My Genealogy Hound

JOSEPH FRANCESS, farmer, P. O. Russellville, was born February 4, 1817, in Ireland; when about two months old his parents, Edward and Eleanor Francess, emigrated to Brown County, Ohio, and settled at Ash Ridge, in what is now known as Jackson Township. They bought one hundred acres of land, which was then comparatively a forest. They had to undergo the usual trials and self-denials to which those pioneers were subject. Edward had served as Justice of the Peace for Jackson Township and was a member of the Presbyterian Church. He was the father of eight children, five of whom are still living, and died in August, 1850. Joseph Francess, our subject, was reared to man’s estate on a farm, and received but a rudimentary education. In November, 1850, he married Eliza Jane Elder, by whom he has nine children, viz., Edward E., James C., Robert W., Alvin A., Joseph L., William E., Anetta, Ada W. and Ella. After his marriage, he resided in Jackson Township for perhaps twenty years, when he removed to Jefferson Township, where he still resides. Mr. Francess is a member of the Presbyterian Church, and the owner of 122 acres of land.