MUSKINGUM COUNTY OHIO BIO: MCGINNIS, Squire Daniel, Samuel, & Daniel
                                                   (published 1892)
***********************************************************************
OHGENWEB NOTICE:  All distribution rights to this electronic data are
reserved by the submitter.  Reproduction or re-presentation of copyrighted
material will require the permission of the copyright owner.  The submitter 
has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently 
for free access.
***********************************************************************
File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by
Tina Hursh
frog158@juno.com
July 1, 1999
***********************************************************************

From the 
The Ohio Biographies Project
http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~usbios/Ohio/mnpg.html
a part of
The U.S. Biographies Project
http://members.tripod.com/~debmurray/usbios/usbiog.html

This is one of the pioneer families of Muskingum county, and among the most highly respected. 
Squire Daniel McGinnis, Frazeysburg, Ohio, was born here October 20, 1830, and was the son of 
Samuel McGinnis and grandson of Daniel McGinnis and the great-grandson of Heinus McGinnis, 
who came from Ireland to America at a period antedating the Revolutionary war. He served as a 
soldier in that war, and was also in the French and Indian wars. He settled on a farm east of Blue 
Ridge, Penn., reared a large family and lived to be an old man. DanielMcGinnis, grandfather 
of subject, lived in Fayette county, Penn., married Miss Anna Lynch, who came from Scotland with 
her parents when thirteen years of age. The Lynch family was one of great prominence and 
wealth, and were noted manufacturers of edged tools. Her father, Robert Lynch, lived to be ninety 
years of age, and her mother, whose maiden name was Harriet McLeon, and who also born in 
Scotland, lived to be quite old. To Mr. and Mrs. Daniel McGinnis were born seven children: 
George W., Hannah, Samuel, Robert, Elizabeth, Mary, and Annie. Mr. McGinnis was a 
comfortable farmer, and took great pains to educate his children. He was born December 25, 1753, 
and lived to unusual age of ninety-three. He was in the War of 1812. His wife would have rounded 
out one hundred full years had she lived a few months longer. Thus it can be seen that the 
McGinnis family is noted for its longevity. Daniel McGinnis believed that an education combined 
with a good trade was better for his children than money, and he encouraged them to improved 
their minds, and bent all his energies in that direction. He was successful, and reared a very 
intelligent family. He had one son, Robert, who was constable or sheriff of Franklin township for 
twenty-four years. His son, Samuel McGinnis, father of subject, was reared to farm labor and 
like his brothers, had good educational advantages and learned a trade, that of a tanner. He 
worked at this for seven years when a young man, and traveled all over the United States. During 
this time he taught school in Muskingum county, Ohio. In 1827 he settled down, bought land in 
Jackson township, Muskingum county, and was engineer, leveling the banks of the canal until 
1829. On December 29 of that year he married Miss Mary Lemert, daughter of Joshua Lemert 
of Coshocton county and Mary (Wright) Lemert, both of English descent. Joshua Lemert's father, 
William Lemert, lived in Fauquier county, Va.; and was a large slave owner. The Wright family 
was among the earliest settlers of Virginia. Joshua Lemert was the father of eight children: 
Elizabeth, Louis, Susan, William, Sarah, Lloyd, Mary and Nancy. In 1832 Mr. Lemert moved to 
Jackson township and settled on a farm. He lived to be nearly eighty-four years old, dying May 2, 
1859. He was a prominent man and an extensive farmer and manufacturer. He was public spirited 
and assisted laying out many of the roads in Coshocton and Muskingum counties. He held the 
office of justice of the peace for some time. Samuel McGinnis became owner of about 400 acres of 
land, and resided on his farm, two miles north of Frazeysburg, until his death. He was one of the 
first school teachers in the county, and taught a subscription school in Jackson township in 1832. 
The schoolhouse was of logs, puncheon floor, and immense fireplace eight feet wide, and a stick 
chimney daubed with mud. There were thirty-five scholars, twenty of whom were grown men and 
women, some of them having families, but trying with honest effort to learn to read. It was the 
custom in those early days to bar the teacher out until he treated and so one morning Mr. 
McGinnis found himself shut out and could not get in. Returning the next day, he flogged one of 
the big boys, who had been saucy, with a thorn bush. This severe treatment of one of their number 
brought on a compromise, and Mr. McGinnis agreed to treat. He brought apples from his own 
home, three gallons of cider and a gallon of whisky. This, mixed, was a powerful stimulant but the 
school drank the most of it, some of them it is said, showing all the signs of having had enough. The 
old pioneers of that day would not work without their whisky, but they seldom drank enough to 
intoxicate. Building cabin houses, rolling logs, railmaking, etc., was the business of the day. Samuel 
McGinnis died August 27, 1874, in his seventy-sixth year. Both he and wife were members of the 
Christian church. He filled both the offices of township clerk and treasurer, and was a very 
intelligent and capable business man. He could write deeds and legal business papers without 
forms, as he retained the forms in his mind. He was noted for his hospitality, and his house was 
seldom without guests. He was an excellent citizen, and is yet well remembered throughout the 
county. In politics he was a lifelong Jacksonion democrat. Daniel McGinnis, subject of this 
sketch, received a common education and was taught the duties of the farm at an early age. On 
September 12, 1850, he married Miss Hannah Miller, daughter of David and Hannah (Scott) 
Miller, from Boyd's Mills, Fayette county, Penn. Mr. Miller's father came from Germany, and died 
four years after landing. The Scotts were among the original settlers of Virginia. Mr. Miller was 
the father of fourteen children, and was noted as an excellent farmer. After marriage, Mr. 
McGinnis settled on a farm in Jackson township, and resided on this for fifteen years, after which 
he moved to Delaware county, Iowa. Three years later he returned and settled in Jackson 
township, where he followed clerking and farming for twelve years, after which he came to 
Frazeysburg, and he has remained here since. He has been justice of the peace three terms, and is 
engaged in general business; in time of the war acting as clerk for E.L. Lemert. Mr. and Mrs. 
McGinnis became the parents of thirteen children: Olivia P., Harmon K., Clarissa H., Bolton A., 
Van R., Beth A., Chance J., Samuel L., Etha R., Don O., Dio S., and Zales S. Mrs. McGinnis died in 
1881. She was a devout Christian, a member of the Christian church, and was a woman of noble 
character. August 17, 1883, Mr. McGinnis married Miss Nancy L. Marshall, and by her became the 
father of three children: Rill D., Paul V., and one who died in infancy. In politics he is democratic. 
Mr. McGinnis has held a number of local offices - justice of the peace, township trustee, clerk, 
assessor and school director. He was for many years a clerk in Frazeysburg. Both he and wife hold 
membership in the Disciple church. He is a man of unusual intelligence, and stands high in the 
estimation of the people.

Source: Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Muskingum County, Ohio: Chicago, 1892: The 
Goodspeed Publishing Co.