USA > Ohio > Clinton County > The history of Clinton County, Ohio, containing a history of the county; its townships, cities, towns, etc.; general and local statistics; portraits of early settlers and prominent men; history of the Northwest territory, Volume 2 > Part 90
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MARTIN SHANK, farmer, P. O. Blanchester, son of Henry and Mary (Mann) Shank, was born in Virginia in 1820. His parents came to Marion Township when he was quito young, and bought 250 acres of land in the northwestern part of the town- ship. Martin remained at home till twenty-seven years of age, when he was married to Rebecca Bundy. They have had four children, three living-William H., Charlie B. and Harry. In 1853, he bought 100 acres of land of his father, and at the death of the latter he received thirty-two and one-quarter more, eighty-five acres now under cul- tivation. He enlisted in 1862 in Clarksville, this county, in Company I, Seventy-ninth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, under Capt. Stillwell, and served nearly three years.
JACOB D. SHANK, farmer, P. O. Blanchester, son of Henry and Mary (Mann) Shank, was born in Marion Township in 1839. His parents came here about 1830 and bought 250 acres of land in the northern part of township, where he way raised, being the youngest of fourteen children. They cleared about 190 acres. His father died in 1864; mother still lives with him at the advanced age of eighty-nine years. Jacob D. was married March 17, 1867, to Sarah E., daughter of Joseph and Catherine (Flesher) Higgins, born in Butlerville, Warren County, Ohio, June 5, 1849. They had five children, three living-Horace, Stanley and Leroy ; deceased, Ettie and .Lenny. He had 155 acres of land of the homestead. In February, 1881, he ex- changed fifty-five acres of it for thirty acres, with fine brick residence, adjoining Blan. chester on the north. He is a member of the Grange; also, of the Friends' Church. Mr. Shank also served in defense of his country, enlisting at Clarksville, this county. August 22, 1862, in Company I, Seventy-ninth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, under Capt. J. R. Stillwell, and served till January 19, 1863.
HARVEY I. SHANK, farmer, P. O. Blanchester, son of Henry and Mary (Mann) Shank, was born in this township, three miles north of Blanchester. His parents were among the early settlers of this township. He was reared on a farm and remained at home till twenty-seven years of age. He was married in 1863 to Elizabeth, daughter of Joseph and Mary Reeder, born in Vernon Township, Clinton Co., Ohio. They had one child-Addie E. His wife died in 1870, and he again married in 1871 to Lydia Stansbury, widow of Spencer Stansbury. They have two children-Vesta and Pearl. Mrs. Shank had one son by her former husband-William by name. In 1864. the father of our subject died and left him fifty acres of the homestead. He afterward purchased sixty-five acres adjoining and sold twenty-five ; now has ninety, sixty-five un- der cultivation. He is a member of the Presbyterian and his wife of the M. E. Church.
ADRIAN A. SHIELDS, farmer, P. O. Blanchester, son of John and Sarah (Walker) Shields, was born in this township June 18, 1840. His parents and grand. parents came here from Warren County, Ohio, about 1838. They were natives of Pennsylvania. Adrian was reared on the farm, and remained at home till the break- ing-out of the war in 1861, when he enlisted in Westboro in the Forty-seventh Ohio Volunteer Infantry, under Capt. Bundy. He was in several severe engagements, and was wounded in the right arm at the battle of Vicksburg by a piece of shell. His arm proved so troublesome he received his discharge at Mound City, Ill., after serving two years and six months. He was married a short time before enlisting at Blanchester to Mary L., daughter of Joseph and Rebecca Whitaker. They have six children-Alice, Florence, Laura, Emmett, Sarah and Bertha. After returning from the war, Mr. Shields rented land of his father three years; also lived in Allen County three years and one year near Westboro. He then came to this township and purchased seventy acres of land near Kansas Mills, which he kept a short time and sold and bought 37.95 acres of land where he now lives ; he sold a small piece; now has thirty-six and a half acres, all under cultivation. Himself and wife are members of the United Breth- ren Church.
JOHN SIMONTON, liveryman on Broadway street, Blanchester, son of The- ophilus and Mary (Sale) Simonton, was born in Hamilton Township, Warren County. Ohio, February 8, 1813. His father was a farmer, and had five sons and three daugh. ters besides John, who remained at home till twenty-seven years of age, when he rented a farm in Brown County one year. He then came to Marion Township and bought 101
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acres of land, about three miles south of Blanchester. In 1854, he came to the village and opened a hotel, northeast corner Broadway and Main streets, where he remained one year and then removed to the southwest corner, where he continued in the hotel business till 1862. He still owns the building, his son occupying it as a harness shop. He then bought Lots No. 1 and 18, Broadway street, where he opened a livery stable. In the fall of 1881, he built a fine large stable at a cost of $1,200; he keeps seven horses and carriages, boarding, sale and feed stables. He was married near Loveland, Warren County, in 1837, to Catherine Hess. They had three sons and two daughters. His eldest son, Franklin, was mortally wounded at the battle of Cloyd's Mountain, fell into the hands of the enemy and was never heard of after. He held the rank of Second Lieutenant in the Twelfth Ohio Volunteer Infantry and served nearly three years. The remaining four children are living and married, born in the order which they are named : Melissa, Lyman, William and Lulu. His residence is situated corner Main and Broad- way ; he also owns one lot in W. H. Baldwin's Addition to Blanchester, and eighty-five acres of land three-fourths of a mile east of Blanchester.
JAMES SKILLMAN, contractor and builder, Blanchester, son of Abraham and Hannah (Wainwright) Skillman, was born at Princeton, N. J., December 23, 1837. His father was of English, his mother of Scotch ancestry. When eighteen months old, his parents moved to Mainville, Warren Co., Ohio. When five years of age, his mother died, and he was left in care of his eldest brother, Jacob, his father returning East. When sixteen, he went to Cincinnati and learned the brick-layer's trade. He was foreman for Jones & Evans two years, then took contracts and erected buildings himself three years. He came to Blanchester in 1865, where he has contracted and erected several briek buildings. The same year, he bought eighty acres of land in this township, one mile east of Blanchester, on the M. & C. R. R. He was married, December 24, 1877, to Ellen, daughter of Dr. Arnold, of Penn Yan, N. Y., born in Ken- tucky. They have two children-Ethel and Eddie. He owns his residence and fifteen acres of land on Broadway street, south part of village. He is a member of the Masonic Fraternity.
CHARLES BARNARD SLATER, Blanchester, third son of James and Char- lotte (Cullen) Slater, was born in Sheffield, Eng., on the 22d day of May, 1836; · learned the milling trade and emigrated to the United States in 1857 ; going to McMinn- ville, Tenn., by way of Charleston, S. C., he engaged in the milling business for about a year, but having a desire to obtain a general knowledge of the country, and a spirit of adventure, he associated himself with William Groves and went South with a drove of mules ; disposing of the stock not far south of Jackson, Miss., and having offers of remunerative situations, he accepted a position with Joseph . Panky, and engaged in putting up cotton gins and grist mills till the winter of 1859-60. His desire to see the Father of Waters led him to Vicksburg, Miss., arriving at which place he could not resist the temptation to take a steamboat ride upon the mighty river, which was at that time on a big boom, and would naturally attraet a stranger by its wonderful proportions. . Taking the river to Memphis, Tenn., he found employment in the mill-furnishing establishment of W. C. Bradford, where he remained till the fall of . 1860, when he went to Brownsville, Ark., to engage in the saw-mill business ; remain- ing there till the spirit of secession raged too high for parties who desired to be non- combatants, he had to flee for personal safety. Returning to Tennessee, he found the same state of excitement, and feeling that there was no safety for a young man outside of the army, he entered the service as a butcher, but having a smattering of military knowledge gained in England, and being a good penman and accountant, it was not long till his comrades discovered his ability, and as a reward for his services in the way of Drill-Master and Assistant Quartermaster, made him Captain of Company K, Twenty- fifth Tennessee Volunteers, which, however, was only volunteer in name, at this time the conseript act having been put in force. Fearing that the consequence of a refusal to serve might not result pleasantly, he accepted the commission, but there seeming to be a demand for his services in many directions, he was detailed by Gen. Marmaduke to superintend the operation of mills then under the control of the army, for the purpose
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of supplying the army with flour. This occupation ceasing with the retreat of the confederate army from Corinth, he was made Judge Advocate of the division. Being convineed after the battle of Perryville, Ky., that the cause of the confederacy was lost, and ascertaining authoritatively that the rebels who surrendered themselves to the Government in good faith would not be tried for treason, he tendered his resignation, which being accepted (very reluctantly, however), he came through the lines as a private citizen ; was arrested at Scottsville, Ky., sent thenee to Louisville, and after a three months' confinement in a military prison, was sent across the Ohio River in July. . 1863 ; he came to Cineinnati, Ohio, with the expectation of finding parties he had heard hissister talk about ; he thought they might assist him in getting enrployment, but not finding them he wandered eastward, along the Marietta & Cincinnati Railroad, till, arriving at Blanchester, he found work in a saw mill belonging to Harrison Hud- son, in which business he continued till the spring of 1866, when he again commenced to work at mill building, building that year two mills in Tennessee. February 27, 1868, he married Scyrena Jane Hudson, only daughter of Thomas Hudson, who bore him one daughter and five sons, as follows: Elvaretta, December 19, 1868 ; Thomas Cullen, December 30, 1870; James Parker, March 1, 1873; Harvey Harrison, December 8, 1875; Felix, February 28, 1878; Ralph, March 4, 1880. Elvaretta departed this life March 19, 1874, after a short but severe attack of spinal fever. In 1872, he obtained a patent for an improved flour bolting reel, and commenced the manu- facture of the same in connection with his business, which has steadily inereased. January 1, 1881, for the purpose of further developing the business, he associated with himself W. S. MeClelland, under the firm name of C. B. Slater & Co., and built a shop which now gives employment to fourteen men, with a fair prospeet of a rapid increase. In 1866, he joined the I. O. O. F. at Edenton, Ohio, and became a charter member of Fithian Lodge, No. 373, instituted at Blanchester, attaining the highest degree. He also became a member of Excelsior Encampment, No. 106, attaining the highest degree in this branch of the order. In January, 1868, he united himself with the Baptist Church. In 1878, he was elected a member of the Village Council, and again re-elected in 1880. In polities, he espoused the cause of the Republican party from the time of his naturalization ; was a great admirer of Senator Morton, of Indiana, who he thought deserved the nomination for the Presidency in 1876, having, in his opinion, done more for the country in her struggle against secession than any single individual in it. Very proud of his adopted State, and deeply interested in national affairs, he advocated the elaims of Gen. Garfield to the Presidency as early as 1878, and adhered to it persistently that he would be the nominee in 1880. His arrival at Blanchester was so shortly after the raid of the notorious John Morgan, of the Confederate army, through Ohio, that many of the citizens of Blanchester supposed he was a deserter from that command, and some of the more zealous thought he was a spy, or an emissary of the confederaey, sent here for the purpose of burning the town, and a strict surveillance was kept over his movements.
GEORGE W. SLUSHER, farmer, P. O. Blanchester, son of Alfred and Nancy (Skidmore) Slusher, was born in Hardy County, Va., July 2, 1838. When quite young he learned the carpenter's trade with his father, at which he has worked nearly all his life. He was married, in Pendleton County, Va., September 7, 1858, to Susan, daughter of Adam and Mary (Kimble) Judy, born, in Pendleton County, July 23, 1841. They have five children-Enoch W., George W., Virginia R., Meleena M. and Dessie G. Mrs. S. owned 350 acres of land in Virginia, where they lived at the time the war broke out. Mr. S. was drafted in the Southern service against his will, and at the end of six months deserted and joined the Union army near Moorfield, Va. He aeted as an independent scout under Col. Durfey. He acted as a spy nine months, during which time he had a number of narrow eseapes from death. In September, 1862, he was captured near Petersburg, Va., while inside the rebel lines. He was sent to Staunton, Va , and imprisoned in the third story of the court house, awaiting court- martial as a spy. . He remained there about two weeks, well guarded by two soldiers at his door and one under his window. The guards changed every evening about dusk,
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and there was sometimes a short interval when there was no guard under the window. Watching his opportunity one evening when it was getting dark, and the guard had not arrived under his window, he swung out and succeeded in grasping the lightning rod which ran to the ground; he quickly descended and made good his escape. The other four times he was captured cach time while in the ranks, he escaped by the enemy being driven rapidly baek ; he was captured this way three times one day. He at one time ran across an open field about two hundred yards, exposed to the fire of 5,000 cav- alry, and escaped without a scratch. After serving nine months, he came to Greene County, Ohio, where his family had moved and remained over three years, and, in 1868, . he moved to this township and bought seventeen acres of land and resided four years, and then moved to his present location, where he owns fifty-five acres of land, forty-one ' of which are under cultivation. He also owns three lots in Blanchester with a dwell - ing on one. Mr. S. is a member of the Odd Fellow society, and himself and wife are members of the Christian Union Church.
HARVEY SMITH, M. D., physician, Blanchester, son of Joseph and Hannah (Hair) Smith, was born in Clermont County, one mile east of New Boston, January 14, 1824; was reared on a farm till sixteen years of age, attending the old log schoolhouses of those primitive times, during the winters. He then learned the house painting trade, at which he worked two years. He then attended a seminary at Batavia, Clermont County, two years ; then taught school one year, and studied medicine with Columbus Spencer, of Perrin's Mills. In 1843, he entered the Ohio Medical College at Cincin- nati, and attended one course ; then came to Cuba and practiced two years. In 1856, he came to Blanchester, and in 1859 he graduated from the Cincinnati College of Medicine and Surgery, and returned to Blanchester, where he has remained ever since, enjoying quite an extensive practice. In February, 1847, he was married to Maria M., daughter of John and Margaret Mitchell, born in this county. They have one son, Eberle D., present banker of Blanchester. He owns a fine residence and five and a quarter acres of land on Lazenby street; also three farms containing 400 aeres of choice land, with dwellings and outbuildings.
DAVID SMITH, farmer, P. O. Blanchester, son of John and Elizabeth (Butt) Smith, was born in this township within three hundred yards of his present residence, April 1, 1838.« His father was a native of this State, and came from Scioto County to this township at quite an early date, and at the time of his death, which occurred Dc -. cember 20, 1863, he owned 1272 aeres of land, which David L. received and now re- sides on. IIc now has 1582 acres, 140 under cultivation. He was married in Lebanon, Warren Co., Ohio, February 4, 1864, to Martha W., daughter of William and Sarah Friend, born at Mainville, April 30, 1843. They have ten children-Eva, Sally, Julia, William, Nettie, Herbert, Minnie, Louise, David and Bessie. Mr. Smith is a member of the Grange society; himself and wife are members of the Free- Will Baptist Church.
EBERLE D. SMITH, banker, P. O. Blanchester, situated on Main street, below Broadway, known as the Blanchester Bank. He is a son of Dr. Harvey and Maria M. (Mitehell) Smith, and was born in Cuba, Clinton County, October 25, 1848. He at- tended the common schools at Blanchester till 1864, when he entered Miami University at Oxford, where he attended six years and graduated with high honors in 1871. He received the mathematical honor. He then returned to Blanchester, and was engaged as Principal of the Union Schools one year. He then went to Ann Arbor, Mich., and studied law one year, returning in 1873. He then went as Indian trader to Fort Sill, Indian Ty., where he opened a store, and traded quite extensively with the Indians, taking furs of all kinds. He again returned to Blanchester and opened the bank, where he is at present operating, February 2, 1877. He also owns what is known as Broad- way Livery Stable, conducted by C. B. Riley. Mr. Smith also has two fine farms, one on the State road of 1792 acres, known as the Nathaniel Montgomery farm; the other is situated on the road running from the State road to Westboro, and consists of 114 acres; both farms are under a high state of cultivation, dwellings and outbuildings on each. He also owns a fine residence on Lazenby street, with four acres of land. He was married in Blanchester, August 25, 1875, to Miss Clara B. Robb, daughter of Dr.
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A. Robb, of this place also; who was born in Highland County, Ohio. They have three children-Rowena D., Stanley R. and Ralph H. Mr. Smith is a member of the Masonic fraternity, also, of the Greek Society, a college society, Delta Kappa Epsilon; also a member of the Universalist Church.
GEORGE W. SNIDER, manufacturer, P. O. Blanchester, of the firm of Snider & McCormick, blacksmiths, on Broadway, above Main street, is the son of James and Margaret (Spaulding) Snider, was born in Harlan Township, Warren Co., Ohio, in 1849. He was reared on a farm till twenty-one, then commenced to travel in the light- ning rod business, in which he has been engaged ever since. He was married in But- lerville, Warren County, in 1876, to Ella, daughter of John and Emily Johnson. IIe came to Blanchester in 1879, and purchased a lot on Broadway street, where he has built a fine residence. In April, 1881, he bought one-half interest in the blacksmith shop on Broadway, where they do all kinds of repairing and general blacksmithing; they employ from three to five hands.
ELISHA SPENCER, fireman, P. O. Blanchester, in the flouring mill of his brother-in-law, John Burton, is a son of William and Priscilla (Stackhouse) Spencer, and was born in Union Township, Clinton Co., Ohio, September 10, 1843. He was reared on a farm, his father owning 100 acres of land in Union Township. When eighteen years of age, he enlisted in Wilmington, Clinton Co., Ohio, in the Thirty-first Ohio Volunteer Infantry, under Capt. David H. Miller, served three years and twelve days, and was in quite a number of prominent battles, among others, Chickamauga, Resaca and Jonesboro, besides a number of skirmishes. He was mustered out at Fay- etteville, N. C., and returned to the old homestead, where he made considerable im- provements, and remained two years. He was then employed by his brother, six years, part of the time in a distillery near Wilmington, where he also farmed several years, and then came to Blanchester and has since been employed as fireman in his brother- in-law's flouring mills. He was married in Greene Couny, Ohio, to Sarah J., daughter of Arthur and Druilla Ellison, born in Adams County. They have five children-Cora D., William R., Catherine A., Minnie and Harry A. Himself and wife are members of the Free-Will Baptist Church.
ROBERT SUPINGER, carpenter, Blanchester, son of Jacob and Mary (Ogles- by) Supinger, was born in Shenandoah County, Va., in 1809. He was reared on on a farm till eighteen years old, when he learned the carpenter's trade, at which he has worked nearly ever since. In 1839, he came to Salem Township, Warren County, Ohio, where he remained seven years, during which time he was married, in 1840, to Sarah Conner, a native of Delaware. In 1846, they moved to Blanchester, where they have since resided. They had eight children, four now living-Jacob, Mary E., Lucinda and Grandville. His wife died July 26, 1878. Mr. S. owns a residence and one acre of land on Main street, above Grove street, twenty acres of land partly in cor- poration, and two lots in Anshutz & Patterson's Addition. In 1866, he was elected Township Trustee, which office he has filled ever since.
JOHN K. TRICKEY, contractor, Blanchester, son of William and Saralı (Os- born) Trickey, was born in Harlan Township, Warren County, Ohio, January 7, 1824. He was reared on a farm. When twenty-one years of age, he was married to Theodosia, daughter of John and Nancy (Henry) Clippard, born in Harlan Township. His father gave him ninety acres of land in that township, and he built a small cabin and began life in the woods. He cleared about fifty acres. In 1854, he bought 164 acres in Marion Township, Clinton County, and again settled in the woods and cleared about 100 acres. In 1880, he sold it and moved to Blanchester, where he has resided ever since. He has been contracting on roads and buildings the last five years. He owns and rents three store buildings on Broadway. He also keeps the Sherman House, has ten acres in the village known as Trickey's Addition. Mr. Trickey has been a very enterprising man. Any enterprise for the good of Blanchester and its people is sure to find an able advocate and assistant in him. He is a member of the Masonic Fraternity and Universalist Church. Mr. and Mrs. Trickey have seven children, all but one mar- ried-Sarah F., William H., Emma L., Thomas R., George W., Estelle and Alta.
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THOMAS TROVILLO, farmer, P. O. Blanchester, son of Jonathan and Martha (McKee) Trovillo, was born in Center County, Penn., in 1807. He was reared on a farm. In 1812, his parents came to Cincinnati, where his father taught school a short time. He taught in a number of places, being a cripple and not able to do anything else. When twenty years of age, Thomas left home and began the world for himself. In 1831, he was married to Maria, daughter of William and Ellen Vandervort, a native of Virginia. They had nine children, eight living-Paul J. enlisted in West- boro in the One Hundred and Seventy-fifth Ohio Volunteer Infantry ; was out six months and died at Camp Dennison. The remainder were Joseph E., Martha E., James, Sarah, William, Ephraim K., Samuel H. and Mary E. Mr. T. rented land several years after his marriage, and then bought sixty-seven acres of land in Simms Township, Hamilton County, Ohio, where he cleared fifteen acres and made numerous other improvements. In the spring of 1864, he sold and purchased 1252 acres in Jef- ferson Township, this county, where he remained till 1869, when he came to this town- ship and bought seventy-five and three-fourths acres of land two and one-half milcs northeast of Blanchester. He has sixty-eight acres under cultivation. Mr. Trovillo's wife died in April, 1880. His son Ephraim and wife are now living with him.
WILLIAM TUFTS, farmer, P. O. Blanchester, son of Henry and Margaret (Gillis) Tufts, was born near Mainville, Warren Co., Ohio, September 5, 1836. He was reared on a farm. His parents came to this township about 1852, and bought 132 acres of land. He was married, September 27, 1867, to Lucinda M., widow of John B. Hall, who died in the army from the effects of a gunshot wound. They have one child-Harvey E. Mrs. T. has two children by her former marriage-Flora R. and James E. After he was married, Mr. T. bought fifty acres of land three miles northeast of Blanchester. In January, 1880, he also purchased forty-one and a third acres of land where he now lives, seventy-five acres under cultivation. Himself and wife are members of the United Brethren Church.
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