GOVERNOR OTHNIEL LOOKER AND HIS
DESCENDANTS
In the Ohio Archaeological and
Historical Quarterly,
volume 31, pages 215-217, there is a
sketch of Governor
Othniel Looker. In it is copied a
previous sketch in
which the statement was made that
Governor Looker
left no records relative to his life
succeeding his service
in the governorship and that he died
unmarried. The
sketch at that time furnished from
reliable sources by
the present writer, gave additional
information that
almost entirely discredited the biographical
notice that
had been circulated about Ohio for
about half a century.
It was shown that he was married and
that a number of
his descendants are still living in
different parts of the
United States. The sketch contained
also a record of
his service in the Revolutionary War
and in the General
Assembly of the State of New York
before he came to
Ohio. The children of Governor Looker
there named,
were B. F., James, Harvey, Pamela, and
Rachel L.
Recently much additional information
has been received
on the descendants of Governor Looker
from Mrs. Elea-
nor John Darrow, 2052 South Seventh
Street, Cuyahoga
Falls, Ohio. Mrs. Darrow is a great-great-grand-
daughter of Governor Looker. From her
letter we
learn that Governor Looker had a large
family. His
wife's name was Pamela Clark. Following
are the
names of his children in the order of
their ages:
(446)
Governor Othniel Looker and His
Descendants 447
James H., John M., Samuel B., Henry
Clark Miller,
Rachel, Alanson, Pamela, Franklin, and
Maria Eloison.
Mrs. Darrow is the great-granddaughter
of Henry
Clark Miller Looker. Henry Clark
Miller, the great-
grandfather of Mrs. Darrow, was the
father of Emily
Hewitt Looker who married Dr. Jehu
John. The children
of this union and the dates of their
birth were as
follows:
1. Myrtilla, born July 24, 1829.
2. Emily, born July 23, 1831.
3. Robert Newman, born February 21,
1835.
4. Jehu, born May 17, 1837.
5. Lovella, born April 16, 1839.
6. Mary, born May 2, 1841.
7. Columbus, born December 8, 1842.
8. William Paley, born November 5,
1844.
9. Henry, born May 27, 1847.
10. Theodore, born July 21, 1849.
Mrs. Darrow was the daughter of Henry
John. Six
of these ten children were married and
had families.
How many descendants there are from the
other
children, grand-children and
great-grandchildren of
Governor Looker is not known at this
writing. Their
number is certainly very great. This
information that
has recently come to our hands is quite
different from
the old story that Governor Looker was
unmarried and
left no descendants.
Mrs. Darrow has been gathering material
to demon-
strate her eligibility to the D. A. R.
She has submitted
to us a copy of a deed made by Othniel
Looker to her
great-grandfather, Henry Clark Looker,
which estab-
448 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
lishes the connecting link to Governor
Looker required
by the National organization of the D.
A. R. She has
loaned us a photograph of the monument
to her great-
grandfather which is still standing on
the old Looker
farm near the village of Harrison,
Ohio.
The deed from Othniel Looker to Emily
Looker and
others reads as follows:
OTHNIEL LOOKER DEED TO
EMILY LOOKER
and others
THIS INDENTURE, Made this twenty-seventh
day of
March in the year of Our Lord One
Thousand, Eight Hundred
and Twenty-one, Between Othniel Looker
of the County of
Hamilton and State of Ohio, of the first
part and Emily Looker,
Robert Anderson Looker and Rachel
Looker, children of Henry
Looker and Pamela B. Looker, his wife
Witnesseth, that the
said party of the first part for in
Consideration of the Sum of
Eighty Dollars to him in hand paid and
for the Natural love
and affection, he bears to his
Grand-Children the parties of the
second part, hath granted, bargained and
sold, unto the said
parties of the second part, and to their
heirs and assigns forever.
All that tract of land, hereinafter
described being a part of
the Northwest Quarter of Section No.
twenty in Township No.
Two in range No. One East of a Meridian
line drawn from the
Mouth of the Great Miami River, being in
the Middle of said
quarter Section, and bounded on the
North by a Lot of forty
acres taken off the North Side of said
quarter Section deeded
to Wm. Hutcheson, and on the South by
forty acres Granted to
Nathaniel Crookshank being Eighty Rods
North and South
and One hundred, and Sixty Rods East and
West containing
Eighty acres of land strict measure.
To Have And To Hold the above described
land and prem-
ises with their appurtenances unto the
Said parties of the Second
part, and to their heirs and assigns
forever, And the said party
of the first part doth, Covenant and
agree to and with the parties
of the second part their heirs and
assigns that he, the aforesaid
premises with their appurtenances unto the Said parties
of the
Second part, against the lawful claims
and demands of all man-
ner of persons or person whenever. Will
Warrant and Forever
defend.
Governor Othniel Looker and His
Descendants 449
In Witness whereof the said party of the
first part hath
hereunto Set his hand and Seal the day
and year first above
written.
Sealed and Delivered in the
Presence of
B. F. Looker Othniel Looker (Seal)
Jmas Haven
State of Ohio, Hamilton County S. S.
Personally Appeared before me George P.
Torrence, Presi-
dent Judge of the North Circuit of the
Court of Common Pleas,
for the date of Othniel Looker the above
Granter and Acknowl-
edged the Written Deed to the his
Voluntary act and Deed for the
uses and purposes therein Maintained In
Testimony whereof, I
hear hereunto Set My hand and Seal at Cincinnati 27th
day of
August 1821.
George P. Torrence
Rec'd and Recorded Aug. 28th 1821. (Seal)
Mrs. Darrow was notified that the records in the
Hamilton County Court House had been
largely de-
stroyed by fire and that she probably
would not be able
to find a copy of the deed transferring
property from
Othniel Looker to her grandfather. In
answer to this
suggestion she wrote under date of
October 26, 1930:
Yes, I know Hamilton County records were
in a fire years
ago. But the same day I took this
picture of the tombstone I
called on the family who now live on this Othniel
Looker farm.
in a neat little bungalow and she let me
read their deed and
while I was reading it, I hastily copied
a few lines that may
help you to help me.
The writer suggested to Mrs. Darrow
that she make
an effort to get a photostat copy of
this deed which she
did. This very clearly establishes her
relationship to
Governor Looker.
In answer to the further question,
"From what
source did you get the names of
Othniel's children," she
wrote:
450 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
My father's family had this record and
it has been in my
uncle's possession years. Rev. R. N.
John, my father's brother,
gave it to me years ago. Uncle Robt. N. John has been
dead
since about 1909, and a fire
destroyed many of his valued rec-
ords. However, I know my list is
absolutely correct.
She then gave the list of Othniel
Looker's nine chil-
dren. The grandmother of Mrs. Darrow,
Emily Hewitt
Looker, married Dr. Jehu John, and her
grandfather
John built a stone house now standing
near the little
bungalow on the old Looker farm. Mrs.
Darrow then
gives the list of ten children of her
grandparents. Seven
of the children of Emily Hewitt Looker
and Dr. Jehu
John married and had families. In
concluding her let-
ter Mrs. Darrow said:
Imagine beyond--the children and
grandchildren--two gen-
erations since father's time--I am a
woman fifty-five years old.
Othniel Looker's
great-great-great-great-grandchildren are
widely scattered. I can put you in touch
with numerous cousins
who have great-great-grandchildren. As
far as I know I am the
only one who is among them trying to
establish D. A. R. rights.
To accomplish this will mean so much to
all of us.
Verily, investigation has carried us
far beyond the
original sketch which for many years
was accepted as
final to the effect that Governor
Looker left no records
relative to his life succeeding his
service in the governor-
ship, and that he died
"unmarried."
From time to time since writing the
previous sketch
to which attention has been drawn,
items have occurred
chiefly in search for other information
which are ap-
pended because of their relation to the
only Revolution-
ary soldier who ever served as Governor
of Ohio.
Mrs. Darrow also adds this additional
note of genea-
logical interest:
Governor Othniel Looker and His Descendants 451 Since receiving your letter my D. A. R. friend here has lo- cated a Mrs. C. S. Emery of La Crosse, Wisconsin, 925 Cass St., who is a great-granddaughter of Samuel Looker. This Samuel Looker was a brother of my great-grandfather Henry C. Looker. Her National D. A. R. number is 97690. |
|
GOVERNOR OTHNIEL LOOKER AND HIS
DESCENDANTS
In the Ohio Archaeological and
Historical Quarterly,
volume 31, pages 215-217, there is a
sketch of Governor
Othniel Looker. In it is copied a
previous sketch in
which the statement was made that
Governor Looker
left no records relative to his life
succeeding his service
in the governorship and that he died
unmarried. The
sketch at that time furnished from
reliable sources by
the present writer, gave additional
information that
almost entirely discredited the biographical
notice that
had been circulated about Ohio for
about half a century.
It was shown that he was married and
that a number of
his descendants are still living in
different parts of the
United States. The sketch contained
also a record of
his service in the Revolutionary War
and in the General
Assembly of the State of New York
before he came to
Ohio. The children of Governor Looker
there named,
were B. F., James, Harvey, Pamela, and
Rachel L.
Recently much additional information
has been received
on the descendants of Governor Looker
from Mrs. Elea-
nor John Darrow, 2052 South Seventh
Street, Cuyahoga
Falls, Ohio. Mrs. Darrow is a great-great-grand-
daughter of Governor Looker. From her
letter we
learn that Governor Looker had a large
family. His
wife's name was Pamela Clark. Following
are the
names of his children in the order of
their ages:
(446)