My Genealogy Hound

JACOB KIBLINGER, deceased. When the early pioneers of German Township are being mentioned, he with whose name we introduce this biography, is invariably remembered. He possessed all the reliable qualities of his substantial German ancestry — those qualities which are most needed in the settlement of a new country — and right well did he meet the demands upon him, both as a tiller of the soil, and as a member of the community. He came to this section when the country was in its primitive condition, labored faithfully and well in bringing a portion of the soil to a state of cultivation, and acquitted himself in an admirable manner as an honest man and a good citizen.

A native of Rockingham County, Va., Mr. Kiblinger was born about 1783, and was reared to manhood in his native State. Then desirous of bettering his worldly condition, he emigrated, in 1801, to the Territory of Ohio, and looked over the country considerably, but did not purchase at that time. In fact he traveled back and forth a number of times before he could find a satisfactory location. Finally, in 1805, he returned to Clarke County, and selected a tract of land in German Township, that upon which his son John now resides. He purchased first eighty acres from the Government, paying therefor $1.25 per acre. Later he bought one hundred and eight acres more for which he paid $4.75 per acre. He made a permanent settlement on section 2, building first a log cabin in the woods 12x16 feet in dimensions, laying a puncheon floor, and constructing rude furniture for the use of the family.

Although not by any means an elegant dwelling, this cabin furnished a comfortable home for the family for a period approaching twenty years. Then Mr. Kiblinger put up a more modern dwelling. He performed a large amount of pioneer work, felling trees, digging out the stumps, burning brush, building fences, and bringing the soil to a state of cultivation. In due time a family of eleven children gathered around the hearthstone, but of these only three are now living — John, of German Township; Ely, who is living in Kansas, and Jemima, the wife of William Young, of Kenton, this State. Mr. Kiblinger was an early member of the Methodist Episcopal Church in the faith of which he died in February, 1860. He became widely and favorably known throughout the county and the confidence and esteem of the people he possessed in a remarkable degree. He was noted for his kindness of heart and hospitality, and the wayfarer was never turned empty from his door. In politics he was an Old-Line Whig.

John Kiblinger, the son of Jacob and Mary (Pence) Kiblinger, was born September 11, 1816, in German Township, and was reared to manhood amid the wild scenes of pioneer life. He has been an eye witness of the gradual growth of the county to its present position, and has formed no unimportant factor in changing a portion of the wilderness to the abode of a civilized and prosperous people. He assisted his father in the arduous labor necessary to the opening up of a farm, and when the father was incapacitated for labor, John became practically the manager of the farm, and the main stay of the family.

When finally starting out for himself, Mr. Kiblinger was equipped with such education as could be obtained in the subscription schools, at which his attendance probably aggregated not over six months altogether. He chose agriculture for his life vocation, but for the last twelve years has been interested in bee culture, making of this a specialty and meeting with fine success. He was first married February 23, 1837, to Bliss Mary Jane Pence. She was born in Champaign County, this State, and was the daughter of Henry and Eva Pence, who were early settlers of that county. This union resulted in the birth of four children, two of whom are living, viz: Eva A., Mrs. Wilson Myrick, a widow, and a resident of Springfield; and Mary C., the wife of Jacob Hatzog, of German Township. Jacob, who served in the Union army during the late war, was a member of the Seventeenth Ohio Battery, and died in the hospital at Jefferson Barracks, near St. Louis, Mo., of measles, which he contracted at Milliken’s Bend. Zachary died when less than a year old. The mother of these children departed this life in German Township, July 4, 1847.

Mr. Kiblinger was married a second time, December 12, 1847, to Mrs. Elizabeth Riegel, wife of the late David Riegel, of Clarke County. Of this union there have been born four children, three of whom are living, and residents of Springfield, namely: Lucinda, the wife of Cooper Ludlow; Sylvanus, and Joana, who married Charles Myers; Cornelius died when about nine months old. Mrs. Elizabeth Kiblinger was born January 25, 1823, in Lancaster County, Pa., and is a daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth (Buckwater) Groob, who were likewise natives of the Keystone State. Her paternal great-grandfather was born in Germany.

The Groob family emigrated to Ohio in 1837, locating in Moorefield Township, Clarke County, where the parents spent the remainder of their lives. Mr. Groob died in 1841, in the prime of life. The mother survived her husband for thirty years, dying in 1871. Their daughter Elizabeth was first married to David Riegel in 1842. Of this union there was born one child, a daughter, Sarah E., who died when young. Mrs. Kiblinger spent her early years in Clarke County, where her parents settled when it was comparatively a wilderness. Their family consisted of five children, only three of whom are living, namely: Nancy, who is Mrs. Evter, of Moorefield Township; Simon, of St. Paris, this State; and Mrs. John Kiblinger.

John Kiblinger is a member in good standing of the Baptist Church, with which he united in 1842. The enterprises calculated to upbuild the community, have uniformly received his cordial support. His farm comprises one hundred and eighty-eight acres of choice land, improved with good buildings, and which under good cultivation yields to the proprietor a generous income besides enabling him to lay by something for a rainy day. In politics he is a stanch Democrat, and voted for Van Buren in 1836. In those early days people were not so particular as now to wait until exactly twenty-one. For the last eighteen years he has been a member of the Agricultural Board of Clarke County, and is now one of the Directors. He was one of the originators of the Fair, and has done much to promote its growth.