USA > Ohio > Delaware County > Memorial record of the counties of Delaware, Union and Morrow, Ohio > Part 16
USA > Ohio > Morrow County > Memorial record of the counties of Delaware, Union and Morrow, Ohio > Part 16
USA > Ohio > Union County > Memorial record of the counties of Delaware, Union and Morrow, Ohio > Part 16
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OLAND H. B. GRISWOLD .- Among the most prominent and most highly honored of the pioneer residents of Union county, Ohio, must the subject of this review be given a
foremost rank, for not only is he a native of the State, but with its history has that of his ancestors been identified from a very early day, when they left their old home in New England and made their way across the weary intervening leagues between that sec- tion and the forest wilds of the Buckeye State.
Our subject, who is one of the substan- tial farmers of Allen township, was born in Goshen township, Champaign county, April 19, 1816, the son of James Griswold, who was a native of Vermont, and who came from a very prominent old family of New England, - one of English extraction. James was the son of Esuriah Griswold, who married a Miss Boland, who was of Scotch ancestry. They both died in their native State. James Griswold grew to man's estate on the paternal farm in Vermont, and finally was united in marriage to Polly Beal, who was a native of Vermont, as were also her parents, Obadiah and Rebecca (Moodie) Beal. His parentage is not known. Oba- diah Beal was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, and he came to Ohio early in the pres- ent century, locating in Champaign county, where he died.
In 1812 the parents of our subject left their native State and came through to Ohio, locating at Marietta, Washington county; subsequently they came to Champaign coun- ty, and settled on the white oak plains, two miles north of Mechanicsburg, -this being a portion of the Galoway land tract, where Obadiah Beal, the maternal grandsire of our subject, had also located. James and Polly (Beal) Griswold subsequently removed to Union township, this county, where they passed the remainder of their lives, the former dying in the village of Irwin Station, at the age of seventy-seven years, and his widow at the age of eighty-four.
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Of their eight children we make record as follows: Melona Tarpning, deceased; Sarah, wife of Samuel Harris, died in Texas; Boland H. B., subject of this review; Hosea died at Loda, Illinois; Phedora died in early life; Sylvia M., wife of Wil- liam Brown, died in Union county, Iowa; Rebecca is the widow of Ira Jones, and is a resident of Van Buren county, Iowa; Oba- diah E. is a resident near Fountain Park, Champaign county, this State. In religion the parents and their children have been identified with the Universalist Church.
Our subject was reared in Champaign county, lending an effective aid in its culti- vation as he waxed strong in years. His educational discipline was confined to a few weeks' attendance in the log school-house of the district during the winter months, but this was sufficient to serve as the ground- work of the broad information which is now his, for his was an alert and receptive mind, and he was ever an avidious student and reader. At the age of fourteen years he assumed the responsibility of his own main- tenance, hiring out to work on a farm and receiving on the start $7 per month for his services. He was thus employed for seven years, and in 1838 he came to Union town- ship, this county, where he rented a dairy farm, known as the Gabriel farm, and gave his undivided attention to its operation for three years. At the age of nineteen years, with true filial solicitude, he purchased twenty-three acres of land in Champaign county, giving the same to his parents for a home. In 1850 he made the original pur- chase of eighty-four and one-half acres of his present farm in Allen township, making subsequent purchases until he had acquired a fine place of 151 acres. The same is under effective cultivation, and has buildings
and other permanent improvements of excel- lent order.
Mr. Griswold took unto himself a wife in the person of Miss Amanda Melvina Peck, their marriage being solemnized in Cham- paign county, October 29, 1837. Mrs. Gris- wold was born in the vicinity of the city of Cincinnati, the daughter of Thomas Peck, one of the early settlers in that section. Our subject and his wife became the par- ents of two daughters, namely: Cerepta J., who died March 10, 1849; and Cynthia Altina, who was a successful teacher in her early womanhood, and who became the wife of E. C. Marsh, who resides near her father's home; they have one daughter, Lotta M., wife of E. M. Coe, of Union township.
Grevious was the loss which came into the life of our honored subject February 24, 1874, when she who had been his devoted and faithful wife and cherished companion was called to enter into the life eternal. She had been his solace and comforter during thirty-seven long years, with their varying lights and shadows, and as the days fast lapsed into the realm of yesterday, and age left its imprint on their brows, they depended yet the more on each other, and found their thoughts, their hopes and their fears the more unified. But it has ever been that one should be taken, the other left, and the consolation is not lacking when a noble and consistent life is rendered into the hands of death, who opens wide the door of eternity and blessedness. Mrs. Griswold was a woman of gentle, kindly nature, and was loved by all who came to an appreciation of her unassuming worth. She was a devoted member of the Universalist Church of Wood- stock.
Mr. Griswold has rendered a most active
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support to the Republican party ever since the same was organized, and has been called upon to serve in offices of public trust and responsibility. He was Trustee of his town- ship for several terins, and was Justice of the Peace for two terms. Though now sev- enty-eight years of age, he preserves intact his mental faculties, and has retained much of the virile vigor of his early years. In address he is frank and genial, and he is held in the highest esteem as one of the pioneers of Allen township, and as a man whose character is above reproach.
J OHN ELLSWORTH GRIFFITH, who has attained a marked prestige in a professional way, as one of the most capable young lawyers of Union county, Ohio, merits specific recognition in the list of those able professional men whose life histories are incorporated in this volume.
He was born in Delaware county, this State, October 24, 1864, son of William H. and Jane (Lodwig) Griffith, both of whom were born in Radnor township, Delaware county. The father died in February, 1886, at the age of forty-nine years. He had passed his entire life in Radnor township and had been an agriculturist from his youth, save for a period of six years, during which time he worked at the carpenter's trade, following this vocation while a young man, but eventually resuming his allegiance to the art of husbandry. He was a man of broad intelligence and upright character, having been very actively identified with the Pros- pect Baptist Church. His parents were Owen and Catherine (Lewis) Griffith, wl.o were natives of Wales and who came to the United States when about twenty years of
age, their marriage being consummated in this country. They possessed those traits of character so characteristic of the Welsh type, -were industrious, frugal God-fearing people, intelligent and ambitious.
Our subject was the eldest of a family of four children, the following being a brief record concerning the other three: Mary R. died at the age of sixteen months; William H. died in 1891, at the age of seventeen years; Jennie E. resides with her widowed mother in Marysville, where our subject also maintains his home.
John Ellsworth Griffith was reared on the old homestead farm in Radnor town- ship, the place being still in the possession of the family, and comprising 240 acres of fine land. Here he passed his boyhood, assisting in the duties of the farm and at- tending the district schools during the winter months. When he had reached the age of fifteen he attended a select school for one term, and two years later matriculated at Dennison University. Granville, Ohio, where he graduated in the preparatory department, having completed a prescribed three years' course of study in eighteen months, -a fact that is significant as indicatory of his native ability, his determination and his power of application. He then passed a short inter- val at the Ohio Normal School, in the city of Delaware, dividing his time between study and teaching. He then secured the preferment as teacher in the school of his home district, remaining in charge of the same for a period of five months, after which he went to Cleveland and passed the summer in attending the Spencerian Busi- ness College, at which he graduated as a member of the class of 1885. He had sim- ultaneously devoted careful attention to the study of elocution under the efficient precep-
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DELAWARE, UNION AND MORROW COUNTIES, OHIO.
torship of Professor John W. Rusk, having manifested a marked talent for dramatic and character delineations and having profit- ed much from the finishing discipline thus secured. After his graduation Mr. Griffith went to Prospect, Marion county, this State, where he assumed charge of the business department of a normal school that had been established at that point, also teaching in the literary department. He retained this position for nine months, when owing to the death of his father and his appoint- ment as administrator of the estate, he was compelled to resign his pedagogic work and to return home and give his entire attention to the operation of the farm and to settling up of the business of the estate. He re- mained upon the old homestead for two years, and entered into the work with char- acteristic vigor, not only successfully culti- vating the home place, but also operating for one year a farm of 100 acres, belonging to an uncle.
While on the farm and encumbered with duties that would demand the undivided at- tention of the average man, he still found time and opportunity to continue his literary and scientific studies, being still imbued with the determination to secure a fully rounded education. In 1888 he went to Fostoria, this State, and entered the North American Normal School and Business Col- lege for the purpose of making a general re- view of his past work. Here his ability gained recognition, and he was soon called upon to teach in the institution, and within three months was honored with a professor- ship in the same,-teaching civil govern- ment, political economy, natural philosophy, physiology, physical geography, etc. He retained this professorship for one year, and then, in the fall of 1889, resigned the same
in order to prepare himself for that profes- sion to which he had determined to devote his life, for in early youth one of his limbs had been so badly mangled as to make it im- practicable to long continue the active du- ties of the farm, in which he took great in- terest. He went to Cincinnati and entered the law college, where he completed the prescribed course and graduated in May of the following year, with the degree of Bach- elor of Laws, being admitted to the bar of the State on the twenty-ninth day of the same month, and soon after to practice in the Federal courts. While in the Cincinnati Law College he was given distinctive prece- dence by being chosen as president of the senior class, which comprised 106 members; he was also president of the Mansfield Club, and was one of six chosen by the faculty of the institution, after a preliminary contest, to represent his class in forensic debate upon graduation day. Quick in intuition, and with a mental breadth which enabled him to udge and decide as to mooted points more readily than many who gave mature delib- eration, he naturally came to the front in his class, and his powers of oratory also con- served this distinction, which he has been enabled to maintain when brought into prac- tical forensic debate.
August 4, 1890, Mr. Griffith took up his residence in Marysville, where he displayed the "shingle," which denoted his vocation, and where he has since remained in the ac- tive practice of his profession, having gained a representative clientage and an enviable reputation. Politically, he is an ardent Re- publican, and is an active worker in the cause, having been Chairman of the County Convention in 1894. He was appointed in 1894 by the Secretary of State, as a mem- ber for two years, of the Board of Supervis-
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MEMORIAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF
ors of Election, and for two years prior to that time was Clerk of that body; he is now serving his third year as secretary of the Union County Agricultural Society, and his second year as clerk of the Board of Health, of which he was a member for the year prior to his present incumbency. Fraternally, Mr. Griffith is identified with Palestine Lodge, No. 158, F. & A. M., of which he is Master at the present time; with Marys- ville Lodge, No. 87, I. O. O. F .; with Marysville Lodge, No. 100, Knights of Pythias; and with the Order of the Eastern Star, Mary Chapter, No. 9.
He was married, September 19, 1889, to Miss Hannah E. McMillen, daughter of John P. and Belinda McMillen, and a native of Muskingum county, Ohio. They have one child, Lena Estelle. Mr. and Mrs. Griffith are members of the Congregational Church of Marysville, in which he holds official pref- erment as president of the Board of Trus- tees. He has also been superintendent of the Sunday school for the past three years.
J OSEPH DAVIS, JR .- That' honored resident of Union township, Union county, Ohio, whose life history now comes under review, is of ancestry tracing its lineage back to the Old Dominion, and of a family whose men have been loyal and valorous, having served their nation faithfully in time when war has reared its horrid front, he himself having left a inili- tary record which has added new honors to the name.
He was born in this county December 3, 1837, his father, Michael Davis, having been born in Virginia, December 24, 1788, a son of George, who was a son of Michael,
the original American ancestor. The father of our subject, Michael Davis, came to Knox county, Ohio, when he was a young man, and here he was later united in mar- riage to Miss Elizabeth Shinaberry, who was born in Pennsylvania, October 18, 1798. They came to Union county in 1822, and at once took up their residence on what was known as Buck Run, in Union township, where they cleared up a tract of wild land and there passed the residue of their days. The father participated in the war of 1812, and was an honorable and loyal citizen. In politics he was originally a Whig, but united with the Republican party at the time of its organization. He died at the age of eighty-four years, and his widow lived to attain the venerable age of ninety-two years, her death occurring April 21, 1890; she was a worthy and zealous member of the Presbyterian church.
Michael and Elizabeth Davis were the parents of eight children, namely: Cather- ine, William, Alexander, Mary, George W., Harrison, Nancy, and Joseph, the immedi- ate subject of this sketch. Harrison Davis was one of the brave boys who went forth in defense of the Union at the time of the late war, and his life was sacrificed to the cause. He volunteered in Champaign coun- ty, in 1861, as a member of Company H, Sixty-sixth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and served for four years. He went out as a private and arose by successive promotions to the full rank of First Lieutenant. He was killed at Missionary Ridge, and his re- mains were brought back to his old home for interment, his remains being laid to rest in the same county from which he went forth so bravely as a volunteer soldier.
Joseph Davis, Jr., was reared on the old homestead farm and did his share of the
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DELAWARE, UNION AND MORROW COUNTIES, OHIO.
arduous work, assisting in felling the forests and in the work of cultivating the fields for which they made place. His education was confined to the district schools, but in the practical experiences of life his information has broadened out, giving him an intellec- tual grasp more potent than that which can be claimed by many a man to whom has been given the privilege of acquiring what is known as a higher education.
In 1864 our subject enlisted as a mem- ber of Company H, One Hundred and Thir- ty-sixth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and served in the vicinity of Alexandria, Virginia, for a period of four months, after which he received an honorable discharge and returned to his home in this county, where he has ever since remained. He has I 1 5 acres of excellent land, which has been brought to a high state of productiveness under his careful and effective management, and which shows excellent improvement in the way of buildings.
The marriage of Mr. Davis was cele- brated August 24 of the centennial year, when he wedded Miss Rozalia DeHaven, who was born in Knox county, this State. the daughter of James and Elizabeth De- Haven, both of whom were natives of Knox county, Ohio, but who took up their resi- dence in this county many years ago. The mother died July 16, 1888, at the age of fifty-seven years. They had four children: Rozalia, wife of our subject; Joseph S., de- ceased; Michael, and William Shannon.
Mr. and Mrs. Davis have five children, namely: Etta E., Lotta May, Bessie Ora, William B., and Joseph, Jr.
In his political adherency our subject is a Republican, and fraternally he is identi- fied with Silas Kimball Post, No. 570, G. A. R., of Milford Center. 8
J AMES EVANS FINLEY, who is one of the prominent and successful farmers of Union township, Union county, Ohio, is a native of West- moreland county, Pennsylvania, the date of his nativity having been September 5, 1831. His father, James V. Finley, was born in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, in 1801, the son of Joseph Finley, who also was a native of the old Keystone State. The mother of our subject, née Elizabeth Williams, was born in Pennsylvania, coming from an old and prominent pioneer family. James V. and Elizabeth Finley took up their residence in Union county in 1845, and here the father passed the remainder of his days, his death occurring March 3, 1893. The mother died April 4, 1886. James Finley united with the Methodist Episcopal Church early in life, and for more than an half cen- tury remained a zealous member of the same, his life being in perfect consonance with the faith which he held. He was a class-leader in the church for many years. Politically, he voted with the Republican party, and his life was one characterized by honest endeavor, unimpeachable rectitude and unblemished honor, -attributes which gained to him the respect and confidence of his fellow-men. His children were eight in number, namely: Margaret, Joseph, James Evans, Robert, John, Frances (deceased), Mary and Alfred. Three of the sons were active participants in the late war of the Rebellion: Joseph, who was a member of the Ninety-sixth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, is now a resident of Milford Center, this county; Robert, a member of the same com- pany, resides at Peoria, this county; and John, who was in the 100 days' service, now lives in Auglaize county, this State.
On the paternal farmstead, in Allen
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township, our subject passed his youthful days, assisting in the work of the farm and being trained by both precept and example to honesty, industry and unselfishness. He received his educational training in the dis- trict schools, and when he had attained the age of twenty-three years he was united in marriage to Miss Nancy Davis, daughter of Michael and Elizabeth Davis, pioneer resi- dents of the township, the issue of this union being two children, Laura and Clara. Mrs. Finley was called to the life eternal August 28, 1875, and July 6th of the cen- tennial year Mr. Finley consummated a second marriage, being then united to Miss Margaret Watson, daughter of William and Nancy (Mitchel) Watson, the former of whom died at the age of sixty-seven years, his widow still being a resident of Union township, where her daughter, Mrs. Finley, was born. They had six children, namely: Margaret, Isabella, Samuel, David, Metho, and Cornelia. Our subject and wife have one adopted daughter, Hattie.
Mr. Finley has a finely equipped and highly cultivated farm of III acres, with a commodious and attractive residence and sub- stantial outbuildings, all of which bespeak the home where prosperity and happiness find an abiding place.
In politics our subject renders an un- swerving allegiance tothe Republican party, and he has his opinions in this line, as in all others, well fortified, being a man thoroughly in touch with the progressive spirit of the day, and one whose fund of general inform- tion is large. His popularity in the com- munity stands in evidence of his upright character and of his kindly and genial dis- position.
De Bolt. and they reside in Union township, having two sons, Alvah and Rowley; and Clara is the wife of Edwin Osborn, of Union township, and they have one son, Johnnie.
SHANNON DAVIS, who is rec- ognized as one of the most pros- perous and representative agri- culturists of Union county, has his postoffice address at Milford Center, and his abiding place is the old homestead in Union township, where his honored parents located as early as 1854, the place being known as the McDonald farm. He is a native son of the Buckeye State, having been born in Clinton township, Knox county, August 6, 1839.
The father of our subject was Joseph Davis, who was born in the Old Dominion State, the son of George Davis, who was the son of Michael, who was of Pennsyl- vania Dutch ancestry. Joseph was a mere lad when his parents removed to Pennsyl- vania, and was but fifteen years of age when they again sought a new home and a fresh field of endeavor in Knox county, this State, where they took up their abode in a primi- tive log house located in the woods. On this pioneer farm, to whose reclamation and cultivation he lent effective aid, he grew up and eventually assumed a personal respon- sibility and dignity by leading to the hy- meneal altar Miss Lydia Shenaberry, who was born in Pennsylvania. They continued their residence in Clinton township, Knox county, until 1854, when they came to Union county and established themselves upon the farm now occupied by our subject.
They became the parents of twelve child- ren, namely: Mary, Michael, Nancy, Mar-
Concerning the daughters of our subject, we record that: Laura wedded William | garet, Elizabeth, Joseph, George, W. Shan-
Oh S. Gavis.
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non, Lydia Ann, deceased; Catherine, Will- iam, deceased; George (second), deceased, -the last three being deceased and one child having died in infancy. The mother died at the venerable age of eighty-five years, and the father lived to attain the re- markable age of ninety-eight years, being the oldest man in the county at the time of his death. It is interesting to note that they had forty-seven grandchildren, thirty- four great-grandchildren, and two great- great-grandchildren. Joseph Davis was a man of strong and athletic physique, stand- ing six feet and two inches in height, and possessing great strength and endurance, -a constitution which conserved his phenom- enal longevity. He was an honorable and industrious man, possessed of marked intel- ligence and ability, and becaine one of the prominent citizens of the county, where he was respected by all who knew him. He was a stanch adherent of the Democratic party, and religiously was a member of the Presbyterian Church, his wife having been identified with the Christian denomination.
Our subject, W. Shannon Davis, was reared to farm work, and received his theo- retical education in the district schools. The paternal homestead, which came into his possession in 1894, -by the purchasing of the interests of the other heirs, is recog- nized as one of the best farms in Union county, being situated one and one-half miles northwest of Milford Center. The landed estate of our subject now comprises 360 acres, and all is under a most approved system of cultivation, yielding extensive crops and proving an excellent place for the raising of all kinds of live stock. The per- manent improvements are exceptional in character and extent, the family residence being a substantial and commodious brick
structure of modern and attractive archi- tectural design, having fourteen spacious rooms, inviting verandas, cupola, fine land- scape windows, etc., and standing as one of the most elegant homes in the county. The house is most eligibly located as to site, and can not fail to attract the admiring attention of passers-by. A barn 60x80 feet in di- mensions, a granary 25x50 feet, and other substantial outbuildings add to the equip- ment of the magnificent farmstead. Mr. Davis has a fine orchard of sugar maples, the same comprising fully 1,000 trees.
Mr. Davis was united in marriage De- cember 22, 1864, to Miss Caroline L. Ewalt, a lady of much intelligence and refinement. She was born in Knox county, March 4, 1844, the daughter of Richard D. and Phœbe (Douglass) Ewalt, who were natives respectively of Bedford, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. The latter was the daughter of Captain William Douglass, an officer in the Revolutionary war. He built the first flouring mill in Knox county, Ohio, and es- tablished the first banking institution. Cap- tain Douglass also built the first distillery in Knox county, was recognized as the wealth- iest man in this section, and his residence was the finest the county could boast in the early days. Richard D. Ewalt died at the age of sixty-three years, and his widow at the age of seventy-three. They were the parents of twelve children, namely: Cam- illa, Sarah, William, Simon, Catherine, Sophia, Rebecca, Henry, Emily, John, Car- oline, one died in infancy. The father was a Democrat and a member of the Metho- dist Episcopal Church. The son John was was a soldier in the late war, serving three years, and is now a resident of Jay county, Indiana.
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