The History of Warren County, Ohio, Part 119

Author: W. H. Beers & Co.
Publication date: 1882
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1081

USA > Ohio > Warren County > The History of Warren County, Ohio > Part 119

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PETER W. SNOOK, farmer, P. O., S. Lebanon, was born in Deerfield in 1810 and is a son of Capt. William Snook, a native of New Jersey, who settled in Deerfield in 1805. He was a millwright by occupation, and helped build the Wright mill, one at Gainsborough and one in Deerfield for Gen. Sutton. In the War of 1812 he received a Captain's commission. By his first wife, Abi Fields, he had three children, viz: Lowery, Peter W. and Harrison. Mrs Snook died in 1814, and he was married to Hannah Stout (see sketch of Tarsilla Hopkins, Union Township.) He died Sept. 29, 1827, aged upwards of 50 years; was a member of the Masonic Lodge of Lebanon. Our subject has followed mechanical pursuits, and for four years boating on the Ohio river, was plying between Cincinnati and New Orleans. He was married in 1836 to Amanda Vandervoort, of Warren Co., who has borne him ten children, eight living, viz: William H., Ephriam K., Irvin, John, Lewis, Joseph, Albert and Sarah. James and Eliza deceased. James was a member of Co. B. 2nd, Ohio Artillery, enlisted in 1868 and served till his death, which occurred in Knoxville, Tenn., July 11, 1865, aged 22 years. Mr. Snook owns 242 acres of excellent land, besides property in Deerfield; has been Trustee of his township two different times. William and Ellen (Steele) Vandervoort, parents of Mrs. Snook, came to Ohio from Virginia in 1808, and first settled in Cleremont Co., and soon after came to this township, in which they lived till their death,- respected and esteemed by all who knew them. He died Sept. 29, 1868, aged 83 years. She departed this life in 1839 at the age of 52 years. They were parents of ten children, viz: Maria, Paul, Amanda, Sarah, Phoebe, James, Mary, Eliza- beth, Eliza and John. He was again married to Mrs. Nancy Drake. Mr. Van-

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dervoort was a soldier in the War of 1812, but only served a short time when he was honorable discharged on acccount of disability.

JOHN SPENCE JR., farmer, P. O., Loveland, is a son of Jas. B. and Sarah (Newell) Sp ence. He was born in Pennsylvania, and with his parents located here in 1802. Jas. B. was brought up a farmer and received a common education. He was married to a daughter of Wm. Newell, who settled here in 1810. He was one of the trustees of his township, and he and his wife were among the early members of the Bethel Church, of which he was a deacon. They were parents of six children, Wm. C., Isabelle, Sallie, John, Jane and Esther. By his second wife, Ruanza Phillips, he had one child, viz: Hannah. He died in 1875, aged 71 years. Our subject was a member of the 2d O. V. I. Co. I., in which he enlisted Sept. 12, 1861, and the regiment was a part of the Army of the Cumberland. Was in the battles of Perryville, Ky., Stone River, Chicamauga, Mission Ridge and At- lanta; was slightly wounded once and was discharged Oct. 10, '64. He was mar- ried Sept. 7, '61, to Isabelle Swank. After his return from the army he located where he now lives. He and his wife are members of the Bethel Church. They have five children, viz: Fannie, Leslie D., Alice M., Nettie L., and Raymond. He owns 54 acres of land, and has a pleasant home. Mrs. Spence was born in the county in 1837.

MILTON SPENCE, farmer, P. O., Murdock, was born in 1835, and is a son of Samuel W. and Hannah Spence. He (Samuel) was a son of Isaac and Esther Spence, who settled in this township in 1802. Samuel was married to Hannah, a daughter of Colen and Margaret (Walker) Spence, by whom he had five children, four of whom are living, viz: Amanda, Mary, Milton and Lizzie. The latter is & teacher in the Indian Territory. Newton, deceased. He and his wife were mem- bers of the Bethel Church, in which he was an elder for some years. He died in February, 1880, aged 77 years. She died in 1871, at the age of 65 years. Our subject was married Feb. 8, 1872, to Philanda Megrue, who bore him four chil- dren, viz: Samuel W., Sarah B., McPherson and Lewis R. Mrs. S. died May 9, 1880, aged 38 years. Mr. S. enlisted in March, 1862, in Co. B. of the First Kan- sas Cavalry, and served three years and three months. Was wounded at Lake Providence, La., and also at Vicksburg, where he was taken prisoner, and at Champion Hill he had a knee crushed. Was discharged in 1865, and returned to his home. Owns 320 acres of land in Kansas. Mary, a daughter of Samuel W. Spence, is a member of the Bethel Church, to which she has belonged since six- teen years of age, and is much interested in religious matters, and in the Sabbath school is an untiring and zealous worker.

JOSEPH STRYKER, deceased. Joseph Stryker, the subject of our sketch, was born in Hamilton Township, Warren Co., Ohio, on the twelfth day of August, 1828. His father, James Stryker, was a native of New Jersey, born December 24, 1779. He was reared on a farm in his native State, until he arrived to the age of manhood, and from thence he removed to Warren Co., Ohio, in which county he was one of the first settlers. He was quite successful in business. To his chil- dren he left a handsome property. His son Joseph, the subject of our sketch, was also reared on a farm; received his education in an ordinary district school. Was married on the 30th of October, 1854, to Martha Liddel. To them were born four children, viz: John, Fanny, Mary and Jennie. He had been quite successful in business matters, and died on February 3, 1871. His widow still resides on the old homestead.

WILLIAM SWANK, farmer, P. O., Murdock. The subject of this sketch is another of the old and well-known citizens of the county. He was born April 18, 1817, and is a son of Daniel and Esther (Morgan) Swank; she was born in this county and was a daughter of Gabriel Morgan, one of the first pioneers. He was born in Maryland, and was a son of Jacob Swank, who settled here about 1800. Jacob died in Goshen, Ohio, at the remarkable age of 105 years and was a Revolu- tionary soldier in the days of 1776. He brought to this county with him eight

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children, five boys and three girls-all deceased but one. He was a blacksmith by occupation and a pious man. Daniel was but 4 years old when his parents came to Ohio, and during the War of 1812 served with General Harrison; was in the siege of Ft. Meigs, in which he was severely wounded by the explosion of a shell. He lived in the vicinity of Comargo, and was a successful farmer. He died in October, 1832, aged upward of 40 years. His wife died ten or twelve years previously. He had by his first wife six children and three by the second. Our subject was brought up on the farm, and in the subscription schools he obtained only a limited education. He was married Nov. 8, 1888, to Frances M. Line, of Warren Co., who bore him six children, viz: Irwin, Isabelle, Caroline, Bishop C., William C. and Samuel A. Irwin was a member of the 2nd Reg. Ohio Vol. Inf., in which he enlisted in 1861 and served his country faithfully until 1864, when he was dis- charged. Mrs. S. died Aug. 4, 1869. She was born June 80, 1820. Mr. S. was again married to Jane Spence, who died Feb. 29, 1880. His last marriage was with Mary Morrow Pendery, to whom he was joined Sept. 29, 1881. He has been connected with the Bethel Church many years, and has been a Ruling Elder for 20 years. He owns 67 acres of land, which is nicely improved.

A. L. THOMPSON, farmer, P. O., Loveland, was born in Hamilton Co., Ohio, in the year 1842, and is a son of John Thompson, a gentleman of Scotch par- entage. Our subject received the rudiments of his education in the district schools, which was afterward developed at the Farmers' College, of which institu- tion he is a graduate. In 1861 he enlisted in Burdsall's 4th Cav .; served three months'and then enlisted in the three years' service. With him were his brothers James and William. John, another brother, enlisted in 1864 in the 10th Cav. James came home Lieut. Col. of the 4th Cav., having seen active service all through the war and participated in many of the hard-fought battles of the war. He was taken prisoner in front of Atlanta while trying to save one of his men. Our subject was quarter-master and forage-master most of the time he was out. All were honorably discharged at the close of the war. After his return home he engaged in the grocery and livery business, each in its turn, and eventually, on ac- count of his wife's ill-health, in 1880 purchased a farm of 128 acres on which he resides. In 1866 he was married to Miss Lydia Hunter, who was born in Eng- land. To them two children have been born, viz: Charles H. and Jessie. He is an exemplary Christian gentleman and a member of the Bethel Church. Is a Re- publican.

W. H. WALKER, deceased, was born on the old home farm in 1819, and was a son of Samuel B. Walker, a pioneer. He was reared on the farm, and in the district schools he fitted himself to teach. Some years before his death he left the farm, which he had carried on by others, and he opened a store in Murdock. He was a generous, kind-hearted man, and was always very kind to the poor, and his death was universally regretted by all. He was twice married, first to Sarah J. Millspaugh, who bore him three children, viz .: Maria, Margaret E. and Agnes J. Mrs. W. died in 1845. His second marriage was celebrated with Ellen Ward, of Cleremont Co., Ohio. He was a successful man and held some of the township offices, and was a Notary Public. He was a leading member in the Bethel Church, of which he was Treasurer. He died June 2, 1873, leaving at his death 200 acres of land. Mrs. W. was born in Cleremont Co., Q., in 1824, and is a member of the Bethel Church.

THOMAS D. WALKER, farmer, P. O., Murdock. The above gentleman is a son of Samuel B. Walker, who was born in Franklin Co., Pa., in 1779 or 1780. Samuel B. was a son of Samuel and Isabelle (Brice) Walker, of the above county. He purchased 1,000 acres of land in this township in 1798, but did not settle on this purchase until 1802. With Samuel B. came his two sisters, Esther and Mar- garet, who were the respective wives of Isaac and Colen Spence, who also settled in Hamilton Township. The father of our subject was married in 1804 to Hannah Spence, of Scott Co., Ky., after which he settled on his portion of the land that was

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purchased in 1798, which he cleared up, and it became his home. He was Justice of the Peace for two terms, being first elected in 1810, and served eight or ten months in the War of 1812 under Capt. Simonton. In 1824 he became a member of the Bethel Church, of which he was treasurer for fifteen years before his death. His wife was an active member in the same church from its organization in 1814. Mr. W. was a surveyor of some note. To him were born ten children, four of whom are living, viz .: John S., Samuel, Andrew J. and Thomas D. The deceased are : Sarah, Isabelle, James, William H., George W. and Margaret J. Mr. Walker died Dec. 6, 1845. She departed this life Feb. 4, 1851. Our subject was reared on the farm, and remained with his parents until of age. March 4, 1854, he was married to Eliza A. Chaney, of Cleremont Co., Ohio. After his marriage he lived eight years on the old home farm, when he came to his present place of residence. He and his wife are members of the Bethel Church, to which he has been con- nected forty years, and as deacon of the same for twenty years. He owns 117 acres of excellent land, which is nicely improved; in everything Mr. Walker is a representative man.

SAMUEL WALKER, farmer, P. O., Maineville, is another of the old and well-known settlers, who is a native of the township which he lives; is a son of Samuel B. Walker; was reared on the farm, and a limited education was all he got in the district, a subscription school. He was married to Mary A. Bigham in 1899, seven children being the result of their union, viz: John B., Alexander G., (who was a member of Co. I, 2d O. V. I. He enlisted in 1861; served nearly two years, and was killed at Murfreesboro), Luther and Sarah; three are deceased, viz: Hannah A., Gilbert and Newton. Mrs. W. died in 1851. His second mar- riage was celebrated with Anna Hopkins in 1852; four children have been born to them, viz: Allen T., William H., Pluma A. and James. Mr. W. has lived in the county all his life, and has been successful in his undertakings.

ANDREW J. WALKER, farmer, P. O., Murdock, was born on the old home farm in the year 1815, and is a son of Samuel Walker, a pioneer; was reared on the farm, and received only a common education in the district schools. He was married in 1889 to Leah, daughter of Isaac Phillips, an early settler in this county. Since his marriage he has lived on the place where he now resides, and has prospered. He and his wife are members of the Bethel Church, to which he has belonged fifty years. He was Deacon of the church from 1840 to 1881, at which time he was elected a Ruling Elder. To Mr. and Mrs. W. nine children were born, eight living, viz: Cynthia, Hannah L., Sarah R., LaFayette, (who is a minister in the Presbyterian Church,) Edward S., Isaac N., Vira and James L .; an infant deceased. Mr. W. owns 112 acres of excellent land, which is well im- proved. Five of his children are members of the Bethel Church, which is a source of gratification to their aged parents.

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DEERFIELD TOWNSHIP.

JAMES BAXTER, retired farmer; P. O. Mason. The gentleman whose name heads this memoir is another of the well and favorably known citizens of Warren County. He was born on Pleasant Ridge, in Hamilton Co., Ohio, in the year 1798; he is a son of James and Jane Baxter, who were born in County Tyrone, Ireland, in which they were reared and married. At the close of the Revolutionary war, about 1790, they, with their two children, emigrated to America and settled in Hamilton County, at a time when Cincinnati was almost unknown. He was a tanner by trade, yet he owned a farm, which he carried on in connection with his other business. They were parents of eight children, two living, viz., James and John; the deceased are Mary, William, Andrew, Samuel, Margaret and Jane. At the time he settled in Ohio, the whole coun- try was a dense and howling wilderness, which was overrun by murderous In- dians and ravenous beasts of prey. After over thirty years of toil in clearing up his home, he was overtaken by the last foe of man-death-Sept. 7, 1821. He was born in February, 1760; Jane Rogers, his wife, was born Dec. 7, 1766; they were married in County Tyrone, Ireland. Aug. 8, 1785; she departed this life Sept. 21, 1840. Our subject was reared on the farm, and in the subscrip- tion schools, to which he walked three and four miles; he received a meager education; the demands of labor kept the sturdy boys of the pioneers at the ax and plow, and among them a finished education was unknown; on the farm and in the tannery and distillery he labored for his father until of age. Oct. 5, 1820, he was married to Martha, a daughter of William and Elizabeth McIn- tire, of Hamilton Co., Ohio; for three years following his marriage, he resided in his native county, and in 1823 removed to Warren County and located where he now resides. To Mr. and Mrs. Baxter were born three children, one living, viz., William R .; the deceased are David, who died in 1865, and Eliza J., who departed this life in October, 1849. Mrs. Baxter died at her home in Deerfield Township. Mr. Baxter's second marriage was celebrated with Mary, daughter of Jacob and Mary Le Fever, of Warren County; to them were born three chil- dren, two living, viz., Martha (Mrs. Clark), and Margaret (Mrs. Harper); Mary, deceased. Officially, Mr. Baxter has been prominently connected with the leading offices of the township, having served as Justice of the Peace for thirty-two consecutive years, Trustee for many years, and Clerk for two years; truly, he has been a representative man, and he has earned an enviable reputation by fearlessly discharging the required duties of each and every trust. Politically, he is a Democrat, and during his long life has voted with that party-since casting his first vote. Whenever the name of James Baxter was put on a ticket for office, it was seldom he had an opponent, as Re- publicans and Democrats combined at the polls to elect him. He has been successful during life, and all his business transactions have been discharged to the strictest letter of the moral and divine law; temperate in every habit, never indulging in liquor, profane language nor the use of tobacco in any form, the record of our subject is indeed an exceptional one, and is worthy a place on the pages of any history, and should be perpetuated and held up as a model for the young man of to-day to take pattern from. For sixty years, he has been con- nected with the Presbyterian Church, and for forty years an Elder in the same; a consistent and unassuming Christian gentleman, a man whose ways, whose thoughts and whose deeds are ever formed from the principles of truth and love for his fellow-man.

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WILLIAM R. BAXTER, son of James, was born Feb. 9, 1826. He was reared to farm pursuits and received only a meager education in the district schools. March 6, 1850, he was married to Miss Martha, a daughter of James and Catherine Harper, of Hamilton Co., Ohio, who has borne him one child, viz., Martha S. In 1855, he removed to the Sixteen-Mile Stand in Hamilton Co., Ohio, where he kept a general store and was Postmaster for ten years. In 1865, he returned to the old home farm, on which he has resided until the present. During the summer and fall of 1881, he erected an elegant residence in the village of Mason, which will be his retired home for the future. He and his estimable wife are members of the Presbyterian Church, with which he has been connected since 1855 or 1856; his wife, since childhood; since when he has been an Elder, and both he and his wife are much interested in matters pertaining to religion. Like his father, he is absolutely temperate in all things.

JOHN BAXTER, retired farmer; P. O. Sixteen- Mile Stand, Hamilton Co. The gentleman whose name heads this sketch was born in Hamilton Co., Ohio, in the year 1800 ; he is a son of James Baxter; he was reared on the farm, and when age had developed his frame and toughened his muscles, in him was constituted the material so much needed to accomplish the slavish labor of clearing up and developing the resources of a new country. In 1826, he was married to Ruth, daughter of John Ludlow, of Hamilton Co., by whom he had four children, two living, viz., Andrew J. and Martha; the deceased are Susan J. and John. In 1830, he came to Warren County, in which he purchased the northeast. quarter of Sec. 32, in Deerfield Township. Politi- cally, he is a Democrat, and with the exception of one term, in which he served as Trustee, he has been identified with no office. He is a member of the Cum- berland Presbtyerian Church, to which he has belonged fer forty years, and is an exemplary, consistent Christian gentleman. Like his elder brother, James, he, too, is temperate, abhorring the use of liquors and profane language, and, though in former days he indulged in the use of tobacco, he abandoned its use, thus showing his strong moral control over the force of habit. He has been suc- cessful in life, and at present owns 140 acres of choice land, which are largely in cultivation and well improved. Mrs. Baxter departed this life Dec. 13, 1843, aged 36 years and 1 day; she was a member of the Presbyterian Church and an exemplary Christian woman. Mr. Baxter has remained true to his early vows, and the many long years that have separated him from the idol of his youth are gradually approaching a terminus; though his frame is bending under the weight of more than eighty years, he is mentally and physically well preserved, and bids fair to enjoy life to a ripe old age.

ANDREW J. BAXTER, son of John Baxter, was born in 1833. He was mar- ried to Eliza Conrey in 1854, who has borne him one child, viz., Susan, wife of Finley Thompson. Mr. Baxter and his wife are consistent members of the Presbyterian Church, to which they have belonged for twenty-seven years, and each vies with the other in the discharge of Christian duties. She was born in Hamilton County in 1832; her father, Jonathan Conrey, was born in Kentucky Jan. 5, 1794; Eliza, his wife, and daughter of Thomas Whalen, of New Jer- sey, was born Nov. 19, 1799; she was married to Mr. Conrey in 1817; he died Dec. 20, 1855; she departed this life in August. 1878.

R. H. BENNETT, retired farmer; P. O. Mason. The ancestry of the above gentleman on the paternal side we have been enabled to trace beyond the sea to the sunny and vine-clad hills of France. In the person of William Bennett, grandsire to the subject of this memoir, centers the remotest historical data to which access at this time can be had. Of him it is known that, when in early manhood, he emigrated from his native land to the then inhospitable shores of

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the New World, and located in New Jersey, previous to the breaking-out of the Revolutionary troubles. Himself being imbued with the spirit that character- ized the French under the leadership and influence of the immortal La Fay- ette, took up arms against the minions of George the Third, and in defense of the homes and liberties of the oppressed colonists. During the battle of Bun- ker Hill, he bore aloft the colors of his regiment, and during the contest, re- ceived wounds from which he never recovered. After the close of the war, he married Adria Ann Britton, in his adopted State, who was born in Holland and came to America during her infancy. Eventually, they moved westward, and located in Ligonier Valley, Westmoreland Co., Penn., where were born to them six sons and one daughter, and whose names are as follows: John, William, Nicholas, Abram, Mary, David and Isaac. In 1815, he followed the star of empire westward, and on the northwest quarter of Sec. 33, in Turtle Creek Township, Warren Co., Ohio, he made another and his last home. With him came five of his children-John and Abram remaining in the Ligonier Valley. which they loved too well to leave. The children who came with their parents chose their own localities, and we note their respective places of settlement: William, in Jackson Township, Montgomery Co., Ohio, of whom more extended notice is given in the sketch of D. E. Bennett, in this work. Nicholas settled first in Hamilton Co., Ohio, but afterward removed to Warren County and took up his abode on the southeast quarter of Sec. 33, in Turtle Creek Township. David located upon land in the southeast quarter of Sec. 2, in Deerfield Town- ship, in Warren County; Isaac, on land owned by William Bennett, in Turtle Creek Township. Mary, the only daughter of William Bennett, became the wife of James Enos, who, after their marriage, removed to the vicinity of Au- rora, Ind. At this time (1881), not one of the above children of William Ben- nett survives, and it remains for history to correctly perpetuate the memory of those who were prominently identified in the settlement of this county. John and Abraham, the sons who remained in Pennsylvania, served in the war of 1812-the latter a Color-Bearer, thereby filling the position his father sustained so creditably to himself in that unequal and sanguinary contest at Bunker Hill. To Nicholas and Rachel (Anderson) Bennett were born twelve children, of whom eight survive, viz., William, Abraham, Enos, Mary (Mrs. Conyers), Catherine (Mrs. Bennett), Nancy (Mrs. Phillips), Hannah J. (Mrs. Fos- ter), and Andrew J .; the deceased are Adria Ann Morgan, née Ben- nett; Hiram, and two who died in infancy. Abraham, fourth son of Will- iam Bennett, was born Nov. 19, 1789. He was married to Sarah Huston, a na- tive of Ireland, in 1811. As above stated, he clung to his old valley home, in which the years of his life-three score and fifteen-were nearly numbered, his decease occurring in September, 1864. Thirteen children were the result of Abraham's union with Sarah Huston, of whom nine are living, and at present (1881) are located as follows: Mary E. (Mrs. Hutchinson), New Wilming- ton, Penn; Richard H., the subject of this memoir; David B., Oregon; Mar- garet (Mrs. Ferguson), Pike Co., Ill .; John B., California (since 1850); Isaac, Hamilton, Butler Co., Ohio; Agnes B. (Mrs. La Fever), Montgomery Co., Ohio; Elizabeth (Mrs. Salters), Missouri; Rachel J. (Mrs. Menoher), who resides on the old Bennett homestead in the Ligonier Valley. The deceased are William, who was a prominent physician; two, bearing the names of Samule and Sarah, who died in childhood. R. H. Bennett, the subject of this memoir, was born in Westmoreland ( o., Penn., Aug. 28, 1819. He was married to Catherine Bennett, of Warren County, April 5, 1845, who has borne him one son and two daughters, viz., John C., whose sketch appears in this work; May E., born May 6, 1849, married G. L. Domm Sept. 17, 1867, by whom she had one child, G. C., born Sept. 12, 1868; Emma B.,

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The History of Warren County, Ohio, Part 119

Author: W. H. Beers & Co. Publication date: 1882 Publisher: Number of Pages: 1081

Author: W. H. Beers & Co.
Publication date: 1882
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1081