Henry Lease
Henry Lease, a well-known resident of Union Township, Fayette County, is a son of Joseph Lease, who was born in Ross County, Ohio, July 25, 1811. The latter's father, George Lease, was one of the first settlers in Ross County, and he and his wife came to that county on horseback from Virginia at an early day.
George Lease had a family of eight children, and all but one grew to mature years and settled in Hardin and Ross Counties. In Ross County, George Lease bought land and reared his family about two miles west of Frankfort. He served in the War of 1812, in the raid through Ohio, and all through those early years the Indians abounded all around them, and they had a hard struggle in their pioneer life in the wilderness.
Joseph Lease was reared in Ross County, Ohio, and received his eduation in the pioneer schools. He remained with his father for some time after he grew to manhood and then moved onto a farm, which the father had bought for him. The young man was married to Miss Mary, a daughter of Teddy Goldberry, who came to Ohio from Virginia, and was one of the early settlers here, making his home upon Paint Creek. Joseph Lease made his home in the same place until 1857, when he sold out and moved to Hardin County, where he remained for four years, as he had there bought six hundred acres of land. He then removed to Ross County, living near his old home for several years, and while living there enlisted in the cavalry troop, and was in the service for three years and six months. After his return from the war, he moved to Salem, Ross County, where he still lives.
Joseph Lease had a family of nine children, five of whom gained man's and woman's estate, and three of that number are still living, namely: Nancy, the wife of Mr. Pern Souther, who went into the army, and has since died; Teddie, who also went into the army, and after a ten-months' service returned home on account of ill health, and our subject. The father was a Democrat, politically, but during the time of the Rebellion he was an earnest supporter of the Government and an ardent upholder of the cause of the Union. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, as was also his wife, who was called from his side by death, October 25, 1888.
The date of the birth of our subject was September 17, 1832, and the scene of his nativity' was the old homestead in Ross County, Ohio. Here he was reared and lived until he was twenty years old, when he went to Hardin County with his father. There he married Gertrude, a daughter of Abraham Roseborne, a prominent farmer of that county. The young people settled upon two hundred acres of land in Hardin County, and remained there for four years, at the end of which time the young man gave up this land to pay his father's debts, and they returned to Ross County. He served his country, as calls came for his help, and he was out with others to meet the Morgan Raiders, and also joined a regiment, in which he enlisted for one hundred days.
After the war, our subject removed to Fayette County, making his home here in March, 1865, and remaining here for three years. He bought the land where he now lives, and placed it under cultivation. His children are Sarah and Etta, who live at home, and Mary, who married William Wilson, and lives in this township. His property consists of seventy acres, which constitute his home farm, and forty-five acres upon which his daughter lives. He is a strong advocate of the temperance movement and, politically, is attached to the Prohibition party, although he was formerly Republican. In the Methodist Episcopal Church, to which he belongs, he is a Class-leader and an active worker for all church objects. For a number of years he has been Superintendent of the Sunday-school, and he is foremost in promoting all movements which tend to religion and morality.
From PORTRAIT & BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF FAYETTE, PICKAWAY AND MADISON COUNTIES, OHIO - Chapman Bros. [Chicago, 1892]