The Uriah Farison Family

Uriah Farison was the son of William Farrison (1807-1877) who came to Henry County in the early 1800's. Very little of the early history of the Farison family is known as a country-wide search of all available records does not reveal the origin of the family or from where they migrated to Henry County. Both William and Uriah are buried in Cole Cemetery, Flatrock Township. It is believed that Uriah changed the spelling of the name eliminating one "R." Today, some branches of the family still use the double "R." William Farrison died in 1877 at the age of 71 years.

Uriah Farison married Elizabeth Stauber and homesteaded a farm in Section 1, Flatrock Township, on Road L. Carl W. Farison now owns and lives on the homestead farm. Uriah was known as a man of fierce temper. A story handed down tells of him having to split hickory rails or stove wood. The hard wood was difficult to split and by the time he had accomplished the task, he was in such a fit of temper that he set fire to the wood and burned the whole fruit of his labor.

Nine children were born to Uriah and Elizabeth. The first was a daughter named Elizabeth. She will be remembered as "Lib." She married Charles Crossman and settled in Flatrock Township on Road M. This farm is now owned by Julian Luebker. Charles was called "Dad" by all. Their children were John; Pearl who married William Bevelhymer; Frank; Ed; and Burt.

Farison Family Reunion — taken in 1928 at the original homestead in Flatrock Township.

The eldest son was William Henry who married Mary Etta Moore. They first moved to the property now owned by Ethel Friend on Road L2, Section 1 of Flatrock Township. In 1904 they bought the former Batten-field farm just to the east and moved into the large brick home. Eleven children were born to them. Charles Henry who lives in Napoleon; Clara Estelle, deceased, who married S. C. Sumner and lived in Chicago; Elizabeth (Bess), deceased, who married Jo. Mattlin and lived in Toledo; Gladys, who died just after graduation from high school in 1915; Ray 0. who lives on Route 5, Napoleon; Richard (Pete), deceased, as a young man in 1922; Maynard (Babe), deceased, lived in Chicago, Illinois; George W., deceased, lived in Chicago and Phoenix, Arizona; William Earl who owns and lives on the home farm and twins, Dorothy and Donald. Dorothy died in infancy and Donald lives in Oakland, California. Henry died in 1911 at the age of 54 years.

Amanda Ellen married Adam Friend, a logger by trade, and they settled on the farm now occupied by Ethel and Florence on Road L2, Section 1, Flatrock Township. The Friends' children were Minnie Mae, who married Clarence Fawley; Harry Wilbur, deceased; Lillian Beryl, deceased; Florence Nettie who married Clair Jeffers in California and now resides on the home farm; Gale Carl, deceased at the age of 19; Doris Lenore who died in infancy; and Ethel Marie who owns and lives on the home farm.

John Farison married Jennie Batten-field. They settled near Malinta and their children are George, deceased; Guy, deceased; Marguerite who married Ray Glick and lives in Toledo; Clyde, deceased; Howard; and a daughter who died in infancy.

Albert Farison married Catherine Snyder known as Kate. They settled in the McClure area and their children are Blair; Nellie, deceased, who married Glen Carr and lived in Michigan; Mabel, who married Frank Vogel; and Edna who is unmarried. This family uses the original spelling of the family name.

Margaret, known as "Mag" married John Snyder and they settled in Arkansas. Their children are: Charles; Lulu; Nettie; Pete; and Ray.

Charles V. married Caroline Lust and settled on part of the original homestead now owned by Carl Rausch. Their children are Francis who married Fern Kile and lives in Napoleon and Bertha who married Ralph Jennings and lives near McClure. After the death of Caroline, Charles married Bertha Kile.

Samuel P. married Amanda Knipp and they lived on the homestead until they retired to live on High St. in Napoleon. Their children are Carl W. who lives on the original homestead and Bernard who is deceased.

Whoever bears the name Farison is a relative of William Farrison as no trace of other branches of the family have been found in the United States. This leads the family to believe that a very drastic change of the spelling of the name was made and they continue to search for news of their beginning.

Submitted by Mrs. Warren Gessner

Farison Family Correction, Vol. 3, p. 61

A paragraph was omitted from the history of Uriah Farison Family which appears on Page 185, Volume I. The paragraph should read:

The youngest daughter, Nettie May, was born on September 29, 1872, in Flatrock Township, Henry County. On January 1, 1899, she was united with Samuel Lewis Snyder, at the Farison homestead in Flatrock Township. Their first son, Lincoln Lewis, named for President Lincoln, was born in February, 1906. Lincoln has lived in Las Vegas, Nevada, since 1928. On November 11, 1910, a second son, Franklin F. Snyder, was born in Holgate, Ohio. He now lives in McLean, Virginia. Nettie May joined her son, Lincoln, in Las Vegas in 1932 and died there on June 8, 1962.

Addition to the Uriah Family History, Volume 3, Page 61

William Farrison was born in 1799 and died on February 27, 1871, in Henry County. He married Elizabeth Fox who was born in Pennsylvania in 1803 and died on October 19, 1870, in Henry County. They are buried in Cole Cemetery. Their children were Uriah, Jacob who married Mary Ann Cole, Mary Margaret who married John Karrick, Lucetta who married William Henry Cole, and Harriet.