Stratton House Inn :: Little Home Histories, Part 66 -- Home of Peter Sears, 1807-.
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by Sears, William.

See previous entry: Little Home Histories, Part 65 -- Home of Benjamin and Esther Sears.

This house was built by Thomas and Prudence Williams in the year 1807, and is located at about three and a quarter miles southeast of Barnesville, Ohio, near one-half mile west of the Sandy Ridge road. The house is still standing erect, but is not inhabited.

The original house was twenty-two by twenty-two feet and two stories high. It was made of logs hewed on the two sides to be seven inches thick. They were set on edge, "chinked and dobbed", and plastered. Later a one story addition on the north side was added. It was fifteen by twenty-two feet and was divided into two rooms for the kitchen and bedrooms. There also was a "meal room" and a porch on the east side, which was nine by twenty-two feet.

The house is located on a hillside about five rods from a wonderful spring where a log milk house was built. The property was occupied by the Williams family for several years before it became the home of Peter and Phariba Sears. Here they raised four children: Benjamin S., Mary B., Sarah D., and Edwin W. Sears.

Edwin passed away in sixth month 1925, the last of the family. Phariba died in 1878 and Peter in 1898.

The children continued to live in the old home until 1903, when they sold it and moved on the public road nearby.

I remember seeing Charleyn Cole putting a tin roof on the house fifty-five years ago (as of 1942), and it is apparently in good condition yet.

Phariba wove many yards of carpet and material for clothing, as they made their own clothing. Peter was a very kind man and did not believe in sacrificing convenience and comfort for outside appearance.

On one occasion, a man living a mile or two away, had the misfortune to break his leg. Peter went to his assistance to render what help he could. The man was taken to his home and laid on his bed. In getting him comfortably fixed so he could stretch his broken leg, the footboard was in the way. Peter got a saw and was about to saw off the board when the owner objected. Peter said, "It is in the way of making thee comfortable and I am going to saw it off", which he did.

They built a frame barn thirty by thirty-six feet with basement and drive way overhead, which was an asset to the property in years past. They were lovers of fruit, and planted a large apple orchard and dedicated considerable space to other fruit of all kinds that are grown in this latitude.

Years ago a pine tree that stood in the yard about ten feet from the house was struck by lightening, but no one in the house was hurt.

Uncle Peter was a brother of my father.

Source: Written by: William Sears, Barnesville, Ohio.

See next entry: Little Home Histories, Part 67 -- 'A House Built About 1810'.

For the table of contents and first entry in this series, please see: Little Home Histories, Part 01 -- Table of Contents and Introduction.


This entry is adapted from Little Home Histories in Our Early Homes, Belmont County, Ohio, which was published in 1942. Its publication was coordinated by Robert D. and Beulah Patten McDonald. This entry has been reedited for inclusion in the Pierian Press Fulltext eBooks database, and is included on the Stratton House Inn Website by special permission. This entry is licensed for use ONLY on this Website. It may be used for educational purposes and personal pleasure under fair-use provisions via this Website. Please note that the Stratton House Inn iteration of this entry does NOT include the subject headings assigned each chapter for use in the Fulltext eBooks database.

DATABASE: Fulltext eBooks: Copyright (c) 2002 The Pierian Press, Inc. All Rights Reserved
ENTRY NUMBER: EBK30013766

 

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