John Battershell, Sr., of the firm of Battershell & Mitchell, merchants, Milton, was born in Clark county, Ky., March 13, 1811, and is the son of John and Abigail (Rector) Battershell, natives of Maryland and Kentucky. Mr. B. settled in Scott county, Illinois, in 1929, where he engaged in farming; in 1859 he settled in Pike county, on a farm of 305 acres, in this township, valued at $50 per acre. In 1829 he married Miss Betsey Richards, a native of Virginia, who died at Winchester, Ill. They had 8 children, 7 of whom are living, - Martha, Mitchell, Sarah, Hezekiah, Mary, Matilda, and John, Jr. He then married Anna Smith, a native of Tennessee, by whom he has 3 children: Charles, Eva and Emma (twins). The present business partnership was formed in 1878, which is the largest and controls the most extensive trade in Milton.

Source: History of Pike County by Charles M. CHapman 1880