USA > Ohio > Mercer County > History of Mercer County, Ohio, and representative citizens > Part 61
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Although Mr. Willcutt takes no very active interest in politics, he always does his duty as a good citizen. He is identified with the Republican party. Mr. and Mrs. Willcutt are both members of Wesley Chapel Methodist Episco- pal Church in Union township. Accompanying this sketch is a group picture of the Willcutt family and a view of the Willcutt home.
HENRY CLAY
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HENRY CLAY, one of the oldest and most highly respected citizens of Union township, was born May 17, 1826, one mile from Carlisle in Cumber- land County, Pennsylvania. He is a son of Henry and Mary Elizabeth (Mell) Clay, a grandson of John and Catherine Clay and a great-grandson of Mathias Clay, a native of Germany.
John and Catherine Clay were the parents of eight sons and one daughter, namely: Mathias, Philip, Jacob, Nicholas, John, George, Henry, Christian and Mrs. Catherine Wax, the last named a resident of Pennsylvania.
Henry Clay, the father of our subject, was born in December, 1796, in Perry County, Pennsylvania, and the mother, who was also a native of Perry
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County, was born in July, 1799, both being of German descent. Mr. Clay was mustered into the militia in the war of 1812, the citizens having drawn' lots for service, and for three months he was in the barracks at Carlisle, Penn- sylvania. Mr. Clay was married in Perry County, Pennsylvania, where he remained for about six years after his marriage and then moved in 1832 to Wayne County, Ohio, where he died aged 40 years. In 1840 his widow and family moved to Mercer County and located in Dublin township on a farm of 160 acres, now known as the Perry Harris farm. There were seven children born to Mr. and Mrs. Clay, as follows : Adam, William, Levi, Henry, Hester, Emeline and John M. Adam, who was born November 12, 1819, and died in June, 1884, was a resident of Miamisburg, Montgomery County, Ohio, prac- ticing law at Dayton. He served as a member of the Constitutional Convention of 1873. He married Sophia Dubbs and they had two children. William died February 12, 1876, aged 54 years, the day he was entering upon his second term as probate judge of Mercer County. He married Jane Rice of Pennsylvania and after her death married Catherine Krugh. Levi was born in August, 1824, and died in 1850. Hester was born December 22, 1829, and died in September, 1886; her husband, Henry Boroff, is also deceased. Eme- line died in Wayne County, Ohio, aged four years. John M., who was born July 6, 1836, is a resident of Union township, Mercer County. Mrs. Clay remained in Mercer County, making her home with her son Henry until her death, which occurred in 1878 in her 80th year .. Her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Adam Mell, moved from Pennsylvania to Wayne County, Ohio, where the former died. His widow married a Mr. Messinger, who died in Indiana. She had one daughter by this marriage. Mrs. Messinger died in Wayne County, Ohio, at the advanced age of 98 years.
Henry Clay, subject of this sketch, was six years of age when his parents moved to Wayne County, Ohio, where he lived until he was about 14 years old. His father having died, the mother then moved to Mercer County, where our subject has lived since he was 14 years old. He was married in 1857 to Sarah Ann Yocum, a daughter of John and Elizabeth (Shelly) Yocum, who were natives of Pennsylvania. To them were born four children, namely : Mary Elizabeth, Stephen A., William Perry and Emma. Mary Elizabeth married James Agler and at her death left four children, as follows : Reuben J., Alice, Eva and Arthur. Stephen A. married Harriet Tingley, a daughter of John and Martha (Baltzell) Tingley and has two children: Ethel, who married Thomas Youngblutt, a resident of Lewisburg, Ohio; and Alwilda, who is in school. Stephen A. is a resident of Rockford and owns a farm near Rockford and also one in Union township. He resided for many years in Union township and is a successful business man as well as a farmer. His property is well improved with new houses and barns. William Perry, who
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is a practicing physician at Convoy, Van Wert County, is a graduate of Star- ling Medical College, Columbus, Ohio, has been engaged in the practice of medicine for some years and ranks high in his profession. His first marriage was with Mary Electa Sprain, from which union one child resulted-Henry. After her death, Dr. Clay married Elizabeth Tingley, a teacher of Cincinnati, and had two children-Grace and Edmund. His third marriage was with Mary Ellen Jones. Emma married Napoleon Bonaparte Boroff. and resides in Van Wert County. She has had three children, of whom two are living- Josie and Mabel.
The second marriage of Mr. Clay was with Mrs. Lydia Yocum, a daugh- ter of Mr. Barner. To them were born two children, namely: Ella E., who lives at home with her parents; and Viola Belle, who died aged 10 months.
Mr. Clay is a Democrat in politics. He was made a Mason at Celina in 1862 and is the only living charter member of Shane's Lodge, No. 377, F. & A. M., at Rockford. He has been a member of the Church of God for 46 years.
BARNEY GRIESHOP
BARNEY GRIESHOP, a well-known, representative farmer of Marion town- ship, residing on his fine farm of 160 acres, situated on the Chickasaw and New Bremen road, was born March 7, 1848, and is a son of John Henry and Helena (Sheper) Grieshop.
The parents of Mr. Grieshop came to America in the fall of 1847, and in the following spring bought the farm on which our subject now resides. They had the following children: Mrs. Catherine B. Wilkie; Mrs. Elizabeth Bar- horst; Henry, a resident of Marion township, who married Mary Anna Hin- ders; and Barney, who was the only one of the family born in America. The mother of our subject died in 1849 during the prevalence of the cholera epi- demic. The father was subsequently married several times and died in 1888. He was one of the pioneers of Marion township and worked hard for many years.
Barney Grieshop was raised a farmer and has always followed agricul- tural pursuits, with very successful results. He purchased the homestead farm from his father prior to the latter's death in 1888, and here he has re- sided ever since. His farm is well located, has good improvements and would . command a high price if put upon the market. In 1873 in partnership with his brother Henry, he engaged in making brick, which business was continued for a period, their large farming and stock-raising interests not being neg- lected in the meantime.
On November 22, 1874, Mr. Grieshop was married to Mary Rutschlling,
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a daughter of Henry and Mary Rutschlling, who were natives of Germany. Mrs. Grieshop was born in Auglaize County, Ohio, in September, 1854, and died in November, 1899. Her father died in October, 1898, and her mother, December 30, 1905. Her brothers and sisters were: John, Henry, Elizabeth, Delia, Richard, August, Joseph and Frederick. Mr. and Mrs. Grieshop had eight children, namely: Henry, who married Minnie Morthorst; Anna M., who married Jacob A. Froning; Helena, the wife of Dr. H. G. Rawers, of Chickasaw; Julius; Elizabeth; Louise; Catherine P. and Dora Ann. Mr. Grieshop is one of the valued members of St. John's Catholic Church.
JOHN M. CLAY
JOHN M. CLAY, a representative citizen of Union township, owning 80 acres of excellent farming land which is under a fine state of cultivation, has been a resident of this county for 66 years. He was born in Wayne County, Ohio, July 6, 1836, and is the youngest of eight children born to his parents, Henry and Mary Elizabeth (Mell) Clay.
The Clay family is distributed over many States of the Union and the father of our subject bore the same name as did Kentucky's great statesman, and in all probability the early stock was the same. The branch from which our subject came, however, belonged in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, and there the paternal grandfather, John Clay, lived and reared his family. The maternal grandfather, Adam Mell, lived in Pennsylvania until he moved to Wayne County, Ohio, where he died.
Henry Clay, father of John M., was born and married in Pennsylvania, but moved to Wayne County, Ohio, prior to the birth of our subject. There he died aged 40 years, when John M. was two years old. All the other chil- dren were born in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, these being: Adam, deceased in 1885, who lived at Miamisburg but practiced law at Dayton-he married Sophia Dubbs and left a family of two children; William, who died just as he was entering upon his second term as probate judge of Mercer County-his wife was Jane Rice, and his second, Catherine Krugh; Levi, who died in young manhood; Henry, a venerable resident of Union township, born in May, 1826, who owns valuable farming lands in this locality-he has been twice married and has four surviving children; Hester, deceased, who was the wife of the late Henry Boroff, of Dublin township-four of their children survive ; and Emeline, who died in Wayne County, aged five years.
When our subject was four years old, his mother, accompanied by her children, removed from Wayne to Mercer County and on May 1, 1840, lo- cated on a farm in Dublin township, a little southwest of where Mr. Clay now
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lives. The family entered the land from the government, paying $1.25 an acre for the same, and here the children all grew to maturity. An uncle of our subject, Christian Clay, also settled in Mercer County, locating in Union township about this time.
Pioneer conditions prevailed to a large extent when Mrs. Clay and her family came to this part of Mercer County. The older sons took charge of the farm while John M., the youngest, had his education to secure. He first attended subscription schools and he recalls that for two quarters he was a pupil under a full-blooded Indian teacher, a man who had been reared and educated among the whites. Later, district schools were established and, al- though sessions were then only held during three months, the children of the locality during that limited period were very thoroughly drilled in reading, writing, spelling and arithmetic. He soon grew useful on the home farm and worked for his mother until his marriage, and by the month for neighboring farmers.
After his marriage, Mr. Clay moved first to his brother William's farm, where he remained from the early spring until July, when he moved to his brother Henry's farm, which is now owned by Stephen Clay, and this farm he operated until the folowing spring, when he removed to the Branson Roe- buck farm. After one year there, he moved with his family to his mother's house, where he remained for seven years, going then to the Henry Cisco farm, near Mendon, where he remained for two years, finally settling on his present farm where he has lived for the last 39 years. He has witnessed many changes in the country since first settling here and can remember when conditions of all kinds were very different. Very little land in this locality had then been put under cultivation and absolutely no draining had been done. In all that concerned the development and improvement of the township, Mr. Clay has always been an interested and public-spirited citizen.
In 1856 he was married to Sevilla Baltzell, who was born in Dublin township, Mercer County, Ohio, and is a daughter of Henry and Mary Balt- zell, who came here from Hamilton County, Ohio, some time in the '30's. Mr. Baltzell had cut timber where now stand some of the finest buildings of Cincinnati. He settled and partly cleared what is now known as the Nathan Frysinger farm in Union township. He was born in 1790 and died in 1869, having served in the War of 1812. Mrs. Baltzell died in 1863. The three surviving children of Mr. and Mrs. Baltzell are: Elias, who lives in Wiscon- sin ; Benjamin F., of Petersburg, Illinois; and Mrs. Clay.
Mr. and Mrs. Clay had three children, namely : Francis Marion; William Henry, who died in infancy; and Adam H. Francis Marion married twice. He was born in 1863 and when he attained manhood married Sarah Ann Allen, a daughter of Justin Allen, of Union township. They had a large
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family, namely : Orville, who is a teacher; Harry, deceased; Clara, wife of Albert McBride, of Union township, and the mother of one child, Willard; Ota, who married Ira McBride, residing in Union township, southeast of Mendon, and has one child, Carl Ernest; Leroy, a youth of 15 years, residing at home; Norma, who lives with her grandparents; Homer; Earl; Arthur; Edna; Beryl; Wilbur, deceased; and Lloyd, deceased. The mother of these children died in the fall of 1902. Mr. Clay was married (second) to Mrs. Ida (Daring) Norris, a daughter of Joseph Daring, of Union township. Adam H. Clay was born January 24, 1870. He married Ella Stump, a daughter of Joseph Stump, of Union township, and they have six living chil- dren and one, Lela, deceased. The others are: Edith, Heber J., Ralph, Goldie Irene, Grace and Myrtle. These descendants of Mr. and Mrs. Clay are numbered with the most highly respected people of the northern section of Mercer County. They are all intelligent, enterprising and patrons of the public schools and hearty supporters of the church and promoters of moral move- ments in their communities.
In political affiliation, Mr. Clay is a Democrat. While not an active one in the sense of seeking office for himself or others, he has always believed in the principles of the party and voted for them at the polls. In religious connec- tion both Mr. and Mrs. Clay are consistent members of the Church of God. They are widely known throughout Dublin and Union townships and in all gatherings of old settlers they are more or less prominent. Their recollections reach so far back in the settlement of this rich section of Mercer County that their tales of the early days when forests stood on the land where are now rich farming fields and are located comfortable homes, many of which are in touch with electric lines and are visited by the rural mail carrier, are as interesting as any book of romance ever written.
HENRY GRIESHOP
HENRY GRIESHOP, one of the most highly respected citizens of Marion township, who owns a well-improved farm of 255 acres, enjoys the distinction of being the oldest continuous resident of the township, to which he came in childhood. Mr. Grieshop was born in Oldenburg, Germany, October 22, 1839, and is a son of John Henry and Helena (Sheper) Grieshop.
The Grieshop family came to America in 1845 and lived one year at Minster, Ohio, and then settled on a farm the father bought in Marion town- ship, Mercer County. Our subject recalls the day, for he was permitted to fish from the bank of the stream traversing the property, probably the first fishing he had ever had, and he had the pleasure of catching some catfish,
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which must have appeared pretty large to him. During the second year on the farm, the mother died. There were four children, namely: Mrs. Cath- erine B. Wilkie; Mrs. Elizabeth Barhorst; Henry ; and Barney, the last named, who is a resident of Marion township, being the only one of the four born in America. The father subsequently married Lena Brenemeyer, of Cincinnati. After her death he married Mrs. Holtman, a widow with four children, and after her death took as his wife Mary Ann Froning. He died on our subject's farm, in 1888.
Henry Grieshop was reared amid pioneer conditions and had few oppor- tunities to go to school. He can remember that when his father came to Marion township, a path had to be blazed through the woods. Wild turkeys could be shot any day and the deer were so plentiful and so tame that they! would come to the horse trough in his father's barnyard to slake their thirst and often had to be driven away before the cattle could be watered. It took many years of hard work to change the forest into a productive farm. Other settlers penetrated the same wilderness; roads were finally built by a combina- tion of industry ; schools, churches, good houses and barns followed; and now the rural mail route and the telephone link even remote regions with the oldest and most civilized.
Mr. Grieshop has devoted his energies mainly to farming, but he has been a man of progressive ideas and much enterprise and has been able to see a chance to increase his fortunes in several other ways. During the Civil War he bought horses for the government, a necessary and legitimate busi- ness. Later he entered into the cattle business and success crowned his ef- forts in that line. At one time, in partnership with his brother, he ran a brickyard. Since 1875 he has devoted himself to agricultural pursuits, pur- chasing his farm in that year from Philip Smith. When he settled on it he found an old brewery standing here, which he tore down and near its site he erected his handsome, brick, eight-room residence and also built his sub- stantial barns and other buildings. He has his land enclosed with a hedge fence and his surroundings show excellent management and a large measure of thrift. The turnpike which forms the southern boundary of his property was formerly an old plank toll-road.
Mr. Grieshop was married in 1863 to Mary Anna Hinders, a daughter of Dietrich Hinders, who was a contractor on the canal. They have had 12 children, namely : Catherine, who married Henry Schwietermann; John, who married Anna Luthman; Lena, widow of Joseph Windt; Barney, who married Mary Meinerding; Rosa, who married Joseph Meinerding; Louis, who mar- ried Mary Link; Frank, who married (first) Rose Steinke and (second) Kate Roeckner-his daughter Janetta, by his first wife, lives with her grand- parents, Mr. and Mrs. Grieshop; Augustus, who is in the hardware business
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at Chickasaw; William, Clara and Adaline, living at home; and Benjamin, who died in infancy.
Mrs. Grieshop was born in Marion township, Mercer County, Ohio, February 27, 1848, her parents having settled here at an early day. Her brothers and sisters were: Catherine, Elizabeth, Mary, Gerhardt and John, all deceased, the survivors being Richard, William and Margaret.
Mr. Grieshop is one of the leading members of the Most Precious Blood Catholic Church at Chickasaw. He belongs also to St. Joseph's Society. He can recall many very interesting events of the township's early days. One of these is a description of the manner in which the first negroes were treated, when the country was settled. He tells how men were organized to drive them away, meeting the blacks with clubs, pitchforks and even guns. In those days popular sentiment was shown in a very primitive way and at this time Mercer County has no very large contingent of negroes.
BERNARD SCHLARMAN
BERNARD SCHLARMAN, one of the representative farmers of Mercer County, owns 200 acres of fine land, 160 of which are situated in section 32, Granville township, and 40 of which are just across the road in Gibson town- ship. Mr. Schlarman was born in January, 1840, at Rose Garden (St. Rosa), Mercer County, Ohio, and is a son of John and Engel (Beckman) Schlarman.
The father of our subject came from Germany in young manhood, locat- ing immediately in Mercer County, Ohio. He bought a farm near Rose Garden, soon married, and on that farm both he and his wife died. He had four children, namely: Bernard, of this sketch; Henry, who married Mary Herke, and lives on the old farm; and Frank and Mary, both deceased.
Bernard Schlarman remained on the home farm until his marriage, when about 30 years of age, and then bought his present farm. At that time it was still wild land, heavily timbered. His first work was to clear a place on which to erect his log house, which, in time, gave way to his present comfortable frame one. Mr. Schlarman has spent many years of hard work here, but now has a fine estate, which he successfully cultivates with the assistance of his three sons.
Mr. Schlarman was married in 1870 to Anna Barbara Balmert, who was born in Lorain County, Ohio, July 8, 1853, and is a daughter of Philip and Barbara (Wise) Balmert. The parents of Mrs. Schlarman were born and married in Germany. After coming to America, they settled in Lorain County, where all their children were born. Later they removed to Mercer County, but subsequently sold their first farm to George Send and bought a
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smaller farm and there they died, highly respected residents of their neigh- borhood. Mr. and Mrs. Balmert had five children, namely: Caroline, who married Valentine Riddlesberger and lives on the home place; Anna Barbara, wife of Mr. Schlarman; Joseph, who has a reputation all through Mercer County as an expert bridge builder, who married Catherine Helens and lives at Burkettsville; George, a farmer in Mercer County, who married Theresa Daken; and John, a resident of Covington, Kentucky, engaged in railroad work, who married Elizabeth Billiman. Mrs. Schlarman was about 12 years old when her parents moved to Mercer County.
Mr. and Mrs. Schlarman have three stalwart, manly sons, all of whom still live at home. They are : John, born August 27, 1877; Joseph, born May 16, 1879; and Henry, born July 4, 1881. They are well-educated young men and, in addition to farming, operate a threshing machine, owning the outfit. The family are members of St. Paul's Catholic Church, at Sharpsburg.
AARON MORTEN LOWRY
AARON MORTEN LOWRY, one of the largest landholders of Gibson town- ship, owning 400 acres of valuable farm land in this township, as well as 80 acres just across the County line in Darke County, was born in Jefferson County, New York, May 14, 1823, and is a son of Benajah and Philena (Grinnel) Lowry, both natives of New Yory State, who died in Gibson town- ship, Mercer County.
Aaron M. Lowry spent his early boyhood days in New York State, and when 15 years old accompanied his parents to Ohio. They located in Clark County, where they remained until 1860. Our subject remained in Clark County one year after the removal of his parents to Mercer County. While in that county he was engaged in carpentering for a number of years. In 1861, in company with his wife and two children, he moved to Mercer County and located on a farm of 80 acres which he had purchased in 1850. This land was all covered with timber, which has since been cleared; many other improvements have been made, including new buildings.
Mr. Lowry was married November 1, 1854, in Clark County, Ohio, to Elizabeth A. Bireley, and they have had four children: William Henry, a sketch of whom will be found in this work; Lyman Leslie, living on the farm with his father, who married Elizabeth Ulner, a daughter of Daniel Ulner, and has one child, Zella; Sarah Elmaretta, who married Charles Hastings, lives in the State of Washington and has three children-Anna, Sherman and Eva; and a child that died in infancy. In politics Mr. Lowry is a Republican.
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GILES PETER MURLIN
GILES PETER MURLIN, a successful and enterprising farmer of Union township, residing on his farm of 120 acres in sections 33 and 28, was born on the farm where he now resides, June 5, 1849, and is a son of Daniel and Laura (Davis) Murlin.
The paternal grandfather of our subject was John Murlin, a native of Ireland, who moved to Kentucky in 1816, from the State of New York, after having resided a number of years in Ontario County. He married Sarah Doderer, who was of German descent and a resident of New York. They were the parents of 10 children-three sons, and seven daughters. The sons -Daniel, Abram and William-all came to Ohio and settled. Four daugh- ters, among whom were Betsey, Caroline, wife of Milton Wright, and Mrs. Amos Barber, also came to Ohio. The three others, among whom were Mrs. Jane Burbey and Sarah (Mrs. John Rider), remained in Kentucky.
Daniel Murlin was born in Ontario County, New York, December 28, 1798, and removed to Hardin County, Kentucky, in 1816, with his parents. He became one of the pioneers of Union township, Mercer County. His first marriage was in 1819 to Sarah Brown. Seven children were born to this union, namely: Adelaide, who married William Roebuck and resided in Union township until after the death of her husband, when she married the late Loomis Shanklin-she is now nearly 80 years old and resides with her daughter ; Susan, about 80 years old, who married Justus Davis and has lived all her life in Center township; Albert, who lived in Auglaize County until a few years before his death, when he moved to Mendon, where he received the final summons; Eleanor, who married Andrew Thompson and resided for a number of years in Center township, after which she moved with her hus- band to Iowa-both are now deceased; Theresa, deceased; John; and Pearly Ann, deceased, who was the wife of George Purdy.
The second marriage of Daniel Murlin occurred in 1836, Laura Davis, a daughter of Samuel Davis, becoming his wife. Samuel Davis was born in Ontario County, New York, and later moved to Miami County, Ohio, coming in 1834 to Mercer County, Ohio, and settling on the northwest quarter of section 35, Union township, where he remained until his death in 1868. His wife, Laura (Spicer) Davis, who died in 1866, was a daughter of Samuel Spicer, who was born on the ocean. There were born to Samuel and Laura (Spicer) Davis, the maternal grandparents of our subject, the following chil- dren : Samuel, deceased; Laura, the mother of our subject; Justus, deceased; Carney, deceased; Mary, who married Albert Murlin; Eliza, who married Marshall Culver and died in Muncie, Indiana-Mr. Culver resides in Kansas.
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