LEWIS J. MANN

Lewis Jackson Mann was born in Oran Ohio on November 26, 1829 to Isaac and Catherine Mann. He married Martha Tyler in 1860. They resided in Oran, Ohio for several years. Lewis was an expert carpenter. He was known for quality workmanship by customers as distant as New York.

Lewis was drafted during the Civil War. His brother lost an arm, and his brother-in-law and several cousins died in service, thus he had no desire to serve in the military.

When he received his first draft notice, he replied in writing that he was crippled, and asked to be dismissed from service. The government ordered him to appear in Greenville, Ohio for a medical exam within six months. Lewis immediately began to build up what became a significant amount of callous on one hand by constantly squeezing corn cobs.

When the six month deadline was nearing, Lewis picked up a cane made for him by his best friend, Samuel Moyer. He then hobbled into Greenville for his medical exam. The physician asked him how he became crippled, and Lewis told him that he had fallen from a horse seven years prior. The physician then looked at the thick callous on his hand, assumed it was from years of using the cane, and promptly dismissed him from military duty. Lewis hobbled out of town, let out a yell of joy when he was out of site, and ran home.

After the Civil War Lewis sold his land in Shelby County, Ohio and moved to land in Darke County that he had inherited from his father, Isaac. Isaac had received the land several years earlier for service in the War of 1812. The land grant was located in Adams Township, in an area known as "Black Walnut" country.

Lewis helped each of his children purchase farmland and applied his carpentry skills to build their homes, with the exception of his son, Dorsey. Dorsey received money to assist in the purchase of a farm in Shelby County that belonged to his wife's uncle.

Lewis died in 1919, and was survived by seven of his eleven children.