hundred dollars of his pay. This sum he ever afterward retained, investing it as a separate fund against such a time as to him might seem fitting for its con-

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version to another purpose of great moment, and in October, 1917, he con- verted the sum, with accrued earnings, into Liberty bonds of the United States government

Mr. Brown is a native son of Greene county and has lived here all his life. He was born on a farm in what is now Jefferson township on October 6, 1842, a son of James and Rachel (Powers) Brown, both of whom also were born in Ohio, the former in Belmont county and the latter in Clinton county, and whose last days were spent in Greene county, of which latter county they had been residents since the days of their youth.

James Brown was born on February 25, 1816, son of Richard and Elizabeth (Pickering) Brown, the former of whom was born in the Old Dominion, near the line between Virginia and Maryland, and who had come to Ohio about 1810 and had settled in Belmont county. Richard Brown served as a soldier of the War of 1812 and later become engaged as a trader and teamster, hauling goods over the National road from Baltimore west. His first wife, Elizabeth Pickering, died leaving six children, Sallie, John, Joshua, James, Allan and Elizabeth. He later married Mary Pick- ering, a cousin of his deceased wife, and to that union were born four chil- dren, Rhoda, Jacob, William and Levi. With his family Richard Brown came to Greene county in 1842 and settled in the Paintersville neighborhood. where in 1850 he was killed by being thrown from a horse, his foot Being caught in a stirrup and he being dragged to death. He was buried in the New Hope cemetery near Paintersville. John Brown, eldest son of Richard Brown, had come to Greene county during the thirties and had here become engaged as a building contractor, a general stone mason and builder of brick houses. In 1839 he was joined here by his brother, James Brown, who on January 2, 1842, married Rachel Powers, who was born in the neighboring county of Clinton on November 27, 1812, daughter of Edward and Mary (Wright) Powers, the latter of whom was born in North Carolina and who was nineteen years of age when in 1809 she married Edward Powers, a native of Ireland, born in 1773, who had come to this country in 1800. Soon after their marriage Edward Powers and his wife came to Ohio and settled in Clinton county. He rendered service as a soldier of the War of 1812 and continued to make his home in Clinton county until 1824, when he came with his family up into Greene county and settled on the farm now owned by D. C. Spahr, on the Hussey pike about a mile and a half from Paintersville in Caesarscreek township, where he died about 1843. and was buried in the New Hope graveyard. Edward Powers and his wife were the parents of ten children, all now deceased, of whom Mrs. Rachel Brown was the second in order of birth, the others having been the following: Betsy, who married Robert Oglesbee; Alford, who remained on the home farm and became the owner of a farm of six hundred acres: Edward, who also

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History of Greene County, Ohio: its people, industries and institutions, Volume II, Part 53

Author: Broadstone, Michael A., 1852- comp Publication date: 1918 Publisher: Indianapolis, B.F. Bowen Number of Pages: 1440

Author: Broadstone, Michael A., 1852- comp
Publication date: 1918
Publisher: Indianapolis, B.F. Bowen
Number of Pages: 1440