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BIOGRAPHIES
Source:
History of Adams County, Ohio
from its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time
by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers
West Union, Ohio
Published by E. B. Stivers
1900
Please note: STRIKETHROUGHS are
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ROBINSON BAIRD
Source: History of Adams County, Ohio
from its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time -
by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers -
West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B. Stivers - 1900
~ Page
510 |
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JAMES W. BALDRIDGE,
merchant tailor, of Manchester, Ohio, and the subject
of this sketch, is a descendant of pioneer ancestry in Adams
County. The family name on the old records is
Boldridge, and its members were here at the time of the
organization of the county.
Our subject was born Aug. 12, 1857, in the village of
Youngsville, Wayne Township. He is a son of William
S., and a great-grandson of Rev. William Baldridge,
the first pastor of the U. P. congregation at Cherry Fork.
His mother is Margaret Jane Kane, a member of an old
and respected family of the county.
He spent his boyhood days on a farm and attended the
District schools until his eighteen year, when he studied at
West Union and in the old academy at Cherry Fork. In
1880, he went to Jackson, Ohio, and there followed coal
mining for two years.
In 1882, he began working at his present trade, and in
1883 worked with the well known tailor, A. D. Kirk.
He next worked at his trade in Kansas City, and then at
Augusta, Ky. Returning to Cherry Fork in 1892, he
remained a short time and then located at his present place
in Manchester, where he has a flourishing business, his
patrons being the best dressers of the town and surrounding
country. Dec. 12, 1891, he married Miss Mary
Alexander, by whom he has three children, Ada, Roy
and William. He is a Methodist and a
Prohibitionist.
Source: History of Adams County, Ohio
from its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time -
by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers -
West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B. Stivers - 1900
~ Page 683 |
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JAMES W. BALDRIDGE,
merchant tailor, of Manchester, Ohio, and the subject of
this sketch, is a descendant of pioneer ancestry in Adams
County. The family name on the old records is
Boldridge, and it members were here at the time of the
organization of the county.
Our subject was born Aug. 12, 1857, in the village of
Youngsville, Wayne Township. He is a son of William
S., and a great-grandson of Rev. William Baldridge,
the first pastor of the U. P. Congregation at Cherry Fork.
His mother is Margaret Jane Kane, is a member of an
old and respected family of the county.
He spent his boyhood days on a farm and attended the
District schools until his eighteenth year, when he studied
at West Union and in the old academy at Cherry Fork.
In 1880, he went to Jackson, Ohio, and there followed coal
mining for two years.
In 1882 he began working at his present trade, and in
1883, worked with the well known tailor, A. D. Kirk.
He next worked at his trade in Kansas City, and then at
Augusta, Ky. Returning to Cherry Fork in 1892, he
remained a short time and then located at his present place
in Manchester, where he has a flourishing business, his
patrons being the best dressers of the town and surrounding
country. Dec. 12, 1891, he married Miss Mary
Alexander, by whom he has three children, Ada, Roy,
and William He is a Methodist and a
Prohibitionist.
Source: History of Adams County, Ohio
from its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time -
by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers -
West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B. Stivers - 1900
~ Page 697 |
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NEWTON DUNLAP BALDRIDGE
was born Dec. 24, 1855, in the same house in which he now
resides. His father was James Wilson Baldridge,
and his mother, Margaret McVey. For further
information as to his ancestry, we refer to the sketch
herein of his brother, James W. Baldridge.
Our subject spent his boyhood on his father's farm,
(now his,) and received a common school education. On
Nov. 3, 1881, he was married to Mary Emma, daughter
of James and Elizabeth McCutcheon, of Manchester,
Ohio. they have five children: Delos, Delva,
Florence, Blanchard, and John, all of great
promise. In his political views, Mr. Baldridge
is a Republican. He is one of the thoroughly reliable
men of Wayne Township. He is observant of everything
in the community and is remarkably energetic. He is
prompt in all his engagements and honest in all his dealings
with others. He has never sought a place in, and would
not become a part of, the administration of public affairs,
but he exerts a strong and beneficial interest in his
community. He is deeply interested in public education
and is an earnest advocate and supporter of whatever is for
the good of the public. He is a member of the United
Presbyterian Church of Cherry Fork, and a ruling elder
therein. He performs his duty in that office with the
same zeal and earnestness which he gives to all he does.
As a farmer, he is a model for all of the name. He
makes farming an honor, a pleasure, and a success. He
is always ready to give any good cause a helping hand.
He is a man of strong convictions and of the strictest
fidelity in every relation of life. He is respected as
a man, esteemed as a citizen, admired as a farmer, and
relied upon as a true Christian. No one in his
community stands any higher than he, and no one is more
deserving of such estimation.
Source: History of Adams County, Ohio
from its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time -
by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers -
West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B. Stivers - 1900
~ Page 697 |
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SAMUEL TURNER BALDRIDGE
was born Feb. 17, 1824, in Wayne Township, Adams County,
Ohio, and lived there all his life with the exception of a
year and a half in Brown County. His father was born
in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, in 1873, and his
mother, Mary McGary, was a daughter of William
McGary, a Revolutionary soldier, and one of the first
settlers of Adams County.
He was married Oct. 23, 1845, first to Phoebe Patton,
a daughter of Thomas Patton, a native of Rockbridge
County, Virginia, who settled on the West Fork of Brush
Creek. Of this marriage there were three children:
Mrs. Mary J. Foutts, of Elsmere, Missouri; Thomas
Albert, who died at the age of two years, and an infant.
His first wife died Aug. 3, 1850. He married for a
second wife, in1861, Sarah Russel. Her mother
was a Puntenney, of Stout's Run. His son,
Taylor R., is a well known physician and surgeon in
Dayton. His second son, by his second marriage,
Talma E., after having completed his studies as a
physician and married, died suddenly in the year 1896.
Our subject has been an elder in the U. P. Church at
Cherry Fork for thirty years and has been Clerk of Wayne
Township for twenty-four years. He was a Free Soiler
during the existence of that party and afterwards a
Republican. He died the eighth of June, A. D. 1899.
Mr. Baldridge had taken quite an interest in
this work and had anticipated much pleasure in its
publication, but he was never to read its pages. Those
who knew him best say that his passing was the beautiful
completion of a finished work. His hold on this world
was greatly loosened by the sorrow on account of the
untimely death of his son, Talma. His life was
a finished example of purity, fidelity and piety. He
was a true friend, a wise counsellor, an unselfish man, and
a noble citizen. He left a memory which his family,
his church, and his community can reflect upon with pleasure
and pride.
Source: History of Adams County, Ohio
from its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time -
by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers -
West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B. Stivers - 1900
~ Page 681 |
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REV. WILLIAM BALDRIDGE.
The Reverend William Baldridge was born in Lancaster
County, Penn., Feb. 26, 1761. His parents were from
Ireland and members of the Irish Covenanter Church.
The year after his birth they removed to the banks of the
Catawba River in Lincoln County, N. C., where he resided
until 1776, when he joined a cavalry company and served as a
soldier during the Revolutionary War. Of this period
of his life, the most interesting of all, we have no record,
but from the course of his afterlife, we known that he did
his duty as a soldier, conscientiously, and faithfully.
He did not consider that in his seven years' service to his
country, he had done more than his duty or that he deserved
any special commendation therefor. After returning
from the war, he prepared for college under the instructions
of Rev. Robert Finley, and attended Dickinson College
in Carlisle, Penn., where he graduated in 1790 at the head
of a class of twelve. Immediately after his
graduation, he took up the study of theology, privately,
with the Rev. Alexander Dobbins and studied under him
one year. The second year of his theological studies
he pursued under the Reverend
Doctor Nesbit, of Carlisle, Pa. He was
licensed to preach by the Presbytery of Pennsylvania,
Associate Reformed, in 1792, and ordained by the same
Presbytery in 1793. On July 17, 1792, he was married
to Rebecca Agnew. She was born Dec. 12, 1772.
On Oct. 8, 1793, he accepted a call to two churches in
Rockbridge County, Virginia. One of them was a mile
from the Natural Bridge. It has long since
disappeared, the building destroyed and the congregation
dissolved. He labored as regular pastor of these two
churches, both Associate Reformed, until 1803 when his
pastoral relation to them was dissolved, but what was an
anomaly in Presbyterian practice, he remained their stated
supply until 1809, when he removed to Adams County, Ohio, to
accept a call as pastor to the Cherry Fork and West Fork
congregations. In 1797, he was moderator of his synod
and delivered an important judicial decision in a case
before that body. During his residence in Virginia, he
was twice offered the presidency of Washington College, now
Washington and Lee University, but declined each time on the
ground that it was his duty, as he saw it, to remain in the
pastoral work. From 1803 to 1809, many of his
congregation had emigrated from Virginia and located in
Adams County, Ohio, at either Cherry Fork or West Fork.
These former parishioners of his secured his call to the two
churches of the two localities. During his residence
in Virginia, he had been a faithful and acceptable pastor
and had endeared himself to his people, and while there, the
following children were born to him and his devoted wife:
James R., May 22, 1793; Alexander H., Jan. 13,
1795; John Y., Dec. 20, 1796; William S., May
1, 1799; Samuel C., and Rebecca G., twins,
Feb. 18, 1801; David A., May 25, 1803; Wade,
Aug. 25, 1805; Agnew, Dec. 5, 1807. With these
eight boys and one girl and his wife, he made the journey
overland to Ohio, in June 1809, and locating at Cherry Fork
at the age of 49. He spent the remainder of his life
there. The following children were born to him and his
wife, Rebecca, in Ohio: Joseph G., June
16, 1810; Ebenezer W., Aug. 1, 1812; William,
Aug. 17, 1814; Mary Jane, Oct. 26, 1817, at whose
birth the mother died. This daughter, Mrs. Mary
Jane Waller, a widow, is now living with her daughter,
Mrs. Julia Tappan, at Avondale, Ohio, the last
survivor of her brothers and sisters.
On May 16, 1820, Rev. William Baldridge married
Mrs. Mary Logan Anderson, a widow, and by her became
the father of two children, Benjamin L., born Feb. 9,
1821, and Nancy M., Oct. 18, 1822. His daughter,
Rebecca, married Joseph Riggs, Dec. 8, 1819, a
very prominent citizen of southern Ohio, and by him became
the mother of a numerous family of sons and daughters, the
former of whom and their descendants have distinguished
themselves in financial circles, in the ministry, at the bar
and on the bench. Of the Reverend Baldridge's sons,
Samuel C. and Benjamin L. became ministers of
Alexander H., Agnew and Ebenezer W. became physicians.
Of the literary works of the Rev. Baldridge, we have
but three sermons which were published in the Associate
Reformed Pulpit. These indicate that he was a fine
sermonizer. But he especially excelled in pastoral
work. Heknew all the members of his congregation, and
all their children by name, and knew their peculiarities.
He made his pastoral visits regularly in each family and
gave religious instructions in such manner as to make it
attractive, and to fasten it to remain in the minds of those
he visited. The Rev. Marion Morrison, now
residing at Mission Creek, Nebraska, relates an incident of
one of his visits to his father's, Judge Morrison's
house, in which he heard a conversation between an older
brother and the Rev. Baldridge, in which the latter
sought to induce his brother to take a college education
with a view of entering the ministry. This
conversation so impressed young Morrison, then eight
years of age, that he, in consequence thereof, took a college
education and entered the ministry where he has labored
successfully all his life. The Rev. Baldridge
died in the midst of his labors on Oct. 26, 1830.
Sixty-nine years having elapsed since his death,
oblivion has claimed much that we would like to know of him,
but the fact that he held but two pastorates in his
lifetime; that he resigned the first and that death alone
removed him from the other, speaks well of him as a
minister. Sixteen years in the same churches in
Rockbridge County, Virginia, and twenty-one in Adams County,
Ohio, covered his ministerial work. He preached well
in the pulpit and cared well and effectually for his people
in their homes. The fact that Cherry Fork church grw
and prospered during and after his labors in it speaks well
for his work. The fact that for years last and that
today the church at Cherry Fork is large and prosperous;
that its influence is well recognized in the county and in
its Presbytery and Synod; that it has sent out so many grand
men and women to other parts of the country, is largely due
to the labors of the Rev. William Baldridge between
1809 and 1830. He took the church four years after its
organization and builded it for twenty-one years.
But while he was an efficient pastor, teacher and guide
in the churches for thirty-seven years, he did something
even greater than that. He reared a family of twelve
sons and two daughters to be godly men and women, to be good
citizens and to take honorable and prominent places in the
world's work. Moreover, he laid the foundations of
character in his sons and daughters, so deep, so wide, so
strong in piety and moral truth that after seventy years,
his descendants are men and women of the same stamp of moral
worth, high character and sterling piety that he bore
himself. Could he have done better as a life work than
herein related? We think not. He performed his
work so well and so thoroughly that it will last so long as
descendants of his survive to illustrate and exemplify it.
He sleeps in an unknown and unmarked grave in the Cherry
Fork Cemetery.
Source: History of Adams County, Ohio
from its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time -
by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers -
West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B. Stivers - 1900
~ Page 506 |
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MICHAEL BALDWIN
was a very marked and memorable member of our earliest bar.
He came of a Connecticut family of note. One brother,
Henry Baldwin, of Pennsylvania, was one of the
Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United
States; another, a wealthy planter of Tennessee; a third
lived in Connecticut.
Michael was admitted to practice here in 1799,
and at once forced recognition of his energy, learning and
sparkling intellectual gifts; and almost as speedily
developed his uncontrollable love of liquor, fun and frolic.
He soon distanced all competitors for legal business save
William Creighton, Jr., whose patient industry still
retained him the larger and by- far more lucrative practice.
As between the two, it was the race between the hare and the
tortoise again, and with the same inevitable result.
One of the malicious stories of that day was, that certain
other lawyers became so jealous of Baldwin's
popularity and business success, that they encouraged the
latter's passion for drink, so that his career might be
shortened as much as possible.
In 1803, '4. '5, and '6, Baldwin,
notwithstanding his dissipation, did a large amount of work.
But from the latter date, there is a rapid decadence of his
practice apparent in the records of the Court, and by 1808,
his name but rarely appears, save only as defendant in suits
for tavern bills, borrowed money, and applications for the
benefit of the insolvent law. We learn from
Safford's "Life of Herman Blennerhasset"
that Baldwin bad been the United States Marshal for
the State of Ohio, and that he was much embittered against
President Jefferson for depriving him of that
office. Aaron Burr advised
Blennerhasset to retain Judge Jacob
Burnett, of Cincinnati, and Baldwin, for the
defense of both themselves in the trials for high treason,
which they expected to undergo before the courts of Ohio,
but which trials never took place. In a letter written
to his wife, under date of Dec. 17, 1807. Blennerhasset
says: "I have retained Baldwin and Burnett.
The latter will be a host with the decent part of the
citizens of Ohio; and the former a giant of influence with
the rabble, whom he properly styles his 'bloodhounds.' "
It is very suggestive of the character of Baldwin,
that at almost every term of his practice we find this entry
upon the journal: "Ordered that Michael Baldwin,
one of the attorneys of this Court, be fined ten dollars for
contempt of Court, and be committed to jail until the fine
be paid." Poor, brilliant, boisterous, drunken, rollicking
Mike! By reason of commitments for contempt of
court and capiases for debt, he became familiar indeed, with
the inside of the old jail which stood at the northwest
corner of Second and Walnut Streets.
He was a member of the Constitutional Convention and
tradition asserts that he wrote almost the entirety of the
first Constitution of Ohio in the bar-room of William
Keys' tavern, using a wine keg for his seat, and the
head of a barrel of whiskey for his desk. A queer
origination, truly, for the organic law of such an empire as
Ohio grew to be, before that Constitution was superseded!
He was Speaker of the House of Representative in1803,
1804 and 1805. Fond of gambling, of course, for he
seems to have had all the modern accomplishments. It
is told that he opened a game of vingt et un for the
benefit of such members as craved excitement.
Baldwin, being baker and dealer, of course, won all
their money and most of their watches. The party broke
up and went to their several rooms, drunk, long after the
"wee sma' hours" of the night.
Mike, used to such life, was
in the Speaker's chair, on time, next morning, rapped the
House to order, and proceeded with business. A call of
the House was soon demanded, and the fact made officially
apparent that there was no quorum present. The Speaker
sent out the Sergeant-at-Arms for absentees, and that
officer, in the course of an hour or two, filed into the
hall and in front of the Speaker's chair, some dozen or more
of the half-asleep, and only partially sobered, gamesters of
the nigh before. Thereupon Baldwin rose, and
with dignified severity of manner, began to reprimand them
for their negligence of the trusts reposed in them by their
constituents, and reminded them of the great cost per
diem to the infant State, of the sessions of the General
Assembly, etc., until one of the party of culprits broke
abruptly in upon the harrangue, with the exclamation, "Hold
on now, Mr. Speaker! how the hell can we know what
time it is, when you have got all our watches!"
At the June Term, 1804, the tavern-keeper, William
Keys, sued Baldwin upon an account which
aggregated twenty-five pounds, thirteen shillings, ten
pence, a copy of which account is filed. Every item in
it, save three, was for drinks in one form or another -
brandy, spirits raw, bowls of toddy, punch, treats to the
club, etc. The three exceptional items of suppers for
himself, for which he was charged one shilling and six pence
for each. But with each supper there appears a charge
of three schillings for a pint and a half of brandy - a
proportion of drink to meat which strongly reminds one of
the bill rendered by Dame Quickley to Sir John
Falstaff.
"Drinks for the Club" were
undoubtedly Mike's treats to the "Bloodhounds," an
organization of the rough and fighting men of that day,
which Baldwin had gotten up and which he controlled.
The "Bloodhounds" did his electioneering and fighting for
him; and more than once delivered him from the jail by
breaking in the door, or tearing an end out of that
structure.
His brothers twice attempted to relieve him from the
embarrassments of his debts, and for that purpose, sent him
bags of coin amounting to a considerable sum. On these
occasions, it is said he hired a negro for porter of the
money, and went around to his creditors seritim,
allowing each one irrespective of the amount of his account,
to have one grab into the open-mouthed bag until it was
gone.
His name appears in the records of the court for the
last time in the early part of 1811, and he undoubtedly died
soon thereafter.
His widow survived him for many years, and when not
less than seventy years old, contracted a second marriage
with Adam Stewart, of this county. An old
citizen, speaking to us of "Kitty Baldwin" in her
prime, remarked, "I tell you, she was the proudest widow
that ever walked the streets of Chillicothe.
Source: History of Adams County, Ohio
from its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time -
by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers -
West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B. Stivers - 1900 ~ Page 508 |
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NELSON BARRERE
was born near Newmarket, Highland County, Ohio, Apr. 1,
1808, and was the seventh of twelve children. His
father was George W. Barrere, a very prominent
citizen of Highland County. He was a deputy surveyor,
justice of the peace, member of the Ohio senate nine years
and an associate judge of Highland County for fourteen
years. He was in the Indian War, 1791-1795. Was
in St. Clair\s defeat and Wayne's victory. He was also
in the War of 1812 at Hull's surrender, and was in every
public enterprise in Highland County until his death in
1839. His son, Nelson, lived on the farm until
eighteen years of age and attended school in the matters.
He spent a year in the Hillsboro High School and in 1827
entered the freshman class at Augusta College. He
graduated from there in 1830, finishing a four years' course
in three and a half years.
In 1831, he began the study of law in Hillsboro with
Judge John W. Price and was admitted to the bar on Dec.
23, 1833. He opened an office in Hillsboro and
remained there nine months. He located in West Union
in 1834, forming a partnership with Samuel Brush.
This partnership continued for a year. He remained in
West Union eleven years altogether and had a large and
lucrative practice. He had the confidence of the
people. He represented Adams County in the lower house
of the legislature at the thirty-sixth legislative session
from Dec. 4, 1837, to Mar. 4, 1838. In 1846 he removed
his residence to Highland County and continued there until
his death. In the thirty-seventh congress, he
represented the sixth district, composed of Adams, Clermont,
Brown and Highland counties from Mar. 4, 1851, to Mar. 4,
1853. In 1853 he was the Whig candidate for governor
but was defeated receiving 85,817 votes, while his
competitor, William Medill, received 147,663.
When the Whig party dissolved, he went over to the
Democratic party, in which he remained during the remainder
of his life, but during the Civil War, he supported the
Republican administration. In 1870, he was a candidate
for congress on the Democratic ticket, but was defeated.
He was the Democratic candidate from Highland County for
member of the constitutional convention in 1875 and was
defeated by one vote. He never married. He
continued in the active practice of the law until his death,
which occurred Aug. 20, 1883.
In Adams County, during his residence there, he was
very popular. He was always conspicuous for his public
spirit. As a lawyer he was energetic and industrious.
He was a safe and reliable counsellor and an eloquent and
successful advocate. He was always agreeable and
courteous in his manners. In West Union, he formed
many warm friendships, and he, Joseph Allen Wilson, Davis
Darlinton and others had a club at Darlinton's
store, to which they resorted of evenings and spent many
pleasant hours. Joseph Wes Lafferty and John
Fisher, of Cedar Mills, were two of his most particular
friends in Adams County.
Source: History of Adams County, Ohio
from its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time -
by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers -
West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B. Stivers - 1900 ~ Page 310 |
| |
LEVIN BELT
was a
practicing lawyer in Chillicothe, under the Territorial
Government. He was born in England, but the date
of his birth has not been preserved. He was
admitted to practice law, and took the oath of office at
Washington, Adams County, Mar. 2, 1802. He was the
first prosecuting attorney of Ross County, and was
allowed from $15 to $50 per term for his services.
In June, 1804, he was elected presiding judge of the
second circuit, in place of Wylliss Silliman,
resigned. He served until February, 1805, when
Robert F. Slaughter was elected to succeed him.
On Jan. 9, 1807, Robert F. Slaughter was
removed by impeachment, and Levin Belt was
elected and succeeded him Feb. 7, 1807. He served
until February 10, 1810, when he was succeeded by
John Thompson. It is said he was a reasonably
good and satisfactory judge of the common pleas, but
that he failed as a practitioner at the bar. From
the bench he descended to the mayoralty of Chillicothe,
and in that office and that of justice of the peace, he
served many years. while he was a justice of the
peace, there was a statute in force forbidding licensed
attorneys to appear before justices of the peace.
Soon after this, Mr. Richard Douglas, an attorney
of Chillicothe, appeared before him to argue a motion to
dismiss a case. Squire Belt said, "Dick,
Dick, don't you know the law? You must not
appear before me. Get behind me and make your
speech." Douglas complied with his order, and got
behind the justice and made his speech.
Mr. Belt was tall, broad-shouldered, muscular,
without surplus flesh, dark brown hair sprinkled only
with gray, and somewhat ruddy complexion. His
presence as a justice in the exercise of his office was
awe-inspiring. He removed from Chillicothe to
Washington City in 1828, and died there soon after.
The first case submitted to him in Muskingum County in
1804 was Samuel Connar, plaintiff, against
James Sprague, defendant, in slander. Damages
claimed, $500. Verdict for the plaintiff, $300.
Source: History of Adams County, Ohio - by
Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers – West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B.
Stivers - 1900
- Page 172 - Chapter XV |
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JAMES S. BERRY, M. D.,
Source: History of Adams County, Ohio
from its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time -
by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers -
West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B. Stivers - 1900
~ Page 685 |
| |
JACOB F. BISSINGER,
Source: History of Adams County, Ohio
from its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time -
by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers -
West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B. Stivers - 1900
~ Page 691 |
| |
AMBROSE O. BOWMAN
was born in Huntington Township, Brown
County, Ohio, Apr. 6, 1863, on the farm now occupied by
Rev. T. J. Bowman. George Bowman,
great-grandfather of our subject, was a native of
Pennsylvania, and came down the river in the old
keel-boating times, settled on the same farm, which, in
turn, has been occupied by Benjamin Bowman,
grandfather, and Patrick Bowman, father of our
subject. Benjamin Bowman married Mary
McElwee, a woman of more than ordinary intelligence, and
a lifelong advocate of the cause of temperance. His
mother's name is Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas and
Rachael (Housh) Senteny, of Virginia stock.
Our subject attended school until he was fifteen years
of age, then went to the Lebanon University. He
attended the Southwestern Normal School at Georgetown, in
1883, an d1884, and taught in Brown County, Ohio, till 1894,
when he located at Youngsville, and taught at that place in
1894 and 1895. From 1896 to 1899, he occupied the
position of Principal of the Bentonville schools.
Mr. Bowman is a natural born musician and has
been successful as a teacher of vocal music and conductor of
orchestra, band and choir. William Cindora (Shaw)
Johnson, and great-granddaughter of Russell Shaw,
the founder of Russellville, Brown County, Ohio. They
have had four children. Frank died at the age
of two years; William, aged seven years; George,
aged four years, and Idella, the baby.
From April, 1899, to October of the same year, he was
engaged in canvassing for and writing sketches for this
work, the History of Adams County, Ohio. He is highly
esteemed as a citizen, and is regarded in music and the
common branches, as a teacher of more than ordinary ability,
and he has brought the Bentonville schools into a high
standing in the period in which he has had charge of the.
Source: History of Adams County, Ohio
from its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time -
by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers -
West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B. Stivers - 1900
~ Page 696 |
| |
SAMUEL GRIMES BRADFORD
was born in West Union, Dec. 3, 1813. His father was
Samuel Bradford and his mother, Ruth Shoemaker.
They were married Aug. 11, 1811, by Job Dinning.
Her father was Peter Shoemaker, who lived below the
iron bridge, and whose will was recorded in 1799.
Samuel Grimes Bradford was Sheriff of Adams County in
1812 and 1813.
In October, 1810, he was appointed Recorder of Adams
County to succeed General Darlinton. On the
seventh of July, 1813, he was Captain of a militia company.
He left a deed partly recorded and started with his company
for the war. He never returned. He died Aug. 13,
1813, in the army and is buried at Urbana. His widow
was married June 1, 1815, to Col. Samuel R. Wood, by
whom she had five children, Mrs. Rev. Lock, of
Illinois; Mrs. Herdman, of Iowa; David Wood,
of Newport, Ky., and Frank Wood, of Urbana, Ohio.
David, the brother of our subject, who married a
daughter of Rev. John Meek, lived and died in West
Union. He, his father, General Bradford and his
mother, Barbara Grimes, are buried in the stone
enclosure in Branson's field just north of the
village cemetery at West Union. General David
Bradford was one of the most important factors in the
early settlement of Adams County. He owned a number of
lots in the town of Washington and resided there while it
flourished, and when it collapsed he went to West Union.
When West Union was located he bought lots 10, 11, 18, 19,
65, and 75 at the opening sale. He built the
Bradford House in 1804 and, from that time until his
death, kept tavern there. He was Country Treasurer of
Adams County from June 6, 1800, until June 6, 1832. As
he died in 1834 at the age of sixty-nine, he very nearly had
the treasurer's office for life. In 1804, he was made
a Quartermaster General of the militia. He was a very
popular man, and form holding the County Treasurership so
long without any complaint, must have been a very honest
one, but we must get back to our subject, his grand-son,
Samuel G. Bradford. He clerked in an iron store in
Cincinnati when he was about nineteen years of age for
James M. Baldridge. When he was twenty years of
age, he returned to West Union. He was married here on
Nov. 6, 1834, to Amanda M. T. Tapp. By her, he
had six children, Francis A. wife of Henry B.
Woodrow, of Cincinnati; James H. Bradford of
Winchester; Jennie, the wife of Gabriel McClatchy;
Matilda, who died a young woman; Harriet, widow
of Capt. George Collings, of Indianola, Iowa, and
Samuel N. Bradford, who lives in West Union. In
the same year, he succeeded to the management of Bradford's
Tavern, now the Downing Hose. He conducted it
until 1840, when he leased it. He contributed $200 to
the erection of the Maysville and Zanesville Turnpike.
In 1835, he took a drove of horses to Mississippi and sold
them. On his return, he purchased the George
Darling farm, formerly owned by Major Finley and
moved there. His wife died May 2, 1847. In 1849,
he returned to West Union and engaged in the tannery
business with Edwards Darlinton.
On Oct. 29, 1850, he was
married to Miss Sarah W. Smashea who survives him.
He continued the tannery business until 1851, when he drove
a notion wagon through the country until 1853. From
that date until 1863, he traveled and sold tinware for A.
F. Shriver at Manchester. In 1864, he went into
the sutler business with Thomas Ellison and remained
with him until the end of the war. Then he went to
Mississippi and raised cotton until 1868. After that,
he engaged in the grocery business at West Union with his
son, Samuel N. Bradford. After continuing that
business for a short time, he took the mail contract between
West Union and Winchester and drove a hack on it for four
years. After that he conducted a livery stable in West
Union until his death which occurred Nov. 29, 1890.
In politics, he was a Whig and afterward a Republican.
He was a large, fine looking man in old age, and in youth,
he was handsome. He was genial and companionable.
He was always ready to do a kind act for a friend. He
was esteemed highly by all who knew him as a good man and
upright citizen. What characterized him above his
fellow men was his love of children and of horses.
When surrounded by children and encouraging their amusement,
he was never happier. He was always pleased to have
good horses and to be looking after them. He was in
his feelings and in his thoughts a relic of the older time
in which he was always delighted to dwell. He passed
away in peaceful sleep - "as one who wraps the drapery of
his couch about him and lies down to pleasant dreams.
Source: History of Adams County, Ohio
from its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time -
by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers -
West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B. Stivers - 1900
~ Page 511 |
| |
CHARLES H. BRATTON
Source: History of Adams County, Ohio
from its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time -
by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers -
West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B. Stivers - 1900
~ Page 687 |
| |
GEORGE ELMER BRATTEN, D. D. S.,
Source: History of Adams County, Ohio
from its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time -
by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers -
West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B. Stivers - 1900
~ Page 684 |
| |
THOMAS L. BRATTEN
Source: History of Adams County, Ohio
from its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time -
by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers -
West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B. Stivers - 1900
~ Page 698 |
| |
WILLIAM P. BRECKINRIDGE,
Source: History of Adams County, Ohio
from its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time -
by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers -
West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B. Stivers - 1900
~ Page 698 |
| |
MOSES
ROUSH BRITTINGHAM, proprietor Hotel Britt,
Manchester, was born near the old Campmeeting Grounds in
Sprigg Township, Sept. 11, 1837. He is a son of
Purnel Brittingham and Mary Bryan, whose maiden name was
Cartwright, a daughter of Rev. Andrew Cartwright,
a celebrated divine in early days in Adams County.
Purnel Brittingham was of Scotch descent, born 1782, and
died in 1872. He was a soldier in the War of 1812.
The subject of our sketch
worked as a farm hand in Ross County, Ohio, in his youth,
and in 1862, volunteered in the Seventh Ohio Cavalry,
Col. Israel Garrard, and served until the close of the
war, taking part in every important battle in which his
regiment engaged.
In 1850, he was married to Mary E. Trotter,
daughter of James Trotter, of near West Union.
After the war, he kept a small store at Killinstown, and in
1868 conducted a general store at Clayton, moving to
Manchester in 1870, where for twenty years he has been in
the hotel business. During this time he has handled
live stock and produce, and for six seasons sold lightning
rods throughout the country. He is at present
interested in the buying and shipping of leaf tobacco.
In 1884, he was nominated on the Democratic ticket for
the office of Sheriff of Adams county, but was defeated by a
few votes through the treachery of some persons who should
have been his staunch supporters if fidelity to party and
party principles count for aught. By his energy and
integrity he has acquired a competency to support himself
and wife in their declining years.
Source: History of Adams County, Ohio
from its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time -
by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers -
West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B. Stivers - 1900
~ Page 684 |
| |
JACOB NEWTON BROWN,
son of James and Maria Brown, was born in Adams
County, Ohio, on the banks of the Cherry Fork about two
miles eastwardly from the town of North Liberty, on Oct. 19,
1828.
He received a common school education and for a while
taught in the county schools. He afterward embarked in
the mercantile business in North Liberty in a small building
adjoining the site now occupied by Kleinknecht Bros.
In 1860 he erected the commodious building now occupied by
this firm. He was doing business in this house during
the Civil War and at the time when the Confederate General,
John Morgan, and his troops passed through on their
their famous raid. They broke into his store, robbed
and despoiled his goods, stole his horses, etc. He
formed a partnership with Wm. McVey, and after
continuing same for several years, he sold his interest in
the store and bought the North liberty Flour Mills. He
successfully operated these mills until 1876, when he
exchanged them, together with his handsome brick residence
and a farm lying northeast of the town, for a large tract of
Arkansas land. He then became connected with the
Southern Immigration business and as agent of the Little
Rock & Ft. Smith R. R., and afterward as Immigration Agent
of the Cincinnati Southern R. R., which place he held at the
time of his death. In 1881, in connection with J.
Frank, in Cincinnati, he established an office in
Chattanooga, Tenn., which he afterward sold to his son C.
V. Brown and S. W. Divine, but retained his
office in Cincinnati in connection with the Cincinnati
Southern R. R. He was one of the pioneers in Southern
Immigration work, and hundreds of Northern families now
living in the South were located through his influence.
He was indefatigable in his efforts to promote Southern
immigration.
He retained his residence at North Liberty until about
1883, when he removed his family to Cincinnati and there
resided until his death, Jan, 27, 1892. He was a
consistent member of the Presbyterian Church and a man of
strong convictions, always on the side of right, and an
upright and worthy citizen in every way.
In 1852, he married Sarah McCutcheon of
near Manchester in this county and seven children were born
to them, to-wit: Nancy J., now the wife of Dr. E.
M. Gaston, of Tranquility; Maria M., wife of
S. G. Glasgow, of North Liberty; Ella, wife of
William Kennedy, living near Youngsville; Mary
E., deceased; Ida V., wife of William
Kleinknecht, of North Liberty, and C. V. and
B. G. Brown, of Chattanooga, Tennessee. His widow,
Sarah Brown, died in North Liberty on Aug. 3, 1899.
Jacob N. Brown was in many respects a remarkable man,
but the world never knew of it from him, and what he had
achieved would never have been known except the writer of
these lines discovered it in a business way. When
Mr. Brown left North Liberty, he had a mountain
of debt which he was earning and of which the public or the
world had no idea. To the world he was and had been a
success, but to retrieve his losses, he went away from the
home of his lifetime, went into a new and untried business
and made large sums of money. He paid off his entire
indebtedness with interest and died without the world ever
knowing that he had almost been overtaken by financial
disaster. There is not one man in a thousand who would
have undertaken, and not one man in ten thousand who would
have succeeded in paying the immense debt he owed, but he
did it and the world never knew and has not known it until
the publication of this book, and it would not now be made
public but that the lesson of his life was most valuable and
might encourage some one overwhelmed with adversity to bear
it without murmuring and to conquer it with that power of
will and tireless energy which overcomes all difficulties.
Mr. Brown never knew that the writer was
informed of his financial condition, but the writer knew why
he left North Liberty and went elsewhere to work with that
remarkable application which characterized him and the end
he had in view, and therefore takes pleasure in making this
tribute to his manly qualities. In all the years in
which he was working to discharge his great debt, he
supported and educated his large family, lived honorably in
the world and took prompt care of every current obligation.
In all that time, he never complained of or alluded to his
burden, and to the world he was the same as if he had not
owed a dollar and had thousands ahead. How many men
can do that? How many men have done that? It is
the aggregate of such lives as that of Jacob N. Brown
which makes our people the most energetic on the face of the
earth.
Source: History of Adams County, Ohio
from its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time -
by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers -
West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B. Stivers - 1900
~ Page 681 |
| |
JAMES W. BROWN,
son of William Baker Brown, was born Oct. 6, 1849,
near Unity. He obtained his education in the District
Schools and at the North Liberty Academy. He was
raised in the store at Unity. He and his brother
Henry took the store in 1870, under the firm name of
J. W. & H. H. Brown and continued it until 1881.
At that time he went to Georgetown and engaged in the
hardware business for three years with his brother Henry.
They went to Washington C. H., in 1884, the day of the
cyclone. They were in partnership there in the
hardware business until 1899, when Henry retired from
that business.
James W. Brown was married to Mary Dill,
whose home was near Bainbridge. They have one
daughter, Mabel, twelve years of age. Mr.
Brown is a Democrat politically, and a Presbyterian in
his religious faith. He is one of the very best
business men of Washington C. H. As a boy he was
honest and straightforward and upright in all his dealings,
and the same qualities are intensified in him as a man.
There is no man who stands higher in the business community
where he is known than he.
Source: History of Adams County, Ohio
from its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time -
by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers -
West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B. Stivers - 1900
~ Page 689 |
| |
WILLIAM BAKER BROWN
was born Mar. 21, 1824, in Wayne Township. His father
was James Brown, who came from Pennsylvania, as well
as his grandfather of the same name. The latter was
the second person interred in the Cherry Fork U. P.
Cemetery. Our subject had two brothers and one sister.
Jacob N. Brown was his brother. His other
brother, James Reed Brown, died in Illinois at the
age of thirty. His sister, Jane, married
Samuel McClanahan, a nephew of the Judge. Our
subject's mother's maiden name was Baker. Her
father, Frederick Baker, came from Germany.
Mr. Brown obtained his education in the Public
schools. As a boy, he was apprenticed to Samuel
Clark to learn the tannery trade, and he worked at it
for three years. He completed his apprenticeship and
worked four years at the trade, between West Union and
Unity, on the Samuel Clark place.
He was married on the twelfth of April, 1848, to
Ellen Ralston, the adopted daughter of Thomas Huston.
Mr. and Mrs. Brown have had seven children, of which
six grew to maturity. Hermas C., the youngest,
died in infancy. His children are as follows:
James W. Brown, hardware merchant, residing at
Washington C. H.; Henry H., a traveling salesman of
the same place; Louis R., who resides in Starkville,
Miss.; Newton Monroe, who residing at Unity;
Margaret, who resides with her father, and Carey H.,
who sides in Kansas City, Mo. Mrs. Ellen Brown,
died Jan. 29, 1883.
Mr. Brown went to Unity and started a store in
1850, also operated a grist and saw mill. In 1870, he
left the store to his sons, James and Henry. He
operated the mill till 1880, when he removed to West Union.
His son, Carey H., is interested in a gold mine in
New Mexico, but resides in Kansas City, Mo. Mr.
Brown was elected Treasurer of Adams County in 1879,
defeating Lily Robbins. In 1881, he was elected
to the same office, defeating John Cluxton. In
1887, he was elected to the same office, defeating
Stewart Alexander. He was renominated in 1889, but
withdraw and P. N. Wickersham was elected.
Mr. Wickersham though of opposite politics, had Mr.
Brown appointed Deputy Treasurer and he served as such
under him from 1890 to 1894. From 1894 to 1897, he
served as Deputy Treasurer under John Fristoe.
In 1898, h was employed in the Auditor's office, and in
September, 1899, he became Deputy Treasurer under H. B.
Gaffin. He was Treasurer of Oliver Township from
1853 to 1876, continuously. He was a member of the
United Presbyterian Church at Unity from 1850 and was made
an elder in 1880. He has always been a Democrat.
Mr. Brown is a man of very highest integrity and
enjoys the confidence, esteem and respect of all who know
him.
Source: History of Adams County, Ohio
from its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time -
by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers -
West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B. Stivers - 1900
~ Page 689 |
| |
COL. WILLIAM E. BUNDY.
William Edgar Bundy was born in Jackson County, Ohio,
on the site now occupied by the city of Wellston, Oct. 4,
1866. His father, William Sanford Bundy, was
wounded while in the service of his country, near Bean
Station, Tennessee, as a private soldier, and died from the
effects of his wound, Jan. 4, 1867. His mother,
Kate Thompson Bundy, was killed in an accident two years
later, and their young son was raised and educated by his
grandfather, Hon. H. S. Bundy.
The subject of this sketch was graduated from the
Ohio University in 1890 (of which institution he is now a
Trustee) as a Bachelor of Arts, and has since attained the
degree of Master of Arts. For two years he was editor
of the Wellston Argus, and then came to Cincinnati,
attended the Law School and was graduated therefrom in 1890.
During the years 1890 and 1891 he was Secretary of the Board
of Elections of Hamilton County. He has been four
times elected Solicitor of Norwood, and has a beautiful home
in that thriving suburb. He was married May 8k, 1890,
to Miss Eva E. Leedom, daughter of the late
Ex-Congressman, John P. Leedom of Adams County, and
they have one son, William Sanford Bundy (named after
the child's martyred grandfather.)
Mr. Bundy was Commander of the Ohio Division,
Sons of Veterans, in 1890, and was Commander in Chief of
that order for the United States in 1894-5. He has
always taken an active and practical interest in politics.
IN 1898, he was President of the Ohio Republican League, and
during that year was appointed United States Attorney for
the Southern District of Ohio, for a term of four years.
Through his own efforts and industry he was attained a
leading position at the Hamilton County bar.
Source: History of Adams County, Ohio
from its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time -
by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers -
West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B. Stivers - 1900
~ Page 695 |
| |
DR. JAMES W. BUNN,
Source: History of Adams County, Ohio
from its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time -
by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers -
West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B. Stivers - 1900
~ Page 690 |
| |
BURBAGE FAMILY
Source: History of Adams County, Ohio
from its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time -
by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers -
West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B. Stivers - 1900
~ Page 657
NOTE: CORRECTIONS
- Page 658, paragraph 2, last sentence: Strike out the
repeated words, "of whom he was more identified with the
Earl of Leicester's players of;" so that the sentence will
read as follows:
"But from his first coming up (to London) it seems
clear that he was more identified with the Earl of
Leicester's players of whom his energetic fellow townsman,
James Burbage, was the head, than any other group of
actors."
Page 659, first line at top of the page, for "Burbage," read
"Burbages."
Page 659, paragraph 3, first line: - For "1722" read "1822." |
| |
JACOB
BURR, farmer of West Union, was born February 6,
1856, on the old Burr homestead, near Cedar Mills in
Jefferson Township. He is a son of Frederick Burr
and Caroline Bieber. Frederick Burr was
a native of Alsace-Lorraine, France, and was born in 1816.
He emigrated to Pennsylvania when a young man, where he
married Caroline Bieber, a native of Germany.
In 1850, he came to Adams County and settled on the farm
above mentioned, where he reared a family of six sons and
one daughter. Jacob, the subject of this
sketch, married Jennie M. Piatt, daughter of James
Piatt, of near the Stone Chapel, in Tiffin Township.
One son, Stanlely, was born to them. After her
death, he married Mrs. Lizzie McKenzie, widow of
Peter McKenzie and daughter of John Crummie and
Hannah Collier, his wife, of Cedar Mills. Peter
McKenzie was killed in West Union by his horse running
away with him. He left four interesting children:
Susie, a bright and talented Miss of fifteen years;
Henry D., twelve years; Mary E., nine, and
Frank P., six. Peter McKenzie was a son of
Peter McKenzie, Sr., who married Susan Bayless,
and whose father was DUNCAN McKENZIE,
a native of Scotland and a pioneer of Adams County
contemporaneous with Massie, Donalson and Leedom.
He married Jane Ellison, a daughter of John
Ellison, Sr. He died on the farm selected by him
as his future home while the Indians yet laid claim to the
country on September 19, 1832, in his seventy-eighth year.
His wife died February 10, 1855, in her eighty-third year.
Their son, Peter McKenzie, was born January 14, 1811,
and died May 4, 1881. Susan, his wife, was born
January 11, 1815, and died July, 1895. Peter
McKenzie, son of Peter McKenzie, Sr., was born
August 16, 1849, and died December 31, 1896.
The subject of this sketch, Jacob Burr, is a
prominent farmer and stock raiser. He resided on the
old Duncan McKenzie farm. He is a member of the
Independent Order of Red Men, of West Union.
Source: History of Adams County, Ohio
from its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time -
by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers -
West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B. Stivers - 1900
~ Page 692 |
| |
SAMUEL BURWELL,
Source: History of Adams County, Ohio
from its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time -
by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers -
West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B. Stivers - 1900
~ Page 693 |
NOTES:
|
