The History of Warren County, Ohio, Part 99

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

USA > Ohio > Warren County > The History of Warren County, Ohio > Part 99

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WAYNE TOWNSHIP.

Ann Silver, by whom he had nine children, the third of whom, Charlotte, was the mother of Charles F. Chapman. Joseph B. and Charlotte Chapman had four sons and two daughters, viz., Mary, born July 10, 1833, died June 18, 1851, aged 17; Noah Haines, born Jan. 24, 1836; Joseph B., born Feb. 24, 1838; Charles French, born July 6, 1840; Mayaretta, born Dec. 20, 1844; died July 18, 1856, aged 14; James Haines, born 1843; died 1844. aged 4 months. Noah Haines, the eldest son, is now a merchant in New York City. Joseph B. is an extensive lumber dealer in St. Paul, Minn. Of Joseph B. Chapman, Sr., his son, Joseph B., affectionately writes: "He was a leading business man of the section, doing a larger business in the succeeding years than was ever done before or since. His transactions were not confined to buying and selling of goods, but he also dealt in real estate, and bought and shipped large quantities of pork to Baltimore, New Orleans and elsewhere. After the death of his wife, which occurred on the 13th of 6th month, 1844, and in the height of his prosperity, he gave more attention to the closing up of ac- tive business relations, and was very watchful and thoughtful of everything pertaining to his family. His health, too, was gradually giving way. Sur- rounded by a young family of children and a host of warm and admiring friends, he thoughtfully prepared for the life to come; and, when the sum- mons came, "sustained and soothed by an unfaltering trust," he breathed his last on the morning of the 31st of August, 1847, aged 49 years 7 months and 3 days. "His life appears to have been one in which both much of good and ill fortune was mixed. He was ever of a religious cast of mind, and cheerfully accepted his lot, however heavy the burden. Industrious, frugal and benevo- lent-of pleasing appearance and address, he possessed many friends. His life was a good one-an example worthy of being followed. Besides bequeath- ing to his children a no inconsiderable estate materially, this good man ad- dressed them the following letter, abounding in parental affection and godly counsel :

MY DEAR CHILDREN-From an impression of duty and under a tender concern for your everlasting welfare, as your dear mother has been taken from you in your tender age, and as in all probability I shall not be spared long to have an eye to you, I have felt that what I have to say to you may be of service, if you attentively heed it, as my experience of the tender dealings of a gracious God, extended in mercy to me, and who is willing and waiting to extend the same and more of His goodness to you. Seeing that our stay in this world is at most but very short, and that as we live in the love of our Heavenly Father, we shall, and only can live in love and peace with all men ; and that this love and peace is that which can make us happy here and hereafter ; I want you to cultivate it more than anything else, and endeavor after it in secret prayer to your Heavenly Father, and He will, if you are sincere after it. confer it upon you, as well as every other good and desirable thing to make you happy.

Let not your minds go out after dress or much company, neither after any of the things of this world, as they are all perishable, and cannot long continue to please, but must soon pass away ; and if your delight is in them, they must leave you miserable.

What company you must have, let it be of a sober, serious kind, who are good exam- . ples in word and conduct. Such may be profitable to you ; but, above all, seek the Lord, and often hold secret, sweet communion with Him, by meditating upon His goodness, His mercy, extended to you for your acceptance and preservation.

Be not slothful or idle in business, as it is your reasonable duty to procure sufficient of the good things of this world for the use of the body ; but set not your minds and affec- tions upon them, but to use them thankfully as trusts from your bountiful Creator. Give Him all the thanks and praise, and while your hands are employed in lawful pursuits, let your hearts be ascribing high praises to His great name, for He is worthy.

Endeavor to keep as much about home as possible, and out of the confusion and spirit of the world as you can ; not mixing with its policies and associations, as they are most generally out of the truth, and of that spirit of peace that is of God.

The way to peace, here and hereafter, is a narrow way, and a way of much self-de- nial. It may appear hard at first to deny ourselves many of the things of this world, but it will become easy and pleasant by use, when we feel that our peace is in it ; and as your affections are placed above, your desires will be on heaven and heavenly things ; it will then be a pleasure to deny yourselves all that your peace of mind is not in.

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Your dear mother was favored to see her way clear to a mansion of rest in a marvel- ous degree, so that time and the things of time had no power to interest or hold her affec- tions here, but anxiously waited and quietly hoped for her change to come. under a full persuasion and assurance that all would be well with her in her sweet Savior's rest. So clearly did she see it, that she was not willing to take any medicine that would tend to prolong her stay on earth. Yet, in the forepart of her last sickness, she had hard strug- gling and conflict of spirit to arrive at this desirable condition and to give up you, her dear children, and other near and dear outward ties to life ; and realizing our blessed Lord's assurance, that every one that " forsakes houses, lands, brethren, sisters, father. mother. wife and children for His sake, should receive a hundred-fold more in this world, and in the world to come eternal life."

This, then, being the greatest possible blessing that we poor mortals can obtain, every effort of spirit, every energy of mind should be directed to it, that, under the blessing of the Highest upon our endeavors, we may happily obtain it in this our short pilgrimage on earth. And I can in some measure assure you, my precious ones, that as you endeavor after it with full purpose of heart, you will find the way more and more prepared for you ; you will find an increase of the " love of God" in your spirits, and that in this love you will be gently drawn by it into those paths that lead to peace, and into that which will preserve you from every evil way and thing.

My desire is that when the boys have obtained a good share of schooling to qualify them for business, they should learn the business of farming, and reside in the country, and not associate with young, gay and volatile company, as the example and association of the towns are very corrupting to the young and tender mind-it being much easier to avoid than to correct contracted evil habits. Agriculture is honorable, heathful and innocent in its associations, much more so than trading, or town trades than their associations of young people.

The girls I should wish accustomed to industry and the actual duties of housewifery. All to dress plainly, and to use the plain language-the simplicity, frugality and orderly deportment of Friends ; and to be placed with orderly Friends, whose example and orderly walking may conduce to their preservation from the abounding liberties, extravagances and excesses of this age and time. And I desire and would impress it upon your minds deeply, as a solemn truth, never to forget or lose sight of, that your Heavenly Father is always in spirit with you, knows all your thoughts, words and acts ; and that you will, in the great day of account, when you leave this world, have to account therefor ; therefore, be diligent and watchful, that you say nothing that would grieve His Holy Spirit. as it will tend to destroy your peace of mind here, and separate you from His love ; and if not atoned for before you leave this world, will tend to your everlasting misery.

Let your reading be of a solid kind, and do not indulge in light fiction or novels ; even the tales in the newspapers of the day, as there is nothing profitable or good in them, but much to corrupt and draw you away from that which is good.

Neither mix nor take part with the political affairs of the day, of any kind or charac- ter. Let your reading and religion be that of the Bible, and especially of the precepts and example, and inward teaching in spirit, of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, as it is suffi- cient for all things ; and if you have this, you need not desire any other.

I should wish you to continue members of the Society of Friends ; not because I think they are the only Christians, or good people, in the world, but because I think their doctrine, example and life, when they are lived in and up to, is the best I know of. and is better calculated to keep you out of the extravagances and excesses of the world than any other.

Yet, even this, lived in and up to, in its purity, can be only a hedge about us, and as a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ, the head of all, whom alone we will have to learn, and whose cross we will have to take up and follow Him, if ever we become members of the true Church of which He is the head and high priest, let our names and associations be what they may with men.

And to Him, and to the word of His power, I commend you in all godliness, and in . all things, who is able to keep you now and preserve you from all the defiling things of time, and to give you an inheritance in His everlasting kingdom, where He is set down with the Father, in His Kingdom, in eternal glory.

Your father who loves you more than pen can write,

12th Mo., 20th, 1846.

JOSEPH B. CHAPMAN.

How manly in its integrity, yet how childlike in its simple, unquestioning faith in the mercy and goodness of the Divine Being, must have been the heart of the man who penned that letter. Reading, we exclaim to ourselves, "Surely here was one who kept himself 'unspotted from the world'-uncontaminated by its defilements. proof against its temptations, unyielding to its allurements -a stalwart Christian, a man of God, living day by day and hour by hour in sweet and sacred communion with his Lord and Master. To have had a father

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or a mother of such lofty Christian character is a legacy of more value than countless earthly treasure; and the epistle quoted, though couched in no high- sounding, pretentious rhetoric, yet so full of wisdom, affection and truth, is worthy of being handed down to the latest descendant of him whose hand, now long since mingled with its native element, traced it in letters of living light. From both the Chapman and Haines sides, Mr. Charles F. Chapman inherits naught but pure English blood-no admixture of that of any other race enter- ing into his composition. And, without boasting or vain self-congratulation, it may be added that his blood is of the same quality as was that which long ago coursed through the veins and inspired the souls of "the noble army of mar- tyrs." John Chapman, like St. Paul, was "in prisons often," "in perils by sea, in perils by land," on account of his faith, yet he, like Paul, was unmoved thereby; he swerved not from the line of duty; he was willing to suffer, nay. he would have died, in defending and maintaining his faith, had the sacrifice been of more avail than his escaping to a land where he could plant the germs of religious liberty and establish an asylum to which other persecuted ones might flee for refuge. His posterity should for evermore picture him with an aureole of glory encircling his head, for 'tis ecstacy and inspiration to think of such moral heroes and a heritage of which kings might be proud to have sprung from such a source. In this connection, it is only in verification of Scripture promise to add that the descendants of this moral hero have thus far proved worthy of their ancestry, very few. if any, of the succeeding generations having been at all recreant or failed to live up to the traditions of their forefathers. The days have passed, it is true, when men are persecuted in just the same manner as of old -- " for righteousness' sake," but to depart not in these latter days, when infidelity is rampant, from the faith and admonitions of godly parents, is no small credit to any one; and, were the exigency to arise, the same spirit and fire, doubtless, would be found latent and ready to suffer and do battle for the right, albeit not with carnal weapons, but with the more effectual '"sword of the spirit." Mr. Charles F. Chapman's name appropriately heads this sketch, he being the only (although the youngest child) representative of the family now living in his native State and township. He was born in Waynesville, and, at the age of 4 years, was left motherless, and, three years later, his father died Then, with his two brothers, he was placed by their guardian, in charge of a farmer in Clark County, a farm life being considered conducive to the boys' muscular development and general health. We pass briefly over the years thus spent by these sensitive and tenderly-reared orphan boys, who, however, look back to that part of their life as the darkest they ever knew. Alone among strangers, all their sorrows and trials were mitigated only by being mutually shared and confided to their pillows at night in copious showers of tears. Here Charles remained four years, when he was sent to Greenmount College, at Richmond, Ind., where he studied during winter and returned to his toil on the farm in summer. He afterward entered Witten- berg College, at Springfield, Ohio, where he became proficient in mathematics and the German language, besides the other more practical branches of a liberal education. He did not graduate, however, the ambition firing his youthful mind to become a farmer on his own responsibility. He therefore, in 1859. bought the beautiful country seat where he now resides, overlooking the fertile vale from the east of the Little Miami River, and went to work with his char- acteristic enthusiasm, becoming a sturdy yoeman before he was 19. In 1864, in partnership with his uncle, the Hon. S. S. Haines, and his brother, Joseph B., he embarked in the wholesale grocery business in Cincinnati, which he fol- lowed successfully for two years, but was admonished, by some severe hemor- rhages of the lungs, to close his connection there and return to country life. On the 2d of June, 1874, he married Miss Elizabeth Matilda, daughter of Jo-

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seph and Catharine A. Stanton, of Springboro, Warren Co. (whose history may be found elsewhere in these pages) and by whom he has had three children -- Margaret C., born Nov. 20, 1875; Joseph B., born Feb. 6, 1877; James Albert, born Sept. 18, 1879. In 1876, with health re-established, Mr. Chapman en- tered the grain and commission business in Chicago, but, after a successful career of three years, he was warned a second time, by the return of his former malady, that a city was no place for him, and he fled to the refuge of his farm, forever abandoning any desire for distinction in the commercial world. He has ever since employod himself in the cultivation and beautification of his broad acres and enjoys the reputation of being a model farmer, which the ap- pearance of his estate abundantly justifies. Personally, Charles F. Chapman is somewhat above medium height, rather inclining to slender than full habit, erect and dignified in movement and deportment-a splendid physique being surmounted with a fine intellectual head In short. from youth to maturity, we have always regarded him as an exceptional instance of handsome manhood -a manly man. His tastes being rather for business than literary pursuits (his being what might be termed "a mathematical mind"), he is, nevertheless keenly susceptible to all the refining influences of culture in its broadest sense, and his tasteful suburban home is made a fit abode for a wife who is a rare combination of all womanly virtues and three cherub children, whom to see is to love. Neither going to extreme in luxury nor its opposite, he perceives with an eye and instinct of a true philosopher whatever is useful and beautiful, whether in art, literature or material things, and brings all under contribution for the formation of his children's character and for making home happy. Finding the life of a city, with its increasing whirl and exhausting cares jeopardizing to his health, he flung ambition for commercial eminence to the winds, and wisely and unmurmuringly accepted the situation, resolving thenceforth, with his dear ones, to retreat to his rural abode, there to live in Arcadian simplicity and devote himself unreservedly to the well-being of his family, in all his re- lations to which "Tender and True" may justly be applied to him. But not uninterruptedly is Mr. Chapman permitted to enjoy the life of a recluse. His business abilities are too well known and appreciated for that to be practicable. For years, therefore, he has been a director of the Waynesville National Bank and one of the trustees of the Miami Cemetery Association, two of our most im- portant local enterprises. Other dignities, political and otherwise, might have been his, but for his preference for a quiet life and non-self-assertive disposition. And his neighbors and friends, when in extremity, are always glad to appeal to him in any case where sound, far-seeing discretion and judgment or financial accuracy are essential. Goethe says, "They know not men who fear them." To the class who do fear men they do not understand, Mr. Chapman may seem in- accessible upon first approach, but, upon closer acquaintance, this coat of mail, which is, in reality, but the veil of diffidence, or mental absorption, rather than studied reserve or misanthrophy, melts into thin air, and underneath is found a warm, congenial nature: not, indeed, one of that vulgar kind which requires a legion of indiscriminate acquaintances to occupy its own emptiness and make life endurable, but one satisfied with friends few but true-tried and found worthy of deepest esteem -- he who finds in his home an earthly paradise, and whose greatest joy and care is to make it to those who share it with him the shrine about which all their dearest affections revolve. With such a nature, happiness is easily possible; and when, as in Mr. Chapman's case, all the ma- terial accessions are at his command, his future and that of his beloved ones, is surely bright with promise. That they all may live long years to enjoy, un- marred by discord, unclouded by sorrow, the horoscope thus cast for them, is the sincere wish of the writer. DREW SWEET.

WAYNESVILLE, OHIO, April 24, 1882.

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JAMES M. CHENOWETH, farmer: P. O. Waynesville; born on the place where he now lives, Oct. 25, 1813; is a son of John and Elizabeth (Chenoweth) Chenoweth, natives of Virginia. The paternal grandfather was William Chen- oweth, a native of Virginia, but emigrated to Ohio, and located near where our subject now lives, in 1812; opened out right in the woods, and endured the trials and hardships of those early days, and here he resided till his death. The maternal grandfather was William Chenoweth; was also a native of Virginia, but became a resident of Ohio and died near Lima. John and family came to this county about 1811, and spent his entire life on the farm where he first lo- cated: they had thirteen children; two only now survive -James M. and Ra- chel, now Mrs. Tamsett. Mr. Chenoweth died Jan. 11, 1862; his wife died in December, 1855. James M., our subject, was raised to manhood upon the old home place, where he still resides and has passed nearly all his life; was mar- ried, Aug. 1, 1850, to Cynthia V., a daughter of Robert and Magdalena Sale, whose history and that of the ancestors is contained in the sketch of George Sale in this work. Cynthia V. was born Sept. 5, 1823. By this union, they have had five children; three now survive-Geo. D., born May 8, 1851; John E., born Jan. 9, 1856, and Samuel James, born Feb. 15, 1866. Mr. Chenoweth has spent all his life but five years on the old home place; said five years were spent on an adjoining farm. The Chenoweth families are especially noted for their continuity of residence, believing in the old adage "A rolling stone gathers no moss." They are substantial farmers, kind neighbors and good cit- izens.

JOHN D. CLEMENTS, farmer ; P. O. Waynesville; born in Wayne Township Aug. 11, 1825; is a son of John and Catharine (Dutterow) Clements. The paternal ancestors were of Irish descent, the original ancestors coming from Ireland, emigrating to America prior to the Revolutionary war, locating first in Pennsylvania. The grandfather Clements, who, it is believed, was named Greer, became a resident of Ohio, near Cincinnati, in an early day, where he was shot by the Indians. The maternal ancestors were from Germany. John, the father of our subject, was raised and grew to manhood near Cincin- nati; was married and located in Warren County; he, with his family and mother, settled in Wayne Township, it is believed, about 1804; here they lived and died; they had six sons and four daughters-Henry, Jesse, Samuel, Cyn- thia, Margaret, Forgus, John, Isaac, Elizabeth and Mary C. John was a farm- er and a pioneer, and remained on the place where he first located till his death. He was a soldier in the war of 1812. Our subject remained with his father till after his majority. In the spring of 1855, he went to Illinois, where he resided until the winter of 1858, when he returned to Ohio. In August, 1862, he enlisted in the war of the rebellion, in Company H, 79th O. V. I., and served through the war; was with Sherman in his great march through the South to the sea; was engaged in the battles of Resaca, Peach Tree Creek, Averysboro and others, but escaped without a wound and was mustered out at Camp Dennison June 5, 1865. He entered as First Duty Sergeant and was promoted to First Lieutenant. On Jan. 3, 1867, was celebrated his marriage with Elizabeth V., daughter of Hiram and Rachel Ann Taylor, whose ancestral history will be found in the sketch of Hiram Taylor. Mr. Clements and wife have two children-Charles H., born Jan. 15, 1868, and John Howard, born April 6, 1879. Mr. Clements after his marriage located on the place where he still resides; this place he purchased of Newell Brown's heirs; it consisted of 105 acres of land, from which he has sold 25 acres; it has good buildings and improvements and is located two and a half miles southwest of Waynesville.

JOHN H. COLEMAN, of the firm of Elliott & Coleman, stoves and tin- ware, Waynesville; born in Miamisburg, Ohio, Feb. 21, 1846; is a son of

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Washington and Eliza (Barnhart) Coleman: he was probably a native of Miamis- burg and she of Maryland. Mr. Coleman was a tailor by trade; was married in Waynesville and located in Miamisburg, where he followed his trade till the fall of 1849. In the spring of 1849, he lost his wife by death, and, in the fall following. he went South and located in Mississippi, where he carried on his trade eleven years -- till the breaking-out of the war of the rebellion -- when he returned to Ohio and enlisted in the defense of his country, and served in the army under Gen. Buell till prostrated by sickness; he died at Murfreesboro. Tenn., April 23, 1863; he was the father of six children; four now survive ---- George W., Alfred, Harriet and John H. Our subject, who was bat 3 years old at the death of his mother, was taken and raised by his uncle, John Barn- hart, with whom he remained till 19 years of age, when, in January, 1865, he enlisted in the war, in the 184th O. V. I., and served till the close of the war; was discharged at Camp Chase, Columbus, Sept. 27, 1865. In January, 1866, he engaged with his brother at Springboro to learn the tinner's trade; re- mained with him about two years; thence came to Waynesville and continued at his trade till in March, 1872, he formed a partnership with Samuel E. El- liott, and purchased a stock of goods and opened out a stove and tin store, where they have continued business to the present time. Mr. Coleman was married April 16, 1874, to Miss Ida, daughter of Daniel and Louisa Crane: issue, two children-Harry C. and Ephraim. His wife died Oct. 22, 1878.

JAMES C. COLLETT (deceased) was born in England June 12, 1823; was a son of Thomas and Susan (Carpenter) Collett, natives of England, who emigrated to America and located in New Jersey in 1833; thence, in 1837, they came to Warren County and located in Waynesville, where he died Aug. 23, 1851, aged 62 years. Mr. Collett was possessed of a good education and fol- lowed teaching as a profession; was an earnest Methodist and a local preacher in that church for many years. He was the father of eleven children; eight grew to maturity; five now survive-Thomas; Emma (now Mrs. Philip Hawke), Amelia (now Mrs. Hammel), Joseph B. and John W. James C. was but a child when they arrived in America, and was raised in New Jersey and Warren Co., Ohio, and grew to manhood, receiving a good common-school education; was married, Feb. 22, 1860, to Ruth Ellen, a daughter of Jonathan and Ruth (Elmore) Clark, natives of South Carolina, who emigrated to Warren County with their parents respectively in 1805 and 1804; they located on the same tract of land where Mr. Collett lived and died, being among the early settlers of this township; they opened out their farms right from the woods. Mr. Clark was married, in 1810, and here they lived till their death; he died Jan. 18, 1848, aged 64 years; his wife died Oct. 5, 1866, aged 76 years. They had eleven children; four now survive-Sarah, Rebecca (now Mrs. Stiles), Mary and Ruth Ellen. Mr. Collett and wife had two children -Mary E., born April 7, 1861, John C., born June 21, 1864. Mr. Collett, when 21 years of age, was elected Justice of the Peace and served fifteen consecutive years while residing in Waynesville. In the fall of 1863, he removed to the farm, where he resided till his death. After locating on his farm, he resigned his office of Justice of the Peace and would not serve longer. He died Aug. 17, 1874, aged 51 years; his wife and children still reside upon the home place, where they have a fine farm and good improvements, constituting a pleasant home and residence.

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The History of Warren County, Ohio, Part 99

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