My Genealogy Hound

WASHINGTON I. TENNEY, farmer; P. O. Troy. Washington I. Tenney was the eldest son of Dr. Elias and Margaret (Hatcher) Tenney; born in Charlestown, Montgomery Co., in 1833; as his father was his teacher for many years, Washington received a liberal education; his parents removed to Milton, Ohio, in 1848, and Washington commenced teaching school in 1850, Dr. Tenney being a teacher for twenty years, and his son, W. I. Tenney, a public instructor for twenty-three consecutive years; during this time, all his work was confined to Milton and the three school districts contiguous to it; the son was appointed by the Commissioners, in 1873, to fill the unexpired term that was occasioned by his father’s death, as Auditor of Miami Co.; at the expiration of the term, he was nominated and elected by the Republican party to the same office, and the universal satisfaction given during his term of office caused his re-election to the same office for the second term, by over 800 majority. He purchased a splendid farm of 166 acres, one and a half miles west of Troy, in 1878, and, at the expiration of his official term, moved upon it, and has since followed the occupation of farming. He wedded Miss Jennie K. Kelly, daughter of Samuel and Mahala (Yount) Kelly, in 1858; their married life has been one of happiness and prosperity; they have reared a family of eight children, who give evidence of following in the footsteps of their parents; their names are Ida Belle, Francis Walter, Charles Elmer, Alice Bertha, Mary Estella, William Harold, George Lee and Horace Kelly; they are rapidly acquiring an education, and are developing a great love for music, without doubt being the equals, if not the peers, of any family of the same number of children in the township, as musicians; the eldest daughter, Ida, is a graduate of the high school of Troy, and delivered the valedictory at the commencement of the term in which she graduated. Mr. Tenney is a man of culture, and is very fond of books; his library is well stocked with choice volumes, and he is lavish in his purchase of literature for his children; Mr. and Mrs. Tenney lived one and a half years in Champaign, Ill.; while there, her father gave them a tract of land near Lawrence, Kan.; they took possession of it in 1860, but the excessive drought of that year made light crops; Mr. Tenney concluded that Kansas, as an agricultural country, was not just what he wanted; he sold his entire crop for $25, on a year’s time, and came back to Miami Co.; he is now a fixture of the county, and enjoys the confidence and respect of all who know him.