William Marion Wamsley
William Marion Wamsley, the founder and original proprietor of the village of Wamsleyville, was born August 3, 1843, on the site of the village, the son of William Wamsley and Elizabeth Bolton, his wife, both natives of Adams County. His grandfather, William Wamsley, was a great hunter and loved that calling better than any other, though he was both a farmer and a tanner. He was one of three brothers, the original settlers on Scioto Brush Creek, and came from the State of Pennsylvania. The Indians were frequent visitors to the new home of William Wamsley, the first in the wilderness. From them he learned that what is now Jefferson Township, had been a favorite hunting ground with them and that the site of Wamsleyville was one of their camping grounds. William Wamsley, the first, was a lover of nature and there was much to attract him to his location on Scioto Brush Creek. He was a successful hunter of bear and deer all his life, and the vicinity of his home was the last habitat of those animals in Adams County. He might have selected a fertile savannah or prairie and made his descendants rich, but the pleasures of the chase governed his selection. The original ancestor of the Wamsley family in this country came from Germany and the industry, energy, honesty and thrift of the German has displayed itself in each generation. Our subject left his father's home at the age of fourteen and set up in business for himself. He bought and sold stock from the age of fourteen, till the age of twenty, when he bought three hundred acres of land, including the town site of Wamsleyville. In that same year he built a grist mill and sawmill and soon after laid out the town. Mr. Wamsley is not and never was a practical miller, but he has conducted the milling business since 1863. He has added to his possessions until now he owns five hundred acres of land at and in the vicinity of Wamsleyville. While Mr. Wamsley does not profess to be a salamander, he has had a remarkable experience in the way of fires. Since originally erected, his mill has been destroyed by fire twice, and his barns twice. In April, 1888, his town was nearly destroyed by fire, but Phoenix-like, has risen from its ashes. He has had fine dwellings on the real estate owned by him, consumed by the flames, and yet notwithstanding all these losses, he has prospered and is prosperous.
Mr. Wamsley was married May 27, 1867, to his full cousin, Sarah W. Wamsley. They have one child, Milton Bina, born May 19, 1870. He resides in the town of Wamsleyville. He married Miss Amanda Thompson in 1896 and has two sons, William Klise and Butler Flack. He assists his father in his extensive business.
Mr. Wamsley, our subject, is six feet, tall, broad-shouldered and of a heavy frame. He weighs two hundred pounds. He has black piercing eyes and wears a full beard, now turned gray. He is a pleasant and agreeable man to meet and enjoys the society of his friends. Like his father and grandfather, he is a Democrat. He has been a member of the Christian Union Church for twenty-two years. He is a local minister in that church and as such exerts a great influence for good. He is a sucessful farmer and miller and would succeed in anything he would undertake. His energy and force of character so predominate his village, that it is better known as "Bill Town," than the proper name of Wamsleyville. He impresses all who meet him as a true man, and a more intimate acquaintance confirms the impression. He has been and is a power for good among his people, and his life has been a great benefit to those about him and dependent on him. Nature gave him the stamp of true manhood, and time and experience have improved those elements of character which are the jewels of American citizenship.
From "History of Adams County, Ohio from its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time" - by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers - West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B. Stivers - 1900