My Genealogy Hound

ADDISON STORRS LEWIS. Among the residents of Miami Township, Greene County, none are more worthy of representation by the biographical writer than Storrs Lewis and his wife, a view* of whose beautiful homestead appears on another page. The farm which they own and occupy is one of the finest in the locality, comprising one hundred and eighty-eight acres of highly cultivated land. A visitor would find upon it every necessary and convenient structure and would at once observe that the fences are well kept, the buildings in good repair, and that fruit and shade trees beautify the premises, the whole giving an impression of prosperity, comfort, and good taste, highly attractive.

The dwelling, which was erected in 1876 at a cost of $3,000, is a brick structure of an attractive architectural design, and fitted up in a style becoming the circumstances of those who dwell within. The ancestors of both Mr. and Mrs. Lewis are such as their descendants can refer to with pride, the various families with which they are connected furnishing men and women of ripe intelligence, moral force, and ability. The father of Mr. Lewis was Bennet Lewis, a native of Connecticut, who for some time made his home in the Empire State. There, in 1823, he was united in marriage with Miss Eliza Boughton, who was born in North Carolina, August 15, 1803. Seven years later the couple removed to Ohio, settling where Clifton now stands, that village being laid out by Mr. Lewis. He had been a merchant and continued the business after coming here, also operating a cotton and woolen mill which he built. He was successful in both enterprises and became the owner of about five hundred acres of real estate, securing a competence which enabled him to thoroughly equip his children for the battle of life by bestowing upon them excellent educations and giving them a financial start. The mill which he had built was operated until 1868, when it was washed away by a flood. He was also a contractor on the Ohio and Miami Canals. He served as County Commissioner and was a prominent member of the Presbyterian Church, holding the office of Elder. His wife also belonged to that denomination.

Going back another generation in the maternal line, we find Jared Boughton, a native of Connecticut, born February 19, 1766, who adopted the occupation of farming. He married Olive Stone, who was born in Stockbridge, Mass., January 2, 1770, their wedding ceremony taking place in Columbia County, N. Y., in 1787. They reared a family of twelve children, the mother of our subject being next to the youngest. The mother of Jared Boughton belonged to the French family of Pennoyers, who own a scholarship in Harvard College.

The subject of this sketch is one of nine children born to his parents and the youngest of the four now living. Harriet has been a missionary in China for the seven years past; Ezra B. is a merchant in San Jose, Cal.; Charles B. is in the real-estate business at Santa Ana, Cal. The mother breathed her last January 24, 1873, and the father October 10, 1876. The latter belonged to a long-lived family, his father having reached the advanced age of ninety-six years, and his brother, Isaac, having lived to be eighty-five years of age. The latter attended the lock on the Erie Canal when the first boat passed through to the ocean carrying a barrel of Lake Erie water. He was also there when Gen. Lafayette visited America and passed through the canal.

The natal day of Storrs Lewis was March 13, 1846, his birthplace being the old home of the family in this township. After acquiring a fundamental education, he entered Miami University, at Oxford, from which he was graduated in 1869, afterward taking a special course of civil engineering at Lafayette College, in Easton, Pa. Completing the course in 1870, he went to Boston, where for a year he was engaged on the State map survey as an assistant engineer. During the next three years he was in the employ of the Baltimore & Ohio and Pennsylvania Central Railroads.

The next step in the life of Mr. Lewis was one of great importance, it being his marriage, November 19, 1874, to Miss Margaretta G. McLean. The young lady had been schooled in the Ladies Seminary, at Beaver, Pa., where she had taken a full course of instruction, and she had also received excellent instruction in music, for which she had a decided talent, and in which she is a fine performer. Not only is she finely educated and accomplished, but she possesses easy, graceful manners, is a capable housewife and a consistent Christian. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Lewis settled where they now live, the estate having been given to them by the father of Mr. Lewis. The land has been devoted to general farming and stock-raising, and is still operated by the owner, who for so many years has successfully prosecuted his labors there. The stock kept is of excellent grades and every means is taken to insure good crops.

Mr. and Mrs. Lewis are the parents of one child, Nellie B., who was born October 17, 1880, and who is receiving every advantage which is suited to her years. Mr. Lewis was Trustee of Miami Township from 1883 to 1886, and has frequently been a delegate to county and congressional conventions, always voting the Republican ticket. He is a member of Clifton School Board, and has been Treasurer three years. He belongs to the Presbyterian Church, in which he has been a Trustee, and Treasurer two years, while Mrs. Lewis is identified with the United Presbyterian Church. They are numbered among the best citizens, holding a place in the highest society and being looked upon with respect for their personal attainments, activity and uprightness.

Mrs. Lewis is the youngest of five children born to the Rev. D. H. A. and Elizabeth (Patterson) McLean. The others of the family circle are: E. P., a physician in Virginia; he served in the Union army during the late war in the Sixty-second Pennsylvania Regiment for two years; Mary, Mrs. Libby, whose home is in Pittsburg, Pa.; D. B. and Ella, who live in Rochester, Pa. The latter city is now the home of the parents, who are spending their declining years in quiet repose. The Rev. Mr. McLean was licensed to preach June 23, 1840. He was for many years prominent in the ministerial work of the United Presbyterian Church, but is now retired. His father, Daniel McLean, was also a minister, being identified with the Associate Presbyterian Church. The family is of Scotch origin, and traced to a prominent clan across the water. The parents of Mrs. Lewis were born April 5, 1816, and in December, 1821, respectively, their marriage taking place May 12, 1842. Another of the ancestors of Mrs. Lewis was James Glover, her great-grandfather, who was one of the men appointed to keep the watch fires burning while Washington crossed the Delaware, and who also passed through the hard winter at Valley Forge. He lived to the extreme old age of ninety-six years, while his wife died at the age of ninety-four. Grandfather Patterson was a merchant of Mercer County, Pa., during all the years of his business life and was a member of the Presbyterian Church.

Mrs. Elizabeth (Patterson) McLean was born December 9, 1821. Her father, Andrew Patterson, was married in Mercer, Pa., in 1818, to Eliza, daughter of Judge Alexander Brown, who died in 1869, aged seventy-seven years. His wife died in 1840.

Grandfather Daniel McLean was licensed to preach in the Associate Presbyterian Church, in 1799, and was pastor of the Chenango Congregation, in Crawford County, Pa., from January 1, 1802, until January 1, 1855, a period of fifty-three years. He died in June of the latter year when in the eighty-fifth year of his age. His wife, Mary, was the daughter of James and Margaretta Glover. She died in 1860, in her seventy-ninth year.

*An engraving was included in the original printed volume.