My Genealogy Hound

JOHN R. SHEETS is the owner of a good farm of one hundred and thirty-six acres, located on section 8, township 45, range 28, Johnson County. He came to this region in the spring of 1867, and after renting land for some time, managed by industry and perseverance to lay up some money, and in time to purchase and make improvements on the homestead. At first he made slow progress and sometimes was almost discouraged, but he continued to hope and work, and at last won success.

Mr. Sheets is a native of Bedford Township, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, his birth occurring August 27, 1835. The great-grandfather, Yost Sheets, was born in Germany, and emigrated to the United States when a young man. The grandfather, George Sheets, emigrated from New Jersey to the Buckeye State in very early times, settling in Columbiana County. He followed the sea for a few years and was a soldier in the War of 1812. After clearing a farm in Cuyahoga County, he lived there until his death. Clement Sheets, the father of John R., was born in Columbiana County, Ohio, in 1813, and with his wife, whose birth occurred the previous September, he is still living, their home being in Cleveland, Ohio. They became the parents of eight children, all but two of whom are yet living. One of them, William, resides in Eaton County, Mich., and the others dwell in Cuyahoga County, Ohio. Clement Sheets began his independent career on a tract of wild land, and his sons were put to work as soon as able to be of assistance. His wife, who was a faithful companion and helpmate to him in his struggles and difficulties, bore the maiden name of Mary Rinear.

When he was about thirteen years of age, John R. Sheets took his place at the plow, and in winter engaged in logging. He received only meager school advantages, and continued to help his father until he was twenty-three years of age. In September, 1864, he enlisted in Company B, One Hundred and Seventy-seventh Ohio Infantry, and served until the close of the war, being in the Army of the Cumberland. He took part in a number of skirmishes, and was mustered out June 24, 1865, at Greensboro, N. C. After the surrender of Johnston’s army he participated in the review at Raleigh, N. C.

November 17, 1859, Mr. Sheets married Jane A. Lockwood, of Bedford, Ohio, and a native of Saratoga County, N. Y., born April 25, 1837, to Alanson I. and Phoebe (Watkins) Lockwood. For eight years the young couple lived in Ohio, Mr. Sheets working in a chair factory, and by degrees he increased his bank account. One child was born to them while they were residents of Bedford Township, Adell, who died when in her nineteenth year, January 29, 1880.

For some time after coming to this portion of Missouri, Mr. Sheets was not very successful, and thought he would not like to remain here permanently, but has changed his opinion. His first purchase was a tract of forty acres, on which he erected a small box house. In 1877 he added forty acres more to his original farm, and in 1892 purchased an additional tract of fifty-six acres. He now has a good dwelling house, two large barns and two orchards. In 1856 he cast his first Presidential vote for John C. Fremont, and has usually supported Republican candidates since that time. His father was an old-line Whig, and after the formation of the Republican party became one of its stalwart defenders. For thirty-five years Mr. Sheets has been a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and his wife has been identified with the denomination since she was thirteen years of age. He is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic.