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GEORGE M. DENNY, of Chester
township is an unpretentious, unassuming man, who has had a large
success in agriculture and who is well known throughout Clinton county.
Mr. Denny was born on February 11, 1871, in Chester
township, on the farm where he lives.
The parents of George M. Denny were John P.
and Martha (Collett) Denny, the former of whom was born on July 4,
1823, near Lebanon, in Warren county, and the latter was born on Feb. 1,
1831, the daughter of Jonathan and Sarah (McKay) Collett.
On his mother's side, therefore, Mr. Denny is connected
with two of the very oldest families in Clinton county. His grandfather
on his paternal side, John Denny, married Hannah
Leap. He was born in Dec. 22, 1782, in New Jersey, and died on
Sep. 3, 1853, and his wife was born on Oct. 13, 1792, in New Jersey, and
died on Mar. 28, 1870. They came to Ohio after their marriage and
located in Warren county. After moving to this county and settling
in Chester township, they lived on a farm all of their lives.
Eleven children were born to John and Hannah
Denny; Thomas, born on Jan. 12, 1813; Martha, Sept.
18, 1814; Peter, Jan. 10, 1816; Faithful, Aug. 26, 1818;
Hannah, Feb. 7, 1821; John P., July 4, 1823; Sarah,
Aug. 21, 1825; Elizabeth, Oct. 17, 1827; Joseph, Nov. 23,
1829; Samuel, Mar. 31, 1832; and Abigail, Sept. 26, 1835.
John P. Denny was a farmer in
Chester township, where he spent all of his life and where he
owned four hundred and twenty-eight acres of land. He owned the
farm upon which his son, George M., now lives and he erected all
of the buildings which now stand on this farm. George M. Denny
was one of two children born to his parents, the other being Anna C.,
who is unmarried.
George M. Denny was educated in the common schools of
Chester township and has spent his entire life on the farm. He is
one of the most extensive farmers of the township, he and his sister
owning five hundred and forty-three acres of land at the present time.
On Oct. 24, 1894, George M. Denny was
married to Mary Antram, the daughter of Anshlem and Louisa
(Dakin) Antram. To this marriage two children have been born:
John A., born on Oct. 23, 1806; and Ruth McKay, Aug. 7, 1913.
Mr. and Mrs. George M. Denny are members of the
Jonas Run Baptist church and Mr. Denny, like his father before
him, votes the Republican ticket. In this section of Clinton
county, few families have occupied a position of greater prominence
during the past half century than the Dennys. |
HON. AZARIAH W. DOAN. The
brilliant career of the late Hon. Azariah W. Doan, who was a
distinguished soldier and officer in the Civil War and who later arose to
an eminent position in the legal profession and political life of this
state, is one which may be referred to with pride by his descendants.
Eulogy and encomium cannot overdo the worthy deeds of the Doan family in
Clinton county, for at least two generations of the family have been
prominent in the public life of this county and of the state of Ohio.
Azariah W. Doan was born on December 17, 1824,
at Wilmington, and died on August 22, 1911, at that place. He was the son
of Jonathan and Phoebe (Wall) Doan, the former of whom was born in
North Carolina and the latter in Pennsylvania. Jonathan Doan was a
blacksmith by trade and came to Ohio in 1804 with his parents, Joseph
and Jemima Doan. Joseph Doan located in what is now Union
township, Clinton county. He gave to the county thirteen acres in the
center of Wilmington for a county seat. Phoebe Wall, the
mother of Azariah W. Doan, was brought from Pennsylvania to Ohio by
her parents in 1808. She died in November, 1869, and her husband in July,
1874.
Reared in Wilmington, Ohio, Azariah W. Doan,
before reaching his maturity, worked on farms in the vicinity of
Wilmington and attended the public schools of the village. Later he
attended the Wilmington Seminary, taught by David S. Burson, of New
York City, and noted for his attainments in the mastery of the language of
ancient Greece. He taught school for a short time and then read law in the
spring-house now on the Fife farm. He studied law in Frank
Corwin's office and was admitted to the bar in 1846, at Wilmington.
Previously, he had been appointed deputy clerk of the common pleas court,
and while serving in that capacity devoted his spare time to the study of
law. At different times he was in partnership with different lawyers,
first with L. C. Walker, later with R. B. Doan, then with Madison
Betz, and finally with D. T. White. He was deputy clerk under C. N.
Osborne and served as prosecuting attorney subsequent to that time.
In April, 1861, he assisted Judge R. B. Harlan
in raising Company B, Twelfth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, which was
the first company offered to the state in
reply to President Lincoln's call for seventy-five thousand
volunteers. He was made first lieutenant and served during the three
months' service. When the company was
reorganized for a three-year campaign. Lieutenant Doan was
made captain of the company and in 1862 was appointed lieutenant-colonel
of the Seventy-ninth Regiment,
Ohio Volunteer Infantry, serving in the latter position until the close of
the war.
Subsequently, he was commissioned colonel and was breveted
brigadier-general for meritorious service. on the battlefield, of
Averysborough, North Carolina. During that
battle Colonel Doan took charge of two regiments and made a vigorous
assault on the enemy's right wing, capturing in; a short, time the
batteries of artillery on that wing of
the Confederate forces. He was a gallant soldier during this war and
participated, in all, in twenty-three battles and skirmishes. He first
served in West Virginia under
General Rosecrans and was afterward attached to the Army of
the Cumberland and subsequently, to the Twentieth Army Corps when Sherman
marched from Atlanta to
the sea. He participated in the Grand Review ,at the-close of the war and
was honorably discharged in July, 1865, after which he returned to
Wilmington and resumed the
practice of the law.
On October 21, 1847, Azariah W. Doan was married
to Amanda M. Stratton, a native of Wilmington. Five children were
born to this union, of whom only one, Corwin F. W., a
merchant at Doans, Texas, is living. Mrs. Amanda
Doan died of cholera on August 6, 1854. This fatal disease also
carried off a greater number of the children. Judge Doan was
married, secondly, on June 5, 1856, to Martha G. Taylor, of
Pennsylvania, who had been previously married to Samuel Hale,
who died about 1801, leaving one child, Fred. By his second
marriage, Judge Doan was the father of six children, namely:
Will, the first born, who died in April, 1914, was a farmer in
Texas; Joe T., a lawyer in Wilmington; Mrs. Alice Green, who
is assistant matron of the Clinton county infirmary; Walker J., who
is a reporter and printer in Wilmington; Fannie, who married
Frank L. McDonald, superintendent of the Clinton county infirmary, and
Charles, who died in infancy.
Mrs. Martha Doan, the wife of
Judge Doan and the mother of Joe T., was the daughter of
Jacob and Margery (Gwinn) Taylor, both
of whom were natives of Pennsylvania, and lived in Washington county.
About 1835 they came to Wilmington, Ohio, where he was a builder and
contractor. He died at the age of thirty-five and she lived to be seventy
years old. They were members of the Christian church.
In the fall of 1865, Judge Doan was
nominated in the primary convention of the Republican party and
subsequently elected to represent the people of his district in the state
Senate for a period of two years. In April, 1875, he was elected judge of
the court of common pleas by a special act of the Legislature and was
triumphantly re-elected in 1879 for a term of five years, commencing on
May 3, 1880. Altogether he served as judge of the common pleas court of
Clinton county for fifteen years. He was a member of the Constitutional
Convention of Ohio in 1873 and served as a delegate to the Republican
National Convention which nominated President Harrison. He
was an ardent Republican and mixed in politics all of his life. He was a
great campaign speaker and orator. In 1890 he formed a partnership with
his son, Joe T., which continued until his death, in 1911. He was a
generous-hearted man and a public-spirited citizen. For many years he was
a member of the Friends church and a trustee of this church. He was a
member of Wilmington Lodge No. 52, Free and Accepted Masons, and also a
member of the chapter. He was a member of Morris McMillan
Post No. 38, Grand Army of the Republic, at Wilmington, and served as its
commander for many years.
As a lawyer, no one ever prosecuted a case more vigorously than Judge Doan
when he considered himself in the right. He always discouraged litigation,
however, if a fair settlement could be made. On the bench, Judge
Doan observed the strictest impartiality in his rulings and his
strongest desire was to satisfy contesting parties of the fairness of his
decisions.
NOTE: Azariah W. Doan is also mentioned in the Biography of
FRED G. WILLIAMS, D. D. S. |
JOE T. DOAN. Among the
distinguished lawyers of Wilmington, Clinton county, Ohio, is Joe T.
Doan, who has long occupied a position of eminence before the bar of
this county and who, besides other positions of trust and responsibility,
ahs filled the office of prosecuting attorney for more than a decade.
Moreover, he has been prominent for a number of years in the councils of
the Republican party in this section of the state.
Joe T. Doan was born on April 10, 1862, in Union
township, Clinton county, Ohio the son of Hon. Azariah W. and Martha G.
(Taylor) Doan, whose biographies are presented elsewhere in this work.
Joe T. Doan attended the public schools of
Wilmington and also Wilmington College and subsequently entered the
Cincinnati Law School, from which he was graduated with the class of May
28, 1884. After his graduation, he formed a partnership with L.
J. Walker, and in 1800 formed a partnership with his father, which
continued until 1911. After his father's death, Mr. Doan
formed a partnership with H. G. Cartwright, which still
continues. Mr. Cartwright had been identified with the
law firm of Doan & Doan previous to Judge Doan's
death.
Sine 1904 Joe T. Doan has been prosecuting
attorney of Clinton county, and as a Republican has served as secretary of
the Republican central committee of Clinton county for several years.
He is associated with several fraternal orders. He is a director and
solicitor for the Savings and Loan Association.
On October 13, 1886, Joe T. Doan was married to
Bertha Hill, daughter of Dr. G. S. and Louise S. Hill,
both of whom are deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Doan are the parents
of three children, as follows: Louise, who born on December
19, 1888, and married J. Albert Thomas, a Methodist minister
at Eden, Ohio; Charles S., June 30, 1890, is a graduate of
Wilmington College and Swartmore, and at present is employed as a
teacher of mathematics in the Friends select school; and Esther E.,
October 31, 1802, who is still at home.
Mr. and Mrs. Doan are members of the Friends
church. They are popular in the social life of Wilmington and have a
hospitable home. |
ROBERT R. DOAN, who is one of
the most brilliant young men in Clinton county, and who perhaps, is one of
the best-informed men, young or old, is not only a descendant of one of
the earliest pioneers of this county, but a member of a family which has
distinguished itself in the political life of this state. That Robert
R. Doan is possessed of wide vision, initiative and executive ability
is proved by his success in an enterprise in which the people of Clinton
county have good reason to take great pride. A short time ago he organized
a company to publish the first daily newspaper ever launched in Clinton
county.
Robert R. Doan was born on March 10, 1889, in
Wilmington, Ohio, and is a son of Albert W. and Jennie (Rutherford)
Doan, the former of whom is also a native of Wilmington, the deputy
probate judge of this county, who resides at Wilmington. Albert
W. Doan was born on August 25, 1860. His wife, who was a native of
Wilmington, Ohio, was born on January 27, 1864. Mr. Doan's mother
is also living.
The paternal grandparents of Robert R. Doan were
Robert E. and Maria (McMillan) Doan, the former of whom,
although eighty-four years old, is engaged in the practice of law at
Washington, D. C, where he has lived since 1890. Robert E. Doan was
born in Union township, Clinton county, Ohio, on June 23, 1834, and his
wife, who was born on August 8, 1836, is also still living. Robert E.
Doan is a son of William Doan, who, in 1804, came with his
parents, Joseph and Jemima Doan, from Chatham county, North
Carolina. They settled near what is now the city of Wilmington, where they
purchased nearly one thousand acres of land, and it may be said here that
Mr. Doan is the owner of twenty-six thousand acres of land in
the state of Sonora, Mexico. William Doan was a Whig in
politics, and a leading member of the Friends church. He was a farmer most
of his life, and he and his wife were the parents of three children,
Robert E., Joseph, who died unmarried, and Maria, deceased, who
was the wife of Thomas Waltham, also deceased.
The Doan family in Clinton county dates
from the coming of Joseph Doan, who arrived here on November
4, 1804, in company with John Stout, from Chatham county,
North Carolina, by the Flower Gap. John Vestal, who was his
wife's brother, died before they arrived at Todd's Fork. On January 22,
1805, Joseph Doan purchased two hundred and thirty-eight
acres of land in Posey's survey at one dollar and a half an acre,
paying altogether three hundred and fifty-seven dollars, three hundred
dollars to Posey and fifty-seven dollars to Nathan Linton.
On November 27, 1806, he paid on his land one hundred dollars, and on
December 4, 1807, he paid another hundred dollars. Joseph Doan
was born on October 23, 1759, and died on May 28, 1838. His wife was born
on May 8, 1762. They were the parents of twelve children, Thomas, John,
Ruth, the wife of Joseph Haines; William, Elizabeth, Joseph, Jesse,
Jonathan, Jacob, Rachel, the wife of Isaac Hines, Ellsha and
Mary.
The Hon. Robert E. Doan was a very ambitious
young man, who desired to study law, and was accustomed to take law books
to the field and studied while he plowed. With his own earnings he
attended the Cincinnati law school and became an attorney at Wilmington,
Ohio. His mother, who, before her marriage, was Betsy Eachus,
a native of Winchester, Virginia, died in 1864. Five years later his
father, William Doan, passed away.
Robert E. Doan served as prosecuting attorney
and was finally elected to Congress during President Harrison's
administration. After serving one term in this office he became a partner
of Major Anderson, of Washington, D. C, and when Major
Anderson was appointed judge of the United States District Court,
Mr. Doan continued the practice of his profession alone, and is
still engaged in the practice. He is now president of the National
Biographical Society of Washington and is also a charter member and
historian of the Ohio Historical Society at Washington.
It is Robert Doan's original conception
which launched and founded, in Washington, D. C., in 1910, the
International Law Association of the United States, Mexico and the
Dominion of Canada, which received the endorsement of the highest judicial
tribunal in the world, the supreme court of the United States. Mr.
Doan served one year as secretary of the Steele-Evans Manufacturing
Company and as secretary-treasurer of the Clinton Publishing Company. His
literary efforts have been published in the Frank A. Munsey's
publications and a syndicate of eastern newspapers. He is acquainted and
corresponds with Colonel Roosevelt, which pleasant relations
were also maintained with the late Elbert Hubbard and
wife.
To return to his early history, it may be said that
both of Robert E. Doan's parents were members of the Friends
church; that he attended an academy at Harveysburg, Warren county, Ohio,
and afterward taught school in Warren, Greene and Clinton counties, in
this way earning money to pay for his law course. He finished the course
in the Cincinnati law school and received his diploma with the degree of
Bachelor of Laws on April 19, 1857. For some time he was in partnership
with his cousin, A. W. Doan, in the practice of law, the firm
having been dissolved fifteen years later, when A. W. Doan was
elected judge of the court of common pleas. In 1880 he made seventy-seven
speeches in favor of James A. Garfield's election to the Presidency
in the state of Ohio, in which year he was a Presidential elector from the
Clinton county district, and named by acclamation. He was a candidate for
Congress in that year, but was defeated for the nomination, receiving,
however, only thirteen votes less than the nominee. In 1857 he was married
to Maria McMillan, a native of Clinton county, arid to this
union were born six children, Clinton, who was a farmer, is deceased. He
was a specialist in raising thoroughbred horses; Albert W. is the
father of Robert R., the immediate subject of this review;
Charles died at the age of fifteen; Burritt died at the age of
fourteen; Willie died at the age of six; Frank M. died in
Arizona. He was collector of customs in that state, having been appointed
to this position by President McKinley. The commission of Frank
M. Doan was the last which President McKinley ever
signed before his death.
In addition to his law practice, Robert E. Doan
has large interests in copper mines, and is also heavily interested in a
publishing company at Washington, D. C. For many years he maintained his
large residence in the city of Wilmington, where his grandson, Robert
R., now lives.
Albert W. Doan attended the public schools of
Wilmington, and later was a student during 1878-79-80 at the normal school
at Lebanon, Ohio. Upon returning to Wilmington from school he was elected
mayor of Wilmington, in which office he served four terms of two years
each. For several years he was engaged in traveling, but in 198.3 was
appointed deputy probate judge of Clinton county, an office which he is
now holding. He is a Republican in politics, and fraternally, a member of
the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He was married on February 6,
1887, and Robert R. is the only child.
Robert R. Doan received his early education in
the public schools of Wilmington, Ohio, and later became a student of
Wilmington College for four years. Still later he was a student at Ohio
Wesleyan University for a year, where he pursued a literary course. After
this he was a student at Georgetown University, near Washington, D. C,
where he was a law student. In 1913 Mr. Doan returned to
Wilmington and engaged in the printing and publishing business. On
November 1, 1914, he started the Clinton Review, a monthly magazine, and
in April, 1915, organized the company to publish the first daily newspaper
ever issued in Clinton county. Mr. Doan's firm does job
printing and local publishing.
On January 5, 1915, Mr. Doan was married
to Mabel Compton, a native of Champaign, Illinois, and a
daughter of L. L. Compton and wife, the former of whom is an
architect of Wilmington, Ohio.
Mr. and Mrs. Doan are members of the Friends
church at Wilmington. He is a Republican in politics and a very ambitious
young man, one entirely worthy of the splendid career of many of the
Doan family in this county. He and his wife are popular
socially in this city, and, of course, are well known. |
JOHN S. DRAKE is a
well-known and enterprising farmer of Jefferson township, this county.
He was born in this county, Oct. 3, 1880, son of Samuel and Hannah N.
(Holliday) Drake, the former of whom was born in Georgetown, Ohio,
and the latter in Clinton county. The paternal grandfather of
John S. Drake was Jonathan Drake, a well-known tobacco raiser
of the Georgetown district. The maternal grandparents, William
and Anna (Carter) Holliday, settled on the farm now belonging to
Doctor Dennison. They cleared the land and lived there all the
rest of their lives.
Samuel Drake received the rudiments of an
education in the public schools near Georgetown, and there he was first
married to a Miss Davis, and for some years was engaged in
farming near Georgetown. After the death of his first wife, he
removed to Clinton county, and was here married to Hannah N. Holliday,
the mother of John S. Drake. Aside from five years spent in
the state of Missouri, Samuel Drake lived in Jefferson township
most of his life. At the time of his death he was the owner of
three hundred and seventy-one acres of land where his son, John S.,
now lives. Two sons were born to Samuel Drake by his first
marriage, and one son, John S., to his second marriage.
John S. Drake was educated in the schools of
Clinton county, and with the exception of five years spent in the state
of Missouri, between the ages of thirteen and eighteen years, he has
spent his entire life in this county on the old home place in Jefferson
township.
In 1901, John S. Drake was married to Laura
Wickersham, the daughter of J. C. Wickersham, and to this
union two children have been born, Walter and Eugene.
Mrs. Drake is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, while
Mr. Drake is affiliated with the Christian church. |
CHARLES PEMBERTON DUNLAP.
There are individuals in almost every community who, by reason of
pronounced ability and force of character, rise above the heads of the
masses and command the esteem and attention of their fellowmen.
Characterized by perseverance and a directing spirit, two virtues that
never fail, such men always make their presence felt. The vigor of
their strong personality serves as a stimulus and an incentive to the
young and rising generation. To this energetic and enterprising
class, C. P. Dunlap, of Liberty township, very properly belongs.
Mr. Dunlap has devoted his life and energies to the industries of
his home neighborhood and has succeeded remarkably well.
Charles P. Dunlap was born in May 10, 1851, in
Highland county, Ohio, the son of James Dunlap, Mr., and Mary
Cravens. The former was born in 1819, in Connecticut and the
latter was born in 1821, in Pennsylvania, the daughter of Benjamin F.
and Mary Cravens. Benjamin F. Cravens moved to Ohio some time
in 1836 and located in Highland county, where he owned about six hundred
acres of land. He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church
and an enterprising, progressive citizen. He possessed a
remarkable financial ability and the subject of this sketch inherited
that characteristic.
C. P. Dunlap's grandfather, James Dunlap,
Sr., was a native of New York state, born in 1794, and died in
1872. He was first married to Henrietta Pemberton, by whom
he had seven children, Mariah, Horace, Arabella, Albert, Sarah, Sinai
and Frank L. all except Frank L. being deceased. The
second wife of James Dunlap, Sr., was a Mrs. Cox, who
moved to Ohio about 1830. James Dunlap, Sr., was a merchant
at Salem, Ross county, Ohio, but later moved to Highland county, where
he lived retired. He was a member of the Methodist Protestant
church.
James Dunlap, Jr., father of Charles P.,
was a well-informed man both in religion and politics. He was
member of the Christian Union church. He was quite a prominent
citizen in the township and served as township trustee at one time.
From about 1830 he lived in Highland county. He was first married
to a Miss Foraker, a cousin of Senator Foraker. By
this union, however, there were born no children. By his second marriage
there were only two children, John N. and Charles P., the
subject of this sketch. John N. was twice married, first to
Mollie Kester, by whom he had three children, Earl, Chloe
and Minnie. His second wife was Anna Williams,
sister to his brother, Charles P.'s wife. James Dunlap,
Jr., the father of these children, died on June 13, 1886. The
mother is still living and, on Aug. 4, 1915, was ninety-four years old.
She is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. The father
owned one hundred and twenty0seven acres of land in Highland county.
The father was of New England Puritan (English) stock. The mother
was of Scotch-Irish descent.
Charles P. Dunlap was educated in the common
schools. His character was moulded and formed by the determined
will of his devoted father, assisted by the patient care of his loving
mother. Mr. Dunlap has taught school for thirty-four years,
sixteen years of his loving mother. Mr. Dunlap has taught
school for thirty-four years, sixteen years in Highland county, Ohio,
and the remainder of Greene and Clinton counties. In 1886, he
removed to Greene county and the same year, on August 7, he applied for
a teacher's certificate at Xenia, Ohio, and was grated one for four
years, averaging ninety-one percent, in the examination. Mr.
Dunlap was considered a most successful teacher, but abandoned the
profession in 1904 and went to farming. In 1902 he was elected a
justice of the peace, and will hold the office until 1918. A
Democrat in politics, Mr. Dunlap was, four years ago, a candidate
for county auditor. Although in politics, Mr. Dunlap was,
four years ago, a candidate for county auditor. Although defeated,
he made a most flattering race. He is the present chairman of the
Democratic central committee of Clinton county. He believes in the
doctrine both in church and state, "equal justice to all but special
privilege to none."
Charles P. Dunlap was married, on Aug. 27, 1874,
to Martha J. Williams, who was born in Highland county, Ohio,
Jan. 2, 1853. She is the daughter of John and Mary (Duncan)
Williams. Mary (Duncan) Williams was the daughter of
Alexander Duncan, a native of Ireland and a soldier in the War of
1812. He located near Hillsboro, Ohio, and there became a large
farmer. He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church Mrs.
Dunlap's father John Williams, was a native of Ohio and
formed one hundred acres of land. He was a member of the Drunkard
church, and lived in Highland county during his entire life. Born
in 1806, he died in 1891. His wife, who was born in 1812, died in
1903. They had ten children, but Elizabeth, Ellen, Martha
and Anna are the only ones living. Mandy, Eliza, Susan,
Allenmah, Agnes and Thomas died a few years ago.
Mr. and Mrs. Dunlap have had seven children,
Lola E., John C., Charles R., James L., Olive, Clifford and
Frank. The latter three died in early childhood. Of
these children, Lola E. married Thomas Middleton, of
Xenia, Greene county, Ohio, and they have three children, Wilton E.,
Roy S. and Harold D. John C. of Liberty township,
married Frances Pearl Mason, and they have three children,
Mary Audra, Rollo, and Charles Mason. Charles Russell
married Belva Bales and they have two children, Charles R.
and Francis Willard. They live in Clinton county, Ohio.
James L., a resident of near Xenia, married Berdie Craig.
Charles P. Dunlap is a member of the Independent
Order of Odd Fellows. for more than forty years he has been a
Sunday school teacher, and superintendent of the Sunday school at Port
William for four years. Mr. and Mrs. Dunlap have a farm of
one hundred acres in Liberty township, which they purchased Aug. 25,
1899. C. P. Dunlap and wife are members of the Methodist
Protestant church. Mr. Dunlap has become well known in this
county as a breeder of good stock, especially flocks of coarse wool
sheep. However, money getting and money making are all right in
their place, but he thinks both in teaching and in life, our highest
ideal should be "building and molding character for eternity." |
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