JAMES W. MCGINNISS

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 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 McGinniss, 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.

For more information about this family,  contact: Mike McGuinness