Jason F. Henkle
There is no earthly station higher than a minister of the Gospel, for no life can be more uplifting or grander than that which is devoted to the amelioration of the human race; a life of sacrifice for the betterment of the brotherhood of men, one who is willing to cast aside all earthly crowns in order to follow in the footsteps of the lowly Nazarene. It is not possible to measure adequately the bounds of such a life, for its influences continue to permeate the lives of others through succeeding generations; so the power it has exerted cannot be known until the last great day. Jason F. Henkle, the immediate subject of this sketch, who for thirty-seven years labored as a minister of the Gospel in the Methodist Protestant church, felt the call to the work when young and gladly answered it, although in doing so he set before himself a great task in accomplishing a suitable education to enable him to best discharge the duties which would be his. As was the custom in earlier days perhaps more than now, Mr. Henkle also conducted the work of the farm and in these ways has lived a life full to repletion with activity and brimful of good results. A short sketch of his career forcibly illustrates what energy, integrity and fixed purpose can accomplish when animated by noble aims and correct ideals.
Jason F. Henkle, who resides on the old Henkle homestead in Union township, Fayette county, Ohio, was born on May 13, 1847, a son of Ephraim and Mary S. (Carr) Henkle, the former of whom was born on April 23, 1818, in this same township. He was the son of Barbara Henkle, who was a daughter of Isaac Henkle, who, with his brothers, Jacob, Esau and Saul, came from Pendleton county, Virginia, at a very early date in the history of the state, probably about the year 1815. Isaac Henkle took as his wife a German woman who came from one of the first families of that nationality in this section. Ephraim, his son, who is the father of the immediate subject of this sketch, was the father of ten children and he himself had the distinction of being the first white child to be born in what is now Union township.
Jason F. Henkle attended the schools of the home locality when a boy and from his early youth assisted the father in the work about the home place, this being the same land on which Mr. Henkle now lives and which comprises fifty-two acres. He remained with his father until he attained his majority, when hearing of better opportunities for young men in the West, he journeyed to Logan county, Illinois, and secured a tract of land there which he rented for a year. When the first season's crops were gathered in, he returned to his boyhood home in this state, where he remained for two years, when, the call of the West again becoming insistent, he returned to Illinois, locating this time in McLean county. Here for two years he farmed rented land, and at the end of that time again returned to Ohio, where he has since made his home. During all the time he was so engaged, and for a few years later he was laboring all his spare time to better fit himself for the ministry and to this end was seeking a higher education alone and unaided. The fine degree of energy and courage which he possesses saw him through this big undertaking and at last the time came when he was able to take his place before the world as a full Ordained minister of the Gospel, to which work he gave the best of his life and effort.
On March 14, 1872, Mr. Henkle was united in marriage with Laura O'Day, who bore him one child, Ephraim, who died in earliest infancy. Mrs. Henkle passed from this life on April 23, 1873, but a little more than a vear atter her marriage, and both mother and child lie buried in the cemetery at Washington C. H. The next few years which passed were lonely ones for Mr. Henkle and those most interested in him were glad indeed when, on October 1, 1878, he led to the altar Nanna Hamm, of London, Ohio, daughter of John and Mary Jane (Timmons) Hamm, farmers of that locality. To Mr. Henkle by his second marriage were born six children, four of whom have passed into the great beyond. These are Lily H., Wilson C, Evelyn L. and Ray. Those living are Mary, who is the wife of Argyle P. Duncan and the mother of one son, William, and a son, Allan E., who resides in Detroit, Michigan, these being the first and fourth children, respectively, in order of birth. Both this daughter and son received excellent educations, both graduating from the college at Adrian, Michigan.
While Mr. Henkle is not now on the active list of ministers, the duties of his calling still devolve upon him and he is still active in the cause so dear to his heart. His fraternal affiliation is with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and also with the Knights of Pythias, and in the work of both these orders he takes a commendable interest. He is also affiliated with the Sons of Veterans. His father, Ephraim, was a captain during the Civil War, being connected with Company F, One Hundred and Sixty-eighth Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry. During an engagement he was captured by the enemy at Cynthiana, Kentucky. He also had some experience during the Mexican War, but was not regularly enlisted in the service.
Of marked mental ability, well posted and a forceful and effective man in every walk of life, Mr. Henkle is held in high esteem by his brothers in the ministry and laymen alike. He is sincerely interested in all causes which lead to the advancement of the human race along all legitimate lines and is numbered among the strong and influential citizens of the county, enjoying universal respect and esteem throughout his wide circle of friends and acquaintances. Because of his active life and the good he has accomplished wherever his path has led, he is eminently entitled to special mention in a volume of this character.
From History of Fayette County Ohio - Her People, Industries and Institutions by Frank M. Allen (1914, R. F. Bowen & Company, Inc.)