My Genealogy Hound

JOHN ULLERY, retired farmer; P. O. Covington; one of the oldest residents now living in Newberry Township; is a son of Jacob Ullery, a native of Maryland, who left there in the spring of 1810 and came by wagons to Pittsburgh, where he purchased an old “flat,” upon which he loaded his goods and family and floated down to Cincinnati; here they stayed about three weeks, being detained by a sick child, which died and was buried within the present limits of the city; he then hired teams to take him to Dayton, where he rented one of the little shanties of which Dayton was then composed, but only remained about one month; while living here, he purchased a tract of 160 acres of Government land, about ten miles north of Dayton, to which he removed; the following winter he came up the Stillwater, prospecting, and, having an eye to a mill-site, purchased, for $300, the southeast quarter of Sec. 30, in Newberry Township, a part of which he afterward laid out in town lots; in the following spring, he removed his family to the new purchase; as there was but a small cabin partly built, the family had to shift as best they could until the cabin could be enlarged and made suitable for occupation; during the war which commenced the following year, Mr. Ullery took his family and went back south to the older settlements, but, having a fine crop of wheat, came up with help and harvested and stacked his wheat; notwithstanding the presence of Indians and, what would now be more dangerous, a company of troops, stationed at the block-house which stood near the mouth of Greenville Creek, he found that stack all right three years afterward, and it furnished bread for his family until he could get another start; about 1817, he purchased a saw-mill near Fort Greenville, which he removed and erected on his place; this was the first saw-mill in Newberry Township; after having cleared about 30 acres, he laid out in town lots that part of his place which is now between High street and the river; he sold his mill, which was in running order, to Benjamin Lehman for $4,000, being then thought a large price; he purchased several tracts in the vicinity of Covington, the northwest quarter of Sec. 29 being one of them; a part of this tract he afterward sold in town lots, and this is now the most attractive residence property in the town. Mr. Ullery was an active, useful citizen, and, could he now see what has been developed from his humble beginning seventy years ago, he would no doubt exclaim, “I have seen and am satisfied; now let me die in peace.” But, while he did not live to see much of the richness of his pioneer settlement, some of his sons still remain to see and enjoy the blessings handed down by the arduous efforts of the former generation. Jacob Ullery was twice married, and had five children by the first wife and eleven by the second. John, the oldest child, was born in Maryland May 22, 1801, and was therefore only a lad when his parents came to Miami Co., and received but little education, for, after they came here, at first there was no school, and later, when there was one, his services were too important at home; his education was, therefore, of that practical character that could be obtained swinging the ax and hoe, or following the plow. He was married in 1822 to Elizabeth, daughter of Powell Dale, an early settler of Newberry Township; they began housekeeping on the farm in Sec. 29, where he now resides; when he came here there was but an “opening”—now it is in a good state of cultivation, with fair buildings; he had eleven children, six of whom are living, and all but one are married; the oldest son, Samuel, was a member of the 110th O. V. I., and was a prisoner during the last six or seven months of the war, the most of that time being spent in the notorious Andersonville Prison. The youngest son, John D., was in the 100-day service; is still single, and resides, as also does his father, with James McMaken, who has rented the farm; Mr. Ullery’s death occurred Feb. 6, 1875.