John Manrod received his education in the public school at Darrtown, and under his father's training was brought up to be a practical and industrious farmer. He was married in 1874 to Sarah Jane, daughter of Bennett and Emmeline (Burke) Kay, residents of Ross township, But-
ler county. Bennett Kay was married three times, Mrs. Manrod's mother being his second wife, and his third wife being Margaret Timberman, who bore him seven children.
After the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Manrod they resided on a farm in Hanover township for a time, but subsequently removed to Riley township, where Mr. Manrod prosecuted his farming operations with continued industry and interest. From that locality he changed his residence to Woods Station, although he continued farming in Riley and Morgan townships, but finally purchased his present farm, where he has lived since 1912, a property consisting of 222 acres. This is a valuable farm which has been made attractive by the erection of good buildings and the installing of up-to-date improvements, and which has been carefully cultivated with the most modern machinery and appliances.
While he is not a politician or office seeker, Mr. Manrod has taken a keen interest in local movements, and has never failed to support good enterprises which promise to be of benefit to the community of his adoption. He was particularly active during war times in lending his aid to all worthy causes. He and the members of his family belong to the Methodist church. Mr. and Mrs. Manrod have six children : Nellie, who married William Teckman of Darrtown, and has three children, Ora, Ruth and Mabel ; Jacob B., of Hanover township, who married Clara Weaver, and has three children, Walter, Mildred and Martha ; George O., who resides at home and assists his father; Jesse K., who married Minnie Phares, of Wayne township, Butler county; Carl, who was overseas with the American Expeditionary Force and saw service in France with a machine-gun company, and who since his return has been attending Miami university; and Emmeline, the wife of Jacob Burkhart, of St. Clair township, Butler county, who has two children, John and George."
FAMILIES M-P: MANROD ~ Jacob Manrod
Jacob Manrod
WEBMASTER NOTE: The information about the Manrod family was compiled from these sources:
Documents and photographs contributed by Darrtown residents, Larry and Debbie (James) Garver - during the April 21, 2012 Darrtown Gathering. Debbie (James) Garver's mother was a Burkhardt and, thus, a cousin to Sarah (Manrod) Burkhardt. That is how the Garvers acquired the Manrod documents displayed below.
A University of Pittsburgh website - see Memoirs of MIami Valley.
If you have information to share about the Manrod family or know that any of the following is incorrect, please contact the Webmaster, via the "Contact Me" link at the bottom of this page.
Early owners of the farm next to Lane's Mill?
According to Larry and Debbie Garver, the photo at the right shows a married couple whose last name was Kay.
The Garvers believe that the Kays owned the farm at the intersection of Lanes Mill Road and Wallace Road and they sold that property to ___ Manrod.
That being true, then...
...perhaps the people in the photo are the Kays, parents of Sarah Jane Kay, who married John Manrod.
...perhaps that is the link to the farm becoming known, in the 20th century, as the "Manrod" farm.
John Manrod Narrative
The following text was found on page 458 at the "Memoirs of Miami Valley" resource.
"John Manrod
Prominent among the respected and progressive agriculturists of Butler county is to be found John Manrod, now the owner of a handsome and valuable property located in Milford township. Mr. Manrod's career has been one of intense activity and industry ever since he started his independent operations, and his able management, wise investments and constant enterprise have combined to place him in a position of recognized substantiality among the farmer citizens of this part of Butler county.
Mr. Manrod was born at Darrtown, Butler county, Ohio, a son of Jacob and Elizabeth (Hyatt) Manrod. His father, a native of France, emigrated to the United States in young manhood, settling near Darrtown, where he met and married Elizabeth Hyatt, who belonged to a well and favorably known agricultural family of this region, and they settled down to a life devoted to farming, in which they were able to accumulate a satisfying share of this world's goods, the home farm consisting of 164 acres. They were the parents of Margaret, who is deceased ; John, of this notice ; Jacob, a resident of Hamilton ; Charlotte, whose home is in Virginia ; Mary, who is now Mrs. Ledwell, a resident of Hamilton; Roswell, who lives at Oxford ; and McClellan, the owner of a good property in Hanover township, a sketch of whose career appears elsewhere in this work.
Jacob Manrod branch of Manrod family tree
The following chart was generated at Family Tree Maker, from information in the Manrod branch of the Darrtown Family Tree. Six descendant generations are available. To see the Darrtown Family Tree, use link at the bottom of this page to contact the webmaster.
Manrod Family Photos
The following images were among the documents contributed by Larry and Debbie Garver - April 21, 2012. The persons in the images were identified by handwritten notes attached to the photos.
Ora Teckman, son of William Teckman and Nelle (Manrod) Teckman
Jesse Manrod
Carl Manrod
The Jake Manrod family
Clockwise (from 12 o'clock):
Jake Manrod;
son, Walter;
daughter, MIldred;
daughter, Martha; and
wife, Clara (Weaver) Manrod
RIGHT:
Mildred
(Manrod)
Lintner
Daughter of
Jacob Manrod
and
Clara
(Weaver)
Manrod
LEFT:
Unknown
Newspaper Account of George Manrod and the Lanes Mill
Webmaster Note: Grandson of Jacob Manrod, George O. Manrod is featured in the following news item. The article, photographs, and captions appeared in a news clipping from the Middletown Ohio, Sunday News-Journal, December 9, 1951 - page 24.
"Curios, Antiques Abound At Manrod's Old Lane Mill
by George Van Gieson - Journal State Editor
Darrtown - The home, barn, and mill on the farm of former County Commissioner, George Manrod, near here, are chockfull of ancient items that may easily be the largest collection of antiques in Butler County. They aren't catalogued or marked in any way. The items, in fact, are stacked here and there throughout the four floors that comprise the Old Lane Mill, which was constructed in 1848 - 103 years ago.
Whether you are interested in books, glassware, furniture, buggies, guns, or anything else that is old, you'll find them all today at the Old Lane Mill. It is a story that story that is going to take a lot of telling.
The Old Lane Mill is situated, quite appropriately, on Lanes Mill Road, about a mile southwest of Darrtown. It is an old stone building that seems about as good as he day it was built, except for the flooring. But, the flooring has been patched up, so you can ramble around the building with apparent safety, except for an occasional, where milady might catch her high heel.
The property is known variously as The Old Lanes MIll, Manrod's Grove, and Manrod's Farm. The property consists of about 250 acres, with Four Mile Creek running right through the property. There is an attractive picnic grove, complete with kitchen facilities, that is used throughout the year by many organizations in the vicinity.
The farm was originally bought by George Manrod's father, back in 1912. Manrod obtained possession by settlement of the Lane estate, the original owners of the property.
George Manrod is known today in every nook and cranny of Butler County. In 1931 and 1932 and again from 1936 to 1944, Manrod served on the Butler County Commissioners. He makes no bones about the fact that he is a Democrat.
George Manrod has just about everything on his farm, including membership cards. He is a 32nd degree Mason and is a member of the Knights of Pythias, Elks, Odd Fellows, Shriners, Farm Bureau, Collinsville Grange and takes particular pride in his membership in the Darrtown Discussion group. The farm men and women meet once a month to discuss some topic of current interest.
Also on the farm are no less than 23 dogs. Actually, however, many of them are mere puppies and George thinks he will be rid of most of them, because folks love to give pups for Christmas presents.
In addition, there are 125 chicks, eight head of cattle, three cats, two pigs, and one "old riding horse."
"We'll sell that horse cheap," George chuckled.
Yes, there are relatives too, but, most of George's family lives in Seven Mile. Two sisters, Mrs. Nell Teckman and Mrs. Emmaline Burkhardt live there and so does a brother, Jesse Manrod. Another brother, Jake Manrod, is a farmer on the Stillwell-Beckett Rd., while brother Carl Manrod is a teacher at Steubenville.
The house the Manrods live in was built in 1856. It has nine rooms, and wash rooms in the basement. Since a good many of the antique items are kept in the house, it is easily understood why there is a lack of space. For this reason, it would never be a good reason to sneak into George's bedroom at night. He keeps a total of 22 rifles, shotguns, and pistols, underneath the bed. One of them is a "Union Rifle," which a tag on the stock shows was made in Hamilton in 1863 by Gwyn and Campbell. [see resource 1] [see resource 2]
Along side his bed are shelves with many old books. One title that caught our eye was "Practical Cooking and Dinner Giving." Also in the collection is the long forgotten "Practical Horse Farrier," which was published away back in 1830. Manrod has an unusually large selection f McGuffey readers and spellers.
George talked to us in the living room of his home, which is heated by an old-fashioned silver and black pot-bellied stove, which really keeps the room warm. "Ought to have tossed it out years ago," George declared, "but, I've never seen anything that will do the job better."
George has lived in Butler County his entire life, except for two years he spent in Washington, D. C., with the Department of Commerce. He says his interest in government and politics dates from that time. He has held various offices in Milford Township and was formerly chairman of the Democratic Central Committee.
But, there is the Old Lane Mill that fascinates a guest. The old machinery that was used to operate the mill in bygone days is still there. So, is an old post office wagon that was used to carry the mail between Oxford and Darrtown. The postmaster in the old days used to net about 50 a year, but he could pick up a little extra, by hauling a passenger on the wagon at the rate of 25 cents for the six-mile trip.
There is an old buggy, racks and racks of old harness, 200 old-fashioned flat irons, almost a hundred sets of sleigh bells, a bellows vacuum cleaner, about 20 old sewing machines, lanterns, lamps, carpenter tools used in bygone days, and hundreds of other items to stir the memories of old-timers.
George may get around to straightening up the place someday and maybe even cataloguing the items. "There's no hurry. We have plenty of time." That was the concluding comment of the 70-year-old George Manrod, farmer, civic leader, and a born optimist."
Webmaster Note: More info at Lanes Mill.
