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OH-FOOTSTEPS-D Digest                    Volume 99 : Issue 169

Today's Topics:
  #1 JONAS VOTAW - COLUMBIANA COUNTY      [AUPQ38A@prodigy.com (MRS GINA M RE]

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X-Message: #1
Date: Sun, 21 Mar 1999 10:58:03, -0500
From: AUPQ38A@prodigy.com (MRS GINA M REASONER)
Subject: JONAS VOTAW - COLUMBIANA COUNTY


BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL RECORD OF JAY AND BLACKFORD COUNTIES, INDIANA
The Lewis Publishing Company, 1887
Pages 297, 298, 299, 300, 301 and 302

        JONAS VOTAW, one of the leading and influential citizens of Jay
County, was born January 1, 1813, near New Lisbon, Columbiana County, Ohio,
being the tenth and youngest child, and the only one now living, of John
and Rebecca (Burson) Votaw. His father was of French descent, his mother
being of Scotch ancestry. They belonged to the Society of Friends, and were
married in a Quaker church, in Loudoun County, Virginia, in accordance with
the usual custom of that society, the date of their marriage being January
9, 1793. The father was a blacksmith by occupation, and manufactured all
kinds of edged tools then in use, farming utensils, etc. He made the
knives, forks, plates, and also furniture with which he had his wife began
housekeeping. By strict economy and close application to his trade, he
accumulated a little money. In the fall of 1796, they left their native
county, having two horses on which they loaded their clothing, placing
their few goods on pack saddles, crossing the Allegheny Mountains, and
locating in Harrison County, West Virginia, where the father bought land on
which he made his home seven or eight years. He then sold his land and with
his family, then consisting of wife and six children, he moved to
Columbiana County, Ohio, in the fall of 1803, where he purchased a section
of Government land, five miles west of New Lisbon. He sold 160 acres of
this land, retaining 480 acres which he paid for by working at his trade.
He was a skilled and reliable workman, and his patrons came to his shop a
distance of from ten to twenty miles in the early settlement of the
country. His son Jonas, the subject of this sketch, had but limited
educational advantages in his youth, only attending the common district
school four terms of three months each between the age of twelve and
sixteen years. Prior to reaching the age of twelve years he had been taught
at home by his parents. From sixteen until attaining the age of twenty one
years he was engaged in farming on his father's farm. For two years from
the age of twenty-one to twenty-three years he was engaged in burning wood
into charcoal, making 100,000 bushels of charcoal from about 2,000 cords of
wood, and sold the same to Hughes & Doyle, this firm using charcoal
furnaces in the manufacture of iron, nails and castings. This work was very
laborious, requiring constant attention both night and day, Mr. Votaw
having three coal pits burning most of the time, and not sleeping more than
four or five hours during the day. From this labor of a little over two
years he realized a net profit of $600. Desiring to travel and see more of
the world, he made a safe deposit of his money, and November 1, 1835,
contracted with Captain McIntoch of Wellsville, Ohio, for $40 a month, and
was one of four men to row two large flat boats, 40 x 80 feet, lashed
together, making a surface of 40 x 80 feet. This boat was loaded with
different kinds of produce to supply the wants of the people on the Lower
Mississippi, and the trip, including the coast trade on the lower
Mississippi, embraced a period of almost five months. Although attended
with many exciting incidents, both romantic and dangerous, such as passing
over the falls of the Ohio River at Louisville, and the eddies and
whirlpools of the lower Mississippi, the trip was much enjoyed. The Captain
was an experienced man, this being his nineteenth trip, and landed them
safely at New Orleans February 1, 1836, with his goods mostly sold. Mr.
Votaw remained at New Orleans ten days, viewing the city, and February 10,
1836, he embarked on a large steamboat, bound for Louisville with a stock
of oranges and lemons, which were sold in Cincinnati, the profit of these
more than paying steamboat fare. He proceeded to Richmond, Indiana, for a
short visit to relatives and friends, and was very favorably impressed with
the country. At that time there was much talk and excitement about the sale
of cheap Government lands at Fort Wayne and Northern Indiana, and Mr. Votaw
resolved to invest his small means in the purchase of lands. He accordingly
returned to his native home, collected his money, and started on foot and
alone for Fort Wayne, Indiana, arriving at his destination about the middle
of May, 1836. He was there informed that the receiver's office was closed,
and would remain so about two months, and this gave him a good opportunity
to explore and prospect for land. He received much information and kind
advice from Mr. Brackenridge, the Registrar of the land office. After
remaining three days at Fort Wayne he started for the wilds of Northern
Indiana, sometimes going from ten to twenty miles between cabins and
settlements, passing through a part of De Kalb, Noble, and LaGrange
counties, entering the State of Michigan at Sturgis, going on to Kalamazoo,
which at the time had but a dozen small houses. Finding that the Michigan
land had been taken up he returned to Fort Wayne, and in the meantime he
had taken the numbers of forty-six tracts of land, numbering from first to
forty-sixth choice. At this time the country was full of land hunters, and
at the opening of the land office at Fort Wayne, about July 1, 1836, there
were at least 2,000 people in the village, most of whom were land buyers
from New York, Pennsylvania, Indiana and Ohio, and the speculators and
money sharks took advantage of the honest, unsuspecting land buyers,
getting the number of their lands, to come in conflict with them. Then for
the sole purpose of making money they would offer to release and compromise
for $50 or $100, called hush money. Mr. Brackenridge, seeing how matters
stood, gave notice to those desiring to enter land to prepare their numbers
by section, township and range by writing, and hand the same into his
office the following morning, and that no other entries would be made until
those applications were gone through with, and this to a great extent
stopped the land sharks from imposing on the people. Mr. Votaw had to
remain in Fort Wayne fifteen days before his entries could be reached, he
finally entering five eighty acre lots, four hundred acres in all, his
selections being among the choicest tracts of land, one tract being on the
north branch and another on the south of the Elkhart River. All of said
land he sold within three years of the date of entry, receiving on an
average $7 per acre before any tax has accrued thereon, Government land
being exempt from taxation for five years from date of purchase. He had
paid for these lands $1.25 an acre. After closing his purchases at Fort
Wayne Mr. Votaw, with sixteen other eastern land buyers, purchased a large
canoe, in which they floated down the Maumee River to Toledo, then a
village of not more than fifteen houses, and from there proceeded to
Cleveland by steamer, subsequently reaching his home in Columbiana County,
Ohio, with but sixpence in his pocket. The news of his land purchase
created no little excitement among his relatives and former associates, and
in the fall of the same year his father, John Votaw, his brother-in-law,
Preston Beck, and James Ferrel offered to pay Mr. Votaw's expenses if he
would pilot them to Fort Wayne, which offer he accepted, and all mounted on
good horses they soon arrived at their destination. There learning that the
choice land had all been sold in northern Indiana, they went to Jay County,
where they found an unbroken forest of heavy timber land subject to entry,
and here his father bought 400 acres. Preston Beck 240 and James Ferrel
eighty acres located on the Limberlost Creek near the present site of the
village of Westchester. These three gentlemen then returned to their homes,
and our subject went to his lands in Noble County, where he remained over a
year, making some improvements, and in the meantime cut and split 6,000
rails for other parties. He still kept his plats in Noble, LaGrange and
Elkhart counties marked up by sending them to the registrar of the land
office, thus being able at all times to show the vacant lands to those
wishing to purchase, which occupation he followed when called on. He was an
expert woodsman, often making as high as $5 a day. In the fall of 1837 he
was taken sick with bilious malarial fever, followed by an attack of ague,
and on recovering he returned to his native home in the latter part of
1838. He remained with his father the following summer and winter,
recuperating his health and helping on the farm. In the fall of 1838 his
father, with his two sons, John, Jr., and Isaac, sold their farms, and in
the spring of 1839 came with our subject to Jay County, Indiana, and
settled on their land near Westchester. The father having money hired help,
and in a little over one year he had fifty acres of cleared land. In the
fall of 1840 he was taken sick with typhus fever and died September 7,
1840, in his seventy-first year, his death being a source of great grief to
his family. He had left a home, surrounded with all the necessary comforts
of life, and many friends and relatives in Ohio, where, with such a
constitution as his, he might have been spared for many years. Jonas Votaw,
having previously purchased 280 acres of land in the vicinity of
Westchester, built a frame house on his land, and cleared forty acres in
1840-'41. In August, 1841, he was elected treasurer of Jay County, being
nominated by the Whig party. He was three times re-elected by the people,
and held that office twelve consecutive years, serving with credit to
himself and satisfaction to his constituents. He resigned the office of
treasurer June 10, 1853, he having previously been elected treasurer of the
Cincinnati, Union & Fort Wayne Railroad, which he held four or five years.
While treasurer of Jay County he acted as agent for many non-residents in
selling their lands, buying and selling many tracts of land, and it was a
common saying that "Votaw never bought a poor piece of land, and you can
bet the title thereto is good." He was married September 8, 1842, to Ann
Brown, daughter of Aaron and Mary Brown, and immediately after his marriage
located at Portland, and at once became interested in the improvement and
development of that city. He has since lived in Portland, or the immediate
vicinity, his present residence being about one mile from the business
center. To Mr. and Mrs. Votaw were born seven children -Wilson C., was born
August 10, 1843; August 10, 1861, he volunteered in Company C, Thirty-ninth
Regiment Indiana Infantry; was a Sergeant of Captain George F. Winter's
Company (C), Eighth Regiment of Indiana Veteran Cavalry Volunteers; was
enrolled on the 122th day of February, 1864, to serve three years, or
during the war; was honorably discharged from the service of the United
States July 20, 1865, at Lexington, North Carolina, by order of the
Secretary of War; and was married October 21, 1866, to Jane Simmons; Ruth
A., born April 18, 1845, was married in September, 1860, to A.J. Callahan,
a farmer residing near Johnstown, Bates County, Missouri; Mary R., born May
7, 1847, was married September 20, 1866, to D.A. Henry, a farmer living
near Clinton, Henry County, Missouri; Sarah G., born August 6, 1851, was
married September 7, 1879, to J.R. Coulson, a farmer residing two miles
southwest of Portland; Howard E., born December 30, 1853, married November
14, 1885, to Ollie M. Milligan, and is engaged in farming two miles west of
Portland; Homer S., born January 26, 1856, is a ticket and freight agent,
and also telegraph operator for the Chicago & Northwestern Railway Company,
now located at Smith's Mill, Minnesota; John J., born March 10, 1859, died
October 23, 1859. Mrs. Votaw died March 18, 1859, aged thirty-three years,
ten months and twenty-seven days. Mr. Votaw was again married June 17,
1861, to Lizzie K. Dresser, a daughter of John Dresser, who lived near Old
Stockbridge, Berkshire County, Massachusetts. She had a liberal education
and followed school teaching for several years. She was an exemplary
Christian, a member of the Congregational church. To this marriage were
born five children -James F., born and died June 19, 1862; Clara B., born
June 26, 1863, is now clerking for her brother, Homer S., in the office of
the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad Company at Smith's Mill, Minnesota;
Lillian K., born January 22, 1866, was married April 9, 1887, to John E.
Bishop, a teacher in the Portland City Normal School; Henry J., born
September 12, 1867, a teacher in the Portland Normal School; Emma L., born
June 17, 1871. Mrs. Votaw died July 13, 1874, aged forty-three years, seven
months and nineteen days, and lived and died a devoted Christian. August
10, 1875, Mr. Votaw married at Little York, Ohio, Mrs. N.J. (Perdew) Case,
daughter of Philip and Amy M. Perdew. Her father was a native of
Pennsylvania, born September 2, 1805, and her mother was born near
Providence, Rhode Island, August 2, 1813. The latter was of French
extraction, the third cousin of Marquis de La Fayette, her maiden name
being Des Trees. Mrs. Votaw is a Christian woman, in early life joining the
Methodist church. She was first married July 9, 1857, when seventeen years
of age, to Augustus B. Case, and to them were born two children -Amy L.,
born June 18, 1858, and died the day of her birth; Cecil E.A., born May 16,
1880, was married February 19, 1881, to Etta B. White, who died September
20, 1884, aged twenty-one years. Both were members of the Christian church.
Augustus B. Case was a soldier in the war of the Rebellion, enlisting in
1861 in the Fifty-fifth Ohio Infantry. He veteranized January 22, 1864, and
was killed at the battle of Reseca, Georgia, May 15, 1864, at the age of
twenty-six years. He was a brave soldier, and a true Christian. Cecil E.A.
Case now lives with his parents, and is engaged in farming. Jonas Votaw was
appointed and commissioned by Governor Oliver P. Morton director of the
Northern Indiana State Prison to serve for a term of two years, from march
11, 1861, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Colonel Milt.
Robinson, which position he accepted and filled with satisfaction to the
State. He was also postmaster at College Corner, Jay County, for five or
six years, which position he filled satisfactorily for six years, when the
company failed, and was finally dissolved in 1863. The citizens of Portland
and Jay County were heavy losers by the failure of this enterprise, they
having expended about $100,000 in grubbing and grading the railroad bed
from Union City to Portland, Indiana, a distance of twenty miles. This
railroad bed still remains unironed, but the prospects are that in the near
future it will be utilized. Mr. Votaw was appointed chairman of a
commission by a Congress of the United States, said commission being to
partition the Me-shin-go-me-sia reservation in Grant and Wabash counties,
Indiana, under Act of Congress of June 1, 1872. In said reservation there
were about ten sections of land which had never been surveyed. In the
spring of 1873 the commission commenced work and was occupied about ten
weeks, by which time they had sectioned of the land, and divided it per
capita among the band of Me-shin-go-me-sia, consisting of sixty-six
Indians, making each division almost 100 acres. Mr. Votaw took an active
interest in the organization of the Jay County Agricultural, Horticultural
and Industrial Joint Stock Company, which was incorporated December 21,
1871, with which he has since been identified either as president or
director. The fairs have always proved a success financially, and the
growth and breeds of all kinds of stock have been greatly improved, and the
general interests of the country have been developed by the society's
progressive course. Mr. Votaw was chosen a delegate from the Eleventh
Congressional District of Indiana to represent said district in the
National Republican Convention that convened in Chicago, June 3, 1884,
which resulted in the nomination of James G. Blaine for President, and John
A. Logan for Vice President. He took an active part to secure the
nomination of Mr. Blaine. Mr. Votaw is a public spirited citizen, and has
given liberally of his means to all public enterprises for the development
of the city of Portland, and the country at large, doing all in his power
to secure railroads to Portland, and gravel roads throughout the county,
and has aided in the support of schools and churches from the early
settlement of the county to the present time. In his religious views he is
liberal and progressive, not recognizing the Jewish ceremonies and
ordinances as essential to salvation.

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End of OH-FOOTSTEPS-D Digest V99 Issue #169
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