William Gass, Troy Township
William Gass was born in Franklin County, Pennsylvania, on Feb. 14, 1769. In 1793 was married to Mrs. Jane Rea McClain. In 1800 emigrated to the Northwest Territory, squatting on land he bought as soon as opened for sale, near New Lancaster, now Fairfield County. In the spring of 1806 he sold out there and removed to Knox County, Ohio.... until the spring of 1812 when he sold it and removed to his land which is now Troy Township, Richland County. His family was then four sons, in the following order: Benjamin, James R., John and William. Their mother died in March of 1817. In July 1818 he married to Mrs. Rebecca MEREDITH, mother of Judge John MEREDITH, by whom he had one son, Isaac GASS.
Excerpt from an 1869 biography of the Gass family by his son, James Rea Gass:
The earliest account I can obtain of the Gass family is that they lived along the banks of the River Bonn, in County Antrim, in the northeast part of Ireland. And that the first of the known to have emigrated to America were two brothers, who, in their youthful days, landed in Philadelphia some time in 1690. They were fullers and followed that business in Philadelphia. Their names were Benjamin and William Gass, one of whom was my father's grandfather, but I don't recollect which one.
My own grandfather, Benjamin Gass, was born in Franklin County, Pa. in 1744. He also learned and followed the clothing business. The maiden name of my grandmother was Mary McClain, a native of Chester County, Pennsylvania, also of Irish origin. They raised a family of six sons and two daughters, whose names in order were Margaret, William, Benjamin, Richard, Mary, John and James. I have understood that grandfather owned and sold a good farm in Pennsylvania and when the last payments were due had to take them in Continental notes were then legal tender, but had depreciated so that a dollar only passed for one cent. This nearly broke him up, and he then moved with his family over the mountains about 1789. He the fulling business in mills owned by until he finally settled in Brooke County,
My father, William Gass, was born in Franklin County, Pa. on February 14, 1769. lived with his parents a few years after they moved out west of the mountains, working around at rough carpenter work in western Pennsylvania and West Virginia, He then went east to his native place and farmed with some of his relatives a year or two. He and my mother had been acquainted in their youth. She was the oldest daughter of James Rea, a native of Ireland. Her mother was Elizabeth Simmons, an English woman. Mother was five or six years older than father, at the time of their marriage was the widow of Richard McClain, who was father's uncle. Although father and mother were riot of to each other previous to their marriage, yet according to the Presbyterian orthodoxy at that time it was considered unlawful for them to marry, and their union was a great grief to their parents and relatives. They made all preparations for moving west, were married I think in September 1793, and forthwith commenced their tedious journey over the mountains. After some weeks wagoning they arrived at my grandparents in Brook County, West Virginia. Bought a small piece of wild land, built their first log cabin and commenced housekeeping in the neighborhood where Bethany College is now My only sister, Elizabeth, was born in that cabin on the 21st of September 1800 and brother William, the 25th of September 1803 (note: Fairfield County, Ohio). My sister was kicked in the head by a colt on the forehead in the fall of 1805 of which she died in about one month from the accident.
In the fall of 1813, Father (William Gass) was elected to the legislature as representative of this county ([Richland]and Knox. In the spring of 1814, a few neighbors settled in our township, among them were John and Aaron Young, Noah Cook, Ichabod Clark, Andrew Perkins, and perhaps some others. In the fall of 1814, Father was again elected to the legislature.
William Gass' brother Patrick Gass was of the famed Lewis and Clark expedition. Patrick Gass was born in Franklin County, Pennsylvania on the 12th of June 1771. He joined the excursion under Captains Lewis and Clark to explore the Missouri and Columbia Rivers. When a Sergeant Floyd of the expedition died near the present day city of Sioux City, Iowa, the men in the company chose Patrick Gass to be the senior non-commissioned officer. Patrick Gass died 2 April 1870 near Wellsburg, Brooke County, Virginia.
by James W. McCluer, December 1999
1. Biographical
History of Richland County, Ohio, 1983, The Richland
County Genealogical Society, Library of Congress Catalog No.
83-062557, printed in U.S.A. by Walsworth Publishing Company
2. History of Richland County, Ohio; 1880 by A. A.
Graham & Company, Mansfield, OH,page 899