Leven Okey
5th great grandfather
Leven Okey-1760
John Woodman Okey-1792
Hannah Okey-1819
Edward Brown-1838
John Waggonfield Brown-1860
Ira Edward Brown-1894
Elisha Kane Brown-1921
Kathleen Elizabeth Brown-1947
Leven Okey was born at Lewes, Delaware, October 23rd, 1760. He married Esther Hazzard, who was born April 3rd, 1759. He was the owner of trading vessels that plied up and down the Chesapeake Bay and along the Atlantic coast. He seems to have been the only child of his parents. If there were others, they probably died young, possibly in England. In 1802, being forty-two years of age, with his wife, mother, and eight children, five boys and three girls, he moved west to the state of Ohio. They came down the Ohio River on a flat boat, then the only means of travel, and settled at the mouth of Powhattan Creek, now Belmont County, Ohio. They resided there in a log cabin until 1820 when they removed to the adjoining county of Monroe near the vicinity of Woodsfield, the county seat, where some of their descendants still reside.
Leven was one of the first judges of that county's Court of Common Pleas. Section 6 of the law organizing the County in 1813 also provided that the court be held in his house located near Captina Creek in Belmont county, Ohio. His name appears in the deed records of that county in 1802. He held the office of justice of the peace there and was also a member of the first board of commissioners. In 1814 he purchased land from the United States in Monroe county.
Leven Okey was a soldier in the Revolution and probably served in a Delaware Regiment. (Captain John Larmoth's Company possibly) Hardesty states that Leven's daughter Sara was supposed to have been the first person buried in the Pioneer Cemetery in Woodfield, Ohio, in 1812, but there is no existing stone for her. However, the tombstones for Leven, his mother Elizabeth and his wife Esther can still be found in the cemetery. Leven's stone shows that he died June 21, 1829. The age is somewhat eroded, but it is believed to read "aged 68 years". The inscription for his mother reads, "Elizabeth Okey, died Feb. 24, 1824, in the 103rd year of her age." the stone for his wife, Esther, shows that she died October 9, 1828, aged 70 and 5 months. Family records show that Esther's maiden name was Hazzard and that she and Leven Okey were married in Delaware, April 20, 1782.Many Monroe County court records are lost, because of several courthouse fires, but an entry in Journal 1 (page 210) in the Court of Common Pleas shows that the last will and testament of Leven Okey was brought to court on July 7, 1829, that the witnesses were Jeremiah and John Hollister, and the executors were Cornelius and Arthur Okey. While the will itself is no longer extant, Hardesty's History gives these names of his children, along with Sara who died at the age of 12.In 1813 Leven walked from Woodsfield to Columbus to obtain charter for Monroe County.
Above: Theater where John and I went to see movies while our parents combed the old records in the Woodsfield courthouse for information on the Brown and Okey ancestors.
More on Leven Okey: Leven Okey settled in York Township, Belmont County, Ohio, May 16, 1802.
One of the first families in Monroe County, Ohio, from the standpoint of early arrival and prestige, was the OKEY family, whose descendants have since spread to Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri, and California. Leven Okey, the Monroe County progenitor, was one of the first judges of that county's Court of Common Pleas. Section 6 of the law organizing the County in 1813 also provided that the court be held in his house. He came with his family and mother from Lewes, Sussex County, Delaware, in the spring of 1800 and settled near Captina Creek in Belmont County Ohio. His name appears in the deed records of that county in 1802. He held the office of justice of the peace there and was also a member of the first board of commissioners. In 1814 he purchased land from the United States in Monroe County in “R.5, T.3, S.30.”
Leven Okey was a soldier in the Revolution and probably served in a Delaware Regiment. (Captain John Larmoth's Company possibly.) Hardesty states that Leven's daughter Sara was supposed to have been the first person buried in the Pioneer Cemetery in Woodsfield, Ohio, in 1812, but there is no existing stone for her. However, the tombstones for Leven, his mother Elizabeth and his wife Esther can still be found in the cemetery. Leven's stone shows that he died June 21, 1829. The age is somewhat eroded, but it is believed to read "aged 68 years". The inscription for his mother reads, "Elizabeth Okey, died Feb. 24, 1824, in the 103rd year of her age”, the stone for his wife, Esther, shows that she died October 9, 1828, aged 70 and 5 months. Family records show that Esther's maiden name was Hazzard and that she and Leven Okey were married in Delaware, April 20, 1782.
Many Monroe County court records are lost, because of several courthouse fires, but an entry in Journal 1 (page 210) in the Court of Common Pleas shows that the last will and testament of Leven Okey was brought to court on July 7, 1829, that the witnesses were Jeremiah and John Hollister, and the executors were Cornelius and Arthur Okey. While the will itself is no longer extant, Hardesty's History gives these names of his children, along with Sara who died at the age of 12.
1.Cornelius (1783-1859), 2. Arthur, 3. Hannah, 4. James, 5. Woodman, 6 Henry L., 7. Nancy, 8. Sara.
In this case Cornelius and Arthur Okey were sons of Levin Okey, and Arthur Okey was married to Sophia Hollister, the sister of Jeremiah and John Hollister. (From Navigator Jan. 1997) In 1813 he walked from Woodsfield to Columbus to obtain charter for Monroe County.
Notes for Esther Williams: 1800, Jun 9 - Deed- Levin Okey and wife Esther to William John, 112 acres on Cheat River. "Tract on which Okey now lives." $333 1/3. Delivered 27 Nov 1801. (Monongalia Deed Book OS 2:165)
Notes for Esther Williams: 1800, Jun 9 - Deed- Levin Okey and wife Esther to William John, 112 acres on Cheat River. "Tract on which Okey now lives." $333 1/3. Delivered 27 Nov 1801. (Monongalia Deed Book OS 2:165)
Marriage Notes for Leven Okey and Esther Williams: Married in the Lewis and Cool Spring Presbyterian Church.
(The above was printed in the National Genealogical Society Quarterly. Vol 58 - No. 2 - June 1870 "The Okey - Hazzard Family Delaware to Monroe County, Ohio. By Catharine Foraker Fedorchak and K. T. H. McFarland III.)
Another Article on Leven & Esther Okey
The earliest known permanent settlement in what would become Monroe County was made in the 1790’s near the mouth of Sunfish Creek along the Ohio River. The county, east and west, is 26 ½ miles long and is 22 miles wide north and south and was created from parts of the counties of Belmont, Guernsey and Washington. In 1812, the village of Woodsfield was laid out from an unbroken and uninhabited forest. The territory where Woodsfield is situated had no known major Indian settlement prior to the arrival of the pioneers. The village was platted by Archibald Woods of Wheeling for whom it was named. He along with land speculators George Paul, Judge Benjamin Ruggles and Levi Barber sold the 1st lots in the village. Tradition states that Archibald Woods, who owned large tracts of land in this area, brought in a keg of French brandy and invited all the men and boys within a five mile radius to come on a Saturday to help clear the area and fell the trees where the square in Woodsfield is today. The village was officially established in 1814. Spencer Biddle’s tavern was the 1st structure in Woodsfield built about 1812 on the East side of the square about where the KFC parking lot is today (2014).
Levin and Esther Okey and their family settled about 1812 on land that would become Woodsfield. He was a member of the first board of commissioners for the county under the constitution of 1802 when today’s Monroe County was still part of Belmont County. The Enabling Act of 1802 was passed on April 30, 1802 by the Seventh Congress of the United States. This act authorized the residents of the eastern portion of the Northwest Territory to form the state of Ohio and join the U.S. on an equal footing with the other states. In doing so it also established the precedent and procedures for creation of future states in the western territories. The first Monroe County court sessions were held in the Okey’s log home with Levin as one of the Associate Judges.
Among the earliest settlers in the area were Patrick and Elizabeth Adams, James and Susannah [Dye] Carrothers (their son George [1817-1879] was the 1st child born in the village), Joseph Driggs, Ezra and Mary [Ruggles] Driggs, John Snyder, Anson and Aurelia Brewster, James and Nancy [Okey] Phillips, Messer and Margaret Sayers, Michael Davis, John Coll, Henry H. and Levinah Mott, Stephen Lindley, John King, Henry and Beulah Jackson, Amos B. and Pamela [Hollister] Jones, David and Elizabeth Pierson, Nathan and Abigail [Goodrich] Hollister, Elan and Ann Patterson, James Cunningham, Daniel and Rebecca O’Connor, Henry and Deborah Mason, Peter and Mary Palmer, Abner and Sarah Powell, Jamie Shaw and Mrs. Mary Anne Hunter and children. Henry Howe reported in his early history that Woodsfield in 1820 contained 18 houses – 6 of them hewed logs and the rest rough log cabins. There were many other settlers on farms immediately outside the village limits of Woodsfield, which encompassed Sycamore to Paul and Marietta to Oaklawn.
The village of Woodsfield was incorporated in 1834, and Henry Johnson was elected the 1st Mayor in 1836. During this time, settlers were moving into all parts of the county buying land and exercising their land rights under bounty warrants for various military services.
These early settlers were hard working, pious men and women, and they celebrated their religious beliefs in private homes before the first churches were built. The earliest known circuit riding ministers were Methodist, Presbyterian and Baptist, and they brought the word of God to the frontier. The Methodists were the 1st organized religious group, who in 1814 were meeting in the log court house and by 1824 built the 1st church in the village of Woodsfield.
After a relatively slow start from the 1st settlements, the population rapidly increased during the years between the 1820s and 1850s. In the 1840s and 50s, there was a large influx of German settlers into the county, most from the Black Forest area. The Swiss and German settlers identified the rolling hills of southern Ohio with their homelands and gave the name “Switzerland of Ohio” to Monroe County. The population of Monroe County in 1820 was 4,645, and by 1906, it was approximately 27,000. However, by the 1950 census, the population was down to 15,362 persons with a mainly rural economy. The largest population in the county was in 1850 when it numbered 28,351 people. The village of Woodsfield had a slow but steady growth until the oil boom of the 1890s stimulated the economy with an influx of new citizens. Currently, another gas and oil boom is bringing news faces into the county and the hope for new prosperity.
Levin and Esther Okey and their family settled about 1812 on land that would become Woodsfield. He was a member of the first board of commissioners for the county under the constitution of 1802 when today’s Monroe County was still part of Belmont County. The Enabling Act of 1802 was passed on April 30, 1802 by the Seventh Congress of the United States. This act authorized the residents of the eastern portion of the Northwest Territory to form the state of Ohio and join the U.S. on an equal footing with the other states. In doing so it also established the precedent and procedures for creation of future states in the western territories. The first Monroe County court sessions were held in the Okey’s log home with Levin as one of the Associate Judges.
Among the earliest settlers in the area were Patrick and Elizabeth Adams, James and Susannah [Dye] Carrothers (their son George [1817-1879] was the 1st child born in the village), Joseph Driggs, Ezra and Mary [Ruggles] Driggs, John Snyder, Anson and Aurelia Brewster, James and Nancy [Okey] Phillips, Messer and Margaret Sayers, Michael Davis, John Coll, Henry H. and Levinah Mott, Stephen Lindley, John King, Henry and Beulah Jackson, Amos B. and Pamela [Hollister] Jones, David and Elizabeth Pierson, Nathan and Abigail [Goodrich] Hollister, Elan and Ann Patterson, James Cunningham, Daniel and Rebecca O’Connor, Henry and Deborah Mason, Peter and Mary Palmer, Abner and Sarah Powell, Jamie Shaw and Mrs. Mary Anne Hunter and children. Henry Howe reported in his early history that Woodsfield in 1820 contained 18 houses – 6 of them hewed logs and the rest rough log cabins. There were many other settlers on farms immediately outside the village limits of Woodsfield, which encompassed Sycamore to Paul and Marietta to Oaklawn.
The village of Woodsfield was incorporated in 1834, and Henry Johnson was elected the 1st Mayor in 1836. During this time, settlers were moving into all parts of the county buying land and exercising their land rights under bounty warrants for various military services.
These early settlers were hard working, pious men and women, and they celebrated their religious beliefs in private homes before the first churches were built. The earliest known circuit riding ministers were Methodist, Presbyterian and Baptist, and they brought the word of God to the frontier. The Methodists were the 1st organized religious group, who in 1814 were meeting in the log court house and by 1824 built the 1st church in the village of Woodsfield.
After a relatively slow start from the 1st settlements, the population rapidly increased during the years between the 1820s and 1850s. In the 1840s and 50s, there was a large influx of German settlers into the county, most from the Black Forest area. The Swiss and German settlers identified the rolling hills of southern Ohio with their homelands and gave the name “Switzerland of Ohio” to Monroe County. The population of Monroe County in 1820 was 4,645, and by 1906, it was approximately 27,000. However, by the 1950 census, the population was down to 15,362 persons with a mainly rural economy. The largest population in the county was in 1850 when it numbered 28,351 people. The village of Woodsfield had a slow but steady growth until the oil boom of the 1890s stimulated the economy with an influx of new citizens. Currently, another gas and oil boom is bringing news faces into the county and the hope for new prosperity.
Col. Samuel L. Mooney had a dream for the future of Woodsfield including the construction of a narrow gauge railroad from Bellaire to Zanesville with 6 miles of trestles along a 110 mile track including 3 tunnels with only one in the county at Standing Stone at the edge of Woodsfield. The first train chugged into Woodsfield on November 26, 1879, and for the next 52 years this friendly little railroad was the lifeline of the county. However, with better roads and automobiles there was less use for train travel, and on May 30, 1931, the final train arrived from Bellaire in Woodsfield making the Ohio, River and Western RR just a memory.
In 1906, Woodsfield was described as “one of the most prosperous and enterprising towns for its size in Southeastern Ohio with paved streets, electric lights, many handsome and modern business blocks and fine residences.” After 1906, there was a decline in population until 1957 when the Olin Mathieson Corporation built a large aluminum plant at Hannibal on the Ohio River. This greatly increased the economy with the 1960 census showing a population in Woodsfield of 2,927 with the county census as 15,268. The 2010 census showed 14,642 residents in Monroe County and 2,384 persons in Woodsfield.
Woodsfield and Monroe County has produced a number of well- known sons and daughters who have gone on to become authors, statesmen, military heroes, clergymen, educators and have served and performed in all areas of American society. However, the pioneers who settled this land left a legacy for hard work and moral fiber to their children and grandchildren, and this is indeed the strength that will carry us into tomorrow for the next 50 and 100 years.
In 1906, Woodsfield was described as “one of the most prosperous and enterprising towns for its size in Southeastern Ohio with paved streets, electric lights, many handsome and modern business blocks and fine residences.” After 1906, there was a decline in population until 1957 when the Olin Mathieson Corporation built a large aluminum plant at Hannibal on the Ohio River. This greatly increased the economy with the 1960 census showing a population in Woodsfield of 2,927 with the county census as 15,268. The 2010 census showed 14,642 residents in Monroe County and 2,384 persons in Woodsfield.
Woodsfield and Monroe County has produced a number of well- known sons and daughters who have gone on to become authors, statesmen, military heroes, clergymen, educators and have served and performed in all areas of American society. However, the pioneers who settled this land left a legacy for hard work and moral fiber to their children and grandchildren, and this is indeed the strength that will carry us into tomorrow for the next 50 and 100 years.
