(Note: This is the same man, Jacob Read Ware. Different versions of his biography written by 2 different men.)
“J.K.WARE, retired farmer; P.O. Mechanicsburg; one of the early settlers and prominent citizens of the county; was born near Salem, N.J., Oct. 8, 1806; becomes of Quaker parentage, his ancestry emigrating from England in an early day. His father, Jacob, was a farmer by occupation, and was married three times. His third marriage was with Sarah Reed, of New Jersey; by this union he had a son and daughter, having two sons and two daughters by the previous marriages. His demise occurred in 1806, a few months before the birth of our subject, caused, it is supposed from fright, occasioned by the burning of his house.
Our subject was taken to Delaware when about 3 years old, where he remained till 1818, when he came with his mother to this county, locating first about two miles west of Urbana, and the following year near King’s Creek. In 1823, he went to Urbana and entered the store of Thomas Gwynne as clerk; here he remained a short time and then went to Springfield, Ohio, where his step-father had just opened a store, and clerked for him there until Jan. 20, 1825, when they came to Mechanicsburg, where he has since resided. He acted as clerk in the store till 1834, when he embarked in Mechanicsburg on his own account, purchasing nearly all his first stock on credit; this he continued till 1846 with eminent success, due to his careful business habits, honesty and economy.
He then went to land dealing and raising sheep and wool. In this his usual energy and business sagacity won him signal success. He now owns nearly 2,000acres of land lying in Champaign, Madison and Union Cos., mainly in this county.
Mr. Ware is a self-made man; begging with nothing but and indomitable will, he has by the assistance of his devoted wife and his own perseverance and economy, surrounded himself with a neat competency. He has been identified with the Whig, Liberty, Free-Soil and Republican parties, and now, recognizing the enormity of the evil of intemperance, is a strong Prohibitionist. He has led a life strictly of temperance, having never used intoxicating drinks or tobacco in any form; he has always been active and earnest in the temperance work.
He is a public-spirited man and always found in matters pertaining to the welfare of the community. He was an early and earnest advocate of the free-school system, and was mainly instrumental in establishing the union schools of this place.
In slavery times he was widely known as an uncompromising Abolitionist. He is a man of principle and firm in his convictions of right.
He and his wife has been a member of the M.E. Church for over one-half century, and during nearly all this time has occupied important positions in the church. He married Amisa Wallace, who was born Feb. 6, 1804, near Brownsville, Penn. Aug 20, 1829, and since his marriage has lived on the same identical spot. Of the four sons and two daughters born to this union, two sons, the oldest died in infancy.
Source: The History of Champaign Co. Ohio, by W.H. Beers and Co., Chicago, 1881, page 900
