Transcription contributed by Arne H Trelvik 8 June 2005

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907

BENAJAH GUSTIN, farmer; P. O. Red Lion; born in Pennsylvania Dec. 23, 1797; is a son of Elkanah and Hannah (Morris) Gustin, natives of New Jersey. The grandfather, Jeremiah Gustin, was a resident of New Jersey, but removed to Pennsylvania and lived several years; thence, in 1798, he, with his family, moved into Ohio and located in Warren County, where he entered a section of land - Sec. 9, Clear Creek Township - and here opened out right in the woods, having to cut their way through the brush and timber for a road for their wagons to the spot where they cleared and erected a log cabin, with split puncheon floor, and began in true pioneer style; they had only one neighbor, Mr. Crane, nearer than two miles distant; here Mr. Gustin lived and labored till his death, Aug. 31, 1823, aged 93 years. Elkanah, the father of our subject, was married in Pennsylvania, and in the year 1800 he emigrated to Ohio and settled on a part of the land which his father had entered two years previously; he had four brothers and two sisters, who all located upon this section of land, and made quite a settlement of themselves; Elkanah resided here till about 1825; he removed to Indiana, where he died in 1852; his wife died about one year previous to Mr. Gustin's death; they had fifteen children, eight sons and seven daughters, as follows: The first seven children were sons, the next seven were daughters, and the fifteenth child was a son; of these, one son and two daughters still survive - Benajah; Margaret, now Mrs. Charles Wysong, living in Preble Co., Ohio; and Perninnah, now Mrs. Custis, living in Clinton Co., Ohio. The subject of this sketch was about 3 years of age when his father and family came to Warren County; here he grew to manhood fully acquainted with the hardships of those early settlers; was married, Dec. 27, 1820, to Lydia, daughter of Jesse Newport, an early settler of Clear Creek Township; by this union they had eleven children; eight now survive - Jesse; Hannah, now Mrs. Ireton; Jonathan and Isaac, twins; Elizabeth, now Mrs. Samuel Comer; Morris, Levi, and Lydia Ann, now Mrs. Swink. Mr. Gustin has spent his entire life upon the old home place, and within one mile of it, most of his life having been on the same section of land his grandfather entered; he has been a thorough, active business man; has dealt largely in hogs, and one season met with a heavy loss by the fall in the price of pork, which involved him quite heavily, but he knew no such word as "fail;" he located in Red Lion temporarily, and entered upon the mercantile trade and the keeping of a hotel; this was about