My Genealogy Hound

J. M. CHEEVER, retired merchant, Piqua; born July 19, 1788, in Boston, Mass.; was a son of Joseph M. and Eliza (Stewart) Cheever; his father was a sea-captain most of his life, and his mother’s father also; what is quite remarkable in the history of his ancestors, is that, on his father’s and mother’s sides combined, there were seventeen sea-captains. When Mr. Cheever was 13 years of age, he was apprenticed by his step-father to Thomas Gr. Thornton, of Saco, Maine, one of the largest merchants of that day, a man of great political and financial power, being a member of the Legislature, President of insurance companies, and holding other important positions; notwithstanding his greatness and the high positions held, he was a very haughty, bad man. Mr. Cheever only remained with him about two or three years, returning to Boston, where he learned the baker’s trade; this he did without his parents’ knowledge, meeting their disapproval; he worked at this business some three years, then started westward to seek his fortune; with two other men made the journey to Pittsburgh, a distance of 1,200 miles, on foot; at Pittsburgh he went into the grocery trade, which he followed about three years, meeting with great success; bought property, built several houses and made other speculations. This was done during the war under an inflated condition of business, but as the war closed, property shrunk in value, and Mr. Cheever was brought financially into close quarters; he sold off his property, settled up all his business and had about $150 left; he bought a small boat, started down the Ohio River all alone, and, on a dark night, in which he could see neither tree nor bank, guided his boat by sound, arriving in due time at Cincinnati safely; here he entered into the auction business, which he followed for a time, then the grocery trade, then in the river trade with New Orleans for some two or three years, then in the pork trade at Cincinnati, in all of which he made considerable money and also lost some. In 1822, he located at Piqua and entered into the mercantile trade. This was when Piqua was in its infancy, there being only a few inhabitants and one old tavern stand. Here Mr. Cheever’s energy and business qualities found scope for full play; he dealt heavily in grain, buying thousands of bushels of corn at 10 cents per bushel, and wheat at 31 cents, also dealt largely in pork, in fact, buying and shipping everything which usually comes in the routine of a trade in a new country, and at the same time buying and selling a great deal of property, building houses and working for the general improvement of the town. His life has been one of remarkable activity, passing through many hardships and even hair-breadth escapes with his life from accidents, from war and from contact in those early days with the Indians of the country. Being a man with an iron will, knowing no danger, his vast energy, with industrious habits, has carried him safely through all. He was united in marriage, Feb. 12, 1818, with Helen Harp, and is the father of eleven children, of whom three are now living. He is an active member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, his membership extending over the vast period of sixty-two years, forty-five years of which he was a Trustee of the church; he was one of the prime movers in organizing the church here in about 1823, which had quite a struggle for raising the means for building and other interests of the church. Mr. Cheever’s indomitable energy and powerful influence, coupled with his own means, which were freely given, overcame all obstacles, and now he has the consolation of beholding one of the largest and best-finished churches in the city, a good parsonage, separate building for classrooms and not a dollar of indebtedness remaining against it; the church now has a membership of 400. Mr. Cheever’s unconquerable energy has carried him over all the dangers and obstacles of business life, enabling him to accumulate plenty of this world’s goods; that energy has been coupled with a Christian character, and has, with his money, been freely used for the upbuilding of Christianity. Mr. Cheever is now about 92 years of age.