This page compiled by Liz Osborn; last updated 26 April 2000. All rights reserved.
Osborn Family Tree
Osborn Ahnentafel
Patriot Roots
Our branch of the Osborn Family descends from Joseph OSBORN, an early settler of Ohio. Joseph served throughout the Revolutionary War, enlisting as a Private in Captain Joseph Anderson's Company, 4th Regiment, New Jersey Continental Line, in March of 1776. He fought in battles in New Jersey, Delaware, and Pennsylvania. Because he was an active participant in both the Germantown, Pennsylvania (October 1777) and Monmouth, New Jersey (June 1778) battles which bracketed the infamous encampment at Valley Forge, we suppose he was among the faithful few who suffered the winter there with George Washington, in the bitter cold. In 1781, Joseph was present at the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown, Virginia, which marked the end of the War.
Rosanna DORCH, who would marry Joseph in 1786, was no less a fervent patriot, and a heroine in her own right. The Lebanon Star (Warren County, Ohio local newspaper) related the following poem as describing an event in Rosanna's life, quoting following from DAR Magazine, "Revolutionary War Heroines" Suffolk Chapter DAR, Oct 1975.
"Rosanna was surprised by some foraging British soldiers, who were stationed at Southhampton. She had been boiling a berry pudding for her family's noon meal. One of the soldiers gleefully cried, "we're just in time, come on boys." The episode is best told in rhyme by Miss Fannie Elkins of Brooklyn, New York:"
Oh, no you're not she made reply
Then siezed the boiling pot,
Ran with it through another door,
And threw it blazing hot,
Pudding and all, adown the hill,
And left it in the sand,
Amid the curses, loud and deep
Of all the hungry band.
The thing was naught, perhaps, beside
What patriots daily do.
And yet the spirit that inspired
Was Freedom's spirit, too.
The place and tale are widely known.
Fresh is the legend still,
And all East Hampton villagers
Are proud of Pudding Hill.
As payment for his services in the Army, Joseph was granted land in the new territory of Ohio, and between 1805 and 1810, he moved his family across the mountains and down the Ohio River. He and Rosanna settled on 100 acres along Second Creek, a tributary of the Little Miami River, in what became Warren County, Ohio. There, they raised 8 children, 6 of whom were still alive at the time Joseph applied for an old-age pension in connection to his military service, in 1820: Absolom, John, James, Andrew, Elizabeth, and Ira (our ancestor).
Joseph died October 10, 1830, in Warren Co., Ohio. Rosanna died January 8, 1856, and is buried in the Blanchester (Marion Twp) Old Cemetery, Clinton Co. Ohio.
Thanks to Marshall K. Osborn and the Warren County Ohio Historical Society for the above information.
Ira OSBORN was born August 21, 1803, and came with his family to Ohio. On October 22, 1826 Ira married Rebecca COX in Warren Co., Ohio. Rebecca was born July 4, 1808 in Ohio. They established a household a little ways from parents Joseph and Rosanna, just over the county line in Clinton County. There they raised at least 7 children: Malinda, Aaron, Phebe, James, Andrew, Amos, and Eli (our ancestor). Andrew and Malinda's husband (also Andrew) served in the Civil War, in the 82nd Ohio Infantry. Andrew died as a result of his war-time service.
Ira and Rebecca remained at this homestead throughout their lives.
Ira died August 30, 1881; Rebecca passed away October 12, 1874. They are buried in the Second Creek Cemetery, Marion Township, Clinton Co., Ohio. Their gravestones give their last name as ORSBORN.
Eli OSBORN was born September 25, 1849, and was the youngest of Ira and Rebecca's children. On July 16, 1871 Eli wed Eliza ALLEN, daughter of John and Matilda BOWMAN ALLEN. Eliza was born March 7, 1855 in Ohio. Eli, a blacksmith, set up a household not far from Ira & Rebecca's place, and there he and Eliza reared a large family of at least 5 daughters and 3 sons: Effie, Linnie, Addie, Martha, Oscar, Dora, Eddie, and Charlie.
Eli and Eliza lived long and full lives, surrounded by their children and grand-children; Eliza died April 14, 1920. She was followed in death by Eli, who died June 30th, 1927. They are buried side by side as "Father" (F: E.O.) and "Mother" (M: E.O.) Osborn, in the Second Creek Cemetery, Marion Township, Clinton Co. Ohio.
Are you a descendant of Eli and Eliza Allen Osborn? We are hunting for all the descendants of Eli and Eliza. Contact me! and mention this page.
The 1910 Census shows newlywed day-laborer Oscar OSBORN and his wife, Cleo DONAHUE, living with Oscar's parents. Oscar, Eli and Eliza's oldest son, was born July 27, 1884 in Marion Township, Clinton County, Ohio. Cleo was born February 2, 1892 in Clinton County, Ohio, to Benjamin Franklin DONAHUE and Mariah Elizabeth BAILEY HOLE. Benjamin was the son of Andrew DUNAHUE and Elizabeth STEVENS. Mariah was the widow of Francis Orlando HOLE, and the daughter of Wilson BAILEY and Sarah TURNER. Benjamin, Mariah, Andrew, Elizabeth, and Wilson were all natives of Ohio; Sarah was from Kentucky.
Oscar and Cleo had one son, Howard Harold OSBORN, born April 16, 1911, near Pansy, Marion Twp., Clinton Co., Ohio. They divorced in 1923. Cleo remarried, to Robert DEAN. She died January 21, 1966 in Blanchester, and is buried as Cleo DEAN in the Blanchester IOOF Cemetery, Blanchester Ohio. Oscar died in Columbus Ohio on October 3, 1953, and is buried in the Second Creek Cemetery, Marion Township, Clinton Co., Ohio. His grave is marked by a simple stone, in the fashion of his parent's stones, about two rows away diagonally from them; it is now mostly sunk in the earth, and reads simply F: O.O., meaning Father, Oscar Osborn.
The Great Depression found Howard Harold OSBORN "riding the rails" as he traveled throughout the United States, as an itinerant laborer. His cousin, Glenn, described him as "appearing in town now and then, sleeping on the couch for a night, and then gone again the next day." By 1937, he had landed in Chicago, as a musical entertainer and radio announcer. There he met Miss Agnes SCHUBERT, born 18 April 1913 in Peoria, Illinois. Agnes was the daughter of Stephen and Micela PERC SCHUBERT, who were Croatian-speaking immigrants at the turn of the century from what was then Austro-Hungary, but is now Croatia.
Howard and Agnes had one son, H.E. OSBORN, before divorcing. Agnes later married (2) CRAIN; she died May 7, 1981 in Kankakee, Illinois and is buried at St. Mary's, Beaverville, Illinois. Howard died May 21, 1973 in Round Lake Beach, Illinois, and is buried at Avon Centre, GraysLake, Illinois.
H.E. OSBORN is still living. He has 5 sons, 1 daughter, and 1 step-daughter; and 18 grand-children all over the country, from Alaska to Colorado to Illinois.