From left, James, Ellen, William, Mary, Elizabeth, Jesse in front.
Hello, My name is Mike McGuinness, I have been researching my McGuinness family for a couple of years now. It has not been an easy job researching my dad's family, his father William McGuiness was born in Pike County, Ohio in 1862. In 1890 he married Mary Rebecca James, they had two children, James Walker and Helen. After Mary's death William married Edith Smith, in 1919 a son(my father) John F. was born.
Both William and Edith died in the early 1920's, leaving my dad to the care of Edith's daughter from her first marriage. Needless to say conntact was lost with my dad's half sibling's.
A couple of year's ago, I was able to contact a a daughter of Helen, and would also like to make contact's with people related to James Walker.
The Story below, is the only clue I have to the history of my Greatgrandfather James W. McGuiness.
From the 'History of the Lower Scioto Valley' book written in 1886
p 815) James W. McGinniss was born Dec. 11, 1830 (could be 1831), in Lowell, Mass., a son of James and Ann (McDonough) McGinniss, natives of Dublin, Ireland, who came to the United States in 1821, locating in Lowell. When he (James W.) was eight years of age, his father died, and he then went into the wollen mills, working there till 1849, when he came west, and finally, in 1862, located in Marion Township, Pike Co., Ohio, and purchased the wollen mills. He was married in 1854 to Elizabeth Chapman, a native of Steubenville, Ohio. They had eight children, four of whom are living (As of 1886) --William C, Ellen, Mary and Jessie C. Mr McGinniss and all his family are members of the Methodist Church.
p 818) Rev. William Asbury Sampson was born in Pike County, Ohio, Feb 5, 1829.. was married Dec 27, 1849 to Araetta O. Smith, who died Aug 23, 1863... (On) Aug 27, 1865, Mr. Samson married Nancy C, daughter of Dennison James, of Jackson, Ohio. They have three daughters, all now at home. (...) His third son, M.W. (Sampson), was born Aug 11, 1857, and Feb 22, 1876, married Ollie (Ellen)McGinniss, daughter of James W and Elizabeth (Chapman) McGinniss. They have one child, Minnie. M.W. Sampson commenced teaching in the public schools when sixteen years of age and proved a very successful teacher. He is at present forman of a large saw and flouring mill at California, (Stockdale, ) Ohio, giving perfect satisfaction to his employers.
p 807) California's wollen mill or card machine was first erected by WIlliam Gordon in 1860 and was run by horse-power. In 1862 and engine was put in and a spinning machine by James McGinniess, who had purchased the plant. Other improvements were added, a set of new cards were put in, the size of the building increased to 32x50 feet, and a few years later, or in 1869, twenty feet more with a new boiler shed fourteen feet long were added. Two power looms were added at that time and a fulling machine, cloth press and shearing machine, which made it a full-fledged wollen-mill. The mill is still under the proprietorship of Mr. McGinniss, and there are manufactured jeans, flannels, yarns, blankets, etc. It is doing a good and profitable business.
