Rev. Ira Chase
Rev. Ira Chase was born at Bangor, Maine, on the 12th day of April. A. D.. 1809. His progenitors were of English origin and came from the nobility of England. His family still have in their possession the design of their coat-of-arms. The motto inscribed thereon is "Ne cede malis," "Never yield to discouragements," which seems to have been a prominent characteristic of the family and was very marked in the subject of this sketch. The early history of the Chase family in America dates hack to the year 1630, when three brothers, William, Thomas and Aquilla, landed on the continent, having come here with the fleet which brought John Winthrop, the Puritan or of Massachusetts to American soil. In 1639, two of these brothers, Thomas and Aquilla, became the first settlers of Hampton, New Hampshire. They remained there until 1652, when Thomas died, after which Aquilla removed to Newhury and remained there until his death. He left a large family of children who settled in various parts of New England, and from this family came the subject of this sketch.
Rev. Ira Chase's father's name was Eliphalet Chase, and he was born March 26, 1775. His mother's name was Susan Mugget, and she came from a prominent and wealthy family of Massachusetts. His parents were married May 1, 1794. and were both devout members of the Episcopal Church. They had a family of ten children, some of whom died before they arrived at their majority. The father was a merchant in Bangor, Maine. After his death the family removed to the West. One of the older brothers, John M. Chase, settled in the State of Michigan, where he reared a family of six sons, all of whom became professional men. and like their ancestors were enthusiastic politicians, one son being elected governor of Indiana. Another brother. Rev. Ebenezer B. Chase, was a prominent minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church and traveled through Ohio and will be remembered by many as one of the most eloquent and zealous preachers in the Ohio Conference. He married Miss Catherine Rosecrans, a sister of the late Bishop and General Rosecrans. The youngest brother. Silas H. Chase, graduated from the Medical College in Cincinnati and later completed a course in law. after which he located in the above city where he became intimately associated with his cousin, Salmon P. Chase, who was United States senator, then governor of Ohio and later chief justice of the United States. Dr. Silas Chase removed to Washington, D. C, about the time his cousin became chief justice, where he died while yet in the prime of life, and just before his hopes for promotion had been realized. The subject of this sketch was educated in Mt. Vernon, Ohio, and studied medicine for several months under the tutelage of Dr. Russell, one of the most prominent physicians in the State. But having been impressed, when but a boy, with the feeling that he was called to preach the Gospel, he yielded to his early convictions and abandoned his chosen profession and began the study of theology. He was licensed to preach by the Quarterly Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church of the Ohio Conference, when but 19 years of age, after which he continued his studies for several years and in the autumn of 184 he was appointed to Greenville Circuit, Darke County, Ohio, his colleague being Rev. William B. Christie, who later became a noted divine of the Methodist Church.
It was during his pastorate at Greenville that he was married to Jane Wilcox, of Wilkesbarre, Pennsylvania, who had been spending several months in Ohio with her sister, Mrs. Elizabeth Stark, the wife of Mr. James Stark, one of the oldest and wealthiest citizens of Kingston Township, Delaware County. An incident occurred the day previous to his marriage, which showed the true courage and devotion of Mr. Chase. He started from Greenville on horseback to meet his chosen bride in Kingston Township. It had been a very rainy season and when he reached the Scioto, on the road between Marysville and Delaware, he found the water raging and the river overflowing its banks, and there being no bridge, he was advised that it was not safe for him to cross, but he determined to stem the flood and he guided his horse to land, between the two enormous boulders, on the east side of the river. Had he failed to land between these two boulders, both rider and steed would have perished. But Mr. Chase arrived safely and was married on the eleventh day of June, 1835, according to promise.
Mr. Chase's next appointment was Medina, in the Western Reserve. While traveling this circuit he had as his colleague, Edward Thompson, who afterward became Bishop of the Methodist Church. His next work was on the Norwalk circuit, which at that time extended as far west as the village of Toledo, Ohio, and during his pastorate there, he established the first Methodist Episcopal Church in what is now the city of Toledo. In his travels he was obliged to cross what was then known as the Great Black Swamp. Mr. Chase and his ever faithful wife made many trips together through those dangerous and malarial regions and while there he contracted what was at that time commonly known as "preacher's sore throat," and he was obliged to withdraw from the active work. With the hope of being benefitted by a pure country atmosphere, he located on a farm in Porter Township, Delaware County, Ohio. He was during this time transferred to the Central Ohio Conference and was called to fill a vacancy at William Street Church of Delaware, the pastor. Rev. Mr. Sawyer, having died. Mr. Chase filled his pulpit until the next conference. While on his farm Mr. Chase still felt a lively interest in all public affairs and filled numerous positions of responsibility in the county as well as in the church, he also manifested a marked interest in the politics of his county and State. He originally belonged to the old Whig party, but allied himself with the Republican party at its organization, from his Puritan training be had early learned to view all questions in their moral aspect and so from the beginning of his career he was the friend of the slave and during the anti-bellum days his home became a prominent station on the Underground Railway, and many timid and frightened fugitives were directed from there to the next station north and their larders were filled with supplies for the next night's journey.
The home of Rev. and Mrs. Chase during the time they resided on the farm was also the hostelry for Methodism in all that part of the county. Their doors were always open to the ministers, who would often travel many hours overtime to reach this pleasant and hospitable home.
Rev. Ira Chase married, as above stated. Miss Jane Wilcox, whose parents were from Rhode Island. She was born in Poughkeepsie, New York, and later removed to Wilkesbarre, Pa., where her brothers had purchased many hundred acres of land in Luzerne County and owned and opened the first anthracite coal mines in the Wyoming Valley. Mrs. Chase was related by marriage to David Livingstone, the celebrated African explorer. and was also a cousin by birth to General and Bishop Rosecrans. Mrs. Chase was a woman of beauty and charm and her married life was one of happiness, unbroken, until her death which occurred on December 2, 1882, and the memory of her virtues and charities have never been forgotten.
To Rev. and Mrs. Chase were born six children, one son and five daughters. The eldest daughter, Elizabeth Jane, married Doctor Philander F. Beverly, who was a prominent physician in Columbus. Ohio, and during the Civil War he was appointed assistant surgeon of the Thirtieth Regiment of Ohio Volunteer Infantry. His wife was a devout and efficient worker in the Woman's Home Missionary Society of her church and was greatly beloved by all who knew her. Mrs. Beverly died in September, 1895, and her husband survived her but one year, be having died in December. 1896.
The son, William B. Christie (who was named lor his father's first colleague in the ministry), married Elizabeth Marshall and resides in Marion, Ohio.
The second daughter, Cornelia Ann, married James Robert Lytle, an attorney at law. and resides in Delaware. Ohio.
The third daughter. Elnora Edmonia, married Gilbert M. Blackford, who was at one time a hardware merchant, but now a traveling salesman.
The fourth daughter, Mildred Madora, graduated from Ohio Wesleyan University and became a successful teacher in the West, having taught in the University of Arizona.
The fifth daughter, Viola Adelthia, married Rev. John Collins Jackson, D. D., Ph. D., whe is a prominent minister of the Gospel in the Ohio Conference of the Methodist Episcopal church. He has filled the most prominent pulpits in the conference, and was called to the leading Methodisl Church at Appleton, Wisconsin, also to Jersey City and Paterson, New Jersey. He returned to Ohio and became one of the founders of the Anti-Saloon League of Ohio and was later elected editor of the American Issue, the leading organ of the Anti-Saloon League of Ohio. He is now the National Editor of the American Issue of the Anti-Saloon League of America, with headquarters at Chicago, Illinois. Dr. Jackson has heen one ol the most faithful and courageous workers in that organization.
Rev. Ira Chase has long since gone to his final reward, he having died on the fifteenth day of September, A. D., 1887. Prof. William G. Williams of the Ohio Wesleyan University at Delaware (in his life sketch of Rev. Chase, in the Western Christian Advocate) says: "Rev. Ira Chase was a man of rare virtues, patient under all circumstances, never being known to murmur or repine. He was a quiet yet firm Christian, and as his own religious life ripened and deepened, he felt an increasing solicitude for those around him. His life was good and his death was triumphant."
From 20th Century History of Delaware County, Ohio, and Representative Citizens, Edited and compiled by James R. Lytle, Delaware, Ohio, Biographical Publishing Co., Chicago, 1908