Biographies
(Transcribed by Sharon Wick)

Source:
 A Portrait and Biographical Record of
Mercer and Van Wert Counties, Ohio
Containing Biographical Sketches of Many Prominent and Representative Citizens,
together with Biographies and Portraits of all the
Presidents of the United States
and Biographies of the Governors of Ohio
CHICAGO: A. W. BOWEN & CO.
1896

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	DAVID H. ROBINSON, one of the leading citizens of Rockford, Mercer county, Ohio, an ex-soldier and prominent merchant, was born in Ashland county, Ohio, Jan. 6, 1839, and is a son of Ezekiel J. and Jane (Vantilburg) Robinson.      DAVID ROBINSON, grandfather of our subject, was a remote Irish descent, was for many years a resident of Celands Grove, Pa., and about 1826 came to Ohio and located, with his family, in Ashland county, where he followed the trade of wagon-maker.  He reared a family of six children, viz.: Isaac, David, John, Ezekiel J., Hannah and Esther.  Of this family Isaac left his home in Pennsylvania for the state of Michigan, and became lost to his family; David, who was an expert carpenter and cabinet-maker, came to Mercer county, Ohio, passed two or three years in Rockford, and then moved to Delphi, Ind., where he passed the remainder of hsi days; John, who in early life, was a boatman on the Susquehanna river, Pa., was also a mechanic, and died in Ashland, Ohio; Hannah was married to a Mr. Grubb, but is now deceased; Esther is the widow of David Walker, of Ashland, Ohio, and has reached the advanced age of eighty-five years.      Ezekiel J. Robinson, the fourth child of the above named family and the father of David H. Robinson, our subject, was born in Pennsylvania Aug. 14, 1807, and when a boy of six or seven years of age was bound out to a farmer, with whom he remained until eighteen years old.  When he was released from his indentures, he came to Ohio, and for about twelve years worked with his father at wagon-making in Ashland.  In 1837 Ezekiel came to Mercer county, entered eighty acres of land in Black Creek township, erected a cabin, returned to Ashland county, and Sept. 10, 1839, came back to Mercer county with his wife and three children, and cleared up his farm - his nearest neighbor being then three miles away, and his market at either Piqua, Ohio, or Fort Wayne, Ind.  He underwent all the harships of pioneer life, labored industriously, added 160 acres to his original tract, and eventually secured from the wilderness as fine a 160-acre farm as there was in Black Creek township, being ably assisted by his children, of whom further mention will presently be made.      Ezekiel J. Robinson was an active and consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal church and for many years his home was the stopping place of the pioneer ministers who visited black Cree township; he assisted liberally in erecting the earlier churches of all denominations in his neighborhood, was also very active in securing the establishment of schools and in giving teachers a comfortable home, in order that his children might have the best education of the day, and also lent a willing and ready hand in aiding his neighbors in the construction of their dwellings.  In politics he was a democrat until 1856, when he changed his political affiliations, became a republican, and under both parties filled most of the township offices.  He was enterprising and public spirited in the extreme, and was one of the original contributors to and proprietors of the Cincinnati, Jackson & Mackinaw railroad, as well as a promoter of all other projects designed for the public welfare.      The marriage of Ezekiel J. Robinson took place, in 1832, to Miss Jane Vantilburg, a native of Jefferson county, Ohio, and a daughter of Henry and Jennie Vantilburg, and to this prolific union were born thirteen children, of whom two died in infancy; those who grew to manhood and womanhood were born in the following order: Levi, a farmer of Black Creek township, Mercer county, Ohio; Isaac, a miner of Nevada county, Cal.; David H., the subject of this sketch; Sarah J., widow of John Ehret, of Van Wert, Ohio; Mary, wife of John W. Rutledge, of Black Creek township, Mercer county; Hannah, deceased wife of J. E. Morrison, of Van Wert; Martha, widow of L. T.  Clark, a former minister of the Methodist Episcopal church; Silas J., farmer of Black Creek township; Anna, wife of Hugh Evans, of Delphos, Ohio; Siniett, wife of C. S. Mauk, attorney at law, Rockford, Ohio; Francis A. clothing merchant of Rockford.      JOHN EHRET, mentioned above as the deceased husband of Sarah J. Robinson, was a soldier in the Seventy-first Ohio volunteer infantry during the late Civil war, and died in 1862, while at home on a furlough.  Ezekiel J. Robinson the father of this large and respected family, died Sept. 26, 1879, one of the most prominent and most highly honored citizens of Black Creek township - his widow surviving until September, 1889.      David H. Robinson, the subject of this memoir, was a child of but a few months of age when brought by his parents to Mercer county, Ohio, where he attended the public schools and assisted on the home farm until he reached his majority; he then took a course of study at Bryant & Stratton's commercial college, accepted a position as clerk in a dry-goods store in Shaneville - now Rockford - and held the position until Aug. 11, 1862, when he enlisted in company F, Ninety-ninth Ohio volunteer infantry.  At the orgnaization of the company he was made fifth sergeant; Feb. 13, 1863, was commissioned second lieutenant, and in November, 1864, was promoted to first lieutenant, and with that rank served until the close of the war, when he was honorably discharged at Camp Chase, Ohio.  Among the many battles in which Mr. Robinson participated may be mentioned, as the more important, those of Stone River, Chickamauga, Lookout Mountain, Mission Ridge, Buzzard's Roost, and all the engagements of the Atlanta campaign; he was then at Nashville and was later transferred to the east , where he fought under Sherman at Goldsboro, N. C., and was present at the surrender of Gen. Johnston.      After his return from the war Mr. Robinson resumed his old business as clerk at Rockford, took a second course at Bryant & Stratton's commercial college at Cleveland, and then, in the spring of 1867, formed a partnership with Henry Vantilburg & Robinson, succeeding H. F. Holbrook & Co. in the general merchandise business and carrying a stock of $5,000 - then considered to be one of the best assortments of goods in the county.  The business was chiefly in the hands of Mr. Robinson, he acting as the buyer or purchasing agent and increasing the trade in all its details.  At the end of fifteen years, Mr. Vantilburg sold out his interest in the concern to L. A. Burgess, and the style was changed to D. H. Robinson & Co., and so continued mercantile career of twenty-one years Mr. Robinson relinquished trade.      In July, 1888, Mr. Robinson purchased an interest in the Farmers' Bank of Rockford, a private institution, and under his direct management this bank does a general deposit, loan, and foreign and domestic exchange business; the firm is composed of J. S. and D. L. Brumback, of Van Wert, Ohio, D. H. Robinson of Rockford, Ohio, with J. C. Van Fleet, as cashier; it was the first banking house in Rockford, and is one of the most substantial moneyed institutions in the county of Mercer.  Mr. Robinson was also one of the founders of the Shanes Crossing Manufacturing company, which is devoted to the manufacture of handles, lumber, etc., and also to planing.  His interest in the handle factory he disposed of some five or six years later, but retained his interest in the lumber and planing branch of the business until May 2, 1886, when he sold, having bought and shipped large quantities of lumber during his connection with the business.  In conjunction with his mill Mr. Robinson was also engaged in raising life stock; he also handled real estate extensively, and erected a greater number of dwellings than any other individual dealer in Rockford, for the purpose of selling, and still owns several fine pieces of property in the village and a valuable farm of 120 acres adjoining the corporation limit.  In 1890-91 he erected the finest modern brick residence in Rockford, and this dwelling and its surroundings plainly indicate the characteristics of the man.  In all in all, Mr. Robinson is a self-made man in the broadest acceptation of the term as applied to success in business life.  He has been one of the most liberal supporters - one of its most enthusiastic workers, and has represented his congregation in the presbytery of 1887 at Omaha, Nebr.  Politically, Mr. Robertson is a stanch republican and fraternally is a member of the G. A. R., Dolph Gray post; he is also a member of Shanes lodge, No. 277, F. & A. M.      David H. Robinson was united in marriage, Nov. 17, 1867, to Miss Rebecca Borchers, a daughter of George F. and Sarah (States) Borchers, and a native of Fairfield county, Ohio; this union has been blessed with two children, both of whom have been highly educated.  The elder of the two, Frank E., is a graduate of Wooster (Ohio) university, of the class of 1893, and is also a graduate of the Cincinnati (Ohio) law school, of the class of 1895, and in that city has associated himself with the law firm of Harrison & Aston, a very prominent legal firm at the corner of Fifth and Main streets.      The second child of Mr. and Mrs. Robinson, Nellie G., now the wife of Dr. J. P. Symons, of Rockford, Ohio, was a student of the Western Female seminary at Oxford, Ohio.  Shakspere has told us that "some men are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them." and it requires but little exercise of logic to decide that the greatest and only true man of this category is the second one mentioned, and of such is David H. Robinson, even if we have to go back to Aristotle for the definition of his word as applied to quality.    Source: A Portrait & Biographical Record of Mercer and Van Wert Counties, Ohio - Publ. Chicago: A. W. Bowen & Co. - 1896 - Page 489
	FRANCIS A. ROBINSON, of the fashionable clothing house of Burgess & Robinson, Rockford, Mercer county, Ohio, is a native of Black Creek township, in the same county, and was born Feb. 2, 1860, a son of EZEKIEL J. and Jane Robinson, of whom further mention will be found within the covers of this volume.      Francis A. Robinson was reared on the home farm in Black Creek township and was educated in the public and normal schools of his district and county, being thus well prepared for the business affairs of life.  In September, 1890, he attended to the cultivation of over 160 acres of land, and the raising of live stock, and settled in Rockford, joining L. A. Burgess in his present extensive clothing and merchant tailoring business.  The firm carries the most extensive and varied stock in its line to be found in Rockford, and this stock comprises every variety of ready-made clothing, hats, caps, gents' furnishings, etc, together with trunks, valises, umbrellas, and everything usually found in a first-class clothing establishment.  Attached to the ready-made clothing department is the manufacturing division, where garments are made to order by experts, the customer assortment of piece goods to select from.  Of this extensive business Mr. Robinson has the sole charge, his partner, Mr. Burgess, devoting his attention to his dry-goods trade in the adjacent store.      Mr. Robinson was most happily married, Dec. 25, 1889, to Miss L. Smith, who was born in Montgomery county, Ohio, in 1854, a daughter of Jacob Smith, an old resident of that county, and his union has been blessed with one child - Eugene J.   Mr. and Mrs. Robinson are active and ardent members of the Methodist Episcopal church, to which they contribute quite liberally of their means and in which Mr. Robinson has filled all the secular offices, having served as recording secretary of the circuit.  Their residence is on Main street, Rockford, where a generous hospitality is dispensed and where the society of a large circle of devoted Friends is a prohibitionist, and fraternally he is a member of the Shanes lodge, No. 293, Knights of Pythias, in which he has passed all the chairs.  As a progressive young business man, Mr. Robinson stands in the front rank of the merchants of the county. Source: A Portrait & Biographical Record of Mercer and Van Wert Counties, Ohio - Publ. Chicago: A. W. Bowen & Co. - 1896 - Page 491
	LEVI ROBISON. - The Robison family is a very numerous, highly honored and most distinguished one, as well as ancient.  The first one of hte name of whom extended mention is made in this connection, was David Robison, who was born in Chester county, Pa., in 1776.  His father, whose name is not now remembered, was a native of Ireland.  His mother was a native of Pennsylvania, and in religion a Quaker.  David Robison was by trade a wagon-maker, and in 1801 he was married to Miss Hannah Shaw.  To David, Ezekiel J., all deceased; Esther, now Mrs. Walker, living in Ashland, Ohio, at the age of ninety years, and whose eldest son, David Walker is the honored treasurer of the city of Philadelphia; and Mrs. Hannah Grubb, deceased.      DAVID ROBISON lived in Pennsylvania until 1828, in which year he removed to Richland county, Ohio - that portion of it which is now included in Ashland county.  In his new home he continued to follow his trade, learned when young, and followed it till his death.  He was a democrat in politics, was a man of exemplary character, and was highly esteemed by all who knew him.  They name Robison, it will be found in subsequent sketches of David H. and Francis A., has been changed in the spelling to Robinson, and in the memoir of David H. will be found a full biography of Ezekiel J. Robison, the fourth son of David of this mention.      Levi Robison, second son of Ezekiel J., was born in Ashland county, Ohio, Nov. 12, 1834, and removed with his parents to Mercer county in September, 1839, locating on a farm in the wild woods.  Reared on the farm and educated in the common schools of his native couuty, at the age of twenty-one he began to learn the carpenter trade, at which he worked three years.  In 1857 and 1858 he learned the cabinet-maker's trade, adn on Feb. 17, 1859, was married to Matilda Davis, daughter of Robert and Anna (Shively) Davis.  To this marriage there were born five children, as follows: Laura Ella, born June 29, 1860, and died July 21, 1864; David E., born Jan. 31, 1863, a farmer and school-teacher of Black Creek township; Lewis Howard, born Mar. 10, 1866, and died Oct. 22, 1890; Julia A., born Apr. 27, 1868, wife of Marion Pond, a farmer of Black Creek township, and Mary Etta, born Mar. 26, 1874, and died June 10, 1883.      The mother of these children was born in Ashland county, now Richland county, Ohio, Jan. 23, 1838.  Her first experience in the school-room was obtained in her native county, but later she attended school at Fort Recovery.  After thus completing her education she taught school several terms.  Has father, Robert Davis, was a son of Eli and Hannah (Stevens) Davis, and was born in Columbiana county, Ohio, Feb. 12, 1803.  The father of Robert Davis was born in Maryland, married there and reared a family of three children, as follows:  Elizabeth Plants, deceased; Amos, deceased, and Robert.  The father was an early settler in Columbiana county, Ohio, and took up government land.  In 1830 he removed to Ashland county, and there also entered government land.  By occupation he was both a farmer and a lawyer.  He had a brother, Robert, that was a soldier in the war with Mexico.      Robert Davis was reared on a farm, was well educated in Columbiana county, taught school and was also a minister in the Christian or Disciples' church.  In 1827 he married Miss Anna Shively, daughter of Jacob Shively, and to this marriage there were born eleven children, as follows:  Hannah, deceased; Rachel, deceased wife of Solomon King; Henry Espy, of Auburn, Ind.; Mary, widow of A. Brown, of Decatur, Ill.; Amos, a mechanic of Willshire; Matilda, wife of Levi Robison; John, a teacher and farmer, living on the home place; Laura, wife of Daniel Pifer, of Celina; James Porter, educated at Bethany college, in West Virginia, and is now a Christian minister, and Sarah, wife of Dr. Girard Bailey, whose sketch appears elsewhere in this volume.  With the exception of Sarah, all of these children have taught school.  The mother of these children was born in Columbiana county, Feb. 6, 1806, and died Feb. 2, 1892.  She was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church.  Three years after his marriage Robert Davis went to Ashland county, where he entered government land.  Remaining there until 1851, he then removed to Mercer county and purchased the farm upon which his son John lives at the present time.  He was a democrat in politics, and a member of the Christian church, dying Sept. 5, 1872.      Levi Robison, after his marriage , settled on the present farm, twenty acres of which were cleared.  All of the rest of the farm he cleared, and improved, in the meantime working at his trade, and his hand-made furniture is known throughout the entire section of country in which he lives, and in many states outside of Ohio.  In 1871 he erected a fine, large barn, which was burned down Aug. 4, 1894, and which, with the exception of $950, was covered by insurance.  In 1895 he built another barn, which is, if anything, an improvement on the one destroyed.  In 1877 he erected a large and commodious dwelling house, in which he still lives.  Mr. Robison is one of the most public spirited and progressive of the farmers of his township, and is a most kind and accommodating neighbor.  In 1880, and also in 1890, he was appointed, by the government of the United States, census enumerator for his township, and he has also been assessor of his township two terms.  In politics he is a republican, and both he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church.  In his church Mr. Robison has held numerous offices, having been recording steward five years, trustee several years, and he has also held other offices.  Few men, if any, in his township, stand higher in the public regard than does Mr. Robison, as all know that whenever anything of a public or private nature needing assistance is up for discussion or advancement he can always be relied on to willingly lend a helping hand. Source: A Portrait & Biographical Record of Mercer and Van Wert Counties, Ohio - Publ. Chicago: A. W. Bowen & Co. - 1896 - Page 487
	SILAS J. ROBISON, one of the most prominent and successful farmers of Mercer county, was born in Block Creek township, Mercer county, Ohio, Jan. 23, 1850.  He is a son of E. J. and Jane (Vantilburg) Robison, for fuller reference to whom see biographical sketch of David and Levi Robison, elsewhere in this volume.       Silas J. Robison was reared on a farm in Black Creek township, and was well educated in the age of nineteen years he began teaching school himself, and for three years taught in Black Creek and Dublin townships.  On the 21st of September, 1873, he was married to Miss Catherine Harron, daughter of David and Jane (Ritemire) Harrod, and to their marriage there were born seven children, viz.:  Heber H., who has recently completed a thorough course in penmanship and book keeping at Delaware Business college; Lucy, wife of E. Alspaugh, of Van Wert county; an infant daughter, deceased; Annie and Florence, at home; Leah, living with the sister of the subject of this sketch, Mrs. Ehret, of Van Wert; and an infant son, deceased.  The mother of these children was born in Washington township, Mercer county, Feb. 18, 1852, and she there reared, educated and married.  She was a member of the United Brethren church, was a most excellent woman, and died Sept. 3, 1893.  For a fuller mention of her parents the reader is referred to the sketch of C. M. Bienz, elsewhere in these pages.      After his marriage Mr. Robison purchased the 103 acres of land on which he still lives.  He began farming upon it, and was unusually successful.  Many are the improvement he has made, not least among them being the fine large barn he now has.  After the death of his wife his second marriage took place to Elizabeth Zarbaugh, on Feb. 7, 1895.  She is the daughter of Jacob and Marguerite Elizabeth (Armpriester) Zarbaugh.  She was born in Fairfield county, Nov. 5, 1866, and was educated in Franklin county, and in Columbus, Ohio, followed dress making five years.  While in Columbus she united with the Methodist Episcopal church, and she still remains a member thereof.  Her father, Jacob Zarbaugh, is a son of Jacob and Elizabeth (Stambaugh) Zarbaugh, and was born in York county, Pa., Sept. 13, 1826.  He was of Pennsylvania-Dutch descent, and was reared on a farm, educated in his native state, and when yet a young man came with his parents to Ohio, they locating in Fairfield county.  In this county he was married to Miss M. E. Armpriester.  To them were born eight children, viz: Ella, wife of Silas Harner, of Neptune, Ohio; Effie, wife of D. A. McKinley, produce dealer of Lithopolis, Fairfield county; Elizabeth, wife of the subject; John Foor, Van Wert county; Frank, deceased; Lawrence at home, and Myrtle, also at home.  The mother of these children was born in Fairfield county, Ohio, Sept. 14, 1841, and is of Pennsylvania-Dutch parentage.  She is a member of the Lutheran church, and is still living.  Jacob Zarbaugh was formerly a farmer, but now follows the trade of painter for a livelihood.  In politics he is a democrat, but takes little interest in political affairs, preferring to perform his duties as a painter, as the head of a family, and as a member of the German Reform church, to which he belongs.      Silas J. Robison is a strong republican in politics, takes great interest in his party's affairs, and has been elected to several local offices.  He has often served on the election and school boards, and has always performed his duties well.  He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and takes an active interest in everything calculated to promote the public good.  He is an energetic man in all that he undertakes, in farming, in politics, in church matters, and is in every sense a public-spirited and excellent citizen. Source: A Portrait & Biographical Record of Mercer and Van Wert Counties, Ohio - Publ. Chicago: A. W. Bowen & Co. - 1896 - Page 492
	BRANSON ROEBUCK, the oldest pioneer in Mercer county, is a son of Reuel and Sarah (Jones) Roebuck, and was born near Bloomingburg, Fayette county, Ohio, Jan. 24, 1813.  Reuel Roebuck was born on the Greenborough river in Virginia, about 1778, his father having been William Roebuck, a farmer and a soldier in the Revolutionary war, and was marching toward Yorktown, within eight miles of the place, when Cornwallis surrendered.  William Roebuck was the father of the following children: George, John, Reuel, James Abner, Mrs. Nancy Harmon and Mrs. Hanson.      REUEL ROEBUCK was reared  on the farm and learned cooper trade, and when a young man came to Ohio and located in Pickaway county, where, about 1807, he married Sarah Jones, a daughter of Peter Jones, who was born in 1871, and who removed with her father to Virginia, and later to Fayette county, Ohio, being there among the earliest settlers.  Her uncle, Peter Jones, was a colonel in the Revolutionary army.  To Reuel Roebuck and his wife there were born the following children:  George, Ishmael and Garrison, all three deceased; Branson, the subject of this sketch:  Eliza, deceased wife of Isaac Sanift; Polly, deceased wife of Fleming Greer; Oliver H., Elias Bishop and Washington, all three deceased; Lewis, a retired farmer and merchant; and Joseph, deceased.  On March 17, 1819, Reuel Roebuck, after living some time in Fayette county, reached Mercer county, located on Twelve Mile creek, and camped out that summer, entering eighty acres of land, and later eighty acres more.  With the assistance of three white men and three Indians he raised a log house, into which he moved his family, and then began in earnest the work of clearing the land.  All the hardships of pioneer life became altogether too familiar to him, and, as he was crippled in his youth, and later was shot in the thigh accidentally by his son, who shot at a deer and hit him, his life's labor was by no means an easy or pleasant task.  At the time of his settlement in the county there was no one living where Rockford now stands, and only two white families in the county, and only two white families in the county, and Anthony Shane, a half breed Indian, who was friendly to the whites; and Mr. Roebuck was compelled to go to Pickaway to mill.  He was one of the liberal men of pioneer days, and never could do enough for the church of which he was a member, the Methodist Episcopal, and his house was always headquarters for the preachers of pioneer days.  In politics he was an old-line whig, strong in the belief that that party was correct in its policies and principles.  His death occurred in November, 1841, his wife following him to the great beyond in 1843.     Branson Roebuck, subject of this sketch was reared on the farm in Mercer county, and was twelve years of age before he began to attend school.  Aug. 22, 1839, he married Mary Eichar, a daughter of Peter and Mary Eichar, and to them were born three children, as follows:  Albert, died when thirteen years of age; Catharine, deceased wife of Albert Quillian; and Ellen deceased  wife of Morgan Hayes.  Mary Eichar was born in Pennsylvania, was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and died Aug. 14, 1836.  Her father, Peter Eichar, was the youngest child born to Jacob Eichar and his wife, Sarah Buck, the former of whom was born in Pennsylvania, and was of John and Margaret Eichar.      Branson Roebuck's second marriage took place in March, 1837, to Phebe Ann McChristy, a daughter of Jesse and Nancy (Lawler) McChristy, she having been born in Greene county about 1822, and to this second marriage were born three children, as follows:  John, a farmer of this township; Jane, wife of Edward Dunavin of Indiana, and an infant deceased.  The mother of these children died in June, 1843.  Her father, Jesse McChristy, was a native of Ireland and an early settler in Warren county, Ohio.  He was the eldest of three children, who worked at his trade, that of tanner, until he was twenty-five years old, after which he followed farming.  He was the father of eleven children, Mrs. Roebuck being the third child.  In 1830, after living for some years in Green county, he removed to Mercer county, and entered government land, and there died in 1838, his wife surviving him until 1860.  Mr. Roebuck was next married Dec. 1, 1855, to Mrs. Rebecca D. (Scholes) Blossom, a daughter of Andrew and Hannah (Mercer) Scholes, and to this third marriage there were born five children, as follows: Mary, who died at the age of two years; Melissa, wife of Adelbert Dull, of Black Creek township; Wesley Scholes, a gardener living at New Haven, Allen county, Ind.; Eudocia, wife of Frank Shingledecker, of Dublin township; Lewis and William P., both at home.  The mother of these five children was born in Knox county, May 13, 1827.  Her parents were natives of Belmont county, and emigrated to Indiana about 1836, and there passed the remainder of their lives.  The sons of Andrew Scholes served in the Civil war, as follows:  George Calvert, all through the war; Wesley, as a member of the Forty-seventh Indiana volunteers, and was killed at Champion Hills, and Sylvester, who served one hundred days.      Branson Roebuck's present wife was married, as Rebecca Scholes, in 1847, to Ira Blossom, a native of Ohio, born in 1817, and a son of Ansel Blossom, a native of Maine.  Ira Blossom was the eighth of ten children, and with his parents located in Van Wert county among the very earliest settlers there.  Ansel Blossom entered a tract of land near Willshire, and lived there the remainder of his life.  Ira Blossom was reared and educated in Van Wert county, and to him and his wife there were born three children, as follows:  Henry Clay, who died at the age of three years; Andrew Ansel, who was reared by Mr. and Mrs. Roebuck, and George, deceased - both Henry Clay and George being buried in the same grave.  Ira Blossom was a prominent man in his time, was a whig, and in  1853 started to Oregon, but died of cholera at Calhoun, near Indian creek, on the way.  His widow, as already related, then married the subject of a farm which lies across the road from where he now lives, but which he still owns.  Upon this quarter section of woodland he built a log house into which he moved in the fall of 1840, and lived in until 1867,when he erected an immense brick house at great expense.  Being a strong republican during and after the war, he made certain men his enemies by his outspoken support of the government, and in the fall of that year he had $750 worth of wheat burned by Knights of the Golden Circle.  General farming has always been his preference, but he has given more or less attention to the raising of stock, and he has also bought considerable for the eastern markets.  His sons have always been devotedly attached to him, and have always helped in every possible way.  As a friend of education he has served as a member of the school board, and as a republican he has served four terms as township trustee.  In 1894 he lost his house and its entire contents by fire, and then moved across the road to seventy-five acres, which he had purchased in the early 'forties, and which are well improved.  For fifty-five years he has been a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, ahs always been an active worker therein, and has held the offices of trustee and class leader for a number of years.  Formerly he was a member of Shanesville grange, which is now abandoned.  He has always been a liberal man, aiding all enterprises of a public nature when possible for him to do so.  He contributed $100 toward building the plank road; $200 toward the C., J. & M. railroad, and has aided in the building of churches everywhere.  No man did more to assist new comers in the early days, when such aid was exceedingly welcome.  He was a warm friend to Anthony Shane, for whom Shanesville, now Rockford, was named, who served in the late Civil war, and who made a present of eighty acres of land to Garrison Roebuck, a brother of the subject, for some slight service rendered him.  Few men, if any, are more worthy of having their deeds recorded, and their memories perpetuated, than is Branson Roebuck, whose life is herewith briefly presented. Source: A Portrait & Biographical Record of Mercer and Van Wert Counties, Ohio - Publ. Chicago: A. W. Bowen & Co. - 1896 - Page 493

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