James McGinley Biography Knox County Ohio

JAMES McGINLEY.

Throughout his entire life James McGinley has resided in Knox county, and his career has been honorable and straightforward, a fact which is indicated by the friendship which is accorded him by those who have known him from early youth. He lives on section 19, Pike township, and it was upon this farm that he was born January 16, 1846. His father, Robert McGinley, was a native of Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, born in 1804. The ancestry is traced back to the Emerald Isle for the great-grandfather of our subject, Robert McGinley, was a native of that land and after crossing the broad Atlantic and residing for some time in the east, he became one of the pioneer settlers of Knox county.

His son, Samuel McGinley, the grandfather of our subject, spent his entire life in Pennsylvania. When a young man Robert McGinley came to this county and was here married in 1827 to Eve Lindsey. Her mother bore the maiden name of Reed and her father was a colonel under General Washington in the Revolutionary War. He was a most valiant officer, and on the 8th of October, 1901, in commemoration of his able services, a monument was unveiled to him at Morristown, Pennsylvania.

Mrs. McGinley was a native of Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, and was brought by her parents to this county when only six years of age. Her birth occurred in 1806. The parents of our subject located upon the farm where James McGinley now resides, the tract of land having been entered from the government by Robert Strain. There the father engaged in farming throughout his remaining days. His death occurred in 1867, while his wife, who long survived him, passed away at the age of eighty-six years. She was a daughter of Jacob Lindsey, a native of the Keystone state, who on casting his lot with the early settlers of Knox county established his home in Pike township, where Mrs. McGinley was reared. By her marriage she became the mother of ten children, three daughters and seven sons, of whom all but one reached mature years. One son died at the age of fourteen years.

In taking up the personal history of James McGinley we present to our readers the life record of one who is widely and favorably known in Knox county. He was the youngest of ten children in his parents’ family, and was reared upon the farm where he still resides. In the midst of his farm duties he was allowed time in which to attend the district schools, and thus he became familiar with the work of the fields and with the English branches of learning, which fitted him to cope with the practical and responsible duties of life. After his marriage he brought his bride to the old homestead, where he has since engaged in general farming. Here he owns ninety-four acres of good land, and in connection with the cultivation of cereals best adapted to this climate he is extensively and successfully engaged in the breeding and raising of draft horses.

On the 27th of December, 1867, Mr. McGinley wedded Elizabeth Braddock, a daughter of Joshua and Margaret (Durbin) Braddock, who were early settlers in Knox county, and who has had a family of seven children, Mrs. McGinley being the fourth in order of birth. She was born in Morris township, October 30, 1846, and by her marriage she has become the mother of four children, namely:
-Kit Estella, of Fredericktown;
-Walter, who is engaged in the provision business in Fredericktown;
-Pearl, who is the wife of Howard Huntsberger, a teacher of the same place, and
-Rollin B., who is teaching in the home district school.

Mr. McGinley and his family occupy a prominent position in social circles and he has been honored with public offices, serving both as trustee of the township and as justice of the peace, occupying the latter position for nine years. He was also nominee at one time for sheriff on the Democrat ticket. Socially he is identified with Barthollow Lodge, No. 692, I. O. O. F., which he joined on its organization and in which he has filled all the offices, taking an active part in its work and exemplifying in his life its helpful and beneficent principles. He also is identified with North Liberty Tent, No. 256, K. O. T. M. In public and private life his many estimable characteristics have gained for him the confidence, regard and friendship of his fellow men, and as one of the leading and influential citizens of Pike township he well deserves mention in the history of his native county.

page 143-144

The Biographical Record of Knox County Ohio, Illustrated, Lewis Publ Co, Chicago, 1902

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