From The Sunbury News, September 29, 2016:

Because You Asked . . . .

Continuing Roberts vs. Rogers on Columbus Street

By Polly Horn, Curator of the Myers Inn Museum

 
The Columbus Street properties transferred from Hezekiah Roberts to Jamimah Roberts to Hezekiah jr. So where did the Rogers come into the picture?

Hezekiah Sr. was a Lieutenant in Seventh Company of the 3rd Regiment of the Pennsylvania Militia during the American Revolution.1 We know he bought and sold land in Pennsylvania for a good profit and continued to do the same in Sunbury. When he died at 78, he left land and cash to his descendants so he seems to have been a good businessman. Snipets from his will in Mrs. Dale Bowers’ "Gateway to the West"2 helped sort his family but the actual will3 was a tremendous help.

In addition to the son in last weeks paper, Hezekiah and Jamimah had one daughter Catharine who married Jonas Rogers, jr., son of Jonah and Deliverance (Chaffee) Rogers of Plymouth, PA. To this union were born 5 children: #1 Deliverance Chaffee (Rogers) Pringle who married Daniel Pingle, #2 Catharine (Rogers) Brunson who married Ira Brunson, #3 Hezekiah Thompson Rogers who married Sally4, #4 Simeon Ford Rogers who married Amanda - sister of Ira Brunson, and #5 Jonah Rogers, Jr. had a wife Mary.5

He is the Hezekiah T. Rogers on the deeds.

Even though Jamimah inherited her husband’s household furniture, farming equipment, cattle and sheep her full right and dower in her husband’s estate, she died at the age of 78 after her husband but also in 18226 so the property followed the terms of her husband’s will.

Hezekiah's will left his son, Hezekiah, Jr. his lot in Sunbury Township of 90 acres and $700. He left his daughter $1000 but $100 was to be kept by the executor of the estate to be given to her as she needed from time to time. Granddaughters Deliverance Rogers Prindle got $150, and Catharine Rogers Brunson $150. Grandsons Jonah Rogers $200, Hezekiah Thompson Rogers $200, Simeon Ford Rogers $200.

Hezekiah, son of James Roberts, and grandsons Hezekiah Roberts, Jr. and Hezekiah Rogers were mentioned in his will especially remembered "for bearing up my name" and each given an additional $30. Asenath Roberts was given $100 but I’m not sure who she was. Hezekiah, jr, Hezekiah III, Hezekiah Rogers and James Roberts were his executors.  Thomas W. Wigton and David Welch were witnesses.7

James Roberts was probably Hezekiah’s half brother since they are 40 years apart in age and both left money to Asenath. In Plymouth, PA, James married a widow Jamima Point in 1802.8 (Interesting that both men married women with almost the same first name). They had James who married Abagail, Charles who married Mariah, Dennis married Nancy and Amanda who married Ichabod Clark McQuaid - the latter became a Judge in Sutter, California.8

On the 1866 map above15, blue is Lot 60. yellow and green is Lot 64 an red is Lot 73 of the original town lots
In 1820 Lawrence and Eliza Myers sold Lots 60 and 64 to Hezekiah T. Rogers for $309. On lot 64 Rogers built a 2 room log tavern in 1820 when Myers built his 2 story frame stage coach inn. Soon he was forced to stop entertaining strangers and took on boarders for $1.25 a week.10 He then began running a school in the log building which was still used in 1866.11

In 1829, Hezekiah T. and his wife Sally sold the Lots to land merchants Stephen Bennett and James Gregory. Fives years later they dissolved their partnership and Bennett got the Delaware County properties and Gregory the Union County properties.12

In 1841, Bennett sold Lots 60 and 64 to James Roberts, sr13. who also bought Lot 73 from Seth and Harriet Deuel14. Eliza Carpenter bought lot 60 from Roberts in the same year. 15 

In 1866 Colonel Frambes lived in this house with the log school next door to the south.  Both he and his wife Lucinda were teachers and may have taught in the log school while he raised money to build Sunbury Institute on Sunbury Square known as the Town Hal.   Lot 60 is Angie  Murphy’s home

In his will of probated April 1844, James Roberts left everything to his wife but upon her death it went to his children James jr, Charles, Caleb, Dennis, Nancy and

75 S. Columbus Street in 2016

Amanda. Asenath, Emma, and Hezekiah were to each pay back to the estate $100 then share equally with the others. The Baptist Meeting House got $100 and Elizabeth Meeker (his wife’s sister) got $10.16

 

81 S. Columbus Street in 2016

 With a Quit Claim Deed, the heirs minus Amanda turned ownership of Lot 64, Lot 73 and one acre over to Caleb Roberts17 who sold it to land developer Voorhess Winan in New York for $1000 in 184718. In 1850, Amanda whose husband became Judge I. Clark McQuaid in Sutter, California, sold her part of 64 with Lot 63 to Winan19. There were several New York investors before Bernard Daley of New York sold the part of Lot 64 and all of Lot 73 to Sunbury’s Thomas P. Myers20, son of Lawrence Myers in 1861. Three years later Thomas and his wife Amy sold the lots to Hannah Cleveland21 who then sold them to Ira Derthick in 1865.22  By 1871, Thomas J. Williams owned the lots.23

Lot 64 went though the hands of Sidney and Jane Culver to Henry Stith in 1879 then to Charles and Mary Perfect and then Mary Taylor in 1882 .24 The Jack Lake family lived there when I was young so it has always been the Lake House to me.  Part of it still had the log tavern which became a
school under Hezekiah T. Rogers. Unfortunately the building burned around 1990 and a new house was built by John and Monica Kuhn at 81 South Columbus St.

Lot 73 has changed hands many times. When Luthis owned it they made a copy of the partial abstract of 1929 and gave it to me at Community Library and a copy for the Big Walnut Area Historical Society.  Although this helps identify owners, it really does not help with the date it was built.  The shape does not match the drawing in the 1866 Atlas map shown above.

Today very little cursive writing is taught in schools so tomorrow people doing research will not be able to read the early deeds. I am attaching Hezekiah's will

Today the building houses Girls with an Attitude at 91 S. Columbus Street.

Hezekiah Roberts Will - 1822
               

. . . . And Now You Know
Bibliography:      


1. http://BigWalnutHistory.org/Local_History/Cemeteries

2. Bowers, Mrs. Dale.  Gateway to the West.  Genealogical Pub. Co., Baltimore MD. 1989. 2 Volumes, page 385.

3. Ohio, Wills and Probate Records, 1786-1998.  Probate Files, Kirk-Ttimble.  .Delaware, Ohio.   pg 27-28.
   www.Ancestry.com.

4.  Partial Abstract to Lands in the Names of Opal M. Clark and Henry Landon, Village of
    Sunbury, Delaware County, Ohio. 1929. Page 9.  Located in Community Library and Big Walnut
    Area  Historical Society. Page 26..

5.   Blair, William T. The Michael Shoemaker Book. 1924. Reprinted in India, 2013.  2 Volumes. pg. 450.

6. Cemetery Records of Delaware County, Ohio. Delaware County Genealogy Society website at
      http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ohdchs/

7. Ohio, Wills and Probate Records, 1786-1998.  Probate Files, Kirk-Ttimble.  .Delaware, Ohio.   pg 27-28.
    www.Ancestry.com

8. Blair. page 450.

9. Partial Abstract. page 23.

10.  History of Delaware County and Ohio. O. K. Baskin & Co., Historical Publishers. Chicago, 1880. Page 444,

11.  Baskin. page

12.  Partial Abstract. page 26-27.

13.  Partial Abstract. page 28.

14.  Partial Abstract. page  29.

15.  Beers, F. W.  Atlas of Delaware County, Ohio.  Beers, Ellis & Soule, New York, 1866. Berkshire Township,
       Village of Sunbury.

16.  Partial Abstract. page  30.

17.  Ibid.. page  31.

18.  Ibid., page 33.

19.  Ibid.,  page 34.

20.  Ibid., page 39.

21. Ibid., page 40

22.  Ibid., page 41

23. Ibid., page 42

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