| Contributor::
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Transcription contributed by Arne H Trelvik 11 October 2005 |
| Sources: |
The History of Warren County Ohio Part V. Biographical Sketches Deerfield Township (Chicago, IL: W. H. Beers Co, 1882; reprint, Mt. Vernon, IN: Windmill Publications, 1992) |
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ABNER L. ROSS, farmer; P. O. Pisgah, Butler Co. The gentleman whose name we present at the head of this sketch is another of the old and well-known citizens of Warren County. He was born in Turtle Creek Township July 29, 1805; he is a son of Benjamin L. and Sarah (Leonard) Ross; he was a native of New York, she being a native of Pennsylvania; both came to Ohio when single; he came to Ft Washington in 1797; in 1798, he came to Mason, but returned to his former place for greater security, which place is now known as Prideton. In 1801, he returned. He was one of the first mail-carriers in this part of the State, a business he operated in for a number of years; he was in reality a mail contractor under the United States Government. He was married, near Mason, in the spring of 1803, to Sarah, daughter of Abner Leonard, a pioneer preacher of the Methodist persuasion; he resided in Deerfield Township for a short time after his marriage, when he removed to near Lebanon and settled on land which is now owned by — Mull; here he resided ten years, after which he returned to Mason and settled on one of Maj. Mason's farms for a short time, then removed to near Goshen, in Clermont Co., Ohio, where he lived till his death. He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, in which he was a pillar in its early history; a conscientious and unassuming gentleman, and one who had no aspirations for the empty bauble of office. To them were born ten children, five of whom are living, viz., Abner L., Samuel, Benjamin J., Mehetable and Sarah; the deceased are Isaac, Andrew, Mary, William L. and an infant. Mr. Ross died in April, 1865, aged about 90 years; his wife departed this life in 1876, at the age of 88 years. The early boyhood of our subject was passed in a manner different from most of pioneer boys, and obtained a good education for the advantages then offered; he walked three and four miles to schools, whose teachers' main qualifications were in the use of the hazel. At the age of 14, he began carrying the mail, his route extending from Lebanon through Oxford and Hamilton to Brookville, Ind.; on this route he operated four years, carrying the mail on horseback; after this, he operated on the Troy Stage Line from Lebanon to Dayton, and another to Lancaster and Circleville; also from Cincinnati to Lancaster through Mont- |
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gomery, Foster's Crossing, Clarksville, Sabina, Washington Court House, to Holland, Williamsport, Circleville and Amanda to Lancaster; on the above lines he operated twelve years, and at the same time had staging going on from Chillicothe to Gallipolis, and a line from Cincinnati to Indianapolis, Ind., and from the latter place to Bloomington, Bedford, Paola, to Leavenworth, on the Ohio River; also from Indianapolis to Terre Haute; he was the first to run a stage into Hamilton and Oxford, Ohio; his whole routes extended over a length of seven hundred miles; on four of his lines he had lively opposition. At this time, there were no pikes; the roads were mud roads, and the reader can have only a faint idea of their condition at times. During a portion of the time he was engaged in the above business, he was keeping hotel in Lebanon, where he was engaged at two different times—in all, twenty years. In Wilmington, Ohio, he kept hotel for two years. Abandoning staging in 1860, he retired to a fruit farm near Morrowtown, this county, to which he gave his attention about six years, and in 1869 came to where he now resides. He was married, in 1825, to Margaret Frazier, by whom he had six children, four living, viz., Abner L., James W., George W. and William R.; two died in infancy. His second marriage was celebrated with Mrs. Phoebe Fatout in 1869, she owning the farm of 90 acres, which is one of the best in the county. |
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This page created 11 October 2005 and last updated
30 April, 2011
© 2005 Arne H Trelvik
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