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Below is a family biography included in The History of Miami County, Ohio published by W. H. Beers & Co. in 1880.  These biographies are valuable for genealogy research in discovering missing ancestors or filling in the details of a family tree. Family biographies often include far more information than can be found in a census record or obituary.  Details will vary with each biography but will often include the date and place of birth, parent names including mothers' maiden name, name of wife including maiden name, her parents' names, name of children (including spouses if married), former places of residence, occupation details, military service, church and social organization affiliations, and more.  There are often ancestry details included that cannot be found in any other type of genealogical record.

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LEWIS C. MANNING, farmer; P. O. Casstown. Among the names of the early settlers of Miami Co. we find that of John Manning, who was born in Maryland in 1742, and was a son of John and Sarah (Hall) Manning, who removed from Maryland to Loudoun Co., Va., when John, their son, was about 6 or 7 years of age; soon after their arrival, they died, leaving John and a younger brother, Edmund, orphans; they were then taken and raised by a Mr. Hutcheson, and, when arriving at majority, were among the first pioneer settlers of Red Stone country, in Pennsylvania; here John was united in marriage with Sarah Shauhan, by whom he had four or five children, two of whom lived to grow to maturity; the eldest, Amos, was a teamster in Gen. Wayne’s campaign against the Indians; was taken sick and died at Greenville in 1796; Betsey, the other child, was married to Bethuel Covault; John, having lost his wife by death, was afterward married to Elizabeth Harnett, by whom he had thirteen children, ten of whom grew up and married as follows: Sarah, married Charles Hilliard; John, married Jane Berry; Enos, married Grassel Cox; Nancy, married Daniel Hilliard; William, married Ruth Julian; Benjamin, married Harriet Denman; Edward, married Mary Danford; Amos, married Rachel Dills; Nathaniel, married Sarah Line; and Elias, married Sarah Frost. The four first mentioned were born in Pennsylvania, and the others in the “Northwest Territory.” Mr. Manning lost his second wife by death, and was married the third time, to Elizabeth Hamlet, by whom he had one child, viz., Margaret, who grew up to womanhood and married T. J. Larsh, of Preble Co., Ohio; in the establishment of the “Mason and Dixon Line,” Mr. Manning was employed, as an axman, in cutting through the heavy timbered lands, and, while performing this duty, took observations of this Red Stone country on the Monongahela River, where, a short time following, he settled as above related; for some time he dealt extensively in furs and ginseng, they being at that time chief articles of export of that country; afterward, he erected a grist-mill, which was the first one ever in that country, which he ran successfully till 1789, when he sold out, and removed to what was then known as the Northwest Territory, locating at the mouth of the Miami, at a place called Columbia; here he remained about three years, then went up the river about eight miles to a place called Round Bottom; here he erected a grist-mill, which was probably the first mill on the Little Miami; this mill he ran till 1799, when he sold out to John Smith, who was one of the first delegates to Congress from this Territory; afterward, he located at what is now Piqua, in Miami Co., and here he soon erected a saw and grist mill, being the first mill in what is now Miami Co.; in the erection of this mill, the stone was hewn out of a bowlder, and the spindles made from old iron hinges taken from the fort at Greenville, after its reduction; the bolting-cloths he obtained by riding to Lexington, Ky., on horseback; under all these disadvantages to obtain materials for the building of the mill, through the enterprise, and energy of this pioneer, the work was accomplished, which proved so great a blessing and convenience to this new settlement; their appreciation of the benefits of this mill in the settlement was evidenced by the anxiety manifested for its preservation during the great freshet of 1805, which threatened its destruction, as it was surrounded by water from the overflow of the river; Squire Caldwell, the first Justice of the Peace of Washington Township, recommended passing a cable around the mill and making it fast, to secure its safety; but the mill stood unscathed, and remained for many years to serve the community; Mr. Manning, with the assistance of Armstrong Brandon, in 1807, platted and laid out the town of Piqua, Mr. Brandon receiving, for his services in this work, each alternate lot; in April, 1817, Mr. Manning’s labors were finished, and he was called from works to rewards. Here ended the life of one of the most enterprising pioneers of Miami Co., whose whole life was made up of the greatest activity, and who, not satisfied with the slow routine of old settlements, continually sought wider fields for activity and usefulness; in the opening-out and establishing business in pioneer settlements, like Washington, his name will be handed down to future generations for praise and admiration. Enos, the father of our subject, came to Ohio with his father when only 2 years of age, and to Piqua when about 13 years of age; here he remained with his father till the war of 1812, when he entered the army as a teamster, and was in active service as such during the war; was at Detroit at the surrender of Hull’s army, and there lost his team, his only property, for which he afterward received remuneration from the Government; after the close of the war, he engaged in the mercantile trade in Piqua for several years, but, financially, proved unsuccessful; he was one of the proprietors, and laid off in lots -the North Addition of Piqua; he, like his father, was a very active, energetic business man, and seemed to possess the same proclivities for the milling business, having, during his life, erected three mills in the vicinity of Piqua; though not financially meeting the same success as his father, he lived through the panic, or convulsions of the war times, never wholly prostrated financially, as he had an energy and business tact which enabled him to overcome all obstacles. He was united in marriage May 16, 1816, with Grassel Cox, daughter of Benjamin S. Cox, a native of Maryland; by this union they had nine children, of whom two are now living, viz., Lewis C. and James S. (now living in Dayton, Ohio); Mr. Manning lost his wife by death in 1840, and, Oct. 24, 1854, he, too, passed away, without one moment’s warning, by a stroke of palsy. Lewis C. Manning was born in Piqua March 23, 1817, and remained with his father till his death. In June, 1855, he was united in marriage with Mrs. Elizabeth Williamson, daughter of William and Elizabeth Mendenhall, who were early settlers of this county; by this union they had two children, viz., William and Harry; in October, 1870, he lost his wife by death, and, in 1873, was married to Mrs. Melvina Beamer, daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth Rossiter, who are fully mentioned in the sketch of B. V. Rossiter in this work. After Mr. Manning’s first marriage, he located in Piqua, and, like his father and grandfather, engaged in the milling business; this mill he ran till 1864, then going to Shelby Co., where he ran a grist and saw mill for four years; then back to Piqua, where he served as Justice of the Peace for six years, finally settling on the farm upon which he now resides; this farm consists of 120 acres, and is the old Rossiter homestead farm; here he anticipates passing the balance of his life in agricultural pursuits, looking upon this occupation as one of the most independent and pleasant pursuits man can engage in. Mr. Manning, in his childhood days, obtained but a limited education; as he possessed a naturally quick and perceptive intellect, through application and observation, combined with study, he is now a man of more than ordinary attainments, quite well read in law, and possessing a general knowledge of business, political and civil government. We have here made quite an extended sketch of the Manning family, because, as a pioneer family of Miami Co. of more than ordinary interest, and of active lives of labor and usefulness, they deserve special and prominent place in this history.

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This family biography is one of 964 biographies included in The History of Miami County, Ohio published in 1880 by W. H. Beers & Co.  For the complete description, click here: Miami County, Ohio History and Genealogy

View additional Miami County, Ohio family biographies here: Miami County, Ohio Biographies

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