BENTON TOWNSHIP
The following biographical sketches of early settlers in
Monroe County as reproduced from a book titled, the "Combined History and
Atlas of Monroe County, Ohio." The material for this book was taken from
two nineteenth century books: (1) 'History of Monroe County Ohio,' a product of
the H.H. Hardesty & Co., publishers, Chicago and Toledo, 1882 and (2) 'Caldwell's
Atlas of Monroe County, Ohio,' a product of Atlas Publishing Company, Mount
Vernon, Ohio, 1898. The "Combined History and Atlas of Monroe County,
Ohio" was reprinted and is available from the Monroe County Historical
Society.
DORNBUSCH, JOHN JACOB DORNBUSCH
CORBIN AMOS a merchant, and formerly a
tanner, of Benton township, was born in Harford county, MD, Mar 26 1810. His wife, Julia H. CHALK, is a native
of St. Clairsville, Belmont county, where she was born Jul 31 1829. They were married in Benton township, May 10
1864; came to this county in 1840. His
parents were Robert AMOS, born in 1769, died in 1824, and Elizabeth,
born in 1774, died in 1818. The parents
of Mrs. AMOS were Leonard CHALK, born in 1807, died in 1873, and
Miranda E., born in 1807, died in 1859.
Mr. AMOS father, Robert AMOS, and also his brother,
Benjamin, were both in the war of 1812.
When Mr. AMOS first came into the place now called Brownsville,
there were but few log houses in the place; the surrounding country was an
almost unbroken wilderness. His family
helped to organize the first school, and also supported the first church in the
place, and have also always been noted for their extensive charities to all, and
especially the poor. In addition to
sharing the vicissitudes and privations incident to pioneer life, Mr. AMOS
started in the business of tanning in a very humble and unpretentious way,
living for a long time in the loft of his tannery. However, he has been a very successful business man, and was
always known as an able financier. It
is said that he has never borrowed fifty dollars in his life. His address is Jolly Postoffice, Monroe
county, OH.
ROSEBERRY M. CLINE
is a son of John CLINE, who was born Sep 28 1799, and died Sep 7 1868,
and Alvira McVEY, born Jan 9 1803.
They came into the county, the former in 1805, and the latter in
1817. Mr. CLINE was born in
Monroe county, OH, Feb 27 1840. He was married in Perry township, Monroe
county, OH, May 23 1867, to Sarah L. STATES, who was born in Monroe
county, OH, Nov 10 1846. Mrs. CLINE s
father was Samuel STATES, born Jan 3 1824, and her mother was Frances DRUM,
born Sep 4 1820. Mr. STATES came
into this county in the year 1841. The
children of Roseberry M. & Sarah L. CLINE are: Oliver H., born Oct
31 1868; Ida F., Oct 21 1871; Samuel A., Jun 7 1875; David L., Jan 25 1876;
John G. H., Jan 6 1880; Winnonia, Oct 5 1881, died Oct 5 1881. All of the children, except the last, live
at home. Mr. CLINE enlisted in
the army for the suppression of the rebellion in Jul 1861, in the 27th
OVI, Co. D. He was discharged on the 13th
day of March 1862, on account of disease contracted in the army, the beginning
of which was the measles. Mr. CLINE
has been justice of the peace for Benton township since 1874, and was also
trustee of the same township for five terms in succession; was assessor of
Belton township for terms at different times.
Occupation, farming. Address,
Jolly, Monroe county, OH.
HUGH DINES is one of the old settlers
of Benton township, having moved there on Mar 15 1851. He is a native of county Down, Newtonards,
Ireland, where he was born Jun 26 1828.
His wife, Isabella McKELVY, to whom he was married in Allegheny
county PA, Apr 1 1852, was born in the same county, Sep 10 1828. Their children are Elizabeth, Isabella S.,
Hugh J., William J., and Mary K.
William died Oct 14 1865; the rest live at home. Mr. DINES father s first name was
Hugh; his mother was Jane CARL.
Both are now deceased. Mr. DINES
is engaged in farming. Address, Jolly,
Monroe county, OH.
JOHN JACOB DORNBUSCH is one of the substantial farmers of Benton
township; was engaged in the business of shoemaking at Wheeling in 1834. His father was Conrad DORNBUSCH, and
his mother Maria C. HENCKIL, both now deceased. They were born and died in Germany. Mr. DORNBUSCH was born in the city of
Greifenstein, Prussia, Dec 29 1808, settled in Monroe county in 1840. His wife is Margaret SNYDER, who was born
at Gliesenbarsh, Aug 20 1813. Her
parents were Nicolas & Barbara SNYDER, who died in 1839, in Wheeling
WV. Mr. & Mrs. DORNBUSCH
were married at Wheeling WV, Dec 27 1838.
Their children are: Maria C., born Sep 2 1839, now a resident of Benton
township; William F., Feb 25 1841, is a merchant at Newcastle, OH; Henry E.,
Dec 19 1842, died Aug 20 1843; John J., Feb 23 1845, now lives at home, is a
carpenter; Mariah S., Mar 10 1847, a resident of Brownsville, OH; Conrad C.,
Apr 10 1849, is a merchant at Pittsburgh, PA; Frederick C., Jul 8 1851, now
living at home. Mr. DORNBUSCH
has been trustee of Benton township for five terms at different times. He left his home in Germany, Mar 30 1834,
and went to Bremen. At noon, Apr 10, he
took passage on the ship Shanadoa, and sailed for this country. About 5 o clock in the afternoon of the same
day the ship ran on a rock and was wrecked.
They had to remain there until the 12th, when they were
rescued by life-boats and taken back to Bremenhaven. They saved nothing but the clothing they had on. With the ship there were over 32 lives
lost. Mr. DORNBUSCH remained in
Bremenhaven until the 17th, when he again sailed for this country on
the ship Neptune, and landed at Baltimore, Jun 28 1834, and from there came to
Wheeling, WV, in the same year, and thence to Benton township, Monroe
county. The country was then rather
new, and he cleared up, mostly with his own hands, the farm on which he now
lives. Himself and family are members
of the German Lutheran Evangelical Church, which they helped to organize at
Trail run, and also at Brownsville. Two
of his children lie buried at Trail run church. Mr. DORNBUSCH s address is Jolly, Monroe county, OH.
JAMES McCASLIN is a native of Belmont
county, OH, having been born Sep 18 1831; settled in Monroe county in the
spring of 1833. His parents were Thomas
McCASLIN, who was born in 1804, and died in 1879, and Elizabell FULTON,
born in 1798, and died in 1877. They
came into this county in 1833. Mr. McCASLIN s
wife was Mary E. MILLER, who was born in PA, Nov 14 1838. Her parents were Samuel MILLER, born
Dec 21 1812, and died in 1873, and Abigail MILLER, born Dec 19 1814,
died in 1871. The children of Mr. &
Mrs. McCASLIN are: Andrew T., born Jan 18 1859; James G., Jun 14 1861;
Joseph I., Mar 29 1864; William F., Oct 16 1866, died Feb 6 1870; John M., Apr
27 1868, died Jun 18 18--; Anna B., Jan 15 1871; Ella M., Dec 15 1874; Mary M.,
Dec 13 1877; Edgar F., Sep 7 1880. Mr. McCASLIN
has been trustee of Benton township for three different terms. Occupation, farmer. Address, Jolly, Monroe county, OH.
GEORGE RING a prominent farmer and
miller of Benton township, settled in Monroe county in Mar 1836, and was born
in Belmont county, OH, Mar 20 1823. His
parents were Walter RING, born Jul 12 1793, and died Dec 7 1864, and
Margaret KESSEY, born in 1803, died in 1879. They came to Monroe county in 1836. Mr. RING s wife was Drusilla FAWCETT, who was born
in Belmont county, Nov 27 1834. They
were married in Benton township, Mar 26 1857.
Mrs. RING s parents were Benjamin FAWCETT & Lydia A. HORNER,
both of whom came to Monroe county in 1843.
The children of George & Drusilla RING are: Julia A., born
Jan 27 1858; Elmar, Oct 31 1859; Cynthia A., Oct 18 1861; G. B. McClellan, Dec
19 1863; Lafayette, Mar 14 1866; Benjamin, Jul 12 1868; Margaret, Apr 4 1870;
Walter, Oct 26 1872; Lydia, May 9 1875; Alexander H., Oct 29 1877; Oley, Apr 25
1880. Mr. RING settled in Benton
township on the Little Muskingum river where he entered 160 acres of land. His father bought the second mill, and
afterward built a frame mill. He also
built a saw-mill in connection with it in 1840. Mr. RING s parents helped to organize the first church
society in Benton township, the Christian or Campbellite Church, of which they
were members. Jacob RING was in
the army, going out in 1862 and remaining in the army till the close of the
war, as did also another brother, Louis C. RING. Louis died in 1863 of fever contracted while
in the service. His brothers, Benjamin
& Jacob, were taken prisoners at Winchester. Mr. RING served two terms as trustee of Benton
township. Address, Jolly, Monroe
county, OH.
BENJAMIN RIDGWAY
is a farmer of Benton township; was born in Monroe county, May 9 1842. His wife was Margaret J. BARLOW, who
was born in Guernsey county, OH, Mar 10 1842.
They were married at Brownsville, OH, Mar 22 1866. Their children are: Maria B., born May 13
1867; Elmer C., Feb 22 1871; John W., Jul 16 1874; Joseph W., Jun 4 1876;
Edward F., Jan 25 1879; all of them live at home. Mr. RIDGWAY s father was James R. RIDGWAY, and his
mother Catharine HAMILTON. Mrs. RIDGWAY s
parents were James BARLOW, born Jan 5 1810, and died in Jun 1868, and
Maria STARKEY who was born Jun 1 1824, and died Jul 19 1864. They came to Monroe county, in the Spring of
1856. Mr. RIDGWAY enlisted in
the 116th OVI, in Aug 1862, and came out in Jun 1865. He was engaged in the battles of Piedmont,
Winchester, Bunker Hill, Snicker s Gap, Petersburg, Richmond, Lynchburg,
Moorefield and Fisher s Hill; was taken prisoner at Winchester, on the 3rd
of June 1863, and was held about three months, during which time he was very
sick with typhoid fever; was then paroled being still very weak from his long
sickness. He now owns 80 acres of farm
land in section 7. Address, Jolly,
Monroe county, OH.
GEORGE SCHMIDT has been a resident of
Monroe county since May 1858, having been engaged in the occupations of farmer
and shoemaker. He is a son of John SCHMIDT,
who died in Germany, in 1823, and Mary CRAMER, who died in the same
country in 1843. Mr. SCHMIDT was
born in the city of Wetzlar, Prussia, Jun 22 1820; was married in the city of
Hardicka, Prussia, Oct 25 1845, to Henrietta MARCK, who was born in the
city of Hardicka, Prussia, Nov 8 1820.
Her parents were Caspar MARCK, who died in 1846 in Germany, and
Catherine RANCKART, who died in Germany in 1860. The children of Mr. SCHMIDT and his
wife are: Henrietta SWITZER, born Jul 13 1846; William, Aug 19 1849; Henry,
Jan 10 1853, died Mar 6 1870; Matilda TEEMAN, Feb 16 1856; George P.,
Jun 29 1858; Julia Ann, Oct 4 1863. All
of the above, with the exception of Henry, deceased, live at Brownsville. Mr. SMITH was for three years in the
cavalry service in the German army, from which he was discharged in 1844. When Mr. SMITH first came to
Brownsville, in 1858, times were hard and money scarce, and there was very
little for him to do at his trade, but by industry and economy he began to
build up, and afterward purchased the property where he has resided ever
since. His address is Jolly, Monroe
county, OH.
CHRISTIAN SANDER
conducts a store of general merchandise at Brownsville, Jolly postoffice,
Monroe county, OH; he has been postmaster since Jan 30 1864, and notary public
since May 22 1869. He taught school for
two terms in 1859 and 1860, and has been for several years a member of the
board of education, and through his influence the board has erected in
Brownsville a two-story school-house, and also a high school was
established. Jul 4 1876, he was
president of the centennial celebration at Brownsville; he also wrote an
epitome of the history of the town, a copy of which is on file in the Library
of Congress, and also another in the New York State Library at Albany. In 1859 he and his wife joined the Methodist
Episcopal Church, and he has been the Sabbath-school superintendent ever since;
he has been the leader of the Tuesday evening meeting for the promotion of
holiness since 1870, class-leader since Jul 3 1881. He was born Tuesday Jan 25 1825, at Blaubach, Canton Kusel,
Rhenish province of Bavaria, Germany, and he is the youngest of seven
children. His father s name was
Theobald, and his mother s, Elizabeth; both died of old age at their peaceful
home in Germany. When the subject of
this sketch was a child, he was taken sick and to all appearance died;
preparation was made for burial, but before it took place signs of life
returned again, and when a youth was shown the shroud in which he was to be
buried. When 16 years old he left
Germany and landed in New York, May 17 1841, where he remained until Jun 1846,
then he traveled in the eastern States till Nov 9, when he became a citizen of
the United States. He then returned to
Germany, where he remained until May 1847, when he again came to New York in
June. Jul 1 1847 he was united in
marriage to Mary E. GROSS; she was born Dec 20 1826 at Denweiler, same
province as that of her husband; she came to New York in Jun 1843, and remained
there until Nov 1846, when she went back to Germany, returning again to New
York in Jun 1847; her parents, two sisters and two brothers came over with
her. They went to the west and settled
near Salem, Washington county, OH. Her
father died Aug 17 1880; at the age of 85 and her mother still lives. Shortly after the subject of this sketch was
married, he and his wife settled in Athens, Green county, NY, where he remained
till 1850, then went west and settled at East Liverpool, Columbiana county, OH;
Dec 12 1854, he settled in Brownsville, the present place of abode. He and his wife, who shared his joys and
sorrows for nearly 35 years, have been blessed with six children; the oldest
was born at Athens NY, and is a member of the Evangelical Church; the other
five children were born at Brownsville, and are member of the Methodist
Episcopal Church at their respective places of abode. The family record of Christian & Mary E. SANDERS: (1)
George Washington was born May 27 1848, has a tin and stove store in
Brownsville; and he was married Oct 12 1871 to Maria S. DORNBUSCH they
have three boys, Edward, William, Otto, and two girls, Daisy and Violet; (2)
Chris, was born Mar 23 1855, has a grocery and commission store at Wheeling WV,
since Jul 6 1880; (3) Maggie E., was born Aug 20 1857, resides at home; (4)
John W., was born Aug 3 1861, and hold a prominent position in Marshall,
Kennedy & Co s dry goods store, Wheeling WV, since May 17 1880; (5) Charles
A. was born Mar 29 1864, resides at home; (6) Flora May was born May 29 1867,
also resides at home. (January 1 1882).
Dr. G. B. WEST is a native of Marshall
county WV, where he was born Jun 5 1852; his parents were John B. WEST
and Mary E. ALEXANDER, both now dead.
He was married at Cochransville, OH, Oct 3 1876, to Miss Adda S. KOUNTZ,
who was born in Monroe county, OH, Jun 19 1855. Her parents were Peter F. KOUNTZ and Ann SPECK,
neither of whom are now living. Doctor
and Mrs. WEST have two children: Earl, born Oct 23 1877, and Meta R.,
Aug 13 1879. The doctor s grandfather,
Charles WEST, was engaged in the war of 1812, and received a wound which
afterward produced his death. Dr. WEST
is engaged in the practice of medicine.
Address, Jolly, Monroe county, OH.
Transcribed by Dr. Shirley A.
Harmon, e-mail: Shirley Harmon