History of Pickaway County, Ohio and Representative Citizens, Part 56

Author: Aaron R. Van Cleaf
Publication date: 1906
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 923

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secure his release from servitude. . While en- gaged in working out his freedom, he became acquainted with a young woman named Nancy Courtney, whose birthplace was somewhere in Scotland and who like himself was working out the price of her passage to this country. After securing his own freedom, he assisted Nancy in her work and hand in hand they emerged from the gloom of servitude into the clear light of American freedom. Soon after this they were married. To this union were born eight children-six sons and two daugh- ters. The sons were named: Charles, Wil- liam, Robert, George, James and Richard. In the spring of 1802 the fact was brought home to Mr. Ward that greater opportunities pre- sented themselves in Ohio than in the Old Do- minion and accordingly he set out for what was then known as the Northwest Territory. In the month of May, 1802, he and his family with their teams, working tools and household goods disembarked from a flatboat at Ports- mouth. Ohio, from which point he set out in a northerly direction. He was not tempted to remain in Chillicothe, the early capital of the Territory, but continued on to the north to section 17, township 9. range 21, in what is now Pickaway County, throughout much of the journey having to cut a road through the dense, uninhabited wilderness. Arriving at his destination, he located on the half-section of land now owned in equal parts by his great- grandsons, Charles and James Ward. The old log house that was then built is still standing. Four generations have dwelt within its walls. Rain and snow have fallen on. it, winds and tempests have swept against it, but for a cen- tury it has withstood all. What mighty changes have been wrought since the old house was built! When its timbers were hewed in the forest, the greater part of Ohio was still uncultivated and uninhabited save by wild ani- mals and the red man. They were happy peo- ple who lived in the old cabin. It was home to them; love was there, peace was on the walls and joy stood in the door. Little chil- dren were born there and from its confines the souls of the father and mother went up to God. "How dear to my heart are the scenes

of my childhood!" William Ward died in December, 1814, aged 71 years and his wife died in December, 1834, aged 89 years.

James Ward, the fifth son of William Ward, was born in Virginia and accompanied his parents to Ohio in May, 1802. On the old Ward farm in Pickaway County he spent his boyhood days, remaining with his father until he reached his majority, when he re- turned to Virginia to marry Elizabeth Propst whom he had known before coming to Ohio. The journey of 300 miles was made on foot in six days. After their marriage. James Ward and his wife remained in Virginia until two children were born to them-William P. and Eliza-and then came to Pickaway Coun- ty, Ohio. The trip was made on horseback, the son being tied behind his father with a large bandana handkerchief and the daughter being carried by her mother on her lap. James and Elizabeth (Propst) Ward were the par- ents of 10 children. The sons were eight in number and were named as follows: William P., George W., James, Wesley, Peter, John, Josiah and Daniel. The two daughters were named Eliza and Nancy Ann. Of this family none are living, since January, 1906.

William P. Ward, the eldest son of James and Elizabeth (Propst ) Ward and grandfather of our subject, was married to Hannah Sabins in 1831 and to this union were born seven chil- dren. The sons, five in number, were named : William T., Robert, Leander, Frank and John H. The daughters were named Elizabeth and Sarah.

William T. Ward, the eldest son of Wil- liam P. and Hannah (Sabins) Ward and father of our subject, was born in August, 1832, in Walnut township, Pickaway County, Ohio, and was here reared and educated. On October 2, 1853, he was married to Catherine Payne, a daughter of Joel Payne, a neighbor- ing farmer. At the time of their marriage they were not blessed with much of the world's goods, but both husband and wife enjoyed good health, and in a long life, characterized by diligent saving, hard labor and good man- agement, they secured a good home for them- selves and family. They were good neighbors

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and first-class citizens and were beloved by all who knew them. They were blessed with nine children-six sons and three daughters- named as follows: William M., Leander H., Israel, Jabez, Lawrence, Harry A., Mary J., Lottie E. and Cora A.

Leander H. Ward grew up on his father's farm in Walnut township and attended the district schools of the vicinity. On January 8, 1885, he was married to Sarah E. Ward. daughter of R. P. and Jane ( Hedges) Ward. In this year the "Western fever" was very con- tagious and our subject and his wife fell vic- tims. They moved to Kansas and took up farming, as Mr. Ward was a farmer's son and thoroughly instructed in all the arts of agri- culture. The crops, however, proving to be failures on account of the chinch bugs and the hot winds, he concluded that Ohio was the only place for a civilized man to live, so he and his family came back to Pickaway County in the fall of 1886. He stopped at Ashville and took up blacksmithing which he followed seven years, meeting with large success in business and accumulating some property. In 1894, however, he decided to remove from town and so bought his father-in-law's 80- acre farm in Walnut township. As soon as it came into his possession, he began to plant a portion of it to all kinds of fruit so as to make the property, in time, an up-to-date fruit farm. Every year he has planted more and more of his farm in fruit and has at present 27 acres planted to all kinds of fruit, there being orchards containing 2,500 trees and six acres devoted to small fruits. When the orchards come into full bearing, which will be in a few years, the income from the fruit produced will, at a low estimate, amount to as much as $7,000 a year.

Mr. and Mrs. Ward have had six children, as follows : Mabel Agnes; Maud Ellis, who married Isaac M. Stout and resides in Walnut township; Hartley E .; Mettie Alice; Edith, who was born May 6, 1893, and died July 24, of the same year ; and Eugene Harold.

Mrs. Ward's father, R. P. Ward, died on March 6, 1894. His first wife, the mother of Mrs. Leander H. Ward, died October 9, 1866;

on April 28, 1868, he was married to Harriet Bowman. who survives him and lives with the subject of this sketch.

Leander H. Ward's fraternal and religious connections are confined to his membership with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the United Brethren Church. He is do- mestic in his tastes and is considered a model family man and a splendid citizen.

e HARLES D. BRINER, M. D., one of Williamsport's best known citi- zens, has practiced medicine here since 1891 and, although his pro- fessional duties have been exciting, he has also given much attention to public affairs in this vicinity. A man of public spirit and enterprise, he has always worked for the advancement of home interests and has at dif- ferent times been called upon to serve in offices of public trust.

Dr. Briner is a native of Pickaway County, having been born in Perry township, May 30, 1862. He is a son of John and Sarah E. (Hatfield) Briner, and grandson of Jacob and Sarah (Torrence) Briner. Jacob Briner, who was a native of Pennsylvania, at an early date located in Pickaway County, where he engaged in farming for many years. His death oc- curred at Enon, Ohio.

John Briner, father of Charles D., was born on a farm north of Circleville, and was engaged in agricultural pursuits until October 17, 1871, when he moved with his family to Williamsport. Here he engaged in the poultry and general produce business until his death, March 31, 1895. He is survived by his widow, who in maiden life was Sarah E. Hatfield. She also was a native of Pickaway County and is a daughter of John and Maria (Baker) Hatfield, both natives of Maryland. As a re- sult of this union two children were born, namely : Ida M., wife of D. W. Moler, of Williamsport ; and Charles D. Mrs. Briner resides in Williamsport in a home adjoining that of her son.

Charles D. Briner was reared on a farm

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until nie years of age when he was brought by his parents to Williamsport. Here he at- tended the public schools and grew to man- hood. Having determined to enter the med- ical profession, he began study under the pre- ceptorship of Dr. T. F. White on his 21st birthday. He later entered Starling Medical College at Columbus from which institution he was graduated March 4, 1886. Immediately thereafter he returned to Williamsport but was unable to take up practice at once as his funds had been exhausted in obtaining an edu- cation. He accepted a position as teacher in Deercreek township and continued at that vo- cation until 1891, when he resigned to take up the active practice of medicine. His success was immediate and in a short time he was firmly established in the confidence of the people of this section, many of his patients coming from a distance. He is a member and for one year was president of the Pickaway County Medi- cal Society. For four years during President Cleveland's administration, the Doctor served on the Board of Pension Examiners.

November 27, 1889. Doctor Briner was joined in marriage with Minnie Welton, who was born in Columbus, Ohio, and is a daughter of Moses and Emma ( Hurst) Welton. Four children were born to this union: Merl, who died at the age of 17 months; Ruth, who died in infancy; Helen, who is still living, and Thureda, who died at the age of two weeks.

Politically our subject is a Democrat, and stands high in the councils of his party, hav- ing served on the central and executive com- mittees. He served two terms as treasurer of Deercreek township, from 1891 to 1895, and at the same time was treasurer of the cor- poration of Williamsport. He served on the School Board three years, was re-elected and resigned in the middle of the second term. He also served one year as editor of the Williams- port News, during which period that publica- tion earnestly advocated steps for the improve- ment of the town and the promotion of its in- terests. FFraternally, the Doctor has been very prominent. For 13 years he was master of Heber Lodge. No. 501, F. & A. M., at Wil- liamsport, and upon his voluntary retirement

from the office he was presented by the mem- bers with a fine past master's jewel. He also be- longs to Heber Chapter, No. 62, O. E. S., of which he was the first worthy patron : Circle- ville Chapter, No. 20, R. A. M .; Williams- port Lodge, No. 4475, M. W. of A., of which he is the physician; Williamsport Lodge. No. 478, K. P., being a past chancellor of the same. and Atlanta Lodge, No. 819, I. O. O. F., at Atlanta, Ohio.

Religiously, Dr. Briner and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He has a well-appointed office and a fine home in Williamsport.

ENTON MONROE DUNNICK, a fine type of the gentleman farmer of old and cultured Ohio, owner of 215 acres of beautiful land in Walnut township, and former sheriff of Pick- away County, was born upon the farm which still comprises his homestead, on January 24. 1854. He is a son of Benjamin T. and Minerva (Ashbrook) Dunnick. His father was born, reared and educated in Walnut township and here. became a prominent farmer. He died September 12, 1859. Our subject's mother was a daughter of William and Permelia Ash- brook, both natives of Virginia, and is still living at East Ringgold, aged 87 years.

In Walnut township our subject developed into an intelligent and useful manhood, and in 1875 married for his first wife Sarah Ann Brobst, who died in 1882. By her he had three children, viz .: Iva, who married Boyd Swope, of Amanda township, Fairfield Coun- ty. Ohio, and became the mother of two chil- Kren-Kathleen and F. Dunnick; Oela C., who married William C. Nothstine, lives in Walunt township and is the mother of a daugh- ter-Sarah Elizabeth ; and John T., who mar- ried Alice Plummer, of Columbus, and is as- sistant business manager of the Columbus Dispatch. In 1889 Mr. Dunnick married Mary E. Hammel. Two children were born to this union-David H. and Minerva.

Mr. Dunnick purchased his present home

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in August, 1896, and the family occupied it in 1897. It was during the latter year that he concluded his four years' service as sheriff of Pickaway County, having been elected on the Democratic ticket. He has a wide con- nection with the fraternities, being a member of the F. & A. M .. B. P. O. E. and I. O. O. F. Religiously he is identified with the Primitive Baptist Church.

Mr. Dunnick takes great pride in his home, which is commodious and modern, and is prouder still of his family. He is especially gratified at the success of his youngest child by his first marriage, John T. Dunnick. When the latter was in the Circleville High School, during the father's term as sheriff, he took a local agency for the Columbus Dispatch. He acquitted himself so creditably- that when he finished his course he was offered a position in the Columbus office as assistant bookkeeper, and his good work in that capacity earned him the promotion to his present post-assistant business manager.

Mahlon Ashbrook, Mr. Dunnick's uncle, was the founder of the town of Ashville, which was named in his honor. About the year 1850 he was the wealthiest man in Pickaway County, conducting the largest store and sell- ing more produce than any one in the county. In 1855 he met with serious business reverses, and the entire family, which is one of the old- est, most aristocratic and honorable in the county, came to his assistance, and in the dis- charge of his indebtedness they were all re- duced to comparative poverty.

S. McKINLEY, postmaster at Orient, where he is engaged in a general mer- cantile business, is the oldest continu- ous resident of the village and is identified with all its leading inter- ests. Mr. Mckinley was born two and a half miles north of Harrisburg, in Franklin County, Ohio, September 17, 1856, and is a son of David and Elizabeth (Chenowith) Mckinley.

The name of Mckinley is honored and rev- erenced in Ohio and J. S. Mckinley belongs

to a branch of the same family from which came the late President Mckinley, the paternal grandfather of our subject being a second cousin to the martyred President. He was an extensive farmer and also one of the local pio- neer preachers of the Methodist faith. Fearless and undismayed, he traveled through the wil- derness which then enveloped Virginia, Ohio and Indiana, buying stock and performing the duties of his spiritual mission until the ad- vanced age of 84 years brought his labors to a close. He married Sarah Yocum, who, like himself, had been born in Virginia. Together they came, in a covered wagon, to Ohio, and settled near the present town of Darbyville in 1813. Among their numerous children were : David, Susan, Elizabeth, A. Seymour. Joseph H .. Harriet, Margaret, Mary, William H .. Russell B., John W. and James. The last named was a victim of the Civil War.

David Mckinley was reared in Pickaway County, where the family remained for a time. He married Elizabeth Chenowith, of Franklin County, Ohio, who was a daughter of Joseph Chenowith, who is said to have been the first white male child born in the Scioto Valley, his parents coming from Virginia to Ohio and lo- cating at Chillicothe. In 1806 the Chenowiths left that neighborhood and settled in Franklin County, where they became possessed of 2,000 acres of farming land. They had these chil- dren :. Jane, Rachel, Joseph Heath, William B., Elizabeth, Isabel, Elijah and Jeremiah M. All have passed away except William B., Jeremiah M., Isabel and Elizabeth.

The children born to David Mckinley and! wife were: Sarah A .. widow of James Boyd, living at Harrisburg. Ohio; William F., who married Elizabeth Sherman and resides at Mount Sterling, Ohio; Joseph, who died in Franklin County, Ohio, from the e fects of a kick from a horse, within a few days of his 21st birthday; Harriet I., deceased in 1901, who was the wife of W. D. Harvey, of Frank- lin County, Ohio; John B., director of the Franklin County Infirmary, residing at Rey- noldsburg, who married Mary E. Vieman; Margaret J., single, who resides at Columbus ; Mary E., wife of William J. Kennard, resid-

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ing at Camp Chase; Susan M., wife of E. W. Swisher, residing at Columbus; J. S., of this sketch; and James Bates, a physician, located at Harrisburg, Ohio. David Mckinley, our subject's father, died in 1869 ..

As indicated above, J. S. Mckinley has been a very important factor in the developing of Orient. On March 31, 1885, he located at this point, an appointee of the late President Harrison as the first postmaster at the newly organized office, and opened up a department store which he has developed into a large and prosperous business. In this connection it may le remarked that his business card, in part, ex- plains his continued success. He announces : "I have not, in 10 years, had my store robbed ; I have not had a fire; I have not lost to ex- ceed $20 from bad debts ; I have but one price ; ] buy and sell for cash; I have no note or notes to pay; I have no mortgage on any of my property; I am not security on any one's paper for a cent; I believe in advertising; I believe it pays to be honest; I believe in quick sales and small profits; I believe that goods well bought are half sold, and I believe that goods can be bought cheaper for cash than on time, and that cash helps people to be pros perous and honest."

Mr. Mckinley lives up to his terse busi- ness announcement. His store is conducted entirely on a cash basis and he has proved how advantageous this policy is to both seller and buyer. He is a large and intelligent advertiser, adopting unusual methods and spending a large sum, having proved the wisdom of such a course.

After a change came about in the adminis- tration, Mr. Mckinley resigned as postmaster at Orient, and during the eight years while the office was filled by a Democrat, Mr. Mc- Kinley, in the interest of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Company, managed Morgan Park, near Orient, where many thousands gathered to picnic. This tract now belongs to the State. In 1895 he was re-appointed postmaster at Orient and has served continuously ever since. This is an important business point. Mor- gan's station or Orient had the first suburban railroad in Pickaway County. The State has

a farm here of 1,700 acres. In the past two years over $300,000 has been expended on buildings, fences, boulevards and in a few years it will be one of the most beautiful places in Ohio, when it will accommodate 1,600 people it is thought. Orient has the second highest railroad trestle in the State and has three artesian wells, one of which is 1,900 feet deep. The town supports schools, churches and offers a pleasant home to people of capital, as well as to artisans and business men.

In addition to his other concerns, Mr. Mc- Kinley has been much interested for a year past in growing grapes and his efforts have met with remarkable success. Mr. Mckinley was the only fruit exhibitor from Ohio at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893, at which time he exhibited in the Horti- cultural Building a fruiting grape-vine-the only one exhibited-known as "Mckinley's Jumbo," many of whose grapes had a diameter in excess of one and one-eighth inches. He grows 25 varieties of fancy grapes, including the "Concord", "Worden", "Brighton", "Moore's Diamond". "Niagara". and "Mc- Kinley's Jumbo", which has been renamed the "Columbian Imperial" and which Mr. Mckinley claims is the largest grape in the world. The fruit is produced abundantly and the demand will probably tax Mr. McKin- ley's resources of production for some time to come.

In 1881 Mr. Mckinley was married to Ida E. Gayman, who is a daughter of David and Mary E. (Wheeler) Gayman, of Canal Win- chester, Franklin County, Ohio. Mr. Gayman died in February, 1906. Mr. and Mrs. Gay- man had four children, namely: Edwin, de- ceased, who married Laura Pugh: Allen E., also deceased1. who married Edith Ash : David D .. who married Elizabeth Keeler and resides at Greenville. Ohio; and Ida E., who is the wife of our subject. She was born at Canal Winchester, Franklin County, Ohio, June 20, 1859.

Mr. Mckinley has demonstrated on many occasions the genuine interest he takes in his town, aside from anything pertaining to his personal advancement. In his management of

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GEORGE DUNGAN.

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official affairs he is greatly commended. He has secured for the Orient postoffice three rural routes, exceeding any town of its size in the county. Both he and his wife are mem- bers of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He was the first and largest subscriber to the fund used to build the new church edifice. For 20 years he has taken much interest in Sunday- school work. He was superintendent of the Harrisburg Sunday-school for two years and of the Orient Sunday-school for six years. He is now serving his fourth year as president of the town and township organizations. He is president of the board of trustees of Scioto township and also president of the Scioto Township Law and Order League. Fraternally he is an Odd Fellow and a-Mason, in the latter having taken the 32d degree.

With all his many business interests, Mr. Mckinley still finds some time for recreation, which he employs in fishing. That he is a true follower of the immortal Izaak Walton seems to be a settled conviction in his neigh- borhood, it being a common saying that "A McKinley can catch fish where there are none."

---- EORGE DUNGAN, a prosperous and progressive farmer of Wayne town- ship, a Democrat of local prominence and a successful man in both private and public affairs, is a native of the township whose interests he has done so much to advance. The homestead consists of 330 acres of land and a farm of 90 acres, presented by Mr. Dungan to his wife. He lives on the same farm and in the same house, where he was born on the 6th of September, 1839.

Mr. Dungan is a son of Titus and Jemima (King) Dungan. John Dungan, the grand- father, was a native of Ireland, where his father died. As an infant he was brought by his widowed mother to America, and until 1789 lived in Pent .vania. Thence he migrated to Virginia, where he was married, his wife being a member of the famous Titus family of that State. In 1802 John Dungan traded his farm of 100 acres in the Old Dominion for a

1,000-acre tract in Pickaway County. It was mostly timberland, and John Dungan, assisted by his sons William, John, Titus and Patter- son, had a large contract before him in clearing off and improving even sufficient for a moder- ate-sized homestead. Neither did he have his sons' continuous assistance. Patterson, the last born, died when quite young. William, the oldest, although reared a Presbyterian, be- came a Baptist minister- one of the pioneers of that sect in Pickaway County-and died in . 1830. John Dungan, Jr., became a prominent farmer in Pickaway County, where he married. He served in the War of 1812.

Titus Dungan, the father of our subject, was born in Virginia in 1794, and when a lad of eight years accompanied his parents to Pick- away County where he grew to manhood. He served in the War of 1812 and upon his return home was married at Westfall, Wayne town- ship, to Jemima King, who was born in Bour- bon County, Kentucky, in 1796, and was a daughter of William King, an early pioneer of Pickaway County, coming here in 1798 and settling where Westfall later sprung up, which town subsequently totally disappeared. Wil- liam King, who was a Quaker in his religious belief, was born in Pennsylvania and was there married. He moved from there to Virginia, then to Kentucky and finally to Pickaway County, Ohio. He was a Democrat in politics and served as the first justice of the peace in Wayne township. Mr. and Mrs. Titus Dun- gan became the parents of six boys and four girls, of whom George was the youngest.

George Dungan was reared and primarily educated in Pickaway County, his collegiate training being marked by the fact that one of his school-teachers was James A. Garfield. Mr. Dungan's first wife, Hannah Etta Grove, lived but two years after their marriage in 1862, and left one child, Mary Florence, who became the wife of Addison Maddox and herself died in 1886, the mother of Mabel Marie, now also deceased. In 1867 Mr. Dungan married Har- riet Blackstone, daughter of Thomas Black- stone, of Ross County, and a sister of Dr. Thomas Blackstone, of Circleville. There were five children by this second marriage. Etta,

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History of Pickaway County, Ohio and Representative Citizens, Part 56

Author: Aaron R. Van Cleaf Publication date: 1906 Publisher: Number of Pages: 923

Author: Aaron R. Van Cleaf
Publication date: 1906
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 923