History of Knox County, Ohio, its past and present, Part 117

Author: Hill, N. N. (Norman Newell), comp; Graham, A. A. (Albert Adams), 1848-; Graham, A.A. & Co., Mt. Vernon, Ohio
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Mt. Vernon, Ohio : A. A. Graham & Co.
Number of Pages: 1096

USA > Ohio > Knox County > History of Knox County, Ohio, its past and present > Part 117

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After the death of the Hon. Jacob B. Brown, his son, William B., took charge of the business, in which he still continues. He has faithfully followed in the footsteps of his father. He lias served one term as mayor of the city, and is now serving the first year of his second term.

Mr. J. B. Brown and his son, William B., have carried on successfully the jewelry business for fifty-four years, and for forty years in the same room. Mr. Brown's is a first class stock, consisting of watches, clocks, jewelry, etc.

BROWN, JOHNATHAN H., Morgan township, farmer ; was born December 19, 1834. He is the son of Johnathan and Mary (Larison) Brown, of whom mention is made in the biogra- phy of I. S. Brown of Morgan township. The subject of this sketch was reared on the farm on which he now resides and where he was born. He married Miss Sarah Bebout Novem- her 16, 1860. She was born April 15, 1836. They had two children, viz: Ada A., born October 10, 1861, and Mary E .. born May 15, 1866, died June 18, 1869.

BROWN, OHIO, Berlin township, deceased, the son of Thomas D., sr., and Rachael Brown. He was born in Berlin township April 18, 1846. He enlisted in the late war December

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HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY.

9, 1861, as a member of company I, Twentieth regiment O. V. I. He was appointed sergeant of company I July 22, 1864. He was wounded by a shell from the enemy's works, from the effects of which he died the same day, December 13, 1864. By his death the Union lost a noble, fearless soldier, a true patriot, and his comrades a man whose virtues endeared him to all. His patient endurance of the fatigues and privations of the campaign, his modesty and his gentle nature won for him the respect and admiration of liis brother soldiers. His remains were interred on southern soil near Savannah, Georgia.

BROWN, WILLIAM, farmer, Hilliar township, was born in Clinton township, October 19, 1849. His father, Garrett Brown, was born in Maryland in the year 1800. He married Mary Holland, a native of West Virginia, about 1827, and sub- sequently moved to Knox county, living for a short time in Liberty township, when they moved to Clinton township, where Mr. Brown died in 1865. His wife now resides in Mt. Vernon. They had ten children, viz: James W. died while in the army; Ann E., wife of Caleb Burdett, a resident of Maryland; Resin H., deceased, left a family in Mt. Vernon; Joanna V., wife of Robert G. White, of Mt. Vernon; a son died in infancy; Mary L. in Mt. Vernon; Amanda, wife of George W. Newell, farmer, Jasper county, Iowa; William M .; Henry M., a resident of Des Moine, Iowa; Frank C., Des Moine, Iowa, carpenter.

The subject of this notice was raised on a farm in Clinton township, and has always followed farming. He was married to Miss Nancy J. Mills, September 12, 1876, who is the daughter of Henry and Mary J. Mills, nee Beckley, of Clinton township. They have three children, viz: Henry C., born October 15, 1877; Ettie and Nettie, twins, born February 23, 1880.

BROWN, J./R., Gambier, son of Joseph and Ann Brown, was born in Ireland September 24, 1849. He was brought to America by his parents in December, 1849, who located near Milford, Clermont county, Ohio, where they remained four years. In 1853 they moved to this county and located in Gambier, where they now reside.

Mr. Brown commenced work at shoemaking in r870, with W. E. Wootton, of Gambier, remaining with him two years as an apprentice, then finished his trade in 1873 with Mr. A. Jacobs. In May of the same year he began business for himself, and has since been manufacturing all kinds of boots and shoes, gaiters, slippers, and in fact everything in his line. He keeps constantly on hand a good supply of his own manufacture of boots and shoes, and is always ready to fill all orders for work on short notice. All of his goods are warranted to give satis- faction.

BROWN, THOMAS D., farmer and stock raiser, Berlin township, post office Shaler's Mills, was born in Berlin town- ship, on the farm where he now resides, in 1850. He was mar- ried in 1872, to Lavina Grubb (daughter of Daniel H. Grubb), who was born in 1853, in Pike township. They have three children, viz: Pauline Della (born in 1872), Irena Belle (born in 1874), and Bernice Maude (ın 1880).

Mr. Brown resided in Independence in 1877 engaged in deal- ing in stock. He spent one year in the west, the remainder of his life was spent in Knox county. His residence was destroyed by fire in 1879, and he lost all his goods and provisions.

BROWN, ANDREW, Wayne township (deceased), born in Scotland in April, 1811, came to Knox county December 29, 1854, and was married in 1843 to Catharine Dexter, who was

born in 1821. They had the following children : John Brown (born June 17, 1844), Elizabeth (born in 1845), William (born August 27, 1847), Robert (born June 17, 1849), Andrew, jr. (born February 22, 1852), James (born April 2, 1854), Thomas (born May 31, 1856), Sarah (born July 5, 1860), and Kittie (born April 25, 1862). Andrew Brown died February 9, 1876; Elizabeth died October 16, 1846; Andrew, jr., died September 17, 1858; John Brown was married to Amanda A. Heskett in 1874, they reside in Vernon county, Missouri; William mar- ried in September, 1871, Elizabeth E. Cornman, they reside in Mt. Gilead, Ohio; Robert was married, in 1874, to Julia Stein- metz, they reside in Fredericktown, Ohio; James married, Sep- tember 28, 1876, Ella M. Bruce, they reside on the old home- stead; Sarah E. married, in 1879, to Harvey Hur.ter, they live in Fredericktown; Thomas residles in Vernon county, Missouri ; Kittie resides at the old home.

John Brown was a soldier in the late war, in the One Hun- dred and Forty-second Ohio volunteer infantry, served his term of enlistment and received an honorable discharge.

BRUBAKER, LUTHER M., Berlin township, carpenter, post office, Shaler's Mills, was born in Hanover township, Ash- land county, Ohio, in 1853; learned the trade of carpenter with his father; works at his trade in this county, and is a first-class mechanic. He has filled the offices of constable, clerk, and trustee, and is an enterprising and industrious man.

BRYAN, WILLIAM, Liberty township, farmer, was born in the County Farmaugh, Ireland, in 1822. His father was a farmer and store-keeper, and William assisted him on the farm and in the store until 1848, when he emigrated to America, coming to Mt. Vernon, thence to Pike township, where he sub- sequently bought a farm and remained until 1855, when he came to Liberty township and purchased his present farm, and where he has remained ever since. In 1850 he married Miss Jane Dudley, of Pike township. They had nine children, eight of whom are living.

Mr. Bryan began life poor, but by his industry he has ac -. quired sufficient of this world's goods to make him independent in life. He is a good farmer. He brought many recommenda- tions of a high order from his native county, being from lawyers, ministers, and business men, thus showing that he stood well in the community where he lived. This reputation he still main- tains. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. His parents, Thomas and Ann Bryan, came to the United States in 1850, bringing four daughters with them. The parents died in Philadelphia, and the remainder of the family still re- side there.

BRYANT, GILMAN, Mt. Vernon, deceased, was born in Peacham Vermont, July 27, 1784, and died in Mt. Vernon, Ohio, June 10, 1859. The history of Knox county would be incomplete without a record of the good and extensive influence yielded by this pioneer in its early settlement and prosperity. He was also a remarkably early pioneer in the settlement of the State, having emigrated with his father, Lieutenant David Bryant, in 1797, to the Northwest Territory. He was engaged in boating on Lake Erie until 1799, and visited the sight of the large and populous city of Cleveland when containing but two or three inhabitants. His father purchased and cleared five acres of ground at two dollars and fifty cents per acre and made a corn field on a spot which is now in the heart of the city. It is believed that Lieutenant Bryant never parted with the title of this land. Years afterwards the papers were lost which would have

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HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY.

proved his claim, and at that early day its value was so little the claim was lost sight of and fell into other hands. This ground at the present day, now covered with magnificent build- ings, is worth millions. He was also engaged with his father in getting out grind-stones near Newburgh, and they made the first pair of millstones used in Northern Ohio, which are to-day kept as relics in the Cleveland park. In 1799 Mr. Bryant left the Lake region and made journey to Marietta, by way of Erie, French creek and the Alleghany river, in a canoe or flat-boat. Marietta was settled by many of the old Revolutionary officers and soldiers. In December, 1799, news came of the death of General Washington, when a solemn procession took place composed of his old companions in arms. Mr. Bryant was a witness of that impressive scene, and listened to the funeral oration pronounced by Return J. Meigs. While in that region, Mr. Bryant assisted in making the brick used in the construc- tion of the celebrated mansion on Blennerhassets' Island, around which Wirt has thrown the charm of enchantment by his eloquence. In 1800 Mr. Bryant returned to Cleveland and spent five years along the lake between that point, Detroit and the river Raisin, from whence he went to Lanesville in a canoe by the Cuyahoga river, hauling his canoe across the portage from Akron to the Tuscarawas, by oxen, and arrived at Lanes- ville in April, 1805. Here he was taken with the ambition of becoming a merchant; and upon the recommendation of James Loveridge, concluded to settle in Mt. Vernon. He accordingly procured a scanty outfit and with a cargo of goods, consisting principally of whiskey and salt set sail in a canoe up the Musking- um and its branches. He navigated Owl creek and landed in Mt. Vernon March 4, 1807. In these days of railroads it would seem a novel mode of transportation to go by river from Lanesville to Mt. Vernon, but at that time when the wild forests were almost impenetrable except through narrow bridle paths, and the streams presented a larger volume of water than at the present time, it may, after all, have been the best route of travel, and this enterprising first merchant of Mt. Vernon took advantage of the spring freshet and successfully steered his vessel into the new and inviting haven.

He found but three families within the boundaries of this em- bryo city. The village of Clinton was then of more importance; and it is surmised that Mr. Loveridge was anxious that the young merchant would add to its population, but Clinton was not situated on a navigable stream. Mr. Bryant, having been somewhat of a sailor, could not be induced to go so far from as good a harbor as Mt. Vernon presented. However, his fore- sight must have been almost prophetic, as the sequel proved. He lived to see his chosen settlement grow to the dimensions of a city, and Clinton go to decay.

No citizen contributed more to the early growth and prosperity of Mt. Vernon than did Gilman Bryant. It was not expected that a dozen families of whites in and about the settlement would contribute much to his traffic. The settlers' wants were few, and with the exception of whiskey and salt the forest and small patches of corn ground provided them with the necessaries of life-luxuries they knew not nor desired-but the Indians came in great numbers from long distances with their furs, pelts, cran- berries, ginseng, and maple sugar, and returned with the wares of the merchant.

The Indians had their peculiarities in their mode of trading which Mr. Bryant respected and adhered to. They came in bands of ten to fifty, their numbers greater in proportion to the distance travelled. They would encamp for several days on the

bank of the Kokosing, and when they had disposed of their produce and provided their wants departed in peace to their hunting grounds. A number would file into Mr. Bryant's little log store-as many as the benches would seat-and one at a time commence trading, the others waiting their turn. As soon as one article was purchased it was paid for before another was offered. If the price did not suit, the Indian passed it by and did not parley for a better bargain. When the cranberries were measured-which were carried in bark baskets-the Indian's squaw received in her hand a berry for every measure until all was done. The maple sugar was also measured in bark baskets, and Mr. Bryant returned cornmeal, measure for measure, to the entire satisfaction of his customer. The furs and pelts were valued by the standard of a buckskin, which represented the dol- lar. Mr. Bryant's customers were mostly of the tribes of Wy- andots, Shawnees, and Delawares, and he soon became familiar with their different languages. His success, however, may be more attributed to the knowledge he obtained of their peculiar- ities, which he so thoroughly respected, together with his hon- estyand fairness which attracted towards him a large traffic from great distances. Mr. Bryant commanded the respect and love of a large portion of the tribes and chiefs who then occupied the northwestern part of the State. Knox county was remarkably free at that time from the outrages perpetrated in other parts of the State by the savages, and the peaceful demeanor of these red men towards the early settlers may be attributed in a large measure to Mr. Bryant's influence. His kindness and honesty warded off, many times, any hostile intention that may have lingered in the breasts of the natural enemies of the whites.

As time passed and the flood of emigration rapidly filled up the new county, the Indians grew less in numbers. Mr. Bryant then bent his whole energy towards the development of the county, and finding an outlet for its products. At his death a writer of his biography says of him:

"His history shows him to be a man of great coolness and fortitude. The scenes of his latter days bring those truly great characteristics out in striking and impressive lustre. Few fully realize how large and extensive was Mr. Bryant's influence upon the prosperity which marked the early settlement of Knox county. He was the first, and longmaintained the position of the promi- nent merchant in the county. His unaffected simplicity of man- ners, his frankness and urbanity made him a common centre for counsel and advice, to the most humble as well as to the most exalted; and to his sound judgment may be attributed, to a considerable degree, the sober, steady and substantial cast which so clearly marked the character and operations of that noble race of men, the pioneer settlers of Knox county.

Mr. Bryant never initiated any novel or wild speculations to dissipate and destroy the energy and labor of our people. His influence always went to promote the practical and useful pur- suits of life. Industry and economy were the great virtues he ever practiced and strove to foster and encourage. Three great and unestimable virtues flourished in strength and beauty among that remarkable people, to whom he for a long time sustained the relation of coworker, friend and adviser.

He also, for a long time, aided the people in securing a market for the surplus produce of the county. In this he was distinguished for most valuable pecularities. His efforts seemed ever to be to keep the market steady, not to speculate by either inflating or depressing it, but to secure to the people the best market they could have, after paying to him a reasonable re- ward, by way of profit, for his agency in the matter.

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The value of such a man can hardly be fully estimated in any producing community, much less can it be in a community such as that in which he had chosen his lot. Many a gray-headed veteran in those arduous but interesting scenes of our past history have alluded to these excellencies of Mr. Bryant's life with feelings of undisguised emotion.

He was not what, in this flashy age, is called a brilliant man. Yet he was possessed of qualities of mind and heart which much more justly and deservedly gave him distinction. Plain good sense, and sound judgment, unbending integrity, and sincere kindness, traits now too lightly esteemed, constitute the sole foundation on which his excellent character rests. Few men ever carried on so large and promiscuous a business as he did with so few differences with his fellow-men, and still fewer without more litigation. If the legal profession esteem him, as in truth they do, it is for something better than creating busi- ness for them. Such was his reputation for integrity and ve- racity that those well acquainted with him, never thought of caviling at his word.

Such was his universal kindness, too, that he seems to have been regarded as a kind of common ancestor to the early settlers. This is strikingly manifest from the large number of children throughout the county, by worthy and grateful parents, honored with his name. His own family and friends, however, know best and most highly appreciate this crowning virtue of his character.

His religious views, though somewhat peculiar, he never ob- truded upon others, but quietly acted out the sterling virtues which he considered the great and good Creator of man re- quired of him as a condition of his being. And it must be con- fessed by those who knew him well, that in the ordering of his moral conduct Mr. Bryant set an example worthy the imitation of all, and one from which most Christians might find sugges- tions for their own improvement.

In his political views he was also conciliatory; while he ad- hered very decidedly to one party he was never known to pro- scribe a man for mere difference of opinion on these matters. In early life he belonged to what was known as the Democratic party. In 1828, when the contest arose between President Adams and General Jackson, he espoused the side of Mr. Adams. To the party then organized he adhered, in the main, till his death.

Gilman Bryant was the first postmaster of Mt. Vernon, and the first recorder of deeds in the county of Knox. He built the first frame and brick dwelling house in Mt. Vernon, the former on Main street, and the latter on the corner of Vine and Gay streets, which last is still standing, and at present occupied by Mr. Byers as a residence.

Mr. Bryant continued in business in Mt. Vernon until about the year 1850, and accumulated a large estate. He was the owner of two flouring and saw-mills, one located on Centre run just east of Mt. Vernon, and the other on Dry creek, where he also owned the farm now occupied by the county infirmary. He moved his family to the latter place in 1819, and returned to Mt. Vernon in 1822. He established a large tobacco warehouse in the rear of his building on Main street, where he packed and shipped large quantities of leaf tobacco-a considerable product of Knox county at that day. He shipped principally to the Bal- timore market, the only mode of transportation then being by wagons. He owned at one time considerable of the property on and near Main street, which has since become very valuable, among which may be mentioned the corner of Main and Vine

streets, now occupied by the First National bank and post office, running back to Gay street. He also owned and built upon the lot upon which now stands the Curtis house, also the hill in the rear and the ground east of Gay street to the alley; also the hill which was cut down and now occupied by the Kremlin block; also owned property on the west side of Main below Vine street. He built the large market house on the southwest corner of the square for a ground lease of forty years which was granted by the town.

Later in life he owned a farm two miles east of Mt. Vernon on the old Gambier road. The large brick residence he built on the hill, now standing in the rear of the Curtis house, was the finest mansion at that time in the county. Here Mr, Bryant, for many years, extended the most generous hospitality to friends at home and abroad which his wealth enabled him to do in a manner quite beyond the means of the average pioneer. It became quite a resort for New York merchants and the students and professors of Kenyon college, many of whom have become distinguished in later days.

Mrs. Bryant was of an old Virginia family, and dispensed the hospitalities of her house with a dignity and courteousness of manner characteristic of southern people.

On the second day of March, 1809, Mr. Bryant married Eliz- abeth Thrift, who was a daughter of the Rev. William Thrift, of Fairfax, Virginia, the first minister of the Gospel who settled in Knox county. Mrs. Bryant was born November 18, 1792, in Leesburgh, Virginia, and came to Mt. Vernon with her father in 1807. She died at Sparta, December 17, 1865.

Twelve children were born to this worthy couple, three died in infancy and nine were reared to manhood and womanhood. Seven of the number are living at this day. Their descendants number ninety, of which sixty-eight are living, but scattered in four States. The following is their family record:

Nancy, born October 18, 1810, married George Browning, and had eight children and seventeen grandchildren. She died July 23, 1860.

Timothy Burr, born July 17, 1812, married Elizabeth C. Reeve. He died July 23, 1855.

Mary Gilman, born June 24, 1814, married James Warner Miller, and had ten children and twenty-nine grandchildren. They now reside in Newark.

William Thrift, born December 1, 1816, died March 8, 1817. David, born April 19, 1818, died August 16, 1818.

Hannah Jane, born May 18, 1819, married Dr. Joseph Brown and had four children and one grandchild. She now resides in Mt. Vernon.

Cassondra, born October 18, 1821, died December 12, 1821. James Gilman, born September 8, 1823, married Mary P. Swetland, and has one son. They reside in New York city.

Charles Grandison, born March 22, 1826, married, first, Eliz- abeth D. Smith; second, Louisa Harrison, and had six children and two grandchildren. He resides in Rock Island, Illinois.

Hamilton Thrift, born August 27, 1829, married Mary E. Cornell. They reside in Richland county.

Edwin Douglass, born December 26, 1831, married Lucy V. Inscho. They reside in Sunbury.

Elizabeth Ellen, born September 30, 1834, resides in Mt. Vernon.

Of the many descendants of Gilman Bryant, there only remain living now in Mt. Vernon, Mrs. Dr. Brown and son Charles, William Dudley Browning, Mrs. Emma Sperry (with one child), Bessie and Lawrence, children of Elizabeth (Browning) Taylor,

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and Frank W. Miller, son of Mary (Bryant) Miller, with two children.

The following is a record of the paternal and maternal an- cestors of Gilman Bryant. His father, Lieutenant David Bryant, was born in Haverhill, Massachusetts, about the year 1755, and is supposed to be a descendant in the fifth generation of Sie- phen Bryant, of the Plymouth colony, who lived about the year 1620-90. David was a cousin of William Cullen Bryant, the poet. The mother of Gilman Bryant was Mary Gilman, daughter of Colonel Jeremiah Gilman, who commanded a regi- ment of the New Hampshire line during the Revolution. Lieu- tenant David Bryant served in his father-in-law's regiment.

The history of the Gilmans is thus narrated :

"In May, 1638, Edward Gilman, with his wife, three sons, two daughters and three servants, came from Norfolk county, England, in the ship called the Delight, of Ipswich, and settled in Hingham, Massachusetts. Moses, the third son of Edward Gilman, lived in New Market, New Hampshire, and had six sons-Captain Jeremiah, born in 1660, had Thomas, Andrew, Joseph and others. The last two sons were captured by the In- dians, in 1709, and taken to Canada. At a war dance, Joseph was burnt. Andrew was sold to the French, and imprisoned, but obtained favor of the governor and was permitted to work for wages until he earned a sum sufficient to purchase his free- dom. He returned to his old home, married, and had one son, Jeremiah, and three daughters. Jeremiah was born about the year 1721. When the Revolutionary war broke out he was commissioned a colonel and commanded a regiment in the New Hampshire line. His daughter, Mary Gilman, married Lieu- tenant David Bryant, who served in his father-in-law's regiment during the war. Lieutenant Bryant was the father of the sub- ject of this sketch.

The genealogical successions of the seven generations in this line, therefore, stand as follows: First, Edward Gilman, born in Norfolk, England, about 1600; second, Moses Gilman, born in Norfolk, England, about 1630; third, Jeremiah Giiman, born in New Market, New Hampshire, 1660; fourth, Andrew Gil- man, born in New Market, New Hampshire, 1690; fifth, Jere- miah Gilman (second), born in New Market, New Hampshire, 1720; sixth, Mary Gilman, born in Vermont, about 1760; sev- enth, Gilman Bryant, born in Vermont, 1784.

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History of Knox County, Ohio, its past and present, Part 117

Author: Hill, N. N. (Norman Newell), comp; Graham, A. A. (Albert Adams), 1848-; Graham, A.A. & Co., Mt. Vernon, Ohio Publication date: 1881 Publisher: Mt. Vernon, Ohio : A. A. Graham & Co. Number of Pages: 1096

Author: Hill, N. N. (Norman Newell), comp; Graham, A. A. (Albert Adams), 1848-; Graham, A.A. & Co., Mt. Vernon, Ohio
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Mt. Vernon, Ohio : A. A. Graham & Co.
Number of Pages: 1096