THE

HISTORY

OF

CHAMPAIGN COUNTY,

OHIO,

JAMES RAWLINGS, retired farmer, Urbana. For more than a half-century Mr.
Rawlings has been identified with the business interests of this county, and
has been one of those whose labors have been crowned with financial success.
His life has ever been characterized by an earnestness in his business that
makes a success of life in its many phases. His parents, Thomas and Marv
Triby, were married in Loudoun Co., Va., from which State they emigrated to
Fleming Co., Ky., as early as 1795. Their children were named Elizabeth,
William S., Barbara, Melinda, James, Sarah, Austin and John E. Five of these
came to Ohio and settled in this county. William came in advance of the
others, settling on the land adjoining that which is now the home farm of
our subject. His arrival dates back to 1814. James came in 182'3, and the
others at later dates, all being unmarried when first. coming. The marriage
of James to Miss Susannah I. McRoberts was celebrated in 1829, and soon
after his first

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purchase of land was made. The farms in this neighborhood skirted the tract
known as Pretty Prairie, and were at an early day overrun with brush,
instead of the heavy woodlands that covered most of the county. Mr. Rawlings
has made nearly all the improvements on the farm. Ile is one of the
self-made men of this county, having commenced life with a very small
capital, but economy, backed by judicious investments, has brought its
reward, and for the past thirty years he has been a prominent money loaner,
having disposed of most of his land, and he has for a number of years made
his home with his son-in-law, J. P. Knight. The children of Mr. Rawlings are
six in number-William J. W., Mary M., Jane E., Thomas, James H. and Douglas
W. William is the husband of Miss Elsetta Mumper ; Mary M. wedded Thomas M.
Todd ; Jane E. is the wife of John P. Knight; Thomas married Emily Humes;
James H. married Laura Townley, and Douglas W. married her sister, Alice
Townley. All are living near the old home, and are numbered among the
successful business men of Champaign County. There is surely no more
pleasant part of Ohio than the immediate neighborhood in which Mr. Rawlings
resides, and the fine improvements made by the energetic farmers present a
strange contrast to the wild woods and log cabins of those who first settled
the country, of whom numerous descendants are left that represent their
name. Mrs. Rawlings died May 2, 1849, leaving behind a record of a pure and
stainless life. In 1864 Mr. Rawlings was again married, to Mrs. Jane
Osborne. whose death occurred February 25, 1865. The father of our subject,
Thomas Rawlings, was born in 1758, and died in 1839. James was born in 1803,
and his wife, Susannah, in 1810. The record made by Mr. Rawlings should ever
be a source of pride to his children, and his memory cherished as a sacred
gift. James H. and D. W. Rawlings were both soldiers in the war of the
rebellion, and served with honor in Co. "G," 134th O.V.I.

James H. Rawlings is the third son of our subject, and is in every way
worthy of having a biography follow the history of his father's family. He
is a substantial farmer, living near the farm upon which be was born and
raised, and inherits his father's enterprise and industry. His wedding was
celebrated in May, 1865, he leading to the marriage altar Miss Laura
Townley, of Wyandot County. She represents the Hedge family, one of the
pioneers in the county, her father, Gilbert C. Townley, being a Methodist
minister, belonging to the Cincinnati Conference. James and his wife have
five children-Frank T., Irby E., Emily H., Edmund B. and Gilbert. The father
of Mrs. Rawlings was a native of New York ; his death occurred in November,
1854. Her mother resides with her daughter Alice, the wife of D. W.
Rawlings, of Clark County. Mrs. Laura Rawlings was born April 12, 1846.

William J. W. Rawlings is also a farmer, and in completing the family
history we incorporate the sketch of Mr. and Mrs. Rawlings with that of his
father and brother, James H., which, with that of other members of the
family, makes their genealogy almost complete to date from their
grandfather's time. William is the eldest son, and was married in 1863, to
Miss Elsetta Mumper. Their children are six in number Annie L., James D.,
Thomas C., Ralph and Ruelle (twins), and Warren. Mr. Rawlings is also a
prominent farmer, and has inherited much of the sagacity of his father in
business ventures. His home is one of the neatest in his neighborhood, and
the well-tilled farm is a source of much revenue. Politically, the family
are all Republicans, but are somewhat divided theologically. We are proud of
such a record as this family possesses.

Thomas Rawlings is also engaged in agriculture. The sons all live near
enough their father's home to hear his dinner r bell, and, without flattery,
we can truly say, that their superiors for courtesy and hospitality cannot.
be f' and in the county. Thomas Rawlings and Miss Emily Humes were married
March 6, 1864. They have no children. Mrs. Rawlings' parents, Samuel and
Mary A. Humes, are both natives of Virginia; they have lived for more than a
half century in Union Township, and reared a family of ten children, of whom
Sydney E., John S,. Nannie M., Samuel R., Emily, William A., Mary E. and
Edwin K. survive. Then mother died in 1867. Mrs. Emily

684 - BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES

Rawlings is an elegant lady, and is eminently fitted by birth and education
to preside in the household of her husband.