Joel W. Dill
Joel W. Dill, general farmer, stockraiser, and stock-feeder, of Radnor Township, where he owns a farm of 208 acres, is a representative citizen of this section. He was born in this township. March 8, 1853, and is a son of Augustus B. and Elizabeth (Turney) Dill. To trace his ancestral line on either side, a backward glance at history is necessary, and we therefore yield the pen to a member of his family who thus briefly sketches his antecedents:
"Perhaps the annals of history do not furnish examples of greater heroism and bravery than the narrative of the siege of Boyne. Through the reigns of Charles II, and James II. the lot of the Protestants was a painful one in Ireland, as well as in Scotland. The King countenanced the Roman Catholics in Ireland, while the Free Kirk people were oppressed by both the English prelates and Irish papists. In the revolution of 1689, when James II, with his French allies, entered Ireland and made a stand against William of Orange, the Roman Catholic armv joined his army in large numbers; while the Scotch-Irish in the North withstood him. They drove the Irish from their borders and in Londonderry, their chief city, withstood the most determined siege in history. After one hundred and five days they were relieved by the arrival of the Orange fleet. Then ensued the sanguinary conflict between the forces of the two kings, known as the Battle of the Boyne. From this period dates the feud between the Roman Catholic Irish and the Orangemen the world over. Some time after this, tired of the persecution of both the Roman Catholic and the Established Churches, these more than Covenanters although well-to-do in their adopted country as manufacturers of linen—these peace-loving Scotch-Irish—began to emigrate to the American colonies, many of them settling in Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts, and many in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. It is related that such a thing as a Loyalist was unknown among the Scotch-Irish.
"During the Revolution many of them rose to places of distinction both in the army and in the Civil government. Of the twenty-four major-generals of the war, no less than half were Scotch-Irish. The religious fervor of these settlers, as well as their moraility, was noticeable. Yet a witty humor was also a prominent trait in their character. The lively and the sedate, the old and the young alike indulged in it and enjoyed it, and they took care not to miss any proper occasion for sport.
"It is unfortunate that we are unable to trace the ancestry of our family farther back than to the grandparents of the older generation now living. The family came from the county of Londonderry, Ireland, to Nova Scotia, but the time cannot be definitely stated.
"John Dill, the paternal grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was born in Nova Scotia about 1780. He married Sophia Beckwith, a native of Maine, and they emigrated to Baltimore, Maryland, in 1819. They had four sons born in Nova Scotia—David. John, Edward, and Augustus B., and three in Baltimore—George H., Joseph, and James. In 1829 they moved to Columbus, Ohio, and the following year to Mifflin Township, Franklin County, about six miles northeast from Columbus to the farm, which they made their permanent home. John Dill had a very good education lor his time and at once became a leading citizen of the community. He was a good business man and prospered. He was one of the wealthy men of his neighborhood, owning at his death some 600 acres of land and money besides. He was very public-spirited and helped with money and influence every worthy enterprise. He was one of the projectors of the Columbus and Sandusky Turnpike, built in 1852, and its first treasurer. He was often called upon to settle the estates of his deceased neighbors, which work he performed with good judgment and fidelity. He died in 1860, aged eighty years, his wife having passed away the year previous.
"Augustus B. Dill was born on the parental farm near Columbus, Ohio, and there remained until after his marriage to Elizabeth Turney, which occurred March 1846. They immediately removed to the wilds of Mercer County, where he cleared the trees from the spot where he built their cabin. Becoming dissatisfied there he sold his land—sone 500 acres—and came back to Franklin County, and in 1848 to Delaware County,where he lived only a short time, for he died in 1855. at the early age of thirty-seven years. He was a man of great energy and good business faculties, and for the short time he lived he accomplished much. Having been gone so long, and those who knew him intimately having also passed away, we are unable to give much of his life story. He had a good education, obtained in the schools of the early days and by private study, and he had quite an extensive library, perhaps one of the largest in the township. He was a great reader and was well informed upon the topics of the day. He was an abolitionist and a Whig in politics and was violently opposed to Knownothingism, then one of the burning questions of the day. He was a man highly respected, and his earlv passing away was sincerely mourned by all who knew him. At the time of his death he owned 100 acres of land, having a number of years previously purchased the farm now owned by his son Joel in Radnor Township, which at the time was heavily timbered. To this property his widow and sons added from time to time until it reached its present proportions.
"Augustus B. Dill and his wife Elizabeth were the parents of five sons—William Augustus. John Beckwith. David Turney, Joel Wesley, and Charles Wallace—and their history in brief is as follows; William Augustus married Mary Elinor Farnum, daughter of Dr. and Mrs. J. L. Farnum. she of Prospect, died in 1887 at the age of thirty-two years. They had five children—Mary Elizabeth, Dill Augusta, Raymond, William Hoyt, and Walter Page. John Beckwith married Jennie Merchant, and died in 1889 aged forty years. His wife Jennie died in 1907. They had four daughters, of whom two died when young, the other two being Agnes, wife of Leonard Harmon of Prospect, and Jessie, wife of Charles Saner, of Prospect. David Turney died in infancy as did Charles Wallace. Joel Wesley, whose name appears at the head of this article, resides in the old home in Radnor Township.
"Elizabeth Turney Dill was born in Mifflin Township, Franklin County, Ohio, November 18, 1818. She is a lineal descendant of a French Huguenot family, who were driven from France in the latter part of the Fifteenth Century by papal persecution, a short time previous to the revocation of the Edict of Nantes by Louis XIV. Three brothers—Daniel, Peter, and Adam Turney—leaving a considerable property behind them, fled their native country and landed in Philadelphia in 1668. Elizabeth Turney is a great granddaughter of Daniel Turney, the Huguenot refugee.
"John Turney, grandfather, son of Daniel, removed to Hagerstown, Maryland, where he married Mary Grove. The fruit of this union was six children—Daniel. Adam, John Henry. Joseph. Susan (Robinson), Mary (Hawkins). Daniel married Susan Ridenour, daughter of Mathias Ridenour and Catherine (Fake) Ridenour, also of Huguenot family. These pioneers came to Ohio from Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, and settled first in Ross County, about 1806, and to Franklin County in 1810. John Turney and Mathias Ridenour had each entered large tracts of land in Mifflin Township, Turney on Alum Creek, Ridenour on Big Walnut, where the village of Gahanna is now situated.
"Elizabeth Turney was married to Augustus B. Dill, March 31, 1846. She was the mother of five sons—Willam Augustus, John Beckwith, David Turney. Joel Wesley and Charles Wallace, of whom two died in infancy —David and Charles—and John B. in the prime of life eighteen years since. She leaves two sons—William A. and Joel Wesley, seven grandchildren, and two great grandchildren. In 1848 they came to Delaware County, where she lived fifty-nine years on the same farm. None who came in contact with Elizabeth Turney Dill but felt at once the impress of the strong character she possessed. No descendant of the family more fully vindicated the purity of descent in her own clearly defined habits and strong decision of mind, from those sturdy French Huguenots who could leave home, country, and fortune under the bloody persecution of papal despotism, but could not surrender their freedom of conscience and the liberty to worship God in their own way. She was the last of a large family, namely : John, Jacob, Daniel. George R., Daniel, Henry, Mary (Dill), Susan (Bell), Catherine (Noble), and Phebe ( Noble). The force and positiveness of mind was joined with bodily strength which gave her a long life—eighty-eight years, nine months and twenty-eight days. She was a member of the church for over seventy years, first of the Presbyterian, later of the Methodist Episcopal Church for over fifty years. She was a subscriber and constant reader of the Western Christian Advocate, her church paper, for over fifty years. She was mother to all. and her works of charity and words of comfort were always ready for those most in need. Her heart was always open to the needy and her deeds of kindness are best known bv those she helped. She was thorough in religion, remarkably even in temperament, generous to a fault, always the same faithful friend to all who knew her. A trusted friend, valued counselor, wise and prudent in her advice, constant in her affections. Her good ancestry showed through all her life— life that makes the actions of the just smell sweet and blossom in the dust. At life's sunset, in the shadows of the day's decline, she stood looking back at the graves of her household, where the little children were put away with white hands folded. How the older ones followed the friends we best loved cut down in the prime of life, while standing on the brow of the hill with bright eyes looking to a happy future. But for all this silence is the most expressive language. We feel more than words can express while writing this brief sketch of the mother who had been more to us than all else, and whose light shines brighter in the Eternal day."
In their early married life the parents were members of the Presbyterian Church, but in later years Mrs. Dill united with the Methodist Episcopal Church.
Joel W. Dill acquired his education in the district schools and at his mother's hands received a careful and judicious training. His whole life has been passed on the home farm, and every part of it possesses more than a money value to him on this account. He devotes thirty-five acres of his land to corn, from thirty to thirty-five to wheat, and thirty-five to hay. The remainder is mainly given over to pasturage, as he raises and deals largely in stock. His comfortable home—a two-story brick residence of six rooms—was built by his father in 1850, who then possessed the finest house in the township. The other farm buildings were erected about the same time. Mr. Dill is a member of the Masonic Lodge at Prospect, and of Deurwood Lodge. No. 153, K. of P., also of Prospect. He belongs to the Methodist Episcopal Church at Prospect and is a member of its official body. He is known to all as a public-spirited and conscientious citizen.
From 20th Century History of Delaware County, Ohio, and Representative Citizens by James R. Lytle