PIONE ER RE CORD

ROS S COUNTY, OHIO .

Introduction.

A few st i l l l ive who were among th e first p i oneers of th i s

n e i ghborh ood . They,perh aps

,are th e on ly ones who can ful ly

apprec i ate th e early h ome l ife among th ese h i l l s an d val l eys .

Only th ose who first c l eared off th ese rough and ster i l e h i l l s,

who erected th e first rough cab i n s , w i th the i r cl apboard or bark

roofs an d pun ch eon floors , w i th b l an kets an d qui l ts for doors

and o i l ed paper for wi ndow- glass,wi th ch imneys bui l t of sp li t

s ti cks an d mud,often n ot h igher th an th ei r h eads

,can now

,by

contrast,value properl y th e comforts of a good modern h ome .

On ly th ose who have grubbed the thi ck un derbrus h and sap

l ings ; who h ave used th e ax i n d eaden i ng and fel l i ng th e h eavytimber

,th e maul an d wedge i n maki ng th e first ra i ls ; who h ave

ch opped up th e trees , pi l ed t h e brush , and th en been smoked

almost b l i n d wh i l e burn i ng th e l ogs and brush,wi th fingers

an d hands brui sed and burned,an d arms begr imed wi th smoke

and dust,and c l oth es torn from th e i r backs

,can h ave any i dea of

th e pl easure th ere i s i n con temp l at i ng a beaut iful , smooth l awn ,wi th out a stump or l og . None but th ose who have h eld th e fi rst

p low,ami d roots

,stumps

,stones

,an d trees

,wh i l e th e fai thful

teamwas pul l i ng an d j erking i t along,wi th th e ro ots break i n g

6 Pioneer Record of Ross County,Ohio.

an d flyi ng back agai n st the pl owman’s sh i n s

,beati ng an d brui s

i ng th em from th e kn ees down , can real ly enj oy th e del i gh t th at

th i s same plowman feel s wh i l e h old i ng th e p low as i t move s

s lowly along, turn i ng th e so i l up to th e gen i al rays of th e sun,

wi th out a root or stump to obstruct i t . Only th ose who h ave

struggl ed for scanty crops among th ese cl earings an d upon th e

rough and steri l e h i l l - s i des , can properly estimate th e ti l l i ng of

th e same fie lds of l ater years . On ly those who h ave h ad to con

v ey l i ttl e sacks of corn on h orseback , over wi n d i ng cow - path s,

al ong the s ides of the h i l l s , across th e rav i n es and val l eys , to th e

mi l l,th ere to wai t for h i s gri st

,i n order th at h i s fami ly mi gh t

h ave some h asty- pudd i ng for th e i r even i ng meal,can apprec i ate

the vari ety of bread,th e abundan ce of bread materi al

,an d th e

conven i ences ofmi l l s i n our l an d . Th e l i ttl e boy,often l ess th an

ten years o ld , woul d frequen tly,wh i l e goi ng up th e steep ban ks ,

fee l h i s sack sl i pp ing from under him. or hangi ng too h eav i ly

on one s ide,and then h e fel t d esol ate enough . Many such

calami t i es these l i ttl e p i on eers h ad to meet . The wr i ter of th i s

sketch,even i n h i s day,

h as experi en ced several such mi sh aps

on th e way to mi l l , and sometimes h ad to wai t for h ours on th e

road,unti l some on e came al ong and ass i sted i n repl ac i ng th e

sack .

Mi l l s were somet imes out of th e ques ti on,an d th en th e

mortar and pestl e woul d h ave to be resorted to . Th i s was on e

of the most primi t i ve arti cl es of th e coun try,an d was made

in the most pr imi t ive styl e . A l og of some h ard timber,about

four feet l ong,an d twenty i n ch es i n d i ameter, was squared at

both en ds ; one end rested on th e ground , wh i l e upon th e other

a smal l fire was k i ndled,so as to burn deepes t i n to the cen ter:

I n this way a cav i ty was formed , cal l ed a mortar , sufificient to

h ol d a peck of corn . Then w i th a pestl e,made h eavy by attach

i ng th ereto an i ron wedge,th e corn was beaten unt i l th e bran

or hul l came off. Th i s process was ass i sted by addi ng a l itt l e

scald ing water from time to t ime . After i t became th orough ly

dry,an d th e bran was bl own away

,th i s h omi ny,

by be i ng wel l

cooked,made an excel l en t subst i tute for bread .

Introduction. 7

None but th ose who were depr i ved of an educati on by th e

wan t of a common school system can real i z e th e great ben efit

ofour popul ar mode of i n structi o n . Our pio neers had no sch oo l

system,an d many of them hard ly kn ew wh at a school was.

The ch i l d re n of th e presen t day,who now h ave comfortabl e

sch oo l - h ouses and good teach ers,and al l provi ded at th e publ i c

expen se,have but l i ttl e i dea of th e desol at i on an d ignorance

wh i ch prevai led pri or to th e commen cemen t of our great com

mon school system.

The territory now forming Ross coun ty was we l l t imbered

at th e time of i ts first settl emen t,abound i ng i n th e usual vari ety

and exten t of forest trees— th e sugar , beech , h i ckory , wal nut ,

popl ar,an d th e oak of th e d ifferen t var i et i es

,be i ng th e pri n c i

pal . The so i l i n p laces i s very good ; th e l arger proport i on,

h owever, i s h i l ly and not very product i ve , but i s very well

adapted to th e growi ng of frui t,grapes

,etc

,and th e c i ti zens

,

of l ater years , h ave turn ed th e i r atten t i on to th e rai s i ng offrui t .

One can scarcely pass a farm but he sees orch ards an d v i n eyard s

bei ng set out , and some of th em are qui te extens ive .

8 Pioneer Record of Ross County,Obio.

Huntington To-wnsbip.

Present Civil Ofi cers of Township .

Justi ces of th e Peace , I . J . Fin ley,Samuel Ri neh art

,and

A . J . Pummel l ; Trus tees , Joseph Ringer , Samue l Ri neh art , an d

Joseph Grubb ; Treasurer ,Wi l l i am Combs ; C lerk , Juo . W. Kel

lough ; Constables , Wi l l i am Wi l son and Joh n Lee ; Land Apprai ser

,Thomas DeLong . Post - othee

,Hoopole , at Farmersv i l l e .

Hun ti ngton has n ever furn i sh ed any coun ty offi cers under

i ts presen t organ i zation,except I . J . Fi n l ey

,who represen ted , i n

part,Ross County i n th e Oh i o Legi sl ature i n 1868—9 ; and i t has

n ever h ad a represen tati ve i n the State ’s pri son,I bel i eve .

InMcIntosh’

s Memoirs in 1 7 89 , page 13 .

Dan i e l Boon e en camped on Pai n t creek , September 7 , 1 7 89

n ear th e Rock rap ids,on h i s route from Mancheste r to For t

Clark,on Mad r i ver . Gen . Putn am

,on Apri l 15 th of th e same

year, encamped at the same place , on his route to V i n cen nes to

treat wi th the Ind i an s .

Old Pioneers .

John Cochenour,ston e - mason

,was i n th e war of 18 12

,now

dead . Mr . Cochenour was of great serv ice.

to th e new settlers

i n bui ld i ng ch imneys for th e i r cabi n s , etc . One even i ng,wh i l e

comi ng home from h i s work , he was bel ated and i t grew very

dark ; when wi th i n a mi l e from home , five l arge wolves attacked

him,and h e h av i ng l eft h i s gun at home was forced to take

sh el ter i n a large dogwood tree that stood near h i s path,and

there remai n unti l the morn i ng l i gh t drove h i s adversari e s

away .

Huntington Towns/sip. 9

Peter S treevey emi grated to Oh i o at an early day from

Pen n sylvan i a ; was i n th e war of 1812 as tearhster ; now dead ;was a res i den t of Hunti ngton town sh ip over s ixty years ; was a

great hun ter . He an d a Mr . Rol ston,ofwh om

l

inention w i l l b e

made in an oth er pl ace,started out wi th th e i r gun s an d dogs

on e morn i ng on a bear hun t . Afterbe i ng out for.

some t ime,

be i ng near wh at i s call ed th e Bal d Knob , th ey heard the dogs

bark ing,and goi ng up to th em th ey found th em barki ng up a

l arge ch esnut tree wh i ch h ad been broken off at th e tbp,l eav

i ng th e stump some forty or fifty feet h i gh an d h ol low-

l

at th e

top,and about twen ty feet up th ere was an oth er hol e i n th e

‘

si de

of th e stump . The two hun ters thumped th e tree w i th th e bultts

of th e i r gun s,when a bear stuck h i s h ead out and S treev ey fired ,

an d th e bear fel l back in to th e stump . S treev ey,suppos i ng the

bear dead,an d be i ng a good cl imber

,cl imbed up th e stump ,

taking w i t h him a stout pol e wh i ch h e t i ed to h i s body wi th

h i s suspe nders,an d upon arri v i ng at th e top commenced thrust .

i ng h i s pol e down on th e bear,wh en

,to his surpr i se

,brui n ran

up and out at th e top and down one s i de an d S treevey on th e

oth er ; th e dogs met him at the foot of th e tree,an d on e l arge

dog of S treevey’

s l ocked j aws wi th th e bear,and S treev ey,

in th e

exci temen t,fired at the bear

,but on lywounded him. He hasti ly

re loaded h i s gun and snapped , but his gun being of th e fl i n t

l ock,as al l were i n th ose days

,th e powder be i ng damp

,his gun

mi ssed fire,wh en b e renewed th e pr imi ng an d k i l l ed th e bear ;

after wh i c h,h e reascended th e stump and foun d two cubs

,

wh i ch th ey k i l l ed . Duri ng th ei r day’s hun ti ng they ki l l ed

seven bears,among th em a very l arge one

,wh i ch had taken

sh el ter beh i n d th e roots of a large wh i te oak tree wh i ch had

been bl own down . Mr . S treev ey,during h i s l ife time

,k i l l ed a

great many deer, wolves , turk eys , etc . When young h e mar

ried a Mi s s Tab i th a Thomas,wh ose fath er emi grated to Oh i o

i n very early t imes,and l i ved for a sh ort t ime i n Ch i l l i coth e

w i th h i s fami ly , when but two or three l og cab i n s h ad been

bui l t i n th e place . One day, Mrs . S treev ey,when n i n e or ten

year s o l d , was l eft with her sister in ch arge of the cab i n , near

1 0 Pioneer Record of Ross County,Ohio.

th e banks of th e Sc ioto r i ver , wh i l e th e i r moth er wen t to th e

r i ver t o wash th e i r c l oth i ng . Several Ind i ans came i n to th e

cab i n and commen ced cutti ng off sl i ces of ven i son , wh i ch th ey

found h anging up, and roast i ng i t on th e coal s . The two young

gi rl s became frightened and ran under th e bed ; but after

awh i l e th ey thought i t woul d n ot do to l e t th e redsk i n s eat a l l

th e i rmeat,so sl ippi ng out from th e i r h i d i ng

- pl ace , they ran down

to the i r mother and i nformed her ofwh at was go i ng on ; wh ere

upon th e mother started for th e h ouse accompan i ed by a n e i gh

bor woman by th e name of McMahan,I bel i eve . On the i r way

they armed themse lves w i th c lapboards,such as were used i n

th ose days for roofing . On en ter ing th e cab i n th ey commen ced

cl ear i ng i t of i ts i n truders by lusti ly applyi ng th e boards to th e

n aked backs of th e redski n s,wh i ch soon made th em retreat i n

haste . Father S treev ey and w ife l i ved to a good o ld age , an d

di ed l amen ted and beloved by al l who knew th em.

Robert Bishop s Reminiscences .

Robert Bishop/ emigrated to Oh i o from Berke ley county ,

Vi rgi n i a,i n 1805

,b l and,i n wagons ; has been a res i den t of

Hunt i ngton town sh i p s ixty - four years ; sti l l l i vi ng ; was i n th e

war of 1812 under Capt . George Yoakem ; was secon d sergean t

of h i s company ; en l i sted after Hul l’s surrender . The company

wen t through Upper Sandusky ; be l onged to th e brigade ofGen .

E . Tapper ; he rece i ved for h i s servi ces forty acres of l and. When

th ey first encamped,whi l e th e i r captai n was gon e to report

,on e

of thei r men went. out to cut pol es to bui l d a ten t ; th ere was, a

short d i stan ce fromwh ere th ey commenced to p i tch th ei r tents,

a horse company encamped , and th i s man wen t on th e grounds of

the horse company,cl aimed an d cut a pol e

,when h e was arrested

by th em and put under guard ; th ey had him un der a l arge oak

tree and guarded by several men w i th th e i r h orse - pi stol s .

When Capt . Yoakem returned,he asked Mr . Bi sh op what th at

mean t , seei ng th e men stand i ng around th e tree w i th th e i r p i s

to l s i n h and . Mr . Bi sh op told th e captai n th ey had one of his

men under arrest . When Yoakem h eard th i s h e drew h i s sword

Huntington Township. I I

and ordered Bi sh op and an oth er of h i s men to arm th emse lves

w i th th e i r gun s an d fol l ow him, wh i ch th ey d i d ; th ey march ed

bol d ly up to wh ere th e man was und er th e tree,th e guards

stand i ng aroun d himwi th p i stol s i n h and ; Yoakem march ed

th rough th e guards an d tak i ng th e pri soner by the arm to l d

him to go w i th him. The offi cers of th e horse company ordered

th e arrest of th e captai n ,wh i ch h e soon foun d out . wh en h e drew

h i s men i n to l i n e and ordered th em to lead the i r p i eces . When

th e h orse company saw th e h osti l e appearance of Capt Yoak

em’

s company th ey drew back , an d so th e matter en ded .

Mr . Bi sh op rel ates ano ther i n ci den t con nected w i th h i s sol

di er l ife . One day several of th e h orse company started out on

a recon no i teri ng expedi t i on,and d i d not return un ti l l ate i n the

n igh t ; sometime duri ng th e n ight some of the h orses break i ng

l oose from th e i r r iders,came dash i ng i n to camp

,whereupon th e

whol e camp was aroused ; a squad of th e remai n i ng company

moun ted th e i r steeds , sn atch ed th e i r arms , wh i ch were stacked

n ear by,and

,leading th emw i th buckshot, some h av i ng five or

s ix sh ot i n them,s tarted out to l ook after the party wh i c h

h ad not return ed . Before go i ng far,th ey met th em return i ng,

wh en they al l came i n together, th e men restack i ngth e i r arms .On the n ext morn i ng on e of th e men was c l ean i ng h i s gun ; Mr .

Bi s hop an d anoth er of th e company were stand i ng n ear by ,

when h e snapped it,th e gun wen t off, th e contents passi ng b e

tween Mr. Bi shop and th e other sol d i er,whose n ame i s forgotten ,

so cl ose th ey both fe l t th e wi nd of th e bal l s as they passed , and

s tr i k i ng a man stan d i ng n ear,ki l led him i n stan tly

,two bal ls

pass i ng th rough h i s body,and break i ng th e l eg of another man

n amed Hi l l,I bel i eve .

Mr . Bi sh op was a h ome hun ter,an d helped to k i l l many

bears and wo l ves ; was just i ce of th e peace for many years ,

besi des h old i ng several o th er town sh i p offices .

Henry Bi sh op,fath er of Robert . emi grated to Oh i o at th e

same t ime w i th Robert ; purch ased l and i n Hun ti ngton town

sh i p in 1806,an d d i ed i n 1 820

,at th e age of n i nety - e igh t .

Jacob an d George V incentheller were ol d hunters . Paul Stree

1 2 Pioneer Record of Ross County,Ohio.

vey was in the Revoluti on ary war. David an d Jacob Toops were

both i n th e war of 1 812 . John Lewi s and George V incentheller

were th e first settl ers on what i s kn own as th e Alum Cl iffs . Joh n

Methias was justi ce of t he peace and county commi ss i on er, i n

the first organ i zati on of th e town sh i p , for some time . Joh n

Scant-l i n was i n th e Indi an war of 1 7 91,under Gen . St . Clai r .

Joh n Yoakemwas under Gen . Tupper,i n th e war of 1 812 . Job

Hayn es and George GIOVO were i n th e war of 1812,under Capt .

V Wi l l iam Keyes , of Hun ti ngton townsh i p , and were in Hul l’s

surrender . Henry Long was sergean t i n Capt . Ell i ott’s h ome

company . David El l i ott was al so i n th e war of 1812 . George

Rufi‘

ner,whose bi ography wi l l appear i n anoth er place

,was i n th e

war of1812 was a great Ind ian fighter,an d was i n Hul l ’s surren

der . George Houseman was i n th e war of 18 12,and under

Hul l at th e time of h i s surrender . Stan ley Seymore was i n th e

Ind i an war of 1 7 91 . Dan i el TOOps was i n th e war of 181 2,

weaver by trade,and farmer ; now dead . Davi d Shoemaker

was i n th e war of 1812,under Capt . Keyes . Dan i e l Grubb was

i n the war of 1 812 ; was a home hunter ; k i l led several bears on

h i s farm duri ng h i s l ifetime ; l ived to be very o ld ; was an

excel len t farmer and a good c i t i zen .

L ist of Old Pioneers furnished byMrs . Mary W. Finley.

Isaac Jordan,i n war of 1 8 12 now dead . Ri ch ard Ell i ott

emi grated from Ire lan d at an early day,and settl ed i n th e town

sh i p ; was i n wai of 1 81 2 ; a weaver by trade . Wi l l i am Sadl er .

Jacob S eeleg was i n war of 1 812 ; s tarted to go as substi tute ,but on arri v i ng at C h i l li coth e th e man h e was go i ng for h ad

obtain ed some on e i n h i s place,when h e volun teered in Captai n

Keyes’

company,but

, be i ng a good gun smi t h , was detai l ed to

work at that bus i n ess . Alex . Monroe . Henry Wi l t was i n th e

war of 1812 ; sti l l l i v i ng ; wagon -maker by trade .Ri chard

Honol d , Thos . McCann, George Meyers, i n th e war of 1 81 2 as

teamsters ; al l dead . Davi d Shotts,Wi l l i amMeCann

,Jos

.Offert ,

Sr . , Marti n Howard , Nancy Park , John McCalley,David Mur

phy, Jacob Maurey, Peter Ligh tl e (who served many years as

Huntington Township. 3

just i ce of th e peace , an d i n oth er town sh i p offices) , Freder i ck

Baker, Joh n Ki lbourn e , Peter Stagn er, Mich ae l Th omas (was

an early settl er,and a g reat hun ter, i n con n ecti on w i th Pete r

S treev ey and Benj ami n Rol ston , wh ose n ames appear i n another

p lace i n th i s work) . Henry Miskel, an old col ored man,was

among th e first settl ers , and d eserves some n ot i ce . He rendered

great serv i ce,dur i ng th e war of 1 812

,i n ass i st i ng th e women

an d ch i l d ren i n taking _care of th e harvests duri ng the gen eral

cal l,as h arvest came on duri ng th e men ’s absen ce . I bel i ev e

al l th e wh i te men in th e townsh i p at th at t ime , except, perh aps ,

th ree,h ad to go . Miskel was a very l arge

,stout man, and

worked almost n i gh t and day in securi ng th e crops of h i s

n e i ghbors . He l i ved to be very ol d . He di d not kn ow h i s own

Benn i ng Wentworth,fath er oe s . Fi n ley

,and grandfath er

of Hon . I . J . Fi n ley,served fi ve years i n th e war of th e Revo

lution as drummer , an d th ree years i n th e French war ; was a

n ati ve of th e State of Mai n e . He em1grated to Oh i o i n 18 1 6 ,served for many years as justi ce of th e peac e

,an d was

,I b e

l i eve,th e second mal e sch ool - teach er i n th e town sh i p

,a Mr .

Gilfillen be i ng th e first . Sch ool was taught i n a l og cab i n,w i th

pun ch eon floor and oi l ed paper for gl ass l i ghts . Phebe,h i s

w ife,was the first femal e teach er i n th e town sh i p . Al l th e

sch ool s i n th ose early days were sustai n ed by subscri pti on. Mrs .

Wentworth organ i zed,I bel i eve

,the fi rs t Sabbath - school

,which

she taugh t for several years at h er own h ouse . Mr . Wentworth

and w ife were members of th e Bap ti s t Church . They l i ved to

a good ol d age,an d d i ed l amen ted and beloved by a l l .

A . P . Wentworth,th e el dest son of Benn i ng an d Ph ebe

Wentworth , was an early settl er, and l ived inthe town sh i p formany years . He served duri ng a l ong per i od as just i ce of th e

peace , cl erk of townsh i p,etc . Was st i l l l i v i n g i n Kan sas

,at

l ast accounts,an d h ol d i ng office . Benj ami nWen tworth

,an othe r

son,was on e of th e first i n th e town sh i p who kept a store . He

served for several years as justi ce of th e peace,etc . ; now dead .

1 4. Pioneer Record of Ross County, Ohio.

Names of Pioneers and Incidents furnished byMrs . MaryHester.

James F i n ley , th e fath er of Mrs . Hester,emi grated from

Irelan d in 1 81 1 ; h i s fami ly cons i sted of h imse lf, h i s w ife , and

seven ch i ldren— five sons and two daugh ters ; Joh n , fath er of

Hon.I

.J . F in ley,

and for many years justi ce of the peace , an d

who h eld oth er town sh ip, oflices,died i n 1 858 ; James ; Moses , formany years town sh i p treasurer ; Wi l l i am, served through

'the

Mexi can war,and d i ed several years s i nce of ch olera i n C i nc i n

n ati ; Isaac , carpenter by trad e , now dead ; daugh ters , Mary

(Mrs . Hester) and Jan e . They trave l ed from New Haven to

Pi ttsburg,over th e Al leghany mountai n s

,i n wagons ; from

there they came i n a boat to Man chester , an d l i ved n ear West

Un i on,on th e banks of Brush creek

,for a sh ort t ime

,wh en th e

country was l i ttl e more th an a w i l dern ess , th e n earest ne igh bor

be i ng three mi l es away . They came to Hun ti ngton townsh i p

soon after . Seth Vanmeter,a n oted backwoodsman an d hunter

,

k i l led a l arge pan th er a short di stan ce from h i s res i d ence ; i t

measured n i n e feet from ti p to ti p . It was n ot an unusual

th i ng to scare up a bear in those early days , or to see d roves of

w i ld turkeys cross i ng your path , or h erds ofdeer gal l op i ng over

th e b ills,or to hear th e wolves h owl i ng aroun d at n igh t . Snakes

were very numerous . Mrs . Hester k i l l ed a l arge rattlesnake

as i t was pass i ng th rough th e cab i n door ; i t h ad s i xteen rattl es

on i ts tai l .

Benjami n Rol ston , the n oted hun ter, wh i l e out 011 h i s farm

on e morn i ng saw qui te a l arge bear . wh i ch h e and h i s dogs at

tacked . The bear fough t unti l she put th e dogs to fl igh t, wh en

Rol ston d i spatch ed h er w i th h i s gun . Mr . Rolston,wh i le out

on e very col d n i gh t,l os t h i s way and peri sh ed n ear h i s own h ome .

Thus d i ed one of th e bravest hunters of his time .

Mrs . Hester i s now l iv i ng near the ol d Ind i an tra i l l ead i ng

fromCh i l l i coth e to Portsmouth . Reuben El l i ott emi grated from

Vi rgi n i a at a very early day ; was a sold i er i n th e Revolut i on arywar ; di ed at th e age of n i nety,

and was bur i ed wi th th e h on ors

of war. Robert McCann was a sold ier i n th e Revoluti o n

fough t under General Washi ngton at Brandywi n e ; kept hote l

Huntington Townsbip. 5

i n early days— s ign,Thre e Kegs . Peter Clark

,emi grated to

Oh i o fromKentucky ; h e was s l igh tly deranged , and was a great

hunter ; woul d often fire th e woods in l arge c i rcl es,for th e pur

pose of sh ooting deer an d oth er wi l d an imal s . Benjami n Ma

l on e emi grate d to Oh i o from Kentucky about th e year 1800;was bearer ofd i spatche s from Ch i l l i cothe to Detro i t after Hul l ’s

surren der ; h e passed th rough Co lumbus b efore th ere was a

h ouse erected i n th e p lace ; i s st i l l l i v i ng . Wi l l i amHeness em

igrated to Ohi o from Vi rgi n i a ; was a member of an independ

en t company i n th e war of 1812,and took an acti ve part i n

th e defen se of Fort Steph en son . Dav id Ogden served‘

th ree

years i n th e war of 1812 . James Gladston e emi grated from

Scotl an d at a very early day ; travel ed i n a wagon from New

York to P i ttsburg w i t h h i s w ife ; floated d own th e Oh i o r i ver

i n a canoe to Portsmouth ; th ey travel ed from Portsmouth to

Ch i l l i cothe on foot ; settl ed i n Hun tington townsh i p wh en qui te

a w i ld ern ess . James Wi l son came from Ken tucky to Oh i o ;en l i sted for th e war of 1812 at th e age of fiftee n years ; h e i s a

cooper by trade,and i s st i l l l i v ing . S tacey Dev i n n ey

,mi l l

wrigh t by trade ; fough t as a so ld i er i n th e battl e of New Or

l ean s,under General Jackson ; was a great admi rer of th e o l d

here . At th e t ime Jackson was el ected pre s i den t i n 1 828 ,Hun

t i ngtou townsh i p gave him but e l even votes,I bel i eve . At th i s

e l ecti o n Joh n H . Robi nson,or bette r kn own as “Hoopole

’ Rob

i nson,made a bet of a barre l of wh i sky w i th Dev i n n ey th at h e

(Jackson ) woul d n o t get th at many votes , Devi n ney w i nning

th e bet,of course .

Aaron Vanscoy’

s Reminiscences .

Mr . Aaron Vanscoy emigrated from Vi rgi n i a to Oh i o,i n

1804,w i th h i s father

,Aaron

,Sr . , i n wagon s ; th ey settl ed i n

Gal l i a coun ty,an d remai n ed th ere fiv e or s ix years ; from th ere

th ey came to Ross County,an d settl ed i n Hun ti ngton townsh i p .

He was i n th e war of 1 812 . under Captai n Northup , Col on e l

Safford , an d General Ed . Tupper ; served s i x month s ; h e b e

l onged to a rifle company,and trave led on foot to Urban a ; h e

1 6 Pioneer Record of Ross County, Obio.

never rece ived any pay , al th ough promi sed si x dol lars a mon th ;b e furn i shed h i s own arms

,cl oth i ng

,bl ankets

,e tc . He has often

,

wh en th e mud an d water were knee deep , made h i s bed by cut

t i ng a p i le of brush,and spread i ng h i s bl anket on top of i t .

He afterward rece ived a warran t for on e hundred an d sixty

acres of l and,wh i ch was al l th e compen sati on h e ever had for

h i s serv i ces . He i s st i l l l i v i ng , at th e age of e i gh ty- two . He

has seen hundred s of Ind ians i n th e early days i n th e town sh i p ;he was a hun ter, and h as k i l l ed many d eer , an d h el ped to k i l l

several bears,wo l ves

,turkeys

,etc .

,wh i ch were very pl en t iful

wh en‘ he first settl ed i n th e town sh i p . He has h eard th e screams

of th e pan th er where h e now l i ves,on what i s cal l ed Ind i an

creek . He used to trap a great many wolves on his farm i n

early days .

Enoch Van scoy was i n th e employ of th e governmen t dur

ing th e war of 1812, dri vi ng h ogs ; i s st i l l l i v i ng . Wm. Haynes,

Rev . Isaac Murphy,of th e Bapti st denomi n at i on

,Joh n Camp

bel l , Jacob Day,Benj ami n Smi th

,an d Dav i d Ridgeway

,wer e

i n th e war of 1812 .

HenryNeborgall’

s Reminiscences .

Mr . Neborgall’

s fath er emi grated to Oh i o ; in 1 808, w i th h i s

fami ly, con s i st ing of s ix ch i l dren , to -wit : Jacob,John

,Cath e

r i n e , George , James , an d Henry , my i nformant,who h as been a

res iden t ofHunti ngton town sh i p fifty- th ree years . He has seen

many deer, turkeys , wolves , etc . He says . on e day,wh en qui te

a l ad , h e was sen t out by his fath er to h aul wood n ear th e house ,and wh i l e thus empl oyed h e saw a gang of l arge wol ves after

th e sheep i n th e field,an d tri ed to get th e dog to attack them ;

but th e dog seemed to be frigh ten ed an d woul d n ot go near

th em. He th en took a b i l l et of wood and drove th em off him

self, and saved th e sheep . At another t ime,Mr

. Neb orgall’

s

wife h eard th e screaming of a ch il d i n th e woods at n o great

d i stan ce , an d ran to see what was th e matter .Upon arr iv ing

i n s igh t of th e ch i l d , sh e foun d i t to be a cous i n of Mr . Nebor

gal l , n amed Waggey,who had been sen t on an errand to a

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1 8 Pioneer Record of Ross County,Ohio.

togeth er,swung i t arqu

nd his n eck and started on h i s way .

After goi ng a sh ort d i stan ce h e saw a very large buck , an d , as

h e expressed h imself,he “ b lazed away,

" and k i l led him. He

t i ed th i s on e’s l egs togeth er,as before

,an d thus , wi th h is two

deer swung around h i s n eck , h e march ed h ome . From th i s

cab i n he removed to th e ce l ebrated cave on th e Portsmouth

p i ke.Mr . Neborgall says h e often v i s i ted him at his cav e

,and

he,i n return , woul d vi s i t at Mr . Neborgall

’

s h ouse,an d was very

soc i ab l e after on ce becomi ng acquai n ted . He tol d me,says

Mr.Nebergal l , that h e came from Vi rgi n i a , an d to ld me often

th e cause of h i s l eav i ng an d l iv ing as h e d i d , not in just th ese

words, but gave me to understand th e cause to be th i s : He was

marr i ed , and one morn i ng he started on a tramp fromwh i ch h e

d i d not expect to return for several days ; but from some caus e

h e returned that n i gh t , and on arri v i ng at h i s h ome h e found ,

to h i s surpri se , anoth er man occupy i ng h i s couch w i th h i s w ife .

His first th ough t was to k i l l th em both,but on furth er reflec

t i on con cluded he coul d l ive a lon e , an d enjov h imse lf i n th e

w i lds of th e forest,so h e l eft for Oh i o . He n ever returned to

V irgi n i a,

-but used often to speak of h i s wife . Hi s mode of pre

pari ng h i s v ension was to take th e fleshy parts of th e h ams,

and then bui ld a fire of wood an d l et i t burn to coal s ; h e woul d

th en drive sti cks i n th e ground aroun d the bed of coals,an d

place th ereon the flesh thus taken from th e bon es,l etti ng i t dry

very hard . Th i s h e would use for bread ; th e bony p i eces h e

woul d bro i l on th e coal s for h i s meat . He was a very l arge

and muscul ar man,an d seemi ngly i n te l l i gen t . Hi s c l oth i ng

con si sted of sk i n s dressed by h imse lf, wh i ch gave him th e ap

pearance of a w i l d man. He had i n h i s cave his Bib l e,wh i ch

h e read duri ng th e greater portion of th e Sabbath day . He was

n ever kn own to hun t on th at day . Mr . Neborgall says th e l ast

talk h e h ad wi t h Hew i tt was a sh ort time before h e b ecame s i ck

so as to be confined to bed . He had qui te a bad cough,an d

sai d he h ad gon e down on th e Sc i oto bottoms for some purpose,

and was bel ated an d overtaken by a very severe rai n - storm

i t growi ng very dark h e con c luded h e coul d n ot fin d h i s way,

Huntington Township. I9

so h e bui l t a fire i n th e forks of a l arge fal l en h i ckory tree i n

th e pasture of Mr . James Davi s , an d th ere awai ted th e return

of morn i ng . It ra i n ed on him al l nigh t,from wh i ch exposure

h e took a col d th at final ly put an end to thi s trul y singul ar man .

Th e fol l owi ng i nc i den t i s rel ated of him : A gen tl eman qui te

we l l d ressed rode up to th e front of h i s cave on e morn i ng , an d

w i th out ceremony saluted him i n th i s man n er ' “Wel l,o ld

fel low,I h ave come to get th e h i story ofyour l ife . Hew i tt re

pl i ed :“You l eave h ere quick,

or I wi l l gi ve you a h i story of

h el l . He l eft .

Mrs . Mary Hester,who was person al ly acquai nted w i th

Mr . Hewitt for several years , says h e was a large , port ly man,

rath er good l ook i ng,dressed i n bucksk i n of h i s own make ; h e

carri ed a l ong fl int - l ock rifl e and a tomahawk ,an d depen ded on

h i s r ifle for subsi sten ce . He woul d sometimes exch ange h i s ven

i son for sal t and ammun i t i on . He was an extraord inary s i nge r

an d wh i stl er . He occupi ed a smal l cave s i tuated on th e Ports

mouth pi ke . There i s a smal l moun d erected to h i s memory

above th e cave . He was take n s i ck i n h i s cave , but d i d n ot d i e

th ere,bei ng removed to Waverly before h i s d eath , wh ere h e

was k i ndly cared for un ti l h e breath ed h i s l ast . He was a

peaceable,i n offens i ve man

,of temperate h ab i ts , and general ly

be loved by al l who were acquai n ted w i th him.

Th e cave i s under a sh e lvi ng rock wh i ch juts out about fif

teen feet in th e cen ter,an d exten ds fifteen fee t each way from

the cen ter, an d i s about five feet h i gh i n fron t of th e cave . Th e

rocks have been torn away to some exten t i n con s tructi ng th e

C h i l l i coth e an d Portsmouth p i ke,wh i ch passes immed i ately i n

fron t of th e cave . Under th i s s h elvi ng rock i s an oth er on e,

wh i c h was used by th e h ermi t to bui l d h i s couch upon . Th e

cave i s p artly i n cl osed by a ci rcular wal l . Th e fol l owi ng i s th e

i n scr ipti on on h i s monumen t,erected by T . S . Hammon

WM. HEWITT,THE HERMIT

,occup i ed th i s cave fourteen years

,

wh i l e al l was a wil derness around him. He d i ed i n 1 834,

aged seven ty years .

0 Pioneer Record of Ross County,Ohio.

William Chestnut,S r.

’

s,Reminiscences .

Mr . Chestnut emigrated to th e Northwestern Terri toryi n 1 7 98

,wi th h i s fath er ’s fami ly,

cons i sting of five ch i ldren,

to -wit : Dan i e l,William.Margaret, Pol ly ,

and Benjami n . Dan i e l

Chest-nut was i n the Wh i sky Insurrecti on under General Wash

ington. Hi s grandfath er emigrated from S cotl an d,an d h i s

grandmother from Ire land to Portsmouth,Oh i o ; from th ere

they came on foo t by th e ol d Ind i an trai l to what i s now Ch i l l i

coth e,and settl ed . They lived th ere four years , and th en moved

on the h i l l where they l ived th ree years . He afterward pur

chased two hundred and s ixty acres of l an d from Gen eral

Mass i e on Ind i an creek,i n Hun ti ngton town sh i p . The firs t

abode of Mr . Chestnut was an o ld waste house,where h e l i ved

ten days . The bed was made of crotch es and c l apboards . The

second dwe l l i ng - p lace,a ten t made from an ol d wagon - cover .

The cab i n h e bui l t on the lan d h e purchased from General

Massi e was sixteen by eigh teen feet,an d seven feet hi gh

, pun

cheon floor, old - fash i oned style . The i r food cons i ste d of w i l d

meat,such as bear

,deer

,turkey

,e tc .

,an d homi ny . The homi ny

was made i n a wooden mortar or h and -mi l l . Every on e woul d

h ave to awa i t his turn at th i s mi l l . Mr . Chestnut was a great

hunter ; he has k il led all k inds of wil d game . He had starte d

to Chi l licothe w i th h i s team at on e t ime,an d when on th e way h e

met a very large bear , and conc luded h e was too good a pri z e

to be lost . He took out h i s l ead—horse an d gave ch ase , carry i ng

h i s r ifle wi th him,an d ran th e hear some d i stan ce i n to th e

woods,where h e succeed ed i n s hoot i ng him

,after whi ch b e

dressed and we igh ed him,find i ng th a t he made four hundred

pound s n et meat,perh aps the l argest bear ever k i l l ed i n Oh io .

The meat was equal ly d i vided between h imse lf and a n eigh bor,

Wm. Thompson,an d sal ted down . Wolves were very numerous

in those days . Farmers who were lucky en ough to h ave sh eep

had to bui l d h igh pen s for the i r protecti on . Dur i ng on e n igh t

Mr . Chestnut l ost forty head of h i s best sh eep by th ose sn eak

i ng rascal s . Th e bears woul d frequen tly k i l l th e i r h ogs an d

carry th em off i nto th e den se forests . Snakes were al so very

Huntington Township. 2 1

numerous . Mr . Chestnut was once b i tten by a copperh ead ,

wh i ch confi ned him to h i s b ed for several weeks . He served as

th e first just i ce of th e peace for a term of seven teen years

Here I w i l l gi ve an i n c i den t th at occurred i n th ose early days ,

dur i ng h i s offic i al term : A Mr . Ogden was i n Ch i l l i coth e on e

d ay on some bus i n ess , i n company w i th a man cal l i ng h imse lf

Shears,who

,i n con versati on w i th Mr . Ogden

,to ld him th at h e

w i sh ed to purch ase a smal l p i ece of l an d i n th e v i c i n i ty ofCh i l

licothe . Ogden told him h e woul d sel l him a p i ece ,wh en Shears

proposed to go h ome w i th him and l ook at th e l and . They

started,Shears

,h avi ng no h orse

,trudgi ng al ong on foot . Get

ti ng l ate,Ogden proposed th at h i s compan i on sh oul d. get up an d

r i de beh i nd him,wh i ch propos i t i on was th ankful ly accepted .

It seems th at Mr . Ogden had some mon ey ti ed up i n th e corner

of h i s h andkerch i ef. Al l money i n th ose d ays was gol d and

s i l ver,an d coul d n ot be so han d i ly carr i e d as we do our

greenbacks i n pocket - b ooks now. Ogden h ad twe l ve or fifte e n

dol l ars i n h i s h andkerc h i ef, an d h ad put i t in h i s coat - pocket,

but d i d n ot th i n k of such a th i n g as h i s fri e n d be h i n d him ah

stracting i t . They travel ed h ome togeth er , and when th ey

en tered th e cab i n Mr . Ogden ’s ch i ldren came fon d l i n g aroun d

him.After be i ng seated , h e fe lt for h i s money , an d foun d

th at h andkerch i ef an d all was gone . Mr. Ogden wen t to E s

qui re C hestnut’s,procured a warrant

,and h ad Sh ears arrested

,

when he confessed th e cr ime an d gave up th e mon ey . The ’Squi re

ordered him to be commi tted to jail. Shears tol d th e con stabl e ,

after th ey had started o n th e i r way,h e woul d rath er take th i rty

lash es than go to j a i l . The n igh t be i ng very dark,th e con stab le

concluded th at was th e eas i est way to get re l i eved of h i s pr i s

on er an d consented . Mr . Chestnut was d i rected to cut th e

swi tch es ; whereupon h e wen t to th e woods near by , an d soon

re turn ed w i th five stout swi tches or wi th es . They th en t i ed

th e pri soner to a mulberry tree n ear by,and Mr. Ogden com

menced to apply th em lust i l y to th e pri son er’s back. He woul d

h i t him a few cuts an d t h en bath e h i s back wi th wh i sky , an d

exhort th e pri soner to better deeds . After applying th e th i rty

2 2 Pioneer Record of Ross County, Ohio.

l ashes,save on e

,th e pri son er was un ti ed an d permi tted to go

h i s way,if not a better man, perh aps w i ser .

Mr.Chestnut was captai n of th e mi l i t i a, for several years ,

and d i ed Apri l 23,1851

,aged eighyy

/lthree years . He

helped to cut out th e old Zane trace , now th e L imeston e

road.He and a Mr . Wi l l i am Ri ch i e were ch osen , an d acted

as spi es to watch th e movemen ts of th e In d i an s in th e upper

en d of th e coun ty , wh i l e Col on el Barnes was stati on ed at

Waverly w i th h i s men. The Col on e l wi sh ed to get some orders

from Ch i l l icoth e , and started on h i s h orse , an d th e two sp i es on

th e i r mi ss i on on feet . Wh en on th e d iv i d i ng r i dge , a large

turkey ran across the i r path . Ri ch i e threw off h i s b l anket an d

gave ch ase . Barnes,i n th e mean time

,comi ng up,

saw th e

blanket ly i ng i n the path,and

,suppos i ng there were In d i an s

about,wh eel ed h i s h orse , an d started back ful l t i l t

,wh en

Chestnut,who was stan d i ng un der a tree

,she l teri ng h imse lf

from th e rai n— it rai n i ng hard— h ai l ed him,an d explai n ed

matters,wh en each wen t h i s way.

Wi l l i amChestnut,at the break ing out ofth e war of1812, vol

unteered th e 9th day ofMay,1813

,i n CaptainWi l l i amBatl ey’s

company,un der Colon el Denny

,wh i ch was i n General Tupper ’s

brigade , an d on the 10th of th e same mon th started for Fort

Me i gs,and served about n in ety days ,when h e return ed to Ch i l l i

coth e,and was th ere d i smi ssed . He rece i ved a lan d warran t

i n 1 824,and was pai d e igh t dol lars per mon th for h i s servi ces .

When a boy,Mr . Chestnut

,i n July

,1 7 98

,saw an In d i an ch i ef

,

Captai n John ny , sh oot the war - ch i efToa - w i l l a - wa. The bul l e t

en tered h i s forehead,and scattered h i s brai n s for some d i stan ce

aroun d on th e ground . Hi s squaw was p resent at th e t ime,

an d bemoaned h er loss by tearing her h ai r and other demon

strations of h er terri b l e sorrow. The ch i ef was buri ed i n h i s

costume an d armor . In 17 98,an Ind i an

,who was i n toxi cated

,

rode h i s h orse round i n a c i rcl e for some t ime . A wh i te man

by th e name of Thompson was stan d ing n ear,wh en th e Ind i an

excl aimed : “ I k i l l ed Th ompson ’s father and broth ers,at

which Th ompson became so enraged h e made for th e Ind ian ,

Huntington Township. 23

an d deal t him a h eavy b low upon th e h ead,wh i ch fel l ed him

dead at h i s feet . Th i s so en raged th e In d i an s of th e n e i ghbor

h ood th at th ey demanded Th ompson,that th ey mi gh t avenge

th e i r supposed wrongs . But Thompson man aged to escape,

an d fled th e country . Th e In d i an s hun ted for him for two

l ong years,but Thompson d i d not return for seven teen years .

Mr . Chestnut has been marr i ed twi ce . Hi s l ast w ife d i ed

October He st i l l l i ves on his farmwith h i s grand

son,Jos i ah Ch estnut .

The fol l ow ing names of o ld p i on eer settl ers are furn i sh ed by

Mr . Chestnut : Benj ami n C h estnut,so n of Dan i e l Chestnut

,

l i ves on h i s farm ; was two years ol d wh en h i s fath er l anded

i n Oh i o . Lemuel Chestnut,carpen ter

,d i ed at th e age of s i xty

seven . James - Ch estnut i s l i v i ng,an d occup i es th e ol d h ome

s tead . Joh n C h est nut was a farmer ; i s now dead . Peter

C ockere l l i s st i l l l i v i ng, but very fra i l ; aged e i gh ty years ;

Wil l i am Lockwood,now dead ; Wi l l i am Se lby , Sen .

,st i l l l i v ing

,

and Lark i n Selby ; were al l so l d i ers i n th e war of 1812 . Joh n

T hompson was a great Ind i an k i l ler i n 1 7 98 . Hocery McAllis

ter was i n th e war of 1812 . Charl es Chestnut was a famous

hunter . Mich ae l Th omas,wh ose n ame appears i n an oth er part

of th i s work , was i n th e war of 1812,an d inWayne

’

s campaign

was one of th e brave st men dur i ng th e war,wi th Captain Keys

,

Wi l l i am C hand l er, an d So l omon Trego . Henry Montgomery

emi grated to Oh i o i n 1 7 97,an d was drown ed in

'

Paint creek

i n 1800. George Funk was inth e war of 1 812 ; al so , Fran c i s

Ki l e,Henry Strong

,Lewi s Wheaten,

an d Uriah Hurl ey .

Old Resident S ettlers.

Joh n Long,who served i n th e war of 1 8 12

,now dead

,l i ved

to a good ol d age . He hel d i n h i s l ifetime severa l town

sh i p oflices,an d was beloved and respected by all who

knew him. Joh n Edgington l i ved i n th e townsh i p for many

years ; a good c i ti z en ; now dead . Joh n Toops, sh oemaker,i s sti l l l iv i ng

,an d i s very o ld . A . P . Ri l ey

,local preach er

,

i s st i ll l i v i ng . Noah Hol l i s,s ti l l l i v i ng

,h e l d several town

Pioneer Record of Ross County,Ohio.

sh i p offices . Jacob Bi sh op , bl acksmi th an d carpen ter , h eld

several townsh i p offices ; now dead . Dan i e l Shotts , qui te a

home hunter i n h i s younger days , i s sti l l l i vi ng . Joh n Men

d'

enhall,an ol d c i ti zen

,i s sti l l l i v i ng . Hen ry Haynes i s st i l l

l iv i ng.Michael T . S treevey,

an ol d hun ter , has k i l l ed as

many deer an d w i l d turkeys , i n h i s day,as any man of h i s

age i n th e town sh i p ; sti l l li v i ng . Wi l l i am Thomas , a great

hunter and fi sherman,i s sti l l l i v i ng . Jacob Sheets

,tai l or

and farmer, i s sti l l l i vi ng . Joh n Gibson was a great s i nger

and a good c i t i zen . Benjami n He ni s,now qui te frai l

,has h e ld

several town sh i p offices . Jacob Bl ess i ng i s sti l l l i v i ng, but

very poor i n h eal th . Moses Fi n l ey ,for many years townsh i p

treasurer,has gon e West . Ri chard Boyer , for many years

justi ce of th e peace and trustee of town sh ip. Andrew

McCollister, for many years justi ce of th e peace,schoo l

teach er,etc .

,moved West some years ago ; i s sti l l l iv i ng .

Robert Ral ston,a great rai ser of s tock

,etc .

,i s sti l l l i v i ng .

Hi s fath er,wh ose name appears i n an oth er pl ace i n th i s

work,was a great hunter . Rich ard an d Robert El l i ott

are sti l l l iv ing . Ebenezer Rozel l,Sen .

,I be l i eve

,was in th e

war of 1 812 ; dead for many years . Mi lbourn Palmer h el d

several townsh i p offices ; now dead . Enos Ri n eh art,grocer

,

an d trustee of townsh i p for several years,i s st i l l l iv i ng .

Henry R . Bi sh op,trustee of town sh i p for severa l years , i s now

l i v i ng,but h as been confined to h i s bed for several years w i th

rh eumati sm. T . C . Robi nson,sti l l l i vi ng

,has served as town

sh i p officer. Davi d Nel son,sti l l l ivi ng

,has h el d severa l town

sh i p offices . Joh n Seel ig h el d several townsh i p oflices ; was

captai n of mi l i ti a,etc . ; i s st i l l l i v i ng . P .

“

G . Sel by h el d town

sh i p ofli ces ; i s sti ll l i v i ng . Samue l P . Long,truste e of town

sh i p for several years,i s now keepi ng a h ote l in Ch i l l i coth e .

John Murphy i s sti l l l i v i ng . B. S . Rul ey,carpen ter an d farmer

,

for severa l years just ice of th e peace,trustee

,etc .

,i s l i v i ng

.

Joh n Clutz , farmer, i s l iv i n g . George Lytl e,for many years

constab le , i s yet l i vi ng . Joh n M . Haynes h el d several town

sh ip ofl‘ices ; l i v i ng . James Teope

,trustee of townsh i p for sev

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Pioneer Record of Ross County,Ohio .

struck near th e spot, from appearances , at th e same time . Mr .

Shotts was qui te a hunter , and i n early days k i l l ed several

bears,some two or th ree on h i s own farm. His fami ly con

s i sted of ten ch i ldren,to - wit : Cath eri ne , Jacob , El i zabeth , Mar

garet,Hannah

,Mary

,Dan i el

,Soph i a , Susan, an d Jonas , al l

l iv i ng except Cath eri ne .

Jacob Grubb was i n th e war of 1 812 . He came to h i s death,

several years si n ce,i n th e fol l owi ng man ner : He an d some two

or three n e ighbors wen t i n to Pai nt creek to bath e,Grubb

bei ng a great swimmer . They were i n th e water sometime ,

when,as Grubb was swimmi ng across a deep h ol e , h e was seen

to s i nk,and before h e coul d be rescued was drowned . It i s sup

posed he was taken w i th cramp .

George Ruffner emi grated to th e Sci oto Val l ey,i n 17 98

,from

Kanawha,Vi rgi n i a

,and settl ed on th e waters of Pai nt c reek

,

n ear Ch i l l i coth e . The foundat ion of h i s cab i n i s yet v i si b l e .

He was a fearl ess,brave

,and dar i ng hunter ; h ad a great antip

athy to the Ind i ans,i n conseque n ce of th e k i l l i ng of h i s fath er

an d mother by them,i n 1 7 91

,on th e Kanawh a . He l i ved by

hun ti ng panth ers,bears

,wol ves

,an d deer

,an d woul d k i l l

,

duri ng h i s hunt ing excurs i on s,any straggl i ng In d i an s th at

crossed h i s path . Dur i ng th e wars of 1 7 91 an d 1 812 he served

as a spy . He moved h i s h eadquarters on th e h ead waters of

th e Mohiccan,was frequen tly i n company wi th th e renown ed

Indi an k i l l ers , Wetze l an d Hugh es . A few days after th e

burn i ng of Greentown,a party of Ind ian s was d i scovered upon

th e banks of the Mohiccan Lake . The d i scoverer was Bun tyBi l ly . It appears th at th e Ind i an s h ad recogn ized Bi l ly at the

same time h e saw th em. Bi l ly at fi rst attempted to run away ,

but th e Indi ans cal l ed to him to stop,te l l i n g him th at th ey

woul d not hurt him ; h e stopped . Th e Ind i an s approach ed

him i n a fri end ly manner , cal l i ng him good boy , etc .

“Do

v ou know a fami ly by th e name of Seymore?" asked a tal l

Ind i an .

“Yeth th i r, I geth I do , th i r ," sai d Bi l ly .

“ Do you

know a man by th e n ame of Ruffner “ Yeth th i r,but I ’d

th ay to you, th i r, not to put yourthelf in hith way, th i r .He i th

Huntington Township. 2 7

a perfect dev i l,th i r

,wh en h e i th n ot i n a good humor

,th i r .

“Al l r igh t,

" sai d th e In d i an,an d th e In d ian s took th e i r l eave

,

an d Bi l ly h asten ed h ome to i nform Rufl'

ner“

of h i s d i scovery .

Instan tly Rufl‘

ner seized h i s r ifle an d set out in pursui t of th e

Ind ian s . He soon got on th e i r trai l an d fo l l owed th em to th e

cab i n of Seymore . Th e Ind i an s had en tered th e cab i n door

wh en th ey were soon j oi n ed by Rufl’ner . On th ei r en try th ey

appeared frien dly,sh ak ing hands wi th th e wh ole fami ly ; nor

were th e fami ly al armed,as th e v i s i tati on s of Ind i ans were fre

quen t . But Ruffner’

s sudden appearance aroused th e suspi ci on s

ofPh i l i p Seymore . Ruffner th i nk i n g th at th ey woul d not dare

to attempt an assaul t upon th e fami ly i n h i s presen ce,in s i sted

upon Ph i l ip ,as h e was th e most fleet on foot

,to run i n to th e

se ttl emen t an d gath er up some fr i en ds . As soon as Ph i l i p had

l eft th e cab i n,Ruffner immed i ate ly n oti ced a sudden ch ange in

th e counten an ces of th e sav ages ; th ey cast upon each oth er

s ign ificant l ooks an d gl an ces,as much as to say :

“He i s gon e

A deep,death - l i k e s i l en ce1

for ai d , and now i s our t ime .

’

now re ign ed i n th e l on el y forest cab i n . Kate Seymore could

n o l onger en dure th i s death ly gloom. Advanc i ng toward

Rufl’

ner,sh e sai d : “ Oh

,Rufl

’

ner,we sh al lall be ki l l ed " Ruff

n er,who had sat eye i ng the savages w i th a tiger’s l ook

,sprang

to h i s fee t and excla imed,i n a sten tor i an voi ce : “ Imps of he l l

,

l eave th i s p lace thi s moment,or I wi l l se n d your b loody red

sp i r i ts to th e burn i ng p i t of h el l,

" advan c i ng toward th em.

In stantly th e Ind i an s sprang from th e i r seats, an d made anattack upon th e h eroic Rufl

‘

ner w i th up l ifted tomahawks .

In th e b loody confl i ct h e k i l led th ree of th e murderous savages,

b ut,be i ng overpowered by th ei r un i ted strength

,fel l a l ife les s

b l eed i ng corpse upon th e cab i n floor . The remai n i ng savages

th en turned upon th e aged an d help l ess coupl e,who sat l i k e

p etrified statues,gaz i ng wi th a vacan t stare upon th e terri b ly

b loody scene around th em. Two tal l savages , w i th tomah awks

upl ifted,dri ppi ng wi th th e bl ood of th e murd ered Ruffn er

,

dealt each a b l owupon th e i r h e ad s,an d th ey, too , fel l i n t h e

agon i es of death .

2 8 Pioneer Retorn’ of Ross County,Obio.

Poor Kate was an eye- w i tness to th e dreadful tragedy . Sh e

was compel led to h and over al l the mon ey of h er murdered

father,and cook d i n ner for the murderous Ind i ans . Immedi

ately after d i nn er Kanotchey,th e bruta l ch i ef

,approach ed Kate

and sunk h i s tomah awk deep i n her h ead . S he,too

,fel l to ri se

n o more .

The savages th en l eft the cab i n , conceal i ng th emse lves i n the

deep,dark forest . Ph i l i p

,on return i ng w i th h elp

,en tered th e

yard,and see ing the b l oody

,mangl ed body of Rufl

'

ner,sprang

into the cabin,where h i s worst fears were real i zed . The si gh t

was shocki ng . Poor Kate,th e once rompi ng , l augh i ng , beau

t iful,rosy - ch ecked Kate— th ere sh e lay beaut iful i n death .

Ph i l i p,on beh old i ng h er l ifel e ss form

,an d those of h i s b eloved

parents and the nobl e Ruffner,gave ven t to a flood of tears , and

exc la imed : ’T i s done ; I am l eft al on e .

" Sai d h e to h i s n e igh

bors : “Blood for b l ood shal l be my motto . Bi dd i ng them fare

wel l,h e bounded i nto th e deep forest , becomi ng an Ind i an k i l l er .

Hi s h ome was th e forest ; h i s coveri ng, th e b lue sky ; h i s food,W i ld meat . He woul d l ay i n ambush

,and every straggl i ng Ind i an

that hove i n s igh t h e woul d k i l l . Near th e c l ose of th e war,wh i l e seated on a h igh bluff near th e Mohiccan

,i n a n arrow

bottombel ow,he saw a large

,stra igh t

,tal l Ind i an i n sh ooti ng d i s

tance . He cocked h i s gun,took aim

,fired

,and k i l l ed th e sav

age . He descen ded and walked to the p l ace wh ere th e In di an

l ay . On exami n at i on of h i s costume an d person,he foun d i t

was Kanotchey, th e murderer of h i s s i ster . Ph i l i p sai d : “ I am

now avenged .

" He then returned to h i s h ome on th eMohiccan.

Racefor L ife, etc .

Mi chael Thomas,whose name appears i n anoth er part of th i s

work , was a spy under Wayn e , and traveled al l over the Northwestern Terri tory . At one t ime

,when out recon no i ter i ng

,he

saw five or s i x Ind i ans n ot far from him,and n early at th e

same t ime the Ind i ans saw Thomas and gave chase . Thomas,

bei ng very swift of foo t, eluded h i s pursuers for some t ime , but

th e Ind ians coul d outwi n d him,and commenced

'

gaining on

Huntington Towns/oip. 2 9

him so fast h e began to l ook for a h i d i ng - pl ace . As h e ran

al ong almost out of breath , he saw a large poplar tree wh i ch

had fal l en , and th e bark from th e l og h ad fal l en off an d rol l ed

up, and Thomas ran to i t, threw in h i s gun and crawl ed i n after .

Th e Ind i ans be i ng so n ear , Thomas was almost sure th ey saw

him,but i t seems th ey d i d n ot . They came up and stood on th e

bark , immed i ately over Th omas body , an d h e was sure th ey

coul d h ear h i s h eart th robb i ng ; for h e says h e th ough t i t seemed

to rai se th e bark above himw i th th e Ind i an s stan d i ng upon i t .

But to h i s aston i shmen t and great sat i sfact i on,th e In d i an s

passed on wi th out d i scoveri ng him. He l ay i n h i s h i d i ng - p lace

al l th at day,an d when n igh t came on h e crawl ed from it and

made h i s way t o th e first post of safety .

At anoth er t ime when Mr . Thomas was out on a scout,wh i l e

stand i ng on th e banks oft h e Oh i o r i ve r,h e saw comi ng down

th e bank,on th e oppos i te s ide

,th re e l arge I ndi ans . He

th en h i d h imse lf. The Ind i an s came down to the water an d lay

down to dri nk,when Thomas l evel ed h i s l ong and trusty r ifle

at one of th e i r h eads an d fired,wh en th e In di an tumbled h ead

first i n to th e turb i d stream. Th e remai n i ng two Ind i an s fled

i n to th e deep forests,leavmg th e i r companion food for th e

fish es .

The Mistaken S hot.

Mr . Thomas an d Peter S treevey,son - in- law ofThomas

,and

wh ose n ame appears i n an oth er part of th i s work,started out

one fin e morn i ng on a bear hun t . After be i ng out several

h ours,n ear where th e Bapt i st church now stands

,on th e s i d e of

a h i l l,Th omas to ld S treev ey h e saw a bear at th e foot of th e

h i l l th rough th e v i n es and brush,and po i n ted out th e obj ect to

S treev ey . S treev ey to ld him h e d i d n ot th i nk i t was a bear ,

but Thomas i n s i sted i t was a bear,and to ld S treev ey to sh oot .

S treevey refused , sayi ng i t was no bear , but if h e though t it

was to sh oot i t h imse lf. But Thomas st i l l i n s i s te d on S treev ey’

s

shoot i ng ,wh en h e final ly con sented and fired . When th e would

be bear fe l l,they h eard the j ingle ofabel l , and Thomas excl a imed

30 Pioneer Record of Ross County, Olaia.

“You rascal, you h ave sh ot my breed i ng mare ; an d when th e

two hun ters reach ed th e spot, beho l d , to th e i r aston i shmen t

th ere l ay Thomas’ ol d black mare , ston e dead . In th ose early

days th e h orses and cattl e of the p i oneers were al lowed to range

at l arge,and woul d travel for mi l e s away among th e h i l l s an d

val leys,and th e owners woul d put bel ls on th e i r stock , so th at

th ey coul d be more eas i ly found when n eeded .

Natural Curiosities, etc.

The Alum cl iffs are on Pa i n t creek . What i s cal led th e

court h ouse i s a c i rcul ar formed cave,th e c i rcl e be i ng about

th ree hundred feet aroun d,the rocks proj ect i ng over about

twen ty or th i rty feet , fromwh ich th e wate r tr i ck les down eon

tinually. A t th e n orth end of th i s c i rcul ar cave i s a sol i d rock

twen ty feet square . The cl iffofrock i s about four hun dred yards

i n length,and about on e th ousan d fee t above th e l evel ofth e wate r

,

w i th alum an d oth er sal ts . There are several other caves,on e

about th i rty feet i n h igh t,an d exten d i ng i nto th e rocks con s i d er

abl e di stan ce . Anoth er cave i s cal l ed th e bake oven,by th e ol d

p i oneers, from i ts s imi l ar appearance . Al l th e way aroun d th e

c l iff i s a ledge or l ayer of rock about four feet apart ; th e under

or l ower layer i s about four i n ch es an d the upper l ayer about

two i nch es in th i ckn ess . On th e oth er s i de of the creek i s a

s imi l ar l ayer ofabout th e same th i ckness and l ike k i nd of rock .

It seems as th ough at on e time th ey were un i ted,but by some

erupti on of n ature h ad been sun dered to make way between th e

b ills for th e passage of th e stream. Also,at th e n orth end of

th i s c i rcular cav e,is an oth er cliff

,about h a lf a mi l e i n l ength

,of

sol i d rock. In th i s cl iff i s ano th er c i rcul ar cave about on e hun

dred yards in c i rcumference , an d extends back under th e rocks

fifty feet,and about on e hundred feet i n h igh t . About on e mi l e

from th i s cave i s st i ll anoth er l arge clifl‘

about s ix hundred fee t

i n h igh t an d three hundred yards i n l ength,wh i c h

,from some

unknown cause , took fire,provi ng th ereby th at th i s earth con

tai ns el emen ts of i ts own destructi on . Th i s fire burn ed w i thout

cessati on for th e space of n i n e month s . At th e n orth end of th i s

Huntington Township. 3 I

clifl’ are th ree anc i en t graves covered wi th ston e , about th ree

feet h igh an d twe l ve feet i n l ength . In th ese cl iffs i s a k i n d of

mi n eral pronounced by a geol ogi st to be sulphurous ac i d ; th ere

i s al so sal tpeter to a con s i derabl e exten t . Several years ago some

gen tl emen,w h ose n ames are forgotten , undertook to and d i d

manufacture sal tpeter th ere , but n ot fin d i ng it in quan t i ti es suf

fic ient to pay, abandoned th e undertak i ng . Th e cl iffs are s i tu

ated on th e banks ofPain t creek,wh i ch name was derived from

th e Indi an s,th ere be i ng a bank of red cl ay on sai d creek , near

th e beaut iful v i l l age of Bai n bri dge,wh ere the I nd i an s

,before

goi ng on th e i r war path,woul d resort to pai n t th emse lves with

th i s red cl ay . In early days th ese cl iffs were a great h arbor i n g

p l ace for w i l d an imals,such as pan th ers

,bears

,wolves

,an d foxes ,

an d many an o ld hunter has been foi l ed in securing h i s game

by i ts h i d ing i n th ose rocks and caverns .

Th ese cl iffs,as seen from be l ow,

presen t on e sol i d mass of

jutt i ng rocks,exten d i ng far out over th e beh o lder’s h ead in

many pl aces,an d l ook ing as th ough about to tumbl e down an d

crush him to atoms,wh i ch i n sp i res himw i th astoni shment and

awe . The top ofth e cl iff i s crown ed w i th spruce p i n es,wh i ch can

b e procured very h and i ly,an d th e c i t i z en s of Ch i l l i coth e often

resort th i th er to procure th ose evergreen s to decorate th e i r

h al l s an d bal l rooms . Those who are fon d of vi ew ing natural

curi os i t i es woul d b e wel l repa i d for th ei r tr i p . In deed,I kn ow

of n o p lace wh ere th ere i s such gran d n atural scen ery . It

i s v i s i ted i n th e summer season by hundreds,an d often h as

been a pl ace of resor t for pleasure ; an d many soc i al parties

h ave met onth ese rocky h igh ts for th e purpose of havi ng

p i cn i cs,etc . These cl iffs are own ed by the Hon . Ex - Sena

tor Wi l l i am Al l en,an d are about s i x mi l es from Ch i l l i

cothe . Our ven erab l e fr i end,Mr . Robert Bi sh op , Sen .

,who

l i ves n ear th ese elifl’

s,sh owed us several anc i en t cur i os i ti e s

p i ck ed up near th em,wh i ch h e h as i n h i s possess i on

,such as

ston e axes,ch i se l s

,darts

,and arrows of var i ous s i ze s ; petrified

h orn s of d ifferen t k i nds,sh apes an d sizes ; bee combs, wedges,

l an d turtles ; bark an d roots ; ston es , supposed to h ave b een

3 2 Pioneer Record of Ross County,Ohio.

used by th e aborig i nes for sk in n i ng the i r game ; p i pes , etc ., of

d ifferen t sh apes and si zes . On Mr . Bi sh op ’s farm i s a sulphur

spri ng and deer l i ck . Near th e c emetery on Bi sh op’s h i l l

,at

th e h ead ofa bran ch , i s a graded fal l of about on e hundred feet .

And on the farm ofMr . George Long i s a beaut iful an d pic tur

esque fal l,almost perpendi cul ar

,of twenty or th i rty feet .

Ancient Works .

About four mi l e s south east of the v i l l age ofBournev i l l e,on

what i s cal l ed Bl ack run,a branch ofPai n t creek

,are two qui te

curi ous fortification s . The first,a ston e wal l

,i nc loses about

on e acre of ground ; the wal l i s t h ree or four feet high and

forms almost a square,w i th i n ner wal l s

,formi ng parti t i on s as

i t were ; th e wal l s h ave been much h igh er from appearances .

The second works are s i tuated about two hun dred yards south ,an d are th rown up i n a perfect c i rcl e, w i th ston e , about s ix feet

h igh an d th ree hundred fee t i n c i rcumfe rence ; nearly half of the

wal l h as been wash ed away by th e creek . On th e i n s i de of th i s

c i rc l e,and i n th e cen ter

,i s qui te a moun d thrown up of ston e

,

wh i ch i s nearly one th ousand feet i n c i rcumference,an d i s e igh t

or ten feet i n h igh t,w i th a l arge wh i te wa l nut growi ng imme

diately on th e tep.

Near Mr . Aaron Vanscoy’

s,on Ind i an creek

,at th e head ofa

branch , i s qui te a moun d of stone near wh ere an o l d Ind i an

tra i l used to pass ; th e mound i s several feet i n h igh t . There

i s a story connected w i t h th is moun d wh i ch says : Several

years ago some brave young men concluded th ey woul d expl ore

th e mound and ascerta i n wh at was buri ed w i th i n i t . Theywen t to work and commenced to tear away th e ston es . After

they had worked some t ime , al l at once i t commenced b l ow

i ng , thunderi ng, and l igh tn i ng at a tremendous rate , when

they became frigh ten ed and ran for th e i r l i ves .

On Mr . Joh n Dun n ’s farm,on Pai n t creek

,i s an anc i en t work

th rown up i n a c ircul ar form ; the d i stance around th i s c i rc l e i s

about thre e hundred yards , and about four feet h igh . On Mrs .

Houlse’

s farm,adjo i n i ng

,i s an Ind ian mound some te n or

twe l ve feet i n h igh t,about s ixty feet long an d forty w i de .

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34 Pioneer Record of Ross County, Ohio.

Frant/in Township.

The soi l ofFrankl i n i s general ly th i n . Wi th th e except i on

of al ong the branch es , as Stony creek , etc . , the lands n ext to

Ch i l l icothe , along th e Oh i o canal , are reasonab ly good . One

s i de of th e townsh i p i s bounded by th i s canal and th e Sc i oto

ri ver . A t th i s porti on of th e town sh i p , on th e r i ver , th ere i s al arge and beautiful bottom,

wh i ch , for richness of so i l , can n ot

b e surpassed by any l ands i n Ross coun ty, or perh aps th e State .

It i s owned pri nc i pal ly by Messrs . Foster,Dav i s

,and Higby .

The first settl emen ts i n th e town sh i p were made on th e ri ve r .

The other porti on s of th e town sh i p were very l i ttl e settl ed for

several years afterward . The l arger porti on of th i s terri tory

i s very broken and h i l ly . There are n o p ikes i n th e towdship,

an d th e roads are general ly bad , th e can al be i ng th e pri nc i pal

outlet for export i ng the i r grai n , cord wood , tan bark , etc . A

good road aiong the ban k of th i s canal i s n eeded badly . The

timber i s pri n ci pal ly oak of th e d ifferen t var i et i es .

Present Township Ofi cers .

Justi ces of th e Peace,El i as S chamehorn and Samue l Wood ;

Treasurer,J . C . Foster ; Trustees , Wm. McGayer, T . C . Foster

,

and Dav id Crockett ; C lerk , C . D . Higby ; Constabl es, James

Dawson and Jacob Pi l es . Post - oflice Alma .

JohnFoster’

s Reminiscences .

Colonel Foster ’s fath er came to Oh i o i n the year 1 7 96,

on an explori ng exped iti on . He first wen t to Ken tucky to

see h i s brother - in- law,wh ose n ame was Cheneworth. He came

up the Ohi o r i ver to th e mouth of th e Sc i oto , and up th e Sc i oto

i n a can oe . In 1 7 98 he emi grated wi th h i s fami ly to Oh i o from

Cumberlan d county,Md . He

"

first se ttl ed i n Ross coun ty,now

Pi ke . From th ere he removed to th e farm (wh ere C olon e l

Foster i s now l i v i ng) on th e banks of th e Sc i oto , and l ived i n a

Frank/in Township. 5

l og cab i n about on e year, an d th en bui l t a h ewed l og house ,

the first h ouse of th e k i n d erected i n th e town sh i p . I t i s nowstand i ng and i n good cond i t i on . Mr . Thomas Foster ’s fami ly

cons i sted of e igh t ch i ldren , s i x daughters and two son s , Joh n

and Joseph . Th e l atter d i ed i n th e State of Ind i an a , i n 1 864 or

1865,at th e age of seven ty years . Joh n was born August 4 ,

1 801 . He h as l i ved i n th e town sh i p al l h i s l ife , an d occup i es

now th e room i n wh i ch h e was born . He i s now n early seven ty

years of age,but h i s wel l - preserved phys i cal con d i t i on woul d

n ot i n d i cate h e h ad reach ed th at peri od i n l ife . He i s a

pract i cal farmer,an d on e of th e represen tat i ve men of th at

great i nterest . Hi s fath er h ad five broth ers,Thomas

,Joh n

,

Benj ami n,Joseph , an d Rich ard . Rich ard was th e first settler

of Frank l i n town sh i p,when ell was a dense wi l d ern ess

,fi l l e d

wi th wi l d an imal s of a l l ki n d s . Colon el Foster h as h el d sev

era l oflices dur i ng h i s l ife time,both civ i l an d 'mi l i tary . He

represented th e county i n th e l eg i sl ature i n 1 84 8 ; was assoc i atejudge for a sh ort t ime

,wh en h e res igned ; was co lon e l ofmi l i ti a

for several years,and h el d townsh i p oflices

,etc .

,for many

years . Hi s fami ly con s i sts of n i n e ch i ldren,al l l i v i ng

,to - wit :

Joseph,Wi l l i am R.

,Mary Davi s

,Thomas

,Jane Davi s

,Joh n W.

,

James P.,Samuel D.

,maj or i n l ate rebe l l i on

,an d Rebecca

An n .

Rev . Joh n Foster, of th e M . E . Church,uncle of Co lon el

Foster , was born in 1 7 7 1,d i ed i n 1 839

,was i n th e war of 1 81 2

as capta i n of a company,and was father of twe l ve ch i l dren

,to

wit: Sarah,Ruth

,Cath er i n e

,Betsy

,Joseph

,John

,Casandra

,Mary

,

Rachel,Thomas

,Rebecca

,an d Nancy . Lewi s Foster

,anoth er

un cl e,was born December 26

,1 7 60

,an d d i ed at th e age of

n i n ety - two or th ree . Colone l Foster ’s fath er an d h i s fath er

were th e first wh i te men who rowed th e canoe up th e Sci oto

river . A Mr. Cheneworth came to Oh i o the summer before

Mr . Foster , but th ey came in wagon s . T . C . Foster,so n of

Colone l Foster, h as seven ch i ldren , to -wit : Marth a,Hannah

,

James, Joh n ,Wi l l i am,an d George . James serve d from Au

gust,1 861

,to January

,1866

,i n th e l ate rebe l l i on

,i n th e

36 Pioneer Record of Ross County,Ohio.

33d,53d

,and 59th Oh i o Volun teers , an d some mon th s in an

I l l i n oi s regiment th e last year of the rebel l i o n , and s i x month s

on Veatch’

s staff; was maj or of regimen t e igh teen mon th s ;

was at the battl e of S h i l oh , s i ege ofCor i n th battl e of Cori n th ,

an d i n Sturgi s’ defeat an d battl e of Tal lul ah , an d i s now treas

arer of th e town sh i p . Colone l Foster has forty - fiv e gran d

ch i ldren an d two great - grandch i l d ren .

L ist of Olol S ettlers— By Colonel Foster

Joh n Joh nsto n was justi ce of th e peace for twe n ty - th ree

years ; James Grcearly,first sch oo l teach er ; "ui n Col l i n s

Goddard ; Samue l Wi l so n bui l t firs t mi l l ; Ri chard Toml i n son ,h otel - keeper at ThreeLocks or State dam

,was justi ce for several

years,captai n of mi l i ti a

,auct i oneer

,e tc . ; Joh n an d George

Pushon were in the war of 1812 ; Wi l l i am Ridenger ; Eno s

Moore ; Joh n Beauman ; El ias S cammehorn, just i ce of th e

peace for many years ; Josep h Crockett,’

one of th e first settl ers

on Stony creek ; Jonathan Swyers ; Dan i e l Swyers was a Revo

lutionary so ldi er an d was at th e battl e of Lundy’s Lan e ; Al l en

Nixon ; Thomas Louzatta; Saul Ph i l l i ps ; Benjami n Ph i l l i ps ;

J . E . Higby,extens i ve farmer on th e r iver

,an d fath er - ih - law

ofHon . J . H . Ke i th, of Ch i l l i coth e ; Sylvester Higby , a just i ce

of th e peace for several years,hel d o th er town sh i p offices ;

Samuel Wood h el d town sh i p offices,was just i c e of th e peace

,

etc . ; Peter Benn ett h eld town sh i p ofli ces,and was captai n of

mi l i t i a ; S . O . Barker,justice of th e peace for many years ,

town sh i p clerk,etc . ; James Pry ; Edward Hurdell. Joseph

Hern emi grated to Oh i o from Germany i n 1817 ; Mr . Her n

was a sold i er under Bon aparte,and was at Strasburg wh en

Bonaparte was dri ve n back fromRuss i a . He wen t as a sub

stitutc for h i s brother,who i s now drawi ng a yearly pen

s i on for h i s serv i ces,wh i ch Mr . Hern seems to th i nk un

just . He wi l l b e seven ty years old in Apri l n ext,an d i s

hal e an d hearty,and looks as though h e migh t l i ve th at much

l onger ; h e i s a farmer, and keeps also a grocery store on th e

banks of th e Oh i o can al . Just‘

below Mr . Hern ’s grocery are

Frunhlin Township. 37

th e th ree locks and th e State dam across th e Sc i oto r i ver . The

dam i s n early on e hundred yards i n l ength , and i s qui te a resort

for fish i ng parti es , and Mr . Hern i s always prepared to ente r

ta i n guests o n th ose occas ions i n the best style , w i th anyth i ng th ey may cal l for. Th omas Toml i nson was th e first l ock

tender,and Richard Toml i n son was th e fi rst grocer

,at th ese

l ocks .

MP. James Davis’ Reminiscenses .

Hi s fath er emi grated to Oh i o i n 1808,an d settl ed on th e h igh

banks of th e Sc i oto . Hi s fami ly con s i s ted of e igh t ch i ld ren,

to -wit : Wi l l i am,Loth a

,James

,Hannah

,Mary

,George

,Charl es

,

an d Loui sa . Th ey removed to Frank l i n town sh i p about 1815 .

He has h eld town sh i p offices i n d ifferen t capaci ti es almost al l h i s

l ife . He used to be a flatboatman,and take h i s boats to Natch ez

an d New Orl ean s trad i ng . Th i s occupati on h e fol l owed for

many years . He woul d se l l h i s cargo and boats,and th en foot

i t h ome . James h as h el d d ifferen t townsh i p offices . On h i s

fath er’s farm th ere was an o l d In d i an buryi ng ground,con tai n

i ng at first about twen ty acres,wh i ch h as from t ime to t ime

been d imi n i sh ed by th e wash i ng away of th e ban k by th e river,

and i s now almost ext i n ct . They used to fin dmany human bon es,

beads,etc n ear an d on th e groun d occup i ed by th i s graveyard .

There are on th e farmsome four or five an c i en t work s ofdifferen t

shapes an d s i zes,an d some of th emofcon s i derabl e exten t . There

i s al so on th i s farm a sal t S pr ing or deer l i ck . On James Davi s’

farm,some years s i nce

,a company bored an oi l wel l some seven

hun dred fee t in depth ; but, l i ke many oth er compani es , th ey

fai l ed to str i ke ile. At th e mouth of S tony creek,Gen eral

McArthur,several years s ince

,bored a sal t we l l

,an d made a

con s i derab l e quan ti ty of sal t of a very good qual i ty ,but i t was

finally abandoned . On Mr . Davi s’ farm i s what i s kn own as

th e Foster Chapel,erected forty years s i nce

,and i s a good sub

stantial bui l d i ng yet . It bel ongs to th e M . E . denomi n at i on .

Mr . Davi s’ fami ly con s i sts of th ree ch i l d ren , to -wit : Emma,

Mary E .

,and J . Russe l l Dav i s .

"

3 8 Pioneer Record of Ross County, Ohio.

In earl i er days,Franklin was a great pl ace for game , such

as deer,bears

,pan th ers

,wi l d cats

,etc . In d i an s , wh en Mr . Fos

ter first settl ed on th e ri ver,were very pl en ty , and th ey h ad a

tra i l passi ng along up th e Sci oto , wh i ch was percept i bl e for

many years . About two mi l es from Mr . James Dav i s’

farm

i s a. c i rcul ar - formed bas i n , some ten to twen ty feet deep,

whiehhas th e appearance of h avi ng at some t ime been much

deeper . Th i s bas i n i s about fifty to sixty feet across , and must

h ave been dug out for some purpose by th e aborigi n es many

years si n ce .

We h ave been sh own by Mr . J . C . Foster a beaut iful robe,

made of four deer sk i n s,wh i ch h e h imse lf had captured i n th e

hi l l s of Frankl i n . He i s qui te a hunter,an d says th at th ere

are some of th ose beautiful and timi d animal s to be found i n

th e n eighbori ng h i l l s yet,wh i ch almost tempted us to try our

h and. We were sh own by Mrs . James Foster qui te a large and

an ci ent sp l i t - bottom ch ai r, wh i ch measured across th e seat two

feet and n i n e i nch es,an d was used by h er grandmoth er i n h er

l ifetime . The old lady was a very l arge woman ,we igh i ng about

four hundred pounds ; was born November 13, 1 7 70, and d i ed i n

th e spr i ng of 1841,aged seven ty - one years .

Twin Township. 39

Twin Township.

Ofiicers of Township .

Justi ces of th e Peace , Al l en Coch ran and Thomas Pl at ter ;

Trustee s,Dav i d Moore

,Benj ami n Pool e

,and Robert P . Mc

C racken ; Treasurer , J . Holter ; C lerk, Abram Sommers ; Con

stab les,James Hanawal t and Jacob Roberts ; Land Appra i ser,

Wi l l i am A . Jones .

Old S ettlers .

W. A . Shoul ts’ fath er,Joh n Sh oul ts

,emigrated to Oh i o

from Rock i ngh am coun ty,Vi rgi n i a

,i n 181 2 ; was i n th e war of

18 12 ; was a bl acksmi th , wagon an d cab i n et -maker ; d i ed aged

e igh ty - two years and s ix mon th s ; l i ved on Pai n t creek forty

years . Hi s broth er, Ch ri sti an Shoul ts , emi grated to O h i o at th e

same t ime , an d d i ed some years smce in th e S tate of Ind i an a .

Jacob Shotts was born i n Augusta coun ty,Vi rgi n i a ;

served as coun ty commi ss i on er one term was trus tee of town

s h i p for severa l years ; h as l i ved on Pai n t creek for forty

s ix years . Dav id Shotts,so n of Jacob

,served several years as

trustee of townsh i p ; was captai n of mi l i t i a . Joseph,anoth er

son,served several years as just i ce of th e peace .

Ancient Burying Ground.

On Mi

r. Higby’

s farm,adjo i n i ng Mr. Shotts’ l an ds

,i s

qui te an extens i ve anc i e n t buryi ng ground,wh ere many human

skel eton s h ave been found ; some of th em of very l arge s i z e . On

th e farm of Mr . A . Roberts,th ere i s an oth er buryi ng ground .

Last summer,th e h ogs rooted out of the earth the enti re frame

of a man of very large s i ze . The un der jaw bones woul d

eas i ly go over an ord i n ary man ’s face .

4 0 Pioneer Record of Ross County,Ohio.

Old S ettlers .

Hugh Coch ran emi grated to Oh i o from near Lexi ngton,

Ken tucky,i n th e year 1 7 97 ; was i n th e war of 1 8 12 ; served

duri ng th e war, and d i ed aged seventy - fi ve /years . His s i ster,

El izabeth was th e first woman marri ed i n th e Sc i o to Val l ey .

In Howe s Hi story of Oh i o,we find th e fol l ow i ng accoun t

of th e same : “ On th e 1 7 th day of Apri l,1 7 98 , th e fami l i es of

Colonel Worth i ngton and Dr . Tiffin arri ved— at wh i ch time th e

first marri age i n th e Sc i oto V al l ey was celeb rated, the parti es

be i ng George Ki lgore an d El i zabeth Cochran . The pon i es of

th e attendan ts of th e wedd i ng were h i tch ed to th e trees a long

th e streets,wh i ch were th en not c l eared out

,nearly th e wh ole

town bei ng a w i l derness .

James Brown i ng’s fath er,Joseph Brown i ng

,was a soldi er

i n th e war of 1812 ; was a tai l or ; di ed aged sixty~fi vc years .

Joh n Lance ’s father emigrated to Oh i o from Pen nsylvan i a

i n 1 808 ; was a weaver ; d i ed aged s i xty - e i gh t years . Joh n,

now l i v i ng, aged s i xty - seven years , i s a h arn ess - maker .

Dan i e l P . March ’s fath er,Steph en March

,emi grated to

Oh i o,from th e th en Terri tory of Mai ne

,i n th e year 181 7 ; was

judge of th e court an d justi ce of th e peace for many years ;d i ed aged s i xty - fiv e years . Hi s broth ers

,Henry an d Joseph

H . March , were i n th e war of 181 2 . Joseph served a part of

th e time as a substi tute for a h ote l - keeper l iv i ng i n Ken

tucky , who was d rafted. Hi s wi fe ’s d i stress,i n regard to

l os i ng h er husban d from h ome,moved the sympath i es of

Mr . March , an d h e offered h imself as a subst i tute and wasaccepted.

Isaac Con n er emi grated to Oh i o fromNew Jersey i n th e

year 1 805 , and was i n th e Revoluti onarywar ; d i ed aged eigh tytwo years . Hi s son , Joh n O. Connor

,of Bourn ev i l l e served i n

th e war of 18 12 , i n Captai n Davi d Sutton’s company,

for s i x

mon th s . and was paid, after h e was d i scharged , at th e rate of

e igh t dol l ars per month,an d rece i ved a l and warran t for on e

hundred and s ixty acres of l and al so . He furn i sh ed his own

un iform, cons i st ing of l i n sey pants and h ome -made l i n en sh i rts .

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

4 2 Pioneer Record of Ron County,O/oio.

Campbe l l,h i s son

,a farmer

,i s s ti l l l i v i ng . Thomas McDonald

emigrated to Oh i o,from Scotl and , at an early day ; served i n

th e war of 18 12 ; now dead . Davi d Somers emi grated from

Vi rg i n i a at an early day ; was a sol d i er i n th e war of 1812 ;

now dead .

S hredrichWroten emigrated fromDelaware i n 1806 ; was a

sold i er i n th e Revoluti onary war ; served five years and si x

mon th s ; was sergean t i n h i s company ; d i ed aged e igh ty - n i n e

years an d six month s . His son , Laban Wroten , has served h i s

town sh i p for several years as con stabl e and captai n of mi l i ti a ;was a grocer an d farmer ; as a h ome hun ter, h as k i l l ed many

bears,deer

,turkeys , w i l d cats , etc . ; h ad been , i n h i s younger

days , qui te a muscul ar man, and i n early t imes wh en corn husk

i ngs,l og ro l l i ngs

,ra i s i ngs

,etc .

,were i n vogue

,has h ad many

a h ard fough t battl e,i n th e way of fisticuffs , an d i t was but

se ldom that he d i d n ot c ome off v i ctori ous . Joh n Fresh our,

Sen ., emigrated to Oh i o, fromVi rgi n i a, at qui te an early day ;

h e was on e of th e first settl ers on Pai n t creek ; was a sold i er

i n th e Revoluti on ary war ; d i ed aged eigh ty - fi ve years . One

of h i s sons , Dani e l Freshour , was i n th e war of 1812 ; i s sti l l

l iv i ng . John . anoth er son , di ed aged seventy - on e years ; was

qui te an extens i ve farmer on Pai nt creek . James McMillen,

carpenter,now dead .

Simon Johnston , Sen .

,was on e among th e earl i est settl ers ;

was a sold i er i n the Revoluti onary war. Barney Mi n ney was

i n the war of 18 12,and di ed wh i l e i n th e servi ce . Job Harness

was i n the war of 18 12 ; Joh n Harness al so ; i s now dead .

Thomas Dehart, mi l l er . was i n th e war of 18 12 ; now dead .

Nel son Prather, farme r, dead . Enos Prather was qui te an ex

ten s ive farmer on Pai n t creek i n h i s day ; he removed to Kansas

several years si n ce , Where h e l ate ly d i ed .

Ralph Chaney,father ofJames Chan ey

,was an early settler ;

has been dead for many years . He came to h i s death i n thefol l owi ng manner : He was out one day fel l i ng a tree , and the

.wi nd , bl owi ng very hard, th rew i t th e way he d i d n ot expect x it

to fal l , and caugh t him under i t .

Twin Towns/pip.

Al le n Coch ran,Sen .

,fath er ofJoh n andAll e n Coch ran , Jr.

,

served as just i ce of the peace , i n Twin town sh i p , for fiftee n

years ; d i ed aged s i xty - two years . Isaac N . McCracken was

just i ce of th e peace an d assoc i ate judge for severa l years .

Dav i d Coch ran,o n e of th e early settl ers, furn i sh ed wood for

th e l egisl ature at i ts first s i tti ng i n Ch i l l i cothe .

Rich ard Acton emi grated to Oh i o , from Ken tucky , i n th e

year 1 800; was a sold i er in th e war of 1812, under Major

Wi l l e tt ; d i ed aged forty - fi ve years . His son , Jacob Acton, of

Bourn ev i l l e , h arness -maker , has been a res i de n t of Twin town.

sh i p t h i rty years ; h e was two years and seven month s in th e

serv i ce of the Uni ted States , as. a sai l or on th e Levant , a first

c l ass s loop ofwar of twen ty - s i x guns—esix of th em Paxton guns

of e i gh ty - four p oun ds ; two fifteen pounds ; the balance thi r ty

two pounds . Joh n Hannawal t , tai l o r, emigrated from Pen n

sylvan i a to Oh i o , in 1820 ; l ived in th e v i l l age of Bournevi lle

over forty years ; served as captain of th e In depen den t Rifle

men at on e t ime ; i s sti l l l i v i ng ; aged seven ty - two years .

The v i l lage ofBourn evi l l e conta i ns about one hundred'

and

fifty i n h ab itan ts,two stores

,th ree groceri es

,one sa loon

,th ree

churches , th ree b lacksmi th sh ops , one tan nery , two h arn ess

sh ops,two sh oemakers

,two wagon -makers

,one post - offi ce (post;

master, Abram Somme rs) , one cab inet -maker, one carp ente r’s

shop and cab i n et -maker’s comb i n ed

In th i s v i l l age,i n the month of Octob er

, 1844 , there was a

brutal murder commi tted . Frederi ck Edwards was a store

keeper at the t ime,and

,b e i ng a bache l or, he s lept in the

store , an d was reported to h ave a con s i derab le. amount of

money , Two fiends i n human sh ape , by th e n ames of Thomas

and Maxwe l l,con cocted a pl an for robb i ng Mr. Edwards ; and

break i ng i nto the store for that purpose— not expecti ng to fin d

any one th ere— th ey were attacked by Mr . Edwards,and

a terri b l e struggl e en sued,i n wh ic h th e l atter l ost his l ife .

Thomas and Maxwe l l made th e i r escape,but were afterward

captured,tri ed

,an d foun d gui l ty . Thomas was bung inCh i lli

coth e,i n March

,184 6 . Maxwel l made his escape , a i ded , as

4 4 Pioneer Record of Ross County,Obio.

some suppose,by a woman from Ci nc i n nati

,who cl aimed to b e

h i s w ife,an d was never recaptured .

Joh n McNeal,fath er of Robert McNeal

,was a res i den t of

Tw i n town sh i p for over fifty years ; d i ed aged seventy - five

years . Hi s son,Arch ibald

,was a soldi er i n th e war of 1 812 ;

di ed aged si xty - fi v e years .

Abij ah Flora,a carpenter , emi grated fromVirgi n i a to

Oh i o,or th e th en Northwestern Terr i tory

,at a very early day ;

h e served i n th e war of th e Revoluti on as l i eutenant of his

company ; was on e of th e first se ttl ers i n Hell er’s bottom,

on Pai n t creek ; d i ed aged seven ty years . His son , Th omas ,

has been a res i den t of Ross county upward of s i xty years ; he

was cal l ed out during th e war of 1812,and furn i sh ed a sub

stitute . Hewas a great hun ter i n h i s younger days ; and wh en

qui te a l ad h e wen t on a hun t i ng expedi ti on wi th h i s fath er an d

th e Rev . James B. Fi nley,Wi l l i am Murphy

,Jacob Myers

,an d

S imon Gi rty, Jr.

,son of th e noted S imon Gi rty

,of h i stori cal

notori ety . The company started w i th dogs an d gun s , and upon

arri vi ng at a smal l creek— now known as Bl ack run,th e

d i v i d i ng l i n e between Hunti ngton and Twi n townsh i ps— on

the farm now owned by Mr . Joh n S chligle, of Ch i l l i coth e , just

above th e barn now bei ng bui l t on th e left of th e road,the

dogs trced a bear up a large poplar, ofwh i ch tree th e st ump and

part of th e body st i l l remai n . They managed to sh oot th e ol d

b ear, and cutti ng down th e tree found two young cubs . Mr .

Flora says h e enj oyed th e sport fin ely,and woul d l i k e to l ive

th ose days over agai n . At anoth er time,h i s fath er and Mr.

George Vi n cen t Hel ler were out walk i ng one Sunday morn i ng,

through th e beautiful forest bottoms of Pai n t creek , when they

d i scovered some bear tracks i n th e soft ground,and fol lowed

th em to a l arge elm tree,and found th ere was a den i n th e

h ol l ow of th e tree several feet up. They started to i n form

th e i r n e ighbors,and soon col l ected qui te a number of men,

women,and ch i l d ren

,who with dogs and gun s we n t along to

see th e fun. Th e first th i ng th ey di d was to cut a smal l tree

and l odge it agai n st th e one con tai n i ng th e bear ; th i s aecom

Twin Township. 4 5

plishcd, Mr . Jacob Hell er wen t up th e tre e wh i ch h ad been

l odged,and found th e h ol e i n th e tree extended severa l feet

down i n th e body , but th ey managed to get Mr . Hel l er a l ong

papaw pol e,to wh i ch th ey attach ed a bunch of h ickory bark

,

wh i ch th ey set on fire , and,wh en i n ful l b l aze ,Mr . Hel l er thrust

i t down i n th e h ol l ow of th e tree . Brui n soon made h i s

appearance at th e en trance of th e h ol e , when George Hel l er

rai sed h i s gun to shoot ; h e tol d Jacob h i s h ead was i n th e way ;h e an swered to fire away

,as h e was th e matter of an i nch or so

out of th e way ; h i s broth er fired , and th e fur from th e bear flew

i n to h i s face and eyes,so close was h e to the hear. The bear

fe ll to th e ground,and

,ami dst th e h owl s of dogs

,an d sh outs of

men,and screams of women and ch i ld ren

,brain was hasti ly

d i spatch ed .

At anoth er t ime,a Mr . Murphy treed a bear

,an d col

lected severa l of h i s ne ighbors,wi th th e i r dogs an d guns ;

among th emMr . Flora,

-

,my i nforman t, th en qui te a l ad . The

tree was ho l l ow,an d wh eni t fel l th e tree broke i n two wh ere

the hol e was . An ol d bear an d two cubs ro l led out, an d im

med iatel y took to fl i gh t,th e dogs and men i n ful l ch ase ; th ey

soon overtook and d i spatch ed th em

On return i ng,th ey passed by th e tre e wh i ch th ey had fel led

,

wh en Mr. Flora,out of cur i os i ty

,stooped down and peeped

i n to th e h ol low tree as i t l ay,wh en

,to h i s surpr i se

,out jumped

anoth er yearl i ng bear,wh i ch took after him. He ran a sh ort

d i stance , and , fin di ng th e bear about to overtake him,h e turned

and ran back,th e bear i n ful l ch ase . He moun ted th e stump

of th e fal len tree,wh en th e dogs came to h i s re l i ef

,and soon

on e of th e party of men came up and d i spatch ed th e bear wi t h

h i s r ifle,much to th e re l i ef of th e boy .

Names of Old S ettlers .

The first preacher was Wi l l iam Kerns , an d th e first schoo l

teach er a Mr . Wi l cox . Wi l l i am Reed was just i ce of th e peace

for many years . John Core an d James Russe l l served i n th e

war of 1 81 2 ; Benj ami n Brackey , Presl ey John ston , Joh n Reed ,

and Dav i d Breedl ove emi grated to Oh i o, from Kentucky , i n

4 6 Pioneer Record of Ross County, Gloio.

early days . Peter Sh anks,Alex . Joh n ston

,Thomas Ladd

,

George Ki lgore,Ph i l i p Maston

,Robert McMahon

,and Dan i e l

Devoss were among th e first settl ers i n Hel l er ’s bottom,on Pa i n t

creek . When th ey first settl ed th ere th ey owned a fine young

sow,w i th a brood of pigs , wh i ch th ey had to faste n un der th e i r

cab i n at n igh t,to preven t th e bears from carry i ng off. Late

on e ni gh t th ey heard the squeal i ng of the i r sow,and knew a

bear h ad made h i s way to h er by some means , an d was carry

i ng h er off i n to th e forest . Th ey h asti ly arose,al l i n th e i r

n igh t cloth es ; th e old l ady prepared a torc h by spl i tt ing a c l ap

board or two,an d Mr . Devoss cal led several n e ighbors from

th e i r cab i ns near by,and th ey w i th th e i r dogs an d gun s gave

ch ase,th e o ld lady carry i ng the torch an d l igh t i ng th e way .

The dogs soon overtook the bear w i th h i s burden,an d th e men

comi ng up, d i spatch ed brui n,and rescued th e sow but l i t

t l e i njured but th e men and old lady,i n runn i ng th rough th e

n ettles,wh i ch at th at t ime were very th i ck an d wa i s t h igh ,

had th e i r naked legs terrib ly pri cked and scratch ed . Mr . Fl ora

says wh en a bear captures a h og,h e does not stop to k i l l i t

,b ut

wi l l hug i t i n h i s arms and commence eati ng unti l h e h as

fin i shed h i s repastfthe h og squeal i ng al l th e t ime as long as l ife

l asts .

George J . Moore emi grated to Oh i o from Pennsylvan ia i n

1813 ; was a farmer ; d i ed i n 1 850. Hi s son,Dav i d Moore

,

l ives on th e Mi lford an d Ch i l l i coth e turnpi ke . In con structi ng

sai d p ike,several human ske le ton s were dug up near h i s h ouse ,

some of them ofvery l arge s i ze an d some very smal l , as though

of i nfan ts . Also , on Mr . Ph i l i p A . Road’s farm,oth ers , of s imi

l ar s i zes,were found .

Dan i e l R . Dolohan says h i s fath er, Michae l Dolc hau, emi

grated to Oh i o from Vi rg i n i a about th e year 1802 ; was i n th e

servi ce in th e war of 1812 , as scout ; d i ed aged n i n ety - on e years .

Thomas Hanks emigrated to Oh i o about 1 7 90; was a sold i er

i n th e Revolutionary war ; h i s sons , Joseph an d Joh n , were

sold i ers i n the war of 1812 ; al l dead . Dav i d Col l i n s and a Mr .

Mi l l er bui l t what are known as the Slate mi l l s, on th e n orth

Twin Township. 4 7

fork ofPai n t creek , wh i ch was on e of th e first flouring mi l l s i n

th e coun ty . Jesse Wi l ey,Casper C . Pliley

’

s father,Ph i l i p C .

Pliley ,Wi l l i amPliley,

and Jefferson Pliley emi grated to Oh i o

at a very early day . The i r fath er was i n th e Revolut i onary

war. Joh n Ward d i ed i n Hard i n coun ty, i n 1867 , at a very ad

vanced age ; was i n th e war of 1812 , under General Harr i son .

Ben n ing Wentworth gives us th e n ames ofJames Matth ews,

who emigrated from Scotl an d to Oh i o i n early days,and was

treasurer of High land county/ for a term of years,and Robert

Waddle,al so from Scotl and

,who was un der Wel l i ngton at th e

battle ofWaterloo,and a great plav er on th e bag - p i pe .

Peter Shan er emi grated to Oh i o from Pennsy lvan i a i n

1800; served i n th e war of 1 8 12 , and h elped cut out th e Lebanon road

,an d i s now l iv i ng

,aged e igh ty - s i x years . Hi s father

,

Peter Shaner,Sen .

,was i n th e war of th e Revoluti on

,fought at

th e battle ofBrandywi n e , and d i ed at th e age of seven ty . Joh n

Gossard emigrated to Oh i o from Pennsylvan i a,i n 1 808 ; was

in th e war of 1 812,an d served several years

,i n d ifferen t capac i

t i es,as town sh i p officer ; d i ed aged fifty- s i x years . Ph i l i p

Gossard and Jacob Gossard served in th e war of 1812 are now

dead . James Ni ch o ls,mi l l er an d h otel keeper at th e Slate

mi l l s i n early days , served i n th e war of 1 8 12 ; i s now dead .

Henry Sh arp served i n th e war of 1812,an d as justi ce of th e

peace for many years . Dilard Rowe,Abott Rowe

,an d Davi d

Rowe served i n th e war of 18 12 . Charl es Craig and Joh n

Crai g were i n th e war of 1 812,and th ei r grandfath er was i n

th e Revoluti on ary war. Al ex . Crai g an d a Mr . Wil son were

the fi rst sch oo l teach ers for many years . Wi l l i am Crai g was

the first man who drove a wagon an d team to Ch i l l i cothe over

Zane ’s trace .

Colonel John McDonald— (From the S cioto Gazette.)

Col on e l Joh n McDonald was born January 28, 17 75 , i n

Pen n sylvan i a . His early l ife was spen t upon th e fron t i ers of

Pen n sylvan i a,Vi rgi n i a

,and Ken tucky . Before arr i v i ng at th e

age of twen ty years h e en tered th e mi l i tary servi ce,un der

4 8 Pioneer Record of Ross County, Ohio.

General Wayne . He was attached to th e army commanded

by th at veteran general i n 17 94,an d was presen t , on th e 20th

ofAugust of that year,at th e memorab l e battl e wi th th e In

d i an s on th e Maumee . In 1 7 96 he came to C h i l l i coth e,where h e

wasmarr i ed to Mi ss Cath eri ne Cutwrigh t i n 1 7 99 . He sett l ed on

Popl ar r idge i n th e year 1 802 . He h el d,i n h i s l ifetime

,var i

ous offices i n th e mi l i t i a,and served as co lonel . In the war of

181 2 h e went w i th th e Oh i o troops to th e fron ti er,i n th e doubl e

capac i ty of paymaster an d quartermaste r,an d was taken pri s

on er at th e surren der of Detroi t . In 1813 h e was appoi n ted a

captai n i n th e regul ar army . In 1 814 h e was placed i n com

man d of a regimen t of regul ar troops at Detroi t, an d remai n ed

i n th e serv i ce un t i l peace was made an d th e army d isbanded .

In 1 8 1 7 h e was e l ected to th e Oh i o se n ate,an d served for two

terms . At a l ate peri od of h i s l ife he wrote and pub l i sh ed a

very i n teresti ng an d popul ar work , compri s i ng sketch es of th e

first settl emen ts on th e Oh i o,w i th b i ograph i cal sketch es of

d i sti ngui sh ed p ion eers . Colonel McDonald was very exten .

siv ely known , and greatly respected as an i n tel l i gen t an d use

ful c i ti zen and so l ong as th e early h i story of the Sc i oto Val l ey

sh al l be preserved,h e wi l l be kept i n honorab l e reco l lect i on .

Rev . James B. Fi n l ey gi ves th e fol l owi ng accoun t of Col

oue l McDonald [See Fi n l ey’s Autob i ography, pp . 1 23—130]

“ Colon e l Joh n McDonald,on e of my early c ompan i on s ,

was of Scotch desce n t . Hi s fath er was conn ected wi th th e

army of th e Revolut i on from i ts first organ i zati o n up to th e

year 1 7 80. Joh n was born i n Northumberlan d county , on th e

28th of January , 1 7 7 5 . Hi s fath er crossed th e moun tai n s w i th

h i s fami ly i n 1 7 80, an d settl e d at a pl ace cal l ed Mi ngo Bottom,

th ree mi l e s be l ow th e p resen t s i te of Steubenv i l l e . The Oh i o

r i ve r was th en th e extreme fron ti er, consti tuti ng th e d ivi d i ng

l ine between th e wh i te and red man. No l i n e , h owever, was

suffic i en t to form a barr i er agai n st th e i nvas i on s ofboth parti es .

The wh i te man was as frequen tly th e aggressor as th e Indi an ,

an d many were th e sc e n es of sufferi ng carnage , and massacre

w i tn e ssed al ong th i s border l i n e . My young fri e nd was reared

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Pioneer Record of Ross County,Ohio.

had a tendency somewhat to coo l the ardor of th e youthful war

ri or,who

,n everth el ess

,would have been glad of an Opportun i ty

for tak i ng revenge upon th e savage foe .

“From thi s t ime McDonald was constantly engaged wi th

scouti ng , hunti ng, and survey i ng parties . In th e spring of

17 92 h e j o i n ed General Massi e’s settl emen t at Manchester

,

twelve mi l es above Maysvi l le . Th i s was the th i rd settl emen t

on th e n orthwes t s i de of th e Ohi o r i ver,above C i nc i n nati

,or

Losantiv ille , as th e town was cal l ed . Th i s i nfan t settlement,

together wi t h th e l i ves of al l i n th e stati on, was i n con stan t

danger . Many and exc i ti ng were th e scenes by wh ich th ey

were surrounded . Some times th ey were deeply depressed,and

anon,wh en danger was over

,th e i r sp i r i ts rose exul ti ng at the

tri al s and confl i cts through wh i ch they had passed . A report

woul d sometimes come i n that one of th e i r number had fal l en

by th e h an d of the en emy, wh i ch woul d cast a shade of sadness

and gloom on all h earts ; then again the i n te l l igence that the

bol d an d dari ng hun ter had cap tured the foe,woul d i n sp i re

themwi th courage . Thus l ife was made up of con stan t al terna

t i on s of h ope and desponden cy . Thi s constan t warfare made

th e ea rly settl ers so fami l i ar wi th scen es of b lood and carnage,

that th ey became,i n a measure

,i ndifferen t spectators

,and at

th e same time reckl ess an d fearl ess of al l danger . Scenes of

horror th at woul d have congeal ed the bl ood i n the vei n s of

those unaccustomed to them,woul d scarcely move th e heart of

th e h ardy p ion eer .

“ In th e spri ng of 1 7 94 Colone l McDonald an d h i s broth er

Thomas j o i n ed General Wayn e’s army , as rangers , or S pi es .

The company of rangers cons i sted of seven ty - two,of whom

Captain Ephraim Kibby was commander . He was a true Jer

sey blue,ful ly adequate to any emergency growi ng out of h i s

h igh ly respon s ibl e posi ti on . It was th e duty of th e rangers to

traverse th e Ind i an coun try in every d i rec t i on,i n advance of

the army . Th i s was n ot on ly a to i lsome , but a dangerous work .

The company was d i v i ded i n to smal l de tachments,wh ich

Twin Township. 5 1

started out i n every d i recti on , and , after scour i ng th e coun try ,returned and made th e i r report to h eadquarters .

“ Early i n November of th e year above men t i on ed,Mr .

Lucas Sul l i van , a lan d - specul ator and surveyor from Vi rgi n i a,

col lected a company of twen ty - on e men to go upon a surveyi ng

tour i n to th e Sci oto coun try . Th i s was a hazardous undertak

i ng . Notw i th stand i ng th e Ind i ans h ad been severe ly beaten

by Gen eral Wayne , a few mon th s prev i ously, yet th e coun try

was far from a state of peace . Attach ed to th i s company were

three surveyors,namely

,John and Nathan i e l Beasley

,and S ul

l i van,who was th e ch i ef. Young McDonald was con n ected

w i th th i s company . Every man carr i ed his own baggage an d

arms,con s i sti ng of a r ifle

,tomah awk

,an d scalp i ng - kn i fe .

Wh i l e engaged i n survey i n g,th e hunters woul d go i n advance

as sp i es,an d th e surveyor , chai n - carr i ers

,an d marksmen woul d

fo l l ow in l i n e,th e wh o l e be i ng brought up by th e pack - horse

and th e man who cooked for th e company . It was h i s bus i n ess

to keep a good l ook - out,so th at th e en emy shoul d n ot attack

them i n th e rear . In th i s mi l i tary man ner was most of th e surv eying i n Oh i o an d Kentucky performed . They d i d n ot carry

any provi s i on s wi th them,b ut depended on th e i r rifles for a

l i v ing,wh i ch seldom fai l ed to afford th em an abundan t supply .

Havi ng take n Todd ’s trace,th ey pursued th e i r

’

j ourn ey

t i l l th ey came to Pai n t creek,at th e ol d cross i ngs . From

th en ce th ey proceeded to o ld Chi l l i cothe,now Fran kfort

,an d

thus on to Deer creek , wh ere th ey encamped at th e mouth of

Hay run. In the morn i ng Sul l i van . McDonald,an d Murray

wen t down to Deer creek wi th th e i n te nt i on of tak i ng i ts mean

derings back to th e camp . They h ad not proceeded more th an

a hundred rods t i l l a flock of turkeys came flyi ng toward th em.

McDonald and Murray be i ng on th e bank of th e creek,near to

a p i l e of drift -wood , Murray, wi th out reflecti ng a momen t th at

th e turkeys must have been dr i ven toward th em by some per

son s,s l ipped up to a tree and sh ot a turkey . He then sl i pped

back,an d as there were more turkeys on th e tree, McDonald

s l i pped up to th e posit i on l eft by h i s compan i on . Just as h e

52 Pioneer Record of Ross County,Ohio.

was about to fire,th e sh arp c rack ofa r ifle fel l on h i s ears

,and

,

turn ing instan tl y, h e saw poor Murray fal l to ri se n o more .

Looki ng i n th e d i rect i on from wh ence th e messenger of death

came,he saw several In d i an s w i th th e i r r ifles l evel ed at him.

"ui ck as th ough t h e sprang over th e bank i n to th e creek , an d

they fired but mi ssed him. The Ind ian s fol l owed h ard after

him,yel l i ng an d screami ng l i ke fiends . Runn i ng across th e

bottom,h e met Sul l i van an d three oth ers of th e company .

Sul l i van i n stan tly th rew away h i s compass and c lung to h i s

r ifle . The i r on ly safety was i n rap id fl i gh t,as th e Ind i an s were

too numerous to en coun ter . As th ey ran th e Ind i an s fired

upon th em,on e of th e bal l s str i k i ng Colv i n ’s cue at th e t i e

,

wh i ch shocked him so much th at h e th ough t himself'

i'

nortally

wounded . But h e was a brave young man,and bei ng fl eet of

foot,h e ran up th e creek and gave th e al arm at the camp , stat

i ng that h e bel i eved al l were k i l l ed but h imself. Those at

camp of course fled as soon as possibl e . McDonald and h i s

party ran across the bottom to th e h igh land,and after run

ning th ree mi l es struck a prai ri e . Casti ng th e i r eye over i t,

th ey saw four Ind i an s trotti ng a long th e trace . They th ough t

of run n i ng roun d th e prai ri e an d head i ng th em,but n ot know ~

ing how se e n th ose i n pursui t woul d be upon th em,and per

chance th ey woul d get between two fires,th ey adop ted th e bet

ter part of valor and con ceal ed th emselves i n th e grass ti l l th e

Ind i an s were out of s igh t . After remai n i ng there for some

time th ey wen t to th e camp and foun d i t deserted . Just as th eywere about to l eave

,on e of the company espi ed a n ote s tuck in

th e end ofa spl i t sti ck,to th i s effect

,If you sh oul d come

,fol

low the trai l . It was th en sundown , an d th ey knew th ey

woul d n ot be able to fol l ow th e trai l after dark . When n igh t

came on,they steered the i r course by starligh t .

They h ad trave led a d i stan ce of e i gh t or n i n e mi l e s . It

was a cold,dreary n igh t

,and the l eaves bei ng frozen

,th e sound

of th e i r footsteps coul d be h eard some d i stan ce . Al l at on ce

they h eard someth i ng break and run as if i t were a gang of

buffaloes . At th i s th ey hal ted and rema i n ed s i l en t for some

Twin Township. 53

t ime . After a wh i l e th e fugi tives coul d be h eard comi ng back

softly . Suppos i ng th at i t migh t be th e i r compan ion s , McDon

al d an d McCormick con cluded to creep up s l owly and se e .

They advanced t i l l th ey coul d hear themcrack i ng hazel - nuts w i th

th e i r teeth . They al so h eard th emwh i sper to one an oth er, but

c oul d n ot te l l whether th ey were Ind i an s or wh i te men. They

caut i ously returned to Sul l i van , an d th e company,after delib

c rat i on,final ly con cluded to cal l , wh ich th ey did, an d found , to

the i r j oy,that it was th e i r own fri en d s who fled from th em.

Th ey h ad mutual rej o i c i ngs at meeti ng agai n,but poor Murray

was l eft a prey to th e Ind i ans an d wo lves . They now com

menced th e ir j ourn ey homeward , and , after th ree days’ trave l

,

arr ived at Manchester .

Names of Old S ettlers,furnished by Col. John C’. Jl/[cDonac Jr.

Alex . Given emigrated to Ohi o from Pen nsy lvan i a about

1 800; was i n the war of 1812 ; bough t l and of Genera l Mc

Arthur and pa i d for i t bymon th s’work ; d ied of cancer i n 1858 .

Isaac Pearce . Aaron Foster emigrated from Pennsyl van i a to

Oh i o ; was in the war of 1812 ; was adjutan t un der Co lon e l John

McDonald ; served as justice of th e peace for twen ty - one ye ars

was county commi s s i on er on e term ; d i ed i n 1862 . Samuel

Teter emi grated to Oh i o from Wash i ngton coun ty,Pennsyl

van i a,about th e year 1 7 98 ; h ad four son s , Samue l , George , John ,

and Dan i el ; al l s erved i n th e war of 1812, except Samue l ; all

dead . Joh n Core emi grated from Maryland to Ohi o i n 1 800;

was a mi l lwri gh t and b lacksmi th,and bui l t the first mi ll in

Twi n townsh i p ; h i s three son s , Joh n , Hen ry, and Chri s ley,

served i n th e war of 181 2 ; Chr i sl ey started th e day after h e he

c ame e i gh teen years of age . Henry was sergeant -maj or on

C olo n e l McDonald’

s staff dur i ng th e war. Wi l l i am Reed emi

grated from Delaware to O h i o i n 1 7 98 ; was just i c e oft he peace

for several years . Ph i l i p and Dan i e l Hare emi grated from

Delaware in th e year 17 97 ; Dan i e l was captain of a company .

dur i ng th e war of 1812, un der Co l on e l McDonald. Davi d

E l l i o tt was captai n ofa company in the war of 1812 . M

54 Pioneer Record of Ross County, Ohio.

Turner emi grated from Del aware to Oh i o at an early day

Samue l Turn er was on e ofth e first h ote l - keepers . Nathan Reeves

and‘Efli-

raTmCamper were th e first sch ool teach ers . Jacob Myersserved as maj or i n th e war of 1812 ; was on e of th e bravest

offi cers of h i s regimen t ; he was a carpenter . Joh n Mahan was

i n th e war -of 18 12 . Joh n Walker bui l t on e of th e first mi l l s in

the town sh i p ; was a blacksmi th . Joh n Summerv i l l e emigrated

from Scotl an d to Ameri ca , and settl ed i n Twi n town sh i p at an

early day ; was quartermaster under Col one l McDonald duri ngth e campaign of 1 814 ; served as just i ce of th e peace for manyyears ; i s st i l l l iv i ng . James Summerv i l l e was i n th e war of

1812,an d was k i l l ed i n th e battl e of T ippecan oe . Archy Mc

Donald emi grated to Oh i o from Scotl and .

'He came as a Br i t

i sh sol d i er,but deserted and j o i n ed th e Ameri can forces ; was

at th e surrender of Lord Cornwal l i s . Hi s two son s,Joh n an d

Wi l l i am,served i n th e war of 1812 . Joseph and Jacob Myers

were i n th e war of1812 . ColonelJohn/

C .McDonald,Jr.

,who fur

ni sh es th e above , i s l i v i ng, aged fifty - n i n e years,but h i s we l l

preserved phy s i ca l cond i ti on woul d not i n d i cate th at h e h ad

reach ed th at per i od i n l ife . He is a practical farmer,an d on e

of th e represen tati ve men of that great i n terest . He served

on e term as sh er iff of th e county,to th e cred i t of h imse lf and

coun ty , and refused any further h on ors i n th at l i n e , al th ough

his many fr i en ds would h ave been pleased to h ave gi ven him

the i r suffrages . He served dur i ng h i s t ime as l an d appra i ser

and fi l l ed severa l townshi p ofiices .

Reminiscenees byJames P. Brown.

I was born i n Fauqui er county , Vi rgi n ia , and emi grated to

Oh i o i n 18 16 . Lived several years On th e south branch of the

Potomac,i n Vi rg i n i a . Was a volun teer i n th e war of 1812

,

un der one Captai n Ashby ; was at th e battl e ofHampton Roads,under General s Cob in and Crutchfield ; the l atter ordered about

six hun dred ofus to advance and fire on about two th ousan d of

the enemy . After g i v i ng th e order,Crutchfield ran

,and was

not seen by his men unti l they found him about twel ve mi l es

Twin Township. 55

d i stan t from th e figh t . There were seven or e igh t of our men

k i l l ed . We stood th e fire of the en emy for some time,un ti l it

became too hot for us,an d th en retreated . General Coh i n was

wounded i n th e wrist . The bal l wen t up h i s armand came out

at th e e lbow. He was on one s ide of a post and ra i l fence at

th e t ime h e rece ived the wound,an d th e enemy al l around him

,

when on e ofour men broke down th e fence and took him to th e

rear with h i s h orse . Just before rece iv i ng h i s wound,he cal l ed

to Capta i n Ashby,sayi ng : ‘ I k now you an d your men wil l

figh t ; figh t on But he was soon'

wounded,an d ordered a re

treat . One of our men,Joh n Barr

,was sh ot th rough the leg,

an d cri ed out : ‘Oh,Lord

,I am dead "’ I took h i s gun to

carry,wh en Barr got up and took to h i s h eel s , soon pass i ng me

i n h i s fl igh t ; h e h ad on ly rece i ved a flesh woun d . After th e

fight was over,we commenced prepar i ng our r epast

,wh i ch

was composed of spo i l ed provi s i on s,cooked i n a few ol d rusty

kettle s . " My i nforman t says h e pai d two do l l ars and fifty cen ts

per week for h i s beard,an d rat i on s thrown i n ; h e was n ot

pai d off for some t ime after be i ng d i scharged,an d had to pay

h i s own way home . He i s now l i v i ng,aged e igh ty - th ree years .

Hi s father,Dan i e l Brown

,was of Engl i s h descen t

,an d was a

a d i sti l l e r in Virgi n i a . He settl ed i n that State dur i ng the

war of th e Revo lut i on , and had e igh t sons an d e igh t daugh ters .

Joh n Came l i n,fath er of Mrs . Joh n Baum

,emi grated from

Pennsy lvan i a to O h i o about 1800. Was cal l ed out duri ng the

war of 1812,but furn i shed a substi tute ; d i ed aged about n i nety

o ne years . Was born on th e fourth day of July,17 7 6

,the day

of the Declaration of In dependen ce .

ByJames Demoss.

James Demoss,Sen .

,emigrated from Irel and at an early

d ay ; was a so ld i e r in the war of 18 12 ; was a pai n ter ; d i ed

duri ng th e war by di sease con tracted wh i l e i n th e servi ce .

Benjami n Gr imes , one of th e early emi grants . settled i n He l ler’s

Bottom at qui te an early day, and was many years a c lass

l eader i n th e Meth od i st Church ; was marri ed four times ; d i ed

56 Pioneer Record of Ross County, Ohio.

several years s i nce i n Fayette coun ty ,Oh i o . Hi s son

,George

Grimes,i s now l i v i ng on what i s kn own as th e Barger farm

,near

th e v i l l age ofBourncv ille . O n Mr . Grimes ’ farm i s qui te an ex

tens i ve c i rcul ar fortification , contai n i ng about e igh t acres ; th e

embankmen t i s now some e igh t or te n feet i n h igh t . Near Mr .

Demoss’ dwel l i ng , a few year ago , wh i l e th e hands were work

i ng th e publ i c road,i n d iggi ng i n to a bank they found an

en ti re human frame ofa very l arge s ize . Old settl ers,Wi l l i am

McCauley,Matth i as Coon ey ; phys i c i an , Isaac Verden .

ByMrs . McKenzie, mother- ia- law ofMr. William 190.

Her fath er,Dan i e l Hare

,emigrated from Penn syl van i a to

Kentucky,and from th ere to Ohio , in 1 7 96 . Her husban d ’s

gran dfath er was a drum-maj or i n the Revolut i on ary war, and

served seven years . Her husband,Mr . McKenz ie

,was i n the

war of 18 12,as capta i n of a company for some time , wh en th e

c ompan i es were consoli dated, wh i ch re l i eved him ; d i ed aged

about eigh ty years . He was for many years a l eader i n th e

M . E . Church . Mrs . McKenz ie says h er fath er came to Oh i o

w i th out br i ngi ng h i s fami ly ,for th e purpose of hunti ng an d

layi ng up a supply of meat for th e n ext summer . He firs t

c hopped d own a l arge tree , and cut i t off some twel ve or fifteen

feet l ong ; th i s h e spl i t i n two and dug th em out in th e shape

o f troughs ; th e on e h alf h e fi l l ed wi th buffal o,bear

,deer

,and

w i l d turkey , and sa l ted th em down th en plac i ng th e trough s

together,on e on top of the other, h e covered it w i th a l ot of

brush so as to dece i ve th e Ind ian s, te l l i ng them that when h e

h e came out i n th e spri ng , an d th e brush h ad become dry, h e

i n tended to burn that leg up. In th e spr i ng wh en Mr . Hare

and h i s fami ly arr i ved , they found th e i r meat al l r igh t . At

one t ime Mr . Hare wen t to watch a deer l i ck , an d after fixi ng

up a bl i nd and bei ng seated some time , h e h eard someth i ng

approach i ng him th rough th e brush i n h i s rear, and upon turn

i ng around,near him

,was a large pan th er crouch i ng

,and i n

the act of spr ingi ng upon him; h e fired h i s r ifle at th e pan th er,

when it made one terr ib l e scream and took off th rough th e

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58 Pioneer Record of Ross County,Ohio.

By I/Villiam Igo.

Hi s fath er,Lew i s Igo

,emi grated from Pennsylvan ia to

Ken tucky i n th e year 1 7 94 , an d from Ken tucky to Oh i o i n

1 7 98, an d bough t th e first l and on Twi n creek from General

McArthur. It was th e first tract of l an d sold by him i n th e

county . My i nforman t, born an d rai sed on th e same farm,an d

sti l l l i vi ngon it, is now s ixty years ofage . Hi s fath er,on first

arri v ing i n the coun try , procured meat for h i s fami ly by hunt

i ng i n th e dense forests of th at th en wi ld ern ess ; and'

for meal ,

he made occas i on al tr i ps to th e mi l l s i n Kentucky, or manu

factured i t h imself by a hand -mi l l . When th ey first settl ed,

th e i r n earest ne i ghbor was at th e Slate Mi l ls,on th e n orth fork

of Pa i n t creek,wh ere R . R . Seymore now l i ves .

On Mr . Igo’s farm i s an ol d In di an trai l,wh ich leads from

Pee Pee to Old Ch i l l i coth e . The trai l i n pl aces i s yet qui te per

ceptible .

My i n formant’s broth er Paul Igo,who now res i des i n th e

State of I l l i no i s,was th e first wh i te ch i l d born i n Twi n town

sh i p . He was born i n February,1 7 99 .

I was sh own,by my i nforman t, a p owder - h orn and pouch

that h as been i n use i n th e fami ly over one hun dred years .

The strap i s made of e l k sk i n,and th e pouch of bucksk i n . Its

first owner was a great hunter,an d has carri ed i t th ousan ds

of mi l es th rough Vi rgi n i a,Ken tucky

,an d Oh i o .

Near th e h ouse,on e n igh t

,Mr . [go ’s father h eard a di s

turbance among h i s sh eep . He got up, and tak i ng h i s l oaded

gun, wen t out to see wh at th e troubl e was, l eav i ng h i s ammu

n i ti en beh i nd . He heard th e dogs i n ful l ch ase after some

th i ng,wh i ch they soon treed on a large stump several fee t

h igh . Upon drawi ng n ear,he d i scovered an an imal of some

k i nd on th e stump,an d , taki ng as good an aim as th e darkness

woul d admi t, fired at i t . He th en cal led to h i s wife to bri ng

him some ammuni ti on and th e ramrod,wh i ch h e h ad left at th e

house i n h i s h aste . Hi s wife soon brough t th e ammun i ti on,

but forgot th e ramrod . There was near th e stump a l ot of blue

Twin Township. 59

ash ch i ps,where Mr . Igo h ad been h ew i ng some puncheon s .

They raked th e ch i ps together, an d h e set fi re to th em,te l l i ng

h i s wife th at,as h e coul d go more qui ck ly back to the cab i n after

the ramrod , sh e had better awai t h i s return . Th e ol d lady,be

i ng a l i ttl e n ervous,sai d sh e woul d n ot stay th ere

,but go

h erself,wh i ch sh e d i d . By th i s time , Mr . Igo had qui te a fi re

burn i ng from h i s ch i p - pi l e,by th e l igh t ofwh i ch he saw on th e

s tump a l arge pan th er,h i s eyes glari ng down upon h i s pur

suer l i ke two bal l s of fire . Mr . Igo soon re loaded h i s trusty

r ifle,and fired the secon d sh ot

,wh ich took effect i n th e head of

the panth er,but too low down to pen etrate th e bra i n . The

an imal now began descend ing th e stump backward,wh i l e Mr .

Igo qui ckly re loaded h i s gun, and wh en th e panther neared

t he ground,h e fired agai n

,th e bal l passi ng th rough i ts body

,

soon putt i ng an end to its l ife . I t measured n i n e feet fromtip to tip .

By Henry Pool.

J . W . Pool , th e fath er of Henry, emi grated fromMaryland

in 1813 . He l eft his nati ve State on th e day of Perry ’s v i ctory

on Lake Eri e ; l i ved i n Oh i o exac tly te n years , and d i ed at th e

age of fifty ; h e was a bl acksmi th . Henry Poo l i s now s ixty

fiv e years of age . His fath er - ia - law,George Vi ncen t Hel l er

,

an d al so Jacob Vi n cent Hel l er, were i n the Ind i an fight on

Pai n t creek , at th e Reeves’ cross i n g. George was one of th e

c h ai n - carr i ers who ass i sted i n l ay i ng out th e c i ty of Ch i l l i

c oth e .

Mrs . Henry Poo l says th at sh e l ived i n Hel ler’s Bottom

w i th h er fath er for several years . Sh e parti cul arly remembers

one wi n ter . In February,a deep sn ow h ad fal len

,an d was

fol l owed by rai n . Mr. Hel l er h ad several ten an ts o n h i s l and

at th e time,and among th em one n amed Russel l

,who l i ved

wi th h i s fami ly i n a smal l cab i n . On th e even i ng ofthe storm.

Mr . Hel l er to l d th e men th ey h ad better move out of th e i r

h ouse s,as a flood was comi ng

,an d th e bottom woul d be inun

60 Pioneer Record of Ross County,Ohio.

dated before morn ing . Mr . He l l e r ’s h ouse bei ng on high

ground,th ey al l moved to i t wi th th e i r fami l i e s , excep t Rus

se l l ; who sen t h i s fami ly out,b ut coul d n ot h imse lf be per

suaded to l eave h is cab i n . The water sh ortly began to r i se ,

and soon flooded th e l ower part of th e h ouse . He th en took a

kettl e,fi l l ed i t wi th coals of fire

,an d ascended to th e left of th e

cabi n . But soon th e water began to make i ts appearan ce th ere

al so,when h e commenced cal l i ng for h e l p

,but ami d th e roar

i ng of th e flood i t seems n o one h eard him. He fin al ly took a

cake of deer’s tal l ow,wh i ch h e found i n th e cab i n l oft

,and

,

taki ng off h i s sh i rt , tore i t i n to stri ps , wh i c h h e wrapped

aroun d th e tal l ow,an d th en set i t on fire wi th th e coal s i n h i s

kett l e . Teari n g off a porti on of th e roof,an d el evati ng his

l i gh t on a pol e,h e soon attracted th e atten ti on of h i s fri ends

,

who came to h i s re l i ef i n a dug - out,an d conveyed him to safe

ground . I n th e morn i ng h i s cab i n coul d n owh ere be found,th e

flood h av i ng carr i ed i t away . Dur i ng th e i nundat i on,says

Mrs . Pool,one of the n e i ghbors l ost a fin e two - year old h eifer

,

an d on e day,wh en hunt i ng for h er, after th e water had sub

s i d ed,he foun d h er h angi ng by th e neck i n th e fork of a buck

eye tree,fourteen feet from th e ground

,qui te dead . What

woul d our farmers,l i v i ng i n Pai n t creek val ley

,say if such a

flood sh ould make i ts appearance i n th ese days ?

Mr . Hel l er was one of th e fi rst farmers who brough t

sh eep into th e coun ty . He was a local preach er an d just i ce

of th e peace for many years . On th e farm of Joseph Ross,

some years s i nce,stood a large h ol l ow sycamore tree

,wi th a

h ole cut i n one s i de i n th e shape of a wedge , w i de at the top,an d cut down to a po i n t , wh i ch i s supposed to h ave been don e

by th e Ind i an s for th e purpose of catch i ng wolves , by plac i ng

meat on th e i n s id e so as to i n duce th em to pl ace th e i r n ecks i n

th i s notch . Mr . Hel ler at on e time started out to watch a d eer

l i ck,on th e land he owned on Pai n t creek . Afte r h e had pre

pared h i s bl i nd,an d h ad been seated a sh ort t ime

,h e saw a

large bear jump up on a large popl ar l og near th e l i ck , an d in

a few seconds a l arge pan ther made i ts appearance on th e oth er

Twin Township. 6 1

end of the l og . They made for each oth er, and when th ey met

th e bear struck th e pan th er on e powerful b l ow wi t h h i s paw,

and knocked him off. Mr . Hel ler d i d n ot stay to see th e figh t

fin i sh ed,but made a h asty exi t for home . On e day a Mr .

Dan i e l Devoss,wh ose name appears in anoth er place , an d who

l i ved on th e ridge n ear wh at i s cal l ed th e Spruc e b ill,was out

hun ti ng h i s h orses , wh en h e met a ne ighbor’s boy hun t i ng

cows,each hav ing a dog w i th th em. When passi ng al ong

n ear th e n orthwest s i d e of th e h i l l , th e dogs commen ced a furi

ous bark i ng a sh ort d i stance from th em. When Mr . Devoss and

th e l ad approach ed near th e spot,th ey saw a l arge pan th er

,

who was jumpi ng at th e i r dogs from un d er some p i n e brush .

When th ey came up th e pan th er made a spri ng down th e h i l l ,th e degs fol l owi n g him

, but th ey soon brough t him to bay ,and by clubs an d stones

,and th e ass i stan ce of th e i r n ob l e dogs

,

qui ckly d i spatched him. At an other time Mr . Devoss was

hun ting h i s stock,wh i ch h ad strayed i n to Hun tington town

sh i p,an d on th e farm formerly own ed by Mr.

'

Daniel Toops (an

old settl er) , but now th e property ofNath an Ward , near wh ere

th e h ouse now stan ds,h e saw a l arge pan ther ly i ng beh i n d a

l og, whi ch i n stan tly sprang up an d ran a sh ort d i stan ce, an d

th en stopped an d l ooked at Mr . Devoss,who

,h av ing nei th er

dogs nor gun, qui e tly reti red an d left him to h i s own reflec

t i on s .

Ancient Works.

Near Bourn ev i l l e,and overl ook i ng th e beaut iful val l ey of

Pai n t creek , wi t h th e pretty town of Bai nbridge i n th e d i s

tan ce,i s wh at is known as Spruce Hi l l

,th e name be i ng der ived

from th e large amoun t of spruce p i n e grow i ng th ereon . The

crest of th i s h i l l,or moun tai n

,i s surrounded by a ston e wal l

five dr s i x feet i n h i gh t i n some places,an d from appearan ces

h as bee n much h i gh er,but th e h and of t ime has caused i t to

sink and crumbl e down . Th i s wal l surrounds th e en t i re crest

of th e h i l l,or mounta i n

,i s almost c i rcul ar i n form

,an d i s

6 2 Pioneer Record of Ross County, Ohio.

nearly th ree mi les around . On th i s b ill,w i th i n th e i n closure

,

are foun d c i nders,or dress

,as if caused from th e me l t ing of

some metal l i c substance . At th e base of th e h i l l,Pai n t creek

flows over a bed of sol id sl ate rock,an d at low water may be

seen two or th ree round h ol es , or wel ls , n eatly cut out i n th e

rock,about the s i ze of an ord i nary wel l

,w i th c losely - fi tting

covers or l i d s over th e top .

On Joseph Baum’s farm,near Bourn evi l l e

,i s an earth for

tification th rown up, wh i ch i s now from th ree to four fee t i n

h igh t,w i th outl ets or gateways at each corner . The emban k

men t , or wal l , i s formed i n a perfect square , embrac i ng about

th i rty acres . On th e farm of George Baum,adj o i n i ng th at of

Joseph Baum,i s qui te a l arge moun d

,from th ree to four hun

dred feet i n c i rcumference at th e base , perfectly roun d , an d

some th i rty feet i n h igh t . On the l i n e between th e lands of

Joh n Storm and Josep h Baum,i s an oth er fortificat i on

,i n shape

resembl i ng th e l etter J,con ta i n i ng twen ty - five or th i rty acres .

Near th e same p lace,on Mr . Baum’s l and , are th ree l arge

pools,or bas i n s

,wh i ch were ev i dently scooped out by some

race of peo ple l ong si n ce passed away . One of th em i s twen ty

or twen ty - fiv e feet i n depth . There are large trees growi ng i n

th ese p lace s,an d n ear them are found p i eces of broken earth

enware i n abundan ce, human bones, teeth , etc . On t he same

farm i s anoth er work,bui l t of ston e , th e wh ol e resemb l i ng i n

shape a horse sh oe . On the l ands of th e Messrs . Coch ran , nu

merens p i eces of earth enware h ave been found i n pl owi ng

every sp ring from many years past .

Buckskin Township. 63

Buchshin Township.

Township Officers.

Justi ces of th e Peace , Joh n H . Carr,James Bel l

,an d Joh n

Coder ; Trustees , Joh n Carr , Calv i n Parrott, and Joh n Murray

Treasurer,D . O . Diggs ; Cl erk , Steward Evans ; Constab l e ,

Wi l l i am Davi s ; Notary Pub l i c,Hen ry Hester ; Land Ap

prai ser,John Parrott ; Postmaster, Levi Pri cer— Ofli ce, South

Sal em.

The v i l l age of South Sal em con tai n s about th ree hundred

i n h ab i tan ts,two stores

,th ree bl acksmi th sh ops

,two wagon

sh ops,two carpenter sh ops , four church es (two Meth od i s t, on e

Presbyteri an,and on e col ored) , one gri st and saw mi l l

,two

sch oo l h ouses (on e wh i te an d one co l ored) , an d on e cemetery .

By HenryHester.

Hi s fath er emigrated to Oh i o i n 1804 , fromWest Pennsyl

van i a ; was i n the war of 1812 as a l i euten ant of a company

served as cl erk of th e town sh i p for many years ; was by

trade a mi l lwr igh t ; d i ed aged fifty - two years,i n Ch i l l i coth e .

James Wi l son . Joh n H . Wil son served many years as justi ce

of th e peace i n th e townsh i p,andwas i n th e war of 1812 ; now

dead . Joh n Morton emi grated from South Carol i n a i n early

day s ; now living . Fi rst preach ers,Rev .James Dickey,

who was

pastor of th e church i n South Salem for twen ty years ; Hugh

Ful l erton was al so a pastor for twenty years . Frederi ck Parrott

was i n th e war of 1 812 . Joh n Wal l ace served for many years

as just i ce of th e peace . S atterfield Scott served as coun ty

commi ss i o ner one term,and for many years as just i ce of th e

peace ; now dead .

64 Pioneer Record of Ross County, Ohio.

By Alexander MeG innis.

Hi s fath er,James McG innis

,emi grated from Pennsylvan i a

to Oh i o i n 1 801 ; was i n th e war of 1812 ; was a shoemaker by

trade ; was al so a h ome hun ter of con si derab l e notor i ety ; h e

k i l l ed many deer an d oth er game ; my i nforman t says h e woul d

k i l l some days five or s i x deer , and hang th em up i n the woods ,an d th en sen d him an d h i s brother to bri ng th em home ; h e

d i edaged seven ty - two years . His grandfath er, James McGinnis,

emigrated to Oh i o at th e same time ; served i n th e Rev olu

tionary war s i x years , an d was wounded i n th e th igh wi th a

bal l wh i ch he carri ed to h i s grave ; l i ved i n th e town sh i p about'

twen ty - two years ; was a sh oemaker ; d i ed aged e igh ty years ,

an d retai ned almost t h e v igor of youth to near h i s death .

Al exander McGinnis i s now sixty - n i n e years of age,an d has

l i ved i n the town sh i p about s i xty years ; i s a local preach er

of th e Methodist Church . He says the first h ouse bui l t i n

South Sal emwas by a Mr . Dougl as,i n 184 6 or ,1847 , an d he bui l t

the th i rd one i n th e pl ace . Hi s w ife’

s mai den n ame was Tay

lor;her fath er emigrated fromNew Jersey , i n early days , to

Oh io,an d served in th ewar of 1 812 was at Hul l

’

s surrender ; he

was an elder of th e Presbyteri an Church for forty years , and

d i ed aged e igh ty - two years . George Pricer , Mi chael Hare ,

Robert E dminston,Jacob Davi s

,AbramDean , RobertMcGinnis ,

Captain Nath an K i lgore , and Captai n Dan i e l Hare , were al l i n

th e war of 1812 .

How Buckskin Derived its Name.

Bucksk i n creek deri ved i ts n ame i n th e fo l l ow i ng man ner

At th e t ime of th e settl emen t of th e town sh i p , th e Ind i ans h ad

a camp at O ld Ch i l l i co th e (new Frankfort) , and th ey made a

rai d among th e wh i te s ettl ers , stol e some h orses , an d commi tted

other depredat i on s al ong sa i d creek . When the wh i tes made a

search for them,th ey foun d th em camped n ear th e creek on th e

l an d now own ed by Dan i e l Cl i n e , where stood a very h ol l ow

sycamore,wh i ch h ad a l arge open i ng i n the s ide at th e root .

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66 Pioneer Record of Ross County, Ohio.

Joh n,Matth i as

,Con rad

,and Henry

,were all i n th ewar of 1812

,

excep t Con rad,who d i ed on h i s way to th e army . He was a

fine ly educated young man,and d ied beloved by al l who knew

him.

By Mrs. Frances Wilson.

Her husband,Joh n H . Wi l son

,emi grated from Pennsyl

van i a to Wheel i ng,Vi rgin i a

,and th ence to Kentucky . In 1 800

,

h e came to Oh i o . He was in th e war of 1812 ; served as just i ce

of th e peace for sometime ; was a cons i sten t member of th e

Presbyter i an Church for a great many years , and d ied at South

Sal em i n 1865,aged e igh ty - seven .

By John G . Caldwell.

Hi s fath er,James Caldwe l l

,emi grated to Oh i o i n 1805 ;

was sergean t of h i s company under Captai n Ki lgore,and served

h i s town sh i p for many years as justi ce of the peace an d c l erk ,

e tc . ; h e also taugh t schoo l i n d ifferen t town sh i ps for severa l

years . His son has several books,i n manuscri pt

,wr i tten by

him, of a re l ig i ous n ature ; h e d i ed aged sixty - th ree years .

Th e fol l owi ng stati s ti cs,taken from some of h i s o l d books

,and

papers pub l i sh ed i n 1827,Wh i ch h ad been preserved by h i s fath er

,

may be i n teresti ng to our readers

Assoc i ate Judges of Ross County i n 1 827 , Isaac Cook ,James Armstrong ,

an d Thomas Hi cks ; Clerk of Courts,S u

preme and Common Pl eas , Recorder an d C l erk of th e Un i ted

States D i stri ct Court, Humphrey Ful lerton ; Sheriff, Thomas

Stee l ; Coroner , Josephus Col let ; Commi ss i on ers , John Mc

Cl a i n , Wm. Wal lace , an d E . Fen imore ; Notary Pub l ic , John

A . Ful ton ; Postmaster, Wi l l i am Creigh ton ; Just i ces of th e

Peace,Lev i Bel t

,and Wm. Creigh ton

,Sen . ; Attorneys - at - law

,

Wm. K . Bond,Joseph S i l l

,Pl att Brush , Ri chard

Douglas, Wm. Cre igh ton

,Jr.

,Edward Ki ng, Henry Brush ,

Samue l Treat,and Lev i Be l t ; Physic i ans , John E dminston

,

Joseph Scott,James Hayes

,Samuel Samue l MeAdow

,

Buckskin Township. 67

andWi l l i am Heath ; Merch an ts , Joh n Carl i sl e (wh o l esale and

retai l) , W. R . South ard , Joh n Walker, T . V . S . S wearen

gi n,Barr Campbel l

,Eph raim Dool i ttl e

,Wm. McFarland,Wm.

Ross Co .

,Joh n McCoy,

Nimrod Hutt,Waddle Dav i son,

Isaac Evan s,Joh n Hutt

,James Cul bertson Cc .

,Runkle

Beard,JameS

‘

Phillips, Joh n McLandburgh, Amasa Del ano,Dav i d Ki nkead Humphrey Ful l erton

,Thomas Orr

,Marqui s

Hul i ng,Wadd le Dun n

,James McClintock

,Wm. McDowell

Cc .

,Samue l Taggart

,James Mi l l er Cc .

,Joh n McDougal,

Aust i n Buch an an,Wm. Irwi n

,Diayton M . Curti s

,an d Samue l

Mon ett ; In nkeepers , Edmun d Bayso,‘ Thomas Coh en

,Dan i e l

Made i ra,James Ph i l l i p s

,an d Benj aminWoods .

TownCouncil of Chillicothe in 1 827 .

Lev i Bel t,Mayor ; Jeremi ah McLean

,Recorder ; Benjamin

Hough,Treasurer ; Isaac Cook , W. R . South ard

,Joh n Wadd l e

,

James McDougal, Dav i d Ki nkead , and George Nashee .

Bank of Ch i l l icoth e— Thomas James,Pres ident, andJoh n

Woodbridge , Cash i er ; Farmers’

,Mechan i c s’

,and Manufac turers ’

Ban k of Ch i l l i cothe— Thomas S . Hyde,Pres i den t ; John P .

Fessen den,Cash i er .

The fo l l owi ng l i n es are taken from a copy of the S cioto

Gazette of 1815

THE YEARS TO COME .

My transient hour, my l ittle day,Is speeding fast, how fast awayAlready hathmy summer sun

Half its rac e of b rightness run.

Ahme " I hear the wintry b last,My

“ L ife of Life" wi l l soon be past ;

The flush of youth wi l l all b e o’

er,

The throb of j oy wi l l throb no more,And fancy, mistress of my lyre,Will '

cease to lend her sacred fire .

My tremb l ing heart— prepare, prepare,For skies of gloom,

and thoughts of care

6 8 Pioneer Record of Ross County,Ohio.

Sorrows and wants wi ll make thee weepAnd fears of age wil l o’er thee creep .

Health that smil’d in b looming pride ;W i l l cease to warm thy sluggish tide ;The shaft of pain, the point of woe,W i l l b id the current cease to flow.

A nd who , alas, shal l then b e nighTo soothe me with affection’

s sigh,To press my feeb le hand in theirs ,To plead for me in si lent prayers,And cheerme wi th those hopes that shedRapture o

’

er a dying b ed.

Days of the future cease to rol l,

Uponmy wild, afi'

righted soul .Mysterious fate, I wi l l not lookW ithin thy dark ev entful b ook ;E nough forme to feel and know

,

That lov e and hope must shortly go ;That joy wi l l vanish, fancy fly,A nd death disso lve the c losest tie .

E’

en now,while moans my pensiv e rhyme

I l ist the warning v o ice of time ;And oh" this sigh, this start of fear,Tel ls me the night wil l soon be here .

ByMrs. MatildaHitchcock.

Her fath er,whose n ame was Joh n Proud , emigrated to

Oh i o fromNew Jersey i n 1801 ; h e served as a so ld i e r i n th e

war of 1812 ; h e was constab le of h i s townsh i p for many year s ;was a great hun ter and pai d for h i s farm

,on wh i ch my in

forman t,with h er husband , now res i des , i n pel ts and furs . He

bough t h i s land from General McArthur. He first l i ved two

years on what was formerly known as the o ld Read farm,n ear

Bournev i l l e,wh en h e moved to Bucksk in town sh i p

,wh i ch

,

at that t ime,was a h owl i ng wi l dern ess

,th ere be i ng n o set tle

men t n orth wi th i n twen ty mi l es . When h e was movi ng to h i s

new h ome i n th e woods,he took h i s fami ly and a part of h i s

goods to h i s cab i n , an d leav i ng them in care of h i s wife ,

Buckskin Township. 9

return ed for th e balan ce . By some cause h e was del ayed un t i l

the n ext d ay,l eav i ng h i s fami l y i n the i r so l i tary cab i n

,whi c h

h i s w ife h ad to defen d al l n igh t,stand i ng wi th th e ax i n h er

h ands to keep th e wolves out,as i t h ad n o door except what

was very common ly sub sti tuted i n th ose days,a bl an ket or

qui l t . He was a great hun ter,and

,at th e age of seventy

years,w i th spectacles on

,he woul d k i l l squi rre l s from the tops

of th e h ighest fores t trees wi th h i s r ifle . He was a man of n o

educat i on,but ofa great mi n d— on e of n ature ’s true nobl emen .

He d i ed at th e age of seven ty - four years .

By S amuel Braden.

His fath er,Robert Braden

,emi grated from Pen n sy l van i a

i n 1800. He was i n th e war of 1812,an d l i ved i n Bucksk in

town sh ip forty - two years , wh ere h e d i ed at th e age of seventy

one years . My i nforman t ha s been a res i den t of th e town sh i p

for seven ty years, and i s now aged seven ty - th ree years . Ol d

settl ers,Davi d E dminston

,Robert Edminston

,Robert Hold ing

,

J . Wi l son , Benj ami n McCline,Mich ae l Hare

,Robert Young,

Jacob Davi s .

By C. W Price.

The v i l lage of Lyndon,on Mari etta and C i n ci nn at i Rai l

road,contai n s two stores

,a grocery

,a b lacksmi th sh op

,a car

penter sh op , a wagon sh op , a h omi ny mi l l , a plan i ng mi l l , a

saw an d flouring mi l l , town h al l , sc hoo l h ouse , and post - cflice .

Number of i n h ab i tants about 100.

By AbramPrice .

His fath er,Wi l l i am Pri ce

,emi grated to Oh i o fromVi r "

gi n i a i n 1820,and d i ed aged sixty years . My i nforman t has

served h i s town sh i p as treasurer for several years , and was a

store keeper i n Lyndon .

By E . F. Coiner.

His fath er,Robert Co i n er

,emigrated from Vi rgi n i a in

1836,an d served for many years as justi ce of th e peace and

7 9 Pioneer Record of Ross County, Ohio.

deacon i n the Presbyteri an Church , was sergean t ofa companyi n th e war of 1 812 ; i s now a n otary publ i c , an d aged about

seventy - s i x years .

By JohnHoward.

Hi s fath er,Adam

,emi grated fromRockingham county

,Vi r

gi n i a,to Oh i o

,i n 1809 . He served as a sol d i er i n th e war of

th e Revoluti on,an d d i ed at th e age of seven ty - two years . My

i nforman t served on e term as d i rector of th e infirmary of Ross

c ounty,and has l i ved i n th e town sh i p fifty - e igh t years . Ol d

settl ers,Joseph Warnuch and Leeman . Warnach served as a

sol d i er in th e war of th e Revoluti on . J . Ricketts served as

a sol d i er i n th e Fren ch war. Anderson Bryan served i n th e

war of th e Revo lut i on .

By William Tharp .

Hi s fath er,Dan i e l Tharp

,emi grated from Rocki ngham

c ounty , Vi rg i n i a, i n 1 810, an d d ied aged seven ty - th ree years,

My i nforman t served as a sold i er i n th e war of 1 812, and at th etime th e war b roke out

,h e was i n Columbus

,Oh i o

,mak i ng

bri ck . He hel ped to make th e br i ck for th e old State House .

He says i n 1812 th e pl ace was‘

but a v i l l age . O n Mr . Joh n

Dep oy ’s farm there has been,as i s supposed

,an an c i en t camp

groun d of the Ind ian s,wh ere many arrows of d ifferen t s i zes

and sh ape may be found . In early days,on wh at i s cal l ed th e

muddy fork of Bucksk i n,th ere was a beaver dam con structed

across th at stream,wh i ch remai n ed

,in part

,for many years

,

O ld settlers,James E . and Alex . Kerr

,James Watt

,A bram

S tookey,Jacob Hi re

,Joh n Fernour

,Joh n Sampl e (the l atter

was c aptain of- a company i n th e war of Wi l l i am Grant,

Jo h n Wal l ace , Robert Dubo i s , and James D ickey . Revs . P i t

tinger an d John ston were th e first preachers . Mr . Tharp has an

old - fash i oned churn,wh i ch h i s fami ly use s at th e presen t day ,

and wh i c h i s over on e hundred years ol d . The churn i s

made from th e wood of th e cypress .

Buckskin Township. 7 I

By Robert D. Patterson.

He was a carpen ter , an d moved from High land to Buck

sk i n town sh i p i n 184 1 , and has served his townsh i p as con

s tab l e for several years . He also served as one of th e deput i es

for s h er iffs Ghorml ey an d Adams .

By Crawford Caldwell.

He emigrated to Oh io from Irel an d i n th e first settlemen t

of th e coun try ; served as a sold i er i n th e war of 1 812 ; has

been a res i den t of th e town sh i p for seventy years,an d i s now

aged about e igh ty years . Old settle rs,Jarret Erwi n Wi l liam

Smi th,who served i n th e Revolut i on ary war ; Joh n McLean,

al so a Revoluti o nary sold i er ; Robert Hol l i day , who fough t at

th e battl e of Trenton,an d Alexander Scroggs .

By JohnLucas.

Ezra Lucas,h i s fath er

,was born at Mari e tta

,Oh i o

,an d

moved to Ross coun ty i n 1 81 1 . He was i n th e war of 1812,

was a Cooper,an d d i e d aged about seventy - fiv e years . His

gran dfath er,Isaac Lucas

,was one of th e first settl ers at Ma

rietta. He came fromBoston,served seve n years in the Revo

lutionary war, and was at the battle of Bunker Hi l l.

By Robert Wilson.

He was born n ear P i ttsburg,i n 1 7 81

,and from th ere h e

removed to n ear Whee l i ng,wh ere

,h e says

,h e saw th e body

of th e firs t person k i l l ed by th e Ind i an s n ear that p l ace— aman

n amed Robert Edgar . In 1 7 97 or 17 98 h e moved to near Fl em

in'

gsburg , Kentucky, and , i n th e fal l of 1800, to Oh i o , where he

settl ed on Bucksk i n creek,n ear South Sal em

,on a farm h i s

fath er had bought th e prev i ous year,whe n th ere were but th ree

or four fami l i e s l ivi ng on th e creek . In th ose early days,h e

says , th e farmers turn ed the i r h orses and cattl e l oose i n th e

woods,to feas t th emse lves on th e luxur i ous h erbage wh i ch

grew so p l en tiful ly,and whe n th ey were n eeded th ey would

h ave to be hun ted i n th e deep forests,as th ey sometimes s trayed

many mi l es from h ome . On these occas i on s he i nvari ably

7 2 Pioneer Record of Ross County, O/oio.

carri ed h i s trus ty rifle for protect i on an d to ki l l game . He al s o

says that he h as k i l l ed many bears i n th ose b ills, an d some

t imes wh en th ey were feast i ng upon some of th ei r h ogs . The

bear w i l l n ot take t ime to k i l l a h og before eat i ng,but as soon

as i t i s caugh t wi l l commence devour i ng i t , th e h og squeal i ng

as l ong as h e has l ife . He says h e h as ofte n been attracted to

th e p lace by th e squeal i ng of th e h ogs an d k i l l ed th e bear .

Sometimes th e h ogs woul d return h ome wi th th e flesh al l torn

from th e i r backs . The wo lves were also very pl en ti ful an d

destructi ve to th e sh eep an d pigs . “ I was i n th e woods,

" says

b e,

“ on e day,wh en my dog came runn i ng to me much

frigh ten ed , an d I saw,i n a few moments

,five large wol ves in

ful l chase after him. I fired and succeeded in k i l l i ng one,when

th e balan ce made th e i r escape i n to th e forest .“Our cab i n was ofte n v i s i ted by th e In d i an s

,who encamped

on the creek near us,for days at a t ime , to hun t game . In

1802, after Oh i o became a State , emigrat i on i n creased i n our

ne igh borh ood , an d we began to have re l ig ious serv i ces . The

first sermon preach ed i n Bucksk i n was i n th e woods,on my

fath er’s farm,n ear where Maj or Irwin

'

s h ouse now stand s,

by two Presbyteri an mi n i sters , named Marcus an d Dun l evy .

After the serv ice was c l osed,Father Irwin arose and mad e a

sh ort exh ortati on , and cl osed by sayi ng : These mi n i sters can

n ot l ive upon th e W i nd,the refore I propose to take up a c ol le e

t i on,

’

whe n taking up h i s h at h e threw i n to i t a s i l ver dol l ar,and passi ng i t aroun d co l lected several dol l ars . The firs t

church ed i fice e rected was a smal l l og bui l d i ng, near th e resi

dence ofJamesA .Wallace . The first mini s terwho remai ned any

l ength of t ime was the Rev . Robert B. Dobb i n s,who was w i th

us th ree or four years ; th e next was th e Rev . James H . Di ckey,

who rema ined twen ty - seven years . "

My i nforman t says : “ I bough t the farm I now l iv e upon in1804

,an d i n 1805 d i d th e first work on i t ; I cut th e date— Feb

ruary 15 , 1805— in th e bark of a beech tree wh i ch stands n ear

my res i den ce ; th e tree is st i l l s tand i ng, and th e date i s qui te

percepti b l e . In the same year, I p lanted some appl e trees,

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

7 4“ Pioneer Record of Ross County, Obio.

ofWh i te Pl ain s,and were w i th General Wash i ngton dur i ng h i s

retreat th rough New Jersey . He al so ass i sted i n th e capture

of th e Hess i an s at Tren ton , an d i n 1 7 7 7 was i n th e battl e of

Brandywi n e ; al so ,was in several sk i rmi sh es at th eWh i te House .

He and h i s company parti c i pated i n th e terr i bl e sufferi ngs at

Val l ey Forge,where they were encamped for some t ime wi th

Gen eral Wash i ngton . In 1 7 7 8, Captain Col l i er was gi ven com

mand of a company by th e authorities of th e State of Penn

sylvan ia,and ordered to Northumberl and coun ty to guard th e

fron ti er agai n st th e I nd ian s . At Sunbury h e j o i n ed a State

regimen t,an d was stat i on ed at Fort Munc i e

,on th e west branch

of th e Susqueh an na . He took an act ive part at th e battl e of

Freeland ’s Fort . Havi ng n o command at t h i s place,h e volun

teered to br i ng i n t he dead . In 1 7 7 9,he rece i ved a commi ss i on

to en l i st a company of rangers to serve dur i ng th e war,i n

w h i ch h e conti nued un ti l i ts cl ose . For h i s gal l an try h e was

presen ted by Gen era l Lafayette w i th a fin e sword , wh i c h i s

st i l l i n the fami ly .

In 18 14 , h e came to Oh i o from Pennsyl van i a , an d settl ed

in Bucksk i n townsh i p,wh ere h e l i ved ti l l th e year 1844

,wh en

death cal led him away,l ame n ted an d bel oved by al l who knew

him.

Paxton Towns/oip. 7 5

Paxton Townsbip.

Township Ofi‘

ieers.

Justi ces of th e Peace , J . M . Pearce and Charl es Robbi n s ;

Truste es,A . W . Seymore , A . Ferncaur

, and J . W . Ferneaur j;

Con stable,Samue l Tweed ; Townsh i p Clerk , Charl es Robb i n s ;

Treasurer,J . H . Huli ng ;

'

Land Apprai ser,Aus ti n Peppl e ; A t

torneys. A . O . Hewett,J . R . Wh i tney

,Lee S . Estel

,an d S . M

"

.

Pen n .

Ofiicers of the Town of Bainbridge.

Mayor,Lee S . Este l ; Marshal , Wi l l i amRitten house ; C i ty

Counc i l,Charles Robb i ns

,Samue l Townsend

,Dr . S ; C . Roberts"

Joh n H . Hul i n g,and Robert N . Ivens ; Recorder, A . E . Mc

Gofl‘

in ; Postmaster , A . E . McGoffin.

Number of S tores, etc .

Eleven stores and groceri es, one drug store , three black

smi th s , two wagon -makers , two harnes s -makers,four s hoe

makers,two t i n ners

,on e S i l versmi th

,two tan ner i e s

,four doc

tors,one saloon

,one pump -maker

,on e hotel

,one board i ng h ouse ,

two barbers, on e bakery , one butcher, one carpe nter, two ‘mane

tua-makers,two pa i n ters

,on e ston eyard

,on e Presbyteri an

and th ree Methodi st c hurch es ( i n c lud i ng one colored) , one

un i on sch oo l an d one co l ored school,three parsonages

,and one

Nati on al Bank by Rockho ld Co . Number of inh abitants,900.

By E lij ah Rockhold

His fath er,Joseph Rockh o ld

,emi grated fromPenn sylvan ia

to Oh i o in 1 7 97,an d settl ed firs t at th e Highban k Prair-ie f;

moved from th ere to Paxton townsh i p in 1800; served as cap

7 6 Pioneer Record of Ross County, Obio.

tai n of a company duri ng th e war of 1 812,an d h i s town sh ip

for twen ty - seven years as just i ce of th e peace ; h e d ied at th e

age of e igh ty - fi ve years .

ow S ettlers .

Thomas and Captai n Wi l l i am S tockton served duri ng the

war of 1 812 . Amos an d Joseph Reeder . Chri sti an Ben ner

bui l t th e first i ron works at th e L i ttl e Fal l s of Pai nt creek ; h e

emigrated from Germany to Oh io at a very early day . Henry

Ben n er served as justi ce of th e peace an d captai n ofmi l i t i a for

many years . Joh n Benner was born i n Pen n sylvani a , an d

wh en but a sma l l ch i l d , came w i th h i s parents to Oh i o . Here

h e stud i ed for,an d was admi tted to th e bar

,but soon left his

practi ce,as h i s fath er n eeded h i s a i d on th e farm. He was a

good n e i ghbor,h i gh ly respected an d l oved by al l who knew

him. He d i ed September 13, 1869 , aged s ixty - seven years . At

th e time of his d eath,he h eld th e office of mayor of Bai nbri dge

and just i c e of th e peace . Th e first mi l l was bui l t by Jacob

Smi th,at th e Big Fal l s of Pai n t creek ; fi rs t h ote l was kept by

Joh n Torbett ; first postmaster was El ij ah Kel ly , a blacksmi th ,

who was al so just i c e of th e peace for many years . Mary Rock

h old,moth er of El ijah , i s on e of th e oldest l ad i es i n th e coun ty ,

be i ng now n i n ety - four years of age . Sh e i s i n good heal th , and

reta i n s h er mi n d to a remarkabledegree . The auth or was in

troduced to h er on e even i ng by h er son,when h e awkwardly

addressed h er : Why,you are a pretty ol d l ady .

" She an

swered :“ I am old

,but not pretty , and never was . She i s

now l i v i ng wi t h h er son i n Bai nbri dge . Mrs . Rockh old says

on e of th e fi rst h ote l s was kept by Mr . Chri sti an Platter, who

was also a mi l l er . The first store was kept by Enos Fol k .

By Jacob Gault, of Bainbridge.

Mr . Gaul t emigrated to Oh i o fromVi rgi n i a i n 1 7 90, an dserved i n th e war of 181 2 ; h i s capta i n was Mr . Joseph Rock

h ol d .

‘ Mr. Gaul t was at Hul l ’s surrender,.and at th e si ege of

Lower Sandusky,under General Wi l l i am Henry Harri son he

Paxton Township. 7 7

served duri ng th e war ; was afte rward captai n of a rifle com

pany of mi l i ti a . He wen t from Bai nbr i dge to Kentucky,an d

drove th e carri age th at conveyed Henry Clay to h i s h ome i n

th at State when on h i s return from th e treaty of Ghen t,an d re

mai n ed wi th th at cel ebrated statesman and patri ot e igh t days

at h i s own mans i o n . Mr . Clay’s wife an d daugh ter,and a gen

tleman by th e name of Brown ,were i n th e carr iage w i th them.

Mr . Gaul t says Mr . Clay was a fin e v i o l in player,and th ey had

qui te a p leasan t tr i p . Mr . Gaul t used to dri ve team over the

mountai n s from Ch i l l i coth e to th e East for goods for th eMessrs . Campbe l l

,i n early days ; h e i s now l i vi ng , and over

e i gh ty years of age . He says i n h i s younger days he was a l i t

t l e wi l d,wh i ch

,of course

,most men are . He rel ates th e fol l ow

ing as on e of h i s boy i sh pranks : He was work i ng at th e ol d

Reeves ’ tan n ery,two mi l es east of Bai nbr i dge

,an d i n th e ne i gh

borhood th ere was a young l ady and gen tl eman who were en

gaged to be marr1ed . The day h ad been se t and al l th e usual

preparati on s made,but from some cause or other (my i nforman t

does n ot state wh eth er h i s good l ooks had anyth i ng to do with

th e matter or n ot) , th e young lady repen ted , and , i n h er d i s

tress,appl i ed to Mr . Gault an d asked : “What sh al l I do ? or

wh ere shal l I fly He told h er that i n th e collar of th e tan

n ery,th ere was a l arge h ogsh ead i n wh i ch

,if sh e wi sh ed , sh e

coul d h ide,an d h e woul d see that sh e was cared for

,wh i ch

k i n d offer th e young l ady accepted,and

,togeth er

,th ey,

on the

even i ngwh en th e twai n were to h ave been un i ted,h i ed off to th e

cel l ar,and th e young l ady

,assi sted by h er gal l an t

,entered th e

h ogsh ead,wh en h e covered i t over wi th large p i eces of tan bark ,

an d day after day , for e i gh t days, sh e remai n ed i n h er pri son

h ouse ,my i nformant convey i ng herfood. On th e even i ng of th e

e igh th day,Mr . Gaul t procured a carri age and conveyed th e l ady

to Lancaster,Oh i o

,an d thus s h e e luded h er woul d - be - husband .

From McDonald’

s S ketches, pp. 57

,58 .

“ In th e year 1 7 95,wh i l e Wayne was in treaty wi th the

In d i an s , a company came out from Manch ester,on th e Ohi o

Pioneer Record of Ross County,Ohio.

r iver,to explore th e Northwestern Terri tory

,and especi al ly th e

val l ey of th e Sc i oto . Gen eral Mass i e was i n th i s l i ttl e band .

After proceed i ng several days caut i ously,th ey fel l on Pai nt

creek,n ear th e fal l s . Here th ey found fresh Indi an sign s

,and

h ad not travel ed far before th ey heard th e bel l s on th e h orses .

Some of the company were what was cal l ed raw hands,and pre

v i ons to th i s wanted much ‘ to sme l l In d i an powder . ’ One of

the company,who h ad fough t i n th e Revolutionary war, and

al so wi th th e I nd ian s,sa i d to on e of th ese vaun ti ng fe l lows :

‘If you do , you w i l l run,or I am mi s taken . A coun c i l was

now cal led . Some of th e most experi e n ced th ought i t was too

l ate to retreat,an d th ough t i t best to take th e en emy by sur

pri se . Genera l Mass i e,Fallenach

,and R . W. F i n ley were

to l ead on th e company,and Captai n Petty was to bri ng up th e

rear . Th e Ind ian s were en camped on Pai nt creek,prec ise ly at

what i s cal l ed Reeves ’Cross i ng . They came on th em by sur

pri se,and out of forty men

,about twen ty of th em fough t .

Those fel l ows who wan ted to smel l powder so much,ran th e

oth er way,an d h i d beh i n d logs

,an d Captai n Petty reported

afterward th at th ey had th e ague,they were so much affrigh ted .

The batt l e was soon ended i n favor of th e whites,

'

for the In

d i ans fled across th e creek,an d l eft al l th ey h ad but th e ir guns .

Several were k i l l ed an d wounded,and one wh i te man

,a Mr .

Rob i nson,was sh ot th rough th e body , an d d i ed immed i ately .

These Ind i an s h ad one mal e pr i soner wi th th em,who made h i s

escape to th e wh i tes , an d was brough t h ome to h i s re l at i ves .

As soo n as th e company coul d gath er up al l th e h orses and

sk i n s,an d oth er p lunder, th ey retreated for th e settl emen t at

Manchester,on th e Oh i o r iver. Nigh t overtook th em on th e

waters of Sc i oto Brush creek , an d as th ey expected to be fol

l owed by th e I nd i ans , th ey made preparat i o n for th e sk i rmi sh .

The n ext morn i ng,an h our before day, the attack was made

w i th v igor on the part of th e Ind i ans , and res i sted as manful lyby

,

a few of th e wh i tes . There be i ng a s i nk - hol e n ear , th ose

bragging cowards got d own i n to i t, to preven t th e bal l s fromhit

t i ng th em. Several h orses were k i l l ed , an d one man, a Mr .

Paxton Township. 7 9

Gilfillan,sh ot th rough th e th igh . After an h our’s con test

,the

Ind i an s retreated ; and th e company arr ived at th e pl ace th ey

started from,hav i ng l ost on e man, an d on e man wounded .

By S amuel Peacock.

Hi s grandfather,Marti n Gi lmore

,was i n th e battl e of

Reeves’ Cross i ng above men ti on ed,an d in th e figh t became

separated from th e company ; two In d i an s gave ch ase ; h e ran

to where Reeves’ mi l l stands,an d cross i ng th e creek

,turn ed

an d fired on th e Indi an s,ki l l i ng on e of th em,

and h ad th e sat

isfaction of see i ng h i s carcass float down th e stream. The In

di an s fired on him several t imes,but d i d n ot h i t him

,and h e final ly

made h i s way i n safety back to h i s company . He moved from

Amsterdam to Bai nbridge,where h e l i ved for many years . He

rai sed on e of th e first cab i n s i n th e place,and carr i ed on th e

ta i l ori ng busi ness . Joh n Thompson served a term of years as

commi ss i oner of Ross coun ty .

By George Free.

His fath er,Freder i ck Free

,emi grated to Oh i o from Vir

gi n i a at a very early day,accompan i ed w i th h i s fami ly

,in

clud i ng George,who has now been a res id en t of th e town sh i p

for s i xty years . He was cal l ed out duri ng th e war of 1812,but

furn i sh ed a subst i tute by th e name of Davi d McClellan. Near

h i s res i de nce was a stream cal l ed Cl iff run,a bran ch of Pai n t

creek,wh i ch

,for natural scen ery

, can not eas i ly be surpassed .

Its ban ks in p l aces r i se to th e h igh t of fifty or s i xty feet,of

so l i d l imestone, almos t perpen d i cul ar, an d on th e top are i n ter

spersed wi th p i n e , wh i c h g i ve t h e c l iffs a beaut iful appearan ce .

At th e po int wh ere thi s s tream e n ters Pa i n t creek,and for two

mi l es above,are al so cl iffs

,o n e i th er s i d e

,of l imeston e

,r i s i ng

sometimes n early on e hundred fee t,wi th caves exten d i ng from

fiftee n to twen ty feet an d of con s iderab l e dimens i on s . Mr .

Free ’s wife was a daugh ter ofWi l l i amWarn i ck ,whowas a sub

scri ber to th e S cioto Gazette for fifty years .

80 Pioneer Record of Ross County, Ohio.

ByJoseph Ogle .

He emi grated to Oh i o fromKentucky about th e year 1 800;

was born i n Maryl an d was i n th e war of 181 2 i n Captai n Jos

ep h Rockhol d ’s company ; was a h ome hun ter, and has k i l l ed

many bear, deer, and oth er game . He haul ed wood for th e use

of th e first l egi s l ature,wh i ch convened at Ch i l l i coth e . He i s

now nearly e igh ty - e igh t years of age . Hi s wife was a daugh ter

ofAbram Pepp le,who emi grated fromMaryl and to Ken tucky,

and fromKen tucky to Ohi o,i n 1 808 . Her broth er Abram was

in th e war of 1812 . Ol d settl ers, Wi l l i am Ken t, Nath an

Reev es,and Joh n Ferneaur. The first preach ers i n th e neigh

borhood were Rev . Wm. Mick and Rev . J . B. Fi n ley . Mrs . Ogle

says sh e has heard Mr . Finley preach many times . He used

to preach to th e Ind i ans,an d h ad a col ored man to in terpret

for him.

By Joseph Platter.

His fath er,C hri st i an Pl atter

,emi grated from Kentucky

to Oh i o in 1800; served h i s townsh i p in d ifferen t offices for

many years ; bui lt the mi ll o n Pai n t creek known as the Platter

mi l l , an d d ied aged seventy - seven years . Joseph h as serve d as

town sh i p officer i n differen t capaci t i e s for many years . He

says n ear Bai nbri dge i s a bank of red cl ay wh i ch some of the

ne i ghbors have used for pa i n ti ng th e i r bui l d i ngs , supposed to

be th e same w i th wh i ch th e Ind ians used to pai n t th emse l ve s

at the Big Fal ls of Pa int . The water pours over a sol i d l ime

sto n e rock,and fal ls about e igh t or te n feet

,and just b e low there

i s anoth er fal l,but not so great .

By Robert Dill.

Hi s fath er Robert D i l l,Sen .

,an d Thomas Di l l , emi grated , i n

th e first pl ace,from Penn sy lvan i a to Ken tucky . From th ere

th ey came to O h i o in 1800,an d erected on e of th e first cabi n s

th at was bui l t i n th e town sh i p . Robert Di l l,Sen .

,served as jus

ti ce of th e peace for several years . Ind ian s were very plen ty

wh en th ey first came to Oh i o,and woul d often cal l at th e i r cab i n .

Mr. Di l l was a h ome hun ter . Deer were so p len ty that th ey

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8 2'

Pioneer Record of Ross County,Ohio.

and l ay down to take'

a dri nk . Net knowi ng th ey were de

feated,hewas soon i nformed of that fact by anoth er so ld i er

,

by th e n ame of Bl ack,who

,when flyi ng past an d see ing him

i t,

why don’t you run?

" He rose an d foun d the whol e army i n

fl igh t . But h e soon was upw i th them. He d i ed aged seventy,

ly i ng there , cal l ed to him and sai d : “ Blackston e " d

two years . He was a great hun ter,and k i l l ed many bear

,deer

,

wo lves,an d oth er game . One of h i s n e ighbors wen t to a dee r

l i ck at one t ime , an d saw wh at b e supposed to be the ears of a

bear th rough th e brush,work i ng back and forth

,as th ough

keep i ng off th e fl i es,wh en he up w i th h i s gun and fired . When

th e gun c racked h e h eard th e t i ngl e of a bel l,and

,upon go i ng

to th e spot, to his surpri se h e foun d , i n stead of a bear, h i s own

yearl i ng col t .

By D. C. Carson,of Bainbridge.

The firs t tan nery i n Paxton town sh i p was sunk by Nath an

Reeves , two mi l e s east of Bai nbri dge , at th e cross i ng of Pai n t .

He al so kept a ferry boat at sai d crossi ng . Reeves emigrated

from Vi rgini a,w i th th e Carsons

,about the year 1 7 98 . Mr .

Carson’

s father,Robert

,settled inHigh lan d coun ty wh en New

Marke t was th e county seat,on e mi l e west of where Hi l l s

borough was l ai d out,where h e sunk a tan nery . The first

sc hoo l h ouse was bui l t on th e farm of Chri sti an Platter . I t

was al so th e first preach i ng pl ace i n th e town sh i p . Genera l

Mass i e was one of th e first settlers i n the town sh ip,two mi l e s

west of Bai nbridge . He lai d out a town north ofPain t c reek ,

at th e Great Fal l s,wh ich was n amed Amsterdam. Here h e

bui l t a grist mi l l and stil l h ouse onthe north s i de an d a saw

mi l l on th e south . It was,h owever

,very s i ckly , so h e l ai d out

Bainbri dge,and i t prov i ng more heal thy

,Amsterdam was

vacated . He al so bui l t a furn ace on h i s farm,above town .

Amos Fol k was th e first merchant i n Bai nbr i dge . He brought

h i s goods from C h i l l icoth e,i n the fi rst place

,i n sadd le - bags .

E ; Kel ly was the first b l acksmi th an d just ice of the peace .

Austi n Southard was th e firs t sh oemaker . These three fami l i es

Paxton Township. 83

composed th e town for two or more years . Mass i e ’s mi l l s,

st i l l h ouse,an d furn ace are al l gon e . D . C . Carson was born

i n 17 99,i n all probab i l i ty th e first whi te mal e ch i l d born i n the

town sh i p . There h as been fourtee n sti l l h ouses bui l t i n th e

townsh i p,but at th i s t ime th ere are non e . Near Bai nbr idge

are two fin e sul phur spri ngs , very strong, and perh aps as good

as any i n th e State .

ByMr. HowardNewman,of Twin Township .

On Mr . Pri ce Taylor’s farm,i n Paxton town sh ip

,stood a

l arge mound,wh i ch Mr . Newman worked i n to br i ck some

years ago . In th i s mound h e found numerous human bones,

some of a very l arge s i ze,somet imes almost th e en t i re frame .

Some of th e skul l s were i n a good state of prese rvat i on,con

ta i n i ng th e en ti re teeth . He found th e cen ter of th e mound

seemed to b e fi l l ed w i th decayed matter,perhaps of human

bodi es ; among th i s h e found c harcoal , p i eces of l ead,e tc .

Mr . Newman worked on th i s moun d some th ree years before

h e made i t up i n to bri ck .

84. Pioneer Reearn of Ross County,Ohio.

Liberty Township.

Township Ofiicers .

Justi ce s of th e Peace, El ij ah Humphrey an d T . B. E r

sk i n e ; Trustees , Joseph Th omas , Mad i son Arganbrigh t, and

J . W . Drummond ; Treasurer, Samue l G . Griflfin ; C l erk , El i sh a

Murphy ; Constab l es , Thomas Grubb and Charl es Parrott ;Land Apprai ser , Lev i Jones ; Postmaster, Thomas Ratl iff.

The v i l l age of Londonderry contai n s about two hun dred

i n hab i tan ts,on e M . E . Church

,cemetery

,two stores

,three gro

ceries, two h ote l s , five blacksmi th sh ops , on e sch ool h ouse , on e

sadd lery,two sh oemaker shops

,o ne s i l versmi th and gunsmith

,

th ree physi c i an s .

For th e above I am i ndebted to Mr . Samue l G . Griffin ,fath er of Mr . P . G . Griffin

,c lerk of th e court of Ross coun ty .

Mr . Griflin emi grated to Oh i o fromVi rgi n i a i n 1831,an d i s now

aged about s ixty - n ine years . . He has served h i s town sh i p as

treasure r for th i rty - two years,an d just i ce of th e peace for se v

eral years .

Ancient Works.

On Mr. Thomas Orr’s an d Mi lton Jon es’ farms,n ear the

bank of the Sc i oto r i ver, i s qui te a l arge earthwork , several feet

i n h i gh t,i n an e igh t - square shape

, wi th a gap at each corner .

The i n closure con tai n s about fiftee n acres . On the same l ands ,

n ear th e r i ver bank,i s anoth er earthwork

,thrown up i n a per

feet c i rcl e,contai n i ng about twen ty or twen ty - fiv e acres

,wi th a

l ane o r gap dug out l ead i ng down to th e water’s edge .

On Mr . Dan i e l Harness’ farm i s an oth er of th ose an c i en t

works , square sh aped , and in the center i s a smal l moun d six

or e igh t feet i n h igh t,th e wal l con tai n i ng wi th i n i t about e igh t

Liberty Township. 85

acres . Mr . Harness says on h i s farm,on the bank of th e Sci oto

r i ver,where the water h ad wash ed some of the bank away

,

were foun d at one t ime qui te a large number of l eaden bal l s of

d ifferent s i zes and sh apes,some of th emweigh i ng an ounce or

more,perh aps i n al l half a bush e l

,i n d icati ng th at at some time

there had been qui te a severe battl e th ere. He al so state s th er e

was found on h i s farm a l arge stone p i pe,we igh i ng on e poun d ,

wi th th e shape of a human fac e n eatly cut upon i t . Near th e

same pl ace was foun d a marb l e or s to n e bal l as l arge as a

good s i zed app l e,perfectly round and smoot h

,w i th a h ol e

th rough th e cen ter,w i th many oth er cur i ously cut

'

stones an d

darts . On Mr . Ed . Harness’ farm i s an oth er of th ose moun ds ,

wh ich i s about on e hundred feet l ong,s i xty feet wide

,

'

and fif

teen to e igh tee n feet i n h i ght . Mr . Harness says at on e t ime

some person s open ed th i s mound,an d th e i n s i d e was foun d to

be qui te h o l l ow,the cav i ty admi tt i ng a person by

'

stoop i ng a

l i ttl e . Aroun d th e base were found bur i ed a great number of

human ske letons of qui te a smal l s i z e . A number of th emwere

dug out . Under the h ead of each ske l eto n were foun d th e

fibers of seemi ngl y very fine cloth , t h e th reads appear i ng very

plai n ly . Near th i s mound i s a cur i ous ly sh aped earthwork

th rown up,contai n i ng some ten acres wi thin th e wal l s,w i th a

long l an e or outl et l ead i ng out for some d i stan ce from th e mai n

work .

Mr . Joh n Davi s,whose n ame appears i n an oth er p lace i n

th i s work,says Mr . Harness

,i n early times

,started to Ch il l i

coth e on h orseback to buy some salt, just after h e h ad settl ed

wh ere h e now l i ves,tak i ng wi th him th e last do l l ar he

'

had ,

wh i ch woul d pay at th at t ime for a h alf bush e l . On thewayh e met a party who proposed a h orse race for on e do l lar a side

“

.

Mr . Davi s put up his dol lar and won th e race , and w i th his two

dol lars h e bough t a bush e l i n stead of a h alf bush e l of sal t .

By S impson Jones .

Among th e very first settl emen ts made in Ross county was

th at of the Highbank Prai r i e,now i n c luded in this town

86 Pioneer Record of Ross County, Ohio.

sh i p . As early as 1 7 98 corn was rai sed by d ifferen t parti e s

on that prai r i e . The crop spoken of by J . B. Fi n l ey , as h av

ing been rai sed by James Ki lgore on th e Stati on Pra i r i e ,

was beyon d doubt ra i sed on th e Highban k Pra ir i e . As Ki lgore

se ttled and put up h i s cab i n about wh ere Horace Crookh am

now l i ves,and was l i v i ng th ere i n 1 7 98 , i t i s h ard ly l ikely h e

would cross the r i ver and go up two mi l e s to ra i se corn , wh en

th ere was as good or better l and wi th i n a few hundred yards of

h i s cab i n . Mr . Ki lgore afterward bough t th e upper tract of

th e High bank Prai r i e , an d d iv ided i t w i th a Mr . Hol to n,on

wh i ch tracts of l an d , now own ed by Thomas Orr an d Mi l ton

Jones, both of th em ended th e i r days . We h ave n o i nforma

t i on that Mr . Ki lgore attempted to rai s e any crop prev i ous

to 1 7 98,i n wh i ch year h e d i d rai se corn on th e Highban k

Prai r i e ; so that we conc lude th e first c orn was rai sed by th e

wh i tes on th at p ra i r i e i n stead of th e Stat i on . Among th e

earl i er settl ers who came out to make a cr0p preparatory to a

settl emen t,were Thomas and Zebul o n Orr

,who rai sed corn on

th e Highban k i n 17 98 or 1 7 99 ; also , Robert Corhen,Ben

j ami n Kern s,Amos Tayl or

,and oth ers— i n deed

,th i s was the

cen ter of th e settl ement,an d th e ban k east of th i s ri ch an d

ferti l e prai r i e soon became l i n ed w i th cabi n s,and so c on ti nued

up to the t ime of th e l an d sal e . As th e Governmen t so l d n o

smal ler trac ts than a sect i on,i t was th e purpose ofmost of th ese

early settl ers to club togeth er an d buy h omes on th i s prai r i e .

But o n th e day of sal e , wh en th ese l ands were sold , th e cr i er,instead of nami ng th em th e Hi ghban k l an ds, offered th em as

th e l ands lyi ng at th e mouth of In d i an creek,and th ey were

bought by Benj ami n Kern s,Fel i x Renn i ck

,an d Joseph Har

n ess,except th e upper frac t i on al sect i o n

,wh i ch was bough t by

James Ki lgore an d Hol to n . Thi s made a scatter i ng of th e

pioneers th en settled along th e ban k,most of whom fe l l back

upon the flats or second bottoms and up lan ds— some even seek

ing th e h i l l s on accoun t of h eal th an d game . I h ave h ad i t ,

says my i nforman t, frommore than on e of th ese ol d settlers , that

Liberty Township. 87

i t was th e i r settl ed conv i cti o n th at th ere was bri bery used i n the

se l l i ng of th e Highbank lan ds,but just who was accused I

nev er learned.*

Rich an d produc t i ve as these l and s were , there was a terr i

b l e drawback to the i r attract i o n i n the s h ape of ch i l l s an d

fevers . So prevalen t was th i s d i sease th at n ot a cab i n or a fam

i ly escaped for a s i ngl e year ; and i t often h appened th at of a

large fami ly th ere woul d not be a s i n gl e we ll member to fur

n i sh dri n k to th e oth ers . In such cases buckets woul d be fi l l e d

i n th e morn i ng by those most ab le and p laced i n some access i

b l e place , so wh en th e shakes came on each c ould he l p h imself

or h erse lf. Had there been any seemi ng poss i b l e way of get

ing back to t h e ol d settl ements , from wh i ch th e se adven turers

h ad come, mos t, if not a l l , woul d h ave left th e r i ch Sci oto bot

toms,w i th th e i r sh akes an d fevers ; but so i t was, there were n o

ra i l roads or canal s,or even wagon roads

,on wh i ch th ey coul d

convey th e i r d i sh earten ed skel etons back to th e i r o ld home

stead s,w i th th e i r pure spr i ngs and hea lth - restoring assoc i a

ti on s . At th e time of th e year wh en a ted i ous l and or water

tri p coul d b e mad e,th ere were en ough of each fami ly s i ck to

preven t any preparatory arrangemen ts for such a return wh i l e

in w i n ter th ere were even more obstacl es i n th e wav th an t h e

s i ckn ess of summer . Thus h e l d n ot on ly by th e ch arms of the

scenery,and th e product i veness of th e so i l , but by t h e sterner

real i t i es of sh akes and burn i ng fevers,few that came e ver re

turned , but every year brough t new n e i ghbors .

Who the party guilty of the b rib ery of the crier was,seemed to b e

indicated by several c ircumstances that fo l lowed soon after the sale . The

first wheat raised on the H ighbank was by Mr. Kerns,who was permitted

to get it harvested and stacked,soon after which it was fired in the night

and burned up. Among the first patches c leared in the up land by Mr.

Kerns was for an orchard. Before ful ly completing the c learing, andwhi lethe log

- heaps were on fire,Mr. Kerns had his apple - trees planted. These

trees were obtained at a considerab le cost,as there were no nurseries yet in

this country. A night or two after the trees were all set out, and b efore theremains of the log

- heaps were gone out,some person or persons went and

p ul led up every tree in the orchard, and laid the roots in the fire l—Jos .

SMITH.

88 Pioneer Record of Ross County, Ohio.

But to return to th e lan d sale . Th ere was a gen eral feel

i ng of i n d ign at i on toward th e fortunate possessors of th e High

bank l ands,an d part i es who had expected to procure homes

th ere h asten ed to make sure of th e n ext best l and s w i th i n reach .

The Orrs removed to Dry run,i n an adj oi n i ng town sh i p ; Rob

ert Corb on an d Benjami n Hanson l ocated on Walnut creek,

near Mooresvi l l e ; Amos Tayl o r, Thomas Jon es , McClintick,

an d others l ocated on Wal nut creek,wh ere th ey l ived ti l l th e

c lose of l ife . On g etti ng po ssessi on of th e corn l and on th e

Highbank,on e of th e purch asers cl aimed ren t from th ose who

had raised crops , and al l pai d except Th omas Orr . Orr refused

to pay ren t for Congress l and , an d was sued by Benj ami n Kerns ,who fai led to recover .

Very soon after th e sal e of th e Highban k l ands , al l th e

better port i on s of th e town sh i p were e ntered,ch i efly by specu

l ators an d parti es clubbi ng together'

f Few person s h ad th e

mean s to en te r a wh ol e secti on , or even a h alf sect i on . Al l th e

lan d i n th e town sh ip,except th e Highbank

,was covered wi t h a

heavy growth of t imber , such as wh i te and bl ack oak , h i ckory ,sugar, poplar , beech , an d wal nut . To cul t i vate th i s l and i t was

necessary first to c l ear i t, wh i ch was a l abori ous j ob . Much

of th i s timber, espec i al ly on Wal nut creek , ‘

con s i sted of th e

finest yel l ow popl ar, tal l an d straigh t , ahd many of th em four

an d s ix feet i n d iameter . To get these trees out of th e way re

qui red much l abor , as th ere were n o saw mi l l s,stat i onary or

portab l e , th en , to work up th ose remarkabl e trees , but th ou

sands of themwere deadened and suffered to stan d an d dry a

few years , th en cut down an d burn ed by us i ng th e sma l l er7l imbs and oth er t imber as “ n i ggers .

’ To clear a farm th i cklyset w i th t imber was a work of years

,an d was accompl i shed

only by persevering i ndustry .

Th e beauty of these forests as they th en stood,i n terspersed

wi t h al l th e var i et i es of timber common to th i s coun try , can

on ly be imagin ed ; an d th ere is not a s i ngle nook or corner i n

th e boun ds of th i s townsh i p th at has not been de spo i led , not somuch by th e “ scythe of t ime

,as by the “

ax of progress . " It

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90 Pioneer Record of Ross County, Ohio.

ground and turn i ng a somersaul t . No wh ipp i ng or figh ting

him coul d so confuse him as to cause him to pass th at sacred

spot wi t hout th i s s i ngul ar exh ib i ti on . After h e h ad fai rly ma

tured h e was k i l l ed for h i s meat,an d to get r id of th e troubl e

of tak i ng care of him. They al so ra i sed a pet deer wh i ch was,

in her way, al so a curi os i ty . She woul d go out in th e woods

and make fri ends wi th th e w i l d deer,an d th en start for home

i n company w i th h er gen tleman deer,who gen eral ly forfe i ted

h i s l ife by h i s atte n ti on s,for no soon er was th e pet be l led - deer

i n sight th an th e gun an d dogs were turn ed on th e w i l d deer

when th e tame dee r woul d j oi n th e dogs i n th e ch ase . and rarely

fa i l i n capturi ng th e dece i ved an imal . At l ast the trusty deer

was sh ot by mi stake for a w i l d d eer,h av i ng gon e out wi thout

h er bel l .

Person s who once became accustomed to th e use of bear

meat often preferred i t to any oth er meat . How much of th i s

preferenc e was founded in imagi n at i on was i l lus tra ted by an

an ecdote I w i l l re l ate,wh erei n a ce rta i n Joshua Baltinger an d

Joh n Rogers figured as regul ar bear hun ters , as we l l as bear

eaters . It h appened on a time whe n th e ol d p i on eers were on

a trad i ng exped i ti on to th e Jackson sal t works,th at they put

up for th e n igh t wi th Thomas Jones, who h ad but recen tly ar

r i ved,an d erected h i s cab i n

, but had n ot formed a tas te for eat

i ng bear . A day or two before th e arr ival of h i s old acquai n t

ances h e h ad gon e i n to th e wood s and ki l l ed a large black sow,

and sk i n ned and cut her up i n the same manner as th ough sh e

was a bear,tak i ng care to l eave h er feet in th e woods . Be i ng

fat th e carcass had al l th e appearance of one , so much so that

my grandfath er sa i d to th e person who h elped him to k i l l and1dres s th e sow

,

“We w i l l cal l h er a bear .

’ So th e word wen t

roun d that Tommy Jones had ‘ killed a fine fat bear . Such of

th e n e ighbors as l iked bear meat must h ave a fry,wh i l e th ose

who coul d n’

t go bear meat coul d n ot be preva i l ed on to touch

th e “ cri tter . Among th ose was Tommy Jon es h imse lf. As

the two trave l ers were unsadd l i ng , th ey esp i ed th e black sk i n

h angi ng across a pole,and at on ce i nqui red what ski n that was.

Liberty Township. 9 1

A bear,an swered Tommy

,quickly .

“Ki l l ed a bear , Tom

my? 0,yes ; a fin e fat on e , to o . Turn i ng to Rogers

,Bal t

inger says : “ I tol d th ee we ’

d get some bear meat before we got7back

,an d now h ere i t i s . ’ No excuse coul d preven t some bear

meat from be i ng fri ed for supper th at ni gh t . Forthwi th th e

sk i l l et began to “ s i z an d fr iz,an d th e pecul i ar flavor of th e

bear to fi l l th e cab i n,greatly to th e de l igh t of th e ol d hun ters .

Now,says Baltinger, can ’

t th ee smel l th e d ifferen ce,Tom

my,between that bear meat and pork ?" No pork

,or any

oth er meat, sme l t l i ke th at bear meat . Thus th e conversat i on

wen t on wh i le th e meat was cooki ng , t i l l brough t on th e tabl e ,

wh en on e of th e ol d bear eaters,tak ing some meat an d gravy

on h i s plate, . says :“ I tel l th ee

,Tommy

,where th e d ifferen ce

i s between th i s meat and gravy and pork ; th ee may eat al l th e

bear gravy th ee p leases,an d i t won ’t r i se on the stomach l i k e

h og meat gravy . To th i s Tommy on ly remarked th at “ th e

paws of th e bear were enough for him,h e wanted n o th i ng to

do w i t h th e gravy .

" Thus feasted on bear meat from th e o l d

black sow,th e ol d bear hunters wen t on th e i r way rej o i c i ng,

tak i ng good care to cal l agai n on th e i r return tri p to get an

other fi l l of bear meat,nor were they i nformed of th e j oke for

some mon th s afterward .

At th at t ime h ogs woul d gen era l ly be fat i n th e woods .

Scarcely a year but th ere were eith er acorn s or beech - nuts,and

always roots i n abundanc e . Of wi l d turkeys th ere was a great

abun dan ce . When a boy ,says my i nforman t, I sh ot a wi l d hen

turkey th at weighed n i n etee n pounds,a we i gh t I n ever h ave

known a tame h e n turkey to reach . Fromwh at I h ave seen of

th e w i l d and tame turk ey,I am sati sfied th ere has been n o im

provemen t made by domesti cat i on . On th e con trary,I am sat

isfied th ere h as been a percep t i bl e deteri orati on i n th e turkey

fami ly s i nce th e i r domesti cati on . Th e reasons for th i s I have :

n owhere seen accounted for.

9 2 Pioneer Record of Ross County,Ohio.

Old S ettlers.

T homas Jones, my gran dfath er, emi grated from New Jer

sey ih 1804 , and settl ed on Wal nut creek , where h e opened a

smal l farm,and ra i sed n i n e son s and two daugh ters

,al l ofwh om

l i ved to grow up, and al l marr i ed an d settled i n th e S ame n e igh

borhood; For years h e coul d take h i s n i n e son s i n to th e bar:

vest field,an d h imself ' l ead i ng w ith th e h an d s i ck l e make

ten han ds . Each of h i s e l even ch i ld ren became th e h ead of anumerous household . Th e o ld h omestead i s st i l l reta i ned

,and

i s i n th e possess i on of th e youngest ch i ld . The Abraham Clay

pool an d Amos Taylor farms remain in th e possess i on of th e

ch i ldren . Wi th these except i on s all th e oth er l ands i n ' the

town sh i p h ave passed from th e ori g i n al purchasers i nto new

bands .

y'

efl’

lerson Township . 9 3

j ejzhrson Township.

By J. W'

. Van/meter;

Th i s town sh i p i s i n th e south east part of the c ounty. Salt

c reek passes th rough i t, n ear th e cen ter , i n a southwest direc

t i on . Ri chmon d i s th e on ly town i n the town sh i p,s i tuated on

the west bank of Sal t creek an d on‘ th e road lead i ng from Chi llicothe to Jackson . The town contains about th ree hundred

i n h ab i tants , wi t h five sto res,two groceri es . two hote l s

,two tan

yards , two blacksmi th sh ops , th re e wagon sh ops , an d two sh oe

maker shops— al l do i ng a good bus i n ess ; on e fin e Method i s tE piscopal

'

Church,one l arge sch oo l h ouse , w i th a sch ool offrom

one to two hundred pup i ls . one gunsmit-h sh op , two physic i an s ,

one surveyor,and on e harness -maker .

At the east end of the town i s a fine flouring and sawmill

and a woolen fac tory . The advantages ofwater power h ere are

perhaps as good as any i n th e c oun ty . At th e cross i ng of the

cree k the re i s a fi n e br i dge .

East of th e creek th e l and i s h i lly,where a ch ance deer

may be seen ; west of th e creek the l and i s good . The'

town

s h ip was settled or igi nal ly by "uakers from North Caro l i n a .

The town was l ai d out i n 181 1 by th e Mofiitts. The Coxes an d

Hinso n s se ttled at th i s p lace in 17 98 . Soon after th e“

settl e

men t,oth er settl ers came— the Meekers , Stratton s , Minears,

and many more Conn ecti cut Yankees ; al so , theRitten ours , o n

wh ose l an d i s a ston e barn,wh ere th e Rev . Mr . Cartwrigh t

preach ed i n 1805 . Anth ony Ri tten our emigrated to Oh i o , from

Marylan d,at an early day

,and has long s i n ce passed away, and

his son Jacob i s th e on ly one of th e n ame l eft,who is now aboute i gh ty - six ye ars of age . Mr. Ri ttenour served h i s country in

9 4 Pioneer Record of Ross County, Ohio.

th e war of 1812 ; h e i s th e ol dest man l i v i ng i n th e town sh i p .

Benjami n Sh ort,aged e ighty - four years , al so served in the war

of 1812— th ese two be i ng th e on ly ol d sold i ers of th at war now

l ivi ng i n th e town sh i p . None of th e Moflitts,or th e i r descend

ants,now l i ve in th e townsh i p

,th ey h av i ng l ong s in ce moved

to Ch i l l i coth e , I l l i n o i s . Henry Hi n son , an early settl er, d i ed

some years s i nce , aged eigh ty ; h i s son , Joh n Hi n son , i s th e old

est man now l i v ing who was born i n th e town sh i p ; h e i s aged

s ixty - fiv e years . El i Stratton , on e of th e first settl ers,d i ed in

1867 , aged e i gh ty - n i n e years,h av i ng l ived i n th e same house

fifty- th ree years ; h e moved to town about a year previ ous to

h i s d eath . He was th e fath er of S . D . Stratton,l ate recorder of

Ross coun ty . Out of al l t h e persons l i v i ng h ere forty years

ago but five remai n i n th e town an d five i n th e town sh i p,al l

th e oth ers h aving d i ed or moved away .

In th i s town sh i p are many old rel i cs of th e past, such as

In d i an graves,wh ere charcoal

,parched corn

,flsh bones , deer

and dog bones,an d wh ol e human ske leton s are found i n th e

same mound,wi th pl en ty of broken earth enware

,arrows

,and

p ipes ; and near th e town at l east a peek of l arge l eaden bal l s

h ave been p i cked up, and pi eces of gun- barre l s are al so foun d ,

sh owi ng— as some suppose— the severe fighti ng old De Soto had ,

wh en on h i s way to Canada , w i th th e abori gi n es . The ol d In

d i an trai l,from Kanawh a to Ch i l l icoth e , passes h ere , go i ng by

way of th e sal t works at Pop lar Row,now cal l ed Jackson . Mr .

Ri ttenour says he h as seen at l east on e hundred squaws, wi th

the i r pappooses fastened to boards , rest i ng or camp i ng half ami l e from town .

Th i s townsh i p was at o ne t ime famous for hunti ng, game

of al l k i nds bei ng i n abundance , and occas i onal ly, to th i s day, a

deer run s through t h e town ; and th e season i s coun ted poor if

we do not k i l l at l east a dozen rattl esnakes in th e townsh i p .

Mr . John Griflis,an o ld settler , who carr i es o n the tannery

wh i ch was erected i n 1825 , is now seventy - one or seven ty - two

years of age . He has been a resi den t of th i s p l ace fifty years .

yqferson Township. 95

Bes i des oth er th i ngs , we c laim to have th e tal l est man i n th e

county,

“

Mr . J . A . Stancl iff,wh ose h igh t i s six fee t seven an d a

half i n ches . I n th e fi rst settl eme n t of th i s townsh i p,we had

t h e soc i al ev i l i n th e sh ap e of st i l l - h ouses . We had th ree i n

town,an d n i n e w i th i n a mi l e of th e p lace . My i nforman t says

h e h as see n n i n e figh ts in h alf an h our,where th e bl ows fe ll

fast an d fur i ous ; wh en al l was over th e parti es woul d scramble

up w i th mashed n oses and b lack eyes , repai r to th e first dog

gery,and dri nk fri en ds un t i l th e n ext meeti ng . Wi th all th i s

we h ave h ad but one person sen t from th i s town sh i p to the pen

itentiary,and n on e hung as yet .

I n th i s town sh i p , between th e years of 1821 and 1 847 , t h ere

were twe lve death s by drown i ng , to -wit : Captai n Levi Hi cks ,

two names unknown,Lorenzo Moffi tt

,a Mr . Dawson , John

Hagan s,a Mr . Mart i n

,Peter Burr

,two ch i ldren of J . Toml in

son,Anson Graves

,and Daniel Bai l ey .

9 6 Pioneer Record of Ross County,Ohio.

Deeryfe/a’Township.

Deerfield townsh i p i s noted for i ts large an d extended

plai n s,and ri ch an d ferti l e bottoms on th e Sc i oto and Deer creek .

th e an ci ent park for th e el k an d deer . Cl arksburg,i n th i s

town sh ip,der ives i ts n ame from Col on e l Wi l l i am Clark

,a vet

eran of th e war of 1812,Who res i ded on Hays creek .

Township Ofi‘icers .

J . W . Timmon s and A . S . Hol loway,Just i ces James Temp

lin,Clerk E . W . Templ in

,Treasurer ; Samuel Coch ran , Peter

Baker,and J . W . Hurst

,Trustees ; O . M . Hi nson

,Assessor ;

James Templ in, Jr.

,Land Appra i ser .

E arly S ettlers .

Captai n Clemen t Brown emi grated , i n 1802 , fromDel aware .

In 1 803 h e marri ed Mi ss Rache l Wh i te , an d perman en tly set

tled on th e l and wh ich he had purch ased on th e r ich bottoms

of Deer creek . Mrs . Rach el Brown,h i s moth er , came out that

year,w i t h th e rest of her fami ly— Whi te , Henri etta , Kethura

,

Zaccheus,an d Mary . Joh n Wi l ey

,who afterward

‘

married Hen

rietta, came out wi th th em. Captai n Brown c l eared h i s l and an d

cul t i vated it un ti l 1812,wh en h e an d h i s company went to Fort

Sen eca,un der Col on el C lark . On h i s return h e con ti nued th e

cul t i vati on of h i s farm. He d i ed at th e age of ei gh ty years , andsuch had been th e i ncrease i n th e v alue of l and , th at that wh i ch

h ad cost him but l i ttl e,was

,at the t ime of h i s death , con s i dered

worth He l eft a son and a daugh ter,Thomas W . and

Sarah . Thomas W . Brown l i ves on h i s farm of two hundred

acres at Moun t P leasan t . He owns,bes i de , two th ousan d acres

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9 8 Pioneer Record of Ross County, Ohio.

He was a n oted hun ter,and was i n th e war of 1812 . H i s fath er

served i n th e Revolut i onary war“

. Abram Al ter,Jacob L ister

,

E . Hi de (who served th irty - three years as just i ce) , and Thomas

Hardy,were al l i n th e war of 1812 . J . H. Hervey

,IvesWagill,

and Wi l l i amKerkendall were early emi grants— about 1 801 .

Col one l Wi l l i am Clark,a farmer and tan n er

,was an early

settl er i n Deerfield. He commanded a regimen t ofmi l i t i a sev

era l years,and was at Hull’s surren der. Wi l l i am Lister was an

early p i on eer ; h e served i n th e war of 1812 ; i s now n i nety

seven years of age,an d voted at th e l ast e l ecti on . Joseph Tim

mon s,son of th e Rev . Steph en T immon s

,th e o ld p i on eer

preach er,i s a man of abi l i ty and i nfluence ; h e i s now a justi ce

of th e peace . John Foster came to Deerfield i n 1802 , and was

the first schoo l teach er i n th e town sh i p . His son s were Charl es,

John,Andrew

,an d James . Joh n an d James Tuttl e owned

l arge farms on Deer creek were men of i nfluence and wealth ,an d early settl ers i n th e townshi p . David Jones was chapla i n

to Gen era l Wayn e,i n 1 7 93—95 , an d Andrew Jones was one of

h i s sp i es . Co lone l Evans was i n th e Revoluti onary war came

h ere i n 1 7 96 . JohnMcNeil. J . Wise ; d i ed aged one hundred

years . Frederi ck Bray,Ind i an kil l er

,d i ed aged n i nety - on e

years . Persal Smi t h . Joseph Conrad ; had at on e t ime th ree

wi ves ; d i ed aged n i n ety - n i n e years . Byron and Baron Lef

fenwell were so l d i ers i n th e war of 18 12 . Wi l liam Pennel l was

a fi fe -maj or un der Col on e l Clark . Thomas Carney and S .

Howel l were p i oneers i n 1801 . Hen ry Mal low,George Smi th

,

M . Sti tes,B. Thomas

,Henry Lawrence , Robert Tayl or, and E l

wel l Brown were mech an i c s,farmers

,an d merchan ts

,useful

c i t i zen s,and early emi grants . Benj ami n Grimes

,Curti s Wi l

l i ams,James Tender

,Thomas Junk

,Davi d Hagar

,John Mc

Carthy, M . P . Junk,Amos S eropes, Wi l l i am Jones, Michae l

.Bush,

'John Bush,S . Mangol d

, Joh n Farl ow,Dav i d Plilly,

E d

ward Young,C. Stratton , Marti n Peterson , Joh n Hol loway, G .

Vi ncen t,John Jun k

,Henry Colsten,

J . Clemens,Aaron Beaton

ham,Lemuel Hol loway

,Thomas C arney

,S . Chester

,and Rufus

Betts were al l e arly p i oneers , and n early al l in th e war of 1 812 .

Deerfiold Township. 99

James Templ i n,Sen .

,emi grated from Kentucky to th i s

townsh ip in 17 95 . Hi s family cons i sted of So lomon,

'

Robert,

Jeremi ah,Isaac

,Margaret

,an d John . He lan ded at Ports

mouth , and came up th e Sc i oto to the stati on . He bough t his

l an d fromGen eral Mass i e . Old Town was th en th e h eadquarters

of th e Ind i an s . He and h i s broth er Joh n were i n Co lon e l

Cl ark’s regimen t i n th e war of 1812,and h elped bui l d Fort

Me igs . At the cl ose of th e war h e resumed th e cul t ivati on of

h i s farm. He was tw i ce marr i ed,and h ad fourtee n ch i l dren .

He i s now e i gh ty - on e years of age an d rath er feebl e . His

ch i l d ren are scattered,most of th em be i ng i n th e West .

The foll owi ng p i on eer n ames were h anded i n by Capta i n

Hoddy : Li eutenant Joh n Jackson ; James Hufl‘

rnan ; Noah

Down s, fifer i n Captai n Brown’s company ; James Baker, drum

mer ; Rev . P . Baker,first Bapt i st preach er and fath er of Peter

Baker , Edward and Thomas Noland , Steph en Emory, an dUri ah Betts . Th e above were al l farmers

,and we re i n Co l on el

Clark ’s regimen t .

Col on e l Wi l l i am Clark ’s staff,i n 1812

,were : Robert Hod

dy,Adjutan t ; Benj ami n Gr imes, Chapl ai n ; James Mi ner, Pay

master ; Wi l l iam Clawson , "uartermaster ; John C lark , Ser

gean t -major ; M . E . Peterson , Li eutenant - colonel ; and Major

Cal l oway .

1 00 Pioneer Record of Roy; County,Ohio.

Colerain Township.

Township Ofiioers .

- ~Wash i ngton Jen n i ngs,Andrew Hi n ton

,and Samue l Hari s

inger,Justices of th e Peace ; Jacob

‘Boustoer, S . Pon ti o‘

us,and

AndrewHin ton,Trustees ; JohnMay ,

Cl erk ; A .Rose,Treasurer ;

J . Throgmorton,Assessor ; And

’rewWiggi ns and'

A . G . Betzer,

Constab l es ; Davi d Jon es , Land Apprai ser .

Col erain townsh i p,i n early days

,was a noted pl ace for

game of every k i nd . Wal nut an d Sal t creeks were h eadquarters

for al l th e hun ters in th e n e ighborhood ; the i r h igh and craggy

banks were th e hi d i ng p l aces of bears,panth ers , an d wo lves .

Th e town sh i p i s watered by th e h ead waters ofWalnut,

'

S alt,

and Kinikinick creeks . Th e face of th e country i s part rol l i ngand part l eve l ; th e soi l i s r i ch , and every acre can be t i l l ed .

Adelpha i s th e pri n c i pal town i n th e townsh i p , and i s

o ne of th e ol dest town s i n th e State . It has several s tores ,

churches,etc .

Old S ettlers .

Hon . Dan i el Kersh n er was th e first p i on eer settl er in th i s

town sh i p,hav i ng come i n 1 7 96 . He had qui te a l arge farm

,and

was a man of some promi n en ce . He served as capta i n i n th e

war of 1 812,an d represented the coun ty i n th e l egi sl ature i n

1 836 . He d i ed in 1844,at th e age of e igh ty - four years . He

had th ree son s— Dan i e l,Joh n

,an d E li sh a . Dan i el

,Jr.

,marri ed

an d settled at th e h ead waters of Wa lnut creek . He was

capta i n of th e mi l i t i a,served two terms as coun ty commi ss i oner,

and h e l d several townsh i p offices . He i s now seven ty - two years

of age , i n good heal th , an d much respected . Joh n,th e second

son,is owner of the o ld ston e fort and a farm on Sal t creek .

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1 02 Pioneer Record of Ross County, Ohio.

Flanagan,Jacob Bouch er

,an d Conrad Rudy were al l early pi o

neers,and came at th e same t ime . Captai n Joh n . Patterson was

one of the first settl ers of Colerai n,a brave

,en ergeti c man. His

fath er was a major in th e Revoluti on . He served as a captai n i n

t h e war of 1812,an d was several terms justi c e of th e peace . He

d i ed eigh ty years ofage . Major Engle , a brave and k i nd man,

an d a good farmer,earn ed h i s t i tl e i n th e war of 1 812 . Joh n

Dun n was a farmer an d justi ce ; a noted man. Saml . Harisinger

emi grated at an early day ; a farmer ; has served several years

as justi c e and postmaster at Adelpha. Davi d Kersh n er bui l t

th e first d i st i l l ery in th e town sh i p . John Beach was th e first

i nnkeeper, an d Al exan der Smi th th e first shoemaker . Peter

Marsh al l establ i sh ed th e first boot an d shoe store i n th e town

sh i p . Joh n S telinger was th e first carpenter, Marti n Nungester

th e n ext ; Barton O’

Neil,th e first bl acksmi t h an d carpenter .

Fl anagan Merriman , an early settler i n Co lera i n , i s yet l i vi ng,at th e age of e i gh ty - one years . Nath an i e l Throgmorton , an

early pi oneer, h as a large farm ; a man of sound sense,i n wh ose

opi n i on h i s n eighbors place great confiden ce . He i s one of our

best c i ti zen s,and has rai sed a l arge an d respectab l e fami ly .

Peter Goodman,a great stock deal er

,Davi d Holderman , Conrad

Betzer, John Brown , Peter Strauser,An thony Betzn er, an d Joh n

S trawner were al l early p i on eers . Samue l Dresback,an early

settl er , a man of i nfluence,an d ful l of en terpri se , h as h e l d

several town sh i p offi ces,an d i s much esteemed . John Alen a

ther,Henry Hicke l , T . W . Hicke l

,Frederi ck Haynes

,Andrew

Haynes ; George Gower, an Engl i sh so ld i er un der Dunmore , from

wh omFort Gower took i ts name ; Moses Dawson ,Davi d Dawson ,Thomas Arnstow, Wi l l i am Hoover ; J . D . Smi th

,D . Jones

, Ja

cob Strouse,Thomas Nutter

,Thomas Patton

,Jacob Al exander

Jacob Grawutt,N . Just i n

,Peter Wh ite

,Peter Ni co l

,an d Noah

C lark were al l ear ly pi on eers— al l dead but th ree , and th e i r

descendants scattered over th e West . Davi d C . Bolous, the

h ermi t,was an Ind i an k i l l er and bear hunter . He came to th e

Hock i ng caves,from th e Kanawha regi on

,i n Vi rgi n i a

,i n 1 7 89 .

Hewas n ever marri ed,h av i ng been d i sappo i n ted . Here h e l i ved

Coleruin Township. I 03

alon e i n the den se forest,an d hun ted game

,wh i ch was in

abundan ce . He would take th e sk i ns,furs

,an d ven i son to th e

Oh i o,an d sel l to the traders . In 1 7 91 b e sh ifted h i s quarters

to n ear Fort Harmar,and from th ere wen t

,as a spy

,to th e

Maumee,with Gen eral St . Cl ai r

,an d was taken pri son er by th e

In d i ans,and l ived wi t h th emun t i lWayn e’s treaty i n 1 7 95 . He

came to ol d Danie l Kershner’

s in 1 7 97,an d stayed th ere t i l l th e

fal l of 1 7 99,wh en h e went to th e o ld earth fort on Sal t creek ,

and bui l t a cab i n th ere,in wh i ch h e l i ved ti l l th e t ime of h i s

death i n 1 802 . He had k i l led,in h i s t ime

,n i nety - s i x bears

,

seventy - th ree wo lves,an d forty - three panth ers .

Ancient Mounds,etc.

On Joh n Kersh ner,Jr .

’

s,farm is a mode l mound

,thirty - five

feet h igh ; an d o n th e we st b ank of Sal t creek , an earth fort , in

th e shape of a half-moon ; on e l arge gateway , and a ci rcular

e arthwork,exten d i ng from th e half-moon to th e anc i ent earth

fort .

1 04 Pioneer Record of Ross County, Ohio.

Union Township.

In Un i on townsh i p th e face of th e coun try i s rath er un

even . The bottom l ands on th e Sci oto an d Pai nt and Deer

creeks are ri ch , an d produce corn and grai n of th e bes t

qual i ty . Deer creek " d iv i des th e townsh i p i n to North an d

South Un i on . The streams run n i ng th rough South Un i on are

Rob in son ’s run,Anderson’s run

,Acton ’s run

,Menary run

,an d

Musselman’

s run,al l emptying i n to Pai n t creek . The fol low

ing streams empty i n to Deer creek : Yel l ow run,Dry run

,an d

Hay run.

E arly S ettlers . By John Robinson, President of the Ross County

PioneerAssociation.

His father,Joshua Robi n son

,emigrated to th e Sc i oto Val l ey

in 1 7 95,in company w i th General Nath an i el Mass i e an d h i s

surveyors . On arri vi ng at the,station n ear wh ere Ch i l l i coth e

now i s,th ey proceeded up th e main Pai n t creek . Fol lowi ng

the Ind i an trai l at Reeves’ Cross i ngs,th ey came sudden ly upon

a party of Ind i ans en camped . A battl e en sued , wh i ch soon

ended i n favor of the wh i tes . The Ind i an s retreated through

the woods,carryi ng off everyth ing but the i r guns . Joshua

Rob i nson was sh ot through the body and d i ed immed i ate ly .

The body was i n terred near th e mouth of Rocky fork , at th e

h ead of th e rap i ds . A wh i te man,who had been pri son er w i t h

th e Ind i an s,made h i s escape duri ng th e figh t . The party re

treated to th e Three Is lands . Wi l l i amRob i n son,broth er ofJoshua,

was also i n th i s fight . He bough t s i x hundred an d forty acres

from General Mass i e i n South Un i on,four mi l e s south ofCh i l l i

coth e . He moved to h i s purchase i n 1800, and erected th e first

cab i n i n the v i c i n i ty,an d soon cleared a fin e farm. When th e

war was declared i n 1812 , h e was on e of th e first to volunteer ,

a lthough over age . He d ied at the age ofseven ty years . Joh n

Rob i n son,on the death of h i s father, was adopted by his uncl e

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1 06 Pioneer Record of Ross County, Ohio.

Names and Records, byJohnN. Hurst.

Hi s father,Lev i Hurst

,an d fami ly emi grated to Ross

county,fromMarylan d

,i n 1 801 . They came i n one - horse carts

to Wh ee l i ng,where h e purchased a flat - boat

,i n wh ich h e

floated h i s effects to Portsmouth, except th e h orses, wh i ch were

sen t by land . Here he h i tch ed up h i s carts agai n , an d i n n i ne

d ays reach ed Ch i l l i coth e,i n th e mon th of June . He moved

i n to th e woods th e September fo l l owi ng . Wi l d game was very

plen ty,and th e Ind ian s were hunti ng in great numbers that

fall,so th at cl eari ng progressed very slowly . Mr . Hurst was

th e fath er of e igh t ch i ldren . Hi s sons’ names were James,

Wi l l i am,Harper

,Samue l

,Thomas

,an d John N . Th e latter

occupi es th e beaut iful h omestead on Dry run. He has serve d

h i s townsh i p as just i c e,clerk

,assessor

,etc . They are al l

Meth od i sts.General Hurst

,who served i n the l ate war

,and is

nowUn ited States revenue col lector,i s a re lat ive of’S quireHurst .

When Capta i n Harrod was ki l l ed by th e Ind i ans,a company

was rai sed an d pursued th em as far as Old Town . In return

i ng th ey i ndulged i n firing at game,wh i ch so al armed the

settlers th at th ey al l l eft th e i r cab i n s,an d th e whol e th i rteen

fami li es co l l ected at Levi Hurst’s,expec ti ng an attack . Mrs .

Hubbard stood dur i ng th e n igh t n ear the wi n dow,wi th an

ax,sayi ng that sh e woul d k i l l the first Ind ian that would

attempt to get i n . Mr . Levi Hurst bui l t t h e first h ewed log

h ouse i n th e town sh i p . He was born in 1 7 70,and d i ed in 1861 .

He an d h i s wife had l i ved togeth er seventy years .

Joh n Rogers , one of th e p i oneers, helped to build t h e first

cab i n i n Ch i l l i coth e . He was i n th e val ley three mon ths pr i or

to th e arr ival of th e first wh i te woman,an d drove the first

cattl e from Kentucky to Ch i l l i coth e . Hi s ol d cab i n is st i l l

stand i ng . Judge James Armstrong served as judge on e term.

He was a man of ab i l i ty . Joseph Clark,James an d Hami l to n

Rogers were early settlers . Judge Joshua Rob i n son d i ed i n

1 862,aged e ighty - e igh t years . Thomas

,John

,and Joseph

McCoy were th e first settlers on Dry run. Thomas Earl was

Union Township. 1 07

an early settler an d good man ; served as just ic e several terms .

Davi d Augustus was in th e war of 1 81 2 . Jos eph Counts,Joh n

Russe l l , Henry Davi s, an d Wi l l i am Harvey were th e first sch ool

teach ers . Rev . Benj . Young was th e first preacher . Rev . H .

Smi th organ i zed th e first Method i st Church i n 1 800. Th e first

c amp mee ti ng was he l d i n 1803 , on Thomas Watts’

farm. Eben

Timmons , Thomas Hi cks , Thomas Wi l l i s , Robert Harvey,T .

Tootte,N . Adams

,Isaac Cook ; James Dun lap , who was a. mem

ber of th e State l egi s lature ; Colone l Evan s , a man of great

en terpri se and a large l an d own er,who came from Ken tucky

Ph i l i p Miner,Jacob Mace

,Joshua Clark , Josep h Coun ts , Asa

Hawk i n s,Jacob Cri sp i n

,Levi Warner

,AbramWi n der

,Charl es

Fryson,Joh n Hi nder

,Mi l to n Anderson

,Thomas Thompson

,

Mr . Wi l l iams,Dav i d Corb i t

,Michae l Bai ly ,

Wi l l i am Ful ton ,

and Dan i e l Beard,who was i n th e war of 1812 .

Joh n Dun lap,fath er ofJames an d al l th e other Dun laps i n

th i s regi on,emi grated to Uni o n town sh i p in 1 7 96 , and was so

much pleased w i th th e Sci oto Val l ey that h e bough t a large

body of l an d on th e west ban k of th e Sc i oto,for wh i ch he gave

n i n eteen cen ts an acre . Th i s l and i s now own ed by h i s son s ,

and i s worth one hundred dol lars per acre . His w ife was a

granddaughter of Dr . Benjami n Fran k l i n . His son s were

Robert,Rufus

,James

,Joh n

,Major

,and Lorenzo .

Casper Smi th came to th e Sc i o to Val l ey i n 1 7 96 . Hi s

fath er was a capta i n duri ng th e Revoluti on ary war . Casper

was i n the war of 1 812,an d d i ed i n 1 84 5 . Hen ry and Thomas

Bowdell and James F i s h came i n 1800. Rach e l Buckworth is

yet l i vi ng,and has rai sed a l arge fami ly . Thomas Vi nsan t .

Mr . McCarfi ty,an early settl er

,was i n th e war of 1812 . The

l atter was a k i nd man an d good ne ighbor . His w i d ow i s yet

l iv i ng at Ch i l l i cothe,and sti ll own s the old farm. JohnHuber ,

Sen .

,John Huber

,Jr.

,and Henry Russe l l , al l farmers ,w i th l arge

fami l i es . Joh n Robi n son,Thomas L i ttl eton , Joseph Charge ,

Henry Cook,Joh n Davi s

,Thomas Earl

,Caleb Leland , an d

Joh n James came i n 1 7 99 ; al l farmers .

108 Pioneer Record of Ross County,Ohio.

PioneerNames,etc

,byMichael Beaver, Jr.

Mi ch ael Beaver,Sen .

, emigrated to Ross coun ty from Vi r

g in i a i n 1 800. His fami ly cons i ste d of Michae l,Joseph

,E li za

,

Susan,an d El i as . He purchased a secti on of t he mi l i tary land

on Deer creek . He served i n th e Revoluti onary war, and h i s

son Mi chae l i n th e war of 1812 . The w ife of th e l atter d i ed i n

1860, aged seventy - n i ne years . Peter Jackson was a justi c e for

several terms,an d had been i n the Revolut i onary war. Joh n

Baker,Joh n Kirkendal

,an d Stephen T immon s . The latter was

th e first Method i st preach er,i n 1 7 96 .

'

Wi l l i amNobl e sti l l l i ve s,

at th e age of e igh ty - e igh t years . A . Davenport . B. Rh i ne

hart’s sons,Joh n

,Jacob

,Henry

,and Abel

,are promi n e nt and

useful c i ti zens."

They were early settl ers , havi ng come i n 1 7 96 .

Jacob was a e’dptain i n th e war of 1812 , an d h i s broth ers were

al l members of h i s company . Abner an d Benj . Kerns were

drovers i n th e war of 1812 . Colon e l Joh n Mace and Andrew

Mace were son s ofJacob Mace,an early p i oneer . Th i s fami ly

h ave occupi ed promi n en t posi ti on s i n ci v i l an d mi l i tary affai rs .

J . S . Mace i s now sh eriff of Ross countv . He i s a man of ih

fluence and an effici en t ofiicer. Joh n Thompson,Jesse Grimes

,

Hezek i ah Ingh am,Isaac Ingh am

,an d James Wh i tes i des were

i n th e war of 18 12 . George Ben n ett was th e first bl acksmi th,

an d Len . Warn er th e first potter . Wi l l i am and Isaac Warn er

were carpenters . The Warn er fami ly were "uakers . Ph i l i p

Men ci l was a captai n i n Col on e l C lark ’s reg imen t . Th i s reg i

men t was mustered out in 1 813,on th e farmof M . Beaver

,on

Deer creek . Anson Watts,who was al so i n th at war, i s st i ll

l i v i ng , e i gh ty - fiv e years of age .

Ancient Works.

On Mrs . Stee l ’s farm i s a l arge earthwork,w i th

‘

two mi l e s

ofwal l,several l arge moun ds

,squares

,gateways , and bast i on s .

There i s a c i rc l e on Mr . George Shearer’s farm a mi l e l ong,wi th embankmen ts s i x feet h igh . There i s a l arge mound and

c i rcular fort on Mr . Wood ’s farm.

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1 1 0 Pioneer Record of Ross County,Ohio.

The fo l l owing were i n th e serv i ce dur i ng th e war of 1812

Colone lWm. Joh n son,Captai n Abram Moore

,Major Abraham

Lewi s,Drum-Major Joh n Ortman

,Li euten an t George Stan

h ope,Edward S atts

,Abner an d Th omas Ezra

,Joseph Van

grundy ; Samue l Moore , sti l l l i v i ng, aged eigh ty - e igh t years ;

Joseph Moore,Joh n Young

,Joseph an d Joh n Hanks

,Dan ie l

Ulm,A . Bapl e

,Lawrence Russe l l

,and Hugh Dal ab an .

Mr . Aaron Syms i nforms us th at th e great abundan ce of

game in thisr egion drew to i t dari ng hun ters from al l parts of

th e coun try,an d espec i al ly Ken tucky . Major A . McClundy,

th e compan i on of Boone and Ken ton , v i s i ted th i s regi on in

1 7 78,and made h i s h eadquarters at th e ol d earth fort . The

secon d day after h e arr i ved h i s dog Sago started up a mon

strous he - bear,an d immed i ately attacked i t . Th e bear se i zed

th e dog,an d started off wi th him

,huggi ng himwi th a tigh t

grasp . The major fol l owed,an d when n ear en ough to sh oot

w i th out i njuri ng th e d og,fired

,but on ly wounded th e bear .

The en raged an imal now d ropped th e dog,an d made a des

perate attack on McClundy ,who

,after a sev ere

,c l ose figh t

,

succeeded i n k i l l i ng him w i t h h i s k n ife . Dur i ng a hun t of te n

days on the waters ofWalnut an d Sal t creeks , McClundy k i l l e d

th i rteen bears,n i n e wolves

,s ix panth ers

,an d three wi l d cats

,

bes i des oth er game .

Springfield Township. 1 1

Springfield Township.

Township Ofiicers .

Joseph Smi th an d Aaron E l l i ott,Just i ces ; Leonard Moore

Andrew J . Cryder,and Thomas McNeal

,Trustees ; Warren

Senff,Asse ssor ; Joshua Seney , Treasurer ; Jacob Cryder , Lan d

Apprai ser .

E arly S ettlers— E ast S pringfield.

In 1805,Thomas an d Joh n Arthurs

,an d Thomas McNeal

,

Sen .

,emi grated from Brooke county

,Virg i n i a,an d settled i n

East Spr i ngfiel d . Th omas Arthurs’ fami ly con s i sted of two

sons an d on e daugh ter . Samue l,th e e l dest son

,served in th e

war of 1 812 ; Thomas , th e other son , was a l i euten an t i n Captai n Wal l ’s company ; th ey are both l i v i ng . Mr . McNeal

’

s

fath er came from Scotl and,and was a l i euten an t in th e In d i an

wars after th e Revo lut i o n . Al l of th e fami ly moved Wes t,

with th e except i on of Thomas,h i s o l des t son

,who i s stil l a

res i den t of th i s townsh i p,an d al l are now dead ; th eir n ames

were Nancy,Wi l l i am

,Samue l

,an d Jonath an . Thomas i s now

eigh ty years of age,an d h as served h i s townsh ip a s trustee and

justi ce several t imes .

The Ind i an traces were pla i n i n th i s reg i on i n 1805,and

many arrow h eads an d ston e axes are yet p i cked up i n th e

fields . Mr . McNeal says h e h as often counted as many as

e igh ty Ind i an s i n a squad,pass i ng th rough from Old Town to

Sal t an d Raccoon creeks to obta i n l ead an d hun t. They gen er

al ly return ed wi th th e i r pouches ful l an d th e i r h orses l oaded .

Many of th e early pi on eers were n oted hunters . Garrett

Boots , Phil ip Wal den“

,E li sh a Carpenter

,Hen ry Hersh aw

,

1 1 2 Pioneer Record of Ross County, Ohio.

Joseph Tayl or , Marti n Overly , C . Neff,George Boots

,Lesl i e

Mal one,Dan i e l Dueb er

,Joh n Cummi n s,James Caruth ers , Wi l

li am Pendl eton,James Useley,

an d B. McNeal were al l famous

hun ters an d trappers .

The fol l ow i ng are th e p i on eers who came to th i s town sh i p

before th e war of 1 812

Adam,Alexander

,an d Joe l McClintie ; T . Jon es

,Samue l

Hershaw,Benj ami n Deamon s . Amos Tayl or

,DM fl fl g ;

Zach ariah,Isaac

,and Samue l We lsh ; James an d Samuel Ki l

gore,Andrew Young

,Thomas Wi l k i n s

,Cal eb and Wi l l i am

Odel l,Joseph Harness

,Fel i x Ren i ck ; James , Hen ry , and

A . Cartwr igh t ; Phi l i p Argrebright, Jacob Shane , Geo . Pat

more,Thomas Orr

,Wi l l i am Zebulan

,Thomas Hanks

,Zach ari ah

Li n ton,Hugh and Mi chae l Dalihan

,Benj ami n Carn es

,Ph i l i p

an d Stephen Roos,Aaron Dol l

,Peter Yeaker

,James Redman

,

Franc i s an d Ri chard Malone,Leon ard Neff

,Edward S atts

,R .

Murphy, A . Cl aypool , an d Benj ami n Hi l ton .

Colone l S ifi’

ord,a res iden t of West Spr i ngfie ld

,th ough no t

a p i on eer,was an early settl er

,an d a man of i nfluence an d

enterpri se . He i s now a represen tat i ve from Ross county,and

has served as Un i ted States marshal,coun ty surveyor, and

commi ss i on er,an d has h eld oth er importan t trusts .

The first due l (so cal l ed) fough t in the Sc i oto Val l ey was

i n 1 7 93 . Whi l e th e p i on eers were exposed to th e attacks of

Ind ian s,a stockade fort was mai n ta i n ed at th e ol d stat i on on

th e Sci oto as a place of retreat . One morn i ng,Joh n Vanasaw,

a n oted hunt-er,shortly after l eav i ng th e fort on a hunt

,saw an

Ind i an r i se from an ambush,decked an d pai n ted i n war cos

tume . Both ra i sed th ei r r ifles to th e i r sh oul ders at th e samet ime

,and fired . The Ind i an fel l , and V anasaw,

feari ng th ere

mi gh t be oth er Ind i an s about, returned to th e fort an d reported

h i s duel.

Casper Senff,gran dfath er of Michae l Senff

,emi grated from

Germany i n 1 7 7 3 . He was a'

ki ng’s hun ter,and served as a

spy in th e Revolut i on . Mich ae l came to ‘Oh i o in 1803, serve d

i n th e war of 1 812,an d d i ed i n 1 845 . Hi s sons were M i ch ae l ,

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Pioneer Record of Ross County,Ohio.

feet h igh,wi th gateways on th ree s i des . Th e north s i de i s

in cl osed by a c i rcul ar embankmen t n ot qui te so h igh . The

gateway on the south s i de h as two embankments,forty feet

apart,reach i ng down to th e r iver . At a number of pl aces i n

th e i nclosure,h ol es i n th e earth seem to i n d i cate where wel l s

had been dug . Many axes arrow h eads,an imal teeth

,etc . h ave

been found here .

The celebrated Moun t Logan i s i n th i s townsh ip,overl ook

ing th e Sci oto r i ver and Ch i l l i coth e . I t was named after th e

cel ebrated Mi ngo ch i ef,Logan

,and i s a great resort for cel ebra

t i on s, p i cn i cs , etc . Th e v i ew from it i s on e of th e finest in

t h e val l ey .

Green Township.

Before Pi ckaway coun ty was organ i zed,Green townsh i p

took i n al l th e Ind i an town s on S ippo an d Congo creeks . Major

Joh n Boggs’ l an d was al l i n Ross county un t i l P i ckaway was

organ i zed . He was an early p ion eer to th e val l ey , havi ng emi

grated fromPennsv lvania i n Hi s fath er,Captai n Joh n

Boggs,served duri ng th e Revolut i o n , an d at th e c lose of th e

war he moved an d settl ed at th e mouth of Boggs run,opposi te

Boggs Isl and,be lowWhee l i ng , on th e Oh i o r i ver . He rai sed

h i s fami ly h ere unti l 1 7 98,wh en he sold h i s lan d and descended

th e Oh i o to Portsmouth . He the n ascended th e Sc i oto i n a

kee l - boat to th e stati on n ear Ch i l l i coth e . From th ere h e trav

eled on foot to look after l and . After travers i ng th e val l eys of

th e Sci oto,h e sel ected h i s lan d at the foot of th e P i ckaway

pl ai n s,now known as th e Crouse and Ren i ck farms

,an d

erected h i s cab i n near th e elm tree , noted as th e spot where

Logan del ivered h i s ce l ebrated speech i n 1 7 7 4 . John Boggs,

Jr. , wen t back to Wheel ing and marr i ed,an d return ed to his

new home,where b e c l eared th e l and gi ve n him by h i s fath er .

In 1803 h e sh ipped th e first flat - boat of flour to New Orl eans .

When th e war broke out i n 1 8 12 h e wen t as cap tai n,but was

soon promoted and served dur i ng th e war as maj or . He l ost

h i s first w i fe,an d marr i ed

,for h i s second

,th e w i d ow of Captain

James Taylor,of Zanesv i l l e

,Oh i o

,an d d i ed soon afte r h i s

return to h i s old h ome . He was th e l ast of th e first p i oneers

on th e p lai n s,an d was th e fath er of n i n e chi l dren— Wi l l i am,

Martha,Lemuel

,John

,Nancy

,Moses

,Lydia

,James

,an d S i d

ney . James i s the p resen t own er of the farm,an d has

erected a c i rcul ar board fence around the Logan tree . The

1 1 6 Pioneer Record of Ross County, Ohio.

farm i s dotted wi th an ci en t mounds . One , on th e n orth bank

of Congo creek,measures on e th ousan d feet aroun d and i s

th i rty feet h igh . On the l and entered by Captai n Boggs , i n

1 7 96,were th e Ind i an town s cal l ed Squaw Town , Corn sta lk

Town,an d Bl ack Moun t

,all on Si ppo creejz/

James Boggs,so n of Maj or Boggs , was k i l l ed by th e

Ind i ans wh i l e on a hun ting excurs i on w i th several young men

on th e Sti l lwater . Wi l l i am Boggs,broth er to th e Maj or

,was

taken pri son er by th e Ind i ans i n 1 7 93,and kept as such unti l

Wayne’s treaty wi th th em at Fort Greenvi l l e i n 17 95

,wh en h e

was rel eased an d sen t home . On h i s arr i val th ere h e was

dressed i n In d i an costume,and his fath er d i d not know him at

first s igh t . He l eft,but return ed n ext day and made h imse lf

known,and

,l i ke the Prod igal Son

,was k i nd ly rece i ved by h i s

fath er,who excl a imed

,

“ Th i s,my son , who was l ost, now is

foun d ; was dead , b ut now i s al i ve .

Joh n Boggs was an Ind i an spy,and we l l kn own by them ;

th ey ofte n wayl a i d him in order to get his scal p,and d i s l i ked

him becauseh e was a brave,fearl ess scout an d fores t ranger .

They often made Wi l l i am run the gaun tl et , and on one occas i o n

h e h ad to run seven ty - fi ve yard s and j ump i n to a b ut, i n th e

door ofwh ich th ey h ad pl aced a l arge squaw to keep him out ;

b ut h e,knowi ng what h e h ad to do

,started

,and was push ed

very hard,th e squaw stand i ng in th e door . He struck h er

wi th h i s h ead,and kn ocked her cl ear ac ross th e cab i n and

a lmost ki l led h er,the Ind i ans laugh i ng th emse lves almost to

death at h er expense and cal l i ng him a brave man.

The fol lowi ng names of early p i on eers were h anded i n by

Rebecca Wolf. daughter of Captai n Wolf, who was el even years

o ld when her father settl ed on Congo c reek i n 17 96 : James

Burn s was in Hul l ’s surrender . Mark Clark,JohnShark

,

Davi d an d Samuel Demery,George Fry ,

Thomas S i ngle,an d

Wi l li am and Matthew Ferguson were al l farmers,an d served

i n th e war of 1 81 2 . John Crouse bui l t th e first mi l l o n Ki n i

kinick creek,an d was a man of en terpri se an d a useful c i tiz e n .

John Clernson,the fi rst postmaster

,d ied aged n i nety years .

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1 1 8 Pioneer Record of Ross County, Ohio.

Catheri n e,James

,and Joh n . Rebecca Wolf i s th e on ly on e of

th e fami ly now l i ving . Sh e l i ves on th e old farm,an d n eve r

was marri ed . Frank l i n Wol f. son of George , i s l i v i ng on the

part of th e old farm wh ere Col one l Lewi s camped . Captain

Wolf’s ch i ldren by his fi rst wife were Mah al a,born i n 1804 ;

E litha,born i n 1 808 ; Joh n , born i n 1810; George , born i n

1812 ; Harri son born i n 1 813 ; Emerson , born i n 18 15 ; Frankl i n

,by h i s second w ife

,i n 1835 . Mrs . Captai n George Wolf is

now l iv i ng i n Ki ngston ; sh e i s seven ty - th ree years o ld , but

enj oys good h eal th an d good company .

On th e farm of th e l ate Captai n Phi l i p Wolf, near th e

waters of Congo creek,i s th e p lace wh ere th e Ind i an s got the i r

l ead . The mi n e h as n ot been found,but large pi eces of l ead

h ave been p icked up. In 1860 Henry Wrench found a p i ece

weigh i ng over a pound,n i ne - tenth s of wh i ch were pure l ead ;

Th e mi n e i s supposed to be w i th i n th e l imi ts ofCol one l Lewi s’

encampmen t on th e waters of th e Congo, wh i ch flows th rough

a ferti l e val l ey an d empti es i n to th e Sc ioto . In th i s val ley i s

supposed to exi st on e of th e r i ch est ve i n s of l ead in th e State .

A cel ebrated ch i ef among the Delawares proposed to d i scover

th e mi n e to Ph i l i p Wolf for a g i ve n sum,but h e decl i n ed th e

offer . Al ong Congo creek was th e In d ian tra i l . S tarti ng at

O l d Town,i t wen t i n a south east d i recti on to Grandier Squaw

Town . It l eft Bl ack Moun t and C-ornstalk Town to th e n orth .

Both these town s were s i tuated at th e foot of th e pla i n s . Th e

Ind ian trai l,after passi ng th rough Camp Lewi s , wen t on to

Mount Logan,and from th ere to Fort Gower on -th e Oh i o .

On th e l and of Wi l l i am Snodgrass was th e Ind i an grave

yard . It i s a moun d on e hundred and fifty feet i n c i rcumfer

en ce and fifteen feet h igh . It was dug i n to by Joh n Young in1 830

,and skel etons exhumed . Th e moun d i s h alf a mil e south

of Col one l Lewi s’ camp,an d close by th e an c i e nt Ind i an trai l

l ead i ng from Old Town to Fort Gower .

Captai n S lover was taken pri son er at Crawford ’s defeat,

an d was condemned to be burned at th e stake ; but th rough a

ki n d Prov i dence,h e was rel eased an d made h i s escape . He

Green Township. 1 1 9

was confined i n a deatlnhouse at Grandier Squaw Town , w i th

two Indians

’

to guard him. He loosen ed his bonds wh i le the

sen ti nels sl ept,got out of h i s c el l , stol e an Indi an pony

, and

made h i s escape to Wheel i ng . He tol d th e peopl e of Whee l i ng

th at i t was the bes t pony h e ever rode ; h e n ever parted w i th

i t . Col onel Le'

w1s expected to g i ve th e Ind i an s battl e at th e i rtown s on th e waters of th e S ippo an d Congo

,but th e secon d

confl i ct was preven ted,Govern or Dunmore overtak i ng Col on e l

Lewi s i n person,an d turn i ng him back wh e n th e Co lon el was

in s igh t of th ese town s .

Captai n Wi l l i am McMeahen,a Revoluti onary veteran of

Virg i n i a,had two h orses stol e n by th e Ind i an s . He got on

th e i r trai l an d fol lowed th em to Squaw Town , wh ere h e saw

h i s h orses . The Ind i an s were out on a ci rc l e hun t,but h e met

a squaw th at coul d tal k broken Engl i sh,who tol d himwh ere

th e h orses were,but advi sed him n ot to take th em

,as th e

Ind i an s woul d k i l l him. Sh e conceal ed him i n h e r cab i n and

fed him un ti l th e I nd i ans returned home . Sh e th en made a

way for h i s escape . Wh en h e arr i ved at Wheel i ng h i s w ife h ad

gon e h ome to h er fath er, bel i evi ng th at h e h ad been k i l l ed by

th e Ind ians . He tol d th e peop l e that he had n ever seen so fine

a coun try ; th at th e scen ery an d th e r i ch n ess of th e so i l sur

passed al l descr ipti on,an d th at h e was impressed wi th th e

be l ief that some ofh i s posteri ty woul d,at n o d i stan t day,

become

occupan ts of th ose fert i l e p l a i n s and beaut iful an d wi d e - spread

val l eys on th e Sci oto , an d h i s impress i on s were verified . The

w i dow of Maj or Boggs was h i s daugh ter .

1 2 0 Pioneer Record of Ross County, Ohio.

Concord Township.

The terr i tory of Concord may , i n truth , be cal l ed cl assi c

ground . Here,for past ages , th e d i fferent Northwestern tri be s

of Ind i an s annual ly met to h ol d th e i r convocati on s ; here on ce

burned th e i r coun c i l fires ; h ere th e cl ear, sh ri l l vo i ces of th e i r

ch i efs,braves

,and orators coul d b e h eard ; h ere was the i r

an ci en t h ome i n t imes of war and peace— Old Ch i l l icoth e . But

th ey h ave d i sappeared . Ol d Town,th e i r an ci en t metropol i s

,

h as passed i n to th e h ands of th e pal e faces,and i s now cal l ed

Frankfort. Concord town sh i p i s gen eral ly l evel , an d th e so i l

r i ch and product i ve . It i s watered by th e North fork of Pai n t

creek an d i ts tributar i es . Harrod bran c h an d Old Town run

are th e pri nc i pal bran ch es i n th e town sh ip. Pai n t creek de

r ived i ts n ame from aDelaware ch i ef; it h ead s i n Mad ison

coun ty,flows through a ferti l e val l ey

,an d empt i es i n to Pai n t

r i ver n ear Ch i l l i coth e . At O ld Town th e al l i ed tr i bes col lected

i n 1 7 7 4 , march ed forth and met Col one l Lew i s , and fough t th e

memorable battl e of Po in t Pl easan t,an d after th e i r defeat in

t h i s battle,they return ed to these fie lds

,col l ected th e i r forces

,

and took th e i r stan d at O ld Ch i l l i coth e . Th i s was th e i r strong

pos i ti on i n th e i r mode of warfare , and h ere th ey prepared

th emse lves i n an ti c i pat i on of th e en emy,or “ Long Kni ves

,

to make a desperate s truggle for t he i r country an d the i r town .

The second'

confl ict was preven ted by Ear l Dunmore cross

ing the P i ckaway pl a i n s from Camp Charl otte an d h eadi ng

Colon e l Lewi s,when th e Co lon e l and h i s royal army had ar

r ived in s igh t of two of th e i r town s on th e east s i de of th e

Sc i o to an d on the east s i d e of Congo creek . Here,i n person ,

Governor Dunmore turned Lewi s back , b e hav i ng made a

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1 2 2 Pioneer Record of Ross County, Ohio.

Town,on th e L i ttl e Mi ami

,but d i d n ot overtake them. On

the i r return th ey fired at game,wh i ch so terrified th e settl ers

that th ey all retreated to b l ock - houses . Th e Ind i an s , i n 1 7 73 ,

took Col on e l Dan i e l Boon e pr i soner n ear th e Th ree Isl ands, an d

got him w i th i n seven mi l e s of Old Town , wh en h e escaped .

General S imon Kenton an d Captai n Sl over run th e gaun tl et at

Ol d Town i n 1 7 88 , al so at Squaw Grandier and Cornstalk

Town s . Captai n Wesl ey McGinnis,Li euten ant Joh n Westhart

,

Captai n H . Men er,an d David Carr run th e gaun tl et i n Old

Town i n 1 7 94 . Westhart,who d i ed at Watertown , sai d Old

Town,i n 1 7 94

,h ad over o ne hund red w i gwams i n i t . Captai n

S lover says i n 1 7 83 i t h ad some two hundred cabi n s an d huts .

Samue l Wi l ly an d J . Joh n son were th e first con stables ; Davi d

Anderson,fi rst treasurer an d c l erk of Concord ; James South er

l an d an d Fletc h er Goldsb erg were early p i on eers an d useful

men. F . Wel l s says Captai n Thomas Harrod was k i l l ed by a

wh i te man in 1802, an d was buri ed at the mouth of now Har

rod ’s creek,near th e Bl oomi ngto n road . Benj amin Goldsberg ,

who served i n th e war of 1 812,un der Colon el Wm. Clark .

Robert and James Stewart,A . Robi son

,Berry S ane

,

’

and Benj a

min Sane,aged n i n ety

,who k i l l ed th ree bears i n 17 98

,and Peter

Shannon,were all i n th e war of 1 8 12 ; Robert Galbre th , firs t

merch ant,T . Ri tten house

,second ; Joh n and H . Hayn es, Mor

r i s an d Wm. Latta,and Joh n Fetters were al l farmers ; Rev . R .

Fi n ley,first M . E . preacher ; Rev . J . Caroth ers

,first Presbyteri an

preacher . AdamMal low was a maj or,an d H . Mal l ow a capta i n

,

in th e war of 1812 . F . Mi l l s,Esq .

,aged seventy - three

,J . W .

Conne l,Charl es and Samuel Briggs

,Samue l Joh n son

,Henry

McAdam,Wm. and James Coch ran

,Isaac Pancake

,Wm. Rows,

Robert S ti n er, Wm. Anderson,Wm. Cupper

,G . and Wi l l i am

Haws,Joh n Bush, Isaac Story, Charles an d N . Primit

,Wm.

Dixg n, an d T . McBolsterwere al l farmers and stock merchants .

Mrs . Mary Branick is on e hundred and e ight years o ld , l ives

th ree mi l e s n orth of Frankfort,b l i n d an d very feebl e ; her

husband , Nehemi ah Branick, and h i s broth er Philamon, were

Concord Township. 1 23

sol d i ers of th e Revoluti on . Fel i x Wel l s emi grated from Ken

tucky i n 17 99 w i th h i s fath er’s fami ly ,

to Vi rgi n i a,th en ce to

Sc i oto Val l ey i n 1 800. When of proper age , Fel i x was el ected

justi ce of th e peace,wh ich offi ce h e h eld fifteen years . He i s

now seven ty - th ree years ol d ; h i s fath er’s n ame was Fran c i s

Wel l s . N . W. Bush,aged n i n ety - four . Joh n Temp l i n was i n

the war of 1 812,aged e igh ty - th ree

,sti l l l i ve s . Wi l l i am Stagg ,

an d Joh n McNeil,aged e igh ty . Thomas Somerset emi grated

fromKentucky to th e Sc i oto Val l ey i n 1 7 96 , an d d i ed i n Frank

fort ih 1 834 ; h e served i n th e war of th e Revo luti on ; h i s son ,

Henry Somerse t,was i n the war of 1812 . Th e descen dants of

the o ld veteran of th e Revoluti on l i ve,wi th few excepti on s

,in

Ross county . David Maddox,Thomas Robi n son

,an d Lev i

Corgold were i n th e war of 1812 . Joh n Ki ng was i n th e war of

1812 . El i hu Wheel er,Ephraim Watson

,James Den n i son

,

Ri c hard Donahue , an d Dav i d Dooly were i n th e war of 18 12

Mi lton Ac ton,Joh n Acton

,and Whee l er An drew were all

farmers an d exce l l ent c i ti z en s . Freder ick Be rl ey,c h i ef In

d i an spy i n Ear l Dunmore’s war of 1 7 7 4 , th e Revo lut i on ary war

of 1 7 7 6,and Ind i an war of 1 7 91 . He was a noted hunte r— h i s

h ome in th e deep forest,h i s l odgi ngs i n caves

,dens

,an d rocks ;

h e possessed a strong const i tuti on,sui t i ng th e time i n wh i ch h e

l i ved , and was a h ermi t by ch oi ce . He k i l l ed , duri ng h i s l ife ,

one hundred and s i xty bears n i n ety - s i x pan th ers,one hun dred

and s i x wol ves,on e thousand e l k an d deer

,e l even buffal o

,an d

o ther game i n proporti on ; al so n i n ety - s ix In d i an s . He was,

dur i ng h i s excurs i on s,often i n company w i th th e n oted In d i an

spi es , Kenton , Boone ,Wolf, Boggs , Slover, Hugh es , and Wetze l .He d ied i n h i s cab i n

,aged one hundred an d one years

,on th e

wate rs of Mohegan,wh ere a p l ai n

,and substan ti al monumen t

was erected to h i s memory . He was taken pri son er three times

by th e Ind ians , and run th e gaun tl e t at Sandusky,Squaw Town

,

and Old Town , i n 1 7 94 . Peter Putnam emi grated to th e

S c i o to Vall ey in 1 7 96 to l ook . at th e coun try . Be i ng much

p leased wi th th e r i ch bottom an d p la i ns of Pai n t,h e returned

1 2 4. Pioneer Record of Ross County, Ohio.

to Hampsh i re,an d brough t h i s fami l y out i n 1 809 . His fami ly

con s i sted of'

Mary ,Cath eri n e

,El i zabeth

,Soph i a , Peter, Jr. ,

Joseph,Jacob

,and Ph i l l i p .

Genealogy of the Putnams.

Maj or Joh n Putnamwas b orn i n Buckinghamshire ,E ngland,

February 23,1 57 4 ; h i s fath er, Captai n Ph i l i p Putn am ; h i s

grandfath er,Colone l Peter Putn am his great - grandfather

,Wm.

Rufus Putnam ; h i s great - great - grandfath er, Edward Putn am,of

Putmanshire,Engl and

,A . D . 1 194 . The emi gran t to Ameri ca

,

Major Joh n Putn am,brough t wi th him th ree brothers , Thomas ,

Nathaniel,andEl i sh a , and two son s ,Wi l l i amand Edward . They ,

as a colony,se ttl ed Sal em

,Massachusetts , November 20, 1 634 ,

wh ere they all establ i sh ed th emse lves as successful farmers , and

many of the i r poster i ty s ti l l l ive there . Gen eral Israe l Putnam

and Genera l Rufus Putnamwere th e great - great - grandson s of

Major John Putnam,who d i ed i n th e one hundred and seven th

year of h i s age . General s Israe l an d Rufus greatly d i s ti n

guished th emse lves i n th e French and Revolut i onary wars .

Edward Putnam,son of Maj or Joh n Putnam,

emi grated to

Hardy coun ty,Vi rgi n i a

,i n 1 662 . The orig inal name of th e

fami ly was Putte n h am,b ut i n 1294

,i t was changed to Putmam

,

and at Sal em,i n 1 635 , ch anged to Putman. Sti l l a port ion of

th e desc endan ts of Edward re ta in th e n ame of Putman .*

Th e above i s an extrac t from Cutter’s L ife of Putn ams,

pub li sh ed by Coo lri dge Brothers,Pearl street

,New York

,

“ i n

1 84 7 .

Peter Putn am l i ves on his farm on Ind i an creek ; Ph i l i p

is liv ing on h i s Greenfie l d farm. Th e i r ch i l dren are l i v i ng i n

the county i n good c ircumstan ces . Joseph an d Jacob are dead .

it There is a tradition that the Putnams emigrated from Frankfort

,Germany, to Putmanshire, E ngland, ab out 9 9 8 . Al l the Putnams in

America descend from John Putnam,the p ioneer of 1 634

, at Salem,Massa

c husetts.

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1 2 6 Pioneer Record of Ross County, Ohio.

Pai n t Val l ey at an early day,and erected h i s cabi n , e igh t by

ten feet i n s ize,near th e mouth ofHarrod ’s creek . He sai d h e

had been a spy under Gen eral C l ark,in 1 782

,in h i s several

campai gn s agai n st th e Ind i an s ; that h e and Col on e l Zan e

served as spi es for Col on el Crawford i n 1 7 83 ; th at h e belonged

to Col onel Lew i s’ l egi on i n Lord Dunmore ’s campaign ; th at h e

served under Wash i ngton as a spy,and was under General

Harmar in 1 7 91—2 ; that h e was spy for Lewi s and C lark duri ng

th ei r expl or i ng exped i t i on over th e Rocky Moun ta i n s ; th at

i n h i s war and hun ti ng excurs i on s h e had ki l l ed Ind i an s,

panthers,bears

,buffal o

,wolves

,el k

,deer

,an d smal l er game

wi th out number . He possessed a pl easan t d i spos i t i on,was pro

v erb ial for h i s h on esty,and dressed very indifi

’

erently. Th e

neighbors v i s i ted him to take him prOV 1s1ons, wh i ch he woul d

accept w i th a smi l e . He never was marri ed,h av i ng i n h i s

youth been d i sappoi n ted i n h i s first l ov e,wh i ch was th e cause

of h i s ch oos i ng a h ermi t’s l ife . He woul d work for h i s n e igh

bors when cal led on,and Cont i nued to do so unt i l advan ced age

in capac i tated him for l abor . He emi grated from Virgi n i a,i n

1 805,to the place al ready described . At th e t ime of th e break

i ng out of th e war of 1812,h e was too ol d to serve . In po l i ti cs

h e was a zealous Jefferson Democrat i n re l i gi on a Un iversal i st .

He n ever fai led to attend e lect i on s . At th e advanced age of

n in ety - n i n e years,h e d i ed alone in h i s cab i n

,h i s fai thful dog

alone w i tness i ng h i s l ast momen ts . At h i s own request, h e

was buri ed on th e top of th e h i l l wh i ch overl ooks h i s cab i n .

Recen tly h i s remai n s were removed by k i nd fri ends to th e

Bush Cemetery,and a pl ai n monumen t te l l s the pl ace wh ere

rests the Rocky Moun tain hermit .

Mounds and Ancient Works .

There are two l arge mode l mounds on th e farm of th e late

Captai n Goldsberg, fromwh ich have been exhumed skel etons ,

war impl emen ts,beads

,arrows

,etc . On Jacob Briggs’ farm

are several mounds,etc .

,and one n ear O l d Town .

Concord Township. 1 2 7

Th ere i s a l arge Ind i an graveyard near Ol d Town, and

numerous skel eton s have been dug from smal l mounds by

l aborers o n the d ifferen t p ikes wh i l e tak ing out gravel for th e

roads .

Names of the Greeks and Runs in the Township.

North Fork,Li ttl e Pai n t

,Harrod ’s creek

,Green land creek

,

Dry run,Squaw Lick, Hoddy run

,and Indi an creek .

Pioneer Record of Ross County, Ohio.

S cioto Township.

Sc ioto townsh i p takes i ts name from th e Sci oto r i ver,

wh i ch run s th rough i t . In early times , kee l - boats and small er

craft as cended th e Sc i oto to th e stati on,wh i ch was about three

mi l es below where Ch i l l i coth e now i s . Some years ago,duri ng

v ery h i ghwater , a steamboat made a tri p from Portsmouth to

C i rcl ev i l l e,and returned i n safety . It created qui te a sen sa

ti on among th e qui et den i zen s of'

th e val l ey .

Before th e comple ti on of the Oh i o canal,boats l oaded with

flour,

'

etc .,desce nded th e Erie to New Orleans . These boatmen

were a rough c lass,an d sometimes

,when a number of th em

were col lected togeth er,th ey woul d set th e auth ori ti es at defi

ance,but taken al l i n al l th ey were trustworthy and good

h earted . If goods were i njured or lest,th ey were always

ready to give full sati sfact i on . They were ever prompt i n a

quarre l to espouse th e cause of th e weaker party,espec i al ly of

o l d men or strangers . The pi on eer preachers h e ld th em i n

h igh est imat i on,and had great i nfluen ce over them.

Chillicothe.

Th e town of Ch i l l i coth e,i n Sci oto town sh i p

,was made the

seat of governmen t for th e Northwestern Terri tory i n 1 800,

wh i ch was prev i ously at C i n c i n nati , but by act of Congress

removed to Ch i l l i coth e .

’

It was i n corporated as a town Jan

uary 4,1 802

,and the fol l ow i ng officers appo i n ted by Genera l

St . Clai r,command ing th e Northwestern Terri tory

Samue l F i n ley,Edward Tif’fin,

James Ferguson,Alexander

McLaughlin,Arthur Stewart, Joh n Carl i s l e , an d Reuben Adams ,Members of Sel ect Counci l ; Edward Harr , Assessor ; Isaac

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1 30 Pioneer Record of Ross County, Ohio.

John A . Ful ton was el ected Pres i den t of th e first C i ty Counci l .

Robert Adams decl i n ed accepti ng th e office of Recorder,an d

Thomas Ghorml ey was el ected i n h i s stead . James McCollister

was e l ected C i ty Marsh al ; Ebenezer Tuttl e, Cl erk of Market,

an d John Carl i s l e,Jr.

,Weighmaster

,by th e Counci l .

There h as been n o ch ange i n th e corporat i on l i n e s i nce

th at t ime,wh i l e th e suburbs h ave been rap id ly i ncreas ing 1n

popul ati on,and are now so den sely popul ated that th ey

shoul d be ann exed to th e c i ty proper . Presen t populat i on,

n i ne th ousand .

The Pioneer Business Men of Chillicothe— By Rev ; Dr. S . Mc

Adow.

Be low I give you, as n ear as I can recol l ect, a l i st of th e

major i ty of th e professional and bus i ness men of Chil l i cothe in

i ts early days :

Ministers— First Presbyterian— Robert W. Fi n l ey ,Wi l l i am

Speer , Robert G . Wi l son .

Associate Reformed— Samuel Crothers, Joh n McFarland,Josep h Claybaugh .

Methodist E piscopal—Edward Tifiin ( l ocal) ,E . Harr (l ocal) ,

Wi l l i am S waysey,Abde l Coleman .

Episcopalian— Messrs . Kel logg

,Bosman

,Peete .

Physicians— Samue l MeAdow

,Edward Tiffin

,Josep h Scott

,

Joh n E dminston, Samuel Monett, Crocker Kennedy,Buel l

,

Pi nkerton , Hays , Atk i n son ,Wil l s .Lawyers

— Jessup Couch,Henry Brush

,Thomas Scot t

,

Joseph Si l l , Ri chard Dougl as , Edward King, Benj ami n G .

Leon ard , Wi l l i am Creigh ton , Jr.

,Wi l l i am K . Bond

,Wi l liam

S . Murphy,Michae l Baldwi n

,Freder ick Grimke

,Nathan Saw

yer .

E ditors— Joh n Col l i n s, Rich ardson,James Barnes,

Nashee Denny,Joh n Andrew

,John Bail h ache .

Clerk of Court— Humphrey Ful l erton .

First Postmaster—Wil l i am Cre ighton ; first deputy, Ebenezer Tuttle .

Stioto Township. 3 1

Registers of the Land Ofiice— Thomas Worth ington , Jesse

Spencer .

Druggists— Amasa Del an o

,Ira Delan o .

S urveyors— Cadwal l ader Wal l ace

,Joh n A . Ful ton

,Al len

Latham,Matth ew Bon n er .

ChillicotheBank (first bank establ i sh ed i n Ch i l l i coth e) Ojh

cers— F i rst pres i den t,Samue l F i n d ley ; first cash i er

,Wil l i am

Sterre tt second pres i den t,Thomas James ; second cash i er , Joh n

Woodbri dge .

Merchants— John McDougal, George Renick ,\John McCoy,

Thomas James,Joh n Wh i tes i des , Joh n McLandburgh,

Joh n

Woodbri dge,Nath an Gregg

,Thomas Gregg

,McLaughlin

Kinka id,Robert Dun

,James McClintiek

,Wi l liam McDowell

,

Samue l Tagart, Barr Campbel l,Isaac Evans

,Samuel Brown

,

George Brown,Ephri am Dool i ttl e ,Wi l l i amMcFarland

,Waddl e

Dav id son,W . R . Southard

,Wi l l i am Ross

,Wi l l i am Carson

,

Nimrod Hutt, Wi l l i am Irw i n ,WVilliamMi l l er, S . F . Edwards,

Craig h ead Ferguson , Samue l Ferguson , Benjami n Eaton . J . B.

Andrews,Th os . Swearingen

,Samue l Swearingen

,O . T . Reeves

,

James Mi l le r,Joh n Wood

,George Wood

,James Culbertson

,

Smi th Cul bertson .

Fruit Merchants— Th e first frui t merch an t was a man

named Behl e r, or Bob i en , an d fol l owi ng him came Joh n Sherer .

Here I wi l l remark th at Mr . Sh erer wen t to th e State of Pen n

sy lvan i a,purch ased h i s frui ts , etc .

, sh i pped th em to Portsmouth ,

Oh i o,an d from th en ce h ad th em heated up th e Sc i oto r i ver to

Ch i l l icoth e i n h i s own kee l - boat,an d h e always had pl en ty of

frui ts . both green an d dri ed .

Hotel Keepers— Benj ami n Umsted

, Capta i n Lamb , Forest

Micker, Green H . Lee,Adam Hall er

,Adam Betz , Joh n Hutt .

Th omas Cohen,Joh n MeCann

,Edmond Basey , John Runkles ,

Steph en C i ssn a , Captai n Beach , Wi l l i am Fi tc h , Joh n Watson ,James Ph i l l i ps , John Made i ra , Shaler Ives .

Tanners— Adam Turner , Nathan Reeves , Man tl e,

Wi l l i amYoungm own,Joh n McClean,

E ly McKenzie ,

Thomas Jacobs, Wi l l i amRob b i n s . George Armstrong .

1 3 2 Pioneer Record of Ross County, Ohio.

CabinetMakers— Joh n Ki rkpatri ck , William ~Kirkpatrick,

Hume,Wi l l i am Rob i n son , Robert Rob i nson , Joh n L .

Tabb,Joseph Shepherd ,

Jonath an Miner , Joh n Joh nson , Jo hn

Snyder .

NailManufacturers— I. Cook , Joseph Mi l l er .

Cotton Factories— Hector Sandford , Ephraim Dool i ttl e .

Woolen Factories— Moses Trader ,AbrahamThompson ,Lev i

Anderson,Joh n Wi l son .

Oil Mills— Thomas Davi dson,W . Ross .

Book Binders— Joh n Hel l i ngs,Rich ard H . Boyer

,

Foster .

S tone Cutters— George Meech,James Gui n .

S ilversmiths— Joh n Cel lers,Peter Spurk , James Gates, E .

P . Pratt .

Candle c tories— Robert Long,Wi l l i am Morrow.

Weavers— Joh n Ph i l i p Ott,Hugh Ghorml ey

,John Wi l son .

Grist and S awMill— Davi d B. McComb .

Plasterers— James Engl i sh,

Barton,Joh n Ferree

,

Joshua Evans,Jeremi ah Bea-ll.

Wagon Makers— John Robey,J . Myers , Thomas Hi l l i ard ,

James Wrigh t .

Coopers— Morri s Fowl er

,Ti tus Marsh

,James Wrigh t .

Windmill Manufacturer and Cabinet Maker— Henry Baker .

Brick JlIaker— Wil l i am Down s .

Clerks in Land Ogtoc, S tores, Banks, etc — Winn Wynship,

Sam’l Wi l l i ams,Jos . Tiffin. Ol iver Simpson , Capt . S . Leffingwe l l

,

Henry S . Lewi s,Samuel Campbel l

,James P . Campbe l l

,James

S . Scranton,Austi n Buch anan

,Wi l l i am H . Dougl as

,George

Tal lman,Jon athan F . Woods ide

,Charles Made i ra .

Carpenters— Conrad Chri stman

,Freder i ck Fi sh er , Henry

Joh nson,Samue l Cook

,James Bramble

,Wi l l i amWaddle

,John

Pi cken s,Chri stopher Andricks

,Ri ch ard S liyden, George Frew.

Adam Reister,Thomas Bradford

,Wesley Browni ng

,Jesse

Purdum, James C l ark .

S addlers— James McDougal, Thomas McDougal, Samue l

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1 34 Pioneer Record of Ross County,Obzo.

Michael Byerly,Ezek i e l Knowl es

,Wi l l i am ‘Knowl es

,Jame s

Ryan,Joh n Ross

,George W . Chandl ey .

Pump JlIakers— Jacob E ikleburner, George Motter .

Teamsters— Ely Harri son , Batteal Harr i son ,Wi ll i amWatt,Joseph Farden

,Andrew Poe

,Joh n Armstrong .

Grocery and Clothing S tore— Wi l l i am H . Lefiingwell.

Dyer— Barn ett Lauman .

Butchers— Matth i as Hufnagle, Dan i e l McCollister,Conrad

Ful tz,Joh n Bri n ey, Joh n Baker , Dan i e l Baker, Zebul on Hukl e .

Bakers— Adam Hal ler, Joh n Marti n , Wi l l i am Cogan , Joh n

Hutt,Lawren ce McClure

,Wi l l i am Davi dson

,Joh n C l ifford .

Brewers— Wi l l i amRobb i n s , Abram Kopp , Joh n W . Col l ett,

Donahue .

Rope Factory— Joh nson Lofland.

Well Digger— Peter Br i n ey

Ofgall those named above but twen ty - e i gh t are now l i v i ng .

General DuncanMcArthur.

[From Howe’s Historical Co llections of Oh io . ]

Near Adena,i n a beauti ful s i tuati on

,i s Frui t Hi l l , the seat

of th e l ate Gen eral Duncan McArthur,and latterly th e res i

dence of h i s son - in - law,th e Hon . Wm. All en .

DuncanMcArthur,who was of Scotch paren tage

,was born

i n Dutch ess county,New York

,in 1 7 7 2

,an d whe n e igh t years

of age h i s fath er moved to th e fronti ers of Pen nsylvan i a . Hi s

fath er was in i nd igen t c i rcumstances,and Dun can

,wh en of

suffic i en t age,h i red out as a l aborer . At th e age of e igh teen

years,h e was a volun teer i n Harmar’s campaign. In 1 7 92

,h e

was a pri vate i n th e company of Capta i n Wi l l i am Enoch,an d

acted w i th so much i n trep i d i ty i n th e battl e of Capti na as to

render him very popul ar wi th th e fron ti e r men . Afte r th i s,

h e was for awh i le a laborer at some sal t works n ear Maysv i l l e ,Kentucky ,

an d i n the spr i ng of 17 93 engaged as a chai n - bearer

to General Nathan i e l Massi e,and penetrated w i th him and

oth ers i n to th e Sc i oto Val l ey to make surveys,at a t ime when

such an en terprise was ful l of danger from th e Ind i ans . He

Scioto Townsbip. I35

was afterward employed as a spy agai n st th e Ind i ans o n th e

Oh i o,and h ad some adventures w i th th em

,elsewhere

'

detailed

i n th i s vol ume . He was agai n i n th e empl oymen t of General

Mass i e ; an d after th e treaty of Gree nvi l l e , s tud i ed survey i ng ,

became an ass i stan t surveyor to General Mass i e , and a i d ed him

to lay out Ch i l l i cothe . He,i n the course of th i s bus i ness

,b e

came engaged i n th e purchase and sal e of l an ds, by wh i ch h e

acqui red great lan ded wealth .

In 1805,h e was a member of t he l egi s lature from Ross ;

i n 1 806,el ected col o ne l

,and i n 1808

,majo r general of th e

State mi l i ti a . In May,1 812

,he was commi ss i on ed col on e l i n

th e Ohi o Volun teers,afterward marched to Detro i t

,an d h imself

and regiment were i n c luded i n Hul l ’s surrender. He was

secon d i n comman d o n th i s unfortunate expedi t i on ; but such

was th e en ergy h e d i spl ayed,th at

,n otwi th stan d i ng

,after h i s

return as a pr i son er of war on paro l e,the Democrat i c p arty

,in

th e fal l of 1812,e l ected him to Congress by an overwhe lmi ng

maj ori ty . In March,1813

,h e was commi ss i oned a brigad ier

gen eral i n th e army,and havi ng been regularly exchanged as

pr i soner of war,s oon after res igned h i s seat in Congress to en

gage ih acti ve serv i ce .

About th e t ime th e enemy were prepar i n g to attack For t

Steven son , th e fronti ers were i n great danger , an d Harri son

sen t an express to McArthur to hurry on to the sce n e of act i o n

w i th al l the force h e coul d muster . Upon th is,he ordered the

second d ivi s i on to march in mass .

Th i s march of th e mi l it i a was named th e “

general call.

As soon as Governor Me igs was adv ised of th e cal l made by

McArthur, h e went forward an d assumed in person the com

mand of the mi l i t i a now un der arms . General McArthur went

forward to the sce ne of acti on,and the mi l i t i a fo l lowed in

thousand s . So promptly were h i s orders obeyed, th at in a few

days the Sandusky p la ins we re covered w i t h n early e ight

th ousand men,mostly from Sc i oto Val l ey . Thi s rush ofmi l i t ia

to d efend the exposed front i er of our country bore honorabl e

1 36 Pioneer Record of Ross County, Obio.

testimony th at the patri oti sm of th e c i ti zen s of th e Sc i oto Val

ley d i d n ot con si st of n o i sy profess i ons , but of practi cal serv i ce

in defen se of th e i r country . Th i s general turn - out of the

mi l i ti a proves th at Gen eral Massi e,an d th e few p i on eers who

fol l owed him i n to th e w i ld ern ess an d assi sted him i n maki ng

th e first settlemen ts i n th e ferti l e val l ey of th e Sc i oto ri ver,h ad

infused th e i r own dari ng and enterpr i s i ng spi ri t i n to th e spi r it

of th e commun i ty . Among th ese e igh t th ousan d mi l i t i a were

foun d i n th e ranks , as pri vate sol d i ers , judges , merchan ts , law

yers, preach ers , doctors , mech an i cs , farmers , an d l aborers of

every descr i pti on— al l anxi ous to repul se th e ruth less i nvaders

of our soi l . In deed,th e Sci oto coun try was so stri pped of i ts

mal e popul at i o n on th i s occasi on , th at th e women , i n th e i r ab

sence,were compel l ed to carry th e i r grai n to mi l l or l et th e i r

ch i ld ren suffer from wan t . These troops h av i ng arr i ved at

Upper Sandusky formed wh at was cal l ed th e“ grand camp of

Oh i o mi li t i a .

" General McArthur was detai l ed to the c omman d

of Fort Meigs . Th e V i ctory of Perry, _

on the 10th of Septem

ber,gave a fresh impetus to th e army

,an d Harr i son con een

trated h i s troops at Portage r iver,wh ere

,on th e 20th

,th e

br i gade of McArthur,from Fort Meigs

,j oined him. On th e

27 th,th e army embarked i n boats

,and crossed over to Mal den

,

and a few days after,General McArthur

,wi th the greater part

of th e troop s,was ch arged w i th th e defense of Detro i t .

Afte r th e res ignati on of Harri son,i n th e spri ng of 1 814

,

McArthur, be i ng th e sen i or brigad i er gene ral , the command of

th e Northwestern army devolved on him. As the en emy re

t i red discomfited from th e upper end of Lake Eri e,an d most of

th e Ind i ans were sui ng for peace,th e greater part of th o regu

l ar troops under h i s command were ordered to th e Ni agara

fron ti er . McArthur h ad a number of smal l forts to garri son

along the fron t i er,wh i l e h e kept h i s ma i n force at Detro i t an d

Malden to overawe the Canad i an s an d th e scatteri ng Ind ian ssti l l 1 11 th eBri ti sh i n terest . The dul l

.

monotony of goi ng from

post to post was n ot th e most agreeab l e serv i ce to h i s en erget i c

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1 38 Pioneer Record of Ross County, Ohio.

Mr . Hammond had prov i ded i n th e law for a case of th i s k i n d

the col l ector,w i th an armed force

,entered th e branch bank i n

th e townof Chi l l icothe and took what money h e th ought proper .

The bank brough t sui t in th e Un i ted States C i rcui t C ourt

agai n st al l th e State officers concern ed i n th i s forcib l e col l ee

t i o n . Mr . Hammond , a d i st i ngui sh ed l awyer, w i th o th er emi

nen t coun sel , were empl oyed by th e State ofOh i o to defend th i s

importan t cause . The D istrict Court dec i ded the law of Oh i o,

l evy i ng th e tax , un consti tut i onal , and , of course , nul l an d vo i d

an d made a decree , d i rec t i ng th e State to refund to th e bank

the money thus forc i bly taken. The cause was appeal ed to th e

Supreme Court of th e Un i ted States . Mr . Hammon d defende d

the sui t i n al l i ts stages . The Sup reme Cour t deci ded th i s caus e

agai nst th e State of Ohi o . Thus was se ttl ed th i s k notty an d

vexatious quest i on,wh i ch

,for a t ime

,th reate ned th e peace of

th e Un i on .

"

In 181 9,McArthur was agai n e l ected to th e l egi s lature .

In 1822,h e was agai n ch osen to Congress

,an d became an nu

devi ati ng supporter of what was th en cal led the Ameri can

system. Wh i le General McArthur remai n ed a member ofCon

gress,h e h ad con s i derabl e i nfluen ce i n that body . His perse

v ering i n dustry , h i s en ergeti c mi n d , his soun d judgmen t, an d

pract i cal bus i n ess habi ts,rendered him a very effi c i en t member .

He woul d sometimes make sh ort,p i thy remarks on th e bus i

n ess of th e house,but made n o at tempts at those flour i sh es of

e loquence wh i ch ti ck le th e fancy and p l ease th e ear . Afte r

h av i ng served two se s si ons in Congress,h e decl i n ed a re- e l ec

t i on,be i ng determi n ed to devote al l h i s efforts to arrange h i s

domest ic con cern s . He left th e fi e ld of po l it i cs to o th ers,an d

engaged w i th unremi tti ng attenti on to settl e h i s l an d bus i ness .

In 1830,McArthur was e lected Govern or of Oh i o by th e

anti - Jackson party,and on th e expi rati on of h i s term of office

was a cand idate for Congress, an d lost h i s e l ect i on , wh i ch termi

nated h i s pol i t i cal career . By an unfortunate acc i den t,i n

Scioto Townsbip. 1 39

June,1 830

,McArthur was horr ib l y brui sed an d maimed .

From th i s severe mi sfortun e h i s bod i ly and men tal powers con

stantly decl i n ed , unt i l death , several years after, cl osed h i s

career .

Dun can McArthur was a strong mi n ded,en ergeti c man

,

and possessed an i ron wi l l . He was an h onorabl e man,close i n

bus i ness,and h ad many b i tter and severe enemi es . His l ife

adds anoth er to th e many exampl es of th e work i ngs of our free

i n sti tuti o n s , of on e r i s i ng from obscur i ty to th e h igh est offices

i n th e gift of a State .

Thomas l/Vorthington Chronological S ketch.

1 7 7 3 . Thomas Worth i ngton, youngest so n of Robert

Worth ington , was born n ear Charl eston,

lJefferson (th en

Berke l ey) county ,Vi rgi n i a .

Rob ert Worthington, a farmer,was aman of great energy and indus

try ; a justice of the peace,and afterward a captain of scouts during the

French and Indian war of 1 7 5 5 .

1 7 80. Lost both h i s paren ts,and h i s early educati o n

negl ected .

1 7 86 . Chose for h i s guard i an General Wi l l i amDarke,and

th en,for th e first t ime i s sen t regul arly to school

,and k i ndly

treated .

G eneral Darke was a captain in the V irginia l ine during the Revolutionary war, and a rough old Indian fighter afterward ; was present at St .C lair’s defeat He was v ery k ind to his ward, and sent him to the b est

schools (not v ery good) that the country then afforded,and endeav ored to

procure him amidshipman’s warrant to gratify his longing for the sea

,but

did not succeed. One of his sons ac companied Thomas Worthington to

Georgetown, where he enl isted as

'

a sai lor.

1 7 90. Goes to sea,contrary to th e w i sh es of h i s guard i an

,

as a common sa i l or,in th e Br i ttan i a . a Brit i sh merchan t vesse l

,

of Port Green ock,Scotlan d .

1 7 90—91 . Vi si ts (as a sai lor) th e north ern parts of th e

Bri ti sh Isl ands,an d many of th e ports of Denmark , Sweden ,

Norway , an d Russ i a . Remai n s absen t two years .

17 92 . Narrowly escapes be i ng impressed as a sai l or by a

Pioneer Record of Ross County,Obio.

Br i t i sh press - gang . Grows t i red of the l ife of a sai lor,and

return s h ome .

A press-

gang came ab oard the v essel at Port G reenock . All handswere paraded on deck

,and, probab ly in compliment to his good looks, our

young Americanwas selected to serve the k ing. He was c laimed as a British subj ect, and a deserter from a British man of war. These facts were

prov ed by competent false witnesses to the entire satisfaction of the red

nosed l ieutenant who commanded the press-

gang,and he was ab out to takepossession ofhis hopeful recruit— stout, well made, and just six feet highquite a pri z e . At this juncture James Taylor, captain of the vessel

,and a

true friend ofyoung Worthington, took the leader o f the press-

gang aside ,and told him that the relatives and guardian ofWorthington were personsof wealth and influence in V irginia, who would not fail to instituteinquiries about him,

which would b e very damaging to any one who shouldv io late his rights as anAmerican c itizen . These statements

,anda small fee

,

turned the scales,andWorthington escaped the direful slavery of a Brit

ish man of war,to which so many of our countrymen were then, and for

years afterward,subjected. He was always grateful to the generous

E ngl ishman who sav ed him from this cruel b ondage, and a friendly cor

respondence was kept up b etween them for many years .

1 7 96 . Marri ed to Eleanor Sweari ngen,and v i s i ts th e then

Northwest Terri tory , exami nes it, and (1 7 97) purchases l and

near Ch i l l icoth e .

E leanor,wife ofThomas Worthington,

was a woman offine mind and

culture and remarkab le business capacity. Del icately b rought up, she

faced the dangers and hardships of the new settlement in the Northwest

Territory with abrav e sp irit. Her husband b e ingmostly in pub l ic l ife , shemanaged his property in his ab sencewith great skill and success . S hewas

left a widow in 1 8 2 7,with ten children

,and a large estate deeply incum

b eredWith debt . S he contributed greatly, by her economy, frugal ity, andself- denial

,to the education of the younger chi ldren

,and

,by her wise coun

sels,secured to them all a large part of their inheritance . S he died in

1 849,at a good old age, with the b lessings of the many affl icted whom her

active charities had relieved,and b eloved and respected by all.

1 7 98 . Apri l . Removes,wi th h i s w ife an d an i nfan t

daughter,to Ch i l l i coth e

,h av i ng l i berated w i th h er consen t and

brough t w i th th em to th e free Northwest Terri tory,her s laves

an d h i s own,forty- s i x i n number

,of al l ages and of both sexes .

Bui l ds mi l l,plants orchards

,and c lears l an d .

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1 4 2 Pioneer Record of Ross County, Oloio.

1826 . Can al Commi ss i oner .1827— Jun e 20. D ied at th e c i ty of New York .

Hon. WilliamA llen.

Wi l l i am All en,th e subj ect of th i s bri ef record

,i s truly a

self- made man. He emi grated from Vi rgi n i a t o Ch i l l i coth e at

an early day ,on foot and al on e— a b oy . He was sen t by a rel a

t i ve to th e C h i l l i coth e Acad emy,wh ere h e soon developed

,as a

member of th e d ebati ng soci ety , tal en ts of th e first order, an d

earlv attracted th e attenti on of th e l ead i ng men of Ch i l l i co the .

Fi n i sh i ng h i s stud ies,h e was i n duced by fri ends to study law

w i th Gen eral Edward Ki ng, an emi n en t attorn ey . He gradu

ated w i th h igh d i st i n ct i on,and became cel ebrated as an orator

Col on el Al len represen ted th e Ch i l l i coth e d i s tri ct i n Congress

for on e term,an d as a Senator of Ohi o for two terms . He was

the acknowl edged l eader ofh i s party . He marri ed th e daugh

ter of th e late Governor McArthur,and i s th e own er of th e cel

ebrated Frui t Hi l l farm. Dr . Scott,h i s son - in- law

,l i ve s wi t h

him.

E arly S ettlers.

Rev . Hector Sanford emi grated to th e Sci oto Val l ey i n 17 99,

an d was on e of th e first mi n i s ters i n Ch i l l i coth e . His fath er,

Angus Sanford , came from Engl and i n 1 7 7 2 , and served as an

officer i n th e Revoluti o nary war ; was also wi th Dunmore in

1 7 7 4 . Hector’s son s are Joseph , Joh n , an d Lemue l . Maj or

JohnWi l l et was i n th e war of 1812 ; was an early pi on eer an d

a brave man. General McNeary was i n the war of 1 812 ; h i s

ol d h omestead sti l l stands on McNeary’

s run .

The fol l ow i ng n ames of early settl ers were contr ibuted by

Joh n Robi n son Wi l l i am Rogers,Andrew an d George Ponti ous ,

Pete r Porter,James

,Robert

,Joseph

,Jacob

,and Wi l l i am Mc

Di l l,Michae l Thomas , Robert Adams , James McCrae

, Joseph

Cl ark,Wi l l i am Robi n son

,En os and Joh n Purse l l , Jacob Grun

dy,Richard an d Joh n Acton , Thomas , Robert, an d Wi l l i am

Brown,Wi l l i am Pool

,James Danaus , Joh n and George Ricups ,

Scioto Towns/sip. 1 4 3

Dan i e l D ixon,Robert Worthi ngton

,Thomas Sh i e l ds

,James

Pri or,Hugh and James Coch ran , Samue l Smi th , Dan i e l Augus

tus,James Carr

,James Armstrong , Thomas Earl , Thomas Junk ,

Joh n Haynes ; Thomat ill l i vi ng,and n i n ety years of

age . Al l th e above were early p i oneers ofWest Sci o to town

sh i p .

Nicholas Haynes'

,fath er ofHen ry and Joh n Haynes—who

are sti l l l i v i ng on th e old h omestead— emi grated to West Sc i oto

i n 1808 . He was i n th e Revolut i on ary war. The Haynes fam

i ly record sh ows th i rty n ames between 1 7 69 an d 1815 .

James Shan e,on e of th e pioneers,was a Dunkard preach er,

an d a noted hunter in early t imes,and had two son s— Dan i el

and Abraham. He occup i ed part of the farm known as th e

Wood ’s tract . Hugh and Al onzo Carson and the Sul livan family were the first men i n th e va l ley . The Dunn family were

a l so among th e earl i est p i oneers . E . Ful l er ton was a squatter

on th e o l d Zane tract,an d an acti ve defender of th e settl emen t

agai n st Ind i an attacks . The o ld Zane trace passed th rough

th i s secti on on th e east s i de of the r i ver . Isaac,Jacob

,An

drew, and Adam Creamer settled near the r i ver . Adamwas in

th e Revo lut i on under General Greene,an d al l of h i s boys were

i n th e war of 1812 under General Harr i son . They were all

s trong , h earty , l arge men, we l l ca l cul ated to endure th e h ard

sh i ps and pr i vati on s of pi oneer l ife . Many of the i r descen d

ants now l i ve i n Fayette county .

Colored Pioneers .

Thomas Watson came i n 1 7 96 ; Henry Evens , 1 7 98 ; Robert

Pl easant,17 9 0; Ne l son P i l es

,1800; Samue l Nic hol, 1 808 ; Abram

Nichol,1 809 ; Peter James , 1812 ; Henry H il l , 1813 ; John Fid

l er, S er 1814 ; John F idler, Jr.

,1814 . The above settled in

S cirto townsh ip .

1

Indian Occupation of Ross County in 1 750.

Th e Shawanese , Piquas, and Ch i l l i co th e tr i bes .

1 4 4 Pioneer Record of Ross County, Obio.

CHILLICO'

I‘HE BU S INE S S MEN.

Main S treet.

B. Gorham,merc hant tai l or ; Wi l l i am Hays , baker ; Joh n

Ewi ng,grocer ; Jeremi ah McCollister, who lesal e . l i quor mer

chan t ; AdamGreishe imer. huckster and grocer ; Joh n Kellhofer,

stove and ti n store ; T homas Murphy , grocer : Wil l i am Conner,grocer ; S . H . Mosh e r

,grocer ; H . W . Woodrow

,sewi ng ma

ch i n es ; Joh n Gun th er , grocer ; Wi l l i am Vi ncent, grocer ; B. F .

Duncan,S i nger mach i n e agen t ; E . K . Mi ck

,auc t i oneer ; E . F .

Lewi s,saddl er ; A . W . West

,gun smi th ; Joh n Dun n , marble

works ; Jacob Buch en , dry goods .

Paint S treet.

R . B. Smart,T . Woodrow

,Clough Ben nett

,Carson

Budd , S . C . Swi ft,F . Hel lman

,Joseph Stewart

,Peter Hoffman

,

Carl i s l e Co .

,A . H . Warner

,dry goods merchan ts ; Dr . R . H .

Lansi ng,Joh n A . Nipgen

,Al lston Dav i s

,druggi sts ; J . G .

Snyder,M Lewi s Co .

,wholesal e hardware stores ; A . C . Ire

l and,who l esal e stove an d t i n store ; C . C . Liml e

,stove and copper

shop ; C . Erdman,D . Kl in e

,S . E pstine , H . Heicht

,J . Jurenmon,

cl oth i ng stores ; P. M . Mi ner,Mi l ler Patterson Cutter

,h at

stores ; C . F . Dufeu,Anton Pfaf'f

,S . S hreckengaust, j ewel ers ; W .

E . Buser,furn i ture store ; Emmett House ,Warner House ,Un ion

House ; John Kai ser, F . Marluff,confecti oners ; Platter, C l ay

pool Ingall, ‘

wh ol esal e grocers ; Wi l l i am Jacob , I . Cory ,Smart Ki l vert

,grocers ; M . Cah i l l

,M . N . Hurst

,J . G . Weid

man,sh oe stores ; S chaefl

’

er Kramer,E .H . Kauffman

,tobaccon

ists ; G .W. Wh i te,F . A . S imon ds

,photograph ers ; G . W . Harper ,

bazar ; St . Barkley,mus i c store ; A . Pearson

,A . Mattz , sadd l ers

W . B. Mi l l s,pai n ter - and glaz i er ; Mrs . E . Mead

,mihiner ; E . P .

S afl’

ord,G . P . Schaeffer

,i n suran ce agents ; J . H . Putnam,

Ad

vertiser; Bon d Son,Gazette ; Armstrong , Register; James

Rowe,Un i ted States l and office rece iver ; Frank lin

,

Un i ted States regi ster ; Hugh McCorry, provi s i on s, groceri es ,

etc . ; Maul e Elsass,dry good s ; T . M.S childer, J. Sul ly,

grocers .

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Pioneer Record of Ross County, Ohio.

Profes sional Business Men.

C . E . Brown,Vanmeter " Neal , Thomas Kelly,

W . A . Gage,

attorn eys at law,Secon d stree t ; Mayo D11 Hadway,

Mi tq /

Clark,C . Wrn. Gi lmore

,J . C . Entrik i n

,Th omas Worth i ngton

,

Beach Lawren ce,J . H . Kei th

,attorneys

,Pai n t street ; Drs .

Waddle , Scearce and Mi esse ,C .H . Fren ch,Second street Dr . J .M .

Wi ltsh i re,Fifth street ; Dr . J . Mi l l er

,Mai n street ; Drs . Hubbl e ,

G . S . Fran kl i n,Pai n t stree t ; Judge Safford , office court h ouse ;

U . S . C laypoo l,attorn ey

,Londary ; Dr . D . A . Mi l ler

,Roxabe l l ;

Samue l L .Wallace , attorn ey, Second street ; McClintick Smi th,

attorneys,Secon d street ; Minsh al l Throckmorton

,attorneys ,

Mai n and Pai n t streets ; Dr . D . V . Grace,veteri nary surgeon

,

Un ion House,Pai n t street .

Ofiicers of Ross County.

Sh eriff, John S . Mace ; Aud i tor, Saml . Kendr i ck ; Treasurer,Wm. A . Way l and ; Recorder , Wm. Briggs ; C lerk , P . G . Griffin ;Probate Judge , Thos .Walke ; Prosecut i ng Attorn ey,

L . T . Neal ;Commi ss i o ners

,Saml . Cl i n e

,Saml . Nichol

, Wes ley C laypool .