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Washington County, Ohio
History & Genealogy

Biographies

Source::
History of Marietta
and
Washington County, Ohio

and Representative Citizens.
Published by Biographical Publishing Company
George Richmond, Pres.; S. Harmer Neff, Sec'y.; C. R. Arnold, Treas.
Chicago, Illinois -
1902

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

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  DR. WILLIAM R. DABNEY

Source: History of Marietta and Washington County, Ohio - Published by Biographical Publishing Company, Chicago, Illinois - 1902 - Page 1365

  THE DANA FAMILY

Source: History of Marietta and Washington County, Ohio - Published by Biographical Publishing Company, Chicago, Illinois - 1902 - Page 1429

  BENJAMIN DANA, from Pomfret, in Vermont, came out with Col. Israel Putnam's family in 1794 and resided in Belpre until the peace with the Indians.  He then purchased property in, and removed to, Waterford; he became one of the most extensive and successful agriculturists in the county.  He inherited all the qualities analogous to the evergreen and granite of his native State, and adopted all the improvements and advantages incident to the more fertile soil and congeniel climate of the State of Ohio.  He very early began the cutivation of the fine-wooled Merino and Saxon sheep; his flock is the largest and finest in the county.  Very few men with the same means could have accomplished so much and still fewer could have done more.
Source: History of Marietta and Washington County, Ohio - Published by Biographical Publishing Company, Chicago, Illinois - 1902 - Page 504
  F. F. DANA

Source: History of Marietta and Washington County, Ohio - Published by Biographical Publishing Company, Chicago, Illinois - 1902 - Page 1378

  CAPT. WILLIAM DANA, a native of Watertown, near Boston, was some time in his country's service.  He commanded a company of artillery previous to and for some years after the battle of Bunker Hill.  He had leased a large farm and resided in the neighborhood of Worcester and was compelled to relinquish the same to prevent a large sacrifice of property.  He left New Hampshire early in May, 1788, with two sons, and arrived in Marietta the fore part of June.  He built a log cabin on the corner of Market Square, exactly where the Post Office now stands; he was to clear and improve the land and give up his possession when the people required its use.  As it was too late to plant, he and the boys cleared a small piece toward the Female Seminary and made a small kiln of bricks, which were probably the first kiln of bricks burned in Ohio.  Bricks were made near the same place by Maj. Ezra Lant of Newburyport, Massachusetts, in the summers of 1789 and 1790.  When I took possession of the cabin I purchased the lease, and cleared and fenced Market Square, and the common in front of the Muskingum, and sold my possession to Mr. Burlingame, and he to Dr. True, whose descendants now own it.  I had a small chimney built of those bricks, and when I removed to the garrison of "Upper" Belpre in the spring of 1793, I took some hundreds of those bricks to build a small chimney in the chamber of Captain Dans's block-house, and when I moved up the Muskingum - Dec. 1, 1795 - I brought up in General Putnam's barge 500 bricks, a considerable number of which I took to Belpre and which were made in the first kiln made on Market Square, and are now about our premises.
Source: History of Marietta and Washington County, Ohio - Published by Biographical Publishing Company, Chicago, Illinois - 1902 - Page 501
  DENTER C. DAVIS, prominent as an ____ and general manager and treasurer of the Ohio & California Refining Oil Company, has his headquarters at New York and his Marietta, Washington County, Ohio.  He sustains a very important relation to this business and his services are essential to the company.  He is a son of Dudley Davis, and grandson of Daniel Davis, who was a very early settler in Washington County.
     Dudley Davis was also born in Washington County, and with his father and brothers, was largely interested in the early oil development.  In 186_, he enlisted to fight for the Union and when the war was over he was an invalid, and ied soon after returning home.
     The subject of this sketch was born at Lowell, Washington County, in 1860, and there spent the early part of his life, and attended the High School.  Beginning at the age of sixteen years, he spent three years in the drug store of C. R. Buchanan, who is still in business in Marietta.  He became a registered pharmacist and followed that business in several states.  He worked in Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, etc., and went to Pittsburg. Pennsylvania, in 1886.  There he received some assistance from a friend, and engaged quite extensively in the drug business, owning at one time about five stores in different cities and towns.
     When the oil fields of Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio were opened up,and wells were drilled, the subject of this sketch, like many others, soon found himself interested in this industry.  His first operations were in the McDonald Field, but since then he has operated in all the above named states, as well as along the Kern River, in California, and now has several large contracts for drilling.  The company in which he is interested owns thirty-eight wells, in Wood County, West Virginia, and controls 52,000 acres of land, altogether.  Besides the Ohio & California Refining Oil Company.  Mr. Davis is connected with several others, either as stockholder, officer or member.  At one time he owned a half interest in the Bellevue Hotel, but sold it and removed from Pittsburg to Marietta in the fall of 1807.
     While residing in Pittsburg, Mr. Davis was united in marriage with Miss Kaylor, a daughter of J. J. Kaylor, deceased.  He has two children,— Dexter C., Jr., aged eleven years, and Ida M., aged thirteen years.  They live in a handsome residence at No. 309 Putnam street.
     It may be seen from the above that Mr. Davis is a very industrious gentleman, who realizes a good income from his business, and who fully and carefully reflects before attempting any new venture.
Source: History of Marietta and Washington County, Ohio - Published by Biographical Publishing Company, Chicago, Illinois - 1902 - Page 1173
  HON. THEODORE F. DAVIS has been actively identified for many years with the interests of Marietta, Washington County, Ohio.  He was born in New Trenton, Franklin County, Indiana, in 1844, and came to Marietta in 1869.
     Mr. Davis passed the early part of his life on a farm, and was barely 17 years of age when the Civil War began, and President Lincoln issued his first three-months call for volunteer to defend the Union.  Notwithstanding his youth, Mrs. Davis eagerly offered his services, and subsequently, when his term had expired, enlisted in the 83rd Reg. Ind. Vol. Inf., and served valiantly until the termination of the conflict.
     After the war, Mr. Davis took up the study of civil engineering, and became a civil engineer in railroad construction.  He accepted a position as engineer to assist in making surveys and locating locks and dams in the improvements of the Little Kenawha River, in West Virginia.  In 1869 he came to Marietta, where he had made the first surveys for the Marietta & Cleveland Railroad, and was placed in charge of its construction.  This having been successfully completed he was elected city engineer, and served two terms as such, there by doing credit to himself, and benefiting his city to no little degree.
     Mr. Davis was elected to the State Senate from the 14th Senatorial District in the 68th General Assembly, and served as president pro tem of that body.  While Senator, he presented the first municipal ownership bill ever brought before the Senate, and by his persistent efforts secured the passage of the measure, although many opposed it.  The beneficent results of the act were so manifest that a large number of similar bills has been passed since that time, and in every instance municipal ownership of water-works, lighting systems, etc., has been the means of saving a great amount of money to the people.  Mr. Davis is an enthusiastic exponent of municipal ownership, and through his advocacy of it has rendered good service to the people of Marietta.
     Mr. Davis is mainly occupied in real estate transactions, and is the owner of a large amount of property.  He is also identified with the development of extensive interests, in which he employs many men.  The citizens of Marietta are grateful to Mr. Davis for his services, and they unite in expressing esteem and friendship for him.
     Mr. Davis is a member of the following fraternal bodies:  American Union Lodge, No. 1, F. & A. M.; American Union Chapter, No. 1, R. A. M.; Marietta Commandery, No. 50, K. T., of which he is a charter member; Marietta Council, No. 78, R. & S. M.; and Syrian Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., of Cincinnati, Ohio.  He is a member of Ohio Commandery of the Loyal Legion  of the United States; and Buell Post, No. 178, G. A. R.  He has held several important positions and ranks in the Ohio Department of G. A. R. as a member of the Sons of Veterans.  He belongs to Lodge No. 477, B. P. O. E., and is a charter member of Marietta Council, No. 32, of United Commercial Travelers.
Source: History of Marietta and Washington County, Ohio - Published by Biographical Publishing Company, Chicago, Illinois - 1902 - Page 1059
  WILLARD H. DAVIS, the subject of this sketch, is a son of Willard and Caroline (Shepard) Davis, and grandson of Capt. William Davis.  The family trace their ancestry to William Davis, of Roxbury, Massachusetts, who lived there in 1642.  Capt. Daniel Davis, the great-grandfather, was one of the 48 who came to Marietta in April, 1788.  He went back to Connecticut for his family, and returned in 1789, to Washington County Ohio.
     Capt. William Davis, grandfather of Willard H., was a native of Killingly, Connecticut, and traveled westward, with his parents, to Washington County, Ohio, in November, 1789, making his home, at first, in Watertown township.  There Capt. Daniel Davis and his eldest sons participated in the perils of Indian warfare and frontier life, until 1794, after Wayne's great victory in the Northwest Territory.  After these dangers and hardships were over, he settled down to a somewhat retired and quiet life, and aided much in establishing civil institutions in Ohio.  On the close of the Indian War, in 1795, Capt. William Davis settled in Adams township.  His first wife was Drucilla Olney, who he married Nov. 18, 1794.  She was born Apr. 20, 1771, in Nova Scotia, and died, Aug. 21, 1824.  On Dec. 2, 1824, he married Mrs. Sarah Ransom, whose maiden name was Wright.  She was born Mar. 8, 1789, in England, and died May 29, 1878, in Lowell, Ohio.  Captain Davis died Mar. 18, 1843.
     Willard H. Davis was born Mar. 5, 1806, on the farm in Adams township, first occupied by his father.  He was a farmer by vocation, and was also very fond of hunting and many a deer fell before his sure aim.  In 1830, he purchased 100 acres of land near the homestead farm, and soon had the reputation of being prosperous in his undertakings.  At the death of his father, he purchased the old homestead farm.  On May 24, 1827, he married Caroline E. Shepard, a daughter of Jacob and Sarah Shepard.  Caroline E. (Shepard) Davis was born Nov. 27, 1811, and was a native of Tompkins County, New York.  She came to Ohio in 1813, and died Sept. 11, 1894.  Her husband's death took place Aug. 8, 1866.  He was a Republican in politics, and served his township as trustee, and member of the School Board, for many years, with credit to himself and satisfaction to all.  He and his wife had five children, as follows: Elizabeth, the Wife of George Snyder, who was born Oct. 12, 1829, and lives on the old homestead, in Adams township: Walter, born Aug.  8, 1832, deceased in 1891; Luman, born May 24, 1837, deceased Aug. 6, 1841; Willard H., born Aug. 7, 1843; and Mary C. born Nov. 23, 1847, deceased Dec. 11, 1876.  Marv C. married Dr. George W. Reed, who served with valor in the Civil War, in the 4th Reg., West Virginia Vol. Cav., and also in the 148th Reg., Ohio Vol., Inf. (Ohio National Guard).  He spent one year in the drug business, in Lowell, Ohio, and was afterward, in company with Willard H. Davis, in the same business, at Harmar, for about two years.  He graduated from the Miami Medical College, of Cincinnati, Ohio, March, 1873, and began his practice as a physician, in Lowell.  He died in 1894, at Columbus, Ohio.
     The subject of this sketch was born Aug. 7, 1843, in Adams township, and has followed various pursuits during the years that followed.  In the autumn of 1869, he was, for a short time, engaged in the drug business in partnership with his brother-in-law, at Harmar, Ohio. In 1871 he located in Lowell, intending to pursue the occupation of a photographer.  This project was also abandoned after some time, but he has been busy nevertheless, in various other occupations.  He is the owner of 100 acres of valuable land in Adams township, as well as desirable property in Lowell.  He has aesthetic tastes, and has many interesting relics, especially those pertaining to the Mound-Builders, and has also been very much interested in genealogical research.
     Mr. Davis has never married.  He is a Republican in politics, and has served as township treasurer.  In Lowell, where he lives, he has served on the school board, and has also been village clerk.  He has been a notary public more than 20 years.
Source: History of Marietta and Washington County, Ohio - Published by Biographical Publishing Company, Chicago, Illinois - 1902 - Page 1435
  J. N. DENT

Source: History of Marietta and Washington County, Ohio - Published by Biographical Publishing Company, Chicago, Illinois - 1902 - Page 1455

  GILBERT DEVOL, ESQ., a native of Rhode Island, came early to the county with his family, which were numerous.  His oldest sons, Gilbert and Jonathan, settled in Marietta; they were both blacksmiths, industrious and valuable mechanics and good citizens.  He was some time a judge of the Supreme Court of Rhode Island, in the time of the Revolution, when patriotism ran down the streets like a stream and paper money like a flood.  He was a man with a strong mind; had read much and had formed some eccentric theories by which he arrived at the conclusion that the moral and mental were and out to be subordinate to the physical powers.
Source: History of Marietta and Washington County, Ohio - Published by Biographical Publishing Company, Chicago, Illinois - 1902 - Page  504
  JAMES STOW DEVOL

Source: History of Marietta and Washington County, Ohio - Published by Biographical Publishing Company, Chicago, Illinois - 1902 - Page 1369

  CAPTAIN JONATHAN DEVOL, a native of Rhode Island, came out with General Putnam, and his company, but was not in the Ohio Company's employ until they arrived at Simrell's ferry, where he was employed by General Putnam to build the Ohio Company's boat, which was called the "Mayflower," which brought the pioneers of the State of Ohio to Marietta; he was then employed by the superintendent in providing the material and erecting the block-house on the Campus Martius, where he built himself a dwelling house.  Early in 1789 he removed his family to Belpre "Upper Settlement." where he remained until the close of the war, when he removed to Marietta, and from there up the Muskingum, where his descendants now reside.  while residing in Belpre, Captain Devol, in company with Griffin Green, Esq., built the first floating mill to be operated on and put in action by the current of the Ohio, in the quick water between the island and the main, above Farmers' Castle.  This mill was placed upon two boats of unequal size, the water-wheel running between them, and the machinery and stones for grinding were placed in the larger, which likewise received the grain and the tenders and the customers, &c.  This mill was anchored in the quickest water, and a communication with the shore was kept up by means of canoes and boats, which were the only traveling carriages incident to a country where there were neither roads nor bridges, but only the navigable streams.  This mill - although but a makeshift - supplied the garrison and the scattered inhabitants for 20 or 30 miles up and down the Ohio.  These mills were a risky piece of property, and gave the owners much watchfulness and expense in securing their safety; but like other floating capital, they were not subject to statutory provision to regulate the remuneration of the miller, but by the law of custom he was allowed to crook his hand to any extent in stroking his toll-dish.
     At the close of the Indian war, Captain Devol selected a suitable site, purchased land, moved his family, and commenced building another floating mill, in 1795.  In the absence of all other kind of mills except hand mills and the means of purchasing from abroad, the exigency of the public demanded something that would reduce corn to breadstuff.  Captain Devol had made one experiment, and was still to make improvements, and he persevered under very discouraging circumstances, - want of necessary funds, the difficulty of procuring iron, millstones &c.; in the beginning of 1796 the mill began to grind and although a mere circumstance to a mill - a mere temporary concern - yet it did the grinding, in the times of a thin population, for a distance of 50 miles above Marietta and 50 miles below, and even ground meal to go to Zanesville in its first settlement.  Subsequently Captain Devol built a mill upon a larger scale, which stood prominent upon high stone pillars, with a water-wheel 40 feet in dimensions; this mill accommodated a large circle of inhabitants, as the Muskingum is the only perennial stream in the county; at the time of the year when mills ceased to operate was the most advantageous time for these mills, and the most beneficial to the public.
     In 1801 Captain Devol built the ship "Muskingum" of 204 tons, launched in the spring of 1802, belonging to Benjamin Ives Gilman, Esq., and the brig "Eliza Greene," owned by Charles Greene, merchant, of Marietta.
     In 1802 a number of vessels were built at Pittsburgh, Wheeling, Marietta, and in the Muskingum which were launched and floated down the Ohio, in April, 1803.
Source: History of Marietta and Washington County, Ohio - Published by Biographical Publishing Company, Chicago, Illinois - 1902 - Page 500
  JACOB THOMPSON DILLON, a prominent oil producer in Macksburg, Washington County, Ohio, is a native of Monroe County, Ohio, where he was born Oct. 14, 1858, and is a son of Peter and Julia A. (May) Dillon; he is of Scotch-Irish descent.
     The maternal grandfather of the subject hereof was William H. May, who occupied a leading place among the farmers of Monroe County and had a fine, large farm on the banks of the Ohio River.  Peter Dillon, the father of Jacob T. Dillon, was born in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, and was one of the first farmers in Monroe County to deal extensively in stock.  He married twice, his first wife being Miss Moore, by whom he had eight children, seven of whom grew to maturity, and are as follows: William; John W.; Hamilton; Mazie, who married Polk Baker; Susan, the wife of Jacob Dearth; Rachel, who married Mr. Coburn; James; and Mark.  After the death of his first wife, Mr. Dillon again married, Julia A. May becoming his second wife.  They had six children, namely; Mary L., who married Frank W. Litten; Jacob T.; Ida M., who married Thomas Crumbaker;  Clara B., the wife of William M. Wickham; Eva, the wife of Edward Chapsaw; and Pearl, who married Blanchard Dean. 
     Peter Dillon
was a soldier in the Civil War.  He enlisted as a member of Company E, 8th Reg., Ohio Vol. Inf., and was mustered out of service as a captain, after three yeas of hard fighting.  Three of his sons, Hamilton, Mark and James, also served in the army during this war.
     The subject of the sketch was born in Ohio, and there he has lived all his life.  He attended the county schools and afte4rward started out in life as a stock dealer.  Later he was in the hotel business for a time in West Virginia.  In 1886, he located in Macksburg, and spent five yeas in the liquor business.  Since 18op he has been successfully identified with the oil business, as a producer.
     Mr. Dillon's first wife was Sadie McLaughlin.  Some time after her death he married Rosa Wharff, a daughter of Henry and Mary (Rothley) Wharff, of Salem township, and they have one daughter, Julia.  In religious views the family are liberal.  In politics Mr. Dillon is a Republican, who takes much interest in township and county affairs, as becomes a true hearted and earnest citizen.
Source: History of Marietta and Washington County, Ohio - Published by Biographical Publishing Company, Chicago, Illinois - 1902 - Page 1233
  GEORGE DINSMORE

Source: History of Marietta and Washington County, Ohio - Published by Biographical Publishing Company, Chicago, Illinois - 1902 - Page 1391


Charles W. Dowling
CHARLES W. DOWLING, the leading general contractor of Marietta, Ohio, who has his office in the St. Clair Building, was born at Caywood Station, Washington County, Ohio, in 1866.  He is a son of John W. Dowling, and a grandson of Louis Dowling who came to the country from Scotland and took the farm upon which his son, John W., now resides.  Mrs. Louis Dowing, who died May 4, 1902, had attained the age of 90 years, and enjoyed the best of health up to the time of her death.
     Charles W. Dowing was reared on the farm, and attended the schools of the township.  He served an apprenticeship with his father, who was a carpenter, at Fort Madison, Iowa, whither he went at an early age.  He returned to Marietta in 1890, and has since engaged in contracting there.  He does a general contracting business, and has more than a hundred men in his employ at all times.  He does his own drafting and architectural work, and has erected many fine buildings in Marietta, among them being the Marion street school building, the St. Clair Building and the new high-school building.  He has built many residences and business blocks at Parkersburg, West Virginia, and in other towns near-by, and is at the present time erecting the new penitentiary at Moundsville, West Virginia.
     Mr. Dowling was united in marriage with Ida Thorniley, who was born in Washington County, and is a daughter of R. R. Thorniley, and they have one son, Guy.  The family residence is at Williamstown, although Mr. Dowling contemplates removing to Marietta, where he owns considerable property.  He is a Republican in politics, and in religious belief he favors the Methodist Church.  Fraternally he is a member of Lodge No. 477, B. P. O. E.
Source: History of Marietta and Washington County, Ohio - Published by Biographical Publishing Company, Chicago, Illinois - 1902 - Page 1383
  DR. SOLOMON DROWN is known rather as a scholar and a man of letters than as a physician.  He came to Marietta in the summer of 1788, and attended on General Varnum, as counsel during his sickness.  He was selected to pronounce the eulogy at his funeral, which was published at the time in New England.  He also delivered the address at the first "Seventh of April" celebration.  About 1791 he was elected professor of botany and natural history in Brown University, of which he was a graduate.  He filled the position for many years.
Source: History of Marietta and Washington County, Ohio - Published by Biographical Publishing Company, Chicago, Illinois - 1902 - Page 462
  JAMES T. DUNBAR

Source: History of Marietta and Washington County, Ohio - Published by Biographical Publishing Company, Chicago, Illinois - 1902 - Page 1378

  ALONZO DUNSMORE

Source: History of Marietta and Washington County, Ohio - Published by Biographical Publishing Company, Chicago, Illinois - 1902 - Page 1370

  JOSEPH ALBERT DUTTON

Source: History of Marietta and Washington County, Ohio - Published by Biographical Publishing Company, Chicago, Illinois - 1902 - Page 1426

  D. A. DYE, a prominent oil producer of Newport, Ohio, has followed that line of business since 1862.  He opened up the Archer's Fork oil field, where he still owns three tracts of land, two of forty acres each, and one of sixty-two acres.  He also has five good, producing wells in Lawrence and Independence townships, and four in Elk Run.
     Mr. Dye was born Dec. 28, 1840, and is a son of John H. and Eliza (O'Blenis) Dye, 1775, and great-grandson of John Dye who purchased 1,800 acres of land, or what is known as the Cow Run oil field.  He subsequently gave each of his sons a farm from this tract.  John H. Dye, the father, was born Dec. 27, 1800, at Bull Run, Virginia.  He accompanied his parents to Marietta, Ohio, in 1806, and was reared and schooled in Washington County.
     Six children were born to John H. Dye and his wife, as follows:  Rev. H. B. Dye; Rev. L. B. Dye; Rachael; D. A., the subject of this biography; Elizabeth; and Miles, now deceased.  Rachel married Isaac Dilly and resides in Cairo, West Virginia.  Elizabeth married Capt. W. A. Snodgrass, who is deceased.  John H. Dye followed farming as an occupation, and was an active member of the Congregational Church.  In politics he was an ardent Republican, and never failed to use his influence for the good of the party.  His widow survived him until May 3, 1902, when she, too, passed away at the extreme age of ninety-nine years.
     D. A. Dye was united in matrimony with Mary E. Clogston, a daughter of Thomas Clogston.  They reared six children, namely:  Charles L., who married Mona Goddard, and resides in Newport, Ohio; Edward, who married Anna White, and lives in Lawrence township; James, who married Luella Rogers, and is also a resident of Newport; Elida, wife of G. L. Myer, of Marietta, Ohio; Fannie, wife of Edward A. Myer, also of Marietta; and John H., who is a physician, of Louisville, Kentucky.  He married Maud Manuel.
    
Like his father, Mr. Dye is a Republican, in politics, and a Congregationalist, in his religious belief.  He is a man who is well known all over the county, and is recognized a one of the most successful oil producers in that section.
Source: History of Marietta and Washington County, Ohio - Published by Biographical Publishing Company, Chicago, Illinois - 1902 - Page 1097

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