My Genealogy Hound

JACOB HAYNES is a leading citizen of Sugar Creek Township, Greene County, and we may say of Bellbrook, as his fine farm lies partly within the corporate limits of that village. His character is a strong one, where good judgment and an abundance of common sense, together with a keen sense of honor and a just pride, are prominent traits. The family from which he derives his descent is an honorable and loyal one, and its members have left a worthy record wherever their path in life has led them. His grandfather Haynes was a very early settler in Hoop Pole Township, Ross County, and his body now lies beside that of his wife in the front yard of their old homestead near Chillicothe. Capt. Jacob Haynes, an uncle of this gentleman, was an officer in the Revolutionary Army, and was buried at Shepardstown, Va., with the following inscription upon his tombstone: “In memory of Capt. Jacob Haynes, who was born July 30, 1761, and departed this life April 16, 1835, aged seventy-three years, eight months, seventeen days. His widow lies buried beside him.”

The father of our subject bore the same given name as his own. He was born in Pennsylvania, February 16, 1787, but for many years lived at Harper’s Ferry, Va., where he was employed in the Government Armory for twenty-six years. In that city he married Miss Mary Reed, a native of the Old Dominion, whose father had emigrated from Ireland, and now lies buried in the cemetery at Harper’s Ferry. He was a well-known and a very popular miller. Mrs. Mary Haynes died in the city in which her marriage took place in 1827, after an illness of nine weeks, when in the twenty-ninth year of her age. She possessed an amiable character, was kind and affectionate in all her relations of life, and her death was a sore bereavement to many friends. She left a family of four children, two of whom are yet living, namely: our subject and a brother, Robert P., whose home is at Perry, Jefferson County, Kan. The father again married, choosing as his companion Mrs. Sarah Marmaduke, a widow, who bore him one child — Virginia S., who is now living at Dayton.

The Haynes family came to Dayton, Ohio, in May, 1837, and Jacob Haynes, Sr., bought a farm in Montgomery County, remaining there until 1857. He then removed to Bellbrook, this county, where he spent the remainder of his life, closing his eyes to earthly things April 6, 1874. While in Montgomery County he was numbered among the prominent citizens and held all the township offices. During the War of 1812 he served gallantly in the American army, taking part in the battle of Braldensburg, and when the city of Washington was burned by the British army, walking from Harper’s Ferry to a point where he could witness the conflagration.

The gentleman whose name introduces this sketch was born September 12, 1824, at Harper’s Ferry, Va., passing his youth in his native place, obtaining a good common-school education there, and continuing his studies after reaching this State. He remained with his father until 1856, when he came from Montgomery County to Bellbrook, engaging in mercantile business and farming. He remained in business for a couple of years, when he traded out, obtaining the Haynes and Harner mill, which he rented and finally disposed of, devoting his whole attention to husbandry. During the war, from 1861 to 1865, he was again engaged in mercantile pursuits in the village, selling out to Messrs. Austin, and giving close attention to the cultivation of his farm, on which he yet remains, and to which his time is still devoted. The estate comprises over fifty acres of valuable land, and was formerly the home of old Stephen Bell, the original proprietor of the village of Bellbrook; the house, which is still fit for occupancy, was built prior to 1817. The land opposite formerly belonged to John McLean, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

The marriage of Mr. Haynes and Miss Charlotte Adams was celebrated November 5, 1860. The bride was born at Newbury, Vt., September 15, 1837, her ancestral line being one of the best in the country, and many of her connections notable in literature, the learned professions, and for their loyalty and public spirit. She attended the High School at Cambridge, Mass., the Female College at Oxford, Ohio, and also studied in Lyman, N. Y. Not only did she acquire a liberal education, but she also received instruction in various accomplishments in which her talents fitted her to excel. She is a very fine musician, and has manifested a high degree of talent in art, many oil paintings done by her hand adorning the walls of her beautiful home. Although the house in which she lives has been built for many years, it has a look of comfort and home-likeness, and is finely furnished, the works of art and a well-selected and large library giving evidence of the culture of those who reside within its walls.

The family of Mr. and Mrs. Haynes included eight children, six of whom are now living: Adelina is proficient in music and is thoroughly educated. one year of her time having been spent at the High School at Washington, D. C. The second son, Maurice P., has a very fine tenor voice and has received good instruction in voice culture; he now belongs to the Bostonians’ Opera Company, which is traveling to the Pacific Coast. The other members of the family circle are: Adelina, Eloise, Rosalie and Mary Emma Cheney. Although the talents of this bright group vary, all manifest decided ability and intelligence, and having been given the best advantages which their years would warrant, they are well fitted to fill an extended sphere of usefulness in life. All of the family except the father and the baby are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

The father of Mrs. Haynes was Dr. Charles Adams, who was well known throughout New England and in this State, both as a teacher and as an educator, and was also a prominent writer and the author of many books. He died January 19, 1890, in Washington, D. C., where he was living with a daughter, the widow of Prof. Barnes, a celebrated educator and the author of the “History of the Thirty-ninth Congress” and “The Body Politic.” The mother of Mrs. Haynes is still living, is now eighty-one years of age and quite feeble. She bore the maiden name of Sarah Emery Porter, and is the daughter of a Congregational minister who had been in active work over half a century, and belonged to the old New England family of Porters Dr. and Mrs. Adams were the parents of seven children. One of them, Capt. Edward Adams, a very young man, was killed at the re-taking of Jackson, Miss., by Gen. Sherman, and was referred to most eloquently by Gov. Yates in a public address. Another son, Charles, was a Lieutenant Colonel under Grant at Cairo, and is now living at Washington, D. C. Another son, George H., is a graduate of Harvard College and Law School, and is practicing his profession in New York City; he has recently been Assistant United States Attorney there. He married into the Holmes family.

Mr. Haynes has been a member of the Board of Education in Bellbrook for twenty years. In 1862 he planted the trees that now adorn the school grounds, he was Appraiser of Real Estate in 1870, and while living in Montgomery County was Township Clerk and Township Assessor. During the term of Gov. Allen he received the five-years appointment as one of the managers of the Ohio Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Orphans’ Home. His associates were: Gen. Durbin Ward, Gen. J. Warren Keifer, Dr. George Keifer, of Troy, and Dr. O. White, of Toledo, and upon the organization of the Board he was appointed Secretary, Gen. Ward becoming President; from 1870 to 1876 he was a Director, Secretary and Treasurer of the Dayton & Wilmington Turnpike Company, having been the unanimous choice for these positions. He is actively interested in politics, and is a leader in the Democratic party, and as the township in which he lives is Republican by about fifty majority, his incumbency of any public office indicates his fitness of mind and character for places of trust. He refused the appointment to the National Democratic Convention at Baltimore in 1872, although he has attended other National Conventions, having been present at those which nominated Buchanan, Douglas, Greeley and Hancock. He has been identified with the Odd Fellows fraternity. His mind being thoroughly stored and his memory very retentive, he is an encyclopaedia of facts and events, and the time spent in his society is by no means lost.