Shown is the old Finley home as it appeared in 1975 shortly before its demolition. (Courtesy Mr. and Mrs. Gene Fitzpatrick, present owners of the property)
(By Stephen Kelley from the People’s Defender 1984)
Arthur Fox was a wealthy man, possessing a number of slaves and over fifteen thousand acres in Kentucky and the Ohio territory. Among the numerous tracts of land he owned at his death were five hundred acres of wilderness located on Grace’s Run in present-day Wayne Township, Adams County. This acreage was part of a three thousand acre military patent awarded to John Winston, Revolutionary War soldier from Virginia. Fox had surveyed this for Winston in 1794 and had received a third of the acreage in .. consideration of locating and superintending the surveying…”
Upon his death, Fox’s share of the Winston tract was inherited by his widow and children. They sold half of it in December of 1815 to the brothers,
James and William Finley. According to one source, the Finley’s had moved to Adams County and settled in Wayne Township as early as
1802. As were most of the early settlers on Grace’s Run, the Finley’s were members of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church. With their wives and children, James and William were members of the Cherry Fork congregation which had been organized in 1804.
After acquiring their acreage from Fox’s heirs, it is probable that the Finley’s set about the task of clearing the land and building either log or braced frame homes in which to live.
After owning the five hundred acres in partnership for five years, the brothers drew up a “deed of division” which gave William and his wife, Ann, the west half of the farm with James and his wife, Dorcas, receiving the eastern half.
Like so many of the Adams County pioneers, the Finley’s were of Scotch-Irish heritage and thus possessed shrewd business acumine.
As a consequence, James and Dorcas managed, through the years, to accumulate enough resources that enabled them to erect a substantial brick home ca. 1835. It was this time period that a number of similar structures were being built in the neighborhood by brick mason John Bierly and it is quite possible he also constructed this house. The bricks were burned in a temporary kiln constructed south of the building site.
As was the case with so many of the brick houses built in this section of Adam County, the Finely home was a Virginia “I” house. As can be guessed from its name, this folk-architecture style had been brought into southern Ohio by the early Virginia settlers. The I House style is an early colonial American house form with architectural roots in England. The Finley home was a classic I House with a three-bay facade, end chimneys, central hallway and was one room in depth.
James and Dorcas had their home built facing east on the old West Union Road (presently Ohio 247) which had been blazed through the property in 1807. The home was pleasantly located on the high ridge overlooking the Grace’s Run Valley and had a commanding view of the surrounding territory.
The Finely’s apparently made this their home until James’ death in the winter of 1853.
Dorcas was unable or unwilling to maintain the brick home by herself and moved out shortly afterwards. The family then began renting the house to a gentleman whose last name was Beekly. In March, 1854, the heirs of James Finely sold the property to Nathaniel Kirkpatrick. We will tell you more about him next week.
