Pleasant (Pleasanton) West

As we identified in a prior post, I believe Pleasant was born Pleasanton in Scott Cnty, KY and there are conflicting dates depending on what records you access. One record has him listed as born 1846 , where others have him at 1848 and his daughter Glenna listed him as born in 1852 on his death certificate. We do have the record of his death as being Jan 2, 1929 in Bellbrook, Oh  which means he must have been living with his son Motty and family at the time of his death, He and Mary Francis are buried in Ferncliff Cemetery in Springfield OH. They are in  Section N/E Lot 131 Space 2 & 3.  A little tidbit about Pleasant as passed down from my Dad who was about 10 yrs old when he died. He said he was mean, by that he said if he sent you to get him some water and if it was not cold enough he would throw it on you. His occupation listed him as a Coachman at least in the 1890's , which meant he more than likely drove a Horse drawn Coach between cities. There were at that time routes between Cincinnati, Dayton, Xenia, Yellow Springs, and Springfield as well as Columbus, As well as rich people having their own coaches and drivers.

The census of 1880 have them listed as having a daughter named Mortie born 1877. We know that to actually be a son named Motty born 1877. Also had a niece , named Rhodie Bond age 14 living with them. If we remember there is no 1890 Census because of a fire at the Archives in Wash DC . But in 1900 Pleasant and Mary have the following living with them and recorded in the Census.
Pleasant age 50  - Coachman
Mary Francis  age 51 - at home
Motty age 23   -Teamster  unemployed 3 months
Glenna West 16 - Student
Andrew Portis -19 SandCutter born North Carolina unemployed 4 months
Ada West Portis - 19 born 1880 no occupitation listed
Ester Portis   3 months born Feb 1900

We know that Ester died 9/23/1917 and is buried in space 1 at Ferncliff next to Pleasant and Mary Francis.

A few unknowns are to fill in who Pleasant worked for and how did they live being in the City limits of Springfield Oh.

At the turn of the 20th century Springfield became known as the "Home City." Several lodges including the Masonic Lodge, Knights of Pythias and Odd Fellows built homes for orphans and aged members of their order. Springfield also became known as "The Champion City"..a reference to the Champion brand of farm equipment manufactured by the Warder, Bushnell & Glessner Company, which was later absorbed into International Harvester in 1902. International remains in Springfield as Navistar International, a producer of medium to large trucks.
In 1902 A.B. Graham, then the superintendent of schools for Springfield Township in Clark County, established a "Boys' and Girls' Agricultural Club." Approximately 85 children from 10 to 15 years of age attended the first meeting on January 15, 1902 in Springfield, Ohio, in the basement of the Clark County Courthouse. This was the start of what would be called the "4-H Club" within a few years, quickly growing to a nationwide organization. (4-H stands for "Head, Heart, Hands, and Health").^[9] The first "projects" included food preservation, gardening and elementary agriculture. Today, the Courthouse still bears a large 4H symbol under the flag pole at the front of the building to commemorate its part in founding the organization. The Clark County Fair is the second largest fair in the state (only the Ohio State Fair is larger) in large part to 4H still remaining very popular in the area.
On March 7, 1904, over a thousand Springfield residents formed a lynch mob, stormed the jail and removed prisoner Richard Dixon, a black man accused of murdering police officer Charles B. Collis. Richard Dixon was shot to death and then hung from a pole on the corner of Fountain and Main Street, where the mob continued to shoot his lifeless body. The mob then proceeded to burn much of the black area of town.^[10] In February 1906, another mob formed and again burned the black section of town known as "the levee".^[11] Sixty years later, Springfield was the first city in the US to have a black mayor, Robert Henry.