John Heaton Waite

THE GROTON AVERY CLAN, Vol. II, by Elroy McKendree Avery and Catherine Hitchcock (Tilden) Avery, Cleveland, 1912. p. 1195

John H. Wait was born March 22, 1811, near Lake Champlain, in a village called Chazy, NY, the son of Benjamin and Lavinia (Heaton) Wait, of Waitsfield, Windsor Co., VT. His parents were born, reared and married in Vermont, but removed across Lake Champlain, where three of their children were born, and moved to Ohio in the year 1814. The Wait family of Vermont are of English descent, and settled in Porter Township, Scioto County, at the date above mentioned, where the father of this sketch died at the age of eighty-four years, and his mother at the age of ninety-six years, six months and fourteen days. The grandfather of Mr. Wait was also named Benjamin. He was a Major in the Revolutionary war; High Sheriff of Windsor County, VT, and a Colonel in the State Militia. He was an active participant in the French and Indian wars, and was so unfortunate as to be captured once by the Indians. He was a good runner and an athletic man, and the Indians compelled him to run the gauntlet; being as brave as he was strong, when the timne came, he started, dodging first from one side to the other, and striking out from the shoulder, he passed the ordeal without scarcely receiving a scratch. He passed through the whole eight years of the Revolutionary war, and came off nearly unharmed. Of the English ancestors of the Wait family, it is said they all in this country sprang from the same stock. The family of Waits are now very numerous in this country, and they have represented nearly every office form Chief Justice down, in the gift of their fellow-countrymen, the Presidency, Vice-Presidency and United States Senator excepted. At this time, one of the family, Mr. Henry T. Wait, is getting up a history of the family from their first arrival in this country to the present day, a family reunion on paper. One paragraph from his work, only partially completed, reads: "Among the planters of Watertown, MA, in 1637, was Richard Wait, who received several grants of land there, and his homestead of six acres can now be pointed out. Of his three sons: John, Thomas and Joseph, the descendants of the former, removed to Framingham, MA; Joseph removed to Marlboro, MA, and Thomas remained in Watertown, where he appeared to have acquired considerable property. His sons were John, Richard, Thomas and Joseph. The first two died young men in the early Indian wars. Thomas removed to Lynn, CT, and was the ancestor of Henry M. Wait, late Chief Justice of Connecticut, whose son, Morrison R. Wait, is the present Chief Justice of the United States; also of Marion Wait, a distinguished lawyer of the Revolution period, and his son, Jno. Turner Wait, now member of Congress from Connecticut." John H. Wait, the subject of this sketch, passed his life on his father's farm in Porter Township from the age of three years to seventeen. Mr Wait was married Sept. 12, 1839, in Harrison Township, to Malvina D. Sikes, by the Rev. Jno. R. Turner. Mrs Wait was born Dec., 8, 1819. Her father, Levi Sikes, was born in Massachusetts in 1794, and moved to Ohio in 1813 or 1814. Her mother, Mary (Keyes) Sikes, was born in 1799 in Rockbridge County, VA, and her family came to Ohio about the same time as Mr. Sikes. Mrs. Wait is a prominent member of the Baptist Church. Mr. and Mrs. Wait have seven children: Isabella, born July 31, 1840; Gilbert D, Oct. 15, 1841; Frances, March 19, 1844; Emeretta, July 31, 1846; John H, Jr, Sept. 23, 1848; Sarah S, Sept. 5, 1850 and John Wesley, Nov. 29, 1853. Mr. Wait has spent rather a quiet and uneventful life, but he has now in his old age a large property, secured through his own unaided efforts, and is today one of the solid men of Portsmouth, and one of her most honored and respected citizens.

• Residence: 3rd Ward
• Residence: 1860 - Portsmouth, Scioto, Ohio, United States
• Residence: 1870 - Portsmouth, Scioto, Ohio, United States
• Residence: 1880 - Portsmouth, Scioto, Ohio, United States
  • Reference: FamilySearch Family Tree - SmartCopy: Apr 22 2023, 20:41:48 UTC