The Furnas Family of Warren County, Ohio

DAVIS FURNAS, farmer; P. O. Waynesville. In the settlement of Wavne Township, we find the Furnas family among the early pioneers, and we are able to trace the ancestors to one John Furnas, born at Standing Stone, Cumberland Co., England, June 5, 1736; his wife, Mary, was burn in same county, Sept. 12, 1742; they were married March 24. 1762, and emigrated to South Carolina the same year; they had four sons and three daughters; Robert, next to the youngest child of John and Mary Furnas, was born at Bush River,

S C. June 27, 1772, and there grew to manhood and married Hannah Wilson, June 5 6, 1796; she was born in South Carolina July 28, 1778; in 1802, Mr. Furnas made a prospecting tour to Ohio, making the round trip on horseback, a great portion of which was through an unbroken forest; after examining several localities, he selected the tract of land to which, in 1803, he removed his family and commenced to open out a farm, amid all the many trials and deprivations of pioneer life of that day and locality, often compelled to subsist for days on hominy and denison, being unable to get his grain manufactured into flour and meal, the nearest mill being thirty miles distant through the forest, the roads to which were mere paths that could only be traveled on horseback; in 1812, as there was no market nearer, he drove a large lot of hogs to Baltimore, Md. — no small undertaking; but he lived to see those vast forests give place to having fields of grain and thriving towns; instead of the plodding ox team hauling heavy loads over the mud roads, the rushing locomotive passed his door, transporting immense trains of the products of the country to the principal markets of the world; the speedy and daily mails and the telegraph conveying news over thousands of miles with the rapidity of thought. Mr Furnas was an earnest Christian, a devoted member of the Society of Friends; a man of undoubted integrity, of strong and superior judgment, and universally esteemed by all who knew him: he departed this life Feb. 16, 1863, aged nearly 91 years; his wife died Feb. 17, 1864, aged 88 years; they had traveled the journey of life together sixty-seven years, almost “ threescore and ten;” they had eleven children, of whom Seth, the last child, born in South Carolina and the father of our subject, was born March 26, 1803, being 6 weeks old when his parents started for their new home in the wilderness of Ohio; in this county, then, he was raised and brought up to manhood, cured to the sturdy influences of pioneer life: was married, Nov. 1, 18_6, to Dinah, daughter of Edward and Margaret Kinley, natives of North Carolina, who emigrated to Warren County in 1801, being among the earliest of the settlers; by this union, Mr. Furnas and wife had three children— Davis, Robert and Mary, now Mrs. Mosier. Mr. Furnas, about 1836 or 1837, purchased and located upon the farm where Seth W. Furnas now lives, and there he resided till his death, Aug. 24, 1878; his wife died Aug. 5, 1880; they had traveled together and borne the hardships of life and enjoyed its pleasures for over half a century. Mr. Furnas was a Arm and devoted member of the Society of Inends, and the general firmness of principles and nobleness of character which made his father pre-eminently beloved and respected seemed to be possessed by him to a high degree. Our subject, the eldest son, was born Jan.

1829, and grew to manhood, and married, Sept. 1, 1852, Jane S., daughter of John and Elizabeth Satterthwaite, by whom he had six chiltRen; five now survive— Seth, born July 1, 1853; Elizabeth, born Aug. 10, Ibob;

Anna D., Jan. 27, 1858; John D., Feb. 15, 1861; and Edwin S., born April 18, 1868. Mrs. Furnas died April 19, 1868, aged 40 years. Mr. Furnas, after his marriage, located upon the place where he now lives and has since resided; has a fine farm, with good improvements, constituting a pleasant home and residence. Mr. Furnas possesses many of the characteristics of his noble ancestors is a man of good education and literary taste and shrewd business tact; is a friend of progress and education, and is giving great attention to the education of his children and the general welfare of his family.

As printed in the source¹. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

ROBERT F. FURNAS, physician, Waynesville; born in Wayne Township Oct. 10, 1830; is a son of Seth and Dinah Furnas, whose ancestral history is given in sketch of Davis Furnas. The Doctor was raised and brought up to farm labor, and received a good common-school education, remaining0 with his father till 22 years of age; was united in marriage, Sept. 23, 1853, withBethia daughter of Robert and Edith (Nichols) Mosier, he a native of Massachusetts and she of New York State: they emigrated to Ohio and located in Morrow County in 1812. being among the first settlers of that county, openinoout in the woods, and combating with and enduring the many trials and hardships of those early days, the Indians plentiful and the howling of wolves a nightly sound; wild game of all kinds in abundance, which in that day formed a reat source of sustenance, and sometimes formed the main provision for savings many from want and starvation; there Mr. Mosier and family have remained through all the changing scenes of nearly threescore years and ten, witnessing the growth of civilization and the vast improvements made by the hands of°hose honest and sturdy pioneers; the forests disappear, and having fields of crrajn in their stead; the railroads and telegraphs traversing the country in all directions, transporting the products of the country to distant markets, and carrying news to all parts of the world with the rapidity of thought; all these Mr Mosier has witnessed in the progress around him; in the meantime, he has not been idle; his hands, industry and good management have wrought wonderful changes on his premises; from his small and rough beginning in°the loocabin in the woods, he now has a beautiful farm, with good buildings and all modern improvements; has accumulated a large amount of wealth by hi*> own honest efforts, and is one of the prominent farmers of that county, beloved and respected by all who know him; he is now 81 years of age, and his wife 79 years and they have traveled the journey of life together, sharing its hardships and 1 3 P 0a-3ur3 for fifty-four years; they have had two sons and nine daughters eight of whom now survive-Phoebe, Gideon, Nathan, Bethiah, Rachel, Peace Eunice and Cynuhia. The Doctor and wife have had eight children; five now

Km W rei,idin" on tha farm on which his Grandfather

[This passage is too damaged in the scanned book to reproduce. See the original book.]

As printed in the source¹. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

SETH W. FURNAS, farmer; P. O. Waynesville; born on the farm where he now lives Aug. 19, 1857; is a son of Dr. Robert and Bethiah (Mosier) Furnas, whose history is given in sketch of Dr. Robert Furnas in this work. Our subject was raised and grew to manhood, and was married, Dec. 18, 1877, to Emily, daughter of Alfred and Letitia L. (Brown) Moore, he a native of Indiana and she of Ohio; the grandfather, John Moore, was a native of North Carolina, but emigrated to Indiana about 1820 or soon after, and located near Richmond, where he resided till about 1837, when he removed to Huntington Co., Ind., where he died in 1871—72; he was the father of eight children; six now survive — Elizabeth, Samuel, Joseph, Sarah, Alfred and Jane; Alfred, the youngest son now living, married and located in Huntington County, where he still resides, engaged in the honest occupation of a farmer; they have had seven children, five now living — Emily, Oscar, Margaret, Phoebe Ann and Sarah Elizabeth; the Moore family were among the first settlers in that part of the county, opening out in the woods, doing a great amount of pioneer work, bearing their full share of hardships and deprivations; now Mr. Moore has a fine farm of 280 acres, well improved, and is one among the best farms in the county. Mr. Furnas and wife have two children — Oscar M. and Edith. Mr. Furnas has wisely adopted farming as his occupation; he located where he now lives in 1879; he owns a farm of 100 acres adjoining the one upon which he lives, upon which he is erecting buildings and making improvements, where he intends to locate and make his permanent home.

As printed in the source¹. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.