Grant DeWitt
One of the most prominent stock dealers of Washington C. H. is Grant DeWitt, who was born in this county during the Civil War. He is engaged in farming, the buying and shipping of straw and has owned and developed one of the best racing horses which ever went out of Fayette county. Still later he engaged in the buying and shipping of cattle and is now engaged in this particular line of activity.
Grant DeWitt, the son of John and Martha (Rittenhouse) DeWitt. was born in Fayette county, Ohio, four miles south of Washington C. H., on the Chillicothe pike, July 7, 1862. His parents, who were natives of Washington C. H., and Ross county, Ohio, respectively, reared a family of seven children: Mary Jane, the wife of James Kearney, deceased; Arvilla, deceased, who was the wife of Christopher Parrett; Nellie, the wife of Charles Bowdell. of Hartford City, Indiana; Grant, of Washington C. H.; Frank, also of Washington C. H., and two who died in infancy, the eldest and youngest, both girls.
John H. DeWitt was reared on a farm four miles east of Washington C. H., in Wayne township, and was a farmer and stock buyer. He owned a farm of one hundred and sixty-five acres on which he lived until his death at the age of sixty. His wife died September, 1902. She was a member of the United Brethren church. John H. DeWitt held various township offices and was also county commissioner at one time.
The paternal grandparents of Grant DeW'itt were John and Mary (Barker) DeWitt, natives of Kentucky and pioneer settlers in Fayette county, Ohio, where they lived in Wayne township until their death. They reared a large family of children: Stephen D., Anderson, Darlington, Greenup, John, Jesse, Jane Allen, Rachel Prior, Candace Goldsbury. The maternal grandparents of Grant DeWitt were Tillman and Permelia (Tully) Rittenhouse, natives of Virginia and pioneer settlers in Ross county, Ohio. Tillman Rittenhouse was a judge of the Ross county circuit court for twelve years and also a farmer, He lived on his farm of seven hundred acres all the time that he was serving as judge of the court. Tillman Rittenhouse and wife were the parents of four children, James, William, Betsey and Martha. After the death of his first wife, Tillman Rittenhouse married Susan Shobe, and to this second union five children were born, Amanda, Chlora, Jack, Lewis and Minerva.
Grant DeWitt was reared on his father's farm in Union township and attended the district schools of his home neighborhood. He remained on the home farm until he was grown and then went to farming on his own account, later buying and shipping straw from Washington C. H. Still later he engaged in the raising of race horses. He owned and developed Lady Lancaster, a native track performer and the dam of six horses who made worthy records on the track throughout the state of Ohio. He finally discontinued the breeding of race horses and engaged in the buying and shipping of cattle and is still engaged in this particular line of business. He moved into Washington C. H. in 1912, and now has a comfortable home at No. 221 Columbus avenue.
Mr. DeWitt was married December 27, 1892, to Sarah Catherine Dick, the daughter of Camillus H. and Alsina Jane (Arehart) Dick, and to this union three children have been born, Frank Harrod (known as "Jack"), John Howard and Nellie Rittenhouse.
Mrs. DeWitt was born in Champaign county, Illinois, September 8, 1872. Her father was also a native of Illinois and her mother of Fayette county, Ohio. Her father died in 1881, at the age of thirty-four, and her mother is still living at the age of sixty-one. Two children were born to her parents, Sarah Catherine and Otta May. The paternal grandparents of Mrs. DeWitt were John and Rebecca Dick, natives of Illinois, who died at an advanced age after rearing a large family of children, William, Martin, John, Stewart, Camillus H., Mrs. Cass Ann Johnson and Mrs. Jane Grimm. The maternal grandparents of Mrs. DeWitt were Solomon and Sarah Ann (Myers) Arehart, natives of Virginia and early settlers in Fayette county, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Arehart reared a large family of children, Amalgah, Oscar, Alsina J., Mary Catherine. Florence Virginia, Clara Elizabeth and Laura May.
Mr. and Mrs. DeWitt are loyal members of the Methodist Episcopal church and generous contributors to its maintenance. In politics. Mr. DeWitt is an independent voter, preferring to cast his ballot for the best men irrespective of their political affilliations.
From History of Fayette County Ohio - Her People, Industries and Institutions by Frank M. Allen (1914, R. F. Bowen & Company, Inc.)