History of Shelby County, Ohio, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 69

Author: R. Sutton & Co.
Publication date: 1883
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 427

USA > Ohio > Shelby County > History of Shelby County, Ohio, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 69

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LEONIDAS DEWEESE

was born in Shelby County, May 20, 1837. John M. De Weese, the father of the above, was born in Virginia, and came to Ohio at the beginning of the nineteenth century, and located in Miami County. He was but a small boy at the time. He remained in Miami until 1833, when he came to Perry, and located on section 12. His home consisted of two hundred and seventy-two acres, all in the solid woods. Ilis family at the time of their settlement consisted of his wife and five children. He soon made an opening in the woods, erected his cabin, and commenced life in earnest. Year after year the forest disappeared before his axe, until in the year 1849 he had about one hundred acres cleared, and a comfortable home established, when He who doeth all things for the best called him away in the prime of life, leaving a wife and eight children. The widow after a few years married again. The children kept the home- stead among themselves, and farmed it as before, and as fast as one of the heirs wished to sell the balance would buy them out. This course was pursued until the whole place was owned by two of the boys, viz., Newton owns one hundred and twenty acres, and Leonidas one hundred and fifty-two acres. Leonidas, with whom this sketch starts, in 1864 married Miss Margaret A. Thompson. By this union they have eight children, whose names are as follows: Laura D., born 1865; Hamilton G., born 1866; Wyant A., born 1867; Thornton N., born 1869; Lagurna, born 1870; Bertha P., born 1876; and Thurman G., born 1878.

Mr. De Weese now has one of the fine stand best improved farms in Perry Township. He has built for himself a fine brick dwelling-house at the cost of $4000. Mr. D. has made his home by his own industry and economy, never having inherited anything but the one-eighth inter- est of his father's farm, which was worth at the time of his father's death about $300.

NICHOLAS STALEY

was born in Montgomery County, Ohio, in 1810. He was a son of Jo- seph and Catharine (Coble) Staley. In the year 1830 Nicholas came to Shelby County to make for himself a home. The first money he earned was making rails at twenty-five cents per hundred. He followed making rails for several months until he had saved a little money. He then borrowed some money and entered 160 acres of land in Salem Township. He then rented some land and raised wheat and sold it for thirty-five cents a bushel, to pay his borrowed money. His first entry of land was in 1831. He would work at clearing his land until he was out of money, then would go back to Montgomery County and work to get some money, then return to his land and work till he was compelled to recruit his purse again. In this manner he worked along till 1837, when he married Miss Mary Baker and commenced life in earnest. Their neighbors at that time were the Hartmans, Skillens, Kirtlands, Robins, Counts, and Mcveighs. Of that number there is not one left who was the head of a family at that time. For their market he used to go to Sandusky with a load of grain, taking eight days to make the trip. He would buy salt and leather and return and sell them to his neighbors. Mr. Staley has raised a family of six children, viz., Margaret A., born 1838; Henry, born 1840; John T., born 1844; Sarah, born 1845; Susan D., born 1850; and Squire N., born 1862. Mr. Staley has made for himself a good home of 386 acres of land with fine improvements. He now holds two patent deeds for the entry of lands that he took out himself, which he has since improved, the same never having changed hands.

WILLIAM DEWEESE.

Jethro De Weese, father of the above, was born in Miami County, Ohio, in 1808. He married Lydia De Weese in 1834. In 1837 he moved to Shelby County and located in Franklin Township, on land he had en- tered several years previously. They raised a family of nine children, seven still living. William, the fourth of the family, was born in 1839. In 1869 he married Miss Amanda Key, with whom he has one child, Carl E., born 1875. They reside on section 15. Jethro De Weese died 1870. Ilis widow died 1876.

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HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY, OHIO.

JOHN KEY

was born in Montgomery County, Ohio, in 1816. His father, John Key, was born in Virginia in 1781, came to Montgomery County about 1800, where he died in 1815, leaving a wife and four children. John, the fifth child, was not born until some six months after the death of his father. His mother remained in Montgomery until 1836, when she came to Shelby County and located in Jackson Township. The subject of this sketch came with his mother and remained about one year, then returned to Montgomery, where he lived until 1840, when he made his permanent home in this county. In 1841 he married Miss Lillie Lucas, by whom he had two children, Norman and John H. Mr. Key's wife died July, 1846. He then married Anna Rhinehart in 1847. By his second marriage he has seven children, viz., Amanda, born 1848; Rachel, born 1850; Elizabeth, born 1853; Jane, born 1856; David R., born 1858; Sherman, born 1864; and Orlando B., born 1870. Mr. Key, when he first came to the county, had fifty dollars, with which he entered forty acres of land in Jackson Township. He then went to work by the day and month until he had saved one hundred dollars, with which he entered eighty acres in Indiana. He then worked on until he saved one hundred dollars more, with which he entered another eighty acres in Indiana. These two eighty-acre lots he traded for the eighty-acre lot he now lives on. It was nearly all in the woods. This he has cleared and improved, and has since added to it two other eighty-acre lots, making his home place con- sist of 240 acres, all of which is well improved with a good brick dwelling. Beside his home place he owns 300 acres more of improved land in Perry Township. Altogether, with what he has given to his boys, he owned 743 acres in Perry Township. Beside this he has 141 acres in Champaign County, and property in the towns of Sidney and Millerstown. All this has been accumulated by his own industry and that of his family. There are but few, if any, in the county who have done more hard work than Mr. Key.

JOHN H. KEY

was born in Perry Township in 1843. . He is the second son of John Key by his first wife. In 1866 he married Miss Hannah C. Lane. Wm. Lane, the father of Mrs. Key, was born in Oxfordshire, England, came to America in 1838, first stopped in Canada, where he was immediately drafted into the British army, in which he served nine months. At the expiration of his time he came to Dayton, Ohio, where he remained a short time, then came to Shelby County, where, in the year 1843, he married Miss Eliza Jackson, a daughter of Jacob Jackson, who settled in the county in 1822. They raised a family of five children. Mr. Lane died January, 1868.

NORMAN KEY,

the eldest son of John Key, was born Feb. 1842. In Feb. 1865, be mar- ried Miss Sarah P. Rike (daughter of Enoch Rike). They have two children, viz., William F., born 1867, and Olla May, born 1871. They are located on section 22.

WILLIAM BAKER.

The Bakers, the ancestors of William Baker, were of German origin. Their first location in the United States was in Virginia, but the time of their settlement there is not known. Here they lived till 1812, when the father of Mr. B. moved to Clarke County, Ohio. Here in the year 1815 the subject of our sketch was born, grew up to manhood, and mar- ried. He married Elizabeth Loadenback in 1837, and in 1842 moved with his wife and three children to Shelby County and settled in the north woods of Perry Township, on the banks of the Miami River. When Mr. Baker landed on his place there was a rude cabin, and a few acres underbrushed. It was here in the wilds that Mr. Baker commenced without a dollar, working by days' work for bread for his family, until he could clear land and raise a crop for himself. He owed two hundred doliars on his land. This he had to make, which, he says, was the hard- est money to raise he ever tried. Mr. Baker has been one of the suc- cessful farmers of Shelby County. He commenced in the woods with an indebtedness of two hundred dollars on his 140 acres of land. He has added to his farm until he has bought 890 acres of well improved land. Esquire Baker has made for himself and each of his family a comfortable home, and now retires from active toil on the farm to enjoy the fruit of his early labor. He has ever had the esteem and respect of his fellow- citizens, who have honored him with the various offices of honor and trust of his township. They had a family of eight children, five of whom are living, viz., Sarah J., born 1841; Mary Elizabeth, born 1844; Mar- garet A., born 1848; Martin A., born 1852; Lewis W., born 1859.

DAVID REDINBAUGH.

The Redinbaughs are of German descent, and came to the United States at the beginning of the eighteenth century. The direct ancestors of the Shelby County Redinbaughs emigrated to the territory of Ohio at the close of the eighteenth century, and located in Hamilton County, near Cincinnati. It was here, in the year 1804, that David Redinbaugh

was born, and lived till the year 1818, when he came with his father's family-which consisted of six boys and four girls-to Shelby County and located in what is now Orange Township, four miles south of Sid- ney. Here, in 1830, he married Peggy Lucas, by whom he raised three children. The Lucases are of English descent. The grandfather of Mrs. R. came from England and located in North Carolina, where the father of Mrs. R .- John Lucas-was born in 1784. He married Lillie Medaris and moved to Clermont County, Ohio, in 1807. Here, in 1809, Mrs. R. was born. In 1822 the Lucases moved to Shelby County. David Red- inbaugh died in 1879, and is buried at Pt. Jefferson. Mrs. R. now has her home with her son, Solomon D., on the old homestead in Perry Township.

JOHN CRUMBAUGH.

The subject of this sketch was born in Kentucky in the year 1800. When four years of age he was brought by his parents to Ohio. They located in Clermont County. Here young John grew up to manhood, and lived until he came to Shelby County, where he now lives, never having voted in but two townships in his life. The Crumbaughs are of German descent, but the time of their emigration to the United States is not known.

Mr. Crumbaugh received but a limited education, only such as was gotten at the primitive log school-house. He was raised on a farm, and has been a farmer all his long life up to the present time. He entered his land from the Government, cleared it himself, and made all its im- provements without the aid or help of any but his own family. In the year 1823 he married Elizabeth Medaris. In 1830 they came to Shelby County, and stopped for a few months in the town of Sidney (during which time he entered his land in Perry Township where he now lives). He thought the rent of his house in Sidney was too high-he paid one dollar per month rent. So in the middle of winter he moved his family to a cabin on a place close to his land, until he could clear a patch of ground, and erect a cabin for himself. He relates an incident that hap- pened the morning he left Sidney to move to his land. He had used the stable of a man by the name of Hull, who was sheriff of the county, to keep his team in during his stay in town. On the morning he left he went to the sheriff, and told him he wanted to settle with him. The sheriff, who was a rough spoken man, and profane with all, but noble and generous, replied in a rough manner, " What do you want to settle? I don't owe you anything." " Yes, but I owe you for the use of your stable, and want to pay you," replied Mr. C., somewhat embar- rassed. The sheriff replied, "I don't charge anything for that; for if you had not had it some other damn rascal would have had it."

Mr. C. raised a large family of children, only seven of whom are living at the present time. Their names and dates of births are as follows: Peter C., born 1827; Willmath, born 1825; Mary E., born 1829; Daniel H., born 1835; Thomas D., born 1841; Hannab J., born 1844; and Sam- uel P., born 1847.

Mr. Crumbaugh lost three sons in the service of his country during the rebellion, one of whom was a prisoner for fifteen months, and died in the hospital. Some seven years ago his companion, who had jour- neyed with him by his side for half a century, passed away, and he is left to finish his journey alone, with the esteem and respect of all who know him.

JOHN H. SMOOT

was born in Miami County in the year 1833; was brought by his parents, Jacob G. and Catharine Shunk Smoot, to Shelby County in the year 1839. In 1856 he married Miss Eliza J. Stone. They have three chil- dren, viz., Charles E., born 1866; John A., born 1869; and Frank L., born 1872.

The grandfather of Mr. Smoot was a Revolutionary soldier, and was at the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown.

The parents of Mrs. S. settled in Shelby County in the year 1831.

THOMAS ETHRINGTON

was born in Montgomery County, Ohio, in 1823; came to Shelby County in 1833. In the year 1851 married Miss Mary A. Redinhaugh, by whom he has two children, viz., David S., born 1859, and Henrietta, born 1864. The parents of Mr. E. were William Ethrington and Elizabeth Runalds. Mrs. Ethrington's parents, David and Peggy Lucas Redinbaugh, came to Shelby County in the year 1818. First located south of Sidney in what is now Orange Township.

WILLIAM R. RIED, EsQ.

James and Christena (Runner) Ried, the parents of the above, came from Berkeley County, Virginia, in the year 1810, and settled in Cham- paign County, Ohio. He served as a soldier in the war of 1812.

William R., the son, was born in Berkeley County, Virginia, in the year 1810. Was brought by his parents to Champaign, where he lived until 1840, when he came to Shelby County. In the year 1835 he mar- ried Miss Susannah Young. By this union there were five children, only one of whom is now living, viz., Dr. S. M. Ried, of Indianapolis,

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HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY, OHIO.

Indiana. When Mr. Ried moved to Shelby County he located in Perry Township, where he still has his home.

Esq. Ried has been one of the prominent and well-to-do farmers of Perry. Has always had the respect and esteem of his neighbors. Has filled the offices of justice of the peace and trustee of his township. In the year 1863 his wife died. The following year (1864) he married Jean Henry, a daughter of Judge David Henry (the first settler of Perry Town- ship). Mr. Ried had two sons who served in the war of the Rebellion. Both served their full time, and were honorably discharged. Mr. Ried bought the old Henry homestead, on which he now resides. He has retired from active labor on the farm, having gained a competence for himself and family.

PHILIP PECKHAM.

Tradition, together with old records, go to show that the Peckhams are of English descent, and emigrated to America on the Mayflower in 1620, and landed on Plymouth Rock, as also the Winslows of the same family connection. Caleb Peckham, the father of the above, was born in Massachusetts in 1746, and died in 1846. Philip, the youngest child . of Caleb, was born in Massachusetts in 1798, married Julia Haskins in 1827, emigrated to Huron County, Ohio, in 1829, where he lived until 1855, when he moved to Shelby County, and located in Perry Township, where he died in 1872. John M., his son, now owns and resides on the same place.

JOHN DILLON

was born in Ireland in 1835. His parents in the year 1849, during the famine, removed to England to prevent starvation. Here John remained till the year 1859, when he came to the United States to seek a home. He located the same year in Shelby County. In 1865 he married Ellen Shea. By this marriage they have seven children, viz., John, Mary A., Ellen, Thomas M., Elizabeth M., Bridget, and Jane. Mr. Dillon has become a citizen of the United States, and is thoroughly republican in his principles, and is proud of the land of his adoption.

ADAM GRIEP

was born in Germany in 1849. When seventeen years of age he came to the United States, and landed in New York City with only fifty cents in his pocket. He remained in the city until he sent to his brother in Cin- cinnati for means to take him to that city.

Mr. G. was a butcher by trade. He worked at his trade in Cincinnati some five years, then went to Chicago, from thence to St. Louis, then returned to Cincinnati. From there he went to Bellefontain and Day- ton, working in each of these places. Finally in 1871 he located in De Graff, and started a shop for himself, which he ran until 1878, when he sold and bought his present farm in Perry Township, for which he paid $8000, nearly all of which has been made by the industry and economy of himself and estimable wife. In 1873 Mr. Griep married Miss Mary Miller, of Logan County. By this union they have five children, viz., Harry, born 1875; Frank, born 1876; Anna, born 1878; William, born 1879; and Ella, born 1880.

CHARLES SLAGEL.

The grandfather of Charles Slagel was a German by birth, emigrated to 'America previous to the Revolutionary war, and settled in North Carolina. It was here that the father of Charles Slagel was born in the year 1770. When a young man he went to Virginia, lived there a short time, then removed to Kentucky, where he lived until the year 1806, when he came to Champaign County, Ohio, with his family, which con- sisted of wife and six children. Charles Slagel, the subject of this sketch, was born in Champaign County a few months after they landed in the county (in October, 1806). About two years afterwards they moved to Montgomery County, where Charles grew to manhood on a farm. When a young man he followed teaming to Cincinnati. In 1832 he married Susannah Snyder. By this marriage there has been eleven children, seven of them are now living, viz., Barbary A., born October 3, 1833; David D., born March 26, 1835; John W., born October 7, 1839; Jacob S., born December 6, 1841; Elizabeth B., born May 17, 1848; Henry A., born May 25, 1850; and Jennie, born February 9, 1855. In 1850 he moved with his family to Shelby County, and settled on his present home in Perry Township. Mr. Slagel has always had the respect and esteem of his neighbors. Has been elected to the offices of justice of the peace and trustee of his township. He has been a member of the M. E. Church for about sixty years. His house was the home of the itinerant preacher for many years. Esq. Slagel has now retired from the active duties of the farm, and is striving to enjoy the fruit of his early labor.

LEWIS M. GEARHART

was born in Virginia in the year 1804. Came to Champaign County, Ohio, in 1805. From there they removed to Miami County in 1818, where he lived till he came to Shelby County in 1840, and settled on section 18, Perry Township.

ANTHONY GEARHART,

a son of the above, was born in Miami County in 1831. Came with his father's family to Shelby County in 1840. The farm on which they moved was nearly all in the woods, and boys at that day who were old enough to work had but little time for school. It was here that young Gearhart received his education, by attending school a few weeks in the winter season until he was sixteen years of age, when his school privi- leges closed. He continued to work for his father on the farm till 1856, when he married Miss Elizabeth Burditt, by whom he has had two chil- dren, Marella J. and George L. Mr. Gearhart is located on section 24, Perry Township.

JAMES F. GEARHART,

a younger son of Lewis M. Gearhart, was born in Miami County in 1834. Came with the rest of his father's family to Shelby County in 1840. Here he received a limited education. He learned the carpenter trade, which he followed some ten years, but has followed farming the greater part of his life. In the year 1860 he married Miss Elizabeth Miller. By this union they have had seven children. Their names are: Harry M., born 1861; Edwin E., born 1862; Lucinda C., born 1864; Augusta D., born 1867; William L., born 1869; Jennie D., born 1870; and Otis E., born 1877.

William Miller, the father of Mrs. Gearhart, came to Shelby County in 1824. Caleb Goble, the grandfather of Mrs. G., was born in New Jersey in 1760. About 1792 he came to Ohio, and settled near where Lebanon, Warren County, now is, with his wife and four children. Here, in the year 1809, the mother of Mrs. G. (Lucinda Goble) was born. Caleb Goble, her father, came to what is now Shelby County in the year 1814 or 1815, and first located where Sidney now is, lived there a year or two, then moved up the river, and located on school land, near where Pt. Jefferson now is The exact time of their settlement cannot be given, but from what we can gather from Mrs. Miller it was imme- diately after the close of the war of 1812.

WASHINGTON MEDARIS

was born in North Carolina in 1795. Came to Clermont County, Ohio, in 1804, where he grew to manhood, and learned the blacksmithing trade in Batavia. In 1819 he married Elizabeth Salters. They moved to Shelby County in June, 1831, and lived a short time in the town of Sidney. During this time he entered a piece of land in Perry Township, and moved to it with his wife and six children. He erected a cabin and a shop in the woods. Here he did blacksmithing and gunsmithing, also shoemaking for his neighbors. By this means he got his first land cleared. Not long after his location in Perry, his shop burned together with all his tools. This left him without means of support. In order to maintain his family he put his land into the trust company. He did not get it redeemed until 1847, when the interest on the loan had amounted to more than the principal. In 1843 his wife died, leaving him with ten children. In 1844 he married Matilda A. McDavitt. By this union there are nine children, all now living. Mr. Medaris died July 17, 1881, at the age of eighty-six years, having been a F. and A. M. for thirty-six years. He was also a Sir Knight. He died full of honors and years.

JOHN C. MAULICK

was born in Germany in the year 1810, and married Christina C. Mau- lick in 1835. They had previous to their emigration to the United States three children, two of them died while quite young. They came to America in the year 1847, and located in Shelby County, Perry Town- ship. Their only child, Mary L., married Andrew J. Kohler. They had two children, George C. and Mary L. Mrs. Kohler died in 1863. The two grandchildren now have their home with their grandfather, Mr. Maulick, they being the only descendants now left, Mrs. Maulick having died in January, 1881.

MRS. CHARLOTTE T. DOREN

was born in Clarke County, Ohio, in 1826. Her father, Peter Croy, was born in Virginia in 1784, removed to Ohio in 1807, and married Susan- nah Basinger. The same year they located in Miami County. From there they moved to Clarke County, where they lived till the year 1830, when they came to Shelby County. Peter Croy was a soldier under Gen. Wayne in the war of 1812, and was taken a prisoner, but the par- ticulars of his capture cannot be given. They were neighbors of the Dil- bones, who were massacred by the Indians in Miami County, and suffered all the privations and hardships of the early settlers of that day. Peter Croy died in Miami County in 1864. His wife had died in 1848.

James H. Doren, husband of Charlotte, was born in Butler County in 1822, and came with his parents, Thomas and Jane (Hayes) Doren to Shelby County in 1832. Here, in the year 1849, he married the subject of our sketch. By this union they had seven children, viz .: Park B., born 1850; Callie, born 1851; Samuel H., born 1854; John C. F., born 1856; Ada, born 1859; Cora, born 1862; and James, born 1864. They were located in section 27, Perry Township. Mr. Doren died March 25, 1877.

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HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY, OHIO.

ANDREW H. SMITH

was born in Pennsylvania in the year 1822, came to Warren County, Ohio, in 1838, lived there a few years, then removed to Miami County, where in 1849 he married Alvira Scoby. They have by this marriage one child, William C., born 1853. They settled in Shelby County in 1867. Mr. Smith has been noted as a hunter. In his early life his trusty rifle was his companion in the mountains of Pennsylvania, where the bear and deer fell by its unerring aim. The wilds of western Ohio and Indiana have been his hunting grounds for many years. Mr. Smith still loves to take his old favorite rifle, and spend an idle hour in the woods, although nothing is to be found but the sportive squirrel.

HENRY R. MILLER

was born in Montgomery County, Ohio, in the year 1825. He was one of ten children. His father, Conklin Miller, emigrated from New Jersey to Montgomery County in the year 1800. He was one of the first settlers in the town of Dayton, and drove the first shingles on a roof in the town. Henry R.'s father died when he was only five years of age; his mother died some two years later. He then went to live with Samuel Maxwell, who was his guardian, and came with him to Shelby County in 1835. He lived with Mr. Maxwell till he was seventeen years of age, when he was apprenticed to Daniel Kyler, of Dayton, for four years, to learn the blacksmithing trade, for which he received thirty-six dollars per year, or about ten cents per day. At the expiration of his apprenticeship he returned to Shelby County. He brought with him a set of tools, but had not a dollar of money. He borrowed two dollars to bring him to Sidney. He started his first shop near where Manning & Line's mill now stands. He commenced without money enough to buy a rod of nail iron. He used to go to Sidney to buy iron, when he carried it all home in his pocket, having no credit, and would not ask the merchant to trust him. This is the way he made his commencement in life. In the year 1849 he married Miss Catharine Beezley. By this union they had three children, viz., Samuel, born Aug. 25, 1850; John, born Nov. 16,. 1853; Mary E., born Nov. 12, 1860. Mr. Miller followed smithing until about 1862. His first purchase of a home was a lot of two acres; afterward bought eighty acres in section 28, Perry Township. Some time after this he bought the old Marrs homestead, where Wm. Marrs had settled in 1816. The old cabin built by Marrs in 1816, previous to his settle- ment, is still standing; also the frame barn, said to be the first one built in the county, is still standing: the lumber with which it is sided was sawed at Musselman's mill, on Mosquito Creek, over sixty years ago. The wife of Mr. Miller died Nov. 1862.

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History of Shelby County, Ohio, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 69

Author: R. Sutton & Co. Publication date: 1883 Publisher: Number of Pages: 427

Author: R. Sutton & Co.
Publication date: 1883
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 427